234 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [7:8— Nov., 1911 



cat, cheetah, fishing cat, jaguar, lynx, lion, manuel, ocelot, ounce, 

 panther, puma, rusty cat, serval, tiger, wild cat, yaguarandi. Have 

 the children consult encyclopedias and natural histories to find de- 

 scriptions of the appearance, habits and haunts of these animals. 

 This is a good opportunity to drill on library work. Make use of 

 available pictures, supplementary reading and personal observa- 

 tions by the pupils who have been to menageries or zoological 

 gardens, to gain vivid conceptions of these forms. Recall the work 

 already done on protective colors of the great cats. Do any 

 other of these animals besides those there noted (third grade) 

 illustrate the laws we there found? 



Lesson XIX. Distribution. — Have each pupil draw an 

 outline map of the world on a large sheet of paper (12x24 in.), 

 or else provide them with the printed outline maps. Indicate 

 by initial letter (L, lion, Ly, lynx, etc.) on these maps the habitat 

 of each great cat. Thus the tiger is found in Arabia, Persia, 

 India, Siam, Borneo, Sumatra, eastern China, Manchuria and 

 eastern Siberia. In each of these localities put a T. Similarly 

 mark the regions inhabited by the other great cats. The chil- 

 dren have now collected and recorded the facts. 



Lesson XX. Distribution, Continued. — A brief study of 

 the map will enable them to discover the following facts : The 

 great cats are largely confined to the tropics. The great ma- 

 jority are found in tropical Asia. Certain large areas, Aus- 

 tralia, New Zealand, Madagascar, etc., are without the cat fam- 

 ily. The tiger is confined between the coast and the great 

 mountain ranges that run parallel to it, the Caucasus, Himalaya, 

 Yang Ling, etc. The lynx is common to both northern Eurasia 

 and North America. 



Lesson XXI. Laws of Distribution. — Then begin careful 

 quizzing for explanation of these facts. Why do you think the 

 lynx is common to both Eurasia and North America? Why 

 is the tiger not found in western China? Why are there none 

 of the great cats in Australia? These and similar questions 

 will lead the pupils to discover for themselves the laws of geo- 

 graphical distribution. 



Animals appear to have originated at certain centers and 

 have spread thence to occupy as extended a territory as possible. 

 Tropical Asia seems to be the center of migration for the cat 

 family. 



In this migration certain conditions act as barriers more 

 or less effective. What are they? 



