H  ^1 


THE 

NATURE-STUDY 
REVIEW 

Vol.  I,  No.  I  January,  1905 


DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 


CONTENTS 


[ntroduclion 


Nature-Study  and  Natural  Science — A  Symposium 2 

H.  W.  Fairbanks,  C.  F.  Hodge,  T.  TI.  Macuride,  F.  L.  Sievens, 

M.   A.    BiGELOW. 

Physical   Nature- Study.     John  F.  Woodhuli 18 

Nature-Study  and  Elementary  Agriculture  in  Canada.     \V.   11.  Mli.drew  ....  20 

Some  Recent    Criticisms  of    Nature-Study.     F.   M.  McMurrv   ani>    H.   F.  Arm- 
strong   22 

Agriculture  in   Southern    Schools.     C.  W.   Burketi 27 

School-Gardens.     H.   I).   IIemenway 28 

Ant-Nests   for  the  Schoolroom.     Adele  M.   Fielde 37 

Book  Reviews  and  Notes  on  Recent  Literature 40 

Guide  to  Periodical    Literature.     Ada  Watterson 45 

Questions   and    Answers 47 

Discussions  and  Correspondence 48 

News  Notes 48 


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EDITORIAL  COMMITTEE 

L.  H.  Bailey,  Dean  of  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
H.  W.  Fairbanks,  Geologist  and  Author  of  Text-books  of  Geography, 

Berkeley,  Cal. 
C.  F.  Hodge,  Professor  of  Biology,  Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass. 
J.  F.  WooDHULL,  Professor  of  Physical  Science,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  New  York  City. 
M.  A.  BiGELOW,  Adjunct  Professor  of  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  Managitig  Editor. 

ADVISERS  AND    COLLABORATORS 

FROM    GREAT    BRITAIN 

MiALL,  Professor  of  Biology,  Yorkshire  College. 

Thomson,  Professor  of  Natural  History,  University  of  Aberdeen. 

FROM  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 

Andrews,  Professor  of  Biology,  Johns   Hopkins  University,  Baltimore. 

Bardwell,  District  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City. 

Bessey,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Nebraska,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

BiGELOW,  Departmental  Editor  of  St.  Nicholas  and  Lecturer, 

Stamford,  Conn. 

BoYDEN,  Vice- Principal  of  Bridgewater  (Mass.)  Normal  School. 

Branson,  Principal  of  State  Normal  School,  Athens,  Ga. 
Bertha  M.  Brown, Department  of  Biology,  Hyannis  (Mass.)  Normal  School. 
C.  \V.  Burkett,  Professor  in  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture, 

W.  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

(  Continued  on  the  third  cover  page.  ) 


L. 

C. 

J- 

A. 

E. 

A 

D. 

L 

C. 

E. 

E. 

F. 

A. 

C. 

E. 

C. 

THE    KATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 


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Nature-Study  Publications 


^*  FIRST  YEAR 

Welsh's  Some  of  Our  Friends,  30c,  40c  * 
Davis'  Nature  Stories  for   Youngest    Readers, 

30c,  40c 
Chase's    Plant  Babies  and  Their  Cradles, 

30c.  40c 
Welsh's   Out    Doors,     Animal  Land  Series, 

30c,  40c 
Kelly's  Introduction  to  Leaves  From  Nature's 

Story  Book,  30c,  40c 

SECOND  YEAR 

Chase's  Buds,  Stems  and  Roots,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Some  of  Our  Flower  Friends,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Friends  of  the  Fields,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Stories  from  Birdland.    Vol.  L    300,400 

THIRD  YEAR 

Fairbanks'  Home  Geography.     60c 

Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story-Book. 

Vol.  I.    40c,  60c 
Stories  from  Garden  and  Field,  30c,  40c 
Legends  of  the  Springtime.    3-4.    30c.  40c 
Chase's  Stories  from  Birdland.  Vol.  H.  300,400 

FOURTH  YEAR 

Kelly's  Leaves  From  Nature's  Story  Book. 

Vol.  II.    40c,  60c 
Poyntz's  Aunt  May's  Bird  Talks,  500 
Pratt's  Little    Flower    Folks.    Vol.  I.     Stories 

from  Flowerland,  300,  400 
Chase's  Stories  from  Animal  Land,  50c.  750 
Greenleaf's  Stories  and  Tales  from  the  Animal 

World,  500 
Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland,  75c 


FIFTH  YEAR 

Kelly's  Leaves  From  Nature's  Story  Book. 

Vol.  III.     400,60c 
Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland,  75c 
Pratt's  Little  Flower  Folks  ;  or    Stories    Prom 

Flowerland.    Vol.  II.    300,  40c 
Pratt's  Storyland  of  S:ars,  400,  500 

SIXTH  YEAR 

M.  and  E.  Kirby's  Stories    About   Birds, 

$1.00 
D'Anvers'  Science  Ladders.     Vol.  II.     40c 
Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland 
Chandler's  Habits  of  California  Plants,  60c 

SEVENTH  YEAR 

D'Anvers'  Science  Ladders.     Vol.  III.     40c 

Flagg's  A  Year  With  the  Birds,  $1.00 

Knox's    Horse    Stories    and    Stories    of   Other 

Animals.  $2.50 
Pratt's  Fairyland  of  Flowers,  $1.00,  $1.25 

EIGHTH  YEAR 

Giberne's  Ocean  of  Air,  $1.25 

Fairbanks'  Stories  of  Rocks  and  Minerals, 
60c 

Flagg's  A  Year  Among  the  Trees,  gi.oo 

Wood-Allen's  Man  ^Vonderful  ;  or    The    Mar- 
vels of  Our  Bodily  Dwelling,  $1.00 

White's  Natural  History  of  Selborne,  25c 


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BURKETT,  STEVENS,  and   HILL'S 

Agriculture  for  Beginners. 

COMSTOCK'S 

Ways  of  the  Six-Footed. 

ROTH'S 

First  Book  of  Forestry. 

ATKINSON'S 

First  Studies  of  Plant  Life. 

GOULD'S 

Mother  Nature's  Children. 

STRONG'S 

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HODGE'S    NATURE   STUDY   AND    LIFE 

From  the  "  Outlook." 

"This  is  a  charming  book  full  of  a  varied  interest  in  the  plants,  insects,  birds 
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LONG'S  WOOD  FOLK  SERIES 

Ways  of  Wood  Folk. 
Wilderness  Ways. 
Secrets  of  the  Woods. 
Wood  Folk  at  School. 

EDDY'S 

Friends  and   Helpers. 

ANDREWS' 

Stories  of  My  Four  Friends. 
Stories    Mother    Nature    Told  her  Child- 
ren. 

PORTER'S 

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EDITORIAL  COMMITTEE 

LIBERTY    H.   BAILEY,  Agriculture  CLINTON    F.   HODGE,  Biology 

CORNELL    UNIVERSITY  CLARK    UNIVERSITY 

HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS,   Geography      JOHN  F.  WOODHULL,  Physical  Science 

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Index  to  Volume  I. 

[  Names  of  contributors  are  printed  in  small  capitals.     Abbreviated  titles  of  books  reviewed  are 
in  quotation  marks.     The  abbreviation  n.-s.  for  nature-study  is  used.] 


Agriculture,  Elementary,  in  Canada, 
20  ;  in  South,  C.  W.  Burkett,  2"]  ; 
Practical    Studies,    135 

Agriculture  and  n.-s.,  141,  143,  148, 
171,    231 

Aims  of  n.-s.,  49 

Ants,    Nests    for,    37 ;    Life    of,    239, 

A.     M.    FlELDE 

Armstrong,  H.  E.,  Criticisms  of  n.-s., 
26 

Bacteria  in  soil,   134 

Bailey,  L.  H,,  Value  of  names,  200  ; 
"  Outlook  to  Nature,"  T.  H.  Mac- 
bride,  2^7 

Bee-Hive,  A.  B.  Comstock,  109;  E. 
F.  BiGELOW,  202 

Bees,    172,    235 

BiGELOw,  A,  N.,  Weed's  "  Bird  Life 
Stories,"  86 

BiGELOW,  E.  F.,  Plants  without  soil, 
69;  "Nature  Study,"  F.  L. 
Charles,  83  ;  Value  of  names,  198; 
Bee-hive,    202 

BiGELOw,  M.  A.,  Editorial  Introduc- 
tion, I,  3;  n.-s.  and  Science,  14; 
Comstock's  "  Butterflies,"  41  ; 
Hornaday's  "  Natural  History,"  49  ; 
Value  and  aims  of  n.-s.,  54 ;  n.-s. 
in  high  schools,  yj ;  Root's  "  Bee 
Culture,"  130;  Carter's  Nature- 
Study,  131;  Protective  colors,  159; 
Temperance  Physiology,  261  ; 
Plants  that  hide,  262 ;  Goodrich's 
"  Book  of  Farming,"  270 ;  Dear- 
ness'  "n.-s.  Course,"  271;  "Cor- 
nell Leaflets,"  271  ;  "  California 
School  Gardens,"   272 

Birds,  Life  Stories,  86  ;  Pamphlets  on, 
43,  134;  Classification,  140,  Appeal 
for,  221  ;  Enemies,  2Ty 

Broadhurst,  J.,  Overton's  "  Nature 
Study,"  229 

Brown,  M.  T.,  Making  a  School 
Lawn,    120 

Burkett,  C.  W.,  Agriculture  in 
Southern  Schools,  2"] 

Burroughs  on  Protective  Colors,  M. 
A.  Bigelow,  159 


Butterflies,  and  Birds,  209,  276 ;  at 
resi,  275 

Canada,  n.-s.  in,  20 

Carse,  E.,  Carter's  "  Animal  Stories," 

81 
Carter,   M.   H.,  "  Animal   Stories,"   E. 

Carse,    81  ;     "  n.-s.    with    Common 

Things,"   131  ;  Facts  Discovered  by 

Children,    266 
Charles,    F,    L.,    Bigelow's    "  Nature 

Study,"  83 
Children,  as  Discoverers,   163,  266 
Clute,   W.   N,,   Butterflies   and  birds, 

2^6 

CocKERELL,  T.  D.  A.,  Facts  discov- 
ered by  children,  163  ;  Birds  eating 
butterflies,  209,  Butterflies,  275 

Collaborators,    80 

Collections,  for  schools,  89 

Colors,  Protective,  M.  A.  Bigelow, 
159,   262 

Comstock,  J.  H.  and  A.  B.,  "  Butter- 
flies," M.  A.  Bigelow,  41 

Comstock,  A.  B.,  Bee-Hive,  109; 
"  Book  of  April  and  May  Flowers," 
133;  n.-s.  and  Agriculture,  143; 
"  How  to  Keep  Bees,"  166 

Cornell  Leaflets,  M.  A.  Bigelow,  271 

Coulter,  J.  M.,  Principles  of  n.-s.,  57  ; 
Value  of  Names,  198 

Coulter,  S.,  Value  and  Aims  of  n.-s., 
49 

Country,   for  city  people,   22,7 

Course  of  n.-s.  and  geography,  H.  W. 
Fairbanks,  183 

Criticisms  of  n.-s.,  22 

Croswell,  T.  R.,  Failures  in  School- 
Gardens,  (>(> 

Davis,  B.  M.,  "  School  Gardens  for 
California  Schools,"  M.  A.  Bige- 
low, 2T2 

Davison,  A.,  Silk-worms,   156 

Dearness,  J.,  Teaching  facts,  152; 
"  Nature  Study  Course,"  M.  A, 
Bigelow,   272 

Department  of  Agriculture,  Publica- 
tions, 42,   135 


28o 


INDEX 


Dickerson,  M.  C,  "  Moths  and  Butter- 
flies," 1 66 

DiGGiNS,  I.  G.,  Wild  Flower  Garden, 
ii8 

Diseases  of  plants,  236 

Dog,   134 

Editorials,  i,  3,  80,  2^:^ 

Elk,    172 

English  and  n.-s.,  W.  M.  Heiney,  154 

Facts  in  n.-s.,  J.  Dearness,   152 

Facts  discovered  by  children,  163,  266 

Fairbanks,  H.  W.,  n.-s.  and  Science, 

4 ;    Value    and    aims    of    n.-s.,    52 ; 

Relation  of  geography  to  n.-s.,   173 
Fielde,  a.  M.,  Ant-nests,  37  ;  Life  of 

ants,    239 
Flower  Shows,  A.   B.  Northrop,   104 
Flowers,  closed,  237  ;   Wild,  plea  for, 

220;  Garden  for,  218 
Forest    Service,    172 
Forestry,   Primer  of,   171  ;   Pamphlets 

on,  89,  171 

Gardening  for  children,  see  School- 
Gardens  and  Home  Gardens 

Garden  for  Wild  Flowers,  I.  G.  Dig- 
gins,   118 

Game   Protection,   238,   278 

Geography,  and  n.-s.,  5  ;  Scope  and 
relations,  H.  W.  Fairbanks,  174, 
180 

Goff  and  Mayne,  "  Primer  of  Agri- 
culture,"   A,    Watterson,    85 

Goodrich,  C.  L.,  "  First  Book  of 
Farming,"  M.  A.  Bigelow,  270 

Grouse  Drumming,  275 

Grout,  A.  J.,  "  Mosses  with  a  Hand- 
Lens,"  F.  E.  L.,  132;  Value  of 
names,  202 

Gypsy  Moth,  236,  277 

GuYER,  M.  F.,  McMurry's  "  Special 
Method  in  Science,"   268 

Hall,  W.  S.,  Value  of  names,  201 

Hampton,   Leaflets,   43,   133 

Hatch,  L.  A.,  Why  many  fail  in  n.-s., 

97 

Hays,  W.  M.,  n.-s.  and  agriculture, 
141 

Heiney,  W.  M.,  n.-s.  and  English,  154 

Hemenway,  H.  D.,  Hartford  Gar- 
dens, 29;  Window  gardens,  115; 
Value  of  names,  200 ;  School- 
Garden   notes,    218 

High  Schools  and  n.-s.,  M,  A.  Bige- 
low, 77 

History  and  n.-s.,   183 


Holder,    C.    F.,    "Half    Hours    with 

Lower  Animals,"  230 
Hodge,    C.    F.,    n.-s.    and    science,    6 ; 

Grouse    drumming,    275 
Home-Gardens,     in     Cleveland,     171  ; 

Worcester,    61 
Hornaday,  W.  T.,  "  American  Natural 

History,"  M.  A.  Bigelow,  40 

Illinois  Leaflets,  43 
Industries  and  n.-s.,   142 

Jackman,  W.  S.,  Value  of  names,  202 

Lamborn,  E.  a.,  Methods  of  Sher- 
lock Holmes,  124 

Lange,  D.  D.,  "  How  to  Know  Wild 
Birds,"   230 

Lessons  in  n.-s.,    loi 

Light  perceiving  in  plants,  238 

Lloyd,  F.   E.,   Grout's  "  Mosses,"   132 

Macbride,    T.    H.,    n.-s.    and    science, 

9  ;    Bailey's    "  Outlook    to    Nature, ' 

227 
Macdonald  Institute,  20,  88 
Mackay,  a.  H.,  n.-s.  in  Nova  Scotia, 

148 
McMurry,  F.  M.,   Criticisms  of  n.-s., 

22 
McMurry,  C.  A.,  "  Special  Method  in 

Science,"  M.  F.  Guyer,  268 
Maple   Sugar,    171 
Massachusetts  Leaflets,  43 
Miall,    L.    C,    Ready-made    lessons, 

loi  ;    "  House,    Garden    and   Field," 

165 
Molds,  F.  L.  Stevens,  76 
Muldrew,  W.  H.,  20,  48 
MuNSON,  J.  P.,  Value  of  Names,  201 

Names  of  natural  objects,   198 

Natural  History,  15 

Nature-Study,  Popular,  14;  and  Sci- 
ence, 2,  4,  6,  9,  12,  14,  177;  Ele- 
mentary School,  I,  4,  5,  17;  Defi- 
nitions of,  4,  5,  9,  12,  13,  17;  Field 
of,  I,  2;  Materials  independent  of 
principles,  3  ;  Not  limited  to  plants 
and  animals,  11,  19  ;  not  elementary 
science,  14;  Principles  of  n.-s.,  57; 
in  High  School,  77  ;  Failures  in,  97  ; 
in  primary  grades,  135  ;  Nature 
Study  or  nature-study,  140  ;  Various 
Interpretations  of,  3;  What  is  it? 
176 

New  Zealand,  n.-s.,  22^ 

Northrop,  A.,  Flower  Shows,  104 

Nova  Scotia,  n.-s.,  A.  H.  Mackay,  148 


INDEX 


Oak,  Lesson,  2;^  ;  Oldest,  236 
Object    Teaching,    4 
Observations,  Original,  81,   128 
Organization  in  Science,   14,   15 
Osterhout,    W.    J.    V^,    "  Experiments 

with  Plants,"  A.  Watterson,  164 
Overton,  F.,  and  Hill,  M.  E.,  "  Nature 

Study,"  Jean  Broadhurst,  229 
Outline    of   n.-s.,    H.    W.    Fairbanks, 

183 

Parsons,  F.  G.,  Children's  School 
Farm,   255 

Periodical  Literature,  A.  Watterson, 
45,  90,   136,   167,  272 

Pets,  Children's,  89 

Philosophy  of  n.-s.  (review),  T.  H. 
Machride,   227 

Physical  n.-s.,  11,  18,  J.  F.  Wood- 
hull;    133,   191 

Plants  that  hide,   262 

Plants    without    soil,    food-tablets,    E. 

F.    BiGELOW,    69 

Preparation  of  Teachers,  97,  233 
Principles  of  n.-s.,  J.  M.  Coulter,  57 


Scientific   training,    56 

Secondary   school   and   n.-s.,    5 

Seeds,  vitality  of,  276 

Seton,  T.,  "Monarch,"  M.  A.  Bigelow, 

86 
Sherlock    Holmes,    methods    in    n.-s., 

E.  A.  Lamborn,   124 
Silkworm,  A.  Davison,  156 
Sinclair,  S.  B.,  Time  for  n.-s.,  122 
Stevens,  F.  L.,  n.-s.  and  science,   12; 

Lesson    with    molds,    76 ;    n.-s.    and 

agriculture,    148;    Value    of   names, 

200 

Temperance   physiology,   261 
Thayer,  E.  R.,  Worcester  gardens,  61 
Thorn,  cock-spur,  276 
Time  for  n.-s.,  S.  B.  Sinclair,  122 
Trees,    books    on,    47 ;    in   winter,    89, 
251  ;   key  to  forest,   171  ;   of  N.  A., 
131;       planting,      22,6;      see      also 
Forestry 
Tuskegee   leaflets,   90 

Value  of  n.-s.,  4,  6,  8,  9,  49,  52,  54,  57 


Rhode  Island  leaflets,  89 

Robison,  C.  H.,  "  Field  Studies  Com- 
mon Plants,"  231 

Root,  A.  L,  "  A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture," 
M.  A.   Bigelow,    130 

Sargent,  C.  S.,  "  Manual  of  Trees  of 

N.  A.,"  A.   Watterson,    131 
School  Farm,  88  ;  in  New  York  City, 

255 

School-Gardens,  as  failures,  66,  120; 
at  Hartford,  28;  in  Worcester,  61, 
118,  120;  in  Philadelphia,  212;  his- 
tory, 89;  notes,  2x8;  Report  on, 
232  ;  in  New  York,  255  ;  in  Califor- 
nia, 272 

Science,  Definition  of,  4,  10,  15;  Re- 
lation to  n.-s.,   18,   177 


Watterson,  A.,  Periodical  Literature. 
45.  90,  '^Z(>,  ^^7,  272;  Goff  and 
Mayne's  "Agriculture,"  85  ;  Sargent's 
"Trees  of  N.  A.,"  131;  Oster- 
hout's  "  Experiments  with  Plants," 
164 

Weed,  C.  M.,  Trees  in  Winter,  251  ; 
Weed's  "  Bird  Life  Stories,"  A.  N. 
Bigelow,  86 

Weeds,  2:^7 

Wilson,  L.  L.  W.,  Value  of  names, 
199 

Window-Gardens,  H.  D.  Hemenway, 
115 

Wood,  D.  R.,  Canary's  Nest,  128 

WooDHULL,  Physical  n.-s.,  18 

Zoology,   15 


THE 

NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 


Vol.  I  JANUARY,  1905  No.  i 


INTRODUCTION 


In  introducing  this,  the  first  number  of  The  Nature-Study 
Review,  it  seems  necessary  to  define  the  Hmits  of  the  field  which 
the  journal  will  attempt  to  cover,  because  the  term  nature-study 
in  the  descriptive  part  of  the  title  may  be  so  variously  understood 
at  the  present  time.  The  different  interpretations  of  nature-study 
for  schools  will  be  presented  and  discussed  in  this  and  later  num- 
bers of  the  journal ;  but  here  it  may  be  said,  without  defense,  that 
the  aims  and  plans  of  the  editorial  committee  are  based  upon  an 
interpretation  of  nature-study  in  its  literal  and  widest  sense  as 
including  all  phases,  physical  as  well  as  biological,  of  studies  of 
natural  objects  and  processes  in  elementary  schools.  It  is  evident 
that  from  this  general  point  of  view  nature-study  includes  all  the 
"  natural-science  "  studies  of  the  lower  school :  the  natural  his- 
tory of  plants  and  animals  (nature-study  in  its  common  and  most 
limited  sense),  school-gardening  and  the  closely  allied  elementarv 
agriculture,  elementary  physical  science,  the  physical  side  of  geog- 
raphy, and  physiology  and  hygiene  with  special  reference  to  the 
human  body.  With  all  these  phases  of  nature-study,  and  espe- 
cially with  their  relations  to  each  other  in  elementary-school  edu- 
cation considered  as  a  whole,  The  Review  will  deal. 

Nature-study  interpreted  in  such  a  wide  sense  must  obviously 
draw  its  materials  from  the  fields  of  the  several  sciences,  and  the 
working  out  of  the  problems  must  be  through  the  united  efforts  of 
experts  in  the  fields  of  biology,  geography,  physics  and  chemistry, 
agriculture,  and  education.  Recognizing  this  need  of  cooperation 
from  several  points  of  view,  it  was  decided  as  part  of  the  initial 
plan  for  this  journal  that  the  editorial  committee  and  the  board 


2  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

of  advisers  and  collaborators  should  be  representative  of  all  the 
sciences  whose  fields  are  involved  in  elementary  education.  More- 
over, while  nature-study  is  primarily  an  educational  movement 
for  the  lower  schools,  it  also  afifects  the  science ,  work  of  the 
higher  schools,  and  therefore  should  be  considered  from  the 
combined  viewpoints  of  professional  educators  with  practical  ac- 
quaintance with  the  problems  of  the  elementary  schools  and  of 
university  men  who  are  primarily  interested  in  nature-study  as  a 
preliminary  phase  of  science-teaching.  For  this  reason  represen- 
tatives of  both  schools  and  colleges  are  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  new  journal.  Finally,  the  wide  geographical  distribu- 
tion of  the  nearly  seventy  members  of  the  editorial  board  insures 
that  the  journal  will  be  entirely  independent  of  local  interests  and 
free  to  become  representative  of  nature-study  in  all  parts  of  Amer- 
ica, the  center  of  the  movement ;  and  it  is  hoped  that  those  inter- 
ested in  nature-study  in  all  the  States  and  in  Canada  will  have  a 
personal  interest  in  the  development  of  the  journal  as  though  it 
were  the  official  organ  of  an  American  association  of  nature-study 
teachers.  M.    A.    E. 


NATURE-STUDY   AND   ITS   RELATION   TO   NATURAL 

SCIENCE 

A   SYMPOSIUM  BY   H.  W.   FAIRBANKS,  C.   F.  HODGE,  T.  H.  MACBRIDE, 
F.  L.  STEVENS,  and  M.  A.  BIGELOW 

[Editorial  Note. — The  extensive  correspondence  connected 
with  the  founding  of  The  Nature- Study  Review  showed  that  in 
the  minds  of  representative  men  of  science  and  education  there  is 
great  variation  in  the  interpretation  of  what  nature-study  is  sup- 
posed to  be  or  should  be.  In  fact,  there  were  found  eminent  pro- 
fessors who  were  so  firmly  convinced  that  nature-study  is  simply 
a  dangerous  fad  that  they  counseled  against  attempting  to  give 
the  subject  recognition  in  a  special  journal.  But  all  this  diver- 
gence of  opinion  should  be  not  in  the  least  discouraging,  for  the 
various  opinions  are  simply  outgrowths  of  the  diflferent  local  prac- 
tices in  the  teaching  of  nature-study.  Thus  far  nature-study  in 
the  United  States  has  been  developed  in  more  or  less  local  centres 
where  leaders  have  by  personal  contact  established  their  individual 


'       NATURE-STUDY   AND    SCIENCE  3 

schemes  of  nature-study.  Hence  it  has  come  about  that  nature- 
study  is  understood  to  mean:  (i)  elementary  agriculture;  (2) 
simple  object  lessons  on  plants  and  animals  ;  (3)  informal  teaching 
about  natural  things  seen  by  pupils,  for  the  sake  of  developing 
interest  and  habits  of  observing;  (4)  serious  elementary  biology 
and  physical  science;  (5)  popular  picnics  in  the  woods;  (6)  senti- 
mental talks  and  reading  about  plants  and  animals  ;  (7)  *'  teaching 
children  to  love  Nature  " — these  and  all  their  possible  combina- 
tions and  probably  still  other  points  of  view  are  found  in  the  cur- 
rent interpretation  and  practice  of  nature-study  in  the  United 
States.  Such  variation  is  not  surprising,  for  the  natural  processes 
and  materials  with  which  nature-study  in  any  form  has  to  deal  are 
extremely  variable  in  their  distribution,  and  therefore  so  far  as 
facts  are  concerned  the  nature-study  in  one  locality  can  not  be  the 
same  as  that  in  another.  From  a  Maine  forest  to  a  wheat  field 
in  the  Dakotas  is  a  transition  to  quite  a  different  world ;  but  in 
spite  of  the  difference  in  materials  available  for  study  it  seems 
reasonable  to  believe  that  educationally  the  study  of  the  objects  of 
the  immediate  environment  ought  to  lead  the  Maine  and  the 
Dakota  pupils  to  the  same  essential  result.  In  other  words,  if 
nature-study  is  anything  more  than  local  manifestations  of  a 
widely  distributed  fad,  there  ought  to  be  found  some  fundamental 
principles  concerning  whose  educational  and  scientific  value  there 
will  be  general  agreement.  The  science  of  biology  is  taught  in 
the  colleges  on  the  basis  of  materials  locally  available,  and  yet 
there  is  such  general  understanding  and  agreement  regarding  the 
fundamental  principles  that  in  all  essentials  of  a  general  biological 
education  the  students  of  the  Australian  colleges  have  equal  ad- 
vantages with  their  contemporaries  in  England,  Germany,  and 
America.  The  situation  with  regard  to  nature-study  is  exactly 
parallel.  There  is  need  of  agreement  and  uniformity  concerning 
the  fundamental  principles  by  which  the  teaching  about  any  par- 
ticular natural  object  or  process  may  be  guided.  In  search  of 
such  agreement  it  is  necessary,  first  of  all,  that  the  conflicting 
views  as  to  what  nature-study  is  in  education  should  be  brought 
together  for  comparison  and  discussion.  This  will  be  attempted 
in  The  Nature-Study  Review  ;  and  we  open  the  discussion 
of  fundamental  questions  by  presenting  this  month  a  series  of 
brief  papers  which  attempt  to  point  out  the  differences  between 
nature-study  and  natural  science — two  terms  which  are  commonly 
regarded  as  quite  synonymous.] 


4  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

I 

BY  HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS,  PH.D. 
Berkeley,  Cal. 

In  attempting  to  frame  a  definition  of  nature-study  I  may  be 
undertaking  something  which  cannot  be  accompHshed  to  the  satis- 
faction of  every  one,  and  yet  all  will  agree,  I  think,  that  the  sub- 
ject must  be  more  sharply  and  clearly  stated  if  we  would  have  it 
productive  of  the  most  good  in  our  schools.  One  has  only  to 
look  over  the  literature  of  nature-study  to  see  how  varied  are  the 
standpoints  of  different  teachers  with  reference  to  the  subject. 

Some  teachers  hold  that  the  chief  object  of  nature-study  or 
science,  for  they  use  the  terms  interchangeably,  is  the  acquisition 
of  facts,  and  consequently  fill  the  course  of  study  with  a  mass  of 
materials  which  are  to  be  studied  in  a  scientific  manner.  Other 
teachers  hold  that  the  subject  is  valuable  chiefly  for  its  training 
of  the  mind  and  senses,  and  for  its  power  to  arouse  an  interest 
in  and  love  for  the  world  about  us.  With  the  first  class  the  sub- 
ject-matter and  its  manner  of  presentation  are  all  important,  with 
the  second  class  the  subject-matter  is  considered  immaterial  as 
long  as  the  desired  training  of  the  senses  is  brought  about.  The 
extremes  of  these  two  schools  are  far  apart,  and  represent  radi- 
cally different  standpoints,  but  there  are  many  intermediate  views 
held. 

The  term  nature-stud}^,  it  seems  to  me,  may  be  appropriately 
used  for  all  that  direct  observation  and  study  of  natural  phe- 
nomena which  belongs  within  the  province  of  the  elementary 
school.  Nature-study  has  to  do  with  the  raw  materials  of  science, 
but  it  is  not  science  as  that  term  should  be  used.  It  is  not  even 
elementary  science,  if  by  science  we  mean  the  coordinating,  ar- 
ranging, and  systematizing  of  the  facts  of  nature.  Facts  will  be 
acquired  but  that  is  not  the  main  object. 

Nature-study  differs  from  the  older  system  of  "  object  teach- 
ing "  in  dealing  more  directly  with  phenomena  in  their  natural  re- 
lations, less  with  isolated  "  objects."  Nature-study  is  less  formal 
and  the  cultivation  of  language  and  expression  is  incidental. 
There  must  be  some  system  in  any  properly  arranged  course  of 
nature-study,  but  not  an  inflexible  one.  The  teacher  should  be 
permitted  to  emphasize  those  aspects  of  nature  with  which  he  is 
most  familiar,  and  the  work  should  be  further  determined  by  the 
physical  environment  of  the  school. 


FAIRBANKS]  NATURE-STUDY    AND    SCIENCE  5 

For  the  first  four  years  of  school,  that  is,  throughout  the  pri- 
mary period,, nature-study  and  geography  are  practically  identical. 
Theoretically,  however,  we  may  distinguish  ''  home  lore  "  from  a 
geographic  treatment  of  the  home  and  its  surroundings.  Above 
the  fourth  grade  nature-study  and  geography  diverge  in  practice, 
although  to  make  the  most  of  both  subjects,  lessons  in  one  should 
be  arranged  as  far  as  possible  with  reference  to  lessons  in  the 
other. 

Nature-study  calls  for  action  on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  He 
should  discover  the  meaning  of  facts  for  himself,  and  not  ordi- 
narily go  to  the  teacher  or  to  books.  His  own  experience  should 
form  the  basis  of  what  he  acquires. 

There  should  be  a  gradual  shifting  of  emphasis  in  nature-study 
throughout  the  elementary  school.  The  distinction  between  na- 
ture-study and  science  is  most  marked  in  the  lower  grades.  Here 
the  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  side  of  interest,  upon  the  training 
of  the  mind  and  senses,  and  the  materials  studied  should  be  from 
the  home  environment.  In  the  more  advanced  portion  of  the 
course,  although  the  subject  should  still  be  developed  from  the 
side  of  interest,  there  must  come  an  increasing  use  of  the  reason- 
ing powers,  and  a  greater  value  attached  to  the  choice  and  use 
of  material. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  secondary-school  period  method  is 
more  exact,  there  is  a  deeper  inquiry  into  causes  and  relations, 
and  we  may  be  said  to  have  reached  the  scientific  study  of  nature. 

There  is  no  break  in  the  development  of  the  powers  of  the  child 
between  the  kindergarten  and  the  college,  and  the  lessons  in 
nature-study,  beginning  with  the  home  region,  must  be  graded  to 
suit  the  expanding  capacities.  Nature-study  must  blend  into 
science  study  with  no  break  between  school  periods. 

The  pupil  should  come  to  the  secondary  school  with  a  keen 
interest  in  the  study  and  observation  of  natural  phenomena,  and 
if  the  work  in  the  latter  school  is  not  too  ambitious,  he  does  not 
have  to  unlearn  upon  reaching  the  college  a  mass  of  pseudo-. 
science  taught  him  when  he  was  too  immature  to  comprehend  it 
properly. 

Nature-study  should  give  primarily  that  training  which  the  sav- 
age child  acquires,  but  should  carry  it  much  farther.  The  savage 
child  acquires  an  untechnical  knowledge  of  wood-craft,  of  the 
habits  and  characteristics  of  the  birds  and  animals,  of  the  signs 


O  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

of  Storm,  and  of  the  dangers  which  kirk  about  him.  Experience 
sharpens  his  senses  and  gives  him  a  working  knowledge,  which 
although  not  consciously  reasoned  out,  or  systematized  in  any 
way,  yet  serves  him  in  time  of  need. 

The  children  of  civilized  races  are  shut  away  in  too  many  in- 
stances from  a  free  contact  with  nature ;  their  needs  are  so  pro- 
vided for  and  dangers  guarded  against,  that  they  grow  up  with 
undeveloped  capacities  and  in  almost  total  ignorance  of  the  world 
of  nature.  How  much  more  they  would  make  of  their  surround- 
ings, and  how  much  more  these  surroundings  would  heighten  their 
interest  and  zest  in  life  if  they  were  able  to  appreciate  them  in 
even  a  very  simple  way. 

Nature-study  should  lead  the  child  back  to  this  natural  intimacy 
with  nature  and  to  delight  in  her  company.  This  cannot  be  done 
by  feeding  him  upon  courses  of  study  made  up  of  scientifically 
arranged  facts,  but  by  fitting  him  in  a  broad  way  through  the 
exercise  of  his  observational  and  reasoning  powers  so  that  he  not 
only  takes  pleasure  in  the  world  around  him  but  is  able  to  use 
it  more  fully  to  his  material  advantage. 

II 

BY  C.  F.  HODGE 

Clark  University 

"  I  doubt  not  but  ye  shall  have  more  ado  to  drive  our  dullest  and  laziest 
youth,  our  stocks  and  stubs  from  the  infinite  desire  of  such  a  happy  nur- 
ture, than  we  have  now  to  hale  and  drag  our  choicest  and  hopefullest  wits 
to  that  asinine  feast  of  sow-thistles  and  brambles  which  is  commonly  set 
before  them,  as  all  the  food  and  entertainment  of  their  tenderest  age." 
— John  Milton,  "Tractate  on  Education,"  p.  8. 

There  is  a  suggestive  analogy  between  eating  and  learning.  In 
the  one  process  food  is  built  into  the  bodily  life,  in  the  other  truth 
is  assimilated  to  the  mental  life.  Both  functions  are  equipped 
with  a  complicated  set  of  organs  and  both  require  a  certain 
amount  of  effort  or  work.  ''  De  gustibtis  non  est  disputandum  " ; 
and  still  it  is  interesting  to  inquire  why  it  is  that  eating  or  learn- 
ing some  things  is  pleasurable  and  wholesome,  while  learning  or 
eating  something  else  may  be  distasteful  and  injurious.  In  gen- 
eral, if  the  physical  appetite  is  sharp  enough,  the  taking  of  food, 
however  plain,  is  agreeable ;  and,  if  food  is  not  to  be  had,  I  sup- 
pose a  Digger  Indian  may  derive  some  satisfaction  from  eating 


HODGE]  NATURE-STUDY    AND    SCIENCE  7 

clay.  In  general,  too,  it  is  difficult  to  induce  children  to  eat  any- 
thing that  is  distinctly  distasteful  to  them,  and  under  conditions 
of  normal  health  and  appetite  this  is  not  necessary,  their  natural 
tastes  and  desires  being  our  safest  guide.  We  do  not  think  of 
feeding  non-nutritious  substances  for  the  sake  of  "  strengthen- 
ing "  the  stomach ;  although  the  experiment  has  been  tried  of 
giving  a  piece  of  sponge  to  a  frog's  stomach  to  see  how  the  cells 
would  react.  It  was  found  that  the  cells  secreted  vigorously  but 
failed  to  recover  their  original  condition  as  they  did  when  sup- 
plied with  food.  I  have  little  doubt  that  a  similar  calamity  in  the 
learning  mechanism  results  from  the  effort  to  master  subjects 
that  do  not  prove  to  contain  some  nutriment  for  thought  and  the 
mental  life. 

Science  is  a  sort  of  military  ration  of  a  special  few.  Nature- 
study  should  be  the  daily  bread  of  all  alike.  The  attempt  to  force 
the  army  ration  on  the  children  of  the  country  under  the  name 
of  "  elementary  science,"  or  often  mistakenly  called  nature-study, 
has  resulted  in  no  end  of  misunderstanding  and  confusion. 

In  attempting  to  answer  the  question,  "  What  is  nature-study 
as  distinguished  from  elementary  science,"  it  must  be  understood 
that  this  discussion  deals  solely  with  the  biological  side:  i.  e., 
What  is  nature-study  of  animals  and  plants  as  distinguished  from 
technical  botany  and  zoology.  Fortunately,  there  are  others  who 
will  speak  for  the  other  phases  of  the  problem.  Our  particular 
question  thus  becomes :  What  knowledge  about  animals  and 
plants  ought  to  constitute  the  course  in  nature-study  for  ele- 
mentary schools? 

It  is  easy  to  define  botany  and  zoology  as  the  scientific  treat- 
ment of  animals  and  plants  in  regard  to  structure^,  arrangement, 
development  and  classification.  All  attempts  to  introduce  these 
sciences  into  elementary  instruction  had  proved  failures  as  long 
ago  as  Charles  Dickens  wrote  "  Hard  Times,"  and  every  effort 
to  force  them  into  the  curriculum  since  that  time  has  only  served 
to  heap  up  the  evidence  against  them.  Finally,  to  escape  the 
odium  of  the  Thomas  Gradgrind-Mr.  McChoakumchild  regime 
the  very  name  "  elementary  science  "  had  to  be  dropped  and  the 
wholesome  term  ''  nature-study "  substituted ;  and  the  gravest 
danger  now  confronting  this  new  movement  is  that  we  forget  the 
lessons  of  the  past  and  persist  in  trying  to  teach  children  formal 
science  adapted   to   maturer   years.     After   acquaintance   with   a 


8  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

number  of  common  animals  and  plants  has  been  attained  the  value 
of  scientific  methods  may  be  appreciated. 

The  greatest  difficulty  just  now  in  making  a  clear  distinction 
between  nature-study  and  science  in  practical  teaching  is  con- 
cerned with  the  purely  scientific  training  of  the  teachers.  They 
have  had  technical  biology — or  botany  and  zoology — either  in 
college  or  in  normal  schools  under  college  educated  instructors. 
They  have  not  been  given  the  nature-study  point  of  view ;  and 
consequently,  when  they  are  called  upon  to  give  lessons  on  ani- 
mals and  plants,  they  have  nothing  else  and  hence  can  teach  only 
college  science.  This  situation  has  drawn  the  dreariest  train  of 
absurdities  in  its  wake  to  be  found  in  our  whole  educational  sys- 
tem— 'Messons"(?)  in  the  classification  of  animals  and  plants 
the  children  have  never  seen  or  heard  of,  technical  details  of  form 
and  structure  which,  with  the  difficult  terminology,  are  wholly 
meaningless  and  unrelated  to  any  interests  of  either  the  children 
or  the  community. 

Nature-study,  as  I  conceive  it,  is  so  natural  and  easy  and  so 
refreshing  to  teachers  and  pupils  alike  that  a  frequent  reaction 
among  teachers,  I  find,  is :  "  Why,  this  is  too  good  fun.  You 
really  do  not  call  this  work,  do  you  ?"  Well,  call  it  what  you 
please,  but  the  more  freedom,  spontaneity  and  delight  there  is, 
for  both  teacher  and  pupils,  the  better  nature-study  it  is.  These 
are  just  the  things  that  will  develop  genuine  love  of  nature,  one 
ounce  of  which  is  worth  in  life-value  pounds  of  mere  acquisition 
of  facts.  All  I  ask  of  nature-study  is  that  it  bring  the  child  out  at 
fourteen  with  a  genuine  and  abiding  love  of  nature ;  and  the  thing 
that  has  stirred  me  to  the  quick  in  this  whole  subject  is  the  hatred 
and  the  consequent  abuse  of  nature  which  Gradgrind  methods 
develop  in  the  child. 

In  order  to  develop  love  we  need  not  only  acquaintance  but  inti- 
macy, and  intimacy  requires  time.  Love  is  active.  It  is  the  great 
motive  source  of  action  in  the  world.  Its  best  definition  is :  "  the 
desire  or  passion  to  do  good  to  the  object  loved."  Hence,  trans- 
lated into  these  terms,  we  should  have  as  the  end  result  of  our 
nature-study  the  abiding  desire  to  do  good  to  the  nature  in  which 
we  live.  But  the  good  in  nature  is  set  of¥,  bounded  and  defined 
by  the  evil.  A  child  cannot  love  the  plants  in  his  garden  without 
pulling  the  weeds  and  destroying  the  insects  that  would  harm 
them.     So  with  trees  and  birds  and  the  whole  list  of  nature  inter- 


macbride]  nature-study    AND    SCIENCE  9 

ests.  Since  life  itself  is  a  struggle,  wherever  we  raise  a  love  we 
define  a  possible  line  of  battle ;  and  we  are  all  in  the  world  to  fight 
the  good  fight.  Turn  whichever  way  we  will,  it  is  only  trifling 
to  attempt  to  escape  this  conflict,  and,  hence,  the  line  between  the 
good  and  the  evil  in  nature  is  essential  in  selecting  the  matter 
which  we  include  in  our  course  in  nature-study.  In  other  words, 
the  good  and  the  beautiful  are  realities  upon  which  human  life 
and  interests  have  taken  fixed  and  definite  hold.  Bring  the  child 
into  acquaintance  and  intimacy  with  the  proper  things  and  his 
love  flows  out  to  them  as  naturally  as  water  flows  down  hill.  If 
we  attempt  to  force  upon  him  false  relations  and  values,  we  have 
the  futile  task  of  trying  to  turn  the  stream  up  hill. 

Success  or  failure  of  the  whole  movement  depends  on  the  sub- 
ject-matter selected.  If  that  is  rich  in  universal  human  interest 
and  value,  we  shall  hear  no  more  about  "  waste  of  time  on  fads  " 
and  ''  new  fangled  notions,"  and  nature  will  be  accorded  its  right- 
ful place  as  a  great  source  of  nourishment  for  our  educational  life. 

Ill 

BY   PROFESSOR  THOMAS   H.  MACBRIDE 
State  University  of  Iowa 

I  am  asked  to  discuss  briefly  the  question,  What  is  nature-study, 
and  especially  to  point  out  the  distinction^  if  such  exist,  between 
nature-study  and  natural  science  as  offered  in  the  higher  schools. 

The  problem  seems  to  me  by  no  means  diflicult,  theoretically 
at  least ;  in  practice  science-teaching  in  elementary  courses  may, 
and  probably  should,  include  the  nature-study  idea  as  incidental. 
Nature-study  is  simply  a  sympathetic  attempt  to  bring  known 
truth  concerning  the  natural  world  to  the  attention  and  compre- 
hension of  those  who  would  learn.  All  that  is  offered  in  nature- 
study  to-day  will  be,  of  course,  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
of  art  and  science ;  art,  in  so  far  as  it  pertains  to  the  discussion 
of  the  beauty  of  outward  form,  science  in  all  that  pertains  to  exact 
detail,  whether  of  form,  history,  or  underlying  relationship  and 
origin.  In  other  words,  real  nature-study  is  based  upon  real 
science;  differing  from  the  more  formal  presentation  of  scientific 
truth  only  in  that  it  is  less  comprehensive,  less  complete,  and  in- 
deed holds  in  view  a  different  immediate  purpose.  The  purpose 
of  the  study  of  science  is  primarily  the  attainment  of  truth,  of  all 


lO  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

truth ;  the  purpose  of  nature-study  is  rather  the  development  of 
sentiment  or  possibly  the  acquisition  of  some  bit  of  expert  infor- 
mation. If,  for  example,  we  study  the  deer  as  a  matter  of  sci- 
ence, we  seek  to  learn  all  about  his  structure,  his  relationships, 
genesis,  habits,  etc. ;  as  students  of  nature-study  we  may  choose 
to  ignore  many  of  these  things  and  think  of  the  deer  only  as  a 
beautiful  living  creature,  having  certain  habits  and  relations  to 
our  parks  and  forests.  But,  it  would  not  do  to  consider  the  deer 
as  having  horns  like  those  of  a  cow,  or  as  making  in  the  forest 
foot-prints  like  those  of  a  colt,  or  paths  like  the  streets  of  a  city. 
Nature-study  when  dealing  with  animals  is  real  zoology ;  it  may 
not  declare  the  entire  body  of  known  scientific  truth  in  the  par- 
ticular case,  but  at  least  it  will  in  no  particular  contravene  zoolog- 
ical fact.  And  so  when  dealing  with  plants ;  nature-study  is 
botany  so  far  as  it  goes.  It  is  not  myth,  it  is  not  nonsense,  nor 
childish  legend,  it  is  truth,  scientifically  ascertained  and  supported, 
truth,  simply  and  clearly  stated. 

There  are,  however,  it  would  appear,  very  many  people,  even 
teachers,  who  so  little  appreciate  the  simple  truth  of  science,  as 
to  esteem  it  dry  and  of  itself  uninteresting.  The  life-history  of 
the  barnacle  does  not  appeal  to  such  at  all ;  they  much  prefer  the 
tale  of  the  barnacle-goose.  Such  people  will  always  prefer  bar- 
nacle-goose stories,  whether  of  the  sixteenth  century  or  of  the 
twentieth,  and  for  these  real  nature-study  is  out  of  the  question. 
Unfortunately,  such  people  still  persist  in  believing  themselves 
true  nature-students  and  too  often  write  volumes  for  the  guidance 
of  others.  People  who  by  actual  experience  know  nothing  about 
the  natural  world,  by  the  aid  of  such  books  find  themselves  com- 
petent to  teach  nature-study,  or  in  the  language  of  the  schedules, 
to  undertake  "  the  nature-work,"  and  the  blind  go  on  leading  the 
blind  into  a  maze  of  fable  and  foolishness  to  which  the  history  of 
education  in  recent  times  affords  scarcely  a  parallel.  Books  of  this 
sort  are  so  numerous  that  they  need  not  be  here  cited.  All  this 
kind  of  thing  has  served  to  bring  the  nature-study  effort  into 
disrepute,  and  many  eminent  men  of  science  and  of  the  schools 
look  upon  the  whole  matter  as  superficial,  insincere  and  hence 
mischievous  in  the  extreme.  The  remedy  lies  in  the  definition 
and  encouragement  of  real  nature-study,  as  against  every  fad  and 
fashion  whatsoever.  Nature-study  to  be  of  any  service  at  all, 
must  concern  itself  primarily  with  the  truth,  whatever  the  ulti- 


macbride]  nature-study    AND    SCIENCE  I  I 

mate  purpose.  Surely  in  all  the  splendid  panorama  of  the  living 
world  there  is  enough  to  excite  our  intelligent  interest;  surely 
enough  to  arouse  our  warm  sympathy  with  these  forms  of  beauty 
and  loveliness,  albeit  leading  lowly  lives,  yet  lives  of  contented- 
ness,  happiness  and  purity, — surely  in  all  this  there  is  enough  to 
waken  the  sympathy  and  interest  of  every  intelligent,  sentient 
soul,  without  metaphor,  without  artifice  or  stimulus  of  any  sort. 
The  greatest  teacher  of  the  world  bade  us  consider  the  lily  ''  how 
it  grows  "  ;  who  of  his  followers  in  all  the  2,000  years  can  solve 
the  problem?  The  simplest  problems  of  nature  are  all  about  us, 
yet  far-reaching  to  exhaust  the  most  cunning  artifice  of  our  in- 
quiry ;  but  we  heed  them  not.  Look  at  the  splendor  of  our 
autumn  fields  of  corn ;  where  are  the  people  in  all  these  thousand 
schools  that  know  the  secrets  of  the  corn  ?  Who  knows  the  mean- 
ing of  the  sunflower,  the  aster,  or  how  the  chrysanthemum  comes 
by  its  wealth  of  pearl  and  gold,  and  yet  anon  is  purple?  Who 
knows  where  the  bobolink  builds  his  nest,  or  why  he  is  lost  to-day 
in  that  swarthy  swarm  that  marks  the  assembly  of  the  blackbird 
clans  all  moving  to  the  South  ?  Who  knows  the  path  of  the  wild- 
duck  in  his  flight  and  why  from  year  to  year  he  courses  back 
and  forth,  weaving  the  web  of  his  destiny  in  the  vaster  mystery 
of  terrestrial  life?  Who  shall  teach  the  farmers  and  sportsmen 
of  our  country  that  to  shoot  these  birds  in  spring  is  destruction, 
a  barbarism  that  even  the  savage  Indians  were  unwilling  to 
commit  ? 

But  why  shall  nature-study  be  limited  to  plants  and  animals 
alone?  Among  the  text-books  offered  nowadays,  there  are  some 
which  are  much  more  comprehensive ;  they  take  up  in  simple  way 
the  phenomena  of  the  inorganic  world.  This  is  to  be  commended. 
Why,  for  instance,  should  our  people  be  almost  universally  ignor- 
ant of  the  simpler  facts  about  the  stars?  Primitive  men,  men  at 
least  of  whose  attainments  their  descendants  are  not  inclined  to 
boast,  long  ago  learned  to  read  the  shifting  movements  of  the 
planets,  but  there  are  to-day  millions  of  men  in  the  United  States 
who  know  not  the  first  thing  about  the  nightly  heavens.  Is  there 
any  reason  why  an  agricultural  people  should  not  find  nature- 
study  in  the  processes  which  concern  the  making  and  distribution 
of  the  soils  ?  The  simple  truths  of  geology  are  everywhere  patent, 
not  in  books,  not  in  pictures,  bat  in  fact;  in  the  streets,  in  the 
field  and  garden,  bv  the  roadside,  written  on  scratched  pebbles. 


12  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

sculptured  on  all  the  hills.  Why  may  not  such  facts  constitute 
the  theme  of  genuine  nature-study,  to  the  great  and  never-ceasing 
profit  and  advantage  of  by  far  the  larger  part  of  our  population  ? 
But  how^ever  all  this  may  be,  it  still  remains,  that  in  all  our 
nature-study  w^e  must  take  care  that  we  so  use  the  facts  of  nature 
that  our  children  learn  to  judge  wisely  and  discriminate  truth 
from  fancy  and  error,  and  any  view  or  treatment  of  the  natural 
world  which  is  inconsistent  with  the  known  methods  and  facts  of 
science  will  ever  prove  disastrous  at  the  last,  called  by  whatever 
name,  nature-study  or  not,  no  matter  how  lofty  our  professed 
intentions,  how  noble  the  purpose  we  declare. 

IV 

BY  PROFESSOR  F.  L.  STEVENS,  PH.D. 
North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 

With  the  subject  so  broad  in  scope,  so  indefinite  in  administra- 
tion, so  capable  of  variation,  and  withal  so  new,  there  is  little 
wonder  that  nature-study  is  misunderstood  by  many ;  that  it  is 
confounded  with  botany,  zoology  or  geography  on  the  one  hand, 
or  with  agriculture  and  studies  of  the  industries  on  the  other.  It 
is  not  surprising  that  attempts  to  define  nature-study  have  failed, 
that  written  definitions  are  as  numerous  as  are  writers  upon 
nature-study,  and  that  conceptions  of  the  subject  are  almost  as 
many  as  are  the  teachers  who  attempt  nature-study.  The  vast- 
ness  of  the  subject  leaves  almost  infinite  liberty  to  the  teacher  in 
the  selection  of  matter.  Hundreds  of  elementary  courses  could 
be  planned,  yet  not  trespass  upon  one  another.  None  of  that 
elimination;,  leading  to  mutual  agreement  as  to  the  most  desirable 
topics,  has  yet  occurred,  as  it  has  with  such  sciences  as  chemistry 
and  physics.  These  sciences,  moreover,  deal  with  fundamentals, 
and  it  is  a  necessary  consequence  that  one  elementary  course  in 
a  given  science  is  much  like  another  in  the  same  science.  The 
principles  to  be  taught  are  the  same,  the  method  chiefly  varies. 

Nature-study  on  the  other  hand  does  not  deal  with  funda- 
mentals. It  concerns  itself  with  details.  Fundamentals  are  few ; 
details  are  infinite.  One  of  the  chief  differences  between  science 
and  nature-study  rests  upon  these  facts.  They  are  fundamental 
and  they  will  operate  to  retard,  if  not  to  prohibit  forever,  any 
rigidity  in  the  nature-study  outline.  The  great  variation  in  sub- 
ject-matter gives  almost  limitless  plasticity  to  the  course. 


STEVENS]  NATURE-STUDY    AND    SCIENCE  13 

Another  fundamental  distinction  between  science  and  nature- 
study  is  that  the  latter  as  recognized  by  the  great  majority  of  its 
promoters  is  a  study  of  natural  objects,  not  books.  Science  may 
be  a  study  of  either  books  or  natural  objects.  The  essence  of 
science  is  the  subject-matter.  The  essence  of  nature-study  is  the 
method.  While  the  subject-matter  of  nature-study  varies  almost 
endlessly,  its  method  is  its  characteristic.  Vary  the  method  be- 
yond certain  limits  and  it  is  no  longer  nature-study.  Nature- 
study  and  science  are  in  these  attributes  distinguishable. 

Nature-study  is  not  science,  it  is  none  of  the  arts.  It  differs 
from  both  in  motive.  Science  has  for  its  end  the  acquiring  and 
teaching  of  facts,  laws,  or  principles ;  an  art  to  do  or  accomplish 
or  construct.  Nature-study  does  neither  primarily.  It  may  do 
both  extensively  though  incidentally.  The  function  of  nature- 
study  is  to  increase  interest,  to  awaken  the  power  of  observation, 
and  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  child  so  that  he  may  see  the  beauties 
of  nature  that  abound  unrecognized  about  him.  The  difference 
in  motive  between  the  sciences  or  arts  and  nature-study  is  there- 
fore fundamental. 

The  field  of  nature-study  is  broader  than  that  of  any  other 
subject  in  the  school  curriculum.  The  motive  of  nature-study 
precludes  dogmatic  selection  of  any  specific  subject-matter  from 
this  field.  That  subject-matter  is  best  which  in  the  hands  of  a 
given  teacher  with  a  given  school  and  environment  will  arouse 
wholesome  abiding  interest  in  nature.  '  The  value  of  systematic 
outlines  is  therefore  less  than  in  the  case  of  the  information 
subjects.  Outlines  are  valuable  for  their  suggestiveness  chiefly. 
They  may  become  stumbling  blocks  if  misunderstood  to  be  rigid 
guides. 

A  subject  so  broad  is  capable  of  division  and  special  suggestive 
nature-study  courses  may  be  devised  to  meet  the  needs  of  special 
conditions  :  agricultural  for  the  farming  sections,  strongly  flavored 
with  rocks  for  the  mining  regions,  abounding  in  marine  topics 
for  the  seaboard,  and  painfully  elementary  for  the  tenement  dweller. 

Nature-study  is  now  in  its  embryonic  condition.  Its  future 
development  must  see  its  differentiation ;  but  the  spirit,  method 
and  motive  must  remain  or  it  will  either  abort  or  degenerate  into 
elementary  science,  a  possibility  which  no  enthusiastic  lover  of 
nature  will  admit. 


14  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i.  jan.  1905 

V 

BY  M.  A.  BIGELOW 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

The  term  nature-study  has  come  into  common  use  to  designate 
(i)  various  phases  of  teaching  about  nature  in  common  schools, 
and  (2)  popular  study  of  natural  history  outside  of  schools  by 
either  children  or  adults.  In  both  these  cases  the  term  has  been 
commonly  limited  to  the  biological  aspect  of  nature,  and  both  the 
school  and  popular  phases  of  nature-study  are  quite  similar  in  the 
subject-matter  and  in  the  general  aims  and  methods  of  study. 
We  may,  therefore,  discuss  nature-study  for  elementary  schools 
with  the  understanding  that  so  far  as  general  principles  are  con- 
cerned the  discussion  will  apply  equally  well  to  school  or  popular 
nature-study  as  these  together  are  contrasted  with  natural  science 
of  the  high  schools  and  colleges. 

What  should  be  the  nature-study  for  the  elementary  school, 
and  what  its  relation  to  natural-science  study  in  the  higher 
schools?  As  the  term  nature-study  etymologically  suggests  and 
as  current  practice  indicates,  the  subject  for  the  lower  school  deals 
with  the  same  groups  of  natural  materials  which  give  the  basis  to 
the  natural-science  work  of  the  higher  schools.  Is  this  paral- 
lelism simply  another  duplication  in  our  educational  system?  If 
so,  such  duplication  requires  strong  defense.  Or  is  the  nature- 
study  simply  a  translation  of  elementary  science  into  "  words  of 
one  syllable  "  in  adaptation  to  the  capacities  of  very  young  pupils  ? 
Or  is  nature-study  in  some  striking  respect  different  from  the 
natural  sciences  of  the  higher  schools?  These  are  fundamental 
questions  which  so  far  in  the  progress  of  the  nature-study  move- 
ment have  not  received  the  general  attention  which  they  deserve. 

In  the  beginning  of  our  discussion  we  must  clearly  define  what 
we  understand  by  natural  science  in  the  strict  use  of  the  word 
science.  According  to  Karl  Pearson,  in  his  ''  Grammar  of  Sci- 
ence," "  the  classification  of  facts  and  the  formation  of  absolute 
judgments  upon  the  basis  of  this  classification  essentially  sums  up 
the  aim  and  method  of  modern  science.  .  .  .  The  classification  of 
facts,  the  recognition  of  their  sequence  and  relative  significance, 
is  the  function  of  science."  Mivart,  in  his  "  Groundwork  of 
Science,"  refers  to  science  as  "  ordered  and  systematic  knowl- 
edge."    These  agree  essentially  with  the  familiar,  short  and  gen- 


13IGEL0W]  NATURE-STUDY    AND    SCIENCE  15 

erally  accepted  definition  that  "  science  is  organized  knowledge," 
from  which  it  follows  that  natural  science  is  organized  knowledge 
concerning  natural  objects  and  processes.  Note  that  organiza- 
tion is  the  essence  of  this  definition,  as  of  those  above.  ''  Science 
dififers  from  mere  knowledge  by  being  a  knowledge  both  of  facts, 
and  of  their  relations  to  each  other.  The  mere  random,  hap- 
hazard accumulation  of  facts,  then,  is  not  science  ;  and  the  per- 
ception and  conception  of  their  natural  relations  to  each  other,  the 
comprehension  of  these  relations  under  general  laws,  and  the 
organization  of  facts  and  laws  into  one  body,  the  parts  of  wdiich 
are  seen  to  be  subservient  to  each  other,  is  Science."  This  clear 
and  concise  statement  by  the  late  Professor  Joseph  Payne,  of  Lon- 
don, in  a  lecture  on  ''  True  Foundation  of  Science-Teaching  " 
(1872)  will,  I  think,  meet  with  the  approval  of  all  scientific  men 
who  use  the  word  science  in  its  strict  sense,  as  distinguished  from 
the  loose  popular  usage  of  the  word  to  mean  simply  any  grouping 
of  facts  about  natural  objects  and  processes. 

The  above  definitions  of  science  as  organized  knowledge  may 
be  well  illustrated  by  a  brief  examination  of  the  old-time  natural 
history.  This  originally  dealt  with  all  phases  of  nature,  but  in 
the  last  century  came  to  be  commonly  understood  as  limited  to 
living  nature — plants  and  animals.  For  our  purposes  let  us 
briefly  consider  the  animal  side  of  natural  history.  Historians  of 
science  have  written  that  the  foundations  of  the  science  of 
zoology  were  laid  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
This  does  not  mean  that  in  this  century  men  first  began  to  study 
and  to  collect  facts  about  animals,  for  long  before  Aristotle  many 
observers  of  animal  life  in  its  familiar  forms  accumulated  much 
knowledge  about  animals,  and  Aristotle  and  later  naturalists 
added  great  contributions.  But  all  this  mass  of  facts  about  ani- 
mals lacked,  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  that 
organization  under  principles  and  generalizations  which  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  modern  science  of  zoology.  Zoology,  then,  is  not 
simply  the  study  of  animals,  as  it  is  often  loosely  defined :  but  it 
is  an  organization  of  knowledge  concerning  animals,  and  the 
founding  of  the  science  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  not  so  much 
due  to  discovery  of  numerous  new  facts  as  to  comparison  and 
organization  of  facts  which  had  been  accumulating  throughout 
many  centuries.  And  so  we  have  come  to  distinguish  between 
modern  organized  knowledge  under  zoology  and  the  former  un- 


I6  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

classified  accumulations  of  facts  about  animals  which  were  then 
known  as  natural  history.  This  happens  to  be  a  very  appropriate 
term,  for  the  word  *'  history  "  here  involves  no  idea  of  chronology, 
but  was  directly  derived  from  the  Greek  title  of  Aristotle's 
work  on  animals  in  which  connection  the  original  "  historia  " 
meant  records  of  investigation  or  information  obtained  by  re- 
searches; from  this  natural  history  meant  a  record  of  studies  of 
nature,  and  the  phrase  literally  and  by  strict  usage  involved  no 
idea  of  organization  and  generalization  such  as  is  understood  in 
the  modern  natural  sciences.  Organization  on  the  basis  of  classi- 
iication  of  facts  and  generalizations  is,  then,  the  one  fundamental 
difference  between  the  old  natural  history  of  animals  and  the  new 
science  which  we  know  as  zoology. 

I  have  used  the  history  of  the  study  of  animals  to  illustrate  the 
difference  between  the  mere  accumulation  of  facts  about  nature 
and  the  organization  of  the  facts  into  science.  In  like  manner 
we  might  find  illustration  in  any  other  natural  science ;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, we  might  have  traced  the  records  of  the  old  alchemists 
who  built  up  a  chemical  natural  history — a  record  of  facts  without 
the  atomic  theory  and  the  other  generalizations  which  have  organ- 
ized the  facts  into  the  modern  science  of  chemistry.  Other  illus- 
trations are  unnecessary  for  our  present  purpose ;  but  the  one 
point  which  must  be  emphasized  is  that  the  early  studies  of  nature 
in  all  its  phases  were  concerned  chiefly  with  observing  and 
accumulating  facts  because  of  man's  interest  in  nature  for  its  own 
sake,  rather  than  for  the  sake  of  contributing  to  organized  scien- 
tific knowledge  for  science's  sake. 

This  is  the  place  where  I  wish  to  draw  the  distinction  between 
general  nature-study  and  natural  science — two  phases  of  the  study 
of  nature.  Here  is  the  difference :  nature-study,  which  in  its 
subject-matter  is  only  a  modern  educational  form  of  the  old-time 
general  natural  history,  deals  with  facts  primarily  for  their  own 
sake  without  particular  regard  to  organization  into  a  system ;  on 
the  contrary,  modern  natural  science  deals  with  facts  primarily 
as  they  stand  related  to  generalizations.  Nature-study  deals  with 
the  simple  facts  of  nature  as  these  are  related  to  man's  general 
interest  in  them ;  but  natural  science  deals  with  facts,  both  general 
and  detailed,  as  they  fit  into  one  vast  scheme  of  generalizations. 
In  nature-study  for  elementary  and  popular  education  the  gen- 
eral acquaintance  with  natural  things  is  essential ;  but  in  science 


BiGELow]  NATURE-STUDY   AND    SCIENCE  1/ 

we  want  facts  which  we  can  correlate  and  classify  with  other  facts 
and  so  add  to  or  illustrate  principles  of  the  science.  Or  putting 
the  whole  matter  in  other  words,  nature-study  appeals  to  us 
aesthetically  and  morally — we  feel  the  value  of  acquaintance  with 
natural  objects  and  processes  without  perhaps  being  able  to  state 
the  reason  why;  but  natural  science  appeals  to  us  intellectually 
and  philosophically — we  measure  values  of  facts  according  to 
their  relations  in  our  system  of  knowledge.  We  see  that  the  dif- 
ference is  in  the  view-point,  rather  than  in  the  materials ;  but  so 
far  as  studies  of  nature  concern  the  earliest  stages  of  education 
and  popular  information  it  is  obvious  that  the  difference  is  a 
fundamental  one. 

We  have  answered  our  leading  questions.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  nature-study  of  the  elementary  school  and  the  natural 
science  of  the  higher  schools  should  not  be  simply  one  of  amount 
of  detail  and  simplicity  of  language,  and  true  nature-study  is  quite 
different  from  elementary  science  in  the  strict  sense,  because  na- 
ture-study should  not  deal  with  the  introduction  to  formulated 
principles  at  which  all  high-school  and  college  text-books  of  real 
elementary  science  aim  directly. 

These  considerations  lead  to  the  following  summary  by  way 
of  condensed  definitions :  Nature-study  is  primarily  the  simple 
observational  study  of  common  natural  objects  and  processes  for 
the  sake  of  personal  acquaintance  with  the  things  which  appeal 
to  human  interest  directly  and  independently  of  relations  to  or- 
ganized science.  Natural-science  study  is  the  close  analytical  and 
synthetical  study  of  natural  objects  and  processes  primarily  for 
the  sake  of  obtaining  knowledge  of  the  general  principles  w^hich 
constitute  the  foundations  of  modern  sciences. 

Space  here  will  not  permit  more  than  a  statement  of  the  propo- 
sition that  all  studies  of  natural  objects  and  processes  in  the  ele- 
mentary school  should  be  nature-studies  as  defined  in  the  discus- 
sion above,  because  true  elementary  science  with  its  very  founda- 
tion in  classifications  and  generalizations  is  not  adapted  to  pupils 
as  young  as  those  in  our  elementary  schools.  This  is  not  at  all 
a  radical  position,  for  the  truth  is  that  little  real  elementary 
science  has  been  successfully  presented  below  the  second  year  of 
high  schools^  most  "  sciences  "  in  lower  schools  being  simply  so 
designated  because  the  word  is  popularly  misunderstood  as  mean- 
ing any  study  of  nature. 


l8  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

I  fail  to  see  any  sound  foundation  for  distinction  between 
nature-study  and  natural  science  except  on  the  basis  of  general- 
izations, as  above  discussed.  With  regard  to  methods  of  study, 
it  is  generally  agreed  that  in  nature-study,  as  in  natural  science  of 
the  high  schools  and  college,  actual  study  of  the  natural  objects 
and  processes  is  the  one  sure  basis  for  the  teaching.  Of  course, 
there  must  be  some  limitations  of  the  scientific  method  as  applied 
to  nature-study ;  but,  as  will  be  pointed  out  later,  these  are  of 
minor  significance.  And  with  regard  to  materials  for  study,  it 
must  be  obvious  that  this  offers  no  good  ground  for  attempting 
to  draw  general  boundary  lines. 

In  conclusion,  it  should  be  said  that  the  above  emphasis  upon 
organization  and  generalizations  as  the  fundamental  distinction 
between  nature-study  and  natural  science  must  not  be  misunder- 
stood as  meaning  that  the  writer  is  taking  a  stand  for  unsys- 
tematic nature-study,  or  for  nature-study  which  is  utterly  un- 
scientific. On  the  contrary,  it  seems  certain  that  a  very  complete 
organization  of  the  studies  in  the  schools  must  soon  be  made  in 
order  to  make  nature-study  most  efficient  in  education.  But  such 
educational  organization  is  quite  independent  of  scientific  or- 
ganization upon  which  modern  sciences  are  founded.  Systema- 
tized nature-study  may  well  pave  the  way  for  true  science  study, 
but  this  is  an  incidental  result. 


PHYSICAL   NATURE-STUDY 

BY  JOHN  F.   WOODHULL 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

No  one  supposes  that  nature  comprises  only  plants  and  ani- 
mals, yet  the  term  nature-study  has  been  quite  generally  used  in 
that  exclusive  sense.  It  is  certain  that  botanical  and  zoological 
nature-study  are  much  more  common  than  physical  nature-study. 
The  reason  for  this  probably  lies  not  in  the  nature  of  the  subject 
nor  in  the  nature  of  children,  but  rather  in  the  fact  that  persons 
interested  in  botany  and  zoology  have  been  more  zealous  than  the 
teachers  of  physics  and  chemistry  in  the  performance  of  their 
duty  toward  the  elementary-school  pupils. 

Certain  it  is  that  children  are  greatly  interested  in  mechanical 
toys,  in  wind-mills,  water-wheels,  air-guns,  sail-boats,  steam-en- 


wooDHULL]  PHYSICAL    NATURE-STUDY  Iq 

gines,  magnets,  compasses,  lightning,  electric  batteries,  bells, 
motors,  mirrors,  prisms,  magnifying  glasses,  whistles,  harmonicas, 
all  kinds  of  machinery  and  physical  phenomena  in  general.  Will 
any  one  undertake  to  say  that  children  are  more  interested  in 
plants  and  animals  than  in  these,  or  that  the  realm  of  biology 
presents  simpler  facts  and  relations  than  the  physical  world? 
While  the  systematic  study  of  physical  phenomena  belongs  to  a 
later  period,  children  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age  have  an 
inextinguishable  interest  in  them  and  will  study  them  whether  we 
help  them  or  not. 

Physical  nature-study  deals  with  facts  and  relations  in  the  field 
of  physics  and  chemistry  which  the  children  of  elementary-school 
age  need  to  know  for  intelligent  and  happy  living. 

Possibly  teachers  of  physics  and  chemistry  have  been  too  much 
hampered  by  their  allegiance  to  the  inductive  method.  They  have 
scrupulously  avoided  the  giving  of  information.  They  have  even 
refused  to  make  use  of  simple  and  direct  means  of  illustration. 
Other  departments  give  information  freely  and  thereby  secure  a 
strong  hold  upon  the  pupils.  Why  should  the  department  which 
has  the  most  interesting  and  most  valuable  information,  informa- 
tion which  has  a  very  practical  bearing  upon  daily  life,  be  so 
chary  of  it  ?  This  was  not  the  attitude  of  Faraday,  Tyndall,  Clerk 
Maxwell,  and  of  many  other  leaders  in  the  field  of  physical 
science — past  and  present.  But  among  the  teachers  of  physics 
and  chemistry  in  the  public  schools  of  to-day  there  certainly  is 
greater  indifference  to  the  needs  of  the  elementary-school  pupils 
than  is  shown  by  the  teachers  of  other  departments  of  knowledge. 

The  Nature-Study  Review  will  welcome  contributions  which 
will  indicate  that  the  foregoing  statements  are  no  longer  true. 
Teachers  and  others  are  invited  to  make  this  journal  the  channel 
for  communicating  their  ideas  on  physical  nature-study — its 
methods,  limitations,  etc. 


20  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

NATURE-STUDY   AND   ELEMENTARY   AGRICULTURE 
IN   CANADA 

[Editorial  Note. — The  following  account  of  the  new  and  very  inter- 
esting movement  in  Canada  has  been  based  upon  printed  matter  and  other 
information  supplied  by  Dean  Muldrew  of  Macdonald  Institute.] 

Beginning  with  the  present  school-year  the  nature-study  move- 
ment in  the  rural  schools  of  Canada  will  surely  make  great  prog- 
ress, because  the  Macdonald  Institute  for  teachers  and  the  model 
rural  schools  will  have  their  organizations  complete  and  most  of 
the  buildings  ready  for  work.  Readers  of  Canadian  periodicals  of 
1902  will  remember  that  in  that  year  Sir  William  C.  Macdonald, 
of  Montreal,  authorized  Professor  James  W.  Robertson,  Com- 
missioner of  Agriculture  for  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  to  lay 
before  the  Premier  of  the  Province  of  Ontario  an  offer  of  assist- 
ance to  carry  out  a  plan,  submitted  at  the  same  time,  for  the  im- 
provement of  education  at  rural  schools ;  and  for  the  establishment 
of  courses  of  instruction  and  training  in  domestic  economy  or 
domestic  science,  at  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College.  This  plan 
included  assistance  towards :  ( i )  The  establishment  of  a  model 
consolidated  rural  school  in  Ontario  and  one  in  each  of  four  other 
Provinces  of  the  Dominion.  (2)  Providing  travelling  instruc- 
tors in  nature-study  for  groups  of  rural  schools  in  Ontario  and 
other  Provinces.  (3)  Providing  courses  of  study  and  training 
in  nature-study  for  teachers  in  rural  schools.  (4)  Providing 
courses  of  instruction  and  training  in  domestic  science  for  young 
women  from  country  homes,  and  others. 

In  order  to  give  effect  to  parts  3  and  4  of  the  above  plan,  the 
sum  of  $175,000  was  offered  to  the  Province  of  Ontario,  on  cer- 
tain conditions,  in  January,  1902,  and  was  accepted  by  Order-in- 
Coimcil  of  the  Provincial  Government  in  March  of  the  same  year. 
As  a  result  of  this  magnificent  gift  there  have  been  erected,  as  a 
department  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College,  at  Guelph,  the 
Macdonald  Hall,  a  residence  for  women  students,  and  the  Mac- 
donald Institute,  for  the  instruction  of  farmers'  daughters  and 
others  in  domestic  science  and  domestic  art,  and  for  equipping 
teachers  in  nature-study,  manual  training,  and  home  economics. 
By  a  liberal  interpretation  of  the  original  agreement,  the  Province 
of  Ontario  undertakes  the  maintenance  of  these  buildings,  in  per- 
petuity, and  provides  instruction  in  the  courses  suggested  above, 


MULDREw]  NATURE-STUDY   IN    CANADA  21 

with  considerable  extensions  that  have  been  thought  desirable  in 
the  various  departments. 

Nature-study  is  now  engaging  the  attention  of  educators  at 
home  and  abroad,  both  as  essential  to  a  general  education  and  as 
a  preparation  for  intelligent  agriculture.  To  equip  Canadian 
teachers  with  the  necessary  knowledge  and  skill  for  making 
proper  use  of  the  simple  materials  furnished  by  nature  is  one  of 
the  aims  of  the  Macdonald  Institute,  and  courses  in  nature-study 
and  school-gardening  are  ofifered  to  actual  teachers  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  this  important  branch  of  education.  Such  courses  are  of 
two  kinds,  three  months'  courses  and  full-year  courses. 

It  was  provided  by  the  original  agreement  with  Sir  William  C. 
Macdonald  that,  for  a  period  of  three  years,  five  rural  teachers 
from  each  of  the  older  Provinces  of  the  Dominion  should  be  en- 
titled to  a  three  months'  course  in  nature-study  without  payment 
of  fees.  At  the  same  time  a  fund,  was  provided  from  which  such 
teachers  will  receive  during  the  first  year  (1904-05)  5  cents  per 
mile  towards  traveling  expenses,  and  $25  to  every  approved 
teacher  who  has  taken  a  full  course  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
President  and  the  Dean.  It  was  expected  that  the  Governments 
of  the  various  Provinces  would  supplement  this  assistance  by 
granting  aid  to  worthy  teachers  wishing  to  take  such  a  course. 
The  expectation  has  been  fully  realized  by  the  recent  action  of  the 
various  governments.  In  this  way  there  have  been  offered  for  the 
term  beginning  September  13,  1904,  the  following  scholarships  for 
teachers  of  rural  schools :  Nova  Scotia,  8 ;  New  Brunswick,  8 ; 
Prince  Edward  Island,  5 ;  Quebec,  5 ;  Ontario,  14,  making  a  total 
of  40.  Of  this  number  about  one-quarter  will  be  ofifered  to  men 
receiving  $75  each,  and  about  three-quarters  to  women  receiving 
$50  each,  so  that  these  teachers  will  receive  from  $75  to  $100  each 
in  addition  to  the  mileage  allowance  for  travelling  expenses. 
Since  there  are  no  fees  or  other  charges,  except  for  board  and 
lodging  this  will  allow  a  large  number  of  teachers  to  take  advan- 
tage of  this  instruction  without  pecuniary  cost  to  themselves. 
The  appointments  to  these  scholarships  will  be  made  by  a  com- 
mittee, acting  with  the  Minister  or  Superintendent  of  Education 
in  each  of  the  Provinces  concerned.  Inquiries  for  further  infor- 
mation, of  applications  for  appointment,  should  be  addressed  to 
the  Departments  of  Education  of  the  respective  provinces  men- 
tioned above. 


22  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

The  one-term  course  will  aim  especially  to  prepare  teachers  to 
take  up  nature-study  with  their  pupils,  in  connection  with  a 
school-garden  and  to  deal  with  the  simpler  aspects  of  general 
nature-study.  It  is  open  to  actual  teachers ;  except  that  those  not 
appointed  to  scholarships  as  above  will  be  required  to  pay  the 
regular  fee  of  $10. 

In  some  of  the  Provinces  a  special  grant  is  paid  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  schools  which  take  up  work  of  this  kind,  under  instruc- 
tors who  are  properly  qualified.  This  bonus  may  be  divided  be- 
tween the  teachers  and  the  school.  In  such  case  it  is  expected 
that  the  successful  completion  of  the  above  course  will  be  accepted 
as  the  teacher's  qualification,  and  it  is  probable  that  similar  regu- 
lations will  be  adopted  in  all  of  the  Provinces. 

A  more  advanced  course  of  a  similar  nature  and  extending  over 
a  full  college  year  is  given  to  teachers  who  wish  to  qualify  as 
specialists  in  this  department.  Only  teachers  holding  permanent 
professional  certificates  are  eligible  for  entrance.  The  aim  is  to 
provide  instructors  fitted  to  carry  on  the  work  of  nature-study 
and  school-gardens  in  a  group  of  rural  schools,  in  a  large  consoli- 
dated school,  or  in  an  agricultural  high  school. 


SOME   RECENT   CRITICISMS   OF   NATURE-STUDY 

From  papers  by  Professor  McMurry,  of  New  York,  and  Professor  Armstrong, 

of  London 

In  a  paper  on  ''  Advisable  Omissions  from  the  Elementary  Cur- 
riculum, and  the  Basis  for  them"  {Educational  Review,  27: 
478-493.  May,  1904)  Professor  F.  M.  McMurry  of  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University,  points  out  that  the  present  ele- 
mentary-school curriculum  is  so  seriously  overcrowded  that 
omissions  are  demanded.  An  examination  of  the  various  school 
subjects  leads  him  to  the  conclusion  that  not  one  can  be  spared 
from  the  curriculum ;  and  omissions,  then,  must  be  confined  to 
particular  topics  and  details. 

Six  standards  for  selecting  have  in  the  past  guided  choice  of 
subject-matter,  namely :  utility,  the  child's  ability,  the  child's 
interest,  truth  for  truth's  sake,  harmonious  development  of  all 
faculties,  and  thoroughness.     From  a  discussion  of  these  Dr.  Mc- 


mcmurry-armstrong]     criticism  OF  NATURE-STUDY  23 

Murry  concludes  that  the  following  propositions  should  hold  in 
the  rejection  of  subject-matter:  (i)  Whatever  cannot  be  shown 
to  have  a  plain  relation  to  some  real  need  of  life,  whether  it  be 
sesthetic,  ethical,  or  utilitarian  in  the  narrower  sense,  must  be 
dropped.  (2)  Whatever  is  not  reasonably  within  the  child's  com- 
prehension, likewise.  (3)  Whatever  is  unlikely  to  appeal  to  his 
interest ;  unless  it  is  positively  demanded  for  the  first  very  weighty 
reason.  (4)  Whatever  topics  and  details  are  so  isolated  or 
irrelevant  that  they  fail  to  be  a  part  of  any  series  or  chain  of 
ideas,  and  therefore  fail  to  be  necessary  for  the  appreciation  of 
any  large  point.  This  standard,  however,  not  to  apply  to  the 
three  R's  and  spelling. 

Applying  these  suggestions  to  various  subjects  in  the  schools, 
Dr.  McMurry  writes  as  follows  with  special  reference  to  nature- 
study  : 

''  In  one  of  our  best  schools  I  was  recently  present  while  a 
second-grade  class  reached  the  conclusion  that  grasshoppers 
habitually  lived  in  dry,  sunny  places,  the  children,  when  playing, 
having  seen  them  there.  They  decided  that  the  insect  went  under 
boards  and  rocks  when  it  rained,  and  some  related  how  they  had 
fed  some  captive  grasshoppers  apple  and  water. 

''  I  saw  a  fifth  grade  write  out  a  description  of  a  dead  red  oak 
leaf,  the  paper  nearest  me  reading  as  follows :  Size,  7^  inches 
long ;  4  inches  widest  part ;  shape,  somewhat  oval — widest  at  top  ; 
lobes,  alternate,  long  pointed,  10  lobes  on  leaf;  indentation,  10 
indentations,  rounded,  deep,  alternate;  petiole,  short,  thick,  dark 
brown,  mid-vein  thinner  near  top  of  leaf ;  veins,  alternate,  thin, 
not  many ;  color,  dark  brown,  near  mid-vein. 

"  What  a  mass  of  worthless  matter  in  such  instruction !  Much 
of  it  so  valueless  that  there  is  no  pretense  of  reviewing  it  next 
day ;  it  is  even  unnecessary  for  examinations.  Here  lies  probably 
the  greatest  waste  in  our  instruction.  Where  there  is  no  careful 
selection  of  details,  there  is  only  an  aggregation ;  chaos  rules  there, 
and  despair  is  constant,  because  the  field  can  never  be  covered. 

"  The  teachers  are  not  satisfied  with  such  haphazard  work,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  bring  about  improvement.  However,  the  diffi- 
culty lies  not  in  method,  but  in  the  choice  of  matter,  and  I  desire 
to  make  three  recommendations  in  regard  to  the  remedy. 

"  In  the  first  place,  the  subject-matter  in  those  branches  that 
easilv  offer  mere  aggregations  of  facts,  like  history,  geography, 


24  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

and  nature-study,  should  be  brought  under  as  few  large  headings 
as  possible,  just  as  a  good  lecturer  is  under  obligations  to  present 
his  thoughts  under  a  few  good  points.  .  .  . 

"  In  the  second  place,  those  subtopics  should  be  selected  in  each 
branch  of  study  that  are  the  best  types  of  large  groups,  and  that 
thus  give  strategic  positions  in  the  field.  .  .  . 

"  In  the  third  place,  the  leading  questions  that  need  to  be 
answered  under  each  type,  or  other  topic,  need  to  be  clearly  con- 
ceived in  order  to  find  a  basis  for  selection  of  details.  For  in- 
stance, I  have  an  extension  class  of  y6  primary  teachers — much 
above  the  average  in  ability — who  agreed  on  22  little  points  that 
they  desired  to  teach  on  the  cat,  as  a  topic  in  nature-study.  But 
until  the  principal  questions  that  they  had  to  answer  in  regard  to 
the  cat  were  known,  to  which  these  many  facts  might  be  the 
answers,  their  subject-matter  was  absolutely  unorganized,  and 
they  were  unprepared  to  give  the  instruction.  Now  our  main  in- 
terest in  cats  is  as  pets,  and  if  we  set  out  to  learn  ( i )  to  what  ex- 
tent cats  can  provide  for  themselves,  and  therefore  (2)  to  what 
extent,  and  how,  we  should  take  care  of  them  as  our  pets,  we  shall 
cover  all  that  is  necessary  about  them.  And  when  we  desire  only 
the  answers  to  these  problems,  we  are  given  a  standard  that  allows 
the  omission  of  the  number  of  teeth,  the  color  of  the  hair,  the 
length  of  the  tail,  and  forty  other  facts  that  might  consume  time ; 
in  short,  that  lets  us  know  when  we  are  done  with  the  cat.  So,  if 
we  set  out  to  find  out  how  grasshoppers  sometimes  prove  injurious 
to  man,  and  what  means  may  be  used  to  destroy  them,  we  must 
discuss  the  food  of  the  insect,  his  voracious  appetite,  his  means  of 
locomotion  and  quickness,  his  enemies  (including  parasites),  his 
protection  by  mimicry^  and  his  stages  of  development;  but  we 
shall  have  no  time  to  consider  whether  or  not  he  knows  enough 
to  go  under  cover  when  it  rains,  provided  he  can  find  cover,  or 
the  fact  that  he  can  eat  apples,  since  he  will  never  get  many  apples 
to  eat  anyway. 

"  Similarly,  in  geography,  if  we  set  out  to  learn  what  are  the 
main  industries  that  have  sprung  up  in  the  Western  States,  with 
the  causes,  we  shall  need  to  consider  the  climate  and  topography, 
as  the  principal  key  to  the  situation,  and  then  the  mining,  lumber- 
ing, agriculture,  manufacturing,  trade  and  manufacturing  centers, 
etc.,  but  we  shall  have  no  excuse  for  bounding  all  the  States,  learn- 
ing each  capital  and  locating  various  capes,  small  towns,  insignifi- 


mcmurry-armstrong]     criticism  OF  NATURE-STUDY  2$ 

cant  mountains,  etc.  Above  all,  we  shall  be  unwilling  to  drop  into 
the  state-treatment  of  our  theme,  which  means  a  mere  aggregation 
of  facts,  dry  enough  to  cause  a  healthy  child  to  long  to  play 
hookey,  not  for  the  pleasures  anticipated,  but  for  the  pains 
escaped. 

''  These  three  recommendations  together  call  for  such  an  organ- 
ization of  subject-matter  as  has  thus  far  been  scarcely  attempted. 
The  thoroness  customary — and  probably  justified — in  the  three 
R's  and  spelling,  ignored  unity  of  arrangement  entirely ;  indeed, 
was  independent  of  it.  But  the  thoroness  proper  to  other  studies 
presupposes  organization,  and  is  based  upon  it.  This  kind  of 
thoroness  requires  that  much  attention  be  directed  to  relative 
values  of  perspective,  and  to  sequence,  just  as  in  a  story. 

"  And  such  organization  must  be  planned  from  the  learner's 
point  of  view.  Up  to  the  present,  however,  the  content  of  studies 
has  been  determined  from  the  scientific  point  of  view,  so  far  as 
there  was  a  point  of  view,  and  the  love  of  '  truth  for  truth's  sake  ' 
has  been  so  marked  that  one  fact  has  seemed  nearly  as  good  as 
another ;  hence  the  curriculum  of  the  common  school  reveals  little 
selection  or  pedagogical  arrangement.  Studies  like  geography 
and  nature-study  are  little  more  than  conglomerate  masses  of  fact, 
showing  our  educational  development  to  be  still  in  the  barbarous 
stage.  Studies  in  the  high  school  and  college  are  little  better. 
History,  for  example,  is  no  better  organized  there  than  in  the 
grades,  and  probably  not  so  well.  To  be  sure,  in  some  subjects, 
there  is  a  more  highly  developed  classification,  but  it  i?  not  the 
classification  most  appropriate  to  the  learning  mind,  because  the 
scientist's  point  of  view  is  not  that  of  the  learner ;  it  is  rather  that 
of  the  philosopher,  who  has  digested  his  field  and  then  arranges 
it  logically,  not  psychologically." 

In  concluding  his  paper  Dr.  McMurry  admits  that  his  sug- 
gestions set  a  great  task,  one  ''  for  the  most  advanced  and  ablest 
students  of  education,  who  are  as  well  posted  in  subject-matter  as 
in  the  principles  of  education  itself.  Even  these  have  more  than 
a  life  problem  in  such  a  task."  But  this  should  not  keep  any 
teacher  or  director  of  nature-study  in  any  of  its  phases  from 
making  improvements  by  beginning  to  apply  some  of  the  above 
principles  of  selection.  Probably  very  few  experts  in  nature- 
study  will  seriously  oppose  Dr.  McMurry's  declaration  that  there 
is  much  useless  nature-study  teaching,  and  that  the  time  has  now 


26  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

come  for  beginning  to  eliminate  by  organizing  the  materials. 
Such  definite  criticisms  are  bound  to  be  helpful,  whether  we  accept 
them  in  full  or  not. 

Another  recent  criticism  of  nature-study  as  now  taught  in  the 
United  States  is  by  Professor  Henry  E.  Amstrong,  of  London, 
who  visited  this  country  last  year  as  a  member  of  the  Moseley 
Educational  Commission.  In  the  report  of  that  commission  (pub- 
lished in  London,  1904)  Professor  Armstrong  summarizes  his 
observations  on  nature-study  in  many  of  our  leading  common 
schools  by  the  statement  that  "  The  Nature-Study  lessons  I  wit- 
nessed, when  not  specifically  botanical  or  zoological  and  scientific 
in  character,  were  eminently  superficial  and  worthless."  In  an- 
other place  Professor  Armstrong  writes  concerning  the  nature- 
study  work  for  rural  schools :  *'  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a 
pioneer  work  of  great  importance  is  being  done,  on  which  it 
will  be  possible  to  build  in  the  future.  It  is  not  possible  now 
to  discuss  in  any  proper  way  the  method  of  teaching  adopted. 
I  desire  to  say  everything  in  its  favor,  feeling  as  I  do  that  the 
object  in  view  is  all  important;  but  I  am  satisfied  that  the  work 
lacks  depth  and  that  those  engaged  in  it  are  not  yet  aware  of 
the  extent  to  which  it  is  possible  to  introduce  exact  method 
into  such  studies;  they  need  to  be  more  fully  acquainted  with 
the  practice  of  scientific  method  and  with  the  art  of  discovery. 
It  would  be  more  nearly  correct  to  speak  of  the  movement  as  one 
for  the  promotion  of  Nature-love  rather  than  as  Nature-Study. 
At  present  it  involves  far  too  little  real  study  and  concentration 
of  purpose ;  which  is  unfortunate,  as  rural  children  particularly 
need  training  in  exactness." 

Taking  this  criticism  as  a  whole,  many  American  educators  who 
are  quite  familiar  with  our  schools  have  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  sweeping  criticism  ''  eminently  superficial  and  worthless  "  de- 
serves fuller  explanation  and  discussion.  Professor  Armstrong 
promises  that  when  the  pressure  of  his  work  allows  he  will  write 
for  The  Nature-Study  Review  a  fuller  discussion  of  nature- 
study  as  he  has  seen  the  teaching  in  the  United  States;  and  then 
we  shall  be  able  to  consider  whether  we  can  get  helpful  sugges- 
tions from  his  criticisms. 


burkett]  agriculture  IN  SOUTHERN  SCHOOLS  2/ 


AGRICULTURE   IN    SOUTHERN   SCHOOLS 

BY  PROFESSOR  C.  W.  BURKETT 
North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 

It  is  never  an  easy  task  to  introduce  a  new  subject  into  the 
public-school  curriculum.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  want  of 
training  on  the  part  of  the  teacher ;  to  an  already  crowded  course 
of  study ;  and  to  a  constant  disinclination  to  change  from  the 
old  way  of  doing  things  to  the  new,  even  if  the  latter  is  better. 
The  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  public  schools  with  us  has  gone 
the  same  way  as  other  studies  that  have  been  added  from  time  to 
time.  However,  there  has  been  a  strong  public  sentiment  in  favor 
of  agriculture  in  the  schools.  This  sentiment  did  not  come  at 
once,  but  it  had  been  before  the  people  for  a  long  time,  so  when 
any  concerted  action  was  given  results  quickly  followed. 

The  feeling  is  especially  strong  in  the  Southern  States  that  agri- 
culture shall  be  taught  in  the  schools.  This  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  the  legislatures  of  Virginia,  Tennessee,  North  Caro- 
lina, South  Carolina,  Alabama,  Georgia,  and  Louisiana  have  each 
put  agriculture  on  their  required  list  of  studies  to  bear  the  same 
importance  as  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  etc.  And  this  has  not 
been  brought  about  by  lobbying  in  the  interest  of  text-book  pub- 
lishers, nor  because  of  the  demand  of  colleges  and  teachers.  It 
is  the  people's  demand.  Rural  South  sees  the  advantages  that 
would  follow  if  her  people  were  trained  somewhat  along  the  lines 
they  will  take  up  in  after  life.  She  believes  that  it  is  just  as  im- 
portant that  her  young  men  and  women  know  something  about 
the  soil  as  about  the  stars ;  that  they  have  some  acquaintance  with 
King  Cotton  as  well  as  with  King  Richard ;  that  they  know  about 
some  of  the  laws  concerned  with  plant  and  animal  growth  as  well 
as  the  laws  that  had  to  do  with  the  greatness  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
So  the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  schools  is  a  demand  of  the 
times.  It  is  to  make  life  fuller  and  richer  by  making  the  farm 
better,  and  the  farm  home  more  responsive.  Culture  will  come 
just  the  same.  Education,  while  perhaps  more  practical,  will 
nevertheless  be  just  as  broad  and  effective. 

Nor  is  agriculture  to  be  taught  in  a  desultory  way.  Teachers 
are  carefully  preparing  themselves  for  the  work.  This  is  seen  by 
the  fact  that  during  the  past  summer  nearly  six  hundred  teachers 


28  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

elected  agriculture  and  nature-study  at  the  North  Carolina  College 
of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts.  At  the  University  of  Tennes- 
see summer  school  over  two  hundred  elected  agriculture  and 
nature-study;  and  at  the  Hampton  (Va.)  Normal  and  Agricultural 
Institute  over  five  hundred  teachers  studied  the  same.  It  may 
be  said  that  the  same  number  of  teachers  were  students  in  agri- 
culture at  the  various  summer  schools  and  teachers'  institutes 
throughout  the  South. 

The  importance  of  agriculture  as  a  required  study  is  intensified 
by  giving  the  study  a  regular  place  in  the  daily  school  program. 
A  text-book  is  used ;  experiments  are  performed ;  tramps  to 
brooks,  fields,  and  farms  are  made ;  essays  are  written  on  agri- 
cultural subjects  as  a  part  of  the  regular  work.  Of  course  it 
will  be  seen  that  all  this  contributes  to  making  the  work  both 
profitable  and  interesting  to  the  pupil  and  teacher  alike.  While 
the  work  is  new,  the  experiment  now  being  made  promises  to  be 
of  great  importance  to  the  schools  throughout  the  South.  It  is 
interesting  parents  in  school  work  who  have  heretofore  been  un- 
interested in  education.  It  is  dignifying  farm  life,  and  it  is 
destined  to  help  the  fields,  and  flocks,  and  herds  of  the  South 
where  the  great  wealth  lies. 


SCHOOL-GARDENS 

[Editorial  Note. — School-gardens  have  in  recent  years  be- 
come a  prominent  and  valuable  part  of  the  nature-study  movement, 
and  hence  it  is  within  the  province  of  this  journal  to  consider  them 
as  a  phase  of  nature-study.  It  is  not  planned  to  publish  a  long 
series  of  descriptions  of  gardens  which  are  in  all  essentials  similar, 
and  there  will  be  no  attempt  at  imitating  the  elaborate  illustrated 
and  detailed  reports  which  are  often  published  principally  for  local 
distribution.  On  the  contrary,  we  will  select  for  publication 
those  original  suggestions  which  seem  to  be  applicable  to  any 
school-garden,  and  which  will  tend  to  encourage  the  develop- 
ment of  new  gardens.  But  we  will  not  aim  entirely  at  the  prac- 
tical problem  of  making  a  garden  which  interests  the  pupils  and 
their  friends  and  looks  attractive  in  photographs.  So  far  as  the 
mere  practical  side  of  gardening  is  concerned  there  are  hundreds 
of  successful  school-gardens  in  the  United  States ;  but  in  general 


hemenway]  school-gardens  29 

little  effort  is  being  made  towards  making  the  gardens  of  greatest 
educational  value,  except  in  the  line  of  manual  training.  This 
latter  alone  is  undoubtedly  worth  all  the  effort  and  is  a  sufficient 
justification  for  making  school-gardens  in  connection  with  ele- 
mentary education ;  but  gardens  are  such  splendid  concentrations 
of  natural  objects,  especially  the  living,  that  they  surely  have  the 
possibilities  of  great  educational  value  in  discipline  other  than 
manual  and  in  information  which  has  practical,  intellectual, 
aesthetic,  and  moral  bearings.  It  is  here,  rather  than  in  the  prac- 
tical management,  that  we  see  the  present  problem  concerning  the 
school-garden  movement ;  and  suggestions  for  making  gardens 
most  efficient  educationally  will  be  welcomed.] 


SCHOOL-GARDENS    AT   THE    SCHOOL   OF   HORTICULTURE, 
HARTFORD,  CONNECTICUT 

BY  H.  D.  HEMENWAY 
Director  of  the  School  of  Horticulture 

The  School  of  Horticulture  was  established  in  the  year  1900 
as  one  of  the  Handicraft  Schools  of  Hartford  by  the  Rev.  Francis 
Goodwin.  Mr.  Goodwin  is  the  founder  and  largely  the  supporter 
of  the  Handicraft  Schools,  for  which  he  donated  over  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  city  of  Hart- 
ford. School-garden  work  is  only  one  of  the  subjects  taught  at 
the  School  of  Horticulture,  although  it  has  become  most  widely 
known  on  account  of  the  success  attained  in  this  line  of  work. 
Probably  no  school-gardens  in  the  country  are  conducted  on  more 
simple,  more  systematic  and  at  the  same  time  more  scientific  prin- 
ciples than  those  at  this  school.  Nevertheless,  it  is  possible  to 
get  more  good  from  a  garden  connected  with  the  public  schools 
because  there  all  the  work  can  be  correlated  with  other  branches 
of  study. 

The  children  come  from  the  city  in  classes  of  about  fifteen. 
They  enter  the  class-room  where  each  pupil  receives  a  numbered 
note-book  on  which  he  writes  his  name  and  the  name  of  the  public 
school  that  he  attends.  In  making  application  for  a  garden,  the 
pupil  gives  his  name,  age,  residence,  parent's  name  and  occupation, 
nationality,  the  public  school  he  attends  and  the  grade.     On  the 


30 


THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW 


[l,  I,  JAN.  1905 


first  page  of  the  note-book  the  pupil  marks  his  own  attendance 
and  keeps  a  weather  report.  The  second  page  is  reserved  for  a 
diagram  of  the  garden.  On  the  third  page  the  lessons  begin. 
They  are  copied  from  the  blackboard  or  given  from  dictation  in 
clear,  concise  language.  Packages  of  seeds  put  up  in  coin  en- 
velopes, just  enough  of  a  kind  for  a  row,  are  suppHed  the  pupils, 
and  they  then  pass  with  the  instructor  to  the  tool-room  where 
each  receives  a  numbered  set  of  tools — a  hoe,  a  rake,  a  line,  and  a 
weeder.  With  the  note-books,  seeds  and  tools  the  children  pass 
through  the  observation  plots  to  their  gardens.  An  instructor 
is  always  present  to  show  the  young  gardeners  (many  of  whom 


Garden  No- 
Name, 


SCHOOL  OF  HORTICULTURE.  Hartford,  Conn. 

..Began. 


1 1 

MARCH 

APSn. 

HAT 

JTOE 

jtn,i 

AUOCST 

aarrsiiBBB 

OCTO.H* 

Date, 

" 

" 

Aneidaice, 

wort, 

Note  Book. 

Deport.e,t, 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

^ 

[E.— Excellent, 
a.— Good. 
o]F.-Fair. 


A  —Absent. 
L— Late. 


have  never  had  a  hoe  or  a  rake  in  their  hands  before)  how  to 
carry  out  the  instructions  given  in  the  class-room.  As  soon  as  the 
work  is  finished,  each  child  takes  his  tools  to  the  tool-room,  cleans 
and  hangs  them  in  their  proper  places,  returns  the  note-book  to 
the  class-room  and  goes  home.  In  this  way  discipline  is  reduced 
to  a  minimum  because  the  quicker  pupils  are  not  kept  idly  about 
while  the  slower  ones  finish  their  work.  The  girls'  gardens  are 
the  same  as  the  boys ;  but  they  come  in  separate  classes. 

All  work  about  the  individual  gardens  is  done  by  the  pupils, 
who  become  owners  and  have  all  the  products  of  their  toil.  The 
third  and  fourth  year  pupils  assist  some  in  staking  out  their  own 
gardens  and  selecting  the  crops  they  are  to  grow.  The  fourth 
year  pupils  make  all  their  own  selections  and  original  diagrams. 
The  individual  gardens  have  gradually  increased  in  size  until  now 
they  are  ten  by  thirty  feet  for  beginners,  ten  by  forty  feet  for 
second  year  pupils,  ten  by  sixty  feet  for  third  year  pupils,  and  ten 
by  eighty  feet  for  fourth  year  pupils.     They  are  situated  on  the 


hemenway] 


SCHOOL-GARDENS 


west  side  of  a  long  main  walk  ten  feet  in  width.  Paths  five  feet 
wide  lead  from  this  walk  between  the  rows  of  gardens,  and  there 
are  walks  three  feet  wide  between  each  garden.  Corn  is  planted 
on  the  north  end  of  each  garden  so  that  the  wider  walk  takes  the 
shadow.  On  the  east  side  of  the  main  walk  are  arranged  observa- 
tion plots  in  which  are  grown  about  one  hundred  herbaceous  and 
annual  flowers  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  dififerent  kinds  of  other 
plants,  including  all  the  cereals,  market  garden  crops,  fibre  plants, 
many  of  the  legumes,  forage  crops,  medical  and  pot  herbs. 


1  he  buildings  at  tiie  Hartford  School  of  Horticuh 


The  garden  courses  begin  with  the  fourth  year  pupils  in  Jan- 
uary ;  the  third  year  pupils  in  February ;  the  second  year  pupils  in 
March ;  and  the  first  year  pupils  about  the  first  of  May,  according 
to  the  season.  The  work  taken  up  by  the  advanced  pupils  is 
making  hot-beds ;  hot-bed  mats  of  rye  straw ;  glazing,  painting 
and  repairing  sash ;  drawing  original  garden  plans ;  various 
methods  of  grafting,  and  making  the  grafting  wax,  cord  and 
cloth ;  physical  analysis  of  soil ;  study  of  soils  and  plant  foods ; 
notes  and  practical  work  in  taking  cuttings,  both  hard  and  soft 
wood  ;  pruning ;  spraying  with  insecticides  and  fungicides ;  spad- 


32 


THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW 


[l,  I,  JAN.   1905 


iiEMENWAY]  SCHOOL-GARDENS  33 

ing  ;  taking  up  and  setting  out  trees  and  shrubs  ;  care  of  grounds — 
lawns  and  walks  ;  silk-worm  culture ;  mixing  soil ;  planting  seeds  ; 
potting  and  re-potting  plants  in  the  greenhouse  and  transplanting 
them  in  the  garden.  The  advanced  boys  grow  all  the  greenhouse 
plants  for  all  the  boys'  gardens.  Each  year  the  pupils  get  some 
advanced  work  and  a  review  of  the  work  they  have  already  had. 

The  lessons  are  regularly  once  a  week  for  each  pupil.  The  time 
is  so  arranged  that  it  does  not  interfere  with  public-school  work 
in  any  way,  lessons  coming  after  school  in  spring  and  autumn. 
They  continue  every  week  during  the  summer.  Pupils  are  per- 
mitted to  come  and  work  in  their  gardens  at  any  time  when  the 
tools  are  not  in  use. 

Seeds,  tools,  note-books,  etc.,  are  furnished  by  the  school,  but 
a  tuition  fee  of  five  dollars  for  the  first  year,  seven  dollars  for  the 
second  year,  ten  dollars  for  the  third  year,  and  twelve  dollars  for 
the  fourth  year  is  charged  the  pupils.  This  sum,  however,  need 
not  keep  any  worthy  boy  from  having  a  garden,  for  one  hun- 
dred hours'  work  for  the  school  pays  any  boy's  tuition,  and 
many  boys  pay  in  this  way.  Several  have  found  that  in  so  doing 
they  have  not  only  paid  for  their  garden,  but  have  also  fitted  them- 
selves to  take  positions  in  the  city.  This  past  season  several  per- 
sons have  applied  to  the  school  for  boys  to  care  for  their  gardens 
and  lawns  because  the  men  they  were  hiring  to  do  the  work  were 
unsatisfactory  in  that  they  did  not  know  the  difference  between 
the  weeds  and  plants.  One  of  the  second  year  pupils,  so  recom- 
mended by  us,  proved  himself  so  satisfactory  that  the  lady  hiring 
him  recommended  him  to  several  others  until  he  had  all  his  time 
engaged.  At  the  end  of  the  season  his  savings  bank  account  was 
a  great  contrast  to  that  of  the  boys  in  his  school  who  had  no 
garden  and  spent  their  time  upon  the  street.  But  aside  from  the 
money  value,  the  boy  learned  industry  and  acquired  an  interest  in 
plants,  which  will  mean  much  to  him  in  future  life. 

The  yield  of  the  garden  should  exceed  the  price  of  the  tuition 
paid.  It  varies,  of  course,  according  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
boy  cares  for  it.  One  third-year  garden  (ten  by  sixty  feet) 
yielded  as  follows :.  thirteen  and  one-half  quarts  shell  beans  ;  ten 
quarts  wax  beans,  six  quarts  lima  beans  ;  fifty  beets  ;  six  cabbages  ; 
forty-four  ears  of  corn ;  eighteen  roots  of  celery;  forty-two  heads 
of  lettuce  ;  ten  onions ;  fifty-eight  quarts  Swiss  chard ;  six  quarts 
peas  ;  one  peck  potatoes  ;  seventeen  five-cent  bunches  of  parsley ; 


34  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

three  hundred  and  fifty-nine  radishes ;  nine  quarts  spinach ;  forty- 
three  summer  squash ;  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  tomatoes ; 
thirty-eight  turnips ;  eleven  quarts  of  Valentine  beans ;  and  for 
flowers :  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  nasturtiums ;  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-four  pansies ;  thirty-five  snap-dragons ;  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  stocks ;  and  six  hundred  and  ninety  verbenas. 
At  the  regular  market  price  the  vegetables  were  worth  over  fifteen 
dollars^  without  taking  into  consideration  the  flowers  at  all.  The 
crops  are  so  arranged  that  after  the  fourth  week  in  the  garden 
there  is  something  to  take  home  after  every  lesson.  Many  of  the 
boys  leave  some  of  their  fiowers  in  the  gardens  so  as  to  make 
them  more  attractive ;  and  these,  of  course,  do  not  show  on  the 
total  yields  of  the  gardens. 

As  soon  as  the  pupils  have  finished  planting  their  gardens,  one  or 
more  of  the  common  weeds  is  studied  at  each  lesson — roots,  stem, 
leaves,  and,  if  possible,  the  flowers  and  seeds.  The  pupils  are 
taught  the  name  of  the  plant  and  its  uses  (if  it  has  any),  and  the 
best  time  and  method  of  killing  it.  In  the  same  manner  the  cereals, 
garden  crops,  and  fibre  plants  are  studied.  The  children  are  taken 
through  the  observation  plots  frequently,  and  the  value  of  the 
crop,  its  importance  in  the  United  States,  and  the  products  and 
bi-products  are  explained  to  them.  All  observation  plots,  both 
of  vegetables  and  flowers,  are  plainly  labeled  with  the  common 
names  so  that  the  children  may  become  familiar  with  them.  The 
Latin  names  are  also  put  on  most  of  the  labels  of  the  flower  plots. 

Insects  are  also  studied  and  the  children  are  taught  how  to 
treat  the  commoner  ones  as  well  as  to  know  them  in  all  of  their 
stages  of  development.  In  1904  more  than  one  thousand  silk- 
worms were  grown.  These  were  watched  by  all  classes  from 
the  Qgg  to  the  cocoon  and  the  adult  moth.  The  different  stages 
of  development  were  made  use  of  in  illustrating  the  different  stages 
which  some  of  the  smaller  insects  pass  through. 

Besides  the  children's  gardens,  there  are  classes  in  school- 
garden  work  for  adults.  The  advanced  class  begins  in  the  early 
part  of  the  winter  and  the  students  are  those  who  have  already 
taken  one  year's  course  in  school-garden  work,  or  teachers  of  the 
New  Britain  State  Normal  School,  or  teachers  in  Hartford  public 
schools.  This  class  studies  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil, 
plant  foods,  seeds,  testing  seeds,  collecting  seeds,  germination, 
grafting  of  all  kinds,  silk  culture,  drafting  school-garden  plans. 


hemenway]  school-gardens  3  5 

history  of  the  different  crops,  hot-beds,  fungi,  etc.  Each  in- 
dividual has  one  garden,  ten  by  thirty-five  feet,  to  be  cared  for 
throughout  the  summer. 

While  a  great  many  plants  grown  at  the  school  are  not  very 
common,  an  effort  is  made  to  have  all  classes  become  perfectly 
familiar  with  our  common  forms  which  can  come  into  the  daily 
life  of  every  pupil. 


"  The  annual  exhibit  is  for  the  young  gardeners  what  the  closing  day  was  to  the  pupils  in  the  old 

district  schools." 

The  Civic  Club  of  the  city  of  Hartford  has  from  the  beginning 
been  much  interested  in  the  school  and  offers  twenty-five  dollars 
in  prizes,  which  are  awarded  in  the  autumn  when  the  exhibit  is 
held.  Prizes^  are  offered  for  the  best  kept  gardens  in  each  of  che 
classes,  the  awards  being  made  by  judges  who  visit  the  gardens 
frequently  during  the  summer.  There  are  also  prizes  for  the 
produce  that  is  grown  in  the  boy's  garden,  the  variety,  quality,  and 
arrangement  at  the  exhibit  being  considered  in  awarding  the 
prizes.     There  is  also  a  hoeing  contest  open  to  all  boys,  prizes 


36  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

for  each  class,  and  a  spading  contest  open  only  to  the  third  and 
fourth  year  boys.  The  exhibit  is  for  the  young  gardeners  what 
the  closing  day  was  to  the  pupils  in  the  old  district  schools.  Par- 
ents, teachers  and  friends  are  all  invited  to  be  present.  An  effort 
is  made  by  every  gardener  to  have  his  garden  in  perfect  condition, 
and  the  rivalry  in  arranging  the  produce  on  the  tables  is  keen. 
The  hoeing  and  spading  contests  show  visitors  something  of  what 
the  boys  have  learned  in  the  methods  of  handling  tools,  while  the 
gardens  and  produce  show  what  they  have  accomplished  in  apply- 
ing these  methods.  There  are  also  at  the  exhibit  spinning  wheels 
and  a  hand-loom  in  operation,  and  the  different  fibre  plants  grown 
at  the  school — jute,  cotton,  flax,  ramie,  and  hemp — are  all  shown 
in  their  various  stages  of  development  and  manufacture  from  the 
growing  product  to  the  finished  cloth.  This  has  been  explained 
to  the  children ;  although  this  is  the  only  practical  demonstration 
that  they  have  the  opportunity  to  see.  There  are  also  exhibits  of 
the  handicraft  courses  as  well  as  the  school-gardens,  which  aid 
in  making  the  school-garden  exhibit  not  only  very  attractive  but 
of  educational  value. 

What  is  done  at  the  School  of  Horticulture  can  be  done  in 
many  schools.  It  may  not  be  possible  to  have  as  large  gardens, 
and  often  it  will  be  necessary  to  secure  land  in  the  public  parks 
or  in  vacant  lots.  The  grafting  work  and  potting  can  often  be 
arranged  in  the  basement  or  on  a  table  in  the  schoolroom,  and 
the  "  window- gar  den''  is  the  teacher's  greenhouse.  In  it  can  be 
grown  all  of  the  early  vegetables  and  flowers  started  for  the 
gardens  outside,  and  greater  interest  and  enthusiasm  will  develop 
if  the  children  see  the  plants  growing  day  by  day.  Of  course, 
there  must  be  an  instructor  who  is  equal  to  the  task. 

