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HANDBOOK

OF
NATURE-STUDY

ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK

SEPTEMBER I, 1854- AUGUST 24, 1930

HANDBOOK

NATURE -STUDY

B r

ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK, B.S., L.H.D.

LATE PROFESSOR OF NATURE-STUDY IN
CORNELL UNIVERSITY

TWENTY-FOURTH EDITION

COMSTOCK PUBLISHING ASSOCIATES

A DIVISION OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
ITHACA, NEW YORK

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must
not be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who
wishes to quote brief passages in a review of the book

24th Edition

Third printing, December, 1944

Fourth printing, March, 1945

Fifth printing, January, 1947

Sixth printing, November, 1947

Seventh printing, March, 1948

Eighth printing, December, 1948

Ninth printing, September, 1950

Tenth printing, September, 1951

Eleventh printing, February, 1952

Twelfth printing, February, 1953

Thirteenth printing, December, 1953

Fourteenth printing, July, 1955

Fifteenth printing, January, 1957

Sixteenth printing, December, 1957

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY THE VAIL-BALLOU PRESS, INC., BINCHAMTON, N. Y.

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

MO. PUBLIC LIBRARY

0 0001 0006140 5

PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD

The publication of the twenty-fourth
edition of the Handbook of Nature-Study
seemed an appropriate time to make cer-
tain revisions which had become press-
ingly necessary, to replace and improve
the illustrations, and to incorporate sug-
gestions which had been received from
many interested friends. Accordingly, the
entire text has been carefully scrutinized,
and has been corrected or elaborated in
the light of the most recent knowledge.
Where the earlier treatment seemed in-
adequate new material has been added,
and Part IV in particular has been much
expanded. New subjects, such as soil con-
servation, have been introduced. We
think it is safe to say that the Handbook
has been well modernized.

But by far the greater part of Mrs.
ComstocFs work proved to be as accurate
and timely in 1939 as in 1911, a striking
tribute to the scientific genius of the
author. In such cases the language of the
earlier text has been preserved, for no
improvement could be made on the
charming style that has won friends in the
tens of thousands. And a careful attempt
has been made throughout to preserve the
method of treatment adopted by Mrs.
Comstock. Perhaps some justification of
this policy is needed. Some readers of the
Handbook have suggested that the new
edition be oriented away from the nature-
study approach, and be made instead to
serve as an introduction to the natural
sciences. For the convenience of readers
who wish preparation for the academic
studies, some scientific classifications and
terminology have been introduced. But
the nature-study approach has been pre-
served. The kernel of that method of
treatment is the study of the organism in
its environment, its relation to the world
about it, and the features which enable it
to function in its surroundings. This study

takes the individual organism, rather than
an abstract phylum or genus, as the point
of departure. Mrs. Comstock believed
that the student found in such a study a
fresh, spontaneous interest which was
lacking in formal textbook science, and
the phenomenal success of her work seems
to prove that she was right. Moreover,
nature-study as Mrs. Comstock conceived
it was an aesthetic experience as well as a
discipline. It was an opening of the eyes
to the individuality, the ingenuity, the
personality of each of the unnoticed life-
forms about us. It meant a broadening of
intellectual outlook, an expansion of
sympathy, a fuller life. Much of this Mrs.
Comstock succeeded in conveying into
her work; and perhaps it is this inform-
ing spirit that is the chief virtue of the
book.

But it should not be thought that
nature-study is not a science. The promis-
ing science of ecology is merely formalized
nature-study; indeed it might be said that
nature-study is natural science from an
ecological rather than an anatomical point
of view. The truth is that nature-study is
a science, and is more than a science; it is
not merely a study of life, but an experi-
ence of life. One realizes, as he reads these
pages, that with Mrs. Comstock it even
contributed to a philosophy of life.

Only the generous efforts of many
specialists made possible the thorough-
going revision of the book. Dr. Marjorie
Ruth Ross assumed in large part the re-
sponsibility for editorial supervision and
co-ordination, and performed most of the
labor of revision and replacement of il-
lustrations. Professor A. H. Wright and
Mrs. Wright made valuable suggestions
and criticisms of the book in general, pro-
vided hitherto unpublished photographs
for the sections on reptiles and amphibi-
ans, and read proof on those sections.

V1I1

Professor Glenn W. Herrick, Professor
J. G. Needhanx and Dr. Grace H. Gris-
wold made suggestions for the revision
of the material on insects, and supplied
illustrations for that section. Professor
E. F. Phillips contributed criticism for the
lesson on bees. Professor A. A. Allen
kindly made suggestions and provided il-
lustrations for the material on birds. Pro-
fessor B. P. Young gave assistance in the
treatment of aquatic life; Dr. W. J. Koster
made suggestions for improving the sec-
tion on fish; and Dr. Emmeline Moore
selected photographs of fish, and on be-
half of the New York State Department
of Conservation gave permission to use
them.

Thanks are due to Professor W. J.
Hamilton, Jr., for criticism of the section
on mammals and for supplying several
photographs; to Professor E. S. Harrison
for aid in revising the lesson on cattle and
supplying illustrations. Mrs. C. N. Stark
made helpful suggestions for the revision
of the lesson on bacteria. Miss Ethel Belk
suggested many revisions in the part on
plants. Professor W. C. Muenscher made
useful criticisms of the section on weeds,
and supplied illustrations. Professor C. H.
Guise revised the portion dealing with
the chestnut tree and Professor Ralph W.
Curtis gave valuable assistance in the re-
vision of the whole section on trees, and
furnished pictures. Professor Joseph Os-
kamp suggested several improvements in

PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD

the text on the apple tree. Mr. William
Marcus Ingram, Jr. prepared the captions
for the illustrations of shells.

Professor H. Ries made extensive re-
visions and additions in the lessons relat-
ing to geology. Professor H. O. Buckman
revised the lesson on soil. Professor A. F.
Gustafson revised the lesson on the
brook, and added material on soil conser-
vation. Professor S. L. Boothroyd not only
revised the old text on the sky, but he also
provided new material and supplied maps
and photographs to illustrate it. Dr. H. O.
Geren made valuable suggestions for the
revision of the text on weather. Miss
Theodosia Hadley supplied material for
the new bibliography; Dr. Eva L. Gordon
revised the bibliography, made numerous
suggestions for revision of other parts of
the text, and provided some of the illustra-
tions.

Dr. F. D. Wormuth acted as literary
editor of the manuscript. Dr. John M.
Raines composed many of the captions
for the new illustrations, and, with Mrs.
Raines, read proof of the entire book.

Many teachers throughout the country
offered constructive criticisms; an attempt
has been made to put them into effect.
To all of these persons the publishers wish
to express most cordial and sincere thanks.
THE PUBLISHERS
ITHACA, NEW YORK

January i, 1939

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 de-
pression 1891-1893, the Charities of New
York City found it necessary to help many
people who had come from the rural dis-
tricts — a condition hitherto unknown.
The philanthropists managing the Associ-
ation for Improving the Condition of the
Poor asked, "What is the matter with
the land of New York State that it can-
not support its own population? " A con-
ference was called to consider the situa-
tion 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 meet-
ing the whole trend of her activities would
be thereby changed. Mr. George T.
Powell, who had been a most efficient Di-
rector of Farmers' Institutes of New York
State, was invited to the conference as an
expert to explain conditions and give ad-
vice as to remedies. The situation seemed
so serious that a Committee for the Pro-
motion of Agriculture in New York State
was appointed. Of this committee the
Honorable Abram S. Hewitt was Chair-
man, 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 inter-
esting the children of the country in
farming as a remedial measure, and main-

tained that the first step to\vard agricul-
ture was nature-study. It had been Mr.
Powell's custom to give simple agricul-
tural 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 experi-
mental work was suggested, using the
schools of Westchester County as a labo-
ratory. Mr. R. Fulton Cutting generously
furnished the funds for this experiment,
and work was done that year in the West-
Chester schools which satisfied the com-
mittee 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 im-
proving the farming conditions of the
State. In 1894, it was through his influ-
ence 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 un-
der 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 use-
ful 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 con-
sideration declared that if this new meas-

lire 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 were added to the Cor-
nell 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 Profes-
sor 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 Nat-
uralists Clubs, which developed a remark-
able phase of the movement. The mem-
bers of these clubs paid their dues by
writing letters about their nature observa-
tions to Mr. Spencer, who speedily be-
came their beloved "Uncle John"; a
button and charter were given for con-
tinued and earnest work. Some years,
30,000 children were thus brought into
direct communication with Cornell Uni-
versity 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 move-
ment 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. Maw 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

PREFACE

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 publica-
tions 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 Edu-
cation Department with Charles R. Skin-
ner as Commissioner of Education and
Dr. Isaac Stout as the Director of Teach-
ers7 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 Na-
ture-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 les-
sons have been added to bridge gaps and
make a coherent whole.

Because the lessons were written dur-
ing 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 les-
sons, 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 individu-
ally in nature-study; and in her long ex-
perience 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 inspira-
tion and a joy to pupils and teacher. It is
because of the author's sympathy with
the untrained teacher and her full com-
prehension of her difficulties and help-
lessness 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 planet 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 ani-
mals and plants is so scattered that a
teacher would need a large library and al-
most 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 be-
fore the eyes of the pupils with a number
of questions leading them to see the es-
sential 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 in-

PREFACE xi

formal manner, and that the style of writ-
ing is often colloquial, results 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 sci-
ence accounts for the rather loose termi-
nology 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 rudi-
ments 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 fre-
quent 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 coun-
try 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 incon-
sistencies, 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 ac-
knowledgment to the following people:
To Professor Wilford M. Wilson for his

xii PREFACE

chapter on the weather; to Miss Man- 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 as-
sistance 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 the 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
Sendee 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 Lar-
com, and various extracts from Burroughs
and Thoreau; to Small, Maynard & Com-
pany 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 astron-
omy. Especially thanks are extended to
Miss Anna C. Stryke for numerous draw-
ings, including most of the initials.

ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK
ITHACA, NEW YORK
July, 1911

CONTENTS

PART I

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

What Nature-Study Is i

What Nature-Study Should Do for

the Child i

Nature-Study as a Help to Health 2
What Nature-Study Should Do for

the Teacher 3

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

Relation of Nature-Study to Sci-
ence 5

Nature-Study Not for Drill ... 6
The Child Not Interested in Na-
ture-Study 6

When to Give the Lesson .... 6

Length of the Lesson 6

The Nature-Study Lesson Always

New 7

Nature-Study and Object Lessons . 7
Nature-Study in the Schoolroom . 8
Nature-Study and Museum Speci-
mens 8

Lens, Microscope and Field Glass as
Helps 9

Uses of Pictures, Charts, and Black-
board Drawings 10

Uses of Scientific Names .... 10
The Stow as a Supplement to the

Nature-Study Lesson 11

The Nature-Study Attitude toward

Life and Death 12

Should the Nature-Study Teacher
Teach How to Destroy Life? . . 13

The Field Notebook / 13

The Field Excursion 15

Pets as Nature-Study Subjects . . 15
Correlation of Nature-Study with

Language Work 16

Correlation of Nature-Study and

Drawing 17

Correlation of Nature-Study with

Geography 18

Correlation of Nature-Study with

History 18

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 23

PART II

ANIMALS

BIRDS 27

Beginning Bird Study in the Pri-
mary Grades 28

Feathers as Clothing 29

Feathers as Ornament 31

How Birds Fly 33

Migration of Birds 35

Eyes and Ears of Birds 38

Form and Use of Beaks .... 39

Feet of Birds

Songs of Birds ,

Attracting Birds

Value of Birds

Study of Birds' Nests in Winter

Chicken Ways

Pigeons

Canary and the Goldfinch . .
Robin

40
42

45
46

47
5°
53
57

XIV

CONTENTS

Bluebird

\\Tiite-brcasted Nuthatch . . .

Chickadee

Downy Woodpecker

Sapsucker

Redheaded Woodpecker . . .
Flicker or Yellow-hammer . . .

Meadowlark

English Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Song Sparrow ........

Mockingbird

Catbird

Belted Kingfisher

Screech Owl

Hawks

Birds of Prey and Scavengers . .
Swallows and the Chimney Swift

Hummingbird

Red-winged Blackbird ....

Baltimore Oriole

Crow

Cardinal Grosbeak

Geese

Wild Geese

Game Birds

Turkey

Birds of Marsh and Shore . . .

FISHES

Goldfish . . .
Bullhead . . .
Common Sucker
Shiner ....
Brook Trout . .
Stickleback . .
Sunfish ....
Johnny Darter .

AMPHIBIANS

Tailless Amphibians

Common Toad

Tadpole Aquarium

Spring Peeper or Pickering's

Hyla

Frog

Tailed Amphibians

Newt or Eft

REPTILES

Garter or Garden Snake ....
Milk Snake or Spotted Adder . .
Water Snake

62
65

7°
74
76

86
89
91

97
100

104
106
109

117

120
124

127
130

*33
136

138
142

144
144
148
152
154
156

*59

162

166

170
170
170

177
180
187
187

193
194
197
198

Other Snakes 200

Turtles 204

Lizards 210

MAMMALS 214

Cotton-tail Rabbit 215

Muskrat 219

House Mouse 224

Woodchuck 229

Red Squirrel or Chickaree ... 233

Furry 237

Chipmunk 239

Little Brown Bat 241

Skunk 245

Raccoon 247

Wolf 250

Fox 251

Dogs 254

Cat 260

Goat 266

Sheep 270

Horse 274

Cattle 280

Pig 286

Animals of Zoos and Parks . . . 290

INSECTS 294

Life History and Structure of In-
sects 294

INSECTS OF THE FIELDS AND WOODS 301

Black Swallowtail Butterfly . . 301

Monarch Butterfly 305

Isabella Tiger Moth or Woolly

Bear 310

Cecropia 313

Promethea 317

Cynthia 319

Hummingbird or Sphinx Moths 320

Codling Moth 325

Leaf-miners 329

Leaf-rollers 332

Gall Dwellers 335

Grasshopper 338

Katydid 343

Black Cricket 344

Snowy Tree Cricket 348

Cockroach 350

Aphids or Plant Lice 351

Ant Lion 354

Mother Lacewing and the Aphis

Lion 356

CONTENTS

Housefly 358

Colorado Potato Beetle , . . . 362

Ladybird 364

Firefly 367

Ways of the Ant 369

How to Make a Lubbock Ant-
nest 373

The Ant-nest and What May Be

Seen within It 374

Mud-dauber 378

Yellow Jacket 380

Leaf-cutter Bee 384

Little Carpenter Bee 386

Bumblebee 389

Honeybee 391

Honeycomb . . . 395

Industries of the Hive and the

Observation Hive 396

INSECTS OF THE BROOK AND POND . 400
How to Make an Aquarium for

Insects 400

Dragonflies and Damsel Flies . . 401

Other Aquatic Insects 402

Caddis Worms and the Caddis

Flies

Mosquito

408
411

OTHER

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS

THAN INSECTS 416

Garden Snail 416

Shells of Florida and the East

Coast 418

Earthworm 422

Crayfish 425

Seashore Creatures 430

Daddy Longlegs or Grandfather

Greybeard 432

Spiders 435

Cobwebs 436

Funnel Web of a Grass Spider . 438

Orb Web 439

Filmy Dome 443

Ballooning Spiders 444

White Crab Spider 445

Howr the Spider Mothers Take

Care of Their Eggs 446

Other Invertebrates 448

PART III
PLANTS

How to Begin the Study of Plants

and Their Flowers 453

Some Needs of Plants 454

How to Teach the Names of the

Parts of a Flower and of the Plant 456

Teach the Use of the Flower ... 457

Flower and Insect Partners .... 457

Relation of Plants to Geography . 458

Seed Germination 458

WILD FLOWERS 460

Hepatica 461

Yellow Adder7 s-Tongue .... 463

Bloodroot 466

Trillium 468

DutchrnanVBreeches and Squir-
rel Com 471

Jack-in-the-Pulpit 473

Violet 476

May Apple or Mandrake .... 479

Bluets 483

Yellow Lady's-Slipper 484

Evening Primrose 488

Milkweed 491

White Water Lily 495

Pondweed 498

Cattail 500

Type Lesson for a Composite

Flower 503

Goldenrod 503

Asters 506

The Jewelweed or Touch-me-
not 508

WEEDS 512

Outline for the Study of a Weed 513

Poison Ivy 5*4

Prevention of Ivy Poisoning . . 514
Curative Treatment for Ivy Poi-
soning 514

Common or Field Buttercup . . 516

Hedge Bindweed 518

XVI

CONTENTS

Dodder

\\Tiite Daisy

Yellow Daisy or Black-eyed Susan

Thistle . .' " . . . .

Burdock

Prickly Lettuce, a Compass

Plant

Dandelion

Pearly Everlasting

Mullein

Teasel

Queen Anne's Lace or Wild Car-
""rot

520

524
527

529
531

53?

537
539

542

GARDEN FLOWERS 546

Crocus 547

Daffodils and Their Relatives . 549

Tulip 552

Pansy 555

Bleeding Heart 558

Poppies 560

California Poppy 563

Nasturtium 566

Bee-Larkspur 568

Blue Flag or Iris 571

Sunflower 574

Bachelors-Button 578

Salvia or Scarlet Sage 579

Petunias 581

Garden or Horseshoe Geranium 585

Sweet Pea 588

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS .... 591

Clovers 591

Sweet Clover 594

White Clover 596

Maize or Indian Corn .... 598

Cotton Plant 604

Strawberry 608

Pumpkin 611

TREES 618

Parts of the Tree 618

The Way a Tree Grows .... 620

How to Begin Tree Study . . . 622

How to Make Leaf Prints . . . 626

Maples 628

American Elm 634

Oaks 638

Shagbark Hickory 643

Chestnut 645

Horse Chestnut 648

Willows 651

Cottonwood or Carolina Poplar . 655

White Ash 658

Apple Tree 661

How an Apple Grows 665

The Apple 667

Pines 670

Norway Spruce 675

Hemlock 679

Dogwood 680

Velvet or Staghorn Sumac ... 683

Witch Hazel 686

Mountain Laurel 689

FLOWERLESS PLANTS 693

Christmas Fern 693

Bracken 696

How a Fern Bud Unfolds ... 698

Fruiting of the Fern 699

Other Ferns 704

Field Horsetail 706

Hair-cap Moss or Pigeon Wheat 709

Other Mosses and Hepatics . . 712

Mushrooms and Other Fungi . . 714
How Mushrooms Look and How

They Live 716

Puffballs 720

Bracket Fungi 721

Hedgehog Fungi 725

Scarlet Saucer 725

Morels 726

Stinkhorns 727

Molds 727

Bacteria 729

PART IV
EARTH AND SKY

THE BROOK 736

Life in the Brook 739

How a Brook Drops Its Load . 740

ROCKS AND MINERALS 743

Rocks 744

Sedimentary Rocks 745

CONTENTS

Igneous Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks ....
Calcite, Limestone, and Mar-
ble

Minerals

Crystal Growth

Salt

Quartz

Feldspar

Fossils

Mica

THE SOIL

Soil Material

Soil Formation

Kinds of Soil

Soil Experiments

How Valuable Soil Is Lost .
Soil Erosion, an Old Problem
How to Conserve Our Soil .

THE MAGNET

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Tower of the Winds

Historical

Atmosphere

Air as a Gas

Composition of Air

Pressure of Atmosphere ....

The Barometer

Height of the Atmosphere . . .

Temperature of the Atmosphere

Thermometer Scales in Use . .

Distribution of Temperature and
Pressure

Winds of the World

Storms

Weather Maps

The Principles of Weather Fore-
casting

Forecasts Based on Weather
Maps

Maps, Where Published and
How Obtained

746
748

748

75°

751
753
754

755
756

758

760
761
762
763
764
766
769

77°
776

780
781
781
783
783
783
785
787
788
790

79°

791
791
798

799

800

Value of Weather Sendee . . .
How to Read Weather Maps . .

Highs and Lows

Observations Concerning the

Weather

Weather Proverbs

xvn

801

806

807

WATER FORMS 808

THE SKIES

The Story of the Stars

How to Begin Star Study ....
Circumpolar Constellations . .
The Polestar and the Dippers . .
Cassiopeia's Chair, Cepheus, and

the Dragon

Winter Stars

Orion

Aldebaran and the Pleiades .
The Two Dog Stars, Sirius and

Procyon

Capella and the Heavenly Twins

Stars of Summer

Regulus

Arcturus

The Crown

Spica

Vega

Antares

Deneb or Arided

Altair

The Sun

Comets and Meteors

Shooting Stars

The Relation between the Tropic

of Cancer and the Planting of

the Garden

The Ecliptic and the Zodiac . .

