kansas city public library kansas city, missouri HANDBOOK OF NATURE-STUDY ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK SEPTEMBER I, 1854- AUGUST 24, 1930 HANDBOOK OF NATURE -STUDY B r ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK, B.S., L.H.D. LATE PROFESSOR OF NATURE-STUDY IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY TWENTY-FOURTH EDITION COMSTOCK PUBLISHING ASSOCIATES A DIVISION OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA, NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK COPYRIGHT, 1939, BY COMSTOCK PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in a review of the book 24th Edition Third printing, December, 1944 Fourth printing, March, 1945 Fifth printing, January, 1947 Sixth printing, November, 1947 Seventh printing, March, 1948 Eighth printing, December, 1948 Ninth printing, September, 1950 Tenth printing, September, 1951 Eleventh printing, February, 1952 Twelfth printing, February, 1953 Thirteenth printing, December, 1953 Fourteenth printing, July, 1955 Fifteenth printing, January, 1957 Sixteenth printing, December, 1957 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE VAIL-BALLOU PRESS, INC., BINCHAMTON, N. Y. TO LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY UNDER WHOSE WISE, STAUNCH, AND INSPIRING LEADERSHIP THE NATURE-STUDY WORK AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED AND TO MY CO-WORKER JOHN WALTON SPENCER WHOSE COURAGE, RESOURCEFULNESS, AND UNTIRING ZEAL WERE POTENT FACTORS IN THE SUCCESS OF THE CAUSE THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED MO. PUBLIC LIBRARY 0 0001 0006140 5 PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD The publication of the twenty-fourth edition of the Handbook of Nature-Study seemed an appropriate time to make cer- tain revisions which had become press- ingly necessary, to replace and improve the illustrations, and to incorporate sug- gestions which had been received from many interested friends. Accordingly, the entire text has been carefully scrutinized, and has been corrected or elaborated in the light of the most recent knowledge. Where the earlier treatment seemed in- adequate new material has been added, and Part IV in particular has been much expanded. New subjects, such as soil con- servation, have been introduced. We think it is safe to say that the Handbook has been well modernized. But by far the greater part of Mrs. ComstocFs work proved to be as accurate and timely in 1939 as in 1911, a striking tribute to the scientific genius of the author. In such cases the language of the earlier text has been preserved, for no improvement could be made on the charming style that has won friends in the tens of thousands. And a careful attempt has been made throughout to preserve the method of treatment adopted by Mrs. Comstock. Perhaps some justification of this policy is needed. Some readers of the Handbook have suggested that the new edition be oriented away from the nature- study approach, and be made instead to serve as an introduction to the natural sciences. For the convenience of readers who wish preparation for the academic studies, some scientific classifications and terminology have been introduced. But the nature-study approach has been pre- served. The kernel of that method of treatment is the study of the organism in its environment, its relation to the world about it, and the features which enable it to function in its surroundings. This study takes the individual organism, rather than an abstract phylum or genus, as the point of departure. Mrs. Comstock believed that the student found in such a study a fresh, spontaneous interest which was lacking in formal textbook science, and the phenomenal success of her work seems to prove that she was right. Moreover, nature-study as Mrs. Comstock conceived it was an aesthetic experience as well as a discipline. It was an opening of the eyes to the individuality, the ingenuity, the personality of each of the unnoticed life- forms about us. It meant a broadening of intellectual outlook, an expansion of sympathy, a fuller life. Much of this Mrs. Comstock succeeded in conveying into her work; and perhaps it is this inform- ing spirit that is the chief virtue of the book. But it should not be thought that nature-study is not a science. The promis- ing science of ecology is merely formalized nature-study; indeed it might be said that nature-study is natural science from an ecological rather than an anatomical point of view. The truth is that nature-study is a science, and is more than a science; it is not merely a study of life, but an experi- ence of life. One realizes, as he reads these pages, that with Mrs. Comstock it even contributed to a philosophy of life. Only the generous efforts of many specialists made possible the thorough- going revision of the book. Dr. Marjorie Ruth Ross assumed in large part the re- sponsibility for editorial supervision and co-ordination, and performed most of the labor of revision and replacement of il- lustrations. Professor A. H. Wright and Mrs. Wright made valuable suggestions and criticisms of the book in general, pro- vided hitherto unpublished photographs for the sections on reptiles and amphibi- ans, and read proof on those sections. V1I1 Professor Glenn W. Herrick, Professor J. G. Needhanx and Dr. Grace H. Gris- wold made suggestions for the revision of the material on insects, and supplied illustrations for that section. Professor E. F. Phillips contributed criticism for the lesson on bees. Professor A. A. Allen kindly made suggestions and provided il- lustrations for the material on birds. Pro- fessor B. P. Young gave assistance in the treatment of aquatic life; Dr. W. J. Koster made suggestions for improving the sec- tion on fish; and Dr. Emmeline Moore selected photographs of fish, and on be- half of the New York State Department of Conservation gave permission to use them. Thanks are due to Professor W. J. Hamilton, Jr., for criticism of the section on mammals and for supplying several photographs; to Professor E. S. Harrison for aid in revising the lesson on cattle and supplying illustrations. Mrs. C. N. Stark made helpful suggestions for the revision of the lesson on bacteria. Miss Ethel Belk suggested many revisions in the part on plants. Professor W. C. Muenscher made useful criticisms of the section on weeds, and supplied illustrations. Professor C. H. Guise revised the portion dealing with the chestnut tree and Professor Ralph W. Curtis gave valuable assistance in the re- vision of the whole section on trees, and furnished pictures. Professor Joseph Os- kamp suggested several improvements in PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD the text on the apple tree. Mr. William Marcus Ingram, Jr. prepared the captions for the illustrations of shells. Professor H. Ries made extensive re- visions and additions in the lessons relat- ing to geology. Professor H. O. Buckman revised the lesson on soil. Professor A. F. Gustafson revised the lesson on the brook, and added material on soil conser- vation. Professor S. L. Boothroyd not only revised the old text on the sky, but he also provided new material and supplied maps and photographs to illustrate it. Dr. H. O. Geren made valuable suggestions for the revision of the text on weather. Miss Theodosia Hadley supplied material for the new bibliography; Dr. Eva L. Gordon revised the bibliography, made numerous suggestions for revision of other parts of the text, and provided some of the illustra- tions. Dr. F. D. Wormuth acted as literary editor of the manuscript. Dr. John M. Raines composed many of the captions for the new illustrations, and, with Mrs. Raines, read proof of the entire book. Many teachers throughout the country offered constructive criticisms; an attempt has been made to put them into effect. To all of these persons the publishers wish to express most cordial and sincere thanks. THE PUBLISHERS ITHACA, NEW YORK January i, 1939 PREFACE The Cornell University Nature-Study propaganda was essentially an agricultural movement in its inception and its aims; it was inaugurated as a direct aid to better methods of agriculture in New York State. During the years of agricultural de- pression 1891-1893, the Charities of New York City found it necessary to help many people who had come from the rural dis- tricts — a condition hitherto unknown. The philanthropists managing the Associ- ation for Improving the Condition of the Poor asked, "What is the matter with the land of New York State that it can- not support its own population? " A con- ference was called to consider the situa- tion to which many people from different parts of the State were invited; among them was the author of this book, who little realized that in attending that meet- ing the whole trend of her activities would be thereby