While  we  may  not  be  able  to  make  many  farmers  and  gar- 
deners, we  may  help  to  make  much  better  men  and  women.  It  is 
hoped  that  we  may  check  the  flow  of  people  to  the  city  and  turn 
some  back  again  to  the  country.  The  school-garden  creates  a 
love  for  industry,  a  love  for  the  country,  for  nature  and  things 
beautiful,  and  makes  boys  and  girls  stronger,  more  intelligent, 
nobler,  truer  men  and  women. 


fielde] 


ANT-NESTS 


37 


ANT-NESTS   FOR   THE    SCHOOLROOM 

Suggestions  from  a  paper  by  Adele  M.  Fielde,  in  Biological  Bulletin 

The  ants  are,  with  perhaps  the  exception  of  bees,  the  most  inter- 
esting insects  which  can  easily  be  kept  for  daily  observation^,  and 
teachers  will  welcome  recent  improvements  in  methods  of  keeping 
them  in  captivity  under  conditions  which  they  may  be  easily 
observed  whenever  desired.  Most  important  of  improved  methods 
are  those  recently  described  in  Biological  Bulletin  (Vol.  7,  No.  4, 
Sept.,  1904),  by  Adele  M.  Field,  of  New  York,  who  seems  to 
have  brought  near  to  perfection  the  ant  nests  which  she  first  de- 
scribed in  1900.  She  now  has  ants  which  have  lived,  without 
earth,  for  three  vears  in  health  and  contentment. 


m/////////my/^^^^^^ 


(  s  ^' 


Food 


S 


food 


m^///////////////^^^^^^ 


Floor  plans  of  2-  and  3-room  ant-nests.     The  oblique  shading  represents  the  walls  and  S  the  sponge 

for  moisture. 


The  Fielde  nests  are  made  as  follows :  The  foundation  or  floor 
of  the  nest  is  a  pane  of  thick  window  glass  (lo  by  6  or  6  by  4 
inches).  This  is  laid  on  a  sheet  of  thick,  white  blotting  paper; 
but  the  paper  is  not  fastened  to  the  glass.  Next,  a  wall  is  built 
up  about  one-fourth  inch  from  the  edge  of  the  glass  (see  figure). 
This  wall  is  made  by  cementing  (with  Diamond,  Major's,  or  other 
crockery  cement)  to  the  floor  plate  four  glass  strips  about  one-half 


3S 


THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW 


[l,  I,  JAN.   1905 


inch  wide  and  double  thick,  and  then  upon  these  cement  four 
other  strips  so  that  the  wall  will  be  at  least  one-fourth  inch  high. 
Avoid  interstices  where  ants  might  hide  or  escape. 

The  space  enclosed  by  the  glass  wall  is  divided  by  one  or  two 
partitions  double  the  width  of  the  wall,  but  otherwise  made  the 
same  way.  The  glass  strips  for  these  partitions  are  cut  short  so 
as  to  leave  a  passageway  from  room  to  room,  and  this  passage  is 
covered  with  a  strip  of  thin  celluloid  or  mica. 

After  cement  is  well  dried,  the  edge  of  the  floor  plate  and  the 
outside  of  walls  are  covered  with  opaque  cloth  or  paper,  using 
some  liquid  glue.  These  edges  may  be  painted  with  black  enamel, 
but  cloth  is  said  to  wear  better. 


msmmm*^. 


In  the  Fielde  nests  ants  have  lived  for  three  years. 


There  is  a  glass  roof-pane  for  each  room  in  the  nest.  The  glass 
is  thin ;  extends  to  the  middle  of  the  partition  and  to  the  outer 
edges  of  the  walls  on  which  it  rests ;  prevents  the  exit  of  ants ; 
and  permits  observation  of  their  behavior.  The  glass  may  be 
without  color,  or  it  may  be  a  red  or  orange  tint  (such  as  photo- 
graphers use)  that  will  partially  exclude  ultra-violet  light.  Ants 
perceive  rays  of  light  which  are  of  short  wave-length,  and  by  use 
of  a  spectroscope,  a  glass  roofing  has  been  selected  which  renders 
the  ants  visible  within  the  nest  while  it  protects  them  from  the 
light-rays  which  they  instinctively  shun.  If  such  glass  is  used  for 
roofing  the  nest,  the  ants  will  behave  as  if  in  darkness  where  they 
habitually  live. 

The  glass  roof-panes  rest  upon  a  cushion  of  Turkish  toweling 
which  is  glued  to  the  top  of  the  wall  of  the  nest.  This  allows 
ventilation  and  prevents  the  escape  of  the  ants.     In  its  simplest 


fielde]  ant-nests  39 

form  it  may  1)e  made  by  cutting  a  piece  of  toweling  the  size  of  the 
base  of  the  nest  and  then  cut  holes  the  size  of  the  inside  of  the 
rooms  of  the  nest  (see  accompanying  half-tone). 

An  outer  roofing  of  blotting-paper  makes  the  interior  of  the  nest 
wholly  dark.  The  food-room  should  be  light,  as  it  represents  the 
ant's  outside  world. 

When  any  room  in  the  nest  requires  cleaning,  it  is  covered  with 
transparent  glass,  and  then  the  ants  withdraw  from  it  with  their 
young  into  a  dark  room,  which  may  in  its  turn  be  made  light. 

The  food-room  is  dry,  and  in  cool  weather  requires  attention 
but  once  a  fortnight.  Sponge-cake  merged  in  a  little  honey  or 
molasses,  banana,  apple,  mashed  walnut,  and  the  muscular  parts 
and  larvae  of  insects  are  among  the  favorite  edibles.  Food  should 
be  constantly  attainable  in  the  nest,  but  it  should  be  introduced 
in  tiny  morsels  that  it  may  not  by  decomposing  vitiate  the  air. 

Since  moisture  encourages  the  growth  of  molds,  no  water  is  put 
into  the  food-room.  But  ants  drink  often,  and  they  require  a 
humid  atmosphere.  All  other  rooms  than  that  alloted  to  their 
food  are  made  humid  by  laying  a  flake  of  sponge  on  the  floor  and 
keeping  the  sponge  saturated  with  clean  water  dropped  twice  a 
week  from  a  pipette.  The  sponges  are  kept  clean  by  weekly 
washing  and  immersion  in  hot  water.  Sponges  of  fine  tough 
texture  render  best  service,  as  they  ofifer  no  apertures  where  ants 
may  conceal  their  eggs.  The  flake  of  sponge  should  be  so  thin  as 
to  permit  the  ants  to  pass  between  it  and  the  glass  roof-pane. 

The  completed  nest  is  less  than  half  an  inch  in  its  interior 
height,  and  does  not  exceed  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  its  exterior 
height.  A  low-power  lens  is  easily  focused  upon  the  ants  within 
the  nest. 

In  order  to  stock  a  nest  with  an  ant  colony,  wild  nests  are  dug 
up  and  the  ants  captured  are  carried,  along  with  some  soil,  in  jars 
whose  mouths  are  covered  with  gauze  cloth.  The  ants  and  soil 
are  then  scattered  over  an  "  island  "  made  by  floating  a  board  on 
water,  or  better,  by  grooving  a  channel  around  the  edge  of  a  thick 
board  and  filling  this  moat  with  water  which  temporarily  confines 
the  ants.  A  piece  of  glass  covered  by  opaque  paper  is  suspended 
slightly  above  the  surface  of  the  board.  The  ants  soon  gather 
their  young  underneath  the  darkened  glass,  and  some  of  them 
may  be  easily  scooped,  without  any  soil,  into  the  nest.     Or  a  nest 


40  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

may  be  placed  on  the  "  island  "  and  the  cover  left  open  so  that 
the  ants  may  get  into  the  darkened  rooms. 

Instead  of  the  "  island  "  above  described,  some  collectors  make, 
on  a  table,  a  stockade  of  dry  plaster  of  Paris  which,  like  water, 
confines  the  ants  until  they  collect  beneath  the  darkened  glass. 

In  transporting  the  nest  it  is  advisable  to  tie  the  covers  with 
tapes  or  rubber  bands.  Miss  Fielde  has  carried  her  nests  on  long 
railroad  journeys,  placing  them  on  shelves  in  a  portable  wooden 
case. 

These  improved  ant-nests  are  so  simple  in  construction  and  make 
keeping  the  insects  so  easy  that  they  deserve  a  trial  in  schools, 
and  this  review  is  made  because  it  seems  probable  that  we  have 
here  a  valuable  suggestion  for  nature-study  work.  At  a  later  time 
we  hope  to  present  some  suggestions  as  to  studies  of  ants  which 
may  be  made  by  pupils  in  the  school. 


BOOK   REVIEWS 

American  Natural  History.  By  W.  T.  Hornaday,  Director  of 
the  New  York  Zoological  Park.  N.  Y.,  Scribner's  Sons.  1904. 
Pp.  449  (about  7  by  10  inches),  illustrated.     $3.50. 

This  new  "  foundation  of  useful  knowledge  of  the  higher  ani- 
mals of  North  America  "  supplies  a  long-felt  want  for  a  one- 
volume  work  devoted  to  the  natural  history  of  American  verte- 
brate animals.  With  the  exception  of  some  interesting  foreign 
types  (e.  g.,  the  kangaroo)  introduced  simply  to  complete  sys- 
tematic surveys  of  groups,  this  is  strictly  a  book  of  American 
backboned  animals.  One  may  examine  the  book  in  vain  for  de- 
scriptions of  animals  such  as  the  lion,  zebra,  giraffe,  tiger,  and 
elephant,  and  other  familiar  representatives  of  the  Old  World ; 
but  the  woodchuck,  bison,  raccoon,  opossum,  moose,  and  the 
others  of  the  long  list  of  peculiar  American  types  are  in  promi- 
nence, and  concerning  them  there  is  the  kind  of  information  which 
the  general  reader  requires  of  a  reference  work  in  natural  history. 

This  book  is  intended  to  give  the  teacher  and  general  reader 
that  information  which  will  fill  the  "  w^de  and  deep  chasm  "  be- 
tween the  scientific  "  zoology  "  of  the  colleges  and  universities  and 
the  nature-study  books  of  the  grammar  grades.     We  infer  that 


BOOK    REVIEWS  4 1 

the  author  would  hmit  high-school  teaching  to  natural  history  ar- 
ranged on  a  foundation  of  classification,  for  he  holds  that  "  Sys- 
tem is  the  only  master-key  by  which  the  doors  of  Animate  Nature 
can  be  unlocked  " — a  statement  with  which  a  very  large  number 
of  teachers  will  decidedly  disagree. 

The  book  begins  with  the  highest  of  the  mammals  and  ends 
with  the  lowest  of  the  fishes,  an  order  of  study  which  the  author 
considers  most  interesting  to  beginners.  The  illustrations  are 
excellent  and  very  attractive.  There  are  227  original  drawings, 
116  photographs,  and  many  maps  and  charts.  By  special  arrange- 
ment with  the  publishers  we  are  able  to  reprint  in  an  advertising 
page  a  sample  illustration,  one  which  is  also  full  of  interest  apart 
from  its  connection  with  the  book. 

Summarizing  its  good  points,  the  reviewer  is  led  to  say  that  the 
"  American  Natural  History  "  is^  in  all  essential  respects,  an  ex- 
cellent and  intensely  interesting  book ;  and  it  will  surely  fill  an  im- 
portant place  in  private,  public  and  school  libraries.  It  will  long 
be  the  popular  reading  and  reference  book  on  American  animals ; 
and  it  deserves  a  reign  of  popularity  such  as  in  the  last  half  of  the 
last  century  was  given  the  books  by  the  late  J.  G.  Wood,  the  Eng- 
lish naturalist,  who  did  more  than  any  other  to  popularize  animal 
natural  history  in  Britain  and  wherever  the  English  language  is 
read.  M.  A.  B. 

How  to  Know  the  Butterflies.  By  John  Henry  Comstock  and 
Anna  Botsford  Comstock.  N.  Y.,  Appleton  &  Co.  1904.  Pp.311 
(5/4  by  8  in.),  45  colored  plates  and  50  figures  in  text.     $2.25  net. 

This  addition  to  the  already  long  list  of  books  on  butterflies  will 
be  welcomed  because  it  aims  primarily  to  help  the  beginner  in  the 
study  of  these  insects.  This  is  done  by  means  of  excellent  illustra- 
tions of  common  butterflies  without,  a  confusing  array  of  figures 
of  foreign  species,  by  giving  brief  but  sufficiently  full  descriptions, 
and  by  recording  only  the  more  important  facts  about  the  life-his- 
tories. 

Part  I  of  the  book  is  a  general  account  of  relationships,  struc- 
ture, metamorphosis,  the  life  of  butterflies,  and  methods  of  col- 
lecting. Part  n  deals  with  the  classification  of  butterflies  of  ten 
prominent  families  and  their  leading  sub-divisions.  There  are 
tables  without  technical  terminology  so  that  the  beginner's  way 
to  the  name  of  a  family  is  a  quite  easy  one ;  and  the  descriptions 


42  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

and  illustrations  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  families  will  in  most 
cases  make  the  determination  of  the  species  a  pleasurable  task. 
The  forty-five  full-page  plates  are  so  life-like  that  even  an  ele- 
mentary pupil  could  easily  identify  most  common  butterflies. 

While  the  book  is  intended  for  use  in  the  eastern  half  of  the 
United  States,  the  wide  range  of  many  species  and  the  general 
chapters  will  make  the  book  valuable  in  the  far  western  states. 

The  book  seems  to  the  reviewer  to  be  just  what  is  needed  by  the 
one  who  studies  entomology  for  recreation  and  by  the  teacher 
who  conducts  lessons  on  butterflies  in  connection  with  nature- 
study  of  the  schools.  M.  A.  B. 


NOTES   ON    RECENT   PAMPHLETS  AND   MAGAZINE 
ARTICLES 

Department  of  Agriculture  Publications.  Of  interest  to  teach- 
ers of  nature-study,  particularly  to  those  who  deal  with  the  agri- 
cultural phase,  are  many  pamphlets  issued  by  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  during  the  year  1904.  The  popular  series  of 
Farmers'  Bulletins  (free  upon  application  to  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.)  has  been  extended  by  adding 
Numbers  185  to  205.  Of  these  the  following  are  of  most  general 
interest:  No.  185,  ''  Beautifying  the  Home  Grounds,"  gives  useful 
suggestions  regarding  the  selection,  planting,  and  cultivation  of 
trees,  shrubsy  vines  and  herbaceous  plants  suitable  for  home 
grounds.  No.  188,  ''  Weeds  Used  in  Medicine,"  contains  inter- 
esting information,  with  illustrations,  concerning  about  25  of  our 
very  common  weeds.  No.  191,  "The  Cotton  Bollworm,"  will  in- 
terest teachers  in  the  South.  No.  195,  "  Annual  Flowering 
Plants,"  deals  with  the  cultivation  and  uses  of  a  large  number  of 
easily  cultivated  annuals.  Its  primary  purpose  is  to  aid  in  the 
home-gardening  of  the  farmer,  but  it  is  of  great  value  to  all  who 
are  interested  in  school-gardens.  No.  196,  ''  Usefulness  of  the 
American  Toad,"  deals  with  the  life-history,  habits,  food,  enemies, 
and  economic  relations  of  this  animal  which  is  so  interesting  to 
nature-study  classes.  No.  198,  ''  Strawberries,"  deals  with  the 
story  of  the  origin,  the  varieties,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  garden 
strawberry.  No.  199  is  on  "  Corn  Growing."  No.  200  deals 
with  '  Turkeys :    Standard  Breeds  and  Management." 


NOTES    ON    LITERATURE  43 

In  addition  to  these  new  bulletins  many  earlier  ones  are  again 
available  as  reprints. 

Pamphlets  on  Birds.  The  following  pamphlets  have  been  re- 
printed for  free  distribution  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture :  ''  Meadow  Lark  and  Baltimore  Oriole  "  and  "  Four  Com- 
mon Birds"  (1895  Yearbook),  ''Blue  Jay"  (1896  Yearbook), 
"  Food  of  Nestling  Birds  "  (1900),  "  Economic  Value  of  the  Bob- 
white  "  (1903). 

Hampton  Nature-Study  Leaflets.  This  useful  series  of  leaflets 
has  during  this  year  been  extended  by  the  following:  No.  13, 
"  Arbor  Day  Suggestions,"  by  Rossa  B.  Cooley ;  No.  14,  "  Winged 
Pollen  Carriers,"  by  Mrs.  Comstock ;  and  No.  15,  "  School  Gar- 
dening." Also,  for  children  there  is  a  leaflet  on  "  How  to  know 
the  trees  by  their  bark,"  by  Julia  Ellen  Rogers.  All  these  leaflets 
are  well  illustrated.  It  is  announced  that,  owing  to  a  decrease  of 
funds,  the  free  distribution  of  leaflets  must  cease  and  they  will  be 
sold  at  25  cents  per  dozen  to  Southern  teachers  and  50  cents  to 
subscribers  elsewhere. 

Illinois  Leaflets  on  Agriculture.  No.  41  (Jan.  1904)  in  the 
series  of  agricultural  leaflets  for  supplementary  reading  written 
by  the  professors  of  the  College  of  Agriculture,  University  of 
Illinois,  discusses  in  simple  language  the  improvement  of  animals 
and  plants  by  careful  selection.  This,  like  the  earlier  leaflets,  con- 
sists of  eight  pages,  5^x7  inches.  The  leaflets  may  be  obtained 
in  lots  of  ten  or  more,  assorted  as  desired,  at  one  cent  a  copy,  from 
the  publisher,  C.  M.  Parker,  Taylorville,  111. 

Massachusetts  Nature  Leaflets.  The  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture has  during  1904  published  the  following  new  leaflets :  No. 
20,  "  Massachusetts  Weeds,"  and  No.  21,  "  Potato  Rots,"  by  Dr. 
Geo.  E.  Stone;  Nos.  22-25,  by  C.  H.  Forbush,  contain  hints  for 
outdoor  bird  study — No.  22,  "  How  to  Identify  Birds,"  No.  23, 
"  How  to  find  Birds,"  No.  24,  "  How  to  Approach  Birds,"  and 
No.  25,  "  How  to  Attract  Birds." 

BOOKS  RECEIVED 

(Many  of  those  published  during  1904  will  receive  more  extended  notice 
later) 

EDUCATIONAL 

Nature  Study  with  Common  Things.  By  Marion  H.  Carter.  N.  Y., 
American  Book  Co.     1904.     Pp.   150.     60  cents. 


44  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

How  Nature  Study  Should  be  Taught.  By  E.  F.  Bigelow.  N.  Y., 
Hinds,  Noble  &  Eldredge.     1904.     Pp.  203,  illustrated.     $1.00. 

Nature-Study  Lessons.  By  M.  W.  Crawford,  William  Scott,  John 
Dearness,  and  W.  H.  Elliott.  Introduction  by  E.  F.  Bigelow.  N.  Y., 
Hinds,   Noble  &   Eldredge.     1904.     Pp.    194.     75   cents. 

The  Teaching  of  Biology  in  the  Secondary  School,  By  F.  E.  Lloyd 
(Botany)  and  M.  A.  Bigelow  (Zoology).  N.  Y.,  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 
1904.  Pp.  490.  $1.50.  (Both  parts  discuss  nature-study  in  its  bearings 
on  high-school  biology.  These  sections  on  nature-study  will  be  reviewed 
later.) 

Nature  Study  and  the  Child.  By  C.  B.  Scott.  Boston,  D.  C.  Heath  & 
Co.  1901.  Pp.  618.  $1.50.  (A  discussion  of  aids  and  principles.  Also 
contains  lesson  plans.) 

GARDENING  AND  AGRICULTURE 

First  Principles  of  Agriculture.  By  E.  S.  Goff  &  D.  D.  Mayne.  N.  Y., 
American    Book    Co.     1904.     Pp.    248,    illustrated.     80    cents. 

The  Garden  Diary.  By  Rose  Kingsley.  N.  Y.,  Pott  &  Co.  1904.  75 
cents.  (A  page  for  each  day  of  the  year  is  headed  with  a  poetical  selection 
and  the  remainder  is  left  blank  for  "  Garden  and  Nature  Notes.") 

ANIMAL  NATURAL  HISTORY 

American  Natural  History.  By  W.  T.  Hornaday.  N.  Y.,  Scribner's 
Sons.     1904.     (Reviewed  in  this  issue.) 

Our  Big  Game.  By  D.  W.  Huntington.  N.  Y.,  Scribner's  Sons.  1904. 
Pp-  347^  illustrated.    $2.00  net. 

BOOKS  FOR  PUPILS 

Animal  Stories.  Retold  from  St.  Nicholas.  Edited  by  Miss  M.  H. 
Carter.  Vol.  I,  About  Animals.  Vol.  H,  Cat  Stories.  N.  Y.,  Century  Co. 
(Four  more  volumes  are  in  press.) 

Monarch,  the  Big  Bear.  By  Ernest  Thompson  Seton.  N.  Y.,  Scribner's 
Sons.     1904.     Pp.  214,  illustrated. 

The  Tree-Dwellers,  and  The  Early  Cave  Men.  By  Katherine  Dopp. 
Chicago,  Rand,  McNally.  (These  books  will  be  reviewed  in  connection 
with  an  article  on  the  relation  of  primitive-life  studies  to  nature-study.) 

Nature's  Byways.  By  Nellie  W.  Ford.  Boston,  Silver,  Burdett  &  Co. 
Eighth  edition,  1903.     40  cents.     (A  reader  for  primary  grades.) 

Outlines  in  Nature  Study  and  History.  By  Annie  G.  Engell.  Boston, 
Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.  1900.  Pp.  165.  48  cents.  (Lesson  plans  for  the 
primary  school.) 

Bird  Day.  How  to  Prepare  for  it.  By  C.  A.  Babcock.  Boston,  Silver, 
Burdett  &  Co.  1901.  Pp.  95.  50  cents.  (An  introduction  to  the  study 
of  birds.) 

Our  Birds  and  Their  Nestlings.  By  M.  C.  Walker.  N.  Y.,  American 
Book  Co.     1904.     Pp.  208,  illustrated.     60  cents. 


PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  45 


GUIDE    TO    PERIODICAL   LITERATURE 

a  bibliography  of  the  leading  magazine  articles  of  inter- 
est in  connection  with  nature-study 
January  to  September,  1904 

ARRANGED   BY   ADA   WATTERSON 
Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

[Editorial  Note. — This  first  installment  of  an  index  to  the 
periodical  literature  relating  to  nature-study  begins  the  record 
of  literature  which  appeared  in  the  first  eight  months  of  the  year 
1904;  and  if  space  in  the  second  number  of  this  journal  allows, 
there  will  be  added  to  the  list  below  the  important  titles  under 
the  following  headings :  ''  Natural  history  of  plants  and  animals," 
"  Physical  Nature-Study,"  ''  Geographical  Nature-Study,"  and 
''  Agricultural  Nature-Study." 

It  has  not  been  attempted  to  make  a  complete  bibliography,  but 
rather  to  select  those  articles  which  appear  to  be  most  important 
and  accessible  in  most  public  libraries.  In  the  case  of  periodicals 
designed  for  local  circulation,  only  articles  of  exceptional  merit 
will  be  catalogued. 

The  figures  with  black-face  indicate  the  volume  and  those  fol- 
lowing the  :  refer  to  the  pages.  The  abbreviations  of  journal 
titles  are  those  used  in  the  general  indexes  to  be  found  in 
libraries. 

Readers  are  requested  to  inform  the  compiler  concerning  any 
important  omissions.] 

I.  EDUCATIONAL     AND     GENERAL     DISCUSSIONS     OF     NATURE- 
STUDY 

Bardwell,  D.  L.  Nature-study.  New  York  Teachers'  ^Monographs, 
6:6-11.  June,  1904.  (This  number  also  contains  outlines,  by  various 
authors,  for  nature-study  in  the  different  grades.) 

Bigelow,  M.  A.  Outlines  of  work  in  nature-study  in  Horace  ]\Iann 
School,  in  "  The  curriculum  of  the  elementary  school."  Teachers  College 
Record,  5  :  35.     March,  1904. 

Broadhurst,  Jean.  Nature-study  as  a  training  for  life.  Plant  World, 
7  :  87-93.     April,   1904. 

Burroughs,  John.  Literary  treatment  of  nature.  Atlantic,  94 :  38-43. 
July,   1904. 


46  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 

Burroughs,  John.  On  humanizing  the  animals.  Century,  67 :  773-80. 
March,  1904. 

Burroughs,  John.  True  test  of  good  nature  literature.  (Introduction  to 
new  edition  of  Nature  Library.)  Country  Life  in  America,  6:51.  May, 
1904. 

Chapman,  F.  M.  The  case  of  W.  J.  Long.  Science,  19 :  387.  March  4, 
1904. 

Davis,  W.  H.  Natural  and  unnatural  history.  Science,  19 :  66y-ys-  April 
22,  1904.     (Criticism  of  W.  J.  Long  and  other  writers.) 

Eppens,  E.  H.  Nature-study  a  la  mode — a  protest.  Critic,  45 :  149. 
August,  1904.  (Protest  against  modern  scientific  methods  of  studying 
nature.) 

Ganong,  W.  F.  The  writings  of  W.  J.  Long.  Science,  19 :  623-26.  April 
15,  1904. 

Gilmore,  Gertrude.  The  functions  of  nature-study  and  what  it  can  do  as 
a  preparation  for  high-school  biology.  School  Science,  4 :  136-38.  June, 
1904. 

Guillet,  Cephas.  A  glimpse  at  a  nature  school.  Ped.  Sem.,  9 :  91-99. 
March,  1904.     (Curriculum  based  on  a  study  of  physiography.) 

Hoke,  G.  W.  The  centre  of  interest  in  nature-study.  Ohio  Educ. 
Monthly,  53  :  63-65.     Feb.,  1904. 

Latter,  0.  H.  Nature-study.  School  World  (Eng.),  6:108-9.  March, 
1904.     (Value  in  correlation  of  studies.) 

Long,  W.  J.  Science,  nature  and  criticism.  Science,  19 :  jGo-yGy.  May 
13,  1904.     (Reply  to  critics.) 

McMurry,  F.  M.  Advisable  omissions  from  the  elementary  curriculum 
and  the  basis  for  them.     Educ.  Rev.,  27 :  478-494.     May,  1904. 

Ranger,  W.  E.  Nature-study  movement.  Education,  24 :  501-3.  April, 
1904. 

Sharp,  Dallas  L.  Our  uplift  through  outdoor  life.  World's  Work, 
8  :  5043-     July,  1904- 

Spectator.     School  flower  show.     Outlook,  77:211.     May  28,  1904. 

Titchener,  E.  B.  Nature-study.  Amer.  Jour,  of  Educ,  37 :  333-4.  May, 
1904.     (Protest  against  "scientific  nature-study"  in  the  kindergarten.) 

Ward,  H.  Marshall.  Nature-study.  School  World  (Eng.),  6:205-8. 
June,  1904. 

Wheeler,  Wm.  M.  Woodcock  surgery.  Science,  19 :  347.  Feb.  26,  1904. 
(Criticism  of  W.  J.  Long.) 

Zueblin,   Chas.     The  return   to   nature.     Chaut.,   39 :  257-66.     July,    1904. 


DISCUSSIONS    AND    CORRESPONDENCE  4/ 

QUESTIONS   AND   ANSWERS 

This  department  will  be  devoted  principally  to  the  many  little 
practical  problems  which  are  of  interest  to  teachers  of  nature- 
study  ;  and  all  readers  are  invited  to  use  this  column  freely.  Ques- 
tions should  be  sent  to  the  office  of  the  managing  editor.  Some 
will  be  answered  by  members  of  the  editorial  board,  while  others 
must  be  referred  to  readers  for  answers  in  later  issues.  But  in  all 
cases  the  answers  published  are  subject  to  discussion,  correction, 
or  addition  by  readers.  We  hope  to  have  such  supplementary 
answers  within  a  month  after  the  appearance  of  the  first  answer. 

The  announcement  of  this  department  in  the  prospectus  of  this 
journal  has  already  called  forth  the  following  questions : 

Question  i.  Books  on  Trees.  "Kindly  give  a  list  of  popular 
books  dealing  with  trees."      W.  N.,  Chicago. 

Keeler's  "Our  Native  Trees"  (Scribners,  N.  Y.  1900. 
$2.00).  Matthew's  "Familiar  trees  and  their  Leaves"  (Apple- 
ton,  N.  Y.  New  ed.  1903.  200  ill.  $1.75).  Lounsberry's 
"Guide  to  the  Trees"  (Stokes,  N.  Y.  1900.  $2.50).  New- 
hall's  "Trees  of  Northeastern  America"  (Putnam,  N.  Y.  1890. 
$2.50) .  Rogers'  "  Among  Green  Trees  :  a  guide  to  acquaintance 
with  familiar  trees"  (Mumford,  Chicago.  1902.  $3.00).  Hunt- 
ington's "Studies  of  Trees  in  Winter"  (Knight,  Boston.  1902. 
$2.25). 

Question  2.  Classification  of  Birds.  "  To  what  extent  should 
classification  of  birds  be  presented  in  the  bird-study  of  a  fifth  or 
sixth  grade?" 

Referred  to  readers  for  answer. 

Question  3.  School-Garden  for  Rural  Schools.  "  How  should 
a  rural  school-garden  be  conducted  so  as  to  interest  the  pupils  ?  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  manual  work  involved  in  making  gardens  is 
such  a  familiar  experience  to  country  children  that  they  will  have 
little  of  the  interest  which  novelty  gives  to  the  city  children."  F. 
H.,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Referred  to  readers  who  may  have  had  experience. 


48  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW  [i,  i,  jan.  1905 


DISCUSSION   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

[Editorial  Note. — All  articles  in  The  Review  are  open  to 
discussion,  and  readers  are  invited  to  send  their  contributions  to' 
this  department  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  publication  of  the 
paper  to  w^hich  reference  is  made.  The  editors  must  reserve  the 
right  to  select  and  abridge  if  space  is  limited,  and  to  modify 
criticisms  which  tend  to  be  so  personal  or  acrimonious  as  not  to 
be  helpful.  The  weak  points  of  the  nature-study  movement  de- 
serve free  discussion,  but  in  the  spirit  and  form  of  good  friendship 
for  all  persons  who  may  represent  opposing  views.] 

NEWS   NOTES 

[The  help  of  all  readers  is  needed  in  keeping  The  Review  in  touch  with 
local  developments  of  nature-study.  Information  regarding  important 
changes  in  local  movements,  notes  or  manuscripts  of  papers  read  at  local 
conventions,  literature  designed  primarily  for  local  circulation — these  sug- 
gest the  nature  of  information  which  will  be  useful  to  the  editorial  man- 
agers, especially  to  the  writer  of  this  page  devoted  to  "  News  Notes."] 

Nature-Study  Libraries.  Hampton  Institute  has  begun  a  system  of 
traveling  nature-study  libraries  for  Southern  teachers.  A  set  of  twelve 
books  is  loaned  for  a  school  term  at  a  rental  of  fifty  cents. 

New  Nature-Study  Society.  North  Carolina  teachers  of  nature-study 
have  recently  completed  the  organization  of  a  state  association.  The  N.  C. 
Nature-Study  Society.  The  officers  are :  The  State  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  Dr.  Joyner,  President,  and  Professor  Stevens,  of  the  Agricultural 
College,  Secretary.  A  board  of  advisers,  composed  of  specialists  in  each 
branch  of  science,  will  answer  questions  by  teachers ;  local  branches  will  be 
formed  in  schools ;  and  a  series  of  leaflets  will  be  published. 

Migrating  Birds.  Of  interest  to  students  of  birds,  and,  indeed,  to  all 
who  are  interested  in  birds,  is  the  report  that  a  law  intended  to  prevent 
the  killing  of  certain  species  of  birds  will  probably  be  passed  in  Mexico. 
This  will  certainly  protect  some  of  our  migrants  which  are  wantonly  de- 
stroyed in  their  winter  homes. 

Death  of  Dr.  Muldrew.  We  regret  to  announce  the  death  of  Dr.  W.  H. 
Muldrew,  Dean  of  Macdonald  Institute,  the  new  Canadian  school  of 
nature-study  which  is  referred  to  elsewhere  in  this  issue.  He  was  one  of 
the  collaborators  named  in  the  prospectus  of  this  journal. 

Untrimmed  Copies.  Subscribers  who  prefer  their  copies  of  The  Re- 
view with  pages  uncut  should  notify  the  managing  editor  before  No.  2 
is  published  March  20th. 


NATURE-STUDY   COLLECTIONS 

SOR  thirty  years  and  over  we  have  been  studying  the  needs  of  teachers 
in  all  grades  and  branches  of  natural  history.  We  have  all  along 
contended  that  the  success  of  their  work,  whether  in  primary  school 
or  university,  depended  largely  upon  their  putting  coticrete  actual 
objects  into  the  hands  of  their  pupils — a  contention  which  the  present 
nature-study  movement  has  confirmed.  Our  best  efforts  have  there- 
fore been  directed  unremittingly  toward  enabling  teachers  everywhere  to  secure 
and  use  the  kind  of  material  they  most  needed.  In  this  we  have, not  worked 
blindly  along  theoretical  lines,  but  have  always  had  teachers  of  practical  experi- 
ence in  our  service.  The  results  are  embodied  in  our  series  of  school  collections, 
the  number  and  variety  of  which  enables  us  to  meet  the  most  diverse  needs  and 
conditions.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  attempt  a  full  account  or  even  a  list  of  these 
collections  in  this  limited  space.  Our  catalogues  and  circulars  describe  them 
fully  and  will  be  sent  upon  request.  We  merely  ask  whether  you  would  not  find 
some  of  the  following  things  useful  in  your  work.  Do  not  say  that  you  cannot 
afford  them,  or  that  your  school  is  too  small,  or  the  pupils  too  young  to  appre- 
ciate them,  but  let  us  tell  you  more  about  them  by  letter,  and  perhaps  your  ob- 
stacles will  disappear.     Do  you  not  need — 

A  good  collection  of  mhierals,  good  in  quality,  good  in  labelling  and  mount- 
ing, broad  in  scope,  characteristic  and  representative  .''  Especially  if  it  illus- 
trated some  standard  textbook — e.  g. ,  Dana's.-* 

Soine  crystal  inodels,  of  the  six  systems. -* 

A  good  collection  of  rocks,  either  lithological  or  stratigraphical,  or  best  of 
all  genetic,  thus  illustrating  clearly  how  rocks  are  made?  Would  not,  for  ex- 
ample, a  complete  series  of  New  York  State  rocks  from  tvpical  localities,  revised 
and  up-to-date,  be  a  grand  thing  for  your  work.? 

A  collection  of  phenomenal  geology,  in  line  with  the  latest  textbooks,  illus- 
trating the  work  of  the  geological  forces,  mud-cracks,  glacial  striae,  veins,  faults, 
weathering  and  all  the  rest.-* 

A  general  collection  of  geology  covering  all  the  above  divisions,  illustrating, 
for  example,  Tarr's  "  Elementary  Geology.''  " 

A  little,  light  relief  m  ip  in  paper  of  the  U.  S.,  showing  all  the  useful  min- 
eral products  by  real  specimens  mounted  directly  upon  it.'' 

A  systematic  collection  of  fossils,  representing  evenly  all  the  formations  and 
all  the  groups  of  animals  and  plants,  by  really  choice  and  typical  specimens.'* 
We  established  our  reputation  on  such  collections. 

A  collection  of  North  American  archaeology^  illustrating  by  inexpensive  but 
lifelike  imitations,  the  life  and  customs  of  the  American  aborigine.'' 

A  systematic  collection  of  invertebrate  animals,  shells,  corals,  starfish,  crabs, 
and  all  their  cousins — ox  z.  set  of  small  skeletofis  oi  the  several  classes  of  verte- 
brates, cat,  fish,  frog,  bird,  etc.'' 

A  few  typical  mounted  birds,  to  illustrate  the  physical  characteristics  of  the 
more  important  families.'' 

A  first-class  biological  collection,  containing  special  mounted  dissections  of 
the  important  types,  specimens  in  liquid,  valuable  dry  mounts  and  models — in 
short,  everything  the  teacher  can  want.''  (Send  for  our  price  list  of  biological 
supplies.) 

Anatomical  models  or  human  skeletons  for  class  use?  Or  anything  else  in 
the  line  of  natural  history.'' 

If  you  would  know  more  about  these,  send  us  your  address  on  the  back  of  a 
postal  card. with  the  words  "  Nature-Study," — we  will  know  what  it  means,  and 
it  will  pay  you  to  be  on  our  mailing  list     We  are  here  to  help  you. 

Remember  that  we  are  the  pioneers  in  this  work  and  that  wr  have  the  largest 
stock  in  the  country  to  select  from.  Remember  also  that  we  have  not  only 
plaiined  the  collections  for  you,  but  have  published  descriptive  catalogues  to  ac- 
company them  that  are  virtually  pocket  text-books  of  the  subject,  and  are  actu- 
ally used  as  such  in  many  places  ! 

Ward's  Natural  Science  Establishment,76-i04  College  Ave.,  Rochester,  n.y. 


SIMPLE  SCIENTIFIC  APPARATUS 


For  Teachers  of  Botany  and  Nature-Study 


We  now  have  ready  two  auxanometers  (plant-growth  recorders),  Lloyd's  model  at 
^2.00,  and  the  HMSAC  at  ^2.50  ;  lattice- work  plant  presses  at  35  to  60  cents  ;  trans- 
parent specimen  cases  for  life-histories,  wood  frame,  separable,  dust  proof,  no  case  is 
better,  45  cents  and  up,  many  sizes.     Other  simple  apparatus  ready  and  in  preparation. 

LOWEST  PRICES.     SEND  FOR  CIRCULARS. 


"HOME-MADE"   SCIENTIFIC   APPARATUS  CO., 

MECHANICSBURG,    O. 

HELPS  IN  BOTANY 


The  American  Botanist  is  an  illustrated  monthly  journal  devoted  to  in- 
teresting facts  about  plants.  It  prints  no  technical  articles,  but  treats  of  such  subjects 
as  color,  fragrance,  nectar,  pollination,  seed-dispersal,  and  the  uses  and  habits  of  plants. 
Worth  many  times  its  price  to  any  teacher  interested  in  Botany.  Subscription  $1.00  a 
year  ;  sample  for  a  two-cent  stamp.     Address, 

WILLARD  N.  CLUTE  &  CO.,  Binghamton,  New  York 


LEWIS'  TREE-LEAF  CHARTS 

Size  22  by  28  inches.      Printed  on  good  paper.      Recommended  by  the  best  authori- 
ties in  the  country.     Send  for  circular. 

Price  of  Single    Number  50  Cts.  each.    Parts  $1.40  each.    The  Ten 

numbers  now  printed  for  S4.50.    Cash  in  advance. 
NOW  READY.    (These  with  a  *  as  yet  unprinted.) 

Part  I.— THE  OAKS.  Forty-two  species.  Yio.  i.  Biennial  Fruited  Oaks.  Black  Oak  and  Allies. 
No.  2.  Annual  Frtiited  Oaks.  White  Oaks  and  Allies.  No.  3.  Southern,  Facile,  Hardy  For- 
eign, and  examples  of  Fxtinct  Oaks 

Part  II.— THE  NUT  BEARERS.  Numerous  species.  No.  4.  The  Chestnuts  and  Beeches.  Amer- 
ican, Japanese  and  European  Chestnuts.  No.  5.  The  Walnuts.  American,  Japanese  and  Euro- 
pean species  and  varieties.     No.  6.    The  Hickories.     American  species  and  varieties. 

Part  III. — No.  7.  The  Willoivs  and  Poplars.  Numerous  species.  No  8.  The  Birches,  Elms  and 
allies.     No.  9.   The  Lindens  ard  allied  families. 

Part  IV. — *No.    10      The   Magnolias  and   related    trees.     *No.  11.    The  Horse  Chestnuts  and   al- 
lies.    No    12.    The  Maples.     (Printed  in  advance. ) 
For  further  information  address  the  author,  publisher  and  proprietor. 

GRACEANNA  LEWIS,  Media,  Pennsylvania 


Do  Elk  Shed  Their  Hntlers?" 

An  answer  from  the  New  York  Zoological   Park. 

I.      March  21  2.     April    8, 

3.     April  30.  4.      May   15. 

From  **The  American  Natural  History." 

(See  Review  in  this  Journal.) 


Published  by 

eHARLES   SeRIBNER'S  SONS,  New  York 

Copyright,  igo4,  by    IV.   T.  Hornaday. 


ir]}ciii?3ix.irwmm  M 


/»^HE  NATURE  LIBRARY  is  the 
II.  only  group  of  books  on  natural 
^^  history  that  gives  scientifically  ac- 
curate information  in  simple,  narrative 
style,  and  in  a  way  that  makes  it  equally 
available  for  studious  reference  or  casual 
entertainment. 

It  represents  the  first  attempt  made  to 
illustrate  a  work  of  such  magnitude  and  im- 
portance with  direct  photographic  repro- 
ductions of  living  subjects  of  the  animal, 
bird,  fish,  insect,  and  floral  worlds  in  their 
native  conditions.  Additional  to  this  pho- 
tographic literalness,  the  fidelity  to  nature 
has  been  greatly  heightened  by  color  plates, 
which  are  so  perfectly  treated  that  the  ex- 
act tint  or  tone  of  the  living  original  is  pre- 
served through  all  the  varieties  of  color. 
Thus  the  identification  of  any  bird,  flower, 
moth,  etc.,  is  easy,  and  its  classification 
becomes  a  matter  of  the  utmost  simplicity, 
an  advantage  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
student  or  general  lovei  of  nature  hitherto 
perplexed  and  discouraged  by  old-fashioned 
so-called  "keys. 

This  is  the  first  time  a  systematic  effort 
has  been  made  to  bring  the  reader  into  an 
intimate  knowledge,  free  from  fanciful  in- 
vention, of  the  home  life  of  our  brethren  of 
the  lower  world.  The  difficulties  of  pho- 
tographing wild  animals  in  their  native  en- 
vironments, birds  on  their  nests,  and  timid 
cre?*^ures  in  their  hidings,  are  sometimes 
insuperable  ;  but  the  success  that  rewarded 
the  fatigues  and  hardships  of  the  makers  of 
The  Nature  Library,  and  which  is  at- 
tested throughout  the  pages  of  the  ten  beau- 
tiful volumes,  makes  this  set  of  books  not 
not  only  unrivaled,  but  absolutely  unique 
in  the  field. 


Besides  the  450  half-tones  from  photo- 
graphs taken  especially  for  this  work  in  all 
regions  of  the  coimtry,  and  the  300  extra- 
ordinary and  remarkably  lifelike  color 
plates,  there  are  about  1,500  text  cuts,  such 
as  are  usually  regarded  as  all-  sufficient  il- 
lustrations of  theses  on  natural  history. 

In  the  actual  value  of  the  pictorial  mat- 
ter, the  purchaser  gets  more  than  the  price 
of  the  ten  volumes  :  and  yet  the  informa- 
tion, charmingly,  familiarly  presented  in  the 
4,000  pages,  is  a  treasury  from  which  the 
most  careless  reader  may  extract  a  sort  of 
riches  he  would  not  willingly  lose  again. 

But  The  Nature  Library  is  not  hav- 
ing careless  readers.  One  point  more  fre- 
quently emphasized  than  any  other  by  those 
who  write  in  voluntary  acknowledgment  of 
their  satisfaction  with  the  purchase  is  the 
*'  entertaining  "  quality  of  the  books. 

Entertaining  they  most  unquestionably 
are — entertaining  to  old  and  young  alike  ; 
and  that  was  the  great  object  aimed  at  by 
the  makers  of  The  Nature  Library 
who  believe  that  the  secret  of  all  educa- 
tion is  to  make  instruction  entertain- 
ing and  inspiring.  We  believe  noth- 
ing better  suited  to  the  double 
purpose  than  these  ten  hand  - 
some  and  beautifully  illus- 
trated books  has  been  of-  /  S^  ^'?'S'-J''-^ 
fered  to  the  t^"1^i,v  in  /  ^> 
many  years. 


covrnmr  an 

■INAAERICA 


DOVBLEDATPAGEJiCOl 

- -133135»137  E.16TRST.- NEW  YORK 


m 


[ContjfUied  frorfi  the  second  cover  pa  <^e.) 

G.  W.  Carver,  Director  of  Agriculture,  Tuskegee  Institute,  Alabama. 

Elizabeth  Carse,  Principal  of  Charlton  School,  New  York  City. 

F.  M.  Chapman,  Curator  of  Birds,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 

New  York. 
Bertha  Chapman,  Superintendent  of  Nature-Study,  Oakland  Cal. 
F.  L.  Charles,  I'rofessor  of  Biology,  DeKalb  (ill.)  Normal  School. 
H.  L   Clapp,  Principal  of  Putnam  School,  Roxbury,  Mass. 
W.  B.  Coleman,  professor  of  Biology,  Sam  Houston  Institute,  Huntsville.Tex. 
B.  P.  Colton,  Professor  of  Biology,  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 
Anna  B.  Comstock,  Lecturer,  Cornell  University,  College  of  Agriculture. 
E.  G.  CONKLIN,  Director  of  Zoological  Department,  University  of  Penna. 
J.  M.  Coulter,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Chicago. 
Stanley  Coulter,  Professor  of  Biology,  Purdue  University,  Lafayette,  Ind. 
T.  R.  Croswell,  Supervisor  of  Training  School,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
R.  E.  Dodge,  Professor  of  Geography,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 
Mrs.  F.  N.  Doubleday  (Neltje  Blanchan),  Author  and  Lecturer,  New  York  City. 
W.  F.  Ganong,  Professor  of  Botany,  Smith  College,  Northampton,  Mass. 
W.  S.  Hall,  Professor  of  Physiology,  Northwestern  University,  Chicago. 
W.  Hallock,  Professor  of  Physics,  Columbia  University. 
W.  M.  Hays,  Director  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Minnesota. 
H,  D.  Hemenway,  Director  of  Hartford  (Conn.)  School  of  Horticulture. 

E.  H.  HoLDEN,  Formerly  Director  of  Lick  Observatory,    Librarian  of  West 

Point  Military  Academy. 
W.  G.  HoRMELL,  Professor  of  Physics,OhioWesleyan  University,  Delaware,  O. 
W.  T.  HoRNADAY,  Director  of  New  York  Zoological  Park. 
W.  S.  Jackman,  Principal  of  Elementary  School,  University  of  Chicago. 
O.  P.  Jenkins,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Stanford  University,  Cal. 
V.  L.  Kellogg,  Professor  of  Entomology,  Stanford  University. 
D.  Lange,  Supervisor  of  Nature-Study,  St.  Paul  (Minn.)  schools. 

F.  E.    Lloyd,    Adjunct    Professor   of   Biology,  Teachers   College,  Columbia 

University. 
W.  A.  Locy,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Northwestern  L-niversity,  Evanston,  111. 
T.  H.  Macbride,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa  City. 
Alice  G.  McCloskey,  Instructor,  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University. 
A.  H.  MacKay,  Superintendent  of  Education,  Nova  Scotia,  Halifax    JN'.  S. 
Chas.  a.  McMurry,  Professor  of  Pedagogy,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 
F.  M.  McMurry,    Professor  of    Elementary    Education,    Teachers    College, 

Columbia  University. 
J.  P.  Munson,  Professor  of  Biology,  Washington  State  Normal  School, 

Ellensburg,  Wash. 
Fred.  Mutchler,  Institute  Worker  and  Assistant  in  Biology,  Clark  University. 
J.  G.  Needham,  Professor  of  Biology,  Lake  Forest  University,  Lake  Forest,  111. 
H.  Newman,  Principal  of  PubHc  School  33,  New  York  City. 
J.  E.  Peabody,  Instructor  in  Biology,  Morris   High  School,  New  York    City. 
Clara  L.  Russell,  New  York  State  Normal  College,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
P.  W.  Search,  Lecturer,  Worcester,  Mass, 

S.  B.  Sinclair,  Vice- Principal  of  Normal  School,  Ottawa,  Canada. 
J.  W.  Spencer,  Supervisor  of  Bureau  of  Nature-Study,  Cornell  University. 
W.  E.  Stark,  Principal  of  High  School,  Ethical  Culture  School,  New  York. 
F.  L.  Stevens,  Irofessor  of  Biology  in  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture, 
Ada  Watterson,  Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 
C  M.  Weed,  Professor  in  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture,  Durham. 
Mrb.  L.  L.  Wilson,  Director  of  Biology,  I'hiladelphia  Normal  College. 


NATURAL  SCIENCE 

APPARATUS  AND  PREPARATIONS 
NATURAL  HISTORY    SPECIMENS 

for  Exhibition^  Demonstration  and  Dissection. 


Skeletons,  Models,  Charts,   Aquaria,  Mounted 
Birds,  Museum  Glassware 


ENTOMOLOGICAL  SUPPLIES  AND   INSECTS 

Special  Insect  Catalogue. 

EVERYTHING  NEEDED  BY  NATURALISTS 

Illustrated  Catalogues  and  Special  Estimates  on  Application. 

THE  KNY-SCHEERER  CO. 

Dept.  of  Natural  Science,  225-233  Fourth  Ave. 

G.  LAGAI,  Ph.D.  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

(Mention  this  Journal.) 


THE 


NATURE-STUDY 
REVIEW 


Vol.  I,  No.  2 


March,   1905 


DEVOTED    TO    ALL   PHASES    OF    NATURE-STUDY   IN 
ELEMENTARY    SCHOOLS 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Fducational  Values  and  Aims  of  Nature-Study 49 

Stanley  Coulte:r,   Harold  W.  Fairbanks,  Maurice  A.  Bigelow. 

Principles  of  Nature-Study.     John  M.   Coulter 57 

Children's  Gardens  at  Worcester,  Mass.     Illustrated.     Edna  R.  Thayer  ....  61 

Why  Some  School-Gardens  are  Failures.    T.  R.  Crosvvell 66 

Ch'  mical  Tablets  for   Feeding  Plants  Growing  W^ithout  Soil.     Illustrated  ...  69 

Edward  F.  Bigelow. 

A  Nature-Study  Lesson  with  the  Molds.     F.   L.  Stevens 76 

Nature-Study  in  High  Schools.     M.  A.  Bigelow    '. 77 

Editorials :     Collaborators    of  the  Review — Articles    by   those  who  both   think 

and  do — Original  Observations 80 

Book  Reviews:    Animal  Stories  from  St.  Nicholas— How  Nature-Study  should 

be  taught — First  Principles  of   Agriculture — Bird  Life    Stories      81 

Notes  on  Recent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles 87 

Guide  to  Periodical  Literature  J  I.     i\DA  Watterson 90 

News  Notes 96 


$1.00 

a    Volume 

(6  Nos.) 


Published  by  M.  A.  BIGELOW,  Managing  Editor 

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AND 

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THE   NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALt.  PHASES  OV  NATCTRB-STUDY 
IX  ELEItf  EI^TAR'X'   SCHOOI^S 

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to  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW,  41  N.  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
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I20th  St.,  New  York  City,  which  is  the  editorial  office.  All  manu- 
scripts, books  and  papers  for  notice  or  review,  and  other  communications 
of  editorial  interest  should  be  addressed  to  the  New  York  c  ffice  only. 


EDITORIAL  COMMITTEE 

L.  H.  Bailey,  Dean  of  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  NY. 
H.  W.  Fairbanks,  Geologist  and  Author  of  Text-books  of  Geography, 

Berkeley,  Cal. 
C.  F.  Hodge,  Professor  of  Biology,  Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass. 
J.  F.  WooDHULL,  Professor  of  Physical  Science,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  New  York  City. 
M.  A.  BiGELOW,  Adjunct  Professor  of  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  Managing  Editor. 

ADVISERS  AND    COLLABORATORS 

This  list  includes  only  names  of  those  ivho  in  advance  of  the  first  publication  promised  szipport  to 
The  Review.    Many  others  have  since  given  their  co-operation.   See  editorial  in  No.  2,  March. 

FROM  GREAT  BRITAIN 

L.  C.  Mi  ALL,  Professor  of  Biology,  Yorkshire  College. 

C.  L.  Morgan,  Principal  of  University  College,  Bristol,  England. 

J.  A.  Thomson,  Professor  of  Natural  History,  University  of  Aberdeen. 

FROM  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 

E.  A.  Andrews,  Professor  of  Biology,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore. 

D.  L.  Bardwell,  District  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City. 

C.  E.  Bessey,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Nebraska,  Lincoln,  Neb, 

E.  F.  BiGELOW,  Departmental  Editor  of  St.  Nicholas  and  Lecturer, 

Stamford,  Conn. 
A,  C.  BoYDEN, Vice-Principal  of  Bridgewater  (Mass.)  Normal  School. 
E.  C.  Branson,  Principal  of  State  Normal  School,  Athens,  Ga. 
Bertha  M.  Brown,  Department  of  Biology,  Hyannis(Mass.)  Normal  School. 
(  Continued  on  the  third  cover  pa^^c. ) 


THE    XATUBE-STUDY   BEVIEW 


CONTENTS  OF  No.    i,  JANUARY,    1905 

Introduction,  M.  A.  B.  Nature-Study  and  Natural  Science — A  Symposium,  H.  W, 
P^AiRBANKS,  C.  F.  Hodge,  T.  H.  Macbridk,  V.  L.  Stkvens,  M.  A.  BuiELOVv. 
Physical  Nature-Study,  John  F.  Woodhull.  Nature-Study  and  Elementary  Agricul- 
ture in  Canada,  W,  H.  Muldrew.  Some  Recent  Criticisms  of  Nature-Study,  F.  M. 
McMuRRY  and  H.  E.  Armstrong.  Agriculture  in  Southern  Schools,  C.  W.  Burkf:tt. 
School-Gardens  at  Hartford  School  of  Horticulture,  H.  U.  Hi-:mi-:\\vav.  Ant-Nests  for 
the  School,  Adele  M.  Field.  Book  Reviews  and  Notes  on  Recent  Literature.  Guide 
to  Periodical  Literature,  Ada  Watterson.. 


A   JOURNAL   FOR    TEACHERS 

The  success  of  The  Review  must  depend  upon  its  usefulness  to  teachers  who 
are  engaged  in  putting  to  practical  test  the  latest  ideas  concerning  the  teaching  of 
nature-study.  For  this  reason  the  editors  want  to  give  particular  attention  to  the 
practical  side  of  the  teacher's  work,  and  suggestions  from  any  source  will  be  grate- 
fully received  and  carefully  considered. 


MONTHLY    PUBLICATION 

Numerous  friends  of  The  Review  point  out  the  importance  of  monthly  pubH- 
cation  during  the  school  year,  September  to  June  inclusive.  The  desirability  of  this 
has  been  recognized  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  plans  for  the  journal  ;  but  the 
advice  of  persons  of  experience  has  been  that  a  bi-monthly  should  be  tried  the  first 
year,  and  if  that  is  well  supported  then  change  from  six  to  eight  or  nine  issues  per 
year.  The  outlook  for  monthly  publication  next  year  is  now  hopeful.  But  we  must 
have  many  more  subscribers,  and  we  ask  present  subscribers  to  co-operate  with  us 
in  reaching  teachers  who  have  not  yet  learned  that  this  special  journal  is  being  pub- 
lished. Please  send  us  the  names  of  those  who  may  be  interested,  and  rriention 
The  Rp:vie:w  to  your  friends. 


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larly, a  special  trial  subscription  price  of  thirty  cents  for  one  half  year  is  offered. 


.     CLUB    RATES 

Special  rates  for  associations  and  classes  of  teachers  will  be  quoted  to  those  in- 
terested.    A  great  reduction  for  5,  10,  20  or  more  subscriptions  in  one  order. 


COMMISSIONS    FOR    NEW    SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Any  present  subscriber  sending  two  new  subscriptions  for  one  year  will  have  his 
own  subscription  extended  one  year. 

Cash  commissions  will  be  quoted  to  agents  w^ho  are  interested.  We  want  ener- 
getic agents  in  every  locality  where  nature-study  is  prominent  in  the  schools. 


THE   NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 

PLANS  FOR  FUTURE  NUMBERS 

As  stated  in  the  prospectus  and  as  illustrated  in  this  and  the  preceding 
number,  it  will  be  the  aim  to  make  each  issue  present  a  wide  range  of 
material  dealing  with  all  phases  of  nature-study.  Beginning  in  the  next 
nuriiber,  a  series  of  articles  will  discuss  the  relations  of  the  various 
phases  of  nature-study — biological,  physical,  geographical,  agricultural — 
to  each  other  and  to  related  subjects  in  the  elementary-school  curriculum. 
Papers  in  these  lines  have  been  promised  by  collaborators  and  others.  The 
following  papers  are  expected  to  introduce  the  subjects  for  discussion: 
Professor  Dodge,  of  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  and  Dr. 
Fairbanks,  of  the  Editorial  Committee,  on  "  Geography  and  its  relation  to 
Nature-Study " ;  Professor  W.  S.  Hall,  of  Northwestern  University,  and 
M.  A.  Bigelow,  on  "Physiology  and  its  relation  to  Nature-Study";  Prin- 
cipal Baldwin,  of  Hyannis  (Mass.)  State  Normal,  on  "Nature-Study  and 
Manual  Training " ;  Dr.  Carrington,  State  Superintendent  of  Schools  of 
Missouri,  on  "  Agriculture  and  Nature-Study,"  and  other  papers  on  this 
subject  by  Professors  Bailey,  Burkett,  Hays,  Stevens,  and  Mrs.  Comstock; 
Dr.  Katherine  Dopp,  of  Chicago,  on  ''  Nature-Study  and  Primitive-Life 
Studies  " ;  and  we  hope  to  have  papers  on  "  Nature-Study  and  Elementary 
Art." 

Many  papers  outside  of  the  above  series  are  in  preparation ;  we  have 
space  to  mention  only  a  few :  Mrs.  Comstock,  on  "  Attitude  of  Teachers  in 
Teaching  about  Life  and  Death,"  and  on  "  Books  in  Nature-Study  " ;  Pro- 
fessor Hodge,  on  "  The  Human  Interest  in  Nature-Study "  and  "  Bird 
Studies  "  ;  Professor  Bessey,  on  "  Nature-Study  as  it  was  taught  thirty  years 
ago";  Professor  Charles,  of  De  Kalb,  111.,  on  "The  Spirit  of  Nature- 
Study  "  and  "  The  Nature  Calendar  " ;  Dr.  E.  F.  Bigelow,  of  St.  Nicholas, 
on  various  phases  of  out-of-door  nature-study  and  practical  studies  with 
plants  and  animals ;  Professor  Woodhull,  on  "  Lessons  in  Physical  Nature- 
Study  " ;  Professor  Croswell,  of  Los  Angeles,  on  "  Why  some  School- 
Gardens  are  Failures  " ;  Miss  A.  Blood,  of  New  York  City,  on  "  Difficulties 
of  Nature-Study  in  City  Schools  ",;  Miss  Gallup,  of  the  Children's  Museum, 
Brooklyn,  on  the  work  of  that  institution  as  suggesting  plans  for  school 
collections ;  Miss  Laura  Underbill,  of  Horace  Mann  School,  New  York 
City,  on  "  Bird  Study  in  a  Fifth  Grade  " ;  a  series  of  illustrated  papers  on 
"  School-Gardens  " ;  another  on  "  Lesson  Plans  "  by  several  writers ;  and 
"  Correlation  between  Physical  and  Biological  Nature-Study "  by  M.  A. 
Bigelow.  In  addition  to  these  papers,  we  have  promises  from  a  large  num- 
ber of  educators  and  men  of  science  who  have  contributed  to  scientific 
education  that  their  future  addresses  and  other  papers  bearing  on  nature- 
study  will  be  contributed  to  The  Review. 

We  have  suggested  only  the  leading  plans  for  the  near  future.  It  must 
be  obvious  that  The  Review  will  be  indispensable  to  all  who  are  inter- 
ested in  nature-study  and  the  elerpentary  sciences. 

Since  the  above  was  set  in  type  many  voluntary  suggestions  and  answers 
to  correspondence  have  more  than  doubled  the  list  of  strong  and  interest- 
ing papers  which  will  be  published  as  rapidly  as  space  permits. 


THE 

NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 

DEVOTED    TO  ALL   PHASES  OF   NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 


Vol.  I  MARCH,  1905  No.  2 

EDUCATIONAL   VALUES   AND   AIMS   OF  NATURE-STUDY 

A   SYMPOSIUM    BY  S.   COULTER,   H.   W.    FAIRBANKS   and    M.   A.    BIGELOW 

[Editorial  Note. — The  discussion  of  the  relations  of  nature-study  and 
natural  science  opened  by  the  symposium  in  No.  i  of  this  journal  will 
doubtless  be  added  to  in  later  papers  with  other  titles  or  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions to  the  pages  devoted  to  "  Discussions  and  Correspondence."  So 
far  as  the  discussions  already  published  are  concerned,  it  appears  that  the 
writers  are  practically  agreed  that:  (i)  nature-study  and  natural  science, 
viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  education,  should  be  regarded  as  decidedly 
different  in  that  true  nature-study  lacks  the  characteristic  organization  of 
science;  (2)  nature-study  so  distinguished  from  science  is  the  proper  work 
of  the  elementary  and  ungraded  schools;  and  (3)  nature-study  should  be 
understood  as  dealing  with  all  phases  of  nature,  physical  as  well  as 
biological. 

But  although  it  is  advocated  that  nature-study  should  be  without  strict 
scientific  organization,  there  are  many  suggestions  in  the  first  symposium 
that  the  writers  are  looking  for  some  satisfactory  educational  organization 
for  nature-study.  In  search  of  such  organization  we  naturally  inquire  first 
into  the  educational  values  of  our  subject  and  from  these  formulate  the 
aims  or  guiding  principles  for  the  teaching.  Here  we  are  face  to  face  with 
another  fundamental  problem ;  and,  following  the  plan  of  the  earlier  sym- 
posium, the  consideration  of  the  questions  involved  is  from  the  points  of 
view  of  several  writers.  Several  contributions  to  this  symposium  arrived 
too  late  for  this  issue  and  will  be  published  later.] 


BY  PROFESSOR  STANLEY   COULTER 
Purdue  University 

It  is  conceded,  in  view  of  the  already  crowded  curricula  of  the 
schools  and  the  excessive  work  laid  upon  the  teachers,  that  no 
new  subject  should  be  introduced  unless  it  is  clearly  shown  to  be 
necessary  to  secure  the  symmetrical  intellectual  development  of 


so  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

the  child.  If  nature-study  fails  to  aid  in  bringing  about  this 
result,  it  has  no  position  in  the  schools  which  is  at  all  defensible. 
It  is  essential,  therefore,  that  there  should  be  a  clear-cut  con- 
ception of  the  significance  of  the  subject  from  this  viewpoint. 
Its  peculiar  function-  is  to  develop  the  perceptive  powers,  and 
through  this  development  bring  the'  child  into  an  intimate  and 
sympathetic  relationship  with  his  surroi^i dings.  This  central 
thought,  the  real  educational  purpose  of  nature-study,  has  too 
often  been  lost  in  the  effort  to  make  the  subject  the  vehicle  for 
carrying  information  bearing  upon  an  almost  endless  variety  of 
natural  phenomena.  In  no  other  subject,  perhaps,  is  there  such 
need  to  keep  constantly  in  mind  the  real  en*d  in  view ;  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  know  plants  and  animals,  but 
that  it  is  through  these  to  develop  the  perceptive  powers  so  as  to 
bring  the  child  into  a  broader,  a  closer  and  a  more  sympathetic 
contact  with  the  world  about  him. 

If  this  view  of  the  function  of  nature-study  is  correct,  several 
conclusions  necessarily  follow.  One  of  these  bears  upon  the 
amount  of  work,  which  as  a  rule  has  been  and  is  far  too  great. 
Indeed  from  any  viewpoint  the  most  cursory  consideration  shows 
this  to  be  true  when  the  youth  of  the  child,  the  limitations  of 
time,  the  other  school  work,  and  the  over-burdened  teacher  are 
taken  into  account.  The  amount  of  work  must  be  adapted  to  the 
capacity  of  the  average  child  under  the  average  conditions  and 
this  adaptation  can  be  brought  about  in  most  cases  only  by  largely 
reducing  the  amount  of  required  or  suggested  work. 

A  second  conclusion  bears  upon  the  material  suitable  for  nature 
work.  If  the  work  be  reduced  in  amount,  there  are  manifold 
and  patent  reasons  why  the  work  touching  plants  and  animals 
should  be  retained,  the  reduction  therefore  being  brought  about 
by  the  dropping  of  certain  other  subjects.  This  is  certainly  true 
for  the  earlier  school  years,  whatever  may  be  said  in  favor  of  dif- 
ferent and  more  varied  material  for  the  advanced  grades. 
Nothing  appeals  so  strongly  to  the  young  child  as  life,  and  when 
life  is  associated  with  color  and  movement  the  appeal  is  all  but 
irresistible.  Changes  in  temperature,  the  formation  of  soils, 
the  effects  of  erosion,  and  a  host  of  other  phenomena  of  great 
interest  and  value  make  no  such  appeal,  do  not  enter  so  appar- 
ently or  directly  into  the  child  life  and  can  be  left  with  safety  until 
a  later  school  period.     The  only  objection  to  such  a  reduction  of 


coulter]  values    and    AIMS    OF    NATURE-STUDY  5  I 

work  and  a  confining  of  the  material  in  large  measure  to  plants 
and  animals  will  be  found  to  have  its  origin  in  the  belief  that 
nature-study  is  a  device  for  imparting  information  rather  than 
a  means  for  developing  power. 

A  further  conclusion  is,  that  in  presentation  there  must  be  a 
close  adaptation  to  the  intellectual  development  of  the  child,  the 
methods  employed  emphasizing  the  w^ork  of  the  child  and  very 
much  reducing  the  importance  of  those  ordinary  bureaus  of  infor- 
mation, the  teacher  and  the  book.  Briefly  stated  nature-study 
has  for  its  purposes  the  development,  or  at  least  the  keeping  func- 
tional, of  certain  powers  of  the  child;  not  to  give  the  teacher  an 
additional  opportunity  for  talking  or  as  a  means  for  the  exploita- 
tion of  books.  The  methods  should  be  in  every  case  such  as  to 
give  the  child  this  training. 

Still  another  conclusion,  if  this  view  be  correct,  and  one  of 
great  importance,  is  that  the  work  of  the  various  grades  must 
be  more  closely  related  and  that  the  work  of  each  grade  must  have 
underlying  it  some  definite  pedagogic  purpose.  The  fragmen- 
tary and  illogical  courses  now  offered  under  the  head  of  nature- 
study  show  how  little  real  thought  has  been  given  to  this  phase 
of  the  subject.  The  vast  amount  and  range  of  suggested  work 
merely  serve  to  emphasize  the  conclusion  that  much  may  be  done 
to  make  nature-study  an  efficient  working  tool  in  the  schools  by 
arranging  a  logically  progressive  scheme  of  study  for  each  grade. 
The  work  as  outlined  for  each  year  should  have  some  definite 
intellectual  end  in  view,  and  this  should  be  directly  connected  with 
the  purpose  of  the  work  in  the  year  preceding  and  following.  In 
the  absence  of  such  carefully  wrought-out  courses  the  work  in 
nature-studv  must  of  necessity  be  fragmentary  and  unsatisfactory. 
At  some  future  time  it  is  the  hope  of  the  writer  to  present  briefly 
a  discussion  of  various  intellectual  centers  about  which  the  work 
of  the  grades  may  be  grouped. 

To  summarize  very  briefly,  the  materials  of  nature-study  are 
incidental,  its  intellectual  purpose  is  the  supreme  thing.  If  it 
becomes  an  efficient  means  of  securing  a  symmetrical  intellectual 
development,  there  must  exist  a  definite  conception  of  its  functions 
and  limitations.  The  amount  of  work  presented  must  be  much 
reduced  and  the  method  of  presentation  carefully  adapted  to  the 
child's  mental  development.  Direct  observation  of  nature  must 
take  the  place  of  much  time  now  taken  by  the  teacher,  and  the 


52  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

results  of  these  observations  must  replace  much  that  is  now  given 
in  readings  from  the  multitudinous  so-called  ''  nature-books." 
All  of  which  means  that  we  have  no  better  tool  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  perceptive  powers  and  bringing  the  child  into  sympa- 
thetic relations  with  his  surroundings  than  nature-study,  when  it 
is  nature-study  pure  and  undefiled.  Where  it  is  not,  it  had  much 
better  be  dropped  from  the  course. 

II 

BY  HAROLD  W.   FAIRBANKS,   Ph.D. 
Berkeley,  Cal. 

Nature-study  has  developed  in  our  schools  as  a  result  of  im- 
pulses from  several  different  directions.  On  the  one  hand,  we 
can  trace  its  beginnings  through  object  teaching  to  Pestalozzi  and 
other  educational  leaders  of  the  still  more  distant  past,  all  voicing 
the  feeling  that  the  child's  education  should  deal  more  with  things 
and  less  with  books.  From  another  side  has  come  the  growing 
influence  of  science  in  the  university  and  high  school  also  empha- 
sizing the  importance  of  contact  with  nature. 

While  object  teaching  was  formal  and  too  often  developed  into 
a  lifeless  talk  about  isolated  objects,  the  scientific  notions  which 
slowly  filtered  down  into  the  elementary  school  frequently  brought 
with  them  methods  and  aims  not  adapted  to  the  building  up  of 
immature  minds. 

These  two  chief  sources  of  inspiration  in  the  nature-study 
movement  differ  very  materially  in  their  influence  so  that  there 
has  arisen  two  ways,  broadly  speaking,  of  looking  at  the  subject. 
With  one  school  of  teachers  the  training  and  culturing  of  the 
mental  powers  is  held  to  be  the  chief  aim;  with  the  others,  the 
acquirement  of  exact  and  systematized  knowledge. 

The  real  differences,  however,  among  those  teachers  who  have 
given  the  subject  thoughtful  attention  are  probably  in  most  cases 
not  as  great  as  they  sometimes  appear ;  and  I  can  not  believe  that 
we  are  hopelessly  adrift,  but  that  there  must  be  some  unifying 
principle  underlying  all  the  diverse  ideas,  not  only  as  to  what  is 
really  meant  by  nature-study,  but  as  to  what  its  aims  and  values 
should  be.  If  this  principle  upon  which  we  can  all  unite  can  be 
brought  into  clearer  light,  it  will  go  far  toward  placing  nature- 
study  upon  a  rational  basis. 


FAIRBANKS]       VALUES   AND    AIMS    OF    NATURE-STUDY  53 

We  can  all  agree  that  nature-study  should  deal  with  nature  at 
first  hand,  should  deal  with  the  actual  phenomena  open  to  the 
child's  observation.  This  much  accepted,  we  have  the  founda- 
tion for  another  step  involving  the  content  of  the  subject.  In 
no  two  localities  are  the  home  surroundings  and  the  opportunities 
for  first-hand  contact  with  nature  the  same.  One  school  is  in  a 
valley  in  an  agricultural  district;  another  is  in  the  mountains 
where  the  leading  industries  are  connected  with  mining.  One 
school  may  be  near  the  ocean  with  all  its  wealth  of  marine  life, 
while  another  may  be  far  from  any  large  body  of  water.  Spring 
plants  may  be  growing  up  in  one  place  while  in  another  the 
ground  is  still  covered  with  snow.  Hence  what  is  at  hand  for 
the  children  of  one  place  can  not  always  be  personally  investigated 
by  those  of  another.  It  is  unreasonable  then  to  attempt  to  for- 
mulate any  uniform  course  of  study  for  all  parts  of  the  country. 

In  nature-study  it  matters  little  the  number  of  facts  acquired  so 
long  as  the  pupil  is  taught  to  see,  think,  and  form  conclusions  of 
his  own ;  to  feel  at  home  in  the  world  and  that  he  is  a  part  of  it. 
The  inspiration  of  the  teacher  counts  for  much,  and  it  is  far  better 
to  cover  only  a  part  of  the  phenomena  open  to  study,  taking  up 
those  that  he  is  particularly  interested  in,  than  to  run  over  the 
whole  field  in  a  formal  and  lifeless  manner. 

Nature-study  should  not  be  an  introduction  to  any  particular 
occupation,  such  as  agriculture  or  the  workshop,  nor  should  it  be 
given  for  the  purpose  of  an  introduction  to  the  science  studies 
of  later  years.  That  it  really  does  aid  in  agriculture,  and  in  the 
shop,  and  that  it  does  form  a  basis  for  science  is  nevertheless  true. 
Nature-study  has  its  own  direct  ends  to  accomplish — ends  which 
are  not  trifling  and  insignificant,  but  of  the  highest  value. 

The  aim  of  nature-study  should  be  the  putting  of  the  child 
into  harmony  with  his  environment,  into  sympathetic  and  intelli- 
gent relationship  with  the  factors  of  his  surroundings,  both  or- 
ganic and  inorganic.  He  does  not  go  at  this  study  as  does  the 
scientist,  nor  for  the  same  purpose.  Interest  in,  and  a  simple 
understanding  of  the  common  facts  of  the  world  about  him  do 
not  mean  that  the  pupil  has  consciously  grouped  these  facts  for 
the  purpose  of  arriving  at  law  as  does  the  scientist,  but  that  he 
has  a  conception  of  their  obvious  relations  sufficient  for  his  com- 
mon needs  and  to  make  him  a  happier  dweller  among  them. 

We  conclude  then  that  nature-study  has  within  itself  a  prin- 


54  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

ciple  which  can  be  worked  out  in  all  localities,  and  that  its  aim 
is  the  same  everywhere ;  but  that  the  materials  of  study  will 
change  with  the  changing  surroundings,  and  the  method  with  the 
degree  of  development  of  the  child. 

Ill 

BY   MAURICE   A.    BIGELOW 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

[The  following  is  one  section  of  a  paper  on  "  Scope  and  Methods  of 
Scientific  Nature-Study"  read  at  the  meeting  of  the  New  York  State 
Science  Teachers'  Association,  at   Syracuse,  December  28,   1904.] 

Dealing  as  nature-study  does  with  the  same  materials  and 
processes  with  which  natural  science  is  concerned,  some  simi- 
larity in  educational  values  is  to  be  expected.  Looking  first  at 
the  educational  aspects  of  natural  science,  we  find  that  writers 
who  have  discussed  the  subject  have  concluded  that  the  educa- 
tional value  of  science  study  lies  (i)  in  its  discipline,  and  (2)  in 
the  information  which  has  utilitarian,  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and 
moral  bearings.  Along  the  same  lines  we  must  look  for  the 
educational  value  of  nature-study. 

First,  with  regard  to  discipline,  it  has  been  urged  by  many 
writers  that  natural  science  is  valuable  in  general  education  above 
all  because  of  its  disciplinary  value.  Karl  Pearson,  in  the  intro- 
duction to  his  ''  Grammar  of  Science  "  has  urged  that  "  in  the 
first  and  foremost  place "  modern  science  finds  its  support  in 
''  the  efficient  mental  training  it  provides  for  the  citizen  "  ;  and 
Professor  Bessey,  of  the  University  of  Nebraska,  has  said  ''  that 
culture  is  best  which  so  prepares  a  man  that  whatever  fact  pre- 
sents itself  to  him,  he  will  be  able  to  arrange  it  accurately  with 
reference  to  others." 

We  may  urge  the  same  arguments  in  favor  of  discipline  in 
nature-study.  Obviously  this  involves  the  question  of  method 
of  teaching  nature-study ;  but  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that 
all  real  nature-study,  like  all  modern  natural  science,  is  taught  on 
the  basis  of  actual  study  of  natural  objects  and  processes.  Na- 
ture-study so  taught  ought  to  have  some  of  the  discipline  which 
natural-science  study  gives.  It  ought  first  of  all  to  train  the 
pupils  in  careful,  critical  observing;  and  this  ought  to  lead  the 
pupils  to  much  independent  observing.     Moreover,  such  nature- 


BiGELOw]  VALUES    AND    AIMS    OF    NATURE-STUDY  SS 

Study  ought  to  teach  the  pupils  to  appreciate  the  value  of  knowl- 
edge demonstrated  to  be  true  so  far  as  our  senses  can  determine ; 
and  it  ought  to  teach  them  to  compare  facts,  judge  their  values, 
and  arrange  them  with  reference  to  other  facts.  In  short,  nature- 
study  properly  conducted  ought  to  give  the  first  training  in  the 
scientific  method  in  which  natural-science  studies  are  able  to  give 
more  advanced  and  more  complete  training.  Along  this  line 
we  have,  I  believe,  one  of  the  greatest  values  of  nature-study — 
one  which  we  have  scarcely  begun  to  appreciate  and  in  which  is 
the  possibility  of  greatest  advance  in  nature-study.  As  will  be 
suggested  in  a  later  section  of  this  paper,  with  advances  in  devel- 
oping the  disciplinary  value  there  will  come  improved  selections 
of  more   valuable   subject-matter. 

But  we  must  not  defend  nature-study  simply  on  the  ground 
that  the  method  of  study  affords  discipline  in  observing,  experi- 
menting, judging,  reasoning,  etc.  The  value  of  such  mental 
processes  depends  largely  upon  the  ability  to  apply  them  in 
useful  lines  in  every-day  life.  Karl  Pearson  admits  that,  while 
science-study  trains  the  judgment,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow 
that  the  scientific  man  has  good  judgment  in  every-day  life  involv- 
ing fields  other  than  sciences,  because  he  may  not  be  able  to 
carry  his  scientific  method  outside  the  field  in  which  he  has 
acquired  it.  Likewise,  the  discipline  afforded  by  nature-study 
will  be  valuable  in  proportion  to  the  pupil's  ability  to  apply  it  in 
a  useful  way.  A  pupil  trained  to  see  the  details  of  structure  or 
activity  in  a  particular  object  on  which  attention  has  been  specially 
centered  may  not  be  any  better  able  to  observe  things  in  general 
as  he  meets  them  in  daily  life;  and  moreover  the  trained  ability 
to  note  details  is  not  necessarily  associated  with  ability  to  discover 
points  of  general  human  interest.  As  an  example,  the  detailed 
study  of  postage  stamps  might  well  train  the  observation,  but 
training  to  observe  with  regard  to  the  peculiarities  of  postage 
stamps  does  not  mean  expertness  of  observation,  although  per- 
haps some  improvement,  with  regard  to  other  things,  e.  g.,  com- 
mon objects  in  nature.  Therefore  we  could  not  justify  a  detailed 
study  of  postage  stamps  on  the  sole  ground  that  it  trains  the  ob- 
serving powers,  because  the  value  of  this  is  doubtful  so  far  as 
useful  application  of  the  training  is  concerned.  But  a  study  of 
postage  stamps  with  reference  to  the  history  and  geography  which 
they  suggest  might  be  made  a  very  useful  exercise,  because  the 


56  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i.  2,  march,  1905 

attention  might  be  directed  towards  things  which  it  is  useful  to 
know.  This  illustration  must  suffice;  but  it  must  be  obvious  to 
all  who  will  stop  to  consider  various  similar  illustrations  which 
are  readily  called  to  mind  that  the  value  of  the  power  of  observing 
depends,  as  stated  above,  largely  upon  using  the  power  in  useful 
ways.  This  in  its  turn  involves  attention  and  interest,  and  the 
conclusion  must  be  that  the  discipline  of  nature-study  is  best 
which  trains  the  pupil  to  apply  the  method  in  useful  ways — to 
observing  things  in  nature  which  are  important  enough  to  deserve 
attention  in  the  busy  life  of  the  average  citizen.  It  is  here  that 
the  discipline  and  the  information  of  nature-study  must  go 
together,  for  the  value  of  the  discipline  will  in  no  small  measure 
depend  upon  the  usefulness  of  the  information. 

Now,  the  usefulness  of  the  information  gained  through  nature- 
study  is  along  aesthetic,  utilitarian,  intellectual,  and  moral  lines ; 
and  the  teaching  of  nature-study  which  is  directed  towards  the 
facts  which  clearly  have  valuable  relations  to  every-day  life  in 
these  lines  will  at  the  same  time  make  possible  discipline  which 
is  most  valuable. 

Summarizing,  we  may  defend  the  place  of  nature-study  in  our 
educational  system  on  the  ground  that  it  gives  discipline  and  in- 
formation which  are  useful  in  the  life  of  the  average  citizen. 

From  this  brief  outline  of  the  educational  value  of  nature-study, 
we  pass  to  a  statement  of  the  aims  which,  obviously,  grow  out 
of  the  values.  I  have  previously  stated^  these  in  outline  form  as 
follows :  (the  numbers  refer  to  order  of  statement  not  to  relative 
value)  (i)  To  give  general  acquaintance  with  and  interest  in  com- 
mon objects  and  processes  in  nature.  (2)  To  give  the  first  train- 
ing in  accurate  observing  as  a  means  of  gaining  knowledge  direct 
from  nature,  and  also  in  the  simplest  comparing,  classifying,  and 
judging  values  of  facts ;  in  other  words,  to  give  the  first  training 
in  the  simplest  processes  of  the  scientific  method.  (3)  To  give 
pupils  useful  knowledge  concerning  natural  objects  and  processes 
as  they  directly  affect  human  life  and  interests. 

The  first  aim  (for  acquaintance  and  interest),  finds  its  justifica- 
tion chiefly  along  moral  and  sesthetic  lines.  It  is  really  the  basis 
of  most  of  the  nature-study  work  which  has  been  done  in  this 
country.     The  second  aim  (for  discipline)  simply  stands  for  the 


^  In  Teachers  College  Record,  5 :  35.     March,  1904. 


coulter]  principles    OF    NATURE-STUDY  S7 

practical  method  of  study  with  special  emphasis  on  accuracy  in 
observing  and  reasoning.  The  third  aim  (for  useful  knowledge) 
looks  towards  results  which  are  primarily  useful  for  their  own 
sake;  but  which  secondarily  and  incidentally  may  come  into  rela- 
tion with  the.  study  of  natural  sciences  of  the  higher  schools. 
With  differences  in  materials  and  advancement  of  pupils  the  em- 
phasis upon  the  three  aims  will  naturally  vary;  but  no  series  of 
lessons  and  especially  the  work  of  no  one  year  should  fail  to 
give  fair  representations  to  the  kind  of  teaching  suggested  by  each 
of  the  three  aims  as  stated.  There  is  no  conflict  between  these 
aims.  The  first  depends  upon  the  teacher's  attitude  towards 
and  interest  in  natural  objects  and  processes ;  the  second  is  sim- 
ply a  method  of  teaching;  the  third  means  nothing  but  selection 
of  useful  facts  for  emphasis.  How  can  such  a  combination  mean 
a  conflict  of  aims? 

I  know  that  some  teachers  will  answer,  as  some  authors  have 
written,  that  the  formal  development  of  lessons  which  the  very 
statement  of  the  aims  suggests — and  especially  the  second  aim 
(for  accurate,  critical  work) — is  opposed  to  the  first  aim  (for 
interest  in  nature)  so  completely  that  the  "  life  and  interest  will 
be  taken  out  of  nature-study  "  and  the  pupils  will  hate  the  subject 
as  they  are  commonly  supposed  to  hate  all  serious  work  of  the 
school.  This,  if  true,  is  a  serious  criticism.  Limitations  of  space 
will  not  allow  proper  defense  here ;  but  I  intend  to  refer  to  it  in  a 
paper  on  "  Informal  Nature-Study  "  in  some  future  issue  of  this 
journal  and  describe  some  work  observed  in  certain  schools  in 
which  nature-study  is  "  good  fun  "  and  at  the  same  time  serious, 
critical  work. 


PRINCIPLES   OF   NATURE-STUDY 

BY  PROFESSOR  JOHN  M.   COULTER 
The  University  of  Chicago 

[Editorial  Note. — This  paper  was  prepared  quite  independently  of  the 
preceding  symposium;  but  it  touches  so  definitely  upon  educational  values 
and  aims  of  nature-study  that  it  should  be  read  in  connection  with  the 
papers  which  discuss  the  problems  of  aims  and  values.] 

Under  the  name  of  nature-study  work  has  been  introduced  into 
the  schools  that  is  hard  to  define.     It  seeks  to  supply  a  need  that 


5^  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

is  evident  enough,  but  whether  it  actually  does  supply  it  is  an 
open  question.  The  statements  of  its  purpose  range  from  culti- 
vation of  a  sentimental  love  for  nature  to  training  in  habits  of 
exact  observation  and  inference.  When  to  this  confused  state- 
ment of  purpose  there  is  added  the  fact  that  it  has  been  thrust 
upon  a  host  of  unwilling  and  unprepared  teachers,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  *'  nature-study  "  is  an  ill-defined,  inchoate  thing,  the  despair 
of  the  primary  teacher  and  the  joke  of  the  scientific  fraternity. 
And  yet,  its  purpose  is  sound,  and  it  must  outgrow  its  ill-defined 
beginnings.  It  is  certainly  a  great  problem,  to  be  solved  by 
extensive  experiment  rather  than  by  preconceived  notions.  I  am 
quite  prepared,  therefore,  to  find  that  some  of  the  suggestions  I 
am  about  to  make  will  be  disapproved  by  experience. 

In  the  outset  it  is  well  to  state  the  purpose  of  nature-study  as 
clearly  as  possible;  not  its  incidental  advantages,  but  its  domi- 
nant motive.  Naturally  it  is  just  here  that  we  may  part  com- 
pany, but  the  dominant  motive  must  determine  the  method.  In 
my  judgment  the  great  function  of  nature-study  in  elementary 
education  is  to  supplement  what  may  be  called  the  conventional 
education.  The  latter  of  necessity  compels  attention  to  certain 
abstractions  of  language  and  numbers  that  are  not  of  paramount 
interest  to  the  pupil  at  the  time.  At  the  same  time,  the  child 
possesses  what  I  have  called  ''  tentacles  of  inquiry  "  that  are  ex- 
tended towards  natural  objects.  Too  frequently  a  strictly  con- 
ventional education  atrophies  these  tentacles  through  disuse,  and 
when  later  in  life  the  opportunity  for  work,  in  science  presents 
itself,  there  is  no  response,  for  loss  of  interest  has  followed  loss 
of  power.  I  believe  that  this  benumbing  effect  of  the  exclusively 
conventional  education  upon  the  natural  interest  in  observing  has 
much  to  do  with  the  small  proportion  of  college  students  at- 
tracted to  the  laboratories.  What  I  have  called  the  conventional 
education  is  necessary,  but  it  needs  to  be  supplemented  by  nature- 
study  in  order  that  the  tentacles  of  inquiry  may  remain  func- 
tional. To  me  the  keeping  functional  natural  powers  is  the  fun- 
damental purpose  of  nature-study  in  elementary  schools,  that  later 
in  education  and  later  in  life  the  pupil  may  not  be  robbed  of  oppor- 
tunity and  enjoyment.  If  this  purpose  be  sound,  the  methods  of 
nature-study  are  to  be  judged  by  their  success  in  fulfilling  it. 

This  leads  first  to  certain  criticisms  of  much  work  in  nature- 
studv   that   I   have   observed.     How   extensivelv  these   criticisms 


COULTER  J  PRINCIPLES    Of    NATURES  J  UDV  59 

apply  I  have  no  means  of  knowing.  Of  course  the  most  obvious 
weakness  is  the  unprepared  teacher.  For  the  most  part  they  are 
not  to  be  blamed,  for  the  work  has  been  thrust  upon  them,  and 
they  arc  more  or  less  conscious  of  their  helplessness ;  and, 
furthermore,  quite  a  number  of  the  reputed  leaders  in  the  subject 
are  distinctly  "  blind  leaders  of  the  blind." 

Accepting  the  teachers,  however,  such  as  they  are,  my  first  criti- 
cism of  observed  methods  would  be  directed  against  what  I  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  calling  "  dead  work  " ;  which  means  the  obser- 
vation of  insignificant,  trivial  things ;  work  that  means  nothing 
when  it  is  done.  I  realize  that  many  a  teacher,  through  lack  of 
knowledge,  is  compelled  to  occupy  the  time  with  anything  that 
occurs  to  her,  and  is  sometimes  honest  enough  to  call  the  exercise 
"  busy  work."  For  example,  I  have  seen  period  after  period  given 
to  a  study  of  the  forms  of  leaves,  chiefly  because  the  forms  are 
endless  and  illustrative  material  is  easily  obtained. 

A  second  criticism  of  observed  methods  is  the  attempt  to  arouse 
a  factitious  interest  in  nature-study  by  all  sorts  of  playful  and 
imaginative  devices.  Most  of  the  books  dealing  with  nature- 
study  cater  to  this  tendency  and  perhaps  are  largely  responsible 
for  it.  These  devices  disgust  strong  children,  just  as  does  the 
foolish  and  forced  sprightliness  of  many  primary  teachers. 
Nature-study,  imbedded  as  it  is  in  conventional  education,  is  the 
one  chance  for  exact  and  independent  observation,  for  cultivating 
the  ideas  that  between  cause  and  effect  there  can  be  no  hiatus, 
that  imagination  is  beautiful  and  most  useful  in  its  place  but  that 
its  place  is  never  to  lead  to  a  misconception  of  facts,  and  that 
there  should  be  no  playing  fast  and  loose  with  truth. 

Passing  from  the  statement  of  purpose  and  criticisms  of  ob- 
served methods  to  a  statement  of  principles,  I  would  say  that  if 
the  purpose  of  nature-study  is  to  keep  functional  the  tentacles  of 
inquiry,  it  follows  that  a  test  of  success  is  interest.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  no  science  can  be  presented  in  any  completeness  or 
in  any  definitely  organized  sequence,  and  hence  the  purpose  must 
be  continuity  of  interest  and  not  continuity  of  subject.  The  re- 
sulting interest  must  be  checked  by  the  objects  of  interest,  which 
must  be  important,  and  so  I  reach  my  general  thesis  that  nature- 
study  must  look  to  a  continuity  of  interest  in  important  subjects. 

What  are  appropriate  subjects?  I  would  suggest  an  answer 
under   three   heads:    (i)    Thiuos   of   common   experience.     This 


6o  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

means  that  there  can  be  no  fixed  schedule  appropriate  for  every 
school,  and  it  also  means-  an  adaptable  teacher.  The  teacher  who 
has  secured  a  definite  "  outline  "  from  some  one  is  in  danger  of 
passing  by  the  most  important  natural  objects  within  reach  of  the 
school.  I  have  seen  such  an  "  outline  "  prepared  on  the  seacoast 
and  used  by  a  teacher  in  the  central  west.  When  it  came  to  the 
subject  of  seaweeds,  a  few  miserable  things  were  obtained  with 
much  difficulty  from  the  seashore,  and  the  glorious  forest  with 
which  the  school  was  surrounded  was  left  without  observation! 
This  is  an  extreme  case,  but  essentially  the  same  thing  is  common 
enough.  (2)  No  subject  should  he  pressed  too  far,  for  interest 
may  pass  into  disgust.  Watch  the  pupil,  not  the  outline!  (3) 
Observation  should  be  directed  more  towards  activity  than 
towards  form  and  structure.  It  is  fundamental  in  botany  that 
plants  be  regarded  as  things  alive  and  at  work;  and  it  is  also  of 
far  greater  interest  to  a  child  to  watch  a  plant  doing  something 
than  to  observe  form  and  structure,  which  in  the  very  nature 
of  things  mean  nothing  to  the  observer. 

What  are  appropriate  methods?  (i)  Very  definite  work,  that 
has  already  been  traversed  by  the  teacher;  for  it  is  confusing  and 
discouraging  and  disastrous  to  work  at  random.  Some  very 
definite  result  must  be  plainly  in  sight.  (2)  Individual  work  in 
observation  or  experiment,  which  means  personal  responsibility. 
(3)  Unprejudiced  observation,  which  means  that  the  pupil  is  not 
to  be  told  what  ought  to  be  seen ;  some  children  are  so  docile 
that  they  never  fail  to  see  what  they  are  told  to  see.  (4)  Bring- 
ing together  and  comparing  individual  results,  a  thing  of  funda- 
mental importance,  for  it  develops  differences  in  results  which 
must  be  settled  by  repetition,  shows  what  is  essential  in  the 
results  and  what  amount  of  variation  is  possible,  develops  the  habit 
of  caution  in  generalization,  and  impresses  the  need  and  nature  of 
adequate  proof. 

What  are  appropriate  results?  (i)  A  sustained  interest  in 
natural  objects  and  the  phenomena  of  nature.  (2)  An  indepen- 
dence in  observation  and  conclusion.  (3)  Some  conception  as  to 
what  an  exact  statement  is.  (4)  Some  conception  of  what  con- 
stitutes proof;  in  short,  an  independent,  rational  individual,  such 
as  the  world  needs  to-day  more  than  anything  else.  I  feel  strongly 
that  our  educational  system  lacks  efficiency  in  just  this  direction, 
and  that  continuous  training  in  exact  observation  and  inference. 


THAYER]  CHILDREN'S    GARDENS  OI 

beginning   with   the   kindergarten,   must    result   in    more   sanity 
among  adults. 


CHILDREN'S    GARDENS    AT   DOWNING    STREET    SCHOOL, 
WORCESTER,    MASS. 

BY  EDNA  R.   THAYER 

Teacher  of  Grades  Two  and  Three 

Photographs  by  C.  F.  Hodge 

Very  early  in  the  spring  of  1903  all  the  children  in  the  schools 
of  the  city  of  Worcester  were  offered  seeds  for  planting  by  the 
leading  seedsman,  and  many  teachers  who  were  interested  in 
garden  work  gladly  accepted  the  offer  for  their  pupils.  At  the 
Downing  St.  school  the  children  were  allowed  to  choose  their 
own  vegetable  seeds ;  but  in  the  case  of  flower  seeds  the  easily 
grown  varieties  like  the  nasturtium  and  calliopsis  were  given  to 
the  lower  grades,  stocks  and  carnations  to  the  older  children.  All 
flower  seeds  were  planted  in  pots  at  home  in  accordance  with  di- 
rections given  about  drainage,  soil,  depth  to  plant,  and  care  to  be 
given.  This  flower  growing  was  successful  and  on  the  last  day 
of  school  the  children  brought  their  plants,  with  pots  gayly 
dressed  in  fancy  paper,  for  an  exhibit.  Some  very  good  radishes 
and  lettuce  were  grown  in  beds  in  the  school-yard,  but  no  attempt 
was  made  at  a  report  of  vegetables  grown  at  home. 

This  spring,  1904,  when  the  same  offer  of  seeds  was  made,  it 
seemed  wise  to  attempt  gardening  on  a  larger  scale,  as  the  first 
trial  had  shown  that  the  children  were  eager  for  the  work,  and  we 
were  satisfied  that  gardening  ought  to  be  made  a  permanent  part 
of  our  course  in  nature-study.  As  I  was  especially  interested,  it 
naturally  fell  to  my  lot  to  distribute  the  seeds  and  supervise  the 
work  through  the  summer.  I  decided  that  the  gardens  must  be 
at  the  children's  homes,  because  there  was  no  available  land  near 
the  school,  and  more  particularly  because  each  child  would  feel 
that  it  was  his  ozvii  garden  and  that  he  had  a  personal  responsi- 
bility for  every  seed  given  if  it  was  at  his  home.  Notes  were 
sent  to  the  parents  asking  their  consent  to  the  children's  having 
seeds,  and  permission  was  readily  obtained  for  more  than  four 
hundred  children.     Each  child  selected  three  kinds  of  seeds,  either 


62 


THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 


A  home-garden  planted  and  cared  for  by  a  girl  of  twelve. 


The  largest  of  the  children's  home-gardens. 


THAYER]  CHILDREN'S    GARDENS  63 

flower  or  vei^ctable.  The  choice  was  not  always  wise,  for  some  of 
the  younger  children,  probably  acting  on  suggestions  of  their  par- 
ents, chose  seeds  most  difficult  to  germinate.  Girls  and  boys  were 
about  equally  divided  in  their  choice  of  flowers  and  vegetables, 
which  was  much  to  my  surprise ;  and  later  in  the  summer  I  found 
the  girls  quite  as  successful  vegetable  gardeners  as  the  boys. 

During  the  days  following  the  distribution  of  the  seeds  little 
conversation  was  heard  about  the  school  building  and  neighbor- 
hood save  of  planting;  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  what  the 
children  lacked  in  knowledge  and  experience  they  made  up  by 
their  enthusiasm.  Would  it  last  through  the  summer,  was  the 
question.  It  seemed  necessary  that  the  children  should  be  watched 
over  and  encouraged,  and  so  they  were  told  that  I  would  visit 
their  gardens  when  they  were  well  started  and  that  my  disap- 
pointment would  be  great  if  they  had  nothing  to  show  me.  They 
were  told,  also,  that  the  New  England  Agricultural  Society  had 
asked  the  school  children  to  make  exhibits  of  flowers  and  vege- 
tables at  the  fair  to  be  held  in  Worcester  early  in  September  and 
that  it  was  hoped  that  every  child  in  Downing  St.  school  would 
raise  something  worthy  of  exhibit.  It  was  understood  by  every 
child  that  if  he  were  assisted  by  others  in  the  production  of  his 
flowers  or  vegetables,  they  would  not  be  eligible  for  exhibit  at  the 
fair.  Knowing  this,  a  little  girl  in  the  lowest  grade  chose  only 
vegetable  seeds  in  order  to  avoid  any  suspicion  that  her  father, 
who  was  a  florist,  had  helped  her. 

As  soon  as  the  home-gardens  were  fairly  started,  work  was 
begun  on  some  garden  beds  for  the  school-yard.  The  year  before 
we  had  made  an  attempt  at  a  flower  bed,  but  in  our  ignorance 
had  made  it  by  heaping  the  loam  on  the  hard  gravel  of  the  school- 
yard and  in  midsummer  our  plants  wilted  and  died.  We  had  thus 
learned  from  experience  that  the  bed  must  be  lowered  nearly  to 
the  level  of  the  yard  to  prevent  drying  out.  Volunteers  removed 
the  loam,  excavated  through  the  hard  gravel  to  the  depth  of 
eighteen  inches,  then  replaced  the  loam.  New  beds  were  made  in 
the  same  way,  two  for  flowers  and  one  for  vegetables  and  a  fourth 
for  a  dozen  varieties  of  sweet  herbs.  Boys  and  girls  in  the  school 
volunteered  to  care  for  the  beds  ;  and,  with  an  occasional  reminder, 
they  were  kept  well  weeded  and  watered  throughout  the  summer. 

As  soon  as  there  was  something  to  see  in  the  home-gardens,  I 
besran  to  visit  them  whenever  I  could  before  and  after  school  until 


64 


THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i.  2,  march,  1905 


the  term  ended  and  after  that  I  made  systematic  visits,  a  street  at 
a  time,  until  all  were  inspected.  I  saw  gardens  good,  bad  and 
indifferent ;  the  first,  however,  being  largely  in  the  majority.  Of 
the  bad,  in  most  cases  the  child  was  not  to  blame,  for  the  failure 
plainly  resulted  from  poor  soil  or  lack  of  sunshine.  The  gardens 
which  I  term  indifferent  belonged  to  the  class  of  children  who 
delight  in  beginning  new   things   but  who  have  not   the   moral 


'tf 


.»«        .Jty  2L-- 


"  The  comparisons  which  a  child  would  draw  between  his  garden  and  those  of  his  neighbors 
were  interesting  and  helpful." 

stamina  to  push  on  to  a  completed  result.  However,  the  lesson 
was  probably  helpful,  so  far  as  it  went.  In  very  little  of  our  edu- 
cational plan  is  a  subject  studied  to  completion;  everything  learned 
or  done  is  a  fragment  which  some  day  may  serve  a  purpose  which 
we  can  not  foresee. 

As  the  summer  went  on  and  hot,  sultry  days  came,  it  was  won- 
derful how  many  gardens  did  do  well.  Even  the  transplanting 
was  done  so  carefully  and  the  plants  so  well  protected  from  the 
sun's  rays  that  few  were  lost.  Mothers  told  me  that  their  children 
did  not  wish  to  go  away  even  for  a  few  days,  because  the  garden 
would  need  attention  during  their  absence.  The  comparisons 
which  a  child  would  draw  between  his  garden  and  those  of  his 


thayek] 


CHILDREN'S    GARDENS 


65 


neighbors  were  interesting  and  helpful,  and  the  boy  or  girl  whose 
garden  was  a  little  in  advance  of  the  others  was  indeed  envied. 

When  the  time  for  the  fair  drew  near,  in  order  to  know  defi- 
nitely what  each  child  would  contribute,  postal  cards  were  sent  to 
every  family  whose  children  had  been  successful  in  their  work, 
directing  how  to  cut  the  flowers,  prepare  the  vegetables,  and  that 
they  be  brought  to  the  school-house  at  an  early  hour  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  opening  of  the   fair.     Wagons  had  been  secured   to 


A  corner  of  the  exhibit  at  the  agricultural  fair      More  than  thirty  kinds  of  vegetables  and  all 
common  varieties  of  flowers. 


carry  the  exhibit  to  the  fair-grounds.  Every  child  who  exhibited 
was  given  an  exhibitor's  ticket,  allowing  free  admission  each  day. 
This  privilege  alone  more  than  repaid  the  children  for  the  hours 
of  labor  spent  in  the  garden  work,  for  no  child  ever  could  stay 
long  enough  at  an  agricultural  fair,  and  a  large  percentage  of  the 
children  had  never  before  attended  one. 

The  judges  awarded  the  Downing  St.  school  the  first  premium 
of  $7.00  for  the  best  collection  from  any  one  school.  Thirteen 
other  premiums  were  won  by  individual  children  of  the  school 
— six  first  premiums,  four  second  and  three  third — amounting  to 
$6.00  more.     There  were  more  than  thirty  kinds  of  vegetables 


6^  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

exhibited,  the  largest  production  being  two  mammoth  whaleback 
squashes  weighing  twenty-eight  and  twenty-nine  pounds  apiece, 
and  the  most  unique,  a  handsome  pepper  plant,  full  of  peppers, 
growing  in  a  tin  pail.  The  flower  table  included  all  common 
varieties  from  the  showy  nasturtium  and  marigold  to  the  dainty 
pansy  and  the  sturdy  dahlia.  The  finest  golden  marigold  plant 
that  I  have  ever  seen,  one  literally  covered  with  huge  blossoms, 
was  grown  and  exhibited  in  a  large  pot.  A  little  girl  was  the 
proud  owner  and  she  won  the  first  premium  for  marigolds.  Many 
people  sought  the  attendant  to  inquire  if  the  exhibit  was  entirely 
the  work  of  the  children,  none  of  whom  were  over  fourteen  years 
of  age,  the  youngest  were  but  five,  and  the  average  was  probably 
not  more  than  ten. 

I  doubt  if  any  summer  ever  spent  by  the  children  of  the  Down- 
ing St.  school  has  been  as  profitable  as  this  one.  They  had  defi- 
nite, pleasing,  out-of-door  occupation ;  and  not  once  have  I  heard 
a  complaint,  heard  so  often  summers  before,  that  the  mothers 
would  be  glad  when  school  began  so  that  boys  and  girls  would  be 
away  from  the  street  and  its  dangers. 


WHY   SOME   SCHOOL-GARDENS   ARE   FAILURES 

BY  T.   R.   CROSWELL 
Supervisor  of  Training  School,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

What  is  a  school-garden  ?  On  your  answer  depends  very  much 
the  success  or  failure  you  will  make  of  one. 

The  school-garden  of  certain  parts  of  Europe  forms  a  portion 
of  the  income  of  the  tenant  schoolmaster.  It  is  more  than  an 
experiment  in  showing  how  things  grow.  It  represents  a  suc- 
cessful venture  as  well  as  an  object  lesson  in  elementary  agricul- 
ture. Such  conditions  do  not  exist  in  the  public  schools  of 
America.  Yet  many  writers,  advocating  the  school-garden  for 
our  schools,  cite  these  foreign  ones  as  models. 

One  of  the  best  known  school-gardens  in  the  United  States 
consists  of  limited  beds  in  all  sorts  of  available  corners  of  a  limited 
school-yard.  In  one  corner  a  group  of  children  care  for  a  bed  of 
flowers,  in  other  angles  other  varieties  are  cared  for  by  other 
groups.    Some  are  wild  flowers,  some  are  domesticated.    Through 


croswell]  school-gardens  67 

this  garden  the  children  of  this  city  school  have  come  to  know 
many  wild  flowers  that  otherwise  would  have  remained  strangers ; 
some  knowledge  of  the  care  of  plants  has  been  imparted ;  and  the 
beds  have  furnished  specimens  for  analysis  and  study  in  the  class- 
room. This  work  is  well  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  pupils  of 
this  particular  school,  and  the  garden  deserves  the  reputation  it 
possesses.  Yet  would  you  say  that  your  school-garden  exists  for 
the  purpose  of  teaching  the  recognition  of  wild  flowers,  learning 
to  care  for  them,  and  of  raising  supplies  for  the  botany  and  art 
classes  ? 

Many  school-gardens  are  planted  with  vegetables  of  all  sorts — 
radishes,  lettuce,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  potatoes,  squash,  corn, 
beans,  etc.  In  fact,  some  of  them  show  a  sample  of  almost  every- 
thing which  might  be  grown  in  a  market  garden.  It  would  be 
difficult  for  anyone  to  say  why  all  of  these  are  planted ;  certainly 
it  would  be  impossible  to  give  an  adequate  reason  for  each.  But 
all  are  planted  regardless  of  the  location  of  the  school,  whether 
in  a  large  city  or  in  a  country  district.  It  is  probable  in  both 
cases  the  object,  as  stated,  is  to  enable  the  children  to  see  these 
vegetables  in  the  process  of  growth.  The  object  may  be,  how- 
ever, to  show  how  to  grow  different  vegetables.  But  whatever 
the  aim,  the  result  is  the  same  in  the  majority  of  cases.  The 
garden  is  started  late,  so  that  only  a  few  radishes  mature  before 
the  close  of  school.  These  are  gathered  and  eaten.  Then  comes 
the  long  summer  vacation  and  the  end  of  the  school-garden  as 
far  as  the  children  are  concerned,  for  in  most  instances  the  condi- 
tions are  such  that  the  garden,  which  was  started  amid  much 
enthusiasm  and  with  some  promise,  ends  in  unsightly  neglect. 
The  children  have  seen  something  growing;  they  have,  if  the 
conditions  were  favorable,  had  an  opportunity  to  exercise  a  measure 
of  responsibility  during  the  early  growth;  but  for  the  most  part 
they  have  experienced  the  discouraging  effect  of  failing  to  com- 
plete what  they  started  to  do.  The  evil  effect  of  such  failure, 
apart  from  its  demoralizing  influence  on  the  general  character,  is 
more  than  an  offset  to  the  good  which  may  come  from  any  knowl- 
edge gained.  The  creation  of  a  desire  for  plant  culture,  which 
should  be  the  result,  is  lacking ;  not  only  that,  but  the  fresh  enthu- 
siasm of  the  first  attempt  it  lost.  Never  again  will  there  be  such 
an  opportunity  to  develop  in  the  same  pupils  a  genuine  love  for 


68  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

gardening  and  the  wholesome  influences  which  come  with  the  suc- 
cessful nurture  of  plants. 

These  examples  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  conditions  exist- 
ing in  one  locality  may  not  exist  in  another.  The  conditions  will 
modify  both  the  aim  and  the  possibilities  of  the  garden.  In  each 
case  the  purpose  of  the  garden  should  be  definite,  and  should  be 
determined  beforehand,  by  the  nature  of  the  surroundings  and 
the  possibility  of  success.  To  attempt  the  impossible  does  not 
speak  well  for  one's  sanity ;  not  to  know  what  you  are  trying  to 
do  shows  lack  of  business  ability ;  to  encourage  your  pupils  in  a 
forlorn  hope  is  dishonest,  and  the  effort  is  foredoomed  to  failure. 

Summarizing,  a  school-garden  has  often  failed  for  one  of  the 
following  reasons :  It  was  simply  an  imitation,  a  fad  without  a 
purpose ;  the  purpose  was  too  general ;  it  was  not  adapted  to 
existing  conditions ;  or  the  connection  between  the  end  sought  and 
the  plan  followed  was  too  loose. 

The  success  of  a  school-garden  should  be  measured,  not  by  its 
extent,  nor  by  the  opportunity  which  it  offers  for  securing  photo- 
graphs of  groups  of  children  at  work,  but  by  the  effectiveness  with 
which  it  supplies  the  means  of  satisfying  a  genuine  need  on  the 
part  of  the  pupils  of  a  given  school.  Two  gardens  may  be 
equally  successful,  yet  widely  different.  In  a  large  city  school 
where  the  children  have  little  opportunity  for  either  observation  or 
work  in  the  soil,  to  plant  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  how  the  com- 
mon vegetables  grow,  even  though  there  may  be  no  prospects 
of  any  crop,  is  entirely  proper,  provided  the  children  are  not 
encouraged  to  hope  for  the  impossible.  If,  however,  such  a  pur- 
pose is  the  leading  one  in  a  village  or  small  city  where  the  children 
see  the  different  plants  growing  under  more  normal  conditions, 
and  where  by  a  little  encouragement  they  can  be  led  to  work  their 
own  little  plots  at  home,  then  such  a  garden  shows  stupidity  on 
the  part  of  the  promoter.  In  the  smaller  place  its  purpose  should 
be  much  more  specific ;  the  school  should  put  much  more  em- 
phasis on  the  multiplying  of  plots  at  home,  and  less  on  show  at 
school ;  more  on  specific  knowledge  of  how  to  cultivate  those 
things  within  the  ability  of  the  child  that  may  add  to  the  beauty 
or  attractiveness  of  the  individual  home,  less  on  how  radishes  or 
potatoes  grow ;  more  attention  to  those  things  which  can  be  surely 
grown,  and  which  by  their  success  will  deeepen  and  extend  the 
interest  in  such  soil  lore  as  will  make  lives  happier,  purer  and 
more  useful. 


BiGELOw]  PLANTS    WITHOUT    SOIL  69 


CHEMICAL    TABLETS    FOR    FEEDING     PLANTS    GROWING 
WITHOUT   SOIL 

BY  EDWARD  F.   BIGELOW,   Ph.D. 

Editor  of  "Nature  and  Science"  in  St.  Nicholas.    Author  of  "How  Nature  Study 

should  be  Taught  " 

[Editorial  Note. — The  experiments  described  in  this  paper  are  so  prac- 
ticable and  adaptable  to  every  schoolroom  that  they  deserve  to  be  familiar 
to  every  teacher  of  nature-study.  For  this  reason  we  have  urged  the  author 
to  re-write  the  earlier  accounts  of  his  experiments  and  make  them  more 
generally  available  for  teachers  of  nature-study  and  high-school  biology.] 

I  am  requested  to  tell  teachers  how  I  use  in  tablets  the  chemicals 
of  Sachs'  nutrient  solution  for  the  artificial  feeding  of  plants.  For 
those  not  familiar  with  feeding  plants  with  chemicals  I  first  quote 
briefly  from  Professor  Sachs  •} 

''  The  complete  revolution  which  rational  agricultvire  and  for- 
estry have  experienced  through  the  establishing  of  the  theory  of 
the  nutrition  of  plants,  proves  how  much  has  been  accomplished 
in  this  department.  It  would  extend  far  beyond  the  scope  of  this 
lecture  to  reproduce  even  briefly  the  substance  of  the  literature  of 
the  subject.  The  most  significant  result  of  the  development  of 
the  nutrition  theory  is  met  with,  however,  in  the  fact  that  we  are 
now  able  to  rear  plants  artificially — that  we  are  in  a  position, 
with  chemically  pure  water  to  which  we  add  some  few  chemically 
pure  salts,  to  rear  artificially  highly  developed  plants  as  well  as  the 
simplest  algae  (and  mutatis  mutandis,  also  fungi) — that  from  in- 
conspicuous and  often  scarcely  ponderable  quantities  of  vegetable 
substance,  quantities  of  it  as  large  as  we  choose  may  be  produced 
in  this  way. 

"  Such  being  the  favorable  position  of  affairs,  I  regard  it  as  the 
simplest  and  most  instructive  method  to  connect  the  main  points 
of  the  theory  of  nutrition  of  plants,  so  far  as  they  concern  the 
food  materials,  with  the  description  of  an  experiment  in  artificial 
nutrition  made  with  a  highly  organized  plant.  I  think  that  in 
this  manner  the  essential  and  important  points  come  into  view 
more  clearly  than  with  any  other  mode  of  exposition.  In  the  year 
i860  I  published  the  results  of  experiments  which  demonstrated 


^  See  Lecture  XVII,  "  The  Nutritive  Materials  of  Plants,"  in  Professor 
Julius  von  Sachs'  "  On  the  Physiology  of  Plants." 