The Sky Clock

Equatorial Star Finder

The Relations of the Sun to the

Earth

How to Make a Sundial ....
The Moon

815
815
818
818
818

821
823
823
826

829

830
831
831
832
832
832
832
833

833
838
839

841
843
844

847

851

853
855

BIBLIOGRAPHY

NATURE STUDY IN GENERAL ... 863
General Information and Stories 863
Essays and Travel 866

Poetry

History and Biography
Textbooks and Readers

870
870
872

XV111

CONTENTS

Books for Parents and Teachers 874

Magazines and Periodicals . . . 875

ANIMAL LIFE 877

Animals in General 877

Mammals 880

Birds 884

Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish 888

Insects and Other Invertebrates 890

PLANT LIFE 895

Plants in General 895

Wild Flowers and Weeds . . . 897

Flowerless Plants 898

Garden Flowers and Cultivated

Crop Plants 899

Trees7 Shrubs, and Woody Vines 901

EARTH AND SKY 904

The Earth and Its Life .... 904

Weather and Climate 906

Stars and Sky 907

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

909

INDEX 911

FULL-PAGE PLATES

BIRDS OF PREY AND SCAVENGERS . . 107
Sparrow Hawks — Snowy Owl —
Screech Owl — Herring Gull —
Black Vulture — Audubon's Ca-
racara

GAME BIRDS 137

Ring-necked Pheasants — Wild
Turkey — Ruffed Grouse? Nest of
— Eastern Bobwhite or Quail —
Dusky Grouse — Woodcock on
Nest"

143

BIRDS OF MARSH AND SHORE . . .
Shoveller — Mallard — Lesser
Scaup Ducks — Pied-billed Grebe
— Spotted Sandpiper — Wilson's
Plover — King Rail — Common
Tern — American Egret — Ameri-
can Bittern

TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 185

American Bell Toad — Oak Toad

— Narrow Mouth Toad — Can-
yon or Spotted Toad — Great
Plains Toad — Spadefoot Toad

— Hammond's Spadefoot —
Canadian or Winnipeg Toad —
Yosemite Toad

TAILED AMPHIBIANS 191

Spotted Salamander — Red Sala-
mander — Marbled Salamander

— Mud Puppy — Tiger Salaman-
der — Slimy Salamander — Slen-
der Salamander — Cave Salaman-
der

SNAKES I 201

Ribbon Snake — Coral Snake —
Rubber Boa — Rough Green
Snake — Timber Rattlesnake —
Desert Gopher Snake or Bull
Snake — Ring-necked Snake —

Sidewinder or Horned Rattle-
snake

SNAKES II 203

Pike-headed Tree Snake or Ari-
zona Long-headed Snake — Pilot
Black Snake — Copperhead —
Boyle's King Snake or Boyle's
Milk Snake — Gray Pilot Snake

— Water Moccasin or Cotton-
mouth — California Lyre Snake

— Southern Hognose Snake

LIZARDS I 211

Banded Gecko — Chameleon —
Fence Lizard — Glass Snake or
Legless Lizard — Alligator Liz-
ard or Plated Lizard — Sonoran
Skink — Gila Monster

LIZARDS II 213

Regal Horned Toad — Horned
Toad — Male Fence Lizard —
Mountain Boomer or Collared
Lizard — Whip-tail or Race Run-
ner — Chuck-walla

ANIMALS OF Zoos AND PARKS . . . 291
Rhinoceros — Hippopotamus —
Kangaroo — Zebra — Malay Tiger

— Polar Bear — Nubian Gi-
raffe — Bactrian or Two-humped
Camel — Wapiti or American
« Elk " - Virginia or White-
tailed Deer

AQUATIC INSECTS 403

"Stone Fly — May Fly — Back
Swimmer — Water Boatman —
Water Walking Stick — Water
Scorpion — Water Bug — Giant
Water Bug or Electric-Light Bug

— Water Strider — Dobson —
Predacious Diving Beetle — Div-
ing Beetle — Water Scavenger

FULL-PAGE PLATES

Beetle — Whirligig Beetle - Wa-
ter Penny or Riffle Beetle —
Black Fly — Crane Fly — Drone
Fly

SHELLS OF FLORIDA AND THE EAST

COAST 419

Crown Melongena — Brown-
mouth Cymatium — White-
mouth Cymatium — Lined Mu-
rex — Mossy Ark — Black Lace
Murex — Apple Murex —
White-spike Murex — Moon
Shell - Rock Worm Shell -
Mouse Cone — Florida Cone —
Giant Band Shell - Lettered
Olive — Netted Olive — Mottled
Top Shell — Ridged Chione —
Beaming Scallop — - Vase Shell —
Ponderous Ark — Spiny Pearl
Shell — Little Red Murex —
Rose Euglandina — Calico Scal-
lop — Volcano Shell

SEASHORE CREATURES 431

Sea Urchin — Fiddler Crab —
Common Starfish — Egg Cases
or Fisherman's Purses — Notch-
side Shell — Sand Dollar — Giant
Whelk — Great Ark Shell -
Star Coral — Sand Crab — Jelly-
fish

INVERTEBRATES 449

Water Spider — House Centi-
pede — Scorpion — Millipede

— Water Sow Bug — Fairy
Shrimps — Tadpole Shrimp —
Dog Louse — Scud — Water
Flea — Pleurocera — Copepod —
Fresh-water Limpet — Gonioba-
sis — Vivipara — Wheel Snails —
Campeloma — Valvata — By-
thinia — Amnicola -— Paludes-
trina — Common Pond Snail —
Pouch Snail -— Fingernail Clam
—-Paper-shell Mussel

FERNS 705

Purple Cliff Brake — Climbing
Fern — Grape Fern — Hart's-
Tongue — Hay-scented Fern

— Maidenhair Fern — Inter-
rupted Fern — Walking Leaf
Fern — Cinnamon Fern — Royal
or Flowering Fern

MOSSES AND HEPATICS 713

Broom Moss — Common Hair-
Cap, Bird Wheat, or Pigeon
Wheat Moss — Common Fern
Moss — Awned Hair-Cap Moss

— Plume Moss — Purple-fringed
Riccia — True Liverwort

FOSSILS 757

Hypohippus — Brachiopods —
Crane Fly - Trilobites — Cy-
cads — Crinoid or Sea Lily —
Brachiopod — Dinosaur Tracks

PART I
THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

WHAT NATURE-STUDY Is

Nature-study is, despite all discussions
and perversions, a study of nature; it con-
sists 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 har-
monious whole. Therefore, the object of
the nature-study teacher should be to cul-
tivate in the children powers of accurate
observation and to build up within them
understanding.

WHAT NATURE-STUDY SHOULD Do
FOR THE CHILD

First, but not most important, nature-
study gives the child practical and help-
ful knowledge. It makes him familiar with

Ralph W. Curtis

nature's ways and forces, so that he is not
so helpless in the presence of natural mis-
fortune and disasters.

Nature-study cultivates the child's im-
agination, since there are so many wonder-
ful 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 per-
ception 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 in expression
of things as they are.

Nature-study cultivates in the child a

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

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

Louis Agassiz Fuertes Council, Boy Scouts of America

A nature hike

hears; he reads the music score of the bird
orchestra, separating each part and know-
ing which bird sings it. And the patter of
the rain, the gurgle of the brook, the sigh-
ing 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 hope-
ful faith that is the sure inheritance of all
those who realize fully that they are work-
ing units of this wonderful universe.

NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP TO HEALTH

Perhaps the most valuable practical les-
son 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 immuta-
bility of nature's " must " and " shall not "
is in itself a moral education. The realiza-
tion that the fool as well as the transgres-
sor 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 comfort-
ing 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 genera-
tions and for him thus trained, shall the
words of Longfellow's poem to Agassiz
apply:

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY 3

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

During many years, I have been watch-
ing 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 dur-
ing 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 teach-
ing 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 Sat-
urday 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, na-
ture-study in the schoolroom is not a trou-
ble; it is a sweet, fresh breath of air blown
across the heat of radiators and the noi-
some odor of overcrowded small human-
it}'. She who opens her eyes and her heart
nature-ward even once a week finds na-
ture-study in the schoolroom a delight and
an abiding joy. What does such a one
find in her schoolroom instead of the ter-
rors of discipline, the eternal watching and
eternal nagging to keep the pupils quiet
and at work? She finds, first of all, com-
panionship 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 "

No science professor in any university,
if he be a man of high attainment, hesi-
tates to say to his pupils, " I do not know/'
if they ask for information beyond his
knowledge. The greater his scientific rep-
utation 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 re-
veal to her how little she does know, who
feels that she must appear to know every-
thing or her pupils will lose confidence
in her. But how useless is this pretense, 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 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/7 She thus conveys the right

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

she is never allowed to forget that she
knows them, and finally her interests be-
come limited to what she knows.
pupils feel the thrill and zest of in- After all what is the chief sign of

•r £__ x- :n <,i^w* fk/^r r^crv-H- growing old? Is it not me reeling mat

we know all there is to be known? It is

impression, that only a little about the in-
tricate life of plants and animals is yet
known; and at the same time she makes

vestigation. Nor will she lose their respect

bv doing this, if she does it in the right .

soirit For three rears I had for com- not years which make people old; it is
rades'in my walks afield two little chil- ™+* -A « "™***™ "* ^"™* W1''™
dren and they kept me busy saying, " I
do not know." But they never lost confi-
dence in me or in my knowledge; they

Leonard "K. Beyer

Long -spurred violet

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 sub-
ject, establishes between herself and her
pupils a sense of companionship which re-
lieves 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
The old teacher is too likely to be-
come didactic, dogmatic, and " bossy ?> if
she does not constantly strive with her-
self. Why? She has to be thus five days in
the week and, therefore, she is likely to
be so seven. She knows arithmetic, gram-
mar, and geography to their uttermost,

ruts, and a limitation of interests. When
wre no longer care about anything except
our own interests, we are then olcl? it
matters not whether our years be twenty
or eighty. It is rejuvenation for the
teacher, thus growing old, to stand ig-
norant 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 reverently watch with
him the miracle of the blossoming violet
and say: "Dear Nature, I know naught
of the wondrous life of these, your small-
est creatures. Teach me! " and she will
suddenly find herself young.

NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP IN
SCHOOL DISCIPLINE

Much of the naughtiness in school is
a result of the child's lack of interest in
his work, augmented by the physical in-
action that results from an attempt to sit
quietly. The best teachers try to obviate
both of these causes of misbehaviour
rather than to punish the naughtiness that
results from 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 min-
utes, 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 un-
der observation to be regarded as a re-
ward of merit. As I entered the school-

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

room, eight or ten of the children were
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 sala-
manders, an aquarium for fish, many
small aquaria for insects, and each had
one or two absorbedly interested specta-
tors 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 crea-
tures in the aquaria or terraria has been
used as a reward for other work well done.

