ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL 45 



mounted insects and insects in alcohol; other specimens in 

 preservatives; shells; animal products like furs, wool, ivory, 

 leather; articles in different stages of preparation, such as 

 a shoe partly put together; fabrics in different stages; sections 

 of different kinds of woods; illustrations of seed dispersal; 

 minerals, etc., etc. All these things can be had for the asking 

 or the picking up. It is a good rule to take a specimen when 

 you find it and not to leave it till the next time you come along, 

 for most likely it will be forgotten. If every teacher added 

 something to the school collection, it would in a few years 

 amount to something. If no collection has been started, the 

 next teacher should begin one. 



To be of any use a collection should be properly classified 

 and labelled. A poorly arranged and unlabelled collection is 

 often worse than useless. Put the insects on one shelf, the 

 minerals on another, the shells by themselves, and the plants 

 in another place. Put neat labels on the specimens, telling 

 their names, where they were found, who presented them, 

 and interesting remarks about the properties and usefulness 

 of the specimens. In this way the collection will be of in- 

 terest and value to those who see it. 



Stuffed birds and other animals are always an inter- 

 esting feature of a natural history collection. These are 

 more difficult to get, but there generally is somebody in the 

 community who does taxidermic work and who will be willing 

 to mount a few animals for the school. Or, perhaps, the older 

 boys, with the aid of a manual of taxidermy, could prepare a 

 few specimens. The various game birds and mammals 

 would do very well for this purpose, and the harmless and 

 beneficial animals could be spared. 



Incidentally it may be added here that objects of geo- 



