1342 



Rural School Leaflet 



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TREE STUDY 



The Editors 



'S the State syllabus has not outlined any special 

 tree work for 1915-1916, in this leaflet is presented 

 some material in which teachers have expressed 

 an interest and which is not included in the four- 

 years work outlined in the syllabus. 



As a preliminary step to the tree study, teachers 

 will find it helpful to read carefully the article by 

 Professor Moody on " Forestry' in the Rural 

 Schools " (page 1343). There is no more inter- 

 esting and important study than that of the native 

 trees, both from the standpoint of natural history 

 and from that of their economic value. When one 

 considers the place that they occupy in the land- 

 scape, the fact that they will grow on land un- 

 , suited for other purposes, the service that they 

 ^ render in regulating the flow of water in the 

 streams, and the value of the wood for fuel and lumber, it is easy to see 

 the pleasure and profit that greater familiarity will afford. 



Trees are available for study the year round, and present many varying 

 phases as they pass through the winter period and the stages of developing 

 foliage, flowers, and fruit. No piece of work in the rural school will be 

 found to be of greater value than a thorougli study of the trees in the 

 neighborhood. A report has been received from a teacher who, one 

 morning in the early springtime, told the children to take pencils and 

 pads and follow her single file. She led them on a field trip, which she 

 had previously planned to include the largest number of different kinds 

 of trees in a short distance. She paused for a moment under each of 

 eighteen species, and requested the children to write the name of the 

 tree opposite a corresponding nimiber. There was no interchange of 

 opinions among the childi'en, the trip was completed in a short time, 

 and the results were discussed after returning to the schoolhouse. The 

 children found (as was revealed in their letters accompanying the one 

 from the teacher) that they knew from, eleven to eighteen of the trees 

 visited. One child knew all of them. Those who were not able to identify 

 one or more trees, were asked to make a special study during the following 

 week of the species not known, so that in the event of another test of 

 similar nature they would not fail. This work was worth while, and 

 it can be developed in any rural school. As the children become familiar 

 with the more common species, the range may be extended until, finally, 



