hang them around your neck, you will never get sick any more. 

 My brother, he knows just how to take the eyes out of a rat. He 

 can squeeze the rat, and when the eyes bulge out he takes them out, 

 and then he lets the rat run away and saves the eyes. He knows 

 how to do it." 



These are not isolated stories. The same or similar stories have 

 been repeated by class after class in New York schools, where all 

 the children have been ready to contradict the teacher and protest 

 that these were real ways to get well and keep well. These super- 

 stitions should be recognized as a groping toward health. They 

 should be met with respect, not scorn, and the discussion which fol- 

 lows — perhaps weeks after — will lead to a better, saner understanding 

 of the laws of health. 



The elimination of fear is another great value of animal study. It 

 is very interesting to study in our kindergarten classes the sup- 

 posedly inherited fear of snakes. A few children are somewhat 

 nervous with anything that moves, but they show no more dread of 

 snakes than they do of any other animal. In fact, they are not so 

 afraid of them as they are of animals that move more quickly. 

 Very soon all of the children learn to admire the beauty of color and 

 scale markings and the graceful form and movements of the snake, 

 and they are full of astonishment to learn that the snake "can walk 

 and it has no legs." At the same time, a careful study is made of 

 the economic value of the snake as the enemy of rodents and insects. 

 In the older classes the same work is done, but there are many more 

 children here who have been taught fear. By suggesting to the ones 

 who show signs of fear that they stay away while the rest of us play 

 with the animals — snakes in particular — the nervous ones quickly 

 learn to touch them and handle them without fear. This elimina- 

 tion of fear is one of the most valuable results of the work with 

 animals. 



The only animals the city children know are the alley cat and the 

 stray dog who suffer intensely from cruelty, and the horse who is 

 abused by his driver until every one who loves animals suffers with 

 him. When I say "animals children know," I mean the ones they 

 can fondle and love and care for or get near to. The reaction 

 against cruelty as shown by our children in their attitude toward 

 the above-named animals has been very strong. In connection 

 with this part of the work, classes are taken to the street to study 

 the whole problem of the street cat with regard to its misery, its food 

 — the garbage — and the harm it may do by spreading disease. In the 

 same way dogs are studied, and a more careful study is made of the 

 lO 



