74 6 Home Nature-Study Course. 



source a spring-, a swamp, or does it receive its water as drainage from 

 surrounding hills? 



(2). Does it begin in open fields or woods? 



(3). Is the land about it level or hilly? 



(4). Are its banks deep at the beginning or is the brook at first almost 

 on a level with the surrounding country? 



(5). Do the banks become deeper farther from the source? 



(6). Are the banks higher where the brook flows down hill or where 

 it is on a level? 



(7). Is the course of the brook more crooked when it comes down a 

 hillside or when flowing through a level place? 



(8). Are the banks more worn away and steep where the brook 

 flows through the woods or where bushes grow along its edge than in 

 open fields? 



(9). Can you find the places where the water is cutting the banks 

 most when the brook is flooded? 



(10). Into what stream, pond or lake does the brook flow? 



(11). Find in your geography the rivers or lakes through which the 

 water of this brook passes to reach the ocean? 



Facts for the Teacher. — As each brook has its own history the editor cannot give 

 assistance in the answers to observations I, 2, 3, 5 and 11. Usually the brook is 

 a small stream, with shallow banks near its source, and it is not until it receives 

 water from surrounding hills that it gains enough power to cut its banks deeper. 

 Ordinarily the banks are deeper where the brook flows down a hillside than when 

 on a level. This is because the water flows more swiftly and thus has more power 

 for cutting away the soil. However, if the hillside happens to be in the woods this 

 may not be true, as the roots of trees or bushes tend to keep the soil from being 

 washed away. Unless there are obstacles the course of the brook is likely to-be 

 more direct when flowing down a hillside than when meandering through level 

 fields. In fact, brooks and creeks are likely to be exceedingly crooked on level 

 areas. This is because the level interferes with the force of gravity of the water 

 and it has to grope about seeking its way down hill ; after the stream has thus 

 started its crooked course, at time of flood the current strikes with more force 

 against the curves and deepens them, making the course still more crooked. 

 Wherever the .soil is bare and exposed to the force of the current are the places 

 where the banks are cut at flood times. 



Lesson V. 



THE WORK OF A BROOK. 



Purpose. — To study how a brook works and the tools it works with. 

 Observations. — (i). When is a brook working and when is it playing? 



