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diff --git a/78142-0.txt b/78142-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e07bf7f --- /dev/null +++ b/78142-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,50153 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78142 *** + +[Illustration] + + + + + + HANDBOOK OF + + NATURE-STUDY + + For Teachers and Parents + + Based on the Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets, with Much + Additional Material and Many New Illustrations. + + By ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK, B.S. + + Assistant Professor in Nature-Study in Cornell University; Author + of How to Keep Bees, and Ways of the Six-Footed; Illustrator and + Engraver for Manual for the Study of Insects and for Insect Life + +[Illustration] + + _SIXTH EDITION_ + + + ITHACA, N. Y. + COMSTOCK PUBLISHING COMPANY + 1916 + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1911 + BY ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK + + + + + TO + + LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY + + UNDER WHOSE WISE, STAUNCH AND INSPIRING LEADERSHIP THE + NATURE-STUDY WORK AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY + HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED + + AND TO MY CO-WORKER + + JOHN WALTON SPENCER + + WHOSE COURAGE, RESOURCEFULNESS AND UNTIRING ZEAL + WERE POTENT FACTORS IN THE SUCCESS + OF THE CAUSE + + THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED + + + + + PREFACE + + +The Cornell University Nature-Study propaganda was essentially +an agricultural movement in its inception and its aims; it was +inaugurated as a direct aid to better methods of agriculture in New +York State. During the years of agricultural depression 1891–1893, +the Charities of New York City found it necessary to help many people +who had come from the rural districts--a condition hitherto unknown. +The philanthropists managing the Association for Improving the +Condition of the Poor asked, “What is the matter with the land of New +York State that it cannot support its own population?” A conference +was called to consider the situation to which many people from +different parts of the State were invited; among them was the author +of this book, who little realized that in attending that meeting the +whole trend of her activities would be thereby changed. Mr. George T. +Powell, who had been a most efficient Director of Farmers’ Institutes +of New York State was invited to the conference as an expert to +explain conditions and give advice as to remedies. The situation +seemed so serious that a Committee for the Promotion of Agriculture +in New York State was appointed. Of this committee the Honorable +Abram S. Hewitt was Chairman, Mr. R. Fulton Cutting, Treasurer, Mr. +Wm. H. Tolman, Secretary. The other members were Walter L. Suydam, +Wm. E. Dodge, Jacob H. Schiff, George T. Powell, G. Howard Davidson, +Howard Townsend, Professor I. P. Roberts, C. McNamee, Mrs. J. R. +Lowell, and Mrs. A. B. Comstock. Mr. George T. Powell was made +Director of the Department of Agricultural Education. + +At the first meeting of this committee Mr. Powell made a strong plea +for interesting the children of the country in farming as a remedial +measure, and maintained that the first step toward agriculture +was nature-study. It had been Mr. Powell’s custom to give simple +agricultural and nature-study instruction to the school children of +every town where he was conducting a farmers’ institute, and his +opinion was, therefore, based upon experience. The committee desired +to see for itself the value of this idea, and experimental work was +suggested, using the schools of Westchester County as a laboratory. +Mr. R. Fulton Cutting generously furnished the funds for this +experiment, and work was done that year in the Westchester schools, +which satisfied the committee of the soundness of the project. + +The committee naturally concluded that such a fundamental movement +must be a public rather than a private enterprise; and Mr. Frederick +Nixon then Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the Assembly, +was invited to meet with the committee at Mr. Hewitt’s home. Mr. +Nixon had been from the beginning of his public career deeply +interested in improving the farming conditions of the State. In +1894, it was through his influence and the support given him by the +Chautauqua Horticultural Society under the leadership of Mr. John W. +Spencer, that an appropriation had been given to Cornell University +for promoting the horticultural interests of the western counties of +the State. In addition to other work done through this appropriation, +horticultural schools were conducted under the direction of Professor +L. H. Bailey with the aid of other Cornell instructors and especially +of Mr. E. G. Lodeman; these schools had proved to be most useful +and were well attended. Therefore, Mr. Nixon was open-minded toward +an educational movement. He listened to the plan of the committee +and after due consideration declared that if this new measure would +surely help the farmers of the State, the money would be forthcoming. +The committee unanimously decided that if an appropriation were +made for this purpose it should be given to the Cornell College of +Agriculture; and that year eight thousand dollars was added to the +Cornell University Fund, for Extension Teaching and inaugurating this +work. The work was begun under Professor I. P. Roberts; after one +year Professor Roberts placed it under the supervision of Professor +L. H. Bailey, who for the fifteen years since has been the inspiring +leader of the movement, as well as the official head. + +In 1896, Mr. John W. Spencer, a fruit grower in Chautauqua County, +became identified with the enterprise; he had lived in rural +communities and he knew their needs. He it was who first saw clearly +that the first step in the great work was to help the teacher +through simply written leaflets; and later he originated the great +plan of organizing the children in the schools of the State into +Junior Naturalists Clubs, which developed a remarkable phase of the +movement. The members of these clubs paid their dues by writing +letters about their nature observations to Mr. Spencer, who speedily +became their beloved “Uncle John;” a button and charter were given +for continued and earnest work. Some years, 30,000 children were thus +brought into direct communication with Cornell University through Mr. +Spencer. A monthly leaflet for Junior Naturalists followed; and it +was to help in this enterprise that Miss Alice G. McCloskey, the able +Editor of the present _Rural School Leaflet_, was brought into the +work. Later, Mr. Spencer organized the children’s garden movement by +forming the children of the State into junior gardeners; at one time +he had 25,000 school pupils working in gardens and reporting to him. + +In 1899, Mrs. Mary Rogers Miller, who had proven a most efficient +teacher when representing Cornell nature-study in the State Teachers’ +Institutes, planned and started the Home Nature-Study Course Leaflets +for the purpose of helping the teachers by correspondence, a work +which fell to the author in 1903 when Mrs. Miller was called to other +fields. + +For the many years during which New York State has intrusted this +important work to Cornell University, the teaching of nature-study +has gone steadily on in the University, in teachers’ institutes, +in State summer schools, through various publications and in +correspondence courses. Many have assisted in this work, notably +Dr. W. C. Thro, Dr. A. A. Allen, and Miss Ada Georgia. The New York +Education Department with Charles R. Skinner as Commissioner of +Education and Dr. Isaac Stout as the Director of Teachers’ Institutes +co-operated heartily with the movement from the first. Later with the +co-operation of Dr. Andrew Draper, as Commissioner of Education, many +of the Cornell leaflets have been written with the special purpose of +aiding in carrying out the New York State Syllabus in Nature-Study +and Agriculture. + +The leaflets upon which this volume is based were published in the +Home Nature-Study Course during the years 1903–1911, in limited +editions and were soon out of print. It is to make these lessons +available to the general public that this volume has been compiled. +While the subject matter of the lessons herein given is essentially +the same as in the leaflets, the lessons have all been rewritten for +the sake of consistency, and many new lessons have been added to +bridge gaps and make a coherent whole. + +Because the lessons were written during a period of so many years, +each lesson has been prepared as if it were the only one, and without +reference to others. If there is any uniformity of plan in the +lessons, it is due to the inherent qualities of the subjects, and not +to a type plan in the mind of the writer; for, in her opinion, each +subject should be treated individually in nature-study; and in her +long experience as a nature-study teacher she has never been able to +give a lesson twice alike on a certain topic or secure exactly the +same results twice in succession. It should also be stated that it +is not because the author undervalues physics nature-study that it +has been left out of these lessons, but because her own work has been +always along biological lines. + +The reason why nature-study has not yet accomplished its mission, as +thought-core for much of the required work in our public schools, +is that the teachers are as a whole untrained in the subject. The +children are eager for it, unless it is spoiled in the teaching; +and whenever we find a teacher with an understanding of out-of-door +life and a love for it, there we find nature-study in the school +is an inspiration and a joy to pupils and teacher. It is because +of the author’s sympathy with the untrained teacher and her full +comprehension of her difficulties and helplessness that this book has +been written. These difficulties are chiefly three-fold: The teacher +does not know what there is to see in studying a plant or animal; +she knows little of the literature that might help her; and because +she knows so little of the subject, she has no interest in giving a +lesson about it. As a matter of fact, the literature concerning our +common animals and plants is so scattered that a teacher would need +a large library and almost unlimited time to prepare lessons for an +extended nature-study course. + +The writer’s special work for fifteen years in Extension teaching +has been the helping of the untrained teacher through personal +instruction and through leaflets. Many methods were tried and finally +there was evolved the method followed in this volume: All the facts +available and pertinent concerning each topic have been assembled in +the “Teacher’s story” to make her acquainted with the subject; this +is followed by an outline for observation on the part of the pupils +while studying the object. It would seem that with the teacher’s +story before the eyes of the teacher, and the subject of the lesson +before the eyes of the pupils with a number of questions leading them +to see the essential characteristics of the object, there should +result a wider knowledge of nature than is given in this or any other +book. + +That the lessons are given in a very informal manner, and that +the style of writing is often colloquial, result from the fact +that the leaflets upon which the book is based were written for a +correspondence course in which the communications were naturally +informal and chatty. That the book is meant for those untrained in +science accounts for the rather loose terminology employed; as, for +instance, the use of the word _seed_ in the popular sense whether +it be a drupe, an akene, or other form of fruit; or the use of the +word _pod_ for almost any seed envelope, and many like instances. +Also, it is very likely, that in teaching quite incidentally the +rudiments of the principles of evolution, the results may often seem +to be confused with an idea of purpose, which is quite unscientific. +But let the critic labor for fifteen years to interest the untrained +adult mind in nature’s ways, before he casts any stones! And it +should be always borne in mind that if the author has not dipped deep +in the wells of science, she has used only a child’s cup. + +For many years requests have been frequent from parents who have +wished to give their children nature interests during vacations in +the country. They have been borne in mind in planning this volume; +the lessons are especially fitted for field work, even though +schoolroom methods are so often suggested. + +The author feels apologetic that the book is so large. However, it +does not contain more than any intelligent country child of twelve +should know of his environment; things that he should know naturally +and without effort, although it might take him half his life-time to +learn so much if he should not begin before the age of twenty. That +there are inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and even blunders in the +volume is quite inevitable. The only excuse to be offered is that, +if through its use, the children of our land learn early to read +nature’s truths with their own eyes, it will matter little to them +what is written in books. + +The author wishes to make grateful acknowledgment to the following +people: To Professor Wilford M. Wilson for his chapter on the +weather; to Miss Mary E. Hill for the lessons on mould, bacteria, the +minerals, and reading the weather maps; to Miss Catherine Straith +for the lessons on the earthworm and the soil; to Miss Ada Georgia +for much valuable assistance in preparing the original leaflets on +which these lessons are based; to Dean L. H. Bailey and to Dr. David +S. Jordan for permission to quote their writings; to Mr. John W. +Spencer for the use of his story on the movements of the sun; to Dr. +Grove Karl Gilbert, Dr. A. C. Gill, Dr. Benjamin Duggar, Professor +S. H. Gage and Dr. J. G. Needham for reading and criticizing parts +of the manuscript; to Miss Eliza Tonks for reading the proof; to the +Director of the College of Agriculture for use of the engravings made +for the original leaflets; to Miss Martha Van Rensselaer for the use +of many pictures from _Boys and Girls_; to Professor Cyrus Crosby, +and to Messrs. J. T. Lloyd, A. A. Allen and R. Matheson for the use +of their personal photographs; to the U. S. Geological Survey and the +U. S. Forest Service for the use of photographs; to Louis A. Fuertes +for drawings of birds; to Houghton, Mifflin & Company for the use +of the poems of Lowell, Harte and Larcom, and various extracts from +Burroughs and Thoreau; to Small, Maynard & Company and to John Lane +& Company for the use of poems of John T. Babb; to Doubleday, Page +& Company for the use of pictures of birds and flowers; and to the +American Book Company for the use of electrotypes of dragon-flies and +astronomy. Especially thanks are extended to Miss Anna C. Stryke for +numerous drawings, including most of the initials. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + + TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + PART I + + THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY + + Page + + What Nature-Study is 1 + + What Nature-Study Should do for the Child 1 + + Nature-Study as a Help to Health 2 + + What Nature-Study Should do for the Teacher 2 + + When and Why the Teacher Should say “I do not know!” 3 + + Nature-Study, The Elixir of Youth 4 + + Nature-Study as a Help in School Discipline 4 + + The Relation of Nature-Study to Science 5 + + Nature-Study not for Drill 6 + + The Child not Interested in Nature-Study 6 + + When to Give the Lesson 6 + + The Length of the Lesson 7 + + The Nature-Study Lesson Always New 7 + + Nature-Study and Object Lessons 7 + + Nature-Study in the Schoolroom 8 + + Nature-Study and Museum Specimens 8 + + The Lens, Microscope and Field-glass as Helps 9 + + Use of Pictures, Charts and Blackboard Drawings 10 + + The Use of Scientific Names 10 + + The Story as a Supplement to the Nature-Study Lesson 10 + + The Nature-Study Attitude toward Life and Death 11 + + Should the Nature-Study Teacher Teach How to Destroy Life? 13 + + The Field Note-book 13 + + The Field Excursion 15 + + Pets as Nature-Study Subjects 15 + + The Correlation of Nature-Study with Language Work 16 + + The Correlation of Nature-Study with Drawing 17 + + The Correlation of Nature-Study with Geography 18 + + The Correlation of Nature-Study with History 18 + + The Correlation of Nature-Study with Arithmetic 19 + + Gardening and Nature-Study 20 + + Nature-Study and Agriculture 21 + + Nature-Study Clubs 22 + + How to Use this Book 24 + + + PART II + + ANIMAL LIFE + + _I Bird Study_ + + Beginning Bird Study in the Primary Grades 25 + + Feathers as Clothing 27 + + Feathers as Ornament 30 + + How Birds Fly 33 + + Eyes and Ears of Birds 36 + + The Form and Use of Beaks 37 + + The Feet of Birds 39 + + Chicken Ways 41 + + Pigeons 45 + + The Canary and the Goldfinch 49 + + The Robin 54 + + The Bluebird 60 + + The White-breasted Nuthatch 63 + + The Chickadee 66 + + The Downy Woodpecker 69 + + The Sapsucker 73 + + The Redheaded Woodpecker 75 + + The Flicker or Yellow-hammer 77 + + The Meadowlark 80 + + The English Sparrow 84 + + The Chipping Sparrow 88 + + The Song Sparrow 91 + + The Mockingbird 94 + + The Catbird 98 + + The Belted Kingfisher 101 + + The Screech Owl 104 + + The Red Shouldered and Red Tailed Hawks 108 + + The Swallows and the Chimney Swift 112 + + The Hummingbird 120 + + The Red-winged Blackbird 122 + + The Baltimore Oriole 125 + + The Crow 129 + + The Cardinal Grosbeak 133 + + Geese 136 + + The Turkey 143 + + The Study of Birds’ Nests in Winter 147 + + + _II Fish Study_ + + The Goldfish 149 + + The Bullhead 154 + + The Common Sucker 158 + + The Shiner 161 + + Brook Trout 164 + + The Stickleback 168 + + The Sunfish 172 + + The Johnny Darter 177 + + + _III Batrachian Study_ + + The Common Toad 181 + + The Tadpole Aquarium 185 + + The Tree-frog or Tree-toad 190 + + The Frog 193 + + The Newt, Eft or Salamander 197 + + + _IV Reptile Study_ + + The Garter or Garden Snake 201 + + The Milk Snake, or Spotted Adder 204 + + The Water Snake 206 + + The Turtle 208 + + + _V Mammal Study_ + + The Cotton-tail Rabbit 213 + + The Muskrat 218 + + The House Mouse 224 + + The Woodchuck 229 + + The Red Squirrel or Chickaree 233 + + Furry 238 + + The Chipmunk 240 + + The Little Brown Bat 243 + + The Skunk 247 + + The Raccoon 250 + + The Wolf 255 + + The Fox 257 + + Dogs 261 + + The Cat 268 + + The Goat 275 + + The Sheep 281 + + The Horse 286 + + Cattle 295 + + The Pig 303 + + + _VI Insect Study_ + + The Life History of Insects 308 + + The Structure of Insects 312 + + The Black Swallow-tail Butterfly 315 + + The Monarch Butterfly 320 + + The Isabella Tiger Moth or Woolly Bear 326 + + The Cecropia 330 + + The Promethea 336 + + The Hummingbird, or Sphinx, Moths 340 + + The Codling Moth 347 + + Leaf-miners 352 + + The Leaf-rollers 357 + + The Gall-dwellers 360 + + The Grasshopper 365 + + The Katydid 370 + + The Black Cricket 373 + + The Snowy Tree-cricket 377 + + The Cockroach 378 + + How to Make an Aquarium for Insects 380 + + The Dragon-flies and Damsel-flies 382 + + The Caddis-worms and the Caddis-flies 387 + + The Aphids or Plant Lice 392 + + The Ant-lion 395 + + Mother Lace-wing and the Aphis-lion 397 + + The Mosquito 400 + + The House-fly 405 + + The Colorado Potato-beetle 409 + + The Ladybird 413 + + The Firefly 416 + + The Ways of the Ant 419 + + How to Make a Lubbock Ant-Nest 423 + + The Ant-Nest and What May be Seen Within it 425 + + The Mud-dauber 429 + + The Yellow-jacket 432 + + The Leaf-cutter Bee 436 + + The Little Carpenter Bee 439 + + The Bumblebee 442 + + The Honey-bee 445 + + The Honey-comb 451 + + Industries of the Hive and the Observation Hive 453 + + + _VII Other Invertebrate-Animal Study_ + + The Garden Snail 458 + + The Earthworm 462 + + The Crayfish 466 + + Daddy Longlegs, or Grandfather Greybeard 472 + + Spiders 475 + + The Funnel-web 477 + + The Orb-web 478 + + The Filmy Dome 483 + + Ballooning Spiders 484 + + The White Crab-Spider 485 + + How the Spider Mothers Take Care of their Young 487 + + + PART III + + PLANT LIFE + + How to Begin the Study of Plants and Flowers 489 + + How to Make Plants Comfortable 490 + + How to Teach the Names of the Parts of a Flower 492 + + Teach the Use of a Flower 493 + + Flowers and Insect Partners 494 + + The Relation of Plants to Geography 495 + + Seed Germination 495 + + + _I Wild-flower Study_ + + The Hepatica 496 + + The Yellow Adder’s Tongue 499 + + Bloodroot 503 + + The Trillium 506 + + Dutchman’s Breeches and Squirrel Corn 509 + + Jack-in-the-Pulpit 512 + + The Violet 515 + + The May Apple or Mandrake 519 + + The Bluets 523 + + The Yellow Lady’s Slipper, or Moccasin Flower 525 + + The Common Buttercup 528 + + The Evening Primrose 530 + + The Hedge Bindweed 535 + + The Dodder 538 + + The Milkweed 540 + + The White Water Lily 545 + + Pondweed 548 + + The Cat-tail 551 + + A Type Lesson for a Composite Flower 554 + + The Goldenrod 555 + + The Asters 558 + + The White Daisy 560 + + The Yellow Daisy or Black-eyed Susan 562 + + The Thistle 563 + + The Burdock 566 + + Prickly Lettuce, A Compass Plant 570 + + The Dandelion 572 + + The Pearly Everlasting 576 + + The Jewelweed, or Touch-me-not 578 + + Mullein 582 + + The Teasel 586 + + Queen Anne’s Lace, or Wild Carrot 589 + + Weeds 594 + + Outline for the Study of a Weed 595 + + + _II Cultivated-Plant Study_ + + The Crocus 596 + + Daffodils and their Relatives 599 + + The Tulip 603 + + The Pansy 607 + + The Bleeding Heart 611 + + Poppies 613 + + The California Poppy 616 + + The Nasturtium 620 + + The Bee-Larkspur 623 + + The Blue Flag, or Iris 626 + + The Sunflower 631 + + The Bachelor’s Button 636 + + The Salvia or Scarlet Sage 637 + + Petunias 640 + + The Horseshoe Geranium 643 + + The Sweet Pea 649 + + The Clovers 652 + + Sweet Clover 655 + + The White Clover 658 + + Maize, or Indian Corn 660 + + The Cotton Plant 666 + + The Strawberry 672 + + The Pumpkin 675 + + + _III Flowerless-Plant Study_ + + The Christmas Fern 684 + + The Bracken 689 + + How a Fern Bud Unfolds 691 + + The Fruiting of the Fern 693 + + The Field Horsetail 699 + + The Hair-cap Moss, or Pigeon Wheat 702 + + Mushrooms and other Fungi 706 + + Puffballs 712 + + The Bracket Fungi 714 + + Hedgehog Fungi 717 + + The Scarlet Saucer 718 + + The Morels 719 + + The Stinkhorns 720 + + Molds 720 + + Bacteria 723 + + + _IV Tree Study_ + + How a Tree Grows 726 + + How to Begin Tree Study 731 + + How to Make Leaf Prints 734 + + The Maples 736 + + The American Elm 745 + + The Oak 748 + + The Shagbark Hickory 755 + + The Chestnut 757 + + The Horse-Chestnut 761 + + The Willows 765 + + The Cottonwood or Carolina Poplar 770 + + The White Ash 774 + + The Apple Tree 778 + + How an Apple Grows 782 + + The Apple 785 + + The Pine 789 + + The Norway Spruce 796 + + The Hemlock 801 + + The Flowering Dogwood 803 + + The Staghorn Sumac 806 + + The Witch-Hazel 810 + + The Mountain Laurel 813 + + + PART IV + + EARTH AND SKY + + The Brook 818 + + How a Brook Drops its Load 822 + + Crystal Growth 825 + + Salt 827 + + How to Study Minerals 828 + + Quartz 829 + + Feldspar 831 + + Mica 832 + + Granite 833 + + Calcite, marble and Limestone 835 + + The Magnet 838 + + The Soil 842 + + Water Forms 850 + + The Weather 857 + + Experiments to Show Air Pressure 877 + + The Barometer 878 + + How to read Weather Maps 879 + + The Story of the Stars 887 + + How to Begin Star Study 889 + + Cassiopeia’s Chair, Cepheus and the Dragon 893 + + The Winter Stars 895 + + Orion 895 + + Aldebaran and the Pleiades 897 + + The Two Dog-Stars, Sirius and Procyon 898 + + Capella and the Heavenly Twins 900 + + The Stars of Summer 901 + + The Sun 905 + + The Relation between the Tropic of Cancer and the Planting of + the Garden 909 + + The Zodiac and its Signs 911 + + The Relations of the Sun to the Earth 913 + + How to Make a Sun-dial 915 + + The Moon 918 + + + + + _In Nature’s infinite book of secrecy + A little can I read._ + --SHAKESPEARE. + + + + + PART I. + + THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY + + + + + WHAT NATURE-STUDY IS + + +[Illustration: N] + +Nature-study is, despite all discussions and perversions, a study +of nature; it consists of simple, truthful observations that may, +like beads on a string, finally be threaded upon the understanding +and thus held together as a logical and harmonious whole. Therefore, +the object of the nature-study teacher should be to cultivate in the +children powers of accurate observation and to build up within them, +understanding. + + + WHAT NATURE-STUDY SHOULD DO FOR THE CHILD + +[Illustration: F] + +First, but not most important, nature-study gives the child practical +and helpful knowledge. It makes him familiar with nature’s ways and +forces, so that he is not so helpless in the presence of natural +misfortune and disasters. + +Nature-study cultivates the child’s imagination since there are so +many wonderful and true stories that he may read with his own eyes, +which affect his imagination as much as does fairy lore; at the same +time nature-study cultivates in him a perception and a regard for +what _is_ true, and the power to express it. All things seem possible +in nature; yet this seeming is always guarded by the eager quest of +what is true. Perhaps, half the falsehood in the world is due to lack +of power to detect the truth and to express it. Nature-study aids +both in discernment and expression of things as they are. + +Nature-study cultivates in the child a love of the beautiful; it +brings to him early a perception of color, form and music. He sees +whatever there is in his environment, whether it be the thunder-head +piled up in the western sky, or the golden flash of the oriole in +the elm; whether it be the purple of the shadows on the snow, or the +azure glint on the wing of the little butterfly. Also, what there is +of sound, he hears; he reads the music score of the bird orchestra, +separating each part and knowing which bird sings it. And the patter +of the rain, the gurgle of the brook, the sighing of the wind in the +pine, he notes and loves and becomes enriched thereby. + +But, more than all, nature-study gives the child a sense of +companionship with life out of doors and an abiding love of nature. +Let this latter be the teacher’s criterion for judging his or her +work. If nature-study as taught does not make the child love nature +and the out-of-doors, then it should cease. Let us not inflict +permanent injury on the child by turning him away from nature instead +of toward it. However, if the love of nature is in the teacher’s +heart, there is no danger; such a teacher, no matter by what method, +takes the child gently by the hand and walks with him in paths that +lead to the seeing and comprehending of what he may find beneath his +feet or above his head. And these paths whether they lead among the +lowliest plants, or whether to the stars, finally converge and bring +the wanderer to that serene peace and hopeful faith that is the sure +inheritance of all those who realize fully that they are working +units of this wonderful universe. + + + NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP TO HEALTH + +[Illustration: P] + +Perhaps the most valuable practical lesson the child gets from +nature-study is a personal knowledge that nature’s laws are not to be +evaded. Wherever he looks, he discovers that attempts at such evasion +result in suffering and death. A knowledge thus naturally attained of +the immutability of nature’s “must” and “shall not” is in itself a +moral education. That the fool as well as the transgressor fares ill +in breaking natural laws, makes for wisdom in morals as well as in +hygiene. + +Out-of-door life takes the child afield and keeps him in the open +air, which not only helps him physically and occupies his mind +with sane subjects, but keeps him out of mischief. It is not only +during childhood that this is true, for love of nature counts much +for sanity in later life. This is an age of nerve tension, and the +relaxation which comes from the comforting companionship found +in woods and fields is, without doubt, the best remedy for this +condition. Too many men who seek the out-of-doors for rest at the +present time, can only find it with a gun in hand. To rest and heal +their nerves they must go out and try to kill some unfortunate +creature,--the old, old story of sacrificial blood. Far better will +it be when, through properly training the child, the man shall be +enabled to enjoy nature through seeing how creatures live rather than +watching them die. It is the sacred privilege of nature-study to do +this for future generations and for him thus trained, shall the words +of Longfellow’s poem to Agassiz apply: + + “_And he wandered away and away, with Nature the dear old nurse, + Who sang to him night and day, the rhymes of the universe. + And when the way seemed long, and his heart began to fail, + She sang a more wonderful song, or told a more wonderful tale._” + + + WHAT NATURE-STUDY SHOULD DO FOR THE TEACHER + +[Illustration: D] + +During many years, I have been watching teachers in our public +schools in their conscientious and ceaseless work; and so far as +I can foretell, the fate that awaits them finally is either nerve +exhaustion or nerve atrophy. The teacher must become either a +neurasthenic or a “clam.” + +I have had conversations with hundreds of teachers in the public +schools of New York State concerning the introduction of nature-study +into the curriculum, and most of them declared, “Oh, we have not +time for it. Every moment is full now!” Their nerves were at such +a tension that with one more thing to do they must fall apart. The +question in my own mind during these conversations was always, how +long can she stand it! I asked some of them “Did you ever try a +vigorous walk in the open air in the open country every Saturday +or every Sunday of your teaching year?” “Oh no!” they exclaimed in +despair of making me understand. “On Sunday we must go to church +or see our friends and on Saturday we must do our shopping or our +sewing. We must go to the dressmaker’s lest we go unclad, we must +mend, and darn stockings; we need Saturday to catch up.” + +Yes, catch up with more cares, more worries, more fatigue, but not +with more growth, more strength, more vigor and more courage for +work. In my belief, there are two and only two occupations for +Saturday afternoon or forenoon for a teacher. One is to be out of +doors and the other is to lie in bed, and the first is best. Out in +this, God’s beautiful world, there is everything waiting to heal +lacerated nerves, to strengthen tired muscles, to please and content +the soul that is torn to shreds with duty and care. To the teacher +who turns to nature’s healing, nature-study in the schoolroom is not +a trouble; it is a sweet, fresh breath of air blown across the heat +of radiators and the noisome odor of over-crowded small humanity. +She, who opens her eyes and her heart nature-ward even once a week, +finds nature-study in the schoolroom a delight and an abiding joy. +What does such a one find in her schoolroom instead of the terrors +of discipline, the eternal watching and eternal nagging to keep the +pupils quiet and at work? She finds, first of all, companionship with +her children; and second, she finds that without planning or going on +a far voyage, she has found health and strength. + + + WHEN AND WHY THE TEACHER SHOULD SAY “I DO NOT KNOW” + +[Illustration: N] + +No science professor in any university, if he be a man of high +attainment, hesitates to say to his pupils “I do not know,” if they +ask for information beyond his knowledge. The greater his scientific +reputation and erudition, the more readily, simply and without +apology he says this. He, better than others, comprehends how vast +is the region that lies beyond man’s present knowledge. It is only +the teacher in the elementary schools who has never received enough +scientific training to reveal to her how little she does know, who +feels that she must appear to know everything or her pupils will lose +confidence in her. But how useless is this pretence, in nature-study! +The pupils, whose younger eyes are much keener for details than hers, +will soon discover her limitations and then their distrust of her +will be real. + +In nature-study any teacher can with honor say, “I do not know;” +for perhaps, the question asked is as yet unanswered by the great +scientists. But she should not let her lack of knowledge be a wet +blanket thrown over her pupils’ interest. She should say frankly, +“I do not know; let us see if we cannot together find out this +mysterious thing. Maybe no one knows it as yet, and I wonder if you +will discover it before I do.” She thus conveys the right impression, +that only a little about the intricate life of plants and animals is +yet known; and at the same time she makes her pupils feel the thrill +and zest of investigation. Nor will she lose their respect by doing +this, if she does it in the right spirit. For three years, I had for +comrades in my walks afield, two little children and they kept me +busy saying, “I do not know”. But they never lost confidence in me +or in my knowledge; they simply gained respect for the vastness of +the unknown. + +The chief charm of nature-study would be taken away if it did not +lead us through the border-land of knowledge into the realm of the +undiscovered. Moreover, the teacher, in confessing her ignorance +and at the same time her interest in a subject, establishes between +herself and her pupils a sense of companionship which relieves the +strain of discipline, and gives her a new and intimate relation with +her pupils which will surely prove a potent element in her success. +The best teacher is always one who is the good comrade of her pupils. + + + NATURE-STUDY, THE ELIXIR OF YOUTH + +[Illustration: T] + +The old teacher is too likely to become didactic, dogmatic and +“bossy” if she does not constantly strive with herself. Why? She has +to be thus five days in the week and, therefore, she is likely to +be so seven. She knows arithmetic, grammar and geography to their +uttermost and she is never allowed to forget that she knows them, and +finally her interests become limited to what she knows. + +After all, what is the chief sign of growing old? Is it not the +feeling that we know all there is to be known? It is not years which +make people old; it is ruts, and a limitation of interests. When we +no longer care about anything except our own interests, we are then +old, it matters not whether our years be twenty or eighty. It is +rejuvenation for the teacher, thus growing old, to stand ignorant +as a child in the presence of one of the simplest of nature’s +miracles--the formation of a crystal, the evolution of the butterfly +from the caterpillar, the exquisite adjustment of the silken lines in +the spider’s orb-web. I know how to “make magic” for the teacher who +is growing old. Let her go out with her youngest pupil and fall on +her knees before the miracle of the blossoming violet and say: “Dear +Nature, I know naught of the wondrous life of these, your smallest +creatures. Teach me!” and she will suddenly find herself young. + + + NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE + +[Illustration: M] + +Much of the naughtiness in school is a result of the child’s lack of +interest in his work, augmented by the physical inaction that results +from an attempt to sit quietly. The best teachers try to obviate both +of these rather than to punish because of them. Nature-study is an +aid in both respects, since it keeps the child interested and also +gives him something to do. + +In the nearest approach to an ideal school that I have ever seen, +for children of second grade, the pupils were allowed, as a reward +of merit, to visit the aquaria or the terrarium for periods of +five minutes, which time was given to the blissful observation of +the fascinating prisoners. The teacher also allowed the reading +of stories about the plants and animals under observation to be +regarded as a reward of merit. As I entered the schoolroom, there +were eight or ten of the children at the windows watching eagerly +what was happening to the creatures confined there in the various +cages. There was a mud aquarium for the frogs and salamanders, an +aquarium for fish, many small aquaria for insects and each had one or +two absorbingly interested spectators who were quiet, well behaved +and were getting their nature-study lessons in an ideal manner. The +teacher told me that the problem of discipline was solved by this +method, and that she was rarely obliged to rebuke or punish. In many +other schools, watching the living creatures in the aquaria, or +terrarium has been used as a reward for other work well done. + + + THE RELATION OF NATURE-STUDY TO SCIENCE + +[Illustration: N] + +Nature-study is not elementary science as so taught, because its +point of attack is not the same; error in this respect has caused +many a teacher to abandon nature-study and many a pupil to hate it. +In elementary science the work begins with the simplest animals and +plants and progresses logically through to the highest forms; at +least this is the method pursued in most universities and schools. +The object of the study is to give the pupils an outlook over all the +forms of life and their relation one to another. In nature-study the +work begins with any plant or creature which chances to interest the +pupil. It begins with the robin when it comes back to us in March, +promising spring; or it begins with the maple leaf which flutters +to the ground in all the beauty of its autumnal tints. A course +in biological science leads to the comprehension of all kinds of +life upon our globe. Nature-study is for the comprehension of the +individual life of the bird, insect or plant that is nearest at hand. + +Nature-study is perfectly good science within its limits, but it is +not meant to be more profound or comprehensive than the capabilities +of the child’s mind. More than all, nature-study is not science +belittled as if it were to be looked at through the reversed opera +glass in order to bring it down small enough for the child to play +with. Nature-study, as far as it goes, is just as large as is science +for “grown-ups” and may deal with the same subject matter and should +be characterized by the same accuracy. It simply does not go so far. + +To illustrate: If we are teaching the science of ornithology, we +take first the Archaeopteryx, then the swimming and the scratching +birds and finally reach the song birds, studying each as a part of +the whole. Nature-study begins with the robin because the child +sees it and is interested in it and he notes the things about the +habits and appearance of the robin that may be perceived by intimate +observation. In fact, he discovers for himself all that the most +advanced book of ornithology would give concerning the ordinary +habits of this one bird; the next bird studied may be the turkey +in the barnyard, or the duck on the pond, or the screech-owl in +the spruces, if any of these happen to impinge upon his notice +and interest. However, such nature-study makes for the best of +scientific ornithology, because by studying the individual birds thus +thoroughly, the pupil finally studies a sufficient number of forms so +that his knowledge, thus assembled, gives him a better comprehension +of birds as a whole than could be obtained by the routine study of +the same. Nature-study does not start out with the classification +given in books, but in the end it builds up a classification in +the child’s mind which is based on fundamental knowledge; it is a +classification like that evolved by the first naturalists, it is +built on careful personal observations of both form and life. + + + NATURE-STUDY NOT FOR DRILL + +If nature-study is made a drill, its pedagogic value is lost. When it +is properly taught, the child is unconscious of mental effort or that +he is suffering the act of teaching. As soon as nature-study becomes +a task, it should be dropped; but how could it ever be a task to see +that the sky is blue, or the dandelion golden, or to listen to the +oriole in the elm! + + + THE CHILD NOT INTERESTED IN NATURE-STUDY + +[Illustration: W] + +What to do with the pupil not interested in nature-study subjects is +a problem that confronts many earnest teachers. Usually the reason +for this lack of interest, is the limited range of subjects used for +nature-study lessons. Often the teacher insists upon flowers as the +lesson subject, when toads or snakes would prove the key to the door +of the child’s interest. But whatever the cause may be, there is only +one right way out of this difficulty: The child not interested should +be kept at his regular school work and not admitted as a member of +the nature-study class, where his influence is always demoralizing. +He had much better be learning his spelling lesson than learning to +hate nature through being obliged to study subjects in which he is +not interested. In general, it is safe to assume that the pupil’s +lack of interest in nature-study is owing to a fault in the teacher’s +method. She may be trying to fill the child’s mind with facts when +she should be leading him to observe these for himself, which is a +most entertaining occupation for the child. It should always be borne +in mind that mere curiosity is always impertinent, and that it is +never more so than when exercised in the realm of nature. A genuine +interest should be the basis of the study of the lives of plants and +lower animals. Curiosity may elicit facts, but only real interest may +mold these facts into wisdom. + + + WHEN TO GIVE THE LESSON + +[Illustration: T] + +There are two theories concerning the time when a nature-study +lesson should be given. Some teachers believe that it should be a +part of the regular routine; others have found it of greatest value +if reserved for that period of the school day when the pupils are +weary and restless, and the teacher’s nerves strained to the snapping +point. The lesson on a tree, insect or flower at such a moment +affords immediate relief to everyone; it is a mental excursion, from +which all return refreshed and ready to finish the duties of the day. + +While I am convinced that the use of the nature-study lesson for +mental refreshment makes it of greatest value, yet I realize fully +that if it is relegated to such periods, it may not be given at all. +It might be better to give it a regular period late in the day, for +there is strength and sureness in regularity. The teacher is much +more likely to prepare herself for the lesson, if she knows that it +is required at a certain time. + + + THE LENGTH OF THE LESSON + +[Illustration: T] + +The nature-study lesson should be short and sharp and may vary from +ten minutes to a half hour in length. There should be no dawdling; +if it is an observation lesson, only a few points should be noted +and the meaning for the observations made clear. If an outline be +suggested for field observation, it should be given in an inspiring +manner which shall make each pupil anxious to see and read the truth +for himself. The nature story when properly read is never finished; +it is always at an interesting point, “continued in our next.” + +The teacher may judge as to her own progress in nature-study by the +length of time she is glad to spend in reading from nature’s book +what is therein written. As she progresses, she finds those hours +spent in studying nature speed faster, until a day thus spent seems +but an hour. The author can think of nothing she would so gladly do +as to spend days and months with the birds, bees and flowers with no +obligation for telling what she should see. There is more than mere +information in hours thus spent. Lowell describes them well when he +says: + + “_Those old days when the balancing of a yellow butterfly o’er + a thistle bloom + Was spiritual food and lodging for the whole afternoon._” + + + THE NATURE-STUDY LESSON ALWAYS NEW + +A nature-study lesson should not be repeated unless the pupils +demand it. It should be done so well the first time that there is +no need of repetition, because it has thus become a part of the +child’s consciousness. The repetition of the same lesson in different +grades was, to begin with, a hopeless incubus upon nature-study. +One disgusted boy declared, “Darn germination! I had it in the +primary and last year and now I am having it again. I know _all +about germination_.” The boy’s attitude was a just one; but if there +had been revealed to him the meaning of germination, instead of +the mere process, he would have realized that until he had planted +and observed every plant in the world he would not know all about +germination, because each seedling has its own interesting story. +The only excuse for repeating a nature-study lesson is in recalling +it for comparison and contrast with other lessons. The study of +the violet will naturally bring about a review of the pansy; the +dandelion, of the sunflower; the horse, of the donkey; the butterfly, +of the moth. + + + NATURE-STUDY AND OBJECT LESSONS + +[Illustration: T] + +The object lesson method was introduced to drill the child to see +a thing accurately, not only as a whole, but in detail and to +describe accurately what he saw. A book or a vase or some other +object was held up before the class for a moment and then removed; +afterwards the pupils described it as perfectly as possible. This +is an excellent exercise and the children usually enjoy it as if it +were a game. But if the teacher has in mind the same thought when +she is giving the nature-study lesson, she has little comprehension +of the meaning of the latter and the pupils will have less. In +nature-study, it is not desirable that the child see all the details, +but rather those details that have something to do with the life +of the creature studied; if he sees that the grasshopper has the +hind legs much longer than the others, he will inevitably note that +there are two other pairs of legs and he will in the meantime have +come into an illuminating comprehension of the reason the insect is +called “grasshopper.” The child should see definitely and accurately +all that is necessary for the recognition of a plant or animal; +but in nature-study, the observation of form is for the purpose of +better understanding life. In fact, it is form linked with life, the +relation of “being” to “doing.” + + + NATURE-STUDY IN THE SCHOOLROOM + +[Illustration: M] + +Many subjects for nature-study lessons may be brought into the +schoolroom. Whenever it is possible, the pupils should themselves +bring the material, as the collecting of it is an important part of +the lesson. There should be in the schoolroom conveniences for caring +for the little prisoners brought in from the field. The terrarium +and breeding cages, of different kinds should be provided for the +insects, toads and little mammals. Here they may live in comfort, +when given their natural food, while the children observe their +interesting ways. The ants’ nest, and the observation hive yield +fascinating views of the marvelous lives of the insect socialists, +while the cheerful prisoner in the bird cage may be made a constant +illustration of the adaptations and habits of all birds. The +aquaria for fishes, tadpoles and insects afford the opportunity for +continuous study of these water creatures and are a never-failing +source of interest to the pupils, while the window garden may be +made not only an ornament and an aesthetic delight, but a basis for +interesting study of plant growth and development. + +A schoolroom thus equipped is a place of delight as well as +enlightenment to the children. Once, a boy whose luxurious home was +filled with all that money could buy and educated tastes select, said +of a little nature-study laboratory which was in the unfinished attic +of a school building, but which was teeming with life: “I think this +is the most beautiful room in the world.” + + + NATURE-STUDY AND MUSEUM SPECIMENS + +[Illustration: T] + +The matter of museum specimens is another question for the +nature-study teacher to solve, and has a direct bearing on an +attitude toward taking life. There are many who believe the stuffed +bird or the case of pinned insects have no place in nature-study; +and certainly these should not be the chief material. But let us +use our common sense; the boy sees a bird in the woods or field and +does not know its name; he seeks the bird in the museum and thus is +able to place it and read about it and is stimulated to make other +observations concerning it. Wherever the museum is a help to the +study of life in the field, it is well and good. Some teachers may +give a live lesson from a stuffed specimen, and other teachers may +stuff their pupils with facts about a live specimen; of the two, the +former is preferable. + +There is no question that making a collection of insects is an +efficient way of developing the child’s powers of close observation, +as well as of giving him manual dexterity in handling fragile things. +Also it is a false sentiment which attributes to an insect the same +agony at being impaled on a pin that we might suffer at being +thrust through by a stake. The insect nervous system is far more +conveniently arranged for such an ordeal than ours; and, too, the +cyanide bottle brings immediate and painless death to the insects +placed within it; moreover, the insects usually collected have short +lives anyway. So far as the child is concerned, he is thinking of his +collection of moths or butterflies and not at all of taking life; so +it is not teaching him to wantonly destroy living creatures. However, +an indiscriminate encouragement of the making of insect collections +cannot be advised. There are some children who will profit by it +and some who will not, and unquestionably the best kind of study of +insects is watching their interesting ways while they live. + +To kill a creature in order to prepare it for a nature-study lesson +is not only wrong but absurd, for nature-study has to do with life +rather than death, and the form of any creature is interesting only +when its adaptations for life are studied. But again, a nature-study +teacher may be an opportunist; if without any volition on her part or +the pupils’, a freshly killed specimen comes to hand, she should make +the most of it. The writer remembers most illuminating lessons from a +partridge that broke a window and its neck simultaneously during its +flight one winter night, a yellow hammer that killed itself against +an electric wire, and a muskrat that turned its toes to the skies +for no understandable reason. In each of these cases the creature’s +special physical adaptations for living its own peculiar life were +studied, and the effect was not the study of a dead thing, but of a +successful and wonderful life. + + + THE LENS, MICROSCOPE AND FIELD GLASS AS HELPS IN NATURE-STUDY + +[Illustration: I] + +In elementary grades, nature-study deals with objects which the +children can see with the naked eye. However, a lens is a help in +almost all of this work because it is such a joy to the child to gaze +at the wonders it reveals. There is no lesson given in this book +which requires more than a simple lens for seeing the most minute +parts discussed. An excellent lens may be bought for a dollar, and +a fairly good one for fifty cents or even twenty-five cents. The +lens should be chained to a table or desk where it may be used by +the pupils at recess. This gives each an opportunity for using it +and obviates the danger of losing it. If the pupils themselves own +lenses, they should be fastened by a string or chain to the pocket. + +A microscope has no legitimate part in nature-study. But if there +is one available, it reveals so many wonders in the commonest +objects, that it can be made a source of added interest ofttimes. +For instance, to thus see the scales on the butterfly’s wing affords +the child pleasure as well as edification. Field or opera glasses, +while indispensable for bird study, are by no means necessary in +nature-study. However, the pupils will show greater interest in +noting the birds’ colors if they are allowed to make the observations +with the help of a glass. + + + USES OF PICTURES, CHARTS AND BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS + +[Illustration: P] + +Pictures alone should never be used as the subjects for nature-study +lessons, but they may be of great use in illustrating and +illuminating a lesson. Books well illustrated are more readily +comprehended by the child and are often very helpful to him, +especially after his interest in the subject is thoroughly aroused. +If charts are used to illustrate the lesson, the child is likely +to be misled by the size of the drawing, which is also the case in +blackboard pictures. However, this error may be avoided by fixing +the attention of the pupil on the object first. If the pupils are +studying the ladybird and have it in their hands, the teacher may +use a diagram representing the beetle as a foot long and it will +still convey the idea accurately; but if she begins with the picture, +she probably can never convince the children that the picture has +anything to do with the insect. + +In making blackboard drawings illustrative of the lesson, it is best, +if possible, to have one of the pupils do the drawing in the presence +of the class; or, if the teacher does the drawing, she should hold +the object in her hand while doing it and look at it often so that +the children may see that she is trying to represent it accurately. +Taking everything into consideration, however, nature-study charts +and blackboard drawings are of little use to the nature-study teacher. + + + THE USES OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES + +[Illustration: D] + +Disquieting problems relative to scientific nomenclature always +confront the teacher of nature-study. My own practice has been to use +the popular names of species, except in cases where confusion might +ensue, and to use the scientific names for anatomical parts. However, +this matter is of little importance if the teacher bears in mind that +the purpose of nature-study is to know the subject under observation +and to learn the name incidentally. + +If the teacher says: “I have a pink hepatica. Can anyone find me a +blue one?” the children, who naturally like grown-up words, will soon +be calling these flowers hepaticas. But if the teacher says, “These +flowers are called hepaticas. Now please everyone remember the name. +Write it in your books as I write it on the blackboard, and in half +an hour I shall ask you again what it is,” the pupils naturally look +upon the exercise as a word lesson and its real significance is lost. +This sort of nature-study is dust and ashes and there has been too +much of it. The child should never be _required_ to learn the name +of anything in the nature-study work; but the name should be used so +often and so naturally in his presence, that he will learn it without +being conscious of the process. + + + THE STORY AS A SUPPLEMENT TO THE NATURE-STUDY LESSON + +[Illustration: M] + +Many of the subjects for nature lessons can be studied only in part, +since but one phase may be available at the time. Often, especially +if there is little probability that the pupils will find opportunity +to complete the study, it is best to round out their knowledge by +reading or telling the story to supplement the facts which they +have discovered for themselves. This story should not be told as a +finality or as a complete picture but as a guide and inspiration for +further study. Always leave at the end of the story an interrogation +mark that will remain aggressive and insistent in the child’s mind. +To illustrate: Once a club of junior naturalists brought me rose +leaves injured by the leaf-cutter bee and asked me why the leaves +were cut out so regularly. I told them the story of the use made by +the mother bee of these oval and circular bits of leaves and made +the account as vital as I was able; but at the end I said, “I do not +know which species of bee cut these leaves. She is living here among +us and building her nest with your rose leaves which she is cutting +every day almost under your very eyes. Is she then so much more +clever than you that you cannot see her nor find her nest?” For two +years following this lesson I received letters from members of this +club. Two carpenter bees and their nests were discovered by them and +studied before the mysterious leaf-cutter was finally ferreted out. +My story had left something interesting for the young naturalists to +discover. The children should be impressed with the fact that the +nature story is never finished. There is not a weed nor an insect +nor a tree so common that the child, by observing carefully, may not +see things never yet recorded in scientific books; therefore the +supplementary story should be made an inspiration for keener interest +and further investigation on the part of the pupil. The supplementary +story simply thrusts aside some of the obscuring underbrush thus +revealing more plainly the path to further knowledge. + + + THE NATURE-STUDY ATTITUDE TOWARD LIFE AND DEATH + +[Illustration: P] + +Perhaps no greater danger besets the pathway of the nature-study +teacher than the question involved in her pupils’ attitude toward +life and death. To inculcate in the child a reverence for life and +yet to keep him from becoming mawkish and morbid is truly a problem. +It is almost inevitable that the child should become sympathetic with +the life of the animal or plant studied, since a true understanding +of the life of any creature creates an interest which stimulates a +desire to protect this particular creature and make its life less +hard. Many times, within my own experience, have I known boys, who +began by robbing birds’ nests for egg collections, to end by becoming +most zealous protectors of the birds. The humane qualities within +these boys budded and blossomed in the growing knowledge of the lives +of the birds. At Cornell University, it is a well known fact that +those students who turn aside so as not to crush the ant, caterpillar +or cricket on the pavement are almost invariably those that are +studying entomology; and in America it is the botanists themselves +who are leading the crusade for flower protection. + +Thus, the nature-study teacher, if she does her work well, is a sure +aid in inculcating a respect for the rights of all living beings to +their own lives; and she needs only to lend her influence gently +in this direction to change carelessness to thoughtfulness and +cruelty to kindness. But with this impetus toward a reverence for +life, the teacher soon finds herself in a dilemma from which there +is no logical way out, so long as she lives in a world where lamb +chop, beefsteak and roast chicken are articles of ordinary diet; +a world in fact, where every meal is based upon the death of some +creature. For if she places much emphasis upon the sacredness of +life, the children soon begin to question whether it be right to +slay the lamb or the chicken for their own food. It would seem that +there is nothing for the consistent nature-study teacher to do but +become a vegetarian, and even then there might arise refinements in +this question of taking life, she might have to consider the cruelty +to asparagus in cutting it off in plump infancy, or the ethics of +devouring in the turnip the food laid up by the mother plant to +perfect her seed. In fact, a most rigorous diet would be forced upon +the teacher who should refuse to sustain her own existence at the +cost of life; and if she should attempt to teach the righteousness +of such a diet she would undoubtedly forfeit her position; and yet +what is she to do! She will soon find herself in the position of a +certain lady who placed sheets of sticky fly-paper around her kitchen +to rid her house of flies, and then in mental anguish picked off the +buzzing, struggling victims and sought to clean their too adhesive +wings and legs. + +In fact, drawing the line between what to kill and what to let live, +requires the use of common sense rather than logic. First of all, the +nature-study teacher, while exemplifying and encouraging the humane +attitude toward the lower creatures, and repressing cruelty which +wantonly causes suffering, should never magnify the terrors of death. +Death is as natural as life and the inevitable end of physical life +on our globe. Therefore, every story and every sentiment expressed +which makes the child feel that death is terrible, is wholly wrong. +The one right way to teach about death is not to emphasize it one way +or another, but to deal with it as a circumstance common to all; it +should be no more emphasized than the fact that creatures eat or fall +asleep. + +Another thing for the nature-study teacher to do is to direct the +interest of the child so that it shall center upon the hungry +creature rather than upon the one which is made into the meal. It is +well to emphasize the fact that one of the conditions imposed upon +every living being in the woods and fields, is that it is entitled +to a meal when it is hungry, if it is clever enough to get it. The +child naturally takes this view of it. I remember well as a child I +never thought particularly about the mouse which my cat was eating; +in fact, the process of transmuting mouse into cat seemed altogether +proper, but when the cat played with the mouse, that was quite +another thing, and was never permitted. Although no one appreciates +more deeply than I the debt which we owe to Thompson-Seton and +writers of his kind, who have placed before the public the animal +story from the animal point of view and thus set us all to thinking, +yet it is certainly wrong to impress this view too strongly upon the +young and sensitive child. In fact, this process should not begin +until the judgment and the understanding is well developed, for we +all know that although seeing the other fellow’s standpoint is a +source of strength and breadth of mind, yet living the other fellow’s +life is, at best, an enfeebling process and a futile waste of energy. + + + SHOULD THE NATURE-STUDY TEACHER TEACH HOW TO DESTROY LIFE? + +[Illustration: I] + +It is probably within the proper scope of the nature-study teacher to +place emphasis upon the domain of man, who being the most powerful +of all animals, asserts his will as to which ones shall live in his +midst. From a standpoint of abstract justice, the stray cat has just +as much right to kill and eat the robin which builds in the vine +of my porch as the robin has to pull and eat the earthworms from +my lawn; but the place is mine, and I choose to kill the cat and +preserve the robin. + +When emphasizing the domain of man, we may have to deal with +the killing of creatures which are injurious to his interests. +Nature-study may be tributary to this, in a measure, and indirectly, +but it is surely _not_ nature-study. For example, the child studies +the cabbage butterfly in all its stages, the exquisitely sculptured +yellow egg, the velvety green caterpillar, the chrysalis with its +protecting colors, the white-winged butterfly, and becomes interested +in the life of the insect. Not under any consideration, when the +attention of the child is focused on the insect, should we suggest +a remedy for it when a pest. Let the life-story of the butterfly +stand as a fascinating page of nature’s book. But later, when the +child enters on his career as a gardener, when he sets out his row of +cabbage plants and waters and cultivates them, and does his best to +bring them to maturity, along comes the butterfly, now an arch enemy, +and begins to rear her progeny on the product of his toil. Now the +child’s interest is focused on the cabbage, and the question is not +one of killing insects so much as of saving plants. In fact, there +is nothing in spraying the plants with Paris green which suggests +cruelty to innocent caterpillars, nor is the process likely to harden +the child’s sensibilities. + +To gain knowledge of the life-story of insects or other creatures is +nature-study. To destroy them as pests is a part of Agriculture or +Horticulture. The one may be of fundamental assistance to the other, +but the two are quite separate and should never be confused. + + + THE FIELD NOTE-BOOK + +A field note-book may be made a joy to the pupil and a help to the +teacher. Any kind of a blank book will do for this, except that it +should not be too large to be carried in the pocket, and it should +always have the pencil attached. To make the note-book a success the +following rules should be observed: + +(a) The book should be considered the personal property of the child +and should never be criticized by the teacher except as a matter of +encouragement; for the spirit in which the notes are made, is more +important than the information they cover. + +(b) The making of drawings should be encouraged for illustrating what +is observed. A graphic drawing is far better than a long description +of a natural object. + +(c) The note-book should not be regarded as a part of the work in +English. The spelling, language and writing of the notes should all +be exempt from criticism. + +(d) As occasion offers, outlines for observing certain plants +or animals may be placed in the note-book previous to the field +excursion so as to give definite points for the work. + +(e) No child should be compelled to have a note-book. + +The field note-book is a veritable gold mine for the nature-study +teacher to work, in securing voluntary and happy observations from +the pupils concerning their out-of-door interests. It is a friendly +gate which admits the teacher to a knowledge of what the child +sees and cares for. Through it she may discover where the child’s +attention impinges upon the realm of nature and thus may know where +to find the starting point for cultivating larger intelligence and a +wider interest. + +[Illustration: _A page from the field note-book of a lad of fourteen +who read Thoreau and admired the books of Thompson-Seton._] + +I have examined many field note-books kept by pupils in the +intermediate grades and have been surprised at their plenitude +of accurate observation and graphic illustration. These books +ranged from blank account books furnished by the family grocer up +to a quarto, the pages of which were adorned with many marginal +illustrations made in passionate admiration of Thompson-Seton’s books +and filled with carefully transcribed text, that showed the direct +influence of Thoreau. These books, of whatever quality, are precious +beyond price to their owners. And why not? For they represent what +cannot be bought or sold, personal experience in the happy world of +out-of-doors. + + + THE FIELD EXCURSION + +[Illustration: M] + +Many teachers look upon the field excursion as a precarious voyage, +steered between the Scylla of hilarious seeing too much and the +Charybdis of seeing nothing at all because of the zest which comes +from freedom in the fields and wood. This danger can be obviated if +the teacher plans the work definitely before starting, and demands +certain results. + +It is a mistake to think that a half day is necessary for a field +lesson, since a very efficient field trip may be made during the +ten or fifteen minutes at recess, if it is well planned. Certain +questions and lines of investigation should be given the pupils +before starting and given in such a manner as to make them thoroughly +interested in discovering the facts. A certain teacher in New York +State has studied all the common plants and trees in the vicinity +of her school with these recess excursions and the pupils have been +enthusiastic about the work. + +The half hour excursion should be preceded by a talk concerning +the purposes of the outing and the pupils must know that certain +observations are to be made or they will not be permitted to go +again. This should not be emphasized as a punishment; but they should +be made to understand that a field excursion is only, naturally +enough, for those who wish to see and understand outdoor life. For +all field work, the teacher should make use of the field note-book +which should be a part of the pupils’ equipment. + + + PETS AS NATURE-STUDY SUBJECTS + +[Illustration: L] + +Little attention has been given to making the child understand +what would be the lives of his pets if they were in their native +environment; or to relating their habits and lives as wild animals. +Almost any pet, if properly observed, affords an admirable +opportunity for understanding the reasons why its structure and +peculiar habits may have made it successful among other creatures and +in other lands. + +Moreover the actions and the daily life of the pet make interesting +subject matter for a note-book. The lessons on the dog, rabbit and +horse as given in this volume may suggest methods for such study, +and with apologies that it is not better and more interesting, I +have placed with the story of the squirrel a few pages from one of +my own note-books regarding my experiences with “Furry.” I include +this record as a suggestion for the children that they should keep +note-books of their pets. It will lead them to closer observation +and to a better and more natural expression of their experiences. + + + THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY WITH LANGUAGE WORK + +[Illustration: N] + +Nature-study should be so much a part of the child’s thought and +interest that it will naturally form a thought core for other +subjects quite unconsciously on his part. In fact, there is one +safe rule for correlation in this case, it is legitimate and +excellent training as long as the pupil does not discover that he is +correlating. But there is something in human nature which revolts +against doing one thing to accomplish quite another. A boy once +said to me, “I’d rather never go on a field excursion than to have +to write it up for English,” a sentiment I sympathized with keenly; +ulterior motive is sickening to the honest spirit. But if that same +boy had been a member of a field class and had enjoyed all the new +experiences and had witnessed the interesting things discovered on +this excursion, and if later his teacher had asked him to write for +her an account of some part of it, because _she wished to know what +he had discovered_, the chances are that he would have written his +story joyfully and with a certain pride that would have counted much +for achievement in word expression. + +When Mr. John Spencer, known to so many children in New York State +as “Uncle John,” was conducting the Junior Naturalist Clubs, the +teachers allowed letters to him to count for language exercises; and +the eagerness with which these letters were written should have given +the teachers the key to the proper method of teaching English. Mr. +Spencer requested the teachers not to correct the letters, because he +wished the children to be thinking about the subject matter rather +than the form of expression. But so anxious were many of the pupils +to make their letters perfect, that they earnestly requested their +teachers to help them write correctly, which was an ideal condition +for teaching them English. Writing letters to Uncle John was such a +joy to the pupils that it was used as a privilege and a reward of +merit in many schools. One rural teacher reduced the percentage of +tardiness to a minimum by giving the first period in the morning to +the work in English which consisted of letters to Uncle John. + +Why do pupils dislike writing English exercises? Simply because they +are not interested in the subject they are asked to write about, +and they know that the teacher is not interested in the information +contained in the essay. But when they are interested in the subject +and write about it to a person who is interested, the conditions are +entirely changed. If the teacher, overwhelmed as she is by work and +perplexities, could only keep in mind that the purpose of a language +is, after all, merely to convey ideas, some of her perplexities would +fade away. A conveyance naturally should be fitted for the load it +is to carry, and if the pupil acquires the load first he is very +likely to construct a conveyance that will be adequate. How often the +conveyance is made perfect through much effort and polished through +agony of spirit and the load entirely forgotten! + +Nature-study lessons give much excellent subject matter for +stories and essays, but these essays should never be criticized or +defaced with the blue pencil. They should be read with interest +by the teacher; the mistakes made in them, so transformed as to +be unrecognizable, may be used for drill exercises in grammatical +construction. After all, grammar and spelling are only gained by +practice and there is no royal road leading to their acquirement. + + + THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY AND DRAWING + +[Illustration: T] + +The correlation of nature-study and drawing is so natural and +inevitable that it needs never be revealed to the pupil. When the +child is interested in studying any object, he enjoys illustrating +his observations with drawings; the happy absorption of children thus +engaged is a delight to witness. At its best, drawing is a perfectly +natural method of self-expression. The savage and the young child, +both untutored, seek to express themselves and their experiences by +this means. It is only when the object to be drawn is foreign to the +interest of the child that drawing is a task. + +Nature-study offers the best means for bridging the gap that lies +between the kindergarten child who makes drawings because he loves to +and is impelled to from within, and the pupil in the grades who is +obliged to draw what the teacher places before him. From making crude +and often meaningless pencil strokes, which is the entertainment of +the young child, the outlining of a leaf or some other simple and +interesting natural object, is a normal step full of interest for the +child because it is still self-expression. + +Miss Mary E. Hill gives every year in the Goodyear School of +Syracuse an exhibition of the drawings made by the children in the +nature-study classes; and these are universally so excellent that +most people regard them as an exhibition from the Art Department; +and yet many of these pupils have never had lessons in drawing. They +have learned to draw because they like to make pictures of the living +objects which they have studied. One year there were many pictures of +toads in various stages in this exhibit, and although their anatomy +was sometimes awry in the pictures, yet there was a certain vivid +expression of life in their representation; one felt that the toads +could jump. Miss Hill allows the pupils to choose their own medium, +pencil, crayon, or water-color, and says that they seem to feel which +is best. For instance, when drawing the outline of trees in winter +they choose pencil, but when representing the trillium or iris they +prefer the water-color, while for bitter-sweet and crocuses they +choose the colored crayons. + +It is through this method of drawing that which interests him, that +the child retains and keeps as his own, what should be an inalienable +right, a graphic method of expressing his own impressions. Too much +have we emphasized drawing as an art; it may be an art, if the one +who draws is an artist; but if he is not an artist he still has a +right to draw if it pleases him to do so. We might as well declare +that a child should not speak unless he put his words into poetry, +as to declare that he should not draw because his drawings are not +artistic. + + + THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY WITH GEOGRAPHY + +[Illustration: L] + +Life depends upon its environment. Geographical conditions and +limitations have shaped the mold into which plastic life has been +poured and by which its form has been modified. It may be easy for +the untrained mind to see how the deserts and oceans affect life. +Cattle may not roam in the former because there is nothing there for +them to eat, nor may they occupy the latter because they are not +fitted for breathing air in the water. And yet the camel can endure +thirst and live on the scant food of the desert; and the whale is +a mammal fitted to live in the sea. The question is, how are we to +impress the child with the “have to” which lies behind all these +geographical facts. If animals live in the desert they _have to_ +subsist on scant and peculiar food which grows there; they _have to_ +get along with little water; they _have to_ endure heat and sand +storms; they _have to_ have eyes that will not become blinded by the +vivid reflection of the sunlight on the sand; they _have to_ be of +sand color so that they may escape the eyes of their enemies or creep +upon their prey unperceived. + +All these have to’s are not mere chance, but they have existed so +long that the animal, by constantly coming in contact with them, has +attained its present form and habits. + +There are just as many have to’s in the stream or the pond back of +the school-house, on the dry hillside behind it or in the woods +beyond the creek as there are in desert or ocean; and when the child +gets an inkling of this fact, he has made a great step into the realm +of geography. When he realizes why water lilies can grow only in +still water that is not too deep and which has a silt bottom, and why +the cat-tails grow in swamps where there is not too much water, and +why the mullen grows in the dry pasture, and why the hepatica thrives +in the rich, damp woods, and why the daisies grow in the meadows, +he will understand that this partnership of nature and geography +illustrates the laws which govern life. Many phases of physical +geography belong to the realm of nature-study; the brook, its course, +its work or erosion and sedimentation; the rocks of many kinds, the +soil, the climate, the weather, are all legitimate subjects for +nature-study lessons. + + + THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY WITH HISTORY + +[Illustration: T] + +There are many points where nature-study impinges upon history in a +way that may prove the basis for an inspiring lesson. Many of our +weeds, cultivated plants and domestic animals have been introduced +from Europe and are a part of our colonial history; while there are +many of the most commonly seen creatures which have played their part +in the history of ancient times. For instance, the bees which gave +to man the only means available to him for sweetening his food until +the 17th century, were closely allied to the home life of ancient +peoples. The buffalo which ranged our western plains had much to do +with the life of the red man. The study of the grasshopper brings to +the child’s attention stories of the locusts’ invasion mentioned in +the Bible, and the stars which witnessed our creation and of which +Job sang and the ancients wrote, shine over our heads every night. + +But the trees, through the lengthy span of their lives, cover more +history individually, than do other organisms. In glancing across +the wood-covered hills of New York one often sees there, far above +the other trees, the gaunt crowns of old white pines. Such trees +belonged to the forest primeval and may have attained the age of two +centuries; they stand there looking out over the world, relics of +another age when America belonged to the red man, and the bear and +the panther played or fought beneath them. The cedars live longer +than do the pines and the great scarlet oak may have attained the age +of four centuries before it yields to fate. + +Perhaps in no other way may the attention of the pupil be turned so +naturally to past events, as through the thought that the life of +such a tree has spanned so much of human history. The life history +of one of these ancient trees should be made the center of local +history; let the pupils find when the town was first settled by the +whites and where they came from and how large the tree was then. +What Indian tribes roamed the woods before that and what animals +were common in the forest when this tree was a sapling? Thus may +be brought out the chief events in the history of the county and +township, when they were established and for whom or what they were +named; and a comparison of the present industries may be made with +those of a hundred years ago. + + + THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY WITH ARITHMETIC + +[Illustration: T] + +The arithmetical problems presented by nature-study are many; some +of them are simple and some of them are complicated, and all of +them are illumining. Seed distribution especially lends itself to +computation; a milkweed pod contains 140 seeds; there are five such +pods on one plant, each milkweed plant requires at least one square +foot of ground to grow on; how much ground would be required to grow +all of the seeds from this one plant? Or, count the seeds in one +dandelion head, multiply by the number of flower heads on the plant +and estimate how many plants can grow on a square foot, then ask +a boy how long it would take for one dandelion plant to cover his +father’s farm with its progeny; or count the blossoms on one branch +of an apple tree, later count the ripened fruit; what percentage +of blossoms matured into fruit? Measuring trees, their height and +thickness and computing the lumber they will make combines arithmetic +and geometry, and so on _ad infinitum_. + +As a matter of fact, the teacher will find in almost every nature +lesson an arithmetic lesson; and when arithmetic is used in this +work, it should be vital and inherent and not “tacked on;” the pupils +should be really interested in the answers to their problems; and as +with all correlation, the success of it depends upon the genius of +the teacher. + + + GARDENING AND NATURE-STUDY + +[Illustration: E] + +Erroneously, some people maintain that gardening is nature-study; +this is not so necessarily nor ordinarily. Gardening may be a basis +for nature-study but it is rarely made so to any great extent. Even +the work in children’s gardens is so conducted that the pupils know +little or nothing of the flowers or vegetables which they grow except +their names, their uses to man and how to cultivate them. They are +taught how to prepare the soil, but the reason for this from the +plant’s standpoint is never revealed; and if the child becomes +acquainted with the plants in his garden, he makes the discovery by +himself. All this is nothing against gardening! It is a wholesome +and valuable experience for a child to learn how to make a garden +even if he remains ignorant of the interesting facts concerning +the plants which he there cultivates. But if the teachers are so +inclined, they may find in the garden and its products, the most +interesting material for the best of nature lessons. Every plant +the child grows is an individual with its own peculiarities as well +as those of its species in manner of growth. Its roots, stems and +leaves are of certain form and structure; and often the special uses +to the plant of its own kind of leaves, stems and roots are obvious. +Each plant has its own form of flower and even its own tricks for +securing pollination; and its own manner of developing and scattering +its seeds. Every weed of the garden has developed some special +method of winning and holding its place among the cultivated plants; +and in no other way may the child so fully and naturally come into +a comprehension of that term “the survival of the fittest” as by +studying the ways of the fit as exemplified in the triumphant weeds +of his garden. + +Every earthworm working below the soil is doing something for the +garden. Every bee that visits the flowers there is on an errand for +the garden as well as for herself. Every insect feeding on leaf or +root is doing something to the garden. Every bird that nests near by +or that ever visits it, is doing something which affects the life +and the growth of the garden. What all of these uninvited guests +are doing is one field of garden nature-study. Aside from all this +study of individual life in the garden which even the youngest child +may take part in, there are the more advanced lessons on the soil. +What kind of soil is it? From what sort of rock was it formed? What +renders it mellow and fit for the growing of plants? Moreover, what +do the plants get from it? How do they get it? What do they do with +what they get? + +This leads to the subject of plant physiology, the elements of which +may be taught simply by experiments carried on by the children +themselves, experiments which should demonstrate the sap currents +in the plant; the use of water to carry food and in making the +plant rigid; the use of sunshine in making the plant food in the +leaf laboratories; the nourishment provided for the seed and its +germination, and many other similar lessons. + +A child who makes a garden, and thus becomes intimate with the plants +he cultivates, and comes to understand the interrelation of the +various forms of life which he finds in his garden, has progressed +far in the fundamental knowledge of nature’s ways as well as in a +practical knowledge of agriculture. + + + NATURE-STUDY AND AGRICULTURE + +[Illustration: L] + +Luckily, thumb-rule agriculture is being pushed to the wall in these +enlightened days. Thumb rules would work much better if nature +did not vary her performances in such a confusing way. Government +experiment stations were established because thumb rules for +farming were unreliable and disappointing; and all the work of all +the experiment stations has been simply advanced nature-study and +its application to the practice of agriculture. Both nature-study +and agriculture are based upon the study of life and the physical +conditions which encourage or limit life; this is known to the world +as the study of the natural sciences; and if we see clearly the +relation of nature-study to science, we may understand better the +relation of nature-study to agriculture, which is based upon the +sciences. + +Nature-study is science brought home. It is a knowledge of botany, +zoology and geology as illustrated in the dooryard, the corn-field or +the woods back of the house. Some people have an idea that to know +these sciences one must go to college; they do not understand that +nature has furnished the material and laboratories on every farm in +the land. Thus, by beginning with the child in nature-study we take +him to the laboratory of the wood or garden, the roadside or the +field, and his materials are the wild flowers or the weeds, or the +insects that visit the golden-rod or the bird that sings in the maple +tree, or the woodchuck whistling in the pasture. The child begins +to study living things anywhere or everywhere, and his progress is +always along the various tracks laid down by the laws of life, along +which his work as an agriculturist must always progress if it is to +be successful. + +The child through nature-study learns the way a plant grows, whether +it be an oak, a turnip or a pigweed; he learns how the roots of each +is adapted to its needs; how the leaves place themselves to get the +sunshine and why they need it; and how the flowers get their pollen +carried by the bee or wind; and how the seeds are finally scattered +and planted. Or he learns about the life of the bird, whether it be a +chicken, an owl or a bobolink; he knows how each bird gets its food +and what its food is, where it lives, where it nests and its relation +to other living things. He studies the bumblebee and discovers its +great mission of pollen carrying for many flowers, and in the end +would no sooner strike it dead than he would voluntarily destroy his +clover patch. This is the kind of learning we call nature-study and +not science or agriculture. But the country child can never learn +anything in nature-study that has not something to do with science; +and that has not its own practical lesson for him, when he shall +become a farmer. + +Some have argued, “Why not make nature-study along the lines of +agriculture solely? Why should not the child begin nature-study with +the cabbage rather than the wild flowers?” This argument carried out +logically provides recreation for a boy in hoeing corn rather than in +playing ball. Many parents in the past have argued thus and have, in +consequence, driven thousands of splendid boys from the country to +the city with a loathing in their souls for the drudgery which seemed +all there was to farm life. The reason why the wild flowers may be +selected for beginning the nature-study of plants, is because every +child loves these woodland posies, and his happiest hours are spent +in gathering them. Never yet have we known of a case where a child +having gained his knowledge of the way a plant lives through studying +the plants he loves, has failed to be interested and delighted to +find that the wonderful things he discovered about his wild flower +may be true of the vegetable in the garden, or the purslane which +fights with it for ground to stand upon. + +Some have said, “We, as farmers, care only to know what concerns our +pocket-books; we wish only to study those things which we must, as +farmers, cultivate or destroy. We do not care for the butterfly, but +we wish to know the plum weevil; we do not care for the trillium but +we are interested in the onion; we do not care for the meadow-lark +but we cherish the gosling.” This is an absurd argument since it is +a mental impossibility for any human being to discriminate between +two things when he knows or sees only one. In order to understand the +important economic relations to the world of one plant or animal, it +is absolutely necessary to have a wide knowledge of other plants and +animals. One might as well say, “I will see the approaching cyclone, +but never look at the sky; I will look at the clover but not see the +dandelion; I will look for the sheriff when he comes over the hill +but will not see any other team on the road.” + +Nature-study is an effort to make the individual use his senses +instead of losing them; to train him to keep his eyes open to all +things so that his powers of discrimination shall be based on wisdom. +The ideal farmer is not the man who by hazard and chance succeeds; he +is the man who loves his farm and all that surrounds it because he is +awake to the beauty as well as to the wonders which are there; he is +the man who understands as far as may be the great forces of nature +which are at work around him, and therefore, he is able to make them +work for him. For what is agriculture save a diversion of natural +forces for the benefit of man! The farmer who knows these forces only +when restricted to his paltry crops, and has no idea of their larger +application, is no more efficient as a farmer than would a man be as +an engineer who knew nothing of his engine except how to start and +stop it. + +In order to appreciate truly his farm, the farmer must needs begin +as a child with nature-study; in order to be successful and make +the farm pay, he must needs continue in nature-study; and to make +his declining years happy, content, full of wide sympathies and +profitable thought, he must needs conclude with nature-study; for +nature-study is the alphabet of agriculture and no word in that great +vocation may be spelled without it. + + + NATURE-STUDY CLUBS + +[Illustration: T] + +The organizing of a club by the pupils for the purpose of studying +out-of-door life, is a great help and inspiration to the work in +nature-study in the classroom. The essays and the talks before the +club, prove efficient aid in English composition; and the varied +interests of the members of the club, furnish new and vital material +for study. A button or a badge may be designed for the club and, of +course, it must have constitution and by-laws. The proceedings of the +club meetings should be conducted according to parliamentary rules; +but the field excursions should be entirely informal. + +The meetings of the Junior Naturalists Clubs, as organized in +the schools of New York State by Mr. John W. Spencer, were most +impressive. The school session would be brought to a close, the +teacher stepping down and taking a seat with the pupils. The +president of the club, some bashful boy or slender slip of a +girl would take the chair and conduct the meeting with a dignity +and efficiency worthy of a statesman. The order was perfect, the +discussion much to the point. I confess to a feeling of awe when I +attended these meetings, conducted so seriously and so formally, +by such youngsters. Undoubtedly, the parliamentary training and +experience in speaking impromptu, are among the chief benefits of +such a club. + +These clubs may be organized for special study. In one bird club of +which I know there have been contests. Sides were chosen and the +number of birds seen from May 1st to 31st inclusive was the test of +supremacy. Notes on the birds were taken in the field with such care, +that when at the end of the month each member handed in his notes, +they could be used as evidence of accurate identification. An umpire +with the help of bird manuals decided the doubtful points. This year +the score stood 79 to 81. + +The programs of the nature club should be varied so as to be +continually interesting. Poems and stories, concerning the objects +studied, help make the program attractive. + +[Illustration] + + + + + HOW TO USE THIS BOOK + + +[Illustration: F] + +First and indispensably, the teacher should have at hand the subject +of the lesson. She should make herself familiar with the points +covered by the questions and read the story before giving the lesson. +If she does not have the time to go over the observations suggested, +before giving the lesson, she should take up the questions with the +pupils as a joint investigation, and be boon companion in discovering +the story. + +The story should not be read to the pupils. It is given as an +assistance to the teacher, and is not meant for direct information +to the pupils. If the teacher knows a fact in nature’s realm, she +is then in a position to lead her pupils to discover this fact for +themselves. + +Make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel that they +are investigators. To tell the story to begin with, inevitably spoils +this attitude and quenches interest. + +The “leading thought” embodies some of the points which should be in +the teacher’s mind while giving the lesson; it should not be read or +declared to the pupils. + +The outlines for observations herein given, by no means cover all of +the observations possible; they are meant to suggest to the teacher +observations of her own, rather than to be followed slavishly. + +The suggestions for observations have been given in the form +of questions, merely for the sake of saving space. The direct +questioning method, if not employed with discretion, becomes tiresome +to both pupil and teacher. If the questions do not inspire the child +to investigate, they are useless. To grind out answers to questions +about any natural object is not nature-study, it is simply “grind,” a +form of mental activity which is of much greater use when applied to +spelling or the multiplication table than to the study of nature. The +best teacher will cover the points suggested for observations with +few direct questions. To those who find the questions inadequate I +will say that, although I have used these outlines once, I am sure I +should never be able to use them again without making changes. + +The topics chosen for these lessons may not be the most practical nor +the most interesting nor the most enlightening that are to be found; +they are simply those subjects which I have used in my classes, +because we happened to find them at hand the mornings the lessons +were given. + +While an earnest attempt has been made to make the information in +this book accurate, it is to be expected and to be hoped that many +discrepancies will be found by those who follow the lessons. No +two animals or plants are just alike, and no two people see things +exactly the same way. The chief aim of this volume is to encourage +investigation rather than to give information. Therefore, if mistakes +are found, the object of the book will have been accomplished, and +the author will feel deeply gratified. If the teacher finds that +the observations made by her and her pupils, do not agree with the +statements in the book, I earnestly enjoin upon her to trust to her +own eyes rather than to any book. + +No teacher is expected to teach all the lessons in this book. A wide +range of subjects is given, so that congenial choice may be made. + + + + + PART II. + + ANIMAL LIFE + + + + + I. BIRD STUDY + + +[Illustration: T] + +The reason for studying any bird is to ascertain what it does; in +order to accomplish this, it is necessary to know what the bird is, +learning what it is, being simply a step that leads to a knowledge of +what it does. But, to hear some of our bird devotees talk, one would +think that to be able to identify a bird is all of bird study. On the +contrary, the identification of birds is simply the alphabet to the +real study, the alphabet by means of which we may spell out the life +habits of the bird. To know these habits is the ambition of the true +ornithologist, and should likewise be the ambition of the beginner, +even though the beginner be a young child. + +Several of the most common birds have been selected as subjects for +lessons in this book; other common birds, like the phœbe and wrens, +have been omitted purposely; after the children have studied the +birds, as indicated in the lessons, they will enjoy working out +lessons for themselves with other birds. Naturally, the sequence of +these lessons does not follow scientific classification; in the first +ten lessons, an attempt has been made to lead the child gradually +into a knowledge of bird life. Beginning with the chicken there +follow naturally the lessons with pigeons and the canary; then there +follows the careful and detailed study of the robins and constant +comparison of them with the blue birds. This is enough for the first +year in the primary grades. The next year the work begins with the +birds that remain in the North during the winter, the chickadee, +nuthatch and downy woodpecker. After these have been studied +carefully, the teacher may be an opportunist when spring comes and +select any of the lessons when the bird subjects are at hand. The +classification suggested for the woodpeckers and the swallows is for +more advanced pupils, as are the lessons on the geese and turkeys. It +is to be hoped that these lessons will lead the child directly to the +use of the bird manuals, of which there are several excellent ones. + + + BEGINNING BIRD STUDY IN THE PRIMARY GRADES + +The hen is especially adapted as an object lesson for the young +beginner of bird study. First of all, she is a bird, notwithstanding +the adverse opinions of two of my small pupils who stoutly maintained +that “a robin is a bird, but a hen is a hen.” Moreover, the hen +is a bird always available for nature-study; she looks askance at +us from the crates of the world’s marts; she comes to meet us in +the country barnyard, stepping toward us sedately; looking at us +earnestly, with one eye, then turning her head so as to check up her +observations with the other; meantime she asks us a little question +in a wheedling, soft tone, which we understand perfectly to mean +“have you perchance brought me something to eat?” Not only is the hen +an interesting bird in herself, but she is a bird with problems; and +by studying her carefully we may be introduced into the very heart +and center of bird life. + +This lesson may be presented in two ways: First, if the pupils live +in the country where they have poultry at home, the whole series of +lessons may best be accomplished through interested talks on the part +of the teacher, which should be followed on the part of the children, +by observations, which should be made at home and the results given +in school in oral or written lessons. Second, if the pupils are not +familiar with fowls, a hen and a chick, if possible, should be kept +in a cage in the schoolroom for a few days, and a duck or gosling +should be brought in one day for observation. The crates in which +fowls are sent to market make very good cages. One of the teachers +of the Elmira, N. Y. Schools introduced into the basement of the +schoolhouse a hen, which there hatched her brood of chicks, much to +the children’s delight and edification. After the pupils have become +thoroughly interested in the hen and are familiar with her ways, +after they have fed her and watched her, and have for her a sense of +ownership, the following lessons may be given in an informal manner, +as if they were naturally suggested to the teacher’s mind through +watching the fowl. + +[Illustration] + + + + + FEATHERS AS CLOTHING + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The bird’s clothing affords a natural beginning for bird study +because the wearing of feathers is a most striking character +distinguishing birds from other creatures; also, feathers and flying +are the first things the young child notices about birds. + +The purpose of all of these lessons on the hen are: (a) To induce the +child to make continued and sympathetic observations on the habits +of the domestic birds, (b) To cause him involuntarily to compare the +domestic with the wild birds, (c) To induce him to think for himself +why the shape of the body, wings, head, beak, feet, legs and feathers +are adapted in each species to protect the bird and assist it in +getting its living. + +The overlapping of the feathers on a hen’s back and breast is a +pretty illustration of nature’s method of shingling, so that the +rain, finding no place to enter, drips off, leaving the bird’s +underclothing quite dry. It is interesting to note how a hen behaves +in the rain; she droops her tail and holds herself so that the water +finds upon her no resting place, but simply a steep surface down +which to flow to the ground. + +[Illustration: _A feather_] + +Each feather consists of three parts, the shaft or quill, which is +the central stiff stem of the feather, giving it strength. From this +quill come off the barbs which, toward the outer end, join together +in a smooth web, making the thin, fan-like portion of the feather; at +the base is the fluff, which is soft and downy and near to the body +of the fowl. The teacher should put on the blackboard this figure so +that incidentally the pupils may learn the parts of a feather and +their structure. If a microscope is available, show both the web and +the fluff of a feather under a three-fourths objective. + +The feathers on the back of a hen are longer and narrower in +proportion than those on the breast and are especially fitted to +protect the back from rain; the breast feathers are shorter and +have more of the fluff, thus protecting the breast from the cold as +well as the rain. It is plain to any child that the soft fluff is +comparable to our woolen underclothing while the smooth, overlapping +web forms a rain and wind-proof outer coat. Down is a feather with no +quill; young chicks are covered with down. A pin-feather is simply a +young feather rolled up in a sheath, which bursts later and is shed, +leaving the feather free to assume its form. Take a large pin-feather +and cut the sheath open and show the pupils the young feather lying +within. + +When a hen oils her feathers it is a process well worth observing. +The oil gland is on her back just at the base of the tail feathers; +she squeezes the gland with her beak to get the oil and then rubs +the beak over the surface of her feathers and passes them through +it; she spends more time oiling the feathers on her back and breast +than those on the other parts, so that they will surely shed water. +Country people say when the hen oils her feathers, it is a sure sign +of rain. The hen sheds her feathers once a year and is a most untidy +looking bird meanwhile, a fact that she seems to realize, and is as +shy and cross as a young lady caught in company in curl papers; but +she seems very pleased with herself when she finally gains her new +feathers. + +[Illustration: _Feathers of a rooster, showing their relative size, +shape and position_ + + 1, neck hackle; 2, breast; 3, wing shoulder covert; 4, wing + flight covert; 5, wing primary; 6, wing secondary; 7, wing + covert; 8, back; 9, tail covert; 10, main tail; 11, fluff; 12, + thigh; 13, saddle hackle; 14, the sickle or feather of beauty; + 15, lesser sickle. Prof. J. E. Rice in Rural School Leaflet. +] + + + LESSON I + + FEATHERS AS CLOTHING + +_Leading thought_--Feathers grow from the skin of a bird and protect +the bird from rain, snow, wind and cold. Some of the feathers act as +cloaks or mackintoshes and others as underclothing. + +_Method_--The hen should be at close range for this lesson where the +children may observe how and where the different kinds of feathers +grow. The pupils should also study separately the form of a feather +from the back, from the breast, from the under side of the body, and +a pin-feather. + +_Observations for pupils_--1. How are the feathers arranged on the +back of the hen? Are they like shingles on the roof? If so, what for? + +2. How does a hen look when standing in the rain? + +3. How are the feathers arranged on the breast? + +4. Compare a feather from the back and one from the breast and note +the difference. + +5. Are both ends of these feathers alike? If not, what is the +difference? + +6. Is the fluffy part of the feather on the outside or next to the +bird’s skin? What is its use? + +7. Why is the smooth part of the feather (the web) on the outside? + +8. Some feathers are all fluff and are called “down.” At what age was +the fowl all covered with down? + +9. What is a pin-feather? What makes you think so? + +10. How do hens keep their feathers oily and glossy so they will shed +water? + +11. Where does the hen get the oil? Describe how she oils her +feathers and which ones does she oil most? Does she oil her feathers +before a rain? + + _“How beautiful your feathers be!” + The Redbird sang to the Tulip-tree + New garbed in autumn gold. + “Alas!” the bending branches sighed, + “They cannot like your leaves abide + To keep us from the cold!”_ + --JOHN B. TABB. + +[Illustration] + + + + + FEATHERS AS ORNAMENT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The ornamental plumage of birds is one of the principal illustrations +of a great principle of evolution. The theory is that the male +birds win their mates because of their beauty, those that are not +beautiful being doomed to live single and leave no progeny to inherit +their dullness. On the other hand, the successful wooer hands down +his beauty to his sons. However, another quite different principle +acts upon the coloring of the plumage of the mother birds; for if +they should develop bright colors themselves, they would attract +the eyes of the enemy to their precious hidden nests; only by being +inconspicuous, are they able to protect their eggs and nestlings from +discovery and death. The mother partridge, for instance, is so nearly +the color of the dead leaves on the ground about her, that we may +almost step upon her before we discover her; if she were the color of +the oriole or tanager she would very soon be the center of attraction +to every prowler. Thus, it has come about that among the birds the +feminine love of beauty has developed the gorgeous colors of the +males, while the need for protection of the home has kept the female +plumage modest and unnoticeable. + +The curved feathers of the rooster’s tail are weak and mobile and +could not possibly be of any use as a rudder; but they give grace and +beauty to the fowl and cover the useful rudder feathers underneath by +a feather fountain of iridescence. The neck plumage of the cock is +also often luxurious and beautiful in color and quite different from +that of the hen. Among the ducks the brilliant blue-green iridescent +head of the drake and his wing bars are beautiful, and make his wife +seem Quaker-like in contrast. + +As an object lesson to instil the idea that the male bird is proud of +his beautiful feathers, I know of none better than that presented by +the turkey gobbler, for he is a living expression of self-conscious +vanity. He spreads his tail to the fullest extent and shifts it this +way and that to show the exquisite play of colors over the feathers +in the sunlight, meanwhile throwing out his chest to call particular +attention to his blue and red wattles; and to keep from bursting with +pride he bubbles over in vainglorious “gobbles.” + +The hen with her chicks and the turkey hen with her brood, if they +follow their own natures, must wander in the fields for food. If they +were bright in color, the hawks would soon detect them and their +chances of escape would be small; this is another instance of the +advantage to the young of adopting the colors of the mother rather +than of the father; a fact equally true of the song birds in cases +where the males are brilliant in color at maturity. The Baltimore +oriole does not assist his mate in brooding, but he sits somewhere +on the home tree and cheers her by his glorious song and by glimpses +of his gleaming orange coat. Some have accused him of being lazy; on +the contrary, he is a wise householder for, instead of attracting +the attention of crow or squirrel to his nest, he distracts their +attention from it by both color and song. + +A peacock’s feather should really be a lesson by itself, it is so +much a thing of beauty. The brilliant color of the purple eye-spot, +and the graceful flowing barbs that form the setting to the central +gem, are all a training in aesthetics as well as in nature-study. +After the children have studied such a feather let them see the +peacock either in reality or in picture and give them stories about +this bird of Juno; a bird so inconspicuous if it were not for his +great spread of tail, that a child seeing it first cried, “Oh, oh, +see this old hen all in bloom!” + +[Illustration: _Peacock feathers. Is beauty useful?_] + +The whole question of sexual selection may be made as plain as need +be for the little folks, by simply telling them that the mother bird +chooses for her mate the one which is most brightly and beautifully +dressed, and make much of the comb and wattles of the rooster and +gobbler as additions to the brilliancy of their appearance. + + + LESSON II + + FEATHERS AS ORNAMENT + +_Leading thought_--The color of feathers and often their shape are +for the purpose of making birds more beautiful; while in others, the +color of the feathers protects them from the observation of their +enemies. + +_Methods_--While parts of this lesson relating to fowls may be given +in primary grades, it is equally fitted for pupils who have a wider +knowledge of birds. Begin with a comparison of the plumage of the +hen and the rooster. Then, if possible, study the turkey gobbler and +a peacock in life or in pictures. Also the plumage of a Rouen duck +and drake, and if possible, the Baltimore oriole, the goldfinch, the +scarlet tanager and the cardinal. + +_Observations_--1. Note difference in shape and color of the tail +feathers of hen and rooster. + +2. Do the graceful curved tail feathers of the rooster help him in +flying? Are they stiff enough to act as a rudder? + +3. If not of use in flying what are they for? Which do you think the +more beautiful the hen or the rooster? + +4. In what respects is the rooster a more beautiful fowl? + +5. What other parts of the rooster’s plumage is more beautiful than +that of the hen? + +6. If a turkey gobbler sees you looking at him he begins to strut. +Do you think he does this to show off his tail feathers? Note how he +turns his spread tail this way and that so the sunshine will bring +out the beautiful changeable colors. Do you think he does this so you +can see and admire him? + +7. Describe the difference in plumage between the hen turkey and the +gobbler. Does the hen turkey strut? + +8. Note the beautiful blue-green iridescent head and wing patches on +the wings of the Rouen ducks. Is the drake more beautiful than the +duck? + +9. What advantage is it for these fowls to have the father bird more +beautiful and bright in color than the mother bird? + +10. In case of the Baltimore oriole is the mother bird as bright in +color as the father bird? Why? + +11. Study a peacock’s feather. What color is the eye-spot? What color +around that? What color around that? What color and shape are the +outside barbs of the feather? Do you blame a peacock for being proud +when he can spread a tail of a hundred eyes? Does the peahen have +such beautiful tail feathers as the peacock? + +[Illustration: _Peahens and peacocks_] + + + _The bird of Juno glories in his plumes; + Pride makes the fowl to preene his feathers so. + His spotted train fetched from old Argus’ head, + With golden rays like to the brightest sun, + Inserteth self-love in the silly bird; + Till midst its hot and glorious fumes + He spies his feet and then lets fall his plumes._ + --THE PEACOCK, ROBERT GREENE, (1560). + + + + + HOW BIRDS FLY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +To convince the children that a bird’s wings correspond to our arms, +they should see a fowl with its feathers off, prepared for market or +oven, and they will infer the fact at once. + +The bird flies by lifting itself through pressing down upon the +air with its wings. There are several experiments which are needed +to make the child understand this. It is difficult for children to +conceive that the air is really anything, because they cannot see it; +so the first experiment should be to show that the air is something +we can push against or that pushes against us. Strike the air with +a fan and we feel there is something which the fan pushes; we feel +the wind when it is blowing and it is very difficult for us to walk +against a hard wind. If we hold an open umbrella in the hand while we +jump from a step we feel buoyed up because the umbrella presses down +upon the air. The bird presses down upon the air with the wings, just +as the open umbrella does. The bird flies by pressing down upon the +air with its wings just as a boy jumps high by pressing down with his +hands on his vaulting pole. + +[Illustration: _Hen with wing outstretched showing primaries and +secondaries of the wing and the overlapping of the feathers._ + +From practical exercise on feathers by Prof. J. E. Rice in Rural +School Leaflet.] + +Study wing and note: (a) That the wings open and close at the will of +the bird. (b) That the feathers open and shut on each other like a +fan. (c) When the wing is open the wing quills overlap, so that the +air cannot pass through them. (d) When the wing is open it is curved +so that it is more efficient, for the same reason that an umbrella +presses harder against the atmosphere when it is open than when it is +broken by the wind and turned wrong side out. + +A wing feather has the barbs on the front edge lying almost parallel +to the quill while those on the hind edge come off at a wide angle. +The reason for this is easy to see, for this feather has to cut the +air as the bird flies; and if the barbs on the front side were like +those of the other side they would be torn apart by the wind. The +barbs on the hind side of the feather form a strong, close web so +as to press down on the air and not let it through. The wing quill +is curved; the convex side is up and the concave side below during +flight. The concave side, like the umbrella, catches more air than +the upper side; the down stroke of the wing is forward and down; +while on the up stroke, as the wing is lifted, it bends at the joint +like a fan turned sidewise, and offers less surface to resist the +air. Thus, the up stroke does not push the bird down. + +Observations should be made on the use of the bird’s tail in flight. +The hen spreads her tail like a fan when she flies to the top of the +fence; the robin does likewise when in flight. The fact that the tail +is used as a rudder to guide the bird in flight, as well as to give +more surface for pressing down upon the air, is hard for the younger +pupils to understand, and perhaps can be best taught by watching the +erratic unbalanced flight of young birds whose tail feathers are not +yet grown. + +The tail feather differs from the wing feather in that the quill is +not curved, and the barbs on each side are of about equal length and +lie at about the same angle on each side the quill. See Fig. p. 28. + +_References_--The Bird Book, Eckstorm, pp. 75–92; Story of the Birds, +Baskett, pp. 171–176; Bird Life, Chapman, p. 18; The Bird, Beebe, Ch. +XIII; First Book of Birds, Miller. + + + LESSON III + + HOW BIRDS FLY + +_Leading thought_--A bird flies by pressing down upon the air with +its wings, which are made especially for this purpose. The bird’s +tail acts as a rudder during flight. + +_Method_--The hen, it is hoped will by this time be tame enough so +that the teacher may spread open her wings for the children to see. +In addition, have a detached wing of a fowl such as are used in farm +houses instead of a whisk-broom. + +_Observations_--1. Do you think a bird’s wings correspond to our +arms? If so why? + +2. Why do birds flap their wings when they start to fly? + +3. Can you press against the air with a fan? + +4. Why do you jump so high with a vaulting pole? Do you think the +bird uses the air as you use the pole? + +5. How are the feathers arranged on the wing so that the bird can use +it to press down on the air? + +6. If you carry an umbrella on a windy morning, which catches more +wind, the under or the top side? Why is this? Does the curved surface +of the wing act in the same way? + +7. Take a wing feather. Are the barbs as long on one side of the +quill as on the other? Do they lie at the same angle from the quill +on both sides? If not why? + +8. Which side of the quill lies on the outer side and which on the +inner side of the wing? + +9. Is the quill of the feather curved? + +10. Which side is uppermost in the wing, the convex or the concave +side? Take a quill in one hand and press the tip against the other. +Which way does it bend easiest, toward the convex or the concave +side? What had this to do with the flight of the bird? + +11. If the bird flies by pressing the wings against the air on the +down stroke, why does it not push itself downward with its wings on +the up stroke? + +12. What is the shape and arrangement of the feathers so as to avoid +pushing the bird back to earth when it lifts its wings? + +13. Why do you have a rudder to a boat? + +14. Do you think a bird could sail through the air without something +to steer with? What is the bird’s rudder? + +15. Have you ever seen a young bird whose tail is not yet grown, try +to fly? If so, how did it act? + +16. Does the hen when she flies keep the tail closed or open like a +fan? + +17. Compare a tail feather with a wing feather and describe the +difference. + +[Illustration: Engraved by Elsa L. Ames.] + + + + + EYES AND EARS OF BIRDS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The hen’s eyes are placed at the side of the head so that she cannot +see the same object with both eyes at the same time, and thus she has +the habit of looking at us first with one eye and then the other to +be sure she sees correctly; also the position of the hen’s eyes give +her a command of her entire environment. All birds have much keener +eyes than have we; and they can adjust their eyes for either near or +far vision much more effectively than we can; the hawk, flying high +in the air, can see the mouse on the ground. + +There is a wide range of colors found in the eyes of birds; white, +red, blue, yellow, brown, gray, pink, purple and green are found in +the iris of different species. The hen’s eye consists of a black +pupil at the center, which must always be black in any eye, since it +is a hole through which enters the image of the object. The iris of +the hen’s eye is yellow; there is apparently no upper lid but the +lower lid comes up during the process of sleeping. When the bird is +drowsy the little film lid comes out from the corner of the eye and +spreads over it like a veil; just at the corner of our own eye, next +the nose, is the remains of this film lid, although we cannot move it +as the hen does. + +The hearing of birds is very acute, although the ear is simply a hole +in the side of the head in most cases, and is more or less covered +with feathers. The hen’s ear is like this in many varieties; but in +others and in the roosters there are ornamental ear lobes. + + + LESSON IV + + EYES AND EARS OF BIRDS + +_Leading thought_--The eyes and ears of birds are peculiar and very +efficient. + +_Methods_--The hen or chicken and the rooster should be observed +for this lesson; notes may be made in the poultry yard or in the +schoolroom when the birds are brought there for study. + +_Observations_--1. Why does the hen turn her head first this side and +that as she looks at you? Can she see an object with both eyes at +once? Can she see well? + +2. How many colors are there in a hen’s eye? Describe the pupil and +the iris. + +3. Does the hen wink as we do? Has she any eyelids? + +4. Can you see the film lid? Does it come from above or below or the +inner or outer corner? When do you see this film lid? + +5. Where are the hen’s ears? How do they look? How can you tell where +the rooster’s ears are? + +6. Do you think the hen can see and hear well? + + + + + THE FORM AND USE OF BEAKS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: S] + +Since the bird uses its arms and hands for flying, it has been +obliged to develop other organs to take their place, and of their +work the beak does its full share. It is well to emphasize this point +by letting the children at recess play the game of trying to eat +an apple or to put up their books and pencils with their arms tied +behind them; such an experiment will show how naturally the teeth and +feet come to the aid when the hands are useless. + +The hen feeds upon seeds and insects which she finds on or in the +ground; her beak is horny and sharp and acts not only as a pair of +nippers, but also as a pick as she strikes it into the soil to get +the seed or insect, having already made bare the place by scratching +away the grass or surface of the soil with her strong, stubby toes. +The hen does not have any teeth, nor does she need any, for her sharp +beak enables her to seize her food; and she does not need to chew it, +since her gizzard does this for her after the food is swallowed. + +The duck’s bill is broad, flat, and much softer than the hen’s beak. +The duck feeds upon water insects and plants; it attains these by +thrusting its head down into the water, seizing the food and holding +it fast while the water is strained out through the sieve at the +edges of the beak; for this use, a wide, flat beak is necessary. It +would be quite as impossible for a duck to pick up hard seeds with +its broad, soft bill as it would for the hen to get the duck’s food +out of the water with her narrow, horny bill. + +Both the duck and hen use their bills for cleaning and oiling their +feathers and for fighting also; the hen strikes a sharp blow with her +beak making a wound like a dagger, while the duck seizes the enemy +and simply pinches hard. Both fowls also use their beaks for turning +over the eggs when incubating, and also as an aid to the feet when +they make nests for themselves. + +The nostrils are very noticeable and are situated in the beak +near the base. However, we do not believe that birds have a keen +sense of smell since their nostrils are not surrounded by a damp, +sensitive, soft surface as are the nostrils of the deer and dog, this +arrangement aiding these animals to detect odor in a marvelous manner. + + + LESSON V + + THE BEAK OF A BIRD + +_Leading thought_--Each kind of bird has a beak especially adapted +for getting its food. The beak and feet of a bird are its chief +weapons and implements. + +_Methods_--Study first the beak of the hen or chick and then that of +the duckling or gosling. + +_Observations_--1. What kind of food does the hen eat and where and +how does she find it in the field or garden? How is her beak adapted +to get this food? If her beak were soft like that of a duck could she +peck so hard for seeds and worms? Has the hen any teeth? Does she +need any? + +2. Compare the bill of the hen with that of the duck. What are the +differences in shape? Which is the harder? + +3. Note the saw teeth along the edge of the duck’s bill. Are these +for chewing? Do they act as a strainer? Why does the duck need to +strain its food? + +4. Could a duck pick up a hen’s food from the earth or the hen strain +out a duck’s food from the water? For what other things than getting +food do these fowls use their bills? + +5. Can you see the nostrils in the bill of a hen? Do they show +plainer in the duck? Do you think the hen can smell as keenly as the +duck? + +_Supplementary reading_--The Bird Book, p. 99; The First Book of +Birds, pp. 95–7; Mother Nature’s Children, Chapter VIII. + + * * * * * + + _“It is said that nature-study teaching should be accurate, a + statement that every good teacher will admit without debate; + but accuracy is often interpreted to mean completeness, and + then the statement cannot pass unchallenged. To study ‘the + dandelion,’ ‘the robin,’ with emphasis on the particle ‘the’, + working out the complete structure, may be good laboratory + work in botany or zoology for advanced pupils, but it is not + an elementary educational process. It contributes nothing more + to accuracy than does the natural order of leaving untouched + all those phases of the subject that are out of the child’s + reach; while it may take out the life and spirit of the work, + and the spiritual quality may be the very part that is most + worth the while. Other work may provide the formal ‘drill’; + this should supply the quality and vivacity. Teachers often + say to me that their children have done excellent work with + these complete methods, and they show me the essays and + drawings; but this is no proof that the work is commendable. + Children can be made to do many things that they ought not to + do and that lie beyond them. We all need to go to school to + children.”_ + --“The Outlook to Nature,” L. H. BAILEY. + + * * * * * + + “_Weather and wind and waning moon, + Plain and hilltop under the sky, + Ev’ning, morning and blazing noon, + Brother of all the world am I. + The pine-tree, linden and the maize, + The insect, squirrel and the kine, + All--natively they live their days-- + As they live theirs, so I live mine, + I know not where, I know not what:-- + Believing none and doubting none + What’er befalls it counteth not,-- + Nature and Time and I are one._” + --L. H. BAILEY. + + + + + THE FEET OF BIRDS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: O] + +Obviously, the hen is a digger of the soil; her claws are long, +strong and slightly hooked, and her feet and legs are covered with +horny scales as a protection from injury when used in scratching the +hard earth, in order to lay bare the seeds and insects hiding there. +The hen is a very good runner indeed. She lifts her wings a little +to help, much as an athletic runner uses his arms, and so can cover +ground with amazing rapidity, her strong toes giving her a firm +foothold. The track she makes is very characteristic; it consists of +three toe-marks projecting forward and one backward. A bird’s toes +are numbered thus: + +[Illustration: _Duck’s foot and hen’s foot with toes numbered._] + +A duck has the same number of toes as the hen, but there is a +membrane, called the web, which joins the second, third and fourth +toes, making a fan-shaped foot; the first or the hind toe has a +little web of its own. A webbed foot is first of all a paddle for +propelling its owner through the water; it is also a very useful foot +on the shores of ponds and streams, since its breadth and flatness +prevent it from sinking into the soft mud. + +[Illustration: _Rouen ducks. The Rouens are colored like the Wild +Mallards._] + +The duck’s legs are shorter than those of the hen and are placed +farther back and wider apart. The reason for this is, they are +essentially swimming organs and are not fitted for scratching nor +for running. They are placed at the sides of the bird’s body so that +they may act as paddles, and are farther back so that they may act +like the wheel of a propeller in pushing the bird along. We often +laugh at a duck on land, since its short legs are so far apart and so +far back that its walk is necessarily an awkward waddle; but we must +always remember that the duck is naturally a water bird, and on the +water its movements are graceful. Think once, how a hen would appear +if she attempted to swim! The duck’s body is so illy balanced on its +short legs that it cannot run rapidly; and if chased even a short +distance, will fall dead from the effort, as many a country child has +discovered to his sorrow when he tried to drive the ducks home from +the creek or pond to coop. The long, hind claw of the hen enables her +to clasp a roost firmly during the night; a duck’s foot could not +do this and the duck sleeps squatting on the ground. However, the +Muscovy ducks, which are not good swimmers, have been known to perch. + + + LESSON VI + + THE FEET OF BIRDS + +_Leading thought_--The feet of birds are shaped so as to assist the +bird in getting its food as well as for locomotion. + +_Methods_--The pupils should have opportunity to observe the chicken +or hen and a duck as they move about; they should also observe the +duck swimming. + +_Observations_--1. Are the toes of the hen long and strong? Have they +long, sharp claws at their tips? + +2. How are the legs and feet of the hen covered and protected? + +3. How are the hen’s feet and legs fitted for scratching the earth, +and why does she wish to scratch the earth? + +4. Can a hen run rapidly? What sort of a track does she make? + +5. You number your fingers with the thumb as number one and the +little finger as five. How do you think the hen’s toes are numbered? + +6. Has the duck as many toes as the hen? What is the chief difference +between the feet of the duck and the hen? + +7. Which of the duck’s toes are connected by a web? Does the web +extend to the tips of the toes? What is the web for and how does it +help the duck? + +8. Are the duck’s legs as long as the hen’s? Are they placed farther +forward or farther back than those of the hen? Are they farther apart? + +9. Can a duck run as well as a hen? Can the hen swim at all? + +10. Where does the hen sleep and how does she hold on to her perch? +Could the duck hold on to a perch? Does the duck need to perch while +sleeping? + + + + + CHICKEN WAYS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: D] + +Dame Nature certainly pays close attention to details, and an +instance of this is the little tooth on the tip of the upper mandible +of the young chick to aid it in breaking out of its egg-shell prison; +and since a tooth in this particular place is of no use later, it +disappears. The children are delighted with the beauty of a fluffy, +little chick with its bright, questioning eyes and its life of +activity as soon as it is freed from the shell. What a contrast to +the blind, bare, scrawny young robin, which seems to be all mouth! +The difference between the two is fundamental since it gives a +character for separating ground birds from perching birds. The young +partridge, quail, turkey and chick are clothed and active and ready +to go with the mother in search of food as soon as they are hatched; +while the young of the perching birds are naked and blind, being kept +warm by the brooding mother, and fed and nourished by food brought +by their parents, until they are large enough to leave the nest. The +down which covers the young chick differs from the feathers which +come later; the down has no quill but consists of several flossy +threads coming from the same root; later on, this down is pushed out +and off by the true feathers which grow from the same sockets. The +pupils should see that the down is so soft that the little, fluffy +wings of the chick are useless until the real wing feathers appear. + +[Illustration: _An anxious stepmother._] + +We chew food until it is soft and fine, then swallow it, but the +chick swallows it whole and after being softened by juices from the +stomach it passes into a little mill, in which is gravel that the +chicken has swallowed, which helps to grind the food. This mill is +called the gizzard and the pupils should be taught to look carefully +at this organ the next time they have chicken for dinner. A chicken +has no muscles in the throat, like ours, to enable it to swallow +water as we do. Thus, it has first to fill its beak with water, then +hold it up so the water will flow down the throat of itself. As long +as the little chick has its mother’s wings to sleep under, it does +not need to put its head under its own wing; but when it grows up and +spends the night upon a roost, it always tucks its head under its +wing while sleeping. + +[Illustration: “_Chums._”] + +The conversation of the barnyard fowl covers many elemental emotions +and is easily comprehended. It is well for the children to understand +from the first that the notes of birds mean something definite. The +hen clucks when she is leading her chicks afield so that they will +know where she is in the tall grass; the chicks follow “cheeping” +or “peeping,” as the children say, so that she will know where they +are; but if a chick feels itself lost its “peep” becomes loud and +disconsolate; on the other hand, there is no sound in the world so +full of cosy contentment as the low notes of the chick as it cuddles +under the mother’s wing. When a hen finds a bit of food she utters +rapid notes which call the chicks in a hurry, and when she sees a +hawk she gives a warning “q-r-r” which makes every chick run for +cover and keep quiet. When hens are taking their sun and dust baths +together, they evidently gossip and we can almost hear them saying, +“Did you not think Madam Dorking made a great fuss over her egg +to-day?” Or, “that overgrown young rooster has got a crow to match +his legs, has he not?” Contrast these low tones to the song of the +hen as she issues forth in the first warm days of spring and gives to +the world one of the most joyous songs of all nature. There is quite +a different quality in the triumphant cackle of a hen telling to the +world that she has laid an egg and the cackle which comes from being +startled. When a hen is sitting or is not allowed to sit, she is +nervous and irritable and voices her mental state by scolding. When +she is really afraid, she squalls and when seized by an enemy, she +utters long, horrible squawks. The rooster crows to assure his flock +that all is well; he also crows to show other roosters what he thinks +of himself and of them. The rooster also has other notes; he will +question you as you approach him and his flock, and he will give a +warning note when he sees a hawk; when he finds some dainty tidbit he +calls his flock of hens to him and they usually arrive just in time +to see him swallow the morsel. + +When roosters fight, they confront each other with their heads +lowered and then try to seize each other by the back of the neck with +their beaks, or strike each other with the wing spurs, or tear with +the leg spurs. Weasels, skunks, rats, hawks and crows are the most +common enemies of the fowls, and often a rooster will attack one of +these invaders and fight valiantly; the hen will also fight if her +brood is disturbed. + +[Illustration: “_Well, who are you?_”] + + + LESSON VII + + CHICKEN WAYS + +_Leading thought_--Chickens have interesting habits of life and +extensive conversational powers. + +_Method_--For this lesson it is necessary that the pupils observe the +inhabitants of the poultry yard and answer these questions a few at a +time. + +_Observations_--1. Did the chick get out of the egg by its own +efforts? For what use is the little tooth which is on the tip of the +upper part of a young chicken’s beak? Does this remain? + +2. What is the difference between the down of the chick and the +feathers of the hen? The little chick has wings; why can it not fly? + +3. Why is the chick just hatched so pretty and downy, while the young +robin is so bare and ugly? Why is the young chick able to see while +the young robin is blind? + +4. How does the young chick get its food? + +5. Does the chick chew its food before swallowing? If not, why? + +6. How does the chick drink? Why does it drink this way? + +7. Where does the chick sleep at night? Where will it sleep when it +is grown up? + +8. Where does the hen put her head when she is sleeping? + +9. How does the hen call her chicks when she is with them in the +field? + +10. How does she call them to food? + +11. How does she tell them that there is a hawk in sight? + +[Illustration: _Parts of the bird labeled._ + +This figure should be placed on the blackboard where pupils may +consult it when studying colors and markings of birds.] + +12. What notes does the chick make when it is following its mother? +When it gets lost? When it cuddles under her wing? + +13. What does the hen say when she has laid an egg? When she is +frightened? When she is disturbed while sitting on eggs? When she is +grasped by an enemy? How do hens talk together? Describe a hen’s song. + +14. When does the rooster crow? What other sounds does he make? + +15. With what weapons does the rooster fight his rivals and his +enemies? + +16. What are the natural enemies of the barnyard fowls and how do +they escape them? + +_Supplementary reading_--True Bird Stories, Miller p. 102. + + + + +[Illustration: _Pigeon houses of the upper Nile._ + +Photo by J. H. Comstock.] + + + PIGEONS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +There is a mention of domesticated pigeons by writers three thousand +years ago; and Pliny relates that the Romans were fervent pigeon +fanciers at the beginning of the Christian era. All of our domestic +varieties of pigeons have been developed from the Rock pigeon, a wild +species common in Europe and Asia. The carrier pigeon was probably +the first to be specially developed because of its usefulness; +its love and devotion to mate and young and its homesickness when +separated from them were used by man for his own interests. When a +knight of old started off on a Crusade or to other wars, he took with +him several pigeons from the home cote; and after riding many days he +wrote a letter and tied it to the neck or under the wing of one of +his birds, which he then set free, and it flew home with its message; +later he would set free another in like manner. The drawback to this +correspondence was that it went only in one direction; no bird from +home brought message of cheer to the wandering knight. Now-a-days +mail routes, telegraph wires and wireless currents enmesh our globe +and the pigeon as a carrier is out-of-date; but fanciers still +perfect the homer breed and train pigeons for very difficult flight +competitions, some of them a distance of hundreds of miles. Recently +a homer made one thousand miles in two days, five hours and fifty +minutes. Read to the pupils “Arnaux” in Animal Heroes by Thompson +Seton to give them an idea of the life of a homing pigeon. + +[Illustration: _“Game Leg” a homer pigeon of notable achievement_ + +(Courtesy of _Country Life in America_.)] + +The natural food of pigeons is grain; we feed them cracked corn, +wheat, peas, Kafir corn, millet and occasionally hemp seed; it is +best to feed mixed rations as the birds tire of the monotonous diet. +Pigeons should be fed twice a day; the pigeon is the only bird which +can drink like a horse, that is, with the head lowered. The walk of +a pigeon is accompanied by a peculiar nodding as if the head were +in some way attached to the feet, and this movement sends waves of +iridescent colors over the bird’s plumage. The flight of the pigeon +is direct without soaring, the wings move rapidly and steadily, +the birds circling and sailing as they start or alight. The crow +flaps hard and then sails for a distance when it is inspecting the +ground, while the hawk soars on motionless wings. It requires closer +attention to understand the language of the pigeon than that of the +hen, nor has it so wide a range of expression as the latter; however, +some emotions are voiced in the cooing, which the children will +understand. + +The nest is built of grass and twigs; the mother pigeon lays two eggs +for a sitting; but in some breeds a pair will raise from seven to +twelve broods per year. The eggs hatch in from sixteen to eighteen +days, and both parents share the labors of incubating. In the case +of the homer the father bird sits from 10 A. M. to 4 P. M. and the +mother the remainder of the day and night. The devotion of pigeons +to their mates and to their young is great, and has been sung by the +poets and praised by the philosophers during many ages; some breeds +mate for life. The young pigeons or squabs are fed in a peculiar +manner; in the crops of both parents is secreted a cheesy substance, +known as pigeon milk. The parent seizes the beak of the squab in its +own and pumps the food from its own crop into the stomach of the +young. This nutritious food is given to the squab for about five +days and then replaced by grain which is softened in the parents’ +stomachs, until the squabs are old enough to feed themselves. Rats, +mice, weasels, and hawks are the chief enemies of the pigeons; since +pigeons cannot fight, their only safety lies in flight. + +[Illustration: _Pouter pigeons_ + +Photo by J. Demary.] + +As the original Rock pigeon built in caves, our domesticated +varieties naturally build in the houses we provide for them. A pigeon +house should not be built for more than fifty pairs; it should be +well ventilated and kept clean; it should face the south or east +and be near a shallow, running stream if possible. The nest boxes +should be twelve inches square and nine inches in height with a door +at one side, so that the nest may remain hidden. In front of each +door there should be a little shelf to act as a balcony on which the +resting parent bird may sit and coo to relieve the monotony of the +sitter. Some breeders make a double compartment instead of providing +a balcony, while in Egypt branches are inserted in the wall just +below the doors of the very ornamental pigeon houses. The houses +should be kept clean and whitewashed with lime to which carbolic acid +is added in the proportion of one teaspoonful of acid to two gallons +of the wash; the leaf stems of tobacco should be given to the pigeons +as material for building their nests, so as to help keep in check +the bird lice. There should be near the pigeon house plenty of fresh +water for drinking and bathing; also a box of table salt, and another +of cracked oyster shell and another of charcoal as fine as ground +coffee. Salt is very essential to the health of pigeons. The house +should be high enough from the ground to keep the inmates safe from +rats and weasels. + + + LESSON VIII + + PIGEONS + +_Leading thought_--The pigeons differ in appearance from other birds +and also in their actions. Their nesting habits are very interesting +and there are many things that may be done to make the pigeons +comfortable. They were, in ancient days, used as letter carriers. + +_Methods_--If there are pigeons kept in the neighborhood, it is best +to encourage the pupils to observe these birds out-of-doors. Begin +the work with an interesting story and with a few questions which +will arouse the pupils’ interest in the birds. A pigeon in a cage +in the schoolroom for a special lesson on the bird’s appearance, is +desirable but not necessary. + +_Observations_--1. For an out-of-door exercise during recess let the +pupils observe the pigeon and tell the colors of the beak, eyes, top +of the head, back, breast, wings, tail, feet and claws. This exercise +is excellent training to fit the pupils to note quickly the colors of +the wild birds. + +2. On what do pigeons feed? Are they fond of salt? + +3. Describe how a pigeon drinks. How does it differ in this respect +from other birds? + +4. Describe the peculiar movement of the pigeon when walking. + +5. Describe the pigeon’s flight. Is it rapid, high in the air, do the +wings flap constantly, etc? What is the chief difference between the +flight of pigeons, crows or hawks? + +6. Listen to the cooing of a pigeon and see if you can understand the +different notes. + +7. Describe the pigeon’s nest. How many eggs are laid at a time? + +8. Describe how the parents share the labors in hatching the eggs, +and how long after the eggs are laid before the young hatch. + +9. How do the parents feed their young and on what material? + +10. What are the enemies of pigeons and how do they escape from them? +How can we protect them? + +11. Describe how a pigeon house should be built. + +12. What must you do for pigeons to keep them healthy and comfortable? + +13. How many breeds of pigeons do you know? Describe them. + +_Supplementary reading_--“Arnaux” in Animal Heroes, Thompson Seton; +Audubon Leaflet, Nos. 2 and 6; Neighbors with Wings and Fins, Ch. XV; +Noah and the Dove, The Bible; Daddy Darwin’s Dove Cote, Mrs. Ewing; +Squab Raising, Bul. of U. S. Dept. Agr. + + * * * * * + + _For my own part I readily concur with you in supposing that + housedoves are derived from the small blue rock-pigeon, + Columba livia, for many reasons.... But what is worth a + hundred arguments is, the instance you give in Sir Roger + Mostyn’s housedoves in Caernarvonshire; which, though + tempted by plenty of food and gentle treatment, can never be + prevailed on to inhabit their cote for any time; but as soon + as they begin to breed, betake themselves to the fastnesses + of Ormshead, and deposit their young in safety amidst the + inaccessible caverns and precipices of that stupendous + promontory. “You may drive nature out with a pitchfork, but + she will always return:”_ + + “Naturam expellas furca ... tamen usque recurret.” + + _Virgil, as a familiar occurrence, by way of simile, describes + a dove haunting the cavern of a rock in such engaging numbers, + that I cannot refrain from quoting the passage._ + + “_Qualis spelunca subito commota Columba, + Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi, + Fertul in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis + Dat tecto ingentem, mox aere lapsa quieto, + Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas._” + (Virg. Aen. v. 213–217). + + “_As when a dove her rocky hold forsakes, + Roused, in a fright her sounding wings she shakes; + The cavern rings with clattering:--out she flies, + And leaves her callow care, and cleaves the skies; + At first she flutters:--but at length she springs + To smoother flight, and shoots upon her wings._” + (Dryden’s Translation). + + WHITE OF SELBOURNE. + + + + + THE CANARY AND THE GOLDFINCH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +In childhood the language of birds and animals is learned +unconsciously. What child, who cares for a canary, does not +understand its notes which mean loneliness, hunger, eagerness, joy, +scolding, fright, love and song! + +The pair of canaries found in most cages are not natural mates. The +union is one _de convenance_, forced upon them by people who know +little of bird affinities. We could hardly expect that such a mating +would be always happy. The singer, as the male is called, is usually +arbitrary and tyrannical and does not hesitate to lay chastising beak +upon his spouse. The expression of affection of the two is usually +very practical, consisting of feeding each other with many beguiling +notes and much fluttering of wings. The singer may have several +songs; whether he has many or few depends upon his education; he +usually shows exultation when singing by throwing the head back like +a prima-donna, to let the music well forth. He is usually brighter +yellow in color with more brilliantly black markings than his mate; +she usually has much gray in her plumage. But there are about fifty +varieties of canaries and each has distinct color and markings. + +Canaries should be given a more varied diet than most people think. +The seeds we buy or that we gather from the plantain or wild +grasses, they eat eagerly. They like fresh, green leaves of lettuce +and chickweed and other tender herbage; they enjoy bread and milk +occasionally. There should always be a piece of cuttle-fish bone +or sand and gravel where they can get it, as they need grit for +digestion. Above all, they should have fresh water. Hard-boiled egg +is given them while nesting. The canary seed which we buy for them is +the product of a grass in the Canary Islands. Hemp and rape seed are +also sold for canary food. + +The canary’s beak is wide and sharp and fitted for shelling seeds; +it is not a beak fitted for capturing insects. The canary, when +drinking, does not have to lift the beak so high in the air in order +to swallow the water as do some birds. The nostrils are in the beak +and are easily seen; the ear is hidden by the feathers. The canary is +a fascinating little creature when it shows interest in an object; +it has such a knowing look, and its perfectly round, black eyes are +so intelligent and cunning. If the canary winks, the act is so rapid +as to be seen with difficulty, but when drowsy, the little inner lid +appears at the inner corner of its eye and the outer lids close so +that we may be sure that they are there; the lower lid covers more of +the eye than the upper. + +The legs and toes are covered with scale armor; the toes have long, +curved claws that are neither strong nor sharp but are especially +fitted for holding to the perch; the long hind toe with its stronger +claw makes complete the grasp on the twig. When the canary is hopping +about on the bottom of the cage we can see that its toes are more +fitted for holding to the perch than for walking. + +When the canary bathes, it ducks its head and makes a great splashing +with its wings and likes to get thoroughly wet. Afterward, it sits +all bedraggled and “humped up” for a time and then usually preens its +feathers as they dry. When going to sleep, it at first fluffs out its +feathers and squats on the perch, draws back its head and looks very +drowsy. Later it tucks its head under its wing for the night and +then looks like a little ball of feathers on the perch. + +Canaries make a great fuss when building their nest. A pasteboard +box is usually given them with cotton and string for lining; usually +one pulls out what the other puts in; and they both industriously +tear the paper from the bottom of the cage to add to their building +material. Finally, a make-shift of a nest is completed and the eggs +are laid. If the singer is a good husband, he helps incubate the eggs +and feeds his mate and sings to her frequently; but often he is quite +the reverse and abuses her abominably. The nest of the caged bird +is very different in appearance from the neat nests of grass, plant +down, and moss which the wild ancestors of these birds made in some +safe retreat in the shrubs or evergreens of the Canary Islands. The +canary eggs are pale blue, marked with reddish-brown. The incubation +period is 13 to 14 days. The young are as scrawny and ugly as most +little birds and are fed upon food partially digested in the parents’ +stomachs. Their first plumage resembles that of the mother usually. + +In their wild state in the Canary and Azore Islands, the canaries +are olive green above with golden yellow breasts. When the heat of +spring begins, they move up the mountains to cooler levels and come +down again in the winter. They may rear three or four broods on their +way up the mountains, stopping at successive heights as the season +advances, until finally they reach the high peaks. + + + THE GOLDFINCH OR THISTLE BIRD + +[Illustration: _A pair of goldfinches._ + +(Courtesy of _Audubon Educational Leaflet_ No. 17).] + +The goldfinches are bird midgets but their songs are so sweet and +reedy that they seem to fill the world with music more effectually +than many larger birds. They are fond of the seeds of wild grass, and +especially so of thistle seed; and they throng the pastures and fence +corners where the thistles hold sway. In summer, the male has bright +yellow plumage with a little black cap “pulled down over his nose” +like that of a grenadier. He has also a black tail and wings with +white-tipped coverts and primaries. The tail feathers have white on +their inner webs also, which does not show when the tail is closed. +The female has the head and back brown and the under parts yellowish +white, with wings and tail resembling those of the male except that +they are not so vividly black. In winter the male dons a dress more +like that of his mate; he loses his black cap but keeps his black +wings and tail. + +The song of the goldfinch is exquisite and he sings during the entire +period of his golden dress; he sings while flying as well as when at +rest. The flight is in itself beautiful, being wave-like up and down, +in graceful curves. Mr. Chapman says when on the down half of the +curve the male sings “Per-chick or-ree.” The goldfinch’s call notes +and alarm notes are very much like those of the canary. + +Since the goldfinches live so largely upon seeds of grasses, they +stay with us in small numbers during the winter. During this period +both parents and young are dressed in olive green, and their sweet +call notes are a surprise to us of a cold, snowy morning, for they +are associated in our memory with summer. The male dons his winter +suit in October. + +The goldfinch nest is a mass of fluffiness. These are the only birds +that make feather beds for their young. But, perhaps, we should say +beds of down, since it is the thistle down which is used for this +mattress. The outside of the nest consists of fine shreds of bark or +fine grass closely woven; but the inner portion is a mat of thistle +down--an inch and a half thick of cushion for a nest which has an +opening of scarcely three inches; sometimes the outside is ornamented +with lichens. The nest is usually placed in some bush or tree, often +in an evergreen, and not more than 5 or 6 feet from the ground; but +sometimes it is placed 30 feet high. The eggs are from four to six +in number and bluish white in color. The female builds the nest, +her mate cheering her with song meanwhile; he feeds her while she +is incubating and helps feed the young. A strange thing about the +nesting habits of the goldfinches is that the nest is not built until +August. It has been surmised that this nesting season is delayed +until there is an abundance of thistle down for building material. +Audubon Leaflet No. 17 gives special information about these birds +and also furnishes an outline of the birds for the pupils to color. + + + LESSON IX + + THE CANARY AND THE GOLDFINCH + +_Leading thought_--The canary is a very close relative of the common +wild goldfinch. If we compare the habits of the two we can understand +how a canary might live if it were free. + +_Method_--Bring a canary to the schoolroom and ask for observations. +Request the pupils to compare the canary with the goldfinches which +are common in the summer. The canary offers opportunity for very +close observation which will prove excellent training for the pupils +for beginning bird study. + +_Observations_--1. If there are two canaries in the cage are they +always pleasant to each other? Which one is the “boss?” How do they +show displeasure or bad temper? How do they show affection for each +other? + +2. Which one is the singer? Does the other one ever attempt to sing? +What other notes do the canaries make besides singing? How do they +greet you when you bring their food? What do they say when they are +lonesome and hungry? + +3. Does the singer have more than one song? How does he act while +singing? Why does he throw back his head like an opera singer when +singing? + +4. Are the canaries all the same color? What is the difference in +color between the singer and the mother bird? Describe the colors of +each in your note book as follows: Top and sides of head, back, tail, +wings, throat, breast and under parts. + +5. What does the canary eat? What sort of seeds do we buy for it? +What seeds do we gather for it in our garden? Do the goldfinches live +on the same seeds? What does the canary do to the seeds before eating +them? What tools does he use to take off the shells? + +6. Notice the shape of the canary’s beak. Is it long and strong like +a robin’s? Is it wide and sharp so that it can shell seeds? If you +should put an insect in the cage would the canary eat it? + +7. Why do we give the canary cuttlebone? Note how it takes off pieces +of the bone. Could it do this if its beak were not sharp? + +8. Note the actions of the birds when they drink. Why do they do this? + +9. Can you see the nostrils? Where are they situated? Why can you not +see the ear? + +10. When the canary is interested in looking at a thing how does it +act? Look closely at its eyes? Does it wink? How does it close its +eyes? When it is drowsy can you see the little inner lid come from +the corner of the eye nearest the beak? Is this the only lid? + +11. How are the legs and feet covered? Describe the toes. Compare +the length of the claw with the length of the toe. What is the shape +of the claw? Do you think that such shaped claws and feet are better +fitted for holding to a branch than for walking? Note the arrangement +of the toes when the bird is on its perch. Is the hind toe longer and +stronger? If so, why? Do the canaries hop or walk about the bottom of +the cage? + +12. What is the attitude of the canary when it goes to sleep at +night? How does it act when it takes a bath? How does it get the +water over its head? Over its back? What does it do after the bath? +If we forget to put in the bath dish how does the bird get its bath? + + + NESTING HABITS TO BE OBSERVED IN THE SPRING + +13. When the canaries are ready to build a nest what material do we +furnish them for it? Does the father bird help the mother to build +the nest? Do they strip off the paper on the bottom of the cage for +nest material? Describe the nest when it is finished. + +14. Describe the eggs carefully. Does the father bird assist in +sitting on the eggs? Does he feed the mother bird when she is sitting? + +15. How long after the eggs are laid before the young ones hatch? +Do both parents feed the young? Do they swallow the food first and +partially digest it before giving it to the young? + +16. How do the very young birds look? What is their appearance when +they leave the nest? Does the color of their plumage resemble that of +the father or the mother? + +17. Where did the canaries originally come from? Find the place on +the map. + +_Supplementary reading_--“A Caged Bird,” Sarah Orne Jewett in Songs +of Nature, p. 75; True Bird Stories, Miller. + + + THE GOLDFINCH + +_Leading thought_--Goldfinches are seen at their best in late summer +or September when they appear in flocks wherever the thistle seeds +are found in abundance. Goldfinches so resemble the canaries in form, +color, song and habits that they are called wild canaries. + +_Method_--The questions for this lesson should be given to the pupils +before the end of school in June. The answers to the questions should +be put in their field note-books and the results be reported to the +teacher in class when the school begins in the autumn. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find the goldfinches feeding? How can +you distinguish the father from the mother birds and from the young +ones in color? + +2. Describe the colors of the male goldfinch and also of the female +as follows: Crown, back of head, back, tail, wings, throat, breast +and lower parts. Describe in particular the black cap of the male. + +3. Do you know the song of the goldfinch? Is it like the song of the +canary? What other notes has the goldfinch? + +4. Describe the peculiar flight of the goldfinches. Do they fly high +in the air? Do you see them singly or in flocks usually? + +5. Where do the goldfinches stay during the winter? What change takes +place in the coat of the male during the winter? Why? What do they +live upon during the winter? + +6. At what time of year do the goldfinches build their nests? Why do +they build these so much later than other birds? Describe the nest. +Where is it placed? How far above the ground? How far from a stream +or other water? Of what is the outside made? The lining? What is the +general appearance of the nest? Do you think the goldfinches wait +until the thistles are ripe in order to gather plenty of food for +their young, or to get the thistle down for their nests? What is the +color of the eggs? + +_Supplementary reading_--True Bird Stories, Miller, pp. 6, 9, 26, +45; The Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 82; Our Birds and Their +Nestlings, Walker, pp. 180, 200. + + * * * * * + + _Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop + From low-hung branches; little space they stop, + But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek, + Then off at once, as in a wanton freak; + Or perhaps, to show their black and golden wings; + Pausing upon their yellow flutterings._ + --JOHN KEATS. + + + + + THE ROBIN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: M] + +Most of us think we know the robin well, but very few of us know +definitely the habits of this, our commonest bird. The object of +this lesson is to form in the pupils a habit of careful observation, +and enable them to read for themselves the interesting story of this +little life which is lived every year before their eyes. Moreover, a +robin note-book, if well kept, is a treasure for any child; and the +close observation necessary for this lesson trains the pupils to note +in a comprehending way the habits of other birds. It is the very best +preparation for bird study of the right sort. + +A few robins occasionally find a swamp where they can obtain food +to nourish them during the northern winter, but for the most part, +they go in flocks to our Southern States where they settle in swamps +and cedar forests and live upon berries. They are killed in great +numbers by the native hunters who eat them or sell them for table +use, a performance not understandable to the northerner. The robins +do not nest nor sing while in Southland, and no wonder! When the +robins first come to us in the spring they feed on wild berries, +being especially fond of those of the Virginia creeper. As soon as +the frost is out of the ground they begin feeding on earthworms, +cutworms, white grubs, and other insects. The male robins come first, +but do not sing until their mates arrive. + +The robin is ten inches long and the English sparrow is only six and +one-third inches long; the pupils should get the sizes of these two +birds fixed in their minds for comparison in measuring other birds. +The father robin is much more decided in color than his mate; his +beak is yellow, there is a yellow ring about the eye and a white spot +above it. The head is black and the back slaty-brown; the breast is +brilliant reddish brown or bay and the throat is white, streaked with +black. The mother bird has paler back and breast and has no black +upon the head. The wings of both are a little darker than the back, +the tail is black with the two outer feathers tipped with white. +These white spots do not show except when the bird is flying and are +“call colors,” that is, they enable the birds to see each other and +thus keep together when flying in flocks during the night. The white +patch made by the under tail-coverts serves a similar purpose. The +feet and legs are strong and dark in color. + +The robin has many sweet songs and he may be heard in the earliest +dawn and also in the evenings; if he wishes to cheer his mate he may +burst into song at any time. He feels especially songful before the +summer showers when he seems to sing, “I have a theory, a theory, +it’s going to rain.” And he might well say that he also has a theory, +based on experience, that a soaking shower will drive many of the +worms and larvæ in the soil up to the surface where he can get them. +Besides these songs the robins have a great variety of notes which +the female shares, although she is not a singer. The agonizing, angry +cries they utter when they see a cat or squirrel must express their +feelings fully; while they give a very different warning note when +they see crow or hawk, a note hard to describe, but which is a long, +not very loud squeak. + +A robin can run or hop as pleases him best, and it is interesting to +see one, while hunting earthworms run a little distance, then stop to +bend the head and listen for his prey, and when he finally seizes +the earthworm he braces himself on his strong legs and tugs manfully +until he sometimes almost falls over backward as the worm lets go its +hold. The robins, especially at nesting time, eat many insects as +well as earthworms. + +The beginning of a robin’s nest is very interesting; much strong +grass, fine straw, leaves and rootlets are brought and placed on +a secure support. When enough of this material is collected and +arranged, the bird goes to the nearest mud puddle or stream margin +and fills its beak with soft mud and going back “peppers” it into the +nest material, and after the latter is soaked the bird gets into it +and molds it to the body by nestling and turning around and around. +In one case which the author watched the mother bird did this part of +the building, although the father worked industriously in bringing +the other materials. After the nest is molded but not yet hardened, +it is lined with fine grass or rootlets. If the season is very dry +and there is no soft mud at hand, the robins can build without the +aid of this plaster. There are usually four eggs laid which are +exquisite greenish blue in color. + +[Illustration: _Robin on nest._] + +Both parents share the monotonous business of incubating, and in the +instance under the eyes of the author the mother bird was on the +nest at night; the period of incubating is from eleven to fourteen +days. The most noticeable thing about a very young robin is its wide, +yellow-margined mouth, which it opens like a satchel every time the +nest is jarred. This wide mouth cannot but suggest to anyone that +it is meant to be stuffed, and the two parents work very hard to +fill it. Both parents feed the young and often the father feeds the +mother bird while she is brooding. Professor Treadwell experimented +with young robins and found that each would take 68 earthworms daily; +these worms if laid end to end would measure about 14 feet. Think of +14 feet of earthworm being wound into the little being in the nest, +no wonder that it grows so fast! I am convinced that each pair of +robins about our house has its own special territory for hunting +worms, and that any trespasser is quickly driven off. The young +bird’s eyes are unsealed when they are from six to eight days old, +and by that time the feather tracts, that is, the place where the +feathers are to grow, are covered by the spine-like pin-feathers; +these feathers push the down out and it often clings to their tips. +In eleven days the birds are pretty well feathered; their wing +feathers are fairly developed but alas, they have no tail feathers! +When a young robin flies from the nest he is a very uncertain and +tippy youngster not having any tail to steer him while flying, nor to +balance him when alighting. + +It is an anxious time for the old robins when the young ones +leave the nest, and they flutter about and scold at any one who +comes in sight, so afraid are they that injury will come to their +inexperienced young ones; for some time the parents care for the +fledglings, solicitously feeding them and giving them warnings of +danger. The young robin shows in its plumage its relation to the +thrush family, for it is yellowish and very spotted and speckled, +especially the breast. The parents may raise several broods, but they +never use the same nest for two consecutive broods, both because it +may be infested with parasites and because it is more or less soiled; +although the mother robin works hard to keep it clean, carrying away +all waste matter in her beak and dropping it. Robins do not sing +much after the breeding season is over until after they have molted. +They are fond of cherries and other pulp fruits and often do much +damage to such crops. The wise orchardist will plant a few Russian +mulberry trees at a reasonable distance from his cherry trees, and +thus, by giving the robins a fruit which they like better, and which +ripens a little earlier, he may save his cherries. It has been proven +conclusively that the robins are far more beneficial than damaging to +the farmer; they destroy many noxious insects, two-thirds of their +food the entire year consisting of insects; during April and May they +do a great work in destroying cutworms. + +The robins stay with us later than most migrating birds, not leaving +us entirely before November. Their chief enemies in northern climates +are cats, crows and squirrels. Cats should be taught to let birds +alone (see lesson on cat) or should be killed. The crows have driven +the robins into villages where they can build their nests under +the protection of man. If crows venture near a house to attack the +robins, firing a gun at them once or twice will give them a hint +which they are not slow to take. The robins of an entire neighborhood +will attack a nest-robbing crow, but usually too late to save the +nestlings. The robins can defend themselves fairly well against the +red squirrel unless he steals the contents of the nest while the +owners are away. There can be no doubt that the same pair of robins +return to the same nesting place year after year. On the Cornell +Campus a robin lacking the white tip on one side of his tail was +noted to have returned to the same particular feeding ground for +several years; and we are very certain that the same female bird +built in the vines of our piazza for seven consecutive years; it took +two years to win her confidence; but after that, she seemed to feel +as if she were a part of the family and regarded us all as friends. +We were sure that during her fifth year she brought a new young +husband to the old nesting site; probably her faithful old husband +had been served for a dinner in some Tennessee hotel during the +previous winter. + +[Illustration: _Young robins. Their spotted breasts show their +relationship to the thrushes._ + +(Photo by Silas Lottridge).] + + + LESSON X + + THE ROBIN + +_Leading thought_--To understand all we can about the life and ways +of the robin. + +_Methods_--For first and second grades this work may be done by means +of an extra blackboard, or what is far better, sheets of ordinary, +buff, manilla wrapping paper fastened together at the upper end, so +that they may be hung and turned over like a calendar. On the outside +page make a picture of a robin in colored chalk or crayons, coloring +according to the children’s answers to questions of series “_b_”. +Devote each page to one series of questions, as given below. Do not +show these questions to the pupils until the time is ripe for the +observations. Those pupils giving accurate answers to these questions +should have their names on a roll of honor on the last page of the +chart. + +For third or higher grades the pupils should have individual +note-books in which each one may write his own answers to the +questions of the successive series, which should be written on the +blackboard at proper time for the observations. This note-book should +have a page about 6 × 8 inches and may be made of any blank paper. +The cover or first page should show the picture of the robin colored +by the pupil, and may contain other illustrative drawings, and any +poems or other literature pertinent to the subject. If prizes are +awarded in the school, a bird book should be given as award for the +best note-book in the class. + +_Observations by pupils_--_Series a_ (To be given in March). 1. At +what date did you see the first robin this year? + +2. Where did the robin spend the winter; did it build a nest or sing +when in its winter quarters? + +3. What does it find to eat when it first comes in the spring? How +does this differ from its ordinary food? + +4. Does the robin begin to sing as soon as it comes North? + + +_Series b_ (To be given the first week of April). 1. How large is the +robin compared with the English sparrow? + +2. What is the color of the beak? The eye? Around and above the eye? + +3. The color of the top of the head? The back? The throat? The breast? + +4. Do all the robins have equally bright colors on head, back and +breast? + +5. What is the color of the wing feathers? + +6. What is the color of the tail feathers? Where is the white on +them? Can the white spots be seen except during flight of the bird? +Of what use to the robin are these spots? + +7. Is there white on the underside of the robin as it flies over you? +Where? + +8. What is the color of the feet and legs? + + +_Series c_ (To be given the second week of April). + +1. At what time of day does the robin sing? Is it likely to sing +before a rain? How many different songs does a robin sing? + +2. What note does a robin give when it sees a cat? + +3. What sounds do the robins make when they see a crow or a hawk? + +4. Does a robin run or walk or hop? + +5. Do you think it finds the hidden earthworm by listening? If so +describe the act. + +6. Describe how a robin acts as it pulls a big earthworm out of the +ground. + +7. Do robins eat other food than earthworms? + + +_Series d_ (To be given by the middle of April). 1. At what date did +your pair of robins begin to build their nest? + +2. Where was the nest placed and with what material was it begun? + +3. Can you tell the difference in colors between the father and +mother birds? Do both parents help in making the nest? + +4. How and with what material is the plastering done? How is the nest +molded into shape? Do both birds do this part of the work? + +5. Where is the mud obtained and how carried to the nest? + +6. How is the nest lined? + + +_Series e_ (To be given a week after series _d_). 1. What is the +number and color of the eggs in the nest? + +2. Do both parents do the sitting? Which sits on the nest during the +night? + +3. Give the date when the first nestling hatches. + +4. How does the young robin look? The color and size of its beak? Why +is its beak so large? Can it see? Is it covered with down? Compare it +to a young chick and describe the difference between the two. + +5. What does the young robin do if it feels any jar against the nest? +Why does it do this? + +6. Do the young robins make any noise? + +7. What do the parents feed their young? Do both parents feed them? +Are the young fed in turns? + +8. Does each pair of robins have a certain territory for hunting +worms which is not trespassed upon by other robins? + + +_Series f_ (To be given three days after series _e_). 1. How long +after hatching before the young robin’s eyes are open? Can you see +where the feathers are going to grow? How do the young feathers look? + +2. How long after hatching before the young birds are covered with +feathers? + +3. Do their wing or tail feathers come first? + +4. How is the nest kept clean? + +5. Give the date when the young robins leave the nest? How do the old +robins act at this important crisis? + +6. Describe the young robin’s flight? Why is it so unsteady? + +7. How do the young robins differ in colors of breast from the +parents? + +8. Do the parents stay with the young for a time? What care do they +give them? + +9. If the parents raise a second brood do they use the same nest? + + +_Series g_ (To be given for summer reading and observations). 1. Do +the robins sing all summer? Why? + +2. Do the robins take your berries and cherries? How can you prevent +them from doing this? + +3. How does the robin help us? + +4. How long does it stay with us in the fall? + +5. What are the chief enemies of the robin and how does it fight or +escape them? How can we help protect it? + +6. Do you think the same robins come back to us each year? + +_Supplementary reading_--Nestlings of Forest and Marsh, Wheelock, p. +62; Our Birds and their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 26, 37, 41, 42; True +Bird Stories, Miller, pp. 37, 138; The Bird Book, Eckstrom, p. 248; +Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; The History of the Robins, Trimmer; +Field Book of Wild Birds and their Music, Mathews, p. 246; Birds in +Their Relation to Man, Weed and Dearborn, p. 90; Songs of Nature, +Burroughs, p. 94; Wake Robin, Burroughs; Audubon Leaflet No. 4. + + + + + THE BLUEBIRD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: S] + +Stern as were our Pilgrim Fathers, they could not fail to welcome +certain birds with plumage the color of June skies, whose sweet +voices brought hope and cheer to their homesick hearts at the close +of that first, long, hard winter of 1621. The red breasts of these +birds brought to memory the robins of old England and so they were +called “Blue robins”; and this name expresses well the relationship +implied, because the bluebirds and robins of America are both members +of the thrush family, a family noted for exquisite song. + +The bluebirds are usually ahead of the robins in the northward +journey and arrive in New York often amid the blizzards of early +March, their soft, rich “curly” notes bringing, even to the +doubting mind, glad convictions of coming spring. There is a family +resemblance between voices of bluebird and robin, a certain rich +quality of tone, but the robin’s song is far more assertive and +complex than is the soft, “purling” song of the bluebird, which has +been vocalized as “tru-al-ly, tru-al-ly.” These love songs cease with +the hard work of feeding the nestlings in April, but may be heard +again as a prelude to the second brood in June. The red breast of +the bluebird is its only color resemblance to the robin, although +the young bluebirds and robins are both spotted, showing the thrush +colors. The robin is so much larger than the bluebird that commonly +the relationship is not noticed. This is easily explained because +there is nothing to suggest a robin in the exquisite cerulean blue +of the bluebird’s head, back, tail and wings. This color is most +brilliant when the bird is on the wing, in the sunshine. However, +there is a certain mirror-like quality in these blue feathers; and +among leaf shadows or even among bare branches they in a measure, +reflect the surroundings and render the bird less noticeable. The +female is paler, being grayish blue above and with only a tinge of +red-brown on the breast; both birds are white beneath. + +The bluebirds haunt open woods, fields of second growth and +especially old orchards. They flit about in companies of three or +four until they mate for nesting. While feeding, the bluebird usually +sits on a low branch keeping a keen eye on the ground below, now and +then dropping suddenly on an unsuspecting insect and then returning +to its perch; it does not remain on the ground hunting food as does +the robin. The nest is usually built in a hole in a tree or post and +is made of soft grass. A hollow apple tree is a favorite nesting site. + +In building birdhouses we should bear in mind that a cavity about ten +inches deep and six inches in height and width will give a pair of +bluebirds room for building a nest. The opening should not be more +than two or two and one-half inches in diameter and there should be +no threshold; this latter is a very particular point. If there is a +threshold or place to alight upon, the sparrows are likely to dispute +with the bluebirds and drive them away, but the sparrow does not care +for a place which has no threshold. The box for the bluebird may be +made out of old boards or may be a section of an old tree trunk; it +should be fastened from six to fifteen feet above the ground, and +should be in nowise noticeable in color from its surroundings. To +protect the nest from cats, barbed wire should be wound around the +tree or post below the box. If the box for the nest is placed upon +a post the barbed wire will also protect it from the squirrels. The +eggs are bluish white; the young birds, in their first feathers, are +spotted on the back and have whitish breasts mottled with brown. +The food of the nestlings is almost entirely insects. In fact, this +bird during its entire life is a great friend to man. The food of +the adult is more than three-fourths insects and the remainder is +wild berries and fruits, the winter food being largely mistletoe +berries. It makes a specialty of injurious beetles, caterpillars +and grasshoppers, and never touches any of our cultivated fruits. +We should do everything in our power to encourage and protect these +birds from their enemies, which are chiefly cats, squirrels and +English sparrows. + +[Illustration: _Bluebird at the entrance of its nest._ + +From _Country Life in America_.] + +The migration takes place in flocks during autumn, but it is done in +a most leisurely manner with frequent stops where food is plenty. The +bluebirds we see in September are probably not the ones we have had +with us during the summer, but are those which have come from farther +north. + +They winter largely in the Gulf States; the writer has often heard +them singing in midwinter in Southern Mississippi. The bluebirds seem +to be the only ones that sing while at their winter resorts. They +live the year round in the Bermudas, contrasting their heavenly blue +plumage with the vivid red of the cardinals. The bluebird should not +be confused with the indigo bunting; the latter is darker blue and +has a blue breast. + +_References_--Bulletin, Some Common Birds in Their Relation to Man, +U. S. Dept. of Agr.; Bulletin, The Food of Nestling Birds, U. S. +Dept. of Agr.; Birds in Their Relation to Man, Weed & Dearborn, pp. +86–88; Nature-Study and Life, Hodge, chapters 18–21; Junior Audubon +Leaflets; Birds of Eastern North America, Chapman, 9. 403; Field Book +of Wild Birds and Their Music, Mathews, pp. 251–254; Nature-Study in +Elementary Schools, Wilson, p. 188. + + + “_Winged lute that we call a bluebird, + You blend in a silver strain + The sound of the laughing waters. + The patter of spring’s sweet rain, + The voice of the winds, the sunshine, + And fragrance of blossoming things. + Ah! You are an April poem, + That God has dowered with wings._” + --THE BLUEBIRD, REXFORD. + + + LESSON XI + + THE BLUEBIRD + +_Leading thought_--The bluebird is related to the robins and thrushes +and is as beneficial as it is beautiful. We should study its habits +and learn how to make nesting boxes for it, and protect it in all +ways. + +_Methods_--The observations of this lesson must be made in the field +and by the pupils individually. Give to each an outline of questions +to answer through seeing. There should follow reading lessons on the +bluebird’s value to us and its winter migrations, and the lesson +should end in discussions of best way to build boxes for its use in +nesting season, its protection from cats and other enemies. + +_Observations_--1. Which comes North earlier in spring the robin or +the bluebird? + +2. How do the two resemble each other and differ from each other? + +3. Describe the bluebirds’ song. Do they sing all summer? + +4. Describe the colors of the bluebird as follows: The head, back, +breast, under parts, wings, tail. How does the male bluebird differ +from his mate in colors? + +5. Where were the bluebirds you saw? What were they doing? If +feeding, how did they act? + +6. Can you see the color of the bluebird as plainly when it is in a +tree as when it is flying? If not, why? + +7. Where do the bluebirds build their nests? Of what material are the +nests made? Do both parents work at the nest building? + +8. What is the color of the eggs? How do the young birds look, when +old enough to leave the nest, as compared with their parents? + +9. What do the bluebirds eat? How do they benefit us? Do they do our +fruit any injury? + +10. What can we do to induce the bluebirds to live near our houses? +How can we protect them? + +11. Where do the bluebirds spend the winter? + +12. Make a colored picture of a bluebird. How can we tell the +bluebird from the indigo bunting? + +13. What are the bluebirds’ chief enemies? + +_Supplementary reading_--Nestlings of Forest and Marsh, Wheelock, +p. 62; True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 12; How to Attract the Birds, +Blanchan; Bird Neighbors, Blanchan; Our Birds and their Nestlings, +Walker, p. 17; Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; Audubon Leaflet, No. +24. + + * * * * * + + _Hark! ’tis the bluebird’s venturous strain + High on the old fringed elm at the gate-- + Sweet-voiced, valiant on the swaying bough, + Alert, elate, + Dodging the fitful spits of snow, + New England’s poet-laureate + Telling us Spring has come again!_ + --THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH. + + + + + THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The busy nuthatch climbs his tree + Around the great hole spirally, + Peeping into wrinkles gray, + Under ruffled lichens gay, + Lazily piping one sharp note + From his silver mailèd throat._” + --MAURICE THOMPSON. + + +[Illustration: B] + +Blithe and mellow is the ringing “ank, ank” note of the nuthatch, +and why need we allude to its nasal timbre! While it is not a +strictly musical note, it has a most enticing quality and translates +into sound the picture of bare-branched trees and the feeling of +enchantment which permeates the forest in winter; it is one of the +most “woodsy” notes in the bird repertoire. And while the singer of +this note is not so bewitching as his constant chum the chickadee, +yet it has many interesting ways quite its own. Nor is this “ank, +ank,” its only note. I have often heard a pair talking to each other +in sweet confidential syllables, “wit, wit, wit” very different +from the loud note meant for the world at large. The nuthatches +and chickadees hunt together all winter; it is no mere business +partnership but a matter of congenial tastes. The chickadees hunt +over the twigs and smaller branches, while the nuthatches usually +prefer the tree trunks and the bases of the branches; both birds +like the looks of the world upside down, and while the chickadee +hangs head down from a twig, the nuthatch is quite likely to alight +head down on a tree bole, holding itself safely in this position by +thrusting its toes out at right angles to the body, thus getting +a firm hold upon the bark. Sometimes its foot will be twisted +completely around, the front toes pointed up the tree. The foot is +well adapted for clinging to the bark as the front toes are strong +and the hind toe is very long and is armed with a strong claw. Thus +equipped, this bird runs about on the tree so rapidly, it has earned +the name of “tree mouse”. It often ascends a tree trunk spirally but +is not so hidebound in this habit as is the brown creeper. It runs +up or down freely head first and never flops down backwards like a +woodpecker. + +In color the nuthatch is bluish gray above with white throat and +breast and reddish underparts. The sides of the head are white; the +black cap extends back upon the neck but is not “pulled down” to the +eyes like the chickadees. The wing feathers are dark brown edged with +pale gray. The upper middle tail feathers are bluish like the back; +the others are dark brown and tipped with white in such a manner +that the tail when spread shows a broad white border on both sides. +The most striking contrast between the chickadee and nuthatch in +markings is that the latter lacks the black bib. However, its entire +shape is very different from that of the chickadee and its beak is +long and slender, being as long or longer than its head, while the +beak of the chickadee is a short, sharp, little pick. The bill of the +nuthatch is exactly fitted to reach in crevices of the bark and pull +out hiding insects, or to hammer open the shell of nut or acorn and +get both the meat of the nut and the grub feeding upon it. It will +wedge an acorn into a seam in the bark and then throw back its head, +woodpecker fashion, and drive home its chisel beak. But it does not +always use common sense in this habit. I have often seen one cut off +a piece of suet, fly off and thrust it into some crevice and hammer +it as hard as if it were encased in a walnut shell. This always seems +bad manners, like carrying off fruit from _table d’hote_; but the +nuthatch is polite enough in using a napkin, for after eating the +suet, it invariably wipes its bill on a branch, first one side then +the other most assiduously until it is perfectly clean. + +[Illustration: _The white breasted nuthatch._] + +The nuthatches are a great benefit to our trees in winter, for then +is when they hunt for hiding pests on their trunks. Their food +consists of beetles, caterpillars, pupæ of various insects, also +seeds of ragweed, sunflowers, acorns, etc. While the nuthatch finds +much of its food on trees, yet Mr. Torrey has seen it awkwardly +turning over fallen leaves hunting for insects, and Mr. Baskett says +it sometimes catches insects on the wing and gets quite out of breath +from this unusual exercise. + +It is only during the winter that we commonly see the nuthatches, +for during the nesting season, they usually retire to the deep woods +where they may occupy a cavity in a tree used by a woodpecker last +year, or may make a hole for themselves with their sharp beaks. The +nest is lined with leaves, feathers and hair; from five to nine +creamy, speckled eggs are the treasure of this cave. + + + LESSON XII + + THE NUTHATCH + +_Leading thought_--The nuthatch is often a companion of the +chickadees and woodpeckers. It has no black bib, like the chickadee, +and it alights on a tree trunk head downward, which distinguishes it +from woodpeckers. + +_Methods_--This bird, like the chickadee and downy, gladly shares the +suet banquet we prepare for them and may be observed at leisure while +“at table.” The contrast between the habits of the nuthatch and those +of its companions make it a most valuable aid in stimulating close +and keen observation on the part of the pupils. + +_Observations_--1. Where have you seen the nuthatches? Were they with +other birds? What other birds? + +2. Does a nuthatch usually alight on the ends of the branches of a +tree or on the trunk and larger limbs? Does it usually alight head +down or up? When it runs down the tree, does it go head first or does +it back down? When it ascends the tree does it follow a spiral path? +Does it use its tail for a brace when climbing, as does the downy? + +3. How are the nuthatch’s toes arranged to assist it in climbing? +Are the three front toes of each foot directed downward when the +bird alights head downward? How does it manage its feet when in this +position? + +4. What is the general color of the nuthatch above and below? The +color of the top and sides of head? Color of Back? Wings? Tail? +Throat? Breast? + +5. Does the black cap come down to the eyes on the nuthatch as on the +chickadee? Has the nuthatch a black bib? + +6. What is the shape of the beak of the nuthatch? For what is it +adapted? How does it differ from the beak of the chickadee? + +7. What is the food of the nuthatch? Where is it found? Does it open +nuts for the grubs or the nut meat? Observe the way it strikes its +beak into the suet, why does it strike so hard? + +8. How would you spell this bird’s note? Have you heard it give more +than one note? + +9. How does the nuthatch benefit our trees? At what season does it +benefit them most? Why? + +10. Where do the nuthatches build their nests? Why do we see the +nuthatches oftener in winter than in summer? + +[Illustration] + + + + + THE CHICKADEE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_He is the hero of the woods; there are courage and good + nature enough in that compact little body, which you may hide + in your fist, to supply a whole groveful of May songsters. + He has the Spartan virtue of an eagle, the cheerfulness of a + thrush, the nimbleness of Cock Sparrow, the endurance of the + sea-birds condensed into his tiny frame, and there have been + added a pertness and ingenuity all his own. His curiosity is + immense, and his audacity equal to it; I have even had one + alight upon the barrel of the gun over my shoulders as I sat + quietly under his tree._” + --ERNEST INGERSOLL. + + +[Illustration: H] + +However careless we may be of our bird friends when we are in the +midst of the luxurious life of summer, even the most careless among +us give pleased attention to the birds that bravely endure with us +the rigors of winter. And when this winged companion of winter proves +to be the most fascinating little ball of feathers ever created, +constantly overflowing with cheerful song, our pleased attention +changes to active delight. Thus it is, that in all the lands of snowy +winters the chickadee is a loved comrade of the country wayfarer; +that happy song “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” finds its way to the dullest +consciousness and the most callous heart. + +[Illustration: _Chick-a-dee-dee-dee_] + +The chickadees appear in small flocks in the winter and often in +company with the nuthatches. The chickadees work on the twigs and +ends of branches, while the nuthatches usually mine the bark of the +trunk and larger branches, the former hunting insect eggs and the +latter, insects tucked away in winter quarters. When the chickadee +is prospecting for eggs, it looks the twig over, first above and +then hangs head down and inspects it from below; it is a thorough +worker and doesn’t intend to overlook anything whatever; and however +busily it is hunting, it always finds time for singing; whether on +the wing or perched upon a twig or hanging from it like an acrobat, +head down, it sends forth its happy “chickadeedee” to assure us that +this world is all right and good enough for anybody. Besides this +song, it begins in February to sing a most seductive “fee-bee,” +giving a rising inflection to the first syllable and a long, falling +inflection to the last, which makes it a very different song from the +short, jerky notes of the phœbe-bird, which cuts the last syllable +short and gives it a rising inflection. More than this, the chickadee +has some chatty conversational notes, and now and then performs +a bewitching little yodle, which is a fit expression of its own +delicious personality. + +[Illustration: _Chickadee entering her nest._] + +The general effect of the colors of the chickadee is grayish brown +above and grayish white below. The top of the head is black, the +sides white, and it has a seductive little black bib under its chin. +The back is grayish, the wings and tail are dark gray, the feathers +having white margins. The breast is grayish white changing to buff or +brownish at the sides and below. It is often called the “Black-capped +Titmouse,” and it may always be distinguished by black cap and black +bib. It is smaller than the English sparrow; its beak is a sharp +little pick just fitted for taking insect eggs off twigs and from +under bark. Insects are obliged to pass the winter in some stage of +their existence, and many of them wisely remain in the egg until +there is something worth doing in the way of eating. These eggs are +glued fast to the food trees by the mother insect and thus provides +abundant food for the chickadees. It has been estimated that one +chickadee will destroy several hundred insect eggs in one day, and it +has been proven that orchards frequented by these birds are much more +free from insect pests than other orchards in the same locality. They +can be enticed into orchards by putting up beef fat or bones and thus +we can secure their valuable service. In summer these birds attack +caterpillars and other insects. + +When it comes to nest building, if the chickadees cannot find a house +to rent they proceed to dig out a proper hole from some decaying +tree, which they line with moss, feathers, fur or some other soft +material. The nest is often not higher than six to ten feet from the +ground. One which I studied was in a decaying fence post. The eggs +are white, sparsely speckled and spotted with lilac or rufous. The +young birds are often eight in number and how these fubsy birdlings +manage to pack themselves in such a small hole is a wonder, and +probably gives them good discipline in bearing hardships cheerfully. + +_Reference_--Useful Birds and Their Protection, Forbush, p. 163; +Birds of Village and Field, Merriams; Bird Neighbors, Blancham. + + + LESSON XIII + + THE CHICKADEE + +_Leading thought_--The chickadee is as useful as it is delightful; it +remains in the North during winter, working hard to clear our trees +of insect eggs and singing cheerily all day. It is so friendly that +we can induce it to come even to the window sill, by putting out suet +to show our friendly interest. + +_Methods_--Put beef fat on the trees near the schoolhouse in +December and replenish it afresh about every two or three weeks. The +chickadees will come to the feast and may be observed all winter. +Give the questions a few at a time and let the children read in the +bird books a record of the benefits derived from this bird. + +_Observations_--1. Where have you seen the chickadees? What were they +doing? Were there several together? + +2. What is the common song of the chickadee? What other notes has it? +Have you heard it yodle? Have you heard it sing “fe-bee, fee-bee.” +How does this song differ from that of the phœbe-bird? Does it sing +on the wing or when at rest? + +3. What is the color of the chickadee: Top and sides of head, back, +wings, tail, throat, breast, under parts? + +Compare size of chickadee with that of English sparrow. + +4. What is the shape of the chickadee’s bill and for what is it +adapted? What is the food in winter? Where does the bird find it? How +does it act when feeding and hunting for food? + +5. Does the chickadee usually alight on the ends of the branches or +on the larger portions near the trunk of the tree? + +6. How can you distinguish the chickadees from their companions, the +nuthatches? + +7. Does the chickadee ever seem discouraged by the snow and cold +weather? Do you know another name for the chickadee? + +8. Where does it build its nest? Of what material? Have you ever +watched one of these nests? If so, tell about it. + +9. How does the chickadee benefit our orchards and shade trees? How +can we induce it to feel at home with us and work for us? + +_Supplementary reading_--“Foster Baby,” Nestlings of Forest and +Marsh; “Ch’-geegee-lokh-sis,” Ways of Wood Folk; “Why a Chickadee +Goes Crazy,” Animal Heroes, Seton; “The Titmouse,” a poem, by Emerson. + +[Music] + +[Illustration] + + + + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: F] + +Friend Downy is the name this attractive little neighbor has earned, +because it is so friendly to those of us who love trees. Watch it as +it hunts each crack and crevice of the bark of your favorite apple or +shade tree, seeking assiduously for cocoons and insects hiding there, +and you will soon, of your own accord, call it friend; you will soon +love its black and white uniform, which consists of a black coat +speckled and barred with white and whitish gray vest and trousers. +The front of the head is black and there is a black streak extending +backward from the eye with a white streak above and also below it. +The male has a vivid red patch on the back of the head, but his wife +shows no such giddiness; plain black and white are good enough for +her. In both sexes the throat and breast are white, the middle tail +feathers black, while the side tail feathers are white, barred with +black at their tips. + +[Illustration: _Friend Downy’s foot._] + +The downy has a way of alighting low down on a tree trunk or at the +base of a larger branch and climbing upward in a jerky fashion; +it never runs about over the tree nor does it turn around and go +down head first, like the nuthatch; if it wishes to go down a short +distance it accomplishes this by a few awkward, backward hops; but +when it really wishes to descend, it flies off and down. The downy, +as other woodpeckers, has a special arrangement of its physical +machinery to enable it to climb trees in its own manner. In order to +grasp the bark on the side of the tree more firmly, its fourth toe is +turned backward to work as companion with the thumb. Thus it is able +to clutch the bark as with a pair of nippers, two claws in front and +two claws behind; and as another aid, the tail is arranged to prop +the bird, like a bracket. The tail is rounded in shape and the middle +feathers have rather strong quills; but the secret of the adhesion of +the tail to the bark lies in the great profusion of barbs which, at +the edge of the feathers, offer bristling tips, and when applied to +the side of the tree act like a wire brush with all the wires pushing +downward. This explains why the woodpecker cannot go backward without +lifting the tail. + +But even more wonderful than this, is the mechanism by which the +downy and hairy woodpeckers get their food, which consists largely +of wood-borers or larvæ working under the bark. When the woodpecker +wishes to get a grub in the wood, it seizes the bark firmly with its +feet, uses its tail as a brace, throws its head and upper part of the +body as far back as possible, and then drives a powerful blow with +its strong beak. The beak is adapted for just this purpose, as it is +wedge-shaped at the end, and is used like a mason’s drill sometimes, +and sometimes like a pick. When the bird uses its beak as a pick, +it strikes hard, deliberate blows and the chips fly; but when it is +drilling, it strikes rapidly and not so hard and quickly drills a +small, deep hole leading directly to the burrow of the grub. When +finally the grub is reached, it would seem well nigh impossible to +pull it out through a hole which is too small and deep to admit of +the beak being used as pincers. This is another story and a very +interesting one; the downy and hairy can both extend their tongues +far beyond the point of the beak, and the tip of the tongue is hard +and horny and covered with short backward-slanting hooks acting like +a spear or harpoon, and when thrust into the grub pulls it out easily +(see initial). The bones of the tongue have a spring arrangement; +when not in use, the tongue lies soft in the mouth, like a wrinkled +earthworm, but when in use, the bones spring out, stretching it to +its full length and it is then slim and small. The process is like +fastening a pencil to the tip of a glove finger; when drawn back +the finger is wrinkled together, but when thrust out, straightens. +This spring arrangement of the bones of the woodpecker’s tongue is +a marvellous mechanism and should be studied through pictures; see +Birds, Eckstorm, Chapter XIV; The Bird, Beebe, p. 122; “The Tongues +of Woodpeckers,” Lucas, U. S. Department of Agriculture. + +[Illustration: _Friend Downy._ + +Drawing by A. L. Fuertes.] + +Since the food of the downy and the hairy is where they can get it +all winter, there is no need for them to go South; thus they stay +with us and work for us the entire year. We should try to make them +feel at home with us in our orchards and shade trees by putting up +pieces of beef fat, to convince them of their welcome. No amount of +free food will pauperize these birds, for as soon as they have eaten +of the fat, they commence to hunt for grubs on the tree and thus earn +their feast. They never injure live wood. + +James Whitcomb Riley describes the drumming of the woodpecker as +“weeding out the lonesomeness” and that is exactly what the drumming +of the woodpecker means. The male selects some dried limb of hard +wood and there beats out his well-known signal which advertises far +and near, “Wanted, a wife.” And after he wins her, he still drums +on for a time to cheer her while she is busy with her family cares. +The woodpecker has no voice for singing, like the robin or thrush; +and luckily, he does not insist on singing, like the peacock whether +he can or not. He chooses rather to devote his voice to terse and +business-like conversation; and when he is musically inclined, he +turns drummer. He is rather particular about his instrument and +having found one that is sufficiently resonant he returns to it +day after day. While it is ordinarily the male that drums I once +observed a female drumming. I told her that she was a bold minx and +ought to be ashamed of herself; but within twenty minutes she had +drummed up two red-capped suitors who chased each other about with +great animosity, so her performance was evidently not considered +improper in woodpecker society. I have watched a rival pair of male +downies fight for hours at a time, but their duel was of the French +brand,--much fuss and no bloodshed. They advanced upon each other +with much haughty glaring and scornful bobs of the head, but when +they were sufficiently near to stab each other they beat a mutual and +circumspect retreat. Although we hear the male downies drumming every +spring, I doubt if they are calling for new wives; I believe they +are, instead, calling the attention of their lawful spouses to the +fact that it is time for nest building to begin. I have come to this +conclusion because the downies and hairies which I have watched for +years have always come in pairs to partake of suet during the entire +winter; and while only one at a time sits at meat and the lord and +master is somewhat bossy, yet they seem to get along as well as most +married pairs. + +The downy’s nest is a hole, usually in a partly decayed tree; an old +apple tree is a favorite site and a fresh excavation is made each +year. There are from four to six white eggs, which are laid on a nice +bed of chips as fine almost as sawdust. The door to the nest is a +perfect circle and about an inch and a quarter across. + +The hairy woodpecker is fully one-third larger than the downy, +measuring nine inches from tip of beak to tip of tail, while the +downy measures only about six inches. The tail feathers at the side +are white for the entire length, while they are barred at the tips in +the downy. There is a black “parting” through the middle of the red +patch on the back of the hairy’s head. The two species are so much +alike that it is difficult for the beginner to tell them apart. Their +habits are very similar, except that the hairy lives in the woods +and is not so commonly seen in orchards or on shade trees. The food +of the hairy is much like that of the downy and it is, therefore, a +beneficial bird and should be protected. + + + LESSON XIV + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + +_Leading thought_--The downy woodpecker remains with us all winter, +feeding upon insects that are wintering in crevices and beneath the +bark of our trees. It is fitted especially by shape of beak, tongue, +feet and tail to get such food and it is a “friend in need” to our +forest, shade and orchard trees. + +_Methods_--If a piece of beef fat be fastened upon the trunk or +branch of a tree, which can be seen from the schoolroom windows, +there will be no lack of interest in this friendly little bird; for +the downy will sooner or later find this feast spread for it and will +come every day to partake. Give out the questions, a few at a time, +and discuss the answers with the pupils. + +_Observations_--1. What is the general color of the downy above and +below? The color of the top of the head? Sides of the head? The +throat and breast? The color and markings of the wings? Color and +markings of the middle and side tail-feathers? + +2. Do all downy woodpeckers have the red patch at the back of the +head? If not, why? + +3. What is the note of the downy? Does it make any other sound? Have +you ever seen one drumming? At what time of the year? On what did it +drum? What did it use for a drumstick? What do you suppose was the +purpose of this music? + +4. How does the downy climb a tree trunk? How does it descend? How do +its actions differ from those of the nuthatch? + +5. How are the woodpecker’s toes arranged to help it climb a tree +trunk? How does this arrangement of toes differ from that of other +birds? + +6. How does the downy use its tail to assist it in climbing? What is +the shape of the tail and how is it adapted to assist? + +7. What does the downy eat and where does it find its food? Describe +how it gets at its food. What is the shape of its bill and how is it +fitted for getting the food? Tell how the downy’s tongue is used to +spear the grub. + +8. Why does the downy not go South in winter? + +9. Of what use is this bird to us? How should we protect it and +entice it into our orchards? + +10. Write an English theme on the subject “How the downy builds its +nest and rears its young”. + +_Supplementary reading_--The Woodpeckers, Eckstorm; Bird Neighbors, +Blanchan; Winter Neighbors, Burroughs. + + * * * * * + + _A few seasons ago a downy woodpecker, probably the individual + one who is now my winter neighbor, began to drum early in + March in a partly decayed apple-tree that stands in the edge + of a narrow strip of woodland near me. When the morning was + still and mild I would often hear him through my window before + I was up, or by half-past six o’clock, and he would keep it + up pretty briskly till nine or ten o’clock, in this respect + resembling the grouse, which do most of their drumming in + the forenoon. His drum was the stub of a dry limb about the + size of one’s wrist. The heart was decayed and gone, but the + outer shell was loud and resonant. The bird would keep his + position there for an hour at a time. Between his drummings + he would preen his plumage and listen as if for the response + of the female, or for the drum of some rival. How swift his + head would go when he was delivering his blows upon the limb! + His beak wore the surface perceptibly. When he wished to + change the key, which was quite often, he would shift his + position an inch or two to a knot which gave out a higher, + shriller note. When I climbed up to examine his drum he was + much disturbed. I did not know he was in the vicinity, but it + seems he saw me from a near tree, and came in haste to the + neighboring branches, and with spread plumage and a sharp + note demanded plainly enough what my business was with his + drum. I was invading his privacy, desecrating his shrine, + and the bird was much put out. After some weeks the female + appeared; he had literally drummed up a mate; his urgent and + oft-repeated advertisement was answered. Still the drumming + did not cease, but was quite as fervent as before. If a mate + could be won by drumming she could be kept and entertained by + more drumming; courtship should not end with marriage. If the + bird felt musical before, of course he felt much more so now. + Besides that, the gentle deities needed propitiating in behalf + of the nest and young as well as in behalf of the mate. After + a time a second female came, when there was war between the + two. I did not see them come to blows, but I saw one female + pursuing the other about the place, and giving her no rest for + several days. She was evidently trying to run her out of the + neighborhood. Now and then she, too, would drum briefly as if + sending a triumphant message to her mate._ + --Winter Neighbors, JOHN BURROUGHS. + + + + + THE SAPSUCKER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + +[Illustration: _The yellow bellied sapsucker._ + +Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.] + +The sapsucker is a woodpecker that has strayed from the paths of +virtue; he has fallen into temptation by the wayside, and instead of +drilling a hole for the sake of the grub at the end of it, he drills +for drink. He is a tippler, and sap is his beverage; and he is also +fond of the soft, inner bark. He often drills his holes in regular +rows and thus girdles a limb or a tree, and for this is pronounced +a rascal by men who have themselves ruthlessly cut from our land +millions of trees that should now be standing. It is amusing to see a +sapsucker take his tipple, unless his saloon happens to be one of our +prized young trees. He uses his bill as a pick and makes the chips +fly as he taps the tree; then he goes away and taps another tree. +After a time he comes back and holding his beak close to the hole +for a long time seems to be sucking up the sap; he then throws back +his head and “swigs” it down with every sign of delirious enjoyment. +The avidity with which these birds come to the bleeding wells which +they have made, has in it all the fierceness of a toper crazy for +drink; they are particularly fond of the sap of the mountain ash, +apple, thorn apple, canoe birch, cut-leaf birch, red maple, red +oak, white ash and young pines. However, the sapsucker does not +live solely on sap, he also feeds upon insects whenever he can find +them. When feeding their young, the sapsuckers are true flycatchers +snatching insects while on the wing. The male has the crown and +throat crimson, edged with black with a black line extending back of +the eye, bordered with white above and below. There is a large, black +circular patch on the breast which is bordered at the sides and below +with lemon yellow. The female is similar to the male and has a red +forehead, but she has a white bib instead of a red one beneath the +chin. The distinguishing marks of the sapsucker should be learned by +the pupils. The red is on the front of the head instead of on the +crown, as is the case with the downy and hairy; when it is flying the +broad, white stripes extending from the shoulders backward, form a +long, oval figure, which is very characteristic. + +The sapsuckers spend the winter in the Southern States where they +drill wells in the white oak and other trees. From Virginia to +Northern New York and New England, where they breed, they are seen +only during migration, which occurs in April; then the birds appear +two and three together and are very bold in attacking shade trees, +especially the white birch. They nest only in the Northern United +States and northward. The nest is usually a hole in a tree about +forty feet from the ground, and is likely to be in a dead birch. + + + LESSON XV + + THE SAPSUCKER + +_Leading thought_--The sapsucker has a red cap, a red bib and a +yellow breast; it is our only woodpecker that does injury to trees. +We should learn to distinguish it from the downy and hairy, as the +latter are among the best bird friends of the trees. + +_Methods_--Let the observations begin with the study of the trees +which have been attacked by the sapsucker, which are almost +everywhere common, and thus lead to an interest in the culprit. + +_Observations_--1. Have you seen the work of the sapsucker? Are the +holes drilled in rows completely around the tree? If there are two +rows or more, are the holes set evenly one below another? + +2. Do the holes sink into the wood, or are they simply through the +bark? Why does it injure or kill a tree to be girdled with these +holes? Have you ever seen the sapsuckers making these holes? If so, +how did they act? + +3. How many kinds of trees can you find punctured by these holes? Are +they likely to be young trees? + +4. How can you distinguish the sapsucker from the other woodpeckers? +How have the hairy and downy which are such good friends of the trees +been made to suffer for the sapsucker’s sins? + +5. What is the color of the sapsucker as follows: Forehead, sides +of head, back, wings, throat, upper and lower breast? What is the +difference in color between the male and female? + +6. In what part of the country do the sapsuckers build their nests? +Where do they make their nests and how? + +_Supplementary reading_--Bird Neighbors, Blanchan; Birds, Bees and +Sharp Eyes, John Burroughs. + + * * * * * + + _In the following winter the same bird_ (_a sapsucker_) + _tapped a maple-tree in front of my window in fifty-six + places; and, when the day was sunny and the sap oozed out he + spent most of his time there. He knew the good sap-days, and + was on hand promptly for his tipple; cold and cloudy days he + did not appear. He knew which side of the tree to tap, too, + and avoided the sunless northern exposure. When one series + of well-holes failed to supply him, he would sink another, + drilling through the bark with great ease and quickness. Then, + when the day was warm, and the sap ran freely, he would have + a regular sugar-maple debauch, sitting there by his wells + hour after hour, and as fast as they became filled sipping + out the sap. This he did in a gentle, caressing manner that + was very suggestive. He made a row of wells near the foot of + the tree, and other rows higher up, and he would hop up and + down the trunk as they became filled._ + --Winter Neighbors, JOHN BURROUGHS. + + + + + THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _The red-headed woodpecker._ + +Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.] + +The red-head is well named, for his helmet and visor show a vivid +glowing crimson that stirs the sensibilities of the color lover. +It is readily distinguished from the other woodpeckers because its +entire head and bib are red. For the rest, it is a beautiful dark +metallic blue with the lower back, a band across the wing, and the +under parts white; its outer tail feathers are tipped with white. +The female is colored like the male, but the young have the head and +breast gray, streaked with black and white, and the wings barred +with black. It may make its nest by excavating a hole in a tree or a +stump or even in a telegraph pole; the eggs are glossy white. This +woodpecker is quite different in habits from the hairy and downy, as +it likes to flit along from stump to fence-post and catch insects on +the wing, like a fly-catcher. The only time that it pecks wood is +when it is making a hole for its nest. + +As a drummer, the red-head is most adept and his roll is a long one. +He is an adaptable fellow, and if there is no resonant dead limb at +hand, he has been known to drum on tin roofs and lightning rods; +and once we also observed him executing a most brilliant solo on +the wire of a barbed fence. He is especially fond of beechnuts and +acorns, and being a thrifty fellow as well as musical, in time of +plenty he stores up food against time of need. He places his nuts in +crevices and forks of the branches or in holes in trees or any other +hiding place. He can shell a beechnut quite as cleverly as can the +deer mouse; and he is own cousin to the Carpenter Woodpecker of the +Pacific Coast, which is also red-headed and which drills holes in the +oak trees wherein he drives acorns like pegs for later use. + + + LESSON XVI + + THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER + +_Leading thought_--The red-headed woodpecker has very different +habits from the downy and is not so useful to us. It lives upon nuts +and fruit and such insects as it can catch upon the wing. + +_Methods_--If there is a red-head in the vicinity of your school the +children will be sure to see it. Write the following questions upon +the blackboard and offer a prize to the first one who will make a +note on where the red-head stores his winter food. + +_Observations_--1. Can you tell the red-head from the other +woodpeckers? What colors especially mark his plumage? + +2. Where does the red-head nest? Describe eggs and nest? + +3. What have you observed the red-head eating? Have you noticed it +storing nuts and acorns for the winter? Have you noticed it flying +off with cherries or other fruit? + +4. What is the note of the red-head? Have you ever seen one drumming? +What did he use for a drum? Did he come back often to this place to +make his music? + +_Supplementary reading_--“The House That Fell” in Nestlings of Forest +and Marsh; Our Birds and their Nestlings, p. 90; Birds, Bees and +Sharp Eyes, John Burroughs. + + * * * * * + + _Another trait our woodpeckers have that endears them + to me, and that has never been pointedly noticed by our + ornithologists, is their habit of drumming in the spring. They + are songless birds, and yet all are musicians; they make the + dry limbs eloquent of the coming change. Did you think that + loud, sonorous hammering which proceeded from the orchard or + from the near woods on that still March or April morning was + only some bird getting its breakfast? It is downy, but he is + not rapping at the door of a grub; he is rapping at the door + of spring, and the dry limb thrills beneath the ardor of his + blows. Or, later in the season, in the dense forest or by + some remote mountain lake, does that measured rhythmic beat + that breaks upon the silence, first three strokes following + each other rapidly, succeeded by two louder ones with longer + intervals between them, and that has an effect upon the + alert ear as if the solitude itself had at least found a + voice--does that suggest anything less than a deliberate + musical performance? In fact, our woodpeckers are just as + characteristically drummers as is the ruffed grouse, and they + have their particular limbs and stubs to which they resort + for that purpose. Their need of expression is apparently just + as great as that of the song-birds, and it is not surprising + that they should have found out that there is music in a dry, + seasoned limb which can be evoked beneath their beaks._ + + _The woodpeckers do not each have a particular dry limb to + which they resort at all times to drum, like the one I have + described. The woods are full of suitable branches, and they + drum more or less here and there as they are in quest of food; + yet I am convinced each one has its favorite spot, like the + grouse, to which it resorts, especially in the morning. The + sugar-maker in the maple woods may notice that this sound + proceeds from the same tree or trees about his camp with great + regularity. A woodpecker in my vicinity has drummed for two + seasons on a telegraph-pole, and he makes the wires and glass + insulators ring. Another drums on a thin board on the end of + a long grape-arbor, and on still mornings can be heard a long + distance._ + + _A friend of mine in a Southern city tells me of a red-headed + woodpecker that drums upon a lightning-rod on his neighbor’s + house. Nearly every clear, still morning at certain seasons, + he says, this musical rapping may be heard. “He alternates his + tapping with his stridulous call, and the effect on a cool, + autumn-like morning is very pleasing.”_ + --JOHN BURROUGHS, in Birds, Bees and Sharp Eyes. + + + + + THE FLICKER OR YELLOW-HAMMER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + +[Illustration: _Young flickers “Two is company, three is a crowd.”_ + +Photo by J. M. Schreck.] + +The first time I ever saw a flicker I said, “What a wonderful +meadow-lark and what is it doing on that ant hill?” But, another +glance revealed to me a red spot on the back of the bird’s neck, +and as soon as I was sure that it was not a bloody gash, I knew +that it marked no meadow-lark. The top of the flicker’s head and +its back are slaty-gray, which is much enlivened by a bright red +band across the nape of the neck. The tail is black above and +yellow tipped with black below; the wings are black, but have a +beautiful luminous yellow beneath, which is very noticeable during +flight. There is a locket adorning the breast which is a thin, black +crescent, much narrower than that of the meadow-lark. Below the +locket, the breast is yellowish white thickly marked with circular, +black spots. The throat and sides of the head are pinkish brown, and +the male has a black mustache extending backward from the beak with +a very fashionable droop. Naturally enough the female, although she +resembles her spouse, lacks his mustache. The beak is long, strong, +somewhat curved and dark colored. This bird is distinctly larger +than the robin. The white patch on the rump shows little or none +when the bird is at rest, for this white mark is a “color call,” it +being a rear signal by means of which the flock of migrating birds +are able to keep together in the night. The yellow-hammer’s flight is +wave-like and jerky and quite different from that of the meadow-lark; +nor does it stay so constantly in the meadows but often frequents +woods and orchards. + +The flicker has many names, such as golden-winged woodpecker, +yellow-hammer, high-hole, yarup, wake-up, clape and many others. +It earned the name of high-hole because of its habit of excavating +its nest high up in trees, usually between ten and twenty-five feet +from the ground. It especially loves an old apple tree as a site for +a nest, and most of our large old orchards can boast of a pair of +these handsome birds during the nesting season of May and June. The +flicker is not above renting any house he finds vacant, excavated by +some other birds last year. He earned his name of yarup or wake-up +from his spring song, which is a rollicking, jolly “wick-a, wick-a, +wick-a-wick” a song commonly heard the last of March or early April. +The chief food of the flicker is ants, although it also eats beetles, +flies and wild fruit, but does little or no damage to planted crops. +So long has it fed upon ants, that its tongue has become modified, +like that of the ant-eater; it is covered with a sticky substance; +and when it is thrust into an ant hill, all of the little citizens, +disturbed in their communal labors, at once bravely attack the +intruder and become glued fast to it, and are thus withdrawn and +transferred to the capacious stomach of the bird. It has been known +to eat three thousand ants at a single meal. + +Those who have observed the flicker during the courting season +declare him to be the most silly and vain of all bird wooers. Mr. +Baskett says: “When he wishes to charm his sweetheart he mounts a +small twig near her, and lifts his wings, spreads his tail, and +begins to nod right and left as he exhibits his mustache to his +charmer. He sets his jet locket first on one side of the twig and +then on the other. He may even go so far as to turn his head half +around to show her the pretty spot on his back hair. In doing all +this he performs the most ludicrous antics and has the silliest +expression of face and voice as if in losing his heart, as some one +phrases it, he had lost his head also.” + +The nest hole is quite deep and the white eggs are from four to ten +in number. The feeding of the young flickers is a painful process to +watch. The parent takes the food into its own stomach and partially +digests it, then thrusting its own bill down the throat of the young +one it pumps the soft food into it “kerchug, kerchug,” until it seems +as if the young one must be shaken to its foundations. The young +flickers as soon as they leave the nest climb around freely on the +home tree in a delightful, playful manner. + +[Illustration: _Flicker coming from the nest._ + +Photo by George Fiske, Jr.] + + + LESSON XVII + + THE FLICKER + +_Leading thought_--The flicker is a true woodpecker but has changed +its habits and spends much of its time in meadows hunting for ants +and other insects; it makes its nest in trees, like its relatives. It +can be distinguished from the meadow-lark by the white patch above +the tail which shows during flight. + +_Methods_--This is one of the most important of birds of the meadow +and the work may be done in September when there are plenty of young +flickers, which have not learned to be wary. The observations may be +made in the field, a few questions given at a time. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find the flicker in the summer and +early autumn? How can you tell it from the meadow-lark in color and +in flight? + +2. What is it doing in the meadows? How does it manage to trap ants? + +3. What is the size of the flicker as compared to the robin? What is +its general color as compared to the meadow-lark? + +4. Describe the colors of the flicker as follows: Top and sides of +the head, back of the neck, lower back, tail, wings, throat and +breast. The color and shape of the beak. Is there a difference in +markings between the males and females? + +5. Does the patch of white above the tail show, except when the bird +is flying? Of what use is this to the bird? + +6. What is the flicker’s note? At what time of spring do you hear it +first? + +7. Where does the flicker build its nest and how? What is the color +of the eggs? How many are there? + +8. How does it feed its young? How do the young flickers act? + +9. How many names do you know for the flicker? + +_Supplementary reading_--“The Bird of Many Names,” Nestlings of +Forest and Marsh; A Fellow of Expedients, Long; Our Birds and Their +Nestlings, p. 187; Audubon Leaflet No. 5. + + * * * * * + + _The high-hole appears to drum more promiscuously than + does the downy. He utters his long, loud spring call, + whick-whick-whick, and then begins to rap with his beak + upon his perch before the last note has reached your ear. I + have seen him drum sitting upon the ridge of the barn. The + log-cock, or pileated woodpecker, the largest and wildest + of our Northern species, I have never heard drum. His blows + should wake the echoes._ + + _When the woodpecker is searching for food, or laying siege + to some hidden grub, the sound of his hammering is dead or + muffled, and is heard but a few yards. It is only upon dry, + seasoned timber, freed of its bark, that he beats his reveille + to spring and woos his mate._ + --JOHN BURROUGHS, in Birds, Bees and Sharp Eyes. + + + + + THE MEADOW-LARK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration] + +The first intimation we have in early spring, that the meadow-lark is +again with us, comes to us through his soft, sweet, sad note which +Van Dyke describes so graphically when he says it, “leaks slowly +upward from the ground.” One wonders how a bird can express happiness +in these melancholy, sweet, slurred notes and yet undoubtedly it is a +song expressing joy, the joy of returning home, the happiness of love +and of nest building. But after one has spent a winter in the Gulf +States, and has witnessed the slaughter there of this most valuable +bird; and after the northern stomach and heart have turned sick at +the sight of breasts once so full of song done brown on the luncheon +table, one no longer wonders that the meadow-lark’s song of joy is +fraught with sadness. There should be national laws to protect the +birds that are of value to one part of the United States from being +slaughtered in their winter haunts, unless they are there a nuisance +and injurious to crops, which is not the case with the meadow-lark. + +The meadow-lark, as is indicated by its name, is a bird of the +meadow. It is often confused with another bird of the meadow which +has very different habits, the flicker. The two are approximately +of the same size and color and each has a black crescent or locket +on the breast and each shows the “white feather” during flight. +The latter is the chief distinguishing character; the outer tail +feathers of the meadow-lark are white, while the tail feathers of the +flicker are not white at all, but it has a single patch of white on +the rump. The flight of the two is quite different. The lark lifts +itself by several sharp movements and then soars smoothly over the +course, while the flicker makes a continuous up and down, wave-like +flight. The songs of the two would surely never be confused, for the +meadow-lark is among our sweetest singers, to which class the flicker +with his “flick a flick” hardly belongs. + +The colors of the meadow-lark are most harmonious shades of brown and +yellow, well set off by the black locket on its breast. Its wings are +light brown, each feather being streaked with black and brown; the +line above the eye is yellow, bordered with black above and below; a +buff line extends from the beak backward over the crown. The wings +are light brown and have a mere suggestion of white bars; portions +of the outer feathers on each side of the tail are white, but this +white does not show except during flight. The sides of the throat +are greenish, the middle part and breast are lemon-yellow, with the +large, black crescent just below the throat. The beak is long, strong +and black, and the meadow-lark is decidedly a low-browed bird, the +forehead being only slightly higher than the upper part of the beak. +It is a little larger than the robin which it rivals in plumpness. + +The meadow-lark has a particular liking for meadows which border +streams. It sings when on the ground, on the bush or fence and while +on the wing; and it sings during the entire period of its northern +stay, from April to November, except while it is moulting in late +summer. Mr. Mathews, who is an eminent authority on bird songs, says +that the meadow-larks of New York have a different song from those +of Vermont or Nantucket, although the music has always the same +general characteristics. The western species has a longer and more +complex song than ours of the East. It is one of the few California +birds that is a genuine joy to the eastern visitor; during February +and March its heavenly music is as pervasive as the California +sunshine. + +[Illustration: _The meadow-lark._ + +Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.] + +The nest is built in a depression in the ground near a tuft of grass; +it is constructed of coarse grass and sticks and is lined with finer +grass; there is usually a dome of grass blades woven above the nest; +and often a long, covered vestibule leading to the nest is made in a +similar fashion. This is evidently for protection from the keen eyes +of hawks and crows. The eggs are laid about the last of May and are +usually from five to seven in number; they are white, speckled with +brown and purple. The young larks are usually large enough to be out +of the way before haying time in July. + +The food of the meadow-lark during the entire year, consists almost +exclusively of insects which destroy the grass of our meadows. It +eats great quantities of grasshoppers, cut worms, chinch bugs, army +worms, wire worms, weevils, and also destroys some weed seeds. Each +pupil should make a diagram in his note-book showing the proportions +of the meadow-lark’s different kinds of food. This may be copied +from Audubon Leaflet No. 3. The killing of the meadow-lark in New +York State is a punishable offence, as it should be in every state +of the Union. Everyone who owns a meadow should use his influence to +the uttermost to protect this valuable bird. It has been estimated +that the meadow-larks save to every township where hay is produced, +twenty-five dollars each year on this crop alone. + +[Illustration: _The meadow-lark’s covered nest._ + +Photo by Robert Matheson.] + + + LESSON XVIII + + THE MEADOW-LARK + +_Leading thought_--The meadow-lark is of great value in delivering +the grass of our meadows from insect destroyers. It has a song which +we all know; it can be identified by color as a large, light brown +bird with white feathers on each side of the tail, and in flight, +by its quick up and down movements finishing with long, low, smooth +sailing. + +_Method_--September and October are good months for observations on +the flight, song and appearance of the meadow-lark, and also for +learning how to distinguish it from the flicker. The notes must be +made by the pupils in the field, and after they know the bird and its +song let them, if they have opportunity, study the bird books and +bulletins, and prepare written accounts of the way the meadow-lark +builds its nest and of its economic value. + +_Observations_--1. Where have you seen the meadow-lark? Did you ever +see it in the woods? Describe its flight. How can you identify it +by color when it is flying? How do its white patches and its flight +differ from those of the flicker? + +2. Try and imitate the meadow-lark’s notes by song or whistle. Does +it sing while on the ground, or on a bush or fence, or during flight? + +3. Note the day when you hear its last song in the fall and also its +first song in the spring. Does it sing during August and September? +Why? Where does it spend the winter? On what does it feed while in +the South? How are our meadow-larks treated when on their southern +sojourn? + +4. Is the meadow-lark larger or smaller than the robin? Describe +from your own observation, as far as possible, the colors of the +meadow-lark as follows: Top of head; line above the eye; back; wings; +tail; throat; breast; locket; color and shape of beak. Make a sketch +of your own or a copy from Louis Fuertes’ excellent picture of the +meadow-lark in the Audubon Leaflet, and color it accurately. + +5. When is the nest built; where is it placed; of what material +is it built? How is it protected from sight from above? Why this +protection? How many eggs? What are their colors and markings? + +6. What is the food of the meadow-lark? Copy the diagram from the +Audubon leaflet, showing the proportions of the different kinds of +insects which it destroys. Why should the farmers of the South also +protect the meadow-lark by law? + +_Supplementary reading_--Audubon Education Leaflet No. 3; Farmers’ +Bulletin No. 54, U. S. Dept. of Agr.; “A Pioneer,” in Nestlings of +Forest and Marsh, Wheelock. + + * * * * * + + _Sweet, sweet, sweet! O happy that I am!_ + (_Listen to the meadow-larks, across the fields that sing!_) + _Sweet, sweet, sweet! O subtle breath of balm, + O winds that blow, O buds that grow, O rapture of the spring!_ + + _Sweet, sweet, sweet! O happy world that is! + Dear heart, I hear across the fields my mateling pipe and + call. + Sweet, sweet, sweet! O world so full of bliss, + For life is love, the world is love, and love is over all!_ + --INA COOLBRITH. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE ENGLISH SPARROW + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _So dainty in plumage and hue, + A study in grey and in brown, + How little, how little we knew + The pest he would prove to the town! + From dawn until daylight grows dim, + Perpetual chatter and scold. + No winter migration for him, + Not even afraid of the cold! + Scarce a song-bird he fails to molest, + Belligerent, meddlesome thing! + Wherever he goes as a guest + He is sure to remain as a King._ + --MARY ISABELLA FORSYTH. + + +The English sparrow, like the poor and the house-fly, is always with +us; and since he is here to stay, let us make him useful if we can +devise any means of doing so. There is no bird that gives the pupils +a more difficult exercise in describing colors and markings than does +he; and his wife is almost equally difficult. I have known fairly +skilled ornithologists to be misled by some variation in color of the +hen sparrow, and it is safe to assert that the majority of people “do +not know her from Adam.” The male has the top of the head gray with +a patch of reddish brown on either side; the middle of the throat +and upper breast is black; the sides of the throat white; the lower +breast and under parts grayish white; the back is brown streaked +with black; the tail is brown, rather short, and not notched at the +tip; the wings are brown with two white bars and a jaunty dash of +reddish brown. The female has the head grayish brown, the breast, +throat and under parts grayish white; the back is brown streaked with +black and dirty yellow, and she is, on the whole, a “washed out” +looking lady bird. The differences in color and size between the +English sparrow and the chippy are quite noticeable, as the chippy is +an inch shorter and far more slender in appearance, and is especially +marked by the reddish brown crown. + +When feeding, the English sparrows are aggressive, and their lack of +table manners make them the “goops” among all birds; in the winter +they settle in noisy flocks on the street to pick up the grain +undigested by the horses, or in barnyards where the grain has been +scattered by the cattle. They only eat weed seeds when other food +fails them in the winter, for they are a civilized bird even if they +do not act so, and they much prefer the cultivated grains. It is only +during the nesting season that they destroy insects to any extent; +over one-half the food of nestlings is insects, such as, weevils, +grasshoppers, cutworms, etc.; but this good work is largely offset +by the fact that these same nestlings will soon give their grown-up +energies to attacking grain fields, taking the seed after sowing, +later the new grain in the milk, and later still the ripened grain +in the sheaf. Wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, sorghum and rice are +thus attacked. Once I saw on the upper Nile a native boat loaded +with millet which was attacked by thousands of sparrows; when driven +off by the sailors they would perch on the rigging, like flies, and +as soon as the men turned their backs they would drop like bullets +to the deck and gobble the grain before they were again driven off. +English sparrows also destroy for us the buds and blossoms of fruit +trees and often attack the ripening fruit. + +The introduction of the English sparrow into America is one of the +greatest arguments possible in favor of nature-study; for, ignorance +of nature-study methods in this single instance, costs the United +States millions of dollars every year. The English sparrow is the +European house sparrow and people had a theory that it was an insect +eater, but never took the pains to ascertain if this theory were a +fact. About 1850, some people with more zeal than wisdom introduced +these birds into New York, and for twenty years afterwards there +were other importations of the sparrows. In twenty years more, +people discovered that they had taken great pains to establish in +our country one of the worst nuisances in all Europe. In addition +to all the direct damage which the English sparrows do, they are so +quarrelsome that they have driven away many of our native beneficial +birds from our premises, and now vociferously acclaim their presence +in places which were once the haunts of birds with sweet songs. +After they drive off the other birds they quarrel among themselves, +and there is no rest for tired ears in their vicinity. There are +various noises made by these birds which we can understand if we are +willing to take the pains: The harassing chirping is their song; they +squall when frightened and peep plaintively when lonesome, and make a +disagreeable racket when fighting. + +But to “give the devil his due” we must admit that the house sparrow +is as clever as it is obnoxious, and its success is doubtless partly +due to its superior cleverness and keenness. It is quick to take a +hint, if sufficiently pointed; firing a shotgun twice into a flock +of these birds has driven them from our premises; and tearing down +their nests assiduously for a month seems to convey to them the idea +that they are not welcome. Another instance of their cleverness I +witnessed one day; I was watching a robin, worn and nervous with her +second brood, fervently hunting earthworms in the lawn to fill the +gaping mouths in the nest in the Virginia creeper shading the piazza. +She finally pulled up a large, pink worm and a hen sparrow flew at +her viciously; the robin dropped the worm to protect herself, and +the sparrow snatched it and carried it off triumphantly to the grape +arbor where she had a nest of her own full of gaping mouths. She soon +came back, and at a safe distance watched the robin pull out another +worm, and by the same tactics again gained the squirming prize. Three +times was this repeated in an hour, and then the robin, discouraged, +flew up into a Norway spruce and in a monologue of sullen cluckings +tried to reason out what had happened. + +The English sparrow’s nest is quite in keeping with the bird’s +other qualities; it is usually built in a hole or box or in some +protected corner beneath the eaves; it is also often built in vines +on buildings and occasionally in trees. It is a good example of “fuss +and feathers”; coarse straw, or any other kind of material, and +feathers of hens or of other birds, mixed together without fashion +or form, constitute the nest. In these sprawling nests the whitish, +brown or gray-flecked eggs are laid and the young reared; and so far +as I can ascertain, no one has ever counted the number of broods +reared in one season. The nesting begins almost as soon as the snow +is off the ground and lasts until late fall. + +During the winter, the sparrows gather in flocks in villages and +cities, but in the spring they scatter out through the country where +they can find more grain. The only place where this bird is welcome +is possibly in the heart of a great city, where no other bird could +pick up a livelihood. It is a true cosmopolite and is the first bird +to greet the traveler in Europe or northern Africa. These sparrows +will not build in boxes suspended by a wire; and they do not like a +box where there is no resting place in front of the door leading to +the nest. + +After the pupils have made observations upon the habits of the house +sparrow, they may find, in the following books and bulletins, facts +which will teach further the economic importance of this bird: Birds +in Their Relation to Man, by Weed and Dearborn, p. 144. The following +bulletins of the U. S. Department of Agriculture: “English Sparrow in +North America;” “Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture,” S. D. Judd, +Bulletin 15; “The Food of Nestlings,” Yearbook 1900. + + + LESSON XIX + + THE ENGLISH SPARROW + +_Leading thought_--The English sparrow was introduced into America by +people who knew nothing of its habits. It has finally over-run our +whole country and, to a great extent, has driven out from towns and +villages our useful American song birds and it should be discouraged +and not allowed to nest around our houses and grounds. As a sparrow +it has interesting habits which we should observe. + +_Methods_--Let the pupils make their observations in the street or +wherever they find the birds. The greatest value of this lesson is +to teach the pupils to observe the coloring and markings of a bird +accurately and describe them clearly. This is the best of training +for later work with the wild birds. + +_Observations_--1. How many kinds of birds do you find in a flock of +English sparrows? + +2. The ones with the black cravat are naturally the men of the +family, while their sisters, wives and mothers are less ornamented. +Describe in your note-book or from memory the colors of the cock +sparrow as follows: Top of head; sides of the head; the back; the +tail; the wings; wing bars; throat and upper breast; lower breast and +under parts. + +3. Describe the hen sparrow in the same manner and note the +difference in markings between the two. Are the young birds, when +they first fly, like the father or the mother? + +4. Compare the English sparrow with the chippy and describe the +differences in size and color. + +5. Is the tail when the bird is not flying, square across the end or +notched? + +6. What is the shape of the beak? For what sort of food is this +shaped beak meant? + +7. What is the food of the English sparrows and where do they find +it? Describe the actions of a flock feeding in the yard or street. +Are the English sparrows kindly or quarrelsome in disposition? + +8. Why do the English sparrows stay in the North during the coldest +of winters? Do they winter out in the country or in villages? + +9. Describe by observation how they try to drive away the robins or +other native birds. + +10. Describe the nest of this sparrow. Of what material is it made? +How is it supported? How sheltered? Is it a well-built nest? + +11. Describe the eggs? How many broods are raised a year? What kind +of food do the parents give the nestlings? + +12. If you have ever seen these sparrows do anything interesting +describe the circumstance? + +13. In what ways are these birds a nuisance to us? + +14. How much of English sparrow talk do you understand? + +15. How can we build bird-boxes so that the English sparrows will not +try to take possession of them? + +_Supplementary reading_--“A Street Troubadour,” in Lives of the +Hunted, Thompson Seton. First Book of Birds, Miller, p. 81. +“Blizzard” and “Three Sparrows that live in the House,” from True +Bird Stories, Miller. + + * * * * * + + _Do not tire the child with questions; lead him to question + you, instead. Be sure, in any case, that he is more interested + in the subject than in the questions about the subject._ + + + + + THE CHIPPING SPARROW + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This midget lives in our midst, and yet, not among all bird kind, is +there one which so ignores us as does the chippy. It builds its nest +about our houses, it hunts for food all over our premises, it sings +like a tuneful grasshopper in our ears, it brings up its young to +disregard us, and every hour of the day it “tsip-tsips” us to scorn. +And, although it has well earned the name of “doorstep sparrow,” +since it frugally gathers the crumbs about our kitchen doors, yet it +rarely becomes tame or can be induced to eat from the hand, unless it +is trained so to do as a nestling. + +Its cinnamon-brown cap and tiny black forehead, the gray streak over +the eye and the black through it, the gray cheeks and the pale gray, +unspotted breast distinguish it from the other sparrows, although +its brown back streaked with darker, and brown wings and blackish +tail have a very sparrowish look; the two whitish wing bars are not +striking; it has a bill fitted for shelling seeds, a characteristic +of all the sparrows. Despite its seed-eating bill, the chippy’s food +is thirty-eight per-cent insects, and everyone should read what Mr. +Forbush says about the good work this little bird does in our gardens +and to our trees. It takes in large numbers cabbage caterpillars, +the pea louse, the beet leaf-miners, leaf hoppers, grasshoppers, +cut worms, and does its best to annihilate the caterpillars of the +terrible gypsy and browntail moths. In fact, it works for our benefit +even in its vegetable food, as this consists largely of the seeds +of weeds and undesirable grasses. It will often fly up from its +perch after flies or moths, like a flycatcher; and the next time we +note it, it will be hopping around hunting for the crumbs we have +scattered for it on the piazza floor. The song of the chippy is more +interesting to it than to us; it is a continuous performance of high, +shrill, rapid notes, all alike so far as I can detect; when it utters +many of these in rapid succession it is singing, but when it gives +them singly they are call notes or mere conversation. + +One peculiarity of the nest has given this sparrow the common name +of hair-bird, for the lining is almost always of long, coarse hair, +usually treasure trove from the tails of horses or cattle switched +off against boards, burs or other obstacles. Of the many nests I have +examined, black horsehair was the usual lining; but two nests in our +yard show the chippy to be a resourceful bird; evidently the hair +market was exhausted and the soft, dead needles of the white pine +were used instead and made a most satisfactory lining. The nest is +tiny and shallow; the outside is of fine grass or rootlets carefully +but not closely woven together; it is placed in vine or tree, usually +not more than ten or fifteen feet from the ground; a vine of a piazza +is a favorite nesting site. Once a bold pair built directly above +the entrance to our front door and mingled cheerfully with other +visitors. Usually, however, the nest is so hidden that it is not +discovered until after the leaves have fallen. The eggs are light +blue tinged with green, with fine, purplish brown specks or markings +scrawled about the larger end. + +[Illustration: _The chipping sparrow._] + +The chippy comes to us in April and usually raises two broods of +from three to five “piggish” youngsters, which even after they are +fully grown follow pertinaciously their tired and “frazzled out” +parents and beg to be fed; the chippy parents evidently have no idea +of discipline but indulge their teasing progeny until our patience, +at least, is exhausted. The young differ from the parents in having +streaked breasts and lacking the reddish crown. In the fall the +chippy parents lose their red-brown caps and have streaked ones +instead; and then they fare forth in flocks for a seed-harvest in the +fields. Thereafter our chippy is a stranger to us; we do not know it +in its new garb, and it dodges into the bushes as we pass, as if it +had not tested our harmlessness on our own door-stone. + +_Reference_--Wild Life, Ingersol, p. 132. + + + LESSON XX + +_Leading thought_--The chipping sparrow is a cheerful and useful +little neighbor. It builds a nest, lined with horsehair, in the +shrubbery and vines about our homes and works hard in ridding our +gardens of insect pests and seeds of weeds. + +_Methods_--Begin this lesson with a nest of the chippy, which is so +unmistakable that it may be identified when found in the winter. +Make the study of this nest so interesting that the pupils will +wait anxiously to watch for the birds which made it. As soon as the +chippies appear, the questions should be asked, a few at a time, +giving the children several weeks for the study. + + + _The Nest_ + +_Observations_--1. Where was this nest found? How high from the +ground? + +2. Was it under shelter? How was it supported? + +3. Of what material is the outside of the nest? How is it fastened +together? How do you suppose the bird wove this material together? + +4. Of what material is the lining? Why is the bird that built this +nest called the “hair bird?” From what animal do you think the lining +of the nest came? How do you suppose the bird got it? + +5. Do you think the nest was well hidden when the leaves were about +it? Measure the nest across and also its depth; do you think the bird +that made it is as large as the English sparrow? + + + _The Bird_ + +6. How can you tell the chippy from the English sparrow? + +7. Describe in your note-book or orally the colors of the chippy as +follows: beak, forehead, crown, marks above and through the eyes, +cheeks, throat, breast, wings and tail. Note if the wings have +whitish bars and how many. + +8. Describe the shape of the beak as compared with that of the robin. +What is this shaped bill meant for? + +9. What is the food of the chippy? Why has it been called the +doorstep-sparrow? + +10. Note if the chippy catches flies or moths on the wing like the +phœbe-bird. + +11. Why should we protect the chippy and try to induce it to live +near our gardens? + +12. Does it run or hop when seeking food on the ground? + +13. How early in the season does the chippy appear and where does it +spend the winter? + +14. Can you describe the chippy’s song? How do you think it won the +name of chipping sparrow? + +15. If you have the luck to find a pair of chippies nesting, keep a +diary of your observations in your note-book covering the following +points: Do both parents build the nest? How is the frame-work laid? +How is the finishing done? The number and color of the eggs? Do both +parents feed the young? How do young chippies act when they first +leave the nest? How large are the young birds before the parents stop +feeding them? What are the differences in color and markings between +parents and young? + + * * * * * + + + THE FIELD-SPARROW + + _A bubble of music floats, the slope of the hillside over; + A little wandering sparrow’s notes; and the bloom of yarrow and + clover, + And the smell of sweet-fern and the bayberry leaf, on his ripple + of song are stealing, + For he is a cheerful thief, the wealth of the fields revealing._ + + _One syllable, clear and soft as a raindrop’s silvery patter, + Or a tinkling fairy-bell; heard aloft, in the midst of the merry + chatter + Of robin and linnet and wren and jay, one syllable, oft repeated; + He has but a word to say, and of that he will not be cheated._ + + _The singer I have not seen; but the song I arise and follow + The brown hills over, the pastures green, and into the sunlit + hollow. + With a joy that his life unto mine has lent, I can feel my glad + eyes glisten, + Though he hides in his happy tent, while I stand outside, and + listen._ + + _This way would I also sing, my dear little hillside neighbor! + A tender carol of peace to bring to the sunburnt fields of labor + Is better than making a loud ado; trill on, amid clover and yarrow! + There’s a heart-beat echoing you, and blessing you, blithe little + sparrow!_ + --LUCY LARCOM. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE SONG SPARROW + + _Teachers’ Story_ + + “_He does not wear a Joseph’s coat of many colors, smart and gay + His suit is Quaker brown and gray, with darker patches at his + throat. + And yet of all the well-dressed throng, not one can sing so + brave a song. + It makes the pride of looks appear a vain and foolish thing to + hear + His ‘Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer.’_” + + “_A lofty place he does not love, he sits by choice and well at + ease + In hedges and in little trees, that stretch their slender arms + above + The meadow brook; and then he sings till all the field with + pleasure rings; + And so he tells in every ear, that lowly homes to heaven are + near + In ‘Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer.’_” + --HENRY VAN DYKE. + + +Children should commit to memory the poem from which the above +stanzas were taken; seldom in literature, have detailed accurate +observation and poetry been so happily combined as in these verses. +The lesson might begin in March when we are all listening eagerly +for bird voices, and the children should be asked to look out for +a little, brown bird which sings, “Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry +cheer,” or, as Thoreau interprets it, “Maids! Maids! Maids! Hang on +the teakettle, teakettle-ettle-ettle.” In early childhood I learned +to distinguish this sparrow by its “Teakettle” song. Besides this +song, it has others quite as sweet; and when alarmed it utters a +sharp “T’chink, t’chink.” + +The song sparrow prefers the neighborhood of brooks and ponds which +are bordered with bushes, and also the hedges planted by nature +along rail or other field fences, and it has a special liking for +the shrubbery about gardens. Its movements and flight are very +characteristic; it usually sits on the tip-top of a shrub or low tree +when it sings, but when disturbed never rises in the air but drops +into a low flight and plunges into a thicket with a defiant twitch of +the tail which says plainly, “find me if you can.” + +The color and markings of this bird are typical of the sparrows. The +head is a warm brown with a gray streak along the center of the crown +and one above each eye, with a dark line through the eye. The back +is brown with darker streaks. The throat is white with a dark spot +on either side; the breast is white spotted with brown with a large, +dark blotch at its very center; this breast blotch distinguishes +this bird from all other sparrows. The tail and wings are brown and +without buff or white bars or other markings. The tail is long, +rounded and very expressive of emotions, and makes the bird look more +slender than the English sparrow. + +The nest is usually placed on the ground or in low bushes not more +than five feet from the ground; it varies much in both size and +material; it is sometimes constructed of coarse weeds and grasses; +and sometimes only fine grass is used. Sometimes it is lined +with hair, and again, with fine grass; sometimes it is deep, but +occasionally is shallow. The eggs have a whitish ground-color tinged +with blue or green, but are so blotched and marked with brown that +they are safe from observation of enemies. The nesting season begins +in May, and there are usually three and sometimes four broods; but +so far as I have observed, a nest is never used for two consecutive +broods. The song sparrow stays with us in New York State very late in +the fall, and a few stay in sheltered places all winter. The quality +in this bird which endears him to us all is the spirit of song which +stays with him; his sweet trill may be heard almost any month of the +year, and he has a charming habit of singing in his dreams, if sudden +noise disturbs his slumber. + +The song sparrow is not only the dearest of little neighbors, +but it also works lustily for our good and for its own food at +the same time. It destroys cutworms, plant-lice, caterpillars, +canker-worms, ground beetles, grasshoppers and flies; in winter it +destroys thousands of weed seeds, which otherwise would surely plant +themselves to our undoing. Every boy and girl should take great pains +to drive away stray cats and to teach the family puss not to meddle +with birds; for cats are the worst of all the song sparrow’s enemies, +destroying thousands of its nestlings every year. + + + LESSON XXI + + THE SONG SPARROW + +_Leading thought_--The beautiful song of this sparrow is heard +earlier in the spring than the notes of bluebird or robin. The +dark blotch in the center of its speckled breast distinguishes +this sparrow from all others; it is very beneficial and should be +protected from cats. + +_Methods_--All the observations of the song sparrow must be made in +the field, and they are easily made because the bird builds near +houses, in gardens, and in the shrubbery. Poetry and other literature +about the song sparrow should be given to the pupils to read or to +memorize. + +_Observations_--1. Have you noticed a little brown bird singing a +very sweet song in the early spring? Did the song sound as if set +to the words “Little Maid! Little Maid! Little Maid! Put on the +teakettle, teakettle-ettle ettle?” + +2. Where was this bird when you heard him singing? How high was he +perched above the ground? What other notes did you hear him utter? + +3. Describe the colors and markings of the song sparrow on head, +back, throat, breast, wings and tail. Is this bird as large as the +English sparrow? What makes it look more slim? + +4. How can you distinguish the song sparrow from the other sparrows? +When disturbed does it fly up or down? How does it gesture with its +tail as it disappears in the bushes? + +5. Where and of what material does the song sparrow build its nest? + +6. What colors and markings are on the eggs? Do you think these +colors and markings are useful in concealing the eggs when the mother +bird leaves the nest? + +7. How late in the season do you see the song sparrows and hear their +songs? Does this bird, when disturbed, fly up or down? + +8. How can we protect these charming little birds and induce them to +build near our houses? + +9. What is the food of the song sparrows and how do they benefit our +fields and gardens? + +_Supplementary reading_--Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp. +43, 49, 50, 52; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 80; Birds of Song +and Story, Grinnell, p. 73; The Song Sparrow, Van Dyke; Birds Through +an Opera Glass, Merriam, p. 66; Field Book of Wild Birds, Mathews, p. +109; Wild Life, Ingersoll, p. 144; Audubon Leaflet No. 31. + + * * * * * + + + THE SING-AWAY BIRD + + _Have you ever heard of the Sing-away bird, + That sings where the Runaway River + Runs down with its rills from the bald-headed hills + That stand in the sunshine and shiver? + “Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!” + How the pines and the birches are stirred + By the trill of the Sing-away bird!_ + + _And the bald-headed hills, with their rocks and their rills, + To the tune of his rapture are ringing; + And their faces grow young, all the gray mists among, + While the forests break forth into singing. + “Oh sing! sing-away! sing-away!” + And the river runs singing along; + And the flying winds catch up the song._ + + _’Twas a white-throated sparrow, that sped a light arrow + Of song from his musical quiver, + And it pierced with its spell every valley and dell + On the banks of the Runaway River. + “Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!” + The song of the wild singer had + The sound of a soul that is glad._ + --LUCY LARCOM. + + + + +[Illustration: _The mockingbird._ + +Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.] + + + THE MOCKINGBIRD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Among all the vocalists in the bird world, the mockingbird is +unrivaled in the variety and richness of his repertoire; and he has +thus won his place among men, convincing many ignorant people by +the means of his voice that a bird is good for something besides +“victuals.” The mockingbirds go as far north as southern New England, +but they are found at their best in the Southern States and in +California. On the Gulf Coast the mockers begin singing in February; +in warmer climates they sing almost the year through. During the +nesting season, the father mocker is so busy with his cares and +duties during the day, that he does not have time to sing and so +devotes the nights to serenading; he may sing almost all night long +if there is moonlight, but even on dark nights he gives now and then +a happy, sleepy song. Not all mockingbirds are mockers; some sing +their own song which is rich and beautiful; while others learn in +addition, not only the songs of other birds, but their call notes as +well. One authority noted a mocker which imitated the songs of twenty +species of birds during a ten-minute performance. When singing, the +mocker shows his relationship to the brown thrasher by lifting the +head and depressing and jerking the tail. A good mocker will learn a +tune, or parts of it, if it is whistled often enough in his hearing; +he will also imitate other sounds and will often improve on a song he +has learned from another bird by introducing frills of his own; when +learning a song, he sits silent and listens intently, but will not +try to sing it until it is learned. + +Although the mockingbirds live in wild places, they prefer the haunts +of men, taking up their home sites in gardens and cultivated grounds. +Their flight is rarely higher than the tree tops and is decidedly +jerky in character with much twitching of the long tail. For nesting +sites, they choose thickets or the lower branches of trees, being +especially fond of orange trees; the nest is usually from four to +twenty feet from the ground. The foundation of the nest is made of +sticks, grasses and weed stalks interlaced and crisscrossed; on these +is built the nest of softer materials, such as, rootlets, horsehair, +cotton, or in fact, anything suitable which is at hand. The nest is +often in plain sight, since the mocker trusts to his strength as a +fighter to protect it. He will attack cats with great ferocity and +vanquish them; he will kill snakes; often good-sized black snakes +have been known to end thus. The mocker, in making his attack, hovers +above his enemy and strikes it at the back of the head or neck; he +will also drive away birds much larger than himself. + +The female lays from four to six pale greenish or bluish eggs +blotched with brown and which hatch in about two weeks; then comes +a period of hard work for the parents, as both are indefatigable +in catching insects to feed the young. The mocker, by the way, is +a funny sight when he is chasing a beetle on the ground, lifting +his wings in a pugnacious fashion. The mockers often raise three +broods a season; the young birds have spotted breasts, showing their +relationship to the thrasher. + +As a wooer, the mocker is a bird of much ceremony and dances into his +lady’s graces. Mrs. F. W. Rowe, in describing this, says that the +birds stand facing each other with heads and tails erect and wings +drooping; “then the dance would begin, and this consisted of the two +hopping sideways in the same direction and in rather a straight line +a few inches at a time, always keeping directly opposite each other +and about the same distance apart. They would _chassez_ this way four +or five feet, then go back over the same line in the same manner.” +Mrs. Rowe also observed that the male mockers have hunting preserves +of their own, not allowing any other males of their species in these +precincts. The boundary was sustained by tactics of both offense and +defense; but certain other species of birds were allowed to trespass +without reproof. + +Maurice Thompson describes in a delightful manner the “mounting” and +“dropping” songs of the mocker which occur during the wooing season. +The singer flits up from branch to branch of a tree, singing as he +goes, and finally on the topmost bough gives his song of triumph to +the world; then, reversing the process, he falls backward from spray +to spray, as if drunk with the ecstasy of his own song, which is an +exquisitely soft “gurgling series of notes, liquid and sweet, that +seem to express utter rapture.” + +The mockingbirds have the same colors in both sexes; the head is +black, the back is ashy-gray; the tail and wings are so dark brown +that they look black; the tail is very long and has the outer tail +feathers entirely white and the two next inner ones are white for +more than half their length; the wings have a strikingly broad, white +bar, which is very noticeable when the bird is flying. The under +parts and breast are grayish white; the beak and legs are blackish. +The food of the mockingbirds is about half insects and half fruit. +They live largely on the berries of the red cedar, myrtle and holly, +and we must, confess are often too devoted to the fruits in our +orchards and gardens; but let us put down to their credit that they +do their best to exterminate the cotton boll caterpillars and moths, +and also many other insects injurious to crops. + +The mocker is full of tricks and is distinctly a bird of humor. He +will frighten other birds by screaming like a hawk and then seem to +chuckle over the joke. + +Sidney Lanier describes him well. + + _Whate’er birds did or dreamed, this bird could say. + Then down he shot, bounced airily along + The sward, twitched in a grasshopper, made song + Midflight, perched, prinked, and to his art again._ + + + LESSON XXII + + THE MOCKING BIRD + +_Leading thought_--The mockingbird is the only one of our common +birds that sings regularly at night. It imitates the songs of other +birds and has also a beautiful song of its own. When feeding their +nestlings, the mockers do us great service by destroying insect pests. + +_Method_--Studies of this bird are best made individually by the +pupils through watching the mockers which haunt the houses and +shrubbery. If there are mockingbirds near the schoolhouse the work +can be done in the most ideal way by keeping records in the school +of all the observations made by the pupils, thus bringing out an +interesting mockingbird story. The experiment in teaching songs to +the birds may best be made with pet mockers. + +_Observations_--1. At what months of the year and for how many months +does the mockingbird sing in this locality? + +2. Does he sing only on moonlight nights? Does he sing all night? + +3. Can you distinguish the true mockingbird song from the songs which +he has learned from other birds? Describe the actions of a mocker +when he is singing. + +4. How many songs of other birds have you heard a mocker give and +what are the names of these birds? + +5. Have you ever taught a mocker a tune by whistling it in his +presence? If so, tell how long before he learned it and how he acted +while learning. + +6. Describe the flight of the mockingbirds. Do they fly high in the +air like crows? + +7. Do these birds like best to live in wild places or about houses +and gardens? + +8. Where do they choose sites for their nests? Do they make an effort +to hide the nest? If not, why? + +9. Of what material is the nest made? How is it lined? How far from +the ground is it placed? + +10. What are the colors of the eggs? How many are usually laid? How +long before they hatch? + +11. Give instances of the parents’ devotion to the young birds. + +12. Have you seen two mockingbirds dancing before each other just +before the nesting season? + +13. In the spring have you heard a mocker sing while mounting from +the lower to the upper branches of a tree and then after pouring +forth his best song fall backward with a sweet, gurgling song as if +intoxicated with his music? + +14. How many broods does a pair of mockers raise during one season? +How does the color of the breast of the young differ from that of the +parent? + +15. How does the father bird protect the nestlings from other birds, +cats and snakes? + +16. Does the mocker select certain places for his own hunting grounds +and drive off other mockers which trespass? + +17. Describe the colors of the mockingbird as follows: Beak, head, +back, tail, wings, throat, breast, under parts and feet. + +18. What is the natural food of the mockingbirds and how do they +benefit the farmer? How does the mocker act when attacking a ground +beetle? + +19. Have you seen mockingbirds frighten other birds by imitating the +cry of a hawk? Have you seen them play other kinds of tricks? + +20. Write a little story which shall include your own observations on +the ways of pet mockingbirds which you have known. + +_Supplementary reading_--True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 142; Bob, by +Sidney Lanier; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 34; Birds of Song and +Story, Grinnell, p. 29; Stories About Birds, Kirby, p. 94. + + * * * * * + + “_Soft and low the song began: I scarcely caught it as it ran + Through the melancholy trill of the plaintive whip-poor-will, + Through the ringdove’s gentle wail, chattering jay and + whistling quail, + Sparrow’s twitter, catbird’s cry, redbird’s whistle, robin’s + sigh; + Blackbird, bluebird, swallow, lark, each his native note might + mark._ + + _Oft he tried the lesson o’er, each time louder than before; + Burst at length the finished song, loud and clear it poured + along; + All the choir in silence heard, hushed before this wondrous + bird. + All transported and amazed, scarcely breathing, long I gazed. + Now it reached the loudest swell; lower, lower, now it fell,-- + Lower, lower, lower still, scarce it sounded o’er the rill._” + --JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE. + + + + +[Illustration: _Catbird on nest._ + +Photo by Robert Matheson.] + + + THE CATBIRD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The Catbird sings a crooked song, in minors that are flat, + And, when he can’t control his voice he mews just like a cat, + Then nods his head and whisks his tail and lets it go at that._” + --OLIVER DAVIE. + + +As a performer, the catbird distinctly belongs to the vaudeville, +even going so far as to appear in slate-colored tights. His +specialties range from the most exquisite song to the most strident +of scolding notes; his nasal “n-y-a-a-h, n-y-a-a-h” is not so very +much like the cat’s mew after all, but when addressed to the intruder +it means “get out;” and not in the whole gamut of bird notes is there +another which so quickly inspires the listener with this desire. I +once trespassed upon the territory of a well-grown catbird family +and the squalling that ensued was ear-splitting; as I retreated, the +triumphant youngsters followed me for a few rods with every sign +of triumph in their actions and voices; they obviously enjoyed my +apparent fright. The catbirds have rather a pleasant “cluck, cluck” +when talking to each other, hidden in the bushes, and they also have +a variety of other notes. The true song of the catbird, usually +given in the early morning, is very beautiful. Mr. Mathews thinks +it is a medley gathered from other birds, but it seems to me very +individual. However, true to his vaudeville training, this bird is +likely to introduce into the middle or at the end of his exquisite +song some phrase that suggests his cat call. He is, without doubt, +a true mocker and will often imitate the robin’s song, and also if +opportunity offers learns to converse fluently in chicken language. +One spring morning, I heard outside my window the mellow song of +the cardinal, which is a rare visitor in New York, but there was no +mistaking the “tor-re-do, tor-re-do.” I sprang from my bed and rushed +to the window only to see a catbird singing the cardinal song, and +thus telling me that he had come from the sunny South and the happy +companionship of these brilliant birds. Often when the catbird is +singing, he sits on the topmost spray of some shrub lifting his head +and depressing his tail, like a brown thrasher; and again, he sings +completely hidden in the thicket. + +In appearance the catbird is tailor-made, belonging to the same +social class as the cedar-bird and the barn swallow. However, it +affects quiet colors, and its well-fitting costume is all slate-gray +except the top of the head and the tail which are black; the feathers +beneath the base of the tail are brownish. The catbird is not so +large as the robin, and is of very different shape; it is far more +slender and has a long, emotional tail. The way the catbird twitches +and tilts its tail, as it hops along the ground or alights in a bush, +is very characteristic. It is a particularly alert and nervous bird, +always on the watch for intruders, and the first to give warning to +all other birds of their approach. It is a good fighter in defending +its nest, and there are several observed instances where it has +fought to defend the nest of other species of birds; and it has gone +even further in its philanthropy, by feeding their orphaned nestlings. + +The catbird chooses a nesting site in a low tree or shrub or brier, +where the nest is built usually about four feet from the ground. The +nest looks untidy, but is strongly made of sticks, coarse grass, +weeds, bark strips and occasionally paper; it is lined with soft +roots and is almost always well hidden in dense foliage. The eggs are +from three to five in number and are dark greenish blue. Both parents +work hard feeding the young and for this purpose destroy many insects +which we can well spare. Sixty-two per cent. of the food of the +young has been found in one instance to be cutworms, showing what a +splendid work the parents do in our gardens. In fact, during a large +part of the summer, while these birds are rearing their two broods, +they benefit us greatly by destroying the insect pests; and although +later they may attack our fruits and berries, it almost seems as if +they had earned the right to their share. If we only had the wisdom +to plant along the fences some elderberries or Russian mulberries, +the catbirds as well as the robins would feed upon them instead of +the cultivated fruits. + +The catbirds afford a striking example for impressing upon children +that each species of birds haunts certain kinds of places. The +catbirds are never found in deep woods nor in open fields, but always +near low thickets along streams, and in shrubbery along fences, in +tangles of vines, and especially do they like to build about our +gardens, if we protect them. They are very fond of bathing, and if +fresh water is given them for this purpose, we may have opportunity +to witness the most thorough bath a bird can take. A catbird +takes a long time to bathe and preen its feathers and indulges in +most luxurious sun baths and thus deservedly earns the epithet of +“well-groomed;” it is one of the most intelligent of all our birds +and soon learns “what is what,” and repays in the most surprising way +the trouble of careful observation. + + + LESSON XXIII + + THE CATBIRD + +_Leading thought_--The catbird has a beautiful song as well as the +harsh “miou,” and can imitate other birds, although not so well as +the mockingbird. It builds in low thickets and shrubbery and during +the nesting season is of great benefit to our gardens. + +_Methods_--First, let the pupils study and report upon the songs, +scoldings and other notes of this our northern mockingbird; then let +them describe its appearance and habits. Of course, the study must be +made outside of school hours in the field. + +_Observations_--1. Do you think the squall of the catbird sounds like +the mew of a cat? When does the bird use this note and what for? What +other notes have you heard it utter? + +2. Describe as well as you can the catbird’s true song. Are there +any harsh notes in it? Where does he sit while singing? Describe his +actions while singing. + +3. Have you ever heard the catbird imitate the songs of other birds +or other noises? + +4. Describe the catbird as follows: its size and shape compared to +the robin; the color and shape of head, beak, wings, tail, breast and +under parts. + +5. Describe its peculiar actions and its characteristic movements. + +6. Where do catbirds build their nests? How high from the ground? +What material is used? Is the nest compact and carefully finished? Is +it hidden? + +7. What is the color of the eggs? Do both parents care for the young? + +8. What is the food of the catbird? Why is it an advantage to us to +have catbirds build in our gardens? + +9. Do you ever find catbirds in the deep woods or out in the open +meadows? Where do you find them? + +10. Put out a pan of water where the catbirds can use it and then +watch them make their toilets and describe the process. Describe how +they take sun baths. + +_Supplementary reading_--“Monsieur Mischief,” Nestlings of Forest and +Marsh, Wheelock; Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 167, 174; +Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 37; Songs of Nature, Burroughs, p. +172; Birds of Song and Story, Grinnell, p. 36. + + * * * * * + + “_He sits on a branch of yon blossoming bush, + This madcap cousin of robin and thrush, + And sings without ceasing the whole morning long; + Now wild, now tender, the wayward song + That flows from his soft, gray, fluttering throat; + But often he stops in his sweetest note, + And, shaking a flower from the blossoming bough, + Drawls out, “Mi-eu, mi-ow!”_” + --“THE CATBIRD”, EDITH M. THOMAS. + + + + + THE BELTED KINGFISHER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This patrol of our streams and lake shores, in his cadet uniform, is +indeed a military figure as well as a militant personality. As he +sits upon his chosen branch overhanging some stream or lake shore, +his crest abristle, his keen eye fixed on the water below, his whole +bearing alert, one must acknowledge that this fellow puts “ginger” +into his environment, and that the spirit which animates him is +very far from the “_dolce far niente_” which permeates the ordinary +fisherman. However, he does not fish for fun but for business; his +keen eye catches the gleam of a moving fin and he darts from his +perch, holds himself for a moment on steady wings above the surface +of the water, to be sure of his quarry, and then there is a dash +and a splash and he returns to his perch with the wriggling fish in +his strong beak; he at once proceeds to beat its life out against a +branch and then to swallow it sensibly, head first, so that the fins +will not prick his throat nor the scales rasp it. He swallows the +entire fish, trusting to his internal organs to select the nourishing +part; and later he gulps up a ball of the indigestible scales and +bones. + +[Illustration: _Kingfisher’s foot._ + + This shows the weak toes; the third and fourth are joined + together, which undoubtedly assists the bird in pushing out + soil when excavating. +] + +The kingfisher is very different in form from an ordinary bird; he is +larger than a robin, and his head and fore parts are much larger in +proportion; this is the more noticeable because of the long feathers +of the head which he lifts into a crest, and because of the shortness +of the tail. The beak is very long and strong in order to seize the +fish and hold it fast; but the legs are short and weak; the third and +fourth toes are grown together for a part of their length; perhaps +this is of use to the bird in pushing earth from the burrow, when +excavating. The kingfisher has no need for running and hopping, like +the robin and, therefore, does not need the robin’s strong legs and +feet. His colors are beautiful and harmonious; the upper parts are +grayish blue, the throat and collar white, as is also the breast, +which has a bluish gray band across the upper part, this giving the +name of the Belted Kingfisher to the bird. The feathers of the wings +are tipped with white and the tail feathers narrowly barred with +white. The under side of the body is white in the males, while in the +females it is somewhat chestnut in color. There is a striking white +spot just in front of the eye. + +The kingfisher parents build their nest in a burrow which they tunnel +horizontally in a bank; sometimes there is a vestibule of several +feet before the nest is reached, and at other times it is built very +close to the opening. Both parents are industrious in catching fish +for their nestlings, but the burden of this duty falls heaviest +upon the male. Many fish bones are found in the nest, and they seem +so clean and white that they have been regarded as nest lining. +Wonderful tales are told of the way the English kingfishers use fish +bones to support the earth above their nests, and tributes have been +paid to their architectural skill. But it is generally conceded that +the lining of fish bones in nests of our kingfisher is incidental, +since the food of the young is largely fish, although frogs, insects +and other creatures are often eaten with relish. It is interesting +to note the process by which the young kingfisher gets its skill in +fishing. I have often seen one dive horizontally for a yard or two +beneath the water and come up indignant and sputtering because the +fish had escaped. It was fully two weeks after this before this one +learned to drop like a bullet on its quarry. + +The note of the kingfisher is a loud rattle, not especially pleasant +close at hand, but not unmusical at a little distance. It is a +curious coincidence that it sounds very much like the clicking +of the fisherman’s reel; it is a sound that conjures visions of +shade-dappled streams and the dancing, blue waters of tree-fringed +lakes and ponds. + +There seems to be a division of fishing ground among the kingfishers, +one bird never trespassing upon its neighbor’s preserves. Unless it +be the parent pair working near each other for the nestlings, or the +nestlings still under their care, we never see two kingfishers in the +same immediate locality. + +_References_--The Bird, p. 97; The Bird Book, pp. 154, 444. + + + LESSON XXIV + + THE KINGFISHER + +[Illustration: _The belted kingfisher_ + +Drawn by L. A. Fuertes.] + +_Leading thought_--The kingfisher is fitted by form of body and beak +to be a fisherman. + +_Methods_--If the school be near a stream or pond the following +observations may be made by the pupils; otherwise let the boys who go +fishing make a study of the bird and report to the school. + +_Observations_--1. Where have you seen the kingfisher? Have you often +seen it on a certain branch which is its favorite perch? Is this +perch near the water? What is the advantage of this position to the +bird? + +2. What does the kingfisher feed upon? How does it obtain its food? +Describe the actions of one of these birds while fishing. + +3. With what weapons does the kingfisher secure the fish? How long +is its beak compared with the rest of its body? How does it kill the +fish? Does it swallow the fish head or tail first? Why? Does it tear +off the scales or fins before swallowing it? How does it get rid of +these and the bones of the fish? + +4. Which is the larger, the kingfisher or the robin? Describe the +difference in shape of the bodies of these two birds; also in +the size and shape of feet and beaks and explain why they are so +different in form. What is there peculiar about the kingfisher’s +feet? Do you know which two toes are grown together? + +5. What are the colors of the kingfisher in general? The colors of +head, sides of head, collar, back, tail, wings, throat, breast and +under parts? Is there a white spot near the eye? If so, where? Do you +know the difference in colors between the parent birds? + +6. Where is the nest built? How is it lined? + +7. What is the note of the kingfisher? Does it give it while perching +or while on the wing? Do you ever find more than one kingfisher on +the same fishing grounds? + +_Supplementary reading_--The Second Book of Birds, Chapter XXX; “The +Halcyon Birds,” Child’s Study of the Classics; Audubon Leaflet No. +19; “Kooskosemus,” Long; American Birds, Finley. + + * * * * * + + + _THE KINGFISHER_ (_OF ENGLAND_) + + _For the handsome Kingfisher, go not to the tree, + No bird of the field or the forest is he; + In the dry river rock he did never abide, + And not on the brown heath all barren and wide._ + + _He lives where the fresh, sparkling waters are flowing, + Where the tall heavy Typha and Loosestrife are growing; + By the bright little streams that all joyfully run + Awhile in the shadow, and then in the sun._ + + _He lives in a hole that is quite to his mind, + With the green mossy Hazel roots firmly entwined; + Where the dark Alder-bough waves gracefully o’er, + And the Sword-flag and Arrow-head grow at his door._ + + _There busily, busily, all the day long, + He seeks for small fishes the shallows among; + For he builds his nest of the pearly fish-bone, + Deep, deep, in the bank, far retired, and alone._ + + _Then the brown Water-Rat from his burrow looks out, + To see what his neighbor Kingfisher’s about; + And the green Dragon-fly, flitting slowly away, + Just pauses one moment to bid him good-day._ + + _O happy Kingfisher! What care should he know, + By the clear, pleasant streams, as he skims to and fro, + Now lost in the shadow, now bright in the sheen + Of the hot summer sun, glancing scarlet and green!