INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY EFFORT 287 



ber of our citizens who nowadays find their recreation in 

 field and forest has naturally led to a desire for information 

 regarding all the forms of wild Ufe that constitute one of 

 the great attractions of our countryside. Advantage should 

 therefore be taken of these favourable circumstances. 



In our schools instruction in natural history is advisedly 

 receiving greater attention. The subject is so fundamental 

 to a proper conception of the world wherein we Uve, and is 

 so valuable as a means of conveying information on biological 

 problems, particularly in relation to health, that it should 

 be given a prominent place in every educational curriculum. 

 If it were given, as it should be given, a place in a child's 

 instruction equal in importance to what are now considered 

 the primary essentials in education, a broader, more himaane, 

 and more sympathetic mental attitude would ensue. What 

 knowledge can be of greater interest and value than a knowl- 

 edge of the world around us and of our fellow creatures? 



At the end of an heroic journey, awaiting death, that 

 most gallant and brave of British explorers. Captain R. F. 

 Scott, in his last letter to his wife, wrote these memorable 

 words regarding the education of his httle son Peter: ''Make 

 the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better 

 than games; they encourage it at some schools. I know you 

 will keep him in the open air." What greater testimony 

 could we have? 



If natural history were taught in all our schools, and chil- 

 dren were thus trained to understand and appreciate the 

 meaning of our wild life, its conservation would be insured. 

 A great responsibility, therefore, rests upon the shoulders 

 of our educational authorities, and we fervently hope that 

 they will not be negUgent in their attention to the needs of 

 the situation. 



One of the most potent organizations that, properly di- 

 rected, may be utilized in our educational propaganda, is 

 the Boy Scouts. The far-sighted organizer of this world- 



