134 
THE GUIDE TO NATURE 
store garb when the classes gather. For 
hither come people old and young to 
revel in Arcadia for a time, to learn to 
love and know nature. 
That these may find rest and refresh- 
ment, “Little Japan” is a part of 
ArcAdiA. This is a shaded, commo- 
dious, open-air rest platform with seats 
and opportunities for lunching parties, 
a building for shelter in time of storm 
and a chance for young people to dance 
to Edison phonograph music on the 
platform if their teachers allow between 
classes. Little Japan is beautified with 
Japanese decorations. 
The abode of nymphs and the Japa- 
nese cozy corner are a fitting introduc- 
tion to more serious or more ad- 
venturous opportunities. In all you 
may visit a dozen buildings, dedicated 
each to some phase of the work. There 
is the observatory, for instance, con- 
taining a six-inch Clark telescope. 
Through this real astronomical re- 
search may be conducted. Galileo had 
nothing so good. The classes from the 
schools which come to study the stars 
may get a peep through this, but most 
of their work is field work. Often you 
may find them grouped in the field at 
dusk, stretched out on the grass so that 
they may take in the uttermost limits 
of the sky at a glance, while the in- 
structor stands in their midst pointing 
out the glories of the heavens in detail. 
FUN AMONG THE BEES. 
Of a sunny afternoon you may find 
them among the beehives. Perhaps a 
group of kindergarten children, stand- 
ing with faces unprotected by netting 
and bare hands that hold frames 
swarming with bees, while the in- 
structor teaches them to handle the 
winged stingers without harm to them- 
selves or the bees. It is rather note- 
worthy and speaks well of the value of 
the instruction that boys and girls of 
tender years learn thus to handle the 
bees, not only without harm to either 
but seemingly with enjoyment. Astron- 
omy is a serious enough pursuit, bee 
handling is not only sober nature study 
but exciting .adventure as well. 
Dr. Edward F. Bigelow is the head 
of ArcAdiA. The place is his home 
and his unique plan for interesting the 
world in a study of nature. He is at 
once prophet, instructor and guide. 
Schools, private and public, anywhere 
within fifty miles have come to lean 
on him and a visit to his place is a first 
step toward interesting children in the 
serious study of nature which he be- 
lieves to be the foundation of all real 
knowledge. One of the popular build- 
ings at ArcAdiA is the Welcome Re- 
ception Room. Here is a cavernous 
stone fireplace which dispenses warmth 
and cheer. A long reading table, well 
furnished wth instructive and enter- 
taining nature books and projection ap- 
paratus capable of throwing on the 
screen not only the ordinary lantern 
slide pictures, but the secrets revealed 
by high power microscopes of which 
there are several in the laboratory, 
which is another building. 
HEADQUARTERS OF NATURE STUDY. 
In this building Dr. Bigelow not only 
does his research work, but gives first 
aid to injured amateur naturalists who 
have become wrecked on something, 
they don’t know what. Personally con- 
ducted or by mail or express the speci- 
mens come and the doctor cheerfully 
investigates, names or admires and 
notes the rarity, as the case may seem 
to require. Often the details concern- 
ing these things are published in the 
little monthly magazine which item- 
izes the work of the place from month 
to month. This makes ArcAdiA the 
headquarters of information which 
reaches much farther than the personal 
touch can. 
There is much more to ArcAdiA. I 
have touched on only a few of its salient 
points. As an institution it is unique 
and centers about a unique and kindly 
personality, a man who has been him- 
self all his life an enthusiastic nature 
student and is possessed with the idea 
that all the world should follow along 
the same path. Very likely it should; 
at any rate yearly more and more pil- 
grims seeking Arcadia with staff and 
scrip stop off at Sound Beach to learn 
a little about the universe we live in 
and find contentment and ideal rustic 
simplicity blossoming in the midst of a 
hustling and rather materialistic world. 
Kind Words from the Sound Beach 
Correspondent of The Greenwich 
Press. 
ArcAdiA and Dr. Bigelow, both well 
known and well loved by all Sound 
Beach, were splendidly spoken of in the 
Boston Transcript of January 7. 
