The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1920-04-30
NATURE STUDY
in THE GRADES

(By Fordyce Grimmell, Jr., Normal
School.)
One of the best way of connecting
the schools with the plantations is to
show the children that there are no
more interesting things than are to
be found right near these plantations
And there is not more interesting
natural history subject than that of
the sugar cane field. Besides, we
have. on nearly each plantation,
sw~eet-potato patches, taro patches and
others of equal value for study. My
TYNE of nature study is aesthetic, an
incubation of the love of nature for
The pure interest in it.. We may or
may not correlate this with garden
work or growing contest" which are
unitarian. | believe there should be
an intellectual interest" otherwise
there will be work for a prize, a mark,
for wages or money, wherein lies all
of our industrial and labor troubles.
Let us not forget ThCreau3 advice:
"There is no hope for you unless the
bit OF green sod under your feet is
sweeter to you than any other In the
world" A person does his Test work
when he has this feeling; II may be
innate or acquired.
Every school room hould nave
some simple homemade insect cages,
plant boxes, an observation beehive,
and glass jars for mosquitoes and
minnows. The living thing and its
behavior is the greatest center or at
traction to young people as well as TO
most older ones, as common oDserVa-
ton shows at a zoo, aquarium, or
where ever living things ar, Tor we
are one of them.
"A sacred kindship l woull not for
go,
Binds me to all that brcathes."
The nature study in the grades
should not be a cut and dried" ma
ture study, as most is, Therefore 1t
should not be from outlines, guides,
leaflets and books, no patter how
good they are. 1t shOuldebe as spon-
taneous and natural as nature her
self. Things should be studied as
they present themselves, il living
things are continually coming before
our eyes, if we only keep our eyes
open. We may look at living things
around the plantation in more or less
natural groups we call them, sc1ent1-
fcalk geological groups, a group oil
living things plant and animal, all
living and struggling among them
selves to win in life's race. The SUI
Gar cane field, sweet-potato patch,
tho patch, rice field and m9ngo tree,
caNh constitutes such a living, struggl'
i'll group. It is fascinating to ook
atkthings that way. Even the human
bdHngs on a plantation may be looked
a lin that way!
For instance, there is nothing more
eresting in form and habits than
PRAYING mantis, with his highly
Rodiied from legs and voricious ap-
Bette for gr~asshoppers, sugar cane
leaf hoppers' another bug eaten a
4 green grasshopper with its strong
front legs and slowly bites of n
chews up, bit by bit, its struggling
victim. Keep n of these animals III
a glass jar with some mosquito net
ting over the top and nave the chill
dren supply it with insects from the
cane field. Then watch it lay its
mass of eggs and what becomes Of
the little mantids when they hatch
hundreds of them.
There are green and brown varieties
but we do not know the Importance OF
this phenomenon. Do not be afraid to
tell the children you do not know any
thing. Tell them so and that there
are lots of things We do not under
stand yet. They may find cut some
thing new, q
There are twenty different spiders
in the sugar cane fields, some make
IS. others just jump Owe" the leaves
but all live~-n leaf-hor' lies n
other "bues" some
yyasns and flies wi Nop-
pers for their food
maintains a balanc Sc
where. when this upset
trouble follows,
The mongoose that n,,s In the cane
field and elsewhere Is an interesting
animal to watch and study in a cage
for it's own sake, w If we do want
to get rid of it for it's noXtous quail
ties. There ought, also, to be a cage
of lizards to watch and be fed on
flies and other bugs"
The sweet-potato patch is an inter-
esting place to get acquainted with.
There is the common, big, green or
black caterpillar with a horn at
the hind end, repulsive to some peo'
ple, but very interesting to watch in
a cage The five changes of skin n
markings, the pupa inactive stage,
and finally the big, strong winged
]hawk-moth which proceeds to lay
several hundred eggs to hatch n
little caterpillars to eat the potato
leaves, unless they are in turn at
tackled by little wasp-like flies which
lay their eggs on them, The four diff
ferent lives of this hawk-moth n
its enemies, make a fascinating
study. There are some green cut
worms which make smaller moths.
And there are some little Every lit
tle) caterpillars which make tunnels
between the upper and lower sides of
the leaves, which can be easily seen
by holding the leaf up to the sunlight.
There is a caterpillar which bores in
The stem, and there is one which rolls
the leaf together for a home, and all
II these have little wasp-like flies
which lay eggs on them which hatch
into maggots and feeG inside. There
Is q heetle which lives In the tuber