CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
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 All books are subject to recall after two weeks 
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 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAVLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S.A. 
 
p!Jrdue university. 
 
 LEAFLETS ON NATURE STUDY. 
 
 LAFAYETTE, INDIANA. 
 JUNE I, 1898. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924085811127 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 Leaflets on Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Teachers of 
 Schools in Rural Districts. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY. 
 
PRESS OF WM. B. BURFORD, 
 CONTRACTOR FOR STATE PRINTING AND BINDING. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 No. 
 
 1. Introduction Coulter. 
 
 ■2. The Study of the Foliage Lea{ Coulter. 
 
 3. The Flower as an Object for Nature Study Coulter. 
 
 4. The Care of Domestic Animals Plumb. 
 
 5. A Children's Garden Bailey. 
 
 6. A Chat About Bugs Coulter. 
 
 7. The Observation Club Compiled. 
 
 8. Spring Birds Ruby. 
 
 9. A Country School Garden Coulter. 
 
 10. A Talk About Trees Coulter. 
 
 11. A Study of our Insect Enemies Troop. 
 
 12. A Talk About Water-drops Duff. 
 
 13. Climate in Some of its Kelations to Daily Life. . . .Huston. 
 
 14. The Germination of Seeds Arthur. 
 
 15. Our Insect Friends Troop. 
 
 16. Butter-making for Young People Plumb. 
 
 17. About Spiders and their Curious Ways Ed. "School and Home.' 
 
 18. The Work of Water Duff. 
 
 19. Heat and What It Does Duff. 
 
 20. Our Friends, the Birds Snyder. 
 
 21. A Vegetable Garden Troop. 
 
 22. An Experimental Farm for Young People Latta. 
 
 23. Points for Young Farmers' Club Latta. 
 
 24. The Care of the Soil Huston. 
 
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 
 
 At the present time A'atui-e .Siiidj' is receiving- considerable atten- 
 tion from onr high schools, and, to some extent, from onr city and 
 town graded schools. Bnt little attention, however, has been gi\en 
 to the subject by the teachers in rural districts. While it may seem 
 that the difficulties involved in the problem of Nature Study in rural 
 districts are great, we think that a careful examination of the con- 
 ditions will show that these are more apparent than real. Indeed, 
 the opportimities for work in the country are very much greater 
 than for work in the city. \\c think it Avill be found also that tlie 
 introduction of Nature Study will enable the teachers of district 
 schools to accomplish tiie work which they are now doing more easily 
 and with greater success. 
 
 It is thought by many that there are influences at work upon the 
 children in niral districts which have a tendency to withdraw their 
 interest from their rural surroundings and to create in them a desire 
 to leave the" farm and seek their fortunes in more populous centers. 
 That this is true to a certain extent, no one will doubt. It then lie- 
 comes important to ask; how shall we enable these children to appre- 
 ciate the beauties of Xature by which they are surrounded; to take 
 a wider view of their opportunities; how shall we lead them to higher 
 country living and country thinking, and, how shall we make the 
 occupation in which most of them will, for a time at least, be engaged, 
 more attractive and more profitable? The teachers are potent factors 
 in the consideration of these important questions. It is our purpose to 
 assist the teachers in solving them, and it is belie\-ed that we can do no 
 more effective work in tliis direction than by publishing this series 
 of Nature Study Leaflets, the purpose of which is described in Prof. 
 Coulter's ''Introduction to Nature Study." found in Leaflet No. 1. 
 
 In order to show that this kind of work has been found to be 
 eminently practicable, we nuiy call your attention to what is going on 
 in a large number of elementar)' schools in Europe. 
 
 I quote from Appleton's Popular Science JMonthly for February. 
 1898; 
 
 In many places in Europe school grounds are very much better managed than 
 in this country. Not only do school authorities there aim to supply materials for 
 study in the school room, but ihey mean to impart clear ideas of horticulture and 
 related occupations by various uses of land connected with the schools. They 
 appreciate the training which results from pruning, budding and grafting trees, 
 plowing, hoeing and fertilizing land, hiving bees and raising silk-worms. 
 
6 
 
 In 1890 there were nearly eight thousand school gardens — gardens for practical 
 instruction in rearing trees, vegetables and fruits — in Austria. 
 
 In France, gardening is practically taught in twenty-eight thousand primary 
 and elementary schools, each of which has a garden attached to it, and is under 
 the care of a master capable of imparting a knowledge of the first principles of 
 horticulture. No one can be appointed master of an elementary school unless 
 qualified to give practical instruction in cultivating the ordinary products of the 
 garden. 
 
 In Sweden, as long ago as 1871, twenty-two thousand children received instruc- 
 tion in horticulture and tree-planting, and each of two thousand and sixteen 
 schools had for cultivation a piece of land varying from one to twelve acres. 
 
 Still more significant is the recent establishment of many school gardens in 
 southern Russia. In one province two hundred and twenty-seven schools out 
 of a total of five hundred and four have school gardens whose whole area is two 
 hundred and eighty-three acres. •■' * * This movement has also widely spread 
 over different provinces of central Russia. 
 
 Since 1S77 every public school in Berlin hasbeenregularly supplied with plants 
 for study every week, elementary schools receiving specimens of four different 
 species and secondary schools six. During the summer, at six o'clock in the 
 morning two large wagons start from the school gardens loaded with cuttings 
 packed and labeled for the different schools. The daily papers regularly announce 
 what plants may be expected, and teachers consult with the gardeners as to what 
 ought to be sown or planted. Teachers take their classes into the school gardens 
 for lessons in botany, and are aided by the gardeners, who cut the specimens. 
 
 In a (•on\"('rsation wliicli I held last fall with Governor Mount 
 upon the condition of the children of rural districts, he showed great 
 interest in the subject and made several important suggestions, and 
 ho afterwards made a speech before the Stale Agricultural Board on 
 .Ian. ±, 1898, in which he warmly endorsed the scheme for the distri- 
 bution of leaflets on Nature Study, whereupon the State Delegate 
 ISoard passed the following resolutions: 
 
 Kesolved, That we heartily approve of Governor Mount's suggestions to the effect 
 that the children in the public schools of the State should be systematically in- 
 structed in such matters as pertain to country life. To this end we are in favor of 
 an amendment to the school laws of the vState, by which instruction shall be given 
 in such elementary sciences as shall pertain to agriculture and household econ- 
 omy. 
 
 Resolved, That until this change in the law can be secured, we suggest to offcers 
 of public schools the propriety of advising their teachers to give occasional oral 
 lessons upon such topics in Nature Study as will have a tendency to interest 
 students in agriculture, horticulture, economic entomology, the care of domestic 
 animals and household economy. 
 
 Resolved, That we believe that the preparation and use of properly prepared 
 leaflets upon subjects relating to agriculture, as suggested in the Governor's address, 
 would prove to be of great interest to our children in public schools and of great 
 value to the agricultural interests of the State. 
 
 The general princi])les on which the leaflets will be prepared and 
 used may be summarized as follows: 
 
7 
 
 First.. No attempt will be made to issue the leaflets in the order 
 in -which they are to be nsed by tlie teacher. It is manifestly unde- 
 sirable, if not impossible, to do this. 
 
 Second. The leaflets for the most part will be prepared by mem- 
 bers of the Purdne faiadtv. but assistance will be sought from others, 
 and occasional selections from Ijooks and magazines may be expected. 
 
 Third. Xo specific indication will be made as to the length of 
 time each subject should occupy the attention of the pupils. Some 
 oT the subjects nuiy properly occupy four weeks and some but a 
 single week. This must dt^pend cliiefl}' upon the ingenuity of the 
 teacher and upon the interest manifested by the pupils. Further- 
 moi'e, some of the leaflets treat of subjects that should occupy the 
 attention of the ])upils lor a brief time during the summer, and also 
 f(u- a brief time during the winter, as for example, the leaflet on 
 "The Care of Domestic Animals." 
 
 Fourth. Teachers should at all times strive to induce the pupils 
 to see and hear and think for themselves; in short, to become original 
 investigators. 
 
 Fifth. Tt would be well for teachers to organize observation clubs 
 and take the pupils on occasional rambles through the country. 
 
 Sixth. The pupils should be encouraged to make reports, to write 
 essays and descriptions, and to illusti'ate on the blackboard and in 
 their drawing books. 
 
 Seventh. The method of presentation should lie oral so far as 
 possible. Habits of correct expression shonld be cu]ti\ated, and the 
 children should lie eucouraged to ask questions. A queiy box might 
 possibly be used to advantage. 
 
 Eighth. Teachers should endeavor to ijiterest ]iarents in the en- 
 terprise, and should conduct the work in such a v\ay as to secure 
 their earnest co-operation. They should be careful not to require 
 an undue outlay of time or money. 
 
 .Finth. It is suggested that flower and fntit festivals, in their 
 proper season, at \\'hich small prizes could be offered, might be help- 
 ful. The co-operation of the county agricultural society and other 
 similar organizations might be secured with advantage. 
 
 Tenth. Since the leaflets are to i)e used by teachers of varying ex- 
 perience and under widely difEering conditions in res]ject to progress 
 of pupils, no imiform method of treatment will be employed. Some 
 of them will be in the form of directions to teachers, others in the 
 form of directions to pupils, others again, in the form of oral object 
 lessons, and still others will be in the form of stories; and, since they 
 are prepared by a number of different people, no attempt will be made 
 to present them with any uniformity in style of composition. 
 
It is important to observe that very much of the Nature Stud^ 
 ])j the children must be done out of doors, and in the spring and 
 summer, l)ut many of the schools will not be in session at that time , 
 of the year. 
 
 Such of the leaflets therefore as especially relate to spring and 
 summer work on the part of the children should be translated into 
 oral lessons and given by the teachers of such schools during the 
 winter term. It is quite apparent the leaflets can often be used in 
 this way with but few slight changes in phraseology. Thus instead o'f 
 taking the children on an excursion in May to observe spring birds 
 the teachers can re-phrase the leaflet on that subject, and use it as 
 a basis for a conversation with the children, instructing them how to 
 become ^ood observers as they go about and requesting them to report 
 the results of their observations at the beginning of the next term. 
 These oral lessons should bring out, as much as possible, the previous 
 information of the children. 
 
 iSome of the leaflets, however, which seem especially to relate to 
 objects which can ))e observed only in the spring, may serve as models 
 upon which the teacher can construct exercises adapted to use in the 
 fall Ijy substituting suljjccts of study which can be readily found in 
 the later months of the year. 
 
 To emphasize what has already been said in the Letter of Trans- 
 mittal it may l)e repeated that the chief ptirpose of these leatiets is 
 to suggest methods to the teachers rather than to give them informa- 
 tion, and that the most successful results will be obtained when 
 leachers are able to supplement these lessons by those of their own 
 construction. 
 
 JAMRS H. SMART, 
 President Purdue University. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Designed for the Use of Teachers of 
 Public Schools. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO NATURE STUDY. 
 
 By Prof. Stanley Coulter. 
 
 The purpose of these leaflets is to aid the teachers to bring the chil- 
 dren of rural districts into close sympathy with nature, to cultivate the 
 habit of accurate observation, and to give them such information con- 
 cerning these matters as will be not merely of present interest and use, 
 but which will serve to give added power and usefulness to them in 
 after years, whether they remain upon the farm or enter some other 
 life work. It is further the purpose to show how the truths gathered 
 from these observed facts may be made to be of service in enabling 
 them to do familiar things in a better way, or may even serve to sug- 
 gest entirely new ways of forcing nature to contribute to our prosperity 
 and comfort. 
 
 Teachers in our ungraded schools are already overcrowded with 
 work, and it is a part of the purpose of these leaflets to suggest to 
 them how, not by added work, but by work of diflerent character they 
 may secure much more perfect and enduring results. Nature work of 
 the highest type can not be given from data drawn from books how- 
 ever skillfully prepared, the data must be drawn from nature itself. So 
 each of these leaflets has as its real center some broad underlying prin- 
 ciple, capable of almost endless illustration and expansion. If this is 
 grasped, it will give new methods of interpretation of nature and its 
 phenomena, which will enable the teacher to use to the objects nearest 
 to his hand as the material for nature study. 
 
Each leaflet is merely a suggestion as to how certain familiar objects 
 may be successfully and profitably used in this work. No one of these 
 leaflets is a complete statement of all the truth known concerning the 
 subject treated. They should therefore be regarded by the teacher 
 merely as suggestions^ indicating how such material may be used. 
 Large numbers of similar exercises upon subjects suggested by the 
 teacher, or, better still, by the pupils, should be introduced at every 
 point. The real value of these leaflets will be found to lie in the 
 method of treatment and interpretation, not in the detailed exercises 
 with which each one closes. 
 
 It should be remembered that the primary purpose of nature work 
 is to cultivate habits of accurate observation. It is evident that in 
 young children the perceptive powers are most keenly alive. Every- 
 thing is novel and interesting to them, and the purpose should be to 
 direct this interest in such a way as to bring to them added knowledge 
 and become a mental habit. The objects used in nature work should 
 be those objects which surround the child, and so these leaflets treat of 
 familiar things which can be readily observed in almost any region. 
 
 Children love to do things. As they watch the processes of nature 
 about them they see various changes brought about by varying condi- 
 tions. These are usually so complex in nature as not to be of ready 
 interpretation. So far as the subjects admit, there is added to each 
 leaflet suggested experimental work which is within the grasp of the 
 pupils and which may serve to enforce the facts observed. These ex- 
 periments should as a rule be conducted by the pupil, although the 
 teacher should see that the required conditions are met. These ex- 
 periments may be advantageously extended in ways self -suggestive to 
 the live teacher, if care be taken that conditions are not too compli- 
 cated for ready comprehension. 
 
 While it may be necessary for the teacher occasionally to secure suit- 
 able material for the demonstration of a specific point, the children 
 should from the first be taught to provide their own material. It is 
 fairly easy to have suitable material provided by showing an example 
 of such object. If for example material illustrating the opposite 
 arrangement of leaves upon the stem, with the successive pairs of 
 leaves in different planes is desired, a twig of maple could be shown 
 and the children asked to bring in branches in which the leaves were 
 arranged in the same manner. Nothing should be said as to the char- 
 acter of the arrangement, the eye of the pupil being the sole guide 
 as to the material to be collected. It is plain that a similar method 
 might be employed in almost any form of work undertaken. If chil- 
 dren collect their own material they will develop habits of accurate 
 
observation much more rapidly and at the same time will have a much 
 keener interest in the work. It cannot be too strongly insisted that 
 about the surest way to defeat the object of nature work is to tell the 
 child what he is to see. Yet this is at the same time the teacher's most 
 common error. Unless the child is trained to observe and to rely upon 
 the observations thus made, nature work in the lower grades is 
 meaningless. 
 
 The work should not be entirely formal or systematic, and indeed it 
 would be impossible to formulate any definite work either as to char- 
 acter or amount which should be assigned to the different grades. The- 
 children should be encouraged to observe those things that present 
 themselves and these will vary from day to day. At one time it may 
 be a flight of birds, at another a strange stone, at another a hail storm,- 
 or the opening of a flower, whatever it may be it should be used as 
 matter for comment and farther observation. The children should 
 be encouraged to extend their observations so as to include as wide a 
 range of objects and phenomena as is self-suggestive. Yet the work 
 should not be left to the chance material which may attract the child. 
 It would be well to suggest objects to observe from time to time, which 
 will serve for the basis of some work which all have had opportunity 
 to consider. Experience has shown also that such suggestions add 
 much to the interest of the work and serve to give a new purpose and 
 meaning to the fleld work or short excursions which should form a 
 part of nature work. It would perhaps be well to spend the half of 
 each exercise upon some previously suggested subject and the other 
 half as an observation club in which the pupils should be encoun-aged' 
 to report and question concerning things which may have attracted 
 their notice since the last exercise. Encourage this especially, even 
 though you are not familiar with the objects or phenomena, for you 
 are only an older pupil in nature work, and if you are sufficiently quiet 
 and observant you may learn much of nature through the keen eyes 
 of your pupils. 
 
 The value of true nature work can scarcely be over-estimated. 
 Habits of accurate observation soon lead to a correct perception of relai- 
 tions, and this, when applied to the affairs of mature life, conditions 
 success. But in the period of school life it leads to correct notions 
 concerning the relations of living forms to each other, of their relation 
 to the inanimate world, of the influence of surroundings upon life 
 forms, in such a way as to make nature self-interpretative, and her 
 every manifestation educative. Such a knowledge of nature adds di- 
 rectly and largely not merely to the happiness but to the power of its 
 possessor. Knowing nature and her processes, knowing life and its 
 
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. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Stqdy. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 THE STUDY OF THE FOLIAGE LEAF. 
 
 By Prof. Stanley Coulter. 
 
 The materials for "nature" study are the nearest and most con- 
 spicuous natural objects. These materials necessarily differ with the 
 locality, with the seasons, even from day to day. It will be found, 
 however, that in almost every locality the greater part of these studies 
 will be connected with plant forms. The reasons for this are very 
 apparent. Plants are living things and life appeals to the child. The 
 material for the studies is convenient and abundant. Plants have a 
 fixed position, allowing the effect of varying conditions to he readily 
 seen and understood. The life cycle is so short that all of its phases 
 may be observed in a single school year. Beyond this it is to be re- 
 membered that plants stand as the visible sign of the agricultural 
 capacity of any region, giving us direct report of the character of its 
 soil and climate; that they are intermediaries between unorganized 
 matter and animal forms, and that they have profound economic im- 
 portance not merely in furnishing food-stuffs, but also in some of their 
 forms, in absolutely conditioning public health. It is, however, be- 
 cause of their abundance and relative ease of preservation in any 
 desired condition, that plant forms must naturally furnish the ma- 
 terial for a large part of nature studies. 
 
 The flowering plants are evidently the most conspicuous plant 
 forms in any region, and of these the foliage leaf is the most conspicu- 
 ous part. From the earliest spring when it begins to unfold its blade 
 of delicate green, until it falls clothed in autumnal brilliance, it is the 
 
dominating feature of the plant. For this reason, this leaflet is in- 
 tended to suggest how the foliage leaf may be used as an object for 
 nature study in such a way, that all work done will have a definite pur- 
 pose and an equally definite value. 
 
 Foliage leaves are so variant in general appearance, in position, in 
 size and general outline, that it seems necessary to determine what 
 characters are common to all such organs. The following general 
 characters will be found to apply to all foliage leaves however diverse 
 they may be in appearance. 
 
 1. The foliage leaf is a lateral organ of the stem. It is found upon 
 
 no other part of the plant body. 
 
 2. The foliage leaf is, eharacteristically green, due to the presence of 
 
 chlorophyll which is developed only in the presence of sun- 
 light. 
 
 3. The foliage leaf is an expanded organ, giving the greatest possible 
 
 surfnce exposure to light and atmospheric conditions. Other 
 ]'iiit.s of the plants are mass structures, not surfaces. 
 It is A cry evident from these common characters, that the foliage 
 leaf is an ctrgnn adapted for the light relation. The value of this con- 
 ception of the foliage leaf in nature studies can scarcely be over-esti- 
 mated. Its application readily and clearly explains peculiarities of 
 form, of position, of lobing, and the great mass of adaptations char- 
 acteristic of plants growing under differing conditions. It explains in 
 a general way plant outlines, and will be found to render clear many 
 apparently puzzling conditions. 
 
 Before illustrating the above points specifically, it will be well to 
 consider briefly the work of the leaf. This work may be grouped 
 under four heads. 
 
 1. Transpiration, or the interchanges of moisture between the in- 
 
 terior of the plant and the external air. The result of trans- 
 piration, which is after all apparently little else than evapora- 
 tion, is to aid in the transfer to the leaves of the nutrient 
 water taken from the soil by the roots. 
 
 2. Respiration, otl breathing. Those gaseous interchanges between 
 
 the plant and the air through which oxygen is taken up by 
 the plant and carbon dioxide returned to the air. 
 
 3. Carbon fixation, or those processes through which, under the in- 
 
 fluence of light, carbon dioxide taken from the air is broken 
 do^^■n, the carbon being retained and built into the tissues of 
 the plant, while a portion at least of the oxygen is returned 
 to the air. 
 
4. Photo-sytitax, or those processes through which, under the influ- 
 ence of the light, the crude food materials derived from soil 
 and air are transformed into substances suited to the needs 
 of the plant. 
 While for the purposes of this leaflet, only one of these uses, that 
 of transpiration, will be considered, the others have been given to 
 show how essential the light relation is to the foliage leaf if it ac- 
 complish its assigned work. The foliage leaf then is not merely an 
 ornamental appendage to the plant, its various peculiarities being 
 considered as the result of chance, but a working organ intimately 
 concerned with the most important duties in the individual life of the 
 plant. 
 
 Let us now examine some of the ways in which this light relation is 
 secured. One of the forms, often seen, especially in the early spring, 
 is that known as the "rosette" arrangement. The foliage leaves are 
 apparently arranged radially, lying flat upon the ground, and in the 
 absence of the stem, seeming at first glance quite unlike organs for 
 light relation. Common plants with this arrangment are the mullein 
 and plantain. If the leaves in this arrangement are without leaf stalks, 
 it will be found that in almost every case they are broader at the apex 
 than at the base, a form which in definitional botanies is known as 
 spatulate. The successive circles of leaves as they arise from the center 
 are progressively shorter, the broader portions at the apex fitting into 
 the spaces left between the narrowed bases of the leaves of the preced- 
 ing circle. If the whole rosette be looked at from above it will be seen 
 that scarcely any portion of the lower leaves is shaded by those above, 
 each leaf, by its peculiar form and the regularly diminishing size of 
 the leaves of succeeding circles, being brought into the most perfect 
 light condition. 
 
 In the case of the plaintain, where leaf-stalks are present, the same 
 condition is brought about by the progressive shortening of the leaf- 
 stalk from the lower to the upper circles of leaves. It is very evident 
 then that the "rosette" arrangement is a device for securing the light 
 relation on the part of plants with reduced stems. 
 
 Material fob Illust ration : 
 
 Common plantain, earlier leaves of mullein, shepherd's purse, dandelion 
 
 Taking the cases where leaves are found upon a well developed 
 stem, the most casual examination will show device after device for 
 securing proper light relations. So evident are they, that they need 
 not be mentioned in detail, almost every species of plant furnishing its 
 own solution to the problem. If an ordinary erect stem is looked at 
 
from above it will be seen that the leaves are arranged in a series of 
 fairly distinct ranks. The number of these ranks is important, since 
 it has a direct relation to leaf form. The greater the number of ranks 
 the narrower the leaves. The smaller the number of ranks the broader 
 the leaves. Facts evidently explained by our conception of the leaf as 
 the organ of light relation. 
 
 Thus far it has been assumed that the leaf-bearing stem has been 
 erect. If by any chance, or by the necessities of growth it should 
 change from the erect to the horizontal position, it is evident that to 
 secure proper light relations the leaf position must also change. Com- 
 parisons of leaf positions upon erect and horizontal stems taken from 
 the same plant will prove of great value in emphasizing the fact that 
 above all other things the leaf must have light exposure. 
 
 Material foe Illustration : 
 
 Erect and horizontal stems of elm, maple, linn, oak, apple, peach, 
 cherry, catnip, wild pinks, honeysuckle or of any plant that may be 
 growing near at hand. 
 
 I have considered as yet only cases in which the leaves were entire, 
 or with unbroken margins, since these furnished the simplest illustra- 
 tions. In the case of lobed or dissected leaves, the conditions are 
 somewhat different. In the simpler forms of lobed leaves, the lobing 
 is evidently a device to prevent the shading of underlying leaves. If 
 you recall the ordinary ivy with its sharply angled leaves, almost geo- 
 metrical in their regularity, this fact will be evident. If a growing tip 
 of this plant, as it clings to the wall, be carefully flattened down it will 
 be seen that the leaves iit into each other so accurately by means of 
 these angles, that on the one hand there is scarcely any perceptible 
 shading, and on the other there is scarcely any space unoccupied by 
 the leaf. Such accurate fitting of leaves when brought to a common 
 plane, produce what is known as leaf "mosaics," which simply serve to 
 again prove that the leaf is the organ of light relation. Where the 
 leaves are much dissected, as in the case of the common rag-weed,there 
 is the same arrangement in ranks, the same arrangement of leaves in 
 different planes as in the case of the entire leaf, but as a rule no 
 marked diminution in the size of the leaves as we pass from the base 
 to the top of the plant, the constant shifting of the parts of the dis- 
 sected leaf, and the possible play of light through the openings be- 
 tween the leaf parts, being sufficient to prevent any portion of the 
 underlying leaf from being continuously shaded. 
 
Mateeqal for Illustration : 
 
 Ivy, geranium, star cucumber, begonia, common maUotv, rag-weed or any 
 plant with lobed or dissected leaves. 
 
 It will be seen then that leaf form largely determines the outline- 
 of the plant taken as a whole. Let us return to the mullein for a mo- 
 ment. It will be remembered that the leaves are entire, the lower ones 
 being the largest and standing nearly at right angles to the stem. As 
 the summit is approached the leaves become gradually smaller and at 
 the same time more closely appressed to the stem, until at the extreme 
 summit they are much reduced and nearly parallel to the stem. This 
 arrangement, so evidently for the purpose of preventing shading of 
 lower leaves, serves to give to the whole plant a general pyramidal 
 outline, a form characteristic of simple plants with entire leaves. In 
 the case of the rag- weed, on the other hand, since there is no diminu- 
 tion in size of the upper leaves, the general outline of the plant is 
 cylindrieal, a form characteristic of plants with divided or dissected 
 leaves. 
 
 It is evident that in genuine nature work the foliage leaf is to be 
 studied from a new view point. It is not to be used as a frame upon 
 which to hang definitions as to form and margin, apex and blade, but 
 is to be considered as a working organ charged with important duties 
 which can only be successfully performed in the presence of the light. 
 In this view all peculiarities of position and form and structure are 
 but devices for enabling the leaf to properly accomplish its work. The 
 main question in every case concerning the foliage leaf is, "How is the 
 light relation secured?" 
 
 Before considering specifically how the view of the foliage leaf as 
 the organ of light relation serves to explain many so-called adaptations 
 to meet special conditions, it is necessary to touch very briefly upon 
 the relation of plants to the soil. It is evident that by far the greater 
 part of the food of the plant is derived from the soil. It is also plain 
 from our knowledge of the structure of the plant, that this food must 
 be taken up in the form of a watery solution. It follows, therefore, 
 that the amount of water in the soil has a very important bearing upon 
 the food supply of the plant, and serves, perhaps, more than any other 
 one factor to determine its structural features. Indeed this matter of the 
 available water of the soil is of such great import that it determines 
 largely not merely the external form of the plant, but also modifies 
 in a marked way its minute structure. 
 
 Based upon this dependence of plants upon and their relation to 
 water, the plants of any given region may be separated into three 
 
groups, each showing adaptive arrangements to fit it for its place in 
 nature. 
 
 1. Water-loving plants, or those plants which live either wholly 
 
 or partly in water, or else grow in very wet soil, where the 
 water percentage is 80 or above. This is an extreme form of 
 vegetation, and the number of species of plants in this class 
 in Indiana is relatively small. Technically such plants are 
 known as Hydrophytes. 
 
 2. Dry soil or desert plants, at the opposite extreme from the 
 
 water-loving plants. These plants grow in dry soil and atmos- 
 phere, the water content of the soil being below 10 per cent, 
 at its minimum. Such plants are known as Xerophytes. 
 
 3. Intermediate plants, or those adapted to medium conditions of 
 
 moisture in air and soil. Such plants are known as Mesophytes, 
 and constitute the larger portion of our native flora. 
 
 While these differing soil conditions modify the structure of the en- 
 tire plant, we wish at this time to consider only their effect upon the 
 leaf. It is plain that when a plant lives in an extremely dry soil, that 
 the water lost 1jy transpiration can be replaced with extreme diffi- 
 culty, and that if no cheek were placed upon transpiration the avail- 
 able water in the soil would soon be exhausted and the plant would die. 
 On the other hand, when plants live in the water or in a soil rich in 
 water, the losses from transpiration, however great, can be easily re- 
 placed. As the foliage leaf is the chief organ of transpiration, the 
 most evident adaptations to control the process occur in it. 
 
 Let us consider in what ways transpiration may be checked, and then 
 see if by an application of these facts, the foliage leaf will not tell to us 
 the story of the water capacity of the soil. 
 
 1. Transpiration may be checked by reducing the size of the foliage 
 leaf. Much less water will be evaporated in a given time from a vessel 
 with ten square inches of exposed surface than from one with a sur- 
 face exposure of one hundred square inches. So, much less transpira- 
 tion will take place from a small leaf than from a large one. Think of 
 the leaves of the waterlily, of the splatter dock, of the skunk cabbage, 
 indeed of any water or marsh plant with which you are familiar, and 
 compare them as to size, with leaves of the golden rods or the mullein 
 or any familiar plant living in a dry soil. You will see at once a 
 marked contrast. In tropical regions where water is abundant both in 
 soil and air, the foliage leaves are very large, but as we come into the 
 temperate regions the leaves are reduced in size until finally in desert 
 or arctic regions they are so reduced that they almost lose the sem- 
 blance of foliage leaves. 
 
3. Transpiration may be checked by reducing the nmnber of leaves. 
 If you can recall any plant, say a wild rose, and compare one growing in 
 moist soil with one gro'Bdng in dry soil, you will at once see how often 
 nature makes use of this device to prevent damage by excessive tran- 
 spiration and to fit the plant to meet its conditions. And in this way 
 also, the leaf tells us of the water content of the soil. You know 
 farmers and gardeners say that in wet weather their plants all 
 run to leaf, which only means that no check need be placed upon tran- 
 spiration. 
 
 3. Transpiration may be checked by thickening the outer wall of the 
 leaf. If you compare a leaf of a plant growing in dry soil with that of 
 one growing in very moist soil, the former will in almost every case 
 have the thicker and tougher outer covering. This is one of nature's 
 favorite devices for checking transpiration, and you can scarcely ex- 
 amine a leaf taken from a plant growing in dry soil which will not 
 show it and at the same time tell to you the character of the soil as to 
 its water capacity. 
 
 4. Transpiration may be checked by the leaves having a covering 
 of hairs. This also is of frequent occurrence in nature. The common 
 mullein is a familiar example of this method of controlling transpira- 
 tion. This of course is not the only use of hairs, as may be shown in 
 some future leaflet, but it is one of their important uses. 
 
 There are other methods of checking transpiration, but we are 
 only concerned with those which are readily apparent and can be used 
 in nature work. 
 
 If we compare then the foliage leaves of plants growing under dry 
 conditions with those of water-loving plants, the following facts are 
 apparent: 
 
 1. The leaves are relatively small. 
 
 2. The leaves are often fewer in number. 
 
 3. The outer covering of the leaf is thicker. 
 
 4. The leaves are often clothed with hairs, which in water-loving 
 plants are almost always wanting. 
 
 The intermediate plants show almost all conceivable variations be- 
 tween these extremes and are extremely sensitive to the slightest 
 changes in soil and air moisture, recording- these changes in cor- 
 responding leaf modifications. The difEerences in many eases in plants 
 of the same species growing under difl'ering conditions is so marked 
 as to have led to the formation of distinct species, when the plant was 
 merely trying to tell us the story of the soil. 
 
 It is not wise, in these studies, to press the work upon a single 
 feature too far. Continued application is an acquirement of age. The 
 
endeavor has been to call attention to a few points which may suggest 
 to the teacher how to use the foliage leaf in nature work. 
 
 Similar studies, using some other one of the leaf functions as a 
 basis, will doubtless suggest themselves to the teacher, as this work 
 . progresses. Some of these may be treated in future leaflets should this 
 one prove to be helpful to the teachers of the State. 
 
 The teacher in the country school has here the greatest advantage 
 over the teacher in the city. God's laboratories are infinitely more 
 complete and more suggestive than man's, and earnest, honest work in 
 these lines will develop in the pupil habits of observation which will 
 not only be of temporary value but will be a permanent possession. 
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION. 
 
 1. Develop general characters of leaf. (p. 2.) 
 
 This may be done by bringing in abundant material representing 
 different plant forms. Some of the plants should be entire, showing 
 root as well as stem. Have the pupils tell what part of the plant is 
 stem, what part is leaf and what part root. This develops easily and 
 naturally the position of the leaf. The color of the leaf can now be con- 
 sidered and this followed by the leaf as a flat organ or surface. Tell 
 the pupil to bring to the school any plants in which the leaves are not 
 upon the stem, are not green and are not expanded surfaces. Such 
 exceptions will be found, bxit so rarely, that the general characters 
 given will be seen to l)e the rule. 
 
 2. Arrangement of leaves to prevent shading. 
 
 (a) Take some simple case, as the maple, the elm, the mulberry, or 
 indeed almost any form with simple and entire leaves, being careful 
 to select erect stems. The specimens should be fresh, or the wilting of 
 the leaves may obscure the real relations. Ask if the successive leaves 
 as you pass from base to top of the twig are directly above each other. 
 Does this arrangement prevent the shading of the lower leaves by 
 those aljove? By abundant material of these simple forms, have the 
 child see the different ways in which this shading is prevented. 
 
 In most cases it may be necessary to suggest to the child to look 
 at the specimen from above and not from the side. 
 
 (b) Take horizontal stems of the forms studied under (a), and 
 have the child report upon the very apparent differences in arrange- 
 ment. Ask why this difference occurs. If the answer does not sug- 
 gest itself to the children, repeat the work under (a) and (b), using 
 different forms. Be careful not to suggest the explanation, but allow 
 the pupil to work it out, even though it seem to take a long time. 
 
9 
 
 (c) Take the earlier leaves of the mullein, the plantain, the shep- 
 herd's purse or the dandelion. Work out first the "rosette" arrangement. 
 Then lead up to various arrangements for preventing shading. In the 
 hands of the skillful teacher, this should not be a difficult task. 
 
 (d) The case of lohed and dissected leaves had perhaps better be 
 illustrated by the teacher. The common ivy, star cucumber, or any 
 convenient plant with lobed or angled leaves will be found suitable. 
 
 3. The general form of the plant as determined by the leaf. 
 
 (a) To show pyramidal form of simple plants with entire leaves, 
 take the common mullein, the shepherd's purse, or any plant growing 
 in your region having entire leaves. Have lines drawn from the tip of 
 top leaf to the tip of bottom leaf. What is the shape of resulting 
 figure ? 
 
 (b) To show cylindrical form of plants with dissected leaves, take 
 the rag-weed, or any form easily obtained, and proceed as in (a). In 
 both cases plants of as many kinds as possible should be examined in 
 order that the plant form as determined by the leaf may be seen to be 
 the rule and not merely a chance outline. Plants in which branching 
 does not occur or in which it is very simple should be chosen, as 
 branches complicate the plant outline and render this point more dif- 
 ficult to work out satisfactorily. 
 
 4. The leaf as indicating differing soil conditions. 
 
 (a) Select any water or marsh plants with entire or nearly entire 
 leaves. Suitable forms are waterlily, splatter dock, arrow leaf, skunk 
 cabbage, or marsh marigold. Have them examined with reference to 
 size, toughness and thickness of outer covering of leaf, and presence or 
 absence of hairs. 
 
 (b) Select forms of plants loving dry ground, such as the golden- 
 rods, mustards, some of the smart-weeds, indeed any form growing in 
 dry soil, whether its name is known or not. Examine as to same points 
 as in (a). Compare conditions found in (a) with those in (b). 
 
 (c) Take some single form, such as the wild rose, which you find 
 growing in moist soil, intermediate soil, and dry soil. Note changes 
 in leaf size, leaf number, character of outer covering and presence or 
 absence of hairs, in specimens growing in these different conditions. 
 
 5. Experimental Work. 
 
 1. To show necessity of light for the development of leaf green. 
 (a) Take two plants, equally vigorous, and place them in pots. 
 Keep one in the sunlight, the other in the dark. Let all other condi- 
 tions be identical. At the end of a week or ten days what differences 
 are noticeable in the plants? 
 
10 
 
 (b) Shade a portion of a vigorously growing leaf by covering with 
 a piece of pasteboard. Thepasteboard maybe held in place bypins passed 
 vertically through it and the leaf, the small wounds made by the pins 
 not producing any injurious effects. At the end of two or three days 
 remove pasteboard and note results. Expose the previously covered 
 portion to the action of light for a few days and note results. In the 
 case of young children interest may be added by cutting the shading 
 pasteboard into various patterns. 
 
 2. To show that leaf green is necessary to the growth of the plant. 
 Continue experiment one (a) for two or three weeks. Note differ- 
 ences in size and vigor of plants. 
 
 3. To show effect of soil moisture upon plants. 
 
 Take vigorous seedlings of Indian corn, beans, peas or any rapidly 
 growing plant and place in pots. Subject one plant to drought by 
 withholding moisture from it, give to the other abundant water, being 
 careful, however, not to drown the plant. Note the results at the end 
 of one, two, three and four weeks. 
 
 These suggestions are made not as laboratory directions, but merely 
 as indications to the honest teacher, of methods by which information 
 may be secured from nature itself without the intervention of text 
 books. Suggestions which it is hoped will lead the teacher to find new 
 meaning in that very common thing, the foliage leaf, and through this 
 to give him the power to advance to a clearer and fuller interpretation 
 of the life about him. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Designed for the Use of Teachers of 
 Public Schools. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 THE FLOWER AS AN OBJECT 
 FOR NATURE STUDY. 
 
 By Prof. Stanley Coulter. 
 
 In this study let us remember that the beauty of the flower is but 
 an incident, that the work of the flower is the essential thing. Every 
 living organism, whether plant or animal, has two supreme functions. 
 One is the maintenance of the individual life of the organism, and this 
 is secured by the varied processes concerned in nutrition. The other 
 is the maintenance of Uie species or kind, and this is secured by the re- 
 productive processes. To the flower, in a very large, degree, is com- 
 mitted the work of perpetuating the species, and if this fact is kept 
 in mind it will serve to make clear much of what follows: 
 
 Before we consider the work of the flower, let us examine the flower 
 itself very briefly. Let us take for example the apple-blossom or 
 spring-beauty. It will be readily seen in these cases that the flower 
 consists of four circles of parts. An outer and lower circle, which 
 is green in color, known as the calyx, the separate parts being called 
 sepals. Immediately within and slightly above the calyx, a second 
 circle, usually some other color than green. This is the corolla, and 
 its separate parts are petals. Within the corolla a third circle of parts 
 very unlike either sepals or petals in form, the individual members of 
 which are known as the stamens. If you examine closely you will 
 
find the stamen to consist of two parts, a thread-like or ribbon-like 
 lower portion, the filameiit, which bears at its summit a box-like part 
 known as the anther. AVithin the anther are developed small bodies, 
 rounded or angular in shape, and usually yellow or brown in color, 
 which are called the pollen grains. When the pollen grains are fully 
 ripened the anther bursts open and the pollen is set free. When you 
 walk through a field of rag-weed in the late summer the yellow powder 
 that covers your shoes is the pollen of the plant. Do not forget this 
 pollen, for it is very important, as we will find later. In the center of 
 the flo^ver a fourth circle of parts, often appearing as a single organ, 
 the pistik. Here again we must examine the part somewhat in detail. 
 In most cases the pistil is found to be made up of three parts; a 
 swollen, rounded base called the ovary, a more or less expanded sum- 
 mit known as the stigma, and a part connecting stigma and ovary 
 known as the styk If the ovary be cut across it will be found to 
 contain a number of small, round bodies, usually colorless, which are 
 known as the ovules. These ovules are the bodies which, after fertili- 
 zation, become the seeds, l^ow, the ovules can only be fertilized 
 through the agency of the pollen grains. If I wished to state the 
 matter scientificially I would say that fertilization occurred when the 
 protoplasmic contents of the pollen grain united with the protoplas- 
 mic contents of the ovule, but for our purpose perhaps the first state- 
 ment will do. It is easily seen, then, that pollen grains and ovules 
 are the parts of the flower essential to reproduction, or, in other words, 
 to the formation of the seed. We then have to seek the significance 
 of the calyx and the highly colored corolla, for they must in some 
 way be associated with the work of the plant. Let us turn for a 
 moment to some other flowers, those of the walnut tree, of the oak, 
 or of grass. Examining these, we find calyx and corolla absent or 
 much reduced, although stamens and pistils are readily made out. It 
 is very clear, then, that calyx and corolla can be and frequently are 
 dispensed with by the flower. 
 
 After this somewhat lengthy prelude, let us see what the facts it 
 contains teach. Evidently the pollen, when liberated from the anther, 
 must in some way reach the pistil, and, having reached the pistil, its 
 protoplasmic contents must reach the ovule, which is completely en- 
 closed in the ovary. With this latter part of the process we are not 
 concerned in nature-study, but the former is of very great interest. 
 It is plain, if we examine any large number of flowers, that the rela- 
 tive positions of stamens and pistils are such that gravity will not 
 insure the falling of the pollen grain upon the stigma. We must find 
 some means, then, by which the pollen grain is transferred to the 
 
stigma. This mechanical transfer of the pollen grain to the stigma 
 constitutes what is known as pollination. Cross pollination is said to 
 occur when the pollen of one flower is carried to the stigma of another 
 flower of the same kind. Without discussing the matter, we find that 
 in nature cross-pollination occurs in a large majority of plants, and 
 that by many devices self or dose pollination is prevented. 
 
 Cross-pollination is effected in a large measure through two 
 agencies, tJie unnd and insects. 
 
 If we examine wind-pollinated flowers, we find the following con- 
 ditions to exist:. 
 
 1. Calyx and corolla absent or greatly reduced. 
 
 2. Absence (ordinarily) of fragrance. 
 
 3. Absence of nectar or honey. 
 
 4. The development of an immense quantity of pollen. 
 
 The reasons for these correlations are very evident. The wind is 
 an insensate agent; it "bloweth where it listeth," and its direction is 
 not changed by brilliance of color, delicacy of odor or presence of 
 nectar. So natiire wastes no energy in the development of useless 
 structures, and all the force thus saved is turned to the production of 
 large quantities of pollen grains. This great amount of pollen is 
 necessary because of the uncertainty of any large portion of it finding 
 its way to stigmas ready to receive it; and so these large quantities 
 stand merely as the index of the difficulty of the perpetuation of 
 species in wind-pollinated plants. 
 
 In insect-pollinated flowers, however, we have a sentient agency, the 
 insect, and as we examine the flowers we find the following correla- 
 tions: 
 
 1. Development of color. 
 
 3. Development of fragrance. 
 
 3. Development of nectar. 
 
 4. Extremely varied forms. 
 
 5. A reduced amount of pollen. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to speak in detail of these correlations. 
 Color and fragrance serve largely, doubtless, to enable the insects to 
 readily find the plants which produce their favorite food. We must 
 remember that insects do not visit flowers because the flowers are 
 beautiful or fragrant, but because they want food, the color and 
 fragrance standing merely as the indication of the presence of food. 
 The food, however, is so placed that the insect securing it bears away 
 upon its body greater or less quantities of pollen. As it visits another 
 flower of the same kind, this pollen is brushed off by the stigma, and 
 pollination results. The devices for insuring that the pollen be thus 
 
borne away by the insect, and that it be deposited upon the stigma, 
 are very numerous and very wonderful. Some of them are so intri- 
 cate as to seem almost incredible unless we remember how jealously 
 nature guards the type. 
 
 It sometimes happens that particular plants can only be pollinated 
 by particular insects, a fact which largely explains many irregularities 
 in flower forms. For example, the common red clover can only be 
 pollinated through the agency of the bumble-bee. If the bumble- 
 bees in any given region were completely exterminated, the red clover 
 would fail to set seed and would, in a very short time, become extinct. 
 In many cases where the red clover blooms very early farmers do not 
 expect the first flowers to set seed, because, as they say, "the flowers 
 blossomed before bee-time." Because of the purposeful movements 
 of the insect from flower to flower in search of food, pollination is 
 much more certainly assured than in the case of wind-pollinated 
 flowers, and there is a corresponding reduction in the amount of the 
 pollen. 
 
 We here begin to see how tangled is the web of life, how closely 
 interdependent are life forms. The plant furnishing food for the 
 insect, the insect in its turn insuring the perpetuation of the plant 
 form. The more we study nature, the closer and more wide-reaching 
 will these relations be found, until we see that the fullest study of a 
 single form would in the end include all living organisms. 
 
 But, whether the pollinating agent is wind or insect, it would be 
 possible in many cases that self-pollination would occur did not spe- 
 cial devices for its prevention intervene. The more apparent of these 
 are the following: 
 
 1. Stamens in one flower and pistils in another, though upon the 
 same plant. 
 
 2. Stamens in the flowers of one plant, pistils in those of another. 
 
 3. Pollen maturing before the stigma is in condition to receive it, 
 or the reverse. 
 
 It is very evident that any one of these conditions will effectually 
 prevent self-pollination. The existence of these conditions is easily 
 made out by an examination of the flowers, although the last may 
 need a word of explanation. The maturing of the pollen is evidenced 
 by the bursting of the anther for its escape, and the subsequent droop- 
 ing of the filaments. The indication of the stigma being in a condi- 
 tion to receive the pollen is ordinarily the development, upon a more 
 or less definitely marked region, of hairs or a mucilaginous substance 
 \\"hich will serve to retain the pollen which falls upon it. 
 
The questions in the study of the flower in nature*work that should 
 always be in mind are these: 
 
 1. Is the flower self-pollinated or cross-pollinated? 
 
 2. If cross-pollinated, is the agency the wind or insects? 
 
 3. If by insects, what forms of insects visit the particular flower 
 under examination? 
 
 4. What devices are present for preventing self-pollination? 
 
 It will be seen that in this leaflet I have called attention to the 
 matter of pollination alone. Other suggestions could be made as to 
 the use of the flower as an object for nature-study, but a somewhat 
 extended experience has convinced me that, with this point as the 
 center, the interest in the flower is keener and of longer continuance. 
 The study of form and color weary after a time, because of their 
 almost infinite variety. The study of a definite purpose accomplished 
 by means of various adaptations is of abiding 'interest. If you' and 
 .your pupils have the clear-cut conception that the flower has a 
 definite and vital work to perform^ and will honestly attempt to work 
 out the various means by which this end is secured, every flower will 
 be to you material for nature-study, and you will find your work 
 increase in interest from day to day. 
 
 METHODS OF PRESENTATION. 
 
 1. Select fairly large and simple flowers for the study of the four 
 circles which go to make up the complete flower. Abundant material 
 should be secured and the variety of forms should be as great as possi- 
 ble. Any or all of the following forms will be found suitable: 
 
 Any of the buttercups, marsh marigolds, violets, water cress, larkspur, 
 common wild yellow poppy, peas, beans, locust, mpple, peach, cherry, straw- 
 berry, dogtooth violet, or any form near the school and accessible to the 
 children. Work out the different circles repeatedly, using differ- 
 ent plants until they are clearly understood. Make out the different 
 parts of stamen and pistil. 
 
 Do not have the flower torn to pieces, except when looking for the ovules. 
 
 2. Take flowers of maple, oak, hickory, beech or any grass and com- 
 pare with flowers studied under No. 1. Points for comparison will 
 readily suggest themselves to the teacher. 
 
 3. To study prevention of self-pollination by separation of stamens 
 and pistils, use flowers of sassafras, spice bmh, any of the spurges, oak, 
 walnut or willow. Many others will be found, if careful examination is 
 made. 
 