70  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

that  land-plants  are  capable  of  absorbing  their  nutritive  matters 
out  of  watery  solutions,  without  the  aid  of  soil,  and  that  it  is 
possible  in  this  way  not  only  to  maintain  plants  alive  and  growing 
for  a  long  time,  as  had  long  been  known,  but  also  to  bring  about 
a  vigorous  increase  of  their  organic  substance,  and  even  the  pro- 
duction of  seeds  capable  of  germination." 

I  have  utilized  all  that  this  honored  botanist  and  others  have 
recorded  regarding  artificial  nutrition  of  plants,  and  have  added 
these  three  points :  ( i )  Convenience  of  supplying  the  chemicals 
in  tablet  form.  (2)  Novelties  (to  attract  the  young  folks)  in  sit- 
uations of  growing  plants.  (3)  A  germinating  case  for  scientific 
or  popular  observation  and  experiment. 

This  is  how  I  came  to  use  chemicals  in  tablet  form  for  feeding 
plants.  For  many  years  I  have  been  visiting  schoolrooms  and 
talking  to  the  young  folks  on  nature-study.  I  have  also  been 
accompanied  by  young  folks,  in  parties  of  from  a  few  to  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  in  number,  on  natural-history  excursions  along  the 
roadsides,  across  the  fields,  through  the  forests  and  in  the  meadows 
and  swamps.  In  a  single  year  I  have  taken  as  many  as  4,500 
girls  and  boys  on  tramps  aggregating  more  than  175  miles.  Most 
of  this  has  been  in  the  spring;  but  just  why  I  have  never  been 
able  to  understand,  for  surely  Nature  is  interesting  at  all  sea- 
sons. But  requests  for  the  help  of  the  naturalist-guide  come 
almost  wholly  in  the  spring.  At  this  season  plant  fife  is  especially 
active,  new,  Hving  and  growing.  That  is — let  me  qualify  this 
statement — the  plant  life  outdoors  to  which  I  introduced  the  young 
folks.  Indoors  that  to  which  they  introduced  me,  in  the  form  of 
seeds  germinating  on  cotton,  blotting  paper  or  sawdust,  most  fre- 
quently suggested  death  rather  than  life.  Sometimes  the  mass 
would  be  decaying,  filthy,  ill-smelling,  disgusting.  And  the  young 
folks  would  apologetically  say,  "  You  should  have  seen  it  a  few 
days  ago,  then  it  was  growing  nicely." 

At  this  same  time,  plant  life  outdoors  was  becoming  better  and 
better ;  every  day  added  to  the  charm,  and  brought  new  interests. 
Gradually  the  impression  deepened  that  something  was  wrong. 
Every  time  the  young  folks  or  teachers  called  my  attention  to 
germinating  seeds  in  bad  condition  I  felt  a  jar  of  discord.  I 
admit  that  it  took  several  years  of  such  experience  to  formulate 
itself  into  more  than  annoyance,  and  to  become  a  determination  to 
find  a  remedv.     I  was  familiar,  as  are  most  teachers  of  botany. 


BIGELOW] 


PLANTS    WITHOUT    SOIL 


Fig.  I.  An  egg-shell  garden.     Several  common  plants  grown  three  feet  tall  from  sawdust  in  egg- 
shells     Sawdust  kept  moist  with  water  during  germination  and  afterwards  with  the  solution 


i- 

J?«l 

^^^ 

W^ 

^m. 

WKK^M 

^■■■HHHHIil^HIIHHiHHHIi 

HHHHt'            H^HHIHIF 

Fig    2.   In  center  "  agateware"  pan  cotton  plants  are  growing  in  bits  of  crushed  stone.     In  outer 
pans  beans  are  growing  m  sawdust       Fed  by  the  nutrient  solution 


72 


THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 


with  Sachs'  sohition  from  experiments  made  several  years  before 
in  a  university  laboratory ;  but  it  took  time  for  the  suggestion  to 
arise  that  the  solution  could  be  used  aside  from  technical  experi- 


FiG  3.  Oats  in  a  lamp-i;himney  "  struggle  for  existence."  Wrap  a  roll  of  cotton  in  black  cloth, 
push  it  into  the  chimney,  and  then  with  a  stick  or  wire  poke  seeds  in  between  glass  and  cloth.  Dur- 
ing germination  keep  moist  with  water,  and  afterwards  with  the  solution. 

Hairy  vetch  on  cloth  netting  stretched  over  the  mouth  of  the  tumbler,  the  roots  hanging  down 
into  the  solution.     Many  other  common  plants  grow  well  in  same  position. 

ments,  and  by  the  young  folks  as  a  common  plant  food.  But  one 
day  light  came.  I  ordered  some  of  the  mixture  in  bulk,  put  up 
loose  in  two-ounce  packages.  Later,  as  I  saw  a  physician  leave 
tablets  for  a  patient  and  heard  him  refer  to  the  convenience  of 


BiGELow]  PLANTS    WITHOUT    SOIL  73 

these  over  the  old  method  with  powders  and  mysterious  mixtures, 
the  suggestion  came  to  mind — Why  not  put  up  those  nutrient 
chemicals  in  tablets  ?  I  at  once  gave  an  order  to  a  manufacturing 
chemist  for  10,000  compressed  tablets.  This  was  in  the  early  part 
of  1900.  All  that  spring  and  summer  I  experimented  with  my 
tablets,  as  did  a  few  teachers  of  botany  to  whom  I  gave  a  supply. 
We  used  the  entire  10,000.  They  were  found  to  work  marvel- 
lously well,  even  beyond  my  fondest  hope.  The  first  public  an- 
nouncement was  on  page  557  of  "  Nature  and  Science  "  of  St. 
Nicholas  for  April,  1901,  in  a  series  of  prizes  offered  to  the  young 
folks  for  germinating  seeds.  The  result  of  that  contest,  during 
the  summer  and  autumn  of  1901,  was  astonishing.  The  children 
made  use  of  the  tablets  most  successfully  in  growing  plants  in  all 
sorts  of  ingenious  situations.  I  was  deluged  with  letters  from 
young  folks,  teachers  and  parents,  describing  experiments.  Sev- 
eral of  these  letters  and  a  number  of  illustrations  were  published 
during  the  following  spring  in  St.  Nicholas  (April,  1902).  Later 
accounts  were  given  in  School  Science,  Chicago ;  and  Popular 
Educator,  Boston. 

Each  of  the  tablets  is  composed  of  the  following :  Common  table 
salt  (sodium  chloride),  2^  grains  ;  plaster  of  Paris — gypsum  (cal- 
cium sulphate),  2^  grains;  Epsom  salts  (magnesium  sulphate)  ; 
phosphate  of  lime,  nearly  the  same  as  burned  bones  (calcium 
phosphate),  2i/^  grains;  East  Indian  saltpetre — nitre  (potassium 
nitrate),  5  grains;  compounds  of  iron  and  chlorine  (ferric  chlo- 
ride), nearly  ^^  grain.  To  make  the  food  solution,  two  of  these 
tablets  are  required  for  each  pint  (500  ccm.  nearly)  of  water. 
Crush  the  tablets  to  be  used  and  put  the  powder  in  the  water. 
Shake  or  stir  thoroughly  before  using.  Keep  the  plants  thor- 
oughly moistened  with  this  solution,  which  is  both  drink  and 
food  for  them. 

The  solution  prepared  from  the  tablets  will  nourish  a  plant  if 
the  roots  can  be  kept  supplied  with  it,  even  on  top  of  a  stone,  or  a 
brick,  between  two  sheets  of  glass  (see  Fig.  4),  on  crushed  rock 
(see  Fig.  2),  sawdust  (see  Fig.  i),  pebbles,  bits  of  glass,  or  any 
similar  insoluble  substance.  Plants  thrive  well  on  perforated  cloth 
or  wire-netting  stretched  tightly  across  any  receptacle  that  is 
kept  filled  with  the  solution  (see  Fig.  3).  The  photographs  pub- 
lished in  St.  Nicholas  and  other  periodicals  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred and  also  the  new  ones  accompanying  this  article  show  some 


74 


THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 


of  these  situations.     But  for  novelty  or  scientific  experiment  there 
are  many  others  equally  good.     Plants  may  even  be  suspended  in 


Fig.  4.  White  lupins,  growing  from  successive  plantings  in  a  germinating  case  made  of  two  sheets 
of  glass  tied  together  with  cotton  wadding  next  to  the  back  glass  and  a  layer  of  black  close-woven 
cloth  between  the  wadding  and  the  glass  in  front.  The  cloth  is  for  a  dark  background  and  to  force 
the  roots  to  grow  in  one  plane  between  the  cloth  and  glass  in  front.  The  case  is  kept  standing  on 
edge  (see  Fig.  5).  The  seeds  are  planted  on  the  upper  edge  between  the  front  glass  and  the  black 
cloth,  and  kept  moist  (with  water  until  rootlets  appear  and  then  with  the  solution).  Strips  of  cotton 
should  be  used  to  cover  the  edge  and  protect  the  seeds  from  drying  until  the  plants  begin  to  grow 
(see  Fig.  5).     At  the  end  of  two  weeks  there  is  a  living  chart  showing  successive  stages. 


Fig.  5.  Germinating  cases,  described  in  connection  with  FJg  4,  arranged  in  card-catalogue  style 
in  an  enameled  pan.  By  this  arrangement  space  is  economized  and  the  roots  in  each  case,  except  the 
one  in  front,  are  darkened  by  the  adjoining  case.  A  piece  of  black  cloth  may  be  used  to  cover  the 
front  glass.  The  excess  solution  poured  over  the  upper  edges  is  collected  in  the  pan,  and  from  time 
to  time  is  used  again  to  moisten  the  cotton  above. 


mid-air  and  grown,  if  the  roots  are  kept  moist  with  the  solution. 
Apply  the  solution  to  the  roots  in  any  way  that  you  please,  keep 


BiGELow]  PLANTS    WITHOUT    SOIL  75 

the  stem  and  leaves  in  the  Hght,  and  the  whole  plant  will  grow 
and  thrive  if  it  is  kept  warm.  I  have  not  found  so  much  advan- 
tage in  keeping  the  roots  in  darkness  as  I  had  anticipated.  In 
most  of  my  experiments  they  have  been  wholly  in  the  light.  This 
is  undoubtedly  somewhat  of  a  disadvantage  to  the  plant,  but  to  be 
able  to  watch  the  development  of  roots  adds  greatly  to  the  interest. 

I  have  found  the  tablets  somewhat  helpful  as  a  fertilizer,  but 
my  belief  is  that  they  are  most  efficacious  when  they  are  used  alone 
and  not  added  to  earth  or  other  nutritious  substances. 

Contrary  to  the  persistent  belief  or  to  the  inquiries  of  most 
young  folks  and  of  many  teachers,  let  me  say  that  the  tablets  do 
not  germinate  nor  aid  in  germinating  the  seeds.  They  feed  the 
plant  after  the  tiny  roots  have  been  formed  and  are  ready  to  take 
food.  In  fact,  the  application  of  the  chemical  solution  in  the  very 
earliest  stages  of  germination  has  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  disad- 
vantage. To  germinate  a  seed  only  three  things  are  necessary : 
warmth,  moisture  and  air.  It  will  not  germinate  with  only  one  or 
two  of  these.  It  must  have  all  three.  The  tablet  solution  will 
not  supply  the  warmth  nor  the  air,  and  the  moisture  is  better  sup- 
plied by  water  than  by  the  solution.  Darkness  is  helpful,  but  not 
an  absolute  essential  for  germination.  Allow  the  seeds  to  sprout 
in  the  ordinary  old-fashioned  method  on  moist  cotton,  blotting 
paper,  etc.,  and  apply  the  solution  only  to  feed  them  as  soon  as 
the  young  plants  tell  you  by  starting  their  roots  that  they  are  ready 
for  food. 

For  four  years  I  have  experimented  extensively  with  this  solu- 
tion by  growing  plants  in  a  great  variety  of  situations.  This  has 
not  been  work,  it  has  been  play,  most  enjoyable  hours  snatched 
from  the  pressure  of  many  duties.  I  have  come  to  love  plants, 
not  alone  from  the  scientific  or  the  esthetic  standpoint,  but  as 
pets.  My  desire  has  been  to<  create  and  increase  an  interest  and 
love  for  the  growth  of  our  common  plants,  in  their  entirety,  as 
living  things.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  the  flowers,  not  even 
enough  to  know  the  plants,  that  is  at  any  one  stage  of  their  exist- 
ence, in  the  sense  of  knowing  either  the  name  or  structure.  The 
message  coming  to  us  from  the  Great  Nature-Study  Teacher,  re- 
garding one  species  of  plants,  was  intended  I  think  to  apply  to  all. 
He  said  "  consider  the  Hlies  of  the  field  how  they  gronK" 

[How  to  obtain  the  tablets. — A  box  containing  30  tablets,  with  full  direc- 
tions for  use,  will  be  mailed  for  ten  cents — a  very  small  amount  which  is 


76  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

just  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  tablets,  printing,  packing,  and  postage.  The 
author  has  no  financial,  only  an  educational,  interest  in  the  sale.  This  low 
price  is  possible  only  because  thousands  of  boxes  are  prepared  at  a  time 
by  a  manufacturing  chemist.  Large  quantities  have  been  purchased  by 
schools,  and  colleges  find  them  most  convenient  for  making  the  standard 
Sachs'  solution.  Address  Edward  F.  Bigelow,  Stamford,  Ct.— Managing 
Editor.] 


A   NATURE-STUDY   LESSON   WITH   THE    MOLDS 

BY  PROFESSOR  F.   L.   STEVENS,  Ph.D. 
North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 

Molds  of  bread,  cheese  and  fruits  are  only  too  common  objects 
in  the  household ;  but  little  real  knowledge  prevails  regarding  their 
nature,  mode  of  origin  or  effects.  This  field  of  observation  and 
experimentation  is  so  httle  known  that  it  is  by  most  teachers  either 
never  thought  of  at  all  or  considered  too  difBcult  to  be  of  use  to 
the  nature-study  classes.  Many  simple  and  instructive  experi- 
ments, however,  may  be  made  in  any  school  at  no  cost  with  these 
simple  plants,  and  much  interest  aroused  and  knowledge  attained. 

Experiment  i.  To  see  whether  any  desired  kind  of  mold  can  be 
produced  at  will  upon  moist  bread. 

Have  one  or  two  of  the  pupils  place  a  slice  of  moist  bread  in  a 
glass  fruit-can  and  heat  it  in  a  steamer  just  as  you  would  in  can- 
ning fruit.  Then  seal  it  up  while  hot  also  just  as  you  would  in 
canning  fruit.  Bring  these  cans  to  school.  Also  secure  some 
moldy  cheese  or  bread.  Suppose  the  cheese  has  on  it  a  yellow 
mold.  Now  the  problem  is  to  see  if  we  can  grow  this  yellow 
mold  in  the  bread.  Heat  the  tip  of  a  hat-pin  in  a  match  or  lamp 
flame,  let  it  cool  a  second  and  dip  it  into  the  yellow  mold.  Now 
draw  this  hat-pin  across  the  bread  in  the  jar.  Then  close  the 
can  and  watch  it  daily  to  see  if  the  yellow  mold  comes  in  the 
place  you  have  planted  it.  Try  this  experiment  with  various 
kinds  of  molds. 

Experiment  2.  To  see  whether  molds  will  develop  if  all  in  the 
vessel  are  killed  and  all  air  excluded. 

Proceed  as  you  did  in  Experiment  i.  Can  the  bread  as  you 
would  can  fruit,  and  let  it  stay  in  the  schoolroom  for  a  few  weeks 
to   see   whether   molds   develop.     Molds   should   not   grow   here 


BiGELow]  NATURE-STUDY    IN    HIGH    SCHOOLS  77 

because  you  have  killed  all  that  were  present  in  the  can  and 
bread  originally  and  prevented  any  more  from  entering. 

Experiment  3.  To  see  w^hether  germs  abound  in  the  air.  Open 
the  can  used  in  Experiment  2,  thus  allowing  the  air  to  enter.  Let 
the  cover  remain  off  for  a  day  or  so"  and  observe  whether  the 
bread  then  molds  or  not.  Do  not  allow  it  to  become  dry,  since 
molds  can  not  grow  in  dry  substances  at  all. 

Germs  are  driftihg  about  in  the  air  in  very  great  abundance, 
and  when  the  can  is  open  many  of  them  will  fall  upon  the  bread 
and  begin  to  grow.  The  fact  that  they  do  develop  thus  shows  that 
the  air  contained  them  in  considerable  quantity. 

Whenever  you  see  apples  or  other  fruit  decaying  it  is  because 
germs  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  bread  have  gotten  under 
the  skin  of  the  fruit  and  are  there  growing,  thus  causing  the  decay. 
If  the  entrance  of  these  germs  could  be  prevented,  the  fruit 
would  not  decay.  On  the  other  hand,  if  germs  are  placed  in 
healthy  apples,  decay  is  produced.  You  may  illustrate  by  an 
experiment. 

Experiment  4.  Secure  a  perfectly  healthy  apple  and  a  rotten 
apple  in  a  well  developed  condition  of  rot,  that  is,  an  apple  cov- 
ered with  mold.  Stick  a  hat-pin  into  the  mold  and  then  into  the 
healthy  apple.  Set  the  healthy  apple  away  and  watch  it  from  day 
to  day  to  see  whether  the  rot  develops  in  the  place  where  you 
planted  the  mold. 

Another  disease  on  the  sweet  potato  which  causes  the  potato 
to  become  soft  and  mushy  is  a  good  disease  to  use  in  a  similar 
experiment,  to  illustrate  the  same  point. 

From  all  of  the  above  experiments  the  child  will  glean  a  number 
of  valuable  facts  and  insight  and  interest  in  a  feature  of  daily  life 
with  which  very  few  people  are  in  touch. 


NATURE-STUDY   IN    HIGH    SCHOOLS 

BY  MAURICE   A.   BIGELOW 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

The  explanation  on  the  cover  that  The  Nature-Study  Review 
is  a  journal  "  devoted  to  all  phases  of  nature-study  for  elementary 
schools  "  has  led  readers  to  inquire  why  nature-study  is  thus  em- 
phasized as  an  elementary-school  subject  when  much  work  in  the 


78  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

lower  years  of  high  schools  is  nature-study,  as  defined  in  the  first 
symposium,  rather  than  study  of  the  principles  of  natural  sciences. 
First,  in  explaining  why  the  sub-title  of  this  journal  makes 
special  mention  of  elementary  schools,  it  should  be  said  that  those 
persons  who  were  responsible  for  the  initial  steps  towards  organ- 
izing the  journal  held  as  fundamental  propositions  the  following : 
(i)  that  nature-study  and  not  natural  science  is  the  proper  work 
of  elementary  schools,  (2)  that  high-school  studies  based  on  ele- 
mentary-school studies  of  nature  should  be  advanced  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  elementary  principles  of  natural  science.  Any 
student  of  scientific  education  will  be  led  to  similar  views  if  he 
carefully  examines  nature-study  and  natural  science  in  some  of 
the  most  progressive  schools  in  this  country.  It  is  clear  beyond 
question  that  nature-study  is  and  will  be  most  prominent  in  ele- 
mentary schools,  and  that  the  high-school  work  is  decidedly  in  the 
line  of  organized  natural  science.  Furthermore,  the  most  impor- 
tant unsolved  problems  of  scientific  education  naturally  concern 
the  beginning  work,  which  is  in  the  elementary  schools.  For  these 
reasons  The  Nature-Study  Review  was  designedly  '*  devoted 
to  all  phases  of  nature-study  in  elementary  schools  " ;  but  that 
this  primary  purpose  of  the  journal  need  not  affect  its  usefulness 
to  high-school  work  in  the  line  of  nature-study  will  appear  in  the 
following  analysis  of  the  relations  of  such  work  to  that  of  the 
lower  school. 

With  a  good  foundation  of  nature-study  gained  in  the  ele- 
mentary school,  it  is  reasonable  to  hold  that  all  high-school  science 
should  be  primarily  real  science  study,  that  is  to  say,  it  should  be 
close  analytical  and  synthetical  study  of  natural  objects  and 
processes  primarily  for  the  sake  of  gaining  acquaintance  with 
the  general  principles  and  methods  of  modern  science.  This  is 
now  realized  in  the  teaching  of  the  physical  sciences  in  many 
high  schools;  but  on  the  whole  the  teaching  of  the  biological 
sciences  is  not  well  organized  on  the  basis  of  scientific  study  of 
principles.  To  a  large  extent  the  biological  work  of  the  first  or 
second  year  of  our  high  schools  must  for  the  present  give  much 
attention  to  nature-study  (we  commonly  call  it  natural  history), 
because  the  pupils  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  come  to  the  high 
schools  with  little  or  no  knowledge  concerning  the  common  things 
in  nature  around  them ;  and  the  high  school  must  first  of  all  take 
uo   the   work   left    undone    in    the    elementarv    schools.     I    have 


BiGELOw]  NATURE-STUDY    IN    HIGH    SCHOOLS  jg 

already  pointed  out  in  Chapter  IV,  pp.  320-327,  of  "  The  Teaching 
of  Zoology  in  the  Secondary  School  "  (N.  Y.,  Longsmans,  Green 
&  Co.,  1904),  that  this  nature-study  work  in  the  biology  of  high 
schools  is  probably  a  temporary  compromise  made  necessary 
because  of  the  undeveloped  nature-study  in  lower  schools ;  and 
that  with  the  advance  of  nature-study  the  larger  part  of  the  natural 
history  for  the  sake  of  general  acquaintance  with  common  living 
things  will  be  taught  in  the  elementary  school,  leaving  the  high 
school  free  to  devote  its  time  to  more  serious  study  of  biology  as  a 
science,  with  incidental  instead  of  primary  emphasis  on  natural 
history. 

But  no  matter  what  may  be  the  future  developments,  the  fact 
remains  that  the  high-school  work  in  natural  history  or  biological 
nature-study  presents  no  peculiar  problems.  It  is  in  all  essentials 
the  same  study  of  living  animals  and  plants  which  in  many  schools 
is  conducted  in  the  upper  grammar  grades.  Much  of  it  is  study 
of  living  things  out  of  doors,  usually  for  the  sake  of  identification 
and  general  acquaintance ;  but  this,  too,  is  well  accomplished  in 
elementary  schools.  I  have  seen  fifth-grade  classes  do  field  work 
in  study  of  birds  and  trees  which  would  be  highly  creditable  to 
the  first  year  of  high  school.  We  must  conclude  that  the  high- 
school  study  of  natural  history  is  so  similar  to  the  nature-study 
of  the  lower  schools  that  in  dealing  primarily  with  nature-study 
for  elementary  education  this  journal  will  most  directly  approach 
the  problems,  and  at  the  same  time  the  materials  will  be  just  as 
useful  to  the  high-school  teacher  who  has  occasion  to  present 
nature-studies  either  as  an  incidental  or  as  a  prominent  part  of 
science,  especially  biology. 

Finally,  in  addition  to  the  present  reasons  wh}^  high-school 
teachers  of  biology  are  directly  interested  in  nature-study  as  a 
part  of  their  teaching  and  the  indirect  interest  which  the  best 
teachers  of  any  grade  of  our  educational  system  have  in  the  low^er 
work  upon  which  they  must  build,  there  is  still  another  important 
stimulus  for  interest  in  nature- study  in  that  more  and  more  the 
elementary-school  teachers  are  looking  to  the  science  specialists 
in  the  high  school  for  directions,  thus  leading  high-school  teachers 
to  get  acquainted  with  the  problems  of  the  lower  school. 


80  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

EDITORIALS 

THE  COLLABORATORS  OF  THE  REVIEW 

Unfortunately,  it  appears  that  many  persons,  and  even  certain 
journals,  have  interpreted  the  long  list  of  collaborators  as  meaning 
an  aim  to  include  all  active  leaders  of  nature-study  in  the  United 
States  and  in  the  Provinces  of  Canada.  As  a  result  of  this  inter- 
pretation, we  have  received  several  dozen  letters  calling  attention 
to  the  fact  that  certain  names,  in  some  cases  very  well-known 
ones,  are  not  among  those  of  the  collaborators  of  this  journal. 
We  explain  as  follows : 

The  list  of  collaborators  does  not  at  all  adequately  repre- 
sent the  wide-spread  interest  in  nature-study  in  America.  The 
list  was  originally  made  up  on  short  notice  from  the  suggestions 
of  less  than  half  a  dozen  persons  who  knew  from  personal 
acquaintance  that  certain  individuals  would  probably  give  their 
time  and  influence  to  the  movement  for  a  journal  of  nature-study. 
The  list  was  necessarily  an  extended  one  because  the  editors 
needed,  especially  in  the  first  year,  the  cooperation  of  some  repre- 
sentatives of  each  of  the  various  phases  of  science  in  higher  educa- 
tional institutions  and  of  nature-study  in  schools  in  various  geo- 
graphical localities.  Since  the  prospectus  was  issued  correspon- 
dence has  indicated  that  many  more  names  would  have  to  be  added 
if  the  published  list  of  collaborators  was  to  pretend  to  be  a  direc- 
tory of  the  leaders  of  nature-study  in  the  various  States  and  in 
Canada  who  would  gladly  give  their  cooperation.  The  original 
list  has  already  ceased  to  represent  accurately  those  who  have 
pledged  their  support  to  The  Review,  for  some  of  our  most  val- 
uable cooperation  is  now  coming  from  persons  whose  names  will 
not  be  published  except  when  signed  to  articles.  With  this  expla- 
nation we  trust  that  there  will  be  no  more  misunderstanding,  and 
that  the  editorial  board  composed  of  editors  and  collaborators  will 
be  regarded  simply  an  arrangement  for  promoting  the  editorial 
and  business  interests  of  the  journal,  rather  than  as  a  directory 
of  active  workers  in  the  field  represented. 

ARTICLES  BY  THOSE   WHO   BOTH  THINK   AND   DO 

The  first  two  numbers  of  The  Review  give  prominence  to  more 
or  less  theoretical  papers  on  the  educational  problems  of  nature- 


PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  «I 

study,  and  naturally  most  of  these  papers  have  been  contributed 
by  writers  who  have  approached  nature-study  from  the  viewpoint 
of  the  broader  questions  of  education  which  appeal  especially  to 
college  men  and  school  officials.  This  represents,  however,  but 
one  side  of  the  problem.  We  must  have  the  opinions  of  those 
who  are  able  to  observe  and  reason  concerning  nature-study ;  but 
we  must  give  an  equally  prominent  place  to  the  results  obtained 
by  teachers  who  are  actually  at  work  in  the  elementary  schools. 
As  an  example,  we  have  one  such  paper  (on  school-gardens)  in 
this  number,  and  will  have  several  in  the  next.  Teachers  who 
work  out  even  minor  points  which  may  interest  others  are  invited 
to  send  concise  accounts  of  their  results  to  the  editors  of  this 
journal.  We  can  not  promise  to  publish  everything ;  but  we  want 
to  have  available  a  generous  supply  of  material  from  which  to 
make  selection  guided  by  our  best  judgment  as  to  what  best  repre- 
sents actual  doing  in  the  field  of  nature-study. 

ORIGINAL   OBSERVATIONS 

Very  frequently  in  connection  with  the  nature-study  work  in 
schools  there  is  observed  some  interesting  point  which  is'  appar- 
ently new^  or  at  least  not  mentioned  in  the  books  commonly 
accessible.  Records  of  several  such  observations  have  already 
been  sent  to  the  editors,  and  some  of  them  will  be  published  with 
critical  notes  by  experts.  Teachers  are  invited  to  send  brief 
accounts  of  observations  which  they  think  may  prove  to  be  new. 


BOOK   REVIEWS 

Animal     Stories     Retold    from    St.    Nicholas.       Six    volumes 
planned,  two  published.     Edited  by  M.  H.  Carter,  of  New 
York  Training  School   for  Teachers.     N.   Y.,   Century  Co. 
1904.     About  200  pages  each,  illustrated.     65  cents  each. 
The  introductory  volume  of  this  series  is  entitled  ''  About  Ani- 
mals."    The  aim  of  the  series  as  therein  stated  is  to  give  young 
readers  "  some  idea  of  the  great  animal  world,  and  to  set  them 
thinking  about  our  relation  to  it."     In  consequence  the  informa- 
tion and  anecdotes  selected  for  this  volume  cover  a  wide  field.     In 
addition  to  narratives  and  some  rhymes  about  animals,  certain 
sections  are  introduced  to  awaken  scientific  interest  and  to  empha- 


82  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

size  the  natural-history  point  of  view.  Of  these  chapters,  "  A 
Brief  Survey  of  the  Animal  Kingdom,"  states  the  most  important 
facts  of  animal  classification  in  very  simple  language,  and  is  evi- 
dently intended  to  help  children  place  the  various  common  types. 
The  chapter  is  too  brief  to  serve  for  more  than  this^  and  if  used  in 
connection  with  animal  study  should  be  supplemented  by  fuller 
explanation  and  illustration. 

In  the  chapter,  "  Mother  Nature  and  the  Jointed  Stick  "  the 
description  of  the  use  of  the  vertebrate  skeleton  and  the  muscular 
control  of  the  body  is  introduced  by  means  of  an  analogy  which 
confuses  rather  than  clarifies,  but  the  structural  comparison  be- 
tween the  human  and  other  vertebrate  skeletons  is  interestingly 
shown  by  a  number  of  ingenious  diagrams. 

Chapters  of  special  value  for  arousing  interest  in  animals  in 
their  natural  environment,  and  for  fostering  a  desire  to  protect 
and  study  them  in  their  wild  state  are,  "  Animal  Tracks  in  the 
Snow,"  ''  How  some  Animals  become  Extinct,"  and  "  Hunting 
with  a  Camera." 

The  remainder  of  the  book  is  made  up  of  stories  of  animals  in 
captivity  and  as  pets  of  man.  The  stories  are  well  told  and  are 
full  of  interest,  pathos  and  humor  together  with  many  accurate 
and  valuable  observations  of  animal  ways.  In  this  connection, 
it  is  not  obvious  why  the  chapter  on  the  mounting  of  large  ani- 
mals is  introduced.  This  undoubtedly  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  an 
interesting  and  difficult  art,  but  does  not  aid  in  furthering  the 
aim  of  the  book  as  stated  by  the  editor. 

The  book  is  full  of  interest  and  will  be  especially  enjoyed  by  chil- 
dren of  about  ten  or  eleven  years  of  age,  and  portions  of  it  may 
profitably  be  read  to  still  younger  children.  As  far  as  school  use 
is  concerned,  it  would  seem  of  most  value  if  used  by  the  teacher 
for  supplementary  lessons  on  animal  life,  by.  reading  aloud  por- 
tions of  the  book  and  discussing  the  story  or  sketch  with  the  class 
in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  out  certain  characteristics,  of  animal  life 
or  structure. 

The  second  volume  under  consideration  is  "  Cat  Stories." 
This  volume  is  made  up  of  eighteen  short  stories  and  rhymes 
about  cats  exclusive  of  other  animals.  For  this  reason  the  book 
will  not  appeal  so  well  to  the  interest  of  children  as  the  more 
varied  volume  "  About  Animals."     The  stories  are  rather  more 


BOOK    REVIEWS  83 

entertaining  than  instructive,  but  cat  ways  and  characteristics  are 
well  described.  The  book  has  a  peculiar  value  from  a  narrative 
standpoint,  and  some  of  the  best  stories  might  be  read  to  children 
in  the  primary  grades  with  a  view  to  oral  reproduction.  The 
stories  are  well  told  in  simple  language,  and  the  facts  are  inter- 
esting and  appeal  to  young  children.  The  book  is,  however,  too 
special  to  be  used  as  a  supplementary  reading  book. 

Both  books,  ''  About  Animals  "  and  "  Cat  Stories,"  are  well 
illustrated  with  reproductions  of  photographs  and  original  draw- 
ings and  the  paper  and  print  are  good.  The  books  are  well 
worthy  to  be  placed  in  any  school  library  for  children  of  the  upper 
primary  and  lower  grammar  grade. 

Elizabeth  Carse. 

The  Charlton  School, 
New  York  City. 

Since  the  above  review  was  set  in  type  four  other  volumes  com- 
pleting the  series  have  been  received :  ''  Stories  of  Brave  Dogs," 
"  Lion  and  Tiger  Stories,"  ''Bear  Stories"  and  "Panther  Stories." 
These  are  in  all  essentials  like  the  ''  Cat  Stories  "  reviewed  above, 
and  the  same  general  commendations  and  criticisms  are  applicable 
to  them.  All  the  volumes  of  the  series  will  undoubtedly  be  well 
received  as  books  for  home  reading  and  for  school-libraries. 

M.  A.  B. 

How  Nature  Study  Should  be  Taught.     By  Edward  F.  Bigelow. 
Introduction  by  J.  P.  Gordy ;  appendix,  "  How  to  Introduce 
Nature-Study,"  by  H.  A.  Surface.     N.  Y.,  Hinds,  Noble  & 
Eldredge.     1904.     Pp.  203.     $1.00. 
This  series  of  talks  to  teachers  is  not,  as  the  title  might  suggest, 
a  book  of  special  method — though  there  is  considerable  pedagogy 
in  it — but  rather  is  it  a  plea  for  the  more  general  and  sympa- 
thetic teaching  of  the  subject.     The  author  was,  for  eight  years, 
the  editor  of  The  Observer;  for  three  years  editor  of  Popular 
Science,  and  for  the  past  five  years  the  editor  of  the  department 
of  Nature  and  Science  in  St.  Nicholas.     He  is  known  as  a  lecturer 
and  is  not  without  experience  as  a  teacher.     However,  the  point 
of  view  throughout  the  book  is  rather  that  of  the  school  patron 
than  of  the   teacher.     The   author,   evidently   an   ardent  nature- 
lover,   is  interested  in  children  and  desires  that  nature  be  por- 


84  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

trayed  "  from  the  standpoint  of  the  child."  He  does  not  tire  of 
insisting  upon  the  distinction  between  elementary  science  and 
nature-study,  which,  as  he  sees  it,  is  a  distinction  between  the 
imparting  of  scientific  knowledge,  with  the  inculcating  of  habits 
of  scientific  thinking,  and  the  development  of  a  love  of  nature. 
Personally  we  are  inclined  to  the  belief  that  scientific  method, 
both  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  eventually  on  the  part  of  the 
pupil  as  well,  is  inseparate  from  a  satisfactory  handling  of  nature- 
study.  "  What  I  have  had  in  mind,"  to  quote  from  the  opening 
chapter,  "  is  not  a  matter  of  learning  nature,  but  of  loving  her." 
To  this  we  are  wont  to  answer :  "  Yes,  but  '  even  so  faith,  if  it 
hath  not  works,  is  dead,  being  alone.'  "  Later  he  adds :  ''  It  is 
nothing  less  nor  more  than  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  the 
earth  and  its  products."  Ay,  there  is  the  saving  word — intelli- 
gent. What  in  the  author  is  a  fine  sentiment  may  easily  take  the 
form  of  the  rankest  sentimentality  in  a  teacher  whose  loving  does 
not  lead  to  a  desire  to  know. 

In  general,  as  Professor  Gordy  says  in  his  introduction,  the 
pedagogy  of  the  book  is  entirely  sound.  What  at  first  appear  as 
extravagances  are  seen  to  be  only  the  overflow  of  ardor,  and 
statements  which  seem  extreme  are  later  modified.  That  a  dis- 
tinction must  be  made  between  elementary  science  and  nature- 
study  we  must  heartly  agree,  but  mental  activity  should  be  de- 
manded in  one  as  in  the  other.  With  increasing  maturity  comes 
a  measure  of  ability  to  divorce  the  intellect  from  the  emotions 
without  damage  to  either. 

Perhaps  our  greatest  fault  as  teachers  of  children  lies  in  our 
failure  to  adopt  the  viewpoint  of  the  pupil.  The  author  makes 
this  very  clear,  and  in  urging  a  more  sympathetic  interest  in  the 
out-door  life  of  the  child  he  has  probably  given  us  his  most  val- 
uable contribution.  ''  To  overcome  the  onesidedness  of  a  school 
limited  to  mere  instruction,  nature-study  has  been  introduced  as 
the  most  valuable  field  in  which  to  let  the  child  do  the  telling." 
Quoting  from  C.  B.  Scott :  ''  More  than  is  the  case  with  other 
studies,  probably,  science,  or  nature-study,  deals  with  the  indi- 
vidual child,  and  aims  to  develop  each  child  as  an  individual." 

We  do  not  feel  quite  so  comfortable  when  we  read  the  follow- 
ing :  ''  There  must  be  the  stock  before  the  graft ;  the  seed  before 
the  plant  can  develop.  Therefore,  talk  about  the  attractions  of 
nature  and  of  her  beauties,  especially  of  the  beauties  *  *  ^\     Ex- 


BOOK   REVIEWS  85 

patiate  to  your  pupils  on  the  beauty  of  nature."  Most  of  us  should 
be  cautioned,  I  fear,  before  acting  upon  this  advice,  for  it  is  dan- 
gerous ground. 

The  chapter  on  correlation  is  good.  The  world  about  us  is 
worthy  of  study  in  its  own  right.  ''  There  is  danger  of  correlating 
nature-study  until  it  is  annihilated,"  yet  there  are  lines  of  intersec- 
tion that  should  be  followed  into  other  fields.  "  Correlate  manual 
training  with  nature-study  interests  and  see  how  the  whole  child- 
Hfe  wakens  up.  You  wake  him  up  to  one  thing  and  he  is  awake 
to  all." 

The  author's  sense  of  humor  is  not  lacking  and  many  of  his 
points  are  made  by  the  reductio  ad  absurdum  method.  The  book 
is  written  in  an  interesting  style,  and  will  doubtless  stimulate 
many  readers  to  a  greater  interest  in  direct  study  of  natural  things. 

Fred  L.  Charles. 
Illinois  State  Normal  School, 
De  Kalb,  111. 

First  Principles  of  Agriculture.  By  E.  S.  Gofif  and  D.  D^  Mayne. 
N.  Y.,  American  Book  Company.  Pp.  248,  illustrated,  eight 
colored  plates.     80  cents. 

This  little  book,  intended  for  use  in  the  rural  schools,  is  another 
evidence  of  the  growing  tendency  to  emphasize  the  practical  ele- 
ment in  education,  to  connect  the  school  life  of  a  child  with  its 
home  life  and  daily  environment.  Written  as  a  text-book  for 
"  pupils  in  the  upper  form  of  the  rural  school,"  it  is  an  endeavor 
"  to  make  the  farm  a  center  of  interest  and  its  industries,  its 
economies,  and  its  science  the  subjects  of  thought  and  study." 

The  book  consists  of  a  series  of  brief  reading  lessons  on  soils, 
plants  and  various  horticultural  operations,  insects,  dairying  and 
animal  husbandry.  The  earlier  subjects  are  illustrated  by  simple 
experiments,  the  directions  for  which  are  given  at  the  beginning 
of  each  lesson,  while  at  the  end  of  each  is  a  summary  of  the  chief 
points  covered.  The  book  is  illustrated,  containing  several  appeals 
to  the  popular  taste  in  the  way  of  colored  plates. 

For  those  schools  in  which  a  good  course  in  nature-study  ex- 
tending through  the  earlier  years  already  exists,  this  book,  dealing 
as  a  large  part  of  it  does  with  some  of  the  simpler  facts  of  plant 
and  animal  life,  would  seem  to  be  superfluous,  since  it  is  not 
written  or  arranged  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  of  much  use  in  such  an 


86  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

extended  course.  On  the  other  hand,  in  schools  in  which  a  study 
of  these  first  principles  of  agriculture  is  introduced  into  the  last 
year  as  an  entirely  new  subject,  so  condensed  a  text-book  would 
hardly  suffice  alone  to  accomplish  its  avowed  purpose.  No  at- 
tempt is  made  to  outline  a  complete  course  of  study  or  to  give  any 
but  the  simplest  examples  of  practical  work ;  many  topics  are 
omitted  altogether  or  stated  briefly  as  facts  without  demonstra- 
tion. It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  book,  taken  as  reading  lessons 
only,  could  arouse  any  very  vivid  interest  in  the  farm  as  a  subject 
of  thought  and  study.  Supplemented,  however,  by  additional 
practical  work,  and  in  the  hands  of  a  trained  teacher,  it  might  be 
very  useful  as  a  reading  book  for  those  classes  in  which  the 
economic  side  of  nature-study  is  emphasized. 

Ada  Watterson. 
Teachers  College, 

Columbia  University. 

Bird  Life  Stories.  Book  1.  By  C.  M.  Weed.  Chicago,  Rand, 
McNally  &  Co.  1904.  Pp.  86,  24  three-color  plates.  75 
cents. 
This  book,  which  is  one  of  a  series  of  three  books  now  in  press, 
is  made  up'of  condensed  and  revised  selections  from  descriptions 
of  our  common  birds  by  Audobon,  Wilson,  Nuttall  and  Bendire — 
our  four  most  famous  writers  on  birds.  The  slight  revisions  and 
condensations  of  the  original  descriptions  have  been  made  only 
where  it  was  necessary  to  omit  matter  of  no  modern  or  general 
interest  and  to  shorten  sentences  so  as  to  make  the  meaning  more 
clear  to  pupils  of  the  upper  grammar  grades,  for  which  the  book 
is  intended.  Notes  on  geographical  distribution  have  been  added 
to  the  description  of  each  bird ;  and  each  account  is  accompanied 
by  a  plate  which  is  excellent  in  its  truthfulness  to  form  and  color. 
The  book  presents  in  a  most  attractive  form  just  such  material  as 
a  teacher  should  be  glad  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  pupils  to  sup- 
plement their  practical  work  on  birds.  Teachers  and  pupils  will 
eagerly  await  the  appearance  of  the  other  two  volumes. 

Anna  N.  Bigelow. 

Monarch,  the  Big  Bear.       By    E.     Thompson     Seton.     N.     Y., 
Scribner's  Sons.     1904. 
This  interesting  story  deserves  notice  in  a  journal  devoted  to 
the  educational  aspects  of  nature-study  not  because  it  has  any 


PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  8/ 

close  connection  with  that  field  ;  but  because  it  will  undoubtedly 
be  so  classed,  with  others  of  its  kind,  in  the  minds  of  many  people. 
The  book  is  a  typical  Thompson-Seton  contribution  to  animal 
fiction ;  and,  of  course,  it  has  the  characteristic  prefatory  explana- 
tion that  "  the  intention  is  to  convey  the  known  truth,"  but  the 
legal  phrase  ''  nothing  but  the  truth  "  is  wisely  avoided  in  an  "  his- 
torical novel  of  Bear  life."  The  author  admits  that  it  is  not 
exactly  a  contribution  to  pure  science.  But  in  spite  of  all  such 
scientific  deficiencies  the  story  will  find  enthusiastic  readers.  Chil- 
dren— small  ones  and  many  of  larger  growth — will  never  tire  of 
"  bear  stories  "  so  long  as  specimens  of  these  interesting  animals 
remain ;  and  readers  who  are  too  old  for  ''  The  Three  Bears  "  of 
the  nursery  days  will  enjoy  even  the  unscientific  parts  of  this  latest 
account  of  bear  life  seen  through  a  strong  and  healthy  imagina- 
tion. From  the  standpoint  of  fiction  ''  Monarch  "  is  splendid ;  but 
for  real  nature-study  we  prefer  the  less  mighty,  but  more  nat- 
ural, specimens  of  the  zoological  parks.  M.  A.  B. 


NOTES   ON    RECENT    PAMPHLETS   AND   MAGAZINE 
ARTICLES 

Home  Nature-Study  Course.  In  this  interesting  series  of  cor- 
respondence leaflets  for  teachers  conducted  by  Mrs.  Comstock, 
of  Cornell  University,  five  volumes  have  been  completed  and  No. 
I  of  a  new  series  was  issued  in  October,  1904.  It  contains  lessons 
on  Leaf  Study ;  Seed  Distribution — Weeds  ;  Chipmunk  ;  Alfalfa 
or  Lucerne.  No.  2,  December,  deals  with  evergreens  ;  and  among 
other  useful  points,  it  gives  simple  tables  for  determining  our 
common  cone-bearing  trees.  The  leaflets  are  free  to  teachers  in 
New  York  State  who  follow  the  course,  ten  lessons  in  a  year ;  25 
cents  per  year  to  subscribers  outside  of  the  state. 

<<  Beautiful  America. '»  Under  this  heading,  ]\Ir.  J.  Horace 
McFarland,  of  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  President  of  the  American  Civic 
Association,  begins  in  the  Ladies  Home  Journal  for  January 
the  second  year  of  a  department  devoted  to  beautifying  our  homes 
and  towns.  Leaflets  describing  the  work  of  the  association  will 
be  sent  to  those  who  apply,  enclosing  stamp,  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Association,  North  American  Building,  Philadelphia.     Many 


88  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

of  the  educational  and  social  aims  of  the  organization  are  in  gen- 
eral terms  so  similar  to  those  underlying  gardening  for  children 
that  teachers  of  nature-study  who  are  local  directors  of  children's 
gardens  ought  to  get  into  touch  with  the  work  of  this  national 
society.  In  a  later  issue  we  hope  to  review  some  phases  of  the 
work  of  the  Civic  Association. 

Garden  Magazine.  A  new  periodical  with  this  title  appeared 
last  month  (Feb.),  published  by  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  New 
York.  It  contains  many  timely  articles  and  notes  of  interest 
to  those  who  make  gardens  primarily  for  pleasure.  It  is  attrac- 
tively illustrated.     Monthly.     $1.00  per  year. 

Training  Teachers  at  Macdonald  Institute.  As  No.  20  of  a 
series  of  nature-study  papers  by  Canadian  educators,  the  Ottaz^a 
Naturalist  publishes  in  the  January,  1905,  issue  (Vol.  18,  pp.  193- 
196)  an  article  on  "  Nature-study  at  the  Macdonald  Institute," 
by  D.  J.  Doyle,  which  gives  many  interesting  facts  concerning 
the  work  of  this  new  training  school.  It  is  of  special  interest  to 
note  that,  while  recognizing  the  importance  of  child-study  to  the 
teacher  of  nature-study,  the  staff  of  this  school  insists  upon 
"  placing  the  students  as  much  as  possible  in  direct  contact  with 
nature  "  by  means  of  field  excursions  and  laboratory  study. 

Report  of  Children's  School  Farm.  An  interesting  account  of 
gardening  is  to  be  found  in  a  recent  pamphlet  entitled  ''  Report 
of  the  First  Children's  School  Farm  in  New  York  City,  originated 
and  conducted  by  Mrs.  Henry  Parsons."  This  report  is  "  printed 
for  distribution  in  answer  to  the  constant  inquiries  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  concerning  the  details  of  the  work  whose  great 
importance  Mrs.  Parsons  was  the  first  person  to  demonstrate  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Park  Board." 
It  is  a  very  full  and  satisfactory  account  of  the  gardening  work 
directed  in  the  unimproved  part  of  DeVVitt  Clinton  Park  (Eleventh 
Avenue  and  52d  St.)  in  the  summers  of  1902,  1903,  1904;  and 
will  doubtless  be  helpfully  suggestive  to  others  who  conduct  such 
experiments  in  densely  populated  regions  of  our  great  cities. 
From  the  educational  standpoint  the  Children's  Farm  is  in  no 
essential  respect  different  from  many  gardens  which  were  devel- 
oped years  ago  in  other  cities ;  but  it  is  of  interest  because  it  is 
another  successful  garden  developed  under  very  adverse  con- 
ditions. 


NOTES    ON    RECENT    ARTICLES  89 

History  of  School-Gardens.  A  pamphlet,  free,  with  the  title 
"  Progress  of  Agricultural  Education,  1903,"  is  a  recent  reprint 
from  the  1903  Annual  Report  of  the  office  of  the  Experiment  Sta- 
tions, U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  It  deals  with  the  prog- 
ress of  agricultural  education  in  colleges  and  in  schools  of  elemen- 
tary and  secondary  grade.  Ten  pages  and  eight  excellent  plates 
of  full-page  size  are  devoted  to  school-gardens,  giving  a  very 
useful  general  history  and  survey  of  the  school-garden  movement 
in  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  the  insular  possessions.  A 
list  of  elementary  books  and  pamphlets  on  nature-study  and 
school-gardening,  previously  published  as  Circular  No.  52,  is  here 
reprinted. 

Some  Children's  Pets.  Under  this  title  a  recent  bulletin  of  the 
Northern  State  Normal  School,  Marquette,  Mich.,  outlines  some 
nature-study  lessons  on  common  animal  pets.  The  lessons  are 
designed  to  run  through  the  fall  term  of  the  first,  third,  fifth  and 
seventh  grades.  There  is  no  apparent  reason  for  the  arrangement 
according  to  alternate  grades ;  on  the  contrary,  many  schools  do 
similar  work  best  by  concentrating  in  the  first  and  second  grades. 

Rhode  Island  ^<  Nature  Guard.'*  No.  33,  ''Tracks  in  the 
Snow,"  and  No.  34,  "  A  Talk  about  the  Weather,"  No.  35,  ''  How 
to  Grow  Corn,"  and  No.  36,  "  Seed  Travelers,"  are  the  latest  addi- 
tions in  the  interesting  correspondence  series  conducted  by  Pro- 
fessor Card  of  the  Rhode  Island  College. 

Nature  Collections.  Bulletin  No.  134  (June,  1904)  of  the  On- 
tario Agricultural  College,  the  second  leaflet  from  Macdonald 
Institute,  gives  useful  hints  on  making  collections  for  schools. 
It  was  prepared  by  the  late  Dr.  Muldrew.  It  gives  suggestions 
for  collecting  (i)  nature  notes,  (2)  living  animals  and  plants,  (3) 
pressed  plants  and  leaves,  (4)  grains  and  grasses,  (5)  seeds  and 
dry  fruits,  (6)  specimens  of  wood,  (7)  insects,  (8)  historical 
objects. 

Key  to  Woody  Plants  in  Winter.  A  pamphlet  with  this  title 
has  been  recently  published  by  K.  ]\I.  Wiegand  and  F.  W.  Fox- 
worthy  of  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.  (Price,  25  cents.) 
It  includes  the  genera  of  trees  and  shrubs  found  wild  or  in  cultiva- 
tion in  the  state  of  New  York,  but  it  also  applies  to  the  neighbor- 
ing states.     It  appears  to  be  a  useful  supplement  to  such  a  book 


90  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

as  Huntington's  "  Studies  of  Trees  in  Winter"  (Boston,  Knight 
&  Millet,  1902),  which  gives  good  descriptions  and  illustrations 
but  no  key  to  genera. 

Tuskegee  Institute  Leaflets.  Teachers'  Leaflet  No.  2  gives 
practicable  directions  for  making  gardens.  An  interesting  fea- 
ture is  the  "  Calendar "  which  gives  planting  directions  by 
months.     Farmers'  Leaflet  No.  16  deals  with  cotton. 


GUIDE   TO   PERIODICAL   LITERATURE 

a  bibliography  of  the  leading  magazine  articles  of  inter- 
est in  connection  with  nature-study 
January  to  September,  1904 

ARRANGED   BY   ADA   WATTERSON 
Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

[Editorial  Note. — This  second  installment  of  the  bibliography  completes 
the  record  for  the  first  eight  months  of  the  year  1904. 

It  has  not  been  attempted  to  make  a  complete  bibliography ;  but  rather  to 
select  those  articles  which  appear  to  be  most  important  and  accessible  in 
most  public  libraries.  In  the  case  of  periodicals  designed  for  local  circula- 
tion, only  articles  of  exceptional  merit  will  be  catalogued. 

The  figures  with  black  face  indicate  the  volume  and  those  following  the 
:  refer  to  the  pages.  The  abbreviations  of  journal  titles  and  dates  are 
those  used  in  the  general  indexes  to  be  found  in  libraries. 

Readers  are  requested  to  inform  the  compiler  concerning  any  important 
omissions.] 

2.     NATURAL  HISTORY   OF   ANIMALS   AND   PLANTS 

I.  GENERAL 

Bigelow,  E.  F.  (ed.)  Nature  and  science.  Dept.  in  St.  Nich.  31. 
1904.     Nature  pedagogy.     Dept.  in  Pop.  Educator.  21.     1904. 

Blight,  R.  (ed.)  Among  the  plants;  garden,  field  and  forest.  Cur. 
Lit.  36.  Ja.-Ap.  '04.  Nature  in  and  out  of  doors.  Cur.  Lit.  36.  My.-S. 
'04.     (Extracts  from  various  current  magazines.) 

Comstock,  Anna  B.  Nature  study.  Dept.  in  Chaut.  39.  Ja.-Je.  '04. 
(Lessons  on  animals  and  plants.) 

Weed,  C.  M.  Seasonable  nature  studies.  Serial  in  Jour,  of  Educ.  (New 
Eng.).  59.     Ap.-My.  '04.     (Studies  of  birds  and  flowers.) 

II.  ANIMALS  (GENERAL) 

Bigelow,  E.  F.  Comfort  in  cold  weather.  St.  Nich.  31 :  360-2.  F.  '04. 
(Winter  homes  of  animals.) 


WATTERSON]  PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  9 1 

Burroughs,  John.  Animal  individuality.  Tnd.  56 :  85-87.  Ja.  14,  '04. 
Current  misconceptions  in  natural  history.  Cent.  67 :  509-17.  F.  '04. 
Natural  History.  Dept.  in  Outing,  beginning  Ap.  '04.  Some  natural  his- 
tory doubts  and  conclusions.  Harper.  109 :  360.  Ag.  '04.  What  do  ani- 
mals know  ?     Cent.  68  :  555-63.     Ag.  '04. 

Flint,  A.  Tact  and  taste  in  animals.  Sci.  Am.  S.  57 :  23444-5.  Ja.  16, 
'04.     How  animals  detect  poison.     Sci.  Am.   S,  57:23751.     My.  28,  '04. 

Long,  W.  J.     Animal  Individuality.     Ind.  56 :  1242-8.     Je.  2,  '04. 

Smith,  N.  A.     Children's  pets.     Kind.  Rev.  14.     Ja.  '04. 

Invertebrates,  Except  Insects 

Brewster,  E.  T.  Root-footed  animals.  St.  Nich.  31 :  552-4.  Ap.  '04. 
(Protozoa  through  the  microscope.) 

Conn,  H.  W.     Jellyfishes.     St.  Nich.  31  :  963.     Ag.  '04. 

Furlong,  E.  E.  Warrior  mound-builders.  St.  Nich.  31 :  651-2.  My.  '04. 
(Crayfish.) 

M'Clure,  W.  F.  Starfish  and  their  injuries.  Sci.  Am.  90:98.  Ja.  30,  '04. 
(Habits  and  forms.) 

Miller,  E.  R.  Odd  things  which  live  in  the  sea.  Overland.  44:71. 
Jl.  '04. 

Rogers,  J.  E.  Common  shells  of  the  seashore.  C'try  Life  in  Amer. 
6  :  246-9.     Jl.  '04. 

Insects 

Aaron,  S.  F.  Eflfect  of  cold  on  insects.  St.  Nich.  31 :  362.  F.  '04.  The 
mosquito.  31  :  648-50.     My.  '04. 

Collins,  P.  Protective  resemblance  of  insects.  Sci.  Am.  S.  57 :  23764-5. 
Je.  4,  '04. 

Comstock,  A.  B.  Ants.  Chaut.  39 :  273-6.  My.  '04.  The  bumblebee. 
39  :  384.     Je.  '04.     The  mourning-cloak.  39 :  76.     Mr.  '04. 

Fulda,  G.     Examples  of  insect  mimicry.     Sci.  Am.  91 :  219.     S.  24,  '04. 

Higginson,  T.  W.     Butterflies  in  poetry.     Atlantic.  93  :  746-54.     Je.  '04. 

Howard,  L.  0.     Mexican  cotton-boll  weevil.     R.  of  Rs.  29:  188-91.     F.  '04. 

Hutchinson,  C.  E.     A  trapdoor  spider.     Sci.   Am.  91  :  83.     Jl.  30,  '04. 

McCook,  H.  C.  Aeronautic  spiders.  Harper.  108:905-11.  My.  '04.  In- 
sect commonwealths.  108  :  554-60.  Mr.  '04.  Tailoring  animals.  108  :  453-7. 
F.  '04.  The  daintiness  of  ants.  109:604-10.  S.  '04.  The  strange  cycle  of 
the  cicada.  109  :  44-49.     Je.  '04. 

Marlatt,  C.  L.  Discovery  of  the  native  home  of  the  San  Jose  scale  in 
Eastern  China  and  the  importation  of  its  natural  enemy.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo. 
65  :  306.     Ag.  '04. 

Miller,  E.  R.     American  silk-worm  moth.     Overland.  43:510-11.     Je.  '04. 

Snyder,  C.  D.  Do  grasshoppers  drink?  School  Science.  4:90-2.  My. 
'04. 

Spectator.     Bee-keeping.     Outlook.   76 :  208-10.     Ja.  23,    04. 


92  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

The  bee  as  an  artisan.  (Trans,  fr.  La  Nature.)  Sci.  Am.  91:98.  Ag. 
6,  '04. 

Winter  insects.     Sci.  Am.  90:  150.     F.  20,  '04. 
Lower  Vertebrates 

Burti,  V.     How  a  python  eats.     Sci.  Am.  90:31.     Ja.  9,  '04. 

Forbes,  R.  P.     Fish  of  the  western  sea.     Overland.  43  :  176-80.     Mr.  '04. 

Knight,  C.  R.  Color  in  Bermuda  waters.  Cent.  68 :  595,  603.  Ag.  '04. 
(Adaptations  of  fishes  to  their  surroundings.) 

Smith,  H.  M.     "  As  flat  as  a  flounder."     St.  Nich.  31 :  1032.     S.  '04. 

Spaid,  A.  R.  M.  Harmless  reptile.  Sci.  Am.  90 :  47.  Ja.  16,  '04. 
(Lizards.) 

Stockton,  F.   R.     Alligator  hunting.     St.   Nich.   31 :  335-40.     F.   '04. 
Birds 

Beasley,  W.  L.  The  flamingo  and  its  queer  nest.  Sci.  Am.  91 :  66.  Jl. 
23,  '04. 

Birds  and  the  farmer.     Ind.  56:  1041-2.     My.  5,  '04.     (Economic  value.) 

Burroughs,  John.  Nature's  way.  Harper.  109:263.  Jl.  '04.  (Birds' 
nests.) 

Comstock,  A.  B.  The  brown  creeper.  Chaut.  38 :  593.  F.  '04.  The 
chipping  sparrow.  39 :  173-5.  Ap.  '04.  White-breasted  nuthatch.  38  :  491-3. 
Ja.  '04. 

Dawson,  F.  A.  Bird  walks  for  children.  Harp.  B.  38 :  154-62.  F.  '04. 
(Field  work  for  small  children.) 

Finley,  W.  L.     Rearing  a  wren  family.     St.  Nich.  31  :  735-41.     Je.  '04. 

Garland,  V.  A  California  minstrel  (mocking-bird).  Overland.  43:118- 
20.     F.  '04.     Feathered  Californians.  43 :  386-7.     My.   '04. 

Gleeson,  J.  M.  The  great  horned  owl.  Outlook.  77  :  295-7.  Je.  4,  '04. 
The  harpy  eagle.     St.  Nich.  31 :  832-3.     Jl.  '04. 

Hawson,  F.  E.  When  the  birds  were  our  guests.  St.  Nich.  31 :  906. 
Ag.  '04. 

Herrick,  F.  H.  Modern  scientific  methods  of  nature-study.  Harp.  W. 
48:53^  57-^-     Ja.  '04.     (Photographing  birds.) 

Hoar,  G.  F.  The  birds'  petition.  Educ.  Gaz.  20:145.  My.  '04.  (Peti- 
tion to  Mass.  State  Legislature  for  protection  of  birds.) 

Job,  H.  K.  Great  Cuthbert  rookery.  Outing.  43 :  583-90.  F.  '04.  On 
lonely  Bird  Key.  44 :  231-8.     My.  '04. 

Oldys,  H.     Basket  of  chips.     Atlantic.  93:219-25.     F.  '04.     (Bird  song.) 

Palmer,  F.  H.  Song-sparrow.  Educ.  24:500.  Ap.  '04.  (Birds  in 
poetry.) 

Rogers,  C.  E.     Our  friends,  the  birds.     Ed.    Gaz.  20:  144.     My.   '04. 

Sandys,  E.     Robbing  birds'  nests.     Outing.  44 :  387.     Je.  '04. 

Sharp,  D.  L.     A  crazy  flicker.     St.  Nich.  31 :  554-5-     Ap.  '04. 

Smith,  T.  C.     Song-forms  of  the  thrush.     Atlantic.  93 :  777-86.     Je.  '04- 


watterson]  periodical    LITERATURE  93 

Spectator.     Food  of  birds.     Outlook.  76 :  158-60.     Ja.  '04, 
Stewart,  J.  A.     Arbor  and  bird  day  exercises.     Jour,  of  Educ.  59:135. 
Mr.  3,  '04. 

Scott,  W.  E.  D.     Blue  jays.     Outlook.  77:45.     My.  7,  '04. 

W.,    G.    E.     New    study    of   bird    life.     Sci.    Am.    90:22-23.     Ja.    9,    '04. 

(Care  of  wild  birds  in  winter.) 

Wolcott,  R.  H.  Outline  of  bird  study.  Jour,  of  Educ.  59 :  245,  278.  Ap, 
21,  My.  5,  '04. 

Van  Dyke,  T.  S.  When  the  graywings  came.  Outing.  43  :  667-72.  Mr.  '04. 
Mammals 

Beard,  J.  C.  Snow  houses  of  the  seal  and  of  the  bear.  St.  Nich.  31 : 
210-11.     Ja.  '04. 

Boyden,  A.  C.     Domestic   animals.     Squirrels   and   rabbits.     Perry  Mag. 

6  :  225.     Ja.  '04.     Beasts  of  burden.  6  :  305.     Mr.  '04. 

Chapman,  A.  Pariah  of  the  skyline.  Outing.  44:131-8.  My.  '04. 
(Coyote.) 

Eastman,  C.  A.  Gray  chieftain.  Harper.  108:882-7.  My.  '04.  (Story 
of  a  Bighorn  ram.) 

Oilman,  C.  Monkeys.  Jour,  of  Educ.  59:38,  54,  87.  Ja.  21,  28,  F.  11, 
'04.     The  elephant.  59:118,  182.     F.  25,  Mr.  24,  '04. 

Gleeson,  J.  M.  "  Bhalu  " — the  Indian  jungle  bear.  St.  Nich.  31 :  712. 
Je.  '04.  Grizzly  bear.  31  :  408-9.  Mr.  '04.  The  coyote.  31  :  606-7.  My. 
'04. 

Harcourt,  H.     Stories  of  my  pets.     St.  Nich.  31  :  898.     Ag.  '04. 

Humphreys,  P.  W.  Animal  ship.  St.  Nich.  31  :  304-9.  F.  '04.  (Wild 
animals  from  Africa.) 

Lydekker,  R.  How  baby  bats  are  nursed.  (Abstract.)  Sci.  Am.  90: 
192.     Mr.  '04. 

McGrath,  P.  T.  Wonderful  whale-hunting  by  steam.  Cosm.  37 :  48-56. ' 
My.  '04. 

Rolker,  A.  W.  Wild-animal  surgeon  and  his  patients.  McClure.  22 : 
235-44.     Ja-  '04.     The  rogues  of  a  Zoo.  23  :  212.     My.  '04. 

Scott,  W.  E.  D.     My  dog  Grouse.     Outlook.  77 :  304.     Je.  4,  '04. 

Seton,  E.  T.  The  master-plowman  of  the  West.  [Gophers  as  soil- 
formers.]  Century.  68:  300-307.  Je.  '04.  Monarch,  the  grizzly.  Ladies' 
H.  J.  21  :  5-6.  F.  '04.  Little  Warhorse :  the  story  of  a  Jack-rabbit.  Ladies' 
H.  J.  21  :  13-14.     Je.  '04. 

Smith,  H.  M.    Largest  animals.    (Whales.)    St.  Nich.   31:456-9.    Mr.  '04. 
Spectator.     Bloodhounds;    Outlook.  76 :  776-8.     Ap.  2,   1904. 
Swindlehurst,  F.     Day  with  the   Eskimo  seal  hunters.     World's  Work. 
7:4331-5-     Ja-  '04. 
Whitney,   C.     Jin    Abu   finds   an   elephant.     Outing.    43 :  558-71.     F.    '04. 

HL     PLANTS    (GENERAL) 
Anderson,   M.   P.     The   protection   of  our   native   plants.     Plant   World. 

7  :  123-29.     My.  '04. 


94  ^"^^    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2.  march,  1905 

Apgar,   E.    A.     Reproduction    in   plants.     Harper.    108 :  713-20.     Ap.    '04. 

Broadhurst,  Jean.  The  protection  of  our  native  plants.  Plant  World. 
7  :  152-54-     Je.  '04. 

Comstock,  A.  B.  Food  stored  in  seeds.  Chaut.  38 :  493-6.  Ja.  '04. 
Sugar  bush.  38 :  590.  F.  '04.  The  clovers.  39 :  384-90.  Je.  '04.  The 
onion.  39 :  276.  My.  '04.  The  potato  study.  39 :  76.  Mr.  '04.  The  skunk 
cabbage.  39:76.     Mr.  '04.     The  trilliums.  39:173-5-     Ap.  '04. 

French,  F.  Nature's  jewel  caskets.  Outing.  43:409-13.  Ja.  '04. 
(Seed  dispersal.) 

Gardner,  H.  G.  Creating  new  fruits.  Cosm.  37 :  262.  Jl.  '04.  (Work 
of  Dept.  of  Agric.) 

Harwood,  W.  S.  A  maker  of  new  plants  and  fruits.  Scrib.  36 :  49-55. 
Jl.  '04. 

MacFarland,  J.  H.  Nut-bearing  trees.  Outlook.  76 :  597-607.  Mr.  5, 
'04.     Some  American  trees.  76 :  817-27.     Ap.  2,  '04. 

Mackenzie,  M.  Open  secrets.  Kindergarten  Review.  14.  Ja.  '04. 
(Trees  in  winter.)     Familiar  trees  and  their  flowers.  14.     Mr.  '04. 

Shreve,  F.  Some  plants  which  entrap  insects.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.  65 :  417- 
31.     S.  '04. 

Forestry 

Planting  forests.     Ind.  56 :  392-4.     F.  18,  '04. 

Forest  reserve  for  New  England.     Harp.  W.  48 :  228-9.     F-  I3j  'o4- 

Munn,  M.  J.  Great  industries  of  the  United  States.  HI.  Lumber. 
Cosm.  37:437-450.     Ag.  '04. 

Perceval,  H.  Maple  sugaring  in  the  northern  woods.  Outing.  44 :  36- 
44.     Ap.  '04. 

Pinchot,  Gifford.  The  new  hope  for  the  West.  Cent.  68:309-312.  Je. 
'04.  (Forestry  reserves  in  the  West.)  Life  of  a  forest.  Sci.  Am.  S. 
57:23766-7.     Je.  4,  '04. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore.  Our  forest  policy.  (Address  to  Soc.  of  Amer. 
Foresters,  Mr.  27,  '03.)     Extracts  in  Plant  World.    7:  8-1 1.     Ja.  '04. 

Vandevoort,  L.  Uncle  Sam's  foresters.  Outing.  43 :  629-32.  Mr.  '04. 
(Field  work  of  Div.  of  Forestry.) 

3.     AGRICULTURE,   INCLUDING   GARDENING 

Bailey,  L.  H.  A  children's  garden.  Amer.  Jour,  of  Educ.  37 :  297-8. 
Ap.  '04. 

Bennett,  H.  C.  School  gardens  in  great  cities.  R.  of  Rs.  29 :  439-43. 
Ap.  '04. 

Bigelow,  E.  F.  An  egg-shell  garden.  St.  Nich.  31 :  1035.  S.  '04. 
Plants  as  pets.     School  Science.  4 :  87-90.     My.  '04. 

Bowles,  J.  M.  A  flower-garden  for  every  child.  World's  Work.  8 : 
4799-4803.     My.  '04.     (Home  Gardening  Assoc,  of  Cleveland.) 

Davenport,  E.     Study  of  Agriculture.     Dept.  in  School  News.   17.     '04. 


watterson]  periodical    LITERATURE  95 

Davis,  F.     My  first  greenhouse.     Ind.     56:  1378-81.    Je.  16,  '04. 

Falconer,  W.  Gardening  department  in  Ladies'  H.  Jour.  21.  '04.  Gar- 
dener's midsummer  calendar;  insecticides.  21:26.     Jl.  '04, 

Galloway,  B.  T.  Farming  under  glass.  World's  Work.  7 :  4583-8.  Mr. 
'04.     Profits  of  garden  and  orchard.  7 :  4419-24.     F.  '04. 

Hay,  W.  P.  A  miniature  conservatory  in  a  city  home.  C'ntry  Life  in 
Amer.  5:249.     Ja.   '04.     (Suggestions  useful  for  schoolroom.) 

Knapp,  G.  R.  Winter  house  plants.  Harp.  B.  38 :  79-81,  207-8.  Ja.,  F. 
'04. 

Knowlton,  F.  H.  (ed.)  Garden  and  greenhouse.  Dept.  in  Plant 
World.  7.     '04. 

Laidlaw,  M.  C.     School  gardens.     Kind.  Rev.  15:12-17.     S.  '04. 

Macleod,  Ward.  Ferns  within  doors  and  without.  Delin.  63 :  330-2. 
F.  '04.     Dept.  in  Delineator.  63.     '04. 

Moore,  G.  T.  Bacteria  and  the  nitrogen  problem.  Sci.  Am.  S.  57 : 
23508-10.     F.   13,  '04. 

Paine,  A.  B.  Little  garden  calendar.  Dept.  for  children  in  Delin.  63. 
'04. 

Richards,  R.  Bog  plants.  New  Eng.  M.  30:419-23.  Je.  '04.  (Plants 
which  could  be  transferred  to  school-gardens.) 

Shaw,  Adele  M,  Common-sense  country  schools.  World's  Work. 
8:4883-95.  Je.  '04.  (School  grounds.)  The  ideal  schools  of  Menomo- 
nie.     World's  Work.  7:4540-4553.     Mr.  '04.     (School  gardens.) 

Stableton,  J.  K.  How  school  gardens  are  carried  on.  School  and 
Home  Educ.  23 :  308.  Ap.  '04.  Winter  preparation  for  school  gardening. 
23  :  216.     F.  '04. 

Sutherland,  A.  Beauty  for  ashes.  Delin.  63 :  648-9.  Ap.  '04.  (Vacant 
Lots  Cultivation  Assoc,  work  in  Phila.) 

Weed,  C.  M.  (ed.)  The  home  garden.  Dept.  in  House  Beautiful.  15. 
'04. 

Plant  food  from  the  air.  Sci.  Am.  S.  57:23413.  Ja.  2,  '04.  (Nitrogen 
problem.) 

Scientific  basis   of   cheese-making.     Pop.    Sci.    IMo.    64 :  383-4.     F.    '04. 

4.     GEOGRAPHICAL   NATURE-STUDY 

Burrows,  A.  T.  Cyclones,  tornadoes  and  hurricanes.  St.  Nich.  31  :  949. 
Ag.  '04. 

Fairbanks,  H.  W.  Something  about  rock  salt.  St.  Nich.  31 :  841.  Jl. 
'04. 

Meteorology  for  little  folks.     Amer.  Jour,  of  Educ.  37 :  241-2.     Mr.  '04. 

Meyers,  I.  B.  Elementary  field  work.  Elem.  Sch.  Teacher.  4:  312. 
(Physiographic  work,  including  some  ecology.) 

Wygant,  E.  A.  Work  with  minerals  for  little  children.  Ele.  Sch. 
Teacher.  5 :  36-49.  S.  '04.  (Lessons  given  in  Univ.  of  Chicago  School  of 
Education.) 


96  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW       [i,  2,  march,  1905 

5.     PHYSICAL   NATURE-STUDY    - 

Brewster,  E.   T.     Radium.     St.  Nich.  31 :  746-8.     Je.  '04. 

Culler,  J.  A.  Experiments  with  the  pendnkim.  Reprint  in  Amer.  Jour, 
of  Ediic.  37 :  283.     Ap.  '04. 

Woodhull,  J.  F.  Physical  nature-study.  Sch.  Jour.  68.  Ja.  9,  Mr.  12, 
'04.  Physical  nature-study.  Sound.  Jour,  of  Educ.  59 :  70,  102.  F.  4, 
18,  '04. 


NEWS   NOTES 

Conference  on  Nature-Study.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  Seminary  for 
the  the  Study  of  Special  Problems  in  Education,  a  conference  on  nature- 
study  in  the  elementary  schools,  with  especial  reference  to  the  study  of 
agriculture,  was  held  at  the  University  of  CaHfornia,  December  loth. 
Resokitions  were  proposed  relating  to  the  encouragement  of  such  studies 
through  legislative  provision  for  a  Central  Bureau  of  Information,  for 
special  training  of  teachers  and  supervisors,  and  for  the  appointment  of 
supervisors  to  act  as  deputy  county  superintendents  of  schools.  Appro- 
priate bills  will  be  presented  to  the  legislature. 

Garden  Seeds.  The  Home  Gardening  Association,  369  St.  Clair  St., 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  is  extending  its  work  of  furnishing  seeds  at  one  cent  a 
packet  to  schools  and  other  organizations  outside  of  the  city.  When  this 
note  reaches  readers  it  may  be  too  late  to  obtain  seeds  for  this  season,  but 
those  interested  should  send  a  two-cent  stamp  for  circulars  which  explain 
the  methods  of  carrying  on  this  important  work.  Fuller  accounts  of  the 
work  will  be  found  in  the  illustrated  annual  report  for  1904;  price  25  cents. 

Dean  of  Macdonald  Institute.  To  this  position,  made  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Dr.  Muldrew,  Professor  S.  B.  McCready,  science  master  in  the 
Collegiate  Institute  of  London,  Ontario,  has  been  appointed. 

Chicago  School-Gardens.  On  September  10,  1904,  the  250  principals  of 
the  schools  of  Chicago  decided  to  beautify  their  schools  by  planting  trees, 
shrubs  and  vines,  and  by  establishing  flower  gardens  in  the  schoolyards 
and  window-boxes  in  the  schoolrooms.  The  Board  of  Education  will  be 
called  upon  only  to  provide  the  soil,  the  work  will  be  done  by  teachers 
and  pupils. 

Philadelphia  School-Gardens.  In  May,  1904,  the  city  council  appro- 
priated the  sum  of  $3,500  to  establish  and  maintain  school-gardens  in  that 
city  from  May  15  to  October  15.  The  work  was  in  charge  of  the  Edu- 
cational League,  and  the  gardens  were  superintended  by  Miss  H.  C. 
Bennett. 

Summer  Courses  for  Teachers  of  Nature-Study.  Circulars  or  letters 
giving  information  are  wanted  for  use  in  preparing  the  "  News  Notes  " 
for  the  May  number  of  The  Review. 

The  date  of  publication  of  this  journal  is  planned  for  the  20th  of  January, 
March,  May,  etc. 


NEW   BOOKS    RECEIVED 

House,  Garden  and  Field.  A  collection  of  short  nature  studies.  By  L.  C.  Miall. 
London  ;   Arnold  (N,  Y.,  Longmans,  Green).     1904.     Pp.  316,  figs.  57.     ;^2.oo. 

New  Elementary  Agriculture.  An  elementary  text-book  for  rural  schools.  By  C.  E, 
Bessey,  L.  Bruner,  G.  D.  Swezey.  Lincoln,  Neb, ;  University  Pub.  Co.  1904. 
Pp.  194,  figs.  60.     75  cents. 

Organic  Evolution.  By  M.  M.^Metcalf.  N.  Y.  ;  Macmillan.  1904,  Pp.  204,  loi 
full-page  plates,  50  figs.  ^2,50.  (One  of  the  best  books  for  general  readers  who 
want  an  introduction  to  the  subject. ) 

A  Health  Primer.     By  W.  M.  Coleman,     N.  Y.,  Macmillan,     1904, 

First  Book  in  Hygiene,  and  Graded  Lessons  in  Hygiene.  By  W,  O.  Krohn,  N.  Y.  ; 
Appletons,      1904, 

Mary's  Garden  and  How  it  Grew.  By  Frances  Duncan.  N.  Y.  ;  Century  Co. 
1904.  Pp.  261,  illustrated.  ^1.25.  (Simple  directions  for  gardening  and  in- 
formation about  plants  and  their  life,  in  story  form,  for  children  between  five  and 
ten  years.) 


Simplex  Nets  and  Traps 

Cheap  enough  for  every  child  to  have  them.      Good  enough  for  professional  use. 
Every  Teacher  and  every  naturalist  should  know  about  them. 
Send  for  illustrated  price  list  to 

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\%7HfZtHorT      ''A  WOMAN^S   HARDY   GARDEN '^ 


Mrs.  Ely's  Another  Hardy  Garden  Book 

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MRS  ELY'S  new  book  tells  simply  of  the  chapteron  lilies  and  iris,  their  varieties,  their  peri- 
raising  of  V  getables  and  the  cultivation  of  ods  of  blooming  and  their  culture,  giving  some  at- 
fruits  for  the  home  garden  It  gives  instructions  tention  also  to  water  lilies  and  other  aquatics, 
for  transplanting,  not  only  trees,  but  the  shrubs.  The  chapters  on  Spring  and  Autumn  work  in  the 
flowers,  and  vines  from  woods  and  meadowlands  flower  garden  afford  full  and  precise  directions  for 
for  an  attractive  "wild  garden."     There  is  a  long  all  that  is  to  be  done  at  those  seasons. 

OF  THE  EARIIER   BOOK 

Mrs,  Ely's  A  Woman^s  Hardy  Garden 

Now  in  its  Sixth  Edition,  Cloth,  Si. 75  net  (postage  I3c. ) 
Mrs.  Alice  Morse  Earle  wrote  in  an  extended  review  in  the  Dial  : 

"  Let  us  sigh  with  gratitude  and  read  the  volume  with  delight  For  here  it  all  is, — 
what  we  should  plant,  and  when  we  should  plant  it ;  how  to  care  for  it  after  it  is 
planted  and  growing ;  what  to  do  if  does  not  grow  and  blossom  ;  what  will  blos- 
som, and  when  it  will  blossom,  and  what  the  blossoms  will  be  .  .  It  is  a 
good  book,  a  wholesome  book." 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY,  Publishers,  64-66  Fifth  Ave.,  N.  Y. 


UNRIVALED  NATURE  BOOKS 

NATURE   STUDY    AND   LIFE 

By  CLIFTON   F.    HODGE, 

Assistant  Professor  of  Physiology  and  Neurology)  in  Clark  Uni<versily. 

Hodge's  "Nature  Study  and  Life"  has  proved  to  be  the  most  important  book  for 
teachers  published  during  the  last  decade.  It  has  found  a  very  wide  use  in  schools  and 
has  been  adopted  by  the  reading  circles  of  nine  important  states. 

In  the  point  of  view  in  the  selection  of  subject-matter  and  in  the  presentation  of 
methods  of  conducting  the  work  this  book  marks  a  definite  advance  over  other  pub- 
lications on  the  subject  of  nature-study. 

THE  WOOD    FOLK   SERIES 

By   WILLIAM   J.    LONG. 

Ways  of  Wood  Folk.  .  ^  .^^,    „     ^^  .,_     t-.  Wood  Folk  at  School, 

o  .      r.u     XX7      A  A  Little  Brother  to  the  Bear.  ^,,.,,  ,,^ 

Secretsof  the  Woods.  Wilderness  Ways. 

Through  this  series  Dr.  Long  has  won  for  himself  an  enviable  position  among  writers 
of  animal  stories.  His  birds  and  beasts  are  not  artificially  gifted  with  impossible  human 
motives  and  sentiments,  but  are  vividly  true. 


GINN    &    COMPANY  Publishers. 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  LONDON 


The  elevation  of  Geography  to  the  place  it  ought  to  hold  in 
the  school  curriculum,  is  a  matter  of  vital  moment.— GEIKIE 

The  JOURNAL 

of  GEOGRAPHY 

AN  ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINE  DEVOTED  TO  THE  INTERESTS  OF   TEACHERS  OF 
GEOGRAPHY  IN  ELEMENTARY,  SECONDARY,  AND   NORMAL  SCHOOLS 

It  is  INDISPENSABLE  to  teachers  of  geography 
It  stands  for  PROGRESS  Each  issue  ii  USABLE 

INDORSED  EVERYWHERE  by  usage 
The   only  geographical   magazine   for   TEACHERS  OF  GEOGRAPHY 

Edited  by  RICHARD  E.  DODGE,  Professor  of  Geography,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 
University,  New  Vork  City. 

SUBSCRIPTION    PRICE    $i  50    A    YEAR 


SEND  FOR   SAMPLE    COPY  TO 

THE    JOURNAL    OF    GEOGRAPHY 

TEACHERS  COLLEGE,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


Summer  Courses  in  Sciences  and  Nature-Study 

HARVARD   UNIFERSITT 
SUMMER  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES 

offers  courses  for  men  and  women  in  Classical  Archaeology,  Oreek,  Latin,  English,  Voice 
Training,  Reading  and  Speaking,  German,  French,  Italian,  Spanish,  Phonetics,  History, 
Psychology,  Philosophy,  Education,  Theory  of  Pure  Design,  Drawing  and  Painting, 
Architectural  Drawing,  Theory  of  Architectural  Design,  History  of  European  Architec- 
ture, Mathematics,  Surveying,  Shopwork,  Physics,  Chemistry,  Botany,  Geology,  Geog- 
raphy, and  in  Physical  Education.  These  courses  are  designed  primarily  for  teachers, 
but  are  open  without  entrance  examination  to  all  qualified  persons.  The  University 
Libraries,  Museums,  Laboratories,  etc.,  will  be  at  the  service  of  members  of  the  Summer 
School.  The  School  opens  Wednesday,  July  5th,  and  closes  Tuesday,  August  15th, 
1905.  For  full  Announcement,  address  j.  L.  Lo\'E,  16  University  Hall,  Cambridge, 
Mass. 

N.  S.  SMALER,  Chairman. 


CORNELL    UNIVERSirr 
SUMMER  SESSION  JULY  5— AUGUST  16,  1905 

Courses  in  all  academic  departments. 

Departments  of  Geography  and  of  Nature-Study. 

'  Work  for  the  Grades. 

Abundant  Courses  for  College  and  High  School  Teachers. 

Tuition  Fee  $25.  Inexpensive   Living. 

Send  for  Circular  and  Book  of  Views,   address 

The  Registrarf  Cornell  Uni<versityf  Ithaca.,  N,    Y. 

MARINE    BIOLOGICAL  LABORATORT 

The  Marine  Biological  Laboratory,  Woods  Holl,  Mass.,  offers  for  the  Season  of 
1905,  courses  in  Zoology,  Life- Histories  of  Animals,  Comparative  Physiology,  and 
Botany,  for  six  weeks,  beginning  June  28.  Detailed  Announcements  of  the  courses  may 
be  obtained  from  Frank  K.  Lillie,  Assistant  Director,  The  University  of  Chicago, 
Chicago,  111. 

COLUMBIA   UNIVERSirr,  SUMMER  SESSION 

One  hundred  and  twenty-four  courses  will  be  offered  in  twenty-three  departments. 
There  will  be  many  courses  in  the  sciences,  one  special  course  on  the  natural  history  of 
plants  and  animals  from  the  viewpoint  of  nature-study,  and  two  educational  courses  deal- 
ing with  the  teaching  of  nature-s'udy  in  elementary  schools.  Descriptions  of  courses  and 
information  regarding  fees,  cost  of  boarding,  etc.,  are  given  in  the  Announcement.  If 
additional  information  regarding  nature-study  courses  is  wanted,  it  may  be  obtained  from 
the  Department  of  Nature- Study,  Columbia  University. 

For  the  Announcement  of  the  Summer  Session,  address 

Secretary  of  Columbia  University,  New  York. 


School  Science  and  matbentatics 

A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL  FOR  ALL  SCIENCE 
AND  MATHEMATICS  TEACHERS 


Six  Departments — Biology,  Chemistry,  Earth  Science,  Mathematics, 
Metrology,  Physics. 

All  %vide  awake  teachers  of  these  subjects  should  become  subscribers. 
This  means  you. 

Only  new  material  is  published  in  this  Journal. 

Published  October  to  June  inclusive.  $2.00  per  year,  25  cents  single 
copy. 

Send  your  name  and  address,  on  a  postal  card,  for  sample  copy. 
Please  say  "  adv.  in  N.-S.  R." 


Address:  440  Kenwood  Terrace,  Chicago,  III. 


"?.r  The  Plant  World  '''^:^' 


The  Plant  World 

IS  AN 

=====  Illustrated  Monthly  Magazine  === 

devoted  to 

Popular  Botany  in  the  Best  and  Widest  Sense 

It  is  the  Official  Organ  of  the  Wild  Flower  Preservation   Society  of  America 
It  will  keep  you  in  touch  with  modern  Botanical  thought. 


IF 


1  OU  are  a  teacher  of  Botany    1  |1C    I  13111    W  00(1  will  help         \  QU 
Edited  by  FRANCIS  E.  LLOYD 

For  Sample  Copy  send  2c.  stamp,  addressing 

THE  PLANT  WORLD,  Teachers  College, 

Columbia  University,  New  York  City 


NATURE-STUDY  COLLECTIONS. 

If  you  are  interested  in  collections  for  nature-study  teaching,  you  will  be  interested 
in  the  full-page  account  of  our  minerals,  rocks,  relief  maps,  fossils,  mounted  birds,  and 
biological  collections  on  page  49  of  No.  I  of  Thk  NATURK-STrov  Review. 

If  you  would  know  more  about  these,  send  us  your  address  on  the  back  of  a  postal 
card,  with  the  words  "Nature-Study," — we  will  know  what  it  means,  an<l  it  will  pay 
you  to  be  on  our  mailing  list.      We  are  here  to  help  you. 

Remember  that  we  are  the  pioneers  in  this  work  and  that  we  have  t  he  largest  stock 
in  the  country  to  select  from.  Remember  also  that  we  have  not  only  planned  the  col- 
lections for  you,  but  have  published  descriptive  catalogues  to  accompany  them  that  are 
virtually  pocket  text-books  of  the  subject,  and  are  actually  used  as  such  in  many  places  ! 

Ward's  Natural   Science  Establishment, 

76-104  College  Ave.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


FOR  TEACHERS  OF  BOTANY  AND  NATURE  STUDY 

We  now  have  ready  two  auxanometers  (plant-growth  recorders),  Lloyd's  model  at 
}^2.oo,  and  the  HMSAC  at  ^2.50  ;  lattice-work  plant  presses  at  35  to  60  cents  ;  trans- 
parent specimen  cases  for  life-histories,  wood  frame,  separable,  dust  proof,  no  case  is 
better,  45  cents  and  up,  many  sizes.      Other  simple  apparatus  ready  and  in  preparation. 

LOWEST  PRICES.        SEND  FOR  CIRCULARS. 
<' HOME-MADE"   SCIENTIFIC   APPARATUS    CO.,  Mechanicsburg,  0. 


HELPS  IN   BOTANY 

The  American  Botanist  is  an  illustrated  monthly  journal  devoted  to  in- 
teresting facts  about  plants.  It  prints  no  technical  articles,  but  treats  of  such  subjects 
as  color,  fragrance,  nectar,  pollination,  seed-dispersal,  and  the  uses  and  habits  of  plants. 
Worth  many  times  its  price  to  any  teacher  interested  in  Botany.  Subscription  $1.00  a 
year  ;  sample  for  a  two-cent  stamp.      Address, 

WILLARD  N.  CLUTE  &  CO.,  Binghamton,  New  York. 


LEWIS'    TREE-LEAF   CHARTS 

Size  22  by  28  inches.      Printed  on  good  paper.      Recommended  by  the  best  author 
ities  in  the  country.      Send  for  circular. 

Price  of  Single    Number   50  Cts.  eacli.    Parts  SI. 40  each.    The  Ten 
numbers  now  printed  for  $4.50.    Cash  in  advance. 

For  further  information  address  the  author,  publisher  and  proprietor, 

GRACEANNA    LEWIS,   Media,  Pennsylvania. 


MARINE  BIOLOGICAL  LABORATORY 

Supply  Department,— !•  Zoology — Preserved  Material  of  all  types  of  animals  for 
class  work  or  for  the  museum.  '4.  Botany-  Preserved  Material  of  Algae,  Fungi,  Liverworts  and 
Mosses.  For  price  lists  and  all  information  address  GEO.  M.  GKAF,  Curator,  Woods 
Holl,  Mass. 


Charming  Vacation  Companions 


f^S^^^ 


^  t 


A  Year  Among  the  Trees 

By  WILSON  FLAGG 

Illustrated.     Cloth.     300  pp.    Price,  $1.00 

The /\ocly  Mounia/n  11 'or /d  says:  There  are  books  and  books. 
Some  have  a  life  as  brief  as  that  of  a  butterfly  ;  others  are  to  endure 
as  lonjiT  as  hmguageshall  last,  Uteratur  flourish,  and  intellect  crown 
the  noblest  work  of  that  creative  force  some  call  God,  others  Na- 
ture, and  some  of  late  years  locate  in  Thought  and  Will    Power. 

The  two  volumes  by  Wilson  F'agg,  "  A  Year  With  the  Birds  " 
and  "A  Year  Among  the  Trees,"  belong  to  the  last  class  named. 
They  are  not  new  books,  fresh  from  the  press,  but  re-issues  of  vol- 
umes that  have  delighted  the  votaries  of  Nature  since  they  were 
first  issued  some  twenty  years  ago.  Their  author  is  one  of  those 
who,  living  close  to  Nature,  finding  more  than  "  sermons  in  stones 
and  books  in  running  brooks."  has  been  warned  by  her  interpre- 
ter of  the  t'eathered  denizens  of  the  air  and  of  the  secrets  hidden  in 
the  trees  of  forest,  field  and  garden. 

1  he  true  interpreter  of  Nature  is  ever  a  poet  and  Wilson  Flagg 
shows  it  in  every  chapter  and  on  every  j  age  of  these  delightful  vol- 
umes, whereiir  the  music  of  the  birds  and  the  melod  es  of  the  wood 
are  presented  in  language  whose  very  simplicity  creates  about  them 
an  atmosphere  of  sublimity.  Especially  in  the  "  Year  with  the 
Birds  "  is  this  noticeable^  in  the  essays  on  the  months  in  their  rela- 
tion to  the  feathered  songsters.  They  breathe  a  spirit  of  love  for 
the  beautiful  in  animate  Nature,  and  a  deep  devotion  that  will  place 
the  book  for  all  time  in  the  classic  list. 

In  the  "  Year  Among  the  Trees"  the  same  sentiment  prevails, 
but  does  not  come  so  clearly  into  evidence.  Necessarily  many  of 
the  pa^es  are  devoted  to  particular  description  of  species ;  but  other 
pages  tieat  of  the  value  and  beauty  of  trees  and  forests,  of  their  climatic  influences  as  purifiers  of  the 
atmosphere,  of  their  relations  to  water,  to  electricity,  to  temperature,  to  the  soil,  to  shade  and  salubrity, 
to  birds  and  insects,  to  ornament,  and  to  poetry  and  fable. 

Such  books  as  these  merit  being   classed  as    educational  and   are  far  more  worthy  of  being  used  as 


^^^  I 


text-books  for  the  young  than  many  now  in  use  in  schools. 

A  Year  with  the  Birds 

Illustrated.     Cloth.     Price,  $1.00 


By  the    same   author   and   a  Com- 
panion book  to  the  above. 


Fairyland  of  Flowers 

A  Popular  Illustrated  Botany 
for  the  Home  and  School 

Fully  Illustrated.     Boards,  $1 .00  j  Cloth,  $1 .25 

I  believe  teachers  will  find  the  "  Fairyland  of 
Powers"  lery  helpful.  I  know  from  my  experience 
with  teachers,  that  it  is  just  what  most  te  ichers  need. 
Plant  study  is  the  easiest  and  most  piomising  division 
of  nature  study,  and  such  a  book  will  help  teachers  who 
know  nothing  about  plants,  7/"they  will  study  the  plants 
and  not  merely  the  books.  The  illustrations  are  unus- 
ually good.  Busy  teachers  who  want  to  correlate  na- 
ture-study with  literature,  will  find  the  poems  and 
stories  interwoven  with  the  plant  descriptions,  very 
helpful.  They  help  the  teacher  to  realize  that  plants 
are  more  than  mere  structures  to  be  picked  apart  or 
analyzed  and  described. 

— Chakles  B.  Scott,  Oswego  Normal  School. 

^ifsor'i'il    Cn«4<<o^  d4^f/>*t       The  above  three  books  in  cloth  bindin'^  wil 
Opeaa/    :>pnng  Uffer.     fo^  52.50  if  ordered  on  or  before  June  i,  : 


be  sent,  express   prepaid 


905- 


Addre^s 


EDUCATIONAL   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

Dept.52,50  BROMFIELD  ST.,  BOSTON 


NATURE-STUDY  PUBLICATIONS 


jm^jukL 


w 


/ 


^^^^ 


**  FIRST  YEAR 
Welsh's  Some  of  Our  Friends,  :;oc.  40c  * 
Davis'  Nature  Stories  for  Youngest    Read- 
ers. 30c,  40c 
Chase's    Plant    Babies    and    Their  Cradles, 

30c   40c 
Welsh's  Out  Doors.     Animal  Land  Series, 

30c,  40c 
Kelly's    Introduction    to    Leaves  from  Na- 
ture's Story  Book,  30c,  40c 

SECOND  YEAR 

Chase's  Buds,  Stems  and  Roots,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Some  of  Our  Flower  Friends,  300,400 
Chase's  Friends  of  the  Fields,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Stories  from  Birdland.  Vol.  I.  300,400 


THIRD  YEAR 
Fairbank's  Home  Geography,  60c 
Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story-Book. 

Vol.  I.     400,600. 
Stories  from  Garden  and  Field,  300,  40c 
Legends  of  the  Springtime.  3-4.     300.  40c 
Chase's  Stories  from  Birdland.  Vol   II. 

30c, 400. 

FOURTH  YEAR 

Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story  Book. 
Vol.  II.     400.  600. 

Poyntz's  Aunt  May's  Bird  Talks,  50c. 

Pratt's  Little  Flower  Folks.  Vol.1.  Stories 
from  Flowerland,  30c,  400 

Chase's  Stories  from  Animal  Land,  500.  750 

Greenleaf's  Stories  and  Tales  from  the  An- 
imal World,  500. 

Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland,  75c. 

*  When  twoprioes  aie  given,  the  fust  is  for  boards,  the  other  for  cloth. 

**  The  grades  given  are  merely  suggestive   and    the  books  may  be  used   for  grades   lower  or  higher, 
acoording  to  the  ability  of  the  class. 

Any  Book  seal   postpaid  on  rt  ceipt  of  prue. 


FIFTH  YEAR 

Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story  Book. 

Vol.  III.     40c,  60c. 
Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland,  750. 
Pratt's  Little  Flower  Folks  ;  or  Stories  frcm 

Flowerland.     Vol.11.     300,400. 
Pratt's  Storyland  of  Stars,  400,  50c. 

SIXTH  YEAR 

M.    and  E.    Kirby's    Stories    About    Birds, 

^t.oo. 
D'Anvers'  Science  Ladders.     Vol.  II.     400. 
Bryant's    Poetry  of  Flowerland 
Chandler's  Habits    of    California    Plants, 

600. 

SEVENTH  YEAR 

D'Anver's   Science    Ledders.     Vol.  III.     40c 
Flagg's  A  Year  With  the    Birds,  $r.oo. 
Knox's  Horse  Stories  and  Stories  ofQther 

Animals,  $2.50. 
Pratt's  Fairyland  of  Flowers,  $i.co,  $1.25. 


EIGHTH  YEAR 

Giberne's  Ocean  of  Air,  $1.25 

Fairbanks'  Stories  of  Rocks  and  Minerals, 

600. 
Flagg's  A  Year  Among  the  Trees,  $1  00 
Wood-Allen's     Man     Wonderful  ;     or     The 

Marvels  of  Our  Bodily  Dwelling,  <i. 00 
White's  Natural  History  of  Selbcrne,  75c 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLISHING  CO.,    Bro.S  s\^:  Itston 

SCHOOL  TEXT  BOOKS,  SUPPLEMENTARY  READERS,   SCHOOL  LIBRARY  BOOKS 


The  Teachers  College  Record 


The  Teachers  College  Record  is  a  serial  publication  issued  by 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the 
most  recent  views  of  the  history  and  principles  of  education,  of  educa- 
tional administration,  and  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching. 

Each  number  treats  some  specific  problem  in  the  work  of  the  kinder- 
garten, elementary  school,  high  school,  or  some  department  of  college 
work.  Topics  hitherto  presented  have  included -^schools  for  teachers; 
schools  of  observation  and  practice  ;  curricula  ;  courses  of  study  ;  school 
economy ;  aims,  methods,  and  results  of  instruction  in  the  various  school 
grades  ;  and  syllabi  of  college  courses. 

The  Record  is  issued  bimonthly,  except  July;  subscription,  ^i.oo 
per  year ;  single  copies,  30  cents,  postpaid.  A  table  of  contents  of  the 
numbers  hitherto  issued  will  be  sent  on  rec^uest. 


Address:  THE  TEACHERS  COLLEGE  RECORD 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City 


BIRD=UORE 

An  Illustrated  Magazine   for  Teachers  and  Students. 

Edited  by  FRANK  M.  CHAPMAN. 

Such  prominent  exponents  of  Nature-Study  as  Mrs.  Anna  Botsford  Comstock  and 
Prof.  C.  F.  Hodge  praise  BIRD-LORE  so  highly  that  we  are  led  to  believe  you  will 
find  the  magazine  of  practical  value.  Will  you  not  permit  us  to  send  you  a  specimen 
copy  so  that  you  may  judge  for  yourself? 

THE    MACMILLAN   CO.,  66  Fifih  Ave.,  New  York  City. 


THE   POPULAR  SCIENCE   MONTHLY 

Tt  has  had  few  rivals  and  no  equal  in  the  educative  service  it  has  done  for  the  American  people. 
A  complete  set  of  the  volumes  thus  far  published  is  both  a  history  of  education  fur  the  period  covered 
and  at  the  same  time  a  pretty  complete  cyclopedia  of  natural  science  There  is  nothing  to  fill  its  place, 
and  to  carry  it  on  is  a  benefaction  to  the  public. — W.  T.  Harris,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education. 

With  the  increase  of  the  importance  of  the  applications  of  science  to  all  the  varied  fields  of  social 
life,  it  becomes  more  and  more  important  to  have  a  journal  which  will  keep  the  general  public  in  touch 
with  advances  of  scientific  research  and  intelligently  direct  public  thinking  along  the  avenues  thus 
opened  up  The  Popitlar  Science  Monthly  is  performing  this  func  ion  in  a  most  admirable  way. — 
JOHN  DEWEY,  Professor  of  Philosophy,  Columbia  University 

The  Popul.ar  Science  Monthly  has.  throughout  its  history,  accomplished  a  great  work  in  pop- 
ularizing science  and  in  liberalizing  thought  in  America.  Under  its  present  able  management  it  bids  fair  to 
continue  to  occupy  this  unique  field  in  American  literature.  It  should  have  the  hearty  support  of  every 
student  and  teacher.— A.  S.  PACKARD,  Professor  of  Zoology  and  Geology,  Brown  University. 
THE    POPULAR    SCIENCE    MONTHLY, 

$3.00  per  year.  sub-station    84,    new    yohk    city.  3°  cents  per  copy. 

4®="The  Popular  Science  Monthly  will  be  sent  for  six  months  for  one  dollar  for  new  subscribers 
mentioning  TAe  Nature-Study  Review. 


(  Continued  from  the  second  cover  pagt.  ) 


C.  W.  BuRKETT,  Professor  in  N.  C.  College  of  Agriculture,  W.  Raleigh,  N.  C. 
G.  W.  Carver,  Director  of  Agriculture,  Tuskegee  Institute,  Alabama. 
Elizabeth  Carse,  Principal  of  Charlton  School,  New  York  City. 

F.  M.  Chapman,  Curator  of  Birds,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Bertha  Chapman,  Superintendent  of  Nature-Study,  Oakland  Cal. 

F.  L.  Charles,  Professor  of  Biology,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 

H.  L   Clapp,  Principal  of  Putnam  School,  Roxbury,  Mass. 

W.  B.  Coleman,  Professor  of  Biology,  Sam  Houston  Institute,  Huntsville,Tex. 

B.  P.  Colton,  Professor  of  Biology,  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 

Anna  B.  Comstock,  Lecturer,  Cornell  University,  College  of  Agriculture. 

E.  G.  Conklin,  Director  of  Zoological  Department,  University  of  Penna. 

J.  M.  Coulter,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Chicago. 

Stanley  Coulter,  Professor  of  Biology,  Purdue  University,  Lafayette,  Ind. 

T.  R.  Croswell,  Supervisor  of  Training  School,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

J.  Dkarxess,  Vice-princinal  of  Normal  School,  London,  Ont. 

R.  P..  DoDCJF.,  irofessor  of  Geography,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

Mrr.  F.  N.  Doubledav  (Neltje  Blanchan),  Author-Lecturer,  New  York  City. 

W.  F.  Ganong,  Professor  of  Botany,  Smith  College,  Northampton,  Mass. 

W.  S.  Hall,  Professor  of  Physiology,  Northwestern  University,  Chicago. 

W.  Hallock,  Professor  of  Physics,  Columbia  University. 

W.  M.  Hays,  Director  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Minnesota. 

H.  D.  Hemenvvay,  Director  of  Hartford  (Conn.)  School  of  Horticulture. 

E.  H.  Holden,  Formerly  Director  of  Lick  Observatory,    Librarian  of  West 

Point  Military  Academy. 
W.  G.  Hormell,  Professor  of  Physics,  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  Delaware,  O. 
W.  T.  Hornaday,  Director  of  New  York  Zoological  Park. 
W.  S.  Jackman,  Principal  of  Elementary  School,  University  of  Chicago. 
O.  P.  Jenkins,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Stanford  University,  Cal. 
V.  L.  Kellogg,  Professor  of  Entomology,  Stanford  University. 

D.  Lange,  Supervisor  of  Nature-Study,  St.  Paul  (Minn.)  schools. 

F.  i^.    Lloyd,   Adjunct    Professor  of   Biology,    Teachers    College,  Columbia 

University. 
W.  L'^chhead,  Professor  of  Biology,  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 
W.  A.  Locy,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111. 
T.  H.  Macbride,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa  City. 
Alice  G.  McCloskey,  Instructor,  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University. 
A.  H.  MacKay,  Superintendent  of  Education,  Nova  Scotia,  Halifax    N.  S. 
Chas.  a.  McMurry,  Professor  of  Pedagogy,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 
F.  M.  McMurry,    Professor  of    Elementary    Education,    Teachers    College, 

Columbia  University. 
J.  P.  Munson,  Professor  of  Biology,  State  Normal  School,  Ellensburg,  Wash. 
Fred.  Mutchler,  Institute  Worker  and  Assistant  in  Biology,  Clark  University. 
J.  G.  Needham,  Professor  of  Biology,  Lake  Forest  University,  Lake  Forest,  111. 
H.  Newman,  Principal  of  Public  School  33,  New  York  City. 
J.  E.  Peabody,  Instructor  in  Biology,  Morris   High  School,  New  York    City. 
Clara  M.  Russell,  New  York  State  Normal  College,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
P.  W.  Search,  Lecturer,  Worcester,  Mass. 

S.  B.  Sinclair,  Vice- Principal  of  Normal  School,  Ottawa,  Canada. 
J.  W.  Spencer,  Supervisor  of  Bureau  of  Nature-Study,  Cornell  University. 
W.  E.  Stark,  Principal  of  High  School,  Ethical  Culture  School,  New  York. 
F.  L.  Stevens,  trofessor  of  Biology  in  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture, 
Ada  Watterson,  Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Unixersity. 
C  M.  Weed,  Professor  in  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture,  Durham. 
Mrb.  L.  L.  Wilson,  Director  of  Biology,  Philadelphia  Normal  College. 


THE 

NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES    OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS. 

This  journal  deals  with  general  nature-study,  interpreting  the  term 
''nature-study"  as  meaning  the  elementary  study  of  any  natural 
objects  and  processes  from  the  standpoint  of  human  interests  in  every- 
day life  and  inde[)€ndently  of  the  organization  characteristic  of  science. 

It  publishes  original  articles  by  the  best  writers  on  nature- study  and 
science  in  education,  and  notes  and  reviews  on  books  and  important 
articles  first  published  elsewhere.  The  only  journal  devoted  to  nature- 
study  and  aiming  to  bring  together  the  best  and  latest  ideas  on  this 
phase  of  elementary  scientific  education. 

It  is  conducted  by  an  editorial  committee  of  five  members,  repre- 
senting agriculture,  biology,  geography,  and  physical  science,  with  the 
co-operation  or  over  sixty  advisers  and  collaborators.  It  is  entirely 
independent  of  local  or  individual  interests,  and  needs  the  cooperation 
of  all  persons  interested  in  general  nature-study. 

$1.00  per  year;  20  cents  per  copy;  trial  subscription  for  half  year 
30  cents. 


NATURAL  SCIENCE 

Apparatus  and  Preparations 
Natural   History  Specimens 

for  Exhibition,  Demonstration  and  Dissection. 

Skeletons,    Models,    Charts,    Aquaria,   Mounted    Birds   and 
Mammals,   Museum  Glassware,   Dissecting  Instruments 

ENTOMOLOGICAL    SUPPLIES     AND     INSECTS 

Special  Insect  Catalogue. 
EVERYTHING    NEEDED    BY  NATURALISTS 

Illustrated  Catalogues  and  Special  Estimates  on  Application. 

THE    KNY-SCHEERER    COMPANY 

Dept.  of  Natural    Science,  225-233   Fourth    Ave., 

G.  LAGAI,   Ph.D.  NEW   YORK,  N.  Y. 

{Mention  this  Revieiv. ) 


\'vtH.r<b  ■- 


THE 


\ 


NATURE-STUDY 
REVIEW 


Vol.  I,  No.  3 


May,   1905 


DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Why  Many  Fail  in  Teaching  Nature-Study.     L.  A.  Hatch 97 

Ready-Made  Lessons  in  Nature-Study.     L.  C.  Miai.l loi 

Flower  Shows  in  City  Schools.     Alice  R.  Northrop 104 

Observation  Bee-Hive  for  the  Schoolroom.     Anna  Botsford  CoiMSTOCK log 

Window  Gardens  for  the  Schoolroom.     H.  D.  Hemenway 115 

A  Wild-Flower  Garden.     Isabella  G.  Diggins 118 

Making  a  School  Lawn.     Margaret  T.  Brown 120 

Time  Required  for  Nature-Study.     S.  B.  Sinclair 122 

Methods  of  Sherlock  Holmes  in  Nature-Study.     E.  A.  G.  Lamborn 124 

Original  Observations  from  Elementary  Schools 128 

Book  Reviews  :  ABC  of  Bee  Culture — Trees  of  North  America — Nature  Study 
with  Common  Things — Mosses  with  a  Hand-Lens — Book  of  April  and  May 

Flowers 130 

Notes  on  Recent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles 133 

Guide  to  Periodical  Literature,  September  1904  to  April  1905.    Ada  Watterson    .    .  136 
Questions  and  Answers 140 


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DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY 
IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

Published  Bi-Monthly :   January,  March,  May,  July,  September,  November. 

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EDITORIAL  COMMITTEE 

L.  H.  Bailey,  Dean  of  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
H.  W.  Fairbanks,  Geologist  and  Author  of  Text-books  of  Geography, 

Berkeley,  Cal. 
C.  F.  Hodge,  Professor  of  Biology,  Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass. 
J.  F.  WooDHULL,  Professor  of  Physical  Science,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  New  York  City. 
M.  A.  BiGELOW,  Adjunct  Professor  of  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  Managing  Editor. 

ADVISERS  AND    COLLABORATORS 

This  list  includes  only  names  of  those  7vho  in  advance  o/ the  first  pul>licario)i  pnun'sed  support  i o 
The  Review.    Many  others  have  since  given  tlieir  co-operation.    See  editorial  in  ^.'o.  2.  Mar.h. 

FROM.  GREAT  BRITAIN 

L.  C.  MiALL,  Professor  of  Biology,  Yorkshire  College. 

C.  L.  Morgan,  Principal  of  University  College,  Bristol.  England. 

J.  A.  Thomson,  Professor  of  Natural  History,  University  of  Aberdeen. 

FROM  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 

E.  A.  Andrews,  Professor  of  Biology,  Johns   Hopkins  University,  Baltimore. 

D.  L.  Bardwell,  District  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City. 

C.  E.  Bessey,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Nebraska,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

E.  F.  BiGELOW,  Departmental  Editor  of  St.  Nicholas  and  Lecturer, 

Stamford,  Conn, 
A.  C.  BoYDEN, Vice-Principal  of  Bridgewater  (Mass.)  Normal  School. 
E.  C.  Branson,  Principal  of  State  Normal  School,  Athens,  Ga. 
Bertram.  Brown,  Department  of  Biology,  Hyannis  (Mass.)  Normal  School. 
(  Continued  on  the  third  eover  pui^e.  ] 


THE   NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW 


CONTENTS  OF  No.   i,  JANUARY,  1905 

Introduction,  M.  A.  B.  Nature-Study  and  Natural  Science— A  Symposium,  H. 
W.  Fairbanks,  C.  F.  Hodge,  T.  H.  Macbride,  F.  L.  Stevens,  M.  A.  Bigelow.  Physical 
Nature-Study,  John  F.  Woodhull.  Nature-Study  and  Elementary  Agriculture  in 
Canada,  W.  H.  Muldrew.  Some  Recent  Criticisms  of  Nature-Study,  F.  M.  McMurry 
and  H.  E.  Armstrong.  Agriculture  in  Southern  Schools,  C.  W.  Burkett.  School- 
Gardens  at  Hartford  School  of  Horticulture,  H.  D.  Hemenway.  Ant-Nests  for  the 
School,  Adele  M.  Field.  Book  Reviews  and  Notes  on  Recent  Literature.  Guide  to 
Periodical  Literature,  Ada  Watterson. 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  2,  MARCH,  1905 

Educational  Values  and  Aims  of  Nature-Study,  Stanley  Coulter,  Harold  W. 
Fairbanks,  Maurice  A.  Bigelow.  Principles  of  Nature-Study,  John  M.  Coulter. 
Children's  Gardens  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  Illustrated,  Edna  R.  Thayer.  Why  Some 
School-Gardens  are  Failures,  T.  R.  Croswell.  Chemical  Tablets  for  Feeding  Plants 
Growmg  Without  Soil,  Illustrated,  Edward  F.  Bigelow.  A  Nature- Sudy  Lesson 
with  the  Molds,  F.  L.  Stevens.  Nature- Study  in  High  Schools,  M.  A.  Bigelow. 
Editorials:  Collaborators  of  the  Review — Articles  by  those  who  both  think  and  do — 
Original  Observations.  Book  Reviews  :  Animal  Stories  from  St,  Nicholas — How 
Nature-Study  should  be  taught — First  Principles  of  Agriculture — Bird  Life  Stories. 
Notes  on  Recent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles.  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature, 
II.,  Ada  Watterson.     News  Notes. 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  3,  MAY,   1905. 

