ANIMAL LIFE. 121 



Animal Life- — The Courses of Study reported here 

 emphasize the study of bird and insect life in these grades. 

 Children who live on the farm may profitably continue the 

 study of the domestic animals, — a line of investigation that 

 they cannot exhaust. Helpful assistance will be found in 

 Part V of James' "Agriculture." The "Farmer's Advocate," 

 a weekly illustrated journal, will also be found valuable. 

 The respective Agricultural Departments of the Provinces 

 publish reports that may be obtained on request. 



Birds. — There is something very fascinating about the study 

 of bird-life. This fascination probably explains the fact that 

 there is a greater wealth of good nature literature devoted to 

 birds than to any other group of natural objects. Chapman's 

 " Bird-Life " (1904) is a helpful book ; it has an appendix of 80 

 pages for teachers. McMurry's "Special Methods in Natural 

 Science" devotes 38 pages to lessons on the chicken, robin, 

 red-headed woodpecker, crow and owl. Consult Crawford's 

 "Guide to Nature Study," pp. 180-207, for methods of bird- 

 study and notes on ten species. Silcox and Stevenson's 

 " Modern Nature Study " gives descriptions of the bird 

 families, pp. 47-67, and a study of the kingbird. Hodge's 

 "Nature Study and Life'' treats domestication of wild birds 

 and taming and feeding birds, pp. 327-363. If possible, visit 

 fields and woods with some enthusiastic bird-lover. 



Encourage the children to make phenochrons of the arrival 

 and departure of the migrants. In Nova Scotia, since 1903, a 

 list of eighteen birds is printed in the annual register, and 

 every school in the Province is expected to report annually to 

 the inspector a table of the dates of the first observed arrival 

 of each kind of bird in the spring and the date of the last 

 observed departure in the fall. This exercise is definite, 

 simple and valuable. Teachers' associations in other parts of 

 Canada might adopt and carry out the Nova Scotian plan. 

 The advantages of co-operative observation over a county or a 



