Practice in Observation.—Instructor can take the fingermarks of each girl. Lightly rub the thumb on blacklead or on paper that is blacked with pencil, then press the thumb on paper and examine with magnifying glass. Show that no two persons' prints are alike.
In Town.—Practice your girls first in walking down a street to notice the different kinds of shops as they pass, and to remember them in their proper sequence at the end.
Then to notice and remember the names on the shops.
Then to notice and remember the contents of a shop window after two minutes' gaze. Finally, to notice the contents of several shop windows in succession with half a minute at each. Give marks for the fullest list.
The Guides must also notice prominent buildings as landmarks, and the number of turnings off the street they are using.
In the Country.—Take the patrol out for a walk and teach the girls to notice distant prominent features, such as hills, church steeples, and so on; and as nearer landmarks such things as peculiar buildings, trees, rocks, gates, by-roads or paths, nature of fences, crops different kinds of trees, birds, animals, tracks, people, vehicles, etc. Also any peculiar smells of plants, animals, manure, etc.; whether gates or doors were open or shut, whether any smoke from chimneys, etc.
Send Guides out in pairs.
It adds to the value of the practice if the instructor makes a certain number of small marks in the ground beforehand, or leaves buttons or matches, etc., for the girls to notice or to pick up and bring in as a means of making them examine the ground close to them as well as distant objects.
Practices in Natural History.—Take out Guides to get specimens of leaves, fruit, or blossoms of various trees, shrubs, etc., and observe the shape and nature of the tree both in summer and in winter.
Collect leaves of different trees; let Guides make tracings of them and write the name of the tree on each.
In the country make Guides examine crops in all stages of their growth, so that they know pretty well by sight what kind of crop is coming up.
Start gardens if possible, either a patrol garden or individual Guides' gardens. Let them grow flowers and vegetables for profit to pay for their equipment, etc. Show all the wild plants which may be made use of for food. Find yew trees; report if any good branches to make archers' bows of.
Encourage the keeping of live pets, whether birds, animals, reptiles, insects. Show how to keep illustrated diary-records of plants, insects, birds, etc., giving dates when seen for comparison following year and showing their peculiar markings, etc.