350 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:8— Nov., 1918 



"The study of nature brings the school and the home closer 

 together. In nearly all cases the parents feel that the children 

 are learning something worth while, something that will always 

 be theirs and that will help to make them useful men and women." 



"The first nature-study we did this fall was on leaves. On 

 Columbus Day the children all wanted to come to school so we 

 took a good share of that day for an organized field trip. We 

 started out with paper and pencils, and each child old enough 

 to write put down the names of trees as I pointed them out. 

 We saw thirty -two different kinds, fruit, roadside, field, and forest 

 trees. One boy thirteen years of age knew twenty-nine, another, 

 twenty-seven, two, twenty -five, and so on. Only a few knew 

 less than twelve. One boy eight years old knew twenty-one. 

 I have never gone on a trip with children before that was so success- 

 ful. Of course, we pointed out important characteristics as we 

 identified the trees. The boy who was most disinclined to take 

 pencil and paper has asked to do the same thing again. I think 

 that we shall, too, when the leaves are all gone and again when 

 they are budding in the spring, but we shall go in different direc- 

 tions from the school. 



The terrarium was made to fit a window sill. The two long 

 sides of the glass, the ends and the cover of wire netting. It 

 contains about three inches of good soil. In one end is a sunken 

 dish for water. We sow grass seed as soon as school opens in the 

 fall, and it grows all winter. 



At various times we have had snakes, toads, tree toads, turtles, 

 lizards, beetles, katydids, cicadas, June bugs, dragon flies." 



The calendar sparkles with days that have brought 

 Some prize that was longed for, some good that was sought : 

 High deeds happen daily, wide truths grow more clear — 

 "Each day is the best of somebody's year." 



Priscilla Leonard 



