148 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [9:6— Sept., 1913 



observations so that they may be consecutive and systematized 

 to form a complete story. 



In this work the field note-book is the greatest possible help. 

 If the pupils have the note-books they will describe what they see 

 while they are seeing. This adds greatly to their powers of 

 observation and is also most excellent drill in writing English. 



The squirrels and chipmunks are attractive subjects for Septem- 

 ber study. At this time of year these active little creatures are 

 happy gathering nuts and busy putting them away, each in his 

 own fashion. Those pupils who get their natiire-study in city 

 parks are likely to study chiefly the gray squirrel. But, fortu- 

 nately, these beautiful animals are quite as interesting and "squir- 

 relsome" in their behavior as are their smaller wild cousins, while 

 in country places the red squirrels and chipmunks are sufficiently 

 common as to be easily observed by the children on their field 

 excursions. On the Great Plains the striped gopher might be 

 substituted for the chipmunk. In case a locality has only one 

 species, this may be studied by itself. 



The following plan has been found practical and the children 

 seem to have greatly enjoyed the work: 



The lesson begins with a discussion between the teacher and 

 pupils as to how many squirrels there are in a locality. The 

 first part of the lesson is given to distinguish these species. The 

 following questions may be written on the blackboard for the 

 children to copy in their note-books or to get firmly fixed in their 

 memory : 



1. What is the difference in size between the red and gray 

 squirrels? or between the red squirrel and chipmunk? 



2. Describe each carefully as follows: Note the colors of the 

 ears, top of the head, sides of the head, nose, back, sides, breast, 

 the under parts, the legs, and the tail. 



3. Describe in detail the stripes on the chipmunk and tell 

 just where they occur on the animal. 



4. What are the differences in size and color between the 

 tails of the red squirrel and the chipmunk? 



It might seem that the above questions were very simple but 

 there are very few grown people, who have known these animals 

 aU their lives, who can give an accurate description of their colors. 

 There are very few people, for instance, who have noticed the 

 dark stripe along the side of the red squirrel where the tawny 

 color of the sides meets the whiter under parts. 