Why  Many  Fail  in  Teaching  Nature-Study,  L.  A.  Hatch.  Peady-Made  Les- 
sons in  Nature-Study,  L.  C.  Miall.  Flower  Shows  in  City  Schools,  Alice  R. 
Northrop.  Observation  Bee-Hive  for  the  Schoolroom,  Anna  Botsford  Comstock. 
Window  Gardens  for  the  Schoolroom,  H.  D.  HemExWVAY.  A  Wild-Flower  Garden, 
Isabella  G.  Diggins.  Making  a  School  Lawn,  Margaret  T.  Brown.  Time  Required 
for  Nature-Study,  S.  B.  Sinclair.  Methods  of  Sherlock  Holmes  in  Nature-Study, 
E.  A.  G.  Lamborn.  Original  Observations  from  Elementary  Schools.  Book  Re- 
views :  ABC  of  Bee  Culture— Trees  of  North  America— Nature  Study  with  Common 
Things— Mosses  with  a  Hand-Lens — Book  of  April  and  May  Flowers.  Notes  on 
Recent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles.  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature,  Septem- 
ber 1904  to  April  1905,  Ada  Watterson.     Questions  and  Answers. 


JOHN  BURROUGHS 

in  his  introduction  to 

THE  NATURE  LIBRARY 

SAYS  : 

"  To  add  to  the  resources  of 
one's  life — think  how  much  that 
means  !  To  add  to  those  things 
ihat  make  us  more  at  home  in  the 
world  ;   that  help  guard  us  against 
ennui  and  stagnation  ;     that  invest 
the  country  with  new  interest  and  en- 
ticement ;  that  make  every  walk  in 
the  fields  or  woods  an  excursion  into 
a  land  of  unexhausted  treasures  ;  that 
make    the   returning   seasons    fill   us 
with    expectation    and    delight  ;    that 
make    every    rod  of    ground    like  the 
page  of  a  book,    in    which    new    and 
strange  things  may  be  read  ;    in  short 
those    things  that    help    keep    us   fresh 
and    sane    and    young,    and    make    us 
immune   to    the    strife  and  fever    of    the 
world."        These   are    the   words    of    the 
"Nature  Poet,"  and  admirably  do  they  ex- 
press  what   the   ten  superb  volumes  of  The 
Nature     Library    do    for    their    possessors. 
Every  day  adds  largely  to  the  number  of  homes, 
schools  and  libraries  now  possessing  the  work,  and  each 
new  owner  becomes  a  more  enthusiastic  learner  in  Nature's 
School.      You  will  be  interested  in  our  descriptive  booklet.      May  we 
send  you  one  of  them,  with  particulars  of  our  present  offer  ? 


DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  CO. 


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NEW  YORK 


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As  necessary  as  a  dictionary, 
and  far  more  interesting." 


THE 

NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

Vol.  I  MAY,  1905  No.  3 

WHY   MANY   FAIL   IN   TEACHING   NATURE -STUDY 

BY  LUTHER  A.  HATCH 
Principal  of  Training  School,  Northern  Illinois  State  Normal  School 

Many  fail  because  they  are  not  prepared  for  the  work.  There 
are  those  who  seem  to  think  that  anyone  who  can  teach  other 
subjects  in  the  grades  can  teach  nature-study.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  occasionally  a  teacher  is  found  who  is  born  so  short 
along  this  line  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  expect  her  to  do  anything  at 
the  work.  Nature  has  not  blessed  her  with  keen  observation ;  she 
scarcely  ever  thinks  of  the  many  problems  in  nature  about  her. 
Her  interests  lie  along  other  lines.  Her  stock  of  information 
and  her  disposition  to  inform  herself  are  limited.  She  sees 
nothing  to  teach  her  pupils.  She  does  not  possess  the  patience 
to  search  out  problems  and  to  carry  on,  for  an  indefinite  time, 
observations  which  lead  to  the  discovery  of  scientific  truths.  The 
spirit  of  investigation  is  foreign  to  her  thought.  She  cannot 
acquire  it  or  cause  others  to  do  so.  How  can  one  with  this  mental 
endowment  make  a  success  in  teaching  nature-study. 

To  succeed  one  must  be  filled  with  a  love  for  nature  and  have 
a  desire  to  know  more  of  her.  One  such  will  go  out  in  the  early 
morning,  at  noonday  and  in  the  twilight  and  listen  to  her  teach- 
ings, and  return  to  the  schoolroom  filled  with  new  life,  bearing 
rich  things  for  the  pupils.  In  turn  the  pupils  will  catch  the  infec- 
tion and  will  make  their  little  journeys  and  glean  rich  harvests. 

Again,  teachers  fail  to  discriminate  between  the  essential  and 
the  non-essential  in  their  teaching.  Oftentimes  the  trivial,  the 
unimportant,  receives  as  much  attention  in  the  recitation  as  that 
of  genuine  importance.     Pupils  are  left   in   the  dark  as  to  the 


98  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

relative  value  of  what  they  have  been  studying.  This  is  poor 
teaching.  The  teacher  should  not  ramble  anywhere  in  her  work 
as  fancy  or  the  whims  of  her  pupils  dictate,  but  she  should  study 
her  subject-matter  and  her  pupils,  so  that  essential  truths  may  be 
made  to  stand  out  in  the  recitation  like  mountain  peaks  against 
the  clear  sky.  This  clear-cut  teaching  can  be  done  in  nature-study 
as  well  as  in  other  studies.  While  flexibility  in  a  course  of  nature- 
study  is  a  thing  desired,  there  is  no  reason  why  looseness  in  one's 
method  in  the  recitation  should  be  tolerated. 

Nature-study  as  often  taught  has  a  tendency  to  make  of  the 
pupils  the  most  expert  of  liars.  The  writer  visited  a  third-grade 
recitation  a  few  days  ago.  The  teacher  asked,  "  How  many  have 
seen  a  fir  tree  ?  "  Up  came  nearly  every  hand  in  the  class.  The 
writer  doubts  very  much  if  a  single  member  of  the  class  ever  saw 
a  fir  tree.  On  a  cold  winter  day  a  teacher  asked,  ''  What  kind  of 
an  eye  has  a  toad  ?  "  Before  the  pupils  got  through  the  toad  had 
a  very  peculiar  assortment  of  eyes.  A  teacher  asked,  "  How 
many  have  seen  any  young  red-headed  woodpeckers  this  Spring  ?  " 
In  a  short  time  a  boy  who  knew  how  to  "  work  "  his  teacher  had 
a  post  actually  alive  with  red-headed  woodpeckers  projecting  their 
heads  out  of  knot-holes.  His  principal  happened  to  enter  and 
suggested  that  the  boy  go  with  him  after  school  to  the  post  in 
question.  The  boy's  memory  grew  dim  as  to  where  the  post  was 
located ;  he  finally  said  that  he  did  not  see  it  but  that  his  sister  did 
and  told  him.  In  the  end  he  had  to  admit  that  he  made  up  the 
story  for  the  occasion.  In  the  same  recitation  there  were  several 
other  similar  stories,  all  produced  because  the  teacher  urged 
something,  because  she  accepted  whatever  was  given  her,  and 
because  pupils  had  discovered  that  they  could  fool  her.  The 
teacher  must  know  what  pupils  should  see  and  be  a  skilled  ques- 
tioner to  head  ofif  this  tendency  to  see  things  that  do  not  exist  and 
to  image  things  that  cannot  be.  The  habit  of  truthfulness  needs 
to  become  a  part  of  the  pupil's  training  or  one  of  the  great  lessons 
gained  through  nature-study  will  be  lost. 

Quite  a  common  pedagogical  blunder  is  committed  by  the 
nature-study  teacher  in  forcing  conclusions  upon  her  pupils.  It 
often  comes  about  in  this  way :  The  teacher  has  thought  through 
her  subject-matter;  she  has  made  her  observations  and  reached 
her  conclusions ;  everything  seems  clear  to  her  mind.  Why  should 
it  not  be  clear  to  her  pupils?     This  she  assumes  to  be  the  case 


hatch]      why  many  fail  IN  TEACHING  NATURE-STUDY  99 

and  upon  this  basis  doles  out  her  generaUzations,  forgetting  that 
they  may  be  worse  than  meaningless  to  her  pupils  when  gained 
by  them  in  this  unnatural  way.  For  some  teachers  it  is  easier  to 
think  for  pupils  than  it  is  to  get  them  to  think  for  themselves. 
Such  teachers  are  better  at  teaching  their  subjects  than  they  are 
at  teaching  pupils.  They  wonder  why  it  is  necessary  to  teach 
again  a  subject  that  has  once  been  presented  clearly.  Pupils 
must  do  their  own  thinking  and  reach  their  own  conclusions  if 
they  are  to  be  of  any  value  to  them.  Above  all  things  the  teacher 
of  nature-study  needs  to  cultivate  open-mindedness  on  the  part 
of  her  pupils.  They  must  be  ready  to  change  conclusions  pre- 
viously reached,  if  further  investigation  and  thought  demand  that 
the  change  be  made.  They  need  to  learn  to  base  judgment  upon 
reliable  evidence.  They  need  to  know  what  to  class  as  reliable 
evidence.  They  need  to  be  discouraged  in  basing  conclusions 
upon  insufficient  data.  Right  here  it  is  hard  for  some  teachers 
to  go  slowly.  They  are  in  such  a  hurry  to  tabulate  and  pigeon- 
hole every  scrap  of  knowledge  that  the  child  has  that  they  can't 
wait  to  let  the  child  do  some  of  this  work  for  himself  later  in  life 
when  there  is  a  necessity  for  it. 

Nature-study  is  peculiar  in  that  the  material  dealt  with,  for  the 
most  part,  is  at  first  hand.  This  being  true  the  teacher  who  tries 
to  teach  this  subject  without  sufficient  suitable  material  on  hand, 
or  within  the  reach  of  the  child  when  it  is  needed,  misses  the 
pith  of  the  whole  matter.  There  is  a  pathetic  side  to  nature-study 
which  manifests  itself,  for  instance,  when  a  teacher  stands  before 
her  class  with  a  dead  apple  twig  six  inches  in  length  in  her  hand 
and  attempts  to  teach  her  pupils  about  the  apple  bud  and  how 
it  is  fitted  to  be  protected  during  the  winter.  The  humor  of  the 
situation  becomes  apparent  when  the  class  is  studying  life  and 
it  is  largely  done  through  the  study  of  dead  specimens  of  plants 
and  animals.  As  a  rule  dead  plants  and  animals  do  not  manifest 
life.  Pupils  are  intensely  interested,  generally,  in  the  study  of 
life  under  different  forms  and  conditions.  About  it  the  most 
interesting  of  problems  cluster.  These  problems  suggest  to  us 
an  ideal  method  of  instruction.  When  we  can  present  our  work 
to  our  pupils  in  the  form  of  a  problem,  or  a  series  of  related 
problems,  we  have  solved  in  a  large  measure  the  problem  of 
teaching.  These  problems  are  found  in  the  material  of  nature- 
study,  hence  the  importance  of  having  that  material  at  hand  when 


lOO  THE   NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

it  is  needed  in  the  process  of  education.  It  need  not  be  implied 
by  what  has  been  said  that  the  child  must  always  be  wallowing 
up  to  his  ears  in  material.  There  are  times  when  he  should 
depend  upon  what  has  been  observed.  However  most  teachers 
will  err  by  not  having  enough  material  on  hand  when  it  is  needed, 
rather  than  by  having  too  much. 

Again,  there  are  teachers  who  seem  to  think  that  they  must 
develop  everything  in  nature-study.  The  recitation  resolves  itself 
into  a  pumping  process.  The  operator  works  hard  and  overtime 
at  this  educational  pump,  with  now  and  then  a  spasmodic  wheeze 
as  a  result.  The  well  is  dry.  The  pump  is  primed  with  questions 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  during  a  twenty-minute  recitation. 
The  result  is  a  crop  of  stories  made  up  to  fit  the  demand.  Others 
go  fishing  for  ideas,  using  every  kind  of  bait  known  to  the  peda- 
gogical angler.  Occasionally  a  nibble  gives  hopes  to  the  fisher- 
man and  he  feels  certain  that  he  is  about  to  land  an  educational 
trout,  but  as  he  reels  in  his  line  he  finds  that  he  has  nothing  but 
a  bunch  of  weeds  from  the  bottom  of  the  stream.  There  is  no  use 
fishing  where  there  are  no  fish. 

Occasionally  a  teacher  gets  the  idea  that  nature-study  teaching 
consists  in  carrying  on,  before  her  class,  a  series  of  entertain- 
ments along  the  line  of  experiments,  something  of  the  pyrotechnic 
order.  If  these  are  carried  on  long  enough  pupils  will  lose  in- 
terest in  the  more  common  things  about  them  and  hunger  for  a 
show  when  the  nature-study  period  arrives.  There  are  times 
when  these  experiments  are  just  the  thing,  but  as  a  rule  an  experi- 
ment is  a  difficult  thing  for  the  child  mind  to  comprehend  because 
nature  is  tampered  with  and  the  child  cannot  see  the  setting  of 
what  takes  place.  It  is  quite  essential  that  we  cultivate  in  the 
child  the  right  mental  attitude  for  the  common  things  about  him 
and  that  he  comes  to  see  in  them  that  which  is  worthy  of  his 
attention. 


MiALL]  READY-MADE    LESSONS    IN    NATURE-STUDY  loi 


READY-MADE  LESSONS  IN  NATURE-STUDY 

BY  L.  C.  MIALL,  F.R.S. 
Professor  in  the  University  of  Leeds  and  in  the  Royal  Institution 

[Editorial  Note. — The  article  below  is  an  extract  from  the  introduction 
to  Professor  Miall's  "House,  Garden  and  Field"  (London,  Arnold;  New 
York,  Longmans)  which  will  be  reviewed  in  the  next  issue  of  The  Re- 
view. It  deserves  re-publication  here  for  the  reasons  that  perhaps  a 
majority  of  readers  are  prone  to  overlook  prefaces  to  books  and,  at  any 
rate,  the  book  in  this  case  will  not  be  accessible  to  a  very  large  number  of 
the  readers  of  this  journal] 

I  have,  received  a  good  deal  of  advice  from  teachers  and  others 
as  to  the  kind  of  book  on  nature-study  that  is  really  wanted, 
and  I  will  begin  by  explaining  how  it  is  that  I  have  found  it 
undesirable  to  attempt  exactly  what  my  friends  expect.  They 
expect,  it  would  seem,  ready-made  lessons  on  a  variety  of  inter- 
esting and  easy  topics.  The  teacher,  they  tell  me,  has  neither 
the  time  nor  the  knowledge  to  prepare  lessons  of  his  own.  Since 
lessons  on  nature-study  are  demanded,  they  must  be  drawn  up 
for  him,  and  put  into  his  hands  complete.  It  is  quite  true,  I 
sorrowfully  admit,  that  many  teachers  have  no  time  for  study. 
That  is  almost  the  same  thing  as  admitting  that  they  have  not 
time  to  teach  well,  for  it  is  only  those  who  are  always  increasing 
their  own  knowledge  who  can  hope  to  become  inspiring  teachers. 
Knowledge,  to  be  stimulating,  must  be  kept  alive  by  personal 
effort;  it  cannot  be  acquired  once  for  all. 

This  is  true,  I  believe,  of  all  teaching,  but  it  is  especially  true 
of  nature-study.  For  the  primary  aim  of  nature-study  is  to  set 
up  the  habit  of  observation,  and  to  keep  alive  that  love  of  nature 
which  shows  itself  in  most  unspoilt  human  beings.  If  the  teacher 
does  all  the  observation  himself,  his  pupils  are  defrauded  of  their 
fair  share,  though  they  may  possibly  catch  something  from  him 
of  the  spirit  of  inquiry.  But  if  the  teacher  too  gets  all  his  knowl- 
edge without  effort,  then  the  so-called  nature-study  which  he  dis- 
penses has  no  more  power  to  excite  the  love  of  nature  or  the 
spirit  of  inquiry  than  a  printed  list  of  the  kings  of  England  with 
dates.  These  considerations  lead  me  to  believe  that  it  will  be 
a  greater  service  to  start,  if  I  can,  the  habit  of  observation  and 
inquiry  in  some  few  teachers  than  to  furnish  a  great  many  ready- 
made  lessons. 


I02  THE   NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

I  do  not,  however,  think  it  superfluous  or  mischievous  to  print 
from  time  to  time  examples  of  ready-made  lessons.  The  most 
independent  of  teachers  can  profit  by  seeing  how  another  man 
goes  to  work;  and  he  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  be  as  solicitous  to 
note  faults  which  he  is  to  avoid  as  merits  which  he  is  to  imitate. 
Of  course,  the  facilities  thus  afforded  will  be  abused  by  some. 
There  are  persons  in  all  professions  whom  no  pressure  of  cir- 
cumstances would  induce  to  think  for  themselves.  But  a  teacher 
of  any  spirit  will  at  least  throw  the  information  and  the  hints 
which  he  gets  from  another  into  a  form  of  his  own,  and  will 
carry  on  many  inquiries  which  cannot  be  expected  to  issue  in 
school-lessons. 

The  belief  is  prevalent  that  the  training  of  teachers  in  nature- 
study  means  supplying  them  with  a  number  of  lessons  which  can 
be  directly  reproduced  in  the  schoolroom.  Several  objections  to 
this  time-saving  method  force  themselves  upon  the  attention. 
The  teachers  are  put  into  a  servile  attitude;  they  are  made  into 
vehicles  for  transmitting  (no  doubt  with  much  dilution  and  some 
loss  of  accuracy)  lessons  which  another  person  has  drawn  up.  The 
lessons  as  given  to  the  teachers  are  not  real  lessons,  nor  are  the 
teachers  really  trained,  for  the  laying  up  in  a  note-book  of  mate- 
rials for  future  lessons  does  not  deserve  the  name  of  training. 
A  printed  book  would  answer  the  purpose  in  view  better  than 
any  lecture;  the  book  is  both  more  extensive  and  more  accurate 
than  any  old  lecture-notes.  I  have  understood  my  duties  differ- 
ently, and  address  a  class  of  teachers  in  training  as  persons 
whose  powers  are  to  be  cultivated.  Such  tasks  are  assigned  to 
them  as  they  are  fit  for ;  the  explanations  and  questions  are 
adapted  to  their  present  knowledge  and  capacity.  To  offer  them 
a  lesson  suitable  for  a  class  of  children  would  be  impossible,  and 
even  if  it  were  possible,  would  give  a  wrong  notion  of  what  the 
lesson  should  aim  at.  A  lesson  at  its  best  is  an  inquiry,  worked 
out  between  the  teacher  and  his  class.  Train  the  teachers  to 
observe,  to  reflect,  to  express  their  meaning  in  clear  language, 
and  to  arrange  the  matter  of  their  lessons  in  a  good  order,  but 
leave  them  entirely  free  to  choose  their  own  subjects,  and  to 
handle  them  in  their  own  way. 

Though  the  teacher,  even  if  fortunate,  cannot  expect  to  be  able 
to  devote  a  large  part  of  his  time  to  study,  the  hours  that  he  can 
now  and  then  spend  in  study  will  be  of  great  use,  both  to  him  and 


miall]  ready-made    LESSONS    IN    NATURE-STUDY  103 

to  his  pupils.  If  he  is  only  able  to  get  up  with  due  thoroughness 
a  single  new  lesson  a  year,  that  lesson  will  influence  all  the  rest. 
I  have  heard  of  a  schoolmaster  who  had  mastered  by  his  own 
efforts  the  movements  and  phases  of  the  moon,  and  taught  that 
one  thing  heartily  and  well.  No  mean  result,  I  thought,  but  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  hear  that  he  was  adding  a  fresh  topic 
to  his  stock  every  year;  less  than  that  would  not  fix  him  in  the 
right  attitude. 

Whether  the  living  things  that  share  our  dwellings,  or  seek 
their  food  in  our  gardens  and  fields,  make  the  best  possible  matter 
for  school-lessons  or  not,  the  student  of  nature  is  bound  to  attend 
to  them.  They  are  what  the  mother-tongue  is  to  the  student  of 
languages,  what  the  fatherland  is  to  the  student  of  history.  A 
man  who  knows  nothing  about  the  flowers  of  his  own  window- 
boxes  and  his  own  flower-beds,  nothing  about  the  plants  which 
raise  food  for  him,  or  the  insects  which  devour  what  he  had 
hoped  to  enjoy,  nothing  about  the  minute  forms  of  life  which 
bring  fertility  to  the  soil,  or  fatal  disease  to  the  household, 
nothing  about  house-flies  and  hive-bees  and  bacteria — such  an 
one  may  call  himself  a  naturalist,  may  indeed  have  a  right  to  the 
name,  but  he  has  need  of  deep  knowledge  of  some  other  kind  to 
escape  the  accusation  of  blindness  and  indifference.  What  oppor- 
tunities of  enlarging  his  knowledge  of  life  has  he  allowed  to 
escape  him ! 

We  want  fresh  helpers  for  the  preparation  of  new  nature- 
studies.  There  must  be  a  large  number  of  teachers  who  could 
now  and  then  write  a  good  one.  The  difficulty  (and  a  very 
serious  difiiculty  it  is)  would  be  to  pick  out  the  really  useful 
lessons  from  the  rest.  Such  questions  as  follow  might  be  some 
guide  in  the  estimation  of  merit. 

Has  the  writer  made  out  anything,  great  or  small,  that  was  not 
known  before?  Does  he  employ  new  methods  of  inquiry,  or 
new  methods  of  teaching?  Is  the  plan  of  the  lesson  natural, 
attractive,  and  likely  to  aid  the  memory  ?  Is  the  language  simple 
and  expressive?  Can  the  pupils  do  work  for  themselves  upon 
the  subject  of  the  lesson?  Does  the  lesson  contain  any  good 
experiment?     Is  it  illustrated  by  new  and  careful  drawings? 

I  am  quite  sure  that  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  getting  any 
lesson  published  which  came  out  well  from  such  an  interrogation, 
and  I  believe  that  to  write  once  in  a  way  with  all  possible  care 


I04  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

a  lesson  which  was  to  appear  in  print  would  be  a  valuable  dis- 
cipline for  the  more  ambitious  of  our  young  teachers.  I  should 
like  to  see  the  preparation  of  new  nature-studies  organized  a 
little. 


FLOWER   SHOWS   IN   CITY   SCHOOLS 

BY  ALICE  R.  NORTHROP 
Lecturer  on  Botany  and  Nature-Study,  New  York  City 

In  many  parts  of  New  York  City  are  children  who  neyer  see 
any  growing  thing — children  to  whom  the  world  of  trees  and 
birds,  flowers  and  brooks,  is  a  sealed  book.  Nature-study  has 
finally  won  a  place  in  the  school-curriculum,  but  where  to  get  the 
"  nature  "  to  study  is  often  a  most  diflicult  problem.  The  ideal 
way  is  to  take  the  children  to  the  woods  and  fields;  but  except 
in  a  few  instances,  this  cannot  be  done  under  existing  conditions. 
The  work  briefly  described  below  suggests  one  way  in  which  the 
gap  between  the  children  and  nature  may  be  bridged,  at  least 
occasionally. 

While  visiting  a  "  Wild- Flower  Show,"  given  by  the  Storm- 
King  Club  of  Cornwall,  N.  Y.,  in  1893,  it  occurred  to  the  writer 
that  here  was  a  plan  that  might  be  profitably  transported  to  the 
city.  Accordingly,  the  following  spring  a  wild-flower  show  was 
given  in  the  library  of  the  New  York  City  Normal  College  by 
the  Natural  Science  Committee  of  the  Associate  Alumnae,  of 
which  committee  the  writer  was  then  chairman.  The  members 
of  the  committee  and  their  friends  collected  the  flowers,  of  which 
over  one  hundred  species  were  on  exhibition,  all  classified  and 
labelled.  This  we  believe  was  the  first  wild-flower  show  ever 
given  in  New  York  City.  The  College  students,  the  children  of 
the  adjoining  Training  School,  the  pupils  of  neighboring  schools, 
and  many  adult  visitors  greatly  enjoyed  the  exhibition.  It  was 
so  successful  that  six  more  were  given  under  the  same  auspices 
between  1894  and  1900. 

As  the  exhibitions  became  better  known,  many  more  teachers 
wanted  to  bring  their  children,  even  from  distant  parts  of  the  city. 
But  the  children  to  whom  the  flowers  would  be  the  greatest  revela- 
tion were  just  those  who  could  not  afford  the  necessary  car- fare. 
In  order  to  reach  these,  permission  was  secured  from  the  proper 


NORTHROP]  FLOWER  SHOWS  IN  CITY  SCHOOLS  I05 

authorities  in  1900  allowing  us  to  give  the  exhibitions  in  the 
public  schools.  Their  scope  was  widened  and  garden  flowers  as 
well  as  fruits  and  vegetables  were  included.  The  Public  Educa- 
tion Association  now  took  an  active  interest  in  the  work  and 
appointed  a  Nature-Material  Committee,  to  whose  helpful  cooper- 
ation much  of  the  success  of  the  exhibitions  is  due. 

From  1900  to  1903  three  flower  shows  were  given  each  year. 
The  first  was  held  early  in  May  so  that  Arbor  Day  would  be 
included,  and  special  efforts  were  made  to  have  the  trees  largely 
represented.  A  second  spring  show  was  given  two  or  sometimes 
three  weeks  later,  when  not  infrequently  nearly  two  hundred  kinds 
of  flowers  were  on  exhibition ;  and  a  fall  show  was  held  about  the 
middle  of  October,  when  fruits  and  vegetables  formed  a  promi- 
nent part  of  the  exhibits.  In  December  of  1903  a  fourth  or  mid- 
winter exhibition  was  given  of  such  miscellaneous  material  as 
could  be  collected  at  that  season  of  the  year  or  kept  over  from 
the  summer ;  for  example,  birds'  nests,  wasps'  nests,  cocoons,  galls, 
shells,  starfish,  lichens,  woody  fungi,  budding  twigs  and  ever- 
greens. The  experiment  proved  a  success  and  so  evidently  filled 
a  need  of  the  schools  that  the  plan  was  continued  and  a  second 
midwinter  show  has  just  been  given.  This  was  found  to  be  so 
helpful  that,  at  the  general  request  of  principal,  teachers  and  the 
district  superintendent,  it  was  kept  open  for  ten  days  in  order 
that  the  children  and  teachers  of  the  neighboring  schools  might 
profit  by  it.  Being  given  in  a  building  used  as  a  Girls'  Recrea- 
tion Center,  it  was  open  evenings  as  well  as  by  day.  In  all, 
seven  exhibitions  have  been  given  in  the  schools,  each  time  in 
a  different  building  but  always  in  sections  where  work  of  this 
kind  is  most  needed  and  where  we  find  principal  and  teachers 
willing  to  cooperate  with  us. 

As  a  rule,  the  only  available  space  for  the  exhibitions  is  a  por- 
tion of  the  playground  on  the  ground  floor.  Saw-horses  and 
planks,  kindly  provided  by  the  Supply  Department  of  the  Board 
of  Education  and  sent  from  school  to  school  as  they  are  needed, 
furnish  the  necessary  tables.  As  flower-holders  we  use  all  the 
pails,  jars,  pitchers,  etc.,  available  in  the  building,  supplemented 
by  vessels  of  all  sorts  and  kinds,  proudly  loaned  by  the  children, 
who  like  to  feel  that  they  are  helping. 

While  we  strive  to  make  the  exhibitions  as  attractive  as  pos- 
sible from  the  artistic  standpoint,   still,  as  has  been   said,  their 


io6  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

main  purpose  is  educational  and  we  want  the  little  visitors  to  carry 
away  something  besides  the  impression  of  beauty.  Hence  all  the 
specimens  are  distinctly  labelled  with  the  common  names  (we  now 
use  permanent  tin  labels  with  black  lettering).  The  wild  flowers 
and  the  cultivated  plants  are  arranged  on  separate  tables,  and 
when  our  specimens  warrant  it,  the  former  are  grouped  as  the 
*'  flowers  of  the  field,"  "  flowers  of  the  woods  "  and  "  flowers  of 
the  swamps,"  the  first  mentioned  having  when  possible  a  back- 
ground of  common  grasses.  The  flowers  producing  edible  fruits 
have  a  table  by  themselves  with  specimens  showing  the  young 
fruit  forming.  Another  table  is  given  up  to  the  lower  plants. 
Here  are  lichens,  fern  clumps  springing  out  of  velvety  moss  that 
the  children  delight  to  feel,  and  there  are  often  horse-tails,  club- 
mosses  and  colonies  of  puff-balls  that  the  children  never  tire  of 
''  making  smoke."  Several  times  we  have  had  a  miniature 
swamp  or  bog  with  pitcher-plant,  cranberry  vines  and  sphagnum- 
moss  surrounding  a  tiny  pool  (in  a  tin  basin),  in  which  a  small 
turtle  and  some  tadpoles  disported  themselves.  In  the  fall  we 
have  an  array  of  nuts  in  their  shells  and  other  fruits  arranged 
according  to  their  method  of  dispersal. 

It  takes  at  least  half  a  day  to  arrange  the  exhibits,  and  it  has 
not  been  found  possible  to  keep  the  flowers  more  than  three  days  or 
four  unless  much  fresh  material  is  sent  in.  The  principal  of  the 
school  divides  the  available  time  among  his  classes.  It  has  been 
found  that  the  children  gain  much  more  when  they  see  the  flowers 
two  or  three  times  and  have  an  opportunity  to  talk  them  over  with 
each  other  and  with  their  teachers.  At  the  first  visit  they  are  too 
much  overwhelmed  to  take  in  details. 

That  there  was  great  need  of  just  this  kind  of  work  the  fol- 
lowing statistics,  based  on  data  carefully  collected  by  the  teachers 
and  principals,  certainly  goes  to  prove.  It  was  found  that  in  one 
school,  with  an  attendance  of  1,353,  76  per  cent  of  the  children 
had  never  been  to  the  country;  and  in  another,  with  an  attend- 
ance of  over  a  thousand,  the  percentage  was  36,  while  half  the 
pupils  had  never  seen  even  Central  Park.  In  another  school,  30 
per  cent  of  the  932  children  in  attendance  had  never  been  out  of 
the  city ;  in  a  second  the  percentage  was  67 ;  while  in  still  another 
it  was  40.  In  two  instances  we  were  told  by  the  principal  that 
she  fully  believed  there  were  children  in  her  school  who  had 
never  seen  grass  growing. 


NORTHROP]  FLOWER  SHOWS  IN  CITY  SCHOOLS  107 

As  a  natural  consequence  of  the  above  conditions,  we  found 
that  many  of  the  children  did  not  recognize  the  most  common 
flowers,  either  wild  or  cultivated.  For  instance,  out  of  a  class 
of  55,  Grade  i  B,  only  a  single  child  knew  a  clover  blossom;  of 
a  class  of  52,  Grade  2  A,  four  did  not  know  a  daisy,  seven  a 
buttercup  and  twelve  a  dandelion ;  of  a  class  of  34,  Grade  4  B, 
comprising  children  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  three  did 
not  know  a  daisy  and  twelve  a  dandelion,  though  doubtless  all 
of  them  could  recite  poems  about  the  flowers  in  question.  I  am 
pleased  to  be  able  to  state  that  every  child  in  this  school  had 
either  daisies  or  buttercups  to  take  home  and  become  acquainted 
with.  Examples  of  this  kind  might  be  repeated  indefinitely. 
Suflice  it  to  add  that  marigolds  as  well  as  dogwood,  apple  blos- 
soms and  many  others  were  indiscriminately  called  "  roses,"  and 
that  ferns  were  invariably  termed  "  soup  greens  "  by  numbers 
of  the  children.  That  the  children's  knowledge  of  common  animal 
forms  was  quite  as  limited  was  unexpectedly  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing incident.  A  "  brown  bear  "  caterpillar  chanced  to  arrive 
in  a  box  of  autumn  flowers  and  was  taken  by  the  principal  through 
most  of  the  class-rooms.  It  proved  to  be  unknown  to  the  great 
majority  of  the  pupils,  who  variously  called  it  a  "  frog,"  "  lizard," 
"  snake,"  "  grasshopper  "  and  "  worm."  Yet  apparently  every 
child,  when  told  what  it  was,  could  glibly  inform  us  that  a  cater- 
pillar turns  into  a  chrysalis  and  then  comes  out  a  moth  or  a 
butterfly!  Since  then  an  effort  has  always  been  made  to  have 
a  ''caterpillar  corner "  where  a  few  common  caterpillars  are 
shown  and  often  also  grasshoppers,  crickets,  spiders,  and  some- 
times frogs  and  toads.  One  may  judge  from  the  above  facts  what 
a  revelation  the  nature  exhibitions  are  to  these  unfortunate  city- 
bound  children. 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  above  data  were  collected  in  1900. 
1 90 1  and  1902,  and  that  at  the  two  exhibitions  that  have  been 
held  since  the  new  nature-study  course  has  been  in  operation,  it 
was  evident  that  the  year's  work  in  that  subject  had  done  much 
for  both  children  and  teachers.  Special  efforts  are  made  to  help 
the  latter  by  illustrating  the  grade  work  as  far  as  we  can  by 
having  as  many  of  the  plants  and  animals  mentioned  in  the  syl- 
labus as  possible ;  and  the  midwinter  show  was  instituted  to  pro- 
vide them  with  the  birds'  nests,  wasps'  nests,  budding  twigs  and 
evergreens.     In  addition,  wdienever  the  teachers  wish  it — and  they 


lo8  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,  may  1905 

are  usually  very  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  the  offer — they  are 
piloted  about  the  exhibition  when  the  children  are  not  there  and 
a  running  talk  is  given  on  the  specimens,  bringing  out  their 
special  points  of  interest,  also  directing  how  to  keep  them  and 
make  the  most  of  them  in  their  class-rooms.  At  the  close  of  the 
exhibition  everything  that  can  be  kept  is  taken  to  the  school- 
rooms to  do  duty  again  in  the  regular  nature-study  work,  often 
to  serve  as  models  for  drawing  and  subjects  for  compositions. 
All  else  is  distributed  among  the  children,  and  usually  the  common 
flowers  are  received  in  such  generous  quantities  that  many  boxes 
may  be  sent  directly  to  the  schoolrooms  and  given  out  to  the  chil- 
dren at  once.  Many  times  every  child  in  the  school  has  had  at 
least  one  or  two  flowers  to  take  home. 

Our  flowers  and  specimens  come  from  many  different  people 
and  from  many  places,  not  only  in  New  York,  New  Jersey  and 
Connecticut,  but  sometimes  from  an  even  greater  distance.  Many 
generous  boxes  come  from  the  country  estates  of  wealthy  people 
who  have  been  interested  in  the  work,  many  through  personal 
friends  of  the  workers.  The  Park  Commissioner  has  sent  us  gen- 
erous contributions  from  Central  Park  ever  since  the  work  began, 
principally  branches  of  shrubs  and  trees ;  and  near-by  chapters 
of  the  National  Plant,  Flower  and  Fruit  Guild  have  frequently 
contributed.  For  a  number  of  years  various  Junior  Naturalist 
Clubs  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  John  W.  Spencer  sent  great 
boxes  of  flowers,  often  the  largess  of  their  own  little  gardens.  A 
number  of  schools,  many  of  them  in  the  country,  have  sent  to  us 
regularly.  It  seems  a  particularly  happy  arrangement  to  have 
these  country  children  send  of  their  abundance  to  their  less  fortu- 
nate city  cousins,  and  we  feel  that  the  work  benefits  both  ends  of 
the  line.  Sometimes  individual  names  will  come  with  each  bunch 
of  flowers ;  in  this  case  each  child  receives  a  note  of  thanks  from 
the  city  boy  or  girl  who  receives  the  flowers.  The  names  of  all 
the  donors  are  kept,  and  the  children  write  letters  of  thanks  as 
part  of  their  work  in  English.  These  letters  are  often  very  inter- 
esting, telling  of  the  flowers  that  pleased  them  most,  how  they 
"  never  dreamed  there  could  be  so  many  kinds  of  flowers  " ;  how 
they  had  often  read  about  certain  flowers  but  ''  had  no  idea  they 
looked  like  that,"  and  almost  always,  "  what  a  nice  smell  the 
flowers  had  " — that  seems  to  appeal  to  them  all. 

In  order  that  zeal  for  the  flower  shows  will  not  tend  to  the 


comstock]  observation     BEE-HIVE  109 

destruction  of  any  of  our  wild  plants,  those  who  send  are  re- 
quested to  cut  the  flowers  carefully,  not  to  send  roots,  and  when 
a  flower  is  rare  in  any  locality,  not  to  gather  it  at  all.  Many 
flowers  are  collected  in  the  suburbs  of  New  York  City,  but  in 
these  cases  the  collections  are  made  on  the  land  that  is  there  being 
constantly  invaded  for  building  purposes.  No  effort  is  made  to 
secure  the  rarer  wild  flowers  except  a  few,  such  as  the  arbutus 
and  the  fringed  gentian  that  the  children  have  learned  poems 
about  and  whose  acquaintance  they  make  with  delight.  The  most 
common  flowers,  as  we  have  seen,  are  rarities  to  the  children  and 
we  try  to  have  these  in  such  abundance  that  they  will  never  forget 
them.  We  often  have  pails  and  pails  full  of  cherry  and  apple 
blossoms,  of  lilacs  and  dogwood,  asters,  goldenrod  and  daisies ; 
and  basins  heaped  high  with  buttercups,  violets,  star  of  Bethlehem 
and  clover. 

In  conclusion,  the  principals  of  the  schools  in  which  the  exhibi- 
tions have  been  given  all  testify  to  the  lasting  impressiofl  they 
make  on  the  children  and  to  the  impetus  given  to  nature-study 
throughout  the  school.  This  reaches  the  teachers  as  well  as  the 
children,  for  in  many  cases  these  shows  are  a  revelation  to  the 
former  as  well  as  the  latter.  A  number  of  the  superintendents 
are  now  interested  in  the  work,  and  last  year  some  good  photo- 
graphs were  taken  for  the  Public  School  Exhibit  at  St.  Louis. 


OBSERVATION   BEE-HIVE   FOR   THE    SCHOOLROOM 

BY  ANNA  BOTSFORD  COMSTOCK 
Cornell  University 

The  habits  of  social  insects  are  most  interesting  from  the  human 
standpoint.  We  are  interested  in  them  because  of  the  successful 
socialism  that  prevails  in  the  bee-hive,  the  ant-nest  and  the  wasp 
habitation ;  the  perfect  way  they  manage  their  communal  affairs 
is  to  us  nothing  less  than  marvellous,  especially  since  there  is  no 
one  individual  who  directs  the  work  which  seems  to  be  started, 
continued  and  finished  through  a  consensus  of  public  opinion.  It 
is  only  of  late  that  observation  nests  have  been  devised  so  that 
we  are  able  to  verify  for  ourselves  the  wonderful  tales  which  the 
earlier  naturalists  have  written  for  us  concerning  the  lives  of 
these  small  socialists. 


no  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

The  observation  hive  for  the  study  of  bees  is  simply  con- 
structed and  can  be  made  by  any  one  who  is  at  all  familiar  with 
the  use  of  tools ;  it  is  also  an  excellent  piece  of  work  for  the  pupils 
in  manual-training  classes  to  construct.  It  consists  of  a  small 
hive  with  panes  of  glass  at  the  sides  and  is  placed  in  the  room 


Fig.  I  — An  ordinary  bee-hive  made  into  an  observation  hive  by  inserting  glass  panes  in  sides  and 
putting  a  glass  sheet  under  the  wooden  cover.  Drawn  from  hive  in  Professor  Kellogg's  laboratory. 
(From  Kellogg's  "American  Insects,"  copyright  1904,  by  Holt  &  Co.). 

with  the  entrance  arranged  so  that  the  bees  may  pass  in  and  out 
of  a  raised  window.  We  have  used  for  this  an  ordinary  Lang- 
stroth  hive ;  panes  of  glass  were  inserted  at  the^  sides  and  on  the 
top,  over  which  boards  were  fastened  when  we  were  not  observ- 
ing, so  that  the  bees  would  be  content  since  they  were  always  in 
the  dark.  We  placed  this  hive  on  a  table  with  the  entrance  on 
a  window-sill ;  the  sash  was  lifted  an  inch  or  so  and  to  keep  the 
bees  from  crawling  back  into  the  room  a  strip  of  wood  two  inches 
in  thickness  was  introduced  beneath  the  sash  except  in  front  of 
the  entrance  of  the  hive,  thus  closing  the  space  made  by  lifting 
the  window. 

An  excellent  observation  hive  is  one  devised  and  used  by  Pro- 
fessor V.  L.  Kellogg  in  his  laboratory  at  Stanford  University, 
and  which  any  carpenter  can  easily  construct.  It  consists  of  a 
box  with  glass  sides,  large  enough  to  hold  two  Langstroth  frames 
one  above  the  other.  Thus  both  sides  of  each  comb  are  exposed 
and  an  individual  bee  may  be  kept  constantly  in  sight  while  she 


comstock] 


OBSERVATION     DEE-HIVE 


III 


is  working.  A  passageway  that  leads  from  the  entrance  of  the 
hive  to  the  exit  at  the  window  has  a  glass  top,  so  the  interesting 
performances  of  the  bees  passing  in  and  out  while  at  work  and 
the  actions  of  the  sentinels  which  guard  the  entrance  may  be 
observed.  This  hive  has  black  curtains  hung  over  it  when  not 
in  use.     If  the  glass  is  not  kept  covered  most  of  the  time  so  that 


Fig.  2.  — An  observation  hive  holding  only  two  frames,  with  the  two  sides  who  iy  of  glass,  so  that 
any  single  bee  can  be  continuously  watched.  Drawn  from  hive  in  Professor  Kellogg's  laboratory. 
(From  Kellogg's  "  American  Insects,"  copyright  1904,  by  Holt  &  Co.). 

the  interior  of  the  hive  is  dark,  the  bees  will  take  the  matter  in 
charge  and  curtain  the  inside  of  the  glass  with  propolis  or  bee- 
glue,  thus  shutting  out  intrusive  eyes.  I  remember  once  a  Sister 
teaching  in  a  parochial  school  came  to  me  in  much  perplexity; 
she  had  taken  great  pains  to  introduce  an  observation  hive  of 
bees  into  her  schoolroom,  and  not  knowing  that  the  bees  wished 
to  have  their  home  entirely  dark,  she  failed  to  cover  the  glass  in 
the  slides  of  the  hive;  the  bees,  therefore,  did  it  for  themselves 
so  well  that  after  the  first  few  days  her  pupils  were  unable  to  make 
any  observations. 


112 


THE    NAl  URE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,   3,   may   1905 


The  A.  I.  Root  Co.,  of  Medina,  Ohio,  have  a  very  pretty  obser- 
vatfon  hive  which  they  have  put  on  the  market  at  a  most  reason- 
able figure.  They  will  ship  it  all  set  up,  and  if  wished,  filled 
with  Italian  bees  and  queen.  This  hive  comes  in  several  sizes 
and  ranges  in  price  from  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  to  four  dollars  all 
stocked  with  bees.  I  would  advise  the  size  containing  one  frame 
below  and  a  super  of  four  sections  for  honey  above.  These  sec- 
tions should  be  ordered  with  starters  for  comb  foundation  in  them, 
so  that  the  whole  process  of  building  the  comb  may  be  observed. 
Dr.  Edward  F.  Bigelow,  of  Stamford,  Conn.,  has  invented  a  very 
handsome  and  elaborate  observation  hive  for  schoolrooms ;  this 


Fig.  3.  — "  Observatory  hive,"  manufactured  by  the  A.  I.  Root  Co.,  Medina,  Ohio. 

is  also  manufactured  by  the  A.  I.  Root  Co.  This  hive  is  supplied 
with  special  division  boards  and  a  sliding  magnifying  glass  so 
that  the  bees  may  be  observed  while  feeding ;  they  are  also  remov- 
able hives  for  temporary  exhibition,  and  also  a  "  flying  cage  "  and 
observation  hive  box.  I  have  not  seen  this  hive  as  yet,  but  the 
A.  L  Root  Co.  have  sent  me  a  description  of  it.  It  will  be  on  the 
market  soon,  and  Dr.  Bigelow  has  refused  to  take  out  a»^f^-|5atents, 
thus  generously  giving  the  public  full  advantage  of  his  invention.^ 
After  the  hive  is  bought  or  made  and  is  ready  for  use,  then 
arises  the  question  of  how  to  fill  it  with  its  proper  inhabitants. 

^  Dr.  Bigelow  will  write  for  The  Review  a  description  of  this  hive  and 
its  use. — Managing  Editor. 


I 


comstcck]  observation     BEE-HIVE  II3 

This  may  be  accomplished  by  buying  the  bees  of  a  regular  dealer ; 
and  if  the  teacher  has  four  or  five  dollars  to  devote  to  setting 
up  the  hive,  this  would  be  the  best  way  to  do.  But  if  there  is 
no  money  for  buying  bees  then  the  nearest  apiarist  should  be 
asked  to  donate  a  brood-frame  filled  with  comb  nearly  covered 
with  bees,  with  a  queen-cell  in  it  or  provided  with  a  laying  queen 
already  at  work.  If  he  is  not  generous  enough  to  make  the  dona- 
tion, the  expense  of  buying  this  amount  of  bees  should  not  be 
more  than  one  dollar. 

The  hive  should  be  placed  in  a  second-story  window  if  the 
school  is  in  a  village ;  if  there  is  no  second  story,  then  a  window 
should  be  chosen  which  faces  away  from  the  playground  and  the 
street,  for  bees  do  not  like  to  have  company  in  their  front  yards. 

After  the  hive  is  set  up  and  the  bees  are  well  at  work  the 
pupils  will  eagerly  observe  the  citizens  and  the  industries  of  the 
hive.  The  citizens  are  of  three  kinds,  the  workers,  which  do 
all  the  labor  of  the  hive ;  the  queen,  which  is  the  mother  df  all 
members  of  the  colony  and  the  drones,  which  are  the  idle  sons 
of  the  queen  mother.  The  great  mass  of  bees  on  the  comb  are 
workers ;  in  size  they  are  smaller  than  either  queen  or  drones. 
The  queen  has  a  long,  pointed  body  which  extends  far  behind  her 
wings,  and  she  is  decidedly  larger  than  the  workers.  The  drone 
is  also  larger  than  the  worker  and  his  body  ends  bluntly  behind 
his  wings  almost  as  if  it  had  been  cut  off  with  a  shears. 

The  industries  of  the  hive  are  building  of  comb ;  the  gathering 
and  storing  of  honey  and  pollen ;  feeding  the  young ;  feeding  and 
caring  far  the  queen ;  keeping  the  house  clean ;  stopping  all 
crevices  with  bee-glue ;  and  fanning  with  the  wings  to  set  up  a 
draft  through  the  hive,  so  that  it  will  not  be  too  warm  and  that 
the  uncapped  honey  may  ripen.  All  of  these  duties  are  performed 
by  the  workers.  In  order  to  make  the  comb  they  have  first  to 
secrete  the  wax,  which  they  accomplish  by  gorging  themselves 
with  honey  and  remaining  suspended  while  the  wax  exudes  in 
little,  white  plates  from  wax-glands  on  the  lower  surface  of  the 
abdomen.  The  wax  is  collected  and  chewed  to  make  it  less  brittle 
and  then  put  in  place.  The  whole  process  of  building  the  geomet- 
rical cells  of  the  comb  may  be  observed.  All  of  the  work  done 
by  the  queen  is  the  laying  of  eggs.  It  should  be  noted  that  she  is 
always  surrounded  by  her  devoted  ladies-in-waiting,  wdio  feed 
her  and  care  for  her  most  tenderlv.     While  the  drone  takes  no 


114  THE  MATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

active  part  in  the  industry  of  the  hive,  he  should  not  be  blamed 
for  this  as  he  is  unfitted  by  nature  for  toil.  He  has  no  wax- 
glands,  so  he  cannot  secrete  wax ;  his  tongue  is  short  so  he  cannot 
gather  honey  from  flowers;  he  has  no  pollen-baskets  on  his  legs, 
so  he  cannot  gather  and  make  bee-bread;  he  has  no  sting,  so  he 
cannot  fight  the  enemies  of  the  colony.  He  is  an  aristocratic 
prince  and  his  one  duty  is  to  go  finally  on  his  travels  and  seek 
some  waiting  princess.  If  he  does  not  do  this  successfully  and 
hangs  around  the  hive  after  the  honey  season  has  passed,  his 
sisters  may  be  seen  attacking  him  with  fierce  jaws  and  stings  to 
put  an  end  to  his  idle  existence. 

While  studying  the  bees  in  an  observation  hive  the  pupils  should 
also  study  the  relation  of  bees  to  flowers,  and  to  learn  the  value 
of  these  messengers  which  carry  pollen  from  bloom  to  bloom. 
In  order  to  study  a  flower  from  this  standpoint,  the  following 
questions  should  be  asked:  Where  is  the  nectar  in  the  flower? 
Where  in  relation  to  the  nectar  glands  are  the  pollen  and  the 
stigma?  How  does  the  bee  come  in  contact  with  pollen  and 
stigma  in  order  to  reach  the  nectar? 

Suggestions  for  the  Use  of  the  Observation  Hive 

If  possible  get  Italian  bees  for  the  observation  hive  as  they  are 
more  gentle  than  the  black  bees. 

Place  the  hive  in  a  window  above  or  away  from  the  street  or 
school-yard. 

Do  not  keep  the  glass  uncovered  more  than  is  absolutely 
necessary. 

If  the  hive  becomes  too  populous  close  it  at  night  and  take  it 
to  the  nearest  bee-keeper  and  let  him  take  off  some  of  the  bees 
from  the  frame. 

If  you  see  the  worker  bees  fighting,  it  means  that  robbers  are 
attempting  to  get  at  the  stores  of  the  observation  hive.  The 
entrance  to  the  hive  should  at  once  be  contracted  by  placing  a 
block  of  wood  in  front,  so  that  there  is  room  for  only  one  bee  at 
a  time  to  pass  in  and  out. 


I 


hemenway]  window    GARDENS  1 15 


WINDOW   GARDENS   FOR   THE   SCHOOLROOM 

BY  H.  D.  HEMENWAY 
Director  of  Hartford  School  of  Horticulture 

Every  schoolroom  should  have  a  window  garden,  and  can  have 
one  at  very  small  expense.  The  more  elaborate  gardens  are  built 
outside  the  window  and  have  glass  sides  and  top,  with  sash  that 
opens.  These  are  heated  during  the  night  by  leaving  open  the 
window  which  separates  the  window  garden  from  the  school- 
room proper.  These  window  gardens  can  be  obtained  from  most 
of  the  larger  greenhouse  construction  companies  at  a  reasonable 
expense,  but  if  a  school  cannot  have  as  elaborate  a  garden  it  can 
certainly  have  a  very  creditable  one  by  getting  an  ordinary  box 
that  scythes  or  saws  are  packed  in.  These  can  be  obtained  from 
the  hardware  store  for  ten  cents  each.  The  outside  appearance 
can  be  improved  by  covering  them  with  a  table  oil-cloth,  and  this 
will  also  prevent  the  water  from  running  out.  About  an  inch  or 
two  at  the  bottom  should  be  filled  in  with  broken  pots,  brickbats, 
cinders  or  charcoal,  to  furnish  drainage,  which  will  lessen  the 
danger  of  over-watering.  The  remainder  of  the  box  should  be 
filled  with  a  good,  rich  compost  or  garden  soil.  It  is  well  to 
work  about  half  a  pint  of  bone-meal  into  it.  The  box  can  be 
filled  with  plants  that  will  bloom  at  least  part  of  the  school  year. 
Geraniums  are  among  the  favorite  flowering  plants  for  this  pur- 
pose, because  they  will  stand  neglect  perhaps  better  than  any  other 
plant.  The  dracaena  (Codyline  indivisa)  is  another  plant  that 
will  stand  well,  and  several  of  the  flowering  begonias.  The  pres- 
ence of  a  single  well-filled  box  of  plants  in  a  schoolroom  will 
greatly  improve  its  appearance  and  will  help  to  create"  a  love  for 
nature  in  the  children. 

Perhaps  a  larger  use  for  the  window  garden  in  the  schoolroom 
is  to  start  young  plants  for  the  school-garden  and  grounds.  The 
process  of  planting  seed,  the  miracle  of  germination,  and  the 
growth  of  the  young  plant  are  subjects  altogether  too  infre- 
quently taught  in  the  schoolroom;  subjects  which  no  child  can 
know  too  much  about,  and  the  knowledge  and  study  of  them  will 
often  be  the  means  of  an  awakening  which  will  not  be  brought 
about  by  text-book  study.  The  window  garden  furnishes  the 
beginning  of  the  study  which  is  to  reach  its  height  when  the  plants 


ii6 


THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 


have  reached  maturity,  have  flowered  and  borne  fruit  in  the  school- 
garden.  While  the  deeper  boxes  may  be  used,  it  is  perhaps  better, 
when  seeds  are  to  be  planted,  to  use  much  shallower  boxes.  In 
the  absence  of  gardeners'  flats,  cigar  boxes  can  be  obtained  from 
some  near-by  dealer,  or  some  grocer  or  fruit  dealer  will  gladly 
supply  the  school  with  fig  boxes.  The  soil  for  these  should  be 
about  one  part  rich  soil  and  two  parts  of  sand.  The  seed  should 
be  covered  lightly,  the  very  small  seeds  being  merely  pressed  into 


A  cheap  box  for  a  window  garden — a  "saw-box  "  with  begonias,  dracaenas,  and  umbrella  palm. 
The  side  of  the  box  is  covered  with  wandering  jew  (Tradescantia). 

the  soil  with  a  block  or  board.  The  boxes  should  not  be  allowed 
to  dry  up ;  the  small  boxes  will  probably  have  to  be  watered  at 
least  twice  a  day.  As  the  plants  come  up  and  grow  they  should 
be  put  into  flower  pots  or  tomato  cans,  or,  if  they  are  to  be  trans- 
planted into  the  garden,  old  strawberry  boxes  will  be  better.  A 
paper  should  be  put  in  the  strawberry  box  to  make  it  tighter. 
The  soil  for  the  transplanting  of  seedlings  should  be  one  part 
soil,  one  part  well-rotted  manure  and  one  part  sand,  and  if  the 
plants  are  to  be  shifted  and  remain  in  the  schoolroom,  upon  the 
second  shifting  some  fine  bone-meal  should  be  added  to  the  soil. 


HEMENWAY]  WINDOW    GARDENS  1 17 

Schools  that  can  not  buy  plants  for  the  schoolroom  can  very 
readily  grow  enough  to  supply  the  whole  building  at  a  very  small 
expense.  It  will  also  be  of  more  educational  value  to  the  children, 
although  it  will,  of  course,  take  more  time.  The  following  plants 
are  named  as  being  well  adapted  for  successful  growing,  from 
seed,  in  the  schoolroom : 

Abutilon  (flowering  maple),  mixed  varieties;  will  last  several 
years  if  cared  for. 

Little  gem  Alyssum  (carpet  of  snow)  ;  blooms  twelve  or  four- 
teen weeks  after  planting  seed  and  if  the  blossoms  are  cut  will 
continue  blooming  for  six  months. 

Asparagus  plumosus  and  Asparagus  sprengeri ;  slow  to  start 
but  will  last  for  years  if  well  cared  for ;  do  well  in  north  windows. 

Begonia  semperflorens,  mixed  varieties ;  plants  start  slowly ; 
bloom  in  three  or  four  months  after  planting  and  continue  bloom- 
ing ;  good  for  both  north  and  south  windows ;  do  best  in  warm 
rooms. 

Calendula  (pot  marigold),  mixed  varieties;  blooms  in  eight  to 
twelve  weeks  after  planting  and  continues  for  three  or  four 
months. 

Centaurea  gymnocarpa  (dusty  miller)  ;  white  or  dusty  leaved 
plants  used  for  their  ornamental  foliage ;  do  well  in  north  windows 
and  will  stand  a  low  temperature. 

Chrysanthemum  frutescens  grandiflorum  and  Chrysanthemum 
Comtesse  de  Chambord  (white  and  yellow  marguerites).  These 
well-known  daisy-like  flowering  plants  will  live  and  bloom  for 
many  months. 

Coleus,  mixed  varieties  ;  good  for  very  warm  and  sunny  rooms  ; 
handsome  foliage  plants. 

Cyperus  alternifoleus  (umbrella  or  water  palm)  ;  sow  seeds  in 
fine  moss  or  moss  and  sand  without  covering  and  keep  very  wet ; 
a  handsome  plant  that  is  sure  to  do  well  in  any  window. 

Dracaena,  mixed  varieties ;  slow  to  start,  but  at  the  end  of  a 
year  they  will  be  nice  plants  that  will  improve  in  appearance  for 
several  years ;  will  stand  in  sun,  shade,  heat  and  cold ;  good  sized 
plants  will  stand  more  neglect  than  any  other  in  the  list. 

Fuchsia,  mixed  varieties  ;  grow  rapidly  in  warm  rooms  and 
bloom  well ;  do  well  in  north  windows  when  the  rooms  are  warm. 

Kochia  scaparia  (standing  or  summer  cypress)  ;  a  handsome 
plant ;  completes  its  life  in  about  five  months. 


Il8  "     THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

Petunia,  mixed  varieties ;  slow  in  starting  but  a  rapid  grower 
and  always  covered  with  bloom;  does  well  only  in  sunny  windows. 

We  all  admire  the  beautiful  plants  that  the  florists  grow  in  their 
greenhouses,  and  no  one  questions  but  that  they  raise  the  moral 
standing  and  develop  the  esthetic  taste,  the  love  for  nature  and 
things  beautiful.  It  would  not  be  wise  to  try  to  grow  some  of 
the  delicate  plants  that  the  florists  have,  but  the  above  are  excel- 
lent substitutes  for  the  window  garden  which  is  the  teacher's 
greenhouse. 


A  WILD-FLOWER   GARDEN 

BY  ISABELLA  G.  DIGGINS 
Teacher  of  Grade  V,  Upsala  St.  School,  Worcester,  Mass. 

To  have  a  garden  in  our  school-yard  seemed  almost  beyond 
possibility.  The  soil  was  sand  and  gravel  overlaid  with  cinders, 
making  a  hard  surface.  It  was  necessary  to  procure  rich  loam 
to  cover  the  cinders  in  order  to  provide  for  our  plants.  All  the 
children  in  the  building  from  the  first  grade  to  the  seventh,  wil- 
lingly carried  all  the  loam  they  could  procure,  bringing  the  earth 
in  baskets  and  boxes,  old  dishes,  handkerchiefs,  and  any  old  bits 
of  paper,  cloth  or  crockery  that  would  hold  a  handful  of  dirt.  In 
three  days  we  had  enough  loam  brought  in  to  begin  work.  We 
chose  a  strip  three  feet  wide  along  the  east  fence  which  was  one 
hundred  and  ninety-two  feet  long.  Then  we  spread  the  loam, 
with  a  borrowed  shovel,  to  the  depth  of  several  inches,  and  after 
sodding  the  border  were  ready  to  begin  planting. 

We  planned  to  have  three  types  of  wild  plants :  creeping  vines, 
herbaceous  plants  and  shrubs.  The  only  vine  procured  was  wood- 
bine, but  we  made  up  for  our  lack  of  vines  in  our  fine  assortment 
of  herbaceous  flowering  plants.  Among  shrubs  we  procured 
azalea,  sheep-laurel  and  wild  cherry.  The  azalea  lived  only  long 
enough  to  blossom,  because  it  was  transplanted  too  late  in  the 
spring.  The  wild  cherry  is  thriving  yet.  But  of  all  the  shrubs 
the  sheep-laurel  grew  best.  We  procured  sixty  varieties  of  wild 
flowers,  and  they  all  lived  and  blossomed.  Some  of  these  flowers 
were  transplanted  from  the  woods,  while  others  were  grown  from 
seeds.  Those  which  were  transplanted  gave  the  best  results,  the 
most  successful  being  the  violet,  white  daisy,  cone  flower,  buttercup. 


DIGGINS] 


A    WILD -FLOWER    GARDEN 


119 


false  Solomon  seal,  lady  slipper,  jack-in-the-pulpit,  robin-runaway, 
mallow  and  celandine.  The  daisy  and  celandine  were  especially 
satisfactory.  In  June  when  school  closed  we  left  a  bed  of  daisies 
about  six  feet  long  and  three  feet  wide  in  full  bloom. 

When  I  was  asked  to  take  charge  of  this  work  I  knew  nothing 
whatever  about  gardening.  However,  I  discovered  that  working 
and  studying  with  my  pupils  was  the  most  natural  and  delightful 
way  of  learning.      By  the  close  of  the  season  we  all  had  become 


A  wild-flower  garden  three  feet  wide  by  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  long, 
the  whole  school  a  valuable  part  of  its  equipment  for  lessons  in  nature-study." 


It  has  supplied  for 


acquainted  with  our  wild  flowers  and  knew  their  roots  and  seeds 
and  haunts  as  we  could  not  have  learned  them  from  books.  At 
seven  o'clock  on  the  bright  May  mornings  there  would  often  be 
from  ten  to  twenty  children  of  different  ages  waiting  at  the 
school-gate,  of  their  own  accord,  to  accompany  me  to  the  neigh- 
boring woods  for  flowers.  The  children  greatly  enjoyed  these 
excursions.  It  was  pleasing  to  watch  the  interest  the  children  took 
in  the  garden.  They  protected  it  and  studied  every  little  plant 
from  its  budding  to  its  seed  bearing.  Their  admiration  for  the 
azalea  when  in  blossom  was  very  noticeable.     They  seemed  aston- 


I20  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

ished  that  anything  so  beautiful  and  pink  could  grow  in  our  yard. 
Our  wild-flower  garden  has  proved  a  success  from  the  begin- 
ning and  has  supplied  for  the  whole  school  a  valuable  part  of  its 
equipment  for  lessons  in  nature-study.  The  gathering  and  sowing 
of  seed,  the  hunting  for  plants  in  the  woods,  the  planting,  water- 
ing and  tending — all  carried  out  by  the  children  under  the  inspi- 
ration of  a  common  purpose — combined  to  yield  a  quality  of 
knowledge  and,  more  than  that,  a  love  for  the  flowers  which  no 
other  kind  of  study  could  secure. 


MAKING   A   SCHOOL   LAWN 

BY  MARGARET  T.  BROWN 
Teacher  of  Grade  VII,  Upsala  St.  School,  Worcester,  Mass. 

When  we  first  came  to  Upsala  Street  School  in  1895  we  found 
the  school-grounds  just  as  grounds  are  usually  left  at  the  comple- 
tion of  a  new  building.  Had  there  been  no  question  of  economy, 
it  would  have  been  a  simple  matter  to  make  a  lawn.  But  having 
no  money  in  our  treasury  and  having  no  generous  benefactors  in 
our  neighborhood,  this  was  just  the  question  we  had  to  consider 
most  earnestly.  Furthermore,  we  wanted  this  lawn  to  be  the 
result  of  children's  thought  and  labor.  With  this  end  in  view  we 
tried  by  every  means  to  awaken  their  interest,  to  make  them  want 
to  beautify  their  surroundings. 

Time  was  taken  during  the  nature-study  period  to  consider 
lawns.  Each  day  the  lack  of  one  was  more  keenly  felt  as  sug- 
gestions came  in  fast  and  no  practical  test  of  their  efliciency  could 
be  made.  The  first  steps — the  cleaning  up  process,  the  picking 
up  of  loose  refuse,  the  carting  away  of  the  same  in  borrowed 
wheel-barrows,  and  the  leveling  of  rough  places — though  in  itself 
interesting  work,  served  to  strengthen  the  purpose  of  the  children 
and  our  daily  tasks  gained  new  life  and  interest. 

Having  found  the  soil  poor  in  quality  and  scarce  at  that, 
methods  of  enriching  it  and  plans  for  obtaining  more  were  dis- 
cussed. On  applying  to  the  Highway  Department  for  street 
sweepings,  we  found  that  they  could  give  us  but  little  because  the 
streets  in  our  locality  were  not  frequently  swept.  But  although 
a  little  disheartened,  our  boys  and  girls  showed  an  admirable 
spirit  and  all  decided  that  a  beginning  should  be   made.     The 


brown]  making    a    school    LAWN  I2I 

ground  was  spaded  and  graded  as  well  as  could  be  done  with 
the  few  tools  at  their  command.  The  top  soil  was  made  smooth 
by  the  use  of  rakes.  Commercial  fertilizer  was  applied  and  lastly 
grass  seed  was  sown.  The  seed  used  was  ''  chafif "  collected 
from  barns  in  the  neighborhood  by  our  boys.  It  was  pressed 
down  by  means  of  boards.  As  the  soil  and  seed  were  poor  the 
result  was  poor,  but  did  not  discourage  any  of  us.  Having  made 
a  beginning  we  were  determined  to  win. 

Our  next  attempt  (in  1903)  was  a  little  more  successful.  Se- 
lected grass  seed,  added  to  ''  chaff,"  with  an  application  of  fertil- 
izer, produced  a  thin  covering  of  grass  with  many  bare  spots. 
Every  blade  of  grass  was  carefully  protected,  the  boys  even 
coming  in  bare  feet  that  they  might  not  injure  the  tender  plants. 
The  whole  lawn  was  frequehtly  raked,  well  watered,  and  more 
seed  scattered.  Weeds  could  not  escape  so  many  sharp  eyes. 
The  first  cuttings  with  the  mower  were  allowed  to  remain  on  the 
ground  to  protect  the  roots  from  the  hot  sun. 

From,  actual  experience  we  learned  many  facts  about  making  a 
lawn  and  the  culture  of  grass.  Last  spring,  having  still  a  fev\^ 
bare  spots,  the  children  raked  the  whole  lawn.  As  an  experi- 
ment to  decide  which  was  the  better  fertilizer,  phosphate  was 
applied  to  the  lawn  on  one  side  and  nitrate  of  soda  on  the 
other.  The  lawn  was  well  watered  as  often  as  required,  and  cut 
with  the  lawn  mower,  care  being  taken  not  to  cut  so  close  as  to 
cause  sun-burning.  Weeds  and  coarse  grass  were  cut  at  the  roots 
or  pulled  up,  allowing  the  grass  to  take  full  possession  and  make 
a  thick  mat.  We  were  not  able  to  say  which  fertilizer  was  the 
better,  because  the  grass  flourished  on  both  sides.  This  fall 
(1904)  we  have  allowed  the  grass  to  grow  long  so  as  to  protect 
the  roots  from  the  severe  winter  weather. 

Although  the  hardest  work  has  been  accomplished,  our  children 
will  continue  to  improve  the  lawn  by  intelligent  care.  Having 
heard  that  wood  ashes  is  one  of  the  best  fertilizers  for  our  con- 
ditions, every  child  has  volunteered  to  bring  a  small  box  of  it  next 
spring,  and  is  looking  forward  to  the  time  when  this  can  be  tried. 

The  children  of  Upsala  Street  School  are  justly  proud  of  their 
lawn.  The  labor  and  thought  expended  taught  them  that  much 
in  the  way  of  beautifying  unsightly  grounds  can  be  done  under 
unfavorable  conditions.  This  knowledge  has  led  many  to  attempt 
the  work  at  their  homes,  and  with  gratifying  results. 


122  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 


THE   TIME   REQUIRED   FOR   NATURE-STUDY 

BY  S    B.  SINCLAIR,  PH.D. 
Vice-principal  of  Normal  School,  Ottawa,  Canada 

One  of  the  most  serious  objections  urged  against  the  intro- 
duction of  nature-study  into  pubhc  schools  is  that  there  is  "no 
time  for  it." 

Let  us  consider  one  hour  per  n^eek  the  amount  of  time  required. 
One  of  the  most  historic  responsible  pronouncements  on  the  sub- 
ject is  that  made  in  1892  in  the  report  made  by  the  famous  Com- 
mittee of  Ten,  where  the  natural  history  section  recommended 
that  "  No  less  than  one  hour  per  week,  divided  into  at  least  two 
periods,  should  be  devoted  throughout  the  whole  school  course 
below  the  high  school  to  the  study  of  plants  and  animals ;  that  in 
this  study  no  text-books  should  be  used,  and  that  these  observa- 
tion lessons  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  made  the  basis  of  or 
correlated  with  work  in  language,  drawing  and  literature." 

Twenty  years  ago  the  writer  of  this  article  made  a  somewhat 
careful  observation  and  study  of  a  number  of  schools  in  the  United 
States,  England  and  France,  in  which  courses  in  nature-study 
similar  to  those  recently  prescribed  for  Ontario  schools  had  been 
for  years  and  still  are  in  operation. 

Since  that  time  he  has  had  opportunity  for  more  extended 
observation  and  experiment,  and  his  opinion  is  that  an  average  of 
one  hour  of  school  time  per  week  for  nature-study  during  the 
entire  public  school  course  forms  a  satisfactory  working  hypoth- 
esis. Many  of  the  most  successful  teachers  of  nature-study  give 
but  few  set  lessons  on  the  subject  and  vary  the  time  and  emphasis 
to  accord  with  external  conditions.  For  example,  in  the  spring 
when  Nature  seems  to  awaken  from  her  winter  sleep,  more  time 
may  be  devoted  to  the  subject  than  during  the  winter  months. 
Then  too  it  is  necessary  to  adjust  the  lessons  to  the  schoolroom 
conditions.  For  example,  in  a  large  rural  school  with  many 
classes  in  charge  of  but  one  teacher,  most  of  the  work  must  be 
taken  with  combined  classes  or  incidentally  in  connection  with 
other  subjects.  Speaking  generally,  one  half-hour  lesson  per 
week  may  profitably  be  devoted  in  every  class  to  some  definite, 
sequential,  subject  of  investigation,  and  the  other  half  to  general 
unrelated  observation  made  as  occasion  demands.     For  example. 


SINCLAIR]  TIME    REQUIRED    FOR    NATURE-STUDY  123 

yesterday  in  the  Ottawa  Model  School  a  number  of  boys  of  about 
nine  years  of  age,  in  the  second  grade,  had  a  half-hour  lesson  on 
seed  planting  and  at  its  conclusion  undertook  to  make  the  seeds 
which  they  had  planted  grow.  During  the  next  three  or  four 
weeks  they  will  have  a  half-hour  lesson  each  week,  devoted 
to  a  statement  of  the  discoveries  they  have  made  regarding  their 
plants  and  the  difficulties  they  have  met  with,  and  also  to  a  con- 
sideration of  ways  of  overcoming  these  difficulties  and  to  a  fuller 
investigation  of  heat,  light,  soil  and  moisture  conditions  in  relation 
to  plant  development.  Another  half-hour  per  week  will  probably 
be  occupied  in  the  discussion  of  such  phenomena  as  the  coming  of 
the  birds  and  the  melting  of  the  snow,  and  to  the  explanation  of 
nature  references  found  in  the  current  class  literature. 

It  may  be  urged  that  such  work  has  always  been  done  in 
schools.  In  reply  it  may  be  said  that  where  such  is  the  case  the 
requirements  of  the  new  regulations  are  being  carried  out,  and  this 
is  no  doubt  being  done  in  an  unostentatious  and  effective  way  in 
many  schools.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  most  readers  have 
cause  to  remember  with  regret  schools  which  they  themselves 
attended,  where  more  than  one  hour  per  week  was  wasted  in 
memorizing  abstract  and  meaningless  definitions  and  records 
which  have  since  been  found  to  be  incorrect,  where  no  attention 
was  ever  paid  to  birds  or  plants,  trees  or  flowers,  the  glory  of  the 
sunset  or  the  matchless  grandeur  of  the  heavens  or  indeed  to  g^n^ 
of  the  living  realities  of  existence  outside  the  schoolroom,  and 
where  instead  of  forming  habits  of  observation  and  appreciation 
of  the  objects  about  them,  the  pupils  formed  habits  which  caused 
them  to  ignore  all  material  things  as  commonplace  and  to  move 
through  realms  of  profoundest  mystery  and  intense  attractiveness 
with  blind  eyes  and  dormant  sensibilities.  It  is  to  be  feared  also 
that  such  schools  have  not  yet  entirely  disappeared. 

Nature-study  reinforces  other  studies.  It  will  be  found  that 
one  hour  per  week  occupied  in  nature-study  is  not  really  taken 
from  other  subjects  if  the  work  be  properly  correlated.  For  ex- 
ample, in  objective  drawing  the  first  step  is  to  gain  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  object  to  be  drawn.  The  time  usually  occupied 
in  doing  this  is  saved  if  the  object  has  already  been  investigated 
in  nature-study  lessons,  and  experience  shows  that  children  prefer 
to  draw  such  objects  rather  than  those  wuth  no  previous  interest. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  good  reason  for  the 


124  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

assertion  that  all  things  being  equal  a  class  which  devotes  an  hour 
per  week  to  nature-study  will  do  better  work  in  other  subjects 
and  make  more  rapid  progress  than  if  they  devoted  their  entire 
time  to  these  subjects.      [From  Ottazm  Naturalist,  April,  1905.] 


THE  METHODS  OF  SHERLOCK  HOLMES  IN  NATURE-STUDY 

BY  E.  A.  GREENING  LAMBORN 

Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle's  famous  detective  was  able  from  an 
examination  of  an  old  bowler  hat  to  give  an  account  of  the 
appearance,  occupation,  habits,  character,  and  worldly  circum- 
stances of  its  owner.  Similarly,  from  an  inspection  of  his  friend's 
watch,  he  was  enabled  to  discover  that  its  former  owner  was  a 
man  of  fallen  estate  and  character,  a  drunkard,  spendthrift,  etc., 
a  physical  wreck,  and  a  victim  of  chronic  poverty.  Many  other 
instances  will  occur  to  the  reader  in  which  Holmes  was  able,  by 
the  exercise  of  his  sense  organs  and  his  reasoning  faculties  on 
some  concrete  object,  to  construct  a  whole  chain  of  facts  with 
which  that  object  was  connected. 

In  the  explanation  of  the  methods  by  which  he  arrived  at  these 
results,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  faculties  upon  which  he  depended 
for  his  conclusions  were : — 

1.  Observation,  by  which  he  obtained  the  external  facts  con- 
nected with  the  object.  In  the  case  of  the  hat  above  quoted,  he 
observed  the  size,  shape,  condition,  kind  of  lining,  newly-cut 
grizzled  hairs,  smell  of  lime-cream,  tallow  stains,  etc. 

2.  Deduction,  by  which  he  gained  new  facts  as  inferences  from 
the  ones  already  obtained.  From  the  large  size  he  deduced  a 
large  brain  and  consequent  intellectual  power,  from  the  quality 
of  the  hat  the  well-to-do  state  of  its  purchaser,  and  from  its 
interior  stains  his  physical  condition,  among  other  inferences. 

3.  Memory,  by  which  he  was  able  to  associate  his  newly-dis- 
covered facts  with  those  in  his  past  experience.  For  example, 
his  memory  informed  him  that  the  particular  shape  he  had 
observed  was  in  fashion  three  years  before,  so  fixing  the  time  of 
the  hat's  purchase. 

4.  Constructive  imagination,  by  which  he  was  able  to  combine 
his  facts  and  build  them  .into  a  homogeneous  hypothesis — that 
the   person   he   wished   to   discover   was   Henry   Baker,   a   man 


lamborn]  SHERLOCK    HOLMES    IN    NATURE-STUDY  125 

formerly  well-to-do,  fallen  on  evil  days,  of  sedentary  habit,  in 
poor  domestic  circumstances,  etc.  The  story,  of  course,  is  that  of 
"  The  Blue  Carbuncle." 

In  his  wonderful  power  of  obtaining  facts  from  the  examina- 
tion of  concrete  things  the  great  detective  of  fiction  is  an  ideal 
type  of  the  nature-student.  Though  his  observations  of  nature 
were  limited  mainly  to  man,  and  especially  to  criminal  man,  yet 
the  faculties  and  the  methods  he  employed  are  equally  applicable 
to  all  natural  objects;  and  if  objection  be  made  that  Sherlock 
Holmes  never  existed,  even  without  the  knowledge  that  he  is  the 
creation  of  a  man  of  science  and  had  a  prototype  in  fact  in  Dr. 
Bell  of  Edinburgh,  it  may  be  remembered  that  the  great  "  nature- 
student  "  Cuvier,  by  the  exercise  of  precisely  the  same  faculties 
as  those  previously  analyzed,  was  able,  from  an  examination  of 
a  single  bone,  to  reconstruct  in  imagination  the  animal  of  which 
it  formed  a  part.  This  illustration  in  actual  fact  is  at  least  as 
wonderful  as  any  of  the  detective's  logical  achievements  in  fiction. 
The  faculties  used  by  Sherlock  Holmes  and  Cuvier  are  simply 
those  possessed  but  not  used  by  the  average  child  in  the  elemen- 
tary school.  This  is  the  great  attraction  of  Sherlock  Holmes. 
When  he  explains  his  course  of  reasoning  to  his  astonished 
clients,  they  realize  that  all  that  he  saw  they  might  have  seen 
also,  and  that  the  faculties  which  seemed  supernatural  were 
really  the  ordinary  ones  which  they  shared  in  common  with  him, 
but  which  in  his  case  were  used,  in  theirs  were  neglected.  It 
should  be  noted,  however,  as  Holmes  repeatedly  points  out  in  his 
"  explanations,"  that  people  fail,  not  to  see  things,  but  to  reason 
from  what  they  see.  They  do  not  "  proceed  to  draw  inferences 
from  their  observations."  For  instance,  millions  of  people  before 
Sir  Isaac  Newton  had  seen  an  apple  fall  from  a  tree,  but  no  one 
until  his  day  had  ever  gone  further  and  reasoned  zvhy  it  fell. 
This  has  an  important  bearing  on  nature-study  in  schools,  as  it 
proves  that,  somewhat  contrary  to  the  common  idea,  it  is  in 
deductive  power  rather  than  in  observation  that  training  is 
required. 

To  illustrate  the  application  of  the  foregoing  to  nature-study 
in  the  elementary  school,  the  writer  proposed  to  describe  the 
progress  of  an  "  investigation  "  which  took  place  in  his  own 
school.  By  the  exercise  of  their  faculties  of  observation,  deduc- 
tion, memory,  and  imagination  on  the  foot  of  a  creature  they 


126  THE    NATURE -STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may  1905 

had  never  seen  or  heard  of,  the  children  were  led  to  reconstruct 
a  mental  image  of  that  creature,  and  to  deduce  various  facts  con- 
nected with  its  habits  and  surroundings.  (The  sceptical  are 
invited  to  find  the  faulty  link  in  the  following  chain  of  argument 
before  talking  of  "  impossibilities.") 

A  "  newly-severed  "  foot  was  discovered  by  a  boy  on  a  local 
dust-heap,  and  not  knowing  to  what  manner  of  creature  it  be- 
longed, he  brought  it  to  school  to  be  examined.  The  foot  was 
about  as  large  as  that  of  a  small  fowl,  and  was  completely  cov- 
ered with  thick  white  fur  or  feathers.  This  much  was  obvious 
from  a  superficial  observation.  Closer  observation  disclosed  four 
toes  beneath  the  covering  which  was  seen  to  consist  of  hair-like 
feathers.  Memory  thus  assisted  to  furnish  the  first  deduction, 
that  it  was  the  foot  of  a  bird.  (AL  B. — This,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  sequel,  was  not  immediately  obvious,  as  the  foot  superficially 
rather  resembled  that  of  a  large  white  rabbit.)  The  deduction 
from  the  size  of  the  foot  was  that  the  bird  was  rather  larger  than 
a  partridge  but  smaller  than  a  fowl.  From  the  color  and  thick- 
ness of  the  feathers  on  the  foot  the  inference  was  that  the  bird 
would  be  warmly  covered  with  thick,  downy  feathers  in  which 
white  was  the  prevailing  color.  But  the  children's  previous  expe- 
rience had  told  them  that,  by  a  recognized  law  of  nature,  the 
structure  of  any  creature  depends  upon  its  surroundings.  The 
bird  in  question  must  therefore  have  its  home  in  a  cold  climate 
amid  a  snowy  environment.  It  was  therefore  not  an  English 
bird,  but  probably  came  from  the  north.  Geographical  knowl- 
edge fixed  its  probable  habitat  as  Northern  Scotland,  Norway, 
Sweden,  or  Russia.  Further,  the  children  knew,  from  a  previous 
lesson  on  the  stoat,  that  most  wild  creatures  whose  prevailing 
color  is  white  change  their  color  with  the  season  and  darken  as 
the  snow  melts.  The  color  of  the  bird  in  question  might  be 
therefore  expected  to  vary  with  the  seasons. 

Observation  of  the  toes  showed  the  claws  to  be  small  and  weak. 
The  owner  was  evidently  not  a  bird  of  prey.  It  was  not  a  swift 
runner  either.  Neither  could  it  scratch  the  earth  in  search  of 
food.  Could  it,  like  many  weak-toed  birds,  be  insectivorous? 
The  previous  deduction  of  a  cold  climate  negatived  this  hypoth- 
esis. It  was  certainly,  from  its  feet  and  plumage,  not  a  water- 
bird.  *'  Eliminating  the  impossible,"  as  Holmes  did,  it  did  not 
prey  on  other  birds,  nor  get  its  food  from  beneath  the  ground. 


LAMBOKN]  SHERLOCK    HOLMES    IN    NATURE-STUDY  1 27 

nor  from  the  air  nor  the  water.  Therefore  it  must  Hve  on  plants 
which  grew  above  the  ground.  But  its  weak,  muffled-  foot 
showed  that  it  could  not  perch  in  trees  to  feed  on  fruit  or  berries 
(the  rigorous  climate,  again,  was  against  the  presence  of  trees). 
Such  a  bird  looked  like  starving  until  it  was  suggested  that  it 
fed  on  leaves  and  shoots  of  plants.  This  again  corroborated  the 
early  inference  of  a  harsh  climate,  as  these  would  be  almost  the 
only  food  available.  (Some  of  the  children  had  read  about  the 
reindeer  and  its  food.) 

Again,  the  clumsy  foot  was  much  against  the  possibility  of  the 
construction  of  any  nest.  A  bird  wnth  such  a  foot  would  most 
likely  lay  its  eggs  on  the  bare  ground.  In  accordance  with  a 
law  previously  quoted,  the  eggs  would  probably  be  of  a  brown 
tint,  mottled  to  resemble  the  earth.  The  number  of  eggs  would 
tend  to  be  large,  first  because  ''  ground-game  "  are  especially 
assailable  by  enemies  and  seldom  rear  the  full  brood,  and  also 
because,  however  many  eggs  are  laid  on  the  ground,  there  is  no 
danger,  as  in  trees,  of  any  falling  out  of  the  nest. 

Summing  up  the  facts  thus  deduced  from  the  foot,  the  children 
were  invited  to  imagine,  as  its  owner,  a  bird  as  large  as  a  small 
hen,  covered  with  thick  white  feathers  even  to  its  toes,  inhab- 
iting the  countries  round  the  Arctic  Sea,  feeding  on  lichens, 
leaves  and  young  shoots  of  plants,  and  laying  a  large  number  of 
brownish  eggs  on  the  bare  ground.  Obviously  the  next  thing 
was  to  discover  whether  such  a  bird  existed  hi  fact,  and  if  so, 
what  it  was  called. 

Sherlock  Holmes  having  evolved  such  a  description  of  an 
unknown  individual,  would  have  discovered  the  person  answer- 
ing to  it  by  making  inquiries  in  the  locality  in  which  he  thought 
he  might  be  found.  As  it  was  plainly  impossible  in  this  case  to 
inquire  in  Northern  Europe,  a  natural-history  book  was  pro- 
cured, and  the  plates  in  it  were  examined  to  see  if  any  one 
of  them  tallied  with  the  mental  image  gained  by  the  children. 
Practically  all  the  children  recognized  at  once  a  plate  which 
was  stated  to  be  a  picture  of  the  ptarmigan.  The  appended 
description  was  then  read  by  one  of  the  boys,  and  it  was  seen 
that  practically  all  the  deductions  were  correct,  and  that  also  the 
printed  account  only  supplemented  the  deduced  one  in  some 
minor  particulars.  This  the  reader  may  see  for  himself  by  refer- 
ence to  any  book  on  birds. 


128  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,   may   1905 

It  is  not,  of  course,  suggested  that  children  could  possibly 
arrive  at  such  a  result  unguided,  but  it  is  in  good  faith  asserted 
that  all  the  deductions  above  stated  were  elicited  from  a  class 
of  older  scholars  who  had  never  seen  more  of  the  bird  in  question 
than  the  foot  they  had  before  them.  Such  an  object  lesson  as 
the  one  described  is  doubtless  very  uncommon,  and  opportunities 
for  a  similar  prolonged  course  of  reasoning  would  rarely  occur 
in  school  work;  but  the  writer's  aim  in  describing  it  is  to  show 
the  possibility  of  applying  in  school  work  those  methods  and  fac- 
ulties which  Sherlock  Holmes  in  fiction  and  Cuvier  in  fact  used 
with  such  striking  results.  It  seemed  an  exceptionally  good 
illustration  of  the  way  in  which  the  various  faculties  should  coop- 
erate and  their  results  be  coordinated  in  the  ''  scientific  "  exami- 
nation of  a  natural  object.  But  in  every  nature-lesson  examples 
will  occur  of  the  way  in  which  a  single  observation  may  furnish 
several  deductions,  which  may  again  be  associated  with  facts 
already  in  the  memory  to  enable  the  imagination  to  build  up  a 
hypothesis.  [From  Indian  Journal  of  Education,  Madras,  Jan- 
uary, 1905.] 


ORIGINAL  OBSERVATIONS   FROM   ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

[Editorial  Note. — As  stated  in  an  editorial  in  the  March  issue,  this 
department  is  intended  to  record  observations  made  in  connection  with 
nature-study  classes  in  elementary  schools.  It  is  not  aimed  to  make  this 
a  place  for  recording  facts  new  to  professional  naturalists,  but  rather  to 
stimulate  careful  and  critical  observation  in  schools.] 

An  Interesting  Canary's  Nest.  All  lovers  of  nature  are  inter- 
ested in  the  controversy  going  on  between  the  "  Old  School  Nat- 
uralist "  and  the  "  New."  The  one  looks  at  the  animal  from  the 
anatomical  point  of  view  and  says,  "  Impossible  " ;  the  other,  from 
the  so-called  psychological  point,  introducing  feeling,  and  no 
doubt  romances  a  little,  and  says,  ''  Probable  and  possible."  The 
observer  sits  quietly  by  and  uses  his  eyes,  placing  confidence  in 
things  actually  seen. 

Two  years  ago  a  large  cage  for  birds  and  small  animals  was 
constructed  near  the  Training  Department  of  the  San  Jose  State 
Normal  School,  in  such  a  position  that  the  children  of  the  various 
departments  could,  from  the  windows,  observe  the  action  of  the 


ORIGINAL    OBSERVATIONS 


129 


animals.  All  the  birds — canaries,  finches,  cardinals,  doves  and 
paraquets — were  placed  together.  When  the  nesting  season  came, 
the  children  of  the  lower  grades,  as  was  their  yearly  custom,  wove 
baskets  for  nests,  and  these  were  placed  in  the  bushes  and  trees. 
One  canary,  which  was  born  in  the  Kindergarten,  and  spent  four 


I 


A  canary's  nest.     The  string  is  woven  around  and  through  the  nest. 

years  of  her  life  there,  refused  the  kind  of  nest  that  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  occupy,  and  constructed  one  of  her  own  out  of  the 
material  collected  from  the  ground,  as  shown  by  the  accompanying 
photograph. 

John  Burroughs,  in  a  recent  article,  "Do  Animals  Think?" 
says,  ''  The  family  of  birds  to  which  the  canary  belongs  are  not 
weavers;  they  build  cup-shaped  nests  .  .  ."  This  nest  has  a  dis- 
tinctive weaving  stitch,  and  the  string,  either  accidentally  or  inten- 
tionally, is  run  around  and  through  the  nest.  If  the  bird  has 
"  human  intelligence,"  there  is  no  reason  wdiy  she  should  not 
have  learned  the  "  coil,"  as  it  is  the  first  attempt  at  weaving 
taught  the  children.  If  it  was  accidental,  then  the  bird  certainly 
used  the  string  to  the  best  economy  for  the  strength  of  the  nest. 
If  in  her  new  environment  and  larger  life,  instinct  came  to  the 


130  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may  1905 

bird's  aid,  she  took  the  material  at  hand  and  fashioned  a  nest  after 
her  own  way. 

Does  it  not  raise  a  question  whether  the  abihty  to  weave  is  to 
be  confined  to  the  class  of  birds  called  weavers?  To  the  writer, 
at  least,  it  seems  evident  that  either  instinct  or  "  bird  reason  " 
taught  her  that  in  the  absence  of  the  strength  of  the  usual  arti- 
ficial nest,  something  new  had  to  be  brought  into  service  to  make 
the  nest  stronger.  D.  R.  Wood. 

State  Normal  School, 
San  Jose,  California. 

I  have  seen  a  number  of  canaries'  nests,  but  have  not  known  of 
one  acting  in  any  such  manner.  Certainly  the  finches  do  a  good 
deal  of  a  rough  sort  of  weaving,  especially  in  lining  the  nest. 
The  chipping  sparrow's  nest  is  a  model  in  point.  This  instance 
may  be  explained,  it  seems  to  me,  as  the  re-assertion  of  a  native 
instinct  on  bringing  the  canary  back  to  a  more  natural  environ- 
ment. C.  F.  H. 


BOOK  REVIEWS 

A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture.  By  A.  I.  Root,  revised  by  E.  R.  Root.  Pp. 
490,  illustrated.     Medina,  O.,  A.  I.  Root  Co.,  1905.     $1.20. 

This  well-known  "  cyclopaedia  of  everything  pertaining  to 
the  care  of  the  honey-bee  "  first  appeared  in  1877,  and  nearly 
100,000  copies  have  been  sold.  For  the  information  of  readers 
who  have  not  seen  earlier  editions,  we  explain  that  it  is  arranged 
on  the  dictionary  plan  for  ready  reference  in  connection  with 
practical  work.  If  one  wants  at  any  particular  time  to  know 
about  hives,  stings,  drones,  queens,  swarming,  wintering,  enemies 
of  bees,  robbing — to  take  at  random  only  a  few  of  the  interesting 
topics  which  come  to  mind — full  information  of  a  very  practical 
kind  is  to  be  found  under  these  headings.  There  are  hundreds 
of  good  figures  which  add  to  clearness  of  the  descriptions.  Any 
one  who  has  any  practical  dealings  with  bees  will  find  this  book 
indispensable ;  and  many  persons  have  found  it  very  interesting 
reading  quite  apart  from  actual  bee-keeping. 

In  this  connection  it  may  interest  some  readers  to  know  that  the 
publishers  of  this  complete  guide  issue  several  interesting  pam- 
phlets for  amateurs  wihch  are  good  introductions  to  the  ABC 
volume.     Among   these   are   "  Habits   of  the   Honey-Bee "   and 


I 


BOOK   REVIEWS  13^ 

"  Outfits  for  Beginners  in  Bee  Culture,"  both  of  which  are  free 
to  those  interested.  M.  A.  B. 

Manual  of  the  Trees  of  North  America.  By  Charles  S.  Sargent. 
Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin.  1905.  Pp.  826,  fig.  644.  $6.00. 
Professor  Sargent's  "  Manual  of  the  Trees  of  North  America  " 
is  a  welcome  addition  to  any  nature-study  library.  Giving  in 
condensed  form  the  substance  of  the  author's  standard  "  Silva 
of  North  America,"  this  manual  is  of  convenient  size  for  handy 
reference.  Trees  of  all  regions  of  North  America,  exclusive 
of  Mexico,  are  included  and  their  identification  is  facilitated  by 
reference  to  a  regional  map  of  the  tree  vegetation.  The  book  is 
thus  of  more  general  use  than  any  of  the  small  manuals  published 
heretofore.  An  analytical  key  to  the  families  based  on  arrange- 
ment and  character  of  the  leaves,  and  keys  to  genera  and  species 
are  given.  The  species  are  illustrated  by  Mr.  Charles  E.  Faxon 
with  drawings  of  leaf,  flower  and  fruit.  What  may  seem  to  the 
general  reader  like  a  disproportionate  amount  of  space  is  given 
to  the  132  species  of  Crataegus  out  of  the  total  630  species  de- 
scribed, but  the  book  is,  nevertheless,  by  no  means  too  technical 
or  special  and  will  be  found  useful  by  all  persons  who  are  inter- 
ested in  out-of-door  things.  A.  Watterson. 

Nature-Study  with  Common  Things.  By  M.  H.  Carter.  N.  Y., 
American  Book  Co.     1904.     Pp.  150,  illustrated.     60  cents. 

This  "  laboratory  guide  "  for  young  pupils,  of  the  fourth,  fifth 
or  sixth  years,  consists  of  questions  and  directions  for  practical 
class-room  study  of  common  fruits  and  vegetables,  such  as  are 
readily  obtained  from  the  markets — blackberry,  plum,  pear, 
grape,  radish,  potato,  apple,  lemon,  orange,  onion,  beet,  carrot, 
pea,  cranberry,  strawberry  and  cherry.  The  aim  of  this  work 
is  simply  training  and  developing  the  power  of  accurate  obser- 
vation, "  learning  how  to  learn,"  for  its  own  sake  without  regard 
to  the  relative  value  of  the  facts  learned.  The  author  states  that 
"  many  of  the  observations  the  pupil  is  called  upon  to  make  in 
these  lessons  bear  upon  no  conclusion.  They  make  no  attempt 
to  explain  anything,  but  are  for  the  sole  purpose  of  being  made." 

Each  object  is  to  be  studied  in  a  single  one-hour  lesson,  ex:lu- 
sive  of  drawings  and  written  work.  Concerning  the  latter,  the 
author  believes  that  "  the  teacher  who  sets  too  great  a  premium 
upon  the  language  side  of  nature  lessons  create  pupils  zcJw  ivant 
to  see  only  in  order  to  say,  and  their  cursory  and  shallow  observa- 


132  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may  1905 

tions  dribble  away  at  the  ends  of  their  tongues  without  having 
an  idea  behind.  The  child's  attention  must  be  held  to  what  he 
can  see,  not  to  what  he  can  say,  if  he  is  to  get  a  clear-cut  mental 
image." 

Concerning  original  observations  by  pupils,  the  author  gives 
this  sensible  advice  which  many  teachers  will  do  well  to  follow : 
"  Another  thing  a  teacher  ought  scrupulously  to  avoid  is  letting 
the  child  get  the  notion  that  he  is  making  new  discoveries  except 
for  himself.  This  thought  may  stimulate  him  for  the  moment, 
but  in  the  long  run  it  is  injurious  to  his  intellectual  development. 
To-day  it  is  almost  beyond  the  bounds  of  human  possibility  that 
a  child  should  discover  an  unknown  fact  in  the  sciences,  and  the 
thought  that  he  can  do  so  will  either  engender  in  him  an  arro- 
gant self-conceit,  or  it  will  entail  a  cruel  awakening  which  may 
convince  him  that  all  effort  on  his  part  is  useless.  The  ideal  to 
hold  before  the  young  student  is  the  desire  to  see  and  learn  for 
himself  all  that  others  have  seen  and  learned  before,  and  then 
more  if  he  can." 

Altogether  the  book  impresses  the  reviewer  quite  favorably. 
It  seems  certain  that  most  schools  would  strengthen  their  nature- 
study  as  a  whole  by  following,  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  grades,  this 
guide  through  its  seventeen  lessons.  Many  educators  are  far 
from  being  convinced  that  any  observation  not  directed  towards 
obtaining  useful  knowledge  is  best ;  but  at  present  this  is  inter- 
esting theory  and  not  capable  of  rigid  practice,  and  in  much  of 
our  nature-study  we  can  do  no  better  than  lead  pupils  to  see 
observable  things  and  trust  that  the  practice  of  observing  may 
in  itself  be  ample  justification  for  the  work.  Until  some  one 
arranges  a  similar  book  taking  account  of  both  training  in  obser- 
vation and  useful  knowledge  Miss  Carter's  book  will  fill  an 
important  place,  especially  in  schools  where  the  teachers  require 
definite  guides  in  their  nature-study  teaching.  M.  A.  B. 

Mosses  with  a  Hand  Lens.     By    A.  J.    Grout.     Second    edition 

with  Hepatics.     Pp.  16-208.    8vo.    Illustrated.     New  York, 

The  O.  T.  Louis  Company,  59  Fifth  Avenue.     $1.75. 

There  is  far  too  little  appreciation  of  the  mosses  and  liverworts 

as  objects  of  natural-history  study.     To  be  sure  many  of  these 

beautiful  plants  are  much  too  small  for  the  younger  pupils  of 

the  elementary  school,  but  they  may  at  any  rate  be  studied  en 

masse,  while  for  the  older  pupils  the  larger  forms,  of  which  there 


NOTES    ON    RECENT    ARTICLES  133 

are  many,  may  very  properly  be  studied  in  a  not  too  detailed 
way,  especially  on  field  trips  and  by  growing  them  under  cover 
in  the  schoolroom,  to  which  they  lend  themselves  well.  Until 
the  appearance  of  Dr.  Grout's  earlier  book  of  the  same  title  no 
means  was  at  hand  for  the  guidance  of  those  who,  with  little 
technical  knowledge,  desired  to  acquaint  themselves  with  these 
lovely  if  lowly  forms,  the  mosses.  The  second  edition,  which 
we  notice  here,  extends  the  scope  of  the  book  to  include  the 
liverworts,  which  are  on  the  whole  less  conspicuous  even  than 
the  mosses,  but  which  are  as  easily  studied  in  a  general  way. 
The  uninitiated  have  now  a  simple  guide  for  the  study  of  these 
which  calls  for  the  use  of  a  simple  hand  lens  only.  The  illustra- 
tions are  very  good.  Certainly  every  teacher  of  nature-study 
will  find  Dr.  Grout's  book  of  much  help.  F.  E.  L. 

Book  of  April  and  May  Flowers.  By  Anna  Botsford  Comstock. 
New  York,  American  Book  Co.  1904.  Paper,  65  pages. 
The  full  title  of  half  of  this  book  is  "  My  own  book  of  three 
flowers  which  blossom  in  April,"  and  the  second  half  is  devoted 
to  three  flowers  of  May.  It  is  essentially  an  attempt  to  correlate 
nature-study,  art  and  language,  the  book  consisting  of  sugges- 
tions for  drawing  and  describing  the  flowers  on  blank  pages 
inserted  for  that  purpose.  The  April  flowers  selected  are  hepat- 
ica,  spring  beauty,  and  adder's  tongue ;  and  squirrel  corn,  trillium 
and  jack-in-the-pulpit  are  the  flowers  for  May.  An  accom- 
panying book  of  fourteen  pages  gives  notes  and  suggestions  for 
the  teacher.  Both  pupil's  and  teacher's  books  appeal  to  the 
reviewer  as  having  many  points  of  excellence. 


NOTES  ON  RECENT  PAMPHLETS  AND  MAGAZINE 
ARTICLES 

Physical  Nature-Study.  Recently  published  leaflets  in  the  Hampton 
Institute  series  deal  with  "  Simple  Experiments  in  Physics  "  (Physical 
Nature-Study).  Leaflet  No.  17,  "Water,"  by  Sarah  J.  Walter,  sug- 
gests experiments  to  show  "  changes  due  to  heat  and  cold,"  under  the 
topics  evaporation  and  condensation.  A  second  leaflet  (n.  s.  Vol. 
I,  No.  i)  by  the  same  author  deals  with  "Heat,"  its  sources,  eft'ects 
upon  solids,  liquids  and  gases.     5  cents  each. 

Hampton  Leaflets.  Other  recently  issued  leaflets  in  this  series  are : 
"  Sheep,"  "  Notes  on  Transplanting,"  "  Some  Birds  Useful  to  the 
Southern  Farmer,"  5  cents  each. 


134  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

Beneficial  Soil  Bacteria.  Farmers'  Bulletin  214  (free)  of  the  U. 
S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture  is  a  very  interesting  account  of  the  nitrogen- 
fixing  bacteria  which  live  in  the  nodules  on  roots  of  leguminous 
plants,  such  as  clover  and  peas,  and  the  relation  of  these  bacteria  to 
the  fertility  of  soils.  The  recently  perfected  methods  of  artificially 
inoculating  soils  are  fully  described. 

Bird  Leaflets.  Educational  Leaflet  No.  12  issued  by  the  National 
Association  of  Audubon  Societies  deals  with  the  short-eared  owl- 
description,  habits  and  economic  relations.  The  full  list  of  leaflets 
published  to  the  end  of  1904  includes:  (i)  night  hawk;  (2)  mourning 
dove;  (3)  meadow  lark;  (4)  robin;  (5)  flicker;  (6)  wild  pigeon; 
(7)  snowy  heron;  (8)  marsh  hawk;  (9)  red-shouldered  hawk;  (10) 
sparrow  hawk;  (11)  screech  owl;  (12)  short-eared  owl.  Informa- 
tion concerning  the  leaflets  and  the  Audubon  Societies  may  be  ob- 
tained from  Mr.  William  Butcher,  525  Manhattan  Ave.,  New  York 
City. 

Field  Notes  in  Nature- Study.  Under  this  title  the  Cincinnati 
Teachers'  University  Club  of  Natural  History  is  issuing  a  series  of 
pamphlets  intended  primarily  to  aid  teachers  of  the  Cincinnati 
schools  in  their  nature-study  work.  Pamphlet  No.  i,  "  A  Chapter 
from  the  Insect  World:  Butterflies,  and  moths,"  is  by  Professor 
William  Osborn.  No.  2,  issued  in  March,  treats  of  "  Land  Sculptur- 
ing Displayed  about  Cincinnati  " ;  and  the  editor  has  added  some  very 
useful  suggestions  which  will  help  teachers  in  presenting  to  pupils 
the  simple  facts  regarding  land  sculpturing.  No.  3,  "  Land  Snails," 
will  be  ready  soon.  The  Club  has  arranged  a  system  of  affiliation  for 
nature-study  clubs  in  schools  and  will  soon  publish  a  pamphlet  on 
"  How  to  Organize  and  Keep  Alive  a  Nature-Study  Club."  Full 
information  may  be  obtained  from  the  Department  of  Biology,  Uni- 
versity of  Cincinnati. 

"Best  Books."  Lord  Avebury's  (Sir  John  Lubbock)  revised  list 
of  100  books  from  all  languages,  which  has  been  recently  published, 
includes  five  books  directly  relating  to  natural  history:  Humboldt's 
"  Travels,"  Darwin's  "  Voyage  of  the  Beagle,"  White's  "  Natural 
History  of  Selborne,"  Cook's  "  Voyages,"  and  Darwin's  "  Origin 
of  Species." 

Natural  History  of  the  Dog.  The  Open  Court  is  publishing  an 
interesting  series  of  articles  by  Dr.  Woods  Hutchinson,  on  "  What 
the  dog  is  built  to  do,"  "  an  Introduction  to  the  Rational  Study  of 
Natural  History  for  Children."  It  is  essentially  a  study  of  the  domes- 
ticated dog  from  the  standpoint  of  the  adaptations  of  structure  and 
habit  which  have  a  close  relation  to  the  animal's  life. 


NOTES    ON    RECENT    ARTICLES  135 

Department  of  Agriculture  Publications.  The  latest  "  Monthly 
List "  announces  the  following  new  and  reprinted  bulletins  and  cir- 
culars which  are  of  interest  to  teachers  of  nature-study  and  elemen- 
tary agriculture.  Those  with  a  price  attached  are  for  sale  by  the 
Superintendent  of  Documents,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  all  others  are  free 
upon  application  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

A  Primer  of  Forestry.  Part  II.  Practical  Forestry.  Bulletin  No. 
24,  Bureau  of  Forestry.     Price  30  cents. 

Cuckoos  and  Shrikes  in  their  Relation  to  Agriculture.  Bulletin 
No.  9,  Division  of  Biological  Survey.     5  cents. 

Food  of  the  Bobolink,  Blackbirds  and  Crackles.  Bull.  13,  Div.  Biol. 
Surv.     5  cents. 

The  Relation  of  Sparrows  to  Agriculture.  Bull.  15,  Div.  Biol. 
Surv.     10  cents. 

Birds  of  a  Maryland  Farm:  A  Local  Study  of  Economic  Ornithol- 
ogy.    Bull.  17,  Div.  Biol.  Surv.     15  cents. 

The  Honey  Bee:  A  Manual  of  Instruction  in  Apiculture.  Bull,  i, 
New  Series,  Division  of  Entomology.     15  cents. 

Bird  Day  in  the  Schools.     Circular  No.  17,  Div.  Biol.  Surv. 

The  Common  Squash  Bug.  Circular  No.  39,  revised,  Bureau  of 
Entomology, 

Two  Vanishing  Game  Birds:  The  Woodcock  and  the  Wood  Duck. 
Reprint  from  Year-book  of  Department  of  Agriculture  for  1901. 

The  Relation  of  Forests  to  Stream  Flow.  Reprint  from  Yearbook 
1903. 

The  School  Garden.     Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  218. 

Nature-Study  for  Primary  Grades.  This  is  the  title  of  No.  16  of 
the  Hampton  Institute  series,  by  Annie  M.  Coding  and  Mary  C. 
Breen,  of  the  Washington,  D.  C,  Normal  School.  The  outline  is 
intended  for  the  three  lower  grades,  but  no  attempt  is  made  at  speci- 
fying the  particular  work  for  each  of  these  grades.  The  plan  is 
arranged  according  to  the  seasons,  and  for  fall,  winter  and  spring 
many  interesting  studies  are  suggested  and  numerous  references  given. 
The  pamphlet  contains  28  pages,  and  the  price  is  10  cents. 

Practical  Studies  in  Agriculture.  A  pamphlet  of  forty  pages  from 
the  School  of  Agriculture  of  Purdue  University,  prepared  by  Pro- 
fessor M.  L.  Fisher,  contains  in  Part  I  clear  directions  for  twenty- 
seven  practical  studies  closely  connected  with  agriculture  and  in  Part 
II  are  directions  for  fifteen  "  experiments  for  home  study."  The 
pamphlet  will  be  very  helpful  to  teachers  who  are  arranging  courses 
in  elementary  agriculture. 


136  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

NEW  BOOKS  RECEIVED 

In  addition  to  books  reviewed  in  this  issue  the  following  are  reserved 
for  future  notice : 

Experiments  with  Plants.  By  W.  J.  V.  Osterhout.  N.  Y.,  Macmillan 
Co.     1905.     Pp.  492,  figs.  252.     $1.25. 

Nature  Study:  A  Pupil's  Text-book.  By  F.  Overton  and  Mary  E.  Hill. 
N.  Y.,  American  Book  Co.     1905.     Pp.   142,  illustrated. 

Physiology  and  Hygiene  for  Children.  By  Robert  Eadie  and  Andrew 
Eadie.     N.  Y.,  University  Pub.  Co.     1904.     Pp.  204. 


GUIDE   TO   PERIODICAL   LITERATURE 

A   BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF  THE  LEADING   MAGAZINE   ARTICLES   OF   INTER- 
EST   IN    CONNECTION    WITH    NATURE-STUDY 
SEPTEMBER,    I904,    TO    APRIL,    I905 

ARRANGED   BY   ADA   WATTERSON 
Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University  -  't 

[Editorial  Note. — The  bibliography  for  the  first  eight  months  of  the 
year  1904  appeared  in  the  January  and  March  issues  of  The  Review. 

It  has  not  been  attempted  to  make  a  complete  bibliography ;  but  rather  to 
select  those  articles  which  appear  to  be  most  important  and  accessible  in 
most  public  libraries.  In  the  case  of  periodicals  designed  for  local  circula- 
tion, only  articles  of  exceptional  merit  will  be  catalogued. 

The  figures  with  black  face  indicate  the  volume  and  those  following  the 
:  refer  to  the  pages.  The  abbreviations  of  journal  titles  and  dates  are 
those  used  in  the  general  indexes  to  be  found  in  libraries. 

Readers  are  requested  to  inform  the  compiler  concerning  any  important 
omissions.] 
1.     EDUCATIONAL  AND  GENERAL  DISCUSSIONS  OP  NATURE-STUDY 

Bass,  W.  S.  Science  in  the  Francis  W.  Parker  School.  Ele.  Sch. 
Teacher.  5:97-113-     O.  '04. 

Brown,  I.  M.  Nature-study  in  the  third  grade.  N.  Y.  Teachers'  Mono. 
6:34-43.     O.  '04.     (Study  of  birds  and  house-fly.) 

Guyer,  M.  F.  The  question  of  method  in  nature-study.  Fed.  Sem.  12: 
86-92.     Mr.  '05. 

Hampton  Nature-study  Leaflets.  List  of  publications  and  terms  of  pur- 
chase.    Southern  Workman.  33  :  572-3-     O.  '04. 

Harvey,  A.  E.  The  value  of  pet  animals  in  the  kindergarten.  Kind. 
Rev.  15  :  7-10.     S.  '04. 

Overton,  F.  Practical  experiences  in  nature-study.  Amer.  Educ.  8: 
91-5.     O.  '04. 


PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  137 

Ritter,  J.  Notes  on  nature-study  in  4B.  N.  Y.  Teachers'  Mono.  6 :  65- 
70.     O.  '04.     (Studies  of  ferns,  mushrooms,  trees.) 

Suggestions  for  nature-study.  Abridged  from  report  to  Com.  of  Educ, 
Science  Sect,  of  British  Assoc.     School  World    (Eng.).  6:428-9.     N.  '04. 

The  curriculum  of  the  University  Elementary  School  (Chicago  Univer- 
sity).    Ele.  Sch.  Teacher.  5:202-24.     D.  '04. 

2.NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  ANIMALS  AND  PLANTS 
I.  ANIMALS 
General 

Burroughs,  J.  Do  animals  think?  Harper.  110:354-8.  F.  '05.  Do 
animals  reason?     Outing.  45:758-9.     Mr.  '05. 

Deacon,  C.  F.     Do  animals  reason?     Outing.  45:760-1.     Mr.  '05. 

Hutchinson,  Woods.  Animal  marriage.  Contemp.  Rev.  86 :  485-496. 
O.  '04.     (Evolution  of  monogamy.) 

Lull,  R.  S.  Nature's  hieroglyphics.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.  66 :  139-49.  D.  '04. 
(Restoration  of  the  structure  of  extinct  animals  from  their  footprints.) 

Osborn,  H.  F.  Icthyosaurs.  Century.  69:414-422.  Ja.  '05.  (Fossil 
wonders  of  the  West.) 

Rolker,  A.  W.  Wild  animal  trapping.  McClure.  24:431-42.  F.  '05. 
Invertebrates,  except  Insects 

Brewster,  E.  T.  Some  curious  methods  by  w^hich  nature  mends  injuries. 
St.  Nich.  32:265-6.     Ja.  '05.     (Regeneration  in  fiatworms.) 

Herrick,  F.  H.     How  the  lobster  grows.     St.   Nich.  32 :  456-8.     Mr.  '05. 

Marshall,  N.  L.     A  school  aquarium.     Prim.  Educ.  12  :  398,  400.     O.  '04. 

Whedon,  C.  C.     The  fresh-water  aquarium.     C'try  Life  in  Amer.  7 :  287-9. 
Ja.  '05. 
Insects 

Aaron,  S.  F.     The  spider  without  a  snare.     St.  Nich.  32 :  170-1.     D.  '04. 

Bigelow,  E.  F.     How  insects  breathe.     St.  Nich.  32 :  75.     N.  '04. 

Bond,  I.     Watching  ants  in  school.     Prim.  Educ.  13 :  34,  36.     Ja.  '05. 

Collins,  P.  Terrifying  masks  and  warning  liveries.  Sci.  Am.  S.  58 : 
24084.     O.  22,  '04.     (Protective  and  warning  colors  of  insects.) 

Smith,  J.  B.  Mosquito  investigation  in  New  Jersey.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.  66: 
281-6.     Ja.  '05. 

