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diff --git a/old/50237-0.txt b/old/50237-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d085913..0000000 --- a/old/50237-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2747 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The 'Look About You' Nature Study Books, -Book 3 (of 7), by Thomas W. Hoare - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The 'Look About You' Nature Study Books, Book 3 (of 7) - Birds, Seed Eaters and Insect Eaters, A Baby Plant, Uncle - George's Tank, Tadpoles, Frogs - -Author: Thomas W. Hoare - -Release Date: October 16, 2015 [EBook #50237] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOOK ABOUT YOU NATURE STUDY, VOL 3 *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Stephen Hutchson, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - [Illustration: Birds in Winter] - - - - - The - “LOOK ABOUT YOU” - Nature Study Books - - - BY - THOMAS W. HOARE - TEACHER OF NATURE STUDY - to the Falkirk School Board and Stirlingshire County Council - - BOOK III. - - [Illustration: Publisher’s Logo] - - LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK - 16 HENRIETTA STREET, W.C. - AND EDINBURGH - - _Printed by M‘Farlane & Erskine, Edinburgh._ - - - - - PREFACE. - - -This little book should be used as a simple guide to the practical study -of Nature rather than as a mere reader. - -Every lesson herein set down has, during the author’s many years’ -experience in teaching Nature Study, been taught by observation and -practice again and again; and each time with satisfactory result. The -materials required for most of the lessons—whether they be obtained from -the naturalist-dealer or from the nearest hedge, ditch, or pond—are -within everybody’s reach. - -There is nothing that appeals to the heart of the ordinary child like -_living things_, be they animal or vegetable, and there is no branch of -education at the present day that bears, in the young mind, such -excellent fruit as the study of the simple, living things around us. - -Your child is nothing if not curious. He wants to understand everything -that lives and moves and has its being in his bright little world. - -Nature Study involves so many ingenious little deductions, that the -reasoning powers are almost constantly employed, and intelligence grows -proportionately. The child’s powers of observation are stimulated, and -his memory is cultivated in the way most pleasing to his inquiring -nature. By dissecting seeds, bulbs, buds, and flowers, his hand is -trained, and methods expeditious and exact are inculcated. By drawing -his specimens, no matter how roughly or rapidly, his eye is trained more -thoroughly than any amount of enforced copying of stiff, uninteresting -models of prisms, cones, etc., ever could train it. - -The love of flowers and animals is one of the most commendable traits in -the disposition of the wondering child, and ought to be encouraged above -all others. - -It is the author’s fondest and most sanguine hope that the working out -of the exercises, of which this booklet is mainly composed, may prove -much more of a joy than a task, and that the practical knowledge gained -thereby may tempt his little readers to study further the great book of -Nature, whose broad pages are ever open to us, and whose silent answers -to our manifold questions are never very difficult to read. - - T. W. H. - - - - - CONTENTS - - -LESSON PAGE - I. Birds in Winter 7 - II. Seed-Eaters and Insect-Eaters 12 - III. Buds 16 - IV. A Baby Plant 25 - V. How a Plant Grows 30 - VI. More about Seeds 36 - VII. The Horse Pond in Spring 44 - VIII. Uncle George’s Tank 49 - IX. Tadpoles 54 - X. Frogs, Toads, and Newts 61 - XI. Underground Stems 66 - XII. Caterpillars 76 - XIII. The White Butterfly 82 - XIV. The Toiling Caddis 88 - Appendix 95 - - - - - “LOOK ABOUT YOU.” - BOOK III. - - - - - I.—BIRDS IN WINTER. - - -“When we look out there, it makes us feel thankful that we have a nice -cosy room to play in and a warm fire to sit beside.” - -It was Uncle George who spoke. His two nephews, Frank and Tom, stood at -the window watching the birds feeding outside, while Dolly, their little -sister, was busy with her picture-blocks on the carpet. - -“Yes, it is better to be inside in winter,” said Frank, the elder boy. -“These poor little birds must have a hard time out in the cold all -night.” - -“I should not mind being a bird during the rest of the year, though,” -said little Tom. “It must be so jolly to be able to fly wherever you -like.” - -Uncle George smiled, and said, “Birds are very happy little creatures, -Tom, but they have many enemies. Their lives are in constant danger. -They must always be on the look-out for cats, hawks, guns, and cruel -boys. Those birds that stay with us all the year round have often a hard -fight for life in winter-time. In fact, many of them starve to death. - -“Most of our birds fly to warmer countries in autumn, and come back to -us in spring. These miss the frost and snow, but a great number of them -get drowned while crossing the sea. I think, as a little boy, you are -much better off. - -“Let me see; have you put out any food for the birds this morning?” - -“Yes, Uncle George, we have done exactly as you told us,” said Frank. -“Mother made a little net, which we filled with suet and scraps of meat -for the tomtits. We hung it on the ivy, quite near the window. We also -put plenty of crumbs and waste bits from the kitchen on the space you -cleared for the birds yesterday.” - -“Very good,” said Uncle George, “and I see your feathered friends are -busy in both places.” - -He looked out and saw a crowd of birds hopping on the frozen lawn round -the well-filled dish. The little net, which hung just outside the -window, was alive with hungry tomtits. They pecked eagerly at the suet, -and chattered their thanks between every mouthful. - -“What a lot of birds we have to-day,” Uncle George remarked. “Do you -know the names of them all, boys?” - -“We know those you pointed out to us yesterday,” said Frank. “There is -the chaffinch, the thrush, the greenfinch, the blackbird, and the -hedge-sparrow, but I don’t know that one with the bright red breast, -black velvet head, and grey wings. And there is a new one among the -tomtits. He has a very long tail, and is like a small parrot.” - - [Illustration: ] - - Robin. Starling. Hedge-Sparrow. - Greenfinch. Bullfinch. Sparrow. - Chaffinch. Long-tailed Tit. Linnet. - Blackbird. Rook. Thrush. - -“Oh,” said Uncle George, “the first you spoke of is the bullfinch. He is -so easily tamed that he makes a splendid pet. The hen bullfinch is there -too, I see. She has a dull brown breast, and is not quite so pretty as -her husband. The bullfinch is very fond of berries. If we could get some -hawthorn or rowan berries, we should have all the bullfinches in the -district around us. The other bird is the long-tailed tit. He is also a -very amusing little chap.” - - [Illustration: Bullfinches.] - -“Why do the tomtits make such a fuss about the suet?” asked Tom. “The -bullfinches do not come near it.” - -“That is because the tomtit is a flesh-eater, Tom. He lives on insects. -The bullfinch feeds on berries and seeds. He is also blamed for eating -the young buds of fruit-trees in spring-time, but I am not quite sure -that he does this.” - -“Where are all the insects in winter, Uncle George?” asked Frank. - -“Well, most of them are buried deep in the ground. Some of them are -tucked up in warm cases, and hidden in the chinks of trees and walls.” - -“Then why don’t the birds that feed on insects search those trees and -walls for them,” Frank asked. - -“So the birds do, but the sleeping insects are very hard to find. The -cases which hold them are often coloured exactly like the tree or wall -which they are fixed to; so that even the sharp eyes of a hungry bird -cannot see them.” - - - Exercises on Lesson I. - - 1. Write out the names of all the wild birds you have seen. - 2. Some of these we do not see in winter. How is this? - 3. Why should we remember the birds in winter-time? - 4. Describe the robin. How does he differ from the bullfinch? - - - - - II.—SEED-EATERS AND INSECT-EATERS. - - -The snow did not go away for some days. While it lasted, Frank and Tom -watched the birds very closely. They learned many new and curious things -about them. - -The sparrows and robins had grown so tame that they would fly right up -to the window-sill, and eat the crumbs and seeds that were placed there -for them; while the tomtits paid great attention to the little net bag -that hung quite close to the window. So long as they stood back a short -distance from the window, the two boys could watch the funny tricks of -these hungry little visitors. - -Amongst other things, they learned to tell a seed-eating bird from one -that feeds on insects. - - [Illustration: Tomtits.] - -Seed-eating birds, as their uncle told them, have short, stout, hard -bills, just the thing for shelling seeds. The insect-eaters have longer -and more slender bills; while birds that live upon both seeds and -insects have bills hard enough to shell seeds and yet long and sharp -enough to pick insects out of their hiding-places. - -So many birds came to the feast, that Uncle George cleared the snow from -another part of the lawn and spread some dry ashes upon it. Upon one -patch he scattered seeds and crumbs, and on the other he placed a large -flat dish. - -In this dish were put all sorts of waste scraps from the kitchen, such -as bones, potatoes, and pieces of meat. Uncle George did this so that -the boys could tell flesh-eating birds from those that lived upon seeds. - - [Illustration: Starling.] - -The starlings came to the dish first, and fought among themselves for -the food, although there was much more than enough for them all. - -Then came a few rooks, who walked about the dish in quite a lordly way. -Every now and again one of them would seize a huge crust of bread or a -potato in his clumsy bill and fly with it a short distance away. The -starlings, thrushes, and blackbirds hopped nimbly about, picking up a -choice morsel here and there. - -The new patch was often crowded with finches of all kinds. The boys -noticed that many of the birds fed at both places. Among these were -sparrows, robins, chaffinches, thrushes, and starlings. These birds, -their uncle explained to them, fed on a mixed food of insects, seeds, -and fruits. - -It amused them very much to watch how the rooks and jackdaws always -dragged the food away from the dish, as if they were stealing it; while -now and then a blackbird would fly away with a loud chatter, as if he -had been suddenly found out whilst doing something very wrong. - -“These birds,” said Uncle George, “are looked upon as enemies by farmers -and gardeners. They are scared out of our fields and gardens by every -possible means. That is what makes them steal even the food that is -given to them.” - - [Illustration: Rook.] - -“But they pick the newly-sown seeds out of the ground, and steal the -fruit when it is ripe,” said Frank. “That is what the gardener says.” - -“If the gardener only knew how much they help him, by eating up the -grubs and beetles that damage his plants, he would not grudge them a few -seeds and berries, Frank,” Uncle George replied. “The rook is one of the -farmer’s best friends; and if it were not for thrushes, starlings, -blackbirds, and such insect-eating birds, our gardens would be overrun -with insects. If these insects were allowed to increase, we should not -be able to grow anything. Even the sparrow is the gardener’s friend. He -eats the caterpillars that would spoil our fruit trees and bushes.” - - - Exercises on Lesson II. - - 1. Why do we put out suet and scraps of meat for certain birds in - winter? - 2. How can you tell a flesh-eating from an insect-eating bird? - 3. Write down the names of all the birds which belong to the crow - family. - 4. What makes the jackdaw steal all his food? - 5. Why are jackdaws, rooks, sparrows, starlings, and blackbirds said - to be “the farmer’s friends”? - - - - - III.