370 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [10:&— Dec, 1914 



the human race toward civilization, and it was probably taken by 

 some primitive boy or girl. The pet is, thus, the natural means 

 of introducing children to animal life, and by developing this side 

 strongly in the earlier years we may insure kindly and sympathetic 

 relations to animal life as these lessons deal with the various 

 problerns of animal industry in the higher grades. So, too, this 

 idea will dominate much of the work with birds — care and protec- 

 tion of birds about the home, winter feeding at Thanksgiving and 

 Christmas; bird fountains, window bird houses, the great value of 

 birds to agriculture, the bird calendar and bird census — these 

 things should be taught in all the grades. In connection with 

 these lessons we should study state and national laws for protection 

 of insectivorous and game birds and any matters of local interest 

 with reference to bird reservations, and game preserves from the 

 sixth grade on. 



The taming of any wild animals out of the ordinary — squirrels, 

 chipmunks, raccoons, bats, turtles, lizards, snakes, toads, frogs, 

 fishes, and even insects (butterflies tamed to come and sip honey 

 from hands), is in line with this sympathetic motive of the race, 

 and the pupils should be encouraged to demonstrate any such 

 specimens they may have. In case of birds, toads and bats, and 

 even salamanders, lizards, turtles, snakes, and even spiders, 

 beetles, dragonflies, etc., feeding tests may prove of not only 

 intense interest but of great practical value as well. (An eight- 

 year-old girl, for example, discovered that her hen bob white could 

 eat 1,286 rose slugs in a day.) Humane treatment of animals, 

 particularly horses, along with the laws for prevention of cruelty 

 to animals should be taught in connection with the animal lessons 

 in all grades. Excursions to dairies, model or otherwise, methods 

 of testing milk and of keeping milk records, along with similar egg 

 records for poultry, improvement of flocks and herds by careful 

 selection and breeding, all these yield the end product in practical 

 animal industry. 



Local problems of insect control — household and animal para- 

 sites, garden, orchard and field pests, and any campaigns that may 

 be afoot for extermination of mosquitoes, flies, ants, roaches, or 

 other pests, should be given right of way in all grades in order to 

 supply the instruction necessary to secure united community 

 effort. 