THE RELATION OF NATURE-STUDY
TO SCIENCE

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 pro-
gresses logically through to the highest
forms; at least this is the method pursued
in most universities and schools. The ob-
ject 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 w7ork begins with any plant or crea-
ture 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 be-
littled 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.77 It 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
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 notes the things about the
habits and appearance of the robin that
may be perceived by intimate observa-

An aquarium

Hugh Spencer

tion. In fact, he discovers for himself all
that the most advanced book of ornithol-
ogy would give concerning the ordinary
habits of this one bird; the next bird
studied may be the turkey in the barn-
yard, 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 ornithol-
ogy7, 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 them. Nature-study
does not start out with the classification
given in books, but in the end it builds
up in the child's mind a classification
which is based on fundamental knowl-

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

edge; it is a classification like that evolved
by the first naturalists, because 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 peda-
gogic 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 be-
comes 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!

Stanley Mulaik

A young entomologist

THE CHILD NOT INTERESTED
IN NATURE-STUDY

What to do with the pupil not inter-
ested in nature-study subjects is a prob-
lem that confronts many earnest teachers.
Usually the reason for this lack of inter-
est 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 demoraliz-

ing. He had much better be learning his
spelling lesson than learning to hate na-
ture through being obliged to study sub-
jects in which he is not interested. In
general, it is safe to assume that the pu-
pil'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 genu-
ine 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

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 rest-
less, 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 men-
tal excursion, from which all return re-
freshed and ready to finish the duties of
the day.

While I am convinced that the use of
the nature-study lesson for mental re-
freshment 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

The nature-study lesson should be
short and sharp and may vary from ten
minutes to a half hour in length. There

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

should be no dawdling; if it is an observa-
tion lesson, only a few points should be
noted and the meaning for the observa-
tions made clear. If an outline be sug-
gested 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, " con-
tinued 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 writ-
ten. 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 flow-
ers with no obligation to tell what she
should see. There is more than mere in-
formation 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 con-
sciousness. The repetition of the same les-
son in different grades was, to begin with,
a hopeless incubus upon nature-study.
One disgusted boy declared, " Darn ger-
mination! 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 ger-
mination, 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

The object lesson method was intro-
duced to drill the child to see a thing
accurately, not only as a whole but in de-
tail, and to describe accurately what he
saw. A book or a vase or some other ob-
ject was held up before the class for a

Leonard K. Beyer

A mountain brook

moment and then removed; afterwards
the pupils described it as perfectly as pos-
sible. 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 na-
ture-study lesson, she has little compre-
hension 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 grass-
hopper has the hind legs much longer
than the others, he will inevitably note
that there are two other pairs of legs and he

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

will in the meantime have come into an il-
luminating 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 *' be-
ing " to " doing."

NATURE-STUDY IN THE SCHOOLROOM
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 col-
lecting of it is an important part of the

eEI

A. I. Root Co.

An observation beehive

lesson. There should be in the school-
room conveniences for caring for the little
prisoners brought in from the field. A
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 so-
cialists, while the cheerful prisoner in the
bird cage may be made a constant illus-
tration of the adaptations and habits of
all birds. The aquaria for fishes, tadpoles,
and insects afford the opportunity for con-
tinuous 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 aes-

thetic 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 build-
ing, but which was teeming with life, " I
think this is the most beautiful room in
the world."

NATURE-STUDY AND MUSEUM
SPECIMENS

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 les-
son 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 col-
lection of insects is an efficient way of
developing the child's powers of close
observation, as well as of giving him man-
ual dexterity in handling fragile things.
Also it is a false sentiment which attrib-
utes to an insect the same agony at be-
ing impaled on a pin that we might suffer
at being thrust through by a stake. The
insect nervous system is far more con-
veniently arranged for such an ordeal than
ours; and, too, the cyanide bottle brings
immediate and painless death to the in-
sects placed within it; moreover, the in-
sects usually collected have short lives
anyway. So far as the child is concerned,

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

Mounted twigs and nuts. These may be put
in the bottom, of a shallow box with a sheet of
cellophane pasted over the top

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 in-
discriminate encouragement of the mak-
ing of insect collections cannot be ad-
vised. 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 remem-
bers most illuminating lessons from a par-
tridge that broke a window and its neck

simultaneously during its flight one win-
ter night, a yellow hammer that killed
itself against an electric wire, and a musk-
rat 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
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 be-
cause it is such a joy to the child to gaze
at the wonders it reveals. There is no les-
son given in this book which requires
more than a simple lens for seeing the
most minute parts discussed. An excel-
lent 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 com-
monest objects that it can ofttimes be

Bausch & Lornb Optical Co.

Hand lenses

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.

A field glass

made a source of added interest. For
instance, thus to 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 observa-
tions with the help of a glass.

USES OF PICTURES, CHARTS, AND
BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS

Pictures alone should never be used
as the subjects for nature-study lessons,
but they may be of great use in illustrat-
ing and illuminating a lesson. Books well
illustrated are more readily compre-
hended by the child and are often very
helpful to him, especially after his inter-
est 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 er-
ror may be avoided by fixing the atten-
tion 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 con-

vince the children that the picture has
anything to do with the insect.

In making blackboard drawings illus-
trative 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 con-
sideration, however, nature-study charts
and blackboard drawings are of little use
to the nature-study teacher,

THE USES OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES

Disquieting problems relative to scien-
tific nomenclature always confront the
teacher of nature-study. My own practice
has been to use the popular names of spe-
cies, 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.

Common tree frog or tree toad, Hyla versi-
cplor versicolor. Another species, Hyla cru-
cifer, is also often catted the tree frog and tree
toad. Common names, then} will not distin-
guish these amphibians one from another;
the scientific names must be applied

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

If the teacher says, " I have a pink he-
patica. Can anyone find me a blue one? "
the children, who naturally like grownup
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 black-
board, 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 Ipst. 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 any-
thing 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

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 com-
plete 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 interroga-
tion mark that will remain aggressive and
insistent in the child's mind. To illus-
trate: 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 can-
not see her or find her nest? " For two
years following this lesson I received let-
ters from members of this club. Two car-
penter bees and their nests were discov-
ered by them and studied before the
mysterious leaf-cutter was finally ferreted

The leaf-cutter bee

out. My story had left something inter-
esting for the young naturalists to dis-
cover. The children should be impressed
with the fact that the nature story is
never finished. There is not a weed or
an insect or 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 knowl-
edge.

THE NATURE-STUDY ATTITUDE
TOWARD LIFE AXD DEATH

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

but become a vegetarian, and even then
there might arise refinements in this ques-
tion of taking life; she might have to con-
Perhaps no greater danger besets the sider the cruelty to asparagus in cutting
pathwav of the natuie-studv teacher than it off in plump infancy, or the ethics of
he question involved in her pupils7 atti- devouring in the turnip the food laid up
tude toward life and death. To inculcate by the mother plant to perfect her seed.

In fact, a most rigorous diet would be
forced upon the teacher who should re-
fuse to sustain her own existence at the
cost of life; and if she should attempt to

in the child a reverence for life and yet
to keep him from becoming mawkish
and morbid is truly a problem. It is al-
most inevitable that the child should be-
come sympathetic with the life of the
animal or plant studied, since a true un-
derstanding of the life of any creature
creates an interest which stimulates a de-

teach the righteousness of such a diet
she would undoubtedly forfeit her posi-
tion; and yet what is she to do! She will
soon find herself in the position of a cer-

V-iV-aiA-a a.*! JLIJ.I_V*J.V*<OI, »> 4.**^** kjtj.j.*^^.^-.-^- — *

sire to protect this particular creature and tain lady who placed sheets of sticky tty-

. i . /• i •» i •*. r . • _ "iT *__ —,-..r^^»- st*-xMi<t-t.ir[ T~»/3-r "Ir-!+T»T*l/an f1/^ Tirl Tlf»r M mi Qf*

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 hu-
mane qualities within these boys budded
and blossomed in the growing knowledge
of the lives of the birds. At Cornell Uni-
versity, it is a well-known fact that those
students who turn aside so as not to crush
the ant, caterpillar, or cricket on the pave-
ment are almost invariably those that are
studying entomology7; and in America it
is the botanists themselves who are lead-
ing the crusade for flower protection.

Thus, the nature-study teacher, if she
does her work well, is a sure aid in in-
culcating 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 Iamb 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 sa-
credness 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

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 hu-
mane 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 is 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 that one of the conditions
imposed upon every living being in the
woods and fields is that if it is clever
enough to get a meal it is entitled to one
when it is hungry. The child naturally
takes this view of it. I remember well
that as a child I never thought particu-

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

larly about the mouse which my cat
was eating; in fact, the process of trans-
muting 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 ap-
preciates more deeply than I the debt
which we owe to Thompson Seton and
writers of his kind, who have placed be-
fore 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 judg-
ment and the understanding are well de-
veloped, 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 fellow7s life is, at
best, an enfeebling process and a futile
waste of energy.

SHOULD THE NATURE-STUDY TEACHER
TEACH How TO DESTROY LIFE?

It is probably within the proper scope
of the nature-study teacher to place em-
phasis upon the domain of man, who, be-
ing the most powerful of all animals, as-
serts 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 earth-
worms from my lawn; but the place is
mine, and I choose to kill the cat and pre-
serve the robin.

When emphasizing the domain of
man, we may have to deal with the kill-
ing of creatures which are injurious to
his interests. Nature-study may be tribu-
tary to this, in a measure and indirectly,
but the study of this question 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 in-
terested in the life of the insect. Not
under any consideration, when the atten-

tion of the child is focused on the insect,
should we suggest a remedy for it when
it becomes 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
conies the butterfly, now an arch enemy,
and begins to rear her progeny on the
product of his toil. Now the child's in-
terest 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 stow of
insects or other creatures is nature-study.
To destroy them as pests is a part of agri-
culture 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 NOTEBOOK

A field notebook may be made a joy
to the pupil and a help to the teacher.
Any kind of 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 notebook 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 to illus-
trate what is observed should be encour-
aged. A graphic drawing is far better than
a long description of a natural object.

(c) The notebook should not be re-
garded 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 ob-

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

. a.73.

297

t f

•J a r* u

t t

TWk-s.

A page from the field notebook of a boy of fourteen who read Thoreau and admired the books

of Ernest Thompson Seton

serving certain plants or animals may be
placed in the notebook previous to the
field excursion so as to give definite points
for the work.

(e) No child should be compelled to
have a notebook.

The field notebook is a veritable gold
mine for the nature-study teacher to work.

in securing voluntary and happy observa-
tions 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

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

A brook in winter

where to find the starting point for cul-
tivating larger intelligence and wider in-
terest.

