Rural School Leaflet. 737 



While waiting for opportunity to have the work of gardening con- 

 ducted in a forceful way, let us do the best we can to interest children 

 in growing plants, and in developing their school grounds. There is 

 no better medium for nature-study than the garden, and any ambitious 

 teacher can encourage her pupils to grow a few flowers or vegetables 

 or experiment with farm crops. It need not be on an expensive scale. 

 If the children do one thing toward it each year, the garden will grow. 



Next month we shall give some specific suggestions for conducting 

 garden work. In the meantime create enthusiasm for this subject 

 by discussing trees, shrubs, and garden plants that might have an interest 

 for the children. It would be well to have seed catalogs and leave them 

 where the children can read them occasionally. The names of different 

 flowers for a spelling lesson might be valuable in keeping the subject 

 before the minds of the children. An occasional bit of poetry for a 

 memory selection will help. 



Again let me say that every teacher should do at least some one thing 

 in garden-making this spring. In rural districts, discuss the question 

 of experimenting with farm crops. Suggestions will be given in the April 

 issue for definite experiments. 



In the Supplement of this Leaflet there will be suggestions for grow- 

 ing sweet pesLS. This will interest the younger children. Doubtless 

 some place can be found near the school in which sweet peas will grow. 



Lesson XXIII 



. THE BEEF ANIMAL AND THE DAIRY ANIMAL 



By H. H. Wing 



Cattle are kept for two main purposes : For the production of milk 

 and for the production of beef. These two purposes make quite differ- 

 ent demands upon the vital energies of the animal. For this reason, by 

 selection through many generations of those animals on the one hand 

 that are best developed for meat production, and of those on the other 

 that give the largest amount of milk, there have arisen two types more 

 or less distinct in form and certain other characters; one known as the 

 "beef form" or type, and the other known as the "milk form" or type. 



It must not be supposed that these two types are entirely distinct 

 or separate, for the cows of the beef type always give some milk, and 

 animals of the dairy type will furnish beef of reasonably good quality 

 when properly fattened. Then, too, while the types may be readily 

 recognized in the best developed individuals of either, there are a great 

 many animals of intermediate form that it would be difficult to assign 

 to either type, since the two types tend to merge into each other by 

 insensible gradations. 



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