460 



REPORi'S ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



oil the garden and on the farm, so that the children learn that school 

 work may have a bearing on their after-life. 



The development of Nature study finds a natural starting-point in the 

 object lesson. 



2. The Object Lcsi^on, 



(a) The Objects Set. — Se\eral teachers of repute have recently drawn 

 attention to the cycle of the seasons as the best ruling idea for the 

 arrangement of any scheme of Nature lessons. And this we heartily en- 

 dorse ; there can be no better guarantee that the teaching will really be 

 based on observation and experiment. In summer there is endless 

 material. In winter it is more difficult to realise the opportunities of the 

 moment ; but the long nights favour the study of the stars, the bare earth 

 suggests the study of soil and rock, the weather is always a source of 

 anxiety, the frost without and fire within suggest lessons on heat and 

 cold. 



The teacher who is planning his lessons some months beforehand will 

 therefore require a calendar indicating what topics arc likely to be in 

 season. Gardener's calendars are given away as advertisements by several 

 firms of seedsmen. The current Whitaker, or better still the ' Nautical 

 Almanac,' gives warning of impending celestial events. The average time 

 of flowering of wild plants has been observed and indexed under the 

 heading ' Phenology.' Several naturalists' calendars have been published. 

 A farmer's year-book will be useful in the country. From these and from 

 his own experience a teacher can compile a calendar of possible topics 

 from which to choose his lessons. 



(6) In this connection we append a Nature Study Calendar. 



January. 



Trees; twigs, branches, bark. Ever- 

 greens. 



Snow. Ice. Frost. 

 February. 



Bulbs, corms, tuber.s. 



Catkins. 



The lengthening daj'. 



Flooded rivers. 

 March. 



Development of birds. 



Seeds and seedlings. 



Wind. Equinox. Spring tide. Full 

 moon. 



View from hill-top. Making maps. 

 April. 



Opening buds. 



Rain. Clouds. 



Flowers. Migrant Birds. Birds'-nests. 



M.'^Y. 



Experiments on plants. Rate of 

 growth. 



Development of hens' eggs in incuba- 

 tor. 



Insect life. Bees. 



Dew. 



June. 



Experiments on plants. Assimilation. 



Butterflies. 



Pollination of flowers. 



Longest day. Solstice. 



Haymaking. 

 July. 



Plants. 



Caterpillars. 

 August. 



Heather. 



Chrysalis. 

 September, 



Harvest. 



Seeds and seed distribution. 



Equinox. Shortening days. 

 October. 



Fruits. Germination of seeds. 



Falling leaves. Rain. Rivers. 



Planets and constellations. 

 November. 



Fog. 



Stones. 

 December. 



Snow. Ice, Frost. 



Solstice. Shortest day. 



(c) The Method. — The object must be present if the lesson is to be real, 

 and the supply of material must be liberal. If the elephant can only be 

 represented by a picture, that is a reason for giving lessons about some- 



