B. Classified Selections

The following selections, ranging from nursery rhymes to some of the finest things ever written, may be considered available for the purpose of creating interest in nature study or of adding to a stock of knowledge already acquired. For convenience, they are classified in a general way, according to the subject-matter of which they treat:

  1. I. Flowers and plant life:
  2. a. Nursery rhymes:
  3. (1) Daffy-Down-Dilly Has Come Up to Town, Volume I, page 47.
  4. (2) Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, I, 30.
  5. b. Fables:
  6. (1) The Boy and the Nettle, Volume I, page 65.
  7. (2) The Fox and the Grapes, I, 135.
  8. c. Fairy Tales:
  9. (1) The Tree, Volume I, page 301.
  10. (2) The Flax, I, 378.
  11. (3) The Fir Tree, II, 68.
  12. d. Poems:
  13. (1) The Reaper and the Flowers, Volume I, page 410.
  14. (2) John’s Pumpkin, III, 1.
  15. (3) The Potato, II, 467.
  16. (4) The Moss Rose, VI, 98.
  17. (5) The Daffodils, VII, 1.
  18. (6) To the Fringed Gentian, VII, 4.
  19. (7) To a Mountain Daisy, VII, 8.
  20. (8) The Petrified Fern, VII, 77.
  21. e. An interesting essay:
  22. (1) A Bed of Nettles, Volume VIII, page 209.
  23. f. See references to [The Swiss Family Robinson] and [Trees and Ants That Help Each Other], in the earlier part of this section.
  24. II. Birds:
  25. a. Nursery rhymes:
  26. (1) Lady Bird, Lady Bird, Volume I, page 12.
  27. (2) Higgledy, Piggledy, I, 20.
  28. (3) Poor Robin, I, 16.
  29. b. Poems:
  30. (1) Little Birdie, Volume I, page 142.
  31. (2) The Brown Thrush, I, page 147.
  32. (3) The English Robin, II, 214.
  33. (4) Who Stole the Bird’s Nest? II, 399.
  34. (5) Four Ducks on a Pond, VI, 98.
  35. (6) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, VII, 29.
  36. (7) Ode to a Skylark, VII, 275
  37. (8) To a Waterfowl, VII, 395.
  38. (9) The Romance of the Swan’s Nest, VIII, 315.
  39. c. Fables:
  40. (1) The Fox and the Crow, Volume I, page 64.
  41. (2) The Fox and the Stork, I, 73.
  42. (3) The Wolf and the Crane, I, 96.
  43. (4) The Lark and Her Young Ones, I, 131.
  44. (5) The Owl and the Pussy Cat, I, 339.
  45. (6) Minerva and the Owl, II, 7.
  46. d. Fairy Story:
  47. (1) The Ugly Duckling, Volume I, page 414.
  48. e. An Essay:
  49. (1) Owls, IX, page 229.
  50. f. See also references to [Tom, the Water Baby], [The Swiss Family Robinson], [Brute Neighbors], and [Winter Animals], in earlier parts of this section.
  51. III. Four-footed animals:
  52. a. Nursery rhymes:
  53. (1) Ding Dong Bell, Volume I, page 15.
  54. (2) Little Bo Peep, I, 9.
  55. (3) Old Mother Hubbard, I, 24.
  56. (4) Three Little Kittens, I, 13.
  57. (5) Baa, Baa, Black Sheep I, 8.
  58. b. Fables:
  59. (1) The Fox and the Crow, Volume I, page 64.
  60. (2) The Ass in the Lion’s Skin, I, 65.
  61. (3) The Fox and the Stork, I, 73.
  62. (4) The Gnat and the Bull, I, 70.
  63. (5) The Lion and the Mouse, I, 75.
  64. (6) The Wolf and the Crane, I, 96.
  65. (7) The Fox and the Grapes, I, 135.
  66. (8) The Bat and the Two Weasels, I, 154.
  67. (9) The Owl and the Pussy Cat, I, 339.
  68. (10) The Horse and the Stag, I, 338.
  69. (11) The Fox, the Wolf, and the Horse, I, 377.
  70. (12) The Wolf and the Lamb, I, 455.
  71. c. Poetry:
  72. (1) The Cow, Volume I, page 106.
  73. (2) Mercy to Animals, I, 413.
  74. (3) How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix, V, 335.
  75. (4) To a Mouse, VII, 5.
  76. d. Stories:
  77. (1) A Dog of Flanders, Volume IV, page 93.
  78. (2) The Lion and the Missionary, VI, 93.
  79. (3) Rab and His Friends, VI, 99.
  80. (4) Elephant Hunting, VI, 385.
  81. (5) The Gorilla Hunt, VII, 247.
  82. e. Essays:
  83. (1) Some Clever Monkeys, Volume VI, page 402.
  84. (2) The Buffalo, VII, 96.
  85. f. See, also, references to [Tom, the Water Baby], [The Swiss Family Robinson], [Brute Neighbors], and [The Pond in Winter], in the earlier part of this section.
  86. IV. Reptiles:
  87. a. Fable:
  88. (1) The Boys and the Frogs, Volume I, page 63.
  89. b. See, also, references to [Tom, the Water Baby], and [The Swiss Family Robinson], in the earlier part of this section.
  90. V. Insects:
  91. a. Nursery rhyme:
  92. (1) Little Miss Muffett, Volume I, page 29.
  93. b. Fable:
  94. (1) The Gnat and the Bull, I, 70.
  95. c. Poem:
  96. (1) The Spider and the Fly, III, 19.
  97. d. Essay:
  98. (1) Trees and Ants That Help Each Other, VII, 306.
  99. e. See, also, references to [Tom, the Water Baby], in the earlier part of this section.
  100. VI. Denizens of the water:
  101. a. Fish:
  102. (1) Salmon Fishing, Volume VII, page 285.
  103. (2) “Pickerel,” in The Pond in Winter, VII, 280.
  104. (3) See, also, “Salmon,” in Tom, the Water Baby, II, 272, 279-283.
  105. b. See numerous references to [Tom, the Water Baby], in the earlier part of this section.
  106. VII. Natural Phenomena:
  107. a. Nursery rhymes:
  108. (1) Rainbow in the Morning, Volume I, page 48.
  109. (2) If All the World Were Water, I, 48.
  110. b. Poems:
  111. (1) Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Volume I, page 44.
  112. (2) The Sun’s Travels, I, 68.
  113. (3) Rain, I, 110.
  114. (4) Autumn Fires, I, 394.
  115. (5) The Wind, I, 440.
  116. (6) The First Snowfall, II 403.
  117. (7) In Time’s Swing, II, 481.
  118. (8) Echo, III, 286.
  119. (9) The Rainbow, VI, 91.
  120. (10) Sweet and Low, VI, 122.
  121. (11) The Cloud, VII, 257.
  122. c. Fable:
  123. (1) The Wind and the Sun, Volume I, page 95.
  124. VIII. Geographical in Nature:
  125. (1) At the Seaside, Volume I, page 129.
  126. (2) From a Railway Carriage, I, 198.
  127. (3) Stop, Stop, Pretty Water, I, 317.
  128. (4) Song of the Brook, IV, 60.
  129. (5) A Descent into the Maelstrom, VIII, 95.
  130. (6) Ascent of the Jungfrau, IX, 1.