Stewart,  W.  R.     Great  industries  of  the  United  States.     V.  The  manu- 
facture of  silk.     Cosm.  38  :  95-104-     N.  '04. 
Lower  Vertebrates 

Smith,  H.  M.  The  giant  fishes  of  the  sea.  St.  Nich.  32 :  72-4.  N.  '04. 
Birds 

Brunner,  J.  The  love-making  of  the  grouse.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  7: 
342-7.     F.  '05. 

Chapman,  F.  M.     A  flamingo  city.     Century.  69 :  163-80.     D.  '04. 

Dutcher,  W.  The  ostrich.  Bird-Lore.  7 :  153-6.  Mr.-Ap.  '05.  Results 
of  special  protection  to  water  birds.     Bird-Lore.  7:45-116.     Ja.-F.  '05. 

Forbush,  E.  H.     Nesting  boxes.     Bird-Lore.  7 :  5-9.    Ja.-F.  '05. 


138  •         THE    NATURE -STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  3,  may  1905 

Franklin,  R.  B.  Little  Pete.  St.  Nich.  32  :  120-1.  D.  '04.  (True  story 
of  a  carrier  pigeon.) 

Ingersoll,  E.  The  unfortunate  birds  of  the  night.  Harper,  no:  138-40. 
D.  '04. 

Jones,  Lynds.     Winter  habits  of  birds.     Sch.  Rev.  13 :  29-33.     Ja.  '05. 

Kornmann,  E.  and  others.  A  series  of  lessons  on  the  fall  birds  for 
primary  grades.     Sch.  Work.  3 :  233-42.     O.  '04. 

Pearson,   T.   G.     The  cormorants  of  Great  Lake.     Bird-Lore.     7:121-6. 
Mr.-Ap.  '05. 
Mammals 

Beckwith,  M.  H.  Domestic  animals.  3.  Cow.  Prim.  Educ.  12 :  436-8. 
N.  '04.  4.  Sheep.  12 :  477-8.  D.  '04.  5.  Goat.  13 : 9-12.  Ja.  '05.  6. 
Horse.     13 :  61-3.     F.  '05.     7.  Donkey.     13 :  131-2.     Mr.  '05. 

Brunner,  J.  The  devastating  squirrel.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  7 :  264-7. 
Ja.  '05. 

Hutchinson,  Woods.  What  the  dog  is  built  to  do.  Open  Court.  18 :  577- 
83.     O.  '04. 

Knowles,  W.  C.     A  white  squirrel.     St.  Nich.  32 :  169-70.     D.  '04. 

Osborn,  H.  F.  The  evolution  of  the  horse  in  America.  Century.  69 : 
3-17.     N.  '04. 

Loring,  J.  A.  How  elk  shed  and  renew  their  antlers.  St.  Nich.  32: 
361-2.     F.  '05. 

Williams,  C.  E.  A  glimpse  of  beavers  at  work.  McClure.  24:292-8. 
Ja.  '05. 

n.  PLANTS 
General 

Comstock,  A.  B.  Leaves.  Chaut.  40 :  173-4.  O.  '04.  Seed  distribution. 
40 :  271-3,  N.  '04.  The  evergreens.  40 :  366-9,  465-8.  D.  '04,  Ja.  '05. 
(Contains  excellent  keys.)     Tree  study  in  winter.  41:66-72.     Mr.  '05. 

Harwood,  W.  S.  A  wonder-worker  of  science.  Century.  69 :  656-72. 
Mr.  '05.     (An  interesting  account  of  Luther  Burbank's  work.) 

Hayward,  C.  B.  Bananas — their  culture  and  transportation.  Sci.  Amer. 
92  :  78-80.     Ja.  28,  '05. 

Howe,  C.  D.     Study  of  trees  in  winter.     Sch.  Rev.  13 :  25-9.     Ja.  '05. 

Ingersoll,  E.     Plant  life  in  the  desert.     Harper.  110:577-83.     Mr.  '05. 

Jones,  0.  M.     Lessons  on  fall  flowers.     Sch.  Work.  3 :  308-14.     O.  '04. 

Jordan,  D.  S.  Some  experiments  of  Luther  Burbank.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo. 
66:201-225.     Ja.  '05.     (New  species  of  plants.) 

Mackenzie,  M.     The  great  pine  family.     Kind.  Rev.  15:350-1.     F.  '05. 

McFarland,  J.  H.  Christmas  fruits — where  they  grow.  C'try  Life  in 
Amer.  7  :  160-170.     D.- '04.     (Colored  plates.) 

Marshall,  N.  L.     Evergreens.     Prim.  Educ.  12:486-7.     D.  '04. 

Rogers,  J.  E.  How  trees  spend  the  winter.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  7: 
396-8.     F.  '05. 

Forestry 

Sipe,  S.  B.  Teaching  elementary  forestry.  For.  and  Irr.  11:72-5. 
F.  '05.     (In  Washington,  D.  C,  Normal  School.) 


PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  139 

Thomas,  Giinther.  German  and  American  forestry  methods.  Forum. 
36  :  4518-66.     Ja.-Mr.  '05. 

Waugh,  F.  A.  How  to  plant  a  tree.  C'try  Life  in  xA.mer.  7 :  281-2. 
Ja.  '05. 

Zon,  R.  G,     Forestry  in  Germany.     Ghaut.  40 :  253-63.     N.  '04. 

3.     AGRICULTURE,  INCLUDING  GARDENING 

Agricultural  high  schools.     Ind.  58:334-6.     F.  9,  '05. 

Barry,  H.     The  making  of  a  hotbed.     Garden  Mag.  i  :  58-60.     Mr.  '05. 

Bennett,  H.  C.  School  gardens.  Kind.  Rev.  15:393-401.  Mr.  '05.  The 
Teacher.  8  :  227-9.     O.  '04. 

Burkett,  C.  W.  The  vital  facts  of  agriculture.  Crops  to  grow  and  pre- 
paring the  land.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  7 :  255-8.  Ja.  '05.  Tillage  tools.  7  : 
372-4.     F.  '05. 

Fletcher,  S.  W.  Pruning  the  home  orchard.  Garden  Mag.  i :  64-67. 
Mr.  '05. 

Fullerton,  E.  L.  How  to  plan  the  vegetable  garden.  Garden  Mag.  i : 
F.  '05.     A  victorious  campaign  against  insects,  i  :  68-71.     Mr.  '05. 

Greathouse,  C.  H.  Winter  plans  for  summer  gardens — preparing  the 
soil.     Outing.  45  :  755-6.     Mr.  '05. 

Grosvenor,  G.  H.  Inoculating  the  ground.  A  remarkable  discovery  in 
scientific  agriculture.     Century.  68 :  831-9.     O.  '04.     (Nitrogen  problem.) 

Hosford,  G.  W.  Notes  on  transplanting.  Hampton  Leaflets,  n.  s.  i,  no. 
3.     Mr.  '05.     Pp.  7. 

Jackman,  W.  S.     Fall  planting.     Ele.  Sch.  Teacher.  5:  114-7.     O.  '04. 

Linn,  A.  Bulbs  for  the  winter  window  garden.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  6 : 
582.     O.  '04. 

McAdam,  T.     Flowers  for  the  autumn.     C'try  Life  in  Amer.  6 : 
N.  '04.     The  gentle  art  of  wild  gardening.  7 :  470-3.     Mr.  '05. 

Marcosson,  I.  F.  Harvesting  the  wheat.  World's  Work.  9 :  5459-77. 
N.  '04.     (Modern  methods  in  the  West.) 

Mason,  A.  R.  Gaining  a  whole  month.  Garden  Mag.  i  :  74.  Mr.  '05. 
(Planting  seeds.) 

M.,  W.  The  rock  garden :  Alpine  and  Iceland  poppies.  Garden  Mag. 
1 :  75.     Mr.  '05. 

Mumford,  H.  W.  Study  of  animal  husbandry.  Serial  in  School  News. 
18.     O.  '04-Mr.  '05. 

Poe,  C.  H.  The  Government  and  the  new  farmer.  World's  Work.  9 : 
5951-64.  Mr.  '05.  The  rich  kingdom  of  cotton.  9:5488-98.  N.  '04. 
(Plant,  harvesting,  manufacture.) 

Powell,  E.  P.     Creative  farming.     Ind.  57  :  783-7.     O.  6,  '04. 

Spencer,  J.  H.  Growing  bulbs  in  sand  and  water.  C'try  Life  in  Amer. 
7  :  55-6.     N.  '04. 

Sweetser,  W.  S.  Breeds,  care  and  management  of  sheep.  Hampton 
Leaflets,  n.  s.  i :  3-13.     F.  '05. 

Wilson,  J.  A  bird's-eye  view  of  enormous  work  for  agriculture. 
World's  Work.  9  :  5566-7.     D.  '04. 


I40  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  3,  may   1905 

4.    PHYSICAL  NATURE-STUDY 

Walter,  S.  J.  Simple  experiments  in  physics :  water.  Hampton  Nature 
Study  Leaflets,  no.  17.  1904.  Pp.  7.  Heat.  Hampton  Leaflets,  n.  s.  1, 
no.  I.     Ja.  '05.     Pp.  8. 


QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS 

[This  department  will  be  devoted  to  the  many  little  practical  prob- 
lems which  are  of  interest  to  teachers  of  nature-study ;  and  all  readers 
are  invited  to  use  this  column  freely.  Questions  should  be  sent  to 
the  office  of  the  managing  editor.  Some  will  be  answered  by  members 
of  the  editorial  board,  while  others  must  be  referred  to  readers  for 
answers  in  later  issues.  But  in  all  cases  the  answers  published  are 
subject  to  discussion,  correction,  or  addition  by  readers.  We  hope 
to  have  such  supplementary  answers  within  a  month  after  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  first  answer.] 

Nature  Study  or  nature-study.  In  reply  to  several  questions  re- 
gard the  form  "  nature-study  "  which  is  used  in  this  journal,  except 
where  in  quotations  the  form  "  Nature  Study  "  may  occur,  it  should 
be  said  that  it  was  adopted  as  the  preferred  form  after  consulting 
many  authorities  on  similar  compounds.  The  word  nature-study  is 
too  young  for  the  common  dictionaries,  but  similar  compounds,  such 
as  nature-worship  and  nature-print  are  in  the  leading  dictionaries 
hyphenated.  Aside  from  the  authority  of  lexicographers,  there  is  a 
special  argument  for  the  hyphenated  form  in  that  we  now  have 
reason  to  speak  of  biological  and  physical  nature-study,  and  the 
hyphen  makes  it  clear  that  the  adjective  modifies  the  combined  words. 

With  regard  to  the  capital  letters,  the  old  custom  of  writing  Nature, 
meaning  the  material  universe,  is  rapidly  passing;  and  especially  in 
the  case  of  nature-study  as  a  school  subject  there  is  no  more  reason 
why  capitals  should  be  used  than  in  the  case  of  arithmetic,  geography, 
chemistry,  etc. 

Classification  of  Birds.  In  reply  to  a  question  referred  to  readers 
in  No.  I  of  this  journal,  it  seems  to  be  the  general  opinion  of  the 
best  teachers  that  the  scientific  classification  of  ornithologists  has  no 
proper  place  in  elementary  schools.  Instead  it  is  better  to  group 
birds  as  scratchers,  swimmers,  waders,  birds  of  prey,  climbers, 
perchers,  naming  the  groups  according  to  the  most  obvious  adapta- 
tions in  external  structure.  This  classification  from  the  old  natural 
history  does  not  agree  with  the  modern  system  which  takes  account 
of  the  comparative  structure  of  internal  organs,  but  for  nature-study 
purposes  the  old  grouping  is  certainly  best  because  it  is  based  on 
what  pupils  can  actually  see  and  understand. 


Summer  Courses  in  Sciences  and  Nature-Study 

HARVARD   VNIVERSITT 
SUMMER  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES 

offers  courses  for  men  and  women  in  Classical  Archaeology,  Greek,  Latin,  English,  Voice 
Training,  Reading  and  Speaking,  German,  French,  Italian,  Spanish,  Phonetics,  History, 
Psychology,  Philosophy,  Education,  Theory  of  Pure  Design,  Drawing  and  Painting, 
Architectural  Drawing,  Theory  of  Architectural  Design,  History  of  European  Architec- 
ture, Mathematics,  Surveying,  Shopwork,  Physics,  Chemistry,  Botany,  Geology,  Geog- 
raphy, and  in  Physical  Education.  These  courses  are  designed  primarily  for  teachers, 
but  are  open  without  entrance  examination  to  all  qualified  persons.  The  University 
Libraries,  Museums,  Laboratories,  etc.,  will  be  at  the  service  of  members  of  the  Summer 
School.  The  School  opens  Wednesday,  July  5th,  and  closes  Tuesday,  August  15th, 
1905.  For  full  Announcement,  address  J.  L.  LovE,  16  University  Hall,  Cambridge, 
Mass. 

N.  S.  SHALER,  Chairman. 


CORNELL   UNIFERSirr 
SUMMER  SESSION  JULY  5— AUGUST  16,  1905 

Courses  in  all  academic  departments. 

Departments  of  Geography  and  of  Nature-Study. 

Work  for  the  Grades. 

Abundant  Courses  for  College  and  High-School  Teachers. 

Tuition  Fee  $25.         Inexpensive  Living. 


I 


Send  for  Circular  and  Book  of  Views,  address 

The  Registrart  Cornell  University,  Itha.ca,  N.   Y. 

MARINE    BIOLOGICAL  LABORJTORT 

The  Marine  Biological  Laboratory,  Woods  Holl,  Mass.,  offers  for  the  Season  of 
1905,  courses  in  Zoology,  Life- Histories  of, Animals,  Comparative  Physiology,  and 
Botany,  for  six  weeks,  beginning  June  28.  Detailed  Announcements  of  the  courses  may 
be  obtained  from  Frank  R.  Lillie,  Assistant  Director,  The  University  of  Chicago, 
Chicago,  111. 

COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY,  SUMMER  SESSION 

One  hundred  and  twenty-four  courses  will  be  offered  in  twenty-three  departments. 
There  will  be  many  courses  in  the  sciences,  one  special  course  on  the  natural  history  of 
plants  and  animals  from  the  viewpoint  of  nature-study,  and  two  educational  courses  deal- 
ing with  the  teaching  of  nature-study  in  elementary  schools.  Descriptions  of  courses  and 
information  regarding  fees,  cost  of  boarding,  etc. ,  are  given  in  the  Announcement.  If 
additional  information  regarding  nature-study  courses  is  wanted,  it  may  be  obtained  from 
the  Department  of  Nature- Study,  Columbia  University. 

For  the  Announcement  of  the  Summer  Session,  address 

Secretary  of  Columbia  University,  New  York. 


Summer  Session, 

XLbc  Biological  Xaborator^ 

Of  the   Brooklyn  Institute 
of  Arts  and  Sciences    .   .    . 

COLD    SPRING    HARBOR,  L.  I. 


Situated  on  the  sea,  near  lakes,  streams  and  forests. 
Field  courses  in  Zoology  and  Botany.  Sixteenth  season 
July  5  to  August  5.     For  announcement  address 

C.  B.  DAVENPORT,  Director. 


FOR  TEACHERS  OF  BOTANY  AND  NATURE-STUDY 

We  now  have  ready  two  auxanometers  (plant-growth  recorders),  Lloyd's  model  at 
$2.00,  and  the  HMSAC  at  $2.50  ;  lattice- work  plant  presses  at  35  to  60  cents  ;  trans- 
parent specimen  cases  for  life-histories,  wood  frame,  separable,  dust  proof,  no  case  is 
better,  45  cents  and  up,  many  sizes.      Other  simple  apparatus  ready  and  in  preparation. 

LOWEST  FRJCES.        SEND  FOR  CIRCULARS. 

"HOME-MADE"  SCIENTIFIC  APPARATUS   CO.,  Mechanicsburg,  0. 


HELPS  IN   BOTANY 

The  American  Botanist  is  an  illustrated  monthly  journal  devoted  to  in- 
teresting facts  about  plants.  It  prints  no  technical  articles,  but  treats  of  such  subjects 
as  color,  fragrance,  nectar,  pollination,  seed-dispersal,  and  the  uses  and  habits  of  plants. 
Worth  many  times  its  price  to  any  teacher  interested  in  Botany.  Subscription  $1.00  a 
year  ;  sample  for  a  two-cent  stamp.     Address, 

WILLARD  N.  CLUTE  &  CO.,  Binghamton,  New  York. 


MARINE  BIOLOGICAL  LABORATORY 

Supply  Department,— !•  Zoology — Preserved  Material  of  all  types  of  animals  for 
class  work  or  for  the  museum.  '4.  Botany— Preserved  Material  of  Algae,  Fungi,  Liverworts  and 
Mosses.  For  price  lists  and  all  information  address  GEO.  M.  GKA*,  Curator,  Woods 
Holl,  Mass. 


V^2**>4iAA                                        The    book    is    very 

nirQICS     ^     ^     A             P''^"''>'  '""strated  by 
A#ll  ^I^V     ♦     ♦     ♦              Bertha  L.  Corbett,  the 

Flexible  Binding  15  Tents.                                 .                 ^      ^.        , 

artist     ot     bunbonnet 

F~' '3V'!'^9'H'^i^*&atfMHB»''*<' 

Babies.    The  author  is 

Ida  S.  Elson,  of  Phila- 

delphia, lately  a  promi- 

nent   Kindergartner 

of  Bethlehem,  Pa. 

Ilgl         f^^" 

A  real  gem.  Teach- 

ifc^fc.        j" 

ers  fall  in  love  with  it 

^^^^^^^^^^P^'                3r 

and    pupils    want    to 

-fl^^^^^^Hk^                 gl          '    v*^ 

read  it  through  as  soon 

l^l^^^^^^M 

as  they  begin  it.     Ap- 

«^-—r^i^M^^^^^^'tt^H 

propriate    for    School 

w^^S^f^^^^^m^^^KKL 

and  Home. 

,  -^te-                                IHpw^      **i?^ 

It  is  the  story  of  the 

•     t                        \\ 

experience  of   Delma 

^'^'^^l^-^tl      V'> 

and  Harold  who  went 

If  M 

to  their  grandfather's 

^ 

to  spend  the  summer 
1   .              11 

stuaying  ana  oDserv- 

One  day  they  heard  a  twittering  under  the  eaves          '^^^     ^j^^     birds         Con- 

tents are  : 

Birdies   at  Their  Trades:    Mason,  Swallow;    Basket- 

maker,   Crimsonfinch ;  Weaver,  Oriole;  Fuller,  Goldfinch; 

Carpenter,  Woodpecker;  Tailor,  Tailorbird. 

Birdies  and  Their  Songs:  In  the  Garden,  Robin  ;  In  the 

Wood,  Thrush ;  In  the  Field,  Bluebird ;  In  the  Sky,  Lark ; 

In  the  Home,  Canary ;  In  the  Grove,  Mockingbird. 

Birdies  on  the  Wing  :   Hummingbird. 

The  Birdies'  Farewell:  Jack  Sparrow  and  Jenny  Wren, 

Good-Bye. 

William   G.  Smith  &  Company 

MINNEAPOLIS,     MINNESOTA 

NATURE-STUDY  PUBLICATIONS 


**  FIRST  YEAR 
Welsh's  Some  of  Our  Friends,  30c,  40c  * 
Davis'  Nature  Stories  for  Youngest    Read- 
ers, 30c,  40c 
Chase's    Plant    Babies   and    Their  Cradles, 

30c,  40c 
Welsh's  Out  Doors.     Animal  Land  Series, 

30c,  40c 
Kelly's    Introduction   to    Leaves  from  Na- 
ture's Story  Book,  30c,  40c 

SECOND  YEAR 
Chase's  Buds,  Stems  and  Roots,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Some  of  Our  Flower  Friends,  300,400 
Chase's  Friends  of  the  Fields,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Stories  from  Birdland.  Vol.  I.  300,40c 

THIRD  YEAR 
Fairbank's  Home  Geography,  60c 
Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story-Book, 

Vol.  I.     400,600. 
Stories  from  Garden  and  Field,  30c,  40c 
Legends  of  the  Springtime.  3-4,     300,  40c 
Chase's  Stories  from  Birdland.  Vol  II. 

30c, 40c. 

FOURTH  YEAR 

Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story  Book. 
Vol.  II.     40c.  60c. 

Poyntz's  Aunt  May's  Bird  Talks,  50c. 

Pratt's  Little  Flower  Folks.  Vol.  I.  Stories 
from  Flowerland,  30c,  400 

Chase's  Stories  from  Animal  Land,  500,  750 

Greenleaf's  Stories  and  Tales  from  the  An- 
imal W^orld,  50c. 

Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland,  750. 


FIFTH  YEAR 

Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story  Book. 

Vol.  III.     40c,  600. 
Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland,  75c. 
Pratt's  Little  Flower  Folks;  or  Stories  from 

Flowerland.     Vol.  II.     30c,  400 
Pratt's  Storyland  of  Stars,  400,  500. 

SIXTH  YEAR 

M.   and  E.    Kirby's    Stories    About    Birds, 

$1.00. 
D'Anvers'  Science  Ladders.     Vol.  II.     40c. 
Bryant's   Poetry  of  Flowerland 
Chandler's  Habits    of    California    Plants, 

60c. 

SEVENTH  YEAR 

D'Anver's   Science    Ledders.     Vol.  III.     40c 
Flagg's  A  Year  With  the   Birds,  $1.00. 
Knox's  Horse  Stories  and  Stories  ofQther 

Animals,  $2  50. 
Pratt's  Fairyland  of  Flowers,  $1.00,  $1.25. 

EIGHTH  YEAR 

Giberne's  Ocean  of  Air,  $1.25 

Fairbanks'  Stories  of  Rocks  and  Minerals, 

600. 
Flagg's  A  Year  Among  the  Trees,  $1  00 
Wood-Allen's     Man     Wonderful  ;     or    The 

Marvels  of  Our  Bodily  Dwelling,  $1  00 
White'wS  Natural  History  of  Selborne,  25c 


*  When  two  prioes  are  given,  the  first  is  for  boards,  the  other  for  cloth. 

**  The  grades  given  are  merely  suggestive  and   the  books  may  be  used  for  grades   lower  or  higher, 
according  to  the  ability  of  the  class. 

Any  Book  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price. 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLISHING  CO.,    sro,n^T/it:M.ton 

SCHOOL  TEXT  BOOKS,  SUPPLEMENTARY  READERS,  SCHOOL  LIBRARY  BOOKS 


Species  and  Varieties 

Their  Origin   by   Mutation 

By  HUGO   DE  VRIES 

Professor  of  Botany  in  the  University  of  Amsterdam 

Edited  by  DANIEL   TREMBLY    MacDOUGAL 

Assistant  Director  of  the  New  York  Botanical  Garden 


Cloth,  gilt  topt  xxUi+830  pages. 


HUGO     DE     VRIES 


Reduced  from  a  late  photograph  of  Professor  de  Vries, 
published  by  the  Open  Court  Publishing  Company  and  sup- 
plied on  orders  for  $i.oo,  or  to  subscribers  to  "Species  and 
Varieties"  for  50c      Size  10"  x  12"  unmounted. 


Price,  postpaid,  $5.00  {2ts.) 

*'Prof.  de  Vries  may 
well  be  regarded  as  the 
foremost  advocate  of  ex- 
perimental evolution,  the 
man,  moreover,  who  gave 
us  the  mutation  theory  of 
organic  evolution.  The 
volume  before  us  is  a 
splendid  scientific  plea 
for  the  experimental  study 
of  organic  life. ' ' 

—  Scientific  A 7neric an. 


''It  will  be  seen  that 
Professor  Vries  has  made 
an  important  contribution 
to  science  and  thought. 
It  is  a  masterly  work  and 
it  is  attractive  because  of 
the  popular  style  in  which 
the  experiments  are  de- 
scribed and  the  conclu- 
sions stated.  Every  stu- 
dent of  science  will  wel- 
come it." 

—  The  Scotsman, 
Edinburgh. 


The  Open  Court  Publishing  Co 

1322  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago 


UNRIVALED  NATURE  BOOKS 

NATURE   STUDY    AND   LIFE 

By  CLIFTON   F.   HODGE, 

Assistant  Professor  of  Physiolog^j  and  Neuroloqv  in  Clark  University. 

Hodge's  "Nature  Study  and  Life"  has  proved  to  be  the  most  important  book  for 
teachers  published  during  the  last  decade.  It  has  found  a  very  wide  use  in  schools  and 
has  been  adopted  by  the  reading  circles  of  nine  important  states. 

In  the  point  of  view  in  the  selection  of  subject-matter  and  in  the  presentation  of 
methods  of  conducting  the  work  this  book  marks  a  definite  advance  over  other  pub- 
lications on  the  subject  of  nature-study. 

THE  WOOD    FOLK   SERIES 

By   WILLIAM   J.    LONG. 

Ways  of  Wood  Folk.  .  r  •    ,    r,       ,.  ,.     x.  Wood  Folk  at  School. 

o  .      r.t-     1X7      J  A  Little  Brother  to  the  Bear.  „,.,j 

Secrets  of  the  Woods.  W^ilderness  Ways. 

Through  this  series  Dr.  Long  has  won  for  himself  an  enviable  position  among  writers 
of  animal  stories.  His  birds  and  beasts  are  not  artificially  gifted  with  impossible  human 
motives  and  sentiments,  but  are  vividly  true. 


GINN    &    COMPANY  Publishers. 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  LONDON 


The  elevation  of  Geography  to  the  place  it  ought  to  hold  in 
the  school  curriculum,  is  a  matter  of  vital  moment. — GEIKIE 

The  JOURNAL 

of  GEOGRAPHY 

AN  ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINE  DEVOTED  TO  THE  INTERESTS  OF    TEACHERS  OF 
GEOGRAPHY  IN  ELEMENTARY,  SECONDARY,  AND   NORMAL  SCHOOLS 

It  is  INDISPENSABLE  to  teachers  of  geography- 
It  stands  for  PROGRESS  Each  issue  is  USABLE 

INDORSED  EVERYWHERE  by  usage 
The   only  geographical   magazine  .for   TEACHERS  OF  GEOGRAPHY 

Edited  by  RICHARD  E.  DODGE,  Professor  of  Geography,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 
University,  New  York  City. 

SUBSCRIPTION    PRICE    $1.50    A    YEAR. 
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The  Teachers  College  Record 


The  Teachers  College  Record  is  a  serial  publication  issued  by 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the 
most  recent  views  of  the  history  and  principles  of  education,  of  educa- 
tional administration,  and  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching. 

Each  number  treats  some  specific  problem  in  the  work  of  the  kinder- 
garten, elementary  school,  high  school,  or  some  department  of  college 
work.  Topics  hitherto  presented  have  included  :  schools  for  teachers  ; 
schools  of  observation  and  practice  ;  curricula  ;  courses  of  study  ;  school 
economy  ;  aims,  methods,  and  results  of  instruction  in  the  various  school 
grades  ;   and  syllabi  of  college  courses. 

The  Record  is  issued  bi-monthly,  except  July;  subscription,  $i.oo 
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numbers  hitherto  issued  will  be  sent  on  request. 


Address:  THE  TEACHERS  COLLEGE  RECORD 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City 


BIRD=UORE 

An  Illustrated  Magazine  for  Teachers  and  Students. 
Edited  by  FRANK  M.  CHAPMAN. 

Such  prominent  exponents  of  Nature- Study  as  Mrs.  Anna  Botsford  Comstock  and 
Prof.  C.  F.  Hodge  praise  BIRD-LORE  so  highly  that  we  are  led  to  believe  you  will 
find  the  magazine  of  practical  value.  Will  you  not  permit  us  to  send  you  a  specimen 
copy  so  that  you  may  judge  for  yourself? 

THE    MACMILLAN  CO.,  66  Fifth  Ave..  New  York  City. 


THE   POPULAR  SCIENCE   MONTHLY 

It  has  had  few  rivals  and  no  equal  in  the  educative  service  it  has  done  for  the  American  people. 
A  complete  set  of  the  volumes  thus  far  published  is  both  a  history  of  education  for  the  period  covered 
and  at  the  same  time  a  pretty  complete  cyclopedia  of  natural  science.  There  is  nothing  to  fill  its  place, 
and  to  carry  it  on  is  a  benefaction  to  the  public— W.  T.  Harris,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education. 

With  the  increase  of  the  importance  of  the  applications  of  science  to  all  the  varied  fields  of  social 
life,  it  becomes  more  and  more  important  to  have  a  journal  which  will  keep  the  general  public  in  touch 
with  advances  of  scientific  research  and  intelligently  direct  public  thinking  along  the  avenues  thus 
opened  up.  The  Popular  Science  Monthly  is  performing  this  function  in  a  most  admirable  way. — 
JOHN  DEWEY,  Professor  of  Philosophy,  Columbia  University. 

The  Popul.\r  Science  Monthly  has,  throughout  its  history,  accomplished  a  great  work  in  pop- 
ularizing science  and  in  liberalizing  thought  in  America.  Under  its  present  able  management  it  bids  fair  to 
continue  to  occupy  this  unique  field  in  American  literature.  It  should  have  the  hearty  support  of  every 
student  and  teacher.— A.  S.  PACKARD,  Professor  of  Zoology  and  Geology,  Brown  University. 
THE    POPULAR    SCIENCE    MONTHLY, 

$3.00  per  year.  sub-station    84.    new    york    city.  3°  cents  per  copy. 

j8®^The  Popular  Science  Monthly  will  be  sent  for  six  months  for  one  dollar  for  new  subscribers 
mentioning  The  Nature-Study  Reznezv. 


School  Science  and  matbematics 

A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL  FOR  ALL  SCIENCE 
AND  MATHEMATICS  TEACHERS 


Six  Departments — Biology,  Chemistry,  Earth  Science,  Mathematics, 
Metrology,  Physics. 

All  wide  awake  teachers  of  these  subjects  should  become  subscribers. 
This  means  you. 

Only  new  material  is  published  in  this  Journal. 

Published  October  to  June  inclusive.  $2.00  per  year,  25  cents  single 
copy. 

Send  your  name  and  address,  on  a  postal  card,  for  sample  copy. 

Please  say  "  adv.  in  N.-S.  R." 


Address:  440  Kenwood  Terrace,  Chicago,  III. 


B.a...e.  qp^    Plant  World   ."-^r 


IS  AN 

===  Illustrated  Monthly  Magazine  == 

devoted  to 

Popular  Botany  in  the  Best  and  Widest  Sense 

It  is  the  Official  Organ  of  the  Wild  Flower  Preservation   Society  of  America 
It  will  keep  you  in  touch  with  modern  Botanical  thought. 


IF 


You :::  :=":  r :  The  Plant  World :::;  tr  You 

Edited  by  FRANCIS  E.  LLOYD 
For  Sample  Copy  send  2c.  stamp,  addressing 

THE  PLANT  WORLD,  Teachers  College, 

Columbia  Univer^ity,  New  York  City 


(  CoNtimted  from  I  he  second  eo7'ei'  pai^t.  ) 

C.  W.  BURKETT,  Professor  in  N.  C.  College  of  Agriculture,  W.  Raleigh,  N.  C. 
G.  \V.  Carver,  Director  of  Agriculture,  Tuskegee  Institute,  Alabama. 
Elizabeth  Carse,  Principal  of  Charlton  School,  New  York  City. 

F.  M.  Chapman,  Curator  of  Birds,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Bertha  Chapman,  Superintendent  of  Nature-Study,  Oakland  Cal. 

F.  L.  Charles,  Professor  of  Biology,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 

H.  L    Clapp,  Principal  of  Putnam  School,  Roxbury,  Mass, 

W.  B.  Coleman,  Professor  of  Biology,  Sam  Houston  Institute,  Huntsville,Tex. 

B.  P.  CoLTON,  Professor  of  Biology,  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 

Anna  B.  Comstock,  Lecturer,  Cornell  University,  College  of  Agriculture. 

E.  G.  CoNKLiN,  Director  of  Zoological  Department,  University  of  Penna. 

J.  M.  Coulter,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Chicago. 

Stanley  Coulter,  Professor  of  Biology,  Purdue  University,  Lafayette,  hid. 

T.  R.  Croswell,  Supervisor  of  Training  School,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

J.  Dearness,  Vice-principal  of  Normal  School,  London,  Unt. 

R.  E.  Dodge,  Professor  of  Geography,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  L'niversity. 

Mrs.  F,  N.  DOUBLEDAY  (Neltje  Blanchan),  Author-Lecturer,  New  York  City. 

W.  F.  Ganong,  Professor  of  Botany,  Smith  College,  Northampton,  Mass. 

W.  S.  Hall,  Professor  of  Physiology,  Northwestern  University,  Chicago. 

W.  Hallock,  Professor  of  Physics,  Columbia  University. 

W.  M.  Hays,  Director  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Minnesota. 

H.  D.  Hemenway,  Director  of  Hartford  (Conn.)  School  of  Horticulture. 

E.  H.  Holden,  Formerly  Director  of  Lick  Observatory,    Librarian  of  Wcht 

Point  Military  Academy. 
W.  G.  Hormell,  Professor  of  Physics,  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  Delaware,  O. 
W.  T.  Hornaday,  Director  of  New  York  Zoological  Park. 
W.  S.  Jackman,  Principal  of  Elementary  School,  University  of  Chicago. 
O.  P.  Jenkins,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Stanford  University,  Cal. 
V.  L.  Kellogg,  Professor  of  Entomology,  Stanford  University. 

D.  Lange.  Supervisor  of  Nature-Study,  St.  Paul  (Minn.)  schools. 

F.  L.    Lloyd,    Adjunct    Professor  of   Biology,    Teachers    College,  Columbia 

University. 
W.  Lochhead,  Professor  of  Biology,  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 
W.  A.  LoCY,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111. 
T.  H.  Macbride,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa  City. 
Alice  G.  McCloskey,  Instructor,  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University. 
A.  H.  MacKay,  Superintendent  of  Education,  Nova  Scotia,  Halifax    N.  S. 
Chas.  a.  McMurry,  Professor  of  Pedagogy,  DeKalb  (III.)  Normal  School. 
F.  M.  McMurry,    Professor  of    Elementary    Education,    Teachers    College, 

Columbia  University. 
J.  P.  MuNSox,  Professor  of  Biology,  State  Normal  School,  Ellensburg.  Wash. 
Fred.  Mutchler,  Institute  Worker  and  Assistant  in  Biology,  Clark  University. 
J.  G.  Needham,  Professor  of  Biology,  Lake  Forest  University,  Lake  Forest,  111. 
H.  Newman,  Principal  of  Pubhc  School  33,  New  York  City. 
J.  E.  Peabody,  Instructor  in  Biology,  Morris   High  School,  New  York    City. 
Clara  M.  Russell,  New  York  State  Normal  College,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
P.  W.  Search,  Lecturer,  Worcester,  Mass. 

S.  B.  Sinclair,  Vice- Principal  of  Normal  School,  Ottawa,  Canada. 
J.  W.  Spencer,  Supervisor  of  Bureau  of  Nature-Study,  Cornell  University. 
W.  E.  Stark,  Principal  of  High  School,  Ethical  Culture  School,  New  York. 
F.  L.  Stevens,  Professor  of  Biology  in  North  Carohna  College  of  Agriculture, 
Ada  Watterson,  Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 
C  M.  Weed,  Professor  in  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture,  Durham. 
Mrs.  L.  L.  Wilson,  Director  of  Biology,  Philadelphia  Normal  College. 


TEACHERSC^ 


THE 

NATURE. STUDY   REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES    OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
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This  journal  deals  with  general  nature-study,  interpreting  the  term 
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It  publishes  original  articles  by  the  best  writers  on  nature-study  and 
science  in  education,  and  notes  and  reviews  on  books  and  important 
articles  first]; published  elsewhere.  The  only  journal  devoted  to  nature- 
study  and  aiming  ^to  bring  together  the  best  and  latest  ideas  on  this 
phase  of  elementary  scientific  education. 

It  is  conducted  by  an  editorial  committee  of  five  members,  repre- 
senting agriculture,  biology,  geography,  and  physical  science,  with  the 
co-operation  or  over  sixty  advisers  and  collaborators.  It  is  entirely 
independent  of  local  or  individual  interests,  and  needs  the  cooperation 
of  all  persons  interested  in  general  nature-study. 

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NATURAL  SCIENCE 

Apparatus  and  Preparations 
^Natural   History  Specimens 

for  Exhibition,  Demonstration  and  Dissection. 

Skeletons,    Models,    Charts,    Aquaria,   Mounted    Birds   and 
Mammals,   Museum  Glassware,   Dissecting  Instruments 

ENTOMOLOGICAL    SUPPLIES     AND     INSECTS 

Special  Insect  Catalogue. 
EVERYTHING    NEEDED    BY  NATURALISTS 

Illustrated  Catalogues  and  Special  Estimates  on  Application. 

THE    KNY-SCHEERER    COMPANY 

Dept.  of  Natural    Science,  225-233   Fourth   Ave., 

G.  LAGAI,  Ph.D.  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

(.Mention  this  Revieiv.) 


THE 


NATURE-STUDY 
REVIEW 


Vol.  I,  No.  4 


July,   1905 


DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Nature-Study  versus  Agriculture.     W.  M.  Uays 141 

Nature-Study   and   Agriculture.     Anna  Botsford  Comstock 143 

Nature-Study   and    Agriculture.     F.  L.  Stevens 148 

Nature-Study  in  the  Schools  of  Nova  Scotia.     A.  H.  MacKav  148 

Teaching  Facts  in  Nature-Study.     John  Dearness 152 

Nature-Study  and  its  Relation  to  English.     W.  M.  Heiney 154 

The  Silk-Worm  for  Nature-Study.     Alvin  Davison 156 

Protective  Colors   of  Animals i5g 

Facts  Discovered  by  Children.     T.  D.  A.  Cockerell .        .    .  163 

Book  Reviews  :  Experiments  with  Plants — House,  Garden,  and  Field — How  to 

Keep  Bees— Moths  and   Butterflies 164 

Guide  to  Periodical  Literature.  April  to  July,  1905.    Ada  Watterson 167 

Notes  on  Recent  Pamphlets 171 

News  Notes 172 


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DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY 
IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

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EDITORIAL  COMMITTEE 

L.  H.  Bailey,  Dean  of  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.Y, 
H.  W.  Fairbanks,  Geologist  and  Author  of  Text-books  of  Geography, 

Berkeley,  Cal. 
C.  F.  Hodge,  Professor  of  Biology,  Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass. 
J.  F.  WooDHULL,  Professor  of  Physical  Science,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  New  York  City, 
M.  A.  BiGELOW,  Adjunct  Professor   of  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University,  Managing  Editor. 

ADVISERS  AND    COLLABORATORS 

This  list  includes  only  names  of  those  ivho  in  advMice  of  the  first  publication  projuised  support  to 
The  Review.    Many  others  have  since  given  their  co-operation.    See  editorial  in  No.  2,  March. 

FROM  GREAT  BRITAIN 

L.  C.  MlALL,  Professor  of  Biology,  Yorkshire  College. 

C.  L.  Morgan,  Principal  of  University  College,  Bristol,  England. 

J.  A.  Thomson,  Professor  of  Natural  History,  University  of  Aberdeen. 

FROM  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 

E.  A.  Andrews,  Professor  of  Biology,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore. 

D.  L.  Bardwell,  District  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City. 

C.  E.  Bessey,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Nebraska,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

E.  F.  BiGELOW,  Departmental  Editor  of  St.  Nicholas  and  Lecturer, 

Stamford,  Conn. 
A.  C.  Boyden, Vice-Principal  of  Bridgewater  (Mass.)  Normal  School. 
E.  C.  Branson,  Principal  of  State  Normal  School,  Athens,  Ga. 
Bertha  M.  Brown,  Department  of  Biology,  Hyannis  (Mass.)  Normal  School. 
(  Continued  on  the  third  cover  page. ) 


THE   NATUKE-STUDY   REVIEW 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  i,  JANUARY,  1905 

Introduction,  M.  A.  B.  Nature- Study  and  Natural  Science — A  Symposium,  H. 
VV.  Fairbanks,  C.  F.  Hodge,  T.  H.  Macbride,  F.  L.  Stevens,  M.  A.  Bigelovv.  Physical 
Nature-S'udy,  John  F.  Woodhull.  Nature-Study  and  Elementary  Agriculture  in 
Canada,  W.  H.  Muldrew.  Some  Recent  Criticisms  of  Nature- Study,  F.  M.  McMurry 
and  H.  E.  Armstrong.  Agriculture  in  Southern  Schools,  C,  W.  Burkett.  School- 
Gardens  at  Hartford  School  of  Horticulture,  H.  D.  Hemenway,  Ant-Nests  for  the 
School,  Adele  M.  Field.  Book  Reviews  and  Notes  on  Recent  Literature.  Guide  to 
Periodical  Literature,  Ada  Watterson. 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  2,  MARCH,  1905 

Educational  Values  and  Aims  of  Nature-Study,  Stanley  Coulter,  Harold  W. 
Fairbanks,  Maurice  A.  Bigelovv.  Principles  of  Nature-Study,  John  M.  Coulter. 
Children's  Gardens  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  Illustrated,  Edna  R.  Thayer.  Why  Some 
School-Gardens  are  Failures,  T.  R,  Croswell.  Chemical  Tablets  for  Feeding  Plants 
Growmg  Without  Soil,  Illustrated,  Edward  F.  Bigelow.  A  Nature-Sudy  Lesson 
with  the  Molds,  F.  L.  Stevens.  Nature- Study  in  High  Schools,  M.  A.  Bigelow. 
Editorials:  Collaborators  of  the  Review— Articles  by  those  who  both  think  and  do — 
Original  Observations.  Book  Reviews  :  Animal  Stories  from  St.  Nicholas — How 
Natu  e-Study  should  be  taught — First  Principles  of  Agriculture — Bird  Life  Stories. 
Notes  on  Recent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles.  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature, 
II.,  Ada  Watterson.     News  Notes. 


CONTENTS  OF  No,  3,  MAY,  1905. 

Why  Many  Fail  in  Teaching  Nature-Study,  L.  A.  Hatch.  J^eady-Made  Les- 
sons in  Nature-Study,  L.  C.  Mi  all.  Flower  Shows  in  City  Schools,  Alice  R. 
Norihrop.  Observation  Bee- Hive  for  the  Schoolroom,  Anna  Botsford  Comstock. 
Window  Gardens  for  the  Schoolroom,  H.  D.  Hemenway.  A  Wild-Flower  Garden, 
Isabella  G.  Diggins.  Making  a  School  Lawn,  Margaret  T.  Brown.  Time  Required 
for  Nature-Study,  S.  B.  Sinclair.  Methods  of  Sherlock  Holmes  in  Nature-Study, 
E.  A.  G.  Lamborn.  Original  Observations  from  Elementary  Schools.  Book  Re- 
views :  ABC  of  Bee  Culture — Trees  of  North  America— Nature  Study  with  Common 
Things  -Mosses  with  a  Hand-Lens — Book  of  April  and  May  Flowers.  Notes  on 
Recent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles.  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature,  Septem- 
ber 1904  to  April  1905,  Ada  Watterson.     Questions  and  Answers. 


THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 


THE  SEPTEMBER  NUMBER 

An  important  2  5 -page  paper  on  nature-study  and  its  relation  to 
geography  in  the  elementary  school,  with  outline  of  course,  by  Dr. 
Fairbanks  was  set  in  type  for  the  present  number,  but  the  author's  ab- 
sence on  a  geological  exploring  trip  in  the  mountains  of  California  has 
made  it  impossible  to  consult  him  regarding  certain  points  in  the  proof, 
and  the  paper  will  be  added  to  the  September  number,  thus  adding  to 
the  volume  the  sixteen  pages  required  to  make  this  issue  the  regular  48- 
page  magazine. 


IMPORTANT  ANNOUNCEMENT 

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monthly  for  the  school-year  (nine  months).  The  price  will  remain 
$1.00  per  year.  This  change  will  make  the  magazine  more  valuable  to 
teachers  actually  dealing  with  nature-study  in  schools,  because  it  will  be 
possible  to  give  much  more  attention  to  answers  to  questions,  timely 
topics,  suggestions  for  the  month's  work,  etc.  As  previously  announced. 
The  Review  is  the  result  of  the  cooperation  of  many  workers,  and  all 
income  exceeding  cost  of  publication,  including  necessary  business  ex- 
penses, will  be  used  for  improvements.  Having  gained  monthly  publi- 
cation, it  will  be  the  aim  to  increase  greatly  the  number  of  pages  and 
illustrations. 


VOLUMES  I  AND  II  FOR  $1.50 

As  long  as  we  can  supply  the  back  numbers,  subscribers  to  the  1906 
volume  may  obtain  the  first  volume  for  fifty  cents. 


TO  NEW  SUBSCRIBERS 


to  VoL  2,  1906,  who  send  their  subscriptions  in  time  for  printing  extra 
copies  the  September  and  November  numbers  will  be  sent  free. 


THE 

NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

Vol.  I  JULY,  1905  No.  4 

NATURE-STUDY   VERSUS   AGRICULTURE 

BY  W.   M.   HAYS 
Assistant  Secretary,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 

In  preparing  pupils  for  the  study  of  science  and  industry,  three 
main  objects  are  to  be  attained :  the  pupil  must  be  thoroughly  and 
permanently  interested ;  he  must  be  led  into  the  scientific  method 
of  approach ;  and,  finally,  he  must  be  given  the  facts  and  trained 
in  the  practices  incident  to  the  profession  or  the  industry. 

The  logical  manner  of  taking  up  these  objects  might  seem  to 
be  with  method  proceeding  from  the  first  to  the  last ;  but  the 
individuality  of  the  pupil  is  the  most  important  thing  to  recognize 
and  to  develop.  The  methods  and  the  acquisition  of  a  body  of 
thought  and  of  skill  in  doing  things  must  center  in  the  individual, 
and  liberty  to  use  the  means  without  too  strict  adherence  to 
sequence  must  be  accorded,  that  advantage  may  be  taken  of  inter- 
est and  of  means  as  they  present  themselves. 

It  may  be  wisest,  as  a  general  method  of  handling  classes,  to 
place  nature-study  during  the  first  several  years  of  the  school, 
b)ut  this  should  not  preclude  the  use  of  every  available  industrial 
fact  and  method  of  work  which  can  be  made  to  contribute.  The 
country  boy  or  girl,  for  instance,  is  constantly  concerned  with 
that  which  interests  and  that  which  develops  the  ability  to  under- 
stand and  work  in  the  farm  and  home  industries  about  him.  The 
chores  in  the  morning  and  evening  hours,  the  vacation  duties  on 
Saturday  and  during  longer  vacation  periods  should  be  utilized 
^y•y  the  cooperative  direction  of  teacher  and  parent.  Every  pass- 
ing thing  of  interest  should  be  seized  upon  to  arouse  and  instruct 
the  pupils  of  all  grades.     There  are  many  things  in  the  rural 


142  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

school  which  require  that  the  whole  school  be  a  single  class.  That 
which  is  most  lacking  is  often  the  scientific  method  of  thought, 
and  this  really  should  be  the  first  function  of  nature-study  teach- 
ing. The  pupil  should  be  taught  to  follow  from  effect  to  cause 
and  from -cause  to  effect;  to  classify  objects ;  to  correlate  activities 
and  ideas ;  to  observe  in  detail,  and  also  to  view  the  general  rela- 
tion of  things.  As  the  personality  of  the  teacher  is  the  most 
important  element  in  the  schoolroom,  so  the  development  of  indi- 
viduality in  the  pupil  is  the  most  important  element  of  school- 
work.  The  objects,  the  activities,  and  the  personal  contact  with 
the  teacher  which  comes  from  nature-study,  often  prevent  the 
narrowing  effect  in  methods  of  thought  of  mere  book  teaching 
and  avoids  suppressing  individual  initiative.  Nature-study  may 
not  result  in  such  apparent  accumulation  of  facts  as  mere  book 
work  does ;  its  greatest  function  is  to  prepare  the  pupil  to  acquire 
facts  in  after  life  as  they  are  needed. 

Agriculture  in  city  schools  should  hardly  be  regarded  as  an 
industrial  subject.  It  is  there  rather  a  culture  subject.  City 
pupils  should  know  something  general  and  in  detail  of  the 
agriculture  of  their  country,  that  they  may  better  know  of  their 
country.  There  is  no  part  of  history  so  important  as  present  his- 
tory ;  and  no  man  can  claim  to  be  educated  who  has  not  a  broad 
knowledge  of  what  the  people  of  his  own  country  are  doing. 
The  body  of  thought  of  farm  and  country  life  being  put  into  peda- 
gogical form  makes  an  excellent  culture  study  for  city  high  schools. 
Since  economic  conditions  carry  people  from  the  country  to  the 
cities,  with  but  a  slight  movement  in  the  opposite  direction,  there 
is  not  much  of  an  object  in  teaching  agriculture  in  city  high 
schools  with  the  hope  of  thus  inducing  people  to  become  farmers ; 
but  this  line  of  instruction  can  greatly  aid  in  inducing  a  larger 
percentage  of  city  folk  to  move  on  to  suburban  acre  properties. 

The  country  boy  or  girl  who  has  had,  prior  to  the  seventh 
grade,  considerable  nature-study  taught  in  the  proper  way  is 
better  prepared  to  take  up  instruction  in  agriculture  and  home 
economics.  The  body  of  thought  being  accumulated  by  agricul- 
tural experiment  stations  and  other  institutions  of  research  is 
being  put  into  splendid  form  for  industrial  teaching.  Texts,  labo- 
ratory methods,  plans  of  actual  practice  work,  are  being  rapidly 
devised  for  use  in  schools  and  all  classes.  Achievements  already 
made  along  these  lines  lead  to  the  hope  that  ere  long  we  shall 


coMSTOCK]  NATURE-STUDY    AND    AGRICULTURE  143 

have  splendid  texts  for  small  rural  schools,  for  consolidated  rural 
schools,  for  agricultural  schools,  and  for  agricultural  colleges. 
There  seems  no  reason  why  the  consolidated  rural  school  in  a 
district  five  miles  square,  the  agricultural  high  school  accommo- 
dating one  county,  or,  better,  several  counties,  and  the  agricul- 
tural college  in  each  state,  should  not  be  articulated  into  a  system 
for  country  life  parallel  to  the  system  of  city  graded  schools,  city 
high  schools  and  universities,  which  are  already  unified  in  the 
work  of  educating  for  city  life.  Nature-study  in  the  rural  school 
and  in  the  city  graded  school  will  prepare  the  minds  of  all  pupils 
for  scientific  and  industrial  subjects.  Because  so  many  drop  out 
before  the  high  school,  there  is  every  excuse  for  making  this 
nature-study  somewhat  industrial  in  its  nature.  The  farms,  city 
industries  and  the  homes  everywhere  will  receive  benefit  from 
nature-study  properly  taught,  and  some  practical  subject-matters 
relating  to  these  industries  can  be  worked  into  nature-study 
teaching  quite  as  well  as  subject-matter  not  industrial  in  character. 
Systems  of  text-books  and  of  laboratory  practice  will  no  doubt 
so  classify  instruction  as  to  push  the  industrial  work  farther  up 
in  the  course  of  study,  but  the  resourceful  teacher  can  use  much 
out  of  the  daily  home  experiences  of  the  pupils  to  reinforce  the 
course  of  study  in  the  prescribed  outline. 


NATURE-STUDY   AND   AGRICULTURE 

BY  ANNA  BOTSFORD   COMSTOCK 
Lecturer  in  Nature-Study,  Cornell  University 

The  Cornell  University  nature-study  movement  is  primarily  an 
agricultural  movement.  It  has  had  for  its  object  from  the  first 
the  presentation  to  the  child  of  the  more  interesting  phases  of 
life  on  the  farm,  and  the  giving  him  some  inkling  of  the  ways 
of  the  plants  and  animals  that  creep  up  unnoticed  to  his  very 
doorstone,  with  the  hope  that  the  interest  thus  aroused  would 
later  deter  his  feet  from  following  the  broad  path  that  leads  from 
the  farm  to  the  city.  Some  there  be  who  have  criticized  the 
Cornell  method  and  have  said,  "  Why  not  teach  agriculture  pure 
and  simple  from  the  first?"  To  this  query  one  might  retort  with 
quite  as  much  reason,  "  Why  not  teach  the  child  grammar  before 
it  learns  to  speak  so  that  its  first  words  may  be  lisped  according 


144  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

to  the  rules  and  science  of  the  language?"  Nature-study  is  the 
alphabet  and  the  words  of  one  syllable  of  agriculture,  and  that 
is  why  the  child  should  begin  with  nature-study  instead  of 
agriculture. 

Another  argument  has  been  presented,  ''  Why  not  make  your 
nature-study  along  the  lines  of  agriculture  solely;  for  instance, 
why  should  not  a  child  begin  nature-study  with  the  cabbage 
rather  than  the  hepatica."  This  argument  carried  out  logically 
would  provide  recreation  for  the  boy  in  hoeing  corn  rather  than 
in  playing  ball.  Many  parents  in  the  past  have  argued  thus,  and 
have  in  consequence  driven  thousands  of  splendid  boys  from  the 
country  to  the  city  with  a  loathing  in  their  souls  for  the  drudgery 
which  seemed  to  be  all  there  was  of  farm  life.  The  reason  the 
wild  flowers  have  been  selected  to  begin  the  nature-study  of 
plants  is  because  every  child  loves  these  woodland  posies  nat- 
urally, and  his  happiest  hours  are  those  spent  gathering  them. 
The  very  first  principle  of  modern  teaching  demands  that  the 
child's  intelligence  shall  be  cultivated  along  the  line  of  the  child's 
interest.  The  child  loves  the  hepatica,  the  jack-in-the-pulpit  and 
the  trillium,  and  is  eager  to  know  more  about  them ;  and  since 
the  fundamental  truths  of  plant  life  are  quite  as  true  in  the  case 
of  the  wild  wood  flower  as  in  that  of  the  carrot  or  the  cucumber, 
why  not  let  the  child  grow  in  his  knowledge  of  plant  life  along 
his  natural  path  instead  of  forcing  him  to  knowledge  along  a 
channel  obstructed  by  his  indifiference  or  dislike.  Never  yet 
have  we  known  of  a  case  where  a  child  having  gained  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  way  a  plant  lives  through  studying  the  plants  he  loves, 
has  failed  to  be  interested  and  surprised  and  delighted  to  find  that 
the  wonderful  things  he  discovered  about  his  wild  flower,  may  be 
true  of  the  meanest  vegetable  in  the  garden,  or  the  purslane  which 
fights  with  them  for  ground  to  stand  upon. 

For  a  like  cogent  reason  gardening  is  begun  with  flowers  in- 
stead of  vegetables  because  the  young  child  is  more  interested  in 
flowers  than  in  anything  else  that  grows.  But  after  the  garden 
work  is  well  begun  and  the  principles  of  plant-growing  are  better 
understood,  the  interest  widens  to  the  vegetable  garden  naturally. 
Thus  in  every  phase  nature-study  at  its  best  begins  at  the  point 
where  the  pupil's  interest  touches  the  outside  world,  and  from 
this  point  widens  naturally  until  it  includes  his  whole  environ- 
ment. 


comstock]  nature-study   AND    AGRICULTURE  145 

Both  nature-study  and  agriculture  are  based  upon  the  study 
of  Hfe  and  the  physical  conditions,  like  soil,  water,  air,  etc.,  which 
encourage  or  limit  life.  If  we  see  clearly  the  relation  of  nature- 
study  to  science  we  may  perhaps  better  understand  the  relation 
of  nature-study  to  agriculture,  which  is  based  upon  the  sciences. 
Nature-study  leads  to  a  knowledge  of  the  sciences  of  botany, 
zoology  and  geology  as  illustrated  in  the  door-yard,  the  corn 
field,*  or  the  woods  back  of  the  house.  Some  people  have  had  an 
idea  that  to  know  these  sciences  one  must  go  to  college,  and  do 
not  understand  that  nature  has  furnished  them  with  material  and 
laboratories  on  every  side  and  close  at  hand.  vSo  by  beginning 
with  the  child  in  nature-study  we  make  for  him  a  laboratory  in 
the  wood,  the  garden  or  along  the  roadside  or  in  the  field,  and 
his  laboratory  materials  are  the  wild  flowers,  or  the  weeds  of  the 
garden,  or  the  insects  that  visit  the  golden-rod,  or  the  bird  that 
sings  in  the  maple  tree,  or  the  woodchuck  that  sits  up  and  whistles 
in  the  pasture.  The  child  begins  to  study  living  things  anywhere 
and  his  progress  is  always  along  the  various  tracks  laid  down  by 
the  laws  of  life,  along  which  his  work  as  an  agriculturist  must 
always  make  progress  if  he  is  to  make  it  an  intelligent  and  suc- 
cessful work.  The  child  through  nature-study  learns  the  way 
the  plant  grows  whether  it  be  an  oak,  or  a  turnip,  or  a  pigweed ; 
he  learns  how  the  root  of  each  is  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
plant ;  and  how  the  leaves  place  themselves  to  get  the  sunshine, 
and  why  they  need  it ;  and  how  the  flowers  get  their  pollen  carried 
by  the  bee  or  wind;  and  how  the  seeds  are  finally  scattered  and 
planted.  Or  he  learns  about  the  life  of  a  bird  whether  it  be  a 
chicken,  an  owl,  or  a  bobolink ;  he  knows  how  each  bird  gets  its 
food  and  what  its  food  consists  of ;  where  it  lives  and  where  it 
nests,  and  its  relations  to  other  living  things.  Or  he  studies  the 
bumble  bee,  and  discovers  its  great  mission  of  pollen  carrying 
for  many  flowers,  and  in  the  end  would  no  sooner  strike  it  dead 
than  he  would  voluntarily  destroy  his  clover  patch.  While  learn- 
ing all  these  things  we  call  it  nature-study,  and  not  science  or 
agriculture.  But  the  country  child  can  never  learn  anything  in 
nature-study  that  has  not  something  to  do  with  science,  and  that 
has  not  its  own  practical  lesson  for  him  when  he  shall  become 
a  farmer. 

Some  have  said  to  us,  "  We,  as  farmers,  care  only  to  know 
what  concerns   our  pocketbooks ;   we  \vish  only  to  study  those 


146  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

things  which  we  must,  as  farmers,  cuhivate  or  destroy.  We  do 
not  care  for  the  butterfly,  but  we  wish  to  know  about  the  plum- 
weevil  ;  we  do  not  care  for  the  trillium,  but  we  do  care  for  the 
onion;  we  do  not  care  for  the  meadow-lark,  but  we  do  care  for 
the  gosling."  To  say  nothing  of  the  sordidness  of  this  view,  it 
is  a  physical  or  mental  impossibility  for  any  one  to  discriminate 
between  two  things  when  he  sees  only  one.  In  order  to  under- 
stand the  important  and  economic  relations  to  the  world  of  one 
plant  or  animal,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a  wide  knowl- 
edge of  other  plants  and  animals.  One  might  as  well  sav  to 
begin  with,  ''  I  will  look  at  the  approaching  cyclone,  but  never 
see  the  sky ;  I  will  look  at  the  clover  but  never  see  the  dandelion ; 
I  will  look  for  the  sheriff  when  he  comes  over  the  hill,  but  will 
not  see  any  other  team  on  the  road." 

So  in  nature-study  we  strive  to  keep  the  child's  eyes  open  to 
all  things  so  that  when  he  becomes  a  farmer  he  may  be  able  to 
see  all  things  and  discriminate  wisely.  To  one  thus  trained  the 
farm  is  the  most  interesting  place  in  the  world,  and  the  farmer 
has  the  best  opportunity  for  continuing  his  education  in  connec- 
tion with  his  work  of  any  man  in  any  vocation.  All  of  the  scien- 
tists of  the  world  have  spent  their  lives  solving  problems  which 
nature  presents ;  and  as  agriculture  is  based  upon  the  sciences, 
and  as  nature  is  the  impartial  teacher,  so  she  ever  presents  prob- 
lems to  the  farmer,  and  well  is  it  for  him  when  he  is  able  to 
solve  them  successfully.  Such  an  one  feels  that  on  the  farm  is 
a  life  work  that  demands  all  his  intelligence,  and  the  widest 
knowledge,  and  in  exercising  these  he  finds  supreme  satisfaction. 

Nature-study  is  the  effort  to  make  the  individual  use  his  senses 
instead  of  losing  them ;  to  learn  to  keep  the  eyes  open  to  all  things 
whether  it  be  the  thunder-head  piled  up  in  the  western  sky  or  the 
flash  of  oriole  gold  from  the  elm;  to  keep  the  ears  open  to  the 
voices  that  call,  whether  it  be  the  song  of  the  cricket  in  the  path, 
or  the  song  of  the  hen  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  barn.  Eyes  open, 
ears  open  and  heart  open  are  all  that  nature,  the  teacher,  requires 
of  her  pupils,  and  in  return  she  will  reveal  to  them  the  marvels 
of  life,  the  riches  of  the  world,  and  the  beauty  of  the  universe. 

Nor  is  the  appreciation  of  beauty  in  nature's  realm  the  least 
valuable  factor  in  nature-study.  While  dollars  and  cents  are 
necessary  to  success  and  must  be  looked  after,  yet  the  man  or 
woman  who  looks  for  them  alone  is  narrow  and  sordid,  and  lives 


coMSTocK]  NATURE-STUDY   AND    AGRICULTURE  1^1 

in  a  prison  of  thick  walls  of  selfishness,  and  looks  out  on  the 
world  through  a  window  darkened  by  the  bars  of  avarice.  The 
man  who  goes  into  the  field  in  the  morning  with  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  sunshine,  and  the  song  of  birds,  and  the  growing 
green  of  the  forests  and  meadows ;  he  who  understands  and  fs 
a  good  comrade  of  the  cunning  old  crow  grubbing  in  the  corn 
field,  or  the  meadow  lark  singing  in  the  meadow ;  the  man  who 
is  conscious  of  all  the  life  and  beauty  about  him  will  do  his 
work  better,  and  know  better  how  to  protect  his  crops,  and  he 
will  have  a  richer  harvest  than  the  one  who  sees  the  dollar  mark 
on  every  leaf,  and  hears  the  chink  of  coin  in  every  sound. 

Some  years  ago  we  received  here  a  letter  from  a  Canadian 
farmer  boy,  and  in  this  letter  he  says,  ''  I  have  read  your  leaflet 
entitled,  '  The  Soil,  What  It  Is,'  and  as  I  trudged  up  and  down 
the  furrows  every  stone,  every  lump  of  earth,  every  sandy  knoll, 
every  sod  hollow  had  for  me  a  new  interest.  The  day  passed, 
the  work  was  done,  and  I  at  least  had  had  a  rich  experience." 
Who  would  doubt  that  such  a  man  having  such  thoughts  would 
plow  a  straighter  furrow  that  he  who  sees  only  the  earth  he  turns 
and  the  horses  which  he  perchance  swears  at  as  he  goes  on  his 
dull  routine  blinder  than  the  mole  whose  wonderful  galleried 
house  his  plow  disturbs. 

The  ideal  farmer  is  not  the  man  who  by  chance  and  hazard 
succeeds ;  but  he  is  the  man  who  loves  his  farm  and  all  that  sur- 
rounds it  because  he  is  awake  to  the  beauty  as  well  as  to  the 
wonders  which  are  there;  he  is  the  man  who  understands  as  far 
as  may  be  the  great  forces  of  nature  which  are  at  w^ork  around 
him,  and,  therefore,  he  is  able  to  make  them  work  for  him. 
For  what  is  agriculture  save  a  diversion  of  natural  forces  for  the 
benefit  of  man  ?  The  farmer  who  knows  these  forces  only  when  re- 
stricted to  his  paltry  crops  and  has  no  idea  of  their  larger  applica- 
tion, is  no  more  efficient  as  a  farmer  than  would  be  an  engineer 
who  knew  nothing  of  his  engine  except  how  to  start  and  stop  it. 
In  order  to  appreciate  truly  his  farm  the  farmer  must  needs  begin 
as  a  child  with  nature-study ;  in  order  to  be  successful  and  make 
the  farm  pay  he  must  needs  continue  in  nature-study;  and  to 
make  his  declining  years  happy  and  content  and  full  of  wide 
sympathies  and  profitable  thought  he  must  needs  conclude  with 
nature-study ;  for  nature-study  is  the  alphabet  of  agriculture,  and 
no  word  in  that  great  vocation  may  be  spelled  without  it.  [From 
The  Cornell  Coiiutryniau.] 


148  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  July  1905 


NATURE-STUDY   AND   AGRICULTURE 

BY  F.  L.  STEVENS 
.  Professor  of  Botany,  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 

Agriculture,  dealing  with  plants  and  animals,  is  of  all  the  arts 
most  often  confounded  with  nature-study.  When  agriculture  is 
abstracted  to  teachable  principles  it  becomes  a  science,  and  the 
science  of  agriculture  may  be  differentiated  from  nature-study  by 
the  criteria  cited  in  the  first  number  of  this  journal.  The  art  of 
agriculture  furnishes  numerous  and  valuable  illustrations  for  na- 
ture-study work,  but  as  an  art  it  cannot  be  nature-study.  The  art 
of  agriculture  and  nature-study  may  overlap  so  that  part  of 
nature-study  may  rest  entirely  upon  agriculture.  Indeed  agri- 
culture is  so  vast  that  enough  subject-matter  may  be  drawn  from 
it  to  constitute  an  entire  course  of  nature-study.  Then  this 
course  would  be  agricultural  nature-study.  It  would  be  the 
method  of  nature-study  applied  to  the  teaching  of  agriculture,  but 
that  would  not  make  nature-study  and  agriculture  identical  any 
more  than  a  selection  of  the  subject-matter  for  nature-study  solely 
from  the  field  of  mineralogy  would  make  mining  and  nature-study 
identical.  Xature-study  is  broad,  inclusive,  comprehensive.  It 
is  an  invaluable  aid  in  the  teaching  of  agriculture.  It  opens  the 
way  to  agriculture  in  the  schools  by  awakening  interest  and  quick- 
ening observation,  and  creating  a  love  for  all  out-doors,  but  it  is 
not  agriculture. 


NATURE-STUDY  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  NOVA  SCOTIA 

BY  A.  H.  MAC  KAY,  LL.D. 
Superintendent  of  Education  for  Nova  Scotia 

[Editorial  Note. — The  article  in  No.  i  of  this  journal  on  "  Nature- 
Study  and  Agriculture  in  Canada  "  indicated  great  interest  in  nature-study 
lines  at  the  present  time.  But  the  new  movement  centered  at  Macdonald 
Institute  is  not  the  beginning  of  nature-study  in  Canada,  as  the  following 
historical  account  shows.  It  is  certainly  interesting  to  learn  that  eighteen 
years  ago  a  Canadian  journal  was  started  with  the  object  of  giving  special 
attention  to  the  work  which  we  now  call  nature-study.  The  publication  of 
this  paper,  written  several  months  ago,  has  been  delayed ;  and  meanwhile 
essentially  the  same  paper  has  been  published  in  the  Ottaiva  Naturalist. 


mackay]  NATURE-SrUDY    IN    NOVA    SCOTIA  149 

However,  it  still  deserves  a  place  in  this  journal,  where  it  will  be  read  by 
many,  especially  in  the  United  States,  who  do  not  see  the  Naturalist.] 

A  systematic  course  of  oral  and  objective  study  was  outlined 
in  the  first  conspectus  of  a  course  for  the  schools  of  the  province, 
which  was  presented  to  the  Provincial  Educational  Association 
at  Truro  on  the  14th  day  of  July,  1880,  by  the  Principal  at  that 
time  of  the  public  schools  and  the  Historical  Academy  of  Pictou. 
This  was  done  on  the  invitation  of  Dr.  David  Allison,  then  Super- 
intendent of  Education  for  the  province.  After  due  discussion 
the  conspectus  was  referred  to  a  committee  for  amplification  and 
presentation  at  the  convention  held  next  year,  where  it  was 
further  discussed  and  passed  practically  in  the  form  in  which  it 
was  soon  after  prescribed  by  the  Council  of  Public  Instruction 
for  the  first  eight  grades  of  the  public  school  system,  known  as 
the  common  school  grades. 

In  1887  The  Educational  Review,  which  has  ever  since  been 
continuously  published  at  Saint  John,  N.  B.,  was  started  with  the 
object  of  developing  the  nature-study  side  of  the  course,  as  well 
as  serving  incidentally  as  a  teachers'  organ  for  the  Atlantic  Prov- 
inces of  Canada.  Illustrated  lessons  on  natural  objects  were  pre- 
pared, the  most  continuous  being  the  series  under  the  title  "  Fern- 
dale  School."  The  whole  environment  of  common-school  life 
was  more  or  less  covered,  instruction  for  teachers  on  various 
subjects  including  even  the  evening  sky  which  was  illustrated 
by  a  series  of  star  maps.  The  Ferndale  series  dealt  with  the 
biological  side  mainly;  but  other  papers  covered  mineralogy, 
physical  phenomena  of  common  range,  and  so  forth,  before  any 
similar  effort  appears  to  have  been  made  in  any  other  province 
of  Canada. 

A  little  later,  1901,  a  science  building  was  erected  in  connection 
with  the  Provincial  Normal  School,  and  the  Provincial  School  of 
Agriculture,  founded  by  the  Government  a  few  years  earlier,  was 
then  more  completed  affiliated  with  it.  An  extra  course  of  two 
years  in  the  sciences  underlying  the  art  of  agriculture  was  given 
to  teachers  who  could  take  this  extra  time,  for  which  a  special 
diploma  and  scholarship  were  awarded,  and  an  additional  provin- 
cial grant  of  $100  given  when  engaged  in  teaching  in  an  efficient 
rural  school.  This  idea  was  carried  out  in  a  fuller  manner  by  Dr. 
Jas.  W.  Robertson,  director  of  the  Sir  William  C.  Macdonald 
Pural  School  Fund,  when  $175,000  was  appropriated  to  build  the 


150  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

Macdonald  Institute  at  Guelph  in  Ontario,  and  to  provide  additional 
funds  for  nature-study  teachers  and  school-garden  demonstrations 
[see  this  journal,  No.  i,  pp.  20-22]. 

For  about  twenty-four  years  the  nature-study  idea  has  been 
in  the  public  course  of  study,  developing  gradually  from  mor- 
phological to  biological  observation — from  the  observation  of 
forms  to  the  observation  of  action.  For  a  number  of  years  rec- 
ords have  been  made  in  the  public  schools  of  the  biological  and 
meteorological  facts  capable  of  being  accurately  observed  by 
pupils  and  verified  by  teachers,  such  as  the  dates  of  first  flower- 
ing, leafing  and  fruiting  of  plants ;  the  migration  of  birds ;  thun- 
derstorms, frosts,  high  and  low  water,  etc.  These  have  proved 
so  valuable  as  scientific  records  that  for  some  years  they  have  been 
annually  compiled  into  averages  for  the  different  regions  of  the 
province  as  well  as  for  the  whole  province.  The  schedules  have 
to  some  extent  been  utilized  in  the  other  provinces  of  Canada, 
and  a  similar  system  has  been  introduced  in  imitation  of  it  into 
some  of  the  schools  of  Denmark.  The  main  object  of  the  scheme 
originally  was  to  give  some  objective  work  to  the  pupils  on  their 
way  to  and  from  school,  to  be  reported  to  the  teacher  in  school. 
These  schedules  are  being  carefully  bound  up  into  annual  volumes, 
for  the  benefit  of  future  students  of  climatic  and  ecological  condi- 
tions of  the  province. 

In  the  provincial  course  of  study  special  directions  are  given 
for  each  of  the  eight  grades  of  the  common  schools.  The  general 
directions  published  in  each  school  register  gives  in  brief  form 
the  general  character  of  the  special  directions  published  annually 
in  the  Journal  of  Education,  which  is  the  official  bulletin  of  the 
Education  Department  sent  free  twice  a  year,  in  April  and 
October,  to  each  school-board  in  the  province.  These  general 
directions,  which  indicate  the  view  taken  by  the  Nova  Scotian 
Education  Department  of  the  character  and  importance  of  this 
elementary  work  in  the  public  schools,  are  as  follows : 

Official  Directions  for  Nature-Study  in  Nova  Scotia 
"Nature  Study — The  noting,  examination  and  study  of  the 
common  and  more  important  natural  objects  and  laws  of  nature 
as  they  are  exemplified  within  the  range  of  the  school  section  or 
of  the  pupils'  observation.  Under  this  head  pupils  should  not  be 
required  to  memorize  notes  or  facts  which  they  have  not,  at  least 


MACKAY]  NATURE-STUDY   IN    NOVA    SCOTIA  151 

to  some  extent,  actually  observed  or  verified  for  themselves. 
Many  books  on  the  list  recommended  for  school  libraries  (see 
October  Journal  of  Ed.,  1903)  are  useful  guides  to  the  teacher  for 
portions  of  the  work  prescribed  in  some  of  the  grades.  There 
should  be  a  short  *'  Nature  Lesson  "  given  every  day  on  the 
daily  collections  and  observations  of  the  pupils  themselves — not 
on  the  statements  of  teachers  or  books — the  lesson  always  being 
based  on  the  objects  or  observations.  These  guide  books  are  to 
be  used  only  to  show  the  teacher  how  to  give  such  lessons.  They 
are  entirely  prohibited  as  text-books  for  either  pupil  or  teacher, 
for  under  no  circumstances  should  "  notes  "  from  the  books  be 
given  to  pupils.  All  such  studies  must  be  from  the  objects.  Ob- 
servations under  this  head  form  some  of  the  best  subjects  for 
English  composition  or  drawing  exercises  in  all  grades. 

"  In  schools  with  pupils  of  several  grades  under  one  teacher 
(as  in  most  rural  schools)  many  of  these  lessons  may  profitably 
engage  the  whole  school.  In  nearly  all,  either  the  whole  senior 
or  whole  junior  divisions  of  the  school  can  take  part.  A  skilful 
teacher  can  thus  give  profitable  object  lessons  to  several  grades  of 
scholars  at  once ;  at  one  time  giving  a  Grade  V  lesson,  at  another 
time  a  Grade  V^I  or  Grade  VII  or  Grade  VIII  lesson,  which 
will  also  contain  enough  for  the  observation  and  interest  of  Grade 
I,  Grade  II,  Grade  III,  and  Grade  IV  pupils.  An  object  lesson 
given  to  the  highest  class  can  thus  to  a  certain  extent  be  made 
a  good  lesson  for  all  the  lower  classes.  The  older  pupils  will  see 
more  and  think  more. 

"  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  memorizing  of  notes  and 
facts  merely  stated  to  pupils  is  strictly  forbidden  under  this  head. 
Such  memorizing  is  pure  cram,  injurious  instead  of  being  useful. 
The  teacher  may  not  have  time  to  take  up  in  class  every  object 
indicated  in  the  Nature  Lessons  of  the  course.  In  such  cases 
the  pupils  should  be  given  two  or  three  objects  nearly  related  to 
the  typical  specimen  examined  in  school  with  directions  to  search 
for  and  examine  them  at  home  as  illustrated  in  the  specimen  class 
lesson.  Without  much  expenditure  of  time  the  teacher  can  note 
that  this  work  has  been  honestly  attempted  to  be  done  by  each 
pupil.  The  lessons  must  be  direct  from  nature  itself,  but  under 
the  guidance  of  the  teacher  who  can  save  time  in  bringing  the 
pupils  to  the  point  desired  by  his  more  mature  experience.  They 
are  intended  to  train  the  observing  and   inductive   faculties,   to 


152  .  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

show  the  true  way  of  discovering  something  of  the  nature  of  the 
world  which  immediately  surrounds  us  and  which  is  and  will 
continue  to  be  reacting  upon  us  in  one  manner  or  another.  This 
knowledge  is  so  much  power  over  nature,  from  which  we  have  to 
win  our  material  existence.  It  is  also  essential  as  an  element 
in  any  true  and  useful  system  of  philosophy. 

"  More  stress  has  been  laid  here  on  the  natural  history  of 
each  section  than  on  elementary  physics  and  chemistry.  Not  be- 
cause physical  phenomena  are  less  important,  but  because  the  ele- 
ments of  these  sciences  are  the  same  all  the  world  over,  and  there 
is  no  end  to  the  cheap  and  well  illustrated  guides  to  practical  work 
in  them  which  will  well  suit  a  section  in  Nova  Scotia  as  well 
as  one  in  England  or  in  the  United  States.  But  there  are  no  such 
simple  guides  to  the  biology  of  each  section,  and  many  of  its 
other  scientific  characters.  The  teacher  must  become  a  student 
and  master  them  himself ;  for  such  exercises  have  special  power  in 
developing  the  habit  of  accurate  observation  (which  is  the  sound- 
est basis  for  any  career  ranging  from  that  of  the  poet  and  pro- 
fessional man  to  the  tiller  and  lord  of  the  soil,  the  tradesman,  the 
manufacturer,  the  inventor)  and  in  developing  in  connection  with 
history  and  civics  an  intelligent  attachment  to  both  the  material 
and  ideal  features  of  our  country." 


TEACHING  FACTS  IN  NATURE-STUDY 

Notes  from  a  paper  by  J.  Dearness,  of  the  Normal  School,  London,  Ontario 

A  pamphlet  on  bees  recently  circulated  among  nature-study 
teachers  in  Canada  has  been  criticised  because  of  a  number  of  in- 
accurate statements.  This  has  led  to  the  question,  "  Suppose  it  is 
wrong,  what  harm  will  it  do  ?  "  Professor  Dearness  comments 
as  follows  (in  Farmers'  Advocate,  Jan.,  05)  : 

"  I  should  say  that  in  those  schools  where  nature-study  is  supposed 
to  be  information  about  bees  and  other  natural  objects,  to  be  learned 
by  the  pupil  as  so  much  history,  the  part  that  is  wrong  will  do  very 
little  harm,  and  the  part  that  is  right  will  do  very  little  good.  In 
ten  years,  unless  learned  again  in  real  life,  most  of  it  will  be  for- 
gotten, and  the  rest  will  be  too  vague  for  practical  use. 

"  Take,  for  example,  what  is  called  '  a  very  wild  statement,'  that 
when  the  honey   reaches   the  hive  ninety  per   cent,   of  it  is  water. 


DEARNi-ss]  '  FACTS    IN    NATURE-STUDY  153 

Think  of  a  lot  of  public-school  children  at  their  nature-study  lesson 
— a  lesson  that  is  supposed  to  train  their  powers  to  observe  and  to 
reason  about  what  they  observe.  What  good  or  what  harm  will 
come  from  their  learning,  as  book  statements,  that  the  bee  '  laps  up 
the  nectar,'  and  carries  a  '  load  twice  its  own  weight,'  nine-tenths  of 
which  is  water.  If  these  are  facts,  but  facts  which  cannot  be 
learned  by  the  children's  own  investigation,  then  they  are  not  suited 
to  the  nature-study  lesson.  If  they  can  be  discovered  in  a  reasonable 
time  by  self-active  investigation,  then  the  training  thus  derived  vastly 
outweighs  the  facts  reached.  Had  the  "  Story  of  the  Bees  "  shown  the 
teacher  and  pupils  how  to  discover  these  facts  with  the  means  at 
hand  in  a  public  school,  it  might  have  legitimately  been  labelled 
'  nature-study.'  The  proper  point  of  view  is  the  effect  that  the 
lesson  has,  not  in  diminishing  the  mountain  of  scientific  knowledge 
lying  outside  of  the  child's  memory,  but  the  effect  it  has  upon  the 
development  of  the  child's  power  to  observe,  to  reason  about  what  he 
observes,  and  to  sympathize  with  the  sentient  world  around  him. 

''  The  hive-bee  may  be  made  a  capital  nature-study  lesson  in  a 
school  where  an  observatory  hive,  suited  to  receive  one  Langstroth 
frame,  is  set  against  a  slightly-opened  window,  guarded  at  the  side  so 
that  a  bee  cannot  escape  into  the  schoolroom.  Such  a  hive  may 
be  made  or  bought  ready-made  from  some  dealer.  Instead  of  a 
story  of  the  bees,  even  the  most  faultless  one,  what  the  nature-study 
teacher  needs  is  explicit  direction  how  to  make  or  where  to  obtain 
such  a  hive,  how  to  set  it  up  and  ventilate  it,  how  to  manage  the 
light,  etc.,  and  a  series  of  questions  that  will  guide  himself  first,  and 
then  his  pupils  in  their  observations,  the  answers  to  be  sought,  not 
from  a  book,  but  from  the  bees  themselves.  The  bees  will  tell  no 
fictions. 

"  As  a  nature-study  teacher,  of  nothing  else  do  I  feel  more  certain 
than  that  the  harmonious  development  of  the  child  in  heart,  as  well 
as  head  and  hand,  either  for  the  future  farmer  or  town-dw^eller,  is 
vastly  more  important  than  all  the  collections  and  knowledge  of 
weeds  and  insects  that  he  can  possibly  get  at  the  public  school.  In 
other  words,  that  the  hozv  these  facts  of  nature  are  learned  is  far 
more  important  than  the  what.  If  my  position  is  wrong,  I  hope 
some  one  will  show  the  reason  whv." 


154  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW        [i,  4,  July  1905 

NATURE-STUDY  AND  ITS  RELATION  TO  ENGLISH 

BY  WM,  M.   HEINEY 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  Raton,  New  Mexico 

In  the  multiplicity  of  books,  charts  and  devices  for  instruction  in 
nature,  we  are  losing  sight  of  nature-study,  and  are  diverting  the 
time  and  purpose,  so  intended,  to  reading  and  talking  about  nature- 
study,  thus  defeating  the  end  which  it,  above  all  else,  was  intended 
to  subserve. 

Nature-study  came  to  us  as  the  maid  of  honor,  or  at  least  the 
devoted  companion,  of  the  laboratory  method,  which  has  so  en- 
trenched itself  in  the  sciences  of  the  secondary  schools  and  col- 
leges. And  while  the  latter  has  taken  extreme  ground,  nature- 
study  has  become  perfunctory,  or  worse,  it  has  encased  itself  in 
a  shower  of  devices  and  books.  The  teacher  goes  before  her 
classes  with  these,  and  reads  or  talks  to  them  about  the  subject, 
always  with  much  joy  to  them,  and  sometimes  with  more  or  less 
interest  to  herself;  in  scarcely  an  exceptional  case,  though,  does 
she  grasp  the  very  value  it  was,  and  is,  intended  to  bestow.  This 
failure  is  not  the  fault  of  the  teacher,  but  the  error  of  those  who 
have  felt  called  to  write  and  publish  books  on  this  subject  of  grow- 
ing popularity. 

Well,  to  the  remedy :  Wash  off  the  slate  and  begin  over.  Put 
aside  your  devices,  your  nature-story  books,  and  adopt  the  labora- 
tory method  and  the  field  practice. 

If  you  can  control  your  pupils  when  out  of  the  room,  take 
them  to  the  school-yard,  the  mountain  side  or  the  forests,  and 
there  see  and  study  nature  as  she  is.  But  do  not  look  for  good  re- 
sults from  your  pupils  romping  among  or  running  over  nature. 
Romping  and  running  are  of  inestimable  value  to  children,  but 
cannot  fill  the  place  of  teaching.  The  youthful,  growing  and 
grasping  mind  must  be  first  directed  to  the  little  points  of  interest, 
and  therefore,  after  the  turbulent  vitality  has  somewhat  subsided, 
after  a  season  of  romping  and  play,  call  attention  to  the  charac- 
teristics of  trees,  weeds,  rocks,  animals,  birds  and  insects.  Not 
all  at  one  time,  nor  at  one  outing.  One  specimen  may  be  quite 
enough  for  each  child  on  a  single  excursion,  and  better,  as  a  rule, 
if  all  study  the  same  specimen  at  the  same  time. 

This,  however,   is  merely  suggestive.     You  will   probably  get 


HEiNEY]  NATURE-STUDY    AND    ENGLISH  1 55 

better  results  if  you  transform   your  schoolroom,   for  the   time 
being,  into  a  laboratory. 

Bring  in,  if  possible,  enough  individuals  of  any  one  specimen 
to  supply  each  member  of  the  class  with  an  object  for  examination. 
For  example,  let  us  take  a  cottonwood  leaf.  What  is  its  shape: 
What  the  condition  of  its  surfaces — upper  and  lower?  What 
the  character  of  its  margin  ?  Examine  its  veining.  Lead  the  child 
to  discover  these  characteristics  and  others,  and  report  them  to 
you.  Next  day  examine  a  maple  leaf  in  the  same  way.  If  in  two 
sittings  you  exhaust  the  study  of  the  two  specimens,  bring  both 
for  the  third  day,  or  when  you  have  finished  study  of  each,  with 
the  two  specimens  before  you  and  your  pupils,  have  them  study 
likenesses  and  differences.  Have  members  of  the  class  point  out 
features  in  common,  and  points  of  difference.  This  practice  of 
comparing  and  contrasting,  I  believe  to  be  of  more  value  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  child  mind  than  the  first  study  of  the  speci- 
mens. In  fact,  the  former  is  but  the  preparation  for  the  latter. 
By  it  he  learns  to  distinguish  and  discriminate,  and  from  it  he 
must  draw  conclusions.  Most  of  you,  no  doubt,  have  met  people 
who  have  seen  or  have  found  petrified  potatoes,  petrified  corn- 
cobs, etc.,  which,  when  investigated  scientifically,  had  no  resem- 
blance whatever  to  the  potato  or  corn-cob,  except  in  contour. 
What  was  the  trouble  with  the  finder's  observation  ?  He — and  he 
is  the  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  one  thousand — has 
never  had  his  powers  of  discrimination  developed.  The  man  or 
the  woman  who  is  without  this  power  of  discriminating,  either 
from  the  want  of  the  faculty,  or  the  lack  of  its  development,  is 
incapable  of  rendering  a  judgment;  and  conversely,  the  more 
highly  it  has  been  developed,  the  sounder  are  the  judgments 
rendered. 

These  studies,  investigations  and  mental  excursions  for  knowl- 
edge, to  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  child,  must  employ  all 
the  human  organs  of  knowledge-getting — seeing,  hearing,  feeling, 
tasting,  smelling.  In  fact,  nature-study  easily  affords  all  neces- 
sary sense  training. 

It  were  belittling  nature-study,  however,  to  abandon  her  when 
one  has  beheld  her  beauty,  observed  her  parts,  torn  the  object  of 
observation — perchance  of  admiration — asunder,  named  and  fixed 
the  relation  of  organs,  or  even  determined  the  occasion  of  their 
•existence,    function   or   destinv.      As   an   educational    scheme,   no 


156  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW        [i,  4,  July   1905 

greater  element  has  yet  been  named  in  this  paper  than  that  of 
giving  expression  to  the  knowledge  attained,  or  the  conclusion 
drawn. 

The  teaching  of  English  composition  is  the  bug-bear  of  the 
pedagogue.  Make  the  failure  of  nature-study  as  appalling  as 
you  may,  and  it  still  stands  only  a  close  second  to  the  failure  in 
elementary  and  intermediate  English. 

The  remedy  that  I  have  to  offer  is  to  begin,  pursue  and  finish 
the  drill  in  composition,  by  telling  orally  or  in  writing,  the  observa- 
tions we  have  made  for  ourselves,  instead  of  reproducing  what 
we  have  read  or  have  been  told.  Let  us  use  our  five  or  six 
senses  for  the  acquirement  of  knowledge  (as  I  have  indicated 
for  nature-study),  and  after  it  has  been  acquired,  communicate 
it  to  others.  As  we  advance  in  the  grades,  pupils  should  be  led 
to  draw  conclusions  and  form  judgments  from  knowledge  ac- 
quired through  observation  of  nature,  these  conclusions  and  judg- 
ments to  be  formulated  into  compositions. 

The  nature-study,  the  field  work,  the  laboratory,  the  experi- 
ences of  life,  the  rubbing  against  men  and  things,  should  be  made 
the  source  of  knowledge  and  the  source  of  data  from  which  ideas 
are  drawn.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  reading  as  a  source  of 
knowledge  should  be  tabooed,  but  it  should  be  left  largely  until 
the  child  has  acquired  the  habit  of  informing  himself  through  his 
God-given  organs  for  that  purpose — the  sense  organs. 

I  am  deeply  under  the  conviction  that  until  we  revise  our 
methods  of  composition,  instruction  and  training,  we  shall  con- 
tinue to  dwarf  the  intellectuality  of  the  generations,  and  I  believe 
that  the  procedure  which  I  have  herein  endeavored  briefly  to  out- 
line, if  followed,  will  add  no  small  increment  to  the  intellectual 
capacity  of  the  manhood  and  womanhood  of  the  future.  [From 
Colorado  School  Journal  A 


THE   SILK-WORM   FOR   NATURE-STUDY 

BY   ALVm  DAVISON,   Ph.D. 
Professor  of  Biology  in  Lafayette  College 

The  interesting  and  valuable  results  furnished  by  the  use  of 
silk-worms  in  nature-study  work  encourages  me  to  report  some  of 
the  information  gained  for  the  benefit  of  those  interested  in  this 


DAVISON]  THE    SILK-WORM  157 

phase  of  education.  The  slight  cost  and  trouble  involved  in 
securing  and  caring  for  an  abundance  of  material  make  it  avail- 
able for  schools  of  all  classes.  Eggs  may  be  purchased  at  the 
rate  of  twenty-five  cents  per  hundred  of  T.  Keleher,  662  Massa- 
chusetts Avenue,  N.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Dr.  W.  H.  Hill, 
Peoria,  111.;  and  Mrs.  Carrie  Williams,  1245  Logan  Avenue,  San 
Diego,  Cal.  Two  hundred  eggs  are  sufficient  for  twenty  pupils. 
As  the  worms  feed  only  on  the  leaves  of  the  red,  white  and  black 
mulberry  trees  and  the  osage  orange,  two  or  three  of  these  trees 
should  be  planted  on  the  school-ground  if  none  occurs  in  the 
locality.     The  white  mulberry  is  most  desirable. 

The  eggs  should  be  secured  a  fortnight  or  more  before  the  mul- 
berry leaves  appear  and  stored  in  a  moth-proof  box  or  glass 
jar  in  a  cool  dry  cellar  or  other  room  where  the  temperature  is 
not  above  sixty  degrees  Fahrenheit.  When  the  first  minute  leaves 
appear  on  the  food  trees,  the  eggs  placed  in  a  box  about  a  foot 
square  must  be  kept  under  daily  observation  in  the  schoolroom 
or  living  room  where  the  temperature  is  from  sixty-five  to  seventy- 
five  degrees.  As  soon  as  the  hairy  black  larvae,  less  than  a 
quarter-inch  long,  break  from  the  eggs,  a  dozen  tender  leaves 
smaller  than  the  human  finger-nail  should  be  given  them  five 
times  daily  at  intervals  of  about  three  hours.  If  small  leaves  are 
not  obtainable,  larger  ones  may  be  cut  into  strips  less  than  one- 
eighth  inch  wide.  Leaves  with  dew  or  water  on  them  ought  not 
to  be  used.  The  rate  at  which  the  worms  grow  depends  upon 
the  temperature  and  the  number  of  times  they  are  fed  daily. 
Those  furnished  leaves  only  twice  daily  and  kept  cool  will  not 
reach  full  size  in  less  than  forty  days,  while  a  warm  room  and 
five  or  six  daily  feeds  will  mature  the  worms  in  from  three  to 
four  weeks.  They  may  be  fed  to  advantage  as  early  as  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  as  late  as  ten  o'clock  at  night. 

When  a  week  or  ten  days  old,  ten  worms  should  be  given  to 
each  pupil  providing  a  box  four  or  five  inches  square.  Covers 
need  not  be  used,  as  the  worms  make  no  attempt  to  escape. 
During  the  first  few  days  they  merely  suck  the  juices  from  the 
leaves,  but  later  bite  off  and  swallow  particles  of  leaf-tissue. 
When  they  are  two  weeks  old,  full-sized  leaves  uncut  may  be 
fed,  and  these  can  be  gathered  once  daily  and  kept  fresh  by 
placing  in  a  bucket  covered  with  a  wet  cloth. 

Some  of  the  features  to  be  observed  in  the  growing  worms  are 


158  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

the  molting  process,  manner  of  taking  food  and  amount  consumed 
and  the  external  appearance  at  different  ages.  During  the  fourth 
week  the  amount  of  food  taken  may  be  quite  accurately  reckoned 
by  cutting  the  leaves  into  pieces  an  inch  square  and  keeping  a 
record  of  the  number  of  squares  eaten.  Other  data  furnished  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  will  enable  the 
pupils  to  work  out  the  number  of  leaves  required  to  make  a  silk 
dress.  Two  dozen  worms  will  consume  about  one  pound  of  leaves 
during  the  five  days  succeeding  the  last  molt.  Interesting  results 
may  be  obtained  by  rearing  some  worms  in  a  cool  room  and  with 
a  limited  amount  of  food.  Care  should  be  exercised  that  accurate 
records  of  observations  are  made  by  the  pupils  daily. 

Eight  or  nine  days  after  the  last  molt,  when  the  larvae  become 
restless  and  wander  about  the  box,  two  or  three  small  bushy 
twigs  should  be  supplied  to  afford  fastenings  for  the  cocoons,  as 
those  spun  along  the  sides  of  the  box  are  sometimes  imperfect. 
In  from  fifteen  to  twenty  days  after  the  formation  of  the  cocoon, 
the  adult  moth  comes  forth  if  the  temperature  has  been  about 
seventy  degrees.  Cold  lengthens  the  period  greatly.  One 
cocoon  should  be  cut  open  the  third  day  after  the  spinning  was 
begun ;  another,  on  the  fifth ;  and  another,  on  the  thirteenth  day, 
so  that  the  changes  in  the  inmate  may  be  studied.  These  indi- 
viduals, even  when  removed  from  the  cocoons,  will  in  some  cases 
give  rise  to  moths. 

Within  a  few  hours  after  the  moths  emerge,  the  female  will 
begin  to  deposit  its  batch  of  five  or  six  hundred  eggs,  which  of 
course  will  not  be  fertile  unless  union  with  a  male  has  occurred 
previously.  It  is  therefore  important  that  a  male  moth,  easily 
recognized  by  its  smaller  abdomen,  should  be  placed  near  a  female 
within  a  few  hours  after  breaking  from  the  cocoon  if  the  eggs 
are  to  be  used  the  following  year.  Fertile  eggs  will  become 
grayish  a  few  days  after  being  laid,  while  others  remain  white. 
The  moths  take  no  food  and  die  within  a  week  or  two  after  birth, 
but  the  eggs  may  be  preserved  for  hatching  the  following  spring 
by  keeping  them  in  a  vermin-proof  box  placed  in  a  cool  dry  cellar 
or  other  room  having  a  temperature  not  above  sixty  degrees  and 
not  below  the  freezing  point.  A  temperature  as  high  as  seventy 
degrees  before  Christmas  will  do  no  harm. 

A  few  days  before  the  moth  issues  the  fiber  forming  the  cocoon 
may  be  uncoiled  on  a  spool  or  pencil  by  removing  the  loose  outer 


BUKUouGHs]  PROTECTIVE    COLORS    OF    ANIMALS  1 59 

silk  and  soaking  the  cocoon  a  few  minutes  in  hot  water,  per- 
mitting the  thread  to  be  loosened  with  a  pin. 

Any  one  expecting  to  rear  the  silk  insect  should  request  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C,  to 
send  him  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  165,  by  H.  A.  Kelly.     It  is  free. 

The  value  of  the  silk-worm  for  nature-study  work  cannot  be 
overestimated.  The  pupils  may  be  taught  so  effectively  the  im- 
portant lesson  of  how  life  responds  to  the  patience  and  care 
bestowed  upon  it.  They  may  witness  the  transformation  of  vege- 
table material  into  animal  tissue  and  be  brought  into  intimate 
association  with  the  indirect  process  by  which  mother  earth  is 
transmuted  into  the  most  beautiful  of  fabrics.  A  contact  point 
is  secured  for  giving  a  lesson  teaching  the  miserable  condition  of 
the  lower  classes  in  Italy,  China  and  Japan  where  silk-worm 
raising  can  be  carried  on  commercially  because  of  the  starvation 
wages  accepted  by  the  peasants.  The  interesting  history  of  the 
origin  and  spread  of  the  silk  industry  may  give  the  child  a  yearn- 
ing to  know  more  of  oriental  life.  The  four  stages  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  insect  are  the  same  as  those  occurring  in  about 
half  the  species  of  the  animal  kingdom  and  the  remarkably  quick 
changes  in  the  external  features  of  the  animal  prevent  the  pupil 
from  losing  interest  in  his  study.  ]\Ioreover  abundant  oppor- 
tunity is  afforded  for  cultivating  the  powers  of  observation  and 
expression  in  sketching  and  describing  the  numerous  phases  of 
growth. 

PROTECTIVE   COLORS   OF   ANIMALS 

Review  of  an  article  by  John  Burroughs 

Attempts  at  explaining  the  uses  and  meaning  of  natural  objects 
and  processes  are  much  more  common  in  nature-study  teaching 
than  in  elementary  science  of  high  schools  and  colleges,  and  it  is 
common  to  find  teachers  and  pupils  in  search  of  a  use  for  every-  ' 
thing.  Perhaps  no  phase  of  nature  has  been  the  subject  of  so 
much  attempted  explanation  as  has  color,  particularly  that  of 
animals  and  of  plants  in  relation  to  animals.  Accepting  almost 
unreservedly  the  Darwinian  hypothesis  that  colors  of  many  ani- 
mals play  an  important  part  in  the  life-and-death  struggle,  we 
have  grown  accustomed  to  finding  some  correspondence  between 
the  color  of  an  animal  and  that  of  its  environment.     We  have 


l6o  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW        [i,  4,  july   1905 

found  animals  closely  resembling  their  immediate  environment 
in  color  and  thereby  more  or  less  concealed  from  our  human  eyes ; 
and  we  have  concluded  that  the  purpose  of  the  color  harmony  is 
protection  from  enemies.  Other  animals,  carnivorous  ones,  seem 
to  be  hidden  from  approaching  prey.  Still  others  display  colors 
contrasting  strongly  with  the  environment  and  the  conspicuous- 
ness  has  been  taken  to  mean  warning  colors  or  danger  signals 
associated  with  qualities  unpleasant  to  enemies.  And  more  inter- 
esting than  all  these,  similarity  between  two  animals  {e.  g.,  two 
butterflies)  has  been  given  the  interpretation  that  one  is  protected 
from  enemies  by  its  warning  colors  backed  up  by  disagreeable 
qualities  which  enemies  have  learned  to  avoid,  and  the  other  is  a 
helpless  impostor  who  by  virtue  of  his  resemblance  lives  on  the 
notoriety  of  the  one  whose  conspicuous  colors  are  danger  signals. 
Thus  the  Darwinian  suggestions  have  given  us  most  interesting 
interpretations,  and  we  have  felt  confident  that  we  had  the  reasons 
why  most  animals  are  colored  as  they  are. 

And  now  come  the  doubting  critics  and  serious  questions  are 
raised.  For  many  years  biological  literature  has  contained  doubts 
concerning  the  wide  application  of  the  theories  of  color  interpre- 
tation as  advocated  by  Darwin  and  Wallace.  Observations  in 
nature  have  in  many  cases  failed  to  prove  that  the  life  of  animals 
always  depends  upon  colors  as  the  theory  demands.  Because  a 
harmonious  blending  of  colors  is  practically  concealment  from  our 
human  eyes  does  not  prove  anything  so  far  as  animals  are  con- 
cerned. We  must  know  from  critical  study  just  how  far  color 
relations  mean  anything  in  connection  with  habits  of  animals ;  and 
many  biologists  have  doubted  the  all-sufficiency  of  the  explana- 
tion offered  by  the  color  theories,  because  in  very  many  cases 
color  and  habits  of  life  of  certain  animals  are  antagonistic  so  far 
as  the  protective  theory  is  concerned. 

In  a  popular  article,  "  Gay  Plumes  and  Dull,"  in  Atlantic 
Monthly  for  June,  1905,  John  Burroughs  expresses  his  own  doubts 
concerning  the  wide  application  of  the  color  theories,  and  many 
of  his  views  are  quite  in  line  with  criticisms  pointed  out  by  biolo- 
gists within  recent  years. 

First,  Mr.  Burroughs  points  out  that  "  nature  plays  fast  and 
loose "  with  colors.  One  animal  has  concealing  colors  and 
another  similar  one,  often  of  the  same  family  and  even  the  oppo- 
site sex,  is  conspicuous  by  its  brilliance.     "  If  dull  colors  are  pro- 


BURROUGHS]  PROTECTIVE    COLORS    OF    ANIMALS  l6l 

tective,  then  bright  colors  are  non-protective  or  dangerous,  and 
one  wonders  why  all  birds  of  gay  feather  have  not  been  cut  ofif 
and  the  species  exterminated." 

Second,  neutral  concealing  tints  are  protective  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  human  eye,  but  many  of  the  most  destructive  pre- 
daceous  animals  depend  upon  scent  to  locate  their  prey.  Birds 
of  prey  are  not  fooled  by  color  disguises.  White  rabbits  are  con- 
cealed on  snow  and  gray  ones  are  conspicuous,  but  where  is  the 
advantage  since  their  natural  enemies — foxes,  minks,  weasels, 
owls — hunt  at  night?  There  are  numerous  similar  facts  which 
make  us  feel  decidedly  uncertain  concerning  this  phase  of  the 
color  theory. 

Aggressive  coloration  (concealment  from  prey)  is  also  capri- 
cious. "  Why  should  the  owl,  which  hunts  by  night,  be  colored 
like  a  hawk  which  hunts  by  day  ?"  ''  The  lion  is  desert  colored 
too.  Is  this  for  concealment  from  its  prey?  But  it  is  said  that 
horses  and  oxen  scent  the  lion  long  before  they  can  see  him, 
as  doubtless  do  the  wild  creatures  of  the  desert  upon  which  he 
feeds.  Their  scent  would  surely  be  keener  than  that  of  our 
domesticated  animals,  and  to  capture  them  he  must  run  them 
down  or  ambush  them  where  the  wind  favors  him." 

Warning  colors  or  danger  signals  are  likewise  variable.  The 
skunk's  contrast  of  black  and  white  is  said  to  be  of  warning 
value ;  but  why  does  the  porcupine,  who  is  able  to  compete  with 
the  skunk  in  making  life  disagreeable  for  his  attacking  enemies, 
not  have  warning  colors  also? 

Concerning  concealment  of  nesting  birds  and  their  nests,  Air. 
Burroughs  thinks  that  this  is  not  for  the  sake  of  the  mother 
birds,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  eggs  or  helpless  unfledged  young. 
The  obscure  color  of  the  female  tanager,  cardinal  and  similar 
birds  plays  no  part  in  protecting  her  from  crows,  weasels,  hawks, 
etc.,  which  explore  trees  looking  for  young  birds.  The  enemies 
of  the  ground  builders  hunt  at  close  range  and  capture,  not  the 
nesting  female,  but  the  eggs  and  young. 

Materials  for  nests  are  not  chosen  for  protective  colors,  as  we 
have  fancied.  Anyhow,  could  marauding  crows,  jays  or  squirrels 
be  deceived  by  nests  which  to  our  eyes  seem  to  be  protectively 
colored  ? 

The  brilliant  colors  of  many  males  are,  according  to  Darwin's 
theorv  of  sexual  selection,  to  be  attributed  to  the  selection  bv  the 


l62  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  July  1905 

females.  But  here  also  numerous  observed  facts  have  long 
caused  many  biologists  to  doubt ;  and  Mr.  Burroughs  thinks  that 
"  it  is  incredible  that  the  taste  of  females  in  fashions,  their  pref- 
erence for  the  gay  and  the  ornate,  should  have  played  any  con- 
siderable part  in  superinducing  these  things." 

Thus  far  in  his  line  of  questioning  the  general  applicability  of 
the  color  theories  Mr.  Burroughs  is  in  line  with  suggestions  by 
various  students  of  evolution.  That  colors  may  play  some  part 
in  the  struggle  for  existence  is  still  generally  accepted  by  biol- 
ogists, but  there  are  few  who  do  not  recognize  the  difficulties  in 
explaining  such  facts  as  Mr.  Burroughs  cites.  The  question  now 
is.  How  far  are  the  color  theories  applicable?  More  than  ever 
before  we  need  to  study  animals  in  nature  as  well  as  in  the  labo- 
ratory. 

But  if  the  remarkable  color  resemblances  which  we  see  around 
us  do  not  mean  adaptation  which  is  valuable  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  what  is  the  explanation?  This  is  the  question  which 
^Iv.  Burroughs  faces.  He  is  "  more  disposed  to  regard  them  as 
the  result  of  the  same  law  or  tendency  that  makes  nature  in 
general  adaptive  and  harmonious ;  the  outcome  of  the  blendings, 
the  adjustments,  the  unifying  processes,  or  tendencies,  that  are 
seen  and  felt  all  about  us."  This  is  interesting,  but  really  only 
another  way  of  stating  the  observed  facts  which  originally  sug- 
gested to  men  of  science  the  color  theories  as  an  attempt  to  give 
the  reason  why  there  are  blendings  and  adjustments  in  nature.  A 
"  tendency  to  oneness  "  is  not  the  answer  wanted.  If  the  color 
theories  do  not  explain  a  particular  case  of  animal  color,  then  at 
present  we  might  as  well  confess  that  we  do  not  know.  This 
we  have  long  done  in  the  case  of  the  gorgeous  hidden  colors  of 
molluscan  shells  and  the  details  of  color  patterns  of  insects  and 
birds. 

Nature-study  teachers  will  certainly  do  well  to  continue  calling 
attention  to  the  colors  of  animals  as  related  to  their  surroundings, 
and  suggest  investigation  concerning  the  effectiveness  of  the 
color;  but  as  a  general  principle  it  does  not  seem  wise  to  state 
that  harmonious  blending  means  protection  and  contrasts  are 
danger  signals.  At  least  we  must  be  somewhat  cautious  until  our 
information  is  less  open  to  question. 

With  colors  as  with  so  many  other  things  touched  in  nature- 
study  of  schools  it  seems  best  to  keep  close  to  observed  facts 


cockerell]  facts    DISCOVERED    BY    CHILDREN  1 63 

and  not  worry  much  about  why  and  what  for  things  are  as  we 
see  them.  Thus  we  will  avoid  the  perplexing  situation  caused 
by  the  boy  who  added  a  climax  to  the  lesson  on  the  use  of  black- 
berry prickles  by  remarking  that  pigweeds  got  along  and  flour- 
ished without  prickles  as  protection  from  grazing  animals. 

M.  A.  B. 


DISCUSSION   AND   CORRESPONDENCE  ^ 

Facts  Discovered  by  Children.  I  was  astonished  to  read  the  fol- 
lowing sentence  quoted  with  approval  in  The  Review,  p.  132: 
"  To-day  it  is  almost  beyond  the  bounds  of  human  possibility  that  a 
child  should  discover  an  unknown  fact  in  the  sciences,  and  the 
thought  that  he  can  do  so  will  either  engender  in  him  an  arrogant 
self-conceit,  or  it  will  entail  a  cruel  awakening  which  may  convince 
him  that  all  effort  on  his  part  is  useless." 

So  far  is  this  from  being  true,  that  in  some  subjects,  at  least,  it 
would  be  quite  impossible  for  him  to  avoid  discovering  new  facts. 
Take,  for  example,  the  relations  between  insects  and  flowers.  In 
this  country  comparatively  little  work  has  been  done  in  this  branch 
of  study,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  several  hundred  species 
of  plants  at  present  blooming  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  the  insect- 
visitors  of  which  have  never  been  observed.  Even  in  the  case  of 
those  which  have  been  studied,  almost  none  have  been  observed  in 
that  locality,  and  without  doubt  new  observations  there  would  yield 
new  facts  of  interest.  It  may  be  true  that  the  children  have  no  time, 
as  a  general  thing,  to  make  such  observations;  it  may  be  true  that 
few  of  the  teachers  are  competent  to  direct  them  therein;  but  it  cer- 
tainly is  not  true  that  the  facts  themselves  are  out-of-reach  or  diffi- 
cult to  observe.  Of  course  it  would  be  necessary  to  send  the  insects 
to  specialists  to  get  them  named;  but  Hermann  Miiller,  the  author 
of  the  greatest  work  on  the  fertilization  of  flowers,  had  to  do  this 
very  thing. 

So  again,  there  are  at  this  moment  flying  in  and  about  New  York 
hundreds  of  species  of  bees  and  wasps,  and  the  nesting  of  the  great 
majority  is  unknown.  With  the  work  of  the  Peckhams  as  a  guide, 
there  is  no  reason  why  any  intelligent  person,  young  or  old,  should 
not  discover  numerous  new  facts.  It  takes  time,  and  it  needs 
patience ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  cooperation  of  some  one 
who  really  understands  the  subject;  but  the  door  is  wide  open  for 
those  who  care  to  enter. 


^  The  announcement  of  this  department  was  published  in  No.  i,  Januarj-, 
1905. 


l64  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

It  is  of  course  true  that  not  very  many  children  have  the  zeal  and 
perseverance  to  accomplish  a  good  piece  of  research;  not  many,  for 
instance,  will  sit  for  an  hour  in  the  hot  sun  watching  a  wasp  pro- 
vision its  nest.  Yet  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  under  favorable 
circumstances,  and  with  suitable  direction,  the  number  of  children 
who  would  and  could  make  careful  observations  is  greater  than  the 
number  of  adults.  In  such  subjects  as  I  have  mentioned,  where  broad 
results  must  be  based  on  exceedingly  numerous  observations  of  a 
comparatively  simple  character,  I  do  not  see  why  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  necessary  facts  might  not  be  gathered  by  children  of 
high-school  age,  and  even  younger,  acting  always  in  a  cooperative 
manner  and  under  direction. 

I  may  add  that  as  a  matter  of  facts  I  have  learned  much  from 
specimens  and  information  supplied  by  the  young  people  I  have  had 
to  do  with,  as  is  duly  recorded  in  my  various  published  papers. 

t,  d.  a.  cockerell. 

University  of  Colorado. 


BOOK   REVIEWS 

Experiments  with  Plants.  By  W.  J.  V.  Osterhout.  New  York, 
Macmillan.     1905.     Pp.  493,  figs.  250. 

Professor  Osterhout's  book,  "  Experiments  With  Plants," 
begins  with  two  excellent  chapters  giving  directions  for  experi- 
ments on  the  germination  of  seeds.  Then  there  follow  chapters 
on  the  work  of  roots,  of  leaves,  of  stems,  of  flowers  and  of  fruits. 
A  general  chapter  on  the  influence  of  environment  upon  the 
grow^th  of  plants ;  one  on  fungi,  particularly  bacteria,  molds,  rusts 
and  smuts ;  and  a  final  one  on  the  modern  methods  of  plant 
breeding  complete  the  book. 

The  book,  according  to  Professor  Bailey's  preface,  is  intended 
to  supplement  the  latter's  "  Botany  "  and  ''  Lessons  With  Plants," 
suggesting  and  explaining  problems  for  experimentation.  It  is 
not  arranged,  however,  to  serve  especially  as  a  laboratory  manual, 
for  the  experiments  are  not  separated  from  the  text  and  the  chap- 
ters also  contain  much  information  in  addition  to  the  experimental 
work.  In  the  chapter  on  roots  there  is  discussion  of  soils  and  the 
relation  of  plants  to  soil  and  to  water,  bringing  in  the  agricul- 
tural side  of  plant  natural  history.  The  structure,  both  internal 
and  external,  of  roots,   leaves   and   stems   is   rather  thoroughly 


BOOK    REVIEWS  165 

examined  and  directions  are  given  for  preparing  the  necessary 
materials  for  study.  It  is  the  function  of  the  parts,  their  ''  work  " 
as  members  of  a  Hving  organism  which  is,  however,  constantly 
made  prominent. 

The  book  may  be  used,  the  author  states,  by  both  teacher  and 
pupil.  For  the  former  we  should  heartily  recommend  it.  As  a 
text  or  reference  book  for  college  or  high-school  classes  it  is 
also  excellent,  though  it  would  doubtless  have  to  be  used  with 
omissions,  for  the  experiments  are  very  numerous  and  go  into  a 
good  deal  of  detail.  They  are  planned  to  use  only  familiar  and 
simple  materials,  and  the  object  and  results  are  made  as  clear 
and  definite  as  possible.  Certain  ones,  therefore,  selected  by  the 
teacher,  could  well  be  used  in  the  nature-study  of  the  elementary 
school. 

