1 48 THE NA TURE-STUD V RE VIE IV U :s— may, 1908 



In the fifth grade are studied those forms of plant and animal 

 life which exist in the sea and the desert where environment is so 

 vastly different from that previously studied. 



In the sixth grade the forces of nature, chemical and physical, 

 form the subject-matter, leading up to a study in the seventh 

 grade of agriculture and forestry, and in the eighth of physiology 

 and hygiene. 



The school-garden, consisting of a fenced plot of ten thousand 

 square feet back of the building, is of great value in the study of 

 soil, germination and plant growth generally. It furnishes a 

 ready means of making the work concrete. It helps to make the 

 connecting link between nature and the child's mind. 



In the third, fourth and seventh grades the nature-study work 

 is of such a character that it can be largely illustrated in the gar- 

 den, and these grades are often taken to the garden at the recita- 

 tion period. A sufficient number of hoes, rakes, spades and 

 watering pots are furnished by the school so that all the children 

 in a grade may work at once. 



Experiments with fertilizers are made and some fruit trees will 

 be planted for experimental grafting, and grapes for propagation 

 by layering. 



In addition to the garden, there are more than twenty varieties 

 of ornamental trees and shrubs growing upon the grounds, and 

 others within easv reach of the school, the names and habits and 

 origin of which form an essential part of the course. It is im- 

 portant to know the kinds of trees adapted to our climate and the 

 conditions under which they thrive best. Were such knowledge 

 more general and an interest in trees awakened our cities would 

 become beautified to a far greater extent than at present. 



Following is a brief outline of the principal topics taken up in 

 the various grades : 



Outline for Six Grades 



Third Grade. 



A stud v < if many different kinds of seeds. Planting seeds in the school- 

 garden. Conditions, observed in the garden and discussed in the class- 

 room, which are favorable or unfavorable to the growth of seeds and 

 plants. 



Some birds which feed upon seeds. A study of stems. Of Leaves. 

 The horse (whose food is leaves). Roots — A study of the gopher, a feeder 

 upon roots. Flowers. Bees (the distributers of pollen). Seed dispersal. 



