204 The Nature-Study Idea 

 better to have the formal agriculture come after 

 the student has had chemistry, physics and 

 biology, at least to some extent. This would 

 probably put the formal agriculture in the third 

 or fourth year of the high-school. In the 

 meantime, however, the pupil should have been 

 prepared for all this work by having his mind 

 open to the nature about him. In rural com- 

 munities this nature-teaching will, of course, 

 bring the child into touch with farms, whereas 

 in cities and towns the farming phase of it 

 would naturally be less emphasized. I should 

 not try to force any child to become a farmer, 

 or to follow any other occupation. When he 

 comes to the realm of the high-school, he may 

 of his own desire wish to begin to specialize. 

 I should hope that the early training would 

 be such that more persons would want to 

 specialize in agricultural subjects than has been 

 the case in the past; but the real nature-study 

 teaching is quite independent of this. 



It is undoubtedly a mistake to introduce 

 formal and technical agricultural work into the 



