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diff --git a/old/50347-8.txt b/old/50347-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c8fdb9b..0000000 --- a/old/50347-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2824 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The 'Look About You' Nature Study Books, -Book 4 (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 4 (of 7) - -Author: Thomas W. Hoare - -Release Date: October 30, 2015 [EBook #50347] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURE STUDY BOOKS, BOOK 4 *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Stephen Hutcheson, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - [Illustration: Sweet Peas and Butterflies] - - - - - 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 IV. - - [Illustration: Publisher's Logo] - - LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK, Ltd. - 35 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. - AND EDINBURGH - - PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY - THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, LTD. - - - - - 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. Structure of Stems 7 - II. Bulbs and Corms 12 - III. What Goes on Inside a Plant 17 - IV. Snowdrop, Crocus, and Tulip 23 - V. Vegetable Fingers 29 - VI. The Great Water Beetle 35 - VII. Daisies 40 - VIII. Chaffinch and Song-Thrush 46 - IX. Plants that Arm Themselves 52 - X. The Horse Pond Again 58 - XI. Wasps 63 - XII. Dandelions 69 - XIII. The Life of a Trout 75 - XIV. Silkworms 81 - Appendix 88 - - - - - "LOOK ABOUT YOU." - BOOK IV. - - - - - I.--STRUCTURE OF STEMS. - - -"We are going to have a peep into the inside of these twigs," said Uncle -George, as he laid some willow and horse-chestnut twigs on the table. - -"First," he said, "let us examine the outside of them." He handed a -small willow branch to Tom and a horse-chestnut branch to Frank. - -"Now, Frank, tell me all you see." - -"I see the rings of scars which mark each year's growth," said Frank. -"This year's growth is at the top, above the first ring of scars. Below -this is last year's growth. Then comes another ring of marks, and below -this again is the growth of two years ago."[1] - -"That is to say," said his uncle, "the upper part of your twig is about -one year old, the middle part is two years old, and the lower part is -three years old. Go on, Frank." - -"The upper part is light brown, while the middle and lower parts are -dark brown." - -"Take your lens, Frank, and look at that brown covering carefully." - -"Oh, it is studded all over with little oval marks like pits," said -Frank. - -"Now, what about the buds?" - -"The buds," said Frank, putting down his lens, "are in pairs; and the -stem is swollen where each pair of buds comes off." - -"Very good," said Uncle George. "That is exactly what I wanted you to -notice. The swollen parts of a stem are called its _nodes_. In every -stem, buds and leaves occur at the nodes. Nodes are very well seen in -grass and corn stems." - -"Then at the top of the twig there is a very large bud and a pair of -small buds, one on each side of it," said Frank. - -"You have described it very well," said his uncle. "Now, Tom, what about -the willow twig?" - -"I see some very tiny marks on it," said Tom. "There are no rings -marking the year's growth; and the buds are not arranged in pairs." - - [Illustration: Horse-Chestnut Twig, showing Three Years' Growth.] - -"That is quite right, Tom. Willow grows very quickly. Your twig is all -one season's growth. It is smooth and green--not brown like the -horse-chestnut twig. The buds are arranged alternately. That is to say, -there is only one bud at each node." - -"Now, let us see what the horse-chestnut twig is made of." - -Uncle George next cut two pieces off the top part of the horse-chestnut -twig and handed one to each of the boys. - -"Now, take your knives," he said, "and carefully peel off a very small -piece of the brown covering. You will have to be very careful, as it is -very thin and rather difficult to remove. Ah, Frank, you have done that -very nicely. Now, hold it up to the light and tell us what you think it -is for." - -"It is the skin or covering of the twig," said Frank. - -"It is; and if you look with your lens you will see that the tiny -markings on it are holes. It is really a thin layer of bark or cork. -Perhaps you can tell me why the twig is covered with a thin layer of -cork?" - -"To keep water from getting in," said Frank. - -"Rather to keep water from getting _out_," said Uncle George. "You must -remember that water is continually passing up stems from the roots. -Water cannot pass through cork. If we were to remove the cork layer from -the outside of a growing twig, that twig would shrivel up and die. There -is also a layer of cork protecting the willow twig, but it is so very -thin that we can see through it. Remove as much of the cork layer as you -can, and tell me what is underneath." - -"There is a layer of green stuff beneath," said Frank. - -"Just so," said Uncle George. "Now, if you remember, I once told you -that plants took most of their food from the air by means of the green -stuff in their leaves. This green layer in the twig does the same thing; -but how can the air get in if it is covered up by a layer of cork?" - -"Oh, I see now," said Tom, "what the tiny holes or pits are for--to let -air in to the green layer underneath." - - [Illustration: Diagram Sections of (A and B) a One-Year Old and (C and - D) Two-Year Old Stem.] - - 1. Bark. - 2. Green Layer. - 3. Bast. - 4. Slippery Layer. - 5. Wood. - 6. Pith. - -"That is what they are for, Tom," said Uncle George. "Scrape away this -green layer. It is greenest on the outside and is rather thick. There -are really two or three layers there, but they cannot be separated with -a pen-knife. What do you come to next?" - -"A white, woody layer with a very slippery surface," said Frank. - -"That slippery surface is itself a layer, and a very important one," -said his uncle. "The wood, you can see, is a very thick layer. In the -centre you have a mass of dry, spongy stuff. This is called the pith." - -Uncle George then cut the twig straight across, and the boys saw that -each layer formed a ring. In the middle there was a round mass of pith. -Around this was a thick ring of wood with the thin slippery layer -outside. Outside this was a fairly thick ring, the outer half of which -was green in colour. And outside the whole lot was the ring of the thin -bark or cork which the boys had first examined. - -"We have seen," said Uncle George, "how a one-year-old stem is built. -Let us now make a clean cut through the two-year-old part of the twig, -and another through the three-year-old part. - -"You see there are two rings of wood in the two-year-old part and three -rings of wood in the three-year-old part. What does this show us?" - -"That a ring of wood is added every year," said Frank. - -"And so, three years ago, this thick branch was a tiny bud," said Uncle -George, pointing to the lower part of the twig. - - - Exercises on Lesson I. - - 1. An apple will keep sound for months if the skin is unbroken. If we - remove a small piece of the skin, the apple soon shrivels up. - How is this? - 2. Can you explain why we ought not to eat the outer skins of the - plum, grape, tomato, pear, etc.? - 3. Cut a stout twig of any tree straight through. Make a rough sketch - showing the different layers, and tell how old the twig is. - 4. Get stout twigs of different trees, such as ash, elm, holly, - sycamore. Take about an inch length of each. Split these down - the centre, and see if you can make out the different layers - on each side of the pith. Make an enlarged drawing of one of - these. - - - - - II.--BULBS AND CORMS. - - -"These," said Uncle George, "are what we grow our snowdrops and crocuses -from." - -As he spoke he handed each of the boys a few hard, round objects. Some -of these were small, white, and almost pear-shaped. The others were -larger, rounder, and brown in colour. - -"The small white ones are snowdrop _bulbs_," he continued. "The others -are crocus _corms_. There is a great difference between a bulb and a -corm, as we shall see when we examine and compare them." - -"The corm is covered with brown, papery skins, and has white buds on the -top of it," said Frank. - -"These brown skins are leaves," remarked Uncle George. - -"Leaves?" said Tom. "I thought all leaves were green." - -"Oh no, Tom, there are other leaves besides green leaves, called -scale-leaves. Green leaves, as you know, give off the moisture which the -roots take up from the soil. They also take in plant-food from the air. -Scale-leaves protect buds, flowers, and tender stems from cold and from -insects. These thin brown leaves of the crocus corm are scale-leaves -formed underground. Please remove the brown scale-leaves from one of the -corms, Frank." - - [Illustration] - - 1. Snowdrop. - 2. Tulip. - 3. Narcissus. - 4. Crocus. - -When Frank had done so, it was seen that these leaves were attached in -layers all round the corm. The corm was now a white, rounded lump. The -removal of the scale-leaves had left thin rings of leaf-marks; and on -these leaf-marks, here and there a tiny bud was seen. - -"Now," said Uncle George, "we can see that a corm is a stout, swollen, -underground stem. If you could imagine a horse-chestnut stem to be -squeezed up into a lump, you would have something like a corm. These -rings of leaf-marks are the nodes, where leaves and buds are found on -all stems. The large buds on the top of the corm correspond to the large -buds at the end of your horse-chestnut stem. Now, let us take off one of -these large top buds. Notice that it is covered with many tough, -protective scale-leaves." - - [Illustration: Crocus Bud Dissected.] - - 1. Scales. - 2, 3, 4. Parts of Flower. - 5. Leaves. - 6. Spathe. - 7. Ovary. - 8. Young Corm. A. Old Corm. - -Removing these scales, Uncle George came to a round object in the -centre. - -"This," he said, "is a long sack or bag. It contains the flower of the -crocus." - -Taking a needle, he carefully opened this up. - -"Now, boys," he said, "take your magnifiers and look carefully." - -Frank and Tom looked, and saw a curious little flower, surrounded by -four or five yellow needle-shaped things which, their uncle told them, -were the young green leaves of the crocus. - -"Let us now," he said, "examine the snowdrop bulb. - -"Here we have thick, fleshy scale-leaves. If we remove them one by one, -we find that they are all attached to a flat, button-shaped stem. -Between the thick scale-leaves we see, here and there, a small side bud, -and on the top the baby snowdrop flower snugly wrapped up in their sack. -This protective sack is called a _spathe_." - -Uncle George then took from his pocket a very large bulb. - -"This," he said, "is the bulb of the narcissus or 'white lily.' It is -almost exactly like the snowdrop bulb, but it is larger, so that we can -see things much more distinctly." - -He then split the large bulb down the centre with his knife. With a pin -he pointed out the baby flower wrapped up in its spathe. All the parts -of the flower were seen, even the little seed-vessel containing the tiny -eggs, which become seeds after the flower has grown up. - -"If you remember," said Uncle George, "in our lesson on seeds we learned -that a seed contained a baby plant and a large supply of plant-food. I -am now going to show you that both the corm and the bulb contain a large -food supply. We have seen that the protective bud-scales in the corm are -tough and thin, while the stem is swollen and hard. In the bulb, on the -other hand, the bud-scales are thick and fleshy, while the stem is flat -and very small. If we place some of our crocus corms or snowdrop bulbs -in pure water, they will grow and flower just as well as if we had -planted them in the garden. What does this show us?" - -"That, like the seeds which we grew in water, bulbs and corms contain a -store of food," said Frank. - - [Illustration] - - A. Narcissus Bulb split open. - s., stem; - b., side