_ + --MARY HOWITT. + + + + + THE SCREECH OWL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Disquiet yourselves not: ’Tis nothing but a little, downy + owl._”--SHELLEY. + + +[Illustration: _Screech owls._ + +From _Country Life in America_.] + +Of all the fascinating sounds to be heard at night in the woods, +the screech owl’s song is surely the most so; its fascination does +not depend on music but upon the chills which it sends up and down +the spine of the listener, thus attacking a quite different set of +nerves than do other bird songs. The weird wail, tremulous and long +drawn out, although so bloodcurdling, is from the standpoint of the +owlet the most beautiful music in the world; by means of it he calls +to his mate, cheering her with the assurance of his presence in the +world; evidently she is not a nervous creature. The screech owls are +likely to sing at night during any part of the year; nor should we +infer that when they are singing they are not hunting, for perchance +their music frightens their victims into fatal activity. Although the +note is so unmistakable, yet there is great variation in the songs of +individuals; the great variety of quavers in the song offering ample +opportunity for the expression of individuality. Moreover, these owls +often give themselves over to tremulous whispering and they emphasize +excitement by snapping their beaks in an alarming manner. + +Any bird that is flying about and singing in the night time must be +able to see where it is going, and the owls have special adaptations +for this. The eyes are very large and the yellow iris opens and +closes about the pupil quite similar to the arrangement in the cat’s +eye, except that the pupil in the owl’s eye is round when contracted +instead of elongated; in the night this pupil is expanded until it +covers most of the eye. The owl does not need to see behind and +at the sides, since it does not belong to the birds which are the +victims of other birds and animals of prey. The owl is a bird that +hunts instead of being hunted, and it needs only to focus its eyes +on the creature it is chasing. Thus, its eyes are in the front of +the head like our own; but it can see behind, in case of need, for +the head turns upon the neck as if it were fitted on a ball-bearing +joint. I have often amused myself by walking around a captive +screech owl, which would follow me with its eyes by turning the head +until it almost made the circle, then the head would twist back with +such lightning rapidity that I could hardly detect the movement; it +seemed almost as if the head was on a pivot and could be moved around +and around indefinitely. Although the owl, like the cat, has eyes +fitted for night hunting, it can also see fairly well during the +daytime. + +A beak with the upper mandible ending in a sharp hook signifies +that its owner lives upon other animals and needs to rend and tear +flesh. The owl’s beak thus formed is somewhat buried in the feathers +of the face, which gives it a striking resemblance to a Roman nose. +This, with the great, staring, round eyes, bestows upon the owl an +appearance of great wisdom. But it is not the beak which the owl uses +for a weapon of attack; its strong feet and sharp, curved claws are +its weapons for striking the enemy and also for grappling with its +prey. The outer toe can be moved back at will, so that in grasping +its prey or its perch, two toes may be directed forward and two +backward, thus giving a stronger hold. + +The ear is very different in form from the ear of other birds; +instead of being a mere hole opening into the internal ear, it +consists of a fold of skin forming a channel which extends from above +the eye around to the side of the throat. (See The Bird, Beebe, p. +217). Thus equipped, while hunting in the dark the owl is able to +hear any least rustle of mouse or bird and to know in which direction +to descend upon it. There has been no relation established between +the ear tufts of the screech owl and its ears, so far as I know, but +the way the bird lifts the tufts when it is alert, always suggests +that this movement in some way opens up the ear. + +In color there are two types among the screech owls, one reddish +brown, the other gray. The back is streaked with black, the breast is +marked with many shaft-lines of black. The whole effect of the owl’s +plumage makes it resemble a branch of a tree or a part of the bark, +and thus it is protected from prying eyes, during the daytime when +it is sleeping. Its plumage is very fluffy and its wing feathers, +instead of being stiff to the very edge, have soft fringes which +cushion the stroke upon the air. The owl’s flight is, therefore, +absolutely noiseless and the bird is thus able to swoop down upon its +prey without giving warning of its approach. + +The screech owls are partial to old apple orchards for nesting +sites. They will often use an abandoned nest of a woodpecker; the +eggs are almost as round as marbles and as white as chalk, showing +very clearly that they are laid within a dark hole, otherwise their +color would attract the eyes of enemies. There are usually four eggs; +the fubsy little owlets climb out of their home cave by the end of +May and are the funniest little creatures imaginable. They make +interesting but decidedly snappy pets; they can be fed on insects +and raw beef. It is most interesting to see one wake up late in the +afternoon after its daytime sleep. All day it has sat motionless +upon its perch with its toes completely covered with its fluffy +feather skirt. Suddenly its eyes open, the round pupils enlarging or +contracting with great rapidity as if adjusting themselves to the +amount of light. When the owl winks it is like a moon in eclipse, so +large are the eyes, and so entirely are they obscured by the lids +which seem like circular curtains. When it yawns, its wide bill +absurdly resembles a human mouth, and the yawn is very human in +its expression. It then stretches its wings and it is astonishing +how long this wing can be extended below the feet. It then begins +its toilet. It dresses its feathers with its short beak, nibbling +industriously in the fluff; it scratches its under parts and breast +with its bill, then cleans the bill with its foot, meanwhile +moving the head up and down as if in an attempt to see better its +surroundings. + +The owls are loyal lovers and are said to remain mated through life, +the twain being very devoted to their nests and nestlings. Sometimes +the two wise-looking little parents sit together on the eggs, a most +happy way to pass the wearisome incubation period. + +The screech owls winter in the north and they are distinctly +foresighted in preparing for winter. They have often been observed +catching mice, during the late fall, and placing them in some +hollow tree for cold storage, whence they may be taken in time of +need. Their food consists to some extent of insects, especially +night-flying moths and beetles, also caterpillars and grasshoppers. +However, the larger part of their food is mice; sometimes small birds +are caught and the English sparrow is a frequent victim. Chickens +are rarely taken, except when small, since this owlet is not as long +as a robin. It swallows its quarry as whole as possible, trusting to +its inner organs to do the sifting and selecting. Later it throws +up pellets of the indigestible bones, hair, etc. By the study of +these pellets, found under owl roosts, the scientists have been able +to determine the natural food of the bird, and they all unite in +assuring us that the screech owl does the farmer much more good than +harm, since it feeds so largely upon creatures which destroy his +crops. + + + LESSON XXV + + THE SCREECH OWL + +_Leading thought_--This owl is especially adapted to get its prey at +night. It feeds largely on field mice, grasshoppers, caterpillars and +other injurious insects and is therefore the friend of the farmer. + +_Method_--This lesson should begin when the children first hear the +cry of this owl; and an owlet in captivity is a fascinating object +for the children to observe. However, it is so important that the +children learn the habits of this owl that the teacher is advised to +hinge the lesson on any observation whatever made by the pupils, and +illustrate it with pictures and stories. + +_Observations_--1. Have you ever heard the screech owl? At what time +of the day or night? Why was this? Why does the owl screech? How did +you feel when listening to the owl’s song? + +2. Describe the owl’s eyes. Are they adapted to see by night? What +changes take place in them to enable the owl to see by daytime also? +In what way are the owl’s eyes similar to the cat’s? Why is it +necessary for an owl to see at night? Are the owl’s eyes placed so +that they can see at the sides like other birds? How does it see an +object at the sides or behind it? + +3. Note the owl’s beak. For what purpose is a hooked beak? How does +the owl use its beak? Why do we think that the owl looks wise? + +4. Describe the feet and claws of the screech owl. What are such +sharp hooked claws meant for? Does an owl on a perch always have +three toes directed forward and one backward? + +5. Describe the colors of the screech owl. Are all these owls of the +same color? How do these colors protect the bird from its enemies? + +6. How is the owl’s plumage adapted to silent flight? Why is silent +flight advantageous to this bird? + +7. How does the owl’s ear differ from the ears of other birds? Of +what special advantage is this? As the owl hunts during the night, +what does it do in the daytime? How and by what means does it hide +itself? + +8. Where does the screech owl make its nest? Do you know anything +about the devotion of the parent owls to each other and to their +young? How many eggs are laid? What is their color? At what time of +year do the little owls appear? + +9. Where does the screech owl spend the winter? What do the screech +owls feed upon? Do they chew their food? How do they get rid of the +indigestible portion of their food? How does this habit help the +scientists to know the food of the owls? + +10. How does the screech owl work injury to the farmers? How does it +benefit them? Does not the benefit outweigh the injury? + +11. How many other kinds of owls do you know? What do you know of +their habits? + +_Supplementary reading_--Audubon Educational Leaflets, Nos. 22, 12, +14; Second Book of Birds, Miller, Chap. 32–3; Familiar Wild Animals, +Lottridge; “The Boy and Hushwing,” Kindred of the Wild; “Koos, Koos, +Koos” in Wilderness Ways; Wings and Fins, chap. 19; Heart of Oak +Books, Vol. 4, p. 51; The Aziola, Shelley; American Birds, Finley. + + * * * * * + + + _TWO WISE OWLS_ + + _We are two dusky owls, and we live in a tree; + Look at her,--look at me! + Look at her,--she’s my mate, and the mother of three + Pretty owlets, and we + Have a warm cosy nest, just as snug as can be._ + + _We are both very wise; for our heads, as you see, + (Look at her--look at me!) + Are as large as the heads of four birds ought to be; + And our horns, you’ll agree, + Make us look wiser still, sitting here on the tree._ + + _And we care not how gloomy the night-time may be; + We can see,--we can see + Through the forest to roam, it suits her, it suits me; + And we’re free,--we are free + To bring back what we find, to our nest in the tree._ + --ANONYMOUS. + + + + +[Illustration: _Red-tailed hawk on nest._ + +Photo by R. W. Hegner.] + + + THE HEN HAWKS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Above the tumult of the cañon lifted, the gray hawk breathless + hung, + Or on the hill a winged shadow drifted where furze and thornbush + clung._” + --BRET HARTE. + + +It is the teacher’s duty and privilege to try to revolutionize some +popular misconceptions about birds, and two birds, in great need in +this respect, are the so-called hen hawks. They are most unjustly +treated, largely because most farmers consider that a “hawk is a +hawk,” and should always be shot to save the poultry, although +there is as much difference in the habits of hawks as there is in +those of men. The so-called hen hawks are the red-shouldered and +the red-tailed species, the latter being somewhat the larger and +rarer of the two; both are very large birds; the red-shouldered +has cinnamon brown epaulets, the tail blackish, crossed by five or +six narrow white bars, and the wing feathers are also barred. The +red-tailed species has dark brown wings, the feathers not barred, and +is distinguished by its tail which is brilliant cinnamon color with a +black bar across it near the end; it is silvery white beneath. When +the hawk is soaring, its tail shows reddish as it wheels in the air. +Both birds are brown above and whitish below, streaked with brown. + +The flight of these hawks is alike and is very beautiful; it consists +of soaring on outstretched wings in wide circles high in the air, and +is the ideal of graceful aerial motion. In rising, the bird faces +the wind and drops a little in the circle as its back turns to the +leeward, and thus it climbs an invisible winding stair until it is a +mere speck in the sky. This wonderful flight, on motionless wings, +is what has driven to despair our inventors of airships who have not +been able to fathom the mystery of it from a practical standpoint. +When the bird wishes to drop, it lifts and holds its wings above +its back, and comes down like a lump of lead, only to catch itself +whenever it chooses to begin again to climb the invisible spiral. And +all this is done without fatigue, for these birds have been observed +to soar thus for hours together without coming to earth. When thus +soaring the two species may be distinguished from each other by their +cries; the red-tailed gives a high sputtering scream, which Chapman +likens to the sound of escaping steam; while the red-shouldered calls +in a high not unmusical note “kee-you, kee-you” or “tee-ur, tee-ur.” + +The popular fallacy for the teacher to correct about these birds, +is that they are enemies of the farmers. Not until one has actually +been seen to catch the chickens should it be shot, for very few of +them are guilty of this sin. Sixty-six per cent. of the food of +the red-tailed species consists of injurious animals, i. e., mice +and gophers, etc., and only 7 per cent. consists of poultry; the +victims are probably old or disabled fowls, and fall an easy prey; +this bird much prefers mice and reptiles to poultry. The more common +red-shouldered hawk feeds generally on mice, snakes, frogs, fish and +is very fond of grasshoppers. Ninety per cent. of its food consists +of creatures which injure our crops or pastures and scarcely 1½ +per cent. is made up of poultry and game. These facts have been +ascertained by the experts in the department of Agriculture at +Washington who have examined the stomachs of hundreds of these hawks +taken from different localities. Furthermore, Dr. Fisher states that +a pair of the red-shouldered hawks bred for successive years within +a few hundred yards of a poultry farm, containing 800 young chickens +and 400 ducks, and the owner never saw them attempt to catch a fowl. + +[Illustration: _The red-tailed hawk._] + +However, there _are_ certain species of hawks which are to be feared; +these are the Cooper’s hawk and the sharp-shinned hawk, the first +being very destructive to poultry and the latter killing many wild +birds. These are both somewhat smaller than the species we are +studying. They are dark gray above and have very long tails, and when +flying, they flap their wings for a time and then glide a distance. +They do not soar on motionless outspread pinions by the hour. + +When hawks are seen soaring, they are likely to be hunting for mice +in the meadows below them; their eyes are remarkably keen; they can +see a moving creature from a great height, and can suddenly drop upon +it like a thunder bolt out of a clear sky. Their wonderful eyes are +far-sighted when they are circling in the sky, but as they drop, the +focus of the eyes changes automatically with great rapidity, so that +by the time they reach the earth they are near-sighted, a feat quite +impossible for our eyes unless aided by glasses or telescope. + +These so-called hen hawks will often sit motionless, for hours at a +time, on some dead branch or dead tree; they are probably watching +for something eatable to stir within the range of their keen vision. +When seizing its prey, a hawk uses its strong feet and sharp, curved +talons. All hawks keep their claws sharp and polished, even as the +warrior keeps his sword bright, so as to be ready for use; the legs +are covered by a growth of feathers extending down from above, +looking like feather trousers. The beak is hooked and very sharp and +is used for tearing apart the flesh of the quarry. When a hawk fights +some larger animal or man, it throws itself over upon its back and +strikes its assailant with its strong claws as well as with its beak; +but the talons are its chief weapons. + +Both species build a large, shallow nest of coarse sticks and grass, +lined with moss, feathers, etc.; it is a rude, rough structure, and +is placed in tall trees from fifty to seventy-five feet from the +ground. Only two to four eggs are laid; these are whitish spotted +with brown. These hawks are said to remain mated for life and are +devoted to each other and their young. Hawks and eagles are very +similar in form and habits, and if the eagle is a noble bird so is +the hawk. + + + LESSON XXVI + + THE RED-SHOULDERED AND RED-TAILED HAWKS + +_Leading thought_--Ignorant people consider all hawks dangerous +neighbors because they are supposed to feed exclusively on poultry. +This idea is false and we should study carefully the habits of hawks +before we shoot them. The ordinary large reddish “hen-hawks,” which +circle high above meadows, are doing great good to the farmer by +feeding upon the mice and other creatures which steal his grain and +girdle his trees. + +_Methods_--Begin by observations on the flight of one of these hawks +and supplement this with such observations as the pupils are able to +make, or facts which they can discover by talking with hunters or +others and by reading. + +_Observations_--1. How can you tell a hawk, when flying, from a crow +or other large bird? Describe how it soars. Does it move off in any +direction; if so, does it move off in circles? How often does it make +strokes with its wings? Does it rise when it is facing the wind and +fall as it turns its back to the wind? + +2. Have you seen a hawk flap its wings many times and then soar for +a time? If so, what hawk do you think it was? How does it differ in +habits from the “hen-hawks?” + +3. Have you noticed a hawk when soaring drop suddenly to earth? If +so, why did it do this? + +4. How does a hawk hunt? How can it see a mouse in a meadow when it +is so high in the air that it looks like a circling speck in the sky? +If it is so far-sighted as this, how can it be near-sighted enough +to catch the mouse when it is close to it? Would you not have to use +field glasses or telescope to do this? + +5. When a hawk alights what sort of a place does it choose? How does +it act? + +6. Do hawks seize their prey with their claws or their beaks? What +sort of feet and claws has the hawk? Describe the beak. What do you +think this shaped beak is meant for? + +7. Why do people shoot hawks? Why is it a sign of ignorance in people +to wish to shoot all hawks? + +8. What is the food of the red-shouldered hawk as shown by the +bulletin of the U. S. Department of Agriculture or by the Audubon +leaflets? + +9. Where does the hawk place its nest? Of what does it build its nest? + +10. Compare the food and the nesting habits of the red-shouldered and +red-tailed hawks. + +11. How devoted are the hawks to their mates and their young? Does a +hawk, losing its mate, live alone ever after? + +12. Describe the colors of the hen hawks and describe how you can +tell the two species apart by the colors and markings of the tail. + +13. What is the cry of the hawk? How can you tell the two species +apart by this cry? Does the hawk give its cry only when on the wing? + +14. Why should an eagle be considered so noble a bird and the hawk be +so scorned? What difference is there between them in habits? + +_Supplementary reading_--Audubon Educational Leaflets Nos. 8, 9 and +10; “The Sparrow Hawk,” Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; “Eyes as +Cameras,” also pp. 101–102 The Bird Book, Eckstorm; pp. 317–319, +326, Birds that Hunt and are Hunted; “Cloud Wings, The Eagle,” in +Wilderness Ways; “The Sky King and His Family,” “Hannah Lomond’s +Bairn,” in Neighbors with Wings and Fins, American Birds, Finley. + +_Reference books_--The Bird, Beebe, pp. 389, 376, 208–211; Hawks and +Owls from the Standpoint of the Farmer, Fisher, U. S. Department of +Agriculture. + + * * * * * + + _Yet, ere the noon, as brass the heaven turns, + The cruel sun smites with unerring aim, + The sight and touch of all things blinds and burns, + And bare, hot hills seem shimmering into flame!_ + + _On outspread wings a hawk, far poised on high, + Quick swooping screams, and then is heard no more: + The strident shrilling of a locust nigh + Breaks forth, and dies in silence as before._ + --“SUMMER DROUGHT,” BY J. P. IRVINE. + + + + +[Illustration: _Swallows and swifts._ + +Drawn by L. A. Fuertes for _General Biology_ by J. G. Needham.] + + + THE SWALLOWS AND THE CHIMNEY SWIFT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +These friendly little birds spend their time darting through the air +on swift wings, seeking and destroying insects which are foes to us +and our various crops. However, it is safe to assume that they are +not thinking of us as they skim above our meadows and ponds, hawking +our tiny foes; for like most of us, they are simply intent upon +getting a living. Would that we might perform this necessary duty as +gracefully as they. + +In general, the swallows have a long, slender, graceful body, with +a long tail which is forked or notched, except in the case of the +eave swallow. The beak is short but wide where it joins the head; +this enables the bird to open its mouth wide and gives it more scope +in the matter of catching insects; the swift flight of the swallows +enables them to catch insects on the wing; their legs are short, the +feet are weak and fitted for perching; it would be quite impossible +for a swallow to walk or hop like a robin or blackbird. + +_The eave, or cliff, swallows_--These swallows build under the eaves +of barns or in similar locations. In early times they built against +the sides of cliffs; but when man came and built barns, they chose +them for their dwelling sites. The nest is made of mud pellets and +is somewhat globular in shape, with an entrance at one side. When +building on the sides of cliffs or in unprotected portions of a +barn, a covered passage is built around the door, which gives the +nest the shape of a gourd or retort; but when protected beneath the +eaves the birds seem to think this vestibule is unnecessary. The mud +nest is warmly lined with feathers and soft materials, and there are +often many nests built so closely together that they touch. The eave +swallow comes north about May 1st, and soon after that, may be seen +along streams or other damp places gathering mud for the nests. It +seems necessary for the bird to find clay mud in order to render the +nest strong enough to support the eggs and nestlings. The eggs are +white, blotched with reddish brown. The parents cling to the edge of +the nest when feeding the young. Both the barn and eave swallows are +blue above but the eave swallow has the forehead cream white and the +rump of pale brick-red, and its tail is square across the end as seen +in flight. The barn swallow has a chestnut forehead and its outer +tail feathers are long, making a distinct fork during flight, and it +is not red upon the rump. + +[Illustration: _The barn swallow’s feather bed._] + +_The barn swallows_--These birds choose a barn where there is a hole +in the gable or where the doors are kept open all the time. They +build upon beams or rafters, making a cup-shaped nest of layers of +pellets of mud, with grass between; it is well lined with feathers. +The nest is usually the shape of half of a shallow cup which has +been cut in two lengthwise, the cut side being plastered against the +side of the rafter. Sometimes the nests are more or less supported +upon a beam or rafter; the eggs are white and dotted with reddish +brown. The barn swallows, aside from their constant twittering, +have also a pretty song. Both parents work at building the nest and +feeding the young; there are likely to be several pairs nesting in +the same building. The parents continue to feed the young long after +they have left the nest; often a whole family may be seen sitting +on a telegraph wire or wire fence, the parents still feeding the +well-grown youngsters. This species comes north in the latter part +of April and leaves early in September. It winters as far south as +Brazil. + +The barn swallow has a distinctly tailor-made appearance; its +red-brown vest and iridescent blue coat, with deeply forked “coat +tails” give it an elegance of style which no other bird, not even the +chic cedar waxwing can emulate. + +[Illustration: _A bank swallow tenement._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +_The Bank Swallow_--When we see a sandy bank apparently shot +full of holes as by small cannon balls, we may know that we have +found a tenement of bank swallows. These birds always choose the +perpendicular banks of creeks or of railroad cuts or of sand pits +for their nesting sites; they require a soil sufficiently soft to be +tunneled by their weak feet, and yet not so loose as to cave in upon +the nest. The tunnel may extend from one to four feet horizontally in +the bank with just enough diameter to admit the body of the rather +small bird. The nest is situated at the extreme end of the tunnel and +is lined with soft feathers and grasses. + +[Illustration: _Bank swallow’s nest with earth removed showing the +upward direction of the tunnel._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +The bank swallows arrive late in April and leave early in September. +They may be distinguished from the other species by their grayish +color above; the throat and breast are white with a broad, brownish +band across the breast; the tail is slightly forked. The rough-winged +swallow, which is similar in habits to the bank swallow, may be +distinguished from it by its gray breast which has no dark band. + +[Illustration: _Tree swallows._ + +Photo by A. A. Allen.] + +_The Tree Swallow_--This graceful little bird builds naturally in +holes in trees, but readily accepts a box if it is provided. It +begins to build soon after it comes north in late April and it is +well for us to encourage the tree swallows to live near our houses +by building houses for them and driving away the English sparrows. +The tree swallows live upon many insects which annoy us and injure +our gardens and damage our orchards; they are, therefore, much more +desirable neighbors than the English sparrows. The tree swallows +congregate in great numbers for the southern migration very early in +the season, often in early August. They are likely to congregate in +marshes, as are also the other swallows. In color the tree swallow +has a green metallic back and head, a pure white breast with no band +across it, and these peculiarities distinguish it from all other +species. + +[Illustration: _A martin house._] + +_The Purple Martin_--The martin is a larger bird than the largest +swallow, being eight inches in length, while the barn swallow does +not measure quite seven. The male is shining, steel-blue above and +below; the female is brownish above, has a gray throat, brownish +breast and is white beneath. The martins originally nested in hollow +trees but for centuries have been cared for by man. The Indians +were wont to put out empty gourds for them to nest in; and as +soon as America was settled by Europeans, martin boxes were built +extensively. But when the English sparrows came, they took possession +of the boxes, and the martins have to a large extent disappeared; +this is a pity since they are beneficial birds, feeding upon +insects which are injurious to our farms and gardens. They are also +delightful birds to have around, and we may possibly induce them to +come back to us by building houses for them and driving away the +sparrows. + + + THE CHIMNEY SWIFT + +[Illustration: W] + +When the old-fashioned fire-places went out of use and were walled +up, leaving the great old chimneys useless, these sociable birds took +possession of them. Here they built their nests and reared their +young, and twittered and scrambled about, awakening all sleepers in +the neighborhood at earliest dawn, and in many ways made themselves +a distinct part of family life. With the disappearance of these old +chimneys and the growing use of the smaller chimney, the swifts have +been more or less driven from their close association with people; +and now their nests are often found in hay barns or other secluded +buildings, although they still gather in chimneys when opportunity +offers. + +The chimney swifts originally built nests in hollow trees and caves; +but with the coming of civilization they took possession of the +chimneys disused during the summer, and here is where we know them +best. The nests are shaped like little wall pockets; they are made +of small sticks of nearly uniform size which are glued together and +glued fast to the chimney wall by means of the saliva secreted in +the mouth of the bird. After the nesting season, the swifts often +gather in great flocks and live together in some large chimney; +toward night-fall they may be seen circling about in great numbers +and dropping into the mouth of the chimney, one by one, as if they +were being poured into a funnel. In the morning they leave in reverse +manner, each swift flying about in widening circles as it leaves +the chimney. The swifts are never seen to alight anywhere except in +hollow trees or chimneys or similar places; their tiny feet have +sharp claws for clinging to the slightest roughness of the upright +wall; the tail acts as a prop, each tail feather ending in a spine +which is pressed against the chimney side when the bird alights and +thus enables it to cling more firmly. In this fashion the swifts +roost, practically hung up against a wall. + +The swift has a short beak and wide mouth which it opens broadly to +engulf insects as it darts through the air. Chimney swifts have been +known to travel at the rate of 110 miles an hour. + +This bird should never be confused with the swallows, for when +flying, its tail seems simply a sharp point, making the whole body +cigar-shaped. This character alone distinguishes it from the long +tailed swallows. In color it is sooty brown, with a gray throat and +breast; the wings are long and narrow and apparently curved. The +manner of flight and appearance in the air make it resemble the bat +more than it does the swallow. + + +[Illustration: _Tree swallows._ + +Photo by A. A. Allen.] + + + LESSON XXVII + + THE SWALLOWS AND SWIFTS + +_Leading thought_--The swallows are very graceful birds and are +exceedingly swift fliers. They feed upon insects which they catch +upon the wing. There are five native swallows which are common--the +eave, or cliff, the barn, the bank, the tree swallow and the purple +martin. The chimney swift, although often called so, is not a +swallow; it is more nearly related to the hummingbird than to the +swallows. + +_Method_--The questions should be given as an outline for +observation, and may be written on the blackboard or placed in the +field notebook. The pupils should answer them individually and from +field observation. We study the swifts and swallows together to teach +the pupils to distinguish them apart. + +_Observations_--1. What is the general shape of the swallow? What is +the color of the forehead, throat, upper breast, neck, rump and tail? + +2. Is the tail noticeably forked especially during flight? + +3. Describe the flight of the swallow. What is the purpose of its +long, swift flight? How are the swallow’s wings fitted for carrying +the bird swiftly? + +4. Describe the form of the beak of the swallow. How does it get its +food? What is its food? + +5. In what particular locations do you see the swallows darting +about? At what time of day do they seem most active? + +6. Describe the swallow’s legs and feet and explain why they look so +different from those of the robin and blackbird. + + + _The Eave, or Cliff Swallow_ + +7. Where do the eave swallows build their nests? Of what material is +the outside? The lining? Describe the shape of the nest and how it is +supported. + +8. How early in the spring do the eave swallows begin to make their +nests? Where and by what means do they get the material for nest +building? Are there a number of nests usually grouped together? + +9. Describe the eave swallow’s egg. Where do the parents sit when +feeding the young? What is the note of the eave swallow? + +10. What are the differences between the barn and the eave swallow in +color and shape of tail? + + + _The Barn Swallow_ + +11. Where does the barn swallow place its nest? What is the shape of +the nest? Of what material is it made? + +12. What is the color of the eggs? Describe the feeding of the young +and the sounds made by them and their parents. Do both parents work +together to build the nest and feed the young? + +13. Is there usually more than one nest in the same locality? When +the young swallows are large enough to leave the nest, describe how +the parents continue to care for them. + +14. Have you ever heard the barn swallows sing? Describe their +conversational notes. + +15. When do the barn swallows migrate and where do they go during +the winter? How can you distinguish the barn swallow from the eave +swallow? + + + _The Bank Swallow_ + +16. Where do the bank swallows build? What sort of soil do they +choose? + +17. How does a bank look which is tenanted by these birds? + +18. How far do the bank swallows tunnel into the earth? What is the +diameter of one of these tunnels? Do they extend straight or do they +rise or deflect? + +19. With what tools is the tunnel excavated? Where is the nest +situated in the tunnel and how is it lined? + +20. How can you distinguish this species from the barn and eave +and tree swallows? At what time do the bank swallows leave us for +migration south? + + + _The Tree Swallow_ + +[Illustration: _A tree swallow._ + +Photo by Geo. Fiske, Jr.] + +21. Where does the tree swallow make its nest? How does its nest +differ from that of the barn, eave, or bank swallow? When does it +begin to build? + +22. How can we encourage the tree swallow to build near our houses? +Why is the tree swallow a much more desirable bird to have in bird +houses than the English sparrow? + +23. Describe the peculiar migrating habits of the tree swallow. +How can you tell this species from the barn, the eave and the bank +swallows? + + + _The Purple Martin_ + +24. Compare the purple martin with the swallows and describe how it +differs, in size and color. + +25. Where did the martins build their nests before America was +civilized? Where do they like to nest now? How do the purple martins +benefit us and how can we induce them to come to us? + + + _The Chimney Swift_ + +26. Where do the chimney swifts build their nests? Of what materials +is the nest made? What is its shape and how is it supported? Where +does the chimney swift get its glue for nest building? + +27. Describe how the chimney swifts enter their nesting place at +night. Where and how do they perch? Describe the shape of the swift’s +tail and its use to the bird when roosting. + +28. On what does the chimney swift feed and how does it procure this +food? Describe how its beak is especially fitted for this? + +29. How can you distinguish the chimney swift from the swallows? In +what respect does the chimney swift resemble the swallows? In what +respects does it differ from them? + +_Supplementary reading_--“Chimney Swifts,” Familiar Wild Animals, +Lottridge; The Chimney Swifts, Washington Irving; Nestlings of Forest +and Marsh, Wheelock, p. 191; “The Eave Swallow” and “The Purple +Martin” in The Bird Book, Eckstorm; The Second Bird Book, Miller; +True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 118; Our Birds and Their Nestlings, p. +155; A Watcher in the Woods, Sharp, p. 163. + + + + +[Illustration: _Nest of the ruby-throat hummingbird._ + +Photo by Geo. Fiske, Jr.] + +[Illustration] + + + THE HUMMINGBIRD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Formerly it was believed that this daintiest of birds found the +nectar of flowers ample support for its active life; but the later +methods of discovering what birds eat by examining the contents of +their stomachs, show that the hummingbird is an insect eater of most +ravenous appetite. Not only does it catch insects in mid air, but +undoubtedly takes them while they are feasting on the nectar of the +tubular flowers which the hummingbird loves to visit. Incidentally, +the hummingbird carries the pollen for these flowers and may be +counted as a friend in every respect, since usually the insects +in the nectaries of the flowers with long tubular corollas, are +stealing nectar without giving in return compensation to the flower +by carrying its pollen. Such insects may be the smaller beetles, +ants and flies. The adaptations of the hummingbird’s beak and long, +double-tubed tongue, are especially for securing this mingled diet +of insects and nectar. It is interesting to note that the young +hummingbirds have the beak much shorter than when mature. Its beak +is exactly fitted to probe those flowers where the hummingbird finds +its food. The tongue has the outer edges curved over making a tube on +each side. These tubes are provided with minute brushes at the tips +and thus are fitted both for sucking nectar and for sweeping up the +insects. + +[Illustration: _A hummingbird taking sweetened water from a flower._ + +Photo by Mary Pierson Allen. Courtesy of _Bird Lore_.] + +[Illustration: _Two young hummingbirds in nest._ + +Half natural size.] + +The natural home of the hummingbird seems to have been in the +American tropics. Our one species east of the Rocky Mountains with +which we are all familiar has a ruby throat. This comes to us after +a very long journey each year. One species on the Pacific Coast is +known to travel three thousand miles to the north for the summer and +back again in winter. + +Hummingbirds are not supposed to sing, but to use their voices for +squeaking when angry or frightened. However, I once had the privilege +of listening to a true song by a hummingbird on the Pacific Coast. +The midget was perched upon a twig and lifted up his voice with every +appearance of ecstasy in pouring forth his lay. To my uncultured ear +this song was a fine, shrill, erratic succession of squeaks, “as fine +as a cambric needle,” said my companion. + +The nest of the hummingbird is a most exquisite structure; it is +about three-fourths of an inch in diameter on the inside and about +half an inch deep. It is, in shape, a symmetrical cup; the outside +is covered with lichens to make it exactly resemble the branch on +which it rests; the inside is lined with the down of plant seeds and +plant fibres. The lichens are often fastened to the outside with the +silk web of spiders or caterpillars. The nest is usually saddled on +a branch of a tree from 10 to 50 feet above the ground. The eggs are +two in number and white; they look like tiny beans. The young are +black and look, at first glance, more like insects than like birds. + + + LESSON XXVIII + + THE HUMMINGBIRD + +[Illustration] + +_Leading thought_--The hummingbird in flight moves its wings so +rapidly that we cannot see them. It can hold itself poised above +flowers while it thrusts its long beak into them for nectar and +insects. + +_Method_--Give the questions to the pupils and let them make the +observations when they have the opportunity. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find the hummingbird? What flowers +was it visiting? At what time of day? Can you tell whether it is a +hummingbird or a hawk-moth which is visiting the flowers? At what +time of day do the hawk-moths appear? + +2. Does the hummingbird ever come to rest? Describe its actions while +resting. + +3. What are the colors of the back, throat, breast and under parts? +How do you distinguish the mother hummingbird from her mate? + +4. How does the hummingbird act when extracting the nectar? How +does it balance itself in front of a flower? Have you ever seen +hummingbirds catch insects in the air? If so, describe how they did +it. + +5. Describe the hummingbird’s nest. How large is it in diameter? What +is the covering outside? With what is it lined? + + + + +[Illustration: + +Photo by A. A. Allen. ] + + + THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The blackbirds are among our earliest visitors in the spring; they +come in flocks and beset our leafless trees like punctuation marks, +meanwhile squeaking like musical wheelbarrows. What they are, where +they come from, where they are going and what they are going to do, +are the questions that naturally arise at the sight of these sable +flocks. It is not easy to distinguish grackles, cowbirds and rusty +blackbirds at a glance, but the red-wing proclaims his identity from +afar. The bright red epaulets, margined behind with pale yellow, is +a uniform to catch the admiring eye. The bird’s glossy black plumage +brings into greater contrast his bright decorations. That he is fully +aware of his beauty, who can doubt who has seen him come sailing down +at the end of his strong, swift flight, and balancing himself on some +bending reed, drop his long tail as if it were the crank of his music +box, and holding both wings lifted to show his scarlet decorations, +sing his “quong quer ee-ee.” Little wonder that such a handsome, +military looking fellow should be able now and then to win more +than his share of feminine admiration. But what though he become an +entirely successful bigamist or even trigamist, he has proven himself +to be a good protector of each and all of his wives and nestlings; +however, he often has but one mate. + +“The red-wing flutes his O-ka-lee” is Emerson’s graphic description +of the sweet song of the red-wing; he also has many other notes. He +clucks to his mates and clucks more sharply when suspicious, and +has one alarm note that is truly alarming. The male red-wings come +from the South in March; they appear in flocks, often three weeks +before their mates arrive. The female looks as though she belonged +to quite a different species. Although her head and back are black, +the black is decidedly rusty; it is quite impossible to describe +her, she is so inconspicuously speckled with brown, black, whitish +buff and orange. Most of us never recognize her unless we see her +with her spouse. As she probably does most of the nest building, +her suit of salt, pepper and mustard renders her invisible to the +keen eyes of birds of prey. Only when she is flying, does she show +her blackbird characteristics,--her tail being long and of obvious +use as a steering organ; and she walks with long, stiff strides. The +red-wings are ever to be found in and about swamps and marshes. The +nest is built usually in May; it is made of grasses, stalks of weeds +and is lined with finer grass or reeds. It is bulky and is placed in +low bushes or among the reeds. The eggs are pale blue, streaked and +spotted with purple or black. The young resemble the mother in color, +the males being obliged to wait a year for their epaulets. As to the +food of the red-wings here in the North, Mr. Forbush says: + +[Illustration: _The mother red-wing, her nest and nestlings._ + +Photo by A. A. Allen.] + +“Although the red-wings almost invariably breed in the swamp or +marsh, they have a partiality for open fields and plowed lands; +however, most of the blackbirds that nest in the smaller swamps +adjacent to farm lands get a large share of their food from the +farmer’s fields. They forage about the fields and meadows when they +first come north in the spring. Later, they follow the plow, picking +up grubs, worms and caterpillars; and should there be an outbreak of +canker-worms in the orchard, the blackbirds will fly at least half a +mile to get canker-worms for their young. Wilson estimated that the +red-wings of the United States would in four months destroy sixteen +thousand two hundred million larvæ. They eat the caterpillars of the +gypsy moth, the forest tent-caterpillar, and other hairy larvæ. They +are among the most destructive birds to weevils, click beetles, and +wireworms. Grasshoppers, ants, bugs, and flies form a portion of the +red-wing’s food. They eat comparatively little grain in Massachusetts +although they get some from newly sown fields in spring, as well as +from the autumn harvest; but they feed very largely on the seeds of +weeds and wild rice in the fall. In the South they join with the +bobolink in devastating the rice fields, and in the West they are +often so numerous as to destroy the grain in the fields; but here the +good they do far outweighs the injury, and for this reason they are +protected by law.” + + + LESSON XXIX + + THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD + +[Illustration: + +_The red-winged blackbird._ + +After Audubon Leaflet No. 25. ] + +_Leading thought_--The red-winged blackbird lives in the marshes +where it builds its nest. However, it comes over to our plowed lands +and pastures and helps the farmer by destroying many insects which +injure the meadows, crops and trees. + +_Method_--The observations should be made by the pupils individually +in the field. These birds may be looked for in flocks early in the +spring, but the study should be made in May or June when they will be +found in numbers in almost any swamp. The questions may be given to +the pupils a few at a time or written in their field notebooks and +the answers discussed when discovered. + +_Observations_--1. How can you distinguish the red-winged blackbird +from all other blackbirds? Where is the red on his wings? Is there +any other color besides black on the wings? Where? What is the color +of the rest of the plumage? + +2. What is there peculiar in the flight of the red-wing? Is its +tail long or short? How does it use its tail in flight? What is its +position when the bird alights on a reed? + +3. What is the song of the red-wing? Describe the way he holds his +wings and tail when singing, balanced on a reed or some other swamp +grass. Does he show off his epaulets when singing? Why? What note +does he give when he is surprised or suspicious? When frightened? + +4. When does the red-wing first appear in the spring? Does he come +alone or in flocks? Does his mate come with him? Where do the +red-wings winter? In what localities do the red-wing blackbirds live? +Why do they live there? What is the color of the mother red-wing? +Would you know by her looks that she was a blackbird? What advantage +is it to the pair that the female is so dull in color? + +5. At what time do these birds nest? Where is the nest built? Of what +material? How is it concealed? What is the color of the eggs? + +6. Do the young birds resemble in color their father or their mother? +Why is this an advantage? + +7. Is the red-wing ever seen in fields adjoining the marshes? What +is he doing there? Does he walk or hop when looking for food? What +is the food of the red-wings? Do they ever damage grain? Do they not +protect grain more than they damage it? + +8. What great good do the red-wings do for forest trees? For orchards? + +9. At what time in the summer do the red-wings disappear from the +swamps? Where do they gather in flocks? Where is their special +feeding ground on the way south for the winter? + + + + + THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_I know his name, I know his note, + That so with rapture takes my soul; + Like flame the gold beneath his throat, + His glossy cope is black as coal. + O Oriole, it is the song + You sang me from the cottonwood, + Too young to feel that I was young, + Too glad to guess if life were good._” + --WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS. + + +[Illustration: D] + +Dangling from the slender, drooping branches of the elm in winter, +these pocket nests look like some strange persistent fruit; and, +indeed, they are the fruit of much labor on the part of the oriole +weavers, those skilled artisans of the bird world. Sometimes the +oriole “For the summer voyage his hammock swings” in a sapling, +placing it near the main stem and near the top, otherwise it is +almost invariably hung at the end of branches and is rarely less +than twenty feet from the ground. The nest is pocket-shaped, and +usually about seven inches long, and four and a half inches wide at +the largest part, which is the bottom. The top is attached to forked +twigs at the Y so that the mouth or door will be kept open to allow +the bird to pass in and out; when within, the weight of the bird +causes the opening to contract somewhat and protects the inmate from +prying eyes. Often the pocket hangs free so that the breezes may rock +it, but in one case we found a nest with the bottom stayed to a twig +by guy lines. The bottom is much more closely woven than the upper +part for a very good reason, since the open meshes admit air to the +sitting bird. The nest is lined with hair or other soft material, +and although this is added last, the inside of the nest is woven +first. The orioles like to build the framework of twine, and it is +marvellous how they will loop this around a twig almost as evenly +knotted as if crocheted; in and out of this net the mother bird with +her long, sharp beak weaves bits of wood fibre, strong, fine grass +and scraps of weeds. The favorite lining is horse hair, which simply +cushions the bottom of the pocket. Dr. Detwiler had a pet oriole +which built her nest of his hair which she pulled from his head; is +it possible that orioles get their supply of horse hair in a similar +way? If we put in convenient places, bright colored twine or narrow +ribbons the orioles will weave them into the nest, but the strings +should not be long, lest the birds become entangled. If the nest is +strong the birds will use it a second year. + +That Lord Baltimore found in new America a bird wearing his colors, +must have cheered him greatly; and it is well for us that this +brilliant bird brings to our minds kindly thoughts of that tolerant, +high-minded English nobleman. The oriole’s head, neck, throat and +part of the back are black; the wings are black but the feathers +are margined with white; the tail is black except that the ends of +the outer feathers are yellow; all the rest of the bird is golden +orange, a luminous color which makes him seem a splash of brilliant +sunshine. The female, although marked much the same, has the back so +dull and mottled that it looks olive-brown; the rump, breast, and +under parts are yellow but by no means showy. The advantage of these +quiet colors to the mother bird is obvious since it is she that makes +the nest and sits in it without attracting attention to its location. +In fact, when she is sitting, her brilliant mate places himself far +enough away to distract the attention of meddlers, yet near enough +for her to see the flash of his breast in the sunshine and to hear +his rich and cheering song. He is a good spouse and brings her the +materials for the nest which she weaves in, hanging head downward +from a twig and using her long sharp beak for a shuttle. And his +glorious song is for her alone; some hold that no two orioles have +the same song; I know of two individuals at least whose songs were +sung by no other birds; one gave a phrase from the Waldvogel’s song +in Sigfried; the other whistled over and over, “Sweet birdie, hello, +hello.” The orioles can chatter and scold as well as sing. + +[Illustration: _The Baltimore oriole._] + +The oriole is a brave defender of his nest and a most devoted father, +working hard to feed his ever hungry nestlings; we can hear these +hollow mites peeping for more food, “Tee dee dee, Tee dee dee”, +shrill and constant, if we stop for a moment under the nest in June. +The young birds dress in the safe colors of the mother, the males +not donning their bright plumage until the second year. A brilliant +colored fledgling would not live long in a world where sharp eyes are +in constant quest for little birds to fill empty stomachs. + +The food of the oriole places it among our most beneficial birds, +since it is always ready to cope with the hairy caterpillars avoided +by most birds; it has learned to abstract the caterpillar from his +spines and is thus able to swallow him minus his “whiskers.” The +orioles are waging a great war against the terrible brown-tail and +gipsy moths in New England; they also eat click beetles and many +other noxious insects. Once when we were breeding big caterpillars in +the Cornell insectary, an oriole came in through the open windows of +the greenhouse, and thinking he had found a bonanza proceeded to work +it, carrying off our precious crawlers before we discovered what he +was at. + +The orioles winter in Central America and give us scarcely four +months of their company. They do not usually appear before May and +leave in early September. + +[Illustration: _An oriole nest. An anchor to the windward._ + +Photo by C. R. Crosby.] + + + LESSON XXX + + THE ORIOLE + +_Leading thought_--The oriole is the most skillful of all our bird +architects. It is also one of our prized song birds and is very +beneficial to the farmer and fruit grower because of the insect pests +which it destroys. + +_Method_--Begin during winter or early spring with a study of the +nest, which may be obtained from the elms of the roadsides. During +the first week in May, give the questions concerning the birds and +their habits. Let the pupils keep the questions in their note-books +and answer them when they have opportunity. The observations should +be summed up once a week. + +_Observations by pupils_--1. Where did you find the nest? On what +species of tree? Was it near the trunk of the tree or the tip of the +branch? + +2. What is the shape of the nest? How long is it? How wide? Is the +opening as large as the bottom of the nest? How is it hung to the +twigs so that the opening remains open and does not pull together +with the weight of the bird at the bottom? Is the bottom of the nest +stayed to a twig or does it hang loose? + +3. With what material and how is the nest fastened to the branches? +Of what material is the outside made? How is it woven together? Is it +more loosely woven at the top than at the bottom? How many kinds of +material can you find in the outside of the nest? + +4. With what is the nest lined? How far up is it lined? With what +tool was the nest woven? If you put out bright colored bits of ribbon +and string do you think the orioles will use them? Why should you not +put out long strings? + +5. At what date did you first see the Baltimore oriole? Why is it +called the Baltimore oriole? How many other names has it? Describe in +the following way the colors of the male oriole: top of head, back, +wings, tail, throat, breast, under parts. What are the colors of his +mate? How would it endanger the nest and nestlings if the mother bird +were as bright colored as the father bird? + +6. Which weaves the nest, the father or the mother bird? Does the +former assist in any way in nest building? + +7. Where does the father bird stay and what does he do while the +mother bird is sitting on the eggs? + +8. What is the oriole’s song? Has he more than one song? What other +notes has he? After the young birds hatch does the father bird help +take care of them? + +9. By the middle of June the young birds are usually hatched and if +you know where an oriole nest is hung, listen and describe the call +of the nestlings for food. + +10. Which parent do the young birds resemble in their colors? Why is +this a benefit? + +11. What is the oriole’s food? How is the oriole of benefit to us in +ways which other birds are not? + +12. Do the orioles use the same nest two years in succession? How +long does the oriole stay in the North? Where does it spend its +winters? + + * * * * * + + “_Hush! ’tis he! + My oriole, my glance of summer fire, + Is come at last, and, ever on the watch, + Twitches the packthread I had lightly wound + About the bough to help his housekeeping,-- + Twitches and scouts by turns, blessing his luck, + Yet fearing me who laid it in his way, + Nor, more than wiser we in our affairs. + Divines the Providence that hides and helps. + Heave, ho! Heave, ho! he whistles as the twine + Slackens its hold; once more, now! and a flash + Lightens across the sunlight to the elm + Where his mate dangles at her cup of felt._” + --“UNDER THE WILLOWS”, LOWELL. + + + + + THE CROW + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +Thoreau says: “What a perfectly New England sound is this voice of +the crow! If you stand still anywhere in the outskirts of the town +and listen, this is perhaps the sound which you will be most sure +to hear, rising above all sounds of human industry and leading your +thoughts to some far-away bay in the woods. The bird sees the white +man come and the Indian withdraw, but it withdraws not. Its untamed +voice is still heard above the tinkling of the forge. It sees a +race pass away, but it passes not away. It remains to remind us of +aboriginal nature.” + +[Illustration: _A pet crow._ + +Photo by S. A. Lottride.] + +The crow is probably the most intelligent of all our native birds. It +is quick to learn and clever in action, as many a farmer will testify +who has tried to keep it out of corn fields with various devices, the +harmless character of which the crow soon understood perfectly. Of +all our birds, this one has the longest list of virtues and of sins, +as judged from our standpoint; but we should listen to both sides of +the case before we pass judgment. I find with crows, as with people, +I like some more than I do others. I do not like at all the cunning +old crow which steals the suet I put on the trees in winter for the +chickadees and nuthatches; and I have hired a boy with a shotgun to +protect the eggs and nestlings of the robins and other birds in my +neighborhood from the ravages of one or two cruel old crows that +have developed the nest-hunting habit. On the other hand, I became a +sincere admirer of a crow flock which worked in a field close to my +country home, and I have been the chosen friend of several tame crows +who were even more interesting than they were mischievous. + +The crow is larger than any other of our common blackbirds; the +northern raven is still larger, but is very rarely seen. Although the +crow’s feathers are black, yet in the sunlight a beautiful purple +iridescence plays over the plumage, especially about the neck and +back; it has a compact but not ungraceful body, and long, powerful +wings; its tail is medium sized and is not notched at the end; +its feet are long and strong: the track shows three toes directed +forward and one long one directed backward. The crow does not sail +through the air as does the hawk, but progresses with an almost +constant flapping of the wings. Its beak is very strong and is used +for tearing the flesh of its prey and for defense, and in fact, for +almost anything that a beak could be used for; its eye is all black +and is very keen and intelligent. When hunting for food in the field, +it usually walks, but sometimes hops. The raven and the fish crows +are the nearest relatives of the American crow, and next to them +the jays. We should hardly think that the bluejay and the crow were +related to look at them, but when we come to study their habits, much +is to be found in common. + +The crow’s nest is usually very large; it is made of sticks, of grape +vines and bark, sod, horse-hair, moss and grasses. It is placed +in trees or in tall bushes rarely less than twenty feet from the +ground. The eggs are pale bluish green or nearly white with brownish +markings. The young crows hatch in April or May. Both parents are +devoted to the care of the young, and remain with them during most of +the summer. I have often seen a mother crow feeding her young ones +which were following her with obstreperous caws, although they were +as large as she. + +While the note of the crow is harsh when close at hand, it has a +musical quality in the distance. Mr. Mathews says: “The crow when he +sings is nothing short of a clown; he ruffles his feathers, stretches +his neck, like a cat with a fish bone in her throat, and with a most +tremendous effort delivers a series of hen-like squawks.” But aside +from his caw, the crow has some very seductive soft notes. I have +held long conversations with two pet crows, talking with them in a +high, soft tone and finding that they answered readily in a like +tone in a most responsive way. I have also heard these same tones +among the wild crows when they were talking together; one note is a +gutteral tremolo, most grotesque. + +Crows gather in flocks for the winter; these flocks number from fifty +to several hundred individuals, all having a common roosting place, +usually in pine or hemlock forests or among other evergreens. They +go out from these roosts during the day to get food, often making +a journey of many miles. During the nesting season they scatter in +pairs and do not gather again in flocks until the young are fully +grown. + +When crows are feeding in the fields there is usually, if not always, +a sentinel posted on some high point so that he can give warning +of danger. This sentinel is always an experienced bird and is keen +to detect a dangerous from a harmless intruder. I once made many +experiments with these sentinels; I finally became known to those of +a particular flock and I was allowed to approach within a few yards +of where the birds were feeding, a privilege not accorded to any +other person in the neighborhood. + +The crow is a general feeder and will eat almost any food; generally, +however, it finds its food upon the ground. The food given to +nestlings is very largely insects, and many pests are thus destroyed. +The crows damage the farmer by pulling the sprouting corn and by +destroying the eggs and young of poultry. They also do much harm +by destroying the eggs and nestlings of our native birds which are +beneficial to the farmer; they also do some harm by distributing the +seeds of poison ivy and other noxious plants. All these must be set +down in the account against the crow, but on the credit side must be +placed the fact that it does a tremendous amount of good work for +the farmer by eating injurious insects, especially the grubs and +cut-worms which work in the ground, destroying the roots of grasses +and grains. It also kills many mice and other rodents which are +destructive to crops. + +The best method of preventing crows from taking sprouting corn is to +tar the seed corn, which is planted around the edge of the field. + +If any of the pupils in your school have had any experience with +tame crows they will relate interesting incidents of the love of the +crow for glittering objects. I once knew a tame crow which stole +all of the thimbles in the house and buried them in the garden; he +would watch to see when a thimble was laid aside when the sewing +was dropped, and would seize it almost immediately. This same crow +persisted in taking the clothes-pins off the line and burying them, +so that he was finally imprisoned on washdays. He was fond of playing +marbles with a little boy of the family. The boy would shoot a marble +into a hole and then Billy, the crow, would take a marble in his beak +and drop it into the hole. The bird understood the game perfectly and +was highly indignant if the boy took his turn and made shots twice in +succession. + +_References_--The American Crow, Barrows & Schwartz, Bulletin No. 6, +Division of Ornithology, U. S. Department of Agriculture; Birds in +Relation to Man, Weed & Dearborn; Bird Neighbors, Blanchan; Birds of +Villages and Field, Merriam; Outdoor Studies, Needham. + + + LESSON XXXI + + THE CROW + +_Leading thought_--The crow has the keenest intelligence of any of +our common birds. It does good work for us and also does damage. +We should study its ways before we pronounce judgment, for in some +localities it may be a true friend and in others an enemy. + +_Methods_--This work should begin in winter with an effort on the +part of the boys to discover the food of the crows while snow is +on the ground. This is a good time to study their habits and their +roosts. The nests are also often found in winter, although usually +built in evergreens. The nesting season is in early April, and +the questions about the nests should be given then. Let the other +questions be given when convenient. The flight, the notes, the +sentinels, the food, the benefit and damage may all be taken as +separate topics. + +The following topics for essays should be given to correlate with +work in English: “What a pet crow of my acquaintance did;” “Evidences +of crow intelligence;” “A plea a crow might make in self-defence to +the farmer who wished to shoot him;” “The best methods of preventing +crows from stealing planted corn.” + +_Observations_--1. How large is the crow compared with other +blackbirds? + +2. Describe its colors when seen in the sunlight? + +3. Describe the general shape of the crow. + +4. Are its wings long and slender or short and stout? + +5. Is the tail long or short? Is it notched or straight across the +end? + +6. Describe the crow’s feet. Are they large and strong or slender? +How many toes does the track show in the snow or mud? How many are +directed forward and how many backward? + +7. Describe a crow’s flight compared with that of the hawk. + +8. Describe its beak and what it is used for. + +9. What is the color of the crow’s eye? + +10. When hunting for food does the crow hop or walk? + +11. Which are the crow’s nearest relatives? + +12. Where and of what material do the crows build their nests? + +13. Describe the eggs. At what time of the year do the young crows +hatch? Do both parents take care of and feed the young? How long do +the parents care for the young after they leave the nest? + +14. What are the notes of the crow? If you have heard one give any +note except “caw,” describe it. + +15. Where and how do crows live in winter? Where do they live in +summer? + +16. Do they post sentinels if they are feeding in the fields? If so, +describe the action of the sentinel on the approach of people. + +17. Upon what do the crows feed? What is fed to the nestlings? + +18. How do the crows work injury to the farmer? How do they benefit +the farmer? Do you think they do more benefit than harm to the farmer +and fruit-grower? + +19. Have you known of instances of the crow’s fondness for shining or +glittering articles, like pieces of crockery or tin? + +_Supplementary reading_--“The Story of Silver Spot” in Wild Animals +I have Known, Seton; Second Book of Birds, p. 117; “Jim’s Babies” +in Nestlings of Forest and Marsh; “How the Crow Baby was Punished,” +True Bird Stories; “The Children of a Crow,” and “The Scare Crow” by +Celia Thaxter; Our Birds and their Nestlings; “Crow Ways,” Ways of +Wood Folk, Long; “Not so Black as he is Painted,” Outdoor Studies, +Needham; The Crows, John Hay; “Jack Crow,” American Birds, Finley. + +[Illustration] + + + + + THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _The cardinal grosbeak._ + +After _Audubon Leaflet_ No. 18.] + +There never lived a Lord Cardinal who possessed robes of state +more brilliant in color than the plumage of this bird. By the way, +I wonder how many of us ever think when we see the peculiar red, +called cardinal, that it gained its name from the dress of this +high functionary of the church? The cardinal grosbeak is the best +name for the redbird because that describes it exactly, both as to +its color and its chief characteristic, since its beak is thick and +large; the beak is also red, which is a rare color in beaks, and in +order to make its redness more emphatic it is set in a frame of black +feathers. The use of such a large beak is unmistakable, for it is +strong enough to crush the hardest of seed shells or to crack the +hardest and driest of grains. + + “_What cheer! What cheer! + That is the grosbeak’s way, + With his sooty face and his coat of red_” + +sings Maurice Thompson. But besides the name given above, this +bird has been called in different localities the redbird, Virginia +redbird, crested redbird, winter redbird, Virginia nightingale, the +red corn-cracker; but it remained for James Lane Allen to give it +another name in his masterpiece, “The Kentucky Cardinal.” + +The cardinal is a trifle smaller than the robin and is by no means +slim and graceful, like the catbird or the scarlet tanager, but is +quite stout and is a veritable chunk of brilliant color and bird +dignity. The only other bird that rivals him in redness is the +scarlet tanager which has black wings; the summer tanager is also a +red bird, but is not so vermilion and is more slender and lacks the +crest. The cardinal surely finds his crest useful in expressing his +emotions; when all is serene, it lies back flat on the head, but with +any excitement, whether of joy or surprise or anger, it lifts until +it is as peaked as an old-fashioned nightcap. The cardinal’s mate is +of quiet color; her back is greenish gray and breast buffy, while her +crest, wings and tail reflect in faint ways the brilliancy of his +costume. + +The redbird’s song is a stirring succession of syllables uttered in +a rich, ringing tone, and may be translated in a variety of ways. +I have heard him sing a thousand times “tor-re’-do, tor-re’-do, +tor-re’-do,” but Dr. Dawson has heard him sing “che’-pew, che’-pew, +we’-woo, we’-woo;” “bird-ie, bird-ie, bird-ie; tschew, tschew, +tschew;” and “chit-e-kew, chit-e-kew; he-weet, he-weet.” His mate +breaks the custom of other birds of her sex and sings a sweet song, +somewhat softer than his. Both birds utter a sharp note “tsip, tsip.” + +The nest is built in bushes, vines or low trees, often in holly, +laurel or other low evergreens, and is rarely more than six or eight +feet above the ground. It is made of twigs, weed stems, tendrils, +the bark of the grape vine and coarse grass; it is lined with fine +grass and rootlets; it is rather loosely constructed but firm and +is well hidden, for it causes these birds great anguish to have +their nest discovered. Three or four eggs are laid, which are bluish +white or grayish, dully marked with brown. The father cardinal is +an exemplary husband and father; he cares for and feeds his mate +tenderly and sings to her gloriously while she is sitting; and he +works hard catching insects for the nestlings. He is also a brave +defender of his nest and will attack any intruder, however large, +with undaunted courage. The fledglings all have the dull color of the +mother and have dark-colored bills. Their dull color protects the +young birds from the keen eyes of their enemies while they are not +yet able to take care of themselves. If the male fledglings were the +color of their father, probably not one would escape a tragic death. +While the mother bird is hatching the second brood the father keeps +the first brood with him and cares for them; often the whole family +remains together during the winter, making a small flock. However, +the flocking habit is not characteristic of these birds, and we only +see them in considerable numbers when the exigencies of seeking food +in the winter naturally bring them together. + +The cardinals are fond of the shrubbery and thickets of river +bottoms, near grain fields, or where there is plenty of wild grass, +and they only visit our premises when driven to us by winter hunger. +Their food consists of the seeds of rank weeds, corn, wheat, rye, +oats, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, and to some extent, wild and +garden berries; but they never occur in sufficient numbers to be a +menace to our crops. The cardinals may often be seen in the corn +fields after the harvest, and will husk an overlooked ear of corn and +crack the kernels with their beaks in a most dexterous manner. During +the winter we may coax them to our grounds by scattering corn in some +place not frequented by cats; thus, we may induce them to nest near +us, since the cardinal is not naturally a migrant but likes to stay +in one locality summer and winter. It has been known to come as far +north as Boston and southern New York, but it is found in greatest +numbers in our Southern States. Many nestlings were formerly taken, +to ship in cages to Europe, but the National Association for Bird +Protection has put a stop to this. In Ohio, no cardinal is allowed +to be caged, and this same law should protect this beautiful bird +in every Southern state, since it does not live long or happily in +confinement. The cardinal’s song is not at its best in a cage, but as +the poet Naylor says: + + “_Along the dust-white river road, + The saucy redbird chirps and trills; + His liquid notes resound and rise + Until they meet the cloudless skies, + And echo o’er the distant hills._” + + + LESSON XXXII + + THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK + +_Leading thought_--The cardinal is the most brilliantly colored +of all our birds and because of its color and song, it has been +destroyed by thousands as cage birds. We should seek to preserve it +as a beautiful ornament to our groves and grounds. + +_Methods_--This work must be done by personal observation in the +field. The field notes should be discussed in school. The effect of +the whole lesson should be to stimulate an interest in protecting +these beautiful birds. If possible, send for outline figures of the +cardinal for the children to color; these outlines may be had at +the cost of fifteen cents per dozen from the Audubon Society, 141 +Broadway, New York City. + +_Observations_--1. Do you know the cardinal? Why is it so called? + +2. How many names do you know for this bird? + +3. Is the cardinal as large as the robin? Is it graceful in shape or +stout? + +4. Is there any color except red upon it? If so, where? + +5. What other vividly red birds have we and how can we distinguish +them from the cardinal? + +6. Describe the cardinal’s crest and how it looks when lifted. Why do +you think it lifts it? + +7. Describe its beak as to color, shape and size. What work is such a +heavy beak made for? + +8. Is the cardinal’s mate the same color as he? Describe the color of +her head, back, wings, tail, breast. + +9. Can you imitate the cardinal’s song? What words do you think he +seems to sing? Does his mate sing also? Is it usual for mother birds +to sing? What other notes besides songs do you hear him utter? + +10. Where does the cardinal usually build its nest? How high from the +ground? Of what materials? Is it compact or bulky? How many eggs and +what are their colors? + +11. How does the father bird act while his mate is brooding? How does +he help take care of the young in the nest? + +12. How do the fledglings differ in color from their father? From +their mother? Of what use to the young birds is their sober color? + +13. What happens to the fledglings of the first brood while the +mother is hatching the eggs of the second brood? + +14. In what localities do you most often see the cardinals? Do you +ever see them in flocks? + +15. What is the food of the cardinals? What do they feed their +nestlings? + +16. How can you induce the cardinals to build near your home? + +17. What do you know about the laws protecting the redbirds? + +_Supplementary reading_--The Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 83; +True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 86; The Song of the Cardinal, Porter; +Audubon Educational Leaflet No. 18. + + * * * * * + + “_Upon the gray old forest’s rim + I snuffed the crab-tree’s sweet perfume; + And farther, where the light was dim, I saw the bloom + Of May apples, beneath the tent + Of umbrel leaves above them bent; + Where oft was shifting light and shade + The blue-eyed ivy wildly strayed; + The Solomon’s seal, in graceful play, + Swung where the straggling sunlight lay + The same as when I earliest heard + The Cardinal bird._” + --W. S. GALLAGHER. + + + + + GEESE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +To be called a goose should be considered most complimentary, for +of all the birds the goose is probably the most intelligent. An +observant lady who keeps geese on her farm assures me that no animal, +not even dog or horse, has the intelligence of the goose. She says +that these birds learn a lesson after a few repetitions, and surely +her geese were patterns of obedience. While I was watching them one +morning, they started for the brook via the corn field; she called +to them sharply, “No, no, you mustn’t go that way!” They stopped and +conferred; she spoke again and they waited, looking at her as if to +make up their minds to this exercise of self-sacrifice; but when she +spoke the third time they left the corn field and took the other path +to the brook. She could bring her geese into their house at any time +of day by calling to them, “Home, home!” As soon as they heard these +words, they would start and not stop until the last one was housed. + +[Illustration] + +In ancient Greece maidens made pets of geese; and often there was +such a devotion between the bird and girl that when the latter died +her statue with that of the goose was carved on her burial tablet. +The loyalty of a pet goose came under the observation of Miss Ada +Georgia. A lone gander was the special pet of a small boy in Elmira, +N. Y., who took sole care of him. The bird obeyed commands like a dog +but would never let his little master out of his sight if he could +avoid it; occasionally he would appear in the school yard, where +the pupils would tease him by pretending to attack his master at +the risk of being whipped with his wings so severely that it was a +test of bravery among the boys to so challenge him. His fidelity to +his master was extreme; once when the boy was ill in bed, the bird +wandered about the yard honking disconsolately and refused to eat; he +was driven to the side of the house where his master could look from +the window and he immediately cheered up, took his food and refused +to leave his post beneath the window while the illness lasted. + +The goose is a stately bird whether on land or water; its long +legs give it good proportions when walking, and the neck being so +much longer than that of the duck gives an appearance of grace and +dignity. The duck on the other hand is beautiful only when on the +water or on the wing; its short legs, placed far back and far out at +the sides, make it a most ungraceful walker. The beak of the goose +is harder in texture and is not flat like the duck’s; no wonder the +bird was a favorite with the ancient Greeks for the high ridge from +the beak to the forehead resembles much the famous Grecian nose. The +plumage of geese is very beautiful and abundant and for this reason +they are profitable domestic birds. The “picking” occurs late in +summer when the feathers are nearly ready to be molted; at this time +the geese flap their wings often and set showers of loose feathers +flying. A stocking or a bag is slipped over the bird’s head and she +is turned breast side up, with her head firmly between the knees or +under the arm of the picker. The tips of the feathers are seized with +the fingers and come out easily; only the breast, the under parts +and the feathers beneath the wings are plucked. Geese do not seem to +suffer while being plucked except through the temporary inconvenience +and ignominy of having their heads thrust into a bag; it hurts their +dignity more than their bodies. + +The wings of geese are very large and beautiful; although our +domestic geese have lost their powers of flight to a great extent, +yet they often stretch their wings and take little flying hops, +teetering along as if they can scarcely keep to earth; this must +surely be reminiscent of the old instinct for traveling in the skies. +The tail of the goose is a half circle and is spread when flying; +although it is short, it seems to be sufficiently long to act as +a rudder. The legs of the goose are much longer than those of the +duck; they are not set so far back toward the rear of the body, +and, therefore, the goose is the much better runner of the two. The +track made by the goose’s foot is a triangle with two scallops on +one side made by the webs between the three front toes; the hind toe +is placed high up; the foot and the unfeathered portion of the leg, +protected by scales, are used as oars when the bird is swimming. When +she swims forward rapidly, her feet extend out behind her and act on +the principle of a propeller; but when swimming around in the pond +she uses them at almost right angles to the body. Although they are +such excellent oars they are also efficient on land; although when +running, her body may waddle somewhat, her head and neck are held +aloft in stately dignity. + +The Toulouse are our common gray geese; the Embdens are pure white +with orange bill and bright blue eyes. The African geese have a black +head with a large black knob on the base of the black bill; the neck +is long, snakelike, light gray, with a dark stripe down the back; +the wings and tail are dark gray; there is a dewlap at the throat. +The brown Chinese geese have also a black beak and a black knob at +the base of the bill. The neck is light brown with a dull yellowish +stripe down the neck. The back is dark brown, breast, wings and tail +grayish brown. The white Chinese are shaped like the brown Chinese +but the knob and bill are orange and the eyes light blue. + + + _The Habits of Geese_ + +Geese are monogamous and are loyal to their mates. Old-fashioned +people declare that they choose their mates on Saint Valentine’s Day, +but this is probably a pretty myth; when once mated, the pair live +together year after year until one dies; an interesting instance of +this is one of the traditions in my own family. A fine pair of geese +belonging to my pioneer grandfather had been mated for several years +and had reared handsome families; but one spring a conceited young +gander fell in love with the old goose, and as he was young and +lusty, he whipped her legitimate lord and master and triumphantly +carried her away, although she was manifestly disgusted with this +change in her domestic fortunes. The old gander sulked and refused to +be comforted by the blandishments of any young goose whatever. Later +the old pair disappeared from the farmyard and the upstart gander was +left wifeless. It was inferred that the old couple had run away with +each other into the encompassing wilderness and much sympathy was +felt for them because of this sacrifice of their lives for loyalty. +However, this was misplaced sentiment, for later in the summer the +happy pair was discovered in a distant “slashing” with a fine family +of goslings and were all brought home in triumph. The old gander, +while not able to cope with his rival, was still able to trounce any +of the animal marauders which approached his home and family. + +The goose lines her nest with down and the soft feathers which she +plucks from her breast. The gander is very devoted to his goose while +she is sitting; he talks to her in gentle tones and is fierce in her +defence. The eggs are about twice as large as those of the hen and +have the ends more rounded. The period of incubation is four weeks. +The goslings are beautiful little creatures, covered with soft down, +and have large, bright eyes. The parents give them most careful +attention from the first. One family which I studied consisted of +the parents and eighteen goslings. The mother was a splendid African +bird; she walked with dignified step, her graceful neck assuming +serpentine curves; and she always carried her beak “lifted,” which +gave her an appearance of majestic haughtiness. The father was just a +plebeian white gander, probably of Embden descent but he was a most +efficient protector. The family always formed a procession in going +to the creek, the majestic mother at the head, the goslings following +her and the gander bringing up the rear to be sure there were no +stragglers; if a gosling strayed away or fell behind, the male went +after it, pushing it back into the family circle. When entering the +coop at night he pushed the little ones in gently with his bill; when +the goslings took their first swim both parents gently pushed them +into the water, “rooted them in,” as the farmer said. Any attempt +to take liberties with the brood was met with bristling anger and +defiance on the part of the gander; the mistress of the farm told me +that he had whipped her black and blue when she tried to interfere +with the goslings. + +The gander and goose always show suspicion and resentment by opening +the mouth wide, making a hissing noise, showing the whole round +tongue in mocking defiance. When the gander attacks, he thrusts his +head forward, even with or below the level of his back, and seizes +his victim firmly with his hard, toothed bill so that it cannot get +away, and then with his strong wings beats the life out of it. I +remember vividly a whipping which a gander gave me when I was a +child, holding me fast by the blouse while he laid on the blows. + +Geese feed much more largely upon land vegetation than do ducks; a +good growth of clover and grass make excellent pasture for them; in +the water, they feed upon water plants but do not eat insects and +animals to any extent. + +Undoubtedly goose language is varied and expresses many things. +Geese talk to each other and call from afar; they shriek in warning +and in general make such a turmoil that people do not enjoy it. The +goslings, even when almost grown, keep up a constant “pee wee, pee +wee,” which is nerve-racking. There is a good opportunity for some +interesting investigations in studying out just what the different +notes of the geese mean. + +The goose is very particular about her toilet; she cleans her breast +and back and beneath her wings with her bill, and she cleans her bill +with her foot; she also cleans the top of her head with her foot and +the under side of her wing with the foot of that side. When oiling +her feathers, she starts the oil gland flowing with her beak, then +rubs her head over the gland until it is well oiled; she then uses +her head as a “dauber” to apply the oil to the feathers of her back +and breast. When thus polishing her feathers, she twists the head +over and over and back and forth to add to its efficiency. + + + WILD GEESE + +[Illustration: T] + +There is a sound, that, to the weather-wise farmer, means cold and +snow, even though it is heard through the hazy atmosphere of an +Indian summer day; and that is the honking of wild geese as they +pass on their southward journey. And there is not a more interesting +sight anywhere in the autumn landscape than the wedge-shaped flock +of these long-necked birds with their leader at the front apex. “The +wild goose trails his harrow,” sings the poet; but only the aged can +remember the old-fashioned harrow which makes this simile graphic. +The honking which reveals to us the passing flock, before our eyes +can discern the birds against the sky, is the call of the wise old +gander who is the leader, to those following him, and their return +salute. He knows the way on this long thousand-mile journey, and +knows it by the topography of the country. If ever fog or storm hides +the earth from his view, he is likely to become confused, to the +dismay of his flock, which follows him to the earth with many lonely +and distressful cries. + +The northern migration takes place in April and May, and the southern +from October to December. The journey is made with stops for rest and +refreshment at certain selected places, usually some secluded pond +or lake. The food of wild geese consists of water plants, seeds and +corn, and some of the smaller animals living in water. Although the +geese come to rest on the water, they go to the shore to feed. In +California, the wild geese are dreaded visitors of the cornfields, +and men with guns are employed regularly to keep them off. + +The nests are made of sticks lined with down, usually along the +shores of streams, sometimes on tree stumps and sometimes in deserted +nests of the osprey. There are only four or five eggs laid and both +parents are devoted to the young, the gander bravely defending his +nest and family from the attacks of any enemies. + +[Illustration: _Wild geese flying in even ranks._ + +Photographed directly underneath by A. R. Dugmore. Courtesy of +_Country Life in America_.] + +Although there are several species of wild geese on the Atlantic +Coast, the one called by this name is usually the Canada goose. +This bird is a superb creature, brown above and gray beneath, with +head, neck, tail, bill and feet of black. These black trimmings +are highly ornamental and, as if to emphasize them, there is a +white crescent-shaped “bib” extending from just back of the eyes +underneath the head. This white patch is very striking, and gives +one the impression of a bandage for sore throat. It is regarded as a +call-color, and is supposed to help keep the flock together; the side +tail-coverts are also white and make another guide to follow. + +Often some wounded or wearied bird of the migrating flock spends the +winter in farmyards with domestic geese. One morning a neighbor of +mine found that during the night a wild gander, injured in some way, +had joined his flock. The stranger was treated with much courtesy by +its new companions as well as by the farmer’s family and soon seemed +perfectly at home. The next spring he mated with one of the domestic +geese. In the late summer, my neighbor, mindful of wild geese habits, +clipped the wings of the gander so that he would be unable to join +any passing flock of his wild relatives. As the migrating season +approached, the gander became very uneasy; not only was he uneasy +and unhappy always but he insisted that his wife share his misery of +unrest. He spent days in earnest remonstrance with her and, lifting +himself by his cropped wings to the top of the barnyard fence, he +insisted that she keep him company on this, for web feet, uneasy +resting-place. Finally, after many days of tribulation, the two +valiantly started south on foot. News was received of their progress +for some distance and then they were lost to us. During the winter +our neighbor visited a friend living eighteen miles to the southward +and found in his barnyard the errant pair. They had become tired of +migrating by tramping and had joined the farmer’s flock; but we were +never able to determine the length of time required for this journey. + + + LESSON XXXIII + + GEESE + +_Leading thought_--Geese are the most intelligent of the domesticated +birds, and they have many interesting habits. + +_Method_--This lesson should not be given unless there are geese +where the pupils may observe them. The questions should be given +a few at a time and answered individually by the pupils after the +observations are made. + +_Observations_--1. What is the chief difference between the +appearance of a goose and a duck? How does the beak of the goose +differ from that of the duck in shape and in texture? Describe the +nostrils and their situation. + +2. What is the difference in shape between the neck of the goose and +that of the duck? + +3. What can you say about the plumage of geese? How are geese +“picked?” At what time of year? From what parts of the body are the +feathers plucked? + +4. Are the wings of the goose large compared with the body? How do +geese exercise their wings? Describe the tail of the goose and how it +is used. + +5. How do the legs and feet of the goose differ from those of the +duck? Describe the goose’s foot. How many toes are webbed? Where is +the other toe? What is the shape of the track made by the goose’s +foot? Which portions of the legs are used for oars? When the goose +is swimming forward where are her feet? When turning around how does +she use them? Does the goose waddle when walking or running as a duck +does? Why? Does a goose toe-in when walking? Why? + +6. Describe the shape and color of the following breeds of domestic +geese: The Toulouse, the Embden, the African, and Chinese. + + + _Habits of Geese_ + +1. What is the chief food of geese? What do they find in the water to +eat? How does their food differ from that of ducks? + +2. How do geese differ from hens in the matter of mating and nesting? +At what time of year do geese mate? Does a pair usually remain mated +for life? + +3. Describe the nest and compare the eggs with those of hens. +Describe the young goslings in general appearance. With what are they +covered? What care do the parents give to their goslings? Describe +how the parents take their family afield. How do they induce their +goslings to go into the water for the first time? How do they protect +them from enemies? + +4. How does the gander or goose fight? What are the chief weapons? +How is the head held when the attack is made? + +5. How does the goose clean her feathers, wings and feet? How does +she oil her feathers? Where does she get the oil and with what does +she apply it? + +6. How much of goose language do you understand? What is the note of +alarm? How is defiance and distrust expressed? How does a goose look +when hissing? What is the constant note of the gosling? + +7. Give such instances as you may know illustrating the intelligence +of geese, their loyalty and bravery. + +8. Write an English Theme on “The Canada Goose, its appearance, +nesting habits, and migrations.” + +_Supplementary reading_--Birds that Hunt and are Hunted, Blanchan; +“Tn Quest of Waptonk The Wild,” Northern Trails, Long; “The +Homesickness of Kehonka,” Kindred of the Wild, Roberts; Wild Geese, +Celia Thaxter. + +[Illustration: _A sea-gull._ + +Photo by G. K. Gilbert.] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE TURKEY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +That the turkey and not the eagle should have been chosen for our +national bird, was the conviction of Benjamin Franklin. It is a +native of our country, it is beautiful as to plumage, and like the +American Indian, it has never yielded entirely to the influences +of civilization. Through the hundreds of years of domestication it +still retains many of its wild habits. In fact, it has many qualities +in common with the red man. Take for instance its sun dance, which +any one can witness who is willing to get up early enough in the +morning and who has a flock of turkeys at hand. Miss Ada Georgia +made a pilgrimage to witness this dance and she describes it thus: +“While the dawn was still faint and gray, the long row of birds on +the ridge-pole stood up, stretched legs and wings and flew down into +the orchard beside the barnyard and began a curious, high-stepping, +‘flip-flop’ dance on the frosty grass. It consisted of little, +awkward, up-and-down jumps, varied by forward springs of about a +foot, with lifted wings. Both hens and males danced, the latter +alternately strutting and hopping and all ‘singing,’ the hens calling +‘Quit, quit,’ the males accompanying with a high-keyed rattle, +sounding like a hard wood stick drawn rapidly along a picket fence. +As the sun came up and the sky brightened, the exhibition ended +suddenly when ‘The Captain,’ a great thirty pound gobbler and leader +of the flock, made a rush at one of his younger brethren who had +dared to be spreading a tail too near to his majesty.” + +The bronze breed resembles most closely our native wild turkey and +is therefore chosen for this lesson. The colors and markings of the +plumage form the bronze turkey’s chief beauty. From the skin of the +neck, reaching half way to the middle of the back is a collar of +glittering bronze with greenish and purple iridescence, each feather +tipped with a narrow jet band. The remainder of the back is black +except that each feather is edged with bronze. The breast is like the +collar and at its center is a tassel of black bristles called the +beard which hangs limply downward when the birds are feeding; but +when the gobbler stiffens his muscles to strut, this beard is thrust +proudly forth. Occasionally the hen turkeys have a beard. The long +quills, or primaries, of the wings are barred across with bands of +black and white; the secondaries are very dark, luminous brown, with +narrower bars of white. Each feather of the fan-shaped tail is banded +with black and brown and ends with a black bar tipped with white; +the tail coverts are lighter brown but also have the black margin +edged with white. The colors of the hen are like those of the gobbler +except that the bronze brilliance of breast, neck and wings is dimmed +by the faint line of white which tips each feather. + +The heads of all are covered with a warty wrinkled skin, bluish white +on the crown, grayish blue about the eyes, and the other parts red. +Beneath the throat is a hanging fold called the wattle, and above the +beak a fleshy pointed knob called the caruncle, which on the gobbler +is prolonged so that it hangs over and below the beak. When the bird +is angry these carunculated parts swell and grow more vivid in color, +seeming to be gorged with blood. The color of the skin about the head +is more extensive and brilliant in the gobblers than in the hens. The +beak is slightly curved, short, stout, and sharp-pointed, yellowish +at the tip and dark at the base. + +The eyes are bright, dark hazel with a thin red line of iris. Just +back of the eye is the ear, seemingly a mere hole, and yet it leads +to a very efficient ear, upon which every smallest sound impinges. + +The legs of the young turkeys are nearly black, fading to a brownish +gray when mature. The legs and feet are large and stout, the middle +toe of the three front ones being nearly twice the length of the one +on either side; the hind toe is the shortest of the four. On the +inner side of the gobbler’s legs, about one-third the bare space +above the foot, is a wicked looking spur which is a most effective +weapon. The wings are large and powerful; the turkey flies well for +such a large bird and usually roosts high, choosing trees or the +ridge-pole of the barn for this purpose. + +In many ways the turkeys are not more than half domesticated. They +insistently prefer to spend their nights out of doors instead of +under a roof. They are also great wanderers and thrive best when +allowed to forage in the fields and woods for a part of their food. + +The gobbler is the most vainglorious bird known to us; when he struts +to show his flock of admiring hens how beautiful he is, he lowers his +wings and spreads the stiff primary quills until their tips scrape +the ground, lifting meanwhile into a semi-circular fan his beautiful +tail feathers; he protrudes his chest, raises the iridescent plumage +of his neck like a ruff to make a background against which he throws +back his red, white and blue decorated head. He moves forward +with slow and mincing steps and calls attention to his grandeur +by a series of most aggressive “gobbles.” But we must say for the +gobbler that although he is vain he is also a brave fighter. When +beginning a fight he advances with wings lowered and sidewise as +if guarding his body with the spread wing. The neck and the sharp +beak are outstretched and he makes the attack so suddenly, that it +is impossible to see whether he strikes with both wing and beak or +only with the latter, as with fury he pounces upon his adversary +apparently striving to rip his neck open with his spurs. + +Turkey hens usually begin to lay in April in this latitude and much +earlier in more southern states. At nesting time each turkey hen +strays off alone, seeking the most secluded spot she can find to lay +the large, oval, brown-speckled eggs. Silent and sly, she slips away +to the place daily, by the most round-about ways, and never moving in +the direction of the nest when she thinks herself observed. Sometimes +the sight of any person near her nest will cause her to desert it. +The writer has spent many hours when a child, sneaking in fence +corners and behind stumps and tree trunks, stalking turkeys’ nests. +Incubation takes four weeks. The female is a most persistent sitter +and care should be taken to see that she gets a good supply of food +and water at this time. Good sound corn or wheat is the best food for +her at this period. When sitting she is very cross and will fight +most courageously when molested on her nest. + +Turkey nestlings are rather large, with long, bare legs and scrawny +thin necks, and they are very delicate during the first six weeks +of their lives. Their call is a plaintive “peep, weep,” and when a +little turkey feels lost its cry is expressive of great fear and +misery. But if the mother is freely ranging she does not seem to be +much affected by the needs of her brood; she will fight savagely for +them if they are near her, but if they stray, and they usually do, +she does not seem to miss or hunt for them, but strides serenely +on her way, keeping up a constant crooning “kr-rit, kr-rit,” to +encourage them to follow. As a consequence, the chicks are lost or +get draggled and chilled by struggling through wet grass and leaves, +that are no obstacle to the mother’s strong legs, and thus many die. +If the mother is confined in a coop it should be so large and roomy +that she can move about without trampling on the chicks, and it +should have a dry floor since dampness is fatal to the little ones. + +For the first week the chicks should be fed five times a day, and +for the next five weeks they should have three meals a day. They +should be given only just about enough to fill each little crop and +none left over to be trodden under their awkward little feet. Their +quarters should be kept clean and free from vermin. + + + LESSON XXXIV + + TURKEYS + +_Leading thought_--The turkey is a native of America. It was +introduced into Spain from Mexico in about 1518, and since then +has been domesticated. However, there are still in some parts of +the country flocks of wild turkeys. It is a beautiful bird and has +interesting habits. + +_Method_--If the pupils could visit a flock of turkeys the lesson +would be given to a better advantage. If this is impossible, ask the +questions a few at a time and let those pupils who have opportunities +for observing the turkeys give their answers before the class. + +_Observations_--1. Of what breed are the turkeys you are studying, +Bronze, Black, Buff, White Holland or Narragansett? + +2. What is the general shape and size of the turkey? Describe its +plumage, noting every color which you can see in it. Does the plumage +of the hen turkey differ from that of the gobbler? + +3. What is the covering of the head of the turkey, what is its color +and how far does it extend down the neck of the bird? Is it always +the same color, and if not, what causes the change? Is the head +covering alike in shape and size on the male and the female? What is +the part called that hangs from the front of the throat below the +beak? From above the beak? + +4. What is the color of the beak? Is it short or long, straight or +curved? Where are the nostrils situated? + +5. What is the color of the turkey’s eyes? Do you think it is a +keen-sighted bird? + +6. Where are the ears? Do they show as plainly as a chicken’s ears +do? Are turkeys quick of hearing? + +7. Do turkeys scratch like hens? Are they good runners? Describe the +feet and legs as to shape, size and color. Has the male a spur on his +legs, and if so, where is it situated? For what is it used? + +8. Can turkeys fly well? Are the wings small or comparatively large +and strong for the weight of the body? Do turkeys prefer high or low +places for perching when they sleep? Is it well to house and confine +them in small buildings and parks as is done with other fowls? + +9. Tell, as nearly as you can discover by close observation, how the +gobbler sets each part of his plumage when he is “showing off” or +strutting. What do you think is the bird’s purpose in thus exhibiting +his fine feathers? Does the “King of the flock” permit any such +action by other “gobblers” in his company? + +10. Are turkeys timid and cowardly or independent and brave, ready +to meet and fight anything which they think is threatening to their +comfort and safety? + +11. When turkeys fight, what parts of their bodies seem to be used +as weapons? Does the male “gobble” during a fight, or only as a +challenge or in triumph when victorious? Do the hen turkeys ever +fight, or only the males? + +12. How early in the spring does the turkey hen begin to lay? Does +she nest about the poultry yard and the barns or is she likely to +seek some secret and distant spot where she may hide her eggs? +Describe the turkey’s egg, as well as you can, as to color, shape and +size. Can one tell it by the taste from an ordinary hen’s egg? About +how many eggs does the turkey hen lay in her nest before she begins +to “get broody” and want to sit? + +13. How many days of incubation are required to hatch the turkey +chick? Is it as downy and pretty as other little chicks? How often +should the young chicks be fed, and what food do you think is best +for them? Are turkey chicks as hardy as other chicks? + +14. Is the turkey hen generally a good mother? Is she cross or gentle +when sitting and when brooding her young? Is it possible to keep the +mother turkey as closely confined with her brood as it is with the +mother hen? What supplies should be given to her in the way of food, +grits, dust-baths, etc.? + +_Supplementary reading_--Birds that Hunt and are Hunted, Blanchan. + + + LESSON XXXV + + THE STUDY OF BIRDS’ NESTS IN WINTER + +There are very good reasons for not studying birds’ nests in summer, +since too much familiarity on the part of eager children is something +the birds do not understand and are likely, in consequence, to +abandon both nest and locality. But after the birds have gone to +sunnier climes and the empty nests are the only mementos we have of +them, then we may study these habitations carefully and learn how to +properly appreciate the small architects which made them. I think +that every one of us who carefully examines the way that a nest is +made must have a feeling of respect for its clever little builder. + +I know of certain schools where the children make large collections +of these winter nests, properly labelling each, and thus gaining +a new interest in the bird life of their locality. A nest when +collected should be labelled in the following manner: + +Name of the bird which built the nest. + +Where the nest was found. + +If in a tree, what kind? + +How high from the ground? + +Bird Homes, by A. R. Dugmore is a book which affords practical help +in determining the species of birds which made the nests. + +After a collection of nests has been made let the pupils study them +according to the following outline: + +1. Where was the nest found? + + a. If on the ground, describe the locality. + + b. If on a plant, tree or shrub, tell the species, if possible. + + c. If on a tree, tell where it was on a branch, in a fork, or + hanging by the end of the twigs. + + d. How high from the ground, and what was the locality? + + e. If on or in a building, how situated? + +2. Did the nest have any arrangement to protect it from rain? + +3. Give the size of the nest, the diameter of the inside and the +outside; also the depth of the inside. + +4. What is the form of the nest? Are its sides flaring or straight? +Is the nest shaped like a cup, basket or pocket? + +5. What materials compose the outside of the nest and how are they +arranged? + +6. Of what materials is the lining made, and how are they arranged? +If hair or feathers are used, on what creature did they grow? + +7. How are the materials of the nest held together, that is, are they +woven, plastered, or held in place by environment? + +8. Had the nest anything peculiar about it either in situation, +construction or material that would tend to render it invisible to +the casual glance? + +[Illustration: “_Noon time and June time down around the river._”] + + + + + II. FISH STUDY + + “_It remains yet unresolved whether the happiness of a man + in this world doth consist more in contemplation or action. + Concerning which two opinions I shall forebear to add a third + by declaring my own, and rest myself contented in telling + you that both of these meet together, and do most properly + belong to the most honest, ingenious, quiet and harmless art + of angling. And first I tell you what some have observed, and + I have found to be a real truth, that the very sitting by + the riverside is not only the quietest and the fittest place + for contemplation, but will invite an angler to it._” + --ISAAK WALTON. + + +[Illustration: D] + +Dear, human, old Isaak Walton discovered that nature-study, fishing, +and philosophy were akin and as inevitably related as the three +angles of a triangle. And yet it is surprising how little the fish +have been used as subjects for nature lessons. Every brook and pond +is a treasure to the teacher who will find what there is in it and +who knows what may be gotten out of it. + +Luckily there are some very good books on fishes which will assist +materially in making the fish lessons interesting: Fishes, by David +Starr Jordan, is a magnificent popular work in two volumes; American +Food and Game Fishes, by Jordan and Evermann, is one of the volumes +of the valuable Nature Library. While for supplementary reading the +following will prove instructive and entertaining: The Story of the +Fishes, Baskett; Fish Stories, by Holder and Jordan; “The Story of +a Salmon,” in Science Sketches, by Jordan; Neighbors with Wings and +Fins, Johonnot; Half Hours with Fishes, Reptiles and Birds, Holder. + +Almost any of the fishes found in brook or pond may be kept in an +aquarium for a few days of observation in the schoolroom. A water +pail or bucket does very well if there is no glass aquarium. The +water should be changed every day and at least once a day it should +be aerated by dipping it up and pouring it back from some distance +above. The practice should be established, once for all, of putting +these finny prisoners back into the brook after they have been +studied. + + + + + THE GOLDFISH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: O] + +Once upon a time, if stories are true, there lived a king called +Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold. Whenever I see +goldfish, I wonder if, perhaps, King Midas were not a Chinese and +if he perchance did not handle some of the little fish in Orient +streams. But common man has learned a magic as wonderful as that +of King Midas, although it does not act so immediately, for it is +through his agency in selecting and breeding that we have gained +these exquisite fish for our aquaria. In the streams of China the +goldfish, which were the ancestors of these effulgent creatures, wore +safe green colors like the shiners in our brooks; and if any goldfish +escape from our fountains and run wild, their progeny return to their +native olive-green color. There are many such dull-colored goldfish +in the Delaware and Potomac and other eastern rivers. It is almost +inconceivable that one of the brilliant colored fishes, if it chanced +to escape into our ponds, should escape the fate of being eaten by +some larger fish attracted by such glittering bait. + +The goldfish, as we see it in the aquarium, is brilliant orange +above and pale lemon-yellow below; there are many specimens that +are adorned with black patches. And as if this fish were bound to +imitate the precious metals, there are individuals which are silver +instead of gold: they are oxydized silver above and polished silver +below. The goldfish are closely related to the carp and can live in +waters that are stale. However, the water in the aquarium should be +changed at least twice a week to keep it clear. Goldfish should not +be fed too lavishly. An inch square of one of the sheets of prepared +fish food, we have found a fair daily ration for five medium sized +fish; these fish are more likely to die from overfeeding than from +starving. Goldfish are naturally long-lived; Miss Ada Georgia has +kept them until seven years old in a school aquarium; and there is on +record one goldfish that lived nine years. + +Too often the wonderful common things are never noticed because of +their commonness; and there is no better instance of this than the +form and movements of a fish. It is an animal in many ways similar to +animals that live on land; but its form and structure are such that +it is perfectly adapted to live in water all its life; there are none +of the true fishes which live portions of their lives on land as do +the frogs. The first peculiarity of the fish is its shape. Looked +at from above, the broader part of the body is near the front end +which is rounded or pointed so as to cut the water readily. The long, +narrow, hind portion of the body with the tail acts as a propeller. +Seen from the side, the body is a smooth, graceful oval and this form +is especially adapted to move through the water swiftly, as can be +demonstrated to the pupil by cutting a model of the fish from wood +and trying to move it through the water sidewise. + +[Illustration: + +_Goldfish with the parts named._ + +This figure should be copied on the blackboard for reference.] + +Normally, the fish has seven fins, one along the back called the +dorsal, one at the end of the tail called the tail or caudal fin, +one beneath the rear end of the body called the anal, a pair on the +lower side of the body called the ventrals, and a pair just back of +the gill openings called the pectorals. All these fins play their +own parts in the movements of the fish. The dorsal fin is usually +higher in front than behind and can be lifted or shut down like a +fan. This fin when it is lifted gives the fish greater height and it +can be twisted to one side or the other and thus be made a factor in +steering. The anal fin on the lower side acts in a similar manner. +The tail fin is the propeller and sends the body forward by pressing +backward on the water, first on one side and then on the other, +being used like a scull. The tail fin varies in shape very much in +different species. In the goldfish it is fanlike, with a deeply +notched hind edge, but in some it is rounded or square. + +The paired fins correspond anatomically to our arms and legs, the +pectorals representing the arms, the ventrals the legs. Fins are made +up of rays, as the bony rods are called which support the membrane; +these rays are of two kinds, those which are soft, flexible, many +jointed and usually branched at the tip; and those which are bony, +not jointed and which are usually stiff spines. When the spines are +present in a fin they precede the soft rays. + +Fishes’ eyes have no eyelid but the eyeball is movable, and +this often gives the impression that the fish winks. Fishes are +necessarily near-sighted since the lens of the eye has to be +spherical in order to see in the water. The sense of smell is located +in a little sac to which the nostril leads; the nostrils are small +and often partitioned and may be seen on either side of the snout. +The nostrils have no connection whatever with breathing, in the fish. + +The tongue of the fish is very bony or bristly and immovable. There +is very little sense of taste developed in it. The shape, number +and position of the teeth vary according to the food habits of the +fish. The commonest type of teeth are fine, sharp and short and are +arranged in pads, as seen in the bullhead. Some fish have blunt teeth +suitable for crushing shells. Herbivorous fishes have sharp teeth +with serrated edges, while those living upon crabs and snails have +incisor-like teeth. In some specimens we find several types of teeth, +in others the teeth may be entirely absent. The teeth are borne not +only on the jaws but also in the roof of the mouth, on the tongue and +in the throat. + +The ear of the fish has neither outside form nor opening and is very +imperfect in comparison with that of man. Extending along the sides +of the body from head to tail is a line of modified scales containing +small tubes connecting with nerves; this is called the lateral line +and it is believed that it is in some way connected with the fish’s +senses, perhaps with the sense of hearing. + +Since fishes must push through water, which is more difficult than +moving through air, they need to have the body well protected. This +protection is, in most fishes, in the form of an armor of scales +which are smooth and allow the body to pass through the water with +little friction. These scales overlap like shingles in a roof and +are all directed backward. The study of the fish scale shows that it +grows in layers. + +In order to understand how the fish breathes we must examine its +gills. In front, just above the entrance to the gullet are several +bony ridges which bear two rows of pinkish fringes; these are the +gill arches and the fringes are the gills. The gills are filled with +tiny blood vessels, and as the water passes over them, the impurities +of the blood pass out through the thin skin of the gills and the +life-giving oxygen passes in. Since fish cannot make use of air +unless it is dissolved in water, it is very important that the water +in the aquarium jar should often be replenished. The gill arches also +bear a series of bony processes called gill-rakers. Their function +is to prevent the escape of food through the gills while it is being +swallowed, and they vary in size according to the food habits of the +fish. We note that the fish in the aquarium constantly opens and +closes the mouth; this action draws the water into the throat and +forces it out over the gills and through the gill openings; this +then, is the act of breathing. + + + LESSON XXXVI + + A STUDY OF THE FISH + +_Leading thought_--A fish lives in the water where it must breathe, +move and find its food. The water world is quite different from the +air world and the fish have developed forms, senses and habits which +fit them for life in the water. + +_Method_--The goldfish is used as a subject for this lesson because +it is so conveniently kept where the children may see it. However, a +shiner or minnow would do as well. + +Before the pupils begin the study, place the diagram shown on p. 150 +on the blackboard, with all the parts labelled; thus the pupils will +be able to learn the parts of the fish by consulting it, and not be +compelled to commit them to memory arbitrarily. It would be well to +associate the goldfish with a geography lesson on China. + +_Observations_--1. Where do fishes live? Do any fishes ever live any +part of their lives on land like the frogs? Could a salt-water fish +live in fresh water, or vice versa? + +2. What is the shape of a fish when seen from above? Where is the +widest part? What is its shape seen from the side? Think if you can +in how many ways the shape of the fish is adapted for moving swiftly +through the water. + +3. How many fins has the fish? Make a sketch of the goldfish with all +its fins and name them from the diagram on the blackboard. + +4. How many fins are there in all? Four of these fins are in pairs; +where are they situated? What are they called? Which pair corresponds +to our arms? Which to our legs? + +5. Describe the pectoral fins. How are they used? Are they kept +constantly moving? Do they move together or alternately? How are they +used when the fish swims backwards? + +6. How are the ventral fins used? How do they assist the fish when +swimming? + +7. Sketch a dorsal fin. How many spines has it? How many soft rays +are there in it? What is the difference in structure between the +stiff spines in the front of the dorsal fin and the rays in the hind +portion? Of what use to the fish are these two different kinds of fin +supports? + +8. Sketch the anal fin. Has it any spines in front? How many rays has +it? How is this fin used when the fish is swimming? + +9. With what fin does the fish push itself through the water? Make a +sketch of the tail. Note if it is square, rounded, or notched at the +end. Are the rays of the tail fin spiny or soft in character? + +10. Watch the goldfish swim and describe the action of all the fins +while it is in motion. In what position are the fins when the fish is +at rest? + +11. What is the nature of the covering of the fish? Are the scales +large or small? In which direction do they seem to overlap? Of what +use to the fish is this scaly covering? + +12. Can you see a line which extends from the upper part of the gill +opening, along the side to the tail? This is called the lateral line. +Do you think it is of any use to the fish? + +13. Note carefully the eyes of the fish. Describe the pupil and the +iris. Are the eyes placed so that the fish can see in all directions? +Can they be moved so as to see better in any direction? Does the fish +wink? Has it any eyelids? Do you know why fish are near-sighted? + +14. Can you see the nostrils? Is there a little wartlike projection +connected with the nostril? Do you think fishes breathe through their +nostrils? + +15. Describe the mouth of the fish. Does it open upward, downward, or +directly in front? What sort of teeth have fish? How does the fish +catch its prey? Does the lower or upper jaw move in the process of +eating? + +16. Is the mouth kept always in motion? Do you think the fish is +swallowing water all the time? Do you know why it does this? Can you +see a wide opening along the sides of the head behind the gill cover? +Does the gill cover move with the movement of the mouth? How does a +fish breathe? + +17. What are the colors of the goldfish above and below? What would +happen to our beautiful goldfish if they were put in a brook with +other fish? Why could they not hide? Do you know what happens to the +colors of the goldfish when they run wild in our streams and ponds? + +18. Can you find in books or cyclopedias where the goldfish came +from? Are they gold and silver in color in the streams where they +are native? Do you think that they had originally the long, slender, +swallow tails which we see sometimes in goldfish? How have the +beautiful colors and graceful forms of the gold and silver fishes +been developed? + + * * * * * + + “_I have my world, and so have you, + A tiny universe for two, + A bubble by the artist blown, + Scarcely more fragile than our own, + Where you have all a whale could wish, + Happy as Eden’s primal fish. + Manna is dropt you thrice a day + From some kind heaven not far away, + And still you snatch its softening crumbs, + Nor, more than we, think whence it comes. + No toil seems yours but to explore + Your cloistered realm from shore to shore; + Sometimes you trace its limits round, + Sometimes its limpid depths you sound, + Or hover motionless midway, + Like gold-red clouds at set of day; + Erelong you whirl with sudden whim + Off to your globe’s most distant rim, + Where, greatened by the watery lens, + Methinks no dragon of the fens + Flashed huger scales against the sky, + Roused by Sir Bevis or Sir Guy; + And the one eye that meets my view, + Lidless and strangely largening, too, + Like that of conscience in the dark, + Seems to make me its single mark. + What a benignant lot is yours + That have an own All-out-of-doors, + No words to spell, no sums to do, + No Nepos and no parlyvoo! + How happy you, without a thought + Of such cross things as Must and Ought-- + I too the happiest of boys + To see and share your golden joys!_” + --“THE ORACLE OF THE GOLDFISHES,” LOWELL. + + + + + [Illustration: _Bullhead at bottom of a pond._ + + Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE BULLHEAD + + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The bull-head does usually dwell and hide himself in holes + or amongst stones in clear water; and in very hot days will + lie a long time very still and sun himself and will be easy + to be seen on any flat stone or gravel; at which time he will + suffer an angler to put a hook baited with a small worm very + near into his mouth; and he never refuses to bite, nor indeed, + to be caught with the worst of anglers._”--ISAAK WALTON. + + +[Illustration: W] + +When one looks a bullhead in the face one is glad that it is not a +real bull for its barbels give it an appearance quite fit for the +making of a nightmare; and yet from the standpoint of the bullhead, +how truly beautiful those fleshy feelers are! For without them how +could it feel its way about searching for food in the mud where it +lives? Two of these barbels stand straight up; the two largest ones +stand out on each side of the mouth, and two pairs of short ones +adorn the lower lip, the smallest pair at the middle. + +As the fish moves about, it is easy to see that the large barbels at +the side of the mouth are of the greatest use; it keeps them in a +constantly advancing movement, feeling of everything it meets. The +upper ones stand straight up, keeping watch for whatever news there +may be from above; the two lower ones spread apart and follow rather +than precede the fish, seeming to test what lies below. The upper +and lower pairs seem to test things as they are, while the large +side pair deal with what is going to be. The broad mouth seems to be +formed for taking in all things eatable, for the bullhead lives on +almost anything alive or dead that it discovers as it noses about +in the mud. Nevertheless, it has its notions about its food for I +have repeatedly seen one draw material into its mouth through its +breathing motion and then spew it out with a vehemence one would +hardly expect from such a phlegmatic fish. + +Although it has feelers which are very efficient, it also has +perfectly good eyes which it uses to excellent purpose; note how +promptly it moves to the other side of the aquarium when we are +trying to study it. The eyes are not large; the pupils are black +and oval and are rimmed with a narrow band of shiny pale yellow. +The eyes are prominent so that when moved backward and forward they +gain a view of the enemy in the rear or at the front while the head +is motionless. It seems strange to see such a pair of pale yellow, +almost white eyes in such a dark body. + +The general shape of the front part of the body is flat, in fact, it +is decidedly polywogy; this shape is especially fitted for groping +about muddy bottoms. The flat effect of the body is emphasized by the +gill covers opening below rather than at the sides, every pulsation +widening the broad neck. The pectoral fins also open out on the +same plane as the body although they can be turned at an angle if +necessary; they are thick and fleshy and the sharp tips of their +spines offer punishment to whomsoever touches them. The dorsal fin +is far forward and not large; it is usually raised at a threatening +angle. + +There is a little fleshy dorsal fin near the tail which stands in +line with the body and one wonders what is its special use. The +ventral fins are small. The anal fin is far back and rather strong, +and this with the long, strong tail gives the fish good motor power +and it can swim very rapidly if occasion requires. + +[Illustration: _Bullhead guarding his nest._ + +After Gill.] + +The bullhead is mud-colored and has no scales; and since it lives +in the mud, it does not need scales to protect it; but because of +its scaleless condition it is a constant victim of the lampreys, and +it would do well, indeed, if it could develop an armor of scales +against this parasite. The skin is very thick and leathery so that +it is always removed before the fish is cooked. The bullhead is the +earliest fish of the spring. This is probably because it burrows +deep into the mud in the fall and remains there all winter; when the +spring freshets come, it emerges and is hungry for fresh meat. + +The family life of the bullheads and other catfishes seems to be +quite ideal. Dr. Theodore Gill tells us that bullheads make their +nests by removing stones and gravel from a more or less irregularly +circular area in shallow water, and on sandy or gravelly ground. The +nest is somewhat excavated, both parents removing the pebbles by +sucking them into the mouth and carrying them off for some distance. +After the eggs are laid, the male watches over and guards the nest +and seems to have great family responsibilities. He is the more +active of the two in stirring and mixing the young fry after they +are hatched. Smith and Harron describe the process thus: “With their +chins on the bottom, the old fish brush the corners where the fry +were banked, and with the barbels all directed forward, and flexed +where they touch the bottom, thoroughly agitate the mass of fry, +bringing the deepest individuals to the surface. This act is usually +repeated several times in quick succession.” + +“The nests are usually made beneath logs or other protecting objects +and in shallow water. The paternal care is continued for many days +after the birth of the young. At first these may be crowded together +in a dense mass, but as time passes they disperse more and more and +spread around the father. Frequently, especially when the old one is +feeding, some--one or more--of the young are taken into the mouth, +but they are instinctively separated from the food and spit out. +At last the young swarm venture farther from their birthplace, or +perhaps they are led away by their parents.” + + + LESSON XXXVII + + THE BULLHEAD, OR HORNED POUT + +_Leading thought_--The bullhead lives in mud bottoms of streams and +ponds and is particularly adapted for life in such locations. + +_Method_--A small bullhead may be placed in a small aquarium jar. +At first let the water be clear and add a little pond weed so as to +observe the natural tendency of the fish to hide. Later add mud and +gravel to the aquarium and note the behavior of the fish. + +_Observations_--1. What at the first glance distinguishes the +bullhead from other fish? Describe these strange “whiskers” growing +about the mouth; how many are there and where are they situated? +Which are the longest pair? Can the fish move them in any direction +at will? + +2. Where do we find bullheads? On what do they feed? Would their eyes +help them to find their food in the mud? How do they find it? + +3. Explain, if you can, why the bullhead has barbels, or feelers, +while the trout and bass have none. + +4. What is the shape of the bullhead’s mouth? + +5. What is the general shape of the body? What is its color? Has it +any scales? + +6. Why should the bullhead be so flat horizontally while the sunfish +is so flat in the opposite direction? + +7. Describe the bullhead’s eyes. Are they large? What is their color? +Where are they placed? + +8. Describe the dorsal fin, giving its comparative size and position. +Do you see another dorsal fin? Where is this peculiar fin and how +does it differ from the others? + +9. Describe the tail fin. Does it seem long and strong? Is the +bullhead a good swimmer? + +10. Is the anal fin large or small as compared with that of the +goldfish? + +11. How do the pectoral fins move as compared with those of the +sunfish? Why is the position of the pectoral and dorsal fins of +benefit to this fish? + +12. How does the bullhead inflict wounds when it is handled? Tell how +these spines protect it from its natural enemies. + +13. When is the best season for fishing for bullheads? Does the place +where they are found affect the flavor of their flesh? Why? + +14. What is the spawning season? Do you know about the nests the +bullheads build and the care they give their young? + +15. Write an essay on the nest-making habits of the bullheads and the +care given the young by the parents. + + * * * * * + + “_And what fish will the natural boy naturally take? In + America, there is but one fish which enters fully into the + spirit of the occasion. It is a fish of many species according + to the part of the country, and of as many sizes as there + are sizes of boys. This fish is the horned pout, and all the + rest of the species of Ameiurus. Horned pout is its Boston + name. Bullhead is good enough for New York; and for the rest + of the country, big and little, all the fishes of this tribe + are called catfish. A catfish is a jolly blundering sort of + a fish, a regular Falstaff of the ponds. It has a fat jowl, + and a fat belly, which it is always trying to fill. Smooth + and sleek, its skin is almost human in its delicacy. It wears + a long mustache, with scattering whiskers of other sort. + Meanwhile it always goes armed with a sword, three swords, and + these it has always on hand, always ready for a struggle on + land as well as in the water. The small boy often gets badly + stuck on these poisoned daggers, but, as the fish knows how to + set them by a muscular twist, the small boy learns how, by a + like untwist, he may unset and leave them harmless._” + + “_The catfish lives in sluggish waters. It loves the millpond + best of all, and it has no foolish dread of hooks when it + goes forth to bite. Its mouth is wide. It swallows the hook, + and very soon it is in the air, its white throat gasping in + the untried element. Soon it joins its fellows on the forked + stick, and even then, uncomfortable as it may find its new + relations, it never loses sight of the humor of the occasion. + Its large head and expansive forehead betoken a large mind. + It is the only fish whose brain contains a Sylvian fissure, + a piling up of tissue consequent on the abundance of gray + matter. So it understands and makes no complaint. After it has + dried in the sun for an hour, pour a little water over its + gills, and it will wag its tail, and squeak with gratitude. + And the best of all is, there are horned pouts enough to go + around._” + + “_The female horned pout lays thousands of eggs, and when + these hatch, she goes about near the shore with her school of + little fishes, like a hen with myriad chicks. She should be + respected and let alone, for on her success in rearing this + breed of “bullying little rangers” depends the sport of the + small boy of the future._” + --DAVID STARR JORDAN, IN FISH STORIES. + + + + +[Illustration: _Fishing for suckers._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE COMMON SUCKER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: H] + +He who loves to peer down into the depths of still waters, often sees +upon the sandy, muddy or rocky bottom several long, wedge-shaped +sticks lying at various angles one to another. But if he thrust down +a real stick, behold, these inert, water-logged sticks move off +deftly! And then he knows that they are suckers. He may drop a hook +baited with a worm in front of the nose of one, and if he waits long +enough before he pulls up he may catch this fish, not by its gills +but by the pit of its stomach; for it not only swallows the hook +completely but tries to digest it along with the worm. Its food is +made up of soft-bodied insects and other small water creatures; it +is also a mud eater and manages to make a digestive selection from +the organic material of silt. For this latter reason, it is not a +desirable food fish although its flesh varies in flavor with the +locality where it is found. The suckers taken along the rocky shores +of Cayuga Lake are fairly palatable, while those taken in the mud of +the Cayuga Inlet are very inferior in flavor and often uneatable. + +Seen from above, the sucker is wedge-shaped, being widest at +the eyes; seen from the side it has a flat lower surface and an +ungracefully rounded contour above which tapers only slightly toward +the tail. The profile of the face gives the impression of a Roman +nose. The young specimens have an irregular scale-mosaic pattern of +olive-green blotches on a paler ground color, while the old ones are +quite brown above and on the sides. The suckers differ from most +other fishes in having the markings of the back extend down the sides +almost to the belly. This is a help in concealing the fish, since its +sides show from above quite as distinctly as its back because of its +peculiar form. The scales are rather large and are noticeably larger +behind than in the region of the head. Like other fish it is white +below. + +The dorsal fin is placed about midway the length of the fish as +measured from nose to tail. It is not large and appears to have +twelve rays; but there is a short spine in front and a delicate soft +ray behind so that it really has fourteen. The tail is long and +strong and deeply notched: the anal fin extends back to where the +tail begins. The ventral fins are small and are directly opposite +the hind half of the dorsal fin. The pectorals are not large but are +strong and are placed low down. The sucker has not a lavish equipment +of fins but its tail is strong and it can swim swiftly; it is also a +tremendous jumper; it will jump from the aquarium more successfully +than any other fish. When resting on the bottom, it is supported by +its extended pectoral and ventral fins, which are strong although not +large. + +The eyes are fairly large but the iris is not shiny; they are placed +so that the fish can easily see above it as well as at the sides; the +eyes move so as to look up or down and are very well adapted to serve +a fish that lives upon the bottom. The nostrils are divided, the +partition projecting until it seems a tubercle on the face. The mouth +opens below and looks like the puckered opening of a bag. The lips +are thick but are very sensitive; it is by projecting these lips, in +a way that reminds one of a very short elephant’s trunk, that it is +enabled to reach and find its food in the mud or gravel; so although +the sucker’s mouth is not a beautiful feature, it is doubly useful. +The sucker has the habit of remaining motionless for long periods of +time. It breathes very slowly and appears sluggish; it never seizes +its food with any spirit but simply slowly engulfs it; and for this +reason it is considered poor game. It is only in the spring when they +may be speared through the ice that there is any fun in catching +suckers; it is at this season of the year that they move to shallow +water to spawn; those in the lakes move to the rivers, those in the +rivers to the creeks, those in the creeks to the brooks. Even so +lowly a creature as the sucker seems to respond to influences of the +springtime, for at that period the male has a faint rosy stripe along +his sides. In the winter these fish burrow in the mud of the river or +pond bottoms; they may be frozen and thawed without harming them. + +There are many species of suckers and they vary in size from six +inches to three feet in length. They inhabit all sorts of waters, but +they do not like a strong current and are, therefore, found in still +pools. The common sucker (_Catostomus commersoni_), which is the +subject of this lesson, sometimes attains the length of twenty-two +inches and the weight of five pounds. The ones under observation +were about eight inches long, and proved to be the acrobats of the +aquarium, since they were likely at any moment to jump out; several +times I found one languishing on the floor. + + + LESSON XXXVIII + + THE COMMON SUCKER + +_Leading thought_--The sucker is especially adapted by shape for +lying on the bottom of ponds under still water where its food is +abundant. + +_Method_--If still water pools along river or lakesides are +accessible, it is far more interesting to study a sucker in its +native haunts, as an introduction to the study of its form and colors +when it is in the aquarium. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find suckers? How do you catch them? +Do they take the hook quickly? What is the natural food of the sucker? + +2. What is the shape of this fish’s body when seen from above? From +the side? What is the color above? On the sides? Below? Does the +sucker differ from most other fishes in the coloring along its sides? +What is the reason for this? What do suckers look like on the bottom +of the pond? Are they easily seen? + +3. Describe or sketch a sucker, showing the position, size and shape +of the fins and tail. Are its scales large or small? How does it use +its fins when at rest? When moving? Is it a strong swimmer? Is it a +high jumper? + +4. Describe the eyes; how are they especially adapted in position +and in movement to the needs of a fish that lives on the bottom of +streams and ponds? + +5. Note the nostrils; what is there peculiar about them? + +6. Where is the mouth of the sucker situated? What is its form? How +is it adapted to get the food which the sucker likes best? + +7. Tell all you know about the habits of the suckers. When do you see +them first in the spring? Where do they spend the winter? Where do +they go to spawn? How large is the largest one you have ever seen? +Why is their flesh usually considered poor in quality as food? Is +there a difference in the flavor of its flesh depending upon the +locality in which the fish lives? Why? + +[Illustration: _The common sucker._] + + + + +[Illustration: “_I’m only wishing to go a fishing._”] + + + THE SHINER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_This is a noteworthy and characteristic lineament, or + cipher, or hieroglyphic, or type of spring. You look into some + clear, sandy bottomed brook where it spreads into a deeper + bay, yet flowing cold from ice and snow not far off, and see + indistinctly poised over the sand on invisible fins, the + outlines of the shiner, scarcely to be distinguished from the + sands behind it as if it were transparent._”--THOREAU. + + +[Illustration: T] + +There are many species of shiners and it is by no means easy to +recognize them nor to distinguish them from chub, dace and minnows +since all these belong to one family; they all have the same +arrangement of fins and live in the same water; and the plan of this +lesson can with few changes be applied to any of them. + +Never were seen more exquisite colors than shimmer along the sides +of the common shiner (_Notropis cornutus_). It is pale olive-green +above, just a sunny brook-color; this is bordered at the sides by +a line of iridescent blue-purple, while the shining silver scales +on the sides below, flash and glimmer with the changing hues of the +rainbow. The minnows are darker than the shiners; the horned dace +develops little tubercles on the head during the breeding season, +which are lost later. + +The body of the shiner is ideal for slipping through the water. Seen +from above it is a narrow wedge, rounded in front and tapering to +a point behind; from the side, it is long, oval, lance-shaped. The +scales are large and beautiful, the lateral line looks like a series +of dots embroidered at the center of the diamond-shaped scales. + +The dorsal fin is placed just back of the center of the body and is +not very large; it is composed of soft rays, the first two being +stiff and unbranched. The tail is long, large, graceful and deeply +notched. The anal fin is almost as large as the dorsal. The ventral +pair is placed on the lower side, opposite the dorsal fin; the +pectorals are set at the lower margin of the body, just behind the +gill openings. The shiner and its relatives use the pectoral fins +to aid in swimming, and keep them constantly in motion when moving +through the water. The ventrals are moved only now and then and +evidently help in keeping the balance. When the fish moves rapidly +forward, the dorsal fin is raised so that its front edge stands at +right angles to the body and the ventral and anal fins are expanded +to their fullest extent. But when the fish is lounging, the dorsal, +anal and ventral fins are more or less closed, although the tip of +the dorsal fin swings with every movement of the fish. + +The eyes are large, the pupils being very large and black; the iris +is pale yellow and shining; the whole eye is capable of much movement +forward and back. The nostril is divided by a little projecting +partition which looks like a tubercle. The mouth is at the front of +the head; to see the capabilities of this mouth, watch the shiner +yawn, if the water of the aquarium becomes stale. Poor fellow! He +yawns just as we do in the effort to get more oxygen. + +[Illustration: _The common shiner._] + +The shiners are essentially brook fish although they may be found in +larger bodies of water. They lead a precarious existence, for the +larger fish eat them in all their stages. They only hold their own +by laying countless numbers of eggs. They feed on water insects and +get even with their big fish enemies by eating their eggs. They are +pretty and graceful little creatures and may be seen swimming up the +current in the middle of the brook. They often occur in schools or +flocks, especially when young. + + + LESSON XXXIX + + THE SHINER + +_Leading thought_--The shiners are among the most common of the +little fish in our small streams. They are beautiful in form and play +an important part in the life of our streams. + +_Method_--Place in the aquarium shiners and as many as possible of +the other species of small fish found in our creeks and brooks. The +aquarium should stand where the pupil may see it often. The following +questions may be asked, giving the children plenty of time for the +work of observation: + +_Observations_--1. Do you know how the shiner differs in appearance +from the minnow and chub and dace? + +2. What is the shape of the shiner’s body when seen from above? When +seen from the side? Do you think that its shape fits it for moving +rapidly through the water? + +3. What is the coloring above? On the sides? Below? + +4. Are the scales large and distinct, or very small? Can you see the +lateral line? Where are the tiny holes, which make this line, placed +in the scales? + +5. Describe or sketch the fish, showing position, relative size and +shape of all the fins and the tail. + +6. Describe the use and movements of each of the fins when the fish +is swimming. + +7. Describe the eyes. Do they move? + +8. Describe the nostrils. Do you think each one is double? + +9. Does the mouth open upwards, downwards or forwards? Have you ever +seen the shiner yawn? Why does it yawn? Why do you yawn? + +10. Where do you find the shiners living? Do they haunt the middle of +the stream or the edges? Do you ever see them in flocks or schools? + + * * * * * + + + _MINNOWS_ + + _How silent comes the water round that bend; + Not the minutest whisper does it send + To the o’er hanging sallows; blades of grass + Slowly across the chequer’d shadows pass, + Why, you might read two sonnets, ere they reach + To where the hurrying freshnesses aye preach + A natural sermon o’er their pebbly beds; + Where swarms of minnows show their little heads, + Staying their wavy bodies ’gainst the streams, + To taste the luxury of sunny beams + Tempered with coolness. How they ever wrestle + With their own sweet delight, and ever nestle + Their silver bellies on the pebbly sand! + If you but scantily hold out the hand, + That very instant not one will remain; + But turn your eye, and there they are again. + The ripples seem right glad to reach those cresses, + And cool themselves among the em’rald tresses; + The while they cool themselves, they freshness give, + And moisture, that the bowery green may live._ + --JOHN KEATS. + + + + +[Illustration: _A speckled trout on a brook bottom._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE BROOK TROUT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Up and down the brook I ran, where beneath the banks so steep, + Lie the spotted trout asleep._” + --WHITTIER. + + +[Illustration: B] + +But they were probably not asleep as Mr. Whittier might have observed +if he had cast a fly near one of them. There is in the very haunts +of the trout, a suggestion of where it gets its vigor and wariness: +The cold, clear streams where the water is pure; brooks that wind in +and out over rocky and pebbly beds, here shaded by trees and there +dashing through the open,--it makes us feel vigorous even to think +of such streams. Under the overhanging bank or in the shade of some +fallen log or shelving rock, the brook trout hides where he may see +all that goes on in the world above and around him without being +himself seen. Woe to the unfortunate insect that falls upon the +surface of the water in his vicinity or even that flies low over the +surface for the trout will jump easily far out of the water to seize +its prey! It is this habit of taking the insect upon and above the +water’s surface which has made trout fly-fishing the sport that it +is. Man’s ingenuity is fairly matched against the trout’s cunning in +this contest. I know of one old trout that has kept fishermen in the +region around on the _qui vive_ for years; and up to date he is still +alive, making a dash now and then at a tempting bait, showing himself +enough to tantalize his would-be captors with his splendid size, but +always retiring at the sight of the line. + +The brook trout varies much in color, depending upon the soil and +the rocks of the streams in which it lives. Its back is marbled with +dark olive or black, making it just the color of shaded water. This +marbled coloration also marks the dorsal and the tail fins. The +sides, which vary much in color, are marked with beautiful vermilion +spots, each placed in the center of a larger, brownish spot. In some +instances the lower surface is reddish, in others whitish. All the +fins on the lower side of the body have the front edges creamy or +yellowish white, with a darker streak behind. + +The trout’s head is quite large and somewhat blunt. The large eye +is a little in front of the middle of the head. The dorsal fin is +at about the middle of the body, and when raised is squarish in +outline. Behind the dorsal fin, and near to the tail is the little, +fleshy adipose fin, so called because it has no rays. The tail is +fan-shaped, slightly notched at the end and is large and strong. The +anal fin is rather large, being shaped much like the dorsal fin, only +slightly smaller. The ventral fins are directly below the dorsal fin +and a little behind its middle. The pectorals are low down, being +below and just behind the gill arches. + +[Illustration: _Where the trout hide._] + +In size the brook trout seldom is longer than seven or eight inches, +but in the rivers of the Northeastern United States specimens +weighing from six to eleven pounds are sometimes taken. It does not +flourish in water which is warmer than 68°, but prefers a temperature +of about 50°. It must have the pure water of mountain streams and +cannot endure water of rivers which is polluted by mills or the +refuse of cities. Where it has access to streams that flow into the +ocean, it forms the salt water habit, going out to sea and remaining +there during the winter. Such specimens become very large. + +The trout can lay eggs when about six inches in length. The eggs are +laid from September until late November, although, as Mr. Bream says, +the brook trout are spawned at some locality in almost every month +of the year except mid-summer. One mother trout lays from 400 to +600 eggs, but the large-sized ones lay more. The period of hatching +depends upon the temperature of the water. In depositing their eggs +the trout seek water with gravelly bottom, often where some mountain +brook opens into a larger stream. The nest is shaped by the tail of +the fish, the larger stones being carried away in the mouth. To make +the precious eggs secure they are covered with gravel. + +There have been strict laws enacted by almost all of our states +with a view to protecting the brook trout and preserving it in our +streams. The open season in New York is from the 15th of April to the +1st of September, and it is illegal to take from a stream a fish that +is less than five inches in length. It is the duty of every decent +citizen to abide by these laws and to see to it that his neighbors +observe them. The teacher cannot emphasize enough upon the child the +moral value of being law-abiding. There should be in every school in +the Union children’s clubs which should have for their purpose civic +honesty and the enforcement of laws which affect the city, village or +township. + +Almost any stream with suitable water may be stocked with trout from +the national or the state hatcheries, but what is the use of this +expense if the game laws are not observed and these fish are caught +before they reach maturity, as is so often the case? + +_References_--American Food and Game Fishes, Jordan & Everman; Guide +to American Fishes, Jordan. + + + LESSON XL + + THE BROOK TROUT + +_Leading thought_--The brook trout have been exterminated in our +streams largely because the game laws have not been observed. The +trout is the most cunning and beautiful of our common fishes and the +most valuable for food. If properly guarded, every pure mountain +stream in our country, could be well stocked with the brook trout. + +_Method_--A trout may be kept in an aquarium of flowing water +indefinitely and should be fed upon liver and hard clams chopped. If +there is no aquarium with running water, the trout may be kept in an +ordinary jar long enough for this lesson. The object of this lesson +should be not only the study of the habits of the fish, but also a +lesson in its preservation. + +_Observations_--1. In what streams are the brook trout found? Must +the water be warm or cold? Can the trout live in impure water? Can it +live in salt water? + +2. Do the trout swim about in schools or do they live solitary? Where +do they like to hide? + +3. With what kind of bait is trout caught? Why does it afford such +excellent sport for fly-fishing? Can you tell what the food of the +trout is? + +4. What is the color of the trout above? What colors along its sides? +What markings make the fish so beautiful? What is its color below? +Has the trout scales? Do you see the lateral line? + +5. What is the general shape of the brook trout? Describe the shape, +position and color of the dorsal fin. Describe the little fin behind +the dorsal. Why is it unlike the other fins? What is the shape of +the tail fin? Is it rounded, square or crescent-shaped across the +end? What is the position and size of the anal fin compared with the +dorsal? What colors on the ventral fins and where are they placed in +relation to the dorsal fin? What color are the pectoral fins and how +are they placed in relation to the gill arches? + +6. Describe the trout’s eyes. Are they large and alert? Do you think +the trout is keen-sighted? + +7. When and where are the eggs laid? Describe how the nest is made. +How are the eggs covered and protected? + +8. Why are there no trout in the streams of your neighborhood? Could +a trout live in these streams? Can you get state aid in stocking the +streams? + +9. What are the game laws concerning trout fishing? When is the open +season? How long must the trout be to be taken legally? If you are a +good citizen what do you do about the game laws? + +10. Write a story telling all you know about the wariness, cunning +and strength of the brook trout. + +_Supplementary reading_--The following from Fish Stories by Holder +and Jordan: “The Trout of Los Laurelles;” “The Golden Trout of the +High Sierras;” “The Lure of the Rainbow.” “The Story of the Salmon” +in Science Sketches; “The Master of the Golden Pool” in Watchers of +the Trails; The Story of the Fishes, Baskett; Neighbors with Wings +and Fins, Johonnet. + + * * * * * + + _TROUT_ + + “_It is well for anglers not to make trout, of all fishes, the + prime objective of a day’s sport, as no more uncertain game + loves the sunlight. Today he is yours for the very asking; + tomorrow, the most luscious lure will not tempt him. One hour + he defies you, the next, gazes at you from some ensconcement + of the fishes, and knows you not, as you pass him, casting, + by._ + + _I believe I accumulated some of this angling wisdom years + ago, in a certain trout domain in New England, where there + were streams and pools, ripples, cascades and drooping trees; + where everything was fair and promising to the eyes for trout; + but it required superhuman patience to lure them, and many a + day I scored a blank. Yet on these very days when lures were + unavailing, the creel empty save for fern leaves, I found they + were not for naught; that the real fishing day was a composite + of the weather, the wind, even if it was from the east, the + splendid colors of forest trees, the blue tourmaline of the + sky that topped the stream amid the trees, the flecks of cloud + mirrored on the surface. The delight of anticipation, the + casting, the play of the rod, the exercise of skill, the quick + turns in the steam opening up new vistas, the little openings + in the forest, through which were seen distant meadows and + nodding flowers--all these went to make up the real trout + fishing, the actual catch being but an incident among many + delights._ + + _Just how long one could be content with mere scenery in lieu + of trout, I am not prepared to say; if pushed to the wall, I + confess that when fishing I prefer trout to scenic effects. + Still, it is a very impracticable and delightful sentiment + with some truth to it, the moral being that the angler should + be resourceful, and not be entirely cast down on the days when + the wind is in the east._ + + _I am aware that this method of angling is not in vogue with + some, and would be deemed fanciful, indeed inane, by many + more; yet it is based upon a true and homely philosophy, not + of today, the philosophy of patience and contentment. “How + poor are they that have not patience,” said Othello. It is + well to be content with things as we find them, and it is well + to go a-fishing, not to catch fish alone, but every offering + the day has to give. This should be an easy matter for the + angler, as Walton tells us that Angling is somewhat like + poetry, men are to be born so._” + --FISH STORIES, JORDAN AND HOLDER. + + + + + THE STICKLEBACK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _Stickleback guarding his nest._ + +Drawn from nature.] + +This is certainly the most sagacious of the Lilliputian vertebrates; +scarcely more than an inch in length when full-grown, it gazes at +you with large, keen, shining-rimmed eyes, takes your measure and +darts off with a flirt of the tail that says plainly, “Catch me if +you can.” The sticklebacks are delightful aquarium pets because their +natural home is in still water sufficiently stagnant for algæ to +grow luxuriously; thus we but seldom need to change the water in the +aquarium, which, however, should be well stocked with water plants +and have gravel at the bottom. + +When the stickleback is not resting he is always going somewhere +and he knows just where he is going and what he is going to do, and +earthquakes shall not deter him. He is the most dynamic creature in +all creation, I think, except perhaps the dragon fly, and he is so +ferocious that if he were as large as a shark he would destroy all +other fishes. Place an earthworm, cut into small sections, in the +aquarium and while each section is wriggingly considering whether +it may be able to grow both ends into another worm, the stickleback +takes hold with a will and settles the matter in the negative. His +ferocity is frightful to behold as he seizes his prey and shakes it +as a terrier does a rat. + +Well is this fish named stickleback, for along the ridge of its back +are sharp, strong spines--five of them in our tiny, brook species. +These spines may be laid back flat or they may be erected stiffly, +making an efficient saw which does great damage to fish many times +larger than the stickleback. When we find the minnows in the aquarium +losing their scales we may be sure they are being raked off by +this saw-back; and if the shiner or sunfish undertakes to make a +stickleback meal, there is only one way to do it, and that is to +catch the quarry by the tail, since he is too alert to be caught in +any other way. But swallowing a stickleback tail first is a dangerous +performance, for the sharp spines rip open the throat or stomach of +the captor. Dr. Jordan says that the sticklebacks of the Puget Sound +region are called “salmon killers” and that they well earn the name; +these fierce midgets unhesitatingly attack the salmon, biting off +pieces of their fins and also destroying their spawn. + +As seen from the side, the stickleback is slender and graceful, +pointed like an arrow at the front end, and with the body behind +the dorsal fin forming a long and slender pedicel to support the +beautifully rounded tail fin. The dorsal fin is placed well back +and is triangular in shape; the anal fin makes a similar triangle +opposite it below and has a sharp spine at its front edge. The color +of the body varies with the light; when floating among the water weed +the back is greenish mottled with paler green, but when the fish is +down on the gravel it is much darker. The lateral line is marked by a +rather broad silver stripe. + +If large eyes count for beauty, then the stickleback deserves “the +apple,” for its eyes are not only large but gemlike, with a broad +iris of golden brown around the black pupil. I am convinced that the +stickleback has a keener vision than most fish; it can move its eyes +backward and forward rapidly and alertly. The mouth opens almost +upward and is a wicked little mouth, both in appearance and action. + +When swimming, the stickleback darts about rapidly, its dorsal and +anal fins extended, its spines all abristle, its tail lashing the +water with strong strokes and the pectorals flying so fast that they +make a blur; the ventral fins are rarely extended, in fact they are +nothing but two little spines. When the fish wishes to lift itself +through the water it seems to depend entirely upon its pectoral +fins and these are also used for balancing. Its favorite position +is hanging motionless among the pond weeds, with the tail, the +dorsal and ventral fins partially closed; it usually rests upon the +pectoral fins which are braced against some stem; in one case I saw +the ventrals and pectorals used together to clasp a stem and hold the +fish in place. In moving backward the pectorals do the work, with a +little beckoning motion of the tail occasionally. When resting upon +the bottom of the aquarium, it closes its fins and makes itself quite +inconspicuous. It can dig with much power accomplishing this by a +comical augerlike motion; it plunges head first into the gravel and +then by twisting the body and tail around and around, it soon forms a +hiding place. + +But it is as a house builder and father and home protector that +the stickleback shines. In the early spring he builds him a nest +made from the fine green algæ called frog-spittle. This would seem +a too delicate material for the house construction, but he is a +clever builder. He fastens his filmy walls to some stems of reed or +grass, using as a platform a supporting stem; the ones which I have +especially studied were fastened to grass stems. The stickleback has +a little cement plant of his own, supposed to be situated in the +kidneys, which at this time of year secrete the glue for building +purposes. The glue is waterproof. It is spun out in fine threads or +in filmy masses through an opening near the anal fin. One species +weights his platform with sand which he scoops up from the bottom, +but I cannot detect that our brook stickleback does this. In his +case, home is his sphere literally, for he builds a spherical house +about the size of a glass marble, three-quarters of an inch in +diameter; it is a hollow sphere and he cements the inside walls so as +to hold them back and give room, and he finishes his pretty structure +with a circular door at the side. When finished, the nest is like a +bubble, made of threads of down and yet it holds together strongly. + +In the case of the best known species, the male, as soon as he has +finished his bower to his satisfaction, goes a-wooing; he selects +some lady stickleback, and in his own way tells her of the beautiful +nest he has made and convinces her of his ability to take care of a +family. He certainly has fetching ways for he soon conducts her to +his home. She enters the nest through the little circular door, lays +her eggs within it, and then being a flighty creature, she sheds +responsibilities and flits off care free. He follows her into the +nest, scatters the fertilizing milt over the eggs and then starts off +again and rolls his golden eyes on some other lady stickleback and +invites her also to his home; she comes without any jealousy because +she was not first choice, and she also enters the nest and lays her +eggs and then swims off unconcernedly. Again he enters the nest and +drops more milt upon the eggs and then fares forth again, a still +energetic wooer. If there was ever a justified polygamist, he is one, +since it is only the cares and responsibilities of the home that he +desires. He only stops wooing when his nest holds as many eggs as he +feels equal to caring for. He now stands on guard by the door, and +with his winnowing pectoral fins, sets up a current of water over the +eggs; he drives off all intruders with the most vicious attacks, and +keeps off many an enemy simply by a display of reckless fury; thus he +stands guard until the eggs hatch and the tiny little sticklebacks +come out of the nest and float off, attaching themselves by their +mouths to the pond weeds until they become strong enough to scurry +around in the water. + +[Illustration: _The five-spined stickleback and his nest._ + +Photo by Eugene Barker.] + +Some species arrange two doors in this spherical nest so that a +current of water can flow through and over the eggs. Mr. Eugene +Barker, who has made a special study of the little five-spined +sticklebacks of the Cayuga Basin, has failed to find more than one +door to their nests. Mr. Barker made a most interesting observation +on this stickleback’s obsession for fatherhood. He placed in the +aquarium two nests, one of which was guarded by its loyal builder, +which allowed himself to be caught rather than desert his post; +the little guardian soon discovered the unprotected nest and began +to move the eggs from it to his own, carrying them carefully in +his mouth. This addition made his own nest so full that the eggs +persistently crowded out of the door, and he spent much of his time +nudging them back with his snout. We saw this stickleback fill his +mouth with algæ from the bottom of the aquarium, and holding himself +steady a short distance away, apparently blow the algæ at the nest +from a distance of half an inch, and we wondered if this was his +method of laying on his building materials before he cemented them. + +The eggs of this species are white and shining like minute pearls, +and seem to be fastened together in small packages with gelatinous +matter. The mating habits of this species have not been thoroughly +studied; therefore, here is an opportunity for investigation on the +part of the boys and girls. + + + LESSON XLI + + THE STICKLEBACK + +_Leading thought_--The stickleback is the smallest of our common +fish. It lives in stagnant water. The father stickleback builds his +pretty nest of frog-spittle which he watches very carefully. + +_Method_--To find sticklebacks go to a pond of stagnant water which +does not dry up during the year. If it is partly shaded by bushes so +much the better. Take a dip net and dip deeply; carefully examine all +the little fish in the net by putting them in a Mason jar of water +so that you can see what they are like. The stickleback is easily +distinguished by the five spines along its back. If you collect these +fish as early as the first of May and place several of them in the +aquarium with plenty of the algæ known as frog-spittle and other +water plants they may perhaps build a nest for you. They may be fed +upon bits of meat or liver chopped very fine or upon earthworms cut +into small sections. + +_Observations_--1. How did the stickleback get its name? How many +spines has it? Where are they situated? Are they always carried +erect? How are these spines used as weapons? How do they act as a +means of safety to the stickleback? + +2. Describe or make a sketch showing the shape and position of the +dorsal, the anal, the ventral and the pectoral fins. What is the +shape of the tail? What is the general shape of the fish? + +3. What is the color of the sticklebacks? Is the color always the +same? What is the color and position of the lateral line? + +4. Describe the eyes. Are they large or small? Can they be moved? Do +you think they can see far? + +5. Describe the mouth. Does it open upward, straight ahead or +downward? + +6. When the stickleback is swimming what are the positions and +motions of the dorsal, anal, tail and pectoral fins? Can you see the +ventral pair? Are they extended when the fish is swimming? + +7. When resting among the pond weed of the aquarium what fins does +the stickleback use for keeping afloat? How are the other fins held? +What fins does it use to move backward? Which ones are used when it +lifts itself from the bottom to the top of the aquarium? How are its +fins placed when it is at rest on the bottom? + +8. Drop a piece of earthworm or some liver or fresh meat cut finely +into the aquarium and describe the action of the sticklebacks as they +eat it. How large is a full-grown stickleback? + +9. In what kind of ponds do we find sticklebacks? Do you know how the +stickleback nest looks? Of what is it built? How is it supported? Is +there one door or two? Does the father or mother stickleback build +the nest? Are the young in the nest cared for? At what time is the +nest built? + +_Supplementary reading_--Fish-stories, Chap. XXXVI, Jordan and Holder. + + + + +[Illustration: _The sunfish likes quiet waters for nesting._] + + + THE SUNFISH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This little disc of gay color has won many popular names. It is +called pumpkin seed, tobacco box and sunfish because of its shape, +and it is also called bream and pondfish. I have always wondered +that it was not called chieftain also, for when it raises its dorsal +fin with its saw crest of spines, it looks like the head-dress of an +Indian chief; and surely no warrior ever had a greater enjoyment in a +battle than does this indomitable little fish. + +The sunfish lives in the eddies of our clear brooks and ponds. It is +a near relative to the rock bass and also of the black bass and it +has, according to its size, just as gamey qualities as the latter. +I once had a sunfish on my line which made me think I had caught a +bass and I do not know whether I or the mad little pumpkin seed was +the most disgusted when I discovered the truth. I threw him back in +the water but his fighting spirit was up, and he grabbed my hook +again within five minutes, which showed that he had more courage than +wisdom; it would have served him right if I had fried him in a pan, +but I never could make up my mind to kill a fish for the sake of one +mouthful of food. + +Perhaps of all its names, “pumpkin seed” is the most graphic, for it +resembles this seed in the outlines of its body when seen from the +side. Looked at from above, it has the shape of a powerful craft with +smooth, rounded nose and gently swelling and tapering sides; it is +widest at the eyes and this is a canny arrangement, for these great +eyes turn alertly in every direction; and thus placed they are able +to discern the enemy or the dinner coming from any quarter. + +The dorsal fin is a most militant looking organ. It consists of ten +spines, the hind one closely joined to the hind dorsal fin, which is +supported by the soft rays. The three front spines rise successively, +one above another and all are united by the membrane, the upper edge +of which is deeply toothed. The hind dorsal fin is gracefully rounded +and the front and hind fin work independently of each other, the +latter often winnowing the water when the former is laid flat. The +tail is strong and has a notch in the end; the anal fin has three +spines on its front edge and ten soft rays. Each ventral fin also has +a spine at the front edge and is placed below and slightly behind the +pectorals. The pectoral fins, I have often thought, were the most +exquisite and gauzelike in texture of any fins I have ever seen; +they are kept almost constantly in motion and move in such graceful +flowing undulations that it is a joy to look at them. + +[Illustration: _The pumpkin seed, the most common sunfish._] + +The eye of the sunfish is very large and quite prominent; the large +black pupil is surrounded by an iris that has shining lavender and +bronze in it, but is more or less clouded above; the young ones have +a pale silver iris. The eyes move in every direction and are eager +and alert in their expression. The mouth is at the front of the body +but it opens upward. The gill opening is prolonged backward at the +upper corner, making an earlike flap; this, of course, has nothing +to do with the fish’s ears, but it is highly ornamental as it is +greenish-black in color, bordered by iridescent, pale green, with a +brilliant orange spot on its hind edge. The colors of the sunfish +are too varied for description and too beautiful to reduce to mere +words. There are dark, dull, greenish or purplish cross-bands worked +out in patterns of scale-mosaic, and between them are bands of pale +iridescent-green, set with black-edged orange spots. But just as +we have described his colors our sunfish darts off and all sorts +of shimmering, shining blue, green and purple tints play over his +body and he settles down into another corner of the aquarium and his +colors seem much paler and we have to describe him over again. The +body below is brassy-yellow. + +[Illustration: _Male of the sunfish guarding his nest._ + +After Gill] + +The beautiful colors which the male sunfish dons in spring, he +puts at once to practical use. Professor Reighard says that when +courting and trying to persuade his chosen one to come to his nest +and there deposit her eggs, he faces her, with his gill covers +puffed out, the scarlet or orange spot on the ear-flap standing out +bravely, and his black ventral fins spread wide to show off their +patent-leather finish. Thus, does he display himself before her and +persuade her; but he is rarely allowed to do this in peace. Other +males as brilliant as he arrive on the scene and he must forsooth +stop parading before his lady love in order to fight his rival, and +he fights with as much display of color as he courts. But in the +sunfish duel the participants do not seek to destroy each other +but to mutilate spitefully each other’s fins. The vanquished one +with his fins all torn retires from the field. Professor Gill says: +“Meanwhile the male has selected a spot in very shallow water near +the shore, and generally in a mass of aquatic vegetation, not too +large or close together to entirely exclude the light and heat of the +sun, and mostly under an over-hanging plant. The choice is apt to +be in some general strip of shallow water close by the shore which +is favored by many others so that a number of similar nests may be +found close together, although never encroaching on each other. Each +fish slightly excavates and makes a saucer-like basin in the chosen +area which is carefully cleared of all pebbles. Such are removed +by violent jerks of the caudal fin or are taken up by the mouth +and carried to the circular boundary of the nest. An area of fine, +clean sand or gravel is generally the result, but not infrequently, +according to Dr. Reighard, the nest bottom is composed of the +rootlets of water plants. The nest has a diameter of about twice the +length of the fish.” + +On the nest thus formed, the sunfish belle is invited to deposit her +eggs, which as soon as laid fall to the bottom and become attached +to the gravel at the bottom of the nest by the viscid substance +which surrounds them. Her duty is then done and she departs, leaving +the master in charge of his home and the eggs. If truth be told, +he is not a strict monogamist. Professor Reighard noticed one of +these males which reared in one nest two broods laid at quite +different times by two females. For about a week, depending upon the +temperature, the male is absorbed in his care of the eggs and defends +his nest with much ferocity, but after the eggs have hatched he +considers his duty done and lets his progeny take care of themselves +as best they may. + +Sunfish are easily taken care of in an aquarium, but each should be +kept by himself as they are likely to attack any smaller fish and are +most uncomfortable neighbors. I have kept one of these beautiful, +shimmering pumpkin seeds for nearly a year, by feeding him every +alternate day with an earthworm; these unfortunate creatures are kept +stored in damp soil in an iron kettle during the winter. When I threw +one of them into the aquarium he would seize it and shake it as a +terrier shakes a rat; but this was perhaps to make sure of his hold. +Once he attempted to take the second worm directly after the first; +but it was a doubtful proceeding, and the worm reappeared as often as +a prima donna, waving each time a frenzied farewell to the world. + + + LESSON XLII + + THE SUNFISH + +_Leading thought_--The pumpkin seeds are very gamey little fishes +which seize the hook with much fierceness. They live in the still +waters of our streams or in ponds and build nests in the spring, in +which the eggs are laid and which they defend valiantly. + +_Method_--The common pumpkin seed in the jar aquarium is all that is +necessary for this lesson. However, it will add much to the interest +of the lesson if the boys who have fished for pumpkin seeds will +tell of their experiences. The children should be stimulated by this +lesson to a keen interest in the nesting habits of the sunfishes. + +_Observations_--1. Where are the sunfish found? How do they act when +they take the hook? + +2. What is the general shape of the sunfish’s body as seen from +above? As seen from the side? Why is it called pumpkin seed? + +3. Describe the dorsal fin. How many spines has it? How many soft +rays? What is the difference in appearance between the front and +hind dorsal fin? Do the two act together or separately? Describe the +tail fin. Describe the anal fin. Has it any spines? If so, where are +they? Where are the ventral fins in relation to the pectorals? What +is there peculiar about the appearance and movements of the pectoral +fins? + +4. Describe the eye of the sunfish. Is it large or small? Is it +placed so that the fish can see on each side? Does the eye move in +all directions? + +5. Describe the position of the mouth. In which direction does it +open? + +6. What is the color of the upper portion of the gill opening or +operculum? What is the general color of the sunfish? Above? Below? +Along the sides? What markings do you see? + +7. Where does the sunfish make its nest? Does the father or mother +sunfish make the nest? Do one or both protect it? Describe the nest. + +8. How many names do you know for the sunfish? Describe the actions +of your sunfish in the aquarium. How does he act when eating an +earthworm? + +_Supplementary reading_--Chapters XXX, XXXVI, in Fish Stories, Jordan +and Holder. + + * * * * * + + “_The lamprey is not a fish at all, only a wicked imitation + of one which can deceive nobody. But there are fishes which + are unquestionably fish--fish from gills to tail, from head + to fin, and of these the little sunfish may stand first. He + comes up the brook in the spring, fresh as “coin just from the + mint,” finny arms and legs wide spread, his gills moving, his + mouth opening and shutting rhythmically, his tail wide spread, + and ready for any sudden motion for which his erratic little + brain may give the order. The scales of the sunfish shine + with all sorts of scarlet, blue, green and purple and golden + colors. There is a black spot on his head which looks like + an ear, and sometimes grows out in a long black flap, which + makes the imitation still closer. There are many species of + the sunfish, and there may be half a dozen of them in the same + brook, but that makes no difference; for our purposes they are + all one._ + + _They lie poised in the water, with all fins spread, strutting + like turkey-cocks, snapping at worms and little crustaceans + and insects whose only business in the brook is that the + fishes may eat them. When the time comes, the sunfish makes + its nest in the fine gravel, building it with some care--for + a fish. When the female has laid her eggs the male stands + guard until the eggs are hatched. His sharp teeth and snappish + ways, and the bigness of his appearance when the fins are all + displayed, keep the little fishes away. Sometimes, in his + zeal, he snaps at a hook baited with a worm. He then makes a + fierce fight, and the boy who holds the rod is sure that he + has a real fish this time. But when the sunfish is out of the + water, strung on a willow rod, and dried in the sun, the boy + sees that a very little fish can make a good deal of a fuss._” + --DAVID STARR JORDAN. + + + + +[Illustration: _The johnny darter likes a swift-flowing brook_] + + + THE JOHNNY DARTER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_We never tired of watching the little Johnny, or Tessellated + darter (Boleosoma nigrum), although our earliest aquarium + friend, (and the very first specimens showed us by a rapid + ascent of the river weed how ‘a Johnny could climb trees,’) + he has still many resources which we have never learned. + Whenever we try to catch him with the hand we begin with all + the uncertainty that characterized our first attempts, even + if we have him in a two-quart pail. We may know him by his + short fins, his first dorsal having but nine spines, and by + the absence of all color save a soft, yellowish brown, which + is freckled with darker markings. The dark brown on the sides + is arranged in seven or eight W-shaped marks, below which are + a few flecks of the same color. Covering the sides of the back + are the wavy markings and dark specks which have given the + name of the “Tessellated Darter;” but Boleosoma is a preferred + name, and we even prefer ‘boly’ for short. In the spring the + males have the head jet black; and this dark color often + extends on the back part of the body, so that the fish looks + as if he had been taken by the tail and dipped into a bottle + of ink. But with the end of the nuptial season this color + disappears and the fish regains his normal, strawy hue._ + + _His actions are rather bird-like; for he will strike + attitudes like a tufted titmouse and he flies rather than + swims through the water. He will, with much perseverance, push + his body between a plant and the sides of the aquarium and + balance himself on a slender stem. Crouching catlike before a + snail shell, he will snap off a horn which the unlucky owner + pushes timidly out. But he is also less dainty and seizing + the animal by the head, he dashes the shell against the + glass or stones until he pulls the body out and breaks the + shell._”--DAVID STARR JORDAN. + + +The johnny darters are, with the sticklebacks, the most amusing +little fish in the aquarium. They are well called darters since +their movements are so rapid when they are frightened that the eye +can scarcely follow them; and there is something so irresistibly +comical in their bright, saucy eyes, placed almost on top of the +head, that no one could help calling one of them “Johnny.” A “johnny” +will look at you from one side, and then as quick as a flash, will +flounce around and study you with the other eye and then come toward +you head-on so that he may take you in with both eyes; he seems just +as interested in the Johnny out of the jar as is the latter, in the +johnny within. + +The johnny darter has a queer shaped body for a fish, for the head +and shoulders are the larger part of him; not that he suddenly +disappears into nothingness, by no means! His body is long and very +slightly tapering to the tail; along his lateral line he has a row of +olive-brown W’s worked out in scale-mosaics; and he has some other +scale-mosaics also following a pattern of angular lines and making +blotches along his back. The whole upper part of his body is pale +olive, which is a good imitation of the color of the brook. + +The astonished and anxious look on the johnny darter’s face comes +from the peculiar position of the eyes which are set in the top of +his forehead; they are big, alert eyes, with large black pupils, +surrounded by a shining, pale yellow line at the inner edge of the +green iris; and as the pupil is not set in the center of the eye, the +iris above being wider than below, the result is an astonished look, +as from raised eyebrows. The eyes move, often so swiftly that it +gives the impression of winking. The eyes, the short snout, and the +wide mouth give johnny a decidedly froglike aspect. + +[Illustration: _The johnny darter._] + +Although he is no frog, yet johnny darter seems to be in a fair way +to develop something to walk upon. His pectoral fins are large and +strong and the ventral pair are situated very close to them; when +he rests upon the gravel he supports himself upon one or both of +these pairs of fins. He rests with the pectoral fins outspread, the +sharp points of the rays taking hold of the gravel like toenails and +thus give him the appearance of walking on his fins; if you poke him +gently, you will find that he is very firmly planted on his fins so +that you can turn him around as if he were on a pivot. He also uses +the pectorals for swimming and jerks himself along with them in a way +that makes one wonder if he could not swim well without any tail at +all. The tail is large and almost straight across the end and is a +most vigorous pusher. There are two dorsal fins; the front one has +only nine rays; these are not branched and are therefore spines; +when the fin is raised it appears almost semi-circular in shape. The +hind dorsal fin is much longer and when lifted stands higher than +the front one; its rays are all branched except the front one. As +soon as the johnny stops swimming he shuts the front dorsal fin so +that it can scarcely be detected; when frightened he shuts both the +dorsal fins and closes the tail and the anal fin and spreads out +his paired fins so that his body lies flat on the bottom; this act +always reminds one of the “freezing” habit of the rabbit. But johnny +does not stay scared very long; he lifts his head up inquisitively, +stretching up as far as he is able on his front feet, that is, his +pectorals, in such a comical way that one can hardly realize he is a +fish. + +The tail and the dorsal fin of the johnny darter are marked with +silver dots which give them an exquisite spun-glass look; they are as +transparent as gauze. + +The johnny darters live in clear, swift streams where they rest on +the bottom, with the head up stream. Dr. Jordan has said they can +climb up water weed with their paired fins. I have never observed +them doing this but I have often seen one walk around the aquarium on +his fins as if they were little fan-shaped feet; and when swimming +he uses his fins as a bird uses its wings. There are many species +of darters, some of them the most brilliantly colored of any of our +fresh-water fishes. The darters are perch-like in form. + +Dr. Jordan says of the breeding habits of the darters: “On the +bottom, among the stones, the female casts her spawn. Neither she +nor the male pays any further attention to it, but in the breeding +season the male is painted in colors as beautiful as those of the +wood warblers. When you go to the brook in the spring you will find +him there, and if you catch him and turn him over on his side you +will see the colors that he shows to his mate, and which observation +shows are most useful in frightening away his younger rivals. But do +not hurt him. Put him back in the brook and let him paint its bottom +with colors of a rainbow, a sunset or a garden of roses. All that can +be done with blue, crimson and green pigments, in fish ornamentation, +you will find in some brook in which the darters live.” + + + LESSON XLIII + + JOHNNY DARTER + +_Leading thought_--The johnny darter naturally rests upon the bottom +of the stream where the current is swift. It uses its two pairs of +paired fins somewhat as feet in a way interesting to observe. + +_Method_--Johnny darters may be caught in nets with other small fry +and placed in the aquarium. Place one or two of them in individual +aquaria where the pupils may observe them at their leisure. They do +best in running water. + +_Observations_--1. Describe or sketch the johnny darter from above. +From the side. Can you see the W-shaped marks along its side? How is +it colored above? + +2. How are the pectoral fins placed? Are they large or small? How are +they used in swimming? Where are the ventral fins placed? How are the +ventrals and dorsals used together? When resting on the bottom how +are the pectoral fins used? + +3. What is there peculiar about the dorsal fins of the johnny darter? +When he is resting, what is the attitude of the dorsal fins? What is +the difference in shape of the rays of the front and hind dorsal fins? + +4. When resting on the bottom of the aquarium how is the body held? +On what does it rest? In moving about the bottom slowly why does it +seem to walk? How does it climb up water weed? + +5. When frightened how does it act? Why is it called a darter? What +is the attitude of all the fins when the fish is moving swiftly? + +6. What is the shape of the tail? + +7. What is there peculiar about the eyes of the johnny? Describe the +eyes and their position. What reason is there in the life of the fish +that makes this position of the eyes advantageous? + +8. Where do we find the johnny darters? In what part of the stream do +they live? Are they usually near the surface of the water or at the +bottom? + + * * * * * + + “_To my mind, the best of all subjects for nature-study is + a brook. It affords studies of many kinds. It is near and + dear to every child. It is an epitome of the nature in which + we live. In miniature, it illustrates the forces which have + shaped much of the earth’s surface. It reflects the sky. It + is kissed by the sun. It is rippled by the wind. The minnows + play in the pools. The soft weeds grow in the shallows. The + grass and the dandelions lie on its sunny banks. The moss and + the fern are sheltered in the nooks. It comes from one knows + not whence; it flows to one knows not whither. It awakens the + desire to explore. It is fraught with mysteries. It typifies + the flood of life. It goes on forever._ + + _In other words, the reason why the brook is such a perfect + nature-study subject is the fact that it is the central theme + in a scene of life. Living things appeal to children._” + + * * * * * + + “_Nature-study not only educates, but it educates nature-ward; + and nature is ever our companion, whether we will or no. Even + though we are determined to shut ourselves in an office, + nature sends her messengers. The light, the dark, the moon, + the cloud, the rain, the wind, the falling leaf, the fly, the + bouquet, the bird, the cockroach--they are all ours._ + + _If one is to be happy, he must be in sympathy with common + things. He must live in harmony with his environment. One + cannot be happy yonder nor tomorrow: he is happy here and now, + or never. Our stock of knowledge of common things should be + great. Few of us can travel. We must know the things at home._ + + _Nature-love tends toward naturalness, and toward simplicity + of living. It tends country-ward. One word from the fields is + worth two from the city. “God made the country.”_ + + _I expect, therefore, that much good will come from + nature-study. It ought to revolutionize the school life, for + it is capable of putting new force and enthusiasm into the + school and the child. It is new, and therefore, is called a + fad. A movement is a fad until it succeeds. We shall learn + much, and shall outgrow some of our present notions, but + nature-study has come to stay. It is in much the same stage of + development that manual-training and kindergarten work were + twenty-five years ago. We must take care that it does not + crystallize into science-teaching on the one hand, nor fall + into mere sentimentalism on the other._ + + _I would again emphasize the importance of obtaining our fact + before we let loose the imagination, for on this point will + largely turn the results--the failure or the success of the + experiment. We must not allow our fancy to run away with us. + If we hitch our wagon to a star, we must ride with mind and + soul and body all alert. When we ride in such a wagon, we must + not forget to put in the tail-board._” + --L. H. BAILEY in THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA. + + + + + III. BATRACHIAN STUDY + + + THE COMMON TOAD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The toad hopped by us with jolting springs._”--AKERS. + + +[Illustration: W] + +Whoever has not had a pet toad has missed a most entertaining +experience. Toad actions are surprisingly interesting; one of my +safeguards against the blues is the memory of the thoughtful way one +of my pet toads rubbed and patted its stomach with its little hands +after it had swallowed a June-bug. Toads do not make warts upon +attacking hands, neither do they rain down nor are they found in the +bed-rock of quarries; but they do have a most interesting history of +their own, which is not at all legendary, and which is very like a +life with two incarnations. + +The mother toad lays her eggs in May and June in ponds, or in the +still pools, along streams; the eggs are laid in long strings of +jellylike substance, and are dropped upon the pond bottom or attached +to water weeds; when first deposited, the jelly is transparent and +the little black eggs can be plainly seen; but after a day or two, +bits of dirt accumulate upon the jelly, obscuring the eggs. At first +the eggs are spherical, like tiny black pills, but as they begin to +develop, they elongate and finally the tadpoles may be seen wriggling +in the jelly mass, which affords them efficient protection. After +four or five days, the tadpoles usually work their way out and swim +away; at this stage, the only way to detect the head, is by the +direction of the tadpole’s progress, since it naturally goes head +first. However, the head soon becomes decidedly larger, although at +first it is not provided with a mouth; it has instead, a V-shaped +elevation where the mouth should be, which forms a sucker secreting +a sticky substance by means of which the tadpole attaches itself to +water weeds, resting head up. When two or three days old, we can +detect little tassels on either side of the throat, which are the +gills by which the little creature breathes; the blood passes through +these gills, and is purified by coming in contact with the air which +is mixed in the water. About ten days later, these gills disappear +beneath a membrane which grows down over them; but they are still +used for breathing, simply having changed position from the outside +to the inside of the throat. The water enters the nostrils to the +mouth, passes through an opening in the throat and flows over the +gills and out through a little opening at the left side of the body; +this opening or breathing-pore, can be easily seen in the larger +tadpoles; and when the left arm develops, it is pushed out through +this convenient orifice. + +When about ten days old, the tadpole has developed a small, round +mouth which is constantly in search of something to eat, and at the +same time constantly opening and shutting to take in air for the +gills; the mouth is provided with horny jaws for biting off pieces of +plants. As the tadpole develops, its mouth gets larger and wider and +extends back beneath the eyes, with a truly toadlike expansiveness. + +At first, the tadpole’s eyes are even with the surface of the head +and can scarcely be seen, but later they become more prominent and +bulge like the eyes of the adult toad. + +[Illustration: _Toad’s eggs._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The tail of the tadpole is long and flat, surrounded by a fin, thus +making an organ for swimming. It strikes the water, first this side +and then that, making most graceful curves, which seem to originate +near the body and multiply toward the tip of the tail. This movement +propels the tadpole forward, or in any direction. The tail is very +thin when seen from above; and it is amusing to look at a tadpole +from above, and then at the side; it is like squaring a circle. + +There is a superstition that tadpoles eat their tails; and in a sense +this is true, because the material that is in the tail is absorbed +into the growing body; but the last thing a right-minded tadpole +would do, would be to bite off its own tail. However, if some other +tadpole should bite off the tail or a growing leg, these organs +conveniently grow anew. + +When the tadpole is a month or two old, depending upon the species, +its hind legs begin to show; they first appear as mere buds which +finally push out completely. The feet are long and provided with five +toes, of which the fourth is the longest; the toes are webbed so that +they may be used to help in swimming. Two weeks later the arms begin +to appear, the left one pushing out through the breathing-pore. The +“hands” have four fingers and are not webbed; they are used in the +water for balancing; while the hind legs are used for pushing, as the +tail becomes smaller. + +As the tadpole grows older, not only does its tail become shorter but +its actions change. It now comes often to the surface of the water +in order to get more air for its gills, although it lacks the frog +tadpole’s nice adjustment of the growing lungs and the disappearing +gills. At last some fine rainy day, the little creature feels that +it is finally fitted to live the life of a land animal. It may not +be a half inch in length, with big head, attenuated body and stumpy +tail, but it swims to the shore, lifts itself on its front legs, +which are scarcely larger than pins, and walks off, toeing in, with a +very grown up air, and at this moment, the tadpole attains toadship. +Numbers of them come out of the water together, hopping hither and +thither with all of the eagerness and vim of untried youth. It is +when issuing thus in hordes from the water and seen by the ignorant, +that they gain the reputation of being rained down, when they really +were rained up. It is quite impossible for a beginner to detect the +difference between the toad and the frog tadpole; usually those of +the toads are black, while those of the frogs are otherwise colored, +though this is not an invariable distinction. The best way to +distinguish the two is to get the eggs and develop the two families +separately. + +The general color of the common American toad is extremely variable. +It may be yellowish-brown, with spots of lighter color, and with +reddish or yellow warts. There are likely to be four irregular spots +of dark color along each side of the middle of the back, and the +under parts are light colored, often somewhat spotted. The throat +of the male toad is black and he is not so bright in color as is +the female. The warts upon the back are glands, which secrete a +substance disagreeable for the animal seeking toad dinners. This is +especially true of the glands in the elongated swelling or wart, +above and just back of the ear, which is called the parotid gland; +these give forth a milky, poisonous substance when the toad is seized +by an enemy, although the snakes do not seem to mind it. Some people +have an idea that the toad is slimy, but this is not true; the skin +is perfectly dry. The toad feels cold to the hand because it is a +cold-blooded animal, which means an animal with blood the temperature +of the surrounding atmosphere; while the blood of the warm-blooded +animal, has a temperature of its own, which it maintains whether the +surrounding air is cold or hot. + +[Illustration: _After a hard winter._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +The toad’s face is well worth study; its eyes are elevated and very +pretty, the pupil being oval and the surrounding iris shining like +gold. The toad winks in a wholesale fashion, the eyes being pulled +down into the head; the eyes are provided with nictitating lids, +which rise from below, and are similar to those found in birds. When +a toad is sleeping, its eyes do not bulge but are drawn in, so as +to lie even with the surface of the head. The two tiny nostrils are +black and are easily seen; the ear is a flat, oval spot behind the +eye and a little lower down; in the common species it is not quite +so large as the eye; this is really the ear-drum, since there is no +external ear like ours. The toad’s mouth is wide and its jaws are +horny; it does not need teeth since it swallows its prey whole. + +The toad is a jumper, as may be seen from its long, strong hind +legs, the feet of which are also long and strong and armed with five +toes that are somewhat webbed. The “arms” are shorter and there +are four “fingers” to each “hand;” when the toad is resting, its +front feet toe-in, in a comical fashion. If a toad is removed from +an earth or moss garden, and put into a white wash-bowl, in a few +hours it will change to a lighter hue, and vice versa. This is part +of its protective color, making it inconspicuous to the eyes of its +enemy. It prefers to live in cool, damp places, beneath sidewalks or +piazzas, etc., and its warty upper surface resembles the surrounding +earth. If it is disturbed, it will seek to escape by long leaps and +acts frightened; but if very much frightened, it flattens out on the +ground, and looks so nearly like a clod of earth that it may escape +even the keen eyes of its pursuer. When seized by the enemy, it will +sometimes “play possum,” acting as if it were dead; but when actually +in the mouth of the foe, it emits terrified and heart-rending cries. + +The toad’s tongue is attached to the lower jaw, at the front edge +of the mouth; it can thus be thrust far out, and since it secretes +a sticky substance over its surface, any insects which it touches +adhere, and are drawn back into the mouth and swallowed. It takes a +quick eye to see this tongue fly out and make its catch. The tadpole +feeds mostly upon vegetable matter, but the toad lives entirely upon +small animals, usually insects; it is not particular as to what kind +of insects; but because of the situations which it haunts, it usually +feeds upon those which are injurious to grass and plants. Indeed, the +toad is really the friend of the gardener and farmer, and has been +most ungratefully treated by those whom it has befriended. If you +doubt that a toad is an animal of judgment, watch it when it finds +an earthworm and set your doubts at rest! It will walk around the +squirming worm, until it can seize it by the head, apparently knowing +well that the horny hooks extending backward from the segments of +the worm, are likely to rasp the throat if swallowed the wrong way. +If the worm prove a too large mouthful, the toad promptly uses its +hands in an amusing fashion to stuff the wriggling morsel down its +throat. When swallowing a large mouthful, it closes its eyes; but +whether this aids the process, or is merely an expression of bliss, +we have not determined. The toad never drinks by taking in water +through the mouth, but absorbs it through the skin; when it wishes to +drink, it stretches itself out in shallow water and thus satisfies +its thirst; it will waste away and die in a short time, if kept in a +dry atmosphere. + +The toad burrows in the earth by a method of its own, hard to +describe. It kicks backward with its strong hind legs, and in some +mysterious way, the earth soon covers all excepting its head; then, +if an enemy comes along, back goes the head, the earth caves in +around it, and where is your toad! It remains in its burrow or hiding +place usually during the day, and comes out at night to feed. This +habit is an advantage, because snakes are then safely at home and, +too, there are many more insects to be found at night. The sagacious +toads have discovered that the vicinity of street lights is swarming +with insects, and there they gather in numbers. In winter they +burrow deeply in the ground and go to sleep, remaining dormant until +the warmth of spring awakens them; then, they come out, and the +mother toads seek their native ponds there to lay eggs for the coming +generation. They are excellent swimmers; when swimming rapidly, the +front legs are laid backward along the sides of the body, so as to +offer no resistance to the water; but when moving slowly, the front +legs are used for balancing and for keeping afloat. + +The song of the toad is a pleasant, crooning sound, a sort of +gutteral trill; it is made when the throat is puffed out almost +globular, thus forming a vocal sac; the sound is made by the air +drawn in at the nostrils and passed back and forth from the lungs to +the mouth over the vocal chords, the puffed-out throat acting as a +resonator. + +The toad has no ribs by which to inflate the chest, and thus draw air +into the lungs, as we do when we breathe; it is obliged to swallow +the air instead and thus force it into the lungs. This movement is +shown in the constant pulsation, in and out, of the membrane of the +throat. + +As the toad grows, it sheds its horny skin, which it swallows; as +this process is usually done strictly in private, the ordinary +observer sees it but seldom. One of the toad’s nice common qualities +is its enjoyment in having its back scratched gently. + +The toad has many enemies; chief among these is the snake and in only +a lesser degree, crows and also birds of prey. + +_Reference_--The Frog Book, Dickerson; Familiar Life in Field and +Forest, Mathews; The Usefulness of the American Toad, U. S. Dept. +Agr., Farmers Bulletin, No. 196. + + + LESSON XLIV + + THE TADPOLE AQUARIUM + +_Leading thought_--The children should understand how to make the +tadpoles comfortable and thus be able to rear them. + +_Materials_--A tin or agate pan or a deep earthenware wash-bowl. + +[Illustration] + +_Things to be done_--1. Go to some pond where tadpoles live. + +2. Take some of the small stones on the bottom and at the sides +of the pond lifting them very gently so as not to disturb what is +growing on their surface. Place these stones on the bottom of the +pan, building up one side higher than the other, so that the water +will be more shallow on one side than on the other; a stone or two +should project above the water. + +3. Take some of the mud and leaves from the bottom of the pond, being +careful not to disturb them and place upon the stones. + +4. Take some of the plants found growing under water in the pond and +plant them among the stones. + +5. Carry the pan thus prepared back to the schoolhouse and place it +where the sun will not shine directly upon it. + +6. Bring a pail of water from the pond and pour it very gently in at +one side of the pan, so as not to disarrange the plants; fill the pan +nearly to the brim. + +7. After the mud has settled and the water is perfectly clear, remove +some of the tadpoles, which have hatched in the glass aquarium, and +place in the “pond.” Not more than a dozen should be put in a pan of +this size, since the amount of food and microscopic plants which are +on the stones in the mud, will afford food for only a few tadpoles. + +8. Every week add a little more mud from the bottom of the pond +or another stone covered with slime, which is probably some plant +growth. More water from the pond should be added to replace that +evaporated. + +9. Care should be taken that the tadpole aquarium be kept where the +sun will not shine directly upon it for any length of time, because +if the water gets too warm the tadpoles will die. + +10. Remove the “skin” from one side of a tulip leaf, so as to expose +the pulp of the leaf, and give to the tadpoles every day or two. Bits +of hard-boiled egg should be given now and then. + + + TOADS’ EGGS AND TADPOLES + +_Leading thought_--The toad’s eggs are laid in strings of jelly +in ponds. The eggs hatch into tadpoles which are creatures of the +water, breathing by gills, and swimming with a long fin. The tadpoles +gradually change to toads, which are air-breathing creatures, fitted +for life on dry land. + +_Method_--The eggs of toads may be found in almost any pond about the +first of May and may be scraped up from the bottom in a scoop-net. +They should be placed in the aquarium where the children can watch +the stages of development. Soon after they are hatched, a dozen or so +should be selected and placed in the tadpole aquarium and the others +put back into the stream. The children should observe the tadpoles +every day, watching carefully all the changes of structure and habit +which take place. If properly fed, the tadpoles will be ready to +leave the water in July, as tiny toads. + +_Observations_--1. Where were the toads’ eggs found and on what date? +Were they attached to anything in the water or were they floating +free? Are the eggs in long strings? Do you find any eggs laid in +jellylike masses? If so, what are they? How can you tell the eggs of +toads from those of frogs? + +2. Is the jellylike substance in which the eggs are placed clear or +discolored? What is the shape and the size of the eggs? A little +later how do they look? Do the young tadpoles move about while they +are still in the jelly mass? + +3. Describe how the little tadpole works its way out from the jelly +covering. Can you distinguish then which is head and which is tail? +How does it act at first? Where and how does it rest? + +4. Can you see with the aid of a lens the little fringes on each +side of the neck? What are these? Do these fringes disappear a +little later? Do they disappear on both sides of the neck at once? +What becomes of them? How does the tadpole breathe? Can you see +the little hole on the left side, through which the water used for +breathing passes? + +[Illustration: _Toad development in a single season (1903)._ + + 1–18, Changes and growth from April to November + 1–13, Development in 25 to 60 days + 9–14, Different sizes, July 30, 1903 + 15–18, Different sizes, October 21, 1903 + 10, 11, The same tadpole, 11 is 47 hours older than 10 + 12, 13, The same tadpole, 13 is 47 hours older than 12 + +Photo by S. H. Gage.] + +5. How does the tail look and how is it used? How long is it in +proportion to the body? Describe the act of swimming. + +6. Which pair of legs appears first? How do they look? When they get +a little larger are they used as a help in swimming? Describe the +hind legs and feet. + +7. How long after the hind legs appear before the front legs or arms +appear? What happens to the breathing-pore when the left arm is +pushed through? + +8. After both pairs of legs are developed what happens to the tail? +What becomes of it? + +9. When the tadpole is very young can you see its eyes? How do they +look as it grows older? Do they ever bulge out like toads’ eyes? + +10. As the tadpole gains its legs and loses its tail how does it +change in its actions? How does it swim now? Does it come oftener to +the surface? Why? + +11. Describe the difference between the front and the hind legs and +the front and the hind feet on the fully grown tadpole. If the tail +or a leg is bitten off by some other creature will it grow again? + + + LESSON XLV + + THE TOAD + +_Leading thought_--The toad is colored so that it resembles the +soil and thus escapes the observation of its enemies. It lives in +damp places and eats insects, usually hunting them at night. It has +powerful hind legs and is a vigorous jumper. + +_Method_--Make a moss garden in a glass aquarium jar thus: Place some +stones or gravel in the bottom of the jar and cover with moss. Cover +the jar with a wire screen. The moss should be deluged with water +at least once a day and the jar should be placed where the direct +sunlight will not reach it. In this jar, place the toad for study. + +_Observations_--1. Describe the general color of the toad above and +below. How does the toad’s back look? Of what use are the warts on +its back? + +2. Where is the toad usually found? Does it feel warm or cold to the +hand? Is it slimy or dry? The toad is a cold-blooded animal, what +does this mean? + +3. Describe the eyes and explain how their situation is of special +advantage to the toad. Do you think it can see in front and behind +and above all at the same time? Does the bulge of the eyes help in +this? Note the shape and color of the pupil and iris. How does the +toad wink? + +4. Find and describe the nostrils. Find and describe the ear. Note +the swelling above and just back of the ear. Do you know the use of +this? + +5. What is the shape of the toad’s mouth? Has it any teeth? Is the +toad’s tongue attached to the front or the back part of the mouth? +How is it used to catch insects? + +6. Describe the “arms and hands.” How many “fingers” on the “hand?” +Which way do the fingers point when the toad is sitting down? + +7. Describe the legs and feet. How many toes are there? What is the +relative length of the toes and how are they connected? What is this +web between the toes for? Why are the hind legs so much larger than +the front legs? + +8. Will a toad change color if placed upon different colored objects? +How long does it take it to do this? Of what advantage is this to the +toad? + +9. Where does the toad live? When it is disturbed how does it act? +How far can it jump? If very frightened does it flatten out and lie +still? Why is this? + +10. At what time does the toad come out to hunt insects? How does it +catch the insect? Does it swallow an earthworm head or tail first? +When swallowing an earthworm or large insect, how does it use its +hands? How does it act when swallowing a large mouthful? + +11. How does the toad drink? Where does it remain during the day? +Describe how it burrows into the earth. + +12. What happens to the toad in the winter? What does it do in the +spring? Is it a good swimmer? How does it use its legs in swimming? + +13. How does the toad look when croaking? What sort of a noise does +it make? + +14. Describe the action of the toad’s throat when breathing. Did you +ever see a toad shed its skin? + +15. What are the toad’s enemies? How does it act when caught by a +snake? Does it make any noise? Is it swallowed head or tail first? +What means has it of escaping or defending itself from its enemies? + +16. How is the toad of great use to the farmer and gardener? + +_References_--“The Life History of the Toad,” by S. H. Gage, Cornell +Nature-Study Volume; The Frog Book, Dickerson. + +_Supplementary reading_--“K’dunk, the fat one,” A Little Brother to +the Bear, Long. + + * * * * * + + “_In the early years we are not to teach nature as science, + we are not to teach it primarily for method or for drill: we + are to teach it for loving--and this is nature-study. On these + points I make no compromise._” + --L. H. BAILEY. + + + + + THE TREE-FROG, OR TREE-TOAD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Ere yet the earliest warbler wakes, of coming spring to + tell, + From every marsh a chorus breaks, a choir invisible, + As if the blossoms underground, a breath of utterance + had found._” + --TABB. + + +[Illustration: A] + +Associated with the first songs of robin and bluebird, is the equally +delightful chorus of the spring peepers, yet how infrequently do +most of us see a member of this invisible choir! There are some +creatures which are the quintessence of the slang word “cute” which, +interpreted, means the perfection of Lilliputian proportions, +permeated with undaunted spirit. The chickadee is one of these, and +the tree-frog is another. I confess to a thrill of delight when the +Pickering’s hyla lifts itself on its tiny front feet, twists its head +knowingly, and turns on me the full gaze of its bronze-rimmed eyes. +This is the tiniest froglet of them all, being little more than an +inch long when fully grown; it wears the Greek cross in darker color +upon its back, with some stripes across its long hind legs which join +the pattern on the back when the frog is “shut up,” as the boys say. + +[Illustration: _Sitting for their pictures._ + +_Pickering’s Hyla._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +The reason we see so little of tree-frogs, is because they are +protected from discovery by their color. They have the chameleon +power of changing color to match their background. The Pickering’s +hyla will effect this change in twenty minutes; in this species, +the darker lines forming the cross change first, giving a mottled +appearance which is at once protective. I have taken three of these +peepers, all of them pale yellowish brown with gray markings, and +have placed one upon a fern, one on dark soil and one on the purple +bud of a flower. Within half an hour, each matched its surroundings +so closely, that the casual eye would not detect them. The song of +the Pickering’s hyla is a resonant chirp, very stirring when heard +nearby; it sounds somewhat like the note of a water bird. How such a +small creature can make such a loud noise, is a mystery. The process, +however, may be watched at night by the light of a lamp, as none of +the tree-frogs seem to pay any attention to an artificial light; the +thin membrane beneath the throat swells out until it seems almost +large enough to balloon the little chap off his perch. No wonder +that, with such a sounding-sac, the note is stirring. There are +several species of tree-frogs that trill in the branches above our +heads all summer, and their songs are sometimes mistaken for those of +the cicada, which is far more shrill. + +The tree-frogs have toes and fingers ending in little round discs +which secrete at will a substance by means of which they can cling +to vertical surfaces, even to glass. In fact, the way to study these +wonderful feet is when the frog is climbing up the sides of the +glass jar. The fingers are arranged, two short inside ones, a long +one, and another short one outside. The hind feet have three shorter +inside toes quite far apart, a long one at the tip of the foot and a +shorter one outside. When climbing a smooth surface like glass, the +toes are spread wide apart, and there are other little clinging discs +on their lower sides, although not so large as those at the tips. It +is by means of these sticky, disc-like toes that the tree-frogs hold +themselves upon the tree trunks. + +The whole body of the tree-frog is covered with little tubercles, +which give it a roughened appearance. The eyes are black with the +iris of reddish color. The tongue is like that of other frogs, hinged +to the front of the lower jaw; it is sticky and can be thrust far out +to capture insects, of which the tree-frogs eat vast numbers. + +The hylas breathe by the rapid pulsation of the membrane of the +throat, which makes the whole body tremble. The nostrils are two tiny +holes on either side of the tip of the snout. The ears are a little +below and just behind the eyes, and are in the form of a circular +slit. + +[Illustration: _Tree-frog tadpoles._] + +The eggs of the spring peepers are laid in ponds during April; each +egg has a little globe of jelly about it and is fastened to a stone +or a water plant. The tadpoles are small and delicate; the under +side of the body is reddish and shines with metallic lustre. These +tadpoles differ from those of other frogs in that they often leave +the water while yet the tail is still quite long. In summer, they +may be found among the leaves and moss around the banks of ponds. +They are indefatigable in hunting for gnats, mosquitoes and ants; +their destruction of mosquitoes, as pollywogs and as grown up frogs, +renders them of great use to us. The voice of this peeper may be +heard among the shrubs and vines or in trees during late summer and +until November. The little creatures sleep beneath moss and leaves +during the winter, waking to give us the earliest news of spring. + + + LESSON XLVI + + THE TREE-FROG OR TREE-TOAD + +_Leading thought_--The prettiest part of the spring chorus of the +frog ponds is sung by the tree-frogs. These little frogs have the +tips of their toes specially fitted for climbing up the sides of +trees. + +_Method_--Make a moss garden in an aquarium jar or a two-quart can. +Place stones in the bottom and moss at one side, leaving a place +on the other side for a tiny pond of water. In this garden place a +tree-frog and cover the jar with mosquito netting and place in the +shade. The frogs may be found by searching the banks of a pond at +night with a lantern. However, this lesson is usually given when by +accident the tree-frog is discovered. Any species of tree-frog will +do; but the Pickering’s hyla, known everywhere as the spring peeper, +is the most interesting species to study. + +_Observations_--1. How large is the tree-frog? What is its color? +Describe the markings. + +2. Place the tree-frog on some light-colored surface like a piece of +white blotting paper. Note if it changes color after a half hour. +Later place it upon some dark surface. Note if it changes color +again. How does this power of changing color benefit the tree-frog? +Place a tree-frog on a piece of bark. After a time is it noticeable? + +3. Describe the eyes. Note how little the tree-frog turns its head +to see anything behind it. Describe its actions if its attention is +attracted to anything. What color is the pupil? The iris? + +4. Note the movement of breathing. Where does this show the most? +Examine the delicate membrane beneath the throat. What has this to do +with the breathing? + +5. What is the tree-frog’s note? At what time of day does it peep? At +what time of year? Describe how the frog looks when peeping. + +6. How does the tree-frog climb? When it is climbing up a vertical +surface study its toes. How many on the front foot? How are they +arranged? How many toes on the hind foot? Sketch the front and hind +feet. How do the toe-discs look when pressed against the glass? How +does it manage to make the discs cling and then let go? Are there any +more discs on the under side of the toes? Is there a web between the +toes of the hind feet? Of the front feet? + +7. Look at a tree-frog very closely and describe its nostrils and its +ears. + +8. Are the tree-frogs good jumpers? What is the size and length of +the hind legs as compared with the body? + +9. When and where are the eggs of the tree-frog laid? How do they +look? + +10. How do the tree-frog tadpoles differ from other tadpoles? +Describe them if you have ever seen them. In what situations do they +live? + +11. Of what use are the tree-frogs to us? + +_References_--“The Life History of the Toad,” Cornell Nature Study +Volume, S. H. Gage; The Frog Book, Dickerson; Familiar Life of Field +and Forest, Mathews; American Natural History, Hornaday; Elementary +Zoology, V. L. Kellogg; From River Ooze to Tree-top, Sharp. + + + + +[Illustration: _Bullfrog._] + + + THE FROG + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The stroller along brooksides, is likely to be surprised some day, +at seeing a bit of moss and earth suddenly make a high leap and a +far one, without apparent provocation. An investigation resolves the +clump of moss into a brilliantly green and yellow, striped frog, +and then the stroller wonders how he could have overlooked such an +obvious creature. But the leopard frog is only obvious when it is out +of its environment. The common green frog is quite as well protected +since its color is exactly that of green pools. Most frogs spend +their lives in or about water, and if caught on land, they make great +leaps to reach their native element; the leopard frog and a few other +species sometimes wander far afield. + +In form, the frog is more slim than the toad, and is not covered +with great warts; it is cold and slippery to the touch. The frog’s +only chance of escaping its enemies, is through the slipperiness of +its body and by making long, rapid leaps. As a jumper, the frog is +much more powerful than the toad because its hind legs are so much +larger and more muscular, in comparison with its size. The first toe +in the front feet of the leopard frog is much swollen, making a fat +thumb; the mechanics of the hind legs make it possible for the frog +to feather the webbed feet as it swims. On the bottom of the toes +are hardened places at the joints, and sometimes others besides, +which give the foot a strong hold when pushing for the jump. The toe +tips, when they are pressed against the glass, resemble slightly +the tree-toads’ discs. The hind foot is very long, while on the +front foot the toes radiate almost in a circle. The foot and leg +are colored like the back of the body above, and on the under side +resemble the under parts. + +The frog is likely to be much more brightly colored than the toad, +and usually has much of green and yellow in its dress. But the frog +lives among green things, while it is to the toad’s advantage to +be the color of the soil. Frogs also have the chameleon power of +changing color, to harmonize with their environment. I have seen +a very green leopard frog change to a slate-gray when placed upon +slate-colored rock. The change took place in the green portions. The +common green frog will likewise change to slate-color, in a similar +situation. A leopard frog changed quickly from dark green to pale +olive, when it was placed in the water after having been on the soil. + +The eyes of frogs are very prominent, and are beautiful when observed +closely. The green frog has a dark bronze iris with a gleaming gold +edge around the pupil, and around the outer margin. The eye of the +leopard frog is darker; the iris seems to be black, with specks +of ruddy gold scattered through it, and there is an outer band of +red-gold around the margin. When the frog winks, the nictitating +membrane rises from below and covers the whole eye; and when the frog +makes a special effort of any sort, it has a comical way of drawing +its eyes back into its head. When trying to hide at the bottom of the +aquarium, the leopard species lets the eye-lids fall over the eyes, +so that they do not shine up and attract pursuers. + +The ear is in a similar position to that of the toad, and in the +bullfrog, is larger than the eye. In the green frog, it is a dull +grayish disc, almost as large as the eye. In the leopard frog, it is +not so large as the eye, and has a giltish spot at the center. + +The nostrils are small and are closed when below the water, as may be +easily seen by a lens. The mouth opens widely, the corners extending +back under the eye. The jaws are horny and are armed with teeth, +which are for the purpose of biting off food rather than for chewing +it. When above water, the throat keeps up a rythmic motion which is +the process of breathing; but when below water this motion ceases. +The food of frogs is largely composed of insects, that frequent damp +places or that live in the water. + +The sound-sacs of the frogs, instead of being beneath the throat, as +is the case with toads and tree-frogs, are at the side of the throat; +and when inflated, may extend from just back of the eyes, out above +the front legs. The song is characteristic, and pleasant to listen +to, if not too close by. Perhaps exception should be made to the lay +of the bullfrog, which like the song of some noted opera singers, is +more wonderful than musical; the boom of the bullfrog makes the earth +fairly quake. If we seize the frog by the hind leg, it will usually +croak and thus demonstrate for us, the position of its sound-sacs. + +In addition to the snakes, the frogs have inveterate enemies in the +herons which frequent shallow water, and eat them in great numbers. +The frogs hibernate in mud and about ponds, burrowing deep enough to +escape freezing. In the spring, they come up and sing their spring +songs and the mother frogs lay their eggs in masses of jelly on the +bottom of the pond, usually where the water is deeper than in the +situations where the toads’ eggs are laid. The eggs of the two can +always be distinguished, since the toads’ are laid in strings of +jelly, while the frogs’ are laid in masses. + +It is amusing to watch with a lens, the frog tadpoles seeking for +their microscopic food along the glass of the aquarium. There are +horny upper and lower jaws, the latter being below and back of the +former. The upper jaw moves back and forth slightly and rythmically, +but the dropping of the lower jaw opens the mouth. There are three +rows of tiny black teeth below the mouth and one row above; at the +sides and below these teeth are little, finger-like fringes. Fringes, +rows of teeth and jaws all work together, up and down, out and in, in +the process of breathing. The nostrils, although minute, are present +in the tadpole in its early stages. The pupil of the eye is almost +circular and the iris is usually yellow or copper-bronze, with black +mottling. The eyes do not wink nor withdraw. The breathing-pore on +the left side, is a hole in a slight protuberance. + +At first, the tadpoles of the frogs and toads are very much alike; +but later, most of the frog tadpoles are lighter in color, usually +being olive-green, mottled with specks of black and white. The frog +tadpoles usually remain much longer than the toads in the tadpole +stage, and when finally they change to adults, they are far larger in +size than the toads are, when they attain their jumping legs. + +[Illustration: _Frog’s eggs._] + + + LESSON XLVII + + THE FROG + +_Leading thought_--The frog lives near or in ponds or streams. It +is a powerful jumper and has a slippery body. Its eggs are laid in +masses of jelly at the bottom of ponds. + +_Method_--The frog may be studied in its native situation by the +pupils or it may be brought to the school and placed in an aquarium; +however, to make a frog aquarium there needs to be a stick or stone +projecting above the water, for the frog likes to spend part of the +time entirely out of water or only partially submerged. + +_Observations_--1. Where is the frog found? Does it live all its life +in the water? When found on land how and where does it seek to escape? + +2. Compare the form of the frog with that of the toad. Describe the +skin, its color and texture. Compare the skin of the two. + +3. Describe the colors and markings of the frog on the upper and on +the under side. How do these protect it from observation from above? +From below? How do we usually discover that we are in the vicinity of +a frog? + +4. Describe the frog’s ears, eyes, nostrils and mouth. + +5. Compare its “hands and feet” with those of the toad. Why the +difference in the hind legs and feet? + +6. How does the frog feel to your hand? Is it easy to hold him? How +does this slipperiness of the frog benefit it? + +7. On what does the frog feed? What feeds on it? How does it escape +its enemies? + +8. What sounds does the frog make? Where are its sound sacs located? +How do they look when they are inflated? + +9. Is the frog a good swimmer? Is it a better jumper than the toad? +Why? + +10. Where are the frog’s eggs laid? How do they look? + +11. Can you tell the frog tadpoles from those of the toad? Which +remains longer in the tadpole stage? Study the frog tadpoles, +following the questions given in Lesson XLIV. + +12. What happens to the frog in winter? + + * * * * * + + _FESTINA LENTE_ + + _Once on a time there was a pool + Fringed all about with flag-leaves cool + And spotted with cow-lilies garish, + Of frogs and pouts the ancient parish. + Alders the creaking redwings sink on, + Tussocks that house blithe Bob o’ Lincoln, + Hedged round the unassailed seclusion, + Where muskrats piled their cells Carthusian; + And many a moss-embroidered log, + The watering-place of summer frog, + Slept and decayed with patient skill, + As watering-places sometimes will. + Now in this Abbey of Theleme, + Which realized the fairest dream + That ever dozing bull-frog had, + Sunned, on a half-sunk lily pad, + There rose a party with a mission + To mend the polliwog’s condition, + Who notified the selectmen + To call a meeting there and then. + “Some kind of steps,” they said, “are needed; + They don’t come on so fast as we did: + Let’s dock their tails; if that don’t make ’em + Frogs by brevet, the Old One take ’em! + That boy, that came the other day + To dig some flag-root down this way, + His jack-knife left, and ’tis a sign + That Heaven approves of our design: + ’Twere wicked not to urge the step on, + When Providence has sent the weapon.” + Old croakers, deacons of the mire, + That led the deep batrachian choir, + “Uk! Uk! Caronk!” with bass that might + Have left Lablache’s out of sight, + Shook nobby heads, and said “No, go! + You’d better let ’em try to grow: + Old Doctor Time is slow, but still + He does know how to make a pill.” + But vain was all their hoarsest bass, + Their old experience out of place, + And spite of croaking and entreating + The vote was carried in marsh-meeting. + “Lord knows,” protest the polliwogs, + “We’re anxious to be grown-up frogs; + But don’t push in to do the work + Of Nature till she prove a shirk; + ’Tis not by jumps that she advances, + But wins her way by circumstances; + Pray, wait awhile, until you know + We’re so contrived as not to grow; + Let Nature take her own direction, + And she’ll absorb our imperfection; + You mightn’t like ’em to appear with, + But we must have the things to steer with.” + “No,” piped the party of reform, + “All great results are ta’en by storm; + Fate holds her best gifts till we show + We’ve strength to make her let them go; + The Providence that works in history, + And seems to some folks such a mystery, + Does not creep slowly on, incog., + But moves by jumps, a mighty frog; + No more reject the Age’s chrism, + Your queues are an anachronism; + No more the future’s promise mock, + But lay your tails upon the block, + Thankful that we the means have voted + To have you thus to frogs promoted.” + The thing was done, the tails were cropped, + And home each philotadpole hopped, + In faith rewarded to exult, + And wait the beautiful result. + Too soon it came; our pool, so long + The theme of patriot bull-frog’s song, + Next day was reeking, fit to smother, + With heads and tails that missed each other,-- + Here snoutless tails, there tailless snouts; + The only gainers were the pouts._ + + + _MORAL_ + + _From lower to the higher next, + Not to the top is Nature’s text; + And embryo Good, to reach full stature, + Absorbs the Evil in its nature._ + --LOWELL. + + + + + THE NEWT, EFT OR SALAMANDER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +After a rain in spring or summer, we see these little orange-red +creatures sprawling along roads or woodland paths, and since they are +rarely seen except after rain, the wise people of old, declared they +rained down, which was an easy way for explaining their presence. But +the newts do not rain down, they rain up instead, since if they have +journeys to make they must needs go forth when the ground is wet, +otherwise they would dry up and die. Thus, the newts make a practice +of never going out except when it rains. A closer view of the eft +shows plenty of peculiarities in its appearance to interest us. Its +colors are decidedly gay, the body color being orange, ornamented +with vermilion dots along each side of the back, each red dot +margined with tiny black specks; but the eft is careless about these +decorations and may have more spots on one side than on the other. +Besides these vermilion dots, it is also adorned with black specks +here and there, and especially along its sides, looks as if it had +been peppered. The newt’s greatest beauty lies in its eyes; these are +black, with elongated pupils, almost parallel with the length of the +head, and bordered above and below with bands of golden, shining iris +which give the eyes a fascinating brilliancy. The nostrils are mere +pin-holes in the end of the snout. + +The legs and feet look queerly inadequate for such a long body, since +they are short and far apart. There are four toes on the front feet +and five on the hind feet, the latter being decidedly pudgy. The legs +are thinner where they join the body and wider toward the feet. The +eft can move very rapidly with its scant equipment of legs. It has +a misleading way of remaining motionless for a long time and then +darting forward like a flash, its long body falling into graceful +curves as it moves. But it can go very slowly when exploring; it then +places its little hands cautiously and lifts its head as high as its +short arms will allow, in order to take observations. Although it can +see quite well, yet on an unusual surface, like glass, it seems to +feel the way by touching its lower lip to the surface as if to test +it. The tail is flattened at the sides and is used to twine around +objects in time of need; and I am sure it is also used to push the +eft while crawling, for it curves this way and that vigorously, as +the feet progress, and obviously pushes against the ground. Then, +too, the tail is an aid when, by some chance, the eft is turned over +on its back, for with its help, it can right itself speedily. The +eft’s method of walking is interesting; it moves forward one front +foot and then the hind foot on the other side; after a stop for +rest, it begins just where it left off when it again starts on. Its +beautiful eyes seem to serve the newt well indeed, for I find that, +when it sees my face approaching the moss jar, it climbs promptly +over to the other side. There are no eyelids for the golden eyes, but +the eft can pull them back into its head and close the slit after +them, thus making them very safe. + +The eft with whose acquaintance I was most favored, was not yet +mature and was afraid of earthworms; but he was very fond of +plant-lice and it was fun to see the little creature stalking them. +A big rose plant-louse would be squirming with satisfaction as it +sucked the juice of the leaf, when the eft would catch sight of it +and become greatly excited, evidently holding his breath since the +pulsating throat would become rigid. There was a particularly alert +attitude of the whole front part of the body and especially of the +eyes and the head; then the neck would stretch out long and thin, +the orange snout approach stealthily within half an inch of the +smug aphid, and then there was a flash as of lightning, something +too swift to see coming out of the eft’s mouth and swooping up the +unsuspecting louse. Then there would be a gulp or two and all would +be over. If the aphid happened to be a big one, the eft made visible +effort to swallow it. Sometimes his eftship would become greatly +excited when he first saw the plant-louse, and he would sneeze and +snort in a very comical way, like a dog, when eager for game. + +[Illustration: _Red-spotted newt stalking plant-lice._] + +The following is the history of this species as summarized from Mrs. +S. H. Gage’s charming “Story of Little Red Spot.” The egg was laid +in some fresh water pond or the still borders of some stream where +there is a growth of water weed. The egg, which is about the size of +a small pea, is fastened to a water plant. It is covered with a tough +but translucent envelope, and has at the center a little yellowish +globule. In a little less than a month the eft hatches, but it looks +very different from the form with which we are most familiar. It has +gray stripes upon its sides and three tiny bunches of red gills on +each side, just back of its broad head. The tail is long and very +thin, surrounded by a fin; it is an expert swimmer and breathes water +as does a fish. After a time, it becomes greenish above and buff +below, and by the middle of August it develops legs and has changed +its form so that it is able to live upon land; it no longer has gills +or fin; soon the coat changes to the bright orange hue which makes +the little creature so conspicuous. + +The newt usually keeps hidden among moss, or under leaves, or in +decaying wood, or other damp and shady places; but after a rain, when +the whole world is damp, it feels confidence enough to go out in +the open, and hunt for food. For two and a half years it lives upon +land and then returns to the water. When this impulse comes upon it, +it may be far from any stream; but it seems to know instinctively +where to go. Soon after it enters the water, it is again transformed +in color, becoming olive-green above and buff below, although it +still retains the red spots along the back, as mementos of its land +life; and it also retains its pepper-like dots. Its tail develops a +fin which extends along its back and is somewhat ruffled. In some +mysterious way it develops the power to again breathe the air which +is mixed with water. + +The male has the hind legs very large and flat; the female is lighter +in color and has more delicate and smaller legs. It is here in the +water that the efts find their mates and finish careers which must +have surely been hazardous. During its long and varied life, the +eft often sheds its skin like the snake; it has a strange habit of +swallowing its cast-off coat. + + + LESSON XLVIII + + THE NEWT, EFT, OR “SALAMANDER” + +_Leading thought_--The newts change their form three times to fit +different modes of life. They are born in the water and at first have +fins and gills like fishes. They then live on land, and have lungs +for breathing air and lose their fins; later they go back to the +water and again develop the power of breathing the oxygen contained +in water, and also a fin. + +[Illustration: _Early stage of vermilion-spotted newt. Eggs of newt +attached to water plant._ + +Drawn by Anna Stryke.] + +_Method_--The little, orange eft or red-spotted salamander may be +kept in an aquarium which has in it an object, as a stone or a clump +of moss which projects above the water. For food it should be given +small earthworms or leaves covered with plant lice. In this way it +may be studied at leisure. + +_Observations_--1. Look at the eft closely. Is it all the same color? +How many spots upon its back and what colors are they? Are there +the same number of spots on both sides? Are there any spots or dots +besides these larger ones? How does the eft resemble a toad? + +2. Is the head the widest part of the body? Describe the eyes, the +shape and color of the pupil and of the iris. How does the eft wink? +Do you think it can see well? + +3. Can you see the nostrils? How does the throat move and why? + +4. Are both pairs of legs the same size? How many toes on the front +feet? How many toes on the hind feet? Does the eft toe-in with its +front feet like a toad? + +5. Does it move more than one foot at a time when walking? Does it +use the feet on the same side in two consecutive steps? After putting +forward the right front foot what foot follows next? Can it move +backward? + +6. Is the tail as long as the head and body together? Is the tail +round or flat at the sides? How is it used to help the eft when +traveling? Does the tail drag or is it lifted, or does it push by +squirming? + +7. How does the eft act when startled? Does it examine its +surroundings? Do you think it can see and is afraid of you? + +8. Why do we find these creatures only during wet weather? Why do +people think they rain down? + +9. What does the eft eat? How does it catch its prey? Does it shed +its skin? How many kinds of efts have you seen? + +10. From what kind of egg does the eft hatch? When is this egg laid? +How does it look? On what is it fastened? + +11. How many times during its life does the orange eft change color? +What part of its life is spent upon land? What changes take place +in its form when it leaves the water for life upon land, and what +changes take place in its structure when it returns to the water? + + + + + IV. REPTILE STUDY + + _Yet when a child and barefoot; I more than once, at morn, + Have passed, I thought, a whiplash unbraided in the sun, + When, stooping to secure it, it wrinkled, and was gone._ + --EMILY DICKINSON. + + +[Illustration: I] + +If the teacher could bring herself to take as much interest as did +Mother Eve in that “subtile animal,” as the Bible calls the serpent, +she might, through such interest, enter the paradise of the boyish +heart instead of losing a paradise of her own. How many teachers, +who have an aversion for snakes, are obliged to teach small boys +whose pet diversion is capturing these living ribbons and bringing +them into the schoolroom stowed away not too securely in pockets! +In one of the suburban Brooklyn schools, boys of this ilk sought to +frighten their teacher with their weird prisoners. But she was equal +to the occasion, and surprised them by declaring that there were +many interesting things to be studied about snakes, and forthwith +sent to the library for books which discussed these reptiles; and +this was the beginning of a nature-study club of rare efficiency and +enterprise. + +There are abroad in the land, many errors concerning snakes. Most +people believe that they are all venomous, which is far from true. +The rattlesnake still holds its own in rocky, mountainous places +and the moccasin haunts the bayous of the southern coast; however, +in most localities, snakes are not only harmless but are beneficial +to the farmer. The superstition that if a snake is killed, its tail +will live until sun-down, is general and has but slender foundation +in the fact that snakes, being lower in their nerve-organization +than mammals, the process of death is a slow one. Some people firmly +believe that snakes spring or jump from the ground to seize their +prey, which is quite false since no snake jumps clear of the ground +as it strikes, nor does it spring from a perfect coil. Nor are snakes +slimy, quite to the contrary, they are covered with perfectly dry +scales. But the most general superstition of all is that, when a +snake thrusts out its tongue, it is an act of animosity; the fact +is, the tongue is a sense organ and is used as an insect uses its +feelers or antennæ, and the act is also supposed to aid the creature +in hearing; thus when a snake thrusts out its tongue, it is simply +trying to find out about its surroundings and what is going on. + +Snakes are the only creatures able to swallow objects larger than +themselves. This is rendered possible by the elasticity of the body +walls, and the fact that snakes have an extra bone hinging the upper +to the lower jaw, allowing them to spread widely; the lower jaw +also separates at the middle of its front edge and spreads apart +sidewise. In order to force a creature into a “bag” so manifestly +too small, a special mechanism is needed; the teeth supply this by +pointing backward, and thus assist in the swallowing. The snake moves +by literally walking on the ends of its ribs, which are connected +with the crosswise plates on its lower side; each of these crosswise +plates has the hind edge projecting down so that it can hold to +an object. Thus, the graceful, noiseless progress of the snake, +is brought about by many of these crosswise plates worked by the +movement of the ribs. + +Some species of snakes simply chase their prey, striking at it and +catching it in the open mouth, while others, like the black snake, +wind themselves about their victims crushing them to death. Snakes +can live a long time without food; many instances on record show that +they have been able to exist a year or more without anything to eat. +In our northern climate they hibernate in winter, going to sleep as +soon as the weather becomes cold and not waking up until spring. As +snakes grow, they shed their skins; this occurs only two or three +times a year. The crested fly-catcher adorns its nest with these +phantom snakes. + +_References_--The Reptile Book, by Ditmars, gives interesting +accounts of our common snakes; Mathew’s Familiar Life of Field and +Forest is also valuable. To add interest to the snake lessons let the +children read “Kaas Hunting” and “Rikki Tikki Tavi” from Kipling’s +Jungle Books. + + + + + THE GARTER, OR GARDEN, SNAKE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _A chipmunk, or a sudden-whirring quail, + Is startled by my step as on I fare. + A gartersnake across the dusty trail, + Glances and -- is not there._ + --RILEY. + + +[Illustration: G] + +Garter snakes can be easily tamed, and are ready to meet friendly +advances half way. A handsome yellow-striped, black garter lived for +four years beneath our piazza and was very friendly and unafraid of +the family. The children of the campus made it frequent visits, and +never seemed to be weary of watching it; but the birds objected to +it very much, although it never attempted to reach their nests in +the vine above. The garter snakes are the most common of all, in our +Northeastern States. They vary much in color; the ground color may be +olive, brown or black, and down the center of the back is usually a +yellow, green or whitish stripe, usually bordered by a darker band of +ground-color. On each side is a similar stripe, but not so brightly +colored; sometimes the middle stripe, and sometimes the side stripes +are broken into spots or absent; the lower side is greenish white or +yellow. When fully grown this snake is about three feet in length. + +The garters are likely to congregate in numbers in places favorable +for hibernation, like rocky ledges or stony side-hills. Here each +snake finds a safe crevice, or makes a burrow which sometimes extends +a yard or more under ground. During the warm days of Indian summer, +these winter hermits crawl out in the middle of the day and sun +themselves, retiring again to their hermitages when the air grows +chilly toward night; and when the cold weather arrives, they go to +sleep and do not awaken until the first warm days of spring; then, if +the sun shines hot, they crawl out and bask in its welcome rays. + +After the warm weather comes, the snakes scatter to other localities +more favorable for finding food, and thus these hibernating places +are deserted during the summer. The banks of streams, and the edges +of woods are places which furnish snakes their food, which consists +of earthworms, insects, toads, salamanders, frogs, etc. The young are +born late in July and are about six inches long at birth; one mother +may have in her brood from eleven to fifty snakelings; she stays with +them during the fall to protect them, and there are many stories +about the way the young ones run down the mother’s throat in case +of attack; but, as yet, no scientist has seen this act, or placed +it on record. The little snakes shift for their own food, catching +small toads, earthworms and insects. If it finds food in plenty, the +garter snake will mature in one year. Hawks, crows, skunks, weasels +and other predacious animals seem to find the garter snake attractive +food. + +[Illustration: _Garter snakes._] + + + LESSON XLIX + + THE GARTER, OR GARDEN, SNAKE + +_Leading thought_--The garter snake is a common and harmless little +creature and has many interesting habits which are worth studying. + +_Method_--A garter snake may be captured and placed in a box with a +glass cover and thus studied in detail in the schoolroom, but the +lesson should begin with observations made by the children on the +snakes in their native haunts. + +_Observations_--1. What are the colors and markings of your garter +snake? Do the stripes extend along the head as well as the body? How +long is it? + +2. Describe its eyes, its ears, its nostrils and its mouth. + +3. If you disturb it how does it act? Why does it thrust its tongue +out? What shape is its tongue? + +4. In what position is the snake when it rests? Can you see how +it moves? Look upon the lower side. Can you see the little plates +extending crosswise? Do you think it moves by moving these plates? +Let it crawl across your hand, and see if you can tell how it moves. + +5. What does the garter snake eat? Did you ever see one swallow a +toad? A frog? Did it take it head first or tail first? + +6. Where does the garter spend the winter? How early does it appear +in the spring? + +7. At what time of year do you see the young snakes? Do the young +ones run down the throat of the mother for safety when attacked? Does +the mother snake defend her young? + +8. What enemies has the garter snake? + + * * * * * + + “_No life in earth or air or sky; + The sunbeams, broken silently, + On the bared rocks around me lie,--_ + + _Cold rocks with half-warmed lichens scarred, + And scales of moss; and scarce a yard + Away, one long strip, yellow-barred._ + + _Lost in a cleft! ’Tis but a stride + To reach it, thrust its roots aside, + And lift it on thy stick astride!_ + + _Yet stay! That moment is thy grace! + For round thee, thrilling air and space, + A chattering terror fills the place!_ + + _A sound as of dry bones that stir, + In the dead valley! By yon fir + The locust stops its noon-day whir!_ + + _The wild bird hears; smote with the sound. + As if by bullet brought to ground + On broken wing, dips, wheeling round!_ + + _The hare, transfixed, with trembling lip, + Halts breathless, on pulsating hip, + And palsied tread, and heels that slip._ + + _Enough, old friend!--’tis thou. Forget + My heedless foot, nor longer fret + The peace with thy grim castanet!_” + FROM “CROTALUS” (THE RATTLESNAKE), BRET HARTE. + + + + + THE MILK SNAKE, OR SPOTTED ADDER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _The grass divides as with a comb, a spotted shaft is seen, + And then it closes at your feet, and opens farther on._ + --EMILY DICKINSON. + + +[Illustration: T] + +This is the snake which is said to milk cows, a most absurd belief; +it would not milk a cow if it could, and it could not if it would. It +has never yet been induced to drink milk when in captivity; and if +it were very thirsty, it could not drink more than two teaspoonfuls +of milk at most; thus in any case, its depredations upon the milk +supply need not be feared. Its object, in frequenting milk houses +and stables, is far other than the milking of cows, for it is an +inveterate hunter of rats and mice and is thus of great benefit to +the farmer. It is a constrictor, and squeezes its prey to death in +its coils. + +The ground color of the milk snake is pale gray, but it is covered +with so many brown or dark gray saddle-shaped blotches, that they +seem rather to form the ground-color; the lower side is white, marked +with square black spots and blotches. The snake attains a length of +about three feet when fully grown. Although it is called commonly the +spotted adder, it does not belong to the adders at all, but to the +family of the king snakes. + +During July and August, the mother snake lays from seven to twenty +eggs; they are deposited in loose soil, in moist rubbish, in compost +heaps, etc. The egg is a symmetrical oval in shape and is about one +and one-eighth inches long by a half inch in diameter. The shell is +soft and white, like kid leather, and the egg resembles a puffball. +The young hatch nearly two months after the eggs are laid, meanwhile +the eggs have increased in size so that the snakelings are nearly +eight inches long when they hatch. The saddle-shaped blotches on the +young have much red in them. The milk snake is not venomous; it will +sometimes, in defence, try to chew the hand of the captor, but the +wounds it can inflict are very slight and heal quickly. + +[Illustration: _The milk snake, or spotted adder._] + + + LESSON L + + THE MILK SNAKE, OR SPOTTED ADDER + +_Leading thought_--The milk snake is found around stables where it +hunts for rats and mice but never milks the cows. + +_Method_--Although the snake acts fiercely, it is perfectly harmless +and may be captured in the hands and placed in a glass-covered box +for a study in the schoolroom. + +_Observations_--1. Where is the milk snake found? Why is it called +milk snake? Look at its mouth and see if you think it could possibly +suck a cow. See if you can get the snake to drink milk. + +2. What does it live upon? How does it kill its prey? Can the milk +snake climb a tree? + +3. Where does the mother snake lay her eggs? How do the eggs look? +How large are they? How long are the little snakes when they hatch +from the egg? Are they the same color as the old ones? + +4. Describe carefully the colors and markings of the milk snake and +explain how its colors protect it from observation. What are its +colors on the under side? + +5. Have you ever seen a snake shed its skin? Describe how it was +done. How does the sloughed-off skin look? What bird always puts +snake skins around its nest? + + * * * * * + + _I have the same objection to killing a snake that I have to + the killing of any other animal, yet the most humane man I + know never omits to kill one._ + + * * * * * + + _Aug. 5, 1853._ + + _The mower on the river meadows, when he comes to open his hay + these days, encounters some overgrown water adder, full of + young_ (_?_) _and bold in defense of its progeny, and tells + a tale when he comes home at night which causes a shudder + to run through the village--how it came at him and he ran, + and it pursued and overtook him, and he transfixed it with a + pitchfork and laid it on a cock of hay, but it revived and + came at him again. This is the story he tells in the shops at + evening. The big snake is a sort of fabulous animal. It is + always as big as a man’s arm and of indefinite length. Nobody + knows exactly how deadly is its bite but nobody is known to + have been bitten and recovered. Irishmen introduced into these + meadows for the first time, on seeing a snake, a creature + which they have seen only in pictures before, lay down their + scythes and run as if it were the Evil One himself and cannot + be induced to return to their work. They sigh for Ireland, + where they say there is no venomous thing that can hurt you._ + --THOREAU’S JOURNAL. + + + + + THE WATER SNAKE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: E] + +Every boy that goes fishing, knows the snake found commonly about +mill-dams and wharves or on rocks and bushes near the water. The +teacher will have accomplished a great work, if these boys are made +to realize that this snake is a more interesting creature for study, +than as an object to pelt with stones. + +The water snake is a dingy brown in color, with cross-bands of +brownish or reddish brown which spread out into blotches at the side. +Its color is very protective as it lies on stones or logs in its +favorite attitude of sunning itself. It is very local in its habits, +and generally has a favorite place for basking and returns to it year +after year on sunny days. + +This snake lives mostly upon frogs and salamanders and fish; however, +it preys usually upon fish of small value, so it is of little +economic importance. It catches its victims by chasing, and seizing +them in its jaws. It has a very keen sense of smell and probably +traces its prey in this manner, something as a hound follows a fox. +It is an expert swimmer, usually lifting the head a few inches above +the water when swimming, although it is able to dive and remain below +the water for a short time. + +The water snake is a bluffer, and, when cornered, it flattens itself +and strikes fiercely. But its teeth contain no poison and it can +inflict only slight and harmless wounds. When acting as if it would +“rather fight than eat,” if given a slight chance to escape, it will +flee to the water like a “streak of greased lightning,” as any boy +will assure you. + +[Illustration: _The water snake._] + +The water snake attains a length of about four feet. The young do not +hatch from eggs, but are born alive in August and September; they +differ much in appearance from their parents as they are pale gray in +color, with jet-black cross-bands. + + + LESSON LI + + THE WATER SNAKE + +_Leading thought_--The water snake haunts the banks of streams +because its food consists of creatures that live in and about water. + +_Method_--If water snakes are found in the locality, encourage the +boys to capture one without harming it, and bring it to school +for observation. However, as the water snake is very local in its +habits, and haunts the same place year after year, it will be +better nature-study to get the children to observe it in its native +surroundings. + +_Observations_--1. Where is the water snake found? How large is the +largest one you ever saw? + +2. Why does the water snake live near water? What is its food? How +does it catch its prey? + +3. Describe how the water snake swims. How far does its head project +above the water when swimming? How long can it stay completely +beneath the water? + +4. Describe the markings and colors of the water snake. How do these +colors protect it from observation? How do the young look? + +5. Does each water snake have a favorite place for sunning itself? + +6. Where do the water snakes spend the winter? + + * * * * * + + _May 12, 1858._ + + _Found a large water adder by the edge of Farmer’s large + mudhole, which abounds with tadpoles and frogs, on which it + was probably feeding. It was sunning on the bank and would + face me and dart its head toward me when I tried to drive it + from the water. It is barred above, but indistinctly when + out of the water, so that it appears almost uniformly dark + brown, but in the water, broad, reddish brown bars are seen, + very distinctly alternating with very dark-brown ones. The + head was very flat and suddenly broader than the neck behind. + Beneath, it was whitish and reddish flesh-color. It was about + two inches in diameter at the thickest part. The inside of + its mouth and throat was pink. They are the biggest and most + formidable-looking snakes that we have. It was awful to + see it wind along the bottom of the ditch at last, raising + wreaths of mud amid the tadpoles, to which it must be a very + sea-serpent. I afterward saw another, running under Sam + Barrett’s grist-mill, the same afternoon. He said that he saw + a water-snake, which he distinguished from a black snake, in + an apple tree near by, last year, with a young robin in its + mouth, having taken it from the nest. There was a cleft or + fork in the tree which enabled it to ascend._ + --THOREAU’S JOURNAL. + + + + + THE TURTLE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +A turtle is at heart a misanthrope; its shell is in itself proof of +its owner’s distrust of this world. But we need not wonder at this +misanthropy, if we think for a moment of the creatures that lived on +this earth, at the time when turtles first appeared. Almost any of us +would have been glad of a shell in which to retire, if we had been +contemporaries of the smilodon and other monsters of earlier geologic +times. + +When the turtle feels safe and walks abroad for pleasure, his head +projects far from the front end of his shell, and the legs, so wide, +and soft that they look as if they had no bones in them, project out +at the side, while the little, pointed tail brings up an undignified +rear; but frighten him and at once head, legs and tail all disappear, +and even if we turn him over, we see nothing but the tip of the nose, +the claws of the feet and the tail turned deftly sidewise. When +frightened, he hisses threateningly; the noise seems to be made while +the mouth is shut, and the breath emitted through the nostrils. + +[Illustration: _Carapace of painted terrapin in retirement._] + +[Illustration: _Plastron of same terrapin._] + +The upper shell of the turtle is called the carapace and the lower +shell, the plastron. There is much difference in the different +species of turtles in the shape of the upper shell and the size and +shape of the lower one. In most species the carapace is sub-globular +but in some it is quite flat. The upper shell is grown fast to the +backbone of the animal, and the lower shell to the breast bone. +The markings and colors of the shell offer excellent subjects for +drawing. The painted terrapin has a red-mottled border to the shell, +very ornamental; the wood turtle has a shell made up of plates each +of which is ornamented with concentric ridges; and the box-turtle +has a front and rear trap-door, hinged to the plastron, which can be +pulled up against the carapace when the turtle wishes to retire, thus +covering it entirely. + +The turtle’s head is decidedly snakelike. Its color differs with +different species. The wood turtle has a triangular, horny covering +on the top of the head, in which the color and beautiful pattern of +the shell are repeated; the underparts are brick-red with indistinct +yellowish lines under the jaw. The eyes are black with a yellowish +iris, which somehow gives them a look of intelligence. The turtle has +no eyelids like our own, but has a nictitating membrane which comes +up from below and completely covers the eye; if we seize the turtle +by the head and attempt to touch its eyes, we can see the use of this +eyelid. When the turtle winks, it seems to turn the eyeball down +against the lower lid. + +The sense of smell in turtles is not well developed, as may be +guessed by the very small nostrils, which are mere pin-holes in the +snout. The mouth is a more or less hooked beak, and is armed with +cutting edges instead of teeth. The constant pulsation in the throat +is caused by the turtle swallowing air for breathing. + +[Illustration: _Boxy, a trained turtle._ + +Photo by Silas Lottridge.] + +The turtle’s legs, although so large and soft, have bones within +them, as the skeleton shows. The claws are long and strong; there +are five claws on the front and four on the hind feet. Some species +have a distinct web between the toes; in others, it is less marked, +depending upon whether the species lives mostly in water or out of +it. The color of the turtle’s body varies with the species; the body +is covered with coarse, rough skin made up of various-sized plates. + +The enemies of turtles are the larger fishes and other turtles. +Two turtles should never be kept in the same aquarium, since they +eat each others’ tails and legs with great relish. They feed upon +insects, small fish, or almost anything soft-bodied which they can +find in the water; they are especially fond of earthworms. The +species which frequent the land, feed upon tender vegetation and +also eat berries. In an aquarium, a turtle should be fed earthworms, +chopped fresh beef, lettuce leaves and berries. The wood turtle is +especially fond of cherries. + +The aquarium should always have in it a stone or some other object +projecting above the water, so that the turtle may climb out, if +it chooses. In winter, turtles bury themselves in the ooze at the +bottom of ponds and streams. Their eggs have white leathery shells, +are oblong in shape, and are buried by the mother in the sand or +soil near a stream or pond. The long life of turtles is a well +authenticated fact, dates carved upon their shells show them to have +attained the age of thirty or forty years. + +The following are, perhaps, the most common species of turtles: + +(a) _The Snapping Turtle_--This sometimes attains a shell 14 inches +long and a weight of forty pounds. It is a vicious creature and +inflicts a severe wound with its sharp, hooked beak; it should not be +used for a nature-study lesson unless the specimen is very young. + +(b) _The Mud Turtle_--The musk turtle and the common mud turtle both +inhabit slow streams and ponds; they are truly aquatic and only come +to shore to deposit their eggs. They cannot eat, unless they are +under water, and they seek their food in the muddy bottoms. The musk +turtle when handled, emits a very strong odor; it has on each side of +the head two broad yellow stripes. The mud turtle has no odor. Its +head is ornamented with greenish yellow spots. + +(c) _The Painted Terrapin, or Pond Turtle_--This can be determined by +the red mottled border of its shell. It makes a good pet, if kept in +an aquarium by itself, but will destroy other creatures. It will eat +meat or chopped fish, and is fond of earthworms and soft insects. + +(d) _The Spotted Turtle_--This has the upper shell black with +numerous round yellow spots upon it. It is common in ponds and marshy +streams and its favorite perch is, with many of its companions, upon +a log. It feeds under water, eating insect larvæ, dead fish and +vegetation. It likes fresh lettuce. + +(e) _The Wood Terrapin_--This is our most common turtle; it is found +in damp woods and wet places, since it lives largely upon the land. +Its upper shell often reaches a length of six and one-half inches and +is made up of many plates, ornamented with concentric ridges. This is +the turtle upon whose shell people carve initials and dates and then +set it free. All the fleshy parts of this turtle, except the top of +the head and the limbs, are brick-red. It feeds on tender vegetables, +berries and insects. It makes an interesting pet and will soon learn +to eat from the fingers of its master. + +(f) _The Box-Turtle_--This is easily distinguished from the others, +because the front and rear portions of the lower shell are hinged so +that they can be pulled up against the upper shell. When this turtle +is attacked, it draws into the shell and closes both front and back +doors, and is very safe from its enemies. It lives entirely upon land +and feeds upon berries, tender vegetation and insects. It lives to a +great age. + +(g) _The Soft-shelled Turtle_--These are found in streams and canals. +The upper shell looks as if it were of one piece of soft leather, and +resembles a griddle-cake. Although soft-shelled, these turtles are +far from soft-tempered, and must be handled with care. + + + LESSON LII + + THE TURTLE + +_Leading thought_--The turtle’s shell is for the purpose of +protecting its owner from the attack of enemies. Some turtles live +upon land and others in water. + +_Method_--A turtle of any kind, in the schoolroom, is all that is +needed to make this lesson interesting. + +[Illustration: _A snapping turtle._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +_Observations_--1. How much can you see of the turtle when it is +walking? If you disturb it what does it do? How much of it can you +see then? Can you see more of it from the lower side than the upper? +What is the advantage to the turtle of having such a shell? + +2. Compare the upper shell with the lower as follows: How are they +shaped differently? What is their difference in color? Would it be a +disadvantage to the turtle if the upper shell were as light colored +as the lower? Why? Make a drawing of the upper and the lower shell +showing the shape of the plates of which they are composed. Where are +the two grown together? + +3. Is the border of the upper shell different from the central +portion in color and markings? Is the edge smooth or scalloped? + +4. How far does the turtle’s head project from the front of the +shell? What is the shape of the head? With what colors and pattern is +it marked? Describe the eyes. How are they protected? How does the +turtle wink? Can you discover the little eyelid which comes up from +below to cover the eye? + +5. Describe the nose and nostrils. Do you think it has a keen sense +of smell? + +6. Describe the mouth. Are there any teeth? With what does it bite +off its food? Describe the movement of the throat. Why is this +constant pulsation? + +7. What is the shape of the leg? How is it marked? How many claws on +the front feet? Are any of the toes webbed? On which feet are the +webbed toes? Why should they be webbed? Describe the way a turtle +swims. Which feet are used for oars? + +8. Describe the tail. How much can be seen from above when the turtle +is walking? What becomes of it, when the turtle withdraws into its +shell? + +9. How much of the turtle’s body can you see? What is its color? Is +it rough or smooth? + +10. What are the turtle’s enemies? How does it escape from them? What +noise does the turtle make when frightened or angry? + +11. Do all turtles live for part of the time in water? What is their +food and where do they find it? Write an account of all the species +of turtles that you know. + +12. How do turtle eggs look? Where are they laid? How are they hidden? + +_Supplementary reading_--“Turtle Eggs for Agassiz,” Dalles Lore +Sharp, Atlantic Monthly, Feb., 1910. + + + + + V. MAMMAL STUDY + +[Illustration] + + + +[Illustration: F] + +For some inexplicable reason, the word animal, in common parlance, +is restricted to the mammals. As a matter of fact, the bird, the +fish, the insect and the snake have as much right to be called +animals as has the squirrel or the deer. And while I believe that +much freedom in the matter of scientific nomenclature is permissible +in nature-study, I also believe that it is well for the child to +have a clearly defined idea of the classes into which the animal +kingdom is divided; and I would have him gain this knowledge by +noting how one animal differs from another rather than by studying +the classification of animals in books. He sees that the fish differs +in many ways from the bird and that the toad differs from the snake; +and it will be easy for him to grasp the fact that the mammals +differ from all other animals in that the young are nourished by +milk produced for this purpose in the breasts of the mother; when he +understands this, he can comprehend how such diverse forms as the +whale, the cow, the bat, and human beings are akin. + + + + +[Illustration: _A cotton-tail rabbit._] + + + THE COTTON-TAIL RABBIT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The Bunnies are a feeble folk whose weakness is their + strength. + To shun a gun a Bun will run to almost any length._” + --OLIVER HERFORD. + + +[Illustration: I] + +It is well for Molly Cotton-tail and her family that they have +learned to shun more than guns for almost every predatory animal and +bird makes a dinner of them on every possible occasion. But despite +these enemies, moreover, with the addition of guns, men and dogs, the +cotton-tail lives and flourishes in our midst. A “Molly” raised two +families last year in a briar-patch back of our garden on the Cornell +Campus, where dogs of many breeds abound; and after each fresh fall +of snow this winter we have been able to trace our bunny neighbors +in their night wanderings around the house, beneath the spruces and +in the orchard. The track consists of two long splashes, paired, and +between and a little behind them, two smaller ones; the rabbit uses +its front feet as a boy uses a vaulting pole and lands both hind feet +on each side and ahead of them; owing to the fact that the bottoms +of the feet are hairy the print is not clear-cut. When the rabbit is +not in a hurry it has a peculiar lope, but when frightened it makes +long jumps. The cotton-tails are night wanderers and usually remain +hidden during the day. In summer, they feed on clover or grass or +other juicy herbs and show a fondness for sweet apples and fresh +cabbage; in our garden last summer Molly was very considerate. She +carefully pulled all the grass out of the garden-cress bed, leaving +the salad for our enjoyment. In winter, the long, gnawing teeth of +the cotton-tail are sometimes used to the damage of fruit trees and +nursery stock since the rabbits are obliged to feed upon bark in +order to keep alive. + +The long, strong hind legs and the long ears tell the whole bunny +story. Ears to hear the approach of the enemy, and legs to propel the +listener by long jumps to a safe retreat. The attitude of the ears +is a good indication of the bunny’s state of mind; if they are set +back to back and directed backward, they indicate placidity, but a +placidity that is always on guard; if lifted straight up they signify +attention and anxiety; if one is bent forward and the other backward +the meaning is: “Now just where did that sound come from?” When +running or when resting in the form, the ears are laid back along the +neck. When the cotton-tail stands up on its haunches with both ears +erect, it looks very tall indeed. + +Not only are the ears always alert, but also the nose; the nostrils +are partially covered and in order to be always sure of getting every +scent they wabble constantly, the split upper lip aiding in this +performance; when the rabbit is trying to get a scent it moves its +head up and down in a sagacious, apprehensive manner. + +The rabbit has an upper and lower pair of incisors like other +rodents, but on the upper jaw there is a short incisor on each +side of the large teeth; these are of no use now but are inherited +from some ancestor which found them useful. There are at the back +of each side of the upper jaw six grinding teeth, and five on each +side of the lower jaw. The split upper lip allows the free use of +the upper incisors. The incisors are not only used for taking the +bark from trees, but also for cutting grass and other food. The +rabbit has a funny way of taking a stem of grass or clover at the +end and with much wabbling of lips, finally taking it in, meanwhile +chewing it with a sidewise motion of the jaws. The rabbits’ whiskers +are valuable as feelers, and are always kept on the _qui vive_ for +impressions; when two cotton-tails meet each other amicably, they +rub whiskers together. The eyes are large and dark and placed on the +bulge at the side of the head, so as to command the view both ways. +Probably a cotton-tail winks, but I never caught one in the act. + +The strong hind legs of the rabbit enable it to make prodigious +jumps, of eight feet or more; this is a valuable asset to an animal +that escapes its enemies by running. The front feet are short and +cannot be turned inward like those of the squirrel, to hold food. +There are five toes on the front feet, and four on the hind feet; the +hair on the bottom of the feet is a protection, much needed by an +animal which sits for long periods upon the snow. When sleeping, the +front paws are folded under and the rabbit rests on the entire hind +foot, with the knee bent, ready for a spring at the slightest alarm; +when awake, it rests on the hind feet and front toes; and when it +wishes to see if the coast is clear, it rises on its hind feet, with +front paws drooping. + +The cotton-tail has a color well calculated to protect it from +observation; it is brownish-gray on the back and a little lighter +along the sides, grayish under the chin and whitish below; the ears +are edged with black, and the tail when raised shows a large, white +fluff at the rear. The general color of the rabbit fits in with +natural surroundings; since the cotton-tail often escapes its enemies +by “freezing,” this color makes the scheme work well. I once saw +a marsh hare, on a stone in a brook, freezing most successfully. I +could hardly believe that a living thing could seem so much like a +stone; only its bright eyes revealed it to us. + +The rabbit cleans itself in amusing ways. It shakes its feet, one at +a time, with great vigor and rapidity to get off the dirt and then +licks them clean. It washes its face with both front paws at once. It +scratches its ear with the hind foot, and pushes it forward so that +it can be licked; it takes hold of its fur with its front feet to +pull it around within reach of the tongue. + +[Illustration: _Washing up._] + +The cotton-tail does not dig a burrow, but sometimes occupies the +deserted burrow of a woodchuck or skunk. Its nest is called a “form,” +which simply means a place beneath a cover of grass or briars, where +the grass is beaten down or eaten out for a space large enough for +the animal to sit. The mother makes a soft bed for the young, using +grass and her own hair for the purpose; and she constructs a coarse +felted coverlet, under which she tucks her babies with care, every +time she leaves them. Young rabbits are blind at first, but when +about three weeks old, are sufficiently grown to run quite rapidly. +Although there may be five or six in a litter, yet there are so many +enemies that only a few escape. + +Fox, mink, weasel, hawk, owl and snake all relish the young +cotton-tail if they can get it. Nothing but its runways through the +briars can save it. These roads wind in and out and across, twisting +and turning perplexingly; they are made by cutting off the grass +stems, and are just wide enough for the rabbit’s body. However, a +rabbit has weapons and can fight if necessary; it leaps over its +enemy, kicking it on the back fiercely with its great hind feet. Mr. +Seton tells of this way of conquering the black snake, and Mr. Sharp +saw a cat completely vanquished by the same method. The rabbit can +also bite, and when two males are fighting, they bite each other +savagely. Mr. E. W. Cleeves told me of a Belgian doe which showed her +enmity to cats in a peculiar way. She would run after any cats that +came in sight, butting them like a billy-goat. The cats soon learned +her tricks, and would climb a tree as soon as they caught sight of +her. The rabbit’s sound of defiance, is thumping the ground with the +strong hind foot. Some have declared that the front feet are used +also for stamping; although I have heard this indignant thumping more +than once, I could not see the process. The cotton-tail is a hare, +while the common domestic rabbit is a true rabbit. The two differ +chiefly in the habits of nesting; the hares rest and nest in forms, +while the rabbit makes burrows, digging rapidly with the front feet. + +[Illustration: _Rabbit tracks._] + +Not the least of tributes to the rabbit’s sagacity, are the negro +folk-stories told by Uncle Remus, wherein Bre’r Rabbit, although +often in trouble, is really the most clever of all the animals. I +have often thought when I have seen the tactics which rabbits have +adopted to escape dogs, that we in the North have under-rated the +cleverness of this timid animal. In one instance at least that came +under our observation, a cotton-tail led a dog to the verge of a +precipice, then doubled back to safety, while the dog went over, +landing on the rocks nearly three hundred feet below. + + + LESSON LIII + + THE COTTON-TAIL RABBIT + +_Leading thought_--The cotton-tail thrives amid civilization; its +color protects it from sight; its long ears give it warning of the +approach of danger; and its long legs enable it to run by swift, long +leaps. It feeds upon grasses, clover, vegetables and other herbs. + +[Illustration: _Belgian hares and Dutch rabbit._] + +_Method_--This study may be begun in the winter, when the rabbit +tracks can be observed and the haunts of the cotton-tail discovered. +If caught in a box trap, the cotton-tail will become tame if properly +fed and cared for, and may thus be studied at close range. The cage I +have used for rabbits as thus caught, is made of wire screen, nailed +to a frame, making a wire-covered box, two feet high and two or three +feet square, with a door at one side and no bottom. It should be +placed upon oil-cloth or linoleum, and thus may be moved to another +carpet when the floor needs cleaning. If it is impossible to study +the cotton-tail, the domestic rabbit may be used instead. + +_Observations_--1. What sort of tracks does the cotton-tail make in +the snow? Describe and sketch them. Where do you find these tracks? +How do you know which way the rabbit was going? Follow the track +and see if you can find where the rabbit went. When were these +tracks made, by night or by day? What does the rabbit do during the +day? What does it find to eat during the winter? How are its feet +protected so that they do not freeze in the snow? + +2. What are the two most noticeable peculiarities of the rabbit? +Of what use are such large ears? How are the ears held when the +rabbit is resting? When startled? When not quite certain about the +direction of the noise? Explain the reasons for these attitudes. When +the rabbit wishes to make an observation to see if there is danger +coming, what does it do? How does it hold its ears then? How are the +ears held when the animal is running? + +3. Do you think the rabbit has a keen sense of smell? Describe the +movements of the nostrils and explain the reason. How does it move +its head to be sure of getting the scent? + +4. What peculiarity is there in the upper lip? How would this be an +aid to the rabbit when gnawing? Describe the teeth; how do these +differ from those of the mouse or squirrel? Of what advantage are the +gnawing teeth to the rabbit? How does it eat a stem of grass? Note +the rabbit’s whiskers. What do you think they are used for? + +5. Describe the eyes. How are they placed so that the rabbit can see +forward and backward? Do you think that it sleeps with its eyes open? +Does it wink? + +6. Why is it advantageous to the rabbit to have such long, strong, +hind legs? Compare them in size with the front legs. Compare the +front and hind feet. How many toes on each? How are the bottoms of +the feet protected? Are the front feet ever used for holding food +like the squirrel’s? In what position are the legs when the rabbit is +resting? When it is standing? When lifted up for observation? + +7. How does the cotton-tail escape being seen? Describe its coat. Of +what use is the white fluff beneath the tail? Have you ever seen a +wild rabbit “freeze”? What is meant by freezing and what is the use +of it? + +8. In making its toilet how does the rabbit clean its face, ears, +feet, and fur? + +9. What do the cotton-tails feed upon during the summer? During the +winter? Do they ever do much damage? + +10. Describe the cotton-tail’s nest. What is it called? Does it +ever burrow in the ground? Does it ever use a second-hand burrow? +Describe the nest made for the young by the mother. Of what is the +bed composed? Of what is the coverlet made? What is the special use +of the coverlet? How do the young cotton-tails look? How old are they +before they are able to take care of themselves? + +11. What are the cotton-tail’s enemies? How does it escape them? Have +you ever seen the rabbit roads in a briar patch? Do you think that a +dog or fox could follow them? Do rabbits ever fight their enemies? If +so, how? How do they show anger? Do they stamp with the front or the +hind foot? + +12. Tell how the cotton-tail differs in looks and habits from the +common tame rabbit. How do the latter dig their burrows? How many +breeds of tame rabbits do you know? + +13. Write or tell stories on the following topics: “A Cotton-tail’s +Story of its Own Life Until it is a Year Old;” “The Jack-rabbit of +the West;” “The Habits of the White Rabbit or Varying Hare;” “The +Rabbit in Uncle Remus’ Tales.” + +_Supplementary reading_--“Raggylug” and “Little War Horse,” +Thompson-Seton; Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs; Watchers +in the Woods, Sharp; American Animals, Stone & Cram; Familiar Life in +Field and Forest, Mathews; Sharp Eyes, Gibson; Neighbors with Claws +and Hoofs, Johonnot; True Tales of Birds and Beasts, Jordan; Uncle +Remus Stories, especially The Tar Baby, which emphasizes the fact +that the rabbits’ runways are in the protecting briar-patch. + + + + +[Illustration: _Winter lodge of muskrats._ + +Photo by Silas Lottridge.] + + THE MUSKRAT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Having finished this first course of big-neck clams, they + were joined by a third muskrat, and, together, they filed + over the bank and down into the meadow. Shortly two of them + returned with great mouthfuls of the mud-bleached ends of + calamus-blades. Then followed the washing._ + + _They dropped their loads upon the plank, took up the stalks, + pulled the blades apart, and soused them up and down in the + water, rubbing them with their paws until they were as clean + and white as the whitest celery one ever ate. What a dainty + picture! Two little brown creatures, humped on the edge of a + plank, washing calamus in moonlit water!