The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-15
NATURES DAY IN LITERATURE

N recent years nature has claimed an
 ever increasing share in the litera- ture Of the world. The poets have dug deeper than ever before into its laby- rinth of mysteries, while prose writers have given the subject more thoughtful end conscientious attention than could have been hoped for by even the most ardent lover of nature. With camera and sketch pad authors and artists alike have made deep and prolonged plunges into the recesses of valley and forest; coming forth at length after having wis., tted the haunts and studied the habits of life of natures myriad creatures, to give to the world knowledge of hereto fore hidden secrets of the natural world
 It has been interesting indeed to note with what feverish eagerness the student wolrd hac developed a desire after knowl- edge of nature and its creatures; and the determined effort put forth has resulted in better and far more intimate knowI- edge of these subjects by students and general readers. 4 kind of nature "fad'' has swept through the literary world with as much enthusiasm as usually attaches itself to the social fads sweeping the ranks of society. Fortunately, however. this literary fad has been productive of vastly more good than those of dress and and manners.
 Besides magazine articles unnumbered, many of which have eventually been published in book form; there have ap- peared in rapid succession, exhaustive as well as light and entertaining books on the secrets of nature from the presses of the leading publishing houses. The en- thusiasm has been so great on the part of author and reader for such knowledge that the contaglon of 1t has swept into ha are full of new and striking books giving Q fuller, more intimate and practical ac- Quaintance with nature than has ever be- fore been taught to the children of any generation.
 At least three departments of literature have been materially affected by this flood tide of nature predictions. The first of these may be casually designated as the nature story books Into the mouths 0f the various animals is put a language and habits and ways to conform to pe- culiar characteristics attributed to them, either imaginary or real. So marked and distinctive are these characteristics that after once reading the stories 1t is diffi- cult in the future to separate thought Of any of these animals from the storied picture. In so far as these pictures were drawn from real life, Illustrating accur- ately the lives and habits of the animals under discussion, they were undoubtedly productive of good results; but where they were purely imaginary they were prooaoIy to certain extent injurious with relation to future correct knowledge of the animal Kingdom. Possibly the best ana most widely read of any of this class or nature work, and also about the ear Hest Of any were the productions of Joel Chandler Harris, commonly known as his "Br CT Rabbit" series, These worka wary, accurately described the life of the ani- mals and gave children an entertaining and attractive form secrets of the life and habits of the animals which they oth- erwise would not have had.
 Then there is what may be termed tba poetic department of nature Iitero+,,ra In this broad and comprehensive f,alS material and animal nature has haen ,,saS to illustrate and emphasize the sent,- ments and thoughts sought by the noats 10 be put into such form as will make