buds; - s.l., scale-leaves; - f.l., leaves. - B. Snowdrop Bulb. - C. Flower of same Dissected out. - -"That is correct, Frank. Let us put a corm and a bulb in water. Let us -also plant one of each in a pot of soil. We will watch them growing and -compare them from week to week. - -"Now I am going to show you a simple experiment. You know that the food -we eat is drawn largely from plants. This food which we take from the -plant world is chiefly what the chemist calls _starch_. We have it in -bread, potatoes, rice, cornflour, and in nearly all the vegetables we -eat. - -"I have here in this bottle a substance, called _iodine_, dissolved in -water. Anything containing _starch_ turns blue when touched with iodine. -Now observe what happens here." - -Uncle George poured some of the iodine into a saucer. He then dipped -into the iodine a piece of crocus corm, a thick scale of the snowdrop -bulb, soaked seeds of maize and wheat, a slice of raw potato, and a -piece of bread. Each at once turned dark blue on being dipped into the -liquid. - -"Now, boys," he said, "what do you learn from this?" - -"The food store in bulbs and corms is the same as that in seeds," said -Tom. - -"The food supply of the bulb is contained in the thick, fleshy -scale-leaves, while in the corm it is in the stem," said Frank. - -"Very good," said Uncle George. "It also shows us, I think, that we -ourselves owe a great deal to the plant world." - - - Exercises on Lesson II. - - 1. Split an onion (or tulip bulb) down the centre, and compare it with - the snowdrop bulb. Draw it, giving special attention to the - middle part. - 2. Take a potato and a crocus corm. Observe them both carefully, and - find out (1) how they resemble each other, and (2) how they - differ. - 3. Explain how it is that a hyacinth grows so well in water. - 4. Take any underground stem (_e.g._, iris or Solomon's seal) and - compare it with a crocus corm. Notice the marks of underground - scale-leaves on the former. - - - - - III.--WHAT GOES ON INSIDE A PLANT. - - -"We have seen how an ordinary twig is built up," said Uncle George. "Let -us now try to find out what goes on inside the twig; and in order to do -this we shall have to perform one or two simple experiments." - -Uncle George took two wide-mouthed glass jars. They were both perfectly -dry, and each could be closed with a large, tight-fitting cork. He -placed some fresh green leaves inside one of the jars. The other -remained empty. Then both jars were tightly corked up, and both corks -covered outside with wax. - - [Illustration: First Experiment.] - -"That is experiment number one," he said, as he placed both jars in the -window. - -He next took a small plant which was growing in a pot. He wrapped the -pot up in thick, dry paper, so that the paper covered up everything but -the plant. The edges of the paper were tied tightly round the lower part -of the stem of the plant with a string. The plant was put in the window, -and over it Uncle George placed a glass bell-jar. - - [Illustration: Second Experiment.] - -"The third experiment is much simpler," he said. "You see I just put one -of the willow twigs into a glass half filled with water, and into the -water I pour some red ink. Frank, place a white pansy in the coloured -water beside the willow twig." - -Uncle George's fourth experiment was as follows:-- - -He placed four willow twigs in a glass of water. But from two of these -twigs he first removed a broad ring of the bark and outer layers, -leaving about an inch of the wood bare near the lower end of the twig. - -"Now," said he, "we will come back in about an hour, and I think we -shall find that some change has taken place in each of our first three -jars. - -"The fourth glass one will have to be left for several weeks; and we -must take care to keep water always in the glass containing these four -twigs." - -About an hour afterwards, Uncle George and the boys came to look at the -experiments. - -"Let us examine experiment one first," said Uncle George. - -"The empty jar is just the same as when we put it there," said Tom. "The -jar containing the leaves is all dimmed, and there are tiny drops of -water on the inside of it." - -"Where did that water come from, Tom?" - -"It must have come out of the leaves." - -"Exactly so! Now look at the second experiment, and you will see that -the bell-jar which covered both plant and pot is also dimmed with -moisture. Pot and soil were securely covered up, so that this moisture -on the glass must have come from the leaves of the plant. Where do you -think this water really comes from?" - -"From the soil in the pot," said Frank. "If we did not water those -plants which we keep in pots, they would die." - -"Then we have learnt that water travels up the stems of plants," said -Uncle George, "also that it is drawn from the soil and is given off by -the leaves. The third experiment, where we placed a twig in coloured -water, will, I think, show us which part of the stem the water travels -up." - -Uncle George peeled the bark off the lower end of the willow twig which -was placed in the mixture of red ink and water. He removed all the -layers until he came to the wood. The wood was stained red. He cut slice -after slice off the twig, and it was found that the coloured water had -gone quite an inch up through the wood. None of the other layers of the -twig were stained red. - -"It travels up through the wood-layer," said Frank. "And look at the -pansy flower. It was white when we put it into the glass, now it is all -streaked with red." - -"The flower itself," said Uncle George, "is not near the coloured -water." - -"The water must have travelled up the long stalk to the flower," said -Frank. - - [Illustration: The Fourth Experiment.] - -The fourth experiment was left in the window, and two or three weeks -passed before any change was noticed in any of the four twigs which had -been placed in the water. Then roots began to grow. In the two whole -twigs these roots grew out at the bottom end. But in those twigs from -which the belt of outer layers had been removed, it was quite different. -Here the roots grew out--not at the bottom, but just where the ring of -bare wood began and at the top of it. - -Frank and Tom were quite puzzled. They could not understand why the -roots should come at the bottom in two of the twigs and not in the other -two. - -"First of all, then," said Uncle George, "these new roots were made from -materials which came from inside the plant. These building materials are -carried through the plant dissolved in water--just as you dissolve sugar -in your tea. Water containing these dissolved stuffs in a plant is -called _sap_. - -"We have seen, by our first three experiments, that water travels up the -wood part of the stem. This experiment shows us that sap travels _down_ -the stem in the layers outside the wood. For, when I removed the outer -layers and left a bare ring of wood, the flow of the sap was stopped and -the new roots formed there." - -"And where does this sap come from first of all?" Tom asked. - -"It is really formed in the leaf first of all. I think I told you that -plants take most of their food from the air by means of their green -leaves. In the great quantities of water which pass up the wood and into -the air from the leaves there is always a very little mineral matter -dissolved. This small quantity of mineral matter comes from the soil. -This, along with water and the large quantity of matter taken from the -air, are changed, inside the leaf, into a fluid which we call sap. - -"Our four experiments show us that water travels up through the -wood-layer from soil to leaf; and also that sap travels down through one -of the outside layers of the stem." - - - Questions on Lesson III. - - 1. How does water travel in a plant? How can you prove this? - 2. If we enclose a leafy plant in a glass vessel, we see that water is - given off by the leaves. How is it that we do not see this - water when the plant is grown in the open air? - 3. What is "sap"? Where is it first formed? How does it travel in the - twig or stem? - 4. If we keep ferns growing under a glass bell--or in a glass case--we - never have to water them. Can you explain this? - - - - - IV.--SNOWDROP, CROCUS, AND TULIP. - - -The boys watched the growth of the crocuses in water and in soil from -day to day, and made sketches of them once a week. Fed by the food -contained in the corm, the top buds of the crocus grew longer. Then the -scales moved apart and the yellow flower was seen. Round about it were -four or five narrow green leaves, each having a pretty white stripe down -the middle. Both leaves and flower were encircled at the base by long -white sheaths. - -The crocus grown in the pot did not seem to thrive much better than the -one in the water. Both flowers remained closed for a long time after -they were full grown. - -At last, on one fine sunny day, they opened out wide at the top, and the -boys could see right down into them. In the evening they closed up -again. Next day was a dull day, and the crocus flowers remained closed. - -The snowdrops were also watched and sketched. Their growth was somewhat -different. From the centre of the little bulb two green leaves first -appeared. These leaves were much broader and thicker than those of the -crocus. From between these leaves a little white, flat object grew up. -This the boys at once recognised as the spathe or bag containing the -flower. Then more green leaves came up. The flower-stalk grew longer. -The spathe split open, and the flower-bud appeared. - -This bud grew until it became a beautiful white bell hanging downwards. - - [Illustration: Crocus Flowers.] - -In a large pot Uncle George had planted a few tulip bulbs. They were not -completely covered with soil, so that their growth could be watched. -Their growth was similar to that of the snowdrop. The leaves came first. -They were rolled firmly round each other. As each large, broad, green -leaf unrolled, another rolled-up leaf was seen under it. These leaves -were rolled round a thick stalk, to which they were attached. When the -last leaf unrolled, a single flower was seen at the top of the stalk. -This flower remained closed up like the crocus. When at length, however, -the warm sun shone in the window, the tulip flowers opened out very wide -indeed; in fact, they became almost saucer-shaped. - -Then Uncle George dug the snowdrop and crocus out of their pots. He -washed the roots and asked the boys to compare them with those grown in -water. - -"The plants grown in soil seem stronger in flower and leaves," said -Frank. "But the greatest difference is in the corm and bulb." - -"That is right, Frank," said Uncle George. "Look at the crocus corms. -They have both shrunk a great deal, because they have been used up to -form what has grown out of them. But the one grown in soil has formed a -new corm, which will produce new flowers next year. This new corm has -grown upon the top of the old one. The crocus grown in water has also -produced a new corm, but it is too small to produce a flower next year. - -"Then, again, take the snowdrop. The one grown in the soil has produced -two or three new bulbs, while that grown in water has not. These new -bulbs were the side buds we noticed between the scales when we opened -out our snowdrop bulb. In both snowdrops the old bulb has been -completely used up to form green leaves and flower. - -"But the bulb grown in soil has not only produced flowers and green -leaves. It has gathered up enough material from soil and air to form new -bulbs for next year." - - [Illustration] - - 1. Snowdrop Flower--_A_, the spathe. - 2. Crocus Plant. - 3. Old and Young Corms of Crocus. - 4. Young Snowdrop Flower enclosed in its spathe. - 5. Crocus Flower. - 6. Tulip Flower dissected. - -Uncle George then divided the crocus flower with his knife from top to -bottom. - -"At the very bottom of the flower," he said, "you see the ovary, or -seed-vessel, containing the tiny seeds. From the seed-vessel a long thin -rod or tube stretches to the very mouth of the