134 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Fcbruarry  18,  19C4. 
Nature-Study  in  Schools. 
an  authoritative  board  speaking  with  one  voice  for  the 
gardeners  of  the  nation. 
Through  the  mind’s  eye  we  see  twice  a  score  of  little 
garden  patches  in  the  counties  of  this  land,  each  with  a 
superintendent  engrossed  in  his  own  line  of  investigation, 
and  much  of  what  these  county  instructors  undertake  is  work 
of  scientific  value,  but  is  largely  lost  for  want  of  a  central 
channel  to  make  it  knowm.  A  Scientific  Committee  already 
exists  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  to  advise  its 
Fellows  in  matters  wdiere  science  alone  can  help.  It  is  but 
a  dream,  yet  the  day  may  dawn  Avhen  delegates  shall  come 
to  London  from  Cornwall  and  Cromarty  to  discuss  problems 
in  scientific  horticulture. 
In  the  United  States,  Avhere  the  people  are  practical  but 
not  poetical,  an  association  for  the  advancement  of  horticul- 
science  has  already  been  established.  The  member- 
ship  is  composed  of  the  horticulturists  of  the  experiment 
stations  throughout  the  Union,  and  this  association  holds 
meetings  in  connection  Avith  those  of  some  kindred  society. 
The  one  prime  object  is  to  more  fully  establish  horticulture 
on  a  scientific  basis  ;  and  from  the  recent  programme  of  the 
first  annual  convention,  the  members  have  demonstrated 
that  matters  for  useful  investigation  are  more  numerous 
than  are  men  for  the  Avork. 
The  council  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  have  not, 
so  far  as  Ave  are  aware,  solicited  a  monetary  grant  from  the 
lioard  of  Agriculture.  If  the  Board  of  Agriculture  cau 
grant  sums  of  £l,000  to  AAdiat  are  practically  private  agricul¬ 
tural  colleges,  in  return  for  making  trials  Avhich  may  be 
siiggested  by  the  Board,  surely  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society,  as  the  largest  horticultural  association  in  Great 
Britain,  has  an  excellent  right  to  a  portion  of  the  State 
money.  The  sum  of  £  1,000  (or  less)  for  one  year  Avould 
equip  the  necessary  laboratory  and  office,  and  the  work 
could  be  started  at  once.  What  the  nature  of  the  Avork 
might  be  would  entirely  depend  upon  resources  and  the 
number  of  assistants  the  director  might  have.  Whatever 
Avas  undertaken  Avould  have  for  its  aim  the  ameliorating  of 
the  gardeners’  calling,  and  the  lessening  of  losses  so 
numerous  in  gardening.  The  meteorological  statistics  kept 
at  Chiswick  for  forty  years  and  more  could  be  summarised, 
and  thus  add  a  quota  to  the  building  up  of  a  science  of 
meteorology.  That  the  Avork  is  not  insuperable  we  have 
evidence  in  Avhat  Mr  .Challis  is  noAv  engaged  on  at  Wilton — 
the  deducing  of  principles  from  records  kept  by  him  for 
forty-two  years. 
But  greater  work  than  this  Avould  lie  in  other  directions  : 
as  experimenting  with  plants  to  obtain  disease  resisters,  on 
similar  lines  to  the  Avork  of  Professor  Marshall  Ward  and 
his  assistants  at  Cambridge  and  elsewhere  ;  the  testing  of 
manures  and  insecticides  on  crops,  and  furnishing  official 
reports  on  them  ;  the  further  investigation  of  the  Mendelian 
laAv  in  heredity,  to  the  end  that  useable,  reliable  principles 
be  adduced  ;  and  generally  to  keep  in  touch  Avith  discoveries 
abroad  or  suggestions  at  home,  and  to  prove  the  one  and  try 
the  other  ere  stating  their  practical  A'alue  to  the  gardeners 
of  our  land. 
■ - - - »  I - - 
Specialisation  of  Parasitism. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Linnsean  Society  held  recently 
Mr.  E.  S.  Salmon  read  a  paper  entitled,  “  Further  Researches 
on  the  Specialisation  of  Parasitism  in  the  Erysiphacese,”  and  this 
was  illustrated  by  diagrams  throAAii  on  a  screen.  Mr.  Salmon 
iiad  adopted  a  novel  and  ingenions  method  of  illu.strating  his 
somewhat  complicated  series  of  experiments  and  results.  What 
he  had  done  Avas  to  sow  the  spores  of  Erysiphe  arundinacea  on 
the  leaves  of  a  number  of  species  of  Bromus,  and  had  recorded 
the  results.  It  Avas  shown  that  some  species  Avere  immuney 
others  Avere  resi.stive  to  a  large  extent ;  while  a  certain  number 
were  .infected  cA-ery  time.  In  some  ca.ses  a  resistive  Bromus 
became  a  prey  to  a  small  extent  to  spores  that  had  previously 
affected  a  neighbouring  species.  These  Avere  termed  breeding 
species  of  Bromus.  It  is  thought  that  resistive  race.s  might  be 
reared  from  data  obtained  through  such  experiments.  An  in¬ 
teresting  feature  AA’as  referred  to,  Avhere  the  larvae  of  a  dipterous 
insect  of  the  Hessian  fly  genus  had  been  found  feeding  on  the 
mycelium  of  the  ErA'siphe,  and  Prof.  Mar.shall  Ward,  Avho  spoke 
on  the  paper,  suggested  that  the  fly  of  this  species  might  po.s- 
sibly  puncture  the  Bromus  foliage,  and  thereby  make  an  opening 
for  infection,  which  might  not  otherAvise  occur. 
