ANIMALS USEFUL 

 IN THE SCHOOL 



FISH must be kept in a rectangular aquarium. They are gen- 

 erally over-fed, and if kept in globes they smother for want of air. 

 There is probably no pet in the city homes which is more generally 

 kept and more abused than gold fish (dealers are interested only in 

 selling globes and fishes). A book on the care of aquaria can be 

 obtained from the Aquarium Society at Battery Park. 



Two aquariums, one for fish, tadpoles and snails, and another for 

 snails only — where both life breeding and egg laying varieties may 

 be kept — are valuable in the school-room. If a well-balanced 

 aquarium is kept in the school and the children are taught about 

 the relation of plants and animals to each other, the lesson of mutual 

 helpfulness is thus taught without any moralizing on the subject. 



Various sized aquariums can be used in the school room, costing 

 from $2.50 up. The bottom should be covered three inches deep 

 with sand and pebbles which have been boiled to kill all germs before 

 being placed in the aquarium. Then various water plants should 

 be placed in the aquarium and allowed to root there about a week 

 before any fish are put into the tank. The fish should be fed regu- 

 larly every other day and given only the amount of food which they 

 eat. All extra food should be taken out of the aquarium and not 

 allowed to sour in the water. There are many beautiful details 

 about the aquarium life which can be got from books on the care of 

 aquaria. Fish respond to friendliness and learn to eat from the hand. 



PIGEONS can be raised in the school room and have, in one 

 class, had the freedom of the whole class room. They learned to 

 drink from the cups on the window sills and the children scattered 

 peas and grain in certain places on the floor for them. These pets 

 built their nests and raised their squabs to maturity in the class 

 room. Pigeons are valuable because of their variety of color, their 

 gentleness, their incessant cooing and their home traits — both par- 

 ents feed, protect and train the young. The parents partially 

 digest the food and regurgitate it into the mouths of the young, a 

 step to\vard the milk giving mammals. 



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