THE 



NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



DEVOTED PRIMARILY TO ALL SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF NATURE IN ELEMENTARY 



SCHOOLS 



Subscriptions, Manuscripts for Publication and Books to be Reviewed should be 



sent to the Editor. 



\'oL. 8 April, 1912 Xo. 4 



Nature Study as a Servant 



Anna Botsford Com stock 



All those present at the meeting of the session of the Amer- 

 ican Xature-Study Society, held in Washington last December, 

 were much interested in the various ways suggested by which 

 nature-study could be of service to other forms of education and 

 to civic improvement. Nature-study is so wide in its applica- 

 tion that it bears upon almost all enterprises that have to do with 

 the physical world. There is much of nature-study that has to 

 do with the garden, although it would seem that many of the 

 people who conduct children's gardens are scarcely aware of it. 

 However, it is there ; and perhaps the children may find it with- 

 out help. There is also much of nature-study necessary in learn- 

 ing to cope with those pests, like mosquitoes and flies, which 

 threaten our health as well as happiness. But such nature-study 

 is purely for the purpose of reconnaissance for battle and is, 

 when considered as nature-study, very narrow and limited. 

 There is also nature-study connected with the understanding of 

 the principles of hygiene ; but a few lessons in elementary physics 

 would cover what is needed foi" this. It is right and just that 

 nature-study should do this work in assisting these various edu- 

 cational and public enterprises ; but, as nature-study teachers, we 

 should never forget that such service represents only an infinites- 

 imal part of what really belongs to the realm of nature-study ; 

 and we certainly do a great wrong to the child when we convey to 

 him the idea that this is the chief work of nature-study. 



One child said to me, "Oh, yes, I have had nature-study; 

 we studied mosquitoes last year.!' And another said, "Oh, yes, 

 I know about nature-study, we sprouted beans in our school last 

 spring." It was evident that both of these youngsters thought 



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