Chapter 21

FORM II

WINTER

CARE OF PLANTS IN THE HOME

The care of flowering bulbs, which was begun in Form I, will be continued in Form II. The growing of new plants from cuttings will now be taken up. In those schools which are kept continuously heated, potted plants may be kept throughout the year. The pupils will come to appreciate the plants' needs and learn how to meet them in the supply of good soil, water, and sunlight. The following points should be observed:

1. Good potting soil can be made by building up alternating layers of sods and stable manure and allowing this compost to stand until thoroughly rotted. A little sharp sand mixed with this forms an excellent soil for most house plants.

2. Thorough watering twice a week is better than adding a little water every day.

3. The leaves should be showered with water once a week to free them from dust.

4. An ounce of whale-oil soap dissolved in a quart of water may be used to destroy plant-lice. Common soap-suds may also be used for this purpose, but care should be taken to rinse the plants in clean water after using a soap wash.

5. Most plants need some direct sunlight every day if possible, although most of the ferns grow without it.

6. Plants usually need re-potting once a year. Many kinds may be set out-of-doors in flower beds in May and left until September, when they may be taken up and placed in pots, or cuttings may be made from them for potting.

7. A flower exhibition at the school once or twice a year, or at a local exhibition, adds to the interest.

8. The pupils should report to the teacher, from time to time, the progress of their plants and make many drawings showing their development.

TREES

In November or December make a study of Canadian evergreens, choosing spruce, balsam, and cedar if available. The pupils should learn to distinguish the different species by an examination of the leaves, buds, arrangement of branches, bark, seeds, and cones. The age of young trees can be determined by noting the successive whorls of branches. In this way also the age of the leaves may be determined. On some trees the leaves persist for seven or eight years. Evergreens are frequently used as Christmas trees and their branches for house decorations. On which species do the leaves persist longest? How do they compare with the pines? The leaves are always as old as the wood upon which they grow.

Have the pupils notice how the small leaves and horizontal branches resist the clinging of snow in winter. Each branch bends down enough to cause the snow to slide off on to the one next below, and so on, until it reaches the ground. The conical shape of the tree also facilitates this action of dislodging the snow. They will also notice that these trees are well adapted to withstand wind, as the top part, which is most exposed to the wind, is much smaller and more pliable than the part next the bottom. The gum, or resinous covering, of the buds protects them from injury by rain or snow. Some kinds of pine, such as the pitch pine, have a great abundance of gum and turpentine. Resin and pine tar are made chiefly from this species. Heat a piece of pine wood--a knot or root is best. The gum will be seen oozing out of the wood. Pine torches were much used in the early days of settlement in Canada. Examine the gum "blisters" in the bark of the balsam tree. From this source the "Canada Balsam" gum of commerce is taken. The gum and resin in the wood and bark help to preserve the wood from decay.

COLLECTION OF WOOD SPECIMENS

During the winter months the boys may prepare specimens of wood for the school collection. These specimens should be cut green and dried. They should be uniform in length--not more than six inches--and should show the bark at one side. The side showing the bark should be two inches wide at most, six inches long, and running in a V-shaped, radial section toward the pith. A tangential section also shows well the annual layers. A piece of slab as cut lengthwise off a round stick is tangential. Also visit wood-working factories for specimens of rare or foreign woods. In securing these specimens, care should be taken not to mutilate trees.

RELATED READING

Winter is nature's quiescent period. Continuous active observation out-of-doors among the plants of the forest and garden gives place for a time to indoor work and reflection. Pupils need time for reading and reflection, and no time is so opportune as the quiet winter season. During these months some time should be devoted to the reading of nature stories and extracts from magazines and books dealing with plant as well as animal life. Pupils should review their gardening experiences and discuss plans of improvement for the approaching spring and summer. Let them write letters to the Form II pupils of other schools where similar work has been carried on, giving some of their experiences in gardening and plant and animal studies. A certain Friday afternoon might be appointed for hearing the letters read which have been received in reply. Suitable short poems that have a direct bearing upon their outdoor studies should be read from time to time. Good pictures come in here also as an aid in helping the children to appreciate written descriptions. The first-hand observations made by the pupils will form a basis for the better and more appreciative interpretation of these literature selections.

THE DOG

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

Use the conversation method, since this is an animal that is well known to all the pupils. By natural, easy conversation with the pupils, encourage them to tell what they know about the usefulness and the other qualities of their canine friends.

The pupils know that some dogs are useful for hunting wild animals, others for driving or herding cattle and sheep, others for guarding their master's property, others for hauling sleighs and wagons, while others are of use as pets or playfellows.

Discuss with the pupils the qualities that make the dog so generally useful to us. In this discussion, guide the thoughts of the pupils to the qualities of faithfulness, loyalty to his friends, and docility--few animals are so easily taught. Note his strength and swiftness--he can continue in a race until he catches almost any other animal. Note also his bravery--for he does not hesitate to attack an animal many times larger than himself.

