124 First Conference 



yard " of labels, however orderly. The introduction of a 

 flower -border, however small, into the present desert "play- 

 ground " (more accurately prison-yard, shoving-yard, Hooli- 

 ganeuni) is pled for on all grounds, moral and technical as 

 well as intellectual and aesthetic.* 



THE SEASONAL STUDY OF NATURAL 



HISTORY 



BY PROFESSOR J. ARTHUR THOMSON, MARISCHAL 

 COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN 



My friend Professor Geddes has defined Nature- 

 study, from the individual point of view, as the habit 

 of observing and thinking for one's self, and at one's 

 best, without books or helps, in presence of the facts, 

 and in the open air. I take it that this is a good 

 indication of our ideal in this direction, both for our- 

 selves and for those whom many of us have the 

 responsibility of teaching. We aim at seeing, under- 

 standing, enjoying, and practically learning from the 

 whole natural world around us. 



The mere statement of this aim makes it super- 

 fluous to speak of the advantages of Nature-study. I 

 suppose we are all fully persuaded that Nature-study 

 is a fundamental discipline, though it may not be the 

 supreme one, and that, if it is rightly prosecuted, it 

 tends to the culture of the senses, to brain-stretching, 

 and to the development of those artistic emotions 

 which form no small part of the joy of life. 



The ideal of Nature-study is obviously a worthy 



* Cf. Introductory Course of Nature -study. Syllabus of Cambridge 

 Summer Meeting, 1902. 



