THE SCOPE OF NATURE-STUDY 27 



In a study of a landscape, therefore, the teacher and pupil should 

 seek for the dominant influence which organizes it into a great 

 unity. For example, in the area in and about Chicago the center 

 of influence at present is the lake, while one a little more remote 

 and far-reaching is the glacier. Everywhere the country presents 

 the character given to it by the lake, present and past. The sand, 

 the pebbles, the small lakes and pools all testify to its work. But 

 witliin this area are minor features which themselves operate as 

 centers of influence. The trees, for instance, speak of the sand- 

 ridges everywhere ; while the rushes, reeds, flags, sedges, and coarse 

 grasses speak of the more or less submerged lowlands. 



The innumerable colonies of animals and plants which infest 

 these minor centers tell of still further contrasted conditions, which 

 differ from each other in slope or soil or sunshine, but mainly in 

 water supply. The chance excavations in road-making or for build- 

 ings reveal something as to what the conditions have been in the 

 past. The rapidly occurring changes which accompany the settle- 

 ment of the country — the displacement of the fish, the tadpole and 

 frog, the mussel and snail, the heron, rail, snipe, and bittern, by 

 the earthworm, the toad, the snake, and the lark; the substitution 

 of the fine meadow grass for the water lily, the bulrushes, the 

 flags, the cattails, and the sedges — all give a glimpse of what the 

 future may be. To decipher the story of the past, so to interpret 

 the present that we may plan for the future — this is the funda- 

 mental purpose of all field-study. 



II. NATURE-STUDY AND MAN IN THE LANDSCAPE. 



One of the most important lessons of field-study is to show how 

 man by slow and progressive stages avails himself of the various 

 natural features of a given area. The home life, the industries, the 

 transportation of products, the location of towns and cities, are 

 in the immediate control of the natural features. Among these 

 the most important is water supply, and this in turn is closely 

 related to the nature of the rocks. A limestone region usually 

 abounds in springs. The water, filtered and cool, is a prime 

 necessity in the human life. Hence it is that in such a region the 

 location of the home, the fundamental unit of our social and political 

 system, is determined largely by this single physical feature. The 

 pupils can easily canvass the area within reach of observation and 



