HOME NATURE-STUDY COURSE. 



TEACHER'S LEAFLET. 



Based on the Winter Work for Third- Year Pupils as Outlined in 



THE Syllabus of Nature- Study and Agriculture, Issued by 



THE New York State Education Department. 



THE RACCOON. 



Preliminary work. — Very few of our little wild neighbors lend themselves for 

 a nature-study lesson. The day we wish to study them they are far out of reach. 

 Therefore, it is sometimes better, or at least more practical, to read about the 

 habits of such animals, and through such reading arouse the interest of the pupils 

 and get their eyes wide open, so that they will make observations of their own 

 as opportunity offers. Luckily there has been much written about the raccoon. If 

 the school is in a village or country district, the beginning of this lesson might be 

 the discovery of a raccoon track by some enterprising boy. 



LESSON XLIV. 



THE raccoon. 



Purpose. — To Interest the pupils in the habits of this animal. 



If there are any pupils in school who have had any experience with 

 raccoons, an account of this should be given as a part of the lesson. In 

 fact, everything possible should be done to connect the reading of the 

 pupils with actual observations on the animal. The following topics are 

 suggested for the reading lessons : The results should be given in an 

 essay or orally : " How the Raccoon Looks." " The Raccoon's Rela- 

 tives." " The Autobiography of a Raccoon for the First Year of Its 

 Life." " Interesting Stories about Raccoons," *' The Food of the Rac- 

 coon and Its Table Manners." 



Facts for teacher. — The raccoon is about two feet, eight inches long. Its fur 

 consists of two different kinds of hair, one that is long and coarse and blackened at 

 the end ; the other that is fine and grayish or brownish and short. The snout is 

 long and inquisitive, the eyes sharp and cunning; the face is white with black 

 patches on the cheeks surrounding the eyes. The tail is very bushy, gray and 

 ornamented with black rings. The feet bear a striking resemblance to human 

 hands and feet ; the front feet look like tiny, weazened human hands encased in 

 black kid. The raccoon is a close relative of the bear, both being Plantigrades, 

 which simply means that they walk on their heels and not solely on their toes as 

 do cats and dogs. Besides the bear which it very much resembles in habits, the 

 raccoon has some nearer relatives in the West and Southwest called the Bassaris 



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