I have examined many field notebooks
kept by pupils in the intermediate grades
and have been surprised at their pleni-
tude 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 admira-
tion of Thompson Seton's books and
filled with carefully transcribed text that
showed the direct influence of Thoreau.
These books, of whatever quality, are pre-
cious 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
Many teachers look upon the field ex-
cursion as a precarious voyage, steered be-
tween the Scylla of hilarious seeing too
much and the Charybdis of seeing noth-
ing 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 man-
ner as to make them thoroughly inter-
ested in discovering the facts ^ A "certain

teacher in New York State lias studied all
the common plants and trees in the vi-
cinity- of her school by means of these re-
cess excursions and the pupils have been
enthusiastic about the work.

The half-hour excursion should be pre-
ceded 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 pun-
ishment; but they should be made to un-
derstand 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 notebook which should be
a part of the pupils" equipment.

PETS AS NATURE-STUDY SUBJECTS
Little attention has been given to mak-
ing 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

W. J. Hamilton, Jr.

Young woodchucks

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

life of the pet make interesting subject
matter for a notebook. The lessons on
the dog, rabbit and horse as given in this
volume may suggest methods for such
stud}', 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 notebooks regard-
ing my experiences with " Furry." I in-
clude this record as a suggestion for the
children that they should keep notebooks
of their pets. It will lead them to closer
observation and to a better and more nat-
ural expression of their experiences.

THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY
WITH LANGUAGE WORK

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 cor-
relation 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 accom-
plish quite another. A boy once said to
me, " I'd rather never go on a field ex-
cursion 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 en-
joyed all the new experiences and had
witnessed the interesting things discov-
ered 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 discov-
ered, 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 expres-
sion.

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 ex-
ercises; 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 ear-
nestly 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 informa-
tion contained in the essay. But when
they are interested in the subject and
write about it to a person who is inter-
ested, 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 con-
veyance naturally should be fitted for the
load it is to carry, and if the pupil ac-
quires the load first he is very likely to
construct a conveyance that will be ade-
quate. How often the conveyance is made
perfect through much effort and polished
through agony of spirit and the load en-
tirely forgotten!

Nature-study lessons give much excel-
lent 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 spell-
ing are only gained by practice and there

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

is no royal road leading to their acquire-
ment.

THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY
AND DRAWING

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 ob-
servations with drawings; the happy ab-

r " ~~'

A mounted fern. A pressed dry fern placed
on a layer of cotton batting backed by card-
board is covered with a sheet of cellophane
and is slipped into an envelope from which a
panel has been cut

sorption of children thus engaged is a
delight to witness. At its best, drawing is
a perfectly natural method of self-expres-
sion. The savage and the young child,
both untutored, seek to express them-
selves 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 voting
child, to the outlining of a leaf or some
other simple and interesting natural ob-
ject is a normal step full of interest for
the child because it is still self-expression.

Miss Man" E. Hill, formerly of the
Goodyear School of Syracuse, s;ave each
year an exhibition of the drawings made
by the children in the nature-study classes;
and these were universally so excellent
that most people regarded them as an
exhibition from the art department; and
yet many of these pupils never had had
lessons in drawing. They had learned to
draw because they liked to make pictures
of the living objects which they had
studied. One year there were in this ex-
hibit many pictures of toads in various
stages, 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 allowed the
pupils to choose their own medium, pen-
cil, crayon, or water color, and said that
they seemed to feel which was best. For
instance, when drawing the outline of
trees in winter they chose pencil, but when
representing the trill iuni or iris they pre-
ferred the water color, while for bitter-
sweet and crocuses they chose 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 art
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 TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY
WITH GEOGRAPHY

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

U. S. Geological Survey — Photo by W. G. Pierce

A meandering stream

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 con-
tact 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 cattails grow in swamps where
there is not too much water, and why the
mullein 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 be-
long to the realm of nature-study: the
brook, its course, its work of erosion and
sedimentation; the rocks of many kinds,
the soil, the climate, the weather, are all
legitimate subjects for nature-study les-
sons.

THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY
WITH HISTORY

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 many of the
most commonly seen creatures 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 sweet-
ening his food until the iyth 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 grass-
hopper 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 individu-
ally 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

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

primeval and may have attained the age
of two centuries; they stand there look-
ing 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

The Arnold Arboretum

The Endicott pear tree. This tree was
planted by Governor John Endicott in his
garden in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1630.
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and
Daniel Webster enjoyed the fruit of this
patriarchal tree. Sprouts, shown above, from
the old tree still bear

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 can the atten-
tion 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 his-
tory 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 be-
fore 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 town-
ship, 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

The arithmetical problems presented
by nature-study are many; some of them
are simple and some of them are com-
plicated, and all of them are illuminating.
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 dande-
lion 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

™i

W. C. Muenscher

A red cedar and its seedlings

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 thick-
ness and computing the lumber they will
make combines arithmetic and geometry,
and so on ad infinitum.

2o THE TEACHING OF

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 pu-
pils should be really interested in the an-
swers to their problems; and as with all
correlation, the success of it depends upon
the genius of the teacher.

GARDENING AND NATURE-STUDY
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 con-
ducted 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 stand-
point 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 gar-
dening! 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 pe-
culiarities 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 se-
curing 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 can the child so fully
and naturally come into a comprehension
of that term " the survival of the fittest "

NATURE-STUDY

as by studying the ways of the fit as exem-
plified 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 young-
est 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? More-
over, 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 physi-
ology, the elements of which may be
taught simply by experiments carried on
by the children themselves, experiments
which should demonstrate the sap cur-
rents in the plant; the use of water to

carry food and to make the plant rigid;
the use of sunshine in making the plant
food in the leaf laboratories; the nourish-
ment provided for the seed and its germi-
nation, and many other similar lessons.

A child who makes a garden, and thus
becomes intimate with the plants he cul-
tivates, and comes to understand the in-
terrelation of the various forms of life

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

which he finds in his garden, has pro-
gressed far in the fundamental knowledge
of nature's ways as well as in a practical
knowledge of agriculture.

NATURE-STUDY AND AGRICULTURE
Luckily, thumb-rule agriculture is be-
ing pushed to the wall in these enlight-
ened days. Thumb rules would work
much better if nature did not vary her
performances in such a confusing way.
Government experiment stations were es-
tablished because thumb rules for farm-
ing 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 ag-
riculture are based upon the study of life
and the physical conditions which en-
courage 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 ag-
riculture, 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
cornfield 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 be-
ginning 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

Marion E. Wesp

A wheat shock

Dept. of Agronomy, N. Y. State College of Agriculture

A meadow at harvest time

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 are 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 the 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 bum-
blebee 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 learn-
ing 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 solely along the lines of agri-

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

culture? Why should not the child begin
nature-study with the cabbage rather than
with 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 conse-
quence, 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 the wild flowers may be se-
lected for beginning the nature-study of
plants is that every child loves these wood-
land 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 dis-
covered 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 meadowlark, 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 impor-
tant economic relations to the world of
one plant or animal, it is absolutely nec-
essary 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 dis-
crimination 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 sur-
rounds 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 there-
fore he is able to make them work for
him. For what is agriculture save a diver-
sion 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 a man
who knew only how to start and stop an
engine would be as an engineer.

In order to appreciate truly his farm,
the farmer must needs begin as a child
with nature-study; in order to be success-
ful 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 vo-
cation may be spelled without it.

NATURE-STUDY CLUBS

The organizing by the pupils of a club
for 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 Eng-
lish 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 a constitution and
bylaws. The proceedings of the club meet-
ings should be conducted according to
parliamentary rules; but the field excur-
sions 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

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

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 per-
fect, the discussion much to the point.
I confess to a feeling of awe when I at-
tended these meetings, conducted so seri-
ously 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 spe-
cial study. In one bird club of which I
know there have been contests. Sides
were chosen and the number of birds seen

from May i to 31 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 identifica-
tion. An umpire decided the doubtful
points with the help of bird manuals. The
contest was always close and exciting.

The programs of the nature club should
be varied so as to be continually interest-
ing. Poems and stories concerning the
objects studied help make the program
attractive. Observing nature, however,
should be the central theme of all
meetings.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

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 les-
son. 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 inves-
tigation, and be boon companion in dis-
covering 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 in-
formation to the pupils. If the teacher
knows a fact in nature's realm, she is then
in a position to lead her pupils to dis-
cover this fact for themselves.

Make the lesson an investigation and
make the pupils feel that they are in-
vestigators. 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 les-
son; it should not be read or declared to
the pupils.

The outlines for observations herein
given by no means cover all of the ob-
servations possible; they are meant to sug-

gest 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 em-
ployed with discretion, becomes tiresome

Marion E. Wesp

to both pupil and teacher. If the ques-
tions do not inspire the child to investi-
gate, they are useless. To grind out an-
swers 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 ob-
servations with few direct questions. To
those who find the questions inadequate I

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

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.

A hickory tree

Marion E. Wesp

The topics chosen for these lessons may
not be the most practical or the most
interesting or 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 mis-
takes 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 rarige of
subjects is given, so that congenial choice
may be made.

PART II
ANIMALS

ANIMAL GROUPS

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
the squirrel or the deer. And while I be-
lieve 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 king-
dom is divided; I would have him gain
this knowledge by noting how one animal

differs from another rather than by study-
ing 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 their
young are nourished by milk from the
breasts of the mother; when he appreci-
ates this, he will understand that such
diverse forms as the whale, the cow, the
bat, and man are members of one great
class of animals.

BIRDS

Young phoebes that have just left the nest

The reason for studying any bird is to
ascertain what it does; in order to accom-
plish 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 like-
wise 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
phosbe and the wrens, have been purposely
omitted; after the children have studied
the birds, as indicated in the lessons, they
will enjoy working out lessons for them-
selves with other birds. Naturally, the se-
quence of these lessons does not follow
scientific classification; in the first lessons,
an attempt has been made to lead the

child gradually into a knowledge of bird
life. Beginning with the chicken there fol-
low naturally the lessons with pigeons and
the canary; then there follow the careful
and detailed study of the robins and con^
stant 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
the North during the winter, the

Leonard K. Beyer

A family of cedar waxwings

chickadee, nuthatch, and downy wood-
pecker. After these have been studied care-
fully, 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 wood-
peckers and the swallows is for more ad-
vanced 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 books, of which there
are many excellent ones; for these, see the
bibliography.

BEGINNING BIRD STUDY IN THE
PRIMARY GRADES

The hen is especially adapted as an ob-
ject lesson for the young beginner of bird
study. First of all, she is a bird, notwith-
standing the adverse opinions of two of
my small pupils who stoutly maintained
that " a robin is a bird, but a hen is a hen/7
Moreover, the hen is a bird always avail-
able for nature-study; she looks askance
at us from the crates of the world's
marts; she comes to meet us in the coun-
try barnyard, stepping toward us sedately;
looking at us earnestly with one eye, then

Leonard K. Beyer

A redstart at her nest

turning her head so as to check up her
observations with the other; meantime
she asks us a little question in a whee-
dling, soft tone, which we understand per-
fectly to mean, " Have you perchance

ANIMALS

but she is a bird with problems; and by
studying her carefully we may be intro-
duced into the very heart and center of
bird life.

