TO THE TEACHER ix 



At the least let the school study variability. This may be 

 done advantageously with four classes of cultivated plants, 

 namely, flowers, garden vegetables, small fruits, and farm crops. 



Of the first, pansies, petunias, sweet peas, and hollyhocks are 

 well adapted to the purposes ; of vegetables, the best are pota- 

 toes and squashes; of small fruits, strawberries and raspberries; 

 and of farm crops, none is better than corn, though wheat, oats, 

 timothy, and clover all exhibit pronounced variations. 



In some of these cases variability may be conveniently in- 

 creased by crossing, as with the sweet pea, hollyhock, squash, 

 and corn ; and in the potato and strawberry an endless supply 

 of new strains may be had by planting the seeds. 



If at all possible, this study of variability should be accompanied 

 by attempts at improvement, which is especially easy with flowers 

 and not at all impossible with such crops as potatoes and corn. 



Large animals are, for the most part, out of reach of the 

 operations of the school, except as it can draw upon the farm 

 animals of the neighborhood, which everywhere afford material 

 practically unlimited, both in numbers and variety. 



There is no more favorable material for study, however, than 

 chickens, and a small poultry plant is entirely feasible and in 

 every way desirable in connection with the school. 



It is fundamental that some one be definitely charged with 

 the responsibility and care of any and all plants and animals 

 kept for school purposes. This responsibility and care may 

 properly devolve upon the same party who cares for the 

 building and the grounds. 



It may seem to some that to do work of this sort, and to study 

 matters of this kind, is not the proper function of the school, 

 and that its advocacy is a passing fancy. To such, let the author 

 say that a new era is upon us, — an era in which at least a por- 

 tion of the time and energy of the schools must be devoted to 

 useful things, and to none more properly than to the industry 

 of agriculture, which directly engages the lives of one third of 

 our population and provides food for all the people. 