flower. You can also see -the remains of the spathe which once enclosed the whole flower." - -"And what are those three things covered with orange-coloured dust?" -asked Tom. - -"These," said his uncle, "are the stamens or pollen-boxes; and the -orange-coloured powder is the pollen. This pollen is carried about from -flower to flower by the bees. Pollen is necessary for the production of -seeds. - -"Do you know why the seed-vessel of the crocus is so far down under the -ground? - -"It is because the crocus flowers in winter-time, and the frost might -kill the young seeds. Underground they are safe from frost. The snowdrop -is a hardy flower, and, besides, the walls of its seed-vessel are very -thick. - -"The tulip, if grown outside, flowers much later than the other two -plants. - -"Notice the difference between the flower of the tulip and those of -either crocus or snowdrop. Its petals are all separate, while those of -the others are joined to form a bell or tube. The seed-vessel of the -tulip, also, stands right up in the centre of the flower, while that of -the snowdrop (and crocus) is placed underneath the flower altogether." - -"How is it, Uncle George, that the flowers of both tulip and crocus open -out wide when the sun shines and close when the sun goes down?" asked -Frank. - -"Plants can feel to a certain extent," said Uncle George. "That is to -say, they are affected by heat and cold, by light and shade. A great -many flowers close up at night--the daisy, for instance; and have you -never noticed how clover leaves fold up long before night comes?" - -"Yes, but why should the crocus and tulip open and close? The snowdrop -never closes up." - -"They do so to protect their pollen," his uncle answered. "Rain or dew -would ruin pollen. Those flowers, like the crocus and tulip, which open -out to the sky must close up, or the precious pollen would be destroyed. -Flowers like the snowdrop and bluebell, which hang downwards, have no -need to close up, for their pollen is under a roof of joined petals." - - - Exercises on Lesson IV. - - 1. Place an onion or daffodil bulb in the mouth of a bottle containing - water. Keep it in the dark for about ten days. Then place it - in the window. Make sketches every week. - 2. Make a list of all the plants you know which close their flowers, - or fold up their leaves, at night. - 3. Cut open a flower of the daffodil (or narcissus), also one of the - wallflower. Draw both, naming their parts. What points of - difference do you notice in the two flowers? - 4. Examine the following flowers, and see if you can find where the - young seeds are:--Hyacinth, primrose, violet (or pansy), - chickweed, Christmas rose, shepherd's purse. - - - - - V.--VEGETABLE FINGERS. - - -When the sweet-peas in the garden were nearly full grown, Uncle George -sowed some sweet-peas in a pot. In a fortnight those sown in the pot -were about four inches in height, and those in the garden were in -flower. - -"Let us go into the garden, boys," he said, "and see if we can learn -something from the sweet-pea." - -In the garden the sweet-peas were really lovely. They looked, as Frank -said, like so many beautiful butterflies on the wing; and they filled -the air with delicious perfume. - -"I think," said Frank, "that our row of sweet-peas is by far the best -thing in the garden." - -"That is quite true, Frank," said his uncle, "but it is not so much the -flowers we are going to study at present. The sweet-pea is certainly one -of our finest flowering plants. It is also one of the most interesting. -Can you tell me why we put stakes up for our sweet-pea plants to cling -to?" - -"Because they have long, slender stems--too slender and weak to grow up -by themselves," said Frank. - -"Quite right, Frank. If the sweet-pea were a wild plant, where would it -grow?" - -"In the hedges," said Tom. - -"Right again," said Uncle George. "If we grow the sweet-pea in the -garden, we must imitate its surroundings in the wild state--we must give -it a hedge of some kind to cling to, otherwise it would trail along the -ground." - -"Then it would get choked among the other plants," said Frank. - - [Illustration] - - Rose Leaf. - Vetch Leaf. - Ash Leaf. - -"What do you mean by '_choked_,' Frank?" - -"Well, it would die for want of air"---- - -"And light," his uncle added. "No green plant can live without air and -sunlight; and, in order to get these, our weak-stemmed sweet-pea has to -climb. It clings to its stronger brethren just as the wild peas do in -the hedgerow. Now notice how it climbs. The end part of each leaf -consists of little gripping organs called tendrils. These twine tightly -round the smallest twigs near them. - - [Illustration] - - 1. Ox Eye. - 2. Daisy. - 3. Corn Marigold. - -"Here is a rose leaf. It is composed of several leaflets, and at its -base there are two small, brownish-green things called _stipules_. If we -compare this leaf with the leaf of the sweet-pea, we find that in some -points they are similar, but in others very different. - - [Illustration] - - Sweet-Pea. - Edible Pea. - -"The rose leaf is called a compound leaf, because it is made up of many -small leaflets. The sweet-pea leaf is also a compound leaf, but it has -only two leaflets, and these are of enormous size. The rose leaf has two -small stipules. The stipules of the sweet-pea leaf are large and green. - -"If I place the rose leaf beside a sweet-pea leaf, you will notice that -the latter has _no upper leaflets_." - -"It has tendrils 'instead,'" said Frank. - -"Exactly!" said Uncle George. "These tendrils correspond to leaflets. -Now, if the plant has been forced to turn all its leaflets, except two, -into gripping organs, how does it manage to make up for this loss of -green leaves? - - [Illustration: Young Edible Pea.] - -"We have already learned that plants take in food from the air by means -of the green substance in their leaves. The more of this green substance -a plant possesses, the more food it can take in from the air. If it -sacrifices leaves in order to climb up to the light and air, its amount -of the green material must be lessened. But the sweet-pea makes up for -this loss of leaves. Can you see how it does so?" - -"The stipules are very large," said Frank. - -"And the lower part of the leaf-stalk is very flat, broad, and green," -added Tom. - -"Very good," said Uncle George, "but look at the long, slender stem. It -has flat, green, ribbon-like outgrowths on each side throughout its -whole length. So, you see, what the plant loses in leaves, it makes up -in another way. - -"Let us now look at the ordinary pea plant. Its leaf has four pairs of -leaflets and three pairs of tendrils besides the terminal tendril--seven -tendrils altogether. The stipules here are also very large--much larger -than those of the sweet-pea. But the stem is round and smooth. There are -no green outgrowths. Here is a wild pea, which I found to-day, which has -no leaves at all. All its leaflets have been turned into tendrils or -gripping organs. But look at the enormous stipules it has! They are much -bigger than ordinary pea leaves. - - [Illustration] - - A Wild Pea with no Leaves. - Young Sweet-Peas have no Tendrils. - -"Let us now look at the tendrils of the sweet-pea, and see how they grip -their supports. Notice that they begin to twist long before they reach -the supporting twig. Then, when they have reached it, they twist round -it _in the opposite way_--just like a piece of string, if you twist it -at one end, it untwists at the other." - -"Can you see any reason for this coiling before it reaches the twig?" As -he spoke, Uncle George pulled a sweet-pea plant out from its supports, -and the boys saw that the tendril was really a spiral spring. The plant -could be pulled out a considerable length without breaking the tendril. - -"You see," Uncle George continued, "if it were not for that first -coiling of the tendril--that is to say, if the tendril grew out straight -and only began to twist when it reached the twig--the first breeze of -wind would snap the plant from its supports and it would fall to the -ground. - -"Look now, at the young sweet-peas which we grew in the pot. They are -without tendrils of any kind. This shows us, I think, that the sweet-pea -was at one time a small plant, like its relative the clover. It grew in -open places and did not have to struggle for light and air. But, by and -by, when strong growing plants took up the soil, it became forced to -produce climbing organs or become choked out. And, having turned its -leaves into climbing or gripping organs, it made up for the loss of -leaves by producing large stipules and green out-growths to stem and -leaf." - - - Exercises on Lesson V. - - 1. Draw a leaf of the wild rose and one of the sweet-pea side by side. - 2. Make a list of all the climbing plants you know, and state how each - climbs. - 3. Look for stipules on the apple, pansy, and bean leaves--make - sketches. - 4. Those plants of the pea family which have many leaflets have smooth - round stems. Those which have few leaflets have "winged" - stems. Can you explain this? - - - - - VI.--THE GREAT WATER BEETLE. - - -During summer the boys paid many visits to the horse pond. Each time -they went there they saw something to interest them. - -Their uncle taught them to keep perfectly still while looking into the -water. They soon came to know that this was the best way to study -pond-life, for, whenever they moved, the creatures they were watching -would dart out of sight. - -One day, while they were both lying on the bank gazing into the pond, a -huge black beetle came up to the surface of the water. It remained there -for a few moments, with its head hanging downwards and its tail sticking -right out of the water. Then it dived down out of sight. In a few -minutes it came up again, and this time Frank's net was under it before -it could escape. - -Just as Frank was putting it into the glass jar, Tom whispered, "Here is -another one--quick, Frank!" - -But Frank was too late; for before he could get the first beetle into -the jar, the second one had dived to the bottom of the pond. The boys -waited for a long time, hoping to see the other beetle again. At last -their patience was rewarded. The beetle came up again to the surface. As -soon as it did so, in went the net, and out came beetle number two. - -"What big beauties," said Frank. "I wonder what they are. Let us hurry -home and show them to Uncle George." - -When they got home, their uncle placed the two beetles in a glass tank -by themselves, so that they could be more easily observed. - -"What do you call them, uncle?" asked Frank. "We have never seen such -large, handsome beetles before." - - [Illustration: Dyticus Beetle, male and female.] - -"Have you not?" his uncle replied. "I am surprised at that, for this -beetle is found in nearly all our ponds and ditches. It has a long Latin -name,[2] which means _Bordered Diver_, but it is commonly known as the -'great water beetle.' There are several kinds of these diving beetles. -This is the largest. Can you give me an idea of their size?" - -And Uncle George handed Frank a small measuring rule which he carried in -his pocket. - -Frank looked at the beetles, and then moved his thumb nail along the -rule. - -"About an inch and a half in length," he said. - -"That is about right," said his uncle. "Are these two beetles exactly -alike?" - -"They are both about the same shape and colour. One is slightly bigger -than the other. They are both greenish-black above and brown below. -There is a curious broad border of yellow all round the edge of their -bodies," said Tom. - -"But they are not both exactly alike," said Frank, "I notice that one is -smooth on the back, while the other's back is all grooved." - -"You are right, Frank," said Uncle George. "The one with the grooved -wing-cases is the female. The one with the smooth cases is the male. - - [Illustration: Fore Leg of Male, showing Sucker Organ.] - -"Notice the long legs they have for swimming, and how they seem to oar -themselves through the water. Notice also that the male has