changed. Mr. George T. Powell, who had been a most efficient Di- rector of Farmers' Institutes of New York State, was invited to the conference as an expert to explain conditions and give ad- vice as to remedies. The situation seemed so serious that a Committee for the Pro- motion of Agriculture in New York State was appointed. Of this committee the Honorable Abram S. Hewitt was Chair- man, Mr. R. Fulton Cutting, Treasurer, Mr. Wm. H. Tolman, Secretary. The other members were Walter L. Suydam, Wm. E. Dodge, Jacob H. Schiff, George T. Powell, G. Howard Davidson, Howard Townsend, Professor I. P. Roberts, C. McNamee, Mrs. J. R. Lowell, and Mrs. A. B. Comstock. Mr. George T. Powell was made Director of the Department of Agricultural Education. At the first meeting of this committee Mr. Powell made a strong plea for inter- esting the children of the country in farming as a remedial measure, and main- tained that the first step to\vard agricul- ture was nature-study. It had been Mr. Powell's custom to give simple agricul- tural and nature-study instruction to the school children of every town where he was conducting a farmers' institute, and his opinion was, therefore, based upon experience. The committee desired to see for itself the value of this idea, and experi- mental work was suggested, using the schools of Westchester County as a labo- ratory. Mr. R. Fulton Cutting generously furnished the funds for this experiment, and work was done that year in the West- Chester schools which satisfied the com- mittee of the soundness of the project. The committee naturally concluded that such a fundamental movement must be a public rather than a private enterprise; and Mr. Frederick Nixon, then Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the Assembly, was invited to meet with the committee at Mr. Hewitt's home. Mr. Nixon had been from the beginning of his public career deeply interested in im- proving the farming conditions of the State. In 1894, it was through his influ- ence and the support given him by the Chautauqua Horticultural Society under the leadership of Mr. John W. Spencer, that an appropriation had been given to Cornell University for promoting the horticultural interests of the western counties of the State. In addition to other work done through this appropriation, horticultural schools were conducted un- der the direction of Professor L. H. Bailey with the aid of other Cornell instructors and especially of Mr. E. G. Lodeman; these schools had proved to be most use- ful and were well attended. Therefore, Mr. Nixon was open-minded toward an educational movement. He listened to the plan of the committee and after due con- sideration declared that if this new meas- lire would surely help the farmers of the State, the money would be forthcoming. The committee unanimously decided that if an appropriation were made for this purpose it should be given to the Cornell College of Agriculture; and that year eight thousand dollars were added to the Cor- nell University Fund, for Extension Teaching and inaugurating this work. The work was begun under Professor I. P. Roberts; after one year Professor Roberts placed it under the supervision of Profes- sor L. H. Bailey, who for the fifteen years since has been the inspiring leader of the movement as well as the official head. In 1896, Mr. John W. Spencer, a fruit grower in Chautauqua County, became identified with the enterprise; he had lived in rural communities and he knew their needs. He it was who first saw clearly that the first step in the great work was to help the teacher through simply written leaflets; and later he originated the great plan of organizing the children in the schools of the State into Junior Nat- uralists Clubs, which developed a remark- able phase of the movement. The mem- bers of these clubs paid their dues by writing letters about their nature observa- tions to Mr. Spencer, who speedily be- came their beloved "Uncle John"; a button and charter were given for con- tinued and earnest work. Some years, 30,000 children were thus brought into direct communication with Cornell Uni- versity through Mr. Spencer. A monthly leaflet for Junior Naturalists followed; and it was to help in this enterprise that Miss Alice G. McCloskey, the able Editor of the present Rural School Leaflet, was brought into the work. Later, Mr. Spencer organized the children's garden move- ment by forming the children of the State into junior gardeners; at one time he had 25,000 school pupils working in gardens and reporting to him. In 1899, Mrs. Maw Rogers Miller, who had proven a most efficient teacher when representing Cornell nature-study in the State Teachers* Institutes, planned and started the Home Nature-Study Course Leaflets for the purpose of helping the PREFACE teachers by correspondence, a work which fell to the author in 1903 when Mrs. Miller was called to other fields. For the many years during which New York State has intrusted this important work to Cornell University, the teaching of nature-study has gone steadily on in the University, in teachers' institutes, in State summer schools, through various publica- tions and in correspondence courses. Many have assisted in this work, notably Dr. W. C. Thro, Dr. A. A. Allen, and Miss Ada Georgia. The New York Edu- cation Department with Charles R. Skin- ner as Commissioner of Education and Dr. Isaac Stout as the Director of Teach- ers7 Institutes co-operated heartily with the movement from the first. Later with the co-operation of Dr. Andrew Draper, as Commissioner of Education, many of the Cornell leaflets have been written with the special purpose of aiding in carrying out the New York State Syllabus in Nature-Study and Agriculture. The leaflets upon which this volume is based were published in the Home Na- ture-Study Course during the years 1903- 1911, in limited editions and were soon out of print. It is to make these lessons available to the general public that this volume has been compiled. While the subject matter of the lessons herein given is essentially the same as in the leaflets, the lessons have all been rewritten for the sake of consistency, and many new les- sons have been added to bridge gaps and make a coherent whole. Because the lessons were written dur- ing a period of so many years, each lesson has been prepared as if it were the only one, and without reference to others. If there is any uniformity of plan in the les- sons, it is due to the inherent qualities of the subjects, and not to a type plan in the mind of the writer; for, in her opinion, each subject should be treated individu- ally in nature-study; and in her long ex- perience as a nature-study teacher she has never been able to give a lesson twice alike on a certain topic or secure exactly the same results twice in succession. It should also be stated that it is not because the author undervalues physics nature-study that it has been left out of these lessons, but because her own work has been always along biological lines. The reason why nature-study has not yet accomplished its mission, as thought- core for much of the required work in our public schools, is that the teachers are as a whole untrained in the subject. The children are eager for it, unless it is spoiled in the teaching; and whenever we find a teacher with an understanding of out-of- door life and a love for it, there we find nature-study in the school is an inspira- tion and a joy to pupils and teacher. It is because of the author's sympathy with the untrained teacher and her full com- prehension of her difficulties and help- lessness that this book has been written. These difficulties are chiefly three-fold: The teacher does not know what there is to see in studying a planet or animal; she knows little of the literature that might help her; and because she knows so little of the subject, she has no interest in giving a lesson about it. As a matter of fact, the literature concerning our common ani- mals and plants is so scattered that a teacher would need a large library and al- most unlimited time to prepare lessons for an extended nature-study course. The writer's special work for fifteen years in Extension teaching has been the helping of the untrained teacher through personal instruction and through leaflets. Many methods were tried and finally there was evolved the method followed in this volume: All the facts available and pertinent concerning each topic have been assembled in the "Teacher's story" to make her acquainted with the subject; this is followed by an outline for observation on the part of the pupils while studying the object. It would seem that with the teacher's story before the eyes of the teacher, and the subject of the lesson be- fore the eyes of the pupils with a number of questions leading them to see the es- sential characteristics