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and especially by the educational authorities, on matters 

 relating to the study of natural history, I will instance 

 the " Nature Study " Exhibition, held under the auspices 

 of the Nature Study Exhibition Association, at the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, in July and August last 

 year. An excellent review of the work and objects of the 

 Association is given by Mr. W. Mark Webb, F.L.S., in the 

 " Record of Technical and Secondary Education." A series 

 of conferences was held, and addresses given by the Duke of 

 Devonshire, Lord Avebury, Lord Strathcona, Professors 

 Geddes, Lloj^d Morgan, and Miall, Sir G. Kekewich, Mr. 

 H. Hobhouse, M.P., and others. The movement may be 

 regarded as the outcome of the work of the Agricultural 

 Education Committee, which resulted in the Government's 

 recommendation that " nature knowledge " should be intro- 

 duced into the schools under its control. The adoption by 

 the Science and Art Department of Professor Miall's syllabus 

 for teaching elementary biology in part contributed to this 

 result. 



Opinions were expressed at the conferences that the 

 great value of "nature study" would lie in the direction of 

 developing the faculty of observation in the young ; that it 

 should be regarded more as a means of education than as a 

 subject for study, specialisation in the collection of natural 

 history objects not being advocated. The following remark 

 of Sir G. Kekewich at the conference was much to the point : 

 — "The study of nature is the essence of all true education, 

 and it is somewhat remarkable, and not perhaps creditable 

 to our common sense, that we should have failed to fully 

 realise it until the twentieth century." 



Again, Professor Lloyd Morgan says that " nature study 

 must be represented as not only the stepping-stone to science, 

 but as a means of literary and artistic culture." 



In treating of the scope of the work of the Association 

 Mr. Webb referred to the possible difficulties of the scheme 

 as to the question of obtaining teachers, the cost of field 

 excursions to the scholars, the time occupied in the subject, 

 and lastly, the danger of extermination of our fauna and 

 flora by indiscriminate collecting. He does not, however, 

 regard the objections as serious. As aids to " nature study " 

 the following are advocated : — the making of nature diaries 

 and notes, collecting, school excursions, and the formation 

 of natural history societies and museums. In this direction 

 it will be noted that good work has been done by Mr. W. J. 