a large flat -disc upon each of his fore legs. These are suckers, by which he can -cling to things." - -"Why do they come up to the surface so often?" Frank asked. - -"They cannot live without air. They carry a supply of air under their -wing-cases. They just come up to renew it from time to time. This is -done by thrusting the end of their bodies out of the water as you see." - -"One would think they ought to thrust their heads out to get air," said -Tom. - -"That seems more natural to us, because we breathe with our mouths," -said Uncle George. "These animals take in air with their tails. A great -many pond insects breathe in this curious way." - -"What do they feed upon?" Frank asked. - -"They are fierce, greedy creatures," his uncle replied. "They attack and -kill worms, tadpoles, and even small fishes." - -Uncle George threw a small worm into the tank. One of the beetles seized -it at once and began to devour it greedily. Presently the other beetle -seized an end of the worm. The boys watched closely, and saw that the -beetles' jaws moved from side to side like a pair of pincers. - -Next morning, when Uncle George and the boys went in to see the beetles, -they found only one in the tank. The other had escaped during the night. -After a careful search they found it, at the far end of the room, dead. - -"Now, how do you think this beetle managed to get out of the tank and -travel all that way?" Uncle George asked. - -"It must have crawled up the inside of the tank, then down the outside. -Then it must have fallen off the window-sill, and crawled right across -the floor," said Frank. - -Uncle George shook his head. - -"It might," he said, "have managed to crawl up to the edge of the tank -so long as its legs were wet. But as its long legs are made for -swimming, and not for crawling with, I can hardly see how it could have -crawled or walked all that distance." - -"Then how did it get there, Uncle George?" - -In answer to Frank's question, his uncle took the dead beetle, and -placed it on a piece of paper on the table. He next moved aside each of -the large black wing-cases with a pin. - -Underneath these wing-cases the boys saw a pair of large wings neatly -folded up. Uncle George removed one of the wing-cases, and unfolded one -of the wings. Stretched out, it was longer than the beetle's body, and -it seemed to be made up of thin, clear skin, stretched on a framework of -long, thin supports. - -"Why, these beetles can fly," said Tom. - - [Illustration: Male and Female Beetles, showing Flying Wings.] - -"Of course they can," said his uncle. "All beetles can fly. This -creature has evidently been flying about the room all night. These -insects are furnished with wings, so that they may be able to fly to -another pool when food gets scarce, or when their pool dries up." - - - Exercises on Lesson VI. - - 1. Would you keep water beetles, tadpoles, and stickle-backs together? - Give your reasons. - 2. Water beetles cannot live without air. Explain how they get it. - 3. Compare the legs of a water beetle with those of any of our garden - beetles. - 4. Why are water beetles furnished with wings? - - - - - VII.--DAISIES. - - -While Uncle George and Frank and Tom were having a game of cricket, -Dolly was amusing herself in another way. She had pulled a bunch of -daisies and was joining them up into a daisy chain. - - [Illustration: Common Daisy.] - -She finished her daisy chain just as her uncle and the boys finished -their game. - -"We will take some daisies home," said Uncle George. He stooped down and -dug out a whole daisy plant with his knife, while Dolly gathered a small -bunch of the flowers. When they got home Uncle George placed his daisy -plant in a saucer of water, and told the boys to bring out their -magnifiers and sketch-books. - -"First of all," he said, "I want you to look at the daisy plant. Notice -its leaves. Each leaf is broad at the end and narrow where it joins the -plant. Notice also that the leaves all form a round green mat on the -ground. Now, can you tell me what the leaf resembles in shape." - - [Illustration] - - 1. Daisy Leaf. - 2. Primrose Leaf. - 3. Cowslip Leaf. - -"It is like a spoon," said Tom. "It is," said his uncle; "and can you -see any reason for it being so shaped? - -"You cannot? Well, I must tell you. All plants whose leaves are all at -the ground have leaves shaped something like this. The primrose and -cowslip are good examples. We have seen that plants, like the pea, climb -up so that their leaves and green parts may get as much light and air as -possible. And if you look at any tree, such as the horse-chestnut, ash, -elm, or beech, you will notice that their leaves are spread out so as to -catch as much light as possible." - -Uncle George then drew a circle. - - [Illustration] - - 1 and 2. Diagram to show Leaf arrangement of Daisy. - 3. Head of Daisy split. - 4. Outer Floret. - 5. Inner Floret. - -"Now, boys," he said, "I want you to try to fill that circle with leaves -so shaped that they will fill it without covering one another. The best -way to do so is to make them broad at the end. If you make them broad at -the base and narrow at the end, they overlap and rob each other of light -and air. Now you can see why the leaves of the daisy are so shaped. - -"Take up a daisy and split it down the centre with your knife. You will -notice that the daisy is _not_ a flower, but a collection of tiny -flowers, or florets, all packed closely together upon a pad or disc, and -surrounded outside by many little green things like small leaves. These -little leaf-like things are called _bracts_." - - [Illustration: London Pride, showing Leaf arrangement.] - -"There are two distinct kinds of florets," said Frank, looking at the -split daisy with his lens. - -"Yes," said Uncle George, "you will see them better if you remove one of -each with a pin, and examine them separately." - -"The outer florets are very large and white," said Frank. - -"They are very flat, while the inner ones are yellow and round. They are -very like small crocus flowers. What is that small two-headed thing that -comes out in the centre of each floret?" - -"That is the part which leads to the seed-vessel. Can you see the -seed-vessel at the bottom of each floret?" - -"Yes," said Tom, "it is large and round. On the top of it and all round -the petal part of the floret there are long silky hairs." - -"In flowers of this kind, when the seeds are ripe they are carried away -by the wind," said Uncle George. "The petal part withers, but the tuft -of hairs remain. They are to the seed what sails are to a ship. They are -much better seen in some other flowers related to the daisy, such as the -thistle. - -"Now cut open the seed-vessel and see how many seeds it contains." - -"There is only one, I think," said Frank. - -"You think correctly," said his uncle. "Each seed-vessel holds a single -seed." - -"The seed-vessel in the large white floret is small and flat," said Tom. - -"It is," said Uncle George. "In fact, the outer florets seldom produce -seeds." - -"Then what is the use of them?" Tom asked. - -"I'll show you," said Uncle George. As he spoke he took up a fresh daisy -flower. - -"Look!" he said, "what a pretty flower it is, with its golden centre and -its bright white edge tipped with red. It is like a beautiful star." - -Then he pulled off all the large white florets. - -"Look at it now," he said. "It is a dingy, ugly little flower. Without -its white florets it would not be seen at all. Now perhaps you can tell -me what the large white florets are for." - -"To help us to see them at a distance," said Frank. - -"So that bees and other flying insects may be able to see them," said -Uncle George. - -"Insects visit flowers for honey, and, in doing so, carry the yellow -dust, or pollen, from flower to flower. This pollen, as I told you -before, has to do with the making of seeds: and stronger seeds are -produced if the pollen comes from another flower. - -"Now compare a white floret with a yellow one, and you will notice still -another difference between them. - -"Round the _stigma_--that is the forked tube which leads to the -seed-vessel--in the yellow florets, there is a yellow ring of _stamens_, -or pollen-boxes. It is shaped like a little barrel with its ends knocked -out, and the _stigma_ grows right up through it. - -"In the white florets there are no pollen-boxes of any kind. - -"Thus, we see that the inner florets are _perfect_ florets which produce -seeds. - -"The outer florets have all run to petal. Their business is to show the -way to the plain little florets in the middle. - -"There is another thing about the daisy that I should like you to -notice," Uncle George continued. "If you go out on a dull day, or in the -evening, you will find all the daisy flowers closed up. They only open -out in bright sunshine, when all the insects are flying about." - - - Exercises on Lesson VII. - - 1. Daises are called "composite" flowers. Can you tell why? Cut a - large "ox-eye daisy" or corn marigold through the centre and - examine the florets carefully. - 2. Using a lens, draw separately, an inside and an outside floret. - Make your drawings large, and name the various parts of each - floret. - 3. Take two ox-eye daisies. Pull off all the white florets of one of - them. Then compare them. Pin both flowers up on the wall. Go - back about thirty paces and note which flower is best seen. - 4. The daisy leaves form a little rosette on the ground. Make a - collection of wild plants which have similar leaves. Draw a - single leaf of each, and compare with those of the daisy. - - [Illustration: Nest of Chaffinch.] - - - - - VIII.--CHAFFINCH AND SONG-THRUSH. - - -It was Frank who found the chaffinch's nest in the wood. It was built in -the fork of a small tree, about eight feet from the ground. - -Although not surrounded either by branches or leaves, it was completely -hidden, for the cunning little birds had matched the outside of the nest -exactly with the bark of the tree. - -Uncle George got an old chaffinch's nest from the gardener, and showed -the boys how it was constructed. Horse-hair, feathers, and moss were -neatly woven together to form the nest. The inside was lined with finer -hairs and feathers. The outside was covered with pieces of bark, lichen, -and faded moss. These were stuck on with silken threads stolen from -spider's webs. The whole thing looked at a distance more like a part of -the tree than a bird's nest. - - [Illustration: A CHAFFINCH'S NEST] - - [Illustration: THE THRUSH] - -The next time the boys went to see the nest they found four tiny eggs in -it. They were bluish-green in colour, and splashed with red and brown -marks. - -It was while paying a third visit to the chaffinch's nest that Uncle -George found the nest of the song-thrush. - -High up on a tall tree the cock thrush was pouring out his song, and -filling the woods with melody. - -"Can you see him, boys?" Uncle George asked, and he handed Frank a pair -of field-glasses which he used for watching the birds. - -"Oh, yes," said Frank, "I can see him quite plainly. He is a brown bird, -with a white and yellow breast, all dotted over with small dark spots." - -"He is not such a beautiful bird as the chaffinch," said Uncle George, -"but he is a much finer singer. Our prettiest birds are by no means our -best songsters. The lark, thrush, linnet, and nightingale are all plain -birds to look at, but they are by far our sweetest singers." - -"Tell us what you see through the glasses, Tom?" - -"I can see him nicely," said Tom. "He holds his head high in the air, as -if he were singing to the sky. His bill is wide open, and the feathers -of his throat are moving rapidly as he sings." - -"I think," said Uncle George, "that his nest must be near. Let us look -for it." - -Just as Uncle George moved, a brown bird flew out of a low bush close at -hand. - -"Ah, ha!" said Uncle George, "I thought we should find it. We have -disturbed the hen bird. She has been sitting on her eggs all the time." - -He moved the branches of the bush gently aside, and the boys saw a large -nest made of dried grass. It was not very high up, and the boys, by -standing on an old tree stump, could look down into it. - -"Oh, what pretty eggs," said Tom. "There are four of them, Uncle George. -They are light blue in colour, and sprinkled with black spots. - - [Illustration] - - Egg of Song-Thrush. - Egg of Chaffinch. - -"The nest is quite smooth and hard inside. What is that queer brown -stuff all over the inside of the nest?" - -"That is clay, Tom. When the thrushes have built their nest, they line -the inside of it with clay. This clay is soft at first, but it soon -dries and turns quite hard. - -"But, come, let us go, boys. The cock thrush has stopped his singing. He -and his little wife are flying about in great alarm." - -When they came to the chaffinch's neat little nest in the fork of the -tree, they got a great surprise. The four little mottled eggs were gone. -In their place were four tiny naked creatures, with little tufts of dark -coloured down upon their heads and necks. They had very large mouths, -and their eyes were closed. - -"Oh, what funny little things," said Frank. - -As soon as he spoke, the baby chaffinches stretched out their slender -little necks, opened their wide, gaping mouths, and cried for food. - -"_Pink, Pink, Pink!