Nature and Idea of Writing
213
Just before Christmas another canvass of the grocery stores revealed the fact that, while cabbage, apples, potatoes, squash, and a few other items were state-grown, most of the fresh foods were by now coming to us from a distance. This entailed simple map study. California, Florida, Texas, and Arizona were located. Tie tags from bunches of carrots, broccoli, etc., were collected and brought to school, and the children took great interest in location Phoenix, Arizona, and Salinas, California of a map and noting the distances travelled by lettuce and other vegetables. A world map became of interest when someone reported finding grapes from Chile. Two other entries were made on the chart, one in March and one in June. Each time new states were located; and when it was understood that all the lettuce, celery, and carrots in the stores had to travel hundreds of miles to reach us, it made quite an impression. Slides and films were shown depicting citrus groves, market gardens. And packing house in distant parts of the country. Methods of transportation were investigated, and many words added to the pupils' vocabularies: Budding Soil Irrigation Pollination Drainage
transportation labor graft harvest select
cultivation rotation (of crops) marketing grading pest
Distances and the amount of required handling were roughly estimated: and thus the children came to some little realization of the amount of work necessary and the number of people involved in getting a load of fresh lettuce from California to New York. The effect of climate on crops, people, and customs was also discussed. At school, a potato placed in a warm cupboard soon showed sprouts coming from its eyes, and it was learned that potato growers plant pieces of potatoes instead of seeds. The terms sprout and eyes were thus learned. A bushel of potatoes was traced from a nearby farm to New York City, and an estimate was made of the number of people who handled it-each person earning his living by his work. The children understood why potatoes must increase in price between the farm and the home. One child wrote a letter to his