—BUDS. - - -Uncle George and the two boys had been for a long walk. They brought -home a lot of twigs which they had cut from trees at the roadside. - -Uncle George placed some of these twigs in bottles filled with water. -These bottles were placed in the window, so that they could get plenty -of sunlight. The rest of the twigs were laid upon the table. - -“Now, boys,” said Uncle George, “we are going to find out what buds are. -Here is a twig of the horse-chestnut tree, and here is one of the beech -tree. Do you notice any difference between them?” - -“Oh, yes,” said Frank, “they are very different. The beech buds are -longer.” - -“Anything else?” his uncle asked. - -“The horse-chestnut buds have sticky stuff all over them,” said Tom. - -“Quite right,” said Uncle George. “On the beech twig the buds are placed -singly on opposite sides. On the horse-chestnut twig the buds are in -pairs.” - -Then Uncle George cut one of the buds through with his knife, and they -saw that a great number of thick scales were folded round a little green -thing in the centre. They saw also a mass of woolly stuff between the -scales and the little green object. - -Uncle George gave each of the boys a twig, and showed them how to take -the scales off the top bud with a large needle. The outside scales were -not easily removed. They were so sticky—they stuck to everything that -touched them, and soon the boys’ fingers were covered with the sticky -stuff. As they went on with their work, they found out that the inner -scales were not sticky. At last they got all the scales off, and there -was nothing left but a tiny woolly mass. On teasing out, this woolly -bundle was found to be a little branch bearing small leaves. Every part -of it was covered with wool. - - [Illustration: Twigs of Beech and Chestnut, showing Buds.] - -“Now,” said Uncle George, “you can perhaps tell me what a bud is.” - -“It is just a little baby branch, snugly tucked up in a tiny blanket and -well covered over with many scale-leaves,” said Frank. - -“Very good,” said Uncle George. “Now tell me why it is tucked up in this -warm blanket, and perhaps Tom can tell us what the sticky stuff on the -outer scales is for.” - -“I am sure I cannot tell,” said Frank. - -“Just think,” said his uncle kindly. “Why did you call it a _baby_ -branch? Is it because it is so small, or because it is so snugly wrapped -up? Why are babies wrapped up in soft warm clothing?” - -“Oh, I know now,” said Frank, “The woolly stuff is to keep out the -winter cold.” - -“And the sticky stuff on the outside,” said Tom, “must be for keeping -out the rain.” - -“You are both right,” said Uncle George. “Buds are formed in autumn and -early winter. They are, as you have seen, very tender little things. -Frost or wet would kill them. But rolled up in soft woolly clothing, -covered in with many thick scale-leaves, and made quite waterproof by a -thick coat of the sticky stuff, they do not fear the cold. - -“If you look at your twigs again, you will find that in taking off the -scales you have left a thick ring of marks right round the twig. - -“Now, if you look down the twig, you will notice another ring of such -marks. These are the scale-marks of last year’s bud. The part of the -twig in between these two ring marks is a year’s growth.” - -“There is a third ring on mine farther down the stem,” said Frank. - -“Yes, and another farther down still,” said Uncle George. “These are the -bud marks of former years. Let us measure the distance between them, for -in this way we can tell the kind of summers we have had in past years. - - [Illustration: Hedge and Trees in early Spring] - - [Illustration: Plants protected by Thorns and Prickles] - -“Last year’s growth, you see, is two inches. The growth of the year -before is three inches, and the one beneath that is four and a half -inches. This tells us that there was very little sunshine during last -summer or the summer before, and that three years ago there was a warm -summer, causing much growth.” - -“I see some other strange marks on the twig,” said Tom. - -“Oh, you mean the horse-shoe marks. These are the scars left by the big -green leaves which fell off in autumn. You will find one of these -curious horse-shoe marks under each bud. - - [Illustration: Hawthorn Twigs.] - -“Here is a hawthorn twig. I brought it to let you see another way in -which plants protect their buds. In the hawthorn the buds usually occur -in pairs together. Between each pair of buds there is a long sharp -thorn. - -“The reason why every pair of buds is guarded in this way is very clear. -The horse-chestnut and beech have tall, stout stems, which rear up their -branches far out of the reach of grazing animals. The hawthorn is a low -growing tree. Its branches are within easy reach, and its tender buds -would be nipped off by sheep and cattle if it were not for these sharp -thorns. - -“The thorns also prevent the buds from being knocked off by anything -rubbing against the hawthorn hedge. You will notice that each thorn is -very much longer than the buds beside it. These thorns can give a very -cruel prick, as every boy knows who has tried to cut a twig from the -hawthorn hedge. - -“By and by we shall see that there are many plants which arm themselves -against animals in this way.” - - - Exercises on Lesson III. - - 1. Take in twigs with buds on them in December. Place them in water, - and watch them from day to day. - 2. Select one bud, and make a drawing of it every third day from the - time it begins to open. Keep your drawings. - 3. How are buds protected? (1) from cold; (2) from animals. - 4. What causes the “horse-shoe” marks on horse-chestnut twigs? - 5. Make a drawing of a small beech twig, showing buds and leaf-scars. - - - - - IV.—A BABY PLANT. - - -“To-day,” said Uncle George, “we are going to try to find out something -about seeds.” And he placed upon the table a saucerful of beans which -had been soaking in water for two days. - -“First let us look at the seeds as they are when we get them from the -shop,” he said, laying a handful of hard, wrinkled beans upon the table. - -“They are as hard as stones, and very much smaller than those we -soaked,” said Frank. - -“Yes, that is one thing we have learned about them already. Seeds take -in water and swell greatly.” As he spoke, Uncle George gave Frank, Tom, -and Dolly each a small knife and a needle mounted in a handle. He then -laid a small magnifying glass on the table. - -“Take a soaked bean and look at it well,” he said. “First we will look -at the outside of it, then we will see what it has inside.” - -“My bean is covered all over with a smooth skin,” said Dolly. - -“And there is a long black mark on one side of it,” Tom added. - -“Come on, Frank,” said his uncle, “haven’t you got something to say.” - -“It is sort of kidney-shaped,” said Frank. - -“Nothing more?” - -Frank shook his head. - -“Squeeze it,” said Uncle George, “and tell me what you see.” - -“Oh, there is water oozing out of a little hole at the end of the black -mark,” said Frank. - -“That shows us that the seed is not quite covered by its skin,” said -their uncle. “That little hole is there to allow a tiny root to grow -out. - -“Now let us remove the skin, or skins rather, for there are two of them. -Begin as far away from the black mark as you can. You see that the outer -skin is tough like leather, while the inner one is soft and silky. Now, -if you pull the skins off gently, you will find something like a stout -little root pointing towards the little hole you have already noticed. -If you look at the edge of the seed you will notice a thin line or -crack. Putting the knife into this crack, we find that the seed consists -chiefly of two large, flat, white parts or lobes, with a very small -object in between them. Let us remove one of these white masses, and -have a look at this small object with the glass.” - - [Illustration: Seed of Runner Bean. - (1) outside; (2) inside; (3) baby plant, enlarged. - _a_, shoot; _b_, root; _c_, seed coat or skin; _d_, junction of - seed-leaves.] - -Each of the children had a look through the glass in turn. - -“Why,” said Tom, “it is very like what we found inside the -horse-chestnut bud. I can see two tiny leaves.” - -“Remove the little object on the point of your needle and look at it -again,” said Uncle George. “It has got something that your little -horse-chestnut shoot did not have, I think.” - -“There is a little thing like a root,” said Tom. - -“It is a little plant with a very fat little root,” said Frank. - -“That is just what it is,” said his uncle. - -“Has every seed got a little plant inside it, Uncle George?” Dolly -asked. - -“Every seed, Dolly, no matter how small.” - -Uncle George split up one of the hard seeds that had not been soaked, -and showed them a little plant of the same kind inside; but it was so -hard and brittle that he could crumble it up into powder between his -fingers. - -“And what are the two large white lobes for?” asked Frank. - -“These are the seed-leaves. They are stores of plant-food. The young -plant is fed by these until its root grows far down into the soil and -its shoot grows high up into the air—until it is old enough and strong -enough to find food for itself, in fact. - -“In the bud, the little shoot is fed by the sap of the mother-plant. -Here, in the seed, we have a baby plant wrapped up in two coats, one -thick and leathery and the other soft and warm; and, in place of a large -feeding-bottle, there are two huge masses of plant-food wrapped up with -it.” - -“Why do we put seeds in the ground to make them grow?” asked Frank. - -“A seed requires three things to make it grow. These three things -are—_water_, _air_, and _warmth_. We can grow seeds without soil at all -if we give them these three things. But if either water, air, or warmth -be wanting, your seeds cannot grow.” - -“That is why seeds won’t grow outside in winter, then,” said Frank. - -“That is the reason,” his uncle answered. “In winter there is not enough -heat to make seeds grow. If you sow seeds in a pot of dry soil in -summer, and do not give them water, they will not grow.” - -“I think a seed is a most wonderful thing,” said Tom. - -“It is,” said Uncle George, “wonderful indeed. The most wonderful thing -about it is that there is life in it—sleeping life, awaiting these three -things I have told you about. - -“Dried up, and as hard as a stone, it will keep for years; but when air, -warmth, and moisture are given it, it springs into life and becomes a -plant, which grows, produces seeds, and dies. - -“Now, we will plant the rest of the soaked beans—not in ground, for I -want to let you see that the seed-leaves contain far more food than the -tiny plant requires to feed it until it is old enough to take care of -itself. - -“We will plant these seeds in damp sawdust, from which they can get no -food. We will see that they get water, air, and warmth, but no food -except what is in the big seed-leaves.” - -Uncle George then got a box filled with sawdust, and placed the beans in -it. He arranged them in different ways. Some beans he placed edgeways, -others longways, others lying on their sides. - -“I am doing this,” he said, “to show you that, no matter how a seed -happens to lie in the soil, its root will always grow down and its shoot -will always grow up.” - -He then covered them up with a thin layer of sawdust, and placed the box -in a warm corner of the kitchen. The boys promised to water the seeds -every day, and to watch them as they grew. - - - Exercises on Lesson IV. - - 1. Soak some seeds of broad bean (or pea) and maize (or wheat) for - twenty-four hours. Plant some in damp sawdust. - 2. What do you see when you open a bean seed? - 3. Pick off the little baby plant, and try to draw it big. - 4. Cut down through the centre (flat side) of a maize seed. Try to - make out the little seed plant and the food store. - 5. Every third day dig up a growing seed and draw it. Put the date - beneath each drawing. Keep your drawings carefully. - - - - - V.