•J 12 



THE AGRICULTURAL XEWS. 



.Tn.Y 31, 1915. 



tries to arrange a boo ambitious or : ixtensive 



•course. A thorough fcreatmenl of a few well defined 

 subjects like Our Bird Visitors. Pond Life, Plani 

 Association in Pastures, is better than an incomplete 

 tn .n in, i,; ol many. Throughout, the pupils should be 

 encouraged toobserve ami reason aboul thesubjectoi 

 studj lor themselves, and full use should b of 



their instinctive curiosity; bul it is equally essential thai 

 they should have some guidance and advice from the 

 teacher as to what they are to observe. Further the 

 children's observations should have a bearing on one 

 another, and should lead up to some definite result. 

 Tin.' later lessons of a course, accordingly, should be 

 made to depend upon the earlier, and there should be 

 constant opportunity lor comparison ami conti 

 Children should be encouraged to make renewed or 

 continued observation of the same thing in different 

 circumstances i.e., a plant in bud, in flower, in fruit. 

 They should also learn '" tost anil apply their 

 conclusions. 



Continuing, the Paper refers to the subject of 

 expression. 'The child's expressions are the teacher's 

 only guide to its impressions.' < >ur teaching experience 

 leads ns to tho belief thai the pupil observes things oul 

 <>f all proportion to his capacity for reproducing them 



intelligently or artistically. Tin- same holds g 1 in 



after-life. Powers of expression or articulation can be 

 developed in the child by written descriptions; but no 

 words can serve as well as a series of sketches, prefer- 

 ably in colour, iluc consideration, as well, being given 

 to thi' question of scale 



In lessons to olilcr children the solution of 

 practical problems may be introduced. Examples of 

 these are the calculation of areas of gardens, the testing 

 of seeds, measurement of root development, recording 

 of observations of temperature and rainfall. These will 

 need the application of arithmetic and graphic mathe- 

 matics, The employment of graphic methods is to lie 

 encouraged. 



As regards the management of the class and the 

 provision of equipment, tic Paper under review makes 

 one in- two pertinent sue-e-l ions. 'The class should 

 ll'K always work as a whole. Some of the more 



advanced pupils can often be appointed, either 

 individually or in small groups, to make independi nt 

 investigations on well defined lines.' To this might he 

 added the system which originated, il is believed with 



the Jesuits. where Olle Child IS set tO teach ; tiler 



more backward In lessons taken out of do, ,1- 

 ihe class should not waste time in vague observati 



bul -hoiiM h,. set to notice certain definite points, and 

 these classes in oriler tha p ct discipline may be 

 maintained, should not be too large. The bringing 

 to school of specimens 1>\ the children is to bi 



bul Uhi . ,. or wasteful i . 



should be avoided. 



Finally a few suggestions maj be quoted concern- 

 ing books. 'In teaching Nature Studj to children the 



literary and imaginative side is no less educational 

 than the scientific, and should not lie neglected. 

 .Many of Wordsworth's and Tennyson's poems, the 

 simpler poems of such writers as Mary Hewitt, and 

 some passages from Ruskin and Jefferies, combine 

 keen insight into the workings of nature with beauty 

 of expression, and are it the same time sufficiently 

 simple to be appreciated 1>\ children. The romance 

 of plant names, the his i id legend associated with 



our trees and (lowers, also make a strong appeal to the 

 imagination.' The West Indian teacher will find 

 a special source of material for work on this side of 

 his subjecl in many of the books written aboul the 

 West Indies, and m the modern juvenile readers like 

 those reviewed on page 243 in this issue of the Agri- 

 cultural News. Elementan text-books, if used at 

 all, should be employed only with the greatest caution, 

 and serve the purpose ol reference rather than 

 systematic study. With young children it is very 

 important to avoid the use ol technical terms. 



This concludes our review of the main ideas in 

 the Paper, and we think it would he hard to imagine 

 i child of from eight to twelve years of age nol pro- 

 gressing under so live a system of instruction. Educa- 

 tion authorities in each West Indian colony might 

 with great benefit take notice of this I 'a per, and place 

 it in the hands of the teachers in the principal schools. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



MANURIAL VALUE OF FILTER-PRESS 



CAKE. 



Dr. W. E. Cross, Chemist at the Tuciimati 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, publishes h the 



International Sugar Journal (June 1915) s e 



interesting analyses ami calculations concerning the 

 manurial value of the above-mentioned bj -product of the 

 sugar-cane, Basing calculations on the prices of 

 nitrogen ami phosphoric acid in tankage, the writer 

 arrives at a value for filter- press cake ol' aboul !>7"5f) 



