ONTARIO TEACHERS' MANUALS

NATURE STUDY

AUTHORIZED BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION

TORONTO
THE RYERSON PRESS

Copyright, Canada, 1915, by
The Minister of Education for Ontario
Second Printing, 1918
Third Printing, 1923
Fourth Printing, 1924

CONTENTS

PREFATORY NOTE

This Manual is placed in the hands of the teachers in the hope that the suggestions which it contains on lesson topics, materials, books of reference, and methods in teaching will be found helpful to all teachers and in particular to those who have had little or no instruction in Nature Study during their academic or professional training.

The first Chapter of the Manual discusses topics which have general reference to the subject as a whole. The remaining part of the Manual deals more particularly with the subject in its application to the different Public and Separate School Forms. While this division of the matter into Forms is convenient for general classification, it is not to be regarded as arbitrary. Materials and methods of presentation suitable for one class of pupils in a certain Form might, under different conditions, be quite unsuitable for another class of pupils in the same Form. For example, work which would be suitable for a class in Form I made up of pupils admitted to a school at seven or eight years of age, after two years' training in a kindergarten where nature lessons received special attention, would not be suitable for a Form I class made up of pupils admitted to a school at five years of age with no such previous training. In selecting work for any class the teacher, therefore, should not be guided solely by the arbitrary divisions of the Manual, but should exercise his own judgment, taking into account his environment and the attainments of his pupils. To facilitate such a selection, page references are given in the details of the Course of Study, which in reality forms a detailed expansion of the Public and Separate School Course in Nature Study. By means of these references, the teacher may find, in any department of the subject, typical matter suited to the development of his pupils.

The numerous type lessons that are contained in the Manual are intended to suggest principles of method that are to be applied in lessons upon the same and similar topics, but the teacher is cautioned against attempting to imitate these lessons. This error can be avoided by the teacher's careful preparation of the lesson. This preparation should include the careful study of the concrete materials that are to be used. The books, bulletins, etc., that are named in the Manual as references will be found helpful.

To facilitate teaching through the experimental and investigation methods, special attention has been given to the improvising of simple apparatus from materials within the reach of every teacher.

From the character of the subject the Course of Study must be more or less elastic, and the topics detailed in the programme are intended to be suggestive rather than prescriptive. It may be that, owing to local conditions, topics not named are among the best that can be used, but all substitutions and changes should be made a subject of consultation with the Inspector. The treatment of the subject must always be suited to the age and experience of the pupils, to the seasons of the year, accessibility of materials, etc. Notes should not be dictated by the teacher. Mere information, whether from book, written note, or teacher, is not Nature Study. The acquisition of knowledge must be made secondary to awakening and maintaining the pupil's interest in nature and to training him to habits of observation and investigation.

As a guide to the minimum of work required, it is suggested that at least one lesson be taught from the subjects outlined under each general heading in the detailed Course of Study, with a minimum average of three lessons from the subjects under each general heading.

PUBLIC AND SEPARATE SCHOOL

COURSE OF STUDY

DETAILS

FORM I

AUTUMN

Garden Work and Garden Studies:

Division of the garden plots, removal of weeds and observations on these weeds, identification of garden plants, observation lessons based on garden plants, selection of seeds, harvesting and disposing of the crop. (See pp. 54-9.)

Study of Plants:

Class lessons based on a flowering garden plant, as pansy, aster, nasturtium; study of a field plant, as buttercup, goldenrod, dandelion. (See pp. 55-9.)

Potted and garden plants: Observation lesson based on a bulb; planting bulbs in pots, or in the garden. (See pp. 69-71.)

Birds and Conspicuous Insects:

Identification of a few common birds, as robin, English sparrow, meadow-lark; observation lessons on the habits of these birds; collection of the adult forms, the larvæ and the cocoons of a few common moths and butterflies, as emperor-moth, promothea moth, eastern swallow-tail butterfly. (See pp. 30-9 and 93-8.)

Common Trees:

Identification of a few common trees, as white pine, elm, maple; observations on the general shape, branches, leaves, and bark of these trees. (See pp. 62-7 and 79-82.)

WINTER

Farm Animals, including Fowls:

Habits and characteristics of a few domestic animals, as horse, cow, sheep, hen, duck; the uses of these animals, and how to take care of them. (See pp. 83-6.)

Pet Animals:

Observations on the habits, movements, and characteristics of pet animals, as cat, pigeon, bantam, rabbit, etc.; conversations about the natural homes and habits of these animals, and inferences upon their care. (See pp. 72-7.)

Common Trees:

Observations on the branching of common trees. (See pp. 79-82.)

SPRING

Garden Work:

Preparation, planting, and care of the garden plot; observations on the growing plants. (See pp. 87-90.)

Flowers:

Identification and study of a few spring flowers, as trillium, bloodroot, hepatica, spring-beauty. (See pp. 90-2.)

Birds and Insects:

Identification and study of the habits of a few common birds, as song-sparrow, blue-bird, wren; observations of the form and habits of a few common insects, as house-fly, dragon-fly. (See pp. 30-3 and 93-9.)

Common Trees:

Observations on the opening buds of the trees which were studied in the Autumn. (See p. 65.)

FORM II

AUTUMN

Birds and Insects:

Autumn migration of birds; identification and observations on the habits and movements of a few common insects, including their larval forms, as grasshopper, eastern swallow-tail butterfly. (See pp. 113-4 and 118-9.)

Animals of the Farm, Field, and Wood:

Observations on the homes and habits of wild animals, as frog, toad, squirrel, ground-hog; habits and structures, including adaptive features, of domestic animals, as dog, cat, horse, cow. (See pp. 83 and 123-30.)

Trees of the Farm, Roadside, Wood, and Orchard:

Observations on the shapes, sizes, rate of growth, and usefulness of common orchard, shade, and forest trees, as apple, elm, horse-chestnut. (See pp. 109-10.)

Wild Flowers and Weeds:

Identification and study of a few common weeds, noting their means of persistence and dispersal. (See pp. 139-40.)

Care of Potted and Garden Plants:

Preparation of pots and garden beds for bulbs; selecting and storing garden seeds; observations on the habits of climbing plants, and application of the knowledge gained to the care required for these plants. (See pp. 101-9 and 120.)

WINTER

Birds:

Identification of winter birds and study of their means of protection and of obtaining food. (See pp. 130-2.)

Animals of the Farm:

Comparative study of the horse and cow, of the dog and cat, and of the duck and hen. (See pp. 123-8.)

Animals of the Park and Zoological Garden:

Observations on the general structural features, noting the natural adaptations of such animals as bear, lion, deer, tiger, etc. (See p. 132.)

Trees:

Winter study of trees, noting buds, branches, and foliage of spruce, cedar, horse-chestnut, etc. (See pp. 121-3.)

SPRING

Birds and Insects:

Observations on the structure, adaptations and development of insect larvæ kept in an aquarium, as larva of mosquito, dragon-fly, caddice-fly; spring migration of birds. (See pp. 149-153.)

Animals of the Field and Woods:

Observations on the forms, homes, habits, and foods of wild animals, continued. (See pp. 114-8, 143-9.)

Orchard Trees:

The buds and blossoms of apple, and cherry or plum, observed through the stages up to fruit formation. (See pp. 141-3.)

Experiments in the Germination of Seeds:

Germination of seeds and general observations on the stages of development; testing the conditions required for seed germination; introductory exercises in soil study as a preparation for seed planting. (See pp. 133-8 and 112-3.)

Wild Flowers and Weeds:

Field and class-room study of marsh marigold, Jack-in-the-pulpit, violet, etc. (See pp. 139-40.)

FORM III

AUTUMN

Birds and Insects:

Observations on the habits and the ravages of common noxious insects, as cabbage-worm, grasshopper, tussock-moth, etc.; discussion of means of checking these insects. (See pp. 156-7 and 172-7.)

Farm and wild Animals of the Locality:

Field study and class-room lessons on the habits and structure, including adaptive features, of common animals, as musk-rat, fox, fish, sheep. (See pp. 99 and 183-5.)

Garden and experimental Plots:

Harvesting of garden and field crops; preparation of cuttings from geraniums, begonia, currant, etc.; identification of garden plants; seed dispersal. (See pp. 154, 179-80, and 164-8.)

Study of common Flowers, Trees, and Fruits:

Characteristics of annuals, biennials, and perennials; life histories of common plants, as sweet-pea, Indian corn, etc. (See pp. 158-64 and 168-70.)

Study of Weeds and their Eradication:

Identification of the common noxious weeds of the locality; collection, description, and identification of weed seeds; cause of the prevalence of the weeds studied, and means of checking them. (See pp. 164-8 and 170-2.)

WINTER

Farm and wild Animals of the Locality:

Habits and instincts of common domestic animals, as fowls, sheep, and hogs; the economic values of these animals. (See pp. 185-8.)

Garden Work and experimental Plots:

The characteristics of common house plants, and care of these plants. (See pp. 178-9.)

Study of common Flowers, Trees, and Fruits:

Comparative study of common evergreens, as balsam, spruce, hemlock, etc.; collection of wood specimens. (See pp. 181-3.)

Observations of natural Phenomena:

Simple experiments to show the nature of solids, liquids, and gases. (See pp. 188-9.)

Heat Phenomena:

Source of heat, changes of volume in solids, liquids, and gases, accompanying changes in temperature; heat transmission; the thermometer and its uses. (See pp. 189-200.)

SPRING

Birds and Insects:

Field and class lessons on the habits, movements, and foods of common birds, as crow, woodpecker, king-bird, phoebe, blackbird, etc. (See pp. 217-22.)

Garden Work and experimental Plots:

Care of garden plots; transplanting; testing best varieties; making of, and caring for, window boxes; propagation of plants by budding, cuttings, and layering. (See pp. 201-3 and 208-13.)

Common wild Flowers:

Field lessons on the habitat of common wild flowers; class-room study of the plant organs including floral organs; study of weeds and weed seeds continued, also the study of garden and field annuals, biennials, and perennials. (See Autumn.) (See pp. 170-2 and 212-5.)

Soil Studies and Experiments:

The components of soils, their origin, properties, and especially their water absorbing and retaining properties; the relation of soils to plant growth; experiments demonstrating the benefits of mulching and of drainage. (See pp. 203-6.)

FORM IV

AUTUMN

Injurious and beneficial Insects and Birds:

Identification of common insects and observations on their habits; means of combating such insects, as codling moth, etc.; bird identification, and study of typical members of some common families, as woodpeckers, flycatchers; spiders. (See pp. 217-22 and 240-5.)

Ornamental and experimental Garden Plots:

Observations and conclusions based upon experimental plots; common shrubs, vines, and trees, and how to grow them. (See pp. 225-30 and 279.)

Functions of Plant Organs:

Simple experiments illustrating roots as organs of absorption, stems as organs of transmission, and leaves as organs of respiration, transpiration, and food building. (See pp. 273-8.)

Economic Study of Plants:

Comparative study of varieties of winter apples, of fall apples, or of other fruits of the locality; visits to orchards; weed studies continued. (See Form III.) (See pp. 229-30 and 239-40.)

Relation of Soil and Soil Tillage to Farm Crops:

Soil-forming agents, as running water, ice, frost, heat, wind, plants, and animals, and inferences as to methods of tillage. (See pp. 268-70.)

WINTER

Air and Liquid Pressure:

Simple illustrations of the buoyancy of liquids and of air; simple tests to demonstrate that air fills space and exerts pressure; the application of air pressure in the barometer, the common pump, the bicycle tire, etc. (See pp. 248-52.)

Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide:

Generate each of these gases and test for properties, as colour, odour, combustion, action with lime-water; the place occupied by these gases in nature. (See pp. 252-5.)

Practical Application of Heat, Steam, and Electricity:

Making a simple voltaic cell, an electro-magnet, and a simple electroscope. Test the current by means of the two latter and also with an electric bell. Explain the application of the above in the electric telegraph and motor. Simple demonstration of pressure of steam; history and uses of the steam-engine. (See pp. 259-60.)

SPRING

Injurious and beneficial Insects and Birds:

Identification of noxious insects and observations thereon; study of representatives of common families of birds, as thrushes, warblers, sparrows; economic values of birds. (See pp. 283-5 and 286-7.)

Aquatic Animals:

Observation exercises upon the habits, movements, and structures, including adaptive features of aquatic animals, as crayfish, mussel, tadpole, etc. (See pp. 285-6.)

Ornamental and experimental Garden Plots:

Experimental plots demonstrating the benefits of seed selection; ornamental plots of flowering perennials and bulbous plants; how to improve the school grounds and the home lawns. (See pp. 270-3 and 263-5.)

Tree Studies:

Comparison of the values of the common varieties of shade trees, how to plant and how to take care of shade trees. (See pp. 280-2.)

The Functions of Plant Organs:

Examination of the organs of common flowers; use of root, flower organs, fruit, and seed. (See pp. 273-8.)

Economic Study of Plants:

Plants of the lawn and garden; weed studies. (See pp. 263-5, 270-3, and 278-9.)

Relation of Soil and Soil Tillage to Farm Crops:

Study of subsoils; capillarity in soils; benefits of crop rotations and mulching; experiments in fertilizing, mulching, depth of planting, and closeness of planting. (See pp. 265-7.)

NATURE STUDY

CHAPTER I

THE AIMS OF NATURE STUDY

Nature Study means primarily the study of natural things and preferably of living things. Like all other subjects, it must justify its position on the school curriculum by proving its power to equip the pupil for the responsibilities of citizenship. That citizen is best prepared for life who lives in most sympathetic and intelligent relation to his environment, and it is the primary aim of Nature Study to maintain the bond of interest which unites the child's life to the objects and phenomena which surround him. To this end it is necessary to adapt the teaching, in matter and method, to the conditions of the child's life, that he may learn to understand the secrets of nature and be the better able to control and utilize the forces of his natural environment.

At all times, the teacher must keep in mind the fact that it is not the quantity of matter taught but the interest aroused and the spirit of investigation fostered, together with carefulness and thoroughness, which are the important ends to be sought. With a mind trained to experiment and stimulated by a glimpse into nature's secrets, the worker finds in his labour a scientific interest that lifts it above drudgery, while, from a fuller understanding of the forces which he must combat or with which he must co-operate, he reaps better rewards for his labours.

The claims of Nature Study to an educative value are based not upon a desire to displace conventional education, but to supplement it, and to lay a foundation for subsequent reading. Constant exercise of the senses strengthens these sources of information and develops alertness, and at the same time the child is kept on familiar ground—the world of realities. It is for these reasons that Nature Study is frequently defined as "The Natural Method of Study". Independent observation and inference should be encouraged to the fullest degree, for one of the most important, though one of the rarer accomplishments of the modern intellect, is to think independently and to avoid the easier mode of accepting the opinions of others. Reading from nature books, the study of pictures, and other such matter, is not Nature Study. These may supplement Nature Study, but must not displace the actual vitalizing contact between the child and natural objects and forces.

It is this contact which is at the basis of clear, definite knowledge; and clearness of thought and a feeling of at-homeness with the subject is conducive to clearness and freedom of expression. The Nature Study lesson should therefore be used as a basis for language lessons.

Undoubtedly one of the most important educative values that can be claimed for Nature Study is its influence in training the pupil to appreciate natural objects and phenomena. This implies the widening and enriching of human interests through nurturing the innate tendency of the child to love the fields and woods and birds; the checking of the selfish and destructive impulses by leading him to see the usefulness of each creature, the harmony of its relation to its environment, and the significance of its every part. Nor is it a mistake to cultivate the more sentimental love of nature which belongs to the artist and the poet. John Ruskin emphasizes this value in these words: "All other efforts are futile unless you have taught the children to love trees and birds and flowers".

GENERAL METHODS IN NATURE STUDY

CONCRETE MATERIAL

It is evident that concrete material must be provided and so distributed that each member of the class will have a direct opportunity to exercise his senses, and, from his observations, to deduce inferences and form judgments. The objects chosen should be mainly from the common things of the locality. The teacher should be guided in the selection by the interests of the pupils, first finding out from them the things upon which they are expending their wonder and inquiry. Trees, field crops, flowers, birds, animals of the parks, woods, or farmyard, all form suitable subjects for study.

