under
existing conditions.

{vi}

The book is intended to help children to study nature; there is no
attempt to substitute book study for nature study. Hence, whilst there
are passages of continuous reading, it is not a mere "reader." Many
teachers, myself among them, have felt the difficulty of organising
practical work for large classes. Dr Russell has written so that,
whilst nominally showing the pupil how to learn, he is secretly
scattering hints for the teacher who is learning how to teach.

Abundant and varied practical exercises have been suggested, and
careful instructions have been given so that the book shall seem
intelligible even in the absence of a teacher. The proposed practical
work is not only what might be done by eager boys and girls on
half-holidays, but what can be done by every scholar in the course of
ordinary school work. The pictorial illustrations are intended as aids
to observation, not as substitutes. Drawing is one form of practical
exercise, and the preparation of corresponding illustrations in the
scholars' notebooks from the apparatus used in the classroom and the
fields around the school may afford exercises in artistic work with
pen, brush or camera.

Sufficient directions are given for the supply of necessary materials
and apparatus. The apparatus proposed is of the simplest character.

It is suggested that the book will be found most useful in the higher
standards of elementary schools, in preparatory schools and in the
lower forms of secondary schools, that is, where the ages of scholars
average from 12 to 14.

HUGH RICHARDSON

YORK, 7 January 1911

{vi}

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. WHAT IS THE SOIL MADE OF? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. MORE ABOUT THE CLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
III. WHAT LIME DOES TO CLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
IV. SOME EXPERIMENTS WITH THE SAND . . . . . . . . . . . 22
V. THE PART THAT BURNS AWAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
VI. THE PLANT FOOD IN THE SOIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
VII. THE DWELLERS IN THE SOIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
VIII. THE SOIL AND THE PLANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
IX. CULTIVATION AND TILLAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
X. THE SOIL AND THE COUNTRYSIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
XI. HOW SOIL HAS BEEN MADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
AP