32 THE NA TURE-STID Y RE VIE W [6:1- Jan,. 1910 



wise have little interest. Thus gardening might be distasteful 

 to some children; but if they had chickens, cows, etc., they 

 would be intensely interested in raising food plants for these 

 animals. He emphasized the moral eflfect that comes from as- 

 sociating with pets and plants. 



Dr. Bigelow gave an account of the Boston meeting and 

 commented favorably upon the present status and tendency of 

 nature-study throughout the country. 



A committee was appointed to revise the New York City 

 Nature-Study Syllabus to make it conform more to the environ- 

 ment of the child in congested parts of the city. 



Enthusiasm in California. — At the annual meeting of the 

 California State Teachers' Association in San Francisco last 

 December, the Nature-Study section held one of the most en- 

 thusiastic meetings in its history. The following addresses 

 were made, each topic being discussed by two or more speakers: 

 ''Health Study in Relation to Nature-Study", Dr. E. B. Hoag, 

 Berkeley; ''Present Status of Nature-Study in California", Dr. 

 H. W. Fairbanks, Berkeley; "Some of the Problems of Nature- 

 Study and How to Meet Them", C. A. Stebbins, Chicago. 



The officers elected for the ensuing year are: President, 

 E. B. Babcock, of the College of Agriculture, University of 

 California; Secretary, C. A. Stebbins, Berkeley. 



The meeting voted to organize then and there as the Cali- 

 fornia Branch of the American Nature-Study Society and the 

 above officers were elected as officers of this organization. As 

 this business was delayed until after the close of the regular 

 session, only seventeen remained to sign as charter members, 

 but already the roll has been increased to about thirty and the 

 outlook is bright for making this a strong active branch of the 

 national society. 



We trust that other states will follow this example. 



The 1909 Annual of the Winnebago County (Illinois) Schools, 



prepared by Co. Supt. O. J. Kern, Rockford, 111., is fully up to the 

 expectations of those who look to Mr. Kern to set the pace for at- 

 tractive and suggestive reports of rural school progress. It is a 96- 

 pp. pamphlet and breathes the atmosphere of the twentienth cen- 

 tury school. 



