Study ants afield and in school nest. 

 Members of the ant community and their duties. 



Stories of slave making and agricultural ants. 



Search upon shrubbery and grape vines for ants' cows (aphids). 



Why ants are not welcome in flowers and devices in nasturtium to exclude them. 



Watch ants trying to enter these and other flowers. 

 Industry, perseverance, courage, self -sacrifice, loyalty and willingness to co-operate as shown 



by ants. 



Have children deduce those human qualities necessary for an ideal community. Professional 



tramps and thieves as notably lacking these qualities. 



Develop the impractical nature of modern socialism. 



Butterflies and moths and humming birds as flower guests; mutual adaptations and mutual 



advantages. 



Comparison of bumble bee with hive bee. Importance to man. 

 Find as many flowers as possible, wild or cultivated, which are dependent upon animals for 



pollination. 



Study carefully color, shape and mechanisms. 



Study similarly the tree flowers; horse chestnut, basswood, catalpa, locust, etc. 

 The child is to be led to appreciate the purpose of the flower and the importance of insects in 



making good seed. 

 Compare such flowers as pine, corn and grasses with those studied, note and understand 



differences. 



Competitive flower rearing with "Emperor William." 

 Budding and grafting of fruit trees. 



SUGGESTIONS TO FIFTH GRADE TEACHER. 



The work of this grade approaches more nearly the nature of elementary science, into 

 which Nature Study passes by imperceptible gradations and from which is to be evolved the 

 science work of the grammar grades and high school. Grasshoppers and other large insects 

 may be conveniently kept in cylinders made of wire-gauze, closed at the top and set down in 

 & box of moist loam. The food plants may be kept fresh by placing them in wide mouthed 

 bottles, or fruit jars, sunk in the earth and kept filled with water. The grasshoppers are 

 partial to young shoots of corn. For the bee study of the fall the materials needed may be 

 obtained from the nearest bee keeper. Arrangements should be made for setting up a glass 

 observation hive in the spring. These may be purchased from certain dealers but are very 

 simply and satisfactorily made. If manual training has been introduced iuto the school the 

 children themselves should be permitted to make their own hive. If not yet introduced here 

 is an opportunity to bring in some work that will appeal to the child more strongly than the 

 making of pen-trays and picture frames. After the observation hive has once been used in 

 the school-room the teacher will not willingly dispense with it. Suggestions will be found in 

 Hodge's Nature Study, chapter XIV. A firm base, with four strong corner posts carrying 

 grooves for the insertion of heavy window glass and a movable cover, fitting snugly over the 

 top, comprise the main features of the hive. Shutters should be provided to exclude the 

 light when the bees are not being observed. It will be convenient to have the glass in the 

 sides and at the back set in frames which are hinged to the corner posts, in order that the 

 interior of the hive may be easily reached. The movable frames with which the hive is to be 

 furnished hang from thin strips of metal across the ends of the hive and the dimensions of the 

 hive will be determined by the length, height and number of these frames, which are to be 

 obtained from the nearest bee keeper. Six or seven of these frames will give a very satisfactory 

 hive. The hive is to be screwed very firmly to a strong shelf on a level with the inside 

 window-sill. A narrow strip of wood is placed beneath the window-sash, having an opening 

 opposite that provided for the hive. Flush with this opening, upon the outside, is a small 

 shelf to be used by the bees for alighting, guarding and ventilating purposes. The window 

 is to be fastened with a hook so that it can be raised only as desired. The hive is started in 

 May by being taken to the bee keeper who will insert a frame of brood and one of honey with 

 queen and all the bees that will remain. Empty frames with "foundation comb" are added. 

 In a few days it may be brought to the school-room and placed permanently in position. It 



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