rom Group in American Museum of Natural History]

FOOTNOTE:

[5] The passages in this section, from "Camping and Woodcraft," by
Horace Kephart, are used by permission of the author and the publisher,
the Macmillan Company, and are copyrighted, 1916, by the Macmillan
Company.

SECTION XV

NATURE STUDY FOR GIRL SCOUTS

FOREWORD

The following section was specially prepared for the Girl Scouts by Mr.
George H. Sherwood, Curator, and Dr. G. Clyde Fisher, Associate Curator,
of the Department of Public Education of the American Museum of Natural
History. All the illustrations used were supplied by the Museum, and the
tests in the various subjects were devised by the same authors.

The American Museum of Natural History in New York conducts special
courses of lectures in all of the branches of Natural History, and
extends a cordial invitation to all Girl Scouts to visit the Department
of Education if wishing help in preparation for their Nature Study
tests.

_Contents_

1. Introduction to Nature Study.

2. Plants: Flowers and Ferns and Trees.

3. Animals: Mammals
Birds
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fishes
Invertebrates

4. Geology.

[Illustration: AN EGRET "ROOKERY" IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

The demand for the nuptial plumes of this bird in the millinery trade
brought it to the verge of extermination. Range: Temperate and tropical
America. Habitat Group in The American Museum of Natural History.]

1. Introduction to Nature Study

_To the solid ground
Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye._
--_Wordsworth._

_To understand nature is to gain one of the
greatest resources of life._
--_John Burroughs._

Nature Study means getting acquainted with the multitude of creatures,
great and small, which inhabit the land, the water, and the air, and
with the objects which surround them. Mother Nature has many, many
secrets which she will reveal to sharp eyes and alert minds. It is, of
course, impossible for any one to learn all these secrets, but the
mastering of a few makes it easier to learn others, until finally it
becomes clear that all life is related and that the humblest creature
may be of the greatest importance to the welfare of the h