464 NATURE STUDY. 



more of the useful properties previously brought out. 

 Merely naming the various uses of water is of little value. 

 Our children should think, not merely see and talk. 



Uses to man. Used in the home to dissolve salt and 

 sugar; to prepare tea, coffee, oatmeal; to boil vegetables 

 and meat; to wash hands, clothes, food, house. Try to 

 bring out the " why " in each case (mainly because of its 

 dissolving and penetrating power). In which cases does 

 heat help it ? 



Used in the body (as drink) to dissolve our food, and to 

 cleanse the body by carrying away injurious things. 



Used out-doors (rain) to wash roofs, sidewalks, fences, 

 and to clean the streets by carrying away mud, leaves, 

 sticks. Used to float boats, and help man to travel, and to 

 carry things from place to place. Why ? (Mainly be- 

 cause of its floating-power. ) 



To impress the thought of the usefulness of water to 

 man, it may be well to tell how water is cherished, and how 

 springs and wells are valued, in arid regions. ( See the 

 story of Gemila in Andrews's " Seven Little Sisters.") 



Uses to animals. The only drink of animals. The 

 home of fishes and frogs, and hosts of other animals. The 

 roads by which they travel from place to place. 



Uses to plants. Water washes them outside and inside. 

 Water is their only drink. Water dissolves some of the 

 soil, and gets from it and brings to the plants the food that 

 their roots drink in. 



Uses to the earth. How it carries along mud, sand, 

 leaves. How it washes the earth and even the air. How 

 it refreshes and brightens everything. This can be studied 

 and discussed more fully in April and May. 



Review and summary. Impress the thought of the de- 

 pendence of everything on water. How useful and helpful 

 it is. And yet we havO only begun to study about its uses. 



