396 Home Nature-Study Course. 



a box in the schoolroom so that the pupils might see it during recess, 

 the lines of their observation being directed by the teacher's questions. 

 A chick a day or two old is best, and it should be kept three or four 

 days in the room. 



To be sure that the members of the Home Nature-Study class 

 know all that the chicken may teach in beginning bird study, I will 

 ask you to make the following observations: 



1. Where did the chick come from? What is the shape of an egg? Which 

 end of the egg did the chick break through? Does the chick ever come out of the 

 egg head down? 



2. Of the inner parts of the egg there are two, the white and the yolk. What 

 is the use of each in developing the chicken? 



3. In a hard-boiled egg there is a cavity at one end. Which end? Why is this 

 cavity? What does it do for the chick? 



4. How long was the egg in the incubator or under the hen before it hatched? 

 Why will eggs hatch in an incubator as well as vmder a hen? 



5. Did the chick get out of the egg by its own exertion or did the hen assist it? 



6. Look at the bill of a chick less than a week old, and note the little tooth 

 on the tip of the upper part of the beak? What is this for? Is it present on older 

 chickens? 



7. What is the color of the chick above and below? What markings has it? 

 Can you tell by the color of the chick what will be its color when it is grown? 



8. What is the chick covered with? How does this covering differ from that 

 of the hen? 



9. Why should the cliick just out of the egg be so pretty and downy, while 

 the young robin just hatched is so bare and ugly? 



10. How does the yoimg chick get its food? How does the young robin get its 

 food? 



11. Describe the eye of the chick; can it see straight ahead as we do? Why 

 does it turn its head to one side and then the other when it looks at you? 



12. Why should the young chick be able to see and the young robin be blind? 



13. What does the chick eat and where does it get its food? 



14. Describe the beak and tell how it is adapted to secure the food? 



15. Does the chick chew its food before swallowing it? Why? 



16. How does the chick drink? Why does it drink this way? 



17. Where are the chick's ears? Does it learn readily certain sounds so that 

 it comes to its food when you call? 



18. What sounds does the old hen make which the chickens obey? 



19. Can the chicken smell? What makes you think so? 



20. Can you see the begiiming of the comb? What is the comb for? 



21. Describe the chicken's foot and leg. Describe the toes. Which is the 

 longest? Make a picture of a chicken's track. 



22. Sketch a bit of the chick's leg showing the arrangement of the scales. 

 What are these scales for? What are the chick's feet used for beside to walk on? 

 Does the chick or hen walk, hop or waddle when it goes rapidly? 



23. Do the chicken's feet correspond to our feet or to our hands? What part 

 of the chicken's anatomy corresponds to our arms and hands? 



24. Can the little chick fly? Has it any wings? Does it need to fly to get its 

 food? Would the young robin if it had no parents need to fly to get its food? 