TOPICS AND MATERIAL MUST SUIT THE SEASON

The material should be selected not only with reference to locality but also with due regard to season. For example, better Nature Study lessons can be taught on the elm tree of the school grounds than on the giant Douglas fir of British Columbia; and on the oriole whose nest is in the elm tree than on the eagle portrayed in Roberts' animal stories; and it is manifestly unwise to teach lessons on snow in summer, or on flowers and ants in winter.

MATTER MUST BE SUITED TO THE CHILD

For the urban pupil the treatment of the material must be different from that in the case of the pupil of the rural school. Rural school pupils have already formed an extensive acquaintance with many plants and animals which are entirely unknown to the children of the city. The simpler facts which are interesting and instructive to the pupils of the urban classes would prove commonplace and trivial to rural pupils. For example, while it is necessary to show the city child a squirrel that he may learn the size, colour, and general appearance of the animal, the efforts of the pupil of the rural school should be directed to the discovery of the less evident facts of squirrel life.

USE OF THE COMMONPLACE

It must be kept in mind that besides leading the pupils to discover new sources of interest, the teacher should strive to accomplish that which is even greater, namely, to lead them to discover new truth and new beauty in old, familiar objects. It may be true that "familiarity breeds contempt" and there is always a danger that the objects with which children have associated in early life may be passed by as uninteresting while they go in search of something "new and interesting".

For example, to be able to recognize many plants and to call them by name is no doubt something of an accomplishment, but it should not be the chief aim of the teacher in conducting Nature Study lessons on plants. It is of much greater importance that the child should be led to love the flowers and to appreciate their beauty and their utility. Such appreciation will result in the desire to protect and to produce fine flowers and useful plants, and this end can be reached only through intelligent acquaintanceship. There can be no true appreciation without knowledge, and this the child gets chiefly by personal observation and experiment. With reference to the wild flowers of the woods and fields, the method employed is that of continuous observation.

ORDER OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE LESSON

Each animal or plant should be studied as a living, active organism. The attention of the pupils should be focused upon activities; for these appeal to the child nature and afford the best means for securing interest and attention. What does this animal do? How does it do it? How is it fitted for doing this? How does this plant grow? What fits it for growing in this way? These are questions which should exercise the mind of the child. They are questions natural in the spirit of inquiry in child nature and give vitality to nature teaching. They are an effective means of establishing a bond of sympathy between the child and nature. The child who takes care of a plant or animal because it is his own, does so at first from a purely personal motive, which is perfectly natural to childhood; but while he studies its needs and observes its movements and changes, gradually and unconsciously this interest will be transferred to the plant or animal for its own sake. The nature of the child is thus broadened during the process.

PROBLEMS IN OBSERVATION

In studying the material provided, whether it be in the class-room, or during a nature excursion, or by observations made in the farmyard at home, the teacher must guide the efforts of the pupils by assigning to them definite and suitable problems. Care must be taken to reach the happy mean of giving specific directions without depriving the pupils of the pleasure of making original discovery. For example, instead of asking them to study the foot of the horse and learn all they can about it, more specific problems should be assigned, such as: Observe how the hoof is placed on the ground in walking. What are the arrangements for lessening the shock when the hoof strikes the ground? Examine the under surface of the hoof and discover what prevents the unshod horse from slipping.

NOTE-BOOKS AND RECORDS

In Grades higher than Form I, written exercises should be required and also sketches representing the objects studied. For this purpose a Nature Study note-book is necessary—a loose-leaf note-book being preferable because of necessary corrections, rearrangements, additions, or omissions.

In all records and reports, independence of thought and of expression should be encouraged. The drawing and the oral or written description should express what is actually observed, not what the book or some member of the class says has been, or should be, observed. The descriptions should be in the pupil's own words, because these are most in keeping with his own ideas on the subject. More correct forms of expression may be obtained when notes are taken from the teacher's dictation, but this is fatal to the development of originality.

The disparity of the results in individual work gives opportunity for impressing upon the pupil, in the first place, the necessity for more accurate observation and, secondly, the impossibility of reaching a correct general conclusion without having studied a large number of examples. The development of critical and judicious minds, which may result from carefully observing many examples and generalizing from these observations, is vastly more important than the memorizing of many facts.

THE SCHOOL GARDEN

In the study of garden plants there is added a certain new interest arising out of experimentation, cultivation, and ownership. The love of the gardener has in it elements that the love of the naturalist does not usually possess—a sort of paternal love and care for the plants produced in his garden; but every gardener should be a naturalist as well. Most people have a higher appreciation for that which they own and which they have produced or acquired at some expense or personal sacrifice; therefore it is that the growing of plants in home and school gardens or in pots and window boxes is so strongly advocated throughout this Course. Ownership always implies responsibility, which is at once the chief safeguard of society and the foundation of citizenship. A careless boy will never respect the property of others so much as when he himself has proprietary interests involved. We believe, therefore, that every teacher should encourage his pupils to cultivate plants and, if possible, to own a plot of ground however small.

The teacher should not merely aim at making a garden in the school grounds. The great question is rather how best to use a school garden in connection with the training of boys and girls. To learn to do garden work well is indeed worth while and provides a highly beneficial kind of manual training. To understand something of soils and methods of cultivation, of fertilizers and drainage, the best kinds of flowers, vegetables, fruits, and farm crops, and how to grow them successfully, is very important in such a great agricultural country as this; but the greatest of all results which we may hope to realize in connection with school gardening is the ennobling of life and character. The pupils are taught to observe the growing plants with great care, noting developments day by day. This adds to their appreciation of the beauties and adaptations found among plants on every side, and cannot fail to produce good results in moral as well as in mental development. The teachers must always remember that the gardeners with whom they are working are more important than the gardens which they cultivate.

The best garden is not always the largest and most elaborate one. It is rather the garden that both teacher and pupils have been most deeply interested in. It is the garden in which they have experienced most pleasure and profit that makes them want to have another better than the last. No school is too small to have a garden of some kind, and no garden is too small to become the joy and pride of some boy or girl.

SUGGESTIONS

For the benefit of teachers beginning their duties on the first of September, in school sections where school gardening has never been carried on, the following suggestions are offered:

1. See if the grounds will permit of a part being used for a garden. To ascertain this, note the size of the present grounds and see if they meet the requirements of the Department as laid down in the Regulations. If they do not, consult your Inspector at once and acquaint him with your plans. If the grounds are to be enlarged, try to take in sufficient land of good quality to make a good garden. The part chosen for the garden should be both convenient and safe. Examine the soil to see if it is well drained and sufficiently deep to permit of good cultivation. Lack of fertility can be overcome by good fertilizing.

2. See that the fences and gates are in good repair. When circumstances will permit, a woven wire fence that will exclude dogs, pigs, and poultry is most desirable. If not used to inclose the whole grounds, it should at least inclose the part used for gardening.

3. Begin modestly and provide room for extension as the work progresses. Sow clover on the part to be held in reserve for future gardening operations.

4. If local public sentiment is not strongly in favour of school gardening, or is somewhat adverse, begin on a small scale. If the work is well done, you will soon have both moral and financial support.

5. See that the land is well drained. Plough it early in the autumn and, if a load of well-rotted manure is available, spread it on the land before ploughing. Commercial fertilizer may also be used on the plots the following spring, but no stable manure.

6. In spring, when dry enough, cultivate thoroughly with disc and drag harrows. Build up a compost heap in the rear of the garden with sods and stable manure, for use in the autumn and also the following spring.

GARDEN EXPENSES

In connection with those schools where the teacher holds a diploma from the Ontario Agricultural College in Elementary Agriculture and Horticulture, there is no difficulty in meeting the expenses for seeds, tools, fertilizers, and labour, as the Government grant for such purposes is sufficient. In other schools, however, where the teacher holds no such diploma (and such is the case in most of the schools as yet), other means of meeting the expenses must be resorted to. The following are offered as suggestions along this line:

1. Part of the grant made to every school for the maintaining of the school grounds should be available for school garden expenses.

2. An occasional school entertainment may add funds that could not be used to better advantage.

3. An occasional load of stable manure supplied free from neighbouring farms will help to solve the fertilizer problem.

4. Donations of plants and seeds by the parents and other interested persons and societies will be forthcoming, if the teacher is in earnest and his pupils interested.

5. If it is required, the trustees could make a small grant each year toward the cost of tools.

6. Fencing and cultivation of the garden can often be provided for by volunteer assistance from the men of the school section.

7. It is often possible to grow a garden crop on a fairly large scale, the school being formed into a company for this purpose and the proceeds to be used to meet garden expenses.

8. The pupils can readily bring the necessary tools from home for the first season's work.

9. Many Agricultural and Horticultural societies offer very substantial cash prizes for school garden exhibits, and all funds so obtained should be used to improve the garden from which the exhibits were taken.

10. An earnest, resourceful teacher will find a way of meeting the necessary expenses.

THE EXCURSION

Nature Study is essentially an outdoor subject. While it is true that a considerable amount of valuable work may be done in the class-room by the aid of aquaria, insectaria, and window boxes, yet the great book of nature lies outside the school-house walls. The teacher must lead or direct his pupils to that book and help them to read with reverent spirit what is written there by its great Author.

Value.—The school excursion is valuable chiefly because it brings the pupil into close contact with the objects that he is studying, permits him to get his knowledge at first hand, and gives him an opportunity of studying these objects in their natural environment. Incidentally the excursion yields outdoor exercise under the very best conditions—no slight advantage for city children especially; and it gives the teacher a good opportunity to study the pupils from a new standpoint. It also provides a means of gathering Nature Study material.

Difficulties.—Where is the time to be found? How can a large class of children be managed in the woods or fields? If only one class be taken, how, in an ungraded school, are the rest of the children to be employed? Will the excursion not degenerate into a mere outing? What if the woods are miles away? These are all real problems, and the Nature Study teacher, desirous of doing his work well, will have to face some of them at least.

SHORT EXCURSIONS

The excursion need not occupy much time. It should be well planned beforehand. One object only should be kept in view and announced to the class before starting. Matters foreign or subordinate to this should be neglected for the time. The following are suggested as objects for excursions:

Objects.—A bird's nest in an adjacent meadow; a ground-hog's hole; a musk-rat's home; crayfish or clams in the stream near by; a pine (or other) tree; a toad's day-resort; the soil of a field; the pests of a neighbouring orchard; a stone-heap or quarry; ants' nests or earthworms' holes; the weeds of the school yard; buds; the vegetable or animal life of a pond; sounds of spring; tracks in the snow; a spider's web.

Such excursions may be accomplished at the expenditure of very little time. Many of them will take the pupils no farther than the boundaries of the school yard.

Of course the locality will influence the character of the excursion, as it will that of the whole of the work done in Nature Study, but in any place the thoughtful teacher may find material for open-air work at his very door.

Much outside work can be done without interfering with the regular programme. The teacher may arrange a systematic list of questions and problems for the pupils to solve from their own observations, and these observations may be made by the pupils at play hours, or while coming or going from school, or on Saturdays. The following will serve as an example of the treatment that may be followed:

Pests of Apple Trees.—Look on the twigs of your apple trees for little scales. Bring an infected branch to school. Note whether unhealthy-looking or dead branches are infected. Examine scales with a lens. Loosen one, turn it over, and examine with a lens the under side.

For eggs, look closely at the twigs in June. Do you see white specks moving? If so examine them with a lens.

Are there any small, prematurely ripe apples on the ground in the orchard? Cut into one of these and look for a "worm". Look for apples with worm holes in the side. Are there worms in these apples? What is in them? Note the dirty marks that the larva has left. Keep several apples in a close box and watch for the "worms" to come out. Examine the bark of apple trees for pupæ in the fall.

FREQUENCY OF EXCURSIONS

As to the frequency of excursions, the teacher will be the best judge. It is desirable that they occur naturally in the course of the Nature Study work as the need for them arises. One short trip each week with a single object in view is much more satisfactory than a whole afternoon each term spent in aimless wandering about the woods.

EXCURSIONS TO A DISTANCE

Long-distance excursions will of necessity be infrequent. If the woods are far away, one such trip in May or June would prove valuable to enable the pupils to become acquainted with wild flowers, and another in October to gather tree seeds, autumn leaves, pupæ, and other material for winter study. When a large class is to be taken on an excursion, preparations must be made with special care. The teacher and one or two assistants should go over the ground beforehand and arrange for the work to be done. Some work must be given to every pupil, and prompt obedience to every command and signal must be required. The class, for example, may decide to search a small wood or meadow to find out what flowers are there. The pupils should be dispersed throughout the field to hunt for specimens and to meet at a known signal to compare notes.

SUGGESTIONS FOR UNGRADED SCHOOLS

1. The teacher may take all the classes, choosing an object of study from which he can teach lessons suitable to all ages, a bird's nest, for example.

2. In many sections, the little ones are dismissed at 3.30 p.m. Opportunity is thus given for an excursion with the seniors.

3. The older pupils may be assigned work and left in charge of a monitor, elected by themselves, who shall be responsible for their conduct, while the teacher is working outside with the lower Forms.

4. Boys who are naturally interested in outdoor work should be encouraged to show the others anything of interest they may have found.

5. An occasional Saturday excursion may be arranged.

Discipline.—The teacher should insist on making the excursion a serious part of the school work, not merely recreation. School-room behaviour cannot be expected, but the boisterous conduct of the playground should give place to earnest expectancy. The pupils should keep within sound of the teacher's voice (a sharp whistle may be used) and should promptly respond to every call. Topics of conversations should as far as possible be restricted to those pertaining to the object of the excursion or related matters.

In visiting woods, children should be trained to study flowers in their environment and leave them there, plucking or digging for none except for some excellent reason. The same respect should be shown to birds and their nests, and to insects, and all other living things encountered.

THE TEACHER'S EXCURSIONS

As soon as possible after coming to a section, the teacher should acquaint himself with the woods, groves, streams, or other haunts that may provide him with material for his indoor or outdoor work. He can then direct the pupils effectively. The teacher should go over the route of an excursion shortly before it takes place. This prevents waste of time in looking for the objects that he wishes his pupils to see. If the teacher wishes to increase his love for nature, he must take many walks without his pupils.

The school garden offers a partial solution of the difficulties mentioned above. It brings a large amount of material to the doors of the school. Plants of the farm or the garden may be studied under various changeable conditions, and it will be seen that insect pests, weeds, and fungous diseases follow the lessons on plants, while lessons on birds and toads follow those on insects. With sections of the garden devoted to the cultivation of wild flowers, ferns, and forest trees, the specially organized excursion will become less of a necessity, although it will still continue to be a valuable factor in Nature Study work.

After an excursion is over, it should be discussed in class. The various facts learned should be reviewed and related. If any pupils have made inaccurate observations, they should be required to observe again to correct their errors. Finally, the excursion may form the subject of a composition.

A TYPE EXCURSION

A Bird's Nest.—The children have been instructed to study the meadow-lark, beginning about March twenty-first. While engaged in this work, a nest is discovered near the school. The teacher is informed and the pupils are conducted to the spot.

What is growing in the field? Is there a long or a short growth? Did the mother bird make much noise as she rose from the nest? Did this help to reveal its presence? Is the nest easy to see? The class will halt a few paces from it and try to find it. How many eggs? Their colour? Note the arch of grass so beautifully concealing the nest.

Returning to school, the facts observed are reviewed. The pupils may then express themselves by written composition or by drawings, paintings, or modellings of the nest, the eggs, or the surroundings. Frequent visits to the nest should not be made, and the pupils should be warned not to disturb the bird, as she may desert the nest on slight provocation.

A second excursion may be made, when the eggs are hatched, to see the young birds.

