XII 
THE GUIDE TO NATURE 
phy, he admits that he himself is entangled 
in the meshes of too much heaven and be- 
lief in too many gods. He concludes his 
preface with these startling sentences: 
“But is not speculation better than indif- 
ference? Curiosity about the gods may lead 
to a better acquaintance with them. I feel 
that each of these chapters might be called 
an altar to the Unknown God.” 
An antidote to the pernicious teaching of 
this philosophy, and a timely antidote we con- 
sider it, is found where one would perhaps 
least expect to find it, in the annual report of 
the President of Columbia University, issued 
at almost the same time as this book was is- 
sued. President Butler has not sat alone 
on a rock or a stump and communed with 
himself; but he has prepared hundreds of 
youth to live a life of high ideals and effec- 
tiveness. He diagnoses the present world’s 
ills and discontents as lack of the very thing 
that John Burroughs admits in the past built 
a sure foundation for our present civiliza- 
tion. The basis of all our troubles is that 
we have forgotten the past. Each one seems 
to be seeking a heaven of his own inven- 
tion and gods to suit himself. President 
Butler says: 
“The time has come once again to re- 
peat and to expound in thunderous tones 
the noble sermon of St. Paul on Mars Hill, 
and to declare to these modern idolaters 
‘Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship. 
Him declare I unto you.’ There can be no 
cure for the world’s ills and no abatement 
of the world’s discontents until faith and 
the rule of everlasting principle are again 
restored and made supreme in the life of 
men and nations. These millions of man- 
made gods, these myriads of personal idols, 
must be broken up and destroyed, and the 
heart and mind of man brought back to a 
comprehension of the real meaning of faith 
and its place in life. 
“Somewhere in the universe there is that 
in which each individual has firm faith, and 
on which he places steadv reliance. The 
fool who says in his heart ‘There is no God’ 
really means there is no God but himself. 
His supreme egotism, his colossal vanity, 
have placed him at the center of the universe 
which is thereafter to be measured and dealt 
with in terms of h ; s personal satisfactions. 
“Man’s attention and interest have been 
increasingly turned to h’mself, h’s imme- 
diate surroundings, and his instant occupa- 
tion. Having come to feel himself ouite 
superior to all that has gone before, and be- 
ing without fa : th in anything that lies be- 
yond. he has tended to become an extreme 
egotist. The natural result has been to 
measure the universe ; n terms of himself 
and his present satisfactions. His own emo- 
tions and his own appetites, being present 
and immediate, take precedence in the shap- 
ing of conduct and of policv over any body 
of principles built up by the experience of 
others. 
“In a world so constituted and so motived, 
unrest, dissat’sfaction and disorder are a 
necessity. Set free a million or a thousand 
million wills to work each for the accom- 
plishment of its own immediate and mate- 
rial satisfactions, and nothing but unrest, 
dissatisfaction and disorder is possible.” 
Scouting for Girls. Published by The Girl 
Scouts, Inc., New York City. 
What is Scouting for girls, how did it 
originate, and what is the best manner of 
carrying on the work and the play? These 
questions are answered authoritatively in 
this book, which is the result of collabora- 
tion by practical workers in every part of 
the country. The greater part of the man- 
ual is devoted to the general activities of 
girls — organization, social phases, specific 
Scout work, with interesting chapters on 
home duties. 
From a naturalist’s point of view it is 
encouraging to note that two chapters are 
devoted to popular science, one with special 
reference to nature study in general, the 
other to horticulture. The material on gen- 
eral nature study supplied mostly bv well- 
informed officials of the American Museum 
of Natural History is good so far as it goes. 
One can but wish, however, that there was 
more of it and that more of the illustrations 
had been taken from actual activities of Girl 
Scouts rather than from museum groups. 
Aside from these nearly all the nature study 
illustrations are limited to flowers; not one 
shows the girls in nature study activities. 
The profuse illustrations supplied by the 
museum are good in their way, but we hope 
that future editions will have at least a few 
to show how girls studv the things of na- 
ture from nature herself and not from a 
book or a museum. This suggestion does 
not mean that any of the present illustra- 
tions should be omitted, but that a few 
more should be used. We also regret that 
there is no chapter on the starry heavens. 
We are surprised at that, because of the re- 
ouirements that are made along that line 
for Boy Scouts. We also suggest that the 
term “Woodcraft.” which has been ex- 
p’o'ted so extensively by an organization 
for bovs and girls, largely under the direc- 
tion of Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton. should 
give way to some other term. “Woodcraft” 
when applied to boys or girls connotes an 
organization rather than actual work in the 
woods and the other outdoors. 
The Book of New York. Bv Robert Shackle- 
ton. Philadelphia: The Penn Publish- 
ing Company. 
This is not a mere guidebook. It is the 
real story of the great metrooob's written in 
Hood style and with beautiful illustrations. 
Even to one already well acouainted with 
the great city it makes enjoyable reading, as 
it contains many suggestions both histori- 
cal and of present sight-seeing interest. The 
scope of the observations is not linrted to 
New York City but includes interesting ex- 
cursions even as far north as Tarrytown. 
The chapters on Greenwich Village, on the 
Bowerv and on some of the superstitions of 
New York are of especial interest. 
