comstock] geography AND LIFE 77 



However, not in all waters do these lilies grow ; their adaptations 

 are for a certain limited condition ; the waters must be still and not 

 too deep, and there must be a silt bottom. After understanding 

 the adaptations of this beautiful plant to its environment the pupil 

 has a radius of knowledge which should take him to the Nile, that 

 great river on whose quiet expanses, away from its swift current, 

 grows the lotus which inspired the ancient Egyptians to make 

 beautiful the sculptured columns of their temples. Another radius 

 would reach to the wide Amazon in whose shallower side waters 

 float the magnificent Victoria regia, the water lily whose leaf is so 

 huge a boat that it may support the weight of a man. In each case 

 the child will see a true picture of quiet waters, not too deep and 

 with muddy bottom. Thus in a thousand ways can Nature-Study 

 guide and train the child's geographical imagination, so that it is a 

 safe bridge across which he may safely pass from the known to the 

 unknown. Through studying the self-sufficient mullein in the 

 sheep pasture or the moisture conserving purslane in the gardens, 

 he may understand the devices of plants that endure the drought 

 of the desert or the hardships of arctic conditions. 



It is only a step farther for the child to comprehend how entirely 

 animal life is ultimately dependent upon plant life. The fox 

 may feed upon the rabbit but the rabbit must feed upon the clover. 

 Friend Downy finds his food in the beetle larvae which in turn feed 

 upon the woody tissues of the tree. The lion feeds upon the ante- 

 lope and zebra and these in turn feed upon vegetation. 



Consider for a moment the possibilities that lie in the study of a 

 shiner or pumpkin-seed which the boy who goes fishing may bring 

 to the school aquarivun. Observe its adaptations for successful life 

 in the water; the shape of its body and its covering of polished 

 scales enable it to move through a medium so much denser than 

 air with the least possible friction; the way its uses its fins and tail 

 in swimming, how it breathes the air mixed with the water by means 

 of its gills, how it is adapted to get its food and how its coloring 

 above and below and its swift movements aid it in escaping from 

 enemies. Add to this by a study of the scaleless barbelled bull- 

 head and the pocket-mouthed sucker and the pupil is well fitted to 

 understand something of the teeming life in the ocean, and the 

 much read sea stories of sharks and whales will have real signifi- 

 cance to him. 