A Wasp's Nest.—A nest having been discovered, the pupils note how it is suspended and how it is situated with regard to concealment or to protection from rain, its colour, the material of the nest, and the position of the entrance. Is the opening ever deserted? How many wasps enter and how many leave the nest in a minute? Try to follow one and watch what he does. Wasps may be found biting wood from an old board fence. This they chew into pulp, and from this pulp their paper is made. Get the children to verify this by observations. If the nest is likely to become a nuisance, smoke out the wasps, take the nest carefully down, and use it for indoor study, examining the inside of the nest to ascertain the nature and the structure of the comb which, in this case is entirely devoted to larvæ.

COLLECTIONS

General school collections of such objects as noxious weeds, weed seeds, wild flowers, noxious insects, leaves of forest trees, rocks or stones of the locality, etc., should be undertaken.

All the pupils should contribute as many specimens as possible to each collection and should assist in the work of preparing them.

In addition to the above collections it is advisable that pupils who show special interest in this phase of nature work should be encouraged to make individual collections.

Collections, when properly prepared, have a value within themselves, because of the beauty and variety of the forms that they contain, and also because of their usefulness in illustrating nature lessons and in the identifying of insects, weeds, etc. Nevertheless the chief value of the collection rests in the making of it, because of the training that it gives the collector in carefulness and thoroughness, and also because it causes the child to study natural objects in their natural surroundings.

ANIMAL STUDIES

DOMESTIC ANIMALS

The teacher, before attempting to teach lessons on domestic animals, should carefully consider how his lessons will best fulfil the following important aims:

1. The cultivation of a deeper sympathy for, and a more complete understanding of, farm animals.

2. The development of more kindly treatment of domestic animals through awakened sympathy and more intelligent understanding.

3. Implanting the idea that the best varieties are the most interesting and profitable.

The following domestic animals are suggested as being suitable for study: horse, cow, sheep, dog, cat, goose, duck, hen.

There are two practical methods of observation work; namely, home observation and class-room observation.

The observation work on some of the animals named must of necessity be done out of school. In this the teacher can direct the efforts of the pupils by assigning to them definite problems to be solved by their study of the animals.

The results of their observations can be discussed in the class in lessons of ten or fifteen minutes length. It may frequently be necessary to re-assign the problems in order that the pupils may correct their observations.

It is possible for the teacher or the pupils to bring to the school-room certain of the animals, as the dog, cat, duck, hen, and the observations may then be made by the whole class directly under the guidance of the teacher.

REFERENCES

Crawford: Guide to Nature Study. Copp Clark Co., 90 cents.

Dearness: How to Teach the Nature Study Course. Copp Clark Co., 60 cents.

Shaler: Domesticated Animals. Scribners, $2.50.

Smith: The Uses and Abuses of Domestic Animals. Jarrold & Sons, 50 cents.

BIRDS

The chief aims in developing lessons on birds are:

1. To teach the children to recognize their bird neighbours, to love them for their beauty, and sweet songs, and their sprightly ways.

2. To train the pupils to appreciate them for their usefulness in destroying insect pests.

Many persons spend their lives surrounded by singing birds, yet they never hear their songs. Many children see and hear the birds, but if they have not been brought into sympathetic relation with them, they never learn to appreciate them; on the contrary, their attitude becomes one of indifference or of destructiveness. Too often, boys cruelly destroy the nests and young and persecute the old birds with stone and catapult. The cowardice of such acts should be condemned, but more effective lessons may be taught through leading the children to find in the birds assistants and companions that contribute to their material progress and to their joy in life.

With these aims in view, the teacher will readily perceive that the most effective work in bird study results from observing the living birds in their natural environment. Field excursions are valuable for this, but good results can seldom be attained when the class is large, for birds are shy and will hide or fly away from the unusual excitement. Quietness is absolutely necessary for success. Better results are obtained when only one or two accompany the teacher. If the teacher selects a few who are interested in birds, and there are always some pupils in every school who are readily interested in bird study, these few can soon be made sufficiently acquainted with the more common birds, so that they will be able to point them out to the other pupils of the school, and thus they become the teacher's assistants in the work.

By beginning with the most common and conspicuous birds, an acquaintance grows rapidly. Early spring is a good time to begin, when the first birds return from their winter sojourn. The teacher and pupils may now learn to recognize the birds, because there are only a few, and these are easily seen, as the robin, blue-bird, junco, meadow-lark, goldfinch, bronzed grackle, sapsucker, blue jay, downy woodpecker, and flicker.

The teacher, assisted by the pupils who already know these birds, directs the younger pupils to where these birds may be seen, and they are also required to describe the birds observed and to identify them by means of the bird chart or colour key.

The description should include:

Size (compare with some common bird); shape; colour of head, back, and breast; conspicuous markings, as crest, stripes, bright patches of feathers; movements in flight or on the ground; song, call notes; whether in flocks, or pairs, or single birds.

Later in spring, other birds will attract attention, as the song-sparrow, phœbe, wren, horned lark, cowbird, and red-winged blackbird; while in summer the oriole, catbird, vesper sparrow, American redstart, night hawk, scarlet tanager, and crested flycatcher are some of the birds that will call for attention, because of their plumage, songs, or peculiar habits.

When a nest has been found by a pupil, he should report it to the teacher, and the other pupils should be permitted to visit it only upon promising not to molest the nest or to annoy the mother bird by remaining too long near it. While it is well that the pupils should see the nest with the young birds, they should be taught to respect the desire of the bird for quietness and seclusion.

In studying the nest, observe: Concealment, protection, size, comfort, number and colour of eggs, young birds, size, colour, covering, food. The pupils should be asked to observe the feeding of birds thus:

Watch the wrens returning to the nest; what do they carry to their young? Where do the wrens get the snails and grubs? Observe how the robins find the worms and how they pull them out of the ground. Follow the downy woodpecker to the apple tree and find out what he was pecking. Watch the crow in the pasture field and learn whether this bird kills grasshoppers and crickets.

Observe the birds that pick seeds out of the weeds.

Collecting birds' eggs should be condemned, because it nearly always leads to the robbing of the nests. The practice of exchanging eggs is the chief cause of this; for although an occasional boy will collect wisely, the greater number are simply anxious to add to their collection without regard for the sacredness of the birds' homes.

A collection of birds' nests may be made after the nests have been abandoned for the season, and it will be found useful for interesting the pupils in the ingenuity, neatness, and instinctive foresight of the builders.

REFERENCES

Chapman and Reed: Colour Key to North American Birds $2.75

Reed: Bird Guide, Pts. I and II .75

Silcox and Stevenson: Modern Nature Study .75

Cornish: Thirty Lessons in Nature Study on Birds. Dominion Book Company 1.00

Canadian Birds in Relation to Agriculture. This chart has pictures in colours of eighty-eight Canadian birds. G. M. Hendry Co., $3.00.

The Audubon Charts. These three charts have pictures of fifty-five birds; the pictures are larger in the latter charts than in the first named. G. M. Hendry Co., $2.00 each.

Coloured Bird Pictures, Mumford, Chicago, (separate coloured pictures) are very suitable for illustrating nature lessons on birds.

INSECTS

There are three classes of insects that are of immediate interest to the pupils of the Junior Grades, and the teacher who makes direct use of this natural interest has taken possession of the key to success in insect study in the primary classes.

The three classes, basing the classification upon their power to attract attention, are:

The beautiful insects, including moths, butterflies, and beetles,

The wonderful insects, including such insects as ants, ant-lions, caddice-flies, etc.,

The economic insects, including bees, silk-worms, codling-moths, etc.

Economic insects are interesting because of their relations to the occupations of the home. The successful growing of farm, orchard, and garden crops practically depends upon keeping a proper balance of insect and bird life.

The teacher who feels that his knowledge of insects is too limited to allow him to undertake the teaching of this branch of Nature Study should cast his misgivings aside; for it is not difficult for the teacher who knows nothing about insects at the outset to become acquainted with such members of the three classes named above as attract the attention of the pupils of the Nature Study classes.

The following suggestions in insect study are offered as guides to teacher or pupil:

Obtain books and pamphlets from the Department of Agriculture, Toronto, on the subject of Insect Pests on Farm Crops and Fruit Trees.

Secure a good general book on insects. Modern Nature Study, by Silcox and Stevenson, contains illustrations of several of the most common moths and butterflies, which are clear enough to make possible the identification of the forms represented. Comstock's Manual for the Study of Insects is the best general book on the subject. This, and Holland's The Moth Book and The Butterfly Book, are valuable for those who wish to follow the study of insects at any length.

Begin by studying the more conspicuous moths, butterflies, and beetles, and especially by studying the injurious forms which thrust themselves into prominence by causing destruction of grain, vegetable, or fruit crops in the locality. The utility phase of lessons on these insects will appeal to the older children and also to their parents. Moreover, these are the easiest insects to identify and upon which to obtain literature dealing with their life histories and habits.

Carefully observe the colour, size, and shape of the insect, and note the plant on which it is feeding and its manner of feeding. Consult available books on plant pests to find descriptions of the insects that feed upon this plant, and study carefully what is said about the insect observed. If this method is persistently followed, the teacher will be surprised at the rapidity with which his acquaintance with insects broadens.

Pictures of moths, butterflies, and beetles are of great assistance in the identification of these insects.

A school collection, made from the insects studied, is useful for future collection and for identification of insects. Do not allow any insect to be killed unless it is a good specimen intended to fill a place in the collection, or unless it is known to be an injurious insect. The teacher, by exercising proper control of the collecting, has an efficient means of teaching the sacredness of life. The fact should be emphasized that killing even an insect, when there is no good reason for doing so, is the act of a mean and selfish coward.

In addition to a collection of insects, including larval and pupal forms, collections of insect nests, of plant galls, of markings of engraver beetles, of burrows of tree borers, and of samples of the destructive workings of insect pests should be made.

While nothing is more beautiful than a carefully prepared collection of moths, butterflies, and beetles with their infinite variety of form and colour, nothing is more disgusting than a badly preserved collection of distorted, shrivelled, vermin-infested specimens. The teacher should avail himself of the collecting instinct which is prominent in boys of nine to fourteen years of age and of their desire to have things done well, to develop in them habits of carefulness, neatness, and thoroughness.

INSECT COLLECTIONS

See Manual on Manual Training, for details for making collecting appliances.

Agricultural Bulletin No. 8, Nature Collections for Schools, Department of Education, Ontario, for detailed instructions on making insect collections.

The outfit for collecting is neither expensive nor hard to prepare. It consists of (1) an insect net for catching the insects, made by sewing a bag of cheese-cloth to a stout ring one foot in diameter, which is fastened to a broom handle; (2) a cyanide bottle for killing the insects, prepared by pouring some soft plaster-paris over a few lumps of potassium cyanide (three pieces, each of the size of a pea) in a wide-mouthed bottle. When the plaster has set, keep the bottle tightly corked to retain the poisonous gases. (3) Pins to mount the specimens. Entomological pins, Nos. 2, 3, and 4, are the best for general use. Beetles are usually pinned through the right wing-cover at about one fourth of its length from the front end of it. Moths and butterflies are pinned through the thorax. Small insects may be fastened to a very small pin, which in turn is set into a bit of cork, supported by a pin of ordinary size. (4) Spreading board for moths and butterflies. (5) Insect boxes to hold the specimens. This should be secured before the collection is begun. It is a common mistake to believe that any box whatever will do for storing insects. It is necessary to encourage effort in drying, spreading, pinning, and labelling, by providing an effective means of permanently preserving the specimens. In cigar-boxes, pasteboard boxes, and such makeshifts, the specimens soon become broken, covered with dust, and marred in other ways, and the collectors become discouraged; hence it is necessary to secure good boxes from dealers in entomological supplies.

A sponge saturated with carbon bisulphide should be placed in the box at intervals of not more than three months, to ensure the killing of parasites that destroy the specimens.

Entomological supplies may be obtained from Chapman & Co., London, Ont., or from G. M. Hendry Co., Toronto, Ont., or from Messrs. Watters Bros., Guelph, Ont.

BUTTERFLY AND MOTH COLLECTIONS

For a study of the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths, it is necessary to have an insect cage. This can be purchased from any dealer in entomological supplies or it may be made by the pupils in the Manual Training Class. See Manual on Manual Training. A very satisfactory cage may be made, by the teacher or larger pupils, from a soap box, by tacking wire gauze over the open surface of the box, removing the nails from one of the boards of the bottom, and converting this board into a door by attaching it in its former position by light hinges and a hook and staple. The box, if now placed on end with two inches of loose soil in the bottom, will constitute a satisfactory insect cage, or vivarium.

A large lamp chimney with gauze tied over the upper end is useful for inclosing a small plant upon which eggs or insect larvæ are developing. The base of the chimney may be thrust an inch into the soil and the development of the larva as it feeds upon the growing plant can be studied.

The following are larvæ suitable for study and may be found in the places named:

The tomato worm on tomato or tobacco plants. (Look for stems whose leaves have been stripped off.)

The milkweed butterfly larvæ on milkweed,

The potato beetle on potato vines,

The eastern swallow-tail butterfly on parsnip or carrot plants,

The tussock-moth on horse-chestnuts,

The promothea moth on lilac bushes,

The cabbage-butterfly on cabbage or mustard plants,

The red-spotted purple, banded purple, and viceroy butterfly larvæ on willow and alder,

Cocoons of tussock-moth and tiger-moth under bark, logs, and rubbish in early autumn.

Larvæ of the emperor-moth (cecropia) may be found wandering about, apparently aimlessly, in September; but they are searching for suitable places for attaching their cocoons to orchard and forest trees.

After the leaves have fallen from shrubs and trees, cocoons can be found more easily on the naked twigs or in withered, rolled-up leaves that are fastened by the silk of the cocoon to the branches.

Larvæ, when placed in the cage, should be supplied with green plant food such as they were found feeding upon, and the pupils should be instructed to observe the chrysalis building or the cocoon weaving. It will be found that some larvæ burrow into the soil.

During winter the cage should be kept in a cool place, such as a shed, so that the winter conditions may be as nearly natural as possible.

In a few cases, the development within the cocoon is quite rapid; and the adult form hatches out in a few weeks, for example, the cabbage-butterfly, monarch or milkweed butterfly, and tussock-moth. For this reason these are preferable for study by Form I pupils. In April the cage should be placed in the school-room, that the pupils may observe the emergence of the insects and the spreading of the wings. The insects can be fed with syrup or honey until they are strong, then the pupils should set them free.

Reference.—Reports of the Entomological Society of Ontario, Department of Agriculture.

PLANT COLLECTIONS

The instructions given below for collecting, pressing, and mounting plants are applicable to wild flowers, grains, grasses, and weeds.

The specimen.—Select a plant which in form and size is typical of its species and which is in full flower. Care must be taken to dig down and secure the root.

If the plant is too large for the mounting sheet, cut out the central part, and use the root, lower leaves, upper leaves, and flower. If the root is very thick, cut slices lengthwise off the sides so as to reduce it to a flat form that is not too bulky.

Before the plant has had time to wither, spread it out flat on a sheet of paper and spread another sheet over it, taking care to straighten the leaves and flower out. Blotting-paper is preferable, but any soft paper that will absorb moisture will make a very good substitute.

Pressing and drying.—Place several sheets of paper above and below the specimen. Any number of specimens prepared as described in the last paragraph may be placed in a pile, one over another, resting on the floor or on a table. Place on top of the pile a board which is large enough to cover the surface of the pile, and on the board place a weight of about fifteen pounds of bricks, or other convenient material. A box containing sand, stones, or coal may be used in place of the board and weights. The weight prevents the shrivelling and distortion of the plants.

To prevent discoloration and mildewing of the plants, the papers around them must be changed at the end of the following successive intervals: two days, three days, five days, one week, etc., until they are quite dry. The length of time required for pressing and drying depends upon the quantity of sap in the plants and also upon the dryness or humidity of the atmosphere.

Mounting.—When dry, the specimens are mounted on sheets of heavy white paper. These sheets are cut to a standard size, eleven inches by fourteen inches, or sheets of half this size, namely, seven inches by eleven inches; are permissible. The best method of attaching the plant to the sheet is by pasting narrow strips of gummed paper across the plant in such positions as will serve to hold all parts of it in position.

