CHAPTER IX 

 AN OUTDOOR LESSON ON TREES 



The importance of nature study in the training of the 

 cliikl is now wcU recognized. The influences of such study 

 from the hygienic, moral and a?sthetic point of view are 

 far reaching and cannot be expressed in dollars and cents. 

 In his association with nature, the child is led to observe 

 more closely and to know and to be fond of what is truly 

 beautiful in life — beautiful surroundings, beautiful thoughts 

 and beautiful deeds. He is' inspired with reverence for 

 law, order and truth because he sees it constantly reflected 

 in all works of nature. The social instinct is highly developed 

 and even the parents are often bettered through the agency 

 of their children. 



The only way, however, to study nature — especially 

 plants — is to study it out of doors. Our present tendency 

 to gather in cities demands the upbuilding influences of 

 trips into the open in order to equip the child mentally and 

 physically to face the world and its work with the strength 

 and tenacity characteristic of the country-bred. Moreover, 

 the study of objects rather than books is an axiom in 

 modern education and here, too, we can readily see that 

 the best way to study trees is to take the pupil to the trees. 

 Such studies are more lasting than book study because 

 they emphasize the spirit and the goal rather than the 

 petty facts. 



Educators and parents are now recognizing the value 



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