In nature as it shows itself in the woods or in the pond, there is such
a _mingling and interdependence_ of the natural sciences upon each
other that the book of nature seems totally different from books of
botany, physics, and zoology as made by men. In the forest we find
close together trees of many kinds, shrubs, flowering plants, vines,
mosses, and ferns; grasses, beetles, worms, and birds; squirrels, owls
and sunshine; rocks, soil, and springs; summer and winter; storms,
frost, and drouth. Plants depend upon the soil and upon each other.
The birds and squirrels find their home and food among the trees and
plants. The trees seem to grow together as if they needed each other's
companionship. All the plants and animals depend upon the soil, air,
and climate, and the whole wood changes its garb and partly its guests
with the seasons. A forest is a _life society_, consisting of mutually
dependent parts. How nature disregards our conventional distinctions
between the natural sciences! We need no better proof than this that
they should not be taught chiefly from books. A child might learn a
myriad of things in the woods and gain much insight into nature's ways
without making any clear distinction between botany, zoology, and
geology.
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