_Natural science_ takes the second place. In many respects it is
co-ordinate with history. The object-world, which is so interesting,
so informing, and so intimately interwoven with the needs, labors, and
progress of men, furnishes the second great constituent of education
for all children. Botany, zoology, and the other natural sciences,
taken as a unit, constitute the field of nature apart from man. They
furnish us an understanding of the varied objects and complex phenomena
of nature. It is one of the imperative needs of all human minds that
have retained their childlike thoughtfulness and spirit of inquiry, to
desire to understand nature, to classify the variety of objects and
appearances, to trace the chain of causes, and to search out the simple
laws of nature's operations. The command early came to men to subdue
the earth, and we understand better than primitive man that it is
subdued through investigation and study. All the forces and bounties
of nature are to be made serviceable to us and it can only be done by
understanding her facts and laws. The road to mastery leads through
patient observation, experiment, and study.
But we are concerned with the _educational_ value of the natural
sciences.
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