4. To stady ripening of pollen and stigma at different times, use 
 a-ocus (cultivated), common plantain. It will be of great interest to 
 the pupils if they are allowed to work out points under Nos. 3 and 4 
 for themselves. The material should be distributed, with only one 
 question — "Does any device exist for the prevention of self-pollina- 
 tion?" 
 
 5. While drawing is not nature-work, it is an accessory to it, and 
 should be used wherever practicable, but never to the extent of ob- 
 scuring the real center of the work, which is the study of nature. The 
 drawing in nature-study is chiefly to be used as a convenient method 
 of making notes. 
 
 Experimental : 
 
 To show insect agency in pollination. 
 
 When peas or beans are in blossom, cover some bunches of flowers 
 with mosquito netting in such a way as to exclude insects, yet admit 
 light. Note results from day to day. 
 
 Try the same experiment upon apple, peach or strawberry blossoms, 
 and note results. 
 
 If possible to have access to a field of red clover, enclose some 
 flower-heads before opening in mosquito netting, to prevent insect visi- 
 tation. Compare "netted" flowers with those that were left "un- 
 netted," as to setting of seed. 
 
 These suggestions as to methods and experiments are only meant 
 to serve as hints to the busy teacher. If fuller details are desired by 
 any teacher into whose hands this leaflet falls, they will be cheerfully 
 given upon addressing the author. 
 
 Finally, it must be remembered that in all this work the essential 
 feature is contact with the forms studied in their natural relations. 
 It is the living plant that is to be studied. The scholars should be 
 encouraged to collect their own material, to report upon facts they 
 have observed, and be made to feel that it is their work to find new 
 and interesting facts in nature about them. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
 
 By Prof. C S. Plumb. 
 
 The purpose of this little leaflet is to aid in training the powers of 
 observation of children, by studying the animal life of their daily sur- 
 roundings at home. Enough suggestions are given to the teacher in this 
 to enable one to discuss several phases of such life with the children, and 
 inspire them with an ambition to become more familiar with the daily 
 needs and welfare of farm animals. 
 
 Once upon a time, over a century ago, there lived in England a little 
 boy by the name of Robert Bakewell. He lived with his parents in a 
 stone house and helped take care of the horses, cattle, sheep and swine 
 on the farm. He showed an unusual interest in all of the live stock, and 
 was with them much of his time. As he grew in years, so his interest in 
 farm animals increased. He was rather a reticent fellow and kept his 
 thoughts to himself. But he was a great thinker and observer. He saw 
 that the people about him had many animals that were unworthy of their 
 keeping. The stock grew slowly, ate much expensive food, were of ill 
 shape and were not profitable to their owners. And so after giving this 
 
 NOTE TO TUB TEACHER. 
 
 You will notice that part of the leaflet is printed leaded, or with the lines far 
 apart, and a part of it not leaded. The teacher should use his discretion in the 
 use of the closely-lined matter. In most cases it will be necessary to simplify it 
 to meet the comprehension of the children. The leaded matter may be read to 
 the children or presented orally just as it is. It, however, admits of unlimited 
 amplification and discussion. In presenting it, the previous knowledge and expe- 
 rience of the children should be drawn upon so far as possible. It is suggested 
 that this leaflet affords material enough for a great many lessons, and that part of 
 it should be used in the summer and part in the winter. 
 
matter much thought, Robert Bakewell began the work of improving the 
 farm animals of his locality, in the county of Leicester. Horses, cattle 
 and sheep he resolved to improve to a higher standard of excellence. 
 His neighbors laughed at him, but he was not diverted from his self- 
 assumed task. For years he worked at his problems, and finally he 
 placed before the admiring world the improved English cart horse, Long- 
 Horn cattle and Leicester sheep. Then Bakewell was honored, even be- 
 yond the shores of Britain, and in later days he became known as "the 
 father of improved live stock husbandry." 
 
 What led to Bakewell's success? 
 
 A natural love for animals The faculty of observation. An ambi- 
 tion to improve that which he thought was inferior. The use of better 
 methdds. Persistency of purpose. 
 
 Are not all these qualities found to some degree in you ? Do not the 
 boys and girls of the farm, more often than not, love the animals with 
 which they come in contact ? How can this love be turned to account as 
 a means of education in one direction, and animal betterment in another ? 
 
 Let us see ! Robert Bakewell, as one engaged in caring for and improv- 
 ing tarm animals, believed in three things: 
 
 (1) Stabling or shelter ; 
 
 (2) Proper feeding and watering ; and 
 
 (3) Gentle treatment. 
 
 Have you ever thought what a highly developed being the improved 
 farm animal of to-day is? Did he not once run wild and independent? 
 Has not the will of man greatly improved the horse, ox, cow and pig since 
 the days when they roamed wild ? Seventy-five years ago the fastest 
 horses could hardly race a mile in three minutes. Do you know what 
 the fastest record is to day ? Where cattle run wild they produce only 
 enough milk to raise their calves on. How much milk has the best cow 
 you have ever heard of given in a year ? In some parts of the country, 
 where the pigs run wild and have no care, they are so thin and have such 
 long legs that they call them " razor backs," and they can almost outrun 
 the fastest dogs. How do the best looking pigs that you see on our farms 
 and at our Fjiirs look, compared with a "razor back"? 
 
 Yfs, it is true, the farm animal of tu-day is an artiiicial one, composed 
 of either nerves, muscle, meat or wool, and over which man has a won- 
 derful power, if he but knew it Once shelter and care would huve be^n 
 an injury; miw is more frequpnily a neces-ity. And so you ^h'uld know 
 the real necessity of tiiviug farm animals the care that humauit}' and 
 economy make des rable. 
 
 Would it not be well to look into the ne^ essity of these things? Sup- 
 po-^e we consider some ))hases of the lives of farm animals that we miuht 
 give attention to, and thereby add to the comfort of dumb beasts, while 
 adding to our own knowledge ot life. 
 
 Stablinij or Shelter. All animals require protection from the changes of 
 weather or other conditions to a greater or less extent. In the severe 
 
cold of winter or the heat of summer, what do most animals',[|naturally 
 do? Do they seek for shelter? Is it for this reason in part that sheds 
 or barns are erected? How do cattle look as they stand in the corn- 
 fields or barnyard on a cold, cloudy day in January, with a strong wind 
 blowing ? On the great prairies cattle seek the protection of groves or 
 windbreaks, where other shelter is not provided. In the cooler northern 
 part of the country, in winter, as in Indiana, for example, the humane and 
 wise man provides comfortable barns or warm sheds in which his stock 
 may be housed. 
 
 Is this important ? Let us see. 
 
 Some years ago the writer conducted an experiment at the Indiana 
 Experiment Station at Purdue, to see if shelter was desirable for ani- 
 mals in winter. Six cows were used. Three of these were given sbelter 
 from all kinds of disagreeable weather, while three were kept out, ex- 
 posed to all sorts of conditions during the day, the only shelter provided 
 being a small shed open on two sides. This experiment showed several 
 things. First, that the exposed cows produced less milk each day than 
 the sheltered. Second, the exposed cows lost in weight, while those given 
 shelter gained Third, the exposed cows ate more food tban the shel- 
 tered ones. Fourth, from the financial side, the sheltered cows showed 
 nearly $13 00 more to their credit than did the exposed ones. 
 
 The animal body is something like the boiler of an engine. The food 
 is the fuel which creates the energy to make the body go. If this body 
 is exposed to severe cold, then more food or fuel is necessary to keep the 
 system up, and so the cost for food is increased. 
 
 Another thing should never be lost sight of, and that is that it is cruel 
 to expose animals to intense cold without for hours at a time. Even in 
 summer, when there is no breeze and the heat is excessive, all kinds of 
 farm stock will suffer if they can not secure shelter of some kind from 
 the sun's rays. 
 
 Suppose that we make some observations on the subject of shelter. 
 Turn one of the horses or cows out of doors in cold winter weather, and 
 note how it affects the appearance and the appetite. When it is stormy 
 in winter, if possible compare the condition of wool and skin of a flock 
 of sheep out of doors with those kept in shelter. Ask the man who 
 buys and sells wool what kind of a fleece is- most valuable, the one from 
 sheep running in the rain and snow or the one kept in the dry shed ? 
 In summer place some pigs in a field exposed to the sun, where they can 
 get no shelter, and compare their appearance and comfort with those 
 lying in the shade. In warm weather, when flies are biting badly, begin 
 to weigh the milk of four cows morning and night. Now turn two of 
 these into the pasture and keep two in a darkened stable, and see what 
 is the influence on the milk yield and comfort of the different animals. 
 
Food and Feeding. All true lovers of animals enjoy watchiDg them 
 eat. lu the great zoological gardens crowds assemble to see the lions 
 eat and to' feed the monkeys peanuts and candy. There is a sense of 
 pleasure in watching our farm animals with hearty appetite eating their 
 grain in the manger. The most successful feeders study the appetites of 
 their stock, and enjoy giving changes of diet and noting the relish shown 
 by the animal in eating of it. 
 
 Of the foods fed, horses prefer oats or corn. Cattle and sheep relish 
 both of these, as well as bran and oil meal, while pigs enjoy corn or 
 shorts or middlings best. In fact a large share of the pigs grown in the 
 United States are fed on corn or its products. 
 
 All classes of stock, however, enjoy and need herbage in some form, 
 either dry or green. Horses are usually fed timothy hay, and cattle 
 cl iver and corn fodder, green or drv while sheep need clover or some 
 kind of fiue grass, as, for example, Kentucky blue grass. This last is 
 the best pasture grass we have, though for pigs nothing is better than 
 green clover. 
 
 Now, that we know what foods are used, how shall the animals be fed ? 
 Shall they be fed at any regular hours? Is there a good and a bad way 
 to feed ? Suppose we say, that the best way to feed horses is to give 
 them water first, then some grain, and last, hay. Is that right? Is that 
 the way you do at home? I think horses should be watered before eat- 
 ing. That is, so they will not wash their food down before they have 
 ground it up well in the stomach. But suppose you ask a few men you 
 know, who have horses, when they give them water, and report on this 
 subject. 
 
 Cattle are usually fed their grain first, and then the hay, or coarse 
 fodder, or pasture. Horses and cattle must be fed morning, noon and 
 night, although grain is not usually fed cattle at noon. Much, however, 
 depends upon circumstances, for horses that are hard worked, or cattle 
 that are being fattened, or heavily milked, require more nutriment than 
 do others. Sheep and pigs should be fed at morning and night, but if 
 being fattened, it is best to feed them three times a day. 
 
 It is important that all kinds of stock be fed only such an amount as 
 will be entirely eaten, and with a relish, especially the grain. With some 
 coarse hays or clover there always is necessarily some woody material left 
 uneaten. 
 
 Here is a good chance to make some observations. What do the live 
 
 stock you are acquainted with eat? How much is fed them of this or 
 
 that? At what hours of day are they fed ? Do you know how fast they 
 
 grow? There are sheep and pigs on many farms, where simple feeding 
 
 experiments might be conducted. Let us take two lambs about the 
 
 same size, and feed one corn meal and the other ground oats, and see 
 
 which will grow the best. We should have scales, and the lambs should 
 
 be weighed occasionally, say once a week, and an accurate record kept of 
 
the growth, as well as of the amount of food eaten each week. Then, in 
 a few weeks, it will be interesting to report on the gain iu weight, how 
 many pounds of grain were eaten, its value, and which cost the most. 
 Will it not be easy to feed the calves the skim milk for a few weeks, 
 weighing or measuring what they drink of it, and then report on the 
 amount of such food a calf needs each day to grow well? Can you not 
 show how much each 100 pounds of skim milk is worth, when fed to 
 calves or pigs? Feed them the milk, weighing what you give daily, and 
 keeping a record of the weights of the pigs or calves. How much grain 
 do some cows eat daily, that make large amounts of milk? Will such a 
 cow give less milk if she is fed less grain ? 
 
 Watering. Few people realize how important it is that farm animals 
 should be watered properly. In wioter they suffer most, from having to 
 drink from icy p'ols or troughs, so that if they get enough to satisfy 
 thirst they are frequently chilled all through. With cold air all about 
 the exterior of the body, and ice-water within, the temperature, of the 
 body is reduced, and then more food (fuel) is required in the furnace to 
 warm up the bndy to the necessary point ajjain. 
 
 Do you thiuk animals prefer warmed water in winter? Mr. Gurler, in 
 his book "American Dairying," tells of a case where some youug heifers 
 jumped into a water trough to get where the water was coming warm 
 from a pipe. He says his cows when given water slightly warmed keep 
 in better condition and give more milk. I have seen cows go to a stream 
 of water flowing along icy shores, and drink, and then stand humped up 
 and shivering as though suffering from ague. They were chilled through. 
 
 A cow will easily drink fifty pounds a day of water at a temperature 
 of 60 degrees, but if at 35 degrees, she will not drink all she needs, and 
 will turn away chilled, yet thirsty. Do you know how a cow looks con- 
 taining fifty pounds of ice- water. 
 
 Teach the necessity of giving the farm stock water that is pure and 
 clean, and which in winter has the chill removed from it. Filthy water 
 usually carries disease germs, and may cause serious sickness. Thou- 
 sands, yes millions, of pigs have died from disease through drinking 
 water that was contaminated with cholera germs. The sheep and pig 
 need as pure water to drink as the horse or cow, and they require plenty 
 of it at all times. 
 
 Would you not be interested to learn something about this important 
 subject? How much will our farm animals drink at a time? A bucket 
 of water on the scales may be weighed before and after drinking. Will 
 more warm water be drunk than cold ? Place a pail of very cold and 
 one of very slightly warm water before the horse on a cold winter day 
 and see which he will drink first. How much water does a sheep drink 
 at a time ? How much water will a horse drink in a week ? Will a 
 horse that is working hard drink more than one standing in the stable ? 
 
6 
 
 How much more water will a large horse drink than a small one? Do 
 
 you know of any men who have heaters in their water troughs in winter, 
 
 so that their stock may have warm water ? If so, ask them how they like 
 
 these heaters. 
 
 Gentleness is a most important thing to observe when among animals, 
 if one desires to secure the best results in handling them. The man who 
 has the pigs uuder his feet whenever he goes into the lot where they are, 
 by his quietness and gentleness has taught them that he is their friend. 
 Such a person usually knows how to feed profitably acid raise stock suc- 
 cessfully. The man who sits by the nervous cow and quietly soothes her 
 with a gentle voice while milking, instead of using harsh measures, 
 secures more milk and enjoys the company of the beast more than would 
 the man who would "teach her a lesson," No dumb animal was ever 
 improved in disposition, or made more profitable to the owner, by the 
 adoption of brutal or unnecessarily severe measures. The most successful 
 feeders of stock are invariably gentle in handling their animals. The 
 man who succeeds in getting the greatest speed out of a horse on the 
 race-track is the one who rules by love, not fear. 
 
FO R TH E USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Designed for the Use of Teachers of 
 Public Schools. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 A CHILDREN'S GARDEN. 
 
 By L. H. Bailey, 
 Professor of Horticulture in Cornell University. 
 
 [Reprinted from a Cornell Leaflet by permission.] 
 
 We want every school child in the State to grow a few plants this 
 summer. We want everyone of them to learn something of why and 
 how plants grow, tmd the best and surest way to learn is to grow the 
 plants and to watch them carefully. We want everyone to become in- 
 terested in everything that lives and grows. It does not matter so very 
 much just what kinds of plants one grows, as it does that he grows 
 something and grows it the best that he knows how. We want the chil- 
 dren to grow these plants for the love of it, — ^that is, for the fun of it, 
 — and so- we propose that they grow flowers; for when one grows 
 pumpkins and potatoes, and such things, he is usually thinking of how 
 much money he is going to make at the end of the season. Yet, we 
 should like some rivalry in the matter in every school, and we there- 
 fore propose that a kind of fair be held at the school house next Sep- 
 tember, soon after school begins, so that each child may show the 
 flowers which he has grown. What a jolly time that will be! 
 
 Now, we must not try to grow too many things or to do too much. 
 Therefore, we propose that you grow sweet peas and China asters. 
 They are both easy to grow, and the seeds are cheap. Bach one has 
 many colors, and everybody likes them. Now let us tell you just how 
 we would grow them. 
 
 .1. The place. — Never put them — or any other flowers — in the mid- 
 dle of the lawn, — that is, not out in the center of the yard. They do not 
 look well there, and the grass roots run under them and steal the food 
 and moisture. I am sure that you would not like to see a picture hung 
 
up on a fence-post. It has no background, and it looks out of place. 
 The picture does not mean anything when hung in such a spot. In 
 the same way, a flower bed does not mean -anything when set out in 
 the center of a lawn. We must have a background for it, if possible, — 
 a wall upon which to hang it. So we will put the flower bed just in 
 front of some bushes or near the back fence, or alongside the smoke- 
 house, or along the walk at the side of the house or in the back yard. 
 The flowers will not only look better in such places, but it will not 
 matter so much if we make a failure of our flower bed; there are always 
 risks to run, for the old hen may scratch up the seeds, the cow may 
 break into the yard some summer night, or some bug may eat the 
 plants up. 
 
 Perhaps some of the children may live so near to the school house 
 that they can grow their plants upon the school grounds, and so have 
 sweet peas and asters where there are usually docks and smartweeds. 
 Grow them alongside the fence, or against the school house if there is 
 a place where the eaves will not drip on them. 
 
 2. Mow to make the bed. — Spade the ground up deep. Take out all 
 the roots of docks and thistles and other weeds. Shake the dirt all out 
 of the sods and throw the grass away. You may need a little manure 
 in the soil, especially if the land is either very hard or very loose and 
 sandy. But the manure must be very fine and well mixed into the 
 soil. It is easy, however, to make sweet pea soil so rich that the plants 
 vsdll run to vine and not bloom well. 
 
 Make the bed long and narrow, but not narrower than three feet. If 
 it is narrower than this, the grass roots will be apt to run under it and 
 suck up the moisture. If the bed can be got at on both sides, it may 
 be as wide as five feet. 
 
 Sow the seeds in little rows crosswise the bed. The plants can then 
 be weeded and hoed easily from either side. If the rows are marked 
 by little sticks, or if a strong mark is left in the earth, you can break 
 the crust between the rows (with a rake) before the plants are up. The 
 rows ought to be four or five inches further apart than the width of a 
 narrow rake. 
 
 3. Row to wafer the plants. — I wonder if you have a watering-pot? 
 If you have, put it where you cannot find it, for we are going to water 
 this garden with a rake! We want you to learn, in this little garden, 
 the first great lesson in farming, — how to save the water in the soil. 
 If you learn that much this summer, you will know more than many 
 old farmers do. You know that the soil is moist in the spring when 
 you plant the seeds. Where does this moisture go to? It dries up, — 
 goes off into the air. If we could cover up the soil with something, we 
 
should prevent the moisture from drying up. Let us cover it with a 
 layer of loose, dry earth! We will make this covering by raking the 
 bed every few days, — once every week anyway, and oftener than that 
 if the top of the soil becomes hard and crusty, as it does after a rain. 
 Instead of pouring water on the bed, therefore, we will keep the 
 moisture in the bed. 
 
 If, however, the soil becomes so dry in spite of you that the 
 plants do not thrive, then water the bed. Do not sprinkle it, but water 
 it. Wet it clear through at evening. Then in the morning, when the 
 surface begins to get dry, begin the raking again to keep the water 
 from getting away. Sprinkling the plants every day or two is one of 
 the surest ways to spoil them. 
 
 4. When and how to sow. — The sweet peas should be put in Just as 
 soon as the ground can be dug, even before frosts are passed. Yet, 
 good results can be had if the seeds are put in as late as the 10th of 
 May. In the sweet pea garden at Cornell last year, we sowed the seeds 
 on the 20th of April. This was about right. The year before, we 
 sowed them on the 30th. If sown very early, they are likely to bloom 
 better, but they may be gone before the middle of September. The 
 blooming can be much prolonged if the flowers are cut as soon as they 
 begin to fade. 
 
 Plant sweet peas deep, — two to three or sometimes even four inches. 
 When the plants are a few inches high, pull out a part of them so that 
 they will not stand nearer together than siz inches in the row. It is a 
 good plan to sow sweet peas in double rows, — that is, put two rows 
 only five or six inches apart, — and stick the brush or place the chick- 
 en-wire support between them. 
 
 China asters may be sown from the middle of May to the first of 
 June. In one large test at Cornell, we sowed them the 4th of June, 
 and had good success, but this is rather later than we would advise. 
 The China asters are autumn flowers, and they should be in their 
 prime in September and early October. 
 
 Sow the aster seed shallow, — not more than a half inch deep. The 
 tall kinds of asters should have at least a foot between the plants in 
 the row, and the dwarf kinds six to eight inches. 
 
 Sometimes China asters have rusty or yellow spots on the undersides 
 of their leaves. This is a fungous disease. If it appears, have your 
 father make some ammoniacal carbonate of copper solution and then 
 spray ihem with it; or Bordeaux mixture will do just as well or better, 
 only that it discolors the leaves and flowers. 
 
 5. What varieties to choose. — In the first place, do not plant too 
 much. A garden which looks very small when the pussy willows come 
 
out and the frogs begin to peep, is pretty big in the hot days of July. 
 A garden four feet wide and twenty feet long, half sweet peas and half 
 asters, is about as big as most boys and girls will take care of. 
 
 In the next place, do not get too many varieties. Four or five kinds 
 each of peas and asters will be enough. Buy the named varieties,— 
 that is, those of known colors,— not the mixed packets. If you are 
 very fond of reds, then choose the reddest kinds; but it is well to put 
 in at least three colors. The varieties which please you may not please 
 me or your neighbor, so that I cannot advise you what to get, but I 
 will give you some lists which may help you. 
 
 Amongst all the sweet peas grown at Cornell last year, the following 
 seemed to be best on our grounds: 
 
 Dark purple. Waverly. 
 
 Duke of Clarence. 
 Striped purple. Gray Friar. 
 
 Juanita. 
 
 Senator. 
 Lavender. Countess of Radnor. 
 
 Dorothy Tennant 
 
 Lottie Eekford. 
 White. The Bride. 
 
 Emily Henderson. 
 
 Qiieen of England, Alba Magnifiea. 
 Primrose. Mrs. Eekford. 
 
 "White flushed with pink. Blushing Beauty 
 
 Katherine Iracy. 
 
 Eliza Eekford. 
 Striped or flaked pink. Ramona. 
 
 Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain. 
 Orange-pink. Lady Penzance. 
 
 Meteor. 
 Rose-pink. Ser Majesty. 
 
 Splendor. 
 
 Apple Blossom. 
 
 Boreatton. 
 Rose pink shaded with orange. Firefly. 
 
 Princess Victoria. 
 
 At another place or in another season, these varieties might not 
 have given us the most satisfaction; but these names suggest some of 
 the colors, if one does not happen to have a seedsman's catalogue 
 handy. 
 
 Of China asters, the Comet type — in various colors — will probably 
 give the most satisfaction. They are mostly large-growing kinds. 
 Other excellent kinds are the Perfection and Peony-fl.owered, Semple 
 or Branching, Chrysanthemum-flowered, Washington, Victoria, and, 
 for early. Queen of the Market. Odd varieties are Crown, German 
 Quilled, Victoria Needle and Lilliput. Very dwarf kinds are Dwarf 
 Bouquet or Dwarf German, and Shakespeare. 
 
FOR THE use OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 A CHAT ABOUT BUGS. 
 
 By Prof. Stanley Coulter. 
 
 I believe in using pencil and paper, so I want you to have them near 
 you while you are reading this leaflet. The first thing I want you to 
 do is to make a list of all the animals that you know live about ^-our 
 home. I do not mean domestic animals, such as sheep and pigs and 
 dogs, but wild animals, such as squirrels and rabbits. Write the names 
 in a column on the left side of tlic page. Now opposite each name tell 
 where the animal lives, whether in trees or caves or under ground, and 
 also tell what kind of food it eats. 
 
 After you have done this make a similar list of the bird.s that live 
 about your home. 
 
 ISTow try to make a list of the Lugs or insects that you know live 
 about your home, being sure to tell where they live and what kind of 
 food they eat. You cannot tell so much about them as about the ani- 
 mals and birds, can you? Of course, every boy and girl is interested 
 in animals and birds, they love to watch them and are constantly 
 trying to find out more about them, but I find very few boys and girls 
 or even grown-up people who are interested in what they call "bugs." 
 Now, I do not think "bugs" a very nice name, but we can afford to let 
 that pass because we know just what kind of animal we mean when 
 we use the term. I was talking the other day about insects to some 
 people, and when I got through one of them said: "I never knew 
 
there was anything interesting about bugs before." It was just because 
 of that remark that I am writing this leaflet. Have you any idea how 
 many different kinds of insects there are in the world? Well, there 
 are hundreds of thousands. There are at least four times as many 
 different kinds of animals of this kind as of all the other kinds put 
 together. Plave you studied arithmetic yet? If you have you will 
 understand what I mean ^vhen I say that four-fifths of all the kinds 
 of animal life by number belong in the family in which the bugs are 
 found. So you see that they ought to interest us because they are so 
 numerous. Did you ever hear of insects darkening the sun? They do 
 sometimes, for they fly in such g];eat swarms that they hide the sim 
 just as it would be hidden by a heavy cloud. Do you think they 
 could ever stop one of the great trains that you see rushing past on the 
 railroad? They have done it, just because of their countless numbers. 
 In Indiana we do not often see such vast numbers at a single time, 
 iDut don't you remember sometimes how you have driven through 
 clouds of gnats, or how in the evening the fireflies have made the 
 meadow gleam like the lights of a distant city? If you watch this 
 summer you will be surprised to find how many times you will see 
 great swarms of bugs. Sometimes it will be in the morning, some- 
 times in the middle of the day, sometimes in the evening. When you 
 see them, if you have time, watch them and see if }'ou can find out 
 what becomes of them. 
 
 Of this vast number of bugs or insects some are very helpful to man, 
 while others give him a great deal of trouble and often cause him to 
 lose his crops or harvested grain. Some of these insects help man, 
 because if it were not for their love of honey many plants -would not 
 set seed, and that would mean that, after a while, that plant would 
 entirely disappear. If all of the bumblebees in the world should be 
 killed the red cIovlt would also be destroyed, for red clover can only 
 set seed when visited by bunibleljet^s. Othc]-s of these bugs help man 
 because they eat the harmful ones, or destroy their eggs or young, 
 while others, such as the honey bee. furnisli him with food. 
 
 A good deal of the harm done by insects is to growing crops. They 
 attack it at all times. Sometimes just as the seed has burst open and 
 IS sending out its tender stem and roots, sometimes they wait until 
 the leaves imfold and eat them, and sometimes thev leave the plant 
 untouched until the fruit is ripening and eat that. After the farmer 
 puts his grain in the granar)- it is not safe, for some of the bugs known 
 as weevils may find it and eat it, just as if it had been put carefully 
 
away for tlieni. Try to find out how many kinds of bugs eat the 
 tender, young seedlings. How many kinds eat the leaves? How many 
 kinds eat the grain or fruit? Watch the growing corn and cabbages 
 and potatoes and tomatoes, and do not forget the currant bushes and 
 grapes and fruit trees. Sometimes you will have to look closely, for 
 these dangerous insects are often so colored and marked as to almost 
 exactly imitate the part of the plant upon which they feed. 
 
 Then insects injure man because of their attacks upon domestic an- 
 imals. Did j'ou think a fly could keep cattle out of a country? There 
 are some regions, especially in South Africa, where there is splendid 
 grass and plenty of water, but no cattle. The reason is that in those 
 regions there lives a fly known as the tsetze fly, which actually worries 
 the cattle to death. I cannot stop to tell you about the way in which 
 this is done, but perhaps if your father will tell you something about 
 the hot fly and the way it troubles cattle you can work it out for your- 
 self. Then others of these insects are hurtful because they destroy 
 those that help us. Do you know any one that keeps bees? If you 
 do, ask him to tell you about the bee-moth and other insects that spoil 
 the hjves. 
 
 You see from what I have said that our bugs are of two kinds, 
 those that eat vegetable food and those that eat animal food. Try 
 how many different kinds of insects you can find that eat plant food 
 and how many that eat animal food. I suppose none of you think you 
 would be afraid of a flesh-eating insect. It might do to be afraid of 
 a bear or a lion, but no one would be afraid of an insect. Yet in some 
 places these fierce, flesh-eating insects at times gather in great num- 
 bers and march in unbroken lines across the country in their search 
 for new homes. Nothing can stop their march but fire or flood, and 
 if a man should attempt to force his way through such an army he 
 would be killed and eaten in a very short time. 
 
 Even the plant-eating insects do their work of destruction very 
 rapidly. I have seen a forty-acre field of wheat entirely eaten in less 
 than two hours. Some time when you have found out all you can 
 about bugs with your eyes, I hope you will get a magnifying glass, and 
 then you can see the curious mouth-parts of these dangerous insects. 
 Some are like scissors and some like chisels and all are very strong and 
 powerful. 
 
 When the bugs, which you have thought so uninteresting, have so 
 much to do with the success or failure of the year's work, don't you 
 think it would be wise to find out all you can aboiit them? I am sure 
 
I do, for I believe that if vmir fathers and mothers had known as 
 nmcli about bugs as yon may, if you keej) your eyes ojoen, they would 
 he vei'y much richer than they are to-day. 
 
 A miUion dollars seeins like a ^ii-cat deal of money, does it not? A 
 ,<;reat many splendid things could Ije done with that amount. But did 
 you know that the farmers of Indiana hise more than a million of 
 dollars e\ery year because of insect-^? It is because I want you to try 
 to save this vast sum of money that I am trying to interest you lu what 
 are known as hugs. I believe I have said enough to show that bugs ai-e 
 worth studying. 
 
 But did you ever think how wise some insects were? I know of 
 some that build great d(jmes as pei-fect a> our Ijest engineers can de- 
 vise. 'When we think of the size of the insect, they are vastly larger 
 than an3'thing man has ever undertaken. ;\Ian has wood and iron and 
 steel to help him, but these insects have only the earth, and vet their 
 wonderful archer and domes stand ^.trong and true. Sometimes these 
 domes are (iO feel around and 25 feet high and are led into hy a >eries 
 of vaulted lialls and ]iassages that cover rods in every direction. Then 
 some insects are too proud to work, and so ha"\e slaves, who do all 
 their work; in some cases they compel the slaves to chew the food for 
 them and place the prepared nKjrse! in their mouth. To capture these 
 slaves they march out in companies and regiments and brigades, under 
 the command of oflicers. and \\age a genuine war. They talk to each 
 other by means of their "feelers" or antennae, as wise men call them, 
 and >end messages from one ]iart of the army to another or back to 
 the home ncsl. I could tell you many moj'e wonderful things that they 
 do. I>o yon want to know what strange kind of insects know so 
 much? A\'i'll, they are the ants. If you can find an ant nest this sum- 
 mer far enough away from the house not to be a nuisance, do not 
 destroy it, but -rtatch it from day to day, an hour or two hours at a 
 time, and you « ill conic to the conchision that I have, that an ant has 
 more sense than the elephant, big as it is, and that it knows more than 
 even the dog or horse. It is strange, is it not, that you and I have not 
 bci'ii more i]itei-esled in animals that did such wmulerful things? 
 There arc other i]ise<ts beside the ant that are very inlelligent. hut I 
 cannot stop to tell about them here. 
 
 I ^^•||S talking a httle while ago about plant-eating and fiesli-eating 
 insects, but what would you think of insects that eat the hardest wood, 
 or that thrive on carpets and furs? t)[ others that prefer stone, and 
 others that will chew up iron? Yet there are insects that destroy 
 stone pillars, eatijig their "way straight into the hard mass, and there 
 
are those that eat into the hardest wood, making holes as true and 
 smooth as you can make with a carpenter's gimlet. I believe you will 
 want that magnifying glass pretty soon to examine those wonderful 
 mouth parts. 
 
 Then some of these bugs can sew, making seams so perfect and 
 drawing torn or cut edges together so carefully that you will need the 
 magnifying glass again to find where they have been at work. Some- 
 times instead of simply mending, they c\it patterns out of leaves with 
 their sciss(ir-like jaws and sew the pieces together to make the de- 
 sired article. There are others that spin, some coarse, rough threads, 
 bnt others the finest silk. Indeed, if I were to try to tell you of 
 all the wonderful things bugs could do I would have to write a book 
 instead of a leaflet. Squirrels and rabbits cannot do such things, nor 
 can birds. So I think if you watch closely you will find in your study 
 of bugs not only many useful things, but many very wonderful things. 
 
 But I believe the most wonderful thing is yet to be told. If you 
 see a young lamb you know it is a lamb, and when it grows it only gets 
 bigger, and though we call it a sheep, it has still the same shape and 
 eats the same kind of food. A young pig is just like an old one, only 
 smaller. But with our bugs this is not so. Most of them have three 
 different forms, in each of which they spend part of their life. These 
 forms look very unlike, they have very different habits and sometimes 
 eat different food. Some time in the summer you may be fortunate 
 enough to find some eggs which have been laid by a butterfly upon a 
 leaf. If you mark the spot and watch carefully by and by you will 
 see the eggs break open, and there will come out, not little butterflies, 
 but ugly, worm-like looking things, with any number of legs and 
 strong, big jaws, mth which they immediately begin to devour the 
 leaf upon which they were born. We call these caterpillars. Scien- 
 tific men call them larvae. You can always tell a caterpillar from a 
 worm, because a worm has no visible legs and no well-developed 
 mouth parts. Xow, remember that every caterpillar you see is only a 
 "bug" in one stage of its life. "VVatch these caterpillars. Find a to- 
 mato •■worm" and watch it from day to day. Does it eat much? 
 Does it gi'ow rapidly? Go to the currant bushes and watch the cater- 
 pillars there. Examine the tent caterpillars that grow in cherry and 
 elm trees. Do they eat much? Do they grow rapidly? I believe you 
 will come to the conclusion that about all a caterpillar has to do is to 
 eat. Indeed, many insects are only destructive in the caterpillar stage. 
 Do you know if the farmers in Indiana knew this and would destroy 
 caterpillars, or better still, the eggs, they would save thousands of dol- 
 
6 
 
 lars each year? Did yoii ever hear of a "cut worm?"' Go out into a 
 cornfield where they are at work. You can tell because the young 
 corn is cut off just below the ground as cleanly as if with a knife. Dig 
 up one of the cut worms. Is it a worm at all? 
 
 But by and by, if you watch the caterpillar, it moves about less 
 and eats less, and builds over itself a strange-looking outer covering. 
 This outer covering varies in color with the material of which it is 
 made. Sometimes it is earth, sometimes leaves, sometimes silk spun 
 by the caterpillar. In this tightly fitting house the caterpillar lies, 
 perfectly quiet, sometimes for a month, sometimes for two or three 
 months and sometimes even for years. This is another stage of insect 
 life, which is called the pupa stage. 
 
 At last movements show themselves within the case, it spKts open 
 along the side, and there comes out the butterfly. It looks nothing 
 like the caterpillar and nothing like the pupa. It does not have to 
 grow, for it is as large the moment it is born as when it dies. Did 
 you ever watch these changes from the egg, through the various 
 stages, to the perfect insect? It can be easily done. You can try it 
 with the currant caterpillar or the tomato caterpillar, and if you feed 
 them well in the caterpillar stage you will have little difficulty in the 
 work. 
 
 But I only wanted to show you how much of interest there was in 
 bugs, and more than that, how important it was that we should 
 Ivnow more about them, and not to tell yoxi in detail how to study 
 them. 
 
 After you have studied bugs a little while and know more about 
 their structure you will find that lobsters and crawfish and spiders be- 
 long in the same family, unlike as they seem to be to the butterflies 
 and bees and grasshoppers. You will find that there are bugs that 
 live in the water and others that live in the air; that some live under- 
 ground and some upon other animals. Indeed, you will find that 
 every possible place where animal life can exist contains members of 
 this great family, and you will no longer wonder that their number is 
 so vast. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 THE OBSERVATION CLUB, No. i. 
 
 You will remember that in our talk last Friday I told you that we 
 should try to-day to form a sort of observation club composed of those 
 of us who think we would be interested in taking excursions about 
 the country in order to find out all we can about the things which we 
 see and hear every day, but about which, as I am sure you have already 
 discovered, most of us know very little because we have not learned 
 to use our eyes and ears as we should. I think from the talks we 
 have already had you have begun to realize what a wonderful world 
 this is; how full of beauty; and how many instructive lessons it has 
 for us if we are but ready and willing to learn them. 
 
 I hope you have been thinking and talking over what was told you 
 last week and are ready now to organize some such club and to elect 
 your officers. It seems to me we ought to have a president who will 
 look after the business of the club and preside at its meetings; also a 
 secretary to keep our records, take care of our money, if we ever have 
 any, and of our museum, if we are able to collect one. 
 
 I do not think we shall need any written constitution unless we 
 should grow into a society of naturalists, as I hope we may when we 
 have had more experience. 
 
 Since I have promised to direct your field expeditions and to give 
 you what field lectures I can, you may call me, if you please, the 
 director of the club. 
 
NOTE.— The children should then, in proper order, nominate and elect 
 «uch ofBcers as in the jad^ment of the teacher are desirable, with or with- 
 out written rules for the government of the club. 
 
 Among the names which may be selected for the club the following are 
 suggested: The Ramblers, The Naturalists, The Zig Zag Club. 
 
 Now, in order to interest you still more in the work which this club 
 is going to try to do, I want to tell you something about a famous man 
 who started, and for a long time conducted, one of these observation 
 clubs in England. This man, the Rev. Chas. Kingsley, was a great 
 preacher — for a time in the Cathedral at Chester and afterwards in 
 that beautiful Westminster Abbey, of which you have probably heard — 
 He was a great lover of books, too, but a still greater lover of nature. 
 In an address which he once made to the boys in Wellington he said 
 a good many wise things, a few of which I will read to you. I want 
 you to listen very carefully, for he tells you some things which will be 
 useful to you as members of an observation club. 
 
 "The first thing for a boy to learn, after obedience and morality, is 
 a habit of observation — a habit of using his eyes. They say knowledge 
 is power, and so it is, but only the knowledge which you get by obser- 
 vation. 
 
 "The art of learning consists, first and foremost, in the art of ob- 
 serving. 
 
 "Everything which helps a boy's powers of observation, helps his 
 power of learning; and I know from experience that nothing helps so 
 much as the study of the world about you, and especially of natural 
 history. To be accustomed to watch for curious objects, to know in a 
 moment when you have come to anything new — ^which is observation. 
 To be quick at seeing when things are like, and when unlike — ^which is 
 classification. All that must, and I well know does, help to make a boy 
 shrewd, earnest, accurate, ready for whatever may happen." 
 
 Wliile Mr. Kingsley was Canon of Chester he thought he might do 
 good to the working people by interesting them in nature study. So 
 he occasionally gave them evening lectiixes. I want to read you now 
 a part of his lecture on coal, from which you will see that he had very 
 keen eyes, and, too, that he used very beautiful language. 
 
 In the course of his lecture he lifted a lump of coal from the table, 
 and holding it up before his listeners, said: 
 
 "A diamond, nothing less. We may consider the coal upon the fire 
 as a middle term of a series of which the first is the live wood, and the 
 last a diamond; and indulge safely in the fancy that every diamond in 
 the world has probably, at some remote epoch, formed part of a grow- 
 ing plant. A strange transformation, which vnll look to us more 
 
strange, more poetical, the more we look at it. The coal on the lire, 
 the table at which I stand, what are they made of? Gas and sunbeams, 
 with a small percentage of ash, or earthy salts, which need hardly be 
 taken into account. 
 
 " 'Gas and sunbeams.' Strange, but true. The life of the growing 
 plant — and what that life is, who can tell? — laid hold of the gases in 
 the air and in the soil, of the carbonic acid, the atmospheric air, the 
 water, for that too is gas. It drank them in through its rootlets; it 
 breathed them in through its leaf pores, that it might distil them into 
 sap, and bud, and leaf, and wood. But it had to take in another ele- 
 ment, without which the distillation and the shaping could never have 
 taken place. It had to drink in the sunbeams, and absorbed them, 
 buried them in itself — no longer as light and heat, but as invisible 
 chemical force, locked up for ages in that woody fibre. 
 
 "So it is! Lord Lytton told us in a beautiful song, how 'the wind 
 and the beam loved the rose.' But nature's poetry is more beautiful 
 than man's. The wind and the beam love the rose — or rather the 
 rose takes the wind and the beam, and builds up out of them, by her 
 own inner life, her exquisite texture, hue, and fragrance. What next? 
 The rose dies; the timber tree dies — decays down into vegetable fibre, 
 is buried, and turned to coal; but the plant can not altogether undo 
 its own work. Even in death and decay, it cannot set free the sun- 
 beams imprisoned in its tissue. The sun force must stay, shut up age 
 after age, invisible but strong; working at its own prison cells, trans- 
 muting them, or making them capable of being transmuted by man, 
 into the manifold products of coal, coke, petroleum, mineral pitch, 
 gases, coal tar, benzole, delicate aniline dyes, and what not, till its day 
 of deliverance comes. Man digs it, throws it on the fire, a black, dead- 
 seeming lump. A corner, an atom of it, warms till it reaches the ig- 
 niting point; the temperature at which it is able to combine with oxy- 
 gen. And then, like a dormant live thing, awaking after ages to the 
 sense of its own powers, its owii needs, the whole lump is seized, atom 
 after atom, with an infectious hunger for that oxygen which it lost 
 centuries since in the bottom of the earth. It drinks the oxygen in at 
 every pore; and burns. And so the spell of ages is broken. The sun- 
 force bursts its prison cells, and blazes with the free atmosphere as 
 light and heat once more, returning in a moment into the same forms 
 in which it entered the growing leaf a thousand centuries since. 
 Strange it all is — yet true. But of nature, as of the heart of man, the 
 old saying stands — that truth is stranger than fiction." 
 
 NOTE.— If the children are too young- to understand the language of this 
 quotation, it should be omitted. The teacher might, however, translate it 
 into simpler language and make it serve as an interesting object lesson. 
 Should he do this and wish for further information on the subject it may be 
 found in "The Fairy Land of Science," by Arabella Buckley, one of the 
 books in the list adopted by the Indiana Reading Circle Board. 
 
 But while Mr. Kingsley felt that he was helping the people by 
 means of these lectures, he soon decided that he could do far more for 
 
them liy cstablishijiij;- something in the way of an observation club, 
 and so he offered to conduct excursions into the country and to give 
 field lectures. He thought that perhaps there niight be ten or fifteen 
 people -who would be willing to follow where he, with his botany box 
 on his back and his geological hammer in his hand, would lead, but 
 he often had a Inmdred or more. 
 
 This was the beginning of the famous Chester Scientifie Society, one 
 of the strongest societies of its kind in England, which now has nearly 
 six hundred memhers, and enrolls as honorary members such men as 
 Huxley, Tyndall, Lyell and other famous .scientists. 
 
 In the lecture at Wellington, which I have already mentioned, Mr. 
 Kingslcy spoke of a ve:-}' interesting stoi-y, which had, as he said, a 
 great influence on his life. He said: "When we were little and good, 
 a long time ago, we used to have a jolly old book called 'Evenings at 
 Home,' in which was a great si or)- called 'Eyes and ISTo Eyes,' and 
 that story was of more use to me than any dozen other stories I ever 
 read. And when I read that story, I said to myself, I will be Mr. 
 Eyes; I will not be Mr. No Eyes, and Mr. Eyes I have tried to be ever 
 since; and Mr. Eyes I advise every one of you to be, if you wish to be 
 happy and successful." 
 
 I will, if yoiT like, read you the story to which Mr. Kingsley alluded. 
 Although the scene is laid in England and the story speaks of some 
 things which are not to be seen in tliis country, I think you can get 
 from it some valuable lessons as to the use of your eyes and ears. 
 
 EYES, AND I^JO EYES; 
 
 OR, THE ART OF SEEING. 
 By Dr. Aikin and Mrs. Barbauld. 
 
 "Well, Eobo't, whither have you been walking this afternoon?" said 
 j\Ii'. Andrews to one of his pupils at the close of a holiday. 
 
 E. — I have been, sir, to Broom-heath, and so around by the wind- 
 mill upon Camp-mount, and home, through the meadows, by the river 
 side. 
 
 Mr. A. — Well, that's a pleasant round. 
 
 R. — I thought it very dull, sir; I scarcely met with a single per- 
 son. I would rather by half have gone along the turnpike road. 
 
 Ml'. A. — Why, if seeing men and horses were your object, you 
 would, indeed, have been better entertained on the highroad. But did 
 you see William? 
 
R.— We set out together but he lagged behind in the lane, so I 
 walked on and left him. 
 
 Mr. A. — That is a jniy. He would have been company for you. 
 
 R. — 0, he is so tedious, always stopping to look at this thing and 
 that. I had rather walk alone. I dare say he has not got home yet. 
 
 Mr. A. — Here he eduies. Well, William, where have you been? 
 
 ^^- — 0, sir, the pleasantest walk! I went all over Broom-heath, and 
 so up to the mill at the top of the lull, and then down among the 
 green meadows, by the side of the river. 
 
 Mr. A. — Wh}-, that is just the round that Eobert has been taking, 
 and he complains of its dullness, and prefers the highroad. 
 
 W. — I wonder at that. I am sure I hardly took a step that did not 
 delight me. and I have brought home my handkerchief full of cu- 
 riosities. 
 
 Mr. A. — Sujipo.^e. then, you give us some account of what amused 
 you so mufli. I fancy it will be as new to Robert as to me. 
 
 W. — I will. sir. The lane leading to the heath, you know, is close 
 and sandy; so I did not mind it much, but made the best of my way. 
 However, I spied a curious thing enough in the hedge. It was an old 
 crab tree, out of which grew a great bunch of something green, quite 
 different from the tree itself. Here is a branch of it. 
 
 Mr. A. — Ah! this is mistletoe, a plant of great fame for the use 
 made of it by the Druids of old in their religious rites and incanta- 
 tions. It bears a very slimy, white berry, of which birdlime may be 
 made, Avhence its Latin name Viscus. It is one of those plants which 
 do not grow in the ground by a root of their own, but fix themselves 
 upon other plants; whence they have been humorously styled parasiti- 
 cal, as being hangers-on, or dependants. It was the mistletoe of the 
 oak that the Druids particularly honored. 
 
 W. — A little further on, I saw a green woodpecker fly to a tree, and 
 run up the trunk like a cat. 
 
 Mr. A. — That was to seek for insects in the bark, on which they 
 live. They bore holes with their strong bills for that purpose, and 
 do much damage to the trees by it. 
 
 W. — What beautiful birds they are! 
 
 Mr. A. — Yes; the woodpecker has been called, from its color and 
 size, the English parrot. 
 
 "VV. — When I got upon the open heath, how charming it was! The 
 air seemed so fresh, and the prospect on every side so free and un- 
 bounded! Then it was all covered with gay flowers, many of which I 
 had never observed before. There were, at least, three kinds of heath 
 
(1 have got them in my handkerchief here), and gorse and broom, and 
 bellflo\^•er and many others of all colors, that I will beg you presently 
 to tell me the names of. 
 
 ^Ir. A.— That I will, readily. 
 
 W. — I saw, too, several birds that were new to me. There was a 
 pretty grayish one, of the size of a lark, that was hojjping about some 
 great stones; and when he flew he showed a great deal of white about 
 his tail. 
 
 ilr. A.— That was a ^vheat-ear. They are reckoned very delicious 
 birds to eat, and frequent the open downs in Sussex, and some other 
 counties in great numbers. 
 
