20 THE NATURE STUDY COURSE. 



B. Inanimate Nature: 



(1) Common objects: sugar, flannel, leather, 



hair, fuel, chairs, houses, etc., etc., etc. 



(2) Direction and distance. 



(3) Winds, clouds, rain, snow, frost. 



(4) Forms of land and water. 



(5) Sun, moon, and star constellations. 



(6) Atmosphere, water, soil, rocks. 



(7) Solution, evaporation, condensation, 



temperature. 



(8) Climate,' weather-records. 



(9) Gravity, capillarity, cohesion, adhesion, 



heat, light, electricity. 



(10) Mechanical powers, machines. 



The Number of Lessons. — How many lessons will it 



take to exhaust the work outlined ? Hundreds? Yes; thou- 

 sands. And some of them, if taught by the investigation 

 method, will engage attention now and again throughout a 

 circuit of the seasons. Is there time in the public schools to 

 exhaust the course 1 No ; indeed attempting to do so will 

 defeat the chief purpose of Nature Study. 



A groom was hired to train a horse by a certain date to 

 trot a mile in a given time. He did not look with conster- 

 nation at the quantity of food placed at his disposal and say : 

 " Shall I have to make the horse eat all that hay and grain by 

 the date mentioned ? " Not at all ; ho had a clear idea of the 

 effect to be produced, and his concern was to make such selec- 

 tion of quantity and quality of food and to serve it under the 

 conditions which would produce the desired results. In like 

 manner, the skilful Nature Study teacher, from the subject 



