AGRICULTURE 



110 



AGRICULTURE 



provinces and countries and make comparisons. 

 Have pupils make outline maps of home farms 

 and locate thereon fields and ci*ops decided upon. 

 Different soils should be indicated by color or 

 shading. Take up the study of the lumber in- 

 dustry, national forestry, different varieties of 

 native and imported woods, importance of ice 

 in modern dairy farming. Study methods of 

 producing, storing and transporting artificial and 

 natural ice. 



Lessons in history. The subject of the forests 

 opens the way for several important related 

 subjects development of the lumber industry, 

 its effect on settlement, the conservation move- 

 ment, etc. Historical forests of the world may 

 be studied. Compare present winter conditions 

 of the farm with those of pioneer days. To 

 what extent was the farm self-supporting then? 

 What industries then carried on have since been 

 taken from the farm? 



Drawing lessons. Farm animals and winter 

 trees make good subjects for sketches. Lum- 

 bering and ice-cutting tools may also be as- 

 signed. 



Lessons in physiology. The following sub- 

 jects may be taken up : Diseases and acci- 

 dents common to winter ; dangers of using milk 

 from tuberculous cows ; milk and cream as dis- 

 ease carriers ; how to prevent epidemics ; local 

 and national health laws. 



Manual training exercises. Have the pupils 

 construct egg testers, apparatus for testing corn, 

 models of stables and poultry houses, and bird 

 houses. 



FEBRUARY 



Practical exercises indoors and out. Detailed 

 plans for garden and field projects may now 

 be made. Show different methods of testing 

 corn and other seeds. Assign home work in 

 testing and ask for reports. Sow seeds in hot- 

 beds or window boxes to obtain early plants, 

 and study their germination and growth. Egg 

 testing may be continued at school and at home. 

 Have a neighborhood meeting in the school to 

 show ability of pupils to test seed, milk and 

 eggs and to judge corn. 



Composition work. Direct the pupils in the 

 writing and mailing of orders for seeds and for 

 agricultural bulletins. Have all records and re- 

 ports written out carefully. 



Reading and spelling lessons. For supple- 

 mentary readings select such titles as Pope's 

 Happy the Man ; Longfellow's The Home Song ; 

 Caroline Norton's The Arab to his Steed; Burns' 

 To a Mouse. Get literature on school gardens, 

 the home vegetable garden, egg marketing and 

 poultry raising. Have a neighborhood spelling 

 contest, making use of all agricultural terms 

 the pupils have used. 



Arithmetic problems. Assign practice work 

 in the making of invoices, checks, receipts and 

 other business forms. Make computations of 

 garden areas ; have the space for each variety 

 of vegetables laid out to scale. Problems as- 

 signed may be based on sales of eggs, cost of 

 marketing and net income. Using figures found 

 in milk testing, find the values of the butter fat 

 per hundredweight of milk. Allowing thirty 

 cents per hundredweight for skimmed milk, what 



is the total value of specified quantities of 

 milk? Compute income from specified cows. 



Geography lessons. Have pupils make a dis- 

 trict survey map showing kinds of seeds used 

 for garden and field crops. Make comparisons ; 

 which gives better results home-grown or pur- 

 chased seed? Which are the most profitable 

 garden crops? Make a study of demand and 

 supply. What possibilities are there for good 

 and bad yields for the coming season? 



Lessons in history. Have pupils make a study 

 of the history of certain important local crops 

 Trace back to date when each was first used 

 as a food. How are new fruits and vegetables 

 made available for human food? Why are cer- 

 tain well-known vegetables or grains not raised 

 locally? 



Drawing lessons. The seed planting in win- 

 dow boxes gives opportunity for sketching the 

 development of the germinating plant up to the 

 opening of the true leaves. Have working draw- 

 ings made of seed testers; plan and make pat- 

 terns for egg tester and shipping cases. Have 

 home and school gardens drawn to scale. 



Lessons in physiology. Make a study of 

 local, state or provincial laws concerning sani- 

 tation. Wherein are these laws inadequate? 

 Are the people of the rural sections as well 

 protected as those of the cities in regard to 

 water supply, sewage, infectious diseases, clean 

 milk, etc. Study methods of heating and venti- 

 lation in the community. Criticise the school 

 facilities. 



Manual training exercises. Have pupils con- 

 struct seed and egg testers, window boxes and 

 shallow boxes, or "flats," for starting seeds. 

 Make a model of a hotbed or cold frame. 



MARCH 



Practical exercises indoors and out. Make 

 preparations for incubation of eggs. Make 

 visits to a successful poultry plant to study 

 methods of incubation. Prepare cold frames for 

 seeds. Begin early planting of lettuce, tomatoes, 

 pansies and other plants, under glass or in 

 "flats." As soon as weather permits have field 

 demonstrations of grafting, pruning and spray- 

 ing. Begin setting out of fruit trees. 



Composition work. Have written and mailed 

 necessary letters regarding seeds, fertilizers or 

 tools. Have a full report written whenever a 

 hen is set or an incubator started. Direct pupils 

 to write full descriptions of field trips and 

 visits to establishments. 



Reading and spelling lessons. For supple- 

 mentary reading use material on rural life, such 

 as Grady's The Homes of the People; Holmes' 

 The Plowman; Hamlin's The Meadow Lark; 

 Aldrich's Bluebird; Mackay's Tubal Cain; Riley's 

 Out at Old Aunt Mary's; and the Parable of the 

 Sower, from the Bible. Use bulletins and pe- 

 riodicals on special garden vegetables, incuba- 

 tion of hens' eggs and other seasonal topics. 



Problems in arithmetic. Poultry records, bills 

 for seed, fertilizer and tools, orchard work and 

 dairy projects furnish material for problems. 

 Wherever feasible, study methods of assessing 

 taxes and their relation to farm management, 

 and invent problems involving the facts learned. 