Labelling.—The name of the specimen, the date of collection, the place from which collected, and the name of the collector are to be neatly written in a column in the lower right-hand corner of the sheet. Printed labels which are pasted on this corner of the sheet are also used.

Collections of leaves may be prepared by the same process as that given for plants. Leaves will retain their autumn tints if their surface is covered with varnish or paraffin, which will prevent the admission of air.

To cover with paraffin dip the leaf for a moment into melted paraffin.

CHAPTER II

PHYSICAL SCIENCE PHASE OF NATURE STUDY

INSTRUCTIONS AND GENERAL METHOD

The preceding portions of this Manual dealt with living things. There is another phase of Nature Study which has a more direct relation to the physical sciences, Chemistry and Physics, two subjects that are essentially experimental in their methods.

Although the lessons that follow are grouped in one portion of this book, the teacher should understand that he is to introduce them into his work as the occasion demands. They may be used to throw light on other parts of the school work. The experimental method is somewhat advanced for young children, hence no lessons are outlined for Forms I and II. In ungraded schools, Forms III and IV may be combined for the subject. It will be found most convenient to take this portion of the Nature Study during the winter months.

VALUE OF SUCH LESSONS

1. They are interesting, hence there is attention. The senses must be alert, hence pupils are trained to observe accurately.

2. After the experiment comes the inference, hence reasoning powers are developed.

3. They enable the teacher to make exceedingly concrete some very difficult abstract principles.

4. They can be correlated with a large number of other subjects and made to have a beneficial influence on the whole of the school work.

5. The great advance that is being made in all useful inventions to-day is largely due to the study of the physical sciences. Many boys and girls (seventy-five per cent.) never attend the High School. The Elementary School owes them a taste at least of these sciences that have such a bearing on their lives, that have surrounded them with so many mechanical contrivances for their comfort and convenience, and that explain so many common natural phenomena. Give a boy a taste for experimental science, and there is some chance that after leaving school he will not throw aside his studies to subsist intellectually on the newspaper, but that he will continue to investigate for himself, and make himself a well-informed man, an influential man in his section. The Elementary School must aim at fitting the boys and girls for life.

6. The advent of the experiment marks the downfall of superstition, prejudice, and reliance on authority and tradition. To lead a child to think for himself is a great achievement.

7. The use of the experiment in gaining knowledge will result in a cautiousness in accepting statements and making decisions.

CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH EXPERIMENTS SHOULD BE PERFORMED

1. They should be introduced into the school work naturally, as answers to questions which arise either in the regular course of the work or from suggestions made by the teacher at appropriate times.

2. As far as possible, the pupils should assist in performing the experiment. In small rural schools the scarcity of apparatus will necessitate the teacher's doing most of the work. In Form V classes and Continuation Schools the pupils may do the experiments individually.

3. The bearing of an experiment is not always evident; the teacher must be ready with judicious questions to lead the class to the proper conclusions.

4. The pupils must be acquainted with all the apparatus used. They must know what the teacher is doing and must be near enough to see the result.

5. A problem may be suggested, and a few days allowed for the pupils to think out a means of solution. If they invent and make their own apparatus, so much the better.

6. Whenever possible, the experiment should be applied to some natural phenomenon or everyday occurrence.

CORRELATIONS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE PHASE

Geography.—The value of Physical Science in the Elementary School is largely due to the light it throws on geographical data. Numerous examples will appear in the succeeding pages.

Hygiene.—Experiments in carbon dioxide, oxygen, air, water, sound, and light, are absolutely necessary, if the children are to grasp with any degree of clearness the principles of respiration and ventilation, and the phenomena of hearing and seeing.

Manual Training.—Many pieces of apparatus may be made by the boys in their work with wood or iron. Some of the elementary principles of chemistry enable the girls to do their cooking intelligently. A knowledge of some of the principles of machines will help the pupils to understand the tools they may use in any employment.

Drawing.—Careful drawing of the apparatus used helps to fix the experiment in the mind and at the same time gives practice in art.

Composition.—Pupils must have ideas before they can write. The description of the experiment will make a good composition exercise, oral or written.

LIST OF REFERENCE BOOKS AND BULLETINS

GARDEN AND PLANT STUDY

Bulletins of the Ontario Department of Agriculture, Toronto.

Bulletins of the Dominion Department of Agriculture, Ottawa.

Improvement of School Grounds. Department of Education, Toronto.

Atkinson. First Studies of Plant Life. Ginn & Co. 60 cents.

Bailey. Manual of Gardening. Macmillan Co. $2.00.

Blanchan. Nature's Garden. Doubleday Co. $2.00.

Comstock, A. M. Handbook of Nature Study. Comstock Pub. Co. $3.25.

Gray. Field, Forest, and Garden Botany. Amer. Book Co. $1.40.

Green, Louise. Among School Gardens. Charities Pub. Co. $1.25.

Hodge. Nature Study and Life. Ginn & Co. $1.50.

Holtz. Nature Study. Scribners' Sons. $1.50.

Jackson and Dougherty. Agriculture through the Laboratory and School Garden. Judd. $1.50.

James. Agriculture. Appleton & Co. 80 cents.

Keeler. Our Native Trees. Scribners' Sons. $2.00.

Osterhout. Experiments with Plants. Macmillan Co. $1.50.

Parsons. How to Plan the Home Grounds. Doubleday Co. $1.00.

Sergeant. Corn Plants. Houghton, Mifflin Co. 75 cents.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Miller. Minerals and How They Occur. The Copp, Clark Co. $1.50.

Milliken and Gale. First Course in Physics. Ginn & Co. $2.00.

Newman. Laboratory Exercises. Ginn & Co. 10c. each.

Remsen. College Chemistry. Am. Pub. Co. $2.50.

Simmons and Syenhouse. Science of Common Life. The Macmillan Company, $1.00.

Woodhull. Home-made Apparatus.

High School Text-books.

ANIMAL STUDY

Bulletin No. 52. Dominion Department of Agriculture, Ottawa.

Bulletin No. 134. Ontario Department of Agriculture, Toronto.

Bulletin No. 161. Ontario Department of Agriculture, Toronto.

Bulletin No. 124. Ontario Department of Agriculture, Toronto.

Reports of Entomological Society of Ontario. Department of Education.

Fishes of Ontario. Nash. Department of Education.

Bailey and Coleman. First Course in Biology. The Macmillan Company. $1.25.

Buchanan. Senior Country Reader. The Macmillan Company. 40 cents.

Chapman. Bird Life. Appleton. $2.00.

Crawford. Guide to Nature Study. The Copp, Clark Co. 90 cents.

Dearness. How to Teach the Nature Study Course. The Copp, Clark Co. 60 cents.

Jordan and Kellogg. Animal Life. Appleton & Co. $1.20.

Kellogg. Elementary Zoology. Holt & Co. $1.35.

Reed. Bird Guide—Parts I and II. Musson Book Co., Toronto. 40 cents each.

Shaler. Domesticated Animals. Scribners' Sons. $2.50.

Silcox and Stevenson. Modern Nature Study. The Macmillan Company. 75 cents.

Note.—The bulletins named above are supplied free to schools. Chemical and Physical Apparatus and Entomological Supplies may be obtained from G. M. Hendry Co., Victoria Street, Toronto. Rocks and Minerals may be obtained from the Ward Natural Science establishment, Rochester, or from the Central Scientific Co., Chicago.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

FORMS III AND IV

DESIRABLE APPARATUS

CHEMICALS

The following tools will be found very valuable: saw, square, plane, brace and bit, knife, hammer, glass cutter, files—round, flat, and triangular.

Where the circumstances will not allow of the purchase of the preceding list, the following apparatus is recommended as sufficient for the performance of a large number of the experiments:

CHEMICALS

The following may be obtained, for either list, at little or no cost from household stores or home-made sources: washing soda, sugar, salt, ammonia, coal, coke, saltpetre, sulphur, blue vitriol, alum, potass. bichromate, blueing, lime, pickle-jars, wire gauze, candles, wire, sheet metals, test-tube holder and rack, balance, battery cells, horse-shoe magnet, pneumatic trough, lamp chimneys, tin cans, melting spoon, bicycle pump, baking-powder.

For home-made apparatus, consult Laboratory Exercises in Physics by Newman, Ginn & Co., 50c., and Manual on Manual Training.

Reference has been made in the preceding experiments to the use of simple and easily contrived apparatus. The more of this the pupils can contrive and make under the direction of the teacher, the more valuable will be the course in Physical Science.

GRENET CELLS

Into a pint gem-jar put water 10 parts, sulphuric acid 1 part, potass, bichromate 1 part. Have jar three quarters full. Cut a piece of board 4 in. square, bore two holes in it, and through the holes thrust two pieces of electric light carbon, 5 in. or 6 in. long. The outer edges of the carbons should not be more than two inches apart. With a saw, cut a slit in the board between the holes and insert a strip of zinc 2 in. by 7 in. previously rubbed over with mercury. Set the three elements in the jar, connect the two carbons to one wire, and the zinc to another.

One cell of this kind will run a small motor, operate a telegraph sounder, make a simple electro-magnet, or ring an electric bell; two cells will decompose water: three will heat a piece of fine iron wire red-hot.

DECOMPOSITION APPARATUS

1. Cut the neck end from a pickle bottle. Get a No. 1 stopper, (rubber) with two holes in it and insert a piece of platinum foil 2 in. by 1/8 in. into each hole so that 1/2 in. projects above and below. Insert a tight plug beside each strip, thus holding it fast and making the stopper watertight. Insert the stopper into the neck of the jar. Pour into the vessel thus formed enough water to cover the platinums, and add a few drops of sulphuric acid. Touch the wires from the battery to the lower ends of the strips. Note bubbles of gas arise from the platinums. These may be collected in test-tubes and found by test to be oxygen and hydrogen.

2. Fasten a strip of platinum 1 in. by 1/8 in. to each wire from the battery and dip these into some acidulated water contained in a tumbler. The decomposition of the water into two gases can be seen, but the gases cannot be collected so readily as in 1 above. Bits of electric light carbon will do instead of platinum if the current is not too weak.

PNEUMATIC TROUGH

When oxygen or other gas is to be collected over water, use a milk pan or similarly shaped vessel.

SPIRIT-LAMP

Use an ink-bottle to contain the alcohol and several strands of string for the wick; make a hole in a piece of tin and draw the wick through; then let the tin rest on the neck of the bottle to support the wick.

BAROMETER

A siphon barometer takes less mercury than a cistern barometer. To the open end of the barometer tube attach a piece of strong rubber tubing 4 in. long and to this a piece of glass tubing 3 in. long. Fill the tube thus formed with mercury to within 3 in. from the top. Holding the short glass tube open end up, turn the long tube closed end up. (A tube of 1/8 in. bore needs only one quarter of the mercury required to fill a tube 1/4 in. bore.)

HYGROMETER

For a hygrometer, suspend two dairy thermometers side by side against the wall, cover the bulb of one with thin muslin, and let the muslin hang down and dip into water in some small vessel placed about three inches below the bulb on a little shelf.

HINTS

To avoid explosions, a spirit-lamp should be kept filled.

Toy rubber balloons answer well for sheet rubber.

Red ink makes good colouring matter.

Make touch-paper by soaking any porous paper in a solution of saltpetre, and drying it.

Instead of bending glass tubes, join them with rubber tubing.

To make a test-tube holder, fold a sheet of paper until it is about half an inch wide and wrap this around the tube.

To bend glass tubing, hold in the flame of the spirit-lamp and rotate between the fingers till it becomes soft and flexible, remove from the flame, and bend.

To break glass tubing, first scratch with a file.

To break glass bottles, make neatly a deep cut with a file, then touch the glass near the cut with a red-hot wire. When a crack appears, move the hot wire and the crack will follow. Several heatings may be necessary.

In the case of a heavy glass bottle, file the cut as before, wrap the bottle with string dipped in alcohol, light it, and after it has burned, plunge the bottle vertically into cold water.

Melted paraffin is good for closing small leaks.

TIME APPORTIONED TO NATURE STUDY

The Nature Study lesson should be given a definite place on the time-table. It is recommended that each class should have at least one lesson of fifteen minutes in length, a week. In addition to this, about five minutes a week should be spent in assigning problems for out-of-door work and in discussing the observations which the pupils have made on problems previously assigned.

CHAPTER III

FORM I

AUTUMN

GARDEN WORK

On the re-opening of school after the summer holidays, the pupils should see that their plots are put into good order without delay. If they have been neglected during the holidays, a good deal of attention will be needed, and in some cases it may not be possible to reclaim them because of prolonged neglect. If such plots are found, they should be cleaned off completely, spaded up, and left in readiness for planting the following spring. All plots should be cultivated throughout the month of September to keep the soil mellow and prevent the growth of weeds. The pupils should be allowed to pick flowers from their own plots, but should always leave a few in bloom for the sake of the general appearance of the garden. Paths should be kept clean, and all rubbish, weeds, dead plants, etc., removed to the compost heap, which should be in the least conspicuous part of the garden. Hoes, rakes, and claw-hand weeders should be used in cleaning up and cultivating the plots. The soil should be kept fine and loose on top to prevent drying out.

LESSONS ON A GARDEN PLANT

PANSY

LESSON I

Materials.—A flower for each pupil
A plant set into a flower-pot
A leaf for each pupil
A pile of leaves containing a few pansy leaves and several of other kinds.

Introduction.—A conversation with the pupils about their favourite flowers.

Observations.—The pansy flowers are now distributed and the general form of the flower is first noted. The resemblance to the face of an animal will be discovered. The name corolla is given, but no other botanical terms are to be introduced in this lesson.

The details of colours, perfumes, velvety feeling of the corolla, and the number of leaflets in it are next discovered and described by the pupils. Lastly, in a withering flower they discover the seed cases and the little seeds.

LESSON II

The conception of the relationship between the flower, root, and stem is developed by a method similar to the following:

What soon happens to a pansy flower after it is broken from the plant? Are the flowers that you have in your hands withering?

How can you keep them from withering?

Hence, what must the flower get from the stem?

Where does the stem get the moisture?

Hence, what is one use of the root?

A pupil is asked to pull the plant out of the soil in the flower-pot. What is another use that you have discovered for the root?

The plant is now uprooted from the soil, and the pupils examine the root to find how it is fitted for gathering water and food from the soil and for holding the plant in place.

Note the number of branches touching a great deal of soil and also the twisted form of the roots for grasping the soil.

The form of the leaves is studied by the pupils, and, as a test of the accuracy of their observation, they are asked to pick out the pansy leaves from the pile of leaves.

To the teacher.—The pupils must be active participants in the lesson. They must use their eyes, hands, and even their noses in gaining first-hand impressions, and they are to be required to express in their own way the things that they discover. The beautiful flower with its face like that of an animal is an appeal to the child's imagination, and the child's interest in the use of things is utilized in the study of the relations of root, stem, and flower.

This lesson may be used as the basis for busy work by means of the following correlations:

1. With art:

Represent the flower in colours.

2. With reading and literature:

The pupils are required to express the meaning and sentiment of the following stanza:

The pansy wakes in early spring
To make our world more bright;
All summer long its happy face
Fills children with delight,

Lessons similar to those on the pansy may be based upon the following plants of the garden or field: dandelion, aster, buttercup, nasturtium, goldenrod. The teacher in preparing the lesson should read a description of the plant from a Nature Study book and should also study the plant itself until he is familiar with all the phases of its life.

OBSERVATION EXERCISES ON THE DANDELION

The exercises given below are suggestive for out of school observation work, but must not be too long. By way of preparation for an exercise of this kind, the interest of the pupils in the dandelion must first be aroused.

FIRST EXERCISE

The teacher places the pupils at the school windows from which dandelions are visible and asks them to name any flower that they can see. A short conversation about the brightness of the flower follows.

The pupils are next instructed to:

1. Find dandelions late in the evening, and find out how they prepare to go to sleep and how they are tucked in for the night.

