172 THE ADVENTURES OF A NATURE GUIDE 



mously decided to bring in a tree with an unusual 

 history. All the children went along and its getting 

 filled half a day for them full of thought and action. 



This young pine, when twenty-one years of age, 

 was knocked down by a fire-killed tree falling upon 

 it. The top straightened up and made a loop al- 

 most around the dead tree that rested upon and dis- 

 torted it. We learned the young pine's age from 

 the annual growth rings in the stump, and also 

 how many years it had lived before being injured 

 and how many since. 



Occasionally the children give an exhibition and 

 invite the older people to see it. They plan these 

 exhibitions and gather and arrange materials for 

 them. While a rock exhibition was on we discussed 

 geology, rock formations and transformations, 

 volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion, rock strata and 

 colour. During a flower exhibition we discussed 

 the evolution of plants, pollination, interdepen- 

 dence with insects, and seed distribution. 



Often I am too busy, or there are too many boys 

 and girls, or it seems best to have someone else ac- 

 company a party afield. But to find individuals 

 who will do this without becoming teachy or 

 preachy and deadly to the children is most difficult. 

 Most teachers, some parents, and many others 

 want us to ignore interest and desire and force the 

 children to memorize something which they con- 

 sider worth while. 



One day a well-known school superintendent 