This lesson may be presented in two
ways : First, if the pupils live in the coun-
try, where they have poultry at home, the
whole series of lessons may best be accom-
plished through talks by the teacher, fol-
lowed on the part of the children by ob-
servations to be made at home. The re-
sults of these observations should be given
in school in oral or written lessons. Sec-
ond, 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 feel
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.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Cards, by Allan Brooks, with text by
Alden H. Hadley; Audubon Bird Leaflets,
published by the National Association of
Audubon Societies; The Bird Book, by
Neltje Blanchan; Bird Guide: Land Birds
East of the Rodcies, by Chester A. Reed;
Bird Guide; Water Birds, Game Birds
and Birds of Prey East of the Rockies, by
Chester A. Reecl; Bird Life, by Frank M.
Chapman; Birds of America, edited by
T. Gilbert Pearson; Birds of Massachu-
setts and Other New England States, by
Edward H. Forbusli; Birds of Minnesota,
Bird Portraits in Color, A Manual for the
Identification of the Birds of Minnesota
and Neighboring States, 295 American
Birds (pictures in spiral binding or loose

brought me something to eat? " Not only in portfolio), all by Thomas S. Roberts;
is the hen an interesting bird in herself, Birds of New York, by E. H. Eaton; The

BIRDS

Book of Bird Life, by A. A. Allen; The
Book of Birds, edited by Gilbert Grosve-
nor and Alexander Wetmore; The Chil-
dren's Book of Birds ( First Book of Birds
and Second Book of Birds), by Olive
Thorne Miller; A Field Guide' to the
Birds, by Roger Tory Peterson; Handbook
of the Birds of Eastern North America,
by Frank M. Chapman; Ornithology
Laboratory Notebook, by A. A. Allen; Red
Book of Birds of America, Blue Book of
Birds of America, Green Book of Birds

of America, by Frank G. Ashbrook; What
Bird is That?" by Frank M. Chapman.

(These books contain descriptions and
accounts of all the wild birds considered
in this section of the Handbook. Addi-
tional references are to be found in the
bibliography in the back of the book, un-
der various headings: Birds, Animals in
General, Nature Study in General, Text-
books and Readers, Nature Poetry, Maga-
zines and Periodicals, Books for Parents
and Teachers.)

FEATHERS AS CLOTHING

The bird's clothing affords a natural
beginning for bird study because the wear-
ing of feathers is a most striking character-
istic distinguishing birds from other crea-

Hooks on barbels

A feather

tares; also, feathers and flying are the first
things the young child notices about birds.
The purpose of all these lessons on
the hen are: (a) To induce the child to
make continued and sympathetic observa-
tions on the habits of the domestic birds.

(b) To cause him involuntarily to com-
pare the domestic with the wild birds.

(c) To induce him to think for himself
how 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 illustra-
tion 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.

Each feather consists of three parts, the
shaft or quill, which is the central stiff

Feathers help birds to endure the cold

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, fanlike
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

3°

should put on the blackboard this figure
so that incidentally the pupils may learn
the parts of a feather and their struc-
ture. 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 fit-
ted 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 com-
parable to our 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

ANIMALS

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 real-
ize, for she is as shy and cross as a young
lady caught in company with her hair in
curlers; but she seems very pleased with

Young pelicans are born naked, but are soon
covered with white down

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 that when the

J. E. Rice

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

herself when she finally gains her new
feathers.

SUGGESTED READING — The Bird Boole,
by Fannie H. Eckstorm; Bird Friends, by
Gilbert H. Trafton; Bird Life, by Frank
M. Chapman; Birds and Their Attributes,
by Glover M. Allen; The Book of Bird
Life, by A. A. Allen; The Children's Book
of Birds (First Book of Birds and Second
Book of Birds), by Olive Thome Miller;
Nature — by Seaside and Wayside, by
Mary G. Phillips and Julia M. Wright,
Book 3, Plants and Animals.

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

BIRDS

mackintoshes and others as undercloth-
ing.

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 — i. How
are the feathers arranged on the back of
the hen? Are they like shingles on the
roof?

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? Why do you
think it is so called?

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; 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.

FEATHERS AS ORNAMENT

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 beauti-
ful 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. How-
ever, 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 at-
tract the eyes of the enemy to their pre-
cious hidden nests; only by being incon-
spicuous 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 male 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 male
has developed gorgeous colors which at-
tract the female, while the female has
kept modest, unnoticeable plumage.

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

Not a candidate for a beauty contest. A young
belted kingfisher clothed in pin feathers

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 un-
derneath by a feather fountain of irides-
cence. The neck plumage of the cock

Peacock feathers. Is beauty use,

is also often luxurious and beautiful in
color and quite different from that of
the hen. Among the Rouen ducks the
brilliant blue-green iridescent head of the
drake and his wing bars are beautiful, and
make his wife seem Quaker-like in con-
trast.

As an object lesson to instill 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 van-
ity. 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 wandei 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
an 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 male Baltimore oriole does not assist
his mate in brooding, but he sits some-
where 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

ANIMALS

a wise householder, for, instead of attract-
ing 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, except for his
great spread of tail, that a child seeing
him for the first time cried, " Oh, oh, see
this old hen all in bloom! "

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; make much of the comb and wat-
tles of the rooster and gobbler as additions
to the brilliancy of their appearance.

SUGGESTED READING — See suggested
reading for " Feathers as Clothing."

LESSON 2
FEATHERS AS ORNAMENT

LEADING THOUGHT — The color of
feathers and often their shape make some
birds more beautiful; while in others, the
color of the feathers serves to protect
them from the observation of their ene-
mies.

METHOD — 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 — i. Note the difference
in shape and color of the tail feathers of
hen and rooster.

BIRDS

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 beauti-
ful 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 are 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 ad-
mire 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 irides-
cent 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 the case of the Baltimore oriole,
is the mother bird as bright in color as the
father bird?

11. Study a peacock's feather. What

Peacocks

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?

The bird of Juno glories in his plumes;

Pride makes the fowl to preene his feath-
ers 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

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 can-
not 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 air presses up
against the umbrella. The air presses up
against the wings of the birds just as it
does against the open umbrella. 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 vault-
ing pole.

ANIMALS

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

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

Common tern. While we are having winter
this bird spends the summer in South Amer-
ica. It will return to spend our summer with
us

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
wings 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 watch-
ing 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 of the quill. See Fig. p. 30.

SUGGESTED READING — The Bird Book,
by Fannie H. Eckstorm; Bird Flight, by
Gordon C. Aymar; Bird Life, by Frank M.
Chapman; Birds and Their Attributes, by
Glover M. Allen; The Book of Bird Life,
by A. A. Allen; The Children's Boole of
Birds ( First Book of Birds and Second
Book of Birds), by Olive Thorne Miller;
Nature — by Seaside and Wayside, by
Mary G. Phillips and Julia M. Wright,
Book 3, Plants and Animals.

LESSON 3
How BIRDS FLY

LEADING THOUGHT — A bird flies by
pressing down upon the air with its wings,
which are made especially for this pur-
pose. The bird's tail acts as a rudder dur-
ing 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 is used in
farmhouses instead of a whisk-broom.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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?

BIRDS

5. How are the feathers arranged on the
wing so that the bird can use it to press
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 hand. Which way
does it bend more easily, toward the con-

vex or the concave side? What has this to
do with the flight of the bird?

^11. If trie 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 which prevent 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.

MIGRATION OF BIRDS

The travelogues of birds are as fascinat-
ing as our favorite stories of fairies, ad-
venture, and fiction. If we could accom-
pany certain birds, such as the Arctic
terns, on their spring and autumn trips,
the logs of the trips would be far more ex-
citing than some recorded by famous avia-
tors. The Arctic tern seems to hold the
record for long-distance flight. Its nest is
made within the bounds of the Arctic cir-
cle and its winter home is in the region of
the Antarctic circle. The round-trip mile-
age for this bird during a year is about
22,000 miles. Wells W. Cooke, a pioneer
student of bird migration, has called atten-
tion to the interesting fact that the Arctic
tern " has more hours of daylight than any
other animal on the globe. At the north-
ern nesting-site the midnight sun has
already appeared before the birds' arrival,
and it never sets during their entire
stay at the breeding grounds. During two
months of their sojourn in the Antarctic
the birds do not see a sunset, and for the
rest of the time the sun dips only a little
way below the horizon and broad day-

light is continuous. The birds, therefore,
have twenty-four hours of daylight for at
least eight months in the year, and during
the other four months have considerably
more daylight than darkness." It is true
that few of our birds take such long trips
as does the Arctic tern; but most birds do
travel for some distance each spring and
fall.

Each season brings to our attention cer-
tain changes in the bird population. Dur-
ing late summer, we see great flocks of
swallows; they are on telephone or tele-
graph wires, wire fences, clothes lines, or
aerial wires. They twitter and flutter and
seem all excited. For a few days, as they
prepare for their southern journey, they
are seen in such groups, and then are
seen no more until the following spring.
Some birds do not gather in flocks before
leaving for the winter; they just disappear
and we scarcely know when they go. We
may hear their call notes far over our
heads as they wing their way to theii
winter homes. Some birds migrate only
during the day, others go only during the

ANIMALS

night, and others may travel by either day
or night.

Those birds that do not migrate are
called permanent residents. In the east-
ern United States chickadees, jays? downy

After Cooke

The migration routes of the golden plover.
The dotted area is the summer home and
nesting place; the black area is the winter
home. Migration routes are indicated by ar-
rows. On the southern route the plover makes
a flight of 2,400 miles from Labrador to South
America

woodpeckers, nuthatches, grouse, and
pheasants are typical examples of the per-
manent resident group. These birds must
be able to secure food under even the
most adverse conditions. Much of their
food is insect life found in or about trees;
some fruits and buds of trees, shrubs, and
vines are also included in their diet.

Birds that travel are called migratory
birds. If the spring migrants remain with
us for the summer, we call them our sum-
mer residents. Fall migrants that remain
with us for the winter are called winter
residents. The migrants that do not re-
main with us but pass on to spend the
summer or winter in some other area are
called our transients or visitors. Of course,
we must remember that the birds which
visit us only for a short time are summer
residents and winter residents in other

parts of the country. Our summer resi-
dents are the winter residents of some
other area.