 W. — There was a flock of lapwings upon a marshy part of the heath, 
 that amused me much. As I came near them, some of them kept flying 
 round and round, just oyer my head, and crying "Pewet!'' so distinctly, 
 one might almost fancy they spoke. I thought I should have caught 
 one of them, for he flew as though one of his mngs was broken, and 
 often tumbled close to the ground; but as I came near, he always made 
 a shift to get away. 
 
 3Ir. A. — Ha! ha! You were finely taken in, then! This was all an 
 artifice of the bird's to entice you away from its nest; for tliey build 
 upon the bare ground, and their nests would easily be observed did 
 they not draw off the attention of intruders by their loud cries and 
 counterfeit lameness. 
 
 ^Y. — I wish I had known that, for he led me a long chase, often 
 over shoes in water. However, it was the cause of my falling in with 
 an old man and a boy, who were cutting and piling up turf for fuel, 
 and I had a good deal of talk with them about the manner of prepar- 
 ing the turf and the price it sells at. They gave me, too, a creature I 
 never saw before — a young viper, Avhich they had just killed, together 
 'with Us dam. I have seen several common snakes, but this is thicker 
 in proportion and of a darker color than they are. 
 
 Mr. A. — True. Vipers frequent those turfy, boggy grounds pretty 
 much, and I liaA'e known several turf-cutters bitten by them. 
 
 W. — They are very venomous, are they not? 
 
 .Mr. A. — Enough so to make their wounds painful and dangerous, 
 though they seldom prove fatal. 
 
 AV. — Well, I then took my course up to the windmill on the mount. 
 1 climbed up the steps of the mill in order to get a better view of the 
 (■otintry around. What an extensive prospect! I counted fifteen 
 church steeples; and I saw several gentlemen's houses peeping out 
 from tile midst ot groeu woods and jilantations; and I could trace the 
 
windings of the river all along the low grounds, till it was lost behind 
 a ridge of hills. But, I'll tell you what I mean to do, sir, if you will 
 give me leave. 
 
 Jlr. A.— What is that? 
 
 ^^'- — I will go again and take with me the county map, by which I 
 shall probably be able to make out most of the places. 
 
 ilr. A. — You shall have it, and I will go with you, and take my 
 pocket spying glass. 
 
 ^V. — I shall be ver^- glad of that. Well — a thought struck me, that 
 as the hill is called Camp-mount there might probably be some re- 
 mains of ditches and mounds, with which I have read that camps 
 were surrounded. And I really believe I discovered something of that 
 sort running aroimd one side of the mound. 
 
 ^Ir. A. — Very likely you might. I know antiquarians have de- 
 scribed such remains as existing there, which some suppose to be 
 Eoman, others Danish. We will examine them further, when we go. 
 
 W. — From the hill, I went straight down to the meadows below, and 
 walked on the side of a brook that runs into the river. It was all bor- 
 dered with reeds and flags, and tall flowering plants, quite different 
 from those I had seen on the heath. As I was getting down the bank, 
 to reach one of them, I heard something plunge into the water near 
 me. It was a large water rat, and I saw it swim over to the other side 
 and go into its hole. There were a great many large dragon flies all 
 about the stream. I caught one of the finest and have got him here in 
 a leaf. But how I longed to catch a bird that I saw hovering over 
 the water, and that every now and then darted down into it. It was 
 all over a mixture of the most beautiful green and blue, with some 
 orange color. It was somewhat less than a thrush, and had a large 
 head and bill and a short tail. 
 
 Mr. A. — I can tell you what that bird was — a Idng-fisher, the cele- 
 brated halcyon of the ancients, about which so many tales are told. 
 It lives on fish, which it catches in the manner you saw. It builds in 
 holes in the banks, and is a shy, retired bird, never to be seen far 
 from the stream where it inhabits. 
 
 W. — I must try to get another sight of him, for I never saw a bird 
 that pleased me so much. Well, I followed this little brook till it 
 entered the river, and then took the path that runs along the bank. 
 On the opposite side I observed several little birds running along the 
 shore, and making a piping noise. They were brown and white and 
 about as big as a snipe. 
 
 Mr. A. — I suppose they were sand-pipers, one of the numerous fam- 
 
ily of birds that get their living by wading among the shallows, and 
 picking up worms and insects. 
 
 W. — There were a great many swallows, too, sporting upon the sur- 
 face of the water, that entertained me with their motions. Some- 
 times they dashed into the stream; sometimes they pursued one an- 
 other so quickly, that the eye could scarcely follow them. In one 
 place, where a high, steep sand bank rose directly above the river, I 
 observed many of them go in and out of holes, -with which the bank 
 was bored full. 
 
 Mr. A. — Those were sand martins, the smallest of our species of 
 swallows. They are of a mouse color above, and white beneath. They 
 make their nests, and bring up their young in these holes, which run 
 a great depth, and by their situation are secure from all plunderers. 
 
 W. — A little further, I saw a man in a boat, who was catching eels 
 in an odd way. He had a long pole, with broad iron prongs at the 
 end, just like Xeptune's trident, only there were five instead of three. 
 This he pushed straight down among the mud, in the deepest parts of 
 the river, and fetched iip the eels sticking between the prongs. 
 
 Mr. A. — I have seen this method. It is called spearing of eels. 
 
 W. — While I was looking at him, a heron came flying over my head, 
 with his large, flapping wings. He alighted at the next turn of the 
 river, and I crept softly behind the hank to watch his motions. He 
 had waded into the water as far as his long legs would carry him, and 
 was standing with his neck dra-\\-n in, looking intently on the stream. 
 Presently he darted his long bill, as quick as lightning, into the 
 water, and drew out a fish, which he swallowed. I saw him catch 
 another in the same manner. He then took alarm at some noise I 
 made, and flew away .'^lowly to a wood at some distance, where he 
 settled. 
 
 j\tr. A. — I'roliably his nest was there, for herons build upon the 
 loftiest trees they can find, and sometimes in society together, like 
 rooks. I'Vjrmci'ly, when these birds were valued for the amusement of 
 hawking, many gentlemen had their lieroivries, and a few are still 
 remaining. 
 
 W. — I think they aie the largest wild birds we have. 
 
 Mr. A. — They are of great length and spi-ead of wing, but their 
 bodies are comparatively small. 
 
 W. — I then turned home\\ard, across the meadows, where I 
 stiqiiied awhile to look at a large flock of starlings, which kept flying 
 about at no great distance. I could not tell at first what to make of 
 them; for they arose altogether from the ground as thick as a swarm of 
 
bees, and formed thenisolves into a sort of lilack cloud, hovering over 
 tlie field. After taking a short round they settled again, and pres- 
 ently arose again in the same maimer. 1 dare say there were himdreds 
 of them. 
 
 ilr. A. — Perhaps so; for in the IViiny euuntries their flocks are so 
 numerous as to break down whole acres of reeds by settling on them. 
 This disposition of starlings to fly in close swarms was remarked even 
 by Homer, who compares the foe", flying from one of his heroes, to a 
 cloud of stares retiring dismayed at the approach of the hawk. 
 
 W. — .\fter I had left the meadows, I crossed the cornfields in the 
 way to our house, and passed close by a deep marl pit. Looking into 
 it I saw in one of the sides a cluster of what I took to be shells; and 
 upon going down I picked up a clod of marl, which was quite full of 
 them; but how seasliells could get there I cannot imagine. 
 
 ]ilr. A. — I do not wonder at your surprise, since many philosophers 
 have been much perplexed to account for the same appearance. It is 
 not uncommon to find great quantities of shells and relics of marine 
 animals even in the bowels of high mountains, very remote from the 
 sea. They are certainly proofs that the earth was once in a very dif- 
 ferent state from what it is at present; but in what manner, and how 
 long ago these changes took j)lacc, can only be guessed at. 
 
 W. — I got to the high field next our house just as the sun was set- 
 ting, and I stood looking at it till it was quite lost. What a glorious 
 sight! The clouds were tinged purple and crimson, and yellow of all 
 shades and hues, and the clear sky varied from blue to a fine green at 
 the horizon. But how large the sun appears just as it sets! I think 
 it seems twice as big as when it is overhead. 
 
 ilr. A. — It does so; and you may probably have observed the same 
 
 apparent enlargement of the moon at its rising? 
 
 W. — I have; but, pray, what is the reason of this? 
 
 ]\Xj.. a. — It is an optical deception, depending upon principles which 
 
 I can not well explain to you till you know more of that branch of 
 
 science. But what a number of new ideas this afternoon's walk has 
 
 afforded you! I do not wonder that you found it amusing; it has been 
 
 very instructive, too. Did you see nothing of all these sights, Robert? 
 
 R. I saw some of them, but I did not take particular notice of 
 
 them. 
 
 Mr. A.— Why not? 
 
 j^ I don't know. I did not care about them, and I made the best 
 
 of my way home. 
 
 Mr. A.— That would have been right if you had been sent with a 
 
10 
 
 message; but as you talked only for amusement, it would have been 
 "wiser to have sought out as many sources of it as possible. But so it 
 is — one man walks through the world with his eyes open, and another 
 with them shut; and upon this difference depends all the superiority 
 of knowledge the one acquires above the other. I have known sailors, 
 who have been in all quarters of the world, and could tell you nothing. 
 * * * On the other hand, a Franklin could not cross the Channel 
 without making some observations useful to mankind. While many a 
 vacant, thoughtless youth is whirled throughout Europe without gain- 
 ing a single idea worth crossing a street for, the observing eye and 
 inquiring mind find matter of improvement and delight in every 
 ramble in town or country. Do you, then, William, continue to make 
 iise of your eyes; and you, Robert, learn that eyes were given you to 
 use." 
 
 I hope that as Mr. Kingsley says, you will try to be ilr. Eyes all of 
 you, especially during the coming week, and that you will try to find 
 out all that you can about the birds that you see day by day. Xext 
 Saturday we will take our first field excursion and the s^ibject of our 
 study will be "Our Spring Birds." 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 SPRING BIRDS. 
 
 By Mrs. Jeanette D. Ruby. 
 
 I wonder why every boy that can borrow a gun goes out into the 
 woods, and tries to kill birds. I sometimes think it is because boys, 
 and even grown people for that matter, know so little about birds. 
 When we become acquainted with our native birds and learn their 
 habits and know what they eat, we find that nearly all of them are help- 
 ful to us, and that only a very few are ever harmful to us. Suppose 
 you write down upon one slip of paper the ways in which birds help us, 
 and on another the ways in which they harm us. Which list is the 
 longer? Perhaps when you first think about it the second wiLL be the 
 longer; but keep the lists, and during the summer keep your eyes open 
 and note down every good thing and every bad thing you see birds 
 do. When the season is over, I believe you will care for the birds not 
 merely because they are so beautiful, but also because they are so help- 
 ful. You think the owls are altogether bad, perhaps, but try to find 
 out what they feed upon and see if it is true. Of course they may eat 
 a chicken occasionally, but you know that the owls in your neighbor- 
 hood do not eat enough chickens to keep them alive. You guard your 
 chickens too carefully for that. What do you think they eat when 
 they cannot get chicken? When you find out let me know whether 
 you think that even the owls are altogether bad. You can watch the 
 screech owl more easily than any other perhaps, because it is so very 
 
common and does not seem to be so mucli afraid of man as some of 
 its relations. 
 
 But I am not going to talk about the good or the harm that birds 
 do just now, that may come later, but I wanted to show you why I 
 think you ought to study the birds about your home, and how I think 
 you ought to study them. Tc.-do)-, as it is late in March, let us go out 
 into the woods and see how many different kinds of birds we can find 
 and try to learn something about each of them. Of course we cannot 
 learn all about them in a single trip like this, but we can begin, and 
 then by watching them from day to day we can have them answer all 
 the questions that we choose to ask. 
 
 Listen! That is the first note of our earliest arrival, the Uue-hird. 
 He has been called the "Darling of Spring," and that soft, pleasing 
 warble can come from no other throat. Xotice his different tones. 
 What do they mean? Can you hear him warble half angrily, then 
 coaxingly, then cheerily and confidently, and the next moment 
 sadly and plaintively? You must learn these different notes, for they 
 each have a meaning which you can find if you are in earnest in try- 
 ing to learn all you can of bird life. 
 
 There he is, no one can mistake the blue-bird. I wonder if we will 
 see his mate, for sometimes he comes a week in advance of her. Yes, 
 there she is also, but not quite so gaily dressed. Why do you suppose 
 her feathers are not so bright a blue as her mate's? Notice this sum- 
 mer how many different kinds of birds you can find in which the col- 
 ors of the female are not so bright as those of the male. Suppose you 
 do not ask anyone to tell you the reason, but see if you can work it 
 out yourself. There must be seme good reason for it, for everything 
 in nature has its reason. 
 
 But there they fly to that knot-hole in yonder apple tree. Why do 
 you suppose they are examining it so intently? Place a box in your 
 garden and see whether they will choose that, or a hole in a rotten 
 stump or tree for their home. But while they are so busy let us see 
 if we can how they are dressed. Perhaps as the male bird is the more 
 showy of the two we had better watch him. His coat is blue, no mis- 
 take about that, and some one has called it the azure blue of the spring 
 sky. Wliat is the color of his throat and breast? What is the color of 
 his under parts? Are his eyes large or small? What is the color of 
 his legs and beak? How long is he? Don't you see you will have to 
 carry a note book with you so you can put down all you are learning? 
 I hope he will not meet with the sad fate of a blue-bird I found last 
 August, who had been indulging in his favorite pastime of peeping 
 
in holes and crevices, and by some unlucky move got his leg entangled 
 in a horse-hair which had been woven into a nest. His efforts to free 
 himself were hopeless and there he perished. His form dried and 
 embalmed by the summer's heat was yet hanging in September, the 
 outspread wings and plumage nearly as brilliant as in life. Did ybu 
 ever see any in winter? Note the time they first appear. Who has 
 seen them feed their young? Let me tell you what I have seen. 
 
 Last summer, I saw a mother-bird capture a harvest-fly, and after 
 briiising it awhile on the groimd, she flew with it to a tree, and gave 
 it to the yoiuig bird. It was a large morsel, and baby made a brave 
 effort to swallow it, but did not succeed, so that mother took the fly 
 again to the side-walk, and proceeded to bruise and break it more 
 thoroughly. Then she again placed it in her baby's beak with an air 
 which seemed to say, "There; try it now." He swallowed and choked, 
 but the great fly was still too big for his tiny beak. The young bird 
 fluttered and fluttered and moaned, "I'm stuck, I'm stuck;" and the 
 anxious parent again seized the morsel, carried it to an iron railing,, 
 and came down on it with all the force of her beak, with never-tiring^ 
 perseverance. She offered it to her young a third time, with the same 
 result, except that this time he dropped it, and she was on the ground 
 as soon as the fly, and taking it in her beak flew to a high board fence. 
 Just then the father blue-bird appeared, and said very plainly and 
 curtly, "Give me that bug." But she would not do it, and flew away,, 
 and I never found out whether baby blue-bird got any portion of the 
 fly dainty. 
 
 Watch carefully this summer and see if you can find a blue-bird 
 feeding its young. What kind of food do the young blue-birds eat? 
 Do they never eat other kinds? 
 
 Let us go on through this old orchard. Just over that fence yonder 
 we will strike the old wood-road. See the ferns in their first dress of 
 tender green, wearing their droll little hoods; but we must not stop 
 for them to-day, for our March visitors have come and are calling for 
 us. There is the note I have been hstening for. Did you ever hear a 
 more charming song? How would you describe it? "One high note, 
 three times repeated, and then a trill like a canary." This is a song 
 we will hear frequently for, the song-sparrow never wearies of singing. 
 There; James is beckoning us eagerly. I suspect he has found the nest 
 in that clump of bushes, or under that pavement of board which is 
 raised from the ground a couple of inches. Has he disturbed the 
 birds? Something is the matter, for there they are with their wings 
 raised in a way expressive of horror and dismay. Let us hurry. Oh, 
 
there is a Ijlack-snake. See the quick movement of its head. ^Vhat is 
 it trying to do? Seize the birds? Let us hide here behind this stump, 
 and tt-ateh the battle. The birds are so busily trying to beat him off 
 that they have no time to cry. Notice how they keep their wings 
 uplifted. There, the snake struck at one of them, but the other is re- 
 newing the assault from behind. How the poor things are panting 
 with the fright and the exertion. John, throw a stone at that snake. 
 "Well, that routed him and he has hidden imder the fence. Too bad. 
 The nest has been rifled and there are no eggs. I wish we had come a 
 little sooner. Why did they not build their nests higher, so that snakes 
 could not rob them? 
 
 Do the song-birds generally build high or low? Observe for your- 
 self and tell me. Last May, a song-sparrow that had met with some 
 such misfortune as this bird, built its nest in a thick mass of wood- 
 bine, against the side of my house, about fifteen feet from the ground. 
 Would you not have thought that a safe place? But it was not, either 
 a rat or an owl pillaged the nest one night. What did the mother- 
 bird do? After a week's moping she built again. Where, do you sup- 
 pose? A few yards from the house on a smooth piece of green grass. 
 There was not a weed or shrub to conceal it. When I saw the nest on 
 the bare ground almost at ray feet, I felt sure that the cats would kill 
 her. The desperate little bird sat there day after day, looking like a 
 brown leaf pressed down in the short grass. As the weather grew hot, 
 and the sun beat down on her, she fairly panted. It was no longer a 
 question of keeping the eggs warm, but of keeping them from roast- 
 ing. I have known male robins in similar cases to make sunshades of 
 themselves. But there was no perch for her husband had he been 
 disposed to shield his mate. ITn wisely, I 'tried to help, and stuck a 
 leafy twig beside the nest. It was a mark for some cat or other enemy, 
 and probably this time the mother-bird was caught, for I never saw 
 her again. 
 
 Whose eyes were keenest and who can best describe our little song- 
 sparrows who were fighting the snake? Mary says, they wore black 
 and brown coats, andhad chestnut heads with small black stripes. Very 
 good. Who can add to that? When they flapped their wings, Euth 
 says, she noticed their under jiarts uei-e «'hite streaked with brown. 
 How many saw the dull red edging the wing feathers, and the little 
 brown stripe behind the ear? Don't forget their long and nearly even 
 brown tails. Were their bills and feet black like the blue-bird's? Some 
 say '•Yes," and some "No." They matched the rest of their verv sober 
 
and tasty spring dress, being pale brown. Do yon think yon can call 
 them by name when yon meet them again? 
 
 How many know the robin? All? Snppose then yon draw me a 
 robin, and write a description of his plumage, and habits. Early in 
 March he is with ns to remain until fall. Let us sit down by this 
 crooked, lazy little stream bordered with willow, while we do our draw- 
 ing and writing. A'ery good. I would know that to be a bird, but 
 whether robin or song-sparrow I could not tell. "Under part, dingy 
 orange red, or chestnut brown." Eight as far as it goes, but is that 
 all you can tell? 
 
 Let me ask you a few questions: and how fortunate it is that 
 that robin has come and perched himself on that limb not twenty feet 
 away. But you must look quickly and keenly for he may fly away at 
 any moment. What is the color of his throat? What the color of his 
 eyelids? Has he any spot in front of his eye? If so, what is its color? 
 WTiat is the color of his back, and wings, and tail? Are they all alike 
 or diiferent? What is the color of his legs and beak? How long do 
 3'ou think he is? If you have all those questions answered you will see 
 what I meant when I said you would have to see quickly and keenly. 
 Xow he is singing; and do you know what his song seems to say to me? 
 It seems a? if he W£re saying, "Spring is here — is here — is here. I'm so 
 glad. I'm so glad."' Does it sound like that to you? If it does not 
 now. I am sure it will some time in your life, for whether it rains or 
 shines, whether it is cold or hot, the robin never forgets to sing his 
 glad song. 
 
 I hope some time you will find a robin's nest. If you do, be very 
 careful not to disturb it, but if you can, find of what materials it is 
 made. Find also if you can how many eggs it contains. "What is their 
 color? What is their size? In this work you will have to be able to 
 think in inches. Can you do it? Make dots on a sheet of paper an 
 inch apart. Then some three, five, seven and ten inches apart. Then 
 take a ruler and measure and see how near right you are. If you are 
 ver^- much mistaken keep trying until an inch really means something 
 to you. 
 
 Some persons think we ought to kill the robin because he eats our 
 cherries, grapes, and other small fruits. They are very much mis- 
 taken. Fruit is a small part of the robin's diet. "What do you think 
 he eats before cherries are ripe? It is worms and insects, and by the 
 havoc he makes among them he more than compensates for his occa- 
 sional visits to our fruit trees. I once kept a couple of robins in a 
 
6 
 
 cage for a day or ( ho and found that each one ate sixty-eight worms 
 a day. The length of those worms which I patiently toUed all day to 
 provide, was about fourteen feet. 
 
 If you really wish to study birds, place a shallow vessel of some sort, 
 in your school or home yard, and keep it constantly filled with water. 
 For several summers I have had an old-fashioned iron camp-kettle in 
 my back yard under some peach trees. The birds soon found out that 
 there was always fresh water there and a secluded spot in which to 
 drink and bathe. Although few nested in the yard, the robins, blue- 
 jays, red-headed woodpeckers, cat birds, sparrows and many others, 
 came almost daily. Some must have come from quite a distance. I 
 thus had a good chance to watch the industry of father robin, whose 
 whole day was spent in putting worms in insatiable beaks at about the 
 rate of alioiit one in every three minutes. Watch the robins teaching 
 their young to bathe. The father keeps a lookout for cats and other 
 enemies, while the mother says as plain as bird can say to her children, 
 ^'Jump in. Jump in. Fm here. Fm here." Sometimes the bluejay 
 comes, and naughty, selfish fellow that he is, drives parents and 
 babies both away, claiming the bathing place as his especial right. He 
 was even very impudent to me. Several mornings in the hot summer 
 weather, I forgot to fill the kettle with fresh water. The bluejay 
 would come to the house and scold, and scold, until I came out, then 
 flying low over my head, as I filled the kettle, he would rate me 
 soundly for my neglect. I tried him on several occasions until I con- 
 'sdnced myself that his actions were due to design, not accident. 
 
 Let us make a list of the birds we have seen to-day. We have seen 
 three — blue-bird, song-sparrow, and robin. What bird has been with 
 us of! and on all winter? He has a shrill whistle like "wheeo — wheeo, 
 wheeo." Everyone knofl-s him. It is our naughty favorite, the hand- 
 some, saucy, mischievous bluejay. He is a vain fellow, and you have 
 a chance to make many good sketches of him as he sits coquettishly 
 turning his splendidly crested head from side to side. All the birds 
 know his trick of stealing through the trees in May or June in quest 
 of eggs. Just watch the robins hustle him out of the tree that holds 
 their nests crying, "Thief, thief," at the top of their voices. Did you 
 ever hear him sing? It is said that he can sing as sweetly as a mock- 
 ing-bird, but his usual notes are harsh and ill-tempered and only 
 occasionally musical and sweet. Some people say he is a murderer, 
 that he is a regular cold-blooded assassin, killing the fledglings 
 of other birds, but the careful studies made by the Agricultural De- 
 pa itment at Washington seem to prove that much of his bad reputa- 
 
tion is undeserved. Find ont all you can of his habits, where he builds 
 his nest and how. How can you tell him from a bue-bird, for he too has 
 a blue coat and black bill and legs? Are there any markings on his 
 wings or throat or head, by which you may always know him? 
 
 Now let us stop for to-day and take another trip together late in 
 April, but do not let us forget to watch the birds every day until then. 
 
 The morning is the best time to study birds, so let us start early for 
 the woods this bright April day. This field so green with its covering 
 of young wheat is just the place to find one of our familiar birds, the 
 meadow lark. So two of you have seen him at the same time. One 
 has seen him walking between the ro^s of wheat and the other 
 perched on the top of a rail fence. Now as you have found him you 
 may answer our questions about him. What is the color of his back 
 and of his wings? Is it a solid color or is it speckled? What is the 
 color of his breast? Has he any qiieerly shaped mark upon it? Sup- 
 pose you describe it. What is the color of his legs and beak? How 
 long do jon think he is? Is he larger or smaller than the robin? How 
 did he move when on the ground, did he walk or hop? As you are 
 studying birds this spring, suppose you make a list of the birds that 
 walk and another list of the birds that hop when moving about on the 
 ground. At the end of the season see which list is the longer. Let us 
 watch the bird upon the fence and perhaps we can see him when he 
 sings. It will not take us very long, for the meadow-lark like the 
 robin is almost always singing. Listen to his song and see how he 
 throws back his dear little head in true operatic style. What do you 
 think he says? Some people who love the meadow-lark think it is, "/ 
 see you, you can't see me." Whatever it is, he evidently thinks this is 
 a beautiful world and is telling us so. 
 
 Go over into the meadow and see if you can find the meadow-lark's 
 nest. It ought to be on the ground, concealed by some of the long 
 grass. But what is that gorgeous bird, with his crimson epaulets bor- 
 dered with buff that we have disturbed so that it is flying away? You 
 all know him, because he is our very common red-shouldered black- 
 bird. Do you hear what he is saying as he flies away? Listen closely 
 so that you can recognize him by his call after this. He is a very 
 great friend of the meadow-lark at this season of the year, and usually 
 chooses the same meadow for his nesting place. But we must go on 
 or we will not reach the woods. Here is a nest which I almost stum- 
 bled on in the grass. Yes, it is the meadow-lark's nest, and in it are 
 four eggs. What color are they. Don't disturb it, for we want to see 
 some baby larks in the weeks to come, and hear some more lark songs 
 next spring. 
 
■\A'hat IS that rattling drum-call? Look! There is the ilrummer, 
 high up on that telegraph pole, and yery conspicuous he is, with his 
 glossy black and white plumage, and brilliant red head and neck. 
 How does he beat that long, rolling rattle, the regular woodpecker 
 drum-call? Does the sound come from the bird or the wood? Did 
 Yiiu ever notice a red-headed woodpecker make a soundless call on a 
 fence stake where the decaying wood allowed of the full entrance of 
 his beak? There he goes to that hickory tree. Notice the rapid, si)as- 
 modic motion of his head. Don"t you think he is a pretty good ath- 
 lete, to hurl his head and beak back and forth like that? Let us count 
 how many strokes to the second. How many did you make it? Nq. 
 tice his legs. Have you seen any bird this Spring with as short ones? 
 (;'an you tell me why his tail feathers are tipped with stiff points? 
 "Watch him and 3'ou will see. There, he"s going to strike a hard blow 
 with his bill. Sec him brace the jioints of his tail feathers against the 
 tree and, rising to the full length of his short, powerful legs, and 
 drawing back his liody, head and neck, dash his bill home with a force 
 of weight and muscle which is knocking off good-sized pieces from 
 the hard hickory tree. Wliat is he after? Some worm or insect wliose 
 retreat he has discovered. You think he must hurt the tree, do you? 
 Suppose you watch him closely this summer and see whether he works 
 on living or dead trees. 
 
 But he has a relative known by his yellow vest, sometimes called 
 the ■'yellow-bellied sajvsucker," who does injure fruit and shade trees 
 by stripping oft' the bark and boring holes. Our red-headed friend 
 does not confine himself to insects alone. He eats nuts, fruits, and is 
 A'ery fond of corn, wheat and melons, Ijut he eats so many insects that 
 he earns all that he takes from the orchard and field. He is not a 
 very satisfactory article for a sketch. Five seconds is about as long 
 as he remains in mie position, but we must learn to do some things in 
 a liTivry. Let us see if we can draw an outline of his form. It is 
 pretty easy to make something that everybody knows is meant for a 
 bii'd, but it is not nearly so easy to make a sketch that every one will 
 kudw was meant for a jiarticular bird. But this is one of the things 
 that it will pay you to keep on trying, and after a while you will be 
 surprised to find how well you can draw. But, while he is before us, 
 let IIS write his color description. Put it in this order: Head and neck, 
 back, breast, wings. AV'here are the white bands — on his body or on 
 the wings, or both? 
 
 If we had as sharp eyes as he has, not much would e^eai)e us. 
 See! Starting from tlie topmost branch of that tall tree he is flving 
 
9 
 
 fifty yards straight to an insoct uear the ground. Look at him catch 
 that liy on the wing. How many different kinds of woodpeckers do 
 you suppose we have in our woods? Find out their names. There are 
 six or seven you will certainly see, and perhaps you will be fortunate 
 enough to meet two or three more. The red-head has numerous rela- 
 tives — thirty alone that are good American citizens, and about two 
 hundred foreign relati\es. Wouldn't you like to see the king of them 
 all, who lives in the South and only rarely visits us? He must be 
 worth seeing, with liis grand scarlet crown, and great ivory wtute bill. 
 How much larger do jou suppose he is than this one we have been 
 watching? The length with his ivory bill is twenty-one inches, while 
 this one can not be more than ten. To see such a king and queen in 
 vigorous galloping flight through the woods must be a sight worth 
 seeing. His dress is ^ery much like our red-head's. Indeed all the 
 A\-oodpeckers have a bit of red about their heads, and that makes them 
 so conspicuous that cruel women like to wear them on their hats. I 
 think the bird knows it, for he has been a little shy of late, keeping 
 in the woods and up in the tree-tops, instead of along the old weed- 
 grown, worm-eaten fences. 
 
 Would you call the woodpecker a musician? Well, if the drummer 
 is a musician, he is one. He can also call, squawk, squeal and splutter. 
 There is another woodpecker. That is the one I spoke about a little 
 while ago — the "yellow-bellied sap-sucker." Why is he called a sap- 
 sucker? Follow him into the woods and you will find out. See how 
 many holes he has drilled — a regular band of them about the trunk of 
 that sugar maple tree. What is he drinking so eagerly? Sap, of course. 
 Robert, climb that tree, and count the holes he has made. Sixteen! 
 think of that. Sometimes a sap-sucker will stay for hours at a single 
 tree, sipping the sap, and then waiting for it to collect again. How 
 much of their time do you suppose they spend sap-drinking? Did 
 you ever see one sitting on the edge of a sugar trough drinking of the 
 ready tapped maple sap? It is a short step from sap-sipping to cherry- 
 tasting. Don't you think you would stop drilling into the hard green 
 wood for food, when you could find a superior flavor stored up in a 
 cherry, apple or grape? 
 
 The poor woodpeckers have to suffer for their kinsman's sins, but 
 the yellow vest, and the crimson cap, enclosed by a half moon of 
 black, and a border of yellowish white, ought to enable any one to 
 know the bird of bad morals from his more virtuous relations. 
 
 Let us go into that thicket of haw and crab-apple. Last year it 
 was the favorite haunt of the brown thrush, or the brown thrasher. 
 
10 
 
 as he is sometimes called. We are fortunate, for there is our bird in 
 his snufE-colored coat and dappled vest. I believe he is the very same 
 bird that I found here last j^ear. Is he not a picture to remember, 
 sitting on the topmost branch of that tree, with the morning sun 
 bringing out the red tints in his brown coat. Listen to that shower 
 of song, so full-toned, loud and clear. Such ecstatic trills and qua- 
 vers; and Nature has been his only teacher, but there is none above 
 her. Does he sing all the year round ? In the South he now and then 
 sings a low, dreamy, lulling song at night. Let us separate and ex- 
 amine every foot of ground quietly and closely for the nest, being 
 careful not to frighten the birds. But here is the nest. Why do you 
 suppose the male bird is no nearer his mate? To throw us off the 
 track, and distract our attention from his treasures? Is this the nest, 
 this straggling mass of twigs, roots, bark and leaf stems on the flat 
 projection of that fence-rail? Is it ever on the ground? See how 
 artfully it is concealed. It is the last place I would have thought of 
 looking, and when you do look, you can see nothing but a mass of 
 green leaves. What delicately pretty eggs. How many are there? 
 "Four. But one is different — a dirty, speckled looking egg — not like 
 those pale-green ones flecked with brown." Let me see it. It's a 
 cow-bird's egg. "What is a cow-bird?" You have certainly seen 
 them in the cow pasture, as black as crows, but much smaller and 
 with an evil, thievish eye. It is a bird of low principles. What do I 
 mean by that? It makes some other bird hatch its eggs. I have 
 caught it in the act of carrying off wren's eggs; and, of course, it had 
 left an egg of its own in the wren's nest. Is it not a shame that our 
 lovely brown thrush, devoid of a single vice, will have to rear this 
 ugly little foundling, who has taken the place of at least one nestling? 
 It will be much larger than the others, and, if it is like its kind, will 
 be very selfish and claim everything in sight, pushing the baby 
 thrashers aside. 
 
 Suppose we sit down on the bank of this stream and rest a while. 
 What was that splash? Ah! A kingfisher after his prey. There he 
 mounts to his perch in that branch of sycamore overhanging the 
 water, with a fish in his beak. How will he kill it? Watch him and 
 see. There, he is beating it on the limb of the tree until the spines 
 of its fins are crushed. Is he choking? No, but certainly his eating 
 is not very enjoyable, judging by his gulping, stretching of neck, 
 jerldng of wings and contortion of body. What advantage is it to him 
 that he is all ashy-blue and purple and silver-gray and white, instead 
 of bright scarlet? Do you suppose a minnow looking up through the- 
 
11 
 
 dancing \\;iter can tell that sky-blue and silvery creature poised above- 
 him from the sky and clouds? If he could, the kingfisher would often 
 go hungry. Why is he called the "belted Idngfisher"? Where does 
 he nest? I expect we would find his nest over there in a hole in that 
 dry, sandy bank, for the kingfisher is one of our burrowini;- birds. 
 There is an interesting legend about him, and the poets have sung 
 about him under his other name, the "Halcyon." See if you can find 
 out what they tell of him. Write a color description of him as you 
 did of the other birds. 
 
 Biit let us go back to the school yard and see if we can discover 
 what birds have foimd a vessel of water we placed there for their use. 
 What is that slender, quick-moving bird? The cat-bird, you all say.- 
 What a strange name. Irritate him and see if you can not find how 
 he got that name. But if we find out more about him we will have 
 to follow him over into that secluded corner of the pasture. Xow 
 listen to his song. Did you ever hear anything finer? It is one of the 
 best in the world. Does it resemble the song of any of the birds that 
 we have met in our walks? Think carefully and listen carefully be- 
 fore you answer. 
 
 Now, listen to the cat-bird talk, the soft "chuck" and "mew" in aU 
 tones. I wish, he would give us his wonderful whisper song. There, 
 his mate has seen us. She says, "Sing lower — lower — lower."' Now 
 we can hardly hear him, and we are not more than ten feet distant, 
 but we can see him and get his description for our picture gallery 
 of spring birds. ISTote the color of his back, breast and head. See if 
 you can see a patch of chestnut-brown anywhere about him. He 
 seems very happy now. See him sit and swing and sing on the willows 
 by yonder little brook. Don't you think him handsome? His beauty 
 does not make him a favorite, however. What is the cause of that? 
 Well, like the human family, his unsocial habits and the way he has 
 of skulking off by himself have excited a prejudice against him which 
 is not unfounded, for I caught a cat-bird last summer perched upon 
 the rim of a pewee's nest, ha.stily devouring the eggs. I was so vexed 
 vrith her that I killed her on the spot, but I regretted it heartily when 
 I found that she had a well-constructed nest of her own in a tree not 
 far from the house, and five lovely deep greenish-blue eggs in it. 
 
 But here we are near the corner where we must separate. 
 
 How many birds have we met and described in our walks? Name 
 them, if you can. Have we met others? "Many of them." How 
 many do you suppose can be seen in the State of Indiana alone? Over 
 three hundred different species, and of these about one hundred and 
 
12 
 
 fifty make their homes here. During the summer you will have the 
 opportunity to visit many bird homes and find out how feathered 
 babies are taught and cared for and disciplined. Let us see whose 
 note-book will have the best sketches and the most accurate descrip- 
 tions of birds seen and observed. 
 
 NOTE TO THE TEACHER. 
 
 Thi* leaflet is the result of original observations combined witti adap- 
 tations from John Burroughs, Maurice Thompson and John B. Grant. 
 
 It is intended to be used by the teacher simply as indicating the man- 
 ner in which children may be interested and directed in the study of birds 
 about them; and also the use which the teacher may malie of the many 
 valuable and Instructive books upon the subject in the way of adapting 
 them to the child's needs. 
 
 This, of course, is an imaginary excursion. The real excursion should 
 have more of the activity of the children in it and its incidents will of 
 necessity be altogether different. It should be remembered that the time 
 at which the birds spoljen of in this paper will appear will depend some- 
 what upon the advancement of the season and also upon the latitude. In 
 order to see the most of them at their best, two or three excursions at 
 least should be taken. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children :n Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 A COUNTRY SCHOOL GARDEN. - 
 
 By Prof. Stanley Coulter. 
 
 Have you ever thought how much of your time is spent at school? 
 Suppose you take a pencil and work it out. Seven months, or twenty- 
 eight weeks, or one hundred and forty days. And you are there just 
 about eight hours each day. Do you not think you would work better 
 and be happier if the school yard and school room were made pretty 
 and attractive? I know you would, for I have watched children at 
 work for many years, and know just how much cheerful surroundings 
 help them. 
 
 What kind of school yard have you? I have seen hundreds of 
 schools in the country, and nearly as many in towns, where the 
 school yard was so bare and ugly that I wondered how either the 
 teacher or scholars could possibly do good work. Now, if your school 
 3-ard is of this sort, suppose, when school opens, you all join together 
 to make it more pleasant. Of course you will want plenty of room in 
 which to play, and that part you need only keep free from litter and 
 rubbish. Then, of course, you must have walks, so that there is only 
 left the odd corners of the school yard for you to care for; and it is 
 about these odd corners that I want to talk. But, before I do, I want 
 to say something about walks. I visited a school not long ago where 
 iliere, was no sign of a walk, and had xo wade through the mud to 
 icach the front door. Of course, I carried a good deal of mud into 
 tlie school room, and it dried on the floor and soon became dust, which 
 
2 
 
 very soon filled the air and made it unfit to breathe. For dirt and 
 ■disease are very closely related, you know. All this, because there was 
 no walk. But just outside the school-house yard was a great gravel 
 bank, and, if the boys had thought to bring a wheelbarrow and some 
 ;shovels to school, they could have made a good walk in a very short 
 time. If 3'ou have not walks, you can make them in nearly every 
 legion, with very little trouble. Tt will pay you to do so, for the school 
 room will be kept cleaner, the air will be purer, and you will find that 
 you can do more work and better work. 
 
 But, about those odd corners: Did you ever notice how nature tries 
 to cover over the bare spots? Over logs and unsightly stumps she 
 trails delicate vines; in among the rocks she sets out fems, and in 
 every possible corner and crevice ?he plants flowers. Xow, I want 
 vou to take a hint from nature, and, indeed, get her to help you to 
 make the school yard beautiful. 
 
 If you have any stones in the yard, pile them up in a loose heap. 
 Go out into the nearest woods and get some of the rich, black earth 
 that you will find about decaying logs, and with it fill the spaces be- 
 tween the rocks. When the ferns are just beginning to appear in the 
 spring, dig some up very carefullj', so that you may not injure the 
 roots and plant them in your rock pile. Be sure to leave some of the 
 "home" earth alDout the roots, and water the ferns frequently, because 
 you know they love moisture. Then, if you notice the places from 
 which you dig the ferns, you will also see that they love shade. Of 
 course, this means that your rock pile must not be put in a place 
 where it will catch the full light and heat of the sun. If you do this, 
 it will not be very long before your unsightly rock pile is a beautiful 
 fernery, and one of the odd corners is filled. Watch the ferns as they 
 grow and see how the delicate fronds unroll themselves. Probably 
 there are ten or twelve different kinds of ferns in your neighborhood. 
 Try to get them all to grow in your fernery. A little later in the sea- 
 son, after the fern leaves are fully opened, if you watch the under- 
 side of the leaf carefully, you will see little round bodies which at first 
 are green but afterwards become brown. Tliese are the spores of the 
 fern, and from these spores new fern plants will be developed. Now, 
 you will not find this very hard work: indeed, I think you will soon 
 come to enjoy your fernery very much. 
 
 Are there any stumps or bare fences or sheds about the school yard? 
 I think that there must lie, unless your school yard is unlike most of 
 those I have seen. Suppose, about such places, yoiT plant morning 
 glories or the wild cucumber. Perhaps you do not know what the 
 
wild cucumber is; if not, the morning glory will do very well, and you 
 can get morning glory seeds almost anywhere. Dig up the earth where 
 you want to plant the seeds, and, having broken it up very finely, mix 
 with it some of the rich black earth of which I have already spoken. 
 Do not plant the seeds very deep, certainly not over half an inch. 
 In a few days the morning glories will begin to come up, but the twO' 
 leaves which first appear do not look at all like the later leaves. Now 
 put a small stick in the ground near the young morning glory and,, 
 tying a string to it, stretch the string up to the top of the stump or 
 fence which you want to cover. This string is to support the stem,, 
 which is too weak to carry its load of leaves without some such help. 
 The vine grows very rapidlj"-, and it will not be long until the stump 
 or fence is completely covered. Watch the stem from day to day as 
 it twines itself about the string. Does it always twine in the same 
 direction? Is this direction from right to left, or from left to right? 
 Suppose you put some of the sticks to which the strings are tied, a 
 foot or more away from the young morning glory, and watch the 
 plants every day. Does the young stem ever go in any other direction 
 than towards it support? How do you suppose it finds is way to the- 
 string? Watch other vines which climb by twining, and see if they be- 
 have in the same way? Do you think the plant can see? If not, how 
 does it know where the support is to be found? 
 
 You will also see that the fiowers are visited by many insects. What 
 do they come for? Are their visits of any use to the plants? See if 
 you can find how many kinds of insects visit the flowers. 
 
 The morning glory can stand more sunlight and heat than the ferns 
 and does not need as wet a soil. Indeed, it will grow freely and vig- 
 orously in almost any place if you prepare the bed as I have said. If 
 you are trying to cover the side or end of a shed with the vines, be 
 sure you dig your bed far enough away from the building to escape 
 the drip from the eaves. If you do not, the soil is liable to be washed 
 away from the seeds before they germinate, or else to be packed so- 
 tightly by the beat of the rain that the plant can not get any air. As 
 a plant is a living thing, it breathes, and if air is cut off it dies just as 
 an animal would die under similar conditions. With these morning- 
 glories, then, you see you can cover many unsightly objects very 
 rapidly. 
 
 Then, in the other odd corners, I would make flower beds, in which 
 I would plant some of our beautiful wild flowers. These beds ought 
 to be dug up to a depth of at least a foot and the earth broken up very 
 completely, and then thoroughly mixed with rich earth. If the origi- 
 
nal soil is very gravelly, or a heavy clay, some of it ought to be thrown 
 away and replaced with good earth. If you are very much in earnest 
 about making the school yard more beautiful you will not have much 
 trouble in having the beds dug up in the first place. After that you 
 will want to do all the rest of the work yourself. Now, what shall we 
 plant in these beds? I think I would take one small bed and fill it 
 with violets. Did you know that there are ten or eleven different 
 kinds of violets in Indiana? Probably five or six of them will be 
 found growing in your neighborhood. If you decide upon a bed of 
 violets, go out into the woods and study the violets in their homes. 
 Do you fj.nd them most frequently in the sun or in shady places? 
 When you have answered this you can settle the location for your 
 violet bed. Do you find violets most vigorous in dry soil or in wet soil? 
 When you answer this question you will know something about the 
 amount of water you must give them if you want them to do well. 
 Now, dig up your violets very carefully, keeping a good deal of the 
 home earth about their roots, and replant them in the bed which you 
 have made. You will find that they grow well and blossom all through 
 the spring and summer. In this bed you should have blue violets and 
 yellow violets and white violets; violets in which the leaves seem to 
 come directly out of the ground and those in which the leaves arise 
 from the stem, for all of these forms doubtless gTow in your neighbor- 
 hood. As the plants grow you can watch them every day, and if you 
 do, you will find they will tell you much of the story of their life 
 
 Then, in another bed, T think I would put some phlos or "wild 
 sweet William," as it is called. You know it, of course, for the phlox 
 is very abundant all over the State, and its pink to red fl.ower3 are 
 very beautiful. There are several different kinds of phlox in the State 
 and you willprobably find two or three of them in your neighborhood. 
 Of course, before you plant them in their new home, you should know 
 whether they live in sunny or shady places, and whether in wet or dry 
 soils, for you want to keep the new conditions as much like the old 
 ones as is possible. If you do this, you will have little difficulty in se- 
 curing good results. 
 
 The other beds I would make "mixed" beds, putting in them almost 
 any pretty flower that I could find. I would put in spring beauties, 
 and blood-root, and the yellow crow-foot, and anemones, and wild 
 geraniums; indeed, anything that was attractive in appearance. You 
 will be surprised to find how soon this mixed bed becomes very beau- 
 tiful. By watching carefully during the first season you can find what 
 flowers have a long blooming season and what ones blossom for only a 
 
few days. The second season those that are unsuited to the situation 
 because of this or any other reason can be omitted and only those 
 which are satisfactory used. I am not going to tell you which ones 
 are the best, for I want you to find out for yourself. 
 
 I have written this as if the leaflet would come to you in the early 
 spring, and as if you were going immediately to work to make your 
 school yard more beautiful. But it may come to you in the fall, and if 
 it does, you will have to start with other flowers. I would make one 
 bed of the splendid yellow golden rods, and we have twenty-seven dif- 
 ferent kinds of them in the State. Then I would have a bed of asters, 
 of which we have very many, and very beautiful kinds. You know 
 they range in color from white, through blue to deepest purple. As 
 there are thirty-one different kinds of asters in the State, you ought 
 to be able to get twelve or fifteen different kinds for your bed. Both 
 the golden rods and asters are very hardy, bloom freely and keep their 
 beauty for a long time. 
 
 Then off in one corner I would have some wild sunfiowers. Indeed, 
 in the fall you will have no trouble at all in finding plenty of flowers 
 with which to work. Of course, if you are trying to make your school 
 yard beautiful you will keep out weeds, such as the burdock and plan- 
 tain and thistles, not merely because they are not attractive, but 
 because they use the food and water in the soil which you want to go 
 to the other plants. 
 
 I believe it is worth your while to try what I have suggested. If you 
 succeed you will have to study plants in their homes and in this way 
 will find out a great deal about plant life which may afterwards prove 
 of great value to you. Then if you succeed you will begin to have a 
 real pride in the appearance of your school grounds, and when that 
 happens you will find you are also very much interested in your school 
 work. Of course, it means work, but we must always work for any- 
 thing that is worth having. 
 
F O R THE USE OF TEAC H E R S . 
 
 No. 10, 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 A TALK ABOUT TREES. 
 
 By Prof. Stanley Coulter. 
 
 Ha\e you ev#r thought in how many ways wood was used? Suppose 
 you take a pencil and paper and make a list of all the different articles 
 that are .made of wood. You will find you mil need a pretty large 
 piece of paper before you are through. Of course, you will put down 
 as the first thing houses and buildings of various kinds, and then, per- 
 haps, you will put down the furniture. If you go out into the kitchen 
 you will find other things made of wood, and if you go to the barn or 
 tool house you will find still others. When you travel on the railroad 
 vou will find the rails rest on wooden ties, and that the telegraph wires 
 are held in place by wooden poles. If you live near a river, the steam- 
 ers and skiffs and wharf boats will be found to be largely of wood. The 
 merchant gets his goods in wooden boxes, and the miller packs his 
 flour in wooden barrels. But I am not going to tell you how many 
 things are made from wood, for I want you to make as long a list 
 as you can yourself. I think it would be interesting for you, though, 
 to have your teacher tell you how paper is made from wood, because 
 perhaps you do not live where you can see how it is done. 
 