—HOW A PLANT GROWS. - - -Every day the boys watched their buds and seeds bursting into life. - -It was slow work; but, as winter passed slowly away and they were able -to go out for walks more often, they had much to amuse them. They -brought home all sorts of curious things, and soon had quite a host of -living things to watch. - - [Illustration: Four Stages in the opening of Horse-Chestnut Buds.] - -Three weeks passed before the horse-chestnut buds showed any signs of -opening. By this time they had swelled out very much. First the sticky -scales moved apart, then folded themselves backwards out of the way, and -at last fell off altogether. - -This moving apart of the scales was caused by the shoot or branch inside -the bud, which was growing rapidly. - -Before the scales fell off, it had burst its way through them. It was -now a large mass of thick leaves all folded together, and covered all -over with a sort of wool. - -Soon these thick leaves moved apart, the woolly covering came off, and -what a month ago was a little woolly body, so tiny that it had to be -picked apart with a needle, was now a large stout branch, smooth and -green, and bearing beautiful broad leaves. - -Some of the buds brought forth small clusters of little green balls. -These the boys at first thought were berries, but they afterwards found -out that they were flowers. - -After all the buds had quite opened out, they began slowly to wither. -Uncle George told them the reason of this. It was because the branch had -been cut away from the mother-tree, which drew its food from the soil -and air. - -The growing buds had used up all the sap which the cut branch contained. - -But by the time their twigs had withered, the buds outside had began to -open—for spring was now at hand. - -The hedges were becoming greener every day. The birds were heard singing -in the woods, and little green shoots were springing up everywhere under -foot. - -Frank and Tom brought home opening buds of all kinds, and watched the -hedges and trees as they walked daily to school. - -Two of the bean seeds were dug up out of the sawdust every second or -third day. In this way the boys were able to see exactly how a bean -plant grows from seed. - - [Illustration: Stages in the Germination of the Runner Bean. - In 1 and 4, inside of seed, growing baby plant is shown.] - -First the seed swells out; then the skin bursts, and the little plant in -between the two masses of plant-food begins to grow. - -The root always grows down straight. The little shoot always grows -upwards. - -After the root has grown about an inch it begins to branch; and in about -two weeks these branch branch-roots are searching the soil for food all -around the main root. - -The shoot meanwhile is growing in length and thickness. It remains -folded up until it reaches the air and light. Then its leaves open out -and turn from a creamy colour to bright green. - -One small box of seeds was placed in a dark cupboard. These beans grew -much more quickly than those grown in the light; but they were pale, -lank, and sickly. They never turned green. - -From this the boys learned that the green colour of leaves and stems is -due to the action of light. - -Uncle George took a few grains of wheat and placed them upon wet -blotting-paper. A tumbler turned upside down was placed over them. - -In a few days the children saw that a few small roots had grown out from -the end of each grain. - -When these roots had grown to about half an inch in length, great tufts -of long slender hairs sprang out all round them near their tips. These, -their uncle told them, were “root-hairs.” - -The root-hairs of a plant are so fine that they are always torn off when -we dig or pull a plant out of the ground. It is by means of these -slender root-hairs that the plant is able to suck water out of the soil; -and this water always contains a very little plant-food in it. - -The boys noticed that the wheat grain did not sprout in the same way as -the bean seed. Instead of one stout little root, three usually came out. -The tiny shoot seemed to grow from the _outside_ of the grain, and the -two large masses of plant-food were missing. - - [Illustration: Stages in the Germination of Wheat.] - -Some wheat seeds were soaked and cut down the middle. With the aid of -the glass, the boys saw that in the wheat seed the baby plant is -attached to _one_ large mass of plant-food, made up of flour with an -outside layer of bran. - -Their uncle then told them that all the flowering plants in the world -are of two great families, namely, those whose seeds have only one food -store, like the wheat grain, and those whose seeds have two, like the -bean. - - - Exercises on Lesson V. - - 1. Explain all that happens when a horse-chestnut bud opens. - 2. Why do the buds which you force indoors wither after they open? - 3. What changes come over your bean seeds as they grow? - 4. Do the young plants draw any food from the sawdust? If not, what - feeds them? - 5. What three things does a seed need in order to start growing? - - [Illustration] - - 1. Magnified sections of Maize and Wheat Seeds, showing Young Plant, - Food Store, etc. - 2. Germination of Maize. - 3. Maize growing in Sawdust. - 4. Maize growing in Tap Water. - 5. Bean growing in Bottle over Water. - - - - - VI.—MORE ABOUT SEEDS. - - -It was raining in torrents outside, and the boys were a little upset -inside, for it was Saturday. They always looked forward to Saturday, for -it was their great rambling day. - -“I’m afraid we can’t get out to-day,” said Frank, sadly. - -“I’m afraid not,” said his uncle. “But that is no reason why we should -sulk. We have those maize seeds to look over, you know, and by the time -we have done that perhaps the rain will have stopped.” - -While Frank and Tom were bringing the boxes of seeds, Uncle George and -Dolly were busy getting out knives, glasses, mounted needles, and the -books they made their notes and sketches in. - -There were four small boxes in all. Each box had been sown with maize or -Indian corn at times a week apart, so that the plants in one box were -five weeks old, in the next four weeks old, and so on. - -“We will begin as we did with the bean. Let us cut the seed open first.” -As he spoke, Uncle George laid some soaked maize seeds on the table. - -“If you look at these seeds carefully, you will notice a large mark on -one of the flat sides of each.” - -“I see it,” said Frank. “It is shaped something like a cone, and its -broad end is at the narrow end of the seed.” - -“It is lighter in colour than the rest of the seed,” said Tom. - -“You are both right,” said their uncle. “Now I want you to cut the seed -longways, right down through the middle of that mark. Then use your -glass, and tell me what you see. - -“Look closely,” said Uncle George, “first into one half and then into -the other.” - -“Oh, I see something like a tiny plant,” said Tom. “It is shut off from -a great mass of what looks like plant-food, just like our wheat grains.” - -Tom made a rough sketch of it, and showed it to his uncle. - -“That is the baby plant, and the great mass above it is plant-food,” -said his uncle. - -“Come on, Frank. Don’t let Tom do all the finding out. What have you to -say?” - -“The maize seed has only one mass of plant-food, and it does not seem to -have two seed coats like the bean,” Tom replied. - -“You are right,” said Uncle George; “but if you look again you will see -that there is a thick layer of food stuff outside, which is of a -different colour from the rest. - -“This is like the bran layer which is round the food store in the wheat -grain. - -“This food store is starch, or, as we call it, _flour_. - -“Now, let us look at the growing seeds. We will take a few seeds out of -each box and see how they differ. - -“The seeds in this box, the last sown, are just a week old. You see the -root and shoot are just beginning to show. - -“Make a sketch, drawing it as large as you can, and write under it, -‘Maize seed after a week’s growth.’ - -“Do the same with a seed from each of the other three boxes, and when -you have drawn them all, tell me of any differences you notice between -the growth of maize and that of the bean.” - -“They do not grow in the same way at all,” said Frank, as he drew his -last sketch. “In the maize seed the baby plant seems to be stuck on to -one of the flat sides of the seed.” - -“What about the roots, Frank?” - -“Oh yes, I see that,” Frank went on. “The root branches out all at once -in the maize seed. In some of these seeds the main root has scarcely -grown at all. Their roots are all branch-roots.” - -“And, in the oldest plants, one great leaf rolls round the shoot and -hides it,” said Tom. “In the bean shoot we saw two leaves quite -plainly.” - -“Quite right, Tom. Now, boys, compare your drawings with those you made -of the bean. I will grow a maize and a bean seed together, so that you -can watch the growth of both, and compare them day by day.” - -Uncle George then got an empty pickle bottle, and poured some water into -it. Then he took a soaked bean seed, and, having run a thread through it -with a needle, he hung it inside the bottle. He then corked the bottle, -and placed it in the window. - -He next took an old lamp chimney, and made a roll of blotting-paper to -fit the inside of it. This roll of paper was stuffed with moss. A few -maize seeds were pushed in between the glass and the paper, and the lamp -chimney was placed in a saucerful of water in the window. - - [Illustration: Plants that grow like Maize. - These plants have but one food mass in each of their seeds.] - - [Illustration: The Horse Pond in Spring.] - -“Now, boys,” said Uncle George, “I want you to watch these seeds every -day. If you do so, you will learn how a seed grows into a plant; and you -will learn this not from me, but from the plant itself.” - -Uncle George filled a wide bottle with water from the tap, and fixed one -of the five-week-old maize plants in it by means of a split cork. - -“I want you to watch this plant growing,” he said, as he placed the -bottle in the window. “You ought to draw it once a week. Most people -think that plants draw their food chiefly from the soil. This is a great -mistake. - -“Plants take most of their food from the air, as you will see if you -watch the growth of this plant. Of course, it has a good food store in -the seed; but I think you will be surprised at the growth it makes from -that food store, the bottle of tap water, and the air.” - - - Exercises on Lesson VI. - - 1. Make sketches of a soaked bean and of a soaked maize seed. - 2. Place a few beans (or peas) and a few maize (or wheat) seeds in a - box of damp sawdust. Water regularly. After a week dig up a - seed of each and draw them. - 3. Dig up a seed of each at intervals of two weeks, three weeks, and - four weeks; draw and compare them. - 4. Sow in a box of sawdust a few of each of the following—date stones, - orange pips, walnuts, chestnuts. Keep the box in a _warm_ - place, and watch how these seeds grow. - - - - - VII.