rees. Such studies are more lasting than book study because they
emphasize the spirit and the goal rather than the petty facts.

Educators and parents are now recognizing the value of outdoor trips
for their children and are beginning to indulge in them quite
frequently. In many instances teachers about to take out their children
for a day have inquired of the writer how to go about giving a general
field lesson when they reached the park or woodland. The purpose of this
chapter is to answer such a question and yet it is evident that it
cannot be answered completely. What to observe out doors and how to
present one's impressions is a broad question and varies with the
knowledge and ability of the teacher as well as with the age and
experience of the children. The how and the what in nature study is of
greater import than the hard, dry facts and that must be left entirely
to the teacher. A few suggestions, however, may not be amiss:

1. General observations with a view to character building: First of all
it is important to remember that the great value of all tree and
nature study is the inculcation in the minds of the children of an
appreciation and love for the beautiful. Inspiring them to _love_
trees generally means more than teaching them to _know_ trees. Mere
facts about trees taught in an academic way are often no more
lasting than the formulae in trigonometry which most of us have long
ago forgotten. The important thing is that permanent results be left
and nothing else will produce such lasting impressions as the study
of trees out of doors.

[Illustration: FIG. 153.--Trees Have Individuality.]

General observations about trees can be made by pointing out the
beauty and character of the individual forms and branching, their
harmony in their relations to each other as factors of a beautiful
composition and the wealth of shades and colors in their leaves,
bark and flowers. Compare, for instance, the intricate ramification
of an American elm with the simple branching of a sugar maple, the
sturdiness of a white oak with the tenderness of a soft maple, the
wide spread of a beech with the slender form of a Lombardy poplar,
the upward pointing branches of a gingko with the drooping form of a
weeping willow. At close range, each of these trees reveals itself
as an individual with a character quite its own. At little distance
you may s