of the object, there should result a wider knowledge of nature than is given in this or any other book. That the lessons are given in a very in- PREFACE xi formal manner, and that the style of writ- ing is often colloquial, results from the fact that the leaflets upon which the book is based were written for a correspondence course in which the communications were naturally informal and chatty. That the book is meant for those untrained in sci- ence accounts for the rather loose termi- nology employed; as, for instance, the use of the word seed in the popular sense whether it be a drupe, an akene, or other form of fruit; or the use of the word pod for almost any seed envelope, and many like instances. Also, it is very likely, that in teaching quite incidentally the rudi- ments of the principles of evolution, the results may often seem to be confused with an idea of purpose, which is quite unscientific. But let the critic labor for fifteen years to interest the untrained adult mind in nature's ways, before he casts any stones! And it should be always borne in mind that if the author has not dipped deep in the wells of science, she has used only a child's cup. For many years requests have been fre- quent from parents who have wished to give their children nature interests during vacations in the country. They have been borne in mind in planning this volume; the lessons are especially fitted for field work, even though schoolroom methods are so often suggested. The author feels apologetic that the book is so large. However, it does not contain more than any intelligent coun- try child of twelve should know of his environment; things that he should know naturally and without effort, although it might take him half his life-time to learn so much if he should not begin before the age of twenty. That there are incon- sistencies, inaccuracies, and even blunders in the volume is quite inevitable. The only excuse to be offered is that, if through its use, the children of our land learn early to read nature's truths with their own eyes, it will matter little to them what is written in books. The author wishes to make grateful ac- knowledgment to the following people: To Professor Wilford M. Wilson for his xii PREFACE chapter on the weather; to Miss Man- E. Hill for the lessons on mould, bacteria, the minerals, and reading the weather maps; to Miss Catherine Straith for the lessons on the earthworm and the soil; to Miss Ada Georgia for much valuable as- sistance in preparing the original leaflets on which these lessons are based; to Dean L. H. Bailey and to Dr. David S. Jordan for permission to quote their writings; to Mr. John W. Spencer for the use of his story on the movements of the sun; to Dr. Grove Karl Gilbert Dr. A. C. Gill Dr. Benjamin Duggar, Professor S. H. Gage and Dr. J. G. Needham for reading and criticizing parts of the manuscript; to Miss Eliza Tonks for reading the proof; to the Director of the College of Agriculture for the use of the engravings made for the original leaflets; to Miss Martha Van Rensselaer for the use of many pictures from Boys and Girls; to Professor Cyrus Crosby, and to Messrs. J. T. Lloyd, A. A. Allen and R. Matheson for the use of their personal photographs; to the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Forest Sendee for the use of photographs; to Louis A. Fuertes for drawings of birds; to Houghton Mifflin & Company for the use of the poems of Lowell, Harte and Lar- com, and various extracts from Burroughs and Thoreau; to Small, Maynard & Com- pany and to John Lane & Company for the use of poems of John T. Babb; to Doubleday, Page & Company for the use of pictures of birds and flowers; and to the American Book Company for the use of electrotypes of dragon-flies and astron- omy. Especially thanks are extended to Miss Anna C. Stryke for numerous draw- ings, including most of the initials. ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK ITHACA, NEW YORK July, 1911 CONTENTS PART I THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY What Nature-Study Is i What Nature-Study Should Do for the Child i Nature-Study as a Help to Health 2 What Nature-Study Should Do for the Teacher 3 When and Why the Teacher Should Say " I Do Not Know! " . 3 Nature-Study, the Elixir of Youth 4 Nature-Study as a Help in School Discipline 4 Relation of Nature-Study to Sci- ence 5 Nature-Study Not for Drill ... 6 The Child Not Interested in Na- ture-Study 6 When to Give the Lesson .... 6 Length of the Lesson 6 The Nature-Study Lesson Always New 7 Nature-Study and Object Lessons . 7 Nature-Study in the Schoolroom . 8 Nature-Study and Museum Speci- mens 8 Lens, Microscope and Field Glass as Helps 9 Uses of Pictures, Charts, and Black- board Drawings 10 Uses of Scientific Names .... 10 The Stow as a Supplement to the Nature-Study Lesson 11 The Nature-Study Attitude toward Life and Death 12 Should the Nature-Study Teacher Teach How to Destroy Life? . . 13 The Field Notebook / 13 The Field Excursion 15 Pets as Nature-Study Subjects . . 15 Correlation of Nature-Study with Language Work 16 Correlation of Nature-Study and Drawing 17 Correlation of Nature-Study with Geography 18 Correlation of Nature-Study with History 18 Correlation of Nature-Study with Arithmetic 19 Gardening and Nature-Study ... 20 Nature-Study and Agriculture . . 21 Nature-Study Clubs 22 How to Use This Book 23 PART II ANIMALS BIRDS 27 Beginning Bird Study in the Pri- mary Grades 28 Feathers as Clothing 29 Feathers as Ornament 31 How Birds Fly 33 Migration of Birds 35 Eyes and Ears of Birds 38 Form and Use of Beaks .... 39 Feet of Birds Songs of Birds , Attracting Birds Value of Birds Study of Birds' Nests in Winter Chicken Ways Pigeons Canary and the Goldfinch . . Robin 40 42 43 45 46 47 5° 53 57 XIV CONTENTS Bluebird \\Tiite-brcasted Nuthatch . . . Chickadee Downy Woodpecker Sapsucker Redheaded Woodpecker . . . Flicker or Yellow-hammer . . . Meadowlark English Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow ........ Mockingbird Catbird Belted Kingfisher Screech Owl Hawks Birds of Prey and Scavengers . . Swallows and the Chimney Swift Hummingbird Red-winged Blackbird .... Baltimore Oriole Crow Cardinal Grosbeak Geese Wild Geese Game Birds Turkey Birds of Marsh and Shore . . . FISHES Goldfish . . . Bullhead . . . Common Sucker Shiner .... Brook Trout . . Stickleback . . Sunfish .... Johnny Darter . AMPHIBIANS Tailless Amphibians Common Toad Tadpole Aquarium Spring Peeper or Pickering's Hyla Frog Tailed Amphibians Newt or Eft REPTILES Garter or Garden Snake .... Milk Snake or Spotted Adder . . Water Snake 62 65 68 7° 74 76 77 86 89 91 95 97 100 104 106 109 "5 117 120 124 127 130 *33 136 138 142 144 144 148 152 154 156 *59 162 166 170 170 170 177 180 187 187 193 194 197 198 Other Snakes 200 Turtles 204 Lizards 210 MAMMALS 214 Cotton-tail Rabbit 215 Muskrat 219 House Mouse 224 Woodchuck 229 Red Squirrel or Chickaree ... 233 Furry 237 Chipmunk 239 Little Brown Bat 241 Skunk 245 Raccoon 247 Wolf 250 Fox 251 Dogs 254 Cat 260 Goat 266 Sheep 270 Horse 274 Cattle 280 Pig 286 Animals of Zoos and Parks . . . 290 INSECTS 294 Life History and Structure of In- sects 294 INSECTS OF THE FIELDS AND WOODS 301 Black Swallowtail Butterfly . . 301 Monarch Butterfly 305 Isabella Tiger Moth or Woolly Bear 310 Cecropia 313 Promethea 317 Cynthia 319 Hummingbird or Sphinx Moths 320 Codling Moth 325 Leaf-miners 329 Leaf-rollers 332 Gall Dwellers 335 Grasshopper 338 Katydid 343 Black Cricket 344 Snowy Tree Cricket 348 Cockroach 350 Aphids or Plant Lice 351 Ant Lion 354 Mother Lacewing and the Aphis Lion 356 CONTENTS Housefly 358 Colorado Potato Beetle , . . . 362 Ladybird 364 Firefly 367 Ways of the Ant 369 How to Make a Lubbock Ant- nest 373 The Ant-nest and What May Be Seen within It 374 Mud-dauber 378 Yellow Jacket 380 Leaf-cutter Bee 384 Little Carpenter Bee 386 Bumblebee 389 Honeybee 391 Honeycomb . . . 395 Industries of the Hive and the Observation Hive 396 INSECTS OF THE BROOK AND POND . 400 How to Make an Aquarium for Insects 400 Dragonflies and Damsel Flies . . 401 Other Aquatic Insects 402 Caddis Worms and the Caddis Flies Mosquito XV 408 411 OTHER INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS THAN INSECTS 416 Garden Snail 416 Shells of Florida and the East Coast 418 Earthworm 422 Crayfish 425 Seashore Creatures 430 Daddy Longlegs or Grandfather Greybeard 432 Spiders 435 Cobwebs 436 Funnel Web of a Grass Spider . 438 Orb Web 439 Filmy Dome 443 Ballooning Spiders 444 White Crab Spider 445 Howr the Spider Mothers Take Care of Their Eggs 446 Other Invertebrates 448 PART III PLANTS How to Begin the Study of Plants and Their Flowers 453 Some Needs of Plants 454 How to Teach the Names of the Parts of a Flower and of the Plant 456 Teach the Use of the Flower ... 457 Flower and Insect Partners .... 