284 NATURE STUDY. 



resting agency, a most effective tool of the Creator. 

 A valley is more than "low land between hills or moun- 

 tains," as the geography has defined it; it is a story of 

 action and change and adaptation. 



Dr. Archibald Geikie has said, "The Life of the 

 Earth is the central thought which runs through all 

 that branch of science termed physical geography." 



In geography, as in all nature study, we and our 

 pupils must not merely observe physical features, but we 

 must observe processes and changes, investigate life as 

 well as structure. The greater educational value of the 

 study of life and action, as compared with the study of 

 mere form or structure, has been sufficiently emphasized 

 in preceding chapters. 



We see that nature study and geography are very 

 closely related. During the earlier years of the child's 

 life they are identical ; nature study is geography, phys- 

 ical geography, and the best preparation for political 

 geography. As the child grows older, and the human 

 element enters more largely into his life and school- 

 work, both nature study and history become most help- 

 ful in his geography work : history showing what man 

 has done on the earth ; nature study showing the forces 

 and materials with which he has worked; geography 

 recording the results of the work of man and of the ac- 

 tion of material forces on the surface of the earth. 



Now comes the practical question, " How can nature 

 study be made most helpful in geography ; or, how can 

 the two be most effectively correlated?" 