_" came from a neighbouring tree. - -"Come down, Frank!" Uncle George whispered. "Let us go back from the -nest, and we will perhaps see the old birds feeding them." - -With another "_Pink, Pink, Pink_," the cock chaffinch flew down and -stood on the edge of the nest. He had something in his bill. This he -dropped into one of the gaping little mouths, and flew away. - -Next came the hen bird with something in her bill. She fed another of -the hungry little birds, and flew away also. - -The boys were greatly interested. They wanted to stay the whole -afternoon and watch the chaffinches feeding their young, but their uncle -would not allow this. - -"No, no, my dear boys," he said, "we must not annoy our little feathered -friends too much, or they may forsake their beautiful nest and their -helpless young ones. - -"We will come back in a fortnight and see the young birds. You will not -know them then, for they will be fully fledged." - -"What do you mean by 'fully fledged,' Uncle George?" Tom asked. - -"It means covered all over with feathers, does it not?" said Frank. - -Their uncle nodded. - -"Are these little birds not cold without feathers?" asked Tom. - -"Oh, dear, no," his uncle answered. "During the day they cuddle up -together in their cosy nest. At night the mother bird folds her wings -over the nest." - -"Where does the cock bird go at night?" asked Tom. - -"He sleeps on a branch quite near the nest," his uncle answered. - - [Illustration: Rooks and Nest.] - -"I have just two more questions to ask, Uncle George," said Frank. "What -do the chaffinches feed their young ones on? and what becomes of the -young birds after they are fledged?" - -"They feed their young chiefly on small worms, flies, grubs, beetles, -and other insects. When the young chaffinches are fledged, their parents -lead them from the nest. They teach them to fly, and show them where to -find their food. They never lose sight of them until they are quite -grown up and able to take care of themselves." - - - Exercises on Lesson VIII. - - 1. Describe and compare the nests of rook, thrush, and chaffinch. - Where would you look for each? - 2. How does the chaffinch, in building his nest, imitate the colour of - the tree it is built on. Can you see any special reason for - this? - 3. Make a list of all the British birds you know. Then divide this - list into--(1) pretty birds; (2) plain birds; (3) singing - birds. - 4. Write a description of any bird's nest you have seen, stating where - and how it was built, and also what you learned from it. - - [Illustration: Holly branch.] - - - - - IX.--PLANTS THAT ARM THEMSELVES. - - -"Some time ago," said Uncle George, "I promised to tell you something -about how plants arm themselves. And here, in this hedgerow, we have -some good examples of armed plants." - -"There is the stinging nettle," said Tom, pointing to a large patch at -the roadside. - -"The stinging nettle is certainly well protected," said his uncle. "You -have only to touch any part of it lightly with your hand to find that -out. Every part of the plant is covered with small needle-shaped hairs. -These hairs are hollow and contain a poisonous juice. At the base of -each hair there is a bag filled with this juice, while the tip of each -is sharp and very brittle. - -"When your hand touches a nettle--unless you grasp it tightly--the sharp -hair pierces the skin. It's brittle point breaks off and the poisonous -juice is poured out." - -"Why is the nettle covered with these horrid stings?" asked Frank. - -"To save it from being eaten up, of course. The nettle is a tender and -juicy plant, and, if it were not for its stings it would soon disappear -altogether. - -"Now, here is another armed plant, the blackberry or bramble. The stem -and also the backs of the leaves are covered with large curved prickles. -These prickles not only protect the plant from grazing animals, but they -help it to climb and scramble up walls and hedges. - -"If you try to pull a bramble branch down out of the hawthorn hedge, you -will find it rather difficult, for its large prickles are all turned one -way. They are really sharp hooks." - -"Here is a wild rose bush. It is also covered with large hooked -prickles," said Frank. - -"Yes, Tom, and, like the bramble, it threads its way among stronger and -taller plants. - -"The wild gooseberry growing close beside it is also armed with -prickles. But the prickles of the gooseberry are for protecting its -tender leaves. It is not a climbing plant like the rose and bramble. The -raspberry also is covered with many sharp little prickles. There is a -clump of these plants growing at the other side of the road. Let us cut -off a small branch of each of these plants and take them home." - - [Illustration: Armed Plants.] - - 1. Thistle. - 2. Blackberry. - 3. Whin. - 4. Barberry. - 5. Raspberry. - 6. Sloe. - 7. Buttercup. - -"This is the most prickly plant of all," said Frank, as he halted before -a huge thistle. "You can scarcely touch it without getting severely -pricked." - -"The thistle is well armed," said Uncle George. "There are sharp -prickles on its leaves, on its stem, and on its flowers." - -As they walked down the road they came upon a mass of whin bushes. - -"Here," said Uncle George, "we have a plant which has turned its leaves -into sharp spines." He bent down and pulled up a tiny plant which was -growing under the larger gorse bushes. "Look at this little plant, boys. -This is a young whin plant." - -"But it is not a bit like the whin, Uncle George," said Tom. "Its leaves -are soft and flat. They are more like clover leaves. There are no spines -or prickles on this little plant." - -"That is so, Tom; but still it is a young whin plant. - - [Illustration: Young Whins.] - -"There are a great many of these young whins growing under the older -bushes. Let us take a few of them home. If we grow one of them in a pot, -and supply it with plenty of water, we will find that it will _never_ -produce sharp prickles." - -"That is very wonderful," said Frank. - -"It is," said Uncle George, "and it teaches us something of the whin's -history. Like the nettle, the whin is a juicy plant, and, if it were not -for its prickles, would be eaten by cows, sheep, and horses. In fact, -some farmers give whins to their horses. Of course the whins are passed -through a mill first. The mill crushes the whins and destroys the -prickles. - -"It shows us that many, many years ago the whin was a soft-leaved plant -like the clover. It grew in moist soil. But by and by other plants -invaded the land. These plants grew more quickly than the whin, and -choked it out of the rich moist soil. Forced to grow upon bare -hill-sides and commons, the soft-leaved juicy whin would be destroyed by -grazing animals if it did not arm itself with sharp spines. - -"Here is the blackthorn or sloe. It bears many hard, sharp-pointed -spines. Yet, if we grow a sloe plant in the garden, we find that its -sharp spines gradually disappear. They become branches bearing leaves -and flowers. - -"But plants have other ways of protecting themselves against animals. -Look through the hedge into the meadow and you will notice that while -the grass has been eaten bare, there are other plants which have been -left to grow up untouched. Buttercups grow up all over the field, and -tall ragwort plants. How is it that the cows do not eat these plants? -They are not armed with spines or prickles. - -"They protect themselves in another way. They contain bitter or -poisonous juices. No cow will eat a buttercup. If it did so it would be -ill and uncomfortable for a time. - -"I want you to notice, boys, that--with the exception of those plants, -like the bramble and wild rose, which use their prickles for climbing as -well as for protection--all our armed plants grow in exposed places. The -thistle and whin are good examples of this." - - - Exercises on Lesson IX. - - 1. Take in twigs of hawthorn, barberry, holly, bramble, and - gooseberry. Examine, and sketch them so as to show their - protective parts. - 2. Grow a small whin bush in a pot and water it daily. Note that the - _new growth_ it makes is tender, and that _no spines_ are - produced. - 3. Some plants are covered with dense woolly hairs. These are seldom - eaten by cattle. Can you explain why? - 4. Make a list of all the armed plants you know, and tell how each is - protected. - - - - - X.--THE HORSE POND AGAIN. - - -Frank and Tom returned from the horse pond one day with their jars -filled with curious creatures. - -"We took the water beetle back to the pond, Uncle George," said Frank, -"and I almost felt sorry to let such a cruel and greedy monster loose -among the other creatures in the pond." - -"You have here creatures even more cruel and greedy than the diving -beetle," said his uncle, looking into the glass jars which the boys had -brought. - -"Here is the larva of the diving beetle, and a fiercer or greedier -creature is not to be found in the whole world." - -Uncle George refilled the three large tanks. He poured the contents of -one of the jars into one of the tanks. It contained, besides the larvæ -he spoke of, a number of tadpoles, some small stickle-backs, and a great -many water snails or whelks. - -In addition to these, there were one or two curious insects, with a pair -of very long legs. They came to the surface every now and then, and -moved their long limbs like oars. Whenever the tank was touched, they -would suddenly dive to the bottom. Here they would remain for a short -time, then, returning to the surface, would "oar" themselves along as -usual. - -"What are these queer things, Uncle George?" Tom asked. "They look -exactly like little boats." - -"They are beetles," Uncle George replied, "and they do resemble little -row-boats--so much so that they are called 'water boatmen.' This -beetle's body is shaped like a boat, and he lies on his back and moves -his very long hind legs exactly like oars. He has a large, sharp beak, -which you can see if you look closely." - -Just as Uncle George was speaking, a small fly alighted on the surface -of the water. It was immediately seized by a water boatman, who dived -with it to the bottom of the tank. - - [Illustration] - - 1. Water Boatman. - 2. Water Whelk. - 3. Water Hog Louse. - -"That is how the creature feeds," said Uncle George. "When an unlucky -fly comes near, he seizes it with his two fore pairs of short legs, -drives his cruel beak deep into its body, and dives with it to the -bottom of the pool. When he has drowned his victim, he devours it at -leisure. - -"But let us look at the creature I first spoke of--the larva of the -diving beetle." - -There were several in the tank. Uncle George lifted one out with a small -gauze net. He placed it in a saucer of water and asked the boys to -sketch it. - -"It has six legs," said