374 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



scenery; in fact, as a rule, the scenery only adds to their charm. 

 I believe that this relation is now generally recognized among all 

 who have given thought to this subject. At present the practical 

 problem is how to devise means of bringing together wild life 

 and the public under the most favorable conditions. The follow- 

 ing are the most prominent methods which have been suggested and 

 used, but the truth is that none of them has been thoroughly 

 tested out in more than a few features. 



Guide Books and Other Publications. — Our National Parks 

 have been particularly fortunate in the character of their chief 

 champions who have given us a series of books of remarkable value. 

 The writings of John Muir are a permanent contribution to our 

 literature, and will speak of the value of wild nature through the 

 ages to many coming generations. The published guide book, 

 as a method of presenting nature and wild life to park visitors, is 

 a means deserving of much study and worthy of generous support. 

 In spite of this being a well-known method its application to our 

 parks has not made much progress ; only a few experiments along 

 this line have been tried out, and generally these have been limited 

 to catalogues and lists with a few notes, descriptions, and observa- 

 tions on animal habits. This method has long been out of date with 

 modern teachers of outdoor biology in our best colleges, where 

 plant and animal ecology is taught. These lists of animals have 

 their place and a certain value, but they should be held in the back- 

 ground, as it is now clearly recognized that this is not the most 

 successful method. 



It is a great mistake to assume that there is only one kind 

 of popular guide. There are many avenues of approach which have 

 not yet been explored and experimentally studied. These include 

 the aesthetic approach, that of the amateur naturalist, the student 

 of nature-study, that of teachers and leaders of youth of all kinds, 

 and finally that of the very superficial park visitor, who must also 

 be approached from various angles. Xot only should the literarv 

 style vary with the method, but type, half-tones, maps and colored 

 plates must all be enlisted in a program to entertain and enlighten 

 the visiting public. 



One of the most attractive guides published on an American 

 park is that by Safiford : Xotural History of Paradise Key and 

 the Near-by Everglades of Florida ('19). The illustrations, half- 

 tones, maps and colored plates of this guide are a model in many 

 respects. Another recent and very attractive guide book assembled 

 by Hall ('21) for the Yosemite National Park, is evidently modeled 



