398 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



a four-j-ear high school course in agriculture (prepared by Dean Davenport), 

 Lincoln's views of agriculture with comments by Prof. C. G. Hopkins, and im- 

 Iirovement in the work of boys' and girls' clubs, with a list of the prize-winners 

 in corn-growing nnd domestic art work. 



Practical school g'ardening, I'. Ki.fouu and S. IIeaton (Oxford, Eng., JOO!), 

 pp. 22.'i, pJ.s. 5, charts S, (Ifiiiis. 7, //r/.s. 77). — In this text-book the authors give 

 cultural directions for the different features of garden work, together with 

 chapters on insects and other |)ests of the garden, friends of the garden, a cal- 

 endar of gardening operations, and a nature calendar, and appendixes dealing 

 with the school garden and " discovery " lessons or field trips, meteorological 

 observations, and several useful tables. 



School g'ardens in Ceylon, C. Drieberg (Philippine A fir. Rev. [English Ed.], 

 2 (JDOO), So. 9, pp. .',92, '/;«).— A brief statement of the object of school gardens, 

 conditions under which they are worked, and points in the judging of gardens 

 for the information and guidance of Ceylon teachers. 



The study of nature, S. C. Schmucker {Philadelphia and London, 1D09, pp. 

 315, pis. J/, figs. 5-'i). — This volume is divided into 3 sections. The first deals 

 with the theory of nature study, what it is, its aim, purpose, school-room appli- 

 cations and equipment, suitable subject-matter, and the teacher's preparation. 

 Section II, the materials of nature study, includes the insects, some " water- 

 dwellers," reptiles, birds, wild and domestic animals, i)lant life, and the heavens. 

 The last section suggests a related course of nature study and includes a list of 

 helpful books. The entire treatment is in the spirit of the author's teaching 

 experience and public addresses on the subject. 



Nature study in congested city districts, Emma Sylvester (Nature-Study 

 Rev., 5 (1909), No. 8, pp. 201-209). — This paper is designed primarily to sug- 

 gest improvements in the New York State Syllabus of Nature Study, but its 

 recommendations have general application to conditions in large cities. 



Some of the difficulties in such situations are classified as (1) lack of nature- 

 study material, (2) difficulty of securing suitable material at the proper time, 

 (3) lack of time to care properly for material secured, (4) lack of sjiecific 

 teaching directions for the subject, (5) too large classes to permit maximum 

 possible benefit from individual study of material, and (6) lack of proper corre- 

 lation of nature study with the other subjects of the course. 



Among the improvements suggested are (1) first hand study of phenomena 

 everywhere available — as water evaporation, condensation, clouds, erosion, and 

 the effects of frost; (2) a division of the work into required and optional cate- 

 gories, under the first of which should be included the cat. dog. canary, common 

 fruits, vegetables, and flowers; (3) omission of all rare birds, flowers, animals, 

 etc., and all classifications which pupils are not prepared to understand; (4) 

 closer cooperation between the City Park Department and the schools, so that 

 the schools may have the benefit of prunings, cuttings, nests, cocoons, etc. 



Boys' agricultural clubs, V. L. Roy (La. Dcpt. Ed. Circ. Inform., 1909, 

 Dec, pp. l-i). — This circular briefiy reviews the origin of boys' club work in 

 connection with the farmers' institutes in Macoupin Co., 111., sets forth the 

 purposes and value of such work, and gives several pages of practical direc- 

 tions for organizing clubs, recording the work done, and judging exhibits. 

 It is designed especially for use in the parish divisions of Louisiana. 



