S.A. NAT., VOL. XV. 
Sept. 2Qtil, 1934. By C. Fenner , D.Sc. 103 
Not only so, but the beach and the sand-dunes and the 
cliffs are wonderlands where the waves throw up ever-new 
samples of their wonders of shell and sponge and seaweed. We 
may not all care to collect these treasures, but we can at least 
notice them, admire the curve or colour of a shell, the delicate 
structure of a sea-weed or sponge, arid the beauty of the pebbles 
or the sand-ripples. 
Nor should those who live in the dry lands, far outback, 
be envious of their cousins at the seaside. * There is a land of 
wonder in the mulga and the saltbush. An Australian poet tells 
us that on those distant plains they 
“See the vision splendid 
Of the sunlit plains extended, 
And at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars.” 
The desert lands hold strange treasure of bird and beast 
and insect and lustrous skies. Everyone, both young and old, 
who lives there is very close to nature in his everyday life. 
Many may have learned facts of natural history that are still 
unknown to the learned men who spend their lives studying 
these things. And it is their own watchful alert eyes and ears, 
their own tireless feet and hands, that have enabled them to 
learn it. They have read a little in the infinite book of Nature, 
and Nature herself has been the teacher. 
But Nature is not only a book to read. She is not only a 
teacher to instruct. Nature is also a companion. She is one of 
the best of companions, for she asks nothing of you except your 
interest, she demands nothing of you when you are tired; she 
is ever ready to interest you when you feel so inclined; her com¬ 
panionship becomes more and more pleasant as the years go bv: 
“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her, 
Mis her privilege through all the changing years of 
this our life, 
To lead from joy to joy.” 
We hear men speak of the Beauty and the Unity of Nature. 
Let us think for a few moments of these aspects of the world 
around us. It is easy, but not always easy, to understand the 
beauty of Nature. We know of the beauty of trees, and birds, 
and flowers, of skies and clouds and sunsets, of the restful 
beauty of the landscape, whether a mountain valley, or a wide 
Mallee plain, or a sunny sea. 