In spring we await with interest the
arrival of the first migrants. These birds
are, in general, those which have spent
the winter only a comparatively short dis-
tance away. In the eastern United States,
we expect robins, red-winged blackbirds,
song sparrows, and bluebirds among the
earliest migrants. In many species the
males arrive first; they may come as much
as two weeks ahead of the females. The
immature birds are usually the last to ar-
rive. The time of arrival of the first mi-
grants is determined somewhat by weather
conditions; their dates cannot be pre-
dicted with as much accuracy as can those
of birds which, having spent the winter at
a greater distance from us, arrive later
when the weather is more favorable. In
some places, for example at Ithaca, New
York, bird records have been kept each
season for more than thirty years. With
the information from these records, it is
possible to indicate almost to a day when
certain birds, such as barn swallows, ori-
oles, or hummingbirds, may be expected
to arrive. Usually the very first birds of a
kind to arrive are those individuals which
will within a few days continue their
northward journey. The later arrivals are
usually those that remain to become sum-
mer residents. In some species all indi-
viduals are migrants; for southern New
York the white-throated sparrow is repre-
sentative of such a group. It winters far-
ther south and nests farther north than
southern New York.

Why do birds migrate? This question
has often been asked; but in answer to
it we must say that while we know much
about where birds go and how fast they
travel, we still know actually very little
about the reasons for their regular seasonal
journeys.

As the airplane pilot has man-made in-
struments to aid him in reaching a certain
airport, so the birds have a well-developed
sense of direction which guides them to
their destination. Each kind of bird
seems, in general, to take the route fol-

BIRDS

lowed by its ancestors; but this route edited by Gilbert Grosvenor and Alex-
may be varied if for any reason food ander Wetmore; The Children's Boot of
should become scarce along the way. Such Birds ( First Book of Birds and Second
routes are so exactly followed year after Book of Birds), by Olive Thorne Miller;
year that they are known as laiies of mi- Flight Speed of Birds, by May Thacher
gration. Persons desiring to study a cer- Cooke (U. S. Department of Agriculture,
tain species of bird can have excellent op-
portunities to do so by being at some
good vantage point along this lane. Some-
times undue advantage has been taken of
certain birds, especially hawks. Persons
desiring to kill these birds have collected
at strategic points along the lanes and
wantonly killed many of them. As a result
of such activities sanctuaries have been
established at certain places along the
lanes to give added protection to birds.

The routes north and south followed
by a given species of bird may lead
over entirely different parts of the country;
these are called double migration routes.
They may vary so much that one route
may lead chiefly over land while the other
may lead over the ocean. The golden
plover is an example of such a case. See
the migration map.

Much valuable information as well as
pleasure can be gained from keeping a
calendar of migration and other activities
of birds. It is especially interesting dur-
ing the spring months when first arrivals
are recorded if daily lists are made of all
species observed. In summer, nesting ac-
tivities and special studies of an individual

species provide something of interest for Circular 428); The Migration of North
each day. More pleasure can be derived American Birds, by Frederick C. Lincoln
from the hobby if several people take it (U. S. Department of Agriculture, Circu-
up and compare their findings. Interests lar 363); Nature— by Seaside and Way-
in photography, sketching, or nature-story side, by Mary G. Phillips and Julia M.
writing are natural companions of such Wright, Book 3, Plants and Animals; Our
bird study. Winter Birds, by Frank M. Chapman;

SUGGESTED READING — Bird Friends, by Pathways in Science, by Gerald S. Craig
Gilbert H. Trafton; Bird Life, by Frank and Co-authors, Book 2, Out-of-doors,
M. Chapman; Birds and Their Attributes, Book 5, Learning about Our World; The
by Glover M. Allen; Birds of America, ed- Stir of Nature, by William H. Can; Trav-
ited by T. Gilbert Pearson; Birds of New eling with the Birds, by Rudyerd Boulton;
York, by E. H. Eaton; The Boole of Bird The Travels of Birds, by Frank M. Chap-
Life, by A. A. Allen; The Book of Birds, man.

The travels of the bobolink. The migration
routes 0) the bobolink are shorter than those
of the plover and follow land more closely

ANIMALS

EYES AND EARS OF BIRDS

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. The position
of the hen's eyes gives her a command of
her entire environment. All birds have
much keener eyes than we have; and they
can adjust their eyes for either near or
far vision much more effectively than we
can; some hawks, flying high in the air,
can see mice on the ground.

A wide range of colors is 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

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

A duck hawk. Notice the strong hooked
beak, the keen eye, and the prominent
nostril

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, al-
though in most cases the ear is simply
a hole in the side of the head, and is more
or less covered with feathers. The hen's
ear is like this in many varieties of chick-
ens; but in others and in the roosters there
are ornamental ear lobes.

SUGGESTED READING — The Children's
Boole of Birds ( First Book of Birds and
Second Book of Birds), by Olive Thorne
Miller.

LESSON 4
EYES AND EARS OF BIRDS

LEADING THOUGHT — The eyes and ears
of birds are peculiar and very efficient.

METHOD — - 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 — i. Why does the hen
turn her head first this side and then 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?

BIRDS

THE FORM AND USE OF BEAKS

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 use-
less.

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

A. A. Allen

A red-eyed vireo repairing her nest

or insect. She has already made the place
bare by scratching away the grass or sur-
face 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 swal-
lowed.

The duck's bill is broad, flat, and much
softer than the hen's beak. The duck feeds
upon water insects and plants; it obtains
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

Leonard K. Beyer

These holes were made by a pileated wood-
pecker in search of insects

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. How-
ever, 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 aids these animals
to detect odor in a marvelous manner.

SUGGESTED READING — The Bird Book,
by Fannie H. Eckstorm; Bird Life, by

4°

ANIMALS

Frank M. Chapman; The Book of Bird
Life, by A, A. Allen; The Boole of Birds,
edited "by Gilbert Grosvenor and Alex-
ander Wetmore; The Children's Book of
Birds (First Book of Birds and Second
Book of Birds), by Olive Thorne Miller;
Nature — by Seaside and Wayside, by
Mary G. Phillips and Julia M. Wright,
Book 3, Plants and Animals.

LESSON 5
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.

METHOD — Study first the beak of the
hen or chick and then that of the duckling
or gosling.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 differ-
ences 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?

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/7 with emphasis
on the particle " the/' working out the
complete structure, may be good labora-
tory work in botany or zoology for ad-
vanced pupils, but it is not an elementary
educational process. It contributes noth-
ing 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 com-
mendable. 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 1.
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
Whatever befalls it counteth not, —

Nature and Time and I are one.

— L. H. BAILEY

THE FEET OF BIRDS

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. These scales protect her

feet from injury when they are used in
scratching the hard earth to lay bare the
seeds and insects hiding there. The hen
is a very good runner indeed. She lifts

BIRDS

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 for-
ward and one backward. A bird's toes are
numbered thus: the hind toe is number
one, the inner toe number two, the mid-
dle toe three, and the outer toe four.

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 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 sink-
ing into the soft mud.

The duck's legs are shorter than those
of the hen and are placed farther back
and wider apart. They are essentially
swimming organs and are not fitted for
scratching or 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 awk-
ward waddle; but we must always remem-
ber that the duck is naturally a water bird,
and on the water its movements are grace-
ful. Think how a hen would appear if
she attempted to swim! The duck's body
is so poorly balanced on its short legs that
it cannot run rapidly; and if chased even
a short distance it will fall dead from the
effort, as many a country child has dis-
covered 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

Types oj bills and feet

the ground. However, the Muscovy ducks,
which are not good swimmers, have been
known to perch.

SUGGESTED READING — The Bird Book,
by Fannie H. Eckstorm; Bird Life, by
Frank M. Chapman; Birds and Their At-
tributes, by Glover M. Allen; The Book of
Bird Life, by A. A. Allen; The Children's
Boole of Birds (First Book of Birds and
Second Book of Birds), by Olive Thorne
Miller; Nature — by Seaside and Wayside,
by Mary G, Phillips and Julia M. Wright,
Book 3, Plants and Animals.

LESSON 6
THE FEET OF BIRDS
LEADING THOUGHT — The feet of birds
are shaped so as to assist the bird in get-
ting its food as well as for locomotion.
METHOD — The pupils should have op-

ANIMALS

portunity to observe the chicken or hen
and a duck as they move about; they
should also observe the duck swimming.
OBSERVATIONS — i. 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
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 of the hen?

7. Which of the duck's toes are con-
nected by a web? Does the web extend to
the tips of the toes? How does the web
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?

SONGS OF BIRDS

Anyone who attempts to recognize
birds by sight alone misses much of the
pleasure that comes to those who have

±.Wood Thrushes.

A-. O|ivc -b<w.ke4 Thru*/*.

J-.»32.r

* •, J&l

"*' ( Ph.ro $<s) <Cflne*verO

taken the time and pains to learn bird
songs and use them as a means of bird
recognition. It is true that not all people
have a talent for music; but anyone in-
terested in birds can learn to identify the
songs and most of the call notes of com-
mon birds.

The observer will notice that in most
cases only the male bird sings, but a few
exceptions are recorded, notably the fe-
male rose-breasted grosbeak and cardinal
grosbeak, which sing under some condi-
tions. Birds do most of their singing in the
early morning and during the spring and
early summer months. The male birds
have not only a favorite time of day and
a particular season of the year during
which they do most of their singing, but
they even have a certain perch or narrowly
defined territory from which they sing.

Each person will need to decide how he
can best remember bird songs. Most peo-
ple will doubtless use such methods as
were used by earlier bird students. Long
literary descriptions were given for each
song. Alexander Wilson, for instance, de-
scribes the call of the male blue jay as
" repeated creakings of an ungreased
wheelbarrow." Often the call of a particu-
lar bird is put into words; in many cases
these words have come to be accepted as
the common name of the bird, such as
bobwhite and whip-poor-will. The imagi-
nation of students may suggest certain
words to represent the song or call notes
of a bird. These are often more easily re-
membered than the song itself.

Some ornithologists have developed

BIRDS

complicated systems of recording bird
songs as musical scores. Wilson Flagg and
F. S. Mathews are well-known names in
this field. Such a method has its limita-
tions because many variations of bird
songs cannot be indicated by the charac-
ters used in writing music. The song of a
bird written as music is not usually recog-
nizable when played on a musical instru-
ment. Other ornithologists have devel-
oped more graphic methods of recording
bird songs. One leader in this field, A. A.
Saunders, has proposed and used a system
employing lines, dots? dashes, and sylla-
bles. This system is very interesting and is
a useful one to a person who has a good
ear for music. One of the latest methods
of recording bird songs has been devel-
oped by the Department of Ornithology,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. By

this method bird songs are photographed
on moving picture film and later may be
recorded on phonograph records; these
records can be played over and over again
to give the student practice in identifying
bird songs. Sound pictures have also been
produced; the pictures of the various birds
are shown on the screen as their songs are
being heard by the audience.

