Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study Part 32

Examples--musk-rat, field-mouse.

5. Some animals put on warmer clothing:

Examples--fox, mink, otter, rabbit, horse, cow, partridge, chickadee. The rabbit and weasel turn white, a colour protection.

6. Many insect larvae form coc.o.o.ns or pupae cases:

Examples--emperor-moth, codling moth, tomato worm.

CORRELATIONS

With literature, reading, and language.

With geography: By a lesson on "The influence of climate upon animal and plant life."

CHICKENS

(Consult _Principles and Practice of Poultry Culture_ by Robinson. Ginn & Co., $2.00.)

CONVERSATION LESSON

How many of you keep chickens at your homes?

Why do many kinds of people keep chickens?

What breeds of chickens do you keep?

How many other breeds do you know?

Describe the appearance of a few of the commoner breeds.

Why are there so many different breeds?

Name those that are good laying breeds.

Name breeds that are not usually considered good laying breeds.

_To the teacher._--Chickens are kept by all cla.s.ses of people. Many keep them for the profit in eggs and meat, others keep them as a fad, and others to gratify a craving for animal companions.h.i.+p. There are one hundred and seventy-five recognized breeds, varying in size from that of the j.a.panese bantam weighing ten ounces to that of the huge Brahma which weighs fourteen pounds. The shapes and colours present as great a variation as the sizes. The breeds that are usually regarded as good layers are White Leghorn, Barred Bock, and Rhode Island Red, while the Game breeds are usually regarded as poor layers. Careful tests prove, however, that there are good laying and poor laying strains in every breed, and care must be taken to select from good strains, since the breed is not a sufficient guide.

At the close of the first lesson, a.s.sign to the pupils the task of making a chicken census of the district as follows:

1. Request each pupil to count the number of hens under two years old at his home and also to count the hens that are more than two years old.

2. Request each pupil to find out, if possible, the number of eggs obtained at his home during the whole year.

ARITHMETIC LESSON BASED ON THE CHICKEN CENSUS

1. Using the data collected by the pupils, calculate the total number of chickens under two years old in the district.

Calculate the number over two years old. (The latter are cla.s.sed as unprofitable.)

2. Using the data obtained by the pupils (provided sufficient data was obtained to make it reasonably reliable), calculate the average number of eggs laid a year by each hen.

3. If the data collected by the pupils as to the number of eggs is thought to be unreliable, make use of the following:

The average number of eggs laid each year by each hen in Ontario is seven dozen. Use this average number, and:

(1) Calculate the value of the eggs produced in this district in a year, the average price of eggs being twenty cents a dozen.

(2) If the average production of eggs were increased to ten dozen (a number that is easily possible under improved management), find the value of the eggs that would be produced in a year, and find the gain that would result from this better management.

4. If it costs ninety cents a year to feed a hen, find the net annual profit to this district from the egg production.

CARE OF CHICKENS

The method of developing conceptions of how to take proper care of chickens is based partly upon the pupils' experiences and partly upon a knowledge of the history of the original wild hens.

Information can be gathered from the pupils as to the date of hatching of the earliest chickens and the date at which the pullets begin to lay.

Chickens that are hatched in April begin to lay in November or December and lay throughout the winter when eggs bring the highest price.

The original wild hens lived in the dry, gra.s.sy, and shrubby jungles of India. They were free to move about in the open air, and at night they perched in the trees, which sheltered them from rain. Hence may be inferred what kind of quarters should be provided for chickens.

CARE AND FOOD OF CHICKENS

Points developed

Chickens must have plenty of fresh air without draughts.

Heat is not necessary.

Their quarters must be dry, clean, and well lighted.

They require exercise.

Their food must have in it the materials that are needed to make the substance of the egg.

Breakfast: Wheat or corn scattered among straw--the scratching affords exercise.

Dinner: Meat sc.r.a.ps, slaughter-house refuse, vegetables, sour milk, and rolled oats.

Supper: As at breakfast.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE PHASE OF NATURE STUDY

The teacher is advised to read carefully the instructions and General Method of Experimental Science, Chapter I, before beginning the lessons in Physical Science.