THE OUT-DOOR INSTINCT
ANTIQUITY OF NATURE STUDY
THE MODERN IDEA
BOY COLLECTORS
AROUSING INTEREST
HERBARIUMS
HOMEMADE PRESS
EQUIPMENT
NEW KIND OF HUNTING
WALKS AFIELD
NIGHT SOUNDS
"FISHOLOGY"
PURPOSEFUL TRIPS
OUTDOOR TALKS ON NATURE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
If nature is to be a resource in a man's life, one's relation to her must
not be too exact and formal, but more that of a lover and friend.--John
Burroughs.
Outdoor Instinct
"The boy is always nearer to the heart of nature than the grown man. He
has a passionate love of the open air and of the fields and woods; he is
never really happy indoors. Nature has planted this outdoor instinct in
the boy's heart for the good of the race." Day and night teach him their
lessons. The boy will absorb much that is interesting and also much that
will be of real value in giving him a broader outlook upon life. Camping
gives abundant opportunity for the study of nature.
Nature study is not a fad of modern times. Nearly three hundred and fifty
years before Christ, Alexander the Great placed at the disposal of his
tutor, Aristotle, the services of one thousand men throughout Asia and
Greece with instructions to collect and report details concerning the
life, conditions and habits of fishes, birds, beasts and insects. To this
magnificent equipment of assistants, Alexander added fifteen thousand
dollars in gold for books and laboratory supplies.
Prof. L. H. Bailey says, "The modern idea of Nature Study is, to put the
boy in a sympathetic attitude toward nature for the purpose of increasing
the joy of living. Nature study is not science. It is not knowledge. It is
spirit. It is concerned with the boy's outlook on the world.... This
Nature spirit is growing, and there are many ways of knowing the fields
and woods. A new literature has been born. It is the literature of the
out-of-doors."
Collectors
Boys are natural born collectors. They are interrogation points, full of
curiosity, like the "man from Missouri," they want to know. The wise
leader will say, "Let us find out some thing about this tree, or plant, or
bird, or whatever it may be, and together we will be learners." The
textbook method will not work in a boys' camp. "Go find me a flower" is
the true method, and let us see what it is. Nature study books and
leaflets should be used merely as guides, not as texts.
Arousing Interest
Arouse interest by encouraging the boys to make collections of leaves,
flowers, etc., found in the vicinity of the camp. Leaves and flowers may
be pressed in a home-made press and mounted upon heavy paper or cardboard.
The following suggestions are given by Dan Beard and quoted by permission
of Charles Scribner's Sons from his Book, "The Field and Forest Handy
Book."
[Illustration: The Vreeland Press]
Herbarium
"The illustration shows how the press is made. In using the press, first
place the plants or leaves, enclosed in their wrappers and dryers of
newspapers, on the bottom board, put the top board over them, bring the
hinged lever down and bind the whole together with a stout strap put
around the end of the lever and the handle of the bottom board. As this
strap is drawn tight the lever bends, and so keeps a constant pressure on
the plants and leaves even when they shrink in drying. Dryers should be
changed at least every day. Mount specimens on separate herbarium sheets
of standard size (1-1/2 X 16-1/2). Each specimen should be mounted with
name (common and botanical), where found, date and any other facts of
interest. This label is usually pasted in the lower right hand corner of
the herbarium sheet."
Equipment
If the camp has a permanent building, these specimens make a most
attractive decoration as well as help to recall the happy days of "the
hunt." The material equipment for nature study should consist of a good
loose leaf note-book, something that will stand the out-door wear. Get
quadrille ruled sheets. They will simplify sketching in the matter of
proportion and scale. A pocket magnifying glass will serve for
identification of the specimens. An inexpensive combination tweezer and
magnifying glass is made by Asher Kleinman, 250 Eighth Avenue, New York
(50 cents). Best of all is a high-power microscope, especially where the
camp has a permanent building with suitable room, having a good light and
table facilities. A camera will help in securing permanent records of
trees, ferns, flowers, birds, freaks of nature and scenes other than the
usual camp groups. A few reliable books on nature study are needed to
complete the outfit.
