88 NATURE STUDY AND AGRICULTURE 



they like and gather under direction flower and vegetable 

 seeds for planting in the following spring in the home 

 gardens. 



Birds: Note especially those studied in the previous 

 spring; determine how late into the fall they may be seen; 

 pigeon; home; habits of feeding; nesting; observation of the 

 pigeons around the building; the kinds of pigeons; their 

 relation to man; caged pigeons for a time in the school- 

 room. 



Trees: Study of the nut trees in Normal; walnut, butter- 

 nut, and chestnut; observe polished walnut and consider 

 its uses in furniture and finishings; nut trees in the woods 

 in this part of Illinois, especially the hickory nut; what 

 animals eat nuts? plant nuts; visit grocery store to observe 

 imported nuts; uses of the cocoanut, the largest of nuts. 



Insects: Observation of insects in connection with the 

 tree and garden studies; blister beetles on asters; what are 

 they doing? butterflies on garden flowers and in campus; 

 what are they doing? are there many different kinds? 

 watch the woolly bear caterpillar and the tiger caterpillar 

 feeding on plants; place a few of these in a terrarium; feed 

 and watch them spin their cocoons, and preserve these for 

 next spring; open one cocoon to see what change has taken 

 place in the caterpillar; study cecropia moth in same way; 

 ants; note their homes on the campus; watch for the swarms 

 of flying ants that come out of their homes on warm days 

 in October; arrange an ant colony in the schoolroom. 



Miscellaneous: Care of the yards in fall; the raking and 

 burning of leaves; observe the leaf mold under the pines; 

 what becomes of the leaves which are not raked and 

 burned? observe the final work in the garden in clearing 



