soil that has been sterilized than it would be to start anew in 

 fresh soil. Allowing for individual exceptions, I have found it 



not a vital one varies inversely with the age of the children, and 

 that the difficulty in exciting an interest varies directly with 

 the age. 



The problem that confronts us is, how shall we recover that 

 which has been lost ; how shall we reach the ideal, the pervad- 

 ing atmosphere that colors, the idea that permeates the whole life, 

 the nature-study spirit. Now the child of the graded school has 

 many teachers. It is a chance if he ever has one who really un- 

 derstands and fully comprehends just what Bailey means by atmos- 

 phere and attitude and idea and spirit. It is possible that one 

 may be all this and that the school may have the spirit and never 



t this 



3 the 



of the 



■ Schoc 



Ven 



s of itself, 

 held in : 



ind told r 



she regretted the impossibility of having any nature-study in the 

 little rural school where she taught. " The parents are not 

 willing that the time should be given in school," she said, " the 



to buy books. But," she added, " there is a little brook back of 

 the school house, and the children and I stay out there about all 

 the time at recess and noon and we all go early in the morning 

 before school. We have a series of pools, and in them we have 

 several kinds of fish, and in one pool we have some salamanders, 

 and in another turtles, and in another pollywogs. We feed them 

 and keep the pools in order and the children do have such a good 

 time. Then a little house-wren came into the school house and 

 built her nest on the stove-pipe by the chimney, right in the 

 school room. And the children would keep just as still as pos- 



sible so as 

 This dea 



jrb her 



'er again with tears in 



ility ! This illustrates 

 eal significance of the 



