DAVIS] TEXT-BOOKS OF AGRICULTURE 247 



There is a twenty page appendix containing eighteen useful tables, 

 including apparatus and equipment, agricultural library, addresses of 

 agricultural colleges and experiment stations, seeds, weights and measures, 

 fertilizers, feeding standards nutrients and statistics. 



The proper use of this book in high schools should, as Dean Bailey says 

 in its preface, "make the teaching of agriculture in the existing high 

 school comparable in extent and thoroughness with the teaching 

 of physics, mathematics, history and literature." 



Rural School Agriculture. Charles W. Davis, New York: The Orange, 



Judd Co., 1907, pp. VII — 267. 



"This book is a manual of exercises covering many phases of agricul- 

 ture." There are 143 of these exercises, divided as follows : miscellaneous, 

 plants, soils and fertilizers, corn, wheat and oats, fruits, home grounds, 

 insects and spraying. The exercises follow an uniform plan consisting of 

 name of exercise, time best suited to it, object, material needed, directions 

 (often illustrated by good figures'), and questions. An exercise is devoted 

 to each of the common orders of insects. We note that the dragon fly is 

 given as an example of the Xeuroptera. Instead of a systematic study of 

 insects this part of the book might be improved by a series of studies on 

 life-histories and activities of some common insects of economic impor- 

 tance. 



On the whole the book is to be commended, and especially for the 

 general plan of having the pupil find out things for himself. 



First Principles of Soil Fertility. Alfred Vivian, Xew York: The Orange, 



Judd Co., 1908, pp. 265. 



Although the author has intended this book for home reading it should 

 find a place in the library of every school where agriculture is taught. It 

 is divided into four parts: Plant food its nature and source; making 

 potential plant food available; barnyard manure; commercial fertilizers. 

 The subject of barnyard manure is particularly well treated. The manu- 

 rial value of various feeding stuffs is discussed at some length and clearly 

 presented. 



The book is concluded in the several tables on composition of fertilizers 

 and fertilizer constituents. 



A Practical Arithmetic. F. L. Stevens, Tait Butler, and Mrs. F. L. Stevens^ 

 Xew York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1909, pp. IX — 386, 

 In addition to the usual aims sought in arithmetic texts, the authors 

 have included "teaching of valuable facts by basing the problems of the 

 book upon problems of real life." While many may not concede that 

 "great benefit is derived from the exercise of the reasoning powers and 

 their .consequent development," all must agree that a very fine collection 

 of interesting and valuable applications of arithmetic to the affairs of farm 

 life are brought togetlier in this book. 



Whether or not in using the book the "pupil will unconsciously absorb- 

 and retain many valuable facts and principles relating to agricultural prac- 

 tice" re:nains to be seen for the matter has never been carefully tested in 

 just this wav. 