457 Relation of Plants to Geography . 458 Seed Germination 458 WILD FLOWERS 460 Hepatica 461 Yellow Adder7 s-Tongue .... 463 Bloodroot 466 Trillium 468 DutchrnanVBreeches and Squir- rel Com 471 Jack-in-the-Pulpit 473 Violet 476 May Apple or Mandrake .... 479 Bluets 483 Yellow Lady's-Slipper 484 Evening Primrose 488 Milkweed 491 White Water Lily 495 Pondweed 498 Cattail 500 Type Lesson for a Composite Flower 503 Goldenrod 503 Asters 506 The Jewelweed or Touch-me- not 508 WEEDS 512 Outline for the Study of a Weed 513 Poison Ivy 5*4 Prevention of Ivy Poisoning . . 514 Curative Treatment for Ivy Poi- soning 514 Common or Field Buttercup . . 516 Hedge Bindweed 518 XVI CONTENTS Dodder \\Tiite Daisy Yellow Daisy or Black-eyed Susan Thistle . .' " . . . . Burdock Prickly Lettuce, a Compass Plant Dandelion Pearly Everlasting Mullein Teasel Queen Anne's Lace or Wild Car- ""rot 520 524 527 529 531 53? 537 539 542 GARDEN FLOWERS 546 Crocus 547 Daffodils and Their Relatives . 549 Tulip 552 Pansy 555 Bleeding Heart 558 Poppies 560 California Poppy 563 Nasturtium 566 Bee-Larkspur 568 Blue Flag or Iris 571 Sunflower 574 Bachelors-Button 578 Salvia or Scarlet Sage 579 Petunias 581 Garden or Horseshoe Geranium 585 Sweet Pea 588 CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS .... 591 Clovers 591 Sweet Clover 594 White Clover 596 Maize or Indian Corn .... 598 Cotton Plant 604 Strawberry 608 Pumpkin 611 TREES 618 Parts of the Tree 618 The Way a Tree Grows .... 620 How to Begin Tree Study . . . 622 How to Make Leaf Prints . . . 626 Maples 628 American Elm 634 Oaks 638 Shagbark Hickory 643 Chestnut 645 Horse Chestnut 648 Willows 651 Cottonwood or Carolina Poplar . 655 White Ash 658 Apple Tree 661 How an Apple Grows 665 The Apple 667 Pines 670 Norway Spruce 675 Hemlock 679 Dogwood 680 Velvet or Staghorn Sumac ... 683 Witch Hazel 686 Mountain Laurel 689 FLOWERLESS PLANTS 693 Christmas Fern 693 Bracken 696 How a Fern Bud Unfolds ... 698 Fruiting of the Fern 699 Other Ferns 704 Field Horsetail 706 Hair-cap Moss or Pigeon Wheat 709 Other Mosses and Hepatics . . 712 Mushrooms and Other Fungi . . 714 How Mushrooms Look and How They Live 716 Puffballs 720 Bracket Fungi 721 Hedgehog Fungi 725 Scarlet Saucer 725 Morels 726 Stinkhorns 727 Molds 727 Bacteria 729 PART IV EARTH AND SKY THE BROOK 736 Life in the Brook 739 How a Brook Drops Its Load . 740 ROCKS AND MINERALS 743 Rocks 744 Sedimentary Rocks 745 CONTENTS Igneous Rocks Metamorphic Rocks .... Calcite, Limestone, and Mar- ble Minerals Crystal Growth Salt Quartz Feldspar Fossils Mica THE SOIL Soil Material Soil Formation Kinds of Soil Soil Experiments How Valuable Soil Is Lost . Soil Erosion, an Old Problem How to Conserve Our Soil . THE MAGNET CLIMATE AND WEATHER Tower of the Winds Historical Atmosphere Air as a Gas Composition of Air Pressure of Atmosphere .... The Barometer Height of the Atmosphere . . . Temperature of the Atmosphere Thermometer Scales in Use . . Distribution of Temperature and Pressure Winds of the World Storms Weather Maps The Principles of Weather Fore- casting Forecasts Based on Weather Maps Maps, Where Published and How Obtained 746 748 748 75° 751 753 754 755 756 758 760 761 762 763 764 766 769 77° 776 780 781 781 783 783 783 785 787 788 790 79° 791 791 798 799 799 800 800 Value of Weather Sendee . . . How to Read Weather Maps . . Highs and Lows Observations Concerning the Weather Weather Proverbs xvn 801 801 806 807 WATER FORMS 808 THE SKIES The Story of the Stars How to Begin Star Study .... Circumpolar Constellations . . The Polestar and the Dippers . . Cassiopeia's Chair, Cepheus, and the Dragon Winter Stars Orion Aldebaran and the Pleiades . The Two Dog Stars, Sirius and Procyon Capella and the Heavenly Twins Stars of Summer Regulus Arcturus The Crown Spica Vega Antares Deneb or Arided Altair The Sun Comets and Meteors Shooting Stars The Relation between the Tropic of Cancer and the Planting of the Garden The Ecliptic and the Zodiac . . The Sky Clock Equatorial Star Finder The Relations of the Sun to the Earth How to Make a Sundial .... The Moon 815 815 818 818 818 821 823 823 826 829 830 831 831 832 832 832 832 833 833 838 839 841 843 844 847 851 853 855 BIBLIOGRAPHY NATURE STUDY IN GENERAL ... 863 General Information and Stories 863 Essays and Travel 866 Poetry History and Biography Textbooks and Readers 870 870 872 XV111 CONTENTS Books for Parents and Teachers 874 Magazines and Periodicals . . . 875 ANIMAL LIFE 877 Animals in General 877 Mammals 880 Birds 884 Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish 888 Insects and Other Invertebrates 890 PLANT LIFE 895 Plants in General 895 Wild Flowers and Weeds . . . 897 Flowerless Plants 898 Garden Flowers and Cultivated Crop Plants 899 Trees7 Shrubs, and Woody Vines 901 EARTH AND SKY 904 The Earth and Its Life .... 904 Weather and Climate 906 Stars and Sky 907 MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT 909 INDEX 911 FULL-PAGE PLATES BIRDS OF PREY AND SCAVENGERS . . 107 Sparrow Hawks — Snowy Owl — Screech Owl — Herring Gull — Black Vulture — Audubon's Ca- racara GAME BIRDS 137 Ring-necked Pheasants — Wild Turkey — Ruffed Grouse? Nest of — Eastern Bobwhite or Quail — Dusky Grouse — Woodcock on Nest" 143 BIRDS OF MARSH AND SHORE . . . Shoveller — Mallard — Lesser Scaup Ducks — Pied-billed Grebe — Spotted Sandpiper — Wilson's Plover — King Rail — Common Tern — American Egret — Ameri- can Bittern TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 185 American Bell Toad — Oak Toad — Narrow Mouth Toad — Can- yon or Spotted Toad — Great Plains Toad — Spadefoot Toad — Hammond's Spadefoot — Canadian or Winnipeg Toad — Yosemite Toad TAILED AMPHIBIANS 191 Spotted Salamander — Red Sala- mander — Marbled Salamander — Mud Puppy — Tiger Salaman- der — Slimy Salamander — Slen- der Salamander — Cave Salaman- der SNAKES I 201 Ribbon Snake — Coral Snake — Rubber Boa — Rough Green Snake — Timber Rattlesnake — Desert Gopher Snake or Bull Snake — Ring-necked Snake — Sidewinder or Horned Rattle- snake SNAKES II 203 Pike-headed Tree Snake or Ari- zona Long-headed Snake — Pilot Black Snake — Copperhead — Boyle's King Snake or Boyle's Milk Snake — Gray Pilot Snake — Water Moccasin or Cotton- mouth — California Lyre Snake — Southern Hognose Snake LIZARDS I 211 Banded Gecko — Chameleon — Fence Lizard — Glass Snake or Legless Lizard — Alligator Liz- ard or Plated Lizard — Sonoran Skink — Gila Monster LIZARDS II 213 Regal Horned Toad — Horned Toad — Male Fence Lizard — Mountain Boomer or Collared Lizard — Whip-tail or Race Run- ner — Chuck-walla ANIMALS OF Zoos AND PARKS . . . 291 Rhinoceros — Hippopotamus — Kangaroo — Zebra — Malay Tiger — Polar Bear — Nubian Gi- raffe — Bactrian or Two-humped Camel — Wapiti or American « Elk " - Virginia or White- tailed Deer AQUATIC INSECTS 403 "Stone Fly — May Fly — Back Swimmer — Water Boatman — Water Walking Stick — Water Scorpion — Water Bug — Giant Water Bug or Electric-Light Bug — Water Strider — Dobson — Predacious Diving Beetle — Div- ing Beetle — Water Scavenger XX FULL-PAGE PLATES Beetle — Whirligig Beetle - Wa- ter Penny or Riffle Beetle — Black Fly — Crane Fly — Drone Fly SHELLS OF FLORIDA AND THE EAST COAST 419 Crown Melongena — Brown- mouth Cymatium — White- mouth Cymatium — Lined Mu- rex — Mossy Ark — Black Lace Murex — Apple Murex — White-spike Murex — Moon Shell - Rock Worm Shell - Mouse Cone — Florida Cone — Giant Band Shell - Lettered Olive — Netted Olive — Mottled Top Shell — Ridged Chione — Beaming Scallop — - Vase Shell — Ponderous Ark — Spiny Pearl Shell — Little Red Murex — Rose Euglandina — Calico Scal- lop — Volcano Shell SEASHORE CREATURES 431 Sea Urchin — Fiddler Crab — Common Starfish — Egg Cases or Fisherman's Purses — Notch- side Shell — Sand Dollar — Giant Whelk — Great Ark Shell - Star Coral — Sand Crab — Jelly- fish INVERTEBRATES 449 Water Spider — House Centi- pede — Scorpion — Millipede — Water Sow Bug — Fairy Shrimps — Tadpole Shrimp — Dog Louse — Scud — Water Flea — Pleurocera — Copepod — Fresh-water Limpet — Gonioba- sis — Vivipara — Wheel Snails — Campeloma — Valvata — By- thinia — Amnicola -— Paludes- trina — Common Pond Snail — Pouch Snail -— Fingernail Clam —-Paper-shell Mussel FERNS 705 Purple Cliff Brake — Climbing Fern — Grape Fern — Hart's- Tongue — Hay-scented Fern — Maidenhair Fern — Inter- rupted Fern — Walking Leaf Fern — Cinnamon Fern — Royal or Flowering Fern MOSSES AND HEPATICS 713 Broom Moss — Common Hair- Cap, Bird Wheat, or Pigeon Wheat Moss — Common Fern Moss — Awned Hair-Cap Moss — Plume Moss — Purple-fringed Riccia — True Liverwort FOSSILS 757 Hypohippus — Brachiopods — Crane Fly - Trilobites — Cy- cads — Crinoid or Sea Lily — Brachiopod — Dinosaur Tracks PART I THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY WHAT NATURE-STUDY Is Nature-study is, despite all discussions and perversions, a study