2. Find where the leaves of the dandelion are, and bring a leaf to school next morning, and also observe how the leaves are grouped or placed.

To the teacher.—Dandelion flowers close up in the evening; the green leaves beneath the head wrap closely around the flowers to form a snug covering. The leaves have margins with teeth shaped like those of a lion, and from this the plant gets its name, for the name is the French dent de lion, which is pronounced very much like the word dandelion. The use of the leaf cluster as a system of rain-spouts for guiding the rain toward the root should be noted.

SECOND EXERCISE

1. Why is the dandelion easy to find?

2. What makes it easy to find even in long grass?

3. What insect friends visit the dandelion?

4. Find out just how these visitors act during their visits, and find whether they carry anything to or away from the flowers.

To the teacher.—The bright yellow colour of the dandelion attracts attention. When it grows in long grass, the flower stalk grows long, so that the flower surmounts its obstructions and climbs up to the sunshine. The flowers are visited by ants, bees, and wasps, and these may be seen burrowing into the flowers in search of honey. If their bodies and legs be touched, the yellow pollen of the flowers will be found sticking to them.

THIRD EXERCISE

1. Look for flower heads that do not open to the sun. Do not disturb them, but watch them for a few days and find out what they become.

2. Examine the large white balls of the dandelions and find out what they are.

3. Blow the down away. What does it carry with it?

To the teacher.—In this exercise the pupils will learn that the large white balls are the mature, or ripened, flowers and are composed of little brown seeds, each being a little airship for wafting it away.

CORRELATION WITH LITERATURE AND READING

When the above exercises have been completed, the pupil's knowledge of the dandelion may be utilized in interpreting the following stanzas:

Oh dandelion! yellow as gold,
What do you do all day?
I just wait here in the tall green grass
Till the children come to play.

And what do you do when your hair is white
And the children come to play?
They take me up in their dimpled hands
And blow my hair away.

In addition to the dandelion, the following plants are suitable for observation exercises: morning-glory, wild balsam, sweet-pea, snap-dragon, nasturtium.

DWARF NASTURTIUM

Observations.—The size of the plant at the time of flowering; its leaves—size, colour, shape, length of petiole and how arranged; colours found in the flower, comparison with others of same species found in the garden; size and shape of the flower and the length of its stems. Do the flowers grow higher than the leaves? Do they look better when with the leaves or when alone? Note the perfume and taste of the flower stem, the insect visitors, and what part of the flower they tried to get at, when the first blossom was seen, and how long the blossoms continued to come out. Do they keep well in bouquets? Do they stand hot, dry weather as well as other flowers? When did the frost kill them? Compare with the climbing nasturtium. Find the seeds.

SEEDS

The autumn months are the best for seed studies, for almost all annuals are ripening their seeds at this time of year.

FIELD EXERCISE

Assign to the pupils the following exercise:

Collect the seed pods from as many plants of your garden plots, or home gardens, or wild plants, as possible, and be careful to write the name of each plant on the paper in which you put the seed pod of that plant. Notice the part of the plant from which the seed pod is formed.

CLASS-ROOM LESSON BASED ON THIS COLLECTION

The pupils place the seed pods on their desks, and observations and problems are dealt with of which the following are representative:

How does each seed case open?

What are the seeds for?

How many seeds are in each case?

Why should a plant have so many seeds?

How are the seed cases fitted for protecting the seeds?

Are any two seeds alike in shape?

Are the seeds easy to find if they are spilled upon the ground?

What makes them hard to find?

Where do nearly all seeds spend the winter?

Of what use is the hard shell of the seed?

SEED DISPERSAL

Study only a few of the more striking examples of seed dispersal with the Form I class. Seeds that fly and seeds that steal rides are good examples of classes of seeds whose methods of dispersal will prove of interest to children.

LESSON ON SEEDS THAT FLY

Materials.—A milkweed pod; a ripe dandelion head.

Introduction.—A short conversation about the effects of the crowding of plants, as carrots and turnips, in a garden plot, and hence the need for the scattering of seeds.

Observations.—Open a milkweed pod in the presence of the class, so that they may see how the pod opens, how beautifully the seeds are arranged, and how the silk tufts are so closely packed in together.

Allow a pupil to lift a seed out, blow it in the air, and observe how the silk opens out like an umbrella. Distribute seeds, one to each pupil. Ask the pupils to find out why this little airship is able to carry the seed. They will find that the seeds though broad, are thin and light, and the silky plumes very light.

Ask the pupils to release their milkweed seeds at recess, when out of school, and find out how far they can fly. This is an interesting experiment for a windy day.

The white balls of the dandelion are next examined, the tiny seeds are found standing on tiptoe on a raised platform, each grasping a tiny parachute and waiting for a puff of wind to start them off. A pupil is permitted to give the puff. Seeds are distributed, and the means of flight is compared with that of the milkweed. The shape of the seeds is observed and also the tiny anchor points at the lower end of the seed for clutching the ground when the seed alights.

Another lesson on seeds that fly can be based on the study of tree seeds, using those of the maple, elm, basswood, pine, and spruce.

CORRELATIONS

1. Drawing of milkweed pods and seeds, and drawing of the dandelion seed-ball and the seeds when floating in the air.

2. Reading and literature. Interpret the thought and read expressively:

Dainty milkweed babies, wrapped in cradles green,
Rocked by Mother Nature, fed by hands unseen,
Brown coats have the darlings, slips of milky white,
And wings, but that's a secret, they're folded out of sight.

TWIGS AND BUDS

The study of buds is a part of tree study and may be taken as observation work in the class-room. This somewhat detailed study should follow the general lessons on tree study.

The materials for the lessons may be collected by the pupils at the time of the field lesson and kept fresh in a jar of water until required for use.

LESSON ON TWIGS

Materials.—A twig of horse-chestnut about six inches long, for each pupil.

A twig of the same tree with the leaves still on it.

Observations.—The twigs are distributed and the teacher asks the pupils to examine them and to describe all marks and projections that can be found on the twig.

Answers are required from the pupils separately. The pupil's answer in each case should be sufficiently clear for all the class to recognize the feature that the answer is intended to describe. A few brief questions will guide the answerer in making his description more definite, but the description should be the result of the pupil's observation and expressed in his own words.

The meaning or use of each feature should be discussed, when possible, immediately after it has been described.

The following features will be discovered and the problems suggested will be solved:

The brown or greenish-brown bark.

The buds.

One bud (sometimes two) is at the end of the twig.

Some buds are along the side of the twig.

What caused the end bud to grow larger than the others?

There is a leaf scar under each bud.

Of what use is it to the bud to be between the twig and the leaf stalk?

The bands of rings, one or more on each twig.

The tiny oval pores, each surrounded by a little raised band.

The detailed study of the buds is left for a separate lesson.

FURTHER STUDY OF TWIGS

The study in detail of various features is illustrated in the following:

Look closely at the leaf scars and describe them fully, as to shape, colour, and marks.

Do the scars look like fresh wounds, or are they healed over? Of what use to the tree is the healing of the scar?

We will learn later that the part of the twig between each pair of bands of rings represents one year's growth. How old is your twig? Who has the oldest twig?

Do all twigs grow at the same rate?

Who has the twig that had the most rapid growth?

To the teacher.—The bud at the end of the twig or its branches is called the end bud; there are two leaf scars underneath it. The buds along the sides of the stem are called side buds, the latter are smaller than the end bud. The bud situated between the stem of the leaf and the twig is in a sheltered position. This position also puts the bud close to the pantry door, for the plant food is prepared in the leaf. The leaf scars are yellowish-brown, or if they are the scars from the leaves of former years, are dark brown in colour. Each scar is shaped like a horse-shoe and tiny dots are found in the position that the horse-shoe nails would have. Even before the leaf falls, a layer of corklike substance has formed over the scar. This layer is a protection against the entrance of frost and rain and germs of fungi and it also prevents the loss of sap from the scar. The tiny oval pores, each as large as the point of a needle, are the breathing pores of the twig. The bands of rings are the scars of the scales of the end buds of successive years. This latter fact can be discovered when the bud is opening.

REVIEW LESSON

The review lesson should consist of a review of the points taken up in the lessons that were based on the horse-chestnut twig, supplemented by the examination of the twigs of elm, apple, or lilac.

LESSON ON BUDS

Materials.—Twigs and buds of horse-chestnut, one for each pupil. An opening bud. (A bud or a twig placed in water in a warm room will develop rapidly.)

Lesson.—Distribute specimens, and review the positions of the buds.

Pupils examine the buds and tell all they can about them. They describe the colour, shape, and size of the buds, and also their gummy and scalelike covering.

Of what use are the gum and scales? Of what use is the brown colour of the bud?

They next find out what is inside the little brown house. They open the buds and try to identify the contents. There will be some uncertainty as to the meaning of the contents. Leave this over till spring.

To the teacher.—The brown colour of the bud makes it an absorbent of sunlight, and also serves as a protection from observation by the sharp eyes of bud-eating birds. The gummy scales are waterproof, and the scales, by spreading open gradually, cause the waterproof property to be retained even after the bud has grown quite large. The inner part of the bud is composed of two, four, or six tiny leaves folded up and supported on a short bit of stem. Some of the buds have, in addition to leaves, a tiny young flower cluster. All of these things are densely covered with white down. The down is the fur coat to protect the tender parts from the cold.

REVIEW LESSON

Review the lesson on buds, but substitute buds of the lilac or apple for the horse-chestnut buds of the original lesson.

CORRELATIONS

The observational study of the buds and twigs is a good preparation for busy work in art and manual training, and the pupils may be assigned exercises, such as charcoal drawing of a horse-chestnut twig, paper cutting of a lilac twig and buds, clay or plasticine modelling of twigs and buds.

For oral and written language exercises, enlarge the vocabulary of the pupils by requiring sentences containing the words—scales, twigs, buds, protection, terminal, lateral, leaf stalk, blade, etc.

LEAVES

Leaves, because of their abundance and the ease with which they may be obtained, are valuable for Nature Study work. It is possible to arouse the interest of even young children in the study of leaves, but care must be taken not to make the observation work too minute and the descriptions too technical for the primary classes.

FIELD EXERCISES

An excursion to the school grounds or to some neighbouring park will suffice to bring the pupils into direct contact with the following plants: a maple tree, a Boston ivy (or other climbing vine), a nasturtium, a geranium.

Ask the pupils to find out where and how leaves are placed on each of these plants, that is, whether they are on the inner parts of the branches of the tree or out at the ends of the branches. Do the leaves overlap one another or does each make room for its neighbours? Are the leaves spread out flat or curled up? What holds the leaves out straight and flat? What do the leaves need to make them green and healthy?

Are the leaves placed in the right way, and are they of the right form to get these things?

To the teacher.—The leaves of the plants named are quite noticeably so placed on the plants, have such relations to one another, and are of such outline that they present the greatest possible surface to the air and sunshine and rain. The leaf stalk and midrib and veins are stiff and strong to keep the leaves spread out. Compare with the ribs of an umbrella. The benefit of sunshine to leaves and plants can be developed by discussing with the pupils the paleness and delicateness of plants that have been kept in a dark place, such as in a dark cellar. They are also acquainted with the refreshing effect of rains upon leaves. The use of air to the leaves is not so easy to develop with pupils of this age, but the use of air for breathing just as boys and girls need air for breathing may be told them.

CLASS-ROOM LESSON ON LEAVES

Introduction.—Tell me all the things that you know upon which leaves grow. On trees, bushes, flowers, plants, vegetables, etc.

Are leaves all of the same shape?

To-day we are going to learn the names of some of the shapes of leaves.

Observations.—Show the class the heart-shaped leaf of catalpa or lilac, and obtain from the pupils the name heart-shape. Use the following types:

Maple leaf as star-shape,
Grass or wheat or corn as ribbon-shape,
Nasturtium or water-lily as shield-shape,
Ash or rowan, as feather-shape.

Drill.—Pupils pick out the shape named. Pupils name the plant to which each belongs. Which shape do you think is the prettiest?

GARDEN STUDIES

If the pupils of this Form have planted and cared for garden plots of their own, they will have a greater love for the flowers or vegetables that grow in them than for any others in the garden, because they have watched their development throughout. For them such continuous observation cannot but result in a quickening of perception and a deepening of interest and appreciation.

STUDIES IN THE PUPIL'S INDIVIDUAL PLOT

What plant is the first to appear above ground? What plant is the last to appear? Describe what each plant was like when it first appeared above ground. What plants grow the fastest? What effect has cold weather, warm weather, dry weather, on the growth of the plants?

What weeds grow in the plot?

Why do these weeds obstruct the growth of the other plants?

What kind of root has each weed?

Find out what kind of seeds each weed produces?

Why is each weed hard to keep out of fields?

What garden plants produce flowers?

How are the seeds protected?

Compare the seeds with those that you planted.

Select the seeds of the largest plants and finest flowers for next year's seeding.

STUDIES FROM THE GARDEN AS A WHOLE

What plants grow tallest?

What plants are most suitable for borders?

What plants are valuable for their flowers?

What plants are valuable for their edible roots, for their edible leaves, for their edible seeds?

How are the edible parts stored for winter use?

Compare the plants that are crowded, with others of the same kind that are not crowded.

Compare the rate of growth of the plants in a plot that is kept hoed and raked with the rate of growth of plants in a neglected plot.

BULB PLANTING

The planting of bulbs in pots for winter blooming should be commenced with pupils in Form I and continued in the higher Forms. As a rule, the potted bulbs will be stored and cared for in the home, as most school-rooms are not heated continuously during the winter. Paper-white narcissus and freesia are most suitable and should be planted about the fifteenth of October, so that the plants will be in bloom for Christmas.

LESSON ON BULBS AND BULB PLANTING

Materials.—The bulbs to be planted.

As many four-inch flower-pots or tomato cans as are required.

Soil, composed of garden loam, sand, and well-rotted manure in equal proportions. Stones for drainage.

Sticks for labels (smooth pieces of shingle, one and a half inches wide and sharpened at one end, will answer).

Pictures of the plants in bloom.

Observations.—The attention of the pupils is directed to the bulbs, and they are asked to describe the size, form, and colour of each kind of bulb.

A bulb is cut across to make possible the study of the parts, and the pupils observe the scales or rings which are the bases of the leaves of the plant from which the bulb grew. The use of the fleshy mass of the bulb as a store of food for the plant that will grow from it is discussed.

The sprout in the centre of the scales with its yellowish-green tip is observed, and its meaning inferred.

The picture is shown to illustrate the possibilities within the bulb.

PLANTING THE BULB

The teacher directs, but the work is done by the pupils, and the reasons for the following operations are developed:

What is the use of the one-inch layer of pebbles, or broken brick, or stone, that is placed in the bottom of the pot?

Why are the bulbs planted near the top of the soil?

Why is the soil packed firmly around the bulbs?

Why must the soil be well wetted?

Why is the pot set in a cool, dark place for a month or more?

To the teacher.—The pebbles or broken bricks are for giving drainage. The bulbs are planted with their tips just showing above the surface of the soil and there is about half an inch of space between the top of the soil and the upper edge of the pot in order to facilitate watering. The potted bulbs must be set in a cool, dark place until they are well rooted. This is subjecting them to their natural winter conditions, and it will cause them to yield larger flowers, a great number of flowers, and flowers that are more lasting. Sand in the soil permits of the more free passing of air through the soil. Basements and cellars are usually suited for storing bulbs until they have rooted, but they must not be warm enough to promote rapid growth. The pots when stored should be covered with leaves, sawdust, or coarse sand to prevent drying out. The soil must be kept moist, but not wet. Paper-white narcissus, if brought out of the dark after three or four weeks, will be in bloom at the end of another month if kept in the window of a warm room. Care must be taken not to expose the plants to bright light until they have become green. The bulbs of the white narcissus are to be thrown away after the flowers have withered, as they will not bloom again, but freesia bulbs may be kept and planted again the following year.

CHAPTER IV

FORM I

WINTER

LESSONS ON A PET ANIMAL: THE RABBIT

I

The lesson is introduced by a conversation with the pupils about their various pets.

