14 
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 
direction, and hold him steadily to the essential work of exer¬ 
cising his faculties upon the living objects before him. In every 
fresh collection of plants, new parts and new relations will so¬ 
licit the attention, and will have to be observed, compared, and 
recorded. The names of plants, the parts of which are pictured 
and described in this book, are not given. Many of them are 
mere diagrams or outlines. Their purpose is to enable the pupil 
to form clear ideas of what he is to look for in living plants; 
and they are of no other possible account. The ability to clas¬ 
sify and name the plants of a region is one of the final results of 
this study, and curiosity about their names before their botan¬ 
ical characters are known need not be encouraged. The object 
is, by constant practice and repetition of observations upon a 
great variety of plants, to train the pupil to find out the char¬ 
acters of any that come in his way, and make full and accurate 
descriptions of them. 
An acquaintance with botany on the part of the teacher, 
although desirable, is not indispensable in using these exercises. 
Any teacher or parent who is willing to ta\e the necessary pains 
can conduct the children through them without difficulty ; and 
if they will become fellow-students with them, all the better. 
The child is not to be taught , but is to instruct himself. The 
very essence of the plan is, that he is to mahe his own way , and 
rely on nobody else; it is intended for self-development. Mis¬ 
takes will, of course, be made; but the whole method is self- 
correcting , and the pupil, as he goes forward, will be constantly 
rectifying his past errors. The object is less to get perfect re¬ 
sults at first than to get the pupil's opinion upon the basis of 
his own observations. 
Children can begin to study plants successfully by this 
method at six or seven years of age, or as soon as they can 
write. But close observations should not be required from 
young beginners, nor the exercises be prolonged to weariness. 
The transition from the unconscious and spontaneous observa¬ 
tions of children to conscious observation with a definite pur¬ 
pose should be gradual, beginning and continuing for some 
time with the easiest exercises upon the most simple and obvi¬ 
ous characters. 
