n6 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [7:5— May, ion 



slightly; whereas, those schools which are now using from five 

 hundred to fifteen hundred collections annually would be greatly 

 restricted. Some of the schools which order but lightly are lo- 

 cated near nature's sources of supply ; hence the folly of stocking 

 them with the same material as is needed in the down-town 

 schools, where nature seems so far away. 



Again, looking at the matter from the standpoint of ex- 

 pense, the six thousand stereoscopic views, for instance, which 

 the museum owns — covering a wide range of subjects, all listed 

 in the catalogue — represent an outlay of $1,000. It would be 

 an unwarrantable expense to equip all the schools with such a 

 range of views when from six to ten duplicate sets now supply 

 ninety per cent, of all requests. These stereoscopic views are in 

 such favor that many of the schools have invested in a set of 

 twenty or more stereoscopic instruments to allow of the free use 

 of views, as it is manifestly impractical for the museum to supply 

 as many scopes as views. Many of the schools are also equipped 

 with their own stereopticon, and the thirty-two hundred museum 

 lantern slides, representing an outlay of about $1,200, are thus 

 kept in constant circulation. 



Another important feature in favor of the traveling museum 

 is the fact of its keeping alive the interest in the museum specimen 

 by the absolute regularity, once a week, of the museum wagon's 

 call ; thus obviating all danger of the specimen being detained 

 an unreasonable length of time in any one room of the school. 



That the public, outside of immediate school circles, is be- 

 coming interested in the museum, is shown by the many valuable 

 donations of collection material which have been received from 

 public-spirited citizens of late ; while the fact that the traveling 

 museum idea also finds warm friends eleswhere than in St. Louis, 

 is attested by its daily visitors, educators and students from other 

 cities, who invariably express their appreciation of the work in 

 progress. 



The nature-study movement, so prominent of late years in 

 all cities, has gained additional strength in St. Louis through this 

 practical use of objective material, arousing in the pupils and 

 teachers a desire to know more about the specimen studied, which 

 desire naturally leads to closer observation on incidental field trips, 

 and finally to regularly planned field trips just for the purpose 

 of studying nature and investigating some of her innumerable. 

 mysterieSr 



