24 INTRODUCTION 



memorable words : ' The marks of design are 

 too strong to be gotten over. Design must 

 have had a designer. That designer must 

 have been a person. That person is God.' 



In our days there is much talk about 

 Nature study. Educational authorities are 

 urging the propriety of children being taught 

 to observe and note the facts of natural 

 history as exhibited in the districts where 

 they dwell. I highly approve of both children 

 and adults being encouraged to devote more 

 attention to these facts, but I cannot shut 

 my eyes to two grave dangers which may 

 result from zeal in such work, not tempered 

 with discretion. The first and least of those 

 dangers is the risk that if we set children 

 in every part of Great Britain to collect 

 specimens of animals and plants, without 

 careful direction, many rare species of both 

 will be exterminated. This is a very real 

 peril, and has attracted the attention of 

 scientific societies. The remedy must be 

 sought in thorough instruction as to the 

 sanctity of life, and the superiority of 

 observing over collecting, as a means of 

 acquiring knowledge. 



