220 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



may go into. There is a seasonable kind of work, I think, 

 that can be done in the public schools that will help measurably 

 in this matter of equipment for life. There are a great many 

 things, there are a great many phenomena, there are a 

 great many facts and things about the farm that everybody 

 ought to know. There are a great many of the insects that 

 were spoken of here this morning that everybody ought to be 

 familiar with. It is along that line. There are thousands of 

 things in farm afifairs, in nature, that act upon the life of the 

 individual, and that phase of it, I think, is what we want to 

 bring out; what we want to take up in this work. I would 

 not call it elementary agriculture. Call it nature study if you 

 will. That is what they call it in some places when they don't 

 know what else to call it, and under which there is almost 

 everything under the sun done. Now a great many times the 

 things that are taught are not at all to the point. Later on I 

 will designate some of the things that I think should be 

 brought out more clearly in such a course, and if you will bear 

 with me I should like to relate a few of the things that I have 

 seen taught in the school under a course of so-called nature 

 study, or elementary agriculture. It has been pointed out by 

 many authors, and by many people, by lecturers everywhere, 

 and by public school teachers, that bird studies were exceed- 

 ingly fine ; that the value of birds to the farm is something of 

 very great importance. I agree thoroughly with them. But 

 on account of this some people take advantage of it and they 

 say we must teach birds therefore. Just tell whatever we can 

 find out about them. Therefore, instead of going to the birds 

 and finding out something about them, they content them- 

 selves with relating stories that are written about them. Could 

 anything be more erroneous ? One day I met a little girl com- 

 ing home from school. It was about three o'clock, and I met 

 this little girl, whom I knew, hurrying home from her school, 

 and she says : " Oh, we just had a fine talk in the nature study 

 class! We had such a delightful lesson. It was about the 

 red-headed woodpecker." And she says : " Now, let me tell 

 you about the lesson," And then she went on to tell how the 

 red-headed woodpecker got his red head, and proceeded to 

 relate the story of the old woman that lived out in the woods 

 and had a great many evil characteristics, and with that pe- 

 culiar disposition she went on to do more and more mean 