Hunting
A "bird hunt" was a popular sport in one of my camps. We started off early
one morning, a group of boys, each "loaded" with a big lunchbox crammed
with good things, a note-book, a book on bird-life, and a "gun." The "gun"
we used was a powerful pair of field glasses. On the way we counted the
number of bird-homes we saw. Just as we were thinking about stopping and
having breakfast we heard a most ecstatic song. Creeping close to the
place where the sound came from, we discovered the songster to be a
song-sparrow. Focussing our "gun" upon the bird we made note of its
coloring and marking, making sure that if we heard or saw another we would
recognize it at once. While we were eating our breakfast, there was a dash
of white, yellow, and grayish-brown, a whirring sound and, as the bird
lighted upon the low bushes nearby, a clear, piercing whistle came from
its throat. Our "gun" revealed to us a meadow lark. By this time the boys
were as much excited over the bird hunt as over a game of ball.
Walks Afield
A "flower walk," observing the wild flowers; a "fern walk," discerning the
delicate tracery of the fern in its cool haunts; a "tree walk", noting the
different trees--all are natural ways of interesting boys in nature study.
Night Sounds
G. B. Affleck in the April, 1910, number of Physical Training tells his
experience in studying nature with several groups of boys.
"The night sounds surrounding a camp in northern Minnesota were a puzzle
to boys and to the counsellor of the tent at the end of the row. This
problem continued unsolved for more than a week, despite all attempts both
by day and night. Finally, one moist, warm night, Ned, after stealthily
approaching the sound, satisfied himself of its location in a certain tree
and in the morning was rewarded by the discovery of the 'toad' camped on a
branch near the source whence the sound had issued. Replacing the frog so
that the coarse tubercles of its back corresponded to the bark, Ned
enjoyed a merited reward at the expense of his tent mates who, though
often 'hot,' required some minutes to find the hidden treasure. Then came
the wonder of the stick toes and fingers, the feeding with flies, and the
result was--a new pet for the tent. In the next letters written to the
folks this find was the central theme. How much better this discovery and
the examination of the peculiar colors and structures, also the
conclusions, based upon observed structure, as to the life and habits of
the tree frog than would have been a scientifically learned discussion of
the family Hylidae!
"In a camp of fifty boys the writer remembers three who had special
delight in collecting pebbles, and they made several all-day trips to
distant brooks and beaches in the search for new specimens. Another group
became so fascinated with the study of the food of fish that they begged
the 'privilege' of cleaning the catch of each returning party. Proud was
that lad who incidentally located the heart of a pickerel, and because of
his school knowledge of physiology he could not be convinced that the fish
breathed without lungs till he had spent many hours in the vain endeavor
to locate said organs. Then he knew that his former idea had been
inadequate.
Fishology
"Fortunately, nature is so interrelated in her various phases that an
attempt at exploration in one direction soon opens other fields, until
with the growth of experience there comes a corresponding expansion of
interest. Thus the lads, searching for pebbles, were perforce attracted by
the plant and insect life of the brook, and the one delving into the
mystery of breathing oxygen without lungs developed a new interest in the
physics of fluids, while those who located the tree frog enlarged their
sphere by the knowledge that their pet rejected some of the 'bugs' offered
it.
"The leader, commencing thus with the limited or special interest of each
group, may evolve in his own mind the plan which most naturally will lead
the boys not only into a wider field of concrete facts, but also into the
habit of seeing relationships, of drawing conclusions and of raising
questions for further investigation.
