CHAPTER III 



WINNING LOVE FOR NATURE STUDY 



" Nature study is never a task, but a tonic. It recreates." 



Dr. C. C. Abbott. 



There often comes to my mind a paradoxical 

 story heard in my boyhood days, of an Irishman 

 (for the Irishman is proverbially and everywhere 

 a wit), who at a country store was endeavoring to 

 secure a proper-sized pair of cowhide boots. 



He maintained that No. lo was the required 

 size, but the storekeeper insisted that No. 14 would 

 be a better fit. It seemed evident that the mer- 

 chant was right, for Pat could not draw on the 

 No. lo's. Still, as he tugged at the straps he 

 declared that 10 was the number, and that his in- 

 ability to get them on was due only to the stiff- 

 ness of the leather. Suddenly his flushed and 

 perspiring face lit up with a mingling of smiles 

 and inspiration. The problem was solved. Yet 

 there was a shade of disgust apparent because 

 his bright idea had not come sooner, to save him 



some hard and futile work. 



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