164 NATURE STUDY. 



tion he modifies and combines the pictures which come 

 to him through his senses, and thus gains higher, wider 

 views, somewhat as he unites his letters to build words 

 and form sentences. This faculty must be cultivated 

 and directed, not neglected or deadened. 



The practical question is asked, How can we most 

 effectively use and cultivate the imagination in our work 

 in nature study ? Much of what has been said regard- 

 ing the training of memory applies also to the cultiva- 

 tion of the imagination. 



What is imagined or imaged must be based on and 

 related to what is seen or perceived. The teacher who 

 would train her pupils to picture what they have not 

 seen must first lead them to combine into a clear pic- 

 ture what has been seen. They can only really imagine 

 the lion and its habits when they have carefully studied 

 the character and habits of such an animal as the cat. 

 They can gain some idea of the Mississippi Valley 

 through an examination of some brook or river-basin 

 near their home. The pupils cannot imagine the pro- 

 cesses by which sap is carried through the plant until 

 they have seen experiments on capillarity and osmosis. 



On the other hand, if we are to cultivate the imagi- 

 nation we must not stop with what is seen, but must 

 frequently lead from what is perceived to what must be 

 imagined. After studying the hairy seeds which the 

 children can see, such as the dandelion and thistle and 

 milkweed, it is wise to pass to the cotton-seed, with 

 much longer hairs, which they must usually imagine. 

 From the cotton-seed they can be led to picture the 



