556 



APPENDIX. 



because he is an older and more experienced pupil than his pupil is. This is 

 just the spirit of the teacher in the universities to-day. The best teacher is 

 the one whose pupils farthest outrun him. 



In order to help the teacher in the rural schools of New York, we have 

 conceived of a series of leaflets explaining how the common objects can be 

 made interesting to children. Whilst these are intended for the teacher, there 

 is no harm in giving them to the pupil ; but the leaflets should never be used 

 as texts to make recitations from. Now and then, take the children for a 

 ramble in the woods or fields, or go to the brook or lake. Call their attention 

 to the interesting things which you meet — whether you yourself understand 

 them or not — in order to teach them to see and to find some pnint of sympathy ; 

 for every one of them will some day need the solace and the rest which this 

 nature love can give them. It is not the mere information which is valuable ; 

 that may be had by asking some one wiser than they, but the inquiring and 

 sympathetic spirit is one's own. 



The pupils will find their lessons easier to acquire for this respite of ten 

 minutes with a leaf or an insect, and the school-going will come to be less 

 perfunctory. If you must teach drawing, set the picture in a leaflet before the 

 pupils for study, and then substitute the object. If you must teach composi- 

 tion, let the pupils write upon what they have seen. After a time, give ten 

 minutes now and then to asking the children what they saw on their way to 

 school. 



Now, why is the College of Agriculture of Cornell University interesting 

 itself in this work? It is trying to help the farmer, and it begins with the 

 most teachable point, — the child. The district school can not teach agriculture 

 any more than it can teach law or engineering or any other profession or trade, 

 but it can interest the child in nature and in rural problems and thereby fasten 

 its sympathies to the country. The child will teach the parent. The coming 

 generation will see the result. In the interest of humanity and country, we 

 ask for help. 



II. 



A SAMPLE LESSON. 



[This is entitled "Teacher's Leaflet No. 1," and was issued by the College 

 of Agriculture, Cornell University, May 10, 1898.] 



Note.— These leaflets are intended for the teacher, not for the scholars. It is their 

 purpose to suggest the method which a teacher may pursue in instructing children at 

 odd times in nature study. The teacher should show the children the objects them- 

 selves,— sluiuld phuit tlie seeds, raise the j. hints, collect the 

 etc.; or, better, he sliould interest the cliildren tocdUeet tlie 

 Advanced pupils, however, may be given tlie leutlets aiu 

 to perform the experiments or make tlie (ibseivatKins wh 

 suggested. The scholars themselves slionld be tmiKhi todn i! 

 and to arrive at independent conclusions. Teaelieis wlm .1 

 inform themselves more fully upon the motives of this iiiitiii 

 teaching, should write for a copy of Bulletin V22 ul the Cur 

 periment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



HOW A SQUASH GETS OUT OF THE SEED. 



BY L. H. BAILEY. 



If one were to plant seeds of a Hubbard or Boston Marrow 

 squash in loose warm earth in a pan or box, and were then to 

 leave the parcel for a week or ten days, he would find, upon 

 his return, a colony of plants like that shown in Fig. 1. If he 

 had not planted the seeds himself or had not seen such plants 

 before, he would not believe that these curious plants would 

 ever grow into squash vines, so ditterent are they from the 

 vines which we know in the garden. This, itself, is a most 



I. Squash 

 plant a week 



