INTRODUCTION. xiii 



resolved to try what might be done in teaching botany to 

 the country children of the village school. His experi- 

 ments were most interesting, and their results, which are 

 of great value in education, were made public by Dr. J. D. 

 Hooker, Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens at Kew, 

 in evidence that he gave upon the subject before a parlia- 

 mentary commission. 



The following passages from his testimony will give an 

 idea of Prof. Henslow's method : 



Question. Have you ever turned your attention to the 

 teaching of botany to boys in classes at school ? 



Answer. I have thought it might be done very easily. 

 My ideas are drawn from the experience of my father-in- 

 law, the late Prof. Henslow. He introduced the study of 

 plants into the village school of his parish. His system 

 was entirely voluntary. He enrolled the children in a 

 class, and left them to collect plants for themselves ; but 

 he visited his parish daily, when the children used to come 

 up and bring the plants they had collected, so that the 

 lessons went on all the week round. 



Q. Do you know in what way he taught it ? Did he 

 illustrate it ? 



A. Invariably; he made it practical. He made it an 

 objective study. The children were taught to know the 

 plants, and to pull them to pieces ; to give their proper 

 names to the parts; to indicate the relations of the parts 

 to one another ; and to find out the relation of one plant 

 to another by the knowledge thus obtained. They learned 

 it readily and voluntarily, and were extremely interested 

 in it and fond of it. 



Q. Do you happen to know whether Prof. Henslow 

 thought that the study of botany developed the faculties 

 of the mind that it taught these children to think ? And 

 do you know whether he perceived any improvement in 

 their mental faculties from that ? 



A. Yes ; he used to think it was the most important 



