70 NATURE STUDY 'BY GRADES 



How could a young sprout get through the hard crust ? Note 

 the difference in color. Usually a dark-colored soil is the 

 best. 



Examine with a lens a sample of good soil. Note the 

 grains of sand, the particles of clay, and bits of sticks or leaves. 

 How do farmers make the soil better when it is poor ? How 

 do they prepare it for planting the seed ? How does plowing 

 benefit the soil ? What time of the year is the ground most 

 easily plowed ? How does the frost loosen the ground ? The 

 frost is nature's plowman, and in the spring it leaves the soil 

 light and fine, a fit bed for young and tender plants. 



LESSON XLII 

 ASTRONOMY 



Teach the pupils to notice the change in the length of the 

 day. Observe the time of the setting and the rising of the 

 sun until a change is noticed. Perhaps the pupils can re- 

 call that they get home from school much before sunset 

 now, and that their fathers may get home from work before 

 dark. Use any apt illustration to fix this truth. 



A little effort on the part of the teacher will enable the 

 pupils to learn some of the stars ; for example, the evening 

 and morning stars, the north star, the big dipper, the milky 

 way, etc. Short talks occasionally about the sun, moon, and 

 stars will be an agreeable change, and stimulate observation 

 and inquiry. Read some of the beautiful myths about stars 

 and their groups. 



Should a visible eclipse of the sun occur during school 

 hours, provide pieces of smoked glass for the pupils and 

 allow them to observe it. They may see the moon pass 

 between us and the sun and the effect produced. 



