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The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press propose to issue a NatureStudy Series of which this is the first volume.
We count ourselves fortunate in securing Dr E. J. Russell as author andSoil as subject. The subject is fundamental, for, just as the soillies beneath the plant and animal life we see, so is a knowledge of thesoil necessary for all understanding of flora and fauna. The realcomplexity of the apparently simple element "Earth," and the variety ofmethods required for exploring it, are typical of the problems whichthe tout ensemble of the outdoor world presents to the naturalist.
Dr E. J. Russell has not only acquired a first-rate and first-handknowledge of his subject at Wye and at Rothamsted; his own researcheshave recently extended our knowledge of the micro-organisms in the soiland their influence on fertility. Further, what is very much to ourpurpose, he has himself had practical experience in teaching at anelementary school in Wye and at a secondary school in Harpenden.
Just at the present moment, County Councils are trying to push ruraleducation and to awaken the intelligence of country children byinteresting them in their surroundings. It is, therefore, a favourableopportunity to offer these pages as a concrete suggestion in modellessons and object lessons, showing exactly what can be done underexisting conditions.
The book is intended to help children to study nature; there is noattempt to substitute book study for nature study. Hence, whilst thereare passages of continuous reading, it is not a mere "reader." Manyteachers, myself among them, have felt the difficulty of organisingpractical work for large classes. Dr Russell has written so that,whilst nominally showing the pupil how to learn, he is secretlyscattering hints for the teacher who is learning how to teach.
Abundant and varied practical exercises have been suggested, andcareful instructions have been given so that the book shall seemintelligible even in the absence of a teacher. The proposed practicalwork is not only what might be done by eager boys and girls onhalf-holidays, but what can be done by every scholar in the course ofordinary school work. The pictorial illustrations are intended as aidsto observation, not as substitutes. Drawing is one form of practicalexercise, and the preparation of corresponding illustrations in thescholars' notebooks from the apparatus used in the classroom and thefields around the school may afford exercises in artistic work withpen, brush or camera.
Sufficient directions are given for the supply of necessary materialsand apparatus. The apparatus proposed is of the simplest character.<