of nature; it con- sists of simple, truthful observations that may? like beads on a string, finally be threaded upon the understanding and thus held together as a logical and har- monious whole. Therefore, the object of the nature-study teacher should be to cul- tivate in the children powers of accurate observation and to build up within them understanding. WHAT NATURE-STUDY SHOULD Do FOR THE CHILD First, but not most important, nature- study gives the child practical and help- ful knowledge. It makes him familiar with Ralph W. Curtis nature's ways and forces, so that he is not so helpless in the presence of natural mis- fortune and disasters. Nature-study cultivates the child's im- agination, since there are so many wonder- ful and true stories that he may read with his own eyes, which affect his imagination as much as does fairy lore; at the same time nature-study cultivates in him a per- ception and a regard for what is true, and the power to express it. All things seem possible in nature; yet this seeming is always guarded by the eager quest of what is true. Perhaps half the falsehood in the world is due to lack of power to detect the truth and to express it. Nature-study aids both in discernment and in expression of things as they are. Nature-study cultivates in the child a THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY love of the beautiful; it brings to him early a perception of color, form, and music. He sees whatever there is in his environment, whether it be the thunder-head piled up in the western sky, or the golden flash of the oriole in the elm; whether it be the purple of the shadows on the snow, or the azure glint on the wing of the little butterfly. Also, what there is of sound, he Louis Agassiz Fuertes Council, Boy Scouts of America A nature hike hears; he reads the music score of the bird orchestra, separating each part and know- ing which bird sings it. And the patter of the rain, the gurgle of the brook, the sigh- ing of the wind in the pine, he notes and loves and becomes enriched thereby. But, more than all, nature-study gives the child a sense of companionship with life out-of-doors and an abiding love of nature. Let this latter be the teacher's criterion for judging his or her work. If nature-study as taught does not make the child love nature and the out-of-doors, then it should cease. Let us not inflict permanent injury on the child by turning him away from nature instead of toward it. However, if the love of nature is in the teacher's heart, there is no danger; such a teacher, no matter by what method, takes the child gently by the hand and walks with him in paths that lead to the seeing and comprehending of what he may find beneath his feet or above his head. And these paths, whether they lead among the lowliest plants, or whether to the stars, finally converge and bring the wanderer to that serene peace and hope- ful faith that is the sure inheritance of all those who realize fully that they are work- ing units of this wonderful universe. NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP TO HEALTH Perhaps the most valuable practical les- son the child gets from nature-study is a personal knowledge that nature's laws are not to be evaded. Wherever he looks, he discovers that attempts at such evasion result in suffering and death. A knowledge thus naturally attained of the immuta- bility of nature's " must " and " shall not " is in itself a moral education. The realiza- tion that the fool as well as the transgres- sor fares ill in breaking natural laws makes for wisdom in morals as well as in hygiene. Out-of-door life takes the child afield and keeps him in the open air, which not only helps him physically and occupies his mind with sane subjects, but keeps him out of mischief. It is not only during childhood that this is true, for love of nature counts much for sanity in later life. This is an age of nerve tension, and the relaxation which comes from the comfort- ing companionship found in woods and fields is, without doubt, the best remedy for this condition. Too many men who seek the out-of-doors for rest at the present time, can only find it with a gun in hand. To rest and heal their nerves they must go out and try to kill some unfortunate creature — the old, old story of sacrificial blood. Far better will it be when, through properly training the child, the man shall be enabled to enjoy nature through seeing how creatures live rather than watching them die. It is the sacred privilege of nature-study to do this for future genera- tions and for him thus trained, shall the words of Longfellow's poem to Agassiz apply: THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY 3 And he wandered away and away, with Nature the dear old nurse, Who sang to him night and day, the rhymes of the universe. And when the way seemed long, and his heart began to fail, She sang a more wonderful song, or told a more wonderful tale. WHAT NATURE-STUDY SHOULD Do FOR THE TEACHER During many years, I have been watch- ing teachers in our public schools in their conscientious and ceaseless work; and so far as I can foretell, the fate that awaits them finally is either nerve exhaustion or nerve atrophy. The teacher must become either a neurasthenic or a " clam." I have had conversations with hundreds of teachers in the public schools of New York State concerning the introduction of nature-study into the curriculum, and most of them declared, " Oh, we have not time for it. Every moment is full now! " Their nerves were at such a tension that with one more thing to do they must fall apart. The question in my own mind dur- ing these conversations was always, how long can she stand it! I asked some of them, " Did you ever try a vigorous walk in the open air in the open country every Saturday or every Sunday of your teach- ing year? " " Oh no! " they exclaimed in despair of making me understand. " On Sunday we must go to church or see our friends and on Saturday we must do our shopping or our sewing. We must go to the dressmaker's lest we go unclad, we must mend, and darn stockings; we need Saturday to catch up." Yes, catch up with more cares, more worries, more fatigue, but not with more growth, more strength, more vigor, and more courage for work. In my belief, there are two and only two occupations for Sat- urday afternoon or forenoon for a teacher. One is to be out-of-doors and the other is to lie in. bed, and the first is best. Out in this, God's beautiful world, there is everything waiting to heal lacerated nerves, to strengthen tired muscles, to please and content the soul that is torn to shreds with duty and care. To the teacher who turns to nature's healing, na- ture-study in the schoolroom is not a trou- ble; it is a sweet, fresh breath of air blown across the heat of radiators and the noi- some odor of overcrowded small human- it}'. She who opens her eyes and her heart nature-ward even once a week finds na- ture-study in the schoolroom a delight and an abiding joy. What does such a one find in her schoolroom instead of the ter- rors of discipline, the eternal watching and eternal nagging to keep the pupils quiet and at work? She finds, first of all, com- panionship with her children; and second, she finds that without planning or going on a far voyage, she has found health and strength. WHEN AND WHY THE TEACHER SHOULD SAY " I Do NOT KNOW " No science professor in any university, if he be a man of high attainment, hesi- tates to say to his pupils, " I do not know/' if they ask for information beyond his knowledge. The greater his scientific rep- utation and erudition, the more readily, simply, and without apology he says this. He, better than others, comprehends how vast is the region that lies beyond man's present knowledge. It is only "the teacher in the elementary schools who has never received enough scientific training to re- veal to her how little she does know, who feels that she must appear to know every- thing or her pupils will lose confidence in her. But how useless is this pretense, in nature-study! The pupils, whose younger eyes are much keener for details than hers, will soon discover her limitations and then their distrust of her will be real. In nature-study any teacher can with honor say, " I do not know "; for perhaps the question asked is as yet unanswered by the great scientists. But she should not let lack of knowledge be a wet blanket thrown over her pupils' interest. She should say frankly, " I do not know; let us see if we cannot together find out this mysterious thing. Maybe no one knows it as yet, and I wonder if you will discover it before I do/7 She thus conveys the right THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY she is never allowed to forget that she knows them, and finally her interests be- come limited to what she knows. pupils