Nature-Study. 65 



Report of the Junior Naturalist Clubs for the Year 1904-1905. 



The organization of Junior Naturalist Clubs is a movement for the 

 purpose of introducing agricultural nature-study into the public 

 schools of New York State. These clubs have been carried on under 

 the auspices of the Cornell University College of Agriculture during 

 the past seven years, and we have been able to see a steady increase in 

 interest and efficiency in the work. 



The method of carrjdng on the correspondence work with the chil- 

 dren by means of Junior Naturalist Clubs is as follows: 



Through the teachers of the schools we organize the children into 

 correspondence clubs. These clubs are carried on in a formal or in an 

 informal w^ay, as best suits the teacher. From the university each 

 member of the Junior Naturalist Club receives a monthly leaflet 

 containing suggestive lessons along the line of agricultural nature- 

 study. There are always four or five subjects suggested in each 

 leaflet from which the children may choose one or more. The lessons 

 are given in such a way that the young people are obliged to study 

 the real thing and are not able to get their information from books. 

 When they have prepared their lesson, they write to tell what they 

 have done in their investigational work. Along this line we have 

 had some very satisfactory results. Following are a few sample 

 letters showing the type of the children's correspondence. 



Dear Uncle John: 



- I am going to write you about the vegetable contest which the 

 fifth grade had. Some had onions, lettuce, cabbage and radish. 

 They put it in a basket and brought them to school to see which 

 were the largest and best. After they had decided which were the 

 best they took them down to the superintendent's house, Mr. McUane, 

 and he ate them for his supper. He said the)^ did better than people 

 who raise them to sell. I forgot to tell you I was a member of the 

 Pioneer Junior Naturalist Club. I guess I have WTitten all that 

 I know. 



Your loving niece, 



Anna. 



Dear Uncle John: 



I thought I would write you a few lines. I studied about the 

 apple. I took an apple and cut it in two. The apple had two seeds 

 on one side and two on the other side. I took a rotten apple and 

 cut it in two, and I could see where the worm had come out of the 

 apple. The worm came out of the side of the apple. 

 5 



