XXX NATURE-STUDY. 



near to infancy and youth. It is not only the kingdom 

 of heaven that must be received by the heart of the little 

 child, but it is also the kingdom of earth. You have tow- 

 ered so long above him in your superior wisdom and ex- 

 perience, that the process of changing and of permitting 

 the child to be superior, is sometimes painful, and some- 

 times excites rebellion. 



The Point of View. 



The authors of "Nature Study Lessons'" have presented 

 the reader with chapters covering a wide range. But are 

 they not right? How can one tell what will appeal to 

 the child, unless one presents to it a large variety. It 

 is after all, not so much what is taken, but how. It is 

 impossible to know everything, but it is possible to know 

 some things so well and in such a spirit, as to lead to a 

 love of every natural object. 



But perhaps some specialist will say that a little of 

 everything means nothing of anything; that the child 

 should be made a specialist in a few things, and from 

 such a point of view, from such an appreciation of what 

 he has learned that he shall be lead, unconsciously to 

 himself, to have an intuitional love and an active desire 

 for a deeper knowledge of other things. 



To my mind the point of preeminent excellence in "Na- 

 ture Study Ivessons" is the evident intention of the book 

 to teach the child to know well, and from the right point 

 of view, a few commonplace things, about which he al- 

 ready has a certain amount of information. This teach- 

 ing is so systematized, so extended and made so virile, 

 that the child must be quickened in thought, and broad- 

 ened in his sympathy and in his affection for all nature. 