 It is because the trees are so useful to us that I think all of us ought 
 to learn all that we can about them. So in this leaflet I am going to 
 talk to you about trees. Do you know how many different kinds of 
 trees grow in Indiana? It has taken me a good many years to flnd 
 out, and as xou will not be able to flnd them all near your home I will 
 
tell you. There are 109 different kinds. Some of these are found all 
 over the State, and some are found only in a few places. Some are 
 very large, and their wood very valuable, while others are small, and 
 their wood of no particular use. It is only the plentiful and useful 
 kinds that I am going to talk about. The forests in Indiana are nearly 
 always mixed. That is, if you go into any forest or grove you will 
 find a great many different kinds of trees. That is not always the 
 case. If you were to go with me down into the mountains of Tennes- 
 see I could show you some forests covering thousands of acres, in 
 which almost all of the trees were chestnuts, and other forests equally 
 large in wliicli nearly all of them were pines. But it is not so in 
 Indiana, and for this reasun Indiana is a good place to study trci's. 
 
 A^ow, let us go out into the school yard, or to the nearest woods and 
 see how many different kinds of trees we can find. In most cases, 
 unless you live in the southern counties of the State, you will find 
 that ver}- many of the trees are oaks. If you live in the southern 
 counties perhaps the beech tree will outnumber the oaks. Do you 
 know an oak tree when you see it? 
 
 The trees are usually quite thick and tall. The hark is quite rough, 
 being broken up into irregular shapes liy cracks of coiKiderable depth. 
 In some cases the bark is light colored, in others it is dark in color. 
 See if you can find oak trees with light-colored bark and dark-colored 
 bark. Do most of the oak trees where you live have light-colored bark 
 or dark-colored bark? Sometimes we think the bark of a tree is 
 worthless, but this is not always true. The bark of oak trees was once 
 \ ei-y largely used in making leather, and all the corks that we use are 
 made from the bark of the cork oak. Look at the leaf. Do you see 
 how the leaf f-talk liolds a single green part? ^^'hen this is the case 
 the leaf is said to be a simple leaf. All oaks have simple leaves. If 
 you look at the leaf stalk you will see that it seems to run right 
 through the center of the leaf to its tip, dividing the green part into 
 two parts, which are almost exactly alike. Do you see how branches 
 seem to go from this mid-vein, as you may call it, to different parts of 
 the leaf? See if these branches or \'einlets come from the same point 
 on the mid-vein or if they start from different points. Do these vein- 
 lets run clear to the edge of the leaf? Look carefully and see just how 
 they end. 
 
 If WQ look at the edge of the leaf we find it is always notched or 
 lobed, sometimes \ery deeply, at other times only slightly, but the 
 margin of an oak leaf is never entire. Xow look carefully and see if 
 the veinlets, which we have just examined, have anything to do with 
 
tliis lobing or notching- of the leaf. I think it will help yon to remem- 
 ber the things we have been talking about if yon will place an oak leaf 
 on a sheet of paper and with a sharp pencil draw its outline. When 
 this is done fill in the mid-veins and the veinlets. See how many 
 different kinds of oak leaves you can find in the w^oods about the 
 school house or your home. 
 
 Did you ever see the flower of an oak tree? Watch this spring, and 
 almost at the same time the leaves begin to unfold you will see long, 
 slender spikes hanging down from various parts of the branches. 
 These spikes are yellowish or greenish in color, and if you examine 
 them closely you will find they are made up of a large number of 
 flowers. Of coiirse, the flowers of the oak tree do not look very much 
 like those of the roses or pinks, but still they are flowers. At what 
 date do the leaves of the oaks open? At what date do the flowers ap- 
 pear? Docs the time of leafing and flowering differ in the different 
 kinds of oaks? You may think I am asking you a great many ques- 
 tions, but the questions I have asked can be easily answered if you 
 keep your eyes open. 
 
 Of coiirse, you know that the fruit the oak tree bears is called an 
 acorn. Xow there are as many different kinds of acorns as there are 
 different kinds of oak trees, and, if possible, you should find the 
 acorn of every kind of oak tree you study. If this leaflet should come 
 to you in the fall of the year, gather as many different kinds of acorns 
 as you can and plant them in boxes or pots, so that 3'ou may see what 
 young oak trees are like. If the leaflet comes to you in the spring, 
 look carefull}^ under the oak trees and see if you can flnd any of these 
 seedlings, as they are called. Are their leaves like those of the full- 
 grown tree ? I am not going to saj^ anything about acorns, because the 
 next leaflet I write is going to be about "forest fruits,"' but before 
 that comes to you I want you to know all you can about the different 
 kinds of oak trees that grow in your neighborhood, and the kind of 
 acorns that they bear. 
 
 I have talked a good deal about oaks for two reasons. The first is 
 that, having taken so much time on one kind of trees, the others can 
 be studied much more easily. The second is, that we have more dif- 
 ferent kinds of oaks than any other tree, and that they are perhaps the 
 most vahtable timber that now remains in our State in any great 
 abundance. There are seventeen different kinds of oaks in Indiana. 
 Almost all of them are of large size, and almost all of them are exten- 
 sively used in manufacture. The wood is very firm and strong and is 
 used for a great variety of purposes. See if you can find how oak wood 
 
is used where you live. Wlien you do, will you not write and tell me, 
 for that is what I have been trying to find for a long while ? 
 
 I want you now to see if you can pick out a maple tree. Whether 
 you live in the city or country you will be pretty sure to find one, for 
 maples are very plentiful in the woods, and are more largely planted 
 than any other form in city streets. If you compare the maple with 
 the oak you will find it neither so thick nor so tall. The bark is thin- 
 ner than in the oak, and not nearly so rough, but like the oak is light 
 colored in some forms and dark colored in others. The branches of 
 the maples spread in such a way as to give abundant shade and at the 
 same time give to the tree a very beautiful shape. 
 
 Now pick a leaf of the maple and examine it carefully. As in the 
 case of the oak you will find the leaf stalk bears a single green blade, 
 or, in other words, that it is a simple leaf. But now look at the vein- 
 lets. Do they arise from the same point on the mid-vein or from dif- 
 ferent points!^ Measure the length and breadth of an oak leaf, and 
 then the length and breadth of a maple leaf. Does this difference in 
 the way in which the veinlets arise have any relation to the shape 
 of the leaf? Leaves in which the veinlets are arranged, as in the oaks, 
 are said to be pinnately veined. Where the veinlets are arranged, as 
 in the maple, they are said to be palmately veined. See how many 
 dift'erent kinds of trees you can find in which the leave? are pinnately 
 veined. How many in which they are palmately veined. In the 
 maples, as in the oaks, you will find that the edge of the leaf is never 
 entire, but is more or less deeply lobed. How many of these lobes are 
 there in a maple leaf? Does the distribution of the large veinlets 
 bear any relation to this lobing? Trace the outline of a maple leaf 
 and fill in mid-vein and veinlets. 
 
 The floM ers of the maple are more conspicuous than those of the 
 oaks. Instead of being arranged in spikes they are arranged in clus- 
 ters. They are sometimes yellowish in color, and sometimes a bright 
 red. In the maples, which appear first, the flowers or loaves? At 
 what date do they appear? The fruit of the maple is a strange looking, 
 two-winged affair. Notice when the fruit is ripe how it is carried by 
 the wind from beneath the shadow of the parent tree. When the fruit 
 finally reaches the ground are the wings pointed upward or down- 
 ward? Why is this so? Examine the seedlings of the maple. Com- 
 pare the shape of the young leaves with those of the fully grown 
 tree. 
 
 We have four kinds of maples in Indiana. The most abundant of 
 these is the sugar maple, which is found in every county in the State. 
 
The wood of all of the forms is very valuable for manufacturing pur- 
 poses, while from the sugar maple we get our maple sugar and maple 
 syrup. If there are any sugar maple orchards near where you live see 
 if you can find out how maple sugar is made. At what season of the 
 year is it made? How is the sap of which it is made secured without 
 injury to the tree? Be sure to visit a '"sugar camp" if there is one in 
 your neighborhood and watch every process from the collection of sap 
 to the time in which it is changed into syrup or sugar. If you do not 
 live near a sugar maple orchard, have your teacher tell you how maple 
 sugar is made. 
 
 I suppose every boy and girl in Indiana has eaten walnuts and 
 hickory nuts, and many of you have gathered them in the fall, after 
 the first heavy frosts have loosened them from the branches and 
 brought them rattling to the ground. The walnuts and hickory nuts 
 are very closely related to each other, being in the same family. If 
 trees counted kin as we do, the walnuts and hickory nuts would be 
 cousins. Look, now, for a walnut tree. See how thick and rough and 
 ■dark colored the bark is, much darker than in the case of the dark- 
 colored oaks or maples. If, however, the walnut tree is very young 
 the bark will be somewhat lighter in color. The tree is tall and very 
 straight, and is sometimes two or three feet in diameter. Pick a leaf 
 of the walnut, being very careful that you get the entire leaf. Do 
 you see how the leaf stalk, instead of bearing a single green part, as 
 in the maples and oaks, bears many such parts, each looking like a 
 perfect leaf? In the case of the walnut the number of these leaflets. 
 as they are called, varies from fourteen to twenty-two. When a single 
 leaf stalk bears more than one green part it is known as a compound 
 leaf. All the trees in the great walnut family, and that means the 
 walnuts and butternuts, and all of the different kinds of hickory nuts, 
 have compound leaves. Are the leaflets in the walnut opposite each 
 other, or is one slightly above the other? Do the leaves of the walnut 
 unfold before those of the maple, or after? Do they appear before or 
 after the leaves of the oak? Do the leaves appear before the flowers? 
 At what date do the leaves and flowers appear? There, you see, is 
 another long list of questions which you can easily answer if you 
 watch the trees from day to day on your way to and from school. 
 You will be surprised to find how many things you can learn about 
 trees by vaicliing them in this way. 
 
 Of course, you know the wood of the walnut tree is very valuable. 
 In the fully grown, old trees the wood is very dark in color and takes 
 a beautiful polish, and so it has been very largely used in making fur- 
 
niture, and for picture frames, and for finishing the inside of houses. 
 Indeed, the wood was so much sought after that now scarcely any large- 
 walnut trees are left in the State, except in small groves about houses. 
 The walnut trees in the woods are nearly all what is called "second 
 growth,"' and the wood is not nearly so valuable, because it has not had 
 time to develop the dark, rich color which makes walnut wood so 
 handsome. If people who owned farms had cared for their walnut 
 trees many of these large forms would have been still left, and their 
 owners would be very much wealthier. But we are just as foolish 
 about the trees that are left and are every day making ourselves and 
 the State poorer by uselessly destroying them. Beside the ordinary 
 walnut we have what is known as the white walnut, or butternut. 
 AVhile this tree is not so large as the other, it is a very valuable tree,, 
 and should be carefully protected. It looks so much like the other 
 walnut that j'ou can easily recognize it in the woods. Tou see, how- 
 ever, as you look at the bark that it is not nearly so rough and thick 
 and that it is gray in color, instead of dark. Sometimes the gray color 
 seems to run in a series of bands straight up the tree. Pick one of the 
 compoimd leaves and count the number of leaflets. Are they arranged 
 in the same way as in the other walnut? "When do the leaves and 
 flowers appear? But you know the list of questions I want you to 
 answer, so I will not write them out. 
 
 From the walnuts you can easily find the hickory-nut trees, for 
 their leaves look so much alike. In all of our hickory trees the bark 
 is of a light gray color and in many cases seems to almost fall off the 
 tree in long, slender strips. If you try to pull off one of these strips 
 you will find it still very closely fastened to the tree. In one of our 
 hickories the whole trunk is made shaggy by these strips ol bark, and 
 we call the tree the "shagbark," or "shellbark," hickory. Pick the 
 compound leaf of a hickory tree and count the number of leaflets. 
 How are the leaflets arranged? Do hickory trees have flowers? If so,, 
 when do they appear? We have seven different kinds of hickory trees 
 in Indiana, all of them of large size and all giving us very valuable 
 timber. The wood is very hard and strong and this fits it for very 
 many uses, in which great strength is required. The handles of tools, 
 such as axes and plows, wagon-tongues and spokes, and a thousand 
 other things are made from hickory when it can be obtained. Every 
 boy knows he can make a good bow from a straight-grained piece of 
 hickory, and that which makes it good for a bow makes it suitable for 
 the other uses of which I have spoken. All of these trees bear nuts 
 which can be eaten, except in one case. The nut of the "pig-nut" hick- 
 
orv is too bitter for even nut-lmngry boys and girls to eat. The best of 
 all these hickories, not only in the vahie of its wood, but also in the 
 quality of its nuts, is the "white," or "shellbark," hickory. 
 
 But I have v?ritten more than I ought to already, and I have only 
 talked about a few trees. But what I hope you will do is this: Dur- 
 ing this year see how many kinds of trees you can learn to tell apart. 
 
 1. By the bark. 
 
 2. By their leaves. 
 
 3. By their fruit. 
 
 ^^ever mind about the long scientific names, the common ones will 
 •do just as well. While you are watchiiig them notice the following 
 things. If I were you, I would put them in a book, so that I might 
 ;not forget them: 
 
 1. "When do the leaves appear? 
 
 2. '\ATien do the flowers appear? 
 
 3. How long do the flowers last? • 
 
 4. "\"\Tien does the fruit ripen? 
 
 5. When do the leaves fall? 
 
 And then, I think, last of all, I would try to find the uses to which 
 ihe wood of the different trees were put in the neighborhood in which 
 I lived. If you do this, or even a part of it, you will know so much 
 .about trees at the end of the year that the woods and groves will have 
 a very different meaning to you. 
 
 If in your work you come to any questions which you can not an- 
 .swer, if you will let us know about it we will try to help you. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. ll. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 A STUDY OF OUR INSECT ENEMIES. 
 In Three Fifteen-Minute Lessons. 
 
 By Prof. James Troop. 
 I. 
 
 ISo children have a better opportunity for studying the habits of 
 insects than those of you who live in the country; and I suppose it is 
 true that the most of you do know a great deal more about the ways of 
 insects in general than your city cousins; but I wonder how many of 
 you have any idea how many kinds of insects there are in the world? I 
 do not suppose that any one knows exactly, but I think wc would be 
 safe in saying that fully four-fifths of all the animals in the world 
 lielong to this class. This is a good many, you say. Yes, indeed, it 
 is a good many, but you will see when you get a little older that I have 
 not stated it any too high. 
 
 In studying insects it has been found necessary to divide them into 
 classes as a botanist classifies his flowers. The classification that has 
 been adopted is based largely upon the wings of insects. Those having 
 thin, membranous wings are put in one class; those having scale wings 
 in another; and those having sheath wings in still another, and so on. 
 
 NOTE TO TEACHER.— The time at which tliese varioHs lessons should 
 be given will depend somewhat upon the latitude and advancement of the 
 season; but since it is desirable to {five the lessons about the time the obser- 
 vations can be made it will be necessary to place them about three weeks 
 apart. 
 
There arc sever of ihefe classes that are important, the names of 
 which are pjclty hard to remember, so I will have them written on the 
 Ijlackboard and 3'ou may copy them in your notebooks. Here they 
 are: 
 
 1. H}-lli('ii'0]l-tera. Having membrancms wings. This is the elas,s to which 
 
 th(; liefs and wasps belong. 
 
 2. Lei)-i-(l(ip-1era. Having stale wings. Here we find tlie moths and biil- 
 
 terflies. 
 ;{. Uip-tera. Having two win,<;s, including the common house fly and 
 
 the m(isi)nito. 
 -J. ('o-lc-()|i-tora. Sheath-winged. To this belong the beetles, such as the- 
 
 May-))eetle, or ".June-bug," as it is sometimes called. 
 .'1. Hem-ip-tera. Half-winged. Tliese are the true bugs. The black 
 
 sijuash-bng and the green plant lice are good e.xam- 
 
 liles. 
 (i. Or-tllop-ti'iM. Straight-winged. To this class belong the grasshoppers 
 
 and crickets. 
 7. >'('ii-r(i|i-tei'a. Lace-winged. Here we find the dragonflies or snake- 
 
 feeders. 
 
 Now I want to ask a question. Have any of you discovered in these 
 liard names any portion which is the same in all of them? Look 
 closely at the names on the board. You will see that the latter part 
 (if each name is alike. This part is from a Greek word which means 
 wings. 
 
 There is something -with regard to the most of the insects which I 
 «ish to c-xplain to you before we be,:.iin to study them. It is this: 
 .Aio,st itiseets are Jotmd in four diffcjcut forms. The first is the egg. 
 ^Vheir the egg batches it produces a -worm-like animal or caterpillar 
 ■Hbjch rats and gro^^•s somoljmes f(U- days, sometimes for weeks some- 
 limes e\eii for moiitlis. This stage the scientists call the larva, and 
 it is ill this singe that the greater part of the insects do the most dam- 
 :i,l;c. C/yn you name some such insects? Yes — tent-caterpillars, cur- 
 I'ant-wonns and cut-«-orms are iiiseids that are most injurious at this 
 time. 
 
 AVhen it has eaten and grown enough it lies very still for a long 
 time, often wrapping itself up in a covering called a cocoon. This is 
 the pupa or cliri/salis stage. After a\\'hile this pupa bursts open its 
 outer covering or cocoon and aiipears as a full-grown insect like the 
 butterfly, or beetle, or common house fly. This last stage is called the 
 imago. Can you name some insects that are most harmful when full 
 grown? Yes — grasshoppers and some of the beetles. 
 
 NOTE TO TE.VCHER.~lf the children ooiild l»e shown a larg'e inimhcr 
 of s|(P(iiiicii.s of different inseds. either mounted or alive, for the iiurposcs 
 of olisoivation and ehissilication it would yreatly enhamo the value of the 
 
 lessons. 
 
Now we are ready for out talk, which to-day is to be about some of 
 our insect enemies. Where shall I lio-iii? With the mosquito? With 
 the fiy? I suppose we may call mosquitoes and flies our insect ene- 
 mies, so I will speak of these for a few minutes. 
 
 Perhaps the mosquito and fly are as well known to us as any of the 
 insect tribe, but I wonder how many of the l)oys and girls Imow all 
 about the habits of these yory familiar little insects? For instance, I 
 speak of the mosquito as .«?//?. Did you know that Mr. Jlosquito has 
 much better manners than Jlrs. Mosquito? Well, he has, for he never 
 tries to worry or bite us as she does. He is a bashful fellow, and is 
 always found hiding in some out-of-tlie-way place, such as swamps and 
 woods, while his mate amuses herself by trying to sing us to sleep so 
 that she may have a good chance to stab us with her little spear, and 
 suck our blood. 
 
 In our study of these and other insects it will be quite desirable for 
 us to have a small hand magnifying glass in order that we may see 
 them to better advantage. For example, the spear or bill of the mos- 
 quito appears to the naked eye to be made up of a single straight 
 piece, but with a good glass it will be seen to be made up of a number 
 of long thread-like pieces which she can bring together, thus form- 
 ing a tube through which she takes her food. Compare this with 
 the beak of the house fly and note how they differ. Next examine 
 their wdngs. How many does each one have? By this time you will 
 very likely begin to think that these t^^•o insects are related to each 
 other; and so they are. 
 
 How many know where the mosquito lays her eggs, and where the 
 young live during their babyhood? Let us see. Did you ever know 
 mosquitoes to be numerous where there were no ponds, or rain bar- 
 rels, or other standing water? You did not? Very well, if you study 
 them closely you will find that the old mnsnuito lays her eggs in little 
 boat-shaped masses upon the water, and the little ones spend all their 
 time in the water feeding upon decayed matter that is always to be 
 foimd in such places. After a short time the young mosquito, which 
 does not look at all like a mosquito, changes to a different form, and 
 then it frequently comes to the top for air. If you disturb it, it will 
 go wriggling down to the bottom again. What then would you call it? 
 A wiggler? Yes, that is right. After a few days it comes to the top 
 for the last time, the old skin splits open on the back and makes a 
 nice little boat for the full-grown mosquito to stand in until it can 
 stretch its wings and legs, when off it goes to search for food. All 
 this that I have just told you can be readily seen, providinii; you have 
 sharp eyes. 
 
Let us see how tlio house fly differs from the mosquito in these re- 
 spects. Do you think the fly lays her ey,<;s in ttie water? Ts'o, she 
 lays her eggs in cracks in the floor or in other out-of-the-way places 
 where there is a good supply of food for her young. Here they live 
 till they are full grown, when they change their form, as did the mos- 
 quito, but they take on a very different shape, looking somewhat like 
 a small black bean. After a short time, one end of this little black 
 case is forced ofE and out comes Wr. Fly. 
 
 I wish you to notice that these insects which we have called our ene- 
 mies are not altogether bad. They help us while they are young by 
 destroying various kinds of filth and decaying matter which, if left in 
 the water, or upon the ground, or in our dwellings, would be very in- 
 jurious to our health. 
 
 I think perhaps we have said enough about the fly and mosquito at 
 this time to put you on the right track, so that during the summer 
 with the aid of your glass you will be able to discoAcr many more in- 
 teresting tilings about them. 
 
 II. 
 
 Spring will soon be here and with the first warm days the currant 
 and gooseberry bushes will begin to send out their leaves and will take 
 up another season's work of increasing their growth and producing a 
 crop of fruit. If those of you who have them in your gardens will 
 watch carefully you will probalily find after a few days, down in the 
 center of the bush, some leaves ^\hich have tiny holes through them, 
 and yet there does not appear to be anything on them. But pick a 
 leaf and look closely at the underside of it. There you will find a 
 dozen or more little greenish worms -Hith black dots all over their 
 bodies. Where could they have come from? Look carefully along 
 the ribs of the leaf on the underside and you will soon be able tn 
 answer this question. 
 
 But in (irdei- to find out what licconies of these worms when they 
 are full grown, we must have a bleeding cage. Such a cage is easily 
 made. You liave only to take a small box, about a foot in diameter 
 each way, knock off the bottom board and replace it with cheese-cloth 
 and then eo^er the top with glass so that you can see what is going 
 on inside. When the worms are about three-fourths of an inch long, 
 which will be when they are about three weeks old, put some fresh 
 currant leaves in the breeding cage and on these place some of the 
 worms. Give them fresh leaves every day as long as they will eat and 
 watch carefully to see what becomes of them. 1 can tell yuu, but I 
 
tliinlv 3-011 can find out for yourselves, and if 30U watch carefully yotl 
 will diseu\er soine very curious lliiii^^s. I want you to put down in 
 your notebooks just how these worms eat, hct'uuse later you may 
 wish to compare their haljits with those of some other worms of which 
 1 will tell you. 
 
 The parents of these little worms of which we have been speaking 
 are very spry, so that you will probably not be able to catch the 
 mother-fly in the act of laying her eggs, but if you could, you would 
 see her use a little saw, \\'hich she carries in a convenient place, with 
 which she cuts small holes in the veins of the leaves, and in these she 
 places her eggs, just as you saw them when looking for the young 
 worms. Now, what would you suggest as her family name? Saw-iiy? 
 Certainly; that is Just what she is called. 
 
 Do you know -what injuries these saw-flies do to our fruits? Ask 
 your father and he will probably tell you that if they are left to them- 
 selves they will soon strip the currant and gooseberry bushes of their 
 leaves. 
 
 So far we have spoken of but one kind of saw-fly, but there are a 
 good many kinds, all more or less injurious to our cultivated plants, 
 although they differ a good deal in their habits. For example, you 
 may have a cherry tree with its bright green leaves Just beginning to 
 do the work which JSTature intended they should, when you sudd,enly 
 discover that something is the matter with them. Something has 
 eaten away part of the leaf covering so as to make it appear spotted. 
 Find out, if you can, what it is that has done this. Ah! There you 
 have him — a sticky, slimy-looking fellow, eating away as contentedly 
 as can be. He looks like a snail, you think. So he does. Do you 
 notice, though, that he eats only the green part of the leaf and leaves 
 the veins? But does this really hurt the tree, you ask. Let us see. 
 I think you must have learned before this that the green portion of 
 the leaf is called chlorophyll, and that without it the tree cannot digest 
 its food, and this di.uHslion is necessary in order that it may grow. 
 Now, if you will watch your cherry tree for a few days you will see 
 what will happen if those fellows are allowed to go on with their work 
 unmolested. The leaves will die, and thus the tree, being deprived of 
 its f-ood, will stop growing. 
 
 Let us see if we cannot find some simple remedy that will rid us of 
 
 I this pest. I wonder if any of you know how insects breathe? You 
 
 know that a dog breathes through his nose or his mouth, but these 
 
 'little creatures breathe through holes jilaced along the sides of their 
 
 bodies. Now, you remember that these inseels were covered with a 
 
i~ticl<3' substance, so sujiposc v:o seat! or some fine road dust over them 
 and see what will happen. H 3'ou do this snecesslnlly you will close 
 up all their breathing holes, and thus choke them to death. 
 
 But how about those rose bushes with their leaves stripped of theii' 
 clilorophjll? Can you find any worms on them? If so, how do they 
 compare with the others? Yes, they resemble the others in most re- 
 s]iects, but they are not covered with a sticky substance. 
 
 A'ow", how do we know that these three insects all belong to the 
 Saw-Fly family? If wc could examine the female flies of each kind 
 we -ivould always find the little saw of which I have spoken tucked 
 away ready for use. But that is too difficult a task. I think it will be 
 easier for you to find out about the family by examining the young 
 of these flies, or the larva'; that is, those wornn of which we have been 
 talking. 
 
 Suppose 3'ou find a tent-caterpillar and count its feet. Sixteen, you 
 say? That is correct. And the strange thing is that there is but one 
 h'mily among the insects that has more than sixteen feet; and that is 
 the Saw-Fly family. Now count the feet of each of the three worms 
 rf which we have been talking. How many do you find? Twenty in 
 each case, you say. Very ^^■ell. Here you have the family of which I 
 spoke. 
 
 III. 
 
 At some cinivimient time visit the celery plants gro^'ing in the gar- 
 den and see what you ^lill find. I think it will be a peculiar striped 
 worm, eating away at the plants. You have all seen him before, but 
 w^ho knows what liceonies of him ? X'isit the spot again in a few days 
 and see what ynu find — a fjright-colored olijcct liung up by one end 
 I0 a celery stalk, and around ils shouldeis it has placed a silken thread 
 or Itnnd and fa-lcucd tlie I'uil-; to the celeiy plant also. Yow, in order 
 l<> be sujv of it when it nial.c< it- nexl cluinge. Vdii had better take 
 the stalk 1n which it is attaciied and place it in your fireedino- cao-e. 
 If you walcli it carefully ynu Mill dliserve anotlier verv curious 
 rcRult. It will ha\e beautiful wings, and I wi-^h jwi to take your 
 books and mal;e notes of tlieir size, shape, and color, so that you will 
 recognize otiiers of the same kind. 
 
 This is also a good time to visit the cabbage and watch the small 
 white butterflies as they fly from one plant to another, apparently just 
 for the fun of the thing. Yotice what the female is doing. Did you 
 see her lay Inn- egg? Where did she put it, upon the upper or lower 
 side of ihe leaf? Now, nolo carefully wlien the I'ggs batch, and how 
 
l<']ig if. takes tlic Avnrms to pnss thTou^h their various eiiangcs. Yon 
 observe that they finally turn into full-grown butterflies. Note down 
 in your books the size of the body; shape and color of the wings; Low 
 they are folded when at rest; shape of the antennae or feelers, and 
 any other striking peculiarity you may notice. 
 
 Now. I will speak of only one or tM'o more, and one of these is the 
 Tomato Moth. I speak of it here in order to show you the difEerence 
 between a moth and a butterfly. 
 
 Every farmer boy or girl knoAvs a tomato worm, of course, and some 
 of them are afraid to touch one for fear they will get pricked with the 
 sharp horn sticking out of his back; but that was only put there to 
 frighten timid people. It is not a dangerous weapon. I wonder how 
 many of you know how long it takes this worm to become full grown, 
 and where it goes after it stops eating? Did you know that it goes 
 into the ground and remains there all winter? Well, it does; and so 
 in order to follow it through its other two changes this year, it will 
 be necessary to begin this spring. Go into the garden when they are 
 plowing the last year's tomato ground, and you will probably find a 
 number of brownish, oblong objects about an inch and a half in 
 length, each having a queer little jug-handled arrangement at one 
 end. They are apparently dead, but if you pinch one of them it will 
 probably sqiiirm a little, enough to let you know that it is alive, but 
 that it has not yet awakened from its long winter's sleep. Now, place 
 some moist soil in the bottom of ihe breeding ciioc and bury these 
 again and Mait until about the time your father's tnni;ifo plants are 
 Avell grown, when you will be surpriserl some morning to find some 
 beautiful large moths in j'our cage in place of the ugly-looking things 
 you put there. 
 
 Now uct your notebooks and observe ]iow they differ in size of 
 body, shiipe and color of their w]n,»-s from the cabbage butterfly. How 
 do they fold their wings -when at rest? Are their antennae of the 
 same shajje as those of the butterfly? Now I think you will be able 
 to tell some of the difl'erenccs at least between a moth and a butterfly. 
 
 But, someone asks, why don't we see these moths flying about in the 
 daytime, like the butterflies? Sure enough. That is a peculiarity that 
 we overlooked, because these moths have been kept in a cage all of this 
 time. If you let them out you will see that they will go and hide 
 themselves as quickly as possible until just at twilight, when you may 
 see them, if you look sharply, flitting from flower to flower, sipping 
 the sweet nectar from the deep flower tubes which the bees could not 
 reach. "Watch them and see how they remain poised over the flower 
 while they poke iheir long tongues down into it. Can you think of 
 
finy ldn(i of bird that liohavcs in a like manner? Tlie liiiniming bird? 
 Certainly; and these moths are sometimes mistaken for humming 
 l>irds. So we will call them the Hinuminij Bird Moths. 
 
 But I want to speak of one more before closing. You will remem- 
 ber that I asked you to make a note of how the currant-worms took 
 their food. Now go into the garden and watch those large black 
 squash bugs, as they are feeding away on the squash vines. Can you 
 see where they have eaten the plants? You cannot? Well, the plant 
 seems to be dying. What is the cause? You can't tell? Let me help 
 YOU a little. Catch one of these bugs and look at its mouth under 
 your magnifying glass. You sec a straight beak. Can you tell me 
 how this one differs from the eu]iant-\\orm in its method of eating, 
 and why the squash plants were withering? You will notice that it 
 does not eat the leaf as the currant-worm did, but thrusts its beak into 
 the plant and sucks its juice, thus causing it to wither and die. 
 
 Now, I think you will be able to see that the most of these insects 
 about which we have been talking are able .to do a ureat deal of in- 
 jury during their lifetime, if we but let them alone. Sometimes whole 
 gardens are desti'oyod and whole fields of grain are ruined in a single 
 season. A single insert is ^ery small and not able to do very much, 
 but when many of them unite their forces they are able to accomplish 
 great results. 
 
 They attack our wheat, our oats, our larger fruit trees and our 
 smaller ones, as well as our garden crops — indeed almost everything 
 that grows may be injured by insects. Sometimes this State loses 
 a million or more of dollars' worth of agricultural products in a single 
 year by their ravages. This, you think, is a very imjDortant matter, 
 and so it is. Some of you may ask, is there no way to get rid of them? 
 Yes, there are many things that yorr can do to prevent them from do- 
 ing injury, but the methods are so difficult that I cannot explain them 
 lo you at this time. If your father is interested in the matter and 
 wishes some information on this subject, you had better ask him to 
 send a postal card to the Director of the Experiment Station, Lafay- 
 ette, Ind., stating that he is a farmer and asking for bulletin No. 69. 
 If he will do this he will receive a bulletin which will tell him how to 
 prevent insects from doing so mu(/h damage. 
 
 The next time I shall talk about beneficial insects, or Our Insert 
 kiiends. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 12. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 A TALK ABOUT WATER-DROPS. 
 
 By Prof. A. Wilmer Duff. 
 
 What is a water-drop? To experiment is to try for yourself, and 
 as that is the surest way of learning anything, we shall begin with an 
 experiment. Dip your finger into water and withdraw it, and you will 
 be able to see the shape of the drop that forms at its end. It is 
 round like a glass bead except just where it hangs to your finger, and 
 if you watch it carefully you will see that, just when it gets free from 
 your finger, it is nearly perfectly round. If you let it fall on a piece 
 of glass it will form a circle. If you could see it while it is falling 
 you would find that it is nearly a perfect sphere. If I let water from 
 the end of a stick gather and form a drop, while the end is in a glass 
 of parafiin oil, you will be able to see a much larger drop hanging 
 from the stick and you will find that it is nearly quite round. 
 
 Such, too, is the shape of a rain-drop while it is falling. You may 
 try this the next time it is raining by holding a sheet of paper so as 
 to catch some of the drops. We can, however, learn still more from 
 the drops formed at the end of the finger. Watch a few and you will 
 see that each drop seems to have some difficulty in tearing itself away 
 from the water that remains. The drop has to grow quite large and 
 heavy before it can by its weight pull itself free. It is evident, thea, 
 that water holds together with considerable force. It is, in fact, this 
 force which causes the drops to become round, for it makes the parti- 
 
 NOTE.— This leaflet will furnish material for several short lessans. 
 
cles draw as closely together as possible. You can see another in- 
 teresting example of the same thing if you hold the square end of a 
 stick of sealing wax in a flame, for you will find that, as it becomes 
 liquid, the sharp corners disappear and the whole end becomes round 
 like the water-drop. This force which holds particles of liquid to- 
 gether is called cohesion. 
 
 Now, you all can tell me what will happen to awater-drop if it is left 
 for some time where it falls. It will vanish. The first one which we 
 allowed to drop on glass may already have done so. What has be- * 
 come of it? No one saw it going away, and if any one looked at it, he 
 merely noticed that it seemed smaller each time he looked. But has 
 it left nothing whatever behind? If you look closely enough you will 
 probably discover that it has left a thin film or crust. What- 
 ever this crust is, it must have been contained in the water- 
 drop. You should see whether all kinds of water leave the 
 same crust. Try, for instance, drops of spring water, river water, rain 
 water, and also, if you can get them, a small piece of snow and a small 
 lump of ice. We shall not, however, in this lesson, attempt to make 
 a study of the crust that a drop leaves behind. Leaving it for another 
 occasion, let us ask again what became of the water itself. Some of 
 you will be able to tell me that it has become vapor or steam and is 
 scattered in the air around us. It escaped in small particles that were 
 invisible, and in this invisible form they are called water-vapor or 
 steam. To this you may object that the steam formed by a boiling 
 kettle is not iniisible, but look closely and you will find that just 
 where it issues from the spout it is invisible and only becomes visible 
 a little farther on. It is true water-vapor that issues from the spout 
 and what we see a little farther on is not water-vapor, but a little 
 cloud of water-drops. Try putting a spirit flame beneath this cloud, 
 and you will find that the drops are again turned into invisible vapor. 
 Thus we see that one way of turning water into vapor is to heat it, 
 and ihat heat can overcome the force of cohesion, which holds the 
 particles together. It would seem, hofl'ever, that this is not the only 
 way, for if we watch a little cloud from the kettle, we shall see that 
 it gradually turns back again into invisible vapor, which spreads itself 
 throughout the room. Sometimes, however, the cloud rises much 
 higher than at other times, and it seems much less ready to turn into 
 vapor. You will find that this is the case when the kettle has been 
 steaming for a good while in the room and the doors have been closed. 
 Now, this evidently means that vapor forms less readily when there 
 is already a good deal of vapor in the room, and more readily when 
 there is but little vapor in the air. 
 
You may see the same thing on a much larger scale if you look at 
 the puffs that come from a locomotive drawing a train. Sometimes 
 there is very little smoke mixed with tlie steam, and the cloud that 
 rises is like the cloud from the spout of the kettle. Look carefully 
 and you will probably find that there is a space between the top of 
 the smoke-stack and the cloud where nothing can be seen. Just above 
 it is cooled by the air, and it shrinlcs into separate drops of water. If 
 you could see inside the boiler you would find that the steam above 
 the water is quite invisible water-vapor, and the same thing can be 
 shown by boiling water in a thin glass flask such as chemists use. 
 Notice the clouds thus formed by a locomotive, and you will observe 
 that on some days they hang lazily in the air for quite a long time, 
 and on other days they fade away qiiite rapidly. Observe what the 
 days are like on which they disappear rapidly, and what the other days 
 are like on which they disappear slowly. 
 
 It will help you to understand the matter if you will try some ex- 
 periments to find how fast water will turn into invisible vapor. Turn 
 a saucer upside down and you will see a shallow depression with a rim 
 around it. Put the saucer with the bottom up somewhere out of doors 
 where it will not be disturbed, and pour enough water in the hollow 
 to fill it. Then find how long it takes the water to dry up. Do this 
 on several days, and put down in a little note book the length of time 
 it takes in each case. Note also in your book whether the day is 
 cloudy or sunny, warm or cold, windy or still, and see if you can find 
 any connection between these things. If you wish, you may use a wet 
 rag hung from a clothes-line instead of the saucer. Always use the 
 same rag and hang it up without wringing. Find as before how long 
 it takes to dry. 
 
 We can now understand how real clouds are formed. Vapor is con- 
 tinually rising from the water on the surface of the earth, the process 
 being greatly aided by the heat of the sun's rays. It is quite invisible 
 until it rises high in the air. Now, people who have climbed high 
 mountains and men who have gone up in balloons tell us that the air 
 is much colder higher up than it is at the surface of the earth. We 
 can understand, then, what happens to the invisible vapor when it 
 rises high in the air. It is cooled and turned again into water-drops. 
 These make up the cloud that we see far above us. If you watch the 
 different clouds on a fine daj^, you will probably see some that look 
 like large masses of cotton- wool. They are wavy or irregular above, 
 but bounded by a sharp line below. The line marks the place at 
 which the air becomes cold enough to turn the vapor into drops. If 
 now a cold wind comes along and chills these clouds still more, the 
 
small drops will grow larger Ijy more vapor turning into water, and 
 finally they become large enough to fall rapidly as rain. Y»u may 
 somatimes, but not often, find that rain falls before any clouds are 
 formed. This is due to a very cold wind suddenly blowing in and 
 chilling the air a short distance above us, so that the vapor quickly 
 turns into large drops, which fall as rain. You will find it interesting 
 to note the direction from which the wind that brings rain usually 
 comes. If you keep a list in your notebook you may soon become 
 quite an authority on the weather. 
 
 After writing the last two sentences I remembered that it is some- 
 times very difficult to tell from wlmt direction the wind really does 
 come, and when the wind is very light you will probably find this dif- 
 fi»ulty. You may then try the method that sailors sometimes use 
 when they wisli to find from what direction a very faint wind is 
 springing up. Wet one of your fingers and hold it up. "Wait until it 
 begins to dry, and you ^A-ill feel one side of it much colder than the 
 rest. That is the side of it on which the wind blows. You can detect 
 the very slightest wind in this way. If you open the outside door 
 of a warm room a couple of inches and hold a wet finger at the bottom 
 of the opening, then at the top and then at points near the middle, 
 you will be able to learn something very interesting about how air 
 circulates. 
 
 But this experiment can teach us more than the direction of the 
 wind. AVe learn from it that when -n-ater dries up from any surface 
 it leaves the surface colder; that is, the vapor takes heat away with 
 it. In fact, the heat is needed in all cases to turn the water into 
 vapor. Try wetting one side of your face and then standing so as to 
 face the wind, and then you will perhaps be able to explain why a 
 little little wind is so very agreeable on a warm day. Is it because the 
 wind itself is cool? There are some hot summer days when the wind 
 does not seem to cool us at all. If you notice you will find these are 
 daj's on which the air itself seems moist; some people describe the 
 weather as "muggy." Can you explain wliy hot weather is so much 
 more oppressive when the air is moist? 
 
 While speaking of the cold produced by water turning into vapor, 
 let me suggest another experiment: Some hot summer day take two 
 bottles of luke-warm i,vater; wrap a \\-et towel around one and put 
 them out in the shade where the wind will blow on them, and after 
 the towel has nearly dried see if there is any difference between the 
 two bottles as regards the taste of the water. You will then know 
 how to get cool water on a hot day. If you find that on some days 
 you cannot get this plan to ^\ork well, you should see if you can ex- 
 plain the cause. 
 
r>ut fl'e liave wandered sdinewluii from our subject, T\liicli was tlic 
 fate of the water vapor that rises from the earth. Wc found thai rain 
 is one waT in which it comes back, but that is not the only way. 
 You will readily think of the dew that sparkles on the grass when tlie 
 sun rises after a cold, starry night. Cold has a good deal to do with 
 the formation of dew, but you may wonder why the stars are men- 
 tioned. With a little assistance you will find for yourself the explan- 
 ation of dew and the connection between it and the stars, and you will 
 then wonder why the explanation was never thought of until less than 
 a hundred years ago. You must all have noticed what happens when 
 a pitcher of cold water is left standing in a hot room. The outside of 
 the pitcher soon becomes covered with moisture, which may even 
 gather in drops and run down the sides. This is exactly the way in 
 which dew is formed. The surface of the ground becomes cold at 
 night and chills the air near it, and the vapor in the air then shrinks 
 into drops. 
 
 I am going to ask you to notice on what nights dew is most plenti- 
 ful. Before going to bed find out whether the night is cloudy or clear 
 and whether there is much wind or very little. In the morning see 
 whether there is much dew or little. We shall keep a record for a 
 month, and at the end of that time you will be able to predict at night 
 whether much dew will be seen in the morning, and you will be able 
 to answer the question, "What have the stars to do witli dew?"' Take 
 some care to notice, also, where there is most dew, on the earth, on 
 grass, on stones or on metal articles, and whether there is more on the 
 open grass or on grass under trees. You will also learn something 
 interesting about the matter if you stretch a piece of muslin on four 
 little stakes and notice how much dew is deposited under it. I must 
 not, however, leave you with the idea that all dew comes from the 
 air. Some part of the dew on a leaf actually comes from inside tlu^ 
 leaf by means of small openings or pores. 
 
 But we have not yet mentioned all the ways by which vapor returns 
 to the earth. We all know what snow is, although people who pass 
 all their lives in the countries near the equator never see it. What is 
 snow? Some still, cold day when the large flakes are just beginning 
 to come down, catch some of them on the sleeve of your coat and look 
 at them carefully. You will soon find that they are among the most 
 beautiful things that you have ever seen. The flakes are all in the 
 form of stars, shooting out rays on every side. Sometimes these rays 
 are quite straight, but in many eases you will find that there are 
 little raylets darting out from the main ray and giving it a most 
 beautiful fern-like look. I am not going to tell you what these dif- 
 
fcrent snow stars are like. Yon can find out much more easily than 
 I could tell you. You sliould draw pictures of as many as possible, 
 and see how ninny different kinds of stars you can get. You will 
 easily find half a do^en; others have fo-und as many as a thousand. 
 If you count the number of rays on each of the different stars you will 
 find something very interesting about them. Perhaps the day on 
 which von first try may not be a very good day for observing, for there 
 may be too much wind and many stars may stick together or they may 
 be too small. But persevere and you will find that some day you will 
 get a good view of these snowy gems. 
 
 But we have not yet answered the question, "What is snow?" Snow 
 flakes are not frozen water-drops, for if they were they would be round 
 like water-droi)S. They consist of particles of water vapor which have 
 been caught and fixed in position by some invisible power before they 
 united to form water-drops. This power is not merely the coldness 
 of the air, for that could not give the snow flakes their regular shape. 
 The star-making power is something more than mere cold or even the 
 cohesion which we spoke of before, but we shall not at the present 
 time attempt to explain it. If you wish to flnd the effect of great cold 
 alone on water vapor, fill a tumbler with a mixture of salt and snow 
 and observe how the vapor particles from the air are deposited on the 
 outside, owing to the intense cold produced by the freezing mixture. 
 What you get bere is much like the hoarfrost that takes the place 
 of dew on very cold nights, and, in fact, hoarfrost is merely frozen 
 water vapor which did not become liquid before freezing. 
 
 Perhaps you are somewhat surprised at the statement that vapor 
 can turn into a kind of ice, such as snow or hoarfrost, .without first 
 becoming liquid water. Yet there is no doubt about it, and it is no 
 more surprising than the other fact that snow or ice can turn into 
 vapor without first becoming water. For instance, when there is very 
 cold weather for two or three days together it is often found that the 
 snow disappears, although the weather is quite too cold for it to melt. 
 It has simply flown away particle by particle as vapor. You may have 
 to wait a good wliile before you get a chance to observe this, but there 
 is anotlier way of noticing the same thing. The next time that 
 clothes are jiiit out to dry on a very cold day notice that the clothes 
 can dry ahnost completely although it was certainly too cold for the 
 ice on them to melt into water. You may say that it has melted into 
 vapor. 
 
 Although snow does not consist of frozen water-drops, yet we 
 are all familiar with fi'iizen water-drops under the name of hail. 
 'J'liese little iee halls conie down sniiieliiiies ill sunimei' wlieii the air 
 
does not seem cold enough to freeze water. But they must have 
 lieen froezn somewhere before rcacliing the eartli, and so wo learn tluit 
 there must be somewhere above us on a summer day places where the 
 air is cold enough to produce ice. You can often see such a place, 
 even on a hot summer day, if you wish. Look f..)r a cloud that seems 
 very high up, one that resembles hairs or feathers with their fibers 
 curled. These clouds are sometimes called horse-tail clouds. They 
 consist really of small pieces of ice instead of drops of water. When 
 you see many of these clouds you may expect wind soon, or at least 
 a change of weather. They are very high up, sometimes as much as 
 ten miles. You must not, however, suppose that the hail actually 
 comes from these clouds. It really is formed much nearer the surface 
 of the earth by very cold currents of air. If the drops are first frozen 
 into hail by cold air, and these frozen drops before reaching the earth 
 have to pass through a thick layer of warm air, they are partly melted 
 again, and we get what is called sleet. 
 
 We have said a good deal about water vapor shrinking as it is 
 cooled until it becomes drops of water. What happens to water as it is 
 cooled? Does it shrink? Try it for yourself in this way: Take a 
 large glass bottle with a narrow neck. Fill it -first with pretty warm 
 water, merely to warm it up. Then pour this out and fill it with 
 water that is nearly boiling. Tie a string around the neck just where 
 the water stands, cork the bottle and put it where it can cool. Look 
 at it as it cools, and notice that the level of the water falls steadily. 
 
 We thus see that water shrinks as it cools. Notice which part of 
 the bottle is the colder and see if you can explain why. If the day 
 is cold enough you may at last get the water down to the freezing 
 point. You will find, however, that it does not go on shrinking right 
 down to where it begins to freeze. A little expansion actually occurs 
 before the freezing point is reached, but unless your bottle be very 
 large and have a very narrow neck, you may not be able to see this. 
 If you can get a small glass tube and pass it through the cork and 
 then shove the cork hard into the bottle full of water you may make a 
 very narrow neck for the bottle, and then you may be able to see 
 this slight expansion of the water before it is quite down to the freez- 
 ing point. 
 
