Rural School Leaflet 



805 



unable to identify any plant, we shall be glad to have it sent to the Uni- 

 versity for identification. 



A terrarium, which is an enclosed piece of earth on which things may 

 live and grow, has been found very interesting in some of the school- 

 rooms in New York State. Many kinds of animal life have been housed 

 in terraria. The writer has seen salamanders, toads, snakes, butterflies, 

 caterpillars, beetles, rabbits, hens, guinea pigs, and kittens in terraria 

 in different schools. Children have been allowed to watch the animal 

 life during leisure hoiirs. 



Aquaria have not been very successful in most schools, but any teacher 

 can use to advantage battery jars, or even Mason fruit cans, in which 

 aquatic forms of life may be kept for a limited time. 



A terrarium 



Trips afield. — There should be at least one outdoor trip for the class 

 each year. The boys and girls will long remember the experience, and it 

 matters not whether the way lead along a country roadside, through 

 meadowlands, on the shore of the sea, or in woodland places — some new 

 wonder will be found and some young spirit awakened. 



Exhibits. — A most valuable way to arouse the interest of young persons 

 in any new work is to have exhibitions. There is educational value in 

 such work, as the children nearly always make their very best effort in 

 preparing the individual exhibits, and they have opportunity to compare 

 their work with that of other pupils. The small school exhibits are 

 doubtless as valuable as any, and the children should be encouraged to 

 prepare for them. An exhibit of fruit or corn or the eggs and feathers of 

 poultry, or a general nature-study exhibit, will bring about a broader 

 interest than will many formal lessons along agricultural lines. Often 