—THE HORSE POND IN SPRING. - - -When Frank and Tom came home from school one afternoon, they found their -uncle very busy finishing a net he had made of green gauze. - -It had the shape of a shallow bag, and was fixed to a stout wire ring. -This ring was fastened to a walking-stick with a piece of strong string. - -On the table there were three wide glass jars, each with a piece of cord -tied round the neck to serve as a handle. - -“Now,” said Uncle George, as he finished tying the net to the stick, -“now we are all ready for a visit to that pond of yours.” - - [Illustration: Pond-Net and Glass Jars.] - -The pond was about half a mile away, in the corner of a field near a -wood. A small stream ran out of it, and joined a larger one a short -distance away. The last time the boys had seen this pond it was covered -with ice, and they had a merry time skating upon it. When they reached -it on this afternoon, it looked quite different. The grass around its -banks was fresh and green, and rushes were peeping up through the water. - -“Listen!” said Uncle George. - -“_Croak, croak, cr-roak_” came from beyond the rushes, while here and -there a little head would bob up and down in the water. - - [Illustration: Frog and Spawn in Water.] - -“Frogs!” said Frank. - -Uncle George nodded, and, stepping to the edge of the pond, he pulled -the net out, and with it a large mass of what looked like clear jelly, -having a large number of black dots in it. - -“Bring the largest jar, Tom,” he said, “we are going to take this home.” - -“What is it, Uncle George?” both boys asked at once. - -“It is a mass of frog’s eggs, called the spawn of the frog,” their uncle -replied. “Now, Frank, hold the jar over the water while I try to pour it -in.” - -It was no easy matter getting it into the jar. It fell back into the -pond several times before it was at last got in the jar. - -“There,” said Uncle George, as he placed the jar, now filled with frog -spawn, upon the bank. “Now, let us go to another part of the pond and -look for something else. - -“Keep quite still and look into the water. That is the only way to study -pond life. If you move about you will see very little. Now tell me if -you see anything moving at the bottom of the pond.” - -“I see things like little pieces of stick moving slowly about,” said Tom -in a whisper; “but perhaps it is the water that is moving them.” - -“Not a bit of it,” said Uncle George. “They are not pieces of stick. -There is a living creature inside each of them. We must have some of -them, Tom. They are very interesting creatures.” And Uncle George put -his hand carefully down and picked several of them up. - -“These are caddis ‘worms,’” said Uncle George. He placed them in the -second jar, and filled it up with water. - -Tom then saw that each of the “sticks” was really a little house, in -which was an insect of some sort. - -The cases were built of all kinds of odds and ends, glued together by -the clever creatures that lived inside them. - -Some were built of little pieces of rush or water-weed, others of tiny -shells, and others of very small stones. - -Each case was open at one end, and from this end the little dweller came -almost half-way out. They could see his head, his legs, and the fore -part of his body as he moved along, dragging his little house after him. - -“Uncle George, come here please,” Frank shouted from the other side of -the pond. “Oh, such a funny animal—a fish with legs.” - -“A fish with legs?” said Uncle George, laughing. “Oh, we must come and -see that.” - -“Why, that isn’t a fish, Frank. It is a newt.” And Uncle George put in -the net to catch him. But the creature was too quick for him. It darted -out of sight. - -“Here are two others. Oh, such big ones,” said Tom, in a loud whisper. - -This time Uncle George was luckier. When he drew up the net there were -two large creatures like lizards in it. - -“This is a lucky find, boys,” said their uncle. “Great crested newts, -and what beauties they are!” - -The boys were surprised to see him take one of the newts out of the net -in his hand. He turned them over and looked at them closely before -putting them into the jar. - -“Aren’t you afraid they will bite you, Uncle George?” Tom asked. - -“No, they cannot bite, and for a very good reason. They have got no -teeth. They are most harmless creatures. - -“But we must be getting home, boys. We have done well for our first -visit to the pond. I will tell you all about what we have found when we -get home, and you must watch them closely for yourselves.” - -“Are we going to keep all these animals?” Frank asked. - -“We will keep them for a little while, so as to find out what we can -about them, then we will put them in the pond again.” - - - Exercises on Lesson VII. - - 1. What did the boys find in the pond? - 2. What other living things may be seen in ponds? Make a list of all - the pond creatures you know. - 3. Why do caddis “worms” build cases round themselves? - 4. Can newts bite? Give reason. - - - - - VIII.—UNCLE GEORGE’S TANK. - - -Uncle George’s tank was very simple. It was made up of several large -glass bells, such as the gardener uses for covering tender plants. - - [Illustration: Uncle George’s Aquarium.] - -Each glass bell had a nob on the end of it. Uncle George got a large -block of wood for each bell-jar. This block he hollowed out with a -chisel. - -He next bored a large hole in the centre of the hollow to hold the nob. -Then he cut a piece of thick green cloth into a round shape, with a hole -in its centre. - -This piece of cloth was placed over the hollowed out part of the block, -and the bell-jar, turned upside down, was placed in the block so that -the glass nob fitted into the hole. - -Uncle George fitted up four of these tanks and filled them with fresh -water. The frog spawn was put into the first vessel. The next was for -the newts. The third one held the caddis worms and some other curious -creatures that had been found in the ditch. - -In the fourth vessel were half a dozen pretty little fishes called -stickle-backs, which the boys had caught in the brook. - -Some water weeds and a few water snails or whelks were put into each -vessel, except that with the frog spawn in it. - -Every other morning Uncle George changed the water by means of a tube -which he called a siphon. - -This was a piece of lead pipe, about two feet long, and bent in the -middle into the form of the letter U. - -“The water weeds are very pretty,” said Frank. - -“They are,” replied his uncle, “and they are also very useful. They help -to keep the water pure. I should have to change the water every day if -there were no weeds in it. - - [Illustration: Stickle-backs, Pond Weed, etc., in Aquarium.] - -“The whelks also are most useful. They are the road-men of our ponds and -streams. They eat up all the waste matter, and so keep the water clean -and healthy.” - -It was great fun feeding those little fishes. They were fed sometimes on -raw meat chopped very fine, sometimes on little pieces of biscuit. At -first they were very shy, but they soon got over that. In less than a -week they were quite at home, and would come up to the top of the water -and take tiny pieces of beef from the boys’ fingers. - -They would swim after Frank’s finger as he drew it round the tank, and -would even leap out of the water for food that was held out to them. - -At times they darted about as if playing “hide and seek” among the water -weeds. - -By and by the boys noticed that every time one of the little fish darted -at another, the three cruel spines rose up on his back, and that he was -really trying to spear his neighbour. - -One morning a dead stickle-back was found in the bottom of the tank. A -few days later another little fish was picked out pale and stiff. - -“They are killing one another,” said Frank. “What shall we do?” - -“If any more of this fighting goes on we shall have to put them back -into the brook,” said Uncle George. - -“Do they always fight?” - -“No, not always—only in spring-time when they are mating. Look! there is -one of them getting very pretty. He is the victor—the bully of the -pool.” - -“Let us call him _Bully_,” said Dolly; “he is bigger than the others, -and oh, so much more beautiful.” - -Next day another stickle-back was found dead, and Bully’s colours were -much brighter. He darted about as if the whole tank belonged to him. - -He was really a lovely fish now, and he seemed to know it by the proud -way in which he dashed about, showing off his fine slender body all -shiny with crimson, blue, and gold. He was, as Dolly said, “Just like a -little bit of rainbow.” - -But before the evening a very curious thing took place. Bully seemed to -have suddenly lost all his fine colours; and instead of swimming proudly -at the top of the tank, he slunk sulky to the bottom. - -The strange thing was that _another_ stickle-back—a smaller fish than -Bully—was now brightly coloured, and seemed to be lord of the tank. - -“Bully has been beaten,” said Uncle George, “and his victor has taken -not only the courage but the colour out of him.” - -“It serves him right, I think, for being so proud and so cruel. But what -is the meaning of all this fighting and change of colours, Uncle -George?” - -“Oh, it is very simple, Frank. There is a lady stickle-back in the -question; and, like the brave knights of old, our little stickle-backs -are trying to win her by fighting. - -“The victor will marry her. They will build a neat little nest for -themselves, and live happily together. - -“To-morrow we will take them back to the brook, where the weak ones will -be better able to escape. - -“In June we will visit the brook. If we are lucky enough to find one of -their nests, you will see that after Lady Stickle-back lays her tiny -eggs in it, her little husband guards the home night and day. - -“When the family are hatching out, the plucky little stickle-back -bravely defends the nest. - -“He drives away water-beetles, perch, and other fishes much larger than -himself. For well he knows that these visitors would quickly gobble up -his darlings if they got the chance.” - - [Illustration: Stickle-backs and Nest.] - - - Exercises on Lesson VIII. - - 1. What is an aquarium? - 2. Why are water weeds and water snails put into an aquarium? - 3. How do you feed small fish? Why should you be careful not to put in - more than the fishes can eat? - 4. Where does the stickle-back lay its eggs? - - - - - IX.—TADPOLES. - - -The frog spawn, when first put into the big glass bell, was just a mass -of jelly-like stuff studded all over with black dots. - -When looked at closely, it was seen to consist of many round, clear -eggs. Each egg was surrounded by a thin skin, and had, in its centre, a -little round black ball or yolk. - -At the end of a week all these black yolks had lost their round shape. -They were now long and oval. During the next four days these oval yolks -became little moving animals, each having a head, body, and tail, but no -limbs. - -From the head of each there grew out two pairs of feathery objects. -These, Uncle George told the boys, were gills or breathing organs. Soon -another pair of these feathery gills appeared: so that each little -creature had now three on each side of his head. - -By the end of the second week the little creatures had all wriggled out -of the eggs. They hung together by their feathery gills in little black -groups. - -“What shall we feed them on?” Frank asked his uncle. - -“They are not at all nice in their tastes,” Uncle George replied. “They -will eat almost anything, from water weeds up to drowned kittens. If -they get nothing else, they will eat one another, and not mind it a -bit.” - -“How dreadful,” said Frank. “Hadn’t we better give them something to eat -now, for fear they may eat each other up.” - -“It wouldn’t do much good giving them anything to eat now, for they have -_no mouths_.” - - [Illustration: The Development of the Tadpole. - 1. Portion of Frog Spawn. 