Frank. "Its head is large and flat, and there -are two things like horns sticking out of it." - -"These are the creature's jaws," said his uncle. - -Uncle George touched the creature's head with the point of his pencil. -Instantly the long, curved fangs moved apart, and the creature sprang at -the pencil and closed its fangs upon the wood. - - [Illustration] - - 1. Larva of Diving Beetle. - 2, 3. Head, showing how Fangs work. - 4. Larva seizing Tadpole. - -"What a fierce creature," said Tom. - -"Yes," replied his uncle. "We must remove the others from the tank, or -there will be nothing left alive in it. See, one of them has caught a -tadpole already." And, sure enough, the creature had sunk his cruel -pincers deep into the body of a tadpole. He shook the tadpole as a dog -would shake a rat. - -"Those huge fangs are hollow," Uncle George continued. "With them he -sucks every drop of blood from his victim's body. In this way he devours -tadpoles, whelks, little fishes, and even his own weaker brethren. - -"We shall have to put these larvæ in a tank by themselves, and feed them -upon pieces of fresh raw meat, to keep them from devouring one another. - -"Now, boys, I am going to describe this larva. Look closely, and see if -I am right. You can correct your drawings as we go along. - -"His body, which is nearly two inches long, is narrow at each end and -broad at the middle. It is divided into twelve segments, and to each of -the first three of these segments a pair of legs are attached. His -large, flat head is almost heart-shaped. At its broad end are a pair of -large, beady eyes, three pairs of organs which look like feelers, and -the two large, curved fangs with which he seizes his prey. - -"Notice how beautifully the legs are adapted for swimming. They are -edged with long, stiff hairs, which stand out flat with every down -stroke, but fold in when the legs move upwards. That is how the creature -is such a graceful swimmer. - -"The last three segments of his body are thickly covered with long -hairs. His tail is divided into two long plumes. You can see what these -are for, I hope." - -"Oh yes," said Frank. "Like the parent beetle, the larva comes often to -the surface and hangs downwards with his tail exposed to the air. So -these plumes must be his breathing organs." - -"And do these long, slender creatures actually become broad, stout -beetles like the one we returned to the pond to-day?" Tom asked. - -"Yes, Tom, they do. Just as your green caterpillar became a beautiful -white butterfly. These larvæ hatched out of eggs which were laid by the -female beetle in the stem of some water weed. She first cuts a slit in -the water weed, and then places an egg in the slit. - -"When the larvæ are full grown, they crawl out of the pond and bury -themselves in ground. Here they pass the winter in the pupa stage. They -come out in spring, fully-formed beetles, and pass the remainder of -their lives in the water." - -"What are these curious creatures that crawl among the water weeds?" -Frank asked. "They are very like the 'slaters' which we find among old -wood-work in the garden." - -"That creature is the 'water hog.' Its proper name is _Asellus_, and it -is very closely related to the garden 'slater' or wood-louse. - -"These water hogs, like the whelks, are very useful in an aquarium. They -eat up all waste matter, and so help greatly to keep the water fresh. - -"By the by, I want you to watch the whelks from day to day. They usually -lay their eggs in a clear, broad band on the inside of the glass tank; -and with our lenses we can watch the changes in these eggs nicely." - - - Exercises on Lesson X. - - 1. Procure some "water boatmen" from the nearest pond (see Appendix), - feed them upon flies, and watch their habits. Notice - particularly their method of swimming and of feeding. - 2. We should not keep all our pond animals in one tank. Can you - explain (giving examples) why this is? - 3. Write the life-history of the diving beetle. - 4. Make large sketches of the diving beetle and its larva. Compare - them. - - [Illustration] - - Water Beetles. - Hog Lice. - Water Whelks. - Water Boatman. - - - - - XI.--WASPS. - - -The wasp's nest was found at the edge of the wood, hanging from the -branch of a small tree. It was greyish white in colour, shaped like a -pear, and about the size of a hen's egg. - - [Illustration] - - Queen Wasp. - Worker Wasp. - Queen Bee. - Worker Bee. - -Uncle George removed it from the branch and carried it home carefully, -for it was very light and very fragile. He took a pair of scissors and -cut through the thin walls so as to remove nearly half of the coverings. -When he had finished cutting, two thin, papery shells fell upon the -table, one a size smaller than the other. - -"Examine the stuff the wasp's nest is made of, and tell me what it is -most like, boys," he said. - -"It is more like paper than anything else," said Tom. - -"It _is_ paper," said his uncle. - -"Where did the wasps find this paper?" Frank asked. - -"Not '_wasps_,' Frank, but _wasp_," his uncle answered, "for this nest -was all built by _one_ wasp. The insect did not find the paper. She made -it. It was the wasp who first taught man to make paper. - -"The queen wasp awakens from her winter sleep in spring, and at once -sets about making her nest. She gathers tiny fragments of wood and bark, -chews them up, and mixes them with a fluid from her mouth. This, when it -hardens, is paper. - -"First she makes a stiff rod, or pillar, of paper. This hangs down from -the branch and forms the centre of the nest. Round this are built the -walls of her house. - -"Observe, boys, that there are two distinct walls of paper, one inside -the other; and there is a wide air space between them all the way round. -The entrance to the nest is at the bottom. Round the centre pillar there -is a little thing shaped like an opened umbrella. If you look underneath -this, you will see something curious, I think." - -"Oh," said Frank, "it is divided into six cells, and in each cell there -is a small, stout maggot or grub. I can see them moving." - -"These are the young wasps," said Uncle George. "Like your butterflies -and caddis flies, the wasp passes through egg, larva (or caterpillar), -and pupa stage before it becomes a perfect insect. These are in the -larva stage but, unlike your caterpillars, they have no legs, and they -cannot feed themselves." - -"Then the mother wasp must have laid an egg in each cell," said Frank, -"and these grubs hatched out of them." - -"That is so," said Uncle George. "You see what a clever and industrious -creature a wasp is. To build this beautiful nest all alone and unaided, -and to rear and feed her helpless grubs, is a task indeed." - -"What are the wasp grubs fed on?" asked Frank. - -"At first," said Uncle George, "they are fed on animal food, and this -keeps the queen wasp hunting insects all day long. As they grow older, -they are fed upon honey. - - [Illustration] - - Nest of Wasp in Spring. - A. Outer wall. - B. Inner wall. - C. Air space. - D. Cells with larvæ. - Same Nest in Autumn. - A. Combs of cells. - B. Supporting pillars. - C. Entrance. - DD. Inner and Outer walls. - E. Air space. - -"The wasps which come from these first eggs are 'worker' wasps. As soon -as they are hatched out, they begin to enlarge the nest. This they do by -removing the inside wall and building a new and larger outer wall. This -is done from time to time, until at last the nest becomes as big as an -ordinary-sized turnip. While this is going on, more and more cells are -being built inside, until at last five or six large combs of cells fill -the inside of the nest. The queen wasp lays an egg in each cell as it is -formed; and the worker wasps gather food and nurse the young grubs until -they become perfect wasps. - -"By and by some young queens, or female wasps, are hatched out. These -lay eggs, and soon the population the paper nest numbers many -thousands." - -"And that is why the gardener kills every wasp he sees in spring time," -said Frank. - -"Every wasp we see in spring," said Uncle George, "is a queen wasp. If -allowed to live, each queen would become the founder of a nest and the -mother of thousands of wasps." - -"But why destroy the wasps?" asked Tom. - -"Because wasps are very destructive and dangerous insects," said Uncle -George. "They destroy our best fruit, and their sting is poisonous, -sometimes causing death." - - [Illustration: Wasp's Nest inside Wren's Nest.] - -During the summer the boys found several wasp's nests. One was built -under-ground at the roadside. Another was built inside a wren's nest. -The queen wasp who built it had driven the wrens out. A third nest hung -from the branch of a gooseberry bush in the garden. - - [Illustration: Humble Bees and Nest.] - -The latter was watched by Uncle George and the boys as it grew larger -and larger. Soon, however, the wasps became too numerous. One day they -chased Tom and Frank out of the garden and stung them badly. Then Uncle -George removed the nest. Putting on his bee-veil and gloves, he cut off -the branch from which the nest hung. He put nest and branch inside a -large box; and, having placed a saucer containing burning sulphur inside -the box, he closed the lid. - - [Illustration: Nest of Tree Wasp.] - -In the morning the wasps were all dead, and the boys examined the huge -nest. Thus they were able to see queens, workers, and male wasps, eggs, -larvæ, and pupæ, and to make drawings of each. - -"What becomes of the wasps in winter?" Frank asked his uncle. - -"They come to a sad end, Frank," said Uncle George. "They do not store -food like the hive bee, and so, when the cold weather comes, they starve -to death. - - [Illustration] - - Queen Humble Bee. - Worker Humble Bee. - -"Our good-humoured and hard-working friend, the humble bee, shares the -same fate. A few young queens leave the nest before winter comes on. -These bury themselves in mossy banks and sleep the winter through." - - - Exercises on Lesson XI. - - 1. Look under low branches of larch and spruce trees in spring for the - nest of the wasp. Make a drawing of it. Cut it open and - examine the interior. - 2. Compare a piece of the wall of the nest with the torn edge of (1) a - piece of coarse brown paper and (2) a piece of ordinary - newspaper. - 3. Write out the life-history of a wasp. - 4. Compare the combs of the hive bee with those of the wasp. Notice - that the former are placed vertically in the nest, the latter - horizontally. Observe how the wasp's combs are kept apart. - - - - - XII.