

TORREYA 



Vol. 55 January-February, 1935 No. 1 



Natural interest in Nature 

 Darwin S. Levine 



We often express concern over the fact that our children 

 are being bred on cobblestones and asphalt pavements and are 

 losing or have lost the "feel" of the "dirt" and grass. In fact 

 many fear that the children, and consequently the adults who 

 have grown up from such childhood backgrounds, can no longer 

 enjoy that interest in nature so pronounced among the mem- 

 bers of the past generations and so vital for the realization of 

 the "full life." Considering this fear, an experience enjoyed by 

 the writer this summer may prove as refreshing to the readers 

 as it did to him. 



The summer was spent in a colony on the shores of one of 

 the most beautiful lakes in the Catskills. Since the season of 

 1926 the children and the older folks who have been permanent 

 summer residents there, have walked the forest paths, climbed 

 over the rocks, trodden relentlessly on whatever plants hap- 

 pened to grow in their paths, gathered and frequently killed 

 salamanders, toads, snakes and other animals, caught snapping 

 turtles and handled them in ways only the uninitiated would do, 

 and in general lived a life of total disregard for the values, 

 beauties and even dangers of the region. The only flowers they 

 knew were the daisy and the buttercup. The only trees they 

 knew were the pine trees — every conifer was, of course, a pine — 

 and the trees with "leaves." Salamanders were lizards. Copper- 

 head snakes were reputed to be in the neighborhood, but so 

 many years had elapsed since one was seen or killed, that they 

 were relegated to the limbo of legend and folk lore. The habits 

 attributed to snapping turtles were merely stories to frighten or 

 charm children, but not to be taken seriously by an adult. In 

 fact all turtles were alike and the designation of "snapping 

 turtle," which was the only specific name ever used, was largely 