II

Aid in answering the second problem may be found in the following paragraph:

A series of interesting studies may be founded on the use which authors make of nature by way of direct and indirect allusion in their works. Such lessons are the opposite of those we have been considering. Now, the literary selection is taken first, read carefully and the allusions noted and classified. It will be noticed that it is not necessary that selections used for this purpose should be new to the pupils. In fact, genuine literature has the merit of being always new, always interesting. No better service can be rendered to a child than to create in him a love for the fine things in literature. Continued, monotonous study of a masterpiece may breed dislike of it, especially if the exercises are dull and formal. But to approach an old favorite from a new direction, to look at it from a new point of view, is to lend it added charms.

A. To illustrate our method, we will use The King of the Golden River (Volume II, page 405).

1. Assignment. The leader assigns the work as follows: “I wish you to read the first section of The King of the Golden River and write in the order of their occurrence, every mention of a living thing or natural object and every allusion to them. Use the words of the story when possible, but be brief. After each put a number, to show the page of the story. Let us see who can find the greatest number and who can make the best paper.”

2. Preparation. If the children work well their lists will be something like this:

  1. a. The valley in the mountains. Page 405.
  2. (1) Snow-covered peaks; cataracts; a crag; river; circular hollows.
  3. (2) Heavy crops; high hay; red apples; blue grapes; rich wine; sweet honey.
  4. (3) Blackbirds; hedgehogs; crickets; cicadas.
  5. (4) Corn.
  6. b. The wet summer. Page 407.
  7. (1) Hay; vines; corn.
  8. c. A nice piece of mutton. Page 408.
  9. d. Must be the wind. Page 408.
  10. e. A black feather some three feet long. Page 409.
  11. f. Like a beaten puppy’s tail. Page 410.
  12. g. Like a mill stream. Page 410.
  13. h. Licking its chops. Page 410.
  14. i. A gust of wind that made the old chimneys totter. Page 411.
  15. j. Quicksilver-like streams. Page 411.
  16. k. Like a straw in the high wind. Page 413.
  17. l. A wreath of ragged cloud, that whirled and rolled away down the valley. Page 415.
  18. m. A gush of rain. Page 415.
  19. n. Howling wind and rushing rain without intermission. Page 415.
  20. o. The room was full of water. Page 416.
  21. p. A misty moonbeam. Page 416.
  22. r. Like a cork. Page 416.
  23. s. The inundation. Pages 416-417.
  24. (1) Trees; crops; cattle swept away.
  25. (2) Red sand and gray mud left in their stead.
  26. (3) Corn swept away.
  27. (4) Breezy letters.
  28. (5) Southwest Wind, Esquire.