THRIFT 



5803 



THRUSH 



ing, began at once to work out concrete courses 

 of study. While the courses of study will vary 

 with the various grades, the following summary 

 may be taken as the basis upon which the 

 science of thrift instruction is based : 



Arithmetic. In the primary grades, problems 

 are given the children for solution which show 

 the value of saving; also the necessity of accu- 

 racy which implies truthfulness. In the inter- 

 mediary grades the element of compensation and 

 reward is introduced into the problems, while in 

 the advanced grades, the value of investment is 

 shown. A thrift application must be given to the 

 entire range of mathematical studies, including 

 bookkeeping, accounting and commercial prac- 

 tices. 



English. This branch furnishes opportunities 

 for the teaching of thrift to the children by 

 means of story-telling, compositions and essays 

 which include the memorizing of such fables as 

 The Farmer and the Wheat, The Ant and the 

 Grasshopper, etc. Stories and compositions on the 

 life and works of the industrious insects and ani- 

 mals will show the value of cooperative and indi- 

 vidual industry. The specific writing of essays on 

 the subject of thrift will lead the children to re- 

 search and thought on this subject without losing 

 any value in diction, grammar or rhetoric. 



Geography. The value of conservation can be 

 taught in connection with this branch. The study 

 of unused lands and wasted waterpower suggests 

 the necessity of conservation. This also brings in 

 gardening and forestry. The topography of a 

 locality suggests the comparative value of indus- 

 tries and occupations. Domestic and foreign com- 

 merce as well as transportation and trade routes 

 are rich in suggestion of the principle of thrift. 



History and Civics. The value of cooperation 

 may be taught through these branches, also 

 through biography. The child may learn that the 

 most successful careers were built primarily on 

 habits of thrift. The lives of successful men, 

 particularly those who have contributed to the 

 substantial upbuilding of America, may be studied 

 with interest and profit. A study of the decline 

 and fall of nations brought about through the 

 improvidence of their people, and a study of the 

 healthful growth of those nations whose people 

 are thrifty, may all be included. 



Hygiene. This study suggests cleanliness, sani- 

 tation, care of the teeth, home ventilation, proper 

 breathing, abundant use of pure water, care of 

 the sick, emergencies, danger of narcotics. This 

 study should bring out the actual loss incurred 

 through ill health and unhealthful practices. 



Domestic Science includes a study of the chem- 

 istry of foods, food selection, economic prepara- 

 tion of food, marketing, gardening and the 

 preservation of food. It also includes sewing, 

 which means the proper selection of fabrics and 

 the saving of clothing through mending, darning 

 and repairing. 



It is suggested that in communities where 

 thrift is not taught in the schools, parents may 

 adopt plans by which a portion or all of this 

 outline may be given to the child through home 

 instructions. 



To the individual wishing to take up prac- 

 tices of thrift, it is suggested that a definite 

 record be kept of every penny earned and every 

 penny spent. At the end of the month, go over 

 these items and prepare a budget for the suc- 

 ceeding month which will, if possible, include 

 the elimination of such expenditures as are con- 

 sidered unnecessary or wasteful. Make it a 

 definite point also to save systematically; lay 

 aside from your earnings a fixed sum daily, 

 weekly or monthly. Make the amount small 

 enough so that there will not be grave danger 

 of becoming disheartened. It will be found 

 that the saving habit becomes a most fascinat- 

 ing one after one has begun it. s.w.s. 



Consult Smiles' Thrift. 



THRUSH, a group of song birds found all 

 over the world. There are about 240 species, 

 including numerous plain brown birds, with 

 whitish and usually spotted breasts, besides 

 the robins, wheatears and bluebirds. Thrushes 

 are migratory. 

 They inhabit 

 wooded regions, 

 spending much 

 time on the 

 ground and feed- 

 ing almost en- 

 tirely upon in- 

 sects, thus prov- 

 ing themselves of 



value to man. But never 



rp i ,i have sung 



They are the Is half so swee t as thrushes 



a song that you 



highest order of 



When my dear love and I 

 songsters. were young. 



The largest and 



best known North American species, barring 

 the American robin, is the wood thrush, which 

 has bright cinnamon upper parts, and con- 

 spicuously spotted breast and sides. It is noted 

 for its clear, flutelike song. The wood thrush 

 nests in the Northern United States and winters 

 in Central America. Its nest, built on the hori- 

 zontal branch of a bush or tree, consists of 

 leaves, twigs, etc., closely woven together and 

 having an inner wall of mud and a lining of 

 fine rootlets. The eggs are three to five in 

 number and of a greenish-blue color. Other 

 common species are the Wilson's thrush, or 

 veery, the hermit thrush and the bluebird. In 

 England, the commonest thrushes are the red- 

 breast, or English robin, the throstle, or song 

 thrush, and the nightingale, the sweetest singer 

 of all the thrushes. 



Consult Forbush's Useful Birds and Their Pro- 

 tection. 