 But what happens when the water actually begins to freeze? Leave 
 the bottle of water out on a very cold night and see what has hap- 
 pened to it in the morning. You will find that the bottle has cracked, 
 showing that when the water began to freeze it must have expanded in 
 volume, and as the bottle couldn't expand also, the latter was shat- 
 tered. So we see that while water vapor and water both shrink steadily 
 
as they cool, when water turns into ice it expands instead of shrinking, 
 and therefore the ice must ])0 less dense than the water. Now, any 
 solid that is less dense than Avater will float on water, and so we see 
 why ice always floats on water instead of sinking. Try this for your- 
 self with a lump of ice and a tumbler of water. Try and judge how 
 much of the ice is above the water and how much below. If you can 
 judge Ycry accurately you will find that there are about eleven times 
 as much of it below as above. 
 
 How many different effects produced by this expansion of freezing 
 water can you think of? Thei'e are some very important ones, indeed; 
 but we must ]i';i\c sncb i(iiestions as thi^si' for another leaflet. 
 
FOR THE USB OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 13. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 Climate in Some of Its Relations to Daily Life. 
 
 IN FOUR LESSONS. 
 By Prof. H. a. Huston. 
 
 I. 
 
 The weather is a continuous but very variable factor in our every- 
 day life. We accept all kinds of weather ;is a matter of course and 
 often underrate its influence on our affairs. Extremes of heat or cold, 
 great storms and unusual phenomena attract passing attention. But 
 the ordinary climatic conditions upon which so much of our comfort 
 and welfare depends are practically unnoticed. Do you know what is 
 the average temperature of the town in which you live? Do you 
 know how much rain falls about you in a year, how it is distributed 
 by months, and how it varies from year to year? The figures repre- 
 senting these facts are not exciting reading, yet the conditions that 
 they record exert a most important influence on our health, our ca- 
 pacity to work, our ability to produce or obtain food and, in fact, on 
 almost every act of our lives. Every one who has charge of workmen, 
 students or invalids understand the ill effects of a dull or unseason- 
 
 NOTE.-Someof the topics in tliis leaflet are difliciilt ones to present 
 to very young people, bnt &n attempt has been made to simplify the lan- 
 guage as far as po.ssible, and it is hoped that much of what is found liere 
 may profitably be presented by the skillful teaclier to uiost of the cliil- 
 dren in the district schools. 
 
able day. These conditions arc practiaally beyond our control, yet a 
 careful observation of them, siiioplemented by a day's notice of what 
 conditions to expect, will enable us to so adjust our affairs as to take 
 advantage of favorable conditions and to reduce to a minimum the 
 injury caused by the unfavorable ones. 
 
 CLIMATE AND HEALTH. 
 
 Some people attribute all their ills to the weather. While this is, of 
 coHrse, an extreme view of matters, it is still true that a careful com- 
 parison of the weather and the health records for a long series of 
 years shows that there is a well-defined relation between the preva- 
 lence and severity of certain diseases and the state of the weather. 
 Eheumatism is one of the old weather prophets and pneumonia is a 
 typical cold-weather disease, the dangers of which are intensified by 
 sudden changes of temperature. Careful observation has shown that 
 when the water in wells rises after a prolonged drouth there is a 
 marked increase in diseases of the tj'phoid-fever class, owing to the 
 germs being carried into the wells. In hot weather there is a great 
 increase in the death rate of children, especially in the poorer quarters 
 of large cities. Actual experiments have shown that this is in great 
 measure due to disease germs carried in such food as milk. The hot, 
 moist weather furnishes the most favorable conditions for the multi- 
 plication of the germs causing such diseases. 
 
 CLIMATE .VXD COMMERCE. 
 
 It is difficult for one who has not been connected with a w»ather 
 office to realize how great and how varied are the commercial inter- 
 ests that daily seek information regarding the weather conditions and 
 how these interests are controlled by the information received. The 
 shipper of perishable materials, such as fruit, vegetables and meat, 
 knows what losses may be caused either by extreme hot or cold 
 weather. Financial and humanitarian motives lead the shipper of live 
 stock to scan the "probabilities" carefully. If a destructive hot wind 
 occurs in the western part of the corn belt at a critical period iu the 
 growth of the crop, its efi"ect is shown not only on the crop, but in 
 every corn market in the world. 
 
 Eailroads are most frequent users both of predictions and weather 
 records, and reciprocate by rendering valuable aid in distributing pre- 
 dictions along their lines. 
 
(h-Q-di as are Llie financial bcndits ilerivcd from an ijiU'lligenL iisc of 
 weather predictions, they appear insignificant when compared with 
 the great saving of human life resulting from the system of storm 
 warnings at lake and ocean ports. 
 
 October 8-14, 1883, a hurricane crossed Cuba, causing the loss of 
 thousands of houses and cattle; 40 persons were killed. Its passage 
 along the Atlantic coast was marked by violent gales and great dam- 
 age to shipping, but urgent and timely storm warnings detained most 
 vessels in port until the hurricane passed. Fifteen steamers and over 
 200 sailing vessels, representing a property value of from eight to ten 
 million dollars, were held in New York harbor alone by timely notice 
 of the violent storm. On the Labrador coast over 70 vessels were lost 
 and about 100 men perished. 
 
 II. 
 
 CLIMATE ANI) CROPS. 
 
 The production of materials used for food and clothing employs 
 I lie energies of the greater part of the earth's population. In no 
 field of human activity is the influence of climate of such vital impor- 
 tance as in this. Not only do certain great groups of products require 
 certain well-known conditions of climate, but in the zones adapted to 
 the cultivation of these groups, what may appear to be only a slight 
 departure from the average conditions may cause a disastrous failure 
 of the most important crops, often accompanied by famine and pesti- 
 lence in addition to the enormous financial losses. Such calamities 
 are often viewed as dispensations of providence and thus beyond our 
 control. Yet much may be done to reduce the ill effects of these visi- 
 tations. If the last killing frost of spring be ten days later, or the 
 first killing frost of the aiitumn be ten days earlier than the average, 
 it may cause the loss of many millions of dollars. 
 
 A desert is bare not because it is infertile, but because of a lack of 
 water. Some of the most productive lands in the world are portions 
 of deserts to which water has been supplied by irrigation systems. 
 
 Drouth is the great cause of crop failure. In 1885 Indiana pro- 
 duced 45,000,000 more bushels of corn than in 1887, although more 
 acres were planted in 1887. What was the cause of the enormous 
 difference? During the months of June, July and August, 1885, 
 10.85 inches of rain fell; during the same months of 1887 7.30 inches 
 fell, an average difference of less than one and a quarter inch per 
 month for these three months, yet it made a difference in the value 
 of a single crop of over $12,000,000. 
 *13 
 
PUOTEGTIVE MEASURES. 
 
 A few simple observations will serve to illustrate the principles 
 npon which the methods of combatting unfavorable conditions of cli- 
 mate in respect of crops are based. What can we do to reduce the 
 effects of drouth? Our first observation is that only a part of the 
 water falling on the land leaves it bj' the way of streams and rivers. 
 The rest is evaporated from the surface of the soil or from plants. 
 Can we do anj^thing to reduce the loss from evaporation at the surface 
 of the soil? Let us try a simple c-xperiment. We will need a pair of 
 scales, two tin buckets holding about four quarts each, a peck of loam 
 and some water. The loam should be well mixed, free from stones 
 and large lumps. Place the loam in a box which is not water-tight, 
 cover it with water and allow the surplus water to drain ofE. Fill the 
 buckets with this wet earth, placing an equal weight in each. The 
 buckets of earth must be allowed to stand where they will be protected 
 from rain and freely exposed to the air. The earth in one should be 
 left imclisturbed. So soon as the surface of the earth in the other 
 is dry enougli it should be stirred to a depth of about one inch, and 
 this stirring should be repeated every few days in order to keep a 
 layer of loose earth on the surface. Weigh the buckets of earth every 
 few days and note the results. Why does one lose weight faster than 
 the other? Let us see if this can be made clear to yoii by using a 
 familiar fact as an illustration: How does the oil pass from the lamp 
 reservoir to the flame? What would be the result if all except a few 
 of the fibers of the wick were cut or if the top end of the wick should 
 be made of material that did not readily permit the movement of the 
 oil through it? AYhen you liave thought out the answers to these 
 questions, you liavc the principle involved in the use of the mulch 
 blanket of fine earth which is so valuable in conserving soil moisture 
 and in carrying crops through prolonged periods of drouth. Frequent 
 shallow cultivation is of great value in reducing the loss of water 
 tlirough evaporation from the surface of the soil. 
 
 Can we do anything to increase the water kept stored in 
 the soil and to decrease the amount that is lost in streams? 
 Do you ]iot know of hill sides where heavy rains make gul- 
 lies and the water carries the soil away? or of fiat lands 
 on which water stands until it "dries up?" Why is this? 
 Because the water cannot enter the earth as fast as it falls. Often the 
 washing does not l>egin as soon as the rain begins to fall; in this we 
 may find the key to a solution of the matter. If the ground has been 
 plowed five inches deep it may take up the water until this five-inch 
 
layer contains all it can hold. The water then ])a,sses very slowly 
 from the plowed layer to the hard layer below. The excess runs off 
 the surface and washes the hillside or stands on the surface of the flat 
 land. Suppose the soil had been loosened to a depth of 15 inches, 
 would it not have taken up three times as much water? If so, it 
 would have taken up as much as falls in our heaviest rains, and no 
 washing would have occurred. Three times as much water would 
 have been stored in the soil for the use of the crops. If any one in 
 your neighborhood subsoils his land, notice whether such land washes 
 or dries out quickly. Subsoiling is performed with a special plow that 
 follows the common plow. It loosens the subsoil, but does not bring 
 it to the surface. 
 
 Some clay lands become puddled as soon as the rain wets the sur- 
 face. After this the water enters such soils very slowly. Can a 
 simple remedy be found for this? Procure some heavy clay, moisten 
 it well with water and divide it into two equal parts. Work one part 
 well and form it into a ball. Work well into the other part as much 
 freshly slaked lime as will lie on a penny. Put both balls where they 
 can dry out, and after a week break them and notice which breaks the 
 more easily. If you are impatient you can get a quicker result by 
 filling two clean bottles of equal size with muddy water from the road- 
 side. To one bottle add a spoonful of lime water made by shaking an 
 ounce of freshly slaked lime with a pint of water and allowing the 
 coarser particles to subside. Allow the two bottles to stand a few 
 hours and examine the deposits on the bottom of them. Notice the 
 difference in the thickness of the layers and the appearance of the 
 edges. Lime has the power of making the very fine clay particles 
 group themselves in little flakes which do not stick closely to each 
 other. When a few hundred pounds of freshly slaked fine lime are 
 mixed with the surface soil of an^acre of heavy clay the rain water 
 enters it much more readily and the surface does not become puddled. 
 
 III. 
 
 PROTECTION' VRoSi FROSTS. 
 In order to understand the theory of protection from frost we must 
 keep in mind how dew and frost form. Water freezes at 32 degrees 
 Fahrenheit. If some of the water vapor in the air deposits on plants 
 or other objects which have a higher temperature than this the water 
 forms in a shape which we call dew. But if the things on which the 
 water deposits have a temperature below 32 degrees the water is de- 
 posited in the form of little crystals of ice, which we call frost. 
 
We all know how garden plants are protected from frost by a simple 
 covering of paper or clotli. Do we protect them in this way on a 
 windy or clondy night? The air under the protecting paper is not 
 notably warmer than the air at the same height outside. What is the 
 principle involved? In the early evening many objects, such as plants 
 and things made of metal, lose heat faster than they receive it. It 
 leaves in straight lines that point to the sky. These bodies lose heat 
 faster than the air does; they therefore become cooler than the air 
 above them. A frost may form on plants when the air four feet 
 above them is at 40 degrees. If some body be placed between them 
 and the clear sky the heat cannot readily pass off, and they remain at 
 the temperature of the air. This body may be a paper, a layer of 
 smoke or a cloudy sky. 
 
 But what is the frost? The air always contains some water in the 
 form of invisible vapor. The amount is not the same at all times. 
 One cubic foot of the air contains an average of about 1.3 grains of 
 water in January and 6.5 grains in July. Heat perhaps has something 
 to do with the amount of water vapor in the air? Yes; the temper- 
 ature of the air determines the amount of water vapor it can contain. 
 At our average January temperature (26.6 degrees) a cubic foot of air 
 could not contain over 1.8 grains, and at our average July tempera- 
 ture (7-1.8 degrees) not over 9.3 grains of water vapor. 
 
 What happens when warm, moist air cools? Our air usually con- 
 tains seven-tenths as much water vapor as it can hold. A cubic foot 
 of air at 50 degrees would then contain about three grains. This is 
 the total amount that air at 41 degrees can contain. If this air cools 
 to 38 degrees it cannot hold all the water vapor. If the air be in 
 contact with leaves or metals or other objects that lose their heat 
 readily, the ■^^•ater from the air will condense on them, and we call it 
 dew. If a cubic foot of the air at 50 degrees had contained but two 
 grains of water vapor it could have cooled to 30 degrees before any 
 of the \vater would have been deposited. But this is below the point 
 at which water freezes. The vapor would then have been deposited in 
 the form of minute ice crystals whicli we call frost. If a cubic foot of 
 the air at 50 degrees had contained but one grain of water vapor it 
 could have cooled to 11 degrees before any of the water would have 
 been deposited. But plants would have frozen before any such tem- 
 perature had been reached. Under these conditions the tem- 
 perature would not usually fall to 11 degrees, and no ice particles 
 would lie deposited on the outside of the plants. This is the dreaded 
 Mad: frost. 
 
? 
 
 The temperature at which dew or frost begins to be deposited is 
 called the dew -point. Wlien water is converted into vapor a definite 
 quantity of heat is alis.irljed. "When the vapor condenses into water 
 this heat reappears. Tht'Vt'furo, when dew begins to form, the tem- 
 perature at the point where the dew is forming does not fall any 
 more. Did you ever see a frozen dew-drop? Upon these principles is 
 based the method of making local 
 
 FROST PREDKTIONS. 
 
 There is no simple way by which the quantity of water vapor in a 
 cubic foot of air or the dew point can be directly found. But they 
 may be found through the relation between the dryness of the air 
 and the rate at which water is converted into vapor. In passing into 
 vapor, heat is absorbed, and if the heat is taken from the water the 
 temperature of the water will fall. Cooling a body by wrapping a wet 
 cloth about it is a familiar example of this principle. Place the bulb 
 of a thermometer in some water that has the same temperature as the 
 room. Remove the thermometer, leaving the bulb wet, and notice 
 the reading as the water evaporates from the bulb. If one end of a 
 piece of old, clean muslin the size of a lamp-wick be tied around the 
 bulb of the thermoineter tube, entirely co^eri^g it, and the other end 
 of the piece of muslin be placed in a cup of rain water (do not use 
 well water) the water will be renewed about the bulb, and in about 15 
 mi;nites the reading will remain constant. Such an arrangement is 
 called a "wet-bulb" thermometer. If the air contains all the vapor 
 that it can hold at a given temperature there will be no evaporation 
 from the muslin, and the wet-bulb and the dry-bulb instrument will 
 read the same. Such air is already at the dew point. But if the air 
 has less vapor in it than it can contain at the observed temperature, 
 the water will evaporate from the miislin and cool the wet bulb. The 
 temperature to which it will fall will depend upon the relative amount 
 of vapor in the air. This in turn fixes the point at which dew or frost 
 will form. 
 
 Now let us try to foretell whether there will be a frost or not. The 
 instruments must be used at a distance from trees and buildings or if 
 in cities, they should be used on roofs and exposed to free movement 
 
 The common thermometers sold in shops generally read too high. Most of 
 them are so bad as to be worthless. The errors range from 2 to 27 degrees. 
 Thermometers made by Henry J. Green, of Brooklyn, N. Y., are always reliable. 
 The form with a cylindrical bulb is the best. It is better to get two of them, one 
 for the "wet bulb" work and one for the "dry" or " exposed " bulb. They may 
 also serve as standiinls for checking other and cheaper thermometers. 
 
of air. A rule which gives fairly accurate results when the tempera- 
 ture is at 50 degrees or below is to multiply the difEereJice between the 
 reading of the wet and dry bulb by 2.5 and subtract the product from 
 the reading of the dry bulb. The number so obtained is the approx- 
 imate degree to which the temperature will fall during the night 
 rmless the wind changes and blows from a moister quarter, or cloudi- 
 ness intervenes. This is also the dew point. On a fine, clear day 
 toward evening or after sunset, suppose we find the dry bulb reads 49 
 and the wet bulb 39. Then 10 times 2. r,=25; 49— 25=24. You may 
 be sure that a frost will occur. If the readings are 49 and 45, we have 
 4,-2.5=10; 49 — 10=39, and no frost will occur. If the readings are 
 ■19 and 42, we have 7x2.5=17.5; 49—17.5=31.5; a light frost will 
 probably occur and tender plants should be protected. By the use of 
 dew-point tables published by the Weather Bureau somewhat more 
 exact results may be obtained. But either method gives results that 
 may be of great ^';llTle in protecting perishable crops. 
 
 lY. 
 
 THE WORK OF THE WKATHER BUEEAT 
 
 The United States has the largest and best weather service in the 
 world. Observations are fallen at 8 a. m. and 8 p. m., Washington 
 time, at over 100 regular and at several hundred volunteer stations. 
 The observations taken furnish climatic records of very great value 
 and are at once utilized for the purpose of predictinn' the weather con- 
 ditions for the 36 hours following earh nljser\nlion, and issuing storm 
 and frost warnings when necessary. 
 
 A description of the instruments and the methods of using them 
 may be found in a pamphlet called "Instructions to A^olunteer Ob- 
 servers," issued by the AVeather Bureau. 
 
 The lesson for us is that the present magnificent system which 
 saves thousands of li\'es and many million dollars worth of property 
 every year is the outgrowth of careful observation of local phenomena. 
 The foundation of our knowledge of American storms is said to be 
 the observation of Franklin, that the severe coast storms in which the 
 wind blew from the northeast reached Philadelphia before they did 
 Boston. A further study of the matter developed the fact that while 
 the wind moved from, the northeast the storm itself moved toward the 
 northeast. It ^\as found that the winds in such storms did not blow 
 in straight lines, but in spirals. At the common center of these there 
 was an area in which the air pressure was low and the wind circled 
 
9 
 
 about this centt^i- moving in a direction contrary to that of Uio hands 
 of a watch. If you will place a circle of card-board on the map of the 
 United States in such a position that the western one-third of the 
 disc rests on the State of South Carolina and the eastern two-thirds 
 rest over the ocean, and then move the disc northeast parallel to the 
 coast, at the same time rotating the disc so that its northern edge 
 moves to the west, you will form a very good idea of the movement of 
 such a storm center and the mnds that circle about it. Such storms 
 may be several hundred miles across. They are called cyclonic or low- 
 area storms. Many of them move across the United States every year 
 coming from west of the ]V[ississippi Eiver and generally moving a lit- 
 tle north of east at the rate of 600 to 900 miles per day. East of the 
 storm center the air is ^varm and moist, frequently rains fall, the 
 winds are from the south aud east and the barometer falls. After the 
 storm center has passed, the weather clears, the air becomes dryer, 
 the temperature falls, winds come from the north and west and the 
 barometer rises. When such storms are accompanied by high winds 
 they are called cyclones or hurricanes. We should distinguish sharply 
 between cyclones and tornadoes. A cyclone is a great storm 200 miles 
 or more wide and its path is often 2,000 miles long. A tornado is a 
 local storm of great violence, 100 to 600 yards wide and from one to 
 50 miles long. It generally has a funnel-shaped cloud that rotates 
 and moves forward in the same way as a low-area storm. The area of 
 greatest violence moves forward from 20 to 50 miles per hour in 
 nearly all cases from southwest to northeast. Tornadoes are asso- 
 ciated with low-area storms. They are likely to occur 200 to 300 
 miles southeast of the low-area, at points where the air is both very 
 warm and very moist. In the lower Missouri and the upper Missis- 
 sippi valleys tornadoes occur more frequently than at any other point 
 in the world. You can determine the direction of a low pressure 
 area very readily. If you stand with the back squarely to the wind, 
 the low area is always to your left. The experiment is easily tried and 
 you can verify it by the observations of the weather bureau which 
 are published in the large daily papers. 
 
 There is another kind of storm which is just the reverse of the low- 
 area of cyclonic storm. In its center is an area of high pressure about 
 which the winds rotate in the same direction as the hands of a watch. 
 It is not a storm in the common meaning of the term since it is asso- 
 ciated with clear, cool, dry weather. It is often called an anti-cyclone. 
 Just as the low-area storm is often associated with the tornado, so the 
 p,nti-cyclone is often associated with the cold wave. This term was 
 coined by the Signal Service and means that the temperature will fall 
 
10 
 
 l-o at least 45 degrees and tliat tlie loiii[)eraLure at a given hour (as "> 
 p. m.) to-morrow will be at least 15 degrees lower than it is at the 
 same hour to-dajr. Cold waves do not go with every anti-cyclone, for 
 in July the temperature rarely falls to 45 degrees, but there never is a 
 cold wave without an anti-cyclone. They originate in Canada just 
 east of the Eocky Mountains and follow three general courses — one 
 from west to east along the Great Lakes, another from Manitoba di- 
 rectly south to Texas, and a third in a southeasterly direction. This 
 last course crosses Indiana. 
 
 The knowledge of tlie general movements of low and liigh areas 
 is the basis of the prediction of weailior conditions. T\vi(-e each day 
 the forecast ofBcial rocei\es telegiams giving the conditions at a large 
 numl)er of stations. These lie enters on a map and after observing 
 the changes since the last observation, he ventures to predict what 
 will take place during the next 36 hours. 
 
 The movements of storm areas are influenced to a considerable ex- 
 tent by local conditions, such as the presence of lakes, river valleys 
 and mountain ranges. The forecast official must know not only the 
 laws governing the general movements of the storm ai'eas, but he 
 inust also keep in mind all these local variations. He is the most suc- 
 cessful forecaster who knows best the etl'ect ot these local conditions. 
 These are learned only by constant observation of the things about 
 him, and here we have another illustration of the fact that the sound- 
 est and most useful knowledge is that which we derive from a careful 
 (iliscrvntion of the things with which we are daily brought in contact. 
 
 LITEIt.VTUKK. 
 
 The iinly tiiil;ible wiirk for general readiiij; for American students is "American 
 Weather," by ( u-u. ,\. W. Greely. New York : Dodd, Mead * Co., $-J.50. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 14. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Childfsen in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 
 
 By Prof. J. C. Arthur. 
 
 I brought in a handful of acorns from the woods some days ago, and 
 threw them into a dish of water to rinse ofE the dirt. Being a warm 
 day, although in February, I had taken a stroll to enjoy the springlike 
 air and see what could be picked up of interest. 
 
 Under the trees, among the dead leaves I found quantities of 
 acorns, some still in their scaly cups, just as they grew upon the trees, 
 
 and more yet that had dropped out of the cups 
 
 and now showed the large round scar where they 
 
 had been attached. Most of the acorns were well 
 
 covered with fallen leaves and snugly enough 
 
 tucked away from cold winds and weather. Of 
 
 course, every one knows that there is a plant 
 
 inside of the acorn, because we all have been told' j,jq j^ ABerminating 
 
 that "great oaks from little acorns grow." »<=°™- 
 
 It was odd to see how much the color of the acorns made them look 
 
 like the dead leaves, sticks and soil, in which they were partly buried. 
 
 I thought if the squirrels had as much trouble to see them after they 
 
 were uncovered as Tdid, they might sometimes go hungry, even with 
 
 plenty of acorns right before them. 
 
 This made me think to taste of an acorn, just to see if it would 
 
 be good to eat. So I cut one open and tasted ever so little of it, but 
 
 didn't swallow any; for you may be sure that I was not going to eat 
 
it until some one who really knew told me it was all right. But the 
 acorn I tasted was bitter, and I think even squirrels would not care to 
 eat such bitter food if any other could be obtained. It may be all 
 acorns do not taste the same. I mean to taste of the different kinds, 
 and also -natch the squirrels, when I go out next time. 
 
 While I ^-las wondering if there were any animals that really liked 
 bitter things to eat, I noticed one of the acorns had a small hole in 
 the side of it. and at once susjoected that there was a worm inside. 
 (Jutting it open, I found no worm, for it had already escaped, and had 
 left behind only some l>rown stuff like wet sawdust, in the place of the 
 kernel. 
 
 I now noticed for the iirst time that about half of the acorns I had 
 thrown into the water when I came from the woods had sunk to the 
 bottom and the otliers floated. (See Fig. 2). I cut into some of them 
 and found that the ones tliat floated were quite brown and dead 
 inside, and some had white worms in them; not exactly worms either, 
 but larva^ that will probably change into some kind of insects. I 
 intend to plant the rest "f the floating acorns in a box of dirt, and 
 tie a piece of mosquito netting over the top of the box. If I keep 
 
 the box in a wann room, 
 and do not have it too wet 
 or too dry, the insects 
 ought to come out after a 
 time, and as they can not 
 get away, I shall be able to 
 see what they look like. 
 There may be a good many 
 kinds that like to eat 
 acoriis; we shall see. 
 
 The acorns that went to 
 the bottom of the water I planted in a liox of soil in a sunny window, 
 and they are ah-cady coming up. The young oak as it comes through 
 the ground is a rather curious ijlant. It is a slender stalk, without 
 leaves at first, at least nut true lea\-es, but with a number of small 
 scales, set in pairs. The upper end is bent over as it comes from the 
 ground, which is a way it has to protect the growing end from injury 
 when pushing up through the rough S(_>il. It is as if a boy should lift 
 up a cellar door from beneath by putting his shoulder to it, so as not 
 to injure his head. I'otatoes when they are coming up through the 
 ground do the same thing, and many other plants. 
 
 More curious things yet are going on under ground. Dig up some 
 of the young plants and m ash ofl: the dirt. It was fortunate that I 
 
 Fig. 2. A dish of acorns: the bad ones floating, 
 and the good ones at the bottom. 
 
planted them in a deep box, for what long straight I'duls they have, 
 ever so mnch longer than the stems. Some that have just started to 
 grow show that the root conies out of the seed first, and grows straight 
 down into the soil, with only very few small side roots. (See Fig. 3.) 
 The root always breaks out at the same end of the seed and the 
 shell usually splits so as to make three points. Why three points, 
 rather than any other number? It has been found out that when 
 the acorn is ^ ery young, still in the flower (it may be you never saw 
 oak flowers — look for them in the spring), there are three parts to it, 
 and two plantlets. cmhri/os, to each part, all too small to be seen except 
 with a strong microscope. One embryo usually gets ahead of the 
 others, and grows so fast that it fills up the whole acorn, and the 
 other five perish for want of room. Sometimes two embryos grow; 
 and by hunting long enough one might find an acorn with two ker- 
 nels, that is. with two grown embryos. Even three might be found, 
 and possibly more, even as many as six in one acorn; but that would 
 be far more difficult than finding four-leaved clovers. If you come 
 across two or three young oaks coming up together in the woods, dig 
 down and see if tliey come from one acorn. 
 
 Now, pull off the three valves of the acorn shell and the kernel 
 separates into two parts. It is not hard to see that these 
 are really two very thick leaves on short, fiat stalks, and 
 that the stem grows from between them. The seed 
 leaves are called cotyledons, and they are of all sizes 
 and shapes in different sorts of seeds. When thick- 
 ened they hold food for the young plant, until it can 
 get well established with roots in the soil, and leaves 
 spread out to the light. So what is food for squir- 
 rels and worms, and small boys and girls, is food for 
 young oaks. Thus plants and animals evidently like the 
 same kind of food, and thrive on it. 
 
 If some of the acorns are uncovered as soon as 
 they start to grow, and the shell pulled off, the coty- 
 ledons will spread apart after a time and turn green. 
 But they never look very much like ordinary leaves, 
 for their greatest use is to hold the food for the little 
 plant, stored up by the parent oak, and not to make 
 new food. 
 ^'?;.^- w'^Hf I have noticed that the exposed cotyledons have not 
 
 seedling beiore 11 ^ ., . _ 
 
 through'tii" only turned green, but they are quite red m places. 
 
 ground. j^^g^ j ggg ^ji^t the young stems are decidedly red, 
 
 too now that one's attention is directed to the matter. Eed is some- 
 
tinii's called a wai'jii color, and such it is in very fact; for the stems and 
 leaves retain more of the sun's heat when they are red. So that many 
 young shoots in early spring, before settled warm weather arrives, are 
 red to help them keep warm enough to grow well. 
 
 It is very interesting to start different kinds of seeds, and see how 
 they behave in germination. Peas will be found to have many resem- 
 blances to acorns in their mode of growth. The two thick cotyledons 
 normally stay underground, and there are scale leaves on the yoimg 
 stem before the true foliage leaves appear. Don't forget to compare 
 the roots, the way the stem pushes through the soil, and the color. 
 The pea has no hard shell, but it has a skin to protect it, which 
 becomes soft when soaked. By looking in the acorn we shall find 
 that the kernel really has a skin about it, only it is thin, brown and 
 papery. Then if we remember that the pea grew in a pod that Avas 
 dry and hard when ripe, we shall see that the acorn and the pea are 
 more alike than appeared at first; even the half-dozen peas in a pod 
 only show that more grew up than in the case of the acorn. 
 
 Plant some scarlet runner beans, and some common field beans. 
 The first behave quite like peas, but the second carry their cotyledons 
 up into the air, and turn them into quite fair foliage leaves, but not 
 at all the shape of the leaves that follow. Try some pumpkin, tomato 
 and onion seeds, and notice the difl:erent ways they adopt to establish 
 the young plant. These seeds can be planted at any time during the 
 year, while the germination of acorns can not be readily observed 
 except during winter and spring. 
 
 In the case of corn there are differences that are not clear at first. 
 The seed remains underground and acts as a source of food supply 
 for the plantlet. The first leaves are short, as they are in the oak 
 and pea, but enwrap the stem, and are placed singly, instead of in 
 pairs. This leads us to suspect that there is only one cotyledon, and 
 that it must be held fast in the seed. Let us try and separate it. 
 The best we can do is to tear away the germ, but it has carried the 
 roots and stem with it. This soft white germ is in fact the cotyledon. 
 It does not have the stored food inside of it, as with the acorn, but 
 outside of it, and so is grown fast to the storehouse, and sucks out 
 the nutriment as the plantlet needs it for growth. If the seed is 
 planted deep, the stem is very long from the cotyledon to the base 
 of the first leaf, so as to bring the first leaves above ground. Eoots 
 are formed at this first joint after a time. "We must not forget to look 
 at the roots that spring from the seed and notice how very different 
 they are from those of the acorn. Possibly some connection can be 
 found between the disposition of the first roots of the seedlings and 
 
the rooting habits of corn and oaks when full grown. "Who knows 
 whether these plants have roots that go down deep into the earth or 
 that spread out close beneath the surface of the ground? 
 
 If some seeds are grown lietween blotting paper or folds of cloth 
 laid in a dish with just enough water to keep them moist, and another 
 dish turned over for a cover to prevent the whole from drying out, 
 some more important and curious things can be seen. The roots will 
 be nearly covered with white, delicate root-hairs, that collapse and 
 wholly disappear if kept in the open air for a time. At the tips of 
 the roots and back a ways from the tips there are no root-hairs, this 
 being the part that pushes through the soil; and there are none 
 on the oldest parts of the roots, but for a very different reason. Some 
 kinds of plants produce more and larger root-hairs than others; they 
 are so small on the oak seedlings that I have to take a magnifying 
 glass to see them. Examine roots growing in earth and notice how 
 the hairs cling to the particles of the soil. It is the way the plant 
 has of getting nourishment out of the ground. The root-hairs help 
 to dissolve the solid particles, which they afterward absorb, together 
 with moisture and any nutrient matters held in the soil water. 
 
 I have just tried growing some seeds in a covered dish fixed up 
 with wet blotting paper, so that the seeds are kept damp enough, but 
 the roots have to grow out into the moist air of the dish, and I 
 have found out a number of strange things that I did not suspect 
 before. When I go for acorns next time I intend to look for walnut, 
 hickory, sycamore and other tree seeds, and also for various kinds 
 of weed seeds, and it may be that I can find some little plantlets 
 already started. It seems much easier to see all these curious things 
 now that some of them have been pointed out, than when I brought 
 in my first handful of acorns. 
 
FOR THE U3E OF TEftCHERS . 
 
 No. 15. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 OUR INSECT FRIENDS. 
 
 By Prof. James Troop. 
 
 In a former Leaflet you were told that fully four-fifths of all the 
 animal Hfe upon the globe belongs to the great tribe of insects. Now, 
 do you not think that it would be very strange, indeed, if, among all 
 of the many thousands of different kinds with which we are daily 
 surrounded during the summer, there were not some which we could 
 call our friends? Have you ever thought about it? Is it not true 
 that you have been in the habit of thinking of every kind of insect as 
 being your enemy? I suspect that you have sometimes called the 
 honey bee hard names because it stung you when you got too near its 
 hive or because you pinched it when it was quietly sipping the sweet 
 nectar from a flower in the garden. And I imagine that you have 
 thought of the bumble bee as a good-for-nothing old fellow when you 
 knocked him off a clover blossom and then accidentally stepped upon 
 him with your bare foot. In each case the bee was simply trying to 
 protect itself against such harsh treatment. I suppose that you did 
 not stop to think that the honey bee was working hard at that moment 
 in storing up honey for your benefit, and that without the bumble 
 bee your father's clover plants would not produce any seeds, and that 
 without clover seed we should have no clover. 
 
 I think that you can see that our insect friends may do us good in 
 many different ways. For example, some may give us something 
 
good to eat^ while others may show their friendship by preventing our 
 insect enemies from injuring us or our crops. 
 
 Let us see if we can not divide them into two classes. In one class 
 we will put those that produce something we can eat, or wear, or that 
 we can use in some other way. In the second class we will put those 
 which help us by destroying our insect enemies. 
 
 Now, which ones shall we place in the first class? There are only 
 a few, like the honey bee, the silkworm, the cochineal bug and per- 
 haps the blister beetles. 
 
 The second cl^ss will not be very large either. Here we might 
 name the lady bugs, a number of the larger ground beetles, and two 
 or three families of little flies, which are commonly called parasites. 
 
 Fow let us talk about some of the members of the first class for a 
 little while. Let us take first the honey bee. How many kinds of 
 material do we get from the honey bee? Two — honey and wax. Of 
 course, every farmer's boy ought to know that. Now, where is the 
 honey made? Do the bees gather it from flowers? A good many peo- 
 ])le think so, but let lis see. The next time you find a clover blossom 
 pull out a single flower and suck out the sweet substance which it con- 
 tains. Is it honey? No, you say it does not have any of the peculiar 
 honey taste about it. It is simply a sweet substance called nectar. 
 It is not honey until it has been manufactured by the bees. This is 
 such a ditflcidt operation that I think you will have to wait till you 
 get older before attempting to learn how it is done. 
 
 No«-, can you tell where the bees get the wax? Do you think they 
 gather that from plants also ? A good many hundred years ago people 
 thought that the bees used the little yellow balls, which we sometimes 
 sec clinging to their hind legs, for maldng wax, but now we know 
 tlie little yellow balls are made of pollen which the bee gathers from 
 flowers for the purpose of feeding its young and that the wax is 
 secreted from their own bodies in much the same way as a cow secretes 
 milk. Tlie wax forms in little scales on the imder side of their bodies 
 and when they want to use it they pick it ofl! with their feet and after 
 mixing it in their mouths, they use it in building their combs and in 
 making the little pockets in which they store the honey. 
 
 How many of you know how many lands of bees there are in a 
 hive? If your father keeps bees you have probablj' heard him talk of 
 the "queen," the "workers" and the "drones." It is very easy to dis- 
 tinguish between these different kinds of bees if we observe them a 
 little closely, but I doubt if many of you have done this because, as 
 a rule, people do not care to get very near to bees, especially when 
 the}' are at work. You need not feel afraid of them, however, for the 
 
bees are like our domestic animals; if we treat them kindly they will 
 usually treat us in the same way. 
 
 This is especially true of the queen, who is the largest and most 
 important bee in the -hive. Of course, then, like other queens, she 
 must have a larger and finer house to live in than those her subjects 
 have. ]f you should examine the living room of the queen bee you 
 would find that it is nearly four times as large as those of the other 
 bees. It is about the size and shape of a peanut and is usually placed 
 on the edge of the comb. 
 
 The queen is the mother bee and lays all the eggs. How many do 
 you suppose she can lay in a day. One writer tells us that he had a 
 queen bee that sometimes laid more than three thousand eggs in a 
 single day, and that she continued to lay at intervals for more than 
 five years. Of course, there are some seasons of the year when she; 
 does not lay so many, and other seasons when she stops laying alto- 
 gether, but it does not take long for her family to become so large 
 that the hive will no longer contain it. What do you suppose happens 
 then? They prepare to found a new colony, or in other words, they 
 "swarm." Have you never seen a cloud of bees come out of the hive 
 and light upon some tree or biish near by, then after a while fly away? 
 If the bee farmer has been watching them and is familiar with their 
 habits he has a new home ready for them, but he sometimes has to use 
 a good deal of ingenuity to get them to go into it. If he has not been 
 prepared for their swarming they frequently get away from him alto- 
 gether and fly off into the woods. 
 
 Now, why do you suppose they lighted on the first tree or bush? It 
 was that they might be sure their queen was with them. A swarm 
 will never permanently leave a hive without a queen bee. , If they find 
 that she is not with them, they will return to the old hive, wait for a 
 time and then make another attempt. 
 
 But, you say, if the queen goes with the new colony, who is to gov- 
 ern the subjects she leaves behind? The workers have prepared for 
 that. They would not allow her to leave them unless they had her 
 successor ready to take her place. An egg has been laid in the queen's 
 cell, and the young, larval queen has been fed upon what is called 
 "Eoyal Jelly." This food is very much richer than that fed to the 
 workers or the drone larvce, and it is this that causes the difference 
 in the size and structure of a queen. In case of an accident to their 
 old queen, the bees have a curious way of getting a new one very 
 quickly. The drones select three cells which contain larvm, knock 
 out the partition walls, kill two of the lanm and feed the third on the 
 Royal Jelly. 
 
The "workers" are the most numerous as well as the most active 
 class among the bees. How many should yoii think there were in a 
 good, strong colony? The number varies, of course, but usually there 
 are from 30,000 to 40,000, and each bee has its own particular work 
 to do. If you could look into the hive when they are all busy you 
 would find the young bees building the comb, feeding the larvm, and 
 doing general housework; those a little older would be secreting wax 
 and helping their elders in shaping the pockets for storing the honey 
 which these older bees bring in. 
 
 We have learned that the queens sometimes live four or five years, — 
 now, how long do you suppose these workers live? It depends a good 
 deal upon the time of the year at which they are hatched; if late in 
 the fall, they will live until the next spring, but if during the busy 
 season in summer, they work so hard that they wear themselves out 
 and live only forty or fifty days. 
 
 And now there remains only our third class of bees — the "drones." 
 These are the male bees. They are larger than the workers, but have 
 no sting and are altogether very lazy, useless fellows. We might call 
 them the "tramps" of the bee family. Sometimes the "workers" 
 grow tired of feeding and caring for them; they will then kill them 
 and throw them out of the hive. 
 
 How much honey do you suppose is made in one summer by a 
 good hive of bees? The amount will depend very much, of course, 
 as to whether or not there has been an abundance of flowers for the 
 bees to work upon, but I know that a great many pounds, often 
 twenty-five or thirty, have been taken from one hive, and that when 
 swarms of bees have wandered off to live in a hollow tree the hollow 
 has been found to be full of delicious honey. DifEerent varieties of 
 bees vary in their ability to produce honey. I presume your father 
 would tell you that the Italian bees are the best kind to have, because 
 they begin their \york earlier in the morning and continue it later in 
 the evening. Then, too, they have a longer tongue than the black 
 bees and can get nectar from flowers which the black bees can not 
 reach. Best of all, they are much more gentle and easy to handle. 
 
 I think, perhaps, the silkworm is next in interest of our 
 insect friends. Not many of you will be able to see just how silk is 
 made, so I will talk about it a little while. In the first place there 
 is a beautiful large moth which lays the eggs which hatch into the 
 larvw or silkworms. These worms are then fed all the mulberry 
 leaves that they can eat until they are full grown, when they spin a 
 silken cocoon around themselves, completely shutting themselves in; 
 then they change to the pupm state and remain quiet for a few weeks. 
 
Now, if you leave these pupw long enough they will burst open their 
 cocoons in much the same way that the mosquito does and thus many 
 of the threads of silk will be broken, so at this time men take these 
 cocoons and put them in an oven and bake them so as to kill the pupw. 
 Then the cocoons are placed in hot water and the silk is wound off 
 and used for making thread, cloth, etc. If you will watch the large 
 caterpillars, which feed upon the apple and cherry leaves next fall as 
 they are getting ready for winter you may see Just how the silk threads 
 are made. 
 
 Can you think of anything else that we get from insects? Well, 
 there are a nimiber of insects which furnish us with dye stuffs. One 
 of these belongs to the order Hemiptera, or true bugs. It feeds upon 
 the cactus plant and is known as the cochineal bug. It secretes a col- 
 oring material from its body which is used in coloring candies and 
 other things. They are very useful, but as they do not live in this 
 climate, we will pass on to another one with which you are all 
 acquainted. This is commonly called the blister-beetle. Members of 
 this family are long, black and striped fellows, which we often find 
 doing so much injury to the potatoes, beets, etc. You did not sup- 
 pose that these insects were of any use, did you? Most people do not 
 consider them so. Why do you suppose they are called blister-beetles? 
 It is because they are used for making bUster plasters. The beetles 
 are kiUed, dried and then pulverized and the powder is made into 
 paste and used by the doctors to produce blisters. In this way they 
 become very useful in curing certain diseases. 
 
 Now, we come to the second class, which, I think, is the most 
 friendly of all, because without its aid our crops would frequently be 
 entirely ruined by the injurious insects. These are flesh-eaters and 
 so are called carniverous, because they feed upon other insects. Some 
 of these kill only as many as they want for their immediate use, 
 while others place their eggs either upon or within the bodies of the 
 larvce of other insects and, as they hatch, the young feed upon them 
 and so destroy them. 
 
 In this olass we may place many of the beetles— those with the 
 hard wing covers. Among these are the Tiger beetles. Of course, 
 you all know what Tiger beetles are. Those long-legged, bright-col- 
 ored beetles which run very swiftly, and nearly always go hunting in 
 the hot portion of the day. There are a number of other kinds of 
 ground beetles among our friends, hut they hunt for their prey after 
 night and hide during the day under stones and logs. Now, do any 
 of you know where the young Tiger beetles Uve? They cannot run as 
 fast as the full-grown beetle, so they have to adopt some other plan 
 
to catch their prey. It is very interesting, and you may see them 
 this summer if you watch carefully. This is the way they do it. The 
 larva digs a little well in the grassy sod just large enough to admit 
 its body, then it gets down into it so that its head is just below the 
 surface of the ground, and then waits — for what? For some unlucky 
 insect to come crawling along over its hiding place, when, like a 
 flash, up goes its head and its stout jaws are securely fastened into 
 the body of its victim and it is dragged down into the well and 
 devoured. 
 
 I wonder how many of you know the "Lady bugs." I hope that 
 you all do, because they are among our very best friends. Some peo- 
 ple who have not studied about insects suppose these little beetles to 
 be injurioiis, but they are not. The next time you see some of these 
 little spotted fellows crawling over the fruit trees or rose bushes just 
 watch them closely and see what they are about. They will appear 
 to be looking for something, and pretty soon you will see one pick up 
 a green plant louse, suck its blood, toss the dry skin away, and then 
 look for another. This they keep up day after day all summer. 
 Thus they destroy an enormous number of plant lice, which, as you 
 Icnow, if left to themselves, would do a great deal of damage to the 
 young plants. The young lady bugs are even greater eaters than 
 the full-grown beetle. I wonder how much a wide-awake lady bug 
 can save in this way each day. I cannot tell you, but I know that 
 in a large market garden they may save many hundreds of dollars' 
 worth of vegetables each year. 
 
 I wish now to speak to you for a moment of two families of the 
 Parasites. What are parasites, I hear you ask. They are plants or 
 animals that get their living by feeding upon some other plant or ani- 
 mal. For example, if your father keeps sheep, you have probably 
 seen the sheep ticks which get on the little lambs and worry them so 
 much. These are parasites, and your father will tell you how destruc- 
 tive they are to the lambs. But since these must be classed among our 
 enemies, we will not talk about them now. The friendly parasites of 
 which I wish to speak to you are two families of flies. They differ a 
 great deal in size; some of them are quite large, while others are very 
 small, but they all work in the same way, though in different insects. 
 Would you like to know how they work? 
 
 If you will examine the oat plants carefully about the time they are 
 nicely headed you will probably find a large number of plant lice 
 busily sucking the juice out of the plants. It would not take them 
 long to destroy the whole oat crop. Now, if you will watch care- 
 fully you will probably notice a little black fly very actively engaged 
 
about something. Look closely and you will see it apparently sting 
 the plant louse. You will find that there are a great number of these 
 little flies, and all hard at work. What are they doing? They are 
 laying their eggs inside of the bodies of the plant lice and when these 
 eggs hatch the young flies will feed upon the lice and soon eat them 
 up. If you will look again in a week or ten days you will probably 
 find that the lice have all disappeared and the oat crop has been 
 saved. 
 
 One more familiar example. Go into the garden in August and 
 September and examine the tomato worms. Some of the worms will 
 be almost completely covered with little white objects that look like 
 Uttle eggs. Look at them more closely through your magnifying 
 glass and you will see that they are little cocoons. 'Where did they 
 come from? This worm has had a great many little eggs laid within 
 its body; they have hatched and the young, having fed upon the 
 worm imtil they were full grown, have come out and spun little 
 silken cocoons upon the outside in order that the full-grown flies 
 may get out easily when the proper time comes. The worm, which 
 is very destructive to the tender plant, will soon die. 
 
 There is still one family of flies of which I wish to speak l(j you. 
 The flies are very small, in fact, among the smallest of all known 
 insects, but there are so many of them that the family is a ver>- large 
 one. As you will not be able to see them, I will tell you how they 
 work. The female fly bores a tiny hole through the sliell of the eg.c; 
 of some other insect and lays her egg inside of the other. When it 
 hatches the young fly or larvas feeds upon the other egg until it is 
 full grown. In this way great numbers of injurious insects are 
 destroyed while yet in the egg. 
 
 I think now you will understand why these little insects of which 
 we have been speaking should be classed among our insect friends. 
 
FOR THB U»e OF TBftCH E R8 . 
 
 No. 16. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED EY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 BUTTER MAKING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 By Prof.C. S. Plumb. 
 
 Each year, during the week of the State Fair at Indianapolis, one 
 day is devoted to the children. This is known as "Children's Day," 
 and every boy or girl who wishes, by the generosity of the Indiana 
 State Board of Agriculture, on this day is allowed free admission to 
 the State Fair grounds, where many interesting and instructive sights 
 can be seen. Thousands of happy boys and girls crowd the grounds, 
 and their bright faces are to be seen everywhere. They see and learn 
 many things. If they go into the Dairy building and look around 
 carefully, they see a very large refrigerator with glass sides, built into 
 the room, in which are many tubs and packages of beautiful yellow 
 butter. The State Board of Agriculture offers prizes to the people 
 who will make the best butter and show it at the fair. This butter 
 in the refrigerator was made to compete for the prizes offered, and 
 it is supposed to be of unusually good quaUty. This butter is all 
 carefully examined by an "expert judge," who critically studies it in 
 every way. He grades it for its flavor, color, texture, the amount of 
 salt in it, for its general appearance, and finally awards the prizes for 
 the best butter. 
 