2. Same after ten days. 3. A Newly-Hatched - Tadpole. The remaining figures show the same Tadpole at (4) one week; -(5) three weeks; (6) seven weeks; (7) eleven weeks; (8) thirteen weeks; - and (9) fourteen weeks after hatching.] - -“No mouths, Uncle George?” - -“No mouths,” Uncle George repeated. “Is it not curious? For four days -the tadpole, or young frog, has no mouth, and yet during that time he -grows a great deal. - -“Four days after he leaves the egg his mouth appears. It is a very small -mouth, fringed with frilled, fleshy lips. These lips are moved by a pair -of strong, horny jaws. This mouth is very different from the wide, -gaping mouth of the frog.” - -Just as Uncle George had said, the tadpoles ate nothing for four days. -Then their mouths appeared, and they began to eat the water weeds. But -Uncle George fed them on raw meat. He said it made them grow quickly. A -small piece of raw beef, tied to the end of a string, was lowered into -the tank, and the tadpoles swarmed around it. What was left of the beef -was pulled out every morning, and a fresh piece put in. - -By this means the water was kept clean, and had only to be changed once -a week. - -“Why, they have no gills now,” said Frank one day, as he was helping his -uncle to change the water. - -“Oh yes, they have, Frank. They have gills like a fish now. - -“When they are about four weeks old, their feathery gills go away; but, -before this, four gill-slits are formed in each side of the tadpole’s -head.” - -Uncle George took a glass tube about twelve inches long, and placing his -thumb tightly on one end of it, he pushed it down into the water until -the other end was right above a tadpole. - -Then he took his thumb off, and the tadpole and some water shot up the -tube. He then replaced his thumb tightly on the end of the tube, and -lifted it out of the water. - -The tadpole and water remained in the tube as long as he kept his thumb -on the end of it. He emptied the contents of the tube into a little -dish, and Frank looked at the tadpole with a glass. - -“I can’t see the gill-slits,” said Frank. - -“Oh yes, you can, if you look closely. What seems to be a big head is -really head and body covered over by a cloak of skin.” - -“Yes, I see the gills now,” said Frank. “They are red in colour. I also -see the cloak. There is an opening on the left side of it.” - -“That is so,” said his uncle. “That opening is there to let the water -into the gills.” - -At the end of the fifth week, Uncle George took some tadpoles out for -the boys to look at. - -“Do you see any change?” he asked. - -“Yes,” said Tom, “they have two things like hind legs growing out.” - -“These _are_ legs,” his uncle said, “and in two weeks from now these -legs will have movable joints in them.” - -Day by day the tadpoles were carefully watched, and the following -wonderful changes were observed. - -When about seven weeks old, their hind legs became jointed, and long -toes were formed. The tadpoles were now able to kick out and swim by -means of their long hind legs. Their gills went away, and they came to -the surface and took mouthfuls of air. They now had lungs instead of -gills. - -But the most striking change came at the end of the eleventh week. - -One by one they lost the cloak which covered head and body. - -Under this cloak a pair of fore legs had been folded up and hidden for -some time. They were now tiny, wide-mouthed frogs, with long, clumsy -tails. - -The clumsy tails grew smaller and smaller daily. At last there was no -tail left, and what was at one time a cluster of black, wriggling -tadpoles, was now a crowd of lively little dark yellow frogs. - -The boys wished to keep them longer, but their uncle told them that they -could not do this. - -“Your tadpoles are now frogs,” he said. “The frog is an insect eater. As -we cannot give these little frogs their natural food, we must place them -where they can get it for themselves, or they will die.” - -So the frogs were carried back to their native pond. - - - Exercises on Lesson IX. - - 1. What are tadpoles? - 2. How old is the frog before his hind legs appear? - 3. A tadpole seems to be all head and tail. Can you explain this? - 4. How do tadpoles breathe—(1) when they are first hatched? (2) when - they are four weeks old? (3) when they are eleven weeks old? - - [Illustration: Frog, Toad, and Newt—showing Eggs of Toad and Newt, and - Tadpoles of Frog and Toad] - - - - - X.—FROGS, TOADS, AND NEWTS. - - -“I think we had better take our newts back to the pond now, Frank.” - -“Oh, do let us keep them for a day or two longer, Uncle George. They are -getting quite tame.” - -As he spoke, Frank drew his finger slowly round the outside of the glass -vessel that held the newts. One of the creatures swam round, following -his finger. - -“Look, Uncle George! He knows me.” - -“He is hungry, and thinks you ought to have a small worm in your -fingers.” - -“_Thinks?_ Uncle George. Can newts _think_?” - -“It looks as if they could, does it not? We feed these creatures every -day, and they have got into the habit of looking for food every time we -come near them. But here comes Tom with the worms.” - -It was curious to watch how the newt acted when a tiny worm was given -it. At first it seemed not to see the worm, although it was wriggling at -his nose. It crept back slowly about two or three inches, then all at -once it sprang upon the worm and gobbled it up. - -“You must tell us all about the newt, Uncle George,” said Tom. - -“I should like to know how much you two boys have found out by feeding -and watching these two,” said Uncle George. “So just tell me what _you_ -know about the newt first, then perhaps I can tell you some things about -newts, frogs, and toads which you do not know.” - -“Well,” began Tom, “the newt lives in water. He has four feet, with -pretty little toes upon them, and a long tail. He feeds upon worms, -tadpoles, and other small animals, and he swallows them whole, because -he has no teeth. - - [Illustration: Crested Newt, Male and Female.] - -“The male has a huge crest, and is gay with bright colours. - -“The female has no crest. She lays her eggs upon the pond weeds. A -single egg is laid upon a leaf. The leaf is then rolled round it, so as -to hide it from enemies.” - -“Very good, Tom,” said his uncle; “but you have not told us about the -newt’s skin.” - -“Oh, I forgot that,” Tom went on. “The newt has a lovely silky skin, -which it only wears for about a week, then it casts it off. Now, tell us -something more about them, Uncle George.” - -“The newt does not live in the water all the year,” said Uncle George. -“During autumn and winter great families of newts sleep together under -stones and in dry holes in the earth. They only go to the pond in early -spring to lay their eggs.” - -“Do newts ever become frogs or toads?” asked Frank. - -“Oh no, Frank, never. I know what makes you think that. It is because -the young frog, just before he loses his tail, is very like a little -newt. - -“Young newts are tadpoles too, but they differ very much from frog -tadpoles. Newt tadpoles live in the pond for more than a year. They have -feathery outside gills on all that time. Their _fore_ feet are formed -first. If you remember, our frog tadpoles got their hind legs first. - -“Long ago people believed all sorts of absurd things about the poor, -harmless newt. They were afraid to touch it. Every newt found was killed -at once, for it was thought to have a sting and poison bag. Even at the -present day many people believe that newts and toads are dangerous -animals.” - -“How can you tell a toad from a frog, Uncle George,” Tom asked. - -“They are very different from each other, both in shape and in their -ways of living. The toad is a fat, clumsy animal. His skin is dull and -warty. He does not hop, but crawls or walks lazily along. - -“He lives upon flying insects, which he catches with his curious long -tongue. He gets very fat during summer and autumn. - -“Before winter comes on, he looks out a snug hole under a root or stone. -Here he sleeps the whole winter through. - -“In spring he wakes up, lean and hungry, and betakes himself to the -pond. - -“The eggs of the toad are laid in the water in long strings, each like a -double row of beads. They hang gracefully upon the water weeds, and look -very pretty. - -“The toad tadpoles are very like those of the frog. They go through the -same changes. - -“The toad also casts his skin, but he does not throw it away like the -newt. He takes his old, cast-off skin, rolls it up into a neat little -ball, and _swallows it_. - -“The frog’s body is more slender. His skin is slippery. It is not dull -and dingy like that of the toad. It is of a bright greenish yellow -colour, marked with black spots of different sizes. - -[Illustration: 1. Frog. 2. Toad. 3. Frog catching a Fly with its tongue.] - -“The frog can change his colour from light to dark. He has long hind -legs which enable him to hop very high on land and to swim very fast in -the pool. - -“He likes the long, damp grass, where he catches flies, beetles, and -slugs. - -“He sleeps through the winter, buried in the mud at the bottom of the -still pool. - -“Like the toad, the frog catches his prey by means of a long, sticky -tongue, which darts out of his mouth whenever an unlucky insect comes -within reach. - -“His tongue is fixed to the floor of his mouth just at his lower lip. It -is forked at the end. When not in use, it lies folded back inside his -mouth and points down his throat.” - - - Exercises on Lesson X. - - 1. Where are frogs, newts, and toads in winter-time? - 2. How could you tell a toad from a frog? - 3. What is the difference between young newts (tadpoles) and young - frogs (tadpoles)? - 4. Write the life of a frog (or of a toad) as if told by the creature - itself. - - - - - XI.