macbride] philosophy OF NATURE STUDY 227 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE-STUDY — A REVIEW 



BY THOMAS H. MACBRIDE, 

 Professor of Botany in the Iowa State University 



In his latest book, '' The Outlook to Nature,"^ the distin- 

 guished author, Dr. L. H. Bailey, presents us, in pleasing form, 

 four lectures delivered in January, 1905, before the Twentieth 

 Century Education Club of Boston. The book consists, accord- 

 ingly, of four rather lengthy chapters, each devoted to a par- 

 ticular subject or group of subjects, each accordingly rather inde- 

 pendent of the other. In other words, the book before us was 

 written for the platform and not as a volume, and only with dif- 

 ficulty can the general title, however well chosen, be made to 

 cover the whole. 



" The outlook to nature is the outlook to what is real, and 

 hearty and spontaneous " ; and the whole of the first lecture, en- 

 titled " The Commonplace," is a plea for the interest which at- 

 taches to ordinary and neglected objects. The un-noted crea- 

 tures of the field and farm, nor less the fields and farms them- 

 selves — these are the objects on which our lecturer would have us 

 lavish our affection. To such appreciation, literature, particu- 

 larly poetry, is an aid, although, in the judgment of the author, 

 the poetry of the farm is as yet unwritten. Dr. Bailey, however, 

 is at his best, not when dealing with these minor objects, but rather 

 when he essays those themes which have moved the human heart 

 in all the ages ; the best thing in the book is the description of a 

 sunrise on Mt. Shasta. 



The second lecture is devoted to a consideration of the relative 

 advantages of country and city, with emphasis on country. The 

 several sub-divisions, — the garden, why boys leave the farm, 

 etc., — contain many excellent and practical thoughts, and are very 

 suggestive. Nothing comes amiss in these lectures; the church, 

 the state, politics, economics, the public health — all are discussed 

 and generally with much sound sense and wisdom. 



The third lecture, " The School of the Future," is a plea for the 

 '' school of affairs." It is urged that our educational methods, 

 especially in rural and elementary schools, are less serviceable be- 

 cause they have less to do with realities, /. c, with the material 

 environment of the child. The school problem as it presents 



^ The Outlook to Nature, by L. H. Bailey. New York, The Macmillan 

 Co. 1905. Pp. 296. $1.25. 



