The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-12-30

w II.
covered the plain as the surface OF
the earth sank, and flowed away up
into the Sacramento Valley. Then the
rains brought down the detritus and
deposited 1t In the valley and made it
q fertile plain. How much more in
teresting it is to the children to be
told these things and that Goat ISL
and and Alcatraz are the tops of high
rocks that the waters did not cover
than to tell them that IAN island is
land surrounded by water" 1t opens
up to him an intensely interesting Sc
quence Of events that he did not think
was beyond the child Of to Is years
of age and without this knowledge he
did not consider the child equipped for
after practical life. The habits of OBJ
servation must be cultivated and great
results will follow. He showed a
fine set of photographs illustrating the
results of the forces at work.
INSECT LIFE.
Miss Bertha Chapman of Santa Bar
bara made a simple but very fasci-
mating talk on Insect Life in Nature
Study"
She began with the spinning of the
spiders web and the discoveries made
by watching the process and described
questions they asked her when they
discovered the two kinds of silk used,
the viscid substance on one kind, and
the curiosity aroused to find out the
use of it and the pleasure found in
the microscopic investigation. They
saw the spider throwing out the null
titude of fine threads from the spin
aret that united in one to form the
web; the group of glittering eyes in the
top Of the head, the fangs of the taran-
tula, the trapdoor spiders nest and the
jumping spider, with many other
things. They watched the growth of
spider life from the egg to the adult,
studied their habits.
The life of insects that live in. the
water was another thing that aroused
their interest and concerning which
they gathered much information. In
sects are all about US and easily found,
forming objects for easy and profitable
study for the children, who have ac-
cess to them at all times. The imi-
grafton of insects is another phase
that attracts the attention of the chill
dren.
PLANT LIFE.
Professor w. ]. V. Osterhout, of the
University of California, was the
next speaker, with az talk on PLANT
Life in Nature Study" He had, he
said, taken the most familiar plants for
illustration. The sympathy of the
child is the first thing to be aroused
This is easily done by showing it that
y,1o n Ii,
for its life, and the sense of its own
helplessness puts them in touch. His
work can be done at school or home,
or both. He can be taught that the
germ is asleep and his task Is to
awaken it into life. This can be done by
putting it into wet sawdust, wet moss,
or water, or by the application of heat
and moisture. The swelling of the
seed, the bursting of the seed coat, in
many instances so tough, the putting
forth Of the tiny sprout from the germ.
the cotyledons or seed leaves, growing
in one direction, while the fine rootlets
grow downward, all can be developed
by the child under his own supervis-
ion, making a lesson of continued and
absorbing interest. The marvellous
power that enables the little, tender
shoot to push it's way through the
tough seedcoat, and through the heavy
earth lying upon it, the difference IL
method of the corn, which pushes its
rolled-up leaves like a pencil, through
the ground, and the clumsy bean that
tries to push the heavy clod aside, is
discovered by him. He showed the
endless variety of processes to be OBJ
served in the different plants and the
interest aroused in the pupil in OBJ
serving and comparing them and seek
ing for reasons The effect of light
and heat on the plant is another very
pleasant line of investigation, which
can be pursued anywhere.