 Now, would it not be a good idea for the school children of Indiana 
 to learn something of how nice butter is made, so that they might 
 Imow how to make butter that they could show with pride at the 
 county, or, if you can go, at the State Fair? Think how interested 
 
the people would all be in a show ease filled with beautiful yellow 
 butter made by school children. How proud the teacher of your dis- 
 trict school would be to show her friends such an exhibition. No 
 doubt the fair directors would be glad to encourage in some way such 
 an exhibit. Did you ever think of what a difference there is in butter 
 and its value in the market? Let us take a simple, every-day example. 
 
 Two women drive to town, each with some butter to sell. They 
 go to the same store. One places pound prints, neatly wrapped in 
 special butter paper, before the store-keeper. The other puts on the 
 counter unshapely lumps, wrapped in none too clean white cloth. 
 That in the paper, on being unwrapped, is seen to be of a beautiful 
 yellow color, of firm textiire, with a flavor of the most appetizing 
 character. The other, removed from its cloth, is unattractively white, 
 somewhat soft, and with a flavor that but few people enjoy. 
 
 One person receives 20 cents a pound for her product, the other 
 H. The store-keeper desires to buy the one of fine flavor and attrac- 
 iive to the eye, for such is always in demand. The other he can sell 
 only as an inferior article, with a slow sale at that. 
 
 Why should there have been so much difference in these two lots 
 of butter? 
 
 If you can learn how to make such butter as the woman received 
 ,20 cents a pound for, then you need not be ashamed to show it to 
 your friends. You might, perhaps, make a creditable exhibit at the 
 fair, among much older people than yourself. So we will consider 
 some of the important things, a knowledge of which is so essential to 
 success in the process of butter-making. 
 
 If we could examine a drop of milk under a jiowerful microscope 
 we should see a quantity of very minute, roundish bodies of a pearly 
 appearance, floating about in the fluid. These are so small that it 
 takes from 15,000 to 35,000, placed side by side, to cover the length 
 of an inch. These little particles are the fat of the milk, and from 
 these butter is made. They are lighter than milk and so gradually 
 float upward toward the top of it in the pan or can, where, mixed with 
 a little of the milk at the top, they form cream. 
 
 Now, cream is really exceedingly rich milk. One hvmdred pounds 
 i)f common milk may contain four pounds of butter, while 100 pounds 
 of cream may have twenty. 
 
 Did you ever notice how difi'erent milk is as regards the amount 
 of cream it contains? Here is a pretty chance to experiment. Get 
 four bottles that are rather tall and made of clear white glass. Bottles 
 six or eight inches long will do. Fill each of these up to within half 
 an inch of its neck. Put in bottle No. 1 skim milk; in No. 2 tho 
 
milk from a black and white cow; in No. 3 that from a red cow, and 
 in ISTo. 4 the milk of a Jersey cow. Place these bottles in a cold room 
 or refrigerator and let them stand over night. The next day you will 
 find each bottle contains a layer of cream on top of the bluish-white 
 milk. Now, what is the difference in these milks in the amounts 
 of cream they contain? Measure them and find out how much is 
 cream and how much is milk in each bottle. This will show you 
 how much milks differ in the amounts of cream they contain. It 
 will also show you that it requires very careful skimming to get all 
 the cream from the milk. If you have no such cows as the above to 
 make an experiment with, then select three cows from among those 
 that you do have at home, with which to make the experiment. They 
 will do. Then report on the results. 
 
 If this cream we have been considering is placed in a churn and 
 dashed and swashed about, the little particles of fat begin to hit 
 together and stick to each other, so that if the conditions are right, 
 in a little while they unite to form small pieces of butter about the 
 size of a mustard seed or perhaps a grain of wheat. Then the fat or 
 butter becomes visible to the eye, floating in the white buttermilk. 
 This fat may then be taken from the milk and worked up into lumps, 
 such as is sold in the stores. 
 
 Now, we wish to find out why one person makes good butter and 
 another person poor butter. 
 
 Milk is the parent of butter. It is an interesting liquid, and is 
 peculiar in that it absorbs or takes up bad odors. To illustrate this, 
 get some fresh, warm milk and place in a box or room containing, 
 say, cabbages or onions, and let it stand there an hour or so. Then 
 place it in a clean, sweet-smelling room, and leave it till the follow- 
 ing day. When you next examine it, smell and taste of it, and report 
 upon its odor, or flavor. Does it taste like the milk you are accus- 
 tomed to? After being in the sweet room for a day, does it lose the 
 bad odor? No doubt you will have an interesting report to make, 
 but it will surely also interest you and your schoolmates if you will 
 try another experiment. At noon, if your father will consent, feed a 
 cow a small amount of strong-smelling vegetables, such as cabbage, 
 turnips or onions. At night, after she is milked, drink some of the 
 milk and try its flavor. Also let some of it stand until it becomes 
 cool, and then taste. Do you notice anything peculiar? You will 
 be quite sure to, for such strong-smelling vegetables, when eaten by 
 a cow a few hours before milking, will taint the milk. This will show 
 you how sensitive milk is to odors, and that it will even absorb them 
 before it is drawn from the cow. So we must be careful where we 
 
place milk, in order to keep it pure and sweet. We must also keep 
 it in very clean, nice pans or cans, and the cow must be fed the sweet- 
 est and best of foods. 
 
 Butter i.s really a part of milk, and like it will absorb strong odors 
 of any kind. This you can easily learn, if you will. Go to a store 
 where the butter is kept in refrigerators or boxes that are not clean, 
 and smell and taste of it. You will be surprised to find that butter 
 tastes of so many different things. I am sure it will interest the 
 teacher and children if you will report your discoveries in this butter 
 box. You also can carry on a simple little experiment at home. Take 
 one of the nice, sweet lumps of butter your mother has made and cut 
 it into two parts. One part keep in a clean, sweet room or box. 
 Place the rest in a Ijox that has had some kerosene (coal oil) spilled 
 on the inside of it, and keep it there over night. Now, every one Vidll 
 be interested to know if there is any difference in the flavor of the 
 two halves of that lump of butter. You should be able to tell. 
 
 I am very sure that your various investigations will show that both 
 milk and butter absorb strong odors, and so themselves become of bad 
 quality, thus injuring their value. So does this not teach us that it 
 is important to keep all milk and butter in a sweet air and in very 
 clean vessels if we are to have agreeable tasting food of this kind, and 
 wish to get the best prices for it? 
 
 After obtaining the cream from the milk, by skimming, it is neces- 
 sary to churn it to secure the butter, and as has already been said, 
 this is done by a dashing process. The vessel the cream is dashed 
 about in is the churn, of which there are many different kinds. The 
 best churns are usually of the simplest make. 
 
 Several things combine to make the operation of churning easy or 
 difiicult, and to produce good or poor butter. Among these may be 
 mentioned — ■ 
 
 Tst. The kind of churn. 
 
 2d. The kind of cream. 
 
 3d. The temperature of the cream. 
 
 4th. The temperature of the room. 
 
 5th. The washing of the butter. 
 
 6th. The salting and working of the butter. 
 
 Let us briefly consider these points. 
 
 1st. THE KIND OF CHURN. 
 
 Generally speaking, a churn that contains a dasher or paddle will 
 not make as good butter as will one that is free of such things. The 
 dasher bruises or smears the butter, so as to injure what is called the 
 
"grain." These dashers are not really necessary, for cream dashed 
 against the sides of the churn which contains no sticks or paddles 
 will yield biitter in a very few minutes. For this reason the best 
 churns now made are barrels or boxes, without dashers, that either 
 turn over and over or swing back and forth while churning. 
 
 Will it not be possible for you to get some information about 
 churns? Visit some of the butter-makers in the neighborhood and 
 learn what kind of churns they use, and see them in operation. Then 
 compare the appearance of the butter made in the different churns. 
 You may group all churns into two classes; first, those with dashers, 
 and, second, those without them. Can't you make a few observations 
 on these two points: First, which churn makes the best appearing 
 butter; second, which churn is most easily kept clean? It will also 
 be a good plan for you to see which is the easiest to churn with, one 
 of the old dash churns or a box or barrel churn. 
 
 2(3. THE KIND OF CREAM. 
 
 If your mother skims the cream from the top of the milk, and 
 takes with it some of the sour, curdled milk, little hard, white lumps 
 ■ called "curds," will occur in the butter and so injure its looks. These 
 lumps will also get rancid, and so spoil the flavor of the butter. The 
 only way to prevent this is to strain the thick cream through a fine 
 strainer, so that nothing but very smooth cream will pass into the 
 churn. 
 
 Of course, from what has already been said, the cream must be 
 kept where there are no bad odors, otherwise it will be seriously 
 injured. 
 
 Another thing that affects the butter is the condition of the cream 
 when churned, whether it be sweet or shghtly sour or "acid," as it 
 
 is called. 
 
 Here we have two nice opportunities for experimenting. In sum- 
 mer weather get your mother to allow several pans of milk to become 
 sour and clabbered before skimming. Have her skim some of the 
 thick top milk with the cream, as is so often done where milk is 
 skimmed by hand. Now divide the cream into two parts. One lot 
 chum just as it is, but the other pour through a wire strainer, so as to 
 remove all lumps. What is the difference in the butter from these two 
 lots of cream? 
 
 You can carry on an interesting experiment by taking two lots of 
 cream, one of which is real sweet and the other slightly sour and 
 churning them separately. Which do you find churns easiest, and 
 which has the best fiavor? 
 
3(1. THE TEArPBRATURE OP CREAM. 
 
 Mvery [iwmui who has a dairy and churns should use a thermome- 
 ter. Did you know that cream will churn much better at some tem- 
 peratures than others? ISTice thick cream will churn best at about 
 56 degrees. The only way you can find out when the cream is at the 
 right temperature is to use a thermometer. You can buy floating 
 bulb or dairy thermometers for 25 cents that will be very valuable; and 
 any druggist can get them for you. The use of the thermometer for 
 one day may more than pay for the cost of it. 
 
 Here is an experiment for you that will be worth something to 
 your parents, perhaps, as well as to other people. 
 
 Take some fairly thick cream, put it into a deep pan or pail, and 
 place in a tub or large pail of very cold water and cool it until your 
 thermometer sajs it has a temperature of 56 degrees. Stir the cream 
 in the can to make it cool rapidly and evenly. Then take some cream 
 that is much thinner and churn it at the same temperature. Which 
 does it take you the longest to churn? ISTow, supposing you get some 
 thin cream and churn it at 62 degrees. How long does it take the 
 butter to come at this temperature? If you study this question care- 
 fully, you will find that in summer it will be well to churn the cream 
 at 56 degrees, because it will gradually warm up some in the churn, 
 while in the winter it will be well to have it somewhat warmer, or 
 about 60 degrees. The colder you can churn your cream and get 
 butter the better the butter irill be, and you will not lose so much fat 
 in the buttermilk. 
 
 4th. TEMPERATURE OP THE ROOM. 
 
 If you place some cream at 56 degrees in the churn, and then agi- 
 tate it in a room at 70 degrees, what will happen? After you have 
 churned fifteen minutes take the temperature of your cream. You 
 will be sure to find that it is warmer than when you put it in the 
 churn. What does that mean? Does it not mean that the air of the 
 room is warming up the churn and its contents? That is just it. 
 How, if the butter comes in this warmed-up cream, will it be nice 
 and hard to handle, or somewhat soft and sticky? Can't you report 
 on this? Would you advise churning in a room warmer than the 
 temperature of your cream, or in a little colder one, if possible? 
 
 5th. WASHING THE BUTTER. 
 
 After the butter comes in the churn to about the size of wheat 
 grains we stop churning and draw off the buttermilk. That leaves 
 the butter in the bottom of the churn, sometimes like a mass of 
 
golden wheat grains. Now, each of these pieces of butter has Just 
 been bathed in buttermilk, and so it needs a bath of water to make 
 it clean. If you do not believe this, do what I tell you. Take some 
 butter from the chum without washing it and make a nice solid lump 
 of it, and place it in the ice chest. Then wash the rest of the butter 
 in the churn with clear cold water, twice, allowing the water to run 
 off quite fully each time. Make a lump of butter from some of this 
 and place alongside of the other unwashed butter, and keep it for a 
 week or so, and note which keeps sweetest and of the best flavor. 
 
 6th. WORKING AND SALTING. 
 
 People take butter from the churn and put it in a bowl or on a but- 
 ter-worker. Then nice dairy salt is scattered over it, usually about 
 three-quarters of an ounce of salt to a poxmd of butter, and then the 
 butter and salt are worked together. This working is for the purpose 
 of mixing the salt with the butter, and also to get the water or milk 
 out of it, and make it into hard, attractive lumps. Now, if the butter 
 is rubbed or worked over too much, it looks greasy and does not have 
 a nice "grain." Did you ever notice how some pieces of stone when 
 broken have a ragged, glistening, broken surface? That surface shows 
 the grain, and when butter is not worked too much, if a lump is 
 broken in two, it will show a nice grain, much Hke the broken stone. 
 So in working butter it should be firmly rolled or pressed with ladles 
 or wooden sticks or rollers, but never rubbed with them. Eubbing 
 destroys the grain, while the other process does not injure it, unless 
 carried to excess. 
 
 If you know of a creamery that you can visit, ask your parents if 
 they will not let you go there and watch them work the butter, so you 
 can tell how it is done. Then go to some store where they sell plenty 
 of butter, if you have an opportunity, and ask to see it. Look and 
 see if you can tell which has been worked too much, and which is all 
 right. Now, you will be able to understand some of the reasons why 
 one woman received more for her butter than another. She knew 
 how to make her butter properly. 
 
 Do you think this is an important subject? It certainly is. Indi- 
 ana has about 500,000 milch cows. Each one of these cows makes 
 about one hundred pounds of butter a year, or 50,000,000 pounds in 
 all. In 1890 over 48,000,000 pounds were made in Indiana. Suppose 
 this butter is like the poor stuff sold by the farmer's wife to the 
 grocer. Then it would be worth $7,000,000. If, however, it were 
 made as the woman made hers who got the highest price, because she 
 made it the right way, it would be worth $10,000,000. Now, if ilio 
 
people of Indiana, by making a better quality of butter can increase 
 their income from butter sales by $3,000,000 a year do you not think 
 it would pay? It not only would pay us well in money, but our 
 butter would get a better reputation, and so have an increased demand 
 by consumers. And so, if you will use your influence to teach people 
 how to make good butter it may be the means of making Indiana 
 a great butter-producing State. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. -17. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 ABOUT SPIDERS AND THEIR CURIOUS WAYS. 
 
 (Condensed from Morse's First Book of Zoology by the 
 Editor of " School and Home") 
 
 The spider is divided into two regions or parts. The hinder region 
 is called the ahdomen. The front part, to which the legs are attached, 
 is called the cephalo-thorax. C ephalo-thorax means head-chest, and is 
 thus called because the spider has its head and chest combined. 
 
 The spider has four pairs of legs, instead of three pairs of legs, as in 
 the true insects. Projecting in front are a pair of jointed feelers called 
 palpi. These look very much like legs, and in very young spiders can 
 scarcely be distinguished from them. 
 
 The mouth is armed with a pair of jaws which are attached above 
 the mouth and hang down in front, at the end of which are the 
 poison fangs. With these they are enabled to secure and kill the flies 
 and other insects upon which they feed. 
 
 Directly behind these jaws are two smaller jaws, which aid in crush- 
 ing the food and arranging it for the mouth. 
 
 The spider has eight eyes, situated on the front part of the cephalo- 
 thorax. They look like little black beads, and in large spiders can be 
 easily seen without the aid of a magnifying glass. 
 
 The abdomen has little appendages at its hinder end called spin- 
 nerets, and from these the spider produces the thread with which it 
 builds its nests and nets, the nets being commonly called spiders' webs. 
 
 Highly magnified, the spinnerets appear as blunt protuberances 
 arranged together in pairs, and capable of being contracted or 
 
expanded. These spinnerets are covered with hundreds of jointed 
 hairs which are perforated and through which the web-forming mate- 
 rial escapes. This material is fluid and something like the white of 
 an egg. Escaping from the body, through hundreds of these minute 
 openings, the strands of this fluid drj' almost instantly, and, uniting, 
 form the delicate, yet comparatively strong, thread of the spider. 
 Thus it will be seen that the thread of the spider is composed of hun- 
 dreds of strands, which may be often separated just as the fibres of a 
 rope may be pulled apart. 
 
 As the thread issues from the spinnerets the spider guides it with 
 its liind pair of feet, and these are curiously adapted for the purpose 
 not only of holding and guiding the thread, but also of enabling the 
 spider to run rapidly across its nets without getting entangled, while 
 other animals become helplessly ensnared in attempting the same 
 thing. 
 
 The ends of the legs terminate in three claws, a pair of larger ones, 
 generally notched like a comb, and a third one, like a spine, which 
 acts as a thumb. Other notched spines or hairs also aid in securing 
 a hold upon the web, and even if these fail to secure a footing, the leg 
 itself is covered with long, stifE bristles, pointing downward, which 
 are sure to catch in the web. The two large notched claws, as well 
 as the other claw and spines, are highly polished, and consequently 
 present no roughened surface to which the thread will adhere. 
 
 By observing the spiders which build their nets across the openings 
 of windows and in other convenient places while at work, they 
 may be seen to use their hind feet in apparently drawing out the 
 thread, as it were, from the spinnerets. It will be observed that the 
 thread issues in a broad band, and, when these spiders are sluggish, 
 the thread may be caught on the end of a pencil by gently rubbing 
 the spinnerets with it and then by withdrawing the pencil the thread 
 may be reeled off. 
 
 The various kinds of nets are adapted to entrap the spider's food, 
 which consists of flies and other insects. 
 
 Certain lands of spiders do not build nets, but go in search of their 
 prey by stealthily creeping up and pouncing upon it unawares. 
 
 It is a very interesting sight to watch the little black-and-white 
 spider (so common on the sides of houses) slyly approach a fly which 
 has alighted near it. If the spider is on the side of a window sill and 
 a fly has alighted near it, the spider instantly turns around, facing the 
 fly, cautiously and very slowly moves backward till it gets on the 
 upper side of the window sill and out of sight, when it rapidly 
 approaches, now and then peering over the edge of the sill, to see 
 
where the fly is, and, finally getting directly above the fly, it gathers 
 its legs for a jump, securing its thread to the window sill at the same 
 time, and then with a sudden spring seizes the fly in its jaws. Some- 
 times the insect is much larger than the spider, and flies away with 
 the spider tightly clinging to it; the thread, however, holds fast, 
 though sometimes run out to the length of a foot or more. Soon the 
 poison of the spider takes effect and the fly gradually weakens and 
 ceases its struggles, when the spider carries it off to some nook, there 
 to devour it. 
 
 One of the most common spider nets is thus made: The spider 
 first runs a few threads as a sort of framework, to which are to be 
 afterward attached the radiating threads, that is, those which run 
 from the center of the net to the sides. Having arranged these so 
 near together that the spider can easily reach from one radiating 
 thread to the other, the creature commences at the center of the 
 net and runs a thread from one radiating thread to the other in a 
 rapidly unwinding spiral till it reaches the outer edge of the net. 
 This is to form a staging and also the better to hold the radiating 
 threads in place. It then commences at the outside and going back 
 over its last course carefully constructs the permanent mesh; and, as 
 it comes to each radiating thread, it will be seen to attach to it the 
 thread it is now making by simply pressing the spinnerets against it. 
 As it goes aroimd again and again, continually lessening the circle, it 
 gathers up the thread which was first laid as a staging, and, rolling 
 it up in little balls, drops it to the ground. This habit has led to the 
 impression that the spider eats its web. The circular threads are glu- 
 tinous, while the radiating threads are smooth, and this can be proved 
 by throwing dust through the net, when the cross-threads will catch 
 and hold the dust, while the radiating threads will remain clean. 
 The actual center of the net is not the geometrical or true center, 
 but a little above it. It may be observed, too, that the net does not 
 stand vertical, but leans a little and the spider having completed the 
 net, takes a position in the actual center of the net, head downward 
 and on the inclining side of the net. With its legs outstretched and 
 resting on the radiating Unes, it can feel the slightest jar or agita- 
 tion made by a struggling insect. The spider being above the true 
 "center of the net and on the inclining side, if the fly has become 
 'entangled below the center, it can instantiy drop to the desired point 
 suspended by the ever-ready thread which it makes, and, swinging to 
 the net, it almost instantly catches the fly. 
 
 k Besides the nets made by spiders to ensnare insects, some species 
 have the power of running out a long thread which answers the pur- 
 
4 
 
 pose of a balloon in raising them from the ground and carrying them 
 floating a long distance in the air. In constructing this buoyant 
 means of transportation, the spider does it at peculiar times of the 
 day, and in peculiar positions. Selecting some place where the heated 
 air is rising from the ground or from the side of a fence, it turns up 
 its abdomen and allows the rising current of air to carry upward the 
 thread which is being made, and when this thread is of sufficient 
 length for its buoyancy to overcome the ^veight of the spider, it floats 
 away with the spider hanging below. 
 
 The spider also constructs cases to hold her eggs and lines them 
 warmly with the finest web. These nests vary greatly in appearance. 
 A common variety, somewhat oval in shape, may be found suspended 
 in barns and sheds. 
 
 The young spider comes from the egg resembling in form the par- 
 ent spider, excej^t that the legs are much shorter in proportion to his 
 relative size, and the palpi appear so large that they look like another 
 pair of legs, as they then are in fact, but they afterward become modi- 
 fied to feelers. 
 
 As the young spider grows it sheds its skin at short intervals of 
 time till it has reached adult size. 
 
 The mother spider, generally so timid, overcomes her fear during 
 the time she has the care of her eggs, and with many spiders the egg- 
 cases are directly cared for by the mother, she oftentimes carrying 
 them about with her or holding on to them and showing the greatest 
 solicitude for their safety. Some species of spiders carry their young 
 on their backs and move about with them. 
 
 The spider has no power of throwing or ejecting its thread to dis- 
 tant objects, as many suppose. When threads are seen stretching from 
 one tree to another, the spider has caused the thread to issue from the 
 spinnerets, and the wind has then caught it and borne it along till 
 finally it gets entangled with some object and in this way the spider is 
 enabled to cross from one point to another. 
 
 These creatures are not so dangerous as many suppose and but very 
 few authenticated cases are known of man having been bitten by 
 these animals; though the larger spiders at the South and in Califor- 
 nia, as the tarantula, for example, can inflict a dangerous wound. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 18. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 THE WORK OF WATER. 
 
 By Prof. A. W. Duff. 
 
 One of the busiest of all busy things is water. It is always work- 
 ing, usually doing useful work, but sometimes causing great damage. 
 It carries more freight than all the railways; it breaks up more soil 
 than al] the ploughs; it cuts more rock than all the quarrymen; it soars 
 higher than the highest mountain, and digs deeper than the deepest 
 mine. It is the most active thing in the world. 
 
 The Jiext time it is raining see what becomes of the raindrops that 
 fall on a sloping load. First, they make small imprints in the dust; 
 then they join to form pools; these pools overflow and streams start 
 down the road; these streams unite to form larger streams, and near 
 the foot of the slope you have a small brook, which has dug out a 
 regular channel for itself. If you follow it far enough you will prob- 
 ably find that it joins other brooks and becomes a large stream and 
 flows into a river which finally reaches the sea. 
 
 Note.— The material of this paper will suggest subjects for several 
 lessons. Although the primary purpose is to teach children to observe for 
 themselves, the explanation of some of the phenomena referred to would 
 be difficult if attention were not called to operations of Nature beyond the 
 ordinary range of observation. Hence, this leaflet departs somewhat from 
 the principle laid down in the Introduction to Nature Study as found in 
 Leaflet No. 1. 
 
But if this were all, we could hardly descrihe water as an active 
 worker; it might he better described as a mere busybody. You will 
 be able to discover which it is if you fill a glass jar with water from 
 the nearest brook or river, and let it stand for a few hours. You 
 will find that the water becomes much clearer, and that a layer of 
 muddy matter forms at the bottom. Dip off all of the water you can 
 without disturbing the mud, and then leave the Jar in the sun until 
 the rest of the water dries ivp, and you will find that you have a crust 
 like clay at the bottom. Now, evidently, the mud did not come down 
 in the rain, for if you test some pure rainwater in the same way noth- 
 ing whatever 'will settle to the bottom. Hence, the mud must have 
 been taken from the ground over which the water passes. Thus 
 every stream carries oflE some of the materials which it meets in its 
 course. 
 
 Now, what becomes of all the mud that the streams thus carry off? 
 iluch of it, no doubt, settles to the bottom of the river. But the 
 river itself is always taking up more from its banks. Hence it is clear 
 that the river must always be carrpng earth to its mouth where it 
 empties it into the ocean. If you examine a map of the mouth of a large 
 river, such as the Mississippi, you will observe that it has a very 
 curious form, as if the river had dragged the land out into the sea; 
 and so, in fact, it has, for it has built up banks of mud from the 
 material it has carried from far inland. Part of its burden it carries 
 still further than the banks at its mouth, bearing it even for some 
 distance out into the ocean. 
 
 The quantity of mud thus carried out to sea by the Mississippi is 
 enormoiis. It amounts to 400,000,000 tons every year. Thus the 
 rivers are ever busy transporting the mountains into the sea. 
 
 But is this work useful? Much of it certainly is. Those of you 
 who live near a river with very low banks will probably think of one 
 very useful form that it takes. In the springtime the river often 
 overflows the bottom lands near it and deposits on them some of the 
 soil which it has taken from elsewhere, thus greatly increasing their 
 fertility. Many rivers were formerly much larger and deeper than at 
 present and the very fertile land found along their banks was formed 
 by deposits of soil in the way mentioned. This, evidently, is very 
 useful work. 
 
 But rivers are not content to carry off mud only. They can even 
 pick up pebbles when they are running swiftly. The gravel which 
 you find along the banks is evidence of this. In countries that are 
 more mountainous and where the streams move more swiftly, rapid 
 torrents can even carry off stones that weigh many pounds, and in some 
 
places they have been known to partly roll and partly carry rocks 
 weighing many hundreds of pounds. This may seem almost incredi- 
 ble when you think of the weight of large stones, but water by no 
 means finds the stones as heavy as you do. Take a stone weighing 
 several pounds and hold it under water and notice how much lighter 
 it seems. If you have a spring balance you may amuse yourself by 
 weighing the stone while it is in air and then while it is in water. 
 If while it is in air it weighs twice as much as an equal bulk of water 
 it will lose half its weight when you weigh it in water; if three times 
 as much it will lose one-third of its weight in water, and so on. And 
 so you may discover about what the density of the stone is. These 
 experiments will help you to imderstand how water can carry ofE peb- 
 bles which it has dislodged. 
 
 You must remember, however, that it is only very swift streams 
 that can carry even pebbles to any distance. You will discover how 
 mud or very fine sand is carried farther than coarse sand, and coarse 
 sand farther than pebbles if you take a handful of gravel and throw it 
 into a glass of water. You will notice that the stones fall to the bot- 
 tom at once, while the coarse sand falls in a more leisurely fashion, 
 and the very small particles that make up mud may take hours to set- 
 tle down to the bottom. In the same way the river soon drops the 
 stones that it may have taken up, while it may carry the coarse sand 
 some distance, and the fine sand and mud is carried to great distances. 
 
 Examine the part of the bed of a river that is exposed when the 
 river is very low. You will find that where the current has been very 
 strong there may be a gravel bank. At other places, where two cur- 
 rents meet, you may find a ridge of sand which the water has dropped 
 where it is partly stopped by the opposing currents. But wherever 
 the flow has been very gentle you will find the channel covered with 
 fine mud. 
 
 Now we have already seen the good work accomplished by the mud 
 carried by the river. But the pebbles also play an important part in 
 the work of the river. As they are shoved along near the bottom and 
 sides they naturally tear up the ground and so set more earth and 
 mud in motion, and these, too, are carried along by the stream. Evi- 
 dently this means that the pebbles help the river to scour out its bed, 
 and thus make a wider and deeper channel. If you have grasped this 
 you reaUy know how most rivers come to exist. Where you now see 
 a mighty river with a deep, wide bed there was once but a small 
 stream, and the stones carried along enabled it to scoop out a deeper 
 and wider channel and so the process has gone on until you have the 
 present river, with its great, wide, deep bed. Have you ever seen a 
 
 »No. 16. 
 
picture of the Colorado river? At certain places it runs for long 
 distances at the bottom of an enormously deep channel in the solid 
 rock, the sides being at some points more than a mile high. How was 
 this gigantic furrow ploughed? Simply by the water itself, with the 
 assistance of the stones and sand it carried along. 
 
 Yet this is still only a very small account of the industry of water. 
 It carries mud and small stones down stream with it for hundreds of 
 miles, but what is more surprising still, it was water that actually 
 made the mud and pebbles. To explain this we must refer for a 
 moment to the way in which water turns to ice and ice to water. If 
 you have not yet tried the experiment of freezing water in a bottle 
 on a cold night you should do so and you will learn that when water 
 freezes it expands in volume and occupies a larger space. This 
 explains why ice floats on water, for in becoming ice it increases in 
 volume and becomes therefore less dense, and so can float on the 
 heavier water. You will no doubt know cases in which the expansion 
 of freezing water does much damage. Water pipes and Jugs that are 
 full of water must burst when the water in them freezes. We say it 
 is due to frost, but this merely means that it is due to the freezing 
 water. 
 
 ISTow all of the rain that falls does not run off in streams. Much of 
 it sinks into the soil and even into such rocks as sandstone and lime- 
 stone. Sandstone is a very coarse kind of stone and contains quite 
 large spaces or pores between the separate grains of sand which make 
 up the stone, and limestone is full of cracks, into which the water 
 trickles. Suppose, now, cold weather comes and part of the water 
 freezes. In freezing it must expand, and in expanding it shoves the 
 parts of the rock apart and so produces cracks which grow larger every 
 time the water freezes in them. If you notice the rocks exposed in a 
 quarry you will find that they are split up by great fissures, and these 
 large cracks enable the quarryman to divide the rocks up into large 
 blocks. At an exposed surface of the rocks layers are actually peeled 
 off by this action of freezing water, and fall from the rest. But 
 the water is not content to leave even the pieces that thus fall off. 
 In the same way it splits up these pieces into still smaller pieces until 
 it at last reduces them to fine grains of sand or mud, just as if they 
 had been crushed in a mortar. Thus rocks are turned into soil by 
 the action of water. Frost, then, is one of the farmer's greatest 
 friends. It helps to make the soil for him and also loosens the 
 ground so that the roots and fibres of plants can readily enter. Observe 
 the surface of a cultivated field after a frost. You will find that it is 
 now a layer of fine mud and in some cases you will see that the small 
 stones have been partly pushed out of their beds. 
 
From all t.his we see that while water is continually carrying earth 
 and small stones from higher to lower levels and so tending to leave 
 the rocks bare, it is at the same time breaking up the surface of those 
 rocks and so forming fresh soil. If all the soil on a piece of land 
 were scraped off so as to leave the bare rocks exposed, these rocks 
 would in course of time become covered with fresh soil, due to the 
 action of the water that comes down as rain in tearing up the surface 
 of the rocks and reducing the small fragments to fine powder. There 
 is, however, one respect in which this account is very incomplete. 
 Water does not owe its wearing power altogether to its expansion 
 when it freezes. Another property of water greatly assists in this pro- 
 cess, namely, the property it has of taking up certain substances called 
 acids, which are formed chiefly from the decay of plants. These acids 
 are dissolved in the water and greatly assist in its rock-cutting work. 
 To explain the action of these acids would require more space than 
 we can now spare, and so we shall leave it until you come to study the 
 subject of chemistry. We have also said nothing about the small 
 parts of plants that form an important part of all soils. This belongs 
 to botany, and you will readily see the importance of these subjects if 
 you wish to understand fully how soils are made. 
 
 THE UNDEEGEOUND WOEK OF WATEE. 
 
 We now turn to the answer to a question which you must have 
 been inclined to ask some time ago. How do rivers continue to flow 
 when there is very little rain? It is true that in very dry seasons the 
 river contracts a good deal, but it i? clear that it must get supplies of 
 water from somewhere since it continues to flow at all. This leads 
 us to consider the underground work of water. 
 
 The next time there is a heavy shower notice what becomes of the 
 rain that falls on level ground. You will find that where it descends 
 on sand it sinks down as rapidly as it falls, and a short time after the 
 rain is over the surface of the sand will be fairly dry. We have 
 already pointed out that water also sinks through sandstone or lime- 
 stone, though much more slowly, and in a quarry you will probably 
 find that the rock taken out holds a great deal of moisture, which the 
 workmen call "quarry water." But if the rain continues for a long 
 time the pores of these rocks become choked up and no more water 
 soaks in. But see what happens when the rain falls on clay or on a 
 very firm rock like granite. It can not now soak down, for the pores 
 in these materials are much too small to allow the water to pass 
 through rapidly. You will here find it useful to employ two terms to 
 indicate these different actions. Substances which allow water to pass 
 
through rapidly are said to be permeable, and those which do not 
 allow it to pass through are called impermeable. Now what happens 
 to the water which sinks through permeable material? Some part of 
 it no doubt does not get to any great depth. After mixing with the 
 earth and taking out of it certain substances which it can hold as 
 water holds a spoonful of salt, it is sucked up by the roots of plants 
 and yields to the plants the materials it has washed out of the earth. 
 This assistance that it gives to growing plants is one of the most 
 important of the many useful duties discharged by water, for animals 
 live on plants and without water it would be safe to say that neither 
 plants nor animals would exist. 
 
 But what becomes of the water that sinks still deeper down? We 
 could learn a great deal about it if we could follow a miner as he digs 
 the shaft of a mine, or even by going down a newly dug well, the sides 
 of which had not been walled up. Probably you can learn a good 
 deal about the matter at the nearest railway cut, where, to get a level 
 track, a road had to be made through a hill. There are, it is true, 
 many different kinds of such cuts, and the one you inspect may not be 
 exactly like the one we are going to describe. Examine all within 
 your reach and you may find one such as the following. You may 
 discover that it consists of sand or a permeable soil above, but at a 
 certain depth down you come to clay. Usually the line of division 
 between the two slopes in some direction. If the main slope is in the 
 direction of the track you will see that the rain which soaks down 
 through the sand can not get through the clay; and so runs down 
 along the surface of the clay and where the cut has been made the 
 water oozes out between the sand and the clay. But if the main 
 slope be across the direction of the track, the water runs down hill 
 away from the track on one side and toward the track on the other 
 side, and more water flows into the cut on one side than the other. 
 Now, if the cut be a long one and you follow it you may be able to 
 find where the sand stops and only the clay is left. This will, of 
 course, be on a side hill. If you leave the track where the sand or soil 
 ceases you will be able to follow along the side of the hill the line 
 that divides the soil above from the clay or, perhaps, rocks below. 
 You will then probably be able to see what becomes of the water that 
 sinks through the soil. If, in leaving the track, you have taken the 
 direction in which the surface of the clay slopes you will find springs 
 or wet places, showing where the water runs out between the soil or 
 sand and clay. This is one of the simplest ways in which springs are 
 termed. If you know of any springs in your ^acinity you should see 
 if they can be explained in this way. If not you may find that they 
 
are produced by little streams issuing from cracks in a rock, through 
 which the water has sunk. 
 
 In the preceding we have supposed that clay or an impermeable 
 material through which the water will not pass comes out to the sur- 
 face on a side hill near the bottom of a valley. But this may not be 
 the case. The valley may not go deep enough to reach that layer. 
 How, then, shall we get at the water? Evidently we must make an 
 opening down to it. Such an opening is a well. In an ordinary well 
 we know that the water has to be raised by a pump or bucket, but 
 there are others called artesian wells, which require no bucket or 
 pump, for the water, when we once reach it, rushes up to the surface. 
 What is it that produces some kind of pressure below and forces the 
 water up? If we covli see down an artesian well we would find that 
 at its bottom there is water confined in a permeable substance like 
 sand by one layer of an impermeable substance like clay above and 
 another impermeable layer below. Now, let us in imagination start 
 from the bottom of the well and follow this sand layer. We will find 
 that it slopes upward, and at a great distance comes out on a hillside, 
 where it catches water when it rains. This water runs down through 
 the sand, being prevented from escape by the two impermeable layers, 
 and accumulates in the sandy layer so as to produce great pressure. 
 When this reservoir of water is tapped by the hole bored down, the 
 water rushes up with great force. If you wish to see how such action 
 takes place punch a small hole in the bottom of a tin can (say a two- 
 pound coffee can) and after half filUng a bucket with water, push the 
 can down into the water and notice how the water spurts in through 
 the hole, rising nearly to a height of the water in the pail. 
 
 There are many other interesting kinds of springs, such as hot 
 springs and springs that sometimes stop and then start again every 
 few hours, but as you may not hear of any in your neighborhood, we 
 shall only say a few words about them. The water that comes from a 
 hot spring is often very warm. It has in fact been heated by the 
 great heat" there is deep in the earth. A miner will tell you that the 
 earth grows about one degree hotter for every sixty feet he descends. 
 Now, some water that falls on the surface of the earth finds cracks 
 in rocks, especially Umestone, and passes down in all kinds of zigzag 
 directions until for some reason it can get no further, when it turns 
 around and comes up by another series of zigzags. Having gone to 
 a great depth, it is greatly heated and when it finally reaches the sur- 
 face it is still 'very hot and gives rise to a hot spring. The other kind 
 of spring mentioned that starts and stops in a very mysterious fashion 
 is difficult to explain, so I shall not attempt to account for it here. 
 
We thus see that a sjoring is a place where water comes to the sur- 
 face after a long underground journey. Is it the same kind of water 
 as when it went in ? Try a drink of fresh rainwater and then a drink 
 of spring or well water, and see. You will prohably find the rain- 
 water rather flat and tasteless compared with the spring water. The 
 difference mil remind you of how food, for instance oatmeal, tastes 
 with and without salt. In fact, the spring water does contain salt, 
 while the rainwater does not. There are places where springs are so 
 salt that thousands of tons of salt per year are gotten from them. 
 But the spring water contains other things also, chiefly lime, and 
 this is what is left when the water is boiled away in a kettle. Thus 
 we see that water is continually busy transporting materials from the 
 depths of the earth to the surface. The things .which are thus 
 brought up are often of great importance. The lime contained in 
 the water furnishes material for the bones of animals and the iron, 
 which is another ingredient, supplies the coloring matter for their 
 blood. It is true that most of what is needed of these materials is 
 gotten from our solid food, but as spring water contains them it is 
 healthier than rainwater for drinking and cooking. When we thus 
 think of the water carrying away material from the solid rock we can 
 see how so many cracks and fissures come to exist. As water passes 
 through a very small crack it carries some material away with it, and 
 so enlarges the crack, and so the crack grows until quite a stream can 
 pass through. 
 
 We now see how rivers continue to run during hot weather when no 
 rain falls. They are supplied by the water from springs and under- 
 ground streamlets, and as this water often has great distances imder- 
 ground to travel it only reaches the river a long time after it has 
 fallen as rain. Some of this water must evidently be many months 
 journeying in the earth before reaching the river and a small part of 
 it perhaps even years. But at last it emerges, Joins the river and 
 reaches the ocean. 
 
 You may imagine that now its useful work is done. By no means. 
 For let us see what happens to it after reaching the ocean. We have 
 already seen that it carries a large burden of mud with it. This it 
 drops gradually, some near the shore and some far out at sea. Thus 
 it coats the sea bottom vnth clay, which in the course of ages solidi- 
 fies into rocks and these rocks will in still more distant ages probably 
 be raised to the surface to form new continents. Some of the mate- 
 rials carried by the rivers into the ocean also serve as food for the 
 creatures that live in the ocean. 
 
 This, however, is not the only useful work which the currents in 
 the ocean do. Let us consider, for instance, the water carried down 
 

 
 by the Mississippi. It falls into the GuLf of Mexico in a very hot 
 region of the earth. There it becomes heated more than before, and 
 along with water from other rivers it starts off on a long journey up 
 the eastern side of IsTorth America, forming a remarkable current 
 called the Gulf Stream. This Gulf Stream is in fact a river in the 
 ocean instead of on land. The warm water that forms it does not 
 mix to any great extent with the cold water which it passes on the 
 way. It flows in a bed of its own over the ocean of colder water. It 
 is quite a shallow river compared with the depth of the ocean beneath 
 it. After continuing its way up to Newfoundland it strikes across 
 the Atlantic. It divides into branches in the middle. One branch 
 passes up to the British Isles and has a remarkable effect on their cli- 
 mate. To understand the effect you must remember two things: 
 First, that the water of the Gulf Stream is much warmer than that of 
 the rest of the ocean around it, and, second, that water when warmed 
 up contains a very great deal of heat, much more than an equal quan- 
 tity of most other substances. To better understand this latter point 
 try the following experiment: Take two bottles exactly alike or two 
 similar tin cans with covers. Fill one with water and the other with 
 anything else, say sand or earth. Then place them in a pot or tin 
 pail and pour water into it until they are nearly covered. Place the 
 whole on the stove and leave it until the water gets too hot for you 
 to put your finger in. Then dip some of the water out of the pot or 
 pail and take the bottles or cans out and put them out in the air to 
 cool. Notice how much more quickly the one containing sand or earth 
 cools than the one containing water. The one containing water has 
 so much more heat that it can not lose it nearly as quickly as the 
 other, and so cools much more slowly. This is the explanation of how 
 the Gulf Stream keeps the land of the British Isles warm in winter, 
 although there is not nearly as much water in the Gulf Stream as 
 there is land in the islands. 
 
 Now, we have only spoken of the Gulf Stream, but there are many 
 other such warm streams in other oceans flowing from the hot parts 
 of the earth to cooler parts and helping to keep these cooler parts 
 warm and fit for habitation. But since warm water is thus spreading 
 from the hot parts of the earth to the cold parts, cold water must flow 
 from the cold parts to the hot parts, and this cold water plays the 
 equally important part of keeping the temperature in the hotter 
 regions lower than it otherwise would be. "Were it not for the moder- 
 ating influences thus received by ocean currents tropical countries 
 near the equator would be too hot for man to live in, and most of 
 Europe and North America would be unbearably cold. 
 
10 
 
 Now, we have seen that water is continually flowing by means of 
 the rivers from the land to the seas. The process has been going on 
 for ages past. It evidently couldn't continue unless there was some 
 means by which the water came back from the seas and oceans to the 
 land. What is the road which it travels on this retiirn journey? To 
 discover it let us trace the rain to its origin. Eain comes from moist- 
 ure condensing in the clouds. Where do the clouds come from? 
 Some of them form from vapor which rises from the land, and some 
 from moisture that rises from the sea. Now this is the only known 
 path by which water returns from the ocean to the land. The vapor 
 rises gently and invisibly from the sea, and it seems almost incredible 
 that such huge masses of water can rise in this imperceptible form as 
 is carried by the Mississippi and all the innumerable rivers of the 
 earth. Yet such is the fact, and when we think of the immense cur- 
 rents that carry water from the land to the ocean we should at the 
 same time try to imagine the equally immense overhead rivers of 
 vapor which convey the water back from the ocean to the land. 
 
 But water does not move of its own accord. To what great agency, 
 then, do we owe this tremendous activity of the water on the globe? 
 Firstly, to the heat of the sun, which falls silently on the waters of 
 the ocean, tearing particles free and raising them as vapor into the 
 air. It is really the sun, too, that starts into motion the winds which 
 carry this moisture over the land, where it falls as rain. Then we 
 have the assistance of gravity or the attraction of the earth, for it is 
 to this that the flow of the brooks from the hillside to the river is 
 due, and also the further flow of the rivers to the ocean. 
 
FOR THE USB OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 19. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 HEAT AND WHAT IT DOES. 
 
 In Ten Short Lessons. 
 
 By Prof. A. W. Duff. 
 I. 
 
 How do you know there is such a thing as heat? You have never 
 seen it, and yet you probably believe there is such a thing. Put a piece 
 of iron out in the sun on a hot day, and after some time feel it. No 
 doubt you will say that it feels hot and that it got its heat from the 
 sun. Now, hold your right hand on the iron for a while and then put 
 your right hand on your left and you will find that your right hand 
 feels hot to your left. Your right hand must have gotten its heat 
 from the iron. This shows that when the iron feels hot it must be 
 giving heat to the hand. Such is always the case; a body feels hot 
 when it is giving heat to the hand. But your right hand felt hot to 
 the left, and, therefore, your right hand must have been giving heat 
 to the left. Now, how did your' left hand feel to the right? You 
 will say that it felt cold. And so you see that when a thing .feels cold 
 to the hand, heat is going from the hand to that thing. So the terms 
 . hot and cold simply refer to the direction in which heat is going. 
 
 Feel the iron of a hammer which has been in a cool place, and then 
 feel the wooden handle. Which seems cooler? Evidently the iron 
 does. Do you really believe that it is any cooler? It is difficult to see 
 how it can be, since both were in the same place. Perhaps it is because 
 
the iron is readier to take in heat just as water can be more readily 
 poured into a tumbler than into a bottle. How shall we test this sup- 
 position ? Suppose the tumbler and the bottle were both full of water, 
 out of which could you pour the water the more readily? Out of the 
 tumbler, of course. Now, let us try the same thing mth heat. Put 
 the hammer into a hot oven for a few minutes and feel which is hotter, 
 the head or the handle. The iron is; and so we find that when the 
 hammer is cold the iron feels colder than the wood because it takes 
 in heat more readily, and when the hammer is hot the iron feels 
 hotter than the wood, because it gives out heat to the hand more 
 readily. You will thus see that touch is a poor way of finding how 
 hot a body is. How can we discover a better way? We must find 
 something else that heat does, and perhaps that will give us a better 
 way of measuring it. 
 
 II. 
 
 HEAT EXPANDS LIQUIDS. 
 
 Fill a bottle with cold water just up to the bottom of the neck, and 
 put the bottle in a pan or pot of moderately warm water on the stove. 
 Watch how the ^^•ater rises in the neck as the water becomes warmer, 
 how it finally comes to the top and at last overflows. You thus see 
 that heat expands water, and if there had been any other liquid than 
 Avater in the bottle the result would have been similar, except that 
 the amount of exjiansion might not have been the same. We con- 
 clude, then, that heat expands liquids. 
 
 HEAT EXPANDS .sOLlDS. 
 
 Take a bolt, and a nut that is a neat fit and will just screw on the 
 bolt. Heat the scre^^■ of the bolt in the fire and then see if you can 
 screw the nut on. Probably you can not; certainly you can not if 
 they fitted closely enough when they were cold. But if you had heated 
 the nut up instead of the bolt you would have found that it went on 
 more readily than before. 
 
 If the schot)] building is heated by steam or hot water, see if yoa 
 can find a ]iart of the pipe at least 2b or 30 feet long. You will notice 
 that at certain iilaees the pipe is supported on upright wooden strips. 
 Stick needles into these strips at two places 2."> or 30 feet apart so 
 that the head of each needle is above the pipe and very close to it. 
 Then make a mark just below the head of each needle with a knife. 
 If you have doiio this when the pipe is cold, wait until some time 
 when the pipe is hot and see if the knife-marks are still just below the 
 
needles. You will thus discover that the pipes become longer when 
 heated. This is one reason why the pipes are hung in brackets at- 
 tached to the board instead of being fastened more solidly, and the 
 noise you hear when the pipes are being heated up is partly due to 
 their slipping in the brackets. 
 
