The Canary The Chick. 45 



A turtle may be preserved by making ari incision in the 

 soft side between the front and back shells and placing him 

 in a solution of alcohol, glycerine, and arsenic. The solu- 

 tion will penetrate the body and keep it from decomposi- 

 tion. 



BIRDS. 



The Canary. 



Let a pupil bring a bird-cage to school. This cage 

 should contain one or more birds. Hang it where the 

 birds may be seen from time to time, so that their mode of 

 life may be observed. Describe the canary ; its round 

 head, full throat, slender legs, long toe-nails. What is its 

 color? Are all canaries colored so? How many toes has 

 the canary ? Do they all start from the same point on the 

 leg ? How does it sit upon a perch ? What takes the place 

 of a heel ? Are all toes of equal length ? Examine the 

 bill. How does its shape compare with the bill of a chick ? 

 Examine the eyes, their position in the head, the three 

 eyelids, and the way each moves. Examine the scales upon 

 the legs. Are these scales alike in front and behind? 

 What does the canary eat ? How does it crack a seed ? 

 How does it drink ? Watch the bird for five minutes or 

 less and then recount what it has done in that time. Give 

 the bird a bathing-dish of fresh water. Watch it bathe. A 

 lesson in cleanliness. When possible it is well to have a 

 large family cage and let a bird raise her young where day 

 by day they may be seen and conversed about. (I would 

 not advise the bringing of any but canaries into the school- 

 room, as other birds pine in confinement.) 



The Chick. 



A friend of mine once borrowed a small " coop " con- 

 taining a hen and thirteen young chicks and kept them a 

 day in her school. Such a plan may succeed very well, but 

 children must, in such cases, be cautioned not to handle 

 the feathery babies. 



