FOR RENTDuring the ten weeks immediatelyfollowing the 25th of June.The first-class modern 10-roam

house, furnished, at 5517 Cornell Ave.,Chicago, one-half block from JacksonPark, two blocks from Lake Michigan;two blocks from Illinois Centralsuburban railroad, one-half mile fromthe University of Chicago. A de-lightful summer home for the rightparty. Just the outfit for one attend-ing summer school at the Universityof Chicago.For particulars address,

CHARLES H. SMITH,5517 Cornell Ave., Chicago

SummerCourses forTeachersThe University of ChicagoThe School of Education

Courses for elementary school teachersCourses for secondary school teachersCourses for superintendents and supervisorsCourses for normal school teachersCourses for colle&e teachers of educationSome of these courses are advanced coursesleading to graduate degrees; some are ele-mentary courses leading to certificates orBachelor’s degrees. General courses inEducation (History, Administration, Educ.Psychology and Methods). Special coursesin History, Home Economics, Household Art,Latin, Modern Languages, English, Mathe-matics, Physics, Geography, School Science,Kindergarten, Manual Training, and theArts. Registration in the School of Educa-tion admits to University courses in all de-partments.

Summer Quarter, 19161st Term June 19....July 263d Tel-am July 27....Sept. 1

Detailed announcement will be sent uponapplication to the

Director of the School of EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Chicago, Illinois

SAY BIGGEST SHADE TREE IS ALSO BEST.That the largest shade tree in the United States, as brought to light

by the prize contest held by the American Genetic Association, shouldturn out to be the eastern sycamore is not surprising, say Governmentforesters. The sycamore has long been regarded as the largest decid-uous tree in North America and its range of growth is hardly second tothat of any other broad-leaf tree; for it can be found from Maine toFlorida, and as far west as Kansas.The bestowal of the prize on a sycamore at Worthington, Indiana,

which is forty-two feet, three inches, in circumference and 150 feet tall,draws attention to the fact that foresters are nowadays recommendingthe species, especially for city planting. They say that long experiencewith sycamores planted in city streets has shown that the species ispeculiarly able to withstand the smoke, dust, and gases which are usuallyan unavoidable complement of urban life. In addition, the sycamore isas resistant to attacks of insects and fungi as almost any species, and isa quick grower; at ten years of age, a healthy sycamore usually isalready large enough for shade as well ’as for decorative purposes. Asfor the latter, there is hardly any eastern species which is generally heldso picturesque as the sycamore. With its strikingly mottled bark andmagnificent stature and conformation, the sycamore has a marked in-dividuality and can not be mistaken for any other species, either in thesummer ’when the foliage conceals its structural form, or in the winterwhen the leaves are absent.A common objection to the sycamore as a lawn tree is its habit of

dropping its leaves before autumn. From this characteristic it is some-times called a "dirty tree." Recently the Forest Service received a let-ter from a suburban resident who has a sycamore on his lawn. "Mysycamore tree is very beautiful," said the writer, "until about the firstof August, when its leaves begin to fall. Is there any remedy that Ican apply to the tree to keep it from dropping its leaves so soon?" Itwas necessary to tell the correspondent that this was a characteristichabit of the tree. This’ drawback, however, is practically the only fail-ing that the sycamore has, and it is offset by many desirable ^qualities.On the other hand, there is little prospect of popularity, foresters

say, for the valley oak of California, which was decided to be thelargest nut-bearing tree in the United States, the contest unearthing aspecimen in San Benito Comity, which was thirty-seven feet, six inches,in circumference and 125 feet high. The valley oak is a very beautifultree, but it attains maturity only after three or four hundred years; itswood is too tough, knotty, and otherwise imperfect to be good for lum-

466 . , SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

ber; the tree grows too slowly to be planted for shade or decorative pur-poses, and, being found only in California, it would have a small.-fieldof usefulness. Horticulturists say that the valley oak is not popularlyconsidered’ a: nut-bearing tree; for its acorns are not generally used forfood, although, of course, ithey are edible. Foresters say that thechestnut and the black, walnut are the largest nut-bearing trees in this.country, and the contest did, in fact, unearth a chestnut near Crestmont,N. Q, which is- thirty-three feet, four inches, in circumference and aboutseventy-five feet tall.The contest. brought forth photographs and authentic descriptions of

337 trees in all parts of the United ’States, making, a distinctly valuablecontribution to existing knowledge of native trees. It was found that,in all probability, there is no living elm larger than ^The Great Elm" atWethersfield, Conn., which is twenty-eight feet in circumference andabout one hundred feet tall, and is estimated to be 250 years old. Manyremarkable specimens of species which ordinarily attain only small sizeswere unearthed by the contest,,, furnishing new records of maximumgrowth. A sassafras was brought to light at Horsham, Pa., which isfifteen feet, ten inches, in circumference at four feet from the ground,whereas, for example, not long before this a Georgia town claimedthat it had the largest sassafras’ tree in the world, though this tree wasonly something over seven feet in circumference. A white birch wasfound in Massachusetts with a girth of twelve feet, two inches; a pecanwas found in Louisiana with a circumference of nineteen feet, six inches,and a catalpa in Arkansas with a girth of sixteen feet. The tallest treefound is a yellow poplar in North Carolina, which is 198 feet high andhas a circumference of thirty-four feet, six inches.The value of the contest lies in its contribution of new information- as

to the maximum growth attained by deciduous species and the localities inwhich the different species seem to grow best. The relative sizes of theconiferous species are fairly well established, the big tree of California,for example, being the largest in the world; but information on the sizeattained by deciduous trees in this country has been very incomplete.

HOME PROJECTS IN HIGH SCHOOL COURSES INAGRICULTURE.

Many teachers of agriculture in high schools have felt that a wider useshould be made of the home farm, both to give the pupil practical workwith plants or animals, and to correlate more closely the activities of theclass with the actual work of the home and farm. While many believethat there should; be home projects in agriculture as a feature of everyhigh school course in agriculture, the need for work of this sort at homeis particularly important where the high school is not fortunate enough topossess a school farm.To assist teachers in developing home projects in agriculture, the States

Relations Service of the Department of Agriculture has recently issuedProfessional Paper No. 346, Home Projects in Secondary Courses mAgriculture. This bulletin discusses in detail the development of thehome project idea and its use in various states where it has proved success-ful. This Is followed by a discussion of the essentials of a home projectin which are included directions for keeping records, blanks and forms,and typical outlines for projects on potatoes, pigs, alfalfa, orchards, poul-try and the farm. home. These home projects are classified as produc-tion, demonstration, improvement, and management projects, the last deal-ing with the business side of the farm. High school teachers of agricul-ture can obtain this bulletin free on application to the Editor and Chief,Division of Publications, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington,D. C., as’ long as the Department’s supply for free distribution lasts.