AGRICULTURE 



108 



AGRICULTURE 



insects. Drawings may also be made of such 

 apparatus or tools as have been used during 

 the month. 



Exercises in physiology. The study of the 

 various local crops with respect to their nutri- 

 tive and fuel value, that is, their desirability as 

 foods, is timely and important. Such topics can 

 be included in the regular physiology assign- 

 ments. Lessons in sanitation and hygiene should 

 also be included, whenever it is feasible. 



Manual training exercises. The making of 

 shelves for exhibits, window boxes and seed- 

 drying racks will occupy the energies of the 

 boys, and the braiding of husk mats and baskets 

 will interest the girls. The transplanting of 

 garden plants into pots and boxes is another 

 interesting line of activity. Such work can be 

 varied indefinitely. 



OCTOBER 



Out-of-door work. Trips to the fields should 

 be continued. Poultry of high grade, espe- 

 cially flocks with good records as layers, may 

 be visited, and notes be taken as to the care 

 given them. Soils should be gathered and stored 

 in boxes or pails for lessons on soils and for 

 germination experiments in the spring. Modern 

 methods of harvesting and the machinery used 

 should be examined carefully. October is also 

 the month in which to destroy the garden weeds 

 and rubbish in which insect pests may be hid- 

 den. Those who are interested in poultry may 

 now make their selections among the layers at 

 home, and begin fattening the chickens intended 

 for the market. The ones who expect to have 

 gardens the next season should plow their land 

 this month. 



A school fair. The month of October is an 

 attractive time for a school fair or exhibit. The 

 exhibits may include produce from the school 

 garden, fruits and vegetables raised by the 

 pupils in their project gardens, cooking, can- 

 ning and sewing exhibits, and, if desired, speci- 

 mens of the school work in manual training, 

 drawing, etc. The matter of prizes may be left 

 to the judgment of the individual schools. In 

 some cases it may be well to have an auction 

 sale of the exhibits to raise funds for the 

 school library or for other improvements. Make 

 the fair an event in the community. 



Composition work. Descriptions of field ex- 

 cursions, reports on investigations, etc., should 

 be carefully written up. Have each pupil pre- 

 pare a description of the school fair, as if for 

 one of the local papers. Also have each one 

 compose a formal invitation to the fair. 



Reading and spelling lessons. Among the 

 reading selections appropriate for the season 

 are Edward Everett's The Farmers' Gold; 

 Whittier's The Corn Song; Burroughs' The 

 Apple; Baldwin's The Horse Fair; Longfellow's 

 Hiawatha's Brothers. Others may be found by 

 the teacher. Continue the reading of agricul- 

 tural journals and bulletins, and the drill on 

 new words met in reading. Include in the 

 spelling lists those terms misspelled in the com- 

 positions. 



Drill in arithmetic. Assign problems similar 

 to those suggested for September work. Have 



meed pupils compute amount of lumber 

 needed for poultry houses, silos, and other farm 

 structures and apparatus (see LUMBER). Have 

 neat and accurate statements made of the cost 

 and income of various farm projects, also tabu- 

 lated reports of the school exhibit. 



Lessons in geography. Have recorded on 

 maps and charts local surveys of crops and 

 poultry. Study the commercial side of the com- 

 munity farming. Locate chief shipping points, 

 lines of traffic and outside points from which 

 produce is brought in. Locate on outline maps 

 the chief agricultural areas of various countries. 



Exercises in history. Make a special study of 

 the effect of city growth on the development of 

 neighboring agricultural districts. How have 

 the need* of city-dwellers with respect to milk, 

 poultry, butter, eggs and vegetables affected 

 local farming? How, on a larger scale, are the 

 different sections of a country and the different 

 countries of the world affected by interchange 

 of products? Show the work of national and 

 state governments in encouraging farming, giv- 

 ing instruction, controlling plant and animal dis- 

 eases, etc. 



Lessons in drawing. Continue work of sketch- 

 ing and coloring fruits, grains, vegetables, etc. 

 Have working drawings made of model farm 

 structures. 



Physiology lessons. Make a special study of 

 the food value of poultry and eggs, and of the 

 value and digestibility of such local crops as 

 are used in feeding farm animals. 



Manual training exercises. Have the pupils 

 plan and construct a model poultry house, with 

 full-sized nests and feed boxes. 



NOVEMBER 



Out-of-door exercises. Examination of high- 

 grade poultry should be continued, in addition 

 to inspection of cows and other farm animals. 

 Investigate local methods of storing grain and 

 of housing animals. Report on orchard work, 

 if any is carried on. What methods of com- 

 bating insect pests prevail? Note attention 

 paid to cleaning and repairing of poultry houses, 

 methods of fall planting of trees and shrubs, 

 and how cutting, pruning and grafting are done. 

 Complete the collection of soils and seeds begun 

 in the previous month. 



Composition work. Field excursions and in- 

 vestigations of farm equipment and various lines 

 of fall work should be written up. Oral discus- 

 sions of the subjects considered will Increase 

 the pupils' ability to use English. The Thanks- 

 giving festival furnishes much timely material 

 for compositions. Send short articles on va- 

 rious lines of school work to the local papers. 



Reading and spelling lessons. Appropriate se- 

 lections for the month are Thoreau's Walden 

 Pond; Helen H. Jackson's November Woods; 

 selections from Audubon's writings ; Alice 

 Carey's November. Continue use of periodicals 

 and supplementary readers, and drills on new 

 terms and misspelled words. Have an evening 

 spelling contest which shall include many agri- 

 cultural words. 



Lessons in arithmetic. Assign problems based 

 on cost of harvesting and marketing apples, 



