EDITOR'S PREFACE 



There exists at present a fair consensus of opinion as 

 to the significance and limitations of nature study. As 

 a result of this agreement pedagogical values are being 

 rapidly worked out, and the subject has passed from 

 the experimental stage into an assured and important 

 position in the schools. While it is now generally rec- 

 ognized that the materials used in nature study not only 

 may, but should, vary widely, since the conditions sur- 

 rounding schools in different localities are variant, the 

 fact remains true that in the main a large part of this 

 material will be drawn from plant and animal life. 



Because of the more definite and clear-cut concep- 

 tions of the function of nature study in our educational 

 system there has arisen a demand for a literature of the 

 subject differing somewhat widely from that of former 

 years, — a literature which shall treat concisely, yet 

 clearly and comprehensively, the methods which un- 

 derlie the successful use of certain specific materials, 

 and which will at the same time serve to suggest meth- 

 ods of organizing other material. This hand-book is an 

 attempt to meet one of these imperative demands. 



The attempt upon the part of teachers in charge of 

 nature-study work to grow plants in the school-room is 

 almost universal, and the failure to secure satisfactory 

 results is almost equally universal. Such work is not 

 merely attractive, it is highly educative, and Window 



