The Teacher's Comer 



At the beginning of the year it was part of the plan of The 

 Review that the present editor should write lessons for each 

 month on timely topics, and since everyone who has The REviEW 

 has access to the Handbook of Natiire Study, these lessons were 

 supplementary to the ones published in the volume. However, 

 the situation has changed. It is scarcely becoming to an editor 

 to fill pages of a periodical with his or her own writing. There- 

 fore, hereafter there will simply be a list of topics for the grades 

 given. 



Owing to the new plan of making each ntimber of The Nature 

 Study Review specialize in some particular subject, it has seemed 

 to the editor that lessons outlined on the subjects discussed in each 

 niimber of The Rcview by different writers would be a practical 

 help. Thus in this number you have interesting stories of the 

 skunk, the goat, and the white rat. The plan for using these 

 in school work follows. 



the skunk 



In a nature-study lesson we needs must have some actual 

 observation in order to stimulate a desire for further knowledge. 

 I had in mind to suggest that just a smell of the skunk, if strong 

 enough, is a quite sufficient basis for a nature study lesson, simply 

 because through being able to emit this odor, the skunk has been 

 influenced fundamentally in its habits The odor has been such 

 a powerful means of defense that this little creature is practically 

 fearless and walks about where and when it wills, being certain 

 that nothing will happen to it. To be sure this feeling of safety 

 leads to tragedies with trolley cars and autos; but these are too 

 late inventions to have become a part of the skunk's racial philoso- 

 phy. 



Thus the leading thought in giving this lesson should be a 

 study of the effect upon the animal's habits by this means of 

 protection. Almost every child in the country has had some 

 experience with the skunk and should be asked to express his 

 ideas and opinions upon the subject. Further than this the 

 following points should be covered by observations, if possible, 

 (i) The skunk does its hunting at night and its black fur protects 

 it from being seen by its prey which consists largely of mice. 

 On the contrary, its white stripes render it sufficiently conspicuous 

 from above to the large animals that might attack it to render 



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