ing oppoitnnity, the lessons are to be selected from plant, animal and 

 inorganic world, not continuing for a very long time with either exclu- 

 sively. Even if it is desired in the course of the school life to present 

 those facts which will illustrate the principles of one of the sciences, 

 say Botany for example, they may better be presented from time to time 

 with intervals spent in the study of other phenomena. It is a mistaken 

 notion that a child, when it begins the study of a certain thing, an ani- 

 mal for example, must see, think, or hear of nothing else till that is 

 exhausted. 



If a wide range of phenomena and facts concerning that part of Na- 

 ture immediately around us is used, there may be built up an excellent 

 back ground in experience, habits of accurate and independent think- 

 ing, and a fund of useful and interesting knowledge, which will serve 

 as a most valuable equipment in any line of work afterward to be taken 

 up. It will also give just that introduction best fitting one to begin the 

 study of one of the formal sciences. 



It has been the more usual custom in Nature Study to select the les- 

 sons from among plants or animals. Among the subjects which follow 

 it will be seen that the inorganic world has been equally drawn upon 

 for material. Experience will soon teach that phenomena from the 

 physical world are as interesting to the majority of children as are those 

 from the world of living things. They, besides, offer some advantages 

 as lessons, in that they can be, in general, more easily isolated and thus 

 put as more simple problems. And further, the knowledge thus gained 

 is of fully as much practical every day use, forming as it does the basis 

 of the explanation of so much of the physical setting of our daily life. 



In making use of plants and animals the most valuable phenomena, 

 both as educational means and as simple knowledge are those pertain- 

 ing to the activity of the organisms, their ways of doing things and the 

 adaptation of each to the conditions of its particular life. These should 

 be the subjects of the lessons rather than simply form, color or classi- 

 fication; not that the latter are to be avoided altogether, but that they 

 should not receive that attention at the sacrifice of what is of 

 much greater value in the work in the stages here provided for. 



In this brief report it is not possible to discuss at length the method 

 to be used in the treatment of these subjects in the schools, nor would 

 it be proper to do so. 



One point, however, may be emphasized, and that is, that if the best 

 results of this work are sought, the lessons should all be planned to 

 make them as far as possible, a series of problems which are to be 

 solved only by clear seeing and accurate thinking on the part of the 

 pupils. This will be defeated to a very large extent if the lessons are to 

 be simply information about things, even when well illustrated by the 

 real objects and experiments. 



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