ot the
quantity of matter taught but the interest aroused and the spirit of
investigation fostered, together with carefulness and thoroughness,
which are the important ends to be sought. With a mind trained to
experiment and stimulated by a glimpse into nature's secrets, the worker
finds in his labour a scientific interest that lifts it above drudgery,
while, from a fuller understanding of the forces which he must combat
or with which he must co-operate, he reaps better rewards for his
labours.

The claims of Nature Study to an educative value are based not upon a
desire to displace conventional education, but to supplement it, and to
lay a foundation for subsequent reading. Constant exercise of the senses
strengthens these sources of information and develops alertness, and at
the same time the child is kept on familiar ground--the world of
realities. It is for these reasons that Nature Study is frequently
defined as "The Natural Method of Study". Independent observation and
inference should be encouraged to the fullest degree, for one of the
most important, though one of the rarer accomplishments of the modern
intellect, is to think independently and to avoid the easier mode of
accepting the opinions of others. Reading from nature books, the study
of pictures, and other such matter, is not Nature Study. These may
supplement Nature Study, but must not displace the actual vitalizing
contact between the child and natural objects and forces.

It is this contact which is at the basis of clear, definite knowledge;
and clearness of thought and a feeling of at-homeness with the subject
is conducive to clearness and freedom of expression. The Nature Study
lesson should therefore be used as a basis for language lessons.

Undoubtedly one of the most important educative values that can be
claimed for Nature Study is its influence in training the pupil to
appreciate natural objects and phenomena. This implies the widening and
enriching of human interests through nurturing the innate tendency of
the child to love the fields and woods and birds; the checking of the
selfish and destructive impulses by leading him to see the usefulness of
each creature, the harmony of its relation to its environment, and the
significance of its every part. Nor is it a mistake to cultivate the
more sentimental love of nature which belongs to the artist and the
poet. John Ruskin emphasizes this value in these words: "All other
efforts are futile unles