Now  that  a  return  to  more  rational  methods  in  education* 
has  become  possible  in  elementary  schools,  the  Board  of 
Education  is  very  Avisely  encouraging  the  study  of  Nature 
in  such  schools.  From  the  report  of  the  very  successful  con¬ 
ference  recently  held  at  Beverley  it  seems  that  the  difficulty 
at  present  is  knowinp'  how  to  set  about  the  Avork  in  the  most 
satisfactory  Avay.  Probably  had  time  alloAved,  valuable 
suggestions  would  have  come  from  some  of  the  teachers 
present,  many  of  Avhom  doubtless  Kafe  long  done  much 
work  on  the  lines  suggested  by,  some  of  the  speakers. 
This  article  embodies  the  vieAvs  of  one  Avho  has  taught 
— or  rather  along  Avith  his  pupils  has  studied — Nature  for ; 
many  years.  By  the  Avay.  Nature-Study  is  not  a  subject, 
to  be  taught  as  most  other  branches  of  learning  are. 
Methods  may  be  indicated,  but  in  the  studv  “  the  patient 
must  minister  to  himself,”  and  herein  lies  its  great  value 
in  the  school  curriculum.  I  take  it  that  the  great  object 
of  Nature-Study  in  schools  is  the  inculcation  of  a  love  of 
Nature  and  country  life.  If  this  be  not  attained,  valuable 
as  the  mental  training  it  affords  may  be,  the  chief  end  is 
lost.  This  being  so,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
the  subject  be  so  presented  to  the  children  in  a  manner 
to  attract  and  not  repel,  as  in  the  old  days  so  many  school 
subjects  did.  Granted  a  real  love  for  Nature,  keenness  and 
accuracy  of  obserAation  are  easily  instilled  in  the  minds  of 
the  young. 
Many  speakers  at  BeA^erley  seemed  to  put  Ainclue  stress 
on  the  alleged  fact  that  we  are  losing  our  powers  as  an 
observing  people.  It  is  a  great  question  whether  this  is 
really  so,  or  whether  our  powers  are  not  in  sympathy  with 
the  tendency  of  the  age,  simply  becoming  specialised  ;  for 
it  is  a  trite  saying  that  one  sees  only  Avhat  one  has  been 
trained— by  some  method  or  other — to  see.  Professor  Miall 
instanced  the  case  of  so  feAv  persons  having  observed  the 
number  and  colour  of  the  funnels  of  an  Atlantic  liner ;  a- 
matter  of  no  moment.  Had  he  examined  the  small  boy  on 
the  details  of  the  engines,  or  my  lady  on  the  details  of  her 
fellow-passengers’  raiment,  how  different  the  results  Avould 
have  been.  Keen.  hoAvever,  as  the  observing  powers  of 
childhood  undoubtedly  are  in  some  directions,  the  child,  as 
all  teachers  know,  rarely  distinguishes  between  what  is 
essential  and  Avhat  is  accidental  and  unimportant.  Nature- 
Study  is  eminently  useful  in  correcting  this  failing. 
Noav  Nature-Study,  to  be  of  any  value,  must  be  the 
study  of  Nature  and  not  the  study  of  books  of  natural 
history  with  Avhich  the  market  at  present  is  being  flooded. 
Neither  must  it  degenerate  into  a  series  of  scientific  object- 
lessons.  We  have  long  had  excellent  science  teaching 
which  has  served  its  purpose  in  mental  training,  though  not 
always  begetting  the  love  it  should  haA^e  done.  How  many 
young  ladies  hav-e  been  “taught  ”  botany  in  times  past  one 
hardly  likes  to  estimate  when  one  thinks  how  rare  it  is  'to 
find  a  lady  Avho  has  thereby  become  a  real  lover  of  Nature. 
Indeed,  the  formidable  nomenclature  and  dry  detail  has 
often  had  the  opposite  effect.  As  in  the  teaching  of 
languages  so  in  botany,  the  “  grammar  ”  has  been  taught 
before  the  inipil  had  any  material  needing  use  of  grammar.  It 
is  a  natural  law  of  development  that  practice  must  come 
before  theory,  and  empiricism  before  scientific  method. 
In  endeavouring  to  inculcate  a  love  of  Nature  the 
teacher  should  work  on  the  boy’s  two  innate  instincts — the 
love  of  sport  and  the  passion  "to  see  wheelsh.  go  Avound,’'^. 
Buckland,  a  type  of  character  which  teachers  should  ever 
have  in  mind,  traced  his  nowers  as  a  naturalist  largely  to- 
being  appointed  rat-catcher  at  Winchester,  and  many  other 
students  of  Nature  date  their  infatuation  for  her  from  their 
bird-nesting  days.  Only  in  days — let  us  hope  gone  for  ever 
— the  instincts  were  not  turned  into  the  right  channels,  so 
that  the  typical  Englishman  remarks,  “  Something  alive, 
kill  it!”  instinctively,  instead  of  “Something  alive,  let  us 
see  how  it  Avorks.” 
With  regard  to  i^lants,  it  is  certain  that  the  ordinary 
country  child  has  no  idea  they  do  “  Avork  ”  at  all.  Once 
get  him  interested  in  “the  wheels”  and  his  curiosity  in 
the  marvellous  adaptations  found  in  plant  life  is  insatiable. 
I  would  therefore  say  let  him  see  and  study  the  plant  as.; 
a  whole,  acting,  living  member  of  the  vegetable  world,  if' 
possible  growing  amongst  its  usual  associations'.  Lead  him 
to~see  why  this  has  entire,  that  cut-up 'leaves  ’;  this  "gayj ' 
that  inconspicuous  flowers  ;  this  a  climbing,'  that  a  prostrate- 
