COMMONPLACE NOTES. 



561 



character of winter twigs, flowers and fruit of the common trees and 

 shrubs and similar things to these. These may be illustrated either by 

 dried specimens or fresh, according to the time of year at which the 

 exhibition is held. The collections should be the sole work of the pupil, 

 without " touching up " by the teacher, and the plants comprising them 

 should be such as are quite common in the neighbourhood. The makicg 

 of collections of plants that are rare serves no good purpose, and should 

 be discouraged. 



Where such collections as the foregoing are out of the question 

 collections of the common flowering plants of the neighbourhood might 

 be made and exhibited fresh, or of fruits in the autumn, and named by 

 the children. But it would seem that, for children of eleven or twelve 

 and upwards, the special collections would have more educational value. 



Collections of insects found in the garden ; and these are better if 

 they show the life histories of the insects to as great a degree as possible, 

 and they should be accompanied with notes as to food, habits, &c. 



Plans of the school garden showing method of cropping, rotation 

 followed, &c. Maps of the neighbourhood of the school, either on the 

 flat or in relief. These, with the older children, might show sections and 

 geological formations, as well as the more usual features. 



In districts where mining or quarrying are important industries the 

 nature of the rocks would naturally claim more attention than the plants 

 and the animals of the neighbourhood, but in no case should one group 

 be the exclusive object of attention, as it seems of importance to emphasise 

 the dependence of the various forms of life upon one another and upon 

 their inanimate environment. 



The exhibition of the produce from school gardens in the neighbourhood 

 might also be encouraged at times, provided that school is not pitted 

 against school, but rather pupil against pupil. It sometimes happens 

 that when school is pitted against school an unhealthy rivalry is created, 

 instead of, as one might have expected, a proper spirit of emulation. 

 These exhibits are better entered in special classes than in open ones. 



For schools of a higher grade, where attention is given to the natural 

 history of the neighbourhood, and where the acquisition of Nature 

 knowledge has become more systematised and has been raised to the 

 dignity of a scientific subject, such exhibits as those of simple experiments 

 illustrating the main facts in the manner of life of plants and animals, 

 and maps of the district showing plant formations and associations, 

 with notes and drawings illustrating the manner in which plants are 

 fitted to live where they are found, would form suitable subjects for 

 exhibition. 



As to Forestry — photographs showing the making of a natural wood- 

 land, specimens illustrating the structure and life history of forest trees 

 from the seed to maturity, specimens of insect and fungoid pests, plans 

 for planting, and for subsequent treatment, examples illustrating the 

 results of skilful and unsuitable methods of pruning, and similar things 

 might all be exhibited and would be of great educational value. 



Many other points similar to the foregoing would suggest themselves ; 

 but local conditions must always govern to a very large extent the exact 

 nature of such an exhibition. 



