6 The Nature-Study Idea 



Nature-study, then, is not science. It is not 

 knowledge. It is not facts. It is spirit. It is 

 an attitude of mind. It concerns itself with the 

 child's outlook on the world. 



Nature-study will endure, because it is natural 

 and of universal application. Methods will 

 change and will fall into disrepute; its name 

 will be dropped from courses of study; here and 

 there it will be incased in the schoolmaster's 

 "method" and its life will be smothered; now 

 and then it will be over-exploited; with some 

 persons it will be a fad : but the spirit will live. 



So common is the misconception of the mean- 

 ing and mission of the nature-study movement, 

 that I cannot resist the temptation to bring 

 together in book form a few notes and essays on 

 some of the more salient features of it, even if 

 the resulting book lack somewhat in homogeneity 

 and have some repetitions. These pieces have 

 been written at intervals in the past six years. 

 Most of them were prepared for specific occa- 

 sions, for the purpose of discussing disputed 

 points or of answering challenges; some have 

 been written specially for this collection. Some 