 III. 
 
 HEAT EXPANDS GASES. 
 
 We have now seen that heat expands solids and liquids. "Will it 
 also expand a gas like air? You will find the following a beautiful 
 experiment: Hold a glass bottle by the neck and dip it quickly a few 
 times in very hot water merely to warm it up gradually so as not to 
 break it. Finally hold it in the hot water until it becomes thoroughly 
 heated up. Then invert it quickly in a pan containing water to the 
 depth of about an inch and watch what happens. You will find that 
 as the bottle cools, water is quickly sucked up into the bottle until 
 finally the bottle becomes about one-fourth full of water. This shows 
 that the air in the bottle contracted as it cooled. Will it also expand 
 when it is heated? To test this, all you have to do is to pour hot water 
 over the bottle as it stands inverted in the pan, and you will find that 
 the air expands again and drives out some of the water. (Why does 
 it not drive all the water out again?) To vary the experiment, invert 
 the cold bottle in the pan and pour hot water over it, and notice how 
 bubbles are driven out by the expansion of the air. When you have 
 driven out as many bubbles as possible, let the bottle cool again, and 
 you will find that water is sucked up as before. (Is there as much 
 sucked lip this time? Why?) 
 
 WHY HOT AIU RISES. 
 
 You will now be able to understand better why hot air rises. It is 
 because on being heated it expands", and therefore becomes less dense, 
 and so it rises above the cold air just as a piece of wood rises in water 
 because it is less dense than the water. An interesting proof of the 
 risino- of hot air can be obtained by making a little paper mill, fasten- 
 ing it to the end of a stick by a pin and holding it over a hot stove. 
 You will find that the current of hot air, rising, will turn it, just as 
 wind turns a windmill. Other examples of the rising of hot air will 
 occur to you, such as the rising of hot air and smoke in a chimney, and 
 the fact that the air in a room is much warmer near the ceiling than 
 near the floor. See if you can think of some more examples. 
 
 2—19 
 
IV. 
 
 ■THE THERMOMETER. 
 
 This expansion of bodies when heated gives iis a means of finding 
 how hot anything is, that is, finding its temperature. For instance, 
 to find whether it is hotter ont of doors than in a room, you might 
 talvB a Ijottle with a very narrow neck and fill it up to the middle of 
 the neck with water. Xow let it stand in the room for half an hour 
 and mark where the surface of the water stands in the neck; then put 
 it out in the sun and let it stand for another half hour, and see whether 
 the water has risen or fallen. This will tell yon whether the tempera- 
 ture is higher or lower indoors than outddors. But if it should happen 
 to be a))out as warm outdnors as indoors there would only be a very 
 small rise or fall of the water in the neck. You can easily understand 
 that the change of level would be much greater if you used a bottle 
 with a much narrower neck: but then the neck would need to be very 
 much longer to prevent it running over altogether. ("\\'hy not try it 
 with two bottles, one with a broad, short neck and the other with a 
 long, narrow neck?) And now you know what a thermometer is, for 
 it is merely a very small bottle with a very long and very narrow neck. 
 There is, however, one other_ difference — it does not contain water, 
 but mei'cury. One reason for not using water you will see if you think 
 what would happen to a thermometer containing water on a very cold 
 day in Avinter. There is also a scale marked on the thermometer or 
 attached to it, so that it can tell you different degrees of temperature. 
 If you can get a thermometer to use, trv some temperatures with it. 
 For instance, note the tem))erature when the thermometer is in the 
 air, and then bury the lower end of it in a small hole in the groitnd 
 and find whether the soil is warmer or cooler than the air. Do this 
 at difl'erent times of the day and of the vear and keep your results in 
 a notebook, and you may make some iuteresting discoveries. If vou are 
 near a river or lake, make notes of its temjierature in the same way. 
 If your thermometer is one with degrees marked on the glass, put the 
 bulb of it in your mouth and find how hot you are; see whether you are 
 warmer on a hot day than on a cold day, or at noon than at nio-ht. 
 8ei> also whether working makes you any warmer. You may try the 
 temperature of the cat and the ilog also, if yon can coax them to be 
 quiet enough. You will be able to think of many other interesting 
 things to try with a thermometer. 
 
 V. 
 
 HOW HEAT TRAVELS. 
 
 Heat being invisible, it is somewhat more difficult to find how it 
 travels than it is to see how something visible, like water, travels, and 
 
yet the difference is not so vei'v jxi'eat. For, just thinlc of how water 
 travels. It can run through a ]ii|ie that conducts it. Similarly heat 
 can run through many tilings that conduct it and are called con- 
 ductors. When heat travels in this way it is said to travel Ijy con- 
 duction. For instance, when an end of a poker is kept a good while 
 in the fire the heat travels the whole way to the handle and it may be- 
 come too hot to he held. Hence, iron is a conductor of heat. So, too, 
 are all other metals, but some conduct better than others. For in- 
 stance, put an iron or tin spoon and a solid silver spoon into a cup o£ 
 hot water and notice which liecomes hot at the upper end sooner. 
 You will then readily see that silver is a much better conductor than 
 iron or tin. (How can you test whether a silver spoon is solid or 
 merely plated with silver?) 
 
 Suppose we next compare silver with copper. If you can find a 
 Canadian copper cent you will see that it is almost exactly the size of 
 a silver quarter. Put both of them at the same time on a hot stove 
 lid and quickly hold two matches on them and see which match burns 
 first, and so you will discover which is the better conductor, silver or 
 copper. If you can't easily find a Canadian cent, try a dime and a cop- 
 per cent. They will tell you the same tiling, but for a reason that you 
 should try to think out, you can't trust this form of the experiment 
 so much. To see how paper conducts, as compared with copper, use 
 two copper cents in one heap and a cent with a piece of pasteboard 
 about as thick as a cent on top of it as the other heap, and see which 
 will light a match first. Try also jjicces of glass, then flat stones and 
 china and other things, and you can easily make up a hst of poor con- 
 ductors and good conductors in this way. Compare also slate pencils 
 with nails of the same length, holding them upright on the stove 
 and trying on which you can hold your finger longer. Having these 
 wavs suggested to you, you will easily go on and discover many other 
 ways for yourself. 
 
 But so far we have been talking of the conducting power of solids 
 only. Can we find out anything as to the conducting power of liquids 
 and gases? This is more difficult. Perhaps the best Avay is to get a 
 kind of very thin tu1je called a test-tube at a druggist's. Fill it with 
 cold water and hold it by the lower end at a slant so that the upper 
 end may be over a gas or damp flame. You will find that the water 
 may be boiling for some time at the top before it begins to feel hot 
 below. This shows that water is a very poor conductor. You may ask 
 why we don't hold it by the top and heat it below. It would heat 
 up much more quickly in that \y:\\, hut we would not be really testing 
 the conducting power of the liquid in that way. Perhaps you can 
 
think out the reason of this statement for yourself, but if you can not 
 you will understand the matter more fully when you read the next 
 section. What we have seen from the former of these experiments, 
 namely, that water is a poor conductor, is true of all liquids. 
 
 As to the conducting power of gases, it is so yery difficult a 
 thing to test by experiment that you must for the present be 
 satisfied to know that gases are very poor conductors indeed. 
 In fact, the warmth of woolen or flannel clothes is mostly due to the 
 fact that air clings to the threads and in the openings between threads, 
 and it is the very poor conducting power of the air that prevents the 
 heat of the body escaping. You will now be able to explain why ice 
 houses are often built with double walls having an air space between 
 the walls, and why in cold climates outside doors and windows are put 
 on in the winter time. You will no doubt think of many other ex- 
 amples, if you try. 
 
 HOT CURRENTS AND COLD CURRENTS. 
 
 There is another way in which heat travels in liquids and gases, 
 namely, by the formation of currents that carry the heat with them. 
 This is the way in which water in a kettle is heated by the fire. You 
 may see this process, which is called convection, by the following 
 experiment: Take an ink bottle in which about a spoonful of ink 
 has been left. Warm it up gradually by dipping it a few times into 
 a vessel of warm water. Then fill it with hot water and put it at the 
 bottom of a pail fidl of cold water. The inky hot water will come out 
 of the bottle and j-ou can see the way in which this hot water rises 
 through the midst of the cold water. Now, that is the way in which 
 water moves in a pot or kettle that is being heated on the stove. But 
 it is evident that as the hot water rises in the middle of the pail, cooler 
 water must go down along the sides, and so we have hot and cool cur- 
 rents moving up and down and conveying heat to all parts of the pot. 
 Here is an interesting illustration which you may try for yourself. 
 Make a box out of thick writing paper by folding it at the comers and 
 stitching the flaps with thread to keep them from opening. Then 
 hang it up by threads attached to the four corners, half fill it with 
 water and bring a flame beneath it. You will find that the water can 
 be boiled without scorching the paper. This shows how rapidly heat 
 is carried off by convection. Currents of hot water rise to the surface 
 conveying heat away and cold currents descend to take the place of 
 the hot water that has risen. Thus the bottom of the box is kept 
 cool. If it were not for this action the paper would burn. In fact, 
 if the fiarae is too big the paper does get scorched above the water 
 line. 
 
VII. 
 
 HEAT KAYS. 
 
 But how does the heat pass to your hand from a hot body when 
 you are not touching it? This is perhaps not so easy to understand. 
 In some way the heat passes off from the body and crosses the space 
 between the body and your hand, just as the sun's rays come from the 
 sun to the earth. For this reason the process is called radiation, and 
 the body is said to radiate heat. Some surfaces radiate much better 
 than others. Here is a simple experiment to illustrate it: Blacken 
 one side of a tin can with shoe-blacking, or by holding it in a very 
 smoky flame, then fill the can with boiling water and hold one hand 
 near the bright surface and the other equally near the black surface 
 and find which feels warmer. You will thus arrive at the conclusion 
 that black surfaces radiate heat better than bright surfaces. 
 
 While we axe speaking of giving heat out by radiation, it will be 
 well to say something about taking in heat that other bodies radiate 
 out. This taking in of heat is called absorption. Let us first see 
 which takes in heat better, a bright surface or black surface. You can 
 test this by getting two similar tin can covers and blacking the outside 
 of one with shoe blacking. Now, support them just above the middle 
 of a hot stove on little pieces of glass, all of the same thickness, which 
 rest on the stove. Put a couple of matches in each and observe which 
 cover first becomes hot enough to light the matches. If you suspect 
 that one was over a hotter part of the stove than the other, exchange 
 their positions and try again. Instead of putting the matches in, you 
 may pour equal quantities of water into the two covers by using a 
 small cup for measuring, and then see in which the water will boil 
 first. You will thus learn that black surfaces absorb heat more 
 quickly than light surfaces. Now, think of these things and try to 
 decide which part of a kettle should be brightly polished — the bottom 
 or the outside. Try also to think of other cases of such differences. 
 Consider, for instance, house paints, colors of summer 'and winter 
 clothes, etc. 
 
 If you are studying this subject in the winter time you may try the 
 effect of putting different colored cloths of about the saAe thickness 
 on the snow on a bright, sunny day and finding under which the 
 snow is most melted by heat taken in from the sun. These are only 
 some of the ways in which you can make experiments on the subject. 
 You may be able to think of other ways yourself. 
 
VIII. 
 
 CHANGES I\ MATTER PRODUCED BY HEATING. 
 
 We lia^e already referred to two of the changes heat can produce 
 in matter, namely, an increase of size and a rise of temperature; but 
 if you try to think of the most striking change that heat gives rise 
 to, you will probahly decide that it is the change from solid to liquid 
 or from liquid to vapor. To illustrate the former change, suppose you 
 rake two similar cans, fill one with crusjied ice well packed in, and in 
 the other pour ice-cold water until the two cans seem equally heavy 
 (you may weigh them if you have a balance). >;<i\\', put them on a 
 stove, taking care to see that they are on nearly equally hot places. 
 You will find that when the water is so hot that you can barely put 
 your finger in it, the ice has juerely melted and the water it has 
 formed is nearly ice cold. Xow, they must have taken in about equal 
 quantities of heat from the stove, and mi you see that to melt ice 
 requires nearly as much heat as to raise the same quantity of water 
 from the melting point to the boiling point. This heat that goes to 
 melt ice does not ])roduce the ordinary effect of making the substance 
 warmer and hence the heat so used is called hidden or latent heat. 
 
 Now, let us turn to the other case, that in which water turns into 
 vapor. This is somewhat more difficidt to experiment on, but you 
 will see into it to some extent by putting a canful of water on the 
 stove and ])lacing a thermometer in it. You must take care not to 
 use for this ])ur]iose a thermouu'ter such as is used for findino- tem- 
 perature out (if doors, but one that cooks soiuetiuu's use for finding 
 the heat of the nven will do for the puipose. You would only break 
 the former, fur it is not supposed to go as high as the temperature of 
 boiling ^\•ater. Sii]i]Hising. however, that you have the right kind of 
 thermometer, you will notice that after the water boils its tempera- 
 ture does not rise any higher, in spite of the I'act that it must all the 
 time 1)0 taking in heat from the stove. This heat has been taken 
 away with the vapor and is necessary for the turning of water into 
 vapor. Heie, then, we have another case of hidden heat; the heat 
 requireil to make va]ior from water is called the latent heat of vapor. 
 Yini will gCT. another example of it if you wet a finger and hold it up 
 in the wind (as claimed in Leaflet 1".'); you will find that as the 
 water eva])(irat('s the side to the wind bi'Cdmes much cooler than the 
 rest, showing that heat is taken up in vaporizino- the water, and as 
 this heat is taken from the finger it lea\'es that side colder. You will 
 see the same thing much more clearly if you let a drop of ether fall 
 on the back of vour hand. 
 
IX. 
 
 HOW HEAT IS MADE. 
 
 So far we have not considered how heat is produced, but have 
 merely assumed that there is a source of heat near. Now, the question 
 of how heat is made in the iirst phicc is rather a difficult one and it 
 would take us too long to explain the whole of the subject. Burning 
 something is, of course, the best known way. For instance, where 
 does the heat come from when vou strike a match? You might sup- 
 pose it due altogether to something contained in the match. But try 
 rubbing a brass button on a board, and you will find that you can 
 make it too hot to be held comfortably. By rubbing two sticks 
 together you can make them quite hot, and can understand how sav- 
 ages get fire without matches. You may not be able, like a savage, to 
 get the wood to burn, but rub hard enough and you will get another 
 interesting case of heating by friction. I shall leave you to think of 
 what it is for yourself. 
 
 And now you should be able to explain what sometimes happens 
 when the axle of a carriaye has not been oiled, and in ci)nsc(|uence 
 grows hot and perhaps sticks fast in the wheel, or else the hub may 
 be torn from the spokes. You know that sawing produces heat, but 
 this is, of course, merely another case of rubbing. Hammering will 
 also cause a body to grow hot. Xo doubt you can make a nail quite 
 warm by hammering it on a stone. An expert smith can make a 
 piece of iron red hot by hammering. This production of heat by ham- 
 nierim,^ will perhaps help you to understand the flash of light you 
 sometimes see when the shoe on a horse's foot strikes a stone. So 
 much heat is formed that something actually burns and produces 
 lia-ht You can do the same in a dark room with a hammer and a 
 stone; and let me suggest that while you are in the dark room you 
 should try crushing a lump of sugar with a blow of the hammer; you 
 will see quite a flash of light. This is perhaps a somewhat different 
 case, for electricitv is produced, and the light you get is like a light- 
 ning flash, due to a discharge of electricity. This last remark ^^^ll 
 remind you of the production of heat and light by electricity, but 
 as we can not take space here to describe all the ways in whigh heat 
 is produced, you must be left to think of as many as you can for 
 yourself. 
 
 X. 
 
 WHAT IS HEAT? 
 
 And now that you have made some experiments and observations 
 on heat without knowing what it really is, I am going to ask you to 
 
10 
 
 exercise your imagination a little and to try to picture to yourself 
 what this thing is that you have been studying. You must think of 
 any portion of matter, whether it is solid, liquid or gas, as consisting 
 of an immense number of very small particles which are not at rest, 
 but all the time in vigorous motion. You can not see these particles, 
 for they are too small to be seen, but you can imagine how they act if 
 you think of people seated close together in a crowded room. If you 
 were far enough above the people you can easily understand that yoa 
 would think the whole audience to be a solid mass without motion, 
 but when you come close enough to them you can see that each one 
 has a certain amount of freedom and can move to and fro a little, 
 though always confined to a particular seat and kept pretty closely in 
 contact with his neighbors. Now, that is exactly the state of affairs 
 in a solid. The particles are continually vibrating backward and for- 
 ward, but nevertheless they do not get any considerable distance away 
 from their average position, and when you heat the solid all that 
 happens is that each particle vibrates more vigorously than before, 
 and, owing to this more vigorous motion, all the particles shove one 
 another farther apart, and so you find the solid expanding. 
 
 But what about liquids? Think of how the same crowded audience 
 would act if they were standing up and there were no seats in the 
 way. Each one would keep bumping to and fro among his neighbors 
 and gradually, though slowly, making his way from one place to an- 
 other. This will help you to imagine what a liquid is like, for in a 
 liquid the particles are continually vibrating to and fro, frequently 
 striking against their neighbors, and thus gradually strajang from one 
 part of the vessel to another. Heating not only increases the vigor 
 of the vibration, but enables the particles to move around more freely. 
 Moreover, as in the case of the solid, we have an expansion of the 
 whole mass due to the particles shoving themselves farther apart. 
 
 Then, as to a vapor or gas like the air, we will get an idea how the 
 particles in it behave if m'c think of skaters on a lake dashing rapidly 
 to and fro and going considerable distances without colliding with 
 others or being stopped by the banks. Here, again, a higher tem- 
 perature means a greater speed of motion of the particles. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 20. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study, 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 OUR FRIENDS, THE BIRDS. 
 
 By Miss Lillian Snyder. 
 
 We sometimes forget that every animal, however insignificant it 
 may seem, as it lives its life, is either helping or hindering man in his 
 work. We are afraid of late springs and early frosts, of too much 
 rain or too much sun, but often forget that if all these conditions 
 are as we would have them, that other enemies axe endangering our 
 food supplies. I believe that the most harmful of these enemies are 
 the insects. Do you know that two hundred million dollars worth 
 of fruit and grain and other crops of various kinds are destroyed in 
 the United States each year by insects? The insects are in many 
 cases so small and conceal themselves so skillfully that we fail to know 
 they are present until the damage has been done and the crop ruined. 
 Then sometimes they come in such countless numbers that man is. 
 helpless and can only stand and watch the destruction of his year's 
 work. But if we do not interfere too much with nature's way of 
 working we will find that she has her own method of holding these 
 insect hosts in check. If you look about you closely you will find 
 that our native birds are, for the most part, busily at work protecting 
 our crops through feeding upon insects. Prof. E. E. Pish says that 
 the birds save for agricultural purposes because of their destruction of 
 insects, one hundred million dollars each year in the United States. 
 If this statement is true, and careful studies have shown that it is 
 tiaie, will it not be a wise thing to find what birds are our friends and 
 
Ihe ways in which they help us? When we find how much they save 
 us in labor and money we will not be so apt to kill them and destroy 
 their nests. 
 
 The best way for you to find our bird friends is to study birds and 
 their habits; but it is sometimes hard to know just how to start in 
 such a study, and so in this leaflet I will try to show how some of our 
 common birds help us. See if you cannot find other ways than those 
 given and if you can add other birds to the list of those helping man. 
 
 Perhaps the first bird you will see in the early spring will be the 
 robin. The robin is one of the first birds to come to us, and I think 
 there is not a boy or girl in the whole State who does not recognize 
 this pretty red-breasted visitor at a glance. If you make a study of 
 the robin during the season you will discover many interesting facts 
 about his food habits, and will soon come to think of him as one of 
 our best friends. It may be that you have been told that the robin is 
 a very bad bird, that it steals cherries and strawberries and other 
 products of the farm and garden. But watch the robin in a freshly 
 plowed field or in your yard and see what he is doing. Evidently he 
 is working eagerly for his dinner, and cherries and strawberries do not 
 grow in such places. It is plain that he is seeking his food among the 
 insect forms, and if we watch closely we will find that grubs, cater- 
 pillars, crickets, grasshoppers and other smaller forms make up the 
 larger part of his meal. Yet these are the forms which are most harm- 
 ful to the grain, and so every time you kill a robin you kill one of your 
 best friends. If you get up early enoiigh in the morning you may find 
 him hunting for cut-worms. You know these worms do their harmful 
 work in the night and the robin knows that if he gets any cut-worms 
 for breakfast he must be up very early in the morning. If a single 
 robin destroys so many harmful insects for his own use, how many 
 more do you think he will destroy when he has a family to feed? Did 
 you ever see a nest full of young robins, with their great mouths wide 
 open for food? Notice the kind of food the old birds give them. 
 Are they fed cherries and fruit, or worms and bugs? Do not take any 
 person's word for this, bixt see for yourself. For what I want is not 
 to tell you things, but to have you see things. I think that you will 
 find that animal food is necessary for the growth and welfare of the 
 young birds. I think you will also find that the old robin is kept very 
 busy all day long hunting worms and insects for the littlo ones in the 
 nest. Try to find how many times in an hour the old bird brings food 
 to the nest. Some one who has taken a great deal of interest in the 
 robins has found out that a young robin requires each day, more than 
 its own weight of animal food. 
 
3 
 
 Another 'early bird, though not so abundant as the robin, is the 
 blue-bird. The blue-bird has the good qualities of the robin without 
 any of his questionable ones. You may find him eating some vegeta- 
 ble food in the fall, but for the most part he eats insects. The insects 
 chosen by the blue-bird are chiefly harmful ones, especially those 
 forms that are injiirious to trees. Do you know where to look for 
 blue-birds, in the woods, the open fields or in gardens? 
 
 One of our common birds, which boys are fond of shooting, is the 
 meadow-lark. The meadow-laxk is one of the farmers' most efficient 
 helpers. Its food is chiefly made up of beetles, caterpillars and grass- 
 hoppers, varied by an occasional diet of seeds. At the Department of 
 Agricultiire at Washington, the contents of the stomach of a meadow- 
 lark were examined and 54 grasshoppers were found. See if you can 
 work out the number of grasshoppers destroyed by meadow-larks un- 
 der the following statement. If one meadow-lark eats 50 grasshoppers 
 in a day, and there are 20 meadow-larks to the square mile in your 
 region, how many grasshoppers will these 30 meadow-larks destroy 
 in a month? ISTow, it has been found that a grasshopper weighs about 
 15 grains and that it eats about its own weight of vegetable food 
 each day. If you care to you can work out how much vegetation the 
 grasshoppers would have destroyed in a square mile had they not been 
 destroyed by the meadow-larks. 
 
 All of you have seen the red-headed wood-pecker, hammering away 
 at the tree trunks with his chisel-like bill. The red-head has a num- 
 ber of near relatives in the State. Indeed there are seven kinds of 
 birds in Indiana belonging to the wood-pecker family. We have the 
 downy wood-pecker and the hairy wood-pecker, which are com- 
 monly known as the sap-suckers, and the yellow-bellied wood-pecker, 
 which is the true sap-sucker, and the yellow-hammer, and other forms 
 not so common. Now all of these birds, with perhaps the exception 
 of the yellow-bellied wood-pecker, are of great value to the farmer. 
 Their food is very largely made up of insects of various kinds, but es- 
 pecially of those which are injurious to trees. You can see that "this 
 must be true, because of the habits of the bird. Indeed the health of 
 forest trees depends very largely upon the work of the wood-peckers 
 in destrojang the insect enemies of the trees. Do you know that the 
 oak tree is the home of 500 different kinds of insects, all of which 
 are more or less injurious to it? The combined work of these insects 
 would in time destroy the trees were the insects not kept in check by 
 the wood-peckers and other birds. Other trees are the homes for large 
 numbers of insect forms, bilt none have quite so many resident ene- 
 mies as the oak. The constant hammering of the red-head and his rel- 
 
atives, simply tells us how ceaselessly they are working to preserve 
 our trees. And yet every boy that has had a gun has taken a shot at 
 these guardians of our trees. The true sap-sucker or yellow-bellied 
 wood-pecker, may do some harm especially to young trees, because 
 of the holes he drills in the trunk and the resulting loss of sap. But 
 even in this case it is a question whether the good done does not more 
 than balance the evil. The sweet sap as it comes to the surface at- 
 tracts insects, and as they become entangled in the sticky fluid they 
 fall an easy prey to the sap-sucker and other insect-loving birds. You 
 can always tell if the true sap-sucker has been at work. The holes 
 he drills are in a straight row right around the trunk; the holes drilled 
 by the other wood-peckers are scattered. At any rate this bird which 
 may possibly be harmful is only a summer resident, while the other 
 wood-peckers spend the entire year with us. The wood-pecker family 
 should be very carefully guarded and every boy and girl should know 
 everything they can possibly discover about these good friends of man. 
 Wood-peckers are wonderfully adapted in their structure to their 
 habits of life, more perfectly perhaps than any other land bird. Some 
 time when you have opportunity examine their feet and tail and bill 
 and tongue, and see how they serve to help the wood-pecker in his 
 work. 
 
 Were you ever given a gun to keep the blackbirds out of a freshly- 
 planted field? If so you were given a foolish thing to do. When the 
 blackbirds first come in the spring they usually are compelled to eat 
 grain until the ground is broken by the plow, but this grain is usually 
 the waste grain upon the ground. As soon, however, as the soil is 
 turned by the plow and the blackbirds can secure animal food, they 
 become so eager to secure every grub and larval form exposed by the 
 plow that they will come within a few feet of the man who is plowing. 
 It has been estimated that at least one-third of the corn planted would 
 be destroyed by insects were it not for this preliminary work of the 
 blackbird in ridding the soil of grubs. 
 
 The crow has a fairly bad reputation, and I presume he does at 
 times pick up some com that the farmer has planted. But what do 
 you think he is doing all the remainder of the year, for corn is not 
 being constantly planted. Examination shows that by far the larger 
 per cent, of his food is made up of insects, largely grasshoppers. In 
 the long run, taking the entire year, the crow will be found to be of 
 great service to the former, and his destruction would be a great injury 
 to agriculture. You will find the crow a very interesting bird to 
 study, because it is so cunning, and more than that, because it is so 
 
5 
 
 very wise. If you read the "Story of Silver-spot," in Scribner's Maga- 
 zine for February, 1898, you will see what I mean by saying that crows 
 are wise. 
 
 Then other of our familiar birds are helpful— the cat-bird, the barn- 
 swallow and even the jay-bird. The more you come to know of the 
 lives of these feathered tenants of the farm, the more will you come 
 to regard them as friends well deserving our most careful protection. 
 
 I have not said anything about the birds of prey. Generally the 
 sight of an owl or hawk is. the signal to run for the gun in the hope 
 of killing it or at least driving it from the farm. Yet only a few of 
 the largest of our birds of prey are injurious. These larger forms do 
 destroy poultry and game birds and perhaps are rightfully killed. 
 But the smaller forms, such as the screech-owl, the barn-owl and the 
 sparrow-hawk, are among our very best friends. Their favorite foods 
 are mice and the larger insects, both of which are extremely destruc- 
 tive to grain and growing crops. Indeed some of our crops might be 
 shown to be dependent upon the presence of the smaller owls and 
 hawks. 
 
 There are -many other birds you will meet during the year; probably 
 there are 200 different kinds in your county. How many of them 
 are really harmful? Suppose you watch closely for a year and make 
 a list of all the birds that harm man in any way. You will be sur- 
 prised to find how short the list will be. 
 
 These birds have a right to live, and every farmer and farmer's boy 
 ought to protect them carefully, because but for their incessant labor, 
 many agricultural possibilities would disappear. 
 
 It has been estimated that if all the birds were destroyed, that 
 within three years the insects would be so abundant, that there would 
 be one to every square inch of this great land of ours. Does not this 
 give enough reason for the protection of birds? 
 
FOR THE use OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 21. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 A CHILDREN'S VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
 
 By Prof. James Troop. 
 
 It is probable that there are very few farmers' boys who have 
 reached the age of twelve years, who have not had some experience in 
 "weeding the garden;"' and I dare say that this experience has not al- 
 ways been of the most pleasant kind. At least I did not find it so, and 
 it was not until I was older that I discovered what was the trouble. 
 In order to really enjoy doing a piece of work we mnst have an inter- 
 est in it. We must love the work, and as a rule, in order to do that 
 we must be able to look ahead and see what is to come from it. 
 
 Some one has said that when one grows pumpkins and potatoes and 
 such things he is usually thinking how much he is going to get out of 
 it at the end of the season. In one sense that is true, because we usu- 
 ally grow vegetables either for our own use or to sell to some one else; 
 but before we can grow them, to secure the very best results, we must 
 certainly learn something about them, how they grow, how to supply 
 their needs from the time when they first peep their tiny heads 
 through the soil until they put forth their leaves and blossoms and 
 finally ripen their fruit or seeds. By so doing we shall be able to work 
 in harmony with nature, and thus in the end have the satisfaction of 
 growing the best and receiving the largest returns. 
 
 In a former leaflet Professor Bailey has told you about raising 
 Sweet Peas and China Asters. I suppose that he selected those varie- 
 
ties because tliey afford an opportunity to study and enjoy their beauty 
 for a long time. 
 
 Now I pro})ost' that we have a vegotaljle garden in connection with 
 the fiowei-s, because, while we all love flowers, I am sure there is not 
 one of us who does not enjoy nice, crisp vegetables as they are pre- 
 pared for the table fresh from the garden. And then you know they 
 always taste so much better when we have planted the seeds and cared 
 for them all l)y oursehes. 
 
 There are four things necessary to make a successful vegetable 
 garden; 
 
 1. A suitable soil. 
 
 2. Pure seed. 
 
 .'i. Clean cultiAation. 
 
 4. A good supply of fertilizer or plant food. 
 If one of these is omitted, the garden will not be the success that 
 it ought to be. 
 
 PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 
 
 Almost any kind of soil will grow some kind of cro]), because plants 
 have a way of adapting tliemselvcs to circumstances, and will gi-ow 
 under vci'v discouraging conditions; but if you expect to gatlier a 
 bountiful harvest, the soil must be of the very Ijest. It souu^times hap- 
 pens, however, that the soil contains enough plant food, but it is not 
 in the proper condition for the plant to make use of it. It may be due 
 to a lack of moisture. The soil may he baked so hard that the rain can 
 not get into it, and instead all runs off into the ditches and streams just 
 -as it run> oft' the roof of the barn into the gutter. AYlien this is the case, 
 this hard crust must be broken up by diM'p plowing and thorough cul- 
 tivation. This will allow the rain to soak into the soil and dissolve 
 the plant food so that the young growing r(iotlets can make use of it. 
 When soil is prepared in this way there will be no need of carrying 
 water for the ])lants, for if the top soil is kept stirred, as it must be 
 in keeping out the weeds, there will be no time during the driest sea- 
 son when there will not be moistru-e for the plants. If you have read 
 Leaflet No. h on "A Children's Garden," you have learned why this 
 is so. 
 
 If the soil is naturally so poor that it will not grow a satisfactory 
 crop of coi'n, then it should have a good dressing of well rotted stable 
 manure, ph:iwed under and well mi.\ed with it. I wonder if any of you 
 know how much manure the large market gardenei's put on an acre 
 
of land? I have heard tlieiii say tliat they use from Hfty lo scvcnly-five 
 wagon loads per acre. Do you \\'onder then that Uiey can raise large 
 crops? 
 
 Now, before sowing or planting the seeds, the soil sliould be made 
 \ery fine so that the seeds may all be covered at a uniform depth, and 
 so that the young rootlets may find plenty of plant fnoil near at hand 
 as they begin to grow. Do you know how the root takes its food? If 
 you will place a few kernels of corn between some moist woolen cloth 
 and keep them in a warm room until they begin to grow you will see 
 a great many little white hairs growing out of the sides of the roots. 
 These little hairs alisorb or drink in the liquid food from the soil for 
 the use of the plant. 
 
 HOW MUCH GROUND TO PLANT. 
 
 In the list of varieties suggested there are none that will need any 
 hand weeding, except what can be done with the hoe, so I think that 
 about one square rod for each- kind will not be too much. This will 
 give six square rods. The shape of the plats will depend somewhat 
 upon the size and shape of the garden where they are hicated. but I 
 would suggest that they be somewhat longer than broad, say Id ft. 
 by ^Ti ft. This will allow a little room for a walk through the mid- 
 dle. A grass walk 18 inches wide extending entirely around the 
 plats and also through the center, if well kept, will add greatly to the 
 general appearance, but this is not necessary. 
 
 WHAT TO PLANT. 
 
 How many kinds of vegetables do you suppose are generally grown 
 by market gardeners? If yon will get a seedsmaa's catalogue and look 
 it over, I think vou will find fifty or more different kinds. Of course 
 you do not want to plant so many as that, because they would require 
 too much labor to properly care for them. It will be better to select 
 only a few kinds and give them the best of care. Nor will you all 
 want to plant the same things, so I will name a few kinds which may 
 be grown with very little trouble, and each one may select such kinds 
 as he may wish to raise. Here they are: Bush Beans, Table Beets, 
 Cabbages, Cauliflower, Sweet Corn, Musk Melons, Onions, Peas, Rad- 
 ishes, Salsify or A'egetable Oyster, and Tomatoes. Such things as 
 Potatoes, Squash and Pumpkins require too much room for our present 
 purpose, and may be grown in the field just as well. 
 
Having selected the kinds to plant, you should be careful not to 
 plant more than you can attend to properly. A small plat of each well 
 grown, will be much better than double that amount partially 
 neglected. Kow, I am going to sug,u;e^t the following varieties for our 
 garden: (i olden Wax Bean, Gem Musk ifelon, Knott's Excelsior Pea, 
 Stone Tomato, Early Snowball Cauliflower, and ]\roore's Early Con- 
 cord Sweet Corn. These are all excellent varieties and may be easily 
 grown. 
 
 One of the most interesting things about vegetable gardening, is the 
 size of the crop gardeners get from their land. Some "truck farmers," 
 as vegetable gardeners are often called, harvest enormous quantitie'^ 
 of produce from an acre of soil. They never let the land lie idle. It 
 is always producing in the growing season. This suggests a scheme 
 for yoii. Suppose you plan to have one j^lat divided into halves, each 
 part being of the same size. You perhaps plan to plant some toma- 
 toes. Then plaoe just twice as many plants on one-half as the other, 
 and give them ei[ual treatment. Keep count of the number of green 
 tomatoes, of those that ripen and of the weight of those you pick from 
 each half. Then, if you are sharp and handy with figures, you can tell 
 at tiie end of the season what the difference was in total yields of 
 those half plals and what the diiferenee would be in yield per acre. 
 This seems to me to be a plan that will interest the home folks, and 
 would be a very interesting thing for a school report on a truck farm- 
 ing experiment. This is not suggested so much to study the yield of 
 tomatoes as to li-arn how much can be secured from two equal pieces 
 of ground differently planted. 
 
 Pens. — Almost any of the garden peas may be sowed just as earlv 
 as the ground can l)e worked, as they are somewhat hardy and light 
 frosts do not injure the plants. Eake the surface of the soil before, 
 sowing till' seeil. in oi-dor io destroy any weeds which may have ger- 
 minated since the ground was plowed This will give the peas an equal 
 chance with the weeds, and the labor of cultivation will be mtich les- 
 sened. Jlake the rows 16 inches apart and perfectly straight by 
 stretching a line across the bed. With a stick make a mark about one 
 inch deep and drop in the seed two inches apart, and cover with fine 
 soil. Now if the soil is pressed down by laying a board over the row 
 and walking on it, the seeds will germinate much quicker than if the 
 soil is left loose. This should be done with all seeds which are sown 
 in the open ground. 
 
 Examine the seed peas before sowing and see if you can find any 
 that are '-buggy." That is, those that have had a portion of the inside 
 
eaten out by the pea weevil. Older people have frequently asked the 
 question if these "buggy" peas will grow. In order to test the ques- 
 tion for yourselves, take a quantity of these peas, and after counting 
 them, sow them in a row adjoining the good seed and treat them all 
 alike. 
 
 Now take your note-books and note the date of planting, date when 
 the plants first show above the ground, the per cent, of buggy seeds 
 that germinate and of the good seeds, the date of blossoming, the date 
 of first picking and date of last picking, the number of pods on a stem 
 of the buggy seed as compared with the good seed. Keep a record 
 of the number of quarts or pecks grown on one square rod of ground, 
 then you can easily figure the yield per acre. 
 
 The Tomato will not bear any frost, so the seeds should be sown in 
 a box in the house, and when the plants are three inches high they 
 should be transplanted into another box of fresh earth and placed 
 where they can get plenty of sunlight. Keep them in the house till 
 all danger of frost is over, then they may be planted out in the garden. 
 Set the plants four feet apart each way, and as soon as they get to be 
 14 or 16 inches high they shoiild be staked in order to prevent them 
 from falling to the ground. Here I want to suggest an experiment, 
 viz.: Select two rows as nearly alike as possible; let one grow in the 
 ordinary way, with bushy tops. Take the other row and cut off all 
 side branches, as soon as they appear, thus causing the plant to run 
 up to a» single stem. Place a stake about eight feet long beside these 
 single stem plants, and tie them fast as they grow. When the fruit 
 begins to ripen, take your note-book and put down — 
 
 1. The date of first ripe fruit on each plant. 
 
 3. Number and size of ripe fruits on each plant each day. 
 
 3. At the end of the season, if frost comes before the plants 
 are done bearing, note the number of green fruit remain- 
 ing on each vine. If you have done your work well you 
 will be able to tell some of the other people which 
 method has given the better results. 
 
 b'- 
 
 CauUflower is seldom raised by farmers, but when you learn what a 
 delicious vegetable it is I am sure that more of you will want it. So 
 here is a chance to grow something that is comparatively new. Cauli- 
 flower is only a variety of cabbage, and may be as easily grown as cab- 
 bage. There are two conditions necessary, viz., the soil must be moist 
 and it must be rich. The Early Snowball variety is grown more than 
 any other. The seeds should be sown in a box in the house the last 
 
6 
 
 of j\I;iich, if an early crop is wanted, and the young plants transplanted 
 into the open ground in April or May. In fact they should be treated 
 in all respects as we treat early cabbage plants. Place your rows three 
 feet apart, and set the plants two feet apart. Keep the ground well 
 cultivated and watch for the ealjLage worm. When it makes its ap- 
 pearance get a little insect po\\der and dust it over the plants; this 
 should kill the u<iriiis. After a time the plants will form large, fleshy, 
 white heads when they are ready for use. Xow compare these heads 
 with the cabbage head. You will notice that while the cabbage head 
 is made up of leaves, this is composed of fleshy flower stalks and un- 
 developed buds. This is only one of the many varieties of cabbage 
 which are grown by the market gardeners. 
 
 Beans, musk melons and sweet corn may usually be planted during 
 the first week in May. None of these will hear any frost, so it is neces- 
 sary to wait until the soil has become quite warm before planting. 
 
 Bean.':. — riant the beans three feet apart, and the hills one foot 
 aj)art, in the row. Write down in your note-books the date of plant- 
 ing, the date when the plants appeared above the ground, the date of 
 l)lossoniing, the date when the beans are large enough to use and the 
 date of ripening, if any are left to ripen. Xotice the difference, if there 
 b(^ any, between the beans and peas in their manner of getting out of 
 the ground. 
 
 Musi- ilcliiny. — The hills for the musk melons should be about four 
 leet apart each way, as this variety does not make so large vines as 
 some of the others. Before planting the seeds, dig a hole about eight 
 inches deep, and put in a sho\'elful of well rotted barn manure; then 
 fover this with soil and plant the seeds, t-overing them an inch deep. 
 Press the soil down firmly with the hoe. After the plants are well up, 
 pull up all but three good, strong plants. These will make a better 
 growth and liear nicer fruit than if all were left to grow. Xow keep 
 a careful watch for a little striped beetle. The\- are verv fond of 
 melon and cucumber leaves, and if they get a chance will ruin them 
 liefore you are aware of it. You may be able to keep them off for a 
 time by making little boxes fight to ten inches scjuare and covering 
 them with cheese cloth, and placing these over the plants. The cheese 
 clotb will admit air and sunlight and at the same time will kee}i out 
 the insects. 
 
 Keep a record of the numlier of melons grown on a si|uare rod; from 
 this you can figure the yield per acre. 
 
 iMany people evei'v year get badly deceived in buying musk melons. 
 Tbey think a large, fine looking melon in a wagon, or at a store, must 
 
be nicer to ent than a smaller, loss handsome one. If you will stiulv 
 this subject I feel sure you will many times in the future be gratified 
 that you did. If you plant some melon seed you may get ideas of value, 
 by doing two things: First, plant a few hills of a large and a few hills 
 of a small variety. Second, plant a few hills of a variety that has a 
 yellow or salmon colored flesh, and a few hills uf a variety witli green 
 flesh. You can find out about the si7.e of melons and color of flesh by 
 looking in the seed catalogues, or writing to the State Experiment Sta- 
 tion at LaFayette. After you learn this you will know which ones 
 you will wish to plant. 
 
 Sireef Corn may be planted at different times during the summer, 
 but for the early crop it should be planted from the 1st to the 10th of 
 May. Plant in rows three feet apart and about three feet in the row, 
 making three hills across the plat. Now it may be that after the plants 
 are nicely up, a cu.t-worm may steal into your garden and cut off some 
 of the young com or cauliflower plants. If so, you can probably find 
 him hiding under a clod of dirt close by the plant, when he may l)e 
 dug out and killed. Now to prevent any more injury I would suggest 
 that if fresh clover be taken, soaked in a solution of Paris green and 
 water, and then scattered about the hills of corn and among the 
 cauliflower plants it will destroy these cut-woriiis, as tiiey will tal<e 
 the clover instead of the vegetables. But since Paris green is very 
 poisonous, and as your father will know better how to use it, I would 
 suggest that you ask him to do this for you. 
 
 There axe a number of other experiments which might be suggested, 
 but I think these will be all that you can attend to in one season. 
 
 The radish is an interesting plant, and vai'ies in size from the little 
 red ones, hardly larger than a hickory-nut to the white Japanese ones, 
 resembling big turnips. Eadish seeds sprout soon, and the plants 
 ^row Very rapidly. You plant some, and, lo, in a very few weeks they 
 are ready for the table. If you are quite impatient to see things grow 
 fast, as some children are, then try radishes. People eat the radish 
 because it is a juicy, tender, peculiar flavored vegetable that is eatable 
 raw. How much do the varieties differ in productiveness, flavor and 
 tenderness? A row of several kinds in your garden will tell quite a 
 story. 
 
 It may not have occurred to you, but the fact is, almost any indus- 
 trious boy or girl, who loves to see plants grow, can on a very few of 
 these little pieces of ground grow many vegetables and earn some 
 money for himself. What a pleasure to get up early in the bright, 
 sunny days of spring and summer, and go into the garden and work 
 
among the plants glistening with dew. Then the music of the birds 
 sounds sweetest, the air is freshest and one can fairly see the melons 
 and other plants covering the groimd. Then one can work with a will 
 and a clear head. At harvest time, of course, the neighbors will buy 
 nice fresh vegetables of you and you will learn one way of earning 
 money while studying nature and learning many things. 
 
FOR THE use OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 22. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 AN EXPERIMENTAL FARM FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 By Prof. W. C. Latta. 
 
 In Leaflet Xo. 9 you learned about a School Garden. If you have 
 acted on the suggestions of that leaflet, you are beginning to realize 
 how attractive, interesting and instructive such a garden may become. 
 More than this, you have learned how easily and cheaply you can beau- 
 tify the school yard with flowers and vine.s. 
 
 In this leaflet I wish to show you how to have a miniature School 
 Farm, which may be made quite as interesting and instructive as the 
 school garden. 
 
 But I fancy I hear you say, "Where can we find room for such a 
 farm? "We can't take it out of our playground. It is too small now." 
 You are quite right. Don't take any part of your school yard, but 
 persuade the school authorities to provide a small enelosurs-^at least 
 one rod bv four in size — jtist outside the school yard. Doubtless, 
 some kind-hearted farmer who has not forgotten that he was once u 
 bov will let you have the ground, and then I am sure you can get the 
 school board to put a strong, close fence around it. 
 
 In this small enclosure the older boys can prepare the ground, 
 plant the seeds and cultivate the crops "by hand." A'bout the only 
 tools you would need for this purpose would be the spade, the hoe and 
 the rake. 
 
 In such a piece of ground you could conduct a great many simple 
 experiments with the farm crops. You could watch the process of 
 
'^(■iTnination, .uniM'tli, tVrtilization and develi)|iment of grain, and yon 
 c-nnld also notr when, wliere and how insects and fnngou^ di-^easo-; 
 attack the sevei'al crops. By condncting tliese .■xperiment> you would 
 learn many interesting facts that would jjrovc very helj^fnl on tlie 
 farm. 
 
 It is not expected that you would be able to grow as good crop> a- 
 the farmer can under more favorable conditions. You must rement- 
 ber that the chief object of the school farm is lo get hnowUdgi'. which 
 would, later in life, help you to l.iecome more snece^-^ful farmers. 
 
 Do you know how valuable knowledge gained by careful observa- 
 tion and experiment really is? Just this kind of knowledge is con- 
 sidered so valuable that our government expends annually nearly a 
 million of dollars to maintain Agricultural Experiment Station- in 
 the several States and Territories and in the District of Columbia. 
 
 This vast amount is expended in conducting and in publishing tlie 
 results of experiments that will hel]) the farmers to avoid mistake- 
 and employ only the best methods. By using this experimental 
 ^knowledge the farmers of the country will be enabled to save many 
 times this sum. 
 
 A prominent farmer of northern Indiana estimates that the farmer- 
 in Ids county alone might have saved one and one-half millions of dol- 
 lars in the last ten years by fully using the information afforded by the 
 Experiment Station a.nd the Farmers' Institutes, 
 
 PIxperiments have shown that the stinking smut of wheat can be 
 effectually destroyed by simple treatment with hot water. If this 
 remedy alone were faithfully used by all farmers whose wheat is af- 
 fected, it would save them millions of dollars. 
 
 The farmers of Indiana annually expend many thousands of dol- 
 lars for new varieties of grain, in the belief that the old varieties are 
 "running out." Many carefully conducted experiments at Purdue 
 University and elsewhere have clearly shown that these varieties do 
 not necessarily run out, and that the old and tried sorts, if well cared 
 for, will generally do as well as, or better than, the new kinds for 
 which some farmers will pay three or four prices. 
 
 The value of the experiments which you can conduct on a school 
 farm will de]>end on what you undertake and how you do the work. 
 If you begin at the wrong time, do the work in a careless manner, or 
 if you fail to finish what has been well begun, your obser\ations and 
 experiments ma}- have very little value. But if vou will earry out 
 even the simplest kind of an experiment from l)eginning to end in a 
 careful manner, you will sitrely gain some useful knowledge, ilme 
 
than this, yiui will ari|uire the habit of systematieally taking and 
 recording observations which will \nxi\v inyaluable to voii all through 
 hfe. 
 