_” + --DALLAS LORE SHARP. + + +[Illustration: T] + +Tracking is a part of every boy’s education who aspires to a +knowledge of wood lore; and a boy with this accomplishment is sure to +be looked upon with great admiration by other boys, less skilled in +the interpretation of that writing made by small feet, on the soft +snow or on the mud of stream margins. To such a boy, the track of the +muskrat is well known, and very easily recognized. + +The muskrat is essentially a water animal, and therefore its tracks +are to be looked for along the edges of ponds, streams or in marshes. +Whether the tracks are made by walking or jumping, depends upon +the depth of the snow or mud; if it is deep, the animal jumps, but +in shallow snow or mud, it simply runs along. The tracks show the +front feet to be smaller than the hind ones. The muskrat track is, +however, characterized by the tail imprint. When the creature jumps +through the snow, the mark of the tail follows the paired imprints +of the feet; when it walks, there is a continuous line made by this +strong, naked tail. This distinguishes the track of the muskrat from +that of the mink, as the bushy tail of the latter does not make so +distinct a mark. Measuring the track, is simply a device for making +the pupils note its size and shape more carefully. The tracks may be +looked for during the thaws of March or February, when the muskrats +come out of the water to seek food. + +In appearance the muskrat is peculiar. The body is usually about a +foot in length and the tail about eight inches. The body is stout and +thickset, the head is rounded and looks like that of a giant meadow +mouse; the eyes are black and shining; the ears are short and close +to the head; the teeth, like those of other rodents, consist of a +pair of front teeth on each jaw, then a long, bare space and four +grinders on each side. There are long sensitive hairs about the nose +and mouth, like the whiskers of mice. + +The muskrat’s hind legs are much larger and stronger than the front +ones; and too, the hind feet are much longer than the front feet and +have a web between the toes; there are also stiff hairs which fill +the space between the toes, outside the web, thus making this large +hind foot an excellent swimming organ. The front toes are not webbed +and are used for digging. The claws are long, stout and sharp. The +tail is long, stout and flattened at the sides; it has little or no +fur upon it but is covered with scales; it is used as a scull and +also as a rudder when the muskrat is swimming. + +The muskrat’s outer coat consists of long, rather coarse hairs; its +under coat is of fur, very thick and fine, and although short, it +forms a waterproof protection for the body of the animal. In color, +the fur is dark brown above with a darker streak along the middle of +the back; beneath, the body is grayish changing to whitish on the +throat and lips, with a brown spot on the chin. In preparing the +pelts for commercial use, the long hairs are plucked out leaving +the soft, fine under coat, which is dyed and sold under the name of +“electric seal.” + +The muskrat is far better fitted by form, for life in the water than +upon the land. Since it is heavy-bodied and short-legged, it cannot +run rapidly but its strong, webbed hind feet are most efficient oars, +and it swims rapidly and easily; for rudder and propeller the strong, +flattened tail serves admirably, while the fine fur next the body +is so perfectly waterproof that, however much the muskrat swims or +dives, it is never wet. It is a skillful diver and can stay under +water for several minutes; when swimming, its nose and sometimes the +head and the tip of the tail appear on the surface of the water. + +The food of muskrats is largely roots, especially those of the sweet +flag and the yellow lily. They also feed on other aquatic plants +and are fond of the fresh-water shell-fish. Mr. Sharp tells us, in +one of his delightful stories, how the muskrats wash their food by +sousing it up and down in water many times before eating it. Often, +a muskrat chooses some special place upon the shore which it uses +for a dining-room, bringing there and eating pieces of lily root or +fresh-water clams, and leaving the debris to show where it habitually +dines. It does most of its hunting for food at night, although +sometimes it may be seen thus employed during the day. + +The winter lodge of the muskrat is a most interesting structure. +A foundation of tussocks of rushes, in a stream or shallow pond, +is built upon with reeds plastered with mud, making a rather +regular dome which may be nearly two or three feet high; or, if +many-chambered, it may be a grand affair of four or five feet +elevation; but it always looks so much like a natural hummock that +the eye of the uninitiated never regards it as a habitation. Always +beneath this dome and above the water line, is a snug, covered +chamber carpeted with a soft bed of leaves and moss, which has a +passage leading down into the water below, and also has an air-hole +for ventilation. In these cabins, closely cuddled together, three or +four in a chamber, the muskrats pass the winter. After the pond is +frozen they are safe from their enemies and are always able to go +down into the water and feed upon the roots of water plants. These +cabins are sometimes built in the low, drooping branches of willows +or on other objects. + +[Illustration: _A muskrat’s summer home._ + +Drawn by A. MacKinnon, a boy of 13 years.] + +Whether the muskrat builds itself a winter lodge or not, depends +upon the nature of the shore which it inhabits; if it is a place +particularly fitted for burrows, then a burrow will be used as a +winter retreat; but if the banks are shallow, the muskrats unite in +building cabins. The main entrance to the muskrat burrow is always +below the surface of the water, the burrow slanting upward and +leading to a nest well lined, which is above the reach of high water; +there is always an air hole above, for ventilating this nest, and +there is also often a passage, with a hidden entrance, leading out to +dry land. + +The flesh of the muskrat is delicious, and therefore the animal has +many enemies; foxes, weasels, dogs, minks and also hawks and owls +prey upon it. It escapes the sight of its enemies as does the mouse, +by having the color of its fur not noticeable; when discovered, +it escapes its enemies by swimming, although when cornered, it is +courageous and fights fiercely, using its strong incisors as weapons. +In winter, it dwells in safety when the friendly ice protects it from +all its enemies except the mink; but it is exposed to great danger +when the streams break up in spring, for it is then often driven from +its cabin by floods, and preyed upon while thus helplessly exposed. +The muskrat gives warning of danger to its fellows by splashing the +water with its strong tail. + +It is called muskrat because of the odor, somewhat resembling musk, +which it exhales from two glands on the lower side of the body +between the hind legs; these glands may be seen when the skin is +removed, which is the too common plight of this poor creature, since +it is hunted mercilessly for its pelt. + +[Illustration: _The muskrat._ + +Photo by Silas Lottridge.] + +The little muskrats are born in April and there are usually from six +to eight in a litter. Another litter may be produced in June or July +and a third in August or September. It is only thus, by rearing large +families often, that the muskrats are able to hold their own against +the hunters and trappers and their natural enemies. + +_References_--Wild Animals, Stone & Cram; A Watcher in the Woods, +Sharp; Wild Life, Ingersoll, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 396, U. S. Dept. +of Agriculture. + + + LESSON LIV + + THE MUSKRAT + +_Leading thought_--The muskrat, while a true rodent, is fitted for +life in the water more than for life upon the land. Its hind feet are +webbed for use as oars and its tail is used as a rudder. It builds +lodges of mud, cat-tails and rushes in which it spends the winter. + +_Method_--It might be well to begin this work by asking for +observations on the tracks of the muskrat which may be found about +the edges of almost any creek, pond or marsh. If there are muskrat +lodges in the region they should be visited and described. For +studying the muskrat’s form a live muskrat in captivity is almost +necessary. If one is trapped with a “figure four” it will not be +injured and it may be made more or less tame by feeding it with +sweet apples, carrots and parsnips. The pupils can thus study it at +leisure although they should not be allowed to handle the creature as +it inflicts very severe wounds and is never willing to be handled. +If a live muskrat cannot be obtained perhaps some hunter in the +neighborhood will supply a dead one for this observation lesson. + +While studying the muskrat the children should read all the stories +of beavers which are available as the two animals are very much alike +in their habits. + +_Observations_--1. In what locality have you discovered the tracks of +the muskrat? Describe its general appearance. Measure the muskrat’s +track as follows: (a) Width and length of the print of one foot; (b) +the width between the prints of the two hind feet; (c) the length +between the prints made by the hind feet in several successive steps +or jumps. + +2. Was the muskrat’s track made when the animal was jumping or +walking? Can you see in it a difference in the size of the front and +hind feet? Judging from the track, where do you think the muskrat +came from? What do you think it was hunting for? + +3. What mark does the tail make in the snow or mud? Judging by its +imprint, should you think the muskrat’s tail was long or short, bare +or brushy, slender or strong? + +4. How long is the largest muskrat you ever saw? How much of the +whole length is tail? Is the general shape of the body short and +heavy or long and slender? + +5. Describe the muskrat’s eyes, ears and teeth. For what are the +teeth especially fitted? Has the muskrat whiskers like mice and rats? + +6. Compare the front and hind legs as to size and shape. Is there a +web between the toes of the hind feet? What does this indicate? Do +you think that the muskrat is a good swimmer? + +7. Describe the muskrat fur. Compare the outer and under coat. What +is its color above and below? What is the name of muskrat fur in the +shops? + +8. Describe the tail. What is its covering? How is it flattened? What +do you think this strong, flattened tail is used for? + +9. Do you think the muskrat is better fitted to live in the water +than on land? How is it fitted to live in the water in the following +particulars: Feet? Tail? Fur? + +10. How much of the muskrat can you see when it is swimming? How long +can it stay under water when diving? + +11. What is the food of the muskrat? Where does it find it? How does +it prepare the food for eating? Does it seek its food during the +night or day? Have you ever observed the muskrat’s dining room? If +so, describe it. + +12. Describe the structure of the muskrat’s winter lodge, or cabin, +in the following particulars: Its size. Where built? Of what +material? How many rooms in it? Are these rooms above or below the +water level? Of what is the bed made? How is the nest ventilated? How +is it arranged so that the entrance is not closed by the ice? Is such +a home built by one or more muskrats? How many live within it? Do the +muskrats always build these winter cabins? What is the character of +the shores where they are built? + +13. Describe the muskrat’s burrow in the bank in the following +particulars: Is the entrance above or below water? Where and how is +the nest made? Is it ventilated? Does it have a back door leading out +upon the land? + +14. What are the muskrat’s enemies? How does it escape them? How +does it fight? Is it a courageous animal? How does the muskrat give +warning to its fellows when it perceives danger? At what time of year +is it comparatively safe? At what time is it exposed to greatest +danger? + +15. Why is this animal called muskrat? Compare the habits of muskrats +with those of beaver and write an English theme upon the similarity +of the two. + +16. At what time of year do you find the young muskrats? How many in +a litter? + +17. Read Farmers’ Bulletin No. 396 of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture +and write an English theme on the destructive habits of muskrats and +the economic uses of these animals. + +_Supplementary reading_--Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; Little +Beasts of Field and Wood, Cram; Squirrels and other Fur-bearers, +Burroughs; “The Builders” in Ways of Wood Folk, Long. + +[Illustration: _The white-footed, or deer, mouse._ + +Drawn by Anna Stryke.] + + + + +[Illustration: _The house mouse feeds upon almost anything which +people like to eat._] + + + THE HOUSE MOUSE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _Somewhere in the darkness a clock strikes two; + And there is no sound in the sad old house, + But the long veranda dripping with dew, + And in the wainscot--a mouse._ + --BRET HARTE. + + +[Illustration: W] + +Were mouse-gray a less inconspicuous color, there would be fewer +mice; when a mouse is running along the floor, it is hardly +discernible, it looks so like a flitting shadow; if it were black or +white or any other color, it would be more often seen and destroyed. +Undoubtedly, it is owing to the fact that its soft fur has this +shadowy color, that this species has been able to spread over the +world. + +At first glance one wonders what possible use a mouse can make of a +tail which is as long as its body, but a little careful observation +will reveal the secret. The tail is covered with transverse ridges +and is bare save for sparse hairs, except toward the tip. Dr. Ida +Reveley first called my attention to the fact that the house mouse +uses its tail in climbing. I verified this interesting observation, +and found that my mouse used the tail for aid when climbing a string. +He would go up the string, hand over hand, like a sailor, then in +trying to stretch to the edge of his jar, he invariably wound his +tail about the string two or three times, and hanging to the string +with the hind feet and tail, would reach far out with his head and +front feet. Also, when clinging to the edge of the cover of the jar, +he invariably used his tail as a brace against the side of the glass, +so that it pressed hard for more than half its length. Undoubtedly +the tail is of great service when climbing up the sides of walls. + +The tail is also of some use, when the mouse jumps directly upwards. +The hind legs are very much longer and stronger than the front legs. +The hind feet are also much longer and larger than the front feet; +and although the mouse, when it makes its remarkable jumps, depends +upon its strong hind legs, I am sure that often the tail is used as a +brace to guide and assist the leap. The feet are free from hairs but +are downy; the hind foot has three front toes, a long toe behind on +the outside and a short one on the inside. The claws are fairly long +and very sharp so that they are able to cling to almost anything but +glass. When exploring, a mouse stands on its hind feet, folding its +little front paws under its chin while it reaches up ready to catch +anything in sight; it can stretch up to an amazing height. It feeds +upon almost anything which people like to eat and, when eating, holds +its food in its front paws like a squirrel. + +The thin, velvety ears are flaring cornucopias for taking in sound; +the large, rounded outer ear can be moved forward or back to test the +direction of the noise. The eyes are like shining, black beads; and +if a mouse can wink, it does it so rapidly as not to be discernible. +The nose is long, inquisitive, and always sniffing for new +impressions. The whiskers are delicate and probably sensitive. The +mouth is furnished with two long, curved gnawing teeth at the front +of each jaw, then a bare space, and four grinding teeth on each side, +above and below, like the teeth of woodchucks and other rodents. The +gnawing teeth are very strong and enable the mouse to gnaw through +board partitions and other obstacles. + +The energy with which the mouse cleans itself is inspiring to behold. +It nibbles its fur and licks it with fervor, reaching around so as to +get at it from behind, and taking hold with its little hands to hold +firm while it cleans. When washing its face and head, it uses both +front feet, licking them clean and rubbing them both simultaneously +from behind the ears down over the face. It takes its hind foot in +both front feet and nibbles and licks it. It scratches the back of +its head with its hind foot. + +[Illustration: _Young mice, blind, pink and hairless._] + +Young mice are small, downy, pink and blind when born. The mother +makes for them a nice, soft nest of pieces of cloth, paper, grass, or +whatever is at hand; the nest is round like a ball and at its center +is nestled the family. Mice living in houses, have runways between +the plaster and the outside, or between ceiling and floor. In winter +they live on what food they can find, and upon flies or other insects +hibernating in our houses. The house mice sometimes live under stacks +of corn or grain in the fields, but usually confine themselves to +houses or barns. They are thirsty little fellows and they like to +make their nests within easy reach of water. Our house mice came from +ancestors which lived in Asia originally; they have always been great +travelers and they have followed men wherever they have gone, over +the world. They came to America on ships with the first explorers and +the Pilgrim fathers. They now travel back and forth, crossing the +ocean in ships of all sorts. They also travel across the continent on +trains. Wherever our food is carried they go; and the mouse, which +you see in your room one day, may be a thousand miles away within a +week. They are clever creatures, and learn quickly to connect cause +and effect. For two years, I was in an office in Washington, and as +soon as the bell rang for noon, the mice would appear instantly, +hunting waste-baskets for scraps of lunch. They had learned to +connect the sound of the bell with food. + +[Illustration: _Track of white-footed mouse._ + +Notice tail-track.] + +Of all our wild mice, the white-footed or deer mouse is the most +interesting and attractive. It is found almost exclusively in woods +and is quite different in appearance from other mice. Its ears are +very large; its fur is fine and beautiful and a most delicate gray +color. It is white beneath the head and under the sides of the body. +The feet are pinkish, the front paws have short thumbs, while the +hind feet are very much longer and have a long thumb looking very +much like an elfin hand in a gray-white silk glove. On the bottom of +the feet are callous spots which are pink and serve as foot pads. +It makes its nest in hollow trees and stores nuts for winter use. +We once found two quarts of shelled beech nuts in such a nest. It +also likes the hips of the wild rose and many kinds of berries; it +sometimes makes its summer home in a bird’s nest, which it roofs over +to suit itself. The young mice are carried, hanging to the mother’s +breasts. As an inhabitant of summer cottages, white-foot is cunning +and mischievous; it pulls cotton out of quilts, takes covers off of +jars, and as an explorer, is equal to the squirrel. I once tried to +rear some young deer mice by feeding them warm milk with a pipette; +although their eyes were not open, they invariably washed their faces +after each meal, showing that neatness was bred in the bone. This +mouse has a musical voice and often chirps as sweetly as a bird. Like +the house mouse it is more active at night. + +The meadow mouse is the one that makes its run-ways under the snow, +making strange corrugated patterns over the ground which attract our +attention in spring. It has a heavy body, short legs, short ears +and short tail. It is brownish or blackish in color. It sometimes +digs burrows straight into the ground, but more often makes its nest +beneath sticks and stones or stacks of corn. It is the nest of this +field mouse which the bumblebee so often takes possession of, after +it is deserted. The meadow mouse is a good fighter, sitting up like +a woodchuck and facing its enemy bravely. It needs to be courageous, +for it is preyed upon by almost every creature that feeds upon +small animals; the hawks and owls especially are its enemies. It is +well for the farmer that these mice have so many enemies, for they +multiply rapidly and would otherwise soon overrun and destroy the +grain fields. This mouse is an excellent swimmer. + +A part of winter work, is to make the pupils familiar with the tracks +of the meadow mice and how to distinguish them from other tracks. + +[Illustration: _Mouse traps._ + +The bow trap. + +1. A smooth splint or a peeled twig. 2. Splint bowed and tied at D, +the bait inserted at C. 3. The inverted bowl balanced on splint bow. + +Figure 4, trap.] + +_Trapping Field Mice_--Probably wild animals have endured more +cruelty through the agency of traps than through any other form of +human persecution. The savage steel traps often catch the animal by +the leg, holding it until it gnaws off the imprisoned foot, and thus +escapes maimed and handicapped for its future struggle for food; or +if the trap gets a strong hold, the poor creature may suffer tortures +during a long period, before the owner of the trap appears to put +an end to its sufferings by death. If box traps are used, they are +often neglected and the poor creature imprisoned, is left to languish +and starve. The teacher cannot enforce too strongly upon the child +the ethics of trapping. Impress upon him that the box traps are far +less cruel; but that if set, they must be examined regularly and not +neglected. The study of mice affords a good opportunity for giving +the children a lesson in humane trapping. Let them set a figure 4 +or a bowl trap, which they must examine every morning. The little +prisoners may be brought to school and studied; meanwhile, they +should be treated kindly and fed bountifully. After a mouse has been +studied, it should be set free, even though it be one of the quite +pestiferous field mice. The moral effect of killing an animal, after +a child has become thoroughly interested in it and its life, is +always bad. + +_References_--Claws and Hoofs, Johomot; American Animals, Stone & +Cram; Secrets of the Woods, Long; Wild Life, Ingersoll; Familiar Wild +Animals, Lottridge. + + + LESSON LV + + THE HOUSE MOUSE + +_Leading thought_--The mouse is fitted by color, form, agility and +habits to thrive upon the food which it steals from man, and to live +in the midst of civilized people. + +_Method_--A mouse cage can be easily made of wire window-screen +tacked upon a wooden frame. I have even used aquarium jars with +wire screen covers, and by placing one jar upon another, opening +to opening, and then laying them horizontal, the mouse can be +transferred to a fresh cage without trouble, and thus the mousey +odor can be obviated, while the little creature is being studied. A +little water in a wide-necked bottle can be lowered into this glass +house by a string, and the food can be given in like manner. Stripped +paper should be put into the jar for the comfort of the prisoner; a +stiff string hanging down from the middle of the cage will afford the +prisoner a chance to show his feats as an acrobat. + +_Observations_--1. Why is the color of the mouse of special benefit +to it? Do you think it protects it from the sight of its enemies? Can +you see a mouse easily as it runs across the room? What is the nature +of the fur of a mouse? + +2. How long is a mouse’s tail as compared with its body? What is the +covering of the tail? Of what use to the mouse is this long, ridged +tail? Watch the mouse carefully and discover, if you can, the use of +the tail in climbing. + +3. Is the mouse a good jumper? Are the hind legs long and strong +when compared with the front legs? How high do you think a mouse can +jump? Do you think it uses its tail as an aid in jumping? How much +of the legs are covered with hair? Compare the front and hind feet. +What sort of claws have they? How does the mouse use its feet when +climbing the string? How can it climb up the side of a wall? + +4. Describe the eyes. Do you think the mouse can see very well? Does +it wink? What is the shape of the ears? Do you think it can hear +well? Can it move its ears forward or backward? + +5. What is the shape of the snout? Of what advantage is this? Note +the whiskers. What is their use? Describe the mouth. Do you know how +the teeth are arranged? For what other use than to bite food does the +mouse use its teeth? What other animals have their teeth arranged +like those of the mouse? What food does the house mouse live upon? +How does it get it? + +6. How does the mouse act when it is reaching up to examine +something? How does it hold its front feet? Describe how the mouse +washes its face. Its back. Its feet. + +7. Where does the house mouse build its nest? Of what material? How +do the baby mice look? Can they see when they are first born? + +8. House mice are great travelers. Can you tell how they manage to +get from place to place? Write a story telling all you know of their +habits. + +9. How many kinds of mice do you know? Does the house mouse ever live +in the field? What do you know of the habits of the white-footed +mouse? Of the meadow mice? Of the jumping mice? + + + + + THE WOODCHUCK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: H] + +He who knows the ways of the woodchuck can readily guess where it +is likely to be found; it loves meadows and pastures where grass +or clover lushly grows. It is also fond of garden truck and has a +special delectation for melons. The burrow is likely to be situated +near a fence or stone heap, which gives easy access to the chosen +food. The woodchuck makes its burrow by digging the earth loose with +its front feet, and pushing it backward and out of the entrance +with the hind feet. This method leaves the soil in a heap near the +entrance, from which paths radiate into the grass in all directions. +If one undertakes to dig out a woodchuck, one needs to be not only a +husky individual, but something of an engineer; the direction of the +burrow extends downward for a little way, and then rises at an easy +angle, so that the inmate may be in no danger of flood. The nest is +merely an enlargement of the burrow, lined with soft grass, which the +woodchucks bring in in their mouths. During the early part of the +season, the father and mother and the litter of young may inhabit the +same burrow, although there are likely to be at least two separate +nests. There is usually more than one back door to the woodchuck’s +dwelling, through which it may escape, if pressed too closely by +enemies; these back doors differ from the entrance, in that they are +usually hidden and have no earth heaped near them. + +The woodchuck usually feeds in the morning and again in the evening, +and is likely to spend the middle of the day resting. It often goes +some distance from its burrow to feed, and at short intervals, lifts +itself upon its hind feet to see if the coast is clear; if assailed, +it will seek to escape by running to its burrow; and when running, +it has a peculiar gait well described as “pouring itself along.” If +it reaches its burrow, it at once begins to dig deeply and throw +the earth out behind it, thus making a wall to keep out the enemy. +When cornered, the woodchuck is a courageous and fierce fighter; its +sharp incisors prove a powerful weapon and it will often whip a dog +much larger than itself. Every boy knows how to find whether the +woodchuck is in its den or not, by rolling a stone into the burrow, +and listening; if the animal is at home, the sound of its digging +apprises the listener of the fact. In earlier times, the ground-hogs +were much preyed upon by wolves, wildcats and foxes; now, only the +fox remains and he is fast disappearing, so that at present, the +farmer and his dog are about the only enemies this burrower has to +contend with. It is an animal of resources and will climb a tree if +attacked by a dog; it will also climb trees for fruit, like peaches. +During the late summer, it is the ground-hog’s business to feed +very constantly and become very fat. About the first of October, it +retires to its den and sleeps until the end of March or April. During +this dormant state, the beating of its heart is so faint as to be +scarcely perceptible, and very little nourishment is required to +keep it alive; this nourishment is supplied by the fat stored in its +body, which it uses up by March, and comes out of its burrow in the +spring, looking gaunt and lean. The old saying that the ground-hog +comes out on Candlemas Day, and if it sees its shadow, goes back to +sleep for six weeks more, may savor of meteorological truth, but it +is certainly not true of the ground-hog. + +The full-grown woodchuck ordinarily measures about two feet in +length. Its color is grizzly or brownish, sometimes blackish in +places; the under parts are reddish and the feet black. The fur +is rather coarse, thick and brown, with longer hairs which are +grayish. The skin is very thick and tough and seems to fit loosely, +a condition which gives the peculiar “pouring along” appearance when +it is running. The hind legs and feet are longer than those in front. +Both pairs of feet are fitted for digging, the front ones being used +for loosening the earth and the hind pair for kicking it out of the +burrow. + +[Illustration: _Treed!_ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The woodchuck’s ears are roundish and not prominent, and by muscular +contraction they are closed when the animal is digging, so that no +soil can enter; the sense of hearing is acute. The teeth consist of +two large incisors at the front of each jaw, a bare space and four +grinders on each side, above and below; the incisors are used for +biting food and also for fighting. The eyes are full and bright. The +tail is short and brushy, and it with the hind legs, form a tripod +which supports the animal, as it sits with its forefeet lifted. + +When feeding, the woodchuck often makes a contented grunting noise; +when attacked and fighting, it growls; and when feeling happy +and conversational, it sits up and whistles. I had a woodchuck +acquaintance once which always gave a high, shrill, almost birdlike +whistle when I came in view, a very jolly greeting. There are plenty +of statements in books that woodchucks are fond of music, and Mr. +Ingersoll states that at Wellesley College a woodchuck on the chapel +lawn was wont to join the morning song exercises with a “clear +soprano.” The young woodchucks are born about the first of May and +the litter usually numbers four or five. In June the “chucklings” may +be seen following the mother in the field with much babyish grunting. +If captured at this period, they make every interesting pets. By +August or September the young woodchucks leave the home burrow and +start burrows of their own. + +_References_--Wild Animals, Stone & Cram; Wild Neighbors, Ingersoll; +Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs; Familiar Wild Animals, +Lottridge. + + + LESSON LVI + + THE WOODCHUCK OR GROUND-HOG + +_Leading thought_--The woodchuck has thriven with civilization, +notwithstanding the farmer’s dog, gun, traps and poison. It makes +its nest in a burrow in the earth and lives upon vegetation; it +hibernates in winter. + +_Method_--Within convenient distance for observation by the pupils +of every country schoolhouse and of most village schoolhouses, maybe +found a woodchuck and its dwelling. The pupils should be given the +outline for observations which should be made individually through +watching the woodchuck for weeks or months. + +_Observations_--1. Where is the woodchuck found? On what does it +live? At what time of day does it feed? How does it act when startled? + +2. Is the woodchuck a good fighter? With what weapons does it fight? +What are its enemies? How does it escape its enemies when in or out +of its burrow? How does it look when running? + +3. What noises does the woodchuck make and what do they mean? Play a +“mouth-organ” near the woodchuck’s burrow and note if it likes music. + +4. How does the woodchuck make its burrow? Where is it likely to be +situated? Where is the earth placed which is taken from the burrow? +How does the woodchuck bring it out? How is the burrow made so +that the woodchuck is not drowned in case of heavy rains? In what +direction do the underground galleries go? Where is the nest placed +in relation to the galleries? Of what is the nest made? How is the +bedding carried in? Of what special use is the nest? + +5. Do you find paths leading to the entrances of the burrow? If so, +describe them. How can you tell whether a woodchuck is at home or not +if you do not see it enter? Where is the woodchuck likely to station +itself when it sits up to look for intruders? + +6. How many woodchucks inhabit the same burrow? Are there likely to +be one or more back doors to the burrow? What for? How do the back +doors differ from the front doors? + +7. How long is the longest woodchuck that you have ever seen? What +is the woodchuck’s color? Is its fur long or short? Coarse or fine? +Thick or sparse? Is the skin thick or thin? Does it seem loose or +close fitting? + +8. Compare the front and hind feet and describe difference in size +and shape. Are either or both slightly webbed? Explain how both +front and hind feet and legs are adapted by their shape to help the +woodchuck. Is the tail long or short? How does it assist the animal +in sitting up? + +9. What is the shape of the woodchuck’s ear? Can it hear well? Why +are the ears not filled with soil when the animal is burrowing? Of +what use are the long incisors? Describe the eyes. + +10. How does the woodchuck prepare for winter? Where and how does +it pass the winter? Did you ever know a woodchuck to come out on +Candlemas Day to look for its shadow? + +11. When does the woodchuck appear in the spring? Compare its general +appearance in the fall and in the spring and explain the reason for +the difference. + +12. When are the young woodchucks born? What do you know of the way +the mother woodchuck cares for her young? + + * * * * * + + _As I turned round the corner of Hubbard’s Grove, saw a + woodchuck, the first of the season, in the middle of the field + six or seven rods from the fence which bounds the wood, and + twenty rods distant. I ran along the fence and cut him off, + or rather overtook him, though he started at the same time. + When I was only a rod and a half off, he stopped, and I did + the same; then he ran again, and I ran up within three feet + of him, when he stopped again, the fence being between us. I + squatted down and surveyed him at my leisure. His eyes were + dull black and rather inobvious, with a faint chestnut iris, + with but little expression and that more of resignation than + of anger. The general aspect was a coarse grayish brown, a + sort of grisel. A lighter brown next the skin, then black + or very dark brown and tipped with whitish rather loosely. + The head between a squirrel and a bear, flat on the top and + dark brown, and darker still or black on the tip of the nose. + The whiskers black, two inches long. The ears very small and + roundish, set far back and nearly buried in the fur. Black + feet, with long and slender claws for digging. It appeared to + tremble, or perchance shivered with cold. When I moved, it + gritted its teeth quite loud, sometimes striking the under + jaw against the other chatteringly, sometimes grinding one + jaw on the other, yet as if more from instinct than anger. + Whichever way I turned, that way it headed. I took a twig a + foot long and touched its snout, at which it started forward + and bit the stick, lessening the distance between us to two + feet, and still it held all the ground it gained. I played + with it tenderly awhile with the stick, trying to open its + gritting jaws. Ever its long incisors, two above and two + below, were presented. But I thought it would go to sleep if + I stayed long enough. It did not sit upright as sometimes, + but standing on its fore feet with its head down, i. e., half + sitting, half standing. We sat looking at one another about + half an hour, till we began to feel mesmeric influences. + When I was tired, I moved away, wishing to see him run, but + I could not start him. He would not stir as long as I was + looking at him or could see him. I walked around him; he + turned as fast and fronted me still. I sat down by his side + within a foot. I talked to him quasi forest lingo, baby-talk, + at any rate in a conciliatory tone, and thought that I had + some influence on him. He gritted his teeth less. I chewed + checkerberry leaves and presented them to his nose at last + without a grit; though I saw that by so much gritting of the + teeth he had worn them rapidly and they were covered with a + fine white powder, which, if you measured it thus, would have + made his anger terrible. He did not mind any noise I might + make. With a little stick I lifted one of his paws to examine + it, and held it up at pleasure. I turned him over to see what + color he was beneath (darker or most pusely brown), though he + turned himself back again sooner than I could have wished. + His tail was also brown, though not very dark, rat-tail like, + with loose hairs standing out on all sides like a caterpillar + brush. He had a rather mild look. I spoke kindly to him. I + reached checkerberry leaves to his mouth. I stretched my hands + over him, though he turned up his head and still gritted a + little. I laid my hand on him, but immediately took it off + again, instinct not being wholly overcome. If I had had a few + fresh bean leaves, thus in advance of the season, I am sure + I should have tamed him completely. It was a frizzly tail. + His is a humble, terrestrial color like the partridge’s, well + concealed where dead wiry grass rises above darker brown or + chestnut dead leaves--a modest color. If I had had some food, + I should have ended with stroking him at my leisure. Could + easily have wrapped him in my handkerchief. He was not fat nor + particularly lean. I finally had to leave him without seeing + him move from the place. A large, clumsy, burrowing squirrel. + Arctomys, bear-mouse. I respect him as one of the natives. He + lies there, by his color and habits so naturalized amid the + dry leaves, the withered grass, and the bushes. A sound nap, + too, he has enjoyed in his native fields, the past winter. I + think I might learn some wisdom of him. His ancestors have + lived here longer than mine. He is more thoroughly acclimated + and naturalized than I. Bean leaves the red man raised for + him, but he can do without them._ + --THOREAU’S JOURNAL. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE RED SQUIRREL OR CHICKAREE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _Just a tawny glimmer, a dash of red and gray, + Was it a flitting shadow, or a sunbeam gone astray! + It glances up a tree trunk, and a pair of bright eyes glow + Where a little spy in ambush is measuring his foe. + I hear a mocking chuckle, then wrathful, he grows bold + And stays his pressing business to scold and scold and scold._ + + +[Illustration: W] + +We ought to yield admiring tribute to those animals which have been +able to flourish in our midst despite man and his gun, this weapon +being the most cowardly and unfair invention of the human mind. +The only time that man has been a fair fighter, in combating his +four-footed brethren, was when he fought them with a weapon which +he wielded in his hand. There is nothing in animal comprehension +which can take into account a projectile, and much less a shot from +a gun; but though it does not understand, it experiences a deathly +fear at the noise. It is pathetic to note the hush in a forest that +follows the sound of a gun; every song, every voice, every movement +is stilled and every little heart filled with nameless terror. How +any man or boy can feel manly when, with this scientific instrument +of death in his hands, he takes the life of a little squirrel, bird +or rabbit, is beyond my comprehension. In pioneer days when it was a +fight for existence, man against the wilderness, the matter was quite +different; but now it seems to me that anyone who hunts what few +wild creatures we have left, and which are in nowise injurious, is, +whatever he may think of himself, no believer in fair play. + +Within my own memory, the beautiful black squirrel was as common in +our woods as was his red cousin; the shot-gun has exterminated this +splendid species. Well may we rejoice that the red squirrel has, +through its lesser size and greater cunning, escaped a like fate; and +that pugnacious and companionable and shy, it lives in our midst and +climbs our very roofs to sit there and scold us for coming within its +range of vision. It has succeeded not only in living despite of man, +but because of man, for it rifles our grain bins and corn cribs and +waxes opulent by levying tribute upon our stores. + +Thoreau describes most graphically the movements of this squirrel. +He says: “All day long the red squirrels came and went. One would +approach at first warily, warily, through the shrub-oaks, running +over the snow crust by fits and starts and like a leaf blown by the +wind, now a few paces this way, with wonderful speed and waste of +energy, making inconceivable haste with his “trotters,” as if it +were for a wager, and now as many paces that way, but never getting +on more than half a rod at a time; and then suddenly pausing with +a ludicrous expression and a gratuitous somersault, as if all the +eyes of the universe were fixed on him,... and then suddenly, before +you could say Jack Robinson he would be in the top of a young pitch +pine, winding up his clock, and chiding all imaginary spectators, +soliloquizing and talking to all the universe at the same time.” + +It is surely one of the most comical of sights to see a squirrel stop +running and take observations; he lifts himself on his haunches, and +with body bent forward, presses his little paws against his breast +as if to say, “Be still, oh my beating heart!” which is all pure +affectation because he knows he can scurry away in perfect safety. He +is likely to take refuge on the far side of a tree, peeping out from +this side and that, and whisking back like a flash as he catches our +eye; we might never know he was there except as Riley puts it, “he +lets his own tail tell on him.” When climbing up or down a tree, he +goes head first and spreads his legs apart to clasp as much of the +trunk as possible; meanwhile his sharp little claws cling securely to +the bark. He can climb out on the smallest twigs quite as well, when +he needs to do so, in passing from tree to tree or when gathering +acorns. + +[Illustration: _Red squirrel or Chickaree._] + +A squirrel always establishes certain roads to and from his abiding +place and almost invariably follows them. Such a path may be entirely +in the treetops, with air bridges from a certain branch of one tree +to a certain branch of another, or it may be partially on the ground +between trees. I have made notes of these paths in the vicinity of +my own home, and have noted that if a squirrel leaves them for +exploring, he goes warily; while, when following them, he is quite +reckless in his haste. When making a jump from tree to tree, he +flattens himself as widely as possible and his tail is held somewhat +curved, but on a level with the body, as if its wide brush helped to +buoy him up and perhaps to steer him also. + +During the winter the chickaree is quite dingy in color and is an +inconspicuous object, especially when he “humps himself up” so that +he resembles a knot on a limb; but with the coming of spring, he dons +a brighter coat of tawny-red and along his sides, where the red meets +the grayish white of the under side, there is a dark line which is +very ornamental; and now his tail is a shower of ruddiness. As the +season advances, the colors seem to fade; they are probably a part +of his wooing costume. When dashing up a tree trunk, his color is +never very striking but looks like the glimmer of sunlight; this has +probably saved many of his kind from the gunner, whose eyes being at +the front of his head, cannot compare in efficiency with those of the +squirrel, which being large and full and alert, are placed at the +sides of the head so as to see equally well in all directions. + +The squirrel’s legs are short because he is essentially a climber +rather than a runner; the hips are very strong which insures his +power as a jumper and his leaps are truly remarkable. A squirrel uses +his front paws for hands in a most human way; with them he washes +his face and holds his food up to his mouth while eating, and it is +interesting to note the skill of his claws when used as fingers. The +track he makes in the snow is quite characteristic. The tracks are +paired and those of the large five-toed hind feet are always in front. + +[Illustration: _Squirrel tracks._] + +The squirrel has two pairs of gnawing teeth which are very long and +strong, as in all rodents, and he needs to keep busy gnawing hard +things with them, or they will grow so long that he cannot use them +at all and will starve to death. He is very clever about opening nuts +so as to get all the meats. He often opens a hickory nut with two +holes which tap the places of the nut meats squarely; with walnuts or +butternuts, which have much harder shells, he makes four small holes, +one opposite each quarter of the kernel. He has no cheek-pouches like +a chipmunk but he can carry corn and other grain. He often fills his +mouth so full that his cheeks bulge out like those of a boy eating +pop-corn; but anything as large as a nut he carries in his teeth. +His food is far more varied than many suppose and he will eat almost +anything eatable; he is a little pirate and enjoys stealing from +others with keenest zest. In spring, he eats leaf buds and hunts our +orchards for apple seeds. In winter, he feeds on nuts and cones; +it is marvelous how he will take a cone apart, tearing off the +scales and leaving them in a heap while searching for seeds; he is +especially fond of the seeds of Norway spruce and hemlock. Of course, +he is fond of nuts of all kinds and will cut the chestnut burs from +the tree before they are ripe, so that he may get ahead of the other +harvesters. He stores his food for winter in all sorts of odd places +and often forgets where he puts it. We often find his winter stores +untouched the next summer. He also likes birds’ eggs and nestlings, +and if it were not for the chastisement he gets from the parent +robins, he would work much damage in this way. + +The squirrel is likely to be a luxurious fellow and have a winter and +a summer home. The former is in some hollow tree or other protected +place; the summer home consists of a platform of twigs in some +tree-top, often built upon an abandoned crow or hawk nest; but just +how he uses these two homes, is as yet, a matter of guessing and is a +good subject for young naturalists to investigate. During the winter, +he does not remain at home except in coldest weather, when he lies +cozily with his tail wrapped around him like a boa to keep him warm. +He is too full of interest in the world to lie quietly long, but +comes out, hunts up some of his stores, and finds life worth while +despite the cold. One squirrel adopted a bird house in one of our +trees, and he or his kin have lived there for years; in winter, he +takes his share of the suet put on the trees for birds, and because +of his greediness, we have been compelled to use picture wire for +tying on the suet. + +The young are born in a protected nest, usually in the hollow of +a tree. There are four to six young in a litter and they appear +in April. If necessary to move the young, the mother carries the +squirrel baby clinging to her breast with its arms around her neck. + +The squirrel has several ways of expressing his emotions; one is by +various curves in his long beautiful, bushy tail. If the creatures +of the wood had a stage, the squirrel would have to be their chief +actor. Surprise, incredulousness, indignation, fear, anger and joy +are all perfectly expressed by tail gestures and also by voice. +As a vocalist he excels; he chatters with curiosity, “chips” with +surprise, scolds by giving a gutteral trill, finishing with a +falsetto squeal. He is the only singer I know who can carry two parts +at a time. Notice him sometimes in the top of a hickory or chestnut +tree when nuts are ripe, and you will hear him singing a duet all by +himself, a high shrill chatter with a chuckling accompaniment. Long +may he abide with us as an uninvited guest at our cribs! For, though +he be a freebooter and conscienceless, yet our world would lack its +highest example of incarnate grace and activity, if he were not in it. + + + LESSON LVII + + THE RED SQUIRREL OR CHICKAREE + +_Leading thought_--The red squirrel by its agility and cleverness +has lived on, despite its worst enemy--man. By form and color and +activity it is fitted to elude the hunter. + +_Method_--If a pet squirrel in a cage can be procured for observation +at the school, the observations on the form and habits of the animal +can be best studied thus; but a squirrel in a cage is an anomaly and +it is far better to stimulate the pupils to observe the squirrels +out of doors. Give the following questions, a few at a time, and ask +the pupils to report the answers to the entire class. Much should be +done with the supplementary reading, as there are many interesting +squirrel stories illustrating its habits. + +_Observations_--1. Where have you seen a squirrel? Does the squirrel +trot along or leap when running on the ground? Does it run straight +ahead or stop at intervals for observation? How does it look? How +does it act when looking to see if the “coast is clear”? + +2. When climbing a tree, does it go straight up, or move around +the trunk? How does it hide itself behind a tree trunk and observe +the passer-by? Describe how it manages to climb a tree. Does it go +down the tree head first? Is it able to climb out on the smallest +branches? Of what advantage is this to it? + +3. Look closely and see if a squirrel follows the same route always +when passing from one point to another. How does it pass from tree to +tree? How does it act when preparing to jump? How does it hold its +legs and tail when in the air during a jump from branch to branch? + +4. Describe the colors of the red squirrel above and below. Is there +a dark stripe along its side, if so, what color? How does the color +of the squirrel protect it from its enemies? Is its color brighter in +summer or in winter? + +5. How are the squirrel’s eyes placed? Do you think it can see behind +as well as in front all the time? Are its eyes bright and alert, or +soft and tender? + +6. Are its legs long or short? Are its hind legs stronger and longer +than the front legs? Why? Why does it not need long legs? Do its paws +have claws? How does it use its paws when eating and in making its +toilet? + +7. Describe the squirrel’s tail. Is it as long as the body? Is it +used to express emotion? Of what use is it when the squirrel is +jumping? Of what use is it in the winter in the nest? + +8. What is the food of the squirrel during the autumn? Winter? +Spring? Summer? Where does it store food for the winter? Does it +steal food laid up by jays, chipmunks, mice or other squirrels? +How does it carry nuts? Has it cheek-pouches like the chipmunk for +carrying food? Does it stay in its nest all winter living on stored +food like a chipmunk? + +9. Where does the red squirrel make its winter home? Does it also +have a summer home, if so, of what is it made and where built? In +what sort of a nest are the young born and reared? At what time of +the year are the young born? How does the mother squirrel carry her +little ones if she wishes to move them? + +10. How much of squirrel language can you understand? How does it +express surprise, excitement, anger, or joy during the nut harvest? +Note how many different sounds it makes and try to discover what they +mean. + +11. Describe or sketch the tracks made by the squirrel in the snow. + +12. How does the squirrel get at the meats of the hickory nut and +the walnut? How are its teeth arranged to gnaw holes in such hard +substances as shells? + +_Supplementary reading_--Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, John +Burroughs; American Animals, Stone & Cram; Secrets of the Woods, +Long; Familiar Life in Field and Forest, Mathews; Little Beasts +of Field and Wood, Cram; Wild Neighbors, Ingersoll; Familiar Wild +Animals, Lottridge. + + + + + FURRY + + +[Illustration: F] + +Furry was a baby red squirrel. One day in May his mother was moving +him from one tree to another. He was clinging with his little arms +around her neck and his body clasped tightly against her breast, when +something frightened her and in her sudden movement, she dropped her +heavy baby in the grass. Thus, I inherited him and entered upon the +rather onerous duties of caring for a baby of whose needs I knew +little; but I knew that every well cared for baby should have a book +detailing all that happens to it, therefore, I made a book for Furry, +writing in it each day the things he did. If the children who have +pets keep similar books, they will find them most interesting reading +afterward, and they will surely enjoy the writing very much. + + + _Extracts from Furry’s Note-book_ + +May 18, 1902--The baby squirrel is just large enough to cuddle in +one hand. He cuddles all right when once he is captured; but he is +a terrible fighter, and when I attempt to take him in my hand, he +scratches and bites and growls so that I have been obliged to name +him Fury. I told him, however, if he improved in temper I would +change his name to Furry. + +May 19--Fury greets me, when I open his box, with the most +awe-inspiring little growls, which he calculates will make me turn +pale with fear. He has not cut his teeth yet, so he cannot bite very +severely, but that isn’t his fault, for he tries hard enough. The +Naturalist said cold milk would kill him, so I warmed the milk and +put it in a teaspoon and placed it in front of his nose; he batted +the spoon with both forepaws and tried to bite it, and thus got +a taste of the milk, which he drank eagerly lapping it up like a +kitten. When I hold him in one hand and cover him with the other, he +turns contented little somersaults over and over. + +May 20--Fury bit me only once to-day, when I took him out to feed +him. He is cutting his teeth on my devoted fingers. I tried giving +him grape-nuts soaked in milk, but he spat it out in disgust. +Evidently he does not believe he needs a food for brain and nerve. He +always washes his face as soon as he is through eating. + +May 21--Fury lies curled up under his blanket all day. Evidently +good little squirrels stay quietly in the nest, when the mother is +not at home to give them permission to run around. When Fury sleeps, +he rolls himself up in a little ball with his tail wrapped closely +around him. The squirrel’s tail is his “furs,” which he wraps around +him to keep his back warm when he sleeps in winter. + +May 23--Every time I meet Uncle John he asks, “Is his name Fury or +Furry now?” Uncle John is much interested in the good behavior of +even little squirrels. As Fury has not bitten me hard for two days, I +think I will call him Furry after this. He ate some bread soaked in +milk to-day, holding it in his hands in real squirrel fashion. I let +him run around the room and he liked it. + +May 25--Furry got away from me this morning and I did not find him +for an hour. Then I discovered him in a pasteboard box of drawing +paper with the cover on. How did he squeeze through? + +May 26--He holds the bowl of the spoon with both front paws while he +drinks the milk. When I try to draw the spoon away, to fill it again +after he has emptied it, he objects and hangs on to it with all his +little might, and scolds as hard as ever he can. He is such a funny, +unreasonable baby. + +May 28--To-night I gave Furry a walnut meat. As soon as he smelled +it he became greatly excited; he grasped the meat in his hands and +ran off and hid under my elbow, growling like a kitten with its first +mouse. + +May 30--Since he tasted nuts he has lost interest in milk. The nut +meats are too hard for his new teeth, so I mash them and soak them in +water and now he eats them like a little piggy-wig with no manners at +all. He loves to have me stroke his back while he is eating. He uses +his thumbs and fingers in such a human way that I always call his +front paws _hands_. When his piece of nut is very small he holds it +in one hand and clasps the other hand behind the one which holds the +dainty morsel, so as to keep it safe. + +May 31--When he is sleepy he scolds if I disturb him and turning +over on his back bats my hand with all of his soft little paws and +pretends that he is going to bite. + +June 4--Furry ranges around the room now to please himself. He is +a little mischief; he tips over his cup of milk and has commenced +gnawing off the wall paper behind the book-shelf to make him a nest. +The paper is green and will probably make him sorry. + +June 5--This morning Furry was hidden in a roll of paper. I put my +hand over one end of the roll and then reached in with the other +hand to get him; but he got me instead, because he ran up my sleeve +and was much more contented to be there than I was to have him. I +was glad enough when he left his hiding place and climbed to the top +shelf of the bookcase, far beyond my reach. + +June 6--I have not seen Furry for twenty-four hours, but he is here +surely enough. Last night he tipped over the ink bottle and scattered +nut shells over the floor. He prefers pecans to any other nuts. + +June 7--I caught Furry to-day and he bit my finger so it bled. +But afterwards, he cuddled in my hand for a long time, and then +climbed my shoulder and went hunting around in my hair and wanted +to stay there and make a nest. When I took him away, he pulled out +his two hands full of my devoted tresses. I’ll not employ him as a +hairdresser. + +June 9--Furry sleeps nights in the top drawer of my desk; he crawls +in from behind. When I pull out the drawer he pops out and scares me +nearly out of my wits; but he keeps his wits about him and gets away +before I can catch him. + +June 20--I keep the window open so Furry can run out and in and learn +to take care of himself out-of-doors. + +Furry soon learned to take care of himself, though he often returned +for nuts, which I kept for him in a bowl. He does not come very near +me out-of-doors, but he often speaks to me in a friendly manner from +a certain pitch pine tree near the house. + +There are many blank leaves in Furry’s note-book. I wish that he +could have written on these of the things that he thought about +me and my performances. It would certainly have been the most +interesting book concerning squirrels in the world. + + + + + THE CHIPMUNK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: W] + +While the chipmunk is a good runner and jumper, it is not so able a +climber as is the red squirrel, and it naturally stays nearer the +ground. One windy day I was struck by the peculiar attitude of what, +I first thought, was a red squirrel gathering green acorns from a +chestnut oak in front of my window. A second glance showed me that it +was a chipmunk lying close to the branch, hanging on for “dear life” +and with an attitude of extreme caution, quite foreign to the red +squirrel in a similar situation. It would creep out, seize an acorn +in its teeth, creep back to a larger limb, take off the shell, and +with its little paws stuff the kernel into its cheek pouches; it took +hold of one side of its mouth with one hand to stretch it out, as if +opening a bag, and stuffed the acorn in with the other. I do not know +whether this process was necessary or not at the beginning, for his +cheeks were distended when I first saw him; and he kept on stuffing +them until he looked as if he had a hopeless case of mumps. Then with +obvious care he descended the tree and retreated to his den in the +side hill, the door of which I had already discovered, although it +was well hidden by a bunch of orchard grass. + +Chipmunks are more easily tamed than red squirrels and soon learn +that pockets may contain nuts and other things good to eat. The first +tame chipmunk of my acquaintance belonged to a species found in the +California mountains. He was a beautiful little creature and loved to +play about his mistress’ room; she being a naturalist as well as a +poet, was able to understand her little companion, and the relations +between them were full of mutual confidence. He was fond of English +walnuts and would always hide away all that were placed in a dish on +the table. One day his mistress, when taking off her bonnet after +returning from church, discovered several of these nuts tucked safely +in the velvet bows; they were invisible from the front but perfectly +visible from the side. Even yet, she wonders what the people at +church that day thought of her original ideas in millinery; and she +wonders still more how “Chipsie” managed to get into the bonnet-box, +the cover of which was always carefully closed. + +[Illustration: _“Chipsie”, a chipmunk of the Sierras._] + +The chipmunk is a good home builder and carries off, presumably in +its cheek pouches, all of the soil which it removes in making its +burrow. The burrow is made usually in a dry hillside, the passageway +just large enough for its own body, widening to a nest which is well +bedded down. There is usually a back door also, so that in case +of necessity, the inmate can escape. It retires to this nest in +late November and does not appear again until March. In the nest, +it stores nuts and other grains so that when it wakens, at long +intervals, it can take refreshment. + +If you really wish to know whether you see what you look at or not, +test yourself by trying to describe the length, position and number +of the chipmunk’s stripes. These stripes, like those of the tiger in +the jungle, make the creature less conspicuous; when on the ground, +where its stripes fall in with the general shape and color of the +grass and underbrush, it is quite invisible until it stirs. Its tail +is not so long nor nearly so bushy as that of the squirrel; it does +not need a tail to balance and steer with in the tree tops; and since +it lives in the ground, a bushy tail would soon be loaded with earth +and would be an incubus instead of a thing of beauty. + +The chipmunk is not a vocalist like the red squirrel, but he can +cluck like a cuckoo and chatter gayly or cogently; and he can make +himself into a little bunch with his tail curved up his back, while +he eats a nut from both his hands, and is even more amusing than the +red squirrel in this attitude; probably because he is more innocent +and not so much of a _poseur_. His food consists of all kinds of +nuts, grain and fruit, but he does little or no damage, as a rule. He +is pretty and distinctly companionable, and I can rejoice, in that +I have had him and his whole family as my near neighbors for many +years. I always feel especially proud when he shows his confidence, +by scampering around our piazza floor and peeping in at our windows, +as if taking a reciprocal interest in us. + + + LESSON LVIII + + THE CHIPMUNK + +_Leading thought_--The chipmunk lives more on the ground than does +the squirrel; its colors are protective and it has cheek pouches in +which it carries food, and also soil when digging its burrow. It +stores food for winter in its den. + +_Method_--The field note-book should be the basis for this work. Give +the pupils an outline of observations to be made, and ask for reports +now and then. Meanwhile stimulate interest in the little creatures by +reading aloud from some of the references given. + +_Observations_--1. Do you see the chipmunk climbing around in trees +like the red squirrel? How high in a tree have you ever seen a +chipmunk? + +2. What are the chipmunk’s colors above and below? How many stripes +has it? Where are they and what are their colors? Do you think that +these stripes conceal the animal when among grasses and bushes? + +3. Compare the tails of the chipmunk and the red squirrel. Which is +the longer and bushier? Tell if you can the special advantage to the +chipmunk in having this less bushy tail? + +4. What does the chipmunk eat? How does it carry its food? How does +it differ in this respect from the red squirrel? Does it store its +food for winter use? How does it prepare its nuts? How does it hold +its food while eating? + +5. Where does the chipmunk make its home? How does it carry away +soil from its burrow? How many entrances are there? How is the den +arranged inside? Does it live in the same den the year round? When +does it retire to its den in the fall? When does it come out in the +spring? + +6. Does the chipmunk do any damage to crops? What seeds does it +distribute? At what time do the little chipmunks appear in the spring? + +7. Observe carefully the different tones of the chipmunk and compare +its chattering with that of the squirrel. + +_Supplementary reading_--Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers, John +Burroughs; American Animals, Stone and Cram. + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. + +_The Eastern Chipmunk._] + + + _TO A CAPTIVE CHIPMUNK OF THE SIERRAS_ + + _Bright little comrade from the woods, come show + Thy antic cheer about my sunlit room + Of books, that stand in moods of gloom + Because thought’s tide is out, heart’s rhythm is low + With weariness. Friendly thou art and know + Good friend in me, who yet did dare presume + To take thee from thy home, thy little doom + To make for thee, and longer life bestow. + So, thou hast not been eaten by the snake; + Thy gentle blood no weasel drank at night; + Thou hast not starved ’mid winter’s frozen wood, + Nor waited vainly for the sun to make + Sweet the wild nuts for thee. Yet, little sprite, + Thou still doth question if my deed were good?_ + --IRENE HARDY. + + + + + THE LITTLE BROWN BAT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _His small umbrella, quaintly halved, + Describing in the air an arc alike inscrutable,-- + Elate philosopher!_ + --EMILY DICKENSON. + + +[Illustration: W] + +Whoever first said “as blind as a bat,” surely never looked a bat in +the face, or he would not have said it. The deep-set, keen, observant +eyes are quite in keeping with the alert attitude of the erect, +pointed ears; while the pug-nose and the wide open, little, pink bag +of a mouth, set with tiny, sharp teeth, give this anomalous little +animal a deliciously impish look. Yet how have those old artists +belied the bat, who fashioned their demons after his pattern, ears, +eyes, nose, mouth, wings and all! Certain it is, if human beings ever +get to be winged angels in this world, they are far more likely to +have their wings fashioned like those of the bat than like those of +the bird. As a matter of fact, there are no other wings so wonderful +as the bat’s; the thin membrane is equipped with sensitive nerves +which inform the flier of the objects in his path, so that he darts +among the branches of trees at terrific speed and never touches a +twig; a blinded bat was once set free in a room, across which threads +were stretched, and he flew about without ever touching one. After +we have tamed one of these little, silky flitter-mice we soon get +reconciled to his wings for he proves the cunningest of pets; he soon +learns who feeds him, and is a constant source of entertainment. + +The flight of the bat is the highest ideal we may have, for the +achievement of the aeroplane. It consists of darting hither and +thither with incredible swiftness, and making sharp turns with no +apparent effort. Swifts and swallows are the only birds that can +compete with the bat in wing celerity and agility; it is interesting +to note that these birds also catch insects on the wing, for food. +The bat, like the swift, keeps his mouth open, scooping in all the +insects in his way; more than this, he makes a collecting net of the +wing membrane, stretched between the hind legs and tail, doubling it +up like an apron on the unfortunate insects, and then reaching down +and gobbling them up; and thus he is always doing good service to us +on summer evenings by swallowing mosquitoes and gnats. + +The short fur of the bat is as soft as silk, and covers the body +but not the wings; the plan of the wing is something like that of +the duck’s foot; it consists of a web stretched between very much +elongated fingers. If a boy’s fingers were as long in proportion, as +a bat’s, they would measure four feet. Stretched between the long +fingers is a thin, rubbery membrane, which extends back to the ankles +and thence back to the tip of the bony tail; thus, the bat has a +winged margin all around his body. Since fingers make the framework, +it is the thumb that projects from the front angle of the wing, +in the form of a very serviceable hook, resembling that used by a +one-armed man to replace the lost member. These hooks the bat uses +in many ways. He drags himself along the floor with their aid, or he +scratches the back of his head with them, if occasion requires. He +is essentially a creature of the air and is not at all fitted for +walking; his knees bend backward in an opposite direction from ours. +This renders him unable to walk, and when attempting to do so, he has +the appearance of “scrabbling” along on his feet and elbows. When +thus moving he keeps his wings fluttering rapidly, as if feeling his +way in the dark, and his movements are trembly. He uses his teeth to +aid in climbing. + +The little brown bat’s wings often measure nine inches from tip to +tip, and yet he folds them so that they scarcely show, he does not +fold them like a fan, but rather like a pocket knife. The hind legs +merely act as a support for the side wing, and the little hip bones +look pitifully sharp, the membrane reaches only to the ankle, the +tiny emaciated foot projecting from it is armed with five, wirelike +toes, tipped with sharp hooked claws. It is by these claws that he +hangs when resting during the day, for he is upside-down-y in his +sleeping habits, slumbering during the daytime, while hanging head +downward, without any inconvenience from a rush of blood to the +brain; when thus suspended, the tail is folded down. Sometimes he +hangs by one hind foot and a front hook; and he is a wee thing when +all folded together and hung up, with his nose tucked between his +hooked thumbs, in a very babyish fashion. + +The bat is very particular about his personal cleanliness. People who +regard the bat as a dirty creature, had better look to it that they +are even half as fastidious as he. He washes his face with the front +part of his wing, and then licks his wash-cloth clean; he scratches +the back of his head with his hind foot and then licks the foot; +when hanging head down, he will reach one hind foot down and scratch +behind his ear with an _aplomb_ truly comical in such a mite; but it +is most fun of all to see him clean his wings; he seizes the edges +in his mouth and stretches and licks the membrane until we are sure +it is made of silk elastic, for he pulls and hauls it in a way truly +amazing. + +The bat has a voice which sounds like the squeak of a toy +wheelbarrow, and yet it is expressive of emotions. He squeaks in one +tone when holding conversation with other bats, and squeaks quite +differently when seized by the enemy. + +The mother bat feeds her little ones from her breasts as a mouse does +its young, only she cradles them in her soft wings while so doing; +often she takes them with her when she goes out for insects in the +evenings; they cling to her neck during these exciting rides; but +when she wishes to work unencumbered, she hangs her tiny youngsters +on some twig and goes back to them later. The little ones are born in +July and usually occur as twins. During the winter, bats hibernate +like woodchucks or chipmunks. They select for winter quarters some +hollow tree or cave or other protected place. They go to sleep when +the cold weather comes, and do not awake until the insects are +flying; they then come forth in the evenings, or perhaps early in the +morning, and do their best to rid the world of mosquitoes and other +insect nuisances. + +There are many senseless fears about the bat; for instance, that he +likes to get tangled in a lady’s tresses, a situation which would +frighten him far more than the lady; or that he brings bedbugs into +the house, when he enters on his quest for mosquitoes, which is an +ungrateful slander. Some people believe that all bats are vampires, +and only await an opportunity to suck blood from their victims. It is +true that in South America there are two species which occasionally +attack people who are careless enough to sleep with their toes +uncovered, but feet thus injured seem to recover speedily; and these +bats do little damage to people, although they sometimes pester +animals; but there are no vampires in the United States. Our bats, +on the contrary, are innocent and beneficial to man; and if we had +more of them we should have less malaria. There a few species in our +country, which have little, leaf-like growths on the end of the nose; +and when scientists study the bat from a nature-study instead of an +anatomical standpoint, we shall know what these leafy appendages are +used for. + +[Illustration: _The little brown bat._] + + + LESSON LIX + + THE BAT + +_Leading thought_--Although the bat’s wings are very different +from those of the bird’s yet it is a rapid and agile flier. It +flies in the dusk and catches great numbers of mosquitoes and other +troublesome insects, upon which it feeds. + +_Method_--This lesson should not be given unless there is a live bat +to illustrate it; the little creature can be cared for comfortably in +a cage in the schoolroom, as it will soon learn to take flies or bits +of raw meat when presented on the point of a pencil or toothpick. Any +bat will do for this study, although the little brown bat is the one +on which my observations were made. + +_Observations_--1. At what time of day do we see bats flying? +Describe how the bat’s flight differs from that of birds. Why do bats +dart about so rapidly? + +2. Look at a captive bat and describe its wings. Can you see what +makes the framework of the wings? Do you see the three finger bones +extending out into the wings? How do the hind legs support the wing? +The tail? Is the wing membrane covered with fur? Is it thick and +leathery or thin and silky and elastic? How does the bat fold up its +wings? + +3. In what position does the bat rest? Does it ever hang by his thumb +hooks? + +4. Can you see whether the knees of the hind legs bend upward or +downward? How does the bat act when trying to walk or crawl? How does +it use its thumb hooks in doing this? + +5. What does the bat do daytimes? Where does it stay during the day? +Do many bats congregate together in their roosts? + +6. Describe the bat’s head, including the ears, eyes, nose and mouth. +What is its general expression? Do you think it can see and hear +well? How is its mouth fitted for catching insects? Does it shut its +mouth while chewing or keep it open? Do you think that bats can see +by daylight? + +7. What noises does a bat make? How does it act if you try to touch +it? Can it bite severely? Can you understand why the Germans call it +a flitter-mouse? + +8. Do you know how the mother bat cares for her young? How does she +carry them? At what time of year may we expect to find them? + +9. When making its toilet, how does a bat clean its wings? Its face? +Its back? Its feet? Do you know if it is very clean in his habits? + +10. How and where do the bats pass the winter? How are they +beneficial to us? Are they ever harmful? + +_Supplementary reading_--American Animals, Stone and Cram. + + * * * * * + + _Nature-study should not be unrelated to the child’s life and + circumstances. It stands for directness and naturalness. It + is astonishing when one comes to think of it, how indirect + and how remote from the lives of pupils much of our education + has been. Geography still often begins with the universe, and + finally, perhaps, comes down to some concrete and familiar + object or scene that the pupil can understand. Arithmetic has + to do with brokerage and partnerships and partial payments and + other things that mean nothing to the child. Botany begins + with cells and protoplasm and cryptogams. History deals with + political and military affairs, and only rarely comes down to + physical facts and to those events that express the real lives + of the people; and yet political and social affairs are only + the results of expressions of the way in which people live. + Readers begin with mere literature or with stories of scenes + the child will never see. Of course these statements are meant + to be only general, as illustrating what is even yet a great + fault in educational methods. There are many exceptions, and + these are becoming commoner. Surely, the best education is + that which begins with the materials at hand. A child knows a + stone before it knows the earth._ + --L. H. BAILEY in “THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA.” + + + + + THE SKUNK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +Those who have had experience with this animal, surely are glad that +it is small; and the wonder always is, that so little a creature +can make such a large impression upon the atmosphere. A fully grown +skunk is about two feet long: its body is covered with long, shining, +rather coarse hair, and the tail which is carried like a flag in the +air, is very large and bushy. In color, the fur is sometimes entirely +black, but most often has a white patch on the back of the neck, with +two stripes extending down the back and along the sides to the tail; +the face, also, has a white stripe. + +The skunk has a long head and a rather pointed snout; its front legs +are very much shorter than its hind legs, which gives it a very +peculiar gait. Its forefeet are armed with long, strong claws, with +which it digs its burrow, which is usually made in light soil. It +also often makes its home in some crevice in rocks, or even takes +possession of an abandoned woodchuck’s hole; or trusting to its +immunity from danger, makes its home under the barn. In the fall, it +becomes very fat, and during the early part of winter, hibernates +within its den; it comes out during the thaws of winter and early +spring. + +The young skunks appear in May; they are born in an enlarged portion +of the burrow, where a nice bed of grass and leaves is made for them; +the skunk is scrupulously neat about its own nest. The young skunks +are very active, and interesting to watch, when playing together like +kittens. + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. + +_The skunk._] + +The skunk belongs to the same family as the mink and weasel, which +also give off a disagreeable odor when angry. The fetid material +which is the skunk’s defence, is contained in two capsules under the +root of the tail. These little capsules are not larger than peas, and +the quantity of liquid forced from them in a discharge is scarcely +more than a large drop; yet it will permeate the atmosphere with +its odor for a distance of a mile. The fact that this discharge is +so disagreeable to all other animals, has had a retarding influence +upon the skunk’s intelligence. It has not been obliged to rely upon +its cunning to escape its enemies, and has therefore never developed +either fear or cleverness. It marches abroad without haste, confident +that every creature which sees it will give it plenty of room. It is +a night prowler, although it is not averse to a daytime promenade. +The white upon its fur gives warning at night, that here is an animal +which had best be left alone. This immunity from attack makes the +skunk careless in learning wisdom from experience; it never learns +to avoid a trap or a railway or trolley track. + +The skunk’s food consists largely of insects, mice, snakes and other +small animals. It also destroys the eggs and young of birds which +nest upon the ground. It uses its strong forepaws in securing its +prey. Dr. Merriam, who made pets of young skunks after removing their +scent capsules, found them very interesting. He says of one which was +named “Meph”: “We used to walk through the woods to a large meadow +that abounded in grasshoppers. Here, Meph would fairly revel in his +favorite food, and it was rich sport to watch his manœuvres. When a +grasshopper jumped, he jumped, and I have seen him with as many as +three in his mouth and two under his forepaws at the same time.” + +The only injury which the skunk is likely to do to the farmers, is +the raiding of the hens’ nests, and this can be obviated by properly +housing the poultry. On the other hand, the skunk is of great use +in destroying injurious insects and mice. Often when skunks burrow +beneath barns, they completely rid the place of mice. Skunk fur is +very valuable and is sold under the name of Alaskan sable. The skunk +takes short steps, and goes so slowly that it makes a double track, +the imprints being very close together. The foot makes a longer track +than that of the cat, as the skunk is plantigrade; that is, it walks +upon its palms and heels as well as its toes. + +[Illustration: _Skunk tracks._] + +_References_--Wild Neighbors, Ingersoll; Familiar Life in Field and +Forest, Mathews; American Animals, Stone and Cram; Squirrels and +Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs. + + + LESSON LX + + THE SKUNK + +_Leading thought_--The skunk has depended so long upon protecting +itself from its enemies by its disagreeable odor, that it has become +stupid in this respect, and seems never to be able to learn to keep +off of railroad tracks. It is a very beneficial animal to the farmer +because its food consists so largely of injurious insects and rodents. + +_Method_--The questions should be given the pupils and they should +answer them from personal observations or inquiries. + +_Observations_--1. How large is a skunk? Describe its fur. Where does +the black and white occur in the fur? Of what use is the white to the +skunk? Is the fur valuable? What is its commercial name? + +2. What is the shape of the skunk’s head? The general shape of the +body? The tail? Are the front legs longer or shorter than the hind +legs? Describe the front feet. For what are they used? + +3. Where and how does the skunk make its nest? Does it sleep like a +woodchuck during the winter? What is its food? How does it catch its +prey? Does it hunt for its food during the day or the night? Does +the skunk ever hurry? Is it afraid? How does it protect itself from +its enemies? Do you think that the skunk’s freedom from fear has +rendered the animal less intelligent? + +4. At what time do the skunk kittens appear? Have you ever seen +little skunks playing? If so, describe their antics. How is the nest +made soft for the young ones? + +5. How does the skunk benefit farmers? Does it ever do them any +injury? Do you think that it does more good than harm? + +6. Describe the skunk’s track as follows: How many toes show in the +track? Does the palm or heel show? Are the tracks near together? Do +they form a single or a double line? + +_Supplementary reading_--Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs. + + * * * * * + + _Saw a little skunk coming up the river bank in the woods at + the white oak, a funny little fellow, about six inches long + and nearly as broad. It faced me and actually compelled me to + retreat before it for five minutes. Perhaps I was between it + and its hole. Its broad black tail, tipped with white, was + erect like a kitten’s. It had what looked like a broad white + band drawn tight across its forehand or top-head, from which + two lines of white ran down, one on each side of its back, and + there was a narrow white line down its snout. It raised its + back, sometimes ran a few feet forward, sometimes backward, + and repeatedly turned its tail to me, prepared to discharge + its fluid, like the old ones. Such was its instinct, and all + the while it kept up a fine grunting like a little pig or a + red squirrel._ + --HENRY THOREAU. + + * * * * * + + _Few animals are so silent as the skunk. Zoological works + contain no information as to its voice, and the essayists + rarely mention it except by implication. Mr. Burroughs says: + “The most silent creature known to me, he makes no sound, so + far as I have observed, save a diffuse, impatient noise, like + that produced by beating your hand with a whisk-broom, when + the farm-dog has discovered his retreat in the stone fence.” + Rowland Robinson tells us that: “The voiceless creature + sometimes frightens the belated farm-boy, whom he curiously + follows with a mysterious hollow beating of his feet upon the + ground.” Thoreau, as has been mentioned, heard one keep up + a “fine grunting, like a little pig or a squirrel;” but he + seems to have misunderstood altogether a singular loud patting + sound heard repeatedly on the frozen ground under the wall, + which he also listened to, for he thought it “had to do with + getting its food, patting the earth to get the insects or + worms.” Probably he would have omitted this guess if he could + have edited his diary instead of leaving that to be done after + his death. The patting is evidently merely a nervous sign of + impatience or apprehension, similar to the well-known stamping + with the hind feet indulged in by rabbits, in this case + probably a menace like a doubling of the fists, as the hind + legs, with which they kick, are their only weapons. The skunk, + then, is not voiceless, but its voice is weak and querulous, + and it is rarely if ever heard except in the expression of + anger._ + --ERNEST INGERSOL IN “WILD NEIGHBORS.” + + + + +[Illustration: _The raccoon._ + +Photo by George Fiske, Jr.] + + + THE RACCOON + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: N] + +None other of our little brothers of the forest, has such a +mischievous countenance as the coon. The black patch across the face +and surrounding the eyes, like large goggles, and the black line +extending from the long, inquisitive nose directly up the forehead +give the coon’s face an anxious expression; and the keenness of +the big, beady, black eyes and the alert, “sassy” looking, broadly +triangular ears, convince one that the anxiety depicted in the face +is anxiety lest something that should _not_ be done be left undone; +and I am sure that anyone who has had experience with pet coons will +aver that their acts do not belie their looks. + +[Illustration: _Coon tracks._ + +1 Walking 2 Jumping ] + +What country child, wandering by the brook and watching its +turbulence in early spring, has not viewed with awe, a footprint on +the muddy banks looking as if it were made by the foot of a very +little baby. The first one I ever saw, I promptly concluded was +made by the foot of a brook fairy. However, the coon is no fairy; +it is a rather heavy, logy animal and, like the bear and skunk, is +plantigrade, walking on the entire foot instead of on the toes, like +a cat or dog. The hind foot is long, with a well-marked heel, and +five comparatively short toes, giving it a remarkable resemblance to +a human foot. The front foot is smaller and looks like a wide, little +hand, with four long fingers and a rather short thumb. The claws are +strong and sharp. The soles of the feet and the palms of the hands +look as if they were covered with black kid, while the feet above and +the backs of the hands are covered with short fur. Coon tracks are +likely to be found during the first thawing days of winter, along +some stream or the borders of swamps, often following the path made +by cattle. The full-length track is about 2 inches long; as the coon +puts the hind foot in the track made by the front foot on the same +side, only the print of the hind feet is left, showing plainly five +toe prints and the heel. The tracks may vary from one-half inch to +one foot or more apart, depending on how fast the animal is going; +when it runs it goes on its toes, but when walking sets the heel +down; the tracks are not in so straight a line as those made by the +cat. Sometimes it goes at a slow jump, when the prints of the hind +feet are paired, and between and behind them are the prints of the +two front feet. + +The coon is covered with long, rather coarse hair, so long as to +almost drag when the animal is walking; it really has two different +kinds of hair, the long, coarse, gray hair, blackened at the tips, +covering the fine, short, grayish or brownish under coat. The very +handsome bushy tail is ringed with black and gray. + +The raccoon feeds on almost anything eatable, except herbage. It has +a special predilection for corn in the milk stage and, in attaining +this sweet and toothsome luxury, it strips down the husks and often +breaks the plant, doing much damage. It is also fond of poultry and +often raids hen houses; it also destroys birds’ nests and the young, +thus damaging the farmer by killing both domestic and wild birds. It +is especially fond of fish and is an adept at sitting on the shore +and catching them with its hands; it likes turtle eggs, crayfish and +snakes; it haunts the bayous of the Gulf Coast for the oysters which +grow there; it is also a skillful frog catcher. Although fond of +animal diet, it is also fond of fruit, especially of berries and wild +grapes. + +It usually chooses for a nest a hollow tree or a cavern in a ledge +near a stream, because of its liking for water creatures; and also +because of its strange habit of washing its meat before eating it. I +have watched a pet coon performing this act; he would take a piece of +meat in his hands, dump it into the pan of drinking water and souse +it up and down a few times; then he would get into the pan with his +splay feet and roll the meat beneath and between them, meanwhile +looking quite unconcernedly at his surroundings, as if washing the +meat were an act too mechanical to occupy his mind. After the meat +had become soaked until white and flabby, he would take it in his +hands and hang on to it with a tight grip while he pulled off pieces +with his teeth; or sometimes he would hold it with his feet, and use +hands as well as teeth in tearing it apart. The coon’s teeth are very +much like those of the cat, having long, sharp tushes or canines, and +sharp, wedge-shaped grinding teeth, which cut as well as grind. After +eating, the pet coon always washed his feet by splashing them in the +pan. + +It is a funny sight to watch a coon arrange itself for a nap, on +a branch or in the fork of a tree, it adapts its fat body to the +unevenness of the bed with apparent comfort; it then tucks its nose +down between its paws and curls its tail about itself, making a huge, +furry ball. In all probability, the rings of gray and black on the +tail, serve as protective color to the animal sleeping in a tree +during the daytime, when sunshine and shadow glance down between the +leaves with ever-changing light. The coon spends much of its days +asleep in some such situation, and comes forth at night to seek its +food. + +In the fall, the coon lays on fat enough to last it during its winter +sleep. Usually several inhabit the same nest in winter, lying curled +up together in a hollow tree, and remaining dormant all winter except +when awakened by the warmth of a thaw. They then may come forth to +see what is happening, but return shortly to wait until March or +April; then they issue to hunt for the scant food, and are so lean +and weak that they fall easy prey to their enemies. + +The young are born in April and May; there are from three to six in +a litter; they are blind and helpless at first, and are cared for +carefully by their parents, the family remaining together for a year, +until the young are fully grown. If removed from their parents the +young ones cry pitifully, almost like babies. The cry or whistle of +the fully grown coon is anything but a happy sound, and is quite +impossible to describe. I have been awakened by it many a night +in camp, and it always sounded strange, taking on each time new +quavers and whimperings. As a cry, it is first cousin to that of the +screech-owl. + +The stories of pet coons are many. I knew one which, chained in a +yard, would lie curled up near its post looking like an innocent +stone except for one eye kept watchfully open. Soon a hen, filled +with curiosity would come warily near, looking longingly at remains +of food in the pan; the coon made no move until the disarmed biddy +came close to the pan. Then, there was a scramble and a squawk and +with astonishing celerity he would wring her neck and strip off her +feathers. Another pet coon was allowed to range over the house at +will, and finally had to be sent away because he had learned to open +every door in the house, including cupboard doors, and could also +open boxes and drawers left unlocked; and I have always believed +he could have learned to unlock drawers if he had been given the +key. All coons are very curious, and one way of trapping them is +to suspend above the trap a bit of bright tin; in solving this +glittering mystery, traps are forgotten. + + + LESSON LXI + + THE RACCOON + +_Leading thought_--The raccoon lives in hollow trees or caves along +the banks of streams. It sleeps during the day and seeks its food at +night. It sleeps during the winter. + +_Method_--If there are raccoons in the vicinity, ask the older boys +to look for their tracks near the streams and to describe them very +carefully to the class. The ideal method of studying the animal, +is to have a pet coon where the children may watch at leisure its +entertaining and funny performances. If this is impossible, then +follow the less desirable method of having the pupils read about +the habits of the coon and thus arouse their interest and open +their eyes, so that they may make observations of their own when +opportunity offers. I would suggest the following topics for oral or +written work in English: + +“How and Where Coons Live and What They Do;” “The Autobiography of a +Coon One Year Old;” “The Queer Antics of Pet Coons;” “Stories of the +Coon’s Relative, the Bear.” + +[Illustration: _Treed._] + +_Observations_--1. Where have you found raccoon tracks? How do they +differ from those of fox or dog? How far are the footprints apart? +Can you see the heel and toe prints? Do you see the tracks of all +four feet? Are the tracks in a straight line like those of the cat? +What is the size of the track, the length, the breadth? + +2. What do coons eat and how do they get their food? Which of our +crops are they likely to damage? What other damage do they do? Have +you ever heard coons cry or whistle during August nights in the +cornfields? + +3. Why do raccoons like to live near the water? What do they find of +interest there? How do they prepare their meat before eating it? How +does a coon handle its meat while eating it? + +4. What kind of fur has the coon? Why does it need such a heavy +covering? Describe the color of the fur. Describe the tail. Of what +use is such a large and bushy tail to this animal? + +5. Describe the coon’s face. How is it marked? What is its +expression? Describe the eyes and ears. The nose. Has it teeth +resembling those of the cat and dog? + +6. Describe the coon’s feet. How many toes on the front feet? How +many on the hind feet? How does this differ from the cat and dog? How +do the front and hind feet differ in appearance? Can both be used as +hands? + +7. How do coons arrange themselves for a nap in a tree? How do they +cover the head? How is the tail used? Do you think this bushy tail +used in this way would help to keep the animal warm in winter? Do +coons sleep most daytimes or nights? + +8. At what time of year are coons fattest? Leanest? Why? Do they ever +come out of their nests in winter? Do they live together or singly in +winter? + +9. At what time of year are the young coons born? Do you know how +they look when they are young? How are they cared for by their +parents? + +10. Are the coon’s movements slow or fast? What large animal is a +near relative of the coon? + +_Supplementary reading_--American Animals, Stone and Cram; Wild +Neighbors, Ingersoll; Familiar Life of Field and Forest, Mathews; +Little People of the Sycamore, Roberts; Life of Animals, Ingersoll; +“Mux” in Roof and Meadow, Sharp; Little Brother of the Bear, Long. + +[Illustration: _Professor Fred S. Charles and his pet coon, “Dick”._] + + + + + THE WOLF + + +[Illustration: T] + +The study of the wolf should precede the lessons on the fox and the +dog. After becoming familiar with the habits of wolves, the pupils +will be much better able to understand the nature of the dog and its +life as a wild animal. In most localities, the study of the wolf +must, of course, be a matter of reading, unless the pupils have +an opportunity to study the animal in traveling manageries or in +zoological gardens. However, in all the government preserves, the +timber wolf has multiplied to such an extent, that it may become a +factor in the lives of many people in the United States. This wolf +ranged in packs over New York State a hundred years ago, but was +finally practically exterminated in most of the eastern forests, +except in remote and mountainous localities. A glance at Bulletin 72 +by Vernon Bailey, published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, +Forest Service, is a revelation of the success of the timber wolf, +in coming back to his own, as soon as the forest preserves furnished +plenty of game, and forbade hunters. Timber wolves are returning of +late years to Western Maine and Northern New Hampshire; Northern +Michigan and Wisconsin have them in greater numbers; some have also +been killed in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, Virginia and +West Virginia, but their stronghold is in the great Rocky Mountain +Region and the Northwestern Sierras, from which they have never been +driven. + +[Illustration: _Gray Wolf_] + +It might be well to begin this lesson on the wolf with a talk about +the gray wolves which our ancestors had to contend with, and also +with stories of the coyote or prairie wolf which has learned to adapt +itself to civilization and flourishes in the regions west of the +Rocky Mountains, despite men and dogs. Literature is rich in wolf +stories. Although Kipling’s famous Mowgli Stories belong to the realm +of fiction, yet they contain interesting accounts of the habits of +the wolves of India, and are based upon the hunter’s and tracker’s +knowledge of these animals. We have many thrillingly interesting +stories in our own literature which deal with our native wolves. The +following are among the best: + +“Lobo” in Wild Animals I Have Known; “Tito” in Lives of the Hunted; +“Bad Lands Billy and the Winnipeg Wolf” in Animal Heroes all by +Thompson Seton; “The Passing of Black Whelps” in Watchers of the +Trail by Roberts; Northern Trails by Long; “Pico, Coyote” by Coolidge +in True Tales of Birds and Beasts. + +For more serious accounts of the wolves see American Animals, p. 277; +The “Hound of the Plains,” in Wild Neighbors, and page 188 in the +Life of Animals, both by Ingersoll. “The Coyote” by Bret Harte and +“The Law of the Pack” in the Second Jungle Book bring the wolf into +poetry. + +From some or all of these stories, the pupils should get information +about the habits of the wolves. This information should be +incorporated in an essay or an oral exercise and should cover the +following points: Where do the wolves live? On what do they feed? +How do they get their prey? Do they hunt alone or in packs? How do +they call to each other? Description of the den where the young are +reared. The wolf’s cleverness in eluding hunters and traps. + +[Illustration: _“Katrina Wolfchen”, the pet coyote of Professor Fred +S. Charles._] + + + + +[Illustration: _Fox cubs._] + + + THE FOX + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: D] + +Do we not always, on a clear morning of winter, feel a thrill that +must have something primitive in its quality, at seeing certain +tracks in the snow that somehow suggest wildness and freedom! Such is +the track of the fox. Although it is somewhat like that of a small +dog yet it is very different. The fox has longer legs than most +dogs of his weight, and there is more of freedom in his track and +more of strength and agility expressed in it. His gait is usually +an easy lope; this places the imprint of three feet in a line, one +ahead of another, but the fourth is off a little at one side, as if +to keep the balance. The fox lives in a den or burrow. The only fox +home which I ever saw, was a rather deep cave beneath the roots of a +stump, and there was no burrow or retreat beyond it. However, foxes +often select woodchuck burrows, or make burrows of their own, and if +they are caught within, they can dig rapidly, as many a hunter can +attest. The mother usually selects an open place for a den for the +young foxes; often an open field or side-hill is chosen for this. The +den is carpeted with grass and is a very comfortable place for the +fox puppies. The den of the father fox is usually not far away. + +The face of the red fox shows plainly why he has been able to cope +with man, and thrive despite and because of him. If ever a face +showed cunning, it is his. Its pointed, slender nose gives it an +expression of extreme cleverness, while the width of the head between +the upstanding, triangular ears gives room for a brain of power. In +color the fox is russet-red, the hind quarters being grayish. The +legs are black outside and white inside; the throat is white, and +the broad, triangular ears are tipped with black. The glory of the +fox is his “brush,” as the beautiful, bushy tail is called. This is +red, with black toward the end and white-tipped. This tail is not +merely for beauty, for it affords the fox warmth during the winter, +as any one may see who has observed the way it is wrapped around the +sleeping animal. But this bushy tail is a disadvantage, if it becomes +bedraggled and heavy with snow and sleet, when the hounds are giving +close chase to its owner. The silver fox and the black fox are the +same species as the red fox. + +The fox is an inveterate hunter of the animals of the field; meadow +mice, rabbits, woodchucks, frogs, snakes and grasshoppers, are all +acceptable food; he is also destructive of birds. His fondness for +the latter has given him a bad reputation with the farmer because of +his attacks on poultry. Not only will he raid hen-roosts if he can +force entrance, but he catches many fowls in the summer when they are +wandering through the fields. The way he carries the heavy burden of +his larger prey shows his cleverness: He slings a hen or a goose over +his shoulders, keeping the head in his mouth to steady the burden. +Mr. Cram says, in American Animals: + +“Yet, although the farmer and the fox are such inveterate enemies, +they manage to benefit each other in a great many ways quite +unintentionally. The fox destroys numberless field mice and +woodchucks for the farmer and in return the farmer supplies him with +poultry, and builds convenient bridges over streams and wet places, +which the fox crosses oftener than the farmer, for he is as sensitive +as a cat about getting his feet wet. On the whole, I am inclined to +believe that the fox gets the best part of the exchange, for, while +the farmer shoots at him on every occasion, and hunts him with dogs +in the winter, he has cleared the land of wolves and panthers, so +that foxes are probably safer than before any land was ploughed.” + +The bark of the fox is a high, sharp yelp, more like the bark of the +coyote than of the dog. There is no doubt a considerable range of +meaning in the fox’s language, of which we are ignorant. He growls +when angry, and when pleased he smiles like a dog and wags his +beautiful tail. + +[Illustration: _Red Fox._] + +Many are the wiles of the fox to head off dogs following his track: +he often retraces his own steps for a few yards and then makes a long +sidewise jump; the dogs go on, up to the end of the trail pocket, +and try in vain to get the scent from that point. Sometimes he walks +along the top rails of fences or takes the high and dry ridges where +the scent will not remain; he often follows roads and beaten paths +and also goes around and around in the midst of a herd of cattle, so +that his scent is hidden; he crosses streams on logs and invents +various other devices too numerous and intricate to describe. When +chased by dogs, he naturally runs in a circle, probably so as not to +be too far from home. If there are young ones in the den, the father +fox leads the hounds far away, in the next county, if possible. +Perhaps one of the most clever tricks of the fox, is to make friends +with the dogs. I have known of two instances where a dog and fox were +daily companions and playfellows. + +The young foxes are born in the spring. They are black at first and +are fascinating little creatures, being exceedingly playful and +active. Their parents are very devoted to them, and during all their +puppyhood, the mother fox is a menace to the poultry of the region, +because the necessity is upon her of feeding her rapidly growing +litter. + +In my opinion, the best story of animal fiction is “Red Fox” by +Roberts. Like all good fiction, it is based upon facts and it +presents a wholesome picture of the life of the successful fox. “The +Silver Fox” by Thompson Seton is another interesting and delightful +story. Although the Nights with Uncle Remus could scarcely be called +nature stories, yet they are interesting in showing how the fox has +become a part of folk-lore. + +[Illustration: _Fox tracks._] + + + LESSON LXII + + THE FOX + +_Leading thought_--The red fox is so clever that it has been able, in +many parts of our country, to maintain itself despite dogs and men. + +[Illustration] + +_Method_--This lesson is likely to be given largely from hearsay or +reading. However, if the school is in a rural district, there will be +plenty of hunters’ stories afloat, from which may be elicited facts +concerning the cunning and cleverness of the red fox. In such places +there is also the opportunity in winter to study fox tracks upon the +snow. The lesson may well be given when there are fox tracks for +observation. The close relationship between foxes and dogs should be +emphasized. + +_Observations and reading_--1. Describe the fox’s track. How does it +differ from the track of a small dog? + +2. Where does the fox make its home? Describe the den. Describe the +den in which the young foxes live. + +3. Describe the red fox, its color and form as completely as you can. +What is the expression of its face? What is there peculiar about its +tail? What is the use of this great bushy tail in the winter? + +4. What is the food of the fox? How does it get its food? Is it a +day or a night hunter? How does the fox benefit the farmer? How does +it injure him? How does the fox carry home its heavy game, such as a +goose or a hen? + +5. Have you ever heard the fox bark? Did it sound like the bark of a +dog? How does the fox express anger? Pleasure? + +[Illustration: “_Got a bite_.”] + +6. When chased by dogs, in what direction does the fox run? Describe +all of the tricks which you know by which the fox throws the dog off +the scent. + +7. When are the young foxes born? How many in a litter? What color +are they? How do they play with each other? How do they learn to hunt? + +_Supplementary reading_--Red Fox by Roberts; Silver Fox by Thompson +Seton; Little Beasts of Field and Wood, page 25; Squirrels and +Other Fur Bearers, chapter 7; Fox Ways in Ways of Wood Folk; The +Springfield Fox in Wild Animals I Have Known; Familiar Wild Animals; +Familiar Life in Field and Forest, page 213; American Animals, page +264; Nights with Uncle Remus. + +[Illustration: _A pet red fox._ + +Photo by Fred S. Charles.] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + DOGS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: N] + +Not only to-day but in ancient days, before the dawn of history, +the dog was the companion of man. Whether the wild species from +whence he sprang, was wolf or jackal or some other similar animal, +we do not know, but we do know that many types of dogs have been +tamed independently by savages, in the region where their untamed +relatives run wild. As the whelps of wolves, jackals and foxes are +all easily tamed, and are most interesting little creatures, we can +understand how they became companions to the children of the savage +and barbarous peoples who hunted them. + +In the earliest records of cave dwellers, in the picture writing of +the ancient Egyptians and of other ancient peoples, we find record of +the presence and value of the dog. But man, in historical times, has +been able to evolve breeds that vary more in form than do the wild +species of the present. There are 200 distinct breeds of dogs known +to-day, and many of these have been bred for special purposes. The +paleontologists, moreover, assure us that there has been a decided +advance in the size and quality of the dog’s brain since the days of +his savagery; thus, he has been the companion of man’s civilization +also. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that the dog is now the +most companionable, and has the most human qualities and intelligence +of all our domesticated animals. + +Dogs run down their prey; it is a necessity, therefore, that they be +equipped with legs that are long, strong and muscular. The cat, which +jumps for her prey, has much more delicate legs but has powerful +hips to enable her to leap. The dog’s feet are much more heavily +padded than those of the cat, because in running, he must not stop to +save his feet. Hounds often return from a chase with bleeding feet, +despite the heavy pads, but the wounds are usually cuts between the +toes. The claws are heavy and are not retractile; thus, they afford +a protection to the feet when running, and they are also used for +digging out game which burrows into the ground. They are not used for +grasping prey like those of the cat and are used only incidentally in +fighting, while the cat’s claws are the most important weapons in her +armory. It is an interesting fact that Newfoundland dogs, which are +such famous swimmers, have their toes somewhat webbed. + +[Illustration: _Greyhound._] + +The dog’s body is long, lean, and very muscular, a fat dog being +usually pampered and old. The coat is of hair and is not of fine fur +like that of the cat. It is of interest to note that the Newfoundland +dog has an inner coat of fine hair comparable to that of the mink +or muskrat. When a dog is running, his body is extended to its +fullest length; in fact, it seems to “lie flat,” the outstretched +legs heightening the effect of extreme muscular effort of forward +movement. A dog is master of several gaits; he can run, walk, trot, +bound and crawl. + +The iris of the dog’s eye is usually of a beautiful brown, although +this varies with breeds; in puppies, the iris is usually blue. The +pupil is round like our own; and dogs cannot see well in the dark +like the cat, but in daylight they have keen sight. The nose is so +much more efficient than the eyes, that it is on the sense of smell +the dog depends for following his prey and for recognizing friend and +foe. The damp, soft skin that covers the nose, has in its dampness +the conditions for carrying the scent to the wide nostrils; these are +situated at the most forward part of the face, and thus may be lifted +in any direction to receive the marvelous impressions, so completely +beyond our comprehension. Think of being able to scent the track of +a fox made several hours previously. Not only to scent it, but to +follow by scent for many miles without ever having a glimpse of the +fleeing foe! In fact, while running, the dog’s attention seems to +be focused entirely upon the sense of smell, for I have seen hounds +pass within a few rods to the windward of the fox they were chasing, +without observing him at all. When the nose of any of the moist-nosed +beasts, such as cattle and dogs, becomes dry it is a sign of illness. + +[Illustration: _Bird dog._] + +A light fall of damp snow gives the dog the best conditions for +following a track by scent and a hound, when on the trail, will run +until exhausted. There are many authentic observations which show +that hounds have followed a fox for twenty-four hours without food, +and probably with little rest. + +The dog’s weapons for battle, like those of the wolf, are his tushes: +with these, he holds and tears his prey; with them, he seizes the +woodchuck or other small animal through the back and shakes its life +out. In fighting a larger animal, the dog leaps against it and often +incidentally tears its flesh with his strong claws; but he does not +strike a blow with his foot like the cat, nor can he hold his quarry +with it. + +[Illustration: _Bulldog._] + +Dog’s teeth are especially fitted for their work. The incisors are +small and sharp; the canine teeth or tushes are very long, but there +are bare spaces on the jaws so that they are able to cross past each +other; the molar teeth are not fitted for grinding, like the teeth of +a cow, but are especially fitted for cutting, as may be noted if we +watch the way a dog gnaws bones, first gnawing with the back teeth on +one side and then on the other. In fact, a dog does not seem to need +to chew anything, but simply needs to cut his meat in small enough +pieces so that he can gulp them down without chewing. His powers of +digesting unchewed food are something that the hustling American may +well envy. + +[Illustration: _“Mateo”, a St. Bernard of long pedigree._] + +Of all domestic animals, the dog is most humanly understandable in +expressing emotions. If delighted, he leaps about giving ecstatic +little barks and squeals, his tail in the air and his eyes full of +happy anticipation. If he wishes to be friendly, he looks at us +interestedly, comes over to smell of us in order to assure himself +whether he has ever met us before, and then wags his tail as a sign +of good faith. If he wishes to show affection, he leaps upon us and +licks our face or hands with his soft, deft tongue and follows us +jealously. When he stands at attention, he holds his tail stiff in +the air, and looks up with one ear lifted as if to say, “Well, what’s +doing?” When angry, he growls and shows his teeth and the tail is +held rigidly out behind, as if to convince us that it is really a +continuation of his backbone. When afraid, he whines and lies flat +upon his belly, often looking beseechingly up toward his master as +if begging not to be punished; or he crawls away out of sight. When +ashamed, he drops his tail between his legs and with drooping head +and sidewise glance slinks away. When excited, he barks and every +bark expresses high nervous tension. + +[Illustration: _Bloodhound._] + +Almost all dogs that chase their prey, bark when so doing, which +would seem at first sight to be a foolish thing to do, in that it +reveals their whereabouts to their victims and also adds an incentive +to flight. But it must be borne in mind that dogs are descended +from wolves, which naturally hunt in packs and do not stalk their +prey. The baying of the hound is a most common example of the habit, +and as we listen we can understand how, by following this sound, +the pack is kept together. Almost all breeds of dogs have an acute +sense of hearing. When a dog bays at the moon or howls when he hears +music, it is simply a reversion to the wild habit of howling to call +together the pack or in answer “to the music of the pack.” It is +interesting that our music, which is the flower of our civilization, +should awaken the sleeping ancestral traits in the canine breast. But +perhaps that, too, is why we respond to music, because it awakens in +us the strong, primitive emotions, and for the time, enables us to +free ourselves from all conventional shackles and trammels. + +[Illustration: _Fox terrier and pups._] + + + LESSON LXIII + + DOGS + +_Leading thought_--The dog is a domesticated descendant of wolf-like +animals and has retained certain of the habits and characteristics of +his ancestors. + +_Method_--For the observation lesson it would be well to have at +hand, a well-disposed dog which would not object to being handled; a +collie or a hound would be preferable. Many of the questions should +be given to the pupils to answer from observations at home, and the +lesson should be built upon the experience of the pupils with dogs. + +_Observations_--1. Why are the legs of the dog long and strong in +proportion to the body compared with those of the cat? + +2. Compare the feet of the cat with those of the dog and note which +has the heavier pads. Why is this of use to each? + +3. Which has the stronger and heavier claws, the dog or the cat? Can +the dog retract his claws so that they are not visible, as does the +cat? Of what use is this arrangement to the dog? Are the front feet +just like the hind feet? How many toe impressions show in the track +of the dog? + +4. What is the general characteristic of the body of the dog? Is +it soft like that of the cat, or lean and muscular? What is the +difference between the hair covering of the dog and cat? What is the +attitude of the dog when running fast? How many kinds of gaits has he? + +5. In general, how do the eyes of the dog differ from those of the +cat? Does he rely as much upon his eyes for finding his prey as does +the cat? Can a dog see in the dark? What is the color of the dog’s +eyes? + +6. Study the ear of the dog; is it covered? Is this outer ear +movable, is it a flap, or is it cornucopia shaped? How is this flap +used when the dog is listening? Roll a sheet of paper into a flaring +tube and place the small end upon your own ear, and note if it helps +you to hear better the sounds in the direction toward which the tube +opens? Note how the hound lifts his long earlaps, so as to make a +tube for conveying sounds to his inner ear. Do you think that dogs +can hear well? + +[Illustration: “_Klondike Jack_”. + +The dog that pulled four hundred fifty pounds five hundred miles +through the White Horse Pass in the winter of the first gold +excitement.] + +7. What is the position of the nose in the dog’s face? Of what use is +this? Describe the nostrils; are they placed on the foremost point +of the face? What is the condition of the skin that surrounds them? +How does this condition of the nose aid the dog? What other animals +have it? Does the dog recognize his friends or become acquainted with +strangers by means of his sight or of his powers of smelling? + +8. How long after a fox or rabbit has passed can a hound follow +the track? Does he follow it by sight or by smell? What are the +conditions most favorable for retaining the scent? The most +unfavorable? How long will a hound follow a fox trail without +stopping for rest or food? Do you think the dog is your superior in +ability to smell? + +9. How does a dog seize and kill his prey? How does he use his feet +and claws when fighting? What are his especially strong weapons? +Describe a dog’s teeth and explain the reason for the bare spaces on +the jaw next to the tushes. Does the dog use his tushes when chewing? +What teeth does he use when gnawing a bone? Make a diagram of the +arrangement of the dog’s teeth. + +10. How by action, voice, and especially by the movement of the tail +does the dog express the following emotions: Delight, friendliness, +affection, attention, anger, fear, shame, excitement? How does he act +when chasing his prey? Why do wolves and dogs bark when following the +trail? Do you think of a reason why dogs often howl at night or when +listening to music? What should we feed to our pet dogs? What should +we do to make them comfortable in other ways? + +[Illustration: _In pleasant mood._ + +A collie.] + +11. Tell or write a story of some dog of which you know by experience +or hearsay. Of what use was the dog to the pioneer? How are dogs +used in the Arctic regions? In Holland? + +12. How many breeds of dogs do you know? Describe characters of such +as follows: The length of the legs as compared with the body; the +general shape of the body, head, ears, nose; color and character of +hair on head, body and tail. + +13. Find if you can the reasons which have led to the developing of +the following breeds: Newfoundland, St. Bernard, mastiffs, hounds, +collies, spaniels, setters, pointers, bulldogs, terriers, and pugs. + +_Supplementary reading_--“Stories of Brave Dogs” from _St. Nicholas_, +the Century Co.; the following three stories from Thompson-Seton: +“Chink” in Lives of the Hunted, “Snap” in Animal Heroes, “Wully” in +Wild Animals I Have Known; Bob, Son of Battle; Mack, His Book, by +Florence Leigh; Rab and his Friends; The Dog of Flanders; “Red Dog” +in Kipling’s Jungle Stories; Animals of the World, Knight and Jenks, +p. 80; Life of Animals, Ingersoll, p. 187. + +[Illustration: _Fox hunting, in the Genesee Valley, N. Y._] + + + + +[Illustration: _An aristocrat._] + + + THE CAT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: O] + +Of all people, the writer should regard the cat sympathetically, +for when she was a baby of five months she was adopted by a cat. My +self-elected foster-mother was Jenny, a handsome black and white cat, +which at that time lost her first litter of kittens, through the +attack of a savage cat from the woods. She was as Rachel crying for +her children, when she seemed suddenly to comprehend that I, although +larger than she, was an infant. She haunted my cradle, trying to give +me milk from her own breasts; and later she brought half-killed mice +and placed them enticingly in my cradle, coaxing me to play with +them, a performance which pleased me much more than it did my real +mother. Jenny always came to comfort me when I cried, rubbing against +me, purring loudly, and licking me with her tongue in a way to drive +mad the modern mother, wise as to the sources of children’s internal +parasites. This maternal attitude toward me lasted as long as Jenny +lived, which was until I was nine years old. Never during those years +did I lift my voice in wailing, that she did not come to comfort me; +and even to-day I can remember how great that comfort was, especially +when my naughtiness was the cause of my weeping, and when, therefore, +I felt that the whole world, except Jenny, was against me. + +Jenny was a cat of remarkable intelligence and was very obedient and +useful. Coming down the kitchen stairs one day, she played with the +latch and someone hearing her, opened the door. She did this several +times, when one day she chanced to push down the latch, and thus +opened the door herself. After that, she always opened it herself. A +little later, she tried the trick on other doors, and soon succeeded +in opening all the latched doors in the house, by thrusting one front +leg through the handle, and thus supporting her weight and pressing +down with the foot of the other on the thumb-piece of the latch. +I remember, guests were greatly astonished to see her coming thus +swinging into the sitting-room. Later she tried the latches from the +other side, jumping up and trying to lift the hook; but now, her +weight was thrown against the wrong side of the door for opening, and +she soon ceased this futile waste of energy; but for several years, +she let herself into all the rooms in this clever manner, and taught +a few of her bright kittens to do the same. + +A pet cat enjoys long conversations with favored members of the +household. She will sit in front of her mistress and mew, with every +appearance of answering the questions addressed her; and since the +cat and the mistress each knows her own part of the conversation, +it is perhaps more typical of society chatter than we might like to +confess. Of our language, the cat learns to understand the call to +food, its own name, “scat,” and “No, No,” probably inferring the +meaning of the latter from the tone of voice. On the other hand, we +understand when it asks to go out, and its polite recognition to +the one who opens the door. I knew one cat which invariably thanked +us when we let him in as well as out. When the cat is hungry, it +mews pleadingly; when happy in front of the fire, it looks at us +sleepily out of half-closed eyes and gives a short mew expressive of +affection and content; or it purrs, a noise which we do not know how +to imitate and which expresses perfectly the happiness of intimate +companionship. When frightened the cat yowls, and when hurt squalls +shrilly; when fighting, it is like a savage warrior in that it howls +a war-song in blood-curdling strains, punctuated with a spitting +expressive of fear and contempt; and unfortunately, its love song +is scarcely less agonizing to the listener. The cat’s whole body +enters into the expression of its emotions. When feeling affectionate +toward its mistress, it rubs against her gown, with tail erect, +and vibrating with a purr which seems fundamental. When angry, it +lays its ears back and lashes its tail back and forth, the latter +being a sign of excitement; when frightened, its hair stands on end, +especially the hair of the tail, making that expressive appendage +twice its natural size; when caught in disobedience, the cat lets its +tail droop, and when running lifts it in a curve. + +[Illustration: _Bones and ligaments of cat’s claw._ + +A Claw up. B Claw thrust out.] + +While we feed cats milk and scraps from our own table, they have +never become entirely civilized in their tastes. They always catch +mice and other small animals and prove pestiferous in destroying +birds. Jenny was wont to bring her quarry, as an offering, to the +front steps of our home every night; one morning we found seven mice, +a cotton-tail rabbit and two snakes, which represented her night’s +catch. The cat never chases its prey like the dog. It discovers the +haunts of its victims, and then lies in ambush, flattened out as +still as a statue and all its feet beneath it, ready to make the +spring. The weight of the body is a factor which enters in the blow +with which the cat strikes down its victim, and thus stuns and which +it later kills by gripping the throat with the strong tushes. She +carries her victims as she does her kittens, by the back. + +The cat’s legs are not long compared with the body, and it runs with +a leaping gallop; the upper legs are armed with powerful muscles. +It walks on the padded toes, five on the front feet and four of the +hind feet. The cat needs its claws to be sharp and hooked, in order +to seize and hold its prey, so they are kept safely sheathed when +not thus used. If the claws struck the earth during walking, as do +the dog’s, they would soon become dulled. When sharpening its claws +it reaches high up against a tree or post, and strikes them into +the wood with a downward scratch; this act is probably more for +exercising the muscles which control the claws than for sharpening +them. + +The cat’s track is in a single line as if it had only two feet, one +set directly ahead of the other. It accomplishes this by setting +its hind feet exactly in the tracks made by the front feet. The cat +can easily leap upward, landing on a window-sill five feet from the +ground. The jump is made with the hind legs and the alighting is done +silently on the front feet. + +Cats’ eyes are fitted for seeing in the dark; in the daytime the +pupil is simply a narrow, up and down slit; under excitement, and at +night, the pupil covers almost the entire eye. At the back of the +eye is a reflecting surface, which catches such dim light as there +is, and by reflecting it enables the cat to use it twice. It is this +reflected light, which gives the peculiar green glare to the eyes of +all the cats when seen in the dark. Some night-flying moths have a +like arrangement for utilizing the light, and their eyes glow like +living coals. Of course, since the cat is a night hunter, this power +of multiplying the rays of light is of great use. The iris of the eye +is usually yellow, but in kittens it may be blue or green. + +[Illustration: “_Folks are so tiresome._”] + +The cat’s teeth are peculiarly fitted for its needs. The six +doll-like incisors of the upper and lower jaw are merely for scraping +meat from bones. The two great tushes, or canines, on each jaw, with +a bare place behind so that they pass each other freely, are sharp +and hooked, and are for seizing and carrying prey. The cat is able +to open its mouth as wide as a right angle, in order to better hold +and carry prey. The back teeth, or molars, are four on each side in +the upper jaw and three, below. They are sharp-edged wedges made for +cutting meat fine enough, so that it may be swallowed. + +The tongue is covered with sharp papillæ directed backwards, also +used for rasping juices from meat. The cat’s nose is moist, and her +sense of smell very keen, as is also her sense of hearing. The ears +rise like two hollow half-cones on either side of the head and are +filled with sensitive hairs; they ordinarily open forward, but are +capable of movement. The cat’s whiskers consist of from twenty-five +to thirty long hairs set in four lines, above and at the sides of the +mouth; they are connected with sensitive nerves and are therefore +true feelers. The cat’s fur is very fine and thick, and is also +sensitive; as can readily be proved, by trying to stroke it the wrong +way. While the wild cats have gray or tawny fur, variously mottled or +shaded, the more striking colors we see in the domestic cats are the +result of man’s breeding. + +Cats are very cleanly in their habits. Puss always washes her face +directly after eating, using one paw for a wash-cloth and licking +it clean after she rubs her face. She cleans her fur with her rough +tongue and also by biting; and she promptly buries objectionable +matter. The mother cat is very attentive to the cleanliness of her +kittens, licking them clean from nose tip to tail tip. The ways of +the mother cat with her kittens do much to sustain the assertions of +Mr. Seton and Mr. Long that young animals are trained and educated by +their parents. The cat brings half-dazed mice to her kittens, that +they may learn to follow and catch them with their own little claws. +When she punishes them, she cuffs the ears by holding one side of +the kitten’s head firm with the claws of one foot, while she lays on +the blows with the other. She carries her kittens by the nape of the +neck, never hurting them. She takes them into the field when they +are old enough, and shows them the haunts of mice, and does many +things for their education and welfare. The kittens meantime train +themselves to agility and dexterity, by playing rough and tumble with +each other, and by chasing every small moving object, even to their +own tails. + +[Illustration: “_Interested!_”] + +The cat loves warmth and finds her place beneath the stove or at the +hearthside. She likes some people, and dislikes others, for no reason +we can detect. She can be educated to be friendly with dogs and with +birds. In feeding her, we should give her plenty of sweet milk, some +cooked meat and fish of which she is very fond; and we should keep a +bundle of catnip to make her happy, for even the larger cats of the +wilderness seem to have a passionate liking for this herb. The cat +laps milk with her rough tongue, and when eating meat, she turns the +head this way and that, to cut the tough muscle with her back teeth. + + + CATS SHOULD BE TRAINED TO LEAVE BIRDS ALONE + +[Illustration: _This cat has been trained to be friendly with birds._] + +Every owner of a cat owes it to the world to train puss to leave +birds alone. If this training is begun during kittenhood, by +switching the culprit every time it even looks at a bird, it will +soon learn to leave them severely alone. I have tried this many +times, and I know it is efficacious, if the cat is intelligent. We +have never had a cat whose early training we controlled, that could +ever be induced to even watch birds. If a cat is not thus trained as +a kitten, it is likely to be always treacherous in this respect. But +in case any one has a valuable cat which is given to catching birds, +I strongly advise the following treatment which has been proved +practicable by a friend of mine. When a cat has made the catch, take +the bird away and sprinkle it with red pepper, and then give it +back. One such treatment as this resulted in making one cat, which +was an inveterate bird hunter, run and hide every time he saw a bird +thereafter. Any persons taking cats with them to their summer homes, +and abandoning them there to prey upon the birds of the vicinity, and +to become poor, half-starved, wild creatures, ought to be arrested +and fined. It is not only cruelty to the cats, but it is positive +injury and damage to the community, because of the slaughter of +beneficial birds which it entails. + + + LESSON LXIV + + THE CAT + +_Leading thought_--The cat was made a domestic animal before man +wrote histories. It gets prey by springing from ambush and is fitted +by form of body and teeth to do this. It naturally hunts at night and +has eyes fitted to see in the dark. + +_Method_--This lesson may be used in primary grades by asking a +few questions at a time and allowing the children to make their +observations on their own kittens at home, or a kitten may be brought +to school for this purpose. The upper grade work consists of reading +and retelling or writing exciting stories of the great, wild, savage +cats, like the tiger, lion, leopard, lynx and panther. + +_Observations_--1. How much of Pussy’s language do you understand? +What does she say when she wishes you to open the door for her? +How does she ask for something to eat? What does she say when she +feels like conversing with you? How does she cry when hurt? When +frightened? What noise does she make when fighting? When calling +other cats? What are her feelings when she purrs? When she spits? How +many things which you say does she understand? + +2. How else than by voice does she express affection, pleasure and +anger? When she carries her tail straight up in the air is she in a +pleasant mood? When her tail “bristles up” how does she feel? What is +it a sign of, when she lashes her tail back and forth? + +3. What do you feed to cats? What do they catch for themselves? What +do the cats that are wild live upon? How does the cat help us? How +does she injure us? + +4. How does a cat catch her prey? Does she track mice by the scent? +Does she catch them by running after them as a dog does? Describe how +she lies in ambush. How does she hold the mouse as she pounces upon +it? How does she carry it home to her kittens? + +[Illustration: _Amicable advances._] + +5. Study the cat’s paws to see how she holds her prey. Where are the +sharp claws? Are they always in sight like a dog’s? Does she touch +them to the ground when she walks? Which walks the more silently, a +dog or a cat? Why? Describe the cat’s foot, including the toe-pads. +Are there as many toes on the hind feet as on the front feet? What +kind of a track does the cat make in the snow? How does she set her +feet to make such a track? How does she sharpen her claws? How does +she use her claws for climbing? How far have you ever seen a cat +jump? Does she use her front or her hind feet in making the jump? On +which feet does she alight? Does she make much noise when she alights? + +6. What is there peculiar about a cat’s eyes? What is their color? +What is the color of kittens’ eyes? What is the shape of the pupil in +daylight? In the dark? Describe the inner lid which comes from the +corner of the eye. + +7. How many teeth has Puss? What is the use of the long tushes? Why +is there a bare space behind these? What does she use her little +front teeth for? Does she use her back teeth for chewing or for +cutting meat? + +8. How many whiskers has she? How long are they? What is their use? +Do you think that puss has a keen sense of smell? Why do you think +so? Do you think she has a keen sense of hearing? How do the shape +and position of the ears help in listening? In what position are the +ears when puss is angry? + +9. How many colors do you find in our domestic cats. What is the +color of wild cats? Why would it not be beneficial to the wild-cat +to have as striking colors as our tame cats? Compare the fur of the +cat with the hair of the dog. How do they differ? If a cat chased her +prey like the dog do you think her fur would be a too warm covering? + +10. Describe how the cat washes her face. How does she clean her fur? +How does her rough tongue help in this? How does the mother cat wash +her kittens? + +11. How does a little kitten look when a day or two old? How long +before its eyes open? How does the cat carry her kittens? How does a +kitten act when it is being carried? How does the mother cat punish +her kittens? How does she teach them to catch mice? How do kittens +play? How does the exercise they get in playing fit them to become +hunters? + +12. How should cats be trained not to touch birds? When must this +training begin? Why should a person be punished for injury to the +public who takes cats to summer cottages and leaves them there to run +wild? + +13. Where in the room does puss best like to lie? How does she sun +herself? What herb does she like best? Does she like some people and +not others? What strange companions have you known a cat to have? +What is the cat’s chief enemy? How should we care for and make her +comfortable? + +14. Write or tell stories on the following subjects: (1) The things +which my pet cat does; (2) The Wild Cat; (3) The Lion; (4) The Tiger; +(5) The Leopard; (6) The Panther and the Mountain Lion; (7) The Lynx; +(8) The History of Domestic Cats; (9) The Different Races of Cats, +describing the Manx, the Persian and the Angora Cats. + +_Supplementary reading_--The Life of Animals, Ingersoll; American +Animals, Stone and Cram; Our Domestic Animals, Burkett; The Fireside +Sphinx, Repplier; Concerning Cats, Winslow; The following animal +stories from _St. Nicholas_ Magazine: Cat Stories, Lion and Tiger +Stories, Panther Stories. + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. +] + + + + +[Illustration: _Saanen goats in Switzerland._ + +Peer, Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. +Department of Agriculture.] + + + THE GOAT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Little do we in America realize the close companionship that has +existed in older countries, from time immemorial, between goats and +people. This association began when man was a nomad, and took with +him in his wanderings, his flocks, of which goats formed the larger +part. He then drank their milk, ate their flesh, wove their hair +into raiment, or made cloth of their pelts, and used their skins for +water bags. Among peoples of the East all these uses continue to the +present day. In the streets of Cairo, old Arabs may be seen with goat +skins filled with water upon their backs; and in any city of Western +Asia or Southern Europe, flocks of goats are driven along the streets +to be milked in sight of the consumer. + +In order to understand the goat’s peculiarities of form and habit, +we should consider it as a wild animal, living upon the mountain +heights amid rocks and snow and scant vegetation. It is marvelously +sure-footed and when on its native mountains, it can climb the +sharpest crags and leap chasms. This peculiarity has been seized upon +by showmen who often exhibit goats which walk on the tight rope with +ease, and even turn themselves upon it without falling. The instinct +for climbing still lingers in the domestic breeds, and in the country +the goat may be seen on top of stone piles or other objects, while in +city suburbs, its form may be discerned on the roofs of shanties and +stables. + +It is a common saying that a goat will eat anything, and much sport +is made of this peculiarity. This fact has more meaning for us when +we realize that wild goats live in high altitudes, where there is +little plant life, and are therefore, obliged to find sustenance on +lichens, moss and such scant vegetation as they can find. + +The goat is closely allied to the sheep, differing from it in only +a few particulars; its horns rise from the forehead curving over +backward and do not form a spiral like those of the ram; its covering +is usually of hair, and the male has a beard from which we get the +name goatee; the goat has no gland between the toes, and it does +have a rank and disagreeable odor. In a wild state, it usually lives +a little higher up the mountains than do the sheep, and it is a far +more intelligent animal. Mary Austin says: “Goats lead naturally by +reason of a quicker instinct, forage more freely and can find water +on their own account, and give voice in case of alarm. Goat leaders +exhibit jealousy of their rights to be first over the stepping-stones +or to walk the teetering log bridges at the roaring creeks.” On the +great plains, it is a common usage to place a few goats in a flock of +sheep, because of the greater sagacity of these animals as leaders, +and also as defenders in case of attack. + +[Illustration: _Zaraibi milch goats of Egypt._ + +Thompson. Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. +Department of Agriculture.] + +Goats’ teeth are arranged for cropping herbage and especially for +browsing. There are six molar teeth on each side of each jaw; there +are eight lower incisors and none above. The goat’s sense of smell +is very acute; the ears are movable and the sense of hearing is +keen; the eyes are full and very intelligent; the horns are somewhat +flattened and angular and often knobbed somewhat in front, and curve +backward above the neck; they are, however, very efficient as weapons +of defence. The legs are strong, though not large, and are well +fitted for leaping and running. The feet have two hoofs, that is, the +animal walks upon two toe-nails. There are two smaller toes behind +and above the hoofs. The goat can run with great rapidity. The tail +of the goat is short like that of the deer, and does not need to be +amputated like that of the sheep. Although the normal covering of +the goat is hair, there are some species which have a more or less +woolly coat. When angry the goat shakes its head, and defends itself +by butting with the head, also by striking with the horns, which are +very sharp. Goats are very tractable and make affectionate pets when +treated with kindness; they display far more affection for their +owner than do sheep. + +[Illustration: _Milch goats in Malta._ + +Thompson. Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry, +Department of Agriculture.] + +Our famous Rocky Mountain goat, although it belongs rather to the +antelope family, is a large animal, and is the special prize of the +hunter; however, it still holds its own in the high mountains of +the Rocky and Cascade Ranges. Both sexes have slender black horns, +white hair, and black feet, eyes and nose. Owen Wister says of this +animal: “He is white, all white, and shaggy, and twice as large as +any goat you ever saw. His white hair hangs long all over him like a +Spitz dog’s or an Angora cat’s; and against its shaggy white mass the +blackness of his hoofs and horns, and nose looks particularly black. +His legs are thick, his neck is thick, everything about him is thick, +save only his thin black horns. They’re generally about six (often +more than nine) inches long, they spread very slightly, and they +curve slightly backward. At their base they are a little rough, but +as they rise they become cylindrically smooth and taper to an ugly +point. His hoofs are heavy, broad and blunt. The female is lighter +than the male, and with horns more slender, a trifle. And (to return +to the question of diet) we visited the pasture where the herd (of +thirty-five) had been, and found no signs of grass growing or grass +eaten; there was no grass on that mountain. The only edible substance +was a moss, tufted, stiff and dry to the touch. I also learned that +the goat is safe from predatory animals. With his impenetrable hide +and his disemboweling horns he is left by the wolves and mountain +lions respectfully alone.” (See American Animals, p. 57; Camp Fires +of a Naturalist, chapters VIII and XIII). + +[Illustration: _Poona_ (_India_) _goat._ + +Thompson. Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. +Department of Agriculture.] + +_Milch Goats_--Many breeds of these have been developed, and the +highest type is, perhaps, found in Switzerland. The Swiss farmers +have found the goat particularly adapted to their high mountains and +have used it extensively; thus, goats developed in the Saane and +Toggenburg valleys have a world-wide reputation. Above these valleys +the high mountains are covered with perpetual snow, and winter sets +in about November 1st, lasting until the last of May. The goats are +kept with the cows in barns and fed upon hay; but as soon as the snow +is gone from the valleys and the lower foot-hills, the cattle and +goats are sent with the herders and boy assistants, to the grazing +grounds. A bell is put upon the cow that leads the herd so as to keep +it together and the boys, in their gay peasant dresses, are as happy +as the playful calves and goats to get out in the spring sunshine. +The herds follow the receding snows up the mountains until about +midsummer, when they reach the high places of scanty vegetation; +then they start on the downward journey, returning to the home and +stables about November 1st. The milk from goats is mixed with that +from cows to make cheese, and this cheese has a wide reputation; some +of the varieties are: Roquefort, Schweitzer and Altenburger. Although +the cheese is excellent, the butter made from goat’s milk is quite +inferior to that made from the cow’s. The milk, when the animals are +well taken care of, is exceedingly nourishing; it is thought to be +the best milk in the world for children. Usually, the trouble with +goat’s milk is, that the animals are not kept clean nor is care taken +in milking. Germany has produced many distinct and excellent breeds +of milch goats; the Island of Malta, Spain, England, Ireland, Egypt +and Nubia have each developed noted breeds. Of all these, the Nubias +give the most milk, sometimes yielding from four to six quarts pet +day, while an ordinary goat is considered fairly good if it yields +two quarts per day. + +_The Mohair Goats_--There are two noted breeds of goats whose hair +is used extensively for weaving into fabrics; one of these is the +Cashmere and the other the Angora. The Cashmere goat has long, +straight, silky hair for an outside coat and has a winter under-coat +of very delicate wool. There are not more than two or three ounces of +this wool upon one goat, and this is made into the famous Cashmere +shawls; ten goats furnish barely enough of this wool for one shawl. +The Cashmere goats are grown most largely in Thibet, and the wool is +shipped from the high tableland to the Valley of Cashmere, and is +made into shawls. It requires the work of several people for a year +to produce one of these famous shawls. + +The Angora goat has a long, silky and very curly fleece. These +goats were first discovered in Angora, a city of Asia Minor south +of the Black Sea, and some 200 miles southeast from Constantinople. +The Angora goat is a beautiful and delicate animal, and furnishes +most of the mohair, which is made into the cloths known as mohair, +alpaca, camel’s hair and many other fabrics. The Angora goat has +been introduced into America, in California, Texas, Arizona, and to +some extent in the Middle West. It promises to be a very profitable +industry. (See Farmers’ Bulletin No. 137, “The Angora Goat,” United +States Department of Agriculture.) + +The skins of goats are used extensively; morocco, gloves and many +other articles are made from them. In the Orient, the skin of the +goat is used as a bag in which to carry water and wine. + +_References_--American Animals, p. 55; Neighbors with Claws and +Hoofs, p. 190; Familiar Animals, pp. 169 and 183; Camp Fires of a +Naturalist, chapters VIII and XIII; Lives of Animals. + +[Illustration: _Angora goat._ + +Thompson, Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry U. S. +Department of Agriculture.] + + + LESSON LXV + + THE GOAT + +_Leading thought_--Goats are among our most interesting domesticated +animals, and their history is closely interwoven with the history of +the development of civilization. In Europe, their milk is made into +cheese that has a world-wide fame; and from the hair of some of the +species, beautiful fabrics are woven. The goat is naturally an animal +of the high mountains. + +_Method_--A span of goats harnessed to a cart is second only to +ponies, in a child’s estimation; therefore, the beginning of this +lesson may well be a span of goats thus employed. The lesson should +not be given unless the pupils have an opportunity for making direct +observations on the animal’s appearance and habits. There should +be some oral and written work in English done with this lesson. +Following are topics for such work: “The Milch Goat of Switzerland,” +“How Cashmere Shawls are Made,” “The Angora Goat,” “The Chamois.” + +_Observations_--1. Do you think that goats like to climb to high +points? Are they fitted to climb steep, inaccessible places? Can +they jump off steep places in safety? How does it happen the goat is +sure-footed? How do its legs and feet compare with those of the sheep? + +2. What does the goat eat? Where does it find its natural food on +mountains? How are the teeth arranged for cutting its food? Does a +goat chew its cud like a cow? + +3. What is the covering of the goat? Describe a billy-goat’s beard. +Do you suppose this is for ornament? For what is goat’s hair used? + +4. Do you think the goat has a keen sense of sight, of hearing and +of smell? Why? Why did it need to be alert and keen when it lived +wild upon the mountains? Do you think the goat is intelligent? Give +instances of this. + +5. Describe the horns. Do they differ from the horns of the sheep? +How does a goat fight? Does he strike head on, like the sheep, or +sidewise? How does he show anger? + +6. What noises does a goat make? Do you understand what they mean? + +7. Describe the goat, its looks and actions. Is the goat’s tail short +at first or does it have to be cut off like the lamb’s tail? Where +and how is goat’s milk used? What kinds of cheese are made from it? +For what is its skin used? Is its flesh ever eaten? + + * * * * * + + _Everyone knows the gayety of young kids, which prompts + them to cut the most amusing and burlesque capers. The goat + is naturally capricious and inquisitive, and one might say + crazy for every species of adventure. It positively delights + in perilous ascensions. At times it will rear and threaten + you with its head and horns, apparently, with the worst + intentions, whereas it is usually an invitation to play. The + bucks, however, fight violently with each other; they seem to + have no consciousness of the most terrible blows. The ewes + themselves are not exempt from this vice._ + + _They know very well whether or not they have deserved + punishment. Drive them out of the garden, where they are + forbidden to go, with a whip and they will flee without + uttering a sound; but strike them without just cause and they + will send forth lamentable cries._ + + CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT IN “OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS.” + + + + +[Illustration: _A Sicilian shepherd._ + +Photo by J. H. Comstock.] + + + THE SHEEP + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The earliest important achievement of ovine intelligence + is to know whether its own notion or another’s is most worth + while, and if the other’s, which one? Individual sheep + have certain qualities, instincts, competences, but in the + man-herded flocks these are superseded by something which + I shall call the flock mind, though I cannot say very well + what it is, except that it is less than the sum of all their + intelligences. This is why there have never been any notable + changes in the management of flocks since the first herder + girt himself with a wallet of sheep-skin and went out of his + cave-dwelling to the pastures._” + --“The Flock,” by MARY AUSTIN. + + +Both sheep and goats are at home on mountains, and sheep especially, +thrive best in cool, dry locations. As wild animals, they were +creatures of the mountain crag and chasm, although they frequented +more open places than the mountain goats, and their wool was +developed to protect them from the bitter cold of high altitudes. +They naturally gathered in flocks, and sentinels were set to give +warning of the approach of danger; as soon as the signal came, they +made their escape, not in the straight away race like the deer, but +in following the leader over rock, ledge and precipice to mountain +fastnesses where wolf nor bear could follow. Thus, the instinct +of following the leader blindly, came to be the salvation of the +individual sheep. + +The teeth of the sheep are like those of the goat, eight incisors +below and none on the upper row, and six grinding teeth at the back +of each side of each jaw. This arrangement of teeth on the small, +delicate, pointed jaws enables the sheep to crop herbage where cattle +would starve; it can cut the small grass off at its roots, and for +this reason, where vast herds of sheep range, they leave a desert +behind them. This fact brought about a bitter feud between the cattle +and sheep men in the far West. In forests, flocks of sheep completely +kill all underbrush, and now they are not permitted to run in +government reserves. + +[Illustration: _A sheep of pedigree, Shropshire ram._] + +The sheep’s legs are short and delicate below the ankle. The upper +portion is greatly developed to help the animal in leaping, a +peculiarity to which we owe the “leg of lamb” as a table delicacy. +The hoof is cloven, that is, the sheep walks upon two toes; it has +two smaller toes above and behind these. There is a little gland +between the front toes which secretes an oily substance, which +perhaps serves in preventing the hoof from becoming too dry. The +ears are large and are moved to catch better the direction of sound. +The eyes are peculiar; in the sunlight the pupil is a mere slit, +while the iris is yellow or brownish, but in the dark, even of the +stable, the pupils enlarge, almost covering the eye. The ewes either +lack horns or have small ones, but the horns of wild rams are large, +placed at the side of the head and curled outward in a spiral. These +horns are perhaps not so much for fighting the enemy as for rival +rams. The ram can strike a hard blow with head and horns, coming at +the foe head on, while the goat always strikes sidewise. So fierce is +the blow of the angry sheep, that an ancient instrument of war was +fashioned like a ram’s head and used to knock down walls, and was +called a battering ram. A sheep shows anger by stamping the ground +with the front feet. The habit of rumination enables the sheep to +feed in a flock and then retire to some place to rest and chew the +cud, a performance peculiarly funny in the sheep. + +Sheep under attack and danger are silent; ordinarily they keep up +a constant, gentle bleating to keep each other informed of their +whereabouts; they also give a peculiar call when water is discovered, +and another to inform the flock that there is a stranger in the +midst; they also give a peculiar bleat, when a snake or other enemy +which they conquer, is observed. Their sense of smell is very acute. +Mary Austin says, “Young lambs are principally legs, the connecting +body being simply a contrivance for converting milk into more leg, so +you understand how it is that they will follow the flock in two days +and are able to take the trail in a fortnight, traveling four and +five miles a day, falling asleep on their feet and tottering forward +in the way.” + +[Illustration: _Mutual contentment._] + +The older lambs have games which they play untiringly, and which fit +them to become active members of the flock; one, is the regular game +of “Follow My Leader,” each lamb striving to push ahead and attain +the place of leader. In playing this the head lamb leads the chase +over most difficult places, such as logs, stones and across brooks; +thus is a training begun which later in life may save the flock. The +other game is peculiar to stony pastures; a lamb climbs to the top +of a boulder and its comrades gather around and try to butt it off; +the one which succeeds in doing this, climbs the rock and is “it.” +This game leads to agility and sure-footedness. A lamb’s tail is long +and is most expressive of lambkin bliss, when feeding time comes; +but, alas! it has to be cut off so that later it will not become +matted with burrs and filth. In southern Russia there is a breed of +sheep with large, flat, fat tails which are esteemed as a great table +delicacy. This tail becomes so cumbersome that wheels are placed +beneath it, so that it trundles along behind its owner. + +We have a noble species of wild sheep in the Rocky Mountains which is +likely to become extinct soon. The different breeds of domesticated +sheep are supposed to have been derived from different wild species. +Of the domesticated varieties, we have the Merinos which originated +in Spain and which give beautiful, long, fine wool for our fabrics; +but their flesh is not very attractive. The Merinos have wool on +their faces and legs and have wrinkled skins. The English breeds +of sheep have been especially developed for mutton, although their +wool is valuable. Some of these like the Southdown, Shropshire, and +Dorset, give a medium length of wool, while the Cotswold has very +long wool, the ewes having long strings of wool over their eyes in +the fashion of “bangs.” + +The dog, as descended from the wolf, is the ancient enemy of sheep; +and even now after hundreds of years of domestication, some of our +dogs will revert to savagery and chase and kill sheep. This, in fact, +has been one of the great drawbacks to sheep raising in the Eastern +United States. The collie, or sheep-dog, has been bred so many years +as the special care-taker of sheep, that a beautiful relationship has +been established between these dogs and their flocks. For instances +of this, read the chapter on sheep-dogs in A Country Reader; “Wully” +in Wild Animals I Have Known, and “Bob, Son of Battle.” + + + LESSON LXVI + + THE SHEEP + +_Leading thought_--Sheep live naturally in high altitudes. When +attacked by enemies, they follow their leader over difficult and +dangerous mountain places. + +_Method_--The questions of this lesson should be given to the pupils +and the observations should be made upon the sheep in pasture or +stable. Much written work may be done in connection with this +lesson. The following topics are suggested for themes: “The Methods +by which Wool is Made into Cloth,” “The Rocky Mountain Sheep,” “The +Sheep-herders of California and their Flocks,” “The True Story of a +Cosset Lamb.” + +[Illustration: _Horned Dorset ram._] + +_Observations_--1. What is the chief character that separates sheep +from other animals? What is the difference between wool and hair? Why +is wool of special use to sheep in their native haunts? Is there any +hair on sheep? + +2. Where do the wild sheep live? What is the climate in these places? +Does wool serve them well on this account? What sort of pasturage do +sheep find on mountains? Could cows live where sheep thrive? Describe +the sheep’s teeth and how they are arranged to enable it to crop +vegetation closely. What happens to the vegetation on the range, when +a great flock of sheep passes over it? Why are sheep not allowed in +our forest preserves? + +3. What are the chief enemies of sheep in the wilderness? How do the +sheep escape them? Describe the foot and leg of the sheep and explain +how they help the animal to escape its enemies. We say of certain +men that they “follow like a flock of sheep.” Why do we make this +comparison? What has this habit of following the leader to do with +the escape of sheep from wolves and bears? + +4. How do sheep fight? Do both rams and ewes have horns? Do they both +fight? How does the sheep show anger? Give your experience with a +cross cosset lamb. + +5. Do you think that sheep can see and hear well? What is the +position of the sheep’s ears when it is peaceful? When there is +danger? How do the sheep’s eyes differ from those of the cow? + +6. Does the sheep chew its cud like the cow? Describe the action as +performed by the sheep. How is this habit of cud chewing of use to +the wild sheep? + +7. Describe a young lamb. Why has it such long legs? How does it use +its tail to express joy? What happens to this tail later? What games +have you seen lambs play? Tell all the stories of lambs that you know. + +8. How much of sheep language do you understand? What is the use to +the wild flock of the constant bleating? + +9. For what purposes do we keep sheep? How many breeds of sheep do +you know? What are the chief differences between the English breeds +and the Merinos? Where and for what purposes is the milk of sheep +used? + +10. Have you ever seen a collie looking after a herd of sheep? If so, +describe his actions. Did you ever know of dogs killing sheep? At +what time of day or night was this done? Did you ever know of one dog +attacking a flock of sheep alone? What is there in the dog’s ancestry +which makes two or three dogs, when hunting, give chase and attack +sheep? + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Gerrit Miller. +] + + + + +[Illustration: _A herd of ponies in the Isle of Shetland guarded by a +sheep-dog._] + + + THE HORSE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_There was once a little animal no bigger than a fox, + And on five toes he scrambled over Tertiary rocks. + They called him Eohippus, and they called him very small, + And they thought him of no value when they thought of him + at all._ + + _Said the little Eohippus, I am going to be a horse! + And on my middle finger nails to run my earthly course! + I am going to have a flowing tail! I am going to have a + mane! + And I am going to stand fourteen hands high on the Psychozooic + plain!_” + --MRS. STETSON. + + +It was some millions of years ago, that Eohippus lived out in the +Rocky Mountain Range; its fore feet had four toes and the splint of +the fifth; the hind feet had three toes and the splint of the fourth. +Eohippus was followed down the geologic ages by the Orohippus and +the Mesohippus and various other hippuses, which showed in each age +a successive enlargement and specialization of the middle toe and +the minimizing and final loss of the others. This first little horse +with many toes, lived when the earth was a damp, warm place and when +animals needed toes to spread out to prevent them from miring in the +mud. But as the ages went on, the earth grew colder and drier, and +a long leg ending in a single hoof, was very serviceable in running +swiftly over the dry plains; and according to the story read in the +fossils of the rocks, our little American horses migrated to South +America; and also trotted dry-shod over to Asia in the Mid-pleocine +age, arriving there sufficiently early to become the companion of +prehistoric man. In the meantime, horses were first hunted by savage +man for their flesh, but were later ridden. At present, there are +wild horses in herds on the plains of Tartary; and there are still +sporadic herds of mustangs on the great plains of our own country, +although for the most part, they are branded and belong to someone, +even though they live like wild horses; these American wild horses +are supposed to be descendants of those brought over centuries ago +by the Spaniards. The Shetland ponies are also wild in the islands +north of Scotland, and the zebras roam the plains of Africa the most +truly wild of all. In a state of wildness, there is always a stallion +at the head of a herd of mares, and he has to win his position and +keep it by superior strength and prowess. Fights between stallions +are terrible to witness, and often result in the death of one of the +participants. The horse is well armed for battle; his powerful teeth +can inflict deep wounds and he can kick and strike hard with the +front feet; still more efficient is the kick made with both hind feet +while the weight of the body is borne on the front feet, and the head +of the horse is turned so as to aim well the terrible blow. There are +no wild beasts of prey which will not slink away to avoid a herd of +horses. After attaining their growth in the herd with their mothers, +the young males are forced by the leader to leave and go off by +themselves; in turn, they must by their own strength and attractions, +win their following of mares. However, there are times and places +where many of these herds join, making large bands wandering together. + +[Illustration: _Four-toed horse of the Eocene period._ + +After Charles R. Knight.] + +The length of the horse’s leg was evidently evolved to meet the need +for flight before fierce and swift enemies, on the great ancient +plains. The one toe, with its strong, sharp hoof, makes a fit foot +for such a long leg, since it strikes the ground with little waste +of energy and is sharp enough not to slip, but it is not a good foot +for marshy places; a horse will mire where a cow can pass in safety. +The development of the middle toe into a hoof results in lifting the +heel and wrist far up the leg, making them appear to be the knee and +elbow, when compared with the human body. + +The length of neck and head are necessary in order that an animal, +with such length of leg as the horse, may be able to graze. The head +of the horse tells much of its disposition; a perfect head should +be not too large, broad between the eyes and high between the ears, +while below the eyes, it should be narrow. The ears, if lopped or +turned back, denote a treacherous disposition. They should point +upward or forward; the ears laid back is always a sign that the horse +is angry; sensitive, quick-moving ears indicate a high-strung, +sensitive animal. The eyes are placed so that the horse can see in +front, at the side and behind, the last being necessary in order to +aim a kick. Hazel eyes are usually preferred to dark ones, and they +should be bright and prominent. The nostrils should be thin-skinned, +wide-flaring and sensitive; as a wild animal, scent was one of the +horse’s chief aids in detecting the enemy. The lips should not be too +thick and the lower jaw should be narrow where it joins the head. + +[Illustration] + +The horse’s teeth are peculiar; there are six incisors on both jaws; +behind them is a bare space called the bar, of which we have made +use for placing the bit. Back of the bar, there are six molars or +grinders on each side of each jaw. At the age of about three years, +canine teeth or tushes appear behind the incisors; these are more +noticeable in males, and never seem to be of much use. Thus, the +horse has on each jaw, when full-grown, six incisors, two canines, +and twelve molars, making forty teeth in all. The incisors are +prominent and enable the horse to bite the grass more closely than +can the cow. The horse when chewing, does not have the sidewise +motion of the jaws peculiar to the cow and sheep. + +[Illustration: _Hoofs of horses from earliest ages to the present +time, arranged in pairs, hind and front._] + +The horse’s coat is, when rightly cared for, glossy and beautiful; +but if the horse is allowed to run out in the pasture all winter, the +coat becomes very shaggy, thus reverting to the condition of wild +horses which stand in need of a warmer coat for winter; the hair is +shed every year. The mane and the forelock are useful in protecting +the head and neck from flies; the tail is also an efficient +fly-brush. Although the mane and tail have thus a practical value, +they add greatly to the animal’s beauty. To dock a horse’s tail as +an ornament is as absurd as the sliced ears and welted cheeks of +savages; and horses thus mutilated suffer greatly from the attacks of +flies. + +Owing to the fact that wild horses made swift flight from enemies, +the colts could not be left behind at the mercy of wolves. Thus +it is, the colt like the lamb, is equipped with long legs from +the first, and can run very rapidly; as a runner, it could not be +loaded with a big compound stomach full of food, like the calf, and +therefore, must needs take its nourishment from the mother often. The +colt’s legs are so long that, in order to graze, it spreads the front +legs wide apart in order that it may reach the grass with its mouth. +When the colt or the horse lies down out of doors and in perfect +freedom, it lies flat upon the side. In lying down, the hind quarters +go first, and in rising, the front legs are thrust out first. + +[Illustration: _English draft-horse._] + +The horse has several natural gaits and some that are artificial. Its +natural methods of progression are the walk, the trot, the amble, +the gallop. When walking there are always two or more feet on the +ground and the movement of the feet consists in placing successively +the right hind foot, the right fore foot, left hind foot, left fore +foot, right hind foot, etc. In trotting, each diagonal pair of legs +is alternately lifted and thrust forward, the horse being unsupported +twice during each stride. In ambling, the feet are moved as in the +walk, only differing in that a hind foot or a fore foot is lifted +from the ground, before its fellow fore foot or hind foot is set +down. In a canter, the feet are landed on the ground in the same +sequence as a walk but much more rapidly; and in the gallop, the +spring is made from the fore foot and the landing is on the diagonal +hind foot and just before landing, the body is in the air and the +legs are all bent beneath it. + +An excellent horseman once said to me, “The whip may teach a horse +to obey the voice, but the voice and hand control the well-broken +horse,” and this epitomizes the best horse training. He also said, +“The horse knows a great deal, but he is too nervous to make use of +his knowledge when he needs it most. It is the horse’s feelings that +I rely on. He always has the use of his feelings and the quick use of +them.” It is a well-known fact that those men who whip and scold and +swear at their horses, are meantime showing to the world that they +are fools in this particular business. Many of the qualities which +we do not like in our domesticated horses, were most excellent and +useful when the horses were wild, for instance, the habit of shying +was the wild horse’s method of escaping the crouching foe in the +grass. This habit as well as many others is best controlled by the +voice of the driver instead of a blow from the whip. + +[Illustration: _Saddle-horse._] + +Timothy hay, or hay mixed with clover, form good, bulky food for the +horse, and oats and corn are the best concentrated food. Oats are +best for driving-horses and corn for the working team. Dusty hay +should not be fed to a horse; but if unavoidable, it should always be +dampened before feeding. A horse should be fed with regularity, and +should not be used for a short time after having eaten. If the horse +is not warm, it should be watered before feeding, and in the winter +the water should have the chill taken off. The frozen bit should be +warmed before being placed in the horse’s mouth; if anyone doubts +the wisdom of this, let him put a frozen piece of steel in his own +mouth. The tight-drawn, cruel use of the over check-rein should not +be permitted, although a moderate check is often needed and is not +cruel. When the horse is sweating, it should be blanketed immediately +if hitched outside in cold weather; but in the barn, the blanket +should not be put on until the perspiration has stopped steaming. +The grooming of a horse is a part of its rights, and its legs should +receive more attention during this process than its body, a fact not +always well understood. + +The breeds of horses may always be classified more or less distinctly +as follows: Racers or thoroughbreds, the saddle-horse, or hunter; +the coach-horse; the draft-horse and the pony. For a description +of breeds see dictionaries or cyclopedias. Of the draft-horses, the +Percherons, Shires and Clydesdales are most common; of the carriage +and coach-horses, the English hackney and the French and German +coach-horses are famed examples. Of the roadster breeds, the American +trotter, the American saddle-horse and the English thoroughbred are +most famous. + +[Illustration: _A good coacher._] + + + LESSON LXVII + + THE HORSE + +_Leading thought_--The horse as a wild animal depended largely upon +its strength and fleetness to escape its enemies, and these two +qualities have made it of greatest use to man. + +_Method_--Begin this study of the horse with the stories of wild +horses. “The Pacing Mustang” in Wild Animals I Have Known, is an +excellent story to show the habits of the herds of wild horses; +Chapter first in A Country Reader and the story of horses in Life +of Animals are excellent as a basis for study. Before beginning +actual study of the domestic horses, ask for oral or written +English exercises descriptive of the lives of the wild horses. Get +Remington’s pictures illustrating the wild horses of America. After +the interest has been thus aroused the following observations may be +suggested, a few at a time, to be made incidentally in the street or +in the stable. + +_Observations_--1. Compare the length of the legs of the horse with +its height. Has any other domestic animal legs as long in proportion? +What habits of the ancestral wild horses led to the development of +such long legs? Do you think the length of the horse’s neck and head +correspond to the length of its legs? Why? + +2. Study the horse’s leg and foot. The horse walks on one toe. Which +toe do you think it is? What do we call the toe-nail of the horse? +What advantage is this sort of a foot to the horse? Is it best fitted +for running on dry plains or for marshy land? Does the hoof grow as +our nails do? Do you know whether there were ever any horses with +three toes or four toes on each foot? Make a sketch of the horse’s +front and hind leg and label those places which correspond to our +wrist, elbow, shoulder, hand, heel, knee and hip. + +3. Where are the horse’s ears placed on the head? How do they move? +Do they flap back and forth like the cow’s ears when they are moved, +or do they turn as if on a pivot? What do the following different +positions of the horse’s ears indicate: When lifted and pointing +forward? When thrown back? Can you tell by the action of the ears +whether a horse is nervous and high-strung or not? + +4. What is the color of the horse’s eyes? The shape of the pupil? +What advantage does the position of the eyes on the head give to the +wild horse? Why do we put blinders on a horse? Can you tell by the +expression of the eye the temper of the horse? + +5. Look at the mouth and nose. Are the nostrils large and flaring? +Has the horse a keen sense of smell? Are the lips thick or thin? When +taking sugar from the hand, does the horse use teeth or lips? + +[Illustration: _“Palo Alto”, a famous running horse._] + +6. Describe the horse’s teeth. How many front teeth? How many back +teeth? Describe the bar where the bit is placed. Are there any +canine teeth? If so, where? Do you know how to tell a horse’s age +by its teeth? (See Elements of Agriculture, Warren, page 304, and +The Horse, Roberts, page 246.) Can a horse graze the grass more +closely than a cow? Why? When it chews does it move the jaws sidewise +like the cow? Why? Why did the wild horses not need to develop a +cud-chewing habit? + +7. What is the nature of the horse’s coat in summer? If the horse +runs in the pasture all winter, how does its coat change? When +does the horse shed its coat? What is the use of the horse’s mane, +forelock and tail? Do you think it is treating the horse well to dock +its tail? + +8. Why do colts need to be so long-legged? How does a colt have to +place its front legs in order to reach down and eat the grass? Does +the colt need to take its food from the mother often? How does it +differ from the calf in this respect? How has this difference of +habit resulted in a difference of form in the calf and colt? + +9. When the horse lies down which part goes down first? When getting +up which rises first? How does this differ from the method of +the cow? When the horse lies down to sleep does it have its legs +partially under it like the cow? + +10. In walking which leg moves first? Second? Third? Fourth? How +many gaits has the horse? Describe as well as you can all of these +gaits. (See pictures illustrating the word “movement” in the Standard +Dictionary.) + +11. Make a sketch of a horse showing the parts. (See Webster’s +Unabridged). When we say a horse is fourteen hands high what do we +mean? + +12. In fighting, what weapons does the horse use and how? + +13. In training a horse, should the voice or the whip be used the +most? What qualities should a man have to be a good horse trainer? +Why is shying a good quality in wild horses? How should it be dealt +with in the domestic horse? + +14. What sort of feed is best for the horse? How and when should the +horse be watered? Should the water be warmed in cold weather? Why? +Should the bit be warmed in winter before putting it in a horse’s +mouth? Why? Should a tight over check-rein be used when driving? Why? +When the horse has been driven until it is sweating what are the +rules for blanketing it when hitched out of doors and when hitched +in the barn? What is your opinion of a man who lets his horse stand +waiting in the cold, unblanketed in the village street? If horses +were kept out of doors all the time would this treatment be so cruel +and dangerous? Why? Why should dusty hay be dampened before it is fed +to a horse? Why should a horse be groomed? Which should receive the +most attention, the legs or the body? + +15. How many breeds of horses do you know? What is the use of each? +Describe as well as you can the characteristics of the following +breeds: The thoroughbred, the hackney, and other coach-horses; the +American trotter, the Percheron, the Clydesdale. + +16. Write English themes on the following subjects: “The Prehistoric +Horses of America,” “The Arabian Horse and Its Life With Its +Master,” “The Bronchos and Mustangs of the West,” “The Wild Horses +of Tartary,” “The Zebras of Africa,” “The Shetland Ponies and the +Islands on Which They Run Wild.” + +_Supplementary reading_--The Horse, Roberts; Elements of Agriculture, +Warren; Life of Animals, Cram; Neighbors with Claws and Hoofs; A +Country Reader; Agriculture for Beginners; Black Beauty; John Brent, +by Theodore Withrop; Half Hours with Mammals, Holder; Chapters on +Animals, Hammerton; “Kaweah’s Run” in Claws and Hoofs. + +[Illustration] + + * * * * * + + _Many horses shy a good deal at objects they meet on the road. + This mostly arises from nervousness, because the objects + are not familiar to them. Therefore, to cure the habit, you + must get your horse accustomed to what he sees, and so give + him confidence.... Be careful never to stop a horse that is + drawing a vehicle or load in the middle of a hill, except + for a rest; and if for a rest, draw him across the hill and + place a big stone behind the wheel, so that the strain on the + shoulder may be eased. Unless absolutely necessary never stop + a horse on a hill or in a rut, so that when he starts again it + means a heavy tug. Many a horse has been made a jibber and his + temper spoilt by not observing this rule._ + --H. B. M. BUCHANAN IN “A COUNTRY READER.” + + + + +[Illustration: _The original wild cattle of America._ + +Photo by John L. Rich.] + + + + + CATTLE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +That in numbers there is safety, is a basic principle in the lives +of wild cattle, probably because their chief enemies, the wolves, +hunted in packs. It has often been related that, when the herd is +attacked by wolves, the calves are placed at the center of the +circle made by the cattle, standing with heads out and horns ready +for attack from every quarter. But when a single animal, like a bear +or tiger, attacks any of the herd, they all gather around it in a +narrowing circle of clashing horns, and many of these great beasts +of prey have thus met their death. The cow is as formidable as the +bull to the enemy, since her horns are strong and sharp and she +tosses her victim, unless it is too large. The heavy head, neck and +short massive horns of the bull, are not so much for defence against +enemies as against rival bulls. The bull not only tosses and gores +his victim, but kneels or tramples upon it. Both have effective +weapons of defence in the hind feet, which kick powerfully. The +buffalo bull of India will attack a tiger single handed, and usually +successfully. It is a strange thing that all cattle are driven mad by +the smell of blood, and weird stories are told of the stampeding of +herds from this cause, on the plains of our great West. + +Cattle are essentially grass and herbage eaters, and their teeth are +peculiarly arranged for this. There are eight front teeth on the +lower jaw, and a horny pad opposite them on the upper jaw. Back of +these on each jaw there is a bare place and six grinding teeth on +each side. As a cow crops the herbage, her head is moved up and down +to aid in severing the leaves, and the peculiar sound of the tearing +of the leaves thus made is not soon forgotten by those who have heard +it. In the wild or domesticated state the habit of cud-chewing is +this: The cattle graze in mornings and evenings, swallowing the food +as fast as cropped, and storing it in their ruminating stomachs. +During the heat of the day, they move to the shade, preferably to the +shady banks of streams, and there in quiet the food is brought up, a +small portion at a time, and chewed with a peculiar sidewise movement +of the jaws and then swallowed, passing to the true stomach. There is +probably no more perfect picture of utter contentment, than a herd of +cows chewing their cuds in the shade, or standing knee-deep in the +cool stream on a summer’s day. The cattle in a herd when grazing, +keep abreast and move along, heads in the same direction. + +[Illustration: _Course of food in a cow’s stomach._ + +I, ruminant stomach; II, where the cud-balls are formed; III, IV, +true stomachs.] + +Connected with the grazing habit, is that of the hiding of the +new-born calf by its mother; the young calf is a wabbly creature and +ill-fitted for a long journey; so the mother hides it, and there it +stays “frozen” and will never stir unless actually touched. As the +mother is obliged to be absent for some time grazing with the herd, +the calf is obliged to go without nourishment for a number of hours, +and so it is provided with a large compound stomach which, if filled +twice per day, suffices to insure health and growth. The cow, on the +other hand, giving her milk out only twice per day, needs a large +udder in which to store it. The size of the udder is what has made +the cow useful to us as a milch animal. + +[Illustration: _A pet Holstein._] + +A fine cow is a beautiful creature, her soft yellow skin beneath +the sleek coat of short hair, the well proportioned body, the mild +face, crowned with spreading, polished horns and illuminated with +large gentle eyes, are all elements of beauty which artists have +recognized, especially those of the Dutch school. The ancients also +admired bovine eyes, and called their most beautiful goddess the +ox-eyed Juno. + +The cow’s ears can be turned in any direction, and her sense of +hearing is keen; so is her sense of smell, aided by the moist, +sensitive skin of the nose; she always sniffs danger and also thus +tests her food. Although a cow if well kept has a sleek coat, when +she is allowed to run out of doors during the winter, her hair grows +long and shaggy as a protection. The cow walks on two toes, or as we +say has a split hoof. She has two lesser toes above and behind the +hoofs which we call dew-claws. The part of her leg which seems at +first glance to be her knee, is really her wrist or ankle. Although +short-legged, the cow is a good runner, as those who have chased her +can bear witness. She can walk, gallop and has a pacing trot; she is +a remarkable jumper, often taking a fence like a deer; she also has +marvelous powers as a swimmer, a case being on record where a cow +swam five miles. But a cow would be illy equipped for comfort if it +were not for her peculiar tail, which is made after the most approved +pattern of fly-brushes, and is thus used. Woe betide the fly she hits +with it, if the blow is as efficient as that which she incidentally +bestows on the head of the milker. It is to get rid of flies, that +the cattle, and especially the buffaloes, wallow in the mud, and thus +coat themselves with a fly-proof armor. + +There is a fairly extensive range of emotions expressed in cattle +language, from the sullen bellow of the angry animal to the lowing +which is the call of the herd, and the mooing which is meant for the +calf; and there are many other bellowings and mutterings which we can +partially understand. + +Every herd of cows has its leader, which has won the position by fair +fight. Add a new cow to the herd, and there is at once a trial of +strength, to adjust her to her proper place; and in a herd of cows, +the leader leads; she goes first and no one may say her nay. In fact, +each member of the herd has her place in it; and that is why it is so +easy to teach cows each to take her own stanchion in the stable. In +a herd of forty cows which I knew, each cow took her stanchion, no +matter in what order she happened to enter the stable. + +A cow at play is a funny sight; her tail is lifted aloft like a +pennant and she kicks as lightly as if she were made of rubber. She +is also a sure-footed beast, as anyone can attest who has seen her +running down the rocky mountain sides of the Alps, at a headlong pace +and never making a mistake. In lying down, the cow first kneels with +the front legs, or rather drops on her wrists, and then the hind +quarters go down, and then the front follow. She does not lie flat on +her side when resting, like the horse when at ease, but with her legs +partially under her. In getting up, she rests upon her wrists and +then lifts the hind quarters. + + + _The Usefulness of Cattle_ + +When man emerged from the savage state, his first step toward +civilization was domesticating wild animals and training them for +his own use. During the nomad stage, when tribes wandered over the +face of the earth, they took their cattle along. From the first, +these animals have been used in three capacities: First, for carrying +burdens and as draught animals; second, as meat; third, as givers of +milk. They were also used in the earlier ages as sacrifices to the +various deities, and in Egypt, some were held as sacred. + +As beasts of burden and draft animals, oxen are still used in many +parts of the United States. For logging, especially in pioneer days, +oxen were far more valuable than horses. They are patient and will +pull a few inches at a time, if necessary, a tedious work which the +nervous horse refuses to endure. Cows too, have been used as draft +animals, and are so used in China today, where they do most of the +plowing; in these oriental countries milk is not consumed to any +extent, so the cow is kept for the work she can do. In ancient times +in the East, white oxen formed a part of royal processions. + +[Illustration: _Beef cattle._] + +Because of two main uses of cattle by civilized man, he has bred +them in two directions; one for producing beef, and one for milk. +The beef cattle are chiefly Aberdeen-Angus, Galloway, Short-horn or +Durham, and Hereford; the dairy breeds are the Jersey, Guernsey, +Ayrshire, Holstein-Frisian and Brown Swiss. The beef animal is, in +cross-section, approximately like a brick set sidewise. It should +be big and full across the loins and back, the shoulders and hips +covered heavily with flesh, the legs stout, the neck thick and short, +and the face short; the line of the back is straight, and the stomach +line parallel with it. Very different is the appearance of the milch +cow. Her body is oval, instead of being approximately square in +cross-section. The outline of her back is not straight, but sags +in front of the hips, which are prominent and bony. The shoulders +have little flesh on them; and if looked at from above, her body is +wedge-shaped, widening from shoulders backward. The stomach line +is not parallel with the back bone, but slants downward from the +shoulder to the udder. The following are the points that indicate +a good milch cow: Head high between the eyes, showing large air +passages and indicating strong lungs. Eyes clear, large and placid, +indicating good disposition. Mouth large, with a muscular lower jaw, +showing ability to chew efficiently and rapidly. Neck, thin and fine, +showing veins through the skin. Chest deep and wide, showing plenty +of room for heart and lungs. Abdomen, large but well supported, and +increasing in size toward the rear. Ribs, well spread, not meeting +the spine like the peak of a roof, but the spine must be prominent, +revealing to the touch the separate vertebræ. Hips, much broader than +the shoulders. Udder, large, the four quarters of equal size, and not +fat; the “milk veins” which carry the blood from the udder should be +large and crooked, passing into the abdomen through large openings. +Skin, soft, pliable and covered with fine, oily hair. She should +have good digestion and great powers of assimilation. The milch cow +is a milk-making machine, and the more fuel (food) she can use, the +greater her production. + +The physiological habits of the beef and milch cattle have been +changed as much as their structure. The food given to the beef cow +goes to make flesh; while that given to the milch cow goes to make +milk, however abundant her food. Of course, there are all grades +between the beef and the milch types, for many farmers use dual herds +for both. However, if a farmer is producing milk it pays him well to +get the best possible machine to make it, and that is always a cow of +the right type. + + + _A Geography Lesson_ + +All the best breeds of cattle have been evolved in the British Isles +and in Europe north of Italy and west of Russia. All our domesticated +cattle were developed from wild cattle of Europe and Asia. The cattle +which roam in our rapidly narrowing grazing lands of the far West +are European cattle. America had no wild cattle except the bison. +In geography supplementary readers, read about Scotland, England, +the Channel Islands, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland and the +different kinds of cattle developed in these countries; for example, +“A Holland Dairy,” in Northern Europe, Ginn & Co. + + + _How to Produce Good Milk_ + +There are three main ingredients of milk--fat, curd and ash. The +fat is for the purpose of supplying the animal with fat and we make +it into butter; the curd supplies muscle, or the lean meat of the +animal, and is the main ingredient of cheese, although cheese to be +good should contain a full amount of butter fat; the ash which may be +seen as residue when milk is evaporated, builds up the bone of the +animal. The best butter cows are those which give a larger per cent. +of fat and a small per cent. of curd, like the Jerseys; the best +cheese cows are those which give a fair per cent. of fat and a larger +yield of curd, like the Ayrshire and Holstein. + +A cow for producing cheese, is not profitable, unless she gives +seven thousand pounds of milk per year; a butter cow, a Jersey for +instance, should produce five thousand pounds of milk per year to be +really profitable. + +The stable where milch cows are kept should be thoroughly cleaned +before each milking, and should be swept each day; the cows’ udders +should be brushed, and the milkers should wear clean aprons and +should wash their hands before milking. Milk should never be strained +in the barn, but in some place where the air is fresh. If milk is +perfectly clean, it will keep sweet much longer; sterilized milk put +in bottles will keep sweet for weeks and even months. Loud talking +should not be permitted in the stables while the cows are being +milked, and each cow should be milked by the same person for the +entire season. + +[Illustration: _The perfect milch type._] + +Milk to be legally sold in New York State must possess three per +cent. of butter fat. For upper grades or first year work in the high +school, there could not be a more profitable exercise than teaching +the pupils the use of the Babcock milk tester. + + + _The Care of the Milch Cow_ + +The importance cannot be over-estimated of teaching the pupils in +rural districts, the proper care of milch cattle for the production +of milk. The milch cow is a perfect machine, and should be regarded +as such in producing milk. First, she should have plenty of food of +the right kind, that is, a well-balanced ration. Second, she should +have a warm, clean stable and be supplied with plenty of good, fresh +air. A cold stable makes it necessary to provide much more food for +the cow; a case on record shows that when a barn was opened up in +cold weather for necessary repairing, the amount of milk from the +cows stabled in it, decreased ten per cent. in twenty-four hours. +There should be a protected place for drinking, if the cattle must +be turned out of the barn for water in winter; it is far better to +have the water piped into the barn, although the herd should be given +a few hours each day in the open air. A dog should never be used for +driving cows. To be profitable, a cow should give milk ten months of +the year at least. Calves should be dehorned when they are a few days +old by putting caustic potash on the budding horns, thus obviating +the danger of damaging the cow by dehorning. + +In a properly run dairy, a pair of scales stands near the can for +receiving the milk; and as the milk from each cow is brought in, it +is weighed and the amount set down opposite the cow’s name on a “milk +sheet,” that is tacked on the wall, near by. At the end of each week, +the figures on the milk sheet are added, and the farmer knows just +how much milk each cow is giving him, and whether there are any in +the herd which are not paying their board. + +_References_--Elements of Agriculture, Warren; Agriculture for +Beginners, Burkett, Stevens and Hill, p. 216; First Principles of +Agriculture, Vorhees, p. 117; Elements of Agriculture, Sever, p. +57; Elements of Agriculture, Shepperd, chapters 15 and 22; First +Principles of Agriculture, Goff and Maine, p. 154; Agriculture +Through the Laboratory, School and Garden, Jackson and Dougherty, +chapter 8; The Dairy Herd, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 55, U. S. Dept. of +Agr.; Care of Milk on the Farm, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 63, U. S. Dept. +of Agr. + + + LESSON LXVIII + + THE COW + +_Leading thought_--Certain characteristics which enable the cow to +live successfully as a wild animal, have rendered her of great use to +us as a domestic animal. + +_Method_--Begin the lesson with leading the pupils to understand +the peculiar adaptation of cattle for success, as wild animals. +This will have to be done largely by reading and asking for oral or +written work on the following topics: “The Aurochs,” “Wild Cattle +of the Scottish Highlands,” “The Buffaloes of the Orient,” “The +American Bison,” “The Cow-boys of the West and their Work with their +Herds,” “The Breeds of Beef Cattle, Where they Came From, and Where +Developed,” “The Breeds of Milch Cattle, their Origin and Names.” The +following questions may be given out a few at a time and answered as +the pupils have opportunity for observation. + +_Observations_--1. What are the characteristics of a fine cow? +Describe her horns, ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Do you think she can +hear well? What is the attitude of her ears when she is listening? Do +you think she has a keen sense of smell? Is her nose moist? Is her +hair long or short? Smooth or rough? + +2. The cow walks on two toes. Can you see any other toes which she +does not walk on? Why is the cow’s foot better adapted than that of +the horse, to walk in mud and marshes? What do we call the two hind +toes which she does not walk on? Can you point out on the cow’s leg +those parts which correspond with our elbow, wrist, knee and ankle? +Is the cow a good runner? Is she a good jumper? Can she swim? + +3. For what use was the cow’s tail evidently intended? How do the +wild buffalos and bisons get rid of attacks of flies? + +4. How much of cattle language do you understand? How does the cow +express pleasure? Lonesomeness? Anger? How does the bull express +anger? What does the calf express with the voice? + +5. Is there always a leader in a herd of cows? Do certain cows of the +herd always go first and others last? Do the cows readily learn to +take each her own place in the stable? How is leadership of the herd +attained? Describe cattle at play. + +6. At what time of day do cattle feed in the pasture? When and where +do they chew the cud? Do they stand or lie to do this? Describe how a +cow lies down and gets up. + +7. How do wild cattle defend themselves from wolves? From bears or +other solitary animals? + +8. For what purposes were cattle first domesticated? For how many +purposes do we rear cattle today? + +9. Name and give brief descriptions of the different breeds of cattle +with which you are familiar. Which of these are beef and which milch +types? + +10. What are the distinguishing points of a good milch cow? Of a good +beef animal? What does the food do for each of these? Which part of +the United States produces most beef cattle? Which the most milch +cattle? + +11. What do we mean by a balanced ration? Do you know how to compute +one? What is the advantage of feeding cattle a balanced ration? + +12. How many pounds of milk should a dairy cow produce in a year to +be profitable if the product is cheese? If the product is butter? Why +this discrepancy? What must be the per cent. of butter fat in milk to +make it legally salable in your state? How many months of the year +should a good cow give milk? + +13. Why should a cow be milked always by the same person? Does the +milker always sit on the same side? Why should loud talking and other +noise at milking time be avoided? Should a dog be used in driving +dairy cows? Why? + +14. Why is a cool draughty barn an expensive place in which to keep +cattle? Why is a barn not well-ventilated, a danger? + +15. Why and where is the dehorning of cattle practiced? When and how +should a calf be dehorned? + +16. Why should milk not be strained in the barn? Why is it profitable +for the dairy farmer to keep his stable clean and to be cleanly in +the care of milk? How does the food of cows affect the flavor of the +milk? Why should a farmer keep a record of the number of pounds of +milk which each cow in his dairy gives each day? + +17. For what are oxen used? Wherein are they superior to horses as +draft animals? Do you know of any place where oxen are used as riding +animals? + +18. How many industries are dependent upon cattle? + +19. Give oral or written exercises on the following themes: “How the +Best Butter is Made;” “The Use of Bacteria in Butter;” “How Dairy +Cheese is Made;” “How Fancy Cheeses are Made.” + + + + + THE PIG + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_I wander through the underbresh, + Where pig tracks pintin’ to’rds the crick, + Is picked and printed in the fresh + Black bottom-lands, like wimmen prick + Their pie-crust with a fork._” + --RILEY. + + +[Illustration: B] + +By a forest law of William the First of England in the eleventh +century, it was ordained that any that were found guilty of killing +the stag or the roebuck or the wild boar, should have their eyes put +out. This shows that the hunting of the wild boar in England was +considered a sport of gentlemen in an age when nothing was considered +sport unless it was dangerous. The wild hog of Europe is the ancestor +of our common domesticated breeds; although independent of these, the +Chinese domesticated their own wild species, even before the dawn of +history. + +[Illustration: _Anxious for dinner._] + +The wild hog likes damp situations where it may wallow in the water +and mud; but it also likes to have, close by, woods, thicket or +underbrush, to which it can retire for rest and also when in danger. +The stiff, bristling hairs which cover its thick skin, are a great +protection when it is pushing through thorny thickets. When excited +or angry, these bristles rise and add to the fury of its appearance. +Even in our own country, the wild hogs of the South whose ancestors +escaped from domestication, have reverted to their original savagery, +and are dangerous when infuriated. The only recorded instance +when our great national hunter, Theodore Roosevelt, was forced +ignominiously to climb a tree, was after he had emptied his rifle +into a herd of “javelins,” as the wild pigs of Texas are called; the +javelins are the peccaries, which are the American representatives of +the wild hog. + +That the hog has become synonymous with filth is the result of the +influence of man upon this animal, for of all animals, the pig is +naturally the neatest, keeping its bed clean, often in the most +discouraging and ill-kept pens. The pig is sparsely clothed with +bristles and hairs, which yield it no protection from the attacks of +flies and other insects. Thus it is the pig, in order to rid itself +of these pests, has learned to wallow in the mud. However, this is in +the nature of a mud bath, and is for the purpose of keeping the body +free from vermin. The wild hogs of India make for themselves grass +huts, thatched above and with doors at the sides, which shows that +the pig, if allowed to care for itself, understands well the art of +nest-building. + +One of the most interesting things about a pig, is its nose; this is +a fleshy disc with nostrils in it and is a most sensitive organ of +feeling; it can select grain from chaff, and yet is so strong that +it can root up the ground in search for food. “Root” is a pig word, +and was evidently coined to describe the act of the pig when digging +for roots; the pig’s nose is almost as remarkable as the elephant’s +trunk, and the pig’s sense of smell is very keen; it will follow a +track almost as well as a dog. There are more instances than one of +a pig being trained as a pointer for hunting birds, and showing a +keener sense of smell, and keener intelligence in this capacity, than +do dogs. French pigs are taught to hunt for truffles, which are fungi +growing on tree roots, a long way below the surface of the ground; +the pig detects their presence through the sense of smell. + +The pig has a full set of teeth, having six incisors, two canines and +seven grinding teeth on each jaw; although in some cases there are +only four incisors on the upper jaw. A strange thing about a pig’s +teeth, is the action of the upper canines, or tushes, which curve +upward instead of downward; the lower canines grind up against them, +and are thus sharpened. The females have no such development of upper +tushes as do the males; these tushes, especially the upper ones, are +used as weapons; with them, the wild boar slashes out and upward, +inflicting terrible wounds, often disabling horses and killing men. +Professor H. F. Button describes the fighting of hogs thus: “To +oppose the terrible weapons of his rival, the boar has a shield of +skin over his neck and shoulders, which may become two inches thick, +and so hard as to defy a knife. When two of these animals fight, each +tries to keep the tushes of his opponent against the shield, and to +get his own tushes under the belly or flank of the other. Thus, each +goes sidewise or in circles, which has given rise to the expression, +‘to go sidewise like a hog to war.’” + +When, as a small girl, I essayed the difficult task of working +buttonholes, I was told if I did not set my stitches more closely +together, my buttonhole would look like a pig’s eye, a remark which +made me observant of that organ ever after. But though the pig’s eyes +are small, they certainly gleam with intelligence, and they take in +all that is going on, which may in any way affect his pigship. + +The pig is the most intelligent of all the farm animals, if it is +only given a chance; it has excellent memory and can be taught tricks +readily; it is affectionate and will follow its master around like a +dog. Anyone who has seen a trained pig at a show picking out cards +and counting, must grant that it has brains, although we stuff it so +with fattening food, that it does not have a chance to use its brain, +except now and then when it breaks out of the sty and we try to drive +it back. Under these circumstances, we grant the pig all the sagacity +usually imputed to the one who once possessed swine and drove them +into the sea. Hunters of wild hogs proclaim that they are full of +strategy and cunning, and are exceedingly fierce. We pay tribute to +the pig’s cleverness when free to outwit us, when we say of other +uncertain undertakings, that they are like “buying a pig in a poke.” + +The head of the wild hog is wedge-shaped with pointed snout, and this +form enables the animal to push into the thick underbrush along the +river banks, whenever it is attacked. But civilization has changed +this bold profile of the head, so that now in many breeds, there is +a hollow between the snout and eyes, giving the form which we call +“dished.” Some breeds have sharp, forward-opening ears, while others +have ears that lop. The wild pig of Europe and Asia has large, open +ears extending out wide and alert on each side of the head. + +[Illustration: _Good for the pigs and good for the orchard._] + +The covering of the pig is a thick skin beset with bristling hairs; +when the hog is excited, the bristles rise and add to the fury of +its appearance. The bristles aid in protecting the animal when it is +pushing through thorny thickets. The pig’s querly tail is merely an +ornament, although the tail of the wart hog of Africa, if pictures +may be relied upon, might be used in a limited fashion as a fly-brush. + +When the pig is allowed to roam in the woods, it lives on roots, +nuts, and especially acorns and beech nuts; in the autumn it becomes +very fat through feeding upon the latter. The mast-fed bacon of the +semi-wild hogs of the Southern States is considered the best of all. +But almost anything animal or vegetable, that comes in its way, is +eaten by the hog, and it has been long noted that the hog has done +good service on our frontier as a killer of rattlesnakes. The pig is +well fitted for locomotion on either wet or dry soil, for the two +large hoofed toes enable it to walk well on dry ground and the two +hind toes, smaller and higher up, help to sustain it on marshy soil. +Although the pig’s legs are short, it is a swift runner unless it is +too fat. The razor-backs of the South are noted for their fleetness. + +We understand somewhat the pig’s language; there is the constant +grunting, which is a sound that keeps the pig herd together. We +understand perfectly the complaining squeal of hunger, the satisfied +grunt signifying enjoyment of food, the squeal of terror when seized, +and the nasal growl when fighting. But there is much more to the +pig’s conversation than this; I know a certain lady, who is a lover +of animals, and who once undertook to talk pig language as best +she could imitate it, to two of her sows when they were engaged +in eating. They stopped eating, looked at each other a moment and +forthwith began fighting, each evidently attributing the lady’s +remark to the other, and obviously it was of an uncomplimentary +character. + +The pig’s ability to take on fat was evidently a provision, in the +wild state, for storing up fat from mast that should help sustain the +animal during the hardships of winter; and this character is what +makes swine useful for our own food. Pigs, to do best, should be +allowed to have pasture and plenty of fresh green food. Their troughs +should be kept clean and they should have access to ashes, and above +all, they should have plenty of pure water; and as the pig does +not perspire freely, access to water where it can take its natural +mud-baths helps to keep the body cool and the pig healthy in hot +weather. + +The breeds of hogs most common in America are the Berkshires, which +are black with white markings, and have ears extending erect; the +Poland Chinas, which are black and white with drooping ears; the +Duroc-Jersey, which are red or chestnut with drooping ears; the +Yorkshire and Cheshire, which are white with erect ears, while the +Cheshire White is white with drooping ears. The Poland China and +Duroc-Jersey are both pure American breeds. + +_References_--Elementary Agriculture, Warren; Our Domestic Animals, +Burkett; The Country Reader, Buchanan; Lives of Animals, Ingersoll; +Types and Breeds of Farm Animals, Plumb; and the bulletins of the U. +S. Department of Agriculture. + + + LESSON LXIX + + THE PIG + +_Leading thought_--The pig is something more than a source of pork. +It is a sagacious animal and naturally cleanly in its habits when not +made prisoner by man. + +_Method_--The questions in this lesson may be given to the pupils a +few at a time, and those who have access to farms or other places +where pigs are kept may make the observations and in giving them to +the class they should be discussed. Supplementary reading should +be given the pupils, which may inform them as to the habits and +peculiarities of the wild hogs. Theodore Roosevelt’s experience in +hunting the wart-hog in Africa will prove interesting reading. + +[Illustration: _Bottle-fed babies._] + +_Observations_--1. How does the pig’s nose differ from that of other +animals? What is it used for besides for smelling? Do you think the +pig’s sense of smell is very keen? Why do pigs root? + +2. Describe the pig’s teeth. For what are they fitted? What are the +tushes for? Which way do the upper tushes turn? How do wild hogs use +their tushes? + +3. Do you think that a pig’s eyes look intelligent? What color are +they? Do you think the pig can see well? + +4. Is the pig’s head straight in front or is it dished? Is this +dished appearance ever found in wild hogs? Do the ears stand out +straight or are they lopped? What advantage is the wedge-shaped head +to the wild hogs? + +5. How is the pig covered? Do you think the hair is thick enough to +keep off flies? Why does the pig wallow in the mud? Is it because the +animal is dirty by nature or because it is trying to keep clean? Do +the hog’s bristles stand up if it is angry? + +6. If the pig could have its natural food what would it be and where +would it be found? Why and on what should pigs be pastured? What do +pigs find in the forest to eat? What kind of bacon is considered the +best? + +7. On how many toes does the pig walk? Are there other toes on which +it does not walk? If wading in the mud are the two hind toes of use? +Do wild pigs run rapidly? Do tame pigs run rapidly if they are not +too fat? Do you think the pig can swim? Do you think that the pig’s +tail is of any use or merely an ornament? + +8. What cries and noises do the pigs make which we can understand? + +9. How do hogs fight each other? When the boars fight, how do they +attack or ward off the enemy? Where do we get the expression going +“sidewise like a hog to war?” + +10. How many breeds of pigs do you know? Describe them. + +11. What instances have you heard that show the hog’s intelligence? + +12. Give an oral or written English exercise on one of the following +topics: “The antiquity of swine; how they were regarded by the +ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans;” (see encyclopedia). “The story +of hunting wild hogs in India;” “The razor-back hogs of the South;” +“The wart-hog of Africa.” + + * * * * * + + “_The nice little pig with a querly tail, + All soft as satin and pinky pale + Is a very different thing by far + Than the lumps of iniquity, big pigs are._” + --NONSENSE RHYME. + + + + + VI. INSECT STUDY + + +[Illustration: I] + +Insects are among the most interesting and available of all living +creatures for nature-study. The lives of many of them afford more +interesting stories than are found in fairy lore; many of them +show exquisite colors and, more than all, they are small and are, +therefore, easily confined for observation. + +While the young pupils should not be drilled in insect anatomy, as +if they were embryo zoologists, yet it is necessary for the teacher, +who would teach intelligently, to know something of the life stories, +habits and structure of the common insects. Generally speaking, all +insects develop from eggs. To most of us the word egg brings before +us the picture of the egg of the hen or of some other bird. But +insect eggs are often far more beautiful than those of any bird; they +are of widely differing forms, and are often exquisitely colored and +the shells may be ornately ribbed and pitted, sometimes adorned with +spines, and are as beautiful to look at through a microscope as the +most artistic piece of mosaic. + +[Illustration: _The egg of the cotton moth, greatly enlarged._ + +From Manual for the Study of Insects.] + +[Illustration: _The forest tent-caterpillar shedding its skin._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +From the eggs, larvæ (_sing. larva_) issue. These larvæ may be +caterpillars, or the creatures commonly called worms, or may be +maggots or grubs. The larval stage is always devoted to feeding and +to growth. It is the chief business of the larva to eat diligently +and to attain maturity as soon as possible; for often the length of +the larval period depends more upon food than upon lapse of time. All +insects have their skeletons on the outside of the body; that is, the +outer covering of the body is chitinous, and the soft and inner parts +are attached to it and supported by it. This skin is so firm that +it cannot stretch to accommodate the increasing size of the growing +insect, thus from time to time it is shed. But before this is done, +a new skin is formed beneath the old one. After the old skin bursts +open and the insect crawls forth, the new skin is sufficiently soft +and elastic to allow for the increase in the size of the insect. +Soon, the new skin becomes hardened like the old one, and after a +time, is shed. This shedding of the skin is called molting. Some +insects shed their skins only four or five times during the period of +attaining their growth, while other species may molt twenty times or +more. + +[Illustration: _Full-grown caterpillar of the luna moth._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +After the larva has attained its full growth, it changes its skin +and its form, and becomes a pupa. The pupa stage is ordinarily one +of inaction, except that very wonderful changes take place within +the body itself. Usually the pupa has no power of moving around, +but in many cases it can squirm somewhat, if disturbed. The pupa of +the mosquito is active and is an exception to the rule. The pupa is +usually an oblong object and seems to be without head, feet or wings; +but if it is examined closely, especially in the case of butterflies +and moths, the antennæ, wings and legs may be seen, folded down +beneath the pupa skin. + +[Illustration: _A luna cocoon cut open, showing the pupa._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +Many larvæ, especially those of moths, weave about themselves a +covering of silk which serves to protect them from their enemies +and the weather, during the helpless pupa period. This silken +covering is called a cocoon. The larvæ of butterflies do not make a +silken cocoon, but the pupa is suspended to some object by a silken +knob, and in some cases by a halter of silk, and remains entirely +naked. The pupa of a butterfly is called a chrysalis. Care should +be taken to have the children use the words--pupa, chrysalis and +cocoon--understandingly. + +[Illustration: _A butterfly chrysalis._] + +[Illustration: _A luna moth._ + + _The delicate, exquisite green of the luna’s wings is set off + by the rose-purple, velvet border of the front and the white + fur on the body and inner edge of the hind wings. Little + wonder that it has been called the “Empress of the night”. + The long swallow tail of the hind wings give the moth a most + graceful shape, at the same time probably afford it protection + from observation. During the day time the moth hangs wings + down beneath the green leaves, and these long projections of + the hind wings folded together resemble a petiole, making the + insect look very much like a large leaf._ +] + +After a period varying from days to months, depending upon the +species of insect and the climate, the pupa skin bursts open and +from it emerges the adult insect, often equipped with large and +beautiful wings and always provided with six legs and a far more +complex structure of body than characterized it as a larva. The +insect never grows after it reaches this adult stage and, therefore, +never molts. Some people seem to believe that a small fly will grow +into a large fly, and a small beetle into a large beetle; but after +an insect attains its perfect wings, it does not grow larger. Many +adult insects take very little food, although some continue to eat +in order to support life. The adult stage is ordinarily shorter than +the larval stage; it seems a part of nature’s economic plan that +the grown-up insects should live only long enough to lay eggs, and +thus secure the continuation of the species. Insects having the four +distinct stages in their growth, egg, larva, pupa and adult, are said +to undergo complete metamorphosis. + +But not all insects pass through an inactive pupa stage. With some +insects, like the grasshoppers, the young, as soon as they are +hatched, resemble the adult forms in appearance. These insects, like +the larvæ, shed their skins to accommodate their growth, but they +continue to feed and move about actively until the final molt when +the perfect insect appears. Such insects are said to have incomplete +metamorphosis, which simply means that the form of the body of the +adult insect is not greatly different from that of the young; the +dragon-flies, crickets, grasshoppers and bugs are of this type. The +young of insects with an incomplete metamorphosis are called nymphs +instead of larvæ. + +[Illustration: _A young grasshopper, enlarged._ + +The line shows its actual length.] + +[Illustration: _The adult of the same grasshopper, natural size._] + + + _Summary of the Metamorphoses of Insects_ + + _Kinds of Metamorphosis_ _Names of Stages_ + ⎧ Egg. + ⎪ Larva. + I. Complete metamorphosis ⎨ Pupa. (The pupa is sometimes + ⎪ enclosed in a cocoon.) + ⎩ Adult or winged insect. + + ⎧ Egg + II. Incomplete metamorphosis ⎨ Nymph (several stages). + ⎩ Adult, or imago. + +[Illustration: _Insect brownies; tree-hoppers as seen through a +lens._] + + + + + THE STRUCTURE OF INSECTS + +The insect body is made up of ring-like segments which are grown +together. These segments are divided into groups according to their +use and the organs which they bear. Thus the segments of an insect’s +body are grouped into three regions, the head, the thorax and the +abdomen. The head bears the eyes, the antennæ, and the mouth-parts. +On each side of the head of the adult insect may be seen the compound +eyes; these are so called, because they are made up of many small +eyes set together, much like the cells of the honeycomb. These +compound eyes are not found in larvæ. In addition to the compound +eyes, many adult insects possess simple eyes; these are placed +between the compound eyes and are usually three in number. Often they +cannot be seen without the aid of a lens. + +[Illustration: _A part of the compound eye of an insect, enlarged._] + +The antennæ or feelers are composed of many segments and are inserted +in front of the eyes or between them. They vary greatly in form. In +some insects they are mere threads; in others, like the silk-worm +moths, they are large, feather-like organs. + +[Illustration: _Grasshopper, with the parts of the external anatomy +named._] + +The mouth-parts of insects vary greatly in structure and in form, +being adapted to the life of the insect species to which they +minister. Some insects have jaws fitted for seizing their prey, +others for chewing leaves, others have a sucking tube for getting +the juices from plants or the blood from animals, and others long +delicate tubes for sipping the nectar from flowers. + +[Illustration: _A sphinx moth with the sucking tongue unrolled._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +In the biting insects, the mouth-parts consist of an upper lip, the +labrum, and under lip, the labium, and two pairs of jaws between +them. The upper pair of jaws is called the mandibles and the lower +pair, the maxillæ (_sing. maxilla_). There may be also within the +mouth, one or two tongue-like organs. Upon the maxillæ and upon the +lower lip there may also be feelers which are called palpi (_sing. +palpus_). The jaws of insects, when working, do not move up and down, +as do ours, but move sidewise like shears. In many of the insects, +the children are able to observe the mandibles and the palpi without +the aid of a lens. + +[Illustration: _A tree-hopper, showing the mouth as a long, +three-jointed sucking tube, at_ a.] + +The thorax is the middle region of the insect body. It is composed of +three of the body segments more or less firmly joined together. The +segment next the head is called the prothorax, the middle one, the +mesothorax, and the hind one, the metathorax. Each of these segments +bears a pair of legs and, in the winged insects, the second and third +segments bear the wings. Each leg consists of two small segments +next to the body, next to them a longer segment, called the femur, +beyond this a segment called the tibia, and beyond this the tarsus or +foot. The tarsus is made up of a number of segments, varying from one +to six, the most common number being five. The last segment of the +tarsus usually bears one or two claws. + +[Illustration: _The mouth-parts of a grasshopper dissected off, +enlarged and named._] + +While we have little to do with the internal anatomy of insects in +elementary nature-study, the children should be taught something +of the way that insects breathe. The child naturally believes that +the insect, like himself, breathes through the mouth, while as a +matter of fact, insects breathe through their sides. If we examine +almost any insect carefully, we can find along the sides of the body +a series of openings. These are called the spiracles, and through +them the air passes into the insect’s body. The number of spiracles +varies greatly in different insects. There is, however, never more +than one pair on a single segment of the body, and they do not occur +on the head. The spiracles, or breathing pores, lead into a system +of air tubes which are called tracheæ (tra’-ke-ee), which permeate +the insect’s body and thus carry the air to every smallest part of +its anatomy. The blood of the insect bathes these thin-walled air +tubes and thus becomes purified, just as our blood becomes purified +by bathing the air tubes of our lungs. Thus, although the insects do +not have localized breathing organs, like our lungs, they have, if +the expression may be permitted, lungs in every part of their little +bodies. + +[Illustration: _The sphinx caterpillar, with the parts of the +external anatomy named._] + + + _Summary of Structure of an Insect_ + + ⎧ Antennæ. + ⎪ Compound eyes. + ⎪ Simple eyes or ocelli. + Head ⎨ ⎧ Labrum, or upper lip. + ⎪ ⎪ Mandibles, or upper jaws. + ⎪ Mouth-parts ⎨ Maxillæ, or lower jaws, and maxillary + ⎪ ⎪ palpi. + ⎩ ⎩ Labium and labial palpi. + + ⎧ Prothorax and first pair of legs. + ⎪ Mesothora and ⎧ second pair of legs. + ⎪ ⎩ first pair of wings. + ⎪ Metathorax and ⎧ third pair of legs. + ⎪ ⎩ second pair of wings. + Thorax ⎨ Wing ⎧ veins. + ⎪ ⎩ cells. + ⎪ ⎧ Two small segments called + ⎪ ⎪ coxa and trochanter. + ⎪ Leg ⎨ Femur. + ⎪ ⎪ Tibia. + ⎩ ⎩ Tarsus and claws. + + ⎧ ⎧ ears (in locusts only). + Abdomen ⎨ The abdomen bears ⎨ spiracles. + ⎩ ⎩ ovipositor. + +_References._--Manual for the Study of Insects and Insect Life, +Comstock. + + + + + THE BLACK SWALLOW-TAIL BUTTERFLY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This graceful butterfly is a very good friend to the flowers, being +a most efficient pollen carrier. It haunts the gardens and sips +nectar from all the blossom cups held out for its refreshment; and +it is found throughout almost all parts of the United States. The +grace of its appearance is much enhanced by the “swallow-tails,” two +projections from the hind margins of the hind wings. The wings are +velvety black with three rows of yellow spots across them, the outer +row being little crescents set in the margin of the wing; and each +triplet of yellow spots is in the same cell of the wing between the +same two veins. The hind wings are more elaborate, for between the +two inside rows of yellow spots, there are exquisite metallic blue +splashes, more vivid and more sharply outlined toward the inside of +the wing and shading off to black at the outside. And just above +the inner angle of the hind wing is an orange eye-spot with a black +center. On the lower surface of the wings, most of the yellow spots +are replaced with orange. + +The mother butterfly is larger than her mate and has more blue on her +wings, while he has the yellow markings of the hind wings much more +conspicuous. She lays her egg, just the color of a drop of honey, +on the under surface of the leaf of the food plant. After about ten +days there hatches from this egg a spiny little fellow, black and +angular, with a saddle-shaped, whitish blotch in the middle of its +back. But it would take an elfin rider to sit in this warty, spiny +saddle. The caterpillar has six spines on each segment, making six +rows of spines, the whole length of the body; the spines on the black +portions are black and those on the saddle white, but they all have +orange-colored bases. + +When little, spiny saddle-back gets ready to change its skin to one +more commodious for its increased size, it seeks some convenient spot +on the leaf or stem and spins a little silken carpet from the silk +gland opening in its under lip; on this carpet it rests quietly for +some time, and then the old tight skin splits down the back, the head +portion coming off separately. Swelling out to fill its new skin to +the utmost, it leaves its cast-off clothes clinging to the silken +carpet and marches back to its supper. + +[Illustration: _The eggs of the black swallow-tail butterfly, +enlarged._ + +Photo-micrograph by M. V. Slingerland.] + +But after one of these changes of skin it becomes a very different +looking caterpillar, for now it is as smooth as it was formerly +spiny; it is now brilliant caraway green, ornamented with roundwise +stripes of velvety black; and set in the front margin of each of +these stripes are six yellow spots. In shape, the caterpillar is +larger toward the head; its true feet have little, sharp claws and +look very different from the four pairs of prolegs and the hind +prop-leg, all of which enable him to hold fast to the stem or the +leaf; these fat legs are green, each ornamented with a black, velvety +polka-dot. + +[Illustration: _Black swallow-tail caterpillars, showing two stages +of growth. The larger one has the scent organs protruded._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +When we were children we spent hours poking these interesting +creatures with straws to see them push forth their brilliant orange +horns. We knew this was an act of resentment, but we did not realize +that from these horns was exhaled the nauseating odor of caraway +which greeted our nostrils. We incidentally discovered that they +did not waste this odor upon each other, for once we saw two of the +full-grown caterpillars meet on a caraway stem. Neither seemed to +know that the other was there until they touched; then both drew back +the head and butted each other like billy-goats, Whack! whack! Then +both turned laboriously around and hurried off in a panic. + +The scent organs of these caterpillars are really little Y-shaped +pockets in the segment back of the head, pockets full of this +peculiar caterpillar perfume. Under the stimulus of attack, the +pocket is turned wrong side out and pushed far out making the +“horns,” and at the same time throwing the strong odor upon the air. +This spoils the flavor of these caterpillars as bird food, so they +live on in serene peace, never hiding under the leaves but trusting, +like the skunk, to a peculiar power of repelling the enemy. + +We must admire this caterpillar for the methodical way in which it +eats the leaf: Beginning near the base, it does not burn its bridges +behind it by eating through the midrib, but eats everything down +to the midrib; after it arrives at the tip of the leaf it finishes +midrib and all on its return journey, doing a clean job, and +finishing everything as it moves along. (See Moths and Butterflies, +Dickerson, p. 42.) + +When the caterpillar has completed its growth, it is two inches long; +it then seeks some sheltered spot, the lower edge of a clapboard or +fence rail being a favorite place; it there spins a button of silk +which it grasps firmly with its hind prop-leg, and then, with head +up, or perhaps horizontal, it spins a strong loop or halter of silk, +fastening each end of it firmly to the object on which it rests. +It thrusts its head through, so that the halter acts as a sling +holding the insect from falling. There it sheds its last caterpillar +skin, which shrinks back around the button, revealing the chrysalis +which is angular with ear-like projections in front. Then comes the +critical moment, for the chrysalis lets go of the button with its +caterpillar feet, and trusting to the sling for support, pushes +off the shrunken skin just shed and inserts the hooks, with which +it is furnished, firmly in the button of silk. Sometimes during +this process, the chrysalis loses its hold entirely and falls to +the ground, which is a fatal disaster. The chrysalis is yellowish +brown and usually looks very much like the object to which it is +attached, and is thus undoubtedly protected from sight of possible +enemies. Then some day it breaks open, and from it issues a crumpled +mass of very damp insect velvet, which soon expands into a beautiful +butterfly. + +[Illustration: _The chrysalis._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland. + + _The caterpillar of the black swallow-tail ready to change to + a chrysalis._ +] + +_References._--Everyday Butterflies, Scudder; Moths and Butterflies, +Dickerson; How to Know the Butterflies, Comstock; Moths and +Butterflies, Ballard. + + + LESSON LXX + + THE BLACK SWALLOW-TAIL BUTTERFLY + +_Leading thought_--The caterpillars of the swallow-tail butterflies +have scent organs near the head which they thrust forth when +attacked, thus giving off a disagreeable odor which is nauseating to +birds. + +_Method_--In September, bring into the schoolroom and place in the +terrarium, or breeding cage, a caraway or parsley plant on which +these caterpillars are feeding, giving them fresh food day by day, +and allow the pupils to observe them at recess and thus complete the +lesson. + + + _The Caterpillar and Chrysalis._ + +_Observations_.--1. Touch the caterpillar on the head with a bit of +grass. What does it do? What color are the horns? Where do they come +from? Are there two separate horns or two branches of one horn? What +odor comes from these horns? How does this protect the caterpillar? +Does the caterpillar try to hide under the leaves when feeding? Is +this evidence that it is not afraid of birds? + +2. Describe the caterpillar as follows: What is its shape? Is it +larger toward the head or the rear end? What is its ground color? How +is it striped? How many black stripes? How many yellow spots in each +black stripe? Are the yellow spots in the middle, or at each edge of +the stripe? + +3. How do the front three pairs of legs look? How do they compare +with the prolegs? How many prop-legs are there? What is the color of +the prolegs? How are they marked? Describe the prop-leg. What is its +use? + +4. Observe the caterpillar eating a leaf. How does it manage so as +not to waste any? + +5. Have you found the egg from which the caterpillar came? What color +is it? Where is it laid? + +6. How does the young caterpillar look? What are its colors? How many +fleshy spines has it on each segment? Are these white on the white +segments and black on the black segments? What is the color of the +spines at their base? + +[Illustration: _Black swallow-tail butterfly._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +7. Watch one of these caterpillars shed its skin. How does it prepare +for this? How does it spin its carpet? Where does the silk come from? +Describe how it acts when shedding its skin? + +8. When a caterpillar is full grown, how does it hang itself up to +change to a chrysalis? How does it make the silk button? How does it +weave the loop or halter? How does it fasten it? When the halter is +woven what does the caterpillar do with it? Describe how the last +caterpillar skin is shed. How does the insect use its loop or halter +while getting free from the molted skin? + +9. Describe the chrysalis. What is its general shape? What is its +color? Is it easily seen? Can you see where the wings are, within the +chrysalis? How is the chrysalis supported? + +10. How does the chrysalis look when the butterfly is about to +emerge? Where does it break open? How does the butterfly look at +first? + + + _The Butterfly_ + +1. Why is this butterfly called the black swallow-tail? What is the +ground color of the wings? How many rows of yellow spots on the front +wings? Are they all the same shape? How are they arranged between +each two veins? Describe the hind wings. What colors are on them that +are not on the front wings? Describe where this color is placed. +Describe the eye-spot on the hind wing. Where is it? How do the +markings on the lower side of the wing differ from those above? How +does the ground color differ from the upper side? + +2. What is the color of the body of the butterfly? Has it any marks? +Has it the same number of legs as the Monarch? Describe its antennæ. +Watch the butterfly getting nectar from the petunia blossom and +describe the tongue. Where is the tongue when not in use? + +3. How does the butterfly pass the winter? How does the mother +butterfly differ in size and in markings from her mate? + +[Illustration] + + * * * * * + + “_The ‘caraway worms’ were the ones that revealed to us the + mystery of the pupa and butterfly. We saw one climb up the + side of a house, and watched it as with many slow, graceful + movements of the head, it wove for itself the loop of silk + which we called the ‘swing’ and which held it in place after + it changed to a chrysalis. We wondered why such a brilliant + caterpillar should change to such a dull-colored object, + almost the color of the clapboard against which it hung. Then, + one day, we found a damp, crumpled, black butterfly hanging to + the empty chrysalis skin, its wings ‘all mussed’ as we termed + it; and we gazed at it pityingly; but even as we gazed, the + crumpled wings expanded and then there came to our childish + minds a dim realization of the miracle wrought within that + little, dingy, empty shell._” + --HOW TO KNOW THE BUTTERFLIES, COMSTOCK. + + + + + THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +It is a great advantage to an insect to have the bird problem +eliminated, and the monarch butterfly enjoys this advantage to the +utmost. Its method of flight proclaims it, for it drifts about +in a lazy, leisurely manner, its glowing red making it like a +gleaming jewel in the air, a very different flight indeed from the +zigzag dodging movements of other butterflies. The monarch has an +interesting race history. It is a native of tropic America, and has +probably learned through some race instinct, that by following its +food plant north with the opening season, it gains immunity from +special enemies other than birds, which attack it in some stage in +its native haunts. Each mother butterfly follows the spring northward +as it advances, as far as she finds the milkweed sprouted. There she +deposits her eggs, from which hatch individuals which carry on the +migration as far to the north as possible. It usually arrives in New +York State early in July. As cold weather approaches, the monarchs +often gather in large flocks and move back to the South. How they +find their way we cannot understand, since there are among them none +of the individuals which pressed northward early in the season. + +[Illustration: _The monarch butterfly._] + +The very brilliant copper-red color of the upper sides of the wings +of the monarch is made even more brilliant by the contrasting black +markings which outline the veins and border the wings, and also cover +the tips of the front wings with a triangular patch; this latter +seems to be an especially planned background for showing off the pale +orange and white dots set within it. There are white dots set, two +pairs in two rows, between each two veins in the black margin of the +wings; and the fringe at the edge of the wings shows corresponding +white markings. The hind wings and the front portions of the front +wings have, on their lower sides, a ground color of pale yellow, +which makes the insect less conspicuous when it alights and folds +its wings above its back, upper surfaces together. The black veins, +on the lower surface of the hind wings, are outlined with white, and +the white spots are much larger than on the upper surface. The body +is black, ornamented with a few pairs of white spots above and with +many large white dots below. The chief distinguishing characteristic +of insects, is the presence of six legs; but in this butterfly, the +front legs are so small that they scarcely look like legs. + +It is easy to observe the long, coiled tongue of the butterfly. If +the act is done gently, the tongue may be uncoiled by lifting it +out with a pin. To see a butterfly feeding upon nectar, is a very +interesting process and may be observed in the garden almost any +day. I have also observed it indoors, by bringing in petunias and +nasturtiums for my imprisoned butterflies, but they are not so likely +to eat when in confinement. The antennæ are about two-thirds as long +as the body and each ends in a long knob; this knob, in some form, +is what distinguishes the antennæ of the butterflies from those of +moths. The male monarch has a black spot upon one of the veins of +the hind wing; this is a perfume pocket and is filled with what +are called scent scales; these are scales of peculiar shape which +cover the wing at this place and give forth an odor, which we with +our coarse sense of smell cannot perceive; but the lady monarch +is attracted by this odor. The male monarch may be described to +the children, as a dandy carrying a perfume pocket to attract his +sweetheart. + +[Illustration: _The viceroy butterfly._ + +Note the black band on the hind wings which distinguishes it from the +monarch, which it imitates in color and markings.] + +It is very interesting to the pupils if they are able to see a bit of +the butterfly’s wing through a three-fourths objective; the covering +of scales, arranged in such perfect rows, is very beautiful and also +very wonderful. The children know that they get dust upon their +fingers from butterflies’ wings, and they should know that each grain +of this dust is an exquisite scale with notched edges and a ribbed +surface. + +[Illustration: _The scales on a butterfly’s wing, as seen through a +microscope._] + +The monarch is, for some reason unknown to us, distasteful to birds, +and its brilliant colors are an advertisement to all birds of +discretion, that here is an insect which tastes most disagreeably and +that, therefore, should be left severely alone. There is another +butterfly called the viceroy, which has taken advantage of this +immunity from bird attack on the part of the monarch and has imitated +its colors in a truly remarkable way, differing from it only in being +smaller in size and having a black band across the middle of the hind +wing. (See The Ways of the Six Footed, “A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing”). + +[Illustration: _The monarch caterpillar._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The milkweed caterpillar, which is the young of the monarch +butterfly, is a striking object, and when fully grown is about two +inches long. The milkweed is a succulent food and the caterpillar +may mature in eleven days; it is a gay creature, with ground color +of green and cross stripes of yellow and black. On top of the second +segment, back of the head, are two long, slender whiplash-like +organs, and on the seventh segment of the abdomen is a similar pair. +When the caterpillar is frightened, the whiplashes at the front of +the body twitch excitedly; when it walks, they move back and forth. +Those at the rear of the body are more quiet and not so expressive +of caterpillar emotions. These filaments are undoubtedly of use in +frightening away the little parasitic flies, that lay their eggs upon +the backs of caterpillars; these eggs hatch into little grubs that +feed upon the internal fatty portions of the caterpillar and bring +about its death through weakness. I remember well when I was a child, +the creepy feeling with which I beheld these black and yellow-ringed +caterpillars waving and lashing their whips back and forth after I +had disturbed them; if the ichneumon flies were as frightened as I, +the caterpillars were surely safe. + +The caterpillar will feed upon no plant except milkweed; it feeds +both day and night, with intervals of rest, and when resting, hides +beneath the leaf. Its striking colors undoubtedly defend it from +birds, because it is as distasteful to them as is the butterfly. +However, when frightened, these caterpillars fall to the ground where +their stripes make them very inconspicuous among the grass and thus +perhaps save them from the attack of animals less fastidious than +birds. These caterpillars, like all others, grow by shedding the +skeleton skin as often as it becomes too tight. + +[Illustration: _Monarch chrysalis._ + +A jewel of living jade and gold.] + +The monarch chrysalis is, I maintain, the most beautiful gem in +Nature’s jewel casket; it is an oblong jewel of jade, darker at the +upper end and shading to the most exquisite whitish green below; +outlining this lower paler portion are shining flecks of gold. If we +look at these gold flecks with a lens, we cannot but believe that +they are bits of polished gold-foil. There may be other gold dots +also, and outlining the apex of the jewel, is a band of gold with a +dotted lower edge of jet; and the knob at the top, to which the silk +which suspends the chrysalis is fastened, is also jet. The chrysalis +changes to a darker blue-green after two days, and black dots appear +in the gold garniture. As this chrysalis is usually hung to the under +side of a fence rail or overhanging rock, or to a leaf, it is usually +surrounded by green vegetation, so that its green color protects it +from prying eyes. Yet it is hardly from birds that it hides; perhaps +its little gilt buttons are a hint to birds that this jewel is not +palatable. As it nears the time for the butterfly to emerge, the +chrysalis changes to a duller and darker hue. The butterfly emerges +about twelve days after the change to a chrysalis. + +[Illustration: _The winter home of the viceroy caterpillar._] + +_References_--Every Day Butterflies, Scudder; How to Know the +Butterflies, Comstock; Moths and Butterflies, Dickerson; Ways of the +Six Footed, Comstock; Moths and Butterflies, Ballard. + +[Illustration: _The male monarch butterfly, showing the scent pockets +on the hind wings._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + LESSON LXXI + + THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY + +_Leading thought_--The monarch butterfly migrates northward, every +spring and summer, moving up as fast as milkweed appears, so as to +give food to its caterpillar; and it has often been noticed migrating +back southward in the autumn in large swarms. This insect is +distasteful to birds in all its stages. Its chrysalis is one of the +most beautiful objects in all nature. + +_Method_--This lesson should be given in September, while yet the +caterpillars of the monarch may be found feeding upon milkweed, and +while there are yet many specimens of this gorgeous butterfly to be +seen. The caterpillars may be brought in, on the food plant, and +their habits and performances studied in the schoolroom; but care +should be taken not to have the atmosphere too dry. + + + _The Butterfly_ + +_Observations_--1. How can you tell the monarch butterfly from all +others? What part of the wings is red? What portions are black? +What portions are white? What are the colors and markings on the +lower side of the wings? What is the color of the body and how is it +ornamented? + +2. Is the flight of the monarch rapid or slow and leisurely? Is it +a very showy insect when flying? Are its colors more brilliant in +the sunshine when it is flying than at any other time? Why is it not +afraid of birds? + +3. When the butterfly alights, how does it hold its wings? Do you +think it is as conspicuous when its wings are folded as when they are +open? + +4. Can you see the butterfly’s tongue? Describe the antennæ. How +do they differ from the antennæ of moths? How many legs has this +butterfly? How does this differ from other insects? Note if you can +see any indications of front legs. + +5. Is there on the butterfly you are studying, a black spot near one +of the veins on each hind wing? Do you know what this is? What is it +for? + +6. Why are the striking colors of this butterfly a great advantage +to it? Do you know of any other butterfly which imitates it and thus +gains an advantage? + + + _The Monarch Caterpillar_ + +1. Where did you find the Monarch caterpillar? Was it feeding below +or above on the leaves? Describe how it eats the milkweed leaf. + +2. What are the colors and the markings of the caterpillar? Do you +think these make it conspicuous? + +3. How many whiplash shaped filaments do you find on the caterpillar? +On which segments are they situated? Do these move when the +caterpillar walks or when it is disturbed? Of what use are they to +the caterpillar? + +4. Do you think this caterpillar would feed upon anything except +milkweed? Does it rest, when not feeding, upon the upper or the lower +surface of the leaves? Does it feed during the night as well as the +day? + +5. If disturbed, what does the caterpillar do? When it falls down +among the grass how do its cross stripes protect it from observation? + +6. Tell all the interesting things which you have seen this +caterpillar do. + + + _The Chrysalis_ + +1. When the caterpillar gets ready to change to a chrysalis what does +it do? How does it hang up? Describe how it sheds its skin. + +2. Describe the chrysalis. What is its color? How and where is it +ornamented? Can you see, in the chrysalis, those parts which cover +the wings of the future butterfly? + +3. To what is the chrysalis attached? Is it in a position where it +does not attract attention? How is it attached to the object? + +4. After three or four days, how does the chrysalis change in color? +Observe, if you can, the butterfly come out from the chrysalis, +noting the following points: Where does the chrysalis skin open? How +does the butterfly look when it first comes out? How does it act for +the first two or three hours? How does the empty chrysalis skin look? + + * * * * * + + _A BUTTERFLY AT SEA_ + + _Far out at sea--the sun was high, + While veered the wind and flapped the sail; + We saw a snow-white butterfly + Dancing before the fitful gale + Far out at sea._ + + _The little wanderer, who had lost + His way, of danger nothing knew; + Settled a while upon the mast; + Then fluttered o’er the waters blue + Far out at sea._ + + _Above, there gleamed the boundless sky; + Beneath, the boundless ocean sheen; + Between them danced the butterfly, + The spirit-life of this fair scene, + Far out at sea._ + + _The tiny soul that soared away, + Seeking the clouds on fragile wings, + Lured by the brighter, purer ray + Which hope’s ecstatic morning brings-- + Far out at sea._ + + _Away he sped, with shimmering glee, + Scarce seen, now lost, yet onward borne! + Night comes with wind and rain, and he + No more will dance before the morn, + Far out at sea._ + + _He dies, unlike his mates, I ween, + Perhaps not sooner or worse crossed; + And he hath felt and known and seen + A larger life and hope, though lost + Far out at sea._ + --R. H. HORNE. + + + + + THE ISABELLA TIGER MOTH OR WOOLLY BEAR + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Brown and furry, + Caterpillar in a hurry, + Take your walk + To the shady leaf or stalk, + Or what not, + Which may be the chosen spot, + No toad spy you, + Hovering bird of prey pass by you; + Spin and die, + To live again a butterfly._” + --CHRISTINA ROSETTI. + + +[Illustration: M] + +Many times during autumn, the children find and bring in the very +noticeable caterpillar which they call the “woolly bear.” It seems to +them a companion of the road and the sunshine; it usually seems in a +hurry, and if the children know that it is thus hastening to secure +some safe place in which to hide during the season of cold and snow, +they are far more interested in its future fate. If the caterpillar +is already curled up for the winter, it will “come to” if warmed in +the hand or in the sunshine. + +The woolly bear is variable in appearance; sometimes there are five +of the front segments black, four of the middle reddish brown, and +three of the hind segments black. In others there are only four +front segments black, six reddish ones, and two that are black at +the end of the body; there are still other variations, so that +each individual will tell its own story of color. There are really +thirteen segments in this caterpillar, not counting the head; but the +last two are so joined that probably the children will only count +twelve. There are a regular number of tubercles on each side of each +segment, and from each of these arises a little rosette of hairs; but +the tubercles are packed so closely together, that it is difficult +for the children to see how many rosettes there are on each side. +While the body of the caterpillar looks as if it were covered with +evenly clipped fur, there are usually a few longer hairs on the rear +segment. + +There is a pair of true legs on each of the three front segments +which form the thorax, and there are four pairs of prolegs. All of +the segments behind the front three, belong to the abdomen, and +the prolegs are on the 3d, 4th, 5th and 6th abdominal segments; +the prop-leg is at the rear end of the body. The true legs of this +caterpillar have little claws, and are as shining as if encased in +patent leather; but the prolegs and prop-leg are merely prolongations +of the sides of the body to assist the insect in holding to the leaf. +The yellow spot on either side of the first segment is a spiracle; +this is an opening leading into the air tubes within the body, around +which the blood flows and is thus purified. There are no spiracles +on the second and third segments of the thorax, but eight of the +abdominal segments have a spiracle on either side. + +The woolly bear’s head is polished black; its antennæ are two tiny, +yellow projections which can easily be seen with the naked eye. The +eyes are too small to be thus seen; because of its minute eyes, the +woolly bear cannot see very far and, therefore, it is obliged to feel +its way. It does this by stretching out the front end of the body +and reaching in every direction, to observe if there is anything to +cling to in its neighborhood. When we try to seize the woolly bear, +it rolls up in a little ball, and the hairs are so elastic that we +take it up with great difficulty. These hairs are a protection from +the attacks of birds which do not like bristles for food; and when +the caterpillar is safely rolled up, the bird sees only a little +bundle of bristles and lets it alone. The woolly bear feeds upon many +plants, grass, clover, dandelion and others. It does not eat very +much after we find it in autumn, because its growth is completed. The +woolly bear should be kept in a box which should be placed out of +doors, so that it may be protected from storms but have the ordinary +winter temperature. Keeping it in a warm room during the winter often +proves fatal. + +[Illustration: _Woolly bears._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +Normally, the woolly bear does not make its cocoon until April or +May. It finds some secluded spot in the fall, and there curls up in +safety for the long winter nap; when the warm weather comes in the +spring, it makes its cocoon by spinning silk about itself; in this +silk are woven the hairs which it sheds easily at that time, and the +whole cocoon seems made of felt. It seems amazing that such a large +caterpillar can spin about itself and squeeze itself into such a +small cocoon; and it is quite as amazing to see the smooth little +pupa within the cocoon, in which is condensed all that was essential +of the caterpillar. Sometimes when the caterpillars are kept in a +warm room, they make their cocoons in the fall, but this is not +natural. + +[Illustration: _The cocoon of the woolly bear._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The issuing of the moth from the cocoon is an interesting lesson for +the last of May. The size of the moth which comes from the cocoon is +quite comparable as a miracle with the size of the caterpillar that +went into it. The moth is in color dull, grayish, tawny yellow with a +few black dots on the wings; sometimes the hind wings are tinted with +dull orange-red. On the middle of the back of the moth’s body there +is a row of six black dots; and on each side of the body is a similar +row. The legs are reddish above and tipped with black. The antennæ +are small and inconspicuous. The moths are night fliers, and the +mother moth seeks some plant on which to lay her eggs, that will be +suitable food for the little caterpillar as soon as it is hatched. + +_References_--Moths and Butterflies, Ballard. + +[Illustration: _The Isabella tiger-moths, the adults of the woolly +bear. The larger is the female._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + LESSON LXXII + + THE ISABELLA TIGER-MOTH, OR WOOLLY BEAR + +_Leading thought_--When we see the woolly bear hurrying along in the +fall, it is hunting for some cozy place in which to pass the winter. +It makes its cocoon of silk woven with its own hair. In May, it comes +forth a yellowish moth with black dots on its wings. + +_Method_--Have the children bring in woolly bears as they find them, +place them in boxes or breeding jars which have grass or clover +growing in them. The children can handle the caterpillars while they +are studying them, and then they should be put back into the breeding +jars and be set out of doors where they can have natural conditions; +thus the entire history may be studied. + + + _The Caterpillar_ + +_Observations_--1. How can you tell the woolly bear from all other +caterpillars? Are they all colored alike? How many segments of the +body are black at the front end? How many are red? How many segments +are black at the rear end of the body? How many segments does this +make in all? + +2. Look closely at the hairs of the woolly bear. Are they set +separately or in rosettes? Are any of the hairs of the body longer +than others or are they all even? + +3. Can you see, just back of the head, the true legs with their +little sharp claws? How many are there? + +4. Can you see the fleshy legs along the sides of the body? How many +are there of these? + +5. Can you see the prop-leg, or the hindmost leg of all? Of what use +to the caterpillar are these fleshy legs? + +6. Describe the woolly bear’s head. How does it act when eating? + +7. Can you see a small, bright yellow spot on each side of the +segment just behind the head? What do you suppose this is? Can you +see little openings along each side of all the segments of the body, +except the second and third? What are they? Describe how the woolly +bear breathes. + +8. On what does the woolly bear feed? If you can find a little woolly +bear, give it fresh grass to eat and see how it grows. Why does it +shed its skin? + +9. When the woolly bear is hurrying along, does it lift its head and +the front end of its body now and then? Why does it do this? Do you +think it can see far? + +10. What does the woolly bear do when you try to pick it up? Do you +find you can pick it up easily? Do you think that these stiff hairs +protect woolly bear from its enemies? What are its enemies? + +11. Where should the woolly bear be kept in winter to make it +comfortable? + + + _The Cocoon_ + +1. When does the woolly bear make its cocoon? + +2. Of what material is it made? How does the woolly bear get into its +cocoon? + +3. What happens to it inside the cocoon? + +4. Cut open a cocoon and describe how woolly bear looks now. + + + _The Moth_ + +1. Where did the moth come from? + +2. How did it come out of the cocoon? See if you can find the empty +pupa case in the cocoon. + +3. What is the color of the moth and how is it marked? Are the front +and hind wings the same color? + +4. What are the markings and colors of the body? Of the legs? + +5. What do you think that the Mother Isabella will do, if you give +her liberty? + + * * * * * + + _The mute insect, fix’t upon the plant + On whose soft leaves it hangs, and from whose cup + Drains imperceptibly its nourishment, + Endear’d my wanderings._ + --WORDSWORTH. + + _Before your sight, + Mounts on the breeze the butterfly, and soars, + Small creature as she is, from earth’s bright flowers + Into the dewy clouds._ + --WORDSWORTH. + + + + +[Illustration: _The cecropia moth._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + + + THE CECROPIA + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The silk-worm which gives us the silk of commerce, has been +domesticated for centuries in China. Because of this domestication, +it is willing to be handled and is reared successfully in captivity, +and has thus come to be the source of most of our silken fabrics. +However, we have in America native silk-worms which produce a silk +that is stronger and makes a more lustrous cloth than does that made +from the Chinese species. But we have never had the time and the +patience, here in America, to domesticate these giant silk-worms of +ours, and so they are, as yet, of no commercial importance. + +The names of our common native silk-worms are: The cecropia, +promethea, polyphemus, and luna. In all of these species the moths +are large and beautiful, attracting the attention of everyone who +sees them. The caterpillars are rarely found, since their varied +green colors render them inconspicuous among leaves on which they +feed. None of the caterpillars of the giant silk-worms occur in +sufficient numbers to injure the foliage of our trees to any extent; +they simply help nature to do a little needful pruning. All of the +moths are night flyers and are, therefore, seldom seen except by +those who are interested in the visitors to our street lights. + +The cecropia is the largest of our giant silk-worms, the wings of the +moth expanding sometimes six and one-half inches. It occurs from the +Atlantic Coast to the Rocky Mountains. + +[Illustration: _The eggs of the cecropia moth._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +[Illustration: _The cecropia caterpillar molting._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +[Illustration: _Full-grown cecropia caterpillars._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The cecropia cocoon is found most abundantly on our orchard and shade +trees; it is called by the children the “cradle cocoon,” since it is +shaped like a hammock and hung close below a branch, and it is a very +safe shelter for the helpless creature within it. It is made of two +walls of silk, the outer one being thick and paperlike and the inner +one thin and firm; between these walls is a matting of loose silk, +showing that the insect knows how to make a home that will protect +it from winter weather. It is a clever builder in another respect, +since at one end of the cocoon it spins the silk lengthwise instead +of crosswise, thus making a valve through which the moth can push, +when it issues in the spring. It is very interesting to watch one of +these caterpillars spin its cocoon. It first makes a framework by +stretching a few strands of silk, which it spins from a gland opening +in the lower lip; it then makes a loose net-work upon the supporting +strands, and then begins laying on the silk by moving its head back +and forth, leaving the sticky thread in the shape of connecting M’s +or of figure 8’s. Very industriously does it work, and after a short +time it is so screened by the silk, that the rest of its performance +remains to us a mystery. It is especially mysterious, since the inner +wall of the cocoon encloses so small a cell that the caterpillar +is obliged to compress itself in order to fit within it. This +achievement would be something like that of a man who should build +around himself a box only a few inches longer, wider and thicker +than himself. After the cocoon is entirely finished, the caterpillar +sheds its skin for the last time and changes into a pupa. + +Very different, indeed, does the pupa look from the brilliant +colored, warty caterpillar. It is compact, brown, oval and smooth, +with ability to move but very little when disturbed. The cases +which contain the wings, which are later to be the objects of our +admiration, are now folded down like a tight cape around the body; +and the antennæ, like great feathers, are outlined just in front of +the wing cases. There is nothing more wonderful in all nature than +the changes which are worked within one of these little, brown pupa +cases; for within it, processes go on which change the creature from +a crawler among the leaves to a winged inhabitant of the air. When we +see how helpless this pupa is, we can understand better how much the +strong silken cocoon is needed for protection from enemies, as well +as from inclement weather. + +[Illustration: _Cecropia caterpillar weaving its cocoon._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +In spring, usually in May, after the leaves are well out on the +trees, the pupa skin is shed in its turn, and out of it comes the +wet and wrinkled moth, its wings all crumpled, its furry, soft body +very untidy; but it is only because of this soft and crumpled state +that it is able to push its way out through the narrow door into +the outer world. It has, on each side of its body just back of the +head, two little horny hooks that help it to work its way out. It +is certainly a sorry object as it issues, looking as if it had been +dipped in water and had been squeezed in an inconsiderate hand. But +the wet wings soon spread, the bright antennæ stretch out, the furry +body becomes dry and fluffy, and the large moth appears in all its +perfection. The ground color of the wings is a dusky, grayish brown +while the outer margins are clay colored; the wings are crossed, +beyond the middle, by a white band which has a broad outside margin +of red. There is a red spot near the apex of the front wing, just +outside of the zigzag white line; each wing bears, near its center, +a crescent-shaped white spot bordered with red. But though it is so +large, it does not need to eat; the caterpillar did all the eating +that was necessary for the whole life of the insect; the mouth of the +moth is not sufficiently perfected to take food. + +[Illustration: _A cecropia cocoon._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +[Illustration: _The cecropia cocoon cut open, showing the pupa within +it._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +When the cecropia caterpillar hatches from the egg, it is about a +quarter of an inch long and is black; each segment is ornamented +with six spiny tubercles. Like all other caterpillars, it has to +grow by shedding its horny, skeleton skin, the soft skin beneath +stretching to give more room at first, then finally hardening and +being shed in its turn. This first molt of the cecropia caterpillar +occurs about four days after it is hatched, and the caterpillar which +issues looks quite different than it did before; it is now dull +orange or yellow with black tubercles. After six or seven days more +of feeding, the skin is again shed and now the caterpillar appears +with a yellow body; the two tubercles on the top of each segment are +now larger and more noticeable. They are blue on the first segment, +large and orange-red on the second and third segments, and greenish +blue with blackish spots and spines on all the other segments except +the eleventh, which has on top, instead of a pair of tubercles, one +large, yellow tubercle, ringed with black. The tubercles along the +side of the insect are blue during this stage. The next molt occurs +five or six days later; this time the caterpillar is bluish green in +color, the large tubercles on the second and third segments being +deep orange, those on the upper part of the other segments yellow, +except those on the first and last segments, which are blue. All the +other tubercles along the sides are blue. After the fourth molt it +appears as an enormous caterpillar, often attaining the length of +three inches, and is as large through as a man’s thumb; its colors +are the same as in the preceding stage. There is some variation +in the colors of the tubercles on the caterpillars during these +different molts; in the third stage, it has been observed that the +tubercles usually blue are sometimes black. After the last molt the +caterpillar eats voraciously for perhaps two weeks or longer and then +begins to spin its cocoon. + +_References_--Moths and Butterflies, Ballard; Moths and Butterflies, +Dickerson; Caterpillars and their Moths, Elliot and Soule. + +[Illustration: _Just out of the cocoon._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + LESSON LXXIII + + THE CECROPIA + +_Leading thought_--The cecropia moth passes the winter as a pupa in a +cocoon which the caterpillar builds out of silk for the purpose. In +the spring the moth issues and lays her eggs on some tree, the leaves +of which the caterpillar relishes. The caterpillars are large and +green with beautiful blue and orange tubercles. + +_Method_--It is best to begin with the cocoons, for these are easily +found after the leaves have fallen. These cocoons if kept in the +schoolroom should be thoroughly wet at least once a week. However, it +is better to keep them in a box out of doors where they can have the +advantage of natural moisture and temperature; and from those that +are kept outside the moths will not issue, until the leaves open upon +the trees and provide food for the young caterpillars when the eggs +hatch. + + + _The Cocoon_ + +_Observations_--1. How does the cocoon look on the outside? What +is its general shape? To what is it fastened? Is it fastened to +the lower or the upper side of a twig? Are there any dried leaves +attached to it? + +2. Where do you find cecropia cocoons? How do they look on the tree? +Are they conspicuous? + +3. Cut open the cocoon, being careful not to hurt the inmate. Can you +see that it has an outer wall which is firm? What lies next to this? +Describe the wall next to the pupa. How does this structure protect +the pupa from changes of temperature and dampness? + +4. Is the outside covering easy to tear? What birds are strong enough +to tear this cocoon apart? + +5. Are both ends of the cocoon alike? Do you find one end where the +silk is not woven across but is placed lengthwise? Why is this so? Do +you think that the moth can push out at this end better than at the +other? Do you think the caterpillar, when it wove the cocoon, made it +this way so that the moth could get out easily? + + + _The Pupa_ + +1. Take a pupa out of a cocoon carefully and place it on cotton in a +wide-mouthed fruit jar where it may be observed. Can the pupa move at +all? Is it unable to defend itself? Why does it not need to defend +itself? + +2. Can you see in the pupa the parts that will be the antennæ and the +mouth? + +3. Describe how the wing coverings look. Count the rings in the +abdomen. + +4. Why does the pupa need to be protected by a cocoon? + + + _The Moth_ + +1. What is the first sign which you discover that the moth is coming +out of the cocoon? Can you hear the little scratching noise? What do +you suppose makes it? How does the moth look when it first comes out? +If it were not all soft and wet how could it come out from so small +an opening? + +2. Describe how the crumpled wings spread out and dry. How does the +covering of the wings change in looks? + +3. Make a water-color drawing or describe in detail the fully +expanded moth, showing the color and markings of wings, body and +antennæ. + +4. Do the moths eat anything? Why do they not need to eat? + +5. If one of the moths lays eggs, describe the eggs, noting color, +size and the way they are placed. + + + _The Caterpillar_ + +1. On what do you find the cecropia caterpillar feeding? Describe its +actions while feeding. + +2. What is the color of the caterpillar? Describe how it is +ornamented. + +3. Can you see the breathing pores, or spiracles, along the sides of +the body? How many of these on each segment? How do they help the +caterpillar to breathe? + +4. Describe the three pairs of true legs on the three segments just +back of the head. Do these differ in form from the prolegs along the +sides of the body? What is the special use of the prolegs? Describe +the prop-leg which is the hindmost leg of all. + +5. Do you know how many times the cecropia caterpillar sheds its skin +while it is growing? Is it always the same color? + +6. Watch the caterpillar spin its cocoon, describe how it begins and +how it acts as long as you can see it. Where does the silk come from? + + + + + THE PROMETHEA + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The promethea is not so large as the cecropia, although the female +resembles the latter somewhat. It is the most common of all our giant +silk-worms. Its caterpillars feed upon wild cherry, lilac, ash, +sassafras, buttonwood and many other forest trees. + +During the winter, leaves may often be seen hanging straight down +from the branches of wild cherry, lilac and ash. If these leaves +are examined, they will be found to be wrapped around a silken case +containing the pupa of the promethea. It is certainly a canny insect +which hides itself during the winter in so good a disguise, that +only the very wisest of birds ever suspect its presence. When the +promethea caterpillar begins to spin, it selects a leaf and covers +the upper side with silk, then it covers the petiole with silk, +fastening it with a strong band to the twig, so that not even most +violent winter winds will be able to tear it off. Then it draws the +two edges of the leaf about itself like a cloak as far as it will +reach, and inside this folded leaf it makes its cocoon, which always +has an opening in the shape of a conical valve at the upper end, +through which the moth may emerge in the spring. This caterpillar +knows more botany than some people do, for it makes no mistake in +distinguishing a compound leaf from a simple one. When it uses a +leaflet of hickory for its cocoon, it fastens the leaflet to the mid +stem of the leaf and then fastens the stem to the twig. The male pupa +is much more slender than that of the female. The moths do not issue +until May or June. + +[Illustration: _Promethea cocoons._ + +Note how the leaves are fastened by silk to the twigs. + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The moth works its way out through the valve at the top of the +cocoon. The female is a large, reddish brown moth with markings +resembling somewhat those of the cecropia. The male is very different +in appearance; its front wings have very graceful, prolonged tips, +and both wings are almost black, bordered with ash color. The +promethea moths differ somewhat in habit from the other silk-worms, +in that they fly during the late afternoon as well as at night. The +eggs are whitish with brown stain, and are laid in rows, a good many +on the same leaf. + +[Illustration: _Promethea caterpillars._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The caterpillars, as they hatch from the eggs, have bodies ringed +with black and yellow. They are sociable little fellows and live +together side by side amicably, not exactly “toeing the mark” like +a spelling class, but all heads in a row at the edge of the leaf +where each is eating as fast as possible. When they are small, the +caterpillars remain on the under side of the leaves out of sight. +In about five days, the first skin is shed and the color of the +caterpillar remains about the same. Four or five days later, the +second molt occurs, and then the caterpillar appears in a beautiful +bluish green costume, with black tubercles, except four large ones +on the second and third segments, and one large one on the eleventh +segment, which are yellow. This caterpillar has an interesting habit +of weaving a carpet of silk on which to change its skin; it seems +to be better able to hold on while pushing off the old skin, if it +has the silken rug to cling to. After the third molt, the color is +a deeper greenish blue and the black tubercles are smaller, and +the five big ones are larger and bright orange in color. After the +fourth molt, which occurs after a period of about five or six days, +the caterpillar appears in its last stage. It is now over two inches +long, quite smooth and most prosperous looking. Its color is a +beautiful, light, greenish blue, and its head is yellow. It has six +rows of short, round, black tubercles. The four large tubercles at +the front end of the body are red, and the large tubercle on the rear +end of the body is yellow. + +The cynthia is a beautiful moth which has come to us from Asia; it is +very large with a ground color of olive-green, with lavender tints +and white markings; there are white tufts of hairs on the abdomen. +It builds its cocoon like the promethea, fastening the petiole to the +twig, therefore the lesson indicated for the promethea will serve +as well for the cynthia. The cynthia caterpillars live upon the +ailanthus tree and are found only in the regions where this tree has +been introduced. + +[Illustration: _The male promethea._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +_References_--Moths and Butterflies, Dickerson; Caterpillars and +Their Moths, Elliot and Soule; Moths and Butterflies, Ballard. + +[Illustration: _The female promethea._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + LESSON LXXIV + + THE PROMETHEA + +_Leading thought_--The promethea caterpillar fastens a leaf to a twig +with silk and then makes its cocoon within this leaf. The male and +female moths are very different in appearance. + +_Method_--This work should begin in the late fall, when the children +bring in these cocoons which they find dangling on the lilac bushes +or wild cherry trees. Much attention should be paid to the way the +leaf is fastened to the twig so it will not fall. The cocoons should +be kept out of doors, so that the moths will issue late in the spring +when they can have natural conditions for laying their eggs, and the +young caterpillars are supplied with plenty of food consisting of new +and tender leaves. + + + _The Cocoon_ + +_Observations_--1. On what tree did you find it? Does it look like +a cocoon? Does it not look like a dried leaf still clinging to the +tree? Do you think that this disguise keeps the birds from attacking +it? Do you know which birds are clever enough to see through this +disguise? + +2. How is the leaf fastened to the twig? Could you pull it off +readily? What fastened the leaf to the twig? + +3. Tear off the leaf and study the cocoon. Is there an opening to it? +At which end? What is this for? + +4. Cut open a cocoon. Is it as thick as that of the cecropia? + +5. Study the pupa. Is it as large as that of the cecropia? + +6. Can you see where the antennæ of the moth are? Can you see the +wing covers? Can the pupa move? + + + _The Moth_ + +1. Are there two kinds of moths that come from the promethea cocoons? +Does one of them look something like the cecropia? This is the mother +promethea. + +2. Are any of the moths almost black in color with wings bordered +with gray and with graceful prolonged tips to the front wings? This +is the father moth. + +3. Make water color drawings of promethea moths, male and female. + +4. If a promethea mother lays eggs, describe them. + + + _The Caterpillar_ + +1. How do the promethea caterpillars look when they first hatch from +the eggs? Do they stay together when they are very young? How do they +act? Where do they hide? + +2. How do they change color as they grow older? Do they remain +together or scatter? Do they continue to hide on the lower sides of +leaves? + +3. What preparation does a promethea caterpillar make before changing +its skin? Why does it shed its skin? Does its colors change with +every change of skin? + +4. Describe the caterpillar when it is full-grown. What is its ground +color? What are the colors of its ornamental tubercles? The color of +its head? + +5. Describe how a promethea caterpillar makes its cocoon. + + + + + THE HUMMINGBIRD, OR SPHINX, MOTHS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +If during the early evening, when all the swift humming birds are +abed, we hear the whirr of rapidly moving wings and detect the blur +of them in the twilight, as if the creature carried by them hung +entranced before some deep-throated flower, and then whizzed away +like a bullet, we know that it was a hummingbird, or sphinx, moth. +And when we see a caterpillar with a horn on the wrong end of the +body, a caterpillar which, when disturbed, rears threateningly, then +we may know it is the sphinx larva. And when we find a strange, brown +segmented shell, with a long jug handle at one side, buried in the +earth as we spade up the garden in the spring, then we know we have +the sphinx pupa. + +The sphinx was a vaudeville person of ancient mythology who went +about boring people by asking them riddles; and, if they could +not give the right answers, very promptly ate them up. Although +Linnaeus gave the name of sphinx to these moths, because he fancied +he saw a resemblance in the resting or threatening attitude of the +larvæ to the Egyptian Sphinx, there are still other resemblances. +These insects present three riddles: The first one is, “Am I a +humming-bird?” the second, “Why do I wear a horn or an eye-spot on +the rear end of my body where horns and eyes are surely useless?” and +the third, “Why do I look like a jug with a handle and no spout?” + +[Illustration: _Sphinx larva in sphinx attitude._ + +From Manual for the Study of Insects.] + +The sphinx moths are beautiful and elegant creatures. They have a +distinctly tailor-made appearance, their colors are so genteel and +“the cut” so perfect. They have long, rather narrow, strong wings +which enable them to fly with extraordinary rapidity. The hind wings +are shorter, but act as one with the front wings. The body is stout +and spindle-shaped. The antennæ are thickened in the middle or toward +the tip, and in many species have the tip recurved into a hook. +Their colors show most harmonious combinations and most exquisite +contrasts; the pattern, although often complex, shows perfect +refinement. Olive, tan, brown and ochre, black and yellow, and the +whole gamut of greys, with eye-spots or bands athwart the hind wings +of rose color or crimson, are some of the sphinx color schemes. + +[Illustration: _The tobacco sphinx moth with tongue extended._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +Most of the sphinx moths have remarkable long tongues, being +sometimes twice the length of the body. When not in use, the tongue +is curled like a watch spring in front and beneath the head; but of +what possible use is such a long tongue! That is a story for certain +flowers to tell, the flowers which have the nectar wells far down at +the base of tubular corollas, like the petunia, the morning glory +or the nasturtium; such flowers were evidently developed to match +the long-tongued insects. Some of these flowers, like the jimson +weed and nicotina, open late in the day so as to be ready for these +evening visitors. In some cases, especially in the orchids, there is +a special partnership established between one species of flower and +one species of sphinx moths. The tobacco sphinx is an instance of +such partnership; this moth visits tobacco flowers and helps develop +the seeds by carrying pollen from flower to flower; and in turn it +lays its eggs upon the leaves of this plant, on which its great +caterpillar feeds and waxes fat, and in high dudgeon often disputes +the smoker’s sole right to the “weed.” Tobacco probably receives +enough benefit from the ministrations of the moth to compensate +for the injury it suffers from the caterpillars; but the owner of +the tobacco field, not being a plant, does not look at it in this +equitable manner. + +[Illustration: _The moth of the sphinx caterpillar, which feeds on tomato._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The sphinx caterpillars are leaf eaters and each species feeds upon +a limited number of plants which are usually related; for instance, +one feeds upon both the potato and tomato; another upon the Virginia +creeper and grapes. In color these caterpillars so resemble the +leaves that they are discovered with difficulty. Those on the +Virginia creeper, which shades porches, may be located by the black +pellets of waste material which fall from them to the ground; but +even after this unmistakable hint I have searched a long time to find +the caterpillar in the leaves above; its color serves to hide the +insect from birds which feed upon it eagerly. In some species, the +caterpillars are ornamented with oblique stripes along the sides, +and in others the stripes are lengthwise. There is often a great +variation in color between the caterpillars of the same species; the +tomato worm is sometimes green and sometimes black. + +[Illustration: _The pupa of the common tomato sphinx caterpillar._ + +Note that the part encasing the long tongue is free and looks like +the handle of a jug. + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The horn on the rear end is often in the young larva of different +color than the body; in some species it stands straight up and in +some it is curled toward the back. It is an absolutely harmless +projection and does not sting nor is it poisonous. However, it +looks awe-inspiring and perhaps protects its owner in that way. The +_Pandora_ sphinx has its horn curled over its back in the young +stage but when fully grown the horn is shed; in its place is an +eye-spot which, if seen between the leaves, is enough to frighten +away any cautious bird fearing the evil eye of serpents. The sphinx +caterpillars have a habit, when disturbed or when resting, of rearing +up the front part of the body, telescoping the head back into the +thoracic segments, which in most species are enlarged, and assuming +a most threatening and ferocious aspect. If attacked they will swing +sidewise, this way and then that, making a fierce crackling sound +meanwhile, well calculated to fill the trespasser with terror. +When resting they often remain in this lifted attitude for hours, +absolutely rigid. + +[Illustration: _Tailor-made moth, the adult of the Myron sphinx._] + +The six true legs are short with sharp, little claws. There are four +pairs of fleshy prolegs, each foot being armed with hooks for holding +on to leaf or twig; and the large, fleshy prop-leg on the rear +segment is able to clasp a twig like a vise. All these fleshy legs +are used for holding on, while the true legs are used for holding the +edges of the leaf where the sidewise working jaws can cut it freely. +These caterpillars do clean work, leaving only the harder and more +woody ribs of the leaves. The myron caterpillar seems to go out of +its way to cut off the stems of both the grape and Virginia creeper. + +There are nine pairs of spiracles, a pair on each segment of the +abdomen and on the first thoracic segment. The edges of these air +openings are often strikingly colored. Through the spiracles the air +is admitted into all the breathing tubes of the body around which the +blood flows and is purified; no insect breathes through its mouth. +These caterpillars, like all others, grow by shedding the skeleton +skin, which splits down the back. + +[Illustration: _The eggs of the Myron sphinx._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +Often one of these caterpillars is seen covered with white objects +which the ignorant, who do not know that caterpillars never lay +eggs, have called, eggs. But the sphinx moths at any stage would +have horror of such eggs as these! They are not eggs but are little +silken cocoons spun by the larvæ of a hymenopterous parasite. It is a +tiny, four-winged “fly” which lays its eggs within the caterpillar. +The little grubs which hatch from these eggs feed upon the fleshy +portions of the caterpillar until they get their growth, at which +time the poor caterpillar is almost exhausted; and then they have the +impudence to come out and spin their silken cocoons and fasten them +to the back of their victim. Later, they cut a little lid to their +silken cells which they lift up as they come out into the world to +search for more caterpillars. + +[Illustration: _A full-grown caterpillar of the Myron sphinx._] + +As soon as the sphinx larva has obtained its growth, it descends and +burrows into the earth. It does not spin any cocoon but packs the +soil into a smooth-walled cell in which it changes to a pupa. In the +spring the pupa works its way to the surface of the ground and the +moth issues. In the case of the tomato and tobacco sphinx pupa, the +enormously long tongue has its case separate from the body of the +pupa, which makes the “jug handle.” The wing cases and the antennæ +cases can be distinctly seen. In the case of the other species the +pupæ have the tongue case fast to the body. The larva of the myron +sphinx does not enter the ground, but draws a few leaves about it on +the surface of the ground, fastens them with silk and there changes +to a pupa. + +_References_--Caterpillars and their Moths, Elliot and Soule; Moths +and Butterflies, Dickerson; Moths and Butterflies, Ballard; Manual +for the Study of Insects, Comstock. + +[Illustration: _A “cake walk.” The caterpillars of the Myron sphinx +in attitude of defence._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + LESSON LXXV + + THE HUMMING-BIRD, OR SPHINX, MOTHS + +_Leading thought_--The sphinx caterpillars have a slender horn or +eye-spot on the last segment of the body. When disturbed or when +resting they rear the front part of the body in a threatening +attitude. They spin no cocoons but change to pupæ in the ground. +The adults are called humming-bird moths, because of their swift +and purring flight. Many flowers depend upon the sphinx moths for +carrying their pollen. + +_Method_--The sphinx caterpillar found on the potato or tobacco, or +one of the species feeding upon the Virginia creeper is in September +available in almost any locality for this lesson. The caterpillars +should be placed in a breeding cage in the schoolroom. Fresh food +should be given them every day and moist earth be placed in the +bottom of the cages. It is useless for the amateur to try to rear the +adults from the pupæ in breeding cages. The moths may be caught in +nets during the evening when they are hovering over the petunia beds. +These may be placed on leaves in a tumbler or jar for observation. + + + _The Caterpillar_ + +_Observations_--1. On what plant is it feeding? What is its general +color? Is it striped? What colors in the stripes? Are they oblique or +lengthwise stripes? Are all the caterpillars the same color? + +[Illustration: _The pupæ of the Myron sphinx within the cocoons._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +2. Can you find the caterpillar easily when feeding? Why is it not +conspicuous when on the plant? Of what use is this to the caterpillar? + +3. Note the horn on the end of the caterpillar. Is it straight or +curled? Is it on the head end? What color is it? Do you think it is +of any use to the caterpillar? Do you think it is a sting? If there +is no horn, is there an eye-spot on the last segment? What color is +it? Can you think of any way in which this eye-spot protects the +caterpillar? + +4. Which segments of the caterpillar are the largest? When the +creature is disturbed what position does it assume? How does it move? +What noise does it make? Do you think this attitude scares away +enemies? What position does it assume when resting? Do you think that +it resembles the Egyptian Sphinx when resting? + +5. How many true legs has this caterpillar? How does it use them when +feeding? How many prolegs has it? How are these fleshy legs used? How +are they armed to hold fast to the leaf or twig? Describe the hind or +prop-leg. How is it used? + +[Illustration: + + _A Myron caterpillar that has been parasitized. The white + objects upon it are the cocoons of the little grubs which feed + upon the fatty parts of the caterpillar._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +6. Do you see the breathing pores or spiracles along the sides of +the body? How many are there? How are they colored? How does the +caterpillar breathe? Do you think it can breathe through its mouth? + +7. How does the sphinx caterpillar grow? Watch your caterpillar and +see it shed its skin. Where does the old skin break open? How does +the new, soft skin look? Do the young caterpillars resemble the +full-grown ones? + +8. Describe how the caterpillar eats. Can you see the jaws move? Does +it eat up the plant clean as it goes? + +9. Have you ever found the sphinx caterpillar covered with whitish, +oval objects? What are these? Does the caterpillar look plump or +emaciated? Explain what these objects are and how they came to be +there. + +10. Where does the caterpillar go to change to a pupa? Does it make +cocoons? How does the pupa look? Can you see the long tongue case, +the wing cases, the antennæ cases? + + + _The Moth_ + +1. Where did you find this moth? Was it flying by daylight or in the +dusk? How did its swift moving wings sound? Was it visiting flowers? +What flowers? Where is the nectar in these flowers? + +2. What is the shape of the moth’s body? Is it stout or slender? What +colors has it? How is it marked? + +3. The wings of which pair are longer? Sketch or describe the form of +the front and the hind wings? Are the outer edges scalloped, notched +or even? What colors are on the front wing? On the hind one? Are +these colors harmonious and beautiful? Make a sketch of the moth in +water-color. + +[Illustration: _The moths of the Myron sphinx on Virginia creeper._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +4. What is the shape of the antennæ? Describe the eyes. Can you see +the coiled tongue? Uncoil it with a pin and note how long it is. Why +does this moth need such a long tongue? + +5. From what flowers do the sphinx moths get nectar? How does the +moth support itself when probing for nectar? Do you know any flowers +which are dependent on the sphinx moths for carrying their pollen? +How many kinds of sphinx moths do you know? + +[Illustration: _The white-lined sphinx moth._] + + * * * * * + + _Hurt no living thing: + Ladybird, nor butterfly, + Nor moth with dusty wing, + Nor cricket chirping cheerily, + Nor grasshopper so light of leap, + Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat, + Nor harmless worms that creep._ + --CHRISTINA ROSSETTI. + + + + + THE CODLING MOTH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +It is difficult to decide which seems the most disturbed, the person +who bites into an apple and uncovers a worm, or the worm which is +uncovered. From our standpoint, there is nothing attractive about +the worm which destroys the beauty and appetizing qualities of our +fruit, but from the insect standpoint the codling caterpillar (which +is not a worm at all), is not at all bad. When full-grown, it is +about three-fourths of an inch long, and is likely to be flesh color, +or even rose color, with brownish head; as a young larva, it has a +number of darker rose spots on each segment and is whitish in color; +the shield on the first segment behind the head, and that on the +last segment of the body, are black. When full-grown, the apple worm +is plump and lively; and while jerking angrily at being disturbed, +we can see its true legs, one pair to each of the three segments of +the body behind the head. These true legs have sharp, single claws. +Behind these the third, fourth, fifth and sixth segments of the +abdomen are each furnished with a pair of fleshy prolegs and the hind +segment has a prop-leg. These fleshy legs are mere makeshifts on the +part of the caterpillar for carrying the long body; since the three +pairs of front legs are the ones from which develop the legs of the +moth. The noticing of the legs of the codling moth is an important +observation on the part of the pupils, since, by their presence, this +insect may be distinguished from the young of the plum curculio, +which is also found in apples but which is legless. The codling moth +has twelve segments in the body, back of the head. + +The codling larva usually enters the apple at the blossom end and +tunnels down by the side of the core until it reaches the middle, +before making its way out into the pulp. The larva weaves a web as it +goes, but this is probably incidental, since many caterpillars spin +silk as they go, “street yarn” our grandmothers might have called it. +In this web are entangled the pellets of indigestible matter, making +a very unsavory looking mass. The place of exit is usually circular, +large enough to accommodate the body of the larva, and it leads out +from a tunnel which may be a half inch or more in diameter beneath +the rind. Often the larva makes the door sometime before it is ready +to leave the apple, and plugs it with a mass of debris, fastened +together with the silk. As it leaves the apple, the remnants of this +plug may be seen streaming out of the opening. Often also, there is a +mass of waste pellets pushed out by the young larva from its burrow, +as it enters the apple; thus it injures the appearance of the apple, +at both entrance and exit. If the apple has not received infection by +lying next to another rotting apple, it first begins to rot around +the burrow of the worm, especially near the place of exit. + +The codling caterpillar injures the fruit in the following ways: +The apples are likely to be stunted and fall early; the apples rot +about the injured places and thus cannot be stored successfully; the +apples thus injured look unattractive and, therefore, their market +value is lessened; wormy apples, packed in barrels with others, +rot and contaminate all the neighboring apples. This insect also +attacks pears and sometimes peaches. It has been carefully estimated +that every year the codling moth does three million dollars worth of +injury to the apple and pear crops in New York State. Think of paying +three million dollars a year for the sake of having wormy apples! + +[Illustration: _A wormy apple._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The larvæ usually leave the apples before winter. If the apples have +fallen, they crawl up the tree and there make their cocoons beneath +the loose bark; but if they leave the apples while they are on the +trees, they spin silk and swing down. If carried into the storeroom +or placed in barrels, they seek quarters in protected crevices. In +fact, while they particularly like the loose bark of the apple trees, +they are likely to build their cocoons on nearby fences or on brush, +wherever they can find the needed protection. The cocoon is made of +fine but rather rough silk which is spun from a gland opening near +the mouth of the caterpillar; the cocoon is not beautiful although +it is smooth inside. It is usually spun between a loose bit of bark +and the body of the tree; but after making it, the insect seems +in no hurry to change its condition and remains a quite lively +caterpillar until spring. It is while the codling larvæ are in their +winter quarters that our bird friends of the winter, the nuthatches, +woodpeckers and chickadees, destroy them in great numbers, hunting +eagerly for them in every crevice of the trees. It is therefore good +policy for us to coax these birds to our orchards by placing beef fat +on the branches and thus entice these little caterpillar hunters to +visit the trees every day. + +It is an interesting fact that the codling caterpillars, which make +cocoons before August first, change immediately to pupæ which soon +change to moths, and thus another generation gets in its work before +the apples are harvested. + +[Illustration: _The larva of the codling moth, much enlarged._ + +Photomicrograph by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The codling moth is a beautiful little creature with delicate antennæ +and a brown, mottled and banded body; its wings are graced by wavy +bands of ashy and brown lines, and the tips of the front wings are +dark brown with a pattern of gold bronze wrought into them; the hind +wings are shiny brown with darker edges and little fringes. The moths +issue in the spring and lay their eggs on the young apples just after +the petals fall. The egg looks like a minute drop of dried milk and +is laid on the side of the bud; but the little larva, soon after it +is hatched, crawls to the blossom and finds entrance there; and it +is therefore important that its first lunch should include a bit of +arsenic and thus end its career before it fairly begins. The trees +should be sprayed with some arsenical poison directly after the +petals fall, and before the five lobes of the calyx close up around +the stamens. If the trees are sprayed while blossoming, the pollen +is washed away and the apples do not set; moreover, the bees which +help us much in carrying pollen are killed. If the trees are sprayed +directly after the calyx closes up around the stamens the poison does +not lodge at the base of the stamens and the little rascals get into +the apples without getting a dose. (See Lesson on the Apple). + +[Illustration: _The pupæ and cocoons of the codling moths._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + LESSON LXXVI + + THE CODLING MOTH + +_Leading thought_--The codling moth is a tiny brown moth with bronze +markings which lays its egg on the apple. The larva hatching from +the egg enters the blossom end and feeds upon the pulp of the apple, +injuring it greatly. After attaining its growth it leaves the apple +and hides beneath the bark of the tree or in other protected places, +and in the spring makes the cocoon from which the moth issues in time +to lay eggs upon the young apples. + +[Illustration: + +_The adult of the codling moth, showing the variations of its +markings. The two larger are twice natural size._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland. +] + +[Illustration: _Just ready to spray. A pear and two apples from which +the petals have recently fallen and with calyx lobes widely spread._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +_Method_--The lesson should begin with a study of wormy apples, +preferably in the fall when the worms are still within their burrows. +After the pupils become familiar with the appearance of the insect +and its methods of work, a prize of some sort might be offered for +the one who will bring to school the greatest number of hibernating +larvæ found in their winter quarters. Place these larvæ in a box with +cheese-cloth tacked over its open side; place this box out of doors +in a protected position. Examine the cocoons to find the pupæ about +the last of April; after the pupæ appear, look for the moths in about +five days. + +It would be a very good idea for the pupils to prepare a Riker mount +showing specimens of the moths, of the cocoons showing the cast +pupa skin, and of the caterpillar in a homeopathic vial of alcohol; +pictures illustrating the work of the insect may be added. The +pictures should be drawn by the pupils, showing the wormy apple, both +the outside and in section. The pupils can also sketch, from the +pictures here given, the young apple when just in the right condition +to spray, with a note explaining why. + +_Observations_--1. Find an apple with a codling moth larva in it. How +large is the worm? How does it act when disturbed? + +2. What is the color of the caterpillar’s body? Its head? + +3. How many segments are there in the body? How many of these bear +legs? What is the difference in form between the three front pairs of +legs and the others? + +4. Look at a wormy apple. How can you tell it is wormy from the +outside? Can you see where the worm entered the apple? Was the burrow +large or small at first? Can you find an apple with a worm in it +which has the door for exit made, but closed with waste matter? How +is this matter fastened together? If the apple has no worm in it, +can you see where it left the apple? Make a sketch or describe the +evidence of the caterpillar’s progress through the apple. Do you find +a web of silk in the wormy part? Why is this? Does the worm eat the +seeds as well as the pulp of the apple? + +5. Take a dozen rotting apples, how many of them are wormy? Do the +parts of the apple injured by the worm begin to rot first? In how +many ways does the codling moth injure the apple? Does it injure +other fruits than apples? + +6. How late in the fall do you find the codling larvæ in the apple? +Where do these larvæ go when they leave the apple? + +_Work to be done in March or early April_--Visit an orchard and look +under the loose bark on old trees, or along protected sections of +fences or brush piles and bring in all the cocoons you can find. Do +not injure the cocoons by tearing them from the places where they are +woven, but bring them in on bits of the bark or other material to +which they are attached. + +1. How does the cocoon look outside and inside? What is in the +cocoon? Why was the cocoon made? When was it made? + +2. Place the cocoons in a box covered with cheese-cloth and place the +box out of doors where the contents can be frequently observed and +make the following notes: + +3. When does the larva change to the pupa? Describe the pupa. How +does the cocoon look after the moth issues from it? + +4. Describe the moth, noting color of head, thorax, body, front and +hind wings? + +5. If these moths were free to fly around the orchard, when and where +would they lay their eggs? + +6. When should the trees be sprayed to kill the young codling moth? +With what should they be sprayed? Why should they not be sprayed +during the blossoming period? Why not after the calyx closes? + +[Illustration: _Almost too late to spray. The apples on each side +have the calyx lobes nearly drawn together. The pear in the middle +still has the calyx cavity open._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +7. How do the nuthatches, downy woodpeckers and chickadees help us in +getting rid of the codling moth? + +8. Write an essay on the life history of the codling moth, the damage +done by it, and the best methods of keeping it in check. + +_References_--The following bulletins from the U. S. Dept, of +Agriculture: Farmers’ Bulletin 247, “The Control of the Codling Moth +and Apple Scab;” Bulletin 35, New Series, Bureau of Entomology, +“Report on the Codling Moth Investigations,” price 10 cents; Bulletin +41, “The Codling Moth,” 105 pages, 15 cents, by Special Field Agent, +C. B. Simpson; Bulletin 68, Part VII, “Demonstration Spraying for +the Codling Moth,” price 5 cents. The Spraying of Plants, Lodeman, +Macmillan Company; Economic Entomology, Smith. + + + + + LEAF-MINERS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_And there’s never a leaf nor a blade too mean + To be some happy creature’s palace_.” + --LOWELL. + + +[Illustration: M] + +May not Lowell have had in mind, when he wrote these lines, the canny +little creatures which find sustenance for their complete growth +between the upper and lower surfaces of a leaf, which seems to us as +thin as a sheet of paper. To most children, it seems quite incredible +that there is anything between the upper and lower surfaces of a +leaf, and this lesson should hinge on the fact that in every leaf, +however thin, there are rows of cells containing the living substance +of the leaf, with a wall above and a wall below to protect them. Some +of the smaller insects have discovered this hidden treasure, which +they mine while safely protected from sight, and thus make strange +figures upon the leaves. + +[Illustration: _Serpentine mines in nasturtium leaf._] + +[Illustration: _Serpentine mines in leaf of columbine._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +Among the most familiar of these are the serpentine mines, so called +because the figure formed by the eating out of the green pulp of the +leaf, curves like a serpent. These mines are made by the caterpillars +of tiny moths, which have long fringes upon the hind wings. The life +story of such a moth is as follows: The little moth, whose expanded +wings measure scarcely a quarter of an inch across, lays an egg on +the leaf; from this, there hatches a tiny caterpillar that soon eats +its way into the midst of the leaf. In shape, the caterpillar is +somewhat “square built,” being rather stocky and wide for its length; +it feeds upon the juicy tissues of the leaf and divides, as it goes, +the upper from the lower surface of the leaf; and it teaches us, +if we choose to look, that these outer walls of the leaf are thin, +colorless, and paper-like. We can trace the whole life history and +wanderings of the little creature, from the time when, as small as a +pin point, it began to feed, until it attained its full growth. As +it increased in size, its appetite grew larger also, and these two +forces working together naturally enlarged its house. When finally +the little miner gets its growth, it makes a rather larger and more +commodious room at the end of its mine, which to us looks like +the head of the serpent; here it changes to a pupa, perhaps after +nibbling a hole with its sharp little jaws, so that when it changes +to a soft, fluffy little moth with mouth unfitted for biting, it is +able to escape. In some species, the caterpillar comes out of the +mine and goes into the ground to change to a pupa. By holding up to +the light a leaf thus mined, we can see why this little chap was +never obliged to clean house; it mined out a new room every day, +and left the sweepings in the abandoned mine behind. Mines of this +sort are often seen on the leaves of nasturtium, the smooth pigweed, +columbine, and many other plants. There are mines of many shapes, +each form being made by a different species of insect. Some flare +suddenly from a point and are trumpet-shaped while some are mere +blotches. The blotch mines are made, through the habits of the insect +within them; it feeds around and around, instead of forging ahead, as +is the case with the serpentine miners. The larvæ of beetles, flies +and moths may mine leaves, each species having its own special food +plant. Most of the smaller leaf mines are made by the caterpillars +of the moths, which are fitly called the Tineina or Tineids. Most of +these barely have a wing expanse that will reach a quarter of an inch +and many are much smaller; they all have narrow wings, the hind wings +being mere threads bordered with beautiful fringes. The specific +names of these moths usually end in “ella;” thus, the one that mines +in apple is _malifoliella_, the one in grain is _granella_. One of +these little moths, _Gelechia pinifoliella_ lives the whole of its +growing life in half of a pine needle. The moth lays the egg at about +the middle of the needle, and the little caterpillar that hatches +from it, gnaws its way directly into the heart of the needle; and +there, as snug as snug can be, it lives and feeds until it is almost +a quarter of an inch long, think of it! Many a time I have held up +to the light a pine needle thus inhabited, and have seen the little +miner race up and down its abode as if it knew that something was +happening. When it finally attains its growth it makes wider the +little door, through which it entered; it does this very neatly, the +door is an even oval, and looks as if it were made with the use of +dividers. After thus opening the door, the caterpillar changes to +a little, long pupa, very close to its exit; and later it emerges, +as an exquisite little moth with silvery bands on its narrow, brown +wings, and a luxurious fringe on the edges of its narrow, hind wings +and also on the outer hind edges of the front wings. + +[Illustration: _Trumpet mines in leaf of apple._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +[Illustration: + + _The pine-needle leaf-miner. The mined leaves of pine natural + size. The caterpillar, pupa and moth of the leaf miner much + enlarged. The lines show actual size of insect._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +The gross mines in the leaves of dock and beet are not pretty. The +poor leaves are slitted, sometimes for their whole length, and soon +turn brown and lie prone on the ground, or dangle pathetically from +the stalk. These mines are made by the larvæ of a fly, and a whole +family live in the same habitation. If we hold a leaf thus mined up +to the light, while it is still green, we can see several of the +larvæ working, each making a bag in the life substance of the leaf, +and yet all joining together to make a great blister. The flies +that do this mischief belong to the family _Anthomyinæ_; and there +are several species which have the perturbing habit of mining the +leaves of beets and spinach. It behooves those of us who are fond of +these “greens,” as our New England ancestors called them, to hold +every leaf up to the light before we put it into the skillet, lest +we get more meat than vegetable in these viands. The flies, who +thus take our greens ahead of us, are perhaps a little larger than +house-flies, and are generally gray in color with the front of the +head silver-white. These insects ought to teach us the value of clean +culture in our gardens, since they also mine in the smooth pigweed. + +_References_--Manual for the Study of Insects, Comstock. + + + LESSON LXXVII + + LEAF-MINERS + +_Leading thought_--The serpent-like markings and the blister-like +blotches which we often see on leaves are made by the larvæ of +insects which complete their growth by feeding upon the inner living +substance of the leaf. + +_Method_--The nasturtium leaf-miner is perhaps the most available for +this lesson since it may be found in its mine in early September. +However, the pupils should bring to the schoolroom all the leaves +with mines in them, that they can find and study the different forms. + +_Observations_--1. Sketch the leaf with the mine in it, showing the +shape of the mine. What is the name of the plant on which the leaf +grew? + +2. Hold the leaf up to the light, can you see the insect within the +mine? What is it doing? Are there more than one insect in the mine? +Open the mine and see how the miner looks. + +3. There are three general types of mines: Those that are long, +curving lines called serpentine mines; those that begin small and +flare out, called trumpet mines; and those that are blister-like +called blotch mines. Which of these is the mine you are studying? + +4. Study a serpentine mine. Note that where the little insect began +to eat, the mine is small. Why does it widen from this point? What +happened in the part which we call the serpent’s head? + +5. Look closely with a lens and find if there is a break above the +mine in the upper surface of the leaf or below the mine in the +lower surface of the leaf. If the insect is no longer in the mine +can you find where it escaped? Can you find a shed pupa-skin in the +“serpent’s head?” + +6. Why does an insect mine in a leaf? What does it find to eat? How +is it protected from the birds or insects of prey while it is getting +its growth? + +7. Look on leaves of nasturtium, columbine, lamb’s quarters, dock +and burdock, for serpentine mines. Are the mines on these different +plants alike? Do you suppose they are made by the same insect? + +8. Look on leaves of dock, burdock, beet and spinach for blotch +mines. Are there more than one insect in these mines? If the insects +are present, hold the leaf out to the light and watch them eat. + +9. Look in the leaves of pitch or other thick leaved pines (not white +pine), for pine needles which are yellow at the tip. Examine these +for miners. If the miner is not within, can you find the little +circular door by which it escaped? Would you think there was enough +substance in a half a pine needle to support a little creature while +it grew up? + +10. If you find leaf-miners at work, do not pluck off the leaves +being mined but cover each with a little bag of swiss muslin tied +close about the petiole and thus capture the winged insect. + +[Illustration: _Witch-hazel, showing work of leaf-rollers, +leaf-miners and gall-makers._] + + + + + THE LEAF-ROLLERS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +If we look closely at sumac leaves before they are aflame from +autumn’s torch, we find many of the leaflets rolled into little +cornucopias fastened with silk. The silk is not in a web, like that +of the spider, but the strands are twisted together, hundreds of +threads combined in one strong cable, and these are fastened from +roll to leaf, like tent ropes. If we look at the young basswoods, +we find perhaps many of their leaves cut across, and the flap made +into a roll and likewise fastened with silken ropes. The witch-hazel, +which is a veritable insect tenement, also shows these rolls. In +fact, we may find them upon the leaves of almost any species of +tree or shrub, and each of these rolls has its own special maker or +indweller. Each species of insect, which rolls the leaves, is limited +to the species of plant on which it is found; and one of these +caterpillars would sooner starve than take a mouthful from a leaf of +any other plant. Some people think that insects will eat anything +that comes in their way; but of all created animals, insects are the +most fastidious as to their food. + +[Illustration: _Leaf-rollers in sumac, with diagram showing the +fastening of the silk-stay-ropes._] + +[Illustration: + +_A leaf of basswood cut and rolled by the basswood leaf-roller._ + +Comstock. Manual.] + +Some species of leaf-rollers unite several leaflets together, while +others use a single leaf. In the case of the sumac leaf-roller, +it begins in a single leaf; but in its later stages, it fastens +together two or three of the terminal leaflets in order to gain +more pasturage. The little silken tent ropes which hold the folded +leaves are well worth study with a lens. They are made of hundreds +of threads of the finest silk, woven from a gland opening near the +lower lip of the caterpillar. The rope is always larger where it is +attached to the leaf than at the center, because the caterpillar +crisscrosses the threads in order to make the attachment to the +leaf larger and firmer. Unroll a tent carefully, and you may see +the fastenings used in an earlier stage, and may even find the +first turned-down edge of the leaf. However, the center of a leaf +roller’s habitation is usually very much eaten, for the whole reason +for making its little house is that the soft-bodied caterpillar +may eat its fill completely hidden from the eyes of birds or other +animals. When it first hatches from the egg, it feeds for a short +time, usually on the under side of the leaf; but when still so small +that we can barely see it with the naked eye, it somehow manages to +fold over itself one edge of the leaf and peg it down. The problem +of how so small a creature is able to pull over and fold down or to +make in a roll a stiff leaf is hard to solve. I, myself, believe it +is done by making many threads, each a little more taut than the +last. I have watched several species working, and the leaf comes +slowly together as the caterpillar stretches its head and sways back +and forth hundreds of times, fastening the silk first to one side +and then to the other. Some observers believe that the caterpillar +throws its weight upon the silk, in order to pull the leaf together; +but in the case of the sumac leaf-roller, I am sure this is not +true, as I have watched the process again and again under a lens, +and could detect no signs of this method. Many of the caterpillars +which make rolls, change to small moths known as Tortricids. This +is a very large family, containing a vast number of species and not +all of the members are leaf-rollers. These little moths have the +front wings rather wide and more or less rectangular in outline. The +entomologists have a pleasing fashion of ending the names of all of +these moths with “ana;” the one that rolls the currant leaves is +_Rosana_, the one on juniper is _Rutilana_, etc. Since many of the +caterpillars of this family seek the ground to pupate and do not +appear as moths until the following spring, it is somewhat difficult +to study their complete life histories, unless one has well-made +breeding cages with earth at the bottom; and even then it is +difficult to keep them under natural conditions, since in an ordinary +living room the insects dry up and do not mature. + +[Illustration: _Leaflets of locust, fastened together to make a nest +by the caterpillar of a butterfly._] + + + LESSON LXXVIII + + THE LEAF-ROLLERS + +_Leading thought_--There are many kinds of insects which roll the +leaves of trees and plants into tents, in which they dwell and feed +during their early stages. + +_Method_--This is an excellent lesson for early autumn when the +pupils may find many of these rolled leaves, which they may bring +to the schoolroom, and which will give material for the lesson. The +rolls are found plentifully on sumac, basswood and witch-hazel. + +_Observations_--1. What is the name of the trees and shrubs from +which these rolled leaves which you have collected were taken? + +2. Are more than one leaf or leaflet used in making the roll? + +3. Is the leaf rolled crosswise or lengthwise? How large is the tube +thus made? + +4. Is the nest in the shape of a tube, or are several leaves fastened +together, making a box-shaped nest? + +5. How is the roll made fast? Examine the little silken ropes with a +lens and describe one of them. Is it wider where it is attached to +the leaf than at the middle? Why? + +6. How many of these tent ropes are there which make fast the roll? +Unroll a leaf carefully and see if you can find signs of the tent +ropes that fastened the roll together when it was smaller. Can you +find where it began? + +7. As you unroll the leaves what do you see at the center? Has the +leaf been eaten? Can you discover the reason why the caterpillar made +this roll? + +8. How do you think a caterpillar manages to roll a leaf so +successfully? Where is the spinning gland of a caterpillar? How does +the insect act when spinning threads back and forth when rolling the +leaf? What sort of insect does the caterpillar which rolls the leaf +change into? Do you suppose that the same kind of caterpillars makes +the rolls on two different species of trees? + +9. In July or early August get some of the rolls with the +caterpillars in them, unroll a nest, take the caterpillar out and put +it on a fresh leaf of the same kind of tree or shrub on which you +found it, and watch it make its roll. + +_Supplementary reading_--“A Dweller in Tents” and “A Little Nomad,” +in Ways of the Six-Footed. + + + + +[Illustration: + + _The spiny oak-gall._ + _The pointed bullet-gall on oak twigs._ + _A cluster of galls on midrib of oak leaf._ + _The acorn plum-gall._ + +Photo by L. H. Weld.] + + + THE GALL-DWELLERS + + _He retired to his chamber, took his lamp, and summoned + the genius as usual. “Genius,” said he, “build me a palace + near the sultan’s, fit for the reception of my spouse, the + princess; but instead of stone, let the walls be formed of + massy gold and silver, laid in alternate rows; and let the + interstices be enriched with diamonds and emeralds. The palace + must have a delightful garden, planted with aromatic shrubs + and plants, bearing the most delicious fruits and beautiful + flowers. But, in particular, let there be an immense treasure + of gold and silver coin. The palace, moreover, must be well + provided with offices, storehouses, and stables full of + the finest horses, and attended by equerries, grooms, and + hunting equipage.” By the dawn of the ensuing morning, the + genius presented himself to Aladdin, and said, “Sir, your + palace is finished; come and see if it accords with your + wishes.”