4 CIVIC BIOLOGY 



the highest product of the course will be citizens who know 

 enough to work together. 



Select the problems that your community needs to have 

 studied most. A single problem actually worked out to a 

 definite civic advance will be worth more educationally than 

 a hundred problems memorized from a book. 



With the school year arranged as it is, it will be neces- 

 sary to start many different lines of work in the early fall. 

 A store of material must be collected for use during the 

 winter, and as far as possible this should be done by the 

 class, to give practice in collecting, insight into problems, 

 and at least glimpses of the various forms in their natural 

 environment. 1 



In order to collect intelligently and plan and organize the 

 work of the year, first run through the book rapidly and copy 

 into a pocket notebook the names of all the birds, insects, 

 fishes, trees, and so on, described in the text. Estimate im- 

 portance of topics and leave required space for notes between 

 the names ; page and make an alphabetical index at the back 

 of the notebook. This gives a place where every observation 

 made during the year may be recorded and referred to in- 

 stantly when wanted. Indent margins, date and space so that 

 each note shall stand out clearly. Records at the end of the 

 year may read about as follows : 2 



White Pine (Pinus strobus) 



SEPT. 3. Noted on a trip into the country that the squirrels were 

 cutting quantities of the cones from the tops of the pine 

 trees and were feeding on the ripe seeds. The cones were 

 closed and green, but the seeds were brown and ripe inside. 

 Gathered nearly a bushel and spread on papers in the attic. 



1 This outdoor work is such a vital part of the course that careful record 

 should be kept of all types collected, and this should be understood to form 

 the basis for a definite percentage or part of the pupils' required standing. 



2 A field notebook with printed index and topics is being planned to 

 accompany this course. 



