Till PREFACE. 



routine, the author aims at transferring to the school lesson 

 something of the free spirit of gladness which the child find 

 in Nature out of doors, and that without imperilling disci- 

 pline. Considerable emphasis is laid upon the develop- 

 ment of outdoor work, controlled without being in any 

 degree irksome, and linked to appropriate indoor studies, 

 as the line leading to success. 



During past years the author has had numerous oppor- 

 tunities of discussing Nature work with teachers of ex- 

 perience ; he desires to acknowledge that in the many 

 classes for teachers he has conducted he has profited much 

 from their practical experience. There are various hints 

 embodied in this work and information supplied by teacher 

 friends which require acknowledgment. In particular 

 thanks are due to Miss Proctor, Gordon Schools, Huntly, 

 for permission to reproduce her Nature Calendar as a 

 frontispiece ; to Miss Tennant, of the same institution, for 

 extracts from her pupils' notes of observations ; and to Dr. 

 A. W. Gribb, of Aberdeen University, who has written the 

 chapter on " Some Common Kocks." Other acknowledg- 

 ments are made in the text. Thanks are also due to 

 Mr. William Smith, jun., who has drawn from nature 

 nearly all the zoological figures, and who has copied the 

 frontispiece with taste and skill. 



J. E. 



UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN, 

 2&th March, 1910. 



