NATURE-STUDY IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE NORMAL 



SCHOOL AT CHICO 



By RILEY O. JOHNSON 

 Head of Department of Biology 



The work in nature-study at this institution is made to center 

 about the school-garden. The main garden is a plot of ground 

 containing something more than a half acre. Also several smaller 

 plots about the campus are utilized for garden purposes, making 

 the total amount of ground under cultivation about one acre. 

 Each pupil in the training school has a garden all his own in which 

 he plants and cares for radishes, lettuce, beets, and a few other 

 vegetables, as well as nasturtiums and a few other flowering 

 plants. The older pupils also do work in budding, grafting, and 

 practice the various methods of plant propagation. 



The garden furnishes us with abundant materials for lessons 

 with plants. The relation of plants to moisture, to light, to 

 temperature and to different kinds of soil, are all carefully ob- 

 served and the various adaptations enabling them to sustain these 

 relations are worked out with the pupils. The necessity of irriga- 

 tion during the dry season affords opportunity for experimenting 

 to determine the optimum amount of water required for any 

 given plant in the garden. Surface cultivation as against deep 

 stirring of the soil is also tested in connection with the varying 

 amounts of water used in irrigation. 



During the last year the depredations of insects, notably of 

 plant-lice, led us to consider the structure and habits of these 

 pests and to experiment on different means of eradication. First, 

 natural means were tried. Several of the pupils had seen ants in 

 attendance on plant-lice, so a number of these were brought and 

 placed with plant-lice to see what was the real relationship exist- 

 ing between them. After this had been determined, lady-bird 

 beetles were brought, and also the larvae of the lace-wing fly. 



After a time there were immense numbers of the plant-lice and 

 the few predaceous insects which had been brought could not 

 effectually hold them in check, so more drastic measures were 

 determined upon. Various sprays were tested, among which a 

 kerosene emulsion was found to be most effective. Some of the 

 plant-lice isolated and reared in captivity showed us how rapidly 



