THE TEACHER'S CORNER .{17 



made of the leaf. (5) Describe the time of blossoming and the blossom If 

 possible. (6) Describe and sketch the fruit and tell ho* ributed and 



planted. (7) In what ways is this by man? 



In sixth grade there should be a study of an apple tr< •*• and there should be 

 practical demonstrations of grafting and budding, a study of the insects that 

 attack it, and the methods of saving the fruit and the tree by spraying. 



Seventh and Eighth Grade. — A study of the larger shrubs, especially those used 

 in planting will interest the pupils of this age. A collection of leaf prints of the 

 shrubs may be made. There should be a special study of park trees and 

 ex t ens iv e reading and writing in connection with these trees by describing the 

 countries and the geographical distribution in these countries of the trees which 

 we have imported; for instance, the Norway spruce which grows not only in 

 Norway but in the Alps, etc. 



A study of the evergreens of the section and the uses to which they arc put 

 will prove an interesting line of work. 



A correlation of trees with history: Select some well grown tree in the 

 neighborhood whose age may be fairly accurately ascertained and relate to it 

 the events in the history of the town and the state. One of the most interesting 

 exhibits ever sent to Cornell from a rural school was a cross section of a small 

 tree which was about fifty years old. A pin was stuck in each ring of year's 

 growth which also held a little label telling of some notable event in the town, 

 the state, or the United States which occurred that special year. 



A beginning of forestry may well be made in the eighth grade. There are 

 several elementary books in forestry, notably The First Book of Forestry, 

 by Roth, and the The Book of Forestry by Professor Moon, written especially 

 for Boy Scouts; also access to the American Forestry Magazine will open up 

 new and interesting and practical lines of work with trees. 



AN EXAMINATION THAT IS A GAME 



After the pupils have had enough practice in learning to identify leaves, — 

 bring in a variety of leaves and label them by thrusting the petiole of each 

 through a slit in a bit of paper, bearing a number; or by pinning the label 

 bearing the number around the petiole; we must make sure to select several 

 leaves of each species which will show variation in size and form. Supposing 

 we take twenty-five leaves thus labeled, — ask each pupil to take a sheet of 

 blank paper and place numbers up to twenty-five from top to bottom along the 

 left margin. Then pass the leaves around and let the pupils write the name of 

 each leaf opposite the number corresponding to that on its label. This is a 

 most exciting game, and is a very efficacious method of teaching this subject. 



Another similar game, is to equip each pupil with pencil and paper and take 

 a short field trip; the teacher selects a tree and calls out, "This is number one," 

 and then selects another and calls out, "This is number two," etc., and the 

 pupils write down the name of the tree opposite the number on their own paper. 



