for truth and the meaning of things, then nothing is more productive of good than the teaching of geography and history.

If we accept as true the foregoing statements, then methods of teaching the subjects become clear as we think of them. It is evident that early lessons should be designed to create interest:

(1) In the world of things immediately around us; in the land and what grows and lives upon it; in the water, its relation to the land, its motions, and the life that it contains; in the air, its phenomena and its denizens; in human beings, their feelings and all their activities.

(2) In the great earth as a whole and its parts, in foreign animals and plants; in humanity in other lands.

It appears that so broad an outline as the one just given can never be filled in, that the study of geography and history, the study of the world and its peoples, can never be completed. If such is the case, it follows that the teacher who creates the most vital interest in the subject, who leaves with her pupils the most ardent desire to study and know, has been of greatest service to them.

Now, the great interests of life have their inception in early years when the mind is active, curiosity strong, and instruction accepted without question. Then should be created that abiding interest which will make good students of geography and history, good citizens, good men and women. If too many formal lessons are

given then, and pupils are set to work at dreary tasks and are asked to memorize dry facts, it is probable that they will never become good students. How, then, shall an abiding interest be created?

The entrance to the field of geography is through nature study, which is discussed elsewhere under that title. For the first two years of a child's school life he will hear nothing of geography, and even in the third year there will be little formal reference to it, but all the time he is quietly mastering facts and developing interests that are geographical in their character.

When systematic lessons begin, there should be presented only real facts and genuine things, that bear some close and direct relation to ourselves and that should be matters of personal observation, as far as possible. Day and night in summer and winter, the seasons, the weather, wind, rain, snow, sleet, foods, clothing, the occupations of the neighborhood, the brooks and bodies of water about the school, hills, valleys, plains, plants and animals of the locality, each in turn serves its purpose. We cannot here show how these various subjects should be treated, but to illustrate the use of literature in elementary geography lessons we will present an outline on a single subject. New possibilities will be seen in every direction if frequent use of the list given above is made in finding suitable selections.

If we choose the wind as the subject of our model lesson, we may be sure to cover several recitations that will lead us into reading, nature

study and language (oral and written). It is a subject that encourages wide correlation. The outline might be the following:

1. Purpose of the Lesson.

lowing facts:

a. That air occupies space.

To teach the fol

b. That wind is air in motion and has force. The directions and names of winds.

C.

d. The uses of winds.

2. Experiments and Observation.

a.

Take an empty bottle and thrust it squarely, mouth down, into water. Does the water rise in the bottle? (Only a little way.) Why? (It can't get in. There is air in the bottle.)

b. Raise the bottle slowly and tip it slightly so that a part of the mouth is above the water, then push it horizontally into the water. Does the water go into the bottle now? (Yes.) Why? (Because there is no air there to keep it out.) How do you know? (I saw the air coming out in bubbles.) Why didn't the air come out when we pushed the bottle down the first time? (The water was too heavy; it held the air in.)

C.

Hold your hand close in front of your mouth and blow. Can you feel anything? (Yes; the air strikes my hand.) When you are out in the wind can you feel it? (Yes; it pushes against me.) Can it push hard? (Yes; sometimes it