Short stories of the following type may be told, to illustrate the chief qualities of the dog:

A dog was trained to guard any article that his master placed under his charge, and not to permit any one to touch it until his master gave his consent. One day, when returning from the mill, the master placed a sack of flour inside the gate for a neighbour who had asked him to do so, and then continued on his way without noticing that his dog had taken charge of the sack. All through the afternoon of that day and through the long, cold night that followed, the faithful animal remained at his post. When the owner of the sack came next morning to get it, the dog, although numb with cold and famished with hunger, would not permit him to take the flour. Nor could the stout-hearted creature be persuaded either by threats or by coaxing, until his master was brought, when, at his first word of command, the dog bounded joyfully toward him.

Conclude the lesson by a short discussion of the proper care and treatment that should be given to dogs. The dog requires a fairly warm but dry kennel, with a soft bed of straw or rugs. The food should consist chiefly of porridge, milk, bread, biscuit, and a little meat. Only dogs that are running a great deal out of doors should be given much meat. The dog should be given bones to pick; picking bones is as good for a dog's teeth as a tooth-brush is for a boy's.

OBSERVATION EXERCISES

By making observations upon your dog at home, find answers to these problems:

1. How does a dog hold a bone while he is picking it, and how does he get the meat off the bone?

2. Examine the dog's feet and find out:

(1) Why he does not slip while running.

(2) What protects the soles of his feet from injury as he bounds over rough ground.

3. Which is the sharper, a dog's eye or his nose? Watch how he finds his master in a crowd or finds an object that you have hidden.

CORRELATIONS

Language:

1. Require oral or written reproduction of the stories used in illustration in the lesson on The Dog.

2. Require the pupils to relate incidents from dog life that have come within their own experiences.

Art and Modelling:

1. A sleeping dog.

2. A dog waiting for his master.

LESSONS INVOLVING COMPARISON

It will be found helpful, both for increasing interest in the observations and for fixing the facts in memory, to study an animal by comparing its habits, qualities, and physical peculiarities with those of another animal which is somewhat similar. Where differences are discovered, explanations of the differences should be developed in such a way that a tendency may be cultivated for interpreting the adaptation of structure to use and of life habits to surrounding conditions.

CAT AND DOG

Compare the movement of a cat when approaching its prey with the movement of the dog when chasing a squirrel.

Account for the difference.

The natural habit of the cat is to hunt alone and rely upon stealth, while dogs hunt in packs and tire their prey by running and by terrifying noises.

Other differences and their explanations, which the pupils should be led to discover are:

The dog is a more useful animal to man than is the cat.

The cat's body is longer and more slender, and this gives it greater suppleness in crawling and leaping.

The cat's eye is larger and the pupil is especially large at night, to enable it to see.

The cat's whiskers are longer; they help in guiding it at night.

The cat's tongue is rougher; it uses it for cleaning bones.

The pads on the cat's feet are softer, so that it can move more silently in stealing upon its prey.

The cat's claws are sharper, because it uses them for seizing its prey, while the dog seizes its prey with its teeth.

The dog is more faithful to its master because it is a more sociable animal. In its natural state every dog is faithful to the pack and to the leader; the cat is not a social animal, but is by nature solitary and independent.

The dog's sense of smell is keener than that of the cat, but its sense of hearing is less acute. Account for these differences from the animals' habits of hunting. Why does the cat bring home living animals to her kittens, while the dog buries dead animals? The cat trains the kittens to approach by stealth and then to pounce on the right spot. Wild animals related to the dog bury the "kill" which is too large to be eaten at one meal.

EXPERIMENTS FOR ASSISTING IN THE STUDY OF THE CAT

1. Gently scratch with a pin at some distance from where a cat is lying. What do the movements of the cat indicate?

2. Put a fish in water and watch a cat trying to get it.

3. Sprinkle water on a cat's fur and find out why she dislikes being wetted.

4. Attach a ball to a string and move it near a cat. Describe the movements, as stalking, springing, seizing, retreating.

5. Put some catnip in a room out of reach of the cat and observe the movements of the animal.

Nearly all children make pets of the house cat, and although the cat is a domestic animal of thieving propensities and an enemy of birds, yet it would be unwise to teach the younger children any enmity toward her. The establishment of sympathy with animal life, the humanizing effect upon child nature of having a kitty for a playfellow, will offset many times over the amount of depredation of which she may be guilty.

COMPARISON OF THE HORSE AND COW

Assign problems for the pupils to solve by observations made upon the animals in the field or farmyard.

1. What features of build give to the horse greater speed than the cow?

2. Compare the movements of the heads of the horse and cow while cropping grass. Account for the difference.

3. How has nature fitted the cow and the horse respectively, for defence?

4. Which end of the body does the horse raise first when it is getting up? Which end of its body does the cow raise first? Account for the difference.