The  last  chapter  is  especially  useful  to  teachers  or  advanced 
pupils  in  emphasizing  the  economic  importance  of  experimental 
work  with  plants  as  shown  by  the  labors  of  Luther  Burbank  and 
other  horticulturists.  The  author  closes  with  a  brief  but  clear 
summary  of  Professor  De  Vries'  researches  and  their  bearing  on 
important  biological  problems.  A.  Watterson. 

House,  Garden,  and  Field.     By   L.   C.   Miall.     London,   Arnold ; 
New  York,  Longmans.     1904.     Pp.  316,  ill.     $1.50. 

This  is  "  a  collection  of  short  nature  studies,"  dealing  with  a 
great  variety  of  subjects — e.  g.,  many  insects,  birds,  fishes,  spiders, 
plants,  etc.  Each  chapter  is  a  study  of  some  one  form,  e.  g., 
glowworm,  barnacles,  water-lilies,  house-flies,  banana,  herring, 
monkey,  house  spider,  a  chalk  hill,  grasses,  buttercup.  In  fact, 
the  book  is  a  collection  of  over  fifty  talks  by  a  naturalist ;  and 
there  is  no  suggestion  of  a  connected  series.  Taken  indepen- 
dently, the  talks  are  all  interesting  and  full  of  information  for 
general  readers.  There  are  certain  ''  studies  "  in  the  form  of 
school  lessons,  but  most  of  the  chapters  are  simply  natural-history 
essays  in  the  familiar  style  of  the  author's  earlier  book  entitled 
"  Round  the  Year."  It  is  primarily  a  contribution  to  the  litera- 
ture for  encouraging  the  popular  movement  for  interest  in  natural 
things,  rather  than  a  book  for  the  direct  use  of  teachers  who  want 
guides  for  school  work.  Of  course,  like  popular  natural  his- 
tories, this  book  will  help  the  teacher  in  getting  the  fundamental 
information  about  common  things  with  which  school  nature-study 
must  deal. 


1 66  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  July  1905 

How  to  Keep  Bees.  By  Anna  Botsford  Comstock.  New  York, 
Doubleday,  Page.  1905.  Pp.  228,  32  pages  photographic 
ihustrations.     $1.00 

There  are  numerous  guides  to  bee-culture  but  most  of  them 
are  adapted  to  the  reader  who  has  already  learned  something  about 
bees  in  the  school  of  experience.  For  the  beginner  who  wishes 
to  learn  the  essential  details  from  reading,  this  is  certainly  the  book 
to  be  obtained  first.  "  It  is  not  intended  to  be  a  complete  treat- 
ise for  the  professional  apiarist,  but  rather  a  handbook  for  those 
who  would  keep  bees  for  happiness  and  honey,  and  incidentally 
for  money.  It  is  hoped,  too,  that  it  will  serve  as  an  introduction 
to  the  more  extended  manuals  already  in  the  field."  Especially 
commendable  is  the  fact  that  this  volume  is  based  on  practical  ex- 
perience gained  in  a  small  apiary,  and  the  disputed  points  concern- 
ing bee  life  and  the  technique  of  manipulations  which  burden 
larger  manuals  are  here  avoided. 

Chapter  I,  ''  Why  keep  bees,"  urges  honey,  perhaps  money, 
recreation,  love  of  nature-study,  and  the  need  of  bees  in  "  a  per- 
fect garden,"  as  good  reasons  for  keeping  these  domesticated  in- 
sects. The  second  chapter  tells  us  "  how  to  begin  "  in  a  small 
way ;  and  having  begun  we  may  get  all  necessary  detailed  direc- 
tions for  management  from  later  chapters,  arranged  in  order  of 
demand  for  information.  It  appeals  to  the  reviewer  as  just  what 
the  beginner  wants  to  know. 

This  brief  review  would  be  incomplete  without  referring  to  the 
literary  qualities  of  the  book.  It  is  all  interesting,  and  the  plain 
facts  are  far  from  prosaic  technical  directions.  As  examples  we 
quote :  "  A  bee-veil  facilitates  work  and  encourages  a  serene 
spirit,"  '*  bee-gloves  keep  the  disturbed  little  citizens  from  crawl- 
ing up  our  sleeves,  thus  saving  both  them  and  ourselves  from  a 
most  embarassing  situation,"  and  "  a  little  smoke  is  as  efiicacious 
in  preserving  pleasant  relations  with  the  bees,  as  was  the  smoke 
from  the  pipe  of  peace  in  preserving  similar  relations  between 
our  forefathers  and  the  savages." 

Moths  and  Butterflies.     By  Mary  C.  Dickerson.     Boston,  Ginn. 

1905.     Pp.  344,  200  photographs.     $1.50. 

The  publishers'  announcement  that  this  book  was  in  preparation 

raised  the  question,  "  Why  should  there  be  printed  another  book 

on  Lepidoptera  in  addition  to  the  thousand  and  one  already  in  the 


PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  167 

field  ?  "  But  an  hour  spent  in  reading  this  new  book  by  Miss 
Dickerson,  of  the  Rhode  Island  Normal  School,  convinces  that  it 
fills  an  unoccupied  place  in  the  popular  literature  on  these  most 
popular  insects.  Here  we  have  in  a  book  of  convenient  size  more 
of  the  kind  of  information  wanted  by  the  average  beginning  stu- 
dent than  can  be  found  in  any  other  two  volumes.  We  have  other 
good  books  on  common  butterflies,  c.  g.,  Comstock's  "  How  to 
Know  the  Butterflies,''  Scudder's  "  Everyday  Butterflies,"  and 
Holland's  ''  Butterfly  Book,"  and  on  moths  we  have  Holland's 
"  Moth  Book  "  and  Eliot  and  Soule's  "  Caterpillars  and  their 
Moths  " ;  but  no  recent  volume  including  both  types  of  the  lepi- 
dopterans.  Ballard's  "  Moths  and  Butterflies "  has  for  many 
years  been  popular,  but  in  illustrations  and  contained  information 
it  does  not  meet  the  needs  of  readers  who  are  attracted  to  books 
like  those  named  above.  Dickerson 's  "  Moths  and  Butterflies  " 
has  many  of  the  characteristics  which  have  made  the  books  by 
Comstock,  Scudder  and  Holland  popular,  and  for  the  average  be- 
ginning student  of  these  insects  the  book  may  take  the  place  of  any 
two  volumes  named  above,  because  it  gives  special  attention  to 
about  a  dozen  butterflies  and  as  many  moths  which  are  most  com- 
mon, and  therefore  best  for  beginning  study.  The  two  hundred 
photographs  from  life  make  it  possible  to  identify  caterpillar, 
chrysalis  or  cocoon,  and  the  adult  stage.  The  book  closes  with  a 
very  practical  chapter  on  how  to  collect,  keep,  and  study  butterflies 
and  moths.  This  will  be  especially  useful  to  teachers  of  nature- 
study  in  September  and  October. 


GUIDE   TO   PERIODICAL  LITERATURE 

A   BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF   THE   LEADING   MAGAZINE   ARTICLES   OF    INTER- 
EST   IN    CONNECTION    WITH    NATURE-STUDY 
APRIL    TO    JULY,     I905 

ARRANGED   BY   ADA   WATTERSON 
Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University 

[Editorial  Note. — The  bibliography  for  the  year  1904  and  to  April,  1905, 
has  been  published  in  No.  i.  No.  2  and  No.  3  of  The  Review.  See  any 
of  these  also  for  statement  of  the  aims  and  explanation  of  this  bibliographi- 
cal guide.] 


1 68  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

I.    EDUCATIONAL  AND  GENERAL  DISCUSSIONS  OF  NATURE-STUDY 

Jackman,  W.  S.  Nature-study  and  religious  training.  Educ.  Rev.  30: 
12-30.     Je.  '05. 

Latter,  0.  H.  Biological  side  of  nature-study.  I.  Plant  life.  School 
World.      (Eng.)     7:123-5.     Ap.   '05.      (Materials  and  methods.) 

Nature  work  with  sciences  in  the  kindergarten.  Kind.  Mag.  17:  549-51. 
My.  '05. 

Term  plans  in  nature-study  for  the  spring  term.  (Arranged  according 
to  grades.)     School  Work.     (N.  Y.)     14:1-19.     Ap.  '05. 

Wolcott,  R.  Nature-study.  School  Science.  5:316-21.  My.  '05.  (Aims 
and  methods.) 

2.     NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  ANIMALS  AND  PLANTS 
I.  ANIMALS 

General 

Beard,  D.  How  to  make  a  land  and  water  aquarium.  Outing.  46:  115-7. 
Ap.   05. 

Burroughs,  J,  Are  animals  sympathetic? — Protective  coloration.  Out- 
ing. 46 :  247-^.  My.  '05.  Gay  plumes  and  dull.  Atlan.  95 :  721-37.  Je. 
'05.     (Protective  coloration  of  animals.) 

Mackenzie,  M.     Nature  notes.     Dept.  in  Kind.  Rev.     15.     Ap.  '05. 

Rabbit,  Peter  (pseud.).  Do  animals  think?  Harper.  111:59-62.  Je. 
'05.     (A  criticism  of  Burroughs'  opinions.) 

Insects 

Comstock,  A.  B.  The  workers  in  the  hive.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  8 : 
215-17.    Je.  '05. 

McCook,  H.  C.     Huntress  wasps.     Harper.     110:894-9.     My.  '05. 

Sharp,  D.  L.  Spring  cleaning  with  the  bee-keeper.  Country  Cal.  i : 
24-6.     My.  '05. 

Stene,   A.   E.     The   gypsy   moth.      Nature    Guard    (R.    I.).     Lesson   42. 
My.  '05.     Pp.  173-6. 
Lower  Vertebrates 

Burroughs,  J.  Fatal  spawning.  Outing.  46:371-2.  Je.  '05.  (Lam- 
prey eel.) 

Geare,  R.  I.     The  cobra.     Sci.  Am.     92 :  420.     My.  27,  '05. 
Birds 

Chapman,  F.  M.  Photographing  flamingos  in  their  rookery.  C'try  Life 
in  Amer.     8  :  41-4.     My.  '05. 

Comstock,  A.  B.  Beginning  bird  study.  Chaut.  41 :  259-63,  369-74.  My., 
Je.  '05. 

Davis,  J.  E.  Some  birds  useful  to  the  Southern  farmer.  Hampton 
Leaflet,  i.  No.  4.  Ap.  '05.  Pp.  12.  Also  published  in  Southern  Work- 
man.    34  :  342-9-     Je.  '05. 

Dutcher,  W.  The  American  barn  owl.  Bird-Lore.  7 :  185-8.  My.  '05. 
(Audubon  Educational  Leaflet  14.) 

Finley,  W.  L.  The  golden  eagle  of  Mission  Ridge.  Country  Cal.  i  : 
41-6.     My.  '05.     Humming-bird  and  her  home,     i  :  136-9.     Je.  '05. 


PERIODICAL    LITERATURE  169 

Fuertes,  L.  A.  Birds  at  home.  (Nesting  habits.)  St.  Nich.  32:744-6. 
Je.  '05.    The  return  of  the  birds.     (Migration.)     32:648-9.     My.  '05. 

Hegner,  R.  W.  Nature  studies  with  birds  for  the  elementary  school. 
Ele.  School  T.    5 :  408-18,  462-72.     Mr.,  Ap.  '05. 

Job,  H.  K.  The  extermination  of  the  egret.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  7 : 
627-9.    Ap.  '05. 

Lottridge,  S.  A.  The  bluebird.  St.  Nich.  32 :  610-13.  My.  '05.  The 
great  horned  owl.     32  :  530-5.     Ap.  '05. 

Scott,  W.  E.  D.  Turtle-dove:  a  story  of  meadow-larks.  Outlook.  80: 
325-9.     Je.  3,  '05. 

Mammals 

Barney,  C.  W.  The  use  of  dogs  in  war.  Scribner.  37 :  689-97.  Je.  '05. 
(Red  Cross  aids  after  battles.) 

Burroughs,  J.  A  beaver's  reason.  Cosmo.  39 :  216-22.  Je.  '05.  The 
miraculous  beaver.  Outing.  46:118-9.  Ap.  '05.  The  rabbit's  most  bitter 
foe.     (Weasel.)      Outing.     46:371.     Je.  '05. 

Comstock,  A.   B.     The  cow.     Chaut.     41 :  166-71.     Ap.   '05. 

Hutchinson,  Woods.  The  weapons  and  tools  of  the  dog.  Open  Court. 
19  :  205-26.     Ap.  '05. 

Lottridge,  S.  A.     Photographing  a  wild  fox.     St.  Nich.     32 :  721-4.     Je. 

'05. 

Seton,  E.   T.     Secrets  of  the  trail.     C'try  Life  in  Amer.     8 :  202-5.  Je. 

'05- 

IL  PLANTS 
General 

Beal,  W.  J.  Plants  that  hide  from  animals.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.  67 :  178-83. 
Je.   '05.      (Adaptations  to  environment.) 

Beeson,  E.  B.  The  miracle  maker  of  gardens.  Ind.  58 :  997-1004.  My. 
'05.      (Luther  Burbank.) 

Brainerd,  E.  B.  Lesson  on  the  wild  carrot.  N.  Y.  Teachers'  Mono. 
7  :  46-7.     Mr.  '05. 

Cook,  M.  T.  Tropical  fruits.  L  The  banana.  School  Science.  5 :  478- 
80.    Je.  '05. 

French,  F.     The  brook.     Harper.     110:691-8.     Ap.  '05. 

H.,  E.  B.  How  some  flowers  got  their  names.  St.  Nich.  32:725-31. 
Je.  '05. 

Harwood,  W.  S.  A  wonder-worker  of  science.  Cent.  69 :  821-37.  Ap. 
'05.     Every  man  his  own  Burbank.     Country  Cal.     i  :  21-3.     My.  '05. 

Sharp,  D.  L.  Birds  and  flowers  of  June.  Country  Cal.  i :  133-5.  Je. 
'05.     Woods  and  meadows  in  May.     i :  32-5.     My.  '05. 

Trees  and  Forestry 

Beede,  V.  V.  M.    Legends  of  the  trees.     Chaut.     41:306-11.     Je.  '05. 

Brown,  J.  P.     The  Catalpa  speciosa.     Chaut.     41  :  364-8.     Je.  '05. 

Foster,  E.  W.  Our  friends  the  trees.  St.  Nich.  32 :  577-83,  703-8.  My., 
Je.,  '05. 

French,  F.     The  awakening  of  the  trees.     Scrib.     37  :  597-603.     IMy.  '05. 

Hall,  Mrs.  H.  J.     Some  historical  trees.     Chaut.     41 :  316-18.     Je.  '05. 


lyo  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW        [i,  4,  July  1905 

Harger,  C.  M.  Foresting  the  prairies.  World's  Work.  10:6255-61. 
Je.  "05. 

Hawes,  A,  F.  Trees  and  forests  and  how  to  plant  them.  Prim.  Educ. 
13  :  164-5.     Ap.  '05. 

Hegner,  R.  W.  Program  for  arbor  day.  Ele.  School  T.  5 :  468-72. 
Ap.  '05. 

McFarland,  J.  H.  The  awakening  of  the  trees.  Outlook.  79 :  803-10. 
Ap.   I,  '05. 

Millspaugh,  C.  F.  The  story  of  a  tree  as  told  by  its  log.  Chant.  41 : 
303-6.    Je.   05. 

Millspaugh,  Mrs.  C,  F.  Tree  protection  in  the  United  States.  Chant. 
41:326-34.     Je.  '05. 

Rogers,  J.  E.     Dooryard  trees.     Prim.  Educ.     13 :  168.     Ap.  '05. 

Songs  of  the  trees.      (Four,  selected.)      Chant.     41:362-3.     Je.   '05. 

Suter,  H.  M.     Fighting  forest  fires.     Chant.     41  :  348-54.     Je.  '05. 

List  of  available  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  U.  S.  Dept. 
of  Agric.    Chant.    41 :  378-9.    Je.  '05. 


3.     AGRICULTURE,  INCLUDING  GARDENING 

Bailey,  L.  H.  Some  present  problems  in  agriculture.  Science.  21 : 
681-9.     My.  5,  '05.     Quest  of  nitrogen.     Country  Cal.     i  :  27-8.     My.  '05. 

Barron,  L.     Planting-table  for  flowers.     Garden  Mag.     i:  117-8.  Ap.  '05. 

Casey,  D.  V.  Unconventional  veranda  and  window-boxes.  Garden  Mag. 
I  :  228-9.    Je.  '05. 

Cromwell,  A.  D.  Should  elementary  agriculture  be  taught  in  the  pub- 
lic schools?     Pop.   Educator.     22:381-2.     Ap.   '05. 

Fullerton,  E.  L.  Planting-table  for  vegetables.  Garden  Mag.  i :  1 10-3. 
Ap.  "05.  Thinning  and  transplanting  vegetables.  Garden  Mag.  i  :  174-6. 
My.  '05. 

Fullerton,  H.  B.  Gardening  tools  and  implements.  C'try  Life  in  Amer. 
7  :  634-5.     Ap.  '05. 

Gillan,  S.  Y.  Lessons  in  elementary  agriculture.  Amer.  Jour,  of 
Educ.    38  :  300-2.    Ap.  '05. 

McAdam,  T.    The  best  tall  perennials.    Garden  Mag.     1:119-21.    Ap.  '05. 

Maynard,  S.  T.  Spring  work  in  the  garden.  Outing.  46:92-101.  Ap. 
'o5- 

Mumford,  H.  W.  Study  of  animal  husbandry.  School  News.  18 : 
360-3,  422-5.    Ap.,  My.,  Je.  '05. 

Rogers,  J.  E.    A  wild  garden  at  school.    Pop.  Educator.    22  :  383.     Ap.  '05. 

Sutherland,  A.    Farming  vacant  city  lots.    R.  of  Rs.    31 :  567-71.    My.  '05. 


4.    PHYSICAL  NATURE-STUDY 

Friedman,  H.  Earth  study:  the  classification  of  minerals.  School  Work. 
3  :  396-400. 

Grosvenor,  G.  H.  Our  heralds  of  storm  and  flood.  Cent.  70 :  161-78. 
Je.   '05.      (Work  of  United   States   Weather   Bureau.) 


NOTES    ON    RECENT   ARTICLES  l-Ji 

NOTES   ON    RECENT    PAMPHLETS   AND   MAGAZINE 
ARTICLES 

Primer  of  Forestry.  This  important  bulletin  by  Pinchot,  director 
of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  is  now  available  in  the  complete  form, 
Part  I  having  been  reprinted  and  Part  II  recently  issued.  Part  I 
deals  with  the  general  principles  of  forestry  and  Part  JJ  with  prac- 
tical management.  The  price,  cloth  binding,  is  35  cents  for  each 
part;  for  sale  by  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Washington,  D.  C. 
An  extract  of  Part  I  is  also  published  as  a  Farmers'  Bulletin  for 
free  distribution  (apply  to  Secretary  of  Agriculture). 

Maple  Sugar  Industry.  An  interesting  pamphlet  of  56  pages  has 
been  published  by  the  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture.  It  treats  of  sugar 
making  by  the  Indians,  white  settlers,  and  recent  improvements;  the 
various  kinds  of  maples;  the  management  of  sugar  groves;  maple 
sap;  and  adulterations.  The  pamphlet  will  be  useful  to  teachers  who 
refer  to  maple  trees.  The  price  of  the  pamphlet  is  5  cents;  for 
sale  by  the   Superintendent  of  Documents,  Washington,   D.   C. 

Key  to  Forest  Trees,  based  on  their  leaf  characters,  has  been  pre- 
pared for  Indiana  by  Professor  Stanley  Coulter  and  H.  B.  Dorner, 
of  Purdue  University.  The  pamphlet  of  ten  pages  is  very  convenient 
and  could  easily  be  modified  to  fit  trees  of  other  states. 

Cleveland  Home  Gardens.  The  fifth  (1904)  report  of  the  Home 
Gardening  Association  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  indicates  continued  prog- 
ress in  the  work  of  that  organization.  The  sale  of  seeds  alone  is 
a  good  sign  of  the  extent  of  the  movement ;  237,393  packages  of  seeds 
and  bulbs,  57,857  to  schools  outside  the  city.  Four  gardens  for 
schools  were  established,  and  this  work  is  being  extended  during  the 
present  summer.  As  in  former  years,  flower  shows  aroused  great 
interest;  and  shows  were  held  in  forty  schools.  Many  more  citizens 
have  been  persuaded  that  the  work  is  valuable  and  their  contribu- 
tions of  money  and  of  land  for  gardens  have  aided  in  extending  the 
work.  Those  interested  in  home  gardens — and  every  city  and  town 
should  have  an  organization  for  encouraging  gardening — will  find 
the  fourth  and  fifth  reports  of  the  Cleveland  Association  helpful  and, 
in  fact,  indepensable.  They  may  be  obtained  from  President  E.  W. 
Haines,  262  St.  Clair  St.,  Cleveland,  O.  Twenty-five  cents  per  copy 
should  be  sent. 

Boys'  Agricultural  Clubs.  A  circular  with  this  title  is  Extract  No. 
362  from  the  1904  year  book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  It 
describes  an  interesting  phase  of  the  great  movement  forward  in 
agricultural  education.  It  is  interesting  to  learn  that  in  Illinois, 
Ohio,  Iowa  and  other  states  of  that  region  the  boys  have  manv  well 
organized  clubs  for  study  of  farm  problems  and  that  thev  take  full 


172  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW        [i,  4,  july  1905 

charge  of  special  sessions  at  farmers'  institutes.  We  see  in  the 
clubs  another  way  of  teaching  agricultural  nature-study,  llic  pam- 
phlet is  free;  apply  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Photographs  of  Wild  Game.  Some  of  the  most  interesting  photo- 
graphs of  large  animals  living  under  natural  conditions  are  those  of 
elk  reproduced  in  the  September  Country  Life  in  America.  One 
photograph  includes  fifteen  hundred  of  these  animals,  which  in  enor- 
mous herds  are  said  to  be  making  their  "  last  stand  "  in  a  great  valley 
of  the  Rockies,  to  which  20,000  to  40,000  come  from  the  mountains 
to  pass  six  months  of  winter. 

Non-Stinging  Bees.  The  Caucasian  bees  imported  from  Russia  in 
1902  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  are  said  to  be  so  gentle 
that  they  rarely  sting;  and  a  writer  in  the  September  Country  Life 
in  America  thinks  that  they  will  surely  take  the  place  of  other  races, 
even  the  Italians  and  Carniolans  which  in  gentleness  are  children's 
pets  in  comparison  with  the  common  brown  German  bee  which  our 
forefathers  spread  throughout  this  country. 

NEWS   NOTES 

Nature-Study  in  New  York  City.  The  daily  papers  report  that  the  Board 
directed  by  Professor  Stanley  Coulter^  of  Purdue  University.  Mrs.  Corn- 
stock,  of  Cornell,  conducted  courses  at  the  University  of  California.  Pro- 
fessor Hodge,  of  Clark  University,  lectured  at  the  Connecticut  Agricultural 
College  and  at  the  Macdonald  Institute  of  Ontario.  Dr.  E.  F.  Bigelow, 
of  St.  Nicholas,  lectured  in  Michigan  Normal  Schools  and  at  Wooster 
University  (Ohio).  Courses  relating  to  nature-study  were  directed  by 
Professor  Stevens  at  the  N.  C.  College  of  Agriculture ;  by  Dr.  A.  J.  Grout, 
of  the  Boys'  High  School  of  Brooklyn,  at  Hyannis  (Mass.)  Normal  School; 
by  Professor  Jackman  at  the  University  of  Chicago ;  by  Miss  Watterson 
and  M.  A.  Bigelow  at  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University;  and  by 
Professor  McCready  at  Macdonald  Institute.  Advertisements  indicate  that 
very  many  other  summer  schools  offered  special  work  for  teachers  of 
nature-study,  but  specific  information  regarding  instructors  has  not  reached 
this  ottice. 

Nature-Study  in  Summer  Schools.  At  Cornell  University  the  work  was 
of  Education  has  removed  nature-study  from  the  required  list  of  studies  and 
placed  it  on  the  elective  list.  The  difificulties  of  getting  material,  training 
teachers  and  overcoming  public  opinion  against  "  frills  and  fads  "  has  made 
the  nature-study  problem  a  serious  one  during  the  past  two  years.  Obvi- 
ously, it  is  not  wise  to  force  nature-study  suddenly  into  a  complex  school 
system. 

Forest  Service.  This  is  the  new  name  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture.  In  addition  to  its  regular  work  the  service  will 
undertake  to  encourage  teaching  of  elementary  forestry  in  public  schools. 
Later  information  on  this  point  may  be  expected  to  appear  in  this  journal. 


The  Teachers  College  Record 


The  Teachers  College  Record  is  a  serial  publication  issued  by 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the 
most  recent  views  of  the  history  and  principles  of  education,  of  educa- 
tional administration,  and  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching. 

Each  number  treats  some  specific  problem  in  the  work  of  the  kinder- 
garten, elementary  school,  high  school,  or  some  department  of  college 
work.  Topics  hitherto  presented  have  included  :  schools  for  teachers  ; 
schools  of  observation  and  practice ;  curricula  ;  courses  of  study  ;  school 
economy ;  aims,  methods,  and  results  of  instruction  in  the  various  school 
grades  ;   and  syllabi  of  college  courses. 

The  Record  is  issued  bi-monthly,  except  July;  subscription,  ^i.oo 
per  year ;  single  copies,  30  cents,  postpaid.  A  table  of  contents  of  the 
numbers  hitherto  issued  will  be  sent  on  request. 


Address:  THE  TEACHERS  COLLEGE  RECORD 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City 


BIRD=UORE 

An  Illustrated  Magazine  for  Teachers  and  Students. 

Edited  by  FRANK  M.  CHAPMAN. 

Such  prominent  exponents  of  Nature- Study  as  Mrs.  Anna  Botsford  Com  stock  and 
Prof.  C.  F.  Hodge  praise  BIRD-LORE  so  highly  that  we  are  led  to  believe  you  will 
find  the  magazine  of  practical  value.  Will  you  not  permit  us  to  send  you  a  specimen 
copy  so  that  you  may  judge  for  yourself? 

THE    MACMILLAN  CO.,  66  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York  City. 


THE  POPULAR  SCIENCE  MONTHLY 

It  has  had  few  rivals  and  no  equal  in  the  educative  service  it  has  done  for  the  American  people- 
A  complete  set  of  the  volumes  thus  far  published  is  both  a  history  of  education  for  the  period  covered 
and  at  the  same  time  a  pretty  complete  cyclopedia  of  natural  science.  There  is  nothing  to  fill  its  place, 
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B.  P.  Colton,  Professor  of  Biology,  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 

Anna  B.  Comstock,  Lecturer,  Cornell  University,  College  of  Agriculture. 

E.  G.  Conklin,  Director  of  Zoological  Department,  University  of  Penna. 

J.  M.  Coulter,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Chicago. 

Stanley  Coulter,  Professor  of  Biology,  Purdue  University,  Lafayette,  Ind. 

T.  R.  Croswell,  Supervisor  of  Training  School,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

J.  Dearness,  Vice-principal  of  Normal  School,  London,  Ont. 

R.  E.  Dodge,  Professor  of  Geography,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

Mrs.  F.  N.  Doubleday  (Neltje  Blanchan),  Author-Lecturer,  New  York  City. 

W.  F,  Ganong,  Professor  of  Botany,  Smith  College,  Northampton,  Mass, 

W.  S.  Hall,  Professor  of  Physiology,  Northwestern  University,  Chicago. 

W.  Hallock,  Professor  of  Physics,  Columbia  University. 

W.  M.  Hays,  Director  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Minnesota. 

H    D.  Hemenway,  Director  of  Hartford  (Conn.)  School  of  Horticulture. 

E.  H.  HoLDEN,  Formerly  Director  of  Lick  Observatory,    Librarian  of  West 

Point  Military  Academy. 
W.  G.  Hormell,  Professor  of  Physics,  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  Delaware,  O. 
W.  T    Hornaday,  Director  of  New  York  Zoological  Park. 
W.  S    Jackman,  Principal  of  Elementary  School,  University  of  Chicago. 
O.  P.  Jenkl\s,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Stanford  University,  Cal. 
V.  L.  Kellogg,  Professor  of  Entomology,  Stanford  University. 
D    Laxge.  Super  visor  of  Nature-Study,  St.  Paul  (Minn.)  schools. 

F.  E.    Lloyd,   Adjunct   Professor  of  Biology,    Teachers    College,  Columbia 

University. 
W.  Lochhead,  Professor  of  Biolrgv.  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 
W.  A.  LOCY,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111. 
T.  H.  Macbride,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa  City. 
Alice  G.  McCloskey,  Instructor,  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University. 
A.  H.  MacKay,  Superintendent  of  Education,  Nova  Scotia,  Halifax    N.  S. 
Chas.  a.  McMurry,  Professor  of  Pedagogy,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 
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Clara  M.  Russell,  New  York  State  Normal  College,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
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S.  B.  Sinclair,  Vice- Principal  of  Normal  School,  Ottawa,  Canada. 
J.  W.  Spencer,  Supervisor  of  Bureau  of  Nature-Study,  Cornell  University. 
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CONTENTS 

V'ACK 

Relation  of  Geography  to  Nature-Study,  with  Complete  Outline  of  Course  for 

Eight  Grades.     Harold  W,   Fairbanks    .    .  .    .        173 

Value  of  Knowing  Names  of  Natural  Objects.     Bv  Many  Writers 198 

An  Educational  Bee-Hive.    Edward  F.  Bigkujw  ,    .  ......  .    .  202 

Do  Birds  Eat  Butterflies.     T.   D.   A.  Cockkrei.l 209 

School-Gardens  in  Philadelphia .212 

School-Garden  Notes.     H.   D.  Hemenway        .    .        .    .      218 

A  Plea  for  the  Wild  Flowers 220 

An  Appeal  for  the  Birds    .....        221 

Nature-Study  in  New  Zealand   .    .        223 

The  Philosophy  of  Nature-Study.     A  Review.     T.   H.  Macbride 227 

Notes  on  New  Books  and  Pamphlets .....  229 

Editorials .    .  233 

Guide  to  Periodical  Literature 234 

Nature  Notes 235 


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CONTENTS    OF  No.  I,  JANaARY,  1905 

Introduction,  M.  A.  B.  Natu-e-Study  and  Natural  Science — A  Symposium,  H. 
W.  Fairbanks,  C.  F.  Hodge,  T.  H.  Macbride,  F.  L.  Stevens,  M.  A.  Bigelow.  Physical 
Nature-Study,  John  F.  Woodhull.  Nature-Study  an  1  E'emenfary  Agriculture  in 
Canada,  W.  H.  Muldrew,  Seme  Recent  Criticism  of  Nature-Siudy,  F.  M.  McMurry 
and  H.  E.  Armstrong,  Agriculture  in  Southern  Schools,  C.  W.  Burkett.  School- 
Gardens  at  Hartford  School  of  Horiiculture,  H.  D.  Hemenway.  Ant-Ne&ts  for  the 
Schoo  ,  Adele  M.  Field.  Book  Reviews  and  Notes  on  Recent  Literature.  Guide  to 
Periodical  Literature,  Ada  Watterson. 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  2,  MARCH,  19C5 

Educational  Values  and  Aims  of  Nature-Study,  Stanley  Coulter,  Harold  W. 
Fairbanks,  Maurice  A.  Bigelow.  Principles  of  Nature  Study,  John  M.  Coulter, 
Children's  Gardens  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  Illustrated,  Edna  R.  Thayer.  Why  Some 
School  Gardens  are  Failures,  T.  R.  Croswell.  Chemical  Tablets  for  Feeding  Plants 
Growing^  Without  Soil,  Illustrated,  Edward  F.  Bigelow.  A  Nature-Study  Lesson 
with  the  Moulds,  F.  L.  Stevens.  Natu'e-Study  in  High  Schools,  M.  A.  Bigelow, 
Editorials  :  Collaborators  of  the  Review — Articles  by  those  who  both  think  and  do — 
Original  Observations.  Book  Reviews :  Animal  Stories  from  St.  Nicholas — How 
Nature-Study  Should  be  taught — First  Principles  of  Agriculture — Bird  Life  Stories. 
Notes  on  Recent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles.  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature, 
II.,  Ada  Waterson.     News  Notes. 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  3,  MAY,  1905 

Why  Many  Fail  in  Teaching  Nature  Study,  L.  A.  Hatch.  Ready-Made  Lessons 
in  Nature-Study,  L.  C.  Miall.  Flower  Shows  in  City  School^,  Alice  R.  Northrop. 
Observation  Bee-Hive  for  the  Schoolroom,  Anna  Botsford  Comstock.  Window 
Gardens  for  the  Schoolroom,  H.  D.  Hemenway.  A  Wild- Flower  Garden,  Isabella 
G.  Diggings.  Making  a  School  Lawn,  Margaret  T.  Brown.  Time  Required  for 
Nature-Study,  S.  B.  Sinclair.  Methods  of  Sherlock  Holmes  in  Nature-Study, 
E.  A.  G.  Lamborn.  Original  Observations  from  Elementary  Schools.  Book  Re- 
views :  ABC  of  Bee  Culture — Trees  of  North  America — Nature- Study  with  Common 
Things — Mosses  with  a  Hand-Lens — Book  of  April  and  May  Flowers.  Notes  on 
•decent  Pamphlets  and  Magazine  Articles.  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature,  Septem- 
ber 1904  to  April  1905,  Ada  Watterson.     Questions  and  Answers. 


THE    NATUKE-STUDY   REVIEW 


CONTENTS   OF   No.  4,  JULY,   1905 

Nature-Study  versus  Agriculture,  W.  M.  Hays.  Nature-Study  and  Agriculture, 
Anna  Rotskord  Comstock.  Nature-Study  and  Agriculture,  F.  L.  Stp:ven.s.  Nature- 
Study  in  the  Schools  of  Nova  Scotia,  A.  H.  MacKay.  Teaching  Facts  in  Nature- 
Study,  John  Dearness.  Nature-Study  and  its  Relation  to  English,  W.  M.  Heiney. 
The  Silk- Worm  for  Nature-Study,  Alvin  Davison.  Protective  Colors  of  Animals. 
Facts  Discovered  by  Children,  T,  D.  A.  Cockerell.  Book  Reviews  :  Experiments 
with  Plants — House,  Garden,  and  Field — How  to  Keep  Bees — Moths  and  Butter- 
flies. Guide  to  Periodical  Literature,  April  to  July,  1905,  Ada  Watterson.  News 
Notes, 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  5,  SEPTEMBER,  1905 
Relation  of  Geography  to  Nature-Study,  with  Complete  Outline  of  Courses  for 
Eight  Grades,  Harold  W.  Fairbanks.  Value  of  Knowing  Names  of  Natural  Objects, 
Many  Writers.  An  Educational  Bee-Hive,  Edward  F.  Bigelow.  Do  Birds  Eat 
Butterflies  ?  T.  D.  A.  Cockerell.  School  Gardens  in  Philadelphia.  School  Garden 
Notes,  H.  D.  Hemenway.  A  Plea  for  the  "Wild  Flowers.  An  Appeal  for  the  Birds. 
Nature-Study  in  New  Zealand.  The  Philosophy  of  Nature-Study :  A  Review. 
T.  H.  Macbride.  Notes  on  New  Books  and  Pamphlets.  Editorials.  Guide  to  Peri- 
odical Literature.     Nature  Notes. 


CONTENTS  OF  No.  6,  NOVEMBER,  1905. 

This  number  will  contain  a  very  interesting  paper  on  Communal  Life  of  Ants,  by  the 
well-known  investigator  Adele  M.  Fielde.  Some  excellent  photographs  will  illustrate  this 
article.  Mrs.  Parsons  will  contribute  a  paper  on  The  Children's  School  Farm,  that  re- 
markable movement  which  she  has  founded  in  New  York  City.  Professor  Kellogg,  of  Stan- 
ford University,  will  write  on  Galls  and  Gall  Flies.  In  addition,  a  paper  by  Professor  Sin- 
clair, of  Ottawa,  on  Definite  Problems  in  Nature-Study;  one  on  Gold-Fishes,  by  Pro- 
fessor MiTSUKURi,  of  Japan  ;  one  on  Facts  Discovered  by  Children,  by  Marion  Ham- 
ilton Carter  ;  several  shorter  articles  and  all  the  regVilar  departments  make  this  one  of  the 
very  best  numbers  of  the  year. 


FOR  THE  1906  VOLUME. 

We  can  promise  contributions  from  the  best  writers  on  the  most  timely  and  interesting  topics 
connected  with  nature-study  and  elementary  science.  The  first  year  has  simply  opened  the  field 
and  has  shown  the  importance  of  a  special  journal  in  which  all  may  cooperate  for  the  advance  of 
the  nature-study  raDvement.  May  we  count  on  your  cooperation  in  both  the  financial  and  the 
literary  affairs  of  Th£  Review  for  1906  ? 


FOR  NATURE-STUDY 


..  THE  NEW.. 

Reflecting  Lantern 


Opens  up  a  new  field  for  nature- 
study  work  in  the  class  room. 
With  it  can  be  shown  on  the  screen 
in  natural  colors,  pressed  flowers 
and  plants,  butterflies,  moths  and 
other  like  specimens,  crystals,  etc. 
Sketches,  photos  and  engravings 
from  books  are  also  shown  with 
great  brilliancy. 


Radium  and  Radio-Activity 

A  new  Book  by  Dr.  Charles  Baskerville. 

A  full  account  of  the  latest  and  most  important  developments  in  the 
field  of  radio-active  substances. 

Cloth  Bound.     Profusely  illustrated.     Postpaid  $i.io. 


BARGAIN  LIST  OF  NATURE-STUDY  MATERIAL  ON  APPLICATION 


WILLIAMS,    BROWN  &  EARLE 

Dept.  J5  9J8  Chestnut  St.,  Philadelphia 


For  INature=Study  Work: 

The  teacher  who  would  have  at  command  a  good  fund  of  interesting 
facts  about  plants  should  have  a  full  set  of  The  American  Botanist. 
This  magazine  is  devoted  principally  to  publishing  quaint,  curious  and 
remarkable  items  about  plants  and  plant  processes.  Sample  free.  Sub- 
scriptions, $i.oo  a  year.  A  set  of  the  nine  half-yearly  volumes  sent  for 
^4.00.      Order  today.     Address 

WILLARD  N.  CLUTE  &  CO.,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 


THE 

NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

Vol.  I  SEPTEMBER,  1905  No.  5 

THE   RELATION   OF   GEOGRAPHY   TO   NATURE-STUDY   IN 
THE    ELEMENTARY   SCHOOL 

BY  HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS,  PH.D. 

Author  of  "  Stories  of  our  Mother  Earth,"  "  Home  Geography,"  "  Stories  of  Rocks  and 

Minerals,"  etc. 

Introduction 

It  requires  but  a  slight  experience  with  educational  problems 
to  discover  that  there  exists  a  very  wide  divergence  of  opinion 
as  to  what  should  be  included  under  the  terms  geography  and 
nature-study,  and  the  relationship,  if  any,  which  exists  between 
their  respective  fields.  A  part  of  what  in  one  school  is  called 
geography  is  in  another  included  under  the  head  of  nature-study. 
In  one  school  geography  and  nature-study  are  taught  as  though 
they  had  nothing  in  common,  while  in  another  they  are  more  or 
less  closely  correlated.  Still  farther,  the  instruction  in  nature- 
study,  or  science  as  it  is  often  called,  is  given  from  different 
standpoints  and  with  widely  different  objects  in  view.  On  the 
one  hand  it  is  the  informal  introduction  of  the  child  to  the  phe- 
nomena of  his  environment,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  methods 
and  aims  of  science  dominate  the  instruction. 

There  is  a  wide-spread  feeling  on  the  part  of  teachers  that 
the  work  in  geography  does  not  produce  satisfactory  results,  and 
the  subject  has  been  condemned  in  some  quarters  as  merely  an 
agglomeration  of  facts  from  many  unrelated  fields;  while  the 
progress  of  the  nature-study  idea  has  suffered  from  the  lack  of 
a  distinctly  formulated  purpose  or  unifying  principle  to  serve  as 
a  basis  for  its  expression  under  varying  circumstances  in  different 
parts  of  the  country. 


174  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

It  is  the  object  of  the  present  paper  to  inquire  briefly  into  the 
existing  differences  in  school  practice,  determine  if  there  is  not 
ground  for  a  more  uniform  and  rational  treatment  of  geography 
and  nature-study,  and  express  the  conclusions  reached  in  an  out- 
line course  of  study.  The  work  involved  in  the  preparation  of  the 
paper  was  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  E.  E.  Brown  in  the  Semi- 
nary of  Education,  University  of  California.  All  the  general  liter- 
ature accessible  was  consulted,  and  in  addition  the  courses  of  study 
of  more  than  twenty  leading  cities  and  practice  schools  in  the 
United  States. 

Development  and  Scope  of  Geography 

Before  we  can  analyze  our  subject  properly  and  determine  the 
relation  which  should  exist  between  geography  and  nature-study 
we  must  first  inquire  into  the  development  and  present  significance 
of  each. 

We  may  define  geography  as  the  science  of  the  earth  as  an 
organic  whole  whose  parts  are  continually  reacting  upon  each 
other.  The  materials  of  geography,  drawn  from  all  the  sciences, 
are  not  combined  as  in  a  mosaic,  but  are  interwoven  in  a  new 
synthesis  of  a  higher  order.  The  study  of  the  phenomena  of  the 
air,  of  the  ocean,  and  the  origin  and  meaning  of  land  forms,  is 
not  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  the  sciences  of 
meteorology,  oceanography,  and  geology;  but  rather,  that  we 
may  understand  the  part  which  each  of  these  subjects  plays  in  the 
complicated  inter-actions  between  physical  forces  and  life.  When 
plants  and  animals  are  studied  with  the  object  in  view  of  dis- 
covering their  nature  and  affinities  the  work  is  properly  biology, 
but  when  we  seek  to  find  out  their  part  in  the  general  economy 
of  the  world  it  becomes  geography.  Any  fact  which  is  looked 
at  from  the  standpoint  of  its  earth  relationships  may  be  properly 
included  in  a  discussion  of  geography. 

Geography  has  been  called  a  composite  of  many  unrelated  sci- 
ences, a  dumping  ground  for  vagrant  facts,  a  relic  of  medievalism, 
but  from  the  standpoint  given  above  its  individuality  seems  as 
real  as  that  of  any  other  subject. 

Geography,  as  the  name  signifies,  was  originally  descriptive. 
The  earth  and  its  inhabitants  were  supposed  to  be  parts  of  a 
fixed  system  and  order  of  things,  and  no  other  method  but  that 
of  description  was  possible.  Now  we  know  that  perpetual  change 
and  adjustment  is  the  law  of  the  world.     No  branch  of  learning 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  175 

can  be  considered  scientific  which  does  not  attempt  to  discover  the 
laws  of  these  changes,  to  discover  the  laws  of  cause  and  effect 
under  which  all  phenomena  follow  each  other  in  orderly  suc- 
cession. 

Geography,  then,  is  comprehensive,  dealing  not  only  with  the 
earth-relationships  of  facts  as  they  are  now  open  to  observation, 
but  in  seeking  causes  and  consequences  in  an  attempt  to  arrive  at 
a  rational  conception  of  them,  reaches  back  into  the  past  and  for- 
ward into  the  future. 

Geography  has  its  special  standpoint  and  problems  of  its  own 
to  solve,  just  as  have  geology  and  biology;  and  because  it  neces- 
sarily draws  upon  these  sciences  for  a  portion  of  its  materials, 
we  must  not  look  upon  this  fact  as  weakening  its  individuality. 
Physical  geography  is  not  geology  in  disguise,  for  although  in  the 
study  of  the  meaning  and  origin  of  earth  forms  it  deals  with  a 
part  of  the  same  materials  as  geology,  yet  it  has  a  very  different 
end  in  view. 

Geography  as  thus  defined  is  a  science  and  worthy  of  the 
prolonged  investigations  of  the  advanced  student,  while  in  its 
non-technical  elementary  stage,  it  is  of  all  studies  in  the  curriculum, 
the  most  important  as  giving  an  outlook  over  the  world,  and  a 
general  view  of  the  phenomena  with  which  the  life  of  every  one 
is  intimately  bound  up. 

Historically,  geography  formed  the  starting  point  of  many 
of  the  sciences.  Its  content  was  at  first  ill-defined  and  it  em- 
braced much  that  was  mythological  and  legendary.  From  this 
undifferentiated  beginning  one  science  after  another  has  grown 
up  and  gone  on  its  independent  way,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
real  problems  of  geography,  as  well  as  its  scope,  have  become 
more  clearly  defined. 

The  child  in  his  mental  growth  goes  through  in  epitome  the 
history  of  the  race.  He  is  first  interested  in  folk-tales  and  nature 
myths  and  in  getting  answers  to  the  meaning  of  things  about 
him.  Then  he  wants  to  know  about  people  and  things  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  and  finally  undertakes  with  definite  purpose 
to  widen  and  deepen  his  knowledge  and  to  establish  principles  of 
universal  application. 

Geography  proper  begins  in  the  elementary  school  with  an 
attempt  to  grasp  the  obvious  relations  exhibited  by  the  earth, 
the  sky,  water  and  the  living  things  in  the  local  environment.    As 


176  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

the  years  pass  the  subject  is  viewed  in  its  wider  relations,  it  be- 
comes better  defined  and  its  purposes  more  consciously  in  view. 
There  is  just  as  much  difference  in  method  and  object  between  the 
geography  of  the  primary  school  and  that  of  the  university  as 
there  is  between  nature-study  and  science.^ 

What  is  Nature-Study 

Educational  leaders  have  voiced  for  three  hundred  years  the 
importance  of  going  directly  to  nature  for  our  knowledge  of  her, 
rather  than  to  books.  This  thought  has  been  partly  expressed 
in  geography  teaching  in  the  growing  attention  paid  to  the  study 
of  the  home.  It  also  appeared  in  object  teaching  which  was  so 
prominent  in  the  schools  a  generation  ago.  The  influence  of  the 
older  natural  history  and  the  expansion  of  science  in  recent  years 
in  the  college  and  high  school  has  also  had  a  very  important  effect 
upon  the  attention  paid  to  the  study  of  nature  in  the  elementary 
school. 

Although  object  teaching  was  too  often  formal  and  lifeless,  yet 
it  seems  to  have  furnished  the  fundamental  conceptions  of  the 
nature-study  of  today,  and  that  is  the  placing  of  emphasis  upon 
the  general  culture  of  the  pupil  rather  than  upon  the  acquisition 
of  facts.  The  influence  of  the  science  teaching  of  the  higher 
schools  was  however  in  the  opposite  direction.  It  frequently  intro- 
duced quantitative  and  analytic  methods  of  mature  minds  be- 
lieving that  nature  could  be  profitably  studied  only  in  this  man- 
ner. It  tried  to  bend  the  children  toward  its  own  methods,  rather 
than  to  adapt  them  to  the  children ;  so  that  the  latter  have  often 
been  set  at  the  study  of  natural  phenomena  from  a  standpoint 
which  was  far  beyond  their  understanding.  The  consequence 
was  that  interest  disappeared  and  the  study  lost  all  its  value. 

In  the  place  of  the  formal  methods  of  object  teaching,  and  the 
more  precise  and  exact  methods  of  science,  there  has  grown  up 
the  conceptions  covered  by  the  modern  term  nature-study.  This, 
although  in  practice  still  ill-defined  and  often  poorly  worked 
out,  contains  some  fundamental  truths  which  place  it  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  earlier  efforts. 

Although  discarding  the  ways  of  science,  nature-study  does  not 

thereby  become  unscientific.     It  merely  adapts  its  methods  to  the 

needs  of  children.     If  we  would  develop  in  them  an  intelligent 

^  See  discussion  in  this  journal,  No.  i,  January,  1905. — Managing  Editor. 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  177 

interest  in  their  environment  we  must  go  at  it  from  their  stand- 
point. We  may  look  at  the  child  as  a  possible  future  scientist, 
but  that  should  not  affect  our  present  method  of  treating  him. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  materials  of  nature-study,  ex- 
cept perhaps  in  the  upper  grammar  grades,  should  be  drawn 
from  what  is  actually  open  to  observation  and  experience  on  the 
part  of  the  child.  These  must  not  be  trivial,  but  such  as  appeal  to 
his  sense  of  worth  and  value.  In  choosing  the  material,  it  is  well 
to  recognize  the  fact  that  there  are  certain  aspects  of  life  which 
are  particularly  interesting  to  young  children;  while  on  the  other 
hand  there  are  many  physical  facts  which  are  taken  up  to  better 
advantage  in  the  upper  grammar  grades.  There  is,  however, 
a  vast  fund  of  materials,  both  of  organic  and  inorganic  nature, 
suited  to  any  grade.  Much  depends  upon  adapting  the  method 
of  treatment  of  these  materials  to  the  degree  of  development  of 
the  child. 

There  can  be  no  one  course  of  nature-study  suited  to  all  schools, 
since  we  are  to  deal  with  materials  at  first  hand,  and  these  are 
not  the  same  in  any  two  districts.  Notwithstanding  these  differ- 
ences there  is  a  common  ground  upon  which  all  teachers  can 
meet,  and  this  is  the  attitude  assumed  toward  nature. 

The  child  is  naturally  alive  to  what  is  taking  place  about  him. 
The  work  in  nature-study  directs  these  interests  along  rational 
lines  and  toward  some  end.  Interest  should  be  consulted  at 
every  step,  but  not  blindly  followed  by  the  teacher.  In  many 
cases  interest  must  be  aroused  in  children  whose  home  influences 
have  been  such  as  to  dull  their  natural  and  spontaneous  delight 
in  things  about  them. 

In  each  school  there  must  be  a  definite  system  or  plan  based 
upon  the  surroundings  and  upon  the  age  and  capacities  of  the 
pupils.  The  special  interests  of  the  teacher  must  also  not  be 
neglected.  It  is  not  important  that  every  phase  of  nature  in  the 
neighborhood  be  touched  upon.  It  is  important  however  that 
every  topic  taken  up  have  a  vital  living  interest  for  the  children 
as  well  as  for  the  teacher.  It  is  only  thus  that  good  will  come  of 
this  work. 

Nature-Study  and  Science 

The  courses  of  study  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  this  paper 
reveal  the  fact  that  much  confusion  exists  as  to  the  use  of  the 
terms  nature-study  and  science  in  the  elementary  school.     In  some 


178  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

cases  they  are  used  as  though  synonymous.  In  some  one  of  the 
terms  is  used  throughout  the  course,  and  in  several  the  work  is 
spoken  of  as  nature-study  in  the  primary  grades  and  as  science 
in  the  grammar  grades. 

While  the  science  in  the  higher  schools  has  to  do  with  the 
same  phenomena  as  the  nature  work  of  the  elementary  school, 
are  the  methods  and  aims  the  same  in  both  cases?  Is  nature- 
study  another  name  for  elementary  science?  Is  it  merely  science 
made  simple,  or  does  it  express  a  fundamentally  different  con- 
ception and  aim? 

An  examination  of  the  leading  educational  movements  which 
have  been  concerned  in  the  development  of  the  modern  nature- 
study  idea  would  aid  in  answering  these  questions,  but  it  cannot 
be  entered  upon  in  detail  in  the  present  paper.  It  must  suffice 
to  say  that  the  influence  of  ''object  teaching"  was  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  general  training  of  the  mental  powers,  while  that  of 
college  and  high-school  science  fostered  exact  and  systematic 
methods. 

Modern  nature-study  takes  what  is  best  in  both  these  move- 
ments. It  is  less  formal  and  artificial  than  object  teaching,  and 
attempts  to  lead  the  child  directly  to  nature,  rather  than  to  take 
nature  to  the  child.  The  first  thought  is  to  bring  about  a  familiarity 
with,  and  a  love  for  the  world  about  us,  and  to  develop  in  the 
pupil  self-reliance,  reason  and  judgment  in  the  presence  of  the 
various  physical  problems  of  actual  life,  instead  of  presenting  ab- 
stract problems  for  solution. 

A  simple  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  the  common  facts 
about  us  as  they  are  related  to  our  every-day  life  is  very  far  from 
being  consciously  organized  and  classified  knowledge.  The  for- 
mer is  suited  to  the  child's  needs,  his  capacities  and  his  interests. 
Science  as  such  does  not  appeal  to  him,  and  the  attempt  to  use 
its  methods  has  brought  the  study  of  nature  into  disrepute  in 
numberless  instances.  One  cannot  help  but  be  impressed  while 
examining  courses  of  study  from  all  over  the  United  States,  with 
the  feeling  that  many  of  them  have  been  planned  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  scientific  student  rather  than  from  that  of  the 
child.  The  courses  are  filled  with  a  multitude  of  topics  from  every 
science,  as  though  the  number  presented  was  the  important  thing. 
It  seems  as  though  the  idea  was  widely  current  that  it  would  not 
do   to   let  the  child   leave   the   grammar   school   without   having 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  1 79 

been  crammed  with  facts  about  every  conceivable  phenomena  of 
nature,  whether  of  any  worth  and  interest  to  him  or  not.  This 
we  may  truly  call  dabbling  in  science.  It  is  poor  science  and 
does  not  deserve  the  name  of  nature-study. 

The  lack  of  mental  development  and  training  on  the  part  of 
the  pupil  precludes  the  methods  of  science  in  the  elementary 
school.  The  study  of  natural  phenomena  for  the  purpose  of 
classification  and  the  formulation  of  law  will  come  in  its  proper 
time,  but  it  is  sufficient  for  the  pupil  of  the  grammar  grade  to 
interest  himself  in  and  become  familiar  with  the  facts  of  nature 
about  him  without  attempting  a  formal  organization  of  his 
knowledge. 

Nature  cannot  be  studied  from  exactly  the  same  standpoint  in 
the  grammar  grades  as  it  is  in  the  primary,  while  in  the  high 
school  and  college,  methods  must  be  still  different.  Our  school 
periods  are  purely  artificial  divisions,  and  we  cannot  say  that 
nature-study  pure  and  simple  stops  with  the  eighth  grade  and 
science  begins  with  the  first  year  in  the  high  school.  The  grade 
should  determine  the  manner  in  which  the  problems  of  nature 
are  taken  up.  The  methods  of  nature-study  of  the  upper  gram- 
mar grades  must  logically  blend  into  the  science  work  of  the 
high  school  with  no  break  between  them.  It  follows  then  that 
much  of  the  work  in  the  high  school  cannot  be  as  formal  and 
scientific  as  the  work  in  the  college  or  university. 

What  the  pupils  need  in  the  elementary  school  is  to  see  the 
concrete  side  of  natural  phenomena.  A  physical  principle  should 
not  be  worked  out  for  its  own  sake  as  in  the  advanced  schools, 
but  as  an  illustration  of  some  fact  or  experience  in  the  pupil's 
own  life.  In  short  physics  as  physics  has  no  place  in  the  gram- 
mar school,  botany  as  a  formal  analytic  study  is  out  of  place, 
and  so  with  similar  phases  of  other  sciences.  It  would  also  be 
much  better  if  the  history  work  in  the  grades  was  less  formal  and 
closely  interwoven  with  the  geography  throughout  the  course. 
Any  method  which  tends  to  relate  facts  as  they  are  related  in 
actual  life  adds  to  the  vitality  of  the  work  of  the  elementary 
school. 

The  plan  of  the  work  of  the  grammar  grade  should  be  such  as 
to  enable  the  pupils  to  get  the  most  out  of  nature  from  both  the 
aesthetic  and  practical  standpoints  on  the  supposition  that  their 
schooling  ends  with  that  period. 


i8o  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

Geography  and  Nature- Study 

Geography,  as  we  have  seen,  should  begin  with  facts  open  to 
observation  in  the  home  district,  and  the  pupils  when  thoroughly 
grounded  in  the  meaning  of  the  relations  existing  there  are  then 
prepared  to  extend  their  studies  intelligently  over  the  world. 

One  of  the  first  principles  of  nature-study  is  that  it  shall  deal 
with  facts  open  to  the  personal  experience  of  the  pupils,  and 
these  are  necessarily  bound  up  with  his  home  surroundings. 
Geography  and  nature-study  then,  in  the  earlier  years  of  school 
life,  deal  from  the  same  standpoint  with  practically  the  same 
materials.  For  the  first  three  years,  at  least,  we  cannot  differen- 
tiate them  in  practice.  Possibly  in  the  fourth  year  it  may  be  best 
to  do  so,  although  even  here  both  subjects  continue  to  deal  with 
the  home,  but  from  somewhat  different  standpoints. 

There  appears  to  be  a  deeply  rooted  tendency,  in  planning 
courses  of  study  for  the  elementary  school,  to  separate  closely 
related  facts  in  order  to  make  them  fit  into  our  artificial  systems. 
The  child  sees  things  as  wholes  and  understands  much  better  if 
related  facts  are  presented  in  their  natural  associations. 

Another  mistake  constantly  made  is  to  expect  too  much  of  young 
children  in  the  way  of  forming  ideas  and  mental  images  of  what 
is  outside  of  their  experience.  How  can  we  expect  them  to  com- 
prehend world  relations,  or  to  make  other  than  parrot-like  re- 
sponses before  they  understand  the  meaning  of  similar  relations 
in  the  little  world  about  them.  The  fifth  year  is  certainly  early 
enough  to  begin  the  formal  study  of  the  earth  as  a  whole,  al- 
though this  is  far  from  implying  that  all  reference  to  the  world 
as  a  whole  be  omitted  up  to  this  point.  Through  nature-myths, 
folk-tales,  stories  of  children  and  life  in  other  lands  the  pupils 
will  imbibe  incidentally  general  notions  which  will  form  a  setting 
for  the  more  advanced  work  when  they  are  advanced  sufficiently 
to  take  it  up.  Even  after  general  geography  has  been  begun  the 
home  must  still  continue  to  be  the  datum  mark  to  which  the 
pupils  will  constantly  refer  for  comparison  what  they  are  attempt- 
ing to  learn  about  similar  relations  elsewhere. 

This  undifferentiated  work  of  the  first  four  years,  through 
which  the  pupils  come  to  understand  their  surroundings,  we  may 
call  either  home  geography  or  nature-study,  preferably  the  latter, 
for  it  conveys  a  wider  and  more  generalized  meaning.  It  would 
be  better  still  if  we  had  a  comprehensive  term  similar  to  the  Ger- 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  l8l 

man  "  heimatskunde,"  or  "  home-lore  "  as  it  has  been  translated. 

The  criticism  that  geography  is  a  mere  jumble  of  facts  from 
different  sciences  and  that  to  modernize  the  subject  these  should 
be  segregated  in  primers,  each  dealing  with  a  particular  science, 
is  wrong  in  theory  and  has  been  shown  to  be  so  in  actual  prac- 
tice. Geography,  as  we  have  seen,  has  a  definite  content  and  a 
particular  purpose  to  fulfil.  If  we  separate  its  component  parts 
we  are  destroying  the  subject  and  the  higher  outlook  upon  the 
phenomena  of  the  earth  which  their  synthesis  affords  us. 

Marked  differences  in  practice  exist  in  different  cities  of  the 
United  States  as  to  the  time  of  beginning  geography,  although 
nature-study  wherever  taught  is  usually  found  in  the  first  grade.  In 
Chicago  the  two  subjects  are  combined  for  the  first  three  years. 
In  Boston  and  New  York  nature-study  begins  in  the  first  grade 
and  geography  in  the  fourth,  while  in  the  former  city  the  study 
of  natural  phenomena  from  the  fourth  grade  upward  is  termed 
*'  elementary  science."  In  the  Horace  Mann  School  of  Teachers 
College,  New  York,  work  under  geography  is  begun  in  the 
third  grade.  The  University  Elementary  School  of  Chicago 
closely  correlates  both  geography  and  nature-study  throughout 
the  course.  It  is  probable  however  that  the  differences  in  prac- 
tice are  not  as  great  as  they  appear  upon  paper,  for  much  that 
is  really  geography  is  often  included  under  nature-study. 

Beginning  with  the  fifth  year,  geography  has  to  do  mainly  with 
facts  beyond  the  experience  of  the  pupil,  while  nature-study  is 
still  largely  confined  to  the  home  district.  It  is  apparent  that  as 
a  usual  thing  little  attempt  is  made  in  arranging  courses  of  study 
to  correlate  nature-study  and  geography.  After  the  two  have 
separated  at  the  beginning  of  the  grammar-school  period  it  is 
evidently  not  possible  to  make  a  complete  correlation  because  the 
fields  covered  are  not  the  same,  and  yet,  these  studies  are  nearly 
related  and  should  be  made  to  harmonize  and  mutually  support 
each  other  as  far  as  possible.  Such  an  arrangement  would  aid  in 
giving  a  plan  to  the  nature-study  work,  for  the  lack  of  system  has 
been  a  partial  cause  of  the  frequent  failures. 

Such  topics  from  the  home  district  as  the  relation  of  the  cli- 
matic conditions  to  the  features  of  the  land,  to  bodies  of  water, 
to  the  direction  of  the  wind,  etc. ;  the  relation  of  plants  and  ani- 
mals to  their  environment;  the  dependence  of  man  upon  the  vari- 
ous  physical   conditions   about  him;   are  phases   of  nature-study 


l82  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

from  one  point  of  view,  while  from  another  point  of  view  they  are 
clearly  geographic. 

The  carrying  out  of  experiments  in  evaporation,  solution,  and 
crystallization  is  nature-study,  but  when  this  is  done  in  connection 
with  the  study  of  the  great  deserts  of  the  world  it  aids  in  the 
acquirement  of  real  geographic  knowledge.  The  deposits  of  salt 
soda,  borax,  and  nitre  are  governed  in  their  formation  and  dis- 
tribution by  the  principles  exemplified  in  the  physical  phenomena 
referred  to.  Numberless  other  examples  could  be  given  if  it  were 
necessary,  to  show  how  nature-study  can  support  and  elucidate 
the  facts  of  geography. 

If  the  infinite  detail,  too  often  present,  could  be  omitted  from 
all  courses  of  nature-study,  as  well  as  all  those  topics  which  cannot 
appeal  to  the  child  mind,  and  the  work  be  so  shaped,  particularly 
in  the  upper  grades,  as  to  throw  light  upon  the  geography  the 
work  in  both  subjects  will  be  made  more  satisfactory. 

Nature-study  dealing  with  the  phenomena  of  our  environment; 
geography  beginning  with  the  same  phenomena,  but  ultimately 
extending  its  scope  to  take  in  their  world  relations ;  and  history, 
the  development  of  man  under  various  physical  and  sociological 
conditions;  should  be  considered  as  practically  one  subject  in 
the  earlier  half  of  the  elementary-school  course,  and  as  closely 
related  subjects  in  the  later  half.  Although  we  are  still  very  far 
from  being  perfect  in  practice,  yet  one  important  step  has  been 
gained  in  the  growing  consciousness  that  the  only  way  in  which 
the  child  can  gain  any  real  benefit  from  his  study  of  the  facts  of 
the  phenomenal  world  is  to  deal  with  them  in  their  natural 
settings. 

With  the  differentiation  of  nature-study  and  geography  at  the 
beginning  of  the  grammar-school  period  there  are  new  problems 
to  be  solved.  How  shall  the  geography  of  distant  regions  be 
treated  so  as  to  produce  the  most  distinct  and  permanent  mental 
images?  In  the  first  place  we  must  abandon  the  method  of  the 
present  text-books,  and  cease  skimmirg  over  the  world  in  a 
formal  and  almost  meaningless  manner.  We  must,  rather,  take 
up  the  study  of  the  world  as  a  living  organism  whose  parts  and 
functions  are  mutually  dependent. 

The  relief,  climate,  the  plants  and  animals  of  the  home  district 
and  man's  relation  to  them  must  be  made  the  starting  point  for 
the  study  of  similar  things  in  remote  districts  that  the  child  has 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  183 

not  visited,  and  must  continue  to  form  a  constant  source  of  in- 
spiration for  such  study,  as  long  as  it  lasts. 

The  attempt  at  memorizing  the  disconnected  facts  of  geog- 
raphy has  generally  proved  a  failure.  To  avoid  this  waste  of 
energy  these  facts  must  not  only  be  presented  in  their  causal 
relations,  but  also  in  such  a  manner  as  to  arouse  the  attention 
and  interest.  History,  stories  of  adventure  and  discovery,  current 
events,  and  a  familiarity  with  the  natural  phenomena  of  the  home 
region  all  aid  in  vitalizing  the  facts  of  geography. 

Geography  and  History 

The  intimate  relation  existing  between  geography  and  history 
is  clearly  recognized  and  a  close  correlation  has  been  worked  out 
in  the  courses  of  study  of  a  number  of  the  leading  cities  of  the 
United  States.  Because  of  this  fact  a  discussion,  of  the  nature 
and  scope  of  geography  appears  to  necessitate  some  consideration 
of  history  also. 

The  legends  and  myths  suitable  to  the  lower  grades  do  not 
appeal  to  any  particular  time  or  place,  but  the  stories  of  primitive 
man  carry  the  children  back  in  imagination  to  conditions  which 
they  love  to  reproduce  in  their  work  and  play. 

Stories  of  discovery  and  of  the  hardships  and  adventures  ex- 
perienced by  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  home  region  fit  in  ad- 
mirably with  nature-study  and  the  beginnings  of  geography. 

In  the  grammar  grades  there  is  no  good  reason  why  history 
and  geography  should  not  be  carried  out  in  parallel  courses,  each 
adding  interest  and  enlightenment  to  the  other.  The  grouping 
of  topics  from  both  subjects  about  certain  central  themes  gives 
the  mind  a  better  opportunity  to  grasp  and  retain  them. 

The  study  of  the  history  and  geography  of  a  region  taken  up 
side  by  side  makes  it  clear  that  these  two  subjects  are  closely  in- 
terwoven and  that  the  former  in  particular  cannot  be  fully  un- 
derstood without  a  knowledge  of  its  geographic  conditions. 


OUTLINE   OF   A   COURSE  OF  STUDY  IN  NATURE-STUDY,  GEOGRAPHY  AND 
HISTORY  FOR  THE   ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL 

Notes  on  the  Outline  of  Study 

It  is  hoped  that  the  underlying  principles  involved  in  the  following 
course  of  study  will  be  found  in  some  degree  to  answer  a  natural  want. 
It  should  be  recognized,  however,  that  the  course  is  an  outline  merely,  and 


t84  the  nature-study  review         [i,  5,  SEPT.   1905 

that  it  will  have  to  be  filled  in  and  changed  more  or  less  to  suit  the  needs 
of  different  localities. 

The  nature-study  topics  are  grouped  under  a  number  of  heads  for  the 
sake  of  clearness,  but  this  classification  should  not  be  carried  out  in  actual 
practice. 

Manual  training,  hygiene  and  sanitation,  and  civics,  are  related  to  nature- 
study  and  should  have  a  place  in  a  complete  course  of  study. 

Little  is  expected  in  the  way  of  memorizing  of  facts,  but  an  earnest 
attempt  is  made  throughout  to  group  these  according  to  their  relations  and 
so  build  up  a  connected  and  rational  whole. 

Strong  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  necessity  of  the  pupil  acquiring  a  thor- 
ough understanding  of  the  meaning  of  the  maps  and  relief  models  of  his 
home  region  before  taking  up  the  study  of  maps  of  distant  regions.  Map 
di awing  as  an  exercise  cultivates  the  hand  and  eye  and  aids  in  forming 
mental  images  of  position,  but  unless  this  work  is  based  upon  facts  open 
to  observation  the  map  symbols  will  appear  to  the  child  as  little  more  than 
so  many  lines,  and  a  mental  picture  of  the  reality  for  w-hich  the  map  stands 
will  not  be  formed. 

The  formal  survey  of  the  continents  as  presented  in  the  text-books  is 
omitted  as  being  of  little  value,  but  the  geography  of  history,  of  industrial 
expansion,  and  of  current  events  is  important,  because  through  such  asso- 
ciations the  facts  worth  knowing  become  fixed.  The  geography  of  current 
events  carried  on  through  the  last  three  years  of  the  grammar  school  period 
is  quite  sure  to  cover  all  the  important  parts  of  the  world. 

No  abstract  or  technical  work  in  physical  phenomena  is  recommended, 
only  such  problems  as  are  illustrative  of  the  experiences  of  every-day  life. 

Nature-Study  — First  Grade 

Institutional  and  Industrial 

Talks  about  our  homes,  materials  of  which  they  are  made.  Homes  of  the 
first  settlers.  Homes  of  the  Indians.  Stories  of  primitive  life.  Building 
of  play  homes  of  various  kinds. 

Wild  animals  and  fish  obtainable  in  the  neighborhood.  The  natural 
vegetable  products  of  neighborhood  suitable  for  food,  such  as  fruits,  berries, 
nuts,  roots  and  other  parts  of  plants.  Vegetable  products  which  have  been 
introduced. 

How  men  subsisted  before  the  discovery  of  fire.  Advantages  of  fire. 
How  fire  may  have  been  discovered. 

How  much  we  depend  upon  other  people  for  the  comforts  of  life.  Talks 
about  doing  necessary  work  with  primitive  means.  Making  of  clay  dishes 
and  weaving  of  mats  from  bark  or  roots  or  rushes. 

Implements  used  by  Indians  for  killing  game,  fishing,  and  for  their  own 
protection.    Making  of  bows  and  arrows. 

Various  ways  of  traveling  which  the  children  have  observed.  Traveling 
long  ago. 

Stories  and  poems  introducing  holidays  and  festivals. 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  185 

Biological  and  Physical 

Homes  of  the  smaller  wild  animals  of  the  neighborhood.  The  coverings 
of  these  animals.     The  uses  to  which  these  coverings  are  put  by  man. 

Pets  kept  by  the  children,  comparison  of  the  kind  of  food  which  they  eat, 
and  their  bodily  structure  and  habits.  Dogs  and  wolves.  Animal  stories. 
Wild  animals  once  found  in  the  neighborhood.  Observation  of  the  habits 
of  a  few  common  birds. 

The  effect  of  cold  upon  animals  of  different  kinds.  The  effect  of  cold 
upon  small  plants  and  trees. 

Excursions  to  ponds  or  streams  to  observe  the  living  things  in  them. 

Plant  several  kinds  of  large  seeds  and  note  conditions  necessary  for  their 
sprouting. 

Talks  about  the  plants  that  children  have  seen  growing  that  are  useful 
for  food,  for  medicinal  purposes,  or  that  are  merely  ornamental. 

Stories  about  the  young  of  animals. 

Nature-myths  as  introductory  to  talks  about  the  winds,  the  storms,  and 
heavenly  bodies. 

Talks  about  rain,  hail,  snow,  fog  and  clouds  in  connection  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  these  phenomena. 

Talks  about  direction,  using  the  magnetic  needle. 

The  gathering  of  stream  or  shore  pebbles  and  talks  about  them. 

Nature-Study  —  Second  Giade 

Institutional  and  Industrial 

Talks  about  fishing  and  the  means  employed  for  catching  fish  by  both 
civilized  and  primitive  peoples.  Kinds  of  fish  in  the  home  market  and 
where  caught.     How  fish  and  other  meats  are  preserved. 

Talks  and  stories  about  people  who  live  by  hunting  and  fishing.  Why 
such  people  do  not  have  permanent  homes.  Conditions  of  pastoral  life. 
Why  we  are  enabled  to  have  permanent  and  costly  homes. 

Continuation  of  the  work  of  making  primitive  utensils.  Make  sun-dried 
bricks. 

Discuss  various  uses  of  trees. 

Read  Hiawatha  and  discuss  his  ways  and  means  of  doing. 

Stories  of  life  and  adventure  in  new  lands,  especially  those  dealing  with 
children.  Stories  of  child  life  in  other  countries.  Stories  and  poems  re- 
lating to  holidays  and  the  heroes  of  the  nation. 

Biological 

How  animals  were  domesticated.  With  aid  of  pictures  and  visits  to 
zoological  collections,  compare  our  domestic  animals  with  the  nearest  re- 
lated wild  ones. 

Observations  and  talks  upon  the  familiar  animals  that  store  up  food. 
The  migrating  animals  familiar  to  the  children.  Chickens  and  ducks  as 
adapted  to  different  conditions,  their  food  and  method  of  procuring  it. 

Observations  upon  the  life-history  of  a  silk-worm  or  other  moth;  prepa- 
ration of  silk. 


1 86  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

Study  of  an  insect  such  as  the  ant — its  home,  food,  young.  Obtain  a 
colony  of  ants  for  study  in  school. 

Observations  upon  the  fish  in  the  aquarium. 

Using  suitable  stories,  inculcate  sympathetic  care  for  animals. 

Prepare  a  bird  calendar. 

Gain  a  familiarity  with  the  more  common  wild  flowers,  and  their  char- 
acteristic habitats.  Prepare  a  flower  calendar.  Teach  care  for  the  wild 
flowers. 

The  unfolding  of  leaves  and  flowers  in  spring.  Methods  of  dissemina- 
tion of  a  few  common  seeds.  The  different  kinds  of  trees  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, their  behavior  in  winter,  their  flowers  and  fruits. 

Grow  corn  and  squashes.  Prepare  corn  for  eating,  using  primitive 
methods.  Observations  upon  sprouting  and  growing  of  a  horse-chestnut 
or  other  similar  nut  and  the  use  of  the  "  meat "  of  the  nut  to  the  growing 
plant. 

Simple  talks  and  observations  upon  the  differences  between  plants  and 
animals. 

With  talks  and  pictures  illustrate  how  animals  in  different  parts  of  the 
earth  are  adapted  to  their  surroundings. 

Talks  about  the  lands  to  which  the  birds  migrate.  Summer  homes  of 
geese  and  ducks. 

Agricultural 

Observations  in  home  district  as  to  where  plants  grow  most  luxuriantly. 
Visit  vegetable  gardens. 

Reach  conclusions  from  observations  and  pictures  as  to  what  kinds  of 
products  different  slopes  are  best  suited  for.  Seek  reasons  for  conclusion. 
Talks  about  the  situation  of  farm  houses  and  buildings. 

The  preparation  of  soil  for  seed.  The  need  of  moisture  and  warmth. 
Harvesting  of  crops  in  the  neighborhood.  The  most  important  agricultural 
products.    What  is  done  with  these  products. 

Physical 
Continuation  of  nature-myths  and  poems. 
Poems  about  the  seasons,  winds,  etc. 
Talks  and  observations  upon  the  weather. 

Simple  talks  about  the  influence  of  the  sun  and  the  causes  for  the  seasons. 
Water  and  the  effect  upon  it  of  heat  and  cold. 

Nature-Study  — Third  Grade 
Institutional,  Industrial,  Historical 
Reading  of  Robinson  Crusoe  and  discussion  of  his  ways  and  means  of 
doing  work. 

Study  of  the  customs,  implements,  and  home  of  some  group  of  Indians 
or  other  primitive  people  represented  in  some  accessible  collection. 

Pictures  and  descriptions  of  the  cliff  dwellers,  their  homes,  implements, 
water  and  food  supplies. 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  187 

Picture  writing  of  savages  and  origin  of  writing. 

Division  of  labor  now  and  in  primitive  times.  Leading  occupations  in 
the  vicinity  dependent  upon  natural  resources. 

The  building  materials  in  the  home  district,  early  buildings  compared 
with  those  now  used. 

Means  of  lighting  now  and  long  ago ;  primitive  lamps. 

Talks  about  how  people  govern  themselves  in  savage  and  civilized  con- 
ditions.    Government  of  \.\\t  home  district. 

Stories  of  the  pioneers  and  explorers  of  the  home  district. 

Excursions  to  landmarks  in  the  vicinity. 

Nature-myths,  Greek  and  Norse  myths,  stories  of  explorers. 

Biological 

Study  of  the  harmful  insects  of  the  home.    Insects  affecting  plants. 

Conditions  fostering  growth  of  flies  and  mosquitoes. 

Bees  and  honey  making.    Plants  most  useful  to  bees. 

Continue  observations  upon  the  plants  of  the  aquarium.  Plants  that  will 
grow  in  water  without  soil. 

Grow  from  seed  several  common  trees. 

Compare  tropical  plants  in  greenhouses  with  native  ones  as  to  sensitive- 
ness to  cold.  Why  trees  shed  their  leaves.  Condition  of  plants  in  the 
tropics  during  the  different  seasons  of  the  year. 

Experiments  as  to  effect  of  light  upon  plants.  Study  of  a  desert  plant 
such  as  a  cactus. 

Observations  upon  the  life-history  of  a  frog.  The  life  and  habits  of  frog 
at  different  seasons  of  the  year. 

Agricultural 

Garden  work  in  season. 

Make  a  study  of  the  origin  of  soil  through  excursions  to  road  or  stream 
cuts.  Separate  the  clay,  bits  of  rock  or  sand,  and  organic  matter  in  soil 
by  washing. 

The  work  of  various  animals  which  enrich  the  soil ;  artificial  enrichment. 
Plant  barley  and  corn  in  rich  soil,  sub-soil,  and  crushed  rock  and  find  out 
reasons  for  difference  in  growth. 

Physical 

Whale  oil,  how  obtained,  use.  Petroleum,  how  obtained,  natural  ap- 
pearance, origin.  Products  of  crude  petroleum.  Talks  about  different 
kinds  of  coal  and  their  origin. 

Evaporation  and  condensation  of  water,  solution  of  substances  to  illus- 
trate various  facts  of  every-day  life.  Manufacture  of  salt.  Story  of  rock- 
salt.  Visit  any  quarries  or  mines  in  the  neighborhood.  Talks  with  speci- 
mens of  the  mining  and  reduction  of  iron  and  copper  ores.  Uses  and 
properties  of  these  metals. 

Careful  study  of  the  various  uses  of  the  wind.  Construct  weather-vane. 
Keep  a  record  of  direction  of  winds  during  stormy  and  fair  weather, 

Mark  the  movements  of  the  sun  from  week  to  week  by  the  shadow  of  a 
vertical  stick. 

Investigate  the  water  supply  of  the  home.     Visit  springs  and  reservoirs. 


l88  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

Geographical 

Origin  of  trade  and  commerce.  Note  from  a  study  of  the  home  district 
how  slopes  of  the  land  and  position  of  waterways  influence  travel,  and  the 
position  of  the  roads. 

If  we 'had  only  what  was  produced  in  the  neighborhood,  what  would  we 
have  to  do  without. 

During  winter  study  life  in  cold  regions,  in  summer  that  in  warm  re- 
gions, discussing  homes,  dress,  food  and  ways  of  traveling. 

Observations  upon  the  effect  of  rain-water  upon  unprotected  surfaces. 
Note  the  character  of  stream  channels  and  whether  they  flow  in  broad  or 
narrow  depressions.  Distinguish  the  various  land  and  water  forms  within 
reach.     Make  a  rude  model  of  the  home  region  in  sand  or  clay. 

Develop  notion  of  a  map  by  first  studying  the  relief  of  the  district  familiar 
to  the  children,  then  pictures  showing  the  same,  and  finally'a  relief  model 
of  it.  From  this  lead  to  the  conception  of  a  map  by  drawing  to  scale  the 
relief  model,  and  comparing  sketch  with  the  real  landscape  studied. 

Continue  work  upon  known  material  until  the  children  are  conversant 
with  the  meaning  of  a  plain  map  of  the  home  district  and  its  various 
symbols. 

Talks  about  the  important  physical  features  of  the  state  with  aid  of 
pictures  and  descriptions,  including  stories  of  travel  and  adventure.  Com- 
pare features  portrayed  with  those  of  the  home  region. 

Discuss  the  products  of  the  various  parts  of  the  adjoining  region  or  the 
state  with  aid  of  pictures  and  compare  results  with  what  would  be  ex- 
pected from  the  study  of  the  features  of  the  home  region.  Give  reasons 
for  different  products  and  occupations  upon  different  kinds  of  land  surfaces. 

Nature-Study  —  Fourth  Grade 

Institutional,  Industrial,  Historical 

Stories  of  the  lives  of  some  of  the  pioneer  Americans. 

History  stories  and  stories  of  early  exploration  in  connection  with  the 
relief  map  or  model  of  the  state. 

Continue  talks  upon  government. 

Study  various  means  of  transportation  upon  land  and  water,  basing  work 
upon  the  children's  observations.  Descriptions  of  traveling  in  the  early 
days. 

The  making  of  graded  roads  and  pavements.  How  the  features  of  land 
and  water  affect  position  of  roads  and  trails.  How  they  have  determined 
the  position  of  the  railroads. 

Study  of  how  the  rocks,  soil,  features  of  the  land  and  water,  and  the 
climate  have  determined  what  shall  be  the  leading  local  industries.  In  what 
other  parts  of  our  country  are  similar  conditions  found. 

The  relative  importance  of  stock  raising  in  the  home-district.  Study 
by  means  of  pictures  and  descriptions  the  important  stock-raising  regions 
of  our  country  and  find  out  reasons  for  its  predominance  in  these  localities. 

Continuation  of  hand  work  and  making  of  simple  articles. 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  189 

Biological 

Continue  study  of  the  aquarium  and  of  water  insects.  Make  a  study  of 
the  various  water  organisms,  especially  molluscs  and  crustaceans  made  use 
of  by  man.     How  and  where  they  are  obtained. 

Continue  observations  upon  birds,  their  value  to  us,  their  food,  and 
manner  of  nesting.     Make  a  study  of  familiar  water  birds. 

Find  out  all  about  the  uses  to  which  the  native  plants  of  the  neighbor- 
hood are  put.  Study  plants  with  reference  to  the  uses  of  various  parts  of 
the  plant  to  itself,  roots,  leaves,  etc. 

From  a  study  of  the  plants  of  the  home  and  from  pictures  and  descrip- 
tions discuss  the  effect  upon  them  of  heat,  cold,  dryness,  moisture,  rich  and 
poor  soil,  of  various  parts  of  the  earth. 

Talks  about  and  observations  upon  the  struggle  going  on  among  the 
plants  and  animals  around  us ;  the  food  of  animals,  the  food  of  plants,  the 
need  of  sunlight. 

The  production  of  sugar  from  cane,  maple  trees  and  beets.  If  possible, 
grow^  sorghum,  extract  the  juice,  make  molasses  and  sugar. 

Agricultural 

Study  different  kinds  of  soil  as  to  which  takes  up  most  water  and  which 
holds  it  the  longest.     Experiment  with  sand,  clay,  loam,  brick,  solid  rock. 

Shape  in  which  plants  take  their  food.  Is  it  all  obtained  from  the  soil? 
Wash  some  soil,  evaporate  water  and  note  if  there  is  any  solid  residue. 
Find  out  its  nature. 

Reasons  for  keeping  soil  loose  about  plants,  effect  of  too  much  or  too 
little  moisture.     Poor  soil  and  how  improved. 

Experiments  with  plants  to  see  if  all  need  soil.     Study  of  water  plants. 

Garden  work  and  care  of  plants. 

Study  of  what  is  most  essential  to  plants,  soil,  warmth,  sunlight,  or 
moisture.     How  man  changes  these  factors  to  suit  needs  of  plants. 

Physical 

Experiments  showing  circulation  of  the  air.  Study  of  ventilation  of  the 
schoolroom.    Origin  of  the  winds. 

The  various  kinds  of  clouds. 

Begin  collection  of  minerals  of  the  neighborhood. 

Carry  out  experiments  in  the  preparation  of  lime,  plaster,  and  plaster  of 
paris.     Study  the  minerals  from  which  these  substances  are  made. 

Study  the  different  minerals  of  a  piece  of  granite,  the  uses  of  mica, 
feldspar  and  quartz. 

Talks  about  gold  and  gold  mining,  and  reduction  of  the  ores.  Study  with 
aid  of  pictures  and  descriptions. 

Origin  of  clay  and  sand.  Base  study  upon  a  piece  of  crumbling  granite. 
Uses  of  these  substances. 

Geographical 

Study  the  paths  of  the  explorers  of  the  home  region  and  how  these  were 
governed  by  the  features  of  the  land  and  water  and  by  the  climate.  The 
occupations  of  the  first  settlers. 


190  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

Model  the  features  of  the  home  upon  a  skeleton  of  rock  to  illustrate 
rocky  elevations  with  little  soil  and  valleys  with  deep  soil. 

Make  a  map  of  the  relief  model  of  the  state. 

Continue  study  of  the  relief  model  of  the  state,  and  basing  conclusions 
upon  local  conditions,  discuss  the  probable  climate  and  productions.  From 
knowledge  of  local  climate  or  observations  elsewhere  discuss  climate  of 
mountains  and  plains,  distribution  of  rainfall.    Aid  by  use  of  pictures. 

Continue  study  of  food  and  other  supplies  produced  in  home  district. 
Conditions  in  those  countries  from  which  the  imported  necessaries  come. 

Reasons  for  the  location  of  the  nearest  trade  centre. 

Ancient  and  modern  ideas  as  to  the  shape  of  the  earth. 

Extension  of  view  area  shown  by  climbing  a  hill  or  building,  particularly 
if  there  are  any  large  areas  of  land  or  water  at  hand. 

Illustrate  farther  by  use  of  a  relief  globe. 

Locate  upon  the  relief  globe  the  various  peoples  previously  read  about, 
and  the  influence  of  the  relief  and  bodies  of  water  upon  communication 
between  them. 

Study  the  work  of  running  water  in  the  vicinity;  other  influences  wear- 
ing down  the  hills.  Take  samples  of  muddy  water,  let  stand  and  determine 
what  it  contains. 

Observe  the  conditions  of  waterfalls  and  rapids  and  their  uses. 

Observe  formation  of  miniature  deltas  and  upon  what  sort  of  slopes  they 
are  found. 

Study  the  main  rivers  in  the  drainage  basin  of  the  home  region  from  the 
relief  model,  note  extent,  character  of  streams  and  slopes  about  borders  of 
basin.    Aid  with  pictures. 

Find  illustrations  as  complete  as  possible  in  home  district  of  formation 
of  the  main  geographic  features  of  the  earth. 

Using  pictures  of  typical  regions  of  the  United  States  in  connection  with 
a  study  of  the  relief  model,  lead  children  to  judge  of  the  climate,  produc- 
tions and  industries  which  should  characterize  them. 

Nature-Study  — Fifth  Grade 

Industrial 

Uses  of  the  trees  in  the  neighborhood.  How  lumbering  in  different  parts 
of  the  United  States  is  influenced  by  physical  conditions;  aid  study  with 
pictures. 

The  character  of  homes,  fences,  etc.,  where  lumber  cannot  be  obtained. 

The  decay  of  wood;  manufacture  of  charcoal— the  latter  illustrated 
experimentally, 

falks  upon  coal  and  coal  mining,  using  specimens  and  pictures.  De- 
scriptions of  the  different  regions  where  coal  is  mined  in  the  United  States. 

Primitive  and  modern  methods  of  lighting,  natural  gas,  manufacture  of 
gas. 

Hunting  and  trapping  upon  the  Great  Plains  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  191 

Biological 

Excursions  to  study  effects  of  forests  upon  life.  Effect  upon  its  animal 
inhabitants  of  cutting  down  a  grove  or  forest. 

The  distribution  of  trees  in  the  home  region. 

Conclusions  as  to  the  absence  of  trees  upon  the  Great  Plains ;  the  enemies 
of  trees. 

.  The  distinction  between  the  broad-  and  narrow-leaved  trees  (conifers). 
Those  found  in  the  home  region.  The  most  important  areas  of  North 
America  characterized  by  coniferous  trees.  Particular  uses  of  coniferous 
trees. 

Develop  from  studies  in  the  home  region  an  understanding  of  zones  of 
vegetation  upon  mountain  slopes  and  the  causes  which  produce  them. 

The  W'ild  animals  once  found  in  the  neighborhood  and  their  distribution 
over  the  continent.  The  fur-bearing  animals  still  found  and  their  habitats. 
Necessity  for  the  care  and  protection  ot  the  animals  and  birds. 

The  protective  forms  and  colorations  of  animals. 

How  water  animals  spread.    Zones  of  life  in  the  oceans. 

A  study  of  the  winter  birds. 

The  fishes  sold  in  the  market,  where  caught,  character  of  people  engaged 
in  catching  them. 

The  domestic  animals  of  the  native  Americans. 

The  food-plants  furnished  us  by  the  Indians. 

Agricultural 

Different  ways  in  which  plants  spread  and  are  propagated,  seed,  runners, 
bulbs,  cuttings,  budding  and  grafting. 

Observations  upon  the  effect  of  plant  roots  upon  seamed  and  partly  de- 
cayed rock.  Determine  soluble  contents  of  a  fresh  rock  as  compared  with 
a  decayed  one.  Compare  soils  of  deltas  and  hillsides  in  regard  to  lux- 
uriance of  vegetation.     Effect  of  "  alkali  "  in  soil. 

Note  general  effect  of  man's  disturbing  influence  in  beginning  of  erosion 
and  carrying  away  of  rich  surface  material.    Effect  of  killing  grass  by  stock. 

Study  of  agriculture  in  all  its  aspects  of  influence  upon  man. 

Physical 

How  the  rainfall  determines  occupations  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

Readings  and  discussions  of  the  great  floods  in  the  United  States.  Means 
of  avoiding  them,  construction  of  reservoirs.  Navigation  upon  streams  in 
summer. 

Examination  of  different  kinds  of  lava,  uses  of  various  volcanic  products. 
Readings  and  talks  about  the  volcanic  regions  of  the  United  States,  Mexico 
and  the  West  Indies.     Probable  reasons  for  volcanic  action. 

The  keeping  of  a  weather  record,  rain-gauge,  temperature  record. 

Talks  about  the  .heavenly  bodies  and  their  movements. 

Forces  of  nature  working  about  us — heat,  cold,  water,  frost,  ice,  gravity. 


192  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

Geography  and  History  —  Fifth  Grade 

General  Survey  of  North  America 

General  study  from  the  relief  globe  of  the  position  of  North  America 
with  reference  to  the  other  grand  divisions  of  the  earth. 

Study  from  the  relief  model  the  position  and  character  of  the  typical 
features  of  the  continent. 

Continue  studies  upon  the  erosion  and  deposition  of  rock  material  in  the 
neighborhood,  until  by  inference  the  meaning  of  the  rugged  or  gentle  slopes 
of  the  different  mountain  ranges,  the  canons,  valleys,  plains  and  great  deltas 
can  be  explained. 

Carry  on  observations  upon  the  kinds  of  shore  lines  produced  by  the 
rising  and  sinking  of  the  water  in  some  shallow  pond  to  illustrate  the 
different  kinds  of  shore  lines  of  the  continent. 

With  the  aid  of  observations  in  the  home  region  and  pictures,  form  con- 
clusions as  to  the  general  climatic  conditions  of  the  continent. 

Reasons  for  such  a  marked  difference  in  climate  of  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  coasts  in  same  latitude. 

Discuss  from  observations  the  effect  upon  the  air  of  a  body  of  water  in 
regard  to  both  temperature  and  moisture.  The  effect  of  elevation  upon 
temperature.     The  prevailing  direction  of  the  winds. 

Use  conclusions  in  forming  correct  notions  of  the  climate  of  different 
parts  of  the  continent,  the  situation  of  the  moist  regions,  the  deserts,  the 
distribution  of  the  forests,  the  Great  Plains  and  prairies.  From  what  has 
been  learned  of  mining,  locate  the  areas  where  that  occupation  is  important. 

Make  a  relief  model  of  the  continent  and  draw  outline  map  of  same. 

Discussions  and  readings  about  the  native  inhabitants  found  in  different 
parts,  and  how  their  ways  of  living,  of  traveling,  and  customs  are  related 
to  the  climate  and  physical  features  of  their  homes. 

Stories  of  exploration  and  adventure.  Conditions  leading  to  the  settle- 
ment of  New  England  and  the  South  Atlantic  states.  Character  of  the 
emigrants. 

Spanish  exploration,  conquest  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 

Voyages  of  discovery  upon  the  Pacific. 

Compare  coast-lines  of  the  opposite  sides  of  the  continent  and  their  influ- 
ence upon  settlement. 

Influence  of  the  Appalachians  upon  the  westward  spread  of  the  colonists. 
By  what  paths  did  they  reach  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  importance  of 
the  chain  of  Great  Lakes.  The  work  of  the  French  missionaries  and  ex- 
plorers. 

If  the  rugged  Rocky  Mountain  system  had  occupied  the  position  of  the 
Appalachians,  what  would  have  been  the  effect  upon  the  settlement  of  the 
continent  ?  What  effect  would  low  mountains  upon  the  Pacific  border  have 
had  upon  the  climate  and  settlement  of  the  continent. 

Study  the  character  of  the  streams  upon  the  opposite  sides  of  the  con- 
tinental divide.  Mark  out  the  great  routes  of  the  pioneer  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Mississippi,  and  from  this  river  to  the  Pacific  coast.  Describe  the 
great  obstacles  presented  in  the  Cordilleran  region.  Discuss  in  detail  the 
natural  routes  of  travel  and  trade. 


I 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  193 

Reasons  for  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  Pacific  Slope.  Location  of  the 
chief  cities  of  the  country  and  reasons  for  the  same  based  upon  geographic 
conditions. 

Stories  of  pioneer  life  and  adventure. 

Physical 

Observations  upon  the  relative  ease  with  which  the  land  and  water  sur- 
faces of  the  earth  are  heated.  Which  gives  off  heat  more  rapidly?  Discuss 
with  reference  to  the  temperature  of  the  oceans  and  interior  portions  of 
the  continents. 

Winds  and  their  effect  upon  the  surface.  Formation  and  movement  of 
dunes.     Wind  storms  of  the  great  deserts. 

The  pressure  of  air,  construction  of  barometer. 

The  different  states  of  water,  water  pressure,  observations  upon  the  con- 
ditions which  give  rise  to  springs,  artesian  wells.  Study  of  the  pump,  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  pumps. 

The  boiling  and  mineral  springs  of  volcanic  regions.  Discussions  as  to 
origin. 

Mineral  matter  in  solution  in  water,  deposits  in  tea-kettles.  Study  of 
the  Yellowstone  Park  from  pictures  and  descriptions. 

Salt,  soda,  and  borax  mining.  Conditions  surrounding  the  nitre  fields  of 
South  America,  and  the  salt  and  borax  deposits  of  the  North  American 
deserts.     Experiments  in  separation  of  soda  and  salt  from  one  solution. 

Beach  sand,  sandstone  and  quartzite,  acids,  alkalies  and  salts  and  how  to 
distinguish  them. 

Coral  and  coral  islands ;  limestone  and  marble. 

Different  methods  for  getting  mineral  substances  buried  in  the  earth, 
where  most  easily  accessible.  Base  conclusions  upon  study  of  home  region 
if  possible.  Distribution  over  the  world  of  most  important  metalliferous 
deposits.     Great  coal  fields. 

Nature-Study  —  Sixth  Grade 

Industrial,  Institutional 
Discovery  and  invention — the  harnessing  of  water,  air,  steam  and  elec- 
tricity.    Visit  any  accessible  illustrations. 

Talks  about  local,  state  and  national  governments. 

Biological 

Distribution  of  animals,  causes  of  their  migrations. 

Distribution  of  plants,  various  agencies  concerned  in,  influence  of  cli- 
matic changes. 

Study  of  plants  with  reference  to  their  improvement  by  cultivation,  com- 
parison of  wild  and  cultivated  rose,  wild  and  cultivated  apple,  etc. 

Study  of  tropical  plants,  comparison  with  any  of  their  representatives  in 
temperate  climate  open  to  examination. 

Study  of  insects  with  especial  reference  to  their  harmful  and  beneficial 
influences.     Tropical  insects  compared  with  their  local  representatives. 


194  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

Study  of  mosses  and  lichens  and  other  plants  representative  of  Arctic 
and  semi-Arctic  conditions. 

Plants  and  animals  of  desert  regions,  aid  by  pictures  and  descriptions 
and  any  accessible  specimens. 

Peculiarities  of  island  life.     Characteristic  animals  of  Australia. 

Life  in  the  tropic  seas ;  aid  by  use  of  specimens. 

Agricultural 

Importance  of  irrigation.     Methods  of.    Aid  by  use  of  pictures. 

Importance  of  the  forest  cover  in  preserving  the  summer  water  supply. 
Carry  on  practical  studies  on  wooded  and  unprotected  slopes. 

Adaptation  of  plants  and  agricultural  crops  to  different  climatic  zones. 

Soils  according  to  origin,  residual,  transported,  wind  soils. 

Continue  garden  work. 

Study  the  common  grasses.  The  importance  of  grasses  upon  the  vast 
plains  of  the  earth's  surface. 

Geography  and  History  —  Sixth  Grade 

The  World  as  a  Whole 

Study  of  the  relief  globe.  Contrast  nature  of  ocean  floor  with  the  land 
surface,  deepest  depressions  and  greatest  elevations.  Meaning  of  conti- 
nental masses. 

The  peculiarities  of  different  shore  lines.  Review  in  connection  the  shore 
lines  produced  in  a  pond  by  raising  or  lowering  the  water. 

The  prevailing  winds  of  the  earth,  how  the  climate  of  different  coasts  is 
affected  by  them,  contrast  with  interior  regions. 

Reasons  for  the  irregularity  of  the  isothermal  lines. 

The  climatic  conditions  under  which  the  great  civilizations  have  devel- 
oped. How  extremes  of  climatic  conditions  affect  people  as  shown  by 
natives  of  Terra  Del  Fuego,  the  Esquimau,  and  many  tropical  peoples. 

The  boundaries  of  the  tropics,  nature  of  vegetation,  animals,  and  occupa- 
tions of  the  people. 

The  polar  regions — tales  of  exploration  and  discovery.  Recent  explora- 
tions about  south  pole.  Study  of  Iceland  and  Greenland,  physical  charac- 
teristics, glaciers,  people  and  their  occupations.    Vegetation. 

How  the  nature  of  the  coast  and  the  presence  of  deep  or  shallow  water 
adjacent  affects  the  industries,  commerce  and  nature  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  Phoenicians  and  Norsemen  as  representatives  of  maritime  people 
of  earlier  times. 

Character,  extent  and  position  of  the  great  plains  of  the  earth's  surface. 
Occupation  of  early  peoples  who  dwelt  upon  plains. 

Reasons  for  absence  of  trees  upon  many  plain-like  areas,  contrast  with 
desert  plains. 

The  causes  which  produce  deserts ;  base  conclusions  upon  a  study  of 
conditions  in  our  own  country.  Distribution  of  deserts  over  the  world, 
surface  and  life.    Aid  by  use  of  pictures. 

Contrast  plains  with  deltas,  distribution  of  delta  plains.     Soil  of  deltas. 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  195 

Influence  of  deltas  upon  the  development  of  civilization  in  the  eastern 
hemisphere. 

Reasons  for  the  light  rainfall  of  the  Great  Plains  of  the  United  States, 
contrast  with  those  of  South  America. 

The  vast  plains  of  northern  Asia  and  their  inhabitants. 

Various  kinds  of  mountains,  illustrate. 

Climate  and  products  of  mountains  compared  with  adjacent  lowlands  in 
same  latitude.  Character  and  occupations  of  mountain  people,  illustrate 
in  case  of  Switzerland. 

Distribution  of  the  highlands  and  plateaus  of  the  globe.  The  highlands 
of  Mexico  and  South  America  and  their  primitive  people.  Thibet  and  its 
people. 

Connection  between  mountains  and  mining.  From  a  study  of  our  own 
country,  say  what  minerals  are  generally  found  in  mountainous  regions 
and  what  in  lowlands  and  plains.     Give  reasons. 

Influence  of  mountain  barriers  upon  trade  and  communication. 

The  primitive  peoples  of  different  parts  of  the  earth. 

Geography  of  current  events  given  importance  throughout  the  year. 

Nature-Study  —  Seventh  Grade 

Industrial 
Study  of  industrial  operations  in  different  parts  of  the  world  as  related 
to  the  character  of  the  people  and  their  physical  surroundings. 

Biological 

Economic  importance  of  birds  based  upon  observations  of  pupils. 

Adaptation  of  birds  to  different  conditions,  ostrich,  wingless  birds, 
wading  birds. 

Adaptation  of  animals  to  different  environments,  camel,  mole,  seal. 
Habits  and  relationship  of  the  bat. 

Observations  upon  the  animals  of  Africa  and  Asia  as  far  as  they  are 
represented  in  accessible  collections.  Supplement  with  pictures  of  their 
native  habitats. 

Study  of  several  water  plants  including  the  lily;  the  lotus  in  ancient 
Egypt. 

Study  of  minute  water  organisms  with  the  microscope,  care  of  the 
water-supply,  purification  of  water. 

The  growing  and  care  of  grapes,  making  of  raisins  and  wine.  The 
extent  of  this  industry  in  southern  Europe. 

Physical 

Experiments  and  observations  upon  the  phenomena  of  evaporation  and 
condensation,  to  illustrate  the  moisture  m  the  air,  formation  of  clouds  and 
rain. 

Solution,  saturation,  and  crystallization  illustrated  by  some  salts  such  as 
hyposulphite  of  soda  and  common  salt.  How  salt  is  prepared  from  sea- 
water,  from  salt  wells.    The  important  salt  deposits  of  the  world  in  Poland 


196  .     THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

and  America.  Illustrate  how  a  bed  of  salt  may  be  formed  from  sea  water 
in  some  lagoon. 

Continue  collection  of  the  rocks  and  minerals  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
gain  a  familiarity  with  their  physical  properties  and  uses. 

S.ulphur,  its  occurrence  in  various  volcanic  regions ;  its  preparation  upon 
the  slopes  of  Mt.  Etna  in  Sicily. 

Descriptions  of  the  mining  of  gold  and  diamonds  in  South  Africa.  The 
tin  mines  of  Cornwall. 

Geography  —  Seventh  Grade 

Eastern  Hemisphere  with  Especial  Reference  to  Europe 

A  general  survey  of  the  physical  features. 
.    Climatic  conditions  of  Eurasia  compared  with  North  America. 

The  importance  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

The  pre-historic  inhabitants  of  Europe,  cave  and  lake  dwellers. 

Ragozin's  Earliest  People.  Queber's  Stories  of  the  Greeks  and  Story  of 
Rome. 

The  geography  of  the  world  as  known  to  the  ancients. 

The  farthest  points  reached  by  the  ancient  navigators,  their  ideas  as  to 
the  shape  and  size  of  the  world. 

The  spread  of  Christianity  and  Mohammedanism.  Study  with  reference 
to  the  character  of  the  peoples  and  the  physical  geography  of  the  countries 
concerned. 

The  Crusades  and  the  age  of  Chivalry. 

The  story  of  the  Norsemen ;  the  character  of  their  country. 

The  various  peoples  concerned  in  the  founding  of  the  English  race. 

The  Moors  and  their  civilization.  Spain  in  the  fifteenth  century  and  her 
explorations  by  sea. 

The  importance  of  the  chief  mountain  ranges  of  Europe  and  the  influ- 
ence which  they  have  exerted  upon  the  development  of  its  people. 

The  importance  of  the  irregular  shores  of  the  northern  Mediterranean 
and  eastern  Atlantic  in  afifecting  the  development  of  their  inhabitants. 

Reasons  for  the  slower  development  of  the  people  of  the  interior  and 
northeastern  portions  of  Europe. 

Causes  of  the  early  development  of  manufacturing  in  England. 

Situation  and  physical  surroundings  of  the  leading  cities  of  Europe. 

Constantinople  and  the  Dardanelles. 

Situation  of  Russia  with  reference  to  outlets  to  the  sea.  Conditions 
which  have  made  it  possible  for  her  to  spread  eastward  and  southward  in 
Asia. 

Influence  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains  and  Plateau  of  Thibet  upon  the 
history  of  Asia. 

Causes  leading  to  the  marked  differentiation  of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese. 

Effect  of  slow  sinking  of  coast  of  northwestern  Europe.  Features  and 
occupations  of  people  of  Holland. 

The  forests  of  northern  Europe  and  their  wild  animals. 

Geography  of  current  events  throughout  the  year. 


FAIRBANKS]  GEOGRAPHY  AND  NATURE-STUDY  197 

Nature-Study  —  Eighth  Grade 

Industrial 

Development  of  industries  in  connection  with  the  settlement  and  growth 
of  communities. 

Taking  different  sections  of  the  country,study  their  characteristic  indus- 
tries as  related  to  climate,  physical  features,  soil,  and  means  of  communi- 
cation. 

Biological 

Study  from  observation  and  illustrations  specimens  of  the  main  groups 
of  animals.  Detailed  study  of  how  animals  have  become  adapted  to  the 
various  conditions  of  land  and  water  existence. 

Observations  upon  the  most  important  plant  groups. 

Food  of  plants  contrasted  with  that  of  animals. 

Study  of  a  few  flowerless  plants,  mushrooms  and  fungi. 

Lowly  organisms  source  of  disease.     How  to  guard  against. 

Influence  of  man  in  distribution  of  plants  and  animals. 

Characteristic  plants  of  the  different  life  zones  of  North  America.  Life- 
zones  of  the  high  mountains. 

Various  problems  of  forestry,  growing,  cutting  and  preservation  from 
fire  and  disease  of  forest  trees.  Characteristics  of  forests  of  different  por- 
tions of  the  United  States. 

Physical 

Different  forms  of  matter.  Experiments  in  changing  matter  from  one 
form  into  another. 

The  study  of  chemical  reactions  involved  in  various  common  phenomena. 

Air,  heat,  light,  electricity  as  concerned  in  various  problems  and  activities 
of  life.  All  work,  both  observational  and  experimental  to  be  closely  con- 
nected with  actual  problems  confronting  the  pupils  or  experiences  which 
they  may  undergo. 

Geography  and  History  —  Eighth  Grade 

More  thorough  study  than  previously  attempted  of  the  processes  at  work 
building  up  and  tearing  down  the  features  of  the  earth's  surface.  Illustrate 
as  far  as  possible  by  observations,  experiments.  Supplement  by  reading 
and  use  of  pictures. 

Review  main  facts  of  Colonial  life  and  development,  explorations  and 
settlement  of  different  portions  of  the  North  American  continent. 

Connected  study  of  the  history  of  the  United  States  from  the  Revolution 
down  to  the  present.  Carry  on  this  work  with  relief  models  and  maps  con- 
stantly at  hand  and  seek  at  every  step  to  bring  out  causes  and  relations. 

Bring  out  in  connection  with  every  event  in  the  internal  relations  of  the 
people,  in  the  expansion  of  the  territory  of  the  Lf^nited  States  and  in  the 
development  of  its  industries  the  geographic  factors  concerned.  The  most 
important  of  these  factors  are  the  original  inhabitants,  character  of  the 
new  comers,  climate,  soil,  natural  products  of  the  soil  and  rocks,  presence 
of  mountain  barriers  and  deserts,  mountain  passes,  lakes,  navigable  streams, 
water  power,  etc. 


19S  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

Show  the  relation  of  the  expanding  nation  to  the  peoples  to  the  north 
and  south  and  the  geographic  reasons  for  the  position  of  the  final  bound- 
aries established. 

Geography  of  current  events  throughout  the  year. 


THE  VALUE  OF  KNOWING  NAMES  OF  NATURAL  OBJECTS 

A  Symposium  by  many  Writers 

[Editorial  Note. — The  question  whether  there  is  value  in  knowing  the 
names  of  natural  objects  is  easily  and  satisfactorily  answered  so  far  as 
very  common  objects  are  concerned,  but  it  must  be  obvious  to  all  science 
and  nature-study  teachers  that  as  our  list  of  names  tends  to  become  ex- 
tensive it  is  a  question  whether  memorizing  names  is  valuable.  In  order 
to  draw  out  definite  statements  of  opinions  from  naturalists  a  circular 
letter  was  sent  last  July  requesting  brief  discussions  of  the  question,  "  Is 
it  worth  while  that  pupils  should  learn  the  names  of  natural  objects?" 
The  answers,  in  the  order  received,  are  given  below.] 

In  answer  to  the  question  "  Is  there  value  in  knowing  the  names 
of  common  natural  objects,"  I  would  say  that  there  is  a  decided 
value,  provided  it  is  not  pressed  too  far.  It  is  a  source  of  satis- 
faction and  hence  of  additional  interest  to  be  able  to  name  things. 
The  only  objection  that  could  be  made  to  this  kind  of  informa- 
tion, so  far  as  I  can  discover,  is  that  the  name  may  become  the 
end  of  the  investigation  rather  than  its  beginning.  I  like  to  have 
my  students  think  of  names  as  necessary  appendages  to  plants, 
just  as  names  are  to  individuals  whom  one  meets  and  wants  to 
know.  No  one  would  think  that  an  introduction  to  an  individual, 
which  gives  the  name,  means  an  acquaintance  with  the  individual. 
The  name,  therefore,  as  I  look  at  it,  is  the  preliminary  stage  to  an 
acquaintance.  John  M.  Coulter. 

University  of  Chicago. 

There  is  a  value  in  mere  names.  As  naturalists  we  might  dis- 
pense with  names  and  books,  but  as  educators  we  cannot.  Cul- 
ture and  education  come  chiefly  through  names,  books  and  the 
literary  concomitants  of  the  subject.  I  have  known  many  good 
naturalists — wood-choppers,  basket-makers,  hunters,  trappers, 
fishermen,  farmers — with  knowledge  of  things,  but  evidently  not 
educated  by  them.  I  have  known  many  skilled  bird-stufifers,  who 
were  far  from  being  good  ornithologists.  Don't  lay  too  much 
stress  on  natural  objects  alone.  We  want  names,  books  and  other 
literary  and  scientific  accessories.  Edward  F.  Bigelow. 

Stamford,  Conn. 


VALUE    OF   NAMES  199 

The  question  "  Is  there  any  value  in  knowing  the  names  of 
common  natural  objects?"  reminds  me  forcibly  of  the  story  of 
the  German  botanist  who  collected  quantities  of  material  of  which 
he  did  not  know  the  name,  but  which  a  brief  microscopical  ex- 
amination showed  him  would  yield  rich  histological  results.  Over 
it  he  worked  for  a  long  time — years,  in  fact — and  each  day  with 
increasing  enthusiasm.  His  first  diagnosis  had  only  touched  the 
outside  of  its  scientific  wealth  and  value.  Finally  he  was  ready 
to  publish.  But  he  had  used  up  all  the  material  and  had  no  idea 
of  the  name  of  the  plant  which  he  had  been  studying ! 

The  names  of  the  common  objects  about  us  are  of  the  first  im- 
portance; for  after  all,  with  things  as  with  persons  a  knowledge 
of  the  name  is  an  invariable  preliminary  to  acquaintance  and 
afifection.  Imagine  saying  to  a  child :  "  Do  not  bother  with  the 
names  of  your  schoolmates,  their  real  character  is  of  much  more 
importance."  It  is  of  use,  but  to  know  the  name  does  not 
mean  to  know  nothing  else.  The  name  is  a  key  which  unlocks 
many  doors — books,  for  example — and  the  knowledge  of  other 
people.  Keys  are  essential  just  because  they  unlock  things,  not 
because  they  are  keys. 

L.  L.  W.  Wilson. 

Philadelphia  Normal  School. 

