RvRAL School Leaflet i3qi 



It is important that the mounts of the feathers of the hen and the cock 

 sent for the Farmers' Week exhibition shall be of the same breed and 

 variety. The mounts will be judged on the completeness of the collections of 

 feathers, on the accuracy of placing them, and on the neatness of the work, 

 including the outline drawings. 



It may appear to some persons that the collection and study of feathers 

 is unprofitable, but it affords an excellent starting point from which to 

 interest children in poultry', to teach them to handle the birds, and to 

 train their powers of observation. 



4. Ten herbarium specimens 



Each rural school should gradually be collecting an herbarium of the 

 wild flowers of the neighborhood; many schools already have very fine 

 collections. The exhibit in this class should consist of ten specimen 

 sheets from the school herbarium, each sheet representing a single plant 

 included among the wild flowers. It would be desirable, if possible, to 

 include as many of the plants for study this year as are available. Com- 

 paratively few of the wild flowers are available after school begins in the 

 fall, and this class may, consequently, be more difficult to secure unless 

 there are herbarium specimens that have been prepared during the 

 previous spring. Accompanying the ten sheets, there should be a state- 

 ment of the total number of different kinds of wild flowers that are included 

 in the school herbarium in order that visitors may obtain some idea of 

 the completeness with which the school has studied this subject. 



5. Grain, grass, and clover mounts 



The State syllabus requires that each year one grain, one grass, and 

 one clover shall be studied. The exhibit in this class should consist of 

 three separate mounts on uniform backgrounds, one of a grain, one of a 

 grass, and one of a clover, showing the complete plant in each case. 



6. Five weed mounts 



The exhibit of weed mounts should consist of five separate sheets, each 

 sheet showing a specimen of some injurious weed. Attached to each mount 

 there should be a short statement of the injury that the weed does and of 

 the methods of controlling it. Many of the weeds can be obtained in the 

 fall of the year, and it should be easy to meet the requirements in this 

 class after school opens. 



7 . Horse feed mount 



The horse is given for special study in the animal division this year. 

 In this connection it would be interesting for schools to endeavor to pre- 