feel the thrill and zest of in- After all what is the chief sign of •r £__ x- :n <,i^w* fk/^r r^crv-H- growing old? Is it not me reeling mat we know all there is to be known? It is impression, that only a little about the in- tricate life of plants and animals is yet known; and at the same time she makes vestigation. Nor will she lose their respect bv doing this, if she does it in the right . soirit For three rears I had for com- not years which make people old; it is rades'in my walks afield two little chil- ™+* -A « "™***™ "* ^"™* W1''™ dren and they kept me busy saying, " I do not know." But they never lost confi- dence in me or in my knowledge; they Leonard "K. Beyer Long -spurred violet simply gained respect for the vastness of the unknown. The chief charm of nature-study would be taken away if it did not lead us through the border-land of knowledge into the realm of the undiscovered. Moreover, the teacher,, in confessing her ignorance and at the same time her interest in a sub- ject, establishes between herself and her pupils a sense of companionship which re- lieves the strain of discipline, and gives her a new and intimate relation with her pupils which will surely prove a potent element in her success. The best teacher is always one who is the good comrade of her pupils. NATURE-STUDY, THE ELIXIR OF YOUTH The old teacher is too likely to be- come didactic, dogmatic, and " bossy ?> if she does not constantly strive with her- self. Why? She has to be thus five days in the week and, therefore, she is likely to be so seven. She knows arithmetic, gram- mar, and geography to their uttermost, ruts, and a limitation of interests. When wre no longer care about anything except our own interests, we are then olcl? it matters not whether our years be twenty or eighty. It is rejuvenation for the teacher, thus growing old, to stand ig- norant as a child in the presence of one of the simplest of nature's miracles — the formation of a crystal, the evolution of the butterfly from the caterpillar, the exquisite adjustment of the silken lines in the spider's orb web. I know how to "make magic" for the teacher who is growing old. Let her go out with her youngest pupil and reverently watch with him the miracle of the blossoming violet and say: "Dear Nature, I know naught of the wondrous life of these, your small- est creatures. Teach me! " and she will suddenly find herself young. NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE Much of the naughtiness in school is a result of the child's lack of interest in his work, augmented by the physical in- action that results from an attempt to sit quietly. The best teachers try to obviate both of these causes of misbehaviour rather than to punish the naughtiness that results from them. Nature-study is an aid in both respects, since it keeps the child interested and also gives him something to do. In the nearest approach to an ideal school that I have ever seen, for children of second grade, the pupils were allowed, as a reward of merit, to visit the aquaria or the terrarium for periods of five min- utes, which time was given to the blissful observation of the fascinating prisoners. The teacher also allowed the reading of stories about the plants and animals un- der observation to be regarded as a re- ward of merit. As I entered the school- THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY room, eight or ten of the children were at the windows watching eagerly what was happening to the creatures confined there in the various cages. There was a mud aquarium for the frogs and sala- manders, an aquarium for fish, many small aquaria for insects, and each had one or two absorbedly interested specta- tors who were quiet, well-behaved, and were getting their nature-study lessons in an ideal manner. The teacher told me that the problem of discipline was solved by this method, and that she was rarely obliged to rebuke or punish. In many other schools, watching the living crea- tures in the aquaria or terraria has been used as a reward for other work well done. THE RELATION OF NATURE-STUDY TO SCIENCE Nature-study is not elementary science as so taught, because its point of attack is not the same; error in this respect has caused many a teacher to abandon nature- study and many a pupil to hate it. In elementary science the work begins with the simplest animals and plants and pro- gresses logically through to the highest forms; at least this is the method pursued in most universities and schools. The ob- ject of the study is to give the pupils an outlook over all the forms of life and their relation one to another. In nature-study the w7ork begins with any plant or crea- ture which chances to interest the pupil. It begins with the robin when it comes back to us in March, promising spring; or it begins with the maple leaf which flutters to the ground in all the beauty of its autumnal tints. A course in biological science leads to the comprehension of all kinds of life upon our globe. Nature- study is for the comprehension of the individual life of the bird, insect, or plant that is nearest at hand. Nature-study is perfectly good science within its limits, but it is not meant to be more profound or comprehensive than the capabilities of the child's mind. More than all, nature-study is not science be- littled as if it were to be looked at through the reversed opera glass in order to bring it down small enough for the child to play with. Nature-study, as far as it goes, is just as large as is science for " grown- ups.77 It may deal with the same subject matter and should be characterized by the same accuracy. It simply does not go so far. To illustrate: If we are teaching the science of ornithology, we take first the Archaeopteryx, then the swimming and scratching birds, and finally reach the song birds, studying each as a part of the whole. Nature-study begins with the robin because the child sees it and is interested in it, and notes the things about the habits and appearance of the robin that may be perceived by intimate observa- An aquarium Hugh Spencer tion. In fact, he discovers for himself all that the most advanced book of ornithol- ogy would give concerning the ordinary habits of this one bird; the next bird studied may be the turkey in the barn- yard, or the duck on the pond, or the screech owl in the spruces, if any of these happen to impinge upon his notice and interest. However, such nature-study makes for the best of scientific ornithol- ogy7, because by studying the individual birds thus thoroughly, the pupil finally studies a sufficient number of forms so that his knowledge, thus assembled, gives him a better comprehension of birds as a whole than could be obtained by the routine study of them. Nature-study does not start out with the classification given in books, but in the end it builds up in the child's mind a classification which is based on fundamental knowl- THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY edge; it is a classification like that evolved by the first naturalists, because it is built on careful personal observations of both form and life. NATURE-STUDY NOT FOR DRILL If nature-study is made a drill, its peda- gogic value is lost. When it is properly taught, the child is unconscious of mental effort or that he is suffering the act of teaching. As soon as nature-study be- comes a task, it should be dropped; but how could it ever be a task to see that the sky is blue, or the dandelion golden, or to listen to the oriole in the elm! Stanley Mulaik A young entomologist THE CHILD NOT INTERESTED IN NATURE-STUDY What to do with the pupil not inter- ested in nature-study subjects is a prob- lem that confronts many earnest teachers. Usually the reason for this lack of inter- est is the limited range of subjects used for nature-study lessons. Often the teacher insists upon flowers as the lesson subject, when toads or snakes would prove the key to the door of the child's interest. But whatever the cause may be, there is only one right way out of this difficulty: The child not interested should be kept at his regular school work and not admitted as a member of the nature-study class, where his influence is always demoraliz- ing. He had much better be learning his spelling lesson than learning to hate na- ture through being obliged to study sub- jects in which he is not interested. In general, it is safe to assume that the pu- pil's lack of interest in nature-study is owing to a fault in the teacher's method. She may be trying to fill the child's mind with facts when she should be leading him to observe these for himself, which is a most entertaining occupation for the child. It should always be borne in mind that mere curiosity is always impertinent, and that it is never more so than when exercised in the realm of nature. A genu- ine