--THE DANDELION. - - -Uncle George and the boys were having a stroll along a lane where briar -and hawthorn and all sorts of wild flowers grew. Although it was an -October day the sun was shining brightly, and all along the wayside the -golden flowers of the dandelion opened wide to the sunlight. - -"I thought that the dandelion was an early summer flower," said Frank. - -"So it is," said his uncle; "but this year the autumn has been so warm -that our dandelions are flowering a second time. This often happens with -many of our wild flowers during an extra mild season. - -"You ought to dig up one of these dandelion plants, take it home and -grow it in a pot. It is a most interesting plant to observe, especially -the growth and ripening of its seeds. I see here dandelion flowers in -almost every stage of their growth. - -"If you look you will find among the wide open flower-heads many others -which are closed. Let us split a few of these down the centre, and we -will find that they are not all alike. - -"Here is one with a bright yellow tip. This one has not yet opened. If -you use your lens you will notice that, like the daisy, this is not a -single flower, but is made up of a great many small yellow florets. -These florets stand upon a flat round disc, and they are surrounded by -two rings of green things called bracts. One set of these bracts stands -up straight. These protect the florets. They open and close the flower. -The down pointing bracts protect the flower from ants and crawling -insects. - - [Illustration: Dandelion.] - -"Now, Frank, look at the split flower and tell me what you see with your -glass." - -"The florets are all of one kind," said Frank. "They are all strap -shaped, and there are a great many of them. The younger florets are in -the middle." - -"If you were to pull the florets out and count them you would find about -three hundred of them in a single flower-head," said Uncle George. - - [Illustration] - - 1. Dandelion Flower-head not yet opened. - 2. Single Floret of same. - 3, 4, 5. Flower-head closed for Seed ripening. - 6. Second time of opening. - -"Now, take one single floret and examine it, please. It is very like the -outer (white) florets of the daisy. But it is more complete. There is a -large seed-vessel at the bottom. Just above this there are a great -number of long silky hairs. You will see what these are for by and by. -The lower part of the floret is tubular, but it opens up into a long -yellow strap-shaped petal. There are really five petals all joined -together here." - -"Oh yes," said Frank, "at the top of the floret I can see five distinct -teeth, and five ridges run down from them. I also see the barrel-shaped -ring of stamens." - -"Let us gather some more of the closed flowers," said Uncle George. - -"Here are two other closed flowers. One of them has a yellow tip, -withered and faded almost to brown. The other has a white woolly tip." - -"Have these not opened yet?" Tom asked. - -"Oh yes! they have opened and closed up again. The dandelion opens out -to the sun so that flying insects may visit it and carry pollen from -flower to flower. When it has received, in this way, enough pollen to -enable its seeds to form, it closes up completely and remains closed -until its seeds are ripened. During this time the short stalk between -the seed-vessel and petal part grows long. If you look again at a single -floret you will see that this short stout stack bears the long straight -hairs I spoke of. The flower-head closes so tightly that the yellow -strap-shaped petal parts of the florets are squeezed together into a -bunch. They soon wither. Meantime all the hair-tipped seed-stalks are -growing longer and longer. At last they push the bunch of withered -petals right out of the flower and it falls off." - -Uncle George then gathered a few more closed heads, and, by cutting them -open, showed the boys all the stages in the growth of the seeds. - -"When the dandelion flower-head opens for the last time, instead of a -flat golden mass of florets, this is what appears." As he spoke, Uncle -George pointed to a dandelion head which was one huge fluffy ball of -stalked seeds. - -Frank held it up and blew his breath upon it. Immediately all the seeds -went sailing through the air. - -"Why does the flower-head keep closed when the seeds are ripening?" -asked Tom. - -"Because," answered Uncle George, "not only has the seed to ripen, but a -plumed stalk has to be formed by means of which the seed is carried away -from the parent plant. These plumes have to be perfectly dry or they -would be of no use as sails to the seed. Notice that it is only on dry -days that these 'clocks' of the dandelion appear." - -"But, Uncle George," said Frank, "are these seeds actually fitted with -feathery tops so that they may be carried far away from the parent -plant?" - -"Certainly, my boy. You would not have them all trying to grow in the -place where the parent plant grows, would you? There would be no room -for three hundred seeds to grow there. Besides that, the parent plant -has already exhausted the soil. It is necessary that they should seek -pastures new, and therefore the seeds of most plants are furnished with -some means of travelling." - -"Are all seeds carried by the wind?" Tom asked. - -"Oh dear no," Uncle George replied, "plants have many ways of scattering -their seeds. Some plants, by suddenly bursting their seed-vessels, shoot -their seeds far out; some seeds are furnished with little hooks which -grip on to the fur of passing animals; some are carried by birds; but by -far the greater number are scattered by the wind. - -"We shall learn more about these at some future time. Meantime we will -grow a dandelion plant at home, and watch the opening and closing of its -flowers, and the wonderful way in which its travelling seeds are -produced." - - - Exercises on Lesson XII. - - 1. Gather dandelion flowers at different stages of growth. Draw, on a - large scale, a single floret from each, - 2. Draw a leaf of the dandelion. Compare it with a primrose leaf. See - if you can make out, from the shape of the leaf, why the plant - is called "dandelion" (_dent de lion_ = "lion's tooth"). - 3. Take in a dandelion plant bearing young flowers. Keep the root in - well-watered soil, or in water only, and watch the growth of - its flowers. - 4. Make a list of all the wind-carried seeds you know, and give a - drawing or short description of each. - - [Illustration: TROUT] - - - - - XIII.--TROUT. - - -One day in November the postman brought Uncle George a small wooden box. -There were holes bored in the sides and top of it. The box, when opened, -seemed to be filled with damp moss; but when some of this moss was -removed there was found in the middle of the box a piece of folded -muslin. - - [Illustration] - - Hatching Bottle. - A. Supply pipe. - B. Exhaust pipe. - C. Trout Eggs. - Rearing Box. - C. Perforated zinc tray to fit box. - -Uncle George laid the muslin on the table, and opened it out. It -contained a number of tiny pink balls, much smaller than peas. - -"These are the trout eggs you promised to get for us, are they not?" -said Frank. - -"They are," said Uncle George, "and we must put them into running water -at once. I have a bottle here ready for them." - -Uncle George filled a wide-mouthed bottle with water from the tap and -placed the eggs in it. He then corked it with a cork in which he had -bored two holes. - -Into each of the holes he had fitted a tube. One tube was long enough to -reach almost to the bottom of the bottle. The other was bent over the -outside of the bottle. - -The straight tube was connected with the water tap by a piece of -indiarubber tubing. He then turned the tap on gently, so that the water -went in by the straight tube and came dripping out by the bent tube. - -"Trout require a constant supply of fresh water," he said. "Their eggs -are usually laid in shallow streams. - -"Now, boys, I want you to watch these eggs and note down any changes you -see in them. You can remove the bottle from the tap at any time, but you -must not keep it more than fifteen minutes at a time, or your trout will -not hatch." - -At the end of a week the boys noticed two black dots and a coiled white -line in each egg. - -In two weeks more some curious-looking creatures were seen wriggling -about among the eggs. As there were some empty egg-skins to be seen, -they guessed that these lively creatures must be young trout. - -They were not a bit like fish. Each seemed to be made up of a long white -streak, which looked like the "backbone" of a fish, a big, clumsy yellow -bag with red veins running through it, and two large black spots that -looked like eyes. - -In a few days all the eggs hatched out, and in place of the little pink -eggs there was a crowd of these wriggling creatures and a number of -empty egg-skins. The boys were puzzled, and Uncle George had to be -consulted. - - [Illustration: Six Stages in Development of Trout.] - -"I don't think these were trout eggs," said Frank. "The creatures that -came out of them are not a bit like fishes. They swim on their sides and -have a huge yellow bag attached to their bodies." - -"They _are_ young trout, I can assure you, Frank," said his uncle -laughing. "If you remember, your tadpoles were not a bit like frogs when -they hatched out of the egg. These huge bags you talk of are called -'yolks.' Each trout when hatched is furnished with a huge yolk or food -supply. - -"The tadpole, when hatched, has also got a yolk upon which he lives -without eating for four or five days. Our trout will require no food for -six weeks. During that time the yolk will become smaller and smaller, -and at last disappear entirely. While the yolk is shrinking, you will -notice that the creature gradually assumes the form of a fish." - -Uncle George emptied the bottle containing the young trout into a wooden -box which he had made. This box was fifteen inches long, four inches -broad, and four inches deep. The inside of it he had charred with a -red-hot iron after it was put together. It was placed under the tap, and -the water dripped into it all day and all night. - -Frank made a small gauze net about the size of a dessert-spoon, and with -this they lifted troutlets out of the box whenever they wanted to -examine them. - -As their uncle had said, the creatures changed from day to day. By -placing a single trout in a white saucer, the boys could note these -changes; but they were such lively little creatures that making good -sketches of them was somewhat difficult. - -First the big black dots became more like eyes. Then delicate fins and -tail appeared, and mouths which opened and shut. At the top of the -yolk-sac, just under the head, the boys could see a little red thing -like a heart beating constantly. As the yolk-sac grew smaller, the -little fish's body grew more shapely, and tiny brown spots appeared all -over it. - -At last, at the end of six weeks, the yolk was completely gone, and the -young trout were now beautiful little fish, shaped and coloured exactly -like big trout. - -Then Uncle George began to feed them. They were fed four times a day on -the yolk of an egg which had been boiled for half an hour. A very small -quantity of this hard yolk was squeezed through a piece of gauze into -the water, and the little fishes dashed at it and gobbled it up -greedily. - -They were so rapid in their movements, swimming about and leaping out of -the water, that the boys were never tired of watching them. - -"What are the brown spots on a trout for?" Frank asked his uncle one -day. - -"The trout is protected by his colour," said Uncle George. "Each trout -is coloured like the bed of the stream he lives in, and the spots -resemble grains of sand and tiny pebbles. The trout can change his -colour, like the frog, as I will show you." - -Uncle George took two trout out of the box and placed them in a glass -dish. He placed the dish in a white saucer, and so arranged it that -water was kept flowing into and out of it. - -Next day he took two more trout out of the box and placed them in the -glass dish. It was then seen that the first two trout had grown quite -light in colour. They were much paler than those taken out of the box, -the inside of which was charred and black. - -One day Uncle George found two of the trout dead in the box. - -"I am afraid, boys," he said, "that we cannot keep them confined any -longer. Get a large pail full of water, and we will carry them to the -brook." - -"We must come here and fish next year, Frank," said Tom, after the trout -were transferred to the brook. "How long will it be before they become -big trout, Uncle George?" - -"They are now about an inch long," said Uncle George. "In a year they -will be four inches long. In about three years, if they are not devoured -by larger trout, they will weigh about a pound apiece." - -"I think it is a shame to kill such pretty little creatures," said -Frank. - -"I quite agree with you, Frank," said his uncle. - - - Exercises on Lesson XIII. - - 1. Compare a newly-hatched trout with a seed (bean). How do they - resemble, and how do they differ from one another? - 2. The trout is protected by its colour markings. Make a list of any - other animals you know that are "colour protected." - 3. If you put a fish (trout) into water which has been boiled and - allowed to cool, it dies. What are your reasons for this? - 4. Make notes, with sketches, of the development of a young trout from - the time it is hatched until it requires food. - - - - - XIV.