10 BULLETIN 653, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. ~ - 
USE OF TEXTS AND REFERENCES. 
It should be obvious that if the lessons are to be adapted to botti 
the students and community, a textbook can not be followed slav- — 
ishly. In making adaptations, State publications and the bulle- Hy 
tins of this department may be used to advantage. The teacher 
will find the recent editions of books devoted entirely to corn helpful — 
for his personal use and for students who may be assigned special 
topics. Students having an interest in special phases of corn pro- — 
duction, such as the production of pop corn, sweet corn, or corn for. 
silage, may be assigned these subjects as special topics for written — 
reports to the teacher or oral reports to the class. Topics such as _ 
the history of corn, methods of marketing, and the manufacture of — 
corn products, which the entire class may not have time to study ex- — 
tensively, may be assigned also as special topics. ; 
USE OF ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL. 
In the ficld—In many respects the best place to study corn is in | 
the cornfield. Opportunity should be sought to observe the growing — 
of the plant under natural conditions. Field trips may be planned — 
in the spring to study methods of soil preparation and planting. — 
The class should become familiar with the working of modern plant- — 
ing machinery. In the fall trips may be made to study the working 
of harvesting machines. Althcugh growth has stopped at this sea- 
son, it is a good time to study the effects of different methods of © 
planting and culture. Each trip should be planned with a definite — 
aim and each student should be required to take notes and make a 
written report. Students should be given every encouragement to 
make individual observations in the field and to report such studies — 
to the teacher or to the class. As the growth of corn takes place 
mostly during the time of summer vacation,: special inducement 
should be made to get students to study corn and methods of culti- 
vation at this time, even though they may not have a corn proj-_ 
ect. Students should be required in the class recitation and in- 
written papers to report methods used on the home farm. 
In the classroom.—It is often more convenient to bring material 
into the classroom than to study it in the field. The school should | 
be provided with an abundance of concrete material and have a_ 
place to keep it safe from mice and other pests. Specimens should | | 
be available to show the different types of corn and the leading | 
varieties which are suitable to the district. Sample ears showing” 
corn of different degrees toward perfection should be available for 
judging purposes.. | 
Such material may be supplemented with good illustrations show-s 
ing the growth of the plant as well as types and varieties. Draw- 
ings and diagrams may be made upon the blackbeard to assist the: 
students in visualizing the lesson. A chart similar to the one show- 
