February, '11] DISCUSSION: TEACHING METHODS S9 



and what they want is the most practical instruction. About 90% 

 of the boys return to the farm at once, and of the 10% which con- 

 tinue, the most of these go on in the College of Agriculture and special- 

 ize in various lines, fitting themselves for experiment stations and 

 other positions, and so the problem concerning us is to implant in 

 the men something that will be of value to them. We start in the 

 four-year course with the men, which is the most important of the 

 three, by trying to give every student a good foundation. We give 

 them some idea of the transformations of insects, and something of 

 biology, and something of classification, but we do not give this instruc- 

 tion in the terms I would use to you. We make it perfectly simple, 

 and illustrate it as far as possible. We make much use of demonstra- 

 tion materials in the class room, and that, up to this time, has caken 

 the place of laboratory work. We then take up the study of orders. 

 We do not use technical names any more than necessary. Our object 

 is to give a general idea of the different tj'pes of insects, and something 

 of the relationship of the different forms, something of the life his- 

 tory. This takes up the winter semester, and is considered the ground 

 work. At the end of this the work changes radically, we turn about 

 and face the practical side of the problem as intensively as possible. 

 We take up in succession the particular crop pests of our own section, 

 beginning with the chinch bug, the Hessian fly, wire worms, corn 

 worms, etc., taking these in turn and giving an idea of the appearance 

 of the insect, so that the student can see the importance of the study. 

 In these demonstrations some Riker mounts are employed, and others 

 we have prepared, exhibiting the life history, cases showing the work 

 and the insect in its varied stages. These are placed on exhibition, 

 and sometimes we dismiss the class, so that each student can view 

 the insects and their work. The student then gets a good idea of 

 the pest. We then deal with the life history, but only so far as the 

 life history involves methods of control. We try to show the student 

 why we apply certain methods of control, and try to give the most 

 practical information we can impart. The work with the women, 

 perhaps, is not so pertinent here, but the first semester is practically 

 the same; the second is devoted to household insects and human 

 health. In the case of the short course, the subject is presented in 

 an even less technical way — demonstration material and lantern 

 slides — we do not decry the use of lantern slides. This is another 

 way of placing before the students a concrete idea of the work in 

 hand. As to the practical results of these methods I will say that 

 many students, when they return to the farm, write in concerning 

 certain pests, and the intelligence displajed in the questions asked 

 indicates that the man has been a student in our institution, without 