_ + --ARABIAN NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS. + + +[Illustration: A] + +Although Aladdin is out of fashion, we still have houses of magic +that are even more wonderful than that produced by his resourceful +lamp. These houses are built through an occult partnership between +insects and plant tissues; and no one understands just how they are +made, although we are beginning to understand a little concerning the +reasons for the growth. These houses are called galls and are thus +well named, since they grow because of an irritation to the plant +caused by the insect. + +There are many forms of these gall-dwellings, and they may grow upon +the root, branch, leaf, blossom, or fruit. The miraculous thing +about them is that each kind of insect builds its magical house on +a certain part of a certain species of tree or plant; and the house +is always of a certain definite form on the outside and of a certain +particular pattern within. Many widely differing species of insects +are gall-makers; and he who is skilled in gall lore knows, when he +looks at the outside of the house, just what insect dwells within it. + +[Illustration: _Oak apple, showing the larva of the gall insect._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +We may take the history of the common oak apple, as an example. A +little, four-winged, fly-like creature lays its eggs, early in the +season, on the leaf of the scarlet oak. As soon as the larva hatches, +it begins to eat into the substance of one of the leaf veins. As it +eats, it discharges through its mouth into the tissues of the leaf, a +substance which is secreted from glands within its body. Immediately +the building of the house commences; out around the little creature +grow radiating vegetable fibers, showing by their position plainly +that the grub is the center of all of this new growth; meanwhile, +a smooth, thin covering completely encloses the globular house; +larger and larger grows the house until we are accustomed to call +it an oak apple, so large is it. The little chap inside is surely +content and happy, for it is protected from the sight of all of its +enemies, and it finds the walls of its house the best of food. It is +comparable to a boy living in the middle of a giant sponge cake, and +who when hungry would naturally eat out a larger cave in the heart +of the cake. After the inmate of the oak apple completes its growth, +it changes to a pupa and finally comes out into the world a tiny +four-winged fly, scarcely a quarter of an inch in length. + +The story of the willow cone-gall is quite different. A little gnat +lays her eggs on the tip of the bud of a twig; as soon as the grub +hatches and begins to eat, the growth of the twig is arrested, +the leaves are stunted until they are mere scales and are obliged +to overlap in rows around the little inmate, thus making for it a +cone-shaped house which is very thoroughly shingled. The inhabitant +of this gall is a hospitable little fellow, and his house shelters +and feeds many other insect guests. He does not pay any attention to +them, being a recluse in his own cell, but he civilly allows them to +take care of themselves in his domain, and feed upon the walls of +his house. He stays in his snug home all winter and comes out in the +spring a tiny, two-winged fly. + +[Illustration: _Willow cone-galls._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +[Illustration: _Spherical gall of goldenrod, opened, showing its +prosperous looking owner._ + +Photo by M. V Slingerland.] + +There are two galls common on the stems of goldenrod. The more +numerous is spherical in form and is made by a fat and prosperous +looking little grub which later develops into a fly. But although it +is a fly that makes the globular gall in the stem of goldenrod, the +spindle-shaped gall often seen on the same stem has quite another +story. A little brown and gray mottled moth, about three-fourths +of an inch long, lays her egg on the stem of the young goldenrod. +The caterpillar, when it hatches, lives inside the stem, which +accommodatingly enlarges into an oblong room. The caterpillar feeds +upon the substance of the stem until it attains its growth, and then +seems to dimly realize something about its future needs. At least it +cuts, with its sharp jaws, a little oval door at the upper end of +its house and makes an even bevel by widening the opening toward the +outside. It then makes a little plug of debris which completely fills +the door; but because of the bevel, no intrusive beetle or ant can +push it in. Thus the caterpillar changes to a helpless pupa in entire +safety; and when the little moth issues from the pupa skin, all it +has to do is to push its head against the door, and out it falls, and +the recluse is now a creature of the outside world. + +[Illustration: _Mossy rose-gall._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +Many galls are compound, that is, they are made up of a community +of larvæ, each in its own cell. The mossy rose-gall is an instance +of this. The galls made by mites and aphids are open either below +or above the surface of the leaf; the little conical galls on +witch-hazel are examples of these. In fact, each gall has its own +particular history, which proves a most interesting story if we seek +to read it with our own eyes. + + + LESSON LXXIX + + THE GALL-DWELLERS + +_Leading thought_--The galls are protective habitations for the +little insects which dwell within them. Each kind of insect makes +its own peculiar gall on a certain species of plant, and no one +understands just how this is done or why it is so. + +[Illustration: _Porcupine gall on leaf of white oak._ + +_Section of same showing cells._ + +_Female gallfly laying eggs in oak bud._ + +Photo by C. J. Triggerson.] + +_Method_--Ask the pupils to bring in as many of these galls as +possible. Note that some have open doors and some are entirely +closed. Cut open a gall and see what sorts of insects are found +within it. Place each kind of gall in a tumbler or jar covered with +cheesecloth and place where they may be under observation for perhaps +several months; note what sort of winged insect comes from each. + +_Observations_--1. On what plant or tree did this gall grow? Were +there many like it? Did they grow upon the root, stem, leaf, flower, +or fruit? If on the leaf, did they grow upon the petiole or the blade? + +2. What is the shape of the little house? What is its color? Its +size? Is it smooth or wrinkled on the outside? Is it covered with +fuzz or with spines? + +3. Open the gall; is there an insect within it? If so, where is it +and how does it look? What is the appearance of the inside of the +gall? + +[Illustration: _Stem of golden-rod, showing the spherical gall above, +made by larva of a fly; and the spindle-shaped gall below, made by +the caterpillar of a moth._] + +4. Is there a cell for the insect at the very center of the gall, or +are there many such cells? + +5. Has the house an open door? If so, does the door open above or +below? Are there more than one insect in the galls with open doors? +What sort of insect makes this kind of house? + +6. Do you find any insects besides the original gall-maker within it? +If so, what are they doing? + +7. Of what use are these houses to their little inmates? How do they +protect them from enemies? How do they furnish them with food? + +8. Do the gall insects live all their lives within the galls or do +they change to winged insects and come out into the world? If so, how +do they get out? + +9. How many kinds of galls can you find upon oaks? Upon goldenrod? +Upon witch-hazel? Upon willow? + +_Supplementary reading_--Outdoor Studies, Needham, pages 18 and 37; +“Houses of Oak,” in Insect Stories, Kellogg; Manual for the Study of +Insects. + + * * * * * + + _A green little world + With me at its heart! + A house grown by magic, + Of a green stem, a part._ + + _My walls give me food + And protect me from foes, + I eat at my leisure, + In safety repose._ + + _My house hath no window, + ’Tis dark as the night! + But I make me a door + And batten it tight._ + + _And when my wings grow + I throw wide my door; + And to my green castle + I return nevermore._ + + + + + THE GRASSHOPPER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: B] + +Because the grasshopper affords special facilities for the study +of insect structure, it has indeed become a burden to the students +in the laboratories of American universities. But in nature-study +we must not make anything a burden, least of all the grasshopper, +which being such a famous jumper as well as flier, does not long +voluntarily burden any object. + +Since we naturally select the most salient characteristic of a +creature to present first to young pupils, we naturally begin this +lesson with the peculiarity which makes this insect a “grasshopper.” +When any creature has unusually strong hind legs, we may be sure it +is a jumper, and the grasshopper shows this peculiarity at first +glance. The front legs are short, the middle legs a trifle longer, +but the femur of the hind leg is nearly as long as the entire body, +and contains many powerful muscles which have the appearance of being +braided, because of the way they are attached to the skeleton of the +leg; the tibia of the hind leg is long and as stiff as if made of +steel. When getting ready to jump the grasshopper lowers the great +femur below the level of the closed wings and until the tibia is +parallel with it and the entire foot is pressed against the ground. +The pair of double spines at the end of the tibia, just back of the +foot, are pressed against the ground like a spiked heel, and the +whole attitude of the insect is tense. Then, like a steel spring, the +long legs straighten and the insect is propelled high into the air +and far away. This is a remarkable example of insect dynamics; and +since so many species of birds feed upon the grasshopper, its leaping +power is much needed to escape them. However, when the grasshopper +makes a journey it uses its wings. + +[Illustration: _Grasshopper with parts of external anatomy named._] + +As we watch a grasshopper crawling up the side of a vial or tumbler +we can examine its feet with a lens. Between and in front of the +claws is an oval pad which clings to the glass, not by air pressure +as was once supposed, but by means of microscopic hairs, called +tenent hairs, which secrete a sticky fluid. Each foot consists of +three segments and a claw; when the insect is quiet, the entire foot +rests upon the ground; but when climbing on glass, the toe pads are +used. + +[Illustration: _The nymph of the red-legged grasshopper, enlarged._ + +_Adult of red-legged grasshopper_ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +The grasshopper’s face has a droll expression; would that some +caricaturist could analyze it! It is a long face, and the compound +eyes placed high upon it, give a look of solemnity. The simple eyes +can be made out with a lens. There is one just in front of each big +eye, and another, like the naughty little girl’s curl, is “right in +the middle of the forehead.” The antennæ are short but alert. The +two pairs of palpi connected with the mouth-parts are easily seen, +likewise the two pairs of jaws, the notched mandibles looking like a +pair of nippers. We can see these jaws much better when the insect +is eating, which act is done methodically. First, it begins at one +edge of a leaf, which it seizes between the front feet so as to hold +it firm; it eats by reaching up and cutting downwards, making an +even-edged, long hole on the leaf margin; the hole is made deeper by +repeating the process. It sometimes makes a hole in the middle of +a leaf and bites in any direction, but it prefers to move the jaws +downward. While it is feeding, its palpi tap the leaf continually +and its whole attitude is one of deep satisfaction. There is an +uprolled expression to the compound eyes which reminds us of the way +a child looks over the upper edge of its cup while drinking milk. +The grasshopper has a preference for tender herbage, but in time of +drouth will eat almost any living plant. + +Back of the head is a sun-bonnet-shaped piece, bent down at the +sides, forming a cover for the thorax. The grasshopper has excellent +wings, as efficient as its legs; the upper pair are merely strong, +thick, membranous covers, bending down at the sides so as to protect +the under wings; these wing-covers are not meant for flying and are +held stiff and straight up in the air, during flight. The true wings, +when the grasshopper is at rest, are folded lengthwise like a fan +beneath the wing-covers; they are strongly veined and circular in +shape, giving much surface for beating the air. The grasshoppers’ +flight is usually swift and short; but in years of famine they +fly high in the air and for long distances, a fact recorded in the +Bible regarding the plague of locusts. When they thus appear in vast +hordes, they destroy all the vegetation in the region where they +settle. + +The wings of grasshoppers vary in color, those of the red-legged +species being gray, while those of the Carolina locusts are black +with yellow edges. The abdomen is segmented, as in all insects, and +along the lower side there are two lengthwise sutures or creases +which open and shut bellows-like, when the grasshopper breathes. The +spiracles or breathing pores can be seen on each segment, just above +this suture. + +The grasshopper has its ears well protected; to find them, we must +lift the wings in order to see the two large sounding disks, one on +each side of the first segment of the abdomen. These are larger and +much more like ears than are the little ears in the elbows of the +katydids. + +The singing of the short-horned grasshoppers is a varied performance, +each species doing it in its own way. One species makes a most +seductive little note by placing the femur and tibia of the hind legs +together, and with the hind feet completely off the ground, the legs +are moved up and down with great rapidity, giving off a little purr. +The wings in this case, do not lift at all. There are other species +that make the sound by rubbing the legs against the wing-covers. + +[Illustration: _Grasshopper cleaning its antenna._] + +The grasshopper makes its toilet thus: It cleans first the hind feet +by rubbing them together and also by reaching back and scrubbing +them with the middle feet; the big hind femur it polishes with the +bent elbow of the second pair of legs. It cleans the middle feet by +nibbling and licking them, bending the head far beneath the body in +order to do it. It polishes its eyes and face with the front feet, +stopping to lick them clean between whiles, and it has a most comical +manner of cleaning its antennæ; this is accomplished by tipping the +head sidewise, and bending it down so that the antenna of one side +rests upon the floor; it then plants the front foot of that side +firmly upon the antenna and pulls it slowly backward between the foot +and floor. + +The grasshopper has some means of defence as well as of escape; +it can give a painful nip with its mandibles; and when seized, it +emits copiously from the mouth a brownish liquid which is acrid and +ill-smelling. This performance interests children, who are wont to +seize the insect by its jumping legs and hold it up, commanding it to +“chew tobacco.” + +Grasshoppers are insects with incomplete metamorphosis, which merely +means that the baby grasshopper, as soon as it emerges from the egg, +is similar in form to its parent except that it has a very large head +and a funny little body, and that it has no quiet stage during life. +When immature, the under wings or true wings have a position outside +of the wing-covers and look like little fans. + +The short-horned grasshoppers lay their eggs in oval masses protected +by a tough overcoat. The ovipositor of the mother grasshopper is +a very efficient tool, and with it she makes a deep hole in the +ground, or sometimes in fence rails or other decaying wood; after +placing her eggs in such a cavity, she covers the hiding place with +a gummy substance so that no intruders or robbers may work harm to +her progeny. Most species of grasshoppers pass the winter in the egg +stage; but sometimes we find in early spring the young ones which +hatched in the fall, and they seem as spry as if they had not been +frozen stiff. + + + LESSON LXXX + + THE RED-LEGGED + GRASSHOPPER + +_Leading thought_--The grasshopper feeds upon grass and other herbage +and is especially fitted for living in grassy fields. Its color +protects it from being seen by its enemies the birds. If attacked, it +escapes by long jumps and by flight. It can make long journeys on the +wing. + +[Illustration: _The mouth-parts of a grasshopper dissected off, +enlarged and named._] + +_Method_--The red-legged grasshopper (_M. femur-rubrum_) has +been selected for this lesson because it is the most common of +all grasshoppers, though other species may be used as well. The +red-legged locust, or grasshopper has, as is indicated by its +name, the large femur of the hind legs reddish in color. Place the +grasshopper under a tumbler and upon a spray of fresh herbage, and +allow the pupils to observe it at leisure. It might be well to +keep some of the grasshoppers in a cage similar to that described +for crickets. When studying the feet, or other parts of the insect +requiring close scrutiny, the grasshopper should be placed in a vial +so that it may be passed around and observed with a lens. Give the +questions a few at a time, and encourage the pupils to study these +insects in the field. + +[Illustration: _Front leg of katydid, showing ear near elbow._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +_Observations_--1. Since a grasshopper is such a high jumper, +discover if you can how he does this “event.” Which pair of legs is +the longest? Which the shortest? How long are the femur and tibia +of the hind leg compared with the body. What do you think gives the +braided appearance to the surface of the hind femur? What is there +peculiar about the hind femur? Note the spines at the end of the +tibia just behind the foot. + +2. Watch the grasshopper prepare to jump and describe the process. +How do you think it manages to throw itself so far? If a man were as +good a jumper as a grasshopper in comparison to his size, he could +jump 300 feet high or 500 feet in distance. Why do you think the +grasshopper needs to jump so far? + +3. As the grasshopper climbs up the side of a tumbler or vial, look +at its feet through a lens and describe them. How many segments are +there? Describe the claws. How does it cling to the glass? Describe +the little pad between the claws. + +[Illustration: _Long horned, or meadow grasshopper._] + +4. Look the grasshopper in the face. Where are the compound eyes +situated? Can you see the tiny simple eyes like mere dots? How many +are there? Where are they? How long are the antennæ? For what are +they used? + +5. How does a grasshopper eat? Do the jaws move up and down or +sidewise? What does the grasshopper eat? How many pairs of palpi can +you see connected with the mouth-parts? How are these used when the +insect is eating? When there are many grasshoppers, what happens to +the crops? + +6. What do you see just back of the grasshopper’s head, when looked +at from above? + +[Illustration: _Wing of male and of female meadow grasshoppers._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +7. Can the grasshopper fly as well as jump? How many pairs of wings +has it? Does it use the first pair of wings to fly with? How does +it hold them when flying? Where is the lower or hind pair of wings +when the grasshopper is walking? How do they differ in shape from the +front wings? + +8. Note the abdomen. It is made of many rings or segments. Are these +rings continuous around the entire body? Where do their breaks occur? +Describe the movement of the abdomen as the insect breathes. Can you +see the spiracles or breathing pores? Lift the wings, and find the +ear on the first segment of the abdomen. + +9. If you seize the grasshopper how does it show that it is offended? + +10. How does the grasshopper perform its toilet? Describe how it +cleans its antennæ, face and legs. + +11. What becomes of the grasshoppers in the winter? Where are the +eggs laid? How can you tell a young from a full-grown grasshopper? + +12. Do all grasshoppers have antennæ shorter than half the length of +their bodies? Do some have antennæ longer than their bodies? Where +are the long-horned grasshoppers found? Describe how they resemble +the katydids in the way they make music and in the position of their +ears. + +[Illustration: _Short-horned and long-horned, or meadow, +grasshoppers._] + +_Supplementary reading_--Chapters XVI-XVIII in Grasshopper Land, +Morley. + + + + + THE KATYDID + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_I love to hear thine earnest voice + Wherever thou art hid, + Thou testy little dogmatist, + Thou pretty katydid, + Thou mindest me of gentle folks, + Old gentle folks are they, + Thou say’st an undisputed thing + In such a solemn way._” + HOLMES. + + +[Illustration: D] + +Distance, however, lends enchantment to the song of the katydid, +for it grates on our nerves as well as on our ears, when at close +quarters. The katydid makes his music in a manner similar to that +of the cricket but is not, however, so well equipped since he has +only one file and only one scraper for playing. As with the meadow +grasshoppers and crickets, only the males make the music, the wings +of the females being delicate and normally veined at the base. The +ears, too, are in the same position as those of the cricket, and may +be seen as a black spot in the front elbow. The song is persistent +and may last the night long: “Katy did, she didn’t she did.” James +Whitcomb Riley says, “The katydid is rasping at the silence,” and the +word rasping well describes the note. + +[Illustration: _The front portions of the wings of a male katydid +showing file on one wing and scraper on the other._] + +The katydids are beautiful insects, with green, finely veined, +leaf-like wing-covers under which is a pair of well developed wings, +folded like fans; they resemble in form the long-horned grasshoppers. +The common northern species (_Cyrtophyllus_) is all green above +except for the long, delicate, fawn-colored antennæ and the brownish +fiddle of the male, which consists of a flat triangle just back of +the thorax where the wing-covers overlap. Sometimes this region is +pale brown and sometimes green, and with the unaided eye we can +plainly see the strong cross-vein, bearing the file. The green +eyes have darker centers and are not so large as the eyes of the +grasshopper. The body is green with white lines below on either side. +There is a suture the length of the abdomen in which are placed the +spiracles. The insect breathes by sidewise expansion and contraction, +and the sutures rhythmically open and shut; when they are open, the +spiracles can be seen as black dots. The legs are slender and the +hind pair, very long. The feet are provided with two little pads, one +on each side of the base of the claw. In the grasshopper there is +only one pad which is placed between the two hooks of the claw. The +female has a green, sickle-shaped ovipositor at the end of the body. +With this she lays her flat, oval eggs, slightly over-lapping in a +neat row. + +The katydids are almost all dwellers in trees and shrubs; although +I have often found our common species upon asters and similar high +weeds. The leaf-like wings of these insects are, in form and color, +so similar to the leaves that they are very completely hidden. The +katydid is rarely discovered except by accident; although when one +is singing, it may be approached and ferreted out with the aid of a +lantern. + +The katydid, when feeding, often holds the leaf or the flower firmly +with the front feet, while biting it off like a grazing cow, and if +it is tough, chews it industriously with the sidewise working jaws. +A katydid will often remain quiet a long time with one long antenna +directed forward and the other backward, as if on the lookout for +news from the front and the rear. But when the katydid “cleans up,” +it does a thorough job. It nibbles its front feet, paying special +attention to the pads, meanwhile holding the foot to its mandibles +with the aid of the palpi. But once washing is not enough; I have +seen a katydid go over the same foot a dozen times in succession, +beginning always with the hind spurs of the tibia and nibbling along +the tarsus to the claws. It cleans its face with its front foot, +drawing it downward over the eye and then licking it clean. It cleans +its antenna with its mandibles by beginning at the base and drawing +it up in a loop as fast as finished. After watching the process of +these lengthy ablutions, we must conclude that the katydid is among +the most fastidious members of the insect “four hundred.” + +_References_--Manual for Study of Insects, Comstock; American +Insects, Kellogg; Ways of Six Footed, Comstock; Grasshopper Land, +Morley. + +[Illustration: _The angular-winged katydid and her eggs._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + + + LESSON LXXXI + + THE KATYDID + +_Leading thought_--The katydids resemble the long-horned grasshoppers +and the crickets. They live in trees, and the male sings “katy-did” +by means of a musical instrument similar to that of the cricket. + +_Method_--Place a katydid in a cricket cage in the schoolroom, giving +it fresh leaves or flowers each day, and encouraging the pupils to +watch it at recess. It may be placed in a vial and passed around, for +close observation. In studying this insect, use the lesson on the +red-legged grasshopper and also that on the cricket. These lessons +will serve to call the attention of the pupils to the differences and +resemblances between the katydid and these two allied insects. + +[Illustration: _A pair of dusky lovers._ + +Drawing by Ida Baker.] + + + _THE BLACK CRICKETS_ + + _Of the insect musicians the cricket is easily the most + popular. Long associated with man, as a companion of the + hearth and the field, his song touches ever the chords of + human experience. Although we, in America, do not have + the house-cricket which English poets praise, yet our + field-crickets have a liking for warm corners, and will, if + encouraged, take up their abode among our hearthstones. The + greatest tribute to the music of the cricket is the wide range + of human emotion which it expresses. “As merry as a cricket” + is a very old saying and is evidence that the cricket’s + fiddling has ever chimed with the gay moods of dancers and + merrymakers. Again, the cricket’s song is made an emblem of + peace; and again we hear that the cricket’s “plaintive cry” + is taken as the harbinger of the sere and dying year. From + happiness to utter loneliness is the gamut covered by this + sympathetic song. Leigh Hunt found him glad and thus addresses + him_: + + “_And you, little housekeeper who class + With those who think the candles come too soon, + Loving the fire, and with your tricksome tune + Nick the glad, silent moments as they pass._” + WAYS OF THE SIX-FOOTED. + + + + + THE BLACK CRICKET + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +If we wish to become acquainted with these charming little +troubadours of the field, we should have a cricket cage with a pair +of them within it. They are most companionable, and it is interesting +to note how quickly they respond to a musical sound. I had a pair in +my room at one time, when I lived very near a cathedral. Almost every +time that the bells rang during the night, my cricket would respond +with a most vivacious and sympathetic chirping. + +The patent leather finish to this cricket’s clothes is of great use; +for, although the cricket is an efficient jumper, it is after all, +mostly by running between grass blades that it escapes its enemies. +If we try to catch one, we realize how slippery it is, and how +efficiently it is thus able to slide through the fingers. + +[Illustration: _The wing of male cricket enlarged._ + +a, file b, scraper.] + +[Illustration: _A section of the file enlarged._] + +[Illustration: _The front leg of a cricket enlarged showing ear at_ +a.] + +The haunts of the cricket are usually sunny; it digs a little +cave beneath a stone or clod in some field, where it can have the +whole benefit of all the sunshine, when it issues from its door. +These crickets cannot fly, since they have no wings under their +wing-covers, as do the grasshoppers. The hind legs have a strong +femur, and a short but strong tibia with downward slanting spines +along the hind edge, which undoubtedly help the insect in scrambling +through the grass. At the end of the tibia, next to the foot, is a +rosette of five spines, the two longer ones slanting to meet the +foot; these spines give the insect a firm hold, when making ready for +its spring. When walking, the cricket places the whole hind foot flat +on the ground, but rests only upon the claw and the segment next to +it, of the front pairs of feet. The claws have no pads like those of +the katydid or grasshopper; the segment of the tarsus next the claw +has long spines on the hind feet and shorter spines on the middle and +front feet, thus showing that the feet are not made for climbing, +but for scrambling along the ground. When getting ready to jump, the +cricket crouches so that the tibia and femur of the hind legs are +shut together and almost on the ground. The dynamics of the cricket’s +leap are well worth studying. + +The cricket’s features are not so easily made out, because the head +is polished and black; the eyes are not so polished as the head, +and the simple eyes are present but are discerned with difficulty. +The antennæ are longer than the body and very active; there is a +globular segment where they join the face. I have not discovered that +the crickets are so fastidious about keeping generally clean as are +some other insects, but they are always cleaning their antennæ: I +have seen a cricket play his wing mandolin lustily and at the same +time carefully clean his antennæ; he polished these by putting up a +foot and bending the antenna down so that his mouth reached it near +the base; he then pulled the antenna through his jaws with great +deliberation, nibbling it clean to the very end. The lens reveals to +us that the flexibility of the antennæ is due to the fact that they +are many jointed. The palpi are easily seen, a large pair above and +a smaller pair beneath the “chin.” The palpi are used to test food +and prove if it be palatable. The crickets are fond of melon or other +sweet, juicy fruits, and by putting such food into the cage we can +see them bite out pieces with their sidewise working jaws, chewing +the toothsome morsel with gusto. They take hold of the substance they +are eating with the front feet as if to make sure of it. + +[Illustration: _Male and female of the common black cricket, showing +differences in their wings. The male is below._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The wing-covers of the cricket are bent down at the sides at right +angles, like a box cover. The wing-covers are much shorter than the +abdomen and beneath them are vestiges of wings, which are never used. +The male has larger wing-covers than the female, and they are veined +in a peculiar scroll pattern. This veining seems to be a framework +for the purpose of making a sounding board of the wing membrane, +by stretching it out as a drum-head is stretched. Near the base of +the wing-cover, there is a heavy cross-vein covered with transverse +ridges, which is called the file; on the inner edge of the same +wing, near the base, is a hardened portion called the scraper. When +he makes his cry, the cricket lifts his wing-covers at an angle of +forty-five degrees and draws the scraper of the under wing against +the file of the overlapping one; lest his musical apparatus become +worn out, he can change by putting the other wing-cover above. The +wing-covers are excellent sounding boards and they quiver as the +note is made, setting the air in vibration, and sending the sound a +long distance. The female cricket’s wing-covers are more normal in +venation; and she may always be distinguished from her spouse by the +long sword-like ovipositor at the end of her body; this she thrusts +into the ground when she lays her eggs, thus placing them where they +will remain safely protected during the winter. Both sexes have a +pair of “tail feathers,” as the children call them, which are known +as the cerci (_sing. cerca_) and are fleshy prongs at the end of the +abdomen. + +There would be no use of the cricket’s playing his mandolin if there +were not an appreciative ear to listen to his music. This ear is +placed most conveniently in the tibia of the front leg, so that the +crickets literally hear with their elbows, as do the katydids and the +meadow grasshoppers. The ear is easily seen with the naked eye as a +little white, disklike spot. + +The chirp of the cricket is, in literature, usually associated with +the coming of autumn; but the careful listener may hear it in early +summer, although the song is not then so insistent as later in the +season. He usually commences singing in the afternoon and keeps it +up periodically all night. I have always been an admirer of the +manly, dignified methods of this little “minnesinger,” who does not +wander abroad to seek his lady love but stands sturdily at his own +gate, playing his mandolin the best he is able; he has faith that his +sable sweetheart is not far away, and that if she likes his song she +will come to him of her own free will. The cricket is ever a lover +of warmth and his mandolin gets out of tune soon after the evenings +become frosty. He is a jealous musician. When he hears the note of a +rival, he at once “bristles up,” lifting his wings at a higher angle +and giving off a sharp militant note. If the two rivals come in sight +of each other, there is a fierce duel. They rush at each other with +wide open jaws, and fight until one is conquered and retreats, often +minus an antenna, cerca, or even a leg. The cricket’s note has a +wide range of expression. When waiting for his lady love, he keeps +up a constant droning; if he hears his rival, the tone is sharp and +defiant; but as the object of his affection approaches, the music +changes to a seductive whispering, even having in it an uncertain +quiver, as if his feelings were too strong for utterance. + +_References_--Manual for Study of Insects, p. 115; Insect Musicians; +Ways of the Six Footed, Comstock. + + + LESSON LXXXII + + THE BLACK CRICKET + +_Leading thought_--The crickets are among the most famous of the +insect musicians. They live in the fields under stones and in +burrows, and feed upon grass and clover. As with the song birds, +the male only makes music; he has his wing-covers developed into a +mandolin or violin, which he plays to attract his mate and also for +his own pleasure. + +[Illustration: _A cricket cage._] + +_Method_--Make some cricket cages as follows: Take a small flower-pot +and plant in it a root of fresh grass or clover. Place over this and +press well into the soil a lantern or lamp chimney. Cover the top +with mosquito netting. Place the pot in its saucer, so that it may +be watered by keeping the saucer filled. Ask the pupils to collect +some crickets. In each cage, place a male and one or more females, +the latter being readily distinguished by the long ovipositors. +Place the cages in a sunny window, where the pupils may observe +them at recess, and ask for the following observations. In studying +the cricket closely, it may be well to put one in a vial and pass +it around. In observing the crickets eat, it is well to give them a +piece of sweet apple or melon rind, as they are very fond of pulpy +fruits. + +_Observations_--1. Is the covering of the cricket shining, like black +patent leather, or is it dull? What portions are dull? Of what use do +you think it is to the cricket to be so smoothly polished? + +2. Where did you find the crickets? When you tried to catch them, how +did they act? Did they fly like grasshoppers or did they run and leap? + +3. Look carefully at the cricket’s legs. Which is the largest of the +three pairs? Of what use are these strong legs? Look carefully at the +tibia of the hind leg. Can you see the strong spines at the end, just +behind the foot or tarsus? Watch the cricket jump and see if you can +discover the use of these spines. How many joints in the tarsus? Has +the cricket a pad like the grasshopper’s between its claws? When the +cricket walks or jumps does it walk on all the tarsus of each pair of +legs? + +4. Study the cricket’s head. Can you see the eyes? Describe the +antennæ--their color, length, and the way they are used. Watch the +cricket clean its antennæ and describe the process. Can you see the +little feelers, or palpi, connected with the mouth? How many are +there? How does it use these feelers in tasting food before it eats? +Watch the cricket eat, and see whether you can tell whether its mouth +is made for biting or sucking. + +5. Study the wings. Are the wings of the mother cricket the same size +and shape as those of her mate? How do they differ? Does the cricket +have any wings under these front wings, as the grasshopper does? Note +the cricket when he is playing his wing mandolin to attract his mate. +How does he make the noise? Can you see the wings vibrate? Ask your +teacher to show you a picture of the musical wings of the cricket, or +to show you the wings themselves under the microscope, so that you +may see how the music is made. + +6. Why does the mother cricket need such a long ovipositor? Where +does she put her eggs in the fall to keep them safe until spring? + +7. Look in the tibia, or elbow, of the front leg for a little white +spot. What do you suppose this is? Are there any white spots like it +on the other legs? Ask your teacher to tell you what this is. + +8. Can you find the homes of the crickets in the fields? Do the black +crickets chirp in the day-time or after dark? Do they chirp in cold +or windy weather, or only when the sun shines? + +_Supplementary Reading_--Grasshopper Land, Morley, Chapter XIX. + + + _CRICKET SONG._ + + _Welcome with thy clicking, cricket! + Clicking songs of sober mirth; + Autumn, stripping field and thicket, + Brings thee to my hearth, + Where thy clicking shrills and quickens, + While the mist of twilight thickens._ + + * * * * * + + _No annoy, good-humored cricket, + With thy trills is ever blent; + Spleen of mine, how dost thou trick it + To a calm content? + So, by thicket, hearth, or wicket, + Click thy little lifetime, cricket!_ + BAYARD TAYLOR. + + + + + THE SNOWY TREE-CRICKET + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This is a slim, ghost-like cricket. It is pale green, almost white +in color, and about three-fourths of an inch long. Its long, slender +hind legs show that it is a good jumper. Its long antennæ, living +threads, pale gray in color, join the head with amber globe-like +segments. The pale eyes have a darker center and the palpi are very +long. The male has the wing-covers shaped and veined like those of +the black cricket, but they are not so broad and are whitish and very +delicate. The wings beneath are wide, for these crickets can fly. The +female has a long, sword-like ovipositor. + +The snowy tree-cricket, like its relatives, spends much time at its +toilet. It whips the front foot over an antenna and brings the base +of the latter to the mandibles with the palpi and then cleans it +carefully to the very tip. It washes its face with the front foot, +always with a downward movement. If the hind foot becomes entangled +in anything it first tries to kick it clean, and then drawing it +beneath the body, bends the head so as to reach it with the mandibles +and nibbles it clean. The middle foot it also thrusts beneath the +body, bringing it forward between the front legs for cleaning. But +when cleaning its front feet, the snowy tree-cricket puts on airs; +it lifts the elbow high and draws the foot through the mouth with a +gesture very like that of a young lady with a seal ring on her little +finger, holding the ornate member out from its companions as if it +were stiff with a consciousness of its own importance. + +[Illustration: _Eggs of snowy tree-cricket, laid in raspberry cane._ + +After C. V. Riley.] + +There are two common species of the snowy tree-crickets which can +hardly be separated except by specialists or by watching their +habits. One is called “the whistler” and lives on low shrubs or +grass; it gives a clear, soft, prolonged, unbroken note. The other +is called “the fiddler” and lives on shrubs and in trees and vines. +Its note is a pianissimo performance of the katydid’s song; it is +delightful, rhythmic and sleep-inspiring; it begins in the late +afternoon and continues all night until the early, cold hours of +the approaching dawn. The vivacity of the music depends upon the +temperature, as the notes are given much more rapidly during the hot +nights. + +“So far as we know, this snowy tree-cricket is the only one of the +insect musicians that seems conscious of the fact that he belongs +to an orchestra. If you listen on a September evening, you will +hear the first player begin; soon another will join, but not in +harmony at first. For some time there may be a see-saw of accented +and unaccented notes; but after a while the two will be in unison; +perhaps not, however, until many more players have joined the +concert. When the rhythmical beat is once established it is in as +perfect time as if governed by the baton of a Damrosch or a Thomas. +The throbbing of the cricket heart of September, it has been fitly +named. Sometimes an injudicious player joins the chorus at the wrong +beat, but he soon discovers his error and rectifies it. Sometimes, +also, late at night, one part of the orchestra in an orchard gets out +of time with the majority, and discord may continue for some moments, +as if the players were too cold and too sleepy to pay good attention. +This delectable concert begins usually in the late afternoons and +continues without ceasing until just before dawn the next morning. +Many times I have heard the close of the concert; with the “wee +sma” hours the rhythmic beat becomes slower; toward dawn there is +a falling off in the number of players; the beat is still slower, +and the notes are hoarse, as if the fiddlers were tired and cold; +finally, when only two or three are left the music stops abruptly.” +(_Ways of the Six-Footed_, Comstock.) + +[Illustration: _Snowy tree cricket._] + +The lesson on this cricket may be adapted from that on the black +cricket. + + + + + THE COCKROACH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: C] + +Cockroaches in our kitchens are undoubtedly an unmitigated nuisance, +and yet, as in many other instances, when we come to consider +the individual cockroach, we find him an interesting fellow and +exceedingly well adapted for living in our kitchens despite us. + +In shape, the cockroach is flat, and is thus well adapted to slide +beneath utensils and into crevices and corners. Its covering is +smooth and polished like patent leather, and this makes it slippery +and enables it to get into food without becoming clogged by the +adherence of any sticky substance. The antennæ are very long and +flexible and can be bent in any direction. They may be placed far +forward to touch things which the insect is approaching, or may +be placed over the back in order to be out of the way. They are +like graceful, living threads, and the cockroach tests its whole +environment with their aid. The mouth has two pairs of palpi or +feelers, one of which is very long and noticeable; these are kept in +constant motion as if to test the appetizing qualities of food. The +mouth-parts are provided with jaws for biting and, like all insect +jaws, these work sidewise instead of up and down. The eyes are black +but not prominent or large, and seem to be merely a part of the +sleek, polished head-covering. + +[Illustration: _Croton bug._] + +Some species of cockroaches have wings, and some do not. Those which +have wings, have the upper pair thickened and used for wing-covers. +The under pair are thinner and are laid in plaits like a fan. The +wing-covers are as polished as the body and quite as successful in +shedding dirt. + +[Illustration: _Cockroach laying her case of eggs._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +The legs are armed with long spines which are very noticeable and +might prove to be a disadvantage in accumulating filth; but they are +polished also; and too, this insect spends much time at its toilet. + +Cockroaches run “like a streak”, children say; so speedily, indeed, +do they go that they escape our notice, although we may be looking +directly at them. This celerity in vanishing, saves many a cockroach +from being crushed by an avenging foot. + +When making its toilet, the cockroach draws its long antenna through +its jaws as if it were a whiplash, beginning at the base and +finishing at the tip. It cleans each leg by beginning near the body +and so stroking downward the long spines which seem to shut against +the leg. It nibbles its feet clean to the very claws, and scrubs its +head vigorously with the front femur. + +[Illustration: _Egg-case of cockroach._] + +The cockroach’s eggs are laid in a mass enclosed in a pod-shaped +covering, which is waterproof and polished and protects its contents +from dampness. When the cockroaches, or the croton bugs, as the small +introduced species of cockroach is called, once become established in +a house, the only way to get rid of them is to fumigate the kitchen +with carbon bisulphide which is a dangerous performance and should be +done only by an expert. + + + LESSON LXXXIII + + THE COCKROACH + +_Leading thought_--The cockroach is adapted for living in crevices, +and although its haunts may be anything but clean, the cockroach +keeps itself quite clean. The American species live in fields and +woods and under stones and sticks and only occasionally venture into +dwellings. The species that infest our kitchens and water-pipes are +European. + +_Method_--Place a cockroach in a vial with bread, potato or some +other food, cork the vial, and pass it around so that the children +may observe the prisoner at their leisure. + +_Observations_--1. What is the general shape of the cockroach? Why is +this an advantage? What is the texture of its covering? Why is this +an advantage? + +2. Describe the antennæ and the way they are used. Note the two +little pairs of feelers at the mouth. If possible, see how they are +used when the cockroach is inspecting something to eat. Can you see +whether its mouth is fitted for biting, lapping or sucking its food? + +3. Note the eyes. Are they as large and prominent as those of the +bees or butterflies? + +4. Has this cockroach wings? If so, how many and what are they like? +Note two little organs at the end of the body. These are the cerci, +like those of the crickets. + +5. Describe the general appearance of the cockroach’s legs, and tell +what you think about its ability as a runner. + +6. Note how the cockroach cleans itself and how completely and +carefully this act is performed. Have you ever seen cockroach’s eggs? +If so, describe them. + +7. How can you get rid of cockroaches if they invade your kitchen? + + + + + LESSON LXXXIV + + HOW TO MAKE AN AQUARIUM + + +[Illustration: T] + +The schoolroom aquarium may be a very simple affair and still be +effective. Almost any glass receptacle will do, glass being chosen +because of its transparency, so that the life within may be observed. +Tumblers, jelly tumblers, fruit jars, butter jars, candy jars +and battery jars are all available for aquaria. The tumblers are +especially recommended for observing the habits of aquatic insects. + +_To make an aquarium_: 1. Place in the jar a layer of sand an inch or +more in depth. + +2. In this sand plant the water plants which you find growing under +water in a pond or stream; the plants most available are Water-weed, +Bladderwort, Water Starwort, Watercress, Stoneworts, Frog-spittle or +Water-silk. + +3. Place on top a layer of small stones or gravel; this is to hold +the plants in place. + +4. Tip the jar a little and pour in very gently at one side water +taken from a pond or stream. Fill the jar to within two or three +inches of the top; if it be a jelly tumbler, fill to within an inch +of the top. + +5. Let it settle. + +6. Place it in a window which does not get too direct sunlight. A +north window is the best place; if there is no north window to the +school room, place it far enough at one side of some other window so +that it will not receive too much sunlight. + +7. To get living creatures for the aquarium use a dip-net, which is +made like a shallow, insect net. + +8. Dip deep into the edges of the pond and be sure to bring up some +of the leaves and mud, for it is in these that the little water +animals live. + +9. As fast as dipped up, these should be placed in a pail of water, +so that they may be carried to the schoolroom. + +10. In introducing the water animals into the aquarium it is well to +put but a few in each jar. + +[Illustration: _A humble, but useful, aquarium._] + +_The care of the aquarium_--Care should be taken to preserve the +plant life in the aquarium, as the plants are necessary to the life +of the animals. They not only supply the food, but they give off +oxygen which the animals need for breathing, and they also take up +from the water the poisonous carbonic acid gas given off from the +bodies of the animals. + +1. The aquarium should be kept where there is a free circulation of +air. + +2. If necessary to cover the aquarium to prevent the insects, like +the water boatmen and water beetles, from escaping, tie over it a +bit of mosquito netting, or lay upon the top a little square of wire +netting used for window screens. + +3. The temperature should be kept rather cool; it is better that the +water of the aquarium should not be warmer than 50 deg. Fahrenheit, +but this is not always possible in the schoolroom. + +4. If any insects or animals die in the aquarium they should be +removed at once, as the decomposing bodies render the water foul. + +5. To feed the animals that live upon other animals take a bit of raw +beef, tie a string to it and drop it in, leaving the free end of the +string outside of the jar. After it has been in one day, pull it out; +for if it remains longer it will make the water foul. + +6. As the water evaporates it should be replaced with water from the +pond. + +_References_--The Fresh Water Aquarium, Eggeling and Ehrenberg; +Insect Life, Comstock; The Brook Book, Miller; Nature Study and Life, +Hodge; The Home Aquarium, How to Care for It, Eugene Smith. + +[Illustration: _An inexpensive and durable aquarium._] + + + + + THE DRAGON-FLIES AND DAMSEL-FLIES + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +A pond without dragon-flies darting above it, or without the +exquisitely iridescent damsel-flies clinging to the leaves of its +border would be a lonely place indeed. As one watches these beautiful +insects, one wonders at the absurd errors which have crept into +popular credence about them. Who could be so silly as to believe that +they could sew up ears or that they could bring dead snakes to life! +The queer names of these insects illustrate the prejudices of the +ignorant--devil’s darning needles, snake doctors, snake feeders, etc. +Despite all this slander, the dragon-flies remain not only entirely +harmless to man, but in reality are his friends and allies in waging +war against flies and mosquitoes; they are especially valuable in +battling mosquitoes since the nymphs, or young, of the dragon-fly, +take the wrigglers in the water, and the adults, on swiftest wings, +take the mosquitoes while hovering over ponds laying their eggs. + +[Illustration: _The ten-spot._ + +From Outdoor Studies, Needham.] + +The poets have been lavish in their attention to these interesting +insects and have paid them delightful tributes. Riley says: + + “_Till the dragon fly, in light gauzy armor burnished bright, + Came tilting down the waters in a wild, bewildered flight._” + +While Tennyson drew inspiration for one of his most beautiful poems +from the two stages of dragon-fly life. But perhaps Lowell in that +exquisite poem, “The Fountain of Youth,” gives us the perfect +description of these insects: + + _In summer-noon flushes + When all the wood hushes, + Blue dragon-flies knitting + To and fro in the sun, + With sidelong jerk flitting, + Sink down on the rushes, + And, motionless sitting, + Hear it bubble and run, + Hear its low inward singing, + With level wings swinging + On green tasselled rushes, + To dream in the sun._ + +It is while we, ourselves, are dreaming in the sun by the margin of +some pond, that these swift children of the air seem but a natural +part of the dream. Yet if we waken to note them more closely, we find +many things very real to interest us. First, they are truly children +of the sun, and if some cloud throws its shadow on the waters +for some moments, the dragon-flies disappear as if they wore the +invisible cloak of the fairy tale. Only a few of the common species +fly alike in shade and sunshine, and early and late. The best known +of these is the big, green skimmer, which does not care so much for +ponds, but darts over fields and even dashes into our houses, now +and then. Probably it is this species which has started all of the +dragon-fly slander, for it is full of curiosity, and will hold itself +on wings whirring too rapidly to even make a blur, while it examines +our faces or inspects the pictures or furniture or other objects +which attract it. + +[Illustration: _A common dragon-fly._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +Another thing we may note when dreaming by the pond is that the +larger species of dragon-flies keep to the higher regions above the +water, while the smaller species and the damsel-flies flit near +its surface. Well may the smaller species keep below their fierce +kindred, otherwise they would surely be utilized to sate their +hunger, for these insects are well named dragons, and dragons do not +stop to inquire whether their victims are relatives or not. It is +when they are resting, that the dragon and damsel-flies reveal their +most noticeable differences. The dragon-fly extends both wings as if +in flight while it basks in the sun or rests in the shadow. There is +a big, white-bodied species called the whitetail which slants its +wings forward and down when it rests; but the damsel-flies fold their +wings together over the back when resting. The damsel-flies have more +brilliantly colored bodies than do the dragon-flies, many of them +being iridescent green or coppery; they are more slender and delicate +in form. The damsel-fly has eyes which are so placed on the sides of +the head as to make it look like a cross on the front of the body +fastened to the slender neck, and with an eye at the tip of each arm. +There are very many species of dragon and damsel-flies, but they all +have the same general habits. + +[Illustration: _A damsel-fly._ + +Outdoor Studies, Needham.] + +The dragon-fly nymphs are the ogres of the pond or stream. To anyone +unused to them and their ways in the aquarium, there is a surprise +in store, so ferocious are they in their attacks upon creatures +twice their size. The dragon-fly’s eggs are laid in the water; +in some instances they are simply dropped and sink to the bottom; +but in the case of damsel-flies, the mother punctures the stems of +aquatic plants and places the eggs within them. The nymph in no wise +resembles the parent dragon-fly. It is a dingy little creature, with +six queer, spider-like legs and no wings; although there are four +little wing-pads extending down its back, which encase the growing +wings. It may remain hidden in the rubbish at the bottom of the pond +or may cling to water weeds at the sides, for different species have +different habits. But in them all we find a most amazing lower lip. +This is so large that it covers the lower part of the face like a +mask, and when folded back reaches down between the front legs. It is +in reality a grappling organ with hooks and spines for holding prey; +it is hinged in such a manner that it can be thrust out far beyond +the head to seize some insect, unsuspecting of danger. These nymphs +move so slowly and look so much like their background, that they are +always practically in ambush awaiting their victims. + +[Illustration: _Nymph of a damsel-fly._ + +Outdoor Studies, Needham.] + +The breathing of the dragon-fly nymphs is peculiar; there is an +enlargement of the rear end of the alimentary canal, in the walls of +which tracheæ or breathing tubes extend in all directions. The nymph +draws water into this cavity and then expels it, thus bathing the +tracheæ with the air mixed with water and purifying the air within +them. Expelling the water so forcibly, propels the nymph ahead, so +this act serves as a method of swimming as well as of breathing. +Damsel-fly larvæ, on the other hand, have at the rear end of the +body, three long, plate-like gills, each ramified with tracheæ. + +[Illustration: _Nymph of a dragon-fly._ + +Seen from the side, showing the position of the great lower lip when +folded beneath the head. + +From Outdoor Studies, Needham.] + +Nymphs grow by shedding the skin as fast as it becomes too small; and +when finally ready to emerge, they crawl up on some object out of the +water, and molt for the last time, and are thereafter swift creatures +of the air. + +_References_--American Insects, Kellogg. Comstock’s Manual. + + + LESSON LXXXV + + THE DRAGON-FLIES AND DAMSEL-FLIES + +_Leading thought_--The dragon-flies are among the swiftest of all +winged creatures and their rapid, darting flight enables them to +hawk their prey, which consists of other flying insects. Their +first stages are passed in the bottoms of ponds where they feed +voraciously on aquatic creatures. The dragon-flies are beneficial to +us because, when very young and when full grown, they feed largely +upon mosquitoes. + +_Method_--The work of observing the habits of adult dragon-flies +should be largely done in the field during late summer and early +autumn. The points for observation should be given the pupils for +summer vacation use, and the results placed in the field note-book. + +The nymphs may be studied in the spring, when getting material for +the aquarium. April and May are the best months for securing them. +They are collected by using a dip-net, and are found in the bottoms +of reedy ponds or along the edges of slow-flowing streams. These +nymphs are so voracious that they cannot be trusted in the aquarium +with other insects; each must be kept by itself. They may be fed by +placing other water insects in the aquarium with them or by giving +them pieces of fresh meat. In the latter case, tie the meat to a +thread so that it may be removed after a few hours, if not eaten, +since it soon renders the water foul. + +The dragon-fly aquarium should have sand at the bottom and some water +weeds planted in it, and there should be some object in it which +extends above the surface of the water which the nymphs, when ready +to change to adults, can climb upon while they are shedding the last +nymphal skin, and spreading their new wings. + +_Observations on the young of dragon-flies_--1. Where did you find +these insects? Were they at the bottom of the pond or along the edges +among the water weeds? + +2. Are there any plume-like gills at the end of the body? If so, how +many? Are these plate-like gills used for swimming? If there are +three of these, which is the longer? Do you know whether the nymphs +with these long gills develop into dragon or into damsel-flies? + +[Illustration: _Front view of the same nymph._ + +Outdoor Studies, Needham.] + +[Illustration: _The same nymph seen from above._ + +Outdoor Studies, Needham.] + +3. If there are no plume-like gills at the end of the body, how do +the insects move? Can they swim? What is the general color of the +body? Explain how this color protects them from observation? What +enemies does it protect them from? + +4. Are the eyes large? Can you see the little wing-pads on the back +in which the wings are developing? Are the antennæ long? + +5. Observe how the nymphs of both dragon and damsel-flies seize their +prey. Describe the great lower lip when extended for prey. How does +it look when folded up? + +6. Can you see how a nymph without the plume-like gills breathes? +Notice if the water is drawn into the rear end of the body and then +expelled. Does this process help the insect in swimming? + +7. When the dragon or damsel-fly nymph has reached its full growth, +where does it go to change to the winged form? How does this change +take place? Look on the rushes and reeds along the pond margin, and +see if you can find the empty nymph skins from which the adults +emerged. Where is the opening in them? + +_Observations on the adult dragon-flies_--1. Catch a dragon-fly, +place it under a tumbler and see how it is fitted for life in the +air. Which is the widest part of its body? Note the size of the eyes +compared with the remainder of the head. Do they almost meet at the +top of the head? How far do they extend down the sides of the head? +Why does the dragon-fly need such large eyes? Why does a creature +with such eyes not need long antennæ? Can you see the dragon-fly’s +antennæ? Look with a lens at the little, swollen triangle between +the place where the two eyes join and the forehead; can you see the +little, simple eyes? Can you see the mouth-parts? + +2. Next to the head, which is the widest and strongest part of the +body? Why does the thorax need to be so big and strong? Study the +wings. How do the hind wings differ in shape from the front wings? +How is the thin membrane of the wings made strong? Are the wings +spotted or colored? If so, how? Can you see if the wings are folded +along the front edges? Does this give strength to the part of the +wing which cuts the air? Take a piece of writing paper and see how +easily it bends; fold it two or three times like a fan and note +how much stiffer it is. Is it this principle which strengthens the +dragon-fly’s wings? Why do these wings need to be strong? + +3. Is the dragon-fly’s abdomen as wide as the front part of the body? +What help is it to the insect when flying to have such a long abdomen? + +_Outline for field notes_--Go to a pond or sluggish stream when the +sun is shining, preferably at midday, and note as far as possible the +following things: + +1. Do you see dragon-flies darting over the pond? Describe their +flight. They are hunting flies and mosquitoes and other insects on +the wing; note how they do it. If the sky becomes cloudy, can you see +the dragon-flies hunting? In looking over a pond where there are many +dragon-flies darting about, do the larger species fly higher than the +smaller ones? + +2. Note the way the dragon-flies hold their wings when they are +resting. Do they rest with their wings folded together over the +abdomen or are they extended out at an angle to the abdomen? Do +you know how this difference in attitude of resting determines one +difference between the damsel-flies and the dragon-flies? + +3. The damsel-flies are those which hold their wings folded above +the back when resting. Are these as large and strong-bodied as the +dragon-flies? Are their bodies more brilliantly colored? How does the +shape of the head and eyes differ from those of the dragon-flies? How +many different colored damsel-flies can you find? + +4. Do you see some dragon-flies dipping down in the water as they +fly? If so, they are laying their eggs. Note if you find others +clinging to reeds or other plants with the abdomen thrust below the +surface of the water. If so, these are inserting their eggs into the +stem of the plant. + +_Supplementary reading_--Outdoor Studies, Needham, p. 54; “The Dragon +of Lagunita” in Insect Stories, Kellogg. + + + + + THE CADDIS-WORMS AND THE CADDIS-FLIES + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: P] + +People are to be pitied who have never tried to fathom the mysteries +of the bottom of brook or pond. Just to lie flat, face downward, and +watch for a time all that happens down there in that water world, is +far more interesting than witnessing any play ever given at matinee. +At first one sees nothing, since all the swift-moving creatures have +whisked out of sight, because they have learned to be shy of moving +shadows; but soon the crayfish thrusts out his boxing gloves from +some crevice, then a school of tiny minnows “stay their wavy bodies +’gainst the stream;” and then something strange happens! A bit of +rubbish on the bottom of the brook walks off. Perhaps it is a dream, +or we are under the enchantment of the water witches! But no, there +goes another, and now a little bundle of sand and pebbles takes unto +itself legs. These mysteries can only be solved with a dip-net and a +pail half filled with water, in which we may carry home the treasure +trove. + +When we finally lodge our catch in the aquarium jar, our mysterious +moving sticks and stones resolve themselves into little houses built +in various fashions, and each containing one inmate. Some of the +houses are made of sticks fastened together lengthwise; some are +built like log cabins, crosswise; some consist simply of a hollow +stem cut a convenient length; and some are made of sand and pebbles, +and one, the liveliest of all, is a little tube made of bits of +rubbish and silk spun in a spiral, making a little cornucopia. + +[Illustration: _Log cabin caddis-worms in their cases feeding upon a +water plant._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +On the whole, the species which live in the log cabins are the most +convenient to study. Whatever the shape of the case or house, it has +a very tough lining of silk, which is smooth within, and forms the +framework to which the sticks and stones are fastened. These little +dwellings always have a front door and a back door. Out of the front +door may protrude the dark-colored head followed by two dark segments +and six perfectly active legs, the front pair being so much shorter +than the other two pairs that they look almost like mouth palpi. In +time of utter peace, more of the little hermit is thrust out and +we see the hind segment of the thorax which is whitish, and behind +this the abdomen of nine segments. At the sides of the abdomen, and +apparently between the segments, are little tassels of short, white +thread-like gills. These are filled with air, impure from contact +with the blood, and which exchanges its impurities speedily for the +oxygen from the air which is mixed with the water. Water is kept +flowing in at the front door of the cabin, over the gills and out at +the back door, by the rhythmic movement of the body of the little +hermit, and thus a supply of oxygen is steadily maintained. + +[Illustration: _A caddis-fly._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +The caddis-worm is not grown fast to its case as is the snail to its +shell. If we hold down with forceps a case in which the occupant is +wrong side up, after a few struggles to turn itself over, case and +all, it will turn over within the case. It keeps its hold upon the +case by two forward-curving hooks, one on each side of the tip of +the rear segment. These hooks are inserted in the tough silk and +hold fast. It also has on top of the first segment of the abdomen +a tubercle, which may be extended at will; this helps to brace +the larva in its stronghold, and also permits the water to flow +freely around the insect. So the little hermit is entrenched in +its cell at both ends. When the log-cabin species wishes to swim, +it pushes almost its entire body out of the case, thrusts back the +head, spreads the legs wide apart, and then doubles up, thus moving +through the water spasmodically, in a manner that reminds us of the +crayfish’s swimming except that the caddis-worm goes head first. This +log cabin species can turn its case over dexterously by movements of +its legs. + +[Illustration: _A caddis-worm removed from its case._ + +Showing gills and the hooks on the last segment for holding fast to +the case.] + +The front legs of the caddis-worm are so much shorter than the other +two pairs that they look like palpi, and their use is to hold close +to the jaws bits of food, which are being eaten. The other legs are +used for this too if the little legs cannot manage it; perhaps also +these short front legs help hold the bits of building material in +place while the web is woven to hold it there. The caddis-worm, like +the true caterpillars, has the opening of the silk gland near the +lower lip. The food of most caddis-worms is vegetable, usually the +various species of water plants; but there are some species which are +carnivorous, like the net-builder, which is a fisherman. + +[Illustration: _Pupa of caddis-fly removed from its case. Note the +thread-like gills._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +The caddis-worm case protects its inmate in two ways: First, from +the sight of the enemy, and second, from its jaws. A fish comes +along and sees a nice white worm and darts after it, only to find a +bundle of unappetizing sticks where the worm was. All of the hungry +predatory creatures of the pond and stream would be glad to get the +caddis-worm, if they knew where it went. Sometimes caddis-worm cases +have been found in the stomachs of fishes; perhaps they serve as fish +breakfast-food. + +[Illustration: _Caddis-worm case fastened to leaf for pupation +period._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +While it is difficult to see the exact operation of building the +caddis-worm house, the general proceeding may be readily observed. +Take a vigorous half-grown larva, tear off part of the sticks and +bits of leaves that make the log cabin, and then place the little +builder in a tumbler with half an inch of water at the bottom, in +which are many bright flower petals cut into strips, fit for caddis +lumber. In a few hours the little house will look like a blossom with +several rows of bright petals set around its doorway. + +[Illustration: _Grating of silk over the door of a caddis-worm case +to protect the pupa._ + +Photomicrograph by J. T. Lloyd.] + +When the caddis-worm gets ready to pupate, it fastens its case to +some object in the water and then closes its front and back doors. +Different species accomplish this in different ways; some spin and +fasten a silken covering over the doors; often this is in the form +of a pretty grating; others simply fasten the material of which the +case is made across the door. But though the door be shut, it is so +arranged as to allow the water to flow through and to bring oxygen +to the thread-like gills, which are on the pupæ as well as on the +larvæ. When ready to emerge, the pupa crawls out of its case and +climbs to some object above the water, sheds its pupa skin, and the +adult insect flies off. In some species, living in swift water, the +adult issues directly from the water, its wings expanding as soon as +touched by the air. + +[Illustration: _Caddis-fly._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +Caddis-flies are familiar to us all even if we do not know them +by name. They are night fliers and flame worshippers. Their +parchment-like or leathery wings are folded like a roof over the +back, and from the side the caddis-fly appears as an elongated +triangle with unequal sides. The front wings are long and the hind +ones shorter and wider; the antennæ are long and threadlike and +always waving about for impressions; the eyes are round and beadlike; +the tarsi, or feet, are long and these insects have an awkward way +of walking on the entire tarsus which gives them an appearance of +kneeling. Most of the species are dull-colored, brownish or gray, the +entire insect often being of one color. Caddis-flies would not be so +fond of burning themselves in lamps if they had the human sense of +smell, for the stench they make when scorching is nauseating. The +mother caddis-flies lay their eggs in the water. Perhaps some species +drop the eggs in when hovering above, but in some cases the insect +must make a diving bell of her wings and go down into the water to +place her eggs securely. The wings are covered with hairs and not +with scales, and therefore they are better fitted for diving than +would be those of the moth. I have seen caddis-flies swim vigorously. + +_References_--Aquatic Insects, Miall; Manual for the Study of +Insects, Comstock. + +[Illustration: _A spiral ribbon caddis-worm case. The inmate of this +case is a rapid swimmer._ + +Photo by J. T. Lloyd.] + +[Illustration: _Case and caddis-worm._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + + + LESSON LXXXVI + + THE CADDIS-WORMS AND CADDIS-FLIES + +_Leading thought_--The caddis-worms build around themselves little +houses out of bits of sticks, leaves or stones. They crawl about +on the bottom of the pond or stream, protected from sight, and +able to withdraw into their houses when attacked. The adult of the +caddis-worm is a winged moth-like creature which comes in numbers to +the light at night. + +_Method_--With a dip-net the caddis-worms may be captured and then +may be placed in the school aquarium. Duckweed and other water plants +should be kept growing in the aquarium. The log cabin species is best +for this study, because it lives in stagnant water and will therefore +thrive in an aquarium. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find the caddis-worms? Can you see +them easily on the bottom of the stream or pond? Why? + +2. Of what are the caddis-worm houses made? How many kinds have you +ever found? How many kinds of materials can you find on one case? +Describe one as exactly as possible. Find an empty case and describe +it inside. Why is it so smooth inside? How is it made so smooth? Are +all the cases the same size? + +3. What does the caddis-worm do when it wishes to walk around? What +is the color of the head and the two segments back of it? What is the +color of the body? Why is this difference of color between the head +and body protective? Is the caddis-worm grown fast to its case, as +the turtle is to its shell? + +4. Note the legs. Which is the shorter pair? How many pairs? What +is the use of the legs so much shorter than the others? If the +caddis-worm case happens to be wrong side up, how does it turn over? + +5. When it wishes to come to the surface or swim, what does the +caddis-worm do? When reaching far out of its case does it ever lose +its hold? How does it hold on? Pull the caddis-worm out of its case +and see the hooks at the end of the body with which it holds fast. + +6. How does the caddis-worm breathe? When it reaches far out of its +case, note the breathing gills. Describe them. Can you see how many +there are on the segments? How is the blood purified through these +gills? + +7. What are the caddis-worm’s enemies? How does it escape them? Touch +one when it is walking, what does it do? + +8. On top of the first segment of the abdomen is a tubercle. Do you +suppose that this helps to hold the caddis-worm in its case? + +9. What does the caddis-worm eat? Describe how it acts when eating. + +10. How does the caddis-worm build its case? Watch one when it makes +an addition to its case, and describe all that you can see. + +11. Can you find any of the cases with the front and back doors +closed? How are they closed? Open one and see if there is a pupa +within it. Can you see the growing wings, antennæ and legs? Has it +breathing filaments like the larva? Cover the aquarium with mosquito +netting so as to get all the moths which emerge. See if you can +discover how the pupa changes into a caddis-fly. + +12. How does the caddis-fly fold its wings? What is the general shape +of the insect when seen from the side with wings closed? What is the +texture of the wings? How many wings are there? Which pair is the +longer? + +13. Describe the eyes. The antennæ. Does the caddis-fly walk on its +toes, or on its complete foot? + +14. Examine the moths which come around the lights at night in the +spring and summer. Can you tell the caddis-flies from other insects? +Do they dash into the light? Do they seem anxious to burn themselves? + +_Supplementary reading_--“A Little Fisherman,” Ways of the +Six-Footed, Comstock. + +[Illustration: _Spiral case of caddis-worm made of small pebbles and +sand._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + + _Little brook, so simple so unassuming--and yet how many things + love thee!_ + + _Lo! Sun and Moon look down and glass themselves in thy + waters._ + + _And the trout balances itself hour-long against the stream, + watching for its prey; or retires under a stone to rest._ + + _And the water-rats nibble off the willow leaves and carry + them below the wave to their nests--or sit on a dry stone to + trim their whiskers._ + + _And the May-fly practices for the millionth time the miracle + of the resurrection, floating up an ungainly grub from the mud + below, and in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye (even + from the jaws of the baffled trout) emerging, an aerial fairy + with pearl-green wings._ + + _And the caddis-fly from its quaint disguise likewise emerges._ + + _And the prick-eared earth-people, the rabbits, in the stillness + of early morning play beside thee undisturbed, while the level + sunbeams yet grope through the dewy grass._ + + _And the squirrel on a tree-root--its tail stretched far + behind--leans forward to kiss thee,_ + + _Little brook, for so many things love thee._ + EDWARD CARPENTER. + + + + + THE APHIDS, OR PLANT-LICE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +I know of no more diverting occupation than watching a colony of +aphids through a lens; these insects are the most helpless and +amiable little ninnies in the whole insect world; and they look the +part, probably because their eyes, so large and wide apart, seem so +innocent and wondering. The usual color of aphids is green. As they +feed upon leaves, this color protects them from sight; but there are +many species which are otherwise colored, and some have most bizarre +and striking ornamentations. In looking along an infested leaf stalk, +we see them in all stages and positions. One may have thrust its beak +to the hilt in a plant stem, and is so satisfied and absorbed in +sucking the juice that its hind feet are lifted high in the air and +its antennæ curved backward, making altogether a gesture which seems +an adequate expression of bliss; another may conclude to seek a new +well, and pulls up its sucking tube, folding it back underneath the +body so it will be out of the way, and walks off slowly on its six +rather stiff legs; when thus moving, it thrusts the antennæ forward, +patting its pathway to insure safety. Perhaps this pathway may lead +over other aphids which are feeding, but this does not deter the +traveler nor turn it aside; over the backs of the obstructionists it +crawls, at which the disturbed ones kick the intruder with both hind +legs; it is not a vicious kick but a push rather, which says, “This +seat reserved, please!” It is comical to see a row of them sucking a +plant stem for “dear life,” the heads all in the same direction, and +they packed in and around each other as if there were no other plants +in the world to give them room, the little ones wedged in between the +big ones, until sometimes some of them are obliged to rest their hind +legs on the antennæ of the neighbors next behind. + +[Illustration: _Perfect bliss!_] + +[Illustration: _Aphids on plant._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +Aphids are born for food for other creatures--they are simply little +machines for making sap into honey-dew, which they produce from the +alimentary canal for the delectation of ants; they are, in fact, +merely little animated drops of sap on legs. How helpless they are +when attacked by any one of their many enemies! All they do, when +they are seized, is to claw the air with their six impotent legs and +two antennæ, keeping up this performance as long as there is left +a leg, and apparently to the very last, never realizing “what is +doing.” But they are not without means of defence; those two little +tubes at the end of the body are not for ornament nor for producing +honey-dew for the ants, but for secreting at their tips a globule of +waxy substance meant to smear the eyes of the attacking insect. I +once saw an aphid perform this act, when confronted by a baby spider; +a drop of yellow liquid oozed out of one tube, and the aphid almost +stood on its head in order to thrust this offensive globule directly +into the face of the spider--the whole performance reminding me of +a boy who shakes his clenched fist in his opponent’s face and says, +“Smell of that!” The spider beat a hasty retreat. + +A German scientist, Mr. Busgen, discovered that a plant-louse smeared +the eyes and jaws of its enemy, the aphis-lion, with this wax which +dried as soon as applied. In action it was something like throwing +a basin of paste at the head of the attacking party; the aphis-lion +thus treated, was obliged to stop and clean itself before it could +go on with its hunt, and the aphid walked off in safety. The aphids +surely need this protection because they have two fierce enemies, +the larvæ of the aphis-lions and of the ladybirds. They are also +the victims of parasitic insects; a tiny four-winged “fly” lays +an egg within an aphid; the larva hatching from it feeds upon the +inner portions of the aphid, causing it to swell as if afflicted +with dropsy. Later the aphid dies, and the interloper with malicious +impertinence cuts a neat circular door in the poor aphid’s skeleton +skin and issues from it a full fledged insect. + +[Illustration: _A parasitized aphid enlarged, showing the door cut by +the parasite._] + +The aphids are not without their resources to meet the exigencies of +their lives in colonies. There are several distinct forms in each +species, and they seem to be needed for the general good. During the +summer, we find most of the aphids on plants are without wings; these +are females which give birth to living young and do not lay eggs. +They do this until the plant is overstocked and the food supply seems +to be giving out, then another form is produced which has four wings. +These fly away to some other plant and start a colony there; but at +the approach of cold weather, or if the food plants give out, there +are male and female individuals developed, the females being always +wingless, and it is their office to lay the eggs which shall last +during the long winter months, when the living aphids must die for +lack of food plants. The next spring each winter-egg hatches into a +female which we call the “stem mother” since she with her descendants +will populate the entire plant. + +[Illustration: _Winged and wingless forms of plant-lice._] + +Plant-lice vary in their habits. Some live in the ground on the +roots of plants and are very destructive; but the greater number of +species live on the foliage of plants and are very fond of the young, +tender leaves and thus do great damage. Some aphids have their bodies +covered with white powder or with tiny fringes, which give them the +appearance of being covered with cotton. + +The aphids injuring our flowers and plants may be killed by spraying +them with soapsuds made in the proportion of one-quarter pound of +ivory soap to one gallon of water. The spraying must be done very +thoroughly so as to reach all the aphids hidden on the stems and +beneath the leaves. It should be repeated every three days until the +aphids are destroyed. + + + LESSON LXXXVII + + THE APHIDS, OR PLANT-LICE + +_Leading thought_--Aphids have the mouth in the form of a sucking +tube which is thrust into the stems and leaves of plants; through it +the plant juices are drawn for nourishment. Aphids are the source of +honey-dew of which ants are fond. + +_Method_--Bring into the schoolroom a plant infested with aphids, +place the stem in water and let the pupils examine the insects +through the lens. + +_Observations_--1. How are the aphids settled on the leaf? Are their +heads in the same direction? What are they doing? + +2. Touch one and make it move along. What does it do in order to +leave its place? What does it do with its sucking tube as it walks +off? On what part of the plant was it feeding? Why does not Paris +green when applied to the leaves of plants kill aphids? + +3. Describe an aphid, including its eyes, antennæ, legs and tubes +upon the back. Does its color protect it from observation? + +4. Can you see cast skins of aphids on the plant? Why does an aphid +have to shed its skin? + +5. Are all the aphids on a plant wingless? When a plant becomes dry +are there, after several days, more winged aphids? Why do the aphids +need wings? + +6. Do you know what honey-dew is? Have you ever seen it upon the +leaf? How is honey-dew made by the aphids? Does it come from the +tubes on their back? What insects feed upon this honey-dew? + +7. What enemies have the aphids? + +8. What damage do aphids do to plants? How can you clean plants of +plant-lice? + + * * * * * + + _I saw it_ (_an ant_), _at first, pass, without stopping, some + aphids which it did not however disturb. It shortly after + stationed itself near one of the smallest, and appeared to + caress it, by touching the extremity of its body, alternately + with its antennæ, with an extremely rapid movement. I saw, + with much surprise, the fluid proceed from the body of the + aphid, and the ant take it in its mouth. Its antennæ were + afterwards directed to a much larger aphid than the first, + which, on being caressed after the same manner, discharged + the nourishing fluid in greater quantity, which the ant + immediately swallowed: it then passed to a third which it + caressed, like the preceding, by giving it several gentle + blows, with the antennæ, on the posterior extremity of the + body; and the liquid was ejected at the same moment, and the + ant lapped it up._ + PIERRE HUBER, 1810. + + + + + THE ANT-LION + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +A child is thrilled with fairy stories of ogres in their dens, with +the bones of their victims strewn around. The ants have real ogres, +but luckily, they do not know about it and so cannot suffer from +agonizing fears. The ant ogres seem to have depended upon the fact +that the ant is so absorbed in her work that she carries her booty +up hill and down dale with small regard for the topography of the +country. Thus they build their pits, with instinctive faith that they +will some day be entered by these creatures, obsessed by industry +and careless of what lies in the path. The pits vary with the size +of the ogre at the bottom; there are as many sized pits as are beds +in the story of Golden Locks and the bears; often the pits are not +more than an inch across, or even less, while others are two inches +in diameter. They are always made in sandy or crumbly soil and in a +place protected from wind and rain; they vary in depth in proportion +to their width, for the slope is always as steep as the soil will +stand without slipping. + +All that can be seen of the ogre at the bottom, is a pair of long, +curved jaws, looking innocent enough at the very center of the pit. +If we dig the creature out, we find it a comical looking insect. It +is humpbacked, with a big, spindle-shaped abdomen; from its great +awkward body projects a flat, sneaking looking head, armed in front +with the sickle jaws which are spiny and bristly near the base, and +smooth, sharp and curved at the tip. The strange thing about these +jaws is that they lead directly to the throat, since the ant-lion has +no mouth. Each jaw is made up of two pieces which are grooved where +they join and thus form a tube with a hole in the tip through which +the industrious blood of the ants can be sucked; not only do the +sharp sickle points hold the victim, but there are three teeth along +the side of each jaw to help with this. The two front pairs of legs +are small and spiny; the hind legs are strong and peculiarly twisted, +and have a sharp spikelike claw at the end, which is so arranged as +to push the insect backward vigorously if occasion requires; in fact, +the ant-lion in walking about, moves more naturally backward than +forward because of the peculiar structure of his legs. + +[Illustration: _Ant-lion with its cocoon and larva._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +Having studied the ogre, we can see better how he manages to trap his +victim. As the ant goes scurrying along, she rushes over the edge of +the pit and at once begins to slide downward; she is frightened and +struggles to get back; just then a jet of sand, aimed well from the +bottom of the pit, hits her and knocks her back. She still struggles, +and there follows a fusillade of sand jets, each hitting her from +above and knocking her down to the fatal center where the sickle +jaws await her and are promptly thrust into her; if she is large and +still struggles, the big, unwieldy body of the ogre, buried in the +sand, anchors him fast and his peculiar, crooked hind legs push his +body backward in this strange tug of war; thus, the ant-ogre is not +dragged out of his den by the struggles of the ant, and soon the loss +of blood weakens her and she shrivels up. + +The secret of the jets of sand, lies in the flat head of the ogre; if +we look at it regarding it as a shovel, we can see that it is well +fitted for its purpose; for it is a shovel with a strong mechanism +working it. In fact, the whole pit is dug with this shovel head. +Wonderful stories are told about the way that ant-lions dig their +pits, marking out the outer margin in a circle, and working inward. +However, our common ant-lion of the East simply digs down into the +sand and flips the sand out until it makes a pit. If an ant-lion can +be caught and put in a jar of sand it will soon make its pit, and the +process may be noted carefully. + +There is one quality in the ogre which merits praise, and that is +his patience. There he lies in his hole for days or perhaps weeks, +with nothing to eat and no ant coming that way; so when we see an +absent-minded ant scrambling over into the pit, let us think of the +empty stomach of this patient little engineer which has constructed +his pit with such accuracy and so much labor. So precarious is the +living picked up by the ant-lions, that it may require one, two +or three years to bring one to maturity. At that time it makes a +perfectly globular cocoon of silk and sand, the size of a large +pea, and within it, changes to a pupa; and when finally ready to +emerge, the pupa pushes itself part way out of the cocoon and the +skin is shed and left at the cocoon door. The adult resembles a small +dragon-fly; it has large net-veined wings and is a most graceful +insect, as different as can be from the humpbacked ogre which it once +was--a transformation quite as marvelous as that which occurred in +Beauty and the Beast. Throughout the Middle West, the ant-lion in its +pit is called the “doodle-bug.” + +_Reference_--Manual for Study of Insects, Comstock. + + + LESSON LXXXVIII + + THE ANT-LION + +_Leading thought_--The ant-lion, or “doodle-bug” makes a little +pit in the sand with very steep sides, and hidden at the bottom of +it, waits for ants to tumble in to be seized by its waiting jaws. +Later the ant-lion changes to a beautiful insect with gauzy wings, +resembling a small dragon-fly. + +_Method_--The pupils should see the ant-lion pits in their natural +situations, but the insects may be studied in the schoolroom. Some +of the ant-lions may be dug out of their pits and placed in a dish +of sand. They will soon make their pits, and may be watched during +this interesting process. It is hardly advisable to try to rear these +insects, as they may require two or three years for development. + +_Observations_--1. Where were the ant-lion pits out of doors? Were +they in a windy place? Were they in a place protected from storms? In +what kind of soil were they made? + +2. Measure one of the pits. How broad across, and how deep? Are all +the pits of the same size? Why? + +3. What can you see as you look down into the ant-lion’s pit? Roll +a tiny pebble in and see what happens? Watch until an ant comes +hurrying along and slips into the pit. What happens then? As she +struggles to get out how is she knocked back in? What happens to her +if she falls to the bottom? + +4. Take a trowel and dig out the doodle-bug. What is the shape of its +body? What part of the insect did you see at the bottom of the pit? +Do you know that these great sickle-shaped jaws are hollow tubes for +sucking blood? Does the ant-lion eat anything except the blood of its +victim? + +5. Can you see that the ant-lion moves backward more easily than +forward? How are its hind legs formed to help push it backward? How +does this help the ant-lion in holding its prey? How does the big +awkward body of the ant-lion help to hold it in place at the bottom +of the pit when it seizes an ant in its jaws? + +6. What shape is the ant-lion’s head? How does it use this head in +taking its prey? In digging its pit? + +7. Take a doodle-bug to the schoolroom, place it in a dish of sand, +covered with glass, and watch it build its pit. + +8. Read in the entomological books about the cocoon of the +ant-lion and what the adult looks like, and then write an ant-lion +autobiography. + +_Supplementary reading_--Insect Stories, Kellogg, “The True Story of +Morrowbie Jukes.” + + + + + THE MOTHER LACE-WING AND THE APHIS-LION + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: F] + +Flitting leisurely through the air on her green gauze wings, the +lace-wing seems like a filmy leaf, broken loose and drifting on the +breeze. But there is purpose in her flight, and through some instinct +she is enabled to seek out an aphis-ridden plant or tree, to which +she comes as a friend in need. As she alights upon a leaf, she is +scarcely discernible because of the pale green of her delicate body +and wings; however, her great globular eyes that shine like gold +attract the attention of the careful observer. But though she is so +fairy-like in appearance, if you pick her up, you will be sorry if +your sense of smell is keen, for she exhales a most disagreeable odor +when disturbed--a habit which probably protects her from birds or +other creatures which might otherwise eat her. + +However, if we watch her we shall see that she is a canny creature +despite her frivolous appearance; her actions are surely peculiar. A +drop of sticky fluid issues from the tip of her body, and she presses +it down on the surface of the leaf; then lifting up her slender +abdomen like a distaff, she spins the drop into a thread a half inch +long or more, which the air soon dries; and this silken thread is +stiff enough to sustain an oblong egg, as large as the point of a +pin, which she lays at the very tip of it. This done she lays another +egg in a like manner, and when she is through, the leaf looks as if +it were covered with spore cases of a glittering white mold. This +done she flies off and disports herself in the sunshine, care free, +knowing that she has done all she can for her family. + +[Illustration: _Aphis-lion, eggs, larva, cocoon and the adult, lace +wing._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +After a few days the eggs begin to look dark, and then if we examine +them with a lens, we may detect that they contain little doubled-up +creatures. The first we see of the egg inmate as it hatches, is a +pair of jaws thrust through the shell, opening it for a peep-hole; a +little later the owner of the jaws, after resting a while with an eye +on the world which he is so soon to enter, pushes out his head and +legs and drags out a tiny, long body, very callow-looking and clothed +in long, soft hairs. At first the little creature crawls about his +egg-shell, clinging tightly with all his six claws, as if fearful of +such a dizzy height above his green floor; then he squirms around a +little and thrusts out a head inquiringly while still hanging on “for +dear life.” Finally he gains courage and prospects around until he +discovers his egg stalk, and then begins a rope climbing performance, +rather difficult for a little chap not more than ten minutes old. He +takes a careful hold with his front claws, the two other pairs of +legs carefully balancing for a second, and then desperately seizing +the stalk with all his clasping claws, and with many new grips and +panics, he finally achieves the bottom in safety. As if dazed by +his good luck, he stands still for a time, trying to make up his +mind what has happened and what to do next; he settles the matter +by trotting off to make his first breakfast of aphids; and now we +can see that it is a lucky thing for his brothers and sisters, still +unhatched, that they are high above his head and out of reach, for +he might not be discriminating in the matter of his breakfast food, +never having met any of his family before. He is a queer looking +little insect, spindle-shaped and with peculiarly long, sickle-shaped +jaws projecting from his head. Each of these jaws is made up of two +pieces joined lengthwise so as to make a hollow tube, which has an +opening at the tip of the jaw, and another one at the base which +leads directly to the little lion’s throat. Watch him as he catches +an aphid; seizing the stupid little bag of sap in his great pincers, +he lifts it high in the air, as if drinking a bumper, and sucks its +green blood until it shrivels up, kicking a remonstrating leg to the +last. It is my conviction that aphids never realize when they are +being eaten; they simply dimly wonder what is happening. + +It takes a great many aphids to keep an aphis-lion nourished until +he gets his growth; he grows like any other insect by shedding his +skeleton skin when it becomes too tight. Finally he doubles up and +spins around himself a cocoon of glistening white silk, leaving +it fastened to the leaf; when it is finished, it looks like a +seed pearl, round and polished. I wish some child would watch an +aphis-lion weave its cocoon and tell us how it is done! After a time, +a week or two perhaps, a round little hole is cut in the cocoon, +and there issues from it a lively little green pupa, with wing +pads on its back; but he very soon sheds his pupa skin and issues +as a beautiful lace-wing fly with golden eyes and large, filmy, +iridescent, pale green wings. + + + LESSON LXXXIX + + THE MOTHER LACE-WING AND THE APHIS-LION + +_Leading thought_--The lace-wing fly or golden-eyes, as she is +called, is the mother of the aphis-lion. She lays her eggs on the top +of stiff, silken stalks. The young aphis-lions when hatched, clamber +down upon the leaf and feed upon plant-lice, sucking their blood +through their tubular jaws. + +_Method_--Through July and until frost, the aphis-lions may be found +on almost any plant infested with plant-lice; and the lace-wing’s +eggs or egg-shells on the long stalks are also readily found. +All these may be brought to the schoolroom. Place the stem of a +plant infested with aphids in a jar of water, and the acts of the +aphis-lions as well as the habits of the aphids may be observed +during recess or at other convenient times, by all the pupils. + +_Observations_--1. When you see a leaf with some white mold upon it, +examine it with a lens; the mold is likely to be the eggs of the +lace-wing. Is the egg as large as a pin head? What is its shape? +What is its color? How long is the stalk on which it is placed? Of +what material do you think the stalk is made? Why do you suppose the +lace-wing mother lays her eggs on the tips of stalks? Are there any +of these eggs near each other on the leaf? + +2. If the egg is not empty, observe through a lens how the young +aphis-lion breaks its egg-shell and climbs down. + +3. Watch an aphis-lion among the plant-lice. How does it act? Do the +aphids seem afraid? Does the aphis-lion move rapidly? How does it act +when eating an aphid? + +4. What is the general shape of the aphis-lion? Describe the jaws. Do +you think these jaws are used for chewing, or merely as tubes through +which the green blood of the aphids is sucked? Do the aphis-lions +ever attack each other or other insects? How does the aphis-lion +differ in appearance from the ladybird larva? + +5. What happens to the aphis-lion after it gets its growth? Describe +its cocoon if you can find one. + +6. Describe the little lace-wing fly that comes from the cocoon. Why +is she called, golden-eyes? Why lace-wing? Does she fly rapidly? Do +you suppose that if she should lay her eggs flat on a leaf, that the +first aphis-lion that hatched would run about and eat all its little +brothers and sisters which were still in their egg-shells? How do the +aphis-lions benefit our rose bushes and other cultivated plants? + +_Supplementary Reading_--“A Tactful Mother” in Ways of the Six-Footed. + + + + + THE MOSQUITO + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +In defiance of the adage, the mother of our most common mosquitoes +does not hesitate to put her eggs all in one basket, but perhaps she +knows it is about the safest little basket for eggs in this world +of uncertainties. If it were possible to begin this lesson with the +little boat-shaped egg baskets, I should advise it. They may be found +in almost any rain barrel, and the eggs look like a lot of tiny +cartridges set side by side, points up, and lashed or glued together, +so there shall be no spilling. Like a certain famous soap, they +“float,” coming up as dry as varnished corks when water is poured +upon them. + +[Illustration: _The egg-raft of a mosquito enlarged._] + +[Illustration: _A mosquito aquarium._] + +The young mosquito, or wriggler, breaks through the shell of the +lower end of the egg and passes down into the water, and from the +first, it is a most interesting creature to view through a hand lens. +The head and the thorax are rather large while the body is tapering +and armed with bunches of hairs. At the rear of the body are two +tubes very different in shape; one is long, straight and unadorned; +this is the breathing tube through which air passes to the tracheæ +of the body. This tube has a star-shaped valve at the tip, which can +be opened and shut; when it is opened at the surface of the water, +it keeps the little creature afloat and meanwhile allows air to pass +into the body. When the wriggler is thus hanging at an angle of 45 +degrees to the surface of the water, it feeds upon small particles of +decaying vegetation; it has a remarkable pair of jaws which are armed +with brushes, which in our common species, by moving rapidly, set up +currents and bring the food to the mouth. This process can be seen +plainly with a lens. When disturbed, the wriggler shuts the valve +to its breathing tube, and sinks. However, it is not much heavier +than the water; I have often seen one rise for some distance without +apparent effort. The other tube at the end of the body, supports +the swimming organs, which consist of four finger-like processes +and various bunches of hairs. When swimming, the wriggler goes tail +first, the swimming organs seeming to take hold of the water and to +pull the creature backward, in a series of spasmodic jerks; in fact, +the insect seems simply to “throw somersaults,” like an acrobat. I +have often observed wrigglers standing on their heads in the bottom +of the aquarium, with their jaws bent under, revolving their brushes +briskly; but they never remain very long below the surface, as it is +necessary for them to take in fresh air often. + +[Illustration: _A wriggler or larva of mosquito (culex) greatly +enlarged._ + +Drawn by Evelyn Mitchell.] + +The pupa has the head and thoracic segments much enlarged, making it +all “head and shoulders” with a quite insignificant body attached. +Upon the thorax are two breathing tubes, which look like two ears, +and therefore when the pupa rests at the surface of the water, it +remains head up so that these tubes may take in the air; at the end +of the body are two swimming organs which are little, leaf-like +projections. At this stage the insect is getting ready to live its +life in the air, and for this reason probably, the pupa rests for +long periods at the surface of the water and does not swim about +much, unless disturbed. However, it is a very strange habit for a +pupa to move about at all. In the case of other flies, butterflies, +and moths, the pupa stage is quiet. + +When fully mature, the pupa rises to the surface of the water, the +skeleton skin breaks open down its back and the mosquito carefully +works itself out, until its wings are free and dry, meanwhile resting +upon the floating pupa skin. This is indeed a frail bark, and if the +slightest breeze ruffles the water, the insect is likely to drown +before its wings are hard enough for flight. + +The reason that kerosene oil, put upon the surface of the water where +mosquitoes breed, kills the insects is because both the larvæ and +pupæ of mosquitoes are obliged to rise to the surface, and push their +breathing tubes through the surface film so that they will open to +the air; a coating of oil on the water prevents this, and they are +suffocated. Also when the mosquito emerges from the pupa skin, if it +is even touched by the oil, it is unable to fly and soon dies. + +[Illustration: _Antenna of male mosquito enlarged._] + +The male mosquitoes have bushy, or feathery, antennæ. These antennæ +are hearing organs of very remarkable construction; (see Ways of the +Six-Footed, p. 8.) The Anopheles may be distinguished from the Culex +by the following characteristics: Its wings are spotted instead of +plain. When at rest it is perfectly straight, and is likely to have +the hind legs in the air. It may also rest at an angle to the surface +to which it clings. The Culex is not spotted on the wings and is +likely to be humped up when at rest. In our climate the Anopheles +is more dangerous than the Culex because it carries the germs of +malaria. A mosquito’s wing under a microscope is a most beautiful +object, as it is “trimmed” with ornamental scales about the edges and +along the veins. The male mosquitoes neither sing nor bite; the song +of the female mosquito is supposed to be made by the rapid vibration +of the wings, and her musical performances are for the purpose of +attracting her mate, as it has been shown that he can hear through +his antennæ a range of notes covering the middle and next higher +octaves of the piano. + +Of late we are learning that the mosquitoes are in a very strange +way a menace to health. Through a heroism, as great as ever shown on +field of battle, men have imperiled their lives to prove that the +germs of the terrible yellow fever were transmitted by the biting +mosquito, and with almost equal bravery other men have demonstrated +that the germs of malaria are also thus carried. + +[Illustration: _The pupa of a mosquito, greatly magnified. Note_ b +_the breathing tubes near the head_. + +Drawn by Evelyn Mitchell.] + +In the North, our greatest danger is from the mosquitoes which carry +the malarial germs, and these are the mosquitoes with spotted wings +and belong to the genus Anopheles. This mosquito, in order to be of +danger to us must first feed upon the blood of some person suffering +from malaria (ague) and thus take the germ of the disease into its +stomach. Here the germ develops and multiplies into many minute +germs, which pass through another stage and finally get into the +blood of the mosquito and accumulate in the salivary glands. The +reason any mosquito bite or insect bite swells and itches is because, +as the insect’s beak is inserted into the flesh, it carries with it +some of the saliva from the insect’s mouth. In the case of Anopheles +these malarial germs are carried with the saliva into the blood of +the victim. It has been proven that in the most malarial countries, +like Italy and India, people are entirely free from malaria if they +are not bitten by mosquitoes. + +After this explanation has been made, it would be well for the +teacher to take the pupils on a tour of inspection through the +neighborhood to see if there are any mosquito larvæ in rain barrels, +ponds or pools of stagnant water. If such places are found, let the +pupils themselves apply the following remedies: + +1. Rain barrels should be securely covered. + +2. All stagnant pools should be drained and filled up if possible. + +3. Wherever there are ponds or pools where mosquitoes breed that +cannot be filled or drained, the surface of the water should be +covered with a spray of kerosene oil. This may be applied with a +spray pump or from a watering can. + +4. If it is impracticable to cover such places with oil, introduce +into such pools the following fish: Minnows, sticklebacks, sunfish +and goldfish. + +The effect of this lesson upon the children should be to impress them +with the danger to life and health from mosquitoes and to implant in +them a determination to rid the premises about their homes of these +pests. + +_References_--Farmers’ Bulletin No. 155, U. S. Department of +Agriculture, by L. O. Howard; leaflet in Reading Course for Farmers’ +Wives, series 2, No. 10, by M. V. Slingerland; American Insects, +Kellogg; The Insect Book, Howard; Insect Life, The Manual for the +Study of Insects, Comstock; Ways of the Six-Footed, Comstock. + +[Illustration: _Wing of mosquito enlarged._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + + + LESSON XC + + THE MOSQUITO + +_Leading thought_--The wrigglers, or wigglers, which we find in +rain-barrels and stagnant water are the larvæ of mosquitoes. We +should study their life history carefully if we would know how to get +rid of mosquitoes. + +_Method_--There is no better way to interest the pupils in mosquitoes +than to place in an aquarium jar in the schoolroom a family of +wrigglers from some pond or rain barrel. For the pupils’ personal +observation, take some of the wrigglers from the aquarium with +a pipette and place them in a homeopathic vial; fill the vial +three-fourths full of water and cork it. Pass it around with a hand +lens and give each pupil the opportunity to observe it for five or +ten minutes. It would be well if this vial could be left on each desk +for an hour or so during study periods, so that the observations +may be made casually and leisurely. While the pupils are studying +the wrigglers, the following questions should be placed upon the +blackboard, and each pupil should make notes which may finally be +given at a lesson period. This is particularly available work for +September. + +In studying the adult mosquito, a lens or microscope is necessary. +But it is of great importance that the pupils be taught to +discriminate between the comparatively harmless species of Culex and +the dangerous Anopheles and therefore they should be taught to be +observant of the way mosquitoes rest upon the walls, and whether they +have mottled or clear wings. + + + _The Larva_ + +_Observations_: 1. Note if all the wrigglers are of the same general +shape, or if some of them have a very large head; these latter are +the pupæ and the former are the larvæ. We will study the larvæ first. +Where do they rest when undisturbed? Do they rest head up or down? Is +there any part of their body that comes to the surface of the water? + +2. When disturbed what do they do? When they swim, do they go head or +tail first? When they float do they go upward or downward? + +3. Observe one resting at the top. At what angle does it hold itself +to the surface of the water? Observe its head. Can you see the jaw +brushes revolving rapidly? What is the purpose of this? Describe its +eyes. Can you see its antennæ? + +4. Note the two peculiar tubes at the end of the body and see if you +can make out their use. + +5. Note especially the tube that is thrust up to the surface of the +water when the creatures are resting. Can you see how the opening of +this tube helps to keep the wriggler afloat? What do you think is the +purpose of this tube? Why does it not become filled with water when +the wriggler is swimming? Can you see the two air vessels, or trachæ, +extending from this tube along the back the whole length of the body? + +6. Note the peculiarities of the other tube at the rear end of the +body. Do you think the little finger-like projections are an aid in +swimming? How many are there? + +7. Can you see the long hairs along the side of the body? + +8. Does the mosquito rest at the bottom of the bottle or aquarium? + + + _The Pupa_ + +9. What is the most noticeable difference in appearance between the +larva and pupa? + +10. When the pupa rests at the surface of the water, is it the same +end up as the wriggler? + +11. Note on the “head” of the pupa two little tubes extending up like +ears. These are the breathing tubes. Note if these open to the air +when the pupa rests at the surface of the water. + +12. Can you see the swimming organs at the rear of the body of the +pupa? Does the pupa spend a longer time resting at the surface than +the larva? How does it act differently from the pupæ of other flies +and moths and butterflies? + +13. How does the mosquito emerge from the pupa skin? Why does +kerosene oil poured on the surface of the water kill mosquitoes? + + + _The Adult Mosquito_ + +1. Has the mosquito feathery antennæ extending out in front? If so, +what kind of mosquitoes are such? + +2. Do the mosquitoes with bushy antennæ bite? Do they sing? + +3. Are the wings of the mosquito spotted or plain? How many has it? + +4. When at rest, is it shortened and humpbacked or does it stand +straight out with perhaps its hind legs in the air? + +5. What are the characteristics by which you can tell the dangerous +Anopheles? + +6. Why is the Anopheles more dangerous than the Culex? + +7. Examine a mosquito’s wing under a microscope and describe it. + +8. Examine the antennæ of a male and a female mosquito under a +microscope, and describe the difference. + +9. Which sex of the mosquito does the biting and the singing? + +10. How is the singing done? + + + + + THE HOUSE-FLY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The house-fly is surely an up-to-date member of that select class +which evolutionists call the “fit.” It flourishes in every land, +plumping itself down in front of us at table, whether we be eating +rice in Hong Kong, dhura in Egypt, macaroni in Italy, pie in America, +or tamales in Mexico. There it sits, impertinent and imperturbable, +taking its toll, letting down its long elephant-trunk tongue, rasping +and sucking up such of our meal as fits its needs. As long as we +simply knew it as a thief we, during untold ages, merely slapped +it and shooed it, which effort on our part apparently gave it +exhilarating exercise. But during recent years we have begun trapping +and poisoning, trying to match our brains against its agility; +although we slay it by thousands, we seem only to make more room +for its well-fed progeny of the future, and in the end we seem to +have gained nothing. But the most recent discoveries of science have +revealed to us, that what the house-fly takes of our food, is of +little consequence to what it leaves behind. Because of this, we have +girded up our loins and gone into battle in earnest. + +I have always held that nature-study should follow its own peaceful +path and not be the slave of economic science. But occasionally it +seems necessary, when it is a question of creating public sentiment, +and of cultivating public intelligence in combating a great peril, to +make nature-study a handmaiden, if not a slave, in this work. If our +woods were filled with wolves and bears, as they were in the days of +my grandfather, I should give nature-study lessons on these animals, +which would lead to their subjugation. Bears and wolves trouble us no +more; but now we have enemies far more subtle, in the ever-present +microbes, which we may never hope to conquer but which, with proper +precautions, we may render comparatively harmless. Thus, our +nature-study with insects which carry disease, like the mosquitoes, +flies and fleas, must be a reconnaissance for a war of extermination; +the fighting tactics may be given in lessons on health and hygiene. + +Perhaps if a fly were less wonderfully made, it would be a less +convenient vehicle for microbes. Its eyes are two great, brown +spheres on either side of the head, and are composed of thousands of +tiny six-sided eyes that give information of what is coming in any +direction; in addition, it has on top of the head, looking straight +up, three tiny, shining, simple eyes, which cannot be seen without +a lens. Its antennæ are peculiar in shape, but are evidently sense +organs; it is attracted from afar by certain odors, and so far as we +can discover, its antennæ are all the nose it has. Its mouth-parts +are all combined to make a most amazing and efficient organ for +getting food; at the tip are two flaps, which can rasp a substance so +as to set free the juices, and above this is a tube, through which +the juices may be drawn to the stomach. This tube is extensible, +being conveniently jointed so that it can be folded under the “chin” +when not in use. This is usually called the fly’s tongue, but it is +really all the mouth parts combined, as if a boy had his lips, teeth +and tongue, standing out from his face, at the end of a tube a foot +long. + +[Illustration: _Head of fly showing eyes, antennæ and mouth-parts._] + +The thorax can be easily studied; it is striped black and white above +and bears the two wings, and the two little flaps that are called +balancers and which are probably remnants of hind wings which the +remote ancestors of flies flew with. The fly’s wing is a transparent +but strong membrane strengthened by veins, and is prettily +iridescent. The thorax bears on its lower side the six pairs of legs. +The abdomen consists of five segments and is covered with stiff +hairs. The parts of the leg, seen when the fly is walking, consists +of three segments, the last segment or tarsus being more slender, and +if looked at with a lens, is seen to be composed of five segments, +the last of which bears the claws; it is with these claws that the +fly walks, although all of the five segments really form the foot; in +other words, it walks on its tip-toes. But it clings to ceilings by +means of the two little pads below the claws, which are covered with +hairs that excrete at the tips, a sticky fluid. Because of the hairs +on its feet, the fly becomes a carrier of microbes and a menace to +health. + +[Illustration: _Foot of house-fly enlarged._] + +The greatest grudge I have against this little, persistent companion +of our household is the way it has misled us by appearing to be so +fastidious in its personal habits. We have all of us seen, with +curiosity and admiration, its complex ablutions and brushings. It +usually begins, logically, with its front feet, the hands; these it +cleans by rubbing them against each other lengthwise. The hairs and +spines on one leg act as a brush for the other, and then lest they +be not clean, it nibbles them with its rasping disc, which is all +the teeth it has. It then cleans its head with these clean hands, +rubbing them over its big eyes with a vigor that makes us wink simply +to contemplate; then bobbing its head down so as to reach what is +literally its back hair, it brushes valiantly. After this is done, it +reaches forward first one and then the other foot of the middle pair +of legs, and taking each in turn between the front feet, brushes it +vigorously, and maybe nibbles it. But as a pair of military brushes, +its hind feet are conspicuously efficient; they clean each other by +being rubbed together and then they work simultaneously on each side +in cleaning the wings, first the under side and then the upper side. +Then over they come and comb the top of the thorax; then they brush +the sides, top and under sides of the abdomen, cleaning each other +between the acts. Who, after witnessing all this, could believe that +the fly could leave any tracks on our food, which would lead to our +undoing! But the house-fly, like many housekeepers with the best +intentions in the matter of keeping clean, has not mastered the art +of getting rid of the microbes. Although it has so many little eyes, +none of them can magnify a germ so as to make it visible; and thus it +is that, when feeding around where there have been cases of typhoid +and other enteric diseases, the house-fly’s little claws become +infested with disease germs; and when it stops some day to clean up +on our table, it leaves the germs with us. Thus our only safety lies +in the final extermination of this little nuisance. + +It is astonishing how few people know about the growth of flies. +People of the highest intelligence in other matters, think that +a small fly can grow into a large one. A fly, when it comes from +the pupa stage, is as large as it will ever be, the young stages +of flies being maggots. The house-fly’s eggs are little, white, +elongated bodies about as large as the point of a pin. These are +laid preferably in horse manure. After a few hours, they hatch into +slender, pointed, white maggots which feed upon the excrement. After +five or six days, the larval skin thickens, turns brown, making the +insect look like a small grain of wheat. This is the pupal stage, +which lasts about five days, and then the skin bursts open and +the full-grown fly appears. Of course, not all the flies multiply +according to the example given to the children. The house-fly has +many enemies and, therefore, probably no one hibernating mother fly +is the ancestress of billions by September; however, despite enemies, +flies multiply with great rapidity. + +I know of no more convincing experiment as an example of the +dangerous trail of the fly, than that of letting a house-fly walk +over a saucer of nutrient gelatin. After three or four days, each +track is plainly visible as a little white growth of bacteria. + +[Illustration: _Empty pupa skin of fly, enlarged._] + +Much is being done now to eradicate the house-fly, and undoubtedly +there will be new methods of fighting it devised every year. The +teacher should keep in touch with the bulletins on this subject +published by the United States Department of Agriculture, and should +give the pupils instructions according to the latest ideas. At +present the following are the methods of fighting this pest: Keep the +stable clean and place the manure under cover. All of the windows of +the house should be well screened. All the flies which get into the +house should be killed by using the commercial fly papers. + + + LESSON XCI + + THE HOUSE-FLY + +_Leading thought_--The house-fly has conquered the world and is found +everywhere. It breeds in filth and especially in horse manure. It is +very prolific; the few flies that manage to pass the winter in this +northern climate, are ancestors of the millions which attack us and +our food later in the season. These are a menace to health because +they carry germs of disease from sputa and excrementitious matter to +our tables, leaving them upon our food. + +_Method_--Give out the questions for observation and let the pupils +answer them either orally or in their note-books. If possible, every +pupil should look at a house-fly through a three-quarters objective. +If this is not possible, pictures should be shown to demonstrate its +appearance. + +_Observations_--1. Look at a fly, using a lens if you have one. +Describe its eyes. Do you see that they have a honeycomb arrangement +of little eyes? Can you see, on top of the head between the big eyes, +a dot? A microscope reveals this dot to be made of three tiny eyes, +huddled together. After seeing a fly’s eyes, do you wonder that you +have so much difficulty in hitting it or catching it? + +2. Can you see the fly’s antennæ? Do you think that it has a keen +sense of smell? Why? + +3. How many wings has the fly? How does it differ from the bee in +this respect? Can you see two little white objects, one just behind +the base of each wing? These are called poisers, or balancers, and +all flies have them in some form. What is the color of the wings? Are +they transparent? Can you see the veins in them? On what part of the +body do the wings grow? + +4. Look at the fly from below. How many legs has it? From what part +of the body do the legs come? What is that part of the insect’s body +called, to which the legs and wings are attached? + +5. How does the fly’s abdomen look? What is its color and its +covering? + +6. Look at the fly’s legs. How many segments can you see in a leg? +Can you see that the segment on which the fly walks has several +joints? Does it walk on all of these segments or on the one at the +tip? + +7. When the fly eats, can you see its tongue? Can you feel its tongue +when it rasps your hand? Where does it keep its tongue usually? + +8. Describe how a fly makes its toilet as follows: How does it clean +its front feet? Its head? Its middle feet? Its hind feet? Its wings? + +9. Do you know how flies carry disease? Did you ever see them making +their toilet on your food at the table? Do you know what diseases are +carried by flies? What must you do to prevent flies from bringing +disease to your family? + +10. Do you think that a small fly ever grows to be a large fly? +How do the young of all kinds of flies look? Do you know where the +house-fly lays its eggs? On what do the maggots feed? How long before +they change to pupæ? How long does it take them to grow from eggs to +flies? How do the house-flies in our northern climate pass the winter? + +11. _Lesson in Arithmetic_--It requires perhaps twenty days to span +the time from the eggs of one generation of the house-fly to the +eggs of the next, and thus there might easily be five generations +in one summer. Supposing the fly which wintered behind the window +curtain in your home last winter, flew out to the stables about May +1st and laid 120 eggs in the sweepings from the horse stable, all of +which hatched and matured. Supposing one-half of these were mother +flies and each of them, in turn, laid 120 eggs, and so on for five +generations, all eggs laid developing into flies, and one-half of the +flies of each generation being mother flies. How many flies would the +fly that wintered behind your curtain have produced by September? + +12. Pour some gelatin unsweetened, on a clean plate. Let a house-fly +walk around on the gelatin as soon as it is cool; cover the plate to +keep out the dust and leave it for two or three days. Examine it then +and see if you can tell where the fly walked. What did it leave in +its tracks? + +13. Write an essay on the house-fly, its dangers and how to combat +it, basing the essay on Bulletins of the U. S. Department of +Agriculture. + + + + + THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The potato-beetle is not a very attractive insect, but it has +many interesting peculiarities. No other common insect so clearly +illustrates the advantage of warning colors. If we take a beetle +in the hand, it at first promptly falls upon its back, folds its +legs, and antennæ down close to its body, and “plays possum” in a +very canny manner. But if we squeeze it a little, immediately an +orange-red liquid is ejected on the hand, and a very ill-smelling +liquid it is. If we press lightly, only a little of the secretion +is thrown off; but if we squeeze harder it flows copiously. Thus a +bird trying to swallow one of these beetles, would surely get a large +dose. The liquid is very distasteful to birds, and it is indeed a +stupid bird that does not soon learn to let severely alone orange and +yellow beetles, striped with black. The source of this offensive and +defensive juice is at first a mystery, but if we observe closely we +can see it issuing along the hind edge of the thorax and the front +portion of the wing-covers; the glands in these situations secrete +the protective juice as it is needed. The larvæ are also equipped +with similar glands and, therefore, have the brazen habit of eating +the leaves of our precious potatoes without attempting to hide. They +seem to know that they are far safer when seen by birds than when +concealed from them. + +The life history of the potato-beetle is briefly as follows: Some of +the adult beetles or pupæ winter beneath the surface of the soil, +burrowing down a foot or more to escape freezing. As soon as the +potato plants appear above ground the mother beetle comes out and +lays her eggs upon the under sides of the leaves. These orange-yellow +eggs are usually laid in clusters. In about a week there hatches from +the eggs little yellow or orange humpbacked larvæ, which begin at +once to feed upon the leaves. These larvæ grow as do other insects, +by shedding their skins. They do this four times, and during the +last stages, are very conspicuous insects on the green leaves; +they are orange or yellow with black dots along the sides, and so +humpbacked are they that they seem to be “gathered with a puckering +string” along the lower side. It requires from sixteen days to three +weeks for a larva to complete its growth. It then descends into the +earth and forms a little cell in which it changes to a pupa. It +remains in this condition for one or two weeks, according to the +temperature, and then the full-fledged beetle appears. The entire +life cycle from egg to adult beetle may be passed in about a month, +although if the weather is cold, this period will be longer. The +beetles are very prolific, a mother beetle having been known to +produce five hundred eggs, and there are two generations each year. +These beetles not only damage the potato crop by stopping the growth +through destroying the leaves, but they also cause the potatoes to be +of inferior quality. + +[Illustration: _Eggs of Colorado potato-beetle._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +The adult beetle is an excellent object lesson in the study of beetle +form. Attention should be called to the three regions of the body: A +head which is bright orange; the compound eyes, which are black; and +three simple eyes on the top of the head, which are difficult to see +without a lens. The antennæ are short, their joints easily noted, +and special attention should be paid to their use, for they are +constantly moving to feel approaching objects. The two pairs of mouth +palpi may be seen, and the beetle will eagerly eat raw potatoes, so +that the pupils may see that it has biting mouth-parts. The thoracic +shield is orange, ornamented with black. The three pairs of legs are +short, which is a proof that these beetles do not migrate on foot. +The claws and the pads beneath can be seen with the naked eye. Each +wing-cover bears five yellow stripes, also five black ones, although +the outside black stripe is rather narrow. These beetles are very +successful flyers. During flight, the wing-covers are raised and held +motionless while the gauzy wings beneath are unfolded and do the +work. Children are always interested in seeing the way the beetles +fold their wings beneath the wing-covers. + +[Illustration: _Larvæ of Colorado potato-beetle._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +[Illustration: _Pupa of potato-beetle, enlarged._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +One of the most remarkable things about the Colorado potato-beetle +is its history. It is one of the few insect pests which is native +to America. It formerly fed upon sandbur, a wild plant allied to +the potato, which grows in the region of Colorado, Arizona and +Mexico, and was a well behaved, harmless insect. With the advance +of civilization westward, the potato came also, and proved to be an +acceptable plant to this insect; and here we have an example of what +an unlimited food supply will do for an insect species. The beetles +multiplied so much faster than their parasites, that it seemed at +one time as if they would conquer the earth by moving on from potato +field to potato field. They started on their march to the Atlantic +seaboard in 1859; in 1874, they reached the coast and judging by +the numbers washed ashore, they sought to fly or swim across the +Atlantic. By 1879, they had spread over an area consisting of more +than one-third of the United States. + +_Reference_--The Colorado Potato-Beetle, Chittenden, Bulletin of U. +S. Department of Agriculture. + + + LESSON XCII + + THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE + +_Leading thought_--The Colorado potato-beetle is a very important +insect, since it affects the price of potatoes each year. It is +disagreeable as a food for birds, because of an acrid juice which it +secretes. We should learn its life-history and thus be able to deal +with it intelligently in preventing its ravages. + +_Method_--The study of the potato-beetle naturally follows and +belongs to gardening. The larvæ should be brought into the schoolroom +and placed in a breeding cage on leaves of the potato vine. Other +plants may be put into the cage to prove that these insects will only +eat the potato. The children should observe how the larvæ eat and how +many leaves a full grown larva will destroy in a day. Earth should +be put in the bottom of the breeding cage so that the children may +see the larvæ descend and burrow into it. The adult beetles should +be studied carefully, and especially, the children should see the +excretion of the acrid juice. + +_Observations_--1. At what time do you see the potato-beetles? Why +are they more numerous in the fall than in the spring? Where do those +which we find in the spring come from? What will they do if they are +allowed to live? + +2. What is the shape of the potato-beetle? Describe the markings on +its head. What color are its eyes? Describe its antennæ. How are they +constantly used? Can you see the palpi of the mouth? Give the beetle +a bit of potato and note how it eats. + +3. What is the color of the shield of the thorax? Describe the legs. +Do you think the beetle can run fast? Why not? How many segments has +the foot? Describe the claws. Describe how it clings to the sides of +a tumbler or bottle. + +[Illustration: _The Colorado potato-beetle._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +4. If the beetle cannot run rapidly, how does it travel? Describe the +wing-covers. Why is this insect called the ten-lined potato beetle? + +5. Describe the wings. How are they folded when at rest? How are the +wing-covers carried when the beetle is flying? + +6. Take a beetle in your hand. What does it do? Of what advantage +is it to the insect to pretend that it is dead? If you squeeze the +beetle what happens? How does the fluid which it ejects look and +smell? Try and discover where this fluid comes from? Of what use is +it to the beetle? Why will birds not eat the potato-beetle? + +7. Where does the mother beetle lay her eggs? Are they laid singly or +in clusters? What color are the eggs? How long after they are laid +before they hatch? + +8. Describe the young larva when it first hatches. What color is +it at first? Does it change color later? Describe the colors and +markings of a full grown larva. + +9. How does this larva injure the potato vines? Does it remain in +sight while it is feeding? Does it act as if it were afraid of birds? +Why is it not eaten by birds? + +10. Where does the larva go when it is full grown? How many times +does it shed its skin during its growth? Does it make a little cell +in the ground? How does the pupa look? Can you see in it the eyes, +antennæ, legs and wings of the beetle? + +11. Write an English theme giving the history of the Colorado +potato-beetle, and the reasons for its migration from its native +place. + + + + + THE LADYBIRD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _Ladybird, Ladybird, fly away home! + Your house is on fire, your children are burning._ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This incantation we, as children, repeated to this unhearing little +beetle, probably because she is and ever has been, the incarnation of +energetic indecision. She runs as fast as her short legs can carry +her in one direction, as if her life depended on getting there, then +she turns about and goes with quite as much vim in another direction. +Thus, it is no wonder the children think that when she hears this +news of her domestic disasters, she wheels about and starts for home; +but she has not any home now nor did she ever have a home, and she +does not carry even a trunk. Perhaps it would be truer to say that +she has a home everywhere, whether she is cuddled under a leaf for +a night’s lodging or industriously climbing out on twigs, only to +scramble back again, or perchance to take flight from their tips. + +[Illustration: _Ladybird larva._] + +There are many species of ladybirds, but in general they all resemble +a tiny pill cut in half, with legs attached to the flat side. +Sometimes it may be a round and sometimes an oval pill, but it is +always shining and the colors are always dull dark red, or yellow, or +whitish, and black. Sometimes she is black with red or yellow spots, +sometimes red or yellow with black spots and the spots are usually +on either side of the thorax and one on each snug little wing-cover. +But if we look at the ladybird carefully we can see the head and +the short, clublike antennæ. Behind the head is the thorax with its +shield, broadening toward the rear, spotted and ornamented in various +ways; the head and thorax together occupy scarcely a fourth of the +length of the insect, and the remainder consists of the hemispherical +body, encased with polished wing-covers. The little black legs, +while quite efficient because they can be moved so rapidly, are not +the ladybird’s only means of locomotion; she is a good flier and +has a long pair of dark wings which she folds crosswise under her +wing-covers. It is comical to see her pull up her wings, as a lady +tucks up a long petticoat; and sometimes ladybird is rather slovenly +about it and runs around with the tips of her wings hanging out +behind, quite untidily. + +But any untidiness must be inadvertent, because the ladybird takes +very good care of herself and spends much time in “washing up.” +She begins with her front legs, cleaning them with her mandibles, +industriously nibbling off every grain of dust; she then cleans +her middle and hind legs by rubbing the two on the same side, back +and forth against each other, each acting as a whisk broom for the +other; she cleans her wings by brushing them between the edges of the +wing-cover above and the tarsus of her hind leg below. + +The ladybird is a clever little creature, even if it does look like +a pill, and if you disturb it, it will fold up its legs and drop as +if dead, playing possum in a most deceptive manner. It will remain in +this attitude of rigid death for at least a minute or two and then +will begin to claw the air with all its six legs in an effort to turn +right side up. + +From our standpoint the ladybird is of great value, for during the +larval as well as adult stages, all species except one, feed upon +those insects which we are glad to be rid of. They are especially +fond of aphids and scale insects. One of the greatest achievements +of economic entomology was the introduction on the Pacific Coast of +the ladybird from Australia, called the Vedalia, which preys upon +the cottony cushion scale insect, a species very dangerous to orange +and lemon trees. Within a few years the introduced ladybirds had +completely exterminated this pest. + +The ladybird’s history is as follows: The mother beetle, in the +spring, lays her eggs here and there on plants: as soon as the larva +hatches, it starts out to hunt for aphids and other insects. It is +safe to say that no ladybird would recognize her own children in +time to save them, even if the house were burning, for they do not +in the least resemble her; they are neither roly-poly nor shiny, but +are long and segmented and velvety, with six queer, short legs that +look and act as if they were whittled out of wood; they seem only +efficient for clinging around a stem. The larvæ are usually black, +spotted with orange or yellow; there are six warts on each segment, +which make the creature’s back look quite rough. The absorbing +business of the larva is to crawl around on plants and chew up the +foolish aphids or the scale insects. I have seen one use its front +foot to push an aphid, which it was eating, closer to its jaws; but +when one green leg of its victim still clung to its head, it did not +try to rub it off as its mother would have done, but twisted its head +over this way and that, wiping off the fragment on a plant stem and +then gobbling it up. + +[Illustration: _Ladybird pupa._] + +After the larva has shed its skeleton skin several times, and +destroyed many times its own bulk of insects, it hunts for some quiet +corner, hangs itself up by the tail and condenses itself into a +sub-globular form; it sheds its spiny skin pushing it up around the +point of attachment, and there lets it stay like the lion’s skin of +Hercules. As a pupa, it is more nearly rectangular than round, and if +we look closely, we can see the wing-cases, the spotted segments of +the abdomen, and the eyes, all encased in the pupa skin; the latter +bursts open after a few days and the shining, little half-globe +emerges a full-grown ladybird, ready for hiding in some cozy spot to +pass the winter, from which she will emerge in the spring, to stock +our trees and vines, next year, with her busy little progeny. + +[Illustration: _Ladybird beetle, “the nine-spotted ladybug.”_] + +_References_--American Insects, Kellogg; Manual for the Study of +Insects, Comstock. + + + LESSON XCIII + + THE LADYBIRD + +_Leading thought_--The ladybird is a beetle. Its young are very +different from the adult in appearance, and feed upon plant-lice. + +_Method_--These little beetles are very common in autumn and may be +brought to the schoolroom and passed around in vials for the children +to observe. Their larvæ may be found on almost any plant infested +with plant-lice. Plant and all may be brought into the schoolroom +and the actions of the larvæ noted by the pupils during recess. + +_Observations_--1. How large is the ladybird? What is its shape? +Would two of them make a little globe if they were put flat sides +together? + +2. What colors do you find on your ladybird? + +3. Do you see the ladybird’s head and antennæ? What is the broad +shield directly back of the head called? How is it marked, and with +what colors? What color are the wing-covers? Are there any spots upon +them? How many? Does the ladybird use its wing-covers when it flies? +Describe her true wings. Does she fold them beneath the wing-covers? + +4. Note the legs and feet. Are the legs long? Are they fitted for +running? To which part of the body are they attached? + +5. If you disturb the ladybird how does she “play possum?” Describe +how she makes her toilet. + +_The larva_--1. Describe the ladybird larva. Does it look like its +mother? What is its form? Is it warty and velvety or shiny? + +2. Describe its head and jaws as far as you can see. How does it act +when eating? Can you see its little stiff legs? Is there a claw at +the end of each? + +3. Describe the actions of the ladybird larva in attacking and eating +the plant-lice. Does it shed its skin as it grows? + +4. Watch a larva until it changes to a pupa. How does the pupa look? +Can you see the shed skin? Where is it? To what is the pupa attached? +When the pupa skin breaks open what comes out of it? + +5. Why is the ladybird of great use to us? Write an English theme +upon the ladybird, called Vedalia, which saved the orange orchards of +California. + +[Illustration: _1, Larva; 2, pupa and 3, adult of a species of +ladybird, enlarged._ + +_The small beetle represents actual size._] + + + + + THE FIREFLY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _And lavishly to left and right, + The fireflies, like golden seeds, + Are sown upon the night._ + --RILEY. + + +[Illustration: T] + +The time of this sowing is during warm, damp nights in July and +August, and even in September, although they are sown less lavishly +then. How little most of us know of the harvest, although we see the +sowing which begins in the early twilight against the background of +tree shadows, and lasts until the cold atmosphere of the later night +dampens the firefly ardor! There is a difference in species as to +the height from the ground of their flight; some species hover next +to the grass, others fly above our heads, but rarely as high as the +tree tops in northern latitudes. Some species give a short flash that +might be called a refulgent blinking; others give a longer flash so +that we get an idea of the direction of their flight; and there is a +common species in the Gulf States which gives such long flashes that +they mark the night with gleaming curlicues. + +It is likely to be an exciting chase, before we are able to capture a +few of these insects for closer inspection; but when once captured, +they do not sulk but will keep on with their flashing and give us a +most edifying display. The portion of the firefly which gives the +light is in the abdomen, and it glows steadily like “phosphorescent +wood”; then suddenly it gleams with a green light that is strong +enough to reveal all its surroundings; and it is so evidently an +act of will on the part of the beetle, that it is startling to +members of our race, who cannot even blush or turn pale voluntarily. +The fireflies may be truly said to be socially brilliant, for the +flashing of their lights is for the attraction of their mates. + +[Illustration: _A common firefly--The view of the lower side shows +the “lamp.”_] + +The fireflies are beetles, and there are many species which are +luminous. A common one is here figured (_Photinus pyralis_). It is +pale gray above and the head is completely hidden by the big shield +of the thorax. The legs are short; thus this beetle trusts mostly +to its wings as a means of locomotion. The antennæ are rather long +and are kept in constant motion, evidently conveying intelligence of +surroundings to the insect. Beneath the gray elytra, or wing-covers, +is a pair of large, dark-veined membranous wings which are folded in +a very neat manner crosswise and lengthwise, when not in use. When in +use, the wing-covers are lifted stiffly and the flying is done wholly +with the membranous wings. Looked at from beneath, we can at once +see that some of the segments of the abdomen are partly or entirely +sulphur yellow, and we recognize them as the lamp. If the specimen +is a male, the yellow area covers all of the end of the abdomen up +to the fourth or fifth segment; but if it is a female, only the +middle portion of the abdomen, especially the fifth segment, is +converted into a lamp. These yellow areas, when dissected under the +microscope, prove to be filled with fine tracheæ, or air-tubes; and +although we know very little about the way the light is made, it is +believed that by flooding the tubes with air, the oxygen in some way +produces the light. + +In some species, the female is wingless and has very short +wing-covers, and a portion of her body emits a steady, greenish light +which tells her lord and master where to find her. These wingless +females are called glow-worms. + +[Illustration: _Larva and pupa of a common firefly._ + +After C. V. Riley.] + +Fireflies during their larval stages are popularly called wire +worms, although there are many other beetle larvæ thus called. +In many of the species, the firefly eggs, larvæ and pupæ are all +luminescent, but not so brilliant as when adults. The larva of the +species here figured, was studied by C. V. Riley, who gave us an +interesting account of its habits. It lives in the ground and feeds +on soft-bodied insects, probably earth-worms. Each segment of this +wire worm has a horny, brown plate above, with a straight white line +running through the middle and a slightly curved white line on each +side; the sides of the larva are soft and rose-colored; the white +spiracles show against little, oval, brown patches. Beneath, the +larva is cream color with two brown comma-like dots at the center +of each segment. The head can be pulled back completely beneath +the first segment. The most interesting thing about this larva is +the prop-leg at the end of its body, which naturally aids it in +locomotion; but this prop-leg also functions as a brush; after the +larva has become soiled with too eager delving into the tissues of +some earthworm, it curls its body over, and with this fan-shaped hind +foot scrubs its head and face very clean. This is a rare instance of +a larva paying any attention to its toilet. + +When full-grown, the larva makes a little oval cell within the +earth and changes to a pupa; after about ten days, the pupa skin is +shed and the full-fledged beetle comes forth. The larva and pupa of +this species give off light, but are not so brilliant as the adult. +The pupils should be encouraged to study the early stages of the +fireflies, because very little is known concerning them. + +In Cuba a large beetle called the cucujo has two great oval spots on +its thorax, resembling eyes, which give off light. The Cuban ladies +wear cucujos at the opera, in nets, in the hair. I once had a pair +which I tethered with gold chains to the bodice of my ball gown. The +eye-spots glowed steadily, but with the movement of dancing, they +grew more brilliant until no glittering diamonds could compete with +their glow. + + + LESSON XCIV + + THE FIREFLY + +_Leading thought_--When the firefly wishes to make a light, it can +produce one that, if we knew how to make, would greatly reduce the +price of artificial light; for the light made by fireflies and other +creatures, requires less energy than any other light known. + +_Method_--After the outdoor observations have been made, collect some +of these beetles in the evening with a sweep net; place them under a +glass jar or tumbler, so that their light can be studied at close +range. The next day give the observation lesson on the insects. + +_Observations_--1. At what time of year do you see fireflies? Do they +begin to lighten before it is dark? Do you see them high in the air +or near the ground? Is the flash they give short, or long enough to +make a streak of light? Do you see them on cold and windy nights or +on warm, still, damp evenings? Make a note of the hour when you see +the first one flash in an evening. + +2. Catch a few fireflies in the night; put them under a glass jar. +Can you see the light when they are not flashing? What color is it? +When they make the flash can you see the outline of the “firefly +lamp?” Watch closely and see if you think the flashing is a matter +of will on the part of the firefly. Do you think the firefly is +signaling to his mate when he flashes? + +3. Study the firefly in daylight. Is it a fly or is it a beetle? What +color is it above? When you look squarely down upon it, can you see +its head and eyes? + +4. Are the firefly’s legs long or short? When a beetle has short legs +is it a sign that it usually walks, runs or flies? + +5. Describe the antennæ. Are they in constant motion? What service do +you think the firefly’s antennæ perform for it? + +6. Lift one of the wing-covers carefully. What do you find beneath +it? Does the beetle use its wing-covers to beat the air and help it +during flight? How does the beetle hold its wing-covers when flying? + +7. Turn the beetle on its back. Can you see the part of the body that +flashes? What color is it? + +8. Do you know the life history of the firefly? What is it like in +its earlier stages? Where does it live? Does it have the power of +making light when it is in the larval stage? + + * * * * * + + “_There, in warm August gloaming, + With quick silent brightenings, + From meadow-lands roaming, + The firefly twinkles + His fitful heat-lightnings._” + --LOWELL + +[Illustration: _A Maybeetle flying, showing that the beetles hold the +wing-covers stiff and still in flight, the hind wings doing the work._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + + + + + THE WAYS OF THE ANT + + _My child, behold the cheerful ant, + How hard she works, each day; + She works as hard as adamant + Which is very hard, they say._ + --OLIVER HERFORD. + + +[Illustration: V] + +Very many performances on the part of the ant seem to us without +reason; undoubtedly many of our performances seem likewise to her. +But the more understandingly we study her and her ways, the more we +are forced to the conclusion that she knows what she is about; I +am sure that none of us can sit down by an ant-nest and watch its +citizens come and go, without discovering things to make us marvel. + +By far the greater number of species of ants find exit from their +underground burrows, beneath stones in fields. They like the stone +for more reasons than one; it becomes hot under the noon sun and +remains warm during the night, thus giving them a cozy nursery in the +evening for their young. Some species make mounds, and often several +neighboring mounds belong to the same colony, and are connected by +underground galleries. There are usually several openings into these +mounds. In case of some of the western species which make galleries +beneath the ground, there is but one opening to the nest and Dr. +McCook says that this gate is closed at night; at every gate in any +ants’ nest, there are likely to be sentinels stationed, to give +warning of intruders. + +As soon as a nest is disturbed, the scared little citizens run helter +skelter to get out of the way; but if there are any larvæ or pupæ +about, they are never too frightened to take them up and make off +with them; but when too hard pressed, they will in most cases drop +the precious burden, although I have several times seen an ant, when +she dropped a pupa, stand guard over it and refuse to budge without +it. The ant’s eggs are very small objects, being oblong and about the +size of a pin point. The larvæ are translucent creatures, like rice +grains with one end pointed. The pupæ are yellowish, covered with a +parchment-like sac, and resemble grains of wheat. When we lift stones +in a field, we usually find directly beneath, the young of a certain +size. + +There are often, in the same species of ants, two sizes; the large +ones are called majors and the smaller minors; sometimes there is a +smaller size yet, called minims. The smaller sizes are probably the +result of lack of nutrition. But whatever their size, they all work +together to bring food for the young and in caring for the nest. We +often see an ant carrying a dead insect or some other object larger +than herself. If she cannot lift it or shove it, she turns around, +and going backwards, pulls it along. It is rarely that we see two +carrying the same load, although we have observed this several times. +In one or two cases, the two seemed not to be in perfect accord as +to which path to take. If the ants find some large supply of food, +many of them will form a procession to bring it into the nest bit by +bit; such processions go back by making a little detour so as not to +meet and interfere with those coming. During most of the year, an +ant colony consists only of workers and laying queens, but in early +summer the nest may be found swarming with winged forms which are +the kings and queens. Some warm day these will issue from the nest +and take their marriage flight, the only time in their lives when +they use their wings; for ants, like seeds, seem to be provided +with wings simply for the sake of scattering wide the species. It +is a strange fact, that often on the same day swarms will issue +from all the nests of one species in the whole region; by what +mysterious messenger, word is sent that brings about this unanimous +exodus, is still a mystery to us. This seems to be a provision for +cross-breeding; and as bearing upon this, Miss Fielde discovered that +an alien king is not only made welcome in a nest, but is sometimes +seized by workers and pulled into a nest; this is most significant, +since no worker of any other colony of the same species, is permitted +to live in any but its own nest. + +[Illustration: _Agricultural ants. Note that one ant is carrying a +sister._ + +Drawn by Evelyn Mitchell.] + +After the marriage flight, the ants fall to the ground and +undoubtedly a large number perish; however, just here our knowledge +is lamentably lacking, and observations on the part of pupils as to +what happens to these winged forms will be valuable. In the case +of most species, we know that a queen finds refuge in some shelter +and there lays eggs. Mr. Comstock once studied a queen of the big, +black carpenter ant which lives under the bark of trees. This queen, +without taking any food herself, was able to lay her eggs and rear +her first brood to maturity; she regurgitated food for this first +brood, and then they went out foraging for the colony. However, +Miss Fielde found that in the species she studied, the queen could +not do this; a question most interesting to solve is whether any of +the young queens, after the marriage flight, are adopted into other +colonies of the same species. As soon as a queen begins laying eggs, +she sheds her then useless wings, laying them aside as a bride does +her veil. + +When we are looking for ants’ nests beneath stones, we often stumble +upon a colony consisting of citizens differing in color. One has the +head and thorax rust-red with the abdomen and legs brown; associated +with this brown ant, is a black or ash-colored species. These black +ants are the slaves of the brown species; but slavery in the ant +world has its ameliorations. When the slave makers attack the slave +nest, they do not fight the inmates unless they are obliged to. They +simply loot the nest of the larvæ or pupæ, which they carry off to +their own nests; and there they are fed and reared, as carefully +as are their own young. The slaves seem to be perfectly contented, +and conduct the household affairs of their masters with apparent +cheerfulness. They do all the taking care of the nest and feeding +the young, but they are never permitted to go out with war parties; +thus they never fight, unless their colony is attacked by marauders. + +If one chances upon an ant battle, one must needs compare it to a +battle of men before the invention of gunpowder; for in those days +fighting was more gory and dreadful than now, since man fought man +until one of the twain was slain. There is a great variation in +military skill as well as in courage shown by different species of +ants; the species most skilled in warfare, march to battle in a solid +column and when they meet the enemy, the battle resolves itself +into duels, although there is no code of ant honor which declares +that one must fight the enemy single-handed. Although some ants are +provided with venomous stings, our common species use their jaws for +weapons; they also eject upon each other a very acid liquid which +we know as formic acid. Two enemies approach each other, rear on +their hind legs, throw this ant vitriol at each other, then close in +deadly combat, each trying to cut the other in two. Woe to the one +on which the jaws of her enemy are once set! For the ant has bulldog +qualities, and if she once gets hold, she never lets go even though +she be rent in pieces herself. At night the ant armies retreat to +their citadels, but in the morning fare forth again to battle; and +thus the war may be waged for days, and the battlefield be strewn +with the remains of the dead and dying. So far as we are able to +observe, there are two chief causes for ant wars; one is when two +colonies desire the same ground, and the other is for the purpose of +making slaves. + +[Illustration: _An aphid stable, built by ants to protect their +herds._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +Perhaps the most interesting as well as most easily observed of all +ant practices, are those that have to do with plant-lice, or aphids. +If we find an ant climbing a plant of any sort, it is very likely +that we shall find she is doing it for the purpose of tending her +aphid herds. The aphid is a stupid little creature which lives by +thrusting its bill or sucking tube into a stem or leaf of a plant, +and thus settles down for life, nourished by the sap which it sucks +up; it has a peculiar habit of exuding from its alimentary canal +drops of honey-dew, when it feels the caress of the ant’s antennæ +upon its back. I had one year under observation, a nest of elegant +little ants with shining triangular abdomens which they waved in +the air like pennants when excited. These ants were most devoted +attendants on the plant-lice infesting an evening primrose; if I +jarred the primrose stem, the ants had a panic, and often one would +seize an aphid in her jaws and dash about madly, as if to rescue it +at all hazards. When the ant wishes honey-dew, she approaches the +aphid, stroking it or patting it gently with her antennæ, and if a +drop of the sweet fluid is not at once forthcoming, it is probably +because other ants have previously exhausted its individual supply; +if the ant gets no response, she hurries on to some other aphid not +yet milked dry. + +This devotion of ants to aphids has been known for a hundred +years, but only recently has it been discovered to be of economic +importance. Professor Forbes, in studying the corn root-louse, +discovered that the ants care for the eggs of this aphid in their own +nests during the winter, and take the young aphids out early in the +spring, placing them on the roots of smartweed; later, after the corn +is planted, the ants move their charges to the roots of the corn. +Ants have been seen to give battle to the enemies of the aphid. The +aphids of one species living on dogwood are protected while feeding +by stables, which a certain species of ant builds around them, from a +mortar made of earth and vegetable matter. + +_References_--Ants, W. M. Wheeler, Ant Communities, McCook. + + + LESSON XCV + + FIELD OBSERVATIONS ON ANTS + +_Leading thought_--However aimless to us may seem the course of the +ant as we see her running about, undoubtedly if we understood her +well enough, we should find that there is rational ant-sense in her +performances. Therefore, whenever we are walking and have time, let +us make careful observations as to the actions of the ants which we +may see. + +_Method_--The following questions should be written on the blackboard +and copied by the pupils in their note-books. This should be done +in May or June, and the answers to the questions worked out by +observations made during the summer vacation. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find ants’ nests? Describe all the +different kinds you have found. In what sort of soil do they make +their nests? Describe the entrance to the nest. If the nest is a +mound, is there more than one entrance? Are there many mounds near +each other? If so, do you think they all belong to the same colony? + +2. When the nest is disturbed, how do the ants act? Do they usually +try to save themselves alone? Do they seek to save their young at +the risk of their own lives? If an ant, carrying a young one is hard +pressed, will she drop it? + +3. Make notes on the difference in appearance of eggs, larvæ and pupæ +in any ants’ nest. + +4. In nests under stones, can you find larvæ and pupæ assorted +according to sizes? + +5. How many sizes of ants do you find living in the same nest? + +6. What objects do you find ants carrying to their nests? Are these +for food? How does an ant manage to carry an object larger than +herself? Do you ever see two ants working together carrying the same +load? + +7. If you find a procession of ants carrying food to their nest, note +if they follow the same path coming and going. + +8. If you find winged ants in a nest, catch a few in a vial with a +few of the workers, and compare the two. The winged ants are kings +and queens, the kings being much smaller than the queens. + +9. If you chance to encounter a swarm of winged ants taking flight, +make observations as to the size of swarm, the height above the +ground, and whether any are falling to the earth. + +10. Look under the loose bark of trees for nests of the big, black +carpenter ant. You may find in such situations a queen ant starting +a colony, which will prove most desirable for stocking an artificial +ant’s nest. + +11. If you find ants climbing shrubs, trees or other plants, look +upon the leaves for aphids and note the following points: + +a. How does an ant act as she approaches an aphid? + +b. If the aphids are crowded on the leaf, does she step on them? + +c. Watch carefully to see how the ant touches the aphid when she +wishes the honey-dew. + +d. Watch how the aphid excretes the honey-dew, and note if the ant +eats it. + +e. If you disturb aphids which have ants tending them, note whether +the ants attempt to defend or rescue their herds. + +f. If there are aphis-lions or ladybird larvæ eating the aphids, note +if the ants attack them. + +12. If you find a colony of ants under stones where there are brown +and black ants living together, the black members are the slaves of +the brown. Observe as carefully as possible the actions of both the +black and the brown inhabitants of the nest. + +13. If you chance to see ants fighting, note how they make the +attack. With what weapons do they fight? How do they try to get at +the adversary? + +14. Write an English theme covering the following points: How ants +take their slaves; the attitude of masters and slaves toward each +other; the work which the slaves do, and the story of the ant battle. +How ants care for and use their herds. + +_References_--American Insects, Kellogg, Manual for the Study of +Insects, Comstock; Ants, McCook; True Tales, Jordan, page 6. + + + + + LESSON XCVI + + HOW TO MAKE THE LUBBOCK ANT-NEST + + +_Material_--Two pieces of window glass, 10 inches square; a sheet of +tin, 11 inches square; a piece of plank, 1¼ inch thick, 20 inches +long and at least 16 inches wide; a sheet of tin or a thin, flat +board, 10 inches square. + +_To make the nest_--Take the plank and on the upper side, a short +distance from the edge, cut a deep furrow. This furrow is to be +filled with water, as a moat, to keep the ants imprisoned. It is +necessary, therefore, that the plank should have no knot holes, and +that it be painted thoroughly to keep it from checking. Take the +sheet of tin 11 inches square, and make it into a tray by turning up +the edges three-eighths of an inch. Place this tray in the middle +of the plank. Place within the tray one pane of glass. Lay around +the edges of this glass four strips of wood about half an inch wide +and a little thicker than the height of the ants which are to live +in the nest. Cover the glass with a thin layer of fine earth. Take +the remaining pane of glass and cut a triangular piece off of one +corner, then place the pane on top of the other, resting upon the +pieces of wood around the sides. The cover of the nest may be a +piece of tin, with a handle soldered to the center, or a board with +a screw-eye in the center with which to lift it. There should be a +piece of blotter or of very thin sponge, introduced into the nest +between the two panes of glass, in a position where it may be reached +with a pipette, without removing the upper glass, for it must be kept +always damp. + +To establish a colony in this nest proceed as follows: Take a +two-quart glass fruit jar and a garden trowel. Armed with these, +visit some pasture or meadow near by, and find under some stone, +a small colony of ants which have plenty of eggs and larvæ. Scoop +up carefully eggs, ants, dirt and all and place in the jar, being +as careful as possible not to injure the specimens. While digging, +search carefully for the queen, which is a larger ant and is +sometimes thus found. But if you have plenty of eggs, larvæ and pupæ, +the ants will become very contented in their new nest while taking +care of them. After you have taken all the ants desirable, place the +cover on the jar, carry them to the Lubbock nest and carefully empty +the contents of the fruit jar on top of the board which covers the +nest. Of course the furrow around the plank has been filled with +water, so the stragglers cannot escape. The ants will soon find the +way into the nest through the cut corner of the upper pane of glass, +and will transfer their larvæ to it because it is dark. After they +are in the nest, which should be within two or three hours, remove +the dirt on the cover, and the nest is ready for observation. But, +since light disturbs the little prisoners, the cover should be +removed only for short periods. + +The Fielde nest is better adapted for a serious study of ants, but it +is not so well adapted for the schoolroom as is the Lubbock nest. + +_Reference_--Ants, W. M. Wheeler. + +[Illustration: _A Lubbock ant-nest._] + + + + + THE ANT-NEST, AND WHAT MAY BE SEEN WITHIN IT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +Ant anatomy becomes a very interesting study when we note the +vigorous way the ant uses it--even to the least part. The slender +waist characterizes the ant as well as the wasp; the three regions +of the body are easily seen, the head with its ever moving antennæ, +the slender thorax with its three pairs of most efficient legs, +and the long abdomen. The ant’s legs are fairly long as compared +with the size of the body and the ant can run with a rapidity that, +comparatively, would soon outdistance any Marathon runner, however +famed. I timed an ant one day when she was taking a constitutional +on my foot rule. She was in no hurry, and yet she made time that +if translated into human terms would mean 16 yards per second. In +addition to running, many ants when frightened will make leaps with +incredible swiftness. + +The ant does not show her cleverness in her physiognomy, probably +because her eyes seem small and dull and she has a decidedly +“retreating forehead;” but the brain behind this unpromising +appearance is far more active and efficient than that behind the +gorgeous great eyes of the dragon-fly or behind the “high brow” of +the grasshopper. The ant’s jaws are very large compared with her +head; they work sidewise like a pair of shears and are armed with +triangular teeth along the biting edges; these are not teeth in a +vertebrate sense, but are like the teeth of a saw. These jaws are the +ant’s chief utensils and weapons; with them she seizes the burdens of +food which she carries home; with them she gently lifts her infant +charges; with them she crushes and breaks up hard food; with them +she carries out soil from her tunnel, and with them she fights her +enemies. She also has a pair of long palpi, or feelers. + +[Illustration: _A common ant._] + +Although her eyes are so small and furnished with coarse facets, as +compared with other insects, this fact need not count against her, +for she has little need of eyes. Her home life is passed in dark +burrows where her antennæ give her information of her surroundings. +Note how these antennæ are always moving, seeming to be atremble +in eagerness to receive sensations. But aside from their powers +of telling things by the touch, wherein they are more delicate +than the fingers of the blind, they have other sense organs which +are comparable to our sense of smell. Miss Fielde has shown that +the five end segments of the antennæ have each its own powers in +detecting odor. The end segment detects the odor of the ant’s own +nest and enables her to distinguish this from other nests. The next, +or eleventh segment, detects the odor of any descendant of the same +queen; by this, she recognizes her sisters wherever she finds them. +Through the next, or tenth segment, she recognizes the odor of her +own feet on the trail, and thus can retrace her own steps. The eighth +and ninth segments convey to her the intelligence and means of caring +for the young. If an ant is deprived of these five end-joints of the +antennæ, she loses all power as a social ant and becomes completely +disenfranchised. Miss Fielde gives her most interesting experiments +in detail in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of +Philadelphia, July and October, 1901. + +[Illustration: _The antenna-comb on the front leg of an ant._] + +It is natural enough that the ant, depending so much on her antennæ +for impressions and stimuli, should be very particular to keep them +clean and in good order. She is well equipped to do this, for she +has a most efficient antennæ brush on her wrist; it is practically a +circular comb, which just fits over the antenna; and to see the ants +using these brushes is one of the most common sights in the ant-nest +and one of the most amusing. The ant usually commences by lifting +her leg over one antenna and deftly passing it through the brush, +and then licks the brush clean by passing it through her mouth, as a +cat washes her face; then she cleans the other in a similar manner +and possibly finishes by doing both alternately, winding up with +a flourish, like a European gentleman curling his mustaches. Her +antennæ cleaned, she starts promptly to do something, for she is a +little six-footed Martha, always weighed down or buoyed up by many +duties and cares. Keeping her antennæ on the qui vive, she assures +herself, by touch, of the nature of any obstacle in her path. If she +meets another ant, their antennæ cross and pat each other, and thus +they learn whether they are sisters or aliens; if they are sisters, +they may stand for some time with their antennæ fluttering. One who +has watched ants carefully, is compelled to believe that they thus +convey intelligence of some sort, one to the other. The ant is a good +sister “according to her lights;” if her sister is hungry, she will +give to her, even from her own partially digested food; the two will +often stand mouth to mouth for some minutes during this process; if +she feels inclined, she will also help a sister at her toilet, and +lick her with her tongue as one cow licks another. The tongue of the +ant is very useful in several ways; with it she takes up liquids, and +also uses it with much vigor as a washcloth. Sometimes an ant will +spend a half hour or more at her own toilet, licking every part of +her own body that her tongue can reach, meanwhile going through all +sorts of contortions to accomplish it; she uses her feet to scrub +portions of her body, not to be reached by her tongue. + +[Illustration: _Ants making their toilets._] + +But it is as infant nurse that the ant is a shining example. No +mother instinct is hers, for she has yielded the power of motherhood +to the exigencies of business life, since all workers are females but +are undeveloped sexually. She shows far more sense in the care of +her infant sisters, than the mother instinct often supplies to human +mothers. The ant nurse takes the eggs as soon as laid, and whether +or not her care retards or hastens hatching we know not; but we do +know, that although the queen ant may not lay more than two eggs per +day, a goodly number of these seem to hatch at the same time. The +eggs are massed in bundles and are sticky on the outside so as to +hold the bundle together. Miss Fielde says, as the eggs are hatching, +one ant will hold up the bundle, while another feeds those which have +broken the shell. The larvæ, when young, also hang together by means +of tiny hooks on their bodies. This habit of the eggs and young larvæ +is a convenient one, since an ant is thus able to carry many at a +time. + +The larvæ are odd looking little creatures, shaped like crookneck +squashes, the small end being the head and neck and the latter being +very extensible. The ant nurses, by feeding some more than others, +are able to keep a brood at the same stage of development; and in a +well ordered ant-nest, we find those of the same size in one nursery. +I have often thought of a graded school as I have noted in ant-nests +the youngsters assorted according to size. + +The ants seem to realize the cost and care of rearing their young; +and when a nest is attacked, the oldest, which are usually in the +pupa stage, are saved first. When the larvæ are young, they are fed +on regurgitated food; but as they grow older, the food is brought +to them, or they to the food, and they do their own eating. In one +of my nests, I placed part of the yolk of an egg hard boiled, and +the ant nurses dumped the larvæ down around the edges of it; there +they munched industriously, until through their transparent bodies I +could see the yellow of the egg the whole length of the alimentary +canal. The ant nurses are very particular about temperatures for +their young, and Miss Fielde says they are even more careful about +draughts. Thus they are obliged to move them about in the ground +nests, carrying them down to the lower nurseries in the heat of the +day, and bringing them up, nearer to the warm stones, during the +evenings. This moving is always done carefully, and though the ant’s +jaws are such formidable nippers, she carries her baby sisters with +gentleness; and if they be pupæ, she holds them by the loose pupal +skin, like carrying a baby by its clothes. The pupæ look like plump +little grain bags, tied at one end with a black string. They are the +size of small grains of wheat, and are often called ants’ eggs, which +is absurd, since they are almost as large as the ant. Ants’ eggs are +not larger than pin points. + +The ant nurses keep the larvæ and pupæ very clean by licking them; +and when a youngster issues from the pupa skin, it is a matter of +much interest to the nurses. I have often seen two or three of them +help straighten out the cramped legs and antennæ of the young one, +and hasten to feed her with regurgitated food. When ants first issue +from the pupa skin they are pale in color, their eyes being very +black in contrast; they are usually helpless and stupid, although +they often try to clean their antennæ and make a toilet; but they +do not know enough to follow their elders from one room to another, +and they are a source of much care to the nurses. In case of moving, +a nurse will lock jaws with a “callow,” as a freshly hatched adult +ant is called, and drag her along, the legs of the callow sprawling +helplessly meanwhile. If in haste, the nurse takes hold anywhere, +by the neck or the leg, and hustles her charge along; if she takes +her by the waist the callow curls up like a kitten, and is thus more +easily moved. After moving them from one chamber to the next, I have +noticed that the callows are herded together, their attendants +ranged in a circle about them. Often we see one ant carrying another +which is not a callow, and this means that a certain number of the +colony have made up their minds to move, while the others are not +awake to this necessity. In such a case, one of these energetic +sisters will seize another by the waist, and carry her off with an +air that says plainly, “Come along, you stupid!” + +Ants are very cleanly in their nests, and we find the refuse piled in +a heap at one corner, or as far as possible from the brood. + +If we are fortunate enough to find a queen for the nest, then we +may observe the attention she gets; she is always kept in a special +compartment, and is surrounded by ladies in waiting, who feed her and +lick her clean and show solicitude for her welfare; although I have +never observed in an ants’ nest, that devotion to royalty which we +see in a beehive. + +Not the least interesting scene in an ants’ nest is when all, or +some, are asleep and are as motionless as if dead. + + + LESSON XCVII + + OBSERVATIONS OF ANTS IN AN ARTIFICIAL NEST + +_Leading thought_--The ants are very devoted to their young and +perhaps the care of them is the most interesting feature in the study +of the artificial nest. + +_Method_--Have, in the schoolroom, a Lubbock’s nest with a colony +of ants within it, with their larvæ in all stages, and if possible, +their queen. For observing the form of the ant, pass one or two +around in a vial. + +_Observations_--1. What is there peculiar about the shape of the +ant’s body? Can you see which section bears the legs? Are the ants’ +legs long compared with her body? Can she run rapidly? + +2. Look at the ant’s head through a lens, and describe the antennæ, +the jaws and the eyes. + +3. Note how the ant keeps her antennæ in motion. Note how she gropes +with them as a blind person with his hands. Note how she uses them in +conversing with her companions. + +4. How does the ant clean her antennæ? Does she clean them more often +than any other part of her body? How does she make her toilet? + +5. See how an ant eats syrup. How do ants feed each other? + +6. How does the ant carry an object? How does she carry a larva or a +pupa? Have you ever seen one ant carry another? If so, describe it. + +7. Note the way the ants feed their young. How do they keep them +clean? Does an ant carry one egg or one small larva at a time or a +bundle of them? How do you suppose the bundle is fastened together? + +8. Describe an egg, a larva and a pupa of the ant and tell how they +differ. Do you know which ant is the mother of the larvæ in the nest? + +9. Do you find larvæ of different sizes all together in your nest? Do +you find larvæ and pupæ in the same group? Do the ants move the young +often from one nest to another? Why do you suppose they do this? + +10. Note how the ant nurses take care of the callow ant when it is +coming out from the pupa skin. How do they assist her and care for +her? How do they lead her around? How do ants look when resting? + +11. Note where the ants throw the refuse from the nest. Do they ever +change the position of this dump heap? + + + + + THE MUD-DAUBER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This little cement worker is a nervous and fidgety creature, jerking +her wings constantly as she walks around in the sunshine; but +perhaps this is not nervousness, but rather to show off the rainbow +iridescence of her black wings; surely such a slim-waisted being as +she, has a right to be vain. No tight lacing ever brought about such +a long, slim waist as hers; it is a mere pedicel, and the abdomen is +a mere knob at the end of it. The latter seen from the outside, would +seem of little use as an abdomen; but if we watch the insect flying, +we can see plainly that it is used to steer with. + +[Illustration: _Nests of a mud-dauber on the back of a picture +frame._] + +In early summer, we find this black wasp at her trade as a mason. She +seeks the edges of pools or puddles where she works industriously, +leaving many little holes whence she takes mud to mix with the +saliva, which she secretes from her mouth to make firm her cement. +This cement she plasters on the under side of some roof or rafter +or other protected place, going back and forth until she has built +a suitable foundation. She works methodically, making a tube about +an inch long, smooth inside but rough outside, the walls about +one-eighth of an inch thick. She does all of the plastering with her +jaws, which she uses as a trowel. When the tube is completed except +that the end is left open, she starts off in quest of spiders, and +very earnestly does she seek them. I have seen her hunt every nook +and corner of a piazza for this prey. When she finds a spider, she +pounces upon it and stings it until it is helpless, and carries it to +her cement tube, which is indeed a spider sarcophagus, and thrusts +it within. She brings more spiders until her tube is nearly full; +she then lays an egg within it and then makes more cement and neatly +closes the door of the tube. She then places another tube by the side +of this, which she provisions and closes in the same way; and then +she may make another and another tube, often a half dozen, under one +adobe roof. + +The wasp in some mysterious way knows how to thrust her sting +into the spider’s nervous system in a peculiar way, which renders +her victim unable to move although it yet lives. The wasp is no +vegetarian like the bee, and she must supply her young with wasp-meat +instead of bee-bread. Since it is during the summer and hot weather +when the young wasps are hatched and begin their growth, their meat +must be kept fresh for a period of two or three weeks. So these +paralyzed spiders do not die, although they are helpless. It is +certainly a practical joke with justice in it, that these ferocious +creatures lie helpless while being eaten by a fat little grub which +they would gladly devour, if they could move. + +[Illustration: _A mud-dauber and her nests, with cells cut open +showing a, larva full grown; b, cocoon; c, young larva feeding on its +spider-meat and d, an empty cell._ + +Drawn by Anna C. Stryke.] + +The wasp larva is a whitish, plump grub and it eats industriously +until the spider meat is exhausted. It then weaves a cocoon of silk +about itself which just covers the walls of its home tube, like a +silken tapestry; within this cocoon the grub changes to a pupa. When +it finally emerges, it is a full-grown wasp with jaws which are able +to cut a door in the end of its tube, through which it comes out into +the world, a free and accepted mason. The females or queens, which +issue late in the season, hide in warm or protected places during the +winter; they particularly like the folds of lace window curtains for +hibernating quarters. There they remain until spring comes, when they +go off to build their plaster houses. + +There are about seventy species of mud wasps in our country. Some +provision their nests with caterpillars instead of spiders. This is +true of the jug-builder, which makes her nest jug-shaped and places +two or three of them side by side upon a twig. She uses hair in her +mortar, which makes it stronger. This is necessary, since the jug is +saddled upon twigs and is more exposed to the rain than is the nest +of the most common mud-dauber. The jug-builder is brown in color and +has yellow markings on the abdomen; but she does not resemble the +yellow-jackets, because she has a threadlike waist. There are other +species of mud wasps which use any small cavity they can find for the +nest, plastering up the opening after the nest has been provisioned +and the egg laid. We often find keyholes, knot-holes and even the +cavity in the telephone receiver, plastered up by these small +opportunists. + +The mud-dauber which is the most common, and most likely to be +selected for this lesson, is a slender creature and looks as if she +were made of black tinsel; her body gives off glints of steel and +blue; her abdomen constantly vibrates with the movement of breathing. +Her eyes are large and like black beads; her black antennæ curve +gracefully outward, and her wings, corrugated with veins, shimmer +with a smoky blue, green and purple. She stands on her black tip-toes +when she walks, and she has a way of turning around constantly as if +she expected an attack from the rear. Her wings, like those of other +mud-wasps are not folded fan-wise like those of the yellow-jacket, +but are folded by each other over her back. + +[Illustration: _The Jug-builder and her nests._] + + + LESSON XCVIII + + THE MUD-DAUBER + +_Leading thought_--There are certain wasps which gather mud and mix +it into mortar with which to build nests for their young. Within +these nests, the mother wasp places spiders or insects which are +disabled by her sting, for the food of the young wasps. + +_Method_--Have the pupils bring the homes of the mud wasps to school +for observation. The wasps themselves are very common in June and +also in September, and they also may be studied at school and may +be passed around in vials for closer observation; they do not sting +severely when handled, the sting being a mere prick. The purpose of +the lesson should be to stimulate the pupils to watch the mud-daubers +while building their nests and capturing their prey. + +_Observations_--1. Where did you find the mud-dauber’s nest? How was +it protected from the rain? Was it easily removed? Could you remove +it all, or did some of it remain stuck fast? + +2. What is the shape of the nest? How does it look inside? Of how +many tubes does it consist? How long is each tube? Were the tubes +laid side by side? + +3. Of what material was the nest made? Is it not much harder than +mud? How did the wasp change the mud to cement? Where did she get the +mud? How did she carry it? With what tools did she plaster it? + +4. For what purpose was the nest made? Is the inside of the tubes +smooth as compared with the outside of the nest? + +5. Write a little story about all that happens in one of these tubes, +including the following points: What did the mother wasp place in the +tube? How and why did she close it? What hatched from the egg she +placed within it? How does the young wasp look? On what does it feed? +What sort of a cocoon does it spin? How does it get out of the nest +when full-grown? + +6. Describe the mud-dauber wasp. How large is she? What is the color +of her body? Of her wings? How many wings has she? How are her wings +folded differently from those of the yellow-jacket? Describe her +eyes; her antennæ; her legs; her waist; her abdomen. + +7. Where did you find the wasp? How did she act? Do you think that +she can sting? How does she pass the winter? + +8. Do you know the mud wasps which build the little, jug-shaped nests +for their young? Do you know the mud wasps which utilize crevices and +keyholes for their nests and plaster up the opening? + +9. Do you know about the digger wasps which pack away grasshoppers or +caterpillars in a hole in the ground, in which they lay their egg and +then cover it? + +_Supplementary reading_--Insect Stories, Kellogg; Wasps, Social and +Solitary, Peckham; Wasps and their Ways, Morley; The Ways of the +Six-footed, Comstock; Home Studies in Nature, Treat. + + + + + THE YELLOW-JACKET + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: M] + +Many wasps are not so waspish after all when we understand one +important fact about them; i. e., although they are very nervous +themselves, they detest that quality in others. For years the +yellow-jackets have shared with us our meals at our summer camp on +the lake shore. They make inquisitive tours of inspection over the +viands on the table, often seeming to include ourselves, and coming +so near that they fan our faces with their wings. They usually end by +selecting the sweetened fruits, but they also carry off bits of roast +beef, pouncing down upon the meat platter and seizing a tidbit as a +hawk does a chicken. We always remain calm during these visitations, +for we know that unless we inadvertently pinch one, we shall not be +harmed; and it is great fun to watch one of these graceful creatures +poising daintily on the side of the dish lapping up the fruit juice +as a cat does milk, the slender, yellow-banded abdomen palpitating +as she breathes. Occasionally, two desire the same place, and a +wrestling match ensues which is fierce while it lasts, but the +participants always come back to the dish unharmed. They are extra +polite in their manners, for after one has delved eagerly into the +fruit syrup, she proceeds to clean her front feet by passing them +through her jaws, which is a wasp way of using a finger bowl. + +[Illustration: _A yellow-jacket_] + +Both yellow-jackets and the white-faced black-hornets build in trees +and similarly, although the paper made by the yellow-jackets is finer +in texture. However, some species of yellow-jackets build their nests +in the ground, but of similar form. The nest is of paper made of bits +of wood which the wasps pull off with their jaws from weather-worn +fences or boards. This wood is reduced to a pulp by saliva which is +secreted from the wasp’s mouth, and is laid on in little layers +which can be easily seen by examining the outside of the nest. These +layers may be of different colors. A wasp will come with her load +of paper pulp, and using her jaws and front feet for tools she will +join a strip to the edge of the paper and pat it into shape. The +paper tears more readily along the lines of the joining, than across. +The cover of the nest is made of many layers of shell-like pieces +fastened together and the outer layers are waterproof; the opening of +a nest is at the bottom. Mr. Lubbock has shown that certain wasps are +stationed at the door, as sentinels, to give warning on the approach +of the enemy. The number of stories of combs in a nest depends upon +the age and size of the colony. They are fastened together firmly +near the center, by a central core or axis of very strong, firm +paper, which at the top is attached to a branch or whatever supports +the nest. The cells all open downward, in this respect differing from +those of the honey-bee, which are usually placed horizontal. The +wasp-comb differs from the honey-comb in that it is made of paper +instead of wax, and that the rows of cells are single instead of +double. The cells in the wasp-comb are not for storing honey, but are +simply the cradles for the young wasps. (See Fig. p. 457.) + +Sometimes a wasp family disaster makes it possible for us to examine +one of these nests with its inmates. Here we find in some of the +cells, the long white eggs fastened to the very bottom of the cell, +in an inner angle, as if a larva when hatched needed to have a cozy +corner. These wasp larvæ are the chubbiest little grubs imaginable +and are very soft bodied. It was once a mystery to me how they were +able to hang in the cells, head down, without getting “black in the +face” or falling out; but this was made plain by studying the little +disk at the rear end of the larva’s body, which is decidedly sticky; +after a larva is dead, its heavy body can be lifted by pressing a +match against this disk; thus it evidently suffices to keep the baby +wasp stuck fast to its cradle. The larva’s body is mostly covered +with a white, papery, soft skeleton skin; the head is yellowish and +highly polished, looking like a drop of honey. At one side may be +seen a pair of toothed jaws, showing that it is able to take and +chew any food brought by the nurses. They seem to be well trained +youngsters for they all face toward the center of the nest, so that a +nurse, when feeding them, can move from one to another without having +to pass to the other side of the cell. It is a funny sight to behold +a combful of well grown larvæ, each fitting in its cell like meal in +a bag and with head and several segments projecting out as if the bag +were overflowing. It behooves the wasp larva to get its head as far +out of the cell as possible, so that it will not be overlooked by the +nurses; the little ones do this by holding themselves at the angle of +the cell; this they accomplish by wedging the back into the corner. +These young larvæ do not face inwards like the older ones, but they +rest in an inner angle of the cell. + +After a larva has reached the limit of its cell room, it spins a +veil around itself and fastens it at the sides, so that it forms a +lining to the upper part of the cell and makes a bag over the “head +and shoulders” of the insect. This cocoon is very tough, and beneath +its loose dome the larva skin is shed; the pupa takes on a decidedly +waspish form, except that the color is all black; the legs and the +wings are folded piously down the breast and the antennæ lie meekly +each side of the face, with the “hands” folded outside of them; the +strong toothed jaws are ready, so that when the pupa skin is molted, +the insect can cut its silken curtain, and come out into its little +nest world, as a full-fledged yellow-jacket. + +[Illustration: _Looking a wasp in the face._] + +What a harlequin the wasp is, in her costume of yellow and black! +Often in the invertebrate world these colors mean “sit up and take +notice,” and the wasp’s costume is no exception. Whoever has had +any experience in meddling with yellow-jackets, avoids acquaintance +with all yellow and black insects. Yet we must confess that the +lady wasp has good taste in dress. The yellow cross bands on her +black skirt are scalloped, and, in fact, all her yellow is put on +in a most _chic_ manner; she, being slender, can well afford to +dress in roundwise stripes, and she folds her wings prettily like a +fan, and not over her back like the mud wasp, which would cover her +decorations. There is a sensation coming to the one who, armed with a +lens, looks a wasp in the face; she always does her hair pompadour, +and the yellow is here put on with a most bizarre effect, in points +and arabesques. Even her jaws are yellow with black borders and black +notches. Her antennæ are velvety black, her legs are yellow, and her +antennæ comb, on her wrist, is a real comb and quite ornate. + +In the nest which we studied in late August, the queen cells were +just being developed. They were placed in a story all by themselves, +and they were a third larger than the cells of the workers. The queen +of this nest was a most majestic wasp, fully twice as large as any of +her subjects; her face was entirely black, and the yellow bands on +her long abdomen were of quite a different pattern than those on the +workers; her sting was not so long in proportion, but I must confess +it looked efficient. In fact, a yellow-jacket’s sting is a formidable +looking spear when seen through a microscope, since it has on one +side some backward projecting barbs, meant to hold it firm when +driving home the thrust. + +[Illustration: _The antenna-comb on the wrist of my Lady Wasp_] + +While wasps are fond of honey and other sweets, they are also fond +of animal food and eat a great many insects, benefiting us greatly +by destroying mosquitoes and flies. As no food is stored for +their winter use, all wasps excepting the queens die of the cold. +The queens crawl away to protected places and seem to be able to +withstand the rigors of winter; each queen, in the spring, makes a +little comb of a few cells, covering it with a thin layer of paper. +She then lays eggs in these cells and gathers food for the young; but +when these first members of the family, which are always workers, +come to maturity, they take upon themselves the work of enlarging +the nest and caring for the young. After that, the queen devotes her +energies to laying eggs. + +Wasps enlarge their houses by cutting away the paper from the inside +of the covering, to give more room for building the combs wider; to +compensate for this, they build additional layers on the outside of +the nest. Thus it is, that every wasp’s nest, however large, began as +a little comb of a few cells and was enlarged to meet the needs of +the rapidly growing family. Ordinarily the nest made one year is not +used again. + + + LESSON XCIX + + THE YELLOW-JACKET + +_Leading thought_--The wasps were the original paper makers, using +wood pulp for the purpose. Some species construct their houses of +paper in the trees or bushes while others build in the ground. + +_Method_--Take a deserted wasp-nest, the larger the better, with +sharp scissors remove one side of the covering of the nest, leaving +the combs exposed and follow with the questions and suggestions +indicated. From this study of the nest encourage the children to +observe more closely the wasps and their habits, which they can do +in safety if they learn to move quietly while observing (See Fig. p. +457.) + +_Observations_--1. Which kind of wasp do you think made this nest? Of +what is the nest made? Where did the wasp get the material? How do +the wasps make wood into paper? + +2. What is the general shape of the nest? Is the nest well covered +to protect it from rain? Where is the door where the wasps went in +and out? Is the covering of the nest all of the same color? Do these +differences in color give you any idea of how the wasps build the +paper into the nest? Does the paper tear more easily one way than +another? Is the covering of the nest solid or in layers? + +3. How many combs or stories are there in the wasp house? How are +they fastened together and how suspended? + +4. Compare the combs of the wasp-nest with those of the honey-bee. +How do they resemble each other and how differ? Do the cells open +upward or downward? For what purpose are the combs in the wasp-nest +used? Are all the cells of the same size? Do you know the reason for +this difference in size? + +5. How do the young wasp grubs manage to cling to the cells head +downward? Are the cells lined with a different color and does this +lining extend out over the opening in some cases? Is this lining of +the cells made of paper also? Do you know how a young wasp looks and +how the white lining of the cells is made? + +6. Do you believe that some wasps of the colony are always posted as +sentinels at the door to give warning if the colony is attacked? + +7. Do wasps store food to sustain them during the winter? What +happens to them during winter? Is the same nest used year after year? + +8. Can you describe the beginning of this wasp-nest? When was it +made? Tell the story of the wasp that made it. How large was the nest +at first? How was the nest enlarged? + +9. What is the food of wasps? How do these insects benefit us? + +10. Write a story giving the life history of a wasp. + +11. In the summer watch a yellow-jacket eat from a dish of sweetened +fruit which you may place out of doors to coax her to come where you +can carefully observe her. What are the colors of the yellow-jacket? +Where is the yellow? How are the yellow bands made ornamental? How +does she fold her wings? How many wings has she? What is the color of +her legs? Describe her antennæ and eyes. How does she eat the fruit +juice? Can you see the motion of her body when she breathes? + + + + + THE LEAF-CUTTER BEE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: O] + +One beautiful day in late June when I was picking some roses, I saw a +bee, almost as large as a honey-bee but different in shape and darker +in color, alight on a leaf and moving with nervous rapidity, cut a +circle out of a leaf with her jaws “quicker’n a wink;” then taking +the piece between her fore-feet and perhaps holding it also with her +jaws, she flew away, the green disk looking as large in proportion +to her size as a big base drum hung to the neck of a small drummer. +I waited long for her to come back, but she came not; meanwhile I +examined the leaves of the rose bush and found many circlets, and +also many oblong holes with the ends deeply rounded, cut from the +leaflets. + +I knew the story of the little bee and was glad I had seen her cut a +leaflet with her jaw shears, which work sidewise like real shears. I +knew that somewhere she had found a cavity big enough for her needs; +perhaps she had tunneled it herself in the dead wood of some post +or stump, using her jaws to cut away the chips; maybe she had found +a crevice beneath the shingles of a roof or beneath a stone in the +field, or she may have rolled a leaf; anyway, her little cave was +several inches long, circular in outline and large enough to admit +her body. She first cut a long piece from the rose leaf and folded it +at the end of the tunnel; and then she brought another and another +long piece and bent and shaped them into a little thimble-like cup, +fastening them together with some saliva glue, from her mouth. After +the cup was made to her liking, she went in search of food, which +was found in the pollen of some flowers. This pollen was carried not +as the honey-bees do, because she has no pollen baskets on her legs; +but it was dusted into the fur on the lower side of her body; as she +scraped the pollen off, she mixed it with some nectar which she had +also found in the flowers, and made it into a pasty mass and heaped +it at the bottom of the cup; she probably made many visits to flowers +before she had a sufficient amount of this bee pastry, and then she +laid an egg upon it; after this, she immediately flew back to the +rose bush to cut a lid for her cup. She is a nice mathematician and +she cuts the lid just a little larger than the rim of the cup, so +that it may be pushed down in, making it fit very closely around the +edges; she then cuts another and perhaps another of the same size and +puts them over and fastened to the first cover. When finished, it is +surely the prettiest baby basket ever made by a mother, all safely +enclosed to keep out enemies. But her work is then only begun. She +has other baby baskets to make and she perhaps makes ten or more, +placing one cup just ahead of another in the little tunnel. + +But what is happening meanwhile to the bee babies in the baskets? The +egg hatches into a little white bee grub which falls to and eats the +pollen and nectar paste with great eagerness. As it eats, it grows +and sheds its skeleton skin as often as it becomes too tight, and +then eats and grows some more. How many mothers would know just how +much food it would require to develop a child from infancy until it +grows up! This bee mother knows well this amount and when the food +is all gone, the little bee grub is old enough to change to a pupa; +it looks very different now, and although mummy-shaped we can see +its folded wings and antennæ. After remaining a motionless pupa for +a few days, it sheds its pupa skin and now it is a bee just like its +mother; but as the oldest bee is at the bottom of the tunnel, even +after it gets its wings and gnaws its way out of its basket, it very +likely cannot escape and find its way out into the sunshiny world, +until its younger brothers and sisters have gone out before it. + +There are many species of these leaf-cutter bees and each species +makes its own kind of a nest, always cutting the same size of +circlets and usually choosing its own special kind of leaf to make +this cradle. Some are daintier in their tastes and use rolled petals +instead of leaves; and we have found some tiny cups made of gorgeous +peony petals, and some of pansy petals, a most exquisite material. + +At Chautauqua we found a species which rolled maple leaves into a +tube which held three or four cups, and we also found there a bee +stowing her cups in the open end of a tubular rod, used to hold up +an awning. There are other species which make short tunnels in the +ground for their nests, but perhaps the most common of all wedge +their cups between or beneath the shingles on the roofs of summer +cottages. But, however or wherever the leaf-cutter works, she is a +master mechanic and does her work with niceness and daintiness. + +[Illustration: _Pansy cut by leaf-cutter bee._ + +Drawing by Anna C. Stryke.] + + + LESSON C + + THE LEAF-CUTTER BEE + +_Leading thought_--When we see the edges of rose leaves with holes +of regular pattern in them, some of the holes being oblong and some +circular, we know the leaf-cutter bee has cut them to make her cradle +cups. + +_Method_--It is very easy to find in June or autumn the leaves +from which the leaf-cutter bee has cut the bedding for her young. +Encourage the pupils to look for the nest during the summer and to +bring some of the cups to school when they return, where they may be +studied in detail; meanwhile the teacher may tell the story of the +nest. This is rather difficult for the pupils to work out. + +_Observations_--1. Do you find rose leaves with round holes cut in +their edges? Do you find on the same bush some leaflets with oblong +holes in them? Sketch or describe the rose leaf thus cut, noting +exactly the shape of the holes. Are the circular holes of the same +size? Are the long holes about equal in size and shape? Do you find +any other plants with holes like these cut in them? Do you find any +petals of flowers thus cut? + +2. What do you think made these holes? If an insect was taking a leaf +for food would the holes be as regular? Watch the rose bush carefully +and see if you can discover the insect which cuts the leaf. + +[Illustration: _Leaf-cutter bee; the rose leaf cut by her; her +nest-cups removed from the tube in which they were built, the cup +made first cut open to show bee larva._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +3. Have you ever seen the little black bee carrying pieces of rose +leaves between her front feet? With what instrument do you suppose +she cut the leaves? Where do you think she was going? + +4. Have you ever found the nest of the leaf-cutter bee? Was it in a +tunnel made in dead wood or in some crack or cranny? How many of the +little rose leaf cups are there in it? How are the cups placed? Are +the little bees still in the cups or can you see the holes through +which they crawled out? + +5. Take one cup and study it carefully. How are the pieces of leaves +folded to make the cups? How is the lid put on? Soak the cup in +water until it comes apart easily. Describe how many of the long +pieces were used and how they were bent to make a cup. Of how many +thicknesses is the cover made? Are the covers just the same size or +a little larger than the top of the cup? How does the cover fit so +tightly? + +6. If you find the nest in July or early August, examine one of +the cups carefully and see what there is in it. Take off the cover +without injuring it. What is at the bottom of the nest? Is there an +insect within it? How does it look? What is it doing? Of what do you +think its food was made? How and by whom was the food placed in the +cup? Place the nest in a box or jar with mosquito netting over the +top, and put it out of doors in a safe and shaded place. Look at it +often and see what this insect changes into. + +7. If the mother bee made each little nest cup and put in the +bee-bread, and honey for her young, which cup contains the oldest of +the family? Which the youngest? How do you think the full-grown bees +get out of the cup? + +8. Do you think that the same species of bee always cuts the same +sized holes in a leaf? Is it the same species which cuts the rose +leaves and the pansy petals? + + + + + THE LITTLE CARPENTER-BEE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +Take a dozen dead twigs from almost any sumac or elder, split them +lengthwise, and you will find in at least one or two of them, a +little tunnel down the center where the pith once was. In the month +of June or July, this narrow tunnel is made into an insect apartment +house, one little creature in each apartment, partitioned off from +the one above and the one below. The nature of this partition reveals +to us whether the occupants are bees or wasps; if it is made of tiny +chips, like fine sawdust glued together, a bee made it and there +are little bees in the cells; if it is made of bits of sand or mud +glued together, a wasp was the architect and young wasps are the +inhabitants. Also, if the food in the cells is pollen paste, it was +placed there by a bee; if of paralyzed insects or spiders, a wasp +made the nest. + +The little carpenter-bee (_Ceratina dupla_) is a beautiful creature, +scarcely one quarter of an inch in length, with metallic blue body +and rainbow tinted wings. In May, she selects some broken twig of +sumac, elder or raspberry, which gives her access to the pith; this +she at once begins to dig out, mouthful by mouthful, until she has +made a smooth tunnel several inches long; she then gathers pollen +and packs bee-bread in the bottom of the cell to the depth of a +quarter-inch, and then lays upon it, a tiny white egg. She then +brings back some of her chips of pith and glues them together, making +a partition about one-tenth of an inch thick, which she fastens +firmly to the sides of the tunnel; this is the roof for the first +cell and the floor of the next one; she then gathers more pollen, +lays another egg, and builds another partition. + +[Illustration: + + _The little carpenter-bee; her nest, cut open, showing the + eldest larva at the bottom and the youngest nearest the + entrance._ +] + +Thus she fills the tunnel, almost to the opening, with cells, +sometimes as many as fourteen; but she always leaves a space for a +vestibule near the door, and in this she makes her home while her +family below her are growing up. + +The egg in the lowest cell of course hatches first; a little bee +grub issues from it and eats the bee-bread industriously and grows +by shedding his skin when it becomes too tight; then he changes to +a pupa and later to a bee resembling his mother. But, though fully +grown, he cannot get out into the sunshine, for all his younger +brothers and sisters are blocking the tunnel ahead of him; so he +simply tears down the partition above him and kicks the little pieces +of it behind him, and bides his time until the next youngest brother +tears down the partition above his head and pushes its fragments +behind him into the very face of the elder which, in turn, performs a +similar act; and thus, while he is waiting, he is kept more or less +busy pushing behind him the broken bits of all the partitions above +him. Finally, the youngest gets his growth, and there they all are in +the tunnel, the broken partitions behind the hindmost at the bottom +of the nest, and the young bees packed closely together in a row with +heads toward the door. When we find the nest at this period, we know +the mother because her head is toward her young ones and her back +to the door. A little later, on some bright morning, they all come +out into the sunshine and flit about on gauzy, rainbow wings, a very +happy family, out of prison. + +But if the brood is a late one, the home must be cleaned out and used +as a winter nest, and still the loyal little mother bee stays true +to her post; she is the last one to enter the nest; and not until +they are all housed within, does she enter. It is easy to distinguish +her for her poor wings are torn and frayed with her long labor of +building the nest, until they scarcely serve to carry her afield; but +despite this she remains on guard over her brood, for which she has +worn out her own life. + +[Illustration: _Nest of carpenter-wasp._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +The story of the little carpenter-wasps is similar to that of the +bee, except that we have reason to believe they often use her +abandoned tunnels instead of making new ones. They make their little +partitions out of mud; their pupæ are always in long, slender, +silken cocoons, and we have no evidence that the mother remains in +attendance. + + + LESSON CI + + THE LITTLE CARPENTER-BEE + +_Leading thought_--Not all bees live in colonies like the honey-bees +and bumblebees. One tiny bee rears her brood within a tunnel which +she makes in the pith of sumac, elder or raspberry. + +_Method_--This lesson may be given in June or in October. In June, +the whole family of bees in their apartments may be observed; in +autumn, the empty tenement with the fragments of the partitions still +clinging may be readily found and examined; and sometimes a whole +family maybe found, stowed away in the home tunnel, for the winter. + +[Illustration: _Nest of large carpenter-wasp_ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +_Observations_--1. Collect dead twigs of sumac or elder and cut them +in half, lengthwise. Do you find any with the pith tunneled out? + +2. How long is the tunnel? Are its sides smooth? Can you see the +partitions which divide the long narrow tunnel into cells? Look at +the partitions with a lens, if necessary, to determine whether they +are made of tiny bits of wood or of mud. If made of mud, what insect +made them? If of little chips how and by what were they constructed? + +3. Are there any insects in the cells? If so, describe them. Is there +bee-bread in the cells? + +4. For what was the tunnel made? With what tools was it made? How are +the partitions fastened together? How does a young bee look? + +5. Write the story of the oldest of the bee family which lived in +this tunnel. Why did it hatch first? On what did it feed? When it +became a full fledged bee, what did it do? How did it finally get out? + +6. Take a glass tube, the hollow at the center being about one-eighth +of an inch across, a tube which you can get in any drug-store. Break +this tube into sections, six or seven inches long, wrap around each a +black paper or cloth, made fast with rubber bands and suspend them in +a hedge or among thick bushes in May. Examine these tubes each week +to see if the wasps or bees are using them. + +_Supplementary reading_--“The Story We Love Best,” in Ways of the +Six-footed, Comstock. + + + + + THE BUMBLEBEE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _Thou, in sunny solitudes, + Rover of the underwoods, + The green silence dost replace + With thy mellow, breezy bass._ + --EMERSON. + + +[Illustration: T] + +There seems to have been an hereditary war between the farm boy +and the bumblebee, the hostilities usually initiated by the boy. +Like many wars, it is very foolish and wicked, and has resulted in +great harm to both parties. Luckily, the boys of to-day are more +enlightened; and it is to be hoped that they will learn to endure a +bee sting or two for the sake of protecting these diminishing hosts, +upon which so many flowers depend for carrying their pollen; for of +all the insects of the field, the bumblebees are the best and most +needed friends of the flowers. + +The bumblebees are not so thrifty and forehanded as are the +honeybees, and do not provide enough honey to sustain the whole +colony during the winter. Only the mother bees, or queens as they +are called, survive the cold season. Just how they do it, we do not +know, but probably they are better nourished and therefore have more +endurance than the workers. In early May, one of the most delightful +of spring visitants is one of these great buzzing queens, flying low +over the freshening meadows, trying to find a suitable place for her +nest; and the farmer or fruit grower who knows his business, is as +anxious as she that she find suitable quarters, knowing well that +she and her children will render him most efficient aid in growing +his fruit and seed. She finally selects some cosy place, very likely +a deserted nest of the field mouse, and there begins to build her +home. She toils early and late, gathering pollen and nectar from the +blossoms of the orchard and other flowers which she makes into a +special kind of bee-bread, by mixing it with nectar. This is packed +in an irregular mass and on it she lays a few eggs; each little bee +grub, as soon as it hatches, burrows into the bee-bread, making a +little cave for itself while satisfying its appetite. After it is +fully grown, it spins about itself a cocoon and changes to a pupa, +and later emerges a full-fledged worker bumblebee, being scarcely +more than half as large as her queen mother. These workers or +daughters of the family find full satisfaction in life in attending +to the wants of the growing family. They gather more pollen and mix +it with honey, making larger masses for the young to burrow in; +meanwhile, the queen remains at home and devotes her energies to +laying eggs for the enlargement of the colony. The workers not only +care for the young, but later they strengthen the silken pupa cradles +with wax, and thus make them into cells for storing honey. When we +understand that the cells in the bumblebee’s nest are simply made +by the young bees burrowing in any direction, we can understand why +the bumblebee comb is so disorderly in the arrangement of its cells. +Perhaps the boy of the farm would find the rank bumblebee honey less +like the ambrosia of the gods, if he knew that it was stored in the +deserted cradles and swaddling clothes of the bumblebee grubs. + +[Illustration: _A bumblebee’s nest after a frost. Note the mummy of +the first owner of the nest._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + +All of the eggs in the bumblebee nest in the spring and early +summer develop into workers which do incidentally the vast labor of +carrying pollen for thousands of flowers; to these only is granted +the privilege of carrying the pollen for the red clover, since the +tongues of the other bees are not sufficiently long to reach the +nectar. The red clover does not produce seed in sufficient quantity +to be a profitable crop, unless there are bumblebees to pollinate its +blossoms. Late in the summer, queens and drones are developed in the +bumblebee nest, the drones, as with the honey-bees, being mates for +the queens. But of all the numerous population of the bumblebee nest, +only the queens survive the rigors of winter, and on them and their +success depends the future of the bumblebee species. + +There are many species of bumblebees, some much smaller than others, +but they all have the thorax covered with plush above and the abdomen +hairy, and their fur is usually marked in various patterns of pale +yellow and black. The bumblebee of whatever species, has short but +very active antennæ and a mouth fitted for biting as well as for +sucking. Between the large compound eyes are three simple eyes. The +wings are four in number and strong; the front legs are very short; +all the legs have hairs over them and end in a three-jointed foot, +tipped by a claw. On the hind leg, the tibia and the first tarsal +joint are enlarged, making the pollen baskets on which the pollen is +heaped in golden masses. One of the most interesting observations +possible to make, is to note how the bumblebee brushes the pollen +from her fur and packs it into her pollen baskets. + + + LESSON CII + + THE BUMBLEBEE + +_Leading thought_--The bumblebees are the chief pollen carriers for +most of our wild flowers as well as for the clovers and other farm +plants. They should, therefore, be kindly treated everywhere; and we +should be careful not to hurt the big queen bumblebee which we see +often in May. + +_Method_--Ask the questions and encourage the pupils to answer them +as they have opportunity to observe the bumblebees working in the +flowers. A bumblebee may be imprisoned in a tumbler for a short +period for observation, and then allowed to go unharmed. It is not +advisable to study the nest, which is not only a dangerous proceeding +for the pupil, but it also means the destruction of a colony of +these very useful insects. However, if the location of a nest is +discovered, it may be dug up and studied after the first heavy frost. +Special stress should be laid upon the observations of the actions of +the bees when visiting flowers. + +_Observations_--1. In how many flowers do you find the bumblebee? +Watch her closely and see how she gets the nectar. Notice how she +“bumbles around” in a flower and becomes dusted with pollen. Watch +her and note how she gets the pollen off her fur and packs it in her +pollen baskets. On which legs are her pollen baskets? How does the +pollen look when packed in them? What does she do with pollen and +nectar? + +2. Catch a bumblebee in a jelly glass and look at her closely. Can +you see three little eyes between the big compound eyes? Describe her +antennæ. Are they active? How many pairs of wings has she? Do you +think they are strong? Which pair of legs is the shortest? How many +segments are there in the leg? Do you see the claws on the foot? + +3. What is the bumblebee’s covering? What is the color of her plush? +Is she furry above and below? + +4. Can you see that she can bite as well as suck with her +mouth-parts? Will a bumblebee sting a person unless she is first +attacked? + +5. Have you seen the very large queen bumblebee in the spring, flying +near the ground hunting for a place to build a nest? Why must you be +very careful not to hurt her? How does she pass the winter? What does +she do first, in starting the nest? + +6. In how many ways does the bumblebee benefit us? + +[Illustration] + + + + + THE HONEY-BEE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: D] + +During many years naturalists have been studying the habits and +adaptations of the honey-bees, and, as yet, the story of their +wonderful ways is not half told. Although we know fairly well what +the bees do, yet we have no inkling of the processes which lead to +a perfect government and management of the bee community; and even +the beginner may discover things never known before about these +fascinating little workers. In beginning this work it might be well +to ask the pupils if they have ever heard of a republic that has many +kings and only one queen; and where the citizens do all the governing +without voting, and where the kings are powerless and the queen works +as hard and longer than any of her subjects; and then tell them that +the pages of history contain no account of a republic so wonderful +as this; yet the nearest beehive is the home of just this sort of +government. + +In addition to the interest of the bee colony from a nature-study +standpoint, it is well to get the children interested in bee-keeping +as a commercial enterprise. A small apiary well managed may bring +in an acceptable income; and it should be the source of a regular +revenue to the boys and girls of the farm, for one hive should net +the young bee-keeper from three to five dollars per year and prove a +business education to him in the meantime. + +Bees are perfect socialists. They have non-competitive labor, united +capital, communal habitations and unity of interests. The bee commune +is composed of castes as immutable as those of the Brahmins, but +these castes exist for the benefit of the whole society instead of +for the individuals belonging to them. These castes we have named +queens, drones and workers, and perhaps, first of all, we should +study the physical adaptations of the members of these castes for +their special work in the community. + + + _The Worker_ (p. 446, Fig. 3.) + +There are three divisions to the body of the bee, as in all +insects--head, thorax and abdomen. The head bears the eyes, antennæ +and mouth-parts, (p. 448, W.) There are two large compound eyes on +either side of the head and three simple eyes between them. The +antennæ arise from the face, each consisting of two parts, one +straight segment at the base, and the end portion which is curved and +made up of many segments. There is also a short, bead-like segment +where the antenna joins the face. A lens is needed to see the jaws +of the bee, folded across, much like a pair of hooks, and below them +the tongue, which is a sucking tube; the length of the tongue is very +important, for upon this depends the ability of the bee to get nectar +from the flowers. + +The thorax bears three pairs of legs below and two pairs of wings +above. Each leg consists of six segments, and the foot or tarsus has +four segments and a pair of claws. The front leg has an antennæ comb +between the tibia and tarsus, (p. 447, F, a,) the hind leg has a +pollen basket, which is a long cavity bordered by hairs wherein the +pollen is packed and carried (p. 447, A, pb.) On the other side of +the large joint beyond the pollen basket are rows of spines which +are used to remove the pollen from the baskets (p. 447, B, pc), and +between these two large segments are the pincers for removing the wax +(p. 447, B, wp.) + +The front pair of wings is larger than the hind pair. The wings of +the old bees that have done much work are always frayed at the edges. + +There are six segments or rings to the abdomen, plainly visible from +above. If the five segments next the thorax are marked above with +yellow bands on their front edges, the bee is an Italian. On the +lower side of the abdomen, each segment is made up of a central plate +with an overlapping plate on each side; just at the front edge on +each side of the central plate is a wax pocket which cannot be seen +unless the bee is dissected under a microscope. From these pockets +are secreted little flecks of wax (p. 448, X.) + + + _The Queen_ + +[Illustration: + + _1. Queen bee._ _2. Drone._ _3. Worker; all enlarged._ + _4. Queen cells._ + +From How to Keep Bees--Comstock. + +Drawn by A. J. Hammar.] + +The queen bee is a truly royal insect. She is much larger than the +worker, her body being long, pointed, and extending far beyond the +tips of her closed wings, giving her a graceful form. She has no +pollen baskets or pollen comb upon her legs, because it is not a part +of her work to gather pollen or honey. The queen bee starts life as +an ordinary worker egg, which is selected for special development. +The workers tear down the partitions of the cells around the chosen +egg and build a projection over the top, making an apartment, (p. +446, Fig. 4.) The little white bee grub, as soon as it hatches, is +fed for five days on the same food as is given to the worker grubs +for three days; it is a special substance, secreted by the worker +bees, called royal jelly. This food is very nourishing, and after +being reared upon it, the princess larva weaves around herself a +silken cocoon and changes to a pupa. Meanwhile the workers have +sealed her cell with wax. + +[Illustration: _Legs of worker honey-bee._ + + _A, outer surface of hind leg showing the nine segments and + claws_; _pb, the pollen basket of tibia_; _B, inner surface + of part of hind leg_; _wp, wax-pincers_; _pc, pollen-combs_; + _C, inner surface of part of hind leg of queen_; _D, inner + surface of part of hind leg of drone_; _E, part of middle + leg of worker_; _s. spur_; _F, part of fore leg showing the + antenna cleaner a_; _G, part of antenna showing sense-hairs + and sense-pits_. + +From How to Keep Bees--Comstock. + +Drawn by A. J. Hammar.] + +When the princess-pupa changes to the full-grown queen she cuts a +circular door in the cover of the cell and pushes through it into +the world. Her first real work is to hunt for other queen cells and +if she finds one, she will, if not hindered, make a hole in its side +and sting to death the poor princess within. If she finds another +full-grown queen, the two fight until one succumbs. The queen never +uses her sting upon anything or anyone except a rival queen. + +After a few days she takes her marriage flight in the air, where +she mates with some drone, and then returns to her hive and begins +her great work as mother of the colony. She runs about on the comb, +pokes her head into a cell to see if it is ready, then turning about +thrusts her abdomen in and neatly glues an egg fast to the bottom. + +When the honey season is at its height she works with great rapidity, +sometimes laying at the rate of six eggs per minute, often producing +3,000 eggs during a day, which would equal twice her own weight. If +the workers do not allow her to destroy the other queens, she then +takes a portion of her colony with her and swarms out, seeking a home +elsewhere. + +[Illustration: _D, head of drone_; _Q, head of queen bee_; _W, head +of worker_; _X, worker bee seen from below, showing plates of wax +secreted from wax pockets_. + +From How to Keep Bees--Comstock. + +Drawn by A. J. Hammar.] + + + _The Drone_ + +The drone differs much in shape from the queen and the worker. He is +broad and blunt, being very different in shape from the queen, and +larger than the worker, (p. 446, Fig. 2.) He has no pollen baskets on +his legs and has no sting. His eyes are very much larger than those +of the queen or the worker and unite at the top of the head (p. 448, +D.) His wings are larger and stronger than those of the worker or +queen. It is not his business to go out and gather honey or to help +in the work of the hive. His tongue is not long enough to get honey +from the flowers; he has no pollen basket in which to carry pollen; +he has no sting to fight enemies and no pockets for secreting wax; he +is fed by his sister workers until the latter part of the season when +the honey supply runs low, and then he is stung or bitten to death +by these same sisters who have always given him such good care. The +drone should be called a prince or king, since his particular office +in the hive is to mate with the queen. + +_References_--How to Keep Bees, Comstock; The Bee People, Morley. + + + LESSON CIII + + THE HONEY-BEE + +_Leading thought_--In a colony of honey-bees there are three +different forms of bees, the queens, the drones, and the workers. All +of these have their own special work to do for the community. + +_Method_--In almost every country or village community there is an +apiary, or at least someone who keeps a few colonies of bees; to +such the teacher must turn for material for this lesson. If this +is not practical the teacher may purchase specimens from any bee +dealer; she may, for instance, get an untested queen with attendant +workers in a queen cage sent by mail for a small sum. These could be +kept alive for some time by feeding them with honey, during which +time the pupils can study the forms of the two castes. Any apiary +during September will give enough dead drones for a class to observe. +Although ordinarily we do not advocate the study of dead specimens, +yet common sense surely has its place in nature-study; and in the +case of the honey-bee, a closer study of the form of the insect is +desirable than the living bee might see fit to permit. There are no +more wonderful instances of adaptation of form to life than is found +in the anatomy of the workers, queens and drones; moreover, it is +highly desirable if the pupils are ever to become bee-keepers, that +they shall know these adaptations. + +A lens is almost necessary for these lessons and a compound +microscope used with a low power would be a very desirable adjunct. +This lesson should not be given below the fifth grade; and it is +better adapted to eighth grade work. + + + _The Worker_ + +_Observations_--1. How many divisions of the body are there? + +2. What organs are borne on the head? + +3. Are there small, simple eyes between the large compound ones? + +4. What is the difference between the large eyes and the small? + +5. Describe the antennæ. + +6. What can you see of the mouth? Describe it. + +7. Look at the tongue under the microscope and see how it is fitted +for getting nectar from flowers. + +8. What organs are borne on the thorax? + +9. Study the front or middle leg. How many joints has it? + +10. With a lens find the antennæ cleaner on the front leg. Describe +it. + +11. Describe the feet and claws. + +12. Compare the third segment of the hind leg with that of the front +leg. + +13. Note that this segment of the hind leg is much wider. Note its +form and describe how it forms the pollen basket. + +14. Study the next segment of the hind leg, and note the wax pincers +and the pollen combs. + +15. Compare the front and hind wing as to shape and size. + +16. How many rings are there on the abdomen and how are the rings +colored above. + +17. Study the lower side of the body; do you know where the wax comes +from? + +18. Write an English theme on the development of the larva of the +worker bee; the duties of a worker bee from the time it issues from +its cocoon until it dies working for the colony. + + + _The Queen Bee_ + +1. How does the queen differ in size and shape from the worker? + +2. Has she pollen baskets or pollen combs on her hind legs? + +3. How does the shape of the abdomen differ from that of the worker? + +4. Write an English theme on the life of a queen bee. This should +cover the following points: The kind of cell in which the queen is +developed; the kind of food on which she is reared; the fact that she +never stings people but reserves her sting for other queens; why she +does not go out to gather honey; how and by whom and on what she is +fed; she would not use pollen baskets if she had them; the work she +does for the colony; the length of her life compared with that of +a worker; the time of year when new queens are developed, and what +becomes of the old queen when a new one takes her place; why she is +called a queen. + + + _The Drone_ + +1. How does the drone differ in size and form of body from the worker? + +2. How does he differ in these respects from the queen? + +3. Has he pollen baskets on his legs? + +4. Has he a sting? + +5. Compare his eyes with those of the queen and worker. + +6. Compare the size of his wings with those of the queen and worker. + +7. Write an English theme on the drone. This should cover the +following points: In what sort of cell is the drone developed; does +he go out to gather honey or help in the work of the hive; how he +is fed; how he is unfitted for work for the colony in the following +particulars: Tongue, lack of pollen baskets, lack of sting, and of +wax pockets; why the drone should be called a prince or king; the +death of the drones; when and by what means it occurs. + + + + + HONEY-COMB + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The structure of honey-comb has been for ages admired by +mathematicians, who have measured the angles of the cells and +demonstrated the accurate manner in which the rhomb-shaped cell +changes at its base to a three faced pyramid; and proven that, +considering the material of construction, honey-comb exemplifies +the strongest and most economic structure possible for the storing +of liquid contents. While recent instruments of greater precision +in measuring angles, show less perfection in honey-comb than the +ancients believed, yet the fact still stands that the general plan of +it is mathematically excellent. + +Some have tried to detract from bee skill, by stating that the +six-sided cell is simply the result of crowding cells together. +Perhaps this was the remote origin of the hexagonal cell; but if we +watch a bee build her comb, we find that she begins with a base laid +out in triangular pyramids, on either side of which she builds out +six-sided cells. A cell just begun, is as distinctly six-sided as +when completed. + +[Illustration: _A section of honey. Note the caps to the cells, each +supported by six girders._] + +The shape of the cell of a honey-comb is six-sided in cross section. +The bottom is a three-sided pyramid and its sides help form pyramids +at the bottom of the cells opposite, thus economizing every particle +of space. In the hive, the cells lie horizontal usually, although +sometimes the combs are twisted. The honey is retained in the cell +by a cap of wax which is made in a very cunning fashion; it consists +of a circular disc at the middle supported from the six angles of +the cell by six tiny girders. The comb is made fast to the section +of the hive by being plastered upon it. The foundation comb sold +to apiarists is quite thick, so that the edges of the cell may be +drawn out and almost complete the sides of the cell. However, the +foundation comb is expensive and is ordinarily used by the bee-keeper +simply as a starter, which means a little strip a few inches or so in +width fastened to the top of a section just to give the bees a hint +that this is the direction in which the comb should be built, a hint +which the bees invariably take. The cells of honey-comb are used +also for the storing of bee-bread and also as cradles for the young +bees. + +_References_--The Bee People, Morley; How to Keep Bees, Comstock. + +[Illustration: _Starters of foundation comb in section boxes, +partially built out by the bees. The section at the left has a +“starter” of foundation comb. The other sections show the work of the +bees in drawing out and building on the “starters.”_] + + + LESSON CIV + + THE HONEY-COMB + +_Leading thought_--The cells of honey-comb are six-sided and in +double rows and are very perfectly arranged for the storing of honey, +so as to save room. + +_Materials_--A section filled with honey and also a bit of empty comb +and a bit of commercial foundation comb which may be obtained in any +apiary. + +_Observations_--1. Look at a bit of empty honey-comb; what is the +shape of the cell as you look down into it? + +2. What is the shape of the bottom of the cell? + +3. How does the bottom of the cell join the bottom of the cell +opposite? Explain how honey-comb economizes space as storage for +honey, and why an economy of space is of use to bees in the wild +state. + +4. In the hive is the honey-comb placed so that the length of the +cells are horizontal or up and down? + +5. Observe honey-comb containing honey; how is the honey retained in +the cells? + +6. Carefully take off a cap from the honey cell and see if you can +find the six girders that extend inward from the angles of the cell +to support the circular portion in the center. + +7. By what means is the honey-comb made fast to the sides of the +section or the hive? + +8. Study a bit of foundation comb and note where the bees will pull +out the wax to form the cell. + +9. Why and how is foundation comb used by the bee-keeper? + +10. For what purpose besides storing honey are the cells of +honey-comb used by the bees? + + + + + INDUSTRIES OF THE HIVE AND THE OBSERVATION HIVE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: B] + +Bee-hives are the houses which man furnishes for the bee colonies, +the wild bees ordinarily living in hollow trees or in caves. The +usual hive consists of a box which is the lower story and of one or +more upper stories, called “supers.” In the lower story are placed +frames for the brood and for storing the honey for the winter use +of the bees. In the supers are placed the sections, each of which +is planned to hold a pound of honey. It is the habit of the bees to +place their brood in the lower part of their nests and store honey +in the upper portions. The bee-keepers have taken advantage of this +habit of the bees and remove the supers with their filled sections +and replace them with others to be filled, and thus get a large crop +of honey. The number of bees in a colony varies; there should be at +least 40,000 in a healthy colony. Of these a large proportion are +workers; there may be a few hundred drones the latter part of the +season but only one queen. + +Honey-comb is built of wax and is hung from the frame so that the +cells are horizontal; its purpose is to cradle the young and for the +storage of pollen and honey. The wax used for building the comb is a +secretion of the bees; when comb is needed, a number of self-elected +bee citizens gorge themselves with honey and hang themselves up in +a curtain, each bee reaching up with her fore feet and taking hold +of the hind feet of the one above her. After remaining thus for +some time the wax appears in little plates, one on each side of the +second, third, fourth and fifth segments of the abdomen. This wax is +chewed by the bees and made into comb. + +[Illustration: _A home-made observation hive._] + +Honey is made from the nectar of flowers which the bee takes into +her honey stomach. This, by the way, is not the true stomach of the +bee and has nothing to do with digestion. It is simply a receptacle +for storing the nectar, which is mixed with some secretion from the +glands of the bee which brings about chemical changes, the chief +of which is changing the cane sugar of the nectar into the more +easily digested grape sugar of the honey. After the honey is emptied +from the honey stomach into the cell, it remains exposed to the air +for some time before the cell is capped, and thus ripens. It is an +interesting fact that up to the seventeenth century honey was the +only means people had for sweetening their food, as sugar was unknown. + +Bee-bread is made from the pollen of flowers which is perhaps mixed +with saliva so as to hold together; it is carried from the field on +the pollen baskets of the hind legs of the workers; it is packed into +the cell by the bees and is used for food. Propolis is bee glue; it +is used as a cement and varnish; it is gathered by the bees from the +leaf-buds of certain trees and plants, although when they can get +it, the bees will take fresh varnish. It is used as a filler to make +smooth the rough places of the hive; it often helps hold the combs in +place; it calks every crack; it is applied as a varnish to the cells +of the honey-comb if they remain unused for a time, and if the door +of the observation hive be left open the bees will cover the inside +of the glass with this glue, and thus make the interior of the hive +dark. + +The young bees are footless, white grubs. Each one lives in its +own little cell and is fed by the nurse bees, which give it partly +digested food from their own stomachs. + +The removal of honey from the supers does not do any harm to the +bee colony if there is enough honey left in the brood chambers to +support the bees during the winter. There should be twenty-five or +thirty pounds of honey left in the brood chamber for winter use. In +winter, the hives should be protected from the cold by being placed +in special houses or by being encased in larger boxes, leaving an +opening so that the bees may come out in good weather. The chaff hive +is best for both winter and summer, as it surrounds the hive with a +space, which is filled with chaff, and keeps the hive warm in winter +and cool in summer. Many bee-keepers put their bees in cellars during +the winter, but this method is not as safe as the chaff hive. Care +should be taken in summer to place the hives so that they are shaded +at least part of the day. The grass should be mown around the hives +so that the bees will not become entangled in it as they return from +the fields laden with honey. + +_What may be seen in the observation hive_--First of all, it is very +interesting to watch the bees build their comb. When more comb is +needed certain members of the colony gorge themselves with honey and +remain suspended while it oozes out of the wax pockets on the lower +side of the abdomen. This wax is collected and chewed to make it less +brittle and then is carried to the place where the comb is being +built and is molded into shape by the jaws of the workers. However, +the bee that puts the wax in place is not always the one that molds +it into comb. + +A bee comes into the hive with her honey stomach filled with nectar +and disgorges this into a cell. When a bee comes in loaded with +pollen, she first brushes it from the pollen baskets on her hind legs +into the cell; later another worker comes along and packs the pollen +grains into the cell with her head, which is a comical sight. + +The bee nurses run about on the comb feeding the young bee grubs +partially digested honey and pollen regurgitated from their own +stomachs. Whenever the queen moves about the comb she is followed +by a retinue of devoted attendants which feed her on the rich and +perfectly digested royal jelly and also take care of her royal +person and give her every attention possible. The queen, when laying, +thrusts her abdomen into the cell and glues a little white egg to the +bottom. The specially interesting thing about this is that the queen +always lays an egg which will produce a female, or worker in the +smaller cells and will always lay an egg to produce a drone or male +in the larger cells. + +[Illustration: _The observation hive made and sold by A. I. Root._] + +If there is any foreign substance in the observation hive it is +interesting to see the bees go to work at once to remove it. They +dump all of the debris out in front of the hive. They close all +crevices in the hive; and they will always curtain the glass, if +the door is kept open too much, with propolis or bee glue, which +is a very sticky substance which they get from leaf buds and other +vegetable sources. When bees fan to set up a current of air in the +hive, they glide back and forth, moving the wings so rapidly that we +can only see a blur about their bodies. + +If drones are developed in the hive, it is interesting to see how +tenderly they are fed by their sister workers, although they do not +hesitate to help themselves to the honey stored in the cells; and if +the observation hive is working during September, undoubtedly the +pupils may be able to see the murder of the drones by their sisters. +But the children should understand that this killing of the drones is +necessary for the preservation of the colony, as the workers cannot +store enough honey to keep the colony alive during the winter if the +drones were allowed to go on feeding. + +If you see the worker bees fighting, it means that robbers are +attempting to get at the stores of the observation hive. The entrance +to the hive should at once be contracted by placing a block of wood +in front, so that there is room for only one bee at a time to pass in +and out. + + + LESSON CV + + THE INDUSTRIES OF THE HIVE + +_Leading thought_--In the hive are carried on the industries of +wax-making, building of honey-comb, storing of honey and bee-bread, +caring for the young, keeping the hive clean and ventilated and +calking all crevices with bee glue. + +_Method_--This lesson should be in the nature of a demonstration. If +there is an apiary in the neighborhood, it is quite possible that the +teacher may show the pupils a hive ready for occupancy by the bees; +in any case she will have no difficulty in borrowing a frame of brood +comb, and this with a section of honey which can be bought at the +grocery store, is sufficient if there is no observation hive. This +lesson should be an informal talk between teacher and pupils. + +An observation hive in the schoolroom is an object of greatest +interest to the pupils, as through its glass sides they may be able +to verify for themselves the wonderful tales concerning the lives and +doings of the bees which have been told us by naturalists. Moreover, +the study thus made of the habits of the bees is an excellent +preparation for the practical apiarist, and we sincerely believe that +bee-keeping is one of the ways by which the boys and girls of the +farm may obtain money for their own use. + +The observation hive is very simply constructed and can be made by +anyone who knows how to use ordinary carpenter tools. It is simply +a small, ordinary hive with a pane of glass on each side which is +covered by a hinged door. A hive thus made is placed so that the +front end rests upon a window sill; the sash is lifted an inch or so, +a strip of wood, or a piece of wire netting being inserted underneath +the sash except in front of the entrance of the hive, to hinder the +bees from coming back into the room. A covered passageway should +extend from the entrance of the hive to the outside of the window +sill. This window should be one which opens away from the playground +so that the bees coming and going, will not come into collision with +the pupils. The observation window should be kept carefully shut, +except when the pupils are using it, since the bees object to light +in their homes. + +The A. I. Root Co., of Medina, Ohio, sell a pretty observation hive +which we have used successfully by stocking it afresh each season, +it being too small for a self-sustaining colony. But it has the +advantage of smallness which enables us to see all that is going on +within it, which would be impossible in a larger hive. This hive +comes in several sizes, and will be shipped from the makers stocked +with bees at prices ranging from $1.25 to $4.00. + +_Observations--Industries and care of the hive_--1. What is the hive, +and what do wild bees use instead of the hive? Describe as follows: + +2. Describe a brood chamber and a super and the uses of each. + +3. How many and what bees live in a hive. + +4. How the honey-comb is made and placed and the purpose of it. + +5. How the wax is produced and built into the comb. + +6. How honey is made. + +7. What bee-bread is and its uses. + +8. What propolis is and what it is used for. + +9. How young bees look and how they are cradled and fed. + +10. Does the removal of the honey from the supers in the fall do any +harm to the bee colony? + +11. How much honey should a good-sized colony have in the fall to +winter well? + +12. How should the hives be protected in the winter and summer? + +_What may be seen in the observation hive_--13. Describe how a bee +works when building honey-comb. + +14. How does the bee act when storing honey in a cell? + +15. How does a bee place pollen in a cell and pack it into bee-bread? + +16. Describe how the nurse bees feed the young, and how the young +look when eating. + +17. Describe how the “ladies in waiting” feed and care for the queen. + +18. Try to observe the queen when she is laying eggs and describe her +actions. + +19. How do the bee workers keep their house clean? + +20. How do they stop all crevices in the hive? If you keep the hive +uncovered too long, how will they curtain the window? + +21. Describe the actions of the bees when they are ventilating the +hive. + +22. If there are any drones in the hive, describe how they are fed. + +23. How can you tell queens, drones and workers apart? + +[Illustration: _A wasp’s nest with side walls removed._] + + + + + VII. OTHER INVERTEBRATE-ANIMAL STUDY + + + + + THE GARDEN SNAIL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: P] + +Perchance if those who speak so glibly of a “snail’s pace” should +study it, they would not sneer at it, for carefully observed, it +seems the most wonderful method of locomotion ever devised by animal. +Naturally enough, the snail cannot gallop since it has but one foot; +but it is safe to assert that this foot, which is the entire lower +side of the body, is a remarkable organ of locomotion. Let a snail +crawl up the side of a tumbler and note how this foot stretches +out and holds on. It has flanges along the sides, which secrete +an adhesive substance that enables the snail to cling, and yet it +also has the power of letting go at will. The slow, even, pushing +forward, of the whole body, weighted by the unbalanced shell, is as +mysterious and seemingly as inevitable, as the march of fate, so +little is the motion connected with any apparent muscular effort. But +when his snailship wishes to let go and retire from the world, this +foot performs a feat which is certainly worthy of a juggler; it folds +itself lengthwise, and the end on which the head is retires first +into the shell, the tail end of the foot being the last to disappear. +And now find your snail! + +Never was an animal so capable of stretching out and then folding +up all its organs, as is this little tramp who carries his house +with him. Turn one on his back when he has withdrawn into his little +hermitage, and watch what happens. Soon he concludes he will find +out where he is, and why he is bottomside up; as the first evidence +of this, the hind end of the foot, which was folded together, pushes +forth; then the head and horns come bubbling out. The horns are not +horns at all, but each is a stalk bearing an eye on the tip. This is +arranged conveniently, like a marble fastened to the tip of a glove +finger. When a snail wishes to see, it stretches forth the stalk as +if it were made of rubber; but if danger is perceived, the eye is +pulled back exactly as if the marble were pulled back through the +middle of the glove finger; or as a boy would say, “it goes into the +hole and pulls the hole in after it.” Just below the stalked eyes, is +another pair of shorter horns, which are feelers, and which may be +drawn back in the same manner; they are used constantly for testing +the nature of the surface on which the snail is crawling. It is an +interesting experiment to see how near to the eyes and the feelers +we can place an object, before driving them back in. With these two +pairs of sense organs pushed out in front of him, the snail is well +equipped to observe the topography of his immediate vicinity; if he +wishes to explore above, he can stand on the tip of his tail and +reach far up; and if there is anything to take hold of, he can glue +his toe fast to it and pull himself up. Moreover, I am convinced that +snails have decided views about where they wish to go, for I have +tried by the hour to keep them marching lengthwise on the piazza +railing, so as to study them; and every snail was determined to go +crosswise and crawl under the edge, where it was nice and dark. + +It is interesting to observe through a lens, the way a snail takes +his dinner; place before him a piece of sweet apple or other soft +fruit, and he will lift himself on his front toe and begin to work +his way into the fruit. He has an efficient set of upper teeth, which +look like a saw and are colored as if he chewed tobacco; with these +teeth and with his round tongue, which we can see popping out, he +soon makes an appreciable hole in the pulp; but his table manners are +not nice, since he is a hopeless slobberer. + +[Illustration: _Snail sketches._ + +1. The thorny path to bliss; 2. Snail showing the breathing-pore; 3. +Prospecting.] + +There are right and left spiraled snails. All those observed for +this lesson show the spiral wound about the center from left over +to right, or in the direction of the movement of the hands of a +clock, and this is usually the case. With the spiral like this, the +breathing pore is on the right side of the snail and may be seen as +an opening where the snail joins the shell. This pore may be seen to +open and contract slowly; by this motion, the air is sucked into the +shell where it bathes the snail’s lung, and is then forced out--a +process very similar to our own breathing. + +The snail has good judgment when attacked; at the first scare, he +simply draws in his eyes and feelers and withdraws his head, so that +nothing can be seen of him from above, except a hard shell which +would not attract the passing bird. But if the attack continues, he +lets go all hold on the world, and nothing can be seen of him but a +little mass which blocks the door to his house; and if he is obliged +to experience a drought, he makes a pane of glass out of mucus across +his door, and thus stops evaporation. This is a very wise precaution, +because the snail is made up largely of moisture and much water is +needed to keep his mucilage factory running. + +The way the snail uses his eyes is comical; he goes to the edge +of a leaf and pokes one eye over to see what the new territory is +like; but if his eye strikes an object, he pulls that one back, and +prospects for a time with the other. He can lengthen the eye-stalk +amazingly if he has need. How convenient for us if we could thus see +around a corner. If a small boy were as well off as a snail, he could +see the entire ball game through a knot-hole in the fence. In fact, +the more we study the snail, the more we admire, first his powers +of ascertaining what there is in the world, and then his power of +getting around in the world by climbing recklessly and relentlessly +over obstacles, not caring whether he is right side up on the floor +or hanging wrong side up from the ceiling; and, finally, we admire +his utter reticence when things do not go to suit him. I think +the reason I always call a snail “he” is because he seems such a +philosopher--a Diogenes in his tub. However, since the snail combines +both sexes in one individual the pronoun is surely applicable. + +When observed through a lens, the snail’s skin looks like that of the +alligator, rough and divided into plates, with a surface like pebbled +leather; and no insect intruder can crawl up his foot and get into +the shell “unbeknownst,” for the shell is grown fast to the flange, +that grows out of the middle of the snail’s back. The smoother the +surface the snail is crawling upon, the harder to make him let go. +The reason for this lies in the mucus, which he secretes as he goes, +and which enables him to fasten himself anywhere; he can crawl up +walls or beneath any horizontal surface, shell downward, and he +leaves a shining trail behind him wherever he goes. + +Snail eggs are as large as small peas, almost transparent, covered +with very soft shells, and fastened together by mucus. They are laid +under stones and decaying leaves. As soon as the baby snail hatches, +it has a shell with only one spiral turn in it; as it grows, it adds +layer after layer to the shell on the rim about the opening--which +is called the lip; these layers we can see as ridges on the shell. +If we open an empty shell, we can see the progress of growth in the +size of the spirals. Snails eat succulent leaves and other soft +vegetable matter. During the winter, they bury themselves beneath +objects or retire into soft humus. In preparing for the winter, the +snail makes a door of mucus and lime, or sometimes three doors, one +behind another, across the entrance to his shell, leaving a tiny hole +to admit the air. There are varieties of snails which are eaten as +dainties in Europe, and are grown on snail farms for the markets. The +species most commonly used is the same as that which was regarded as +a table luxury by the ancient Romans. + +_References_--Wild Life, Ingersoll; The Natural History of Some +Common Animals, Latter. + + + LESSON CVI + + THE GARDEN SNAIL + +_Leading thought_--The snail carries his dwelling with him, and +retires within it in time of danger. He can climb on any smooth +surface. + +_Method_--The pupils should make a snailery, which may consist of any +glass jar, with a little soil and some moss or leaves at the bottom, +and a shallow dish of water at one side. The moss and soil should be +kept moist. Place the snails in this and give them fresh leaves or +pulpy fruit, and they will live comfortably in confinement. A bit of +cheese-cloth fastened with a rubber band should be placed over the +top of the jar. A tumbler inverted over a dish, on which is a leaf or +two, makes a good observation cage to pass around the room for closer +examination. An empty shell should be at hand, which may be opened +and examined. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find snails? Why do they like to live +in such places? + +2. How does a snail walk? Describe its “foot.” How can it move with +only one foot? Describe how it climbs the side of the glass jar. How +does it cling? + +3. What sort of a track does a snail leave behind it? What is the use +of this mucus? + +4. Where are the snail’s eyes? Why is this arrangement convenient? If +we touch one of the eyes what happens? What advantage is this to the +snail? Can it pull in one eye and leave the other out? + +5. Look below the eyes for a pair of feelers. What happens to these +if you touch them? + +6. What is the use of its shell to a snail? What does the snail do if +startled? If attacked? When a snail is withdrawn into its shell can +you see any part of the body? Is the shell attached to the middle of +the foot? How did the shell grow on the snail’s back? How many spiral +turns are there in the full-grown shell? Are there as many in the +shell of a young snail? Can you see the little ridges on the shell? +Do you think that these show the way the shell grew? + +7. Can you find the opening through which the snail draws its breath? +Where is this opening? Describe its action. + +8. Put the snail in a dry place for two or three days, and see what +happens. Do you think this is for the purpose of keeping in moisture? +What does the snail do during the winter? + +9. Place a snail on its back and see how it rights itself. Describe +the way it eats. Can you see the horny upper jaw? Can you see the +rasping tongue? What do snails live on? + +10. Do you know how the snail eggs look and where they are laid? How +large is the shell of the smallest garden snail you ever saw? How +many spiral turns were there in it? Open an empty snail shell and see +how the spirals widened as the snail grew. Do you think the shell +grew by layers added to the lip? + +11. Do all snails have shells? Describe all the kinds of snails you +know. What people consider snails a table delicacy? + + + _TO A SNAIL_ + + _Little Diogenes bearing your tub, whither away so gay, + With your eyes on stalks, and a foot that walks, tell me this + I pray! + Is it an honest snail you seek that makes you go so slow, + And over the edges of all things peek? Have you found him, I + want to know; + Or do you go slow because you knew, your house is near and + tight? + And there is no hurry and surely no worry lest you stay out + late at night._ + + + + + THE EARTHWORM + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +Although not generally considered attractive, for two reasons the +earthworm has an important place in nature-study: it furnishes an +interesting example of lowly organized creatures, and it is of +great economic importance to the agriculturist. The lesson should +have special reference to the _work_ done by earthworms and to the +simplicity of the tools with which the work is done. + +The earthworm is, among lower animals, essentially the farmer. Long +before man conceived the idea of tilling the soil, this seemingly +insignificant creature was busily at work plowing, harrowing, and +fertilizing the land. Nor did it overlook the importance of drainage +and the addition of amendments--factors of comparatively recent +development in the management of the soil by man. + +Down into the depths, sometimes as far as seven or eight feet, but +usually from twelve to eighteen inches, goes the little plowman, +bringing to the surface the subsoil, which is exactly what we do when +we plow deeply. To break up the soil as our harrows do, the earthworm +grinds it in a gizzard stocked with grains of sand or fine gravel, +which act as millstones. Thus it turns out soil of much finer texture +than we, by harrowing or raking, can produce. In its stomach it adds +the lime amendment, so much used by the modern farmer. The earthworm +is apparently an adept in the use of fertilizers; it even shows +discrimination in keeping the organic matter near the surface, where +it may be incorporated into the soil of the root zone. It drags into +its burrows dead leaves, flowers and grasses, with which to line the +upper part. Bones of dead animals, shells, and twigs are buried by +it, and, being more or less decayed, furnish food for plants. These +minute agriculturists have never studied any system of drainage, but +they bore holes to some depth which carry off the surplus water. They +plant seeds by covering those that lie on the ground with soil from +below the surface--good, enriched, well granulated soil it is, too. +They further care for the growing plants by cultivating, that is +keeping fine and granular, the soil about the roots. + +It was estimated by Darwin that, in garden soil in England, there +are more than 50,000 earthworms in an acre, and that the whole +superficial layer of vegetable mold passes through their bodies in +the course of every few years, at the rate of eighteen tons per acre +yearly. + +This agricultural work of the earthworm has been going on for ages. +Wild land owes much of its beauty to this diminutive creature which +keeps the soil in good condition. The earthworm has undermined and +buried rocks, changing greatly the aspect of the landscape. It has +preserved ruins and ancient works of art. Several Roman villas in +England owe their preservation to the earthworm. All this work is +accomplished with the most primitive tools, a tiny proboscis, a +distensible pharynx, a rather indeterminate tail, a gizzard and the +calcareous glands peculiar to this lowly creature. + +An earthworm has a peculiar, crawling movement. Unlike the snake, +which also moves without legs, it has no scales to function in part +as legs; but it has a very special provision for locomotion. On the +under side of a worm are found numerous _setæ_--tiny, bristlelike +projections. These will be seen to be in double rows on each segment, +excepting the first three and the last. The setæ turn so that they +point in the opposite direction from which the worm is moving. It is +this use of these clinging bristles, together with strong muscles, +which enables a worm to hold tightly to its burrow when bird or man +attempts its removal. A piece of round elastic furnishes an excellent +example of contraction and extension, such as the earthworm exhibits. +Under the skin of the worm are two sets of muscles; the outer passing +in circular direction around the body, the inner running lengthwise. +The movement of these may be easily seen in a good-sized, living +specimen. The body is lengthened by the contraction of circular and +the extension of longitudinal muscles, and shortened by the opposite +movement. + +The number of segments may vary with the age of the worm. In the +immature, the _clitellum_, a thick, whitish ring near the end, +is absent. The laying of the earthworm’s egg is an interesting +performance. A sac-like ring is formed about the body in the region +of the clitellum. This girdle is gradually worked forward and, as it +is cast over the head, the sac-ends snap together enclosing the eggs. +These capsules, yellowish-brown, football-shaped, about the size of +a grain of wheat, may be found in May or June about manure piles or +under stones. + +Earthworms are completely deaf, although sensitive to vibration. +They have no eyes, but can distinguish between light and darkness. +The power of smell is feeble. The sense of taste is well developed; +the sense of touch is very acute; and we are not so sure as is Dr. +Jordan, that the angleworm is at ease on the hook. + +Any garden furnishes good examples of the home of the earthworm. The +burrows are made straight down at first, then wind about irregularly. +Usually they are about one or two feet deep, but may reach even eight +feet. The burrow terminates generally in an enlargement where one +or several worms pass the winter. Toward the surface, the burrow is +lined with a thin layer of fine, dark colored earth, voided by the +worm. This creature is an excavator and builder of no mean ability. +The towerlike “castings” so characteristic of the earthworm, are +formed with excreted earth. Using the tail as a trowel, it places +earth, now on one side and now on the other. In this work, of course, +the tail protrudes; in the search for food, the head is out. A worm, +then, must make its home, narrow as it is, with a view to being able +to turn in it. + +An earthworm will bury itself in loose earth in two or three minutes, +and in compact soil, in fifteen minutes. Pupils should be able to +make these observations easily either in the terrarium or in the +garden. + +In plugging the mouths of their burrows, earthworms show something +that seems like intelligence. Triangular leaves are invariably +drawn in by the apex, pine-needles by the common base, the manner +varying with the shape of the leaf. They do not drag in a leaf by the +footstalk, unless its basal part is as narrow as the apex. The mouth +of the burrow may be lined with leaves for several inches. + +The burrows are not found in dry ground nor in loose sand. The +earthworm lives in the finer, moderately wet soils. It must have +moisture since it breathes through the skin, and it has sufficient +knowledge of soil texture and plasticity to recognize the futility of +attempts at burrow building with unmanageable, large grains of sand. + +These creatures are nocturnal, rarely appearing by day unless +“drowned out” of the burrows. During the day they lie near the +surface extended at full length, the head uppermost. Here they +are discovered by keen-eyed birds and sacrificed by thousands, +notwithstanding the strong muscular protest of which they are capable. + +Seemingly conscious of its inability to find the way back to its +home, an earthworm anchors tight by its tail while stretching +its elastic length in a foraging expedition. It is an omnivorous +creature, including in its diet earth, leaves, flowers, raw meat, +fat, and even showing cannibalistic designs on fellow earthworms. +In the schoolroom, earthworms may be fed on pieces of lettuce or +cabbage leaves. A feeding worm will show the proboscis, an extension +of the upper lip used to push food into the mouth. The earthworm has +no hard jaws or teeth, yet it eats through the hardest soil. Inside +the mouth opening is a very muscular pharynx, which can be extended +or withdrawn. Applied to the surface of any small object it acts as +a suction pump, drawing food into the food tube. The earth taken +in furnishes some organic matter for food; calcareous matter is +added to the remainder before being voided. This process is unique +among animals. The calcareous matter is supposed to be derived from +leaves which the worms eat. Generally the earth is swallowed at some +distance below the surface, and finally ejected in characteristic +“castings.” Thus, the soil is slowly worked over and kept in good +condition by earthworms, of which Darwin says: “It may be doubted +whether there are many other animals which have played so important +a part in the history of the world as have these lowly organized +creatures.” + +_References_--The Earthworm, Darwin; The Natural History of Some +Common Animals, Latter. + + * * * * * + + “_Fly fishing is an art, a fine art beyond a doubt, but it is + an art and, like all art, it is artificial. Fishing with an + angleworm is natural. It fits into the need of the occasion. + It fits in with the spirit of the boy. It is not by chance + that the angleworm, earthworm, fishworm, is found in every + damp bank, in every handy bit of sod, the green earth over, + where there are races whose boys are real boys with energy + enough to catch a fish. It is not by chance that the angleworm + makes a perfect fit on a hook, with no anatomy with which to + feel pains, and no arms or legs to be broken off or to be + waved helplessly in the air. Its skin is tough enough so as + not to tear, not so tough as to receive unseemly bruises, when + the boy is placing it on the hook. The angleworm is perfectly + at home on the hook. It is not quite comfortable anywhere + else. It crawls about on sidewalks after rain, bleached and + emaciated. It is never quite at ease even in the ground, but + on the hook it rests peacefully, with the apparent feeling + that its natural mission is performed._” + --“BOYS’ FISH AND BOYS’ FISHING,” BY DAVID STARR JORDAN. + + + LESSON CVII + + THE EARTHWORM + +_Leading thought_--The earthworm is a creature of the soil and is of +much economic importance. + +_Method_--Any garden furnishes abundant material for the study of +earthworms. They are nocturnal workers and may be observed by lantern +light. To form some estimate of the work done in a single night, +remove the “casts” from a square yard of earth one day, and examine +that piece of earth the next. It is well to have a terrarium in the +schoolroom for frequent observation. Scatter grass or dead leaves +on top of the soil, and note what happens. For the study of the +individual worm and its movements, each pupil should have a worm with +some earth upon his desk. + +_Observations_--1. How does the earthworm crawl? How does it turn +over? Has it legs? Compare its movement with that of a snake, another +legless animal. What special provision for locomotion has the +earthworm? + +2. Compare the lengths of the contracted and extended body. How +accounted for? + +3. Describe the body--its shape and color, above and below. Examine +the segments. Do all the worms have the same number? Compare the head +end with the tail end of the body. Has every worm a “saddle,” or +clitellum? + +4. Does the earthworm hear easily? Has it eyes? Is it sensible to +smell or to touch? What sense is most strongly developed? + +5. Describe the home of the earthworm. Is it occupied by more than +one worm? How long does it take a worm to make a burrow? How does it +protect its home? How does it make a burrow? In what kind of soil do +you find earthworms at work? + +6. Is the earthworm seen most often at night or by day? Where is it +the rest of the time? How does it hold to its burrow? When is the +tail end at the top? When the head end? + +7. What is the food of the earthworm? How does it get its food? + +8. Look for the eggs of the earthworm about manure piles or under +stones. + +9. What are the enemies of the earthworm? Is it a friend or an enemy +to us? Why? + +10. The earthworm is a good agriculturist. Why? + + + + + +[Illustration: _Where the crayfish lurks._] + + + THE CRAYFISH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: W] + +When I look at a crayfish I envy it, so rich is it in organs with +which to do all that it has to do. From the head to the tail, it is +crowded with a large assortment of executive appendages. In this day +of multiplicity of duties, if we poor human creatures only had the +crayfish’s capabilities, then might we hope to achieve what lies +before us. + +The most striking thing in the appearance of the crayfish is the +great pair of nippers on each of the front legs. Wonderfully are its +“thumb and finger” put together; the “thumb” is jointed so that it +can move back and forth freely; and both are armed, along the inside +edge, with saw teeth and with a sharp claw at the tip so that they +can get a firm grip upon an object. Five segments in these great +legs can be easily seen; that joining the body is small, but each +successive one is wider and larger, to the great forceps at the end. +The two stout segments behind the nippers give strength, and also a +suppleness that enables the claws to be bent in any direction. + +The legs of the pair behind the big nippers have five segments +readily visible; but these legs are slender and the nippers at the +end are small; the third pair of legs is armed like the second pair; +but the fourth and fifth pairs lack the pincers, and end in a single +claw. + +But the tale of the crayfish’s legs is by no means told; for between +and above the great pincers is a pair of short, small legs tipped +with single claws, and fringed on their inner edges. These are the +maxillapeds, or jaw-feet; and behind them, but too close to be seen +easily, are two more pairs of jaw-feet. As all of these jaw-feet +assist at meals, the crayfish apparently always has a “three fork” +dinner; and as if to provide accommodations for so many eating +utensils, it has three pairs of jaws all working sidewise, one +behind the other. Two of these pairs are maxillæ and one, mandibles. +The mandibles are the only ones we see as we look in between the +jaw-feet; they are notched along the biting edge. Connected with +the maxillæ, on each side, are two pairs of threadlike flappers, +that wave back and forth vigorously and have to do with setting up +currents of water over the gills. + +Thus we see that, in all, the crayfish has three pairs of jaw-feet, +one pair of great nippers and four pairs of walking feet, two of +which also have nippers and are used for digging and carrying. + +When we look upon the crayfish from above, we see that the head +and thorax are fastened solidly together, making what is called a +cephalothorax. The cephalothorax is covered with a shell called +the carapace, which is the name given also to the upper part of +the turtle’s shell. The suture where the head joins the thorax is +quite evident. In looking at the head, the eyes first attract our +attention; each is black and oval and placed on the tip of a stalk, +so it can be extended or retracted or pushed in any direction, to +look for danger. These eyes are like the compound eyes of insects, in +that they are made up of many small eyes, set together in a honeycomb +pattern. + +The long antennæ are as flexible as braided whiplashes, large at +the base and ending in a threadlike tip. They are composed of many +segments, the basal ones being quite large. Above the antennæ on +each side, is a pair of shorter ones called antennules, which come +from the same basal segment; the lower one is the more slender +and is usually directed forward; the upper one is stouter, curves +upward, and is kept always moving, as if it were constantly on the +alert for impressions. The antennæ are used for exploring far ahead +or behind the creature, and are often thrust down into the mud and +gravel at the bottom of the aquarium, as if probing for treasure. The +antennules seem to give warning of things closer at hand. Between +the antennæ and antennules is a pair of finger-like organs, that +are hinged at the outer ends and can be lifted back, if we do it +carefully. + +In looking down upon a crayfish, we can see six abdominal +segments and the flaring tail at the end, which is really another +segment greatly modified. The first segment, or that next to the +cephalothorax, is narrow; the others are about equal in size, each +graceful in shape, with a widened part at each side which extends +down along the sides of the creature. These segments are well hinged +together so that the abdomen may be completely curled beneath the +cephalothorax. The plates along the sides are edged with fringe. +The tail consists of five parts, one semicircular in the center, +and two fan-shaped pieces at each side, and all are margined with +fringe. This tail is a remarkable organ. It can be closed or extended +sidewise like a fan; it can be lifted up or curled beneath. + +Looking at the crayfish from below, we see on the abdomen some very +beautiful featherlike organs called swimmerets. Each swimmeret +consists of a basal segment with twin paddles joined to its tip, +each paddle being narrow and long and fringed with hairs. The mother +crayfish has four pairs of these, one pair on each of the second, +third, fourth and fifth segments; her mate has an additional larger +pair on the first segment. These swimmerets, when at rest, lie close +to the abdomen and are directed forward and slightly inward. When in +motion, they paddle with a backward, rhythmic motion, the first pair +setting the stroke and the other pairs following in succession. This +motion sends the body forward, and the swimmerets are chiefly used +to aid the legs in forward locomotion. A crayfish, on the bottom of +a pond, seems to glide about with great ease; but place it on land, +and it is an awkward walker. The reason for this difference lies, I +believe, in the aid given by the swimmerets when the creature is in +water. Latter says: “In walking, the first three pairs of legs pull +and the fourth pair pushes. Their order of movement is as follows: +The first on the right and the third on the left side move together, +next the third right and the first left, then the second right and +fourth left, and lastly the fourth right and second left.” + +When the crayfish really wishes to swim, the tail is suddenly brought +into use; it is thrust out backward, lays hold of the water by +spreading out widely, and then doubles under with a spasmodic jerk +which pulls the creature swiftly backward. + +The crayfish’s appearance is magically transformed when it begins to +swim; it is no longer a creature of sprawling awkward legs and great +clumsy nippers; now, its many legs lie side by side supinely and the +great claws are limp and flow along in graceful lines after the body, +all obedient to the force which sends the creature flying through the +water. I cannot discover that the swimmerets help in this movement. + +[Illustration: _A crayfish._ + +Drawn by Anna C. Stryke.] + +The mother crayfish has another use for her swimmerets; in the +spring, when she is ready to lay eggs, she cleans off her paddles +with her hind legs, covers them with waterproof glue, and then +plasters her eggs on them in grapelike clusters of little dark +globules. What a nice way to look after her family! The little ones +hatch, but remain clinging to the maternal swimmerets, until they are +large enough to scuttle around on the brook bottom and look out for +themselves. + +The breathing apparatus of the crayfish cannot be seen without +dissection. All the walking legs, except the last pair, have gills +attached to that portion of them which joins the body, and which lies +hidden underneath the sides of the carapace or shell. The blood is +forced into these gills, sends off its impurities through their thin +walls and takes in the oxygen from the water, currents of which are +kept steadily flowing forward. + +Crayfishes haunt still pools along brooksides and river margins +and the shallow ponds of our fresh waters. There they hide beneath +sticks and stones, or in caves of their own making, the doors of +which they guard with the big and threatening nippers, which stand +ready to grapple with anybody that comes to inquire if the folks +are at home. The upper surface of the crayfish’s body is always so +nearly the color of the brook bottom, that the eye seldom detects +the creature until it moves; and if some enemy surprises one, it +swims off with terrific jerks which roil all the water around and +thus covers its retreat. In the winter, our brook forms hibernate in +the muddy bottoms of their summer haunts. There are many species; +some in our Southern States, when the dry season comes on, live in +little wells which they dig deep enough to reach water. They heap up +the soil which they excavate around the mouth of the well, making +well-curbs of mud; these are ordinarily called “crawfish chimneys.” +The crayfishes find their food in the flotsam and jetsam of the pool. +They seem fond of the flesh of dead fishes and are often trapped by +its use as bait. + +The growth of the crayfish is like that of insects; as its outer +covering is a hard skeleton that will not stretch, it is shed as +often as necessary; it breaks open down the middle of the back of +the carapace, and the soft bodied creature pulls itself out, even +to the last one of its claws. While its new skin is yet elastic, it +stretches to its utmost; but this skin also hardens after a time and +is, in its turn, shed. Woe to the crayfish caught in this helpless, +soft condition after molting! For it then has no way to protect +itself. We sometimes find the old skin floating, perfect in every +detail, and so transparent that it seems the ghost of a crayfish. + +Not only is the crayfish armed in the beginning with a great number +of legs, antennæ, etc., but if it happens to lose any of these +organs, they will grow again. It is said that, when attacked, it can +voluntarily throw off one or more of its legs. We have often found +one of these creatures with one of the front claws much larger than +the other; it had probably lost its big claw in a fight, and the new +growth was not yet completed. + +I have been greatly entertained by watching a female crayfish make +her nest in my aquarium which has, for her comfort, a bottom of three +inches of clean gravel. She always commences at one side by thrusting +down her antennæ and nippers between the glass and stones; she seizes +a pebble in each claw and pulls it up and in this way starts her +excavation; but when she gets ready to carry off her load, she comes +to the task with her tail tucked under her body, as a lady tucks up +her skirts when she has something to do that requires freedom of +movement. Then with her great nippers and the two pairs of walking +feet, also armed with nippers, she loads up as much as she can carry +between her great claws and her breast. She keeps her load from +overflowing by holding it down with her first pair of jaw-feet, just +as I have seen a schoolboy use his chin, when carrying a too large +load of books; and she keeps the load from falling out by supporting +it from beneath with her first pair of walking legs. Thus, she +starts off with her “apron” full, walking on three pairs of feet, +until she gets to the dumping place; then she suddenly lets go and +at the same time her tail straightens out with a gesture which says +plainly, “There!” Sometimes when she gets a very large load, she uses +her second pair of walking legs to hold up the burden, and crawls +off successfully, if not with ease, on two pairs of legs,--a most +unnatural quadruped. + +I had two crayfishes in a cage in an aquarium, and each made a nest +in the gravel at opposite ends of the cage, heaping up the debris +into a partition between them. I gave one an earthworm, which she +promptly seized with her nippers; she then took up a good sized +pebble in the nippers of her front pair of walking legs, glided +over to the other nest, spitefully threw down both worm and pebble +on top of her fellow prisoner, and then sped homeward. Her victim +responded to the act by rising up and expressing perfectly, in his +attitude and the gestures of his great claws, the most eloquent of +crayfish profanity. In watching crayfishes carry pebbles, I have been +astonished to see how constantly the larger pair of jaw-feet are used +to help pick up and carry the loads. + + + LESSON CVIII + + THE CRAYFISH + +_Leading thought_--The crayfish, or crawfish, as it is sometimes +called, has one pair of legs developed into great pincers for seizing +and tearing its food and for defending itself from enemies. It can +live in mud or water. It belongs to the same animal group as do the +insects, and it is a near cousin of the lobster. + +_Method_--Place a crayfish in an aquarium (a battery jar or a +two-quart Mason jar) in the schoolroom, keeping it in clear water +until the pupils have studied its form. It will rise to explore the +sides of the aquarium at first, and thus show its mouth parts, legs +and swimmerets. Afterwards, place gravel and stone in the bottom of +the aquarium, so that it can hide itself in a little cavity which it +will make by carrying pebbles from one side. Wash the gravel well +before it is put in, so that the water will be unclouded and the +children can watch the process of excavation. + +_Observations_--1. What is there peculiar about the crayfish which +makes it difficult to pick it up? Examine one of these great front +legs carefully and see how wonderfully it is made. How many parts are +there to it? Note how each succeeding part is larger from the body to +the claws. Note the tips which form the nippers or chelæ, as they are +called. How are they armed? How are the gripping edges formed to take +hold of an object? How wide can the nippers be opened, and how is +this done? Note the two segments behind the great claw and describe +how they help the work of the nippers. + +2. Study the pair of legs behind the great claws or chelæ, and +compare the two pairs, segment by segment. How do they differ except +as to size? How do the nippers at the end compare with the big ones? +Look at the next pair of legs behind these; are they similar? How +do the two pairs of hind legs differ in shape from the two pairs in +front of them? + +3. Look between the great front claws and see if you can find another +pair of small legs. Can you see anything more behind or above these +little legs? + +4. When the crayfish lifts itself up against the side of the jar, +study its mouth. Can you see a pair of notched jaws that work +sidewise? Can you see two or three pairs of threadlike organs that +wave back and forth in and out the mouth? + +5. How many legs, in all, has the crayfish? What are the short legs +near the mouth used for? What are the great nippers used for? How +many legs does the crayfish use when walking? In what order are they +moved? Is the hind pair used for pushing? What use does it make of +the pincers on the first and second pairs of walking legs? + +6. Look at the crayfish from above; the head and the covering of the +thorax are soldered together into one piece. When this occurs, the +whole is called a cephalothorax; and the cover is called by the same +name as the upper shell of the turtle, the carapace. Can you see +where the head is joined to the thorax? + +7. Look carefully at the eyes. Describe how they are set. Can they be +pushed out or pulled in? Can they be moved in all directions? Of what +advantage is this to the crayfish? + +8. How many antennæ has the crayfish? Describe the long ones and +tell how they are used. Do the two short ones on each side come from +the same basal segment? These little ones are called the antennules. +Describe the antennules of each side and tell how they differ. Can +you see the little fingerlike organs which clasp above the antennæ +and below the antennules on each side of the head? Can these be moved? + +9. Look at the crayfish from above. How many segments are there in +the abdomen? Note how graceful the shape of each segment. Note that +each has a fan-shaped piece down the side. Describe how the edges of +the segments along the sides are margined. + +10. Of how many pieces is the tail made? Make a sketch of it. How are +the pieces bordered? Can the pieces shut and spread out sidewise? Is +the tail hinged so it can be lifted up against the back or curled +under the body? + +11. Look underneath the abdomen and describe the little fringed +organs called the swimmerets. How many are there? + +12. How does the crayfish swim? With what does it make the stroke? +Describe carefully this action of the tail. When it is swimming, +does it use its swimmerets? Why do not the many legs and big nippers +obstruct the progress of the crayfish, when it is swimming? + +13. When does the crayfish use its swimmerets? Do they work so as to +push the body backward or forward? Do you know to what use the mother +crayfish puts her swimmerets? + +14. Do you know how crayfishes breathe? Do you know what they eat and +where they find it? + +15. Where do you find crayfishes? Where do they like to hide? Do +they go headfirst into their hiding place, or do they back in? Do +they stand ready to defend their retreat? When you look down into +the brook, are the crayfishes usually seen until they move? Why is +this? Where do the crayfishes pass the winter? Did you ever see the +crayfish burrows or mud chimnies? + +16. If the crayfish loses one of its legs or antennæ, does it grow +out again? How does the crayfish grow? + +17. Put a crayfish in an aquarium which has three inches of coarse +gravel on the bottom, and watch it make its den. How does it loosen +up a stone? With how many legs does it carry its burden of pebbles +when digging its cave? How does it use its jaw-feet, its nippers, and +its first and second pairs of walking legs in this work? + + * * * * * + + “_A rock-lined, wood-embosomed nook, + Dim cloister of the chanting brook! + A chamber within the channelled hills, + Where the cold crystal brims and spills, + By dark-browed caverns blackly flows, + Falls from the cleft like crumbling snows, + And purls and splashes, breathing round + A soft, suffusing mist of sound._” + --J. T. TROWBRIDGE. + + + + + DADDY-LONGLEGS, OR GRANDFATHER GREYBEARD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +I wonder if there ever was a country child who has not grasped firmly +the leg of one of these little sprawling creatures and demanded: +“Grandfather Greybeard, tell me where the cows are or I’ll kill +you,” and Grandfather Greybeard, striving to get away, puts out one +of his long legs this way, and another that way, and points in so +many directions that he usually saves his life, since the cows must +be somewhere. It would be more interesting to the children and less +embarrassing to the “daddy” if they were taught to look more closely +at those slender, hairlike legs. + +“Daddy’s” long legs are seven jointed. The first segment is seemingly +soldered fast to the lower side of his body, and is called the coxa. +The next segment is a mere knob, usually black and ornamental, +and is called the trochanter. Then comes the femur, a rather long +segment directed upward; next is a short swollen segment--the “knee +joint” or patella; next the tibia, which is also rather long. Then +comes the metatarsus and tarsus, which seemingly make one long +downward-directed segment, outcurving at the tips, on which the +“daddy” tip-toes along. + +I have seen a “daddy” walk into a drop of water and his foot was +never wetted, so light was his touch on the water surface film. The +second pair of legs is the longest; the fourth pair next, and the +first pair usually the shortest. The legs of the second pair are +ordinarily used in exploring the surroundings. Notice that, when the +“daddy” is running, these two legs are spread wide apart and keep in +rapid motion; their tips, far more sensitive than any nerves of our +own, tell him the nature of his surroundings, by a touch so light +that we cannot feel it on the hand. We have more respect for one +of these hairlike legs, when we know it is capable of transmitting +intelligence from its tip. + +[Illustration: _One of “daddy’s” long legs with segments named._] + +The “daddy” is a good traveler and moves with remarkable rapidity. +And why not? If our legs were as long in comparison as his, they +would be about forty feet in length. When the “daddy” is running, the +body is always held a little distance above the ground; but when the +second pair of legs suggests to him that there may be something good +to eat in the neighborhood, he commences a peculiar teetering motion +of the body, apparently touching it to the ground at every step; as +the body is carried tilted with the head down, this movement enables +the creature to explore the surface below him with his palpi, which +he ordinarily carries bent beneath his face, with the ends curled up +under his “chin.” The palpi have four segments that are easily seen, +and although they are ordinarily carried bent up beneath the head, +they can be extended out quite a distance if “daddy” wishes to test a +substance. The end segment of the palpus is tipped with a single claw. + +Beneath the palpi is a pair of jaws; these, in some species, extend +beyond the palpi. I have seen a daddy-longlegs hold food to his jaws +with his palpi and he seemed also to use them for stuffing it into +his mouth. + +The body of the daddy-longlegs is a little oblong object, looking +more like a big grain of wheat than anything else, because in these +creatures the head, thorax and abdomen are all grown together +compactly. On top of the body, between the feeler-legs, is a little +black dot, and to the naked eye it would seem that if this were an +organ of sight the creature must be a Cyclops with only one eye. But +under the lens this is seen to be a raised knob and there is on each +side of it, a little shining black eye. We hardly see the use of two +eyes set so closely together, but probably the “daddy” does. + +[Illustration: _Grandfather-greybeard._ + +Comstock’s Manual.] + +The most entertaining thing which a “daddy” in captivity is likely +to do, is to clean his legs; he is very particular about his legs, +and he will grasp one close to the basal joint in his jaws and slowly +pull it through, meanwhile holding the leg up to the jaws with the +palpi, while he industriously nibbles it clean for the whole length +to the very toe. Owing to the likelihood of his losing one of his +legs, he has the power of growing a new one; so we often see a +“daddy” with one or more legs only half grown. + +There are many species of daddy-longlegs in the United States, +and some of them do not have the characteristic long legs. In the +North, all except one species die at the approach of winter; but +not until after the female, which, by the way, ought to be called +“granny-longlegs,” has laid her eggs in the ground, or under some +protecting stone, or in some safe crevice of wood or bark. In the +spring the eggs hatch into tiny little creatures which look just like +the old daddy-longlegs, except for their size. They get their growth +like insects, by shedding their skins as fast as they outgrow them. +It is interesting to study one of these cast skins with a lens. There +it stands with a slit down its back, and with the skin of each leg +absolutely perfect to the tiny claw! Again we marvel at these legs +that seem so threadlike, and which have an outer covering that can be +shed. Some say that the daddy-longlegs live on small insects which +they straddle over and pounce down upon, and some say they feed upon +decaying matter and vegetable juices. This would be an interesting +line of investigation for pupils, since they might be able to give +many new facts about the food of these creatures. The “daddies” are +night prowlers, and like to hide in crevices by day, waiting for the +dark to hunt for their food. They have several common names. Besides +the two given they are called “harvestmen” and the French call them +“haymakers.” Both of these names were very probably given, because +the creatures appear in greater numbers at the time of haying and +harvesting. + + + LESSON CIX + + THE DADDY-LONGLEGS + +_Leading thought_--These long-legged creatures have one pair of legs +too many to allow them to be classed with the insects. They are more +nearly related to the spiders, who also have eight legs. They are +pretty creatures when examined closely, and they do many interesting +things. + +_Method_--Put a grandfather greybeard in a breeding cage or under +a large tumbler, and let the pupils observe him at leisure. If you +place a few drops of sweetened water at one side of the cage, the +children will surely have an opportunity to see this amusing creature +clean his legs. + +_Observations_--1. Where did you find the harvestman? What did it +do as soon as it was disturbed? How many names do you know for this +little creature? + +2. A “daddy” with such long legs certainly ought to have them +studied. How many segments in each leg? How do the segments look? How +do the legs look where they are fastened to the body? Which is the +longest pair of legs? The next? The next? The shortest? + +3. If you had such long stilts as he has, they would be about forty +feet long. Would you lift yourself that high in the air? Does the +“daddy” lift his body high or swing it near the ground? What shape +is the body? Can you see if there is a distinct head? Can you see a +black dot on top of the front end of the body? If you should see this +dot through a microscope it would prove to be two bright black eyes. +Why should the daddy’s eyes be on top? + +4. Do you see a pair of organs that look like feelers at the front +end of the body? These are called palpi. How does he use his palpi? +Give him a little bruised or decaying fruit, and see him eat. Where +do you think his mouth is? Where does he keep his palpi when he is +not using them for eating? + +5. Note what care he takes of his legs. How does he clean them? Which +does he clean the oftenest? Do you think the very long second pair of +legs is used as much for feeling as for walking? Put some object in +front of the “daddy” and see him explore it with his legs. How much +of the leg is used as a foot when the “daddy” stands or runs? + +6. When running fast, how does the “daddy” carry his body? When +exploring how does he carry it? Do you ever find the “daddy” with his +body resting on the surface on which he is standing? When resting, +are all eight of his legs on the ground? Which are in the air? Is the +head end usually tilted up or down? + +7. Do you see the daddy-longlegs early in the spring? When do you +find him most often? How do you suppose he passes the winter in our +climate? Have you ever seen a “daddy” with one leg much shorter than +the other? How could you explain this? + +8. Try and discover what the daddy-longlegs eats, and where he finds +his food. + + + + + SPIDERS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The spiders are the civil engineers among the small inhabitants of +our fields and woods. They build strong suspension bridges, from +which they hang nets made with exquisite precision; and they build +aeroplanes and balloons, which are more efficient than any that we +have yet constructed; for although they are not exactly dirigible, +yet they carry the little balloonists where they wish to go, and +there are few fatal accidents. Moreover, the spiders are of much +economic importance, since they destroy countless millions of insects +every year, most of which are noxious--like flies, mosquitoes, bugs +and grasshoppers. + +There is an impression abroad that all spiders are dangerous to +handle. This is a mistake; the bite of any of our common spiders is +not nearly so dangerous as the bite of a malaria-laden mosquito. +Although there is a little venom injected into the wound by the bite +of any spider, yet there is no species found in the Northern States +whose bite is sufficiently venomous to be feared. + +There is no need for studying the anatomy of the spider closely in +nature-study. Our interest lies much more in the wonderful structures +made by the spiders, than in a detailed study of the little creatures +themselves. + + + COBWEBS + + “_Here shy Arachne winds her endless thread, + And weaves her silken tapestry unseen, + Veiling the rough-hewn timbers overhead, + And looping gossamer festoons between._” + --ELIZABETH AKERS. + +Our house spiders are indefatigable curtain-weavers. We never suspect +their presence, until suddenly their curtains appear before our eyes, +in the angles of the ceilings--invisible until laden with dust. The +cobwebs are made of crisscrossed lines, which are so placed as to +entangle any fly that comes near. The lines are stayed to the sides +of the wall and to each other quite firmly, and thus they are able +to hold a fly that touches them. The spider is likely to be in its +little den at the side of the web; this den may be in a crevice in +the corner or in a tunnel made of the silk. As soon as a fly becomes +entangled in the web the spider runs to it, seizes it in its jaws, +sucks its blood, and then throws away the shell, the wings and legs. +If a spider is frightened, it at first tries to hide and then may +drop by a thread to the floor. If we catch the little acrobat it will +usually “play possum” and we may examine it more closely through a +lens. We shall find it is quite different in form from an insect. +First to be noted, it has eight legs; but most important of all, it +has only two parts to the body. The head and thorax are consolidated +into one piece, which is called the cephalothorax. The abdomen has no +segments like that of the insects, and is joined to the cephalothorax +by a short, narrow stalk. At the front of the head is the mouth, +guarded by two mandibles, each ending in a sharp claw, at the tip +of which the poison gland opens. It is by thrusting these mandibles +into its prey that it kills its victims. On each side of the mandible +is a palpus, which in the males is of very strange shape. The eyes +are situated on the top of the head. There are usually four pairs of +these eyes, and each looks as beady and alert as if it were the only +one. + +The spinning organs of the spider are situated near the tip of the +abdomen, while the spinning organ of the caterpillar is situated near +its lower lip. The spider’s silk comes from two or three pairs of +spinnerets which are fingerlike in form, and upon the end of each are +many small tubes from which the silk is spun. The silk is in a fluid +state as it issues from the spinnerets, but it hardens immediately +on contact with the air. In making their webs, spiders produce two +kinds of silk, one is dry and inelastic, making the framework of the +web; the other is sticky and elastic, clinging to anything that it +touches. The body and the legs of spiders are usually hairy. + + + LESSON CX + + COBWEBS + +_Leading thought_--The cobwebs which are found in the corners of +ceilings and in other dark places in our houses, are made by the +house spider which spins its web in these situations for the purpose +of catching insects. + +_Method_--The pupils should have under observation a cobweb in a +corner of a room, preferably with a spider in it. + +_Observations_--1. Is the web in a sheet or is it a mass of +crisscrossed, tangled threads? How are the threads held in place? + +2. What is the purpose of this web? Where does the spider hide? +Describe its den. + +3. If a fly becomes tangled in a web, describe the action of the +spider. Does the spider eat all of the fly? What does it do with the +remains? + +4. If the spider is frightened, what does it do? Where does the +silken thread come from, and how does its source differ from the +source of the silken thread spun by caterpillars? + +5. Imprison a spider under a tumbler or in a vial, and look at it +very carefully. How many legs has it? How does the spider differ from +insects in this respect? How many sections are there to the body? How +does the spider differ from insects in this respect? + +6. Look closely at the head. Can you see the hooked jaws, or fangs? +Can you see the palpi on each side of the jaws? Where are the +spider’s eyes? How many pairs has it? + + * * * * * + + _When the tangled cobweb pulls + The cornflower’s cap awry, + And the lilies tall lean over the wall + To bow to the butterfly + It is July._ + --SUSAN HARTLEY SWETT. + + + + +[Illustration: + +Photo by J. H. Comstock. + +_A funnel web._] + + + THE FUNNEL WEB + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_And dew-bright webs festoon the grass + In roadside fields at morning._” + --ELIZABETH AKERS. + + +Sometimes on a dewy morning, a field will seem carpeted with these +webs, each with its opening stretched wide, and each with its narrow +hallway of retreat. The general shape of the web is like that of a +broad funnel with a tube leading down at one side. This tube is used +as a hiding place for the spider, which thus escapes the eyes of its +enemies, and also keeps out of sight of any insects that might be +frightened at seeing it, and so avoid the web. But the tube is no +cul-de-sac; quite to the contrary, it has a rear exit, through which +the spider, if frightened, escapes from attack. + +The web is formed of many lines of silk crossing each other +irregularly, forming a firm sheet. This sheet is held in place by +many guy-lines, which fasten it to surrounding objects. If the web is +touched lightly, the spider rushes forth from its lair to seize its +prey; but if the web be jarred roughly, the spider speeds out through +its back door and can be found only with difficulty. The smaller +insects of the field, such as flies and bugs, are the chief food of +this spider; it rarely attempts to seize a grown grasshopper. + +The funnel-shaped webs in dark corners of cellars are made by a +species which is closely related to the grass spider and has the same +general habits, but which builds in these locations instead of in the +grass. + + + LESSON CXI + + THE FUNNEL WEB + +_Leading thought_--The grass spider spins funnel-shaped webs in the +grass to entrap the insects of the field. This web has a back door. + +_Method_--Ask the pupils to observe a web on the grass with a spider +within it. + +_Observations_--1. What is the general shape of the web? Is there a +tunnel leading down from it? Why is it called a funnel web? + +2. Of what use is the funnel tube, and what is its shape? Where does +it lead, and of what use is it to the spider? Can you corner a spider +in its funnel tube? Why not? + +3. How is the web made? Is there any regularity in the position of +the threads that make it? How is it stayed in place? + +4. Touch the web lightly, and note how the spider acts? Jar the web +roughly, and what does the spider do? + +5. What insects become entangled in this web? + +6. Compare this web with similar funnel webs found in corners of +cellars, sheds or piazzas, and see if you think the same kind of +spider made both. + + + + + THE ORB-WEB + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: O] + +Of all the structures made by the lower creatures, the orb-web of +the spider is, beyond question, the most intricate and beautiful in +design, and the most exquisite in workmanship. The watching of the +construction of one of these webs is an experience that brings us +close to those mysteries which seem to be as fundamental as they are +inexplicable in the plan of the universe. It is akin to watching the +growth of a crystal, or the stars wheeling across the heavens in +their appointed courses. + +The orb-web of the large, black and yellow garden spider is, perhaps, +the best subject for this study, although many of the smaller orbs +are far more delicate in structure. These orb-webs are most often +placed vertically, since they are thus more likely to be in the path +of flying insects. The number of radii, or spokes, differs with +the different species of spiders, and they are usually fastened +to a silken framework, which in turn is fastened by guy-lines to +surrounding objects. These radii or spokes are connected by a +continuous spiral line, spaced regularly except at the center or hub; +this hub or center is of more solid silk, and is usually surrounded +by an open space; and it may be merely an irregular network, or it +may have wide bands of silk laid across it. + +The radii or spokes, the guy-lines, the framework and the center of +the web are all made of inelastic silk, which does not adhere to an +object that touches it. The spiral line, on the contrary, is very +elastic, and adheres to any object brought in contact with it. +An insect which touches one of these spirals and tries to escape, +becomes entangled in the neighboring lines and is thus held fast +until the spider can reach it. If one of these elastic lines be +examined with a microscope, it is a most beautiful object. There are +strung upon it, like pearls, little drops of sticky fluid, which +render it not only elastic but adhesive. + +Some species of orb-weavers remain at the center of the web, while +others hide in some little retreat near at hand. If in the middle, +the spider always keeps watchful claws upon the radii of the web +so that if there is any jarring of the structure by an entrapped +insect, it is at once apprised of the fact; if the spider is in a +den at one side, it keeps a claw upon a trap line which is stretched +tightly from the hub of the web to the den, and thus communicates +any vibration of the web to the hidden sentinel. When the insect +becomes entangled, the spider rushes out and envelops it in a band +of silk, which feat it accomplishes, by turning the insect over and +over rapidly, meanwhile spinning a broad, silken band which swathes +it. It may bite the insect before it begins to swathe it in silk, or +afterwards. It usually hangs the swathed insect to the web near where +it was caught, until ready to eat it; it then takes the prey to the +center of the web, if there is where the spider usually sits, or to +its den at one side, if it is a den-making species, and there sucks +the insect’s blood, carefully throwing away the hard parts. + +[Illustration: _A dewy morning._ + +Insect Life, Comstock.] + +The spider does not become entangled in the web, because, when it +runs it steps upon the dry radii and not upon the sticky spiral +lines. During the busy season, the spider is likely to make a new web +every twenty-four hours, but this depends largely upon whether the +web has meanwhile been destroyed by large insects. + +The spider’s method of making its first bridge is to place itself +upon some high point and, lifting its abdomen in the air, to spin +out on the breeze a thread of silk. When this touches any object, it +adheres, and the spider draws in the slack until the line is “taut;” +it then travels across this bridge, which is to support its web, and +makes it stronger by doubling the line. From this line, it stretches +other lines by fastening a thread to one point, and then walking +along to some other point, spinning the thread as it goes and holding +the line clear of the object on which it is walking by means of one +of its hind legs. When the right point is reached, it pulls the line +tight; fastens it, and then, in a similar fashion, proceeds to make +another. It may make its first radius by dropping from its bridge +to some point below; then climbing back to the center, it fastens +the line for another radius, and spinning as it goes, walks down and +out to some other point, holding the thread clear and then pulling +it tight before fastening it. Having thus selected the center of the +web, it goes back and forth to and from it, spinning lines until +all of the radii are completed and fastened at one center. It then +starts at the center and spins a spiral, laying it onto the radii +to hold them firm. However, the lines of this spiral are farther +apart and much more irregular than the final spiral. Thus far, all +of the threads the spider has spun are inelastic and not sticky; and +this first, or temporary spiral is used by the spider to walk upon +when spinning the final spiral. It begins the latter at the outer +edge instead of at the center, and works toward the middle. As the +second spiral progresses, the spider with its jaws cuts away the +spiral which it first made, and which it has used as a scaffolding. A +careful observer may often see remnants of this first spiral on the +radii between the lines of the permanent spiral. The spider works +very rapidly and will complete a web in a very short time. The final +spiral is made of the elastic and adhesive silk. + +_References_--Comstock’s Manual; Common Spiders, Emerton; The Spider +Book, Comstock; Nature’s Craftsmen, McCook. + + + LESSON CXII + + THE ORB-WEB + +_Leading thought_--No structure made by a creature lower than man is +so exquisitely perfect as the orb-web of the spider. + +_Method_--There should be an orb-web where the pupils can observe it, +preferably with the spider in attendance. + +_Observations_--1. Is the orb-web usually hung horizontally or +vertically? + +2. Observe the radii, or “spokes,” of the web. How many are there? +How are they fastened to surrounding objects? Is each spoke fastened +to some object or to a framework of silken lines? + +3. Observe the silken thread laid around the spokes. Is it a spiral +line or is each circle complete? Are the lines the same distance +apart on the outer part of the web as at the center? How many of the +circling lines are there? + +4. Is the center of the web merely an irregular net, or are there +bands of silk put on in zigzag shape? + +5. Touch any of the “spokes” lightly with the point of a pencil. +Does it adhere to the pencil and stretch out as you pull the pencil +away? Touch one of the circling lines with a pencil point, and see if +it adheres to the point and is elastic. What is the reason for this +difference in the stickiness and elasticity of the different kinds of +silk in the orb-web? + +6. If an insect touches the web, how does it become more entangled by +seeking to get away? + +7. Where does the spider stay, at the center of the web or in a +little retreat at one side? + +8. If an insect becomes entangled in the web, how does the spider +discover the fact and act? + +9. If the spider sits at the middle of the orb, it has a different +method for discovering when an insect strikes the web than does the +spider that hides in a den at one side. Describe the methods of each. + +10. How does the spider make fast an insect? Does it bite the insect +before it envelops it in silk? Where does it carry the insect to feed +upon it? + +11. How does the spider manage to run about its web without becoming +entangled in the sticky thread? How often does the orb-weaver make a +new web? + +[Illustration: _A partially completed orb-web._ + +a, the temporary spiral stay line; b, the sticky spiral line; c, the +fragments of the temporary spiral hanging to a radius. + +Comstock’s Manual.] + + + _How an Orb-web is Made_ + +Spiders may be seen making their webs in the early morning or in the +evening. Find an orb-web with a spider in attendance; break the web +without frightening the spider and see it replace it in the early +evening, or in the morning about daybreak. An orb-weaver may be +brought into the house on its web, when the web is on a branch, and +placed where it will not be disturbed, and thus be watched at leisure. + +_Observations_--1. How does the spider manage to place the supporting +line between two points? + +2. How does it make the framework for holding the web in place? + +3. How does it make the first radius? + +4. How does it make the other radii and select the point which is to +be the center of the web? + +[Illustration: + +_The zigzag strengthening band at center of an orb-web._ ] + +5. How does it keep the line which it is spinning clear of the line +it walks upon? + +6. After the radii are all made, are they fastened at the center? + +7. How and where does the spider first begin to spin a spiral? Are +the lines of this spiral close together or far apart? For what is the +first spiral used? + +8. Where does it begin to spin the permanent spiral? Where does it +walk when spinning it? By the way it walks on the first spiral, do +you think it is sticky and elastic? What does it do with the first +spiral while the second one is being finished? + +9. If the center of the web has a zigzag ribbon of silk, when was it +put on? + +10. How many minutes did it take the spider to complete the web? + +_Supplementary reading_--“Argiope of The Silver Shield,” Insect +Stories, Kellogg. + +[Illustration: _A filmy-dome web with its maker._ + +Photo by J. H. Comstock.] + + + + + THE FILMY DOME + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: L] + +Like bubbles cut in half, these delicate domes catch the light rays +and separate them like a prism into waves of rainbow colors. One of +these domes is usually about the size of an ordinary bowl, and is +suspended with the opening on the lower side. It is held in place by +many guy-lines which attach it to surrounding objects. Above a filmy +dome are always stretched many crisscrossed threads for some distance +up. These are for the purpose of hindering the flight of insects, so +that they will fall into the web. The little spider, which always +hangs, back downward, just below the center of the dome, rushes to +its prey from the lower side, pulls it through the meshes of the web, +and feeds upon it. But any remains of the insect or pieces of sticks +or leaves which may drop upon the web, it carefully cuts out and +drops to the ground, mending the hole very neatly. + + + LESSON CXIII + + THE FILMY DOME + +_Leading thought_--One little spider spins a filmy dome, beneath the +apex of which it hangs, back downward, awaiting its prey. + +_Method_--On a sunny day in late summer or early autumn, while +walking along woodland paths, the careful observer is sure to see +suspended among the bushes or in the tops of weeds, or among dead +branches of young hemlocks, the filmy dome webs. They are about as +large as a small bowl, and usually so delicate that they cannot +be seen unless the sun shines upon them; they are likely to be +exquisitely iridescent under the sun’s rays. Such a dome may be +studied by a class or by the pupils individually. + +_Observations_--1. Where did you discover the filmy dome? What is +the size of the dome? Does it open above or below? How is it held in +place? + +2. Are there many crisscrossed threads extending above the dome? If +so, what do you think they are for? + +3. Where does the spider stay? Is the spider large and heavy, or +small and delicate? + +4. What does the spider do if an insect becomes entangled in its web? + +5. Throw a bit of stick or leaf upon a filmy dome web, and note what +becomes of it. + + * * * * * + + “_With spiders I had friendship made, + And watch’d them in their sullen trade._” + --PRISONER OF CHILLON. + + + + + BALLOONING SPIDERS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: I] + +If we look across the grass some warm sunny morning or evening of +early fall, we see threads of spider silk clinging everywhere; these +are not regular webs for trapping insects, but are single threads +spun from grass stalk to grass stalk until the fields are carpeted +with glistening silk. We have a photograph of a plowed field, taken +in autumn, which looks likes the waves of a lake; so completely is +the ground covered with spider threads that it shows the “path of the +sun” like water. + +When we see so many of these random threads, it is a sign that the +young spiders have started on their travels, and it is not difficult +then to find one in the act. The spiderling climbs up some tall +object, like a twig or a blade of grass, and sends out its thread of +silk upon the air. If the thread becomes entangled, the spiderling +sometimes walks off on it, using it as a bridge, or sometimes it +begins again. If the thread does not become entangled with any +object, there is soon enough given off, so that the friction of the +air current upon it supports the weight of the body of the little +creature, which promptly lets go its hold of earth as soon as it +feels safely buoyed up, and off it floats to lands unknown. Spiders +thus sailing through the air have been discovered in mid-ocean. + +Thus we see that the spiders have the same way of distributing their +species over the globe, as have the thistles and dandelions. It has +been asked what the spiders live upon while they are making these +long journeys, especially those that have drifted out to sea. The +spider has very convenient habits of eating. When it finds plenty +of food it eats a great deal; but in time of famine it lives on, +apparently comfortably, without eating. One of our captive spiders +was mislaid for six months and when we found her she was as full of +“grit” as ever, and she did not seem to be abnormally hungry when +food was offered her. + + * * * * * + + “_A noiseless, patient spider, + I mark’d where, on a little promontory, it stood isolated: + Mark’d how to explore the vacant, vast surrounding, + It launch’d forth filament out of itself: + Ever unreeling them--ever tirelessly speeding them._ + + “_And you, O my soul, where you stand, + Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space, + Ceaselessly, musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres + to connect them; + Till the bridge you will need be form’d--till the ductile + anchor hold; + Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my + soul._” + --WALT WHITMAN. + + + LESSON CXIV + + BALLOONING SPIDERS + +_Leading thought_--The young of many species of spiders scatter +themselves like thistle seeds in balloons which they make of silk. + +_Method_--These observations should be made out of doors during some +warm sunny day in October. Read Nature’s Craftsmen, McCook, p. 182. + +_Observations_--1. Look across the grass some warm sunny morning or +evening of early fall, and note the threads of spider silk gleaming +everywhere, not regular webs, but single threads spun from grass +stalk to grass stalk, or from one object to another, until the ground +seems glistening with silk threads. + +2. Find a small spider on a bush, fence post, or at the top of some +tall grass stalk; watch it until it begins to spin out its thread. + +3. What happens to the thread as it is spun out? + +4. If the thread does not become entangled in any surrounding object +what happens? If the thread does become entangled, what happens? + +5. How far do you suppose a spider can travel on this silken +aeroplane? Why should the young spider wish to travel? + + + + + THE WHITE CRAB-SPIDER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +There are certain spiders which are crablike in form, and their legs +are so arranged that they can walk more easily sidewise or backward +than forward. These spiders spin no webs, but lie in wait for their +prey. Many of them live upon plants and fences and, in winter, hide +in protected places. + +[Illustration: _A common crab-spider._] + +The white crab-spider is a little rascal that has discovered the +advantage of protective coloring as a means of hiding itself from the +view of its victims, until too late to save themselves; the small +assassin always takes on the color of the flower in which it lies +concealed. In the white trillium, it is greenish white; while in the +golden-rod its decorations are yellow. It waits in the heart of the +flower, or in the flower clusters, until the visiting insect alights +and seeks to probe for the nectar; it then leaps forward and fastens +its fangs into its struggling victim. I have seen a crab-spider in +a milkweed attack a bee three times its size. This spider was white +with lilac or purple markings. If disturbed, the crab-spider can walk +off awkwardly or it may drop by a silken thread. It is especially +interesting, since it illustrates another use for protective +coloring; and also because this species seems to be able to change +its colors to suit its surroundings. + + + LESSON CXV + + THE WHITE CRAB-SPIDER + +_Leading thought_--1. The white crab spider has markings upon its +body of the same color as the flower in which it rests and is thus +enabled to hide in ambush out of the sight of its victims--the +insects which come to the flower for nectar. + +_Method_--Ask the children to bring one of these spiders to school in +the flower in which it was found; note how inconspicuous it is, and +arouse an interest in the different colors which these spiders assume +in different flowers. + +_Observations_--1. What is the shape of the body of the crab-spider? +Which of the legs are the longest? Are these legs directed forward or +backward? + +2. How is the body marked? What colors do you find upon it? Are the +colors the same in the spiders found in the trilliums, as those in +other flowers? Why is this? Do you think that the color of the spider +keeps it from being seen? + +3. Place the white spider which you may find in a trillium in a +daffodil, and note if the color changes. + +4. Do the crab-spiders make webs? How do they trap their prey? + +[Illustration: _Crab-spiders on golden-rod._ + +This species is white when lurking in the white trillium and yellow +when among flowers of the golden-rod. + +Photo by Slingerland.] + + + + + HOW THE SPIDER MOTHERS TAKE CARE OF THEIR EGGS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: P] + +Protecting her eggs from the vicissitudes of the weather seems to be +the spider mother’s chief care; though at the same time and by the +same means, she protects them from the attacks of predacious insects. +Many of the species make silken egg-sacs, which are often elaborate +in construction, and are carefully placed in protected situations. + +Often a little silvery disk may be seen attached to a stone in a +field. It resembles a circular lichen on the stone, but if it is +examined it is found to consist of an upper, very smooth, waterproof +coat, while below is a soft, downy nest, completely enfolding the +spider’s eggs. + +The egg-sacs of the cobweb weavers are often found suspended in their +webs. One of the large orbweavers makes a very remarkable nest, which +it attaches to the branches of weeds or shrubs. This sac is about +as large as a hickory nut, and opens like a vase at the top. It is +very securely suspended by many strong threads of silk, so that the +blasts of winter cannot tear it loose. The outside is shining and +waterproof, while inside it has a fit lining for a spiderling cradle. + +Dr. Burt G. Wilder studied the development of the inmates of one of +these nests by cutting open different nests at different periods of +the winter. In the autumn, the nest contained five hundred or more +eggs. These eggs hatched in early winter but it seemed foreordained +that some of the little spiders were born for food for their stronger +brethren. They seemed resigned to their fate, for when one of these +victims was seized by its cannibalistic brother, it curled up its +legs and submitted meekly. The result of this process was that, out +of the five hundred little spiders hatched from the eggs, only a few +healthy and apparently happy young spiders emerged from the nest in +the spring, sustained by the nourishment afforded them by their own +family, and fitted for their life in the outside world. + +[Illustration: _A wolf-spider carrying her egg-sac._] + +Some spiders make a nest for their eggs within folded leaves, and +some build them in crevices of rocks and boards. + +The running spiders, which are the large ones found under stones, +make globular egg-sacs; the mother spider drags after her this +egg-sac attached to her spinnerets; the young, when they hatch, climb +upon their mother’s back, and there remain for a time. + + + LESSON CXVI + + THE NESTS OF SPIDERS + +_Leading thought_--The spider mothers have many interesting ways of +protecting their eggs, which they envelop in silken sacs and place in +safety. + +_Method_--Ask the pupils to bring in all the spider egg-sacs that +they can find. Keep some of them unopened, and open others of the +same kind, and thus discover how many eggs are in the sac, and how +many spiderlings come out. This is a good lesson for September and +October. + +_Observations_--1. In what situation did you find the nest? How was +it protected from rain and snow? To what was it attached? + +2. Of what texture is the outside of the sac? Is the outside made of +waterproof silk? What is the texture of the lining? + +3. How many eggs in this sac? What is the color of the eggs? When +do the spiderlings hatch? Do as many spiders come out of the sac as +there were eggs? Why is this? + +[Illustration: _The egg-sac of the large, black and yellow +garden-spider suspended for the winter in a branch of golden-rod._ + +Photo by Slingerland.] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + PART III + + PLANT LIFE + + + + + HOW TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF PLANTS + AND FLOWERS + + +[Illustration: T] + +The only right way to begin plant study with young children is +through awakening their interest in and love for flowers. Most +children love flowers naturally; they enjoy bringing flowers to +school, and here, by teaching the recognition of flowers by name, may +be begun this delightful study. This should be done naturally and +informally. The teacher may say: “Thank you, John, for this bouquet. +Why, here is a pansy, a bachelor’s button, a larkspur and a poppy.” +Or, “Julia has brought me a beautiful flower. What is its name, I +wonder?” Then may follow a little discussion, which the teacher leads +to the proper conclusion. If this course is consistently followed, +the children will learn the names of the common flowers of wood, +field and garden, and never realize that they are learning anything. + +The next step is to inspire the child with a desire to care for and +preserve his bouquet. The posies brought in the perspiring little +hand may be wilted and look dejected; ask their owner to place +the stems in water, and call attention to the way they lift their +drooping heads. Parents and teachers should very early inculcate in +children this respect for the rights of flowers which they gather; no +matter how tired the child or how disinclined to further effort, when +he returns from the woods or fields or garden with plucked flowers, +he should be made to place their stems in water immediately. This +is a lesson in duty as well as in plant study. Attention to the +behavior of the thirsty flowers may be gained by asking the following +questions: + +1. When a plant is wilted how does it look? How does its stem act? Do +its leaves stand up? What happens to the flower? + +2. Place the cut end of the stem in water and look at it occasionally +during an hour; describe what happens to the stem, the leaves, the +blossom. + +3. To find how flowers drink, place the stem of a wilted plant in red +ink; the next day cut the stem across and find how far the ink has +been lifted into it. + + + + + HOW TO MAKE PLANTS COMFORTABLE + + +[Illustration: A] + +Another step in plant study comes naturally from planting the seeds +in window-boxes or garden. This may be done in the kindergarten or in +the primary grades. As soon as the children have had some experience +in the growing of flowers, they should conduct some experiments +which will teach them about the needs of plants. These experiments +are fit for the work of the second or third grade. Uncle John says, +“All plants want to grow; all they ask is that they shall be made +comfortable.” The following experiments should be made vital and full +of interest, by impressing upon the children that through them they +will learn to make their plants comfortable. + +_Experiment 1. To find out what kind of soil plants love best to grow +in_--Have the children of a class, or individuals representing a +class, prepare four little pots or boxes, as follows: Fill one with +rich, woods humus, or with potting earth from a florist’s; another +with poor, hard soil, which may be found near excavations; another +with clean sand; another with sawdust. Plant the same kind of seeds +in all four, and place them where they will get plenty of light. +Water them as often as needful. Note which plants grow the best. This +trial should cover six weeks at least and attention should now and +then be called to the relative growth of the plants. + +_Experiment 2. To prove that plants need light in order to +grow._--Fill two pots with the same rich soil; plant in these the +same kind of seeds, and give them both the same amount of water; keep +one in the window and place the other in a dark closet or under a +box, and note what happens. Or take two potted geraniums which look +equally thrifty; keep one in the light and the other in darkness. +What happens? + +_Experiment 3. To show that the leaves love the light_--Place a +geranium in a window and let it remain in the same position for two +weeks. Which way do all the leaves face? Turn it around, and note +what the leaves have done after a few days. + +_Experiment 4. To show that plants need water_--Fill three pots with +rich earth, plant the same kinds of seeds in each, and place them +all in the same window. Give one water as it needs it, keep another +flooded with water, and give the other none at all. What happens to +the seeds in the three pots? + +The success of these four experiments depends upon the genius of +the teacher. The interest in the result should be keen; every child +should feel that every seed planted is a living germ and that it is +struggling to grow; every look at the experiments should be like +another chapter in a continued story. In the case of young children, +I have gone so far as to name the seeds, “Robbie Radish” or “Polly +Peppergrass.” I did this to focus the attention of the child on the +efforts of this living being to grow. After the experiments, the +children told the story, personating each seed, thus: “I am Susie +Sweet Pea and Johnny Smith planted me in sand. I started to grow, for +I had some lunch with me which my mother put up for me to eat when +I was hungry; but after the lunch was all gone, I could find very +little food in the sand, although my little roots reached down and +tried and tried to find something for me to eat. I finally grew pale +and could not put out another leaf.” + +The explanations of these experiments should be simple, with no +attempt to teach the details of plant physiology. The need of plants +for rich, loose earth and for water is easily understood by the +children; but the need for light is not so apparent, and Uncle John’s +story of the starch factory is the most simple and graphic way of +making known to the children the processes of plant nourishment. This +is how he tells it: “Plants are just like us; they have to have food +to make them grow; where is the food and how do they find it? Every +green leaf is a factory to make food for the plant; the green pulp +in the leaf is the machinery; the leaves get the raw materials from +the sap and from the air, and the machinery unites them and makes +them into plant food. This is mostly starch, for this is the chief +food of plants, although they require some other kinds of food also. +The machinery is run by sunshine-power, so the leaf-factory can make +nothing without the aid of light; the leaf-factories begin to work as +soon as the sun rises, and only stop working when it sets. But the +starch has to be changed to sugar before the baby, growing tips of +the plant can use it for nourishment and growth; and so the leaves, +after making the starch from the sap and the air, are obliged to +digest it, changing the starch to sugar; for the growing parts of the +plant feed upon sweet sap. Although the starch-factory in the leaves +can work only during the daytime, the leaves can change the starch to +sugar during the night. So far as we know, there is no starch in the +whole world which is not made in the leaf-factories.” + +This story should be told and repeated often, until the children +realize the work done by leaves for the plants and their need of +light. + + * * * * * + + “_The clouds are at play in the azure space + And their shadows at play on the bright green vale, + And here they stretch to the frolic chase; + And there they roll on the easy gale._ + + “_There’s a dance of leaves in that aspen bower, + There’s a titter of winds in that beechen tree, + There’s a smile on the fruit and a smile on the flower, + And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea._” + --BRYANT. + + + + + HOW TO TEACH THE NAMES OF THE PARTS OF A FLOWER + AND OF THE PLANT + + +[Illustration: T] + +The scientific names given to the parts of plants have been the +stumbling block to many teachers, and yet no part of plant study is +more easily accomplished. First of all, the teacher should have in +mind clearly the names of the parts which she wishes to teach; the +illustrations here given are for her convenience. When talking with +the pupils about flowers let her use these names naturally: + +“See how many geraniums we have; the corolla of this one is red and +of that one is pink. The red corolla has fourteen petals and the pink +one only five,” etc. + +“This arbutus which James brought has a pretty little pink bell for a +corolla.” + +[Illustration: _A flower with the parts named._] + +“The purple trillium has a purple corolla, the white trillium a white +corolla; and both have green sepals.” + +[Illustration: _A flower with petals united forming a tube, and with +sepals likewise united._] + +The points to be borne in mind are that children like to call things +by their names because they are _real_ names, and they also like to +use “grown up” names for things; but they do not like to commit to +memory names which to them are meaningless. Circumlocution is a waste +of breath; calling a petal a “leaf of a flower” or the petiole “the +stem of a leaf,” is like calling a boy’s arm “the projecting part of +James’ body” or Molly’s golden hair “the yellow top” to her head. +All the names should be taught gradually by constant unemphasized use +on the part of the teacher; and if the child does not learn the names +naturally then do not make him do it unnaturally. + +[Illustration: _A leaf with parts named._] + +The lesson on the garden, or horseshoe geranium with single flowers, +is the one to be given first in teaching the structure of a flower +since the geranium blossom is simple and easily understood. + + + + + TEACH THE USE OF THE FLOWER + + +[Illustration: F] + +From first to last the children should be taught that the object of +the flower is to develop seed. They should look eagerly into the +maturing flower for the growing fruit. Poetry is full of the sadness +of the fading flower, while rightly it should be the gladness of the +flower that fades, because its work is done for the precious seed at +its heart. The whole attention of the child should be fixed upon the +developing fruit instead of the fading and falling petals. + + * * * * * + + “_In all places then and in all seasons, + Flowers expand their light and soul-like wings, + Teaching us by most persuasive reasons, + How akin they are to human things._” + --LONGFELLOW. + + + + + FLOWERS AND INSECT PARTNERS + + +[Illustration: I] + +It is undoubtedly true that while the processes of cross-pollenation +and the complicated devices of flowers for insuring it can only be +well taught to older pupils and only fully understood in the college +laboratory, yet there are a few simple facts which even the young +child may know, as follows: + +1. Pollen is needed to make the seeds grow; some flowers need the +pollen from other flowers of the same kind, to make their seeds +grow; but many flowers also use the pollen from their own flowers to +pollenate their ovules, which grow into seeds. + +2. Flowers have neither legs like animals nor wings like butterflies, +to go after pollen; so they give insects nectar to drink and pollen +to eat, and thus pay them for fetching and carrying the pollen. + +I taught this to a four-year-old once in the following manner: A +pine tree in the yard was sifting its pollen over us and little Jack +asked what the yellow dust was; we went to the tree and saw where it +came from, then I found a tiny young cone and explained to him that +this was a pine blossom, and that in order to become a cone with +seeds, it must have some pollen fall upon it; and we saw how the wind +sifted the pollen over it and then we examined a ripe cone and found +the seeds. Then we looked at the clovers in the lawn. They did not +have so much pollen and they were so low in the grass that the wind +could not carry it for them; but right there was a bee. What was she +doing? She was getting honey for her hive or pollen for her brood, +and she went from one clover head to another; we caught her in a +glass fruit jar, and found she was dusted with pollen and that she +had pollen packed in the baskets on her hind legs; and we concluded +that she carried plenty of pollen on her clothes for the clovers, and +that the pollen in her baskets was for her own use. After that he +was always watching the bees at work; and we found afterwards that +flowers had two ways of telling the insects that they wanted pollen. +One was by their color, for the dandelions and clovers hide their +colors during dark, rainy days when the bees remain in their hives. +Then we found the bees working on mignonette, whose blossoms were +so small that Jack did not think they were blossoms at all, and we +concluded that the mignonette called the bees by its fragrance. We +found other flowers which called with both color and fragrance; and +this insect-flower partnership remained a factor of great interest in +the child’s mind ever after. + + * * * * * + + “_Roly-poly honey-bee, + Humming in the clover, + Under you the tossing leaves, + And the blue sky over, + Why are you so busy, pray? + Never still a minute, + Hovering now above a flower, + Now half buried in it!_” + --JULIA C. R. DORR. + + + + + THE RELATION OF PLANTS TO GEOGRAPHY + + +[Illustration: T] + +There should be from first to last a steady growth in the +intelligence of the child as to the places where certain plants grow. +He finds hepaticas and trilliums in the woods, daisies and buttercups +in the sunny fields, mullein on the dry hillsides, cat-tails in the +swamp, and water lilies floating on the pond. This may all be taught +by simply asking the pupils questions relating to the soil and the +special conditions of the locality where they found the flowers they +bring to school. + +[Illustration: _Egg-shell experiment farm._ + +The plants from left to right are: cabbage, field corn, popcorn, +wheat, buckwheat.] + + + + + SEED GERMINATION + + +Less than three decades ago, this one feature of plant life once +came near “gobbling up” all of nature-study, and yet it is merely +an incident in the growth of the plant. To sprout seeds is absurd +as an object in itself; it is incidental as is the breaking of the +egg-shell to the study of the chicken. The peeping into a seed like a +bean or a pea, to see that the plant is really there, with its lunch +put up by its mother packed all around it, is interesting to the +child. To watch the little plant develop, to study its seed-leaves +and what becomes of them, to know that they give the plant its first +food and to know how a young plant looks and acts, are all items of +legitimate interest in the study of the life of a plant; in fact the +struggle of the little plant to get free from its seed-coats may be a +truly dramatic story. (See “First Lessons with Plants,” Bailey, page +79). But to regard this feature as the chief object of planting seed +is manifestly absurd. + +The object of planting any seed should be to rear a plant which +shall fulfill its whole duty and produce other seed. The following +observations regarding the germination of seeds should be made while +the children are eagerly watching the coming of the plants in their +gardens or window-boxes: + +1. Which comes out of the seed first, the root or the leaf? Which way +does the root always grow, up or down? Which way do the leaves always +grow, no matter which side up the seed is planted? + +2. How do the seed-leaves try to get out of the seed-coat, or shell? +How do the seed-leaves differ in form from the leaves which come +later? What becomes of the seed-leaves after the plant begins to grow? + +_References_--First Lessons with Plants, L. H. Bailey; First Lessons +in Plant Life, Atkinson; Plants and their Children, Dana; Plants, +Coulter; How Plants Grow, Gray; How Plants Behave, Gray. + + + + + I. WILD-FLOWER STUDY + + + + + THE HEPATICA + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The wise men say the hepatica flower has no petals but has + pink, white or purple sepals instead: and they say, too, that + the three leaflets of the cup which holds the flower are not + sepals but are bracts; and they offer as proof the fact that + they do not grow close to the blossom, but are placed a little + way down the stem. But the hepatica does not care what names + the wise men give to the parts of its blossom: it says as plainly + as if it could talk: ‘The bees do not care whether they are + sepals or petals since they are pretty in color, and show where + the pollen is to be found. I will teach the world that bracts + are just as good to wrap around flower-buds as are sepals, and + that sepals may be just as beautiful as petals. Since my + petticoat is pretty enough for a dress why should not I wear it + thus?_’”--“THE CHILD’S OWN BOOK OF WILD FLOWERS.” + + +We seek the hepatica in its own haunts, because there is a longing +for spring in our hearts that awakens with the first warm sunshine. +As we thread our way into sodden woods, avoiding the streams and +puddles which are little glacial rivers and lakes, having their +sources in the snow-drifts still heaped on the north side of things, +we look eagerly for signs of returning life. Our eyes slowly +distinguish among the various shades of brown in the floor of the +forest, a bit of pale-blue or pink-purple that at first seems like +an optical delusion; but as we look again to make sure, Lo! it +is the hepatica, lifting its delicate blossoms above its mass of +purple-brown leaves. These leaves, moreover, are always beautiful in +shape and color and suggest patterns for sculpture like the acanthus, +or for rich tapestries like the palm-leaf in the Orient. It warms the +heart to see these brave little flowers stand with their faces to the +sun and their backs to the snow-drifts, looking out on a gray-brown +world, nodding to it and calling it good. + +The hepatica is forehanded in several ways. After the leaves have +fallen from the trees in the autumn and let in the sunshine, it puts +up new leaves which make food that is stored in the crown bud; the +little flower buds are then started, and wrapped cozily, are cuddled +down at the very center of the plant. These buds, perfected in the +autumn, are ready to stretch up and blossom when the first warmth +of spring shall reach them. The stems and the bracts of the flower +are soft and downy, and are much more furry than those which appear +later; while this down is not for the purpose of keeping the plant +at a higher temperature, yet it acts as a blanket to prevent too +rapid transpiration, which is a cooling process, and thus it does, +as a matter of fact, keep the flower warmer. As the stems lift up, +the buds are bent, which position protects them from the beating +storms. The hepatica flowers are white, pink and lavender. The latter +are sometimes called “blue.” The so-called “petals” number from six +to twelve; there are usually six. The three outer ones are sepals +and are exactly like the three inner ones, the petals, but may be +distinguished by their outside position in the half-opened flower. +The three green bracts which encase the flower bud, and later remain +with the seed, are placed on the stem quite distinctly below the +flower. On dark days and during the nights, the young blossoms close; +but when they become old and faded, they remain open all the time. +Thus, the flowers are closed except when bees are likely to visit +them; but after they have shed their pollen, they do not need to +remain closed any longer. Not all hepatica blossoms are fragrant; and +those that are so, lose their fragrance as their colors begin to fade +to white. If a snow-storm comes, the hepatica blossoms close and bow +their heads. + +[Illustration: _Hepaticas._] + +There are many stamens with greenish white anthers and pollen. They +stand erect around the many pistils at the center of the flower. The +number of pistils varies from six to twenty-four. Each pistil holds +aloft the little horseshoe-shaped, whitish stigma and, if pollenated, +develops into a seed. The hepatica is a perennial and grows only in +rich, moist woods. It is so adapted to the shade, that it dies if +transplanted to sunny places. The leaves which have passed the winter +under the snow are rich purple beneath, and mottled green and purple +above, making beautiful objects for water-color drawings. The new +leaves are put forth in spring before the leaves of the trees create +too much shade. In the fall, after the trees are bare, the leaves +again become active. The roots are quite numerous and fine. + +[Illustration: _Embroidery design from the hepatica._ + +The Child’s Own Book of Wild Flowers, drawn by Evelyn Mitchell.] + + + LESSON CXVII + + THE HEPATICA + +_Leading thought_--The hepatica flower buds are developed in the +fall, so as to be ready to blossom early in the spring. This plant +lives only in moist and shady woods. + +_Method_--The pupils should have the questions before they go +into the woods to gather spring flowers, and should answer them +individually. However, the hepatica plant may be potted early in the +spring, and the flowers may be watched during their development, and +studied in the schoolroom. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find the hepaticas? Do you ever find +them in the open fields? Do you ever find them in the pine woods? + +2. How do the leaves look in early spring? Sketch in color one of +these old leaves. How do the young leaves look? Are the leaves that +come up late in the spring as fuzzy as those that appear early? What +is the difference in texture and color between the leaves that were +perfected in the fall and those that appear in the spring? + +3. Find a hepatica plant before it begins to blossom. Look, if +possible, at its very center. Describe these little flower buds. When +were they formed? + +4. How does the bud look when it begins to lift up? Describe the +stems and the three little blankets that hold the bud. Ask your +teacher how these fuzzy blankets keep the bud from being killed by +cold. + +5. Are the hepaticas in your woods all pink, or blue, or white? Do +those which are at first pink or blue fade to white later? Do the +blossoms keep open during the night and stormy weather? Why not? Are +they all fragrant? + +6. How many petals has your hepatica? Can you see that the outer +ones are sepals, although they look just like the petals? Peel back +the three sepal-like bracts and see that they are not a part of the +flower at all but join the stem below the flower. + +7. Describe the stamens in the hepatica. How many pistils are there? +Does each pistil develop into a seed? How do the three bracts protect +the seeds as they ripen? + +8. What insects do you find visiting the hepaticas? + +9. Describe a hepatica plant in the woods; mark it so that you will +know it, and visit it occasionally during the summer and autumn, +noting what happens to it. + + + + + THE YELLOW ADDER’S TONGUE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Once a prize was offered to a child if she would find two + leaves of the adder’s tongue that were marked exactly alike: + and she sought long and faithfully, but the only prize she + won was a lesson in Nature’s book of variations, where no two + leaves of any plant, shrub or tree are exactly alike: for + even if they seemed so to our eyes, yet there would exist in + them differences of strength and growth too subtle for us + to detect. But this child was slow in learning this great + fact, and, until she was a woman, the adder’s tongue leaves, + so beautifully embroidered with purple and green, were to + her a miracle, revealing the infinite diversity of Nature’s + patterns._”--“THE CHILD’S OWN BOOK OF WILD FLOWERS.” + + +[Illustration: _Adder’s tongue._] + +This little lily of the woods is a fascinating plant. Its leaves of +pale green mottled with brownish purple often cover closely large +irregular areas in the rich soil of our woodlands; and yet I doubt +if the underground story of these forest rugs is often thought of. +The leaves are twins, and to the one who plucks them carelessly they +seem to come from one slender stem. It requires muscle as well as +decision of character to follow this weak stem down several inches, +by digging around it, until we find the corm at its base. A corm is +the swollen base of a stem and is bulb-like in form; but it is not +made up of layers, as is a bulb. It is a storehouse for food and +also a means of spreading the species; for from the corms there grow +little corms called cormels, and each cormel develops a separate +plant. This underground method of reproduction is the secret of why +the leaves of the adder’s tongue appear in patches, closely crowded +together. + +Only a few of the plants in a “patch” produce flowers, and it is +interesting to see how cleverly these lily bells hide from the casual +eye. Like many of the lilies, the three sepals are petal-like and are +identified as sepals only by their outside position, although they +are thicker in texture. They are purplish brown outside, which serves +to render the flower inconspicuous as we look down upon it; on the +inner side, they are a pure yellow, spotted with darker yellow near +where they join the stem. The three petals are pure yellow, paler +outside than in, and they have dark spots like the tiger lilies near +the heart of the flower; and where they join the stem, each has on +each side an ear-shaped lobe. + +[Illustration: _The adder’s tongue, showing its underground +storehouse._ + +Drawn by F. Dana Gibson, a pupil in seventh grade.] + +The open flower is bell-shaped; and like other bells it has a +clapper, or tongue. This is formed by six downward-hanging stamens, +the yellow filaments of which have broad bases and taper to points +where the oblong anthers join them. The anthers are red or yellow. It +is this stamen clapper that the visiting insects must cling to when +probing upward for nectar from this flower at the upper end of the +bell. The pale green pistil is somewhat three-sided, and the long +style remains attached long after the flower disappears. The flower +is slightly fragrant, and it is visited by the queen bumblebees and +the solitary bees, of which there are many species. The flower closes +nights and during cloudy, stormy days. The seed capsule is plump and +rather triangular, and splits into three sections when ripe. The +seeds are numerous and are fleshy and crescent-shaped. + +[Illustration: _Fruit capsule and seed._] + +But the adder’s tongue, like many other early blooming flowers, is a +child of the spring. The leaves, at first so prettily mottled, fade +out to plain green; and by midsummer they have entirely disappeared, +the place where they were, being covered with other foliage of far +different pattern. But down in the rich woods soil are the plump +globular corms filled with the food gathered by the spotted leaves +during their brief stay, and next spring two pairs of spotted leaves +may appear where there was but one pair this year. + +[Illustration: _The adder’s tongue going to seed._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + LESSON CXVIII + + ADDER’S TONGUE, OR DOG-TOOTH VIOLET + +_Leading thought_--The adder’s tongue is a lily, and its mottled +leaves appear early in the spring, each pair coming from a corm deep +in the soil below. It has two ways of spreading, one underground by +means of new corms growing from the larger ones, and the other by +means of seeds, many of which are probably perfected through the +pollen carried by insects. + +_Method_--This plant should be studied in the woods, notes being made +on it there. But a plant showing corm, roots, leaves and blossom +should be brought to the schoolhouse for detailed study, and then +planted in a shady place in the school garden. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the adder’s tongue grow? Do you ever +find it in open fields? How early do you find its leaves above +ground? At what time does its blossoms appear? + +2. How many leaves has each plant? What colors do you find in them? +What is the color of their petioles? Do the leaves remain mottled +later in the season? + +3. Do the adder’s tongue plants occur singly or in patches? Dig out a +plant and see if you can find why the plants grow so many together? + +4. How far below the surface of the ground did you find the corm or +bulb-like growth? Is this the root of the plant? How does it differ +from the roots? How does it differ from a bulb? Of what use is it to +the plant? + +5. Is the flower lifted up, or is it drooping? What is its general +shape? How many sepals? How would you know they were sepals? How +do they differ in color, outside and in, from the petals? How are +the petals marked? Can you see the lobes at the base of each petal? +When sepals and petals are so much alike the botanists call them all +together the perianth. + +6. If the perianth, or the sepals and petals together, make a +bell-shaped flower, what makes the clapper to the bell? How do the +insects use this clapper when they visit the flower? Do the flowers +stay open nights and dark days? Why? + +7. How many stamens are there? Describe or sketch one, noting its +peculiar shape. Are the stamens all the same length? Can you see +the pistil and its stigma? Where is it situated in relation to the +stamens? Do you think the stigma is ready for pollen at the time the +anthers are shedding it? + +8. After the petals and sepals fall what remains? How does the ripe +seed-capsule look? How does it open to let out the seeds? Are there +many seeds in a capsule? What is their shape? + +[Illustration: _Design for embroidery from adder’s tongue._ + +Drawn by Evelyn Mitchell for Child’s Own Book of Wild Flowers.] + + + + +[Illustration: + + “_Bloodroots, whose rolled-up leaves ef you oncurl + Each on em’s cradle to a baby pearl._” + --LOWELL. + +Photo by O. L. Foster.] + + + BLOODROOT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_What time the earliest ferns unfold, + And meadow cowslips count their gold; + A countless multitude they stood, + A Milky Way within the wood._” + --DANSKE DANDRIDGE. + + +[Illustration: O] + +Only a few generations ago, and this land of ours was peopled by +those who found it fitting to paint their bodies to represent their +mental or spiritual conditions or intentions. For this purpose they +had studied the plants of our forests to learn the secrets of the +dyes which they yielded, and a dye that would remain on the flesh +permanently, or until it wore off, was highly prized. Such a dye was +found in the bloodroot, a dye appropriate in its color to represent a +thirst for blood; and with it they made their war paint, and with it +they ornamented their tomahawks to symbolize their sanguinary purpose. + +The Indian warriors have passed away from our forests, and the +forests themselves are passing away, but the bloodroot still lingers, +growing abundantly in rich moist woods or in shaded areas in glades, +borders of meadows and fence corners. Its beautiful white flowers +open to the morning sun in early April, calling the hungry bees to +come for pollen; for, like many other early flowers, it offers no +nectar. Probably many of the little wild bees prefer pollen to nectar +at this time of year, for it is an important element in the food +of all kinds of bee brood. But the bloodroot’s fragile blossoms are +elusive and do not remain long; like their relatives, the poppies, +their petals soon fall, and their white masses disappear like the +snow-drifts which so recently occupied the same nooks. + +The way the bloodroot leaf enfolds the flower-bud seems like such +an obvious plan for protection, that we are unthinkingly prone to +attribute consciousness to the little plants. + +Not only does the leaf enfold the bud, but it continues to enfold +the flower stem after the blossom opens. There are two sepals +which enclose the bud, but fall off as the flower opens. There are +ordinarily eight white petals, although there may be twelve; usually +every other one of the eight petals is longer than its neighbors, +and this makes the blossom rather square than circular in outline. +There are many stamens, often 24, and the anthers are brilliant +yellow with whitish filaments. The two-lobed stigma opens to receive +pollen before the pollen of its own flower is ripe. The stigma is +large, yellow, and set directly on the ovary, and is quite noticeable +in the freshly opened blossoms. It is likely to shrivel before its +home-grown pollen is ripe. The blossoms open wide on sunny mornings; +the petals rise up in the afternoon and close at night, and also +remain closed during dark, stormy days until they are quite old, when +they remain carelessly open; they are now ready to fall to the ground +at the slightest jar, leaving the oblong, green seed-pod set on the +stem at a neat bevel, and perhaps still crowned with the yellowish +stigma. The seed-pod is oblong and pointed and remains below the +protecting leaf. There are many yellowish or brownish seeds. + +When the plant appears above ground, the leaf is wrapped in a +cylinder about the bud, and it is a very pretty leaf, especially the +“wrong side,” which forms the outside of the roll; it is pale green +with a network of pinkish veins, and its edges are attractively +lobed; the petiole is fleshy, stout and reddish amber in color. +The flower stem is likewise fleshy and is tinged with raw sienna; +the stems of both leaf and flower stand side by side, and are held +together at the base by two scapes with parallel veins. Later in the +season, the leaf having done its full duty as a nurse waxes opulent, +often measuring six inches across and having a petiole ten inches +long. It is then one of the most beautiful leaves in the forest +carpet, its circular form and deeply lobed edges rendering it a fit +subject for decorative design. + +The rootstock is large and fleshy, and in it is stored the food which +enables the flower to blossom early, before any food has been made +by the new leaves. There are many stout and rather short roots that +fringe the rootstock. Once in clearing a path through a woodland, we +happened to hack off a mass of these rootstocks, and we stood aghast +at the gory results. We had admired the bloodroot flowers in this +place in the spring, and we felt as guilty as if we had inadvertently +hacked into a friend. + + + LESSON CXIX + + BLOODROOT + +_Leading thought_--The bloodroot has a fleshy rootstock, in which is +stored food for the nourishment of the blossom in early spring. The +flower bud is at first protected by the folded leaf. The juice of the +rootstock is a vivid light crimson, and was used by Indians as a war +paint. The juice is acrid, and the bloodroot is not relished as food +by grazing animals, but it is used by us as a medicine. + +_Method_--The bloodroot may, in the fall, be transplanted in a pot of +woods earth, care being taken not to disturb its roots. It should be +placed out of doors in a protected place where it may have natural +conditions, and be brought to the schoolroom for study in March, so +that the whole act of the unfolding of leaves and flowers may be +observed by the pupils. Otherwise the questions must be given the +pupils to answer as they find the plants blossoming in the woods in +April. The blossoms are too fragile to be successfully transported +for study at home or school. + +_Observations_--1. At what time of year does bloodroot blossom? In +what situations does it thrive? + +2. What do we see first when the bloodroot puts its head above the +soil? Where is the flower bud? How is it protected by the leaf? How +does the leaf hold the flower stem after the flower is in blossom? + +3. Study the flower. How many sepals has it? What is their color? +What is the position of the sepals when the flower is in bud? What is +their position when the flower opens? How many petals? What is their +color and texture? Describe the position of the petals in the bud +and in the open flower. Look straight into the flower; is its shape +circular or square? + +4. Do the flowers close nights and during dark days? Do the flowers +longest open do this? Describe how the petals and sepals fall. + +[Illustration: _Bloodroot._ + +Photographed by Verne Morton.] + +5. Describe the stamens. What is the color of the anthers? Of the +pollen? Describe the pistil. Does the two-grooved stigma open before +the pollen is shed, or after? What insects do you find visiting the +bloodroot? + +6. Sketch or describe a bloodroot leaf as it is wrapped around +the stem of the flower. How are both flower stem and leaf petiole +protected at the base? Describe or sketch a leaf after it is unfolded +and open. Describe the difference between the upper and lower +surfaces of the leaf. What sort of petiole has it? Break the petiole; +what sort of juice comes from it? Describe and measure the leaf later +in the season; do they all have the same number of lobes? + +7. Break a bit off the root of the plant and note the color of the +juice. + +8. Compare the bloodroot with the poppies; do you find any +resemblance in habits? + + + + + THE TRILLIUM + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +It would be well for the designer of tapestries to study the carpets +of our forests for his patterns, for he would find there a new carpet +every month, quite different in plan and design from the one spread +there earlier or later. One of the most beautiful designs from +Nature’s looms is a trillium carpet, which is at its best when the +white trilliums are in blossom. It is a fine study of the artistic +possibilities of the triangle when reduced to terms of leaves, petals +and sepals. + +[Illustration: _The white trillium. A white butterfly visiting the +flower at the left._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The trillium season is a long one; it begins in April with the purple +wake-robin or birthroot, the species with purple, red, or sometimes +yellowish flowers. The season ends in June with the last of the great +white trilliums, which flush pink instead of fading, when old age +comes upon them. + +The color of the trillium flower depends upon the species studied; +there are three petals, and the white and painted trilliums have +the edges of the petals ruffled; the red and nodding trilliums have +petals and sepals nearly the same size, but in the white trillium +the sepals are narrower and shorter than the petals. The sepals are +alternate the petals, so that when we look straight into the flower +we see it as a six-pointed star, three of the points being green +sepals. The pistil of the trillium is six-lobed. It is dark red in +the purple trillium and very large; in the white species, it is pale +green and smaller; it opens at the top with three flaring stigmas. +There are six stamens with long anthers, and they stand between the +lobes of the pistil. The flower stalk rises from the center where +three large leaves join. The flower stalk has a tendency to bend a +little, and is rather delicate. The three leaves have an interesting +venation, and make a good subject for careful drawing. The flower +stem varies with different species, and so does the length of the +stem of the plant, the latter being fleshy and green toward the top +and reddish toward the root. The trilliums have a thick, fleshy, and +much scarred rootstock from which extend rootlets which are often +corrugated. The trilliums are perennial, and grow mostly in damp, +rich woods. The painted trillium is found in cold, damp woods along +the banks of brooks; the white trillium is likely to be found in +large numbers in the same locality, while the purple trillium is +found only here and there. Flies and beetles carry the pollen for +the red trillium, being attracted to it by its rank odor, which +is very disagreeable to us but very agreeable to them. The large +white trillium is visited by bees and butterflies. The fruit of the +trillium is a berry, that of the purple species is somewhat six-lobed +and reddish. In late July the fruit of the white trillium is a cone +with six sharp wings, or ridges, from apex to base, the latter being +three-quarters of an inch across. These vertical ridges are not +evenly spaced, and beneath them are packed as closely as possible +the yellow-green seeds, which are as large as homeopathic pills. In +cross section, it can be seen that the trillium berry is star-shaped +with three compartments, the seeds growing on the partitions. This +trillium fruit is very rough outside, but smooth inside, and the +dried stamens often still cling to it. + +[Illustration: _The stemless trillium_] + +The trilliums are so called from the word _triplum_, meaning three, +as there are three leaves, three petals, and three sepals. + + + LESSON CXX + + THE TRILLIUM + +_Leading thought_--The trilliums are lilies, and are often called +wood lilies, because of their favorite haunts. There are several +species, but they are all alike in that they have three sepals, +three petals and three leaves. + +[Illustration: _The purple trillium._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +_Method_--This lesson may be given from trilliums brought to the +schoolroom by the pupils, who should be encouraged to watch the +development of the berry and also to learn all the different species +common to a locality. + +_Observations_--1. How many leaves has the trillium? How are they +arranged? Draw a leaf showing its shape and veins. Describe the stem +of the plant below the leaves, giving the length and color. + +2. How far above the leaves does the flower stem or pedicel extend? +Does the flower stand upright or droop? Describe or sketch the +colors, shape and arrangement of the petals and sepals. Do the petals +have ruffled margins? + +3. Describe the pistil and the stigmas. Describe the stamens and how +they are placed in relation to the pistil. + +4. Do the flowers remain open during cloudy days and nights? + +5. What insects do you find visiting the trilliums? Do the same +insects visit the purple and the white trilliums? What is the +difference in odor between the purple and the white trillium? Would +this bring different kinds of insects to each? + +6. How does the color of the white trillium change as the blossom +matures? What is the color and shape of the fruit of each different +species of trillium? When is the fruit ripe? + +7. What kind of a root have the wake-robins? Do they grow from seed +each year, or are they perennial? Where do you find them growing? + + + + +[Illustration: _Dutchman’s breeches, or “boys and girls.”_ + +Photo by O. L. Foster.] + + + DUTCHMAN’S BREECHES AND SQUIRREL CORN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_In a gymnasium where things grow, + Jolly boys and girls in a row, + Hanging down from cross-bar stem + Builded purposely for them. + Stout little legs up in the air, + Kick at the breeze as it passes there; + Dizzy heads in collars wide + Look at the world from the underside; + Happy acrobats a-swing, + At the woodside show in early spring._” + A. B. C. + + “_And toward the sun, which kindlier burns, + The earth awaking, looks and yearns, + And still, as in all other Aprils, + The annual miracle returns._” + ELIZABETH AKERS. + + +There are many beautiful carpets spread before the feet of advancing +spring, but perhaps none of them are so delicate in pattern as those +woven by these two plants that spread their fernlike leaves in April +and May. There is little difference in the foliage of the two; both +are delicate green and lacelike above, and pale, bluish green on the +underside. And each leaf, although so finely divided, is, after all, +quite simple; for it has three chief divisions, and these in turn are +divided into three, and all the leaves come directly from the root +and not from stems. These plants love the woodlands, and by spreading +their green leaves early, before the trees are in foliage, they have +the advantage of the spring sunshine. Thus they make their food for +maturing their seeds, and also store some of it in their roots for +use early the following spring. By midsummer the leaves have entirely +disappeared, and another carpet is spread in the place which they +once covered. + +[Illustration: _The underground store-house of Dutchman’s breeches._] + +Dutchman’s breeches and squirrel corn resemble each other so closely +that they are often confused; however, they are quite different in +form; the “legs” of the Dutchman’s breeches are quite long and spread +wide apart, while the blossoms of the squirrel corn are rounded +bags instead of “legs.” The roots of the two are quite different. +The Dutchman’s breeches grows from a little bulb made up of grayish +scales, while the squirrel corn develops from a round, yellow tuber; +these yellow, kernel-like tubers are scattered along the roots, each +capable of developing a plant next year. The Dutchman’s breeches +likes thin woodlands and rocky hillsides, but the squirrel corn +prefers rich, moist woods. The blossom of the Dutchman’s breeches +comes the earlier of the two. These flowers are white with yellow +tips, and are not fragrant. The flowers of the squirrel corn are +grayish with a tinge of magenta, and are fragrant. + +[Illustration: _Seed capsule of squirrel corn._] + +The legs of the Dutchman’s breeches are nectar pockets with tubes +leading to them, and are formed by two petals. Opposite these two +petals are two others more or less spoon-shaped, with the spoon bowls +united to protect the anthers and stigma. There are two little sepals +which are scalelike. + +The seed capsule of the Dutchman’s breeches is a long pod with a +slender, pointed end, and it opens lengthwise. The seed capsules of +the squirrel corn are similar and I have found in one capsule, 12 +seeds, which were shaped like little kernels of corn, black in color +and polished like patent leather. + + + LESSON CXXI + + DUTCHMAN’S BREECHES AND SQUIRREL CORN + +_Leading thought_--The Dutchman’s breeches, or “boys and girls,” as +it is often called, is one of the earliest flowers of rich woodlands. +There are interesting differences between this flower and its close +relative, squirrel corn. The flowers of both of these resemble in +structure the flowers of the bleeding heart. + +_Method_--As the Dutchman’s breeches blossoms in April and May and +the squirrel corn in May and June, we naturally study the former +first and compare the latter with it in form and in habits. The +questions should be given the pupils, for them to answer for +themselves during their spring walks in the woodlands. + +[Illustration: _Squirrel corn._] + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find Dutchman’s breeches? Which do +you prefer to call these flowers, Dutchman’s breeches or boys and +girls? Are there leaves on the trees when these flowers are in bloom? + +2. Which blossoms earlier in the season, Dutchman’s breeches or +squirrel corn? How do the flowers of the two differ in shape? In odor? + +3. In the flower of the Dutchman’s breeches find two petals which +protect the nectar. How do they look? What part do they form of the +breeches? Find two other petals which protect the pollen and stigma. + +4. Find the two sepals. How many bracts do you find on the flower +stem? + +5. What insects visit these flowers? Describe how they get the nectar. + +6. What sort of root has the Dutchman’s breeches? What is the +difference between its root and that of the squirrel corn? Have you +ever seen squirrels harvesting squirrel corn? What is the purpose of +the kernels of the squirrel corn? + +7. Study the leaf. How many main parts are there to it? How are these +parts divided? Does the leaf come straight from the root or from a +stem? What is the color of the leaf above? Below? Can you distinguish +the leaves of the Dutchman’s breeches from those of the squirrel corn? + +8. Describe the seed capsule of Dutchman’s breeches. How does it +open? How many seeds has it? Compare this with the fruit of squirrel +corn and describe the difference. + +9. What happens to the leaves of these two plants late in summer? How +do the plants manage to get enough sunlight to make food to mature +their seed? What preparations have they made for early blossoming the +next spring? + + + + + JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_With hooded heads and shields of green, + Monks of the wooded glen, + I know you well; you are, I ween, + Robin Hood’s merry men._” + --“CHILD’S OWN BOOK OF FLOWERS.” + + +[Illustration: T] + +This little preacher is a prime favorite with all children, its very +shape, like that of the pitcher plant, suggesting mystery; and what +child could fail to lift the striped hood to discover what might be +hidden beneath! And the interest is enhanced when it is discovered +that the hood is but a protection for the true flowers, standing upon +a club-shaped stem, which has been made through imagination into +“Jack,” the little preacher. + +Jack-in-the-pulpit prefers wet locations but is sometimes found on +dry, wooded hillsides; the greater abundance of blossoms occurs in +late May. This plant has another name, which it earned by being +interesting below ground as well as above. It has a solid, flattened, +food-storehouse called a corm with a fringe of coarse rootlets +encircling its upper portion. This corm was used as a food by the +Indians, which fact gave the plant the name of Indian turnip. I think +all children test the corm as a food for curiosity, and retire from +the field with a new respect for the stoicism of the Indian when +enduring torture; but this is an undeserved tribute. When raw, these +corms are peppery because they are filled with minute, needle-like +spicules which, however, soften with boiling, and the Indians boiled +them before eating them. + +Jack-in-the-pulpit is a near cousin to the calla lily; the white part +of the calla and the striped hood over “Jack” are both spathes, and a +spathe is a leaf modified for the protection of a flower or flowers. +“Jack” has but one leg and his flowers are set around it, all safely +enfolded in the lower part of the spathe. The pistillate flowers +which make the berries are round and greenish, and are packed like +berries on the stalk; they have purple stigmas with whitish centers. +The pollen-bearing flowers are mere little projections, almost white +in color, each usually bearing four purplish, cup-like anthers filled +with white pollen. Occasionally both kinds of flowers may be found on +one spadix, (as “Jack” is called in the botanies), the pollen-bearing +flowers being set below the others; but usually they are on separate +plants. Professor Atkinson has demonstrated that when a plant +becomes very strong and thrifty, its spadix will be set with the +pistillate flowers and its berries will be many; but if the same +plant becomes weak, it produces the pollen-bearing flowers the next +year. + +[Illustration: _1. Jack-in-the-pulpit unfolding_; _2. Spadix with +pistillate flowers_; _P, pistillate flower enlarged_; _3. Spadix with +staminate flowers_; _an, a staminate flower enlarged, showing the +four anthers_.] + +When “Jack” first appears in the spring it looks like a mottled, +pointed peg, for it is well sheathed. Within this sheath the leaves +are rolled lengthwise to a point, and at the very center of the +rolled leaves is a spathe, also rolled lengthwise, and holding at its +heart the developing flower-buds. It is a most interesting process to +watch the unfolding of one of these plants. On the older plants there +are two, or sometimes three leaves, each with three large leaflets; +on the younger plants there may be but one of these compound leaves, +but the leaflets are so large that they seem like three entire leaves. + +[Illustration: _The berries of Jack-in-the-pulpit._] + +The spathes, or pulpits, vary in color, some being maroon and white +or greenish, and some greenish and white. They are very pretty +objects for water-color drawings. + +Small flies and some beetles seem to be the pollen carriers for this +plant. Various ingenious theories have been suggested to prove that +our Jack-in-the-pulpit acts as a trap to imprison visiting insects, +as does the English species; but I have studied the flowers in every +stage, and have seen the insects crawl out of the hoods as easily +as they crawled in, and by the same open, though somewhat narrow, +passage between the spadix and the spathe. + +After a time the spathe falls away showing the globular, green, +shining berries. In August even the leaves may wither away, at which +time the berries are brilliant scarlet. Jack-in-the-pulpit is a +perennial. It does not blossom the first year after it is a seedling. +I have known at least one case where blossoms were not produced until +the third year. Below ground, the main corm gives off smaller corms +and thus the plant spreads by this means as well as by seeds. + +[Illustration: _Border design by Evelyn Mitchell._ + +From the Child’s Own Book of Wild Flowers.] + + + LESSON CXXII + + JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT + +_Leading thought_--The real flowers of Jack-in-the-pulpit are hidden +by the striped spathe which is usually spoken of as the flower. This +plant has a peppery root which the Indians used for food. + +_Method_--The questions should be answered from observation in the +woods; a single plant may be dug up and brought to school for study, +and later planted in some shady spot in the school garden. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find Jack-in-the-pulpit? Is the soil +dry or damp? Do you ever find it in the fields? + +2. How early in the season does this plant blossom? How late? + +3. How does the Jack-in-the-pulpit look when it first pushes out from +the ground? How are its leaves rolled in its spring overcoat? + +4. How does the pulpit, or spathe, look when the plant first unfolds? +Is its tip bent over or is it straight? + +5. Describe or sketch the leaves of Jack-in-the-pulpit. How do they +rise above and protect the flower? How many leaflets has each leaf? +Sketch the leaflets to show the venation. How do these stand above +the flower? Can you find any of the plants with only one leaf? + +6. Why is the spathe called a pulpit? What are the colors of the +spathe? Are all the spathes of the same colors? + +7. Open up the spathe and see the rows of blossoms around the base +of the spadix, or if you call the spadix, “Jack,” then the flowers +clothe his one leg. Are all the blossoms alike? Describe, if you can, +those flowers which will produce the seed and those which produce the +pollen. Do you find the two on the same spadix or on different plants? + +8. What insects do you find carrying the pollen for “Jack?” Do you +know how its seeds look in June? How do they look in August? Do the +leaves last as long as the seeds? + +9. What sort of a root has “Jack?” How does it taste? Do you think +the Indians boiled it before they ate it? What other name has “Jack?” +How does the plant multiply below the ground? + +10. Compare the Jack-in-the-pulpit with the calla lily. + +11. Write an English theme on “The Sermon that Jack Preached from His +Pulpit.” + + + + +[Illustration: _The Long-spurred violet. Color of flowers, pale +lavender._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE VIOLET + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +It is interesting to note the flowers which have impinged upon the +imagination of the poets; the violet more than most flowers has been +loved by them, and they have sung in varied strains of its fragrance +and lowliness. + +Browning says: + + “Such a starved bank of moss, + ’Till that May morn, + Blue ran the flash across; + Violets were born.” + +And Wordsworth sings: + + “A violet by a mossy stone, + Half hidden from the eye; + Fair as a star, when only one + Is shining in the sky.” + +And Barry Cornwall declares that the violet + + “Stands first with most, but always with the lover.” + +But Shakespeare’s tribute is the most glowing of all, since the +charms of both the goddesses of beauty and of love are made to pay +tribute to it: + + “Violets dim, but sweeter than the lids of Juno’s eyes, or + Cytherea’s breath.” + +However, the violets go on living their own lives, in their own way, +quite unmindful of the poets. There are many different species, and +they frequent quite different locations. Some live in the woods, +others in meadows and others in damp, marshy ground. They are divided +into two distinct groups--those where the leaf-stems come directly +from the root, and those where the leaves come from a common stem, +the latter being called the leafy-stemmed violets. Much attention +should be given to sketching and studying the leaf accurately of +the specimens under observation, for the differences in the shapes +of the leaves, in many instances, determine the species; in some +cases the size and shape of the stipules determines the species; and +whether the leaves and stems are downy or smooth is another important +characteristic. In the case of those species where the leaves spring +from the root, the flower stems rise from the same situation; but in +the leafy-stemmed violets the flower stems come off at the axils of +the leaves. In some species the flower stems are long enough to lift +the flowers far above the foliage, while in others they are so short +that the flowers are hidden. + +[Illustration: _Common blue violet, showing two of the little flowers +which never open, lying between the bare rootstocks. Note the +three-valved seed capsules._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The violet has five sepals and their shape and length is a +distinguishing mark. There are five petals, one pair above, a pair +one at each side, and a broad lower petal which gives the bees and +butterflies a resting place when they are seeking nectar. This lower +petal is prolonged backward into a spur which holds the nectar. + +The spur forms the nectary of the violet, and in order to reach the +sweet treasure, which is at the rearmost point of the nectary, the +insect must thrust its tongue through a little door guarded by both +anthers and pistil; the insect thus becomes laden with pollen, and +carries it from flower to flower. In many of the species, the side +petals have at their bases a little fringe which forms an arch over +the door or throat leading to the nectary. While this is considered +a guard to keep out undesirable insects like ants, I am convinced +that it is also useful in brushing the pollen from the tongues of the +insect visitors. + +[Illustration: _The Canada white violet, a leafy-stemmed species._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +Some species of violets are very fragrant, while others have little +odor. The color of the anthers also differs with different species. +The children should be interested in watching the development of the +seeds from the flower. The seed-pods are three-lobed, each one of +these lobes dividing lengthwise, with a double row of seeds within. +Each lobe curls back and thus scatters the seed. + +At the base of most of the species of violets can be found the small +flowers which never open; they have no petals, but within them the +pollen and the pistil are fully developed. The flowers seem to be +developed purposely for self-pollenation, and in the botanies they +are called cleistogamous flowers; in some species they are on upright +stems, in others they lie flat. There is much difference in the +shape of the rootstock in the different species of violet; some are +delicate and others are strong, and some are creeping. + + + LESSON CXXIII + + THE VIOLET + +_Leading thought_--Each violet flower has a well of nectar, with +lines pointing to it so that the insects may find it. They also +have down near their roots, flowers which never open, which are +self-pollenated and develop seeds. + +_Method_--To make this work of the greatest use and interest, each +pupil should make a portfolio of the violets of the locality. +This may be in the form of pressed and mounted specimens, or of +water-color drawings. In either case, the leaf, leaf-stem, flower, +flower stem, and rootstock should be shown, and each blossom +should be neatly labelled with name, locality and date. From the +nature-study standpoint, a portfolio of drawings is the more +desirable, since from making the drawings the pupils become more +observant of the differences in structure and color which distinguish +the species. Such a portfolio may be a most beautiful object; the +cover of thick cardboard may have an original, conventionalized +design made from the flowers and leaves of the violets. Each drawing +may be followed by a page containing notes by the pupil and some +appropriate quotation from botany, poetry or other literature. + +_Observations_--1. Describe the locality and general nature of the +soil where the violet was found. That is, was it in the woods, dry +fields or near a stream? + +2. Sketch or describe the shape of the leaf, paying particular +attention to its margin and noting whether it is rolled toward the +stem at its base. Is the petiole longer or shorter than the leaf? +Does the leaf stem spring directly from the root, or does it branch +from another? If the latter, are the leaves opposite or alternate? +Is there a stipule where the leaf joins the main stem? If so, is it +toothed on the edge? + +3. What is the color of the leaf above? Are the leaves and stems +downy and velvety, or smooth and glossy? + +4. Does the flower stem come from the root of the plant, or does it +grow from the main stem at the axil of the leaf? Are the flower stems +long enough to lift the flowers above the foliage of the plant? + +5. How many sepals has the violet? Are they long or short; pointed or +rounded? How many petals has the violet? How are they arranged? Is +the lower petal shaped like the others? What is the use of this broad +lower petal? Are there any marks upon it? If you should follow one of +these lines, where would it lead to? + +6. Look at the spur at the back of the flower. Of which petal is it a +part? How long is it, compared with the whole flower? What is the use +of this spur? + +7. Find the door that leads to the nectar-spur and note what the +tongue of the bee or butterfly would brush against when reaching for +the nectar. Are the side petals which form the arch over the door +that leads to the nectar fringed at their bases? If so, what is the +use of this fringe? + +8. What colors are the petals? Are they the same on both sides? How +are they marked and veined? Are the flowers fragrant? + +9. What color are the anthers? What color is the stigma? Examine a +fading violet, and describe how the seed is developed from the flower. + +10. Find the seed-pods of the violet. How are the seeds arranged +within them? How do the pods open? How are the seeds scattered? + +11. Look at the base of the violet and find the little flowers there +which never open. Examine one of these flowers and find if it has +sepals, petals, anthers and pistil. Are these closed flowers on +upright stems or do the stems lie flat on the earth? Of what use to +the plant are these little closed flowers? + +12. What sort of rootstock has the violet? Is it short and thick or +slender? Is it erect, oblique or creeping? + + + + + THE MAY APPLE, OR MANDRAKE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This is a study of parasols and, therefore, of perennial interest to +the little girls who use the small ones for their dolls, and with +many airs and graces hold the large ones above their own heads. +And when this diversion palls, they make mandarin dolls of these +fascinating plants. This is easily done by taking one of the small +plant umbrellas and tying with a grass-sash all but two of the lobes +closely around the stem, thus making a dress, the lobes left out +being cut in proper shape for flowing sleeves; then for a head some +other flower is robbed of its flower bud, which is put into place +and surmounted with a clover leaflet hat, and a pin is then thrust +through hat, head and neck into the stem of the dressed plant; the +whole is properly finished by placing a small umbrella above the +little green mandarin. + +The mandrakes grow in open places where there is sun, and yet not too +much of it; they like plenty of moisture, and grow luxuriantly in +open glades or in meadows or pastures bordering woodlands, and they +especially rejoice in the fence-corners, along roadsides. The first +lesson of all should be how nature folds her little umbrellas. Study +the plants when they first put their heads above ground, each parasol +wrapped in its case, and note how similarly to a real umbrella it +is folded around its stem. Later, after the umbrellas are fairly +spread, they afford a most interesting study in varieties of form +and size. Some of the parasols have only four lobes while others +have many more. I have found them with as many as nine, although the +botanies declare seven to be the normal number. One of the special +joys afforded by nature-study is finding things different from the +descriptions of them in the books. + +One of these little parasols is a worthy object for careful +observation. Its stem is stout and solid, and at its base may be seen +the umbrella-case, now discarded like other umbrella-cases; the stem +is pink wherever the sun touches it, but close up under the leaves +it is likely to be green; it ends at the middle of the parasol by +sending out strong, pale green, fuzzy ribs into each lobe. The lobes +are narrow toward the stem but broad at the outer edge, each lobe +being sparsely toothed on its outer margins and with a deep, smooth +notch at the center. From the ribs of each lobe extend other ribs, an +arrangement quite different from that we find in cloth umbrellas. The +lobes of the mandrake parasol are divided almost to the center, and +it is therefore evident that it is much better fitted for protection +from the sun than from the rain. The parasol is a beautiful shining +green on the upper side, and has a pale green lining that feels +somewhat woolly. + +In examining any patch of May apples, we find that many of the +parasols are double; the secret of this is, that the mandrake baby +needs two parasols to shield it from the sun; one of these twin +parasols is always larger than the other and evidently belongs to the +main stem, since its stem is stouter, and it is likely to have seven +lobes while the smaller one may have but five. However, the number of +lobes varies. Neither of these double parasols has its ribs extending +out toward the other, and thus interfering; instead of having their +“sticks” at the center of the parasol, they are at the side next each +other, exactly as if the original single stem had been split and the +whole parasol had been torn in twain. + +[Illustration: _The blossom of the May apple._] + +But of greatest interest is the blossom-baby carried under this +double parasol. At first it is a little, elongate, green ball on a +rather stiff little stem, which droops because it wants to and not +because it has to, and which arises just where the two branches +fork. One of the strange things about this precocious baby-bud is, +that when the plant is just coming from the ground, the bud pushes +its head out from between the two folded parasols, and takes a look +at the world before it retires under its green sunshade. As the bud +unfolds, it looks as if it had three green sepals, each keeping its +cup form and soon falling off, as a little girl drops her hood on a +warm day; but each of these sepals, if examined, will be found to be +two instead of one; the outer is the outside of the green hood while +the inner is a soft, whitish membrane, + + “_A rabbit skin, + To wrap the Baby Bunting in._” + +As the greenish white petals spread out, they disclose a triangular +mass of yellow stamens grouped about the big seed-box, each side +of the triangle being opposite one of the inner petals. After the +flower is fully open, the stamens spread and each anther is easily +seen to be grooved, and each edge of the groove opens for the whole +of its length; but because of its shape and position, it lets the +pollen fall away from the pistil instead of toward it; nor do the +tips of the anthers reach the waxy, white, ruffled stigma. There +is no nectar in this flower; but the big queen bumblebee likes the +pollen for her new nest, and she “bumbles” around in the flower while +getting her load, so that she becomes well dusted with the pollen, +and thus carries it from flower to flower. But the whole story of +the pollen carriers of the May apple is, as yet, untold; and any +child who is willing to give time and attention to discovering the +different insects which visit this flower, may give to the world +valuable and, as yet, unknown facts. It is said that a white moth is +often found hanging to the flowers, but it is difficult to understand +why the moth should be there if the flower does not have any nectar. + +The seed-vessel at the center of the flower is large and chunky, +and, although crowned with its ruffled stigma, looks as if it were +surely going to “grow up” into a May apple. There are usually six +wide, white, rounded petals, three on the outside and three on the +inside; but sometimes there are as many as nine. There are usually +twice as many stamens as petals, but I have often found thirteen +stamens, which is not twice any possible number of petals. The +petals soon fall, and, safely hidden from the eyes of enemies, the +green fruit--which is a berry instead of an apple--has nothing to do +but gather sweetness, until in July it is as juicy and luscious to +the thirsty child as if it were the fruit of the gods. It is about +two inches long, a rich yellow in color, and is sometimes called +the “wild lemon,” although it is not sour. It is also called the +hog-apple because the clever swine of the South know how to find it, +despite its parasol. Riley thus celebrates this fruit: + + “_And will any poet sing of a lusher, richer thing, + Than a ripe May apple, rolled like a pulpy lump of gold + Under thumb and finger tips; and poured molten through the + lips?_” + +If the May apple itself is edible, certainly its root is not, except +when given by physicians as a medicine, for it is quite poisonous +when eaten. When we see plants growing in colonies or patches, it +usually means that very interesting things are going on underground +beneath them, and the mandrake is no exception to this. Each plant +has a running underground stem, straight and brown and fairly smooth; +at intervals of a few inches, there are attached to it rosettes of +stout, white roots, which divide into tiny, crooked rootlets. There +is a large rosette of these roots under the plant we are studying, +and we can always find a rosette of them under the place where the +plant stood last year. Beneath the present plant we can find the bud +from which will grow the root-stem for the coming year. The working +out of the branching and the peculiarities of these root-stems, is +an excellent lesson in this peculiar and interesting kind of plant +reproduction. + + + LESSON CXXIV + + THE MANDRAKE + +_Leading thought_--These interesting plants grow in colonies because +of the spreading of their underground stems. Their odor and poisonous +qualities protect them from being eaten by animals, and their fruit +is well hidden by its green parasol until it is ripe. + +_Method_--Begin the study just as the mandrakes are thrusting +their heads up through the soil in April, and continue the work at +intervals until the fruit is ripe. + +_Observations_--1. How do the mandrakes look when they first appear +above the ground? How are the little umbrellas folded in their cases? +What do the cases look like? How can you tell from the first, the +plants which are to bear the flowers and fruit? + +2. Study a patch of mandrakes, and see how many varieties of parasols +you can find? Do they all have the same number of main ribs and +lobes? How many lobes do most of them have? Are there more single or +double parasols in the patch? + +3. Take a single plant and study it carefully. What sort of stem has +it? Can you find at its base the old umbrella case? How high is the +stem? What is its color at the bottom and at the top? How many ribs +does it divide into at the top? Are these ribs as smooth as the stem? +How does the parasol lining differ from its outside in color and +feeling? + +4. Study the parasol lobes. What is their general shape? Are they +all notched at the wide end? How close to the stem does the division +between them extend? Do you not think they are better fitted for +keeping off the sun than the rain? + +5. Take one of the double parasols. Where is the flower bud to be +found? How is it protected from the sun? Does the stem divide equally +on each side of it or is one part larger than the other? Are the twin +parasols of the same size? How many lobes has each? What are the +chief differences in shape between one of these twin parasols and one +of the parasols which has no flower bud? + +6. How does the flower bud look? Does it droop because its stem is +weak? What happens to the green hood or sepals when the flower opens? +Can you find six sepals in the hood? + +7. Does the open flower bow downward? As the flower opens, what is +the shape of the group of stamens at the center? Are there the same +number of white, waxy petals in all the flowers? Are there always +about twice as many stamens as petals? How do the anthers open to +shed the pollen? Do they let the pollen fall away from the ruffled +stigma of the “fat” little seed box at the center of the flower? + +8. Does the flower have a strong odor? Does not the plant itself give +off this odor? Do you think it is pleasant? Do the cattle eat the +mandrake when it is in pastures? + +9. What insects do you find visiting the mandrake flowers? + +10. Do you like the May apple? When is it ripe? Cut a fruit across +and see how the seeds are arranged. + +11. Where are mandrakes found? Do they always grow in patches? Dig up +a few plants and find why this is so? + +12. Describe the underground stem. Can you find where the last year’s +plant grew? How are the roots arranged upon the stem? Can you see +places which will produce the stem for next year’s growth? How does +the underground stem differ in appearance from the true roots? Why +must we not taste of the mandrake root? + +13. In late July, visit the mandrake patch again. Are there any +umbrellas now? What is left of the plants? Look at the underground +stems again and see if there are new growths, and if they are larger +and stored with food for next year’s plants. + + + + +[Illustration: _Bluets._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + + + THE BLUETS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +During April, great patches of blue appear in certain meadows, +seeming almost like reflections from the sky; and yet when we look +closely at the flowers which give this azure hue to the fields, we +find that they are more lavender than blue. The corolla of the bluet +is a tube, spreading out into four long, lavender, petal-like lobes; +each lobe is paler toward its base and the opening of the tube has a +ring of vivid yellow about it, the tube itself being yellow even to +its very base, where the four delicate sepals clasp it fast to the +ovary until the flower has done its work; and after the corolla has +fallen the sepals remain; standing guard over the growing seed. + +[Illustration: + + _1. Section of a bluet blossom that has the anthers at the + throat of the tube and the stigmas below._ + + _2. Section of a bluet with the stigmas protruding and the + anthers below._ +] + +If we look carefully at the bluets we find two forms of flowers: (a) +Those with a two-lobed stigma protruding from the opening of the +flower tube. (b) Those where the throat of the tube seems closed by +four anthers which join like four fingertips pressed together. In +opening the flower, we observe that those which have the stigmas +protruding from the tube, have four anthers fastened to the sides +of the tube about halfway down; while those that have the four +anthers near the opening of the tube, have a pistil with a short +style which brings the stigmas about half-way up the tube. Thus an +insect visiting flower (a) gets her tongue dusted with pollen from +the anthers at the middle of the tube; and this pollen is applied +at exactly the right place on her tongue to brush off against the +stigmas of a flower of the (b) form. While a bee visiting a bluet of +the (b) form receives the pollen at the base of her tongue, where it +is conveniently placed to be brushed off by the protruding stigmas of +the flowers of the (a) form. + +This arrangement in flowers for the reciprocal exchange of pollen +characterizes members of the primrose family also; it is certainly a +very clever arrangement for securing cross-pollenation. + + + LESSON CXXV + + THE BLUETS + +_Leading thought_--The bluets have two forms of flowers, the anthers +and stigmas being placed in different positions in the two, in order +to secure cross-pollenation by visiting insects. + +_Method_--Ask the children to bring in several bits of sod covered +with bluets. During recess let the pupils, with the aid of a lens if +necessary, find the two different forms of flowers. Later, let each +see a flower of each form with the tube opened lengthwise. + +_Observations_--1. Where do the bluets grow? Do they grow singly or +in masses? On what kind of soil do they grow, in woods or meadows? At +what time of year do they bloom? + +2. Describe the bluet flower, its color, the shape of its sepals, the +form of the corolla, the color of the corolla-tube and lobes. + +3. Where is the nectar in the bluet? What color shows where the +nectar is to be found? + +4. Look directly into the flowers. Do you see any with the stigmas +thrust out of the corolla-tube? Is there more than one style? Has +it one or two stigmas? Open this flower-tube and describe where the +anthers are situated in it. How many anthers are there? + +5. Look for a flower where the stigmas do not protrude and the +anthers close the throat of the tube. Where are the stigmas in this +flower, below or above the anthers? Where are the anthers attached? + +6. Work out this problem: How do the insects gathering nectar from +one form of the bluets become dusted with pollen in such a way as to +leave it upon the stigma of the other form of the bluet flower? + +7. How many sepals are there? Do they fall off when the blossom falls? + + + “_So frail, these smiling babies, + Near mossy pasture bars, + Where the bloodroot now so coyly + Puts forth her snowy stars; + And the maple tall and slender, + With blossoms red and sweet, + Looks down upon the bluets + Close nestled at her feet._ + + _‘Innocents’, the children call them,-- + These floral babies small, + Of Mother Nature olden, + Whose broad lap holds them all._” + --RAY LAURANCE. + + + + +[Illustration: _Showy ladies’ slipper_ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE YELLOW LADY’S SLIPPER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Graceful and tall the slender drooping stem, + With two broad leaves below, + Shapely the flower so lightly poised between, + And warm its rosy glow._” + --ELAINE GOODALE. + + +These showy flowers look so strange in our woodlands that we gaze +at them as curiously as we might upon a veiled lady from the Orient +who had settled in our midst. There is something abnormal and +mysterious in the shape of this flower, and though it be called the +lady’s slipper, yet it would be a strange foot that could fit such a +slipper; and if it is strange at the first glance, it is still more +so as we try to compare it with other flowers. There are two long +sepals that extend up and down, the lower one being made up of two +grown together--but the “seam” does not show. The sepals are yellow, +and are wider than the two long streamers that extend out at right +angles to them, and which are petals; the brighter color of the +latter, their markings of reddish dots, the hairs near their bases, +all go to show that these petals, although so different in shape, +belong to the same series as the big lower petal which is puffed +out into a sac, shaped like a deep, long bowl, with its upper edges +incurved. If we look carefully at this bowl, we find two openings +besides the main one, these two are near the stem, and their edges +are not incurved. Extending out into each of these openings is a +strange little round object, which is an anther; but if we try to get +pollen from this anther with a pencil or a knife we get, instead of +powdery pollen, a smear that sticks to what it touches, like melted +rubber or gum. The secret of this is, that the lower side of the +anther is gummy, and adheres to whatever touches it and brings with +it, when pulled away, the mealy pollen which lies loose above it. +Another strange thing is that, if this lower part of the anther is +not carried away, it seems to partially harden and opens downward, +letting the pollen escape in a way usual with other flowers. We have +to remove a side of the bowl to see the stigma; it is fan-shaped, and +is bent at right angles to the flower stem; and above it, as if to +protect it, is a stiff triangular piece which is really a strangely +modified stamen. I think one reason why the lady’s slipper always +is called “she” is because of this tendency on her part to divert +an object from its natural use. Surely a hairpin used for a paper +knife or a monkey-wrench for a hammer, is not nearly so feminine a +diversion as a stamen grown wide and long to make an awning above a +stigma. + +The general color of the flower is yellow, and there are some +seductive dark red spots on the stamen-awning and along the folded-in +surface of the petal-sac which say plainly, “Come here, Madam +Mining-bee, and see what these spots mean.” And the little bee +alights on the flower and soon crawls into the well at the center, +the recurved edges preventing it from returning by the same door. +At the bottom of the sac there are delectable vegetable hairs to be +browsed upon; if there is nectar, I have never been able to detect +it with my coarse organs of taste; and Mr. Eugene Barker who has +examined hundreds of the flowers has not been able to detect the +presence of nectar in them at any stage; but he made no histological +study of the glands. + +[Illustration: _Detail of yellow lady’s slipper._ + + 1, _l, leaf; s, s, sepals; p, p, petals; p.s, petal-sac_. 2, + _Side-view: ac, anther cover; p.s, petal-sac, a, anther. The + arrow shows the path of the insect._ 3, _an, anther closed; o, + anther open_. +] + +After a satisfying meal the bee, which is a lively crawler, seeks to +get out where it sees the light shining through one of the openings +near to the stem. In doing this, she presses her head and back, first +against the projecting stigma and then against the sticky anther, +which smears her with a queer kind of plaster; and it sticks there +until she brushes it off on the stigma of another flower, when +crowding past it; and there she again becomes smeared with pollen +plaster from this flower’s anthers. Mr. Barker, who has especially +studied these flowers, has found that the little mining bees of +the genus _Andrena_ were the most frequent visitors; he also found +honey-bees and one stray young grasshopper in the sacs. The mining +bees which he sent to me had their backs plastered with the pollen. +Mr. Barker states that the flowers are not visited frequently by +insects, and adds feelingly; “My long waiting was rewarded with +little insect activity, aside from the mosquitoes which furnished +plenty of entertainment.” + +The ovary looks like a widened and ribbed portion of the flower-stem, +and is hairy outside; its walls are thick and obscurely three-angled; +seen in cross-section the seeds are arranged in a triangular fashion +which is very pretty. + +The leaves of the yellow lady’s slipper are oval or elliptic, with +smooth edges and parallel veins; they often have narrow veins between +each two heavier ones. The leaves are of vivid yellowish green and +are scattered, in a picturesque manner, alternately along the stem, +which their bases completely clasp. The stem is somewhat rough and +ribbed and is likely to grow crooked; it grows from one to two feet +in height. The roots are a mass of small rootlets. The species is +found in woods and in thickets. + +The pink moccasin flower, also called the stemless lady’s slipper +(_C. acaule_,) is perhaps prettier than the yellow species, and +differs from it in several particulars. The sac opens by the merest +crevice, and there are plenty of dark-pink guiding lines which lead +to the little opening of the well. The downward-folded edges prevent +the visiting insect from getting out by this door even more surely +than in the other species. The side petals are not so long as in the +yellow species, and they extend forward as if to guide the insect +to the well in the lower petal. The sepals are greenish purple, and +are likewise shorter; and the lower one is wide, indicating that it +is made up of two grown together. At the base of the ovary there is +a pointed green bract or leaf, which lifts up and bends above the +flower. There are but two leaves on the stemless lady’s slipper; they +arise from the base of the stem. They are broadly ovate, and from six +to seven inches long. This species grows in sandy or rocky woods. + +Another species more beautiful than these is the showy lady’s +slipper, which is white with a pink entrance to the petal sac. This +grows in peaty bogs, and is not so common as the others. + +The interesting points for observation in these flowers are the +careful noting of the kinds of insects which visit them, and how they +enter and leave the “slipper,” or sac. + + + LESSON CXXVI + + THE YELLOW LADY’S SLIPPER + +_Leading thought_--The moccasin flower belongs to that family of +flowers known as orchids which especially depend upon insects for +bringing and carrying pollen, and which have developed many strange +devices to secure insect aid in pollenation. + +_Method_--A bouquet of lady’s slippers should be brought to the +schoolroom. Children who bring them should describe the place where +they were found. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the yellow lady’s slipper grow? Look +carefully at its leaves and describe them. How do they join the stem? +Are they opposite or alternate? + +2. What is there peculiar about the sepals? How many are there? + +3. Describe the three petals and the difference and likeness in their +form and color. What is the shape of the lower petal? Is there a hole +in this sac? Is there more than one hole leading into it? What is the +color of the sac? Is there anything about it to attract insects? If +an insect should enter the mouth of the well in the lower petal could +it easily come out by the same opening? Why not? Where do you think +it would emerge? + +4. Note the two roundish objects projecting into the two openings of +the sac near the stem. Thrust a pencil against the under side of one +of these. What happens? How does this pollen differ from the pollen +of ordinary flowers? + +5. Cut away one side of the petal-sac and find the stigma. What shape +is it? Where is it situated with relation to the anthers? How is the +stigma protected above? Where is the ovary, or seed-box? + +6. Explain how a bee visiting these flowers, one after another, must +carry the pollen from one to another and deposit it on the waiting +stigmas. + +7. How is the insect attracted? How is it trapped and made to do the +work? + +8. Look at the seed-capsule and describe it from the outside. Cut it +across, and describe the arrangement of the seeds. How many sides of +the seed-capsule open, to let loose the seeds? + +9. How many species of lady’s slippers do you know? Do you know the +pink, or stemless species? How does it differ from the yellow species +in the following particulars: The shape of the sac; its color and +markings; the length and shape of sepals; the number and position of +the leaves? + + + + + THE COMMON BUTTERCUP + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_The buttercups, bright-eyed and bold, + Held up their chalices of gold + To catch the sunshine and the dew._” + + +Buttercups and daisies are always associated in the minds of the +children, because they grow in the same fields; yet the two are so +widely different in structure that they may reveal to the child +something of the marvelous differences between common flowers; for +the buttercup is a single flower, while the single daisy is a large +family of flowers. + +The buttercup sepals are five elongated cups, about one-half as +long as the petals; they are pale yellow with brownish tips, but +in the globular buds, they are green. The petals are normally five +in number, but have a tendency to double, so that often there are +six or more; the petals are pale beneath, but on the inside they +are most brilliant yellow, and shine as if varnished. Probably it +is due to this luminous color that one child is able to determine +whether another likes butter or not, by noting when the flower is +held beneath the chin, if it makes a yellow reflection; it would be +a sodden complexion indeed that would not reflect yellow under this +provocation. Each petal is wedge-shaped, and its broad outer edge +is curved so as to help make a cuplike flower; if a fallen petal be +examined, a tiny scale will be found at its base, as if its point had +been folded back a trifle. However, this is not a mere fold, but is +a little scale growing there--a scale with a mission, for beneath it +is developed the nectar. + +[Illustration: _Do you like butter?_] + +When the buttercup first opens, all of the anthers are huddled in +the center, so that it looks like a golden nest full of golden eggs. +Later the filaments stretch up, lifting the anthers into a loose, +rounded tuft, almost concealing the bunch of pistils which are packed +close together beneath every stigma, like Bre’r Rabbitt, “laying +low.” Later, the filaments straighten back, throwing the anthers in a +fringy ring about the pale green pistils; and each pistil sends up a +short, yellowish stigma. The anthers open away from the pistils and +thus prevent self-pollenation to some degree; they also seem to shed +much of their pollen before the stigmas are ready to receive it. + +Sometimes petals and sepals fall simultaneously and sometimes first +one or the other; but they always leave the green bunch of pistils +with a ragged fringe of old stamens clinging to them. Later the seeds +mature, making a globular head. Each seed is a true akene; it is +flattened and has at its upper end a short, recurved hook which may +serve to help it to catch a ride on passers-by. However, the seeds +are largely scattered by the winds. + +The buttercup grows in sunny situations, in fields and along +roadsides, but it cannot stand the shade of the woods. It is a +pretty plant; its long stems are downy near the bottom, but smooth +near the flower; the leaves show a variety of forms on the same +plant; the lower ones have many, (often seven) deeply cut divisions, +while the upper ones may have three irregular lobes, the middle one +being the longest. Beetles are very fond of the nectar and pollen +of buttercups, and therefore are its chief pollen carriers; but +flies and small bees and other insects also find their food in these +brilliant colored cups. + + + LESSON CXXVII + + _The Buttercup_ + +[Illustration: _Buttercup flower enlarged. Note the scale covering +the nectar at the base of the falling petal._] + +_Leading thought_--The buttercup grows with the white daisies, in +sunny places, but each buttercup is a single flower, while each daisy +is a flower family. + +_Method_--Buttercups brought by the pupils to school may serve for +this lesson. + +_Observations_--1. Look at the back of a flower of the buttercup. +What is there peculiar about the sepals? How do the sepals look on +the buttercup bud? How do they look later? + +2. Look into the flower. How many petals are there? Are there the +same number of petals in all the flowers of the same plant? What +is the shape of a petal? Compare its upper and lower sides. Take a +fallen petal, and look at its pointed base with a lens and note what +is there. + +3. How do the stamens look? Do you think you can count them? When the +flower first opens how are the stamens arranged? How, later? Do the +anthers open towards, or away, from the pistils? + +4. Note the bunch of pistils at the center of the flower. How do they +look when the flower first opens? How, later? + +5. When the petals fall, what is left? Can you see now how each +little pistil will develop into a seed? + +6. Describe the seed-ball and the seed. + +7. Look at the buttercup’s stems. Are they as smooth near the base as +near the flower? Compare the upper leaf with the lower leaf, and note +the difference in shape and size. + +8. Where do the buttercups grow? Do we find them in the woods? What +insects do you find visiting the flowers? + + + + + THE EVENING PRIMROSE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Children came + To watch the primrose blow. Silent they stood, + Hand clasped in hand, in breathless hush around, + And saw her shyly doff her soft green hood + And blossom--with a silken burst of sound._” + --MARGARET DELAND. + + +To the one who has seen the evening primrose unfold, life is richer +by a beautiful, mysterious experience. Although it may be no more +wonderful than the unfolding of any other flower, yet the suddenness +of it makes it seem more marvelous. For two or three days it may have +been getting ready; the long tube which looks like the flower stem +has been turning yellow; pushing up between two of the sepals, which +clasp tips beyond it, there appears a row of petals. Then some warm +evening, usually about sunset, but varying from four o’clock in the +afternoon to nine or ten in the evening, the petals begin to unfurl; +they are wrapped around each other in the bud as an umbrella is +folded, and thus one edge of each petal becomes free first. The petal +first in freeing its edge seems to be doing all the work, but we may +be sure that all the others are pushing for freedom; little by little +the sepals are pushed downward, until their tips, still clasped, are +left beneath; and the petals now free, suddenly flare open before +our delighted eyes, with a movement so rapid that it is difficult +for us not to attribute to them consciousness of action. Three or +four of these flowers may open on a plant the same evening; and they, +with their fellows on the neighboring plants, form constellations +of starry bloom that invite attention from the winged creatures +of the twilight and the night. There is a difference in the time +required for a primrose flower to unfold, probably depending upon +its vigor; once I watched for half an hour to see it accomplished, +and again I have seen it done in two or three minutes. The garden +species seems to unfold more rapidly than the wild species, and +is much more fragrant. The rapidity of the opening of the blossom +depends upon the petals getting free from the sepals, which seem to +try to repress them. The bud is long, conical, obscurely four-sided, +and is completely covered by the four sepals, the tips of which are +cylindrical and twisted together; this is an interesting habit, and +one wonders if they hold the petals back until the latter are obliged +to burst out with the force of repressed energy; after they let go of +the petals, they drop below the flower angularly, and finally their +tips open and each sepal turns back lengthwise along the seed-tube. + +[Illustration: + + _1, Evening primrose, showing buds, one ready to open, a + flower just opened above at the left, an older flower at + the right, a fading flower and seed-capsules below._ _2, + Seed-capsules. Cross section of seed-capsule with seeds above._ +] + +The four lemon-yellow petals are broad, with the outer margin +notched. The eight stamens are stout, and set one at the middle of +each petal and one between each two petals. The long, pale yellow +anthers discharge their pollen in cobwebby strings. When the flower +first opens, the stigma is egg-shaped and lies below the anthers; +later, it opens into a cross and usually hangs off at one side of +the anthers. If we try to trace the style back to the ovary, we find +that it extends down into what seems to be the very base of the +flower stem, where it joins the main stem. This base is enlarged and +ribbed and is the seed-box, or ovary. The tube is rich in nectar, but +only the long sucking-tubes of moths can reach it, although I have +sometimes seen the ubiquitous bees attempting it. The butterflies +may take the nectar in the daytime, for the blossoms of the wild +species remain open, or partially open, for a day or two. But the +night-flying moths which love nectar have the first chance, and it is +on them the flower depends for carrying its pollen, threaded on filmy +strings. + +There are times when we may find the primrose blossoms with holes +in the petals, which make them look very ragged. If we look at such +plants carefully, we may find the culprit in the form of a green +caterpillar very much resembling the green tube of the bud; and +we may conclude, as Dr. Asa Fitch did, that this caterpillar is a +rascal, because it crawls out on the bud-ends and nibbles into them, +thus damaging several flowers. But this is only half the story. Later +this caterpillar descends to the ground, digs down into it and there +changes to a pupa; it remains there until the next summer, then, +from this winter cell, emerges an exquisitely beautiful moth called +the _Alaria florida_; its wings expand about an inch, and all except +the outer edges of the front wings are rose-pink, slightly mottled +with lemon-yellow, which latter color decorates the outer margins +for about one-quarter of their length; the body and hind-wings +are whitish and silky, the face and antennæ are pinkish. Coiled +up beneath the head is a long sucking-tube which may be unfolded +at will. This moth is the special pollen-carrier of the evening +primrose; it flies about during the evening, and thrusts its long, +tubular mouth into the flower to suck the nectar, meanwhile gathering +strings of pollen upon the front part of its body. During the day, it +hides within the partially closed flower, thus carrying the pollen +to the ripened stigmas, its colors meanwhile protecting it almost +completely from observation. The fading petals of the primrose turn +pinkish, and the pink color of the moth renders it invisible when in +the old flowers, while the lemon-yellow tips of its wings protruding +from a flower still fresh and yellow, forms an equally perfect +protection from observation. + +The evening primrose is an ornamental plant in both summer and +winter. It is straight, and is ordinarily three or four feet tall, +although it sometimes reaches twice that height. It is branched +somewhat, the lower portion being covered with leaves and the upper +portion bearing the flowers. The leaves are pointed and lanceolate, +with few whitish veins. The leaf edges are somewhat ruffled and +obscurely toothed, especially in the lower leaves. The leaves stand +up in a peculiar way, having a short, pink petiole, which is swollen +and joins the stalk like a bracket. The upper leaves are narrower; +the leafy bracts at the base of the flower grow from the merest +slender leaflet at the base of the bud, to a leaf as long as the +seed-pod, when the flower blooms. + +The seed-capsules are four-sided, long and dark green. In winter +they are crowded in purplish-brown masses on the dry stalks, each +one a graceful vase with four flaring tips. At the center of each +there projects a needlelike point; and within the flaring, pale, +satin-lined divisions of these urns, we may see the brown seeds +which are tossed by the winter winds far and near. The young plants +develop into vigorous rosettes during the late summer and autumn, and +thus discreetly pass the winter under the snow coverlet. + + + LESSON CXXVIII + + THE EVENING PRIMROSE + +[Illustration: _Winter rosette of evening primrose._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +_Leading thought_--Some flowers have developed the habit of relying +on the night-flying insects for carrying their pollen. The evening +primrose is one of these; its flowers open in the evening and their +pale yellow color makes them noticeable objects in the twilight, and +even in the dark. + +_Method_--The form of the evening primrose may be studied from plants +brought to the schoolroom; but its special interest lies in the way +its petals expand in the evening, so the study should be continued by +the pupils individually in the field. This is one of the plants which +is an especially fit subject for the summer note-book; but since it +blossoms very late and the plants are available even in October, +it is also a convenient plant to study during the school year. The +garden species is well adapted for this lesson. + +_Observations_--1. Look at the plant as a whole. How tall is it? Is +the stem stiff and straight? Where do you find it growing? Does it +grow in the woods? + +2. Are the leaves near the base the same shape as those at the top of +the plant? What is their shape? Are the edges toothed? What is there +peculiar about the veins? How do the leaves join the stem? How do +the leaves look which are at the base of the flower stem? Those at +the base of the buds? + +3. Where on the plant do the flowers grow? Which flowers blossom +first, those above or below? Take a bud nearly ready to open; what is +there peculiar in the appearance of the bud stem? What is the general +shape of the bud? Describe the sepals. Look at their tips carefully, +and see how they hold together. Cut a bud across and see how the +petals are folded within it. + +4. Take an open flower; where are the sepals now? Describe the open +petals, their shape and color. + +5. How many stamens are there? How are they placed? What is the shape +of the anthers? How does the pollen look? + +6. What is the shape and the position of the stigma in the freshly +opened flower? Later? Open the flower-tube and find how far down the +style extends. Where is the ovary? How does the ovary look on the +outside? Taste the opened tube; can you detect the nectar? What sort +of a tongue must an insect have to reach this nectar? How do the +fading flowers look and act? + +7. Describe the seed-pod. Cut it across, and see how many +compartments there are within it. How are the seeds arranged in it? +How do the pods open and how are the seeds scattered? + +8. Watch the flower of the evening primrose open, and describe the +process carefully. At what hour did it open? What was the movement of +the petals? Can you see how they unfold in relation one to another? +How do they get free from the sepals? How many minutes is required +for the whole process of the opening of the flower? How many flowers +on a plant expand during the same evening? Look at the open blossoms +in the dark; can you see them? How do they look? What insects do you +find visiting these flowers? + +9. How long does the primrose blossom remain open? How do the young +plants of the evening primrose pass the winter? + +_Supplementary reading_--Blossom Hosts and Insect Guests, Gibson. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: _Hedge bindweed._] + + + THE HEDGE BINDWEED + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +I once saw by the roadside a beautiful pyramid, covered completely +with green leaves and beset with pink flowers. I stopped to examine +this bit of landscape gardening, and for the first time in my life I +felt sorry for a burdock; for this burdock had met its match and more +in standing up against a weakling plant which it must have scorned +at first, had it been capable of this sensation. Its mighty leaves +had withered, its flower-stems showed no burs, for the bindweed had +caught it in its hundred embraces and had squeezed the life out of +it. Once in Northern Florida our eyes were delighted with the most +beautiful garden we had ever seen and which resolved itself later +into a field of corn, in which every plant had been made a trellis +for the bindweed; there it flaunted its pink and white flowers in +the sunshine with a grace and charm that suggested nothing of the +oppressor. + +Sometimes the bindweed fails to find support to lift it into the +air. Then it quite as cheerfully mats itself over the grass, making +a carpet of exquisite pattern. This vine has quite an efficient way +of taking hold. It lifts its growing tips into the air, swaying them +joyously with every breeze; and the way each extreme tip is bent +into a hook seems just a matter of grace and beauty, as do the two +or three loose quirls below it; when during its graceful swaying the +hook catches to some object, it makes fast with amazing rapidity; +later the young arrow-shaped leaves manage to get an ear over the +support, and in a very short time the vine makes its first loop, and +the deed is done. It is very particular to twine and wind in one way, +following the direction of the hands of the clock--from the right, +under, and from the left, over the object to which it clings. If +the support is firm, it only makes enough turns around it to hold +itself firmly; but if it catches to something as unstable as its own +tendrils, they twist until so hard-twisted that they form a support +in themselves. + +It is rather difficult to perceive the alternate arrangement of the +leaves on the bindweed stem, so skillful are they in twisting under +or over in order to spread their whole graceful length and breadth to +the sun; to the careless observer they seem only to grow on the upper +or outer side of the vine. The leaves are arrow-shaped, with two +long, backward, and outward projecting points, or “ears,” which are +often gracefully lobed. Early in the year the leaves are glossy and +perfect; but many insects love to nibble them, so that by September, +they are usually riddled with holes. + +The flower bud is twisted as if the bindweed were so in the habit +of twisting that it carried the matter farther than necessary. +Enveloping the base of the flower bud are two large sepal-like +bracts, each keeled like a duck’s breast down the center; if these +are pulled back, it is seen that they are not part of the flower, +because they join the stem below it. There are five pale green sepals +of unequal sizes, so that some look like fragments of sepals. The +corolla is long, bell-shaped, opening with five, starlike lobes; +each lobe has a thickened white center; and while its margins are +usually pink, they are sometimes a vivid pink-purple and sometimes +entirely white. Looking down into this flower-bell, and following the +way pointed out by the white star-points which hold out the lobes, +we find five little nectar-wells; and each two of these wells are +separated by a stamen which is joined to the corolla at its base +and at its anther-end presses close about the style of the pistil. +When the flower first opens, it shows the spoon-shaped stigmas close +together, pushing up through the anther cluster; later, the style +elongates, bringing the stigmas far beyond the anthers. The pollen is +white, and through the lens looks like tiny pearls. + +When we study the maturing seed-capsule, we can understand the uneven +size of the sepals better; for after the corolla with the attached +stamens falls, the sepals close up around the pistil; the smallest +sepal wraps it first, and the larger ones in order of size, enfolding +the precious parcel; and outside of all, the great, leafy bracts +with their strong keels provide protection. The pod has two cells +and two seeds in each cell. But it is not by seeds alone that the +bindweed spreads; it is the running rootstock which, when the plant +once gets a start, helps it to cover a large area. The bindweed is a +relative of the morning-glory and it will prove an interesting study +to compare the two in methods of twining, in the time of day of the +opening of the flowers, the shape of the leaves, etc. So far as my +own observations go, the bindweed flowers seem to remain open only +during the middle of the day, but Müller says the flowers stay open +on moonlight nights to invite the hawk-moths. This is an interesting +question for investigation, and it may be settled by a child old +enough to make and record truthful observations. + +There are several species of bindweed, but all agree in general +habits. The field bindweed lacks the bracts at the base of the flower. + + + LESSON CXXIX + + THE HEDGE BINDWEED + +_Leading thought_--There are some plants which have such weak stems +that they are obliged to cling to objects for support. The bindweed +is one of these, and the way that it takes hold of objects and grows +upon them is an interesting story. + +_Method_--It is better to study this plant where it grows; but if +this is not practical, the vine with its support should be brought +into the schoolroom, the two being carefully kept in their natural +relative positions. Several of the questions should be given to the +pupils for their personal observation upon this vine in the field. It +is an excellent study for pencil or water-color drawing. + +_Observations_--1. How does the bindweed get support, so that its +leaves and its flowers may spread out in the sunshine? Why does its +own stem not support it? What would happen to a plant with such a +weak stem, if it did not twine upon other objects? + +2. How does it climb upon other plants? Does its stem always wind +or twist in the same direction? How does it first catch hold of the +other plant? If the supporting object is firm, does it wind as often +for a given space as when it has a frail support? Can you see the +reason for this? + +3. Look at the leaves. Sketch one, to be sure that you see its +beautiful form and veins. Note if the leaves are arranged alternately +on the stem, and then observe how and why they seem to come from one +side of the stem. Why do they do this? + +4. What is there peculiar about the flower bud? Look at its stem +carefully and describe it. Cut it across and look at the end with a +lens and describe it. Turn back two sepal-like bracts at the base of +the flower or bud. Are they a part of the flower, or are they below +it? Find the true sepals. How many are there? Are they all the same +size? + +5. Examine the flower in blossom. What is its shape? Describe its +colors. Look down into it. How many stamens are there, and how are +they set in the flower? How does the pistil look when the flower +first opens? Later? Can you see the color of the pollen? Can you find +where the nectar is borne? How many nectar-wells are there? + +6. What insects do you find visiting bindweed flowers? Do the flowers +remain open at night or on dark days? + +7. Study the seed-capsule. How is it protected on the outside? What +next enfolds it? Can you see now the uses of the sepals of several +sizes? Cut a seed-capsule across with all its coverings, and see how +it is protected. How many seeds are there in the capsule? + +8. Has the bindweed other methods of spreading than by seeds? Look at +the roots and tell what you observe about them. + +9. Make a study of the plant on which the bindweed is climbing, and +tell what has happened to it. + +10. Compare the bindweed with the morning-glory, and notice the +differences and resemblances. + +_Supplementary reading_: “Morning-Glory Stories,” in Flowers and +Their Friends, Morley; Botany Reader, Newell, Chap. 10; Golden +Numbers, page 74. + + + + + THE DODDER + + TEACHER’S STORY + + +[Illustration: _Dodder in blossom._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +If Sinbad’s “Old Man of the Sea” had been also a sneak thief, then +we might well liken him to dodder. There is an opportunity for an +excellent moral lesson connected with the study of dodder and its +underhand ways. When a plant ceases to be self-supporting, when it +gets its own living from the food made by other plants for their own +sustenance, it loses its own power of food-making; and the dodder +is an excellent example of the inevitable punishment for “sponging” +a living. The dodder has no leaves of its own for it does not need +to manufacture food nor to digest it. Its dull yellow stems reach +out in long tendrils, swayed by every breeze, until they come in +contact with some other plant to which they at once make fast. One of +these tendrils seizes its victim plant as a serpent winds its prey, +except that it always winds in the same direction--it passes under +from the right side and over from the left. Who knows whether the +serpents are always so methodical! After dodder gets its hold, little +projections appear upon its coiled stems, which look like the prolegs +of a caterpillar; but they are not legs, they are suckers, worse +than those of the devil-fish; for the latter uses its suckers only +to hold fast its prey; but the dodder uses its suckers to penetrate +the bark of its victim, and reach down to the sap channels where they +may, vampirelike, suck the blood from their victims, or rather the +matured sap which is flowing from the leaves to the growing points of +the host plant. Not having anything else to do, dodder devotes its +energies to the producing of seeds, in order to do more mischief. The +species which attack clover and other farm crops seem to manage to +get their seeds harvested with the rest; and the farmer who does not +know how to test his clover seed for impurities, sows with it the +seeds of its enemy. + +The dodder flowers are small, globular and crowded together. The +calyx has five lobes; the corolla is globular, with five little +lobes around its margin and a stamen set in each notch. A few of +the species have a four-lobed calyx and corolla; but however many +the lobes, the flowers are shiftless looking and are yellowish or +greenish white; despite its shiftless appearance, however, each +flower manages to mature four perfectly good, plump seeds. + +There are, according to Gray, nine species of dodder more or less +common in America. Some of the species, among which is the flax +dodder, live only upon certain other species of plant life, while +others take almost anything that comes within reach. Where it +flourishes, it grows so abundantly that it makes large yellow patches +in fields, completely choking out the leaves of its victims. + + + LESSON CXXX + + THE DODDER + +_Leading thought_--There are some plants which not only depend upon +other plants to hold them up, but they suck the life-juice from these +plants and thus they steal their living. + +_Method_--Bring in dodder with the host plant for the pupils to study +in the schoolroom, and ask them to observe afterwards the deadly work +of this parasite in the field. + +_Observations_--1. What is the color of the stem? In which direction +does it wind? + +2. How is the stem fastened to the host plant? Tear off these suckers +and examine the place where they were attached with a lens, and note +if they enter into the stem of the host plant. + +3. How does the dodder get hold of its victim? Has the dodder any +leaves of its own? How can it get along and grow without leaves? + +4. How do the flowers look through a lens? Are there many flowers? +Can you see the petal lobes and the stamens? + +5. How many seeds does each flower develop? How do the seeds look? In +what way are they a danger to our agriculture? + + * * * * * + + _I should also avoid the information method. It does a child + little good merely to tell him matters of fact. The facts + are not central to him and he must retain them by a process + of sheer memory; and in order that the teacher may know + whether he remembers, the recitation is employed,--re-cite, + to tell over again. The educational processes of my younger + days were mostly of this order,--the book or the teacher + told, I re-told, but the results were always modified by an + unpredictable coefficient of evaporation. Good teachers now + question the child to discover what he has found out or what + he feels, or to suggest what further steps may be taken, and + not to mark him on what he remembers. In other words, the + present-day process is to set the pupil independently at work, + whether he is young or old, and the information-leaflet or + lesson does not do this. Of course, it is necessary to give + some information, but chiefly for the purpose of putting + the pupil in the way of acquiring for himself and to answer + his natural inquiries; but information-giving about nature + subjects is not nature-study._--L. H. BAILEY in “The Outlook + to Nature.” + + + + + THE MILKWEED + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Little weavers of the summer, with sunbeam shuttle bright, + And loom unseen by mortals, you are busy day and night, + Weaving fairy threads as filmy, and soft as cloud swans, + seen + In broad blue sky-land rivers, above earth’s fields of + green._” + --RAY LAURANCE. + + +[Illustration: I] + +Is there any other young plant that shows off its baby-clothes as +does the young milkweed! When it comes up through the soil, each +leaf is folded lengthwise around the stem, flannel side out, and +it is entirely soft and white and infantile. The most striking +peculiarity of the milkweed plant is its white juice, which is a +kind of rubber. Let a drop of it dry on the back of the hand, and +when we try to remove it we find it quite elastic and possessed of +all of the qualities of crude rubber. At the first trial it seems +quite impossible to tell from which part of the stem this white juice +comes, but by blotting the cut end once or twice, the hollow of the +center of the stem is seen to have around it a dark green ring, and +outside this is a light green ring. It is from the dark green ring +encircling the stem cavity that the milk exudes. This milk is not +the sap of the plant any more than resin is the sap of the pine; it +is a special secretion, and is very acrid to the taste, rendering +milkweed disgusting to grazing animals. If a milkweed stem be broken +or gashed, this juice soon heals the wound and keeps out germs, and +thus is of great use to the plant, since many insects feed upon it. +If cut across, every vein in every leaf produces “milk”, and so does +every small flower pedicel. When the “milk” is by chance smeared on +cloth and allowed to dry, soap and water will not remove it, but it +yields readily to chloroform, which is a solvent of rubber. + +[Illustration: _Milkweed in blossom._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The milkweed leaves are in stately conventional pairs; if one pair +points east and west, the pair above and the pair below point north +and south. The leaf is beautiful in every particular; it has a dark +green upper surface, diversified with veins that join in scallops +near the border; it is soft to the touch on the upper surface, and is +velvety below. The lens reveals that the white under surface, or the +nap of the velvet, is a cover of fine white hairs. + +The flower of the milkweed is too complicated for little folks even +to try to understand; but for the pupils of the seventh and eighth +grades it will prove an interesting subject for investigation, if +they study it with the help of a lens. In examining the globular +bud, we see the five hairy sepals, which are later hidden by the +five long, pinkish green petals which bend back around the stem. +When we look into the flower, we see five little cornucopias--which +are really horns of plenty, since they are filled with nectar; from +the center of each is a little, fleshy tongue, with its curved point +resting on the disk at the center of the flower. Between each two of +these nectar-horns can be seen the white bordered opening of a long +pocket--like a dress-pocket--at the upper end of the opening of which +is a black dot. Slip a needle into the pocket opening until it pushes +against the black dot, and out pops a pair of yellow saddle-bags, +each attached to the black dot which joins them. These are the +pollen-bags, and each was borne in a sac, shaped like a vest-pocket, +one lying either side of the upper end of the long pocket. These +pollen-bags are sticky, and they contract so as to close over the +feet of the visiting bee. + +[Illustration: + + 1, _Milkweed flower, enlarged._ 2, _Same more enlarged. a,a, + nectar-horns; p, pocket; o,o, openings to the pocket; s, + pollen-bags in place; s′, pollen-bags removed._ +] + +Since the stem of the flower cluster droops and each flower pedicel +droops, the bee is obliged to cling, hanging back down, while getting +the nectar, and has to turn about as if on a pivot in order to thrust +her tongue into the five cornucopias in succession; she is then +certain to thrust her claws into a long pocket, and it proceeds to +close upon them, its edges being like the jaws of a trap. The bee, +in trying to extricate her feet, leaves whatever pollen-bags she had +inadvertently gathered in this trap-pocket, which gives them passage +to the stigma. But the milkweed flower, like some folks, is likely to +overdo matters, and sometimes these pockets grasp too firmly the legs +of the bee and hold her a prisoner. We often find insects thus caught +and dead--a result as far from the plan of the flower as from that of +the insect victim, had both been conscious. Sometimes bees become so +covered with these pollen-bags, which they are unable to scrape off, +that they die because of the clogging. But for one bee that suffers +there are thousands that carry off the nectar triumphantly, just as +thousands of people travel by water for one that is drowned. + +The milkweed pod has been the admiration of nature students from the +beginning, and surely there is no plant structure that so interests +the child as this house in which the milkweed carries its seeds. +When we look at a green pod, we first admire its beautiful shape; +on either side of the seam, which will sometime open, are three or +four rows of projecting points rising from the felty surface of the +pod in a way that suggests embossed embroidery. We open the pod +by pulling it apart along the seam; and this is not a seam with +a raw edge but is finished with a most perfect selvage. When we +were children we were wont to dispossess these large green pods of +their natural contents, and because they snapped shut so easily, we +imprisoned therein bumblebees “to hear them sing,” but we always let +them go again. We now know that there is nothing so interesting as +to study the contents of the pod just as it is. Below the opening is +a line of white velvet; at one end, and with their “heads all in one +direction,” are the beautiful, pale-rimmed, brown, overlapping seeds; +and at the other end we see the exquisite milkweed silk with the +skein so polished that no human reel could give us a skein of such +luster. If we remove the contents of the pod as a whole, we see that +the velvety portion is really the seed-support and that it joins the +pod at either end. It is like a hammock full of babies, except that +the milkweed babies are fastened on the outside of the hammock. + +No sooner is our treasure open to the air than the shining silk +begins to separate into floss of fairy texture. But before one seed +comes off, let us look at the beautiful pattern formed by the seeds +overlapping--such patterns we may see in the mosaics of mosques. + +Pull off a seed, and with it comes its own skein of floss, shining +like a pearl; but if we hold the seed in the hand a moment the skein +unwinds itself into a fluff of shining threads as fine as spiders’ +silk, and each individual thread thrusts itself out and rests upon +the air; and altogether there are enough of the threads to float +the seed, a balloon of the safest sort. If we wreck the balloon by +rubbing the floss through our fingers, we shall feel the very softest +textile fiber spun by Mother Nature. + +If we look closely at our seed we see a margin all around it. Well, +what if the balloon should be driven over sea, and the seed dropped +upon the water? It must then drown unless it has a life preserver; +this margin that we have noted is of the safest cork, and is +warranted to float; if you do not believe it, try it. + +If we pull off all the seeds, we can see that the velvety support is +flat and that all of the seeds are attached to it, but before we stop +our admiring study we should look carefully again at the inside of +the pod, for never was there a seed cradle with a lining more soft +and satiny. + + + LESSON CXXXI + + THE MILKWEED + +_Leading thought_--The milkweed when wounded secretes a milky juice +which is of a rubberlike composition; it flows out of the wounded +plant and soon hardens, thus protecting the wound from germs. +Milkweed flowers depend entirely upon insects for pollenation; the +pollen is not a free, yellow powder, but it is contained in paired +sacs, which are joined in V-shape. The seeds are carried by balloons, +and they can float on water as well. + +[Illustration: _Milkweed seed-balloons just leaving the sheltering +pod._] + +_Method_--Begin the study of the plant when it first appears above +ground in April or May. Give the pupils the questions about the +blossom for a vacation study, and ask that their observations be +kept in their notebooks. The study of the pods and seeds may be +made in September or October. When studying the milky juice, add a +geography lesson on rubber trees and the way that rubber is made. + +_Observations_--1. _The plant._ How does the milkweed look as it +appears above ground in the spring? How are its leaves folded when it +first puts its head up? Cut off a fully expanded plant a few inches +above the ground. What flows out of the stem? Blot off the “milk” +and study the cross-section of the stem. What is at the center? How +many layers do you see around this center? Can you see from which the +milkweed juice comes? How does the juice feel as it dries on your +fingers? How does it look when dry? Place a few drops on a piece of +paper and when it is dry pull it off and see if it is elastic. Break +the edge of the leaf. Does the milky juice flow from it? Does it come +from the veins? Do you think that this is the sap of the milkweed? +Cut a gash in the milkweed stem and see how the “milk” fills the +wound. How does this help the plant? Do cattle feed upon the milkweed +when it grows in pastures? If not, why? + +2. How are the leaves arranged on the stem? How do the upper and +under sides of the leaves differ? Examine with a lens, and see what +makes the nap of the velvet. What gives the light color to the under +side? Sketch a leaf showing its shape and venation, noting especially +the direction of the veins as they approach the edge of the leaf. + +3. _The flower._ Where do the flower clusters come off the stems in +relation to the leaves? Does the stem of the flower cluster stand +stiff or droop? Take a good sized flower cluster and count the +flowers in it. What would happen if all these flowers should develop +into pods? How many flower clusters do you find on one plant? Which +of these clusters open first? Last? + +4. Take off a single bud with its stem, or pedicel. Does the milky +juice come at the break? Is the bud stem stiff or drooping? What is +its color and how does it feel? What is the shape of the bud? How +many sepals has it? Look at the stem, sepals and bud with a lens and +describe their covering. Look for a flower just opening where the +petals stand out around it like a five-pointed star. What is their +color? What happens to the petals when the flower is fully expanded? +Can you see the sepals then? Look straight into the flower. Do you +see the five nectar-horns? Look at them with a lens and describe +them. What do you suppose is the use of the little curved tongue +coming out of each? Where does the tip of the tongue rest? With a +lens, look between two of the nectar horns; can you see a little slit +or pocket, with white protruding edges? Note just above the pocket a +black dot; thrust a needle into this pocket near its base and lift it +toward the crown of the flower, touching the black dot. What happens? + +5. Describe the little branched object that came out when you touched +it with a needle. These are the pollen saddle-bags and each bag comes +from a pocket at one side of, and above the long pocket. Do these +saddle-bags cling to the needle? Look with a lens at some of the +older flowers, and see if you can find the pollen-bags protruding +from the long pocket. See if you can find how the long pocket is a +passageway to the stigma. To see how the little saddle-bags were +transported, watch a bee gathering nectar. Describe what happens. + +6. Since the flowers bend over, how must the bee hold on to the +flower while she gathers nectar from the horns? As she turns around, +would she naturally pull out some of the saddle-bags? Catch a bee +in a collecting tube and see if her feet have upon them these +pollen-sacs. After gathering these pollen-sacs upon her feet, what +happens to them when she visits the next flower? Is the opening of +the long pocket like a trap to scrape the sacs off? Can you find on +milkweed flowers any bees or other insects that have been entangled +in these little traps and have thus perished? Try the experiment of +drawing a thread into one of these traps and with your lens see if +the opening closes over it. + +7. How many kinds of insects do you find visiting the milkweed +flowers? Can you detect the strong odor of the flowers? Why must +the milkweed develop so many flowers and offer such an abundance of +nectar? + + + + +[Illustration: Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE WHITE WATER LILY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Whence O fragrant form of light, + Hast thou drifted through the night + Swanlike, to a leafy nest, + On the restless waves at rest._” + + +Thus asks Father Tabb, and if the lily could answer it would have to +say: “Through ages untold have the waves upheld me until my leaves +and my flowers have changed into boats, my root to an anchor, and my +stems to anchor-ropes.” + +There is no better example for teaching the relation between +geography and plant life than the water lily. Here is a plant +that has dwelt so long in a certain situation that it cannot live +elsewhere. The conditions which it demands are quiet water, not too +deep, and with silt bottom. Every part of the plant relies upon +these conditions. The rootstock has but few root hairs; and it +lies buried in the silt, not only because this gives it food, but +because it can there act as an anchor. Rising from the rootstock is +a stem as pliable as if made of rubber, and yet it is strong; its +strength and flexibility are gained by having at its center four +hollow tubular channels, and smaller channels near the outside. +These tubes extend the whole length of the stem, making it light so +that it will float, and at the same time giving it strength as well +as flexibility. At the upper end of the stem is a leaf or flower, +which is fashioned as a boat. The circular leaf is leathery and often +bronze-red below, with prominent veins, making an excellent bottom +to the boat; above, it is green with a polished surface, and here +are situated its breathing-pores, although the leaves of most plants +have these stomata in the lower surface. But how could the water lily +leaf breathe, if its stomata opened in the water? The leaf is large, +circular and quite heavy; it would require a very strong, stiff stem +to hold it aloft, but by its form and structure it is fitted to float +upon the water, a little green dory, varnished inside, and waterproof +outside. + +[Illustration: _Egyptian lotus flower and seed-vessel._] + +The bud is a little, egg-shaped buoy protected by its four pinkish +brown, leathery sepals; as it opens, we can see four rows of petals, +each overlapping the space between the next inner ones; at the +center there is a fine display of brilliant yellow anthers. Those +hanging over the greenish yellow pit, which has the stigma at its +center, are merely golden hooks. When the flower is quite open, the +four sepals, each a canoe in form, lie under the lily and float it; +although the sepals are brownish outside, they are soft white on the +inside next the flower. Between each two sepals stands a large petal, +also canoe-shaped, and perhaps pinkish on the outside; these help +the sepals in floating the flower. Inside of these there is a row of +large creamy white petals which stand upright; the succeeding rows of +petals are smaller toward the center and grade into the outer rows of +stamens, which are petallike at the base and pointed at the tip. The +inner rows of stamens make a fine golden fringe around the cup-shaped +pistil. This flower is of great use in teaching that sepals, petals +and stamens have the same origin and grade into each other, showing +the intermediate stages. + +It has been stated that pond lilies, in the state of nature, have an +interesting way of opening in the early morning, closing at noon and +opening again toward evening. If we knew better the habits of the +insects which pollenate these flowers, we should possibly have the +key to this action. In our ponds in parks and grounds we find that +each species of pond lily opens and closes at its own particular time +each day. Each flower opens usually for several consecutive days, and +the first day of its blooming it opens about an hour later and closes +an hour earlier than on the days following. After the lilies have +blossomed, the flower stem coils in a spiral and brings the ripening +seeds below the surface of the water. The reason for this has not +yet been discovered. After about two months the pod bursts letting +the seeds out in the water. Each seed is in a little bag, which +the botanists call an aril, and which serves as a life preserver +floating the seed off for some distance from the parent plant. The +aril finally decays and the seed falls to the bottom where, if the +conditions are favorable, it develops into a new plant. + +[Illustration: _Seed vessel of white pond lily._] + +To emphasize the fact that the water lily is dependent upon certain +geographical conditions, ask the pupils to imagine a water lily +planted upon a hillside. How could its roots, furnished with such +insufficient rootlets, get nourishment there? How could its soft, +flexible stems hold aloft the heavy leaves and blossoms to the +sunlight? In such a situation it would be a mere drooping mass. +Moreover, if the pupils understand the conditions in which the water +lilies grow in their own neighborhood, they can understand the +conditions under which the plant grows in other countries. Thus, when +they read about the great _Victoria regia_ of the Amazon,--that water +lily whose leaves are large enough to support a man,--they would have +visions of broad stretches of still water and they should realize +that the bottom must be silt. If they read about the lotus of Egypt, +then they should see the Nile as a river with borders of still water +and with bottom of silt. Thus, from the conditions near at hand, we +may cultivate in the child an intelligent geographical imagination. + + + LESSON CXXXII + + THE WATER LILY + +_Leading thought_--The water lily has become dependent upon certain +conditions in pond or stream, and has become unfitted in form to live +elsewhere. It must have quiet waters, not too deep, and with silt +bottom. + +_Method_--The study should be made first with the water lilies in +a stream or pond, to discover just how they grow. For the special +structure, the leaves and flowers may be brought to the schoolroom +and floated in a pan of water. The lesson may easily be modified +to fit the yellow water lily, which is in many ways even more +interesting, since in shallow water it holds its leaves erect while +in deeper water its leaves float. + +_Observations_--1. Where is the water lily found? If in a pond, how +deep is the water? If in a stream, is it in the current? What kind +of bottom is there to the stream or pond? Do you find lilies in the +water of a limestone region? Why? + +2. What is the shape of the leaf? What is the color above and below? +What is the texture? How is it especially fitted to float? How does +it look when very young? + +3. Examine the petiole. How long is it? Is it stiff enough to hold up +the leaf? Why does it not need to hold up the leaf? How does it serve +as an anchor? Cut a stem across and describe its inside structure. +How does this structure help it float? + +4. Examine the open flower. How many sepals? How many rows of petals? +How do the stamens resemble the petals? Can you see in the water lily +how the sepals, petals and stamens may all be different forms of the +same thing? How are the sepals fitted to keep the flower afloat? At +what times of the day does the lily open? At what hours does it close? + +5. Describe the pistil. When the lily first opens, how are the +stamens placed around the pistil? What happens to the seed-box after +the blossoms have faded? Does the seed-pod float upon the water as +did the flower? What sort of stem has the flower? How does this stem +hold the seed-pod below the water? + +6. What sort of seed has the water lily? Sketch the seed-pod. How +does the seed escape from it? How is it scattered and planted? + +7. What sort of a root has the water lily? Are there many fine +rootlets upon it? Why? How does this rootstock serve the plant aside +from getting food? + +8. Imagine a water lily set on a dry hillside. Could the stems uphold +the flowers or leaves? Is the petiole large enough to hold out such a +thick, heavy leaf? Could the root get food from a dry location? Why? + +9. Judging from what you know of the places where water lilies grow +and the condition of the water there, describe the Nile where the +lotus grows. Describe the Amazon where the _Victoria regia_ grows. + + + + + PONDWEED + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The study of any plant which has obvious limitations as to where it +may grow should be made a help in the study of geography. Pondweed +is an excellent subject to illustrate this principle; it grows only +in quiet beds of sluggish streams or in ponds, or in the shallow +protected portions of lakes. It has tremendous powers of stretching +up, which render it able to grow at greater depth than one would +suppose possible, often flourishing where the water is from ten to +twenty feet deep. Often, when the sun is shining, it may be seen +like a bed of seaweed on the bottom. Its roots, like those of most +water plants, have less to do with the matter of absorbing water and +nourishment than do the roots of land plants, one of their chief +functions being to anchor the plant fast; they have a firm grip on +the bottom; and if pondweed is cut loose, it at once comes to the +surface, floats helplessly on its side, and soon dies. + +The stem is very soft and pliable and the plant relies entirely on +the water to keep it upright. A cross-section of the stem shows that +its substance is spongy, with the larger open cells near the outer +edge, thus helping it to float. The leaves are two or three inches +long, their broad bases encircling the stem, their tips tapering to +slender points. They have parallel veins and ruffled edges. They are +dull olive green in color, much darker than the stems; in texture +they are very thin, papery, and so shining as to give the impression +of being varnished. No land plants have such leaves; they remind us +at once of kelp or other seaweeds. The leaves are scattered along +the stems, by no means thickly, for water plants do not seem to need +profuse foliage. + +In blossom time the pondweed shows its real beauty. The stems grow +and grow, like Jack’s bean stalk, and what was a bed of leaves on +the pond bottom suddenly changes into a forest of high plants, each +one standing tall and straight and with every leaf extended, as +if its stems were as strong and stiff as ironwood; but if a wave +disturbs the water the graceful undulations of the plant tell the +true story of the pliant stems. There is something that arouses our +admiration when we see one of these pondweeds grown so straight and +tall, often three or four yards high, in order to place its little, +greenish-brown flower-head above the water’s surface. We have spent +hours looking down into such a submerged forest, dreaming and +wondering about the real meaning of such adaptations. + +[Illustration: + +1, _Flower of a pondweed enlarged, early stage_, 2, _same at later +stage_. ] + +Although the stem is flexible, the somewhat curved, enlarged portion +of it just below the flower-head is rigid; it is also more spongy +than the lower part of the stem and is thus fitted to float the +flower. The flower itself is one of the prettiest sights that nature +has to show us through a lens. It is a Maltese cross, the four +reddish stigmas arranged in a solid square at the center; at each +side of this central square is a double-barrelled anther, and outside +of each anther is a queer, little, dipper-shaped, green sepal. When +the anthers open, they push away from the stigmas and throw their +pollen toward the outside. There may be thirty or more of these tiny, +cross-shaped flowers in one flower-head. In the bud, the cup-shaped +sepals shut down closely, exposing the stigmas first, which would +indicate that they ripen before the pollen is shed. The pollen is +white, and is floated from plant to plant on the surface of the +water; often the water for yards will be covered with this living +dust. + + + LESSON CXXXIII + + PONDWEED + +_Leading thought_--The pondweed lives entirely below the water; +at blossom time, however, it sends up its flower stems to the +surface of the water, and there sheds its pollen, thus securing +cross-pollenation. + +_Method_--As this is primarily a lesson that relates to geography, +the pondweed should be studied where it is growing. It may be studied +in the spring or fall, and the pupils asked to observe the blossoming +which occurs in late July. After the pupils have seen where it grows, +the plants themselves may be studied in an aquarium, or by placing +them in a pail or basin of water. There are confusing numbers of +pondweeds but any of them will do for this lesson. The one described +in the Teacher’s Story is probably _P. perfoliatus_. + +_Observations_--1. Where is the pondweed found? Does it ever grow out +of water? Does it ever grow in very deep water? Does it ever grow in +swiftly flowing water? + +2. Has the pondweed a root? Does the pondweed need to have water +carried to its leaves, as it would if it were living in the air? What +is one of the chief uses of the roots to the pondweed? Break off a +plant, does it float? Do you think it would float off and die, if it +was not anchored by its root? + +3. Compare the stem of pondweed with that of any land plant standing +straight. What is the chief difference? Why does the pondweed not +need a stiff stem to hold it up? Cut the stem across, and see if you +can observe why it floats? + +4. Examine the leaves. Are all of them below the surface of the +water? If some float, how do they differ in texture and form from +those submerged? How are they arranged on the stem? Are they set +close together? What is the difference in texture between its leaves +and those of the jewelweed, dock or any other land plant? If any +leaves project out of the water are they different in form and +texture from those submerged? Sketch the leaf, showing its shape, its +edges, and the way it joins the stem. + +5. How far below the surface of the water does the pondweed usually +lie? Does it ever rise up to the water’s surface? When? Have you ever +noticed the pondweed in blossom? How does the blossom look on the +water? Can you see the white pollen floating on the surface of the +water? Look down into the water and see the way the pondweed stands +in order to float its blossoms. + +6. Study the blossom. Note the stem that bears it. Is the part that +bears the flower enlarged and stiffer than the stem below? Do you +think that this enlarged part of the stem acts like the bob on a +fish-line? Examine a flower cluster with a lens. How many flowers +upon it? Study one flower carefully. Describe the four stigmas at the +center. Describe the anthers arranged around them. Describe the sepal +which protects each anther. When the anthers open do they discharge +the pollen toward or away from the stigmas? + +7. What happens after the flowers are pollenated? Do they still +float? What sort of seed-capsule has the pondweed? Do the seeds break +away and float? + + * * * * * + + “_Again the wild cow-lily floats + Her golden-freighted, tented boats, + In thy cool caves of softened gloom, + O’ershadowed by the whispering reed, + And purple plumes of pickerel weed, + And meadow-sweet in tangled bloom._ + + “_The startled minnows dart in flocks, + Beneath thy glimmering amber rocks, + If but a zephyr stirs the brake; + The silent swallow swoops, a flash + Of light, and leaves with dainty plash, + A ring of ripples in her wake._” + --“Birch Stream”, ANNA BOYNTON AVERILL. + + + + +[Illustration: _Cat-tail flag in blossom._ + +The staminate flowers are massed at the tip, and the pistillate +flowers which form the “cat-tail” are massed lower down on the stalk. + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE CAT-TAIL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +In June and early July, if the cat-tail be closely observed, it will +be seen to have the upper half of the cat’s tail much narrower and +different in shape from the lower half--as if it were covered with +a quite different fur. It seems to be clothed with a fine drooping +fringe of olive-yellow. With the aid of a lens, we can see that this +fringe is a mass of crowded anthers, two or three of them being +attached to the same stalk by a short filament. These anthers are +packed full of pollen, which is sifted down upon the pistillate +flowers below by every breeze; and with every puff of stronger wind, +the pollen is showered over all neighboring flowers to the leeward. +There is not much use in trying to find the pistillate flowers in the +plush of the cat-tail. They have no sepals nor petals, and are so +imbedded in the thick pappus which forms the plush that the search +is hardly worth while for nature-study, unless a microscope is used. +The ovary is rather long, the style slender, and the stigma reaches +out to the cut-plush surface of the cat-tail. The pupils can find +what these flowers are by studying the seed; in fact, the seed does +not differ very much from the flower, except that it is mature and is +browner in color. + +[Illustration: _A cat-tail seed with its balloon._] + +It is an interesting process to take apart a cat-tail plant; the +lower, shorter leaves surround the base of the plant, giving it size +and strength. All the leaves have the same general shape, but vary +in length. Each leaf consists of the free portion, which is long and +narrow and flat towards its tapering tip but is bent into a trough +as it nears the plant, and the lower portion of the leaf, which +clasps the plant entirely or partially, depending upon whether it +is an outer or inner leaf, and thus adds to its strength. We almost +feel as if these alternate leaves were consciously doing their best +to protect the slender, flower stem. The free part of the leaves is +strengthened by lengthwise veins, and they form edges that never +tear nor break. They are very flexible, and therefore yield to the +wind rather than defy it. If we look at a leaf in cross-section, we +can see the two thick walls strengthened by the framework of stiff +veins which divide the interior into long cells. If we cut the leaf +lengthwise we can see that these long cells are supported by stiff, +coarse partitions. + +Where the leaf clasps the stem, it is very stiff and will break +rather than bend. The texture of the leaf is soft and smooth, and +its shade of green is attractive. The length of the leaves is often +greater than that of the blossom stalk, and their graceful curves +contrast pleasantly with its ramrod-like stiffness. It is no wonder +that artists and the decorators have used the cat-tail lavishly as a +model. It is interesting to note that the only portion of the leaves +injured by the wind is the extreme tip. + +The cat-tail is adapted for living in swamps where the soil is wet +but not under water all the time. When the land is drained, or when +it is flooded for a considerable time, the cat-tails die out and +disappear. They usually occur in marshy zones along lakes or streams; +and such a zone is always sharply defined by dry land on one side and +water on the other. The cat-tail roots are fine and fibrous and are +especially fitted, like the roots of the tamarack, to thread the mud +of marshy ground and thus gain a foothold. The cat-tails form one of +the cohorts in the phalanx of encroaching plants, like the reeds and +rushes, which surround and, by a slow march of years, finally conquer +and dry up ponds. But in this they overdo the matter, since after a +time the soil becomes too dry for them and they disappear, giving +place to other plants which find there a congenial environment. The +place where I studied the cat-tails as a child is now a garden of joe +pye weed and wild sunflowers. + +_Reference_--Plant Life, Coulter. + + + LESSON CXXXIV + + THE CAT-TAIL + +_Leading thought_--The cat-tail is adapted to places where the soil +is wet but not under water; its pollen is scattered by the wind, and +its seeds are scattered by wind and water. Its leaves and stalks are +not injured nor broken by the wind. + +_Method_--As this is primarily a geography lesson, it should be given +in the field if possible; otherwise the pupils must explore for +themselves to discover the facts. The plant itself can be brought +into the schoolroom for study. When studying the seeds, it is well to +be careful, or the schoolroom and the pupils will be clothed with the +pappus for weeks. + +_Observations_--1. Where are the cat-tails found? Is the land on +which they grow under water all the year? At any part of the year? Is +it dry land all the year? What happens to the cat-tails, if the land +on which they grow is flooded for a season? What happens to them, if +the land is drained? + +2. How wide a strip do the cat-tails cover, where you have found +them? Are they near a pond or brook or stream? Do they grow out in +the stream? Why do they not extend further inland? What is the +character of the soil on which they grow? + +[Illustration: _Cat-tails sending off their seed balloons._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +3. What sort of a root has the cat-tail? Why is this root especially +adapted to the soil where cat-tails grow? Describe the rootstock. + +4. _The cat-tail plant._ Are the leaves arranged opposite or +alternate? Tear off a few of the leaves and describe the difference +between the lower and the upper end of a leaf as follows: How do they +differ in shape? Texture? Pliability? Color? Width? Does each leaf +completely encircle the stalk at its base? Of what use is this to the +plant? Of what use is it to have the plant stiffer where the leaves +clasp the stalk? What would happen in a wind storm if this top-heavy, +slender seed stalk was bare and not supported by the leaves? What is +the special enemy of long, tall, slender-leafed plants? + +5. Take a single leaf, cut it across near where it joins the main +stalk and also near its tip. Look at the cross-section and see how +the leaf is veined. What do its long veins or ribs do for the leaf? +Split the leaf lengthwise and see what other supports it has. Does +the cat-tail leaf break or tear along its edges easily? Does the wind +injure any part of the leaf? + +6. Study the cat-tail flowers the last half of June. Note the part +that will develop into the cat’s tail. Describe the part above it. +Can you see where the pollen comes from? The pistillate flowers which +are in the plush of the cat-tail have no sepals, petals, odor nor +nectar. Do you think that their pollen is carried to them by the +bees? How is it carried? + +7. Examine the cat-tail in fall or winter. What has happened to +that part of the stalk above the cat-tail where the anthers grew? +Study two or three of the seeds, and see how they are provided for +traveling. What scatters them? Will the cat-tail seed balloons float? +Would the wind or the water be more likely to carry the cat-tail +seeds to a place where they would grow? Describe the difference +between the cat-tail balloon and the thistle balloon. + +8. How crowded do the cat-tail plants grow? How are they arranged to +keep from shading each other? In how many ways is the wind a friend +of the cat-tails? + +9. How do the cat-tails help to build up land and make narrower ponds +and streams? + + + + +[Illustration: _Daises and grasses._] + + + LESSON CXXXV + + A TYPE LESSON FOR A COMPOSITE FLOWER + + +_Leading thought_--Many plants have their flowers set close together +to make a mass of color, like the geraniums or the clovers. But there +are other plants where the flowers of one flower-head act like the +members of a family, those at the center doing a certain kind of work +for the production of seed, and those around the edges doing another +kind of work. The sunflower, goldenrod, asters, daisies, cone-flower, +thistle, dandelion, burdock, everlasting, and many other common +flowers have their blossoms arranged in this way. Before any of the +wild-flower members of this family are studied, the lesson on the +garden sunflower should be given. (See Lesson CLXII). + +_Method_--These flowers may be studied in the schoolroom with +suggestions for field observations. A lens is almost necessary for +the study of most of these flowers. + +_Observations_--1. Can you see that what you call the flower consists +of many flowers set together like a beautiful mosaic? Those at the +center are called disk-flowers; those around the edges banner or +ray-flowers. + +2. Note that the flowers around the edges have differently shaped +corollas than those at the center. How do they differ? Why should +these be called the banner flowers? Why should they be called +the ray-flowers? How many banner-flowers are there in the flower +family you are studying? How are the banners arranged to make +the flower-head more attractive? Cut off or pull out all the +banner-flowers and see how the flower-head looks. What do the +banner-flowers hold out their banners for? Is it to attract us or +the insects? Has the banner-flower any stigma or stamens? + +3. Study the flowers at the center. Are they open, or are they +unfolded, buds? Can you make a sketch of how they are arranged? Are +any of the florets open? What is the shape and the color of the +corolla? Can you see the stamen-tubes pushing out from some? What +color are the stamen-tubes? Can you see the two-parted stigmas in +others? What color is the pollen. Do the florets at the center or at +the outside of the disk open first? When they first open, do you see +the stamen-tube or the stigma? + +4. The flower-heads are protected before they open with overlapping +bracts, which may be compared to a shingled house protecting the +flower family. As the flower-head opens, these bracts are pushed +back beneath it. Describe the shape of these bracts. Are they set +in regular, overlapping rows? Are they rough or smooth? Do they end +bluntly, with a short point, with a long point, with a spine, or a +hook? How do the bracts act when the flower family goes to sleep? Do +they remain after the seeds are ripened? + +5. Take a flower-head apart, and examine the florets. Can you see +what part of the floret will be the seed? Is there a fringe of pappus +above it? If so, what will this be on the seed? + +6. Study the ripe seeds. How are they scattered? Do they have +balloons? Is the balloon close to the seed? Is it fastened to all +parts of it? + + + + + THE GOLDENROD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _Goldenrod._] + +Once I was called upon to take some children into the field to +study autumn flowers. The day we studied goldenrod, I told them the +following story on the way, and I found that they were pleased with +the fancy and through it were led to see the true purpose of the +goldenrod blossoming: + +“There are flowers which live in villages and cities, but people who +also live in villages and cities are so stupid that they hardly know +a flower city when they see it. This morning we are going to visit +a golden city where the people are all dressed in yellow, and where +they live together in families; and the families all live on top of +their little, green, shingled houses, which are set in even rows +along the street. In each of these families, there are some flowers +whose business it is to furnish nectar and pollen and to produce +seeds which have fuzzy balloons; while there are other flowers in +each family which wave yellow banners to all the insects that pass by +and signal them with a code of their own, thus: ‘Here, right this way +is a flower family that needs a bee or a beetle or an insect of some +sort to bring it pollen from abroad, so that it can ripen its seed; +and it will give nectar and plenty of pollen in exchange.’ Of course, +if the flowers could walk around like people, or fly like insects, +they could fetch and carry their own pollen, but as it is, they have +to depend upon insect messengers to do this for them. Let us see who +of us will be the first to guess what the name of this golden city +is, and who will be the first to find it.” + +[Illustration: _A street in goldenrod city._] + +The children were delighted with this riddle and soon found the +goldenrod city. We examined each little house with its ornate, green +“shingles.” These little houses, looking like cups, were arranged +on the street stem, right side up, in an orderly manner and very +close together; and where each joined the stem, there was a little, +green bract for a doorstep. Living on these houses we found the +flower families, each consisting of a few tubular disk-flowers +opening out like bells, and coming from their centers were the long +pollen-tubes or the yellow, two-parted stigmas. The ray-flowers had +short but brilliant banners; and they, as well as the disk-flowers, +had young seeds with pretty fringed pappus developing upon them. The +banner-flowers were not set so regularly around the edges as in the +asters; but the families were such close neighbors, that the banners +reached from one house to another. And all of the families on all +of the little, green streets were signalling insects, and one boy +said, “They must be making a very loud yellow noise.” We found that +very many insects had responded to this call--honeybees, bumblebees, +mining and carpenter bees, blue-black blister beetles with short +wings and awkward bodies, beautiful golden-green chalcid flies, +soldier beetles and many others; and we found the spherical gall and +the spindle-shaped gall in the stems, and the strange gall up near +the top which grew among the leaves. + +Unless one is a trained botanist it is wasted energy to try to +distinguish any but the well-marked species of goldenrod; for, +according to Gray, we have 56 species, the account of which makes +twelve pages of most uninteresting reading in the new Manual. The +goldenrod family is not in the least cliquish, the species have a +habit of interbreeding to the confusion of the systematic botanist. +Matthew’s Field Book serves as well as any for distinguishing the +well-marked species. + + + LESSON CXXXVI + + THE GOLDENROD + +_Leading thought_--In the goldenrod the flower-heads or families are +so small that, in order to attract the attention of the insects, they +are set closely together along the stem to produce a mass of color. + +_Method_--Bring to the school-room any kind of goldenrod, and give +the lesson on the flowers there. This should be followed by a +field excursion to get as many kinds of goldenrod as possible. The +following observations will bring out differences in well-marked +species: + +_Observations_--1. Use Lesson CXXXV to study the flower. How many +banner-flowers in the family? How many disk-flowers? Are the banners +arranged as regularly around the edges as in the asters and daisies? +How are the flower-heads set upon the stems? Which flower-heads open +first--those at the base or at the tip of the stem? Do the upper +stems of the plant blossom before those lower down? + +2. Do the stems bearing flowers come from the axils of the leaves? +What is the general shape of the flower branches? Do they come off +evenly at each side, or more at one side? Are the flower branches +long or short? Make a sketch of the general shape of the goldenrod +you are studying. + +[Illustration: _Disk-flower and banner-flower of goldenrod._] + +3. Is the stem smooth, downy, or covered with bloom? What is its +color? In cross-section, is it circular or angular? + +4. What is the shape and form of the edges of the lower leaves? The +upper ones? Are they set with, or without, petioles on the stem? Do +they have a heart-shaped base? Are the leaves smooth or downy? Are +they light, or dark green? + +5. _Field notes._ Where do you find the goldenrod growing? Do you +find one kind growing alone or several kinds growing together? Do you +find any growing in the woods? If so, how do they differ in shape +from those in the field? + +6. How many kinds of insects do you find visiting goldenrod flowers? +How many kinds of galls do you find on the goldenrod stems and leaves? + +7. Study the goldenrods in November. Describe their seeds and how +they are scattered. + + * * * * * + + “_I am alone with nature, + With the soft September day; + The lifting hills above me, + With goldenrod are gay. + Across the fields of ether + Flit butterflies at play; + And cones of garnet sumac + Glow down the country way._ + + “_The autumn dandelion + Beside the roadway burns; + Above the lichened boulders + Quiver the plumèd ferns. + The cream-white silk of the milkweed + Floats from its sea-green pod; + From out the mossy rock-seams + Flashes the goldenrod._” + --MARY CLEMMER AMES. + + + + + THE ASTERS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: L] + +Let us believe that the scientist who gave to the asters their Latin +name was inspired. Aster means _star_ and these, of all flowers, are +most starlike; and in beautiful constellations they border our fields +and woodsides. The aster combination of colors is often exquisite. +Many have the rays or banners lavender, oar-shaped and set like the +rays of a star around the yellow disk-flowers; these latter send out +long, yellow anther tubes, overflowing with yellow pollen, and add to +the stellar appearance of the flower-head. + + “And asters by the brookside make asters in the brook.” + +Thus sang H. H. of these beautiful masses of autumn flowers. But +if H. H. had attempted to distinguish the species, she would have +said rather that asters by the brookside make more asters in the +book: for Gray’s Manual assures us that we have 77 species including +widely different forms, varying in size, color and also as to the +environment in which they will grow. They range from the shiftless +woodland species, which has a few whitish ray-flowers hanging +shabbily about its yellow disk and with great, coarse leaves on +long, gawky petioles climbing the zigzag stem, to the beautiful and +dignified New England aster, which brings the glorious purple and +orange of its great flower-heads to decorate our hills in September +and October. + +[Illustration: _1, an aster flower-head enlarged_; _2, a +disk-flower_; _3, a banner-flower_.] + +Luckily, there are a few species which are fairly well marked, and +still more luckily, it is not of any consequence whether we know the +species or not, so far as our enjoyment of the flowers themselves is +concerned. The outline of this lesson will call the attention of the +pupils to the chief points of difference and likeness in the aster +species, and they will thus learn to discriminate in a general way. +The asters, like the goldenrods, begin to bloom at the tip of the +branches, the flower-heads nearest the central stem, blooming last. +All of the asters are very sensitive, and the flower-heads will close +promptly as soon as they are gathered. The ray or banner-flowers are +pistillate, and therefore develop seed. The seed has attached to its +rim a ring of pappus, and is ballooned to its final destination. In +November, the matured flower-heads are fuzzy, with seeds ready for +invitations from any passing wind to fly whither it listeth. + + + LESSON CXXXVII + + THE ASTERS + +_Leading thought_--There are very many different kinds of asters, +and they all have their flowers arranged similarly to those of the +sunflower. + +[Illustration: _Asters._] + +_Method_--Have the pupils collect as many kinds of asters as +possible, being careful to get the basal leaves and to take notes on +where each kind was found--that is, whether in the woodlands, by the +brooksides or in the open fields. This lesson should follow that on +the sunflower. + +_Observations_--1. What was the character of the soil and +surroundings where this aster grew? Were there large numbers of this +kind growing together? Were the flowers wide open when you gathered +them? How soon did they close? + +2. How high did the plants stand when growing? Were there many +flowers, or few, on each plant? + +3. Study the lower and the upper leaves. Describe each as follows: +the shape, the size, the edges, the way it was joined to the stem. + +4. Is the stem many-branched or few? Do the branches bearing flowers +extend in all directions? Are the stems hairy or smooth, and what is +their color? + +5. What is the diameter of the single flower-head? What is the color +of the ray-flowers? How many ray or banner-flowers are there? What is +the shape of a single banner as compared with that of a sunflower? +What are the colors of the disk-flowers? Of the pollen? Do the +disk-flowers change color after blossoming? + +6. Look at the bracts below the flower-head. Are they all the same +shape? What is their color? Do they have recurved tips or do they +overlap closely? Are they sticky? + +7. Take the aster flower-head apart and look at it with a lens. In a +disk-flower, note the young seed, the pappus, the tubular five-parted +corolla, the anther tube and the stigmas. In the ray-flower, find the +young seed, the pappus and the stigma. + +8. Watch the bees working on asters, and find where they thrust their +tongues to reach the nectar. + +9. Study an aster plant in November, and describe the seeds and how +they are scattered. + + + + +[Illustration: _Gathering daisies._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + THE WHITE DAISY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _Daisy florets._ + + 1, Disk-flower in pollen-stage; + 2, Disk-flower in stigma-stage; + 3, Ray-flower. All enlarged. ] + +Every child loves this flower, and yet it is not well understood; +it is always at hand for study from June until the frosts have laid +waste the fields. However much enjoyment we get from the study of +this beautiful flower-head, we should study the plant as a weed +also, for it is indeed a pest to those farmers who do not practice +a rotation of crops. Its root is long and tenacious of the soil, +and it ripens many seeds which mingle with the grass seed, and thus +the farmer sows it to his own undoing. The bracts of the involucre, +or the shingles of the daisy-house, are rather long, and have +parchment like margins. They overlap in two or three rows. In the +daisy flower-head, the banner-flowers are white; there may be twenty +or thirty of these, making a beautiful frame for the golden-yellow +disk-flowers. The banner is rather broad, is veined, and toothed at +the tip. The banner-flower has a pistil which shows its two-parted +stigma at the base of the banner, and it matures a seed. The +disk-flowers are brilliant yellow, tubular, rather short, with the +five points of the corolla curling back. The anther-tubes and the +pollen are yellow, so are the stigmas. The arrangement of the buds at +the center is exceedingly pretty. The flowers develop no pappus, and +therefore the seeds have no balloons. They depend upon the ignorance +and helplessness of man to scatter their seeds far and wide with the +grass and clover seed, which he sows for his own crops. It was thus +that it came to America, and in this manner still continues to flaunt +its banners in our meadows and pastures. The white daisy is not a +daisy, but a chrysanthemum. It has never been called by this name +popularly, but has at least twenty other common names, among them the +ox-eye daisy, moon-penny, and herb-Margaret. + + + LESSON CXXXVIII + + THE WHITE DAISY + +_Leading thought_--The white-daisy is not a single flower but is made +up of many little flowers and should be studied by the outline given +in Lesson CXXXV. + +[Illustration: _A daisy meadow._] + + + + + THE YELLOW DAISY, OR BLACK-EYED SUSAN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +These beautiful, showy flowers have rich contrasts in their color +scheme. The ten to twenty ray flowers wave rich, orange banners +around the cone of purple-brown disk-flowers. The banners are notched +and bent downward at their tips; each banner-flower has a pistil, +and develops a seed. The disk-flowers are arranged in a conical, +button-like center; the corollas are pink-purple at the base of the +tube, but their five recurved, pointed lobes are purple-brown. The +anther-tube is purple-brown and the stigmas show the same color; but +the pollen is brilliant orange, and adds much to the beauty of the +rich, dark florets when it is pushed from the anther-tubes. There is +no pappus developed, and the seeds are carried as are the seeds of +the white daisy, by being harvested with the seeds of grain. + +[Illustration] + +The stem is strong and erect; the bracts of the involucre, or +“shingles”, are long, narrow and hairy, the lower ones being longer +and wider than those above; they all spread out flat, or recurve +below the open flower-head. In blossoming, first the ray-flowers +spread wide their banners; then the flowerets around the base of the +cone open and push out their yellow pollen through the brown tubes; +then day by day the blossoming circle climbs toward the apex--a +beautiful way of blossoming upward. + + + LESSON CXXXIX + + THE BLACK-EYED SUSAN + +_Leading thought_--This flower should be studied by the outline given +in Lesson CXXXV. + +[Illustration: _Disk-flower and ray-flower._] + + + + + THE THISTLE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: O] + +On looking at the thistle from its own standpoint, we must +acknowledge it to be a beautiful and wonderful plant. It is like a +knight of old encased in armor and with lance set, ready for the +fray. The most impressive species is the great pasture, or bull, +thistle (_C. pumilis_), which has a blossom-head three inches across. +This is not so common as the lance-leaved thistle, which ornaments +roadsides and fence corners, where it may remain undisturbed for +the necessary second year of growth before it can mature its seeds. +The most pernicious species, from the farmer’s standpoint, is the +Canada thistle. Its roots are perennial, and they invade garden, +grain field and meadow. They creep for yards in all directions, just +deep enough to be sure of moisture, and send up new plants here and +there, especially if the main stalk is cut off. Roots severed by the +plow, send up shoots from both of the broken parts. Not so with the +common thistle, which has a single main root, with many fibrous and +clustered branches but with no side shoots. + +The stalk of the lance-leaved thistle is strong and woody, and is +closely hugged by pricky leaf stems, except for a few inches above +the root. The leaves are placed alternately on the stalk; they are +deep green, covered above with rough and bristling hairs, and when +young are covered on the under side with soft, gray wool which falls +away later. The spines grow on the edges of the leaves, which are +deeply lobed and are also somewhat wavy and ruffled, thus causing +the savage spears to meet the enemy in any direction. The ribs and +veins are without spines. Small buds or branches may be found at the +axils of the leaves; and if a plant is beheaded, those axiliary buds +nearest the top of the stem will grow vigorously. + +[Illustration: _Lance-leaved thistle._] + +The thistle flowers are purple in color and very fragrant; they grow +in single heads at the summit of the stalk, and from the axils of the +upper leaves. The topmost heads open first. Of the individual flowers +in the head, those of the outer rows first mature and protrude their +pistils; the pollen grains are white. In each flower, the corolla is +tube-shaped and purple, parting into five fringelike lobes at the +top, and fading to white at its nectar-filled base. + +The stamens have dark purple anthers, united in a tube in which +their pollen is discharged. The pistil, ripening later, shoves out +the pollen with its stigma, which at first is blunt at the end, its +two-parted lips so tightly held together that not a grain of its +own flower’s pollen can be taken. But when thrust far out beyond +the anther-tube, the two-parted stigma opens to receive the pollen +which is brought by the many winged visitors; for of all flowers, the +thistles with their abundant nectar are the favorites of insects. +Butterflies of many species, moths, beetles and bees--especially the +bumblebees--are the happy guests of the thistle blooms. + +The thistles believe in large families; a single head of the +lance-leaved thistle has been known to have 116 seeds. The seeds are +oblong, pointed, little akenes, with hard shells. Very beautiful and +wonderful is the pappus of the thistle; it is really the calyx of the +flower, its tube being a narrow collar, and the lobes are split up +into the silken floss. At the larger end of the seed is a circular +depression with a tiny hub at its center; into this ring, and around +the knob, is fitted the collar which attaches the down to the seed. +Hold the balloon between the eye and the light, and it is easy to +see that the down is made of many-branched plumes which interlace +and make it more buoyant. When first taken from its crowded position +on the flower-head, the pappus surrounds the corolla in a straight, +close tube; but if placed for just a few moments in the sun, the +threads spread, the filmy branchlets open out, and a fairy parachute +is formed, with the seed hanging beneath; if no breath of air touches +it while spreading, it will sometimes form a perfect funnel; when +blown upon, some of the silken threads lose their places on the rim +and rise to the center. When driven before the breeze, this balloon +will float for a long distance. When it falls, it lets go of the seed +as the wind moves it along the rough surface of the ground, and when +it is thus unburdened the down fluffs out in every direction, making +a perfect globe. + +[Illustration: _A floret from a thistle flower-head._] + +For the first season after the seed has rooted, the thistle develops +only rosettes, meanwhile putting down roots and becoming permanently +established. The next season, the flowers and seeds are developed, +and then the plant dies. Would that this fact were true of the Canada +thistle; but that, unfortunately, is perennial, and its persistent +roots can only be starved out by keeping the stalks cut to the +ground for the entire season. This thistle trusts to its extensively +creeping rootstocks more than to its seeds for retaining its foothold +and for spreading. While it develops many seed balloons, a large +number of its seeds are infertile and will not grow. + + + LESSON CXL + + THE COMMON, OR LANCE-LEAVED, THISTLE + +_Leading thought_--The thistle is covered with sharp spines, and +these serve to protect it from grazing animals. It has beautiful +purple flowers, arranged in heads similar to those of the sunflower. + +[Illustration: _The Canada thistle._ + +Drawing by W. C. Baker.] + +_Method_--A thistle plant brought into the schoolroom--root and +all--and placed in water will serve well for this lesson. The +questions should be given the pupils as to where thistles are found. +Any thistle will do for the lesson. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find the thistles growing? Do you +find more than one species growing thickly together? Do you find any +of the common thistles growing in soil which has been cultivated this +season? + +2. Describe the stalk, is it smooth? Is it weak or strong and woody? +What sort of root has it? + +3. Do the leaves grow alternately or opposite? Are they smooth or +downy on one or both sides? Do the spines grow around the margins, or +on the leaves and veins? Are the leaf edges flat, or wavy and ruffled? + +4. How does this affect the direction in which the spines point? Are +the leaves entire or deeply lobed? Have they petioles, or are they +attached directly to the stalk? + +5. Note if any buds or small branches nestle in the axils of the +lower leaves. What effect does cutting the main stalk seem to have on +each side shoot? + +6. Do the flower-heads of the thistle grow singly or in clusters? Do +they come from the summit of the stalk, or do they branch from its +sides? Which blossom-heads open first--the topmost or those lowest on +the stalk? Are the flowers fragrant? What insects do you most often +see visiting thistle blossoms for pollen or nectar? Study the thistle +flower according to Lesson CXXXV. + +7. Carefully study a thistle balloon. How is the floss attached to +the seed? Is it attached to the smaller, or the larger end? Hold +the thistle balloon between your eye and the light. Does the down +consist of single separate hairs, or have they many fine branches? +How is the down arranged when all the flowers are packed together in +the thistle-head? Take a seed from among its closely packed fellows +in the thistle-head, and put it in the sun or in a warm, dry place +where it cannot blow away. How long does it take for the balloon to +open out? What is its shape? Is there any down at the center of the +balloon or is it arranged in a funnel-shaped ring? Can you find a +perfectly globular thistle balloon with the seeds still attached to +it? How far do you think the thistle balloons might travel? + +8. If a thistle seed finds a place for planting during the autumn, +how does the young plant look the next season? Describe the thistle +rosette. What growth does it make the second summer? What happens to +it then? + +9. Why can you not cultivate out the Canada thistles as you can the +other species? + + + + +[Illustration: _A successful life._] + + + THE BURDOCK + + TEACHER’S STORY + + +Psychologists say that all young things are selfish, and the young +burdock is a shining example of this principle. Its first leaves are +broad and long, with long petioles by means of which they sprawl out +from the growing stem in every direction, covering up and choking out +all the lesser plants near them. In fact, the burdock remains selfish +in this respect always, for its great basal leaves see to it that no +other plants shall get the good from the soil near its own roots. One +wonders at first how a plant with such large leaves can avoid shading +itself; but there are some people very selfish toward the world who +are very thoughtful of their own families, and the burdock belongs +to this class. We must study carefully the arrangement of its leaves +in order to understand its cleverness. The long basal leaves are +stretched out flat; the next higher, somewhat smaller ones are lifted +at a polite angle so as not to stand in their light. This courtesy +characterizes all the leaves of the plant, for each higher leaf is +smaller and has a shorter petiole, which is lifted at a narrower +angle from the stalk; and all the leaves are so nicely adjusted as +to form a pyramid, allowing the sunlight to sift down to each part. +While some of the uppermost leaves may be scarcely more than an inch +long, the lower ones are very large. They are pointed at the tip and +wide at the base; where the leaf joins the petiole it is irregular, +bordered for a short distance on each side with a vein, and then +finished with a “flounce”, which is so full that it even reaches +around the main stem--another device for getting more sunlight for +itself and shutting it off from plants below. On the lower side, +the leaf is whitish and feltlike to the touch; above it is a raw +green, often somewhat smooth and shining. The leaf is in quality +poor, coarse and flimsy, and it hangs--a web of shoddy--on its strong +supporting ribs; lucky for it that its edges are slightly notched +and much ruffled, else they would be torn and tattered. The petiole +and stems are felty in texture; the petiole is grooved, and expands +at its base to grasp the stems on both sides with a certain vicious +pertinacity which characterizes the whole plant. + +The flower-heads come off at the axils of the upper leaves, and +are often so crowded that the leaf is almost lost to sight. It is +amazing to behold the number of flower-heads which develop on one +thrifty plant. The main stem and the pyramid of lower branching +stems, are often crowded with the green balls beset with bracts which +are hooked, spiny, and which hold safe the flowers. This composite +flower-house is a fortress bristling with spears which are not +changed to peaceful pruning-hooks, although they are hooked at the +sharp end, every hook turning toward the flowers at the center; the +lower bracts are shorter and stand out at right angles, while the +others come off at lesser angles, graded so as to form a globular +involucre--a veritable block-house. The flower might be a tidbit for +the grazing animal; but, if so, he has never discovered it, for these +protective hooks have kept him from ever enjoying a taste. The bracts +protect, not only by hooks at the tip, but by spreading out at the +bases so as to make a thickly battened dwelling for the flower-family. + +[Illustration: _A burdock floret with hooked bract._] + +But if we tear open one of these little fortresses, we are well +repaid in seeing the quite pretty florets. The corollas are long, +slender, pink tubes, with five, pointed lobes. The anther-tubes are +purple, the pistils and the stigmas white; the stigmas are broad and +feathery when they are dusting out the pollen from the anther-tubes, +but later they change to very delicate pairs of curly Y’s. The young +seed is shining white, and the pappus forms a short, white fluff at +the upper margin; but this is simply a family trait, for the burdock +seeds never need to be ballooned to their destination; they have +a surer method of travel. When in full bloom, the burdock flower +heads are very pretty and the skillful child weaver makes them into +beautiful baskets. When I was a small girl, I made whole sets of +furniture from these flowers; and then, becoming more ambitious, wove +some into a coronet which I wore proudly for a few short hours, only +to discover later, from my own experience, that great truth which +Shakespeare voiced,--“uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” + +In winter, the tough, gray stalks of the burdock still stand; +although they may partially break, if they can thus better accomplish +their purpose,--always falling toward the path. In this way, they +may be sure of inserting the hooks of their seed storehouses into +the clothing or covering of the passer-by; and when one gets a hold, +mayhap a dozen others will hold hands and follow. If they catch +the tail of horse or cow, then indeed they must feel their destiny +fulfilled; for the animal, switching about with its uneasy appendage, +threshes out the seeds, and unheedingly plants them by trampling +them into the ground. Probably some of the livestock of our Pilgrim +Fathers came to America thus burdened; for the burdock is a European +weed, although now it flourishes too successfully in America. The +leaves of the burdock are bitter, and are avoided by grazing animals. +Fortunately for us, certain flies and other insects like their bitter +taste, and lay eggs upon them, which hatch into larvæ that live all +their lives between the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf. Often +the leaves are entirely destroyed by the minute-larvæ of a fly, which +live together cozily between these leaf blankets, giving the leaves +the appearance of being afflicted with large blisters. + +The burdocks have long vigorous taproots, and it is therefore +difficult to eradicate them without much labor. But persistent +cutting off the plant at the root will, if the cut be deep, finally +discourage this determined weed. + +[Illustration: _Baskets made from the burdock flower-heads._] + + + LESSON CXLI + + THE BURDOCK + +_Leading thought_--The burdock wins because its great leaves shade +down plants in its vicinity, and also by having taproots. It scatters +its seed by hooking its seed-heads fast to the passer-by. + +_Method_--Study a healthy burdock plant in the field, to show how it +shades down other plants and does not shade itself. The flowers and +the seed-heads may be brought into the schoolroom for detailed study. + +_Observations_--1. Note a young plant. How much space does its leaves +cover? Is anything growing beneath them? How are its leaves arranged +to cover so much space? Of what advantage is this to the plant? + +2. Study the full-grown plant. How are the lower leaves arranged? At +what angles to the stalks do the petioles lie? Are the upper leaves +as large as the lower ones? Do they stand at different angles to the +stalk? + +3. Study the arrangement of leaves on a burdock plant, to discover +how it manages to shade down other plants with its leaves and yet +does not let its own upper leaves shade those below. + +[Illustration: _Burdock blossoming._] + +4. Study a lower and an upper leaf. What is the general shape? What +peculiarity where it joins the petiole? What is the texture of the +leaf above and below? The color? Describe the petiole and how it +joins the stem. + +5. Where do the flowers appear on the stem? Are there many flowers +developed? Count all the flower-heads on a thrifty burdock. + +6. The burdock has its flowers gathered into families, like the +sunflower and thistle. Describe the burdock flower-family according +to Lesson CXXXV. + +7. What insects visit the burdock flowers? Can you make baskets from +the flower-heads? + +8. Study the burdock again in winter, and see what has happened to +it. Describe the seed and the seed-heads. How are the seed-heads +carried far away from the parent plant? How many seeds in a single +“house?” How do they escape? + +9. Write the biography of a burdock plant which came to America as a +seed, attached to the tail of a Shetland pony. + + + + + PRICKLY LETTUCE, A COMPASS PLANT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _A common compass plant._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +The more we know of plants, the more we admire their ways of +attaining success in a world where it is only attained by a species +after a long struggle. While plants may not be conscious of their +own efforts for living on successfully, they have developed them +just the same, and they merit our admiration perhaps even more, +than as if their strategy was the result of conscious thought. The +prickly lettuce has a story to tell us about success attained by the +prevention of exhaustion from thirst. In fact, the success of this +weed depends much upon its being able to live in dry situations and +withstand the long droughts of late summer. The pale green stems grow +up slim and tall, bearing leaves arranged alternately and from all +sides, since between two, one of which is exactly above the other, +two other leaves are borne. Thus, if the leaves stood out naturally, +the shape of the whole plant would be a somewhat blunt pyramid. But +during the hot, dry weather, the leaves do not stand out straight +from the stem; instead, they twist about so that they are practically +all in one plane, and usually point north and south, although this +is not invariably the case. The way this twisting is accomplished +is what interests us in this plant. The long spatulate leaf has a +thick, fleshy midrib, and at the base are developed two pointed lobes +which clasp the stalk. The leaf is soft and leathery and always seems +succulent, because it retains its moisture; it has a ruffled edge +near its base, which gives it room for turning without tearing its +margin. Each leaf tips over sidewise toward the stem, and as far as +necessary to bring one edge uppermost. Thus the sun cannot reach its +upper surface to pump water from its tissues. The ruffled margin of +the upper edge is pulled out straight when the leaf stands in this +position, while the lower margin is more ruffled than ever. Thus, +it stands triumphantly, turning edgewise to the sun, retaining its +moisture and thriving when cultivated plants are dry and dying. + +It also has another “anchor to the windward.” A plant so full of +juice would prove attractive food for cattle when pastures are dry. +The leaves of this perhaps escape, because each has a row of very +sharp spines on the lower side of the midrib. At first we might +wonder why they are thus placed; but if we watch a grazing animal, +as a cow, reach out her tongue to pull the herbage into her mouth, +we see that these spines are placed where they will do the most +efficient work. The teasel has the same clever way of warning off +meddlesome tongues. The prickly lettuce also has spines on its stem, +and the leaves are toothed with spines at their points. + + + LESSON CXLII + + PRICKLY LETTUCE + +_Leading thought_--The sunshine sets the machinery in the +leaf-factories going, and incidentally pumps up water from the soil, +which pours out into the air from the leaves; but if the soil is dry +the pump works just the same, and the plant thus robbed of its water +soon withers and dies. The young plants of wild lettuce prevent the +sun from pumping them dry during drought, by turning the edges of +their leaves toward the sun, and thus not exposing the leaf surface +to its rays. The leaves thus lifted stand in one plane. They are +usually directed north and south. The lettuce also has spines to +protect it from grazing animals. + +_Method_--The lettuce should be studied in the field, and is a good +subject for a lesson in late summer or September. This lesson should +supplement the one on transpiration. The young plants show this +arrangement of the leaves best. The flowers may be studied by the +outline given in Lesson CXXXV. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the prickly lettuce grow? What sort of +a stem has it? How are the leaves arranged on the stem? + +2. If the leaves stood straight out from the stem, what would be the +shape of the plant? How do the leaves stand? Is their upper surface +exposed to the rays of the sun? Which portion of the leaf is turned +toward the sun? + +3. If the leaves turn sideways and stand in one plane, do they stand +north and south or east and west. How does the edgewise position of +the leaf protect the plant during drought? Why does any plant wither +during drought? If the leaves of the lettuce should extend east and +west instead of north and south, would they get more sun? (See lesson +on the Sun.) + +4. What is the shape of the lettuce leaf? How does it clasp the +stalk? How is the base shaped so that the leaf can turn without +tearing its edges? Sketch a leaf thus turned fully, showing how it is +done. Does the leaf turn toward the stem or away from it? + +5. How are the leaves protected against grazing cattle? How does the +cow use her tongue to help bring herbage to her mouth? How are the +prickly spines placed on the lettuce leaf, to make the cow’s tongue +uncomfortable? Sketch a leaf showing its shape, its venation and its +spines. + + + + + THE DANDELION + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This is the most persistent and indomitable of weeds, yet I think +the world would be very lonesome without its golden flower-heads and +fluffy seed-spheres. Professor Bailey once said that dandelions in +his lawn were a great trouble to him until he learned to love them, +and then the sight of them gave him keenest pleasure. And Lowell says +of this “dear common flower”-- + + “_Tis Spring’s largess, which she scatters now + To rich and poor alike, with lavish hand; + Though most hearts never understand + To take it at God’s value, and pass by + The offered wealth with unrewarded eye._” + +It is very difficult for us, when we watch the behavior of the +dandelions, not to attribute to them thinking power, they have so +many ways of getting ahead of us. I always look at a dandelion and +talk to it as if it were a real person. One spring when all the +vegetables in my garden were callow weaklings, I found there, in +their midst, a dandelion rosette with ten great leaves spreading out +and completely shading a circle ten inches in diameter; I said, “Look +here, Madam, this is my garden!” and I pulled up the squatter. But I +could not help paying admiring tribute to the taproot, which lacked +only an inch of being a foot in length. It was smooth, whitish, +fleshy and, when cut, bled a milky juice showing that it was full of +food; and it was as strong from the end-pull as a whipcord; it also +had a bunch of rather fine rootlets about an inch below the surface +of the soil and an occasional rootlet farther down; and then I said +“Madam, I beg your pardon; I think this was your garden and not mine.” + +Dandelion leaves afford an excellent study in variation of form. The +edges of the leaf are notched in a peculiar way, so that the lobes +were, by some one, supposed to look like lions’ teeth in profile; +thus the plant was called in France “dents-de-lion” (teeth of the +lion), and we have made from this the name dandelion. The leaves are +so bitter that grazing animals do not like to eat them, and thus the +plants are safe even in pastures. + +The hollow stem of the blossom-head from time immemorial has been a +joy to children. It may be made into a trombone, which will give to +the enterprising teacher an opportunity for a lesson in the physics +of sound, since by varying its length, the pitch is varied. The +dandelion-curls, which the little girls enjoy making, offer another +lesson in physics--that of surface tension, too difficult for little +girls to understand. But the action of this flower stem is what makes +the dandelion seem so endowed with acumen. If the plant is in a lawn, +the stem is short, indeed so short that the lawn-mower cannot cut off +the flower-head. In this situation it will blossom and seed within +two inches of the ground; but if the plant is in a meadow or in other +high grass, the stem lifts up sometimes two feet or more, so that +its blossom may be seen by bees and its seeds be carried off by the +breeze without let or hindrance from the grass. We found two such +stems each measuring over 30 inches in height. + +Before a dandelion head opens, the stem, unless very short, is likely +to bend down to protect the young flowers, but the night before it is +to bloom it straightens up; after the blossoms have matured it may +again bend over, but straightens up when the seeds are to be cast off. + +It often requires an hour for a dandelion head to open in the morning +and it rarely stays open longer than five or six hours; it may +require another hour to close. Usually not more than half the flowers +of the head open the first day, and it may require several days for +them all to blossom. After they have all bloomed and retired into +their green house and put up the shutters, it may take them from one +to two weeks to perfect their seeds. + +In the life of the flower-head the involucre, or the house in which +the flower family lives, plays an important part. The involucral +bracts, in the row set next to the flowers, are sufficiently long to +cover the unopened flowers; the bracts near the stem are shorter and +curl back, making a frill. In the freshly opened flower-head, the +buds at the middle all curve slightly toward the center, each bud +showing a blunt, five-lobed tip which looks like the tips of five +fingers held tightly together. The flowers in the outer row blossom +first, straightening back and pushing the banner outward; and now +we can see that the five lobes in the bud are the five notches at +the end of the banner. All the flowers in the dandelion-head have +banners, but those at the center, belonging to the younger flowers, +have shorter and darker yellow banners. After a banner is unfurled, +there pushes out from its tubular base a darker yellow anther-tube; +the five filaments below the tube are visible with a lens. A little +later, the stigma-ramrod pushes forth from the tube, its fuzzy sides +acting like a brush to bring out all the pollen; later it rises far +above the anther-tube and quirls back its stigma-lobes, as if every +floret were making a dandelion curl of its own. The lens shows us, +below the corolla, the seed. The pappus is not set in a collar upon +the dandelion seed, as it is in the aster seed; there is a short stem +above the seed which is called the “beak” and the pappus is attached +to this. + +Every day more blossoms open; but on dark, rainy days and during +the night the little green house puts up its shutters around the +flower-family, and if the bracts are not wide enough to cover the +growing family, the banners of the outer flowers have thick or +brownish portions along their lower sides which serve to calk the +chinks. It is interesting to watch the dandelion stars close as the +night falls, and still more interesting to watch the sleepy-heads +awaken long after the sun is up in the morning; they often do not +open until eight o’clock. The dandelion flower-families are very +economical of their pollen and profuse nectar, and do not expose them +until the bees and other insects are abroad ready to make morning +calls. + +After all the florets of a dandelion family have blossomed, +they retire again into their green house and devote themselves +to perfecting their seeds. They may stay thus in retirement for +several days, and during this period the flower stem often grows +industriously; and when the shutters of the little green house are +again let down, what a different appearance has the dandelion family! +The seeds with their balloons are set so as to make an exquisite, +filmy globe; and now they are ready to coquette with the wind and, +one after another, all the balloons go sailing off. One of these +seeds is well worth careful observation through a lens. The balloon +is attached to the top of the beak as an umbrella frame is attached +to the handle, except that the “ribs” are many and fluffy; while +the dandelion youngster, hanging below, has an overcoat armed with +grappling hooks, which enable it to cling fast when the balloon +chances to settle to the ground. + +Father Tabb says of the dandelion,--“With locks of gold today; +tomorrow silver gray; then blossom bald.” But not the least beautiful +part of the dandelion is this blossom-bald head after all the seeds +are gone; it is like a mosaic, with a pit at the center of each +figure where the seed was attached. There is an interesting mechanism +connected with this receptacle. Before the seeds are fully out this +soon-to-be-bald head is concave at the center, later it becomes +convex, and the mechanism of this movement liberates the seeds which +are embedded in it. + +[Illustration: _1, Floret of dandelion_; _2, seed of dandelion_. +_Both enlarged._] + +Each freshly opened corolla-tube is full to overflowing with +nectar, and much pollen is developed; therefore, the dandelion has +many kinds of insect visitors. But perhaps the bee shows us best +where the nectar is found; she thrusts her tongue down into the +little tubes below the banners, working very rapidly from floret to +floret. The dandelion stigmas have a special provision for securing +cross-pollenation; and if that fails, to secure pollen from their +own flower-family; and now the savants have found that the pistils +can also grow seeds without any pollen from anywhere. It surely is a +resourceful plant! + +The following are the tactics by which the dandelion conquers us and +takes possession of our lands: (a) It blossoms early in the spring +and until snow falls, producing seed for a long season. (b) It is +broadminded as to its location, and flourishes on all sorts of soils. +(c) It thrusts its long tap-roots down into the soil, and thus gets +moisture and food not reached by other plants. (d) Its leaves spread +out from the base, and crowd and shade many neighboring plants out +of existence. (e) It is on good terms with many insects, and so has +plenty of pollen carriers to insure strong seeds; it can also develop +seeds from its own pollen, and as a last resort it can develop seeds +without any pollen. (f) It develops almost numberless seeds, and the +wind scatters them far and wide and they thus take possession of new +territory. (g) It forms vigorous leaf-rosettes in the fall, and thus +is able to begin growth early in the spring. + + + LESSON CXLIII + + THE DANDELION + +_Leading thought_--The dandelions flourish despite our determined +efforts to exterminate them. Let us study the way in which they +conquer. + +_Method_--The study should be made with the dandelions on the school +grounds. Questions should be given, a few at a time, and then let the +pupils consult the dandelions as to the answers. + +The dandelion is a composite flower and may be studied according to +Lesson CXXXV. All the florets have banners or rays. + +_Observations_--1. Where do you find dandelions growing? If they are +on the lawn, how long are their blossom or seed stems? If in a meadow +or among high grass, how long is the blossom stem? Why is this? Is +the blossom stem solid or hollow? Does it break easily? + +2. Dig up a dandelion root and then explain why this weed withstands +drought, and why it remains, when once planted. + +3. Sketch or describe a dandelion leaf. Why was the plant named +“lion’s teeth?” How are the leaves arranged about the root? How does +this help the dandelion and hinder other plants? In what condition do +the leaves pass the winter under the snow? Why is this useful to the +plant? + +4. Take a blossom not yet open. Note the bracts that cover the +unopened flower-head. Note the ones below and describe them. + +5. Note the dandelion flower-head just open. Which flowers open +first? How do the buds look at the center? Do all the florets have +banners? Are the banners of the central florets the same color and +length as of those outside? Examine a floret and note the young seed. +Is the pappus attached to it or above it? + +6. What happens to the dandelion blossom on rainy or dark days? How +is the dandelion family hidden during the rain? When does it appear +again? Do you think that this has anything to do with the insect +visitors? Do bees and other insects gather nectar during dark or +rainy days? + +7. Note at what hour the dandelions on the lawn go to sleep and at +what hour they awaken on pleasant days? + +8. Make notes on a certain dandelion plant three times a day: How +long does it take the dandelion head to open fully on a sunny +morning? How long does it remain open? How long does it take the +flower-head to close? What proportion of the flowers in the head, +blossoms during the first day? What proportion of the flowers in +the head, blossoms during the second day? How long before they all +blossom? Does the flower-head remain open longer in the afternoon +on some days than on others, equally sunny? Does the stem bend over +before the blossom-head opens? + +9. After all the little flowers of a dandelion family have blossomed, +what happens to it? How long does it stay shut up in its house? +Measure the stem, and see if it stretches up during the time. How +does the dandelion look when it opens again? Look at a dandelion-head +full of seed, and see how the seeds are arranged to make a perfect +globe. Shake the seeds off and examine the “bald head” with a lens. +Can you see where the seeds were set? + +10. Examine a dandelion seed with a lens. Describe the balloon, the +beak or stem of the balloon, and the seed. Why do you suppose the +seed has these hooks? + +11. How early in the spring, and how late in the fall, do dandelions +blossom? + +12. Watch a bee when she is working on a dandelion flower, and see +where she thrusts her tongue and which flowers she probes. + +13. Tell all the things that you can remember which the dandelion +does in order to live and thrive in spite of us. + +14. What use do we make of the dandelions? + + + + + THE PEARLY EVERLASTING + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +These wraithlike flowers seem never to have been alive, rather than +to have been endowed with everlasting life. The cattle share this +opinion and would no sooner eat these plants than if they were made +of cotton batting. The stems are covered with white felt; the long +narrow leaves are very pale green, and when examined with a lens, +look as if they were covered with a layer of cotton which disguises +all venation except the thick midrib. The leaves are set alternate, +and become shorter and narrower and whiter toward the top of the +plant, where they are obliged to give their sustenance to the flower +stems borne in their axils. All this cottony covering has its uses +to prevent the evaporation of water from the plant during the long +droughts. The everlasting never has much juice in its leaves but what +it has, it keeps. + +[Illustration: _The pistillate flower-heads of the pearly +everlasting._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The flower stems are rather stout, woolly, soft and pliable. +They come off at the axils of the threadlike whitish leaves. The +pistillate and the staminate flowers are borne on separate plants, +and usually in separate patches. The pistillate, or seed-developing, +plants have globular flower buds, almost egg-shaped, with a fluffy +lemon-yellow knob at the tip; this fluff is made up of stigmas +split at the end. At the center of this tassel of lemon-yellow +stigma-plush, may often be seen a depression; at the bottom of this +well, there are three or four perfect flowers. One of the secrets +of the everlasting is, evidently, that it does not put all of its +eggs in one basket; it has a few perfect flowers for insurance. This +pistillate or seed-bearing flower has a long, delicate tube, ending +in five needlelike points and surrounded by a pretty pappus. The +bracts of the flower-cluster seem to cling around the base of the +beautiful yellow tassel of fertile flowers, as if to emphasize it. +They look as if they were made of white Japanese paper, and when +looked at through a lens, they resemble the petals of a water lily. +They are dry to begin with, so they cannot wither. + +[Illustration: 1, _Pistillate floret_, 2, _pappus_, 3, _staminate +floret_. _All enlarged._] + +The staminate, or pollen-bearing, flower-heads are like white birds’ +nests, the white bracts forming the nest and the little yellow +flowers the eggs. The flower has a tubular, five-pointed starlike +corolla, with five stamens joined in a tube at the middle, standing +up like a barrel from the corolla. The anther-tube is ocher-yellow +with brown stripes, and is closed at first with five little flaps, +making a cone at the top. Later, the orange-yellow pollen bulges +out as if it were boiling over. The flowers around the edges of the +flower-disk open first. + + + LESSON CXLIV + + THE PEARLY EVERLASTING + +_Leading thought_--There are often found growing on the poor soil in +dry pastures, clumps of soft, whitish plants which are never eaten by +cattle. There is so little juice in them that they retain their form +when dried and thus have won their name. + +_Method_--The pupils should see these plants growing, so that they +may observe the staminate and pistillate flowers, which are on +separate plants and in separate clumps. If this is not practicable, +bring both kinds of flowers into the schoolroom for study. + +[Illustration: _The staminate flower-head of pearly everlasting._] + +_Observations_--1. Where does the pearly everlasting grow? Do cattle +eat it? Why is this? What is the general color of the plant? What is +the stem covered with? + +2. What is the shape of the leaves? How are they veined? With +what are they covered? How are they placed on the stem? What is +the relative size of the lower and upper leaves? Why is there a +difference? + +3. Do you see some plants which have egg-shaped blossoms, each with +a yellow knob at the tip? Take one apart and look at it with a lens, +and see what forms the white part and what forms the yellow knob. Do +you see other flowers that look like little white birds’ nests filled +with yellow eggs? Look at one of them with a lens, and tell what kind +of a flower it is. + +4. Except that the pistillate and staminate flowers are on different +plants, the flowers of the pearly everlasting should be studied +according to Lesson CXXXV. + +5. What do you know of the edelweiss of the Alps? How does it +resemble the pearly everlasting? Do you know another common kind of +everlasting called pussy’s toes? + + + + + THE JEWELWEED, OR TOUCH-ME-NOT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Cup bearer to the summer, this floral Hebe shy + Is loitering by the brookside as the season passes by; + And she’s strung her golden ewers with spots of brown all + flecked, + O’er dainty emerald garments, like a queen with gems + bedecked._ + + _She brooks not condescension from mortal hand, you know, + For, touch her e’er so gently, impatiently she’ll throw + Her tiny little jewels, concealed in pockets small + Of her dainty, graceful garment, and o’er the ground they + fall._” + --RAY LAURENCE. + + +[Illustration: J] + +Jewels for the asking at the brookside, pendant jewels of pale-gold +or red-gold and of strange design! And the pale and the red are +different in design, although of the same general pattern. The pale +ones seem more simple and open, and we may study them first. If the +flowers of the jewelweed have been likened to ladies’ earrings, then +the bud must be likened to the old-fashioned ear-bob; for it is done +up in the neatest little triangular knob imaginable, with a little +curly pig-tail appendage at one side, and protected above by two +cup-shaped sepals, their pale green seeming like enamel on the pale +gold of the bud. It is worth while to give a glance at the stem from +which this jewel hangs; it is so delicate and so gracefully curved; +and just above the twin sepals is a tiny green bract, elongate, and +following the curve of the stem as if it were just a last artistic +touch; and though the flowers fall, this little bract remains to keep +guard above the seed-pod. + +It would take a Yankee, very good at guessing, to make out the parts +of this flower, so strange are they in form. We had best begin by +looking at the blossom from the back side. The two little, greenish +sepals are lifted back like butterfly wings, and we may guess from +their position that there are two more sepals, making four in all. +These latter are yellow; one is notched at the tip and is lifted +above the flower; the other is below and is made into a wide-mouthed +triangular sac, ending in a quirl at the bottom, which, if we test +it, we shall find is the nectary, very full of sweetness. Now, if we +look the flower in the face, perhaps we can find the petals; there +are two of them “holding arms” around the mouth of the nectar-sac. +And stiff arms they are too, two on a side, for each petal is +two-lobed, the front lobe being very short and the posterior lobe +widening out below into a long frill, very convenient for the bee +to cling to, if she has learned the trick, when prospecting the +nectar-sac behind for its treasure. The way this treasure-sac +swings backward from its point of attachment above when the insect +is probing it, must make the lady bee feel that the joys of life +are elusive. Meanwhile, what is the knob projecting down above +the entrance to the nectar-sac, as if it were a chandelier in a +vestibule? If we look at it with a lens, we can see that it is made +up of five chubby anthers, two in front, one at each side and one +behind; their short, stout little filaments are crooked just right +to bring the anthers together like five closed fingers holding a +fist full of pollen-dust, just ready to sift it on the first one +that chances to pass below. Thus it is that Madame Bumblebee, who +dearly loves the nectar from these flowers, gets her back well dusted +with the creamy-white pollen and does a great business for the +jewelweed in transferring it. But after the pollen is shed, some day +the bumblebee pushes up too hard against the anthers and they break +loose, all in a bunch, looking like a crooked legged table; and there +in their stead, thus left bare and ready for pollen, is the long +green pistil with its pointed stigma ready to rake the pollen out of +the fur of any bumblebee that calls. + +The red-gold jewelweed is quite different in shape from the pale +species. The sepal-sac is not nearly so flaring at the mouth, and the +nectar-spur is half as long as the sac and curves and curls under in +a most secretive fashion. The shape of the nectar-spur suggests that +it was meant for an insect with a long, flexible sucking tube that +could curl around and probe it to the bottom; and some butterflies do +avail themselves of the contents of this bronze pitcher. Mr. Mathews +mentions the _Papilio troilus_, and I have seen the yellow roadside +butterfly partaking of the nectar. Professor Robertson believes +that the form of the nectar-spur is especially adapted for the +hummingbird. But I am sure that the flowers which I have had under +observation are the special partners of a small species of bumblebee, +which visits these flowers with avidity, celerity, and certainty, +plunging into the nectar-sac “like a shot,” and out again and in +again so rapidly that the eye can hardly follow. One day, one of them +accommodatingly alighted on a leaf near me, while she combed from her +fur a creamy-white mass of pollen, which matched in color the fuzz +on her back, heaping it on her leg baskets. She seemed to know that +the pollen was on her back, and it was comical to see her contortions +to get it off. The action of these bumblebees in these flowers is in +marked contrast to those of the large bumblebees and the honeybees. +One medium-sized species of bumblebee has learned the trick of +embracing with the front legs the narrow, stiff portion of the petals +which encircles the opening to the sac, thus holding the flower firm +while thrusting the head into the sac. While the huge species--black +with very yellow plush--does not attempt to get the nectar in a +legitimate manner, but systematically alights, back downward, below +the sac of the flower, with head toward the curved spur, and cuts +open the sac for the nectar. A nectar-robber of the most pronounced +type! The honey-bees, Italian hybrids, are the most awkward in their +attempts to get nectar from these flowers; they attempt to alight on +the expanded portion of the petals and almost invariably slide off +between the two petals. They then circle around and take observations +with a note of determination in their buzzing, and finally succeed, +as a rule, in gaining a foothold and securing the nectar. But the +midget bumblebees show a _savoir faire_ in probing the orange +jewelweed that is convincing; they are so small that they are quite +out of sight when in the nectar-sacs. + +The jewelweed flowers of the pale species and the pale flowers +of the orange species--for this latter has sometimes pale yellow +flowers--are not invariably marked with freckles in the nectar-sac. +But the most common forms are thus speckled. There is something +particularly seductive to insects in these brownish or reddish +flecks, and wherever we find them in flowers, we may with some +confidence watch for the insects they were meant to allure. The +orange jewelweed flower is a model for an artist in its strange, +graceful form and its color combination of yellow spotted and marbled +with red. + +Gray’s Manual states that in the jewel weeds are often flowers of two +sorts “The large ones which seldom ripen seeds, and very small ones +which are fertilized early in the bud, their floral envelopes never +expanding but forced off by the growing pod and carried upward on its +apex.” My jewelweed patch has not given me the pleasure of observing +these two kinds of flowers; my plants blossom luxuriously and +profusely, and a large proportion of the flowers develop seed. The +little, straight, elongated seed-pods are striped prettily and become +quite plump from the large seeds within them. Impatiens? We should +say so! This pod which looks so smug and straight-laced that we +should never suspect it of being so touchy, at the slightest jar when +it is ripe, splits lengthwise into five ribbon-like parts, all of +which tear loose at the lower end and fly up in spirals around what +was once the tip of the pod, but which now looks like a crazy little +turbine wheel with five arms. And meanwhile, through this act the +fat, wrinkled seeds have been flung, perhaps several feet away from +the parent plant, and presumably to some congenial place for growth +the following spring. This surprising method of throwing its seeds is +the origin of the popular name touch-me-not, and the scientific name +_Impatiens_ by which these plants are known. + +The jewelweed has other names--celandine and silver-leaf, and ladies’ +ear-drop. It is an annual with a slight and surface-spreading growth +of roots, seeming scarcely strong enough to anchor the branching +stems, did not the plants have the habit of growing in a community, +each helping to support its neighbor. The stem is round, hollow and +much swollen at the joints; it is translucent, filled with moisture, +and its outer covering is a smooth silken skin, which may be readily +stripped off. Both species of jewelweed vary in the color of their +stems, some being green, others red and some dark purple; and all the +differing colors may be found within a few yards of each other. + +The leaves are alternate, dark green above and a lighter shade below, +ovate in form with scalloped edges, with midrib and veins very +prominent beneath and depressed on the upper side; they are smooth +on both sides to the unaided eye, but with a lens a film of fine, +short hairs may be seen, particularly on the under side. When plunged +beneath clear water, they immediately take on the appearance of +burnished silver; when removed, no drop remains on their surface. + +The flower stems spring from the axils of the leaves and are very +slender and thread-like, and the flowers nod and swing with every +breeze. They grow in open, drooping clusters, few blossoms open at a +time, and with buds and seed-capsules present in various stages of +growth. + +The jewelweed is involuntarily most hospitable, and always houses +many uninvited guests, as well as the bee-callers which are invited. +Galls are formed on the leaves and flowers; the hollow stems are +inhabited by stalk-borers; leaf-miners live between the upper and +under surfaces of the leaves, making curious arabesque patterns and +initials as if embroidering milady’s green gown. + + + LESSON CXLV + + THE JEWELWEED, OR TOUCH-ME-NOT + +_Leading thought_--The jewelweed may be found by the brookside, in +swamps, or in any damp and well-shaded area. It is provided with a +remarkable contrivance for scattering its seeds far afield. It has +no liking for open sunny places, unless very damp. There are two +kinds, often found growing together, though the spotted touch-me-not +(_Impatiens biflora_) is said to be more widely distributed than its +relative--the golden, or pale, touch-me-not (_Impatiens aurea_). + +_Method_--The jewelweeds should be studied where they are growing; +but if this is impracticable, a large bouquet of both kinds (if +possible), bearing buds, blossoms, and seed-capsules, and one or two +plants with roots, may be brought to the schoolroom. + +In the fields the children may see how well the plant is provided +with means to sustain itself in its chosen ground, and thus lead them +to look with keener eyes at other common weeds. + +_Observations_--1. Do you think the jewelweed is an annual, +sustaining life in its seeds during winter, or do its roots survive? + +2. Do the roots strike deeply into the soil, or spread near the +surface? + +3. Study the stem; is it hard and woody or juicy and translucent, +rough or smooth, solid or hollow? + +4. Note the shape and position of the leaves; do they grow opposite +or alternately on the stalk? Are their edges entire, toothed or +scalloped? Do they vary in color on upper and lower surface? Are they +smooth or in the least degree rough or hairy? Plunge a plant under +clear water in a good light and observe the beautiful transformation. +Does the water cling to the leaves? + +5. Where do the flower-stems spring from the main stalk? Do the +flowers grow singly or in clusters? Do the blossoms all open at +nearly the same time or form a succession of bud, flower and seed on +the same stem? + +6. Study the parts of the flower. Find the four sepals and describe +the shape and position of each. Describe the nectar-sac in the +nectar-horn. Can you find the two petals? Can you see that each petal +has a lobe near where it joins the stem? Find the little knob hanging +down above the entrance of the nectar-sac; of what is it composed? +Look at it with a lens, and tell how many stamens unite to make the +knob? Where is the pollen and what is its color? What insect do you +think could reach the nectar at the bottom of the spurred sac? Could +any insect get at the nectar without rubbing its back against the +flat surface of the pollen boxes? What remains after the stamens +fall off? Describe how the bees do the work of pollenation of the +jewelweeds. Write or tell as a story your own observations on the +actions of the different bees visiting these flowers. + +7. Carefully observe a seed-capsule without touching it; can you +see the lines of separation between its sections? How many are +there? What happens when the pod is touched? Are the loosened +sections attached at the stem, or at the apex of the pod? Hold a +pod at arm’s length when discharging its contents and measure the +distance to which the seeds are thrown. Of what use is this habit of +seed-throwing to the plant? + +8. Describe the differences in shape and color between the pale +yellow and the orange jewelweeds. Watch to see if the same insects +visit both. Which species do you think is best suited to the +bumblebees? + + + + + MULLEIN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_I like the plants that you call weeds,-- + Sedge, hardhack, mullein, yarrow,-- + Which knit their leaves and sift their seeds + Where any grassy wheel-track leads + Through country by-ways narrow._” + --LUCY LARCOM. + + +We take much pride unto ourselves because we belong to the chosen few +of the “fittest,” which have survived in the struggle for existence. +But, if we look around upon other members of this select band, we +shall find many lowly beings which we do not ordinarily recognize as +our peers. Mullein is one of them, and after we study its many ways +of “winning out” then may we bow to it and call it “brother.” + +[Illustration: _Mullein._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +I was wandering one day in a sheep pasture and looking curiously +at the few plants left uneaten. There was a great thistle with its +sharp spines and the pearly everlasting--too woolly and anaemic +to be appetizing even to a sheep; and besides these, there was an +army of mullein stalks--tall, slim, and stiff-necked, or branching +like great candelabra, their upper leaves adhering alternately to +the stalks for half their length. I stopped before one of them and +mentally asked, “Why do the sheep not relish you? Are you bitter?” +I took a bite, Nebuchadnezzar-like, and to my untrained taste it +seemed as good fodder as any; but my tongue smarted and burned for +some time after, from being pricked by the felt which covered the +leaf. I recalled the practical joke of which my grandmother once made +me the victim; she told me that to be beautiful, I needed only to +rub my cheeks with mullein leaves, an experience which convinced me +that there were other things far more desirable than beauty--comfort, +for instance. This felt on the mullein is beautiful, when looked at +through a microscope; it consists of a fretwork of little, white, +sharp spikes. No wonder my cheeks were red one day and purple the +next, and no wonder the sheep will not eat it unless starved! This +frostlike felt covering not only keeps the mullein safe from grazing +animals but it also keeps the water from evaporating from the leaf +and this enables the plant to withstand drought. I soon discovered +another means devised by the mullein for this same purpose, when I +tried to dig up the plant with a stick; I followed its taproot down +far enough to understand that it was a subsoiler and reached below +most other plants for moisture and food. Although it was late autumn, +the mullein was still in blossom; there were flowers near the tip +and also one here and there on the seed-crowded stem. I estimated +there were hundreds of seed-capsules on that one plant; I opened +one, still covered with the calyx-lobes, and found that the mullein +was still battling for survival; for I found this capsule and many +others inhabited by little brown-headed white grubs, which gave an +exhibition of St. Vitus dance as I laid open their home. They were +the young of a snout beetle, which is a far more dangerous enemy of +the mullein than is the sheep. + +The mullein plant is like the old woman who lived in a shoe in the +matter of blossom-children; she has so many that they are unkempt and +irregular, but there are normally four yellow or white petals and a +five-lobed calyx. I have never been able to solve the problem of the +five stamens which, when the flower opens, are folded together in a +knock-kneed fashion. The upper three are bearded below the anthers, +the middle being the shortest. The lower two are much longer and +have no fuzz on their filaments; they at first stand straight out, +with the stigma between them; but after the upper anthers have shed +their pollen, these stamens curve up like boars’ teeth and splash +their pollen on the upper petals, the stigma protruding desolately +and one-sidedly below. Later the corolla, stamens and all, falls off, +leaving the stigma and style attached to the seed-capsule. + +[Illustration: _1, 2. Mullein flowers in different stages._ +_3. Mullein seed enlarged._ _4. A bit of Mullein leaf enlarged._] + +The color of the mullein flowers varies from lemon-yellow to white. +The filaments are pale yellow; the anthers and pollen, orange. The +seed-capsule is encased in the long calyx-lobes, and is shaped +like a blunt egg. Cutting it in two crosswise, the central core, +tough and flattened and almost filling the capsule, is revealed +and, growing upon its surface, are numberless tiny, brown seeds, as +fine as gunpowder. Later the capsule divides partially in quarters, +opening wide enough to shake out the tiny seeds with every wandering +blast. The seed, when seen through a lens, is very pretty; it +looks like a section of a corncob, pitted and ribbed. A nice point +of investigation for some junior naturalist is to work out the +fertilization of the mullein flower, and note what insects assist. +The mullein has another spoke in the wheel of its success. The seed, +scattered from the sere and dried plants, settles comfortably in any +place where it can reach the soil, and during the first season grows +a beautiful velvety rosette of frosted leaves. No wonder Europeans +grow it in gardens under the name of the “American velvet plant.” +These rosettes lie flat under the snow, with their tap-roots strong +and already deep in the soil, and are ready to begin their work of +food-making as soon as the spring sun gives them power. + + + LESSON CXLVI + + MULLEIN + +_Leading thought_--The mullein has its leaves covered with felt, +which prevents evaporation during the dry weather and also prevents +animals from grazing upon the plant. It has a deep root, and this +gives moisture and food beyond the reach of most other plants. It +blossoms all summer and until the snow comes in the autumn, and thus +forms many, many seeds, which the wind plants for it; and here in our +midst it lives and thrives despite us. + +_Method_--The pupils should have a field trip to see what plants are +left uneaten in pastures, and thus learn where mullein grows best. +The flower or seed stalk, with basal leaves and root, may be brought +to the schoolroom for the lesson. