Firsr Book Zoölogy

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Excerpt from First Book of Zoology The necessity of the pupils copying (however poorly) the figures, either upon the slate, or upon paper, cannot be too strongly urged. From his own experience, the author has learned that a specimen or figure may oftentimes be carefully studied, and yet only an imperfect idea be formed of it; but, when it had been once copied, the new points gained repaid all the trouble spent in the task. It makes but little difference whether the pupil is proficient in drawing or not; it should be strenuously insisted upon by the teacher that the pupils copy, as far as possible, the figures contained in each lesson. To collect in the field, to make a cabinet, and then to examine and study the specimens collected, are the three stages that naturalists, with few exceptions, have passed through in their boyhood. If one recalls the way in which boys first manifest their taste for such studies, he will remember that first a few examples were brought together; a collection was made. It may have been birds'-eggs, insects, or shells; then little boxes, a case of drawers, or shelves, were secured to hold their treasures.