The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-12

1t is good sometimes to live close to
the ground Most predetermined men
and women have occasionally done So
Qn4 difference between the great and
tire commonplace minds is that the
former are wont to get back TO the
soil'' for ehefr recreations, while the lat
EzS sesSrd the soil as little else than
mere dirt-as so much inert, lifeless
clay and sand beneath their feet-a
rather disagreeable form of matter that
alternately changes into mud and dust,
to the dismay of tidy housekeepers and
the DETACHMENT of carpets and clean
floors. Few, in fact, will have anything
to do with soil study, unless necessity
should cOnstrain them in that direction.
Not so, however, thought Washington,
jefferson, Emerson and other great
Americans. They were fond of field and
garden studies, and found inspiration
in the garden spade. And even today,
as I'm the time of our great ancestor.
God walks among the trees of the gar
den"
Why Study the Soil?
Man is, as far as we know, the most
important part of the world, and we
pTcrerly like to talk about his doings.
But the rest of nature, remarks DR..
VIM. Abbott. lis not of SO little impor-
lance that to be ignorant thereof carries
no stigma. True mental health
is that which welcomes natural knOwl-
edge. and has an unfailing appetite for
facts. No natural object can be ugly.
repulsive, uninstructive, or unentertain-
ing, il we see il as ii is, and have
knowledge of its place and purpose.
He sees best who sees a single object
nearest to exhaustively and who, by
seeing. is moved to rad its past realize
its present, and forecast its future"
Views of Nature Study.
Two views OF the aim of nature study
have recently been expressed. One by
Professor Bigelow is to the effect that
nature study deals with the simple
facts of nature as they are related to
mans general interest in them" The
other is by Professor Coulter, who says
that the aim of nature study is to keep
alive or keep functional" the 'tenta-
cIes of inquiry i'm the child mind.
Superintendent Turner. of Corners
vile, Ind, holds that neither of these
views is adequate and that each is by
itself but half the truth. He says that
if the business of education is to fit
the child to act as a social being, il
means not only that his spirit of scien-
tific inquiry shall be kept awake. but
that the material selected for this pur-
pose shall also prepare him to meet
his obligations as a member OF society.
The writer agrees with this fnterpreta-
tion.
The material chosen for nature study
must yield an affirmative answer to
these two questions; !. Does it AVA
ken a natural interest in the child? 2
Is It most valuable in fitting the child
for the social and industrial life that
he is to live?
I,n &c
pulsive He cannot long hold his at
tention. 1t is constantly changing. If
he is long to attend an object, it must
be changing. He responds to live things
and active processes. The more active
are the materials of study, the closer
he will attend to them. 1t therefore fol-
lows that we might study a frog rather
than a toad, because the former is
more lively; but we would actually
choose the latter because of its closer
relationship to our own interests. SO
we might prefer a squirrel to cat be-
cause the formeT is more active, but
the latter might be chosen because we
actually have more to do with it.
Child Interest Governs.
Professor Turner decides, by apply
ing these principles, upon a humble bee
in preference to butterfly and a
swarm of bees rather than a colony of
ants; also the study and cultivation of
vegetables and house plants rather
than the study of wild flowers. But
whenever, as in some Of the examples
Just given, the beauty and esthetic
qualities, or the uniqueness and inter-
esting habits of the butterfly, the ant,
the wild flower, the squirrel. Surpass
COR seem TO do sol those points in the
domestic species. 1t may be just as well
or even better to choose the wild spe-
cies. especially if this form of nature
material is the more readily accessible.
The main question is that of child in
terest. If you can interest yourself and
the child as much in the cat and the
bee as i'm the squirrel and the butterfly,
then prefer the former two. Otherwise
do not shun things that are wild simply
because they have not been domesti-
Gated for the out-of-dOOr flavor and
the spirit of nature are often best fur
nished by using them as the subject
matter.
Back to the Soil.
Let US, however, return to the soil,
taking il up where we left il at the last
chapter. We were considering the soil
making work of the earthworm.
Worms that so prepare the ground
improve 1t for the growth of fibrous-
rooted plants ana Tor seedlings OF all
kinds. They periodically expose the
mold to the air and sift it so that no
stones except those larger than they
can swallow are left in il. They min
gle the whole intimately together. like
a gardener who prepares fine soil for
his choicest plants, so that ii absorbs
all soluble substances and thereby
brings animal matter that is beneath
the surface into the processes of de-
composition and nitrification. The
worms plug up their burrows with
leaves. and also eat leaves The lat
ter enrich the soil i'm either case, form
ing the dark colored, rich mold which
everywhere covers the surface of cul-
tivated land as a layer or mantle.
Wherever burrows are found several
feet i'm depth they aid in drainage. and
allow the air to penetrate and fertil-
ize the ground. These openings pro-
vide the roots of plants with favorable
places in which to go deep; and in the
molds of the earthworm seeds may
terminate that would otherwise fail to
grow. Long before man used a pillow,
these little animals plOwed the land for
him and they supplement his best
blowing today.
AS a School Lesson.
The extent and inheritance of the