—UNDERGROUND STEMS. - - -Uncle George and his three young pupils had been to the woods. After tea -he opened the metal box which he carried, slung by a strap over his -shoulder, whenever he went out rambling. - -This box had in it a pond-net and a couple of wide bottles. To-night it -was half filled with plants. - -Before laying them on the table, Uncle George washed the soil from their -roots at the tap. - -“Now then,” he said, “let me see how much you remember of our lesson in -the woods. I will begin with Dolly”—and Uncle George held up a lovely -white flower. - -“That,” said little Dolly, “is the _wooden enemy_!” - -Uncle George laughed loudly, and so did the two boys. Dolly laughed -too—she did not quite know why. She was a merry little girl, who laughed -whenever she got the chance. - -“You mean _wood anemone_, dear, don’t you?” said Uncle George, as he -stroked her pretty curly hair. - -“Yes, I _mean_ that, Uncle George; but I can’t say it properly,” said -Dolly, still laughing. - -“Oh yes, you can if you try—wood a-nem´-o-ne. It is easily pronounced. -Now Frank, it is your turn. What is this one with the great number of -yellow petals, the spotted heart-shaped leaves, and the funny fat -roots?” - -“The pilewort, or lesser celandine,” answered Frank. - -“Quite right! Now, Tom, here is one for you. This plant, you see, has -broad kidney-shaped leaves with crimped edges, large yellow flowers, and -a coarse round hollow stem. We found it, if you remember, growing in the -mud at the edge of the brook.” - - [Illustration: Marsh Marigold.] - -“It is the marsh marigold,” said Tom. - -“Very good! Now this one?” - -As he held it up all three answered at once—“The primrose!” - -“We found this one also growing at the edge of the brook.” As he spoke, -Uncle George held out a very pretty plant. Its flowers were of a pale -pinkish blue colour. They were shaped like the flowers of the -wallflower, but were smaller. The flowers were borne up upon a long -stalk which sprang from a rosette of pretty little leaves. - -“It is the _lady’s smock_,” said Dolly; “I remembered that one because -it is so pretty.” - -“Well done, Dolly!” said her uncle proudly. “Now, I think we have quite -enough to go on with. Let us take these up one by one and examine and -draw parts of them. First take the wood anemone. What do you call this?” - -Uncle George pointed to the stout part of the plant that had been in the -ground. - -“The root,” said Frank. - -“No, Frank!” his uncle replied. “But that is what I thought you would -say. Now, tell us why you think it is the root.” - -“Because it grows under ground.” - -“But roots do not have buds upon them, Frank: and see! flower-stalk and -leaf-stalk spring from it, while fibrous, or string like, roots hang -down from it.” - -“It must be a stem, then,” Frank ventured. - -“It _is_ the stem,” said his uncle. “We have already seen that the -creeping crowfoot and ground ivy have stems that creep along on the -surface of the ground. - -“Many plants have stems which creep along under ground. This is an -underground stem; and this is another.” Here he pointed to the primrose. - -“Why, I always thought that that pink thing was the root of the -primrose,” said Frank; “but I see now that it is really more like a -stem. It has marks upon it like scars.” - - [Illustration: Plants with Underground Stems] - - [Illustration] - - 1. Caterpillar, Pupa, and perfect Insect of Tiger Moth - 2. Caterpillar, Pupa, and perfect Insect of Magpie Moth - 3. White (Cabbage) Butterfly, Male and Female, with Caterpillar and - Pupa - -“These are marks where leaves once grew upon it,” his uncle remarked. -“Notice that the primrose leaves form a rosette on the top of this -underground stem.” - -“Is there any reason for these plants having their stems under ground?” -Tom asked. - -“There is a reason for everything in nature, my boy. Can’t you see any -reason for this yourself?” - -“I see one, I think,” said Frank; “it enables the plant to creep out to -new soil.” - -“That is one very good reason, Frank. Now, why should it seek other -soil?” - -“For food!” - -“That is right, Frank. Those plants which have underground stems seem to -die down every autumn; but they are alive all the time under ground, -safe from the frosts and bitter winds which kill tender plants. And they -peep up in a new place in spring. - - [Illustration: Anemone.] - -“Now I want you to tell me why these underground stems are swollen out -so. It cannot be for strength, for creeping stems don’t require to be -strong. - -“Fetch me a raw potato, Tom, please! - -“Now,” Uncle George continued, “tell me what this potato is.” - -“It is an underground stem,” said Frank. - -“Yes! Why is it swollen? What do we use the potato for?” - -“For food. Oh, I know,” said Frank, “it is a food store.” - - [Illustration: Primrose.] - - [Illustration: Pilewort, showing Roots.] - -“Of course,” said his uncle. “It is a supply of food gathered up this -year for next year’s plant. Look at the roots of the lesser celandine. I -see Tom has drawn them. They are swollen. Are they roots, or underground -stems?” - -“They have neither leaf marks on them, nor buds,” said Frank, “I think -they must be roots.” - -“They _are_ roots,” said Uncle George, “but they are food supplies all -the same. - -“There are other underground stems that grow quickly. Good examples of -these are mint, couch grass, and sand sedge. The underground stems of -these plants grow so fast that they are always occupying new ground. -They have therefore no need to store up a food supply like their slower -growing neighbours the primrose, potato, anemone, iris, and many -others.” - - - Exercises on Lesson XI. - - 1. Dig up a primrose plant, and make a rough sketch showing - underground stem, roots, and leaves. - 2. An underground stem may be of use to a plant in three different - ways. Can you name them? - 3. There are two distinct kinds of underground stems—those that grow - quickly and those that grow slowly. Name three of each kind, - and tell how they differ in shape. - 4. Compare a potato with a horse-chestnut twig. Supposing your twig to - be swollen out with plant-food, what parts of it do the “eyes” - of the potato represent? What do the {scars/marks} near the - “eyes” represent? - - - - - XII.—CATERPILLARS. - - -“We found these upon the dead-nettle.” As he spoke, Frank opened a small -cardboard box and showed his uncle half a dozen large, hairy -caterpillars. - - [Illustration: Larva Cage.] - -“Splendid,” said Uncle George. “We will just put these into the cage.” - -Uncle George, who was a very good carpenter, had of late been busy in -his spare time making a box or cage for keeping caterpillars in. He -called it a _larva cage_. - -It was a curious looking thing, something like a small meat-safe. Three -sides and the top of it were covered with gauze. The fourth side was a -large pane of glass. The gauze-covered side opposite to this opened as a -door. - -It was divided into an upper and a lower part by a shelf in the middle, -and, by sliding in two pieces of wood, it could be divided into four -tiny rooms. - -Now that it was finished, Uncle George wanted to get it stocked, and his -two nephews wanted it stocked too. - -“Do you want any more of these woolly caterpillars?” Frank asked. - -“No, Frank, but you can bring me in some more of a different kind. Or, -better still, let us go out into the garden now and see if we can find -any there.” - -The gardener beamed with joy when Uncle George told him what they had -come to the garden for. - -“Caterpillars?” he said. “I wish you would take them all, sir. They are -the worst vermin in the garden. Last year they left scarcely a leaf on -my currant bushes.” - -Our three friends went straight to the currant bushes. Here they found a -good many pretty little caterpillars of a creamy colour, richly striped -with orange, and dotted over with black spots. These, their uncle -informed them, were the caterpillars or _larvæ_ of the magpie moth. - -On the cabbages they found several caterpillars of the large white -butterfly. These were bluish green in colour, with three bold yellow -stripes running along the whole length of their bodies. - -“What are these, Uncle George?” Tom asked, as he turned up a cabbage -leaf and pointed to several white patches on its under side. The leaf -next it was spotted just like it. - -“Oh, Tom, how lucky we are! These are the eggs of the large white -butterfly. Now we shall be able to follow up the whole life of this -insect, and a wonderful life it is. Let us go right in and examine them. -Take some cabbage leaves and some currant leaves to feed the hungry -caterpillars with.” - -“Our larva cage is now quite full,” said Uncle George, when he had put -the caterpillars in. - -“Why do you not put them into the same room, Uncle George?” - -“There are two reasons for that, Frank. First, they live upon different -kinds of food. The hairy caterpillar, or ‘woolly bear,’ as boys call it, -feeds upon nettles, the cabbage caterpillar prefers cabbage leaves, -while the currant caterpillar will only eat currant leaves. - - [Illustration] - - 1. Caterpillar and Eggs of Cabbage Butterfly. - 2. Egg magnified. - -“Second, the woolly bear will sometimes eat up his smooth-skinned -friends. Now, get your glasses and have a peep at the beautiful eggs of -the ‘large white’ or ‘cabbage’ butterfly.” - -“Why, they are not at all like eggs,” said Frank, as he closely looked -at them with his glass. - -“What are they like, Frank?” - -“They are like little pieces of carved ivory all shaped alike,” Frank -replied. - -“Yes, but that does not give us a very clear idea of their shape,” -observed his uncle. “Come on, Tom.” - -“They are like little Indian clubs with the handles cut off, only they -are beautifully marked with long, slender ridges and cross bars.” - -“That is really a very good account of them, Tom. They are arranged in -patches. Count and let me know how many eggs are in each bunch.” - -The boys counted all the groups of eggs, and found that there were eight -eggs in some, nine in others, but that most of them contained ten or -more. - -“Now, how many egg patches are there?” asked Uncle George. - -“There are seven patches on my leaf,” said Frank. - -“And ten on mine,” added Tom. - -“That is about one hundred and fifty eggs altogether,” said Uncle -George. - -“Has each of these bunches of eggs been laid by one butterfly?” asked -Frank. - -“It is more than probable that one butterfly laid the whole lot,” his -uncle replied; “for the white butterfly lays, as a rule, over two -hundred eggs.” - -“That is about as many eggs as a hen lays in a year,” said Frank. - -“Yes,” said Uncle George, “a good hen and a white butterfly lay about -the same number of eggs in a year; but the butterfly lays all her eggs -in one day. - -“After laying her eggs, she dies. That is perhaps why she always lays -them on the kind of plant which the young caterpillars can feed upon -when they hatch out. - -“Let us look at the caterpillars now. We need not take them out, as we -can easily see them through the glass side of the cage. - -“Notice that the body of the cabbage caterpillar consists of a round, -dark coloured head and a number of broad, ring-like divisions. How many -of these divisions are there?” - -“Twelve,” said Frank, after counting carefully. - -“Right!” said his uncle. “Now, about legs—how many are there?” - -“There are three pairs of legs on the first three divisions of its body, -and a pair of shorter and stouter legs on each of the sixth, seventh, -eighth, and ninth divisions, making seven pairs of legs altogether,” -Frank answered. - - [Illustration: Caterpillars of Magpie Moth.] - -“That is quite correct, Frank, and I am glad you noticed the difference -between the first three pairs and the others. The first three pairs are -the creature’s real legs. The others are false or temporary legs.” - -“There is a row of black spots on the yellow band along its side,” -observed Tom. - -“These are its breathing-holes, Tom. We breathe by our lungs only, but -caterpillars and insects have breathing-tubes all over their bodies.” - -“The woolly bear and the cabbage caterpillar move about in the same -way,” said Frank. “But look at those currant caterpillars, Uncle George, -what a funny way they have of getting along!” - -“These belong to a kind of caterpillars known as ‘loopers,’” said his -uncle. “They move about by looping up their bodies in this strange -manner.” - -“I do not like to handle those hairy caterpillars,” Tom remarked. “Why -are they covered with those nasty long hairs?” - -“You have just given the reason, Tom. You don’t like to touch them on -account of these hairs; neither do animals. No bird will eat one of -these. If he does, he will never eat another. - -“Notice how they coil up like a hedgehog when they are touched. This -makes them more difficult to swallow. Just imagine how a bird would feel -with one of these ticklish customers stuck in his throat, eh? - -“Now, boys, make a sketch of one of the tiny eggs, also one of the big -cabbage caterpillar, and then we will go out and have a game of cricket -on the lawn.” - - - Exercises on Lesson XII. - - 1. Where would you look for the eggs of the white butterfly? Why are - they always laid upon the same kind of plant, and why _under_ - the leaf? - 2. Explain how caterpillars breathe. - 3. Take any caterpillars you find. Observe the leaves you find them - feeding upon. Give them fresh leaves every day, and watch how - they grow. - 4. Why has the “woolly bear” caterpillar got a hairy coat? What does - he usually feed upon? - - - - - XIII.