326 NATURE STUDY. 



and earthworm, and certain species of fishes, frogs, 

 turtles, and squirrels, are very widely distributed. 

 Common minerals and rocks are widely scattered, or 

 can be obtained at a slight expense, and preserved for 

 study for years. In the Course of Study, as given in 

 the next chapter, and in the directions and outlines in 

 Part II, those plants, animals, minerals, or rocks arc 

 suggested and emphasized which are most common and 

 most widely distributed. 



While schools in widely separated sections may fol- 

 low the same general plan, the pupils at the seashore 

 should spend much more time on sea-life ; the children 

 in the school in a rocky region should learn much more 

 about rocks and fossils and geology; boys and girls 

 whose home is on a farm may study more carefully the 

 soils and plant food and grains, while their city cousins 

 are giving more attention to building-stones, or elec- 

 tricity, or other departments of physics, or to processes 

 of manufacture, or methods of transportation, all fol- 

 lowing the same general plan, but adapting it to local 

 conditions, local interests, and local needs. The study 

 must not stop, however, with that which is just about 

 them. From that which is near they must be led to 

 that which is farther and broader and higher. 



The schools in the country, in villages, or in small 

 cities have the best environment for nature study ; they 

 are surrounded by, almost immersed in, nature. In the 

 large cities the environment is not so favorable. But 

 teachers in cities will find, as they gain experience, that 

 material is much more abundant and accessible than 



