HOME NATURE-STUDY. 



A special effort was made last September to reach the teachers in 

 the rural schools. We concluded to send out fewer leaflets ; there- 

 fore, they were sent to those outside of the rural schools only upon 

 special request. It was difficult to get the names and addresses of 

 the rural teachers, for the lists given in the previous year's report 

 did not give the correct address. The Granges were asked to assist 

 us in getting the names of the rural teachers. The following letter 

 was sent to the secretaries of the six hundred Granges of New York 

 State : 



" We are trusting in your interest as a patron to assist us in an 

 effort to reach the children of the rural districts, and get them 

 interested in nature-study as a direct aid to farming. 



" If the young people are to stay on the farm it will be because 

 they find that life most attractive. They should get to know the 

 problems of the farm and get interested in solving them. They should 

 know not only the names, but the value of the trees, plants, insects, 

 birds and all the living things which are sure to occupy their farms 

 with them to their benefit or detriment. Such studies if properly in- 

 troduced in the district school will not crowd out the regular studies, 

 but will, on the contrary, be a help in making reading, geography, 

 drawing, composition and even arithmetic more interesting. 



" Will you please to help us by mailing the enclosed postal cards 

 to the teachers of your own and adjoining districts? And will you 

 kindly bring this matter before the next meeting of your Grange, 

 hoping that we may thus gain the direct influence of the members 

 in this \\ork of educating the children toward the farm instead of 

 awav from it.'' 



In each of these letters were .sent three postal cards like the en- 

 closed. 



Ithaca, N. Y., Sept. 15, 1905. 

 To The Teacher: 



You know the life in your .schoolroom ; would you like to know soiT>e- 

 thing of the life just outside your school house, and use this knowledge to 

 give your pupils a new interest in the school and the farm? If so, we will 

 help you in any two of tlic following lines : 



The Birds, their names, food habits and relations to agriculture. 

 The Wild Flozvcrs, their names, methods of growth and seed distribution, 

 especial attention being given to weeds. 



The Trees, their names, characteristics, their flowers and fruits, and 

 their special uses. 



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