200 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [15:5— May, 1919 



changed her mind. At any rate these earthy monsters finally 

 disappeared, and following the flowers and birds came the ancestors 

 of all our domestic animals. 



Perhaps wise old Nature had a theory of her own concerning the 

 "survival of the fittest." I like to think she had and that her idea 

 of the fittest, which she was sending on through all the centuries, 

 was not that of great brute strength, but that with the flowers and 

 birds and the smaller, more intelligent animals, there would 

 eventually result a race in which kindness, compassion, and 

 spiritual strength would be supreme. 



Not all the wants of man are supplied with food, clothing, and 

 shelter. He must also have those things that will lift him out of 

 the rut of everyday routine life and give him hope and courage and 

 inspiration. Nature has known this from the beginning, and 

 through all the measureless ages she had in the making perhaps 

 the greatest of all natural resources, in which are all the elements of 

 every other resource. And this great gift of Nature we call, for 

 want of a better name, natural scenery. It is the crowning glory of 

 all of Nature's work in the outward world. Through it she speaks 

 to us, and if we listen we may hear her say: "Come and visit me, 

 and bring your children; I have beautiful things to show you and 

 stories to tell you that you will never forget. I can show you 

 splendid silent forests that breathe the message of the centuries; 

 white leaping waterfalls; rivers rushing on between canyon- walls 

 a mile high ; and I can show you glaciers and moraines that tell the 

 story of the ages. Save the most beautiful of my wild scenic 

 places ; make parks of them, so that you will always know where to 

 find me at my best. Come and get acquainted with me, and I will 

 give you health and strength and inspiration. Let me train your 

 children to see, to hear, to feel, and to know things as they are. I 

 will make your boys and girls efficient ; I will give them high ideals 

 and fit them to be the fathers and mothers of future noble men 

 and women." 



No man or woman lives who would not be benefitted by a fuller 

 understanding of the marvels of the earth — a sympathetic under- 

 standing that will lead to knowledge of how best to use these 

 natural resources. Such knowledge forms the basis for right living. 

 Both young and older people should acquire it in order that they 

 may receive due benefit from Nature's bounties during their own 

 lives, and also leave them in good shape for their children and all 

 who may come after them. 



