188 HOW NATURE STUDY SHOULD BE TAUGHT 



Your heart is steeped in the sun ; 

 Did you grow in the golden city, 

 My pure and radiant one? " 



" Nay, nay, I fell not out of heaven ; 



None gave me my saintly white ; 

 It slowly grew from the blackness 



Down in the dreary night. 

 From the ooze of the muddy river 



I won my glory and grace. 

 White souls fall not, O my poet ! 



They rise to the sweetest place." 



When the same speaker later invited me to 

 write an article on some phase of nature study for 

 his biennial Report of the Fish and Game Com- 

 mission, I at once thought of his eloquent and 

 impressive lecture, and with that as an incentive, 

 as it has been during all these years, I have taken 

 " Inspirations of Nature Study " as my subject. 



And I assume the risk of seeming egotistical 

 when I say that under this title I think can be 

 properly portrayed the real aim of fish and 

 game interests, for this title represents the vital 

 substance of his entire report more truly than 

 what he really spoke at the time. Fish and 

 game ! Why, the people for the most part care 

 nothing for a fishing rod nor a ramrod, nor for 

 the fish and game neither. They seek the inspi- 

 ration of the woods. They are a lot of commend- 



