concerning it. At length the green shoot will make its
appearance, just peeping above the mould, to the no small surprise and
gratification of the little observers. They will mark with attentive
eagerness the progress of its growth, the appearance of the bud, and
the gradual development of "the pretty flower," till they are fully
convinced of the wisdom of the parent or teacher who foretold
all which has happened, and made acquainted with the process of
vegetation, not from words, but from observation. Certain it is, that
such a lesson could not be wholly useless. In the first place it might
be made the means of impressing them with ideas of the Almighty
power, highly conducive to piety; secondly, it would beget a habit of
observation; thirdly, it would be likely to produce a love of flowers
and the vegetable world, favourable to their future pursuits in the
science of botany; and, lastly, it would inspire their little breasts
with a love and respect for the parents or teachers who were wise and
kind enough to teach them so many true and wonderful things.

As an efficient and amusing introduction to _natural history_, I would
have every nursery provided with a microscope, by means of which the
minds of the children might be excited to wonder and admiration at the
amazing beauty and perfection of the insect world, and the astonishing
construction of various substances, as seen through this instrument.
So far would this be from begetting habits of cruelty, that it would
be very likely to check them. Many children who would be loath to
torture a large animal, such as a cat, a dog, or a bird, feel no
compunction at ill-using a fly, because it appears to them so
insignificant an animal; but had they once witnessed, by means of a
microscope, the wonderful and perfect conformation of the insect, I am
persuaded they would be less inclined to make the distinction.

Various devices might be made use of to teach the first truths of
_astronomy_. So simple a device as an apple, with a wire run through
its centre, turned round before a candle, might serve to explain the
phenomena of day and night; whilst the orrery, with the accompaniment
of a simple and familiar lecture--(it should be much more so, indeed,
than any I have heard or read)--would make them acquainted with those
stupendous facts which strike us with as astonishment and awe. It
has been well observed by Dr. Young, with respect to the wonders of
astronomy--

"In litt