156 
THE USE OF PLANT MATERIALS IN NATURE- 
STUDY TEACHING. 
By Professor Vaughan MacCaughey, College of Hawaii. 
(Concluded.) 
Field Studies and Excursions. — Properly planned and con- 
ducted, these are of great importance in plant study. Much of 
their failure in the past has been due to lack of organization, and 
of keeping the center of interest in the subject in hand. Field 
trips easily degenerate into purposeless picnics, very amusing 
to the children, no doubt, but yielding no permanent fruits. 
In planning an excursion, the teacher should always make a 
thorough preliminary reconnaisance and carefully outline the 
trip step by step. The following plan, which will serve as an 
example of this, was prepared by Miss May Kluegel, of the Ter- 
ritorial Normal School, for use in Grade II. 
EXCUKSION— TARO. 
Observe things of interest on streets through which we pass. 
Name streets. 
General observation of a valley typical for taro raising (Pauoa 
Valley) — shape, narrow at head, wide near mouth ; slope of sides, 
abrupt near head, sloping gradually near mouth ; stream, wind- 
ing from side to side of valley ; location of taro patches, near 
lower course of stream at mouth of valley ; character of land 
used for taro, low and level. 
Observation of taro patches near at hand — banks, how built, 
gates ; shape of patches ; taro plants, conditions under which they 
grow, distance apart. 
Note. — This excursion may also include observations upon 
frogs, preparatory to taking up the frog lessons in the class- 
room, as frogs are abundant in taro patches. 
Excursions should be seasonable, coinciding, for example, with 
the flowering or fruiting period of the plant to be studied. This 
gives an additional incentive and purposefulness to the trip. 
Children should be encouraged at all times to bring to school 
any interesting plants that they may find. In this manner very 
valuable local collections can be built up. 
Collections. — Small plants, portions of large plants, showing 
leaves, flowers, etc., and leaves of trees, can be easily pressed be- 
tween dry newspapers. Cut newspapers into pieces, so that 
when folded once, a folder is formed which is about fifteen inches 
long and eleven wide. In these folders the fresh specimens, 
showing leaves, flowers, etc., are spread, arranging them as neat- 
ly as possible. The folders are then piled one on top of another, 
