68 THE STUDY OF ANIMAL LIFE 



will-power alone cannot transport a class, however 

 eager, into the open fields, neither can faith, though 

 it equal that of a grain of mustard seed, bring the 

 woods and hedges outside the school gates. 



Many of our city schools have been dumped 

 down into the heart of slumdom, where even the 

 undaunted Sparrow finds existence a desperately 

 hard fact. Here one might well exclaim, " What 

 has Nature to do with a cheerless spot like this ? " 



But surely if the mountain refuses to come to 

 Mahomet, the meeting can be arranged some 

 other way! Is it not possible to bring something 

 of the open air and country life into the school 

 itself? The task may be laborious, but the 

 harvest is rich. Specimens are not always avail- 

 able, and facts are sometimes lacking; but then 

 comes along the ubiquitous book, and although it 

 must be confessed that the latter is often but a 

 poor substitute for the living article, yet a crumb 

 is better than no bread and books have been 

 known to inspire. Moreover, it serves its purpose 

 well if care has been taken to reproduce actual 

 scenes from the country, such as cannot fail to 

 convey an accurate idea of some of Nature's 

 wonders. 



We may now consider the clothing of animals, 

 and endeavour to realise of what importance the 

 same is to them, both as regards the warmth and 

 covering afforded their bodies, and the colour- 