Since we are to have a rabbit brought to the school we must learn how to take care of it, and the proper method of taking care of it is based upon a knowledge of the habits of the wild rabbit.

Where do wild rabbits live?

What sort of home does a rabbit have?

In what ways does this home protect the rabbit?

Hence, what kind of home must we have ready for the rabbit?

What does the rabbit eat?

Are there any of these foods that are not good for its health?

Give a list of foods that you can bring for the rabbit. Why will the rabbit, when kept in a hutch, require less food than one that runs about?

Since the rabbit likes a soft bed, what can you bring for its bed?

II

Observations.—The teacher or a pupil brings a rabbit to the school-room, where, during recreation periods, the pupils make observations on topics suggested by the teacher, such as:

Its choice of food; its timidity; its movements—hopping, squatting, listening, scratching, and gnawing.

These observations are discussed in the class and are corrected or verified.

To the teacher.—Wild rabbits live in the woods or in shrubbery at the edges of fields. The home of the rabbit is either a burrow under ground or a sheltered place under a root or log closely concealed among the bushes. This home is dry and affords a shelter from enemies, and from wind, rain, and snow. From this we know that we must provide a dry bed for our rabbit in a strong box in which it will feel secure, and in which it will be protected from wind and rain. The food of the rabbit consists of vegetables and soft young clover and grains. It also gnaws the bark of trees, and in winter it feeds upon buds. We can, therefore, feed our rabbit on carrots, beets, apples, oats, bran, grass, and leaves of plants, and we must provide it with some twigs to gnaw, for gnawing helps to keep its large chisel-shaped teeth in good condition. We must be careful not to give it too much exercise, and we must not give it any cabbage, because this is not good for the rabbit's health. A dish of water must be placed in the hutch, for the rabbit needs water to drink.

III

Details, if studied in isolation, are uninteresting to Form I pupils. Detailed study should be based upon the animal's habits, movements, and instincts, and each detail should be studied as an answer to questions such as: How is the animal able to perform these movements? How is the animal fitted for this habit of life, etc.?

Watch the rabbit moving. How does a rabbit move?

Which legs are the more useful for hopping? How are the hind legs fitted for making long hops?

Why is the rabbit able to defend itself by kicking with its hind feet? Find out how the rabbit is fitted for burrowing.

Listen carefully and find out whether the rabbit makes much noise while moving. Of what advantage is it to the rabbit to move silently?

Find out, by examining the feet of the rabbit, what causes it to make very little noise.

How are rabbits prepared for living during cold weather?

Test the ability of the rabbit to hear faint noises. Why is it necessary for the rabbit to be able to hear faint sounds?

How is it fitted for hearing faint sounds?

Examine the teeth and find out how they are fitted for gnawing.

To the teacher.—The long, strong, hind legs of the rabbit are bent in the form of levers and enable the animal to take long, quick hops.

When the rabbit attacks, it frequently defends itself by vigorous kicks with its hind feet, which are armed with long, strong claws. Ernest Thompson-Seton's story of Molly Cottontail and "Raggylug", in Wild Animals I Have Known, contains an interesting account of how Molly rescued Raggy from a snake by this manner of fighting. The rabbit has many enemies, hence it has need of large, movable ears to aid its acute sense of hearing. The thick pads of hair on the soles of its feet enable it to move noiselessly. The thick, soft, inner hair keeps the animal warm, while the longer, stiffer, outer hair sheds the rain.

Impress upon the pupils the cruelty of rough handling of the rabbit and of neglecting to provide it with a place for exercise and with a clean, dry home.

The following pet animals may be studied, using the same order and general method of treatment: pigeon, cat, canary, guinea pig, white mouse, raccoon, squirrel, parrot.

In many cases these animals can be brought to school by the pupils. Encourage the keeping of pet animals by the pupils, for the best lessons grow out of the actual care of the pets. The study of a pet bird may be conducted along lines similar to the outline given below for the study of the pigeon.

CORRELATIONS

With literature and reading: Ernest Thompson-Seton's "Raggylug".

With art: Charcoal drawing representing the rabbit in various attitudes, as squatting, listening, hopping.

With modelling in clay or plasticine.

With paper cutting.

With language: The vocabulary of the pupils is enlarged by the introduction of new words whose meaning is made clear by means of the concrete illustration furnished by direct observation of the rabbit.

They use these new words in sentences which they form in describing the rabbit; for example: hutch, gnaw, padded, cleft lip, timid.

The rabbit has padded feet so that it can walk without noise. The rabbit has a soft bed in its hutch.

THE DOMESTIC CAT

The following facts are suggested as topics for a first lesson on the domestic cat. The teacher can rely upon the pupil's knowledge of the cat to furnish these statements of fact during a conversation lesson:

The cat goes about at night as readily as during the day.

The cat can hear faint noises quite readily.

The cat can walk noiselessly.

The cat creeps along until it is close to its prey, then pounces upon it, and seizes it with its claws.

The cat enjoys attention and purrs if it is stroked gently.

The cat likes to sleep in a warm place.

The cat can fight viciously with her claws.

The cat keeps her fur smooth and clean and her whiskers well brushed with her paws.

The cat eats birds, mice, rats, meat, fish, milk, bread, and cake.

DETAILED STUDY

Base the study of the details upon the facts of habit, movements, instincts, etc., which were developed in the preceding lesson.

Observations.—Find out how the cat's feet are fitted for giving a noiseless tread.

Find the claws.

How are the claws fitted for seizing prey?

How are the claws protected from being made dull by striking against objects when the cat is walking?

THE PIGEON

A pigeon is kept in a cage in the school-room and the pupils observe: its size as compared with that of other birds; outline of body, including shape of head; the feathers, noting quill feathers, and covering or contour feathers; manner of feeding and drinking; movements, as walking, flying, tumbling.

The owner or the teacher describes the dove-cot, the necessity of keeping it clean, the use of tobacco stems for killing vermin in the nest, the two white eggs, the habits of male and female in taking turns in hatching, the parents' habit of half digesting the food in their own crops and then pouring it into the crops of the young, the rapid growth of the young, the next pair of young hatched before the first pair is full-fledged.

Descriptions of the habits of one or more well-known varieties—pouters, fantails, homing pigeons, etc. Read stories of the training and flights of homing pigeons, from Ernest Thompson-Seton's Arnex.

MORE DETAILED STUDY FOR CLASS WORK

Compare the uses of the quill and contour feathers. Find out how these two kinds differ in texture; the differences fitting them for their difference in function. The names quill and contour may be replaced by some simple names, as feathers for flying and feathers for covering the body.

Study the adaptations for flight, noting the smooth body surface, the overlapping feathers of the wing for lifting the bird upward as the wing comes down, the long wing bones, the strong breast, and the covering of feathers giving lightness and warmth. The warmth and lightness of feathers is illustrated by the feather boas worn by ladies.

Examine the feet and find out why pigeons are able to perch on trees.

Examine the beak, mouth, tongue, nostrils, eyes, ears. How is the bill adapted for picking up grains and seeds?

OBSERVATION AND CARE OF WINTER-BLOOMING PLANTS

Children are most interested in things which they own and care for themselves. If a child plants a bulb or a slip and succeeds in bringing it to maturity, it will be to him the most interesting and, at the same time, will bring him more into sympathy with plants wherever he may find them. The teacher should impress upon the pupil the desirability of having beautiful flowers in the home in winter, when there are none to be had out-of-doors.

Every pupil should be encouraged to have one plant at least, and the bulbs planted in October and stored away in the dark in the home cellar will require a good deal of care and afford an excellent opportunity for observing plant growth and the development of flowers. If the pots have been stored in a cool cellar and have been kept slightly moist, the bulbs will have made sufficient root growth in a month and should be brought up into a warmer room where they can get some sunshine every day. The pupils will make a report each week as to what changes are noticeable in the growing plant. They will note the appearance of pale green shoots, which later develop into leaves and at least one flower stalk. They should make a drawing once every week and show it to the teacher, and the teacher should make it a point to see a number of the pupils' plants by calling at their homes. In this way the pupils come to know what plants need for their development in the way of soil, water, light, and heat. This interest will soon be extended, until, in a very few years, the children will add new and beautiful plants to the home collection and assume the responsibility of caring for all of them.

TREES

PINES OF THE LOCALITY

This study may be commenced in November after the deciduous trees have lost their leaves and have entered their quiescent winter period. This is the time when the evergreens stand out so prominently on the landscape in such sharp contrast with the others that have been stripped of their broad leaves and now look bare and lifeless. If no pines are to be found in the vicinity, balsam or spruce may be substituted. The lessons should, as far as possible, be observational. The pupils should be encouraged to make some observations for themselves out of school. At least one lesson should be conducted out-of-doors, a suitable pine tree having been selected beforehand for the purpose. The following method might serve as a guide in the study of any species of tree.

THE WHITE PINE

FIELD EXERCISES

Have the pupils observe the shape and height of the tree from a distance, tracing the outline with the finger. Compare the shape of this tree with that of other evergreens and also with that of the broad-leafed trees. Have them describe in what particulars the shapes differ in different trees. They will come to realize that the difference in shape results from difference in length, direction, and arrangement of branches. They may notice that other evergreen trees resemble the pine in that the stems are all straight and extend as a gradually tapering shaft from the bottom to the top, that all have a more or less conical shape, and that the branches grow more or less straight out from the main stem, not slanting off as in the case of the maples and elms.

Coming close to the tree, the pupils may first examine the trunk. By using a string or tape-line, find its diameter and how big it is around. Tell them how big some evergreens are (the giant trees of the Pacific Coast are sometimes over forty feet around). Have them notice where the trunk is largest, and let them find out why a tree needs to be so strong at the ground. Heavy wind puts a great strain on it just at this point. Illustrate by taking a long slat or lath, drive it into the ground firmly, and then, catching it by the top, push it over. It will break off just at the ground. If a little pine tree could be taken up, the pupils would be interested in seeing what long, strong, fibrous roots the pine has.

Let them examine the bark of the trunk and describe its colour and roughness. The fissures in the bark, which are caused by the enlarging of the tree by the formation of new wood under the bark, are deeper at the bottom of the tree than at the top, the tree being younger and the bark thinner the nearer to the top we go.

Let the pupils look up into the tree from beneath and then go a little distance away and look at it. They will notice how bare the branches are on the inside, and the teacher will probably have to explain why this is so. They will discover that the leaves are nearly all out toward the ends of the branches as they get light there, while the centre of the tree top is shaded, and the great question that every tree must try to solve is how to get most light for its leaves. The pupils will now see an additional reason why the lower limbs should be longer than the upper ones. The greater length of the lower limbs brings the leaves out into the sunlight.

The reason for calling this tree an "evergreen" may now be considered. Why it retains its leaves all winter is a problem for more advanced classes; but if the question is asked, the teacher may get over the difficulty by explaining to the class that the leaves are so small, and yet so hardy, that wind, frost, or snow does not injure them. Each pupil may bring a small branch or twig back to the school-room for use in a class-room lesson.

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

Materials.—Small branches—one for each pupil, cones, bark, pieces of pine board.

Introduction.—Review the general features of the pine that were observed in the field lesson.

Observations.—The branches are distributed. Pupils test the strength and suppleness of the branches and find the gummy nature of the surface.

Of what value are these qualities to the tree during winter storms?

Examine the texture, stiffness, and fineness of the needles.

Note that the needles are in little bunches. How many are in each bunch?

Are there any buds on the branches?

If so, where are the buds?

How are the buds protected from rain?

The pupils examine the cones and describe their general shape.

The pupils are asked to break open the tough scales and find the seeds.

Allow the seeds to fall through the air, and thus the pupils will discover the use of the wings attached to the seeds.

The wood is next examined, its colour and odour are noted, and its hardness is tested.

Find articles in the school-room that are made of pine wood.

ELM

The following topics are suggested for aiding in the selection of matter for a lesson on a typical broad-leafed tree:

The height of the tree.

The part of the height that is composed of tree tops.

The umbrella shape or dome shape of the top.

The gracefully drooping branches of the outer part of the top.

Try to find other trees with tops like that of the elm.

The diameter of the trunk.

The diameter is almost uniform up to the branches.

The branches all come off from one point, like the ribs of an umbrella.

The thick bark, that of the old trees being marked by deep furrows.

The birds that make their nests in the elm.

In spring find and examine the flowers, fruits, seeds, and also the leaves.

FIELD EXERCISE

A good out-of-door exercise to follow the general lesson outlined above, is to require the pupils to find all the elm trees or a number of elm trees growing in the locality and to describe their location and the kind of soil on which they grow.

The maple, oak, horse-chestnut, and apple are also suitable trees upon which to base lessons for Form I.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Domestic animals not only furnish suitable subjects for observation work, but also afford good opportunities for developing that sympathetic interest in animal life which will cause the pupils to more nearly appreciate the useful animals and to treat them more humanely.

THE HORSE

I

Introduction.—By means of a conversation with the pupils, find out what they know about the horse and lead them to think about his proper treatment.

Lesson.—The matter and method are suggested by the following:

What are the different things for which horses are useful?

What kinds of horses are most useful for hauling heavy loads?

Why are they most useful?

What kinds are the most useful for general farm work? Why are they the most useful?

What kinds are the most useful for driving?

Are there any other animals that would be as useful as the horse for all these things?

What causes some horses to be lean and weary while others are fat and brisk?

What kinds of stables should horses have as to warmth, dryness, and fresh air?

Why is it cruel to put a frosty bit into a horse's mouth?

When a horse is warm from driving on a cold day, how should he be protected if hitched out-of-doors?

Why, when he is warm from driving, should the blanket not be put on until he has been in the stable for a little while?

Correlate with reading from Black Beauty.

II

Preparation.—I want you to find out some more things about the horse, but you will understand these things better if you remember that long ago all horses were wild, just as some horses are wild on the prairies to-day, and that the habits learned by wild horses remain in our tame horses.

The teacher should read to the class parts of "The Pacing Mustang" from Ernest Thompson-Seton's Wild Animals I Have Known, or "Kaweah's Run" from Neighbours with Claws and Hoofs. This will give the pupils a motive for making the required observations.

Observations.—Compare the length of the legs of the horse with his height.

Of what use were these long legs to the wild horses?

What causes horses to "shy"? Of what use was this habit to wild horses?

In how many directions can a horse move his ears? Of what use was this to wild horses?

When horses in a field are alarmed, do they rush together or keep apart, and where are the young foals found at this time? Of what use were these habits to wild horses? Are the eyes of the horse so placed that he can see behind him and to either side as well as in front? Of what use was this to wild horses?

To the teacher.—The horse is an animal which is strong, swift, graceful, gentle, obedient, docile. The pupils should learn that, in return for his good services, the horse should be treated with kindness and consideration.

The legs of the horse are long, straight, and strong, and the single toe (or hoof) means that the horse walks on the tip of one toe, and the hoof is in reality a large toe nail developed to protect the tip of the toe. To these features is due the great speed of the horse. Horses gather together in the field with the foals in the most protected part of the group, just as wild horses found it necessary to do for protection. The wild horses "shied" at a fierce enemy concealed in the grass, and the tame horse shies at a strange object.

CORRELATIONS

With literature and reading: By interpretation of The Bell of Atri.

With language: By exercise on new words, as graceful, etc.

DOMESTIC BIRDS

THE DUCK

Home Observations.—Compare the duck and the drake as to size, colouring, calls, and other sounds.

Observe the position of the birds when standing. Observe their mode of walking, of swimming, and of flying. Where do they prefer to make their nests? Why is the duck more plain in dress than the drake? What is the shape, size, and build of the nest? Describe the eggs. When does the duck sleep? Why can it not sleep upon a perch as hens do? How do ducks feed on land? Compare with the feeding of hens. Observe how ducks feed when in water. Observe the various sounds, as alarm notes, call notes, social sounds.

Describe the preening of the feathers and explain the meaning of it.

Compare the appearance of the young ducks with that of the older ones. Do the young ducks need to be taught to swim?

