FIELD WORK OR REFERENCE WORK 47 



cereals are harvested with great machines known as harvesters; 

 potatoes are harvested with a digging machine ; eggplants are cut 

 with knives ; and grapes are severed with shears. 



Visit a wheat field at harvest time and observe the process, 

 making note of each step. If possible, visit a great wheat 

 field where the whole process is accomplished by one ma- 

 chine. Compare old methods reaping, threshing, winnow- 

 ing, etc. with the most recent way of doing this work. 



Visit a truck farm at any time during the summer and 

 make note of the way in which the various small fruits and 

 vegetables are gathered and prepared for marketing. 



Exercise VI. Marketing 



Visit a commission merchant's place of business at any 

 season. Make a list of products by seasons, together with 

 the localities from which they come. In what form does each 

 product reach the market? What products come in baskets, 

 in barrels, in crates ? 



Select ten fruits or vegetables and find out, by reading 

 or by inquiry, where and how they are grown, how cultivated, 

 harvested, and shipped, and how used by man. 



Exercise VII. Flower Gardening 



Visit a large city park and study the process of flower 

 culture as it proceeds from season to season : 



1. The forcing houses where seedlings and cuttings are 

 being prepared for outdoor bedding ; 



2. The preparation of soil in the beds and setting out of 

 bulbs and other plants ; 



3. The removal of early plants to make way for later ones, 

 for example, tulips and hyacinths making way for coleus 

 and geraniums; 