The  names  of  common  natural  objects  should  be  known.  It  is 
not  of  much  importance  to  know  the  scientific  name,  really  of  no 
importance  at  all  to  the  layman,  unless  the  scientific  names  be- 
come so  common  that  they  become  the  common  names.  Nor  is  it 
seriously  important  whether  the  common  name  used  be  the  one 
most  widely  known.  If  the  object  is  known  locally  by  some  par- 
ticular name,  which  is  not  the  common  name  most  widely  used, 
it  is  best  in  that  section  of  the  country  to  use  that  local  name. 
Some  name,  however,  should  be  known  and  used.  The  more  dis- 
tinctive and  general  the  name  be  the  better.  A  widely  used  name, 
however,  is  of  little  value  in  a  place  where  there  is  a  local  name 
that  is  well  known  and  where  the  more  widely  known  name  is 
unfamiliar.  It  is,  of  course,  highly  desirable  that  a  uniformity  in 
common  names  be  attained,  but  this  under  the  present  conditions 
seems  practically  unattainable.  The  confusion  is  far  worse  than 
that  experienced  with  scientific  binomials,  and  the  machinery  to 
remedy  the  defect  far  less  adequate  ;  a  gentle  pressure  toward  uni- 
formity is  commendable  but  ruthlessly  to  attempt  to  force  uni- 


200  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

formity  of  usage  would  be  to  retard  the  growth  of  popular  knowl- 
edge of  common  things. 

It  is  useless  to  discuss  the  necessity  of  having  a  name  for  ob- 
jects. The  proposition  is  axiomatic.  An  object  cannot  be  re- 
ferred to  definitely  without  a  name,  and  when  it  cannot  be  re- 
ferred to  it  cannot  be  discussed,  and  its  use  and  injuries  caused 
by  it  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  proper  source.  Without  a  name 
it  is  nothing  in  its  community. 

F.  L.  Stevens. 

North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts. 

In  regard  to  the  question  "  Is  there  a  value  in  knowing  the 
names  of  common  natural  objects,"  I  should  say  emphatically  yes. 
I  think  it  is  far  better  to  teach  children  something  of  the  things 
about  them  than  a  good  many  facts  about  India,  China  and  Japan. 
I  believe  we  all  should  know  all  we  can  about  the  common  things 
about  us,  and  be  able  to  observe  and  to  see  some  of  the  things  we 
look  at,  and  to  understand  something  of  what  we  see,  and  that  by 
so  understanding  these  things  our  life  will  be  broader  and  more 
interesting  not  only  to  ourselves  but  to  others.  There  is  far  too 
much  ignorance  concerning  common  things. 

H.  D.  Hem  EN  WAY. 

Hartford  School  of  Horticulture, 

My  answer  to  the  question  whether  there  is  value  in  giving  the 
names  of  common  objects,  is  taken  from  my  "  Nature-Study 
Idea  " :  ''  Would  you  tell  the  child  the  names  of  the  things  ? 
Certainly,  the  same  as  I  would  tell  him  the  name  of  a  new  boy 
or  girl.  But  I  should  not  stop  with  the  name.  Nature-study 
does  not  ask  finally  '  What  is  the  thing  ?  '  but  '  How  does  the 
thing  live  ? '  or  '  What  does  it  do  ?'  or  *  How  does  it  get  here  ? ' 
or  '  What  can  I  do  with  it  ?  '  The  name  is  only  a  part  of  the 
language  that  enables  us  to  talk  about  the  thing.  Tell  the  name 
at  the  outset  and  have  the  matter  done  with.  Then  go  on  to  vital 
questions." 

L.  H*.  Bailey. 

Cornell  University. 

The  recognized  common  names  of  natural  objects  are  of  great 
value  to  young  people  as  they  afiford  a  means  of  communicating 
many  facts  of  interest  as,  for  example,  in  describing  what  they 
saw  on  a  journey  or  a  walk.     The  Latin  names  are  out  of  place  in 


VALUE    OF   NAMES  201 

nature-Study,  because  that  phase  of  study  of  natural  things  is 
untechnical.  When  the  child  is  introduced  to  a  new  flower,  bird, 
or  fish,  he  zvishes  to  knozv  its  name.  After  that  he  feels  ac- 
quainted. 

WiNFiELD  S.  Hall. 
Northwestern  University. 

Is  there  value  in  knowing  the  names  of  common  natural  ob- 
jects? On  this  question  I  have  already  published  my  views  in 
my  book  "  Education  Through  Nature."  I  have  found  no  reason 
to  change  my  opinion  since.  A  name  is  a  label  by  which  we 
identify  bundles  of  facts,  conveniences  of  which  the  teacher  at 
least  cannot  afford  to  be  ignorant.  The  president  of  a  Chicago 
medical  school  said  once  in  addressing  his  graduating  class : 
*'  If  you  ever  encounter  a  disease  which  you  are  unable  to  identify, 
by  all  means  give  it  a  name."  This  certainly  expresses  a  shrewd 
man's  opinion  of  human  nature.  Many  patients  feel  a  sense  of 
relief  as  soon  as  their  ailment  has  received  a  name.  So  we  never 
feel  that  we  have  been  properly  introduced  to  a  person  till  we 
have  been  made  acquainted  with  his  name.  Indeed  we  are  often 
made  to  assume  that  we  know  a  man  when  his  name  has  been 
presented.  Whether  the  name  is  Latin  or  Greek,  Italian  or  Ger- 
man matters  little.  In  nature-study  we  cannot  fail  to  note  the 
same  tendency  in  pupils — a  desire  to  know  the  name.  Any  "  old 
thing  "  of  a  name  seems  to  satisfy.  Too  often  we  are  satisfied 
with  the  mere  name ;  and  if  care  is  not  taken,  nature-study  is  apt 
to  degenerate  into  a  mere  learning  of  names.  If  this  tendency  is 
properly  counteracted,  I  consider  it  very  desirable  to  teach  pupils 
how  to  find  the  names  of  objects  by  proper  use  of  reference- 
books — the  most  convenient  often  being  the  unabridged  diction- 
ary and  encyclopedias. 

J.    P.    MUNSON. 

State  Normal  School, 
Ellensburg,  Wash. 

In  regard  to  your  question,  "  Is  there  value  in  knowing  the 
names  of  common  objects,"  it  seems  to  me  there  can  be  but  one 
answer,  which  is  very  obvious.  We  should  know  the  name  of 
things  for  the  same  reason  we  like  to  know  the  names  of  people 
with  whom  we  have  to  deal.  There  is  nothing  in  a  name  that  is 
to  be  worshipped,  but  it  is  a  very  convenient  thing  to  have  at 


I 


202  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

hand.  One  of  the  first  things  I  teach  therefore  by  the  shortest 
possible  method,  unless  for  some  special  reason  it  is  withheld,  is 
the  name  of  the  object.  Wilbur  S.  Jackman. 

University  of  Chicago. 

To  my  mind  this  is  no  more  a  question  than,  ''  Is  there  any 
value  in  nature-study  ?  "  How  can  you  know  nature  without 
knowing  names  ?  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  knowing 
of  names  is  a  means,  not  an  end. 

Suppose  you  go  to  a  new  school  or  a  new  town.  One  of  the 
first  things  you  do  is  to  learn  the  names  of  the  people.  You  can- 
not have  very,  much  of  usefulness  or  interest  in  that  town  until 
you  know  the  people  by  name.  You  cannot  talk  concerning  the 
town  and  its  people. 

You  cannot  communicate  any  great  number  of  ideas  without 
words  and  you  cannot  teach  much  nature-study  without  names. 

Moreover  it  is  natural  for  the  young  child  to  learn  the  names 
of  things.  That  is  the  first  step  in  the  education  of  the  infant. 
Nouns  are  always  the  first  parts  of  speech  learned.  Teaching  the 
names  of  things  is  the  first  nature-study  to  be  taken  up.  Later 
the  names  will  be  used  as  pegs  on  which  to  hang  facts  about 
things. 

I  have  found  by  personal  experience  that  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful ways  to  interest  boys  and  girls  in  nature  is  to  teach  them 
the  names  of  natural  objects  such  as  flowers,  birds,  minerals,  etc. 

A.  J.  Grout. 

Boys'  High  School, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


AN   EDUCATIONAL  BEE-HIVE^ 

BY  EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW 
Stamford,  Connecticut 

In  a  booklet  published  by  The  A.  I.  Root  Company,  Medina,  Ohio, 
and  distributed  by  that  corporation  free  of  charge  to  those  who  ask 
for  it,  I  have  explained  why  a  bee-hive  seems  to  be  needed  for  edu- 
cational purposes,  a  hive  that  shall  be  worthy  of  the  interest  sure  to 
be  aroused  by  the  instructive  and  often  unknown  or  unappreciated 
habits  of  the  honey-bee. 


^  [The   hive   described    in    this    paper    has    been   named   by    the    manu- 
facturers after  the  inventor,  who  writes  this  article. — Managing  Editor.] 


BIGELOW] 


EDUCATIONAL  BEE-HIVE 


203 


Complete  hive  with  covers  removed.     Main  hive  in  front  consists    of   base,  observation  chamber, 
super  with  four  sections,  and  two"  travelling  hives  "  at  top      In  the   i-ear  is  the  flying  cage. 


204  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

In  that  booklet  I  have  briefly  set  forth  the  main  points  of  this 
special  hive.  What  I  have  there  stated  regarding  its  advantages  I 
trust  will  be  made  clearer  by  the  accompanying  illustrations,  their 
subjoined  legends,  and  this  additional  description. 

The  structure  is  not  so  much  a  hive,  which  is  a  mere  home  for  the 
honey-bee;  but  rather  a  complete,  elaborate,  handsome  apiarian  appa- 
ratus or  laboratory  supplied  with  every  facility  for  observation,  in- 
struction and  experiment.  I  have  long  been  of  the  belief  that  full 
justice — if  not  more  than  justice — has  been  done  to  cheap,  home- 
made, simple  contrivances  for  keeping  and  observing  these  most  fas- 
cinating and  useful  members  of  the  insect  world.  That  it  is  an 
expensive  hive  I  admit.  That  I  have  purposely  made  it  so,  I  also 
admit;  and  I  strongly  advise  that  it  be  ordered  only  in  oak  or  in 
ash,  the  wood  to  be  as  highly  polished  as  possible.  No  patent  has 
been  put  upon  the  hive  and  the  purchaser  pays  only  for  the  material 
and  the  labor.  I  have  made  such  arrangements  with  the  company 
which  manufactures  and  places  it  in  the  market,  that  I  am  convinced 
they  are  doing  it  without  any  pecuniary  profit,  trusting  for  that  to 
come  from  an  increasing  interest  which  this  hive  will  excite  in  bees, 
and  therefore  an  increase  in  orders  for  the  ordinary  apiarian  goods. 

The  Complete  Hive: — As  set  up  in  my  laboratory,  there  are  placed 
in  the  entire  hive  ten  frames  in  base,  ten  in  observation  chamber, 
three  in  "travelling  hives"  (at  top)  and  twelve  in  flying  cage — thus 
a  total  of  thirty-five.  The  flying  cage  holds  twenty  frames,  but  it  is 
preferable  to  put  in  not  over  twelve — two  sets  of  three  each  on  each 
support.  It  would  be  even  better,  perhaps,  to  put  fewer  frames  in 
the  flying  cage  when  it  is  used  in  connection  with  the  rest  of  the 
hive. 

It  is  also  intended  that  usually  only  one  frame  shall  be  put  in  each 
half  of  the  two  observation  chambers.  This  arrangement  brings 
under  full  observation  the  outsides  (half  of  whole  frame)  as  follows 
• — two  in  base,  two  in  observation  chamber,  four  in  travelling  hives, 
four  in  flying  cage.  There  will  also  be  seen  fairly  well  the  inside 
surfaces  of  the  four  frames  (one  of  each  set)  nearest  the  center  of 
the  flying  cage.  Thus  there  are  visible  sixteen  sides  of  frames  or 
an  equivalent  in  sides  of  an  entire  eight-frame  ordinary  hive.  But 
in  actual  practice,  this  Educational  Hive  gives  an  equivalent  of  two 
eight-frame  hives,  fully  under  observation,  because  as  the  two  sides 
of  any  one  frame  are  usually  about  the  same,  a  full  observation  of 
an  ordinary  hive  would  show  eight  different  combs,  or  stages  of 
progress  in  the  work,  while  this  Educational  Hive  shows  sixteen  dif- 
ferent frames  under  observation  at  once.  And  as  has  been  previously 
explained,  if  it  is  desired  to  crowd  the  hive  to  fairly  full  capacity, 
there  would  be  a  storage  or  "  base  of  supplies  "  in  nineteen  additional 


BIGELOW] 


EDUCATIONAL   BEE-HIVE 


205 


frames  (not  visible),  a  total  of  thirty-five.  Thus  it  will  be  readily 
seen  that  the  hive  is  of  enormous  capacity  for  observation  or  work, 
and  admits  of  a  great  variety  of  combinations  and  arrangements,  to 
meet  the  needs  of  experiment,  or  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  operator. 

The  entire  structure  full  of  frames  would  hold  forty-three,  of  which 
twelve  sides  would  be  easily  under  observation  at  one  time.  (When 
the  flying  cage  is  filled  with  frames,  of  course  no  interior  surfaces 


Side  view  of  the  Bigelow  Educational  Hive,  showing  storage  of  honey  in  outside  frame  at  base, 
three  rows  of  developing  queen-cells  in  observation  chamber,  four  full  sections  of  honey  in  super, 
and  brood,  honey  and  bees  working  in  "  travelling  hive  "  at  top 


are  visible.  When  fewer  than  twelve  frames  are  put  in,  if  separated, 
more  than  four  interiors  may  be  seen.)  This  is  in  addition  to  eight 
outside  sections  in  super,  and  gives  full  facilities  for  exhibition  of 
the  stages  of  comb  making,  the  storage  of  honey,  the  cell  structures, 
the  queen,  the  drone  and  the  worker  brood,  and  a  variety  of  novel 
experiments. 


2o6  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

There  is  ample  room  mider,  above,  and  between  the  two  tiers  of 
frames  in  the  flying  cage  for  any  form  or  for  several  forms  of  base 
feeders  such  as  the  Page,  or  the  Miller. 

Between  the  one  frame  and  the  two  frame  hives  at  the  top  of  the 
main  division  are  two  glass-jar  feeders,  in  which  the  bees  are  suck- 
ing downwards  (feeding  from  underside)  the  syrup.  In  all  others 
they  are  sucking  it  upwards  (feeding  from  top).  The  hive  as  a 
whole  is  designed  to  be  set  up  at  some  distance  from  the  window  or 
other  exit  through  the  wall  of  a  building,  for  temporary  exhibition  at 
a  fair,  a  museum  or  for  special  visitors'  day  at  a  school  (when  it  is 
not  convenient  to  take  a  large  number  of  visitors  to  the  regular  loca- 
tion of  the  hive  in  another  part  of  the  building). 

In  devising  this  form,  I  have  had  in  mind  also  an  exhibition  in 
the  center  of  large  stores.  To  the  store  keeper  this  would  be  a  novel 
and  excellent  advertisement  to  attract  people  to  the  store,  to  the 
apiarist  a  source  of  income  for  the  placing,  and  the  renting  of  the 
hive  and  contents,  and  to  the  advancement  of  bee-keeping,  because 
producing  an  increased  interest  on  the  part  of  the  public. 

Body  of  Hive: — This  holds  ten  regular  frames,  a  "base  of  sup- 
plies," a  brood  chamber  and  force  of  bees.  One  side  of  each  of  the 
two  outside  frames  is  visible.  It  is  recommended  that  stored  honey 
in  full  (as  in  the  illustration)  be  shown  in  this. 

Observation  Chamber: — Designed  especially  to  show  processes  of 
queen  rearing.  This  chamber  is  of  extra  depth,  and  the  glass  (as  in 
body  and  super)  are  readily  removable.  Frames  may  be  taken  out 
or  put  in  at  the  side.  These  chambers  (two  made  by  an  especially 
deep  padded  division  board)  are  automatically  filled  or  emptied  (as 
are  the  one  frame  and  two  frame  "  travelling  hives "  above  the 
super).  This  is  done  by  a  system  of  slides — a  long  slide  covering 
plain  slot  and  a  Porter  bee-escape  slot  in  base  of  chamber  to  be  filled, 
and  a  long  plain  slot  corresponding  in  length  to  both  above  it,  in  the 
base  below  the  operating  chamber. 

When  the  slide,  in  the  base  of  the  operating  chamber  is  out,  bees 
go  in  or  out.  When  the  slide  is  half  way  in,  bees  go  out  only;  and 
by  pushing  the  slide  fully  in,  bees  go  neither  in  nor  out.  Thus  one 
or  more  brood-frames  in  either  chamber  may  be  isolated  or  emptied 
of  bees  by  manipulating  this  slide.  The  same  principle  is  applied  to 
the  bases  of  the  one-frame  and  the  two-frame  travelhng  hives  and 
to  the  magnifying  feeder. 

Super: — This  has  thirty-two  full  sections,  each  four  by  five  inches, 
the  entire  one  side  of  eight  being  plainly  visible. 

One-Frame  and  Two-Frame  Travelling  Hives: — These  have  the 
automatic  filling,  emptying  and  isolating  devices  by  a  system  of  two 
slots,  two  slides  and  bee-escape,  as  explained  under  the  head  of  obser- 


ilGEI.OVV] 


EDUCATIONAL    hEE-llli  li 


207 


-A 


hCTJ 


w-  6 
o  « 

o 


208 


THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 


vation  chamber.  They  are  fastened  by  hooks  to  the  super  cover,  and 
are  easily  isolated  or  carried  to  any  distance.  I  have  carried  a  one- 
frame  with  the  queen,  and  about  five  thousand  workers  and  one  hun- 
dred drones,  to  the  four  normal  schools  in  the  State  of  Michigan.  I 
spent  a  week  at  three  of  these  schools  and  a  day  at  the  fourth. 
When  the  frame  was  not  in  use  before  public  audiences,  the  bees 
went  out  to  view  the  country  and  to  gather  material.  The  hive  was 
placed  on  the  lawn,  or  by  an  open  window  in  schoolroom  or  in  my 
room  at  the  hotel,  and  the  sliding  wire  net  before  the  entrance  at  the 
lower  part  of  one  end  was  drawn  out.  When  I  arrived  home  the 
entire  swarm  was  in  better  condition  than  it  was  when  I  started. 


A  large  reading  glass,  preferably  one  five  inches  in  diameter,  makes  more  interesting  and  easier  to 
observe  all  the  activities  of  the  hive. 


Magnifying  Feeder: — This  is  regarded  by  many  persons  as  the 
most  original,  novel  and  interesting  part  of  the  hive.  It  is  fully 
described  in  the  booklet  previously  mentioned. 

Flying  Cage: — Three  sides  of  this  are  of  glass,  the  fourth  being 
of  wire  netting.  Ordinary  frames  may  be  placed  in  it,  but  it  is  made 
of  special  depth  so  that  rustic  sticks  may  be  placed  on  supports,  so 
that  the  bees  may  build  natural  combs,  and  not  the  shallow,  square- 
cornered  combs  of  the  artificial  frames.  When  thus  used  separately 
with  the  exit  open  into  the  free  air  (not  into  the  main  portion  of  the 
hive)  it  becomes  an  observation  box  hive,  or  the  interior  of  the 
original  bee  tree,  with  combs  on  any  sort  of  sticks,  and  of  any  length 


BiGELOw]  EDUCATIONAL   BEE-HIVE  209 

that  the  bees  see  fit  to  build.  By  having  a  hole  in  the  center  of  the 
cover  board,  a  super  or  any  other  apparatus  may  be  placed  above  it. 
But  for  this  purpose  the  w^riter  prefers  the  original  straw  hive,  and 
thus  in  one  complete  structure  would  be  shown  the  interior  of  the 
original  bee  tree,  the  first  steps  in  hive  making  (the  straw  hive  above 
it)  and  at  the  left  a  complete  modern  hive  with  most  improved  ex- 
perimental apparatus  and  accessories. 

The  use  of  a  hand-lens  five  inches  in  diameter  makes  any  part  of 
the  hive,  or  of  any  structure,  or  the  movements  of  the  bees  more 
readily  and  effectively  seen  and  is  strongly  advised. 

I  believe  this  hive  to  be  worthy  of  the  subject.  It  is  a  great  and 
unusual  convenience.  Its  facilities  are  unlimited,  and  it  will  soon 
become  a  joy  to  the  purchaser,  especially  if  he  will  use  it  for  the 
study  of  the  Apis  melUiica. 

My  best  wish  to  you,  my  reader,  is  that  you  may  obtain  as  much 
instruction  and  enjoyment  in  the  use  of  this  hive  as  I  have  found. 
I  own  three  complete  with  about  forty-five  sides  of  frames  under  con- 
stant observation. 

If  you  can't  get  the  whole,  start  with  the  one-frame  travelling  hive. 
Watch  the  two  sides,  and  be  happy — and  dream  of  getting  more  hives 
and  more  happiness. 

DO  BIRDS  EAT  BUTTERFLIES 

BY  T.  D.  A.  COCKERELL 

Lecturer  in  the  University  of  Colorado 

One  of  the  last  papers  written  by  Dr.  \.  S.  Packard  was  on 
the  origin  of  the  markings  of  organisms,  with  criticisms  of  the 
commonly-held  theories  regarding  mimicry  in  butterflies.^  I  do 
not  propose  to  discuss  this  essay  in  detail,  but  merely  to  point  otit 
how  well  it  exposes  our  ignorance  of  common  things — things 
which  any  intelligent  child  might  observe.  The  whole  of  it  (58 
pages)  is  interesting  and  suggestive,  and  whatever  one  may  be- 
lieve as  to  the  validity  of  Dr.  Packard's  deductions,  it  is  well 
worth  reading. 

It  is  well  known  that  certain  butterflies  exhibit  a  wonderful 
"  cryptic  coloration  " — that  is  to  say,  they  resemble  their  sur- 
roundings to  such  an  extent  that  they  can  hardly  be  seen  when  at 


^  The  Origin  of  the  Markings  of  Organisms  (Poecilogenesis)  Due  to  the 
Physical  rather  than  the  Biological  Environment ;  with  criticisms  of  the 
Bates-Muller  Hypotheses.  Proc.  Amer.  Philosophical  Society.  Vol.  43, 
No.  178.     Read  Dec.  2,  1904. 


2IO  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

rest.  The  Asiatic  leaf-butterfly  (Kallima)  is  quite  familiar  iu 
museums,  and  from  pictures  in  nature  books ;  but  our  own  hedge- 
rows provide  sufficiently  good  example  among  the  comma-butter- 
flies (Grapta)  and  others.  It  has  further  been  observed  that  in 
numerous  instances  different  species  of  butterflies  resemble  one 
another ;  and  when  this  is  so,  usually  one  of  the  pair  is  apparently 
protected  from  the  attacks  of  birds  by  its  nauseous  taste.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  go  into  further  details  about  protective  coloration 
and  mimicry — there  are  plenty  of  available  discussions  of  these 
matters — but  we  may  say  at  once  that  those  who  have  paid  most 
attention  to  these  phenomena  believe  that  they  result  from  the 
action  of  natural  selection  preserving  those  individual  butterflies 
which  most  resemble  their  surroundings,  or  most  closely  resemble 
species  which  are  recognized  as  inedible.  By  a  succession  of 
such  choices,  extending  over  a  long  period,  the  butterfly-type  is 
supposed  to  have  been  gradually  altered,  until  the  results  that  we 
see  today  were  produced.  Various  modifications  of  the  theory 
thus  briefly  outlined  have  been  proposed,  but  all  depend  in  the 
main  upon  the  assumption  that  butterflies  are  habitually  eaten  by 
birds — so  much  so  as  to  make  the  avoidance  of  such  a  catastrophe 
one  of  the  chief  cares,  as  it  were,  of  butterfly  existence. 

Now  comes  Dr.  Packard  and  asks,  are  butterflies  eaten  by 
birds?  It  is  admitted,  of  course,  that  birds  do  sometimes  eat 
butterflies ;  but  do  they  do  so  habitually  ?  If  butterflies  are  in  no 
more  danger  from  birds,  the  world  over,  than  men  are  from  lions 
and  tigers,  let  us  say,  then  do  not  these  theories  of  mimicry  and 
the  like  fall  to  the  ground? 

Dr.  Packard  says  that  in  July,  1901,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  having  for  over  forty  years  observed  and  collected  insects,  he 
actually  saw  a  bird  chase  a  butterfly.  Dr.  J.  B.  Smith,  the  well- 
known  entomologist  of  New  Jersey,  affirms  that  only  once  has  he 
seen  a  bird  chase  a  butterfly.  Dr.  W.  M.  Wheeler,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History  in  New  York,  has  never  seen 
birds  pursuing  butterflies.  Dr.  Needham,  of  Illinois,  a  most  ex- 
pert observer,  has  never  seen  a  bird  chase  and  eat  a  butterfly,  nor 
have  any  of  his  students  seen  it.  Dr.  S.  H.  Scudder,  author  of 
the  greatest  work  on  American  butterflies,  affirms  that  only  once 
in  New  England  has  he  seen  proof  that  birds  catch  butterflies. 

There  is  some  evidence  on  the  other  side.  Thus  Prof.  J.  Ken- 
nel, of  Dorpat,  watched  a  pair  of  warblers  feed  their  five  young 


cocKERELL]  BIRDS    AND    BUTTERFLIES  21 1 

all  day  long  with  butterflies.  One  of  the  species  caught,  how- 
ever, was  Vanessa  urticae  (the  tortoise-shell  butterfly),  which  at 
rest  exhibits  decidedly  "  cryptic  "  colors.  Taking  the  whole  of 
the  facts  as  presented,  we  are  forced  to  admit  that  the  opinion 
that  birds  habitually  eat  butterflies  to  such  an  extent  as  to  pro- 
duce the  results  that  current  hypotheses  demand,  is  much  more  a 
**  pious  opinion  "  than  a  statement  of  known  facts. 

However,  when  we  go  again  over  the  evidence,  with  a  more 
critical  eye,  there  is  one  thing  that  strikes  us  at  once.  Nearly  all 
of  it  has  been  gleaned  accidentally,  at  haphazard,  as  it  were ;  or 
(in  a  minority  of  instances)  is  the  result  of  careful  observation 
continued  only  for  a  very  short  time.  Birds  and  butterflies  are 
everywhere ;  but  who  has  really  gone  at  this  problem  seriously  ? 
Did  the  reader  ever  see  a  hawk  catch  a  bird  or  a  mouse  ?  Did  he 
ever  see  a  butterfly  hatch  from  the  chrysalis  in  the  wild  state? — 
there  are  many  things  which  occur  constantly  all  around  us,  to 
our  certain  knowledge,  but  we  do  not  see  them.  Naturalists  are 
not  much  better  than  others,  for  they  are  usually  on  the  lookout 
for  their  particular  ''  game,"  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else. 
Who,  in  these  busy  days,  will  sit  still  somewhere  for  a  couple  of 
hours,  and  just  see  what  happens?  Probably  the  most  important 
testimony,  so  far  as  it  goes,  is  that  of  Mr.  S.  D.  Judd,  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  who  has  spent  so  much  time  examin- 
ing the  stomach-contents  of  birds.  He  says  :  ''  I  do  not  know  of 
a  kind  that  feeds  upon  butterflies  during  any  month  of  the  year 
to  the  extent  of  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  its  food."  It  may 
be  urged,  against  this,  that  butterflies  are  hard  to  recognize  in 
birds'  stomachs  (the  wings  having  usually  been  discarded),  and 
also,  that  a  small  per  cent,  of  the  food  of  a  common  bird  means  a 
great  many  butterflies. 

I  believe  that  the  argument  that  birds  are  not  often  seen  to 
chase  butterflies  is  a  fallacious  one.  The  flight  of  butterflies 
usually  protects  them  from  capture  on  the  wing,  and  the  very  fact 
of  the  development  of  so  many  colors  which  are  "  cryptic  "  w^hen 
the  insect  is  at  rest,  points  to  the  time  of  the  greatest  danger. 
Who  can  find  the  butterflies  on  a  dull  day?  Here  is  an  exercise 
for  sharp  eyes,  and  if  followed  up  by  taking  photographs  of  the 
resting  insects  among  the  foliage,  would  be  both  exciting  and 
profitable  to  science. 

Probably  the  best  facts  for  or  against  the  theories  discussed  are 


2  12  THE  ^ATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

to  be  obtained  by  watching  birds  feed  their  young,  as  Professor 
Kennel  did.  What  children  will  volunteer  to  watch  a  bluebird's 
nest  or  a  sparrow's  for  a  week,  and  note  every  butterfly  brought 
there  by  the  old  birds  ? 

For  myself,  I  believe  that  the  selection  theories  are  correct. 
But  whether  they  are  or  not,  we  want  the  facts,  and  plenty  of 
them.  What  we  need  so  much  in  biology  is  an  adequate  series  of 
little  observations,  accurately  made.  Those  little  things  which 
are  "  hardly  worth  noting  "  become  the  very  basis  of  broad  gen- 
eralizations. We  may  not  all  devise  new  theories,  but  everyone 
who  has  a  good  mind  and  is  honest  may  make  new  observations. 

What  is  worth  noting?  What  is  of  interest?  That  depends 
so  much  on  the  way  we  look  at  it.  Perhaps  you  have  read  Ham- 
merton's  directions  for  conversing  about  a  rat,  in  "  The  Intel- 
lectual Life  "  ?  We  may  borrow  the  thought,  but  change  the  in- 
stance. Here  is  a  piece  of  information,  which  I  promise  you  is 
new : — When  in  Roswell,  New  Mexico,  a  few  years  ago,  I  bred 
a  fly,  Frontina  frenchii,  from  Anosia  plexippus.  A  trifling  and 
uninteresting  piece  of  information,  you  say ;  everyone  knows 
about  the  parasites  of  Lepidoptera.  But  let  me  try  again : — The 
milkweed  butterfly  (Anosia  plexippus)  is  one  of  the  protected 
forms,  generally  understood  to  be  inedible.  Scudder  at  first  be- 
lieved that  it  was  also  protected  from  parasites  in  the  larva  and 
pupa  state,  and  Wallace  cited  this  opinion  in  his  "  Darwinism." 
Since  then,  however,  it  has  been  found  that  it  has  some  parasites, 
and  four  species  have  been  recorded.  One  of  them  was  named 
Frontina  archippivora,  from  archippus,  a  name  by  which  the 
butterfly  used  to  be  known.  When  at  Roswell,  New  Mexico,  a 
few  years  ago,  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  breed  from  A.  plexippus 
an  additional  parasite,  closely  allied  to  the  one  just  mentioned. 
It  was  Frontina  frenchii,  of  Williston,  and  was  kindly  determined 
for  me  by  Mr.  Coquillett  of  the  National  Museum. 

SCHOOL-GARDENS  IN  PHILADELPHIA^ 

Extracts  from  24th  Annual  Report  of  Public  Education  Association  of  Philadelphia 

No  subject  ever  taken  up  by  the  Association  has  met  with  such 
popular  interest  and  support  as  has  the  school-garden  movement, 


^  Attention  of  those  interested  is  called  to  the  story  of  the  Gardens  by 
their  Supervisor,  in  the  April  Booklover's  Magazine. 


SCHOOL-GARDENS    IN    PHILADELPHIA  213 

now  entering  on  its  second  season.  The  part  of  the  Association 
in  it  has  been  that  of  the  friend  only ;  for  from  the  beginning  the 
Board  of  PubHc  Education,  and  especially  Mr.  H.  H.  Hubbert, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  under  whose  charge  it  came,  listened 
to  the  plea  for  this  work  to  be  undertaken.  In  Councils  it  has 
found  warm  friends  and  none  more  so  than  Mr.  George  Mc- 
Curdy,  the  President  of  Common  Council.  The  history  of  school 
gardens  in  Philadelphia  already  well  shows  that  it  matters  not  so 
much  whether  the  ideas  of  one  or  another  group  of  individuals 
are  carried  out  as  that  the  work  shall  he  sanctioned  and  supported 
by  the  people.  It  is  because  school-gardens  have  from  the  start 
been  conducted  as  a  legitimate  part  of  free  public  education  in 
Philadelphia  that  the  pride  and  interest  in  them  have  been  so 
widespread  and  immediate.  There  is  no  interest  more  potent 
than  that  bred  of  ownership,  and  there  is  no  question  but  that  the 
response  of  the  educational  and  financial  authorities  of  the  city  to 
the  movement  for  school-gardens  in  Philadelphia,  which  has  come 
in  an  astonishingly  short  time,  is  due  to  their  pride  that  this  work, 
which  was  immediately  successful,  is  being  conducted,  not  pri- 
vately, but  as  a  part  of  the  public  school  system.  It  appears  that 
the  public  is  really  interested  in  a  movement  only  when  public 
money  is  invested  in  it  and  the  prestige  of  the  city  at  stake.  An 
amusing  incident  at  the  West  Philadelphia  Garden  this  year 
shows  that  even  the  children  appreciate  the  assumption  of  this 
work  by  the  city.  "Who's  givin'  us  this  garden?"  said  a  little 
girl  one  day.  '*  The  Board  of  Education,"  was  the  Supervisor's 
reply.     ''  H'm !     Gettin'  wiser  every  day,"  was  the  comment. 

One  of  the  respects  in  which  we  feel  most  definitely  the  wisdom 
of  the  school-garden  experiment  is  in  its  reaction  upon  the  schools. 
The  introduction  of  industrial  education  into  the  schools  is  a  sub- 
ject that  is  being  much  discussed  in  America  to-day.  The  public, 
generally,  is  demanding  it,  and  the  subject  is  under  discussion  in 
one  of  our  committees,  but  some  experienced  teachers  of  manual 
training,  notably  the  principal  of  our  Central  Manual  Training 
High  School,  Mr.  William  L.  Sayre,  do  not  believe  such  a  course 
wise.  They  caution  us  against  overtaxing  the  mental  and  bodily 
strength  of  children,  believing  also  that  the  educational  value  of 
manual  training  is  best  conserved  by  restricting  it  to  the  high 
school  period.  School  gardening  is  a  very  practical  form  of  in- 
dustrial training,  and  to  its  introduction  no  educator  has  given 


I 


2  14  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

aught  but  encouragement.  We  believe  the  effect  of  the  gardens 
upon  the  schools  will  be  seen  next  fall  in  the  Taggart  School,  for 
the  250  children  of  the  5th  and  Porter  Streets  School-Garden 
practically  all  come  from  that  one  school. 

On  March  8,  1904,  our  Association  petitioned  the  Board  of 
Public  Education  to  establish  two  school  gardens,  and  the  Coun- 
cils to  provide  the  money  for  them.  An  appropriation  for  the 
purpose  was  finally  passed  on  May  5,  and  on  May  24  and  28 
respectively,  two  gardens  were  planted,  with  radishes,  beans, 
lettuce,  and  other  vegetables,  arranged  around  a  central  plot  of 
flowers. 

The  first  garden  was  in  the  heart  of  the  most  crowded  foreign 
district  of  the  city,  at  Weccacoe  Square,  5th  and  Catherine  Streets, 
the  property  of  the  city.  The  second  garden  was  at  56th  and 
Lansdowne  Avenue,  on  private  property  which  was  lent  for  the 
purpose  by  Mr.  John  Wanamaker. 

At  each  garden  were  250  individual  plots  4J  x  11^  feet,  each  of 
which  was  assigned  to  one  of  the  boys  or  girls  of  the  upper  gram- 
mar grades,  who  applied  by  hundreds,  from  the  schools  near  the 
gardens.  In  addition  to  the  individual  plots,  there  were  eighteen 
general  plots  at  each  garden,  where  were  grown  grains  for  the 
observation  and  instruction  of  all.  About  one-third  of  the  space 
at  each  garden  was  devoted  to  a  playground.  These  playgrounds 
proved  of  benefit  chiefly  to  boy  and  girls  of  about  twelve  years  of 
age,  for  whom  the  street  is  the  only  alternative — since  the  thirty 
or  more  playgrounds  opened  in  the  school-yards  each  summer,  by 
the  Board  of  Public  Education,  are  used  almost  beyond  their 
capacity  by  the  young  children  of  the  neighborhood.  The  shaded 
playgrounds  served  to  hold  the  children  during  the  hot  hours  of 
the  summer  between  the  morning  weeding,  picking,  and  planting, 
and  the  evening  watering. 

Between  May  15th  and  June  30th,  and  again  from  September 
8th  to  October  8th,  the  little  farmers  were  at  school,  when  the 
hours  from  four  to  six  were  the  only  times  that  the  children  could 
work  in  the  gardens.  For  the  teachers,  however,  all  the  hours 
were  fully  occupied ;  in  the  spring  they  had  to  prepare  lessons, 
seeds,  roll-books,  etc.,  and  in  the  fall  to  explain  the  methods  and 
purpose  of  the  work  to  the  numerous  eager  visitors,  and  to  teach 
the  classes  brought  by  the  teachers  of  neighboring  schools  for 
observation.     In  the  early  hours  they  also  prepared  the  nature- 


SCHOOL-GARDENS    IN    PHILADELPHIA  215 

study  materials  for  the  schools.  Nature-study  lessons  were  given 
to  the  visiting  classes  by  the  garden  teachers,  and  materials  for 
nature-study  were  grown  and  sent  to  schools  when  requested. 
On  Saturdays,  both  teachers  and  pupils  were  occupied  at  the  gar- 
dens all  day.  By  the  535  individual  plots,  farmed  in  the  course  of 
the  summer  by  775  children,  by  the  playgrounds — open  to  the 
neighborhood,  by  the  48  visiting  classes  from  schools,  and  the 
nature-study  materials  sent  to  285  schools,  altogether  it  will  be 
seen  that  several  thousand  children  benefited  by  the  gardens  and 
the  attached  playgrounds. 

The  average  daily  attendance  in  the  Weccacoe  School-garden 
was  150,  in  the  playground  100.  The  total  number  actually  work- 
ing the  250  individual  plots  in  the  course  of  this  one  summer,  at 
this  one  garden  of  about  a  half  acre,  was  400.  The  number  of 
children  who  began  at  the  beginning  and  staid  to  the  end  was  71, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  others  were  waiting  to  take  the  places  of 
any  that  became  irregular  or  careless.  Some  waited  in  vain  all 
summer.  The  estimate  of  produce  per  plot  from  this  hard  clay 
ground,  where  even  a  second  dressing  and  ploughing  had  brought 
to  light  only  a  second  crop  of  bricks,  was  225  radishes,  40  beets, 
one  peck  of  string  beans,  25  heads  of  lettuce,  100  small  turnips, 
two  small  heads  of  cabbage,  and  peas  which,  however,  failed  be- 
cause eaten  by  the  sparrows.  The  number  of  schools  supplied 
with  nature-study  materials  from  this  garden  was  twenty-two,  of 
classes  visiting  the  garden,  thirty-seven. 

For  this  year,  every  one  of  last  year's  400  children,  and  as  many 
more,  again  have  begged  for  plots,  but  the  Square  is  not  again 
available.  The  downtown  garden  is  located  this  year  at  Fifth  and 
Porter  Streets,  opposite  the  Taggart  School,  whose  teachers  are 
already  asking  for  class  plots,  and  are  giving  such  cooperation  to 
the  garden  work  that  the  educational  side  of  the  work, — which 
was  the  reason  for  its  incorporation  in  the  school  system, — will 
probably  find  a  far  greater  development  than  w^as  possible  during 
the  first  year.  At  date  of  writing,  the  attendance  at  this  garden, 
purely  voluntary,  ranges  from  eighty  per  cent,  to  ninety-five  per 
cent,  per  week,  showing  how  the  children  regard  the  "  work." 

At  56th  and  Lansdowne  Avenue  there  were  285  individual  and 
ten  general  plots,  farmed  in  the  course  of  the  five  months  by  a 
total  of  375  children.  Average  attendance  at  the  playground  all 
day  was  forty,  in  the  garden  1000.     One  hundred  and  ninety-one 


2l6  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

of  the  children  that  began  work  at  the  beginning  of  the  season 
were  still  there  at  the  end.  The  produce  per  lot  is  here  estimated 
at  225  radishes,  i  pint  peas,  115  tomatoes,  ij  pecks  lima  beans, 
10  heads  of  lettuce,  and  10  carrots.  Because  of  the  vicinity  of 
this  garden  to  the  country,  in  spare  moments  wild  flowers  could 
be  collected  for  the  schools,  and  the  number  of  schools  supplied 
with  materials  for  nature  study,  language,  and  drawing  materials 
from  this  one  garden  reached  the  large  total  of  263.  Eleven 
classes  from  neighboring  schools  visited  the  gardens  for  lessons 
in  nature-study. 

This  garden  is  open  again  this  summer,  until  October  15,  and  it 
is  hoped  that  a  closer  connection  with  the  schools  may  be  added 
to  the  features  of  its  success  last  year.  Already  kindergarten 
classes  have  planted  class  plots.  Visitors  are  welcome  at  both 
gardens,  and  the  teachers  say  that  no  critic  ever  remains  a  critic 
after  once  seeing  the  children  at  work. 

Registered  visitors  at  the  two  gardens  numbered  486.  Many 
more  came  and  did  not  register.  Many  were  teachers;  many 
came  from  other  cities.  The  public  interest  in  the  work  is  great 
and  is  growing.  How  fully  it  appeals  to  the  children  is  indicated 
by  the  numbers  from  whom  the  choice  for  plots  was  made,  in 
order  of  application :  544  boys  and  458  girls  made  written  ap- 
plications for  the  535  plots,  and  every  one  of  them  and  many  more 
have  applied  for  this  summer.  Donations  to  the  amount  of 
$91.09  were  made  to  the  Weccacoe  School  Garden  by  fourteen 
persons,  members  of  our  Association  and  others,  for  extra  plow- 
ing, for  a  tent  against  the  hot  sun,  and  for  games  for  the  play- 
grounds. The  newspapers  gave  great  assistance,  frequently  pub- 
lishing illustrated  news  articles. 

The  unqualified  success  of  the  gardens  and  the  unquestioned 
benefits  to  children  of  garden  work  have  spread  the  popularity  of 
the  movement  until  now  a  garden  is  asked  for  in  nearly  every 
ward  in  the  city.  Although  the  state  of  the  city's  finances  may 
prevent  so  large  an  extension,  from  two  to  forty-two  next  year,  at 
least  it  is  hoped  that  the  number  of  those  maintained  by  the  city 
may  be  increased  from  two  to  six. 

Extension  of  the  movement  has  led  to  a  discussion  of  the  train- 
ing of  teachers  for  garden  work  and  the  suggestion  has  been 
made  that  a  course  in  the  teaching  of  gardening  might  be  intro- 
duced next  winter  into  the  Normal  School,  as  has  already  been 


SCHOOL-GARDENS    IN    PHILADELPHIA  217 

done  in  normal  schools  in  Massachusetts,  Illinois,  and  Missouri. 
Without  trained  teachers,  gardens  can  have  little  educational 
value. 

The  work  done  by  the  gardens  in  supplying  nature  materials  to 
the  schools  should  also  be  extended.  The  schools  have  found  in 
the  gardens  a  supply  for  language,  drawing,  and  nature  lessons. 
From  the  time  the  schools  opened,  on  September  8,  until  October 
8,  when  the  gardens  closed,  the  gardens  were  visited  almost  daily 
by  one  or  more  kindergarten  or  grade  classes  from  the  various 
public  schools  near  them.  Each  class  filed  through  the  garden, 
and  received  a  lesson  from  one  of  the  garden  teachers  on  the 
vegetables  grown.  A  part  of  one  such  lesson  overheard  was  a 
comparison  of  one  vegetable  of  which  the  root  is  eaten,  with  an- 
other in  which  the  leaves  are  eaten,  and  still  another  in  which  the 
fruit,  or  the  seed  is  used.  In  addition  to  those  visits  to  the  gar- 
dens, a  large  number  of  schools,  from  all  over  the  city  indeed,  sent 
requests  to  the  gardens  for  supplies  of  specimen  plants,  leaves,  or 
flowers  for  use  at  school,  to  be  drawn,  studied,  and  written  about. 

This  use  of  the  gardens  as  a  supply  depot  has  led  to  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  city  should  continue  throughout  the  year  this  ex- 
cellent method  of  assistance  to  its  regular  school  teachers,  in  order 
to  make  the  work  of  the  schools  more  alive.  By  retaining  the 
garden  teachers  regularly  through  all  but  the  coldest  months,  to 
supply  nature  materials  to  the  schools,  schools  could  be  supplied 
throughout  the  fall  and  spring,  and  the  balance  of  the  time  in 
winter  be  used  by  the  teachers  for  the  necessary  study  and  vaca- 
tion. 

A  further  suggestion  for  the  extension  of  the  playgrounds  that 
were  run  in  connection  with  the  gardens  is  that  every  school-yard 
in  the  city  should  be  open  to  the  free  play  of  children  during  all 
the  daylight  hours.  More  games  are  needed  for  the  playgrounds, 
and  our  readers  are  asked  to  see  if  they  have  not  some  unused 
basket-ball,  tennis,  croquet,  or  quoit  set,  or  other  game  to  send  to 
the  gardens.  Games,  especially  team  games,  are  preferred  to 
gymnastic  apparatus,  because  they  develop  social  responsibility 
and  encourage  physical  development  without  endangering  life  and 
limb. 


2l8  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

SCHOOL-GARDEN  NOTES 

BY  H.  D.  HEMENWAY 
Director  of  Hartford  School  of  Horticulture 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  is  fostering  a  school- 
garden  enterprise  connected  with  the  Franklin  Normal  School  in 
Washington,  D.  C.  The  Department  has  given  the  use  of  one  acre 
of  ground,  and  a  small  greenhouse  has  been  turned  over  to  the 
teacher  who  has  charge  of  the  botany  and  garden  work  at  the  normal 
school. 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  was  the  first  city  to  distribute  to  the  school  chil- 
dren seeds  in  one  cent  packages.  More  than  140,000  penny  packages 
were  sold  in  1904,  and  more  than  double  that  number  in  1905.  Forty 
schools  in  the  city  exhibit  the  fruits  of  their  gardens. 

The  Courier  of  Evansville,  Indiana,  has  given  prizes  for  the 
best  flower  gardens  produced  by  school  children.  Also  for  the  best 
essay  on  "  How  a  school  boy  or  girl  by  home  work  can  best  improve 
Evansville." 

The  City  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs  of  Saginaw,  Mich.,  has 
stimulated  the  children  in  school-garden  work  by  giving  a  $25  banner 
flag  to  the  school  which  showed  the  best  results  with  the  facilities 
afforded  them.  This  flag  remains  the  property  of  the  school  winning 
it  for  the  year  in  which  it  is  won,  but  will  be  put  up  for  competition 
each  succeeding  year. 

At  Amherst,  Mass.,  the  experiment  of  the  past  two  seasons  of  hav- 
ing gardens  for  school  children  has  been  very  successful.  The  chil- 
dren paid  one  dollar  each  for  their  gardens,  instruction,  and  seeds. 
The  gardens  were  8x50  ft.  each.  The  project  was  started  by  Mr. 
Hardy,  Superintendent  of  Schools;  and  the  practical  work  was  in 
charge  of  Professor  F.  A.  Waugh  and  his  assistants  of  the  Horti- 
cultural Department  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College. 

Joliet,  Illinois,  has  eighty  acres  in  public  school  grounds.  These 
have  over  30,000  trees  on  them.  One  school  lot  has  a  peach  orchard 
in  which  the  fruit  ripens  unmolested. 

Superintendent  O.  J.  Kern,  of  Winnebago  County  in  Illinois, 
formed  a  Farmers'  Boys'  Experiment  Club  in  1892.  This  Club  now 
has  a  membership  of  about  350  boys.  Superintendent  Kern  arranges 
monthly  lectures  for  the  club  in  winter.  One  or  more  excursions  are 
taken  every  year.  Most  of  the  boys  have  home  gardens.  Last  season 
Winnebago  Co.  had  school-gardens  in  73  districts. 

Ten  new  school-gardens  were  started  in  Minneapolis  last  spring. 
The  University  of  Minnesota  aided  in  the  work. 

It  is  said  that  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  sixty-five  thousand  children  have 
gardens  either  at  home  or  at  school. 


hemenway]  school-garden    NOTES  219 

Prizes  were  given  at  the  last  West  Michigan  State  Fair  for  the 
best  exhibits  of  vegetables  and  of  flov^ers  grown  in  school-gardens, 
and  in  home  gardens  under  school  direction. 

The  pupils  of  one  school  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  went  into  the  peanut 
business  to  obtain  money  to  buy  seeds  for  the  school-garden. 

Walter  D.  Ross  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  a  seedsman  and  dealer  in 
agricultural  supplies,  gave  to  the  value  of  over  $125  in  seeds  and 
fertilizers  the  last  season  to  the  Worcester  schools  for  use  in  their 
gardens. 

Thirteen  school-gardens  have  recently  been  established  at  Grenada, 
West  Indies,  at  a  cost  of  about  $825. 

Thirty-five  school-gardens,  each  connected  with  a  high  school 
where  elementary  agriculture  and  gardening  will  be  taught,  have  just 
been  estabhshed  in  the  Philippine  Islands  by  the  Board  of  Education. 

More  than  one  hundred  cities  and  towns  in  the  United  States  now 
have  school-gardens  connected  with  at  least  a  part  of  their  schools. 

School-gardens  have  been  conducted  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  since 
1849. 

New  York  City  has  appropriated  $5,000  for  maintaining  children's 
gardens  in  DeWitt  Clinton  Park  in  the  summer  of  1905. 

The  City  of  Philadelphia  set  aside  $3,500  for  maintaining  and 
establishing  children's  gardens  in  that  city.  Probably  the  largest 
school-garden  in  the  United  States,  if  not  in  the  world,  is  in  Phila- 
delphia. It  covers  four  acres  of  land,  and  1,200  children  have  a 
plot  12  X  15  feet  each.     It  is  conducted  by  the  Civic  Club. 

The  Schoolhouse  Commission  in  Boston  bought  a  lot  adjoining  the 
Hancock  School,  tore  down  the  tenement  which  stood  on  it,  fenced 
the  lot  and  turned  it  over  to  the  teachers  for  a  school-garden.  The 
Street  Department  furnished  the  sweepings  and  the  children  did  the 
work. 

Park  land  is  used  for  children's  gardens  in  New  York  City,  Boston, 
Worcester,  Mass.,  and  Hartford,  Conn. 

The  School-Garden  Association,  Station  A,  Boston,  Mass.,  has  been 
formed  to  supply  one  cent  packages  of  seed  to  school-children.  Its 
work  is  not  confined  to  any  city  or  state.  A  booklet  of  planting  in- 
structions is  sent  with  each  order. 

The  school-garden  work  at  the  School  of  Horticulture  in  Hartford, 
Conn.,  is  attracting  considerable  attention.  Besides  persons  from 
various  places  in  the  United  States  who  have  recently  visited  the 
gardens,  there  were  a  member  of  the  School  Board  from  London,. 
England,  a  lady  from  Hamburg,  Germany,  and  a  lady  from  England. 
The  latter  remained  for  six  weeks,  taking  a  regular  course. 


2  20  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

A  PLEA  FOR  THE  WILD  FLOWERS 

[Editorial  Note.— The  following  notes  from  The  Plant  World,  the  oflficial 
organ  of  the  Wild  Flower  Preservation  Society  of  America,  deserve  wide 
circulation  among  nature-study  teachers,  who  in  turn  can  reach  the 
children.] 

It  is  to  the  interest  of  everyone  that  beautiful  and  characteristic 
plants  be  guarded  from  extermination.  It  is  believed  that  every 
one  will  be  ready  to  aid  in  this  work  if  once  he  or  she  fully  realizes 
the  danger  with  which  these  plants  are  now  threatened. 

It  is  not  our  wish  to  discourage  unnecessarily  the  gathering  of 
wild  flowers  and  ferns  for  decorative  purposes.  We  ask  only  that 
they  be  picked  with  care  and  discrimination.  Such  a  flower,  for 
example,  as  the  blue-bell  should  always  be  cut  with  the  scissors 
or  a  knife,  rather  than  picked,  to  prevent  its  being  uprooted ;  and, 
even  when  cut,  care  should  be  taken  to  gather  it  only  where  it 
grows  most  abundantly,  that  no  picturesque  tuft  be  so  completely 
done  away  with  as  to  set  no  seeds  for  another  year.  Where  there 
is  an  especially  fine  plant  or  colony,  or  where  there  is  a  single 
plant  or  a  small  colony,  why  not  leave  at  least  half  the  flowers 
for  seed,  in  the  one  case  giving  nature  a  chance  to  perpetuate  and 
develop  the  best,  and  in  the  other  helping  nature  to  extend  her 
work  of  beautifying  our  surroundings  ? 

The  pink  lady's-slipper,  or  moccasin-flower,  the  purple  fringed 
orchid,  the  calopogon,  pogonia,  and  indeed  all  the  orchids,  should 
be  cut  (not  picked)  fairly  high  up  the  stem,  leaving,  whenever 
possible,  the  lower  leaves  intact. 

If  these  flowers  are  not  to  be  exterminated,  they  should  not  be 
gathered  at  all  unless  found  growing  very  abundantly,  and  then 
only  in  moderation.  Such  fragile  blossoms  are  more  effective  if 
not  heavily  massed,  but  arranged  in  a  few  sprays  by  themselves. 

From  the  purchase  of  the  rarer  flowers,  especially  of  the  purple 
fringed  orchid,  sabbatia,  fringed  gentians,  or  mayflower,  we  urge 
every  one  to  abstain.  Children  sometimes  ofifer  them  for  sale, 
innocently  enough ;  but  those  who  buy,  and  so  induce  the  gather- 
ing and  selling,  are  the  most  dangerous  enemies  of  all  rare  salable 
flowers. 

The  bunch-berry  is  another  plant  which  is  less  abundant  now 
than  it  was  a  few  years  ago,  owing,  we  fear,  to  careless  uprooting ; 
and  it  stands  in  need  of  protection. 

Ferns,  also,  should  be  picked  with  care,  and  not  too  freely. 


APPEAL    FOR    THE    BIRDS  22  1 

unless  in  spots  where  they  are  unusually  abundant.  The  same 
caution  should  be  used  against  breaking  branches  from  shrubs 
and  trees  in  so  rude  a  fashion  as  not  only  to  cause  a  temporary 
disfigurement,  but  perhaps  a  permanent  injury.  The  hobble-bush, 
whose  effective  leaves  and  brilliant  berries  decorate  gaily  the 
woods  of  late  summer,  is  frequently  a  victim  to  careless  picking. 

The  flowers  growing  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
roadside  are  a  joy  to  the  many.  Is  it  too  much  to  ask  that  these 
be  left  to  delight  the  eyes  of  the  passer-by,  and  that  the  flowers 
desired  for  decorative  purposes  be  sought  a  few  feet  from  the 
highway  or  even  from  the  trail  ?  These  roadside  plants  are  con- 
stantly enjoyed  by  those  w4io  by  reason  of  age  or  some  infirmity 
could  otherwise  never  see  them.  Were  this  once  realized,  few 
would  hesitate  to  take  the  trouble  entailed  by  half  a  dozen  extra 
steps. 

Many  of  the  most  effective  flowers  may  be  gathered,  away  from 
the  wayside,  without  fear  of  doing  any  permanent  injury.  Daisies, 
buttercups,  clover,  wild  roses,  meadow-sweet,  steeplebush,  asters, 
goldenrod,  and  other  vigorous  and  abundantly  growing  plants 
will  yield  ample  material  for  decoration,  and  may  be  gathered 
almost  with  impunity. 

To  sum  up  we  urge :  ( i )  Moderation.  ( Not  gathering  too 
many  flowers  of  the  same  kind  in  one  locality.)  (2)  Care.  (The 
use  of  scissors  or  knife.)  (3)  Judgment.  (Guarding  the  road- 
side and  conspicuous  locations.)  (4)  Occasional  total  abstinence. 
(In  case  of  especially  rare  flowers.) 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  THE  BIRDS 

Bills  to  prohibit  the  use  of  the  new  automatic  shot-gun  in  hunt- 
ing birds  will  be  introduced  in  all  Legislatures  which  convene 
next  winter.  The  New  York  Zoological  Society  and  the  League 
of  American  Sportsmen  have  decided  to  send  delegations  to  the 
Capitols  of  these  various  States,  to  urge  the  passage  of  these  bills. 
It  will  require  a  large  outlay  of  money  for  travelling  expenses, 
printing,  postage,  clerk  hire,  etc.,  to  conduct  this  campaign  prop- 
erly, and  all  persons  interested  in  the  preservation  of  song,  insec- 
tiverous,  and  game  birds,  are  requested  to  contribute  to  a  special 
fund  which  is  being  created  for  this  purpose. 

A  new  line  of  automatic  shot-guns,  consisting  of  five  different 


222  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

models,  has  lately  been  put  on  the  market  by  the  gun  trust,  which 
is  backed  by  millions  of  dollars  of  capital,  and  it  is  understood 
that  these  people  will  spend  any  amount  of  money  necessary  in 
a  desperate  effort  to  defeat  the  legislation  we  have  undertaken  to 
secure. 

The  automatic  shot-gun  is  essentially  a  market  hunter's  and  a 
pot  hunter's  weapon.  The  decent  sportsmen  of  the  country  are  a 
unit  in  opposition  to  its  use  in  the  field ;  but  it  will  require  more 
than  the  combined  efforts  of  any  one  class  of  people  to  shut  it  out 
of  the  market. 

This  appeal  is  therefore  directed  to  all  humanitarians ;  to  all 
who  believe  in  decency  and  moderation  in  the  hunting  of  birds ; 
to  all  who  believe  that  a  reasonable  number  of  our  birds  should 
be  spared  each  year  in  order  that  they  may  propagate  their 
species;  and  finally,  to  the  men  and  women  of  America  who  do 
not  believe  in  the  killing  of  birds  for  sport  at  any  time.  There 
are  strong  and  cogent  reasons  why  all  shooting  of  American 
wild  birds  should  be  prohibited,  at  least  for  a  time ;  but  this  is  im- 
possible at  present.  Then  let  us  curtail  the  killing.  Let  us  limit 
the  number  of  birds  which  any  man  may  kill  in  a  day,  and  by  all 
means  let  us  provide  by  law  that  whatever  killing  is  done  shall 
be  done  with  decent  weapons. 

There  are  good  people  in  this  country  who  are  contributing 
millions  of  dollars  every  year  for  the  establishment  of  hospitals, 
libraries,  fresh  air  homes  and  excursions  for  the  poor  of  the  great 
cities,  and  for  other  worthy  charities  and  philanthropies.  Why 
should  not  a  few  thousand  dollars  be  contributed  by  such  people 
for  the  preservation  of  the  bird  life  of  this  country?  If  poor  chil- 
dren are  to  be  sent  into  the  country  each  summer ;  if  consump- 
tives or  other  sufferers  are  to  be  sent  to  retreats  in  the  mountains 
to  escape  the  ravages  of  disease ;  why  not  provide  something  for 
the  preservation  of  birds,  in  order  that  these  invalids  or  these  poor 
children  may  be  cheered  by  songs  and  sights  which  add  to  the 
attractiveness  of  their  rural  retreats?  Why  should  not  the  insec- 
tivorous birds,  which  do  so  much  to  save  the  fruits  and  farm 
products  of  this  country,  be  protected  from  the  wretches  who  use 
automatic  shot  guns? 

The  great  libraries  are  being  provided  with  hundreds  of  books 
descriptive  of  birds  and  bird  life.  We  should  provide  that  people 
who  read  these  books  and  who  may  afterward  go  to  the  country 
may  have  a  chance  to  see  the  birds  they  have  read  about. 


NATURE-STUDY   IN   NEW   ZEALAND  223 

The  automatic  shot-gun  is  one  of  the  most  serious  menaces  ever 
instituted  against  the  bird  Hfe  of  this  country.  It  is  a  veritable 
murdering  machine.  Let  us  legislate  it  out  of  existence,  and  to 
this  extent,  at  least,  provide  for  saving  a  few  of  our  remaining 
birds  from  destruction. 

In  Europe,  where  a  careful  balance  is  maintained  between 
propagation  and  destruction,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  pro- 
hibit the  use  of  all  repeating  rifles  and  guns.  Let  us  not  be  be- 
hind Europe  in  this  same  measure. 

Checks  for  this  war  fund  should  be  made  payable  to  the  order 
of  the  New  York  Zoological  Society,  and  mailed  to  the  office  of 
its  Game  Protection  Department,  1269  Broadway,  N.  Y. 

This  appeal  is  signed  by  Henry  F.  Osborn,  Vice-President, 
Madison  Grant,  Secretary,  W.  T.  Hornaday,  Director  of  the 
New  York  Zoological  Society;  and  Ernest  T.  Seton,  Vice-Presi- 
dent, G.  O.  Shields,  President,  of  League  of  American  Sports- 
men.    [Shields'  Magazine.'] 


NATURE-STUDY  IN  NEW  ZEALAND 

The  following  suggestions  have  recently  been  issued  in  the 
form  of  a  circular  to  the  teachers  in  one  of  the  largest  education 
districts  in  the  colony.  The  suggestions  have  been  adapted  from 
an  Interim  Report  to  a  Committee  of  the  Educational  Section  of 
the  British  Association.  The  circular  is  intended  to  indicate  the 
Spirit  and  Method  in  which  teachers  are  to  conduct  nature-study, 
rather  than  to  point  out  the  subjects  to  be  dealt  with. 

Suggestions  for  Nature-Study 

Any  development  of  nature  teaching  in  the  schools  finds  an 
easy  starting-point  in  the  object-lesson.  But  the  object  must  be 
present  if  the  lesson  is  to  be  real.  If  the  elephant  can  be  repre- 
sented only  by  a  picture,  that  is  a  reason  for  giving  lessons  about 
something  else  until  it  is  possible  to  adjourn  to  a  menagerie. 
Where  flowers  or  stones  are  required,  let  them  be  provided  in 
sufficient  quantity  to  give  every  child  a  specimen.  Let  these  be 
distributed  at  once,  so  that  the  children  may  start  with  their  own 
observations.  This  will  require  training,  and  the  teacher  will 
spend  much  time  in  discussing  with  the  children  what  is  seen. 
He  can  range  where  he  likes,  provided  he  keeps  in  mind  the 


2  24  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

cardinal  principles  of  observation,  experiment,  and  the  spirit  of 
inquiry. 

A  good  way  of  ensuring  that  children  really  do  observe  is  to 
ask  them  to  make  drawings  from  the  specimens  before  them. 
Drawings  can  be  corrected  more  rapidly  by  the  teacher  than  writ- 
ten accounts ;  but  written  accounts  should  also  be  asked  for. 
Whilst  the  drawing  is  being  done,  there  ought  not  to  be  any 
sketch  on  the  blackboard  which  would  serve  as  a  guide. 

Several  teachers  of  repute  have  recently  drawn  attention  to  the 
cycle  of  the  seasons  as  the  best  ruling  idea  for  the  arrangement 
of  any  scheme  of  nature  lessons.  There  can  be  no  better  guar- 
antee that  the  teaching  really  will  be  based  on  observation  and 
experiment.  In  summer  there  is  endless  material.  In  winter  it 
is  more  difficult  to  realize  the  opportunities  of  the  moment ;  but 
the  long  nights  favour  astronomy,  the  bare  earth  suggests  geol- 
ogy, the  weather  is  always  a  source  of  anxiety  and  interest,  the 
frost  without,  and  fire  within  suggest  lessons  on  heat  and  cold. 

For  younger  children  the  topic  for  the  object-lesson  may  very 
well  be  chosen  from  week  to  week,  and  may  depend  simply  on 
what  is  most  available ;  for  the  upper  standards  will  rightly  wish 
to  plan  some  more  systematic  course.  But  this  plan  should  re- 
tain some  elasticity  in  order  to  fit  with  the  season. 

The  study  of  living  things  from  the  experimental  side  may  be 
regarded  as  suitable  for  elementary  schools.  It  satisfies  the  fol- 
lowing important  requirements : 

( 1 )  It  can  be  made  experimental,  and  most  of  the  experiments 
are  such  as  can  be  repeated  by  the  pupils.  The  experiments  are 
often  of  a  continuous  character,  and  afford  some  training  in 
measurement  and  recording.  It  is  wise  to  emphasize  the  quanti- 
tative side  of  many  of  the  experiments. 

(2)  The  subject  forms  a  connected  series  of  lessons,  the  later 
work  developing  in  right  sequence  out  of  the  earlier. 

(3)  The  experimental  teaching  in  school  is  easily  linked  to  the 
outdoor  life  of  field  and  hedgerow  with  which  country  children 
are  familiar.  Again,  it  is  illustrated  readily  by  practical  ex- 
amples drawn  from  the  work  on  the  garden  and  on  the  farm  so 
that  the  children  learn  that  school  work  may  have  a  hearing  on 
their  after  life. 

While  plant  and  animal  life  form  very  generally  suitable  indoor 
subjects  for  elementary  schools,  there  should  be  a  good  deal  of 


NATURE-STUDY   IN   NEW   ZEALAND  225 

flexibility  about  the  nature  of  the  accompanying  outdoor  work. 
With  some  teachers  gardening,  with  others  field  botany  or  geol- 
ogy, forms  the  accompaniment.  The  teacher  should  be  en- 
couraged to  develop  a  specialty  according  to  his  own  tastes  and 
the  advantages  or  restrictions  of  his  locality. 

It  is  now  within  the  power  of  teachers  to  take  the  school  out  of 
doors  for  a  lesson  and  to  count  it  in  the  time-table. 

Every  syllabus  that  includes  the  shadow  of  a  stick  at  noon  or 
the  nightly  turning  of  the  Southern  Cross  prescribes  topics  which 
it  is  impossible  to  treat  practically  in  lessons  held  at  2  130  \n  the 
afternoon.  But  this  is  just  the  reason  why  the  routine  of  school 
work  may  be  broken  to  allow  children  to  witness  interesting  or 
exceptional  natural  phenomena  the  times  of  the  occurrence  of 
which  are  not  within  our  control. 

In  schools  which  possess  a  garden  much  can  be  done  in  it  by 
the  children.  Simple  experiments  in  assimilation,  pollination, 
grafting,  &c.,  can  be  tried.  Where  classification  is  studied  the 
making  of  order  beds  by  the  children  is  a  great  assistance.  When 
it  is  impossible  to  work  in  the  garden,  experiments  may  be  carried 
on  in  window-boxes. 

Excursions  should  be  made  to  roads  and  fields  at  all  times  of 
the  year.  Even  in  towns  it  is  possible  to  study  the  branching  of 
trees  and  unfolding  of  buds  and  to  become  familiar  with  the 
aspects  of  different  trees  in  winter,  spring,  and  summer. 

To  give  definiteness  to  outdoor  work  some  questions  to  be 
answered  may  be  set  before  starting  to  talk,  and  answers  to  them 
written  out  afterwards.  Composition  should  be  correlated  with 
observation  and  experiment. 

Those  who  are  not  naturalists  by  hobby  may  do  much  to  en- 
courage children  by  giving  their  moral  support  to  the  simple  in- 
terests of  the  wayside.  Children  may  be  encouraged  to  bring 
curiosities  with  them  to  school.  Many  schools  now  have  a  rack 
of  bottles  to  receive  wild  flowers  picked  on  the  way  to  school ;  a 
slate  reserved  for  nature  notes,  where  the  first  scholar  who  sees  a 
flower,  an  insect,  a  migratory  bird,  &c.,  may  enter  the  fact.  Pots 
of  growing  seedlings  may  occupy  the  window-sills.  Aquariums 
are  always  interesting,  and  a  caterpillar  cage  might  be  tried. 

The  collecting  instinct  is  sufficiently  strong  at  the  ages  we  are 
discussing.  The  collector  is  often  a  naturalist  in  embyro ;  he  is 
therefore  to  be  led  judiciously  into  the  paths  of  progress.  In  cer- 
tain   directions — notably   bird-nesting — restraint    more    than    en- 


2  26  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

couragement  may  seem  necessary;  but  numerous  recent  books 
illustrated  by  photographs  of  birds'  nests  show  the  possibility  of 
teaching  children  to  watch  without  destroying.  The  general  line 
is  to  wean  a  boy  gently  from  mere  collecting  to  collecting  with  a 
purpose ;  to  collecting  and  observing,  and  then  to  the  collection  of 
observations  in  a  note-book  kept  for  the  purpose.  Collecting  is  a 
great  help  to  accuracy  of  observation,  and  the  boy  who  brings 
back  a  collection  of  pebbles  from  the  seashore  or  of  grasses  from 
a  field  will  know  far  more  about  what  he  carries  in  his  hand  than 
a  schoolfellow  who  has  never  troubled  to  pick  up  anything. 
Children  may  be  encouraged  to  try  how  many  different  sorts  of 
wild  flowers  they  can  find  along  a  country  road  and  to  write 
notes  on  their  differences  and  resemblances. 

The  collecting  instinct  is  a  great  motive  power,  if  rightly  di- 
rected. It  should  be  used  to  solve  special  problems  ;  and,  if  prizes 
are  offered,  they  need  not  be  for  the  largest  or  best  collection  of 
wild  flowers,  but  for  collections  illustrating  insect  pollination, 
seed  dispersal,  the  habits  of  climbing  plants,  and  so  on. 

Some  serious  defects  which  have  been  noticed  in  nature-stvidy 
teaching  as  at  present  conducted  are : 

(i)  An  attempt  is  made  to  cover  too  much  ground,  hence  ex- 
periments and  measurements  are  shirked  because  they  take  time 
and  involve  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  Experiments 
are  described  instead  of  performed,  and  a  drawing  on  the  black- 
board takes  the  place  of  realities.  This  is  the  commonest  and 
most  vicious  defect  in  such  teaching. 

(2)  Unsuitable  objects  are  often  taken,  especially  with  the 
idea  of  being  practical.  It  is  of  no  use  to  dictate  notes  on  hay- 
making to  a  class  where  there  is  no  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
process  carried  out. 

(3)  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  great  lack  of  system.  A 
lesson  on  opening  buds  is  followed  by  one  on  tadpoles  or  on  the 
motions  of  the  moon.  For  upper  standards  we  think  the  course 
should  become  more  systematic. 

(4)  When  a  definite  course  is  chosen  it  is  often  overloaded 
with  classification.  The  teacher  seems  to  have  the  fear  of  a  pos- 
sible examiner  before  him,  and  is  afraid  to  omit  anything. 
Science  is  often  supposed  to  consist  of  big  words.  "  Amaryllis, 
fruit,  a  bilocular  loculicidal  inferior  capsule  "  need  not  appear  in 
the  notebook  of  a  boy  of  thirteen.  [New  Zealand  Journal  of 
Education^ 


macbride]  philosophy    OF   NATURE  STUDY  227 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  NATURE-STUDY  —  A  REVIEW 

BY  THOMAS  H.  MACBRIDE, 
Professor  of  Botany  in  the  Iowa  State  University 

In  his  latest  book,  ''  The  Outlook  to  Nature,"^  the  distin- 
guished author,  Dr.  L.  H.  Bailey,  presents  us,  in  pleasing  form, 
four  lectures  delivered  in  January,  1905,  before  the  Twentieth 
Century  Education  Club  of  Boston.  The  book  consists,  accord- 
ingly, of  four  rather  lengthy  chapters,  each  devoted  to  a  par- 
ticular subject  or  group  of  subjects,  each  accordingly  rather  inde- 
pendent of  the  other.  In  other  words,  the  book  before  us  was 
written  for  the  platform  and  not  as  a  volume,  and  only  with  dif- 
ficulty can  the  general  title,  however  well  chosen,  be  made  to 
cover  the  whole. 

"  The  outlook  to  nature  is  the  outlook  to  what  is  real,  and 
hearty  and  spontaneous  " ;  and  the  whole  of  the  first  lecture,  en- 
titled "  The  Commonplace,"  is  a  plea  for  the  interest  which  at- 
taches to  ordinary  and  neglected  objects.  The  un-noted  crea- 
tures of  the  field  and  farm,  nor  less  the  fields  and  farms  them- 
selves— these  are  the  objects  on  which  our  lecturer  would  have  us 
lavish  our  affection.  To  such  appreciation,  literature,  particu- 
larly poetry,  is  an  aid,  although,  in  the  judgment  of  the  author, 
the  poetry  of  the  farm  is  as  yet  unwritten.  Dr.  Bailey,  however, 
is  at  his  best,  not  when  dealing  with  these  minor  objects, but  rather 
when  he  essays  those  themes  which  have  moved  the  human  heart 
in  all  the  ages ;  the  best  thing  in  the  book  is  the  description  of  a 
sunrise  on  Mt.  Shasta. 

The  second  lecture  is  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  the  relative 
advantages  of  country  and  city,  with  emphasis  on  country.  The 
several  sub-divisions, — the  garden,  why  boys  leave  the  farm, 
etc., — contain  many  excellent  and  practical  thoughts,  and  are  very 
suggestive.  Nothing  comes  amiss  in  these  lectures;  the  church, 
the  state,  politics,  economics,  the  public  health — all  are  discussed 
and  generally  with  much  sound  sense  and  wisdom. 

The  third  lecture,  "  The  School  of  the  Future,"  is  a  plea  for  the 
''  school  of  affairs."  It  is  urged  that  our  educational  methods, 
especially  in  rural  and  elementary  schools,  are  less  serviceable  be- 
cause they  have  less  to  do  with  realities,  /.  c,  with  the  material 
environment  of  the  child.     The   school   problem   as   it  presents 


^  The  Outlook  to  Nature,  by  L.  H.  Bailey.     New  York,  The  Macmillan 
Co.     1905.     Pp.  296.     $1.25. 


2  28  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

itself  in  rural  New  York  is  presented,  even  to  the  daily  schedule, 
and  discussed  at  length.  Unfortunately,  while  decrying  the 
existing  schedule  our  author  fails  to  set  up  for  us  a  better  one  to 
take  its  place,  but  discourages  us  by  the  remark : — "  I  have  no 
desire  to  prophesy  what  the  means  or  methods  of  the  schools  are 
to  be  " — this  after  a  long  chapter  of  criticism  and  many  sugges- 
tions looking  toward  wider  industrial  training.  No  doubt  our 
country  schools  may  and  must  be  made  better,  but  is  it  not  to 
students  such  as  the  author  of  this  book  that  men  are  looking  for 
some  definite,  practical  suggestions  as  to  how  the  improvement 
may  be  ushered  in  ?  It  is  no  doubt  very  true  that  all  phenomena 
and  activities  about  us  "  are  God's  agents,  relentless  and  cease- 
less," but  how  use  them?  The  stream  dashes  by  us  forever;  but 
unless  some  one  have  skill  to  make  a  wheel,  no  flour  of  wheat 
will  ever  feed  the  sons  of  men. 

The  last  chapter  in  the  volume,  "  The  Quest  of  Truth,"  is  in 
defense  of  the  theory  of  evolution.  The  chief  lines  of  argument 
supporting  the  hypothesis  are  succinctly  stated ;  and  some  objec- 
tions, chiefly  of  a  religious  nature,  are  discussed  in  an  optimistic, 
hopeful  spirit. 

The  style  of  the  volume  seems  to  us  very  unequal,  evidently 
affected  by  the  conditions  of  original  preparation  and  delivery. 
The  writer  has  his  audience  before  him,  an  audience  that  must 
perforce  be  entertained,  and  that  has,  at  least  for  the  moment,  a 
personal  interest  in  the  speaker.  This  circumstance  admits  cer- 
tain anecdotes  and  side-remarks  which  are  less  appropriate  in 
serious  discourse.  The  influence  of  Whitman  is  apparent  some- 
times, alike  in  matter  and  style,  although  in  his  better  moments 
our  author  forgets  all  masters,  and  presents  his  thought  in  a 
forceful  incisive  way. 

Dr.  Bailey's  choice  of  words  is  not  always  fortunate.  The 
critical  reader  encounters  "  headlonged  "  on  the  first  page,  used 
as  a  verb  intransitive;  he  finds  scientist  in  quotation  marks,  but 
scuddled  used  as  an  adjective  without  any  such  visible  warning. 
In  verse,  especially, — a  form  of  composition  to  which  our  author 
appears  by  no  means  disinclined, — a  certain  nicety  of  expression 
would  seem  indispensable.  Inaccuracies  to  be  overlooked  in 
hastily  written  prose  are  less  pardonable  here. 

"  How  the  earth  hung  in  its  ceaseless  place 
As  it  whirls  in  its  orbit  old." 

may  in  form  be  rhythmic  but  is  certainly  less  clear  in  sense. 


NEIV   BOOKS   AND    PAMPHLETS  229 

But  these  are  minor  defects  in  a  volume  that  will  be  read  with 
pleasure  by  very  many  to  whom  Dr.  Bailey's  argument  for  coun- 
try living  and  thinking  will  come  as  a  personal  appeal,  on  every 
page  reminding  of  those  ''  enviable  early  days,"  for  too  many  of 
us  long  gone  by.     But 


"  Whosoe'er  in  youth 
Hath  felt  his  soul  to  such  delights  give  way 
Shall  fell  congenial  stirrings  late  and  long." 


NOTES  ON  NEW  BOOKS  AND  PAMPHLETS 

Nature-Study.     By  F.  Overton  and  Mary  E.  Hill,  N.  Y.    Ameri- 
can Book  Co.     Pp.  140.     40  cents. 

This  book  consists  of  about  thirty  model  lessons  designed  for 
pupils  between  eight  and  eleven  years.  The  authors  have  care- 
fully planned  for  the  correlation  of  language  with  the  nature 
work.  The  book  is  to  be  placed  in  the  pupil's  hands,  and  the 
questions  for  independent  work  are  framed  to  call  for  immediate 
observation  only — a  plan  which  is  more  adapted  to  form  a  basis 
for  English  composition  than  to  develop  a  scientific  attitude. 

The  "  Supplementary  "  work  is  unusually  wide  in  its  range  and 
should  form  the  major  part  of  the  work,  as  it  demands  continued 
observation  and  more  reasoning  than  the  ''  Observation  "  work. 
It  will  need  a  wealth  of  material  as  well  as  careful  explanation  on 
the  part  of  the  teacher. 

The  illustrations  lack  detail  too  often  to  be  of  themselves  of 
educative  value.  There  is  a  question  whether  the  drawing  de- 
manded may  not  become  monotonous. 

As  a  rule  technical  terms  have  been  avoided.  Fewer  incorrect 
or  unscientific  statements  are  given  than  in  most  books  on  ele- 
mentary science,  but  most  of  us  will  take  exception  to  such  state- 
ments as  "the  bill  of  the  housefly"  (p.  16),  "the  petal  and  its 
seed  "  (p.  35-36),  and  "  the  sap  is  the  blood  "  (p.  66). 

Many  familiar  objects  are  interestingly  treated,  and  the  book  as 
a  whole  is  very  suggestive.  If  science  books  are  to  be  given  to 
young  pupils  this  is  one  of  the  best  yet  published. 

Jean  Broad  hurst. 

State  Normal  Model  School, 
Trenton,  N.  J. 


230  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.    1905 

How  to  Know  the  Wild  Birds.  Special  editions  for  Minnesota, 
Missouri,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Wisconsin,  New  England 
and  the  Northwest  By  D.  Lange.  Boston,  Educational 
Pub.  Co.     1905.     25c.  each. 

These  booklets  are  designated  to  fill  a  long-felt  want  for  brief 
introductions  to  birds  in  limited  localities,  especially  for  school 
use.  No  previous  knowledge  of  birds  is  needed  by  the  user  of 
these  books.  The  key  is  exceedingly  simple,  as  follows:  Land 
birds — (i)  woodpeckers  and  other  climbers,  (2)  other  birds 
marked  with  red,  (3)  birds  marked  with  yellow  or  orange,  (4) 
birds  marked  with  blue,  (5)  birds  marked  with  reddish  brown, 
(6)  birds  of  the  air,  (7)  birds  chiefly  colored  black  or  black  and 
white,  (8)  birds  chiefly  dull  colored,  (9)  birds  chiefly  colored 
slate  or  grey,  (10)  birds  colored  brown  or  streaked,  (11)  quail, 
prairie  chickens,  and  grouse,  (12)  eagles,  hawks,  and  owls. 
Water  and  Shore  Birds — (i)  large  waders,  (2)  smaller  waders 
and  shore  birds,  (3)  coots,  grebes,  gallinules,  and  loons,  (4) 
terns,  gulls,  and  cormorants,  (5)  ducks  and  geese.  The  com- 
mon species  under  these  headings  are  described  briefly  and 
simply.  Of  course  a  booklet  cannot  be  expected  to  be  satisfac- 
tory in  the  case  of  birds  difficult  to  identify,  but  these  need  not 
concern  the  beginner. 

An  introduction  gives  some  good  suggestions  regarding  iden- 
tifying birds,  "  do  not  collect  birds  or  eggs,"  care  of  injured 
birds,  and  nesting  boxes  and  protection  of  birds.  In  some  of  the 
editions  supplementary  chapters  deal  with  (i)  birds  of  the 
world's  literature — English  robin  redbreast,  skylark,  English 
blackbird,  cuckoo,  nightingale,  white  stork,  and  raven,  (2)  some 
common  birds  of  Europe  and  their  American  relatives,  and  (3) 
scientific  classification  of  the  birds  named  in  the  book. 

A  comparison  of  the  books,  for  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois  re- 
sults, as  might  be  expected,  in  the  discovery  that  the  few  birds 
credited  to  one  state  and  not  to  the  other  are  usually  rare  and 
irregular.  Perhaps  a  dozen  foot-notes  would  have  made  it  pos- 
sible to  unite  the  volumes  for  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  and 
probably  others. 

Half  Hours  with  Lower  Animals.      By     C.     F.     Holder.      New 
York,   American   Book    Co.     1905.     Pp.    236,    250    ill.     60 
cents. 
In  this,  the  latest  addition  to  the  series  of  the  Eclectic  School 


NEW   BOOKS   AND    PAMPHLETS  231 

Readings,  the  story  of  lower  animal  life,  including  the  protozoans, 
sponges,  corals,  shells,  insects,  and  crustaceans,  is  presented 
simply.  The  narrative  is  untechnical,  and  popular  in  form.  The 
volume  is  interesting  and  may  prove  useful  as  a  supplementary 
reader  in  schools.  Much  of  it  would  be  a  useful  guide  when 
spending  a  summer  at  the  seashore.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will 
never  be  used  as  a  text-book,  for  which  it  is  said  by  the  author 
to  be  adapted.  A  volume  to  follow  will  complete  the  survey  of 
the  animal  kingdom. 

Field  Studies  of  Some  Common  Plants.  Revised  Edition.  By  C. 
H.  Robison.  Published  by  author,  Mayville,  X.  D.  Part  I 
50  pp.,  paper.     25  cents. 

These  "  Outlines  "  are  intended  to  direct  pupils  in  out-door 
study.  "  They  aim  to  tell  the  student  exactly  what  to  look  at,  and 
how  to  do  so,  without  telling  him  what  he  is  expected  to  see." 

The  topics  are  foliage  leaves,  stems,  roots  and  trees  in  autumn. 
For  these  general  subjects  there  are  arranged  outlines  which  in- 
clude the  most  interesting  points  in  the  elementary  text-books  of 
botany.  The  book  is  certainly  useful  in  connection  with  high- 
school  botany  and  for  nature-study  teachers  who  wish  a  guide 
for  their  own  studies  and  suggestions  for  pupils'  work. 

A  second  part  on  "  Spring  Flower  Studies  "  is  mentioned  in 
the  preface,  but  the  reviewer  has  not  a  copy  at  hand.  No  doubt 
it  has  the  points  of  excellence  found  in  Part  I. 

Nature-Study  and  Agriculture.  Circular  No.  60,  Office  of 
Experiment  Stations  (free  upon  application  to  Department  of 
Agriculture),  deals  with  teaching  agriculture  in  rural  common 
schools  and  the  progress  of  the  movement  for  agricultural  educa- 
tion is  traced.  As  obstacles  to  general  introduction  of  agriculture 
into  rural  schools,  the  circular  cites :  conservatism  or  apathy  of 
school  officers,  teachers  with  little  or  no  normal  training,  salaries 
do  not  attract  professional  teachers,  rapid  shifting  of  teachers, 
short  terms.     The  practical  remedy  is  consolidation  of  schools. 

In  a  rural  school  with  program  of  studies  extending  over  eight 
years,  the  nature-study  should  be  in  six  years,  and  elementary 
agriculture  in  last  two  years,  each  subject  at  least  one  hour  per 
week. 

"  During  the  first  two  or  three  years  in  school  the  children  should 
spend  a  short  time  each  week  in  forming  an  acquaintance  with  the 


232  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

birds,  insects,  flowers,  trees,  and  other  animal  and  plant  life  of  the 
school-yard,  the  roadside  and  the  wayside  pastures  and  woodlots. 
This  very  pleasant  and  profitable  way  of  gaining  knowledge  has  been 
their  principal  occupation  during  the  two  or  three  years  that  they 
have  been  running  about  out  of  doors  at  home,  and  they  should  be 
encouraged  and  aided  to  extend  their  knowledge  of  the  things  in 
nature  with  which  they  are  likely  to  come  in  daily  contact  through- 
out their  lives." 

"  After  the  first  year  or  two,  the  time  depending  on  the  progress 
the  children  have  made,  more  attention  should  be  given  to  studying 
life  histories  of  plants  and  animals  (especially  birds  and  insects),  so 
that  these  may  be  recognized  in  all  stages  of  their  development,  and 
their  economic  relations  determined.  This  will  enable  the  pupils  to 
decide  whether  a  given  species  is  mainly  beneficial  or  harmful  and 
will  set  them  to  thinking  about  means  of  perpetuating  or  exterminat- 
ing the  species.  This  last  consideration  is  the  one  which  mainly 
determines  the  attitude  of  the  farmer  toward  his  field  crops,  domestic 
animals  and  fowls,  as  well  as  toward  the  weeds  and  other  pests  that 
annoy  him.  When  the  nature-study  teacher  and  her  pupils  have 
arrived  at  this  point  of  view  they  will  be  in  a  position  to  pass  over 
as  unimportant  such  details  as  color  of  hair,  length  and  number  of 
teeth,  number  of  leaves,  length  of  petioles  and  internodes,  and  a  hun- 
dred other  peculiarities  of  plants  and  animals,  except  as  these  pecu- 
liarities have  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  perpetuation  of  the  species  or 
upon  their  usefulness  or  harmfulness  to  man." 

With  regard  to  elementary  agriculture :  "  A  well-arranged  and  up- 
to-date  text-book,  with  illustrations  and  suggestions  for  practical  ex- 
ercises, should  be  adopted  as  a  basis  for  this  study.  .  .  .  The  instruc- 
tion in  the  classroom  should  be  supplemented  by  simple  experiments 
with  soils,  plants,  and  animals  both  at  school  and  at  home." 

Many  other  points  in  this  pamphlet  will  interest  teachers. 

School-Gardens.  A  valuable  report  on  the  cooperative  work 
between  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  normal 
schools  of  Washington,  with  good  notes  on  school-garden  meth- 
ods in  fifteen  other  cities,  is  printed  as  Bulletin  No.  160,  Ofifice  of 
Experiment  Stations.  The  price  is  10  cents;  for  sale  by  Super- 
intendent of  Documents,  Washington. 


-      EDITORIALS  233 

EDITORIALS 

HELPING  BEGINNERS  IN  NATURE-STUDY  TEACHING 

In  various  forms  from  several  hundred  persons  has  come  the 
question  whether  The  Nature-Study  Review  is  valuable  for  the 
general  teachers  in  the  elementary  schools  as  well  as  for  those 
readers — officers,  special  directors,  high-school  teachers  of  sci- 
ence, and  college  professors — who  are  interested  in  nature-study 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  supervisor.  One  principal  of  a  school 
in  a  small  town  writes :  "  Nature-study  has  been  introduced  into 
our  school.  Our  teachers  know  nothing  about  it,  and  many  of 
them  can  scarcely  distinguish  a  grasshopper  from  a  potato-beetle. 
If  The  Nature-Study  Review  will  give  these  teachers  the  help 
needed,  we  will  subscribe  for  several  copies."  Essentially  the 
same  thought  is  expressed  in  more  than  a  hundred  other  letters 
from  teachers  who  admit  that  they  feel  totally  unprepared  for  na- 
ture-study teaching. 

Now,  it  must  be  obvious  to  all  experts  in  nature-study  that  a 
magazine  can  not  offer  the  best  form  of  instruction  for  teachers 
who  are  beginners  in  both  the  subject-matter  and  the  teaching  of 
nature-study.  Such  persons  will  certainly  do  best  to  study  first 
the  subject-matter,  with  instructors  if  possible,  otherwise  with  the 
guidance  of  some  of  the  many  books  and  leaflets  intended  for 
beginners.  But  those  beginners  who  are  earnestly  striving  to  ad- 
vance as  far  as  possible  will  surely  find  much  of  interest  and 
value  in  this  magazine,  especially  in  the  practical  articles  which 
are  published  in  every  issue  and  which  in  the  future  will  be  more 
abundant.  The  editors  are  doing  their  best  to  make  The  Re-, 
VIEW  interesting  and  useful  to  all  groups  of  readers,  beginjiis^s  as 
well  as  experts ;  but  to  undertake  to  make  it  take  the  place  of 
training-school  courses  for  nature-study  teachers  would  be  as  ab- 
surd as  substituting  a  few  volumes  of  education  reports  and 
journals  for  a  regular  program  of  studies  in  a  normal  school. 
Educational  journals  are  commonly  regarded  as  valuable  for  pro- 
gressive teachers  rather  than  for  those  who  are  preparing  to  be- 
gin teaching. 

A.  MAGAZINE  FOR  THE  LEADERS  OF  NATURE-STUDY 

It  must  be  clear  from  the  foregoing  that  The  Review  aims 
primarily  to  reach  the  teachers  who  have  already  made  some 
progress  in  nature-study  and  its  teaching.     But  above  all,  it  must 


234  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   i.;o5 

aim  to  be  the  organ  for  exchange  of  ideas  from  the  leaders  of 
nature-study.  By  leaders  we  do  not  mean  simply  the  few  people 
in  a  state  who  write  articles,  lecture,  and  conduct  institute  classes 
in  nature-study,  but  also  the  teachers  and  officers  who  set  out  to 
advance  the  nature-study  work  in  their  own  schools.  Almost 
every  school  has  a  leader  in  the  nature-study  work.  In  addition 
to  these  leaders  actually  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  elementary 
schools,  there  are  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  several  hun- 
dred instructors  in  normal  schools  and  colleges  who  are  in- 
terested or  engaged  in  the  work  of  training  teachers.  For  all 
these  leaders  in  the  nature-study  movement  The  Review  is  of  in- 
terest, because  it  stands  for  progress  in  nature-study.  Papers  on 
"  Relation  of  Nature-Study  and  Natural  Science,"  ''  Criticisms  of 
Nature-Study,"  ''  Educational  Aims  and  Values  of  Nature- 
Study,"  and  similar  topics  will  probably  be  of  little  interest  to  any 
but  the  leaders  and  special  teachers  of  nature-study;  but  judging 
from  comments  so  far  received  many  of  these  agree  with  the 
editors  that  such  discussions  of  fundamental  problems  deserve  to 
form  a  prominent  part  of  the  contents  of  this  journal  in  its  first 
year. 

EDUCATIONAL   DISCUSSIONS  AND  SUBJECT-MATTER  OF   NATURE-STUDY 

For  the  reasons  stated  above  we  have  made  educational  discus- 
sion prominent  in  this  first  volume,  and  subject-matter  has  been 
somewhat  neglected.  The  time  has  now  come  when  it  seems 
wise  to  devote  considerable  space  to  the  facts,  and  henceforth  the 
editors  will  welcome  articles  and  notes  which  give  information 
concerning  natural  things  of  interest  in  connection  with  nature- 
study.  A  beginning  in  this  line  is  made  this  month  in  the  new 
department  entitled  "  Nature  Notes." 

OPINIONS  OF  READERS  WANTED 

The  Review,  like  every  other  magazine,  may  be  improved  by 
suggestions  from  its  readers.  Please  write  to  the  Managing 
Editor  your  views  as  to  the  material  published.  Even  a  ''  sen- 
sible abusive  "  letter,  recently  suggested  by  a  popular  magazine, 
may  be  helpful,  especially  if  it  suggests  something  which  readers 
want. 

GUIDE   TO   PERIODICAL   LITERATURE. 

[Editorial  Note. — The  unexpected  delay  in  publishing  this  number 
has  made  it  desirable  that  the  ''  Guide  "  be  omitted  and  brought  nearly  up 
to  date  in  the  next  number.] 


NATURE   NOTES  235 

NATURE  NOTES 

[Editorial  Note. — As  shown  by  our  "  Guide  to  Periodical  Literature," 
many  interesting  articles  on  the  natural  history  of  plants  and  animals  ap- 
pear in  various  popular  and  scientific  magazines.  Probably  few  readers 
of  this  magazine  are  able  to  read  even  one-half  of  the  articles  whose  titles 
are  attractive.  In  order  to  make  the  most  interesting  facts  available  to 
busy  teachers,  The  Nature-Study  Review  will  undertake  to  publish,  as  a 
regular  department,  brief  abstracts  of  many  articles  on  natural  history  and 
science.  Readers  are  invited  to  help  with  this  department  by  suggesting 
articles  deserving  notes,  or  by  sending  abstracts  ready  for  printing.] 

The  Stupidity  of  Bees.  A  writer  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Out- 
look calls  attention  to  the  "  ignorance  or  stupidity  "  of  honey-bees, 
citing  such  facts  as  the  lack  of  concerted  action  in  pulling  and  tug- 
ging, and  failure  to  cooperate  in  releasing  comrades  from  spiders' 
v^ebs;  but  in  building  comb  "every  one  helps  his  neighbor  in  building 
a  cell,"  and  it  is  v^ell  known  that  there  is  plenty  of  concerted  action 
in  defending  the  hive  against  intruders.  As  another  example  of 
"  stupidity "  the  author  cites  the  fact  that  the  bees  "  do  not  know 
enough  "  to  stay  in  the  hive  on  cold  but  sunshiny  days  and  thousands 
venture  out  and  perish. 

All  students  of  the  bees  will  certainly  not  agree  that  the  above 
facts  indicate  "  stupidity."  Entanglement  in  a  spider's  web  is  a  rare 
accident,  not  a  regular  event,  in  the  life  of  bees,  and  one  fails  to  see 
how  an  instinct  leading  to  united  efTort  in  attempted  release  of  an 
entangled  companion  could  be  of  any  advantage  in  a  colony  of  50,000 
individuals.  The  instinct  to  go  about  their  routine  business,  leaving 
the  entangled  individual  to  its  fate,  certainly  is  most  valuable  so  far 
as  the  community  as  a  whole  is  concerned.  Not  so  in  building  comb 
and  defending  the  hive.  Here  are  events  upon  which  depend  the  fate 
of  the  colony,  not  simply  of  a  few  individuals,  and  instincts  have  been 
developed  accordingly.  And  so  with  regard  to  every  other  act  which 
is  important  for  the  colony  as  a  whole  we  find  instincts  which  have 
led  writers  to  comment  on  the  "  marvellous  intelligence "  of  bees. 
The  facts  which  suggest  "  stupidity  "  really  go  to  prove  that  bees  are 
machines,  rather  than  intelligent  organisms,  and  that  the  machines 
are  "  wound  up  "  with  instincts  which  cause  them  to  run  for  the  good 
of  the  community,  perhaps  neglecting  the  individual.  A  modern 
psychologist  of  the  Lloyd  Morgan  school  would  deny  that  bees  are 
"  stupid,"  for  this  implies  intelligence,  which  insects  apparently  do 
not  possess. 

With  regard  to  flying  out  in  mid-winter,  it  seems  probably  that  this 
is  due  to  abnormal  conditions.  It  is  well  known  that  bees  kept  in 
cellars  in  winter  often  get  restless  owing  to  the  over-loading  of  the 
intestine  during  the  long  confinement  and  a  "  cleansing  flight  "  on  a 


236  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.   1905 

bright,  sunny  day  is  recommended  by  keepers  as  a  sure  cure  for  the 
restlessness.  It  is  doubtful  whether  thousands  would  venture  out  and 
perish  if  the  hive  allowed  freedom  of  exit  at  all  times  and  was  prop- 
erly managed  and  protected  so  as  to  prevent  intestinal  disorders  of 
the  bees.     The  case  appears  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  "  stupidity." 

Tree  Planting  by  Railroads.  The  rapidly  diminishing  supply  of 
timber  for  wooden  cross-ties,  as  a  substitute  for  which  metal  has  so 
far  failed,  has  led  the  managers  of  several  great  railroads  to  under- 
take the  planting  of  trees  to  supply  ties.  The  Pennsylvania  is  plant- 
ing the  yellow  locust  and  certain  western  railroads  the  catalpa.  Dur- 
ing this  year  the  Pennsylvania  plans  to  extend  its  plantations  to  more 
than  100,000,000  trees;  but  these  if  fully  grown  would  supply  ties  to 
this  single  railroad  system  for  less  than  three  years.  It  is  said  that 
in  order  to  have  a  constant  supply  for  the  future  this  railroad  must 
set  more  than  a  thousand  acres  with  trees  each  year. 

The  Oldest  Oak.  The  famous  old  oak  at  Cowthorpe,  England,  is 
the  subject  of  an  interesting  article  in  the  August  Plant  World.  The 
tree  has  long  been  supposed  to  be  over  1600  years  old.  In  1700  it 
was  80  feet  high  and  78  feet  in  circumference  at  the  ground.  It  is 
now  smaller,  owing  to  decay,  and  probably  can  not  live  much  longer. 
Comparing  with  other  oaks,  the  trustworthy  evidence  is  that  the  tree 
is  not  over  500  years  old,  instead  of  1600,  estimated  on  the  theory 
that  oaks  grow  one-twelfth  inch  per  year — a  statement  now  known  to 
be  inaccurate,  because  individual  trees  vary  and  young  trees  grow 
faster  than  old  trees. 

The  Gypsy  Moth.  This  imported  (1868)  insect  which  has  for 
years  been  a  pest  in  eastern  Massachusetts,  the  caterpillars  destroy- 
ing the  foliage  of  fruit  and  shade  trees  and  causing  great  annoyance 
to  human  individuals  with  whose  skin  they  came  into  contact,  is 
again  attracting  attention.  In  1900  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture 
abandoned  the  war  against  the  moth,  which  in  ten  years  (1890-1900) 
cost  the  State  over  a  million  dollars.  As  competent  entomologists 
expected,  the  insect  has  developed  rapidly  since  the  work  of  suppres- 
sion was  stopped.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  exterminate  this  intro- 
duced species,  and  "  eternal  vigilance  "  will  be  necessary.  To  ensure 
this  there  is  needed  legislation  which  will  organize  the  fight  on  a 
permanent  basis,  and  a  bill  which  has  been  introduced  to  the  legis- 
lature provides  for  cooperation  of  the  State  municipalities  and  prop- 
erty owners. 

Quacks  Among  Plant  Doctors.  Professor  Bessey,  writing  in  the 
August  Plant  World,  on  Plant  Pathology,  advises  that  all  patent 
medicines  advertised  to  cure  plant  diseases  be  avoided.  Write  to 
your  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  free  and  the  best 
advice.  Among  the  causes  of  common  plant  diseases,  the  author 
cites  (i)  thirst — deficiency  of  water,  (2)  starvation — lack  of  proper 


NATURE   NOTES  237 

food,  (3)  poisoning  from  gases  of  the  air  (in  cities)  and  harmful 
substances  in  soil  {e.  g.,  excess  of  common  salt),  (4)  wounds  allow- 
ing entrance  of  injurious  organisms,  especially  fungi,  (5)  loss  of 
necessary  parts  (e.  g.,  leaves  and  roots  destroyed  by  insects),  (6) 
fungi,  the  most  fruitful  cause  of  disease  (e.  g.,  blotches  on  fruits  and 
leaves,  rotting  of  plants  internally  and  externally).  It  is  this  last 
class  of  plant  diseases  which  requires  medicinal  treatment — most 
commonly  by  chemicals  sprayed  over  affected  parts. 

Flowers  which  do  not  open.  A  recent  paper  (reviewed  in  July 
Plant  World)  by  the  German  botanist  Goebel,  cites  facts  which  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  cleistogamous  flowers  are  due  to  insufficient 
nutrition,  and  not  caused  by  the  lack  of  pollinating  agencies,  as  has 
been  commonly  supposed.  In  other  words,  such  flowers  as  the  closed 
gentian  originally  failed  to  "  grow  open  "  because  of  insufficient  suit- 
able food  and  not  as  a  response  to  a  demand  for  special  adaptation 
made  necessary  because  insects  for  pollination  were  wanting. 

City  People  in  the  Country.  According  to  the  passenger  agents  of 
several  of  the  great  railroad  systems  centering  in  New  York,  the 
present  season  has  witnessed  an  unprecedented  exodus  to  the  country 
for  the  summer,  particularly  of  people  of  moderate  means.  And  an 
especially  gratifying  feature  of  this  exodus,  noted  by  these  same 
agents,  is  the  largely-increased  number  of  people  who  are  either 
buying  or  renting  small  houses  surrounded  by  a  few  acres  of  land  for 
gardening  and  light  farming.  One  agent  declares  that  the  demand 
for  these  small  plots  along  his  line,  convenient  to  the  city,  is  far  in 
excess  of  the  supply.  "  They  all  want  a  house  with  a  garden,"  said 
one  of  these  men,  "  and  the  bigger  the  garden,  the  better  it  suits," 
How  much  more  sensible  and  conducive  to  the  comfort,  pleasure  and 
health  of  a  family  is  a  vacation  spent  on  one  of  these  small  farms 
than  in  the  ordinary  country  hotel  or  boarding-house  need  hardly  be 
said.  And  where  the  distance  from  the  city  and  other  conditions  are 
such  as  to  permit  a  man  of  family  to  make  his  permanent  home  in  one 
of  these  rural  localities,  where  he  may  have  a  bit  of  ground  to  till 
in  his  leisure  hours  and  days,  the  arrangement  is  still  happier  and 
more  advantageous  all  around. — Leslie's  Weekly. 

Why  our  Common  Weeds  are  Introduced  Species.  The  fact  that 
practically  all  the  weeds  seen  growing  in  vacant  lots,  along  roadsides, 
in  cultivated  and  uncultivated  fields  in  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
are  introduced  species,  is  known  to  botanists ;  but  the  reason  why 
these  introduced  plants  should  become  weeds  and  our  own  should 
not,  is  not  so  generally  known  or  thought  of.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
Botanical  Branch  of  the  Ottawa  Field-Naturalists'  Club  held  last  win- 
ter. Professor  John  Macoun  explained  the  matter  to  everyone's  satis- 
faction. Ontario  and  other  parts  of  Canada  were  heavily  wooded 
before  the  settler  came  and  the  native  plants  grew  in  the  woods,  along 


2^S  THE  NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW         [i,  5,  sept.  1905 

the  rivers'  banks  or  in  the  marshes.  When  the  woods  were  cleared 
away,  the  conditions  were  not  favorable  to  the  woodland  species  and 
they  disappeared ;  but  in  their  stead  were  found  the  weeds  introduced 
from  Great  Britain  and  Europe,  where  for  centuries  they  have  been 
growing  in  field,  in  hedgerow,  and  along  the  roadside.  These,  find- 
ing suitable  conditions,  have  multiplied  with  great  rapidity  in  Canada. 
— Ottawa  Naturalist. 

The  Light-Perceiving  Organs  of  Plants.  A  German  botanist.  Pro- 
fessor Haberlandt,  has  recently  published  a  book  on  this  subject.  It 
is  well  known  that  many  leaves  can  place  themselves  at  right  angles 
to  the  light  rays  which  strike  therii.  The  problems  of  this  book  are 
concerned  with  the  explanation  of  how  the  leaves  turn  and  curve  to 
get  into  the  proper  position  with  relation  to  light.  First,  Haberlandt 
shows,  by  covering  leaves  with  opaque  paper,  that  the  leaf-blade  is 
most  sensitive  to  light,  and  next  comes  the  leaf-stalk.  In  the  epider- 
mis covering  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaf,  Haberlandt  finds  the  pecu- 
liar cells  which  he  considers  light-perceiving  organs.  He  compares 
them  with  the  single  eyes  of  certain  backboneless  animals,  and  cer- 
tainly the  lens-shaped  structures  do  suggest  "  eyes."  A  striking  ex- 
periment with  nasturtium  leaves  showed  that  the  natural  waxy  leaves, 
which  are  unwettable,  will  change  position,  when  Hght  falls  obliquely, 
but  after  washing  off  the  wax  with  weak  alcohol  (said  not  to  injure 
the  leaves,  but  one  feels  doubtful)  the  leaves  do  not  turn.  This  sug- 
gested to  the  author  the  interesting  theory  that  the  waxy  "  bloom  " 
and  "  velvety  "  of  leaves  saves  them  from  being  "  blinded  "  by  rain. 
Of  course,  all  such  pioneer  work  requires  more  study  before  it  can 
be  regarded  as  established  science.  Some  American  botanists  have 
expressed  their  skepticism  concerning  these  statements. 

Game  Protection.  The  well-known  leader  in  the  national  move- 
ment for  the  protection  of  game  animals,  Mr.  G.  O.  Shields,  has 
started  a  new  monthly  magazine.  Shields'  Magazine,  which  will  be 
"devoted  to  game  protection,  nature-study  [popular],  and  all  legiti- 
mate indoor  and  outdoor  sports."  The  editor  proposes  to  continue 
the  work  of  securing  better  laws  and  their  enforcement  against  the 
butchers  of  game  animals.  It  will  be  the  official  organ  of  the  League 
of  American  Sportsmen,  of  which  Mr.  Shields  is  the  founder  and 
president.  The  magazine  takes  the  place  of  Recreation,  which  Mr. 
Shields  founded  and  conducted  until  last  January,  when  bankruptcy 
proceedings  (said  by  Mr.  Shields  to  have  been  instigated  by  enemies 
made  by  his  stand  for  game  protection)  forced  the  magazine  into  the 
hands  of  another  editor  and  publisher.  Shields'  Magazine  will,  obvi- 
ously, be  the  new  series  of  the  old  Recreation  as  we  have  known  it 
for  years.  We  wish  it  success  in  the  fight  for  protection  of  our  game 
animals  against  the  butchers  who  hunt  "  out  of  season  "  and  with  the 
barbarous  modern  rapid-fire  guns. 


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E.  G.  CoNKLiN,  Director  of  Zoological  Department,  University  of  Penna. 

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Mrs.  F.  N.  Doubleday  (Neltje  Blanchan),  Author-Lecturer,  New  York  City. 

W.  F.  Ganong,  Professor  of  Botany,  Smith  College,  Northampton,  Mass. 

W.  S.  Hall,  Professor  of  Physiology,  Northwestern  University,  Chicago. 

W.  Hallock,  Professor  of  Physics,  Columbia  University. 

W.  M.  Hays,  Director  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Minnesota. 

H.  D.  Hemenway,  Director  of  Hartford  (Conn.)  School  of  Horticulture. 

E.  H:  HoLDBN,  Formerly  Director  of  Lick  Observatory,    Librarian  of  \Vest 

Point  Military  Academy. 
W.  G.  HoRMELL,  Professor  of  Physics,  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  Delaware,  O. 
W.  T.  HoRNADAY,  Director  of  New  York  Zoological  Park. 
W.  S.  Jackman,  Principal  of  Elementary  School,  University  of  Chicago. 
O.  P.  Jenkins,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Stanford  University,  Cal. 
V.  L.  Kellogg,  Professor  of  Entomology,  Stanford  University. 

D.  Lange,  Supervisor  of  Nature-Study,  St.  Paul  CMinn.)  schools. 

F.  E.    Lloyd,   Adjunct   Professor  of  Biology,    Teachers    College,  Columbia 

University. 
W.  Lochhead,  Professor  of  Biology,  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 
W.  A.  LocY,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111. 
T.  H.  Macbride,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa  City. 
Alice  G.  McCloskey,  Instructor,  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University. 
A.  H.  MacKay,  Superintendent  of  Education,  Nova  Scotia,  Halifax    N.  S. 
Chas.  a.  McMurry,  Professor  of  Pedagogy,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 
F.  M.  McMurry,    Professor  of    Elementary    Education,    Teachers    College, 

Columbia  Univ»2rsity. 
J.  P.  MuNSON,  Professor  of  Biology,  State  Normal  School,  Ellensburg,  Wash. 
Fred.  Mutchler,  Institute  Worker  and  Assistant  in  Biology,  Clark  University. 
J.  G.  Needham,  Professor  of  Biology,  Lake  Forest  University,  Lake  Forest,  111. 
H.  Newman,  Principal  of  Public  School  33,  New  York  City. 
J.  E.  Peabody,  Instructor  in  Biology,  Morris   High  School,  New  York    City. 
Clara  M.  Russell,  New  York  State  Normal  College,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
P.  W.  Search,  Lecturer,  Worcester,  Mass. 

S.  B.  Sinclair,  Vice- Principal  of  Normal  School,  Ottawa,  Canada. 
J.  W.  Spencer,  Supervisor  of  Bureau  of  Nature-Study,  Cornell  University. 
W.  E.  Stark,  Principal  of  High  School,  Ethical  Culture  School,  New  York. 
F.  L.  Stevens,  Professor  of  Biology  in  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture, 
Ada  Watterson,  Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 
C  M.  Weed,  Professor  in  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture,  Durham. 
Mrs.  L.  L.  Wilson,  Director  of  Biology,  Philadelphia  Normal  College. 


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REVIEW 


Vol.  I,  No.  6 


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DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
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CONTENTS 

PACK 

The  Communal   Life  of  Ants.     Illustrated.     Adele  M.  Fielde 239 

Study  of  Deciduous  Trees  in  Winter.     Clarence  M.  Weed      251 

The  Children's  School  Farm  in  New  York  City.     Illustrated.     Fannie  Griscom 

Parsons   ...        , 255 

Temperance  Physiology  Sixty-six  Years  Ago.     M.  A.  Bigklow .    .  261 

Plants  That  Hide  From  Animals.     M.  A.  Bigelow 262 

Facts  Discovered  by  Children.     Marion  S.  Carter 266 

Book  Reviews  :  Special  Methods  in  Elementary  Science — First  Book  of  Farm- 
ing— The  Nature-Study  Course — Cornell  Leaflets 268 

Guide  to  Periodical  Literature.     Ada  Watterson  Yerkes 272 

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News  Notes 278 

Index  to  Volume  I .  


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FROM  GREAT  BRITAIN 

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FROM  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 

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Bardwell,  District  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City. 
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(  Contimied  on  tJic  third  cover  page. ) 


L. 

C. 

C. 

L. 

J. 

A. 

E. 

A 

D 

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F. 

A. 

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THE 

NATURE-STUDY  REVIEW 

DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES  OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
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Vol.  I  NOVEMBER,   1905  No.  6 

THE   COMMUNAL   LIFE   OF   ANTS 

BY  ADELE  M.  FIELDE 

[Editorial  Note.— In  No.  i  of  this  journal  there  was  pubhshed  a  de- 
scription of  the  ant-nests  used  by  Miss  Fielde  in  her  researches.  Readers 
who  constructed  the  nests  and  stocked  them  have  requested  information 
concerning  the  habits  of  the  insects.  There  is  no  popular  account  of  the 
communal  life  of  ants  in  the  publications  commonly  available  for  teach- 
ers and  students,  and  hence  the  present  paper  will  be  a  valuable  contribution 
to  nature-study  literature.  Very  many  of  the  points  in  this  paper  may  be 
easily  verified  by  careful  observation  of  ants  kept  in  the  nests  already  men- 
tioned. In  other  numbers  of  The  Review  writers  have  urged  that  bees 
are  suitable  for  schoolroom  observation;  but  this  and  the  earlier  paper  by 
Miss  Fielde  make  it  evident  that  the  closely  allied  ants  arq  scarcely  in- 
ferior to  the  bees  as  subjects  for  schoolroom  studies.] 

Among  the  four  thousand  known  species  of  ants  the  colors 
range  from  pale  yellow^  through  red,  brow^n  and  gray  to  the 
intensest  black,  sometimes  with  parti-colored  bands,  and  sometimes 
with  iridescent  tints  of  blue,  green  or  purple.  In  size  they  vary 
according  to  species  from  that  of  a  needle  point  to  a  length  of 
two  inches.  Ants  do  not  grow  after  hatching,  the  stature  of  each 
individual  being  determined  while  in  the  larval  stage  for  its 
whole  lifetime. 

