CAT AND DOG. 45 



Compare the ways in which dogs and cats show when they 

 are pleased, and when they are angry or frightened, by the 

 sounds that they make, by their hair, by the movements of 

 their tails. Tell how they try to defend themselves when 

 they are attacked. 



Compare their methods of play. Does one cat play with 

 another 1 Do dogs play with each other ? Are they similarly 

 fond of the house and its inmates ? 



Compare kittens with puppies. Are both species blind at 

 first ? Does the puppies' mother carry them in her mouth as 

 the kittens' mother does when she wishes to hide them 1 



Information may be given that can be used as a starting 

 point for observation and reasoning. For example, you may 

 tell the pupils that the wild relations of the dog, such as 

 wolves and jackals, live and hunt in noisy packs while those 

 of the cat, such as the tiger and wild cat, live quiet, secret, 

 solitary lives, and then set them to discover how these traits 

 come out in the domestic dog and cat respectively.* 



Comparisons as to form of ears, eyes, nostrils, heads, and 

 limbs may be made ; questions may be raised as to which can 

 see, or hear or smell better. Comparison of the organs, 

 senses and structure of both animals may be made with those 

 of children. The comparison of the parts of the cat's or 

 dog's fore leg and foot with the parts of the arm and hand of 

 a child always reveals great surprises to the children. As a 

 rule, studies of structure and of structural differences, except 

 the most obvious and important ones, should be deferred for 

 consideration in higher classes than this one. In ungraded 

 schools all the classes may simultaneously study the same 

 animal; note the excellent suggestion on this point in the 

 general directions for Nature Study in Nova Scotia, page 

 35. The younger pupils may be studying how the cat 



*See " Guide to Nature Study," pp. 83-86, or "Public School Nature Study," pp. 

 17-22, for a good lesson on the Cat. 