_To the teacher._--The horse is the swifter and more graceful runner because the body is less bulky and the legs are longer and straighter. In cropping grass the cow pushes its nose forward and breaks the grass off, a process which is made necessary because the cow has no upper front teeth. The strong, sharp horns, short, powerful neck, and heavy shoulders are an efficient equipment for the cow's method of defence, while the long, strong legs and powerful hindquarters of the horse enable it to deal terrific blows with its hard hoofs. The horse rises upon its forelegs before raising the rear of its body, while the cow raises its hindquarters first.

THE SQUIRREL

FIELD EXERCISES

~Problems~:

Is it true that squirrels have little roads along the ground?

Does the squirrel come down a tree head foremost, or tail foremost?

Are a squirrel's feet close together or wide apart when it is climbing?

How many kinds of feeling can a squirrel express by its voice?

How does a squirrel open a nut?

Examine a squirrel's tracks in the snow; which foot-prints are in front?

Try to gain the confidence of a squirrel by never chasing it and by placing some favourite food for it.

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

A tame squirrel is very desirable for concrete study.

Describe the shape, size, and colour.

Find out how the legs and feet are fitted for climbing and leaping.

Compare the length of the tail with that of the body. Of what use is the tail in cold weather? Of what use is the tail in leaping?

Examine the teeth and find out how they are fitted for opening nuts; gnawing wood.

_To the teacher._--The legs of the squirrel are short so that it can press its body close to the tree when climbing. The claws are strong and sharp and the hindquarters are very strong, and are, in consequence, well fitted for leaping. The tail of the squirrel is very long and bushy and serves as a fur for keeping the squirrel's nose warm in winter. The tail is also used for balancing the body when the animal is leaping from bough to bough.

The front teeth of the squirrel are very large and strong and are shaped like chisels.

WINTER BIRDS

In the class lesson on winter birds, take up the birds that the pupils have seen, such as chickadee, blue jay, quail, ruffed grouse, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, great horned owl, house-sparrow, snow bunting (snow bird), pine grosbeak, snowy owl, and purple finch. The four latter are to be noted as winter visitors. Use pictures for illustrating these birds. The habits and winter food of the birds should also be described from the view-point of how these adapt the birds for spending the winter in a cold climate. Direct the children to look for grosbeaks in the pine and rowan trees, where they may be seen feeding on the seeds. The ruffed grouse (commonly called partridge) feeds on the buds of trees in winter; its legs and feet are thickly covered with feathers in winter but are bare in summer.

FIELD EXERCISES

Arouse the interest of the pupils by a conversation of about three minutes on birds that they have seen during the winter, and assign the following exercise:

Take a walk through the orchards and woods on a bright winter day. What birds do you see? What are these birds doing? Are they found singly or in flocks? What bird sounds do you hear?

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

The method is conversational and based upon the observations made by the pupils during the field exercises.

The discussion would involve the winter habits of some of the more common birds, as, for example, the ruffed grouse (commonly though incorrectly called the partridge). This bird takes shelter from the winter storms in the centre of a dense evergreen or burrows deep into a snow bank. The close covering of feathers upon its feet serves not only to keep the feet warm, but also as snow-shoes. In the evenings these birds may frequently be seen in the tops of such trees as maple, birch, cherry, and poplar, the buds of which form the greater part of their winter food.

The snow bird, or snow bunting, is another bird commonly seen in winter. Flocks of these hardy little winter visitors frequent the roads and fields during winter. Its summer home is in the far north.

Another visitor from the sub-arctic regions is the pine grosbeak, which is often mistaken for the robin, for these two birds are nearly equal in size. The carmine colour of the upper surface of the male grosbeak distinguishes it from the grays and blacks of the upper part of the robin. The grosbeak frequents the rowan trees.

The bird sounds which attract attention during the winter are the cheerful notes of the chickadee, the bold clarion call of the blue jay, and the sharp tap, tap, tap, of the downy woodpecker.

The downy woodpecker and the chickadee have snug winter homes within hollow trees, but, when the weather is favourable, they go about searching industriously for the eggs and larvae of insects that infest forest and orchard trees.

CORRELATIONS

Literature:

Do you know the chickadee, In his brownish ashen coat, With a cap so black and jaunty, And a black patch on his throat?

Language: Write a story about the winter experiences of a downy woodpecker.

Geography: Describe the summer home of the snow bird.

ANIMALS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS

Pupils who have an opportunity to visit museums or zoological gardens will observe more intelligently if the visit is preceded by such a discussion in the class-room as will arouse their curiosity respecting the habits, movements, and adaptive features of the animals about to be studied.

CLASS-ROOM LESSON

Name the kinds of bears you have seen or have read about. What kind was the largest?

Are all bears wholly flesh-eating animals? Find out what food the keepers give these animals.

What features give to the bear his great strength? Observe the length of his "arms", teeth, claws.

Does the bear climb a pole in the same way that a boy does?

Read:

Rogers. Wild Animals Every Child Should Know. McClelland, Goodchild, & Stewart. 50 cents.

Thompson-Seton. Wild Animals I Have Known. Briggs. $1.50.

Roberts. Children of the Wild. Macmillan. $1.35.