HOW NATURE STUDY SHOULD BE TAUGHT 191 



icthyology, ornithology, botany, geology, photog- 

 raphy, art or poetry. Like the spokes of the 

 wheel held in by the tire, all pointing to the 

 hub, so the various occupations, struggles and 

 tensions of mankind, all eventually lead to 

 attempted restoration by the soothing hand of 

 nature. 



In my back yard, in a wire cage about ten feet 

 long, I have a brood of ducks. It is amusing, 

 especially to the young folks, to see the charac- 

 teristic and unique manner in which these fuzzy 

 waddlers take their food. Since we have learned 

 that they must have one or two sips of water 

 between every few mouthfulsof food, we have, in 

 order to add to the entertainment of the row of 

 youngsters, who so often come to watch them, 

 placed the dish of food at one end of the cage, 

 and the pan of water at the other. Laboriously 

 the birds scoop up the food in their broad bills, 

 and strenuously jerk their heads back and forth to 

 shake it down their throats. The material things 

 of life are serious matters to them. They con- 

 tinue their exertions as long as they can, and 

 then wearily waddle over to the basin of water 

 and delightedly take a few sips. Now the labored 

 " quacks " give way to a sort of musical chipper, 



