PEEFAOE. 



THE question before each one of us is how to use all our facul- 

 ties to the highest advantage of ourselves and others. This is 

 the great thing to learn, the great thing to teach. If we would 

 be strong in body and mind we must obey nature's laws. If 

 the farmer would succeed, he must work in accordance with the 

 laws that govern the phenomena of vegetable and animal life. 

 The miner and quarry man must recognize the laws of the min- 

 eral world; the machinist and mechanic the laws of mathematics 

 and physics, and the manufacturer the laws of chemistry ; while 

 the work of the artist, poet and musician must conform to and 

 interpret nature; so that from every economic standpoint the 

 study of science is of the widest importance. Nature is the field 

 of observation, the primary source of our ideas. Here we find 

 objects for comparison, material for the exercise of the memory 

 and data for the formation of judgments. The study of nature 

 promotes respect for law, developing honesty, self-reliance and 

 reverence, so that the careful study of nature's laws is of the 

 highest educational value. 



It is the recognition of these truths that has given science a 

 prominent place in every university , college and high school, and 

 their wider appreciation has given rise to the demand for its 

 introduction into the common schools. 



While admitting the great value of scientific training it did 

 not eeem desirable in this case to write a formal text-book, or an 



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