Viii INTRODUCTION. 



TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. 



For practical work in natural history the teacher needs 

 a room in which is but the one class with which he is at 

 work. This room should be provided with plain tables 

 having drawers in which pupils may keep dissecting instru- 

 ments, drawing materials, and specimens for study. 



This work is greatly aided by having a water supply in 

 the room where the work is done ; this is not only a very 

 great convenience to the teacher, but the pupils are much 

 more ready to take hold of slimy specimens and the work 

 of dissecting, if they can wash their hands conveniently 

 before passing to recitation or study room. 



The teacher cannot do justice to this kind of work if he 

 has recitation after recitation continuously through the day ; 

 time is needed in which to prepare dissections which are too 

 difficult for the students to make, or for which they have 

 not the time ; to arrange the material so as to save time 

 when the class has assembled, as well as to clear away 

 afterward, and be in readiness for another class. The fol- 

 lowing has proved a good arrangement : in a school having 

 three recitation periods in each half day the middle period 

 of each half day is " vacant," i.e., no class comes to the 

 teacher of science at this hour; but this time has been very 

 far from vacant. 



It is much better to buy several low-priced microscopes 

 than one expensive one. 



TO THE TEACHER. 



Do not set out with the intention of finishing this book 

 in a given time ; zoology is the study of animals ; study 

 animals as long as the time allows, trying to learn as much 