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

Provide, where convenient, a duck for class study.

Observations.—Colour, size, general shape of the body, and the relation of the shape to ease of swimming; divisions of the body.

Size of head, length of neck, and the relation of the length of the neck to the habit of feeding in water.

The legs and web feet, and the relation of these to the bird's awkward walking and ease in swimming.

The bill and its relation to the bird's habits of feeding by scooping things from the bottom of the water and then straining the water out. The sensitive tip of the bill by which the duck can feel the food.

The feathers, their warmth, and compactness for shedding water. The oil spread over them during the preening is useful as a protection against water.

The bill, feet, and feathers should be compared with those of the hen and goose, and reasons for the similarities and differences should be discussed.

The uses that people make of ducks and their feathers and eggs; the gathering of eider-down.

For desk work, make drawings of the duck when swimming, flying, and standing.

CHAPTER V

FORM I

SPRING

GARDEN WORK

The pupils in Form I cannot be expected to do heavy work, such as spading plots or making paths. In some cases the larger boys will undertake to line out the walks and do the spading or digging. Sometimes it may be best to engage a man to do the spading. In any case the boys and girls should do the measuring and marking out of the plots. If stable manure is used in fertilizing the plots, it must be well rotted and then carefully spaded into the plots. The rest of the work should be done by the pupils themselves under the direction of the teacher. This work will include the levelling of the plots with hoes and rakes, and the trimming of the edges to the exact size of the plots, as determined by a string drawn taut about the four corner pickets. If the pupils in this Form have individual plots, each pupil will mark out his drills, put in the seeds, and cover them. The teacher may give demonstrations in connection with the work but should not do the work for the pupils.

The teacher must use his own judgment as to what seeds to allow the pupils to plant. One variety of vegetable and one of flowers is sufficient for Form I pupils, and it is desirable that large seeds be chosen for them and such as are pretty sure to grow under ordinary circumstances. Beans, beets, radishes, or lettuces are suitable as vegetables, and nasturtiums, balsams, or four-o'clocks as flowers. These seeds should be planted at least an inch apart in the drill and the drills, twelve to fifteen inches apart. Large seeds may have an inch of soil over them and smaller seeds much less. Unless the soil is very dry, watering should not be allowed, and in any case it is better to water the plot thoroughly the day before planting the seed instead of after, as is commonly done. The pupils must not allow a crust to form over the plot either before the seeds come up or after. Claw-hand weeders are convenient for loosening the soil close to the plants, and small-sized garden rakes can be used between the rows as soon as the seedlings appear. It is always better to cultivate before the weeds get a start, and thus prevent their growth. Usually the young plants will be too thick in the row, so that thinning should be begun when the plants are about two inches high. The edges of the plots should be kept straight and the paths clean and level. Each plot should have a wooden label bearing the owner's name or number and Form. The teacher is referred to Circular 13 of the Ontario Department of Education, Elementary Agriculture and Horticulture, for lists of seeds, tools, etc.

GARDEN STUDIES

The pupils should be in the garden every day as soon as gardening commences. In this way only will they be able to follow and appreciate the whole life of the plant from seed to seed again. The teacher should give a few minutes daily to receiving verbal reports from the pupils. All new developments that the pupils notice should be reported for the good of all. The teacher should make a practice of visiting the garden for a few minutes daily before or after school, in order that he may be in a position to direct the pupils in their studies in the garden. The pupils should watch for the first appearance of the young plants above ground, noting how they get through the soil, and the size, shape, and colour of the first leaves. They can readily determine whether all of the seeds grow. They will then watch for the opening of the second pair of leaves and compare them with the first pair. They should report the amount of growth made from day to day, and also what insect enemies attack the plants, and what animals, such as toads and birds, are seen during the season. They will also have occasion to note the effect of rain and sun upon the soil and upon the plants. The first vegetables fit for use and the first flowers in bloom will be reported. While they give special attention to the development of the plants in their own plots, they will of course observe what is going on in the garden generally.

Correlate with the interpretation of "The Seed" in Nature in Verse.—Lovejoy. Silver, Burdett & Co., 60 cents.

WINDOW GARDEN

The pupils should plant some seeds in sand or moist sawdust in boxes or pots in the school-room, so that they may be able to examine the progress of germination. In this way they will come to realize that every good seed has in it a tiny plant asleep and that warmth and moisture are needed to awaken it and help it to grow. It sends one delicate shoot down into the soil and another up into the light. Another interesting way to plant seeds is in egg-shells filled with fine, moist soil, which are set in rows in a box of sand. One seed only should be put in a shell. The plants may be grown to quite a size and then set out in the garden plot, the shell having first been broken off and the ball of earth containing the roots carefully set down in a small hole, packed about with garden soil, and watered. The pupils should draw diagrams or maps of their plots and afterwards of the whole garden. (See Manual on Geography.) They can mark the lines of plants, and those who can write can give in short, simple sentences the main things noticed from day to day. They should give the day and date when the seeds were planted, when plants came up, when rain storms occurred, when work in weeding, thinning, and cultivating was done, when the plants were fit to use, and how they were disposed of, etc. This will serve as profitable seat work in writing, drawing, and language. Simple problems based upon dimensions of plots and the value of vegetables, etc., afford excellent supplementary exercises in arithmetic.

WILD FLOWERS

The admiration that even little children have for the wild flowers of the woods and their delight in finding and gathering them is sufficient justification for including them in studies for Form I. The teacher must be careful, however, lest he go too far in the critical examination of the parts of the flowers, forgetting that little children are not interested in stamens and petals, but in the fresh, fragrant, and delicate blossoms that beautify the little banks and hollows of every woodland and that brighten up the fields and roadsides in spring time. The teacher should aim to deepen that childish admiration and give to the child a more intelligent appreciation of the beauties of the wild flowers and a desire to protect them from extermination.

No attempt should be made to prohibit the picking of wild flowers, but the pupils should be instructed not to pull up plants by the roots. The picking of flowers in moderation does not injure the plants, but rather tends to increase their vigour. Pupils should pick flowers with some purpose in view, rather than to see how big a bunch each can gather. The teacher should show them how to arrange a few flowers in a neat bouquet and emphasize the fact that a great mass of blossoms crushed closely together is far from being artistic or ornamental. Pupils should then be encouraged to make up pretty bouquets for the teacher's desk, for the home dining-room, and for old or invalid people who love flowers—especially those plucked by the hands of thoughtful children.

RECOGNITION OF WILD FLOWERS

The pupils should learn to recognize each year a few species of wild flowers by name as well as by sight. This may be accomplished in two ways, (1) by means of excursions to the woods a few times each year during the spring and summer months, and (2) by having occasional observation lessons in the school-room based upon the flowers gathered for the school-room bouquets. Both methods are to be recommended, but it must be borne in mind that a wilted, lacerated flower has no interest for a little child.

LESSON IN OUTLINE

BLOODROOT

Plants are always most interesting when studied in their natural environment, and this is one reason why the school excursion deserves the highest commendation as a method of studying wild flowers. When studying wild flowers out-of-doors, the pupils should notice what seems to be the favourite or usual location for the particular species under consideration.

Have the pupils observe the following about the bloodroot:

It seems to prefer fairly dry, rich soil, on or near a hillside. It opens its beautiful white blossoms early in the spring, as if to enjoy the bright sunshine before the trees put out their thick coat of leaves to shade it. It, like many another early spring flower, comes into bloom so early in the spring because it got ready the summer before. The teacher should carefully dig up a specimen—root and all—as young pupils cannot be depended on to get up all of the underground part. Note the large amount of plant food stored up in the underground stem, how the flower was protected before it opened out, and what becomes of the protection. Note the peculiar beauty of the snow-white blossoms with their yellow centres, and how beautiful they look as they nestle amongst the handsome green leaves with their pinkish-tinted stems. Wound the root, and notice the reddish, bloodlike juice whence the plant derives its name. Indians sometimes use this juice for war-paint, and some mothers give it to their children on sugar as a cure for coughs and colds.

Other wild flowers suitable for Form I are buttercup, spring beauty, dog's-tooth violet, hepatica, and trillium.

If there is a corner of the school ground that is partly shaded, and if the soil is fairly mellow and moist, some of these wild flowers should be transplanted there where they will grow well and can be seen every day during the blooming period.

The leaves and flowers of the bloodroot and the above-mentioned wild flowers can be used for drawing.

CORRELATIONS

Oral and written descriptions of the flowers studied afford suitable exercises in language and composition.

INSECT STUDY

CECROPIA, OR EMPEROR-MOTH

The larvæ of this, the largest of Canadian moths, may be found early in September, as they wander about in search of a suitable branch upon which to fasten their cocoons. If the pupils are not successful in finding the larvæ, the cocoons can be found after the leaves have fallen, because their size makes them conspicuous. The only difficulty in finding them is due to their being of the same colour as the withered leaves, so that they are easily mistaken for the latter.

The pupils should be directed to look carefully at what appears at first sight to be a withered leaf attached to a tree or shrub, and in this way many cocoons of various moths will be found.

Observe.—The large size—from three to four inches long; the greenish colour; the stumpy legs; movements, as walking, feeling, clinging; the rows of warts, and short, stiff spines on these; the feeding habits, biting or sucking; eggs of parasites, for frequently these are found on the larvæ.

Place the larva in a box covered with gauze, and observe the spinning and weaving of the cocoon.

From what part of the body is the silk obtained? With what organs are the threads placed in position? What part of the cocoon is made first and what part is made last? What time is required for making the cocoon? How is the cocoon fastened to the tree? What provision is made in the cocoon for warmth, for protection from birds, for shelter from rain?

Cut open a cocoon and examine the pupa, noting the mummy-like case on which can be seen the impressions of the wings developing within.

If the cocoon is kept in the vivarium in a cool place, so that the conditions may be as nearly as possible like the natural conditions, the adult moth will emerge about the first of May. In April the cocoon should be wetted occasionally, as it would be if exposed to rains; this ensures more perfect development of the insect.

Observe.—At what part of the cocoon the moth makes an opening; the slow spreading and strengthening of the wings; the size and coloration of the moth; the feathery feelers; the position of the wings and sucking mouth parts when at rest.

Require the pupils to make drawings of the cocoon, larva, and adult.

The promothea moth, whose cocoons are common on lilac bushes, may be studied in the same way as the emperor.

Reference.—Silcox and Stevenson: Modern Nature Study

DRAGON-FLY

The larvæ of this insect may be obtained in May or June by scraping leaves, weeds, and mud from the bottom of ponds and allowing the mud and water to settle in a pail or tub. The larvæ may be distinguished from other aquatic creatures by the long insect-like body, three pairs of legs, and the "mask"—a flap with pincers at the end. This mask can be turned under the head and body when not in use, or it can be projected in front of the larva for catching prey. At the rear end are three tubes, which fit together to form the breathing tube.

The pupils should observe the above features, and also the movements, seizing of prey, breathing, moulting, semi-resting or pupa stage, at the close of which the pupa climbs up a reed or stalk of grass and bursts the skin from which the adult emerges.

The pupils should put into the aquarium various kinds of insects and decide what foods are preferred by the larva and the adult.

Observe.—The size, length of body, movements in flight, lace-like wings, and insect-killing habits of the dragon-fly.

Should dragon-flies be protected? Give reasons. Are all dragon-flies of the same size, build, and colour? At what time of year are dragon-flies most numerous?

Reference.—Silcox and Stevenson: Modern Nature Study.

OTHER CONSPICUOUS INSECTS

The potato-beetle, giant water-bug, eastern swallow-tail butterfly, and promothea moth are insects suitable as types to be studied by the pupils of Form I. The giant water-bug is the large, broad, grayish-brown insect that is found on the sidewalks in May and June mornings. (For information on the eastern swallow-tail and promothea see Metamorphosis, in Butterfly and Moth Collections.)

BIRDS

Bird studies for Form I should be limited to observations made directly upon a few common birds, such as the robin, house-sparrow (English), song-sparrow, flicker, house-wren, crow, bronzed grackle, and meadow-lark. These are easily reached by the pupils of every rural and village school, and the purpose of the lessons should be to teach the pupils to recognize these birds, and by making use of child interest in living active creatures, to develop their interest in birds.

THE ROBIN

FIELD EXERCISES

I

Observe the robins and find out the following things:

1. Are all robins of the same colour? If not of the same colour, what difference do you note?

2. Does the bird run or hop? Imitate its movements.

3. Listen to its song. Is it sweet or harsh? Is it loud or low? Is it cheerful or gloomy?

4. Watch the robin as it moves along the grass and learn how it finds out where the worms are.

To the teacher.—The pupils should be given a few days in which to find out answers to these questions, and at the end of that time the answers should be discussed in the class.

Male robins have more pronounced colours than female robins. The beak is yellower, the breast is brighter, the back and the top of the head are darker. Robins both run and hop. The sense of sight of the robin is very acute, but its sense of hearing is even more keen. The bird may be observed turning its head to one side to listen for the sound of a worm which is still inside its burrow.

II

A second set of exercises may now be assigned which will demand a more detailed study of the bird, namely, a study of the size, colour, form of body, manner of flight, and length of beak.

III

THE NEST, EGGS, AND YOUNG

1. Find out various places in which robins build their nests. In what ways are these places all alike? Examine the materials of the nest and find out why the nests are built in the kind of places in which they are found.

2. Describe the eggs.

3. What kinds of food do the parent birds bring to the young? Does the father bird aid in bringing food to the young?

To the teacher.—The nests are found in well-sheltered parts of apple trees and evergreens, in sheds, under ledges of roofs, and in other sheltered places. The nests, since they are composed largely of mud and grass, would easily be washed away if exposed to rain storms. The food brought to the young consists of worms and insect larvæ, and the father bird is very industrious in helping to take care of his family. It is the father bird that sings, and the mother bird devotes all her energies to working and scolding.

THE SONG-SPARROW

FIELD EXERCISES

In early March, when the streams are just beginning to break from underneath the ice and spots of ground peep here and there through the snow, assign to the pupils an exercise such as the following:

Watch for a small, gray-brown bird which perches near the top of a bush, or small tree, and sings the "Tea-kettle Song".

Try to interpret the song in the words:

"Maids! Maids! Maids! Put on the tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle-ettle."

Is the song bright and cheerful or dull and gloomy? Does the bird sing this song often?

Approach close to the bird. Are there any stripes or spots on its breast or head?

Describe the flight of the bird from its perch, when it is disturbed.

To the teacher.—It is possible for the pupils to distinguish the song-sparrow by means of the above exercises. It is one of the first birds to return in the spring, and, as it is a lusty singer, it will attract the attention of all who are looking for birds. The dark brown spot in the centre of the breast is a distinguishing mark, and the more observant will find the three ashy-gray stripes on its head and the dark line through the eye.

When disturbed, it does not rise into the air, but flies downward and disappears with a swish of its tail. The nest is usually built on the ground or in a low bush or tree. It is composed of grass, fine roots, or weed stems, and lined with fine grass or hair. The eggs are usually four or five, but sometimes there are as many as seven. They are white with a greenish-blue tint and are closely spotted with brown.

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

Discuss with the pupils the observations that they have made on the field exercises.

Generalize as to the similarity of the places in which the pupils have seen the sparrow singing, and as to the times of day in which the bird sings.

Teach the marks of identification which some have discovered, using for this purpose pictures of the bird or black-board drawings; and encourage those who have not yet seen the song-sparrow to try again and to secure the assistance of those who have succeeded.

Compare the size and form of the song-sparrow with that of the house-sparrow (English).

Tell the pupils the great value of the bird in killing cutworms, plant-lice, caterpillars, ground-beetles, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects. It also helps to prevent the spread of weeds by eating thousands of seeds of noxious weeds.

Assign the pupils some other things to discover, as for example: Through how many months of the summer does the bird sing? Find the nest. Why is it hard to find? Describe the eggs, as to size, colour, and number. Do not disturb the nest and do not visit it very often.

To the teacher.—Base lessons in bird study upon the English sparrow, flicker, wren, and meadow-lark.

