We might mean by perfection of agriculture the ability to compel each little piece of land to produce its utmost of food for hungry mouths. Our method requires complex machinery, itself a triumph of inventive genius; primitive man uses only the crudest tools. Every piece of work must be judged by its adaptations to local conditions and surroundings. If we judge agriculture in this way, we shall find the most perfect although very simple agriculture, among the ancient folk of Egypt and among the modern millions of China. For in China we have the greatest yield from the soil; we have every available inch of ground in use; and we have no wild plants, no weeds, but one great kitchen garden. -Adapted. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Who were the first farmers? How did this happen? 2. Explain the different steps in the early development of the cultivation of plants. 3. Mention ways by which plants have been carried from one part of the world to another. 4. Describe the farming tools used by primitive peoples. How were harvesting and threshing carried on by them? If possible, bring pictures of primitive tools to class. 5. What is Starr's idea of the "perfection of agriculture"? Does he answer in two ways? Explain. 6. Reports for volunteers (find material in Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia, The World Book, or the references given below): a. Native plants of North America. b. Irrigation in ancient Egypt. c. Farming in China or Japan. d. Dry farming in Utah. ADDITIONAL READINGS. 1. "A Japanese Pearl Farm," in Literary Digest, 80: 27-28. 2. "Taming the Wild Blueberry," F. V. Coville, in National Geographic Magazine, 22:137–147. 3. "How the World Is Fed," W. J. Showalter, ibid., 29:1-110. 4. "The Indians as Farmers, A. H. Sanford, Story of Agriculture in the United States, 1–II. 5. "George Washington - Farmer," ibid., 76-91. 6. "The Story of the Plow," ibid., 136–143. 7. "The Agricultural Revolution," H. Thompson, The Age of Invention, 110-127. 8. "The Woodland Indians," H. C. Hill, in Historical Outlook, 13: 119-123. HARVEST AND THANKSGIVING The harvest season has always been looked upon as one of the happiest times of the year. The joy which it brings is revealed in the three poems which follow. The first of these was written by a Greek poet more than two thousand years ago; the next two are from the pens of American authors. Which poem do you like the best? 2. THE HARVEST ARISTOPHANES Oh, 'tis sweet, when fields are ringing Sweet it is, too, to be telling, 3. A SONG OF HARVEST JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER Once more the liberal year laughs out Our common mother rests and sings Like Ruth among her garnered sheaves; Her lap is full of goodly things, Her brow is bright with autumn leaves. Oh, favors old, yet ever new; Oh, blessings with the sunshine sent! The fullness shames our discontent. We shut our eyes, the bowers bloom on; And gives us, with our rugged soil, 4. THANKSGIVING EDWARD EVERETT HALE Praise God for wheat, so white and sweet, of which to make our bread! Praise God for yellow corn, with which his waiting world is fed! Praise God for fish and flesh and fowl, he gave to man for food! Praise God for every creature which He made, and called it good! Praise God for winter's store of ice! Praise God for summer's heat! Praise God for fruit-tree bearing seed; "to you it is for meat" Praise God for all the bounty by which the world is fed! Praise God His children all, to whom He gives their daily bread! CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Which of these three poems do you like the best? Give reasons. 2. Read lines which show why the harvest is a time of rejoicing. 3. Why is Thanksgiving Day celebrated in the autumn? Tell the story of the first Thanksgiving Day. 4. Mention the chief difference in thought between "The Harvest" and "Thanksgiving." 5. Explain how the harvest is "nature's boldest triumph." 6. Mention favors in your life that are "old, yet ever new." 7. Explain these words: curios, luscious, nectareous, liberal, garnered, Eden. 8. Which of these three poems most resembles this stanza by the English poet, Edmund Spenser: AUTUMN Then came the Autumn all in yellow clad, As though he joy'd in his plenteous store, Laden with fruits that made him laugh, full glad That he had banished hunger. 9. Volunteer report: Tell the story of Ruth; find this in The Bible. Explain how ", our common mother rests and sings like Ruth." 2. ADDITIONAL READINGS. 1. "The Huskers," J. G. Whittier. "Apple Gathering," J. J. Pratt, in A. Marble's Nature Pictures by American Poets, 178-179. 3. "All Things Bright and Beautiful," C. F. Alexander. 4. "Twenty-fourth Psalm," in The Bible. 5. "Fishes and Fisheries of Our North Atlantic Seaboard," J. O. LaGorce, in National Geographic Magazine, 44:567-634. 6. "Fruit of the Earth," W. P. Eaton, in Harper's Magazine, 144: 321-330. CLASS-LIBRARY READINGS TAMING PLANTS 1. "John Gilley," C. W. Eliot, in Storics of the Day's Work, 244–266. 2. "The New American Farmer," H. N. Casson, in Vocational Reader, 29-34. 3. "The Corn Song," J. G. Whittier, ibid., 41-43. 4. "John James Audubon, Naturalist," in Makers of Our History, 147-158. 5. "Horticulture Offers a New Open-Air Vocation for Women," K. S. Reed, in Opportunities of Today for Boys and Girls, 267-269. 6. "The Last Threshing in the Coulee," Hamlin Garland, in The Joy in Work, 136–146. 7. "The Story of an Up-to-Date Farm," Wonder Book of Knowledge, 556-574. 8. "The Store," Stories of Useful Inventions, 13-27. 9. "The Plow," ibid., 73-84. One mark of a good reader is the ability to find information quickly. In this selection the author describes experiences of three lion-tamers, two of whom are named. After the signal to begin reading is given by your teacher, glance through the selection rapidly and find who the three tamers are. When you find them, raise your hand. Then read the entire selection carefully. It is no longer necessary to tell the public that any performance with wild animals is always attended by very great danger. The old idea that the animals were drugged or that their teeth had been pulled and their claws drawn, or that they were "nothing but a lot of tame cats anyway," has more than once been disproved. As for the theory that wild animals oecome "tame," it is seldom now that one even hears the word used in connection with them. But the public does not and can not realize the moments of extreme danger that occur at every performance. A snarling lion that stands and defies its trainer calls forth thrills of suspense and nervousness from the audience; a tiger that reaches forth its paw and tries to claw at its trainer is stared at with awe and dismay; and yet, more often than not, this is mere child's play compared with some of the |