14 THE FARMER AND NATURE 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



1. Name a few changes in nature which you have noticed. 

 2. How is some farm you know different from what it was a year 

 ago? 3. Name three natural principles with which the farmer must 

 work. 4. In what way can a form be distinguished from a principle? 

 5. In what way can a natural principle be spoken of as a farm tool? 

 ii. Why have farmers sought to improve on nature? 7. In \vlmt 

 way do wild plants differ from cultivated plants? 8. Which is the 

 more beautiful, a good painting of a farm scene or the scene itself? 

 9. Can you think of anything in nature that is not useful to the 

 farmer ? 



HOME EXERCISES 



1. In beginning the study of Farm Life we should recognize "the 

 new earth," or the constant changes everywhere at work. Let us 

 study some of these changes by making use of our local history and 

 geography. Ask your father or grandfather to relate how people 

 farmed when he was a boy. Inquire as to what farm improvements 

 were made during the last fifty years. When was the first reaper 

 used in the neighborhood? The first Babcock tester? The first 

 cream separator? The first gasolene engine? Inquire into the his- 

 tory of the local wood lots. How long ago were trees growing in 

 fields which are now cleared and cultivated? Do the streams carry 

 as much water as formerly? Are the numbers of horses, cows, sheep, 

 and pigs increasing ? 



By sending a card to your state capital, much interesting local 

 information can be obtained. Perhaps the assessor can also aid you. 

 Get a knowledge of the local farm resources past and present. Write 

 a report on what you have learned. 



2. Look for any farm plant, like corn, wheat, potatoes, or onions, 

 that may be found growing wild. Examine such plants carefully 

 and tell in what way they differ from like plants properly cared for 

 by man. 



SUGGESTIONS 



1. Pupils raised on a farm have usually a considerable body of 

 first-hand knowledge of natural objects. Teachers should not ignore 

 this knowledge, but should correct it and seek to organize it. 



2. Agriculture is a study in which there must be continually a 

 direct contact with real and vital things. The teacher will not stop 



