146 NATURE STUDY- BY GRADES 



detriment. Along lines of railroads will be found many 

 plants unknown elsewhere in the country, coming in the 

 freight brought from other lands. 



Useful seeds, man brings from all nations to improve our 

 supply and increase our wealth and profit. Give examples. 



A very instructive exercise is to collect on a field trip all 

 manner of seeds, and on returning to school classify them 

 according to their methods of distribution. Many seeds 

 are adapted to be distributed by two agents, as wind and 

 water, while it will be exceedingly difficult in other cases 

 to determine in what way some seeds are distributed. The 

 benefit to the pupil is derived more from the thought aroused 

 than from the correctness of the solution of the problem. 



LESSON XX 

 KINDS OF SOIL 



Take the class for a field lesson to places where there are 

 different kinds of soil. What places sustain abundant 

 vegetation, wild or cultivated? What places produce little? 

 Account for this. Examine samples of soil. 



Collect and take to school samples of gravelly, sandy, 

 and clayey soils, and of rich garden loam. Which are 

 good, and which are poor ? Give a reason for each answer. 

 Where is gravel generally found? Where is there much 

 sand? Where are the best farms and gardens? 



When the pupils are familiar with the different kinds of 

 soil in their own locality, they may be led to understand 

 why certain countries are richer than others in farm products, 

 and why certain places are populous and others uninhabited. 



The children should be able to judge soil in a general 

 way when they see it, and tell if it is good or poor soil. 



