Rural School Leaflet. 1027 



to take a certain harvest subject for the purpose of getting all the 

 information possible concerning it in their neighborhood. Let the groups 

 compete for the greatest amount of material for demonstration and 

 for information. Such exercises would be exceedingly valuable if 

 properly conducted in connection with apple-growing in the neighborhood; 

 potatoes, the varieties and amounts raised; the kinds of cattle, with 

 lessons concerning the raising of the same; the markets in the vicinity, 

 and the like. Give the children in these groups encouragement to write 

 to the Department at Washington and to the State College and Exper- 

 iment Stations for information on the subjects they are working up. 



Practical work in school is always valuable. The more children realize 

 that any effort they make to grow things has a commercial value the 

 better it will be for them. If with the commercial the aesthetic and 

 spiritual possibilities in gardening are developed, they are gaining so 

 much the inore. No commercial interest, however, should be so strongly 

 developed that the young mind fails to get an all-round educational 

 attitude toward labor. 



And by all means, teachers, particularly teachers in the country 

 places, should take very deeply the responsibility that rests with them 

 to give children the habit of reading. There is no doubt in the mind 

 of the Editor that the greatest handicap the boys have who come to 

 College from rural districts is that they can not read easily and with 

 understanding. Many men of splendid mentality have acknowledged 

 that it is more difficult for them and takes a great deal more of their 

 time to read for their College work than for the city men who associate 

 with them. They readily see that this is due to the fact that they 

 have not read enough and have not developed the reading habit suffi- 

 ciently to make reading easy for them. 



The Editor in discussing this work with College men has found that 

 they strongly advise more reading for the rural school and opportuni- 

 ties for the children to take books home from the rural school library. 

 The children should have plenty of reading that will develop imagin- 

 ation through which they will have a deep and lasting resource. From 

 MotJier Goose through the standard fairy tales, through stories of hero- 

 ism, through history, travel, and adventure, will the boy and girl develop 

 familiarity with the printed page. This is an essential to a strong 

 life work. 



Nor must we forget the importance of poetry in the child mind. 

 And particularly is this side of literature valuable in our work in nature- 

 study. Let me quote from "Nature Pictures by Atnerican Poets," 

 published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co.: 



