52 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:2— Feb., 1918 



ness of the grass with its straight leaves and the flatness of the 

 plantain with its round leaves, to find the big leaves of trees on the 

 ends only of the branches, and the whole of the tree to be full of 

 leaves when the foliage is finely divided, to see the trees growing 

 heavy on the lighted side and lighter on the dark side, to see 

 forest trees growing without limbs, and trees growing long limbs, 

 close to the ground in the open field — these are the things which 

 for the ordinary student are distinctly worth while. 



There is one other matter which I feel the scientist has never 

 properly understood. There is no reason whatever, in teaching 

 children, why we should not personify annuals and flowers and 

 represent them as talking. The only necessity is that they should 

 say the right things. 



Children will not grow into misconceptions from this teaching. 

 They will not grow up with the idea that the animals have all our 

 powers of language only we do not understand them. The 

 growth of the child's mind into that of the adult will give them the 

 power of correction. What was perfectly legitimate teaching for 

 the child would later be foolishness. But we must be very careful 

 not to teach the uncolored truth to little children, or it will fail of 

 their comprehension and the whole impression will completely 

 fade away. 



I was standing one day years ago in the hall of the Library of 

 Congress in Washington and talking with an artist about the deco- 

 rations of that remarkable building. I said to him, "The whole 

 thing looks to me altogether too gaudy. There is too much red 

 and too much gold about it all for me." His reply astonished me. 

 "You think these paintings are made for to-day. These paintings 

 are made to last for centuries, and if they were toned into softness 

 of harmony to-day, they would fade into utter flatness after a 

 while. Now they seem to you crude, but in a few years they will 

 sink into a rich fullness of color which they will then maintain as 

 long almost as this building can stand." Time has already 

 justified this artist. Already these colors are blending. The 

 garishness of their first effect has past away and an even richness is 

 rapidly taking its place. 



Just such must be our teaching of children. There must be 

 over emphasis, there must be heightened coloring, but these will 

 fade and will sink to their proper places, leaving for the future 

 possession of the grown mind the full and rich effect. 



