INQUIRIES 141 



for a place : it is a rational and natural point of 

 view asserting itself. Its spirit will eventually 

 pervade and vitalize all school work. It is some 

 comfort to know that our school hours are now 

 full. They cannot be fuller. If other things are 

 added, old subjects must drop out. It is a struggle 

 for existence. By introducing spontaneity and 

 personal enthusiasm, nature-study should relieve 

 the congestion rather than increase it. If nature- 

 study becomes a burden, it is likely to be because 

 the teacher tries to teach too much and makes too 

 hard work of it. 



Shall we teach the child to collect, and thereby to 

 kill? 



How much or how little the collecting habit 

 shall be encouraged must be determined for each 

 case by itself ; but, in general, the child should be 

 taught to respect the life of every creature. 

 Collecting should be a mere incident, particularly 

 with very young children, and it should be encour- 

 aged only when it has some definite purpose. The 

 wanton spirit always must be suppressed. I do not 

 like to encourage young children to " catch things" 

 for the mere excitement of catching them. Study 

 the habits of things as they are. I have little 

 sympathy with the development of mere senti- 

 mentalism regarding the life of animals and plants ; 

 but it is a safe principle, with children, to let 

 everything live its own life. Discourage the spirit 

 of the hunter. 



Would you tell the child the names of the things? 



Certainly, the same as I would tell him the name 



