INTRODUCTION 7 



of india-rubber, and the inking-in at home of drawings 

 made in class. Both spring from a love of mechanical 

 tidiness, which is apt to obstruct greater virtues. Trial- 

 lines need not be erased at all ; the drawings of the great 

 masters often show them without disguise. Erasure spoils 

 the surface of the paper, besides encouraging a timid 

 manner. A drawing made from the object should be 

 treated with a certain respect, and never tampered with 

 when the object is no longer at hand. 



We want fresh helpers for the preparation of new Nature 

 Studies. There must be a large number of teachers who 

 could now and then write a good one. The difficulty 

 (and a very serious difficulty it is) would be to pick out 

 the really useful lessons from the rest. Such questions as 

 follow might be some guide in the estimation of merit. 



Has the writer made out anything, great or small, which 

 was not known before ? Does he employ new methods 

 of inquiry, or new methods of teaching ? Is the plan 

 of the lesson natural, attractive, and likely to aid the 

 memory ? Is the language simple and expressive ? Can 

 the pupils do work for themselves upon the subject of 

 the lesson ? Does the lesson contain any good experi- 

 ment ? Is it illustrated by new and careful drawings ? 



I am quite sure that there would be no difficulty in 

 getting any lesson published which came out well from 

 such an interrogation, and I believe that to write once in 

 a way with all possible care a lesson which was to appear 

 in print would be a valuable discipline for the more ambi- 

 tious of our young teachers. I should like to see the 

 preparation of new Nature Studies organised a little. 



Those who seek after educational reforms meet with 

 frequent discouragements. The world does not love 

 reformers of any kind, and one must in candour admit 

 that they have their disagreeable side. But the reformers, 

 among whom I should be proud to be reckoned, enjoy 

 their little triumphs now and then. I can look back upon 

 forty years of teaching, and the improvements which the 