interest should be the basis of the study of the lives of plants and lower animals. Curiosity may elicit facts, but only real interest may mold these facts into wisdom. WHEN TO GIVE THE LESSON There are two theories concerning the time when a nature-study lesson should be given. Some teachers believe that it should be a part of the regular routine; others have found it of greatest value if reserved for that period of the school day when the pupils are weary and rest- less, and the teacher's nerves strained to the snapping point. The lesson on a tree, insect, or flower at such a moment affords immediate relief to everyone; it is a men- tal excursion, from which all return re- freshed and ready to finish the duties of the day. While I am convinced that the use of the nature-study lesson for mental re- freshment makes it of greatest value, yet I realize fully that if it is relegated to such periods, it may not be given at all. It might be better to give it a regular period late in the day, for there is strength and sureness in regularity. The teacher is much more likely to prepare herself for the lesson, if she knows that it is required at a certain time. THE LENGTH OF THE LESSON The nature-study lesson should be short and sharp and may vary from ten minutes to a half hour in length. There THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY should be no dawdling; if it is an observa- tion lesson, only a few points should be noted and the meaning for the observa- tions made clear. If an outline be sug- gested for field observation, it should be given in an inspiring manner which shall make each pupil anxious to see and read the truth for himself. The nature story when properly read is never finished; it is always at an interesting point, " con- tinued in our next/' The teacher may judge as to her own progress in nature-study by the length of time she is glad to spend in reading from nature's book what is therein writ- ten. As she progresses, she finds those hours spent in studying nature speed faster, until a day thus spent seems but an hour. The author can think of nothing she would so gladly do as to spend days and months with the birds, bees, and flow- ers with no obligation to tell what she should see. There is more than mere in- formation in hours thus spent. Lowell describes them well when he says: Those old days when the balancing of a yellow butterfly o'er a thistle bloom Was spiritual food and lodging for the whole afternoon. THE NATURE-STUDY LESSON ALWAYS NEW A nature-study lesson should not be repeated unless the pupils demand it. It should be done so well the first time that there is no need of repetition, because it has thus become a part of the child's con- sciousness. The repetition of the same les- son in different grades was, to begin with, a hopeless incubus upon nature-study. One disgusted boy declared, " Darn ger- mination! I had it in the primary and last year and now I am having it again. I know all about germination." The boy's attitude was a just one; but if there had been revealed to him the meaning of germination, instead of the mere process, he would have realized that until he had planted and observed every plant in the world he would not know all about ger- mination, because each seedling has its own interesting story. The only excuse for repeating a nature-study lesson is in recalling it for comparison and contrast with other lessons. The study of the violet will naturally bring about a review of the pansy; the dandelion, of the sunflower; the horse, of the donkey; the butterfly, of the moth. NATURE-STUDY AND OBJECT LESSONS The object lesson method was intro- duced to drill the child to see a thing accurately, not only as a whole but in de- tail, and to describe accurately what he saw. A book or a vase or some other ob- ject was held up before the class for a Leonard K. Beyer A mountain brook moment and then removed; afterwards the pupils described it as perfectly as pos- sible. This is an excellent exercise and the children usually enjoy it as if it were a game. But if the teacher has in mind the same thought when she is giving the na- ture-study lesson, she has little compre- hension of the meaning of the latter and the pupils will have less. In nature-study, it is not desirable that the child see all the details, but rather those details that have something to do with the life of the creature studied; if he sees that the grass- hopper has the hind legs much longer than the others, he will inevitably note that there are two other pairs of legs and he THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY will in the meantime have come into an il- luminating comprehension of the reason the insect is called "grasshopper." The child should see definitely and accurately all that is necessary for the recognition of a plant or animal; but in nature-study, the observation of form is for the purpose of better understanding life. In fact, it is form linked with life, the relation of *' be- ing " to " doing." NATURE-STUDY IN THE SCHOOLROOM Many subjects for nature-study lessons may be brought into the schoolroom. Whenever it is possible, the pupils should themselves bring the material, as the col- lecting of it is an important part of the eEI A. I. Root Co. An observation beehive lesson. There should be in the school- room conveniences for caring for the little prisoners brought in from the field. A terrarium and breeding cages of different kinds should be provided for the insects, toads, and little mammals. Here they may live in comfort, when given their natural food, while the children observe their interesting ways. The ants' nest and the observation hive yield fascinating views of the marvelous lives of the insect so- cialists, while the cheerful prisoner in the bird cage may be made a constant illus- tration of the adaptations and habits of all birds. The aquaria for fishes, tadpoles, and insects afford the opportunity for con- tinuous study of these water creatures and are a never-failing source of interest to the pupils, while the window garden may be made not only an ornament and an aes- thetic delight, but a basis for interesting study of plant growth and development. A schoolroom thus equipped is a place of delight as well as enlightenment to the children. Once, a boy whose luxurious home was filled with all that money could buy and educated tastes select, said of a little nature-study laboratory which was in the unfinished attic of a school build- ing, but which was teeming with life, " I think this is the most beautiful room in the world." NATURE-STUDY AND MUSEUM SPECIMENS The matter of museum specimens is another question for the nature-study teacher to solve, and has a direct bearing on an attitude toward taking life. There are many who believe the stuffed bird or the case of pinned insects have no place in nature-study; and certainly these should not be the chief material. But let us use our common sense; the boy sees a bird in the woods or field and does not know its name; he seeks the bird in the museum and thus is able to place it and read about it and is stimulated to make other observations concerning it. Wherever the museum is a help to the study of life in the field, it is well and good. Some teachers may give a live les- son from a stuffed specimen, and other teachers may stuff their pupils with facts about a live specimen; of the two, the former is preferable. There is no question that making a col- lection of insects is an efficient way of developing the child's powers of close observation, as well as of giving him man- ual dexterity in handling fragile things. Also it is a false sentiment which attrib- utes to an insect the same agony at be- ing impaled on a pin that we might suffer at being thrust through by a stake. The insect nervous system is far more con- veniently arranged for such an ordeal than ours; and, too, the cyanide bottle brings immediate and painless death to the in- sects placed within it; moreover, the in- sects usually collected have short lives anyway. So far as the child is concerned, THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY Mounted twigs and nuts. These may be put in the bottom, of a shallow box with a sheet of cellophane pasted over the top he is thinking of his collection of moths or butterflies and not at all of taking life; so it is not teaching him to wantonly destroy living creatures. However, an in- discriminate encouragement of the mak- ing of insect collections cannot be ad- vised. There are some children who will profit by it and some who will not, and unquestionably the best kind of study of insects is watching their interesting ways while they live. To kill a creature in order to prepare it for a nature-study lesson is not only wrong but absurd, for nature-study has to do with life rather than