HOW NATURE STUDY SHOULD BE TAUGHT II7 



teacher or pupil, a desire led from the flower at 

 first uppermost in mind, to a greater interest, 

 which is, or should be, to know the whole, " root 

 and all." I fear that many of us make the mis- 

 take of saying in action, if not in words : 



Flower in the crannied wall, 



I pluck you from the crannies. 



Pull to pieces all your parts, in my hand, 



Little flower, but if I could understand 



Pistils, stamens, and pollen, all in all, 



I should know what botany is. 



I can see no better reason, at least in the teach- 

 ing of young children, for administering doses of 

 the biology of sex, and of histology diluted, than 

 for teaching the same things regarding animals. 

 The study of sex, and of basic life-functions, 

 should be postponed till we reach science in the 

 higher grades in the high-school or college. There 

 is enough to see and to study in those grades 

 where the nature study phases of the plant are 

 introduced ; that is, in getting acquainted with 

 the plant as a whole, from seed to maturity. 

 How to know the wild flowers is good ; how to 

 know plants is vastly better. 



Let me now emphasize the second word in my 

 title. Our knowledge and our love of plants are 



