334 SCHOOL AND HOME GARDENING 



in the child's life. In talking and writing about the attrib- 

 utes, relations, and activities of objects in the world about 

 him, such as birds, insects, and plants, the child, in addition 

 to gaining valuable information, is adding to his language 

 equipment words tha^ are not meaningless, but words that are 

 really ' signs of ideas.' This can not be the case when 

 subjects foreign to the life and interests of the child are used 

 in language work. Subjects like ' Virtue has its rewards ' and 

 ' Honesty is the best policy are likely to be fatal to interest in 

 composition work. 



" Many of the new activities introduced into rural life in 

 connection with agricultural and domestic science offer a 

 great abundance of material for correlation work. Boys' 

 corn clubs and girls' canning clubs afford many desirable sub- 

 jects, as will be shown later, for narration, description, and ex- 

 position. School gardens and experimental plots, as well as ex- 

 periments in bakiing bread, or cooking meat, also furnish valu- 

 able material for language lessons. The choice of poems to be 

 memorized should be largely those touching nature, while sub- 

 jects for argument in the language recitation and for debate in 

 the literary society should be taken from nature and rural life." 

 Prof. Leiper gives some practical suggestions as to the 

 choice of subject matter " ir oral and written composition under 

 several heads: (1) Conversation exercises; (2) observation 

 reports; (3) narratio ; (4) essay; (5) description; (6) ex- 

 position; (7) memorizing poems and gems of nature; (8)' 

 letter vn-iting; (9) argument or debate; (10) verse writing 

 for upper grades ; (11) talks from outlines ; (13) diary. 

 For debate the following subjects are suggested : 

 " Life in country is to be preferred to that of the city." 

 " Corn is a more profitable crop than cotton (or wheat) ." 

 "Birds are more injurious to farm crops than insects." 

 " The house fly is more injurious to the human race than 

 smallpox." 



" Strawberries are more profitable than the orchard." 



