THEME SUBJECTS

The Forest Fire
A Group of Large Trees
Felling a Tree
A Fire in the Country
A Fire in the City
Alone in the Woods
The Woodsman
In the Woods
Camping Out for the Night
By-products of the Forest
A Tree Struck by Lightning
A Famous Student of Nature
Planting Trees
The Duties of a Forest Ranger
The Lumber Camp
A Fire at Night
Learning to Observe
The Conservation of the Forests
The Pine
Ravages of the Paper Mill

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING

=A Fire at Night=:—­If possible, found this theme on actual observation and experience.  Tell of your first knowledge of the fire—­the smoke and the flame, or the ringing of bells and the shouting.  From what point of view did you see the fire?  Tell how it looked when you first saw it.  Use words of color and action, as Mr. Muir does.  Perhaps you can make your description vivid by means of sound-words.  Tell what people did and what they said.  Did you hear anything said by the owners of the property that was burning?  Go on and trace the progress of the fire, describing its change in volume and color.  Try at all times to make your reader see the beauty and fierceness and destructiveness of the fire.  You might close your theme with the putting out of the fire, or perhaps you will prefer to speak of the appearance of the ruins by daylight.  When you have finished your theme, read it over, and see where you can touch it up to make it clearer and more impressive.  Read again some of the most brilliant passages in Mr. Muir’s description, and see how you can profit by the devices he uses.

=In the Woods=:—­Give an account of a long or a short trip in the woods, and tell what you observed.  It might be well to plan this theme a number of days before writing it, and in the interim to take a walk in the woods to get mental notes.  In writing the theme, give your chief attention to the trees—­their situation, appearance, height, manner of growth from the seedling up, peculiarities.  Make clear the differences between the kinds of trees, especially between varieties of the same species.  You can make good use of color-words in your descriptions of leaves, flowers, seed-receptacles (cones, keys, wings, etc.), and berries.  Keep your work simple, almost as if you were talking to some one who wishes information about the forest trees.

COLLATERAL READINGS

Our National Parks John Muir
My First Summer in the Sierra " "
The Mountains of California " "
The Story of my Boyhood and Youth " "
Stickeen:  The Story of a Dog " "
The Yosemite