PREFACE 



EVERYDAY SCIENCE was written primarily for eighth and 

 ninth grade pupils who will never have any further training 

 in science. The book, therefore, covers a wide field, and 

 does not unduly emphasize any of the special sciences. The 

 subject matter is chosen not for the purpose of appealing 

 to any group of special science teachers, but rather with a 

 view to making pupils as intelligent and useful citizens as 

 possible. 



The book is, first of all, both interesting and simple, and 

 aims not only to furnish a fund of valuable scientific infor- 

 mation, but also to arouse scientific curiosity and to en- 

 courage further study both in and out of school. It will 

 inculcate scientific habits of thought, and will substitute 

 the beginnings of knowledge and confidence for misappre- 

 hension and superstition. 



The usefulness of science is brought out in innumerable 

 applications of its principles to the household, the yard and 

 garden, the farm, the city street, industries, and transpor- 

 tation. Good citizenship is fostered by the' interesting 

 treatment of such subjects as personal hygiene, community 

 health and sanitation, reclamation of lowlands, irrigation, 

 forestry, coastal navigation, canals, and inland waterways. 



But the pupil's scientific studies are not hemmed in by 

 the four walls of the home, by the garden fence, or 'even by 

 the nation's boundaries. Breadth of vision, imagination, 

 and reverence are cultivated by a knowledge of the earth 

 as a planet, of the main outlines of its physical history, of 



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