

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 



There is a growing tendency in the schools toward 

 educating children in the common things of life. In some 

 States laws have been passed requiring the teaching of 

 elementary agriculture in the village and rural schools. The 

 object of this work is to interest the pupils in the practical 

 things of country life and to give them some conception of 

 the opportunities which surround them. A majority of 

 the children who attend the village and rural schools will 

 remain in the country, and it is right and proper that they 

 should be educated in the things with which they will have 

 to deal every day of their lives. 



The success of the work will depend very largely upon the 

 teacher. Pupils are naturally interested in those things 

 with which they are constantly in contact, and need only the 

 encouragement of the teacher to direct their enthusiasm. 

 In this manual a few exercises are given to illustrate some of 

 the fundamental principles of plant growth, but the central 

 idea throughout is the practical application of these prin- 

 ciples to crop production and improvement. Some of the 

 exercises are original, but many of them have been adapted 

 from the publications of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture and from the bulletins of the Extension Depart- 

 ment of the Ohio State University. The writer wishes to 

 acknowledge his deep indebtedness to his wife, Hattie F. 

 McCall, for helpful criticisms and suggestions. 



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