—THE WHITE BUTTERFLY. - - -Uncle George had to go from home for a week, and his two nephews went -part of the way to the railway station with him. - -As they were about to take a short cut through the wood, Uncle George -went up to a huge beech tree. He looked very closely at its grey trunk -for a time, then stepping back from it about three yards, exclaimed:— - -“Come here boys! Stand beside me, look closely at this tree, and tell me -if you see any strange objects sticking to the bark.” - -After staring at it for some time, they both declared that they could -see nothing upon it. - -“Go nearer—nearer still! Now, do you see anything?” - -The boys shook their heads. - -“Go quite close up to the trunk and examine it,” said Uncle George. - -“Oh,” said Frank suddenly, “I see queer things like grubs, coloured -almost exactly like the bark. Some of them are lighter in colour.” - -“Look carefully at those lighter ones, and you will find that they are -just empty cases.” - -“So they are,” said Frank, as he touched one with his finger and saw it -crush up. - -“Notice how they are fixed to the bark!” said Uncle George. - -The boys watched as their uncle placed his pencil under one of the -darker coloured objects, and saw that it was slung up to the tree by a -loose silken girdle round its middle, while a tuft of fine threads -fastened the lower end to the bark. - -Suddenly, as if it were annoyed at being touched by the pencil, the -lower half of the object moved from side to side with rapid jerks. - -“Why, it is alive,” said Tom. - -“Yes, of course it is,” said his uncle. “This is another lucky find.” - -“What are they?” Frank asked. - -“Can’t you guess, Frank? Don’t you remember my telling you that all the -insects were asleep in their cases during winter. - -“Each of these darker coloured cases contains a white butterfly. They -have been here all winter, and they are just about to hatch out.” - -“How do you know that, Uncle George?” - -“I know it because the empty cases tell me that some of the butterflies -have just hatched out. This is what your cabbage caterpillar becomes -after he is tired of feeding. - -“You have now seen three different stages of the life of this insect. -First, the curious eggs laid on the under side of the cabbage leaf; next -the greedy caterpillar; and now, the chrysalis or _pupa_ stage. - -“The caterpillar goes to sleep in autumn as a hard-cased chrysalis, and -wakes up in spring a beautiful butterfly.” - -“How strange,” said Frank. “And will our caterpillars remain -caterpillars until autumn, and then tuck themselves up like this and go -to sleep for the winter.” - -“No, Frank! our caterpillars will go into the chrysalis state in a week -or so, and hatch out as butterflies in August. These August butterflies -will lay eggs. The caterpillars from these eggs will turn into _pupæ_ in -September. - -“These September pupæ will supply the white butterflies of next spring -and summer. Put some of these into your box. Watch then carefully, and -you may be lucky enough to see the white butterfly coming out of his -winter case.” - -“I cannot understand,” said Tom, “how a big white butterfly can be -inside so small a case. It must be very tightly wrapped up.” - -“So it is, as you will see,” said Uncle George. “Good-bye, boys! and -mind, when I come back, I shall expect to see notes and sketches of all -that has taken place in the larva cage during my absence.” - - * * * * * * * * - -“Won’t you let your uncle take his dinner first,” said Frank’s mother, -as she hung Uncle George’s overcoat up in the hall. - -“No, mother! he must come at once,” said the excited Frank. “There’s a -butterfly just coming out.” - -“Oh, I must come and see that,” said Uncle George; and he allowed his -eager nephews to drag him towards the larva cage. - -By the time they got to the cage the butterfly had hatched, but they -were in time to see it unfurl its wings. The wings were crumpled and -twisted, but the creature slowly straightened them out to dry in the -sun. - -“We saw it burst its case,” said Tom. “First a small slit appeared at -the head end. This slit grew larger. Then the butterfly’s head and feet -appeared. It squeezed its way and was just half way out, with its wings -crumpled round it, when you arrived.” - -“I arrived just a minute too late, then,” said his uncle. - - [Illustration: White or Cabbage Butterfly and Pupa.] - -“Oh, and the eggs have hatched too,” said Tom. “Look at them now, Uncle -George!” - -His uncle looked, and saw that the white patches of eggs had given place -to larger patches of little active, dark coloured maggots. - -“We want to know what has become of the lovely carved shells of the -eggs,” said Tom. - -“They have been eaten up,” his uncle replied. “From the moment a -caterpillar is born he does nothing but eat—eat—eat. He begins by eating -the shell of the egg he comes out of. - -“For the first week of their lives these tiny caterpillars feed together -in small bands, and they grow so fast you can almost fancy you see them -growing. After they have grown to a certain size, each caterpillar -starts out for himself.” - -“Do you see the three butterflies that have hatched out?” asked Tom. - -“Yes, I see them. There are two females and one male,” said Uncle -George. - -“How can you tell males from females?” asked Frank. - -“Oh, that is easy enough,” Uncle George replied. “The females are -larger, and have two big black spots on each of their front wings. But I -only see eight of the large cabbage caterpillars. We put in twelve, I -think.” - -“Look!” said Frank, pointing to the roof of the cage. - -“Ah, yes, I see them. Two of them have passed into the pupæ stage, and -are slung up by their silken belts to the wall of the cage. - -“The other two are spinning silken belts round the middle of their -bodies, if they have not already done so. After this belt is finished -they will slowly slip their useless green skins off, and finally get rid -of them by sharply jerking the tail end of their pupa cases.” - -“Yes, we watched those other two do that,” said Tom. - -“Notice,” continued Uncle George, “that all your big cabbage -caterpillars have lost their yellow stripes and are now of a bluish -green colour. They have stopped feeding, and are now dull and sleepy. -This indicates that they are about to enter the pupa stage.” - -“But look at the currant and the hairy caterpillars, uncle,” said Frank. - -“My dear boy,” said Frank’s mother, “Uncle George must really have food -and rest after his long journey. He will hear about the other -caterpillars some other time.” - - - Exercises on Lesson XIII. - - 1. Explain why the pupæ of white butterflies are coloured like the - objects they are attached to. - 2. Write the life of a white butterfly, and illustrate your - description with sketches of caterpillar, pupa, and butterfly. - 3. The life of an insect is divided into four distinct stages. Name - them. Which is the longest stage in the case of the white - butterfly? - 4. Describe, as you have observed it, the behaviour of a caterpillar - as it passes from the larva to the chrysalis form. - - - - - XIV.—THE TOILING CADDIS. - - -“Look here, boys,” said Uncle George, “you have been paying nearly all -your attention to the larva cage during my absence, and have forgotten -the caddis worms.” - - [Illustration] - - 1. Caddis Cases. - 2. Larva out of Case. - 3. Pupa. - 4. Caddis Fly. - -Uncle George made believe to be cross. - -“We changed the water every two days,” said Frank. - -“Yes, I know. But you have not reported any changes in the creatures -themselves. What has been going on in the larva cage has also been going -on here in the water, for caddis worms are simply water-caterpillars. -You nearly missed something of very great interest.” - -Uncle George laid three saucers on the table, and continued:— - -“We are going to look into the life of the caddis fly to-day; but before -I take them out of the water, I want you to tell me what you have noted -about them up to now.” - -“They are always climbing up the water weeds,” said Frank. - -“They are always adding to their cases,” said Tom. - -“Some of them have died,” said Frank. - -“What?” said his uncle. “Do you mean these at the bottom of the tank? -These are not dead, they are only asleep. Put your hand in, and take -some of these out.” - -“Their cases are stuck to the pond weeds and to each other,” said Frank, -as he lifted a few out, and placed them in a saucer. - -“Ah, I have it, Uncle George! They have gone into the pupa state. Is -that not so?” - -Uncle George nodded. - -“Look!” exclaimed Tom. “There are things like earwigs floating on the -water.” - -“Never mind these just now, Tom,” said his uncle. “I am coming to them -by and by. Observe the wonderful cases which the caddis worms have made -for themselves. - -“Here is one whose case, when we found him, was made of neatly cut -pieces of water rush. He has almost doubled the length of his case since -then; for see, the front half is made of cut stalks of water weed neatly -arranged.” - -“He has got a fine collar of green pieces round his neck,” Frank -observed. - -“Why are they always adding to the length of their cases?” asked Tom. - -“Because they are always growing,” said Frank. - -“That is the reason,” said Uncle George; “and they grow so fast that -they have actually to work hard at building. - -“Observe those that make their cases out of tiny shells and stones. They -have made free use of the coloured beads and small pieces of coal which -we put in.” - -“How do they manage to stick these things together?” asked Tom. - -“A caddis worm is a busy creature,” his uncle replied. “He does two -things besides eating and growing. With those strong pincers, which you -see at his head, he saws off pieces of weed. - -“Near his mouth he has got a kind of loom for spinning silk. These -pieces are stuck together with silk, which is a gluey substance when it -first comes from the creature’s body. - -“These rough cases are lined with silk.” - -“Why does he have to make a house for himself, and carry it about with -him?” said Frank. - -In answer to this, his uncle took out a few of the active caddis worms, -and placed them in a saucer with water. He held one up. - -“You see,” he said, “his case is open at both ends. Now, if I tried to -get him out from the front, I should never manage it. This is the way to -get him out.” - -As he spoke, Uncle George pushed the head of a pin into the tail end of -the case, and the creature scrambled out at once. - -“It is too bad turning you out of your cosy room, Mr Caddis,” Uncle -George observed; “but you’ll go back again as soon as you get the -chance, won’t you? I want my nephews to understand why you work so very -hard. - -“Now, Frank, you can answer your own question, I think—‘Why does the -caddis worm build a house?’” - -“Because he has a soft body.” - -“Quite right. But why is he forced to protect his body?” - -“Fishes would eat him.” - -“Right again, Frank. If trout could speak, they might tell