spite of the old methods will pursue it yet more eagerly
under the new. Many who would have turned away from it entirely will
continue their study into the technical works, while great numbers who
have no leaning toward technical study and would have had nothing to do
with botany under the old methods, under the new will assimilate the
best truths the study of this subject is able to give, and so far from
finding a wild rose less fragrant or less beautiful because of their
close scrutiny of it, they will find it infinitely more so,--infinitely
more rich in affording poetical thoughts, comparisons, and images.

What is true of plant life is equally true of animal life. The first
attention should be directed toward the animal itself, its life and
habits, technical information coming afterwards.

VI

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEED

In dealing with the special subject of this book too much stress cannot
be laid upon the value of associating the phenomena of the renewal of
life with all other vital phenomena, instead of divorcing it from them.

Two reasons why the subject of reproduction has such undue prominence in
the minds of many people are, first, the manner in which it has been
made conspicuous through concealment; and second, the fact that when
spoken of at all, it has been treated as a unique phenomenon unrelated
to anything else. These are not the only reasons, but they are strong
ones, and their existence is quite unnecessary.

Education, therefore, should remove both of these stumbling-blocks. The
first one is easily removed, though the value of its removal depends
entirely upon the manner in which that removal is accomplished. The
second is also easily removed, the only difficulty being how to do it in
the most helpful manner. The problem, then, for the instructor to solve
is, how fully to acquaint the child with the phenomena of the
reproductive life without making the subject unduly prominent.

This can well be done by interesting him in all the phenomena of living
things, and allowing the reproductive function to take its place, not as
something alone and different from everything else, but as one in a
series of vital phenomena, all equally important and all interesting;
not as something peculiar to human life or to the higher animals, but
belonging equally to every living thing, whether animal or plant, and
manifesting itself in the same way everywhere. Nor is this as difficult
as at first glance