Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-05-25
Forestry Taken Up by Schools of Land

Forestry is attracting wide atten-
ton among the schools of the United
States. Not only have many colleges
and universities introduced courses
and even professional school of for
estry, but elementary phases of the
subject have been introduced Into
hundreds of the graded and high
schools, and teachers give enthusiastic
reports of the success which is attend
ing the new study. Public school
teachers say that they have found IN
it subject interesting to children,
and one which furnishes much attract
i've, tangible material to work upon
developing the child's observation, and
being at once acceptable to the young
mind, and most practical.I
The public schools of Washington, d.
c., and of parts of Iowa are in the
vanguard of, this movement Every
graded school in Washington and a
large number of the rural schools of
Pottawattamie county, Iowa, are now
teaching the elements of forestry. In
Iowa, the subject is being taught as
commercial course in connection with
home geography and agriculture, while
i'll the Washington schools it is us ed
In the nature study courses. The four
upper grades of the Washin gton
schools are studying the forest and
this year all are following practically
the same outline; next year this out
line will be confined to the fifth grade,
while the other grades will follow an
outline one step advanced, and so IN
until by the fourth year four year
course will have been introduced As
a preparation for this work, forestry
has been taught in the normal school
of the District of Columbia for several
years past, and when the Young stud
ent teachers take up the actual work
of teaching they are already familiar
with the details of elementary forest
study. Prominent among the other
normal schools of the country to take
up work of this kind are those of
Cleveland, Ohio, Rochester, n. Y, and
Joliet. Ill.
There is a section in the forest ser
vice of the United States department
of agriculture which works in CO.
operation with schools in teaching fo--
estry and its related subjects. This
cooperation is not limited to technical
schools Of forestry; it is equally open
to primary and kindergarten grades.
it is as willing to help teach tree study
in first year nature study class as to
assist in the establishment of a pro-
fessional forest school.
This section of education. as it is
called, is now working out model
courses of study for graded and high
schools, in cooperation with the pub.
lie schools of Washington, ID. c., and
fhliadelphia. Pa. The work in Phil.
adelphia is being conducted by w. n.
clifford. head of the commerce de-
partment of the southern high school
where he is building up a modern
equipment and evolving practical
system for the teaching of forestry IN
high schools
In Washington, the section of edu,
cation is directing a similar work for
graded schools in four of the public
schools of that city. Besides special
lessons in the class room. the pupils
collect and mount specimens of leaves
ltwlss, bark, and seeds, and, in con-
nectlon with wood working, wood
specimens of different commercial
Itrees are prepared and placed in cab
nets. Opposite each wood section is
placed the name of the wood, it's quail
'ties and uses. Extensive field work
Is planned for the spring months. and
Inc different classes will be brought
out INTO the woods, there to study the
trees at first hand. As these courses
are built up and tested they will be
published from time to time for dis
rlpution among teachers, and it Is ex.
'ected that the practical line along
which the courses are being evolved