you that the -sweetest morsel in the stream is the caddis worm. Now, take your lens, -please, and tell me something about him.” - -“His body is divided into rings, and there are the same number of them -as we found in the caterpillar.” - -“Very good, Frank. Now give Tom a chance.” - -“His head and the first three divisions of his body are hard cased. They -are black and yellow in colour.” - -“He has six legs,” said Frank, “and they are attached to the first three -divisions of his body.” - -“What about the last division of his body?” Uncle George asked. - -“Oh, how funny!” said Frank. “It is divided into two large things like -horns.” - -“These,” said his uncle, “are the hooks by which he fixes himself so -firmly in his case.” - -“And what are all these curious big bristles for?” asked Tom. “They are -all over his body.” - -“These are his breathing organs,” Uncle George answered. “The -caterpillar, if you remember, had breathing-holes along the sides of his -body. By moving his long body, the caddis worm causes a constant current -of water to pass through his dwelling. - -“Look at the fourth segment of his body. How does it differ from the -others?” - -“It is the broadest segment,” said Frank, “and there is a stout rounded -thing in the middle of it.” - -“Yes,” his uncle replied, “and if we can get him turned on his back we -shall see two more of these stout outgrowths below, one on each side of -the same segment. This is really very clever. By it the animal keeps -himself in the middle, so that the current of water must flow all around -him. - -“Now, look at the case of a sleeping caddis.” - -“The front of the case is closed,” said Frank. - -“How is it closed, Frank?” - -“Well, there is a network of threads over it,” answered Frank. - -“Yes; you see a caddis worm cannot do without fresh water, even when he -is asleep; so, before going to sleep, he builds a grating over the -entrance. - -“When he wakes up, he has quite a new shape altogether. And this brings -us to those things which Tom said were like ‘earwigs.’ There are five of -them floating on the water, and two of these are dead. If you look, you -will find five empty caddis cases in the tank.” - -“How does he get out of the case?” inquired Tom. - -“Easily enough. Look at the strong pair of pincers he has got for -cutting his way through the silken grating with. No longer burdened with -his heavy case, he floats up to the surface. He crawls up out of the -water into the air. - -“If there are no rushes or floating leaves about, he is sure to drown; -for your caddis is no longer a water insect, but a fly inside a thin -skin. - -“Now, boys, I am going to show you something wonderful.” - -Uncle George then took out the three living pupæ that were floating on -the water, and placed them on the table. The boys watched them for a -long time. - -They were beginning to get impatient, when suddenly the skin of one of -the creatures burst along the back, and a lovely little fly, with brown, -gauzy wings and long feelers, came out. - -After airing its wings for about a minute, it flew to the window. The -other two acted in just the same way. - -“Now, my dear boys, I think you know something about the life of the -caddis fly. For a whole year of his life he is a crawling water insect, -then, for about a single day, he is a lively fly.” - -“How does the caddis larva first get into the water?” asked Frank. - -“As an egg, Frank. The female caddis fly lays her eggs in the water. She -sometimes even crawls down right into the water to lay them. - -“A tiny caddis grub, no bigger than this pin-head, comes out of each -egg. As soon as he hatches out, he begins to build his case, to eat, and -to grow; and from the moment of his birth up to the closing up of his -tube, he is scarcely a moment idle.” - - - Exercises on Lesson XIV. - - 1. Turn a caddis worm out of his case in the way described in the - lesson. Place the insect in a saucer half filled with water, - and make a rough sketch of it. - 2. When you have finished your sketch, place the empty caddis case in - the saucer, and watch how the creature gets into it. - 3. Make two columns by drawing a line down the centre of a page of - your note-book. In the first column, describe the structure of - the caddis larva and fly; in the second, that of the cabbage - caterpillar and butterfly. Compare them. - 4. In the same way describe the _mode of life_ of the caddis fly - (Column 1), and of the white butterfly (Column 2). - - - - - APPENDIX. - HINTS TO TEACHERS. - - -BUDS.—Twigs of beech, horse-chestnut, lilac, and hawthorn ought to be -taken in in December and placed in water. They should have as much -warmth and light as possible. - -Willow twigs (for catkins) might also be forced in this way. - -SEEDS.—Seeds should be soaked for twenty-four hours and then sown in -sawdust in boxes 4 inches deep. They should be sown in presence of the -pupils. - -In winter these boxes should be kept on the hot pipes in school. The -sawdust should not be allowed to get dry, neither should it be deluged -with water, but kept evenly moist if possible. - -Be careful to use water _not colder than the temperature of the room_ in -which the seeds are grown. Nothing checks growth more effectively than -chilling with icy-cold water. It is a good plan to keep the watering-pan -full of water near the hot pipes, refilling it always after use. - -Seeds germinate best in the dark, but whenever the plumule shows above -the sawdust, the box containing them should be placed in the light. -Sufficient seeds should be sown at one time to supply a plant to each -pupil once a week for at least four weeks. A number of seeds or plants -should be dug up once a week and sketched by the children. Each sketch -should be compared with that of the previous week, and all changes duly -noted down. - -The best seeds to grow are:—Broad bean, common or “large white” maize, -runner bean (“Painted Lady”), French bean, kitchen pea (“Stratagem”), -and white mustard. - -A few seeds of white mustard should be sprinkled on a small piece of -moist blotting-paper, and covered over by a small glass bell-jar or an -inverted tumbler. In less than a week the root-hairs may be seen. - -If hot-water pipes are available, the following seeds should be grown, -as their germination is interesting:—date stones, walnuts, chestnuts, -almonds, cherry stones, orange pips, seeds of cucumber and sunflower. - -After maize and bean (or pea) plants have reached the height of 5 -inches, they should be transferred to bottles of tap water—as described -at the end of Lesson VI.—and the continuous growth sketched and noted -from week to week. - -POND AND DITCH HUNTING.—Make a ring of stout brass wire about 8 or 10 -inches in diameter, and to this attach a bag net made of mosquito -netting not more than 9 inches deep. In making the wire ring, leave -attached to it about 5 inches of the twisted ends of the wire. Such a -net as this can be easily carried and quickly attached to the end of a -walking-stick by means of a piece of string. - -The best “finds” are often made by sweeping the net under banks and -among pond weeds. - -FROG SPAWN.—Frog spawn is abundant in ponds and ditches everywhere in -March. It should be kept immersed in as much water as possible in a -large vessel, preferably of glass. Whenever the water show signs of -fouling, it should be changed; but, as changing water containing -tadpoles is somewhat difficult, the fewer changes the better. - -As in the case of seed growing, the development of the tadpole should be -learnt by weekly sketches and notes. - -NEWTS.—Newts can be taken with the gauze-net or in the following -way:—Tie a piece of small worm on to the end of a cotton thread fastened -to the end of a willow or hazel switch. Cast into the part of the pond -where the newts are, and await results. - -Live newts, fish, frog spawn, etc., may be obtained from Messrs Willson, -Live Stock Providers, 37 New Oxford Street, London; Thomas Bolton, 25 -Balsall Heath Road, Birmingham, and other dealers. Newts should be fed -once a day on pieces of small worms. - -CATERPILLARS.—Caterpillars and pupæ, if not obtainable in local woods, -fields, and gardens, can be had from Messrs Watkins & Doncaster, 36 -Strand, London, and others. - -CADDIS LARVÆ.—Caddis worms are to be found in almost every stream, pond, -and ditch. Most of them are vegetable feeders: therefore a plentiful -supply of water weeds should be placed in their tank. Carnivorous caddis -worms may be fed on small pieces of raw meat. (See Stickle-backs.) - -STICKLE-BACKS.—Stickle-backs are common in canals and streams. They are -easily caught with the net. They should be fed once a day on grated -biscuit, and occasionally on raw meat. The meat should be chopped very -fine, and then pressed through a piece of perforated zinc. Very little -food suffices. If too much is put in, the residue should be removed by -means of a glass tube, as described in Lesson IX., p. 56. If no green -water plants are obtainable, the water should be changed at least every -second day by means of a siphon. Once a month is quite often enough if -sufficient green plants are kept in the tank and decaying matter -carefully removed. Do not over-stock—few fishes and much water is the -rule. - -WATER PLANTS.—It is best to take the water plants which are found -growing locally. The following are fairly common:—_Elodea canadensis_, -water millfoil; _Potamogeton_ (_nitens_, _crispus_, or _filiformis_), -“water soldier”; _Vallisneria spiralis_, _Chara_, _Nitella_, water -star-wort and watercress. A good selection of excellent aquarium plants -are advertised at a cheap rate by the Solway Fishery Co., Dumfries. -Water plants, if not rooted in the tank, should be renewed occasionally. - -LARVÆ CAGE.—Take four square pieces (about 1½ inches square) of wood, -each a foot long, and nail or screw them upright into the four corners -of a square piece of ¾-inch deal measuring a foot each way. Stretch -mosquito netting over sides, end, and top, arranging that one side can -be opened. This can be managed by fastening the last fold of netting to -one of the upright posts by three drawing-pins. Fresh leaves should be -supplied daily. For those caterpillars which pupate in the soil, a -shallow earthenware flower-pot—known in the trade as a “seed-pan”—should -be supplied. The seed-pan should be filled with soil, the pupæ placed on -the surface, and a layer of moss placed over them. Once a week the moss -should be dipped in water, squeezed almost dry, and replaced on the -pupæ. - -AQUARIUM.—Procure from a local florist or seedsman what is known as a -“propagating bell.” These cost from 1s. up to 2s. 6d. A block of wood 12 -inches square and 4 or 5 inches in thickness is also required. Bore a -hole about 2 inches in diameter right through the centre of the block, -to hold the knob of the bell. Then, with a gouge chisel, make a -saucer-shaped hollow round the hole, to roughly fit the rounded end of -the bell. Before fitting the bell into the block, interpose a thin layer -of moss. - -This makes an excellent aquarium—elegant and serviceable. Keep the -aquarium in a window, but shade it from bright sunlight. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Retained publication information from the printed exemplar (this eBook - is in the public domain in the country of publication.) - ---Only in the text versions, delimited italicized text with - _underscores_. - ---Silently corrected several typos. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The 'Look About You' Nature Study -Books, Book 3 (of 7), by Thomas W. 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