 In order to help you, I will suggest (1) a few very simple experi- 
 ments that yon can try in the garden at home, or in some corner 
 where they would not be disturlieil, and (2) how to arrange and man- 
 age a school farm, in which you could join with your schoolmates in 
 conducting a variety of experiments. 
 
 One of the very interesting things }'ou might do in the garden at 
 home is to collect and plant all the varieties of peas you can get. This 
 might include the t^'auada field peas, the several kinds of garden peas 
 and the different vaiieties of sweet peas. Plant in drills at least one 
 foot apart, dropping the seeds two or three inches apart in the drill. 
 Do all the planting in one day in the early spring, and cover about 
 two inches deei". Note (1) when each kind "comes up;" (2) the differ- 
 ence between the first or seed leaves and those which follow; (3) how 
 tall each kind grows; (4) when each kind blooms; (5) differences in 
 the size, color and fragrance of the flowers; (6) differences in the form 
 and size of the seed jiods and in the number of pods produced on a 
 fingle plant of each kind; (?) wlien each kind matures. You will, of 
 course, need sujiports for the taller varieties. ^YlK'n each variety 
 eoijies into bloom it will be interesting to carefully dig up one plant of 
 each kind and examine the roots for nodides (Httle rounded enlarge- 
 ments), which will vary in size from a pin head to a pea. The little 
 colonies of niicrolje> which live in these nodules have tlie singular 
 power of capturing the free nitrogen of the air and of rendering it 
 available for crops. 
 
 :\fost if not all of the leguminous plants (including peas, beans, 
 clovers, etc.) have tliis peculiar power of "hxing" nitrogen through 
 the agencv of microscopic soil microbes, and this is one reason they 
 are called soil-renewing crops. 
 
 This exjieriinent wordd be nearly, if not quite, as interesting if 
 made with vanetie.- of beans, or corn, or potatoes. 
 
 If in addition to. or instead of, these experiments at home, you de- 
 sire to join with vonr schoolmates in making a scries of experiments, 
 the school farm will liest serve your purpose. An enclosure one rod 
 wide by four long is perhaps as large as you can well take care of 
 "by hand." In such an enclosure you can lay out a series of twenty 
 plats, each one yard square, for the small grains, and another series, 
 each six feet bvseveu. for corn, iiotatoes, etc. The accompanying dia- 
 
gram, containiiif; half the plats in each series, shows how the plats 
 may be arranged, and indicates also the number of hills or drills to 
 each plat. 
 
 LIST OF EXPERIMENTS. SERIES I. 
 
 No. 1. Wheat sown broadcast. 
 
 No. 2. Wheat sown in drills. 
 
 Xos. 3 and -1. Kye sown as Nos. 1 and ?. 
 
 Nos. 5 and 6. Oats sown as Xos. 1 and 2. 
 
 Xo. 7.* Two drills seed wheat covered i inch deep, and two drills 
 seed wheat covered 1 inch deep. 
 
 Xo. 8. Two drills seed wheat covered 2 inch^^ deep, and two 
 drills seed wheat covered 3 inches deep. 
 
 Xos. 9 and 10. Seed oats sown as Xos. 7 and 8. 
 
 No. 11. Two drills small shrunken seed wheat and two drills 
 large plump seed wheat. 
 
 Xo. 12. One drill seed wheat sown September 1 to 15, and one 
 drill, each, seed wheat sown 2, 4 and 6 weeks later. 
 
 Xo. 13. Tm'o drills seed wheat, 12 grains to each drill, and two 
 drills seed wheat, 21 grains to each drill. 
 
 Xo. 14. Two drills seed wheat, 36 grains to each drill, and two 
 drills seed wheat, 48 grains to each drill. 
 
 Xo. 15. One drill seed oats sown ilfirch 1 to l."i. and one drill each 
 seed oats sown 2, 4 and 6 weeks later. 
 
 Xo. 16. Two drills seed oats, 12 grains to each drill, and two drills 
 seed oats, 24 grains to each drill. 
 
 Xo. ir. Two drills seed nuts, 36 grains to each drill, and two drilti 
 seed oats, 48 grains to each drill. 
 
 Xo. IS. One drill each of red clover, crini<oii clover, alsike clover 
 and alfalfa, sown about April 1. 
 
 Xo. 19. One drill led clover, sown February 15 to 25, and one drill 
 each red clover sown 2. 4 and 6 ^^'eeks later. 
 
 Xo. 20. Four drills crimson clover, sown as Xo. I'J. 
 
 SERIES II. 
 
 Xo. 1. tJorn in hills, three grains to I'acli lull. 
 No. 2. Corn in hills, four grains to each hill. 
 Xo. 3. Corn in drills, six grains in each drill. 
 
 *Sow 20 grains to each drill of Nos. T-li, inclusive, and to each lU'ill of 
 No. !•">. 
 
^0. 4. Corn in drills, eight grains in eacli drill. 
 
 Xo. 5. Corn in drills, twelve grains in each drill. 
 
 Xo. 6. Corn in drills, planted April L'O to 30. 
 
 No. 7. Corn in drills, two weeks after No. 6. 
 
 No. S. Corn in drills, four weeks after No. (i. 
 
 No. 9. Corn in drills, envered two inches deep. 
 
 No. 10. Corn in drills, cdvered fonr inches deep. 
 
 The following are some of the many other experiments you might 
 undertake: 
 
 1. A test of vaj-ieties of corn, oiits and wheat. 
 
 3. Treatment of seed wheat, ciats and p<itatoc> for fungous dis- 
 eases. 
 
 3. Planting large and small cuttings of |i()tatiu's. 
 
 4. Planting potato cuttings, part with the ■■eye" vp and part with 
 the eye down. 
 
 ~>. Planting tip and hutt kernels of com. 
 
 6. Planting sound and defective seed corn. 
 
 7. A test of frequency and depth of cultivation of corn or po- 
 tatoes. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS. 
 
 1. Get advice from your elders as lo hest time and manner of do- 
 ing the work, etc. 
 
 2. As far as possihle. avoid working the groitnd when wet. This 
 is very important if the soil is heavy. In early and late planting 
 vou cannot always avciid this, 
 
 3. Try to get the soil well pulverized before planting or sowing. 
 
 4. Each one of the ulder lioys should have a memorandum book, 
 in which he should draw a diagram of the plats, and number each 
 one in both series. 
 
 '>. Under the proper date and number, note when and how each 
 plat is prepared and planted. 
 
 6. Treat the several ]ilals dl' a group just alike in all respects ex- 
 cept the point under investigation. To illustrate: If you want to 
 learn the effect of planting seeds deep and shallow, take care that 
 the several ]ilafs in this group are jirepared alike, planted the same 
 day, with the same kind of seed, the same number of seeds, and cul- 
 tivated at the same time and in the same manner. 
 
 7. Observe when the seeds in each plat "come up," the per cent, of 
 seeds that germinate, how the yonng plants look, etc., and make care- 
 ful notes of these and othei' observations under the proper numb(U's 
 and dates in your memorandum book. The chief purpose of this is 
 
to acquire the habit of making close obsciNatious iiiid ciU-el'ully i-e'conl- 
 ing the same. Your teacher will show you how to make the notes 
 in yonr book. 
 
 8. From time to time during the season make careful observations, 
 always comparing the several plats of the group with each other, an, I 
 note in your book the points of interest. 
 
 9. Be on the lookout for the first appearance of rust on wheat, 
 oats, rve and corn. Examine both upper and under surfaces of leaves. 
 I'^ote to what extent each vai-iety is affected by rust. 
 
 10. ISTote what per cent, of smutted heads appears in wheat, oats, 
 and rye. Be very careful to note the effect of treatment of seed on 
 the amount of smut present. 
 
 11. Xote when and where corn smut first makes its appearance, 
 and whether any varieties show more smutted stalks than others. 
 Note how many of the smutted stalks produce no ears. Extend your 
 observations to the fields of corn near by. By counting stalks in the 
 field with and without smut, and noting the per cent, of ears in each 
 lot, you may learn how the proportion of grain is affected by smut. 
 
 12. If any plants become sickly or die before they mature, try to 
 find the cause. It is quite likely to be the work of some injurious in- 
 sect. If you do not look very carefully, the little fellows may escape 
 notice. Prove that boys have "sharp eyes" l>y finding and capturing 
 
 the culprits. 
 
 13. It will be necessary to continue operations on your school 
 farm' during the summer vacation. Six or eight of you can do this 
 by taking "turns" on successive weeks. Why not organize a School 
 Earm Club and elect one of the older boys Director of Experiments? 
 If no one of the scholars feels competent to take charge of the experi- 
 ments, invite some wide-awake, progressive young farmer of the neigh- 
 borhood to act as director. 
 
 Your teacher will cheerfully aid you to organize and conduct such 
 a club You could meet each fortnight at the school house and com- 
 pare notes and observations. You would find such a club both inter- 
 esting and profitable. 
 
 14 In performing the experiments many puzzling questions will 
 arise as to principles and methods of cropping. If your school farm 
 does not give vou the answers consult the other leafiets of this series. 
 Consult also ^our teacher, parents and others, and if you are not 
 fully satisfied; write to me, and I will try to give you the desired 
 information. I will be glad to hear from you at any time, and will 
 be especially pleased to have you report anything of interest m con- 
 nection with your school farm. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 23. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 POINTS FOR A YOUNG FARMERS' CLUB. 
 
 By Prof. W. C. Latta. 
 
 In conducting an Experimental Farm, as suggested in Leaflet Xo. 
 23, many questions will arise, ilanv times will the interested and 
 inquiring pupil ask the what, when, where, how and why of things — 
 a.s, for example, wJiat are plant diseases; when and where do Ihey make 
 their attacks; how can they be prevented; lehy will not the same treat- 
 ment answer for all? 
 
 While it is impossible within the limits of a leaflet to anticipate 
 and answer many of these troublesome questions, the writer desires 
 to give, in the following pages, some information relative to crops and 
 principles of cropping that will prove helpful to the teaclier in an- 
 swering questions and to the more advanced jDupils in conducting 
 their Experimental Farm. 
 
 The prime agencies or essentials in crop production are seed, soil, 
 water, air, warmth and light. Among the chief obstacles to success 
 
 NOTE 10 THE TEACHER.— In Leaflet No. 22 it was suffgested that it 
 might be well for the teacher or some young farmer whom the teacher might 
 interest in the enterprise to organize a Young Farmers' Club. This might 
 be formed of the older pupils in seyeral contiguous school districts. Such a 
 club, properly supervised, might prove to be very helpful. This leaflet is 
 designed to serve as a reference leaflet, from which information can be ob- 
 tained and thus aid the members of the club in the discussion of various 
 topics which they may desire to consider. 
 
in growing crops may be mentioned plant diseases, insect attacks, ex- 
 tremes of temperature and moisture, lack of available plant food, 
 and an unfavorable physical condition of the soil due to deficiency of 
 vegetable matter, \\ant of drainage, or to improper tillage. You 
 thus see that growing crops are constantly subject to influences and 
 conditions favorable or unfavorable to their perfect development. 
 To a greater extent than you might first suppose these conditions 
 and influences are under man's control. As students of agriculture 
 you are interested to learn just how far the conditions of crop jjro- 
 duction may be controlled. 
 
 Of the csfieniials mentioned above you can control the seed by se- 
 lecting that which is sound and of a variety that is hardy and prolific. 
 You can also, by an intelligent treatment of the soil, largely secure a 
 desirable degi-ee of soil moisture, warmth and fertilit}' — the sunlight 
 and air will do the rest. Then, too, the obstacles referred to above 
 may be largely held in check Ijy the prompt intelligent eifort and 
 co-operation of farmers. 
 
 Your attention is now called more particularly to the considerations 
 which are especially important in successful crop production. 
 
 1. The Soil. The soil should receive earliest consideration (1) 
 because of its importance in crop prodiiction and (2) because its capa- 
 city to grow crops is so easily increased or diminished Liy the treat- 
 ment it receives from man. The soil must not only contain all the 
 mineral elements of plants, but it must supply these elements in 
 available form to the growing crops as rapidly as needed. To ac- 
 complish this the soil must lie enriched, if not naturally fertile, and 
 be kept suitably moist, open and «arm. The prime agencies in se- 
 curing and maintaining these desirable soil conditions are under-drain- 
 age, tillage, manures, green manures, and also an occasional liming of 
 \'erv close, sticky clays. In all heavy, relenlive soils ilraiiuujc is the first 
 and fimdamental means of improvement. It not only will remove the 
 excess of water but it will also make the soil more open and warm, 
 and, curiously enough, it will in a great measure prevent the ill 
 cllx'cts of drouth. This has been abundantly proved both by farmers 
 and experimenters. Next in importance is to maintain the supply 
 of hrmius or organic matter in the soil. This is renewed by manure, 
 green manure and by turning undt'r straw and other refuse matter. 
 If the land is properly drained and filled with humus, tillage, the next 
 thing in order will have its maximum cH'eet. The tillage should be 
 both thorough and frequent to make it most effective in destroying 
 weeds, admitting air into the ground and in conserving soil moisture. 
 
If you will ciirefiiUy observe the fields on your way to and from 
 school you ^A•ill doubtless find a number of places in which the crops 
 are not doing well. Try to find whether the reason is lack of drain- 
 age, tillage, humus, moisture or manure. The more you observe these 
 "poor spots'" and compare them with fields which you have helped to 
 improve the better will you be able to decide what is needed in each 
 case to remedy the defect. 
 
 2. Drainage. What has already been said about drainage has 
 doubtless raised the question, "Why is drainage helpful in time of 
 drovith?" The reason is that by removing the excess of water in wet 
 weather the drain permits the soil to become warm earlier, admits the 
 air and this stimulates the chemical activity of the soil. Under these 
 changed conditions the crop can be sown or planted earlier. It thus 
 gets a better start, becomes more deeply rooted before dry weather 
 begins and is, therefore, better able to pass the drouth without serious 
 injury. Experiments have also shown that a drained soil is actually 
 moister in a dry time than one that is not drained. 
 
 3. Tillage. Although farmers' boys are familiar with the general 
 purposes of tillage or cultivation I will call attention to an interesting 
 "what,"' "how" and "why" of this subject that may make it clearer 
 to you. Jiist what is the specific purpose of tillage at different times 
 of the season; how may the desired effect be best secured, and why 
 does tillage conserve or save soil moisture? 
 
 As to the "what," I would say that the specific object in cultivation 
 will vary with the time of year and the climatic conditions. When the 
 seed bed has been properly prepared and the seed has been sown or 
 planted the chief purpose of tillage af first will be to break the crust 
 formed by packing rains, and thus admit air so that the seeds may ger- 
 minate promptly. This will be the first object whenever the land has 
 become encrusted. In case the land has been allowed to become foul, 
 owing to poor culti^•ation in previous years, the chief purpose will 
 doubtless be to destroy weeds. The admission of air, the destruction 
 of weeds and the mixing of the particles of soil with each other or 
 with manure or fertilizer, are the chief purposes of tilling in the early 
 part of the growing season. Later in the season, when the weeds have 
 been subdued, especially when dry weather sets in, the chief purpose 
 of tillage will be to conserve soil moisture, that is, to prevent its evap- 
 oration from the surface of the soil as much as possible, in order that 
 the thirsty plants may get sufficient moisture for vigorous growth. 
 Now as to the "how." All of the above named purposes may be se- 
 cured in most properly prepared soils by the use of a cultivator having 
 
many small points or hoes. The spring-tooth cultivator i- well 
 adapted to accomplish these purposes. In case the soil is lacking in 
 vegetable matter and tends to become packed below, some form of cul- 
 tivator with larger and rigid points or sliovels may be necessary dur- 
 ing the earlier cultivations. Let us now consider "why" tillage will 
 conserve moisture. It does it by loosening the upper two or three 
 inches of soil and thus destroying or weakening the capillary power 
 of the upper soil. By capillary power I mean the power of the soil 
 to lift water from below toward the surface. You have often ob- 
 served how soon the surface soil appears dry after being cultivated. 
 This is because the upper soil has been made so open or porous that 
 it can no longer lift the soil water to the surface. The moisture 
 therefore remains in the lower soil just where the plant roots may 
 profit by it. Some farmers will roll their fields during dry weather. 
 This will do while seeds are germinating, as it will tend to bring the 
 soil moisture near to the surface so that the seeds will sprout more 
 quickly. But when the young plants get two or three inches high the 
 roll should give place to the cultivator in order that the moisture may 
 be more fully saved for the growing crop. 
 
 4. }[anure. According to an old adage we are to make the soil 
 (1) dry, (2) clean, (3) rich. Sooner or later all heavily cropped soils 
 must be enriched by the addition of manure or fertilizer. In our 
 efforts to enrich the soil we should keep two ends constantly in view, 
 (1) to restore humus to the soil and (2) to renew the supjily of availa- 
 ble plant food. 
 
 We need to restore the humus because it rendiTs the soil open and 
 friable, enables it better to enclure the extremes of wet and drv sea- 
 sons and, also, because it will aid in the elaboration of mineral plant 
 food from inert matters in the soil. We need also to i-enew the supply 
 of available plant food, as the soil, when constantly cropped, is unable 
 to elaborate tliis food rapidly enoitgh from its own store to meet the 
 demands of full crops. 
 
 Fresh stable manure is best to enrich the soil, as it supplies both 
 humus and available plant food. 
 
 Commercial fertilizers may be used in connection with ^reen man- 
 uring crops (such as clover or rye plowed under), the former to supply 
 the plant food and the latter to renew the sup]ilv of hiunus. 
 
 I prefer the stable manure whenever it can be had, Ijecause its 
 effects are uniformly good and lasting, while commercial fertilizers 
 are quite variable in their action and their effects are transient. In 
 one experiment at Purdue University fresh horse manure has pro- 
 
ci\iced an aggrcj^ate increase per acre of 138 bushels of corn in firtccii 
 years and the effect of the mannre still continncs as shown l)y an 
 increase of 2.4 bushels to the acre in the fifteenth crop. In order to 
 have its maximum eil'ect the manure should be carefully sa\e(l and 
 promptly applied. jMany farmers fail signally in both these respects. 
 Their barns are so constructed as to permit the liquid manure, which 
 i" the best part, to escape through the floor. Then, as if this loss 
 were not enough, they throw the sohd manure out in piles under 
 the eaves to be washed and bleached by rains. Prof. Roberts, of Cor- 
 nell University, says that stable manure left exposed for six months 
 will lose about 60 per cent, of its fertilizing value. The manure that 
 might be made and saved in one year by feeding out the crops of a Idii- 
 acre farm would contain plant food that would cost, in the form of 
 commercial fertilizers, at least $1,000. A\'hat farmer can afford to 
 lose 50 per cent, of the manure by letting it escape through the barn 
 floor or wash out of the barnyard? 
 
 You cannot fail to see that the farmer, who would grow the verv 
 best crops, must feed out these crops on the farm and very carefully 
 husband and apply the manure to his fields. 
 
 In order to save and utilize the manure most fully. I would advise 
 (1) water-tight floors under the stables, (2) plenty of bedding to ab- 
 sorb the liquid manure, (3) hauling the manure to the field as fast as 
 made and scattering it at once upon grass or clover sod which is to 
 be plowed imder for corn in the spring. 
 
 With his land thoroughly drained, in good tilth and suitably en- 
 riched, the farmer may properly turn his attention to his crops. 
 
 5. Tlie Seed. This heading doubtless recalls what Prof. Arthur 
 told you in Leaflet Xo. 14 about acorns, peas and beans. The seeds 
 of corn, oats and wheat are quite different from acorns, beans or peas 
 in many respects, which joxi can readily learn by sprouting them. In 
 the case of corn, oats, rye, wheat, etc., the seed is a tiny plantlei 
 with a store of plant food packed around it to give it a start in the 
 world. In order that the seed corn or wheat may produce a vigorous 
 young plant two things are necessary, (1) the plantlet, which we call 
 the germ, must have strong vitality; that is, be able to germinate 
 promptly and vigorously, and (2) the store of plant food, packed 
 in the seed, must be sufficient to furnish the growing germ an abund- 
 ance of material with which to build a few active rootlets, a strong 
 stem, and one or two green leaves, by which time the young plant 
 will be able to get its food directly from the soil and air. As a rule, 
 bright-looking, plump seeds may be depended on to germinate 
 
promptly and well, while small, shrunken seeds will produce, at Ijest, 
 only a comparatively weak growth. In an experiment conducted on 
 Purdue Univrrsity farm, large, plump seed wheat produced two and 
 six-tenths more bushels to the acre than other seed only a trifle smaller 
 and not quite so plump. In selecting seed oats, rye and wheat, it is 
 usually quite sufficient to blow and screen out the light and small 
 seed by means of the fanning mill. Seed corn, on the other hand, 
 may be large and plimip and yet lack vitality. This is very apt to be 
 true of the later varieties of corn, which may not become thoroughly 
 dry before freezing weather begins. As farmers frequently suffer 
 serious losses from poor seed corn, it is very important, in order to 
 avoid possible failure, to learn, before planting, whether the seed 
 will grow well or not. It is so easy to do this, that any boy or girl 
 may make the test, either at home or in the schoolroom, if the latter 
 , place is not allowed to get too cold at night. To make the test, place 
 one or two layei;, of blotting paper or heavy cloth on a plate. On this 
 put one hundred grains, taken at random from the seed to be tested. 
 Cover with t\\'o or more layers of the same material, set in. a warm 
 corner of the i-o(jui, and keep moist, but not wet. for a few days. 
 From time to time examine, and remove all grains which have germi- 
 nated. At the end of five or six days you can tell what per cent, of 
 the seed will germinate under favorable conditions. 
 
 Other seeds may be tested in the same way, and if the test is made 
 in the schoolroom, all will be interested in watching the process of 
 germination and in noting the differences in the rate and order of 
 development of stem and roots of various plants. 
 
 6. The Variely. The several rarieties of com, oats, wheat, etc., 
 differ much in size, manner of growth and hardiness; in ability to 
 endure extremes of wet and drouth, resist diseases and insects, a- 
 well as in adaptation to different soils and climates. To illustrate: 
 It has frequently happened in the experimental work at Purdue Uni- 
 versity that some varieties of wheat have been almost completely 
 winter 1-dlled, while others with the same treatment have escaped 
 serious injury. Again it frequently occurs that certain varieties which 
 can endure severe winters have been so seriously damaged by ru.st 
 alone as to reduce their yields twenty to fifty per cent. Late varieties 
 of corn have frequently suffered much more from dry weather than 
 early kinds when grown side by side on the University farm, ilany 
 other interesting illustrations might be given. We cannot always tell 
 just why one variety does better than another, but you can readily see 
 
how important it is to get the varieties best suited to the locality. 
 As a rule it is better and far cheaper to continue the standard home- 
 grown varieties rather than buy from professional seedsmen expensive 
 new kinds which have not been previously grown in the neighborhood. 
 In the case of large and small varieties of com, I think, if you will ob- 
 serve closely, that you can discover why the smaller kinds have an 
 .advantage in dry seasons. 
 
 7. Time of Sowing. When to sow or plant is an important matter 
 with the farmer. It is not easy to determine, as the time will vary 
 with the locality and the season. By keeping a record of early and 
 late sowing or plantiag for a series of years one may learn approxi- 
 mately the best time for these operations. This has been done with 
 wheat and corn on the University farm. In the experiments with 
 wheat, covering eight years, the dates of sowing and the average 
 yields per acre were as follows: 
 
 Time of Sowing. Average Yield. 
 
 Sept. 18 to 20 30 bushels. 
 
 Sept. 25 to 28 28.7 bushels. 
 
 Oct. 2 to 5 26 bushels. 
 
 Oct. 10 to 12 21.2 bushels. 
 
 It would perhaps be better still to sow about the middle of Septeiu- 
 her in the latitude of Lafayette, but for the Hessian fly, which is more 
 likely to seriously damage very early sown wheat. 
 
 The experiments with corn have not been quite so decisive, but 
 better yields have been produced by planting in the first third of ilay 
 than later. 
 
 The time of sowing or planting will vary also with the latitude. 
 For each sixty miles north of the latitude of Indianapolis wheat may 
 be sown about one week earlier, and for each sixty miles south a week 
 later. This is true also of corn, but the order is reversed. That is, 
 the planting should be later to the north but may be earlier to the 
 south. 
 
 In this connection it will be interesting to note how much earlier 
 than others the naturally or artificially drained soils get into condition 
 for planting in spring. 
 
 8. Rate and Manner of Sowing or Planting. The following gen- 
 eral rule, as to amount of seed, will apply to those crops which "stool" 
 ■or tiller as wheat, oats, rye, etc. Sow less seed (1) if the date is early, 
 (2) if the seed bed is thoroughly prepared, (3) if the soil is fertile, 
 and conversely sow more seed (1) if the time is late, (3) if the prepara- 
 tion of the seed bed is not thorough, (3) if the soil is impoverished. 
 
8 
 
 The reason for this rule is that, under the first set of conditions, the 
 young plants would tiller or multiply and thus make a good "stand,"'' 
 while under the second set of conditions little tillering would occui'. 
 Experiments on the University farm, covering eight years, show 
 cleai-ly the advantage of thick sowing of wheat. The advantage is 
 greatest in severe winters. The average yields per acre from the 
 different rales of seeding are as follows: 
 
 iS'ffrf Hoirn. Arcrdfic Yield. 
 
 Two pecks T2.'< huslicls. 
 
 Four peeks 27.4 Imslif Is. 
 
 Six pecks 2!l.ri buslit-ls. 
 
 Eight pecks .•;(i.!i buslicLs. 
 
 Experiments with Ihick and thin ])la]iting of rorn have lieciL carrieil 
 on eleven years at Purdue. The corn has been drilled in rows three 
 and two-thirds feet apart, the individual stalks standing about ten, 
 twelve, fourteen, sixteen and nineteen and one-half inches apart, re- 
 spectively, in the rows on the different plats. Here is a brief summary 
 of the results: 
 
 1. Thick planting has produced more grain in favoraUe seasons 
 and much less grain in very dry seasons than thin planting. 
 
 2. Thick planting has yielded more corn fodder than thin 
 planting. 
 
 3. Medium thick planti)ig (stalks twelve inches apart) has pro- 
 duced the most corn fodder and also the greatest total yield of grain 
 and stalks. 
 
 4. Jledium planting (stalks fourteen inches apart) has yielded 
 the most grain. 
 
 Here are some interesting questions to which I hope you may find 
 correct answers. 
 
 1. Why (lid thick planting in di-y seasons reduce the proportion of 
 grain ? 
 
 2. AVhy did it not reduce the proportion of stalks? 
 
 3. Why did the thinnest planting in dry seasons yield a greater 
 proportion of grain to stalks than any thicker rate? 
 
 4. Why is it that, as a rule, severe drouths reduce the proportion 
 of grain in the corn crop? 
 
 .5. AVhy do not drouths reduce the proportion of stalks T^ . 
 (I. -In growing corn to feed the entire crop of grain and stalks to 
 cattle, which of the above named rates of planting would you jtrefer? 
 7. If you were to plant two fields to com. one of which suffers 
 
from drouth while the other does not, wliat rate of planting would 
 YOU prefer for each field, and why? 
 
 The manner of sowing (whether broadcast or drilled) is also im- 
 jiortant, especially with wheat. Either method may be followed in 
 *(iwing oats, but I prefer the drill because it distributes and covers 
 the seed more uniformly. 
 
 Fall crops like wheat and rye should always be sown with the drill 
 in whicli case they will pass the winter more successfully. Can you 
 tell why? If you cannot, try both ways with wheat on your school 
 farm and watch the results. 
 
 9. Rotation of Crops. The succession of crops on the farm has 
 much to do with their vigor, quality and yield. Corn can follow 
 almost an}- other crop better than itself and this is equally true of 
 all the other farm crops. It has been repeatedly and clearly shown 
 by farmers as well as })y experimenters that better results can be se- 
 cured by growing a variety of crops in a rotation than by growing 
 the same crop every year. In carefully conducted experiments at 
 Purdue University the yields have been fifteen per cent, to forty per 
 •cent, greater from rotative than from successive cropping. The more 
 important reasons for rotative cropping are (1) the crops are more 
 ■vigorous and sufl'er less from fungous diseases, (2) injurious insects 
 are held in check, (3) it is better for the soil, (-1) the yields are greater 
 and consequently the profits are increased. 
 
 In choosing crops for a rotation we must select from those suited 
 to soil, climate, market and the needs of the live stock. In arranging 
 the order or succession of crops we should as far as it is practicable 
 try to have (1) a hoed crop follow a sown crop, (2) a slow maturing 
 cro]i succeed a quick maturing one. (3) a grass or root crop follow 
 «. grain crop, (4) a leguminous crop, as clover or peas, succeed a 
 farinaceous crop, as wheat or rye. So far as the soil is concerned 
 the followdng rotation would be satisfactory: (1) corn, (2) oats, (3) 
 potatoes, (4) wheat, (5) clover. The oats and potatoes might not 
 prove profitable in some localities, in which case the rotation might 
 be cut down to a three-course, consisting of (1) corn, (2) wheat, (3) 
 clover, which, though not the best for eiither the soil or the live stock, 
 is the most common one in the State. 
 
 10. Inter-crops. In case there should be an interval of several 
 months between any two crops in the rotation the gap may often be 
 filled to good advantage by what is known as an inter-crop. The pur- 
 poses of the inter-crop are (1) to prevent the land from lying bare, 
 in which case valuable plant food might wash or leach away, and (2) 
 
10 
 
 to furnish a green maniire for the succeeding regular crop of the rota- 
 tion. For example, in the fiye-course rotation, given above, an inter- 
 crop of winter rye might follow the oats and be turned under the 
 succeeding spring for the potato crop. If for any reason it should 
 seem desirable to follow one corn crop with another, an inter-crop of 
 rye or crimson clover between the two corn crops would prove a de- 
 cided gain to the soil by saving plant food and renewing the supply 
 of humus. 
 
 11. Plant Diseases. We may have good seed of an approved vari- 
 ety as well as a fertile, well drained and properly cultivated soil and 
 yet fail to secure the best crops if they are attacked by parasitical 
 diseases. The more common of these diseases are popularly called 
 rust, smut, scab, blast or blight. These so-called diseases are minute 
 microscopic parasitic plants that attach themselves to the wheat, oats 
 or corn, feed upon their juices and grow within their tissues. For 
 some time the "host" plant (corn, oats or wheat) may seem perfectly 
 healthy although the micelium or threadlike growths of the parasite 
 may be found inside, on examination, with a compound microscope of 
 high power. Sooner or later the parasite breaks through the epider- 
 mis or bark of the host plant and exposes its fruit or seed (spores) to 
 view. Each species of parasite has its own peculiar way of showing it- 
 self on the host plant. One appears as rust on wheat, oats, rye and 
 corn; another as loose smut of wheat, the entire head of wheat being 
 changed to a mass of black powder; another as loose smut of oats mucli 
 like the last; another as bunt or stinking smut of wheat, which devel- 
 ops within the wheat grain, causing it to grow thick and short and fill- 
 ing it with a brownish-black mass of spores that have a very unpleasant 
 odor; another as wheat scab, which causes the wheat head, or some part 
 of it, to turn lighter in color, giving it the appearance of premature 
 ripeness; another as smut of corn, with which you are familiar; another 
 as potato scab, which attacks the surface of the potato tuber, marring 
 the appearance, injuring the quality and reducing the size of the 
 potatoes. The germs of the smuts of wheat and oats and of potato 
 scab attach themselves to the seed or potato cuttings and make their 
 attacks underground. To prevent this it is only necessary to have 
 both seed and soil free from the germs. In case the seed is affected 
 it may be treated as follows: For stinking smut of wheat and loose 
 smut of oats immerse the seed five minutes in water heated to 135 de- 
 grees Fahrenheit. 
 
 For potato scab soak the seed tubers or cuttings two hours in a 
 formalin solution, using one-half ounce of formalin to a gallon of 
 water. 
 
11 
 
 For loose smut of tvheat, soak the grain four hours in cold water, 
 set away in wet sacks for about four hours, then immerse the see. I 
 five minutes in water heated to 132 degrees Fahrenheit. In sowing- 
 use double the usual quantity of seed treated by the last named 
 method to make up for the part killed by treatment. In all these 
 cases sow the treated seed in soil which has been freed from the gcinw 
 by a rotation of crops. The rust, wheat scab and corn smut make 
 their attacks on the above-ground portion of the plants. The corn 
 smut has been prevented by spraying the growing corn from time 
 to time during the growing season with Bordeaux* mixture. To be 
 thoroughly effective the spraying must be repeated after each rain 
 and at intervals of about ten days in dry weather. It must also be 
 continued throughout the growing season. Some degree of sucei'ss 
 has attended the spraying of wheat to prevent rust. 
 
 It is manifestly impracticable, however, in regular farm practice, 
 to spray large fields of wheat and corn. We must therefore resort to 
 preventive measures. These are (1) selection of varieties lenst hable 
 to attack, (2) adoption of a rotation of crops extending through 
 three or more years so as to more fully rid the soil of the disease 
 ' germs, (3) removal and burning of smutted stalks as soon as the smut 
 appears, (4) co-operation, by the farmers of the neighborhood, in these 
 measures, because if the germs are allowed to develop on one farm 
 they will be blown onto adjoining farms and thus spread the disease. 
 
 12. Injurious Insects. Last but not least are the insect pests. 
 These little marauders sometimes cause losses amounting to more 
 than all the taxes of the State. As the crops of corn, oats, wheat, rtc , 
 cover such large areas the farmer cannot destroy the insect pests by 
 using insecticides as the fruit growers do. He must, therefore, re,--(UT 
 mainly to preventive measures. Some of the means which farmers 
 may employ in combating insects are (1) rotation of crops, (2) chang- 
 ing time of planting or sowing, (3) burning of stubble and rubbish 
 after crops are harvested, (4) fall plowing, (5) destruction of volun- 
 teer wheat, (6) breaking up of meadows in two or three years after 
 seeding, (7) making barriers or traps to head off or capture migrat- 
 ing insects. 
 
 Perhaps the best general preventive of insect depredations is rota- 
 tion of crops. Certain insects, like the corn-root worm, can be quickly 
 
 *To make Bordeaux mixture, dissolve J pound of blue vitriol in three gallons 
 of water, then slake J pound of quick lime and add it to the blue vitriol solution. 
 Stir thoroughly and pass the solution through a fine sieve or straining cloth to 
 remove all coarse particles. 
 
13 
 
 and completely destroyed by changing the crop. Many other insects 
 can be held in check by this means. While the individual farmer 
 may do much to hold injurious insects in cheek, much more may be 
 accomplished if all the farmers will co-operate in fighting these pests 
 of the farm. 
 
 By hunting up the hiding places of these troublesome little fellows 
 and 1)Y iKiting where they lay their eggs, when these eggs hatch and 
 how the young insects feed you will not only become greatly interested 
 Ijut you will also learn better how to destroy the injurioufs insects 
 without harming the heneficial ones. 
 
 I have not named all the conditions of successful crop production, 
 but I am sure enough liavc been said to convince you that, in order 
 to be must highly successful, the farmer must be a very close observer, 
 an earnest student and a careful exjDerimenter. 
 
 If, as pujiils, you act on the suggestions of these leaflets on Xature 
 S(udy, you will acquire habits of close, accurate observation and study 
 that will ])rove very helpful to you later in life, whether you engage 
 in farming or in some other business. 
 
 Those of 3-ou who live in the country possess many advantages for 
 Nature Study. The fields on every side invite you to watch Nature's 
 jjrocesses and jiry into her half-hidden secrets. B}' making the most 
 of your (i|i])ortunities for Nature Study you will not only find health- 
 ful and delightful recreation but gain added preparation for leading 
 happy and useful lives. 
 
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS. 
 
 No. 24. 
 
 Leaflet 
 
 On Nature Study. 
 
 Especially Adapted to the Use of Children in Schools 
 IN Rural Districts. 
 
 PREPARED BY THE 
 
 FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 THE CARE OF THE SOIL 
 
 By Prof. H. A. Huston. 
 
 We cannot make something out of nothing. In ordci- that plants 
 may come to maturity they require certain materials which are prop- 
 erly called plant foods. Plants get this material from the soil and 
 from the air. The value of the plant food taken from the soil by 
 crops ought to be considered in the same light as tlie money we take 
 out of our savings bank. The more we take out the less there is left. 
 When we raise 40 average acres of wheat we take from the soil plant 
 food having a value of $147.20, and when we raise 40 average acres 
 of corn we take from the soil plant food worth $261.60. These two 
 crops remove every year from the soils of Indiana plant foods having a 
 value of over $32,000,000, or one-tweuty-third of the total value of the 
 farms of the State. We cannot take such enormous quantities of plant 
 food from our storehouse — the soil — year after year, unless we make 
 .some suitable return. In order to do this to the best advantage we 
 must study carefully both the soil which furnishes the food, and the 
 crop which uses it. We are encouraged to make the study because the 
 
 NOTE TO THE TEACHER.— The purpose of this leaflet is to give 
 teachers such information as will enable them to answer such questions as 
 may arise in the progress of nature study. It may, however, properly form 
 the basis of several interesting oral lessons, and will suggest topics for 
 Young Farmers' Clubs or for Farmers' Institutes. 
 
soil, unlike the other great factor in food production — climate — can be 
 so modified by man as to produce very large and very profitable re- 
 turns for the required outlay of labor and money. 
 
 This leaflet is written for the purpose of calling attention to some 
 of the more important points that should be kept clearly in mind if 
 we are to use our soils to the best advantage. 
 
 WHAT IS A SOIL? 
 
 Any mixture of small pieces of broken rocks and decaying vegetable 
 matter on which plants may grow is properly called soil. As we go 
 about we notice that the soil of some fields looks quite different from 
 that of other fields. In some places we find a loose soil which we can 
 easily see contains a large amount of common sand. In other places 
 we find soil that contains so much clay that bricks can be made from 
 it. "We also find mixtures of the sand and clay, some containing 
 nearly equal parts of each and others having a greater quantity of 
 either sand or clay. The mixtures of sand and clay are often called 
 loam. 
 
 KINDS OF SOIL. 
 
 Some soils are much more easily plowed and cultivated than others 
 and such soils are known as light soils. The more sand a soil contains 
 the more easily is it cultivated. For this reason a soil containing 
 much sand is known as light soil. But we must not think that such 
 soils are light in weight, for a cubic foot of sand weighs about twenty- 
 five poimds more than a cubic foot of what we call a heavy clay. We 
 call the clay hea^y because it sticks together and is hard to work. 
 
 Different parts of the same field may be quite different in color. 
 The red color of some clays is due to iron compounds, but the brown 
 and black color of moist soils is due to the black matter, or humus, 
 which is the result of the decay of plants. The leaf mould which we 
 find under the dead leaves in the woods is a good example of this 
 material which plays such an important part in our soils. 
 
 We often describe a soil by the kind of timber that grew on it. 
 This is a useful method, because it has been found that the wal- 
 nut and maple grow on rich, strong lands, the poplar and oak on 
 lands of medium quality, and the beech and black gum on cold, wet, 
 heavy lands, that require very complete drainage if they are to lie used 
 
for crops. The treeless prairie and the muck swamps have black 
 soils, and are very productive when properly drained. Try to find 
 o\it what kind of trees grew on some of the fields about you, and 
 notice whether some of these fields produce better crops than others. 
 
 PURPOSES OF THE SOIL. 
 
 The purpose of the soil is twofold— to furnish a physical support 
 for plants and to furnish some of the material of which plants are 
 made, or as they are often called, some of the plant foods. For the 
 first purpose almost any kind of soil that is well drained and will per- 
 mit the roots to readily pass through it will suffice. But the plants 
 can only get food from soils which contain these foods in sufficient 
 quantity and in such forms that the plants can take up the foods 
 from the soil and use them to build up its own tissues. 
 
 SOURCES OF PLANT FOOD. 
 
 Ordinary plants are composed of thirteen simple substances. These 
 the living piant uses to build up a considerable number of complex 
 substances, such as starch, sugar, oil and gluten. All plants contain 
 some mineral matter which remains as ash when the plants are 
 burned. These simple substances are taken from the s<jil and from 
 the air. 
 
 QUANTITY OF PLANT FOOD REQUIRED. 
 
 Different plants require different amounts of the simple substances 
 that serve as their food. Water and the carbonic acid of the air 
 furnish the material for the greater part of the plant. But if the 
 other things are less in amoimt they are not less in value, and unless 
 the plant can get all the things that it needs it cannot use to advan- 
 tage those that may be present in abundance. To obtain some idea 
 of the relative amounts of the different substances that go to make up 
 plants we may take as an example an ordinary bundle of wheat just as 
 it comes from the self-binder. It weighs about ten pounds, and 
 nearly nine and one-half pounds of the material are taken from water 
 and the carbonic acid of the air. A large part of the farmer's labor 
 is devoted to operations for supplying the ingredients that make up 
 the other half pound. This half poimd contains ten simple substances 
 and no tyo substances are present in equal amounts. The cut shows 
 the amounts of these different substances contained in the bundle of 
 
\vheat. Tlicv are not sliowii in their elementary >1;itc. Iiut in the 
 fi)rin (.)f faniiliai- ciiniixumds and in the case of tlioM' most iiii|iortant 
 to return to (he soil tlip form is that «ell adajited foi' this |iuri>ose. 
 
 A&H Constituents.^) Nitrogen 
 
 IN A BUNDLE OF WHEAT. 
 
 Nitrogen 771 grains 
 
 As A^'^■C■..iC 5u.,-TO-C Olilv'l-.-, 
 
 Wi» «fl»i *f» ^» 
 
 <3i,LiCA ; Ikon 0,- iDt 
 
 W# ^t 
 
 
 IB 
 
 Li ML .MAQNtSIA 
 
 lo; C|-,.r, . i IJo G»--ii 
 
 
 Potash it-i' 
 
 A»S....f,i,-,. f,-.- 
 
 SOIL KXILArsTloN. 
 
 Some of tlie plant foods are pi'eseut in very small amounts in many 
 soils. And of this small amount only a |)art is in Mich ^ furm that 
 plaiils can get it. Jf we raise crops ycjr after year and I'emove them 
 
from the land, making no return to the soil, one or more of the nec- 
 essary plant foods will be reduced so much that the crop produced 
 will be too small to ])ny for the labor of raising it. When a soil has 
 reached this condition it is said to be exliausted. This does not 
 mean that nothing can be grown on the land but that the crop will 
 be too small to be profitable. Some lands will reach this condition 
 much sooner than otliers, since some lands contain a better supply to 
 start with. A\'e cannot make plants out of nothing. We must sooner 
 or later make a return to the soil for the material that has been taken 
 away in the plants. Those materials which it is most frequently 
 necessary to return to the soil have a money value as real as that of 
 the grain that we sell. A bushel of wheat removes from the soil plant 
 food having a money value of 26f cents, and a bushel of corn removes 
 19^ cents' worth. The g]-ain on the average acre of wheat — 13.'! 
 bushels — removes from the soil plant food worth $3.68, and the grain 
 on the average acre of corn — 30.4 bushels — removes plant food worth 
 $6.04. When we recall that Indiana produces an average crop of 37,- 
 000,000 bushels of wheat and 109,000,000 bushels of corn per year, we 
 see what an enormous drain is being made on the soil, ^'et this re- 
 lates to the grain only. The com stalks, wheat and oat straw remove 
 each year from the soil of the State plant food valued at $•.'«. 000,01 )0. 
 Xot one-half of this is returned to the soil. The loss of $14,0oo,000 
 per year would ])ankrupt any other business than farming. These 
 vast drains on the soil's fertility cannot continue long without reduc- 
 ing the soil to a condition in which it will no longer yield profitable 
 returns. Eotation of efops and improved tillage will not put back 
 all this plant food. Sooner or later we must return plant food to the 
 soil. The sooner we liegin the better, for it is more economical to 
 keep a soil fertile than to restore it after the soil has become impov- 
 erished. 
 
 SOURCES OF PLANT FOOD-MANURES. 
 
 '\^'he^e shall we get our plant food? We may use the same material 
 over and over again. If farm crops are fed and animals and animal 
 products s(.ild over four-fifths of the plant food in the cro|)s may be 
 saved in the form of farmyard manure. These manures being pro- 
 duced from farm crops, have nearly the same relative amount of plant 
 food as the crops removed. But many farmers are not favorably dis- 
 posed to animal production and dairying, and so sell grain. These can 
 at least utilize the side products such as straw and stalks. These 
 coarse materials not only furnish plant food but are of high value in 
 improving the mechanical condition of the soil. 
 
CLOVER. 
 
 Another great source of single plant food — nitrogen — is the clover 
 plant and its relatives, such as the cow pea and the vetches. But does 
 not clover get its food from the soil like other plants? It gets miich 
 of its food from the soil, but it has the highly useful faculty of get- 
 ting the most expensive plant food — nitrogen — from the air. How 
 does this plant do what other plants can not do? If you will dig up 
 a healthy growing clover plant and carefully wash the earth from its 
 roots yo"u will find a number of thickened places on the smaller roots. 
 These look as though the roots might have been stung by some insect. 
 AVithin these enlarged places on the roots are many very minute or- 
 ganisms too small to be seen by the naked eye, yet these minute be- 
 ings are of great importance in the world. They have the power of 
 taking up the free uHrogcn of the air and converting it into a form 
 which the clover plant can use for food. These little organisms live 
 only on the roots of the clovers and related plants. So these plants 
 can serve as a means of gathering the most expensive of plant foods 
 and fixing it in a form suitable for food for plants or animals. The 
 use of clover for this purpose is one of the forms of green manuring. 
 Yet the clover brings but one element to the soil, and while it is of im- 
 mense value, it is not to be forgotten that plants require other things 
 for food, and we must not allow these other things to be continually 
 removed from the soil without making a suitable return. 
 
 COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. " 
 
 When the home supply of plant food has been utilized it may be 
 that still more can be very profitably used. Since material from 
 outside sources must be transported considerable distances, it generally 
 takes the form of concentrated manures called commercial fertilizers. 
 
 Farmyard manures are all of the same general type, but commercial 
 fertilizers differ very widely among themselves, and may contain 
 one, two or three of the most important plant foods. These foods 
 may be in various forms, some of which are more quickly avail- 
 able to plants than others. One of the earliest and best forms 
 of wheat fertilizers was finely grottnd bone. On this account a 
 custom has grown up of calling all fertilizers "bone dust," no matter 
 what they may contain. Yet a mowing machine and a self-binder 
 may be less different from each other than are two fertilizers sold 
 under this common term. 
 
The possibility of making mixtures of fertilizer chemicals in various 
 proportions places in our hands the means of perfectly adapting the 
 material to the needs of our soils and crops. All such goods bear a 
 label showing what they contain, yet many men spend their money 
 for them without a thought of how many pounds of really valuable 
 material of each land they are buying, and without knowing whether 
 the material is suited to their needs. Too often the price is the 
 only thing that receives consideration. A fertilizer may be excellent 
 for fruit and commercially well worth the price charged for it and 
 yet be unprofitable if used on wheat. There is nothing so difficult 
 about the composition or use of these concentrated fertilizers that 
 an intelligent school boy may not understand the essential facts about 
 them. They place in our hands the means of producing crops under 
 the best possible conditions of plant food supply. 
 
 As the fertility of our virgin soils becomes reduced, the question of 
 food for plants becomes of more vital importance. The starting point 
 for any real progress in this direction must be careful observation and 
 study of that great storehouse of plant food — the soil itself.