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the mullein grow? Do you ever see it +in swamps or woodlands? Do cattle or sheep eat it? Why? Does it +flourish during the summer drought? How is it clothed to prevent +the evaporation of its sap? Look at a mullein leaf with a lens and +describe its appearance. + +2. What sort of a root has the mullein? How is its root adapted to +get moisture and plant food which other plants cannot reach? Describe +the flowering stalk. How are the leaves arranged on it and attached +to it? Are there several branching flower stalks or a single one? + +3. Describe the flower bud. Do the mullein flowers nearest the base +or the tip begin to blossom first? Is this invariable, or do flowers +open here and there irregularly on the stem during the season? + +4. Describe the mullein flower. How many lobes has the calyx? Are +these covered with felt? How many petals? Are there always this +number? Are the petals of the same size? Are they always regular in +shape? + +5. How many stamens? How do the upper three differ from the lower +two? Describe the style and stigma. What are the colors of petals, +anthers and stigma? What insects do you find visiting the flowers? + +6. Describe the seed-capsule, its shape and covering. Cut it across +and describe the inside. Where are the seeds borne? Are there many? +Look at the seed with a lens, and describe it. How does the capsule +open and by what means are the seeds scattered? + +7. Does the mullein grow from the seed to maturity in one year? How +does it look at the end of the first season? Describe the winter +rosette, telling how it is fitted to live beneath the snows of +winter. What is the advantage of this habit? + +8. Write a theme telling all the ways the mullein has of flourishing +and of combating other plants. + + * * * * * + + “_The mullein’s pillar, tipped with golden flowers, + Slim rises upward, and yon yellow bird + Shoots to its top._” + --“The Hill Hollow,” A. B. STREET. + + * * * * * + + “_Sober dress never yet made you sullen, + Style or size never brought you a blush; + You’re the envy of weavers, O, Mullein, + For no shuttle can mimic your plush. + With your feet in the sand you were born, + Woolly monk of the thorn-field and fallow, + But your heart holds the milk of the mallow, + And your head wears the bloom of the corn._” + --THERON BROWN. + + + + + THE TEASEL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The old teasel stalks standing gaunt and gray in the fields, braving +the blasts of winter, seem like old suits of armor, which elicit +admiration from us for the strength and beauty of the protecting +visor, breast-plate and gauntlets, and at the same time veer our +thoughts to the knights of old who once wore them in the fray. Thus, +with the teasel, we admire this panoply of spears, and they recall +the purple flowers and the ribbed seeds which were once the treasure +of every spear-guarded cavity and the proud reason of every lance at +rest. + +[Illustration: _The teasel._] + +Let us study this plant in armor: First, its stem is tough, woody, +hollow, with ridges extending its full length and each ridge armed +with spines which are quite wide at the base and very sharp. It is +impossible to take hold anywhere without being pricked by either +large or small spines. The leaves are just fitted for such a stem. +They are long, lanceolate, set opposite in pairs, rather coarse in +texture, with a stiff, whitish midrib; the bases of the two leaves +closely clasp the stem; the midrib is armed below with a row of long, +white, recurved prickers, and woe unto the tongue of grazing beast +that tries to lift this leaf into the mouth. If one pair of clasping +leaves point east and west, the next pairs above and below point +north and south. + +The flower stems come off at the axils of the leaves and therefore +each pair stands at right angles to the ones above and below. But if +the teasel protects its stem and leaves with spikes, it does more +for its flowers, which are set in dense heads armed with spines, and +the head is set in an involucre of long, upcurving spiny prongs. If +we look at it carefully, the teasel flower-head wins our admiration, +because of the exquisite geometrical design made by the folded bases +of the spines, set in diagonal rows. If we pull out a spine, we find +that it enlarges toward the base to a triangular piece that is folded +at right angles for holding the flower. Note that the spiny bracts +at the tip of the flower-head are longer and more awesome than those +at the sides; if we pass our hands down over the flower-head we feel +how stiff the spines, or bracts are, and can hear them crackle as +they spring back. + +The teasel has a quite original method of blossoming. The goldenrod +begins to blossom at the tip of the flowering branches and the +blossom-tide runs inward and downward toward the base. The clover +begins at the base and blossoms toward the tip, or the center. But +the teasel begins at the middle and blossoms both ways, and how it +knows just where to begin is more than we can tell. But some summer +morning we will find its flower-head girt about its middle with a +wide band of purple blossoms; after a few days, these fade and drop +off, and then there are two bands, sometimes four rows of flowers +in each, and sometimes only two. Below the lower band and above the +upper band, the enfolding bracts are filled with little, round-headed +lilac buds, while between the two rows of blossoms the protecting +bracts hold the precious growing seed. Away from each other this +double procession moves, until the lower band reaches the pronged +involucre and the upper one forms a solid patch on the apex of the +flower-head. Since the secondary blossom-heads starting from the leaf +axils are younger, we may find all stages of this blossoming in the +flower-heads of one plant. + +No small flower pays better for close examination than does that of +the teasel. If we do not pull the flower-head apart, what we see is +a little purple flower consisting of a white tube with four purple +lobes at the end, the lower lobe being a little longer than the +others and turning up slightly at its tip; projecting from between +each of the lobes, and fastened to the tube, are four stamens with +long, white filaments and beautiful purple anthers filled with large, +pearly white pollen grains; at the very heart of the flower, the +white stigma may be seen far down the tube. But a little later, after +the anthers have fallen or shriveled, the white stigma extends out +of the blossom like a long, white tongue and is crowded with white +pollen grains. + +[Illustration: _Teasel flower and seed enlarged. The stigma of a +teasel floret much magnified to show the pollen adhering to it. +Below, are pollen grains greatly magnified._] + +But to see the flower completely we need to break or cut a +flower-head in two. Then we see that the long white tube is tipped at +one end with purple lobes and a fringe of anthers, and at the other +is set upon a little green, fluffy cushion which caps the ovary; the +shape of the ovary in the flower tells us by its form how the seed +will look later. Enfolding ovary and tube is the bract with its spiny +edges, pushing its protecting spear outward, but not so far out as +the opening of the flower, for that might keep away the insects +which carry the teasel’s pollen. The pollen of the teasel is white +and globular, with three little rosettes arranged at equal distances +upon it like a bomb with three fuses. These little rosettes are the +growing points of the pollen grains and from any of them may emerge +the pollen tube to push down into the stigma. The teasel pollen +is an excellent subject for the children to study, since it is so +very large; and if examined with a microscope with a three-fourths +objective, the tubes running from the pollen grains into the stigma +may be easily seen. + +In blossoming, the teasel does not always seem to count straight in +the matter of rows of flowers. There may be more rows in the upper +band than in the lower, or _vice versa_; this is especially true +of the smaller secondary blossoms. But though the teasel flowers +fade and the leaves fall off, still the spiny skeleton stands, the +thorny stalks holding up the empty flower-heads like candelabra, from +which the seeds are tossed far and wide, shaken out by the winds of +autumn. But though battered by wintry blasts, the teasel staunchly +stands; even until the ensuing summer, each bract on guard and its +heart empty where once was cherished blossom and seed. Alas, because +of this emptiness, it has been debased by practical New England +housewives into a utensil for sprinkling clothes for ironing. + +The spines of one species of teasel were, in earlier times, used for +raising the nap on woolen cloth, and the plant was grown extensively +for that purpose. The bees are fond of the teasel blossoms and teasel +honey has an especially fine flavor. + +The teasels are biennial, and during the first season, develop a +rosette of crinkled leaves which have upon them short spines. + + + LESSON CXLVII + + THE TEASEL + +_Leading thought_--The teasel is a plant in armor, so protected that +it can flourish and raise its seeds in pastures where cattle graze. +It has a peculiar method of beginning to blossom in the middle of the +flower-head and then blossoming upward and downward from this point. + +[Illustration: _A teasel winter rosette._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +_Method_--In September, bring in a teasel plant which shows all +stages of blossoming, and let the pupils make observations in the +schoolroom. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the teasel grow? Is it ever eaten by +cattle? Why not? How is it protected? + +2. What sort of stem has it? Is it hollow or solid? Where upon it +are the spines situated? Are the spines all of the same size? Can you +take hold of the stem anywhere without being pricked? + +3. What is the shape of the leaves? How do they join the stem? Are +the leaves set opposite or alternate? If one pair points east and +west in which direction will the pairs above and below point? How and +where are the leaves armed? How does the cow or sheep draw the leaves +into the mouth with the tongue? If either should try to do this with +the teasel, how would the tongue be injured? + +4. Where do the flower stems come off? Do they come off in pairs? How +are the pairs set in relation to each other? + +5. What is the general appearance of the teasel flower-head? Describe +the long involucre prongs at the base. If the teasel is in blossom, +where do you find the flowers? How many girdles of flowers are there +around the flower-head? How many rows in one girdle? Where did the +first flowers blossom in the teasel flower-head? Where on the head +will the last blossoms appear? Where are the buds just ready to open? +Where are the ripened seeds? + +6. Examine a single flower. How is it protected? Cut out a flower +and bract and see how the long-spined bract enfolds it. Is the bract +spear long enough to keep the cattle from grazing on the blossom? Is +it long enough to keep the bees and other insects from visiting the +flowers? Where are the longest spines on the teasel head? + +7. Study a single flower. What is the shape of its corolla? How is it +colored? What color are the stamens? How many? Describe the pollen. +If the pollen is being shed where is the stigma? After the pollen is +shed, what happens to the stigma? + +8. What do you find at the base of the flower? How does the young +seed look? Later in the season take a teasel head and describe how it +scatters its seed. How do the ripe seeds look? How long will the old +teasel plants stand? + +9. For what were teasels once used? How many years does a teasel +plant live? How does it look at the end of its first season? How is +this an advantage as a method of passing the winter? + + + + + QUEEN ANNE’S LACE, OR WILD CARROT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Queen Anne was apparently given to wearing lace made in medallion +patterns; and even though we grant that her lace is most exquisite in +design as well as in execution, we wish most sincerely that there had +been established in America such a high tariff on this royal fabric +as to have prohibited its importation. It has for decades held us and +our lands prisoners in its delicate meshes, it being one of the most +stubborn and persistent weeds that ever came to us from over the seas. + +[Illustration: _Queen Anne’s lace, or wild carrot_ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +But for those people who admire lace of intricate pattern, and +beautiful blossoms whether they grow on scalawag plants or not, this +medallion flower attributed to Queen Anne is well worth studying. It +belongs to the family _Umbelliferæ_, which one of my small pupils +always called umbelliferæ because, he averred, they have umbrella +blossoms. In the case of Queen Anne’s lace the flower-cluster, +or umbel, is made up of many smaller umbels, each a most perfect +flower-cluster in itself. Each tiny white floret has five petals and +should have five stamens with creamy anthers, but often has only +two. However, it has always at its center two fat little pistils set +snugly together, and it rests in a solid, bristly, green, cuplike +calyx. Twenty or thirty of these little blossoms are set in a +rosette, the stems of graded length; and where the bases of the stems +meet are some long, pointed, narrow bracts, which protectingly brood +the flowers in the bud and the seeds as they ripen. Each of these +little flower-clusters, or umbels, has a long stem, its length being +just fit to bring it to its right place in the medallion pattern +of this royal lace. And these stems also have set at their bases +some bracts with long, thread-like lobes, which make a delicate, +green background for the opening blossoms; these bracts curl up +protectingly about the buds and the seeds. If we look straight into +the large flower-cluster, we can see that each component cluster, +or umbelicel, seems to have its own share in making the larger +pattern; the outside blossoms of the outside clusters have the +outside petals larger, thus forming a beautiful border and calling to +mind the beautiful flowers of the Composites. At the very center of +this flower medallion, there is often a larger floret with delicate +wine-colored petals; this striking floret is not a part of a smaller +flower-cluster, but stands in stately solitude upon its own isolated +stem. The reason for this giant floret at the center of the wide, +circular flower-cluster is a mystery; and so far as I know, the +botanists have not yet explained the reason for its presence. May we +not, then, be at liberty to explain its origin on the supposition +that her Royal Highness, Queen Anne, was wont to fasten her lace +medallions upon her royal person with garnet-headed pins? + +When the flowers wither and the seeds begin to form, the +flower-cluster then becomes very secretive; every one of the little +umbels turns toward the center, its stem curving over so that the +outside umbels reach over and “tuck in” the whole family; and the +threadlike bracts at the base reach up as if they, too, were in +the family councils, and must do their slender duty in helping to +make the fading flowers into a little, tightfisted clump; and all +of this is done so that the precious seeds may be safe while they +are ripening. Such little porcupines as these seeds are! Each seed +is clothed with long spines set in bristling rows, and is a most +forbidding-looking youngster when examined through a lens; and yet +there is method in its spininess, and we must grudgingly grant that +it is not only beautiful in its ornamentation but is also well fitted +to take hold with a will when wandering winds sift it down to the +soil. + +The wild carrot is known in some localities as the “bird’s-nest +weed,” because the maturing seed-clusters, their edges curving +inward, look like little birds’ nests. But no bird’s nest ever +contained so many eggs as does this imitation one. In one we counted +34 tiny umbels on which ripened 782 seeds; and the plant, from which +this “bird’s nest” was taken, developed nine more quite as large. + +[Illustration: _An inner and a border floret and a bract of Queen +Anne’s lace, enlarged._] + +Altogether the wild carrot is well fitted to maintain itself in the +struggle for existence, and is most successful in crowding out its +betters in pasture and meadow. Birds do not like its spiny seeds; +the stem of the plant is tough and its leaves are rough and have +an unpleasant odor and acrid taste, which render it unpalatable to +grazing animals. Winter’s cold cannot harm it, for it is a biennial; +its seeds often germinate in the fall, sending down long, slender +taproots crowned with tufts of inconspicuous leaves; it thus stores +up a supply of starchy food which enables it to start early the next +season with great vigor. The root, when the plant is fully grown, is +six or eight inches long, as thick as a finger and yellowish white in +color; it is very acrid and somewhat poisonous. + +The surest way of exterminating the Queen Anne’s lace is to prevent +its prolific seed production by cutting or uprooting the plants as +soon as the first blossoms open. + + * * * * * + + “_’Tis Eden everywhere to hearts that listen + And watch the woods and meadows grow._” + --THERON BROWN. + +[Illustration: _Seed-cluster, or “bird’s nest,” of wild carrot._ + +Photo by Charles F. Fudge.] + + + LESSON CXLVIII + + QUEEN ANNE’S LACE, OR WILD CARROT + +_Leading thought_--Queen Anne’s lace is a weed which came to us from +Europe and flourishes better here than on its native soil. It has +beautiful blossoms set in clusters, and it matures many seeds which +it manages to plant successfully. + +_Method_--The object of this lesson should be to show the pupils how +this weed survives the winter and how it is able to grow where it is +not wanted, maintaining itself successfully, despite man’s enmity. +The weed is very common along most country roadsides, and in many +pastures and meadows. It blossoms very late in the autumn, and is +available for lessons often as late as November. Its seed-clusters +may be used for a lesson at almost any time during the winter. + +_Observations_--1. Look at a wild carrot plant; how are its blossoms +arranged? Take a flower-cluster, what is its shape? How many small +flower-clusters make the large one? How are these arranged to make +the large cluster symmetrical? + +2. Take one of the little flower-clusters from near the center, and +one from the outside, of the large cluster; how many little flowers, +or florets make up the smaller cluster? Look at one of the florets +through a lens; can you see the cup-shaped calyx? How many petals +has it? Can you see its five anthers and its two white pistils? + +3. Take one of the outer florets of the outside cluster; are all its +flowers the same shape? How do they differ? Where are the florets +with the large petals placed in the big flower-cluster? How does this +help to make “the pattern?” + +4. Do the outside or the central flowers of the large clusters open +first? Can you find a cluster with an almost black or very dark red +floret at its center? Is this dark flower a part of one of the little +clusters or does it stand alone, its stem reaching directly to the +main stalk? Do you think it makes the flowers of the Queen Anne’s +lace prettier to have this dark red floret at the center? + +5. Take a flower-cluster with the flowers not yet open. Can you see +the threadlike green bracts that close up around each bud? Can you +see finely divided, threadlike bracts that stand out around the whole +cluster? What position do these bracts assume when the flowers are +open? What do they do after the flowers fade and the seeds are being +matured? + +6. What is the general shape of the seed-cluster of the wild carrot? +Have you ever found such a cluster broken off and blowing across the +snow? Do you think this is one way the seed is planted? + +7. Examine a single seed of the wild carrot with a lens. Is it round +or oblong? Thin or flat? Is it ridged or grooved? Has it any hooks +or spines by which it might cling to the clothing of passers-by, or +to the hair or fleece of animals, and thus be scattered more widely? +Does the seed cling to its stem or break away readily when it is +touched? + +8. Take one seed-cluster and count the number of seeds within it. How +many seed-clusters do you find on a single plant? How many seeds do +you, therefore, think a single plant produces? + +9. What should you consider the best means of destroying this +prolific weed? + +10. What do you think is the reason that the wild carrot remains +untouched, so that it grows vigorously and matures its seeds in lanes +and pastures where cattle graze? + +11. Have you noticed any birds feeding on the seeds of the wild +carrot? + + * * * * * + + _I do not want change: I want the same old and loved things, + the same wild flowers, the same trees and soft ash-green; + the turtle-doves, the blackbirds, the coloured yellow-hammer + sing, sing, singing so long as there is light to cast a + shadow on the dial, for such is the measure of his song, and + I want them in the same place. Let me find them morning after + morning, the starry-white petals radiating, striving upwards + to their ideal. Let me see the idle shadows resting on the + white dust; let me hear the humble-bees, and stay to look + down on the rich dandelion disc. Let me see the very thistles + opening their great crowns--I should miss the thistles; the + reed-grasses hiding the moor-hen; the bryony bine, at first + crudely ambitious and lifted by force of youthful sap straight + above the hedgerow to sink of its own weight presently and + progress with crafty tendrils; swifts shot through the air + with outstretched wings like crescent-headed shaftless arrows + darted from the clouds; the chaffinch with a feather in her + bill; all the living staircase of the spring, step by step, + upwards to the great gallery of the summer--let me watch the + same succession year by year._ + --“THE PAGEANT OF SUMMER,” BY RICHARD JEFFERIES. + + + + +[Illustration: _Chickweed._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + + + WEEDS + + “_The worst weed in corn may be--corn._” + --Professor I. P. ROBERTS. + + +Nature is the great farmer. Continually she sows and reaps, making +all the forces of the universe her tools and helpers; the sun’s rays, +wind, rain and snow, insects and birds, animals small and great, +even to the humble burrowing worms of the earth--all work mightily +for her, and a harvest of some kind is absolutely sure. But if man +interferes and insists that the crops shall be only such as may +benefit and enrich himself, she seems to yield a willing obedience, +and under his control does immensely better work than when unguided. +But Dame Nature is an “eye-servant.” Let the master relax his +vigilance for ever so short a time, and among the crops of his desire +will come stealing in the hardy, aggressive, and to him, useless +plants that seem to be her favorites. + +A weed is a plant growing where we wish something else to grow, and a +plant may, therefore, be a weed in some locations and not in others. +The mullein is grown in greenhouses in England as the American velvet +plant. Our grandmothers considered “butter-and-eggs,” a pretty posy, +and planted it in their gardens, wherefrom it escaped, and is now +a bad weed wherever it grows. A weed may crowd out our cultivated +plants, by stealing the moisture and nourishment in the soil which +they should have; or it may shade them out by putting out broad +leaves and shutting off their sunlight. When harvested with a crop, +weeds may be unpalatable to the stock which feed upon it; or in some +cases, as in the wild parsnip, the plant may be poisonous. + +Each weed has its own way of winning in the struggle with our crops, +and it behooves us to find that way as soon as possible in order +to circumvent it. This we can only do by a careful study of the +peculiarities of the species. To do this we must know the plant’s +life history; whether it is an annual, surviving the winter only in +its seeds; or a biennial, storing in fleshy root or in broad, green +leafy rosette the food drawn from the soil and air during the first +season, to perfect its fruitage in the second year; or a perennial, +surviving and springing up to spread its kind and pester the farmer +year after year, unless he can destroy it “root and branch.” Purslane +is an example of the first class, burdock or mullein of the second, +and the field sorrel or Canada thistle of the third. According to +their nature the farmer must use different means of extermination; he +must strive to hinder the annuals and biennials from forming any seed +whatever; and where perennials have made themselves a pest, he must +put in a “hoed crop,” requiring such constant and thorough tillage +that the weed roots will be deprived of all starchy food manufactured +by green leaves and be starved out. Especially every one who plants +a garden should know how the weeds look when young, for seedlings of +all kinds are delicate and easy to kill before their roots are well +established. + + + + + LESSON CXLIX + + OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF A WEED + + +1. Why do we call a plant a weed? Is a weed a weed wherever it grows? +How about “butter and eggs” when it grew in Grandmother’s garden? Why +do we call that a weed now? What did Grandmother call it? + +2. In how many ways may a weed injure our cultivated crops? + +3. Why must we study the habits of a weed before we know how to fight +it? + +We should ask of every weed in our garden or on our land the +following questions, and let it answer them through our observations +in order to know why the weed grows where it chooses, despite our +efforts. + +4. How did this weed plant itself where I find it growing? By what +agency was its seed brought and dropped? + +5. What kind of root has it? If it has a tap-root like the mullein, +what advantage does it derive from it? If it has a spreading +shallow-growing root like the purslane what advantage does it gain? +If it has a creeping rootstock with underground buds like the Canada +thistle, how is it thereby helped? + +6. Is the stem woody or fleshy? Is it erect or reclining or climbing? +Does it gain any advantage through the character of its stem? + +7. Note carefully the leaves. Are they eaten by grazing animals? If +not, why? Are they covered with prickles like the teazel or fuzz like +the mullein, or are they bitter and acrid like the wild carrot? + +8. Study the blossoms. How early does the weed bloom? How long does +it remain in bloom? Do insects carry pollen for the flowers? If so, +what insects? What do the insects get in return? How are the flower +buds and the ripening seeds protected? + +9. Does it ripen many seeds? Are these ripened at the same time or +are they ripened during a long period? Of what advantage is this? How +are the seeds scattered, carried and planted? Compute how many seeds +one plant of this weed matures in one year. + + * * * * * + + “_That which ye sow ye reap. See yonder fields! + The sesamum was sesamum, the corn + Was corn. The Silence and the Darkness know!_” + --EDWIN ARNOLD. + + + + +[Illustration: Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.] + + + CULTIVATED-PLANT STUDY + + + + + THE CROCUS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The crocus, like the snowdrop, cannot wait for the snow to be off the +ground before it pushes up its gay blossoms, and it has thus earned +the gratitude of those who are winter weary. + +[Illustration: _The old and young corms of the crocus._] + +The crocus has a corm instead of a bulb like the snowdrop or +daffodil. A corm is a solid, thickened, underground stem, and is not +in layers, like the onion. The roots come off the lower side of the +corm. The corm of the crocus is well wrapped in several, usually +five, white coats with papery tips. When the plant begins to grow the +leaves push up through the coats. The leaves are grasslike and may +be in number from two to eight, depending on the variety. Each leaf +has its edge folded, and the white midrib has a plait on either side, +giving it the appearance of being box-plaited on the under side. The +bases of the leaves enclosed in the corm coats are yellow, since they +have had no sunlight to start their starch factories and the green +within their cells. At the center of the leaves appear the blossom +buds, each enclosed in a sheath. + +The petals and sepals are similar in color, but the three sepals are +on the outside, and their texture, especially on the outer side, +is coarser than that of the three protected petals. But sepals and +petals unite into a long tube at the base. At the very base of this +corolla tube, away down out of sight, even below the surface of +the ground, is the seed-box, or ovary. From the tip of the ovary +the style extends up through the corolla-tube and is tipped with a +ruffled three-lobed stigma. + +[Illustration: _The crocus._ + + p, petal; sp, sepal; an, anther; f, filament; stg, stigma; b, + mother corm; b¹ b¹ b¹, young corms. +] + +The three stamens are set at the throat of the corolla tube. The +anthers are very long and open along the sides. The anthers mature +first, and shed their pollen in the cup of the blossom where any +insect, seeking the nectar in the tube of the corolla, must become +dusted with it. However, if the stigma lobes fail to get pollen from +other flowers, they later spread apart and curl over until they reach +some of the pollen of their own flower. + +Crocus blossoms have varied colors: white, yellow, orange, purple, +the latter often striped or feather-veined. And, while many seeds +like tiny pearls, are developed in the oblong capsule, yet it is +chiefly by its corms that the crocus multiplies. On top of the mother +corm of this year develop several small corms, each capable of +growing a plant next year. But after two years of this second-story +sort of multiplication the young crocuses are pushed above the +surface of the ground. Thus, they need to be replanted every two or +three years. Crocuses may be planted from the first of October until +the ground freezes. They make pretty borders to garden beds and +paths. Or they may be planted in lawns without disturbing the grass, +by punching a hole with a stick or dibble and dropping in a corm and +then pressing back the soil in place above it. The plants will mature +before the grass needs to be mowed. + + + LESSON CL + + THE CROCUS + +_Leading thought_--The crocuses appear so early in the spring, +because they have food stored in underground storehouses. They +multiply by seeds and by corms. + +_Method_--If it is possible to have crocuses in boxes in the +schoolroom windows, the flowers may thus best be studied. Otherwise, +when crocuses are in bloom bring them into the schoolroom, bulbs and +all, and place them where the children may study them at leisure. + +_Observations_--1. At what date in the spring have you found crocuses +in blossom? Why are they able to blossom so much earlier than other +flowers? + +2. Take a crocus just pushing up out of its bulb. How many overcoats +protect its leaves? What is at the very center of the bulb? Has the +flower bud a special overcoat? + +3. Describe the leaves. How are they folded in their overcoats? What +color are they where they have pushed out above their overcoats? What +color are they within the overcoats? Why? + +4. Do the flowers or the leaves have stems, or do they arise directly +from the bulb? + +5. What is the shape of the open crocus flower? Can you tell the +difference between sepals and petals in color? Can you tell the +difference by their position? Or by their texture above or below? As +you look into the flower, which make the points of the triangle, the +sepals or the petals? + +6. Describe the anthers. How long are they? How many are there? +How do they open? What is the color of the pollen? Describe how a +bee becomes dusted with pollen? Why does the bee visit the crocus +blossom? If she finds nectar there, where is it? + +7. Describe the stigma. Open a flower and see how long the style is? +How do the sepals and petals unite to protect the style? Where is the +seed-box? Is it so far down that it is below ground? How many seeds +are developed from a single blossom? + +8. How many colors do you find in the crocus flowers? Which are the +prettiest in the lawn? Which, in the flower beds? + +9. How do the crocus blossoms act in dark and stormy weather? When do +they open? How does this benefit them? + +10. How do the crocus bulbs multiply? Why do they lift themselves out +of the ground and thus need resetting? + +11. Describe how to raise crocuses best; the kind of soil, the time +of planting, and the best situations. + + * * * * * + + _Out of the frozen earth below, + Out of the melting of the snow, + No flower, but a film, I push to light; + No stem, no bud--yet I have burst + The bars of winter, I am the first + O Sun, to greet thee out of the night!_ + + _Deep in the warm sleep underground + Life is still, and the peace profound: + Yet a beam that pierced, and a thrill that smote + Call’d me and drew me from far away; + I rose, I came, to the open day + I have won, unshelter’d, alone, remote._ + --“THE CROCUS,” BY HARRIET E. H. KING. + + _When first the crocus thrusts its point of gold, + Up through the still snow-drifted garden-mould, + And folded green things in dim woods unclose + Their crinkled spears, a sudden tremor goes + Into my veins and makes me kith and kin + To every wild-born thing that thrills and blows._ + --“A TOUCH OF NATURE,” BY T. D. ALDRICH. + + + + + THE DAFFODILS AND THEIR RELATIVES + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Daffydown Dilly came up in the cold from the brown mold, + Although the March breezes blew keen in her face, + Although the white snow lay on many a place._” + + +Thus, it is that Miss Warner’s stanzas tell us the special reason we +so love the daffodils. They bring the sunshine color to the sodden +earth, when the sun is chary of his favors in our northern latitude; +and the sight of the daffodils floods the spirit with a sense of +sunlight. + +[Illustration: _Daffodil._] + +The daffodils and their relatives, the jonquils and narcissus, +are interesting when we stop to read their story in their form. +The six segments of the perianth, or, as we would say, the three +bright-colored sepals and the three inner petals of the flower, are +different in shape; but they all look like petals and stand out in +star-shape around the flaring end of the flower tube, which, because +of its shape, is called the corona, or crown; however, it looks more +like a stiff little petticoat extending out in the middle of the +flower than it does like a crown. The crown is simply the widened +end of the tube of the flower, as maybe seen by opening a flower +lengthwise; the six seeming petals will peel off the tube, showing +that they are fastened to the outside of it. When we look down into +the crown of one of these flowers, we see the long style with its +three-lobed stigma pushing out beyond the anthers, which are pressed +close about it at the throat of the tube; between each two anthers +may be seen a little deep passage, through which the tongues of the +moth or butterfly can be thrust to reach the nectar. In a tube, slit +open, we can see the nectar at the very bottom of it, and it is sweet +to the taste and has a decided flavor. In this open tube we may see +that the filaments of the stamens are grown fast to the sides of +the tube for much of their length, enough remaining free to press +the anthers close to the style. The ovary of the pistil is a green +swelling at the base of the tube; by cutting it across we can see +it is triangular in outline, and has a little cavity in each angle +large enough to hold two rows of the little, white, shining, unripe +seeds. Each of these cavities is partitioned from the others by a +green wall; the partition is marked by a suture on the outside of the +seed-pod. + +[Illustration: _Daffodil showing detail of flower._ + + a, corona or crown; b, sepals and petals forming perianth; c, + corolla tube; d, ovary or seed-case; e, sheath or spathe. +] + +When the flower stalk first appears, it comes up like a sheathed +sword, pointing toward the zenith, green, veined lengthwise, and +with a noticeable thickening at each edge. As the petals grow, the +sheath begins to round out; and then as if to confuse those people +who are so stupid as to believe that plants do not really do things, +the stiff stem at the base of the sheath bends at right angles. This +brings a strain upon the sheath which bursts it, usually along the +upper side, although sometimes it tears it off completely at the +base. The slitted sheath, or spathe, hangs around the stem, wrinkled +and parchment-like, very like the loose wrist of a suede glove. The +stalk is a strong green tube; the leaves are fleshy and are grooved +on the inner side, the groove being deep enough to clasp part way +around the flower stem. The number of leaves varies with the variety, +and they are usually as tall as the flower stalk. There is one +flower on a stalk in the daffodils and the poet’s narcissus, but the +jonquils and paper-white narcissus have two or more flowers on the +same stalk. + +A bed should be prepared by digging deep and fertilizing with stable +manure. The bulbs should be planted in September or early October, +and should be from four to six inches apart, the upper end of the +bulbs at least four inches below the surface of the soil. They should +not be disturbed but allowed to occupy the bed for a number of years, +or as long as they give plenty of flowers. As soon as the surface of +the ground is frozen in the winter, the beds should be covered from +four to six inches in depth with straw-mixed stable manure, which can +be raked off very early in the spring. + +The new bulbs are formed at the sides of the old one; for this +reason the daffodils will remain permanently planted, and do not +lift themselves out of the ground like the crocuses. The leaves of +the plant should be allowed to stand as long as they will after +the flowers have disappeared, so that they may furnish the bulbs +with plenty of food for storing. The seeds should not be allowed +to ripen, as it costs the plant too much energy and thus robs the +bulbs. The flowers should be cut just as they are opening. Of the +white varieties, the poet’s narcissus is the most satisfactory, as it +is very hardy and very pretty, its corona being a shallow, flaring, +greenish yellow rosette with orange-red border, the anthers of its +three longest stamens making a pretty center. No wonder Narcissus +bent over the pool in joy at viewing himself, if he was as beautiful +a man as the poet’s narcissus is as a flower. + + + LESSON CLI + + DAFFODILS, JONQUILS AND NARCISSUS + +[Illustration: _Paper-white narcissus._] + +_Leading thought_--The daffodil, jonquil and narcissus are very +closely related, and quite similar. They all come from bulbs which +should be planted in September; but after the first planting, they +will flower on year after year, bringing much brightness to the +gardens in the early spring. + +_Method_--The flowers brought to school may be studied for form, +and there should be a special study of the way the flower develops +its seed, and how it is propagated by bulbs. The work should lead +directly to an interest in the cultivation of the plants. In +seedsmen’s catalogues or other books, the children will find methods +of planting and cultivating these flowers in cities. Daffodils are +especially adapted for both window gardens and school gardens. + +_Observations_--1. Note the shape of the flower. Has it any sepals? +What do we call the flowers that have their sepals colored like +petals, thus forming a part of the beauty of the flower? Can you see +any difference in color, position and texture between the petals and +sepals? + +2. How do the petal-like parts of these flowers look? How many of +them are there? Do they make the most showy part of the flower? + +3. What does the central part of the flower look like? Why is it +called the corona, or crown? Is it a part of the tube which joins the +flower to the stem? Do the petals and sepals peel off this tube? Peel +them off one flower, and see that the tube is shaped like a trumpet. + +4. Look down into the crown of the flower and tell what you see. Can +you see where the insect’s tongue must go to reach the nectar? + +5. Cut open a trumpet lengthwise to find where the nectar is. How far +is it from the mouth of the tube? How long would the insect’s tongue +have to be to reach it? What insects have tongues as long as this? + +6. In order to reach the nectar how would an insect become dusted +with pollen? Are the stamens loose in the flower-tube? Is the pistil +longer than the stamens? How many parts to the stigma? Can you see +how the flowers are arranged so that insects can carry pollen from +flower to flower? + +7. What is the green swelling in the stem at the base of the trumpet? +Is it connected with the style? Cut it across and describe what you +see. How do the young seeds look and how are they arranged? + +8. Where the flower stem joins the stalk, what do you see? What is +this dry spathe there for? Are there one or more flower stems coming +from this spathe? + +9. Describe the flower stalk? Are the leaves wide or narrow? Are they +as long as the flower stalk, are they flat, or are they grooved to +fit around the flower stalk? + +10. What are the differences between daffodils, jonquils and poet’s +narcissus? When should the bulbs for these flowers be planted? Will +there be more bulbs formed around the one you plant? Will the same +bulb ever send up flowers and leaves again? How do the bulbs divide +to make new bulbs? + +11. How should the bed for the bulbs be prepared? How near together +should the bulbs be planted? How deep in the earth? How protect them +in the North during the winter? + +12. Why should you not cut the leaves off after the flowers have +died? Why should you not let the seeds ripen? When should the flowers +be cut for bouquets? Who was Narcissus, and why should these early +spring flowers be named after him? + +_Supplementary reading_--Green Things Growing, Mulock; The Daffodils, +Wordsworth; The Story of Narcissus, Child’s Study of the Classics; +Mary’s Garden, Duncan, Chapters XXVI and XXVII. + + * * * * * + + “_I emphatically deny the common notion that the farm boy’s + life is drudgery. Much of the work is laborious, and this it + shares with all work that is productive; for the easier the + job the less it is worth doing. But every piece of farm work + is also an attempt to solve a problem, and therefore it should + have its intellectual interest; and the problems are as many + as the hours of the day and as varied as the face of nature. + It needs but the informing of the mind and the quickening of + the imagination to raise any constructive work above the level + of drudgery. It is not mere dull work to follow the plow--I + have followed it day after day--if one is conscious of all + the myriad forces that are set at work by the breaking of the + furrow; and there is always the landscape, the free fields, + the clean soil, the rain, the promise of the crops. Of all + men’s labor, the farmer’s is the most creative. I cannot help + wondering why it is that men will eagerly seek work in the + grease and grime of a noisy factory, but will recoil at what + they call the dirty work of the farm. So much are we yet bound + by tradition!_” + --L. H. BAILEY. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + + THE TULIP + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +We might expect that the Lady Tulip would be a stately flower, if we +should consider her history. She made her way into Europe from the +Orient during the sixteenth century, bringing with her the honor of +being the chosen flower of Persia, where her colors and form were +reproduced in priceless webs from looms of the most skilled weavers. +No sooner was she seen than worshipped, and shortly all Europe was at +her feet. + +A hundred years later, the Netherlands was possessed with the tulip +mania. Growers of bulbs, and brokers who bought and sold them, +indulged in wild speculation. Rare varieties of the bulbs became more +costly than jewels, one of the famous black tulips being sold for +about $1800. Since then, the growing of tulips has been one of the +noted industries of the Netherlands, and now the bulbs on our market +are imported from Holland. + +There are a great many varieties of tulips, and their brilliant +colors make our gardens gorgeous in early spring. Although this +flower is so prim, yet it bears well close observation. The three +petals, or inner segments of the perianth, are more exquisite in +texture and in satiny gloss on their inner surface than are the three +outer segments or sepals; each petal is like grosgrain silk, the fine +ridges uniting at the central thicker portion. In the red varieties, +there is a six pointed star at the heart of the flower, usually +yellow or yellow-margined, each point of the star being at the middle +of a petal or sepal; the three points on the petals are longer than +those on the sepals. + +When the flower’s bud first appears, it is nestled down in the +center of the plant, scarcely above the ground. It is protected by +three green sepals. As it stretches up, the bud becomes larger and +the green of the sepals takes on the color of the tulip flower, +until when it opens there is little on the outside of the sepals to +indicate that they once were green. But they still show that they are +sepals, for they surround the petals, each standing out and making +the flower triangular in shape as we look into it. During storms and +dark days, the sepals again partially close about the flower. + +The seed-vessel stands up, a stout, three-sided, pale green column +at the center of the flower, in some varieties, its three-lobed +yellowish stigma making a Doric capital; in others, the divisions +are so curled as to make the capital almost Ionian. The six stout, +paddle-shaped stamens have their bases expanded so as to encircle +completely the base of the pistil column; these wide filaments are +narrower just below the point where the large anthers join. The +anther opens along each side to discharge the pollen; however, the +anthers flare out around the seed vessel and do not reach half way to +the stigma, which is probably the tulips’ way of inducing the insects +to carry their pollen, since the bees cannot reach the nectar at the +base of the pistil without dusting themselves with pollen. + +The flower stem is stout, pale green, covered with a whitish bloom. +The leaves are long, trough-shaped and narrow with parallel veins; +the bases of the lower ones encircle the flower stem and have their +edges more or less ruffled and their tips recurved; the upper leaves +do not completely encircle the flower stem at their bases. The +texture of the leaves is somewhat softer on the inside than on the +outside, and both sides are grayish green. + +After the petals and stamens are dropped the seed-vessel looks like +an ornamental tip to the flower stem; it is three-sided, and has +within double rows of seeds along each angle. The seeds should not be +allowed to ripen as they thus take too much strength from the bulbs. + +[Illustration: _Tulip seed-capsule._ + +1, Tulip seed-capsule; 2, the same opened; 3, cross section of same.] + +The bulb is formed of several coats, or layers, each of which extends +upwards and may grow into a leaf; this shows that the bulb is made +up of leaves which are thickened with the food which is stored up in +them during one season, so as to start the plant growing early the +next spring. In the heart of each bulb is a flower bud, sheltered and +cuddled by the fleshy leaf-layers around it, which protect it during +the winter and furnish it food in the spring. This structure of the +bulb explains why the leaves clasp the flower stem at their bases. +The true roots are below the bulb, making a thick tassel of white +rootlets, which reach deep into the soil for food and water. + +Tulips are very accommodating; they will grow in almost any soil +if it is well drained, so that excessive moisture may not rot the +bulbs. In preparing a bed, it should be rounded up so as to shed +water; it should also be worked deep and made rich. If the soil is +stiff and clayey, set bulbs only three inches deep, with a handful +of sand beneath each. If the soil is mellow loam, set the bulbs four +inches deep and from four to six inches apart each way, depending on +the size of the bulbs. They should be near enough so that when they +blossom the bed will be covered and show no gaps. Take care that the +pointed tip of the bulb is upward and that it does not fall to one +side as it is covered. October is the usual time for planting as the +beds are often used for other flowers during the summer. However, +September is not too early for the planting, as the more root growth +made before the ground freezes, the better; moreover, the early +buyers have best choice of bulbs. The beds should be protected by a +mulch of straw or leaves during the winter, which should be raked off +as soon as the ground is thawed in the spring. The blossoms should be +cut as soon as they wither, in order that the new bulbs which form +within and at the sides of the parent bulb may have all of the plant +food, which would otherwise go to form seed. Tulips may be grown from +seed, but it takes from five to seven years to obtain blossoms, which +may be quite unlike the parent and worthless. The bulblets grow to a +size for blooming in two or three years; the large one which forms in +the center of the plant will bloom the next season. + +[Illustration: _Tulips_ + +Courtesy Doubleday, Page & Co.] + + + LESSON CLII + + THE TULIPS + +_Leading thought_--The tulips blossom early, because they have food +stored in the bulbs the year before, ready to use early in the +spring. There are many varieties; each is worth studying carefully, +and we should all know how to grow these beautiful flowers. + +_Methods_--These observations may be made upon tulips in school +gardens or bouquets. The best methods of cultivating should be a +part of the garden training. For this, consult the seed catalogues; +also let the pupils form some idea of the number of varieties from +the seed catalogues. Water-color drawings should be a large factor +in studying the tulip. The red varieties are best for beginning the +study, and then follow with the other colors; note differences. + +_Observations_--1. What is the color of your tulip? Is it all the +same color? Is the bottom of the flower different in color? What is +the pretty shape of these different colors at the heart of the flower? + +2. Look at a tulip just opening. What causes it to appear so +triangular? Can you see that the three sepals are placed outside +the petals? Is there any difference in color between the sepals and +petals on the inside? On the outside? Are the sepals and petals +the same in length and shape? Do you know the name given to this +arrangement when sepals and petals look alike in color? Are the three +petals more satiny on the inside than the sepals? Is the center part +of the petal as soft as the edges? + +3. When the tulip flower bud first begins to show, where is it? What +color are the sepals which cover it? Describe the opening of the +flower? Do the green sepals fall off? What becomes of them? + +4. In the open flower, where is the seed-pod, and how does it look? +How do the anthers surround the seed-pod, or ovary? Describe the +anthers, or pollen-boxes? What color are they? What color is the +pollen? Do the anthers reach up to the stigma, or tip of seed-pod? +Where is the nectar in tulips? How do the insects become covered with +the pollen in reaching it? Do the flowers remain open during dark and +stormy days? Why? + +5. Describe the tulip stem and the leaves. Do the leaves completely +encircle the flower stem at the base? Are their edges ruffled? In the +sprouting plant, do these outer basal leaves enfold the leaves which +grow higher on the stem? Are the leaves the same color above and +below? What shade of green are they? + +6. After the petals have dropped, study the seed-pod. Cut it +crosswise and note how many angles it has. How are these angles +filled? Should tulips be allowed to ripen seeds? Why not? + +7. Study a bulb of a tulip. There are outer and inner layers and a +heart. What part of the plant do the outer layers make? What part +does the center make? Where are the true roots of the tulip? + +8. When should tulip bulbs be planted? How should you prepare the +soil? How protect the bed during the winter? How long would it take +to grow the flowers from the seed? Where are most of our bulbs grown? +Do you know about the history of tulips? + +_Supplementary reading_--Bulbs and Bulb-Culture, Peter Henderson; +Plants and their Children, Dana, p. 216; Mary’s Garden and How It +Grew, Duncan, Ch. XXVI; Bulbs and How to Grow Them, Doubleday-Page Co. + + + + +[Illustration: _Pansies._ + +Drawn by Anna C. Stryke.] + + + THE PANSY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: S] + +Some people are pansy-faced and some pansies are human-faced, and +for some occult reason this puts people and pansies on a distinctly +chummy basis. When we analyze the pansy face, we find that the dark +spots at the bases of the side petals make the eyes, the lines +radiating from them looking quite eyelashy. The opening to the +nectar-tube makes the nose, while the spot near the base of the lower +petal has to do for a mouth, the nectar guiding-lines being not +unlike whiskers. Meanwhile, the two upper petals give a “high-browed” +look to the pansy countenance, and make it a wise and knowing little +face. + +The pansy nectar is hidden in the spur made by the lower petal +extending behind the flower. The guiding lines on the lower and side +petals all converge, pointing directly to the opening which leads +to this nectar-well, telling the secret to every bee that flies. +Moreover, the broad lower petal is a platform for the lady bee to +alight upon, while she probes the nectar-well with her tongue. + +[Illustration: _The little pansy-man._] + +But at the door leading to the nectar-well sits a little man; his +head is green, he wears a white cape with a scalloped, reddish brown +collar, and he sits with his bandy legs pushed back into the spur as +if he were taking a foot bath in nectar. This little pansy man has +plenty of work to do; for his mouth, which is large and at the top of +his green head, is the stigma. The cape is made of five overlapping +stamens, the brown, scalloped collar being the anthers; his legs +consist of prolongations of the two lower stamens. And when the bee +probes the nectar-well with her tongue, she tickles the little man’s +feet so that his head and shoulders wriggle; and thus she brushes the +pollen dust from his collar against her fuzzy face, and at the same +time his mouth receives the pollen from her dusty coat. + +As the pansy matures, the little man grows still more manlike; after +a time he sheds his anther cape, and we can see that his body is the +ribbed seed-pod. He did not eat pollen for nothing, for he is full of +growing seeds. Sometimes the plush brushes, which are above his head +in the pansy flower, become filled with pollen, and perhaps he gets +a mouthful of it, although these brushes are supposed to keep out +intruders. + +The pansy sepals, five in number, are fastened at about one-third of +their length, their heart-shaped bases making a little green ruffle +around the stem where it joins the flower. There is one sepal above +and two at each side, but none below the nectar-spur. The flower +stem is quite short and always bends politely so the pansy can +look sidewise at us instead of staring straight upward. The plant +stem is angled and crooked and stout. In form, the leaves are most +capricious; some are long and pointed, others wide and rounded. The +edges are slightly scalloped and the leaf may have at its base a pair +of large, deeply lobed stipules. In a whole pansy bed it would be +quite impossible to find two leaves just alike. + +The pansy ripens many seeds. The ribbed seed-capsule, with its base +set comfortably in the faithful sepals, finally opens in three valves +and the many seeds are scattered. To send them as far afield as +possible, the edges of each valve of the pod curl inward, and snap +the seeds out as boys snap apple seeds from the thumb and finger. + +Pansies like deep, rich and cool, moist soil. They are best suited +to a northern climate, and prefer the shady side of a garden to the +full sunshine. The choice varieties are perpetuated through cuttings. +They may be stuck in the open ground in summer in a half-shady place +and should be well-watered in dry weather. All sorts of pansies +are readily raised from seed sown in spring or early summer, and +seedlings, when well established, do not suffer, as a rule, from +winter frosts. + +The general sowing for the production of early spring bloom is made +out of doors in August, while seeds sown indoors from February to +June will produce plants to flower intermittently during the late +summer and fall months. When sowing pansy seed in August, sow the +seed broadcast in a seed-bed out of doors, cover very lightly with +fine soil or well-rotted manure, and press the seed in with a small +board; then mulch the seed-bed with long, strawy horse manure, from +which the small particles have been shaken off, to the thickness of +one inch, so as to have the soil well and evenly covered. At the end +of two weeks the plants will be up. Then remove the straw gradually, +a little at a time, selecting a dull day if possible. Keep the bed +moist. + +If the pansies are allowed to ripen seeds the season of bloom will +be short, for when its seeds are scattered the object of the plant’s +life is accomplished. Besides, the plant has not vitality enough to +perfect seeds and continue its bloom, and flowers borne with the +forming seeds are smaller than the earlier ones. But if the flowers +are kept plucked as they open, the plants persistently put forth new +buds. The plucked flowers will remain in good condition longer if +picked in the early morning before the bees begin paying calls, for a +fertilized flower fades more quickly than one which has received no +pollen. + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. ] + + + LESSON CLIII + + THE PANSY + +_Leading thought_--The pansy is a member of the violet family. The +flower often resembles a face; the colors, markings and fragrance all +attract the bees, who visit it for the nectar hidden in the spur of +the lower petal. + +_Method_--The children naturally love pansies because of the +resemblance of these flowers to quaint little faces. They become +still more interested after they see the little man with the green +head, which appears in the flower as it fades. A more practical +interest may be cultivated by studying the great numbers of varieties +in the seed catalogs and learning their names. This is one of the +studies which leads directly to gardening. There are many beautiful +pansy poems which should be read in connection with the lesson. + +_Observations_--1. How does the pansy flower resemble a face? Where +are the eyes? The nose? The mouth? How many petals make the pansy +forehead? The cheeks? The chin? + +2. Where is the nectar in the pansy? Which petal forms the +nectar-tube? + +3. Describe how a bee gets the nectar. Where does she stand while +probing with her tongue? + +4. Where is the pollen in the pansy? What is the peculiar shape of +the anthers? How do the two lower stamens differ in form from the +three upper ones? + +5. Where is the stigma? Does the bee’s tongue go over it or under it +to reach the nectar? Describe the pansy arrangement for dusting the +bee with pollen and for getting pollen from her tongue. + +6. Observe the soft little brushes at the base of the two side +petals. What do you think they are for? + +7. Take a fading flower; remove the petals, and see the little man +sitting with his crooked legs in the nectar-tube. What part of the +flower makes the man’s head? What parts form his cape? Of what is his +pointed, scalloped collar formed? + +8. How many sepals has the pansy? Describe them. How are they +attached? When the flower fades and the petals fall, do the sepals +also fall? + +9. Where in the flower is the young seed-pod? Describe how this looks +after the petals have fallen. + +10. Describe how the seed-pod opens. How many seeds are there in it? +How are they scattered? + +11. Study the pansy stem. Is it solid? Is it smooth or rough? Is it +curved? Does it stand up straight or partially recline on the ground? + +12. Take a pansy leaf and sketch it with the stipules at its base. +Can you find two pansy leaves exactly alike in shape, color and size? + +13. At what time should the pansy seed be planted? How should the +soil be prepared? + +_Supplementary reading_--“April Fools” (p. 50), “Pansy Song” (p. +125), Nature in Verse, compiled by Mary J. Lovejoy; “Garden Folk” +(p. 179), “Pansies” pp. 183–184, Among Flowers and Trees with the +Poets, Wait & Leonard; “A Yellow Pansy” (p. 124), Nature Pictures by +American Poets compiled by Annie Russell Marble. + + * * * * * + + _I dropped a seed into the earth. It grew, and the plant was + mine._ + + _It was a wonderful thing, this plant of mine. I did not know + its name, and the plant did not bloom. All I know is that I + planted something apparently as lifeless as a grain of sand + and there came forth a green and living thing unlike the seed, + unlike the soil in which it stood, unlike the air into which + it grew. No one could tell me why it grew, nor how. It had + secrets all its own, secrets that baffle the wisest men; yet + this plant was my friend. It faded when I withheld the light, + it wilted when I neglected to give it water, it flourished + when I supplied its simple needs. One week I went away on a + vacation, and when I returned the plant was dead; and I missed + it._ + + _Although my little plant had died so soon, it had taught me + a lesson; and the lesson is that it is worth while to have a + plant._--THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA, L. H. BAILEY. + + + + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. + + “_The summer’s flower is to the summer sweet, + Though to itself it only live and die._” + --Shakespeare. +] + + + THE BLEEDING HEART + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +For the intricate structure of this type of flower, the bleeding +heart is much more easily studied than its smaller wild sisters, the +Dutchman’s breeches or squirrel corn; therefore it is well to study +these flowers when we find them in profusion in our gardens, and the +next spring we may study the wildwood species more understandingly. + +[Illustration: + + _1, Flower of bleeding heart with swing-door ajar._ _2, + Side-view of flower showing the broad tips of the inner + petals._ _3, Flower with outer petals removed showing inner + petals--and the heart-shaped bases of the stamens._ +] + +The flowers of the bleeding heart are beautiful jewel-like pendants +arranged along the stem according to their age; the mature flower, +ready to shed its petals, is near the main stem, while the tiny +unopened bud is hung at the very tip, where new buds are constantly +being formed during a long season of bloom. This flower has a strange +modification of its petals; the two pink outer ones, which make the +heart, are really little pitchers with nectar at their bottoms, and +although they hang mouth downwards the nectar does not flow out. When +these outer petals are removed, we can see the inner pair placed +opposite to them, the two of them close together and facing each +other like two grooved ladles. Just at the mouth of the pitchers +these inner petals are almost divided crosswise; and the parts that +extend beyond are spoon-shaped, like the bowls of two spoons which +have been pinched out so as to make a wide, flat ridge along their +centers. These spoon-bowls unite at the tip, and between them they +clasp the anthers and stigma. Special attention should be given to +the division between the two portions of these inner petals; for +it is a hinge, the workings of which are of much importance to the +flower. On removing the outer petals, we find a strange framework +around which the heart-shaped part of the flower seems to be modeled. +These are filaments of the stamens grouped in threes on each side; +the two outer ones of each group are widened into frills on the outer +edge, while the central one is stiffer and narrower. At the mouth of +the pitchers all these filaments unite in a tube around the style; +near the stigma they split apart into six short, white, threadlike +filaments, each bearing a small, brilliant yellow anther. So close +together are these anthers that they are completely covered by the +spoon-bowls made by the inner petals, the pollen mass being flat +and disklike. During the period when the pollen is produced, the +stigma is flat and immature; but after the pollen is shed, it becomes +rounded into lobes ready to receive pollen from other flowers. + +Although the description of the plant of this flower is most complex +and elaborate, the workings of the flower are most simple. As the +nectar-pitchers hang mouth down, the bee must cling to the flower +while probing upward. In doing this she invariably pushes against the +outside of the spoon-bowls, and the hinge at their base allows her to +push them back while the mass of pollen is thrust against her body; +as this hinge works both ways, she receives the pollen first on one +side and then on the other, as she probes the nectar-pitchers. And +perhaps the next flower she visits may have shed its pollen, and the +swing door will uncover the ripe stigma ready to receive the pollen +she brings. + +The sepals are two little scales opposite the bases of the outer +petals. Before the flower opens, the “spouts of the nectar-pitchers” +are clamped up on either side of the spoon-bowls, as if to keep +everything safe until the right moment comes; at first they simply +spread apart, but later curve backward. The seed-pod is long and +narrow, and in cross-section is seen to contain two compartments with +seeds growing on every side of the partition. + +The bleeding heart is a native of China, and was introduced into +Europe about the middle of the last century. + +_Reference_--Our Garden Flowers, Keeler. + + + LESSON CLIV + + THE BLEEDING HEART + +_Leading thought_--The bleeding heart flower has its pollen and +stigma covered by a double swing door, which the bees push back and +forth when they gather the nectar. + +_Method_--Bring a bouquet of the bleeding heart to the schoolroom, +and let each pupil have a stem with its flowers in all stages. From +this study, encourage them to watch these flowers when the insects +are visiting them. + +_Observations_--1. How are these flowers supported? Do they open +upward or downward? Can you see the tiny sepals? + +2. How many petals can you see in this flower? What is the shape of +the two outer petals? How do they open? Where is the nectar developed +in these petals? + +3. Take off the two outer petals and study the two inner ones. What +is their shape near the base? How are their parts shaped which +project beyond the outer petals? What does the spoon-end of these +petals cover? Can you find the hinge in these petals? + +4. Where are the stamens? How many are there? Describe the shape of +the stamens near the base. How are they united at the tip? + +5. Where is the stigma? The style? The ovary? + +6. Supposing a bee is after the nectar, where must she rest while +probing for it? Can she get the nectar without pushing against the +flat projecting portion of the inner petals? When she pushes these +spoon-bowls back, what happens? Does she get dusted with pollen? +After she leaves, does the door swing back? Suppose she visits +another flower which has shed its pollen, will she carry pollen to +its stigma? Does she have to work the hinged door to do this? + + + + + THE POPPIES + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: P + +_Poppies._ + +Drawn by Anna C. Stryke.] + +Perhaps we might expect that a plant which gives strange dreams +to those who eat of its juices should not be what it seems in +appearance. I know of nothing so deceptive as the appearance of the +poppy buds, which, rough and hairy, droop so naturally that it seems +as if their weight must compel the stem to bend; and yet, if we test +it, we find the stem is as stiff as if made of steel wire. Moreover, +the flower and the ripened seed-capsule must be far heavier than +the bud; and yet, as soon as the flower is ready to open, the stem +straightens up, although it does not always remove the traces of the +crook; and after the capsule is full of ripened seed, the stem holds +it up particularly stiff, as if inviting the wind to shake out the +seeds. + +The rough covering of the bud consists of two sepals, as can be +easily seen; but if we wish to see the poppy shed its sepals, we +must get up in the morning, for the deed is usually done as soon as +the first rays of the early sun bring their message of a fair day. +The sepals break off at their base and fall to the ground. The two +opposite outer petals unfold, leaving the two inner petals standing +erect and on guard about the precious pollen, until the sunshine +folds them back. An open poppy, when looked at below, shows two +petals, each semicircular, and overlapping each other slightly; +looked at from above, we see two petals, also half circles, set at +right angles to the lower two, and divided from each other by the +pistil. + +The pistil of the poppy is, from the beginning, a fascinating box. +At first, it is a vase with a round, circular cover, upon which are +ridges, placed like the spokes of a wheel. If these ridges are looked +at with a lens, particles of pollen may be seen adhering to them; +this fact reveals the secret that each ridge is a stigma, and all of +these radiating stigmas are joined so as better to catch the pollen. +In a circle of fringe about the pistil are the stamens. In the study +of the stamens, we should note whether their filaments expand or +dilate near the anthers, and we should also note the color of the +masses of pollen which crowd out from the anthers. + +[Illustration: _The poppy seed-shaker._ + +Drawn by Anna C. Stryke.] + +Despite the many varieties of poppies, there are only four species +commonly cultivated. The opium poppy has upon its foliage a white +bloom, the filaments of its stamens are dilated at the top, and +its seed-capsule is smooth. The oriental poppy has all of these +characters, except that its foliage is green and not covered with +bloom. Its blossom is scarlet and very large and has a purple center +in the petals and purple stamens; it has three sepals. Its flower +stalks are stout and leafy. The corn poppy, which grows in the fields +of Europe, is a weed we gladly cultivate. This, naturally, has red +petals and is dark at the center of the flower; but it has been +changed by breeding until now we have many varieties. Its foliage +is finely cut and very bristly or hairy. Its seed-capsule is not +bristly. To see this poppy at its best, we should visit northern +Italy or southern France in late May, where it makes the grain fields +gorgeous. This is the original parent of all the Shirley poppies. The +Arctic, or Iceland poppy, has flowers of satiny texture and finely +crumpled; its colors are yellow, orange or white, but never scarlet +like the corn poppy; it has no leaves on its flower stem, and its +seed-capsule is hairy. Of these four species, the opium poppy and the +corn poppy are annuals, while the Arctic and the Oriental species are +perennials. + +The bees are over-fond of the poppy pollen and it is a delight to +watch the fervor with which they simply wallow in it, brushing off +all of the grains possible onto their hairy bodies. I have often seen +a honey-bee seize a bunch of the anthers and rub them against the +under side of her body, meanwhile standing on her head in an attitude +of delirious joy. As showing the honey-bee’s eye for color, I have +several times seen a bee drop to the ground to examine a red petal +which had fallen. This was plain evidence that she trusted to the +color to guide her to the pollen. + +But perhaps it is the development of the poppy seed-capsule which +we find the most interesting of the poppy performances. After +fertilization, the stigma-disk develops a scalloped edge, a stigma +rounding out the point of each scallop; and a sharp ridge, which +continues the length of the globular capsule, runs from the center +of each scallop. If examined on the inside, it will be seen that +the ridge on the capsule is the edge of a partition which extends +only part way toward the center of the capsule. On these partitions, +the little seeds are grown in great profusion, and when they ripen, +they fall together in the hollow center of the seed-box. But how +are they to get out? This is a point of interest for the children +to observe, and they should watch the whole process. Just beneath +the stigma-disk, and between each two of the sharp ridges, the point +loosens; later, it turns outward and back, leaving a hole which leads +directly into the central hollow portion of the capsule. The way +these points open is as pretty a story as I know in flower history. +This beautiful globular capsule, with its graceful pedestal where it +joins the stem, is a seed-shaker instead of a salt or pepper-shaker. +Passing people and animals push against it and the stiff stem bends +and then springs back, sending a little shower of seeds this way +and that; or a wind sways the stalk, and the seeds are sown, a few +at a time, and in different conditions of season and weather. Thus, +although the poppy puts all her eggs in one basket, she sends them to +market a few at a time. The poppy seed is a pretty object, as seen +through the lens. It is shaped like a round bean, and is covered with +a honeycomb network. + + + LESSON CLV + + THE POPPY + +_Leading thought_--The poppies shed their sepals when the flowers +expand; they offer quantities of pollen to the bees, which are very +fond of it. The seed-capsule develops holes around the top, through +which the seeds are shaken, a few at a time. + +_Method_--It is best to study these flowers in the garden, but the +lesson may be given if some of the plants with the buds are brought +to the schoolroom, care being taken that they do not droop. If the +teacher thinks wise, the pupils might prepare an English theme on the +subject of the opium poppy and the terrible effects of opium upon the +eastern nations. + +_Observations_--1. Look at the bud of the poppy; how is it covered? +How many sepals? Can you see where they unite? Is the stem bent +because the bud is heavy? What happens to this crook in the stem when +the flower opens? Does the crook always straighten out completely? + +2. Describe how the poppy sheds its sepals. At what time of day do +the poppies usually open? + +3. Look at the back of, or beneath, an open flower. How many petals +do you see? How are they arranged? Look at the base of the flower. +How many petals do you see? How are they arranged in relation to the +lower petals and to the pistil? + +4. Look at the globular pistil. Describe the disk which covers it. +How many ridges on this disk? How are they arranged? Look at the +ridges with a lens and tell what they are. + +5. Look at the stamens. How are they arranged? Describe the +anthers--their color, and the color of the pollen. Watch the bees +working on the poppies, and note if they are after nectar or pollen. + +6. Find all the varieties of poppies possible, and note the colors +of the petals on the outside, the inside and at the base; of the +stamens, including filaments, anthers and pollen; of the pistil-disk +and ovary. Sketch the poppy opened, and also in the bud. Sketch a +petal, a stamen and the pistil, in separate studies. + +7. Study the poppy seed-box as it ripens. How does the stigma-disk +look? What is the shape of the capsule below the disk? Is it ridged? +What relation do its ridges bear to the stigma ridges on the disk? +Cut a capsule open, and note what these ridges on the outside have to +do with the partitions inside. Where are the seeds borne? + +8. Note the development of the holes beneath the edge of the disk of +the poppy capsule. How are they made? What are they for? How are the +seeds shaken from these holes? What shakes the poppy seed-box and +helps sow the seeds? Look at a seed through a lens, and describe its +form and decoration. + +9. Notice the form of the poppy leaf, and note whether it is hairy +or covered with bloom. What is there peculiar about the smell of the +poppy plant? Where do poppies grow wild? + +10. Is the slender stem smooth or grooved and hairy? Is it solid or +hollow? + +11. When a stem or leaf is pierced or broken off, what is the color +of the juice which exudes? Does this juice taste sweet or bitter and +unpleasant? Do you know what harmful drug is manufactured from the +juice of one species of poppy? What countries cultivate and use it +most extensively? + + + + + THE CALIFORNIA POPPY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +Although this brilliant flower blossoms cheerfully for us in our +Eastern gardens, we can never understand its beauty until we see +it glowing in masses on the California foothills. We can easily +understand why it was selected as the flower of that great State, +since it burnished with gold the hills, above the gold buried +below; and in that land that prides itself upon its sunshine, these +poppies seem to shine up as the sun shines down. The literature of +California, and it has a noble literature of its own, is rich in +tributes to this favored flower. There is a peculiar beauty in the +contrast between the shining flower and its pale blue-green, delicate +masses of foliage. Although it is called a poppy and belongs to the +poppy family, yet it is not a true poppy, but belongs to a genus +named after a German who visited California early in the nineteenth +century, accompanying a Russian scientific expedition; this German’s +name was Eschscholtz, and he, like all visitors, fell in love with +this brilliant flower, and in his honor it was named Eschscholtzia +(es-sholts-ia) californica. This is not nearly so pretty, nor so +descriptive, as the name given to this poppy by the Spanish settlers +on the Pacific Coast, for they called it _Copa-de-oro_, cups of gold. + +The bud of the Eschscholtzia is a pretty thing; it stands erect +on the slender, rather long stem, which flares near the bud to an +urnlike pedestal with a slightly ruffled rim, on which the bud is +set. This rim is often pink above, and remains as a pretty base for +the seed-pod. But in some garden varieties, the rim is lacking. The +bud itself is covered with a peaked cap, like a Brownie’s toboggan +cap stuffed full to the tip. It is the shape of an old-fashioned +candle extinguisher; it is pale green, somewhat ribbed, and has a +rosy tip; it consists of two sepals, which have been sewed together +by Mother Nature so skillfully that we cannot see the seams. One +of the most interesting performances to watch that I know, is the +way this poppy takes off its cap before it bows to the world. Like +magic the cap loosens around the base; it is then pushed off by the +swelling expanding petals until completely loosened, and finally it +drops. + +[Illustration: _California poppy._ + +Drawn by Anna C. Stryke.] + +The petals are folded under the cap in an interesting manner. The +outer petal enfolds all the others as closely as it can, and its mate +within it enfolds the other two, and the inner two enfold the stamens +with their precious gold dust. When only partially opened, the petals +cling protectingly about the many long stamens; but when completely +opened, the four petals flare wide, making a flower with a golden +rim and orange center, although among our cultivated varieties they +range from orange to an anaemic white. To one who loves them in their +glorious native hues, the white varieties seem almost repulsive. +Compare one of these small, pale flowers with the great, rich, orange +ones that glorify some favored regions in the Mojave Desert, and we +feel the enervating and decadent influence of civilization. + +The anthers are many and long, and are likely to have a black dot on +the short filament; at first, the anthers stand in a close cluster at +the center of the flower, but later they flare out in a many pointed +star. Often, when the flowers first open, especially the earlier +ones, the stigmas cannot be seen at all; but after a time the three, +or even six stigmas, spread wide athwart the flower and above the +stamen-star, where they may receive pollen from the visiting insects. +The anthers give abundance of pollen, but there is said to be no +nectary present. This flower is a good guardian of its pollen, for +it closes during the nights and also on dark and rainy days, only +exposing its riches when the sunshine insures insect visitors. It +closes its petals in the same order in which they were opened in our +Eastern gardens, although there are statements that in California, +each petal folds singly around its own quota of anthers. The insects +in California take advantage of the closing petals and often get a +night’s lodging within them, where they are cozily housed with plenty +of pollen for supper and breakfast; and they pay their bill in a +strange way by carrying off as much of the golden meal as adheres to +them, just as the man who weighs gold-dust gets his pay from what +adheres to the pan of his scales. + +After the petals fall, the little pod is very small, but its growth +is as astonishing as that of Jack’s beanstalk; it finally attains +a slim length of three inches, and often more. It is grooved, the +groove running straight from its rimmed base to its rosy tip; but +later a strange twisting takes place. If we open one of these +capsules, lengthwise, we must admire the orderly way in which the +little green seeds are fastened by delicate white threads, in two +crowded rows, the whole length of the pod. + +The leaf is delicately cut and makes the foliage a fine mass, but +each leaf is quite regular in its form. It has a long, flattened +petiole, which broadens and clasps the stem somewhat at its base. +Its blade has five main divisions, each of which is deeply cut +into fingerlike lobes. The color of this foliage and its form show +adaptations to desert conditions. + +This plant has a long, smooth tap root, especially adapted for +storing food and moisture needed during the long, dry California +summers; for it is perennial in its native state, although in the +wintry East, we plant it as an annual. + + + LESSON CLVI + + THE CALIFORNIA POPPY + +_Leading thought_--The California poppy is a native of California. It +blossoms during the months of February, March and April in greatest +abundance. It is found in the desert as well as among the foothills. + +_Method_--If possible, the students should study this in the garden. +In the East, it flowers until frost comes, and affords a delightful +subject for a September lesson. In California it should be studied in +the spring, when the hills are covered with them. But the plant may +be brought into the schoolroom, root and all, and placed in a jar, +under which conditions it will continue to blossom. + +_Observations_--1. Look at the California poppy as a whole and tell, +if you can, why it is so beautiful when in blossom. + +2. Look at the flower bud. What sort of a stem has it? What is the +shape of the stem just below the bud? What is the color of the little +rim on which the bud rests? What peculiarity has this bud? Describe +the little cap. + +3. Watch a flower unfold. What happens to the “toboggan cap?” How +does the bud look after the cap is gone? What is its appearance when +the petals first open? When they are completely open? + +4. Describe the anthers. How do they stand when the flower first +opens? How later? Can you see the stigmas at first? Describe them as +they look later. + +5. Does the poppy remain open at night? Does it remain open during +cloudy or rainy weather? Why? + +6. Do the petals have the same position that they did in the bud? As +the flower matures, note how each petal curls. Do they all fall at +once? Are there any anthers left after the petals fall? + +7. How does the little pod look when the petals first fall? What +happens to it later? Note the little rim at its base. Cut the +seed-pod open lengthwise, examine the seeds with a lens, and describe +how they are fastened to the sides of the pod. Are the ribs straight +from end to end in the pod at first? Do they remain in this position? +How does the pod open and scatter its seeds? + +8. Study the leaf of this California poppy. Describe how it joins the +stem. Sketch a leaf showing its chief divisions into leaflets and +how each leaflet is divided. Note that the juice of the stem has the +peculiar odor of muriatic acid. + +9. Look at the root. Do you think it is fitted to sustain the plant +through a long, dry summer? What kind of summers do they have in +California? Where does the poppy grow wild? + +10. Read all the accounts you can find of the California poppy, and +write a little theme describing why it was chosen as the flower of +that great State, and how it came by its name. + + * * * * * + + _In a low brown meadow on a day + Down by the autumn sea, + I saw a flash of sudden light + In a sweep of lonely gray; + As if a star in a clouded night + One moment had looked on me + And then withdrawn; as if the spring + Had sent an oriole back to sing + A silent song in color, where + Other silence was too hard to bear._ + + _I found it and left it in its place, + The sun-born flower in cloth of gold + That April owns, but cannot hold + From spending its glory and its grace + On months that always love it less, + But take its splendid alms in their distress. + Back I went through the gray and the brown, + Through the weed-woven trail to the distant town; + The flower went with me, fairly wrought + Into the finest fiber of my thought._ + --A CALIFORNIA POPPY IN NOVEMBER, IRENE HARDY. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE NASTURTIUM + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Little warriors, brave and fearless, with shields of + emerald green, + Are climbing over fence rails, and everywhere are seen + Looking down on every side, while her brave Nasturtium + army, + Queen Nature views with pride._” + --RAY LAURENCE. + + +It is quite fitting that the nasturtium leaves should be shaped like +shields, for that is one of their uses; they are shields to protect +the young nasturtium seeds from the hot sun and from the view of +devouring enemies. The nasturtiums are natives of Peru and Chili, +and it is fitting that the leaves should develop in shield-shape, +and the shields overlap until they form a tent to shade the tender +developing fruit from the burning sun. But they were never meant to +shield the flower, which thrusts its brilliant petals out between +the shields, and calls loudly to the world to admire it. It would +indeed be a pity for such a remarkable flower to remain hidden; +its five sepals are united at their base, and the posterior one is +extended into a long spur, a tube with a delectable nectar-well at +its tip. The five petals are set around the mouth of this tube, the +two upper ones differing in appearance and office from those below; +these two stand up like a pair of fans, and on them are lines which +converge; on the upper sepals are similar lines pointing toward the +same interesting spot. And what do all these lines lead to, except +a veritable treasure-cave filled with nectar! The lower petals tell +another story; they stand out, making a platform, or doorstep, on +which the visiting bee alights. But it requires a big insect to do +the work of this flower, and what if some inefficient little bee or +fly should alight on the petal-doorstep and steal into the cave +surreptitiously! This contingency is guarded against thus: Each of +these lower petals narrows to a mere insect footbridge at their inner +end; and in order to render this footbridge quite impassable, it is +beset with irregular little spikes and projecting fringes, sufficient +to perplex or discourage any small insect from crawling that way. + +But why all these guiding lines and guarded bridges? If you watch +the same blossom for several successive days, it will reveal this +secret. When a flower first opens, the stamens are all bent downward, +but when an anther is ready to open its pollen doors, the filament +lifts it up and places it like a sentinel blocking the doorway to the +nectar treasure. Then when the robber comes, whether it be butterfly, +bee or hummingbird, it gets a round of pollen ammunition for its +daring. Perhaps there may be two or three anthers standing guard +at the same time, but, as soon as their pollen is exhausted, they +shrivel and give room for fresh anthers. Meanwhile, the stigma has +its three lobes closed and lying idly behind and below the anthers; +after all the pollen is shed, the style raises and takes its position +at the cave entrance and opens up its stigmas, like a three-tined +fork, to rake the pollen from any visiting insect, thus robbing the +robber of precious gold-dust which shall fertilize the seeds in its +three-lobed ovary. Although the flower needs to flare its colors wide +to call the bees and hummingbirds, yet the growing seeds must be +protected; therefore, the stem which held the flower up straight, now +twists around in a spiral and draws the triplet seeds down behind the +green shields. + +[Illustration: + + 1. _Nasturtium flower in early stage of blossoming. Note the + anthers lifted in the path to the nectar which is indicated by + the arrow. The closed stigma is shown deflected at_ a. + + 2. _The same flower in later stage; the anthers are empty and + deflected. The stigma is raised_ (a) _in the nectar path_. +] + +Nasturtium leaves are very pretty, and are often used as subjects +for decorative water-color drawings. The almost circular leaf has +its stem attached below and a little at one side of the center; the +leaves are brilliant green above but quite pale beneath, and are +silvery when placed beneath the water. The succulent stems have a way +of twisting half around the wires of the trellis and thus holding the +plant secure to its support. But if there is no trellis, the main +stem seems to awaken to the responsibility and grows quite stocky, +often lifting the plant a foot or two in height, and from its summit +sending out a fountain of leaf and flower stems. + +The nasturtium is among the most interesting and beautiful of our +garden flowers, and will thrive in any warm, sunny, fairly moist +place. Its combinations of color are exceedingly rich and brilliant. +H. H. says of it: + + “_How carelessly it wears the velvet of the same + Unfathomed red, which ceased when Titian ceased + To paint it in the robes of doge and priest._” + + + LESSON CLVII + + THE NASTURTIUM + +_Leading thought_--The nasturtium has a special arrangement by which +it sends its own pollen to other flowers and receives pollen from +other flowers by insect messengers. + +_Method_--The nasturtiums and their foliage should be brought into +the schoolroom in sufficient quantity so that each child may have a +leaf and a flower for study. The object of the lesson is to interest +the pupils in studying, in their gardens, one flower from the bud +until the petals wither, taking note of what happens each day and +keeping a list of the insect visitors. + +_Observations_--1. Look at the back of the flower. What is there +peculiar about the sepals? How many sepals are there? How many join +to make the spur? What is in this spur? Taste of the tip. Find where +the nectar is. + +2. Look the flower in the face. How do the two upper petals differ in +shape from the three lower ones? What markings are there on the upper +petals? Where do these lines point? Are there any markings on the +sepals pointing in the same direction? If an insect visiting a flower +should follow these lines, where would it go? + +3. Describe the shape of the lower petals. Suppose a little ant were +on one of these petals and she tried to pass over to the nectar-tube +or spur, would the fringes hinder her? + +4. Look down the throat of the spur, and tell what a bee or other +insect would have to crawl over before it could get at the nectar. + +5. In your garden, or in the bouquet in the window if you cannot +visit a garden, select a nasturtium that is just opening and watch it +every day, making the following notes: When the blossom first opens +where are the eight stamens? Are the unripe, closed anthers lifted so +as to be in the path of the bee which is gathering nectar? How do the +anthers open? How is the pollen held up in the path to the nectar? +Can you see the stigma of this flower? Where is it? _Note the same +flower on successive days_: How many anthers are open and shedding +pollen to-day? Are they all in the same position as yesterday? What +happens to the anthers which have shed their pollen? + +6. When the stigma rises in the nectar path, how does it look? +Where are all the anthers when the stigma raises its three tines to +rake the pollen off the visiting insect? Do you know why it is an +advantage to the nasturtium to develop its seed by the aid of the +pollen from another plant? + +7. Can you see the beginning of the seed-case when the stigma arises +to receive the pollen? + +8. The flowers project beyond the leaves. Do the ripening seed-cases +do this? What happens to their stems to withdraw them behind the leaf? + +9. Sketch a nasturtium leaf, and explain why it is like a shield. How +does the leaf look when under water? + +10. What sort of stem has the nasturtium? How does it manage to climb +the trellis? If it has no trellis to climb, does it lie flat upon the +ground? + + + + + THE BEE-LARKSPUR + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _The bee-larkspur._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +This common flower of our gardens, sending up from a mass of dark, +deeply-cut leaves tall racemes of purple or blue flowers, has a very +interesting story to tell those who watch it day by day and get +acquainted with it and its insects guests. The brilliant color of the +flowers is due to the sepals, which are purple or blue, in varying +shades; but as if to show that they are sepals instead of petals, +each has on the back side near its tip, a green thickened spot. If +we glance up the flower stalk, we can see that, in the upper buds, +the sepals are green, but in the lower buds they begin to show the +blue color; and in a bud just ready to open, we can see that the blue +sepals are each tipped with a green knob, and this remains green +after the sepals expand. The upper and rearmost sepal is prolonged +into a spur, which forms the outside covering of the nectar-spur; it +is greenish and wrinkled like a long-wristed, suede glove; two sepals +spread wide at the sides and two more below. All this expanse of blue +sepals is simply for a background for the petals, which, by their +contrasting color, show the bees where to probe for nectar. Such +inconsequential petals as they are! Two of them “hold hands” to make +an arch over the entrance to the nectar tube; and just below these on +each side are two more tiny, fuzzy, spreading petals, often notched +at the tip and always hinged in a peculiar way about the upper petal; +they stand guard at the door to the nectar storehouse. If we peel off +the wrinkled sepal-covering of the spur, we can see the upper petals +extending back into it, making a somewhat double-barreled nectary. + +If we look into a larkspur flower just opened, we see below the +petals a bunch of green anthers, hanging by white threadlike +filaments to the center of the flower and looking like a bunch of +lilliputian bananas. Behind these anthers is an undeveloped stigma, +not visible as yet. After the flower has been open for a short time, +three or four of the anthers rise up and stand within the lower +petals; while in this position, their white pollen bursts from them, +and no bee may then thrust her tongue into the nectar-spur without +being powdered with pollen. As soon as the anthers have discharged +their pollen, they shrivel and their places are taken by fresh ones. +It may require two or three days for all the anthers to lift up and +get rid of their pollen. After this has been accomplished, the three +white, closely adhering pistils lift up their three stigmas in the +self-same path to the nectar; and now they are ready to receive the +pollen which the blundering bee brings from other flowers. Since we +cannot always study the same flower for several consecutive days, we +can read the whole story by studying the flowers freshly opened on +the upper portion of the stalk, and those below them that are in more +advanced stages. + +[Illustration: + + 1, _Drawing of the bee-larkspur flower enlarged_. + 2, _The seed capsule of the bee-larkspur_. +] + +The bees, especially the bumblebee, will tell the pollenation +story to us in the garden. The contrasting color of the petals and +sepals tells her where to alight; this she does accurately, and the +inconsequential lower petals seem made for her to grasp; she presses +them to her breast with her front and middle legs with a dramatic, +almost ecstatic, gesture that is comical to witness, and holds them +firmly while she thrusts her head into the opening between them; she +probes the spur twice, evidently finding there the two nectar-wells. +It is a fascinating pastime to follow her as she goes from flower +to flower like a Madam Pompadour, powdered with her white pollen. +In order that a bee may work on these flowers, it is necessary that +they hang vertically. The tips of the tall flower stalks are likely +to bend or curl over; but no matter what the direction the broken +or bent stem takes, the flowers will twist around on their pedicels +until they face the world and the bee, exactly as if they were on a +normally erect stem. + +All the larkspurs have essentially the same pollen story, although +some have only two petals; in every case the anthers at first hang +down, and later rise up in the path to the nectar, in order to +discharge their pollen; after they wither, the stigmas arise in a +similar position. + +The bee-larkspur has a very beautiful fruit. It consists of three +graceful capsules rising from the same base and flaring out into +pointed tips. The seeds are fastened to the curved side of each +capsule, which, when ripe, opens so that they may be shaken out by +the winds. When studying the bud, we notice two little bracts set at +its base and these remain with the fruit. + + + LESSON CLVIII + + THE BEE-LARKSPUR + +_Leading thought_--The bee-larkspur begins blossoming early in the +season, the blossom stalk elongating and developing new buds at its +tip until late in autumn. The flower has a very interesting way of +making the bees carry its pollen. + +_Method_--Bring to the schoolroom a flower stalk of the bee-larkspur, +and there study the structure and mechanism of the flower. This +lesson should inspire the pupils to observe for themselves the +visiting bees and the maturing seeds. Ask them to write an account of +a bumblebee making morning calls on the larkspurs. + +_Observations_--1. Which flowers of the larkspur open first--those +near the tip of the stem or those below? + +2. Examine the buds toward the tip of the flower stalk. What color +are the sepals in these buds? Do the sepals change color as the +flower opens? Note the little green knobs which tip the closed sepals +that clasp the bud. What color are the sepals on the open flower? Is +there any green upon them when open? + +3. Where is the nectar-spur? Which sepal forms this? How are the +other sepals arranged? + +[Illustration: _The larkspur._ + + 1, showing early stage with stigma deflected. + 2, showing advanced stage with stigma raised. +] + +4. Now that we know the flower gets its brilliant color from its +sepals, let us find the petals. Look straight into the flower, and +note what forms the contrasting color of the heart of the flower; +these are the petals. Can you see that two are joined above the +opening into the nectar-tube? How many guard the entrance from +below? How are these lower petals hinged about the upper one? Peel a +sepal-cover from the nectar-spur, and see if the upper petals extend +back within the spur, forming nectar-tubes. + +5. Take a flower just opened, and describe what you see below the +petals. What is the color of the anthers? Of the filaments? Can you +see the stigma? + +6. Take a flower farther down the stalk, which has therefore been +open longer, and describe the position of the anthers in this. Are +there any of them standing upright? Are they discharging their +pollen? What color is the pollen? Are these upright anthers in the +way of the bee, when she thrusts her tongue into the nectar-tube? + +7. Take the oldest flower you can find. What has happened to the +anthers? Can you see the pistils in this? In what position now are +the stigmas? + +8. Push aside the anthers in a freshly opened flower and see if you +can find the stigmas. What is their position? How do they change in +form and position after the pollen is shed? Do they arise in the +path of the bee before all the pollen from the anthers of their own +flower is shed? If so, how are they pollenated? + +9. _Suggestions for Observation in the Garden_--Watch a bumblebee +working on the larkspur and answer the following questions: How does +she hold on to the flower? Where does she thrust her tongue? Can she +get the nectar without brushing the pollen from the anthers which are +lifting up at the opening of the nectar-tube? In probing the older +flowers, how would she come in contact with the lifted stigmas? How +do the petals contrast in color with the sepals? Does this tell the +bees where to look for nectar? Compare the common larkspur with the +bee-larkspur, and notice the likeness and difference. What kind of +fruit capsules has the bee-larkspur? Describe the seeds, and how they +are scattered. + + + + + THE BLUE FLAG, OR IRIS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _Beautiful lily, dwelling by still rivers + Or solitary mere, + Or where the sluggish meadow brook delivers + Its waters to the weir!_ + + _The burnished dragon fly is thine attendant, + And tilts against the field, + And down the listed sunbeams rides resplendent + With steel-blue mail and shield._ + --From “Flower-de-luce,” HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. + + +The iris blossom has a strange appearance, and this is because +nothing in it is as it seems. The style of the pistil is divided +into three broad branches and they look like petals; and they have +formed a conspiracy with the sepals to make a tunnel for bees, +leaving the petals out of the plan entirely and the sepals “rise +to the occasion.” The petals stand up lonely between the three +strangely matched pairs, and all they accomplish by their purple +guiding lines, is to basely deceive the butterflies and other insects +which are in the habit of looking for nectar at the center of a +flower. If we look directly down into the flower of the blue flag, +there are ridges on the broad styles and purple veins on the petals, +all pointing plainly to the center of the flower, and any insect +alighting there would naturally seek for nectar-wells where all +these lines so plainly lead. But there is an “April fool” for the +insects which trust to these guides, for there is no nectar to be had +there. Dr. Needham, in his admirable study of this flower and its +visitors (American Naturalist, May, 1900), tells us that he has seen +the little butterflies called “skippers,” the flag weevils and the +flower beetles all made victims of this deceptive appearance; this +is evidence that the nectar guiding lines on flowers are noted and +followed by insects. + +The blue flag is made for bees; the butterflies and beetles are +interlopers and thieves at best. The bees are never deceived into +seeking the nectar in the wrong place. They know to a certainty that +the sepal with its purple and yellow tip and many guiding lines +although far from the center of the flower, is the sure path to +the nectar. A bee alights on the lip of the sepal, presses forward +scraping her back against the down-hanging stigma, then scrapes along +the open anther which lies along the roof of the tunnel; and she here +finds a pair of guiding lines each leading to a nectar-well at the +very base of the sepal. The bees which Dr. Needham found doing the +greatest work as pollen-carriers were small solitary bees (_Clisodon +terminalis_ and _Osmia destructa_); each of these alighted with +precision on the threshold of the side door, pushed its way in, got +the nectar from both wells, came out and sought another side door +speedily. One might ask why the bee in coming out did not deposit the +pollen from its own anther upon the stigma; but the stigma avoids +this by hanging down, like a flap to a tent, above the entrance, +and its surface for receiving pollen is directed so that it gathers +pollen from the entering bee and turns its back to the bee that is +just making its exit. + +[Illustration: _Iris in blossom._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The arrangement of the flower parts of the iris may be described +briefly thus: three petals, three sepals, a style with three +branches; the latter being broad and flat and covering the bases +of the three sepals, making tubes which lead to the nectar; three +anthers lie along the under side of the styles. The wild yellow iris +is especially fitted for welcoming the bumblebee as a pollen-carrier, +since the door between the style and the sepal is large enough to +admit this larger insect. The bumblebees and the honey-bees work in +the different varieties of iris in gardens. + +[Illustration: _Detail of the blossoms of the blue flag flower._ + + 1, Side-view of the passage to the nectar. + + 2, Looking directly into the iris flowers. Note the deceiving + guide-lines in the petals. +] + +In some varieties of iris there is a plush rug along the vestibule +floor over which the bee passes to get the nectar. Through a lens, +this plush is exquisite--the nap of white filaments standing up and +tipped with brilliant yellow. Various theories as to the use of this +plush have been advanced, the most plausible being that it is to +keep the ants out; but the ant could easily pass along either side +of it. While holding an iris in my hand, one day in the garden, a +bumblebee visited it eagerly, never noting me; after she had probed +the nectar-wells, she probed or nibbled among the plush, working it +thoroughly on her way out. Was she a foolish bee, or did she find +something there to eat? What child will find if other bees do this? + + + LESSON CLIX + + THE BLUE FLAG OR IRIS + +_Leading thought_--Each iris flower has three side doors leading to +the nectar-wells; and the bees, in order to get the nectar, must +brush off the pollen dust on their backs. + +_Method_--While the blue flag is the most interesting of our wild +species of iris, yet the flower-de-luce, or the garden iris, is quite +as valuable for this lesson. The form of the flowers may be studied +in the schoolroom, but the pupils should watch the visiting insects +in the garden or field. + +_Observations_--1. Look for the side doors of the iris blossom. Which +part of the flower forms the doorstep? How is it marked to show the +way in? Which part of the flower makes the arch above the door? + +2. Find the anther, and describe how it is placed. Can you see two +nectar-wells? Explain how a bee will become dusted with pollen while +getting the nectar. + +3. Where is the stigma? What is there very peculiar about the styles +of the iris? Can a bee, when backing out from the side door, dust the +stigma with the pollen she has just swept off? Why not? How does the +stigma of the next flower that the bee visits get some of the pollen +from her back? + +4. Look straight down into an iris flower. Can you see the three +petals? How are they marked? How would these lines on the petals +mislead any insect that was searching for nectar? + +5. Watch the insects visiting the iris. Do you know what they are? +What do they do? + +6. Describe the way the iris flower-bud is enfolded in bracts. What +is there peculiar about the way the iris leaves join the stem? + +7. How many kinds of flag, or iris, do you know? + +8. Describe the seed-vessel and seeds of the iris. + +[Illustration: _Fleur-de-lis._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + + * * * * * + + _The fleur-de-lis is the national flower of France._ + + “_It is said that the Franks of old had a custom, at the + proclamation of a king, of elevating him upon a shield or + target, and placing in his hand a reed, or flag in blossom, + instead of a sceptre._” + --“Among the Flowers and Trees with the Poets”, WAIT AND LEONARD. + +[Illustration: + + _The sunflower. Next to the ray-flowers are the + florets in last stages of blossoming with stigmas + protruding; next within are rows in the earlier + stage with pollen bursting from anther-tubes, + while at center are the unopened buds._ +] + + + + + THE SUNFLOWER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Many of the most beautiful of the autumn flowers belong to the +_Compositæ_, a family of such complicated flower arrangement that +it is very difficult for the child or the beginner in botany to +comprehend it; and yet, when once understood, the composite scheme is +very simple and beautiful, and is repeated over and over in flowers +of very different appearance. It is a plan of flower cooperation; +there are many flowers associated to form a single flower-head. Some +of these, the “ray,” or “banner,” flowers, hold out bright pennants +to attract the attention of insects; while the disk-flowers, which +they surround, attend to the matter of the pollenation and production +of seed. + +The large garden sunflower is the teacher’s ally to illustrate to the +children the story of the composites. Its florets are so large that +it is like a great wax model. And what could be more interesting than +to watch its beautiful inflorescence--that orderly march toward the +center in double lines of anther columns, with phalanxes bearing the +stigmas surrounding them; and outside all, the ranks of ray-flowers +flaunting their flags to herald to the world this peaceful conquest +of the sleeping, tented buds at the center? + +Ordinarily, in nature-study we do not pull the flowers apart, as is +necessary in botany; in nature-study, all that we care to know of the +flower is what it does, and we can see that without dissection. But +with the compositæ the situation is quite different. Here we have an +assemblage of flowers, each individual doing its own work for the +community; and in order to make the pupils understand this fact it is +necessary to study the individual florets. + +We begin with the study of one of the buds at the center of the +flower-head; this shows the white, immature-seed below, and the +closed, yellow corolla-tube above. Within the corolla may be seen the +brown anther-tube, and on the upper part of the seed are two little, +white, earlike scales, to which especial notice should be directed, +since in other composites there are many of these scales and they +form the pappus--the balloon to carry the seed. The bud shows best +the protecting chaffy scale which enfolds the seed, its pointed, +spine-edged tip being folded over the young bud, as may be seen by +examining carefully the center of a freshly opened sunflower. In this +tubular bud (see Fig. p. 632), there is a telescopic arrangement +of the organs, and one after another is pushed out. First, the +corolla-tube opens, starlike, with five pointed lobes, very pretty +and graceful, with a bulblike base; from this corolla pushes out the +dark-brown tube, made up of five anthers grown together. By opening +the corolla, we see the filaments of the stamens below the joined +anthers. This anther tube, if examined through a lens, shows rows +of tiny points above and below, two to each anther, as if they had +been opened like a book to join edges with their neighbors. The +anther-tube is closed at the tip, making a five-sided cone; and +at the seams, the yellow pollen bulges out, in starlike rays. The +pollen bulges out for good reason, for behind it is the stigma, like +a ramrod, pushing all before it in the tube for it is its turn next +to greet the outer world. The two stigma-lobes are pressed together +like the halves of a sharpened pencil, and they protrude through the +anther-tube as soon as all the pollen is safely pushed out; then +the stigma-lobes separate, each curling backwards so as to offer a +receptive surface to welcome pollen grains from other florets, or +even other sunflowers. In the process of curling back, they press the +anther-tube down into the corolla, and thus make the floret shorter +than when in the pollen stage. The banner-flower differs in many +essentials from the perfect florets of the disk. If we remove one +from the flower-head, we find at its base a seedlike portion, which +is a mere pretense; it is shrunken, and never can be a seed because +it has connected with it no stigma to bring to it the pollen. Nor +does this flower have stamens nor a tubular corolla; instead it has +one great, petallike banner, many times longer and wider than the +corollas of the other flowers. All this flower has to do is to hold +its banner aloft as a sign to the world, especially the insect world, +that here is to be found pollen in plenty, and nectar for the probing. + +[Illustration: _The flower of the sunflower-head enlarged._ + + 1. A floret of the sunflower in the bud-stage as it appears at + the center of the sunflower. Note the protecting bract at the + right. + + 2. A floret in earliest stage of blossoming. + + 3. A floret in the latest stage of bloom with the parts named. + + 4. A ray or banner-flower. +] + +But more wonderful than the perfection of each floret is their +arrangement in the flower-head. Around the edge of the disk the +banner-flowers, in double or treble rank, flare wide their long +petals like the rays of the sun, making the sunflower a most striking +object in the landscape. If the sunflower has been open for several +days, next to the ray-flowers will be seen a circle of star-mouthed +corollas from which both ripened pollen and stigmas have disappeared, +and the fertilized seeds below them are attaining their growth. Next +comes a two or three-ranked circle, where the split, coiled-back +stigma-lobes protrude from the anther-tubes; within this circle +may be two or three rows of florets, where pollen is being pushed +out in starry radiance; and within this ring there may be a circle +where the anther-tubes are still closed; while at the center lie the +buds, arranged in exquisite pattern of circling radii, cut by radii +circling in the opposite direction; and at the very center the buds +are covered with the green spear-points of their bracts. I never look +at the buds in the sunflower without wondering if the study of their +arrangement is not the basis of much of the most exquisite decoration +in Moorish architecture. To appreciate fully this procession of the +bloom of the sunflower from its rim to its center, we need to watch +it day by day--then only can its beauty become a part of us. + +The great, green bracts, with their long pointed tips, which +“shingle” the house of every sunflower family, should be noted +with care, because these bracts have manifold forms in the great +_Compositæ_ family; and the pupil should learn to recognize this part +of the flower-head, merely from its position. In the burdocks, these +bracts form the hooks which fasten to the passer-by; in the thistle, +they form the prickly vase about the blossom; while in the pearly +everlasting, they make the beautiful, white, shell-like mass of the +flower which we treasure as immortal. In the sunflower, these bracts +are very ornamental, being feltlike outside and very smooth inside, +bordered with fringes of pretty hairs, which may be seen best through +a lens. They overlap each other regularly in circular rows, and each +bract is bent so as to fit around the disk. + +In looking at a mass of garden sunflowers, we are convinced that +the heavy heads bend the stems, and this is probably true, in a +measure. But the stems are very solid and firm, and the bend is as +stiff as the elbow of a stovepipe; and after examining it, we are +sure that this bend is made with the connivance of the stem, rather +than despite it. Probably most people, the world over, believe that +sunflowers twist their stems so that their blossoms face the sun +all day. This belief shows the utter contentment of most people +with a pretty theory. If you believe it, you had best ask the first +sunflower you see if it is true, and she will answer you if you will +ask the question morning, noon and night. My own observations make me +believe that the sunflower, during the later weeks of its bloom, is +like the Mohammedan, keeping its face toward the east. True, I have +found many exceptions to this rule, although I have seen whole fields +of sunflowers facing eastward, when the setting sun was gilding the +backs of their great heads. If they do turn with the sun, it must be +in the period of earliest blossoming before they become heavy with +ripening seeds. + +The sunflower seed is eagerly sought by many birds, and it is raised +extensively for chicken-feed. The inadequate little pappus falls +off, and the seeds are set, large end up, in the very ornamental +diamond-shaped sockets. They finally become loosened, and now we +see a reason for the bending flower-head; for, as the great stem is +assaulted by the winds of autumn, the bended heads shake out their +seed and scatter them far afield. + + + LESSON CLX + + THE SUNFLOWER + +_Leading thought_--The sunflower is not a single flower, but is a +large family of flowers living together; and each little flower, +or floret, as it is called, has its own work to do for the family +welfare. + +_Method_--Early in September, when school first opens, is the time +for this lesson. If sunflowers are growing near by, they should be +studied where they stand; and their story may thus be more completely +told. Otherwise, a sunflower should be brought to the schoolroom and +placed in water. If one is selected which has just begun to blossom, +it will show, day by day, the advance of the blossoming ranks. I +have kept such a flower fourteen days, and it blossomed cheerfully +from its rim to its very center. A large sunflower that has only +partially blossomed is also needed for taking apart to show the +arrangement of this big flower-family. Take a bud from the center, +a floret showing anther-tube and another showing the curled pair of +stigmas, and a ray or banner-flower. (See Fig. p. 632). Each pupil +should be furnished with these four florets; and after they have +studied them, show them the other half of the sunflower, with each +floret in place. After this preliminary study, let them observe the +blossoming sunflower for several consecutive days. + +_Observations_--1. A little flower which is part of a big +flower-family is called a floret. You have before you three florets +of a sunflower and a banner-flower. Study first the bud. Of how many +parts is it composed? What will the lower, white part develop into? +Can you see two little white points standing up from it on each side +of the bud? Note the shape and color of the unopened floret. Note +that there is a narrow, stiff, leaf-like bract, which at its base +clasps the young seed, while its pointed tip bends protectingly over +the top of the bud. + +2. Take an open floret with the long, dark brown tube projecting from +it. Note that the young seed is somewhat larger than in the bud, and +that it still has its earlike projections at the top. Describe the +shape of the open corolla. Look at the brown tube with a lens. How +many sides has it? How many little points projecting at the top and +bottom on each side of the tube? How does the tube look at the tip, +through a lens? Can you see the pollen bursting out? If so, how does +it look? Do you think that there is just one tubular anther, or do +you think several anthers are joined together to make this tube? +Open the corolla-tube carefully, and see if you can answer this last +question. Open the anther-tube, and see if you can find the pistil +with its stigmas. + +3. Take a floret with the two yellow horns of the stigma projecting. +Where is the brown anther-tube now? Is it as long as in the floret +you have just studied? What has happened to it? What did the stigmas +do to the pollen in the anther-tube? How do the two parts or lobes of +the stigma look when they first project? How later? + +4. Make a banner-flower. How many parts are there to it? How does the +seedlike portion of the blossom look? Do you think it will ever be a +good seed? Describe the corolla of this flower. How much larger is it +than the corolla of the florets? Has the banner-flower any pistil or +stamens? Of what use is the banner-flower to the sunflower family? +Do you think that we would plant sunflowers in our gardens for their +beauty if they had no banner-flowers? + +5. After studying the separate flowers, study a sunflower in blossom, +and note the following: Where are the banner-flowers placed? How +many rows are there? How are they set so that their banners make the +sunflower look like the sun? Do you see why the central portion of +the sunflower is called the disk, and the banner-flowers are called +the rays--in imitation of the sun? + +6. Next to the banner-flowers, what sort of florets appear? How many +rows are there? What kind form the next circle, and in how many rows? +What stages of the florets do you find forming the inner circle, and +how many rows? What do you find at the center of the flower-head? +Note the beautiful pattern in which the buds are arranged. Can you +see the separate buds at the very center of the sunflower? If not, +why? + +7. Make notes on a sunflower that has just opened, describing the +stages of the florets that are in blossom; continue these notes +every day for a week, describing, each day, what has happened. If +the sunflower you are observing is in garden or field, note how many +days elapse between the opening of the outer row of flowers and the +opening of the central buds. + +8. Look below or behind the sunflower, and note the way it is +attached to the stem. What covers the disk? These green, overlapping, +leaflike structures are called bracts. What is the shape of one +of these bracts? What is its texture, outside and inside? Look at +it, with a lens, along the edges, and note what you see. How are +the bracts arranged? Do they not “shingle” the house in which the +sunflower-family lives? This covering of the disk, or the house where +the sunflower-family lives, is called the involucre. + +9. Does the stem of the sunflower hold it upright? Some people +declare that it twists its stem so as to face the sun all day. Do you +think this is true? + +10. Study a sunflower-head after the seeds are ripe. Do the little +ears which you saw at the top of the seeds still remain? How does the +sunflower scatter the seeds? Note how the disk looks after the seeds +are all gone. What birds are especially fond of sunflower seeds? Of +what use are the seeds commercially? + + * * * * * + + “_Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or + animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some + are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest, and + upright, like the broad-faced Sunflower, and the hollyhock._” + --HENRY WARD BEECHER. + + * * * * * + + “_Eagle of flowers! I see thee stand, + And on the sun’s noon-glory gaze; + With eye like his thy lids expand + And fringe their disk with golden rays; + Though fixed on earth, in darkness rooted there, + Light is thy element, thy dwelling air, + Thy prospect heaven._” + --“The Sunflower”, MONTGOMERY. + + + + +[Illustration: _A bachelor’s button. Note the trumpet-shape of the +ray-flowers._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + + + THE BACHELOR’S BUTTON + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +This beautiful garden flower gives a variation in form from other +composites when studied according to Lesson CXXXV. This valued garden +flower came to us from Europe and it sometimes escapes cultivation +and runs wild in a gentle way. We call it bachelor’s button; but in +Europe it is called the cornflower, and under this name it found its +way into literature. None of the flowers that live in families repays +close study better than does the bachelor’s button. The ray-flowers +are tubular but they do not have banners. Their tubes flare open like +trumpets, and they are indeed color trumpets heralding to the insect +world that there is nectar for the probing and pollen for exchange. +Looked at from above, the ray-flowers do not seem tubular; from the +sides, they show as uneven-mouthed trumpets with lobed edges; but +though we search each trumpet to its slender depths we can find no +pistils. These ray-flowers have no duty in the way of maturing seeds. +In some varieties the ray-flowers are white, and in others they are +blue and purple. They vary in number from 7 to 14, or more. + +[Illustration: + +_Stigma open and showing pollen-brush below. Enlarged._ ] + +The disk-flowers have a long corolla-tube, which is white and +delicately lobed and is enlarged toward the upper end to a purple +bulb with five, long, slender lobes. The anther-tube is purplish +black, and is bent into almost a hook, the tip opening toward the +middle of the flower-head. The pollen is glistening white tinged +with yellow, and looks very pretty as it bursts out from the dark +tubes. The purple stigma first appears with its tips close together, +but with a pollen brush just below it; later it opens into a short +Y. The buds at the center of the flower are bent hook-shaped over +the center of the flower-head. The involucral bracts or “shingles” +are very pretty, each one ornamented with a scaly fringe; they form +a long, elegantly shaped base to the flower-head. After the flowers +have gone and the seeds have ripened, these bracts flare open, +making a wide-mouthed urn from which the ripened seeds are shaken +by the winds; and after the seeds are gone, the white fuzz of their +empty cases remains at the bottom of the urn. The seed is plump +and shining, with a short fringe of pappus around the top and a +contracted place at one side near the base where it grew fast to the +receptacle; for these seeds are not set on end, as are those of the +sunflower. The short pappus is hardly sufficient to buoy up the seed, +and yet undoubtedly aids it to make a flying jump with the passing +breeze. + + + LESSON CLXI + + THE BACHELOR’S + BUTTON + +_Leading thought_--Each bachelor’s button is made up of many little +flowers which may be studied by the outline given in Lesson CXXXV. + + + + + THE SALVIA, OR + SCARLET SAGE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _The salvia, or scarlet sage, showing the bracts still +present above and falling as the flowers open._] + +The flower story of the sage is so peculiar that Darwin has used +it to illustrate the mechanisms present in some flowers which the +visiting insects must work in order to get the nectar. The scarlet +sage, which gladdens our flower beds during the summer and autumn +with its brilliance, has as interesting a story as has any of its +family. Looking at it from the outside, we should say that its +nectar-wells lie too deep to be reached by any insect except a +moth or butterfly, or a humming bird; there is no platform for a +bee to alight upon, and the tube is too long to be fathomed by a +bee’s tongue; but the bees are very good business folk; they adapt +themselves to flowers that are not adapted to them, and in autumn the +glow of the salvia attracts the eye scarcely more than the hum of the +visiting bees attracts the ear. + +The calyx of the salvia is as red as the corolla, and is somewhat +fuzzy while the corolla is smooth. The calyx is a three-lobed bulging +tube held stiff by rather strong veins; there is one large lobe above +and two small ones below the corolla. The corolla is a tube which is +more than twice the length of the calyx; it is prolonged above into +a projecting hood, which holds the anthers and the stigma; it has a +short, cuplike lower lip and two little turned-back, earlike lobes at +the side. + +The special mechanism of the salvia is shown in the stamens; there +are two of these lying flat along the floor of the corolla-tube and +grown fast to it. Near the mouth of the tube, each of these lifts up +at a broad angle to the roof, and is more or less T-shaped, at the +tip of one of the arms of the T is an anther while the other arm is +longer and slants down and inward to the floor of the tube, as shown +at 2 in the figure. + +[Illustration: + + 1. _Blossom of scarlet sage as seen from outside._ + 2. _The same flower with side removed showing the + arrangement of its parts._ + 3. _A bee working the stamen’s mechanism as she + seeks the nectar._ +] + +The bee visiting the flower and entering the corolla-tube, pushes +her head against the inner arms of the stamens, lifting them, and in +so doing causes the anthers on the front arms of the T to lower and +leave streaks of pollen along her fuzzy sides. The stigma is at first +concealed in the hood; but, when ripe, it projects and hangs down in +front of the opening of the corolla-tube, where it may be brushed +along one side or the other by the visiting insect, which has been +dusted with the pollen of some other flower. The stigma-lobes open +in such a manner that they do not catch the pollen from the insect +backing out of their own corolla. As the nectar is at the base of +the corolla-tube, the bees, in order to get it, crawl in almost out +of sight. Late in the season they seem to “go crazy” when gathering +this nectar; I have often seen them searching the bases of the +corolla-tubes which have fallen to the ground, in order to get what +is left of the sweet treasure. + +But the pollen story is not all that is of interest in the salvia. +Some of the parts of the flower which are green in most blossoms, are +scarlet as a cardinal’s robe in this. If we glance at a flower stalk, +we see that at its tip it looks like a braided, flattened cone; this +appearance is caused by the scarlet, long-pointed bracts, each of +which covers, with its bulging base, the scarlet calyx which in turn +enfolds the scarlet flower bud. These bracts fall as the flowers +are ready to open, making a brilliant carpet about the plant. Each +flower stem continues to develop buds at its tip for a long season; +and this, taken together with its scarlet bracts and flowers, renders +the salvia a thing of beauty in our gardens, and makes it cry aloud +to pollen-carriers that here, even in late autumn, there is plenty of +nectar. + + + LESSON CLXII + + SALVIA, OR SCARLET SAGE + +_Leading thought_--This flower has the bracts and calyx scarlet +instead of green, and this makes it a brilliant mass of color to +please our eyes and attract the pollen-carrying insects. Its anthers +are arranged at the tip of two levers, which the insects push up and +down as they enter the flower, thus becoming dusted with pollen. + +_Method_--The structure of this flower may be studied in the +schoolroom and its mechanism there understood; but the most important +part of the lesson is the observation out-of-doors upon the way the +bees work the stamen levers when seeking the nectar. This is best +observed during late September or October, after other flowers are +mostly gone, and when the bees are working with frantic haste to get +all the honey possible. + +_Observations_--1. How does the calyx of the salvia differ from that +of other flowers in color? How does it differ from the corolla in +texture? How many lobes has it? How are they placed about the corolla? + +2. What is the shape of the corolla? How does it make a hood over the +entrance to the tube? What does the hood hold? Is there any platform +made by the lower lip of the corolla for a visiting insect to alight +upon? + +3. Cut open one side of the corolla and describe how the stamens are +arranged. Thrust your pencil into an uninjured flower and see if +the anthers in the hood are moved by it. How? Describe how a bee in +visiting this flower moves the anthers so as to become dusted with +pollen. + +4. Where is the stigma? How does it receive pollen from visiting +insects? Would it be likely to get the pollen which has just been +scraped off from its own anthers by the bee? Why? + +5. Experiment to find where the nectar is. Do you ever see bees +getting the nectar from fallen flowers? Do they get it from the +“front” or the “back door?” + +6. What other parts of this flower are red, which in other flowers +are green? How does this make the budding portions of the flower stem +look? Why does this make the salvia a more beautiful plant for our +gardens? + +7. Compare the mechanism of the stamens of the scarlet sage with the +mechanism of the stamens of the common garden sage. + + + + + PETUNIAS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T + +Drawn by Anna C. Stryke.] + +These red-purple and white flowers, which, massed in borders and +beds, make gay our gardens and grounds in late summer and early +autumn, have an interesting history. Professor L. H. Bailey uses it +as an illustration in his thought-inspiring book, “The Survival of +the Unlike;” he says that our modern petunias are a strange compound +of two original species; the first one was found on the shores of the +La Plata in South America and was introduced into Europe in 1823. “It +is a plant of upright habit, thick sticky leaves and sticky stems, +and very long-tubed white flowers which exhale a strong perfume at +nightfall.” The second species of petunia came from seeds sent from +Argentina to the Glasgow Botanical Gardens in 1831. “This is a more +compact plant than the other, with a decumbent base, narrower leaves +and small, red-purple flowers which have a very broad or ventricose +tube, scarcely twice longer than the slender calyx lobes.” This plant +was called _Petunia violacea_ and it was easily hybridized with the +white species; it is now, strangely enough, lost to cultivation, +although the white species is found in some old gardens. The hybrids +of these two species are the ancestors of our garden petunias, which +show the purple-red and white of their progenitors. The petunias +are of the Nightshade family and are kin to the potato, tomato, +egg-plant, tobacco and Jimson-weed, and, like the latter, the flowers +are especially adapted to give nectar to the long-tongued sphinx or +hummingbird moths. + +The petunia corolla is tubular, and the five lobes open out in +salver-shape; each lobe is slightly notched at its middle, from +which point a marked midrib extends to the base of the tube. In some +varieties the edges of the lobes are ruffled. Within the throat of +the tube may be seen a network of darker veins, and in some varieties +this network spreads out over the corolla-lobes. Although many colors +have been developed in petunias, the red-purple and white still +predominate; when the two colors combine in one flower, the pattern +may be symmetrical, but is often broken and blotchy. + +When a flower-bud is nearly ready to open the long, bristly tube of +the corolla lies with its narrow base set in the calyx, the long, +fuzzy lobes of which flare out in bell-shape; the tube is marked by +lengthwise lines made by the five midribs; the lobes of the corolla +are folded along the outer portions of these midribs, and these +folded tips are twisted together much as if some one had given them a +half turn with the thumb and finger. It is a pleasing experience to +watch one of these flowers unfold. When a flower first opens, there +lies near the bottom of the throat of the tube the green stigma, with +two anthers snuggled up in front of it and two behind it, the latter +being not quite so advanced in age as the former. As the filaments +of the front pair of anthers are longer than those of the rear pair, +the little group lies at a low angle offering a dusty doormat for +entering insects. If we open a flower at this stage, we find another +anther, as yet unopened, and which is on the shortest stamen of the +five. This seems to be a little pollen-reserve, perhaps for its own +use later in the season. There is an interesting mechanism connected +with these stamens; each is attached to the corolla-tube at the base +for about half its length, and at the point of attachment curves +suddenly inward so as to “cuddle up” to the pistil, the base of +which is set in the nectar-well at the bottom of the flower. If we +introduce a slender pencil or a toothpick into the flower tube along +the path which the moth’s tongue must follow to reach the nectar, +we can see that the stamens, pressing against it at the point where +they curve inward, cause the anthers to move about so as to discharge +their pollen upon it; and as the toothpick is withdrawn they close +upon it cogently so that it carries off all the pollen with which it +is brought in contact. + +If we look at the stigma at the center of its anther-guard, it has +a certain close-fisted appearance, although its outer edges may be +dusted with the pollen; as the flower grows older, the stigma stands +above the empty anthers at the throat of the flower tube and opens +out into two distinct lobes. Even though it may have accepted some of +its own pollen, it apparently opens up a new stigmatic surface for +the pollen brought from other flowers by visiting insects. + +[Illustration: + + _A petunia blossom cut open on the upper side, showing the + pistil surrounded by the incurved stamens and the partially + opened stigma surrounded by the anthers. Note the short stamen + below the pistil._ +] + +Dr. James G. Needham says that at Lake Forest he has been attracted +to the petunia beds in the twilight by the whirring of the wings of +countless numbers of sphinx, or hummingbird moths which were visiting +these flowers. We also may find these moths hovering over petunia +beds in almost any region if we visit them on the warmer evenings. +And it is a safe guess that the remote white ancestor of our petunias +had some special species of sphinx moth which it depended upon for +carrying its pollen; and the strong perfume it exhaled at nightfall +was an odor signal to its moth friends to come and feast. + +But even though the petunia flowers are especially adapted to the +delectation of hummingbird moths, our bees which--like man--have +claimed all the earth, will work industriously in the petunias, +scrambling into the blossoms, with much remonstrating, high-pitched +buzzing because of the tight fit, and thus rifle the nectar-wells +that were meant for insects of quite different build. + +The leaves of the petunia are so broadly ovate as to be almost +lozenge-shape, especially the lower ones; they are soft, and have +prominent veins on the lower side; they are without stipules, and +have short flat petioles. The stems are soft and fuzzy and are +usually decumbent at the base, except the central stems of a stool or +clump which, though surrounded by kneeling sisters, seem to prefer to +stand up straight. + +The flower stems come off at the axils of the leaves, the lower +flowers open first. The blossoms remain open about two days; at the +first sign of fading, the lobes of the corolla droop dejectedly like +a frill that has lost its starch, and finally the corolla--tube and +all--drops off, leaving a little conical seed-capsule nestled snugly +in the heart of the bell-shaped calyx. At this time, if this peaked +cap of the seed-capsule be removed, the many seeds look like tiny +white pearls set upon the fleshy, conical placenta. As the capsule +ripens, it grows brown and glossy like glazed manila paper and it is +nearly as thin; then it cracks precisely down its middle, and the +seeds are spilled out at any stirring of the stems. The ripe seeds +are dark brown, almost as fine as dust, and yet, when examined with a +lens, they are seen to be exquisitely netted and pitted. + +_References_--The Survival of the Unlike, L. H. Bailey; The +Encyclopedia of Horticulture, Bailey; Our Garden Flowers, Harriet +Keeler. + + + LESSON CLXIII + + THE PETUNIA + +_Leading thought_--The petunias have an interesting history being +native to South America. Their flowers are fitted by form and +mechanism to entice the hummingbird moths as visitors, and to use +them for carrying pollen. + +_Method_--The petunias are such determined bloomers that they give +us flowers up to the time of killing frosts, and they are therefore +good material for nature lessons. Each pupil should have a flower in +hand to observe during the lesson, and should also have access to a +petunia bed for observations on the habits of the plant. + +_Observations_--1. What colors do you find in the petunia flowers? If +striped or otherwise marked, what are the colors? Are the markings +symmetrical and regular? + +2. Sketch or describe a flower, looking into it. What is the shape +of the corolla-lobes? How many lobes are there? How are they veined? +What peculiar markings are at the throat of the flower? + +3. What are the color and position of the stigma? How are the stamens +arranged? How many anthers do you see? What is the color of the +anthers? Of the pollen? + +4. Sketch or describe the flower from the side. What is the shape of +the corolla-tube? Is it smooth or fuzzy? How is it marked? What are +the number and shape of the sepals, or lobes, of the calyx? + +5. Study a freshly opened flower, and describe the position and +appearance of the anthers and stigma. Do they remain in these +relative positions after the flower is old? + +6. Cut open a flower, slitting it along the upper side. Describe the +stamens and how they are attached. Is the pistil attached in the same +manner? Where is the nectar? Thrust a slender pencil or a toothpick +into the tube of a fresh flower. Does this spread the anthers apart +and move them around? When it is withdrawn, is there pollen on it? +Can you see in your open flower the mechanism by which the pollen is +dusted on the object thrust into the flower? + +7. What insects have tongues sufficiently long to reach the +nectar-well at the bottom of the petunia flower? At what time do +these insects fly? At what time of day do most of the petunia flowers +open? Visit the petunia beds in the twilight, and note whether there +are any insects visiting them. What insects do you find visiting +these flowers during the day? + +8. Sketch or describe the leaves of the petunia. How do the leaves +feel? Look at a leaf with a lens and note the fringe of hair along +its edges. Describe the veining of the leaf. + +9. Describe the petunia stems. Are they stout or slender? How do they +feel? With what are they covered? Where do the flower stems come off +the main stalk? + +10. Describe or sketch a flower-bud just ready to open. How are the +tips of the lobes folded? How long does the flower remain in bloom? +What is the first sign of its fading? + +11. Describe the seed-capsule. Where does it open? Are the seeds many +or few, large or small? What is their color when ripe? When examined +with a lens, have they any pits or markings? + + + + + THE HORSESHOE GERANIUM + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The geraniums perhaps do more to brighten the world than almost any +other cultivated flowers. They will grow for every one, whether +for the gardener in the conservatory of the rich, or in a tin can +on the windowsill of the crowded tenement of the poor. And it is +interesting to know that this common plant has a cultivated ancestry +of two hundred years’ standing. These geraniums, which are really +not geraniums botanically but are _pelargoniums_, originally came +from southern Africa, and the two ancestors of our common bedding +geraniums were introduced into England in 1710 and 1714. + +The geranium is of special value to the teacher, since it is +available for study at any season of the year, and has a most +interesting blossom. The single-flowered varieties should be used +for this lesson, since the blossoms that are double have lost their +original form. Moreover, the geranium’s blossom is so simple that it +is of special value as a subject for a beginning lesson in teaching +the parts of a flower; and its leaves and stems may likewise be used +for the first lessons in plant structure. + +The stem is thick and fleshy, and is downy on the new growth; there +is much food stored in these stems, which accounts for the readiness +with which cuttings from them will grow. Wherever a leaf comes off +the stem, it is guarded by two stipules at the base; these stipules +often remain after the leaves have fallen, thus giving the stem +an unkempt look. The leaves are of various shapes, although of one +general pattern; they are circular and beautifully scalloped and +lobed, with veins for every lobe radiating from the petiole; they are +velvety above and of quite different texture beneath, and many show +the dark horseshoe which gives the name to this variety. The petiole +is usually long and stiff and the leaves are set alternately upon the +stem. + +[Illustration: _Horseshoe Geranium._ + +Photo by Sheldon. + + Note the positions of the opened flowers and the buds. Note + the shape of the two upper petals with their guide-lines, + showing the position of the nectar-gland. The flower at the + left, seen in profile, shows that these upper petals project + farther forward than those below. Note the cluster of young + buds set in a circlet of bracts just below this flower. +] + +The flower has five petals, and at first glance they seem of much the +same shape and position; but if we look at them carefully, we see +that the upper two are much narrower at the base and project farther +forward than do the lower three. Moreover, there are certain lines +on these upper petals all pointing toward the center of the flower; +these are the nectar guide-lines, and if we follow them we find a +deep nectar-well just at the base of these upper petals and situated +above the ovary of the flower. No other flower shows a prettier plan +for guiding insects to the hidden sweets, and in none is there a more +obvious and easily seen well of nectar. It extends almost the whole +length of the flower stem, the nectar gland forming a hump near the +base of the stem. If we thrust a needle down the whole length of this +nectar tube we can see that this bright flower developed its nectar +especially for some long-tongued insect, probably a butterfly. It is +interesting to note that in the double geranium where the stamens +have been all changed to petals and where, therefore, no seeds are +formed, this nectar-well has been lost. + +[Illustration: _Diagram, flower of the horseshoe geranium._ + +S, sepals; P, petals; A, anther; F, filament; m, pistil; St., stigma; +N, opening to nectar tube.] + +There are five sepals, the lower one being the largest. But the +geranium is careless about the number of its stamens; most flowers +are very good mathematicians, and if they have five sepals and five +petals they are likely to have five or ten stamens. The geranium +often shows seven anthers, but if we look carefully we may find ten +stamens, three of them without anthers. But this is not always true; +there are sometimes five anthers and two or three filaments without +anthers. The color of the anthers differs with the variety of the +flower. The stamens broaden below, and their bases are joined making +a cup around the lower part of the ovary. The pistil is at the center +of the flower and has no style, but at the summit divides into five +long, curving stigmas; but again the geranium cannot be trusted to +count, for sometimes there are seven or eight stigmas. Although many +of our common varieties of geraniums have been bred so long that +they have almost lost the habit of producing seed, yet we may often +find in these single blossoms the ovary changed into the peculiar, +long, beaklike pod, which shows the relationship of this plant to the +cranesbill or wild geranium. + +When the buds of the geranium first appear, all of them are nestled +in a nest of protecting bracts, each bud being enclosed in its own +protecting sepals. But soon each flower stem grows longer and droops +and often the bracts at its base fall off; from this mass of drooping +buds, the ones at the center of the cluster lift up and open their +blossoms first. Often, when the outside flowers are in bloom, those +at the center have withered petals but are hidden by their fresher +sisters. + +It would be well to say something to the pupils about those plants +which have depended upon man so long for their planting that they +do not develop any more seed for themselves. In connection with the +geraniums, there should be a lesson on how to make cuttings and start +their growth. The small side branches or the tips of the main stems +may be used as cuttings. With a sharp knife make a cut straight +across. Fill shallow boxes with sand, place them in a cool room +and keep them constantly moist; plant the cuttings in these boxes, +putting the stems for one-third of their length in the sand. After +about a month the plants may be repotted in fertile soil. The fall is +the best time to make cuttings. + +[Illustration] + + + LESSON CLXIV + + THE HORSESHOE GERANIUM + +_Leading thought_--The geraniums are very much prized as flowers for +ornamental beds. Let us see why they are so valued. + +_Method_--A variety of geranium with single flowers should be chosen +for this purpose, and it may be studied in the schoolhouse window +or in the garden. As the parts of this flower are of a very general +type, it is an excellent one with which to teach the names and +purposes of the flower parts. Each child can make a little drawing +of the sepals, petals, stamens and pistil, and label them with the +proper names. + +_Observations_--1. What sort of a stem has the geranium? Is it smooth +or downy? What makes the geranium stem look so rough and untidy? + +2. Study the leaf. Show by description or drawing its shape, its +wings, its veins. What are its colors and texture above? Beneath? +Is the petiole long or short? What grows at the base of the petiole +where it joins the stem? What marking is there on the leaf, which +makes us call this a “horseshoe geranium?” Are there other geraniums +with leaves of similar shape that have no horseshoe mark? + +3. Study the flower. Are the petals all the same size and shape? How +many of them are broad? How many narrow? Do the narrow ones project +in front of the others? Do these have guide-lines upon them? Where +do these lines point? Find the nectar-well, how deep is it? Does it +extend almost the entire length of the flower stem? For what insects +must it have been developed? Are there nectar-tubes in the stems of +the geraniums with double flowers? Why? + +4. How many sepals are there? Are they all the same size? Where is +the largest? + +5. How many stamens can you see? What is the color of the filaments +and of the anthers? How are the stamens joined at their bases? Can +you find any stamens without anthers? + +6. Where is the pistil situated? Can you see the ovary, or seed-box? +How many stigmas? Describe their color and shape. + +7. In what part of the flower will the seeds be developed? How does +the geranium fruit look? Sketch the pod. Do the geraniums develop +many seeds? Why not? Do you know the seed-pod of the wild geranium? +If so, compare it with the pod of this plant. + +8. Take a flower cluster when the flowers are all in the bud, and +note the following: When the buds first appear, what protects them? +What becomes of these bracts later? How do the sepals protect the +bud? Are the bud stems upright and stiff or drooping? How many buds +are there in a cluster? + +9. Take notes on successive days as follows: What happens to the stem +as the bud gets ready to bloom? Is it a central or an outside blossom +that opens first? How many new blossoms are there each day? How long +is it from the time that the first bud opens until the last bud of +the cluster blossoms? What has this to do with making the geranium a +valuable ornamental plant? + +10. Make some geranium cuttings, and note how they develop into new +plants. Place one of the cuttings in a bottle of water and describe +how its roots appear and grow. + + * * * * * + + “_God made the flowers to beautify + The earth, and cheer man’s careful mood; + And he is happiest who hath power + To gather wisdom from a flower, + And wake his heart in every hour + To pleasant gratitude._” + --WORDSWORTH. + + + + +[Illustration: _Sweet Peas._ + + “_Here are sweet peas on tip for a flight, + With wings of delicate flush o’er delicate white, + And taper fingers catching at all things, + To bind them all about with tiny rings._” + --KEATS. +] + + + THE SWEET PEA + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +Among the most attractive of the seeds which make up the treasure of +the children’s seed packets, the sweet peas are of the prettiest. +They are smooth, little white or brown globules, marked with a scar +on the side, showing where they were attached to the pod. One of +these peas divides readily into two sections; and after it has been +soaked in water for twenty-four hours, the germ of the future plant +may, with the aid of a lens, be seen within it. After planting, the +sprout pushes through the seed-coat at a point very near the scar, +and leaf shoots emerge from the same place; but the two act very +differently. The leaf lifts upward toward the light, and the root +plunges down into the soil. As the plant grows, it absorbs the food +stored in the seed; but the seed remains below ground and does not +lift itself into the air, as happens with the bean. The root forms +many slender branches, near the tips of which may be seen the fringe +of feeding roots, which take up the food and water from the soil. The +first leaves of the pea seedling put forth no tendrils, but otherwise +look like the later ones. The leaves grow alternately on the stalk, +and they are compound, each having from three to seven leaflets. The +petiole is winged, as is also the stem of the plant. There is a pair +of large, clasping stipules at the base of each leaf. If we compare +one of these leaves with a spray of tendrils, we can see that they +resemble each other in the following points: The basal leaflets of +the petiole are similar and the stipules are present in each case; +but the leaflets nearest the tip are marvelously changed to little, +stiff stems with a quirl at the tip of each ready to reach out and +hook upon any object that offers surface to cling to. Sometimes we +find a leaflet paired with a tendril. The sweet pea could not thrive +without a support outside of itself. + +[Illustration: _Blossom sweet pea with parts labelled._] + +Of course, the great upper petal of the sweet pea blossom is called +the banner! It stands aloft and proclaims the sweet pea as open; +but before this occurs, it tenderly enfolds all the inner part of +the flower in the unopened bud, and when the flower fades it again +performs this duty. The wings are also well named; for these two +petals which hang like a peaked roof above the keel, seem like wings +just ready to open in flight. The two lower petals are sewed together +in one of Nature’s invisible seams, making a long, curved treasure +chest resembling the keel of a boat, and it has thus been called. +Within the keel are hidden the pistil and stamens. The ovary is long, +pod-shaped and downy; from its tip the style projects, as strong as +a wire, curving upwards, and covered with a brush of fine, white +hairs; at the very tip of the style, and often projecting slightly +from the keel, is the stigma. Around the sides and below the ovary +and style, are nine stamens, their filaments broadening and uniting +to make a white, silken tube about the ovary, or young pod. From +the tip of this stamen-tube, each of the nine filaments disengages +itself, and lying close to the style thrusts its anther up into the +point of the keel, below the stigma. But strange to say, one lone, +lorn stamen “flocks by itself” above the pistil, curving its anther +up stigma-ward. If we touch the point of the keel with the finger, up +fly--like a jack-in-the-box--the anthers splashing the finger with +pollen; and if a bee, in her search for nectar, alights on the wings +at the very base of the petals, up flies the pollen brush and daubs +her with the yellow dust, which she may deposit on the stigma of +another flower. The interesting part of this mechanism is the brush +near the tip of the style below the stigma--a veritable broom, with +splints all directed upward. As the pollen is discharged around it, +the brush lifts it up when the keel is pressed down, and the stiff +petals forming the keel, in springing back to place, scrape off the +pollen and plaster it upon the visitor. But for all this elaborate +mechanism, sweet peas, of all flowers, are the most difficult to +cross-pollenate, since they are so likely to receive some of their +own pollen during this process. + +[Illustration: _Sweet pea pod bursting in spiral._] + +The sweet-pea bud droops, a tubular calyx with its five-pointed lobes +forming a bell to protect it. Within the bud the banner petal clasps +all in its protecting embrace. + +After the petals fall, the young pod stands out from the calyx, the +five lobes of which are recurved and remain until the pod is well +grown. As the sweet pea ripens, all the moisture is lost and the +pod becomes dry and hard; through the dampness of dews at night and +the sun’s heat which warps it by day, finally each side of the pod +suddenly coils into a spiral, flinging the seed many feet distant in +different directions. + + + LESSON CLXV + + THE SWEET PEA + +_Leading thought_--The sweet pea has its leaflets changed to +tendrils, which hold it to the trellis. Its flower is like that of +the clover, the upper petal forming the banner, the two side petals +the wings, and the two united lower petals the keel which protects +the stamens and pistil. + +_Method_--This should be a garden lesson. A study should be made of +the peas before they are planted, and their germination carefully +watched. Later, the method of climbing, the flower and the fruit +should each be the subject of a lesson. + +_Observations on germination_--1. Soak some sweet peas over night; +split them the next morning. Can you see the little plant within? + +2. Plant some of the soaked peas in cotton batting, which may be kept +moist. At what point does the sprout break through the seed covering? +Do the root and leaf-shoot emerge at the same place, or at different +points? Which is the first to appear? + +3. Plant some of the soaked peas in the garden. How do the young +plants look when they first appear? Does the fleshy part of the seed +remain a part of the plant and appear above the ground, as is the +case with the bean? What becomes of the meat of the seed after growth +has started? + +4. Do the first leaves which unfold from the seed pea look like the +later ones? Are the leaves simple or compound? Do they grow opposite +each other or alternately? + +5. Take a leaf and also a spray of the tendrils. How many leaflets +are there in a compound leaf? Describe the petiole and the basal +leaves. How far apart are the leaflets on the mid-stem? Compare +the stem on which the tendrils grow with this leaf. Are the basal +leaflets like those of the leaf? Is the petiole like that of the +leaf? Do you think that the leaflets toward the tip of the stem often +change to tendrils? Why do you think so? Why must the sweet pea have +tendrils? Do you see the earlike stipules at the base of the leaf? +Are there similar stipules at the base of the tendril stem? + +_Observations on the flower and fruit_--1. Take the sweet pea in +blossom. Why is the large upper petal called the banner? How does it +compare in size with the other petals? What is its purpose when the +flower is open? Why do you think the side petals are called wings? +What is their position when the flower is open? + +2. Describe that part of the flower below the wings. Do you think +that it is made of two petals grown together? Why is it called the +keel of the flower? Press down with your finger on the tip of the +keel. What happens? Is your finger splashed with pollen? Where is the +nectar in the sweet pea? Would an insect getting the nectar press +down upon the keel and receive a splash of pollen? + +3. Open the keel. How many stamens do you find within it? How many +have their filaments joined together? Is there one separate from the +others? Against what are the anthers pressed by the keel? + +4. Remove the stamens and describe the pistil. Which part of this +will make the pod in which the new peas will develop? Describe how +the style is curved. How is the style covered near its tip? What is +this brush for? Can you find the stigma with the help of the lens? +When the bee is seeking for nectar and pushes down on the keel, does +the stigma push out at the same point as the pollen? Does this enable +the stigma sometimes to receive pollen which the bees bring from +other flowers? + +5. Describe an unopened flower bud. What is its position? How many +lobes to the calyx? What is their shape, and how do they protect the +bud? Which petal is folded over all the others? How does the position +of the open flower differ from that of the bud? + +6. How does the young pod look when the petals fall? How does it look +when ripe? How does it open to scatter little, ripe sweet peas? Do +the lobes of the sepals still remain with the pod? + + + + + THE CLOVERS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Sweet by the roadside, sweet by the rills, + Sweet in the meadows, sweet on the hills, + Sweet in its wine, sweet in its red, + Oh, half of its sweetness cannot be said; + Sweet in its every living breath, + Sweetest, perhaps, at last, in death._” + --“A Song of Clover”, HELEN HUNT JACKSON. + + +[Illustration: Drawn by Ida Baker.] + +Clover has for centuries been a most valuable forage crop; and for +eons it has been the special partner of the bees, giving them honey +for their service in carrying its pollen; and in recent years it has +been discovered that it has also formed a mysterious and undoubtedly +an ancient partnership with bacteria below ground, which, moreover, +brings fertility to the soil. The making of a collection of the +clovers of a region is a sure way of enlisting the pupils’ interest +in these valuable plants. The species have some similarities and +differences, which give opportunity for much observation in comparing +them. There may be found in most localities the white and yellow +sweet clovers, the black and spotted medics and their relative the +alfalfa; while of the true clovers there are the red, the zigzag, the +buffalo, the rabbit’s foot, the white, the alsike, the crimson, and +two yellow or hop clovers. + +[Illustration: _Crimson clover; just beginning to blossom at the +left, more advanced at the middle, and at the end of its bloom at the +right._ + +Photo by G. F. Morgan.] + +In all the clovers, those blossoms which are lowest, or on the +outside of the head, blossom first, and all of them have upon their +roots the little swellings, or nodules, which are the houses in which +the beneficent bacteria grow. + +[Illustration: _Alfalfa showing root-tubercles._] + +If we pull up or dig out the roots of alfalfa, or of the true clovers +or vetches, we find upon the rootlets little swellings which are +called nodules, or root-tubercles. Although these tubercles look so +uninteresting, no fairy story was ever more wonderful than is theirs. +They are, in fact, the home of the clover brownies, which help the +plants to do their work. Each nodule is a nestful of living beings, +so small that it would take twenty-five thousand of them end to end +to reach an inch; therefore, even a little swelling can hold many of +these minute organisms, which are called bacteria. For many years +people thought that these swellings were injurious to the roots of +the clover, but now we know that the bacteria which live in them are +simply underground partners of these plants. The clover roots give +the bacteria homes and place to grow, and in return these are able +to extract a very valuable chemical fertilizer from the air, and to +change its form so that the clovers can absorb it. The name of this +substance is nitrogen, and it makes up more than three-fourths of the +air we breathe. Other plants are unable to take the nitrogen from the +air and use it for food, but these little bacteria extract it from +the air which fills every little space between every two grains of +soil and then change it to a form which the clovers can use. After +the clover crop is harvested, the roots remain in the ground, their +little storehouses filled with this precious substance, and the soil +falls heir to it. + +[Illustration: + + _Yellow or hop clover. Buffalo clover. Rabbit-foot or pussy + clover._] + +Nitrogen in the form of commercial fertilizer is the most expensive +which the farmer has to buy. So when he plants clover or alfalfa on +his land, he is bringing to the soil this expensive element of plant +growth, and it costs him nothing. This is why a good farmer practices +the rotation of crops and puts clover upon his land every three or +four years. + +[Illustration: _Alfalfa in leaf and blossom._] + +Alfalfa is so dependent on its little underground partners, that it +cannot grow without them; and so the farmer plants, with the alfalfa +seed, some of the soil from an old alfalfa field, which is rich in +these bacteria. On a farm I know, the bacterial soil gave out before +all of the seed was planted; and when the crop was ready to cut it +was easy to see just where the seed without the inoculated soil had +been planted, for the plants that grew there were small and poor, +while the remainder of the field showed a luxurious growth. + +It is because of the great quantity of nitrogen absorbed from the +air through the bacteria on its roots that the alfalfa is such a +valuable fodder; for it contains the nitrogen which otherwise would +have to be furnished to cattle in expensive grain or cotton-seed +meal. The farmer who gives his stock alfalfa does not need to pay +such large bills for grain. Other plants belonging to the same family +as the clovers--like the vetches and cow-peas--also have bacteria +on their roots. But each species of legume has its own species of +bacteria; although in some cases soil inoculated with bacteria from +one species of legume will grow it on roots of another species. Thus, +the bacteria on the roots of sweet clover will grow on the roots of +alfalfa and many farmers use the soil inoculated by sweet clover to +start their alfalfa crops. + +[Illustration: _Red clover blossom._] + +In addition to the enriching of the soil, clover roots, which +penetrate very deeply, protect land from being washed away by +freshets and heavy rains; and since clover foliage makes a thick +carpet over the surface of the soil, it prevents evaporation and +thus keeps the soil moist. Crimson clover is used extensively as a +cover crop; it is sowed in the fall, especially where clean culture +is practiced in orchards, and spreads its leaves above and its roots +within the soil, keeping out weeds and protecting the land. In the +spring it may be plowed under, and thus add again to the fertility. +This is also an aesthetic crop, for a field of crimson clover in +bloom is one of the most beautiful sights in our rural landscape. + +[Illustration: _Spotted medic._] + +Red clover has such deep florets that, of all our bees; only the +bumblebees have sufficiently long tongues to reach the nectar. It +is, therefore, dependent upon this bee for developing its seed, and +the enlightened farmer of to-day looks upon the bumblebees as his +best friends. The export of clover seed from the United States has +sometimes reached the value of two million dollars per year, and this +great industry can only be carried on with the aid of the bumblebee. +There are sections of New York State where the growing of clover seed +was once a most profitable business, but where now, owing to the +dearth of bumblebees, no clover seed whatever is produced. + + + LESSON CLXVI + + THE CLOVERS + +_Leading thought_--The clovers enrich with nitrogen the soil in which +they are planted. They are very valuable as food for stock; and their +flowers are pollenated by bees. + +_Method_--Each pupil should dig up a root of red clover or alfalfa to +use for the lesson on the nodules. The flowers should be studied in +the field, and also in detail in the schoolroom. + +_Observations_--1. How many kinds of clover do you know? How many of +the medics? + +2. In all clovers, which flowers of the head blossom first, those on +the lower or outside, or those on the upper or inside? + +3. Take up a root of red clover or alfalfa, noting how deep it grows. +Wash the root free from soil, and find the little swellings on it. +Write the story of what these swellings do for the clover, and +incidentally for the soil. + +4. How must the soil be prepared so that alfalfa may grow +successfully? What does the farmer gain by feeding alfalfa, and why? + +5. How do clover roots protect the land from being washed by heavy +rains? + +6. How do clovers keep the soil moist? How does this aid the farmer? + +7. What is a cover crop, and what are its uses? + +8. Upon what insects does the red clover depend for carrying pollen? +Can it produce seed without the aid of these valuable bees? Why not? + + + + + SWEET CLOVER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +In passing along the country roads, especially those which have +suffered upheaval from the road machines, suddenly we are conscious +of a perfume so sweet, so suggestive of honey and other delicate +things, that we involuntarily stop to find its source. Close at hand +we find this perfume laboratory in the blossoms of the sweet clover. +It may be the species with white blossoms, or the one with yellow +flowers, but the fragrance is the same. There stands the plant, +lifting its beautiful blue-green foliage and its spikes of flowers +for the enjoyment of the passer-by, while its roots are feeling +their way down deep in the poor, hard soil, taking air and drainage +with them and building, with the aid of their underground partners, +nitrogen factories which will enrich the poverty-stricken earth, so +that other plants may find nourishment in it. + +[Illustration: _White sweet clover._] + +Never was there such another beneficent weed as the sweet +clover--beneficent alike to man, bee and soil. Usually we see it +growing on soil so poor that it can only attain a height of from two +to four feet; but if it once gets foothold on a generous soil, it +rises majestically ten feet tall. + +Like the true clover, its leaf has three leaflets, the middle one +being longer and larger than the other two and separated from them by +a naked midrib; the leaflets are long, oval in shape, with narrow, +toothed edges, and they are dull, velvety green; the two stipules at +the base of the leaf are little and pointed. + +The blossoming of the sweet clover is a pretty story. The blossom +stem, which comes from the axil of the leaf, is at first an inch or +so long, packed closely with little, green buds having pointed tips. +But as soon as the blossoming begins, the stem elongates, bringing +the flowers farther apart--just as if the buds had been fastened to a +rubber cord which had been stretched. The buds lower down open first; +each day some of the flowers bloom, while those of the day before +linger, and thus the blossom tide rises, little by little up the +stalk. But the growing tip develops more and more buds, and thus the +blossom story continues until long after the frosts have killed most +other plants; finally the tip is white with blossoms, while the seeds +developed from the first flowers on the plant have been perfected and +scattered. + +[Illustration: _Yellow sweet clover._] + +The blossom is very much like a diminutive sweet pea; the calyx +is like a cup with five points to its rim, and is attached to the +stalk by a short stem. The banner petal is larger than the wings and +the keel. A lens shows the stamens united into two groups, with a +threadlike pistil pushing out between; both stamens and pistil are +covered by the keel, as in the pea blossom. + +The flowers are beloved by bees and many other insects, which are +attracted to them by their fragrance as well as by the white radiance +of their blossoms. The ripened pod is well encased in the calyx at +its base. The foliage of the sweet clover is fragrant, especially so +when drying; it has been used for fodder. The sweet clovers came to +us from Europe and are, in a measure, compensation for some of the +other emigrant weeds which we wish had remained at home. + + + LESSON CLXVII + + SWEET CLOVER + +_Leading thought_--This beneficent plant grows in soil too poor for +other plants to thrive in. It brings nitrogen and air into the soil, +and thus makes it fertile so that other plants soon find in its +vicinity nourishment for growth. + +_Method_--Plants of the sweet clover with their roots may be brought +to the schoolroom for study. The children should observe sweet clover +in the field; its method of inflorescence, and the insects which +visit it, should be noted. + +_Observations_--1. What first makes you aware that you are near sweet +clover? On what kinds of soil, and in what localities, does sweet +clover abound? + +2. Do you know how sweet clover growing in poor soils and waste +places acts as a pioneer for other plants? + +3. Dig up a sweet clover plant, and see how far its stems go into the +soil. + +4. How high does the plant grow? What is the color of its foliage? + +5. Compare one of the leaves with the leaf of a red clover, and +describe the likeness and the difference. Note especially the edges +of the upper and the lower leaves, and also the stipules. + +6. Describe the way the sweet clover blossoms. Do the lower or upper +flowers open first? How does the flower stem look before it begins +to blossom? What happens to it after the blossoming begins? How long +will it continue to blossom? + +7. Take a blossom and compare it with that of a sweet pea. Can you +see the banner? The wings? The keel? Can you see if the stamens are +united into two sets? Can you see the pistil? Note the shape of the +calyx. + +8. How many flowers are in blossom at a time? Does it make a mass of +white to attract insects? In what other way does it attract insects? +What insects do you find visiting it? + +9. How do the ripened pods look? + + * * * * * + + “_The blooming wilds His gardens are; some cheering + Earth’s ugliest waste has felt that flowers bequeath, + And all the winds o’er summer hills careering + Sound softer for the sweetness that they breathe._” + --THERON BROWN. + + + + + THE WHITE CLOVER + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The sweet clover should be studied first, for after making this study +it is easier to understand the blossoming of the white and the red +clover. In the sweet clovers, the flowers are strung along the stalk +but in the red, the white, and many others, it is as if the blossom +stalk were telescoped, so that the flowers are all in one bunch, +the tip of the stalk making the center of the clover head. We use +the white clover in our lawns because of a peculiarity of its stem, +which, instead of standing erect, lies flat on the ground, sending +leaves and blossoms upward and thus making a thick carpet over the +ground. The leaves are very pretty; and although they grow upon the +stems alternately, they always manage to twist around so as to lift +their three leaflets upward to the light. The three leaflets are +nearly equal in size, with fine, even veins and toothed edges; and +each has upon it, near the middle a pale, angular spot. The white +clover, in common with other clovers, has the pretty habit of going +to sleep at night. Botanists may object to this human term, but the +great Linnæus first called it sleep, and we may be permitted to +follow his example. Certainly the way the clover leaves fold at the +middle, the three drawing near each other, looks like going to sleep, +and is one of the things which even the little child will enjoy +observing. + +The clover head is made up of many little flowers; each one has a +tubular calyx with five delicate points and a little stem to hold it +up into the world. In shape, the corolla is much like that of the +sweet pea, and each secretes nectar at its base. The outside blossoms +open first; and as soon as open, the honey bees, which eagerly visit +white clover wherever it is growing, begin at once their work of +gathering nectar and carrying pollen; as soon as the florets are +pollenated they wither and droop below the flower-head. + + “Where I made One, turn down an empty Glass.” + +Sings old Omar, and I always think of it when I see the turned-down +florets of the white-clover blossom. But in this case the glass is +not empty, but holds the maturing seed. This habit of the white +clover flowers saves the bees much time, since only those which need +pollenating are lifted upward to receive their visits. The length of +time the little clover head requires for the maturing of its blossoms +depends much upon the weather and upon the insect visitors. + +White clover honey is in the opinion of many the most delicious honey +made from any flowers except, perhaps, from orange blossoms. So +valuable is the white clover as a honey plant, that apiarists often +grow acres of it for their bees. + + + LESSON CLXVIII + + THE WHITE CLOVER + +_Leading thought_--The white clover has creeping stems. Its flowers +depend upon the bees for their pollination, and the bees depend upon +the white clover blossoms for honey. + +_Method_--The plant may be brought into the schoolroom while in +blossom, and its form be studied there. Observations as to the +fertilization of the flowers should be made out-of-doors. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the white clover grow? Why is it so +valuable in lawns? + +2. Note carefully the clover leaf, the shape of the three leaflets, +stems, and edges. Is part of the leaflet lighter colored than the +rest? If so, describe the shape. Are the leaflets unequal or equal +in size? Does each leaf come directly from the root? Are they +alternately arranged? Why do they seem to come from the upper side of +the stem? + +3. Note the behavior of the clover leaves at night. How do the two +side leaflets act? The central leaflet? Do you think that this is +because the plant is sleepy? + +4. Take a white clover head, and note that it is made up of many +little flowers. How many? Study one of the little flowers with a +lens. Can you see its calyx? Its petals? Its stem? In what way is it +similar to the blossom of the sweet pea? + +5. Take a head of white clover which has not yet blossomed. Tie a +string about its stem so that you may be sure you are observing the +same flower and make the following observations during several days: +Which blossoms begin to open first--those outside or inside? How many +buds open each day? What happens to the blossoms as they fade? Of +what use is this to the plant? How many days pass from the time the +flowers begin to blossom until the last flower at the center opens? + +6. What insects do you see working on the white clover blossoms? +How does the bee act when collecting nectar? Can you see where she +thrusts her tongue? What does the bee do for the clover blossom? What +sort of honey does the white clover give to the bee? + +7. Tie little bags of cheesecloth over two or three heads of white +clover and see if they produce any seed. + + * * * * * + + “_Little flower; but if I could understand + What you are, root and all, and all in all, + I should know what God and man is._” + --TENNYSON. + + * * * * * + + “_To me the meanest flower that blows, can give + Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears._” + --WORDSWORTH. + + * * * * * + + “_I know a place where the sun is like gold, + And the cherry blooms burst with snow, + And down underneath is the loveliest nook + Where the four leaf clovers grow._” + --ELLA HIGGINSON. + + + + +[Illustration: _Seneca Indian women husking corn for braiding._ + +Photo by Arthur C. Parker. From Bulletin 144 of New York State +Museum, “Iroquois uses of Maize and other Food Plants” by Arthur C. +Parker.] + + + THE MAIZE, OR INDIAN CORN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Hail! Ha-wen-ni-yu! Listen with open ears to the words of + thy people. Continue to listen. We thank our mother earth + which sustains us. We thank the winds which have banished + disease. We thank He-no for rain. We thank the moon and stars + which give us light when the sun has gone to rest. We thank + the sun for warmth and light by day. Keep us from evil ways + that the sun may never hide his face from us for shame and + leave us in darkness. We thank thee that thou hast made our + corn to grow. Thou art our creator and our good ruler, thou + canst do no evil. Everything thou doest is for our happiness._” + + +[Illustration: T] + +Thus prayed the Iroquois Indians when the corn had ripened on the +hills and valleys of New York State long before it was a state, and +even before Columbus had turned his ambitious prows westward in quest +of the Indies. Had he found the Indies with their wealth of fabrics +and spices, he would have found there nothing so valuable to the +world as has proved this golden treasure of ripened corn. + +The origin of Indian corn, or maize, is shrouded in mystery. There is +a plant which grows on the table-lands of Mexico, which is possibly +the original species; but so long had maize been cultivated by the +American Indians that it was thoroughly domesticated when America was +first discovered. In those early days of American colonization, it +is doubtful, says Professor John Fiske, if our forefathers could have +remained here had it not been for Indian corn. No plowing, nor even +clearing, was necessary for the successful raising of this grain. The +trees were girdled, thus killing their tops to let in the sunlight; +the rich earth was scratched a little with a primitive tool, and +the seed put in and covered; and the plants that grew therefrom +took care of themselves. If the pioneers had been obliged to depend +alone upon the wheat and rye of Europe, which only grows under good +tillage, they might have starved before they gained a foothold on our +forest-covered shores. + + + THE CORN PLANT + +In studying the maize it is well to keep in mind that a heavy wind is +its worst enemy; such a wind will lay it low, and from such an injury +it is difficult for the corn to recover and perfect its seed. Thus, +the mechanism of the corn-stalk and leaf is adapted for prevention +of this disaster. The corn-stalk is, practically, a strong cylinder +with a pithy center, the fibres of the stalks are very strong, and at +short intervals the stalk is strengthened by hard nodes, or joints, +if the whole stalk were as hard as the nodes, it would be inelastic +and break instead of bend; as it is, the stalk is very elastic and +will bend far over before it breaks. The nodes are nearer each other +at the bottom, thus giving strength to the base; they are farther +apart at the top, where the wind strikes, and where the bending and +bowing of the stalk is necessary. + +[Illustration: _Stalk of corn with ear and tassel._] + +The leaf comes off at a node and clasps the stalk for a considerable +distance, thus making it stronger, especially toward the base. Just +where the leaf starts away from the stem there is a little growth +called a rain-guard; if water should seep between the stalk and the +clasping leaf, it would afford harbor for destructive fungi. The +structure of the corn leaf is especially adapted to escape injury +from the wind; the strong veins are parallel with a strong but +flexible midrib at the center; often, after the wind has whipped the +leaves severely, only the tips are split and injured. The edges +of the corn leaf are ruffled and, where the leaf leaves the stalk, +there is a wide fold in the edge at either side; this arrangement +gives play for a sidewise movement without breaking the leaf margins. +The leaf is thus protected from the wind, whether it is struck from +above or horizontally. The true roots of the corn plant go quite +deep into the soil, but are hardly adequate to the holding of such +a tall, slender stalk upright in a wind storm; therefore, all about +the base of the plant are brace-roots, which serve to hold the stalk +erect--like the stay-ropes about a flagpole. + + + THE EAR OF CORN + +[Illustration: _The pollen-bearing flowers of corn._] + +The ears of corn are borne at the joints or nodes; and the stalk, +where the ear presses against it, is hollowed out so as to hold it +snugly; this is very suggestive of a mother holding a baby in her +arms. In the following ways, the husks show plainly that they are +modified leaves: The husk has the same structure as the leaf, having +parallel veins; it comes off the stem like a leaf; it is often green, +and therefore does the work of a leaf; it changes to leaf shape at +the tip of the ear, thus showing that the husk is really that part +of the leaf which usually clasps the stem. If a husk tipped with a +leaf is examined, the rain-guard will be found at the place where +the two join. As a matter of fact, the ear of corn is on a branch +stalk which has been very much shortened, so that the nodes are very +close together, and therefore the leaves come off close together. By +stripping the husks back one by one, the change from the outside, +stiff, green leaf structure to the inner delicate, papery wrapping +for the seed, may be seen in all its stages. This is a beautiful +lesson in showing how the maize protects its seed, and the husk may +well be compared to the clothing of a baby. The pistillate flowers of +the corn, which finally develop into the kernels, grow in pairs along +the sides of the end portion of the shortened stalk, which is what we +call the “cob.” Therefore, the ear will show an even number of rows, +and the cob shows distinctly that the rows are paired. The corn-silk +is the style of the pistillate flowers; and therefore, in order to +secure pollen, it must extend from the ovule, which later develops +into a kernel, to the tip of the ear, where it protrudes from the end +of the husk. A computation of the number of kernels in a row and on +the ear makes a very good arithmetic lesson for the primary pupils, +especially as the kernels occur in pairs. + + + THE GROWTH OF THE CORN + +[Illustration: + + _1, The anthers of corn_; _2, The tip of the corn-silk showing + the stigma_; _3, The pistillate flower, which will develop + into the kernel_. +] + +If we cut a kernel of corn crosswise we can see, near the point +where it joins the cob, the little plant and the root. Corn should +be germinated between wet blotters, in a seed-testing experiment, +before observations are made on the growing corn of the fields. When +the corn first appears, the corn leaves are in a pointed roll which +pierces the soil. Soon they spread apart, but it may be some time +before the corn-stalk proper appears. Then it stretches up rapidly, +and very soon will be tipped with beautiful pale brown tassels. These +tassels merit careful study for they are the staminate flowers. Each +floret has two anthers hanging down from it, and each half of each +anther is a little bag of pollen-grains; and in order that they shall +be shaken down upon the waiting corn-silk below, the bottom of each +bag opens wide when the pollen is ripe. The corn-silk, at this stage, +is branched at the tip and clothed with fine hairs, so that it may +catch a grain of the precious pollen. Then occurs one of the most +wonderful pollen stories in all nature, for the pollen-tube must +push down through the center of the corn-silk for its whole length, +in order to reach the waiting ovule and thus enable it to become a +kernel of corn. These young, unfertilized kernels are pretty objects, +looking like seed-pearls, each wrapped in furry bracts. If the silk +from one of these young flowers does not receive its grain of pollen, +then the kernel will not develop and the ear will be imperfect. On +the other hand if the pollen from another variety of corn falls upon +the waiting stigmas of the silk, we shall find the ear will have upon +it a mixture of the two varieties. This is best exemplified when we +have the black and white varieties of sweet corn growing near each +other. + +[Illustration: _Corn ears with braided husks as the Indians used to +carry them._] + +One reason why corn is such a valuable plant to us is that its growth +is so rapid. It is usually not planted until late spring, yet, with +some varieties, by September the stalks are twenty feet high. The +secret of this is that the corn, unlike many other plants, has many +points of growth. While young, the lower part of the stalk lying +between every two nodes is a growing center and the tip of the stalk +also grows; in most plants, the tip of the stems is the only center +of growth. The first two experiments suggested will demonstrate +this. When blown down by the wind, the corn has a wonderful way of +lifting itself, by inserting growing wedges in the lower sides of +the nodes. A corn-stalk blown down by the wind will often show this +wedge-shape at every joint, and the result will be an upward curve +of the whole stalk. Of course, this cannot be seen unless the stalk +is cut lengthwise through the center. Experiment 3 is suggested to +demonstrate this. + +During drought the corn leaves check the transpiration of water by +rolling together lengthwise in tubes, thus offering less surface +to the sun and air. The farmer calls this the curling of the corn, +and it is always a sign of lack of moisture. If a corn plant with +leaves thus curled, be given plenty of water, the leaves will soon +straighten out again into their normal shape. + +_References_: Corn Plants, Sargent; Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets, +Vol. 1; Elements of Agriculture, Warren; The First Book of Farming, +Goodrich; Agriculture, Jackson and Dougherty; Rural School +Agriculture, Hays; Columbia’s Emblem, Houghton, Mifflin and Co. + +[Illustration: _Corn in the shock._] + + + LESSON CLXIX + + THE MAIZE + +_Leading thought_--The Indian corn, or maize, is a plant of much +beauty and dignity. It has wonderful adaptations for the development +of its seed and for resisting its arch-enemy, the wind. + +_Method_--The study may begin in spring when the corn is planted, +giving the pupils the outline for observations to be filled out in +their note-books during the summer, when they have opportunities for +observing the plant; or it may be studied in the autumn as a matured +plant. It may be studied in the school room or in the field, or both. + +_Observations on the corn plant_--1. Describe the central stem. How +many joints, or nodes, has it? Of what use to the plant are these +nodes? Are the joints nearer each other at the bottom or the top of +the plant? + +2. Where do the leaves come off the stem? Describe the relation of +the bases of the leaves to the stem. Of what use is this to the plant? + +3. Note the little growth on the leaf where it leaves the stalk. +Describe how this prevents the rain from seeping down between the +stalk and the clasping leaf. What danger would there be to the plant +if the water could get into this narrow space? + +4. What is the shape of the leaf? Describe the veins. Does the leaf +tear easily across? Does it tear easily lengthwise? Of what use to +the leaf is this condition? + +5. Are the edges of the corn leaf straight or ruffled? How does this +ruffled edge permit the leaf to turn without breaking? Describe at +length the benefit the corn plant derives from having leaves which +cannot be broken across and that can bend readily sidewise as well as +up and down. + +6. Describe the roots of the corn plant. Describe the brace-roots. +Explain their use. + +7. Describe all the ways in which the corn plant is strengthened +against its enemy, the wind. + +_Observation on the ear of corn_--8. Where on the corn plant are the +ears borne? Are two ears borne on the same side of the stalk? Remove +an ear, and see how the stalk is changed to give it room. + +9. Where do the ears come off the stalk in relation to the leaves? + +10. Examine the outside husks, and compare them with the green +leaves. What is there to suggest that the corn-husk is a leaf changed +to protect the seed? Do you think that the husk represents that +portion of the leaf which clasps the stalk? Why? Describe how the +inner husk differs from the outer in color and texture. Describe how +this is a special protection to the growing kernels. + +11. After carefully removing the husk, examine the silk and see if +there is a thread for every kernel. Is there an equal amount of silk +lying between every two rows? Do you know what part of the corn +flower is the cornsilk? What part is the kernel? + +12. How many rows of kernels are there on an ear? How many kernels +in a row? How many on the whole ear? Do any of the rows disappear +toward the tip of the ear? If so, do they disappear in pairs? Do you +know why? Are the kernels on the tip of the ear and near the base +as perfect as those along the middle? Do you know whether they will +germinate as quickly and vigorously as the middle ones? + +13. Study a cob with no corn on it and note if the rows of +kernel-sockets are in distinct pairs. This will, perhaps show best if +you break the cob across. + +14. Break an ear of corn in two, and sketch the broken end showing +the relation of the cob to the kernels. + +15. Are there any places on the ear you are studying, where the +kernels did not grow or are blasted? What happened to cause this? + +16. Describe the requisites for a perfect ear of seed-corn. Why +should the plant from which the seed-ear is taken be vigorous and +perfect? + +_Observations on the growth of corn--Work for the Summer +Vacation_--17. How does the corn look when it first comes up? How +many leaves are there in the pointed roll which first appears above +the ground? How long before the central stalk appears? + +18. When do the tassels first appear? What kind of flowers are the +corn tassels? Describe the anthers. How many on each flower? Where do +the anthers open to discharge their pollen? + +19. How large are the ears when the pollen is being shed? Study an +ear of corn at this period. Note that the kernel is the ovule, the +silk is attached to it and is the long style extending out beyond the +husks. Note that the tip, or stigma is branched. + +20. What carries the pollen for the corn plant? If you have rows of +popcorn and sweet corn or of sweet corn and field corn next to each +other why is it that the ears will show a mixture of both kinds? + + + EXPERIMENT 1 + +Compare the growth of the corn plant with that of the pigweed. When +the corn-stalk first appears above ground, tie two strings upon +it, one just above a joint and one below it. Tie two strings the +same distance apart on the stem of a pigweed. Measure carefully the +distance between these two strings on the two plants. Two weeks later +measure the distance between the strings again. What is the result? + + + EXPERIMENT 2 + +Measure the distance between two of the nodes or joints near the tip +of a certain corn-stalk. Two weeks later measure this distance again +and compare the two. + + + EXPERIMENT 3 + +When a stalk of corn is still green in August, bend it down and place +a stick across it at about half its length. Describe how it tries +to lift itself to an erect attitude after two or three weeks. Cut +lengthwise across one of the nodes, beyond the point held down by the +stick, and see the wedge-shaped growth within the joint which helps +to raise the stalk to an upright position. + + + EXPERIMENT 4 + +During the August drought, note that the corn leaves are rolled. +Give a corn plant with rolled leaves plenty of water and note what +happens. Why? + + + + + THE COTTON PLANT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +There are some plants which have made great chapters in the histories +of nations, and cotton is one of them. The fibre of cotton was used +for making clothing so long ago, that its discovery is shrouded in +the myths of prehistoric times. But we believe it first came into use +in India, for in this land we find certain laws concerning cotton +which were codified 800 B. C.; and allusions to the fine, white +raiment of the peoples of India are frequent in ancient history. +Cotton was introduced into Egypt from India at an early date; it +was in common use there 150 B. C. But not until our Civil War laid +fallow the cotton fields of the United States, did Egypt realize +the value of its crop; and although much money was lost there in +agricultural speculation after our own product was again put on the +market, yet cotton has remained since that time one of Egypt’s most +valuable exports. + +When Columbus discovered America he found cotton growing in the West +Indies, and the chief articles of clothing of the native Mexicans +were made of cotton. Cloths of cotton were also found in ancient +tombs of Peru, proving it was used there long before the white man +set his foot upon those shores. When Magellan made his famous voyage +around the world in 1500, he found the cotton fibre in use in Brazil. + +[Illustration: _The cotton in blossom._] + +It is a strange fact that the only region of the world between the +parallels of 40° north and 40° south latitude, where cotton did not +grow as a native or cultivated plant when America was discovered, +was the region of our Gulf States, which now produces more cotton +than any other. The first mention of cotton as a crop in the American +colonies is in the report published in 1666. At the time of the +Revolutionary War the cotton industry was thoroughly established. It +is one of the significant facts of history that the invention of the +cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793, which revolutionized the cotton +industry and brought it to a much more profitable basis, wrought +great evil to the United States, since it revived the profits of +slave-holding. The institution of slavery was sinking out of sight by +its own weight; Washington showed that it was the most expensive way +to work land, and Jefferson failed to liberate his own slaves simply +because he believed that liberty would come to all slaves inevitably, +since slave-holding was such an expense to the plantation owners. But +the cotton gin, which removed the seeds rapidly--theretofore done by +slow and laborious hand process--suddenly made the raising of cotton +so profitable that slaves were again employed in its production with +great financial benefits. And thus it came about that the cotton +plant innocently wielded a great influence in the political, as well +as the industrial life of our country. + +The cotton plant has a taproot, with branches which go deep into the +soil. The stem is nearly cylindrical, the branches often spreading +and sometimes irregular; the bark is dark and reddish; the wood is +white. In Egypt, and probably in other arid countries, the stalks are +gathered for fuel in winter. + +The leaves are alternate, with long petioles. The upper leaves are +deeply cut, some having five, some seven, some three, and some even +nine lobes; strong veins extend from the petiole along the center of +each lobe; the leaves near the ground may not be lobed at all. Where +the petiole joins the stem, there is a pair of long, slender, pointed +stipules, but they often fall off early. A strange characteristic +of the cotton leaves is that they bear nectar-glands; these may be +seen on the under side and along the main ribs of the leaf; they +appear as little pits in the rib; some leaves may have none, while +others may have from one to five. It has been thought that perhaps +these glands might attract bees, wasps or ants, which would attack +the caterpillars eating the leaves, but this has not been proved. +However, many friendly insects get their nectar at these leaf-wells, +and here is an opportunity for some young naturalist of the South +to investigate this matter and discover what insects come to these +glands at all times of day and what they do. + +The flower bud is partially hidden beneath the clasping bracts of the +involucre. These bracts are three or four in number, and they have +the edges so deeply lobed that they seem branched. By pushing back +the bracts we can find the calyx, which is a shallow cup with five +shallow notches in its rim. The petals are rolled in the bud like a +shut umbrella. The open flower has five broadly spreading petals; +when the bud first opens in the morning, the petals are whitish or +pale yellow with a purplish spot at the base, by noon they are pale +pink, by the next day they are a deep purplish red and they fall at +the end of the second day. There are nectar-glands also in the flower +at the base of the calyx, and the insects are obliged to thrust their +tongues between the bases of the petals to reach the nectar, only +long-tongued bees, moths and butterflies are able to attain it. + +[Illustration: + + _1, The cotton flower cut in half, showing the stamen-tube at + the center, up through which extends the style of the pistil. + Note the bracts and calyx._ + + _2, A young boll, with calyx at its base and set in the + involucral bracts._ +] + +There are many stamens which have their filaments united in a tube +extending up into the middle of the flower and enlarging a little +at the tip; below the enlarged base of this tube is the ovary +which later develops into the cotton-boll; within the stamen-tube +extends the long style, and from its tip are thrust out from three +to five stigmas like little pennants from the top of a chimney; and +sometimes they are more or less twisted together. The young boll is +covered and protected by the fringed bracts, which cover the bud +and remain attached to the ripened boll. The calyx, looking like a +little saucer, also remains at the base of the boll. The boll soon +assumes an elongated, oval shape, with long, pointed tip, it is green +outside and covered with little pits, as large as pin points. There +are, extending back from the pointed tip, three to five creases or +sutures, which show where the bell will open. If we open a nearly +ripened boll, we find that half way between each two sutures where +the boll will open, there is a partition extending into the boll +dividing it into compartments. These are really carpels, as in the +core of an apple, and their leaf origin may be plainly seen in the +venation. The seeds are fastened by their pointed ends along each +side of the central edge of the partition, from which they break away +very easily. The number of seeds varies, usually two or three along +each side; the young seeds are wrapped in the young cotton, which is +a stringy, soft white mass. The cotton fibres are attached to the +covering of the seed around the blunt end, and usually the pointed +end is bare. When the boll opens, the cotton becomes very fluffy and +if not picked will blow away; for this cotton fibre is a device of +the wild cotton for disseminating its seeds by sending them off on +the wings of the wind. Heavy winds at the cotton-picking time, are a +menace to the crop and often occasion serious loss. + +The mechanism of the opening of the cotton-boll is very interesting; +along the central edge of each partition and extending up like +beaks into the point of the boll, is a stiff ridge, about the basal +portion of which the seeds are attached; as the boll becomes dry, +this ridged margin becomes as stiff as wire and warps outward; at +the same time, the outside of the boll is shriveling. This action +tears the boll apart along the sutures and exposes the seeds with +their fluffy balloons to the action of the wind. The ripe, open, +empty boll is worth looking at; the sections are wide apart and each +white, delicate, parchment-like partition, or carpel, has its wire +edge curved back gracefully. The outside of the boll is brown and +shriveled, but inside it is still white and shows that it had a soft +lining for its “seed babies.” + +The amount of the cotton crop per acre varies with the soil and +climate; the amount that can be picked per day also depends upon the +cotton as well as the picker. Children have been known to pick one +hundred pounds per day, and a first-class picker from five hundred +to six hundred pounds, or even eight hundred; one man has made a +record of picking sixty pounds in an hour. Cotton is one of the most +important crops grown in America, and there are listed more than one +hundred and thirty varieties which have originated in our country. + +_References_--The various bulletins of the United States Department +of Agriculture and of the experiment stations of the Southern States. +The most complete of these is Bulletin No. 33, Office of Experiment +Stations, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, published in 1896. + + + LESSON CLXX + + COTTON + +[Illustration: _A donkey laden with cotton stalks in Cairo, Egypt, +the bundles to be sold for fuel._ + +Photo by J. H. Comstock.] + +_Leading thought_--Cotton has had a great influence upon our country +politically as well as industrially. Its fibre was used by the +ancients, and it is to-day one of the most important crops in the +regions where it is grown. + +_Method_--A cotton plant with blossoms and ripe bolls upon it may be +brought into the schoolroom or studied in the field. + +_Observations_--1. How many varieties of cotton do you know? Which +kind is it you are studying? + +2. What sort of root has the cotton plant? Does it go deep into the +soil? + +3. How high does the plant grow? Are the stems tough or brittle? What +is the color of the bark? Of the wood? Do you know of a country where +cotton stalks are used for fuel? Do the stem and branches grow erect +or very spreading? + +4. Are the leaves opposite or alternate? Are the petioles as long as +the leaves? Are there any stipules where the petioles join the main +stem? How many forms of leaves can you find on the same stem? How do +the upper differ from the lower leaves? Describe or sketch one of the +large upper leaves, paying especial attention to the veins and the +shape of the lobes. + +5. Look at the lower side of a leaf and find, if you can, a little +pit on the midrib near its base. How many of these pits can you find +on the veins of one leaf? What is the fluid in these pits? Taste it +and see if it is sweet. Watch carefully a growing plant and describe +what insects you find feeding on this nectar. Note if the wasps and +ants, feeding on this nectar, attack the caterpillars of the cotton +worm which destroy the leaf. Where are the nectar-glands of plants +usually situated? + +6. Study the flower bud; what covers it? How many of these bracts +cover the flower bud? What is their shape and how do their edges +look? Push back the bracts and find and describe the calyx. How are +the petals folded in the bud? + +7. Take the open flower; how many petals are there, and what is their +shape? At what time of day do the flowers open? What color are the +petals when the flowers first open? What is their color later in the +day? What is their color the next day? When do the petals fall? + +8. Describe the stamens; how are they joined? How are the anthers +situated on the stamen-tube? Is the stamen-tube perfectly straight or +does it bend at the tip? + +9. Peel off carefully the stamen-tube and describe what you find +within it. How many stigmas come out of the tip of the tube? Find the +ovary below the stamen-tube. Which part of the flower grows into the +cotton-boll? + +10. Take a boll nearly ripe; what covers it? Push away the bracts; +can you find the calyx still present? What is the shape of the boll? +What is its color and texture? Can you see the creases where it will +open? How many are there of these? + +11. Open a nearly ripe boll very carefully. How many partitions are +there in it? Where are they in relation to the openings? Gently push +back the cotton from the seeds without loosening them, and describe +how the seeds are connected with the partitions. Is the seed attached +by its pointed or blunt end? + +12. How many seeds in each chamber in the cotton boll? Where on the +seed does the cotton grow? How does the cotton blanket wrap about the +seed? If the cotton is not picked what happens to it? Of what use to +the wild cotton plant are seeds covered with cotton? + +13. What makes the cotton-boll open? Describe an open and empty boll +outside and inside. + +14. How much cotton is considered a good crop per acre in your +vicinity? How much cotton can a good picker gather in a day? + +15. Write English themes on the following topics: “The history of the +cotton plant from ancient times until to-day,” “How the cotton plant +has affected American history.” + + * * * * * + + “_Queen-consort of the kingly maize, + The fair white cotton shares his throne, + And o’er the Southland’s realm she claims + A just allegiance, all her own._” + --MINNIE CURTIS WAIT. + + + + +[Illustration: Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + + + THE STRAWBERRY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Of all the blossoms that clothe our open fields, one of the prettiest +is that of the wild strawberry. And yet so influenced is man by his +stomach that he seldom heeds this flower except as a promise of a +crop of strawberries. It is comforting to know that the flowers of +the field “do not care a rap” whether man notices them or not; insect +attentions are what they covet, and they are surely as indifferent to +our indifference as it is to them. + +The field strawberry’s five petals are little cups of white held up +protectingly around a central treasure of anthers and pistils; each +petal has its base narrowed into a little stem, which the botanists +call a claw. When the blossom first opens, the anthers are little, +flat, vividly lemon-yellow discs, each disc consisting of two clamped +together sternly and determinedly as if they meant never to open and +yield their gold dust. At the very center of the flower is a little, +greenish yellow cone, which if we examine with a lens, we can see +is made up of many pistils set together, each lifting up a little, +circular, eager stigma high as ever it can reach. Whether all the +stigmas receive pollen or not determines the formation of a good +strawberry. + +The sepals are slender and pointed and seem to be ten in number, +every other one being smaller and shorter than its neighbors; but the +five shorter ones are not sepals but are bracts below the calyx. The +sepals unite at their bases so that the strawberry has really a lobed +calyx instead of separate sepals. The blossom stem is soft, pinkish +and silky and wilts easily. There are several blossoms borne upon one +stem and the central one opens first. + +The strawberry leaf is beautiful; each of its three leaflets is oval, +deeply toothed, and has strong regular veins extending from the +midrib to the tip of each tooth. In color it is rich, dark green and +turns to wine-color in autumn. It has a very pretty way of coming out +of its hairy bud scales, each leaflet folded lengthwise and the three +pressed together. Its whole appearance then, is infantile in the +extreme, it is so soft and helpless looking. But it soon opens out on +its pink, downy stem and shows the world how beautiful a leaf can be. + +[Illustration: _Strawberry leaf._] + +[Illustration: _Pistillate flower above._ + +_Perfect flower below._] + +If a comparison of the wild and cultivated strawberries is +practicable, it makes this lesson more interesting. Much tillage +and food have caused the cultivated blossoms to double, and they +may often have seven or eight petals. And while the wild flowers +are usually perfect, many cultivated varieties have the pollen and +pistils borne in different flowers, and they depend upon the bees +to carry their pollen. The blossom stem of the garden strawberry is +round, smooth and quite strong, holding its branching panicle of +flowers erect, and it is usually shorter than the leaf stems among +which it nestles. The flowers open in a series, so that ripe and +green fruit, flowers and buds may often be found on the same stem. +As the strawberry ripens, the petals and stamens wither and fall +away; the green calyx remains as the hull, which holds in its cup the +pyramid of pistils which swell and ripen into the juicy fruit. To +the botanists the strawberry is not a berry, that definition being +limited to fruits having a juicy pulp and containing many seeds, like +the currant or grape. The strawberry is a fleshy fruit bearing its +seed in shallow pits on its surface. These seeds are so small that +we do not notice them when eating the fruit, but each one is a tiny +nut, almond-shaped, and containing within its tough, little shell a +starchy meat to sustain the future plant which may grow from it. It +is by planting these seeds that growers obtain new varieties. + +The root of the strawberry is fibrous and threadlike. When growers +desire plants for setting new strawberry beds they are careful to +take only such as have light colored and fresh-looking roots. On old +plants the roots are rather black and woody and are not so vigorous. + +The stem of the strawberry is partially underground and so short as +to be unnoticeable. However, the leaves grow upon it alternately one +above another, so that the crown rises as it grows. The base of each +leaf has a broad, clasping sheath which partly encircles the plant +and extends upward in a pair of earlike stipules. + +The runners begin to grow after the fruiting season has closed; they +originate from the upper part of the crown; they are strong, fibrous +and hairy when young. Some are short between joints, others seem to +reach far out as if seeking for the best location before striking +root; a young plant will often have several leaves before putting +forth roots. Each runner may start one or more new strawberry plants. +After the young plant has root growth so as to be able to feed +itself, the runner ceases to carry sap from the main stem and withers +to a mere dry fiber. The parent plant continues to live and bear +fruit, for the strawberry is a perennial, but the later crops are of +less value. Gardeners usually renew their plots each year, but if +intending to harvest a second year’s crop, they cut off the runners +as they form. + +[Illustration: _Strawberry fruit._] + + + LESSON CLXXI + + THE STRAWBERRY + +_Leading thought_--The strawberry plant has two methods of +perpetuating itself, one by the seeds which are grown on the outside +of the strawberry fruits, and one by means of runners which start new +plants wherever they find place to take root. + +_Method_--It would be well to have a strawberry plant, with roots and +runners attached, for an observation lesson by the class. Each pupil +should have a leaf, including the clasping stipules and sheath at its +base. Each one should also have a strawberry blossom and bud, and if +possible a green or ripe fruit. + +_Observations_--1. What kind of root has the strawberry? What is its +color? + +2. How are the leaves of the strawberry plant arranged? Describe the +base of the leaf and the way it is attached to the stem. Has each +leaflet a pedicel or stem of its own? How many leaflets are there? +Sketch a strawberry leaf, showing the edges and form of the leaflets, +and the veins. + +3. From what part of the plant do the runners spring? When do the +runners begin to grow? Does the runner strike root before forming +a new plant or does the little plant grow on the runner and draw +sustenance from the parent plant? + +4. What happens to the runners after the new plants have become +established? Does the parent plant survive or die after it sends out +many runners? + +5. Describe the strawberry blossom. How many parts are there to the +hull or calyx? Can you see that five of these are set below the other +five? + +6. How many petals has it? Does the number differ in different +flowers? Has the wild strawberry as many petals as the cultivated +ones? + +7. Study with a lens the small green button at the center of the +flower. This is made up of pistils so closely set that only their +stigmas may be seen. Do you find this button of pistils in the same +blossom with the stamens? Does the wild blossom have both stamens and +pistils in the same flower? + +8. Describe the stamens. What insects carry pollen for the strawberry +plants? + +9. Are the blossoms arranged in clusters? Do the flowers all open at +the same time? What parts of the blossom fall away and what parts +remain when the fruit begins to form? + +10. Are the fruits all of the same shape and color? Is the pulp of +the same color within as on the surface? Has the fruit an outer coat +or skin? What are the specks on its surface? + +11. How many kinds of wild strawberries do you know? How many kinds +of cultivated strawberries do you know? + +12. Describe how you should prepare, plant and care for a strawberry +bed. + + + + + THE PUMPKIN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +If the pumpkin were as rare as some orchids, people would make long +pilgrimages to look upon so magnificent a plant. Although it trails +along the ground, letting Mother Earth help it support its gigantic +fruit, yet there is no sign of weakness in its appearance; the vine +stem is strong, ridged, spiny and purposeful. And the spines upon +it are surely a protection under some circumstances, for I remember +distinctly when, as children, bare-footed and owning the world, we +“played Indian” and found our ambush in the long rows of ripening +corn, we skipped over the pumpkin vines, knowing well the punishment +they inflicted on the unwary feet. + +From the hollow, strongly angled stem arise in majesty the pumpkin +leaves, of variously lobed patterns, but all formed on the same +decorative plan. The pumpkin leaf is as worthy of the sculptor’s +chisel as is that of the classic _acanthus_; it is palmately veined, +having from three to five lobes, and its broad base is supported for +a distance on each side of the angled petiole by the two basal veins. +The leaves are deep green above, paler below and are covered on both +sides with minute bristles, and their edges are finely toothed. The +bristly, angled stem which lifts it aloft is a quite worthy support +for so beautiful a leaf. And, during our childhood, it was also +highly esteemed as a trombone, for it added great richness of quality +to our orchestral performances, balancing the shrillness of the +basswood whistle and the sharp buzzing of the dandelion-stem pipe. + +[Illustration: “_When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in +the shock._” + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +Growing from a point nearly opposite a leaf, may be seen the +pumpkin’s elaborate tendril. It has a stalk like that of the leaf, +but instead of the leaf blade it seems to have the three to five +naked ribs curled in long, small coils very even and exact. Perhaps, +at some period in the past, the pumpkin vines lifted themselves by +clinging to trees, as do the gourd vines of to-day. But the pumpkin +was cultivated in fields with the maize by the North American +Indians, long before the Pilgrim Fathers came to America, to make +its fruit into pies. Since the pumpkin cannot sustain itself in our +Northern climate without the help of man, it was evidently a native +of a warmer land; and, by growing for so long a time as a companion +of the corn, it has learned to send its long stems out for many feet, +resting entirely upon the ground. But, like a conservative, elderly +maiden lady, it still wears corkscrew curls in memory of a fashion, +long since obsolete. Occasionally, we see the pumpkin vines at the +edge of the field pushing out and clambering over stone piles, and +often attempting to climb the rail fences, as if there still remained +within them the old instinct to climb. + +But though its foliage is beautiful, the glory of the pumpkin is +its vivid yellow blossom and, later, its orange fruit. When the +blossom first starts on its career as a bud, it is enfolded in a +bristly, ribbed calyx with five stiff, narrow lobes, which close up +protectingly about the green, cone-shaped bud, a rib of the cone +appearing between each two lobes of the calyx. If we watch one of +these buds day after day, we find that the green cone changes to +a yellow color and a softer texture as the bud unfolds, and then +we discover that it is the corolla itself; however, these ribs +which extend out to the tip of the corolla-lobes remain greenish +below, permanently. The expanding of the flower bud is a pretty +process; each lobe, supported by a strong midrib, spreads out into a +five-pointed star, each point being very sharp and angular because, +folded in along these edges in one of the prettiest of Nature’s hems, +is the ruffled margin of the flower. Not until the sun has shone upon +the star for some little time of a summer morning, do these turned-in +margins open out; and, late in the afternoon or during a storm, they +fold down again neatly before the lobes close up; if a bee is not +lively in escaping she may, willy-nilly, get a night’s lodging, for +these folded edges literally hem her in. + +[Illustration: _The closing of a pumpkin flower._ + +1, Staminate flower beginning to close; note the folded edges of the +lobes. 2, Pistillate flower nearly closed. 3, Staminate flower closed +and in its last stage.] + +The story of the treasure at the heart of this starry, bell-shaped +flower is a double one, and we had best begin it by selecting a +flower that has below it a little green globe--the ovary--which will +later develop into a pumpkin. At the heart of such a flower there +stand three stigmas, that look like liliputian boxing-gloves; each +is set on a stout, postlike style, which has its base in a great +nectar-cup, the edges of which are slightly incurved over its welling +sweetness. In order to reach this nectar, the lady bee must stand on +her head and brush her pollen-dusted side against the greedy stigmas. +Professor Duggar has noted that in dry weather the margins of this +nectar-cup contract noticeably, and that in wet weather the stigmas +close down as if the boxing-gloves were on closed fists. + +[Illustration: _The staminate blossom of the pumpkin, showing the +anther knob at the center. A bud of the staminate flower; and a +closed blossom at the right._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +[Illustration: + + _1, Base of pistillate blossom_; _o, ovary which develops into + the pumpkin_; _n, nectar-cup_; _st., stigmas_. _2, Base of a + staminate blossom_; _n, opening into the nectar-cup_; _an, + anthers joined, forming a knob_. _3, Pumpkin tendril._ +] + +The other half of the pumpkin-blossom story is to be found in the +flowers which have no green globes below them, for these produce +the pollen. Such a flower has at its center a graceful pedestal +with a broad base and a slender stem, which upholds a curiously +folded, elongate knob, that looks like some ancient or primitive +jewel wrought in gold. The corrugations on its surface are the +anther-cells, which are curiously joined and curved around a central +oblong support; by cutting one across, we can see plainly the central +core, bordered by cells filled with pollen. But where is the nectar +well in the smooth cup of this flower? Some have maintained that +the bees visit this flower for the sake of the pollen, but I am +convinced that this is not all of the story. In the base of the +pedestal which supports the anther knob there appear, after a time, +three inconspicuous openings; and if we watch a bee, we shall see +that she knows these openings are there and eagerly thrusts her +tongue down through them. If we remove the anthers and the pedestal, +we shall find below the latter, a treasure cave; it is carpeted +with the softest of buff velvet, and while it does not reek with +nectar, as does the cup which encompasses the styles of the pistil, +yet it secretes enough of the sweet fluid so that we can taste it +distinctly. Thus, although the bees find pollen in this flower they +also find there, nectar. The pumpkin is absolutely dependent upon +the work of bees and other insects for carrying its pollen from the +blossom that bears it to the one which needs it, as this is the only +way that the fruit may be developed. + +And after the pollen has been shed and delivered, the flower closes, +this time with an air of finality. The fading corolla looks as if +its lobes had been twisted about by the thumb and finger to secure +tightness; and woe betide the bee caught in one of these prisons, +unless she knows how to cut through its walls or can find within, +sustenance to last until the withered flower falls. The young pumpkin +is at first held up by its stiff stem but later rests upon the ground. + +The ripe pumpkin is not only a colossal but also a beautiful fruit. +The glossy rind is brilliant orange and makes a very efficient +protection for the treasures within it. The stem is strong, +five-angled and stubborn, and will not let go its hold until the +fruit is over-ripe. It then leaves a star-shaped scar to match +the one at the pther end of the fruit, where once the blossom sat +enthroned. The pumpkin in shape is like a little world flattened at +the poles, and with the lines of longitude creased into its surface. +But the number of these longitudinal creases varies with individual +pumpkins, and seems to have no relation to the angles of the stem or +the three chambers within. + +[Illustration: + + _Section of a pumpkin just after the blossom has fallen. Note + how the seeds are borne._ +] + +If we cut a small green pumpkin across, we find the entire inside +solid. There are three fibrous partitions extending from the center, +dividing the pulp into thirds; at its outer end each partition +divides, and the two ends curve in opposite directions. Within these +curves the seeds are borne. A similar arrangement is seen in the +sliced cucumber. As the pumpkin ripens, the partitions surrounding +the seeds become stringy and very different from the “meat” next to +the rind, which makes a thick, solid outer wall about the central +chamber, where, within its “groined arches” are contained six rows +of crowded seeds, attached by their pointed tips and supported by a +network of yellow, coarse fibers--like babies supported in hammocks. +All this network, making a loose and fibrous core, allows the seeds +to fall out in a mass when the pumpkin is broken. If we observe +where the cattle have been eating pumpkins we find these masses of +seeds left and trampled into the mud, where, if our winter climate +permitted, they could grow into plants next year. + +[Illustration: + + _The squash plant breaking out of the seed-coats._ +] + +[Illustration: _The operation further progressed._] + +The pumpkin seed is attached by its pointed end; it is flat, oblong +and has a rounded ridge at its edge, within which is a delicate +“beading.” The outside is very mucilaginous; but when wiped dry, +we can see that it has an outer, very thin, transparent coat; a +thicker white, middle coat; while the meat of the seed is covered +with a greenish, membranous coat. The meat falls apart lengthwise and +flatwise, the two halves forming later the seed-leaves and containing +the food laid up by the “pumpkin mother” for the nourishment of the +young plant. Between these two halves, at the pointed end, is the +germ, which will develop into a new plant. + +When sprouting, the root pushes out through the pointed end of the +seed and grows downward. The shell of the seed is forced open by a +little wedge-shaped projection, while the seed-leaves are pulled +from their snug quarters. In watching one of these seeds sprout, it +is difficult not to attribute to it conscious effort, while it is +sturdily pulling hard to release its seed-leaves. If it fails to do +this, the seed shell clamps the seed-leaves together like a vise, and +the little plant is crippled. + +Both squashes and pumpkins figure in the spicy Thanksgiving pies, but +the chief value of the pumpkin crop in America is as food for milch +cows; it causes a yield of milk so rich, that the butter made from it +is as golden as its flesh. But the Hallow-e’en jack o’lantern appeals +to the children. In this connection, a study of expression might be +made interesting; the turning of the corners of the mouth up or down, +and the angles of the eyebrows, making all the difference between a +jolly grin and an “awful face.” + + + LESSON CLXXII + + THE PUMPKIN + +_Leading thought_--The pumpkin and squash were cultivated by the +American Indians in their cornfields long before Columbus discovered +the new world. The flowers of these plants depend entirely upon +insects for carrying their pollen, and are unable to develop their +fruit without this aid. + +_Method_--This work may be done in the garden or field in September +or early October; or a vine bearing both kinds of flowers, leaves and +tendrils may be brought to the schoolroom for observation. The lesson +on the pumpkin fruit may be given later. A small green pumpkin should +be studied with the ripe one, and also with the blossoms, so as to +show the position of the seeds during development. This lesson can be +modified to fit the cucumber, the melon and the squash. + + + _The Pumpkin Vine and Flowers_ + +_Observations_--1. How many different forms of flowers do you find on +a pumpkin vine? What are the chief differences in their shape? + +2. Look first at the flowers with the long slender stems: What is the +shape and color of the blossom? How many lobes has it? Is each lobe +distinctly ribbed or veined? Is the flower smooth on the inner and +the outer surface? Are the edges of the lobes scalloped or ruffled? + +[Illustration: _Partially closed pistillate blossom at the right, +showing the stigmas and the nectar-cup at the center. Note the young +pumpkin and the beautiful leaf; note also the angular, spiny stems._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +3. What do you see at the bottom of the golden vase of this flower? +This yellow club, or knob, is formed by the joining of three anthers, +one of which is smaller than the others. Do all the pumpkin flowers +have this knob at the center? Look at the base of the standard which +bears the anther-knob, and note if there are some openings; how many? +Cut off the anther pedestal, and describe what is hidden beneath it. +Note if the bees find the openings to the nectar-well and probe there +for the nectar. Do they become dusted with pollen while seeking the +nectar? + +4. What color is the pollen which is clinging to the anther? Is it +soft and light, or moist and sticky? Do you think that the wind would +be able to lift it from its deep cup and carry it to the cup of +another flower? + +5. Describe the calyx behind this pollen-bearing flower. How many +lobes has it? Are the lobes slender and pointed? + +6. Find one of the flowers which has below it a little green globe, +which will later develop into a pumpkin. How does this flower differ +from the one that bears the pollen? + +7. Describe or sketch the pistil which is at the bottom of this +flower vase. Into how many lobes does it divide? Do these three +stigmas face outward, or toward each other? Are the styles which +uphold the stigmas short or long? Describe the cup in which they +stand. Break away a bit of this little yellow cup and taste it. Why +do you think the pumpkin flowers need such a large and well-filled +nectary? Could insects get the nectar from the cup without rubbing +against the stigmas, the pollen with which they became so thoroughly +dusted when they visited the staminate flowers? + +8. Cut through the center of one of the small green pumpkins. Can +you see into how many sections it is divided? Does the number of +seed-clusters correspond with the number of stigmas in the flower? +Make a sketch of a cross-section, showing where the seeds are placed. + +9. What insects do you find visiting the pumpkin flowers? + +10. Carefully unfold a flower bud which is nearly ready to open, and +note how it is folded. Then notice late in the afternoon how the +flower closes. What part is folded over first? What next? How does it +look when closed? + +11. Describe the stems of the pumpkin vine; how are they strengthened +and protected? Sketch or describe a pumpkin leaf. + +12. Describe one of the tendrils of the pumpkin vine. Do you think +that these tendrils could help the vine in climbing? Have you ever +found a pumpkin vine climbing up any object? + + + _The Pumpkin Fruit_ + +_Observations_--1. Do you think the pumpkin is a beautiful fruit? +Why? Describe its shape and the way it is creased. Describe the +rind, its color and its texture, and tell how it protects the fruit. +Describe the stem; does it cling to the pumpkin? How many ridges +in the stem where it joins the vine? How many where it joins the +pumpkin? Which part of the stem is larger? Does this give it a firmer +hold? + +[Illustration: _A closed pistillate flower of the pumpkin._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +2. Cut in halves crosswise a small green pumpkin and a ripe one. +Which is the most solid? Can you see how the seeds are borne in the +green pumpkin? How do they look in the ripe pumpkin? What is next to +the rind in the ripe fruit? What part of the pumpkin do we use for +pies? + +3. Can you see in the ripe pumpkin where the seeds are borne? How are +they suspended? How many rows of seeds lengthwise of the pumpkin? Of +what use could it be to the pumpkin to have the seeds thus suspended +within it by these threads or fibers? What is left of a pumpkin after +the cattle have eaten it? Might the seeds thus left plant themselves? + +4. Is the pumpkin seed attached at the round, or the pointed, end? +Describe the pumpkin seed its shape and its edges? How does it feel +when first taken from the pumpkin? How many coats has the seed? + +5. Describe the meat of the seed? Does it divide naturally into two +parts? Can you see the little germ? Have you ever tried roasting and +salting pumpkin and squash seeds, to prepare them for food as almonds +and peanuts are prepared? + +6. Plant a pumpkin seed in damp sand and give it warmth and light. +From which end does it sprout? What comes first, the root or the +leaves? What part of the seed forms the seed-leaves? + +7. Describe how the pumpkin sprout pries open the shell to its seed, +in order to get its seed-leaves out. What happens if it does not pull +them out? Which part of the seedling pumpkin appears above ground +first? + +8. How do the true leaves differ in shape from the seed-leaves. What +is the use of the seed-leaves to the plant? + + * * * * * + + _Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West, + From North and from South come the pilgrim and guest, + When the gray-haired New-Englander sees round his board + The old broken lines of affection restored, + When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more, + And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before, + What moistens the lip and brightens the eye? + What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?_ + + _Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! the old days recalling, + When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling + When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin, + Glaring out through the dark with a candle within! + When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune, + Our chair a broad pumpkin--our lantern the moon, + Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like steam, + In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats for her team!_ + --J. G. WHITTIER. + + + + + FLOWERLESS-PLANT STUDY + + + FERNS + +[Illustration: M] + +Many interesting things about ferns may be taught to the young child, +but the more careful study of these plants is better adapted to the +pupils in the higher grades, and is one of the wide-open doors that +leads directly from nature-study to systematic science. While the +pupils are studying the different forms in which ferns bear their +fruit, they can make collections of all the ferns of the locality. +Since ferns are easily pressed and are beautiful objects when mounted +on white paper, the making of a fern herbarium is a delightful +pastime; or leaf-prints may be made which give beautiful results (see +page 734); but, better perhaps, than either collections or prints, +are pencil or water-color drawings with details of the fruiting +organs enlarged. Such a portfolio is not only a thing of beauty but +the close observation needed for drawing brings much knowledge to the +artist. + +_References._--Our Ferns in Their Haunts, W. N. Clute, (of greatest +value to teachers because it gives much of fern literature); How to +Know the Ferns, Parsons; Ferns, Waters; New England Ferns, Eastman. + + + + + THE CHRISTMAS FERN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_No shivering frond that shuns the blast sways on its slender + chaffy stem; + Full veined and lusty green it stands, of all the wintry + woods the gem._” + --W. N. CLUTE. + + +The rootstock of the fern is an humble example of “rising on stepping +stones of our dead selves,” this being almost literally true of the +tree-ferns. The rootstock which is a stem and not a root--has, like +other stems, a growing tip from which, each year, it sends up into +the world several beautiful green fronds, and numerous rootlets down +into the earth. These graceful fronds rejoice the world and our eyes +for the summer, and make glad the one who, in winter, loves to wander +often in the woods to inquire after the welfare of his many friends +during their period of sleeping and waking. These fronds, after +giving their message of winter cheer, and after the following summer +has made the whole woodland green and the young fronds are growing +thriftily from the tip of the rootstock, die down, and in midsummer +we can find the old fronds lying sere and brown, with broken stipes, +just back of the new fern clump; if we examine the rootstock we can +detect behind them, remains of the stems of the fronds of year before +last; and still farther behind we may trace all the stems of fronds +which gladdened the world three years ago. Thus we learn that this +rootstock may have been creeping on an inch or so each season for +many years, always busy with the present and giving no heed to its +dead past. One of the chief differences between our ferns and the +tree-ferns of the tropics, which we often see in greenhouses, is that +in the tree-fern the rootstock rises in the air instead of creeping +on, or below, the surface of the ground. This upright rootstock +of the tree-fern also bears fronds at its tip, and its old fronds +gradually die down, leaving it rough below its crown of green plumes. + +[Illustration: _The Christmas fern. The contracted tips of some of +the fronds consist of fruiting pinnæ._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +The Christmas fern has its green stipe, or petiole, and its rachis, +or midrib, more or less covered with ragged, brownish scales, +which give it an unkempt appearance. Its pinnæ, or leaflets, are +individually very pretty; in color they are dark, shining green, +lance-shaped, with a pointed lobe or ear at the base projecting +upward. The edges of the pinnæ are delicately toothed, each point +armed with a little spine, and the veins are fine, straight and free +to the margin; the lower pinnæ often have the earlike lobe completely +severed. + +[Illustration: + + _1. Fertile leaflet of Christmas fern showing indusia and + spore-cases._ _2. An indusium and spore-cases, enlarged._ _3. + A spore-case, enlarged._ _4. A spore-case discharging spores, + enlarged._ +] + +In studying a fertile fern from above, we notice that about a dozen +pairs of the pinnæ near the tip are narrowed and roughened and are +more distinctly toothed on the margins. Examining them underneath, +we find on each a double row of circular raised dots which are the +fruit-dots, or sori; there is a row between the midrib and margin +on each side, and also a double row extending up into the point at +the base. Early in the season these spots look like pale blisters, +later they turn pale brown, each blister having a depression at its +center; by the middle of June, masses of tiny globules, not larger +than pin points, push out from beneath the margin of these dots. The +blisterlike membrane is simply a cover for the growing spores, and is +called the _indusium_; by July it shrivels into an irregular scroll, +still clinging to the pinnule by its depressed center; and by this +time the profusion of tiny globules covers the entire under side of +the pinna like a brown fuzz. If we scrape off some of this fuzz and +examine it with a lens, we can see that it consists of numberless +little globules, each with a stem to attach it to the leaf; these +are the spore-cases, or sporangia, each globule being packed full of +spores which, even through the lens, look like yellowish powder. But +each particle of this dust has its own structure and contains in its +heart the living fern-substance. + +[Illustration: _The common polypody often mistaken for the Christmas +fern._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +Not all the fronds of the fern clump bear these fruit-dots. The ones +we select for decoration are usually the sterile fronds, for the +fertile ones are not so graceful, and many ignorant people think the +brown spore-cases are a fungus. The Christmas fern being evergreen +and very firm in texture, is much used in holiday decoration, hence +its common name, which is more easily remembered than _Polystichum +acrostichoides_, which is its real name. It loves to grow in +well-shaded woodlands, liking better the trees which shed their +leaves than the evergreens; it is indeed well-adapted to thrive in +damp, cold shade; it is rarely found on slopes which face the south, +and sunshine kills it. + + + LESSON CLXXIII + + THE CHRISTMAS FERN + +_Leading thought_--The fern has a creeping underground stem called +the rootstock, which pushes forward and sends up fresh fronds each +year. Some of the fronds of the Christmas fern bear spores on the +lower surface of the terminal pinnæ. + +_Method_--This lesson should be given during the latter part of May, +when the fruit-dots are still green. Take up a fern and transplant +it, in a dish of moss, in the schoolroom, and later plant it in some +convenient shady place. The pupils should sketch the fertile frond +from the upper side so as to fix in their minds the contracted pinnæ +of the tip; one of the lower pinnæ should be drawn in detail, showing +the serrate edge, the ear and the venation. The teacher should use +the following terms constantly and insistently, so as to make the +fern nomenclature a part of the school vocabulary, and thus fit the +pupils for using fern manuals. + +[Illustration: _Leaf-print of a fern with the parts named. This fern +is twice pinnate._] + +A _frond_ is all of the fern which grows on one stem from the +rootstock; the _blade_ is that portion which bears leaflets; the +_stipe_ is the stem or petiole; the _rachis_ is the midrib and is +a continuation of the stipe; the _pinnule_ is a leaflet of the +last division; the _pinna_ is a chief division of the midrib or +rachis, when the fern is compound; the _sori_ are the fruit-dots; +the _indusium_ is the membrane covering the fruiting organs; the +_sporangia_ are the tiny brown globules, and are the spore-cases; +the _spores_ make up the fine dust which comes from the spore-cases. +It would be well to make a diagram on the blackboard of the fern with +its parts named, so that the pupils may consult it while studying +ferns. + +_Observations_--1. Study a stump of the Christmas ferns. Are there +any withered fronds? Where do they join the rootstock? Do the green +fronds come from the same place on the rootstock as the withered +ones? Do the green ferns come from near the tip of the rootstock? Can +you find the growing tip of the rootstock? Can you trace back and +find where the fronds of last year and year before last grew? Does +that part of the rootstock seem alive now? Can you find the true root +of the fern? + +2. Take a frond of the Christmas fern. Is the stem, or stipe, and the +midrib, or rachis, smooth or rough? What color are the scales of the +stalk? Do you think that these scales once wrapped the fern bud? + +3. Does each frond of a clump have the same number of pinnæ on each +side? Can you find fronds where the pinnæ near the tip are narrower +than those below? Take a lower pinna and draw it carefully, showing +its shape, its edges and its veins. Is there a point, or ear, at the +base of every pinna? Is it a separate lobe or a mere point of the +pinna? + +4. Take one of the narrow pinnæ near the tip of the frond, and +examine it beneath. Can you see some circular, roundish blisterlike +dots? Are they dented at the center? How many of these dots on a +pinna? Make a little sketch showing how they are arranged on the +pinna and on the little earlike point. Look at the fruiting pinnæ of +a fern during July, and describe how they look then. + +5. Do all the fronds of a fern clump have these narrowed +spore-bearing pinnæ? Do you know what those fronds are called that +bear the fruit-dots? + +6. Where do you find the Christmas fern growing? Do you ever find it +in a sunny place? Why is it called the Christmas fern? + + * * * * * + + + _FERN SONG_ + + _Dance to the beat of the rain, little Fern + And spread out your palms again, + And say, “Tho’ the sun + Hath my vesture spun, + He had labored, alas, in vain, + But for the shade + That the Cloud hath made, + And the gift of the Dew and the Rain.” + Then laugh and upturn + All your fronds, little Fern, + And rejoice in the beat of the rain!_ + --JOHN B. TABB. + + + + + THE BRACKEN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _Bracken._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +It is well for the children to study the animals and plants which +have a world-wide distribution. There is something comforting in +finding a familiar plant in strange countries; and when I have found +the bracken on the coast ranges of California, on the rugged sides of +the Alps, and in many other far places, I have always experienced a +thrill of delightful memories of the fence corners of the homestead +farm. Since the bracken is so widespread, it is natural that it +should find a place in literature and popular legend. As it clothes +the mountains of Scotland, it is much sung of in Scottish poetry. +Many superstitions cluster around it--its seed, if caught at midnight +on a white napkin, is supposed to render the possessor invisible. +Professor Clute, in Our Ferns in Their Haunts, gives a delightful +chapter about the relation of the bracken to people. + +For nature-study purposes, the bracken is valuable as a lesson on +the intricate patterns of the fern leaf; it is in fact a lesson in +pinnateness. The two lower branches are large and spreading and are +in themselves often three times pinnate; the branches higher up are +twice pinnate; while the main branch near the tip is once pinnate, +and at the tip is merely lobed. The lesson, as illustrated in the +diagram of the fern, should be well learned for future study, because +this nomenclature is used in all the fern manuals. The fact that a +pinnule is merely the last division of a frond, whether it be twice +or thrice pinnate, should also be understood. + +The bracken does not love complete shade and establishes itself in +waste places, living contentedly in not too shaded locations; it is +especially fond of woodsides, and fence corners on high and cold +land. As Professor Clute says, “It is found both in woodland and in +the open field; its favorite haunt is neither, but is that half-way +ground where man leaves oft and nature begins, the copse or the +thicket.” With us it usually grows about three feet high, but varies +much in this respect. The great triangular fronds often measure two +or three feet across, and are supposed to bear a likeness to an eagle +with spread wings. Its rootstock is usually too deeply embedded in +earth for the study of any except the most energetic; it is about +the size of a lead pencil and is black and smooth; in its way it is +a great traveler, sending up fronds fifteen or twenty feet from its +starting place. It also sends off branching rootstocks. + +[Illustration: + + _1. Fruiting pinnules of the maiden-hair fern, enlarged._ + _2. Fruiting pinnule of the bracken, enlarged. In both these + species the spores are borne under the recurved edges of the + pinnules._ +] + +The fruiting pinnules look as if they were hemmed and the edges of +the hems embroidered with brown wool; but the embroidery is simply +the spore-cases pushing out from under the folded margin which +protected them while developing. + +Much on which to base necromancy has been found in the figure shown +in the cross-section of the stem or stipe. The letter C, supposed +to stand for Christ, thus made is a potent protection from witches. +But this figure has also been compared to the devil’s hoof, an oak +tree, or the initial of one’s sweetheart, and all these imaginings +have played their part in the lives of the people of past ages. It +was believed in England that burning the bracken from the fields +brought rain; the roots in time of scarcity have been ground and +mixed with flour to make bread. The young ferns, or croziers, are +sometimes cooked and eaten like asparagus. The fronds have been used +extensively for tanning leather and for packing fish and fruit, and +when burned their ashes are used instead of soap. + +In Europe, bracken grows so rankly that it is used for roof-thatching +and for the bedding of cattle. The name “brake,” which is loosely +used for all ferns, comes from the word “bracken;” some people think +that brakes are different from ferns, whereas this is simply a name +which has strayed from the bracken to other species. Its scientific +name, _Pteris aquilina_, signifies eagle’s wing. + + + LESSON CLXXIV + + THE BRACKEN + +_Leading thought_--The bracken is a fern which has taken possession +of the world. It is much branched and divided, and it covers the +ground in masses where it grows. The edges of its pinnules are folded +under to protect the spores. + +_Method_--Bring to the schoolroom large and small specimens of the +bracken, and after a study is made tell about the superstitions +connected with this fern and as far as possible interest the pupils +in its literature. + +_Observations_--1. Do you find the bracken growing in the woods or +open places? Do you find it in the cultivated fields? How high does +it stand? Could you find the rootstock? + +2. Take a bracken frond. What is its general shape? Does it remind +you of an eagle with spread wings? Look at its very tip. Is it +pinnate or merely lobed? Can you find a place farther down where the +leaflets, or pinnules, are not joined at their bases? This is once +pinnate. Look farther down and find a pinna that is lobed at the tip; +at the base it has distinct pinnules. This is twice pinnate. Look at +the lowest divisions of all. Can you find any part of this which is +three times pinnate? Four times pinnate? Pinna means feather, pinnate +therefore means feathered. If a thing is once pinnate, it means that +it has divisions along each side similar to a feather; twice pinnate +means that each feather has little feathers along each side; thrice +pinnate means that the little feathers have similar feathers along +each side, and so on. + +3. Can you see if the edges of the pinnules are folded under? Lift up +one of these edges and see if you can find what is growing beneath +it. How do these folded margins look during August and September? + +4. Cut the stem, or stipe, of a bracken across and see the figure in +it. Does it look like the initial C? Or a hoof, or an oak tree, or +another initial? + +5. Discover, if you can, the different uses which people of other +countries find for this fern. + + + + + HOW A FERN BUD UNFOLDS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Of all “plant babies,” that of the fern is most cozily cuddled; +one feels when looking at it, that not only are its eyes shut but +its fists are tightly closed. But the first glance at one of these +little woolly spirals gives us but small conception of its marvelous +enfolding, all so systematic and perfect that it seems another +evidence of the divine origin of mathematics. Every part of the frond +is present in that bud, even to the fruiting organs; all the pinnæ +and the pinnules are packed in the smallest compass--each division, +even to the smallest pinnule, coiled in a spiral towards its base. +These coiled fern buds are called crosiers; they are woolly, with +scales instead of hairs, and are thus well blanketed. Some botanists +object to the comparison of the woolly or fuzzy clothing of young +plants with the blankets of human infants. It is true that the young +plant is not kept at a higher temperature by this covering; but +because of it, transpiration which is a cooling process is prevented, +and thus the plant is kept warmer. When the fern commences to grow, +it stretches up and seems to lean over backward in its effort to be +bigger. First the main stem, or rachis, loosens its coil; but before +this is completed, the pinnæ, which are coiled at right angles to +the main stem, begin to unfold; a little later the pinnules, which +are folded at right angles to the pinnæ, loosen and seem to stretch +and yawn before taking a look at the world which they have just +entered; it may be several days before all signs of the complex +coiling disappear. The crosiers of the bracken are queer looking +creatures, soon developing three claws which some people say look +like the talons of an eagle; and so intricate is the action of their +multitudinous spirals, that to watch them unfolding impresses one as +in the presence of a miracle. + +[Illustration: _Fiddle heads, or crosiers. Young ferns unfolding._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + LESSON CLXXV + + HOW A FERN BUD UNFOLDS + +_Leading thought_--All of the parts of the frond of a fern are +tightly folded spirally within the bud, and every lobe of every +leaflet is also folded in a spiral. + +_Method_--The bracken crosier is a most illuminating object for this +lesson, because it has so many divisions and is so large; it is also +convenient, because it may be found in September. However, any fern +bud will do. The lesson may be best given in May when the woodland +ferns are starting. A fern root with its buds should be brought to +the schoolroom, where the process of unfolding may be watched at +leisure. + +_Observations_--1. Take a very young bud. How does it look? Do you +see any reason why ignorant people call these buds caterpillars? Can +you see why they are popularly called “fiddle heads?” What is their +true name? How many turns of the coil can you count? What is the +covering of the crosier? Do you think this cover is a protection? How +is the stem grooved to make the spiral compact? + +2. Take a crosier a little further advanced. How are its pinnæ +folded? How is each pinnule of each pinna folded? How is each lobe of +a pinnule folded? Is each smaller part coiled toward each larger part? + +3. Write in your note-book the story of the unfolding fern, and +sketch its stages each day from the time it is cuddled down in a +spiral until it is a fully expanded frond. + + + + + THE FRUITING OF THE FERN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_If we were required to know the position of the fruit-dots + or the character of the indusium, nothing could be easier than + to ascertain it; but if it is required that you be affected + by ferns, that they amount to anything, signify anything to + you, that they be another sacred scripture and revelation + to you, help to redeem your life, this end is not so easily + accomplished._”--THOREAU. + + +[Illustration: T + +_The walking fern._] + +The fern, like the butterfly, seems to have several this-world +incarnations; and perhaps the most wonderful of these is the spore. +Shake the dust out of the ripened fern and each particle, although +too small for the naked eye to see, has within it the possibilities +of developing a mass of graceful ferns. Each spore has an outside +hard layer, and within this an atom of fern-substance; but it cannot +be developed unless it falls into some warm, damp place favorable for +its growth; it may have to wait many years before chance gives it +this favorable condition, but it is strong and patient and retains +its vital power for years. There are cases known where spores grew +after twenty years of waiting. But what does this microscopic atom +grow into? It develops into a tiny heart-shaped, leaflike structure +which botanists call the prothallium; this has on its lower side +little roots which reach down into the soil for nourishment; and +on its upper surface are two kinds of pockets, one round and the +other long. In the round pockets are developed bodies which may be +compared to the pollen; and in the long pockets, bodies which may be +compared to the ovules of flowering plants. In the case of ferns, +water is necessary to float the pollen from the round pockets to +the ovules in the long pockets. From a germ thus fertilized in one +of the long pockets, a little green fern starts to grow, although +it may be several years before it becomes a plant strong enough to +send up fronds with spore-dots on them. To study the structure of +the spore requires the highest powers of the microscope; and even +the prothallium in most species is very small, varying from the size +of a pin-head to that of a small pea, and it is therefore quite +difficult to find. I found some once on a mossy log that bridged +a stream, and I was never so triumphant over any other outdoor +achievement. They may be found in damp places, in greenhouses, but +the teacher will be very fortunate who is able to show her pupils +this stage of the fern. The prothallium is a stage of the fern to +be compared to the flower and seed combined in the higher plants; +but this is difficult for young minds to comprehend. I like to tell +the children that the fern, like a butterfly, has several stages: +Beginning with the spore-bearing fern, we next have the spores, next +the prothallium stage, and then the young fern. While in the other +case we have first the egg, then the caterpillar, then the chrysalis, +and then the butterfly. Looking at the ripe fruit-dots on the lower +side of the fern leaf, we can easily see with a lens a mass of tiny +globules; each one of these is a spore-case, or sporangium, (plural +_sporangia_), and is fastened to the leaf by a stalk and has, almost +encircling it, a jointed ring. (See figure on page 686). + +[Illustration: + + _Prothallium, greatly enlarged, showing the two kinds of + pockets and the rootlets._ +] + + +[Illustration: _Christmas fern is below the others._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +[Illustration: _The life of a fern._ + + 1. _a_, pinna bearing fruit: _b_, a fruit-dot, enlarged, + showing spore-cases pushing out around the edges of the + indusium, _c_, spore-case, enlarged, showing how it discharges + the spores. + + 2. Prothallium, enlarged. + + 3. Young fern growing from the prothallium. +] + +When the spores are ripe, this ring straightens out and ruptures the +globule, and out fly the spores. By scraping a little of the brown +fuzz from a fruiting pinna of the Christmas fern upon a glass slide +and placing a cover glass upon it, we find it very easy to examine +through the microscope, and we are able thus to find the spore-cases +in all stages, and to see the spores distinctly. The spore-cases may +also be seen with a hand lens, the spores seeming then to be mere +dust. + +The different ways the ferns blanket their spore-cases is a +delightful study, and one which the pupils enjoy very much. All of +our common ferns except the careless little polypody thus protect +their spores. Whether this blanket be circular, or horseshoe-shaped, +or oblong, or in the form of pocket or cup, depends upon the genus +to which the fern belongs. The little protecting blanket-membrane is +called the _indusium_, and while its shape distinguishes the genus, +the position in which it grows determines the species. I shall never +forget my surprise and delight when, as a young girl, I visited +the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, and there in the great +conservatories saw for the first time the tree-ferns of the tropics. +One of these was labelled _Dicksonia_, and mystified, I asked the +privilege of examining the fronds for fruiting organs. When lo! the +indusium proved to be a little cup, borne at the base of the tooth of +the pinnule, exactly like that of our boulder fern, which is also a +Dicksonia. I had a sudden feeling that I must have fern friends all +over the world. + +[Illustration: + + _1. Fruiting pinnule of the boulder fern, enlarged._ _2. + Fruiting pinnules of spleenwort, enlarged._ +] + +[Illustration: _Fruiting pinnules of evergreen wood fern._] + +[Illustration: _Fruiting pinnules of the chain fern._] + +The children are always interested in the way the maidenhair folds +over the tips of her scallops to protect her spore nursery; and while +many of our ferns have their fertile fronds very similar in form +to the sterile ones, yet there are many common ferns with fertile +fronds that look so different from the others, that one would not +think they were originally of the same pattern; but although their +pinnules are changed into cups, or spore-pockets, of various shapes, +if they be examined carefully they will be seen to have the same +general structure and the same divisions however much contracted, +as have the large sterile fronds. The Osmundas, which include the +interrupted, the cinnamon and the flowering ferns, are especially +good for this part of the lesson. The sensitive fern, so common in +damp places in open fields, is also an excellent illustration of this +method of fruiting. While studying the ferns, the teacher should lay +stress upon the fact that they represent the earliest and simplest +forms of plants, that they reached the zenith of their growth in the +Carboniferous age, and that, to a large extent, our coal is composed +of them. It is interesting to think that the exquisite and intricate +leaf patterns of the ferns should belong to a primitive type. Often +when I have watched the forming by the frost, of the exquisite +fernlike pictures on the window-pane, I have wondered if, after all, +the first expression of the Creator did not find form in the most +exquisite grace and beauty; and if perchance the first fishes, so +fierce and terrible, did not mark the introduction of Satan. + +[Illustration: _A sensitive fern, showing sterile and fertile +fronds._] + + + + + LESSON CLXXVI + + THE FRUITING OF THE FERN + + +_Leading thought_--Ferns do not have flowers, but they produce +spores. Spores are not seeds; but they grow into something which may +be compared to a true seed, and this in turn develops into young +ferns. Each genus of ferns has its own peculiar way of protecting its +spores; and if we learn these different ways, we can recognize ferns +without effort. + +_Method_--July is the best time for this lesson, which is well +adapted for summer schools or camping trips. However, if it is +desired to use it as a school lesson, it should be begun in June, +when the fruiting organs are green, and it may be finished in +September after the spores are discharged. Begin with the Christmas +fern, which ripens in June, and make the fruiting of this species a +basis for comparison. Follow this with other wood ferns which bear +fruit-dots on the back of the fronds. Then study the ferns which +live in more open places, and which have fronds changed in form to +bear the spores--like the sensitive, the ostrich, the royal and the +flowering ferns. A study of the interrupted fern is a desirable +preparation for the further study of those which have special +fruiting fronds; the interrupted fern has, at about the middle of +its frond, three pinnæ on each side, fitted for spore-bearing, the +pinnules being changed into globular cups filled with spore-cases. + +While not absolutely necessary, it is highly desirable that each +member of the class should look at a fruit-dot of some fern through a +three-quarters objective of a compound microscope, and then examine +the spore-cases and the spores through a one-sixth objective. It +must be remembered that this lesson is for advanced grades, and is a +preparation for systematic scientific work. If a microscope is not +available, the work may be done with a hand lens aided by pictures. + +[Illustration: + + _Diagram of the interrupted fern, showing the three pairs of + fruiting pinnæ, and a part of one of these enlarged. This fern + often has fronds four or five feet high._ +] + +_Observations_--1. Take a fern that is in fruit; lay it on a sheet of +white paper and leave it thus for a day or two, where it will not be +disturbed and where there is no draught; then take it up carefully; +the form of the fern will be outlined in dust. What is this dust? + +2. What conditions must the spores have in order to grow? What do +they grow into? (See First Studies of Plant Life by Atkinson, p. 207). + +3. Look at a ripe fruit-dot on the back of a fern leaf and see where +the spores come from. Can you see with a lens many little, brown +globules? Can you see that some of them are torn open? These are +the spore-cases, called _sporangia_, each globule being packed with +spores. Can you see how the sporangia are fastened to the leaf by +little stems? + +4. Almost all our common wood ferns have the spore-cases protected +by a thin membrane, the spore-blanket, when very young; this little +membrane is called the _indusium_, and it is of different shape in +those ferns which do not have the same sirname, or generic name. +Study as many kinds of wood ferns as you can find. If the blanket, or +indusium, is circular with a dent at the center where it is fastened +to the leaf, and the spore-cases push out around the margin, it is a +_Christmas fern_; if horseshoe-shaped, it is one of the _wood ferns_; +if oblong, in rows on each side of the midrib, it is a _chain fern_; +but if oblong and at an angle to the midrib, it is a _spleenwort_; +if it is pocket-shaped and opening at one side, it is a _bladder +fern_; if it is cup-shaped, it is a _boulder fern_; if it breaks +open and lays back in star shape, it is a _woodsia_; if the edge of +the fern leaf is folded over all along its margin to protect the +spore-cases, it is a _bracken_; if the tips of the scallops of the +leaf be delicately folded over to make a spore blanket, it is the +_maidenhair_. + +5. If you know of swampy land where there are many tall brakes, look +for a kind that has some of its pinnæ withered and brown. Examine +these withered pinnæ, and you will see that they are not withered at +all but are changed into little cups to hold spore-cases. This is the +_interrupted fern_. The _flowering fern_ has the pinnæ at its tip +changed into cups for spore-cases. The _cinnamon fern_, which grows +in swampy places, has whole fronds which are cinnamon-colored and +look withered, but which bear the spores. The ostrich fern, which +has fronds which look like magnificent ostrich feathers, has stiff, +little stalks of fruiting fronds very unlike the magnificent sterile +fronds. The _sensitive fern_, which grows in damp meadows and along +roadsides, also has contracted fruiting fronds. If you find any of +these, compare carefully the fruiting with the sterile fronds, and +note in each case the resemblance in branching and in pinnules and +also the shape of the openings through which the spores are sifted +out. + +6. Gather and press specimens of as many ferns in the fruiting stage +as you can find, taking both sterile and fruiting fronds in those +species which have this specialization. + +7. Read in the geologies about the ferns which helped to make our +coal beds. + +_Supplementary reading._--The Story of a Fern; First Studies of Plant +Life, Atkinson; The Petrified Fern, M. L. B. Branch. + +[Illustration: _The bulb-bearing bladder fern. This beautiful fern +clothes the banks of damp ravines. It has, in addition to fruiting +organs, buds on the stem, which take root._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + * * * * * + + “_Nature made ferns for pure leaves to see what she could do + in that line._”--THOREAU + + + + + THE FIELD HORSETAIL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: + + _1, Fertile plant of the field horsetail_; _2, spore_; _3, + disk discharging spores_; _4, disk with spore-sacs_. +] + +These queer, pale plants grow in sandy or gravelly soil, and since +they appear so early in the spring they are objects of curiosity to +children. The stalk is pale and uncanny looking; the pinkish stem, +all the same size from bottom to top, is ornamented at intervals with +upward-pointing, slender, black, sharp-pointed scales, which unite +at the bottom and encircle the stalk in a slightly bulging ring, a +ring which shows a ridge for every scale, extending down the stem. +These black scales are really leaves springing from a joint in the +stem, but they forgot long ago how to do a leaf’s work of getting +food from the air. The “blossom” which is not a real blossom in the +eye of the botanist, is made up of rows of tiny discs which are set +like miniature toadstools around the central stalk. Before it is +ripe, there extends back from the edge of each disc a row of little +sacs stuffed so full of green spores that they look united like a +row of tiny green ridges. The discs at the top of the fertile spike +discharge their spores first, as can be seen by shaking the plant +over white paper, the falling spores looking like pale green powder. +The burst and empty sacs are whitish, and hang around the discs in +torn scallops, after the spores are shed. The spores, when seen under +the microscope, are wonderful objects, each a little green ball with +four spiral bands wound about it. These spirals uncoil and throw the +spore, giving it a movement as of something alive. The motor power in +these living springs is the absorbing of moisture. + +The beginning of the sterile shoot can be seen like a green bit of +the blossom spike of the plantain; but later, after the fertile +stalks have died down, these cover the ground with their strange +fringes. + +The person who first called these sterile plants “horsetails” had an +overworked imagination, or none at all; for the only quality the two +have in common is brushiness. A horse which had the hair of its tail +set in whorls with the same precision as this plant has its branches +would be one of the world’s wonders. The _Equicetum_ is one of the +plants which give evidence of nature’s resourcefulness; its remote +ancestors probably had a whorl of leaves at each joint or node of +the main stem and branches; but the plant now having so many green +branches, does not really need the leaves, and thus they have been +reduced to mere points, and look like nothing but “trimming,” they +are so purely ornamental. Each little cup or socket, of the joint +or node, in branch or stem, has a row of points around its margin, +and these points are terminals of the angles in the branch. If a +branch is triangular in cross section, it will have three points at +its socket, if quadrangular it will have four points, and the main +stem may have six or a dozen, or even more points. The main stem and +branches are made up entirely of these segments, each set at its +lower end in the socket of the segment behind or below it. These +green branches, rich in chlorophyl, manufacture for the plant all the +food that it needs. Late in the season this food is stored in the +rootstocks, so that early next spring the fertile plants, nourished +by this stored material, are able to push forth before most other +plants, and thus develop their spores early in the season. There is a +prothallium stage as in the ferns. + +[Illustration: _The sterile plant of the field horsetail, one-half +natural size._] + +Above where the whorl of stems comes from the main branch, may be +seen a row of upward-standing points which are the remnants of +leaves; each branch as it leaves the stem is set in a little dark cup +with a toothed rim. There is a nice gradation from the stout lower +part of the stem to the tip, which is as delicate as one of the side +branches. + +The rootstock dies out behind the plant and pushes on ahead like the +rootstock of ferns. The true roots may be seen attached on the under +side. The food made in the summer is stored in little tubers, which +may be seen in the rootstocks. + + + LESSON CLXXVII + + THE FIELD HORSETAIL + + _The Fertile Plant_ + +_Leading thought_--The horsetail is a plant that develops spores +instead of seeds, and has green stems instead of leaves. + +_Method_--In April and May, when the children are looking for +flowers, they will find some of these weird looking plants. These +should be brought to the schoolroom and the observation lesson given +there. + +_Observations_--1. Where are these plants found? On what kind of soil? + +2. In what respect does this plant differ from other plants in +appearance? Can you find any green part to it? + +3. What color is the stem? Is it the same size its whole length? Is +it smooth or rough? + +4. Do you see any leaves on the stems? Do you see the black-pointed +scales? In which direction do these scales point? Are they united at +the bottom? What sort of a ring do they make around the stem? Split a +stem lengthwise and see if there are joints, or nodes, where the ring +joins the stalk. + +5. How does the “blossom” look? What color are the little discs that +make up the blossom? How are the discs set? + +6. Take one of the plants which has the discs surrounded by green +ridges. Shake it over a white paper. What comes from it? Where does +it come from? Which discs on the stalk shed the green spores first? + + + _The Sterile Plants_ + +_Leading thought_--The horsetail or _Equicetum_ is nourished by very +different looking stems than those which bore the spores. It lacks +leaves, but its branches are green and do the work of making food for +the plant. + +_Method_--The sterile plants of the horsetail do not appear for +several weeks after the fertile ones; they are much more numerous, +and do not resemble the fertile plants in form or color. These +sterile plants may be used for a lesson in September or October. Some +of these plants with their roots may be brought into the schoolroom +for study. + +_Observations_--1. Has this plant any leaves? How does it make and +digest its food without leaves? What part of it is green? Wherever +there is green in a plant, there is the chlorophyl-factory for making +food. In the horsetail, then, what part of the plant does the work of +leaves? + +2. Take off one little branch and study with the lens. How does it +look? Pull it apart. Where does it break easily? How many joints, or +nodes, are there in the branch? + +3. Study the socket from which one of the segments was pulled off. +What do you see around its edge? How many of these points? Look at +the branch in cross section. How many angles has it? What relation +do the points bear to the angles? Do you think these points are all +there are left of true leaves? + +4. How do the little green branches come off the main stem? How many +in a place? How many whorls of branches on the main stem? + +5. Study the bases of the branches. What do you see? Look directly +above where the whorl of branches comes off the main stem. What do +you see? Cut the main stem in cross-section just below this place, +and see if there are as many little points as there are angles, or +ridges, in the stem. Do you suppose these little points are the +remnants of leaves on the main stem? + +6. What kind of root has the horsetail? Do you think this long +running root is the true root or an underground stem? Where are the +true roots? Do you think the rootstock dies off at the oldest end +each year, like the fern? Can you find the little tubers in the +rootstock, which contain nourishment for next year’s spore-bearing +stalks? + + + + + THE HAIR-CAP MOSS, OR PIGEON WHEAT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. + +_The hair-cap moss._] + +The mosses are a special delight to children because they are green +and beautiful before other plants have gained their greenness in the +spring and after they have lost it in the fall; to the discerning +eye, a mossy bank or a mossy log is a thing of beauty always. When we +were children we regarded moss as a forest for fairy folk, each moss +stem being a tree, and we naturally concluded that fairy forests were +evergreen. We also had other diversions with pigeon wheat, for we +took the fruiting stem, pulled the cap off the spore-capsule, tucked +the other end of the red stem into the middle of the capsule, making +a beautiful coral ring with an emerald “set.” To be sure these rings +were rather too delicate to last long, but there were plenty more to +be had for nothing; so we made these rings into long chains which +we wore as necklaces for brief and happy moments, their evanescence +being one of their charms. + +Pigeon wheat is a rather large moss which grows on dry knolls, +usually near the margins of damp woodlands in just those places +where wintergreens love to grow. In fall or winter it forms a +greenish brown mass of bristling stems; in the early summer the stems +are tipped with the vivid green of the new growth. The bristling +appearance comes from the long sharp leaves set thickly upon the +ruddy brown stems; each leaf is pretty to look at with a lens, which +reveals it as thick though narrow, grooved along the middle, the +edges usually armed with sharp teeth and the base clasping the stem. +These leaves, although so small, are wonderfully made; during the +hot, dry weather they shut up lengthwise and twist into the merest +threads, in order to keep their soft, green surfaces from losing +their moisture by exposure to the air; more than this, they lift +themselves and huddle close to the stem, and are thus as snug and +safe as may be from the effect of drought; but as soon as the rains +come, they straighten back at right angles to the stem, and curve +their tips downward in a joyful expanding. Bring in some of this moss +and let it dry, and then drop it into a glass of water and watch this +miracle of leaf movement! And yet it is no miracle but a mechanism +quite automatic--and therefore--like other miracles, when once they +are understood. + +[Illustration: _Hair-cap moss._ + + 1. fruit-bearing moss stem before fertilization; 1_a_, the + same stem after fruit is developed; _a_, where the ovule was + before fertilization; _b_, fruit stem; _c_, spore-capsule with + cap or veil upon it. 2, stem showing the starlike cups; _d_, + the cup in which was developed the pollen which fertilized + the ovule at _a_, this year; _e_, last year’s cup; _f_, the + cup of year before last; only the leaves from _e_ to _d_ are + alive. 3, spore capsule with the cap removed, showing the lid. + 5, the cap or veil removed. 4, spore capsule with lid off and + shaking out the spores. 6, starlike cup in which the pollen is + developed. 