On the Study of Nature. 35 



eye or a temporary excitation of tlie mind, and take cognizance 

 of nothing but what is excited by striking contrast or the sudden 

 stimulus of grand and sublime scenes. If the mind be not edu- 

 cated to receive the delicate impressions of nature, it has no hold, 

 and only remembers enough to shed a ray of delight upon the 

 imagination. In order to realize truly her beauties and harmony, 

 we must ensure our acquaintance with her objects in detail, with 

 the laws that govern them and the phenomena they exhibit ; and 

 what is essentially necessary to this end, is the education of the 

 youthful mind, by which we mean, its thorough training in the 

 exercise of minute observation, systematic comparison, and correct 

 generalization. Nor can this be better and more easily effected than 

 through the study of one or more of the Natural History Sciences 

 themselves, for which the requirements are few and simple. An 

 ardent desire to attain not a mere sprinkling of knowledge, but a 

 thorough and intimate acquaintance with the characters and fea- 

 tures of the objects of nature, the phenomena they exhibit, the 

 relations they bear to each other, and the laws which govern them 

 individually and collectively — this, coupled with an honest spirit 

 of caution and a resolute determination to persevere, constitutes 

 what might be called the elements for entering upon the study of 

 Science. It is no severe and arduous task for the diligent student 

 to pursue a successful course of study, and it is within the range 

 of every one possessing ordinary capabilities. We observed that 

 it is during the period of youth, that is, when the mind is expand- 

 ing and the intelligence growing, when the buds of intellect are 

 flowering into luxuriant forms and shapes — it is at this time that 

 the mind should be infused with a relish and taste for scientific 

 pursuits, and the foundation laid of that framework, which, when 

 ultimately viewed, will faithfully represent the elements of the 

 structure of an accomplished Naturalist. There is an elasticity of 

 the mind in youth that makes.it easily susceptible to impressions, 

 and admits of its being moulded into tastes eminently scientific. 

 There is a vigour and energy, too, that surmounts all the little 

 difiiculties and drawbacks incident to the study. But why thus, 

 it may be asked, spend the powers and energies of youth, which 

 should be directed solely to the study of those branches of educa- 

 tion that more materially afi'ect individual interests and welfare in 

 after life ? Why this perversion of the mind, as some call it ? 

 It would be almost unnecessary to reply to this question, were it 

 not very frequently put forward in the form of a serious objection. 



