1922] SMITH, WOODCRAFT 187 



passes through the various stages of civiHzation in his progress to man- 

 hood, and that if we can analyze his mental state we can present phases 

 that will interest him most. In his adolescent years, he is readily inter- 

 ested in woodcraft. And what a wealth of learning is packed into that 

 two-syllabled word ! Any natural thing out of doors lies in its prov- 

 ince. It includes all ,of the animal life in field, forest and stream, the 

 wild animals, birds, butterflies and insects, and the fish in the streams. 

 It must concern itself with the rocks, minerals, and geologic phenomena 

 to be thoroughly grounded in the out-of-doors. The outdoor boy must 

 know something about the stars overhead, if he is not to become lost 

 at night in the woods. 



When it comes to plant life, the city boy is usually at a distinct 

 disadvantage when compared to his country cousin. The country is 

 usually too far from the city to permit that intimate contact with the 

 trees and flowers that is so easily made by the boy of tender years in 

 the country. 



There are relatively few trees in any one region to learn. The bulk 

 of the forest in a twenty-five mile circle would be included in twenty 

 species. And yet few city boys know even that many. Wild flowers 

 are much more numerous and vary so greatly with the season, that 

 they might perhaps be pardoned for knowing so few of them. But 

 the adolescent age is the best time to get a foundation in this knowl- 

 edge. 



Woodcraft is even broader than a knowledge of all the species 

 encountered. The usefulness and application of this knowledge is the 

 vital point. A scholar might know every tree in the forest and still be 

 unable to find his way out, or to pick his branches to build a shelter or 

 bed, or to build a fire. He might know every flower by name and yet 

 not know which was poison, and which would feed him and sustain 

 life when he was lost in the woods. 



It will thus be seen that the highly trained specialist is not the one 

 wanted in a boys' camp in the woods, or rather, that if we must impart 

 specialized knowledge, then it will take a multitude of men to teach one 

 boy all the things he could know with profit in his outdoor life. Through 

 the boy interest in nature and the lessons that nature offers, it is an 

 easy step to develop interest in the boy himself. Interest is usually 

 aroused through the introduction of the bizarre features of nature, 

 and study proceeds from the startling to the more matter-of-fact and 

 important lessons to be learned. 



Definite goals are usually set up in nature study or woodcraft. 