7, leaf of moss; 8, the top of the spore capsule + showing the teeth around the edge between which the spores + sift out. 9, a part of a necklace chain made of the spore + capsules and their stems. +] + +In early June the mossy knoll shows us the origin of the name pigeon +grass or pigeon wheat, for it is then covered with a forest of +shining, ruddy, stiff, little stems, each stem bearing on its tip a +woolly object about the size of a grain of wheat. But it is safe +to say that the pigeons and other birds enjoy our own kind of wheat +better than this, which is attributed to them. + +A study of one of these wheat grains reveals it as covered with a +yellowish, mohair cap, ending in a golden brown peak at its tip, +as if it were the original pattern of the toboggan cap; it closes +loosely and downily around the stem below. This grain is the +spore-capsule of the moss; the hairy cap pulls off easily when seized +by its tip. This cap is present at the very beginning, even before +the stem lengthens, to protect the delicate tissues of the growing +spore-case; it is only through a lens that we can see it in all its +silky softness. The capsule revealed by the removal of the cap is +a beautiful green object, usually four-sided, set upon an elegant +little pedestal where it joins the coral stem, and with a lid on its +top like a sugar-bowl cover, with a point instead of a knob at its +center. When the spores are ripe, this lid falls off, and then if we +have a lens we may see another instance of moss mechanism. Looking at +the uncovered end of the capsule, we see a row of tiny teeth around +the margin, which seem to hold down an inner cover with a little +raised rim. The botanists have counted these teeth and find there are +64. The teeth themselves are not important, but the openings between +them are, since only through these openings can the spores escape. +In fact, the capsule is a pepper-box with a grating around its upper +edge instead of holes in its cover; and when it is fully ripe, +instead of standing right side up, it tips over so as to shake out +its spores more easily. These teeth are like the moss leaves; they +swell with moisture, and thus in rainy weather they, with the inner +cover, swell so that not a single spore can be shaken out. If spores +should come out during the rain, they would fall among the parent +plants where there is no room for growth. But when they emerge in dry +weather, the wind scatters them far and wide where there is room for +development. + +When seen with the naked eye, the spores seem to be simply fine dust, +but each dust grain is able to produce moss plants. However, the +spore does not grow up into a plant like a seed, it grows into fine, +green, branching threads which push along the surface of damp soil; +on these threads little buds appear, each of which grows up into a +moss stem. + +The spore-capsule is hardly the fruit of the moss plant. If we +examine the moss, we find that some stems end in yellowish cups +which look almost like blossoms; on closer examination, we find that +there are several of these cups, one below the other, with the stem +extending up through the middle. The upper cup matured this year, +the one below it last year, and so on. These cups are star-pointed, +and inside, at the bottom, is a starlike cluster of leaves. +Among the leaves of this star-rosette are borne the moss anthers +called _antheridii_, too small for us to see without a high power +microscope. The pollen from these anthers is blown over to other +plants, some of which produce ovules at their very tips, although +the ovule has no leaf-rosette to show where it is. This ovule, after +receiving the pollen, grows into the spore-capsule supported on its +coral stem. These--stem, capsule and all--grow up out of the mother +plant, the red stem is enlarged at its base, and fits into the moss +stem like a flagstaff in the socket. After the star-shaped cup has +shed its pollen, the stem grows up from its center for an inch or +so in height and bears new leaves, and next year will bear another +starry cup. + +The brown leaves on the lower part of the moss stem are dead, and +only the green leaves on the upper part are living. + +And this is the story of the moss cycle: + +1. A plant with an ovule at its tip; another plant with a star-cup +holding the moss pollen which is sifted by wind over to the waiting +egg. + +2. The egg or ovule as soon as fertilized develops into a +spore-capsule, and is lifted up into the world on a beautiful shining +stem and is protected by a silky cap. + +3. The cap comes off; the lid of the spore-case falls off, the spores +are shaken out and scattered by the wind. + +4. Those spores that find fitting places grow into a net of green +threads. + +5. These green threads send up moss stems which repeat the story. + + + LESSON CLXXVIII + + THE HAIR-CAP MOSS + +_Leading thought_--The mosses, like the butterfly and the fern, have +several stages in their development. The butterfly stages are the +egg, the caterpillar, the chrysalis, the butterfly. The moss stages +are the egg (or ovule), the spores, the branching green threads, the +moss plants with their green foliage. In June we can easily find all +these stages, except perhaps the branching thread stage. + +_Method_--The children should bring to the schoolroom a basin of +moss in its fruiting stage; or still better, go with them to a knoll +covered with moss. Incidentally tell them that this moss, when dried, +is used by the Laplanders for stuffing their pillows, and that the +bears use it for their beds. Once, a long time ago, people believed +that a plant, by the shape of its leaf or flower, indicated its +nature as a medicine, and as this moss looked like hair, the water in +which it was steeped was used as a hair tonic. + +_Observation_--1. Take a moss stem with a grain of pigeon wheat at +the end. Examine the lower part of the stalk. How are the leaves +arranged on it? Examine one of the little leaves through a lens and +describe its shape, its edges, and the way it joins the stem. Are the +lower leaves the same color as the upper ones? Why? + +2. Describe the pretty shining stem of the fruit, which is called the +pedicel. Is it the same color for its entire length? Can you pull it +easily from the main plant? Describe how its base is embedded in the +tip of the plant. + +3. Note the silken cap on a grain of the pigeon wheat. This is called +the veil. Is it all the same color? Is it grown fast to the plant +at its lower margin? Take it by the tip, and pull it off. Is this +done easily? Describe what it covers. This elegant little green vase +is called a spore-capsule. How many sides has it? Describe its base +which stands upon the stem. Describe the little lid. Pull off the +lid; is there another lid below it? Can you see the tiny teeth around +the edge which hold this lid in place? Ask your teacher, or read in +the books, the purpose of this. + +4. Do all the spore vases stand straight up, or do some bend over? + +5. Do you think the silken cap falls off of itself after a while? Can +you find any capsules where the cap or veil and the lid have fallen +off? See if you can shake any dust out of such a spore vase. What +do you think this dust is? Ask your teacher, or read in the books, +about moss spores and what happens if they find a damp place in which +to grow. + +6. Hunt among the moss for some stems that have pretty, yellowish, +starlike cups at their tips. How does the inside of one of these cups +look? Ask the teacher to tell you what grows in this cup. Look down +the stem and see if you can find last year’s cup. The cup of two +years ago? Measured by these cups how old do you think this moss stem +is? + +7. Select some stems of moss, both those that bear the fruit and +those that bear the cups. After they are dried describe how the +leaves look. Examine the plant with a lens and note how these leaves +are folded and twisted. Do the leaves stand out from the stem or lie +close to it? Is this action of the leaves of any use to the plant in +keeping the water from evaporating? How do the star-cups look when +dry? + +8. Place these dried stems in a glass of water and describe what +happens to the cup. Examine some of the dried moss and the wet moss +with a lens, and describe the difference. Of what use to the moss is +this power of changing form when damp? + +_Reference_--First Lessons in Plant Life, Atkinson. + + + + + MUSHROOMS AND OTHER FUNGI + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +There is something uncanny about plants which have no green parts; +they seem like people without blood. It is, therefore, no wonder +that many superstitions cluster about toadstools. In times of old, +not only did the toads sit on them, but fairies danced upon them and +used them for umbrellas. The poisonous qualities of some species made +them also a natural ingredient of the witch’s cauldron. But science, +in these days, brings revelations concerning these mysterious plants +which are far more wonderful than the web which superstition wove +about them in days of yore. + +When we find plants with no green parts which grow and thrive, though +unable to manufacture their own organic food through the alchemy of +chlorophyl, sunlight and air, we may safely infer that in one way +or another they gain the products of this alchemy at second hand. +Such plants are either parasites or saprophytes; if parasites, they +steal the food from the cells of living plants; if saprophytes, they +live on such of this food material as remains in dead wood, withered +leaves, or soils enriched by their remains. + +Thus, we find mushrooms and other fungus fruiting bodies, pallid, +brown-olive, yellow or red in color, but with no signs of the living +green of other plants; and this fact reveals their history. Some of +them are parasites, as certain species of bracket fungi which are +the deadly enemies of living trees; but most of the fungus species +that we ordinarily see are saprophytes, and live on dead vegetation. +Fungi, as a whole, are a great boon to the world. Without them our +forests would be choked out with dead wood. Decay is simply the +process by which fungi and other organisms break down dead material, +so that the major part of it returns to the air in gaseous form, and +the remainder, now mostly humus, mingles with the soil. + +As a table delicacy, mushrooms are highly prized. A very large +number of species are edible. But every year the newspapers report +deaths resulting from eating the poisonous kinds--the price of an +ignorance which comes from a lack of the powers of observation +developed in nature-study. It would be very unwise for any teacher to +give rules to guide her pupils in separating edible from poisonous +mushrooms, since the most careful directions may be disregarded or +misunderstood. She should emphasize the danger incurred by mistaking +a poisonous for an edible species. One small button of the deadly +kind, if eaten, may cause death. A few warning rules may be given, +which if firmly impressed on the pupils, may result in saving human +life. + +[Illustration: _White form of the deadly Amanita (A. phalloides). +Note the form of the ring and the cup at base of stem._ + +Photo by G. F. Atkinson.] + +First and most important, avoid all mushrooms that are covered with +scales, or that have the base of the stem included in a sac, for +two of the poisonous species, often mistaken for the common edible +mushroom, have these distinguishing characters. Care should be taken +that every specimen be collected in a way to show the base of the +stem, since in some poisonous species this sac is hidden beneath the +soil. + +Second, avoid the young, or button, stages, since they are similar in +appearance in species that are edible and in those that are poisonous. + +Third, avoid those that have milky juices; unless the juices are +reddish in color, the mushrooms should not be eaten. + +Fourth, avoid those with shiny, thin, or brightly colored caps, and +those with whitish or clay-colored spores. + +Fifth, no mushroom or puffball should be eaten after its meat has +begun to turn brown or has become infested with fly larvæ. + + + HOW MUSHROOMS LOOK AND HOW THEY LIVE + +[Illustration: T] + +There are many kinds of mushrooms varying greatly in form, color and +size, but wherever they appear it means that sometime previous the +mushroom spores have been planted there. There they threw out threads +which have penetrated the food substance and gained a successful +growth, which finally resulted in sending up into the world the +fruiting organs. In general shape these consist of a stem with a cap +upon it, making it usually somewhat umbrella-shaped. Attached to the +cap, and usually under it, are plate-like growths called gills, or +a fleshy surface which is full of pores. In the case of the gills, +each side of each plate develops spores. These, as fine as dust, are +capable of producing other mushrooms. + +[Illustration: + + _Cone-shaped. Bell-shaped. Convex. Plane._Raised at center. + Depressed. Funnel form._] + +[Illustration: + + _The common edible mushroom, in button stages, mycelium or + spawn also shown._ + +Photo by G. F. Atkinson.] + +In the common edible species of mushroom (_Agaricus campestris_), the +stem is white and almost cylindrical, tapering slightly toward the +base; it is solid although the core is not so firm as the outside. +When it first pushes above the ground, it is in what is called the +“button stage” and consists of a little, rounded cap covered with +a membrane which is attached to the stem. Later the cap spreads +wide, for it is naturally umbrella-shaped, and it tears loose this +membrane, leaving a piece of it attached to the stem; this remnant +is called the ring or collar. The collar is very noticeable in many +species, but in the common mushroom it soon shrivels and disappears. +The cap is at first rounded and then convex; its surface is at first +smooth, looking soft and silky; but as the plant becomes old, it is +often broken up into triangular scales which are often dark brown; +although the color of the cap is usually white or pale brown. The +gills beneath the cap are at first white, but later, as the spores +mature, they become brownish black because of the ripened spores. + +_References_--Mushrooms, a most excellent and practical book with +many beautiful pictures, written and illustrated by Professor George +F. Atkinson; Henry Holt & Co., N. Y., $3.00; The Mushroom Book, +Marshall, fully illustrated, $4.00, Doubleday, Page & Co.; One +Thousand American Fungi, McIlvaine, illustrated, Bowen-Merrill Co., +$5.00; Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms, W. H. Gibson, very fully +illustrated, Harper and Bros., $3.50. + + + LESSON CLXXIX + + MUSHROOMS + +_Leading thought_--Mushrooms are the fruiting organs of the fungi +which grow in the form of threads, spreading in every direction +through the food material. The dust which falls from ripe mushrooms +is made up of spores which are not true seeds, but which will start a +new growth of the fungus. + +[Illustration: _Dark form of the Amanita (A. phalloides). Compare +with white form on page 707._ + +Photo by George F. Atkinson.] + +_Method_--The ideal method would be to study the mushrooms in the +field and forest, making an excursion for the purpose of collecting +as many species as possible. But the lesson may be given from +specimens brought into the schoolroom by pupils, care being taken +to bring with them the soil, dead wood or leaves on which they were +found growing. After studying one species thus, encourage the pupils +to bring in as many others as possible. There are a few terms which +the pupils should learn to use, and the best method of teaching +them is to place the diagrams shown on pages 708, 711, 712, on the +blackboard, and leave them there for a time. + +Since mushrooms are especially good subjects for water-color and +pencil studies, it would add much to the interest of the work if each +pupil, or the school as a whole, should make a portfolio of sketches +of all the species found. With each drawing there should be made on a +supplementary sheet a spore-print of the species. White paper should +be covered very thinly with white of egg or mucilage, so as to hold +fast the discharged spores when making these prints for portfolio or +herbarium. + +_Observations_--1. Where was the mushroom found? If on the ground, +was the soil wet or dry? Was it in open fields or in woods? Or was it +found on rotten wood, fallen leaves, old trees or stumps, or roots? +Were there many or few specimens? + +2. Is the cap cone-shaped, bell-shaped, convex, plane, concave, or +funnel-form? Has it a raised point at the center? How wide is it? + +3. What is the color of the upper surface of the cap when young? When +old? Has it any spots of different colors on it? Has it any striate +markings, dots or fine grains on its surface? Is its texture smooth +or scaly? Is its surface dull, or polished, or slimy? Break the cap +and note the color of the juice. Is it milky? + +[Illustration: _A spore print from the common edible mushroom._ + +Photo by George F. Atkinson.] + +4. Look beneath the cap. Is the under surface divided into plates +like the leaves of a book, or is it porous? + +5. The plates which may be compared to the leaves of a book are +called gills, although they are not for the purpose of breathing, as +are the gills of a fish. Are there more gills near the edge of the +cap than near the stem? How does this occur? What are the colors of +the gills? Are the gills the same color when young as when old? Are +the lower edges of the gills sharp, blunt or saw-toothed? + +6. Break off a cap and note the relation of the gills to the stem. If +they do not join the stem at all they are termed “free.” If they end +by being joined to the stem, they are called “adnate” or “adnexed.” +If they extend down the stem they are called “decurrent.” + +7. Take a freshly opened mushroom, cut off the stem, even with the +cap, and set the cap, gills down, on white paper; cover with a +tumbler, or other dish to exclude draught; leave it for twenty-four +hours and then remove the cover, lift the cap carefully and examine +the paper. What color is the imprint? What is its shape? Touch it +gently with a pencil and see what makes the imprint. Can you tell by +the pattern where this fine dust came from? Examine the dust with a +lens. This dust is made up of mushroom spores, which are not true +seeds, but which do for mushrooms what seeds do for plants. How do +you think the spores are scattered? Do you know that one little grain +of this spore dust would start a new growth of mushrooms? + +[Illustration: _The common edible mushroom_ (_Agaricus campestris_), +_showing button stage, vanishing ring and gills._ + +Photo by George F. Atkinson.] + +8. Look at the stem. What is its length? Its color? Is it slender or +stocky? Is its surface shiny, smooth, scaly, striate or dotted? Has +it a collar or ring around it near the top? What is the appearance of +this ring? Is it fastened to the stem, or will it slide up and down? +Is the stem solid or hollow? Is it swollen at its base? Is its base +set in a sac or cup, or is it covered with a membrane which scales +off? Do you know that the most poisonous of mushrooms have the sac or +the scaly covering at the base of the stem? + +9. Examine with a lens the material on which the mushroom was +growing; do you see any threads in it that look like mold? Find if +you can what these threads do for the mushroom? If you were to go +into the mushroom business what would you buy to start your beds? +What is mushroom “spawn?” + +[Illustration: _Mushroom with parts named._] + +10. If you can find where the common edible mushrooms grow +plentifully, or if you know of any place where they are grown for the +market, get some of the young mushrooms when they are not larger than +a pea and others that are larger and older. These young mushrooms are +called “buttons.” Find by your own investigation the relation between +the buttons and the threads. Can you see the gills in the button? +Why? What becomes of the veil over the gills as the mushrooms grow +large? + +[Illustration: _Gills free._] + +[Illustration: _Gills adnexed._] + +[Illustration: _Gills decurrent._] + +11. Do you know the difference between mushrooms and toadstools? Do +you know the common edible mushroom when you see it? What characters +separate this from the poisonous species? What is the “death cup,” as +it is called, which covers the base of the stem of the most common +poisonous species? + + + + +[Illustration: _A common species of puffball, the three at the left +showing early stages, the one at the right ripe and discharging +spores._ + +Photo by G. F. Atkinson.] + + + PUFFBALLS + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The puffballs are always interesting to children, because of the +“smoke” which issues from them in clouds when they are pressed +between thumb and finger. The common species are white or creamy +when young; and some of the species are warty or roughened, so +that as children we called them “little lambs.” They grow on the +ground usually, some in wet, shady places, and others, as the giant +species, in grassy fields in late summer. This giant puffball always +excites interest, when found. It is a smoothish, white, rounded mass, +apparently resting on the grass as if thrown there; when lifted it +is seen that it has a connection below at its center, through its +mycelium threads, which form a network in the soil. It is often a +foot in diameter, and specimens four feet through have been recorded. +When its meat is solid and white to the very center, it makes +very good food. The skin should be pared off, the meat sliced and +sprinkled with salt and pepper and fried in hot fat until browned. +All the puffballs are edible, but ignorant persons might mistake +the button stages of some of the poisonous mushrooms for little +puffballs, and it is not well to encourage the use of small puffballs +for the table. + +A common species--“the beaker puffball”--is pear-shaped, with its +small end made fast to the ground, which is permeated with its +vegetative threads. + +The interior of a puffball, “the meat,” is made up of the threads +and spores. As they ripen, the threads break up so that with the +spores they make the “smoke,” as can be seen if the dust is examined +through a microscope. The outer wall may become dry and brittle and +break open to allow the spores to escape, or one or more openings +may appear in it as spore doors. The spores of puffballs were used +extensively in pioneer days to stop the bleeding of wounds and +especially for nosebleed. + +[Illustration: _An earth-star._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +In one genus of the puffball family, the outer coat splits off in +points on maturing, like an orange peel cut lengthwise in six or +seven sections but still remaining attached to the base. There is an +inner coat that remains as a protection to the spores, so that these +little balls are set each in a little star-shaped saucer. These star +points straighten out flat or even curl under in dry weather, but +when damp they lift up and again envelop the ball to a greater or +less extent. + + + LESSON CLXXX + + PUFFBALLS + +[Illustration: Photo by Verne Morton. + +_A big puffball._] + +_Leading thought_--The puffballs are fungi that grow from the +threads, or mycelium, which permeate the ground or other matter, on +which the puffballs grow. The puffballs are the fruiting organs, and +“smoke” which issues from them is largely made up of spores, which +are carried off by the wind and sown and planted. + +_Method_--Ask the pupils to bring to school any of the globular or +pear-shaped fungi in the early stages when they are white, taking +pains to bring them on the soil or wood on which they are growing. + +_Observations_--1. Where did you find the puffball? On what was it +growing? Were there many growing in company? Remove the puffball, and +examine the place where it stood with a lens to find the matted and +crisscrossed fungus threads. + +2. What is the size and shape of the puffball? Is its surface smooth +or warty? What is its color inside and outside? + +3. Have you ever found the giant puffball, which may become four +inches to four feet through? Where was it growing? Have you ever +eaten this puffball sliced and fried? Do you know by the looks of the +meat when it is fit to eat? + +4. If the puffball is ripe, what is its color outside and in? What is +the color of its “smoke?” Does the smoke come out through the broken +covering of the puffball, or are there one or more special openings +to allow it to escape? + +5. Puff some of the “smoke” on white paper and examine it with a +lens. What do you think this dust is? Of what use is it to the +puffball? + +6. Have you ever found what are called earth-stars, which look like +little puffballs set in star-shaped cups? If you find these note the +following things: + + a. Of what is the star-shaped base made? Was it always there? + b. Let this star saucer become very dry; how does it act? + c. Wet it; and how does it behave then? + d. Where and how does the spore dust escape from the earth-stars? + +7. For what medicinal purpose is the “smoke” of the puffball +sometimes used? + + + + + THE BRACKET FUNGI + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. + +_A bracket fungus._] + +There are some naturalists who think that one kind of life is as +good as another and therefore call all things good. Perhaps this is +the only true attitude for the nature lover. To such the bracketlike +fungi which appear upon the sides of our forest and shade trees are +simply an additional beauty, a bountiful ornamentation. But some of +us have become special pleaders in our attitude toward life, and +those of us who have come to feel the grandeur of tree life can but +look with sorrow upon these fungus outgrowths, for they mean that the +doom of the tree is sealed. + +There are many species of bracket fungi. Three of these are very +common. The gray bracket, gray above and with creamy surface below +(_Polyporous applanatus_) is a favorite for amateur etchers, who with +a sharp point make interesting sketches upon this naturally prepared +plate; this species often grows to great size and is frequently very +old. Another species (_P. lucidus_) is in color a beautiful mahogany, +or coral-red above and has a peculiar stem from which it depends; the +stem and upper surface are polished as if burnished and the lower +surface is yellowish white. Another species (_P. sulphurens_) is +sulphur yellow above and below; usually many of these yellow brackets +are grouped together, their fan-shaped caps overlapping. Many of the +shelf fungi live only on dead wood, and those are an aid in reducing +dead branches and stumps until they crumble and become again a part +of the soil. However, several of the species attack living trees and +do great damage. They can gain access to the living tree only through +an injured place in the bark, a break caused perhaps by the wind, +by a bruise from a falling tree, or more often from the hack of the +careless wood-chopper; often they gain entrance through an unhealed +knot-hole. To one who understands trees and loves them, their patient +striving to heal these wounds inflicted by forces they cannot +withstand is truly pathetic. After the wound is made and before the +healing is accomplished, the wind may sift into the wound the almost +omnipresent spores of these fungi and the work of destruction begins. +From the spores grows the mycelium, the fungus threads which push +into the heart of the wood getting nourishment from it as they go. +When we see wood thus diseased we say that it is rotting, but rotting +merely means the yielding up of the body substance of the tree to +these voracious fungus threads. They push in radially and then grow +upward and downward, weakening the tree where it most needs strength +to withstand the onslaught of the wind. Later these parasitic threads +may reach the cambium layer, the living ring of the tree trunk, and +kill the tree entirely; but many a tree has lived long with the +fungus attacking its heartwood. A bracket fungus found by Professor +Atkinson was eighty years old; however, this may have shortened the +life of the tree a century or more. + +After these fungus threads are thoroughly established in the tree, +they again seek a wound in the protecting bark where they may push +out and build the fruiting organ, which we call the bracket. This +may be at the same place where the fatal entry was made, or it may +be far from it. The bracket is at first very small and is composed +of a layer of honeycomb cells, closed and hard above and opening +below--cells so small that we can see the cell openings only with +a lens. These cells are not hexagonal like the honeycomb, but are +tubes packed together. Spores are developed in each tube. Next year +another layer of cells grows beneath this first bracket and extends +out beyond it; each year it is thus added to, making it thicker and +marking its upper surface with concentric rings around the point +of attachment. The creamy surface of the great bracket fungus on +which etchings are made, is composed of a layer of these minute +spore-bearing tubes. Not all bracket fungi show their age by these +annual growths, for some species form new shelves every year, which +decay after the spores are ripened and shed. + +When once the mycelium of such fungus becomes established, the tree +is doomed and its lumber made worthless even though, as sometimes +happens, the tree heals its wounds so that the fungus is imprisoned +and can never send out fruiting brackets. Thus it is most important +to teach the pupils how to protect trees from the attacks of these +enemies, which are devastating our forests and which sometimes attack +our orchards and shade trees. + +As soon as a tree is bruised, the wound should be painted or covered +with a coat of tar. If the wind breaks a branch, the splinters left +hanging should be sawed off, leaving a smooth stump, and this be +painted. While ordinary paint if renewed each year will suffice, +experiment has shown that the coat of tar is better and should be +used. + +Especially should teachers impress on pupils the harm done by +careless hacking with axe or hatchet. We shall do an invaluable +service in the protection of our forests, if we teach the rising +generation the respectful treatment of trees--which is due living +organisms whose span of life may cover centuries. + + + LESSON CLXXXI + + BRACKET FUNGI + +_Leading thought_--The fungi which we see growing shelflike from +trees, are deadly enemies to the trees. Their spores germinate and +penetrate at some open wound and the growing fungus weakens the wood. + +Method--It is desirable that a tree on which shelf fungus grows +should be studied by the class, for this is a lesson on the care of +trees. After this lesson the fungus itself may be studied at leisure +in the schoolroom. + +_Observations_--1. On what kind of a tree is the bracket fungus +growing? Is it alive or dead? If living, does it look vigorous or is +it decaying? + +2. Is the fungus bracket growing against the side of the tree, or +does it stand out on a stem? + +3. Look at the place where the bracket joined the tree. Does it seem +to be a part of the wood? + +4. What color is the fungus on its upper surface? How large is it? +How thick near the tree? How thick at the edge? Can you detect +concentric layers or rings? If it is the large species used for +etching, cut down through it with a knife or hatchet and count the +layers; this should show its age. + +5. Look at the lower surface. How does it appear to the naked eye? +If you scratch it with a pin or knife does the bruise show? Examine +the surface with a lens and describe what you see. Cut or break the +fungus and note that each of these holes is an opening to a little +tube. In each of these tubes spores are borne. + +6. Have you ever seen toadstools that, instead of having the leaflike +gills, have beneath the cap a porous surface like a little honeycomb +or like the under side of the shelf fungi? + +7. How many kinds of shelf fungi can you find? Which of them is on +living trees, and which on stumps or dead wood? + +8. If the fungus is on a living tree, then the tree is ruined, for +the fungus threads have worked through it and weakened it so that it +will break easily and is of no use as lumber. There must have been an +open wound in the tree where the fungus entered; see whether you can +find this wound. There must also have been a wound where the shelf +grew out; see whether you can detect it. If the tree should heal all +its wounds after the fungus entered, what would become of the fungus? + +9. What does the shelf fungus feed on? What part of it corresponds to +the roots and leaves of other plants? What part may be compared to +the flowering and fruiting parts of plants? + +10. What treatment must we give trees to keep them free from this +enemy? + +[Illustration: _The edible Boletus (B. edulis). This has tubes below +the cap instead of gills. The spores are developed within the tubes, +as in the bracket fungi._ + +Photo by G. F. Atkinson.] + + + + + LESSON CLXXXII + + HEDGEHOG FUNGI + + +There is something mysterious about all fungi, but perhaps none of +these wonderful organisms so strangely impresses the observer as the +fountainlike masses of creamy white or the branching white coral that +we see growing on a dead tree trunk. The writer remembers as a child +that the finding of these woodland treasures made her feel as if she +were in the presence of the supernatural, as if she had discovered a +fairy grotto or a kobold cave. The prosaic name of hedgehog fungi has +been applied to these exquisite growths. Their life story is simple +enough. The spores falling upon dead wood start threads which ramify +within it and feed on its substance, until strong enough to send out +a fruiting organ. This consists of a stem, dividing into ascending +branches; from these branches, depending like the stalactites in a +cave, are masses of drooping spines, the surface of each bearing +the spores. And it is so natural for these spines to hang earthward +that they are invariably so placed when the tree is in the position +in which they grew. There is one species called the “satyr’s +beard,” sometimes found on living trees, which is a mere bunch of +downward-hanging spines; the corallike species is called _Hydnum +coraloides_, and the one that looks like an exquisite white frozen +fountain, and may be seen in late summer or early autumn growing from +dead limbs or branches, is the bear’s head fungus; it is often eight +inches across. + +[Illustration: _The bear’s head fungus._ + +Photo by George F. Atkinson.] + +_Observations_--1. These fungi come from a stem which extends into +the wood. + +2. This stem divides into many branchlets. + +3. From these branchlets there hang long fleshy fringes like +miniature icicles. + +4. These fringes always hang downward when the fungus is in natural +position. + +5. These fringes bear the spores. + + + LESSON CLXXXIII + + THE SCARLET SAUCER (_Sarcocypha coccinea_) + +The heart of the child, searching the woods for hepaticas--woods +where snow banks still hold their ground on north slopes--is filled +with delight at finding these exquisite saucerlike fungi. They are +more often found on fallen rotting branches which are more or less +buried in leaves, and there are likely to be several of different +sizes on the same stick. When they grow unhindered and while they +are young, they are very perfectly saucer-shaped and range from the +size of a pea to an inch or two across. But the larger they are the +more likely are they to be distorted, either by environment or by the +bulging of rapid growth. The under side of the saucer is beautifully +fleshlike in color and feeling and is attached at the middle to the +stick. The inside of the saucer is the most exquisite scarlet shading +to crimson. This crimson lining bears the spores in little sacs all +over its surface. + +[Illustration: _Scarlet saucer._] + +_Observations_--1. Where did you find the fungus? + +2. What is the shape of the saucer? How large is it? Is it regular +and beautiful or irregular and distorted? + +3. What is the color inside? + +4. What is the color outside? + +5. Turn the one you bring in bottom side up--that is, scarlet side +down--on a piece of white paper, and see whether you can get a spore +harvest. + + + + + LESSON CLXXXIV + + THE MORELS + + +[Illustration: _An edible morel_ (_Morchella esculents_). + +Photo by George F. Atkinson.] + +In May or June in open, damp places, as orchards or the moist fence +corners of meadows, the morels may be found. This mushroom family +contains no member that is poisonous, and the members are very +unlike any other family in appearance. They are very pretty with +their creamy white, thick, swollen stems and a cap more or less +conical, made up of the deep-celled meshes of an unequal network. +The outside edges of the network are yellowish or brownish when the +morel is young and edible, but later turn dark as the spores develop. +In some species the stems are comparatively smooth and in others +their surface is more or less wrinkled. The spores are borne in the +depressions of the network. These mushrooms should not be eaten after +the cells change from creamy white to brownish. + +_Observations_--1. Where did you find the morels? + +2. Describe the stem. Is it solid or hollow? Is it smooth or rough? + +3. What is the shape of the cap? How does it look? What color is the +outer edge of the network? What is the color within the meshes? + +4. Take one of these fungi, lay it on a sheet of white paper, and +note the color of the spores. + + + + + LESSON CLXXXV + + THE STINKHORNS + +[Illustration: _A stinkhorn._ + +Photo by George F. Atkinson.] + + +To give a nature-study lesson on the stinkhorn is quite out of the +question, for the odor of these strange growths is so nauseating that +even to come near to one of them in the garden is a disagreeable +experience. The reason for mentioning them at all is because of the +impression made by them that most mushrooms are ill smelling, which +is a slander. + +It is a pity that these fungi are so offensive that we do not care +to come near enough to them to admire them, for they are most +interesting in appearance. The scientific name of our commonest genus +when translated means “the net bearers,” and it is a most appropriate +name. The stout, white stem is composed of network without and +within. The outer covering of the stem seems to tear loose from +the lower portion as the stem elongates, and is lifted so that it +hangs as a veil around the bottom of the bell-shaped cap, which is +always covered with a pitted network. The mycelium, or spawn, of the +stinkhorn consists of strands which push their way through the ground +or through the decaying vegetable matter on which they feed. On these +strands are produced the stinkhorns, which at first look like eggs; +but later the top of the egg is broken, and the strange horn-shaped +fungus pushes up through it. The spores are borne in the chambers of +the cap, and when ripe the substance of these chambers dissolves into +a thick liquid in which the spores float. The flies are attracted by +the fetid odor and come to feast upon these fungi and to lay their +eggs within them, and incidentally they carry the spores away on +their brushy feet, and thus help to spread the species. + + + + + MOLDS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +It is lucky for our peace of mind that our eyes are not provided with +microscopic lenses, for then we should know that the dust, which +seems to foregather upon our furniture from nowhere, is composed +of all sorts of germs, many of them of the deadly kind. The spores +of mold are very minute objects, the spore-cases being the little +white globes, not larger than the head of a small pin which we +see upon mold, yet each of these spore-cases breaks and lets out +into the world thousands of spores, each one ready and anxious to +start a growth of mold and perfectly able to do it under the right +conditions; almost any substance which we use for food, if placed +in a damp and rather dark place, will prove a favorable situation +for the development of the spore which swells, bursts its wall and +sends out a short thread. This gains nourishment, grows longer and +branches, sending out many threads, some of which go down into the +nutritive material and are called the mycelium. While these threads, +in a way, act like roots, they are not true roots. Presently the +tip ends of the threads, which are spread out in the air above the +bread or other material, begin to enlarge, forming little globules; +the substance (protoplasm) within them breaks up into little round +bodies, and each develops a cell wall and thus becomes a spore. When +these are unripe they are white but later, they become almost black. +In the blue mold the spores are borne in clusters of chains, and +resemble tiny tassels instead of growing within little globular sacs. + +Molds, mildews, blights, rusts and smuts are all flowerless plants +and, with the mushrooms, belong to the great group of fungi. Molds +and mildews will grow upon almost any organic substance, if the right +conditions of moisture are present, and the temperature is not too +cold. + +Molds of several kinds may appear upon the bread used in the +experiments for this lesson. Those most likely to appear are the +bread mold--consisting of long, white threads tipped with white, +globular spore-cases, and the green cheese-mold--which looks like +thick patches of blue-green powder. Two others may appear, one a +smaller white mold with smaller spore-cases, and a black mold. +However, the bread mold is the one most desirable for this lesson, +because of its comparatively large size. When examined with a lens, +it is a most exquisite plant. The long threads are fringed at the +sides, and they pass over and through each other, making a web fit +for fairies--a web all beset with the spore-cases, like fairy pearls. +However, as the spores ripen, these spore-cases turn black, and after +a time so many of them are developed and ripened that the whole mass +of mold is black. The time required for the development of mold +varies with the temperature. For two or three days nothing may seem +to be happening upon the moist bread; then a queer, soft whiteness +appears in patches. In a few hours or perhaps during the night, these +white patches send up white fuzz which is soon dotted with tiny +pearl-like spore-cases. At first there is no odor when the glass is +lifted from the saucer, but after the spores ripen, the odor is quite +disagreeable. + +[Illustration: _Bread mold, enlarged._] + +The special point to teach the children in this lesson is that +dryness and sunlight are unfavorable to the development of mold; +and it might be well to take one of the luxuriant growths of mold +developed in the dark, uncover it and place it in the sunlight, and +see how soon it withers. The lesson should also impress upon them +that dust is composed, in part, of living germs waiting for a chance +to grow. + + + LESSON CLXXXVI + + MOLDS + +_Leading thought_--The spores of mold are everywhere and help to make +what we call dust. These spores will grow on any substance which +gives them nourishment, if the temperature is warm, the air moist and +the sunlight is excluded. + +_Method_--Take bread in slices two inches square, and also the juice +of apple sauce or other stewed fruit. Have each pupil, or the one +who does the work for the class, provided with tumblers and saucers. +Use four pieces of bread cut in about two-inch squares, each placed +on a saucer; moisten two and leave the other two dry. With a feather +or the finger take some dust from the woodwork of the room or the +furniture and with it lightly touch each piece of bread. Cover each +with a tumbler. Set one of the moistened pieces in a warm, dark place +and the other in a dry, sunny place. Place a dry piece in similar +situations. Let the pupils examine these every two or three days. + +Put fruit juice in a saucer, scatter a little dust over it and set +it in a warm, dark place. Take some of the same, do not scatter any +dust upon it, cover it safely with a tumbler and put it in the same +place as the other. A lens is necessary for this lesson, and it is +much more interesting for the pupils if they can see the mold under a +microscope with a three-fourths objective. + +_Observations_--1. When does the mold begin to appear? Which piece of +bread showed it first? Describe the first changes you noticed. What +is the color of the mold at first? Is there any odor to it? + +2. At what date did the little branching mold-threads with round dots +appear? Is there an odor when these appear? What are the colors of +the dots, or spore-cases, at first? When do these begin to change +color? How does the bread smell then? What caused the musty odor? + +3. Did the mold fail to appear on any of the pieces of bread? If so, +where were these placed? Were they moist? Were they exposed to the +sunlight? + +4. Did more than one kind of mold appear on the bread? If so, how do +you know that they are different kinds? Are there any pink or yellow +patches on the bread? If so, these are made by bacteria and not by +mold. + +5. From the results of the experiments, describe in what temperature +mold grows best. In what conditions of dryness or moisture? Does it +flourish in the sunlight or in the dark? + +6. Where does the mold come from? What harm does it do? What should +we do to prevent the growth of mold? Name all of the things on which +you have seen mold or mildew growing. + +7. Examine the mold through a microscope or a lens. Describe the +threads. Describe the little round spore-cases. Look at some of the +threads that have grown down into the fruit juice. Are they like the +ones which grow in the air? + +8. If you have a microscope cut a bit of the mold off, place it in a +drop of water on a glass slide, put on a cover-glass. Examine it with +a three-fourths objective, and describe the spores and spore-cases. + + + + +[Illustration: + + _1. Cholera bacillus._ + + _2. Typhoid bacillus._ + + _3. A bacillus found in sewage. These are all enlarged 2000 + times._ + + _4. Bacteria from tubercle on white sweet clover, much + enlarged._ + + _5 and 6. Bacteria of lactic acid ferments in ripening of + cheese, much enlarged._ +] + + + + + BACTERIA + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The yellow, pink or purple spots developed upon the moist and moldy +bread are caused by bacteria and yeast. Bacteria are one-celled +organisms now classed as plants; they are the smallest known living +beings, and can only be seen through a high power microscope. + +Bacteria grow almost everywhere--in the soil, on all foods and +fruits, in the water of ponds, streams and wells, in the mouths +and stomachs of human beings, and in fact in almost all possible +places, and occur in the air. Most of them are harmless, some of them +are useful, and some produce disease in both plants and animals, +including man. + +What bacteria do would require many large volumes to enumerate. +Some of them develop colors or pigments; some produce gases, often +ill-smelling; some are phosphorescent; some take nitrogen from the +air and fix it in the soil; some produce putrefaction; and some +produce disease. Nearly all of the “catching diseases” are produced +by bacteria. Diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, consumption, +influenza, grippe, colds, cholera, lockjaw, leprosy, blood poisoning +and many other diseases are the result of bacteria. On the other +hand, many of the bacteria are beneficial to man. Some forms ripen +the cream before churning, others give flavor to butter; while some +are an absolute necessity in making cheese. The making of cider into +vinegar is the work of bacteria; some clear the pollution from ponds +and streams; some help to decompose the dead bodies of animals, so +that they return to the dust whence they came. + +We have in our blood little cells whose business it is to destroy +the harmful bacteria which get into the blood. These little fighting +cells move everywhere with our blood, and if we keep healthy and +vigorous by right living, right food and exercise, these cells may +prove strong enough to kill the disease germs before they harm us. +Direct sunlight also kills some of the bacteria. Seven or eight +minutes exposure to bright sunlight is said to kill the germs of +tuberculosis. Exposure to the air is also a help in subduing disease +germs. Bichloride of mercury, carbolic acid, formaldehyde and burning +sulphur also kill germs, and may be applied to clothing or to rooms +in which patients suffering from these germ diseases have been. We +can do much to protect ourselves from harmful bacteria by being +very clean in our persons and in our homes, by bathing frequently +and washing our hands with soap often. We should eat only pure and +freshly cooked food, we should get plenty of sleep and admit the +sunlight to our homes; we should spend all the time possible in the +open air and be careful to drink pure water. If we are not sure that +the water is pure, it should be boiled for twenty minutes and then +cooled for drinking. + +In Experiment A the milk vials and the corks are all boiled, so +that we may be sure that no other bacteria than the ones we chose +are present, since boiling kills these germs. As soon as the milk +becomes discolored we know that it is full of bacteria. + +Experiment B shows that bacteria can be transplanted to gelatin, +which is a material favorable for its growth. But the point of this +experiment is to show the child that a soiled finger will have upon +it germs which, by growing, cloud the gelatin. They should thus learn +the value of washing their hands often or of keeping their fingers +out of their mouths. + +Experiment C shows the way the destructive bacteria attack the +potato. The discolored spots show where the decay begins, and the +odor is suggestive of decay. If a potato thus attacked is put in the +bright sunlight the bacteria are destroyed, and this should enforce +the moral of the value of sunshine. + +_References_--The Story of the Bacteria; Dust and its Dangers, M. T. +Prudden, Putnam’s. Bacteria in Relation to Country Life, Lipman. + + + LESSON CLXXXVII + + BACTERIA + +_Leading thought_--Bacteria are such small plants that we cannot see +them without the aid of a microscope, but they can be planted and +will grow. The object of this lesson is to enforce cleanliness. + +_Method_--_Experiment A_--The bread used for the mold experiment +is likely to develop spots of yellow, red or purple upon it, and +cultures from these spots may be used in this lesson as follows: Take +some vials, boil them and their corks, and nearly fill them with milk +that has been boiled. Take the head of a pin or hairpin, sterilize +the point by holding in a flame, let it cool, touch one of the yellow +spots on the bread with the point, being careful to touch nothing +else, and thrust the point with the bacteria on it into the milk; +then cork the vials. + +_Experiment B_--Prepare gelatin as for the table but do not sweeten. +Pour some of this gelatin on clean plates or saucers. After it has +cooled let one of the children touch lightly the gelatin in one +saucer for a few seconds with his soiled finger. Note the place. Ask +him to wash his hands thoroughly with soap and then apply a finger +to the surface of the gelatin in the other plate. Cover both plates +to keep out the dust and leave them for two or three days in a dark +place. The plates touched by the soiled finger will show a clouded +growth in the gelatin; the other plate will show a few irregular, +scattered growths or none. + +_Experiment C_--Take a slice of boiled potato, place in a saucer, +leave it uncovered for a time or blow dust upon it, label with date, +then cover with a tumbler to keep from drying and place in a cool, +somewhat dark place. + +The pupils should examine all these cultures every day and make the +following notes: + +_Experiment A_--How soon did you observe a change in the color of the +milk? How can you tell when the milk is full of the bacteria? How do +you know that the bacteria in the milk was transplanted by the pin? + +_Experiment B_--Can you see that the gelatin is becoming clouded +where the soiled finger touched it? This is a growth of the bacteria +which were on the soiled finger. + +_Experiment C_--What change has taken place in the appearance of the +slice of potato? Are there any spots growing upon it? What is the +odor? What makes the spots? Describe the shape of the spots. The +color. Are any of them pimple-shaped? Make a drawing of the slice of +potato showing the bacteria spots. What are the bacteria doing to the +potato? Take a part of the slice of potato with the bacteria spots +upon it, and put it in the sunshine. What happens? Compare this with +the part kept in the dark. + +After this lesson the children should be asked the following +questions. + +1. Why should the hands always be washed before eating? + +2. Why should the finger nails be kept clean? + +3. Why should we never bite the finger nails nor put the fingers in +the mouth? + +4. Why should we never put coins in the mouth? + +5. Why should wounds be carefully cleansed and dressed at once? + +6. Why should clothing, furniture and the house be kept free from +dust? + +7. Why should sweeping be done as far as possible without raising +dust? + +8. Why are hardwood floors more healthful than carpets? + +9. Why is a damp cloth better than a feather duster for removing dust? + +10. Why should the prohibition against spitting in public places be +strictly enforced? + +11. Why should the dishes, clothes and other articles used by sick +persons be kept distinctly separate from those used by well members +of the family? + +12. Why should food not be exposed for sale on the street? + +13. Why, during an epidemic, should water be boiled before drinking? + + * * * * * + + “_This habit of looking first at what we call the beauty + of objects is closely associated with the old conceit that + everything is made to please man: man is only demanding his + own. It is true that everything is man’s because he may use it + or enjoy it, but not because it was designed and ‘made’ for + ‘him’ in the beginning. This notion that all things were made + for man’s special pleasure is colossal self-assurance. It has + none of the humility of the psalmist, who exclaimed, ‘What is + man, that thou art mindful of him?’_” + + “_‘What were these things made for, then?’ asked my friend. + Just for themselves! Each thing lives for itself and its kind, + and to live is worth the effort of living for man or bug. But + there are more homely reasons for believing that things were + not made for man alone. There was logic in the farmer’s retort + to the good man who told him that roses were made to make man + happy. ‘No, they wa’n’t’, said the farmer, ‘or they wouldn’t + a had prickers.’ A teacher asked me what snakes are ‘good + for.’ Of course there is but one answer: they are good to be + snakes._” + --“THE NATURE STUDY IDEA”, L. H. BAILEY. + + + + +[Illustration: _A Pacific Coast live oak showing the effects of +constant, strong winds from one direction._ + +Photo by G. K. Gilbert. Courtesy of U. S. Geological Survey.] + + + TREE STUDY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_I wonder if they like it--being trees? + I suppose they do. + It must feel so good to have the ground so flat, + And feel yourself stand straight up like that. + So stiff in the middle, and then branch at ease, + Big boughs that arch, small ones that bend and blow, + And all those fringy leaves that flutter so. + You’d think they’d break off at the lower end + When the wind fills them, and their great heads bend. + But when you think of all the roots they drop, + As much at bottom as there is on top, + A double tree, widespread in earth and air, + Like a reflection in the water there._” + --“TREE FEELINGS” BY CHARLOTTE PERKINS STETSON. + + +[Illustration: N] + +Natural is our love for trees! A tree is a living being, with a life +comparable to our own. In one way it differs from us greatly: it is +stationary, and it has roots and trunk instead of legs and body; it +is obliged to wait to have what it needs come to it, instead of being +able to search the wide world over to satisfy its wants. + + + THE PARTS OF THE TREE + +The _head_, or _crown_, is composed of the branches as a whole, +which in turn are composed of the larger and smaller branches and +twigs. The _spray_ is the term given to the outer twigs, the finest +divisions of the trunk, which bear the leaves and fruit. The branches +are divisions of the _bole_, or _trunk_, which is the body, or +stem, of the tree. The bole, at the base, divides into roots, and +the roots into rootlets, which are covered with root-hairs. It is +important to understand what each of the parts of a tree’s anatomy +does to help carry on the life of the tree. + +[Illustration: _A tree with parts named._] + +The roots, which extend out in every direction beneath the surface +of the ground, have two quite different offices to perform: First, +they absorb the water which contains the tree food dissolved from +the soil; second, they hold the tree in place against the onslaught +of the winds. If we could see a tree standing on its head with its +roots spread in the air in the same manner as they are in the ground, +we could then better understand that there is as much of the tree +hidden below ground as there is in sight above ground, although of +quite different shape, being flatter and in a more dense mass. The +roots seem to know in which direction to grow to reach water; thus, +the larger number of the roots of a tree are often found to extend +out toward a stream flowing perhaps some distance from the tree; when +they find plenty of food and water the rootlets interlace forming a +solid mat. On the Cornell Campus are certain elms which, every six or +seven years, completely fill and clog the nearby sewers; these trees +send most of their roots in the direction of the sewer pipe. The +fine rootlets upon the tree-roots are covered with root-hairs, which +really form the mouths by which the liquid food is taken into the +tree. + +[Illustration: _The upturned roots of a white pine; a part of a stump +fence a century old._] + +To understand how firm a base the roots form to hold up the tall +trunk, we need to see an uprooted tree. The great roots seem to be +molded to take firm grasp upon the soil. It is interesting to study +some of the “stump fences” which were made by our forefathers, who +uprooted the white pines when the land was cleared of the primeval +forest, and made fences of their widespreading but rather shallow +extending roots. Many of these fences stand to-day with branching, +out-reaching roots, white and weather-worn, but still staunch and +massive as if in memory of their strong grasp upon the soil of the +wilderness. + +The trunk, or bole, or stem of the tree has also two chief offices: +It holds the branches aloft, rising to a sufficient height in the +forest so that its head shall push through the leaf canopy and expose +the leaves to the sunlight. It also is a channel by which the water +containing the food surges from root to leaf and back again through +each growing part. The branches are divisions of the trunk, and have +the same work to do. + +In cross-section, the tree trunk shows on the outside the layer of +protective bark; next to this comes the cambium layer, which is the +vital part of the trunk; it builds on its outside a layer of bark, +and on its inside a layer of wood around the trunk. Just within the +cambium layer is a lighter colored portion of the trunk, which is +called the sap-wood because it is filled with sap which moves up +and down its cells in a mysterious manner; the sap-wood consists +of the more recent annual rings of growth. Within the sap-wood +are concentric rings to the very center or pith; this portion is +usually darker in color and is called the heartwood; it no longer +has anything to do with the life of the tree, but simply gives to +it strength and staunchness. The larger branches, if cut across, +show the same structure as the trunk,--the bark on the outside, the +cambium layer next, and within this the rings of annual growth. Even +the smaller branches and twigs show similar structure, but they are +young and have not attained many annual rings. + +The leaves are borne on the outermost parts of the tree. A leaf +cannot grow, and if it could would be of no use, unless it can be +reached by the sunlight. Therefore the trunk lifts the branches +aloft, and the branches hold the twigs far out, and the twigs divide +into the fine spray, so as to spread the leaves and hold them out +into the sunshine. In structure, the leaf is made up of the stem, +or petiole, and the blade, or widened portion of the leaf, which +is sustained usually with a framework of many ribs or veins. The +petioles and the veins are sap channels like the branches and twigs. + + + _WOOD-GRAIN_ + + _This is the way that the sap-river ran + From the root to the top of the tree + Silent and dark, + Under the bark, + Working a wonderful plan + That the leaves never know, + And the branches that grow + On the brink of the tide never see._ + --JOHN B. TABB. + + + THE WAY A TREE GROWS + +[Illustration: T] + +The places of growth on a tree may be found at the tips of the twigs +and the tips of the rootlets; each year through this growth the tree +pushes up higher, down deeper and out farther at the sides. But in +addition to all of these growing tips, there is a layer of growth +over the entire tree--over every root, over the trunk, over the +limbs and over each least twig, just as if a thick coat of paint had +been put over the complete tree. It is a coat of growth instead, and +these coats of growth make the concentric rings which we see when +the trunks or branches are cut across. Such growth as this cannot be +made without food; but the tree can take only liquid food from the +soil; the root-hairs take up the water in which the “fertilizer” is +dissolved, and it is carried up through the larger roots, up through +the sap-wood of the trunk, out through the branches to the leaves, +where in the leaf-factories the water and free oxygen is given off to +the air, and the nourishing elements retained and mixed with certain +chemical elements of the air, thus becoming tree food. The leaf is a +factory; the green pulp in the leaf cells is part of the machinery; +the machinery is set in motion by sunshine power; the raw materials +are taken from the air and from the sap containing food from the +soil; the finished product is largely starch. Thus, it is well, when +we begin the study of the tree, to notice that the leaves are so +arranged as to gain all the sunlight possible, for without sunlight +the starch factories would be obliged to “shut down.” It has been +estimated that on a mature maple of vigorous growth there is exposed +to the sun nearly a half acre of leaf surface. Our tree appears to us +in a new phase when we think of it as a starch factory covering half +an acre. + +Starch is plant food in a convenient form for storage, and it is +stored in sap-wood of the limbs, the branches and trunk, to be +used for the growth of the next year’s leaves. But starch cannot +be assimilated by plants in this form, it must be changed to sugar +before it may be used to build up the plant tissues. So the leaves +are obliged to perform the office of stomach and digest the food they +have made for the tree’s use. In the mysterious laboratory of the +leaf-cells, the starch is changed to sugar; and nitrogen, sulphur, +phosphorus and other substances are taken from the sap and starch +added to them, and thus are made the proteids which form another +part of the tree’s diet. It is interesting to note that while the +starch factories can operate only in the sunlight, the leaves can +digest the food and it can be transported and used in the growing +tissues in the _dark_. The leaves are also an aid to the tree in +breathing, but they are not especially the lungs of the tree. The +tree breathes in certain respects as we do; it takes in oxygen and +gives off carbon dioxide; but the air containing the oxygen is taken +in through the numerous pores in the leaves called stomata, and also +through lenticels in the bark; so the tree really breathes all over +its active surface. + +[Illustration: _A stump showing rings of growth._] + +The tree is a rapid worker and achieves most of its growth and does +most of its work by midsummer. The autumn leaf which is so beautiful +has completed its work. The green starch-machinery or chlorophyl, the +living protoplasm in the leaf cells, has been withdrawn and is safely +secluded in the woody part of the tree. The autumn leaf which glows +gold or red, has in it only the material which the tree can no longer +use. It is a mistake to believe that the frost causes the brilliant +colors of autumn foliage; they are caused by the natural old age and +death of the leaves--and where is there to be found old age and death +more beautiful? When the leaf assumes its bright colors, it is making +ready to depart from the tree; a thin, corky layer is being developed +between its petiole and the twig, and when this is perfected, the +leaf drops from its own weight or the touch of the slightest breeze. + +A tree, growing in open ground, records in its shape, the direction +of the prevailing winds. It grows more luxuriantly on the leeward +side. It touches the heart of the one who loves trees to note their +sturdy endurance of the onslaughts of this, their most ancient enemy. + +_Reference Books for Tree Study_--The Tree Book, Julia Rogers; Our +Native Trees, Harriet Keeler; Our Northern Shrubs, Harriet Keeler; +The Trees of the Northern States, Romayne Hough. The Trees, N. L. +Britton; Getting Acquainted with the Trees, J. Horace McFarland; +Familiar Trees and their Leaves, Schuyler Mathews; Our Trees and +How to Know Them, Clarence Moores Weed; A Guide to the Trees, Alice +Lounsberry; The First Book of Forestry, Filibert Roth; Practical +Forestry, John Gifford; Trees in Prose and Poetry, Stone & Fickett; +The Primers of Forestry, Pinchot. + + + + +[Illustration: _Acorns of the red and the scarlet oaks._ + +Photo by O. L. Foster.] + + HOW TO BEGIN TREE STUDY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: D] + +During autumn the attention of the children should be attracted to +the leaves by their gorgeous colors. It is well to use this interest +to cultivate their knowledge of the forms of leaves of trees; but +the teaching of the tree species to the young child should be done +quite incidentally and guardedly. If the teacher says to the child +bringing a leaf, “This is a white oak leaf,” the child will soon +quite unconsciously learn that leaf by name. Thus, tree study may be +begun in the kindergarten or the primary grades. + +1. Let the pupils use their leaves as a color lesson by classifying +them according to color, and thus train the eye to discriminate tints +and color values. + +2. Let them classify the leaves according to form, selecting those +which resemble each other. + +3. Let each child select a leaf of his own choosing and draw it. This +may be done by placing the leaf flat on paper and outlining it with +pencil or with colored crayon. + +4. Let the pupils select paper of a color similar to the chosen leaf +and cut a paper leaf like it. + +5. Let each pupil select four leaves which are similar and arrange +them on a card in a symmetrical design. This may be done while the +leaves are fresh, and the card with leaves may be pressed and thus +preserved. + +In the fourth grade, begin with the study of a tree which grows +near the schoolhouse. In selecting this tree and in speaking of it, +impress upon the children that it is a living being, with a life +and with needs of its own. I believe so much in making this tree +seem an individual, that I would if necessary name it Pocahontas +or Martha Washington. First, try to ascertain the age of the tree. +Tell an interesting story of who planted it and who were children +and attended school in the schoolhouse when the tree was planted. To +begin the pupils’ work, let each have a little note-book in which +shall be written, sketched or described all that happens to this +particular tree for a year. The following words with their meaning +should be given in the reading and spelling lessons: _Head_, _bole_, +_trunk_, _branches_, _twigs_, _spray_, _roots_, _bark_, _leaf_, +_petiole_, _foliage_, _sap_. + +[Illustration: _Mountain maple, sugar maple and red maple._] + + +LESSON CLXXXVIII + + TREE STUDY + +_Autumn Work_--1. What is the color of the tree in its autumn +foliage? Sketch it in water colors or crayons, showing the shape of +the head, the relative proportions of head and trunk. + +2. Describe what you can see of the tree’s roots. How far do you +suppose the roots reach down? How far out at the sides? In how many +ways are the roots useful to the tree? Do you suppose, if the tree +were turned bottomside up, that it would show as many roots as it now +shows branches? + +3. How high on the trunk from the ground do the lower branches come +off? How large around is the trunk three feet from the ground? If you +know how large around it is, how can you get the distance through? +What is the color of the bark? Is the bark smooth or rough? Are the +ridges fine or coarse? Are the furrows between the ridges deep or +shallow? Of what use is the bark to the tree? + +4. Describe the leaf from your tree, paying special attention to its +shape, its edges, its color above and below, its veins or ribs, and +the relative length and thickness of its petiole. Are the leaves set +opposite or alternate upon the twigs? As the leaves begin to fall, +can you find two which are exactly the same in size and shape? Draw +in your note-book the two leaves which differ most from each other of +any that grew on your tree. At what date do the leaves begin to fall +from your tree? At what date are they all off the tree? + +5. Do you find any fruit or seed upon your tree? If so describe and +sketch it, and tell how you think it is scattered and planted. + +_Winter Study of the Tree_--1. Make a sketch of the tree in your +notebook, showing its shape as it stands bare. Does the trunk divide +into branches, or does it extend through the center of the tree and +the branches come off from its sides? Of what use are the branches to +a tree? Is the spray, or the twigs at the end of the branches, coarse +or fine? Does it lift up or droop? Is the bark on the branches like +that on the trunk? Is the color of the spray the same as of the large +branches? Why does the tree drop its leaves in winter? Does the tree +grow during the winter? Do you think that it sleeps during the winter? + +2. Study the cut end of a log or stump and also study a slab. Which +is the heart-wood and which is the sap-wood? Can you see the rings +of growth? Can you count these rings and tell how old was the tree +from which this log came? Describe if you can, how a tree trunk grows +larger each year. What is it makes the grain in the wood which we +use for furniture? If we girdle a tree why does it die? If we place +a nail in a tree three feet from the ground this winter, will it be +any higher from the ground ten years from now? How does the tree grow +tall? + +3. Take a twig of a tree in February and look carefully at the buds. +What is their color? Are they shiny, rough, sticky or downy? Are they +arranged on the twigs opposite or alternate? Can you see the scar +below the buds where the last year’s leaf was borne? Place the twig +in water and put in a light, warm place, and see what happens to +the buds. As the leaves push out, what happens to the scales which +protected the buds? + +4. What birds do you find visiting your tree during winter? Tie some +strips of beef fat upon its branches, and note all of the kinds of +birds which come to feast upon it. + +[Illustration: _Trees in winter._] + +_Spring Work_--1. At what date do the young leaves appear upon your +tree? What color are they? Look carefully to see how each leaf was +folded in the bud. Were all the leaves folded in the same way? Are +the young leaves thin, downy and tender? Do they stand out straight +as did the old leaves last autumn, or do they droop? Why? Will they +change position and stand out as they grow stronger? Why do the +leaves stand out from the twigs in order to get sunshine? What would +happen to a tree if it lost all its leaves in spring and summer? Tell +all of the things you know which the leaves do for the tree. + +2. Are there any blossoms on your tree in the spring? If so, how +do they look? Are the blossoms which bear the fruit on different +trees from those that bear the pollen, or are these flowers placed +separately on the same tree? Or does the same flower which produces +the pollen also produce the seed? Do the insects carry the pollen +from flower to flower, or does the wind do this for your tree? +What sort of seeds are formed by these flowers? How are the seeds +scattered and planted? + +3. At what date does your tree stand in full leaf? What color is it +now? What birds do you find visiting it? What insects? What animals +seek its shade? Do the squirrels live in it? + +4. Measure the height of your tree as follows: Choose a bright, sunny +morning for this. Take a stick 3½ feet long and thrust it in the +ground so that three feet will project above the soil. Immediately +measure the length of its shadow and of the shadow which your tree +makes from its base to the shadow of its topmost twigs. Supposing +that the shadow from the stick is 4 feet long and the shadow from +your tree is 80 feet long, then your example will be: 4 ft.:3 ft.::80 +ft.:? Which will make the tree 60 feet high. + +To measure the circumference of the tree, take the trunk three feet +from the ground and measure it exactly with a tape measure. To find +the thickness of the trunk, divide the circumference just found by +3.15. + +_Supplementary Reading_--Among Green Trees, Rogers; Chap. I in A +Primer of Forestry, Pinchot; Part I in A First Book of Forestry, +Roth; Chapter IV in Practical Forestry, Gifford. + + + + + LESSON CLXXXIX + + HOW TO MAKE LEAF PRINTS + + +A very practical help in interesting children in trees, is to +encourage them to make portfolios of leaf-prints of all the trees of +the region. Although the process is mechanical, yet the fact that +every print must be correctly labeled makes for useful knowledge. One +of my treasured possessions is such a portfolio made by the lads of +St. Andrews School of Richmond, Va., who were guided and inspired in +this work by their teacher, Professor W. W. Gillette. The impressions +were made in green ink and the results are as beautiful as works of +art. Professor Gillette gave me my first lesson in making leaf prints. + +_Material_--1. A smooth slate, or better, a thick plate of glass, +about 12 × 15 inches. + +2. A tube of printer’s ink, either green or black, and costing 50 +cents; one tube contains a sufficient supply of ink for making +several hundred prints. Or a small quantity of printer’s ink may be +purchased at any printing office. + +3. Two six-inch rubber rollers, such as photographers use in mounting +prints, which cost 15 cents each. A letter-press may be used instead +of one roller. + +4. A small bottle of kerosene to dilute the ink, and a bottle of +benzine for cleaning the outfit after using, care being taken to +store them safe from fire. + +5. Sheets of paper 8½ × 11 inches. The paper should be of good +quality, with smooth surface in order that it may take and hold a +clear outline. The ordinary paper used in printers’ offices for +printing newspapers works fairly well. I have used with success the +paper from blank notebooks which cost five cents a piece. + +[Illustration: _Leaf print of a sycamore maple._] + +To make a print, place a few drops of ink upon the glass or slate, +and spread it about with the roller until there is a thin coat of +ink upon the roller and a smooth patch in the center of the glass +or slate. It should never be so liquid as to “run,” for then the +outlines will be blurred. Ink the leaf by placing it on the inky +surface of the glass and passing the inked roller over it once or +twice until the veins show that they are smoothly filled. Now place +the inked leaf between two sheets of paper and roll _once_ with the +_clean_ roller, bearing on with all the strength possible; a second +passage of the roller blurs the print. Two prints are made at each +rolling, one of the upper, and one of the under side of the leaf. Dry +and wrinkled leaves may be made pliant by soaking in water, drying +between blotters before they are inked. + +Prints may also be made a number at a time by pressing them under +weights, being careful to put the sheets of paper with the leaves +between the pages of old magazines or folded newspapers, in order +that the impression of one set of leaves may not mar the others. If a +letter-press is available for this purpose, it does the work quickly +and well. + + + _SAP_ + + _Strong as the sea and silent as the grave, + It flows and ebbs unseen, + Flooding the earth, a fragrant tidal wave, + With mists of deepening green._ + --JOHN B. TABB. + + + + + THE MAPLES + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The sugar maple, combining beauty with many kinds of utility, is dear +to the American heart. Its habits of growth are very accommodating; +when planted where it has plenty of room, it shows a short trunk +and oval head, which, like a dark green period, prettily punctuates +the summer landscape; but when it occurs in the forest, its noble +bole, a pillar of granite gray, rises to uphold the arches of the +forest canopy; and it attains there the height of 100 feet. It grows +rapidly and is a favorite shade tree, twenty years being long enough +to make it thus useful. The foliage is deep green in the summer, +the leaf being a glossy, dark green above and paler beneath. It has +five main lobes, the two nearest the stem being smaller; the curved +edges between the lobes are marked with a few, smoothly cut, large +teeth; the main veins extend directly from the petiole to the sharp +tips of the lobes; the petiole is long, slender, and occasionally +red. The leaves are placed opposite. The shade made by the foliage +of the maple is so dense that it shades down the plants beneath +it, even grass growing but sparsely there. If a shade tree stands +in an exposed position, it grows luxuriously to the leeward of the +prevailing winds, and thus makes a one-sided record of their general +direction. + +[Illustration: _Sugar maple leaves._] + +It is its autumn transfiguration which has made people observant +of the maple’s beauty; yellow, orange, crimson and scarlet foliage +make these trees gorgeous when October comes. Nor do the trees get +their color uniformly; even in September, the maple will show a +scarlet branch in the midst of its green foliage. I believe this is +a hectic flush and a premonition of death to the branch which, less +vigorous than its neighbors, is being pruned out by Nature’s slow +but sure method. After the vivid color is on the maple, it begins +to shed its leaves. This is by no means the sad act which the poets +would have us believe; the brilliant colors are an evidence that +the trees have withdrawn from the leaves the green life-substance, +the protoplasm-machinery for making the starch, and have stored it +snugly in trunk and branch for winter keeping. Thus, only the mineral +substances are left in the leaf, and they give the vivid hues. It is +a mistake to think that frost causes this brilliance; it is caused by +the natural, beautiful, old age of the leaf. When the leaves finally +fall, they form a mulch-carpet for the tree that bore them, and add +their substance to the humus from which the tree draws new powers for +growth. + +[Illustration: _A foretaste._ Photo by Verne Morton.] + +After every leaf has fallen, the maple shows why its shade is dense. +It has many branches set close and at sharp angles to the trunk, +dividing into fine, erect spray, giving the tree a resemblance to +a giant whisk-broom. Its dark, deep-furrowed bark smoothes out and +becomes light gray on the larger limbs, while the spray is purplish, +a color given it by the winter buds. These buds are sharp-pointed and +long. In February, their covering of scales shows premonitions of +spring by enlarging, and as if due to the soft influence, they become +downy, and take on a sunshine color before they are pushed off by +the leaves. The leaves and the blossoms appear together. The leaves +are at first, yellowish, downy and drooping, thus shunning the too +hot sun and the violent pelting rains and fierce spring winds. The +flowers appear in tassellike clusters, each downy drooping thread +of the tassel bearing at its tip a five-lobed calyx, which may hold +seven or eight long, drooping stamens or a pistil with long, double +stigmas. The flowers are greenish yellow, and those that bear pollen +and those that bear the seeds may be borne on separate trees or on +the same tree, but they are always in different clusters. If on the +same tree, the seed-bearing tassels are at the tips of the twigs, and +those bearing pollen are along the sides. + +[Illustration: _The trunk of sugar maple in forest._] + +The ovary is two-celled, but there is usually only one seed developed +in the pair which forms a “key;” to observe this, however, we have +to dissect the seeds; they have the appearance of two seeds joined +together, each provided with a thin, closely veined wing and the +two attached to the tree by a single long, drooping stem. This +twin-winged form is well fitted to be whirled off by the autumn +winds, for the seeds ripen in September. I have seen seedlings +growing thickly for rods to the leeward of their parent tree, which +stood in an open field. The maples bear blossoms and seeds every +year. There are six species of native maples which are readily +distinguishable. The silver and the red maples and the box elder +are rather large trees; the mountain and the striped (or goosefoot) +maples are scarcely more than shrubs, and mostly grow in woods along +streams. The Norway and the sycamore maples have been introduced from +Europe for ornamental planting. The cut-leaf silver maple comes from +Japan. + +The maple wood is hard, heavy, strong, tough and fine-grained; it is +cream-color, the heart-wood showing shades of brown; it takes a fine +polish and is used as a finishing timber for houses and furniture. +It is used in construction of ships, cars, piano action and tool +handles; its fine-grained quality makes it good for wood-carving; it +is an excellent fuel and has many other uses. + + + MAPLE-SUGAR MAKING + +Although we have tapped the trees in America for many hundred years, +we do not as yet understand perfectly the mysteries of the sap flow. +In 1903, the scientists at the Vermont Experiment Station did some +very remarkable work in clearing up the mysteries of sap movement. +Their results were published in their Bulletins 103 and 105, which +are very interesting and instructive. + +[Illustration: _Sugar maple blossoms._] + +The starch which is changed to sugar in the sap of early spring was +made the previous season and stored within the tree. If the foliage +of the tree is injured by caterpillars one year, very little sugar +can be made from that tree the next spring, because it has been +unable to store enough starch in its sap-wood and in the outer +ray-cells of its smaller branches to make a good supply of sugar. +During the latter part of winter, the stored starch disappears, being +converted into tree-food in the sap, and then begins that wonderful +surging up and down of the sap tide. During the first part of a +typical sugar season, more sap comes from above down than from below +up; toward the end of the season, during poor sap days, there is +more sap coming up from below than down from above. The ideal sugar +weather consists of warm days and freezing nights. This change of +temperature between day and night acts as a pump. During the day +when the branches of the tree are warmed, the pressure forces into +the hole bored into the trunk all the sap located in the adjacent +cells of the wood. Then the suction which follows a freezing night +drives more sap into those cells, which is in turn forced out when +the top of the tree is again warmed. The tree is usually tapped on +the south side, because the action of the sun and the consequent +temperature-pump more readily affects that side. + +“Tapping the sugar bush” are magical words to the country boy and +girl. Well do we older folk remember those days in March when the +south wind settled the snow into hard, marblelike drifts, and the +father would say, “We will get the sap-buckets down from the stable +loft and wash them, for we shall tap the sugar-bush soon.” In those +days the buckets were made of staves and were by no means so easily +washed as are the metal buckets of to-day. Well do we recall the +sickish smell of musty sap that greeted our nostrils, when we poured +in the boiling water to clean those old brown buckets. Previously +during the winter evenings, we all had helped fashion sap-spiles from +stems of sumac. With buckets and spiles ready when the momentous +day came, the large, iron caldron kettle was loaded on a stoneboat +together with a sap-cask, log-chain, ax and various other utensils, +and as many children as could find standing room; then the oxen were +hitched on and the procession started across the rough pasture to +the woods, where it eventually arrived after numerous stops for +reloading almost everything but the kettle. + +When we came to the boiling place, we lifted the kettle into position +and flanked it with two great logs against which the fire was to +be kindled. Meanwhile the oxen and stoneboat returned to the house +for a load of buckets. The oxen blinking, with bowed heads, or with +noses lifted aloft to keep the underbrush from striking their faces, +“gee’d and haw’d” up hill and down dale through the woods, stopping +here and there while the men with augers bored holes in certain +trees near other holes which had bled sweet juices in years gone by. +When the auger was withdrawn, the sap followed it, and enthusiastic +young tongues met it half way, though they received more chips than +sweetness therefrom; then the spiles were driven in with a wooden +mallet. + +[Illustration: _Sugar maple growing in the open._] + +The next day after “tapping,” those of us large enough to wear the +neck-yoke donned cheerfully this badge of servitude and with its help +brought pails of sap to the kettle, and the “boiling” began. As the +evening shades gathered, how delicious was the odor of the sap steam, +permeating the woods farther than the shafts of firelight pierced +the gloom! How weird and delightful was this night experience in the +woods! And how cheerfully we swallowed the smoke which the contrary +wind seemed ever to turn toward us! We poked the fire to send the +sparks upward, and now and then added more sap from a barrel, and +removed the scum from the boiling liquid with a skimmer thrust into +the cleft of a long stick for a handle. As the evening wore on, we +drew closer to each other as we told stories of the Indians, bears, +panthers and wolves which had roamed these woods when our father was +a little boy; and came to each of us a disquieting suspicion that +perhaps they were not all gone yet, for everything seemed possible in +those night-shrouded woods; and our hearts suddenly “jumped into our +throats” when near by there sounded the tremulous, blood-curdling cry +of the screech owl. + +[Illustration: _Maple seedling._] + +After about three days of gathering and boiling sap, came the +“siruping down.” During all that afternoon we added no more sap and +we watched carefully the tawny, steaming mass in the kettle; when +it threatened to boil over, we threw in a thin slice of fat pork +which seemed to have some mysterious calming influence. The odor +grew more and more delicious and presently the sirup was pronounced +sufficiently thick. The kettle was swung off the logs and the sirup +dipped through a cloth strainer into a carrying-pail. Oh, the +blackness of the residue left on that strainer! But it was clean +woods-dirt and never destroyed our faith in the maple-sugar, any more +than did the belief that our friends were made of dirt destroy our +friendship for them. The next day our interests were transferred to +the house where we “sugared off.” There we boiled the sirup to sugar +on the stove and pouring it thick and hot upon snow made that most +delicious of all sweets--the maple-wax; or we stirred it until it +“grained,” before we poured it into the tins to make the “cakes” of +maple-sugar. + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Slingerland. + +_Leaves of silver maple._] + +Now the old stave bucket and the sumac spile are gone; in their place +the patent galvanized spile not only conducts the sap but holds in +place a tin bucket carefully covered. The old caldron kettle is +broken, or lies rusting in the shed. In its place, in the new-fangled +sugar-houses, are evaporating vats, set over furnaces with chimneys. +But we may as well confess that the maple-sirup of to-day seems to us +a pale and anaemic liquid, lacking the delicious flavor of the rich, +dark nectar which we, with the help of cinders, smoke and various +other things, brewed of yore in the open woods. + + + LESSON CXC + + THE SUGAR MAPLE + +_Leading thought_--The sugar maple grows very rapidly, and is +therefore a useful shade tree. Its wood is used for many purposes, +and from its sap is made a delicious sugar. + +_Method_--This study of the maple should be done by the pupils out of +doors, with a tree to answer the questions. The study of the leaves, +blossoms and fruit may be made in the schoolroom. The maple is an +excellent subject for Lesson CLXXXVIII. The observations should begin +in the fall and continue at intervals until June. + +_Observations. Fall Work_--1. Where is the maple you are studying? +Is it near other trees? What is the shape of the head? What is the +height of the trunk below the branches? What is the height of the +tree? How large around is the trunk three feet from the ground? Can +you find when the tree was planted? Can you tell by the shape of the +tree from which direction the wind blows most often? + +[Illustration: _Blossoms of the silver maple._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +[Illustration: _Blossoms of mountain maple._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +2. Can you find seeds on your tree? Each pair of seeds is called +a key. Sketch a key, showing the way the seeds are joined and the +direction of the wings. Sketch the stem which holds the key to the +twig. Are both seeds of the key good or is one empty? How are the +seeds scattered and planted? How far will a maple key fly on its +wings? Plant a maple seed where you can watch it grow next year. + +3. Make leaf prints and describe a leaf of the maple, showing its +shape, its veins and petiole. Are the leaves arranged opposite or +alternate on the twig? Make leaf-prints or sketches of the leaves of +all the other kinds of maples which you can find. How can you tell +the different kinds of maples by their leaves? + +4. If your tree stands alone, measure the ground covered by its +shadow from morning until evening. Mark the space by stakes. What +grows beneath the tree? Do grass and other plants grow thriftily +beneath the tree? Do the same plants grow there as in the open field? + +[Illustration: _Blossom of striped maple._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +5. Does your maple get its autumn colors all at once, or on one or +two branches first? At what time do you see the first autumn colors +on your tree? When is it completely clothed in its autumn dress? Is +it all red or all yellow, or mixed? If it is yellow this year do you +think it will be red next year? Watch and see. Sketch your maple in +water-colors. + +6. At what time do the leaves begin to fall? Do those branches which +first colored brightly shed their leaves before the others? At what +date does your tree stand bare? + +7. Find a maple tree in the forest and compare it with one that grows +as a shade tree in a field. Why this difference? + +_Winter Work_--8. Make a sketch of your maple with the leaves off. +What sort of bark has it? Is the bark on the branches like that on +the trunk? Are the main branches large? At what angle do they come +off the trunk? Does the trunk extend up through the entire tree? Is +the spray fine or coarse? Is it straight or crooked? + +9. Study the winter buds. Are they alternate or opposite on the +twigs? Are they shining or dull? + +[Illustration: _Leaves and fruit of striped maple._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +_Spring Study_--10. At what time do we tap maple trees for sap? On +which side of the tree do we make the hole? If we tapped the tree +earlier would we get any sap? What kind of weather is the best for +causing sap flow? Do you suppose that it is the sap going up from +the root to the tree and the branches, or that coming down from the +branches to the root which flows into the bucket? Why do we not make +maple-sugar all summer? Do you suppose the sap ceases to run because +there is no more sap in the tree? + +11. Write a story telling all you can find in books or that you know +from your own experience about the making of maple-sugar. + +12. When do the leaves of your maple first appear? How do they then +look? Do they stand out or droop? + +13. Do the blossoms appear with the leaves or after them? How do the +blossoms look? Can you tell the blossoms with stamens from those with +pistils? Do you find them in the same cluster? Do you find them on +the same tree? + +14. What uses do we find for maple wood? What is the character of the +wood? + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry pp. 25–41. + +[Illustration: _Blossoms of red maple._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE AMERICAN ELM + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +Although the American elm loves moist woods, it is one of those trees +that enjoys gadding; and without knowing just how it has managed to +do it, we can see plainly that it has planted its seeds along fence +corners, and many elms now grace our fields on sites of fences long +ago laid low. Because of its beautiful form and its rapid growth, the +elm has been from earliest times a favorite shade tree in the Eastern +and Middle States. Thirty years after being planted, the elms on the +Cornell Campus clasped branches across the avenues; and the beauty +of many a village and city is due chiefly to these graceful trees of +bounteous shade. Moreover the elm is at no time more beautiful than +when it traces its flowing lines against the background of snow and +gray horizon. Whether the tree be shaped like a vase or a fountain, +the trunk divides into great uplifting branches, which in turn +divide into spray that oftentimes droops gracefully, as if it were +made purposely to sustain from its fine tips the woven pocket-nest +of the oriole. No wonder this bird so often chooses the elm for its +roof-tree! + +[Illustration: _The elm in winter._] + +In winter, the dark, coarsely-ridged bark and the peculiar, wiry, +thick spray, as well as the characteristic shape of the tree reveal +to us its identity; it also has a peculiar habit of growing its +short branches all the way down its trunk, making it look as if +it were entwined with a vine. The elm leaf, although its ribs are +straight and simple, shows a little quirk of its own in the uneven +sides of its base where it joins the petiole; it is dark green and +rough above, light green and somewhat rough below; but this leaf is +rough only when stroked in certain directions, while the leaf of +the slippery elm is rough whichever way it may be stroked. The leaf +has the edges saw-toothed, which are in turn toothed; the petiole +is short. The leaf comes out of the bud in the spring folded like a +little fan; but before the fans are opened to the spring breezes, the +elm twigs are furry with reddish green blossoms. The blossom consists +of a calyx with an irregular number of lobes, and for every lobe, +a stamen which consists of a threadlike filament from which hangs +a bright red anther; at the center is a two-celled pistil with two +light green styles. These blossoms appear in March or early April, +before the leaves. + +When full-grown the fruit hangs like beaded fringe from the twigs. +The seed is flat and has a wide, much veined margin or wing, notched +at the tip and edged with a white silken fringe; the seed is at the +center, wrinkled and flat. Each seed shows at its base the old calyx +and is attached by a slender threadlike stem to the twig at the axils +of last year’s leaves. A little later the lusty breezes of spring +break the frail threads and release the seeds, although few of them +find places fit for growth. + +[Illustration: _Elm blossoms._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +The elm roots are water hunters and extend deep into the earth; they +will grow towards water, seeming to know the way. The elm heart-wood +is reddish, the sap-wood being broad and whitish in color; the wood +is very tough because of the interlaced fibers, and therefore very +hard to split. It is used for cooperage, wheel hubs, saddlery, +and is now used more extensively for furniture; its grain is most +ornamental. It is fairly durable as posts, but perhaps the greatest +use of all for the tree is for shade. The slippery elm is much like +the white elm, except that its inner bark is very mucilaginous, and +children love to chew it. The cork elm has a peculiar corky growth +on its branches, giving it a very unkempt look. The wahoo, or winged +elm, is a small tree, and its twigs are ornamented on each side by a +corky layer. The English elm has a solid, round head, very different +from that of our graceful species. The elms are long-lived, some +living for centuries. The Washington elm in Cambridge, and the +William Penn elm in Philadelphia, which now has a monument to mark +its place, were famous trees. + +[Illustration: _Elm seed._ + +Photo by Morgan.] + + + LESSON CXCI + + THE ELM + +_Leading thought_--The elm has a peculiarly graceful form, which +makes it of value as a shade tree. It grows best in moist locations. +Its wood is very tough. + +_Method_--This work should be begun in the fall with the study of +the shape of the tree and its foliage. Sketches should be made when +the tree is clothed in autumn tints, and later it should be sketched +again when its branches are naked. Its blossoms should be studied in +March and April and its seeds in May. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the elm grow? Does it thrive where +there is little water? What is the usual shape of the elm? How does +the trunk divide into branches to make this shape possible? What is +the shape of the larger elms? Describe the spray. Describe the elm +bark. How can you tell the elm from other trees in winter? + +2. Study the elm leaf. What is its form? What kind of edges has it? +How large is it? What is the difference in appearance and feeling +between the upper and lower sides? Are the leaves rough above +whichever way you stroke them? If a leaf is folded lengthwise are the +two halves exactly alike? How are the leaves arranged on the twig? +What is their color above and below? Describe the leafy growth along +the trunk. + +3. What is the color of the elm tree in autumn? Make a sketch of the +elm tree you are studying. + +4. What sort of roots has the elm? Do they grow deep into the earth? +What is the character of its wood? Is it easy to split? Why? What are +the chief uses of the elm? + +5. Do you know what distinguishes the slippery elm, the cork elm, the +winged elm, or wahoo, and the English elm from the common American or +white elm which you have been studying? + +6. Write an essay on two famous American elms. + +7. What birds love to build in the elm trees? + + + _Spring Study of the Elm_ + +8. Which appear first, the blossoms or the leaves? Describe the elm +blossom. How long before the seeds ripen? How are the seeds attached +to the twig? Describe an elm seed. How are the seeds scattered? How +are the young leaves folded as they come out of the bud? + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 81–92. + + + + + THE OAK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The symbol of rugged strength since man first gazed upon its noble +proportions, the oak more than other trees has been entangled in +human myth, legend and imagination. It was regarded as the special +tree of Zeus by the Greeks. Virgil sang of it thus: + + “Full in the midst of his own strength he stands + Stretching his brawny arms and leafy hands, + His shade protects the plains, his head the hills commands.” + +While in primitive England the strange worship of the Druids centered +around it. + +[Illustration: _White oak leaves and acorn_] + +Although the oak is a tree of grandeur when its broad branches +are covered with leafage, yet it is only in winter when it stands +stripped like an athlete that we realize wherein its supremacy lies. +Then only can we appreciate the massive trunk and the strong limbs +bent and gnarled with combating the blasts of centuries. But there +are oaks and oaks, and each species fights time and tempest in his +own peculiar armor and in his own way. Many of the oaks achieve the +height of eighty to one hundred feet. The great branches come off the +sturdy trunk at wide angles, branches that may be crooked or gnarled +but are ever long and strong; the smaller branches also come off +at wide angles, and in turn bear angular individual spray--all of +which, when covered with leaves, make the broad, rounded head which +characterizes this tree. The oaks are divided into two classes which +the children soon learn to distinguish, as follows: + +A. _The white oak group_, the leaves of which have rounded lobes and +are rough and light-colored below; the wood is light-colored, the +acorns have sweet kernels and mature in one year, so that there are +no acorns on the branches in winter. To this class belong the white, +chestnut, bur, and post oaks. + +[Illustration: _White oak in winter._ + +Drawing by W. C. Baker.] + +AA. _The black oak group_, the leaves of which are nearly as smooth +below as above, and have angular lobes ending in sharp points. The +bark is dark in color, the acorns have bitter kernels and require +two years for maturing, so that they may be seen on the branches in +winter. To this group belong the red, scarlet, Spanish, pin, scrub, +black-jack, laurel and willow oaks. + +There is a great variation in the shape of the leaves on the +same tree, and while the black, the red and the scarlet oaks are +well-marked species, it is possible to find leaves on these three +different trees which are similar in shape. Oaks also hybridize, and +thus their leaves are a puzzle to the botanist; but in general, the +species can be determined by any of the tree books, and the pupils +should learn to distinguish them. + +The acorns and their scaly saucers are varied in shape, and are a +delight to children as well as to pigs. The great acorns of the +red oak are made into cups and saucers by the girls, and those +of the scarlet oak into tops by the boys. The white oaks turn a +rich wine-color in the autumn, while the bur and the chestnut are +yellow. The red oak is a dark, wine-red; the black oak russet, and +the scarlet a deep and brilliant red. When the oak leaves first come +from the buds in the spring, they are soft and downy and drooping, +those of the red and scarlet being reddish, and those of the white, +pale green with red tints. Thoreau says of them, “They hang loosely, +flaccidly down at the mercy of the wind, like a new-born butterfly or +dragonfly.” + +[Illustration: _Swamp white oak in winter._] + +The pollen-bearing flowers are like beads on a string, several +strings hanging down from the same point on the twig, making a +fringe, and they are attractive to the eye that sees. The pistillate +flowers are inconspicuous, at the axils of the leaves, and have +irregular or curved stigmas; they are on the same branch as the +pollen-bearing flowers. + +[Illustration: _Leaves and acorn of the swamp white oak._] + +The oak is long-lived; it does not produce acorns until about twenty +years of age and requires a century to mature. Although from two to +three hundred years is the average age of most oaks, yet a scarlet +oak of my acquaintance is about four hundred years old, and there +are oaks still living in England which were there when William, the +Conquerer came. The famous Wadsworth Oak at Geneseo, N. Y. had a +circumference of twenty seven feet. This was a swamp white oak. One +reason for their attaining great age is long, strong, tap-roots which +plant them deep, also the great number of roots near the surface +which act as braces, and their large and luxurious heads. + +[Illustration: _Leaves and acorn of chestnut oak._] + +Oak wood is usually heavy, very strong, tough and coarse. The heart +is brown, the sap-wood whitish. It is used for many purposes--ships, +furniture, wagons, cars, cooperage, farm implements, piles, wharves, +railway ties, etc. The white and live oaks give the best wood. Oak +bark is used extensively for tanning. + + + LESSON CXCII + + THE OAKS + +_Leading thought_--The oak tree is the symbol of strength and +loyalty. Let us study it and see what qualities in it have thus +distinguished it. + +[Illustration: _Blossoms of chestnut oak._] + +_Method_--Any oak tree may be used for this lesson; but whatever +species is used, the lesson should lead to the knowledge of all the +species of oaks in the neighborhood. The tree should be sketched, +essays concerning the connection of the oak with human history should +be written, while the leaves and acorns may be brought into the +schoolroom for study. Use Lesson CLXXXIX for a study of leaves of all +the oaks of the neighborhood. + +[Illustration: _Cup and saucer made from the acorns of red oak_] + +_Observations_--1. Describe the oak tree which you are studying. +Where is it growing? What shape is its head? How high in proportion +to the head is the trunk? What is the color and character of its +bark? Describe its roots as far as you can see. Are the branches +straight or crooked? Delicate or strong? Is the spray graceful or +angular? + +2. What is the name of your oak tree? What is the color of its +foliage in autumn? Find three leaves from your tree which differ +most widely in form, and sketch them or make leaf prints of them for +your note-book. Does the leaf have the lobes rounded, or angular and +tipped with sharp points? Is the leaf smooth on the lower side or +rough? Is there much difference in color between the upper and the +lower side? + +3. Describe the acorns which grow on your oak. Has the acorn a stem, +or is it set directly on the twig? How much of the acorn does the cup +cover? Are the scales on the cup fine or coarse? Is the cup rounded +inwards at its rim? What is the length of the acorn including the +cup? The diameter? Are there acorns on your oak in winter? If so, +why? Is the kernel of the acorn sweet or bitter? Plant an acorn and +watch it sprout. + +[Illustration: _The red oak in winter._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +4. Read all the stories you can find about oak trees, and write them +in your note-book. + +5. How great an age does the oak attain? Describe how the country +round about looked when the oak tree you are studying was planted. + +6. How many kinds of oaks do you know? What is the difference in +leaves between the white and the black oak groups? What is the +difference in the length of time required for the acorns to mature +in these two groups? The difference in taste of the acorns? The +difference in the general color of the bark? Why is the chestnut oak +an exception to this latter rule? + +7. How do the oak leaves look when they first come out of the bud +in spring? What is the color of the tree covered with new leaves? +When does your oak blossom? Find the pollen-bearing blossoms which +are hung in long, fuzzy, beady strings. Find the pistillate flower +which is to form the acorn. Where is it situated in relation to the +pollen-bearing flower? + +[Illustration: _The leaves and acorn of red oak._] + +8. Make a sketch of your oak tree in the fall, and another in +the winter. Write the autobiography of some old oak tree in your +neighborhood. + +[Illustration: _Leaves and acorn of black oak._] + +[Illustration: _Leaves and acorn of bur oak._] + +9. For what is the oak wood used? How is the bark used? + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 111–129. + +[Illustration: _Leaves and acorn of scarlet oak._] + + + + + THE SHAGBARK HICKORY + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: H] + +How pathetically the untidy bark of this dignified tree suggests +the careless raiment of a great man! The shagbark is so busy being +something worth while that it does not seem to have time or energy +to clothe itself in tailor-made bark, like the beech, the white ash +and the basswood. And just as we like a great man more because of his +negligence to fashion’s demands, so do we esteem this noble tree, and +involuntarily pay it admiring tribute as we note its trunk with the +bark scaling off in long, thin plates that curve outward at the top +and bottom and seem to be only slightly attached at the middle. + +In general shape, the shagbark resembles the oak; the lower branches +are large and, although rising as they leave the bole, their tips +are deflected; and, for their whole length, they are gnarled and +knotted as if to show their strength. The bark on the larger branches +may be scaly toward their bases but above is remarkably smooth. The +spray is angular and extends in almost every direction. The leaves, +like those of other hickories, are compound. There are generally +five leaflets, but sometimes only three and sometimes seven. The +basal pair is smaller than the others. The hickory leaves are borne +alternately on the twig, and from this character the hickory may be +distinguished from the ashes, which have leaves of similar type, but +which are placed opposite on the twigs. The shagbark usually has an +unsymmetrical oblong head; the lower branches are usually shorter +than the upper ones, and the latter are irregularly placed, causing +gaps in the foliage. + +The nut is large, with a thick, smooth, outer husk channeled at +the seams and separating readily into sections; the inner shell is +sharply angled and pointed and slightly flattened at the sides; the +kernel is sweet. The winter buds of the shagbark are large, light +brown, egg-shaped and downy; they swell greatly before they expand. +There are from eight to ten bud-scales; the inner ones, which are +red, increase to two or three inches in length before the leaves +unfold, after which they fall away. The young branches are smooth, +soft, delicate in color, and with conspicuous leaf scars. + +The hickory bears its staminate and pistillate flowers on the same +tree. The pollen-bearing flowers grow at the base of the season’s +shoots in slender, pendulous, green catkins, which occur usually +in clusters of three swinging from a common stem. The pistillate +flowers grow at the tips of the season’s shoots singly or perhaps +two or three on a common stem. In the shagbark the middle lobe of +the staminate calyx is nearly twice as long as the other two, and is +tipped with long bristles; it usually has four stamens with yellow +anthers; its pistillate calyx is four-toothed and hairy, and has two +large, fringed stigmas. + +The big shagbark, or king nut, is similar to the shagbark in height, +manner of growth, and bark. However, its leaves have from seven to +nine leaflets, which are more oblong and wedgelike than are those of +the shagbark; they are also more downy when young and remain slightly +downy beneath. The nut is very large, thick-shelled, oblong, angled, +and pointed at both ends. The kernel is large and sweet but inferior +in flavor to the smaller shagbark. The big shagbark has larger buds +than has the other. Their fringy, reddish purple, inner scales grow +so large that they appear tuliplike before they fall away at the +unfolding of the leaves. + +Hickory wood ranks high in value; it is light-colored, close-grained, +heavy, and very durable when not exposed to moisture. It is capable +of resisting immense strain, and, therefore, it is used for the +handles of spades, plows and other tools, and also for spokes and +thills in carriage-making. As a fuel, it is superior to most woods, +making a glowing, hot and quite lasting fire. + + + LESSON CXCIII + + THE SHAGBARK + +_Leading thought_--The hickories are important trees commercially. +They have compound leaves which are set alternately upon the twig. +The shagbark can be told from the other hickories by its ragged, +scaling bark. + +_Method_--This lesson may be begun in the winter when the tree can +be studied carefully as to its shape and method of branching. Later, +the unfolding of the leaves from the large buds should be watched, as +this is a most interesting process; and a little later the blossoms +may be studied. The work should be taken up again in the fall, when +the fruit is ripe. + +_Observations Winter study_--1. What is the general shape of the +whole tree? Are the lower branches very large? At what angle do the +branches, in general, grow from the trunk? Are there many large +branches? + +2. Where is the spray borne? What is its character--that is, is it +fine and smooth, or knotted and angled? What is its color? + +3. Describe the bark. Is the bark on the limbs like that on the trunk? + +4. What is the size and shape of the buds? Are the buds +greenish-yellow, yellowish brown, or do they have a reddish tinge? + +5. Count the bud-scales. Are they downy or smooth? + +_Spring study_--6. Describe how the hickory leaf unfolds from its +bud. How is each leaflet folded within the bud? + +7. Describe the long greenish catkins which bear the pollen. On what +part of the twigs do they grow? Do they grow singly or in clusters? + +8. Take one of the tiny, pollen-bearing flowers and hold it under a +lens on the point of a pin. How many lobes has the calyx? Count the +stamens, and note the color of the anthers. + +9. Upon what part of the twigs do the pistillate flowers grow? How +many points or lobes has the pistillate calyx? Describe the growth of +the nut from the flower. + +_Autumn study_--10. Does the hickory you are studying grow in open +field or wood? + +11. Are the trunk and branches slender and lofty, or sturdy and wide +spreading? + +12. Note the number and shape of the leaflets. Are they slim and +tapering, or do they swell to the width of half their length? Are +they set directly upon or are they attached by tiny stems to the +mid-stem? Are they smooth or downy on the under side? Are the leaves +set upon the twigs alternately or opposite each other? How are the +leaflets set upon the mid-stem? + +13. Describe the outer husk of the nut. Into how many sections does +it open? Does it cling to the nut and fall with it to the ground? Is +the nut angled and pointed, or is it roundish and without angles? Is +the kernel sweet or bitter? + + + + +[Illustration: + +Photo by Verne Morton. + +_Chestnut blossoms._ + +Note the two pistillate flowers above the staminate catkins.] + + + THE CHESTNUT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +This splendid tree, sometimes reaching the height of one hundred +feet, seldom receives the admiration due to it, simply because +humanity is so much more interested in food than in beauty. The fact +that the chestnuts are sought so eagerly has taken away from interest +in the appearance of the tree. The chestnut has a great round head +set firmly on a handsome bole, which is covered with grayish brown +bark divided into rather broad, flat, irregular ridges. The foliage +is superb; the long, slender, graceful leaves, tapering at both +ends, are glossy, brilliant green above and paler below; and they +are placed near the ends of the twigs, those of the fruiting twigs +seeming to be arranged in rosettes to make a background for blossom +or fruit. The leaves are placed alternately and have deeply notched +edges, the veins extending straight and unbroken from midrib to +margin; the petiole is short. The leaf is like that of the beech, +except that it is much longer and more pointed; it resembles in +general shape the leaf of the chestnut oak, except that the edges of +the latter have rounded scallops instead of being sharply toothed. +The burs appear at the axils of the leaves near the end of the twig. +Thoreau has given us a most admirable description of the chestnut +fruit: + +“What a perfect chest the chestnut is packed in! With such wonderful +care Nature has secluded and defended these nuts as if they were +her most precious fruits, while diamonds are left to take care of +themselves. First, it bristles all over with sharp, green prickles, +some nearly a half inch long, like a hedgehog rolled into a ball; +these rest on a thick, stiff, barklike rind one-sixteenth to +one-eighth of an inch thick, which again is most daintily lined with +a kind of silvery fur or velvet plush one-sixteenth of an inch thick, +even rising into a ridge between the nuts, like the lining of a +casket in which the most precious commodities are kept. At last frost +comes to unlock this chest; it alone holds the true key; and then +Nature drops to the rustling leaves a ‘done’ nut, prepared to begin +a chestnut’s course again. Within itself again each individual nut +is lined with a reddish velvet, as if to preserve the seed from jar +and injury in falling, and perchance from sudden damp and cold; and +within that a thin, white skin envelops the germ. Thus, it has lining +within lining and unwearied care, not to count closely, six coverings +at least before you reach the contents.” + +The red squirrels, as if to show their spite because of the +protection of this treasure chest, have the reprehensible habit of +cutting off the young burs and thus robbing themselves of a rich +later harvest--which serves them right. There are usually two nuts in +each bur, set with flat sides together; but sometimes there are three +and then the middle one is squeezed so that it has two flat sides. +Occasionally there is only one nut developed in a bur--an only child, +so well cared for that it grows to be almost globular. The color we +call chestnut is derived from the beautiful red-brown of the polished +shell of the nut, polished except where the base joins the bur, and +the apex which is gray and downy. + +[Illustration: _Detail of a chestnut blossom._ + +_a._ _a._, pistillate flowers set in a base of scales; _b_, +pistillate flower enlarged; _c_, staminate flower enlarged.] + +The chestnut is always a beautiful tree, whether green in summer or +glowing golden yellow in autumn; but it is most beautiful during late +June and July, when covered with constellations of pale yellow stars. +Each of these stars is a rosette of the pollen-bearing blossoms; each +ray consists of a catkin often six or eight inches in length, looking +like a thread of yellowish chenille fringe, clothing this thread in +tufts for its whole length are the stamens, standing out like minute +threads tipped with tiny anther balls. If we observe the blossom +early enough, we can see these stamens curled up as they come forth +from the tiny, pale yellow, six-lobed calyx. One calyx, although +scarcely one-sixteenth of an inch across, develops from ten to twenty +of these stamens; these tiny flowers are arranged in knots along the +central thread of the catkin. No wonder it looks like chenille! There +are often as many as thirty of these catkin rays in the star rosette; +the lower ones come from the axils of the leaves; but toward the tips +of the twig, the leaves are ignored and the catkins have possession. +In one catkin I estimated that there were approximately 2,500 stamens +developed, each anther packed with pollen. When we think that there +may be thirty of the catkins in a blossom-star, we get a glimmering +of the amount of pollen produced. + +[Illustration: _Leaves and flowers of chestnut and chestnut oak +showing the differences._ + +Photo by G. F. Morgan.] + +And what is all this pollen for? Can it be simply to fertilize the +three or four inconspicuous flowers at the tip of the twig beyond +and at the center of the star? These pistillate flowers are little +bunches of green scales with some short, white threads projecting +from their centers; and beyond them a skimpy continuation of the +stem with more little green bunches scattered along it, which are +undeveloped pistillate blossoms. The one or two flowers at the base +of the stem get all the nourishment and the others do not develop. +If we examine one of these nests of green scales, we find that there +are six threads belonging to one tiny, green flower with a six-lobed +calyx; the six threads are the stigmas, each one reaching out and +asking for no more than one grain of the rich shower of pollen. + +Chestnut wood is light, rather soft, stiff, coarse and not strong. It +is used in cabinet work, cooperage, for telegraph poles and railway +ties. When burned as fuel, it snaps and crackles almost equal to +hemlock. + + + LESSON CXCIV + + THE CHESTNUT + +_Leading thought_--The chestnut is one of our most beautiful trees. +We should learn to appreciate it by observing the beauty of its +blossoms and of its foliage when green and when brilliant yellow in +autumn. Until the chestnut fruit is ripe, it is well protected by its +spiny bur. + +_Method_--This study may be begun in the fall when chestnuts are +ripe. Ask the boys to describe the trees from which they get this +longed-for harvest. The leaves, burs and nuts may be studied in the +schoolroom. + +_Observations_--1. Where do chestnut trees grow? What is the general +form of the head of the tree? How high is the trunk below the +branches? Do the branches divide into fine twigs or spray at the tips? + +2. Sketch and describe a chestnut leaf, showing the veins, edges +and petiole. Are the leaves placed opposite or alternate? What is +their color above and below? How do the chestnut leaves differ from +those of the beech and of the chestnut oak? What is the color of the +chestnut foliage in autumn? + +3. Where on the branch is the bur borne? How does the green chestnut +bur look? Why is this prickly exterior beneficial to the fruit? Does +the bur open easily when green? What causes the chestnut bur to open? +Into how many lobes does it open? Describe an open bur outside and in. + +[Illustration: _Chestnuts in burs._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +4. Where in the bur are the chestnuts set? How many in one bur? How +can you tell by the shape of the chestnut whether it grew as a twin +or single in a bur? Are there ever three in a bur? If so, what shape +is the middle one? Do the burs fall when the chestnuts are ripe? + +5. Take a single chestnut. Describe its shape and color. What is the +mark on its large end? Describe the coloring and covering of the tip. +Open the shell and note the lining. Describe how the meat is finally +protected. Can you see where the germ is? Plant a chestnut and watch +it grow. + +6. Study the chestnut blossom in late June or July. What kind of +blossoms are those which look like yellow stars all over the tree? +Study one of the catkins which makes a ray of the star, and describe +it. Can you see the anthers and the pollen? How many of these +pollen-bearing flowers are on one stem? Where are the pistillate +flowers which will grow into young chestnuts? Describe them. + +[Illustration: _Chestnuts._ + +Photo by O. L. Foster.] + +7. How much are chestnuts worth per bushel? To what uses is chestnut +timber put? What is the character of the wood? + + + + + THE HORSE-CHESTNUT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The wealth of children is, after all, the truest wealth in this +world; and the horse-chestnuts, brown and smooth, looking so +appetizing and so belying their looks, have been used from time +immemorial by boys as legal tender--a fit use, for these handsome +nuts seem coined purposely for boys’ pockets. + +The horse-chestnut is a native of Asia Minor. It has also a home in +the high mountains of Greece. In America, it is essentially a shade +tree. Its head is a broad cone, its dark green foliage is dense and, +when in blossom, the flower clusters stand out like little white +pyramids against the rich back-ground in a most striking fashion. +“A pyramid of green supporting a thousand pyramids of white” is a +clever description of this tree’s blossoming. The brown bark of the +trunk has a tendency to break into plates, and the trunk is just high +enough to make a fitting base for the handsome head. + +[Illustration: a, _blossom of the sweet buck-eye and young fruit_; b, +_blossom and young fruit of horse-chestnut_.] + +The blossom panicle is at the tip end of the twig and stops its +growth at that point; the side buds continue to grow thus making +a forking branch. Each blossom panicle stands erect like a candle +flame, and the flowers are arranged spirally around the central +stem, each pedicel carrying from four to six flowers. The calyx has +five unequal lobes, and it and the stem are downy. Five spreading +and unequal petals with ruffled margins are raised on short claws, +to form the corolla; seven stamens with orange colored anthers are +thrust far out and up from the flower. The blossoms are creamy or +pinkish white and have purple or yellow blotches in their throats. +Not all the flowers have perfect pistils. The stigmas ripen before +the pollen, and are often thrust forth from the unopened flower. +The flowers are fragrant and are eagerly visited by bumblebees, +honey-bees and wasps. + +[Illustration: _Horse-chestnut blossoms._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +Very soon after the blossom falls, there may be seen one or two +green, prickly balls which are all the fruits one flower cluster +could afford to mature. By October the green, spherical husk breaks +open in three parts, showing its white satin lining and the roundish, +shining, smooth nut at its center. At first there were six little +nuts in this husk, but all except one gave up to the burly occupant. +The great, round, pale scar on the nut is where it joined the husk. +Very few American animals will eat the nut; the squirrels scorn it +and horses surely disown it. + +In winter, the horse-chestnut twig has at its tip a large bud and +looks like a knobbed antenna thrust forth to test the safety of the +neighborhood. There are, besides the great varnished buds at the ends +of the twigs, smaller buds opposite to each other along the sides +of the twig, standing out stiffly. On each side of the end bud, and +below each of the others, is a horseshoe-shaped scar left by the +falling leaf of last year. The “nails” in this horseshoe are formed +by the leafy fibres which joined the petiole to the twig. The great +terminal buds hold both leaves and flowers. The buds in winter are +brown and shining as if varnished; when they begin to swell, they +open, displaying the silky gray floss which swaddles the tiny leaves. +The leaves unfold rapidly and lift up their green leaflets, looking +like partly opened umbrellas, and giving the tree a very downy +appearance, which Lowell so well describes: + + “And gray hoss-chestnut’s leetle hands unfold + Softer’n a baby’s be at three days old.” + +The leaf, when fully developed, has seven leaflets, of which the +central ones are the larger. They are all attached around the tip of +the petiole. The number of leaflets may vary from three to nine, but +is usually seven. The leaflets are oval in shape, being attached to +the petiole at the smaller end; their edges are irregularly toothed. +The veins are large, straight and lighter in color; the upper surface +is smooth and dark green, the under side is lighter in color and +slightly rough. The petiole is long and shining and enlarges at both +ends; when cut across, it shows a woody outer part encasing a bundle +of fibres, one fiber to each leaflet. The places where these fibers +were attached to the twig make the nails in the horseshoe scar. The +leaves are placed opposite on the twigs. + +Very different from that of the horse-chestnut is the flower of the +yellow or sweet, buckeye; the calyx is tubular, long and five-lobed; +the two side petals are on long stalks and are closed like spoons +over the stamens and anthers; the two upper petals are also on +long stalks, lifting themselves up and showing on their inner +surfaces a bit of color to tell the wandering bee that here is a +tube to be explored. The flowers are greenish yellow. The flowers +of the Ohio buckeye show a stage between the sweet buckeye and the +horse-chestnut. The Ohio buckeye is our most common native relative +of the horse-chestnut. Its leaves have five leaflets instead of +seven. The Sweet buckeye is also an American species and grows in the +Alleghany mountains. + + + LESSON CXCV + + THE HORSE-CHESTNUT + +_Leading thought_--The horse-chestnut has been introduced into +America as a shade tree from Asia Minor and southern Europe. Its +foliage and its flowers are both beautiful. + +_Method_--This tree is almost always at hand for the village teacher, +as it is so often used as a shade tree. Watching the leaves develop +from the buds is one of the most common of the nature-study lessons. +The study of the buds, leaves and fruits may be made in school; but +the children should observe the tree where it grows and pay special +attention to its insect visitors when it is in bloom. + +_Observations_--1. Describe the horse-chestnut tree when in blossom. +At what time does this occur? What is there in its shape and foliage +and flowers which make it a favorite shade tree? Where did it grow +naturally? What relatives of the horse-chestnut are native to America? + +2. Study the blossom cluster; are the flowers borne on the ends or +on the sides of the twig? Describe the shape of the cluster. How are +the flowers arranged on the main flower stalk to produce this form? +Do the flowers open all at once from top to bottom of the cluster? +Are all the flowers in the cluster the same color? Are they fragrant? +What insects visit them? + +[Illustration: _Horse-chestnuts, the coin of the small boy._ + +Photo by O. L. Foster.] + +3. Take a single flower; describe the form of the calyx. Is it smooth +or downy? Are the lobes all the same size? Are the petals all alike +in size and shape? What gives them the appearance of Japanese paper? +Are any connected together? Are they all splashed with color alike? + +4. How many stamens are there? Where do you see them? What color are +the anthers? Search the center of a flower for a pistil with its +green style. Do you find one in every flower? Could a bee reach the +nectar at the base of the blossom without touching the stigma? Could +she withdraw without dusting herself with pollen? + +5. How long after the blossom does the young fruit appear? How does +it look? How many nuts are developed from each cluster of blossoms? +What is the shape of the bur? Into how many parts does it open? +Describe the outside; the inside. Describe the shape of the nuts, +their color and markings. Which make the best “conquerers,” those +which grow single in the bur or as twins? Open a nut. Can you find +any division in the kernel? Is it good to eat? + +_Horse-chestnut Twigs and Leaves in Spring_--6. Are the buds on the +twigs nearly all the same size? Where are the larger ones situated? +What is the color of the buds? How are the scales arranged on them? +Are they shiny or dull? What do the scales enfold? Can you tell +without opening them which buds contain flowers and which ones leaves? + +7. Describe the scars below the buds. What caused them? What marks +are on them? What made the “nails” in the horseshoe? Has the twig +other scars? How do the ring-marks show the age of the twig? Do you +see the little, light colored dots scattered over the bark of the +twig? What are they? + +8. Describe how the leaf unfolds from the bud. What is the shape of +the leaf? Do all the leaves have the same number of leaflets? Do +any of them have an even number? How are the leaflets set upon the +petiole? Describe the leaflets, including shape, veins, edges, color +above and below. Is the petiole pliant, or stiff and strong? Is it +the same shape and size throughout its length? Break a petiole, is +it green throughout? What can you see at its center? Are the leaves +opposite or alternate? When they fall, do they drop entire or do the +leaflets fall apart from the stem? + +9. Sketch the horse-chestnut tree. + +10. How do the flowers and leaves of the horse-chestnut differ from +those of the sweet buckeye and of the Ohio buckeye? + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, p. 17. + + + + + THE WILLOWS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + +_They shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the water courses._ + --ISAIAH. + + “_When I cross opposite the end of Willow Row the sun comes + out and the trees are very handsome, like a rosette, pale, + tawny or fawn color at base and red-yellow or orange-yellow + for the upper three or four feet. This is, methinks, the + brightest object in the landscape these days. Nothing so + betrays the spring sun. I am aware that the sun has come out + of the cloud just by seeing it light up the osiers._”--THOREAU. + + +[Illustration: T] + +The willow, Thoreau noted, is the golden osier, a colonial dame, a +descendent from the white willow of Europe. It is the most common +tree planted along streams to confine them to their channels, and +affords an excellent subject for a nature-study lesson. The golden +osier has a short though magnificent trunk, giving off tremendous +branches, which in turn branch and uphold a mass of golden terminal +shoots. But there are many willows besides this, and the one who +tries to determine all the species and hybrids must conclude that of +making willows there is no end. The species beloved by children is +the pussy willow which is often a shrub, rarely reaching twenty feet +in height. It loves moist localities, and on its branches in early +spring are developed the silky, furry pussies. These are favorite +objects for a nature-study lesson, and yet how little have the +teachers or pupils known about these flowers! + +[Illustration: _Enlarged willow blossoms._ + +Pistillate blossom showing nectar, gland, (n.gl.) + +Staminate flower showing the nectar, gland (n.gl.) ] + +The willow pussies are the pollen-bearing flowers; they are covered +in winter by a brown, varnished, double, tentlike bract. The pussy +in full bloom shows beneath each fur-bordered scale two stamens with +long filaments and plump anthers; but there are no pistils in this +blossom. The flowers which produce seed are borne on another tree +entirely and in similar greenish gray catkins, but not so soft and +furry. In the pistillate catkin each fringed scale has at its base a +pistil which thrusts out a Y-shaped stigma. The question of how the +pollen from one gets to the pistils of another is a story which the +bees can best tell. The willow flowers give the bees almost their +earliest spring feast and, when they are in blossom, the happy hum +of the bees working in them can be heard for some distance from +the trees. The pollen gives them bee bread for their early brood, +and they get their honey supply from the nectar which is produced +in little jug-shaped glands, at the base of each pollen-bearing +flower on the “pussy” catkin, and in a long pocket at the base of +each flower on the pistillate catkin. So they pass back and forth, +carrying their pollen loads to fertilize the stigmas on trees where +there is no pollen. It has been asserted that the pussies, or +pollen-bearing flowers, yield no nectar but give only pollen, so that +the bee is obliged to seek both trees in order to secure a diet of +“balanced ration;” but the person who made this statement had never +taken the pains to look at the tiny jugs over-flowing with nectar +found at their bases. + +[Illustration: _The willow pussies. The staminate blossoms of the +willow._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +In June the willow seed is ripe. The catkin then is made up of tiny +pods, which open like milkweed pods and are filled with seed equipped +with balloons. When these fuzzy seeds are being set free people say +that the willows “shed cotton.” + +Although the seed of the willow is produced in abundance, it is +hardly needed for preserving the species. Twigs which we place in +water to develop flowers will also put forth roots; even if the twigs +are placed in water wrong side up, rootlets will form. A twig lying +flat on moist soil will push out rootlets along its entire length +as though it were a root; and shoots will grow from the buds on its +upper side. This habit of the willows and the fact that the roots +are long, strong and fibrous make these trees of great use as soil +binders. There is nothing better than a thick hedge of willows to +hold streams to their proper channels during floods; the roots reach +out in all directions, interlacing themselves in great masses, and +thus hold the soil of the banks in place. The twigs of several of +the species, notably the crack and sand-bar willows, are broken off +easily by the wind and carried off down stream, and where they lodge, +they take root; thus, many streams are bordered by self-planted +willow hedges. + +The willow foliage is fine and makes a beautiful, soft mass with +delicate shadows. The leaf is long, narrow, pointed and slender, +with finely toothed edges and short petiole; the exact shape of the +leaf, of course, depends upon the species, but all of them are much +lighter in color below than above. The willows are, as a whole, water +lovers and quick growers. + +Although willow wood is soft and exceedingly light, it is very tough +when seasoned and is used for many things. The wooden shoes of the +European peasant, artificial limbs, willowware, and charcoal of the +finest grain used in the manufacture of gunpowder, are all made from +the willow wood. The toughness and flexibility of the willow twigs +have given rise to many industries; baskets, hampers, carriage bodies +and furniture are made of them. To get these twigs the willow trees +are pollarded, or cut back every year between the fall of the leaves +and the flow of the sap in the spring. This pruning results in many +twigs. The use of willow twigs in basketry is ancient. The Britons +fought the Roman soldiers from behind shields of basket work; and +the wattled huts in which they lived were woven of willow saplings +smeared with clay. Salicylic acid, used widely in medicine, is made +from willow bark, which produces also tannin and some unfading dyes. + +[Illustration: _The pistillate blossoms of the willow._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +There are many insect inhabitants of the willow, but perhaps the most +interesting is the little chap which makes a conelike object on the +twig of certain species of willow growing along our streams. This +cone is naturally considered a fruit by the ignorant, but we know +that the willow seeds are grown in catkins instead of cones. This +willow cone is made by a small gnat which lays its egg in the tip +of the twig; as soon as the little grub hatches, it begins to gnaw +the twig, and this irritation for some reason stops the growth. The +leaves instead of developing along the stem are dwarfed and overlap +each other. Just in the center of the cone at the tip of the twig the +little larva lives its whole life surrounded by food and protected +from enemies; it remains in the cone all winter, in the spring +changes to a pupa, and after a time comes forth--a very delicate +little fly. The larva in this gall is very hospitable. It has its own +little apartment at the center but does not object to having a tenant +in its outer chambers, a fact which is taken advantage of by another +gall-gnat which breeds there in large numbers. It is well to gather +these cones in winter; examine one by cutting it open to find the +larva, and place others in a fruit jar with a cover so as to see the +little flies when they shall issue in the spring. (See p. 362). For +supplementary reading see “Outdoor Studies,” page 24. + +There is another interesting winter tenant of willow leaves, but it +is rather difficult to find. On the lower branches may be discovered, +during winter and spring, leaves rolled lengthwise and fastened, +making elongated cups. Each little cup is very full of a caterpillar +which just fits it, the caterpillar’s head forming the plug of the +opening. This is the partially grown larva of the viceroy butterfly. +It eats off the tip of the leaf each side of the midrib for about +half its length, fastens the petiole fast to the twig with silk, then +rolls the base of the leaf into a cup, lines it with silk and backs +into it, there to remain until fresh leaves on the willow in spring +afford it new food. + +[Illustration: “_My willow-tent._” + +Photo by W. C. Baker.] + + + LESSON CXCVI + + THE WILLOWS + +_Leading thought_--The willows have their pollen-bearing flowers +and their seed-bearing flowers on separate trees; the bees carry +the pollen from one to the other. The willow pussies are the +pollen-bearing flowers. + +_Method_--As early in March as is practicable, have the pupils gather +twigs of as many different kinds of willows as can be found; these +should be put in jars of water and placed in a warm, sunny window. +The catkins will soon begin to push out from the bud-scales, and the +whole process of flowering may be watched. + +[Illustration: _Seeds of willow._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +_Observations_--1. How can you tell the common willow tree from afar? +In what localities do these trees grow? What is the general shape of +the big willow? How high is the trunk, or bole? What sort of bark +has it? Are the main branches large or small? Do they stand out at a +wide angle or lift up sharply? What color are the terminal shoots, or +spray? + +2. Are the buds opposite or alternate on the twigs? Is there a bud at +exactly the end of any twig? How many bracts are there covering the +bud? + +3. Which appear first, the leaves or the blossoms? Study the pussies +on your twigs and see if they are all alike. Is one kind more soft +and furry than the other? Are they of different colors? + +4. Take one of the furry pussies. Describe the little bract, which +is like a protecting hood at its base. What color is the fur? After +a few days, what color is the pussy? Why does it change from silver +color to yellow? Pick one of the catkins apart and see how the fur +protects the stamens. + +5. Take one of the pussies which is not so furry. Can you see the +little pistils with the Y-shaped stigmas set in it? Is each little +pistil set at the base of a little scale with fringed edges? + +6. Since the pollen-bearing catkins are on one tree and the +seed-bearing catkins are on the other, and since the seeds cannot +be developed without the pollen, how is the pollen carried to the +pistils? For this answer, visit the willows when the pussies are all +in bloom and listen. Tell what you hear. What insects do you see +working on the willow blossoms? What are they after? + +7. What sort of seed has the willow? How is it scattered? Do you +think the wind or water has most to do with planting willow seed? + +_Work for May or September_--8. Describe willow foliage and leaves. +How can you tell willow foliage at a distance? + +9. What sort of roots has the willow? Why are the willows planted +along the banks of streams? If you wished to plant some willow trees +how would you do it? Would you plant seeds or twigs? + +10. For what purposes is willow wood used? How are the twigs used? +Why are they specially fitted for this use? What is pollarding a +tree? What medicine do we get from willow bark? + +11. Do you find willow cones on your willows? Cut one of these cones +through and see if you can find any seeds? What is in the middle of +it? What do you think made the scales of the cone? Do you think this +little insect remains in here all winter? + +12. In winter, hunt the lower branches of willows for leaves rolled +lengthwise making a winter cradle for the young caterpillars of the +viceroy. + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, p. 137. + + + + + THE COTTONWOOD, OR CAROLINA POPLAR + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The sojourner on our western plains where streams are few and +sluggish, disappearing entirely in summer, soon learns to love the +cottonwoods, for they will grow and cast their shade for men and +cattle where no other tree could endure. The cottonwood may be +unkempt and ragged, but it is a tree, and we are grateful to it for +its ability to grow in unfavorable situations. In the Middle West +it attains its perfection, although in New York we have some superb +specimens--trees which are more than one hundred feet in height +and with majestic trunks, perhaps five or six feet through. The +deep-furrowed, pale gray bark makes a handsome covering. The trunk +divides into great out-swinging, widely spaced branches, which bear a +fine spray on their drooping ends. Sargent declares that at its best +the cottonwood is one of the statliest inhabitants of our eastern +forests. The variety we plant in cities we call the Carolina poplar, +but it is a cottonwood. It is a rapid grower, and therefore a great +help to the “boom towns” of the West and to the boom suburbs in the +East; although for a city tree its weak branches break too readily +in wind storms in old age. However, it keeps its foliage clean, the +varnished leaves shedding the dust and smoke; because of this latter +quality it is of special use in towns that burn soft coal. + +The cottonwood twigs which we gather for study in the spring are +yellowish or reddish, those of last year’s growth being smooth and +round, while those showing previous growth are angular. The buds are +red-brown and shining, and covered with resin which the bees like to +collect for their glue. The leaf buds are slender and sharp-pointed; +the flower buds are wider and plumper. + +The two sexes of the flowers are borne on separate trees. The trees +bearing pollen catkins are so completely covered with them that they +take on a very furry, purplish appearance when in blossom. These +catkins are from three to five inches long and half an inch thick, +looking fat and pendulous; each fringed scale of the catkin has at +its base a disc looking like a white bracket, from which hang the +reddish purple anthers; these catkins fall after the pollen is shed +and look like red caterpillars upon the ground. + +The seed-bearing flowers are very different; they look like a string +of little, greenish beads loosely strung. Each pistil is globular and +set in a tiny cup, and it has three or four stigmas which are widened +or lobed; as it matures, it becomes larger and darker green, and +the string elongates to six or even ten inches. The little pointed +pods open into two or more valves and set free the seeds, which are +provided with a fluff of pappus to sail them off on the breeze; so +many of the seeds develop that every object in the neighborhood +is covered with their fuzz, and thus the tree has gained its name +“cottonwood.” + +[Illustration: _Staminate catkin of cottonwood._ + +Drawn by Anna Stryke.] + +The foliage of the cottonwood is like that of other poplars, +trembling with the breeze. The heavy, subcircular leaf is supported +on the sidewise flattened petiole, so that the slightest breath of +air sets it quaking; a gentle breeze sets the whole tree twinkling +and gives the eye a fascinating impression as of leaves beckoning. +The leaf is in itself pretty. It is from three to five inches long, +broad, slightly angular at the base and has a long, tapering, pointed +tip. The edge is saw-toothed, and also slightly ruffled except near +the stem where it is smooth; it is thick and shining green above and +paler beneath. The long, slender petiole is red or yellowish, and the +leaves are placed alternate on the twigs. + +In the autumn the leaves are brilliant yellow. The wood is soft, +weak, fine-grained, whitish or yellowish, and has a satiny luster; it +is not durable. It is used somewhat for building and for furniture, +in some kinds of cooperage, and also for crates and woodenware; but +its greatest use is for making the pulp for paper. Many newspapers +and books are printed on cottonwood paper. It is common from the +Middle States to the Rocky Mountains and from Manitoba to Texas. + + + LESSON CXCVII + + THE COTTONWOOD + +_Leading thought_--The cottonwood is a poplar. It grows rapidly and +flourishes on the dry western plains where other trees fail to gain +a foothold. It grows well in the dusty city, its shining leaves +shedding the smoke and dirt. + +_Method_--Begin this study in spring before the cottonwoods bloom. +Bring in twigs in February, give them water and warmth, and watch the +development of the catkins. Afterwards watch the unfolding of the +leaves and study the tree. + +_Observations_--1. What is the color of the bark on the cottonwood? +Is it ridged deeply? What is the color of the twigs? Are they round +or angular, or both? Describe the winter buds and bud-scales. Can you +tell which bud will produce leaves and which flowers? + +2. Describe the catkin as it comes out. Has this catkin anthers and +pollen, or will it produce seed? Do you think the seeds are produced +on the same trees as the pollen? + +[Illustration: _Seed-pod of poplar, shut and open._] + +3. Find a pollen-bearing catkin. Describe the stamens. Can you see +anything but the anthers? On what are they set? What color are they? +What color do they give to the tree when they are in blossom? What +happens to the catkins after their pollen is shed? + +4. Find a seed-bearing catkin. How long is it? Do you see why this +tree is called the necklace poplar? Describe the pistils which make +the beads on the necklace. + +5. When do the seeds ripen? If you have been near the tree, how do +you know when they are ripe? How long is the catkin with the ripened +seeds? How many balls on the necklace now? What is the color? How +many seeds come out of each little pod? How are the seeds floated on +the air? Why do we call this tree “cottonwood?” + +[Illustration: _Cottonwoods._ + +Courtesy of U. S. Forest Service.] + +6. How large is the largest cottonwood that you know? Sketch it to +show the shape of the tree. Are the main branches large? Do they +droop at the tips? + +7. How does the foliage of the cottonwood look? Does it twinkle with +the wind? Examine the leaves upon a branch and see why they twinkle. +Are the petioles round or flat? Are they flattened sidewise or up +and down? Are they stiff or slender? Describe the leaves, giving +their shape, veins, edges, color and texture above and below. Are +the edges ruffled as well as toothed? Is the leaf heavy? If a breeze +comes along how would it affect such a heavy, broad leaf on such a +slender, thin petiole? Blow against the leaves and see how they move? +Do you understand, now, why they twinkle? Can you see why the leaves +shed smoke and dust, when used for shading city streets? + +8. Why is the cottonwood used as a shade tree? Do you think it makes +a beautiful shade tree? How long does it take it to grow? What kind +of wood does it produce? For what is it used? + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 139–149. + +[Illustration: _The growing fruit of the cottonwood._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + + + + +[Illustration: _Pistillate blossoms of white ash._ + +Photo by G. F. Morgan.] + + + THE WHITE ASH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: M] + +Myths and legends cluster about the ash tree. It was, in the Norse +mythology, the tree “Igdrasil,” the tree of the universe, which was +the origin of all things. It is a pity that it was not the Tree of +Life in the Garden of Eden, for if another myth is true, no snake +will go near it or cross its branches. There is a widespread belief +that it draws lightning, just as the beech repels the thunderbolts. +“As straight as a white ash tree” was the highest compliment that +could be paid to the young pioneer; so straight is its fiber and +so strong its quality, that the American Indians made their canoe +paddles from it. + +The ashes have the most beautiful bark in the world. It is divided +into fine, vertical ridges, giving the trunks the look of being +shaded with pencil lines; the bark smooths out on the lower +branches. But even more characteristic than the bark, are the ash +branches and twigs; the latter are sparse, coarse and clumsy, those +of the white ash being pale orange or gray and seemingly warped into +curves at the ends; they are covered with whitish gray dots, which +reveal themselves under the lens to be breathing-pores. + +The white ash loves to grow in rich woods or in rich soil anywhere, +even though it be shallow; at its best, it reaches the height of +130 feet, with a trunk six feet through. Its foliage is peculiarly +graceful; the leaves are from eight to twelve inches long and are +composed of from five to nine leaflets. The leaflets have little +petioles connecting them with the middle stem; in shape they +are ovate with edges obscurely toothed or entire; the two basal +leaflets are smaller than the others and the end one largest; in +texture, they are satiny, dark green above, whitish beneath, with +feather-like veins, often hairy on the lower side. The petioles are +swollen at the base. The leaves are set opposite upon the twig; +except the horsechestnut, the ashes are our only trees with compound +leaves which have the leaves opposite. This character alone readily +distinguishes the ashes from the hickories. The autumn foliage has a +very peculiar color; the leaves are dull purple above and pale yellow +below; this brings the sunshine color into the shadowy parts of the +tree, and gives a curious effect of no perspective. Notwithstanding +this, the autumn coloring is a joy to the artistic eye and is very +characteristic. + +The seeds of the ash are borne in crowded clusters; the delicate +stem, from three to five inches long, is branched into smaller stems +to which are joined two or three keys, and often several of these +main stems come from the same bud at the tip of last year’s wood so +that they seem crowded. The seed is winged, the wing being almost +twice as long as the seed set at its base. Thoreau says: “The keys of +the white ash cover the trees profusely, a sort of mulberry brown, an +inch and a half long, and handsome.” The seeds cling persistently to +the tree, and I have often observed them being blown over the surface +of the snow as if they were skating to a planting place. + +[Illustration: _Bole of white ash showing the beautiful bark._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +The flowers appear in April or May, before the leaves. The pistillate +flowers make an untidy fringe, curling in every direction around the +twigs. The chief flower stem is three to four inches long, quite +stout, pale green, and from this arise short, fringed stems, each +carrying along its sides the knobs on little stems--which are the +pistillate flowers. Each tiny flower seems to be bristling with +individuality, standing off at its own angle to get its own pollen. +The flower has the calyx four-lobed; the style is long and slender +and is divided into a V-shaped purple stigma. + +The staminate flowers appear early in the spring, and look like knobs +on the tips of the coarse, sparse twigs; they consist of masses of +thick, green anthers with very short, stout filaments; each calyx is +four-lobed. These flowers are attached to a five-branching stem; +but the stem and its branches cannot be seen unless the anthers are +plucked off, because they hang in such a crowded mass. Later the +leaves come out beyond them. + +[Illustration: _Staminate blossoms of white ash._ + +Photo by G. F. Morgan.] + +The leaf buds in winter are very pretty; they are white, bluntly +pointed, with a pale gray half-circle below, on which was set last +year’s leaf. Another one of nature’s miracles is the bouquet of +leaves coming from one of the big four-parted terminal buds, which is +made up of four scales, two of which are longer and narrower than the +others. Within the bud each little compound leaflet is folded like a +sheet of paper lengthwise, and folded with the other leaflets like +the leaves of a book; and when they first appear they look like tiny, +scrawny, birds’ claws. But it is not merely one pair of leaves that +comes from this bud, but many, each pair being set on a twig opposite +and at right angles to the next pair on either side. Even as many +as five pairs of these splendid compound leaves come from this one +prolific bud. As they push out, the green stem of the new wood grows, +thus spacing the pairs properly for the making of beautiful foliage. + + + LESSON CXCVIII + + ASH TREES + +_Leading thought_--The ashes are our most valuable timber trees; the +white ash is one of the most beautiful and useful of them all. It +does not make forests, but it grows in them, and its wood is of great +value for many things. + +_Method_--The pupils should all see the tree where it grows. The +questions should be given to them for their field note-books. The +lesson should begin in the fall and be continued in the spring. + +_Observations_--1. What is there about the bark of the ash tree which +distinguishes it from other trees? Where does the white ash grow? +What is the height and thickness of the ash tree you are studying? + +2. The ash leaf is a compound leaf; of how many leaflets is it +composed? What is the texture and shape of the leaflets? Describe +the veins. Do the leaflets have petioles (petiolules)? Are the edges +of the leaflets toothed? Which of the leaflets is largest? Which +smallest? Is the petiole swollen at the base? How are the leaves +arranged on the twigs? How does this distinguish the ashes from all +other of our trees having compound leaves? How do the hickories have +their leaves arranged? What color is the ash foliage in autumn? + +3. Describe the seeds of the ash and the way they are arranged on +their stems. Where are they placed on the tree? How long do they +cling? How does the snow help to scatter them? + +4. When does the white ash blossom? Are the pistillate and staminate +flowers together or separate? Find and describe them. + +5. What are our uses for ash timber? For what are the saplings used? +How did the Indians use the white ash? Write a theme on all the +interesting things you can find about the ash trees. + +6. How many species of the ash trees do you know? + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 60–71. + + * * * * * + + “_I care not how men trace their ancestry, + To ape or Adam; let them please their whim; + But I in June am midway to believe + A tree among my far progenitors, + Such sympathy is mine with all the race, + Such mutual recognition vaguely sweet + There is between us. Surely there are times + When they consent to own me of their kin, + And condescend to me and call me cousin, + Murmuring faint lullabies of eldest time, + Forgotten, and yet dumbly felt with thrills + Moving the lips, though fruitless of the words._” + --From “Under the Willows,” LOWELL. + + + + +[Illustration: _A baldwin apple tree._] + + + THE APPLE TREE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my + beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great + delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste._ + --THE SONG OF SOLOMON. + + +[Illustration: A] + +An old-fashioned orchard is always a delight to those of us who love +the picturesque. The venerable apple tree with its great twisted +and gnarled branches, rearing aloft its rounded head, and casting +its shadow on the green turf below, is a picture well worthy of the +artist’s brush. And that is the kind of orchard I should always +have, because it suits me, just as it does bluebirds, downies and +chickadees, as a place to live in. However, if I wished to make money +by selling apples, I should need to have an orchard of comparatively +young trees, which should be straight and well pruned, and the ground +beneath them well cultivated; for there is no plant that responds +more generously to cultivation than does the apple tree. In such +an orchard, a few annual crops might be grown while the trees were +young, and each year there should be planted in August or September +the seed of crimson clover or of some other good cover-crop. This +would grow so as to protect the ground from washing during the heavy +rains and thaws of fall and winter, and in the spring it would be +plowed under to add more humus to the soil. + +The apple originally came from southwestern Asia and the neighboring +parts of Europe, but it has been cultivated so long that we have +no accounts of how it began. The prehistoric lake-dwellers of +Switzerland ate this fruit. In this country the apple thrives best on +clay loam, although it grows on a great variety of soils; where wheat +and corn grow, there will the apple also grow. In general, the shape +of the apple tree head is rounded or broadly pyramidal; however, +this differs somewhat with varieties. The trunk is short and rather +stocky, the bark is a beautiful soft gray and is decidedly scaly, +flaking off in pieces which are more or less quadrangular. The wood +is very fine-grained and heavy. On this account for many years it was +used for wood-engraving and is also a favorite wood for wood-carving; +it makes a most excellent fuel. The spray is fine, and while at the +tips of the limbs it may be drooping or horizontal, it often grows +erect along the upper sides of the limbs, each shoot looking as if +it were determined to be a tree in itself. The leaves are oval, with +toothed edges and long petioles. When the leaves first appear each +has two stipules at its base. The shape of the apple leaves depends +to some extent upon the variety of the apple. + +[Illustration: _Cleft-graft._ + +One-half natural size.] + +[Illustration: _Scion for cleft-grafting._ + +One-half natural size.] + +[Illustration: _The graft waxed._] + +It has long been the practice not to depend upon the seeds for +reproducing a variety; for, since the bees do such a large work in +pollenating the apple flowers, it would be quite difficult to be sure +that a seed would not be a result of a cross between two varieties. +Therefore, the matter is made certain by the process of grafting or +budding. There are several modes of grafting, but perhaps the one in +most common use is the cleft-graft. A scion which is a twig bearing +several buds, is cut from a tree of the desired variety, and its +lower end is cut wedge-shaped. The branch of the tree to be grafted +is cut off across and split down through the end to the depth of +about two inches; the wedge-shaped end of the scion is pressed into +this cleft, so that its bark will come in contact with the inner edge +of the bark on one side of the cleft branch. The reason for this is +that the growing part of the tree is the cambium layer, which is just +inside of the bark, and if the cambium of the scion does not come in +contact with the cambium of the branch they will not grow together. +After the graft becomes well-established, the other branches of the +tree are cut off and the tree produces apples only from that part of +it which grows from the graft. After the scion has been set in the +stock, all of the wounded parts are covered with grafting wax, which +keeps in the moisture and keeps out disease germs. + +[Illustration: _Shield-budding._ + +The T-shaped slit and the bud. + +One-half natural size.] + +[Illustration: _The bud set in the slit._ + +One-half natural size.] + +[Illustration: _The bud tied._] + +Budding is done on a similar principle, but in a different fashion. +A seedling apple tree about a year and a half old has a T-shaped +slit cut into its bark; into this suture a bud, cut from a tree of +the desired variety is inserted, and is bound in with yarn. The next +spring this tree is cut back to just above the place where the bud +was set in, and this bud-shoot grows several feet; the next year +the tree may be sold to the orchardist. Budding is done on a large +scale in the nurseries, for it is by this method that the different +varieties are placed on the market. + +Most varieties of apple trees should be set forty feet apart each +way. It is possible, if done judiciously, to raise some small crops +on the land with the young orchard, but care should be taken that +they do not rob the trees of their rightful food. The dwarf varieties +begin to bear much sooner than the others, but an orchard does not +come into full bearing until after it has been planted fifteen or +twenty years. The present practice is to prune a tree so that the +trunk shall be very short. This makes the picking of the fruit much +easier and also exposes the tree less to wind and sun-scald. + +There are certain underlying principles of pruning that every child +should know: The pruning of the root cuts down the amount of food +which the tree is able to get from the soil. The pruning of the top +throws the food into the branches which are left and makes them more +vigorous. If the buds at the tips of the twigs are pruned off, the +food is forced into the side buds and into the fruit, which make +greater growth. Thinning the branches allows more light to reach +down into the tree, and gives greater vigor to the branches which are +left. A limb should be pruned off smoothly where it joins the larger +limb, and there should be no stump projecting; the wound should be +painted so as not to allow fungus spores to enter. + +We should not forget that we have a native apple, which we know as +the thornapple. Its low, broad head in winter makes a picturesque +point along the fences; its fine, thick spray, spread horizontally, +makes a fit framework for the bridal bouquet which will grow upon it +in June; and it is scarcely less beautiful in autumn, when covered +with the little, red apples called “haws.” Though we may refrain from +eating these native apples, which consist of a bit of sweet pulp +around large seeds, the codling-moth finds them most acceptable. + + + LESSON CXCIX + + THE APPLE TREE + +_Leading thought_--The tree of each variety of apple has its own +characteristic shape, although all apple trees belong to one general +type. The variety of the apple grown upon the tree is not determined +by the kind of seed which is planted to produce the tree, but by the +process of grafting or budding the young tree. + +_Method_--A visit to a large, well-grown orchard in spring or autumn +will aid in making this work interesting. Any apple tree near at hand +may be used for the lesson. + +_Observations_--1. How tall is the largest apple tree you know? What +variety is it? How old is it? How can you distinguish old apple trees +from young ones at a glance? + +2. Choose a tree for study: How thick is its trunk? What is the shape +of its head? Does the trunk divide into large branches or does it +extend up through the center of the head? + +3. What sort of bark has it? What is the color of the bark? + +4. Does the spray stand erect or is it gnarled and querly? Does the +spray grow simply at the ends of the branches or along the sides of +the branches? + +5. Are the leaves borne at the tip of the spray? Are the leaves +opposite or alternate? Describe or sketch an apple leaf. Does it have +stipules at its base when it first appears? + +6. What is the character of apple-tree wood? What is it used for? + +7. Did this tree come from a seed borne in an apple of the same +variety which it produces? What is the purpose of grafting a tree? +What is a scion? How and why do we choose a scion? How do we prepare +a branch to receive the scion? If you should place the scion at the +center of the branch would it grow? Where must it be placed in order +to grow? How do we protect the cut-end of the branch after it is +grafted? Why? + +8. What is meant by the term “budding?” What is the difference +between grafting and budding? Describe the process of budding. + +9. Where is budding done on a large scale? How do nurserymen know +what special varieties of apples their nursery stock will bear? How +old is a tree when it is budded? How old when it is sold to the +orchardist? + +10. Why should the soil around apple trees be tilled? Is this the +practice in the best-paying orchards? + +11. What is often used as a cover crop in orchards? When is this +planted? For what purpose? + +12. How far apart should apple trees be set? How may the land be +utilized while the trees are growing? How old must the apple tree be +to come into bearing? + +13. Is the practice now to allow an apple tree to grow tall? Why is +an apple tree with a short trunk better? + +14. What does it do to a tree to prune its roots? What does it do to +a tree to prune its branches? + +15. How does it affect a tree to prune the buds at the tips of the +twigs? + +16. How does it affect a tree to thin the branches? Describe how a +limb should be pruned and how the wound thus made should be treated. +Why? + + + + + HOW AN APPLE GROWS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration] + +An apple tree in full blossom is a beautiful sight. If we try to +analyze its beauty we find that on the tip of each twig there is +a cluster of blossoms, and set around them, as in a conventional +bouquet, are the pale, soft, downy leaves. These leaves and blossoms +come from the terminal winter buds, which are protected during winter +by little scales which are more or less downy. With the bursting of +the bud, these scales fall off, each one leaving its mark crosswise +on the twig, marking the end of the year’s growth; these little +ridges close together and in groups mark the winters which the twig +has experienced, and thus reveal its age. + +There is a difference in varieties of apples and in the season as +to whether the blossoms or the leaves push out first. The white, +downy leaves at first have two narrow stipules at the base of their +petioles. They are soft, whitish and fuzzy, as are also the flower +stem and the calyx, which holds fast in its slender, pointed lobes +the globular flower bud. We speak of the lobes of the calyx because +they are joined at the base, and are not entirely separate as are +sepals. The basal part of the calyx is cup-shaped, and upon its rim +are set the large, oval petals, each narrowing to a slender stem +at its base. The petals are set between the sepals or lobes of the +calyx, the latter appearing as a beautiful, pale green, five-pointed +star at the bottom of the flower. The petals are pink on the outside +and white on the inside, and are veined from base to edge like a +leaf; they are crumpled more than are the cherry petals. + +The many pale, greenish white stamens of different lengths and +heights stand up like a column at the center of the flower. They are +tipped with pale yellow anthers, and are attached to the rim of the +calyx-cup. They are really attached in ten different groups but this +is not easy to see. + +The five pale green styles are very silky and downy and are tipped +with green stigmas. The pistils all unite at their bases making a +five-lobed, compound ovary. The upper part of this ovary may be seen +above the calyx-cup, but the lower portion is grown fast to it and +is hidden within it. The calyx-cup is what develops into the pulp of +the apple, and each of these pistils becomes one of the five cells +in the apple core. If one of the stigmas does not receive pollen, its +ovary will develop no seed; this often makes the apple lop-sided. +When the petals first fall, the calyx-lobes are spread wide apart; +later they close in toward the center, making a tube. To note exactly +the time of this change is important; since the time of spraying for +the codling moth is before the calyx-lobes close. These lobes may be +seen in any ripe apple as five little, wrinkled scales at the blossom +end; within them may be seen the dried and wrinkled stamens, and +within the circle of stamens, the sere and blackened styles. + +[Illustration: _Just ready to spray. A pear and two apples from which +the petals have recently fallen and with calyx lobes widely spread._ + +Photo by M. V. Slingerland.] + +There may be five or six, or even more blossoms developed from one +winter bud, and there may be as many leaves encircling them, forming +a bouquet at the tip of the twig. However, rarely more than two of +these blossoms develop into fruit, and the fruit is much better when +only one blossom of the bouquet produces an apple; if a tree bears +too many apples it cannot perfect them. + +The blossoms and fruit are always at the end of the twigs and spurs +of the apple tree, and do not grow along the sides of the branches +as do the cherry and the peach. However, there are many buds which +produce only leaves; and just at the side and below the spur, where +the apple is borne, a bud is developed, which pushes on and continues +the growth of the twig, and will in turn be a spur and bear blossoms +the following year. + +[Illustration: _Apple blossoms._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + LESSON CC + + HOW AN APPLE GROWS + +_Leading thought_--The purpose of the apple blossom is to produce +apples which shall contain seeds to grow into more apple trees. + +_Method_--This lesson should begin with the apple blossoms in the +spring and should continue, with occasional observations, until the +apples are well grown. If this is not possible, the blossom may be +studied, and directly afterward, the apple may be observed carefully, +noting its relation to the blossom. + + + _The Apple Blossom_ + +_Observations_--1. How are the apple buds protected in the winter? As +the buds open what becomes of the protecting scales? Can you see the +scars left by the scales after they have fallen. How does this help +us to tell the age of a twig or branch? + +2. As the winter buds open, which appear first--the flowers or the +leaves? Do they both come from the same bud? Do all the buds produce +both flowers and leaves? + +3. Study the bud of the apple blossom. Describe its stem; its +stipules; its calyx. What is the shape and position of the lobes, or +sepals, of the calyx? Why do we usually call them the “lobes of the +calyx” instead of sepals? + +4. Sketch or describe an open apple blossom. How many petals? What +is their shape and arrangement? Can you see the calyx-lobes between +the petals as you look down into the blossom? What sort of a figure +do they make? Are the petals usually cup-shaped? What is their color +outside and inside? Why do the buds seem so pink and the blossoms so +white? + +5. How many stamens are there? Are they all of the same length? What +is the color of the filaments and anthers? On what are they set? + +6. How many pistils do you see? How many stigmas are there? Are the +ovaries united? Are they attached to the calyx? + +7. Describe the young leaves as they appear around the blossoms. What +is their color? Have they any stipules? Why do they make the flowers +look like a bouquet? + +8. After the petals fall, what of the blossom remains? What part +develops into the apple? Does this part enclose the ovaries of the +pistils? How can you tell in the ripe apple if any stigma failed to +receive pollen? + +9. What is the position of the calyx-lobes directly after the petals +fall? Do they change later? How does this affect spraying for the +codling moth? + +10. Watch an apple develop; look at it once a week and tell what +parts of the blossom remain with the apple. + +11. How many blossoms come from one winter bud? How many leaves? Do +the blossoms ever appear along the sides of the branches, as in the +cherries? How many blossoms from a single bud develop into apples? + +12. Since the apple is developed on the tip of the twig how does the +twig keep on growing? + +13. Compare the apple with the pear, the plum, the cherry and the +peach in the following particulars; position on the twigs; number of +petals; number and color of stamens; number of pistils; whether the +pistils are attached to the calyx-cup at the base. + + + + + THE APPLE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Man fell with apples and with apples rose, + If this be true; for we must deem the mode + In which Sir Isaac Newton could disclose, + Through the then unpaved stars, the turnpike road, + A thing to counterbalance human woes._” + --BYRON. + + +[Illustration: A] + +Apples seem to have played a very important part in human history, +and from the first had much effect upon human destiny, judging from +the trouble that ensued both to Adam and to Helen of Troy from +meddling, even though indirectly, with this much esteemed fruit. It +is surely no more than just to humanity--shut out from the Garden of +Eden--that the apple should have led Sir Isaac Newton to discover +the law which holds us in the universe; and that, in these later +centuries, apples have been developed, so beautiful and so luscious +as almost to reconcile us to the closing of the gates of Paradise. + +While it is true that no two apples were ever exactly alike, any more +than any two leaves, yet their shapes are often very characteristic +of the varieties. From the big, round Baldwin to the cone-shaped +gillyflower, each has its own peculiar form, and also its own colors +and markings and its own texture and flavor. Some have tough skins, +others bruise readily even with careful handling; but to all kinds, +the skin is an armor against those ever-present foes, the fungus +spores, myriads of which are floating in the air ready to enter the +smallest breach, and by their growth bring about decay. Even the tip +of a branch or twig swayed by the wind, may bruise an apple and cause +it to rot; windfalls are always bruised and will not keep. Greater +care in packing, wrapping, picking and storing, so as to avoid +contact with other apples, is a paying investment of labor to the +apple grower. + +The cavities at the stem and basin-ends of the fruit are also +likely to have, in the same variety, a likeness in their depth or +shallowness, and thus prove a help in identifying an apple. At the +blossom, or basin, end of the fruit may be seen five scales, which +are all that remain of the calyx-lobes which enclosed the blossom; +and within them are the withered and shrunken stamens and styles. + +[Illustration: + +a, _cavity_; b, _basin_; c, _calyx lobes_; d, _calyx tube with the +withered stamens attached_; e, _carpels_; f, _outer core-lines, +terminating at a point where stamens are attached_; g, _fibres +extending from stem to basin_. _Transverse section of apple showing +the five carpels and the ten outer core-lines._ ] + +When the fruit is cut, we see that the inner parts differ as much in +the different varieties as do the outer parts. Some have large cores, +others small. The carpels, or seed-cells, are five in number, and +when the fruit is cut across through the center these carpels show +as a pretty, five-pointed star; in them the seeds lie, all pointing +toward the stem. Some apples have both seeds and carpels smooth +and shining, while in others they are tufted with a soft, fuzzy +outgrowth. The number of seeds in each cell varies; the usual number +is two. In case a carpel is empty, the apple is often lopsided, and +this signifies that the stigma of that ovary received no pollen. The +apple seed is oval, plump and pointed, with an outer shell, and a +delicate inner skin covering the white meat; this separates readily +into two parts, between which, at the point, may be seen the germ. +The entire core, with the pulp immediately surrounding the seed +cells, is marked off from the rest of the pulp by the core-lines, +faint in some varieties but distinct in others. In our native +crab-apples this separation is so complete that, when the fruit is +ripe, the core may be plucked out leaving a globular cavity at the +center of the apple. + +Extending from the stem to the basin, through the center of the +apple, is a bundle of fibers, five in number, each attached to the +inner edge of a carpel, or seed-box. Other bundles of fibers pass +through the flesh about half way between the core and the skin. +Delicate as they are, so that no one observes them in eating the +fruit, they show clearly as a second core-line, and each terminates +at a point in the calyx-tube where the stamens were attached--as can +be easily seen by dissecting an apple. In transverse section, these +show as ten faint dots placed opposite each outer point and inner +angle of the star at the center formed by the carpels. Sometimes the +seed-cells are very close to the stem, and the apple is said to have +a sessile core; if at the center of the fruit, it has a medium core; +if nearest to the blossom end, it has a distant core. This position +of the core marks different varieties. + +[Illustration: _Basket of apples._] + +Apples even of the same variety, differ much in yield and quality +according to the soil and climate in which they grow. The snow apple +grows best in the St. Lawrence Valley, and New York State is noted +for the fine flavor of the Esopus spitzenburg, the northern spy, and +the Newtown pippin, all of which originated and grow best within its +boundaries. Thus, each locality has its favorite variety. + +Too often in passing through the country, we see neglected and +unprofitable orchards, with soil untilled, the trees unpruned and +scale-infested, yielding scanty fruit, fit only for the cider mill +and the vinegar barrel. This kind of orchard must pass away and give +place to the new horticulture. + +_References_--Popular Apple Growing, Green; The American Apple +Orchard, Waugh; The Apple and How to Grow It, Farmers’ Bulletin 113, +U.S. Department of Agriculture. + + + LESSON CCI + + THE APPLE + +_Leading thought_--The apple is a nutritious fruit, wholesome and +easily digested. The varieties of apple differ in shape, size, color, +texture and flavor. A perfect apple has no bruise upon it and no +worm-holes in it. + +_Method_--Typical blossoms of different varieties of apples should +be brought into the schoolroom, where the pupils may closely observe +and make notes about their appearance. Each pupil should have one or +two apples that may be cut in vertical and transverse sections, so +that the pulp, core-lines, carpels and seeds may be observed. After +this lesson there should be an apple exhibit, and the pupils should +be taught how to score the apples according to size, shape, color, +flavor and texture. + +_Observations_--1. Sketch the shape of your apple. Is it almost +spherical, or flattened, or long and egg-shaped, or with unequal +tapering sides? How does the shape of the apple help in determining +its variety? + +2. What is the color of the skin? Is it varied by streaks, freckles +or blotches? Has it one blushing cheek the rest being of a different +color? + +3. Is the stem thick and fleshy, or short and knobby, or slender and +woody and long? Does each variety have a characteristic stem? + +4. Is the cavity or depression where the stem grew narrow and deep +like a tunnel, or shallow like a saucer? + +5. Examine the blossom end, or basin. What is its shape? Can you +find within it the remnants of the calyx-lobes, the stamens and the +pistils of the flower? + +6. What is the texture of the skin of the apple? Is it thin, tough, +waxy or oily? Has it a bloom that may be rubbed off? From what sort +of injury does the skin protect the apple? + +_Experiment 1._ Take three apples of equal soundness and peel one of +them; place them on a shelf. Place one of the unpeeled apples against +the peeled one, and the other a little distance from it. Does the +peeled apple begin to rot before the other two? Does the unpeeled +apple touching the peeled one begin to decay first at the point of +contact? + +_Experiment 2._ Take an apple with a smooth, unblemished skin and +vaccinate it with some juice from an apple that has begun to decay; +perform the operation with a pin or needle, pricking first the +unsound fruit and then the sound one; this may be done in patterns +around the apple or with the initials of the operator’s name. Where +does this apple begin to decay? What should these two experiments +teach us as to the care and storage of fruit? + +7. Cut an apple through its center from stem to blossom end. +Describe the color, texture and taste of the pulp. Is it coarse or +fine-grained? Crisp or smooth? Juicy, or dry and mealy? Sweet or +sour? Does it exhale a fragrance or have a spicy flavor? + +8. Is the flesh immediately surrounding the core separated from the +rest of the pulp by a line more or less distinct? This is called the +core-line and differs in size and outline in different varieties. Can +you find any connection between the stem and blossom ends and the +core? Can you see the fibrous threads which connect them? + +9. Cut an apple transversely across the middle. In what shape are the +seed-cells arranged in the center? Do the carpels, or seed-cells, +vary in shape in different varieties? Are they closed, or do they all +open into a common cavity? Can you see, between the core-lines and +the skin, faint little dots? Count, and tell how they are arranged in +relation to the star formed by the core. + +10. The stiff, parchment-like walls of the seed-cells are called +carpels. How many of these does the apple contain? Do all apples have +the same number of carpels? Are the carpels of all varieties smooth +and glossy, or velvety? How many seeds do you find in a carpel? Do +they lie with the points toward the stem-end or the blossom-end of +the apple? Where are they attached to the apple? Describe the apple +seed--its outer and inner coat and its “meat.” Can you find the germ +within it which will, after the seed is planted, produce another +apple tree? + +11. Is the core at the center of the apple, or is it nearer to the +stem-end or to the blossom-end of the fruit? Are all apples alike in +this particular? + +12. Describe fully all the varieties of apples which you know, giving +the average size, texture and color of the skin, the shape of the +cavities at the stem and blossom ends, the color, texture and flavor +of the pulp, and the position within the apple of the core. + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 43–59. + + + + + THE PINE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: N] + +None other of our native trees is more beautiful than the pine. In +the East, we have the white pine with its fine-tasselled foliage, +growing often 150 to 200 feet in height and reaching an age of from +two to three hundred years. On the Pacific coast, the splendid +sugar pine lifts its straight trunk from two to three hundred feet +in height; and although the trunk may be from six to ten feet in +diameter yet it looks slender, so tall is the tree. A sugar pine cone +on my desk measures 22 inches in length and weighs almost one pound, +although it is dried and emptied of seed. + +There is something majestic about the pines, which even the most +ignorant feel. Their dark foliage outlined against wintry skies +appeals to the imagination, and well it may, for it represents an +ancient tree-costume. The pines are among the most ancient of trees, +and were the contemporaries of those plants which were put to sleep, +during the Devonian age, in the coal beds. It is because the pines +and the other evergreens belong essentially to earlier ages, when the +climate was far different than it is to-day, that they do not shed +their leaves like the more recent, deciduous trees. They stand among +us, representatives of an ancient race, and wrap their green foliage +about them as an Indian sachem does his blanket, in calm disregard of +modern fashion of attire. + +All cone-bearing trees have typically a central stem from which the +branches come off in whorls, but so many things have happened to the +old pine trees that the evidence of the whorls is not very plain; the +young trees show this method of growth clearly, the white pine having +five branches in each whorl. Sometimes pines are seen which have two +or three stems near the top; but this is a story of injury to the +tree and its later victory. + +[Illustration: _The young and the mature cones of white pine._ + +Photo by Ralph Curtis.] + +The very tip of the central stem in the evergreens is called “the +leader,” because it leads the growth of the tree upward; it stretches +up from the center of the whorl of last year’s young branches, and +there at its tip are the buds which produce this year’s branches. +There is a little beetle which seems possessed of evil, for it likes +best of all to lay its rascally eggs in the very tip of this leader; +the grub, after hatching, feeds upon the bud and bores down into +the shoot, killing it. Then comes the question of which branch of +the upper whorl shall be elected to rise up and take the place of +the dead leader; but this is an election which we know less about +than we do of those resulting from our blanket ballots. Whether the +tree chooses, or whether the branches aspire, we may not know; but +we do know that one branch of this upper whorl arises and continues +the growth of the tree. Sometimes there are two candidates for this +position, and they each make such a good struggle for the place that +the tree grows on with two stems instead of one--and sometimes with +even three. This evil insect injures the leaders of other conifers +also, but these are less likely to allow two competitors to take the +place of the dead leader. + +The lower branches of many of the pines come off almost at right +angles from the bole; the foliage is borne above the branches, which +gives the pines a very different appearance from that of other trees. +The foliage of most of the pines is dark green, looking almost +black in winter; the pitch pine has the foliage yellowish green, +and the white pine, bluish green; each species has its own peculiar +shade. There is great variation in the color and form of the bark of +different species. The white pine has nearly smooth bark on the young +trees, but on the older ones it has ridges that are rather broad, +flat and scaly, separated by shallow sutures, while the pitch pine +has its bark in scales like the covering of a giant alligator. + +[Illustration: _A part of a necklace of pitch pine needles._] + +The foliage of the pine consists of pine needles set in little +bundles on raised points which look like little brackets along the +twigs. When the pine needles are young, the bundle is enclosed in a +sheath making the twig look as if it were covered with pin-feathers. +In many of the species this sheath remains, encasing the base of the +bundle of needles; but in the white pine it is shed early. The number +of leaves in the bundle helps to determine the tree; the white pine +has five needles in each bunch, the pitch pine has three, while the +Austrian pine has two. There is a great difference in the length and +the color of the needles of different species of pine. Those of the +white pine are soft, delicate and pliable, and from three to four +inches in length; the needles of the pitch pine are stiff and coarse +and about the same length; the white pine needles are triangular in +section, and are set so as to form distinct tassels, while those of +the Austrian pine simply clothe the ends of the twigs. The needles +of the pine act like the strings of an aeolian harp; and the wind, +in passing through the tree, sets them into vibration, making a +sighing sound which seems to the listener like the voice of the tree. +Therefore, the pine is the most companionable of all our trees and, +to one who observes them closely, each tree has its own tones and +whispers a different story. + +[Illustration: _Austrian pine in blossom showing staminate flowers._ + +Photo by G. F. Morgan.] + +The appearance of the unripe cone is another convincing evidence +that mathematics is the basis of the beautiful. The pattern of the +overlapping scales is intricate and yet regular--to appreciate it +one needs to try to sketch it. Beneath each scale, when it opens +wide, we find nestled at its base two little seeds in twin boxes; +each provided with a little wing so that it can sail off with the +wind to find a place to grow. The shape of the scales of the cone +is another distinguishing character of the pine, and sketching the +outside of scales from several different species of pine cones will +develop the pupils’ powers of observation; the tip of the scale may +be thickened or armed with a spine, and one wonders if these spines +are for the purpose of discouraging the squirrels from stealing the +green seeds. + +The pine cone requires two years for maturing; the pistillate flower +from which it is developed is a tiny cone with each scale spread wide +and standing upright to catch the pollen for the tiny ovule nestled +within it. The pistillate flower of the white pine grows near the +tip of the new twig, and is pinkish in color. In the Austrian pine +it is the merest pink dot at first, but after a little shows itself +to be a true cone with pink-purple scales, which stand up very erect +and makes a pretty object when viewed through a lens; each scale is +pink at its three-pointed tip, with pink wings just below, the inner +portions being pale green. The cone is set just beside the growing +tip of the twig, is pointed upward, and its sheath-scales are turned +back like chaff around its base. + +[Illustration: _White pine, staminate blossoms and empty cones._ + +Photo by Morgan.] + +In June when the new shoots of the pine twigs stand up like pale +green candles on a Christmas tree, at their bases may be found the +staminate catkins set in radiating whorls, making galaxies of golden +stars against the dark green background of foliage. In the Austrian +pine, one of these pollen catkins may be an inch or two long and a +half-inch in width; each little scale of this cone is an anther sac, +filled to bursting with yellow pollen. From these starry pollen cones +there descends a yellow shower every time a breeze passes; for the +pine trees depend upon the wind to sift their pollen dust into the +lifted cups of the cone scales, which will close upon the treasure +soon. The pollen grains of pine are very beautiful when seen through +a microscope; and it seems almost incredible that the masses of +yellow dust sifted in showers from the pines when in blossom, should +be composed of these beautiful structures. When the pine forests on +the shores of the Great Lakes are in bloom, the pollen covers the +waves for miles out from the shores. + +[Illustration: _White pine._] + +[Illustration: _Yellow pine on the brink of the Little Yosemite +Valley._ + +Photo by G. K. Gilbert. Courtesy of U. S. Geological Survey. +] + +If we examine the growing tips of the pine branches, we find the +leaves look callow and pin-feathery. The entire leaf is wrapped in a +smooth, shining, silken sheath, at the tip of which its green point +protrudes. The sheath is tough like parchment and is cylindrical +because the pine needles within it are perfectly adjusted one to +another in cylindrical form. The sheath is made up of several layers, +one over the other, and may be pulled apart. The new leaves are borne +on the new, pale green wood. + +The uses of pines are many. The lumber of many of the species, +especially that of the white pine, is free from knots and is used +for almost everything from house-building to masts for ships. In the +Southern States, the long-leafed pines are tapped for resin, which +is not the sap of the tree, as is generally supposed. Pine sap is +like other sap; the resin is a product of certain glands of the tree, +and is of great use to it in closing wounds and thus keeping out +the spores of destructive fungi. It is this effort of the tree to +heal its wounds that makes it pour resin into the cuts made by the +turpentine gatherers. This resin is taken to a distillery, where the +turpentine is given off as a vapor and condensed in a coiled tube +which is kept cold. What is left is known as “rosin.” + +[Illustration: _The mountain pine of the Sierras._ + +This species stands upright normally and is often over one hundred +feet high; but on the mountain tops, exposed to wind and snow, its +trunk reclines on the ground and its branches look like shrubs, as +shown in the foreground. Trees of the same species, wind-beaten but +standing are shown in the background. + +Photo by G. K. Gilbert. Courtesy of the U. S. Geological Survey. +] + + + LESSON CCII + + THE PINE + +_Leading thought_--The pines are among our most ancient trees. Their +foliage is evergreen but is shed gradually. The pollen-bearing and +the seed-bearing flowers are separate on the tree. The seeds are +winged and are developed in cones. + +_Method_--At least one pine tree should be studied in the field. +Any species will do but the white pine is the most interesting. The +Austrian pine which is commonly planted in parks is a good subject. +The leaves and cones may be studied in the schoolroom, each pupil +having a specimen. + +_Observations_--1. What is the general shape of the pine tree? Is +there one central stem running straight up through the center of the +tree to the top. Do you find any trees where this stem is divided +into two or three near the top? Describe how the pine tree grows. +What is the “leader?” What happens if the leader is injured? How do +the topmost branches of the young pine look? Do they all come off +from the same part of the stem? How many are there in a whorl? + +2. What color is the bark? Is it ridged or in scales? + +3. Do the branches come off the main stem at right angles or do they +lift up or droop down? Where is the foliage borne on the branches? +What is the color of the foliage? Is the pine foliage ever shed or +does the pine leaf, when it comes, stay on as long as the tree lives? + +4. Study the pine leaves. Why are they called needles? Note that +they grow several together in what we call a bundle. How many in +one bundle? Is the bundle enclosed in a little sheath at the base? +Are the bundles grouped to make distinct tassels? Study one of the +needles. How long is it? Is it straight or curved? Flexible or coarse +and stiff? Cut it across and examine it with a lens. What is the +outline in cross section? Why does the wind make a moaning sound in +the pines? + +5. Study a pine cone. Does it grow near the tip of the branch or +along the sides? Does it hang down or stand out stiffly? What is its +length? Sketch or describe its general shape. Note that it is made +up of short, over-lapping scales. What pattern do the scales make +as they are set together? Describe or sketch one scale; has it a +thickened tip? Is there a spine at the tip of the scale? + +6. Where in the cone are the seeds? Describe or sketch a pine seed. +How long is its wing? How is it carried and planted? When the cone +opens, how are the seeds scattered? What creatures feed upon the pine +seed? + +7. Study the pine when in blossom, which is likely to occur in June. +This time is easily determined because the air around the tree is +then filled with the yellow pollen dust. Study the pollen-bearing +flower. Is it conelike in form? Does it produce a great deal of +pollen? If you have a microscope, look at the pollen through a +high objective and describe it. How many of the pollen catkins are +clustered together? On what part of the twigs are they borne? Where +are the pistillate flowers which are to form the young cones? How +large are they and how do they look at the time the pollen is flying? +Do they point upward or droop downward? Why? Look beneath the scales +of a little cone with a lens and see if you can find the flowers. +What carries the pine pollen to the flowers in the cone? + +[Illustration: _White pine cone._] + +8. Name all the uses for pine lumber that you know. Write an English +theme on how turpentine is produced from pines and the effect of this +industry upon pine forests. Where does resin appear on the pine? Of +what use is it to the tree? Do you think it is pine sap? What is the +difference between resin and rosin? + +9. How long do the pine trees live? Write a story of all that has +happened to your neighborhood since the pine tree which you have been +studying was planted. + +10. Make the following drawings: A bundle of pine needles showing the +sheath and its attachment to the twig; the cone; the cone scale; the +seed. Sketch a pine tree. + +_Supplementary reading_--Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 32, 151, 152; +The Spirit of the Pine, Bayard Taylor; To a Pine Tree, Lowell; Nature +in Verse, pp. 15, 288. + + + + + THE NORWAY SPRUCE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The Norway spruce is a native of Europe, and we find it in America +the most satisfactory of all spruces for ornamental planting; it +lifts its slender cone from almost every park and private estate in +our country, and is easily distinguished from all other evergreens +by the drooping, pendant habit of its twigs, which seem to hang +down from the straight, uplifted branches. We have spruces of our +own--the black, the white and the red spruces; and it will add much +to the interest of this lesson for the pupils to read in the tree +and forestry books concerning these American species. Chewing gum +and spruce beer are the products of the black and red spruce of +our eastern forests. The Douglas spruce, which is a fir and not a +spruce, is also commonly planted as an ornamental tree, but it is +only at its best on the Pacific Coast, where it is one of the most +magnificent of trees. + +[Illustration: _Staminate blossoms and young cone of a Norway spruce._ + +Photo by G. F. Morgan.] + +The Norway spruce tree is in form a beautiful cone, slanting from +its slender tip to the ground, on which its lower drooping branches +rest; the upper branches come off at a narrower angle from the sturdy +central stem than do the widespreading lower branches. On the older +trees, the twigs hang like pendulous fringes from the branches, +enabling them to shed the snow more readily--a peculiarity which is +of much use to the tree, because it is a native of the snowy northern +countries of Europe and also grows successfully in the high altitudes +of the Alps and other mountains. If we stroke a spruce branch toward +the tip, the hand slides smoothly over it; but brush backward +from the tip, and the hand is pricked by hundreds of the sharp, +bayonet-pointed leaves; this is another arrangement for letting the +snow slide off. + +If we examine a twig of the present year’s growth, we can see on +every side of its brown stem the pointed leaves, each growing from a +short ridge; but the leaves on the lower side stretch out sidewise to +get the light, and those above lift up angularly. Perhaps the twig of +last year’s growth has shed its leaves which grew on the under side +and thus failed to reach the sun. The leaf of the spruce is curved, +stiff, four-sided and ends in a sharp point. It is dark yellowish +above and lighter beneath and is set stiffly on the twig. The winter +buds for next year’s growth may be seen at the tips of the twigs, +covered with little, recurved, brown scales quite flowerlike in form. +In the balsam fir, which is often planted with the Norway spruce, +these buds are varnished. + +[Illustration: + + _A cone of Norway spruce, showing that the spiral of the + scales is in rows of five._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +The cones are borne on the tips of the branches and hang down. In +color they are pale, wood-brown; they are from four to six inches +long, and are very conspicuous. They are made up of broad scales +that are thin toward the notched tips; they are set around the +central stem in spirals of five rows. If we follow one spiral around +marking it with a winding string, it will prove to be the fifth row +above the place where we started. These manifold spirals can be seen +sometimes by looking into the tip end of a cone. The cone has much +resin on it, and is a very safe box for seeds; but when it begins to +open, squirrels impatiently tear it to pieces, harvesting the seeds +and leaving a pile of cone-scales beneath the tree to tell of their +piracy. + +A Norway spruce in blossom is a beautiful sight; the little, wine-red +pistillate cones are lifted upwards from the tips of the twigs, while +short, terminal branches are laden with the pollen-bearing catkins, +which are soft and caterpillarish, growing on soft, white stems from +the base of scales which enclosed and protected them during the +winter; these catkins are filled with the yellow dust. The young +cones continue to stand upright after the scales have closed on the +pollen which has been sifted by the wind to the ovules which they +guard; and for some time they remain most ornamentally purplish red. +Before the cone is heavy enough to bend from its own weight, it turns +deliberately around and downward, as if the act were a wilful deed, +and then changes its color to green, ripening into brown in the fall. + +The Norway spruce grows on the Alps abundantly, and like the youth +with the banner, “excelsior” is not only its motto but its scientific +name, (_Picea excelsa_). Here it grows to the height of one hundred +to one hundred and fifty feet. Its wood is valuable and its pitch is +marketed. In this country, it is used chiefly for ornamental planting +and for wind-breaks. + + + LESSON CCIII + + THE NORWAY SPRUCE + +[Illustration: _A Norway spruce._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +_Leading thought_--The Norway spruce is one of the most valuable of +the trees which have come to America from Europe. It grows naturally +in high places and in northern countries where there is much snow; +its drooping twigs cannot hold a great burden of snow, and thus it +escapes being crushed. + +_Method_--This lesson should begin in the autumn when the cones are +ripe. The tree should be observed by all of the pupils, and they +should bring in twigs and cones for study in the schoolroom. The +lesson should be taken up again in May when the trees are in blossom. + +_Observations_--1. What is the general shape of the tree? Do the +lower branches come off at the same angle as the upper? If untrimmed, +what can you see of the trunk? Do the lower branches rest upon the +ground? What advantage would this be to the tree in winter? Do the +twigs stand out, or droop from the branches? Of what advantage is +this in case of heavy snow? What is the color of the foliage? Where +did the Norway spruce come from? + +2. What is the color of the twig? How are the leaves set upon it? Are +there more leaves on the upper than on the under side of the twigs +of this year’s growth? Of last year’s growth? Brush your hand along +a branch toward the tip. Do the leaves prick? Brush from the tip +backward. Is the result the same? Why is this angle of the leaves to +the twig a benefit during snowstorms? + +3. Take a single leaf. What is its shape? How many sides has it? Is +it soft or stiff? Is it sharp at the tip? Describe the buds which are +forming for next year’s growth. Look along the twigs and see if you +can discover the scales of the bud which produced last year’s growth? + +4. Where are the cones borne? How long does it take a cone to grow? +Is it heavy? Is there resin on it? Note that the scales are set +in a spiral around the center of the cone. Wind a string around a +cone following the same row of scales. How many rows between those +marked with a string? Look into the tip of a cone and see the spiral +arrangement. Sketch and describe a cone-scale, paying special +attention to the shape of the tip. Try to tear a cone apart. Is this +easily done? Hang a closed cone in a dry place and note what happens. + +5. Describe the seed, its wings and where it is placed at the base of +the scale. How many seeds under each scale? When do the cones open +of themselves to scatter the seed? Do you observe squirrels tearing +these apart to get the seed? + +6. The Norway spruce blossoms in May. Find the little flower which +will produce the cone, and describe it. What color is it? Is it +upright or hanging down? Do the scales turn toward the tip or +backward? Why is this? Where are the pollen-catkins borne? How many +of them arise from the same place on the twig? Can you see the little +scales at the base of each pistillate catkin? What are they? Are they +very full of pollen? Do the insects carry the pollen for the Norway +spruce, or does the wind sift it over the pistillate blossoms? After +the pollen is shed, note if the scales of the young cones close up. +How long before the cones begin to droop? Do you think it is their +weight which causes them to droop? + +7. What use do we make of the Norway spruce? What is it used for in +Europe? + + * * * * * + + “_All outward wisdom yields to that within, + Whereof nor creed nor canon holds the key; + We only feel that we have ever been + And evermore shall be._ + + _And thus I know, by memories unfurled + In rarer moods, and many a nameless sign, + That once in Time, and somewhere in the world, + I was a towering pine._ + + _Rooted upon a cape that overhung + The entrance to a mountain gorge; whereon + The wintry shade of a peak was flung, + Long after rise of sun._ + + _There did I clutch the granite with firm feet, + There shake my boughs above the roaring gulf, + When mountain whirlwinds through the passes beat, + And howled the mountain wolf._ + + _There did I louder sing than all the floods + Whirled in white foam adown the precipice, + And the sharp sleet that stung the naked woods, + Answer with sullen hiss._ + + _I held the eagle till the mountain mist + Rolled from the azure paths he came to soar, + And like a hunter, on my gnarled wrist + The dappled falcon bore._” + --From “The Spirit of the Pine,” BAYARD TAYLOR. + + + + +[Illustration: + +_White pine._ _Norway spruce_ +_Pitch pine_ _Hemlock_ +] + + + THE HEMLOCK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_O’er lonely lakes that wild and nameless lie, + Black, shaggy, vast and still as Barca’s sands + A hemlock forest stands. Oh forest like a pall! + Oh hemlock of the wild, Oh brother of my soul + I love thy mantle black, thy shaggy bole, + Thy form grotesque, thy spreading arms of steel._” + --PATTEE. + + +[Illustration: I] + +In its prime, the hemlock is a magnificent tree. It reaches the +height of from sixty to one hundred feet, is cone-shaped, its fine, +dense foliage and its drooping branches giving to its appearance +exquisite delicacy; and I have yet to see elsewhere such graceful +tree-spires as are the hemlocks of the Sierras, albeit they have +bending tips. However, an old hemlock becomes very ragged and rugged +in appearance; and dying, it rears its wind-broken branches against +the sky, a gaunt figure of stark loneliness. The hemlock branches are +seldom broken by snow; they droop to let the burden slide off. The +bark is reddish, or sometimes gray, and is furrowed into wide, scaly +ridges. The foliage is a rich dark green, but whitish when seen from +below. The leaves of the hemlock are really arranged in a spiral, but +this is hard to demonstrate. They look as though they were arranged +in double rows along each side of the little twig; but they are not +in the same plane and there is usually a row of short leaves on the +upper side of the twig. The leaf is blunt at the tip and has a little +petiole of its own which distinguishes it from the leaves of any +other species of conifer; it is dark, glossy green above, pale green +beneath, marked with two white, lengthwise lines. In June, the tip of +every twig grows and puts forth new leaves which are greenish yellow +in color, making the tree very beautiful and giving it the appearance +of blossoming. The leaves are shed during the third year. The hemlock +cones are small and are borne on the tips of the twigs. The seeds are +borne, two beneath each scale, and they have wings nearly as large as +the scale itself. Squirrels are so fond of them that probably but few +have an opportunity to try their wings. The cones mature in one year, +and usually fall in the spring. The hemlock blossoms in May; the +pistillate flowers are very difficult to observe as they are tiny and +greenish and are placed at the tip of the twig. The pollen-bearing +flowers are little, yellowish balls on delicate, short stems, borne +along the sides of the twig. + +Hemlock bark is rich in tannin and is used in great quantities for +the tanning of leather. The timber, which is coarse-grained, is stiff +and is used in framing buildings and for railroad ties; nails and +spikes driven into it cling with great tenacity and the wood does not +split in nailing. Oil distilled from the leaves of hemlock is used as +an antiseptic. + +The dense foliage of the hemlock offers a shelter to birds of all +kinds in winter; even the partridges roost in the young trees. These +young trees often have branches drooping to the ground, making an +evergreen tent which forms a winter harbor for mice and other +beasties. The seed-eating birds which remain with us during the +winter, feed upon the seeds; and as the cones grow on the tips of +the delicate twigs, the red squirrels display their utmost powers as +acrobats when gathering this, their favorite food. + +[Illustration: _Hemlock branch showing young and mature cones._] + + + LESSON CCIV + + THE HEMLOCK + +_Leading thought_--This is one of the most common and useful and +beautiful of our evergreen trees. Its fine foliage makes it an +efficient winter shelter for birds. + +_Method_--Ask the children the questions and request them to make +notes on the hemlock trees of the neighborhood. The study of the +leaves and the cones may be made in the schoolroom. + +_Observations_--1. Where does the hemlock tree grow in your +neighborhood? What is the general shape of the tree? What sort of +bark has it? How tall does it grow? How are its branches arranged to +shed the snow? + +2. What is the color of the foliage? How are the leaves arranged on +the twigs? Are all the leaves of about the same size? What is the +position of the smaller leaves? + +3. Break off a leaf and describe its shape; its petiole. Does the +leaf of any other evergreen have a petiole? What is the color and +marking of the hemlock leaf above? Below? At what time of year are +the new leaves developed? How does the hemlock tree look at this +time? Does the hemlock ever shed its leaves? + +4. Are the hemlock cones borne on the tip of the twigs or along the +side? How long does it take a cone to mature? When does it fall? How +many scales has it? Where are the seeds borne? How many seeds beneath +each scale? Describe and sketch a hemlock seed. How are the seeds +scattered? Study the tree in May, and see if you can find the blossom? + +5. Make drawings of the following: The hemlock twig, showing the +arrangement of the leaves; single leaf, enlarged; cone; cone scale; +seed. + +6. What creatures feed upon the hemlock seed? What birds find +protection in the hemlock foliage in winter? + +7. For what purposes is hemlock bark used? What is the timber good +for? Is a nail easily pulled out from a hemlock board? + + + + + THE DOGWOOD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _Through cloud rifts the sunlight is streaming in floods to + far depths of the wood, + Retouching the velvet-leafed dogwood to crimson as vital as + blood._ + + +[Illustration: T] + +There is no prettier story among the flowers than that of the bracts +of the dogwood, and it is a subject for investigation which any +child can work out for himself. I shall never forget the thrill of +triumph I experienced when I discovered for myself the cause of the +mysterious dark notch at the tip of each great white bract, which I +had for years idly noticed. One day my curiosity mastered my inertia, +and I hunted a tree over for a flower bud, for it was rather late +in the season; finally I was rewarded by finding the bracts in all +stages of development. + +The flowering dogwood forms its buds during the summer, and of course +they must have winter protection; therefore, they are wrapped in +four, close-clasping, purplish brown scales, one pair inside and one +pair outside, both thick and well fitted to protect the bunch of tiny +flower buds at their center. But when spring comes, these motherly +bud-scales change their duties, and by rapid growth become four +beautiful white or pinkish bracts calling aloud to all the insect +world that here at their hearts is something sweet. For months they +brood the flowers and then display them to an admiring world. The +artistic eye loves the little notch at the tip of the bracts, even +before it has read in it the story of winter protection, of which it +is an evidence. + +[Illustration: _Blossom and bud of dogwood, enlarged._] + +The study of the flowers at the center is more interesting if aided +by a lens. Within each blossom can be seen its tube, set in the +four-lobed calyx. It has four slender petals curled back, its four +chubby, greenish yellow anthers set on filaments which lift them +up between the petals; and at the center of all is the tiny green +pistil. There may be twenty, more or less, of these perfect flowers +in this tiny, greenish yellow bunch at the center of the four great, +flaring bracts. These flowers do not open simultaneously, and the +yellow buds and open flowers are mingled together in the rosette. The +calyx shows better on the bud than on the open flower. It might be +well to explain to the pupils that a bract is simply a leaf in some +other business than that ordinarily performed by leaves. + +The twigs have a beautiful, smooth bark, purplish brown above and +greenish below. The flowers grow at the tips of the twigs; and the +young leaves are just below the flowers and also at the tips of the +twigs. These twigs are spread and bent in a peculiar way, so that +each white flower-head may be seen by the admiring world and not be +hidden behind any of its neighbors. This habit makes this tree a +favorite for planting, since it forms a mass of white bloom. + +[Illustration: _The flowers of dogwood._ + +Photo by Cyrus Crosby.] + +The dogwood banners unfurl before the flowers at their hearts open, +and they remain after the last flower has received within itself +the gracious, vital pollen which will enable it to mature into a +beautiful berry. This long period of bloom is another quality which +adds to the value of the dogwood as an ornamental tree. At the time +the bracts fall, the curly petals also fall out leaving the little +calyx-tubes standing with style and stigma projecting from their +centers, making them look like a bunch of liliputian churns with +dashers. In autumn, the foliage turns to a rich, purplish crimson--a +most satisfying color. + +During the winter, the flowering dogwood, which renders our forests +so beautiful in early spring, may be readily recognized by its bark, +which is broken up into small scales and mottled like the skin of a +serpent; and on the tips of its branches are the beautiful clusters +of red berries, or speaking more exactly, drupes. This fruit is +oval, with a brilliant, shining, red, pulpy covering which must be +attractive to birds. At its tip it has a little purple crown, in +the center of which may be seen the remnant of the style, but this +attractive outside covers a seed with a very thick, hard shell, which +is quite indigestible and fully able to protect, even from the attack +of the digestive juices of the bird’s stomach, the tender white +kernel within it, which includes the stored food and the embryo. +There are in the North two other common species of dogwood which have +dark blue fruit. + + + LESSON CCV + + THE DOGWOOD + +_Leading thought_--The petals are not the only means of attracting +insects to the flowers. Sometimes other parts of the plant are made +into banners to show insects where the nectar is to be found. + +_Method_--Bring in a branch of the dogwood when it is in flower. The +branch should have upon it some flowers that are unopened. Study the +flower first, and ask the pupils to discover for themselves why the +great white bracts have a notch in the tip. A lens is a great help to +the interest in studying these tiny flowers. + +[Illustration: _The flower buds of the dogwood are formed during the +previous season._] + +_Observations_--1. What is there at the center of the dogwood flower? +How do the parts at the center look? Are they of the same shape? Are +some opened and others not? Take a penknife and cut out one that is +opened and describe it. Can you see how many petals this tiny flower +has? Describe its calyx. How many stamens has it? Can you see the +pistil? If a flower has a calyx and stamens and a pistil, has it not +all that a flower needs? + +2. How many of these flowers are there at the center of the dogwood +“blossom?” What color are they? Would they show off much if it were +not for the great white banners around them? Do we not think of these +great white bracts as the dogwood flower? + +3. Study one of these banners. What is its shape? Are the four white +bracts the same shape and size? Make a sketch of these four bracts +with the bunch of flowers at the center. What is there peculiar about +each one of these white bracts. Why should this notch be there? Find +one of the flower-heads which is not yet opened and watch it develop, +and then write a little story of the work done in the winter for the +flowers by these bracts and the different work done by them in the +spring, all for the sake of the precious blossoms. + +4. Sketch the bracts from below. Is one pair wider than the other? Is +the wider pair inside or outside? Why is this so? + +5. Where are the flowers of the dogwood borne? How are the twigs +arranged so as to unfurl all the banners and not hide one behind +another, so that the whole tree is a mass of white? + +6. While studying the flowers, study where the young leaves come +from. Can you still see the scales which protected the leaf buds? + +7. What kind of fruit develops from the dogwood blossoms? What colors +are its leaves in autumn? + + + + + THE VELVET, OR STAGHORN, SUMAC + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _The sumacs with flame leaves at half-mast, like wildfire + spread over the glade; + Above them, the crows on frayed pinions move northward in + ragged parade._ + + +[Illustration: T] + +The sumacs, in early autumn, form a “firing line” along the borders +of woodlands and fences, before any other plant but the Virginia +creeper has thought of taking on brighter colors. No other leaves can +emulate the burning scarlet of their hues. The sumacs are a glory to +our hills; and sometime, when Americans have time to cultivate a true +artistic sense, these shrubs will play an important part in landscape +gardening. They are beautiful in summer, when each crimson “bob” (a +homely New England name for the fruit panicle) is set at the center +of the bouquet of spreading, fernlike leaves. In winter nakedness +they are most picturesque, with their broadly branching twigs bearing +aloft the wine-colored pompons against the background of snow, and +calling to the winter birds to come and partake of the pleasantly +acid drupes. In spring, they put out their soft leaves in exquisite +shades of pale pinkish green, and when in blossom their staminate +panicles of greenish white cover them with loose pyramids of delicate +bloom. + +Well may it be called velvet sumac, for this year’s growth of wood +and the leaf stems are covered with fine hairs, pinkish at first, but +soon white; if we slip our fingers down a branch, we can tell even +without looking where last year’s growth began and ended, because of +the velvety feel. The name staghorn sumac is just as fitting, for its +upper branches spread widely like a stag’s horns and, like them, the +new growth is covered with velvet. + +The leaves are borne on the new wood, and therefore at the ends of +branches; they are alternate; the petiole broadens where it clasps +the branch, making a perfect nursery for the little next-year’s bud, +which is nestled below it. The leaves are compound and the number of +leaflets varies from eleven to thirty-one. Each leaflet is set close +to the midrib, with a base that is not symmetrical; the leaflets have +their edges toothed, and are long and narrow; they do not spread out +on either side the midrib like a fern, but naturally droop somewhat, +and thus conceal their undersides, which are much lighter in color. +The leaflets are not always set exactly opposite; the basal ones +are bent back toward the main stem, making a fold in the base of +each. The end leaflets are not always three, symmetrically set, but +sometimes are two and sometimes one, with two basal lobes. + +The wine-colored “bob” is cone-shaped, but with a bunchy surface. +Remove all the seeds from it and note its framework of tiny branches, +and again pay admiring tribute to nature’s way of doing up compact +packages. Each seed is a drupe, as is also the cherry. A drupe is +merely a seed within a fleshy layer, all being enclosed in a firmer +outside covering; here, the outside case is covered with dark red +fuzz, a clothing of furs for winter, the fur standing out in all +directions. The fleshy part around the seed has a pleasantly acid +taste, and one of my childhood diversions was to share these fruits +in winter with the birds. I probably inadvertently ate also many a +little six-footed brother hidden away for winter safe-keeping, for +every sumac panicle is a crowded insect-tenement. + +It is only in its winter aspect that we can see the peculiar way of +the sumac’s branching, which is in picturesque zigzags, ending with +coarse, wide-spreading twigs. As each terminal twig was a stem for +the bouquet of blossom and fruit set about with graceful leaves, it +needed room and this is reason enough for the coarse branching. The +wood of the sumac has a pith, and is coarse in texture. + +[Illustration: _The stag-horn sumac._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +During late May the new growth starts near the end of last year’s +twig; the buds are yellowish and show off against the dark gray +twigs. From the center of these buds comes the fuzzy new growth, +which is usually reddish purple; the tiny leaves are folded, each +leaflet creased at its midrib and folded tightly against itself; as +the leaves unfold, they are olive-green tinted with red, and look +like tassels coming out around the old dark red “bob.” When the +sumacs are in blossom, we see in every group of them, two kinds; one +with pyramids of white flowers, and the other with pinkish callow +bobs. The structure of these two different flower-clusters is really +the same, except that the white ones are looser and more widely +spread. Each flower of the white panicle is staminate, and has five +greenish, somewhat hairy sepals and five yellowish white petals, at +the center of which are five large anthers. A flower from the bob is +quite different; it has the five hairy sepals alternating with five +narrow, yellowish white petals, both clasping the globular base, or +ovary, which is now quite covered with pinkish plush, and bears at +its tip the three styles flaring into stigmas. + +[Illustration: + + a, _Pistillate flower from a “bob.”_ + b, _Staminate flower from the greenish panicle_. +] + +The velvet sumac is larger than the smooth species (_Rhus glabra_), +and is easily distinguished from it, since the new wood of the latter +is smooth and covered with bloom but is not at all velvety. The +poison sumac, which is very dangerous to many people when handled, is +a swamp species and its fruit is a loose, drooping panicle of whitish +berries, very much like that of poison ivy; therefore, any sumac that +has the red bob is not dangerous. The poison species has the edges of +its leaflets entire and each leaflet has a distinct petiole of its +own where it joins the midrib. + +There is much tannin in sumac and it is used extensively to tan +leather. The bobs are used for coloring a certain shade of brown. The +famous Japanese lacquer is made from the juice of a species of sumac. + + + LESSON CCVI + + THE VELVET, OR STAGHORN, SUMAC + +_Leading thought_--The sumac is a beautiful shrub in summer because +of its fern-like leaves; it is picturesque in winter, and its colors +in autumn are most brilliant. Its dark red fruit clusters remain upon +it during the entire winter. In June it shows two kinds of blossoms +on different shrubs, one is whitish and bears the pollen, the other +is reddish and is a pistillate flower, later developing into the seed +on the “bob,” or fruit cluster. + +_Method_--Begin this study in October when the beautiful autumn color +of the leaves attracts the eye. Observations to be made in the field +should be outlined and should be answered in the field note-books. +The study of the fruit and leaf may be made in the schoolroom, and +an interest should be developed which will lead to the study of the +interesting flowers the following spring. The sumacs in autumn make a +beautiful subject for water-color sketches, and their peculiar method +of branching with their dark red seed clusters or bobs, make them +excellent subjects for winter sketching. + +_Observations_--1. Why is this called the velvet sumac? Why is it +called the staghorn sumac? Look at the stems with a lens and describe +the velvet. Can you tell this year’s wood by the velvet? Is there any +velvet on last year’s wood? Is there any on the wood below? What is +there peculiar in the appearance of last year’s wood? What are the +colors of the hairs that make the velvet on this year’s growth? On +last year’s growth? What is the color of this year’s growth under the +velvet? Where are the leaves borne? + +2. Look at the leaves. How many come off the stem between two, one of +which is above the other? Is the midrib velvety? What is its color at +base and at tip? What is the shape of the petiole where it joins the +stem? Remove the leaf. What do you find hidden and protected by its +broad base? + +3. How many leaflets are there on the longest leaf which you can +find? How many on the shortest? Do the leaflets have little petioles, +or are they set close to the midrib? How does the basal pair differ +from the others? Are the leaflets the same color above as below? Are +the pairs set exactly opposite each other? Look at the three leaflets +at the tips of several leaves and see if they are all regular in +form. Draw a leaflet showing its base, its veins and its margin. Draw +an entire leaf, and color it as exactly as possible. + +4. Study the fruit. Pick one of the bobs and note its general shape. +Is it smooth or bunchy? Sketch it. Remove one of the little bunches +and find out why it is of that shape. Remove all of the seeds from +one of last year’s bobs and see how the fruit is borne. Sketch a part +of such a bare stem. + +5. Take a single seed; look at it through a lens and describe it. +What are the colors? Cut or pare away the flesh, and describe the +seed. What birds live on the sumac seeds in winter? How many kinds +of insects can you find wintering in the bob? Find a seed free from +insects and taste it. + +_Winter study of the Sumac_--6. Study the sumac after the leaves have +fallen and sketch it. What is there peculiar in its branching? Of +what use to the plant is its method of branching? Break a branch and +look at the end. Is there a pith? What color is the wood and pith? + +_May or June Study of the Sumac_--7. Where on the branch does the new +growth start? How are the tiny leaves folded? Look over a group of +sumacs and see if their blossoms all look alike. Are the different +kinds of blossoms found on the same tree or on different trees? Take +one of the white pyramidal blossom clusters; look at one of these +flowers with a lens and describe its sepals and petals. How many +anthers has it and where are they? This is a pollen-bearing flower +and has no pistil. How are its tiny staminate flowers arranged on the +stem to give the beautiful pyramid shape? This kind of flower cluster +is called a panicle. + +8. Take one of the green bobs and see if it is made up of little +round flowers. Through a lens study one of these. How many sepals? +How many petals? Describe the middle of the flower around which the +petals and sepals clasp. Is this the ovary, or seed box? Can you see +the stigmas protruding beyond it? What insects visit these flowers? + +9. How can you tell the velvet or staghorn sumac from the smooth +sumac? How can you tell both of these from the poison sumac? + +10. To what uses are the sumacs put? + + * * * * * + + “_I see the partridges feed quite extensively upon the sumach + berries, at my old house. They come to them after every snow, + making fresh tracks, and have now stripped many bushes quite + bare._” + --THOREAU’S JOURNAL, Feb. 4, 1856. + + + + + THE WITCH-HAZEL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _In the dusky, somber woodland, thwarting vistas dull and cold, + Thrown in vivid constellations, gleam the hazel stars of gold, + Gracious gift of wealth untold._ + + _Hazel blossoms brightly glowing through the forests dark and + drear, + Work sweet miracles, bestowing gladness on the dying year, + Joy of life in woods grown sere._ + + +[Illustration: W] + +Witch-hazel is not only a most interesting shrub in itself, but +it has connected with it many legends. From its forked twigs were +made the divining rods by which hidden springs of water or mines +of precious metals were found, as it was firmly believed that the +twig would turn in the hand when the one who held it passed over the +spring or mine. At the present day, its fresh leaves and twigs are +used in large quantities for the distilling of the healing extract so +much in demand as a remedy for cuts and bruises and for chapped or +sunburned skins. It is said that the Oneida Indians first taught the +white people concerning its medicinal qualities. + +The witch-hazel is a large shrub, usually from six to twelve feet +high, although under very advantageous circumstances it has been +known to take a tree-like form and attain a height of more than +twenty feet. Its bark is very dark grayish brown, smooth, specked +with little dots, which are the lenticels, or breathing-pores. If the +season’s growth has been rapid, the new twigs are lighter in color, +but when stunted by drouth or poor soil, the new growth has a tint +similar to the old. The wood is white, very tough and fibrous, with +a pith or heart-wood of softer substance and yellow in color. The +leaves are alternate, and the leaf buds appear at the tips of the +season’s twigs, while the blossoms grow at the axils of the leaves. + +[Illustration: _Witch-hazel._] + +The witch-hazel leaf is nearly as broad as it is long, bluntly +pointed at its tip, with a stem generally less than one-half inch in +length. The sides are unequal in size and shape, and the edges are +roughly scalloped. The veins are straight, are depressed on the upper +side but very prominent beneath, and they are lighter in color than +the rest of the leaf. Witch-hazel leaves are likely to be apartment +houses for insects, especially the insects that make galls. Of these +there are many species, each making a different shaped gall. One of +the most common is a gall, shaped like a little horn or spur on the +upper side of the leaf and having a tiny door opening on the under +side of the leaf. If one of these snug little homes is torn open, it +will be found occupied by a community of little aphids, or plant-lice. + +The witch-hazel blossoms appear at the axil of a leaf or immediately +above the scar from which a leaf has fallen, the season of bloom +being so late that often the bush is bare of leaves and is clothed +only with the yellow, fringe-like flowers. Usually the flowers are in +clusters of three, but occasionally four or five can be found on the +same very short stem. The calyx is four-lobed, the petals are four in +number, shaped like tiny, yellow ribbons, about one-half inch long +and not much wider than a coarse thread. In the bud, these petals +are rolled inward in a close spiral, like a watch-spring, and are +coiled so tightly that each bud is a solid little ball no larger than +a bird-shot. There are four stamens lying between the petals, and +between each two of these stamens is a little scale just opposite the +petal. The anthers are most interesting. Each has two little doors +which fly open, as if by magic springs, and throw out the pollen +which clings to them. The pistil has two stigmas, which are joined +above the two-celled seed-box, or ovary. The blossoms sometimes open +in late September, but the greater number appear in October and +November. They are more beautiful in November after the leaves have +fallen, since these yellow, starry flowers seem to bring light and +warmth into the landscape. After the petals fall, the calyx forms a +beautiful little urn, holding the growing fruit. + +[Illustration: + +1, _A queer little face--witch-hazelnut ready to shoot its seeds_. 2, +_Enlarged flower of witch-hazel showing the long petals_; p, _with +dotted line the pistil_; an, _anther_; a, _anther with doors open_; +c, _lobes of calyx_; sc, _scale opposite the base of petal_. ] + +The nuts seem to require a sharp frost to separate the closely joined +parts; it requires a complete year to mature them. One of these nuts +is about half an inch long and is covered with a velvety green outer +husk, until the frost turns it brown; cutting through it discloses +a yellowish white inner shell, which is as hard as bone; within +this are the two brown seeds each ornamented with a white dot; note +particularly that these seeds lie in close-fitting cells. The fruit, +if looked at when the husk is opening, bears an odd resemblance to +a grotesque monkey-like face with staring eyes. Frosty nights will +open the husks, and the dry warmth of sunny days or of the heated +schoolroom, will cause the edges of the cups which hold the seeds, +to curve inward with such force as to send the seeds many feet away; +ordinarily they are thrown from ten to twenty feet, but Hamilton +Gibson records one actual measurement of forty-five feet. The +children should note that the surface of the seeds is very polished +and smooth, and the way they are discharged may be likened to that by +which an orange seed is shot from between the fingers. + + + LESSON CCVII + + THE WITCH-HAZEL + +_Leading thought_--The witch-hazel blossoms during the autumn, and +thus adds beauty to the landscape. It has an interesting mechanism by +which it can shoot its seeds for a distance of many feet. + +[Illustration: _Flowers and fruit of witch-hazel._ + +Photo by G. F. Morgan.] + +_Method_--This lesson divides naturally into two parts; a study of +the way the seeds are distributed is fitted for the primary grades, +and a study of the flower for more advanced grades. For the primary +grades the lesson should begin by the gathering of the twigs which +bear the fruit. These should be brought to the schoolroom--there +to await results. Soon the seeds will be popping all over the +schoolroom, and then the question as to how this is done, and why, +may be made the topic of the lesson. For the study of the flower and +the shrub itself, the work should begin in October when the blossoms +are still in bud. As they expand they may be studied, a lens being +necessary for observing the interesting little doors to the anthers. + +_Observations_--1. Is the witch-hazel a shrub or a tree? + +2. What is the color of the bark? Is it thick or thin, rough or +smooth, dark or light, or marked with dots or lines? Is there any +difference in color between the older wood and the young twigs? Is +the wood tough or brittle? Dark or light in color? + +3. Do the leaves grow opposite each other or alternate? On what part +of the plant do the leaf buds grow? + +4. What is the general shape of the leaf? Is it more pointed at the +base or at the tip? Are the leaves regular in form, or larger on one +side than the other? Are the edges entire, toothed or wavy? Are the +petioles short or long? Are the veins straight or branching? Are they +prominent? Are the leaves of the same color on both sides? + +5. Are there many queer-shaped little swellings on the leaf above and +below? See how many of these you can find? Tell what you think they +are. + +6. Do the flowers grow singly or in clusters? What is the shape and +color of the petals, and how many of them are there in each blossom? +Describe the calyx. If there are any flower buds just opening, +observe and describe the way the petals are folded within them. + +7. How many stamens? With a lens observe the way the two little doors +to the anther fly open; how is the pollen thrown out? What is the +shape of the pistil? How many stigmas? + +8. Does each individual flower have a stem or is there a common stem +for a cluster of blossoms? Do the flowers grow at the tips or along +the sides of the twigs? When do the witch-hazel flowers appear and +how long do they last? + +9. Make a drawing of a witch-hazel nut before it opens. What is the +color of the outer husk when ripe? Cut into a closed nut and observe +the extreme hardness and strength of the inner shell. + +10. Where are the seeds situated? Can you see that the shell, when +partially open, ready to throw out the seeds resembles a queer little +face? Describe the color and marking of the seeds; are they rough or +smooth? How far have you known the witch-hazel to throw its seeds? +Study the nut and try to discover how it throws the seeds so far. + +_References_--Tree Book, Rogers; Our Northern Shrubs, Keeler; +Familiar Trees and Their Leaves, Mathews; Field, Forest and Wayside +Botany, Gray. + + + + + THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: A] + +As a child I never doubted that the laurel wreaths of Grecian heroes +were made from mountain laurel, and I supposed, of course, that the +flowers were used also. My vision was of a hero crowned with huge +wreaths of laurel bouquets, which I thought so beautiful. It was a +shock to exchange this sumptuous headgear of my dreams for a plain +wreath of leaves from the green-bay tree. + +However, the mountain laurel leaf is evergreen and beautiful enough +to crown a victor; in color it is a rich, lustrous green above, +with a yellow midrib, the lower side being of a much lighter +color. In shape, the leaf is long, narrow, pointed at each end and +smooth-edged, with a rather short petiole. The leaves each year grow +on the new wood, which is greenish and rough, in contrast with the +old wood, which is rich brownish red. The leaves are arranged below +the flower cluster, so that they make a shining green base for this +natural bouquet. + +The flowers grow on the tips of the branching twigs, which are +huddled together in a manner that brings into a mass many flowers. +I have counted seventy-five of them in a single bunch; the youngest +flowers grow nearest the tip of the twig. The blossom stems are +pink, and afford a rich background for the starry open flowers and +knobby closed buds. The bud of the laurel blossom is very pretty +and resembles a bit of rose-colored pottery; it has a five-sided, +pyramidal top, and at the base of the pyramid are ten little +buttresses which flare out from the calyx. The calyx is five-lobed, +each lobe being green at the base and pink at the point. Each one of +the ten little buttresses or ridges is a groove in which a stamen +is growing, as we may see by looking into an opening flower; each +anther is “headed” toward the pocket which ends the groove. The +filament lengthens and shoves the anther into the pocket, and then +keeps on growing until it forms a bow-shaped spring, like a sapling +with the top bent to the ground. The opening flower is saucerlike, +pinkish white, and in form is a five-pointed star. At the bottom of +the saucer a ten-pointed star is outlined in crimson; and bowed above +this crimson ring are the ten white filaments with their red-brown +anthers stuffed cozily into the pockets, one pocket at the center of +each lobe, and one half-way between; each pocket is marked with a +splash of crimson with spotty edges. From the center of the flower +projects the stigma, far from and above the pollen-pockets. + +[Illustration: _Diagram of flower of laurel._ + +p, pocket; st, stamen.] + +Each laurel flower is thus set with ten spring-traps all awaiting the +visit of the unwary moth or bee which, when seeking the nectar at +the center of the flower, is sure to touch one or all of these bent +filaments. As soon as one is touched, up it springs and slings its +pollen hard at the intruder. The pollen is not simply a shower of +powder, but is in the form of a sticky string, as if the grains were +strung on cobweb silk. When liberating these springs with a pencil +point, I have seen the pollen thrown a distance of thirteen inches; +thus, if the pollen ammunition does not strike the bee, it may fall +upon some open flower in the neighborhood. The anthers spring back +after this performance and the filaments curl over each other at the +center of the flower below the pink stigma; but after a few hours +they straighten out and each empty anther is suspended above its own +pocket. The anthers open while in the pocket, each one is slit open +at its tip so that it is like the leather pocket of a sling. + +After the corollas fall, the long stigma still projects from the tip +of the ripening ovary, and there it stays, until the capsule is ripe +and open. The five-pointed calyx remains as an ornamental cup for +the fruit. The capsule opens along five valves, and each section is +stuffed with little, almost globular seeds. + +The mountain laurel grows in woods and shows a preference for rocky +mountain sides or sandy soil. + +Another of the common species is the sheep laurel, which grows in +swampy places, especially on hillsides. The flowers of this are +smaller and pinker than the mountain laurel, and are set below the +leaves on the twig. Another species called the pale, or swamp, +laurel, has very small flowers, not more than half an inch in breadth +and its leaves have rolled-back edges and are whitish green beneath. +This species is found only in cold peat-bogs and swamps. + + + LESSON CCVIII + + THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL + +_Leading thought_--The laurel blossom is set with ten springs, and +each spring acts as a sling in throwing pollen upon visiting insects, +thus making sure that the visitor will carry pollen to other waiting +flowers. + +_Method_--Have the pupils bring to the schoolroom a branch of laurel +which shows blossoms in all stages from the bud. Although this lesson +is on the mountain laurel, any of the other species will do as well. + +_Observations_--1. How are the laurel leaves set about the blossom +clusters to make them beautiful? What is the shape of the laurel +leaf? What are its colors above and below? How do the leaves grow +with reference to the flowers? Do they grow on last year’s or this +year’s wood? How can you tell the new wood from the old? + +2. Take a blossom bud. What is its shape? How many sides to the +pyramid-like tip? How many little flaring ridges at the base of the +pyramid? Describe the calyx. + +3. What is the shape of the flower when open? How many lobes has it? +What is its color? Where is it marked with red? + +4. In the open blossom, what do you see of the ten ridges, or keels, +which you noticed in the bud? How does each one of these grooves end? +What does the laurel blossom keep in these ten pockets? Touch one of +the ten filaments with a pencil and note what happens. + +[Illustration: _Mountain laurel._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +5. Take a bud scarcely open. Where are the stamens? Can you see the +anthers? Take a blossom somewhat more open. Where are the anthers +now? From these observations explain how the stamens place their +anthers in the pockets. How do the filaments grow into bent springs? + +6. Are the anthers open when they are still in the pocket? Look at an +anther with a lens and tell how many slits it has. How do they open? +Are the pollen grains loose when they are thrown from the anther? How +are they fastened together? Does this pollen mass stick to whatever +it touches? + +7. What is the use to the flower of this arrangement for throwing +pollen? What insects set free the stamen-springs? Where is the nectar +which the bee or moth is after? Can it get this nectar without +setting free the springs? Touch the filaments with a pencil and see +how far they will sling the pollen. + +8. Describe the pistil in the open flower. Is the stigma near the +anthers? Would they be likely to throw their pollen on the stigma of +their own flower? Could they throw it on the stigmas of neighboring +flowers? + +9. How does the fruit of the laurel look? Does the style still cling +after the corolla falls? Describe the fruit-capsule. How does it +open? How do the seeds look? Are there many of them? + +10. Where does the mountain laurel grow? What kind of soil does it +like? Do you know any other species of laurel? If so, are they found +in the same situations as the mountain laurel? + + * * * * * + + “_A childish gladness stays my feet, + As through the winter woods I go, + Behind some frozen ledge to meet + A kalmia shining through the snow._ + + _I see it, beauteous as it stood + Ere autumn’s glories paled and fled, + And sigh no more in pensive mood, + ‘My leafy oreads are all dead.’_ + + _I hear its foliage move, like bells + On rosaries strung, and listening there, + Forget the icy wind that tells + Of turfless fields, and forests bare._ + + _All gently with th’ inclement scene + I feel its glossy verdure blend;-- + I bless that lovely evergreen + As heart in exile hails a friend._ + + _Its boughs, by tempest scarcely stirred, + Are tents beneath whose emerald fold + The rabbit and the snowbound bird + Forget the world is white and cold._ + + _And still, ’mid ruin undestroyed, + Queen arbor with the fadeless crown, + Its brightness warms the frosty void, + And softens winter’s surliest frown._” + --From “The Mountain Laurel,” THERON BROWN. + + + + +[Illustration: _Brook study._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + + + + + PART IV + + EARTH AND SKY + + + + + THE BROOK + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Little brook, sing a song of a leaf that sailed along, + Down the golden braided center of your current swift and + strong._” + --J. W. RILEY. + + +A brook is undoubtedly the most fascinating bit of geography which +the child encounters; and yet how few children who happily play in +the brook--wading, making dams, drawing out the crayfish by his own +grip from his lurking place under the log, or watching schools of +tiny minnows--ever dream that they are dealing with real geography. +The geography lesson on the brook should not be given for the purpose +of making work out of play, but to conserve all of the natural +interest in the brook, and add to it by revealing other and more +interesting facts concerning it. A child who thus studies the brook +will master some of the fundamental facts of physical geography, so +that ever after he will know and understand all streams, whether they +are brooks or rivers. An interesting time to study a brook is after a +rain; and May or October give attractive surroundings for the study. +However, the work should be continued now and then during the entire +year, for each season gives it some new features of interest. + +Each brook has its own history, which can be revealed only to the +eyes of those that follow it from its beginning to where it empties +its water into a larger stream or pond. At its source the brook +usually is a small stream with narrow banks; not until it receives +water from surrounding hills does it gain enough power to cut its bed +deeper into the earth, thus making its banks higher. Where it flows +with swift current down a hillside, it cuts its bed deeper, because +swift-moving water has more power for cutting and carrying away the +soil. However, if the hillside happens to be in the woods, the roots +of trees or bushes will help to keep the soil from being washed away. +Unless there are obstacles, the course of the brook is likely to +be more direct in flowing down a hillside than when crossing level +fields. The delightful way in which brooks meander crookedly across +the level areas is due to the inequalities of the surface, which +interfere more with water on a plain than on a hillside, since the +gravity which pulls it forever down has less chance to act upon it +forcibly in these situations. After a stream has thus started its +crooked course, in time of flood the current strikes with more force +against the curves, and cutting them deeper, makes the course still +more crooked. The places on the banks where the soil is bare and +exposed to the force of the current, are the points where the banks +are cut most deeply at flood time. + +But the brook is not simply an object to look at and admire; it +is a very busy worker, its chief labor being that of a digger and +carrier. When it is not carrying anything--that is, when its waters +are perfectly clear--the stream is doing the least work. The poets, +as well as common people, speak of the playing of the brook when its +limpid waters catch the sunbeams on their dimpling surface; but when +the waters are roily the brook is working very hard. This usually +occurs after a rain, which adds much more water to the volume of the +brook; the action of gravity upon this larger and heavier body forces +it to flow more swiftly and every drop in the stream that touches +the bank or bottom, snatches up a tiny load of earth and carries it +along. And every drop thus laden, when it strikes against a corner of +the bank, tears more soil loose through the impact, and other drops +snatch it up and carry it on down the stream. And after a time there +are so many drops carrying loads and bumping along, knocking loose +more earth, that the whole brook, which is made up of drops, looks +muddy. In its work as a digger, every drop of water that touches the +soil at the bottom or on the banks of the brook uses its own little +load of earth or gravel as a crowbar or pickaxe to pry up other bits +of dirt and gravel; and all of the drops hastening on, working hard +together, dig the channel of the brook wider and deeper. In some +steep places, so many of the drops are working together that they +are able to pick up pebbles or stones, with which they batter and +tear down larger pieces of the bank and scrape out greater holes +in the bottom of the stream. On and on the brook flows, a gang of +workmen each of which is using its own load as a tool, all in close +procession and working double quick. But as soon as the brook reaches +a plain or level, its activity ceases; the drops act tired and seem +to have no ambition to pick up more soil, and each lets fall its own +load as soon as possible, dropping the larger pieces of gravel and +rock first, carrying the finer soil farther, but finally letting that +down also. If we examine the sediment of a flooded brook, we find +that the gravel is always dropped first, and that the fine mud is +carried farthest before it is deposited. + +The roar of a flooded stream is very different from the murmur of +its waters when they are low. It is not to be wondered at, when we +once think of all that is going on in the brook during periods of +flood. There are some simple experiments to show what the force of +water can do when turned against the soil. Pour water from a pitcher +into a bed of soft soil, and note how quickly a hole will be made; +if the pitcher is held near the soil, less of a hole will be formed +than if the pitcher is held high up, which shows that the farther the +water falls, the greater is its force. This explains why the banks of +streams are undermined when a strong current is driven against them. +The swift current, of course, breaks away more earth at bends and +curves than when it is flowing in a straight line; for ordinarily, +when flowing straight, the current is swiftest in the bed of the +stream, and is therefore only digging at the bottom; but when it +flows around curves, it is directed against the banks, and therefore +has much more surface to work upon. Thus it is that bends are cut +deeper and deeper. If the bare arm is thrust into a flooded brook, we +find that many pieces of gravel strike against it; and if we reach +the bottom, we can feel the pebbles being moved along over the brook +bed. + + + LESSON CCIX + + THE BROOK + +_Leading thought_--The water from the little brook near our +schoolhouse is flowing toward the ocean, and is meanwhile digging out +and carrying along with it the soil through which it flows. + +[Illustration: _What the children find living in the brook._] + +_Method_--The best time to study a brook is after a rain, and October +or May is an interesting time for beginning this lesson. The work +should be continued during the entire year. It may be done at noon +or recess, if the brook is near at hand; or there may be excursions +after school, if the brook is at some distance. The observations +should be made by the class as a whole. + +_Observations_--1. Does the brook have its source in a spring or a +swamp, or does it receive its water as drainage from surrounding +hills? Follow it back to its very beginning. Do you find this in open +fields or woods? Is the land about it level or hilly? + +2. Are its banks deeper at the beginning, or is the brook at first +almost on a level with the surrounding fields? Do the banks become +deeper farther from the source? Are the banks higher where the brook +flows down hill, or where it is on a level? + +3. Is the course of the brook more crooked on a hillside or when +flowing through a level area? Are the banks more worn away and steep +where the brook flows through woods or bushes than through the open +fields? + +4. Can you find the places where the water is cutting the banks +most, when the brook is flooded? Why does it cut the banks at these +particular points? + +5. Into what stream, pond or lake does the brook flow? If you should +launch a toy boat upon the waters of this brook, and it should keep +afloat, through what streams would it pass to reach the ocean? +Through what townships, counties, states or countries would it pass? + +6. When is the brook working and when is it playing? What is the +difference between the color of the water ordinarily and when the +brook is flooded? What causes this difference? + +7. Make the following experiment to show what the brook is carrying +after a storm when the water is roily. Dip from the swift portion of +the stream a glass fruit jar full of water. Place it on a window-sill +and do not disturb it until the water is clear. How much sediment has +settled at the bottom of the jar? Where was this sediment when you +dipped up the water? If this quart of water could carry so much soil +or sediment, how much, do you think, would the whole brook carry? + +8. Where did the brook get the soil to make the water roily? Study +its banks in order to answer this question. Do you think the soil in +the water came from the banks that are covered by vegetation or from +those which are bare? + +9. How did the brook pick up the soil that it carried when it was +flooded? Do you think that one of the tools that the brook digs with +is the current? Try to find a place where the swift current strikes +the bank, and note if the latter is being worn away. + +10. Does the swift current take more soil where it is flowing +straight, or where there are sharp bends? How are the bends in the +brook or creek made? + +11. Thrust your bare hand or arm into the swift current of the brook +when it is flooded. Do you feel the gravel strike against your arm or +hand? Wade in the water. Do you feel the pebbles strike against the +feet or legs, as they are being rolled along the bed of the stream? + +12. Does the water, loaded with soil and pebbles, dig into the banks +more vigorously than just the water alone could do? Which washes away +more earth and carries it down stream--a fast or a slow current? + +13. Does the water of the brook flow fastest when its waters are low +or high? When the brook is at its highest flood, do you think it +is working the hardest? If so, explain why? When it is working the +hardest and carrying most soil and gravel, does it make a different +sound than when it is flowing slowly and its waters are clear? + +14. How does the brook look when it is doing the least amount of work +possible? + +15. Make a map of your brook showing every pool, indicating the +places where the current is swiftest and showing the bends in its +course. To test the rapidity of the current, put something afloat on +it and measure how far it will go in a minute. + +16. How many kinds of trees, bushes and plants grow along the banks +of your brook? How many kinds of fish and insects do you find living +in it? How many kinds of birds do you see frequently near it? + +_A brook puzzle for pupils to solve_--When we have a load to carry we +go slowly because we are obliged to; and the heavier the load, the +slower we go. On the other hand, when we wish to run very swiftly we +drop the load so as not to be weighted down; when college or high +school boys run races in athletic games, they do not wear even their +ordinary clothing, but dress as lightly as possible in trunks and +tights; they also train severely so that they do not have to carry +any more flesh on their bones than is necessary. How is it that in +the case of a brook just opposite is true? The faster the brook runs, +the more it can carry; and the heavier it becomes the faster it runs; +and the faster it runs the more work it can do. + + + + +[Illustration: _Where the stream drops its load._] + + + HOW A BROOK DROPS ITS LOAD + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The brook is most discriminating in the way it takes up its burdens, +and also in the way it lays them down. It, with quite superhuman +wisdom, selects the lightest material first, leaving the heaviest +to the last; and when depositing the load, it promptly drops the +heaviest part first. And thus the flowing waters of the earth are +eternally lifting, selecting, and sifting the soils on its surface. + +The action of rain upon the surface of the ground is in itself an +excellent lesson in erosion. If there is on a hillside a bit of bare +ground which has been recently cultivated or graded, we can plainly +see, after a heavy rain, where the finer material has been sorted out +and carried away, leaving the larger gravel and stones. And if we +examine the pools in the brook, we shall find deltas as well as many +examples of the way the soil is sifted as it is dropped. The water of +a rill flowing through pasture and meadow is clear, even after a hard +rain. This is owing, not so much to the fact that the roots hold the +banks of the brook firmly, as that the grass on the surface of the +ground acts as a mulch and protects the soil from the erosive impact +of the raindrops. On the other hand, and for a reverse reason, a rill +through plowed ground is muddy. On a hillside, therefore, contour +plowing is practiced--that is, plowing crosswise the hillside instead +of up and down. When the furrow is carried crosswise, the water after +showers can not dash away, carrying off in it all the finer and +more fertile portions of the soil. There are many instances in our +Southern States where this difference in the direction of plowing has +saved or destroyed the fertility of hillside farms. + +The little experiment suggested at the beginning of the following +lesson, should show the pupils clearly the following points: It is +through motion that water takes up soil and holds it in suspension. +The tendency of still water is to drop all the load which it is +carrying and it drops the heaviest part first. We find the pebbles at +the bottom of the jar, the sand and gravel next, and the fine mud on +top. The water may become perfectly clear in the jar and yet, when +stirred a little, it will become roily again because of the movement. +Every child who wades in a brook, knows that the edges and the still +pools are more comfortable for the feet than is the center of the +stream under the swift current. This is because, where the water +is less swift at the sides, it deposits its mud and makes a soft +bottom; while under the swifter part of the current, mud is washed +away leaving the larger stones bare. For the same reason, the bottom +of a stream crossing a level field is soft, because the silt, washed +down from the hills by the swift current, is dropped when the waters +come to a more quiet place. If, across a stony brook, the pupils can +build a dam that will hold for two or three months in the fall or +spring when the brook is flooded, they will be able to note that the +stones will soon be more or less covered with soft mud; for the dam, +stopping the current, causes the water to drop its load of silt. It +would have to be a very recently made pool in a stream, which would +not have a soft mud bottom. The water at times of flood is forced to +the side of the streams in eddies, and its current is thus checked, +and its load of mud dropped. + +It should be noted that at points where the brook is narrowest the +current is swiftest, and where the current is swiftest the bottom +is more stony. Also, where there is a bend in the stream the brook +digs deeper into the bank where it strikes the curve, and much of the +soil thus washed out is removed to the other side of the stream where +the current is very slow, and there is dropped. (See Introduction +to Physical Geography, Gilbert and Brigham, pp. 51 and 52.) If +possible, note that where a muddy stream empties into a pond or lake, +the waters of the latter are made roily for some distance out, but +beyond this the water remains clear. The pupils should be made to +see that the swift current of the brook is checked when its waters +empty into a pond or lake, and because of this they drop their load. +This happens year after year, and a point extending out into the lake +or pond is thus built up. In this manner the great river deltas are +formed. + +_References_--The Brook Book, Mary Rogers Miller; Brooks and Brook +Basins, Frye; Up and Down the Brooks, Bamford; Physical Geography, +Tarr; Introduction to Physical Geography, Gilbert and Brigham. + + + LESSON CCX + + HOW A BROOK DROPS ITS LOAD + +_Leading thought_--The brook carries its load only when it is flowing +rapidly. As soon as the current is checked, it drops the larger +stones and gravel first and then the finer sediment. It is thus that +deltas are built up where streams empty into lakes and ponds. + +_Method_--Study the rills made in freshly graded soil directly after +a heavy rain. Ask the pupils individually to make observations on the +flooded brook. + +_Experiment_--Take a glass fruit jar nearly full of water from the +brook, add gravel and small stones from the bed of the brook, sand +from its borders and mud from its quiet pools. Have it brought into +the schoolroom, and shake it thoroughly. Then place in a window and +ask the pupils to observe the following things: + +(a) Does the mud begin to settle while the water is in motion; that +is, while it is being shaken? + +(b) As soon as it is quiet, does the settling process begin? + +(c) Which settles first--the pebbles, the sand or the mud? Which +settles on top--that is, which settles last? + +(d) Notice that as long as the water is in the least roily, it means +that the soil in it has not all settled; if the water is disturbed +even a little it becomes roily again, which means that as soon as the +water is in motion it takes up its load. + +_Observations_--1. Where is the current swiftest, in the middle or at +the side of the stream? + +2. What is the difference, in the bottom of the brook, between the +place below the swift current and the edges? That is, if you were +wading in the brook, where would it be more comfortable for your +feet--at the sides or in the swiftest part of the current? Why? + +3. Does the brook have a more stony bed where it flows down a +hillside than where flowing through a level place? + +4. Place a dam across your brook where the bottom is stony, and note +how soon it will have a soft mud bottom. Why is this? + +5. Can you find a still pool in your brook that has not a soft, muddy +bottom? Why is this? + +6. Does the brook flow more swiftly in the steep and narrow places +than in the wide portions and where it is dammed? + +7. Do you think if water, flowing swiftly and carrying a load of mud, +were to come to a wider or more level place, like a pool or millpond +dam, that it would drop some of its load? Why? + +8. If the water flows less swiftly along the edges than in the +middle, would this make the bottom below softer and more comfortable +to the feet than where the current is swiftest? If so, why? + +9. If you can see the place where a brook empties into a pond or +lake, how does it make the waters of the latter look after a storm? +What is the water of the brook doing to give this appearance, and why? + +10. What becomes of the soil dropped by the brook as it enters a pond +or lake? Do you know of any points of land extending out into a lake +or pond where the stream enters it? What is a stream delta? + + * * * * * + + “_In the bottom of the valley is a brook that saunters between + oozing banks. It falls over stones and dips under fences. It + marks an open place on the face of the earth, and the trees + and soft herbs bend their branches into the sunlight. The + hangbird swings her nest over it. Mossy logs are crumbling + into it. There are still pools where the minnows play. The + brook runs away and away into the forest. As a boy I explored + it but never found its source. It came somewhere from the + Beyond and its name was Mystery._ + + _The mystery of this brook was its changing moods. It had its + own way of recording the passing of the weeks and months. I + remember never to have seen it twice in the same mood, nor + to have got the same lesson from it on two successive days: + yet, with all its variety, it always left that same feeling of + mystery and that same vague longing to follow to its source + and to know the great world that I was sure must lie beyond. + I felt that the brook was greater and wiser than I. It became + my teacher. I wondered how it knew when March came, and why + its round of life recurred so regularly with the returning + seasons. I remember that I was anxious for the spring to come, + that I might see it again. I longed for the earthy smell when + the snow settled away and left bare brown margins along its + banks. I watched for the suckers that came up from the river + to spawn. I made a note when the first frog peeped. I waited + for the unfolding spray to soften the bare trunks. I watched + the greening of the banks and looked eagerly for the bluebird + when I heard his curling note somewhere high in the air._” + + --“The Nature-Study Idea,” L. H. BAILEY. + + + + + CRYSTAL GROWTH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +To watch the growth of a crystal is to witness a miracle; +involuntarily we stand in awe before it, as a proof that of all +truths mathematics is the most divine and inherent in the universe. +The teacher will fail to make the best use of this lesson if she does +not reveal to the child through it something of the marvel of crystal +growth. + +[Illustration: _A snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +That a substance which has been dissolved in water should, when the +water evaporates, assemble its particles in solid form of a certain +shape, with its plane surfaces set exactly at certain angles one to +another, always the same whether the crystal be large or small, is +quite beyond our understanding. Perhaps it is no more miraculous +than the growth of living beings, but it seems so. The fact that +when an imperfect crystal, unfinished or broken, is placed in water +which is saturated with the same substance, it will be built out and +made perfect, shows a law of growth so exquisitely exemplified as to +again make us glad to be a part of a universe so perfectly governed. +Moreover, when crystals show a variation in numbers of angles and +planes it is merely a matter of division or multiplication. A snow +crystal is a six-rayed star, yet sometimes it has three rays. + +The window-sill of a schoolroom may be a place for the working of +greater wonders than those claimed by the astrologists of old, +when they transmuted baser metals to gold and worthless stones to +diamonds. It may be a place where strings of gems are made before the +wondering eyes of the children; gems fit to make necklaces for any +naiad of the brook or oread of the caves. + +It adds much to the interest of this lesson if different colored +substances are used for the forming of the crystals. Blue vitriol, +potassium bichromate, and alum give beautiful crystals, contrasting +in shape as well as in colors. + +Copper sulphate and blue vitriol are two names for one substance; +it is a poison when taken internally and, therefore, it is best for +the teacher to carry on the experiment before the pupils instead of +trusting the substance to them indiscriminately. Blue vitriol forms +an exquisitely beautiful blue crystal, which is lozenge-shaped with +oblique edges. Often, as purchased from the drug store, we find it +in the form of rather large, broken, or imperfect crystals. One of +the pretty experiments is to place some of these broken crystals in a +saucer containing a saturated solution of the vitriol, and note that +they straightway assert crystal nature by building out the broken +places, and growing into perfect crystals. Blue vitriol is used much +in the dyeing and in the printing of cotton and linen cloths. It has +quite wonderful preservative qualities; if either animal or vegetable +tissues are permeated by it they will remain dry and unchanged. + +Potassium bichromate is also a poison and, therefore, the teacher +should make the solution in the presence of the class. It forms +orange-red crystals, more or less needle-shaped. It crystallizes so +readily that if one drop of the solution be placed on a saucer the +pupils may see the formation of the crystals by watching it for a few +moments through a lens. + +The common alum we buy in crystal form, however, it is very much +broken. Its crystals are eight-sided and pretty. Alum is widely used +in dyes, in medicines, and in many other ways. It is very astringent, +as every child knows who has tried to eat it, and has found the lips +and tongue much puckered thereby. + +Although we are more familiar with crystals formed from substances +dissolved in water, yet there are some minerals, like iron which +crystallize only when they are melted by heat; and there are +other crystals, like the snow, which are formed from vapor. Thus, +substances must be molten hot, or dissolved in a liquid, or in form +of gas, in order to grow into crystals. + + + LESSON CCXI + + CRYSTAL GROWTH + +_Leading thought_--Different substances when dissolved in water +will re-form as crystals; each substance forms crystals of its own +peculiar color and shape. + +_Method_--Take three test tubes, long vials or clear bottles. Fill +one with a solution made by dissolving one part of blue vitriol +in three parts of water; fill another by dissolving one part of +bichromate of potash with twenty-five parts of water; fill another +with one part of alum in three parts of water. Suspend from the mouth +of each test tube or vial, a piece of white twine, the upper end +tied to a tooth pick, which is placed across the mouth of the vial; +the other end should reach the bottom of the vial. If necessary, tie +a pebble to the lower end so that it will hang straight. Place the +bottles on the window sill of the schoolroom, where the children may +observe what is happening. Allow them to stand for a time, until +the string in each case is encrusted with crystals; then pull out +the string and the crystals. Dry them with a blotter, and let the +children observe them closely. Care should be taken to prevent the +children from trying to eat these beautiful crystals, by telling them +that the red and blue crystals are poisonous. + +_Observations_--1. In which bottle did the crystals form first? Which +string is the heaviest with the crystals? + +2. What was the color of the water in which the blue vitriol was +dissolved? Is it as brilliant in color now as it was when it was +first made? Do you think that the growth of the crystals took away +from the blue material of the water? Look at the blue vitriol +crystals with a lens, and describe their shape. Are the shapes of the +large crystals of the vitriol the same as those of the small ones? + +3. What is the shape of the crystals of the potassium bichromate? +What is the color? Are these crystals as large as those of the blue +vitriol or of the alum? + +4. What shapes do you find among the crystals of alum? + +5. Do you think that vitriol and potassium bichromate and alum will, +under favorable circumstances, always form each its own shape of +crystal wherever it occurs in the world? Do you think crystals could +be formed without the aid of water? + +6. How many kinds of crystals do you know? What is rock candy? Do you +think you could make a string of rock candy if you dissolved sugar in +water and placed a string in it? + + + + + SALT + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +A “saturated solution” is an uninspiring term to one not chemically +trained; and yet it merely means water which holds as much as it can +take of the dissolved substance; if the water is hot, it dissolves +more of most substances. To make a saturated solution of salt we need +two parts of salt or a little more, for good measure, to five parts +of water; the water should be stirred until it will take up no more +salt. + +[Illustration: _Form of a salt crystal._] + +A slip of paper placed in a saucer of this solution will prove a +resting place for the crystals as they form. In about two days the +miracle will be working, and the pupils should now and then observe +its progress. Those saucers set in a draft or in a warm place will +show crystals sooner than others, but the crystals will be smaller; +for the faster a crystal grows, the smaller is its stature. If +the water evaporates rapidly, the crystals are smaller, because +so many crystals are started which do not have material for large +growth. When the water is evaporated, to appreciate the beauty of +the crystals we should look at them with a lens or microscope. Each +crystal is a beautiful little cube, often with a pyramid-shaped +depression in each face or side. After the pupils have seen these +crystals, the story of where salt is found should be told them. + +Salt is obtained by two methods: by mining large deposits of rock +salt, and by evaporating water containing a strong solution of salt. +The oldest salt works in this country are in Syracuse, New York, +where the salt comes from salt springs which were famous among the +American Indians. At Ithaca, N. Y., the salt deposits are about +2000 feet below the surface of the earth. Water is forced down into +the stratum of rock, which was evidently once the bottom of a briny +sea; the water dissolves the salt, and it is then pumped up to the +surface and evaporated, leaving the salt in crystals. In Michigan and +Louisiana there are other large salt works of a similar character. +The largest salt mines in the world are those in Poland, which have +been used for hundreds of years. In these mines there are fifty miles +of corridors, and the salt has been carved into beautiful chambers +with statues and other decorations, all cut from the solid salt. One +of these chambers represents a chapel beautifully ornamented. + +When the United States was first settled, salt was brought over from +England; but this was so expensive that people could not afford it +and they soon began to make their own salt by evaporating sea water +in kettles on the beach. In those countries where it is scarce, salt +is said to be literally worth its weight in gold. The necessity for +salt to preserve the health of both people and animals has tempted +the governments of some countries to place a special tax upon it; in +Italy, especially, the poor people suffer greatly on account of the +high price of salt from this cause. + +Salt lakes are found in natural basins of arid lands, and are always +without outlets. The water which runs in escapes by evaporation, but +the salt it brings cannot escape, and accumulates. A salt lick is a +place where salt is found on the surface of the earth, usually near a +salt spring. Animals will travel a long distance to visit a salt lick +which gained its name through their attentions. + + + LESSON CCXII + + SALT + +_Leading thought_--Salt dissolves in water, and as the water +evaporates the salt appears in beautiful crystals. + +_Method_--Let each pupil, if possible, have a cup and saucer, a +square of paper small enough to go into the saucer, some salt and +water. Let each pupil take five teaspoonfuls of water and add to this +two spoonfuls of salt, stirring the mixture until dissolved. When the +water will take no more salt let each pupil write his name and the +date on the square of paper, lay it in the saucer, pressing it down +beneath the surface. Let some place their saucers in a warm place, +others where they may be kept cool, and others in a draft. If it is +impossible for each pupil to have a saucer, two or three pupils may +be selected to perform the experiments. + +_Observations_--1. When you pour the salt into the water, what +becomes of it? How do you know when the water will hold no more salt? + +2. After a saucer, filled with the salt water, stands exposed to the +air for several days, what becomes of the water? From which saucers +did the water evaporate fastest--those in the warm places, or those +in the cold? In which did the crystals form first? + +3. Which saucers contained the largest crystals--those from which the +water evaporated first, or those from which it evaporated more slowly? + +4. Could you see how the crystals began? What is the shape of the +perfect salt crystal? Do the smallest crystals have the same shape as +the largest ones? + +5. What happens to people who cannot get salt to eat? + +6. How is dairy salt and table salt obtained? What is rock salt? What +are salt licks? Where are the salt mines found? Why is the ocean +called “the briny deep?” + +7. Name and locate the salt lakes. Why are lakes salt? + + + + + LESSON CCXIII + + HOW TO STUDY MINERALS + + +Many children are naturally interested in stones. I once knew two +children, aged seven and five, who could invariably select the +boulders and pebbles of metamorphic rock in the region about Ithaca. +They also could tell, when the pebbles were broken, which parts were +quartz and which mica. They had incidentally asked about one of these +stones, and I had told them the story of the glacial period and how +these stones were torn away from the mountains in Canada and brought +down by ice and dropped in Ithaca. It was a story they liked, and +their interest in these granite voyagers was always a delightful +element of our walks in the field. + +[Illustration: _A snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +For the pupils in the elementary grades it seems best to limit +the study of minerals to those which make up our granite and +common rocks. In order to teach about these minerals well, the +teacher should have at least one set of labelled specimens. Such +a collection may be obtained from Edward E. Howell, 612 17th St., +N. W., Washington, D. C., and also from Ward’s Natural Science +Establishment, College Avenue Rochester, N. Y. These collections vary +in number of specimens and price from one to two dollars and are +excellent. The teacher should have one or two perfect crystals of +quartz, feldspar and calcite. An excellent practice for a boy is to +copy these crystals in wood for the use of the teacher. + +The physical characteristics used in identifying minerals are briefly +as follows: + +1. _Form._ This may be crystalline, which shows the shape of the +crystals definitely; granular, like marble, the grains having the +internal structure, but not the external form, of crystals; compact, +which is without crystalline form, as limestone or flint. + +2. _Color._ + +3. _Luster or shine_, which may be glassy like quartz, pearly like +the inside of a shell; silky like asbestos; dull; or metallic like +gold. + +4. _Hardness_ or resistance to scratching, thus: Easily scratched +with the finger nail; cannot be scratched by the finger nail; easily +scratched with steel; with difficulty scratched with steel; not to be +scratched by steel. A pocket knife is usually the implement used for +scratching. + + + + +[Illustration: _Forms of quartz crystals._] + + + QUARTZ + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +There is in the Cornell University Museum a great quartz crystal, +a six-sided prism several inches in thickness. One-half of it is +muddy and the other half clear, transparent and beautiful. The +professor in charge, who has the imagination necessary to the +expert crystallographer, said to his class: “This crystal was begun +under conditions which made it cloudy; then something happened, +perhaps some cataclysm that changed all the conditions around the +half-grown crystal, and it may have lain a hundred or a thousand +years unfinished, when, some other change occurring, there came about +conditions which permitted it to resume growth, and the work began +again exactly where it was left off, the shaft being perfected even +to its six-sided pyramidal tip.” And ever afterwards that crystal, +half clouded and half clear, remained in the minds of his pupils as a +witness of the eternal endurance of the laws which govern the growth +of crystals. + +Quartz is the least destructible and is one of the most abundant +materials in the crust of the earth as we know it. It is made up of +two elements chemically united--the solid silicon and the gas oxygen. +It is the chief material of sand and sandstones, and it occurs, mixed +with grains of other minerals, in granite, gneiss, and many lavas; +it also occurs in thick masses or sheets, and sometimes in crystals +ornamenting the walls of cavities in the rocks. Subterranean waters +often contain a small amount of silica, the substance of quartz, +in solution; from such solutions it may be deposited in fissures +or cracks in the rock, thus forming bodies called “veins.” Other +materials are often deposited at the same time, and in this way +the ores of the precious metals came to be associated with quartz. +Sometimes quartz is deposited from hot springs or geysers, forming a +spongy substance called sinter. In this case, some of the water is +combined with the quartz, making what is called opal. Quartz crystal +will cut glass. + +Quartz occurs in many varieties: (a) In crystals like glass. If +colorless and transparent it is called rock crystal; if smoky brown, +it is called smoky quartz; if purple, amethyst. (b) In crystals, +glassy but not transparent. If white, it is milky quartz; if pink, +rose quartz. (c) As a compact crystalline structure without luster, +waxy or dull, opaque or translucent, when polished. If bright red, it +is carnelian; if brownish red, sard; if in various colors in bands, +agate; if in horizontal layers, onyx; if dull red or brown, jasper; +if green with red spots, bloodstone; if smoky or gray, breaking with +small, shell-like or conchoidal fractures, flint. + +Rock crystals are used in jewelry and especially are made to imitate +diamonds. The amethyst is much prized as a semi-precious stone. +Carnelian, bloodstone and agate are also used in jewelry; agate is +used also in making many ornamental objects, and to make little +mortars and pestles for grinding hard substances. + +One of the marvels of the world is the petrified forest of Arizona, +now set aside by the government as a national reserve. Great trees +have been changed to agate and flint, the silica being substituted +for the tissues of the wood so that the texture is preserved though +the material is changed. + +When our country was first settled, flint was used to start fires +by striking it with steel and letting the sparks fly into dry, +fine material, called tinder. It was also used in guns before the +invention of cartridges, and the guns were called flintlocks. The +Indians used flint to make hatchets and for tips to their arrows. The +making of flint implements dates far back into prehistoric times; it +was probably one of the first steps upward which man achieved in his +long, hard climb from a level with the brute creation to the heights +attained by our present civilization. + +Quartz sand is used in making glass. It is melted with soda or potash +or lead, and the glass varies in hardness according to the minerals +added. Quartz is also used for sandpaper and glass paper; and ground +to a fine powder, it is combined with Japans and oils and used as +a finish for wood surfaces. Mineral wool is made from the slag +refuse of furnaces where glass is made, and is used for rat-proof +and fireproof padding for the walls of houses. Quartz combined with +sodium or potassium and water, forms a liquid called water-glass, +which is used for waterproof surfaces; it is also fireproof to +a certain degree. Water-glass is the best substance in which to +preserve eggs; one part of commercial water-glass to ten parts of +water makes a proper solution for this purpose. + + + LESSON CCXIV + + QUARTZ + +_Leading thought_--Quartz is one of the most common of minerals. It +occurs in many forms. As a crystal it is six-sided, and the ends +terminate in a six-sided pyramid. It is very hard and will scratch +and cut glass. When broken, it has a glassy luster and it does not +break smoothly but shows an uneven surface. + +_Method_--The pupils should have before them as many varieties of +quartz as possible; at least they should have rock crystal, amethyst, +rose and smoky quartz and flint. + +_Observations_--1. What is the shape of quartz crystals? Are the +sides all of the same size? Has the pyramid-shaped end the same +number of plane surfaces as the sides? + +2. What is the luster of quartz? Is this luster the same in all the +different colored kinds of quartz? + +3. Can you scratch quartz with the point of a knife? Can you scratch +glass with a corner or piece of the quartz? Can you cut glass with +quartz? + +4. Describe the following kinds of quartz and their uses: amethyst, +agate, flint. + +5. How many varieties of quartz do you know? What has quartz to do +with the petrified forests of Arizona? + + + + + FELDSPAR + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +We most commonly see feldspar as the pinkish portion of granite. +This does not mean that feldspar is always pink, for it may be the +lime-soda form known as labradorite, which is dark gray, brown or +greenish brown, or white; or it may be the soda-lime feldspar called +oligoclase, which is grayish green, grayish white, or white; but the +most common feldspar of all is the potash feldspar--orthoclase--which +may be white, nearly transparent, or pinkish. Orthoclase is different +from other feldspars in that, when it splits, its plane surfaces form +right angles. Feldspar is next in the scale of hardness to quartz, +and will with effort and perseverance scratch glass but will not cut +it; it can be scratched with a steel point. Its luster is glassy and +often somewhat pearly. + +[Illustration: _Forms of feldspar crystals._] + +Maine leads all other states in the production of feldspar. It is +quarried and crushed and ground to powder, as fine as flour, to +make the clay from which china and all kinds of pottery are made. +Our clayey soils are made chiefly from the potash feldspar which is +weathered to fine dust. Kaolin, which has been used so extensively +in making the finest porcelain, is the purest of all clays, and is +formed of weathered feldspar; floor tiling and sewer pipes are also +made from ground feldspar. Moonstone is clean, soda-lime feldspar, +whitish in color and with a reflection something like an opal. + + + LESSON CCXV + + FELDSPAR + +_Leading thought_--Feldspar is about five times as common as quartz. +The crystal is obliquely brick-shaped, and when broken splits in two +directions at right angles to each other. It is next in hardness to +quartz, and will scratch glass but will not cut it. + +_Method_--If possible, have the common feldspar (orthoclase), +the soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase) and the lime-soda feldspar +(labradorite). + +_Observations_--1. What is the shape of the feldspar crystal? + +2. What colors are your specimens of feldspar? How many kinds have +you? + +3. What is the luster of feldspar? + +4. Can you scratch feldspar with the point of a knife? Can you +scratch it with quartz? Can you scratch glass with it? + +5. When you scratch feldspar with steel what is the color of the +streak left upon it? + +6. If feldspar is broken, does it break along certain lines, leaving +smooth faces? At what angles do these smooth faces stand to each +other? + +7. How can you tell feldspar from quartz? Write a comparison of +feldspar and quartz, giving clearly the characteristics of both. + +8. Hunt over the pebbles found in a sand-bank. Which ones are quartz? +Do you find any of feldspar? + +9. When there is so much more feldspar than quartz in the earth’s +crust, why is there so much more quartz than feldspar in sand? + + + + + MICA + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The mica crystal when perfect is a flat crystal with six straight +edges. These crystals separate in thin layers parallel with the base. +In color mica varies, through shades of brown, from a pale smoked +pearl to black. Its luster is pearly, and it can be scratched with +the thumb nail. Its distinguishing characteristic is that the thin +layers into which it splits bend without breaking and endure great +heat. + +Mica was used in antiquity for windows. Because it is transparent +and not affected by heat, it is used in the doors of stoves and +furnaces and for lamp chimneys. Its strength makes it of use for +automobile goggles. Diamond dust is powdered mica, as is also the +artificial snow scattered over cotton batting for the decoration of +Christmas trees. When ground finely, it is used as an absorbent for +nitroglycerine in the manufacture of dynamite. + +Mica mines are scarce in this country. There is an interesting one in +North Carolina which had evidently been worked centuries before the +advent of the white man in America. There are other mica mines in New +Hampshire and Canada. The entire production of this mineral in the +United States for the year 1908, was valued at a little more than a +quarter of a million dollars. Nearly all of this output was used in +the electrical industries, since mica is one of the best insulating +materials known. + + + LESSON CCXVI + + MICA + +_Leading thought_--Mica is a crystal which flakes off in thin scales +parallel with the base of the crystal. We rarely see a complete mica +crystal but simply the thin plates which have split off. The ordinary +mica is light colored, but there is a black form. + +_Method_--If it is not possible to obtain a mica crystal, get a thick +piece of mica which the pupils may split off into layers. + +_Observations_--1. Describe your piece of mica. Pull off a layer with +the point of your knife. See if you can separate this layer into two +layers or more. + +2. Can you see through mica? Can you bend it? Does it break easily? +What is the color of your specimen? What is its luster? Can you cut +it with a knife? Can you scratch it with the thumb nail? What color +is the streak left by scratching it with steel? + +3. What are some of the uses of mica? How is it especially fitted for +some uses? + +4. Write a theme on how and where mica is obtained. + + + + + GRANITE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +In granite, the quartz may be detected by its fracture, which is +always conchoidal and never flat; that is, it has no cleavage +planes. It is usually white or smoky, and is glassy in luster. It +cannot be scratched with a knife. The feldspar is usually whitish or +flesh-colored and the smooth surface of its cleavage planes shines +brilliantly as the light strikes upon