34 NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



In the development of the child's emotional and moral 

 life this relation to his living pet is of even greater impor- 

 tance. Nothing is better fitted to develop patience and 

 conscientious carefulness than the daily attention to its 

 needs. Unselfishness is fostered by this care and by 

 the generous sharing of his good things with his humble 

 friend. 



Play is coming to be recognized more and more as an 

 important factor in life and education. Nothing as fully 

 brings into healthful activity every function and power, 

 so that Froebel truly says : " A man is a whole man only 

 when he plays." Plays of the young are generally pre- 

 paratory to activities of adult life, and pet-plays prepare, 

 as nothing else can, for the most important of all func- 

 tions, the care of the young. The care of the pet involves 

 the same reasoning, the same thinking and feeling and 

 willing and doing, as the care of the child. Finally, love 

 of nature is a thing of slow growth. It begins when 

 the love of a child flows out toward some one specific 

 thing ; it gathers force when something else is loved, 

 and so on until he loves so many things and has come 

 to look so deeply into nature's heart that he feels the 

 love of all nature. This is a result worth years of patient 

 education. 



With these educational values in view, parents would 

 naturally provide for their children pet animals suited to 

 their ages and inclinations so far as possible, and they 

 can steady and assist the child in faithful care and proper 

 treatment. 



For the school, the main point of interest being the rela- 

 tion between the child and pet, we must begin by finding 