death, and the form of any creature is interesting only when its adaptations for life are studied. But again, a nature-study teacher may be an opportunist; if without any volition on her part or the pupils', a freshly killed specimen comes to hand, she should make the most of it. The writer remem- bers most illuminating lessons from a par- tridge that broke a window and its neck simultaneously during its flight one win- ter night, a yellow hammer that killed itself against an electric wire, and a musk- rat that turned its toes to the skies for no understandable reason. In each of these cases the creature's special physical adaptations for living its own peculiar life were studied, and the effect was not the study of a dead thing, but of a successful and wonderful life. THE LENS, MICROSCOPE, AND FIELD GLASS AS HELPS IN NATURE-STUDY In elementary grades, nature-study deals with objects which the children can see with the naked eye. However, a lens is a help in almost all of this work be- cause it is such a joy to the child to gaze at the wonders it reveals. There is no les- son given in this book which requires more than a simple lens for seeing the most minute parts discussed. An excel- lent lens may be bought for a dollar, and a fairly good one for fifty cents or even twenty-five cents. The lens should be chained to a table or desk where it may be used by the pupils at recess. This gives each an opportunity for using it and obviates the danger of losing it. If the pupils themselves own lenses, they should be fastened by a string or chain to the pocket. A microscope has no legitimate part in nature-study. But if there is one available, it reveals so many wonders in the com- monest objects that it can ofttimes be Bausch & Lornb Optical Co. Hand lenses 1O THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. A field glass made a source of added interest. For instance, thus to see the scales on the butterfly's wing affords the child pleasure as well as edification. Field or opera glasses, while indispensable for bird study, are by no means necessary in nature- study. However, the pupils will show greater interest in noting the birds' colors if they are allowed to make the observa- tions with the help of a glass. USES OF PICTURES, CHARTS, AND BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS Pictures alone should never be used as the subjects for nature-study lessons, but they may be of great use in illustrat- ing and illuminating a lesson. Books well illustrated are more readily compre- hended by the child and are often very helpful to him, especially after his inter- est in the subject is thoroughly aroused. If charts are used to illustrate the lesson, the child is likely to be misled by the size of the drawing, which is also the case in blackboard pictures. However, this er- ror may be avoided by fixing the atten- tion of the pupil on the object first. If the pupils are studying the ladybird and have it in their hands, the teacher may use a diagram representing the beetle as a foot long and it will still convey the idea accurately; but if she begins with the picture, she probably can never con- vince the children that the picture has anything to do with the insect. In making blackboard drawings illus- trative of the lesson, it is best, if possible, to have one of the pupils do the drawing in the presence of the class; or, if the teacher does the drawing, she should hold the object in her hand while doing it and look at it often so that the children may see that she is trying to represent it accurately. Taking everything into con- sideration, however, nature-study charts and blackboard drawings are of little use to the nature-study teacher, THE USES OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES Disquieting problems relative to scien- tific nomenclature always confront the teacher of nature-study. My own practice has been to use the popular names of spe- cies, except in cases where confusion might ensue, and to use the scientific names for anatomical parts. However, this matter is of little importance if the teacher bears in mind that the purpose of nature-study is to know the subject under observation and to learn the name incidentally. Common tree frog or tree toad, Hyla versi- cplor versicolor. Another species, Hyla cru- cifer, is also often catted the tree frog and tree toad. Common names, then} will not distin- guish these amphibians one from another; the scientific names must be applied THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY If the teacher says, " I have a pink he- patica. Can anyone find me a blue one? " the children, who naturally like grownup words, will soon be calling these flowers hepaticas. But if the teacher says, " These flowers are called hepaticas. Now please everyone remember the name. Write it in your books as I write it on the black- board, and in half an hour I shall ask you again what it is," the pupils naturally look upon the exercise as a word lesson and its real significance is Ipst. This sort of nature- study is dust and ashes and there has been too much of it. The child should never be required to learn the name of any- thing in the nature-study work; but the name should be used so often and so naturally in his presence that he will learn it without being conscious of the process. THE STORY AS A SUPPLEMENT TO THE NATURE-STUDY LESSON Many of the subjects for nature lessons can be studied only in part, since but one phase may be available at the time. Often, especially if there is little probability that the pupils will find opportunity to com- plete the study, it is best to round out their knowledge by reading or telling the story to supplement the facts which they have discovered for themselves. This story should not be told as a finality or as a complete picture but as a guide and inspiration for further study. Always leave at the end of the story an interroga- tion mark that will remain aggressive and insistent in the child's mind. To illus- trate: Once a club of junior naturalists brought me rose leaves injured by the leaf- cutter bee and asked me why the leaves were cut out so regularly. I told them the story of the use made by the mother bee of these oval and circular bits of leaves and made the account as vital as I was able; but at the end I said, " I do not know which species of bee cut these leaves. She is living here among us and building her nest with your rose leaves, which she is cutting every day almost under your very eyes. Is she then so 11 much more clever than you that you can- not see her or find her nest? " For two years following this lesson I received let- ters from members of this club. Two car- penter bees and their nests were discov- ered by them and studied before the mysterious leaf-cutter was finally ferreted The leaf-cutter bee out. My story had left something inter- esting for the young naturalists to dis- cover. The children should be impressed with the fact that the nature story is never finished. There is not a weed or an insect or a tree so common that the child, by observing carefully, may not see things never yet recorded in scientific books; therefore the supplementary story should be made an inspiration for keener interest and further investigation on the part of the pupil. The supplementary story simply thrusts aside some of the obscuring underbrush, thus revealing more plainly the path to further knowl- edge. THE NATURE-STUDY ATTITUDE TOWARD LIFE AXD DEATH THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY but become a vegetarian, and even then there might arise refinements in this ques- tion of taking life; she might have to con- Perhaps no greater danger besets the sider the cruelty to asparagus in cutting pathwav of the natuie-studv teacher than it off in plump infancy, or the ethics of he question involved in her pupils7 atti- devouring in the turnip the food laid up tude toward life and death. To inculcate by the mother plant to perfect her seed. In fact, a most rigorous diet would be forced upon the teacher who should re- fuse to sustain her own existence at the cost of life; and if she should attempt to in the child a reverence for life and yet to keep him from becoming mawkish and morbid is truly a problem. It is al- most inevitable that the child should be- come sympathetic with the life of the animal or plant studied, since a true un- derstanding of the life of any creature creates an interest which stimulates a de- teach the righteousness of such a diet she would undoubtedly forfeit her posi- tion; and yet what is she to do! She will soon find herself in the position of a cer- V-iV-aiA-a a.*! JLIJ.I_V*J.V* 4.**^** kjtj.j.*^^.^-.-^- — * sire to protect this particular creature and tain lady who placed sheets of sticky tty- . i . /• i •» i •*. r . • _ "iT *__ —,-..r^^»- st*-xMi