14 THE NATURE STUDY COURSE. 



distance from the schoolhouse to your home by measuring how 

 far you walk at your usual rate in one minute. 4. Compare 

 the cost per lb. of baker's bread with what it costs per lb. 

 made at home. 5. Find the weight of water which four ounces 

 of beans will soak up. Compare the weight of the water 

 absorbed with that of the dry beans. Beans will absorb 

 what per cent, of their own weight of water 1 Whenever you 

 make the child an investigator and maintain the investigating 

 spirit or activity to a definite result, then you are putting an 

 important Nature Study quality into his work. 



Agriculture. - Of the course in Agriculture, little else is 

 suited to teaching in public schools than what can and should 

 be taken as nature studies. The physical composition, water- 

 capacity and classification of soils, the uses of water and air 

 in soil, and the means of circulating them, values and methods 

 of drainage, fertilization and plant-food, development and 

 propagation of plants, can each and all be made practical, 

 interesting and educative nature studies, not only for children 

 who live on the farm, but also for dwellers in the city. 

 In addition to these topics the farmers' children can be 

 guided through a variety of useful studies pertaining to 

 domestic animals, crops, and orchard, to tillage and other 

 farm operations, the observing being done mostly at home 

 and reasoned about and expressed at school. Phenological 

 records of weather, bird-migrations, insect appearances, anu 

 farm operations may be systematically tabulated in approved 

 form. These have a practical bearing on agriculture, increase 

 useful knowledge, and afford excellent practice in observation 

 and classification. 



Manual Training and Domestic Science.— From the 



point of view that Nature Study is self-activity exerted upon 

 environment, Manual Training and Domestic Science are 

 specialized subdivisions of that subject. While to the casual 



