206 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



dry-as-dust pedagogues have again come in to kill it with 

 their books. Since nature study has come to the fore these 

 have not been lacking : but after following their rapid 

 appearance for the past five years, I am forced to confess 

 that I have not been able to find one that I should be willing 

 to have a child of mine follow. 



John Burroughs is a doughty farmer, and the finest student 

 of nature we have, and he says : "Of the books upon nature 

 study that are now issuing from the press to meet this fan- 

 cied want of the schools, very few of them, according to my 

 thinking, are worth the paper they are printed upon. They 

 are dead, dead, and neither excite cariosity nor stimulate 

 observation." * 



It will take but a few minutes ; and, in order that we may 

 understand one another better, and at the same time learn 

 something of the plans of nature study now in the field, 

 permit me to read a few sentences from two or three books 

 that I have brought with me. They are among the latest 

 books on the subject, and may be fairly considered to repre- 

 sent the views of present leaders in this new movement in 

 education. You may object that it is hardly fair to judge 

 an author's scheme by such brief citations, and this is true 

 in a measure. Still, a book, like a chain, is no stronger 

 than its weakest link ; and moreover, I shall endeavor to 

 select passages that fairly represent the methods and stand- 

 points of the respective authors. While I criticise the 

 books, I do not wish to introduce elements of a personal 

 character, and so shall not, unless requested, name their 

 authors. 



This first book bears the copyright date 1895. On page 

 97 we find the following : — 



Bones. For Higher Grades. 

 In the preceding articles on this theme bones have been studied 

 by putting them into the hands of the children, and by requiring a 

 careful study of each boue, its shape, size, structure, and adapta- 

 tion to the purpose for which it was intended. The lowest pupils 

 strung them like beads, or glued them to cards, putting together 



* "The Outlook," Feb. 4, 1899. 



