38 THE THIRD YEARBOOK 



electric wiring, all of which rest upon the very latest results 

 obtained by experts in physical and sanitary science. Many houses 

 may be so located that the water supply, delivered from a spring 

 having a higher level, may be piped to all parts of the dwelling 

 where it is needed. These and other conveniences, which soon 

 become necessities, might have a place in many homes, were the 

 instruction in the schools to take them into due account. The 

 actual personal investigation into one's own home, with a view to 

 understanding its relations to himself, is certainly as legitimate as 

 it is for him to spend his time in the study of the red man's wig- 

 wam or the igloo of the Esquimos. 



The study of the materials that enter into the construction of 

 the dwelling opens endless opportunities for observations. The 

 stones can be traced to the quarries and to the rock strata from 

 which they were obtained, the bricks to the "yards" and to the 

 sand and clay pits furnishing the raw materials. The processes 

 of manufacture are easily understood, and may be duplicated by 

 the pupils themselves. The use of wood and iron in the building, 

 the strength of materials, and the means of testing the same open 

 to the pupils the usefulness of mechanics which is one of the most 

 interesting branches of physical science to children. 



The lack of knowledge and appreciation of nature is not more 

 apparent on the side of the mechanical and sanitary aspects of 

 the average home than it is on the artistic side. Thousands of 

 homes and schoolhouses too, that present an appearance of neglect 

 and desolation might be made beautiful by a little thoughtfulness 

 and care in the planting of trees and shrubbery. Landscape archi- 

 tecture is, indeed, one of the most refined sciences, drawing, as it 

 does, directly from the fields of both technical science and art. It 

 is especially close to the interests of children, because of the direct 

 appeal which it makes to their aesthetic nature. But the neglected 

 door-yards everywhere testify to the insensibility of the general 

 public to the importance of this factor in the education of the 

 children. 



The dreariness of the exterior, as a matter of course, usually 

 finds its counterpart inside the house. The waste of Sahara is not 

 more lonesome than a house whose furnishing and decorations bear 

 no relation to the lives of the occupants ; that do not grow out 

 of and bear the impress of the thought of those who live with 