"A group of boys interested in a study of fish may well be organized for
an all-day trip to the root of the rapids or the bay of springs; others
with geological preferences may spend a night on the top of the distant
hill which offers outcroppings of interest; the embryo botanists cannot do
better than to take a bog trot for the rare orchid, anomalous pitcher
plant, or glistening sun dew; lovers of the deep shade may paddle to the
inlet of the creek and there enjoy a side trip on the fragrant carpet of
hemlock and pine needles; thus it will be found that by anticipating the
probable findings in which the particular group is interested the leader
gives a point and purpose, adding not only to the enjoyment of the outing,
but imparting, in addition, some satisfactory knowledge of the vicinity."
Longfellow said that a "strong evidence of goodly character was the
thoughtfulness one displayed in caring for a tree." One of the best things
at Camp Becket was a series of out-door talks on nature given by Silas H.
Berry. Seated on a huge rock, he told the boys about the shaping and
clothing of the earth, foundation stones, mountains and hills, lakes,
ponds, and rivers, the beginning of vegetable life, the variation and
place of the freak, the forest and its place in the world's progress, the
alternation of the forest crop, man and his neighbors. Another afternoon
the boys went into the woods and while they squatted on Nature's mattress
of fragrant pine needles (see illustration, page 230), he told about
leaves and their work, cells and their place, roots and their arrangement,
tendrils and their mechanism, flowers and their devices, seeds and their
travels. The third talk was upon the evolution of plant life, law and
logic of creation, perpetuation of life in the lower forms, edible and
poisonous mushrooms, and the perpetuation of life in the higher forms. The
boys had a different conception of life thereafter and they possessed that
nature-love which always tends toward naturalness and simplicity of
living. They could sing with feeling.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
How Nature Study Should be Taught--Edward F. Bigelow, Ph.D. Hinds, Noble
and Eldridge, $1.00. A book of inspiration. Many practical suggestions are
given for arousing interest among boys in Nature Study.
The Nature Study Idea--Liberty H. Bailey. Macmillan Co., $1.25 net. An
interpretation of the new movement to put the boy in sympathy with Nature.
Field and Forest Handy Book--Dan Beard. Charles Scribner's Sons, $2.00.
Nothing better published for the benefit of those having permanent camps.
It should be placed in the hands of every boy.
Outdoors, Indoors, and Up the Chimney--Charles McIlvaine. Sunday School
Times Co., 75 cents net. A series of interesting stories about commonplace
things. Just the kind of information to give a boy on rainy days.
Dan Beard's Animal Book. Moffat, Yard & Company, $1.75 net. Filled with
the kind of incidents about animals that boys delight to hear, including
the famous bear stories. Also tells about the Campfire Club of Animals.
How to Study Birds--Herbert K. Job. Outing Publishing Co., $1.50 net.
Takes up the practical side of bird study. Describes the outfit necessary
for studying the birds in the open. A valuable book.
Manual of Common American Insects--William Beautenmuller. 25 cents.
Manual of Common Butterflies and Moths--William Beautenmuller. Funk &
Wagnalls Co., 25 cents. Two pocket manuals in which the insects,
butterflies and moths are reproduced in natural colors with their common
and scientific names.
Wilderness Pets at Camp Buckshaw--Edward Breck. Houghton, Mifflin Company,
$1.50 net. True tales of wilderness pets written by an experienced
woodsman. Intensely interesting.
Young Folks' Nature Field Book--J. Alden Loring. Dana, Estes & Co., $1.00.
Contains a seasonable hint for every day in the year. The alternate pages
are left blank for notes or record of things seen.
"How to Know the Wild Flowers"--F. T. Parsons. Charles Scribner's Sons,
$2.00 net.
"How to Know the Ferns "--F. T. Parsons. Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.50
net.
"Familiar Trees and Their Leaves"--F. D. Matthews. Appleton and Company,
$1.75 net. Three reliable handbooks written in popular style.
An Out-of-Door Diary--Marion Miller. Sturgis and Walton Co., $1.25 net.
Suitable for very young boys.
[Illustration: Making a Walk to the Beach-Camp Wawayanda]