THE SHEEP

PROBLEMS FOR FIELD WORK

How do sheep find one another when they have become separated?

How old are the lambs before they can keep up with the old sheep when running? What fits the lamb for running so well?

Watch the lambs when they are playing, and find out whether they play:

1. I'm the king of the castle.

2. Follow the leader.

Find out by watching a flock of sheep what is meant by "Men follow one another like a flock of sheep".

Describe how sheep move when they are going very fast.

Why should sheep be kept in a well-ventilated building that protects them from snow and rain but is not very warm?

To the teacher.—Each movement, habit, and instinct implied in this exercise is explained by the life of the wild sheep. Their natural home is in the mountain, and their swift movement is that of bounding from rock to rock as they follow the strongest and boldest (their leader) to a place of safety. The legs of the lamb grow rapidly, beyond all proportion to the rate of growth of the body, so that within two weeks after birth the young lamb is almost as strong of limb and fleet of foot as its mother. In their games the lambs are fitting themselves for their place in the flock, and these games very much resemble those named in the exercise.

CHAPTER VI

FORM II

AUTUMN

BULB PLANTING OUT-OF-DOORS

Tulips and daffodils (narcissus) are the most suitable bulbs for out-of-door planting. The best varieties for outdoor culture are usually designated in catalogues. Bulbs should not be planted in individual plots, but in borders and ornamental beds. The latter should not be placed in the centre of a lawn, as is frequently done. Bulbs should be planted before the last of October.

BEDS FOR GROWING BULBS

To make a bulb bed, throw out the top soil to a depth of eight or nine inches, put about three inches of well-rotted stable manure in the bottom, and cover it with about three inches of the soil which was thrown out. Rake the plot level and then place the bulbs about eight inches apart on the top of the soil, arranging them in any design chosen. Cover them with the rest of the soil and rake it level. There will be about five inches of soil over the bulbs. When a solid crust has formed over the bed, put on a covering of leaves, straw, or branches of evergreens, and some pieces of boards to hold them in place. This covering does not protect the bulbs from freezing, but prevents too rapid thawing out in the spring. This covering should remain until the tips of the bulbs are showing above ground, when it should be removed. Ordinarily the bulbs may be left a second year before digging up. They should then be re-set or replaced with new ones, and the bed made and fertilized as before.

In clay soil the bulbs should not be set quite so deep as in sandy soil, and the bulbs have better drainage about their roots if a handful of sand is placed under each bulb in planting.

Crocus bulbs may be planted in clumps anywhere about the grounds or borders by simply making a small hole about five inches deep, dropping the bulb in, and covering it. Lily of the valley grows best in partial shade in some unfrequented corner.

PLANTING OF BULBS INDOORS

Read again the instructions given under this heading in Form I work, regarding soil, planting, and care. The Chinese sacred lily and trumpet narcissus may be chosen for the pupils of this Form. The narcissus, also called daffodil, may be held back until early spring if kept in a cool, dark cellar, but the Chinese sacred lily, which is also a variety of narcissus, comes into bloom from four to six weeks after planting. It is usually grown in water in a bowl of suitable size. Place a few pieces of charcoal in the bottom of the bowl, set the bulb upon them, and pack coloured stones and shells around it as a support. Keep the bowl about two thirds full of water and set it in a warm, sunny place. It does not need to be set in the dark, as is the case with other bulbs. These may also be grown in soil in the same way as other varieties of narcissus. When blooming is over, the bulbs may be thrown away, as they cannot be used again.

GARDEN WORK

(See Autumn work for Form I.)

The pupils in Form II should be given more responsibility with reference to the care and management of their garden plots. If they have had a couple of years in gardening while in Form I, they will have gained sufficient knowledge as to the needs of plants and sufficient practice in garden craft to do a certain amount of work quite independently. The boys of Form II are able, with suitable garden tools, to do all the work needed in the management of their own plots and may even be allowed to do some of the harder work for the girls of their Form.

SEED SELECTION

Besides the usual work of weeding, cultivating, and harvesting of their crops, the pupils should undertake some work in seed selection. This work not only results in the improvement of the plants grown from year to year, but also helps to train the pupils in painstaking observation and the discerning of minute points of excellence. The ambition to produce, by careful selection and thorough cultivation, a grain or flower better than has been, is aroused, and, as the pupil's interest increases, his love for the art increases and his efforts meet with greater success.

The teacher should aim from the first to use only the best available seed even if the cost be greater. He should send for a number of catalogues and carefully choose those varieties of seeds that possess evident merit for the purpose intended. In the case of flowers, the pupils should be asked to decide what individual plants showed greatest excellence, and these should be marked, and the seed from them preserved for next season's planting. When the flower is in full bloom, a small string tag should be tied to the flower stem (string tags can be got from a local merchant). On this tag should be written in lead-pencil the name of the species, the shade, and date of flowering. These flowers should be left to ripen thoroughly, and then the seed picked and sealed up in small envelopes, which the pupils should make as part of their manual training work. The date on the tag should be transferred to the seed envelope.

STORING SEEDS

All the envelopes should be collected, placed in a mouse-proof box, and stored in a cool, dry place until time to plant in the spring. Small bottles are excellent for holding seed and safer than envelopes. If such selection is carried on systematically, it will result in an increase of yield and of quality not to be equalled by even the best seed that the markets have to offer. Thus the school garden may become the centre of interest for the community. Seeds of good varieties can be distributed to the ratepayers, and the standard of gardening and horticulture raised. Here, as elsewhere, much—almost everything—depends upon the teacher's interest and ability to lead as well as to instruct.

HARVESTING AND STORING OF GARDEN CROPS

As soon as the vegetables reach their best stage of development, they should be taken from the garden by the owner. All dead plants and refuse should be removed and covered up in a compost heap. The boys of this Form should also assist in doing part of the general work of the school garden. They might take up from the garden border such tender plants as dahlias, gladioli, and Canna lilies. These should be dried off and stored in a cool, dry cellar. If the cellar be warm, it is necessary to cover the bulbs with garden soil to prevent their drying out too much.

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

The pupils are led, through conversation, to state their experiences and observations. The teacher assists them in interpreting their observations and organizing their knowledge and stimulates them to thoughtful search for further information.

Discuss with the pupils such questions as:

What are people busy doing on their farms and in their gardens at this time of year? Why do they harvest and store the wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, and apples, etc.? Are there any countries in which people do not need to gather in the grains, vegetables, and fruits?

The discussion of these questions will direct their thought to the need of storing sufficient food for animals and for man to last through the winter, when these things do not grow. They must be gathered to protect them from destruction by storms of wind and rain and the severe frosts of winter. People who live in very warm countries find foods growing all the year round, and they do not need to prepare for winter, but these people are always lazy and unprogressive.

Discuss the means taken to protect the various crops, as follows:

Why can grain be kept in barns or granaries or in stacks? Why can apples, turnips, and potatoes not be kept in the same way as grains? What are the conditions that are best suited for keeping the latter products? Name some kinds of crops that cannot be kept in any of the ways already discussed. Why can they not be kept in these ways?

These discussions will develop the idea of the necessity of keeping apples, potatoes, and turnips, in cellars, root-houses, and pits, where they cannot freeze, but where they are kept at uniformly low temperatures which are as close as possible to their freezing points. The air must not be too dry, as dryness causes them to shrivel up. In dry cellars they should be covered with fine soil. Very delicate fruits, such as cherries, grapes, peaches, plums, strawberries, etc., can only be kept for a length of time by preserving or canning them.

Correlate with lessons in Household Management on preserving and canning.

FALL CULTIVATION

When the garden has been finally cleaned out, the plot should be spaded up and left without raking. Clay soil especially is much improved in physical qualities by thus being exposed to the air and frost. All garden tools should receive a special cleaning up before storing for winter.

GARDEN STUDIES

The observational studies suggested under this head for Form I will be followed also in Form II. The pupils of Form II will be expected to make more critical observations in connection not only with the plants growing in their own individual plots, but also with those plants which other pupils have been growing. They should give some attention also to the plants in the perennial flower border.

GARDEN RECORDS.

In this Form the pupils should begin to make garden records on such points as the following:

1. Description of the plant—size, habit of growth, kind of leaves and their arrangement, date of flowering, form, size and colouring of the flowers, points of merit or the reverse, description of the seed and how scattered, how disposed of, and the value.

2. The work done in the garden from day to day, with dates.

3. The effect of rain, drought, or other weather conditions on the growth of the plants.

4. What insects were seen visiting the flowers and what they were doing—whether beneficial or harmful.

5. What birds or other animals were found frequenting the garden. (See Animal Studies, pp. 30, 96, 217.)

6. What plants suffered from earliest frosts; what from subsequent frosts; what ones proved to be most hardy, etc.

7. What plants the pupils like most in the garden, and what ones seem to suit the soil and weather conditions best.

The pupils in this Form, by direct observation, should come to appreciate the development of the fruit and seed from the flower. Their work in seed selection, based upon the excellence of the flower, helps to ensure this line of observation.

CORRELATIONS

Art: Drawing of leaves, flowers, and vegetables, in colour when possible.

Arithmetic: Calculations as to dimensions, number of plants, number of flowers on a plant and seeds in a flower, value of products of flowers and vegetables. Cost of seeds, fertilizer, and labour, gross and net proceeds. Statement showing the above.

Composition: General connected account or story of the work done and the things learned during the season, as taken from the garden diary and from memory.

Exercises in writing and spelling, as suitable seat work.

Geography: Weather observations, as related to the garden work and to plant growth. Comparison of the soil of the garden with other samples from the district, as to composition and origin. Direction, as related to the paths or walks in the garden.

Map drawing: Plans of plots and of whole garden and grounds, represented on sand-table, paper, or black-board. Map drawing on a horizontal surface is best for the first year or two.

The products of the garden, as compared with home products, as food supplies for man and beast.

Manual Training: Making of seed envelopes and boxes, modelling in clay of fruits and vegetables.

CLIMBING PLANTS

Observe particularly the sweet-pea and morning-glory.

Consider the following points:

1. Advantages gained by climbing, such as securing of more light, production of many leaves and flowers, and not so much stem.

2. Method of climbing—sweet-pea by tendrils that wind around the support; morning-glory by twining its rough stem closely around its support. Do all morning-glory vines twine in the same direction? Find other vines that climb. Examine their modes of climbing.

3. Time of flowering and notes on how to plant.

Make drawings of the leaves and blossoms.

TREES

(See type lesson on trees under Form I.)

In this Form it is better to follow closely the development of one or two selected trees in school or on the home grounds than to attempt to observe many different species. Allow the pupils to choose their own trees for study and, if possible, have them select one at home and another near the school or on the way to school. The following points might receive attention: The name of the species, whence obtained and by whom planted if known; its approximate height, size, and age; its location, and the nature of the soil; its general shape, and whether or not influenced at present or at some time in the past by proximity to other trees; description and arrangement of its branches, leaves, and buds, its bark, flowers, and fruit; time of leafing out and blossoming; colouring and falling of leaves and ripening of seeds; the amount of growth for the year compared with that of previous years as shown by the younger branches; qualities of beauty and usefulness of the tree. Drawing exercises.

At least two visits should be made to the woods during the autumn months, one when the leaves of the trees begin to colour and another when the leaves have fallen. Consider the preparation made for winter in the woods and fields, the use of dead leaves in the woods as a protection to forest vegetation and as soil-making material. Bring back samples of leaves and of leaf mould or humus for class-room observation. Note the effect of frost in hastening the falling of leaves—frost does not give the brilliant hues to leaves, as many people think. Consider the relationship of the forest trees to animal life.

STORING OF TREE SEEDS

Make a collection of nuts and other tree seeds, some of which should be put in the school collection and the rest planted in the garden or stored away for spring planting. The seeds of evergreens should be kept dry and cold, but other seeds, as a rule, are best packed in a box of slightly moist sand set in a cold place or buried in the ground.

A FLOWER

TYPE: NASTURTIUM

I

Teacher and pupils visit the nasturtium bed, where the flowers stand up boldly, surrounded by the shield-shaped leaves. A search for the young flower buds and for the very old flowers leads to the discovery that these are snugly sheltered under the shields.

The greenish-yellow calyx, which is closely wrapped around the bud, is next examined. Its name is given, and its use as a protector is discussed.

The strong seed cases are opened and the seeds are discovered. The pupils are instructed to watch the insects that visit the bright flowers. Name the insects. Describe their movements. Catch a few and find the yellow powder on their furry little bodies and legs.

II

Each member of the class brings a flower to the school-room. The varieties of colours of the flowers are discussed. The cave-like form of each flower is noted. The velvety feeling of the corolla and the delicate perfume are likewise sensed by the pupils.

The pupils nip off the point of the cave and taste the nectar (honey), and thus learn why the insects visit the flowers. They next trace the course of the coloured lines on the corolla and find that they all point into the cave.

Continuing their explorations of the mouth of the cave, the pupils will discover the little boxes containing the yellow powder that the flower dusts upon the insects. The names pollen and pollen boxes are given.

The fringe on the edges of the leaves of the corolla for the purpose of preventing the insects stealing into the cave without receiving their baptism of pollen, is discovered.

The teacher should, at this point, give a brief explanation of the valuable work done by the insects in carrying pollen to cause seeds to grow in the next flower that the insect visits. The position of the tiny brush (stigma, but do not give this name) held up by the seed case for rubbing the pollen off the insect, should also be observed.

Summary.—Name and point out the parts of the flower (calyx, corolla, pollen boxes, seed cases).

What useful work do insects do for the flower?

What reward do they receive for their work?

What advertisements do the flowers put out for attracting themselves? (Bright colours, sweet perfumes, and honey)

Flowers suitable for lessons in Form II are nasturtium, larkspur, snap-dragon, morning-glory, and sweet-pea.

Note.—Botanical names should be reduced to a minimum.

SOIL STUDIES

(See Soils by Fletcher.)

Soil should have a place in a Nature Study Course because:

1. It is so closely related to life.

2. It lends itself so admirably to the experimental method.

3. It is so liable to be overlooked and considered as common and valueless.

KINDS OF SOIL

Gravel is composed of small, rounded stones of various colours, sizes, and shapes. Occurs in beds, generally mixed with sand. Get a sample and examine the constituents. Lead the pupils to see that the pebbles are the result of the breaking up of larger rocks. What has made the corners smooth and rounded? What use is made of gravel? Have the pupils find some gravelly land.

Sand is composed of small angular pieces of hard rock. Have a few samples from different places brought to school, note fineness and colours, examine with a lens and note resemblance to pieces of broken stone. Draw a magnet through the sand and note black particles adhering, showing presence of iron in some form. Show the hardness by rubbing against the surface of a piece of glass. Sand is used for mortar, concrete, and glass. The chief sand-forming rocks are quartz and granite. Show pupils how to recognize these. Examine a sample of sand under a lens.

Clay. Note colour and odour of fresh sample. Dry and pulverize and note extreme fineness of the particles by rubbing between the fingers (an ounce of clay contains about four and one half million particles). Clay is made from crushed rocks, chiefly feldspars. Mix clay with a little water and note sticky character. Compare with sand in this respect. Which makes the best road in wet weather, gravel, sand, or clay? Note how hard the clay bakes after being moistened. Uses of clay—pottery, bricks, tile. Pupils should visit a brick- or tile-yard and watch the process of manufacture. In many parts of the world there are beds of clay of extreme fineness and whiteness, from which beautiful china is made.

Humus is decayed vegetable matter. Pupils should gather soil from the forest, bog, or marsh. Note dark colour. Examine carefully and see what you can find in it that is not in sand or clay.

Most of our farm land consists of these four soils mixed in various proportions, and it gets its name from the one that preponderates. Thus we have our sandy, gravelly, or clay loams. Humus is likely to be present in all fields, because vegetable matter grows, to some extent, everywhere; but freshly broken land, reclaimed swamps, and prairie lands are likely to be especially well supplied. The great value of humus in the soil will appear in later studies.

ANIMAL STUDIES