phenomena, he can so direct and control them as to produce the great- 

 est results with the least expenditure of energy. It will make its 

 possessors more expert in their management of cattle and poultry and 

 bees, more skillful in their gardening and culture of small fruits, more 

 successful in the larger operations of the farm. The applications of 

 nature work touch every interest of rural life directly and constantly. 



These leaflets will therefore be so directed as to apply to the various 

 interests relating to agriculture, horticulture, the care of domestic 

 animals and household economy. This will of course involve leaflets 

 upon economic botany, economic entomology, soils, and other subjects 

 having a bearing upon these broader topics. 



It is suggested that at least one hour a week be assigned for work 

 of this character, and further, that in the case of very young children 

 no exercise exceed twenty minutes in length. If the teacher is 

 successful in presenting nature work it will be through honest effort. 

 The more popular literature bearing upon the subjects treated should 

 be read by the teacher, so far as opportunity offers, in preparation for 

 the work. Excellent material bearing upon these subjects may be 

 found in the science books recommended by the State Eeading Circle. 



The fact that the objects which suggest themselves for nature study 

 are so variant, and the added fact that they vary from day to day, with 

 the season and with the region, renders it an evident impossibility to 

 issue a series of leaflets which shall either by number or by date of pub- 

 lication, indicate the order of the presentation of natural objects. 

 These leaflets, then, do not suggest an order of presentation, but 

 are nieant simply as helps to the earnest, ambitious teacher, when 

 in his nature work he meets the subjects of which they treat. As their 

 purpose is to help the teacher, their number will be largely controlled 

 by their success or failure in accomplishing this end. It is further sug- 

 gested that no time can be assigned in which the work outlined in 

 any leaflet should be completed. The method given is meant to be 

 the chief feature, and these methods should, in the hands of the 

 teacher, be capable of application not merely to the subject treated but 

 to a very wide range of related subjects. 



