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Although there were college graduates present, and many capable women, it was evident that they carried no standard for judging the value of facts or for organizing them. The setting up of specific purposes seemed to offer them the aid that they needed. Since this was in Brooklyn, where the main relation of cats to children is that of pets, we took up the study of the animal with the purpose of finding to what extent cats as pets can provide for themselves, and to what extent, therefore, they need to be taken care of, and how.

Under these headings the sub-topics given, with a few omissions and additions, might be arranged as follows:

Under first aim:—

I. Food (chief thing necessary).

/Birds

1. Kinds of prey … { Mice

\Moles, etc.

/Eyes, that see in dark;

2. How found. … . { structure.

{ Sense of smell; keenness.

\Ears; keenness.

/ Approach; use of whiskers.

| Quietness of movements;

| how so quiet (padded feet,

| loose joints, manner of

| walking).

| Action of tail.

3. How caught. … .{ Catching and holding;

| ability to spring; strength of

| hind legs.

| Fore paws; used like hands.

| Claws; shape, sharpness,

\ and sheaths.

II. Shelter. Use of covering. Finding of warm place in coldest weather.

Under second aim:—

I. Food (when prey is wanting). Kinds and where obtained: milk; scraps from table; biscuit; catnip. Observe method of drinking.

II. Shelter. How provide shelter.

III. Cleanliness. Why washing unnecessary (cat's face washing; aversion to getting wet). Danger from dampness. Need of combing and brushing; method.

IV. Enemies. Kinds of insects; remedies. Dogs; boys and men. Proper treatment. Value of Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; how to secure its aid.

Thus a definite purpose, that is simple, concrete, and close to the learner's experience, can be valuable as a basis for selecting and arranging subject-matter. Facts that bear no important relation to this aim, such as the length of the cat's tail and the shape of its ears, fall out; and those that are left, drop into a series in place of a mere list.