it; it can be scratched with +a knife but this requires effort. The mica is in pearly scales, +sometimes whitish and sometimes black. The scales of these mica +particles may be lifted off with a knife, and it may thus be +distinguished. If there are black particles in the granite which do +not separate, like the mica, into thin layers, they probably consist +of hornblende. + +[Illustration: _The granite obelisk still standing on the site of the +ancient city of On._ + +Photo by J. H. Comstock.] + +Granite is used extensively for building purposes and for monuments. +It is a very durable stone but in the northeastern United States +where there is much rain and cold weather, the stone decays. Mica +is the weakest, hornblende next, and feldspar is next to quartz, +the strongest constituent of granite. Water permeates the mica, +hornblende, feldspar and sometimes the quartz, and by its expansion +in freezing causes the stone to crumble. The reason why polished +granite endures better than the rough finished, is that the smooth +surface gives less opportunity for the water to lodge and freeze. +When the weathered granite is cut up into small particles by the +waters of streams, they are sifted and all the parts which are +soluble are carried off, leaving a sand composed of quartz and mica, +which are insoluble. This sand is washed by streams into lakes, and +then is dropped to the bottom; if enough is thus carried and dropped, +it forms sandstone rock. All of our sandstones used for building +purposes were thus laid down. + +Cleopatra’s Needle, which stood for thousands of years in the dry +climate of Egypt, soon commenced to weather and crumble when placed +in Central Park, N. Y. This shaft has a most interesting history. It +was quarried near Assuan, in the most famous of all granite quarries +of ancient Egypt. It was cut as a solid shaft in the quarry and +carried down the Nile River for 500 miles--an engineering feat which +would be hard to accomplish to-day, with all our modern appliances. +It was one of the obelisks that graced the ancient city of On, later +called Heliopolis, situated on a plateau near the present city of +Cairo; On was the city where Moses was born and reared. There is +still standing where it was first placed as a part of a magnificent +temple, the temple a part of a magnificent city, one of these +obelisks. It now stands alone in the middle of a great fertile plain, +which is vividly green with growing crops; a road shaded by tamarisk +and lebbakh trees leads to it; nearby is a sakiah, creaking as the +blindfolded bullock walks around and around, turning the wheel that +lifts the chain of buckets from the well to irrigate the crops; and +a hooded crow, whose ancestors were contemporaries of its erection, +caws hoarsely as it alights on the beautiful apex of this ancient +shaft, which has stood there nearly four thousand years and has seen +a great city go down to dust to fertilize a grassy plain. + + + + + LESSON CCXVII + + GRANITE + +_Leading thought_--Granite is composed of feldspar, quartz and mica, +and often contains hornblende. + +_Method_--Specimens of coarse granite and a pocket knife are needed. + +_Observations_--1. What minerals do you find in granite? How can you +tell what these minerals are? Look at the granite with a lens. How +can you tell the quartz from feldspar? Take a knife and scratch the +two. Can you tell them apart in that way? How can you tell the mica? +How can you tell the hornblende? + +2. What buildings have you seen made of granite? What monuments have +you seen made from it? + +3. Which mineral in granite is especially affected by water? Which +remains unharmed the longest? + +4. What is weathering? Mention some of the characteristics of +weathering. Why does the rough-finished granite weather sooner than +that which is polished? + +5. Examine some sand with a lens. What mineral do you find present in +it in the greatest quantity? + +6. Write the story of the Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park, New +York City. + + + + + CALCITE, MARBLE AND LIMESTONE + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Calc spar, or calcium carbonate, is a mineral and is the material of +which marble, limestone and chalk are made. The faces of the calcite +crystal are always arranged in groups of three or multiples of +three--a three-sided pyramid or two pyramids joined base to base. The +pyramids may be obtuse or acute. When acute and formed of three pairs +of faces, the crystals are called dog-tooth spar. The crystals appear +in a great variety of forms, but they all have the common quality +of splitting readily in three directions, the fragments resembling +cubes which are oblique instead of rectangular. When these cleaved, +or split pieces, are transparent, they are called Iceland spar. When +an object is viewed through Iceland spar at least one-quarter inch +thick, it appears double. The calcite crystal is often transparent +with a slight yellowish tinge, but it also shows other colors; and it +has a slightly cloudy or slightly pearly or almost glassy luster like +feldspar. It is easily scratched with a knife and will not scratch +glass. If a drop of strong vinegar or weak hydrochloric acid falls +upon it, it will effervesce. + +[Illustration: _Forms of calcite crystals._] + +Limestone--so called because it is burned to make quicklime--was +formed on the bottoms of oceans; its substance came chiefly from the +skeletons of corals and the shells of other sea creatures, since +sea-shells and coral stems are pure calcium carbonate in composition. +In the water, the shells and corals were broken down, and then +deposited in layers on the bottom of the sea. So wherever we find +limestone, we know that there was once the bottom of a great sea. +Such layers of limestone are now being deposited off the shores of +Florida, where corals grow in great abundance. Limestone is used +extensively for building purposes, and in most climates is very +durable. The great pyramids of Egypt are of limestone. It is not a +good material for making roads, since it is so soft that it wears out +readily, making a fine easily-blown dust. It is slowly dissolved in +water, especially if the water be acid; thus, in limestone regions, +there are caves where the water has dissolved out the rock; and +attached to their roofs and piled upon their floors may be large +icicle-shaped stalactites and stalagmites, which were made by the +lime-bearing water dripping down and evaporating, leaving its burden +in crystals behind it. When the roof of a cave falls in, the cavity +thus made is called a sink hole and is often dangerous. The famous +Natural Bridge in Virginia is all that is left of what was once the +roof of such a cavern. The water in limestone regions is always hard, +because of the lime which it holds in solution; and in such regions +the streams usually have no silt, but have clean bottoms; moreover, +the springs are likely to become contaminated because the water has +run through long caves instead of filtering through sand. + +Chalk is similar in origin to limestone; it is made up of the shells +of minute sea creatures, so small that we can only see them with +the aid of a microscope. Try and think how many years it must have +required for the shells of such tiny beings to build up the beds +which make the great chalk cliffs of England! + +Marble is formed inside of the earth from limestone, under the +influence of heat and pressure; it differs from limestone chiefly +in that the grains are of crystalline structure, and are larger; +it is usually white or gray in color, and sometimes is found in +differing colors. At Cadiz in California, marble is found showing +twenty or more quite different colors. The most famous marbles are +the Carrara of Italy, the Parian from the Island of Paros, and the +Pentelican from the mountain of that name near Athens. The reason +why these marbles are so famous is that in ancient times sculptors +carved beautiful statues from them, and the architects used them for +building magnificent temples. The principal marble deposits in the +United States are in Vermont, Georgia, Tennessee and California. +Marble deteriorates when it is exposed to air which is filled with +smoke and gases. It is also used to make lime. When either marble or +limestone is heated very hot, it separates into two parts, one of +which is lime, and the other carbonic acid gas--the same that is used +for charging soda-water fountains. + + + LESSON CCXVIII + + CALCITE, MARBLE AND LIMESTONE + +_Leading thought_--Calcite or calc spar is formed more than half of +lime. The best known forms of its crystals are cubelike, but instead +of having twelve right-angled edges, the sides are lozenge-shaped, +and are set together with six obtuse angles and six acute. Dog-tooth +spar is one form of calcite crystal. Limestone is a solid form of +calcite. Marble is granular limestone which shows the broken crystals +of calcite. Chalk is very fine, pulverized calcite. + +_Method_--Specimens of dog-tooth spar, limestone, marble, shells of +oysters or other sea creatures and coral should be provided for this +lesson; also a bottle of dilute hydrochloric acid, and a piece of +glass tubing about six inches long with which to drop the acid on the +stones. Some strong vinegar will do instead of the acid. + +_Observations_--1. What is the form of the calcite crystal? What +is the luster of the crystal? Is it the same as the inside of +sea-shells? Will calcite scratch glass? Can you scratch it with a +knife? What happens to calcite if you put a drop of weak hydrochloric +acid upon it? + +2. Is marble made up of crystals? Examine it with a lens to see. What +is its color? Have you seen marble of other colors than white? Do you +know the reason why marble is sometimes clouded and streaked? + +3. Put a drop of weak hydrochloric acid on the marble. What happens? + +4. What are the uses of marble? What have you ever seen made from +marble? Why is it used for sculpture? What famous statues have you +seen which were made of marble? Name some of the famous ancient +marble buildings. + +5. Test a piece of limestone for hardness. Can you scratch it with +a knife? Is it as soft as marble? Put on it a drop of acid. Does it +effervesce? If there are any fossils in your piece of limestone, test +them with acid and see if they will effervesce. Any other mineral +that you have which will effervesce when touched with acid, is +probably some form of calcite. + +6. Are there any buildings in your town made of limestone? How do you +know the stone is limestone? Where was it obtained? Is it affected by +the weather? + +7. Is limestone a good material for making or mending roads? Give a +reason. + +8. Why is water in limestone regions hard? Why are limestone regions +likely to have caves within the rocks? How are stalactites and +stalagmites formed in caves? What are sink holes? How are they +formed? In what county of your state is limestone found? + +9. How is the lime which is used for plastering houses made? + +10. Write a theme on how the chalk rocks are made? + +11. Test a shell with acid; test a piece of coral with acid. How does +it happen that these, which were once a part of living creatures, are +now limestone? Of what are our own bones made? + + * * * * * + + “_A great chapter in the history of the world is written in + the chalk. Few passages in the history of man can be supported + by such an overwhelming mass of direct and indirect evidence + as that which testifies to the truth of the fragment of the + history of the globe, which I hope to enable you to read, + with your own eyes, to-night. Let me add, that few chapters + of human history have a more profound significance for + ourselves. I weigh my words well when I assert, that the man + who should know the true history of the bit of chalk which + every carpenter carries about in his breeches-pocket, though + ignorant of all other history, is likely, if he will think his + knowledge out to its ultimate results, to have a truer, and + therefore a better, conception of this wonderful universe, and + of man’s relation to it, than the most learned student who is + deep-read in the records of humanity and ignorant of those of + Nature._” + + “_During the chalk period, or ‘cretaceous epoch,’ not one + of the present great physical features of the globe was + in existence. Our great mountain ranges, Pyrenees, Alps, + Himalayas, Andes, have all been upheaved since the chalk + was deposited, and the cretaceous sea flowed over the sites + of Sinai and Ararat. All this is certain, because rocks of + cretaceous or still later date, have shared in the elevatory + movements which give rise to these mountain chains; and may be + found perched up, in some cases, many thousand feet high upon + their flanks._” + --THOMAS HUXLEY. + + + + + THE MAGNET + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: U] + +Until comparatively recent times, the power of the magnet was so +inexplicable that it was regarded as the working of magic. The tale +of the Great Black Mountain Island magnet described in the “Arabian +Nights Entertainments”--the story of the island that pulled the +nails from passing ships and thus wrecked them--was believed by the +mariners of the Middle Ages. Professor George L. Burr assures me that +this mountain of lodestone and the fear which it inspired were potent +factors in the development of Medieval navigation. Even yet, with +all our scientific knowledge, the magnet is a mystery. We know what +it does, but we do not know what it is. That a force unseen by us +is flowing off the ends of a bar magnet, the force flowing from one +end attracted to the force flowing from the other and repellent to a +force similar to itself, we perceive clearly. We also know that there +is less of this force at a point in the magnet half-way between the +poles; and we know that the force of the magnet acts more strongly if +we offer it more surface to act upon, as is shown in the experiment +in drawing a needle to a magnet by trying to attract it first at its +point and then along its length. That this force extends out beyond +the ends of the magnet, the child likes to demonstrate by seeing +across how wide a space the magnet, without touching the objects, can +draw to it iron filings or tacks. That the magnet can impart this +force to iron objects is demonstrated with curious interest, as the +child takes up a chain of tacks at the end of the magnet; and yet the +tacks when removed from the magnet have no such power of cohesion. +That some magnets are stronger than others is shown in the favorite +game of “stealing tacks,” the stronger magnet taking them away from +the weaker; it can also be demonstrated by a competition between +magnets, noting how many tacks each will hold. + +One of the most interesting things about a magnet is that like poles +repel and opposite poles attract each other. How hard must we pull +to separate two magnets that have the south pole of one against the +north pole of the other! Even more interesting is the repellent power +of two similar poles, which is shown by approaching a suspended +magnetized needle with a magnet. These attractive and repellent +forces are most interestingly demonstrated by the experiment in +question 13 of the lesson. These needles floating on cork join the +magnet or flee from it, according to which pole is presented to them. + +Not only does this power reside in the magnet, but it can be imparted +to other objects of iron and steel. By rubbing one pole of the magnet +over a needle several times, always in the same direction, the needle +becomes a magnet. If we suspend such a needle by a bit of thread +from its center, and the needle is not affected by the nearness +of a magnet, it will soon arrange itself nearly north and south. +It is well to thrust the needle through a cork, so it will hang +horizontally, and then suspend the cork by a thread. The magnetized +needle will not point exactly north, for the magnet poles of the +earth do not quite coincide with the poles of the earth’s axis. + +The direction assumed by the magnetized needle may be explained by +the fact that the earth is a great magnet, but the south pole of the +great earth magnet lies near the North Pole of the earth. Thus, a +magnet on the earth’s surface, if allowed to move freely, will turn +its north pole toward the south pole of the great earth magnet. +Then, we might ask, why not call the earth’s magnetic pole that lies +nearest our North Pole its north magnetic pole? That is merely a +matter of convenience for us. We see that the compass needle points +north and south, and the arm of the needle which points north we +conveniently call its north pole. + +The above experiment with a suspended needle shows how the mariner’s +compass is made. This most useful instrument is said to have been +invented by the Chinese, at least 1400 B. C., and perhaps even longer +ago. It was used by them to guide armies over the great plains, and +the needle was made of lodestone. The compass was introduced into +Europe about 1300 A. D., and has been used by mariners ever since. To +“box the compass” is to tell all the points on the compass dial, and +is an exercise which the children will enjoy. + +We are able to tell the direction of the lines of force flowing from +a magnet, by placing fine iron filings on a pane of glass or a sheet +of paper and holding close beneath one or both poles of a magnet; +instantly the filings assume certain lines. If the two ends of a +horseshoe magnet are used, we can see the direction of the lines of +force that flow from one pole to the other. It is supposed that these +lines of magnetic force streaming from the ends of the great earth +magnet cause the Northern Lights, or _Aurora Borealis_. + +Lodestone is a form of iron with a special chemical composition, and +it is a natural magnet. Most interesting stories are told of the way +the ancients discovered this apparently bewitched material, because +it clung to the iron ends of their staffs or pulled the iron nails +from their shoes. In the Ward’s collection of minerals sent out to +schools, which costs only one dollar, there is included a piece of +lodestone, which is of perennial interest to the children. + +Magnets made from lodestone are called natural magnets. A bar magnet +or a horseshoe magnet has received its magnetism from some other +magnet or from electrical sources. An electro magnet is of soft iron, +and is only a magnet when under the influence of a coil of wire +charged with electricity. As soon as the current is shut off the iron +immediately ceases to be a magnet. + + + LESSON CCXIX + + THE MAGNET + +_Leading thought_--Any substance that will attract iron is called +a magnet, and the force which enables it to attract iron is called +magnetism. This force resides chiefly at the ends of magnets, called +the poles. The forces residing at the opposite ends of a magnet act +in opposite directions; in two magnets the like poles repel and the +unlike poles attract each other. The needle of the mariner’s compass +points north and south, because the earth is a great magnet which has +its south pole as a magnet at the North Pole of the world. + +_Method_--Cheap toy horseshoe magnets are sufficiently good for this +lesson, but the teacher should have a bar magnet, also a cheap toy +compass, and a specimen of lodestone, which can be procured from any +dealer in minerals. In addition, there should be nails, iron filings +and tacks of both iron and brass, pins, darning needles or knitting +needles, pens, etc. Each child, during play time, should have a +chance to test the action of the magnets on these objects, and thus +be able to answer for himself the questions which should be given a +few at a time. + +_Observations_--1. How do we know that an object is a magnet? How +many kinds of magnets do you know? Of what substance are the objects +made which the magnets can pick up? Does a magnet pick up as many +iron filings at its middle as at its ends? What does this show? + +2. How far away from a needle must one end of the magnet be before +the needle leaps toward it? Does it make any difference in this +respect, if the magnet approaches the needle toward the point or +along its length? Does this show that the magnetic force extends out +beyond the magnet? Does it show that the magnetic force works more +strongly where it has more surface to act upon? + +3. Take a tack and see if it will pick up iron filings or another +tack. Place a tack on one end of the magnet, does it pick up iron +filings now? What do you think is the reason for this difference in +the powers of the tack? + +4. Are some magnets stronger than others? Will some magnets pull the +iron filings off from others? In the game of “stealing tacks,” which +can be played with two magnets, does each end of the magnet work +equally well in pulling the tacks away from the other magnet? + +5. Pick up a tack with a magnet. Hang another tack to this one end +to end. How many tacks will it thus hold? Can you hang more tacks to +some magnets than to others? Will the last tack picked up attract +iron filings as strongly as the first next to the magnet? Why? Pull +off the tack which is next to the magnet. Do the other tacks continue +to hold together? Why? Instead of placing the tacks end to end, pick +up one tack with the magnet and place others around it. Will it hold +more tacks in this way? Why? If a magnet is covered with iron filings +will it hold as many tacks without dropping the filings? + +6. Take two horseshoe magnets and bring their ends together. Then +turn one over and again bring the ends together. Will they cling to +each other more or less strongly than before? Bring two ends of two +bar magnets together; do they hold fast to each other? Change ends +with one, now do the two magnets cling more or less closely than +before? Does this show that the force in the two ends of a magnet is +different in character? + +7. Magnetize a knitting needle or a long sewing needle by rubbing one +end of a magnet along its length twelve times, always in the same +direction, _and not back and forth_. Does a needle thus treated pick +up iron filings? Why? + +8. Suspend this magnetized needle by a thread from some object where +it can swing clear. When it finally rests does it point north and +south or east and west? + +9. Bring one end of a bar magnet or of a horseshoe magnet near to the +north end of the suspended needle; what happens? Bring the other end +of the magnet near the north end of the needle; what happens? + +10. Magnetize two needles so that their eyes point in the same +direction when they are suspended. Then bring the point of one of +these needles toward the eye of the other, what happens? Bring the +eye of one toward the eye of the other, what happens? When a needle +is thus magnetized the end which turns toward the north is called the +north pole, and the end pointing south is called the south pole. + +11. Try this same experiment by thrusting the needles through the +top of a cork and float them on a pan of water. Do the north poles +of these needles attract or repel each other? Do the south poles of +these needles attract or repel each other? If you place the north +pole of one needle at the south pole of the other do they join and +make one long magnet pointing north and south? + +12. Take a pocket compass; place the north end of one of the +magnetized needles near the north arm of the compass needle; what +happens? Place the south pole of the needle near the north arm of +the compass needle, what happens? Can you tell by the action of your +magnet upon the compass needle which end of your magnet is the north +pole and which the south pole? + +13. Magnetize several long sewing needles by rubbing some of them +toward the eye with the magnet and some from the eye toward the +point. Take some small corks, cut them in cross sections about +one-fourth inch thick, thrust a needle down through the center of +each leaving only the eye above the cork. Then set them afloat on a +pan of water. How do they act toward each other? Try them with a bar +magnet first with one end and then with the other, how do they act? + +14. Describe how the needle in the mariner’s compass is used in +navigation. + +15. Place fine iron filings on a pane of glass or on a stiff paper. +Pass a magnet underneath; what forms do the filings assume? Do they +make a picture of the direction of the lines of force which come from +the magnet? Describe or sketch the direction of these lines of force, +when the poles of a horseshoe magnet are placed below the filings. +Place two similar poles of a bar magnet beneath the filings; what +form do they take now? + +16. What is lodestone? Why is it so called? + +17. What is the difference between lodestone and a bar magnet? What +is an electro magnet? + +18. Write an English theme on “The Discovery and Early Use of the +Mariner’s Compass.” + +_Supplementary reading_--Electrical Experiments, Bonney; The Wonder +Book of Magnetism, Houston; “The Third Royal Calendar” from Arabian +Nights Entertainments. + + * * * * * + + “_Now, chief of all, the magnet’s power I sing, + And from what laws the attractive functions spring; + The magnet’s name the observing Grecians drew + From the magnetic regions where it grew; + Its viewless potent virtues men surprise, + Its strange effects they view with wondering eyes, + When, without aid of hinges, links, or springs, + A pendant chain we hold of steely rings + Dropt from the stone--the stone the binding source,-- + Ring cleaves to ring, and owes magnetic force: + Those held superior, those below maintain, + Circle ’neath circle downward draws in vain, + Whilst free in air disports the oscillating chain._” + --“De Rerum Naturæ,” LUCRETIUS, 93–52 B. C. + + + + +[Illustration: _A tiller of the soil._] + + + THE SOIL + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + _The soil is the sepulcher and the resurrection of all life + in the past. The greater the sepulcher the greater the + resurrection. The greater the resurrection the greater the + growth. The life of yesterday seeks the earth to-day that new + life may come from it tomorrow. The soil is composed of stone + flour and organic matter (humus) mixed; the greater the store + of organic matter the greater the fertility._ + --JOHN WALTON SPENCER. + + +Because the child, after making mud pies, is told that his face is +dirty, he naturally concludes that all soil is dirt. But it is only +when out of place that it is dirt; for, in place, it is the home of +miracles--the matrix from which comes that wonderful force which we +call life. After the study of the brook, the crystals, the minerals +and the rocks, the pupils are ready for a more careful study of the +soil. However, most of the study in soils belongs to agriculture +rather than to nature-study. + + + _The Soil Makers_ + +If we could go back to the very beginning, we should find that the +soil consisted solely of broken off particles of rock--particles so +finely ground by nature’s forces that we might properly call them +“rock flour.” In our study of the brook, we noted that those stones +with sharp corners were just beginning their experience in the brook +mill, and those that were rounded out, forming pebbles, had their +corners ground off in the making of the soil grist. And in the work +of the brook we saw how this grinding was done, and how the soil +grist is sifted, sorted, carried and dropped. + +[Illustration: _One of Uncle John’s nieces making stone flour._] + +But there are other agencies besides water that help in grinding the +stone flour. If we visit some rocky cliff, we are sure to find at its +base a heap of stones, gravel and soil, which the geologists call +_talus_. In our eastern country we know that these pebbles and soil +were pried loose by Jack Frost with his ice wedges. The water filters +into all the cracks and crevices of the rock, and since water, when +freezing, is obliged to expand, the particles of rock were thereby +torn loose and forced off and fell to the bottom of the cliff. +Moreover, rocks expand when hot, and are often thus broken without +the aid of water and frost. In the rocks of the desert, the changes +in temperature pry off the rock particles, which the winds carry +away to make up the sands of the desert. The winds hurl these sands +against other rocks which are still standing, and hurl them with +such force that more particles are torn off, making more sand. In +fact, the wind, in some regions, grinds the rocks into stone flour as +effectually as does the water in other places. Then, too, the gases +of the air also cause rocks to decay. We know how iron rusts and +falls to pieces through contact with the gases of the air. Some rocks +decompose in a similar way. We often see that the inscriptions on old +headstones have been almost obliterated, because the gases in the air +have so decomposed the marble. + +[Illustration: _Lichens growing on rocks._ + +Photo by Verne Morton.] + +In addition to the other soil makers, there are the little plants +which we call lichens. The spores of these plants are so minute +that we cannot see them, and they drift about in the air until they +find resting place upon some rock. Here they begin to grow, and as +they grow they become strongly acid; they are thus enabled to eat a +foothold into the rock, softening its surface and powdering it into +stone flour. And in these situations other plants grow later, sending +their roots down into every crack and crevice and thus prying off +more of the rock. + + + _The Soil Carriers_ + +In the study of the brook we have seen how the water lifts, carries +and deposits the soils; and since, at one time or another, the entire +surface of the earth has been under water, we can see that water +has been the most important of the soil carriers and has done the +greatest work. The wind carries much soil, especially in the arid +regions; the movements of the sand dunes in the deserts and on the +seashores bear witness to what the wind can do as a soil carrier. +But in the northern United States, from New England to the Dakotas, +much of our soil has been carried by a great ice river that once +upon a time flowed down upon our lands from the North. This great, +slow-moving river, perhaps a mile or more high, plowed up the soil +and stones, and freezing them fast carried and shoved them along +under its great weight. After a time the ice melted and dropped its +burden. Many of the stones were of granite taken up from the old +mountains of northern Canada and ground off and rounded during their +journey. We call these stones which were brought down to us from the +North, “boulders;” and the soils which were brought along on the +bottoms of glaciers and dropped and pressed down by the tremendous +ice weight and thus made compact although unsorted, we call “hardpan.” + + + _The Kinds of Soil_ + +By the work of these soil makers and soil carriers, the rock flour +was made. But if we should take some of it and plant our seeds in it, +we should find that they would not grow thriftily, even though we +watered them and gave them every care. The reason for this is that +most rock flour does not have in it the substances which the plants +most need for their growth. But if we should go to the woods and get +some of the black woods-earth and mix it with rock flour, we should +find that our plants would thrive. This rich, earth mold in the +forest is almost wholly made up of matter once alive, but which is +now decayed, and which we call “humus.” The more humus that we have +in the rock flour, the richer it is in plant food, and the more plant +growth it will support. + +In general, soils may be divided into clay, sand, gravel, loam and +humus. + +Clay in its purest state is kaolinite, the result of weathering of +feldspar, or mica. It is finely powdered and is used for pottery, +while the less pure clays are used for brickmaking. Clayey soil is +sticky and slippery when wet, and bakes hard and cracks when dry. It +is hard to cultivate, but it absorbs moisture from the air and holds +fast to its fertility, and is especially good for permanent pastures +and meadows. + +Sand, in a pure state, is made up mostly of finely broken particles +of quartz and feldspar, and is used for the making of glass. A sandy +soil is light and open and easy to work. It absorbs little water from +the air and has little power for holding plant food, since the water +washes it out. It is especially valuable for truck gardening, because +it is a warm soil. It is warm because water does not evaporate from +its surface rapidly. + +Humus is composed of decayed animal and vegetable matter. It is very +rich in plant food. Wherever there is humus in the soil it is likely +to be darker in color than the stone flour. + +Loam is a mixture of clay, sand and humus. For many crops it is the +most desirable soil. + + + LESSON CCXX + + THE SOIL + +_Leading thought_--The soil is composed of rock flour and humus. +Soil, to support life, must be porous, so that the roots of the +plants may receive through it both water and air. + +_Method_--The children should bring in specimens of soils from +various localities near the school. Parts of each specimen should be +wet to see if they are clayey, that quality showing quickly in the +puttylike adhesiveness when rubbed between the fingers. It would be +well to get some pure blue clay, and let the children make marbles +of it to impress upon them this quality of clay. They should try and +make marbles of other soils to show the lack of adhesiveness in them. +They should examine sand through a lens and should examine humus in a +similar way. After they are familiar with these three kinds of soils, +they are ready for the lesson. + +_Observations_--1. Look at any kind of soil with a lens, and tell why +you think it is made up of small pieces of stone and rock. + +2. Take a piece of rock and pound it fine. What does it look like? Do +you think that your plants will grow well if you plant them in the +rock flour which you have just made? Try the experiment and describe +the results. + +3. How does the water grind off the stones and make soil? How does +the wind do it? + +4. How do water and frost pry off pieces of rock? Is there a cliff +in your neighborhood that has at its foot a heap of soil and stones? +Where did these come from? + +5. How do the lichens and other plants pry off the outside of rocks? +Have you ever found lichens growing on stones? + +6. Have you ever noticed old headstones in the cemetery that were +falling to pieces? What causes them to decay? + +7. Write an English theme on the great glacier that formerly covered +the northeastern portion of the United States. + +8. Go to the woods, scrape off the leaves and get some of the black +earth beneath them. Of what is this soil composed? Is it rock flour? +What makes it so black? Why do you call this soil rich? What does +it do if you add it to the soil in the pots where your flowers are +growing? + +9. Find a railroad cut or some other place where the earth is exposed +for some distance up and down. Is there solid rock at the bottom? How +deep is the soil above the rock? Is the soil the same color at the +surface as it is below? Why is this? + +10. _Experiment 1: To show which kinds of soil hold most water_--Take +three lamp chimneys, or bottles from which the bottoms have been +broken. Place in one loam, in another clay, in another fine-grained +sand, using in each case the same amount. Tie cheesecloth over the +bottom, so that the soil will not fall out; make the soil compact by +jarring down. Place each over a tumbler. From a cup of water, held +as near as possible to the soil, pour water into one of the bottles +slowly, so as to keep the surface of the soil covered. Consult a +watch and note how long before the water begins dripping below. Do +the same with the other two. Compare the results. Which soil takes +the water most rapidly? Which lets it through first? Which lets +through the most? How would rain affect fields of clayey soil? Of +sandy soil? Of loam? + +_Hints for teacher on Experiment No. 1_--Through sand the water +passes very rapidly--in less than a minute if the sand is coarse. It +takes several minutes (14 min.) to go through loam, but requires some +hours to appear below the clay. It requires more water to saturate +clay. Care should be taken to use the same amount of water on the +three kinds of soil. More than one application will be required for +clay, since the amount of water accommodated in the chimney above the +soil will not be sufficient to saturate clay. + +[Illustration: + + _Loam._ _Sand._ _Clay._ + +Note that the sand has allowed the most water to drip through it, the +loam next, while no water has passed through the clay.] + +More water will be found to have percolated through sand than through +loam or clay. The latter are more retentive of moisture than is +sand, although absorbing rain less readily than sand. The mixture of +sand and clay in loam is most ideal for cultivated fields, absorbing +moisture more readily than clay and retaining it better than sand. + +_Experiment 2_--Fill a glass tumbler with very small marbles or +buckshot. Pour water over them to fill the glass. Placing cheesecloth +over the top of the tumbler pour off all the water that easily drains +away. Remove the cheesecloth, and immediately examine the marbles for +the film of water which surrounds each one and can clearly be seen +where one marble comes in contact with another marble or the side of +the glass. + +_Hints for teacher on Experiment 2_--It is such a film of water as +remains on the marbles that on each particle of soil supplies the +plant with water and food. The water between the marbles has been +drained off. This water corresponds to that carried out of the soil +by drainage; it is injurious to the plant, keeping “its feet too +wet,” and should be removed. + +_Experiment 3--To show that soil lifts water up from below_--Use the +same soils arranged in the same way as for Experiment 1, but instead +of pouring water in at the top, place the three lamp chimneys in a +pan which has water in it about an inch deep. In which soil does the +water rise most rapidly? In which does it rise the highest? After +the water has been taken up, let the soil stand in the lamp chimneys +for several days. Which soil dries out the soonest? If we had three +fields, one of loam, one of clay, and one of sand, in which would +the most water be lifted from below for the use of the plants? Which +would retain the water longest? + +[Illustration: + + _Sand._ _Clay._ _Loam._ + +The water has nearly reached the upper surface of the sand and is +halfway up the loam; in the clay it has climbed but a short distance. +] + +_Hints for teacher on Experiment 3_--Water rises through the sand +in a short time; if rather fine sand is used it requires less than +half an hour. To rise through loam it will require three or four +times as long, and may not reach the top of the clay for several +days. If the glass tubes were three or four feet long and allowed to +stand for several days, we would find that although the water climbs +very slowly through the clay it will climb to a greater height in +clay than in loam or sand. Under field conditions clay will retain +moisture for a longer time than sand or loam. + +_Experiment 4--To show that mulch keeps the water from evaporating +from soils_--Take two of the lamp chimneys filled half full with +loam. Pour in the same amount of water in each until the soil is +thoroughly wet. Cover the top of one with an inch deep of dry, loose +earth. Which dries out first? What does the loosening and pulverizing +of the soil in our fields by harrowing do for our planted crops? What +is a mulch? + +[Illustration: + +_The unmulched loam in the chimney at the left dried out in four +days. The loam covered with a dust mulch in the other chimney +retained moisture for a month._ ] + +_Hints for teacher on Experiment 4_--The soil covered with a layer +of dry soil--a dust mulch--will retain moisture much longer than the +unmulched soil. Hence, the farmer or gardener loosens and pulverizes +the top soil by harrowing, hoeing or raking in order to retain +moisture for plant roots. A mulch may also be of straw, boards, +leaves or stones. Fallen leaves form a natural mulch in the woods. +There, at any time, under this covering, may be found moist earth. A +mulch is a soil cover which breaks the capillary connection, so that +water will not rise to the surface to be evaporated. To be efficient +a mulch must be _dry_. After rain the “dust blanket” on the garden +bed should be renewed by cultivation. + +_Experiment 5_--Fill several vials with different soils from fields +in the neighborhood. If the soil in any of the vials is dry, moisten +it. Take a piece of blue litmus paper and press down into the soil in +each vial. Does the litmus paper turn red as it becomes dampened by +the soil in any of the vials? If so, this soil is acid. Add a little +lime and mix it in thoroughly with the soil in the vial that shows +the acid soil. Test it again with the litmus paper. Does the paper +remain blue or turn red? Does alfalfa and clover grow on acid soils? +Why should we add lime to such soils? + +[Illustration: _Experiment to show the proper treatment of clay +soil._] + +_Hints for teacher on Experiment 5_--A slightly acid soil may show no +reaction with litmus paper. It may be well to have a prepared soil +with a few drops of vinegar or other acid added, which will show the +reaction. The addition of lime will correct the acid condition. Soils +for alfalfa or clover should never be acid. They are usually well +limed before an attempt is made to grow these legumes. + +_Experiment 6, which indicates the proper treatment of clay +soils_--Fill four pie tins with clay which has been wet and smoothly +puddled. In one mix with the clay a small portion of lime; in another +add a larger portion of muck; leave two with pure clay, and place one +of these out-of-doors where it will freeze hard. Then place the four +tins on a shelf and allow to dry. In which of these is the clay most +friable? In which is it the hardest? + +_Hints to the teacher on Experiment 6_--This experiment shows that +freezing the clay rendered it finer, so that it may be broken easily +into particles small enough to set closely about the plant’s roots. +The clay mixed with lime is much more friable than the one mixed with +muck, showing that clay needs lime more than organic matter to make +it of greatest use. The pure clay which is dried without freezing +hardens into large, flat pieces, each being almost as hard as stone. + +_Supplementary reading_--Ch. I, II, III in The Great World’s Farm, +Gaye: Ch. IV. in Practical Forestry, Gifford. + + * * * * * + + _Beside the moist clods the slender flags arise filled with + the sweetness of the earth. Out of the darkness--under that + darkness which knows no day save when the ploughshare opens + its chinks--they have come to the light. To the light they + have brought a colour which will attract the sunbeams from now + till harvest._ + --RICHARD JEFFERIES. + + * * * * * + + “_Here is a problem, a wonder for all to see. + Look at this marvelous thing I hold in my hand! + This is a magic surprising, a mystery + Strange as a miracle, harder to understand._ + + _What is it? Only a handful of dust: to your touch + A dry, rough powder you trample beneath your feet, + Dark and lifeless; but think for a moment, how much + It hides and holds that is beautiful, bitter, or sweet._ + + _Think of the glory of color! The red of the rose, + Green of the myriad leaves and the fields of grass, + Yellow as bright as the sun where the daffodil blows, + Purple where violets nod as the breezes pass._ + + _Strange, that this lifeless thing gives vine, flower, tree, + Color and shape and character, fragrance too; + That the timber that builds the house, the ship for the sea, + Out of this powder its strength and its toughness drew!”_ + --From “Dust,” CELIA THAXTER. + + * * * * * + + _Some years ago there was received at Cornell University a + letter from a boy working upon a farm in Canada. In this + letter he said_: + + “_I have read your leaflet entitled, ‘The Soil, What It Is,’ + and as I trudged up and down the furrows every stone, every + lump of earth, every shady knoll, every sod hollow had for me + a new interest. The day passed, the work was done, and I at + least had had a rich experience._” + + + + + +[Illustration: _Fog on Mount Tamalpais, California._ + +Photo by G. K. Gilbert.] + + WATER FORMS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Water, in its various changing forms, is an example of another +overworked miracle--so common that we fail to see the miraculous in +it. We cultivate the imagination of our children by tales of the +Prince who became invisible when he put on his cap of darkness, and +who made far journeys through the air on his magic carpet. And yet +no cap of darkness ever wrought more astonishing disappearances than +occur when this most common of our earth’s elements disappears from +under our very eyes, dissolving into thin air. We cloak the miracle +by saying “water evaporates,” but think once of the travels of one of +these drops of water in its invisible cap! It may be a drop caught +and clogged in a towel hung on the line after washing, but as soon +as it dons its magic cap, it flies off in the atmosphere invisible +to our eyes; and the next time any of its parts are evident to our +senses, they may occur as a portion of the white masses of cloud +sailing across the blue sky, the cloud which Shelley impersonates: + + “I am the daughter of Earth and Water, + And the nursling of the Sky; + I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; + I change, but I cannot die.” + +We have, however, learned the mysterious key-word which brings back +the vapor spirit to our sight and touch. This word is “cold.” For if +our drop of water, in its cap of darkness, meets in its travels an +object which is cold, straightway the cap falls off and it becomes +visible. If it be a stratum of cold air that meets the invisible +wanderer, it becomes visible as a cloud, or as mist, or as rain. If +the cold object be an ice pitcher, then it appears as drops on its +surface, captured from the air and chained as “flowing tears” upon +its cold surface. And again, if it be the cooling surface of the +earth at night that captures the wanderer, it appears as dew. + +But the story of the water magic is only half told. The cold brings +back the invisible water vapor, forming it into visible drops; but if +it is cold enough to freeze, then we behold another miracle, for the +drops are changed to crystals. The cool window-pane at evening may +be dimmed with mist caught from the air of the room; if we examine +the mist with a lens we find it composed of tiny drops of water. But +if the night be very cold, we find next morning upon the window-pane +exquisite ferns, or stars, or trees, all formed of the crystals grown +from the mist which was there the night before. Moreover, the drops +of mist have been drawn together by crystal magic, leaving portions +of the glass dry and clear. + +If we examine the grass during a cool evening of October we find +it pearled with dew, wrung from the atmosphere by the permeating +coolness of the surface of the ground. If the following night be +freezing cold, the next morning we find the grass blades covered with +the beautiful crystals of hoar frost. + +[Illustration: _Composite snow crystal formed in high and medium +clouds._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +If a raincloud encounters a stratum of air cold enough to freeze, +then what would have been rain or mist comes down to us as sleet, +hail or snowflakes, and of all the forms of water crystals, that of +snow in its perfection is the most beautiful; it is, indeed, the most +beautiful of all crystals that we know. Why should water freezing +freely in the air so demonstrate geometry by forming, as it does, a +star with six rays, each set to another, at an angle of 60 degrees? +And as if to prove geometry divine beyond cavil, sometimes the rays +are only three in number--a factor of six--and include angles of +twice 60 degrees. Moreover, the rays are decorated, making thousands +of intricate and beautiful forms; but if one ray of the six is +ornamented with additional crystals the other five are decorated +likewise. Those snow crystals formed in the higher clouds and, +therefore, in cooler regions may be more solid in form, the spaces +in the angles being built out to the tips of the rays including air +spaces set in symmetrical patterns: and some of the crystals may +be columnar in form, the column being six-sided. While those snow +crystals formed in the lower currents of air, and therefore in warmer +regions, show their six rays marvellously ornamented. The reason why +the snow crystals are so much more beautiful and perfect than the +crystals of hoar frost or ice, is because they are formed from water +vapor, and grow freely in the regions of the upper air. Mr. W. A. +Bentley, who has spent many years photographing the snow crystals, +has found more than 1300 distinct types. + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal formed in high clouds._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +The high clouds are composed of ice crystals formed from the cloud +mists; such ice clouds form a halo when veiling the sun or the moon. + +When the water changes to vapor and is absorbed into the atmosphere, +we call the process evaporation. The water left in an open saucer +will evaporate more rapidly than that in a covered saucer, because +it comes in contact with more air. The clothes which are hung on the +line wet, dry more rapidly if the air is dry and not damp; for if the +air is damp, it means that it already has almost as much water in it +as it can hold. The clothes will dry more rapidly when the air is +hot, because hot air takes up moisture more readily and holds more of +it than does cold air. The clothes will dry more rapidly on a windy +day, because more air moves over them and comes in contact with them +than on a still day. + +[Illustration: _Blizzard type of snow crystal formed in low cloud._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +If we observe a boiling teakettle, we can see a clear space of +perhaps an inch or less in front of the spout. This space is filled +with steam, which is hot air saturated with hot water vapor. But what +we call “steam” from a kettle, is this same water vapor condensed +back into thin drops of water or mist by coming into contact with the +cooler air of the room. When the atmosphere is dry, water will boil +away much more rapidly than when the air is damp. + +The breath of a horse, or our own breath, is invisible during a warm +day; but during a cold day, it is condensed to mist as soon as it is +expelled from the nostrils and comes in contact with the cold air. +The one who wears spectacles finds them unclouded during warm days; +but in winter the glasses become cold out of doors, and as soon as +they are brought into contact with the warmer, damp atmosphere of a +room, they are covered with a mist. In a like manner, the window-pane +in winter, cooled by the outside temperature, condenses on its inner +surface the mist from the damp air of the room. + +The water vapor in the atmosphere is invisible, and it moves with +the air currents until it is wrung out by coming into contact with +the cold. The air thus filled with water vapor may be entirely +clear near the surface of the earth; but, as it rises, it comes in +contact with cooler air and discharges its vapor in the form of mist, +which we call clouds; and if there is enough vapor in the air when +it meets a cold current, it is discharged as rain and falls back +to the earth. Thus, when it is very cloudy, we think it will rain, +because clouds consist of mist or fog; and if they are subjected to +a colder temperature, the mist is condensed to rain. Thus, often in +mountainous regions, the fog may be seen streaming and boiling over +a mountain peak, and yet always disappears at a certain distance +below it. This is because the temperature around the peak is cold and +condenses the water vapor as fast as the wind brings it along, but +the mist passes over and soon meets a warm current below and, presto, +it disappears! It is then taken back into the atmosphere. The level +base of a cumulus cloud has a stratum of warmer air below it, and +marks the level of condensation. + +[Illustration: _Dew on spider’s web; Dewdrops on strawberry leaf; +Hoar frost on strawberry leaf._ + +Photographs by W. A. Bentley.] + +At the end of the day, the surface of the ground cools more quickly +than the air above it. If it becomes sufficiently cold and the air +is damp, then the water from it is condensed and dew is formed +during the night. However, all dew is not always condensed from the +atmosphere, since some of it is moisture pumped up by the plants, +which could not evaporate in the cold night air. On windy nights, +the stratum of air cooled by the surface of the earth is moved along +and more air takes its place, and it therefore does not become +cold enough to be obliged to yield up its water vapor as dew. If +the weather during a dewy night becomes very cold, the dew becomes +crystallized into hoar frost. The crystals of hoar frost are often +very beautiful and are well worth our study. + +The ice on the surface of a still pond begins to form usually around +the edges first, and fine, lancelike needles of ice are sent out +across the surface. It is a very interesting experience to watch the +ice crystals form on a shallow pond of water. This may easily be +seen during cold winter weather. It is equally interesting to watch +the formation of the ice crystals in a glass bottle or jar. Water, +in crystallizing, expands, and requires more room than it does as +a fluid; therefore, as the water changes to ice it must have more +room, and often presses so hard against the sides of the bottle as +to break it. The ice in the surface soil of the wheat fields expands +and buckles, holding fast in its grip the leaves of the young wheat +and tearing them loose from their roots; this “heaving” is one cause +for the winter-killing of wheat. Sleet consists of rain crystallized +in the form of sharp needles. Hail consists of ice and snow compacted +together, making the hard, more or less globular hailstones. + + + LESSON CCXXI + + WATER FORMS + +_Leading thought_--Water occurs as an invisible vapor in the air +and also as mist and rain; and when subjected to freezing, it +crystallizes into ice and frost and snow. + +[Illustration: _Frost crystals on window-pane._ + +Photo by W. A. Bentley.] + +_Method_--The answers to the questions of this lesson should, as far +as possible, be given in the form of a demonstration. All of the +experiments suggested should be tried, and the pupils should think +the matter out for themselves. In the study of the snow crystals a +compound microscope is a great help, but a hand lens will do. This +part of the work must be done out of doors. The most advantageous +time for studying the perfect snow crystals is when the snow is +falling in small, hard flakes; since, when the snow is soft, there +are many crystals massed together into great fleecy flakes, and they +have lost their original form. The lessons on frost or dew may be +given best in the autumn or spring. + +_Observations_--1. Place a saucer filled with water near a stove or +radiator; do not cover it nor disturb it. Place another saucer filled +with water near this but cover it with a tight box. From which saucer +does the water evaporate most rapidly? Why? + +2. We hang the clothes, after they are washed, out of doors to dry; +what becomes of the water that was in them? Will they dry more +rapidly during a clear or during a damp day? Why? Will they dry more +rapidly during a still or during a windy day? Why? Will they dry more +rapidly during hot or cold weather? Why? + +3. Watch a teakettle of water as it is boiling. Notice that near its +spout there is no mist, but what we call steam is formed beyond this. +Why is this so? What is steam? Why does water boil away? Do kettles +boil dry sooner on some days than on others? Why? + +4. If the water disappears in the atmosphere where does it go? Why do +we say “the weather is damp”? What force is it that wrings the water +out of the atmosphere? + +[Illustration: _Forms of hoar frost._ + +Photo by W. A. Bentley.] + +5. Why does the breath of a horse show as a mist on a cold day? Why +do persons who wear spectacles find their glasses covered with mist +as soon as they enter a warm room after having been out in the cold? +Why do the window-panes become covered with mist during cold weather? +Is the mist on the outside or on the inside? Why does steam show as a +white mist? Why does the ice pitcher, on a warm day, become covered +on the outside with drops of water? Would this happen on a cold day? +Why not? + +6. Why, when the water is invisible in the atmosphere, does it become +visible as clouds? What causes the lower edges of cumulus clouds to +be so level? What is fog? Why do clouds occur on mountain peaks? What +causes rain? + +7. What causes dew to form? When the grass is covered with dew, are +the leaves of the higher trees likewise covered? Why not? What kind +of weather must we have in order to have dewy nights? What must be +the atmosphere of the air in relation to that of the ground in order +to condense the dew? Does dew form on windy nights? Why not? Does +all dew come from the air, or does some of it come from the ground +through the plants? Why is not this water, pumped up by the plants, +evaporated? + +8. What happens to the dew if the weather becomes freezing during the +night? What is hoar frost? Why should water change form when it is +frozen? How many forms of frost crystals can you find on the grass on +a frosty morning? + +9. When a pond begins freezing over, what part of it freezes first? +Describe how the first layer of ice is formed over the surface. + +10. Place a bottle of water out of doors in freezing weather. How +does the ice appear in it at first? What happens later? Why does the +bottle break? How is it that water which has filled the crevices of +rocks scales off pieces of the rock in cold weather? Why does winter +wheat “winter-kill” on wet soil? + +11. Why does frost form on a window-pane? How many different figures +can you trace on a frosted pane? Are there any long, needlelike +forms? Are there star forms? Can you find forms that resemble ferns +and trees? Do you sometimes see, on boards or on the pavement, frost +in forms like those on the window-pane? + +[Illustration: _High cloud snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +12. When there is a fine, dry snow falling, take a piece of dark +flannel and catch some flakes upon it. Examine them with a lens, +being careful not to breathe upon them. How many forms of snow +crystals can you find? How many rays are there in the star-shaped +snow crystals? Do you find any solid crystals? Can you find any +crystals that are triangular? When the snow is falling in large, +feathery flakes, can you find the crystals? Why not? + +13. What is the difference between a hailstone and a snow crystal? +What is sleet? + +_Supplementary reading_--Water Wonders, Thompson; Forms of Water, +Tyndall. + + * * * * * + + “_When in the night we wake and hear the rain + Which on the white bloom of the orchard falls, + And on the young, green wheat-blades, where thought recalls + How in the furrow stands the rusting plow, + Then fancy pictures what the day will see-- + The ducklings paddling in the puddled lane, + Sheep grazing slowly up the emerald slope, + Clear bird-notes ringing, and the droning bee + Among the lilac’s bloom--enchanting hope-- + How fair the fading dreams we entertain, + When in the night we wake and hear the rain!_” + --ROBERT BURNS WILSON. + + * * * * * + +“_The thin snow now driving from the north and lodging on my coat +consists of those beautiful star crystals, not cottony and chubby +spokes, but thin and partly transparent crystals. They are about +a tenth of an inch in diameter, perfect little wheels with six +spokes without a tire, or rather with six perfect little leaflets, +fern-like, with a distinct straight and slender midrib, raying from +the center. On each side of each midrib there is a transparent thin +blade with a crenate edge. How full of creative genius is the air +in which these are generated! I should hardly admire more if real +stars fell and lodged on my coat. Nature is full of genius, full +of divinity. Nothing is cheap and coarse, neither dewdrops nor +snowflakes._” + +“_A divinity must have stirred within them before the crystals did +thus shoot and set. Wheels of storm-chariots. The same law that +shapes the earth-star shapes the snow-stars. As surely as the petals +of a flower are fixed, each of these countless snow-stars comes +whirling to earth, pronouncing thus, with emphasis, the number six._” + --THOREAU’S JOURNAL. + + + + +[Illustration: _Temple of the winds at Athens._ + +Photo by J. H. Comstock.] + + + THE WEATHER + + BY WILFORD M. WILSON + +Section Director, U. S. Weather Bureau, and Professor of Meteorology +in Cornell University. + + +[Illustration: + + _Composite snow crystal; the center formed in a high cloud and + the margins in a lower cloud._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +The atmosphere, at the bottom of which we live, may be compared to +a great ocean of air, about two hundred miles deep, resting upon +the earth. The changes and movements that take place in this ocean +of air, the storms that invade it, the clouds that float in it, the +sunshine, the rain, the dew, the sleet, the frost, the snow, and the +hail are termed “weather.” We live in it; we partake of its moods; +we reflect its sunshine and shadows; it invades the everyday affairs +of life, influences every business and social activity, and molds +the character of nations; and yet nearly everything we know about +the weather has been learned within the lifetime of the present +generation. Not that the weather did not interest men of early times, +but the problem appeared to be so complicated and so complex that it +baffled their utmost endeavors. + + + THE TEMPLE OF THE WINDS AT ATHENS + +The Temple of the Winds, erected probably about five hundred years B. +C., indicates the knowledge of the weather possessed by the ancient +Greeks. This temple is a little octagon tower, the eight sides of +which face the eight principal winds. On each of its eight sides is a +human figure cut in the marble, symbolizing the kind of weather the +wind from that particular direction brought to Athens. + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +Boreas, the cold north wind, is represented by the figure of an old +man wearing a thick mantle, high buskins (boots) and blowing on a +“weathered horn.” The northeast wind, which brought, and still brings +to Athens, cold, snow, sleet and hail, is symbolized by a man with +a severe countenance who is rattling slingstones in a shield, thus +expressing the noise made by the falling hail and sleet. + +The east wind, which brought weather favorable to the growth of +vegetation, is shown by the figure of a beautiful youth bearing fruit +and flowers in his tucked-up mantle. + +Natos, the warm south wind, brought rain, and he is about to pour the +water over the earth from the jar which he carries. + +Lips, the southwest wind, beloved of the Greek sailors, drives a ship +before him, while Zephros, the gentle west wind, is represented by a +youth lightly clad, scattering flowers as he goes. + +The northwest wind, which brought dry and sometimes hot weather to +Athens, is symbolized in the figure of a man holding a vessel of +charcoal in his hands. Thus, the character of the weather brought by +each separate wind is fixed in stone, and from this record we learn +that, even with the lapse of twenty centuries, there has come no +material change. + + + HISTORICAL + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +There is no record of any rational progress having been made in +the study of the weather until about the middle of the seventeenth +century, when Torricelli discovered the principles of the barometer. +This was a most important discovery and marks the beginning of the +modern science of meteorology. Soon after Torricelli’s discovery +of the barometer his great teacher, Galileo, discovered the +thermometer, and thus made possible the collection of data upon +which all meteorological investigations are based. About one hundred +years after the discovery of the barometer, Benjamin Franklin made +a discovery of equal importance. He demonstrated that storms were +eddies in the atmosphere, and that they progressed or moved as a +whole, along the surface of the earth. + +It might be interesting to learn how Franklin made this discovery. +Franklin, being interested at that time in astronomy, had arranged +with a friend in Boston to take observations of a lunar eclipse +at the same time that he, himself, was to take observations at +Philadelphia. On the night of the eclipse a terrific northeast wind +and rain storm set in at Philadelphia, and Franklin was unable to +make any observations. He reasoned, that as the wind blew from the +northeast, the storm must have been experienced in Boston before it +reached Philadelphia. But imagine his surprise, when he heard from +his friend in Boston that the night had been clear and favorable +for observation, but that a fierce wind and rain storm set in on +the following morning. Franklin determined to investigate. He sent +out letters of inquiry to all surrounding mail stations, asking for +the time of the beginning and ending of the storm, the direction +and strength of the wind, etc. When the information contained in +the replies was charted on a map it showed that, at all places +to the southwest of Philadelphia, the beginning of the storm was +earlier than at Philadelphia, while at all places to the northeast +of Philadelphia the beginning of the storm was later than at +Philadelphia. Likewise, the ending was earlier to the southwest and +later to the northeast of Philadelphia than at Philadelphia. He also +found that the winds in every instance passed through a regular +sequence, setting in from some easterly point and veering to the +south as the storm progressed, then to the southeast and finally +to the west or northwest as the storm passed away and the weather +cleared. + +A further study of these facts convinced Franklin that the storm was +an eddy in the atmosphere, and that the eddy moved as a whole from +the southwest toward the northeast, and that the winds blew from all +directions toward the center of the eddy, impelled by what he termed +suction. + +Franklin was so far in advance of his time that his ideas about +storms made little impression on his contemporaries, and so it +remained for Redfield, Espy, Loomis, Henry and Maury and other +American meteorologists, a hundred years later, to show that Franklin +had gained the first essentially correct and adequate conception of +the structure and movement of storms. + +During the first half of the nineteenth century, considerable +progress was made in the study of storms, principally by American +meteorologists, among whom was William Redfield of New York, who +first demonstrated that storms had both a rotary and progressive +movement. James Espy followed Redfield in the construction of weather +maps, although he had already published much on meteorological +subjects before the latter entered the field. + +Professor Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution +at Washington, was the first to prepare a daily weather map from +observations collected by telegraph. He made no attempt to make +forecasts, but used his weather map to demonstrate to members of +Congress the feasibility of a national weather service. + +An incident occurred during the Crimean War that gave meteorology a +great impetus, especially in Europe. On November 10th, 1854, while +the French fleet was at anchor in the Black Sea, a storm of great +intensity occurred which practically destroyed its effectiveness +against the enemy. The investigation that followed showed that the +storm came from western Europe, and had there been adequate means of +communication and its character and direction of progress been known, +it would have been possible to have warned the fleet of its approach +and thus afforded an opportunity for its protection. + +This report created a profound impression among scientific men and +active measures were taken at once that resulted in the organization +of weather services in the principal countries of Europe between 1855 +and 1860. + +The work of Professor Henry Abbe, and others in this country would, +doubtless, have resulted in such an organization in the United States +in the early 60’s, had not the Civil War intervened, absorbing +public attention to the exclusion of other matters. It was not until +1870, that Dr. Increase A. Lapham of Milwaukee, in conjunction with +Representative Paine of that city, was able so to present the claims +for a national weather service that the act was finally passed that +gave birth to the present meteorological bureau in the United States. +Dr. Lapham issued from Chicago on November 10, 1871, the first +official forecast of the weather made in this country. + + + THE ATMOSPHERE + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +What is known about the atmosphere of our earth has been learned from +the exploration of a comparatively thin layer at the bottom. There +is reason to believe that the atmosphere extends upwards about two +hundred miles from the surface of the earth. We have a great mass +of observations made at the surface, some on mountains, but few in +the free air more than a few miles above the surface. Our knowledge +of the upper atmosphere is, therefore, in the nature of conclusions +drawn from such observations as are at hand, and is subject to +changes and modifications as the facts become known by actual +observation. + +During the past few years a concerted effort has been made in +various parts of the world to explore the upper atmosphere by means +of kites and balloons, carrying meteorological instruments that +automatically record the temperature, pressure, humidity, velocity +and direction of the wind, etc. In this country this work has been +carried on principally at the Mount Weather Observatory, which is +located in Loudon County, Virginia, and is under the direction of +the United States Weather Bureau and at Blue Hill Observatory, a +private institution located near Boston and supported by Professor +Lawrence Rotch. From observations thus obtained much has been learned +about the upper atmosphere that was not even suspected before. Some +theories have been confirmed and some destroyed, but this line of +research is gradually bringing us nearer the truth. + + + _Air as a Gas_ + +Air is not a simple substance, as was once supposed, but is composed +of a number of gases, each one of which tends to form an atmosphere +of its own, just as it would if none of the other gases were present. +The different gases of the atmosphere are not chemically combined but +are very thoroughly mixed, as one might mix sugar and salt. Samples +of air collected from all parts of the world show that the relative +proportion of the gases forming the atmosphere is practically uniform. + + + _The Composition of Air_ + +Dry air is composed chiefly of oxygen and nitrogen. There are, +however, small quantities of carbon dioxide, argon, helium, krepton, +neon, hydrogen and xenon, and probably other gases yet to be +discovered. + +The approximate proportion, by volume is as follows: Nitrogen 78 +parts, oxygen 21 parts, argon 1 part, carbon-dioxide .03 parts, and +krepton helium and xenon a trace. Pure dry air does not exist in +nature, so there is always present in natural air a variable amount +of water vapor, depending upon the temperature and the source of +supply. Besides these, which may be termed the permanent constituents +of the atmosphere, many other substances are occasionally met with. +Lightning produces minute quantities of ammonia, nitrous acid +and ozone. Dust comes from the earth, salt from the sea, while +innumerable micro-organisms, most of which are harmless, besides the +pollen and spores of plants, are frequently found floating in the +atmosphere. Recent investigations in atmospheric electricity lead +to the conclusion that electric ions are also present, and perform +important functions, especially with respect to precipitation. + + + _Oxygen_ + +Oxygen is one of the most common substances. It exists in the +atmosphere as a transparent, odorless, tasteless gas. It combines +with hydrogen to form the water of the oceans, and with various other +substances to form much of the solid crust of the earth. Chemically, +it is a very active gas, and because of its tendency to unite with +other substances to form chemical compounds, it is believed that the +volume of oxygen now in the atmosphere, is less than during the early +history of the earth. It supports combustion by combining with carbon +and other substances, producing light and heat. It combines with +some of the organic constituents of the blood, through the function +of respiration, which is in itself a slow process of combustion, and +thus supports life and maintains the bodily heat. + + + _Nitrogen_ + +Nitrogen forms the largest proportion of the atmosphere, but unlike +oxygen it is a very inert substance, uniting with no element at +ordinary temperatures, and at high temperatures with only a few; +and when so united the bonds that hold it are easily broken and the +gas set free. For this reason, it is utilized in the manufacture of +explosives, such as gunpowder, guncotton, nitroglycerine, dynamite, +etc. Its office in the atmosphere appears to be to give the air +greater weight and to dilute the oxygen, for in an atmosphere of +pure oxygen a fire once started could not be controlled. Although +nitrogen does not contribute directly to animal life, in that it +is not absorbed and assimilated from the air direct as oxygen is, +nevertheless, it is a very important element of food both for animals +and plants, and in combination with other substances forms a large +proportion of animal and vegetable tissues. + + + _Carbon Dioxide_ + +Carbonic acid gas, known chemically as CO₂ is a product of +combustion. It results from the burning of fuel and is exhaled by +the breathing of animals. It also results from certain chemical +reactions. The amount in the atmosphere varies slightly, being +somewhat greater at night than by day and during cloudy weather +than during clear weather. Air containing more than 0.06% of carbon +dioxide is not fit to breathe, not because air loaded with carbon +dioxide is poisonous, but because it excludes the oxygen and thus +produces death by suffocation. It is considerably heavier than air, +and in certain localities, where it is emitted from the ground, +accumulates in low places in such quantities as to suffocate +animals. Death’s Gulch, a deep ravine in Yellowstone Park, and Dog’s +Grotto near Naples, are examples. At the latter place, the gas, +on account of being heavier than air, lies so close to the ground +that a man, standing erect, will have no difficulty in breathing, +while a dog will die of suffocation. It also accumulates in unused +wells, cisterns and mines, and can usually be detected by lowering a +lighted candle. If carbon dioxide is present in large quantities, the +candle will be extinguished because of the lack of oxygen to support +combustion. + +Although carbon dioxide forms but a small proportion of the +atmosphere, it is a very important element in plant life. Animals +consume oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, while plants take in +carbon dioxide and give off oxygen; thus, the amount of these gases +in the atmosphere is maintained at an equilibrium. Plants, through +their leaves, absorb the carbon dioxide, which is decomposed by the +sunlight, returning the oxygen free into the air, while the carbon is +used to build up plant tissue. + + + _Other Gases_ + +Argon, on account of its resemblance to nitrogen, was not discovered +until 1894, having been included with the nitrogen in all previous +analyses of air. It constitutes about 1% of air by volume. Krepton, +neon and xenon exist in minute quantities and have some interest +chemically, but little for the meteorologists. Helium and hydrogen +probably exist at great elevations in the atmosphere. + + + _Water Vapor_ + +The vapor of water in the atmosphere varies from about one per cent. +for arid regions to about five per cent. of the weight of the air for +warm, humid regions. It is a little over one-half as heavy as air +and moist air is, therefore, lighter than dry air; but the increase +of moisture near the center of cyclones has only a slight effect in +reducing the pressure. The amount of vapor decreases very rapidly +with elevation, and probably disappears at an elevation of five or +six miles above the surface. The amount of water in the form of vapor +that can exist in the atmosphere increases with the temperature, +being .54 grains Troy per cubic foot at zero temperature and 14.81 at +90°. When the air has taken up all the moisture it can contain at a +given temperature it is said to be saturated. + +The dewpoint is the temperature at which saturation occurs. If the +air is saturated, the temperature of the air and the dewpoint will be +the same, but if the air is not saturated the dewpoint will be below +that of the air. + +Relative humidity is expressed in percentages of the amount necessary +to saturate. If the air contains one-half enough vapor to saturate +it, the relative humidity will be 50%; if one-fourth, enough to +saturate, 25%; if saturated 100% etc. + +The absolute humidity is the actual amount of water in the form +of vapor in the air, and is usually expressed by weight in grains +per cubic foot or in inches of mercury, the weight of which would +counterbalance the weight of the vapor in the air. The conditions +present in a volume of saturated air at a temperature of 32° may be +expressed as follows: Relative humidity 100%; dewpoint 32°; absolute +humidity 2.11 grains per cu. ft. or .18 inch. + + + _Pressure of Atmosphere_ + +Although the atmosphere is composed of these various gases, it acts +in all respects like a simple, single gas. It is very elastic, easily +compressed, expands when heated and contracts when cooled. It is +acted upon by gravity and, therefore, has weight and exerts pressure, +which at sea level amount to about 14.7 pounds on each square inch of +the surface. Because it is compressible and has weight, it is more +dense at the surface than at any elevation above the surface, and +as we ascend in the atmosphere the weight or pressure decreases in +proportion to the weight of that part of the atmosphere left below. +The weight or pressure of the atmosphere is measured by means of a +barometer and is expressed in terms of inches of mercury. The normal +atmosphere at sea level will sustain a column of mercury about thirty +inches high, and we therefore say that the normal pressure of the +atmosphere is thirty inches. (See Lessons on air pressure and the +barometer.) + + + _The Height of the Atmosphere_ + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +The air that surrounds the earth is called its atmosphere, but it is +a rather curious fact that the earth has really ten atmospheres and +may have others not yet discovered. + +The air near the surface is a mixture of eight different gases, and +each individual gas arranges itself so as to form an atmosphere +just as it would if no other gases were present. Thus, the earth is +surrounded by an atmosphere of oxygen, an atmosphere of nitrogen, one +of carbon dioxide, one of water vapor, one each of argon, krypton, +neon, and xenon, while hydrogen and helium are believed to exist at +great elevations above the earth’s surface. + +These gases are kept from flying off into space by the force of +gravity, just as a piece of iron, stone, or a building is held fast +to the earth by the same force. Gravity acts with greater force on +some things than on others. For example, a piece of iron is pulled +down by gravity with greater force than is a piece of wood of the +same size; likewise, a piece of lead is pulled down with greater +force than a piece of iron. We, therefore, say that iron is heavier +than wood and that lead is heavier than iron, simply because gravity +acts with greater force on the one than on the other. The weight of +gases differ just as the weight of different solids, such as lead, +wood or iron differ. For instance, nitrogen is 14 and oxygen 16 times +heavier than hydrogen. + +Gases having the least weight extend upward the farthest, because the +lighter the gas the greater its expansive force. Every boy who rides +a bicycle takes advantage of the expansive force of air when he pumps +his tires. The air is compressed by the pump into the tube and the +expansive force exerted by the air in trying to expand makes the tire +“stand up.” If it requires 10 pounds pressure to compress the gas +into the tube, the expansive force will be just ten pounds. + +There are two forces in constant operation on each gas that surrounds +the earth, viz., expansive force and gravity. Expansive force pushes +the gas up and gravity pulls it down, but the force of gravity +decreases as the distance from the center of the earth increases, +so there is a point at a certain distance above the earth where the +two forces just balance each other, and each gas will expand upward +to that point but will not rise beyond it. Therefore, if we know the +expansive force of a gas and the rate at which gravity decreases, it +is possible to calculate the height to which the different gases that +compose the air will rise. + +In this way it has been determined that carbon dioxide, which is one +of the heavier gases, extends upward about ten miles, water vapor +about 12 miles, oxygen about 30 miles and nitrogen about 35 miles +while hydrogen and helium, the lightest gases known, do not appear at +the surface at all, but probably exist at a height of from 30 miles +to possibly 200 miles. + +[Illustration: _The zone of twilight in midwinter._ + +From Todd’s New Astronomy.] + +There are other ways in which we are able to gain some idea of the +approximate height at which there is an appreciable atmosphere. When +the rays of light from the sun enter our atmosphere they are broken +up or scattered--diffracted--so that the atmosphere is partially +lighted for some time before sunrise and after sunset. This is called +twilight. If there were no atmosphere, there would be no twilight, +and darkness would fall the instant the sun passed below the horizon. +Twilight, which is caused by the sun shining on the upper atmosphere, +is perceptible until the sun is about 16° below the horizon. From +this it is calculated that the atmosphere has sufficient density at a +height of 40 miles to scatter, or diffract, sunlight. + +Observations of meteors, commonly called shooting stars, indicate +that there is an appreciable atmosphere at a height of nearly 200 +miles. Meteors are solid bodies flying with great velocity through +space. Occasionally they enter our atmosphere. Their velocity is so +great that the slight resistance offered by the air generates enough +heat by friction, or by the compression of the air in the path of the +meteor, to make it red hot or to burn it up before it reaches the +bottom of the atmosphere. Only the largest meteors reach the earth. + +When a meteor is observed by two or more persons at a known distance +from each other, and the angle which the line of vision makes with +the horizon is noted by each, it is a simple matter to calculate +the distance from the earth where the lines of vision intersect, +and thus determine the height of the meteor. In this way, reliable +observations have given the height at which there is sufficient +density in the atmosphere to render meteors luminous as 188 miles. + + + _Temperature of the Atmosphere_ + +The condition of the atmosphere with respect to its temperature is +determined by means of the thermometer. This instrument is in such +common use that a detailed description is not necessary. It might be +interesting to note that the instrument invented by Galileo was very +different from those now in use. Galileo’s original thermometer was +what is known as an air thermometer, and its operation when subjected +to different degrees of heat or cold depended upon the expansion and +contraction of air instead of mercury or alcohol. It had one serious +defect, viz., the length of a column of air is affected by pressure +as well as by temperature and it was, therefore, necessary, when +using this thermometer, to obtain the pressure of the atmosphere by +means of the barometer before the temperature could be determined. +This is obviated in the modern thermometer by the use of mercury or +alcohol in a vacuum tube. Mercury is not used when it is expected +to register very low temperatures, because it congeals at about 45 +degrees below zero Fahr. + + + _Thermometer Scales in Use_ + +There are three systems in common use for marking the degrees on the +scale, viz., Fahrenheit, Centigrade and Reaumur. + +The Fahrenheit scale was the invention of a German by that name, but +it is worthy of note that this scale is used principally by English +speaking nations and is not in common use in Germany. Fahrenheit +found that by mixing snow and salt he was able to obtain a very low +temperature, and believing that the temperature thus obtained was the +lowest possible he started his scale at that point, which he called +zero. He then fixed the freezing temperature of water 32 degrees +above this zero, and the boiling point of water at 212 degrees. There +are, therefore, 180 divisions or degrees between the freezing and +boiling point of water on the Fahrenheit scale. + +The Centigrade scale starts with zero at the freezing point of water +and makes the boiling point 100. Thus 180 degrees on the Fahrenheit +scale equal 100 degrees on the Centigrade. The Fahrenheit degree +is, therefore, only a little more than half as large, to be exact +five-ninths of a degree, as a degree on the Centigrade scale. The +Centigrade scale is in common use in France and is used almost +exclusively in all scientific work throughout the world. + +The Reaumur scale is used generally in Russia and quite commonly in +some parts of Europe, especially in Germany. On this scale the zero +is placed at the freezing point of water and the boiling point at +80 degrees. The divisions are, therefore, larger than those of the +Centigrade scale and more than twice as large as the Fahrenheit. The +general use of these different scales has led to endless confusion +and made the comparison of records difficult, so that even at the +present time when making a temperature record it is necessary to +indicate the scale in use. + + + _Distribution of the Temperature and Pressure_ + +The heat received on the earth from the sun is the controlling factor +in all weather conditions. If the earth were composed of all land or +all water, and the amount of heat received were everywhere the same +throughout the year, there would be no winds, no storms and probably +no clouds and no rain, because the force of gravity, which acts on +everything on the earth’s surface and on the air as well, would soon +settle all differences and the atmosphere would become perfectly +still. But the earth is composed of land and water and the land +heats up more rapidly under sunshine than the water and also gives +off--“radiates” its heat more rapidly than water. As a result, the +air over the land is warmer in summer than the air over the water. +During the winter this is reversed, and the air over the oceans is +warmer than the air over the land. The great ocean currents, by +carrying the heat from the equatorial regions toward the poles, and +by bringing the cold from the polar regions toward the equator, +assist in maintaining a constant difference in temperature between +the continents and the adjacent oceans. + +Furthermore, the fact that the path of the earth about the sun is +not a circle but an ellipse, and that the axis of the earth is +not perpendicular to the plane of its orbit, result in an unequal +distribution of heat over the surface. It is always warmer near the +equator than at the poles, and warmer in summer than in winter. All +these differences in temperature cause corresponding differences in +density, which, in turn, cause differences in weight or pressure over +various parts of the earth’s surface. These changes are, in no way, +the result of chance but are determined by the operation of fixed +natural laws, and with this in mind we may now take up the study of +the winds of the world. + + + THE WINDS OF THE WORLD + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +The general circulation of the atmosphere may be best studied by +disregarding those smaller differences of temperature and pressure +that result from local causes and by viewing the earth and its +atmosphere as a whole, considering only those larger differences +which are in constant operation. In the great oceans of the world we +find the water constantly moving in a very systematic manner, and we +call this system of movements ocean currents. The Gulf Stream, the +Equatorial Current, the Japan Current and others may be likened to +great rivers of water moving systematically on their courses in the +ocean. + +There are greater rivers of air in the atmosphere than any in the +oceans, and they move on their courses with equally systematic +precision and in obedience to fixed laws, which we may in a measure +understand. + +The river, at the bottom of which we live, is broad and deep, +extending in width from Florida northward nearly to the north pole. +It flows from west to east circling the globe and its name is The +Prevailing Westerlies. The other river in this hemisphere extends +southward from latitude about 35° nearly to the equator. Its name is +The Northeast Trade Winds. + +In the southern hemisphere are two similar rivers, one extending +southward from latitude about 30° nearly to the south pole with its +current, like its counterpart in the northern hemisphere, flowing +from west to east, circling the globe. It is also called The +Prevailing Westerlies. The other river in the southern hemisphere +extends from about latitude 30° northward nearly to the equator +and flows from the southeast toward the northwest, hence the name +Southeast Trade Winds. The dividing line, or bank, between the rivers +in each hemisphere belts the earth at about 35° north and 30° south +of the equator. Why does the air move and why does it move in such a +regular, systematic manner? To answer these questions we will rely +upon gravity, the heat from the sun and the effect of the rotation of +the earth on moving wind currents. + +[Illustration: WINDS OF THE WORLD] + +Everyone knows that water flows down hill because of the force of +gravity. Gravity is nature’s great peacemaker. It is always trying to +settle disturbances, even things up, smooth them over. If there were +no winds to bring rain to the land or to stir up the ocean, gravity +would soon run all the water into the lakes and the seas, and then +smooth them out like sheets of glass; and if there were nothing to +stir up the winds, gravity would soon settle all differences in the +atmosphere and the air would become perfectly quiet. So gravity is +kept busy trying to smooth out the water which the wind stirs up, at +the same time trying to quiet the winds which are stirred up by the +heat of the sun. + +Tyndall says that heat is a mode of motion, that when heat is +imparted to a substance the molecules of which it is composed are +set into very rapid vibration. They are continually trying to get +away from each other and usually succeed in getting more space, +and thus increase the size or volume of the substance, or, in +other words, expand it. Iron, brass, copper, water and many other +substances expand under heat. Air is a gas and expands very rapidly +when heated. One cubic foot of cold air becomes two cubic feet when +heated. Now gravity pulls things down toward the center of the earth +in accordance with their weight-density, and a cubic foot of cold +air, being more dense and thus heavier than an equal volume of warm +air, is pulled down with greater force. We, therefore, say that warm +air is lighter than cold air, and if lighter it will rise. What it +actually does is to press equally in all directions and when a place +is found where there is less resistance than elsewhere it moves in +that direction. So when heat causes air to expand and become lighter +than the surrounding cool air, it moves, and air in motion is _wind_. + +[Illustration: _Fig. 1. Diagram showing air currents set up by sun’s +heat._] + +This diagram represents a section of the atmosphere over a broad, +level plain with the air at rest and pressing down equally on every +part of the surface. The dotted line H represents the top of the +quiet atmosphere. Such a condition occurs frequently at night after +the heat from the sun is withdrawn and gravity has settled the +atmosphere. When the rays of the sun fall upon the earth upon which +this quiet air rests they warm the earth first, then the layer of +air immediately in contact with the surface, so the atmosphere is +heated from the bottom upward. We will assume that the layer of air +between the earth and the dotted line, G, is thus heated to a higher +temperature than the air above it. It will, therefore, expand. It +cannot expand downward because of the earth. It cannot expand much +laterally because it is pressed upon by air that is also seeking more +space. It, therefore, expands upward as represented by the line A B +C. Now in expanding upward it lifts all the air above it and the line +H, representing the top of the atmosphere, will become bowed upward +also as indicated by the line A′ B′ C′. As a result, the air at the +top of the atmosphere over the warm center slides down the slopes +on either side toward the cool margins. As soon as the flow of air +away from the warm center begins, just that instant the pressure upon +the heated layer at the surface is relieved and the warm air rushes +upward (is pushed upward) and the whole circulation, as indicated by +the arrows, begins. It must be remembered that gravity is the really +active force in maintaining this movement, because it pulls down the +denser, heavier air at the cool margins with greater force than the +warm, expanded, light air at the warm center. The descent of the cool +air actually lifts the warm air. + +The normal pressure, or weight, of the atmosphere at sea level is +about 14.7 pounds on each square inch of surface. It is customary, +however, to express the weight of the atmosphere in terms of inches +of mercury instead of in pounds and ounces. A column of air one +inch square from sea level to the top of the atmosphere will just +counterbalance a column of mercury 30.00 inches high in a barometer +tube of the same size. We, therefore, say that the normal pressure +of the atmosphere at sea level is about 30.00 inches. If, for any +reason, the atmosphere becomes heavier than normal, it will raise +the column of mercury above the 30 inch mark, and we say that the +pressure is “high.” If the atmosphere becomes lighter than normal, +we say that the pressure is “low.” So high pressure means a heavy +atmosphere and low pressure a light atmosphere. + +At the beginning we assumed that the atmosphere over the broad, level +plain was quiet and that it pressed down equally on every part of +the surface. We will now assume that the pressure was normal, or +30.00 inches, and note the changes in pressure that result from the +interchange of air between the warm center and the cool margins. So +long as none of the air raised by the expanding layer at the surface, +moved away toward the cool margins, no change in pressure occurred; +but the instant the air began to glide down the slopes away from the +warm center, then the pressure at the surface decreased, because, +some air having moved away, there was less to press down than before. +The pressure at the warm center, therefore, became less than 30.00 +inches, or in other words, low. Likewise, the air as it moved away +from the warm center, having lost much of its heat during its ascent, +was gradually pulled down by gravity because of its greater density, +thus increasing the pressure over the cool margins. We, therefore, +have low pressure at the warm center, 29.90 inches and high pressure, +30.10 inches, at the cool margins. From this illustration we obtain +the six principles of convectional circulation, viz.: + + 1. Low pressure at warm center. + 2. High pressure at cool margins. + 3. Ascending currents at warm center. + 4. Descending currents at cool margins. + 5. Surface winds from high pressure to low pressure. + 6. Upper currents from low pressure to high pressure. + +[Illustration: _Fig. 2. Isobars of the world._] + +Now, we all know that the temperature of air is much higher at the +equator than at the poles and we may, therefore, let Fig. 1 represent +a section of the atmosphere along any meridian from the north to +the south pole. The equator would then become the warm center and +the poles the cool margins. We would then expect to find a belt +of low pressure around the world near the equator because of the +high temperature, and high pressure at the poles because of the low +temperature. We would, also, expect to find ascending currents at the +equator; upper currents flowing from the equator toward the poles; +descending currents at the poles, and surface winds blowing from the +poles toward the equator. Let us now test our theory by actual facts +and see how far they are in accord. + +The chart, Fig. 2, represents the normal, or average, pressure at sea +level for the world, and if our theory is in accord with the facts, +we should find a belt of low pressure all around the world near the +equator, with areas of high pressure at the poles. Let us examine the +chart. Beginning at the equator, and bearing in mind that the normal +pressure is about 30.00 inches, we find irregular lines, representing +pressures of 29.90 inches--slightly below normal--around the world +on both sides of the equator. Between these lines we find pressure +as low as 29.80. It is, therefore, evident that there is a belt of +low pressure around the world near the equator, as anticipated. Let +us look for the high pressure at the poles. We have comparatively +few observations near the poles, but the line nearest the south pole +is marked 29.30 inches, a surprisingly low pressure, much lower even +than the low belt at the equator, and just the reverse of what we +expected to find. When we look at the north pole we find that the +pressure is not so low as at the south pole, but still below normal +and about as low as at the equator. Going north and south from the +equator we find that the pressure increases gradually up to about +latitude 35° in the northern hemisphere and to about latitude 30° in +the southern, after which it decreases toward the poles. So there +are two well marked belts of high pressure circling the globe; the +one about 35° north, and the other about 30°, south of the equator. +May it not be significant that these belts of high pressure coincide +so nearly with the margins, or banks, of the air rivers mentioned on +page 867? + +Thus far our theory does not accord very well with the facts. True, +we found the low pressure at the equator as anticipated; but we also +found low pressure at the poles, where the reverse was expected; +and the high pressure that we anticipated at the poles, we found +not far north and south of the equator. We will, therefore, have to +discard our theory, or reconstruct it to accord with the facts. Let +us reconstruct Fig. 1, and mark the pressure on the line representing +the earth’s surface along any meridian to accord with the facts as +they appear on Fig. 2. + +[Illustration: _Fig. 3. Diagram showing air currents along any +meridian._] + +The above diagram now represents the true pressure along any +meridian, as determined by actual observations, and we cannot +escape the conviction that the requirements as to temperature and +pressure at the warm center are fulfilled by the high temperature +and low pressure found at the equator. Furthermore, the temperature +decreases north and south from the equator, and thus the belts +of high pressure near the tropics may be taken to represent the +conditions at the cool margins. The first and second principles of a +convectional circulation, viz., low pressure at the warm center and +a high pressure at the cool margins, are thus fulfilled. To satisfy +the remaining conditions, we should find ascending currents near the +equator, upper currents flowing from the equator toward the tropical +belts of high pressure, descending currents at the tropics, and +surface winds blowing from the tropics toward the equator. Let us now +examine the surface winds of the world as illustrated by the diagram +on page 867. + +On either side of the equator and blowing toward it, we find the +famous trade winds--the most constant and steady winds of the world. +Their northern and southern margins coincide with the tropical belts +of high pressure. They blow from high pressure to low pressure and +we cannot doubt that they act in obedience to the fifth principle +of convectional circulation. From observation of the lofty, cirrus +clouds in the trade wind belts, we have abundant evidence of upper +currents, flowing away from the equator toward the tropical belts of +high pressure; thus the sixth principle is satisfied. The torrential +rains and violent thunderstorms, characteristic of the equatorial +regions, bear evidence to the rapid cooling of the ascending currents +near the equator; while the clear, cool weather and light winds of +the Horse Latitudes clearly indicate the presence of descending +currents at the tropics. Thus, the six principles of a convectional +circulation are satisfied, and the evidence is conclusive that the +trade winds form a part of a convectional circulation between the +tropical belts of high pressure and the equatorial belt of low +pressure. + +You have doubtless observed that the trade winds do not blow directly +toward the equator but are turned to the west so that they blow from +the northeast in the northern hemisphere, and from the southeast in +the southern. This peculiarity is not in strict accord with our ideas +of a simple convectional circulation and suggests, at least, the +presence of some outside influence. If we turn to Ferre’s treatise +on the winds, we find a demonstration of the following principle: +a free moving body, such as air, in moving over the surface of a +rotating globe, such as the earth, describes a path on the surface +that turns to the right of the direction of motion in the northern +hemisphere and to the left in the southern. The curvature of the path +increases with the latitude, being zero at the equator and greatest +at the poles, and is independent of direction. With this in mind, +if we take position at the northern limit of the trade winds in the +northern hemisphere and face the equator, (see p. 867), we find that +the winds moving toward the equator turn to our right; likewise, if +we face the equator from the southern limit of the southeast trades, +we find them turning to our left. Observations of upper clouds in +the trade wind belts show that the upper currents also turn to the +right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in the southern. It +is, therefore, clear that the systematic turning of the trade winds +from the meridian is due to the rotation of the earth. The value of +a force at various latitudes and for various velocities that would +cause a body to turn away from a straight line, is purely a problem +in mathematics, and for the benefit of those versed in the science +the formula is given. The amount of such a force is expressed by +2 MVW sin D, where M is the mass, V the velocity, W the angular +rotation of the earth, and D the latitude. + +Not all of us may be able to solve the problem, but we may understand +something of the effect of the rotation of the earth on moving wind +currents. It is a well-known principle of physics that if a body +be given a motion in any direction, it will continue to move in a +straight line by reason of its inertia, without reference to north, +south, east or west. A personal experience of this principle may be +gained in a street car while it is rounding a curve. + +[Illustration: _Diagram showing effect of earth’s rotation on the +atmosphere._] + +In this diagram, we have a view of the northern hemisphere. The +direction of the rotation is indicated by the curved arrows outside +the circle representing the equator. Suppose that a wind starts from +the equator, moving along the meridian A directly toward the north +pole. It is clear that it cannot continue to move along the meridian, +because the direction of the meridian with reference to space, is +continually changing, and the inertia of the wind compels it to move +in a straight line without reference to the points of the compass. +So when the meridian A has been moved to B by the rotation of the +earth, the wind, although it maintains its original direction, no +longer points toward the pole but to the right of the pole. Likewise, +a wind starting from the pole toward the equator also turns to the +right of the meridians and becomes a northeast wind as it approaches +the equator. A wind moving east or west, also turns to the right of +the parallels for the same reason. So a wind starting out from the +equator with the best possible intention of hitting the pole, and all +the while continuing in the same straight line, will miss the pole by +many miles, and always on the right side in the northern and on the +left side in the southern hemisphere. Thus, the oblique movement of +both the trade winds and the prevailing westerlies is accounted for. + +It now remains to consider the cause of the unexpected low pressure +found at the poles, and the reason for the belts of high pressure +at the tropics. If we refer to Fig. 2, it is evident that not all +the air that ascends at the equator descends at the tropics, else +there would be an absence of air at the higher latitudes, which is +manifestly not the case. On the other hand, it is equally impossible +that all the air ascending at the equator should move to the poles, +because the space it could occupy decreases rapidly from a maximum at +the equator to zero at the poles. Only a part of the air that ascends +at the equator is, therefore, involved in the trade wind circulation +and a part passes over the tropics and moves on toward the low +pressure at the poles. Furthermore, some of the air that descends at +the tropics moves along the surface toward the poles, obeying the law +that impels air to move from high pressure to low pressure. Now every +particle of air that passes over the tropics, every particle that +moves northward along the surface, turns to the right in the northern +and to the left in the southern hemisphere. All, therefore, miss the +poles--on the right side in the northern and on the left side in +the southern hemisphere. The result is that two great whirlpools +develop in the atmosphere; one whirling about the north and the other +whirling about the south pole. The outer margins of these whirlpools +coincide with the tropical belts of high pressure. + +[Illustration: CIRCUMPOLAR WHIRL] + +As an example of a whirlpool we may take a basin having a vent at the +center of the bottom. If the basin is filled with water, the plug +withdrawn and the water given a slight rotary motion, its velocity +will increase as it approaches the center and the rapid whirling will +develop sufficient centrifugal force to open an empty core. Those +who have visited the great whirlpool at Niagara, undoubtedly noticed +that the whirling waters are held away from the center and piled up +around the margins by the centrifugal force developed. Let us suppose +that air starting from the equator, moves without friction or other +resistances toward the pole. Its velocity must increase as its radius +shortens, because the law of the conservation of areas requires that +the radius must always sweep over equal areas in a given unit of +time. (See law of conservation of areas.) At the equator, the air +has an easterly motion equal to the eastward motion of the earth, +which is 1,000 miles per hour. At latitude 60° the radius will have +decreased one-half and the velocity, therefore, doubled; but at +latitude 60° the eastward motion of the earth is only 500 miles per +hour, so the air would be moving 1,500 miles per hour faster than the +earth. At a distance of 40 miles from the pole the wind would attain +an easterly velocity of 100,000 miles per hour, and moving on so +short a radius would develop sufficient centrifugal force to hold all +the air away from the pole and thus form a vacuum. That the supposed +case of no friction is far from the truth is evidenced by the fact +that the pressure at the north pole is but little less than at the +equator, but the centrifugal force developed by the gyration winds, +in thus withdrawing the air from the poles and piling it up at the +tropics, may be fairly taken as sufficient cause for the low pressure +found at the poles and the belts of high pressure at the tropics. + +The questions that remain to be considered are: (1) the low pressure +at the south pole as compared with the pressure at the north pole and +(2) the unequal distance of the tropical belts of high pressure from +the equator. These questions may be considered together. + +It is to be remembered that the southern hemisphere is the water +hemisphere, and that the prevailing westerlies, in gliding over +the smooth water surface, are but little retarded by friction and, +therefore, attain a higher velocity than the corresponding winds of +the northern hemisphere, where the rougher surface materially retards +their movement. As a consequence, the circumpolar whirl of the +southern hemisphere is stronger, and develops a greater centrifugal +force, thus holding a larger quantity of air away from the south pole +and reducing the pressure to a greater degree than is brought about +by the weaker winds of the northern hemisphere. + +Since the circumpolar whirl of the southern hemisphere is the +stronger of the two, it withdraws the air to a greater distance from +the pole than does its weaker counterpart of the northern hemisphere, +and piles it up in the tropical belt of high pressure about five +degrees nearer the equator than does the weaker forces of the +northern hemisphere. + + + STORMS + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +Having gained a comprehensive view of the general, planetary wind +system, we may now undertake the study of local disturbances that +arise within the general circulation and are known as “storms.” + +Storms are simply eddies in the atmosphere. They may be compared to +the eddies that are often seen floating along with the current of a +river or creek. In these eddies the water is seen to move rapidly +around a central vertex, developing sufficient centrifugal force to +hold some of the water away from the center, thus forming a well +marked depression, frequently of considerable depth. The whole +circulation of the eddy is quite independent of the current of the +stream which carries it along its course, and while its general +direction and velocity of movement coincide with that of the current, +there are times when it will be seen to move quickly from side to +side and again when it will remain nearly stationary for a time or +take on a rapid movement. + +The eddies or storms in the atmosphere act in much the same way. +They are carried along by the general currents of the river of air +in which they exist. Their general direction coincides with the +direction of the current in which they are floating, and their rate +of movement conforms in a general way to its velocity; but like the +eddies in the river, they do not always move in straight lines nor at +a uniform rate of speed. + +There is one important respect in which the eddies in the air +differ from eddies in water. The water eddy may revolve in either +direction, depending upon the direction in which the initial force +was applied, but the storm eddies in the atmosphere always revolve +counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the +southern. + +This is due to the deflecting force of the earth’s rotation, which is +fully explained on page 872. + + + WEATHER MAPS + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +A weather map is a sort of flashlight photograph of a section of the +bottom of one or more of these great rivers of air. It brings into +view the whole meteorological situation over a large territory at a +given instant of time; and, while a single map conveys no indication +of the movements continually taking place in the atmosphere, a series +of maps, like a moving picture, shows not only the whirling eddies, +the hurrying clouds and the fast-moving winds, but the ceaseless +on-flow of the great river of air in which they float. Our present +knowledge of the movements of the atmosphere has been gained chiefly +from a study of weather maps; they form the basis of the modern +system of weather forecasting, and their careful study is essential +to any adequate understanding of the problems presented by the +atmosphere. (See pages 884–885.) + + + _The Principles of Weather Forecasting_ + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +The forecasting of the weather has been made possible by the electric +telegraph. It is based upon a perfectly simple, rational process +constantly employed in everyday affairs. We go to a railway station +and ask the operator about a certain train. He tells us that it +will arrive in an hour. We accept his statement without question, +because we are confident that he knows the speed at which the train +is approaching, a few clicks of his telegraph instrument has told +him just where it is and the time it will arrive, barring accidents, +is a simple calculation. Information of coming weather changes are +obtained in a similar manner. Although storms do not run on steel +rails like a train, nevertheless their movements may be foreseen with +a reasonable degree of accuracy, depending chiefly upon the size of +the territory from which telegraphic reports are received and the +experience and skill of the forecaster. As a rule, the larger the +territory brought under observation, especially in its longitudinal +extent (the general currents carry storms of the middle latitudes +eastward around the world and those or the tropics westward), the +earlier advancing changes may be recognized and the more accurately +their movements foreseen. + + + _Forecasts Based on Weather Maps_ + +The forecasts issued by the United States Weather Bureau are based on +weather maps, prepared from observations taken at 8 a. m. and 8 p. +m. at about 200 observatories. In addition to the reports received +by telegraph by the Central Office at Washington, the several +forecast centers and other designated stations from observatories or +stations in the United States, a system of interchange with Canada, +Mexico, the West Indies and other island outposts in the Atlantic +and Pacific gives to the forecaster two daily photographs of the +weather conditions over a territory embracing nearly the whole of +the inhabited part of the western hemisphere north of the equator. +Any sort of disturbance within this vast region is photographed at +once upon the weather map. If it be a West Indies hurricane or other +destructive storm, its character is recognized instantly, its rate +and direction determined and information of the probable time of its +arrival sent to those places that lie in its path. The method is +perfectly simple. Anyone with a weather map and a little experience +can forecast the weather with some degree of accuracy, or, at least, +gain an intelligent understanding of the conditions upon which the +forecasts that accompany the map are based. + + + _Maps, Where Published and How Obtained_ + +Weather maps are published in many daily papers, and in somewhat +larger form and more in detail, at many Weather Bureau stations. They +may usually be obtained for school use by applying to the nearest +Weather Bureau station or to the Chief of the Weather Bureau at +Washington, D. C. + +The forecasts that accompany the maps are simply an expression on the +part of the official forecaster as to the weather changes he expects +to occur in various parts of the country within the time specified, +usually within 36 to 48 hours. His opinion is based upon the +conditions shown by the map. He has no secret source of information. +You may accept his conclusions, or, if in your opinion they are not +justified, you have all the information necessary to make a forecast +for yourself. Weather maps are published so extensively with a +view to thus stimulating an intelligent interest in the problem of +weather forecasting, and also that one may see at a glance what the +temperature, rainfall, wind and weather is in any part of the country +in which he may be interested. The friends of the weather service are +those who best understand its work. + + + THE VALUE OF THE WEATHER SERVICE + +[Illustration: _Snow crystal._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +No one knows so well as the forecaster that the changes that appear +most certain to come sometimes fail, or come too late; but taking +all in all, about 85 out of 100 forecasts are correct. Of those that +fail, probably not more than three or four per cent. fail because +the changes come unannounced. Most forecasters predict too much, and +their forecasts fail because the expected changes come after the time +specified or not at all. It is fortunate that this is so; for it is +better to be prepared for the change though it be late in coming than +to have it come without warning. + +The value of the weather service to the agriculture and commerce +of the United States cannot be questioned seriously. That the +appropriations for its support have been increased year by year from +$1,500 in 1871 to nearly $1,500,000 in 1910 is evidence of its value +and efficiency. A conservative estimate places the value of property +saved by the warnings issued by the Weather Bureau at $30,000,000 +annually. + + + + + LESSON CCXXII + + EXPERIMENTS TO SHOW AIR PRESSURE + + +_Leading thought_--The air presses equally in all directions. + +_Experiment 1--To show that air presses upward_--Fill a tumbler which +has an unbroken edge as full of water as possible. Take a piece of +writing paper and cover the tumbler, pressing the paper down firmly +upon the edge of the glass. Turn the glass bottom side up and ask +why the water does not flow out. Allow a little air to enter; what +happens? Why? Turn the glass filled with water and covered with paper +sidewise; does the water flow out? If not, why? + +[Illustration: _Composite crystal; high cloud at center and medium +high cloud at the border._ + +Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley.] + +_Experiment 2--To show that air passes downward_--Ask some of the +boys of the class to make what they call a sucker. This is a piece +of leather a few inches across. Through its center a string is drawn +which fits very closely into the leather and is held in place by a +very flat knot on the lower side. Dampen the leather and press it +against any flat surface, and try to pull it off. If possible, place +the sucker on a flat stone and see how heavy a stone can be lifted +by the sucker. Ask why a sucker clings so to the flat surface. If a +little air is allowed to get between the sucker and the stone, what +happens? Why? + +_Hints to the teacher regarding the Experiments_--The water is kept +in the tumbler in Experiment 1 by the pressure of the atmosphere +against the paper. If the tumbler is tipped to one side the water +still remains in the glass, which shows that the air is pressing +against the paper from the side with sufficient force to restrain the +water, and if the tumbler is tipped bottom side up it shows the air +is pressing upward with sufficient force to keep the water within the +glass. + +In the case of Experiment 2, we know that the leather pressing upon +the floor or on the stone is not in itself adhesive, but it is made +wet simply so that it shall press against the smooth surface more +closely. The reason why we cannot pull it off is that the air is +pressing down upon it with the force of about fifteen pounds to the +square inch. If the experiment is performed at sea level, we should +be able to lift by the string of the sucker a stone weighing fifteen +pounds. The reason why the water falls out of the tumbler after a +little air is let beneath the paper, is that then the air is pressing +on both sides of the paper; and the reason why the sucker will not +hold if there is any air between it and the stone, is because the air +is pressing in both directions upon it. + +_Supplementary reading_--The Wonderbook of the Atmosphere, Houston, +Chapters III, IV, V. + + + + + LESSON CCXXIII + + THE BAROMETER + + +_Leading thought_--The weight of our atmosphere balances a column +of mercury about thirty inches high, and is equal to about fifteen +pounds to the square inch. This pressure varies from day to day, and +becomes less as the height of the place increases. The barometer is +an instrument for measuring the atmospheric pressure. It is used +in finding the height of mountains, and, to a certain extent, it +indicates changes of the weather. + +[Illustration: _Compound snow crystals._ + +Photo by W. A. Bentley.] + +_Method_--A glass tube about 36 inches long, closed at one end; a +little glass funnel about an inch in diameter at the top; a small +cup--a bird’s bathtub is a good size since it allows plenty of room +for the fingers; mercury enough to fill the tube and have the mercury +an inch or more deep in the cup. Be careful not to spill the mercury +in the following process, or you will be as badly off as old Sisyphus +with his rolling stone. + +[Illustration: _A barometer made by pupils._] + +Set the closed end of the tube in the cup so that any spilled mercury +will not be lost; with the help of the funnel slowly and carefully +fill the tube clear to the top with the mercury; empty the rest of +the mercury into the cup; place the end of one of the fingers of the +left hand tightly over the open end of the tube and keep it there; +with the right hand invert the tube, keeping the end closed with +the finger, and place the hand, finger and all, beneath the mercury +in the cup then remove the finger, keeping the open end of the tube +all the time below the surface of the mercury. When the mercury has +ceased to fall measure the distance from the surface in the cup to +the top of the mercury in the tube. + +_Observations_--1. How high is the column of mercury in the tube? + +2. What keeps the mercury in the tube? Place the cup and the tube on +a table in the corner of the room, place behind the tube a yardstick, +and note whether the column of mercury is the same height day after +day. If it varies, why? + +3. Would the mercury column be as high in the tube if it were placed +on top of a mountain as it would at the foot? Why? + +_Supplementary reading_--Chap. II in The Wonderbook of the +Atmosphere, Houston. + + + + + HOW TO READ WEATHER MAPS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +Weather maps may be obtained by writing to the nearest Weather +Station, or by writing to the Chief of the Weather Bureau, Dr. Willis +L. Moore, Washington, D. C., stating that you wish to post the maps +in a public place. A supply of maps for three successive days for use +in these lessons may be obtained at 20 cents per hundred. Sometimes +they are sent free, if it is stated that they are to be used for +school purposes. + +[Illustration: _Dew on clover leaf. Hoar frost on clover leaf._ + +Photo by W. A. Bentley.] + +The words isobar and isotherm have been bogies which have frightened +many a teacher from undertaking to teach about weather maps, and yet +how simple are the meaning of these two words. Isobar is made up of +two Greek words, _isos_ meaning equal and _baros_ meaning weight. +Therefore, an isobar means equal weight, and on a map one of these +continuous lines means that, wherever it passes, the atmosphere there +has equal weight and the barometer stands at equal height. The isobar +of 30 means that the mercury in the barometer stands 30 inches in +height in all the regions where that line passes. + +“Isotherm” comes from the two Greek words, _isos_ meaning equal and +_therme_ meaning heat. Therefore, on the map the dotted lines show +the region where the temperature is the same. If at the end of the +dotted line you find 60 it means that, wherever that line passes, the +thermometer stands at 60 degrees. + +Many of the “highs” and “lows” enter the United States from the +Pacific Ocean about the latitude of Washington State or southwest +British Columbia. They follow one another alternately, crossing the +continent in the general direction of west to east in a path which +curves somewhat to the north, and they leave the United States in the +latitude of Maine or New Brunswick. If they enter by way of lower +California, they pass over to the Atlantic Ocean farther south. The +time for the passage of a high or low across the continent averages +about three and one-half days, sometimes a little more. These areas +are usually more marked in winter, and wind storms are more marked +and more regular. + +A low area is called a cyclone and a high area an anti-cyclone. The +destructive winds, popularly called cyclones, which occur in certain +regions, should be called tornadoes instead, although in fact they +are simply small and violent cyclones. But a cyclone, when used in a +meteorological sense, extends over thousands of square miles and is +not violent; while a tornado may be only a few rods in diameter and +be very destructive. The little whirlwinds which lift the dust in the +roads are rotary winds also, but merely the eddies of a gentle wind. + +In a cyclone or “low,” and also in a tornado, the air blows from +_all_ sides spirally inward _toward_ the center where there is a +column of _ascending_ air. + +In an anti-cyclone or “high” the air blows outward in every direction +in curved lines _from_ a column of _descending_ air. + +[Illustration: _Map of a storm._] + +In the above map, the curved lines are isobars; the line of crosses +from A to B indicates the course of the storm; the arrows indicate +the direction of the wind, note that it is moving counter-clockwise +around the area of low pressure; the shaded area indicates the region +where it is raining or snowing; note that this is the area where the +warm, moist air from the Gulf and the Ocean meets the colder air of +the North. + +The weather conditions during the passage of a cyclone are briefly as +follows: Small, changing wisps of cirrus clouds appear about 24 hours +before rain; these gradually become larger and cover the whole sky, +making a nimbus cloud. The wind changes from northeast to east or +southeast to south. The barometer falls; the thermometer rises, that +is, air pressure is less to the square inch, and the temperature of +the atmosphere is warmer. Rain begins and falls for a time, varying +from an hour to a day or more. After the rain there appear breaks in +the great nimbus clouds and finally the blue sky conquers until there +are only a few or no clouds. The wind changes to southwest and west; +the barometer rises, the temperature falls. The rain ceases, the sun +shines out brightly. The low has passed and the high is approaching +to last about three days. + + + U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, WEATHER BUREAU + + EXPLANATION OF WEATHER SIGNALS + +[Illustration: + +No. 1 +Fair Weather + +No. 2 +Rain or Snow + +No. 3 +Local Rain or Snow + +No. 4 +Temperature + +No. 5 +Cold Wave + + + INTERPRETATION OF DISPLAYS + + No. 1, alone, indicates fair weather, stationary temperature. + No. 2, alone, indicates rain or snow, stationary temperature. + No. 3, alone, indicates local rain or snow, stationary temperature. + No. 1, with No. 4 above it, indicates fair weather, warmer. + No. 1, with No. 4 below it, indicates fair weather, colder. + No. 2, with No. 4 above it, indicates rain or snow, warmer. + No. 2, with No. 4 below it, indicates rain or snow, colder. + No. 3, with No. 4 above it, indicates local rain or snow, warmer. + No. 3, with No. 4 below it, indicates local rain or snow colder. + + WILLIS L. MOORE, + _Chief U. S. Weather Bureau_. +] + + + EXPLANATION OF WHISTLE SIGNALS + +A warning blast of fifteen to twenty seconds duration is sounded to +attract attention. After this warning the longer blasts (of four to +six seconds duration) refer to weather, and shorter blasts (of one to +three seconds duration) refer to temperature; those for weather are +sounded first. + + Blasts Indicate. + + One long Fair weather. + Two long Rain or snow. + Three long Local rain or snow. + One short Lower temperature. + Two short Higher temperature. + Three short Cold wave. + +By repeating each combination a few times, with intervals of ten +seconds, liability to error in reading the signals may be avoided. + + + STORM AND HURRICANE WARNINGS + +[Illustration: + + Storm warnings. Hurricane + warning. + + NE. winds. SE. winds. NW. winds. SW. winds. + + + EXPLANATION OF STORM AND HURRICANE SIGNALS + + _Storm warning_--A red flag with a black center indicates that + a storm of marked violence is expected. + + The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction + of the wind; red, easterly (from northeast to south); white + (westerly from southwest to north). The pennant above the flag + indicates that the wind is expected to blow from the northerly + quadrants; below from the southerly quadrants. + + By night a red light indicates easterly winds and a white + light below a red light westerly winds. + + _Hurricane warning_--Two red flags with black centers + displayed one above the other indicates the expected approach + of a tropical hurricane or one of those extremely severe and + dangerous storms which occasionally move across the Lakes and + northern Atlantic coast. + + No night hurricane warnings are displayed. +] + +[Illustration:] + +[Illustration:] + +[Illustration:] + +[Illustration: _U. S. weather maps, showing the eastward progress of +an area of low pressure for four consecutive days._ + +Note the course of the low that was on the Pacific Coast Dec. 24; +this is indicated by the line of dots and dashes on the later maps.] + + + LESSON CCXXIV + + HOW TO READ WEATHER MAPS + +_Leading thought_--Weather maps are made with great care by the +Weather Bureau experts. Each map is the result of many telegraphic +communications from all parts of the country. Every intelligent +person should be able to understand the weather maps. + +_Method_--Get several weather maps of the nearest Weather Bureau +Station. They should be maps for successive days, and there should be +enough so that each pupil can have three maps, showing the weather +conditions for three successive days. + +_Observations_--1. Take the map of the earliest date of the three. +Where was your map used? What is its date? How many kinds of lines +are there on your map? Are there explanatory notes on the lower +left-hand corner of your map? Explain what the continuous lines mean. +Find an isobar of 30; to what does this figure refer? Find all the +towns on your map where the barometer stands at 30 inches. Is there +more than one isobar on your map where the barometer stands at 30? + +2. Where is the greatest air pressure on your map? How high does the +barometer stand there? How are the isobars arranged with reference +to this region? What word is printed in the center of this series of +isobars? + +3. What do the arrows indicate? What do the circles attached to the +arrows indicate? + +4. In general, what is the direction of the winds with reference to +this high center? + +5. Is the air rising or sinking at the center of this area? If the +wind is blowing in all directions from a center marked high, what +sort of weather must the places just east of the high be having? Do +the arrows with their circles indicate this? + +6. Find a center marked low. How high does the barometer stand there? +Does the air pressure increase or diminish away from the center +marked low, as indicated by the isobars? Do the winds blow toward +this center or away from it? + +7. What must the weather in the region just east of the low be? Why? +Do the arrows and circles indicate this? + +8. Is there a shaded area on your map? If so, what does this show? + +9. Compare the map of the next date with the one you have just +studied. Are the highs and lows in just the same position that they +were the day before? Where are the centers high and low now? In what +directions have they moved? + +10. Look at the third map and compare the three maps. Where do the +high and low centers seem to have originated? How long does it take a +high or low to cross the United States? How far north and south does +a high or low, with all its isobars, extend? + +11. What do the dotted lines on your map mean? Do they follow exactly +the isobars? + +12. What is the greatest isotherm on your map? Through or near what +towns does it pass? + +13. Do the regions of high air pressure have the highest temperature +or the lowest? Do high temperatures accompany low pressures? Why? + +14. What is the condition of the sky just east of a low center? What +is its condition just west of low? + +15. If the isobars are near together in a low, it means that the wind +is moving rather fast and that there will be a well marked storm. +Look at the column giving wind velocity. Was the wind blowing toward +the center of the low on the map? If so, does that mean it is coming +fast or slow? How does this fact correspond with the indications +shown by the distance between the isobars? + +16. Describe the weather accompanying the approach and passage +of a low in the region where your town is situated? What sort of +clouds would you have, what winds, what change of the barometer and +thermometer? + + + _How to Find the General Direction and Average Rate of Motion of + Highs and Lows_ + +_Observations_--1. On the first map of the series of three given, put +an X in red pencil or crayon at the center of the high and a blue one +at the center of the low; or if you do not have the colored pencils, +use some other distinguishing marks for the two. If there are two +highs and two lows use a different mark for each one. + +2. Mark the position of each center on this map for the following day +with the same mark that you first used for that area. Do this for +each of the highs and lows until it leaves the map or until your maps +have been used. All the marks of one kind can be joined by a line, +using a red line for the red marks and a blue line for the blue marks. + +3. What do you find to be the general direction of the movement of +the highs and lows? + +4. Examine the scale marked statute miles at the bottom of the map. +How many miles are represented by one inch on the scale? + +5. With your ruler find out how many miles one area of high or low +has moved in twenty-four hours; in three days. Divide the distance +which the area has moved in three days by three and this will give +the average velocity for one day. + +6. In the same way find the average velocity of each of the areas on +your map for three days and write down all your answers. From all +your results find the average weekly velocity; that is, how many +miles per hour and the general direction which has characterized the +movement of the high and low areas. + +_Supplementary reading_--The Wonderbook of the Atmosphere, Houston, +Chapters XIV-XXIII. + + + _How to Keep a Daily Weather Map_ + +The pupils should keep a daily weather map record for at least six +months. The observations should be made twice each day and always +at the same hours. While it would be better if these records could +be made at 8 o’clock in the morning and again at 8 o’clock in the +evening, this is hardly practicable and they should, therefore, be +made at 9 o’clock and at 4. The accompanying chart may be drawn +enlarged. Sheets of manila paper are often used, so that one chart +may cover the observations for a month. + +Few schools are able to have a working barometer, but observations of +temperature and sky should be made in every school. Almost any boy +can make a weather vane, which should be placed on a high building +or tree where the wind will not be deflected from its true direction +when striking it. A thermometer should be placed on the north side +of a post and on a level with the eyes; it should not be hung to a +building, as the temperature of the building might affect it. + +The direction of the wind and the cloudiness of the day may be +indicated on the chart, as it is on the weather maps, by a circle +attached to an arrow which points in the direction in which the wind +is blowing. + +_References_--Elementary Meteorology, Waldo, American Book Co., +$1.50; Elementary Meteorology, Davis, Ginn and Co., $2.50; Bulletins +from the United States Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. + + + CHART FOR SCHOOL WEATHER-RECORDS. + + ======+====+=====+=======+=========+===========+======+====+======== + Date |Hour|Temp.|Baro- |Direction|Cloudi- | | | + ness. |Dew or|Rain or|Remarks. + | | | meter | of wind |Fogs. | Frost| Snow | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + Weekly| | | | | | | | + Sum- | | | | | | | | + mary | | | | | | | | + ------+----+-----+-------+---------+--------+------+-------+-------- + + + + +[Illustration: “_Though I know not what you are, twinkle, twinkle +little star._”] + + + THE STORY OF THE STARS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Why did not somebody teach me the constellations and make me + at home in the starry heavens, which are always overhead, + and which I don’t half know to this day._” + --THOMAS CARLYLE. + + +For many reasons aside from the mere knowledge acquired, children +should be taught to know something of the stars. It is an investment +for future years; the stars are a constant reminder to us of +the thousands of worlds outside our own, and looking at them +intelligently, lifts us out of ourselves in wonder and admiration +for the infinity of the universe, and serves to make our own cares +and trials seem trivial. The author has not a wide knowledge of the +stars; a dozen constellations were taught to her as a little child +by her mother, who loved the sky as well as the earth; but perhaps +nothing she has ever learned has been to her such a constant source +of satisfaction and pleasure as this ability to call a few stars by +the names they have borne since the men of ancient times first mapped +the heavens. It has given her a sense of friendliness with the night +sky, that can only be understood by those who have had a similar +experience. + +There are three ways in which the mysteries of the skies are +made plain to us: First, by the telescope; second, by geometry, +trigonometry and calculations--a proof that mathematics is even more +of a heavenly than an earthly science; and third, by the use of the +spectroscope, which can only be understood after we study physics. It +is an instrument which tells us, by analyzing the light of the stars, +what chemical elements compose them; and also, by the means of the +light, it estimates the rate at which the stars are moving and the +direction of their motion. + +Thus, we have learned many things about the stars; we know that +every shining star is a great blazing sun, and there is no reason to +doubt that many of these suns have worlds, like the earth, spinning +around them although, of course, so far away as to be invisible to +us; for our world could not be seen at all from even the nearest +star. We also know that many of the stars which seem single to us +are really double--made up of two vast suns swinging around a common +center; and although they may be millions of miles apart, they are +so far away that they seem to us as one star. The telescope reveals +many of these double stars and shows that they circle around their +orbits in various periods of time, the most rapid making the circle +in five years, another in sixteen years, another in forty-six years; +while there is at least one lazy pair which seems to require fully +sixteen hundred years to complete their circle. And the spectroscope +has revealed to us that many of the stars which seem single through +the largest telescope are really double, and some of these great suns +race around each other in the period of a few hours, which is a rate +of speed we could hardly imagine. + +Astronomers have been able to measure the distance from us to many +of the stars, but when this distance is expressed in miles it is +too much for us to grasp. Thus, they have come to measure heavenly +distance in terms of the rate at which light travels, which is +186,400 miles per second or about six trillions of miles per year; +this distance is called a light-year. Light reaches us from the +sun in about eight minutes, but it takes more than four years for +a ray to reach us from the nearest star. It adds new interest to +the Pole-star to know that the light which reaches our eyes left +that star almost half a century ago, and that the light we get from +the Pleiades may have started on its journey before America was +discovered. Most of the stars are so far away that we cannot measure +the distance. + +Although the stars seem always to be in the same places, they are +all moving through space just as our sun and its family are doing; +but the stars are so far away that, although one may move a million +miles a day, it would require many years of observation for us to +detect that it moved at all. We know the rate at which some of the +stars are moving but have no idea of their goal; nor do we have any +idea where our sun is dragging us at the rate of nearly 800 miles per +minute. It is thought that our sun and the other suns are whirling +around some greater center or centers; but if so, the orbits are so +many trillions of miles across that the suns all seem to be going +somewhere in a straight line, each attending strictly to its own +business. + +Through the spectroscope we know something of the life of stars; we +know that when they are young they are composed of thin gases and +shine white or blue; and as they grow older, they become more solid +and shine yellow, like our sun; and when older still, they grow red +and are yet more condensed, like Bethelguese in Orion, which is an +aged sun and which will, in time, grow cold and dark and invisible +to us. The spectroscope reveals many dark stars whirling through +space--vast, dead suns with their fires extinguished, never to be +lighted again unless, in its swift course, one of them should hurl +itself against another star with a fearful force which shall shatter +it into gaseous atoms, and these be thrown into fierce spiral +whirlpools, from which it shall again be fashioned into a white-hot +sun and become a star in our sky. + +The scientists are coming to understand a little of how the stars +are made; for scattered through the skies are masses of misty light, +called nebulæ, which means clouds; nebulæ are vast gaseous bodies +composed of the stuff of which stars are made. Each nebula keeps its +own special place in the heavens--just like a star, and is moving +through space--like a star. The spectroscope shows that many of these +shining, misty masses are made up of glowing gases, largely hydrogen; +and many are disk-shaped, twisted into a spiral. There are grounds +for believing that these spiral nebulæ are stars in the process of +forming. Nebulæ are mostly telescopic, although two or three may be +detected by the keen, unaided eye as a little blur of light, like +that surrounding the third star of Orion’s sword. There are eight +thousand or more nebulæ which have been discovered and mapped. Some +idea of their tremendous size is given by Ball when speaking of the +ring nebula of Lyra, which we cannot see with the naked eye, and yet +if a railroad train started to cross its diameter at the middle, and +went at the rate of a mile a minute, one thousand years would not +complete the journey. + +The number of stars that may be seen with the unaided eye, if one +were to travel from the southern to the northern polar region, would +be between six and seven thousand; but it would require very keen +eyes to see two thousand at one time. With the help of the telescope, +about eight hundred thousand stars have been discovered, classified +and catalogued, while photography of the skies reveals millions. It +is thought that the new international photographic chart, which shall +cover all the space seen from our globe may show thirty millions of +stars. The Milky Way or Galaxy, that great, white band across the +heavens, is made up of stars which are so far away that we cannot see +them, but see only their diffused light. It is well called a “River +of Stars” flowing in a circle around our whole solar system; and, +except during the spring months, one-half of it may be seen directly +above us while the other half is hidden below us. The place of the +Milky Way in the heavens seems fixed and eternal; any star within its +borders is always seen at the same point. When the Northern Cross +lifts itself toward the zenith we are able to see that, near that +constellation, the star river divides into three streams with long, +blue islands between. + +_Reference books_--There are a large number of excellent text-books +and popular books on astronomy. The following are a few which I +have used most often: Astronomy for Everybody, Newcomb; Todd’s New +Astronomy; The Friendly Stars, Martin; Starland, Ball; The Stars +Through an Opera Glass, Serviss; Other Suns than Ours, Proctor; Other +Worlds than Ours, Proctor. + +_For children_--Earth and Sky, Holden; Stories of Starland, Proctor; +The Children’s Book of Stars, G. E. Mitton; Story land of the Stars, +Pratt; Stars in Song and Legend, Porter; The Planisphere, Thos. +Whittaker. + + + + + HOW TO BEGIN STAR STUDY + + THE POLE-STAR AND THE DIPPERS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The way to begin star study is to learn to know the Big Dipper, and +through its pointers to distinguish the Pole-star; for whenever we +try to find any star we have to find the Big Dipper and Pole-star +first so as to have some fixed point to start from. There are four +stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper and three in the curved handle. +A line drawn through the outer two stars of the bowl, if extended, +will touch the North Star, or Pole-star. It is very important for us +to know the Pole-star, because the northern end of the earth’s axis +is directed toward it, and it is therefore situated in the heavens +almost directly above our North Pole. For those of us who live in the +northern Hemisphere, the North Star never sets, but is always in our +sky. Of course, the North Star has nothing to do with the axis of our +earth any more than the figure on the blackboard has to do with the +pointer; it simply happens to lie in the direction toward which the +northern end of the earth’s axis points. In the southern skies, there +is no convenient star which lies directly above the South Pole, so +there is no South Pole-star. It is also a coincidence that the needle +of the mariner’s compass points toward the North Star; the earth +being a large magnet exercises its influence on all substances which +can be magnetized, and since the poles of our great earth-magnet +are nearly in line with the poles of the earth’s axis, the magnetic +needle naturally points north and south, and the North Star chances +to be nearly in the direction toward which the northern end of the +compass needle points. + +The Pole-star cannot be seen from the southern hemisphere; but if +we should start from Florida, on a journey toward Baffin’s Bay, we +should discover that each night this star would seem higher in the +sky. And if we should succeed in reaching the North Pole, we would +find the Pole-star directly over our heads, and what a wonderful +sight the stars would be from this point! For none of the stars which +we could see would rise or set, but would move around us in circles +parallel to the horizon. + +The Big Dipper points towards the Pole-star, and to us seems to +revolve around it every twenty-four hours but, of course, this +appearance is caused by the fact that we ourselves are revolving +from west to east. Therefore, the stars seems to revolve from west +to east under the Pole-star and from east to west above it, or in +exactly the opposite direction in which the hands of a clock turn. +Owing to the movement of the earth in its orbit, the Big Dipper and +all the other stars arrive at a certain point in our sky four minutes +earlier each day or about two hours earlier each month; thus, the Big +Dipper is east of the Pole-star with handle down in the evenings of +January, while at the same time of night in July, it is west of the +Pole-star with the handle up. But the time of year that a certain +star reaches a certain point is so invariable, that if we know star +time, or sidereal time as it is called, we can tell just what hour of +the night it is when a star passes this point. Thus, the Big Dipper +and the other polar constellations are the night clock of the sailors +of the northern hemisphere; for though this great polar clock has its +hands moving around the wrong way, it gains time with such regularity +that anyone who understands is able to compute exact time by it. + +[Illustration: _The Pole-star and the Big and Little Dippers._] + +The Little Dipper lies much nearer the Pole-star than does the Big +Dipper; in fact, the Pole-star itself is the end of the handle of +the Little Dipper. Besides the Pole-star, there are two more stars +in the handle of the Little Dipper, and of the four stars which make +the bowl, the two that form the outer edge are much the brighter. The +bowl of the Little Dipper is above or below the Pole-star according +to the hour of the evening, or the night of the year, for it +apparently revolves about the Pole-star as does the Big Dipper. The +two Dippers open toward each other, and some one said “they pour into +each other.” + +The Big Dipper is a part of a constellation called _Ursa Major_, the +Great Bear; and the Little Dipper is the Little Bear, the handle of +the dipper being the bear’s tail. + +There is an ancient myth telling the story of the Big and Little +Bears: A beautiful mother called Callisto had a little son whom she +named Arcas. Callisto was so beautiful that she awakened the anger of +Juno, who changed her to a bear; and when her son grew up he became +a hunter, and one day would have killed his transformed mother; but +Jupiter seeing the danger of this crime caught the two up into the +heavens, and set them there as shining stars. But Juno was still +vindictive, so she wrought a spell which never allowed these stars to +rise and set like other stars, but kept them always moving around and +around. + +_References_--The Friendly Stars by Martin is a most delightful book +and at the same time gives explicit directions for finding the stars +and much interesting information concerning them. The planisphere is +a little chart with a mechanical device which enables us to find what +stars are in sight every night of the year, or at any time of night. +It is published by Thos. Whittaker, Bible House, New York, and costs +seventy-five cents. + + + LESSON CCXXV + + THE TWO DIPPERS + +_Leading thought_--The North Star or Pole-star may always be found by +the stars known as the pointers in the Big Dipper; the stars of the +Big Dipper seem to revolve around the Pole-star once in twenty-four +hours. + +_Method_--The time to begin these observations is when the moon is in +its last quarter, so that the moonlight will not make pale the stars +in early evening. Draw upon the blackboard, from the chart shown on +page 890, the Big Dipper and the Pole-star, with a line extending +through the pointers. Say to the pupils that this Big Dipper is +above or below or at one side of the Pole-star, and that you wish +them to observe for themselves where it is and tell you about it the +next day. After they surely know the Big Dipper, ask the following +questions: + +_Observations_--1. Can you find the Big Dipper among the stars? + +2. Is it in the north, south, east or west? + +3. Which stars are the “pointers” in the dipper, and why are they +called so? + +4. Make a drawing showing how you can always find the Pole-star, if +you can see the Big Dipper. + +5. How many stars make the bowl of the Dipper? + +6. How many stars in the handle? + +7. Is the handle straight or is it curved? + +8. Does the Big Dipper open toward the Pole-star, or away from it? + +9. Is it above or below the Pole-star at eight o’clock in the +evening, or at the right or the left of it? + +10. Does the Big Dipper remain in the same direction from the +Pole-star all night? Look at it at seven o’clock and again at nine +o’clock and see if it has changed position? + +11. Do you think it moves around the Pole-star once every twenty-four +hours? In which direction? How could you tell the time of night by +the Big Dipper and the Pole-star? + +12. Does the Big Dipper ever rise and set? + +13. The Big Dipper is also called the Great Bear. Can you find the +stars which make the bear’s head and front legs? + +After the pupils surely know the Big Dipper and Pole-star draw the +complete diagram upon the board to show the Little Dipper and where +it may be found, and call attention to the fact that the end of the +Little Dipper’s handle is the Pole-star itself and that its bowl is +not flaring, like that of the Big Dipper and that the two pour into +each other. Let the pupils find the Little Dipper in the sky for +themselves and ask the following questions: + +_Observations_--14. Is the Little Dipper nearer or farther from the +Pole-star than the Big Dipper? + +15. How many stars in the handle of the Little Dipper? + +16. How many stars make the bowl of the Little Dipper? Which of these +stars are the brightest? Is the bowl of the Little Dipper above or +below the Pole-star? + +17. Does the Little Dipper extend in the same direction in relation +to the Pole-star all night? + +18. Make observations on the relation to each other of the two +dippers at eight o’clock in the evening of January, February, March +and April. + +After the above lessons are well learned, give the following +questions, and try to have the pupils answer by thinking: + +_Questions about Polaris_ (_the North Star_) _for the pupils to think +about and answer_: + +19. How many names has the Pole-star? Can the Pole-star be seen from +the southern hemisphere? If not, why not? + +20. If you should start from southern Florida and travel straight +north, how would the Pole-star seem to change position each +succeeding night? + +21. If you could stand at the North Pole, where would the Pole-star +seem to be? + +22. If you were at the North Pole, would any of the stars rise and +set? In what direction would the stars seem to move and why? + +23. How does the North Star help the sailors to navigate the seas and +why? + +24. How do astronomers reckon distances between us and the stars? +What is a light-year? + +_Topics for English lesson_--(_a_) What a star is. (_b_) What a +constellation is. (_c_) How the stars and constellations received +their names in ancient times. In ancient times the Big and Little +Dippers were named the Big and Little Bears, and that is their Latin +name to this day. Write a story about what the ancient Greeks told +about these Bears and how they came to be in the sky. + +_Supplementary reading_--Stories of Starland, Proctor, pp. 117–121; +Storyland of the Stars, Pratt, p. 75; Child’s Study of the Classics, +p. 33. + + + + + CASSIOPEIA’S CHAIR, CEPHEUS, AND THE DRAGON + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +There are other constellations besides the two Dippers, which never +rise and set in this latitude, because they are so near to the +Pole-star that, when revolving around it, they do not fall below the +horizon. There is one very brilliant star, called Capella, which +almost belongs to the polar constellations but not quite, for it is +far enough away from Polaris to dip below the horizon for four hours +of the twenty-four. + +[Illustration: _The polar constellations as they appear at about +8 o’clock January 20, the Dragon being south of the Pole-star. By +revolving this chart as indicated, the positions of the stars is +shown for 6 p. m., midnight, 6 a. m. and noon of January 20th._] + +Queen Cassiopeia’s Chair is on the opposite side of the Pole-star +from the Big Dipper and at about equal distance from it. It consists +of five brilliant stars that form a W with the top toward Polaris, +one-half of the W being wider than the other. There is a less +brilliant sixth star which finishes out half of the W into a chair +seat, making of the figure a very uneasy looking throne for a poor +queen to sit upon. + +King Cepheus is Queen Cassiopeia’s husband, and he sits with one foot +on the Pole-star quite near to his royal spouse. His constellation +is marked by five stars, four of which form a lozenge, and a line +connecting the two stars on the side of the lozenge farthest from +Cassiopeia, if extended, will reach the Pole-star as surely as a line +from the Big Dipper pointers. Cepheus is not such a shining light +in the heavens as is his wife, for his stars are not so brilliant. +Perhaps this is because he was only incidentally put in the skies. +He was merely the consort of Queen Cassiopeia, who being a vain and +jealous lady boasted that she and her daughter, Andromeda, were far +more beautiful than any other goddesses that ever were, and thus +incurred the wrath of Juno and Jupiter who set the whole family “sky +high” and quite out of the way, a punishment which must have had its +compensations since they are where the world of men may look at and +admire them for all ages. + +Lying between the Big and Little Dippers and extending beyond the +latter is a straggling line of stars, which, if connected by a line, +make a very satisfactory dragon. Nine stars form his body, three his +head, the two brighter ones being the eyes. + + + LESSON CCXXVI + + CASSIOPEIA’S CHAIR, CEPHEUS, AND THE DRAGON + +_Leading thought_--To learn to know and to map the constellations +which are so near the Pole-star that they never rise or set in our +latitude, but seem to swing around the North Star once in twenty-four +hours. + +_Method_--Place on the blackboard the diagram given showing the +Pole-star, Big and Little Dippers and Cassiopeia’s Chair, and ask for +observations and sketches showing their position in the skies the +following evening. After the pupils have observed the Chair and know +it, add to your diagram, first Cepheus and then the Dragon. After you +are sure the pupils know these constellations, give the following +lesson. The observations should be made early and late in the same +evening and at different times of the month, so that pupils will in +every case note the apparent movement of these stars around Polaris. + +_Observations_--1. How many stars form Cassiopeia’s Chair? Make a +drawing showing them and their relation to the Pole-star. + +2. Is the Queen’s Chair on the same side of the Pole-star as the Big +Dipper? Is the top or the bottom of the “W” which forms Cassiopeia’s +Chair turned toward the Pole-star? + +3. Does Cassiopeia’s Chair move around the Pole-star, like the Big +Dipper? + +4. How many stars mark the constellation of Cepheus? + +5. Make a sketch of these stars and show the two which are pointers +toward the North Star. + +6. Does Cepheus also move around the Pole-star, and in which +direction? + +7. Describe where the Dragon lies, and where are his tail and his +head in relation to the two Dippers. Make a sketch of the Dragon. + +8. Why do all the polar constellations seem to move around the +Pole-star every twenty-four hours, and why do they seem to go in a +direction opposite the movement of the hands of a clock? What do we +mean by “Polar constellations”? + +_Topics for English Themes_--The Story of Queen Cassiopeia, King +Cepheus and their daughter, Andromeda; the story of the Dragon. + +_Supplementary reading_--Storyland of the Stars, Pratt. + + + + +[Illustration: _A diagram of the principal stars of winter as seen in +early evening late in February._ + +To use the chart take it in the hands, face the Pole-star and hold +the chart above the head so that the side marked east will extend +eastward.] + + + THE WINTER STARS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The natural time for beginning star study is in the autumn when the +days are shortening and the early evenings give us opportunity for +observation. After the polar constellations are learned, we are then +ready for further study in the still earlier evenings of winter, when +the clear atmosphere and beautiful blue of the heavens make the stars +seem more alive, more sparkling, and more beautiful than at any other +period of the year. One of the first lessons should be to instruct +the pupils how to draw an imaginary straight line from one star to +another, and to perceive the angles which such lines make when they +meet at a given star. A rule, or what is just as effective, a postal +card or some other piece of stiff paper which shows right-angled +corners, is very useful in this work. It should be held between the +eyes and the stars which we wish to connect, and thus make us certain +of a straight line and a right angle. + + + + + ORION (_o-ri´on_) + +During the evenings of January, February and March the splendid +constellation of Orion takes possession of the southern half of the +heavens; and so striking is it that we find other stars by referring +to it instead of to the Pole-star. Orion is a constellation which +almost everyone knows; three stars in a row outline his belt, and +a curving line of stars, set obliquely below the belt, outline the +sword. Above the belt in the evening sky we can see the splendid +red star Betelgeuse (_bet-el-gerz_), and below the belt, at about +an equal distance, is the white star Rigel (_re-jel_). West of the +red star above, and east of the white star below, are two fainter +stars, and if these four stars are connected by lines, an irregular +four-sided figure results, which includes the belt and the sword. +In this constellation the ancients saw Orion, the great hunter, +with his belt and his sword; Betelgeuse was set like a glowing ruby +on his shoulder, and the white star Rigel was set like a spur on +his heel. Thus, stood the great hunter in the sky, with his club +raised to keep oft the plunging bull whose eye is the red Aldebaran +(_al-deb´a-ran_). And beyond him follows the Great Dog with the +bright blue star Sirius (_sir´i-us_) in his mouth, and the Little +Dog branded by the white star Procyon (_pro´si-on_). However, our +New England ancestors did not see this grand figure in the sky; they +called the constellation the Yard-ell or the Ell-yard. + +[Illustration: + + _Orion, the three large stars in a line forming the belt, + the curved line of smaller stars below forming the sword, + Betelgeuse above, Rigel below._ +] + +The three beautiful stars which make Orion’s belt are all double +stars; the belt is just three degrees long and is a good unit for +sky measurement. The sword is not merely the three stars which we +ordinarily see, but is really a curved line of five stars; and what +seems to be the third star from the tip of the sword and which +looks hazy, is in fact a great nebula. Through the telescope this +nebula seems a splash of light with six beautiful stars within it. +Betelgeuse is a brilliant red star, and is the first star in the +constellation to appear above the horizon. It is an old, old star +and is growing cold, as is shown by its red glow. It glows redder +sometimes than at others; it is so far away that we have not been +able to measure its distance from us surely, and it is receding from +us all the time. About fifteen minutes after Betelgeuse rises, and +after the belt and sword are in sight, a white sparkling star appears +at the southwest of the belt. This is Rigel, and this star, too, +is so far from us that we do not know the distance, and it is also +receding. + + + LESSON CCXXVII + + ORION + +_Leading thought_--Orion is one of the most beautiful constellations +in the heavens. It is especially marked by the three stars which form +Orion’s belt, and the line of stars below the belt which form the +sword. + +_Method_--Place on the blackboard the outline of Orion as given in +the diagram. Ask the pupils to make the following observations in the +evening and give their report the next day. + +_Observations_--1. Where is Orion in relation to the Pole-star? + +2. How many stars in the belt of Orion? How many stars in the sword? +Can you see plainly the third star from the bottom of the sword? + +3. Notice above the belt, about three times its length, a bright +star; this is Betelgeuse. What is the color of this star? What do we +know about the age of a star if it is red? + +4. Look below the belt and observe another bright star at about the +same distance below that Betelgeuse is above. What is the color of +this star? What does its color signify? The name of this star is +Rigel. + +5. Note that west of the red star above and east of the white star +below are two fainter stars. If we connect these four stars by lines +we shall make an irregular four-sided figure, fencing in the belt and +sword. Sketch this figure with the belt and sword, and write on your +diagram the name of the red star above and the white star below and +also the name of the constellation. + +6. Which star of the constellation rises first in the evening? Which +last? + +7. Write an English theme on the story of Orion, the great hunter. + +_Supplementary reading_--Stories of Starland, Proctor; The Stars in +Song and Legend, Porter; Storyland of the Stars, Pratt. + + + + + ALDEBARAN AND THE PLEIADES + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: + + _Aldebaran in the V-shaped constellation called the Hyades. + This is a part of the constellation, Taurus._ +] + +Almost in a line with the belt of Orion, up in the skies northwest +from it, is the rosy star Aldebaran. This ruddy star, which is +not so red as Betelgeuse, marks the end of the lower arm of a +V-shaped constellation composed of this and four other stars. This +constellation is the Hyades (_hi´a-dez_). The Hyades is a part of +the constellation called by the ancients Taurus, the bull, and is +the head of the infuriated animal. Aldebaran is a comparatively near +neighbor of ours, since it takes light only thirty-two years to pass +from it to us. It gives off about forty-five times as much light as +does our sun; it lies in the path traversed by the moon as it crosses +the sky, and is often thus hidden from our view. + +[Illustration: + + _The Pleiades, a group of six small stars surrounded by a + misty light._ +] + +Although we are attracted by many bright stars in the winter sky, yet +there is a little misty group of stars, which has ever held the human +attention enthralled, and of which the poets of all the ages have +sung. These stars are called the Pleiades (_ple´ya-dees_); most eyes +can count only six stars in the constellation. There are nine stars +large enough to be seen through the telescope, and which have been +given names; but sky photography has revealed to us that there are +more than three thousand stars in this little group. Perhaps no stars +in the heavens give us such a feeling of the infinity of the universe +as do the Pleiades; for astronomers believe that they form a great +star system which is now being evolved from a nebula. The reason for +this belief is that these stars seem to be surrounded by a brilliant +mist which sometimes seems to be looped from one to another; and, +too, the stars are all in the same stage of development and have the +same chemical composition, and they are all moving together in the +same direction. These stars which look so close together to us are so +far apart really that our own sun and all its planets could roll in +between them and never be noticed. It would require several years for +light to travel from one of these stars in the Pleiades to another. +The Pleiades are so far from us that we cannot estimate the distance, +but we know that it takes light several hundred years to reach us +from them. There is a mythical story found in literature, that once +the unaided eye could see seven instead of six stars in the Pleiades, +and much poetic imagining has been developed to account for the “lost +Pleiad.” + + + LESSON CCXXVIII + + ALDEBARAN AND THE PLEIADES + +_Leading thought_--The Pleiades seem to be a little misty group of +six stars, but instead there are in it three thousand stars. Half way +between the Pleiades and Orion’s belt is Aldebaran, an ageing ruddy +star. + +_Method_--Draw the diagram (p. 895) on the blackboard showing Orion, +Aldebaran and the Pleiades, and the lines B, C, D. Give an outline of +the observations to be made by the pupils, and let them work out the +answers when they have opportunity. Each pupil should prepare a chart +of these constellations. + +_Observations_--1. Imagine a line drawn from Rigel to Betelgeuse and +then another line just as long extending to the west of the latter at +a little less than a right angle, and it will end in a bright, rosy +star, not so red as Betelgeuse. + +2. What is the name of this star? Write it on your chart. + +3. Can you see the figure V formed by Aldebaran and four fainter +stars? Sketch the V and show where in it Aldebaran belongs. This +V-shaped constellation is called the Hyades. + +4. Imagine a line drawn from Orion’s belt to Aldebaran and extend it +to not quite an equal length beyond it, and it will end near a “fuzzy +little bunch” of stars which are called the Pleiades. Place the +Pleiades on your chart. + +5. How many stars can you see in the Pleiades? + +6. Why are they called the seven sisters? + +7. How many stars in the Pleiades which are named, and how many does +photography show that there really are in the group? + +8. How far apart from each other are the nearest neighbors of the +Pleiades? + +9. What do the astronomers think about the Pleiades and why do they +think this? + + + + + THE TWO DOG STARS, SIRIUS AND PROCYON + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +If a line from Aldebaran pass through the belt of Orion and is +extended about as far on the other side, it will reach the Great Dog +Star, following at Orion’s heels. This is Sirius, (_Sir´-e-us_) the +most brilliant of all the stars in our skies, glinting with ever +changing colors, sometimes blue, at others rosy or white. It must +have been of this star that Browning wrote: + + “All that I know + Of, a certain star + Is, it can throw + (Like the angled spar) + Now a dart of red, + Now a dart of blue.” + +[Illustration: _Orion and the Dog Stars._ + +B, Betelgeuse; R, Rigel; S, Sirius, the Great Dog Star; P, Procyon, +the Little Dog Star.] + +Sirius is a comparatively young star, and is estimated by Proctor to +have a diameter of about twelve million miles or fourteen times that +of our own sun; it is only eight and one-half light-years away from +us and is the most celebrated star in literature. The ancients knew +it, the Egyptians worshipped it, Homer sang of it, and it has had its +place in the poetry of all ages. + +Procyon, (_pro´-se-on_) the Little Dog Star, was so-called perhaps +because it trots up the eastern skies a little ahead of the +magnificent Great Dog Star; it gives out eight times as much light as +our sun, and is only ten light-years away from us. It has a fainter +companion about three or four degrees to the northwest of it. + + + LESSON CCXXIX + + THE TWO DOG STARS + +_Leading thought_--The Great Dog Star, Sirius, is the most famous +of all stars in the literature of the ages. The Two Dog Stars were +supposed by the ancients to be following the great hunter, Orion. + +_Method_--Draw upon the board from the chart shown on this page, the +constellation of Orion with Sirius and Procyon. Ask the pupils to +note that after Orion is well up in the sky a straight line drawn +through Orion’s belt and dropping down toward the eastern horizon +ends in a beautiful white star, which is Sirius. And that if we draw +a line from Betelgeuse to Rigel from Rigel to Sirius and then draw +lines to complete a quadrangle, we shall find our lines meet at a +bright star just a little too far away to make the figure a square, +but making it somewhat kite-shaped instead. This is the Little Dog +Star, Procyon, and it has a twin star near it. After giving these +directions let the children make the following observations: + +1. How do you find Sirius? Which rises first, Orion or Sirius? + +2. What color is Sirius? Judging from its color what stage of +development do you think it is in? + +3. Try and find out how large Sirius is compared with our sun and how +near it is to us. + +4. Why is Sirius called the Great Dog Star? Is the Little Dog Star +nearer to the North Star than Sirius? Which is the brighter, the +Great Dog Star or the Little Dog Star? Can you see any fainter star +near Procyon? + +5. Why is Procyon called the Little Dog Star? + +6. Make a chart showing Orion and the two Dog Stars. + + + + + CAPELLA AND THE HEAVENLY TWINS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +[Illustration: _Capella in the constellation Auriga._] + +Capella is nearer to the North Star than any other of the bright +stars and it comes very near belonging to the strictly polar +constellations, since it falls below the horizon only four hours +out of twenty-four. In composition it much resembles our sun, as +do all the bright yellow stars; but it is much larger; it gives +off one hundred and twenty times as much light as our sun, and it +is forty light-years away from us. Capella is always a beautiful +feature of the northern skies, being almost in the zenith during the +evenings of January and February. It is in a brilliant shield-shaped +constellation known as Auriga. + +[Illustration: + + _Gemini, the heavenly twins, the larger one is Pollux and the + other is Castor._ +] + +During the winter evenings we see two stars set like glowing eyes +almost in the zenith, and in a region of the sky where there are no +other bright stars. These twin stars are set just a little closer +together than are the pointers of the Big Dipper. To this brilliant +pair the ancients gave the names of Castor and Pollux. Pollux is the +brighter of the two and is the more southward in situation. Pollux +and Castor were two beautiful twin boys who loved each other so much +that, after they were dead, they were placed in the skies where they +could always be near each other. The twin stars are supposed to exert +a benign influence on oceans and seas and are, therefore, beloved +by sailors. Although they seem to us so near together, they are +separated by a space so great that we cannot conceive of it and they +are going in opposite directions. + +Pollux is a yellow star, and supposed to be in the same stage of +development as our sun, while Castor is white and according to star +ages is young. When a boy says “By Jimminy,” he does not realize that +he is using an ancient expletive “By Gemini,” which is the Latin name +of these twin stars and was a favorite ancient oath, especially of +sailors. + + + LESSON CCXXX + + CAPELLA AND THE HEAVENLY TWINS + +_Leading thought_--There are, during the evenings of January and +February, three brilliant stars almost directly overhead. One of +these is Capella, the other two are the Heavenly Twins. + +_Method_--Place on the board the part of the chart (p. 895) showing +the Big Dipper, Pole-star, Capella and the Twins. Draw a line, L, +from the pointers of the Big Dipper, and extend it to the Pole-star. +Draw another line, K, from the Pole-star at right angles to the line +L, and on the side away from the Big Dipper’s handle, and it will +pass through a large, brilliant, yellow star which is Capella. Ask +the pupils to imagine similar lines drawn across the sky, when they +are making their observations and thus find these stars, and to place +them on their charts, making the following observations: + +1. What color is Capella, and how does its color compare with that of +our sun? + +2. Is Capella as near to the Pole-star as the Big Dipper? Is it near +enough so that it never sets? + +3. Can you see the shield-like constellation of which Capella is a +part? Do you know the name of this constellation? + +4. How do you find the Heavenly Twins after you have found Capella? + +5. Why are these stars called the Heavenly Twins? What is their Latin +name? What are the names of the two stars? Are these twins set nearer +together than the pointers of the Big Dipper? + +6. How can you tell the Heavenly Twins from the Little Dog Star and +its companion? + +7. Read in the books all that you can find about the Heavenly Twins. +Try and find if they are the same age, if they are as near together +as they seem, and if they are going in the same direction. What did +the ancient sailors think of these twin stars? + + + + + THE STARS OF SUMMER + + +To us, who dwell in a world of change, the stars give the comfort of +abidingness; they remain ever the same to our eyes and the teacher +should make much of this. When we once come to know a star, we know +exactly where to find it in the heavens, wherever we may be. A star +which a person knows during childhood will, in later life and in +other lands, seem a staunch friend and a bond, drawing him back to +his early home and associations. + +[Illustration: _A chart of the brightest stars of summer, showing +their positions in early evenings of June. To find the stars hold the +chart above the head and face the north._] + +The summer is an enticing season for making the acquaintance of eight +of the fifteen brightest stars visible in northern latitudes. Few +midsummer entertainments rival that of lying on one’s back on the +grass of some open space which commands a wide view of the heavens, +and there with a planisphere and an intermittently lighted candle +with which to consult it, learn by sight, by name and by heart those +brilliant stars which will ever after meet with friendly greeting our +uplifted eyes. To teach the children in a true informing way about +the stars, the teacher should know them, and nowhere in nature’s +realm is there a more thought-awakening lesson. + + + LESSON CCXXXI + + THE BRIGHT STARS OF SUMMER + +_Leading thought_--The stars which we see shining during summer +evenings are not the same ones that we see during the winter +evenings, except those in the polar constellations. There are eight +of the brilliant summer stars, which we should be able to distinguish +and call by name. + +_Method_--Begin by the middle of May when the Big Dipper is well +above the Pole-star in the early evening, and when, therefore, +Regulus, Spica, Arcturus and the Crown are high in the sky. The +others may be learned in June, although July is the best month for +observing them. In teaching the pupils how to find the stars, again +instruct them how to draw an imaginary straight line from one star to +another and to observe the angles made by such lines connecting three +or four stars. + +Place upon the blackboard the figures from the chart (page 901), as +indicated, leaving each one there until the pupils have observed and +learned it. Then erase and place another figure. In each case try to +get the pupils interested in what we know about each star, a brief +summary of which is given. Note that the observations given in the +lessons are for early in the evenings of the last of May, of June, +and of early July. + + + _Regulus_ (_reg´-u-lus_) + +[Illustration: + + _Regulus, the large star in the handle of the sickle._ +] + +Draw upon the blackboard from the chart (p. 901) the Pole-star, the +Big Dipper, the line G and the Sickle shown just below the outer end +of the line. Extend the line that passes through the pointers of the +Big Dipper to the North Star backward into the western skies; just +west of this line lies a constellation called the Sickle, and the +stars that form it outline this implement. The Sickle has a jewel at +the end of the handle, which is a white and diamond-glittering star +called Regulus. It is a great sun giving out one thousand times as +much light as our own sun, and this light reaches us in about one +hundred and sixty years. The Sickle is part of a constellation called +the Lion, and from which comes the shower of meteors which we see on +the evening of November 13th. Regulus is seen best in Spring. + + + _Arcturus_ (_ark-tu´rus_) + +[Illustration: _Arcturus and the Big Dipper._] + +Place on the blackboard the Big Dipper, the Pole-star and the line +E, Arcturus and the Crown. Extend the handle of the Big Dipper +following its own curve for about twice its length and it will end +in a beautiful, yellow star, the only very bright one in that region. +It is a thousand times brighter than our own sun, but its light does +not reach us for a hundred years after it is given off. Arcturus is +supposed to be one of the largest of all the suns, having a diameter +of several millions of miles. During the latter part of June and July +it is almost overhead in the early evening. + + + _The Crown_ + +[Illustration: _The Northern Crown._] + +Between Arcturus and Vega, but much nearer the former, is a circle of +smaller stars that is called the Northern Crown, and which because of +its form is quite noticeable. + + + _Spica_ (_spi´-ka_) + +Place on the blackboard the Big Dipper, the Pole-star, the line F and +Spica. To find Spica draw a line through the star on the outer edge +of the top of the bowl of the Big Dipper, through the star at the +bottom of the bowl next the handle, and extend this line far over to +the southwest, during the evenings of June and July. (See page 901) +In August, this star sets at ten o’clock. Spica is a white star, and +is the only bright one in that part of the sky. It is so far away +from us that the distance has never been measured. Spica is in the +constellation called the Virgin. + + + _Vega_ (_vee´-ga_) + +[Illustration: _Vega and her train of five stars._] + +Place on the blackboard the Pole-star, the Big Dipper, the lines H +and I and Vega with her five attendant stars, as shown in the chart. +Teach that these stars are the chief ones in the constellation called +_The Lyre_. To find Vega, draw a line from the Pole-star to the star +in the Big Dipper which joins the bowl to the handle. Then draw a +line at right angles to this (see chart lines H, I) and extend the +line I a little farther from the North-star than is the end star of +the Dipper handle; this line will reach a bright star, bluish in +color, which can always be identified by four smaller attendant stars +which lie near it and outline a parallelogram with slanting ends. +Vega is the most brilliant summer star that we see in the northern +hemisphere. It is a very large sun, giving out ninety times as much +light as our sun; it is so far away that it requires twenty-nine +years for a ray of light to reach us from it. Vega’s chief interest +for us, aside from its beauty, is that toward it our sun and all its +planets, including our earth, are moving at the rate of thirteen +miles per second. + + + _Antares_ (_an-ta´-rees_) + +[Illustration: _Antares, a brilliant star in the southern skies._] + +Add to the last diagram on the blackboard the line E, Arcturus, the +line B and Antares. To find this star, draw a line half way between +Arcturus and Vega from the Pole-star straight across the sky to the +south, and just above the southern horizon it will point to the +glowing star, Antares, in the constellation of the Scorpion. Also +a line drawn at right angles to the line connecting Altair with +its companions and extending toward the south will reach Antares. +Late June and July about ten o’clock in the evening is the best for +viewing this beautiful star. An interesting thing about Antares is +that, although it is red, it has, whirling around it, a companion +star which is bright green. + + + _Deneb, or Arided_ (_den´-eb_; _a´-ri-ded_) + +[Illustration: _The Northern Cross, in the constellation of the +Swan._] + +Erase from the last diagram Antares and the line B. Add to it the +lines C and D making a right angle at Deneb; and the Cross--the head +of which is Deneb, the foot ending near the letter on line L. This +star is at the head of the Northern Cross, which is a very shaky +looking cross and appears upside down in the eastern skies during +the evenings of June and July. Deneb is white in color and is a very +large sun, because it seems to us a bright star although it is so far +away from us that the distance has never been surely measured; but +it has been estimated that a ray of light would need at least three +hundred and twenty-five years to reach us from Deneb. It and the +cross are a part of the constellation of Cygnus, or the Swan. + + + _Altair_ + +[Illustration: _Altair in the constellation of the Eagle._] + +Add to the last diagram on the board the lines L, K, Altair and its +two attendant stars and the Dolphin. Emphasize the fact that Altair +marks the constellation of Aquila, or the Eagle. This beautiful star +is easily distinguished because of its small companions, one on each +side, all three in a line. The three belong to a constellation called +the Eagle, and may be seen in early evening from June to December. +Altair, Deneb and Vega form a triangle with the most acute angle +at Altair. (See chart L, K.) Just northeast of Altair is a little +diamond-shaped cluster of stars called the Dolphin, which is a good +name for it, since it looks like a Dolphin, the fifth star forming +the tail. It is also called Job’s Coffin, but the reason for this is +uncertain, unless Job’s trials extended to a coffin which could not +possibly fit him. If the line C on the chart drawn from the Pole-star +to Deneb be extended, it will touch the Dolphin. Altair is always low +in the sky; it is a great sun giving off nearly ten times as much +light as our own sun; light reaches us from it in fifteen years. + +[Illustration: _The Dolphin or Job’s Coffin._] + + + + + THE SUN + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + To be retold to pupils. + + +If, only once in a century, there came to us from our great sun, +light and heat, bringing the power to awaken dormant life, to lift +the plant from the seed and clothe the earth with verdure, then it +would indeed be a miracle. But the sun by shining every day cheapens +its miracles in the eyes of the thoughtless. While it hardly comes +within the province of the nature-study teacher to make a careful +study of the sun, yet she may surely stimulate in her pupils a desire +to know something of this great luminous center of our system. + +Our sun is a great shining globe about one hundred and ten times as +thick through as the earth, and more than a million times as large. +If we look at the sun in a clear sky, it is so brilliant that it +hurts our eyes. Thus, it is better to look at it through a smoked +glass, or when the atmosphere is very hazy. If we should see the sun +through a telescope, we should find that its surface is not one great +glare of light but is mottled, looking like a plate of rice soup, and +at times there are dark spots to be seen upon its surface. Some of +these spots are so large that during very “smoky weather” we can see +them with the naked eye. In September, 1908, a sun-spot was plainly +visible; it was ten thousand miles across, and our whole world could +have been dropped into it with a thousand miles to spare all around +it. We do not know the cause of these sun-spots, but we know they +appear in greater numbers in certain regions of the sun, above and +below the equator. And since each sun-spot retains its place on the +surface of the sun, just as a hole dug in the surface of our earth +would retain its place, we have been able to tell by the apparent +movement of these spots how rapidly and in which direction the sun +is turning on its axis; it revolves once in about twenty-six days +and, since the sun is so much larger than our earth, a spot on the +equator travels at a rate of more than a mile a second. There is a +queer thing about the outside surface of the sun--the equator rotates +more rapidly than the parts lying nearer the poles; this shows that +the sun is a gaseous or liquid body, for if it were solid, like +our earth, all its parts would have to rotate at the same rate. At +periods of eleven years the greatest number of spots appear upon the +sun. + +Another interesting feature of the sun is the tremendous explosion of +hydrogen gas mixed with the vapors of calcium and magnesium, which +shoot out flames from twenty-five thousand to three hundred thousand +miles high, at a rate of speed two hundred times as swift as a rifle +bullet travels. Think what fireworks one might see from the sun’s +surface all the time! One would not need to wait until the Fourth of +July for fireworks there. These great, explosive flames can be seen +by the telescope when the moon eclipses the sun, and they have been +analyzed by means of the spectroscope. Besides these magnificent +explosions, there is surrounding the sun a glow which is brighter +near the sun’s surface and paler at the edges; it is a magnificent +solar halo, some of its streamers being millions of miles long. This +halo is called the Corona, and is visible during total eclipses. By +means of the spectroscope we know that there are about forty chemical +elements in the sun, which are the same as those we find upon our +earth. + +As the sun weighs 330,000 times as much as the earth, the force of +gravity upon its surface is twenty-seven and two-thirds times as +much as it is here. A letter which weighs an ounce here would weigh +almost a pound and three quarters on the sun; and a man of ordinary +size in this world would weigh more than two tons there, and would be +crushed to death by his own weight. Find how much your watch, your +book, your pencil, your baseball, your football would weigh on the +sun. + + + OUR SUN AND ITS FAMILY + +First of all we shall have to acknowledge that our great, blazing sun +is simply a medium-sized star, not nearly so large as Vega, nor even +as large as the Pole-star; but it happens to be our own particular +star and so is of the greatest importance to us. The sun has several +other worlds, more or less like our own, revolving around it on +almost the same level or plane in which our world revolves, but some +of these worlds are much nearer the sun and others much farther away +than ours. Nearest of all is Mercury, but it is not half so thick +through as our earth, and it is so close to the sun that it circles +around in 88 days; that is, its year is only 88 days long. Next comes +Venus, almost as large as the earth, with a year 225 days long; next +comes our earth, which completes its year in 365 days; next beyond +us is Mars, a little more than half as thick as the earth and with a +year 687 days long; beyond Mars is a group of small planets which are +not large enough to be seen with the telescope, but we know that one +of the largest of the group is only 490 miles through; beyond this +mysterious swarm of little worlds is great Jupiter almost ten times +as thick through as the earth, and it is so far away that it does not +circle about the sun but once in 11 years; beyond great Jupiter comes +Saturn, not quite ten times the diameter of the earth and so far from +the sun that it takes 29½ years for it to move around its orbit; +beyond Saturn is Uranus, only about four times as thick through as +our world, and it has a year 84 years long; but the outermost of +all our sun’s planets is Neptune, a little larger than Mars, but +so far from the sun that 165 years are required for it to complete +its circle. Just think of a spring or a winter 41 years long! If +Methuselah had lived on Neptune, he would have died before he was +five and one-half years old. + +Almost all of the Earth’s sister planets are better off for moons +than she; neither Venus nor Mercury has any moons. Mars has two +moons, Jupiter five and Saturn has nine besides some splendid rings; +and a queer thing about one of Saturn’s moons is that it revolves in +an opposite direction from the others. Uranus has four moons, while +Neptune is not any better off than we are, unless, there are some we +have not been able to discover because they are so far away. + +One peculiar thing about all of the planets of the sun’s family +and all of their moons is that they all shine by reflecting the +light of the sun, and none of them are hot enough to give off light +independently; but these sister worlds of ours are so near us that +they often seem larger and brighter than the stars, which are true +suns and give off much more light than our own sun. After a little +experience the young astronomer learns to distinguish the planets +from the true stars; the planets always follow closely the path of +the sun and moon through the sky; they often seem larger and brighter +than the true stars and do not twinkle so much. The so-called morning +and evening stars are other planets of our sun’s family and are not +stars at all. + +Dr. Simon Newcomb in his delightful book, “Astronomy for Everybody,” +gives the best illustration to make us understand the place of our +sun and its planets and its relation to the stars in space. He +explains that if here in the Atlantic States we should make a model +of our solar system by putting an apple down in a field to represent +the sun; then our earth could be represented by a mustard seed forty +feet away revolving around the apple; and Neptune, our outermost +planet, could be represented as a small pea circling around the apple +at the distance of a quarter of a mile. Thus, our whole solar system +could be modeled in a field one-half mile square, except for comets +which might extend out in their long orbits for several miles. But to +find the star nearest to our earth, the star that is only four and +one-half light-years away from us, we should have to travel from this +field across the whole of North America to California, and then take +a steamer and go out into the Pacific Ocean before we should reach +our nearest star neighbor, which would be another sun like our own +and be represented by another apple. + + + COMETS + +Besides planets and stars there are in space other bodies spinning +around our great sun, and following paths shaped quite differently +than those followed by our earth and its sister planets. We move +around the sun nearly in a circle with the sun at the center, but +these other heavenly bodies swing around in great ellipses, the sun +being near one end of the ellipse and the other end being out in +space beyond our farthest planet. These bodies do not revolve around +the sun in the same plane as our world and the other planets, and +indeed they often move in quite the opposite direction. The most +noticeable of these bodies whose race-track around the sun is long +instead of circular are the comets, and we know that some of these +almost brush the sun when turning at the end of their course. The +astronomers have been able to measure the length of the race-tracks +of some of the comets and thus tell when they will come back. Encke’s +comet, named after the German astronomer, makes its course in three +and one-half years and this is the shortest period of any we know. +There are about thirty comets whose courses have been thus measured; +the longest period belongs to Halley’s comet, which makes such a long +trip that it comes back only once in seventy-six years; but there +are other comets which astronomers are sure travel such long routes +that they come back only once in hundreds or even thousands of years. +About nine hundred comets have been discovered, many of them so small +that they can only be seen through the aid of the telescope; and +it has been found that in one instance, at least, three comets are +racing around the sun on the same track. + +A comet is a beautiful object, usually having a head which is a point +of brilliant light and a long, flaring tail of fainter light, which +always extends out from it on the side opposite the sun. The head of +a comet must be nearly twice as thick through as the earth in order +to be large enough for our telescopes to discover it. Some of the +comet heads have been measured, and one was thirty-one times, and +another one hundred and fifty times, as wide as our earth. If the +heads are this large, imagine how long the tails must be! Some of +them are far longer than the distance from our earth to the sun. + +The head of a comet is supposed to be a mass of gas which is made to +glow by the sun’s heat, and is so volatile and thin that the heat +evaporates it. In fact, this gas has so little weight that light +can push it; one would never believe that light could push anything +because we cannot feel it strike against us; but the physicists have +found that it does push, and by pushing against the particles of the +gas of comets it sends them out into a streamer away from the sun, +just as the heat pushes out a flaring cloud of steam from the spout +of a teakettle. + +Another thing we know about comets is that they are not able to hold +together, but break into pieces; and these pieces become cold out +in space and condense and harden into lumps of metallic stone; and +these lumps, each one whirling, follows the same track that the comet +followed. If a comet should break into many pieces it would make a +whole flock of these lumps all going in the same direction and in the +same path about the sun. + +Since comets are moving around the sun in every direction, it is +possible that the earth may sometime meet one; and if this proves to +be a “head on collision” there are those who prophesy that there will +be no people left to tell the story; but the tails of comets are so +thin and ethereal that our earth actually passed through one once, +and no one but the astronomers knew anything about it. + + + SHOOTING STARS + +When we look up during an evening walk and see a star falling through +space, sometimes leaving a track of light behind it, we wonder which +of the beautiful stars of the heavens has fallen. But astronomers +tell us that no real star ever fell, but that what we saw was a +lump of the matter of which worlds and comets are made; and it was +following its own swift path around the sun, when by chance it +crossed our earth’s path, and was drawn toward us by that mysterious +power called gravitation, which makes us fall down if we lose our +balance, and which also made this bit of world-stuff fall to earth +when it came so near us that its balance was disturbed. Although +this shooting star was just a dark, cold lump of metal, too small +for us to see, yet it was moving so swiftly along its path around +the sun that the friction caused by its passing through our air, +lighted it and burned it up, just as a match scratched on sandpaper +lights and burns; as soon as it blazed we saw it and said, “There +is a shooting star!” Sometimes the lump is so big that it does not +have time to burn up while passing through the hundred miles or more +of our atmosphere, and what is left of it strikes the earth usually +with such force as to bury itself deep in the soil. Such lumps are +called “meteoroids” before they fall and “meteors” while plunging +white-hot through the air, but when they reach our earth we call what +is left of them “meteorites.” There are, in museums, many meteorites +of this so-called stone, which is largely iron. Chemists find no new +metals or elements in these strangers from space, but they do find +new kinds of chemical partnerships and combinations. Some of these +meteorites weigh hundreds of pounds, one in the Yale Museum weighing +1635 pounds. It surely would not be safe for a person to be on the +spot where and when one of these meteorites strikes the earth; but +there are so few of the meteors large enough to last until they +become meteorites, that we may safely continue to enjoy the sight +of shooting stars. If it were not for the air that wraps our globe, +like a great, kindly blanket, and by its friction sets fire to the +meteors and destroys them, no one could live on this earth because +we all should be pelted to death. Prof. Newton estimated that every +twenty-four hours our world meets seven millions of these shooting +stars, some of them no larger than shot and others weighing tons. + + + THE RELATION BETWEEN COMETS AND METEORS + +It has been discovered that many of the shooting stars are gathered +in great flocks and move about the sun in elongated paths, like the +comets. We have learned the times of year when the path our earth +follows comes close to these flocks of meteors which are flying +around the sun like birds. One of these flocks is straggling, and +we begin to meet it about the end of July and reach the center of +the crowd on August 10th, and then continue to take stragglers until +the last of August. We can see the point where we meet this flock +of meteors, if we look for it in the direction of the constellation +Perseus (see planisphere). On November 13th, we meet another flock +which we find in the direction of the constellation Leo, of which +the great star Regulus is the heart (see chart); but this flock is +usually all in a bunch and we pass it in two days. Once there was +a splendid flock which our world met every thirty-three years, and +we took so many stragglers from it that our skies were filled with +shooting stars, and ignorant people were greatly frightened; but for +some reason, this flock has changed its path and we looked in vain +for the great display of fireworks which was due to occur in 1899. + +While we know from observation that the flocks of shooting stars, +which make our star showers, are just broken pieces of comets +which once traveled the same path, yet it does not follow that all +our shooting stars are comet fragments. Prof. Elkins has shown by +photographing meteors that some of them must be wanderers in the vast +spaces which lie between the stars. + + + + + [A]THE RELATION BETWEEN THE TROPIC OF CANCER AND + THE PLANTING OF THE GARDEN + + By JOHN W. SPENCER + + _A story to be read to the pupils_ + + +In years gone by, many farmers had a favorite phase of the moon when +they planted certain crops, usually spoken of as the “dark” or the +“light” of the moon. I once knew a woman who picked her geese by the +“sign of the moon.” Hogs were butchered in the “light” of the moon, +and then the pork would not “fry away” so much in the skillet. It +is true some pork from some hogs wastes faster than that of others, +but the difference is due to the kind of food given the hogs. Many +farmers hold to those old superstitions yet, but the number is much +less now than twenty-five years ago. I wish I might impress on you +young agriculturists that the moon has no influence on plant life, or +pork, or geese, but the position of the sun most decidedly has. We +have some plants that had best be planted when the sun’s rays strike +the state of New York slantingly, which means in early spring or +late fall. We have other plants that should not be put in the open +ground until the rays of the sun strike the state more direct blows, +which means the hotter weather of summer. If I were in close touch +with you pupils, I should be glad to tell some things that happen to +three young friends of mine, hoping that thereby my statement might +give the boys and girls an interest in three geographical lines +concerning the tropics, and lead them to find their location on the +map, particularly when later they learn what happens to my three +young friends, whom we will call by the following names: There is one +in Quito, Ecuador, of whom we will speak as Equator Shem; the one on +the Island of Cuba is named Tropic of Cancer Ham; and the other in +San Paulo, Brazil, answers to the name of Tropic of Capricorn Japhet. + +What happens to these three boys, Shem, Ham and Japhet, is this. +At certain times of the year they have no shadow when they go home +for dinner at noon. This state of affairs is no fault of theirs. It +is not because they are too thin to make shadows. It is due to the +position of the sun. If the boys should look for that luminary at +noon, they would find it as directly over their heads as a plumb +line. It is a case of direct or straight blows from rays of the +sun, and, oh, how hot--hotter than any Fourth of July the oldest +inhabitant can remember! These three boys are not hit squarely on +the head on one and the same day. Each is hit three months after the +other. The first boy to be hit this year in the above manner will be +the Equator Shem. The time will be during the last half of March. Can +any of my young friends in this grade tell me the exact day of March +that Equator Shem has no shadow? If no one of you can answer that +question at this time, you had best talk it over with your friends, +and bring your answers tomorrow. It happens at a time when our days +are of about equal length. + +Another thing about this particular day is that our almanacs call it +the first day of spring. All because no boy or anything else has a +shadow on the equator at noon time. People and bluebirds and robins +in the state of New York will see squalls of snow about that time, +and there will be some freezing nights. But after the first day of +spring the cold storms do not last so long, as was the case during +December, January, and early February, when the sun’s rays hit us +with very glancing blows. Watch to see how much faster the sun melts +the snow on the last days of March than it did at Christmas time. +The light is also stronger and brighter, and plants in greenhouses +and our homes have more life, and are not so shiftless, so to speak. +Even the hens feel the influence, for they begin to lay more eggs +and cackle, and down goes the price of eggs. Do not forget to learn +what day in March spring begins, when the Equator boy finds it so hot +that he would like to take off his flesh, and sit in his bones. After +a few days, Equator Shem will find he again has a shadow at noon. A +short one it is true, but it will get longer and longer each day. Now +his shadow will be on the south side of him. Is this a queer thing to +happen? On which side of you is your noon-time shadow? I will give +every one of you a red apple that finds it anywhere but on the north +side of him at twelve o’clock. Every time the sun shines at noon, +watch to find your old uncle in the wrong, and thereby get the apple. +Each day that the shadow of Equator Shem becomes longer and longer, +the noon-day shadow of Tropic of Cancer Ham, living on the Island of +Cuba, will be getting shorter and shorter, until at last there comes +a day during the last of June that he, too, will have no shadow, and +the almanac says that that day is the beginning of summer. + +Now it will be the turn of the Tropic of Cancer Ham, on the Island of +Cuba, to say the weather is hotter than two Fourths of July beat into +one, and he too will wish that he could take off his flesh, and sit +in his bones. Everybody in the state of New York will say that the +first summer day is the longest day of the year. It is on this day +that Equator Shem will have as long a shadow as _he_ ever had in his +life. No United States boy will ever be without a shadow at noon so +long as he remains in his own country. When the eight o’clock curfew +bell says it is time for boys and girls to go to bed, it will yet be +light enough to read the papers. The sun not only sets late on that +first summer day, but it appears early next morning. What a beautiful +spectacle a sunrise in June is! Men of wealth will pay thousands of +dollars for pictures showing its glory, yet I suppose that not one +boy in five hundred ever saw the beauty of the birth of a new day in +the sixth month of the year, and with no price of admission at that. + +For only one day do the sun’s rays fall directly on top of the head +of Tropic of Cancer Ham, who lives on the Island of Cuba--just for +one day, after which the up and down rays travel back towards the +Equator Shem. On the twenty-first of September Shem again has no +shadow at noon, and the almanac makers say that is the last day of +summer, and tomorrow will be the first day of autumn. Again it is +very hot where Shem lives, but the alligators and monkeys and the +parrots do not seem to mind it. Where do the up and down rays of +the sun go next? They keep going south, hunting for the boy named +Tropic of Capricorn Japhet, to warm _him_ up, as was the case with +the boys in Cuba and at the Equator. The up and down rays do not +find the top of the head of the lad in the City of San Paulo, Brazil +until the last part of December, just four days before Christmas, +and then the almanac says this is the beginning of winter, and the +shorter days of the year, when we in the state of New York light the +lamp at five o’clock in the afternoon. Now, my boys and girls, do +you understand why we have a change of seasons? Do you understand +that the sun changes his manner of pitching his rays at us? That in +winter, when he is over the head of the Tropic of Capricorn Japhet in +San Paulo, and making summer on that part of the earth, to us people +in the north, in the State of New York, he pitches only slanting rays +that do not hit us hard, and have but little power? Thus you will +see that the rays of the sun that strike the earth direct blows, +swing back and forth like a pendulum, year after year, and century +after century, coming north as far as Tropic of Cancer Shem, but no +farther, and then swinging south as far as the boy named Tropic of +Capricorn Japhet, and no farther, just stopping and swinging back +again towards the north. + + +FOOTNOTE: + +[A] A portion of a letter to apprentice gardeners from Uncle John, +published as a supplement to the Home Nature-Study Course Leaflet, +for April-May, 1907. + + + + + THE ZODIAC AND ITS SIGNS + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + To be retold to pupils. + + +The mysterious symbols of the Zodiac on the first pages of almanacs +are always a source of wonder and awe to children, and remain a +life-long mystery to most people except fortune tellers; and yet the +Zodiac is the simplest thing in the world to understand. However, the +lesson should not be given until after the children have had their +lessons on the sun and the shadow-stick, and also the lessons on the +stars. + +The ancients who believed the earth stood still and the sun moved +around it, noticed inevitably that the path through the heavens +pursued by the sun reached in summer a point farther north and +higher up than in the winter, and they naturally wished to map this +path, so as to fix it in their minds and writings. Nothing could +be easier, for there in the skies were the eternal stars always +following the same fixed path through the heavens and never wobbling +up and down like the sun. So they chose the constellation which +marked the highest point in the sun’s path for each month, and these +constellations might be likened to a stairway with six steps down +toward the south and six steps up toward the north, the highest +stair being reached by the sun in June, for then the sun is highest +in the heavens and the farthest north. So beginning in June with +Cancer, (the Crab), which is high in the heavens, it steps down to +Leo, (the Lion) in July, takes another step lower to the Virgin in +August, another down to the Scorpion in September, and comes to the +lowest step of all, Sagittarius, (the Archer), in November; for +at the last of November, the sun’s path reaches its lowest point +farthest south in the heavens and then the days are shortest. But in +December it begins to climb and takes a short step up to Capricornus, +(the Goat), in January it rises to Aquarius, (the Water Carrier), and +in February rises another step to Pisces, (the Fishes). In March it +reaches up to Aries, (the Ram), in April attains Taurus, (the Bull), +and in May reaches Gemini, (the Twins), which step is almost as high +and as near to the North Star as was the Cancer, where the journey +began the June before. + +It may be difficult for the pupils to learn to know all these +constellations, as some of them are not very well marked; however, if +they wish to learn them they can do so by the use of the planisphere. +Some of the Zodiac constellations are marked by brilliant stars which +have already been learned. Regulus is the heart of Leo, the Lion; +Spica which means “ear” is the ear of wheat which the Virgin is +holding in the constellation Virgo. Red Antares lies in the Scorpion; +and the Milk Dipper, which is shaped like the Big Dipper, but +smaller, marks Sagittarius. Red Aldebaran is the fiery eye of Taurus, +the Bull, while the Gemini, or Twins, are the most conspicuous of +the stars in the evening skies of February and March. It should +be noted, however, that at the present day, owing to the peculiar +movement of our earth, the path of the sun in climbing up and down +these constellation steps is not quite the same as it seemed to the +ancients. + +[Illustration: _From Todd’s New Astronomy._] + + + + + THE RELATIONS OF THE SUN TO THE EARTH + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + “_Whether we look or whether we listen, + We hear life murmur or see it glisten._” + --LOWELL. + + +All this murmuring and glistening life on our earth planet has +its source in the great sun which swings through our skies daily, +sending to us through the friendly ether his messages of light +and warmth--messages that kindle life in the seed and perfect the +existence of every living organism, whether it be the weed in the +field or the king on his throne. + +At sunrise this heat which the sun sends out equally at all times +of day and night, is tempered when it reaches us because it passes +obliquely through our atmosphere-blanket, and thus traverses a +greater distance in the cooling air. The same is true at sunset; but +at noon, when the sun is most directly over our heads its rays pass +through the least possible distance of the atmosphere-blanket and, +therefore, lose less heat on the way. It is true that often about +three o’clock in the afternoon is the hottest period of the day, but +this is because the air-blanket has become thoroughly heated; but we +receive the most heat directly from the sun at noon. + +The variations in the time of the rising and the setting of the sun +may be made a most interesting investigation on the part of the +pupils. They should keep a record for a month in the winter; and with +this as a basis, use the almanac to complete the lesson. Thus, each +one may learn for himself which is the shortest and which the longest +day of the year. There is a slight variation in different years; the +shortest day of the year when this lesson was written, as computed +from a current almanac, was the 22d of December; it was nine hours +and fourteen minutes long. The longest day of the year was the 22d +of June, and it was fifteen hours and six minutes in duration. On +the longest day of the year the sun reaches its farthest point north +and is, therefore, most nearly above us at mid-day. On the shortest +day of the year, the sun reaches its farthest point south and is, +therefore, farther from the point directly above us at mid-day than +during any other day of the year. + +Also the movement of the sun north and south is an interesting +subject for personal investigation, as suggested in the lesson. +Through quite involuntary observation, I have become so accustomed +to the arc traversed by the points of sunrise as seen from my home, +that I can tell what month of the year it is, by simply noting the +place where the sun rises. When it first peeps at us over a certain +pine tree far to the south, it is December; when it rises over the +reservoir it is February or October; and when it rises over Beebe +pond it is July. Only at the equinox of spring and fall does it rise +exactly in the east and set directly in the west. Equinox means equal +nights, that is, the length of the night is equal to that of the day. + +So vast is the weight of the sun that the force of gravity upon +its surface is so great that even if it were not for the white-hot +fireworks there so constantly active, we could not live upon it, for +our own weight would crush us to death. But this multiplying the +weight of common objects by twenty-seven and two-thirds to find how +much they would weigh on the sun is an interesting diversion for +the pupils, and incidentally teaches them how to weigh objects, and +something about that mysterious force called gravity; and it is also +an excellent lesson in fractions. + + + + + LESSON CCXXXII + + THE RELATION OF THE SUN TO THE EARTH. + +_Leading thought_--The sun which is the source of all our light and +heat and, therefore, of all life on our globe travels a path that +is higher across the sky in June than the path which it follows in +December, and hence we experience changes of seasons. The lesson +should be given to the pupils of the upper grades and should be +correlated with reading, arithmetic and thinking. + +_Observations_--1. What does the sun do for us? + +2. At what time of the day after the sun rises do we get the least +heat from it? What hour of the day do we get the most heat from it? + +3. Is the sun equally hot all day? Why does it seem hotter to us at +one time of the day than at another? + +4. At what hour does the sun rise and set on the first of the +following months; February, March, April, May and June? + +5. Which is the shortest day of the year, and how long is it? + +6. Which is the longest day of the year, and how many hours and +minutes are there in it? + +7. What day of the year is the sun nearest a point directly over our +heads at mid-day? + +8. Which day of the year is the sun at mid-day farthest from the +point directly above our heads? Explain why this is so. + +9. Standing in a certain place, mark by some building, tree or other +object just where the sun rises in the east and sets in the west on +the first of February. Observe the rising and setting of the sun from +the same place on the first day of March and again on the first of +April. Does it rise and set in the same place always or does it move +northward or southward? + +10. Is the sun farthest south on the shortest day of the year? If so, +is it farthest north on the longest day of the year? + +11. At what time of the year does the sun rise due east and set due +west? + +12. The sun is so much larger than the earth that its force of +gravity is twenty-seven and two-thirds times that of the earth. How +much would your watch weigh if you were living on the sun? How much +would you yourself weigh if you were there? + +13. _Experiment. A shadow stick_--Place a peg two or three inches +high upright in a board and place the board lengthwise on the sill of +a south window or where it will get the south light. Note the length +cast by the shadow of the peg during a sunny day and draw a line with +pencil or chalk outlining the tip of the shadow of the stick from 9 +a. m. to 4 p. m. Make a similar outline a month later and again a +month later and note whether the shadow traces the same line during +each of these days of observation. Note especially the length of the +shadow at noon. + +[Illustration: _A shadow-stick._] + +Another excellent observation lesson for teaching the fact that the +sun travels farther south in the winter, is to measure the shadow +of a tree on the school grounds at noonday once a month during the +school year. The length of the tree shadow can be measured from the +base of the tree trunk, a memorandum being made of it. + +14. When does the stick or tree cast its longest shadow at noon--in +December or February? February or April? April or June? Why? + +_Topics for English themes_--The size and distance of the sun. The +heat of the sun and its effect upon the earth. What we know about the +sun spots. Our path around the sun. + +_Supplementary reading_--Starland, Ball; The Earth and Sky, Holden. + + + + + LESSON CCXXXIII + + HOW TO MAKE A SUNDIAL + +_Method_--The diagram for the dial is a lesson in mechanical drawing. +Each pupil should construct a gnomon (_no-mon_) of cardboard, and +should make a drawing of the face of the dial upon paper. Then the +sundial may be constructed by the help of the more skillful in the +class. It should be made and set up by the pupils. A sundial in the +school grounds may be made a center of interest and an object of +beauty as well. + +[Illustration: _A sundial made by pupils._] + +_Materials_--For the gnomon a piece of board a half inch thick and +six inches square is required. It should be given several coats of +white paint so that it will not warp. For the dial, take a board +about 14 inches square and an inch or more thick. The lower edge may +be bevelled if desired. This should be given three coats of white +paint, so that it will not warp and check. + +[Illustration: _The gnomon._] + +_To make the gnomon_--The word gnomon is from a Greek word meaning +“one who knows.” It is the hand of the sundial, which throws its +shadow on the face of the dial, indicating the hour. Take a piece +of board six inches square, and be very sure its angles are right +angles. Let s, t, u, v represent the four angles; draw on it a +quarter of a circle from s to u with a radius equal to the line +vs. Then with a cardboard protractor, costing fifteen cents, or by +working it out without any help except knowing that a right angle is +900, draw the line vw making the angle at x the same as the degree of +latitude where the sundial is to be placed. At Ithaca the latitude is +42°, 27′ and the angle at x measures 42° 27′. Then the board should +be cut off at the line vw, and later the edge sw may be cut in some +ornamental pattern. + +_To make the dial_--Take the painted board 14 inches square and find +its exact center, y. Draw on it with a pencil the line A A″ a foot +long and one-fourth inch at the left of the center. Then draw the +line B B″ exactly parallel to the line A A″ and a half inch to the +right of it. These lines should be one-half inch apart--which is just +the thickness of the gnomon. If the gnomon were only one-fourth inch +thick, then these lines should be one-fourth inch apart, etc. + +With a compass, or a pencil fastened to a string, draw the +half-circle A A′ A″ with a radius of six inches with the point C for +its center. Draw a similar half-circle B B′ B″ opposite with c′ for +its center. Then draw the half-circle from D, D′, D″, from c with a +radius of five and three-quarter inches. Then draw similarly from c′ +the half-circle E, E′, E″. Then draw from c the half-circle F, F′, F″ +with a radius of five inches and a similar half-circle G, G′, G″ from +c′ as a center. + +[Illustration: _The face of the sundial._] + +Find the points M, M′ just six inches from the points F, G; draw the +line J, K through M, M′ exactly at right angles to the line A, A′. +This will mark the six o’clock point so the figures VI may be placed +on it in the space between the two inner circles. The noon mark XII +should be placed as indicated (the “X” at D, F, the “II” at E, G). +With black paint outline all the semi-circles and figures. + +_To set up the sundial_--Fasten the base of the gnomon by screws or +brads to the dial with the point s of the gnomon at F, G, and the +point v of the gnomon at M, M′, so that the point W is up in the +air. Set the dial on some perfectly level standard with the line A, +A″ extending exactly north and south. If no compass is available, +wait until noon and set the dial so that the shadow from W will fall +exactly between the points A, B, and this will mean that the dial +is set exactly right. Then with a good watch note the points on the +arc E, K′, on which the shadow falls at one, two, three, four, and +five o’clock: and in the morning the points on the arc J′ D on which +the shadow falls at seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven o’clock. Draw +lines from M to these points, and lines from M′ to the points on the +arc E K′. Then place the figures on the dial as indicated in the +spaces between the two inner circles. The space between the two outer +circles may be marked with lines indicating the half and quarter +hours. The figures should be outlined in pencil and then painted with +black paint, or carved in the wood and then painted. + +[Illustration] + + * * * * * + + _Twilight, twilight of the west, + Sky-lines fading into rest, + Cloud-bars lying far and slight, + Shadows sinking into night,-- + O moon, ye moon, so faint and still, + Hanging, hanging as ye will + Low along the western sky, + Far and far and yet so nigh + A finger’s breadth within the sheen + And silent shoreless vasts between-- + Thy aching heart is long ages lost. + And clear and calm as film of frost, + Ye know no longer strain or stress, + All passionless and passionless._ + --From “The New Moon,” L. H. BAILEY. + + + + +[Illustration: _A photograph of the moon._] + + + THE MOON + + _Teacher’s Story_ + + +The moon is in more senses than one an illuminating object for both +the earth and the skies. As a beginning for earth study it is an +object lesson, illustrating what air and water do for our world +and incidentally for us; while as the beginning of the study of +astronomy, it is the largest and brightest object seen in the sky at +night; and since it lies nearest us, it is the first natural step +from our world to outer space. + +The moon is a little dead world that circles around our earth with +one face always towards us, just as a hat-pin thrust into an apple +would keep the same side of its head always toward the apple no +matter how rapidly the apple was twirled. As we study the face of the +moon, thus always turned toward us, we see that it is dark in some +places and shining in others, and some ignorant people have thought +that the dark places are oceans and the light places, land. But the +dark portions are simply areas of darker rocks, while the lighter +portions are yellowish or whitish rocks. The dark portions are of +such a form that people have imagined them to represent the eyes, +nose and mouth of a man’s face; but a far prettier picture is that of +a woman’s uplifted face in profile. The author has a personal feeling +on this point, for as a child she saw the man’s face always and +thought it very ugly and, moreover, concluded that he chewed tobacco; +but after she had been taught to find the face of the lady, the moon +was always a beautiful object to her. + +The moon is a member of our sun’s family, his granddaughter we might +call her if the earth be his daughter; and since the moon has no +fires or light of its own, it shines by light reflected from the +sun and, therefore, one-half of it is always in shadow. When we see +the whole surface of the lighted half we say the moon is full; but +when we see only half of the lighted side turned toward us, we say +the moon is in its quarter, because all we can see is one-half of +one-half which is one-quarter; and when the lighted side is almost +entirely turned away from us we say it is a crescent moon; and when +the lighted side is entirely turned away from us we say there is +no moon, although it is always there just the same. Thus, we can +understand that, although we can never see the other side of the +moon, the sun shines on all sides of it. Our earth, like the moon, +shines always by reflected light and is almost four times as wide +as the moon. Think what a splendid moon our earth must seem to the +lady in the moon! When we see the old moon in the new moon’s arms, +the dark outline of the moon within the bright crescent is visible +because of the earthshine reflected from it. Sometimes pupils confuse +this appearance of the moon with a partial eclipse; but the former +is the new or old moon, which is one edge of the moon shining in +the sunlight, the remainder faintly illumined by earth light, while +an eclipse must always occur at the full of the moon when the earth +passes between the sun and the moon, hiding the latter in its shadow. + +[Illustration: _The lady in the moon._] + +It is approximately a month from one new moon to the next, since it +takes twenty-nine and one-half days for the moon to complete its +cycle around the earth and thus turn once around in the sunshine. +Therefore, each moon day is fourteen and three-quarter days long +and the night is the same length. The moon always rises in the east +and sets in the west, following pretty nearly the sun’s summer +path. The full moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise, but owing +to the movement of the earth around the sun the moon rises about +fifty minutes later each evening; however, this time varies with the +different phases of the moon and at different times of the year. This +difference in the time of rising is so shortened in August, that we +have several nights when the full moon lengthens the day; and it is +called the “harvest moon,” because in England it adds to the hours +devoted to harvesting the grain. + + + A VISIT TO THE MOON + +If we could be shot out from a Jules Verne cannon and make a visit +to the moon, it would be a strange experience. First, we should find +on this little world, which is only as thick through as the distance +from Boston to Salt Lake City, mountains rising from its surface more +than thirty thousand feet high, which is twice as high as Mt. Blanc +and a thousand feet higher than the tallest peak of the Himalayas; +and these moon mountains are so steep that no one could climb them. +Besides ranges of these tremendous mountains, there are great craters +or circular spaces enclosed with steep rock walls many thousand feet +high. Sometimes at the center of the crater there is a peak lifting +itself up thousands of feet, and sometimes the space within the +crater circle is level. Thirty-three thousand of these craters have +been discovered. And, too, on the moon, there are great plains and +chasms; and all these features of the moon have been mapped, measured +and photographed by people on our earth. For a boy studying geometry, +the measuring of the height of the mountains of the moon is an +interesting story. + +[Illustration: _The moon’s surface seen through a telescope, showing +the craters Mercator and Campanus. Note that the shadows give some +idea of their height._ + +Photo after Nasmyth.] + +But we could never in our present bodies visit the moon, because of +one terrible fact--the moon has no air surrounding it. No air! What +does that mean to a world? First of all, as we know life, no living +thing--animal or plant--could exist there, for living beings must +have air. Neither is there water on the moon; for if there were water +there would have to be air. And without water no green thing can be +grown, and the surface of the moon is simply naked, barren rock. If +we were on the moon, we could not turn our eyes toward the sun, for +with no air to veil it, its fierce light would blind us; and the sky +is as black at midday as at midnight, since there is no atmosphere to +sift out the other rays of light, leaving the beautiful blue in the +sky; nor is there a glow at sunset because there is no air prism to +separate the rays of light and no clouds to reflect or refract them. +The stars could be seen in the black skies of midday as well as in +the black skies of night, and they would be simply points of light +and could not twinkle, since there is no air to diffuse the sun’s +light and thus curtain the stars by day and cause them to twinkle at +night. The shadows on the moon are, for the same reason, as black +as midnight and as sharply defined; and if we should step into the +shadow of a rock at midday we should be hidden as much as if we had +stepped into a well of ink, or put on the invisible cloak of fairy +lore. And because of no layers of air to make an aerial perspective, +a mountain a hundred miles away would seem as close to us as one a +mile away. + +Since there is no atmosphere on the moon to act as a buffer between +the cold of outer space, which is estimated to be 250° below zero, +and the heat of the sun, which is 500° above zero, the temperature of +the moon would vary 750° between day and night, or between sunshine +and shadow, because there is no air to carry the heat over into the +shadow or to blanket the world at night. But this great change of +temperature between sunlight and darkness is the only force on the +moon to change the shape of its rocks, for the expansion under heat +and contraction under cold must break and crumble even the firmest +rock more or less. Our rocks are broken by the freezing of water that +creeps into every crevice, but there is no water to act on the moon’s +mountains in this fashion or to wear them away by dashing over their +surface. However, the rocks and mountains of the moon may be changed +in shape by the battering of meteorites, which pelt into the moon by +the million, since the moon has no air to set them afire and make +them into harmless shooting stars, burning up before they strike. But +though a meteorite weighing thousands of tons should crash into a +moon mountain and shatter it to atoms there would be no sound, since +sound is carried only by the atmosphere. + +Imagine this barren, dead world, chained to our earth by links forged +from unbreakable gravity, with never a breath of air, a drop of rain +or flake of snow, with no streams, nor seas, nor graced by any green +thing--not even a blade of grass--a tree, nor by the presence of +any living creature! Out there in space it whirls its dreary round, +with its stupendous mountains cutting the black skies with their +jagged peaks above, and casting their inky shadows below; heated by +the sun’s rays until hotter than the flame of a blast furnace, then +suddenly immersed into cold that would freeze our air into solid +ice, its only companion the terrific rain of meteoric stones driven +against it with a force far beyond that of cannon balls, and yet with +never a sound as loud as a whisper to break the terrible stillness +which envelops it. + + + LESSON CCXXXIV + + THE MOON + +_Leading thought_--The moon always has the same side turned toward +us so we do not know what is on the other side. The moon shines by +reflected light from the sun, and is always half in light and half in +shadow. The moon has neither air nor water on its surface and what we +call the moon phases depend on how much of the lighted surface we see. + +_Method_--Have the pupils observe the moon as often as possible for a +month, beginning with the full moon. After the suggested experiment, +the questions which follow may be given a few at a time. + +_Experiment for recess_--Darken the room as much as possible; use a +lighted lamp or gas jet or electric light for the sun, which is, of +course, stationary. Take a large apple to represent the earth and a +small one to represent the moon. Thrust a hat pin through the big +apple to represent the axis of the earth and also the axis about +which the moon revolves. Tie a string about a foot long to the stem +of the moon apple and make fast the other end to the hat pin just +above the earth apple. Hold the hat pin in one hand and revolve the +apple representing the moon slowly with the other hand letting +the children see that if they were living on the earth apple the +following things would be true: + +1. Moving from right to left when the moon is between the earth and +the sun it reflects no light. + +2. Moving a little to the left a crescent appears. + +3. Moving a quarter around shows the first quarter. + +4. When just opposite the lamp, it shows its whole face lighted +turned toward the earth. + +5. Another quarter around shows a half disc, which is the third +quarter. + +6. When almost between the sun and the earth the crescent of the old +moon appears. + +7. Note that the moon always keeps one face toward the earth. + +8. Note that the new moon crescent is the lighted edge of one side +of the moon, while the old moon crescent is the lighted edge of the +opposite side. + +9. Make an eclipse of the moon by letting the shadow of the earth +fall upon it, and an eclipse of the sun by revolving the moon apple +between the sun and the earth. The earth’s orbit and the moon’s orbit +are such that this relative position of the two bodies occurs but +seldom. + +[Illustration: _Experiment for illustrating the phases of the moon._] + +_Observations_--1. Describe how the moon looks when it is full. + +2. What do you think you see in the moon? + +3. Describe the difference in appearance between the new moon and the +full moon, and explain this difference. + +4. Where does the new moon rise and where does it set? + +5. When does it rise and when does it set? + +6. Where and when does the full moon rise and where and when does it +set? + +7. How does the old moon look? + +8. Could the crescent moon which is seen in early evening be the old +moon instead of the new; and, if not, why not? + +9. When and where do we ordinarily see the old moon when it is +crescent shaped? + +10. Does the moon rise earlier or later on succeeding nights? What is +approximately the difference in time of moonrise on two successive +nights? + +11. Do you think we always look at the same side of the moon? If so, +why? + +12. Is more than one side of the moon luminous? Why? + +13. How many days from one new moon until the next? + +14. How long is the day on the moon and how long the night? + +15. How many times does the moon go around the earth in a year? + +16. What is the difference between the disappearance of the old moon +and an eclipse of the moon? In both cases the moon is hidden from us. + + + _The Physical Geography of the Moon_ + +_Questions for the pupils to think about and answer if they can_--17. +Since it has been proved that there is no air or water on the moon, +could there be any life there? + +18. Supposing you could do without air or water and should be able to +visit the moon, what would you find to be the color of the sky there? + +19. Would there be a red glow before sunrise or beautiful colors at +sunset? + +20. Would the sun appear to have rays? Could you look at the sun +without being blinded? + +21. Would the stars appear to twinkle? Could you see the stars in the +daytime? + +22. How would the shadows look? If you could step into the shadow of +a rock at midday, could you be seen? + +23. Could you tell by looking at it whether a mountain was far or +near? + +24. It is estimated that the temperature of outer space is 250 +degrees below zero, and the sun’s direct heat is 500 degrees above +zero. If this be correct, how hot would it be in the sunshine on the +moon? How cold would it be at midnight? + +25. Why is it so much hotter and colder on the moon than upon the +earth? + +26. If you could shout on the moon, how would it sound? If one +hundred cannons should be fired at once on the moon, how would it +sound? + +27. Is there any rain or snow on the moon? Are there any clouds +there? If there are no air and water on the moon, would the intense +heat and the powerful cold affect the soils or rocks, as freezing and +thawing affect our rocks? + +28. Professor Newton estimated that the earth meets seven million +meteorites (shooting stars) every twenty-four hours. Why do we not +see more of these? What happens when a meteorite strikes the moon? + +29. The moon is so small that the force of gravity on its surface +is one-sixth that on the earth’s surface. If a man can carry +seventy-five pounds on his back here, how much could he carry on the +moon? If a boy can throw a ball one hundred yards here, how many +yards could he throw on the moon? If a boy can kick a football one +hundred and thirty-five feet in the air here, how far could he kick +it on the moon? + + + + + BOOKS OF REFERENCE + + +The following list of nature books is by no means complete. It simply +includes books which the author has consulted in her work as a +teacher, and to which she naturally referred in the lessons. The list +is given with the publishers for the convenience of those who may use +this volume. + + + BIRD STUDY + + American Birds--Wm. L. Finley--Scribners. + Birdcraft--Wright--MacMillan. + Bird Life--Chapman--Appleton. + Bird Neighbors--Blanchan--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Birds that Hunt and are Hunted--Blanchan--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Bird Homes--Dugmore--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Birds and Bees--John Burroughs--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Birds of New York--Eaton and Fuertes--University of State of New + York Press. + Birds of the United States--Apgar--American Book Co. + Birds of Song and Story--Grinnell--Mumford, Chicago. + Birds in their Relation to Man--Weed & Dearborn--Lippincott. + Birds of Village and Field--Merriam--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Birds through an Opera Glass--Merriam--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Bob: The Story of a Mockingbird--Lanier--Scribner. + Citizen Bird--Wright--MacMillan. + Everyday Birds--Torrey--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Field Book of Wild Birds and their Music--Mathews--Putnams. + First and Second Book of Birds--Miller--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Guide to the Birds--Hoffman--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Handbook of Birds of Eastern N. America--Chapman--Appletons. + How to Attract the Birds--Blanchan--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Leaflets of National Association of Audubon Societies--141 Broadway, + N. Y. + Mother Nature’s Children--Gould--Ginn & Co. + Nestlings of Forest and Marsh--Wheelock--A. C. McClurg & Co. + Neighbors with Wings and Fins--Johonnot--American Book Co. + Notes on New England Birds--H. D. Thoreau--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Our Birds and their Nestlings--Walker--American Book Co. + Sharp Eyes--John Burroughs--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Story of the Birds--Baskett--Appletons. + Stories About Birds--Kirby--Educational Publishing Co. + The Bird: Its Form and Function--Beebe--Henry Holt & Co. + The Bird Book--Eckstorm--D. C. Heath & Co. + The Song of the Cardinal--Porter--Bobbs, Merrill & Co. + The Woodpeckers--Eckstorm--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + True Bird Stories--Miller--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Useful Birds and Their Protection--Forbush--Mass. Board of Agri. + + + FISH STUDY + + American Food and Game Fishes--Jordan & Everman--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Fish Stories--Holder & Jordan--Henry Holt & Co. + Fisherman’s Luck--Van Dyke--Scribners. + Guide to the Study of the Fishes--Jordan--Henry Holt & Co. + Neighbors with Wings and Fins--Johonnot--American Book Co. + Science Sketches--Jordan--McClurg. + The Complete Angler--Isaac Walton--Little Brown & Co. + The Freshwater Aquarium--Eggeling & Ehrenberg--Henry Holt & Co. + The Home Aquarium--Eugene Smith--E. P. Dutton & Co. + The Story of the Fishes--Baskett--Appletons. + + + BATRACHIAN AND REPTILE STUDY + + American Natural History--Hornaday--Scribner. + Elementary Zoology--Kellogg--Henry Holt & Co. + Familiar Life of Field and Forest--Mathews--Appletons. + The Frog Book--Dickerson--Doubleday, Page & Co. + The Reptile Book--Ditmars--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Serpents of Pennsylvania--Surface--State College, Penn. + + + MAMMAL STUDY + + American Animals--Stone & Cram--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Animals of the World--Knight & Jenks--Frederick Stokes Co. + Animal Heroes--Thompson-Seton--Scribners. + A Country Reader--Buchanan--MacMillan. + A Watcher in the Woods--Dallas Lore Sharp--Century Co. + Black Beauty--Sewell--Lothrop. + Bob, Son of Battle--Olliphant--McClure, Phillips & Co. + Campfires of a Naturalist--Edwards--Appletons. + Camp Life in the Woods--Gibson--Harpers. + Concerning Cats--Winslow--Lothrop. + Domestic Animals--Burkett--Ginn & Co. + Domesticated Animals--Shaler--Scribners. + Dog of Flanders--Ouida--. + Familiar Life of Field and Forest--Mathews--Appletons. + Familiar Wild Animals--Lottridge--Henry Holt & Co. + Forest Neighbors--Hurlbert--McClure, Phillips & Co. + Half Hours with Mammals--Holder--American Book Co. + In Praise of the Dog--Bicknell--E. P. Dutton & Co. + Jack of the Bush Veldt--Fitz Patrick--Longmans, Green & Co. + Jungle Books, First and Second--Kipling--Century Co. + Kindred of the Wild--Roberts--L. C. Page & Co. + Life of Animals--Ingersoll--MacMillan. + Lives of the Hunted--Thompson-Seton--Scribners. + Little Beasts of Field and Wood--Cram--Small, Maynard & Co. + Little Brother of the Bear--Long--Ginn & Co. + Little People of the Sycamore--Roberts--L. C. Page & Co. + Mack, His Book--Florence Leigh--Frederick Stokes Co. + Neighbors of Field, Wood and Stream--Grinnell--Frederick Stokes. + Neighbors with Claws and Hoofs--Johonnot--American Book Co. + Nights with Uncle Remus--Harris--McClure, Phillips & Co. + Rab and his Friends--Dr. John Brown--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Red Fox--Roberts--L. C. Page & Co. + Roof and Meadow--Dallas Lore Sharp--Century Co. + Secrets of the Woods--Wm. J. Long--Ginn & Co. + Squirrels and other Fur-bearers--Burroughs--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Stickeen--John Muir--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + The Animals and Man--Kellogg--Henry Holt & Co. + The Horse--I. P. Roberts--MacMillan. + The Fireside Sphinx--Repplier--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + The Face of the Fields--D. Lore Sharp--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + The Case for the Goat--Various Authors--E. P. Dutton. + The Silver Fox--Seton--Century Co. + Two Little Savages--Seton--Doubleday, Page & Co. + True Tales of Birds and Beasts--Jordan--. + Ways of Wood Folk--Wm. J. Long--Ginn & Co. + Wild Animals I Have Known--Seton--Scribners. + Wild Life Near Home--Dallas Lore Sharp--Century Co. + Wild Life in Orchard and Field--Ingersoll--Harpers. + Wild Neighbors--Ingersoll--MacMillan. + Wild Mammals of North America--Merriam--Henry Holt & Co. + + + INSECTS AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES + + American Insects--Kellogg--Henry Holt & Co. + A. B. C. of Bee Culture--A. I. Root--A. I. Root Co., Medina, O. + Ant Communities--McCook--Harpers. + Ants. W. M. Wheeler--Columbia University Press. + Caterpillars and their Moths--Elliot & Soule--Century Co. + Common Spiders--Emerton--Ginn & Co. + Earthworms--Darwin--Appletons. + Economic Entomology--Smith--Lippincotts. + Everyday Butterflies--Scudder--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Grasshopper Land--Morley--A. C. McClurg & Co. + Home Studies in Nature--Treat--American Book Co. + How to Keep Bees--Comstock--Doubleday, Page & Co. + How to Know the Butterflies--Comstock--Appletons. + Insect Book--Howard--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Insect Life--Comstock--Appletons. + Insect Stories--Kellogg--Henry Holt & Co. + Life Histories of American Insects--Weed--MacMillan. + Life of the Honey Bee--Ticknor Edwards--Methuen & Co. + Manual for the Study of Insects--Comstock--Comstock Pub. Co. + Mosquito Life--Mitchell--Putnams. + Moths and Butterflies--Ballard--Putnams. + Moths and Butterflies--Dickerson--Ginn & Co. + Nature Biographies--Weed--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Nature’s Craftsmen--McCook--Harpers. + Outdoor Studies--Needham--American Book Co. + The Bee People--Morley--A. C. McClurg & Co. + The House Fly--Howard--Frederick S. Stokes Co. + The Natural History of Some Common Animals--Latter--Cambridge Press. + The Spider Book--Comstock--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Wasps and their Ways--Morley--A. C. McClurg & Co. + Wasps, Social and Solitary--Peckham--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Ways of the Six-footed--Comstock--Ginn & Co. + + + PLANT LIFE--FLOWERS + + Beginner’s Botany--Bailey--MacMillan. + Blossom Hosts and Insect Guests--Gibson--Newson & Co. + Botany Reader--Newell--Ginn & Co. + Botany; Elementary Textbook--Bailey--MacMillan. + Childs Own Book of Wild Flowers--Comstock--American Book Co. + Field Book of American Wild Flowers--Mathews--Putnams. + Field, Forest and Garden Botany--Gray--American Book Co. + Field, Forest and Wayside Flowers--Going--Baker, Taylor Co. + First Lessons in Plant Life--Atkinson--Ginn & Co. + First Lessons with Plants--Bailey--MacMillan. + Flowers and their Friends--Morley--Ginn & Co. + Flowers of Field, Hill and Swamp--Creevy--Harpers. + Flowers of Northeastern United States--Miller & Whitney--Putnams. + Guide to the Wild Flowers--Lounsberry--Frederick S. Stokes Co. + How Plants Behave--Gray--American Book Co. + How Plants Grow--Gray--American Book Co. + How to Know the Wild Flowers--Dana--Scribners. + Manual of Botany--Gray--American Book Co. + Our Garden Flowers--Keeler--Scribners. + Plants and their Children--Dana--American Book Co. + Plant Life--Coulter--Appletons. + Procession of the Flowers--Higginson--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Recreations in Botany--Creevy--Harpers. + Who’s Who Among the Wild Flowers--Beecroft--Moffatt Yard & Co. + + + FLOWERLESS PLANTS + + Bacteria in Relation to Country Life--Lipman--Macmillan. + Dust and its Dangers--Prudden--Putnams. + Ferns--Waters--Henry Holt & Co. + Fern Allies of North America--Clute--Frederick Stokes. + Fungi: Their Nature and Uses--McCook--Appletons. + How to Know the Ferns--Parsons--Scribners. + Mosses with a Hand Lens--A. J. Grout--O. T. Lewis Co., N. Y. + Moulds, Mildews and Mushrooms--Underwood--Henry Holt & Co. + Mushrooms--Atkinson--Henry Holt & Co. + New England Ferns--Eastman--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms--Gibson--Harpers. + Our Ferns in their Haunts--Clute--Frederick Stokes. + One Thousand American Fungi--McIlvaine--Bobbs, Merrill & Co. + Story of the Bacteria--Prudden--Putnam. + + + PLANT LIFE--GARDENING AND AGRICULTURE + + Agriculture for Beginners--Burkett, Stevens & Hill--Ginn & Co. + Agricultural Botany--Percival--Henry Holt & Co. + All the Year in the Garden--Matson--Crowell. + Among School Gardens--Greene--Sage Foundation. + An Island Garden--Thaxter--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Book of Corn--Myrick--Orange, Judd Co. + Bulbs and How to Grow them--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Common Weeds of Field and Garden--Long--Smith, Elder & Co. + Corn Plants--Sargent--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Elements of Agriculture--Warren--MacMillan. + Encyclopedia of Horticulture--Bailey--MacMillan. + Farm Grasses of United States--Spillman--Orange, Judd Co. + First Principles of Agriculture--Goff & Mayne--American Book Co. + First Book of Farming--Goodrich--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Four Seasons in a Garden--Rexford--Lippincott. + Handy Book of Agriculture--Hayes--E. P. Dutton & Co. + Indoor Gardening--Rexford--Lippincotts. + Living Plant, the--Knight--Hutchinson & Co. + Mary’s Garden and How it Grew--Duncan--Century Co. + Manual of Gardening--Bailey--MacMillan. + School Garden Book--Weed & Emerson--Scribners. + Seed Dispersal--Beal--Ginn & Co. + Spraying of Plants--Lodeman--MacMillan. + Story of a Grain of Wheat--Edgar--Appletons. + Survival of the Unlike--Bailey--MacMillan. + The Amateur’s Practical Garden-Book--Hunn and Bailey--MacMillan. + + + TREE STUDY + + A Guide to the Trees--Lounsberry--Stokes. + A First Book of Forestry--Roth--Ginn & Co. + Among Green Trees--Rogers--Mumford--Chicago. + Familiar Trees and their Leaves--Mathews--Appletons. + Forestry in Nature-Study--Jackson--Office of Expt. Sta., + Washington, D. C. + Getting Acquainted with the Trees--McFarland--Outlook Co. + Handbook of the Trees--Romeyn Hough--Harpers. + Manual of Trees of N. America--Sargent--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + North American Trees--N. L. Britton--Henry Holt & Co. + North American Forests and Forestry--Bruncken--Putnams. + Our Native Trees--Keeler--Scribners. + Our Northern Shrubs--Keeler--Scribners. + Our Trees and How to Know Them--Emerson & Weed--Lippincott. + Practical Forestry--Gifford--Appletons. + Primer of Forestry--Pinchot--Bureau of Forestry, Washington, D. C. + Studies of Trees--Mosher, 3 vols--C. W. Bardeen. + Studies of Trees in Winter--Huntingdon--Knight & Mellet. + The Tree Book--Rogers--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Trees of Northern United States--Apgar--American Book Co. + Trees, Shrubs and Vines--Parkhurst--Scribners. + Trees in Prose and Poetry--Stone & Pickett--Ginn & Co. + With the Trees--Going--Baker Taylor & Co. + + + ASTRONOMY--GEOLOGY--METEOROLOGY + + Astronomy for Everybody--Newcomb--McClure, Phillips & Co. + Astronomy Through an Opera-Glass--Serviss--Appletons. + Children’s Book of Stars--Milton--Adam, Black & Co. + Earth and Sky--Holden--Appletons. + Fieldbook of the Stars--Olcutt--Putnams. + Friendly Stars--Martin--Harpers. + New Astronomy--Todd--American Book Co. + Other Suns than Ours--Proctor--Longman, Green & Co. + Other Worlds than Ours--Proctor--Longman, Green & Co. + The Planisphere--Thos. Whittaker. + Starland--Ball--Ginn & Co. + Stars in Song and Legend--Porter--Ginn & Co. + Storyland of Stars--Pratt--Educational Publishing Co. + Stories of Star Land--Miss Proctor--Potter & Putnam Co. + Study of the Sky--Howe--Flood & Vincent. + The Moon--Nasmyth & Carpenter--Murray, London. + The Stars in their Seasons--Proctor--Longmans Green & Co. + Brooks and Brook Basins--Frye--Ginn & Co. + Brook Book--Miller--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Geological Story Briefly Told--Dana--American Book Co. + Great World’s Farm--Gaye--MacMillan. + Introduction to Physical Geography--Gilbert & Brigham--Appletons. + Physical Geography--Tarr--MacMillan. + Soils--King--MacMillan. + Soils--Fletcher--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Story of our Continent--Shaler--Appletons. + Up and Down the Brooks--Bamford--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Water Wonders--Thompson--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Wonder Book of the Atmosphere--Houston--Stokes. + Wonder Book of Magnetism--Houston--Stokes. + + + NATURE-STUDY--MANUALS AND LITERATURE + + Education through Nature--Munson--E. L. Kellogg & Co. + Field Work in Nature-Study--Jackman--Flanagan. + Handbook of Nature-Study--Lange--MacMillan. + How Nature-Study Should be Taught--Bigelow--Hinds & Noble. + How to Study Nature--J. D. Wilson--Bardeen. + Lessons in Nature-Study--Jenkins & Kellogg--Whittaker & Ray, San + Francisco. + Nature-Study Idea--L. H. Bailey--MacMillan. + Nature-Study and Life--Hodge--Ginn & Co. + Nature-Study and the Child--Scott--D. C. Heath & Co. + Nature-Study in the Common Schools--Jackman--Henry Holt & Co. + Nature-Study for Grammar Grades--Jackman--MacMillan. + Nature-Study--Holtz--Scribner’s. + Nature-Study in the Lower-Grades--Cummings--American Book Co. + Nature-Study in Elementary Schools--L. L. Wilson--MacMillan. + Nature-Study Lessons--Various Authors--Hinds, Noble & Co. + Nature-Study--Overton & Hill--American Book Co. + Nature Teaching--Watts & Freeman--E. P. Dutton & Co. + Outlines in Nature-study--Engel--Silver, Burdett & Co. + Outlook to Nature--L. H. Bailey--MacMillan. + Practical Nature-Study--Coulter & Patterson--Appletons. + Study of Nature--Schmucker--Lippincott. + Writings of H. D. Thoreau--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Works of John Burroughs--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + The Land of Little Rain--Mary Austin--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + The Flock--Mary Austin--Houghton, Mifflin & Co. + Songs of Nature, edited by John Burroughs--McClure, Phillips & Co. + Golden Numbers, edited by Wiggin & Smith--McClure, Phillips & Co. + The Posy Ring, edited by Wiggin & Smith--Doubleday, Page & Co. + Among Flowers and Trees with the Poets, edited by Wait & Leonard--Lee + & Shepard. + Nature in Verse, comp. by Mary I. Lovejoy--Silver, Burdett Co. + Poetry of the Seasons, comp. by Mary I. Lovejoy--Silver, Burdett Co. + Nature Pictures by American Poets, Annie R. Marble--MacMillan Co. + Trees in Prose and Poetry--Stone & Fickett--Ginn & Co. + Stars in Song and Legend--Jermain G. Porter--Ginn & Co. + Sharp Eyes, by Hamilton Gibson--Harpers. + Pageant of Summer--by Richard Jefferies--Mosher, Portland, Me. + “Ye Gardeyne Boke,” J. D. Haines--Paul Elder & Co., San Francisco. + + + + + INDEX + + Page + + Abbe, Prof. Henry, 860 + + Abdomen (of insect), 312–314 + + Acid Soils, 848 + + Acorns, =731= + + Acorn--cup and saucer, =752= + of Burr Oak, =754= + of Chestnut Oak, =751= + of Red Oak, =753= + of Scarlet Oak, =754= + of Swamp White Oak, =750= + + Acorn plum-gall, =360= + + Adder’s Tongue or Dogtooth Violet, =499=, =500=, =501=, 502 + + Adult Stage or Imago (of insects), 311 + + _Agaricus Campestris_, =708=, =710=, =711= + + Agate, 830 + + Ailanthus tree, 330 + + Air, as a gas, 860 + Composition of, 861 + + Akers, Elizabeth, 475, 477, 509 + + Allen, A. A., =115=, =117=, =122=, =123= + + Aldebaran, 896, =897=, 898, 912 + + Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 62, 598 + + Allen, James Lane, 133 + + Altair, =904= + + Alfalfa, 654, =653=, =654= + + Altenburger Cheese, 278 + + Alum, 826 + + _Amanita phalloides_, =707=, =709= + + Ames, Mary Clemmer, 557 + + Amethyst, 830 + + Animal Life, 25 + + _Anopheles_, 402 + + Antares, =904=, 901 + + Ants, 419, =420=, =425=, =426=, 422 + agricultural, 480 + + Ant-nest, =424=, 425 + + Antennæ, 312, 314 + of male mosquito, =402= + + Antenna-comb on ant’s leg, =426= + on wasp, =434= + + Anther-tube, 631, =632= + + _Antheridii_, 704 + + _Anthomyinæ_, 354 + + Ant-lion, =395=, 396 + + Anti-cyclone, 879, 880 + + Aphids, =392=, =393=, 394, 421 + + Aphid stable, =421= + + Aphis-lion, =397=, =398=, 399 + + Apple, 73, 779, 785, =787=, 789 + + Apple, The, 778–788 + + Apples--basket of, =787= + + Apple--blossoms, =783= + the core-lines, =787= + just ready to spray, =350=, =783= + too late to spray, =351= + the tree, =778=–781 + + Aquarium, tadpole, 185 + + Aquarium, how to make + for insects, 380 + + Aquarius (the Water Carrier), =912= + + Arcturus, 902, =903=, 904 + + Argon, 862 + + Arided, =904= + + Aries (the Ram), 912 + + Arnold, Edwin, 595 + + Ash, white, =774=, =775=, =776= + + Asters, =558=, =559=, 560 + + Atmosphere, 860 + height of, 863 + temperature of, 865 + + Atmosphere pressure, 860, 863 + High, 868, 869, 879 + Low, 869, 879, 885 + + Atkinson, Prof. Geo. F., 496, 697, =708=, 715, =717=, =718=, =719=, + =720= + + Aurora Borealis, 839 + + Austin, Mary, 281 + + Averill--Anna Boynton, 550 + + + Babcock Milk Tester, 300 + + Bachelor’s Button, =636= + + Bacteria, =723= + + Bailey Prof. L. H., 38, 180, 189, 246, 495, 496, 539, 602, 610, + 640, 642, 725, 824 + + Bailey, Vernon, 255 + + Baker, W. C., =565=, =768= + + Baker, Ida, =372=, =652= + + Ball, Sir Robert, 889 + + Ballard, Julia P., 317, 323, 328, 334, 338, 343 + + Barb, (of feather), 27 + + Barbels, (of feather), 27, 154 + + Barker, Eugene, =170=, 526 + + Barometer, =878= + + Baskett J. N., 64, 149, 167 + + Batrachian Study, 181 + + Bat, =245= + + Bear, Great (Ursa Major), =890=, 891 + Little (Ursa Minor), 891 + + Bee, 18, 20, 541, 679 + Bumble, 21, 442, =444=, 579, 580, 624, 626, 655 + Carpenter, 439, 440 + Carpenter nest of, =441= + drone, 445, =446=, =447=, =448=, 449, 450 + Honey, 445, 449 + queen, 445, =446=, =447=, =448=, 450 + Leaf-cutter, 11, =436=, 438, =437= + Mining, 526 + worker, 445, =446=, =447=, =448=, 449 + + Beecher, H. W., 635 + + Bee larkspur, =623=, =624=, 625 + + Beetle, 61, 64, 310 + Ground, 92 + Colorado Potato, =409=, =410=, =411= + + Beet leaf-miners, 88 + + Belgian Hares, =216= + + Benefits of Nature-Study to Child, =1= + to Teachers, =2= + + Bentley, W. J., =825=, =828=, =851=, =852=, =853=, =854=, =855=, + =856=, =857=, =858=, =860=, =863=, =866=, =874=, =875=, =876=, + =877=, =878=, =879= + + Big Dipper, 889, =890=, 891, 892, =893=, 894, 900, 901, 902, 903 + + Big and Little Dippers, 894 + + Bindweed, =535=, 536 + + Birch, 73 + + Birds, 25 + beaks of, 37 + ears of, 36 + eyes of, 36 + feet of, 39 + nostrils of, 37 + + Birds--Flight of, 33 + + Bird houses, 47, 60 + + Birds’ Nests, 147 + + Bird, parts named, 147 + + Bird Study, 25 + + Birthroot, 506, =508= + + Blackbirds, 130 + red-winged, =122=, =123= + + Blade (of leaf), =493=, 687 + + Blanchan, Neltje, 131, 142, 146 + + Bleeding Heart, =611=, 612, 613 + + Blights, 721 + + Bloodroot, =503=, 504, =505=, 506 + + Bloodstone, 830 + + Bluebird, 60, =61= + + Bluets, =523=, 524 + + Blue Hill Observatory, 860 + + Blue Vitriol, 825, 826 + + Bole or Trunk of Tree, 726, =727= + + Boreas, 858 + + Box Elder, 738 + + Boulders, 844 + + Bracken, 689 + + Branch, =727= + + Bread mold, enlarged, =721= + + Breathing pores of insect, =314= + + Brook Study, =817= + + Brook, the, 818, 819, 844 + + Brown, Theron, 585, 591, 657, 816 + + Browning Robert, 515, 898 + + Bryant, W. C., 491 + + Buchanan, H. B. M., 294, 306 + + Buckeye, sweet, blossom, =761= + + Budding, =780= + + Buffalo, 18, 295 + + Bull, 295 + + Bullfrog, =193= + + Bullhead, =154=, =155=, 156 + + Burdock, =566=, =567=, =568=, =569=, 594, 633 + + Burkett, W. B., 280 + + Burroughs, John, 72, 74, 76, 79 + + Burr, Prof. Geo. L., 838 + + Butter-and-eggs, 594 + + Buttercup, 528, =529=, =530= + + Butterfly--Black swallow-tail, =315=, 318 + changing to chrysalis, 317 + scales on wing of, =321= + Cabbage, 317 + Monarch, =320=, 324 + _Papilio troilus_, 579 + Viceroy, =321=, 322, 768 + + Byron, 785 + + + Caddis-fly, =387=, =388=, =389=, =390= + + Caddis-worms cases of, =387=, =389=, =390=, =391= + spiral ribbon, 390, 391 + with a grating of silk, 389 + + Cage, bird, 8 + breeding, 8 + for crickets, =375= + + Calcite, marble and limestone, =835=, 836 + + Calla lily, 512 + + Callisto, 891 + + Calves, dehorned, 301 + + Camel, 18 + + Campanus, 920 + + Canada thistles, =566= + + Canary, =49= + + Cancer (the crab), 912 + Tropic of, 910, 911 + + Canker-worms, 92 + + Capella, 901 + and the Heavenly Twins, =900= + + Capricorn, Tropic of, 911 + + Capricornus, (the Goat), 912 + + Carapace (of turtle), 208 + of crayfish, =466= + + Caraway worms, =319= + + Carbon dioxide, 861, 862, 864 + + Cardinal bird, 31, =133= + + Carlyle, 887 + + Carolina locusts, 367 + poplar, =770= + + Carpenter, Edward, 391 + + Carpenter bee, =439=, 440, 441 + + Carrot, wild, =590=, =591=, =592= + + Cassiopeias Chair, Cepheus and the Dragon, =893=, 894 + + Castor, =900= + + _Catastomus commersoni_, 159 + + Cat-tail, 18, =551=, 552, =553=, 554 + + Cat, the, 56, 61, =268=, =272= + + Catbird, =98= + + Caterpillars, 61, 64, 92, 308 + Cabbage, 88 + Cecropia, =331= + cotton-boll, 96 + external anatomy of, =314= + Forest tent, =308= + Milkweed or Monarch, =322=, =324= + Myron sphinx, =343= + Myron sphinx parasitized, =345= + pro-legs, prop legs and true legs of, =314= + Promethea, =337= + shedding skin, =308= + skin of, 309 + + Caterpillars, swallow-tail, =316= + Viceroy in winter home, =323= + Woolly bear, 327 + + Catkins, =766=, =767= + + Cattle, 295, 298 + Original American wild, =295= + + Cayuga Basin, 170 + + Cayuga Lake, 158 + + Cecropia, caterpillar, molting, =331= + weaving cocoon, =332= + cocoon, cut open, =333= + moth, =330=, =334= + + Cedars, 19 + + Celandine, silver leaf, ladies’ eardrop, =580= + + Carnelian, 830 + + Chalk, 836 + + Chapman Frank, 51 + + Charles, Prof. Fred S., =254=, =256=, =260= + + Charts, use of, 10 + + Chart, of bright stars of summer, =901= + of Polar Constellations, =893= + of Winter Stars, =895= + + Cheese, Altenburger, 278 + Roquefort, 278 + Schweitzer, 278 + + Chestnut, =757=, 758, 759, =760=, 761 + + Chickadee, 63, =66= + + Chickaree, =233=, 234, 236 + + Chick, the, 41 + + Chicken ways, =41= + + Chickweed, =594= + + Chinch bug, 82 + + Chipmunk, =240=, 241, =242= + + Chlorophyll, 729 + + Chrysalis, =309= + of Monarch, =322= + + Chrysanthemum, 561 + + Chub, 163 + + Circumpolar whirl, 873, =874= + + Civil War, 86 + + Claws of Cat, 269 + (of insects), =313= + + Clay, 844, 845, 846, 847 + + Cleopatra’s Needle, =834= + + _Clisodon terminalis_, 627 + + Clitellum, (of earthworm), 463 + + Clouds, 851, 852, 855, 871 + + Clovers, the, 652, 653, 655 + Alfalfa, =654= + Buffalo, =653= + Crimson, =652=, =778= + Rabbit-foot or pussy, =653= + Red, =654= + Spotted medic, =655= + Sweet, 654, 655, =656=, 657 + White, =658=, 659 + Yellow or Hop, =653= + + Clute, Prof. W. N., 684, 689, 690 + + Cob-webs, =475=, 476 + + Cockroach, =378=, =379= + laying case of eggs, 379 + + Cocoon, 309 + of Cecropia, =333= + of Luna, =309= + of Promethea, =336= + of woolly bear, =327= + + Codling Moth, =347=, 349 + larva of, =348= + + Collections of birds or insects, =8= + + Colorado Potato Beetle, =409=, =410=, =411=, =412= + larva of, =410= + + Colt, 289 + + Comet, 907, 908 + + Compass, Mariner’s, 839, 841 + plant, =570= + + Compositæ, =554=, =631=, =633= + + Composite snow crystal, formed in high and medium clouds, =851= + + Composite flower, =554= + + Comstock, Prof. J. H., =45=, 319, =833=, =857= + + Cone-bearing trees, =789= + + Constellations, of the Chair, =893= + The Archer, 912 + The Bull, 897, 912 + The Crown, =903= + Cygnus, =904= + Orion, =896= + Pleiades, =897= + Dippers, =890= + The Virgin, 912 + + Coolbrith, Ina, 83 + + Coon, a pet, =254= + tracks, =250= + + Copper sulphate, 825 + + Coral, 837 + + Corm (of crocus), =596= + of Jack-in-pulpit, 512 + + Corn, 85, 131, 660, 665 + anthers of, =663= + an ear of, 662, 665 + ears with braided husks, =663= + husking for braiding by Seneca Indian women, =660= + pollen-bearing flower of, =662= + growth of, 663, 665 + in the shock, =664= + + Corn-cracker, the red, =133= + + Cornwall, Barry, 515 + + Corona (of daffodils), =599= + (of the sun), 905 + + Correlation of Nature Study with: + Arithmetic, 19 + Drawing, 17 + English, 16 + Geography, 18 + History, 18 + Language work, 16 + + Cotton, 666, =667=, 668, =669=, =670= + + Cotton-gin, 668 + + Cotton-tail rabbit, =213=, 216 + + Cottonwood tree, 770, =771=, 772, =773= + + Cotyledons or seed-leaves, 496 + + Country Life in America, 61 + + Coverts (of feathers), =44= + + Cow, 295, =296=, 298, 300, 301 + care of milch, 300 + + Cows as draft animals, 298 + + Cow’s stomach, 296 + + Cow-peas, 654 + + Coxa (of insect), 314 + + Coyote, pet, =256= + + Cray-fish, =466=, 468, 470 + where it lurks, =465= + + Crickets, 311, 373, 375 + Black male and female, 372, =374= + front leg of, =373= + Snowy Tree, =377=, 378 + wing covers of, =374= + + Crocus, =596=, =597=, 598 + + Crosby, Prof. Cyrus, =190=, =523=, =538=, =570=, =594=, =623=, =629=, + =636=, =773=, =797=, =798= + + Crosiers (of ferns), 692 + + Cross, Northern, 889, =904= + + Croton bug, =378= + + Crow the, 43, 46, 56, =129=, 131 + + Crown, Northern, 902, =903= + of bird, =44= + of daffodil, =599= + + Crystal, growth of, 825 + + Crystals, 825, 851 + Alum, 826 + Calcite, =835= + Feldspar, =831= + Frost, =854= + Quartz, =829= + Rock, 830 + Salt, =827= + + Cultivated-Plant Study, 596 + + Curculio of Plum, 347 + + Curtis, Ralph, =742=, =743=, =744=, =746=, =752=, =775= + + Cutworm, 56, 82, 85, 92 + + Cyclone, 879 + + Cygnus, =904= + + Cynthia Moth, 337 + + + Dace, 161 + + “Daddy Longlegs”, =472=, 474 + + Daffodils, =599=, =600=, =601= + + Daisy, 18, =560=, =561= + Yellow, =562= + + Damsel-flies, 382, =383=, =384= + + Dandelion, 19, 572, 573, 574, 575 + + Dandridge, Danske, 503 + + Davie, Oliver, 98 + + Dawson, Dr., 133 + + Day, longest, 913 + shortest, 913 + + Definition of Nature-Study, 1 + + Deland, Mrs. Margaret, 530 + + Deneb, =904= + + Design for embroidery, =498=, =502= + + Devil’s darning needle, =382= + + Dew, =479=, 851, =853=, 855, 862, =879= + + Dickinson, Emily, 200, 204 + + Dicksonia (fern), =695= + + Dippers, Big and Little, 889, =890=, 891, 901 + + Disk-flowers, 554, =557=, =558=, =560=, =562=, =564=, =567=, =577=, + =632= + + Dodder, =538= + + Dogs, =261=, =267= + + Dog Stars, Great, 898, =899= + + Dogtooth Spar, 835, 836 + + Dogwood, =803=, =804=, =805= + + Dolphin, or Job’s Coffin, =904= + + Dorr, Julia C., 494 + + Double Stars, 888 + + Dragon-flies, 311, =382=, 386 + + Drake, J. R., 97 + + Drawing and Nature-Study, 13 + + Dryden, John, 48 + + Duck, Rouen, =31=, 37, =39= + + Duggar, Prof., 677 + + Dugmore, A. R., =140=, 147 + + Dutchman’s breeches, =509=, =511= + + + Eagle, the constellation of, =904= + + Ears (of insects), 314, 365, 369, 373 + + Earth and Sky, 818 + + Earthworms, 20, 56, 462, 464 + + Eft or newt, =197=, =198=, =199= + + Egg-shell Experiment farm, 495 + + Egyptian lotus flower, 546 + + Elkins, Prof., 909 + + Elm, American or White, =745=, =746=, =747= + + Electro-magnet, 839 + + Ell-yard, the, =896= + + Emerson, R. W., 442 + + Eohippus, 286 + + Equatorial Current, 866 + + Equipment for teaching Nature-Study, 8 + + _Eschcholtzia californica_, =616= + + Everlasting, early or Pussy-toes, =578= + Pearly, =576=, =577=, 633 + + Evening Primrose, 530, =531= + + Excursions, field, 15 + + Eyelid, film, 36 + + Eyes, insects, compound, =312=, =314= + simple, =312=, =314= + + + Feathers, as clothing, 27 + as ornament, 30 + form of, 27 + wing, coverts, 44 + wing, primaries, 33, 44 + wings, secondaries, 33, 44 + + Feelers--insects, =312= + + Feldspar, =831=, 833, 834, 844 + + Femur, insect, =312=, 313, 314 + + Ferns, 684–698 + bladder, 697, =698= + boulder, =695=, 697 + bracken or brake, =689=, =690=, 691, 697 + chain, =695=, 697 + Christmas, 684, =685=, 688, =694= + cinnamon, =697= + Dicksonia, =695= + fiddle-heads or crosiers, =691= + flowering, 695, 697 + frond of, 687 + fruiting of, 693, =694= + indusia or spore-cases of, 686, 694, 695, 697 + interrupted, 697 + leaf-print of, with parts named, 687 + Maiden-hair, 697 + Osmunda, 695 + Ostrich, 697 + pinna of, =687= + pinnule of, 691, 694, =687= + polypody, common, =686= + _Polystichium acrostichoides_, 687 + prothallium, =693=, =694= + rachis of, =687= + Sensitive, 695, =696=, 698 + sori of, 687, 694 + Spleenwort, 697 + sporangia of, =686=, 694, 697 + stipe or stem of, 687 + unfolding of, 691, 692 + Walking, =693= + Woodsia, =697= + + Festina Lente, 196 + + Fielde, Miss Adele, 420 + Ant-nest, 424 + + Field lessons, 15 + + Field note-book, 13 + + Firefly, =416=, =417= + + Fish Study, 149, 152 + + Fish bream, 161 + Brook-trout, =164= + Bullhead, =154=, =155= + _Catostomus commersoni_, 159 + Chub, 163 + Dace, 163 + gills of, 156 + Horned pout, 156 + Johnny darter, =177= + Minnows, 163 + Shiner, =161=, =162= + Stickleback, =168=, =170= + Sucker common, =158=, =160= + Sunfish or Pumpkin seed, =172=, =173=, =174= + + Fiske, Geo., =78=, =118=, =119=, =250= + + Fiske, John, Prof., 661 + + Fleur-de-lis, 626, 629 + + Flower head, 554 + + Flower and insect partners, 494 + wild, 21, 496 + with parts named, =492= + + Flowerless Plant Study, 684 + + Fly, House, =405=, =406=, =407= + + Fog, =850=, 852, 853, 855 + + Forestry, Practical, 849 + + Forest Service, 255, =771= + + Forsyth, Mary Isabella, 84 + + Foster, O. L., =509=, =731=, =761=, =764= + + Fox, =257=, =259=, =260=, =267= + + Franklin, 858, 859 + + Frog, =193=, =195= + tree, or Pickering’s Hyla, =190=, =191= + + Frost, =853=, =854=, =855= + + Fudge, C.F., 592 + + Fuertes, Louis A., 45, =70=, =73=, =75=, 80, =81=, =94= + + Fungi, 706–725 + + Fungus, bears head, 718 + Bracket, =714= + Earth star, =713= + Hedgehog, =717= + _Sarcocypha coccinea_ or scarlet saucer, 718, =719= + Shelf, =714= + stink-horn, =720= + + Furry, 238 + + + Gage, Prof. S. H., =187=, 192 + + Gage, Mrs. S. H., 198 + + Galaxy the, (of stars), 889 + + Galileo, 858, 865 + + Gallager, W. S., 135 + + Gall-dwellers, =360=, =361=, =362=, =363=, =364=, 768 + + Galls, =360=, =364=, =767= + + Garden, window, 8 + + Gardening and Nature-Study, 20 + + Geese, =136=–142 + Canada or wild, =139=, =140= + + _Gelechia pinifoliella_, 353 + + Gemini, (the Heavenly Twins), =900=, 912 + + Geography, 18, 299, 545, 548, 552, 818, 822 + + Geranium, 643, =644=, =645=, =646= + + Gilbert, Grove Karl, =142=, =726=, =793=, =794=, =850= + + Glass, 830 + + Glow-worms, 417 + + Gnomon, the, 915 + + Goat, The, =275=, =276=, =277=, =278=, =279= + + Goldfinch, or Thistle bird, 31, 49, =50= + + Goldfish with parts named, 150 + + Golden Osier, 765 + + Goldenrod, =555=, =556=, =557= + + Goodale, Elaine, 525 + + Grades, bird study in primary, 25 + + Grafting, cleft, 779 + + Grandfather Greybeard, =472=, =473= + + Granite, =833= + Obelisk, =833= + + Grasshoppers, 8, 18, 61, 82, 85, 92, =311=, =312=, =365=, =366=, + =367=, =368=, =369= + + Grasshopper, with external parts named, 365 + Short-horned, 367–369 + + Gravel, 844 + + Green Bay-tree, 813 + + Greene, Robert, 32 + + Grosbeak, the Cardinal, 133 + + Ground-hog, =229=, =230= + + Gulf Stream, 866 + + + Hail, 853 + + Hardpan, 844 + + Hardy, Irene, 243, 619 + + Hares, =216= + + Harte, Bret, 203, 224, 256 + + Hawks, 36, 43, 46, =108=, =109= + + Hay, John, 132 + + Health value of Nature-Study, 2 + + Helium, 862, 864 + + Hemlock, =800=, 801, =802= + + Hen, 25, 27, 30, 33, =36=, 37, =39=, =41=, =42=, =43= + + Henry, Prof. Joseph, 859 + + Hepatica, 496, =497=, =498= + + Herford, Oliver, 213, 419 + + Hickory, the shagbark, =755= + + H. H., 558, 622, 652 + + Higginson, Ella, 659 + + Hill, Mary E., 17 + + Hives--observation, =453=, 455 + + Hoar-frost, =851=, =853=, =855=, =879= + + Hog, the, =304=, =305=, =306= + + Homer, 899 + + Honey, honeycomb, =451=, =452=, 453 + + Hornblende, 383 + + Horne, R. H., 325 + + Horse-chestnut, =761=, =762=, 763, 764 + + Horse, the, =286=, =287=, =288=, =289=, =290=, =291=, =292= + + Horsetail or Equisetum, =699=, =700= + + Howells, W. D., 125 + + Howitt, Mary, 103 + + How an apple grows, =782= + a brook drops its load, 822 + to begin study of plants and flowers, 489 + to begin study of stars, 889 + to make an aquarium, 380 + to make a sun-dial, 915 + to read weather maps, 879 + to keep daily weather maps, 883 + to find the general direction and average rate of motion of high + and low areas, 883 + to make leaf prints, 734 + to make plants comfortable, 490 + to produce good milk, 299 + to study minerals, 828 + to teach names of parts of plants and flowers, 492 + + Humidity, absolute and relative, 862 + + Hummingbird, 120 + + Huxley, Thomas, 837 + + Hyades, 897 + + + Ice, 853, 854, 856 + + Iceland spar, 835 + + Imago, or adult stage of insect, 310 + + Imagination, training of, 1 + + Impatiens or Touch-me-not, =578= + + Indians, North American, 503, =660=, 676, =810= + + Indian turnip, 512 + + Indusia of ferns, =686=, 687, =694=, =695=, 697 + + Insect Study, 308 + + Insects, breathing of, 313 + biting and sucking, 313 + brownies, 311 + eggs of, 308 + + Ingersoll, Ernest, 249 + + Invertebrate-Animal Study, 458 + + Iris, or blue flag, 626, =627=, =628=, =629= + + Irvine, J. P., 111 + + Isaiah, 765 + + Isobar, 870, 879 + + Isotherm, 879 + + + Jack-in-the-pulpit, =512=, =513=, =514= + + Japan Current, 866 + + Jasper, 830 + + Javelins (hogs), 304 + + Jeffries, Richard, 593, 849 + + Jewelweed or touch-me-not, =578= + + Jimson or Jamestown weed, 640 + + Job’s Coffin, =904= + + Johnny darter, =177=, =178= + + Jonquils, 599, 602 + + Jordan, David Starr, 149, 157, 166, 167, 168, 176, 177, 179, 217 + + Jug-building wasp, 431 + + Junior Naturalist Clubs, 23 + + Jupiter, 906 + + + Kaolin, 831, 844 + + Katydid, =369=, =370=, =371= + + Keats, John, 53, 163, 648 + + Kentucky Cardinal, 133 + + King, Harriet, 598 + + Kingfisher, Belted, =101= + + + Labium, 313, 314 + + Labrum, 313, 314 + + Labradorite, 831 + + Lace-wing, 397, =398= + + Ladybird, =413=, =414=, =415= + + Lady in the Moon, 919 + + Lady’s Slipper, =525=, =526= + + Lanier, Sydney, 96 + + Lapham, Dr. Increase, 860 + + Larcom, Lucy, 90, 93, 582 + + Larkspur, =623=, =624=, =625= + + Laurel, =813=, =814=, =815= + + Laurence, Ray, 524, 540, 578, 620 + + Larvæ, 308, 311 + + Leaf, with parts named, 493 + + Leaf-factories, 491, 729, 730 + + Leaf-miners, =352=, =353=, =354= + + Leaf-print, how to make, =734= + of fern with parts named, =687= + + Leaf-rollers, =357=, =358=, =359= + + Leaves, their use, 491, 728 + + Leigh, Florence, 267 + + Lens, 9 + + Leo, (the Lion), 902, 909, 912 + + Lesson, the nature-study, 10 + always new, 7 + length of, 7 + time for, 6 + object lesson method, 7 + + Lichens, growing on rocks, 843 + + Lily, calla, 512 + pond or water, white, =545=, =546=, =547= + + Lime, 835, 836, 837, 849 + + Light-year, 888 + + Limestone, 835, 836, 837 + + Lippincott, R. A., 603 + + Lips, 858 + + Little Dipper, 892 + Dog Star, 896, 899 + + Living material in schoolroom, 8 + + Loam, 844, 845, 846, 847 + + Lodestone, 838, 841 + + Longfellow, Henry W., 2, 493, 626 + + Lowell, James Russell, 7, 128, 153, 196, 382, 418, 503, 572, 763, + 777 + + Lloyd, J. T., =114=, =211=, =387=, =388=, =389=, =390= + + Lubbock, Sir John, 423, 433 + + Lyra, 889, 903 + + + Maggots, 308 + + Magnets, =838=, 839, 840 + + Maize or Indian corn, =660=, =661=, =662=, =663=, =664= + + Mammal Study, 212 + + Mandibles--insects, =313=, 314 + + Mandrake or May apple, =519=, =520= + + Maple, the, =732=, =735=, =736= + Mountain, =732=, =742= + Norway, 738 + Red, =732=, 744 + seedlings, 741 + Silver, 738, =741=, =742= + Striped or goosefoot, 738, =743=, =744= + Sugar or hard, =732=, =739=, =740=, =741= + Sycamore, =735=, 738 + + Maple-sugar, making, 738 + + Marble, 835 + + Mars, 906 + + Matheson, Robert, =82=, =98= + + Maxillæ, insect, 313, 314 + + May beetle, 131, 418 + + Meadow lark, 77, =80=, =81=, =82= + + Mercator, 920 + + Mercury, 906 + + Merriam Dr. C. Hart, 248 + + Mesothorax, 313, 314 + + Metathorax, 313, 314 + + Meteorites, 908, 921 + + Meteoroids, 908 + + Meteors, 864, 908 + + Mica, 832, 833, 834, 844 + + Mice, =224=, =225=, =226=, =227= + + Mildews, 721 + + Milk, 299 + + Milk-dipper, the, 912 + + Milky Way, the, 889 + + Milkweed, =540=, =541=, =543= + + Minnows, 163 + + Mist, 852 + + Mitchell, Evelyn, =401=, =402=, =498=, =502=, =514= + + Metamorphosis, insect, 311, 367 + + Moccasin flower or Lady’s Slipper, =525=, =527= + + Mockingbird, =94= + + Molds, 720, =721= + + Molting insects, =308=, 309 + + Montgomery, 635 + + Moon, the, 906, =918=, =919=, =920= + shadows on, 920 + + Moonstone, 831 + + Moore, Dr. Willis L., 879 + + Morgan, G. F., =652=, =747=, =759=, =774=, =776=, =791=, =792=, =796=, + =812= + + Morton, Verne--Photos by, =Frontispiece=, =164=, =230=, =242=, =247=, + =271=, =274=, =501=, =505=, =506=, =508=, =515=, =516=, =517=, + =520=, =525=, =529=, =533=, =545=, =551=, =553=, =560=, =561=, + =562=, =563=, =566=, =576=, =577=, =583=, =586=, =588=, =590=, + =609=, =611=, =627=, =664=, =672=, =676=, =678=, =681=, =682=, + =685=, =686=, =689=, =692=, =694=, =698=, =702=, =713=, =714=, + =737=, =757=, =760=, =762=, =766=, =767=, =769=, =784=, =807=, + =815=, =817=, =843= + + Mosquito, 309, =400=, =401=, =402=, =403= + + Moss, hair cap or pigeon wheat, =702=, =703= + + Moth, Cecropia, =330=, =331=, =332=, =333=, =334= + Codling, 347, =349= + Cynthia, 337 + Isabella tiger, =326=, =327=, =328= + Luna, =309=, =310=, 330 + Promethea, 330, =336=, =337=, =338= + Polyphemus, 330 + Sphinx, =313=, =340=, =341=, =342=, =343=, =344=, =345=, 346 + + Mouse, deer, or whitefooted, =223=, =226= + house, =224=, =225= + + Mulch, 847 + + Mullein, 18, 582, =583=, =584= + + Mulock, Miss, 602 + + Muskrat, =218=, =220=, =221= + + Museum specimens, 8 + + Mushrooms, 706, =707=, =708=, =709=, =710=, =711=, =712= + + + Nape, (of bird), 44 + + Narcissus, 599, =601= + + Nasturtium, =620=, =621= + + Natos, 858 + + Natural Bridge in Virginia, 835 + + Nature-study clubs, 22 + + Naylor, 134 + + Nebula, 888 + + Needham, Dr. James G., =382=, =383=, =384=, =385=, 626, 627, 641 + + Neptune, 906 + + Newcomb, Dr. Simon, 906 + + Newt, red-spotted, 197, =198=, =199= + + Nitrogen, 653, 861, 864 + + North pole, 839, 889, 890 + + Northern Lights, 839 + + North Star, 889, 890, 891, 892, 893, 894, 902 + + Nuthatch, white-breasted, =63=, =64= + + Nymph, 311 + of damsel-fly, 384, 385 + of dragon-fly, 384 + of red-legged grasshopper, 366 + + + Oaks, the, 748 + Black, 749, =753= + Burr, =754= + Chestnut, =751= + Live, 726 + Red, =752=, =753= + Scarlet, =754= + White, =748=, =749=, =750= + + Oak-apple, 361 + + Ocelli (of insects), =312=, 314 + + Oligoclase, 831 + + Onyx, 830 + + Oriole, Baltimore, =125=, =126=, =127= + + Ovipositor (of insect), 314 + + Owl, screech, 104 + + Oxen, 298 + + Oxygen, 730, 861, 864 + + Orion, 888, 895, =896=, 897, 899 + + + Palpi, insect, 313, 314 + + Pansies, =607=, =608=, =609= + + Partridge, 30, 41 + + Pattee, 801 + + Peacock, 30, 31, =32= + + Pears and apples, ready to spray, 350 + + Peccaries, 304 + + Pelargonium, 643 + + Perianth, 599 + + Perseus, 909 + + Petrified forest of Arizona, 830 + + Pets, 15 + + Petunia, =640=, =641= + + Phœbe-bird, 67 + + Pig, the, =303=, =305=, =306= + + Pigeons, =45=, =46=, =47= + + Pigeon houses, =45=, 47 + + Pigeon-grass or pigeon wheat, =702=, =703= + + Pine, the, 73, =789= + Austrian, =791= + Pitch, 791, =800= + White, 19, =790=, =792=, =793=, =795=, =800= + Yellow, 793 + Mountain, of Sierras, 794 + upturned roots, 728 + + Pisces (the Fishes), 912 + + Planisphere, 891 + + Plant-lice, 92, =392=, =393=, =421= + + Plant Life, 489 + + Plant Physiology, 20, 491 + + Pleiad, the lost, 898 + + Pleiades, the, 888, 889, 897 + + Polaris--Pole-star, 888, 890, 891, 892, 893, 894, 895, 901, 902, + 904, 906 + + Pollen, 494 + + Pollux, 900 + + Pond-weed, =548=, =549= + + Poplar, Carolina, =770=, =771=, =772= + + Poppy, the, =613=, =614= + California, =616=, =617= + + Potassium bichromate, 825 + + Potash, bichromate of, 825 + + Prickly Lettuce, =570= + + Procyon, 898 + + Pruning, principles of, 780 + + Pumpkin, the, 675, =676=, =677=, =678=, =679=, 680, =681= + seed (sunfish), 172 + + Pupæ, 309, 311 + of caddis fly, 388 + of Codling Moth, 349 + of firefly, 417 + of Potato beetle, 411 + of Ladybird, 415 + of Mosquito, 402 + (jug handle) Tomato sphinx, 342 + + Purslane, 594 + + + Quail, 41 + + Quartz, =829=, 844 + + Queen Anne’s Lace, 589, =590=, =591=, =592=, 593 + + + Rabbit, =213=, =215=, =216= + + Raccoon, =250=, =253=, =254= + + Rain, 852, 874, 880 + + Rattlesnake, The, 203 + + Redbird, 133 + + Red-winged blackbird, =122=, =123= + + Regulus, 902, 909, 912 + + Reighard, Professor, 174, 175 + + Reptile Study, 200 + + Resin, 794 + + Rexford, Eben, 61 + + Rice, Prof. J. E., =33= + + Rich, John, =295= + + Rigel, 896 + + Riley, James Whitcomb, 70, 201, 521, 818 + + Robin, =54=, =55=, =57= + + Root, A. I. Co., 456 + + Root tubercles, 653 + + Rosin, 794 + + Rossetti, Christina, 326 + + Rotch, Prof. Laurence, 860 + + Rowe, Mrs. F. W., 95 + + Rusts, 721 + + + Sagittarius (the Archer), 912 + + Salamander, =197=, =198=, =199= + + Salt, 827, 828 + + Salvia or Scarlet Sage, =637=, =638= + + Sand, 834, 844, 845, 847 + + Sand-stones, 834 + + Sap movements of, 739 + poem, 736 + + Sard, 830 + + Saturn, 906 + + Scales, on butterfly’s wing, 421 + + Screech Owl, 104 + + Seed germination, 495 + + Seed-leaves (cotyledons), 496 + + Shakespeare, 515, 611 + + Shadow-stick, A, 914 + + Sheep, =281=, =283=, =284=, =285= + + Sheldon, S. L., =644= + + Shelley, 850 + + Shepherd, a Sicilian, 281 + + Shiner, =161=, =162= + + Sickle, the (constellation), 902 + + Silk-worm, 312 + American, 330 + + Skunk, 43, =247=, =248= + + Sleet, 853 + + Slingerland, M. V., =308=, =309=, =313=, =315=, =316=, =317=, =318=, + =322=, =323=, =327=, =328=, =330=, =331=, =332=, =333=, =334=, + =336=, =337=, =338=, =340=, =341=, =342=, =343=, =344=, =345=, + =346=, =348=, =349=, =350=, =351=, =362=, =374=, =379=, =392=, + =410=, =411=, =418=, =421=, =429=, =430=, =438=, =443=, =457=, + =489=, =488=, =741=, =783= + + Smuts, 721 + + Snake, 194 + Garden, 201, =202= + Garter, 201, =202= + Milk, =204= + Rattle, 203 + Spotted Adder, 204 + Water, =206= + + Snakedoctor, 382 + + Snail, garden, 458, =459= + + Snow, 851 + + Snow-crystals, 825, 828, 851, 852, 856, 858, 860, 863, 866, 874, + 875, 876 + + Soil, the, 842 + + Solar System, 906 + + Song of Solomon, 778 + + Spadix, 512, =513= + + Sparrow-chipping, 88, =89= + English, 54, 61, =84= + Song, =91= + + Spathe, 512, =513= + + Spectroscope, 887, 888 + + Spencer, John W., 16, 23, 842, 909 + + Spiders, 475 + Ballooning, 484 + White Crab, =485= + care of eggs, =487=, =488= + + Spider-webs, cobwebs, 475 + Filmy Dome, =482=, 483 + funnel, =477= + Orb, =478=, =479=, =481= + + Spiracles, (of insects), 313, 314 + + Spores, =686=, 693, 699, 704, 708, 713, 715, 721 + + Spore-prints, (of mushrooms), 710 + + Spray of tree, 727, 728 + + Spruce, Douglas, 796 + Norway, =796=, =797=, =798= + + Squash, 680 + + Squirrel, 56, 61, =233=, =234=, =236= + + Squirrel corn, 509, =511=, 611 + + Stalactites, 835, 837 + + Stalagmites, 835 + + Starch, 491, 729 + + Star Study, 887 + + Stars, “the Friendly”, 891 + the Story of, 889 + of Summer, 901 + of Winter, 895 + shooting, 898 + + Stetson, Charlotte Perkins, 286, 726 + + Stickleback, =168= + + Stigma, =492= + + Storms, 874 + + Storm and Hurricane warnings, 881 + + Strawberry, 672, =673=, =674=, 675 + + Street. A. B., 585 + + Stryke, Anna--Drawings by, =1=, =2=, =3=, =4=, =5=, =6=, =7=, =8=, + =9=, =10=, =11=, =15=, =16=, =17=, =24=, =136=, =161=, =181=, + =190=, =193=, =197=, =199=, =200=, =204=, =223=, =233=, =247=, + =250=, =255=, =261=, =288=, =315=, =320=, =326=, =336=, =340=, + =347=, =352=, =357=, =360=, =365=, =370=, =373=, =377=, =378=, + =387=, =392=, =395=, =397=, =400=, =405=, =409=, =413=, =416=, + =429=, =430=, =432=, =436=, =439=, =442=, =451=, =453=, =458=, + =462=, =468=, =472=, =475=, =483=, =484=, =485=, =487=, =494=, + =495=, =535=, =540=, =607=, =613=, =614=, =616=, =617=, =630=, + =640=, =684=, =707=, =727=, =736=, =745=, =748=, =755=, =757=, + =761=, =765=, =770=, =771=, =774=, =785=, =789=, =796=, =801=, + =806=, =810=, =813= + + Sucker, common, =158=, =160= + + Sumac, velvet or Staghorn, 806, =807=, =808= + + Sumac, smooth, 808 + Poison, 808 + + Sun, the, 905 + + Sun-spots, 905 + + Sundial, =915=, =916= + + Sunfish, 172, =173=, =174= + + Sunflower, 554, =630=, =632= + + Swallows, the, =112= + + Swan, the (constellation), 904 + + Sweet Peas, =648=, =649=, =650= + + Swett, S. H., 476 + + Swift, chimney, =112= + + + Tabb, John B., 29, 545, 729, 736 + + Tadpoles, 182, 183, 186 + of frog, 194 + of toad, =187= + of tree-frog, =191= + aquarium for, 185 + + Talus, 843 + + Tanager, scarlet, 31 + + Taurus, (the Bull), 897, 912 + + Taylor, Bayard, 376, 799 + + Teasel, =586=, =587=, =588= + + Telescope, 887 + + Temple of Winds at Athens, 857, 858 + + Tennyson, 659 + + Thaxter, Celia, 132, 142, 849 + + Thermometer scales in use, 865 + + Thistles, =563=, =564=, =566=, 633 + + Thomas, Edith, 100 + + Thompson, Maurice, 63, 95, 133, =279= + + Thoreau, H. D., 91, 129, 161, 205, 207, 232, 249, 758, 765, 856 + + Thornapples, 781 + + Thrush family, 57, 60 + + Titmouse, black-capped, =66=, =67=, =68= + + Toad, common, 181, =182=, =183=, =187= + development of a season, 187 + eggs of, 182, 186 + tree, 190, 191 + + Todd, Professor, =864=, 912 + + Tornado, 880 + + Torrecelli, 858 + + Treadwell, Prof., 56 + + Tree Study, 726 + how to begin, 731 + + Tree, anatomy of, 727 + how it grows, 733 + head or crown of, 777, 789 + to measure, 734 + + Tree-stump, showing rings of growth, 730 + + Tree-trunk or bole, 727 + + Trilliums, The, =506=, =507=, =508= + + Trowbridge, J. T., 471 + + Trout, =164=, 167 + + Tulips, =603=, =604=, =605= + + Turkey, the, 41, =143= + + Turtles, =208=, =209=, =211= + + Tyndall, Prof. John 837, 867 + + + “Uncle John”, 16, 23, 490, 842, 843, 909 + + U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 185, 221, 276, =278=, =279=, 301, 352, + 411 + + Uranus, 906 + + Ursa Major, 891 + + + Valley of Cashmere, 279 + + Vampires, 244 + + Van Dyke, Henry, 80, 91 + + Vapor, water, 852, 853, 862, 864 + + Vega, =903=, 904, 906 + + Velvet Plant, American, 584 + + Venus, 906 + + Vetches, the, 654 + + Violet, The, 515 + Canada white, 517 + Common blue, 516 + Long-spurred, 515 + + Virgil, 48, 748 + + Virgin, the (constellation), 912 + + Vitriol, blue, 825, 826 + + + Wadsworth, 267, 750 + + Wait, M. C., 671 + + Wake-robin, =506=, 508, 509 + + Walton, Isaac, 149, 154 + + Wasp, 429, 437 + Jug-builder and nest, =431= + Mud-dauber, =429=, =430= + Yellow Jacket, =432=, =434= + + Wasp-nest, with side removed, =457= + nest of carpenter, =440= + nest of mud-dauber, =429= + Yellow-jackets, 432, 435 + + Water, crystallizing of, 853 + forms of, 850, 854 + + Water-glass, 830 + + Water-lily, =545=, =546=, =547= + + Water-vapor, 852, 853, 862, 864 + + Weasel, 43 + + Weather, the, 857 + U. S. Bureau, 875 + value of service, 876 + + Weather-maps: + How to read, 879 + where published and how obtained, 875, 876 + + Weather-maps, forecasts based on, 875 + showing eastward progress, 884 + + Weather-forecasting, principles of, 875 + + Weather signals, explanation of, 881 + + Weeds, 594 + outline for study of, 595 + + Wheat, 85 + cause of winter-killing, 853 + + White, Gilbert, 48 + + Whitman, Walt, 484 + + Whittier, J. G., 164, 683 + + Whitney, Eli, 667 + + Wildflower Study, 496 + + Willow, =765=, =766=, =767=, =768=, =769= + cone-gall, 362, 767 + + Wilson, Wilford M., 857 + + Wilson, Robert B., 856 + + Winds of the World, 866, 867 + Trade, 871 + Trade northeast, 866 + Temple of, at Athens, 857, 858 + + Window-pane in winter, 851, 852, =854= + + Winter Rosettes, evening primrose, 533 + Mullein, 584 + Teasel, 588 + + Wister, Owen, 277 + + Witch-hazel, =356=, =810=, =811=, =812=, 813 + + Wolf, gray, =255= + + Woodchuck or groundhog, =229=, =230= + + Wood grain, 729, 730 + + Woodpeckers, carpenter, 75 + Downy, =69=, =70= + Hairy, 69 + Flicker, yellow hammer or golden-shafted, =77=, =80= + Red-headed, =75= + Sapsucker, =73= + + Woolly-bear, =326=, =327=, =328= + + Wordsworth, 329, 515, 602, 647, 659 + + Worms, 308 + Army, 82 + Canker, 92 + Caraway, 319 + Cut, 82, 92 + Earth, 462 + Glow, 417 + Wire, 82, 417 + + + Xenon, 862 + + + Yard-ell, 896 + + Yellow bird, 49 + + Yellow-jacket, =432=, =433= + + + Zephros, 858 + + Zodiac and its signs, 911, 912 + + Zone of twilight in mid-winter, 864 + + + + + Transcriber’s Note: + +Words may have inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have +been left unchanged, as were obsolete and alternative spellings. +Twenty-five misspelled words were corrected. The summaries of +structures and metamorphoses of insects were reformatted to display +on small screens. + +Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like +this_. Those in bold are surrounded by equal signs, =like this=. +Illustrated dropped capital letters are indicated: [Illustration: X] +at the beginning of the paragraph each precedes. + +Obvious printing errors, such as letters and punctuation in reversed +order, upside down, or partially printed, were corrected. Final stops +missing at the end of sentences and abbreviations were added. Excess +punctuation was deleted. Spacing between words was adjusted. + +Missing word “a” was added to “take a steamer...” In the index, page +number was added for the entry for “Eyes, simple.” + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78142 *** |