FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES. BY WORTHINGTON HOOKER, M.D., PROFESSOR OF THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN YALE COLLEGE, ETC., ETC. Ellustrated by nearly 300 Engravings. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHER S, FRANKLIN SQUARE. By Dr. Worthington Hooker. The Child's Book of Nature. For the Use of Families and Schools; intended to aid Mothers and Teachers in training Children in the Observation of Nature. In three Parts. Illustrated by Engravings. The Three Parts complete in one vol. Small 4to, Cloth, $2 00; Separately, Cloth, 75 cents each. PART I. PLANTS. PART II, ANIMALS. PART III. AIR, WATER, HEAT, LIGHT, &c. First Book in Chemistry. For the Use of Schools and Families. Illustrated by Engravings. Square 4to, Cloth, 90 cents. Natural History. For the Use of Schools and Families. Illustrated by nearly 300 Engravings. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. Science for the School and Family. PART I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. Illustrated by nearly 300 Engrav- PART II. CHEMISTRY. Illustrated by numerous Engravings, 12mo, PART III. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. Illustrated by numerous Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, Franklin Square, N. Y. Any of the above Works sent to any part of the United States, postage prepaid, upon receipt of the Price. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. PREFACE. THERE are many good books on Zoology, or Nat ural History, as it is commonly termed; but none are properly adapted to instruction in schools. Some of them are too popular in their character, and some, on the other hand, are too scientific, or, rather, contain too many of the details of science; while in all there is too much matter, so that the pupil is confused with the multitude of things brought to view, and therefore obtains definite ideas of but few of them. I have aimed in this book to avoid these defects. My object has been to cull out from the immense mass of material which Zoology presents that which every well-informed person ought to know, excluding all which is of interest and value only to those who intend to be thorough zoologists. It seems to have been forgotten by most writers. of text-books on the natural sciences that a book for common study should be very different from a book for reference. Their books are therefore cumbered with much that is not of any use to the great body of pupils. The true plan for instruction in schools requires that, while the class-book should contain, clearly stated, only that which all ought to know, the teacher should have some works on the subject of a more extended character, to which he can refer whenever occasion calls for it. A If a spirit of inquiry be awakened in the class (as it surely will be if the text-book be of the right stamp and the teacher use it aright), questions will occasion ally be asked which will call for information that must be gathered from larger works, or perchance from the teacher's own observation. This leads me to say that no text-book is rightly constructed that does not excite this spirit of inquiry and observation on the part of both teacher and pupil. The more it does so, the more fully is the true object of teaching attained; for the communication of knowledge is by no means of so much importance as the imparting to the mind the power and the disposition to acquire it of itself. Especially is this true of such a study as Zoology, which presents to the pupil abundant material for observation on every hand, in the garden and in the field, on the land, in the water, and in the air. I will mention here some of the books which the teacher may use with profit for reference in teaching Natural History. Carpenter's Zoology, Carpenter's Animal Physiology, Agassiz and Gould's Principles of Zoology, Cuvier's Animal Kingdom, Redfield's Zoological Science, Nuttal's Ornithology, Kirby and Spence's Entomology, Harris on North American Insects, Jaeger's Life of North American Insects, Jones's Aquarian Naturalist, Buckland's Curiosities of Natural History, Broderip's Note-book of a Naturalist, Harvey's Sea-side Book, Rennie's Insect Architecture, Brocklesby's Views of the Microscopic World. Any of these will be of great advantage to the teacher, but I would especially recommend Carpenter's Zoology, which constitutes two volumes in Bohn's Scientific Library. Redfield's Chart answers a good purpose in |