2 THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



creature being what it is, where it is, as it is ; in short, what have 

 been the factors in its evolution. 



Now, it need hardly be said that these questions cannot be 

 answered to children, though, as a matter of fact, children are 

 continually asking them ! They are the fundamental questions of 

 the science of biology, which is not for children. But it is the 

 teacher's business to have clearly in his mind what the funda- 

 mental questions are, to make himself acquainted so far as may 

 be with the partial answers that are at present possible, and to 

 understand the method of arriving at these. He will then be able 

 to encourage his pupils to put these questions, and, while recognising 

 the impossibility of answering them fully, to guide them to find 

 out provisional answers for themselves, answers which, though 

 they may not go far, must yet be true as far as they go. This 

 is the only and true method of instruction in Nature Study. 



The aim of this introductory chapter is to try to expound 

 certain general themes which must form part of the intellectual 

 background of successful nature study in the field of animal life. 

 If the teacher is not going to fumble with what he touches he 

 must have his mind in order. Nature study is an intelligent 

 outlook on the whole natural world around us, especially as 

 regards its everyday happenings throughout the year, and part 

 of the confessed difficulty about it is that it means having the 

 mind in order in regard to many different sets of facts. 



As regards animal life, the teacher should in particular think 

 over the following general themes, to each of which we have 

 devoted a section in this introductory chapter : 



1. The characteristics of living creatures. 



2. The everyday activities of animals. 



3. The behaviour of animals. 



4. The periods of life. 



5. The resemblances and differences between plants and 



animals. 



6. Inter-relations. 



SECTION I. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING CREATURES. 

 Everyone feels that plants and animals are very different from 

 things which are not living, but no one is wise enough to tell what 



