14S STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



years of age. I took as a basis for my teaching the "Soug of Life." I began with 

 the very lowest plant life, and traced the evolution of that life. First I told the 

 children that every organism, whether plant or life, has two great principles: the 

 first, food getting, and the second, reproduction. That food getting, in a way, was 

 selfish to the individual; and that for the second principle the individual must be as 

 perfect as possible. I took, for example, the tree and told them that if It was to 

 bear good fruit it must have good sunlight, air, and proper nourishment; but if 

 any accident had happened to the tree in any way it might be nice on the outside, 

 yet in the interior the tree was bad. Then I appealed to them by their own experi- 

 ence, and told them that if they did not take good care of their bodies, or got into 

 any bad habits, that it would affect their lives, and others that would follow them. 

 In all this talk I only saw in one child's face, a boy of about sixteen, a self-conscious 

 look, but i simply ignored that, and it soon disappeared. I am sure that if you will 

 follow this book, and the use of plant life, you will help your children very much. 

 You know if you teach a child to walk you will not have to teach him to run— get 

 him started in the right direction in this line and he will be all right. This creative 

 force we have might just as well be used for creating good ideas, good thoughts, as 

 the base use, and we should teach this to the children. It is this energy that !has 

 produced the best art, etc. 



Mrs. Perry: I want to urge those mothers who are interested in this thing, and 

 want to know how, to buy a copy of this book of Margaret Morley's. Dr. Mary 

 Wood- Allen's books are tine, they are wonderful; but of all the books I have seen 

 on this subject I think that the "Song of Life," by Margaret Morley, is the best. 

 It is a book that will be read with absorbing interest by children. It will do a 

 great deal to drive out this false idea of the purity of this thing, will do more in 

 this direction than anything I know of. I wish I had a large number of this book 

 to give away. Any one who reads and studies this book will not have to ask "What 

 shall I do?" 



Q. Oan this book be secured from any book store? 



Mrs. Perry: Yes, through almost any book store; or you can order from McClurg 

 & Co., Chicago, 111. 



