Cornell Study Clubs 1223 



agus to the swift and early growth that is so profitable in the spring. 

 A large part of the " cleaning up," which is often all left till spring, is 

 better done in the fall. 



Study of leaves 



Leaf " starch factories " have finished their work for the year and 

 their ripening is shown by their changing color, which is not all due to 

 the action of the frost. The study of the difference between the various 

 species of the same family, such as oaks and maples, and of the infinite 

 variety of form to be found in the leaves of other trees, shrubs, and plants, 

 is most excellent training of the powers of observation. 



Harvesting and preserving vegetables and Jruits 

 Both men and women on the farm should make a careful study of this 

 part of their yearly work, for it usually means all the difference between 

 small profits from sales when the market is overstocked and large returns 

 obtained from carefully harvested and well-preserved goods offered when 

 scarcity has brought prices to the top of the market. The art of storage 

 can be learned and utilized by the farmers themselves, either as a single 

 business venture or by cooperative support, as well as by the city dealers 

 to whom such knovvledge and skill brings large profits. 



Study and protection of game birds 

 When the game birds are all gone, the farmer will have to raise the 

 tamer birds to take their places as food ; and he will not grudge the grain 

 he feeds them, because they will pay it back. But the quail, partridge, and 

 woodcock, the wild ducks and geese, feed themselves in such ways that 

 they are often a benefit and not an expense to the farmer, and he should 

 use his influence in the direction of strengthening the laws for their preser- 

 vation. 



FOOD VALUES AND CARE OF POULTRY AND STOCK 



The management of the dumb dependents of the farm, particularly 

 the breeding, feeding, and marketing of the poultry and other stock, is 

 seldom entirely the care of the men of the household; it should never 

 be, for it is one of the most interesting departments of farm life and 

 work and much of it would seem better adapted to women than to men. 

 The hou) and the why, at least, should be understood by the women, even 

 though the actual work be done by stronger hands than theirs. If the 

 strong hands should be removed, or if for any reason the woman must 

 assume the burden of responsibility, her necessary knowledge must be 

 gained somehow, often by experience of loss and failure. It would be 

 better if all the problems of faiTn living could be studied from both n^.as- 



