30 The Nature-Study Exhibition 



the exhibit sent by the West of Scotland Agricultural 

 College. Elementary botany seemed, further, to be gener- 

 ally taught at all the institutions in this group. 



Nature-Knowledge and the Training of Teachers 



A series of ''^experiments in progress^ suitable for a Nature- 

 knmvledge course dealing with plant-life " was shown by the 

 Wye Agricultural College. The apparatus was made from 

 the most ordinary materials, and required no special skill 

 in handicraft. 



As a rule much of the agricultural and horticultural teach- 

 ing illustrated, was applied Nature-knowledge, from which 

 teachers would be able to obtain useful hints, as, for in- 

 stance, from the illustrative collections exhibited by the 

 Biological Laboratory of the Essex County Council, and 

 of which some details are here given. The series included 

 specimens of — 



**(l) Weeds that interfere with crop-development. 



(2) Weeds that consume the crop more or less completely. 



(3) Weeds that interfere with crop-feeding by appropriating food- 



making constituents from the soil. 



(4) Weeds that interfere with crop-feeding by preventing the access 



of light to the young crop. 



(5) Weeds that diminish the cropped area. 



(6) Plants that interfere with the root-breatliing of the crop by pre- 



venting free access of air. 



(7) Weeds that interfere with seed-produce by rendering the seed 



impure. 



(8) Weeds that lessen the nutritive value of the seed-produce of a 



crop. 



(9) Weeds that interfere with seed - produce by imparting to it 



poisonous properties." 



This county council also exhibited a series of prospectuses, 

 pamphlets, and instruction-sheets illustrating the training of 

 teachers, to which its Technical Instruction Committee has 

 pre-eminently devoted itself. 