--SILKWORMS. - - -The silkworm eggs came in a very small box. They were sent by a friend -of Uncle George's who lived in the south of England. The eggs were stuck -to pieces of paper in scattered groups. Some pieces of paper had only -one or two eggs on them, others had as many as forty. They were small, -round things, flattened on the top, and coloured light green. They -reminded the boys of small mustard seeds, but they were not so round. - -In answer to Frank's question as to why the eggs were laid in irregular -groups, Uncle George answered: - -"When the silk-moth emerges from her pupa case, she lays her eggs -anywhere on the floor of her cage. As the eggs are coated with a gluey -material when newly laid, they stick firmly to the floor. - -"Those people who rear silkworms always have a sheet of clean paper -covering the floor of the cage before egg-laying commences. After the -eggs are laid, they are found adhering to this sheet of paper. The paper -is taken out of the larva cage, and those parts containing eggs are cut -out with scissors." - -"How many eggs are laid by one moth," Frank asked. - -"From four to five hundred," his uncle replied. "Let us get our larva -cage cleaned out, and we will put these eggs in the lower part of it and -await their hatching." - -"Why in the _lower_ part," Frank asked, as he set about cleaning the -cage. - -"Because its floor is a drawer which can be pulled out. If you put them -in the upper part, you must lay a sheet of paper on the floor first, for -your silkworms must not be handled on any account." - -"And how long do we have to wait for these eggs to hatch?" asked Tom. - - [Illustration: Larva Case.] - -"That depends altogether upon the amount of warmth they receive, Tom. -They will remain unhatched ever so long if kept in a cool place; but -whenever they are placed where they can get the necessary amount of -warmth, they begin to hatch. Let us put them in the front window, where -they can get most sunshine." - -About a week after the larva cage was placed in the window, Frank -reported to his uncle that some of the eggs had turned white. - -"Take your lens and examine carefully those eggs which have lost their -colour," said Uncle George. - -Lifting out one of the small pieces of paper with eggs on it, Frank -examined it with the glass. - -"Oh," he said, "these colourless eggs are just empty shells, and there -are two small creatures crawling along the edge of the paper. How small -they are! They are no longer than the breadth of a pin-head. They are -almost black in colour, covered all over with hair, and have very large -heads." - -"Well, these are newly-hatched silkworms," said Uncle George, "and they -are already looking for food. Run out to the garden and bring in some -fresh lettuce leaves." - -Uncle George carefully dried the lettuce leaves before putting them into -the cage. In two days all the eggs were hatched, and in their place were -as many black, hairy, crawling little creatures with clumsy heads. -Although they did not seem to eat much, they grew very rapidly. When -three days old, they were fully twice as big as when hatched. - -In five days the silkworms seemed to have increased in number as well as -in size. In fact, there seemed to be twice as many grubs as there were -of eggs. - -Then Uncle George explained that half of these were not grubs, but -simply empty skins. - -"The silkworm, in order to grow, must cast its skin," he said. "It does -this four times during its lifetime. Look out for another _moult_, or -skin-casting, in four days' time." - -Four days later the grubs cast their skins again, just as Uncle George -had said. They were now about half an inch in length, and much lighter -in colour. - -In six further days they moulted a third time. Instead of dingy, hairy -grubs, they were now hairless caterpillars, yellowish-white in colour, -and with round black heads. Their fourth and last moult took place in -another week. By this time they were over an inch in length. They now -began to eat the lettuce leaves ravenously, and grew very fast. For ten -days they ate much and grew rapidly. Then they seemed to get tired of -feeding, and began to crawl lazily up the sides of their cage. - - [Illustration: Silk Moth.] - - 1. Eggs. - 2. Larva. - 3. Silk Cocoon. - 4. Chrysalis. - -"They are full grown now, boys," said Uncle George, "and will soon begin -to spin their silken cocoons. - -"They are now about three inches long, and very different from the tiny -hairy grubs which came out of the eggs over a month ago." - -"We have been comparing drawings of them with drawings we made of the -caterpillar of the white cabbage butterfly," said Frank, "and we find -that they are very much alike." - -"That is good," said Uncle George. "They are, indeed, very much alike. -The body is made up of thirteen segments, and they have the same number -of legs. They differ from the cabbage caterpillar, however, in size and -colour. Notice the little horn which sticks up out of the twelfth -segment. Your cabbage caterpillar did not have that. If you look closely -you will notice a long silk thread issuing from the head of one of these -silk-spinning caterpillars. This one has just begun to make his cocoon; -and, in order to prevent his threads becoming entangled with those of -the other caterpillars, I will place this small paper cone over him." - -Next day Uncle George covered several of the caterpillars with paper -cones. On the roof of the cage the boys saw one caterpillar surrounded -with a flimsy web of silk of a golden-yellow colour. As they watched the -creature turning its head round and round inside the silky veil, their -uncle told them that the creature was spinning silk at the rate of about -a foot per minute. - -In three days each caterpillar had surrounded itself with a dense silken -cocoon as large as a walnut. Then Uncle George took one of the cocoons, -and, cutting it open, showed the boys the brown, shining chrysalis -inside. He took another cocoon, and, having dipped it into warm water, -began to wind the silken thread on to a piece of card. - -Both Frank and Tom were amazed at the length of this silken thread. They -were more surprised when they were told that each caterpillar produces a -silk thread more than half a mile long. - -"Tell us, please, Uncle George," said Frank, "why the creature spins all -this silk, and how it makes it?" - -"You are asking a difficult question," said his uncle, "but I will tell -you something about it. - - [Illustration] - - S. Silk Fibres. - W. Wool. - C. Cotton. - (All highly magnified.) - -"The creature spins this cocoon to protect its chrysalis, of course. The -silk is produced in two long, coiled tubes, which occupy nearly the -whole length of the creature's body. - -"Silk, before it issues from the caterpillar's body, is a fluid. -Whenever it comes out into the air, it becomes horny. Two strands are -produced at once--one from each of the long coiled tubes. Before they -leave the caterpillar's body they are pressed together to form one flat, -ribbon-like thread. Silk is one of the strongest fibres in the world. It -is nearly as strong as steel, and much stronger than many of our metals. - -"In a fortnight your silken cocoons will produce white, fluffy moths. -'Then you can supply your friends with hundreds of 'silkworm' eggs, and -still have enough over to stock your larva cage." - - [Illustration: Silk Moths--Male and Female.] - - - Exercises on Lesson XIV. - - 1. Are "silkworms" really worms? What creatures do they most resemble? - 2. Many of our common caterpillars spin silk of a kind. Take in - "woolly bear" caterpillars. Feed them on the plants you find - them on. Compare the cocoons they make with those of the - "silkworm." - 3. Compare egg, larva, pupa, and perfect insect of the "silkworm" with - that of the white cabbage butterfly. Does the caterpillar of - the latter spin any silk? - 4. Make a list of all the spinning insects you know, and try to - explain the use of the "silk" thread in each case. - - - - - APPENDIX. - HINTS TO TEACHERS. - - -STRUCTURE OF STEMS.--One- and two-year-old twigs of horse-chestnut, elm, -and willow should be cut into half-inch lengths and distributed among -the class. If cut straight across with a sharp pen-knife, the different -layers can be seen with the naked eye. Afterwards these pieces should be -slit longitudinally, and the various tissues _peeled off_ by the pupils. - -BULBS AND CORMS.--Bulbs of snowdrop and tulip, and corms of crocus, can -be bought from seedsmen, from September to January, at from 6d. to 1s. -per 100. At any other season of the year the onion will make a good -substitute. - -WILLOW TWIGS will root readily if placed in water and kept near the hot -pipes in school. - -VEGETABLE FINGERS.--To illustrate this lesson, peas (of any kind) ought -to be grown in school. Branches of the many wild peas and vetches are to -be found in abundance in every hedgerow during spring, summer, and -autumn. Branches of Virginia creeper, clematis, tropæolum (Indian cress) -may be shown with advantage. The compound leaves of the rose, ash, or -mountain ash should be shown along with those of sweet-pea and edible -pea, and the amount of green (assimilating) area compared. - -THE GREAT WATER BEETLE is found in nearly every pond. One or two should -be kept and fed upon small worms. These beetles can also be obtained -from any naturalist dealer. The larvæ of this beetle is found in ponds -in summer months. - -"WATER BOATMAN" BEETLES (_notonecta_ and _corrixa_) are common to all -our ponds. - -PLANT ARMOUR.--Branches of whin, bramble, hawthorn, and barberry, and -leaves of holly, thistle, and nettle will be found to illustrate this -lesson. Young whin plants are to be found plentifully in spring, growing -under the old bushes. One of these should be grown in a pot in school -and kept well watered. It will produce _no_ prickles. - -TROUT EGGS are obtainable from any of the fisheries--_e.g._, Howietoun -Fisheries, Stirling, or Solway Fisheries, Dumfries, at about 1s. per -100, from October till April. They are easily hatched and reared -wherever running water can be obtained. If not hatched in a bottle, as -described in Lesson XIII., the ova ought to be placed in a shallow -trough of perforated zinc suspended in a small wooden box. The inside of -the box must be charred with a red-hot iron to prevent fungal growths. -When the yolk-sac is completely absorbed, the young trout should be fed -on yolk of hard-boiled egg, and, later on, on a mixture of this and -chopped raw beef. In each case the food should be squeezed through -perforated zinc. - -"SILKWORMS."--Eggs of the silk-bearing moth (_Bombex Mori_) can be had -from Messrs Watkins & Doncaster, 36 Strand, London, and other dealers, -at 4d. and 6d. per 100. The larva should be fed on mulberry or lettuce -leaves, and the leaves should never be given _wet_. - -Caterpillars of Tiger Moth (_Arctia caja_), Emperor Moth (_Saturnia -carpini_), or Puss Moth (_Cerura vinula_) should be kept for comparison. - - - - - Footnotes - - -[1]See Book III. Lesson 3. - -[2]_Dyticus Marginalis._ - - - PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, LTD. - - - - -The following List gives a rough idea of the main Contents in each -Volume of this Series:-- - - Vol. I. Jack Frost, Woods and Fields in Spring, Holly and Fir, The - Rook, Chicks, Hedgehog, Beetle, Humble Bee. - Vol. II. Sowing the Seed, Life of a Plant, A Country Walk, Harvest - Time, Gulls, Squirrels, Air, Fire, Dew, Rain, etc. - Vol. III. Birds--Seed Eaters and Insect Eaters, A Baby Plant, Uncle - George's Tank, Tadpoles, Frogs. - Vol. IV. Snowdrop, Crocus, Tulip, Daisies, Water-beetle, Life of a - Trout, Silkworms, Chaffinch, Song Thrush. - Vol. V. Some British Forest Trees--Oak, Ash, Horse-chestnut, Elm, - Birch, Willow, Beech, The Fir Tribe. - Vol. VI. Bats, Field-mice, The Water-vole, Mole, Weasel, Reptiles, - Newts, Stickle-backs, Crayfish, etc. - Vol. VII. Butterflies and Moths, and how to collect them, - Caterpillars, Beetles, Flies, etc. - - - - - 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 4 (of 7), by Thomas W. 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