The  ant  begins  its  life  in  an  Qgg,  which  resembles  a  small  pearl. 
The  eggs  are  viscid  on  their  surfaces,  and  the  ants  put  them 
together  so  that  they  will  adhere  in  packets,  which  may  be  car- 
ried to  parts  of  the  nest  offering  suitable  warmth,  darkness  and 
humidity.  After  a  period  of  about  twenty  days  for  incubation, 
there  issues  from  the  tgg  a  glossy,  white  larva  that  is  transversely 
marked  by  twenty  slight  constrictions  and  that  has  hooks  upon 
its  surface  permitting  it  to  be  securely  attached  to  its  fellows  so 


Camponotus  pennsylvanicus.  Magnified  four  diameters.  A  winged  queen;  one  major  worker 
(lower  right) ;  three  minor  workers;  two  males  (on  left),  one  showing  the  dorsal  side  and  wings  and 
one  the  ventral  side  (lower  left) ;  cocoons,  with  a  worker-ant  hatching  from  one  of  them  ;  a  naked 
pupa  (near  major  worker)  and  several  larvae.  A  minor  worker  is  carrying  a  larva  (upper  right). 
Photographed  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Hubbard  and  Dr.  O.  S.  Strong  at  the  Marine  Biological  Laboratory, 
Woods  Holl. 


fielde]  communal    LIFE    OF    ANTS  241 

that  an  ant-nurse  can  conveniently  carry  a  bundle  of  a  dozen  or 
more  larv?e,  holding  the  bundle  in  her  mandibles,  her  jaws. 

At  the  smaller  end  of  the  larva  there  is  a  mouth,  and  the  young 
larvae  are  so  placed  that  their  mouths  project  from  all  sides  of 
the  bundle.  I  have  often  seen  two  or  three  ant-workers  engaged 
in  supporting  a  bundle  of  young  larvae  high  above  the  floor  on 
which  they  stood,  while  a  fourth  ant,  carrying  a  drop  of  regurgi- 
tated food  on  the  end  of  her  tongue,  passed  along  from  one 
larval  mouth  to  another,  allowing  the  ant-babies  successively  to 
suck  their  fill  from  the  regurgitated  drop. 

As  the  larvae  grow  older  the  hooks  drop  off  and  the  larvae  are 
laid  in  groups,  assorted  in  accordance  with  size,  on  the  floor  of 
the  nest.  Morsels  of  insect  flesh  are  sometimes  laid  by  the  ant- 
nurses  upon  the  chests  of  the  larvae,  who  bend  their  necks  and 
partake  of  this  succulent  food  much  as  a  human  infant  imbibes 
its  bottle  of  milk. 

The  length  of  the  larval  stage  of  the  ant  varies  greatly  with 
temperature  and  nourishment,  sometimes  being  as  brief  as  twelve 
days,  sometimes  extending  to  many  months.  When  the  larva 
has  grown  to  the  bulk  of  an  adult  ant  of  its  species,  it  becomes 
lethargic  for  a  few  days,  then  bursts  its  outer  skin,  and  appears 
as  a  snow-white,  soft,  snugly-folded  ant.  This  pupa  may  be 
naked  or  may  be  inclosed  in  a  cocoon  spun  by  the  larva  just 
previous  to  its  period  of  repose. 

The  pupa-stage  is  passed  in  about  twenty  days  and  toward  the 
close  of  this  period  the  colors  of  the  adult  are  gradually  assumed. 
Then  comes  the  beginning  of  active  life,  with  a  twitching  of  the 
legs  and  a  wriggling  of  the  head,  that  calls  the  attention  of  the 
ant-nurses  and  secures  from  them  such  help  as  may  be  necessary 
in  freeing  the  young  ant  from  its  outer  membrane,  or  for  the 
unfolding  of  its  limbs.  It  is  cleansed,  fed,  cuddled,  and  tended 
with  surpassing  assiduity.  The  callow,  the  newly  hatched  ant,  is 
usually  paler  in  color  than  its  adolescent  relatives,  but  it  soon 
acquires  the  hues  and  the  vigor  of  complete  maturity.  When 
but  a  few  hours  old,  the  callow^  worker  begins  its  life-long  labor 
in  the  care  of  the  eggs,  larvae  and  pupae. 

Ants  may  be  either  male  or  female ;  and  females  may  be  either 
queens  or  workers.  Workers  may  have  different  forms  and  be 
designated  as  majors,  minors  or  minims.     Whether  the  ant  be 


Camponotus  castaneus  americanus,  slightly  magnified,  showing  five  workers  engaged  in  the  regur- 
gitation of  food  to  their  comrades,  and  four  winged  queens.  From  a  photograph  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Hub- 
bard and  Dr.  O.  S.  Strong.     From  the  Biological  Bulletin,  Vol.  VII,  p.  306. 


FiELDE]  COMMUNAL    LIFE    OF    ANTS  243 

male  or  female  depends  on  the  tgg  in  which  it  has  its  origin.  If 
the  egg  be  unimpregnated,  its  issue  will  be  a  male  ant ;  but  if 
it  be  impregnated  its  issue  will  be  a  female  ant.  Whether  the 
female  become  a  queen  or  a  worker  depends  on  the  feeding  of  the 
larva,  the  quality  and  quantity  of  nutriment  required  for  the 
making  of  a  queen  being  a  secret  known  only  to  the  ant-nurses. 

Male  ants  are  always  winged,  and  are  generally  smaller  than 
their  queens.  They  are  comparatively  short  lived,  maturing  a 
few  days  after  hatching,  and  dying  after  a  few  weeks  or  months. 
None  has  been  known  to  live  longer  than  a  year. 

The  queen  is  winged  at  her  hatching ;  but  loses  her  wings  after 
mating.  Under  the  attraction  of  the  warmth  and  light  dis- 
covered at  the  exits  of  the  nest  at  swarming-time,  she  goes  forth 
into  the  bright  summer  world,  meets  her  mate,  seeks  a  congenial 
habitation,  drops  her  wings,  and  becomes  the  founder  of  a  new 
community.  She  lays  a  few  eggs  in  the  safe  seclusion  of  her 
abode,  feeds  the  larvae  with  regurgitations  from  her  own  internal 
store,  and  takes  competent  care  of  her  first  brood  until  the  young 
workers  are  able  to  make  their  way  into  the  surrounding  area  to 
forage  for  themselves  and  bring  food  to  their  queen-mother. 
With  the  assistance  of  her  first  brood  of  daughters,  who  are 
always  few  in  number  and  diminutive  in  stature,  the  queen  rears 
a  second  brood,  greater  in  number  and  larger  in  size.  As  the 
years  pass  the  community  grows  ever  more  populous,  the  daugh- 
ter-queens ordinarily  going  away  to  found  new  colonies,  while 
the  daughter-workers,  wingless  and  devoted  to  domestic  duties, 
increase  to  millions  in  the  ancestral  nest.  A  single  community 
of  ants  sometimes  occupies  an  area  hundreds  of  yards  in  extent, 
although  there  are  species  of  ants  of  which  the  colonies  are  always 
small.  In  summer  they  go  far  afield  foraging  for  supplies,  and 
assiduously  rear  their  young.  In  autumn  they  retire  with  their 
larvae  into  the  deeper  recesses  of  their  dwellings  and  there 
hibernate  until  spring. 

Queens  may  live  so  long  as  fifteen  years,  continuing  to  lay 
eggs  and  to  rear  daughter-ants.  Workers  may  live  several  years, 
and  may  lay  eggs. 

Every  species  of  ant  may  be  considered  as  hostile  to  every 
other  species.  This  mutual  aversion  is  based  on  differences  in 
odor,  all  unfamiliar  ant-odors  being  offensive  to  ants.  If  a  few  ants 
of  one  species  are  crushed  upon  a  bit  of  sponge,  their  specific  odor 


244 


THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW 


[i,  6,  NOV.   1905 


may  sometimes  be  discerned  even  by  human  nostrils.  The  odor 
may  be  acid,  acrid,  rancid,  musty,  pungent,  or  Hke  that  of  some 
vegetable  or  animal  oil.     It  arises  from  a  substance  exuded  by 


Camponotus  pennsylvanicus  worker.  Magnification  six  diameters.  From  a  photograph  taken  by 
Mr.  J.  G  Hubbard  and  Dr.  O.  S  Strong,  and  retouched  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Macgregor.  From  the  Bio- 
logical  Bulletin,  Vol.  VII,  p.  308. 


the  ants,  and  it  may  be  transferred  from  one  ant  to  another^  either 
by  smearing  one  ant  with  the  juices  of  another,  or  by  soaking  the 
ants  together  in  a  small  quantity  of  distilled  water.     If  an  ant 


fieldk]  communal    LIFE    OF    ANTS  245 

be  smeared  with  the  blood  of  another  species,  it  may  appear 
among  its  former  comrades  as  a  sheep  in  wolf's  clothing  and 
may  be  treated  as  if  it  were  an  enemy ;  or  if  it  be  smeared  with 
the  blood  of  a  member  of  the  community,  it  may  be  introduced 
into  that  community,  where  it  is  truly  a  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing, 
and  may  for  some  days  escape  detection  there. 

It  is  probable  that  every  species  of  ant  has  its  distinctive  odor, 
borne  by  every  member  of  the  species  whether  male  or  female, 
and  that  this  odor  excites  the  animosity  of  ants  of  other  species 
than  its  own  merely  becarse  it  is  unfamiliar.  While  ants  of 
unlike  species,  having  never  before  met,  will  attack  and  rend 
each  other  when  brought  together,  it  is  possible  to  create  a  happy 
family  including  diverse  species.  In  1903  I  took  ants  represent- 
ing three  different  sub-families  and  sequestered  them,  within 
twelve  hours  after  their  hatching,  in  nests  so  small  that  the  ants 
would  naturally  touch  each  other  w^ith  their  antennae  during  the 
first  five  days  of  their  lives,  and  I  found  that  ants  of  many 
diverse  species  thus  made  acquainted  with  one  another  in  infancy 
would  live  amicably  together  thereafter  for  months  or  years. 
These  experiments  proved  that  the  natural  hostility  existing  be- 
tween ants  of  unlike  species  could  be  eliminated  by  a  suitable 
education,  and  it  also  provided  an  explanation  of  the  fact  that 
mixed  colonies  of  ants  are  occasionally  found  in  nature.  Such 
colonies  probably  have  their  origin  in  conditions  that  force  the 
members  into  propinquity  during  the  first  hours  of  active  life. 

Ants  have  not  only  their  specific  odor,  which  characterizes  each 
species  and  differentiates  it  in  the  ant-world  from  all  other  species, 
but  the  female  ants  have  also  a  progressive  odor  which  changes 
as  they  advance  in  age,  and  which  is  the  cause  of  the  separation 
of  ants  of  the  same  species  into  distinct  communities,  hostile  to 
one  another.  The  male  ant,  who  is  welcomed  into  any  community 
of  his  own  species,  probably  bears  no  odor  beside  his  specific  odor. 
The  queen  ant  doubtless  gives  to  her  female  progeny  her  own 
progressive  odor,  modified  by  that  of  their  father's  mother,  latent 
in  the  male.  With  an  odor  that,  at  hatching,  is  very  nearly  the 
same  as  that  of  their  queen  mother,  the  worker  ants  gradually 
change  their  odor,  forty  days  being  the  minimum  of  time  in  which 
there  occurs  a  change  so  great  as  to  be  noticeable  by  the  ants 
themselves.     This  progressive  odor  eventually  differentiates  ant- 


246  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 

nests.  The  odor  of  the  queen,  the  first  occupant,  becomes  the 
earHest  aura  of  the  nest.  As  the  community  increases  its  popula- 
tion, the  odor  of  the  workers  is  added  to  that  of  the  queen,  and 
is  diffused  in  the  air.  The  ant  that  has  been  out  foraging  recog- 
nizes its  home  through  the  famihar  odor  there  discerned,  and  it 
avoids  the  abodes  of  unfriendly  communities  because  of  its  per- 
ception of  their  strange  odor.  No  ant  with  a  discerning  "  nose  " 
need  ever  intrude  upon  an  alien  household.  Should  it  do  this 
it  would  be  attacked  and  rent  limb  from  limb.  The  laws  of  the 
ant-world  require  from  every  ant  a  strict  adherence  to  its  own 
colony. 

If  a  female  ant  be  dropped  into  its  own  nest,  it  waves  its 
antennae  and  hastens  to  join  its  former  associates ;  but  if  it  be 
dropped  into  an  alien  nest  it  flees  away  or  hides  itself. 

The  odor  of  the  ant-nest  is  perceived  through  the  air^  but  the 
odor  or  savor  of  ants,  whether  friends  or  strangers,  are  perceived 
by  an  application  of  the  ''  nose  "  to  the  subject  of  examination. 
Ants  have  two  similar  "  noses,"  the  two  antennae  or  "  feelers  " 
that  project  from  the  face  just  below  the  eyes.  These  are  the 
organs  of  the  chemical  sense,  dominant  in  the  life  of  the  individual 
ant  and  in  the  affairs  of  the  ant  community.  The  uses  made  by 
the  ant  of  this  sense  are  singularly  diversified,  while  the  minute- 
ness of  its  discriminations  are  almost  inconceivable.  Associated 
with  the  great  power  of  memory  possessed  by  the  ants,  it  enables 
them  to  prosper  greatly  in  the  world,  though  they  lack  the  sense 
of  hearing,  and  have  but  very  imperfect  vision. 

Within  the  ant  community  the  queen  is  chief,  probably  be- 
cause her  comparatively  large  size  makes  her  a  center  of  familiar 
odors.  Her  odor  is  unchanging,  and  her  daughter-workers  recog- 
nize her  thereby,  even  after  years  of  separation  from  her.  Ant 
workers  will  also  recognize  their  queen-mother  and  identify  her 
among  several  other  queens,  even  when  these  workers  have  never 
before  met  her.  They  remember  the  odor  that  they  themselves  bore 
in  their  own  infancy  which  is  also  the  odor  of  their  queen.  They 
would  likewise  recognize  their  mother's  sister-queen.  The  queen 
exercises  no  authority  in  the  nest,  but  is  always  the  object  of  chief 
devotion,  and  of  sedulous  attention.  She  abides  at  home,  except 
at  or  near  the  time  of  her  nuptials. 


fiI'Lde]  communal    LIFE    OF    ANTS  247 

Worker  ants  of  the  same  community  enjoy  each  other's  odor, 
Hck  and  pat  each  other,  cuddle,  and  exchange  nourishment  by 
regurgitations.  They  take  care  of  the  young,  the  product  of  the 
queen's  eggs  or  of  their  own  eggs,  with  no  manifest  partiaHty 
except  for  the  largest.  If  their  nest  be  raided  by  alien  ants  or 
prowling  human  creatures,  the  workers,  if  there  be  leisure  for 
choice  among  the  immature  young,  will  flee  with  the  oldest,  the 
objects  on  which  most  labor  and  care  have  already  been  expended. 
The  rearing  of  the  young  is  a  constant  occupation  which  is  fol- 
lowed with  an  amazing  diligence  by  the  workers.  The  defense 
of  the  nest  is  also  constant,  and  intruders  are  attacked 'with  a 
ferocity  equal  to  that  shown  by  any  other  creature  in  defense  of 
its  offspring.  I  have  seen  two  ants  battle  through  eighteen  con- 
secutive hours. 

Food  is  brought  to  the  nest  from  distances  extending  to  forty 
yards  or  more.  When  an  ant  goes  out  it  lays  a  path  under  its 
feet,  and  in  returning  it  follows  its  own  scent  as  laid  down.  If 
the  path  be  washed  or  overturned  for  a  space  longer  than  the  body 
of  the  ant,  the  returning  traveller  loses  the  way  and  runs  to  and 
fro  until  the  scent  is  picked  up.  This  scent  is  perceived  through 
the  air;  for  a  very  thin  layer  of  earth  may  be  made  to  overlay 
the  path  without  it  interfering  with  the  traveller's  homeward 
progress.  Every  ant  lays  down  and  pursues  an  individual  path ; 
but  like  causes,  such  as  shade,  temperature,  or  topography  may 
impel  a  multitude  of  ants  into  the  same  route. 

Ants  probably  orient  themselves  on  their  journeys  by  the  sense 
of  smell,  as  a  blind  man  might  orient  himself  on  a  known  road 
by  a  compost-heap,  a  glue-factory,  a  hop-field  and  a  rose-garden. 
But  these  directing  odors  come  from  very  short  distances,  prob- 
ably less  than  an  inch  at  most.  When  ants  go  forth  from  the 
nest,  they  sometimes  go  back  repeatedly,  gradually  extending 
their  journey,  and  appearing  as  if  trying  to  familiarize  themselves 
with  their  means  of  orientation.  The  path  laid  down  by  an  ant, 
if  left  dry  and  undisturbed,  may  be  followed  by  her  unhesitatingly 
after  five  days  of  imprisonment  elsewhere. 

Insects  have  had  few  tests  applied  to  their  power  of  memory, 
the  shortness  of  insect  life  being  generally  preventive  of  long  con- 
tinued experiments  in  proving  their  mental  capacities.  Among 
the  insects,  ants  are  remarkable  for  longevity,  and  they  therefore 
present  exceptional  possibilities  for  the  work  of  the  comparative 


248  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.   1905 

psychologist.  After  several  years  study  of  the  habits  and  activi- 
ties of  ants,  I  undertook,  in  1904,  to  induce  the  ants  to  tell  me 
through  actions,  which  always  speak  more  loudly  than  do  words, 
whether  they  remembered  past  experiences.  When  such  an  in- 
quiry is  to  be  addressed  to  an  animal,  it  is  but  fair  that  the  ap- 
peal should  be  made  through  the  leading  sense  of  that  animal. 
If  it  be  to  the  eagle  it  should  be  through  the  sense  of  sight ;  if  to 
the  mole  it  should  be  through  the  sense  of  hearing;  if  to  the 
caterpillar  it  should  be  through  the  sense  of  touch ;  if  to  the  sea- 
anemone  it  should  be  through  the  sense  of  taste.  The  leading 
sense  in  the  ant  is  olfactory,  and  through  this  sense  I  naturally 
put  my  question  to  the  ants. 

Among  the  ants,  the  workers  have  been  shown  by  dissection 
to  have  the  largest  brain,  and  I  therefore  chose  the  workers  for 
my  tests  of  power  of  memory.  That  I  might  know  whether  the 
action  of  an  ant  was  influenced  by  memory,  it  was  necessary  for 
me  to  know  not  only  the  customary  behavior  of  the  ant  but  to 
know  its  individual  experiences  during  its  whole  lifetime.  I 
therefore  took  from  among  the  many  nests  in  my  formicary  such 
ant-workers  as  hatched  in  segregation  at  the  same  time,  and 
sequestered  two  or  more  species  together  in  a  very  small  nest 
where  their  natural  activities  would  cause  them  to  touch  each 
other  with  the  antennae  during  the  first  hours  of  life.  Ants  of 
species  ordinarily  inimical  were  thus  made  friendly,  forming  a 
mixed  family  whose  congeniality  was  manifested  by  all  sorts  of 
serviceable  offices  customary  among  ants  of  the  same  community. 
After  these  ants  had  lived  happily  together  for  periods  ranging 
from  twenty  to  forty  days,  I  sequestered  each  species  represented 
in  the  mixed  nest,  putting  each  group  into  a  new  nest.  I  then 
kept  each  group  in  strict  segregation  up  to  the  time  when  the 
odor  of  the  other  species,  encountered  only  in  their  earliest  days, 
should  again  be  presented  to  them  for  recognition. 

One  mixed  family  consisted  of  large  black  ants  and  small 
brown  ants,  and  these  were  separated  for  seven  months.  In 
bringing  them  together  an  extraordinary  factor  had  to  be 
reckoned  with,  the  afore-mentioned  fact  that  worker  ants  change 
their  odor  with  advancing  age,  and  that  neither  the  black  ants 
nor  the  brown  ants  would  bear  the  same  progressive  odor  that  had 
characterized  them  when  associated  with  the  other  species  seven 
months  earlier.     So  great  in  fact  had  been  the  change  of  odor 


fielde] 


COMMUNAL    LIFE    OF    ANTS 


249 


that  when  I  introduced  one  of  either  segregated  group  into  the 
nest  of  the  other,  the  visitor  was  attacked  with  all  the  virulence 
that  marks  a  meeting  of  strangers  of  these  two  species.  But 
when  I  introduced  into  either  group  an  ant  of  the  same  age,  the 
offspring  of  the  same  queen  as  were  their  quondam  associates  in 
the  mixed  nest,  then  the  visitor  was  received  with  every  sign  of 
ant  esteem,  including  that  of  granting  a  participation  in  the  care 


A  happy  family  of  ants  of  four  species.     Photographed  from  one  of  Miss  Fielde's  mixed  colonies 
established  at  the  Marine  Biological  Laboratory. 


of  the  cherished  larvse.     It  was  plain  that  the  ants  recognized  an 
odor  that  had  not  been  encountered  for  seven  months. 

Into  another  mixed  nest  I  put  newly  hatched  small  jet-black 
ants  with  amber-yellow  ants,  the  two  sorts  being  of  different  sub- 
families. When  they  had  spent  about  forty  days  together,  I 
sequestered  these  ants,  according  to  their  species,  in  new  nests. 
When  the  two  groups  had  been  separated  for  a  year,  each  group 
received  with  cherishing  hospitality  the  newly  hatched  offspring 
of  the  queen-mother  of  their  former  associates ;  but  they  killed 
their  former  comrades  when  these  were  introduced  into  their 
nest.  These  ants  thus  showed  that  they  could  remember  a  certain 
odor  at  least  one  year. 


250  THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 

In  four  nests,  I  kept  brown  ants  that  were  all  of  one  colony, 
and  sequestered  at  their  hatching.  One  of  these  groups  had  been 
segregated  three  years,  one  group  had  been  segregated  two  years, 
one  group  had  been  segregated  one  year,  and  one  group  consisted 
of  newly  hatched  ants,  when  I  introduced  marked  members  of 
each  group,  one  ant  at  a  time,  into  each  of  the  other  three  nests. 
In  every  case  the  older  ants  remembered  the  odor  of  the  younger 
ants,  and  received  them  amicably,  while  the  younger  ants,  never 
having  smelled  the  odor  borne  by  the  older  ants,  fought  the  visi- 
tors with  plain  intent  to  kill.  This  experiment  showed  that  the 
brown  ants  had  a  power  of  memory  extending  to  three  years. 
It  is  probable  that  ants  recognize  at  any  time  during  their  lifetime 
an  odor  with  which  they  have  once  become  familiar. 

These  experiments  also  indicate  that  the  ants  do  not  recognize 
one  another  by  the  contour,  for  their  form  had  not  changed  dur- 
ing the  period  of  separation.  Had  they  means  of  conversation 
relating  to  the  past,  we  must  suppose  that  they  would  at  their 
second  meeting,  have  talked  of  old  times  instead  of  tearing  each 
other.  The  only  probable  explanation  of  their  behavior  is  that 
they  were  repelled  by  an  unknown  odor  in  some  of  these  cases, 
and  were  pleased  by  a  recognized  odor  in  other  cases. 

Workers  of  one  of  the  species  employed  in  my  experiments 
are  but  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  length,  while  the  head  is  but  a 
quarter  of  the  total  length,  and  the  brain  within  the  head  is  so 
small  as  to  be  invisible  except  with  the  aid  of  a  lens.  If  a  brain 
so  small  can  record  an  impression  of  an  odor  and  act  on  that 
impression  years  afterward,  this  fact  indicates  to  us  that  but  few 
particles  of  matter  are  required  as  a  seat  for  the  mental  powers. 

We  do  not  know  whether  the  ants  exercise  reason  and  Imagi- 
nation ;  but  they  certainly  have  power  of  memory  which  is  a 
foundation  for  all  the  higher  psychic  activities. 

Under  the  dominance  of  the  sense  of  smell  and  the  power  of 
memory,  every  ant  acts  upon  individual  experience.  But  there 
are  differences  in  the  character  of  ants  of  the  same  variety  and 
of  the  same  external  structure.  Some  have  stronger  local  attach- 
ments than  have  others,  and  adhere  more  closely  to  an  old  home. 
Some  are  more  assiduous  in  their  care  of  the  developing  young. 
Some  are  distinguished  by  exceeding  truculence,  while  others  are 
surpassingly  amiable.  Some  are  sluggards,  while  others  are 
markedly  enterprising. 


WEED]  TREES    IN    WINTER  251 

But  all  are  good  housekeepers.  They  keep  their  nests  clean, 
allotting  different  parts  of  the  nest  to  different  uses  and  burying 
offensive  substances  that  cannot  be  removed.  In  all  the  animal 
kingdom  the  ants  most  nearly  approach  man  in  the  diversity  of 
their  activities,  and  in  an  apparent  application  of  intelligence  to 
the  practical  problems  of  existence. 


THE   STUDY   OF   DECIDUOUS   TREES   IN   WINTER 

BY  CLARENCE   M.  WEED 
State  Normal  School,  Lowell,  Mass. 

To  one  who  has  paid  little  or  no  attention  to  the  subject  it  is 
surprising  what  distinctive  characteristics  the  leafless  twigs  of 
our  native  trees  and  shrubs  present.  To  a  very  great  degree 
they  are  as  easily  recognized  as  are  the  leaves  themselves.  They 
furnish  a  natural  and  practical  subject  for  nature-studies  during 
the  winter  months.  Such  studies  may  well  be  begun  just  as  the 
last  leaves  are  falling,  when  the  transition  from  the  study  of  the 
leaf  to  the  twig  is  natural.  So  far  as  possibk  twigs  from  the 
identical  trees  which  have  been  studied  as  to  leaves,  should  at 
first  be  taken.  This  is  not  always  feasible  so  far  as  providing 
specimens  for  the  whole  school  is  concerned,  for  the  trees  may 
very  likely  be  ones  from  which  it  is  not  desirable  to  remove  many 
twigs.  In  such  cases  one  or  two  of  the  twigs  may  be  taken  to 
hold  before  the  pupils  as  illustrations,  and  the  main  supply  be 
derived  from  the  less  valuable  trees  in  the  fields  and  woods. 

In  general  the  supply  of  material  for  the  study  of  twigs  may  be 
obtained  in  any  one  of  three  ways.  The  twigs  may  be  gathered 
by  the  teacher  herself,  by  one  or  more  of  the  pupils  delegated  to 
the  work,  or  by  the  class  as  a  whole  on  a  field  excursion.  The 
solution  of  this  problem  may  well  be  left  to  the  special  circum- 
stances in  each  case.  There  is  no  reason  why  any  one  of  the 
rtiethods  named  should  be  exclusively  employed.  There  are  ad- 
vantages in  all  three :  The  teacher  who  fails  to  go  into  the  fields 
and  woods  occasionally  is  scarcely  likely  to  be  successful  in  her 
nature-study  work  in  the  schoolroom.  It  is  a  great  advantage 
to  have  a  definite  object  in  view  in  outdoor  excursions,  and  a 
walk  of  an  hour  or  two  will  generally  furnish  sufficient  material 
to  last  several  davs.     In  everv  class  above  the  third  grade,  at 


252  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [1,  6,  nov.   1905 

least,  there  are  likely  to  be  bright  boys  or  girls  who  would  esteem 
it  a  privilege  to  gather  material  for  use  in  school,  and  they  should 
occasionally  be  given  opportunities  to  do  so.  The  interest  of 
the  field  lessons  will  be  greatly  increased  when  the  children  can 
be  taken  to  some  woodsy  by-road  where  they  can  gather  twigs 
of  certain  trees  and  shrubs  for  their  future  study,  and  the  later 
study  in  the  schoolroom  will  take  on  an  added  interest  from  the 
memories  of  the  trip.  The  wise  teacher  will  be  likely  to  utilize 
as  many  as  possible  of  these  various  advantages  and  will  not 
tie  herself  down  to  any  one  method  of  procedure. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  each  pupil  be  furnished  for  his  own 
special  use  a  twig  of  the  tree  being  studied.  Where  the  classes 
are  small,  having  only  twenty  or  twenty-five  pupils  in  each,  it 
is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  to  carry  out  this  idea ;  but  even 
where  classes  are  double  this  size  it  is  not  very  difficult  to  carry 
it  out.  In  any  schoolroom  where  serious  nature-study  is  done — 
and  to  my  mind  no  nature-study  is  serious  which  does  not  bring 
the  pupil  into  intimate  contact  with  the  real  thing — some  place 
must  be  provided  for  the  material  to  be  studied.  A  table  or  wide 
shelf  or  even  a  window-sill,  on  the  side  of  the  room  where  the 
sun  does  not  shine  brightly  through  the  window,  should  be  set 
apart  for  the  nature-study  specimens,  which  will  vary  with  the 
ever-changing  seasons.  The  twigs  may  be  kept  to  advantage  in 
vases  or  jars  containing  water  which  will  keep  them  in  a  natural 
condition  for  several  weeks.  Perhaps  nothing  is  better  for  the 
ordinary  schoolroom,  which  has  no  special  facilities,  than  a  dozen 
or  more  common  glass  tumblers  of  good  thickness  and  as  plain 
as  it  is  possible  to  get  them.  These  are  inexpensive  and  serve 
very  well  as  receptacles  not  only  for  the  twigs  but  for  flowers 
and  leafy  branches  at  other  seasons  of  the  year. 

Tasting. — Those  who  have  been  much  with  hunters  or  other 
woodsmen  of  long  experience  must  have  noticed  how  often 
various  trees  and  shrubs  were  determined  by  means  of  the  sense 
of  taste.  In  the  case  of  many  species  the  taste  of  the  bark  is  one 
of  the  most  certain  characteristics  and  sometimes  furnishes  the 
easiest  way  to  distinguish  a  given  tree  from  others  which  re- 
semble it.  For  example,  the  sweet  birch  or  black  birch  may  at 
once  be  known  among  the  birches  by  the  sweetly  aromatic  taste 
of  the  bark,  and  the  wild  cherries  may  be  easily  distinguished 
from  the  birches,  the  twigs  of  which  they  resemble,  by  the  in- 


weed]  trees   in    winter  253 

tensely  bitter  taste  of  the  bark.  I  see  no  objection  to  having  the 
pupils  utilize  the  sense  of  taste  in  this  connection,  providing  the 
teacher  has  been  careful  to  warn  them  against  tasting  the  poison 
ivy  and  the  poison  sumac  and  has  led  them  to  recognize  these 
plants  at  sight. 

For  young  children  this  tasting  of  the  twigs  will  be  of  great 
value  in  exercising  the  special  sense  of  taste,  and  perhaps  to  a 
less  degree  it  will  have  a  similar  value  for  older  children.  It 
certainly  will  give  excellent  opportunities  for  careful  discrimi- 
nation and  will  greatly  lengthen  the  list  of  objects  for  taste 
images  such  as  that  given  on  page  143  of  Professor  Halleck's 
"  Education  of  the  Central  Nervous  System,"  in  his  admirable 
chapter  on  "  Special  Sensory  Training." 

It  is  very  generally  stated  that  the  woolliness  on  the  scales  of 
the  buds  of  trees  and  shrubs  is  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the 
miniature  leaves  and  blossoms  warm  through  the  winter.  Of 
course  it  is  easily  realized  that  such  a  thin  covering  would  prove 
utterly  inadequate  in  keeping  out  a  freezing  temperature  from  the 
delicate  buds.  The  botanists  seem  to  be  generally  agreed  that 
such  coverings  are  for  the  protection  of  the  bud,  but  that  this 
protection  is  primarily  brought  about  by  preventing  evaporation 
from  the  tender  tissues  beneath  the  bud  scales.  It  has  been  shown 
that  when  the  ground  is  frozen  so  that  no  watery  sap  can  get 
into  vegetable  tissues  the  injury  from  evaporation  of  the  tissues 
exposed  to  drying  winds  may  be  very  severe.  Consequently  it 
is  found  that  plants  generally  protect  their  tender  developing 
parts  in  some  way  which  will  prevent  undue  loss  of  moisture 
through  the  winter  months.  This  seems  an  adequate  explanation 
of  the  woolly  structure  of  many  bud  scales,  of  the  wax-like  cover- 
ing of  others,  and  of  the  varnish  coating  of  buds  like  those  of  the 
horse-chestnut. 

Teachers  should  be  careful  to  select  from  the  mass  of  conjec- 
tures which  pupils  will  make  when  asked  to  suggest  explanations 
for  facts  in  nature  only  those  which  are  founded  upon  actual 
conditions  that  may  so  far  as  possible  be  seen  by  the  pupil.  An 
analogy  may  easily  be  drawn  in  this  case  between  the  wilting  of 
a  branch  cut  off  and  thus  separated  from  its  normal  supply  of 
moisture  and  the  conditions  in  the  frozen  ground.  Should  some 
bright  pupil  ask  how  it  is  with  the  leaves  of  the  hepatica  and  the 
trailing  arbutus  which  are  exposed  through  the  wiriter  months, 


254  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 

draw  out  from  him  the  fact  that  these  leaves  so  exposed  are  old 
ones  which  have  very  little  moisture  in  them  and  which  have 
practically  finished  their  services  to  the  plant  the  previous  autumn, 
while  the  young  developing  leaves  of  the  hepatica  have  their 
tender  tissues  protected  from  evaporation  by  a  thick  mass  of 
velvety  hairs. 

The  value  of  this  twig  study  depends  very  largely  upon  the 
extent  to  which  the  pupil  is  led  to  utilize  it  as  a  means  of  self- 
expression.  The  wise  teacher  will  see  that  there  is  abundant 
opportunity  for  careful  drawings  that  bring  out  the  special  char- 
acteristics of  the  various  trees  and  shrubs.  She  will  also  give 
the  pupils  practice  in  accurate  and  rapid  verbal  and  written  de- 
scriptions of  these  twigs  and  in  this  way  let  them  get  something 
of  the  precision  of  the  scientific  method.  She  will  also  have  them 
mount  neatly  and  artistically  upon  sheets  of  white  or  colored 
card-board  short  lengths  of  the  twigs,  labelling  each  with  the 
name  of  the  tree  and  the  initials  of  the  pupil  who  does  the  work. 
All  this  work  will  finally  be  incorporated  into  a  booklet  for  each 
pupil. 

After  the  twigs  of  a  number  of  the  trees  of  the  region  have 
thus  been  studied  by  the  pupil  the  time  is  ripe  for  a  field  excursion 
in  which  the  particular  point  of  view  is  that  of  the  appearance 
and  manner  of  growth  of  the  trees  with  whose  twigs  the  pupils 
have  thus  become  familiar.  This  is  an  obvious  application  of  the 
primary  law  of  apperception  which  must  always  be  kept  in  mind 
if  field  excursions  for  school  purposes  are  to  have  their  greatest 
value.  The  pupils  will  be  eager  to  find  the  trees  they  are  in  search 
of  and  when  they  have  recognized  them  they  will  notice  with 
interest  the  manner  of  growth  of  the  tree,  the  character  of  the 
bark  of  the  trunk  and  the  general  color  effect  of  the  trunk  and 
branches.  If  during  the  autumn  they  have  visited  the  same  trees 
when  the  leaves  were  upon  them,  they  will  notice  the  striking 
differences  between  the  leafy  and  the  leafless  branches. 

The  winter  season  also  is  an  excellent  time  to  teach  something 
of  the  economic  uses  of  the  various  trees.  It  is  at  this  season 
chiefly  that  wood-chopping  and  lumbering  operations  are  taking 
place,  and  in  many  localities  the  actual  processes  may  readily  be 
seen  by  the  pupils.  The  study  of  any  tree  should  not  be  con- 
sidered completed  until  the  various  ways  in  which  it  is  of  service 
to  man  have  been  pointed  out. 


PARSONS]  CHILDREN'S    SCHOOL    FARM  255 

A  DAY  AT  THE  CHILDREN'S  SCHOOL  FARM  IN 
NEW  YORK  CITY 

BY  FANNIE  GRISCOM  PARSONS  (MRS.  HENRY  PARSONS) 
Founder  and  Director  of  the  First  School  Farm  in  New  York  City 

Approaching-  nth  Avenue  by  way  of  520!,  53d,  or  54th  Streets, 
one  not  havmg  visited  this  section  for  a  year  is  amazed  at  the 
transformation  which  has  taken  place.  A  most  perfect  park  (De 
Witt  Chnton)  for  a  tenement-house  neighborhood  has  sprung  up 
as  if  by  magic.  Although  not  fully  completed,  there  is  no  doubt 
in  the  mind  of  the  student  of  sociology  that  here  is  a  model  for 
the  world  of  a  park  that  will  meet  the  needs  from  the  baby  to 
the  grand-parent.  Entering  from  53d  Street,  to  the  right  is  a 
playground  for  girls,  to  the  left  a  duplicate  for  boys ;  to  the  west 
an  open-air  gymnasium  with  race  track  for  men  and  boys.  Still 
to  the  west  is  a  beautiful  building  containing  forty  baths  for  both 
sexes.  Still  keeping  on  to  the  west  and  approaching  a  little  tem- 
porary wooden  gate,  we  are  greeted  by  a  bright-eyed  boy  or  girl 
with  a  cheerful  invitation  to  walk  in  and  visit  our  farm.  Noticing 
a  blue  ribbon  on  which  is  stamped,  "  Gate  Committee,"  fastened 
to  the  jacket  or  dress  by  a  button  embellished  by  the  picture  of  a 
potted  plant,  we  feel  that  the  speaker,  although  diminutive,  has 
authority  and  we  accept  the  proffered  invitation.  Entering  the 
gate,  we  seem  to  have  lost  touch  instantly  with  the  boisterous 
glaring  streets  with  their  squalor  and  dirt  and  crowds.  The  cares 
of  business  or  home  drop  from  our  shoulders  as  if  by  magic.  Our 
guide  walks  a  few  steps  with  us  to  the  roomy  piazza  surrounded 
by  flower  boxes  and  flower  beds  most  artistically  filled  and  ar- 
ranged. We  are  here  met  by  another  bright-eyed  boy  or  girl 
with  a  badge  marked  /' Piazza  Committee"  and  our  ears  are 
greeted  with  the  cheerful  saluation,  '*  Will  you  visit  our  farm- 
house first.  Kindly  use  the  horse-shoe  knocker."  With  a  wee 
bit  of  timidity  we  raise  this  emblem  of  good  luck  and  let  it  fall 
a  little  heavier  than  we  intended.  Instantly  the  door  is  opened 
by  a  boy  or  girl  whose  badge  is  marked  ''  House  Committee,"  and 
we  are  shown  the  mysteries  of  this  charming  bit  of  house-keeping. 
The  long  low-ceilinged  room  is  divided  by  simple  screens,  made 
of  clothes-horses  covered  wath  attractive  cloth,  which  at  will  may 
divide  as  manv  rooms  as  mav  be  desired.     This  dav  thev  did  dutv 


256 


THE   NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 


PARSONS]  CHILDREN'S    SCHOOL    FARM  257 

to  partition  off  kitchen,  front  hall  and  parlor.  Our  guide  ex- 
plained that  they  had  had  a  busy  day,  cleaning  and  arranging  the 
closets,  scrubbing  the  floors  and  washing  soiled  clothes.  The 
ironing  table  was  being  made  ready  for  the  snowy  linen  waving  in 
the  breeze  and  brilliant  sunshine,  from  the  clothes-line  just  high 
enough  for  such  tiny  housekeepers,  or  bleaching  on  the  grass 
which  they  had  planted  with  their  own  hands.  The  tea-kettle 
was  singing  a  merry  tune,  for  the  little  willing  hosts  or  hostesses 
serve  tea  with  sweet  hospitality  to  guests  every  afternoon.  Hav- 
ing entered  our  names  in  the  guest-book,  and  viewed  the  beautiful 
Hudson  and  Jersey  shores  from  the  parlor  windows,  we  are  again 
passed  from  house  committee  thence  to  piazza  committee  and 
finally  to  garden  committee,  which  latter  furnishes  us  with  a 
guide  to  explain  the  mysteries  of  the  Farm.  Down  "  Broad- 
way," as  the  center  path  has  been  named,  amid  groups  of  busy 
little  farmers  each  tending  a  claim  4x8  feet  containing  a  stalk  of 
corn  in  the  center  of  a  row  of  beets,  to  the  right  and  left  of 
which  grow  carrots,  peas,  lettuce,  radishes,  and  onions,  here  and 
there  a  teacher  holds  the  attention  of  an  interested  group  as  he 
explains  the  wonders  of  growth,  soil,  etc.  Another  is  having 
children  crush  a  leaf  of  the  corn,  to  show  how  much  water  it  con- 
tains ;  their  amazement  grows  as  they  see  the  drops  fall  as  from 
a  wet  cloth.  Our  little  guide  explains  what  hard  work  it  has  been 
to  make  the  paths  so  straight  and  even,  and  how  faithful  they 
have  had  to  be,  under  the  guidance  of  their  teacher,  to  make  the 
flower  beds  look  so  well.  The  observation  plots  of  grain,  toma- 
toes, pumpkin,  strawberries,  potatoes,  weeds,  and  the  tool-house 
are  all  visited.  Our  tour  of  inspection  over,  we  are  escorted 
again  to  the  shady  piazza  with  the  full  intention  of  hurrying 
away,  but  the  comfortable  rustic  chair  beside  the  silver  birch  table 
and  the  appearance  of  a  smiling  little  hostess  bearing  a  tray  con- 
taining a  refreshing  cup  of  tea,  puts  our  intention  to  flight ;  we 
sip  our  tea  in  this  quiet,  restful,  busy  little  world ;  the  fascinating 
scene  holds  us  in  its  spell ;  Wall  Street,  politics  and  strife  for- 
gotten ;  every  moment  is  filled  with  quiet  interest. 

A  little  figure  comes  down  "  Broadway,"  rake  in  one  hand,  a 
big  bunch  of  radishes  in  the  other,  the  left  eye  sightless  from  a 
Fourth  of  July  accident,  his  hair  seemingly  having  taken  fright 
at  the  start  as  it  grows  all  askew,  a  variety  of  clothing  much  too 
small  adding  to  the  caricature  meant  for  a  boy.    A  couple  of  weeks 


258 


THE    NATURE-STUDY   REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 


before  he  had  come  to  the  house  asking  what  he  should  do  with 
the  blank  book  he  held  in  his  hand.  He  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  had  never  been  to  school,  and  was  nine  years  old.  He  was 
placed  in  the  Children's  Aid  School,  shorn  of  his  unruly  hair, 
clothed,  fed ;  and  now  with  a  winning  smile  on  the  unmarred  side 
of  his  face  he  showed  with  great  pride  that  he  had  learned  to 
count  and  read  figures  up  to  fifty.  Here  and  there  boys  and  girls 
could  be  seen  lying  flat  on  the  path  near  their  plots  that  they  might 
get  a  closer  view  of  their  beloved  plants  while  writing  in  their 
diaries.  At  a  signal  from  the  teacher  books  and  implements  are 
put  away,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  little  people  (one  for  each 


DeWitl  Clinton  Park  in  New  York  City— a  rubbish  heap  in  1902. 


garden  path)  are  formed  in  line,  and  at  a  whistle  signal, 
they  march  rake  over  shoulder  with  a  military  air  to  the  head  of 
their  section,  at  a  second  signal  they  turn  about  face  to  rake  the 
paths,  other  little  farmers  following  to  gather  up  the  piles  of 
stones  or  rubbish.  When  this  is  finished,  again  they  form  in  line 
and  march  to  the  pump  where  tliey  wash  their  rakes  and  place 
them  clean  and  shining  in  the  tool-house.  This  ceremony  of  rak- 
ing seems  to  excite  an  esprit  de  corps,  straightens  backs  and  limbs, 
and  in  quiet  happy  order  the  garden  is  emptied  for  the  night. 

The  garden,  begun  in  the  rubbish  heap  in  1902,  has  been  in- 
corporated in  this  beautiful  new  park ;  and  its  westerly  limit  is 
graced  by  a  beautiful  building  200  feet  long  containing  demon- 


PARSONS]  CHILDREN'S    SCHOOL    FARM  259 

stration  hall,  a  model  housekeeping  apartment,  a  storage  room  for 
garden  implements,  etc.  Household  industry  and  shopwork  will 
be  correlated  with  the  garden.  Materials  *for  nature-study  will 
be  supplied  to  the  schools,  or  can  be  viewed  in  natural  sur- 
roundings. 

Four  hundred  and  fifty  individual  plots  are  now  (July,  1905) 
planted ;  and  upon  the  gathering  in  of  the  first  crop,  three  hundred 
and  sixty  will  be  transferred  to  new  owners  for  a  second  crop. 
Counting  the  housekeepers,  the  Farm  will  have  given  happiness 
and  instruction  to  1,000  children  in  a  space  250x130  feet,  so  solv- 
ing the  problem  of  intensive  farming  successfully  done  by  many 
children  in  a  small  piece  of  ground  in  the  heart  of  a  crowded  city. 

What  makes  this  work  so  different  from  all  other  work  of  its 
kind?  First  its  completeness  in  touching  every  side  of  social  life. 
Work  is  not  done  for  work's  sake,  but  every  day  shows  a  com- 
pleted task  accomplished,  within  the  scope  of  the  child's  ability 
and  understanding,  and  necessary  to  be  done.  Some  of  the 
lessons  taught  to  visitors  as  well  as  children  are  brotherhood, 
cooperation,  self-respect,  honesty,  the  power  of  courtesy  and 
justice,  economy  of  time  and  material,  simplicity,  the  dignity  of 
labor,  that  the  task  properly  performed  will  bring  well-earned 
rest,  while  the  task  poorly  done  is  never  finished ;  every  side  of 
social  life  is  brought  into  play. 

But  the  sun  is  sinking  to  rest  over  the  Jersey  hills,  the  strains  of 
music  from  the  band  on  the  warship  lying  at  anchor  just  opposite 
on  the  bosom  of  the  noble  Hudson  reach  our  ears,  the  little 
farmers  have  wended  their  way  home,  and  on  all  sides  are  indica- 
tions that  the  day  is  melting  into  night.  With  reluctance  we  tear 
ourselves  away,  our  intended  fifteen  minutes  having  stretched  into 
hours  never  to  be  forgotten,  joining  the  group  of  sincere  and 
earnest  instructors  who,  having  removed  the  evidences  of  the  day's 
work,  file  out  the  little  wooden  gate,  simply  closing  it  after  them, 
leaving  this  beautiful  garden  nestling  between  the  fine  buildings  to 
the  right  and  left  of  it,  with  its  toothsome  vegetables  and  well 
raked  paths  to  the  care  of  the  neighborhood — a  trust  which  for 
three  years  has  not  been  misplaced. 

Another  unique  feature  of  this  garden  is  the  noble  hearts  it  has 
found  in  the  officials  in  every  city  department  through  two  admin- 
istrations. These  men  may  look  stern  and  unapproachable  to  the 
uninitiated,  but  the  Children's  School  Farm  has  been  the  key  to 


TEMPERANCE    PHYSIOLOGY  261 

unlock  the  inner  closets  containing  a  wealth  of  hidden  treasure, 
that  treasure  of  human  sympathy  that  has  made  this  whole  work 
possible. 

As  we  pass  again  through  the  crowded  streets  to  the  cars,  a 
feeling  of  exhilaration  takes  the  place  of  the  depression  within 
us  on  our  arrival,  for  we  have  witnessed  a  practical  object  lesson 
of  the  possibilities  of  a  properly  conducted  park,  with  its  combina- 
tion of  playgrounds,  baths,  gymnasium,  and  last  but  not  least  its 
School  Farm,  as  a  means  for  the  training  of  children  in  manliness 
and  womanliness  and  civic  pride  through  the  channels  of  recrea- 
tion, pleasure  and  instruction. 


TEMPERANCE   PHYSIOLOGY   SIXTY-SIX   YEARS    AGO 

We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  the  modern  form  of  "  temper- 
ance physiology  "  for  elementary  schools  as  an  invention  of  people 
still  actively  interested  in  promulgating  the  gospel  of  temperance 
instruction  for  schools.  A  short  time  ago  in  a  search  for  rare 
scientific  school-books  the  writer  found  in  an  old  book-shop  in 
New  York  a  copy  of  "  Physiology  for  Children,"  by  Jane  Taylor, 
published  in  New  York  in  1839.  ^^  was  evidently  somewhat  suc- 
cessful in  spite  of  the  fact  that  laws  did  not  then  require  "  tem- 
perance instruction,"  for  five  years  after  its  first  publication  the 
twenty-eight  thousand  was  printed.  The  twenty-second  lesson, 
which  occupies  three  of  the  ninety  pages,  instead  of  eighteen 
which  would  now  be  required,  is  certainly  interesting ;  and  we 
reprint  it  exactly  as  it  stands  in  the  original.  It  reminds  us  of 
some  text-books  still  on  the  market  and  of  many  others  common 
less  than  twenty  years  ago. 

M.   A.    BlGELOW\ 

"Effects  of  Ardent  Spirits  on  the  Body" 

"How  does  drinking  ardent  spirits  affect  the  stomach? 

It  deranges  the  stomach,  and  changes  its  natural  form. 

How  is  this  seen? 

If  we  examine  the  stomach  of  a  person  after  death  who  has  been  in  the 
habit  of  drinking,  we  shall  see  the  inside  of  the  stomach  feverish  and  in- 
flamed, and  all  the  little  vessels  filled  with  sickly,  black  blood. 

Do  ardent  spirits  burn  the  stomach,  as  they  do  the  mouth  and  throat? 

Certainly,  only  much  worse,  as  the  hot  fiery  stuff  is  kept  in  the  stomaeh, 
but  soon  leaves  the  mouth  and  throat.     If  the  biiniiiig  drinks  should  stop 


262  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.   1905 

as  long  in  the  month  and  throat,  as  they  do  in  the  stomach,  the  whole 
mouth  would  be  in  a  blister. 

Do  they  blister  and  make  a  hard  crust  around  the  stomach? 

Always.  The  stomach  of  a  drunkard  is  lined  inside,  with  a  hard  crusty 
wall,  which  greatly  prevents  digestion  and  brings  disease. 

When  the  stomach  is  diseased,  are  other  parts  of  the  body  affected? 

Yes,  the  head  aches,  the  lungs  and  liver  are  disordered,  and  all  the  body 
must  be  more  or  less  injured. 

What  effect  has  drinking  on  the  liver? 

It  enlarges  the  liver.  In  some  places  the  liver  of  fowls  is  considered  a 
great  delicacy.  Here  the  poultry-raisers  feed  fowls  on  rum  (mixed  with 
meal)  to  enlarge  the  liver.  The  liver  of  the  drinking  man  soon  becomes 
of  a  frightful,  unnatural  size. 

What  is  the  natural  color  of  the  fluid  in  the  liver? 

Bright  yellow,  but  drinking  changes  it  to  a  black,  thick  substance  like 
tar. 

How  does  drinking  affect  the  brain? 

It  hardens  it  and  shrinks  up  the  arteries. 

Is  the  heart  injured  by  ardent  spirits? 

Drinking  excites  the  heart  to  a  very  hurried,  unnatural  motion.  This 
hastens  on  the  natural  wear  of  the  system. 

Is  the  blood  injured  by  drinking? 

Yes,  it  may  be  nearly  destroyed,  for  ardent  spirits  deprive  it  of  its 
bright  red  color,  and  thus  take  out  its  living  principle.  The  blood  of  a 
drinker  is  much  blacker  than  the  blood  of  a  temperate  person. 

Is  there  any  nourishment  in  alcohol,  or  ardent  spirits? 

No,  Alcohol  is  not  digested  in  the  stomach;  none  of  it  makes  chyle. 
But  alcohol,  burning  as  it  was  taken  into  the  mouth,  is  found  in  the  brain 
and  in  the  blood  and  in  other  parts  of  the  system." 


PLANTS   THAT   HIDE   FROM  ANIMALS 

Under  this  title  Professor  Beal,  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural 
College,  writes  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly  an  account  of 
adaptations  for  protection  of  plants.  His  examples  are  interesting, 
but  his  interpretations  often  doubtful  and  they  raise  questions 
similar  to  those  in  the  article  ''  Protective  Colors  of  Animals  "  in 
No.  4,  July,  of  this  magazine.  Some  examples  are  cited  and  dis- 
cussed below. 

"  Plants  retire  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  are  pro- 
tected from  animals."  This  refers  to  bulbs,  tubers  and  rootstocks 
in  winter.  "  They  are  nearly  sure  to  escape  destruction  by  ani- 
mals." As  examples  are  named: -Solomon's  seal,  dutchman's 
breeches,  May  apple,  goldenrod,  artichoke.  These  make  us  feel 
doubtful.    What  animals  can  be  persuaded  to  eat  the  underground 


PLANTS    THAT   HIDE    FROM    ANIMALS  263 

parts  of  the  first  four  plants  named,  even  if  dug  out  and  placed 
conveniently ;  and  as  for  artichokes  and  potatoes  and  other  plants 
with  edible  underground  parts,  the  ordinary  domesticated  pig 
has  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  parts  '*  concealed  "  beneath  the 
soil.  In  general,  it  is  certain  that  the  rodents  are  not  fooled  by 
such  devices.  At  a  certain  experimental  forest  plantation  in  Con- 
necticut it  is  said  that  squirrels  and  other  rodents  dig  up  a  large 
percentage  of  the  planted  nuts  and  also  dig  down  and  gnaw  the 
tender  roots.  In  Europe  dogs  and  pigs  are  trained  to  hunt 
truffles. 

Similar  examples  are  easy  to  recall,  and  we  may  seriously 
doubt  whether  rootstocks,  tubers  and  similar  underground  struc- 
tures have  any  significance  in  relation  to  concealment  from  ani- 
mals. Were  animals  guided  by  sight  alone,  we  might  be  more 
credulous ;  but  just  as  in  the  question  of  protective  colors,  we  must 
not  forget  the  highly  developed  sense  of  smell  against  which  a 
few  inches  of  soil  offers  little  concealment  for  an  object  in  which 
animals  have  special  interest.  If  one  must  draw  some  conclusion 
as  to  the  relation  between  the  plant  and  the  animals  in  such  cases, 
it  would  be  more  reasonable  to  say  that  the  rootstocks  and  tubers 
are  concealed  beneath  the  soil  in  order  to  preserve  them  for 
winter  use  of  certain  animals  which  have  no  difficulty  in  finding 
them  when  wanted.  Of  course  this  is  an  absurd  suggestion ;  but 
until  we  get  more  specific  and  conclusive  evidence,  it  is  no  more 
so  than  the  idea  that  plants  concentrated  beneath  ground  are  espe- 
cially protected  from  animals.  Does  any  reader  know  of  any 
plant  which  animals  commonly  eat  which  is  demonstrably  so 
protected  ? 

The  next  method  of  protection  is  by  water.  "  Mud  turtles,  cer- 
tain fishes,  water  snails,  larvae  of  insects,  eat  aquatic  plants,  but 
most  other  animals  are  unable  to  reach  them  in  such  places."  As 
examples  are  cited :  pond  lilies,  arrow-head,  pickerel-weed,  cat- 
tail flag,  bulrush  and  many  others.  Again  one  doubts  and  asks 
the  question.  What  animals  unable  to  reach  these  aquatic  plants 
would  eat  them  even  if  they  were  accessible?  The  reviewer  has 
for  many  summers  noticed  many  of  these  plants  growing  along 
the  margin  of  a  shallow  stream  where  these  plants  were  accessible 
to  the  ordinary  domesticated  herbivores,  but  even  when  other 
pasturage  was  extremely  sho/t  the  aquatic  plants  were  rarely 
touched,  even  when  young  and  tender.     Of  course  such  a  plant 


264  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.   1905 

as  wild  rice  or  other  grain-plant  might  be  eaten,  but  what  animal 
would  eat  bulrushes  or  flags  even  if  they  were  placed  on  dry 
ground  ? 

Another  case  of  "  protection  by  water  " :  ''  Flowers  of  many 
species  of  plants  as  they  project  above  the  surface  of  the  water 
are  protected  from  most  unwelcome  insects."  But  what  insects? 
Certainly  only  purely  aquatic  forms  unable  to  fly ;  but  what  right 
have  we  to  consider  these  ''  unwelcome  "  or  affecting  the  flowers 
otherwise  than  might  many  others  able  to  fly  to  the  flower.  To 
the  student  of  animal  life  the  whole  idea  of  protection  of  flowers 
in  this  way  appears  to  be  entirely  unsupported  by  reasonable 
interpretation  of  the  known  facts. 

"  By  climbing  trees  and  bushes  many  vines  get  beyond  the  reach 
of  cattle."  But  how  about  these  same  plants  when  they  are 
young,  tender  and  attractive  to  grazing  animals?  If  climbing  is 
a  device  for  protecting  from  animals,  surely  it  is  a  very  imperfect 
one. 

"When  scattered  by  bursting  pods,  the  seeds  are  seldom  found 
by  animals.  .  .  .  The  small  size  and  inconspicuous  colors  make 
it  certain  that  few  of  them  will  ever  be  found  and  destroyed 
by  insects  or  mice.  Plants  of  this  kind  are  euphorbias  or  spurges, 
violets,  peas,  beans,  witch  hazel,  castor-oil  plants,  balsams  and 
many  more."  On  this  point  a  student  of  animals  must  comment 
as  follows :  First,  the  author  omits  mention  of  birds,  the  great 
seed  eaters.  Anyone  who  has  ever  scattered  broadcast  small  and 
inconspicuous  grains,  even  on  a  grassy  lawn,  and  then  watched 
common  domesticated  fowls  or  sparrows  search  for  them  will 
doubt  whether  bursting  pods  are  significant  as  scatterers  of  seed 
so  as  to  ''  hide  "  it  from  animals.  Again,  the  insects  which  would 
destroy  seeds  are  probably  those  which  would  find  them  readily 
in  the  course  of  their  roving  about  on  the  ground.  The  same 
is  true  of  mice.  With  regard  to  the  seeds  which  are  scattered 
by  bursting  fruits,  it  remains  to  be  investigated  whether  or  not 
they  are  eaten  by  animals  even  when  not  scattered.  At  present 
we  must  remain  unconvinced  that  scattering  seeds  is  important 
in  "  hiding  "  them  from  animals. 

'*  Seeds  mimic  pebbles."  As  examples  are  mentioned  the 
mottled  castor-beans  not  easily  found  (by  human  eyes)  when 
thrown  on  the  ground.  But  other  even  more  inconspicuous  seeds 
are  easily  found  by  birds.     It  is  not  simply  a  question  of  deceiv- 


PLANTS    THAT   HIDE    FROM    ANIMALS  265 

ing  the  human  eye.  Still  another  case  can  be  cited :  On  the  coast 
of  the  Philippines  a  certain  bush  has  beans  resembling  pebbles  in 
size,  form,  color,  hardness  and  with  lines  ''  suggesting  stratifica- 
tion." "  Undoubtedly  this  mimicy  of  pebbles  has  saved  many  a 
seed  from  destruction  by  fish,  bird  or  reptile,"  Here  again  we 
must  doubt  until  some  one  gives  us  more  than  imaginary  basis 
for  faith  in  this  suggestion  of  mimicry  in  seeds.  We  must  know 
first  whether  the  seeds  are  effectively  concealed  from  animals,  and 
second,  whether  in  each  supposed  case  animals  would  actually 
eat  the  seeds  if  not  mixed  ''  concealed  "  in  pebbles.  What  ani- 
mals, for  example,  might  be  expected  to  be  so  foolish  as  to  eat 
the  pebble-like  seeds  from  the  Philippines. 

The  climax  is  the  case  of  an  iris  of  the  far  Western  States.  Its 
ripe  seeds  are  said  to  rattle  in  the  pods  and  imitate  the  rattle 
of  the  rattlesnake  so  closely  that  grazing  animals  invariably  step 
back  after  hitting  the  pods,  ''  and  thus  the  green  leaves  of  the 
plants  are  spared  to  work  for  future  crop  of  seeds."  Here  is  a 
difficulty  in  this  case :  The  ripe  seeds  rattle  only  when  mature, 
and  hence  during  the  long  growing  season  there  is  no  such  ''  pro- 
tection "  to  the  leaves.  Also — we  ask  for  information — do  the 
leaves  actually  remain  and  ''work "  for  a  next  year's  crop  of 
seed?  The  whole  case  looks  like  a  splendid  flight  of  a  naturalist's 
imagination. 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  interesting  suggestions  that  plants  hide 
from  animals  do  not  well  stand  testing.  Real  evidence  does  not 
support  most  of  the  cases  imagined.  Perhaps  there  are  adapta- 
tions for  hiding  plants  from  animals,  but  the  evidence  is  decidedly 
rare,  and  certainly  not  convincing. 

This  paper  has  been  reviewed  in  considerable  detail  because  it 
happens  to  represent  a  kind  of  teaching  common  in  our  elementary 
schools.  We  need  more  critical  studies  of  all  supposed  relations 
of  animals  and  plants.  It  is  hoped  that  readers  of  this  magazine 
will  contribute  notes  on  their  own  observations. 

Maurice  A.  Bigelow. 


266  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 


FACTS   DISCOVERED   BY   CHILDREN^ 

[Editorial  Note. — As  a  contribution  to  the  discussion,  which  this  inter- 
esting and  important  topic  deserves,  we  print  below  some  paragraphs  which, 
by  permission,  we  take  from  a  letter  by  Marion  H.  Carter,  the  author  of  the 
book  referred  to  in  the  July  issue.] 

The  book-review  containing  my  statement  that  "  to-day  it  is  almost 
beyond  the  bounds  of  human  possibility  that  a  child  should  discover  an 
unknown  fact  in  the  sciences,"  distinctly  stated  that  the  guide  is  in- 
tended for  children  of  the  4th,  5th  and  6th  grades,  city  schools.  I  used 
the  word  ''  children  "  to  refer  to  ages  in  those  grades  and  not  to  "  high- 
school  pupils,"  which  Mr.  Cockerell  specifies  in  saying  he  does  not 
see  why  they  (the  high-school  pupils)  should  not  be  able  to  gather 
the  observations,  *'  acting  always  in  a  cooperative  manner  and  under 
direction."  I  used  the  phrase  in  the  common  acceptation  of  com- 
mon language  in  connection  with  the  average  possibility  of  the  aver- 
age child.  And  as  such  I  trust  it  has  been  read  by  most  readers, 
and  that  no  one  has  supposed  that  I  referred  to  the  boy  genius,  or  to 
a  marvellous  teacher  acting  on  a  miraculous  opportunity.  As  the 
statement  stands,  it  is,  I  believe,  irrefutable  under  the  law  of  prob- 
ability. 

When  my  critic  advances  as  his  own  idea  of  "  opportunity  "  that 
there  are  at  the  present  moment  "  hundreds  of  species  of  bees  and 
wasps  nesting  in  and  about  New  York,"  I  reply  that  I  have  lived 
eight  years  in  New  York  and  never  within  my  recollection  have  I 
seen  either  a  bee  or  a  wasp  flying  about  loose.  Yet  my  opportunities, 
abilities,  interests,  desires  and  intentions  are  in  the  matter  of  bees 
and  wasps  assumably  far  beyond  that  of  any  twelve-year-old,  except- 
ing always  the  boy  genius  interested  in  wasps  and  bees. 

It  may  be  pertinent,  and  of  interest  to  those  for  whom  the  infant- 
discovery  fetish  is  still  persistent  to  state  that  in  nearly  twenty  years 
as  a  teacher  of  all  grades  (seven  as  head  of  the  Science  Department 
of  the  New  York  Training  School  where  over  a  thousand  pupils, 
already  high  school  graduates,  passed  through  my  hands)  I  have 
never  known  one  to  make  any  original  discovery;  nor  one  who  even 
seemed  competent  at  the  time  and  with  the  materials  at  hand  to 
make  a  discovery. 

The  sole  exception  in  nearly  three  thousand  former  pupils  was  a 
boy  of  ten  in  a  suburban  school.  He  was  called  an  "  odd  genius  " 
in  school,  and  he  did  discover  by  himself  a  great  number  of  facts 


'  See  discussion  by  T.  D.  A.  Cockerell  in  this  journal  Vol.  I,  No.  4,  July, 
page  163. 


DISCUSSION    AND    CORRESPONDENCE  267 

(all  without  exception  previously  recorded)  and  in  the  full  belief 
that  he  was  adding  to  the  store  of  human  knowledge.  I  gave  him 
books  and  references  trying  to  lead  him  to  master  all  the  known 
facts  about  the  plants  and  insects  he  was  studying  alone.  With 
what  result?  His  interest  rapidly  waned.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
year  he  remarked  that  "  there  didn't  seem  to  be  any  use  trying  to 
discover  new  things  for  everything  was  already  discovered." 

It  was  a  clear  case  of  a  genuine  original  interest  drained  away  by 
the  over-stimulation  of  ambition  which  a  previous  teacher  had 
created;  of  a  bright  mind  that  properly  led  in  the  beginning  to  love 
knowledge  for  its  own  sake  might  have  accomplished  at  twenty  the 
immature  and  abortive  desires  of  ten. 

Though  this  is  an  extreme  case,  I  have  seen  the  same  in  scores  of 
other  children  (to  a  less  degree)  and  young  people  whose  teachers 
had  trained  them  in  the  Agassiz  method. 

I  made  my  statement  in  its  pedagogical  application  because  experi- 
ence has  shown  me  that  if  you  mean  to  build  solidly  for  the  advance- 
ment of  science  you  must  build  on  what  is  already  known;  and  the 
only  people  who  have  ever  advanced  it  are  the  people  who  "  know  the 
literature."  Those  unrecognized  unappreciated  "  geniuses,"  cold- 
shouldered  by  an  envious  world,  who  have  to  induce  nice,  rich,  old 
ladies  to  build  them  private  laboratories  that  they  may  give  unheard 
of  discoveries  to  a  startled  public  usually  end  just  there — with  un- 
heard of  discoveries.  As  vide  Keely,  of  motor  fame,  and  many  others 
now  living. 

It  is  a  plain  cold  provable  fact  that  the  man  who  does  not,  or  will 
not,  or  cannot  find  out  what  others  have  done  on  a  subject  before  he 
goes  plunging  ahead  on  his  own  account — who  does  not  "  know  his 
literature  "  down  to  bed  rock — has  hardly  the  ghost  of  a  chance  of 
making  his  standing  in  the  scientific  world  of  today. 

Of  course  if  your  aim  is  merely  to  produce  a  gilded  science  youth, 
a  dilettante  and  a  loiterer,  say  so  and  be  done  with  it.  But  if  you 
are  training  minds  for  the  advancement  of  science  then  you  must 
put  them  on  the  main  road  from  the  beginning.  And  I  contend 
that  a  youth  whose  observation  has  been  trained  as  part  and  parcel 
of  the  habit  of  verifying  the  work  of  others  has  at  twenty  a  poten- 
tiality for  ultimate  success  far  and  away  beyond  that  of  a  youth  who 
has  been  trained  to  depend  on  his  own  discoveries,  even  though  some 
by  a  happy  chance  may  be  new. 

The  sole  value  that  can  be  urged  in  behalf  of  the  discover-for-your- 
self  method,  which  is  the  Agassiz  method,  is  that  it  develops  self- 
dependence  and  at  a  fearsome  price.  It  is  the  method  for  the  few 
who  are  able  to  survive  it,  not  for  the  many;  for  the  child  of  the 
visual  mind  type,  not  for  the  oral  or  motor. 


268  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 

I  remember  some  years  ago  meeting  a  pupil  of  Agassiz's  (a  man 
now  noted)  who  said  to  me  ''  I  gave  up  teaching  by  the  Agassiz 
method  when  I  began  my  own  work  because  it  was  too  expensive  for 
average  men.  The  world  hears  of  the  brilHant  ones  who  succeeded 
under  Agassiz — they  would  have  succeeded  anywhere.  It  never  heard 
of  the  scores  of  average  men  who  fell  by  the  way-side — the  men  who 
needed  to  feel  ground  under  their  feet,  to  know  that  they  know  as 
they  go  along.  I  have  seen  good  fellows  in  my  class  give  up  in 
despair  with  Agassiz — they  did  well  everywhere  else." 

What,  in  the  long  run,  is  self-dependence  worth  that  is  bought  at 
the  price  of  arrogance  on  the  one  hand  or  despair  on  the  other? 
What,  in  the  long  run,  will  it  do  for  the  advancement  of  science? 
Not  enough  to  make  the  game  worth  the  candle. 

But  the  touch-stone  of  the  whole  problem  is  this :  Scientific  knowl- 
edge is  corroborable  experience.  There  are  many  kinds  of  experi- 
ence, but  science  cuts  out  for  her  own  that  which  is  corroborable, 
and  that  element  is  the  basis,  the  inalienable  essence  of  a  "  scientific 
fact."  If  I  say  "  I  see  a  horse,"  it  is  supposable  on  the  instant  that 
you  and  that  every  other  person  with  eyesight  can  see  that  horse 
by  looking  where  I  see  him.  But,  if  you  or  they  look  and  do  not 
see  my  horse,  then  my  seeing  is  an  hallucination. 

Hence  it  follows  that  your  pedagogical  procedure  is  laid  out  with 
almost  mathematical  precision:  You  must  work  for  the  deepest 
possible  sense  and  feeling  of  corroboration  if  you  mean  to  build  a 
solid  and  advancing  mind.  Then,  and  then  only,  will  you  have 
created  a  self-dependence  as  a  sense  of  knowing  that  I  know  on 
which  every  vital  nature  will  build  its  own  original  contribution 
with  assured  touch  when  the  time  is  ripe. 

I  ought  perhaps  to  add  that  in  my  early  years  I  taught  by  the 
Agassiz  method  exclusively.  One  day  I  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
my  poor  and  average  pupils  had  dropped  out  of  the  running  while  the 
best  had  but  the  flimsiest  mental  stuff  in  them.  After  that  for  years 
I  experimented  to  find  a  method  which  should  build  for  the  ulti- 
mates,  not  for  the  hour,  and  "  Nature-Study  with  Common  Things  " 
was  the  result — tried  with  a  thousand  pupils — in  one  small  field. 


BOOK  REVIEWS 

Special  Method  in  Elementary  Science.     By  Charles  A.  McMurry. 
New  York:  Macmillan.     1904.     Pp.  275.     75  cents. 
This   well   known    writer   on   methods   has    come    forward   in   the 
present  volume  to  help  lighten  the  burden  of  the  teacher  of  nature- 
study  or  "  elementary  science."     Professor  McMurry,  in  common  with 


■  BOOK    REVIEWS  269 

• 

not  a  few  other  interested  observers  of  the  nature-study  movement, 
has  been  impressed  apparently  with  the  flabby,  anemic,  catch-as- 
catch-can  affair  which  passes  for  nature-study  in  some  schools,  for 
he  says,  "  the  freedom  and  confidence  with  which  teachers,  high  and 
low,  recommend  observational  and  experimental  science,  and  the 
modesty  and  scarcity  of  those  who  succeed  in  such  teaching,  almost 
suggests  the  old  fable  of  the  belling  of  the  cat." 

In  the  chapter  on  *  Method  in  Science  Lessons  '  the  teacher  will 
find  valuable  suggestions  which  should  aid  him  very  materially  in 
revivifying  and  strengthening  his  nature-work.  The  coordination  of 
nature-study  with  other  subjects  such  as  geography,  history,  manual 
training,  etc.,  is  advocated.  One  of  the  author's  main  objects  is  to 
select  and  arrange  a  suitable  basis  for  bringing  the  child  into  con- 
tact with  the  practical  problems  of  modern  life.  In  his  own  words, 
"  the  materials  for  investigation  spring  better  out  of  the  contact  with 
life's  needs  and  necessities,  than  from  the  artificial  conditions  of  the 
laboratory." 

He  attempts  at  the  outset  to  minimize  the  confusion  of  the  teacher 
placed  amidst  "  the  endless  multitude  and  diversity  of  objects  and 
forces,"  by  citing  him,  as  the  rational  source  of  material,  to  the  re- 
latively few  points  in  the  child's  environment  "  where  his  interest 
and  activity  are  strongly  concentrated."  Thus,  he  shows  how  a  few 
centers  such  as  the  home,  the  local  town,  the  school,  the  surround- 
ing wild  nature,  and  a  few  of  the  primary  human  occupations  will 
supply  all  necessary  data  and  material  for  nature-study  or  a  simpli- 
fied course  in  science.  In  a  succeeding  chapter  a  number  of  valuable 
suggestions  are  offered  for  planning  a  course  of  study  for  the  eight 
grades,  based  upon  these  natural  centers  of  the  child's  environment, 
and  several  practical  lessons  are  appended  for  illustrations. 

One  greets  with  satisfaction  the  idea  maintained  throughout  the 
book  that  "  the  course  of  study  for  the  eight  grades  must  reveal  a 
rational,  well-matured  plan.  ..."  About  a  fourth  of  the  volume, 
indeed,  is  given  up  to  laying  out  such  a  course  of  study.  Not  only 
are  specific  materials  suggested  and  discussed,  but  the  author  en- 
deavors so  to  arrange  them  that  they  will  supplement  the  pupil's 
other  studies.  To  the  outline  of  the  work  for  each  grade  is  added 
a  list  of  references  so  that  the  teacher  may  find  adequate  informa- 
tion about  the  material  specified.  This  is  still  farther  supplemented 
in  the  final  chapter  by  a  very  full,  classified  list  of  books  which  are 
valuable  aids  in  science  teaching. 

Michael  F.  Guyer. 

University  of  Cincinnati. 


270  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.  1905 

First    Book    of    Farming.     By    Charles    L.    Goodrich.     New    York: 
Doubleday,  Page.     1905.     Pp.  259,  86  Figs.     $1.00. 

This  is  the  golden  age  of  agriculture  from  the  intellectual,  if  not 
financial,  point  of  view.  Books  on  practical  agriculture  and  books  on 
the  aesthetics  of  agriculture  have  quite  revolutionized  our  attitude 
toward  farming — "  the  business  of  getting  a  living  from  the  soil " — 
and  today  as  never  before  the  very  name  of  farmer  is  quite  as  con- 
sistent with  our  ideas  of  culture  and  education  as  those  of  lawyer, 
doctor  and  minister,  which  have  long  been  accepted  as  indicating 
learning.  No  wonder  then  that  the  author  of  this  book  is  proud  that 
he  is  a  farmer.  On  the  title-page  we  read,  "  Charles  L.  Goodrich, 
Farmer  " ;  and  in  small  type  following  is  mentioned  the  position  at 
Hampton  Institute  which  Professor  Goodrich  long  held  with  great 
credit  to  himself  and  to  the  institution. 

The  ''  First  Book  of  Farming  "  aims  to  assist  teachers,  farmers  and 
students  in  their  search  for  the  fundamental  truths  and  principles  of 
farming.  Considering  plants  "  the  central  and  ill-important  factor 
or  agent,"  the  author  devotes  Part  I  to  the  general  principles  under- 
lying plant  culture.  After  a  chapter  containing  a  brief  introduction 
to  plants,  the  root  is  taken  up  as  the  most  important  part  of  the 
plant  and  then  follow  in  logical  order :  soils,  water,  temperature,  plant 
food  in  the  soil,  seeds  and  their  planting,  preparing  the  soil,  leaves, 
stem  and  flowers.  All  these  topics  are  treated  in  a  very  simple,  direct 
style,  and  the  numerous  illustrations  and  suggested  experiments 
make  the  way  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  leading  principles 
of  agriculture  easy  for  any  average  intelligent  reader. 

Part  II  deals  with  soil  fertility  as  affected  by  farm  practices,  first 
■  explaining  the  nature  of  a  fertile  soil  and  then  its  relation  to  water, 
cultivation,  manures  and  fertilizers,  rotation  of  crops  and  drainage. 
Under  all  these  topics  the  philosophy  of  the  best  practice  and  prac- 
tical directions  are  clearly  presented. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  above  outHnes,  the  book  is  limited  to 
the  plant  side  of  farming,  and  there  is  no  special  reference  to  the 
useful  and  injurious  animals  of  the  farm.  However,  plants  come  be- 
fore animals,  and  these  latter  naturally  belong  in  a  "  Second  Book  of 
Farming." 

The  most  inviting  feature  of  this  book  is  the  simple  and  direct-to- 
the-point  style.  Instead  of  the  complex  narrative  in  which  the  lead- 
ing facts  are  largely  hidden,  everywhere  in  the  book  the  problem 
and  its  answers  stand  prominent  in  concise  sentences.  Here  we  can 
get  the  concentrated  facts  minus  the  opinions  and  theories  which 
only  confuse  the  beginner.  For  the  general  reader  there  is  no  better 
book,  to  teachers  of  elementary  agriculture  and  school  gardening  it 
will  be  valuable  for  suggestions,  and  for  the  pupils  of  upper  gram- 


BOOK    REVIEWS  271 

mar  and  first  high-school  years  the  book  will  be  a  strong  competitor 
for  the  existing  books  intended  for  school  use  primarily. 

M.  A.  B. 

The    Nature-Study    Course.     By    John    Dearness.     Toronto:    Copp, 
Clark  Co.     1905.     Pp.  206,  ill.     60  cents. 

The  full  title  of  the  little  guide  from  the  pen  of  the  vice-principal 
of  the  normal  school  at  London,  Ontario,  is  "  The  Nature-Study 
Course,  with  Suggestions  for  Teaching."  It  is  based  on  notes  of 
lectures  to  teachers-in-training. 

The  first  thirty-three  pages  are  concerned  with  the  aim  and  method 
of  nature-study,  including  topics  such  as :  nature-study  and  science, 
object  lessons,  value  and  aims,  modes  of  expression,  correlations, 
selection  of  topics,  and  arranging  courses  of  study.  This  part  of  the 
book  is  of  general  interest  and  will  well  repay  reading  by  all  who 
are  seriously  interested  in  the  educational  problems  of  nature-study. 

The  greater  part  of  the  book  is  filled  with  suggestions  for  teaching 
the  course  adopted  for  the  public  schools  of  Ontario  and  Manitoba. 
This  part  of  the  book  contains  an  abundance  of  information,  notes 
on  methods,  references  and  altogether  it  constitutes  a  very  practical 
series  of  lessons  for  teachers-in-training.  One  feature  not  common 
in  nature-study  guides  is  a  series  of  very  practical  lessons  on  the 
stars  and  constellations.  We  have  drifted  too  far  away  from  the 
old-time  popular  astronomy  and  this  suggestion  for  a  turn  backward 
will  be  welcomed  by  many. 

M.  A.  B. 

Cornell  Nature-Study  Leaflets.     Albany:  Lyon  Co.     1904.     Pp.  607, 

382  figs.     $1.25. 

This  is  a  selection,  with  revision,  from  the  Teachers'  Leaflets, 
Home  Nature-Study  Lessons,  Junior  Naturalist  Monthly  and  other 
publications  issued  from  the  College  of  Agriculture  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity in  the  years  1896  to  1904.  Altogether  there  are  eighty  leaflets 
in  the  collection.  Forty-nine  of  these  are  "  designed  to  aid  the 
teacher  with  subject-matter,  to  indicate  the  point  of  view,  and  to 
suggest  a  method  of  presentation " ;  and  the  others  are  children's 
leaflets,  "  designed  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  young."  Comment  on  these 
world-famous  leaflets  is  unnecessary  here,  and  this  notice  is  placed 
under  book-reviews  in  order  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
leaflets  which  have  for  some  time  been  out  of  print  are  again 
available.  M.  A.  B. 


2  72  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.   1905 

School  Gardens  for  California  Schools.  By  B.  M.  Davis.  State 
Normal  School  at  Chico,  Calif.  1905.  Pp.  79,  paper.  50  cents. 
This  is  a  manual  for  teachers.  An  introduction  of  ten  pages  deals 
with  history  of  school-gardens  and  educational  value.  Recognizing 
that  to  grow  plants  requires  an  intelligent  knowledge  of  the  needs 
of  a  plant,  the  relations  to  soil,  fertilizers,  temperature  and  plant  enemies 
are  next  presented.  Then  follow  condensed  notes  on  plant  propaga- 
tion, preparation  of  soil,  cultivation,  irrigation,  tools,  garden  plans, 
planting  calendars,  time  required,  teacher's  plan-book,  pupils'  records, 
and  many  other  little  points  which  beginners  with  school-gardens 
want.  The  suggestions  on  correlation  are  good.  The  final  pages 
contain  well-selected  lists  of  books  and  bulletins  for  schools  and  refer- 
ences on  the  common  insects  of  California.  While  the  pamphlet  is 
directly  valuable  for  teachers  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  its  usefulness  is 
by  no  means  limited  to  that  region. 

M.  A.  B. 

GUIDE   TO   PERIODICAL  LITERATURE 

A   BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF   THE   LEADING   MAGAZINE   ARTICLES   OF   INTER- 
EST   IN    CONNECTION    WITH    NATURE-STUDY 
JULY    TO    NOVEMBER,    I905 

ARRANGED  BY  ADA  WATTERSON  YERKES 
2,0%  Mellen  St.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

1.  EDUCATIONAL  AND   GENERAL  DISCUSSIONS  OF  NATURE-STUDY 

Agriculture  in  the  schools.     Exper.   Sta.   Record.     Abstract  in   Science. 
22  :  505-6.     O.  20,  '05. 

Butler,  M.  L.     A  new  kind  of  garden   school.     Garden   Mag.   2 :  132-4. 

0.  '05. 

McClure,  D.  E.     Phases  of  modern  education.     II.  Education  of  country 
children  for  the  farm.     Education.  26 :  65-70.     O.  '05. 

2.  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  ANIMALS  AND  PLANTS 

1.  ANIMALS 
General 

Long,  W.  J.     The  question  of  animal  reason.     Harper.   111:588-94.     S. 

'OS- 

Must    "protective    coloration"    go?      Country    Gal.     1:336.      Ag.     '05. 
(Criticism  of  Burroughs'  article  in  Atlantic  for  June.) 

Ward,  H.  B.    The  relation  of  animals  to  disease.     Science.  22 :  193-203. 
Ag.  18,    '05. 
Insects 

Baker,  C.  F.     Fleas  and  disease.     Am.  Nat.  39 :  507-8.     July,  '05. 

Crafts,  H.  A.     Breeding  beneficial  insects..  Harper.  111:778-82.     O.  '05. 

Howard,  L.  0.     Breeding  beneficial   insects.     Science.   22 :  467-8.     O.    13, 
'05.     (Correction  of  article  in  Harper  for  October.) 


PERIODIC    LITERATURE  273 

Lyon,  D.  E.  Honey-bees  that  do  not  sting.  C'try  Life  in  Amer.  8 :  520- 
2.     S.  '05. 

McCook,  H.  C.     Agricultural  ants.     Harper.  111:292-97.     July,  '05. 

Needham,  H.  B.     War  on  the  most  dangerous  of  wild  animals.     Country 
Cal.     S.  '05. 
Other  Invertebrates 

Shannon,    H.    J.     Life    along    the    seashore.     St.    Nich.    32 :  936-8.     Ag. 
'05.     (Crabs,  clams,  etc.) 
Lower  Vertebrates 

Armstrong,  W.  N.     The  terrapin  of  the  Chesapeake.     Southern  Work- 
man. 34  :  396-400.     Jl.  '05. 
Birds 

Brownell,  L.  W.  A  heron  colony  in  the  north.  Country  Cal.  i  :  360-2. 
Ag.  '05. 

Dutcher,  W.  The  tree  sparrow.  Audubon  Educ.  Leaflet  No.  16.  Bird- 
Lore.  7 :  253-6.  S.  05.  The  yellow-billed  cuckoo.  Leaflet  No.  15.  7 : 
219-22.     Jl.  '05. 

Finley,  W.  L.  Photographing  a  flicker  family.  St.  Nich.  32 :  802-5. 
Jl.  '05.     Warbler  Ways.  32 :  916-19.     Ag.  '05. 

Fiske,  G.  W.,  Jr.     Olive-sided  flycatcher.     Bird-Lore.   7 :  195-6.     Jl.   '05. 

Forbush,  E.  H.  The  decrease  of  certain  birds  and  its  cause,  with  sug- 
gestions for  bird  protection.  Mass.  St.  Board  of  Agric.  52d  Report.  Pp. 
429-543.  (Capital  paper  on  economic  relations  of  birds.)  How  to  attract 
the  winter  birds  about  our  homes.     Bird-Lore.  7 :  233-6.     S.  '05. 

Huntington,  D.  W.  The  grouse  of  the  desert.  Ind.  59:859-62.  O.  12, 
'05. 

Sharp,  D.  L.     The  moulting  of  the  birds.     Country  Cal.   i :  347-9.     Ag. 
'05. 
Mammals 

Hawthorne,  J.  The  biggest  game  of  all.  (Hunting  elephants.)  Cosmo. 
39  :  229-38.     Jl.  '05. 

Johnson,  W.  A.  Elk — ^the  last  of  the  big-game  herds.  C'try  Life  in 
Amer.  8:506-11.     S.  '05. 

Lillie,  G.  W.  Restoring  bison  to  the  western  plains.  Cosmo.  39  :  651-4. 
O.  '05. 

Needham,  H.  B.  War  on  the  most  dangerous  of  wild  animals.  Country 
Cal.      S.  '05. 

Whitby,  J.  E.  Four-footed  policemen.  Cosmo.  39:515-18.  S.  '05. 
(Use  of  dogs  on  police  force  in  Belgium.) 

Whitney,  C.     The  trail  of  the  tiger.     Outing.  47 :  57-72.     O.  '05. 
H.  PLANTS 
General 

Holder,  C.  F.  Strange  plants  of  the  hottest  place  in  the  United  States. 
Country  Cal.   i  :  350-1.     Ag.  '05.     (Cacti,  etc.) 

Reed,  H.  S.  A  brief  history  of  ecological  work  in  botany.  Plant  World. 
7  :  163-70.     Jl.  '05. 

Stevens,  F.  L.  The  science  of  plant  pathology.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.  67  : 
399hd8.     S.  '05. 


2  74  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.   1905 

Wild     Flower     Preservation     Society.     Announcement.     Plant     World. 

8  :  154-     Je.  '05. 

Squires,  W.  A.     The  rise  and  fall  of  the  tumbleweeds.     Amer.  Botanist. 

9  :  9-1 1.     Jl.  '05. 
Trees  and  Forestry 

Berry,  E.  J.  The  ancestors  of  the  big  trees.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.  67 :  465-74. 
S.  '05. 

Chapman,  A.     A  day  with  a  forest  ranger.     Outlook.  81  :  489-95.     O.  28, 

'05.     ♦ 

Editorials.  Forest  reserves  in  Idaho.  Forest  reserves  in  Utah.  Out- 
look. 81 :  344.  O.  14,  '05.  New  regulations  for  forest  reserves.  81 :  103. 
S.  16,  '05.     Preservation  of  White  Mountain  forests.     81 :  9-10.     S.  2,  '05. 

Foster,  E.  W.  Our  friends,  the  trees.  St.  Nich.  32 :  812-5.  Jl.  '05. 
(Illustrations  of  tree,  leaf,  bark,  fruit  of  common  fruit  and  nut-bearing 
trees.) 

McAdam,  T.     The  culture  of  evergreens.     Garden  Mag.   2:10-11.     Ag. 

'05. 

Neilson,  A.  Forestry  in  the  public  schools.  For.  and  Irr.  11:435-7. 
S.  '05. 

Rogers,  J.   E.     How  to  know  the  tree  families  in  one  vacation.     C'try 
Life  in  Amer.  8  :  350-1.     Jl.  '05. 
Flowerless  Plants 

Arthur,  J.  C.     Mushrooms  and  toadstools.     Country  Cal.     S.  '05. 

Atkinson,  G.  F.  Outlines  for  the  observation  of  some  of  the  more  com- 
mon fungi.     Plant  World.  8  :  215-22.     S.  '05. 

Ferguson,  J.     The  funny  fungus  family.     St.  Nich.  32  :  840-3.     Jl.  '05. 

3.     AGRICULTURE,  INCLUDING  GARDENING 

Bache,  R.  What  the  plant  bureau  is  doing  for  the  farmer.  Outing.  46 : 
713-20.     S.  '05. 

Craig,  W.  N.  Hardy  bulbs  for  fall  planting.  Garden  Mag.  2:117-21. 
O.  '05. 

Egan,  W.  C.  Hardy  perennials  for  fall  planting.  Garden  Mag.  2:  114-5. 
O.  '05. 

Fletcher,  S.  W.  How  to  improve  the  texture  of  the  soil.  C'try  Life  in 
Amer.  8  :  532-3.     S.  '05. 

Fullerton,  E.  L.     Root  crops  for  the  home  garden.     C'try  Life  in  Amer. 

8:332-5-     Jl-  '05- 

Hall,  A.  D.  Recent  developments  in  agricultural  science.  Science.  22 : 
449-464.     O.  13,  '05. 

Hicks,  H.  and  others.  Fall  planting  of  trees,  shrubs,  fruits  and  vines. 
Garden  Mag.  2  :  106-13.     O.  '05.       "^ 

Kinney,  A.  S.  Outline  of  a  course  in  plant  culture.  Plant  World.  8: 
234-8.     S.  '05. 

Loring,  B.     Spinach  and  other  greens.     Garden  Mag.   i  :  270-2.     Jl.  '05. 

McKee,  S.  S.  A  hundred  thousand  bulbs  for  school  children.  Garden 
Mag.  2:80-82.     S.  '05. 

Pendleton,  W.  E.  Bulbs  for  window  gardens.  Garden  Mag.  2 :  135. 
O.  '05. 


NATURE    NOTES  275 

Scott,  J.  T.     How  to  have  flowers  earlier  next  spring.     Garden  Mag.  2  : 
58-60.     S.  '05. 


NATURE   NOTES 

[Editorial  Note. — Readers  are  requested  to  send  brief  notes,  signed 
with  name  or  initials,  for  this  department.  Or  please  call  attention  to 
new  articles  deserving  brief  abstracts.] 

Drumming  of  the  Grouse.  How  and  why  the  rufTed  grouse  drums 
has  long  been  a  mystery  to  naturalists.  The  most  ancient  and  most 
generally  accepted  theory  is  that  the  drumming  results  from  the  bird 
pounding  on  a  log.  But  this  has  long  been  doubted  because  the  birds 
may  drum  standing  on  sodden  and  mossy  logs,  on  rocks,  or  on  the 
ground,  and  moreover  the  best  observers  have  stated  that  the  birds 
stand  so  erect  that  the  wings  do  not  touch  the  object  on  which  the 
bird  stands. 

Professor  Hodge  has  been  raising  grouse  in  captivity  and  has  suc- 
ceeded in  taming  them  so  that  he  has  been  able  to  observe  the  drum- 
ming birds  at  close  range  and  to  take  dozens  of  snap-shot  photo- 
graphs. He  proves  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  the  drum- 
ming is  made  by  striking  the  wings  against  the  feather  cushions  of  the 
sides.  Moreover,  the  fact  that  a  young  male  drummed  first  and 
afterwards  only  when  the  hens  were  removed,  proved  it  to  be  a  mate 
call.  The  bird  had  no  opportunity  to  learn  from  older  birds  and 
therefore  the  reaction  is  inherited,  not  learned  by  imitation.  This 
and  many  other  interesting  points,  with  photographs,  are  given  in 
The  Country  Calendar  for  November. 

Butterflies  at  Rest.  Since  I  wrote  the  article  "  Do  birds  eat  butter- 
flies "  (No.  5,  September)  I  have  been  watching  butterflies  at  rest. 
I  find  Pieris  resting  on  large  leaves  in  conspicuous  positions.  The 
white  contrasting  with  the  green,  they  are  very  easy  to  see  and  should 
be  seen  by  the  birds,  one  would  think.  Are  they  perhaps  not  eaten 
much?  Of  course  the  position,  while  exposed,  is  one  in  which  the 
bird  could  not  well  perch  to  take  the  insect  without  alarming  it;  and 
it  would  perhaps  be  difficult  to  take  it  when  the  bird  is  on  the  wing. 
Also,  I  find  Pyrgus  resting  on  plants,  looking  quite  conspicuous, — at 
least  to  me. 

These  remarks  are  made  with  the  idea  that  perhaps  The  Review 
might  collect  all  observations,  however  trivial,  on  the  subject  of  the 
relation  of  birds  and  butterflies  and  some  day  edit  the  result  for  the 
readers.     Something  valuable  might  be  accomplished  thus. 

T.    D.    A.    COCKERELL. 


276  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.   1905 

Birds  Eating  Butterflies.  In  regard  to  the  matter  of  birds  eating 
butterflies  mentioned  in  the  September  issue  it  might  be  well  to  put 
my  experience  on  record.  In  1898  I  spent  two  weeks  at  a  country 
place  upon  the  veranda  of  which  a  phoebe-bird  had  built  her  nest. in 
plain  view.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  there  were  four  fledgelings  in  the 
nest  and  these  the  mother  bird  fed  principally  on  butterflies.  This  is 
not  a  mere  matter  of  recollection  for  I  wrote  down  the  occurrence  at 
the  time.  What  made  the  incident  especially  strikinig'  was  the  fact 
that  the  old  bird  did  not  quite  kill  the  butterflies  nor  remove  their 
wings  and  as  a  result  we  were  often  treated  to  the  sight  of  a  young 
bird  holding  a  butterfly  whose  wings  were  still  waving  desperately. 
After  the  butterflies  had  ceased  to  struggle,  the  young  birds  often 
sat  for  some  time  with  a  butterfly's  wing  projecting  from  each  side  of 
its  bill.  The  butterflies  were  the  common  yellow  and  white  ones  so 
common  over  grass  fields,  cabbage  patches  and  along  roadsides.  If 
one  were  to  try  to  decide  whether  this  is  a  common  occurrence,  I 
think  it  would  be  well  to  watch  only  certain  birds  such  as  the  fly- 
catchers and  their  kin.  To  me  it  seems  likely  that  strictly  insectivo- 
rous birds  may  capture  a  large  number  of  butterflies  each  season. 

WiLLARD   N.    ClUTE. 

Vitality  of  Seeds.  Twenty-five  years  ago  Professor  Beal,  of  Mich- 
igan Agricultural  College,  placed  seeds  of  twenty-three  kinds  of  plants 
in  moist  sand  in  uncorked  bottles  planted,  mouth  downward,  twenty 
inches  deep  in  a  sandy  hillside.  Some  seeds  of  each  kind  were  tested 
quinquennially.  All  acorns  were  dead  in  two  years.  Eight  kinds 
failed  to  germinate  at  the  end  of  five  years  and  thereafter.  Eleven 
germinated  after  twenty-five  years.  Among  them  were  black  mus- 
tard, shepherd's  purse,  evening  primrose,  curled  dock  and  common 
purslane. — Botanical  Gazette. 

Cock-spur  Thorn.  Dr.  Leavitt,  writing  in  the  October  Plant 
World,  states  that  the  great  majority  of  the  thorns  of  Crataegus  Crus- 
galli  point  downward  or  curve  downward.  His  interpretation  of  the 
usefulness  of  these  peculiar  modified  branches  is  that  they  are  de- 
fences against  animals — ox  and  deer  families — which  now  or  once  fed 
upon  the  leaves.  The  downward-pointing  thorns  are  supposed  to  be 
especially  valuable  because  these  animals  commonly  seize  branches 
from  beneath.  This  explanation  seems  almost  too  perfect  to  be  true. 
No  doubt  the  trees  are  well  defended  by  the  thorns  as  arranged,  but 
some  biologists  will  doubt  whether  the  relation  between  the  plants  and 
the  animals  is  intimate  enough  to  be  of  great  moment  in  preserving 
the  thorn-tree  in  the  struggle  for  existence  in  the  past.  An  explana- 
tion which  appeals  to  many  is  that  the  thorns  arose  originally  as  a 


NATURE    NOTES  277 

mutation,  that  is,  a  sudden  variation,  and  without  any  regard  to  their 
possible  use  in  defence.  This  latter  on  this  view  is  secondary  and 
incidental  and  the  species  might  have  been  preserved,  as  have  many 
others,  without  such  defences.  This  is  quite  a  different  thing  from 
regarding  the  thorns  as  of  great  importance  in  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence. • 

Gypsy  Moth  Parasites.  The  law  regulating  the  importation  of  new 
species  of  animals  has  been  temporarily  suspended  by  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  in  the  case  of  specimens  for  study  and  experiments  by  the 
Superintendent  for  Suppressing  the  Gypsy  and  Brown  Tail  Moths. 
Another  attempt  will  be  made  to  find  a  parasite  able  to  control  these 
exceedingly  noxious  insects. 

What  Kills  the  Birds.  E.  H.  Forbush,  Ornithologist  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts State  Board  of  Agriculture,  writes  in  a  special  report  that 
the  principal  natural  enemies  of  birds  are  cats,  foxes,  crows,  English 
sparrows,  hawks,  jays,  owls,  weasels,  skunks,  snakes,  pheasants, 
minks,   orioles,   chipmunks,    raccoons   and   the   elements. 

The  detructiveness  of  the  cat  is  noted  not  only  by  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  observers,  but,  with  remarkable  unanimity;  nearly  all  who  re- 
port on  the  natural  enemies  of  birds  place  the  cat  first  among  de- 
structive animals.  Cats  in  good  hunting  grounds  average  at  least  fifty 
birds,  each,  a  year.  Cats  are  also  more  destructive  than  other 
animals,  because  so  much  more  abundant.  A  friend  who  was  raising 
pheasants  was  obliged  to  kill  over  two  hundred  cats  in  a  few  years. 
Game  birds  suffer  much  from  the  cat,  but  the  smaller  birds  suffer 
more.  Cats  are  far  more  destructive  to  birds  than  foxes  are,  for  cats 
climb  trees  and  take  the  young  out  of  the  nests.  They  easily  catch 
young  birds  which  are  just  learning  to  fly.  They  frequently  catch  the 
adult  birds  on  the  ground  when  they  are  feeding,  or  when  they  are 
drinking  or  bathing. 

The  most  harmful  characteristic  of  the  cat  is  its  tendency  to  revert 
to  a  wild  state.  If  a  dog  loses  its  master  and  can  not  find  its  home, 
it  seeks  to  form  the  acquaintance  of  a  new  master;  but  the  cat  is 
quite  as  likely  to  take  to  the  woods  and  run  wild.  It  then  becomes 
a  terror  to  all  living  things  which  it  can  master.  Whoever  turns  out 
or  abandons  a  cat  or  a  kitten  in  the  country  has  much  to  answer  for. 

Proofs  of  the  destructiveness  of  cats  are  not  wanting.  They  were 
introduced  on  Sable  Island,  off  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  about  1880. 
They  ran  wild,  and,  multiplying  rapidly,  exterminated  the  rabbits 
which  had  been  in  possession  of  the  island  for  half  a  century. 

On  Aldabra  island,  about  two  hundred  miles  northwest  of  Mada- 
gascar, cats  are  common.      They  have  decimated  the  birds,  and  have  ex- 


278  THE    NATURE-STUDY    REVIEW         [i,  6,  nov.   1905 

terminated  a  flightless  rail,  an  interesting  bird  peculiar  to  this  group 
of  islands.  Cats  are  also  numerous  on  Glorioso  island,  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, birds  are  even  less  common  on  this  island  than  Aldabra. 

Fifty-eight  reports  received  by  this  Board  name  the  fox  as  one  of 
the  most  injurious  enemies  of  birds,  thus  placing  it  next  to  the  cat  in 
destructiveness. 

Many  observers  have  found  that  the  foxes  kill  many  ground  birds, 
such  as  grouse  and  quail,  when  there  is  snow  in  winter.  It  is  well 
known  that  foxes  will  follow  a  man's  track,  and  several  students  of 
birds  have  noted  that  foxes  follow  them  and  take  the  eggs  and 
nestlings  from  nests  which  they  stopped  to  examine. 


NEWS   NOTES 

New  Law  Protecting  Birds.  A  New  York  law  taking  effect  in  June, 
1905,  forbids  unnaturalized  foreigners  to  carry  firearms  and  dangerous 
weapons.  Under  this  law  the  slaughter  of  song  and  insectivorous  birds, 
which  has  been  carried  to  such  an  alarming  extent  by  Italians,  Poles  and 
other  foreigners,  may  be  almost  wholly  stopped,  if  good  citizens  will  make 
the  proper  reports  to  the  civil  authorities. 

Hartford  School-Gardens.  The  boys  and  girls  who  had  gardens  during 
the  past  year  at  the  School  of  Horticulture,  Hartford,  Conn.,  held  an 
Agricultural  Fair.  One  interesting  feature  was  a  spading  and  hoeing  con- 
test, and  prizes  were  awarded  to  those  who  best  handled  the  tools  and 
accomplished  the  required  amount  of  work  in  the  best  manner  and  shortest 
time.  Prizes  were  awarded  also  for  the  best  kept  gardens  and  the  best 
arrangecl  display  of  produce. 

Rural  Education.  The  New  York  Legislature  of  last  winter  voted 
$10,000  for  lectures  on  this  subject  at  the  Farmers'  Institutes  to  be  held 
this  winter. 

Dr.  E.  F.  Bigelow,  of  St.  Nicholas,  is  giving  during  this  winter  a  series 
of  lectures  to  teachers'  associations  in  California. 

Protecting  Song  Birds.  The  laws  against  killing  song  birds  are  being 
enforced  within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles  of  New  York  City.  During  Octo- 
ber and  November  many  arrests,  mostly  of  Italians,  were  made  by  agents 
of  the  New  York  Zoological  Society  and  the  League  of  American  Sports- 
men. 

Automatic  Guns.  The  New  York  Association  for  Protection  of  Fish 
and  Game  has  unanimously  passed  (Oct.  13)  a  resolution  and  petition  to 
the  legislature  protesting  against  the  introduction  of  the  slaughtering 
machines  known  as  automatic  shot-guns.  A  new  law  in  the  Province  of 
Alberta  prohibits  all  machine  guns  for  hunting  birds. 

American  Bison  Society.  This  association  has  been  organized  for  pro- 
tection and  increase  of  bison.  Dr.  Hornaday,  Director  of  the  New  York 
Zoological  Park,  is  president. 


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THE   POPULAR  SCIENCE   MONTHLY 

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A  complete  set  of  the  volumes  thus  far  published  is  both  a  history  of  education  for  the  period  covered 
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"With  the  increase  of  the  importance  of  the  applications  of  science  to  all  the  varied  fields  of  social 
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JOHN  DEWEY,  Professor  of  Philosophy,  Columbia  University. 

The  Popular  Science  Monthly  has,  throughout  its  history,  accomplished  a  great  workin  pop- 
ularizing science  and  in  liberalizing  thought  in  America.  Under  its  present  able  management  it  bids  fair  to 
continue  to  occupy  this  unique  field  in  American  literature.  It  should  have  the  hearty  support  of  every 
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THE    POPULAR    SCIENCE    MONTHLY, 

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mentioning  The  Nature-Study  Review. 


Nature  Study  in  the  Poets.  Arranged  for  school  use  by  Mary  Roenah  Thomas 
(teacher  in  the  Hancock  School,  Boston).  To  store  up  in  the  memory  choice  passages 
of  literature  whence  they  maybe  drawn  for  one's  own  satisfaction  and  the  good  of  one's 
friends  is  an  important  part  of  a  true  culture.  It  is  a  life-long  pleasure  and  a  real  advant- 
age to  have  thus  ever  at  hand  the  means  of  self-expression  through  the  medium  of  the 
language  of  the  world's  choice  spirits,  who  have  seen  and  felt  deeply  the  true  meaning 
of  things  and  cast  their  thought  in  the  finest  molds  of  English  speech.  The  teacher 
who  sees  to  it  that  her  classes  of  boys  or  girls  commit  to  memory,  first  and  last,  a  good 
many  short,  pithy,  pertinent  sentences,  stanzas,  lines  or  passages  from  the  world's  best 
literature  will  be  doing^them  a  service  for  which  they  will  be  grateful  all  their  lives. 
We  cannot  think  and  say  over  great  thoughts  of  noble  thinkers,  expressed  in  rhythmic 
and  happily  chosen  language,  without  acquiring  new  powers  of  thought  and  expression 
ourselves.  Many  a  humble  boy  or  girl's  life  has  been  saved  from  ruin  or  lifted  above 
the  commonplace  by  just  such  a  service  as  that  which  is  so  happily  rendered  by  Miss 
Thomas's  book.  The  volume  is  the  result  of  an  unusually  successful  effort  on  her  part 
to  ^do  in  the  classroom  for  her  own  pupils  the  work  which  we  have  endeavored  to 
describe  in  the  above  sentences.  With  rare  discernment  and  exquisite  literary  taste  she 
has  searched  the  writings  of  the  poets  for  those  happy  and  inspired  passages  in  which 
they  have  caught  the  very  essence  of  some  thought  of  God  as  expressed  in  Nature,  and 
have  put  it  into  musical  English.  There  are  brief  quotations  suitable  for  special  days 
such  as  Arbor  Day,  Memorial  Day,  Thanksgiving,  Christmas,  etc.  Resourceful 
teachers  will  find  many  ways  of  using  this  delightful  volume,  which  is  alike  valuable 
in  the'class  room  and  on  the  home  table.  The  book  is  artistically  made,  bound  in  stiff 
paper  covers,  142  pages.  Price,  50  cents  postpaid.  The  Palmer  Company,  50 
Bromfield    St.,    Boston,  publishers. 


NATURE-STUDY  PUBLICATIONS 


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Welsh's  Some  of  Our  Friends,  30c,  40c  * 

Davis'  Nature  Stories  for  Youngest  Read- 
ers, 30c,  40c 

Chase's  Plant  Babies  and  Their  Cradles, 
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30c,  40c 

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ture's Story  Book,  30c,  40c 

SECOND  YEAR 
Chase's  Buds,  Stems  and  Roots,  30c,  40c 
Chase's  Some  of  Our  Flower  Friends,  300,400 
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THIRD  YEAR 
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Kelly's  Leaves  from  Nature's  Story-Book. 

Vol,  I.     400,600. 
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300, 400. 

FOURTH  YEAR 

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Vol.  II.     400.  600. 

Poyntz's  Aunt  May's  Bird  Talks,  500. 

Pratt's  Little  Flower  Folks.  Vol.  I.  Stories 
from  Flow^erland,  300,  400 

Chase's  Stories  from  Animal  Land,  500,  750 

Greenleaf's  Stories  and  Tales  from  the  An- 
imal World,  500. 

Bryant's  Poetry  of  Flowerland,  750. 

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SIXTH  YEAR 

M.   and  E.    Kirby's    Stories    About    Birds, 

^i.oo. 
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Chandler's  Habits    of    California    Plants, 

60c. 

SEVENTH  YEAR 

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600. 
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Address:  THE  TEACHERS  COLLEGE  RECORD 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City 


(  CoHtiiiucd  from  tlic  second  iv<'cr  pai^^t.  ) 

C.  W.  BuRKiaT,  Professor  in  N.  C.  College  of  Agriculture,  W.  Raleigh,  X.  C. 
G.  W.  Carver,  Director  of  Agriculture,  Tuskegee  Institute,  Alabama. 
Elizabeth  Carse,  Principal  of  Charlton  School,  New  York  City. 

F.  M.  Chapman,  Curator  of  Birds,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Bertha  Chapman,  Superintendent  of  Nature-Study,  Oakland  Cal. 

F.  L.  Charle-S,   I'rofessor  of  Biology,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 

H.  L    Clapp,  Principal  of  Putnam  School,  Roxbury,  Mass. 

W.  B.  Coleman,  Professor  of  Biology,  Sam  Houston  Institute,  Huntsville.Tex. 

B.  P.  Colton,  Professor  of  Biology,  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 

Anna  B.  Comstock,  Lecturer,  Cornell  University,  College  of  Agriculture. 

E.  G.  CoNKLiN,  Director  of  Zoological  Department,  University  of  Penna. 

J.  AT.  Coulter,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Chicago. 

Stanley  Coulter,  Professor  of  Biology,  Purdue  University,  Laf^iyette,  Ind. 

T.  R.  Croswell,  Supervisor  of  Training  School,  Los  Angeles,  Cal, 

J.  Dearness,  Vice-principal  of  Normal  School,  London,  Ont. 

R.  F.  Dodge,  Professor  of  Geography,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  L'nixersity. 

Mrs.  F.  N.  Doubleday  (Neltje  Blanchan),  Author-Lecturer,  New  York  City. 

W.  F.  Ganong,  Professor  of  Botany,  Smith  College,  Northampton,  Mass. 

W.  S.  Hall,  Professor  of  Physiology,  Northwestern  University,  Chicago. 

W.  Hallock,  Professor  of  Physics,  Columbia  University. 

W.  M.  Hays,  Director  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Minnesota. 

H.  D.  Hemenway,  Director  of  Hartford  (Conn.)  School  of  Horticulture. 

E.  H.  HOLDEN,  Formerly  Director  of  Lick  Observatory,    Librarian  of  West 

Point  Military  Academy. 
W.  G.  Hormell,  Professor  of  Physics,  Ohio  Wesleyan  L'niversity,  Delaware,  O. 
W.  T.  HoRNADAY,  Director  of  New  York  Zoological  Park. 
W.  S.  Jackman,  Principal  of  Elementary  School,  University  of  Chicago. 
O.  P.  Jenkins,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Stanford  University,  Cal. 
V.  L.  Kellogg,  Professor  of  Entomology,  Stanford  University. 

D.  Lange.  Supervisor  of  Nature-Study,  St.  Paul  (Minn.)  schools. 

F.  E.    Lloyd,    Adjunct    Professor  of   Biology,    Teachers    College,  Columbia 

University. 
\V.  LncHHEAD,  Professor  of  Biology,  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 
W.  A.  LoCY,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111. 
T.  H.  Macbride,  Professor  of  Botany,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa  City. 
Alice  G.  McCloskey,  Instructor,  College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University. 
A.  H.  MacKay,  Superintendent  of  Education,  Nova  Scotia,  Halifax    ?\\  S. 
Chas.  a.  McMurry,  Professor  of  Pedagogy,  DeKalb  (111.)  Normal  School. 
F.  M.  McMurry,    Professor  of    Elementary    Education,    Teachers    College, 

Columbia  University. 
J.   \\  MuNsoN,  Professor  of  Biology,  State  Normal  School,  Ellensburg,  \Vash. 
Fred.  Mutchler,  Institute  Worker  and  Assistant  in  Biology,  Clark  University. 
J.  G.  Needham,  Professor  of  Biology,  Lake  Forest  University,  Lake  Forest,  111. 
H.  Newman,  Principal  of  Public  School  33,  New  York  City. 
J.  E.  Peabody,  Instructor  in  Biology,  Morris   High  School,  New  York    City. 
Clara  M.  Russell,  New  York  State  Normal  College,  Albanv,  N.  \'. 
P.  W.  Search,  Lecturer,  Worcester,  Mass. 

S.  B.  Sinclair,  Vice- Principal  of  Normal  School,  Ottawa,  Canada. 
J.  W.  Spencer,  Supervisor  of  Bureau  of  Nature-Study,  Cornell  Universitv. 
W.  E.  Stark,  Principal  of  High  School,  Ethical  Culture  School,  New  York. 
F.  L.  Stevens,  Professor  of  Biology  in  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture, 
Ada  Watterson,  Tutor  in  Biology,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Universitv. 
C  M.  Weed,  Professor  in  New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture,  Durham. 
Mrb.  L.  L.  Wilson,  Director  of  Biology,  Philadelphia  Normal  College. 


THE 

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DEVOTED  TO  ALL  PHASES    OF  NATURE-STUDY  IN 
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NATURAL  SCIENCE 

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for  Exhibition,  Demonstration  and  Dissection. 

Skeletons,    Models,    Charts,    Aquaria,  Mounted    Birds   and 
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ENTOMOLOGICAL    SUPPLIES     AND     INSECTS 

Special  Insect  Catalogue. 
EVERYTHING    NEEDED    BY  NATURALISTS 

Illustrated  Catalogues  and  Special  Estimates  on  Application. 

THE    KNY-SCHEERER    COMPANY 

Dept.  of  Natural    Science,  225-233   Fourth    Ave  , 

G.  LAGAI,  Ph.D.  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

(Mention  (his  Revletv.) 


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