SUGGESTED READING — Bird Friends, by
Gilbert H. Trafton; Birds and Their Attri-
butes, by Glover M. Allen; The Boole of
Bird Life, by A. A. Allen; The Bool: of
Birds, edited by Gilbert Grosvenor and
Alexander Wetmore; Field Boot of Wild
Birds and Their Music, by F. Schuyler
Mathews; A Guide to Bird Songs, by
Aretas A. Saunders; Songs of Wild Birds
and More Songs of Wild Birds, by Albert
R. Brand.

ATTRACTING BIRDS

If suitable and sufficient food, water,
shelter, and nesting sites are provided, and
if protection is given from such enemies
as cats and thoughtless men, it is possi-
ble to attract many kinds of birds to
home grounds or gardens. The most logi-
cal time to begin to attract birds is during
the winter months; but the best time is
whenever one is really interested and is
willing to provide the things most needed
by the birds. Certain types of food, such
as suet or sunflower seeds, are sought by
birds at any season. During the summer
months water for drinking and bathing
may be more desired than food, but in
the winter almost any seeds, fruits, or
fatty foods are welcome.

In the spring nesting boxes properly
constructed and placed will do much to
attract some kinds of birds, especially
those that normally nest in holes in trees.
An abundance of choice nesting materials
will entice orioles, robins, or chipping
sparrows to nest near by. Straws, sticks,
feathers, cotton, strings, or even hairs
from old mattresses may be put out as in-
ducements to prospective bird tenants.

An invitation to our garden friends to par-
take of suet and peanuts in addition to their
regular fare

The spring is also a good time to plant
fruit-bearing trees, shrubs, and vines; these

ANIMALS

A bird bath in the author's garden

natural food counters become more attrac-
tive each year as they grow larger and pro-
duce more fruit and better nesting places
for birds.

Autumn is the ideal time to establish
feeding centers to which the birds may be
attracted during the winter months. Food,
such as suet or seeds, should be put at a
great many places throughout the area in
which one wishes to attract birds. The
birds will gradually work their way from
one of these feedings points to another;
soon it will be possible to concentrate the
feeding at one point, and the birds will
continue to come to that point as long
as food is provided there.

SUGGESTED READING — The A B C of
Attracting Birds, by Alvin M. Peterson;
Bird Houses Boys Can Build, by Albert F.
Siepert; Birds of the Wild — How to
Make Your Home Their Home, by Frank
C. Pellett; Bird Study for Schools Series,
published by the National Association of
Audubon Societies (Part III, Winter
Feeding, Part IV, Bird Houses); The
Boole of Bird Life, by A. A. Allen; Boy

Bird House Arcliitecfure, by Leon H. Bax-
ter; The Children's Book of Birds (First
Book of Birds and Second Book of Birds),
by Olive Thorne Miller; Homes for Birds,
by E. R. Kalmbach and W. L. McAtee
(U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farm-
ers' Bulletin 1456); How to Attract Birds
in Northeastern United States, How to
Attract Birds in Northwestern United
States, How to Attract Birds in the Middle
Atlantic States, How to Attract Birds in
the East Central States, by W. L. McAtee
(U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farm-
ers' Bulletins 621, 760, 844, 912); How to
Have Bird Neighbors, by S. Louise Patte-
son; Our Winter Birds, by Frank M.
Chapman; Permanent Bird Houses, by
Gladstone Califf; Song-bird Sanctuaries,
with Tables of Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Attractive to Birds, by Roger T. Peterson;
Wild Bird Guests, by Ernest H. Baynes;
Methods of Attracting Birds, by Gilbert
H. Trafton,

Olin Sewall PetthifiiH, Jr.

Ruby-throated hummingbird attracted to a
vial containing sweetened water

BIRDS

VALUE OF BIRDS

Did you ever try to calculate in dollars
the pleasure that you receive from seeing
or hearing the first spring migrants? The
robin, bluebird, and meadowlark bring
cheer to thousands of people every year.
Indeed, it would be difficult to find any-
one, except perhaps in large cities, who
does not notice the arrival of at least
some spring birds — the robins on the
lawn, the honk of the wild geese overhead,
or the song sparrows as they sing from the
top of a shrub. Birds are interesting to
most people because of their mere pres-
ence, their songs, their colors, or their
habits. Persons engaged in nature-study
are led outdoors and thus have opened to
them many other nature fields.

One needs to observe a bird for only
a short time to discover for himself what
has been known by scientists for many
years, that birds are of great economic
importance. Watch a chickadee or nut-
hatch as it makes its feeding rounds on
a winter day. Note how carefully each
tiny branch is covered by the chickadee
and what a thorough examination of the
limbs and trunks is made by the nuthatch.
Countless insect eggs as well as insects
are consumed. On a sunny day in spring,
observe the warblers as they feed about the
newly opened leaves and blossoms of the
trees. See them as they hunt tirelessly for
their quota of the tiny insects so small
that they are generally overlooked by
larger birds. It must be remembered too
that some birds do, at times, take a toll
of cultivated crops; this is especially true
of the seed-eating and insectivorous birds.
But they deserve some pay for the work
they do for man, and so in reality he should
not begrudge them a little fruit or grain.

Some of the birds of prey are active all
the time; the hawks work in the daytime
and the owls come on duty for the night
shift. Countless destructive small mam-
mals and insects are eaten by them; thus
they tend to regulate the numbers of
numerous small pests of field and wood,

thereby preventing serious outbreaks of
such animals. There has been much dis-
cussion of the real economic status of
hawks and owls; many food studies have
been made and the general conclusion is
that most species are more useful than
harmful. It is true that some species do
take a toll of game birds, song birds, and
poultry; but they include also in their diet
other animal forms, many of which are
considered harmful. One individual bird

Leonard K. Beyer

A red-eyed vireo on her nest. Vireos live
largely on insects gleaned jrom the under
surfaces of leaves and jrom crevices in bark

may be especially destructive and thus
give a bad name to an entire species.

There are even garbage gatherers among
the birds; vultures, gulls, and crows serve
in this capacity. The vultures are com-
monly found in the warmer parts of the
country and serve a most useful purpose
by their habit of devouring the unburied
bodies of dead animals. The gulls are the
scavengers of waterways and shore lines.
The crow is omnivorous — that is, it eats
both plant and animal food; but it seems
to like carrion as well as fresh meat.

The farmer and the gardener owe quite
a debt of thanks to the birds that eat weed
seeds. Of course there are still bountiful
crops of weeds each year; but there would

Verne Morton

A goldfinch nest in winter

be even more weeds if it were not for the
army of such seed-eating birds as spar-
rows, bobwhites? and doves.

The game birds, such as grouse, pheas-
ant, and bobwhite are important today,
chiefly from the standpoint of the recrea-
tion they afford sportsmen and other
lovers of the outdoors. The food habits of
game birds do not present much of an
economic problem; the birds are not nu-
merous enough at the present time to be
an important source of meat for man as
they were in pioneer days.

Thus, a brief consideration of a few
types of birds will show even a casual
observer that birds have economic import-
ance and that each species seems to have
a definite work to perform.

SUGGESTED READING — Bird Friends, by
Gilbert H. Trafton; Birds and Their At-
tributes, by Glover M. Allen; Birds in
Their Relation to Man, by Clarence M.
Weed and Ned Dearborn; The Book of
Bird Life, by A. A. Allen; The Book of
Birds, edited by Gilbert Grosvenor and
Alexander Wetmore; The Children's
Book of Birds ( First Book of Birds and
Second Book of Birds), by Olive Thorne
Miller; The Practical Value of Birds, by
Junius Henderson.

LESSON 7

THE STUDY OF BIRDS' NESTS
IN WINTER

There are very good reasons for not
studying birds' nests in summer, since the
birds misinterpret familiarity on the part

ANIMALS

of eager children and are likely, in con-
sequence, to abandon both nest and lo-
cality. 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 appreciate properly
the small architects which made them.
I think that every one of us who care-
fully 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 labeling each, and
thus gain a new interest in the bird life
of their locality. A nest when collected
should be labeled in the following man-
ner:

The name of the bird which built the
nest.

Where the nest was found.

If in a tree, what kind?

How high from the ground?

After a collection of nests has been
made, let the pupils study them accord-
ing to the following outline:

i. Where was the nest found?

(a) If on the ground, describe the lo-
cality.

(b) If on a plant, tree, or shrub, tell
the species, if possible.

Leonard K. Beyer

A homemade wren house and its occupant

BIRDS

(d) How high from the ground, and
what was the locality?

(e) If on or in a building, how situ-
ated?

2. Did the nest have any arrangement
to protect it from rain?

3. Give the size of the nest, the di-
ameter 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 out-
side of the nest and how are they ar-
ranged?

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 environ-
ment?

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?

SUGGESTED READING — The Book of
Bird Life, by A. A. Allen; Nature — by
Seaside and Wayside, by Maw G. Phillips
and Julia M. Wright, Book 3", Plants and
Animals; Ornithology Laboratory Note-
book, by A. A. Allen; A Year in the Won-
derland of Birds, by Hallam Hawksworth.

Chicks, a few days old

II, S. Department of Agriculture

CHICKEN WAYS

Darne Nature certainly pays close at-
tention to details. An instance of this is
the little tooth on the tip of the upper
mandible of the young chick, which aids
it in breaking out of its egg-shell prison;
since a tooth in this particular place
is of no use later, it disappears. The chil-
dren are delighted with the beauty of a
fluffy little chick with its bright, question-
ing 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 differ-
ence between the two is fundamental
since it gives a means for distinguishing
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

ANIMALS

An anxious stepmother. The ducklings 'pay
her little heed

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.

We chew food until it is soft and fine,
then swallow it, but the chick swallows it
whole; after being softened by juices from
the stomach the food passes into a little
mill, in which is gravel that the chicken
has swallowed. This gravel helps to grind
up 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 en-
able 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. 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 usually tucks
its head under its wing while sleeping.

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 defi-
nite. The hen clucks when she is lead-
ing her chicks afield so that they will
know where she is in the tall grass; the
chicks follow " cheeping " or " peeping/7
as the children say, so that she will know
where they are; but if a chick feels itself
lost its " peep " becomes loud and dis-
consolate; on the other hand, there is no
sound in the world so full of cosy con-
tentment as the low notes of the chick
when 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 seem to gossip and we can
almost hear them saying, " Didn't you
think Madam Dorking made a great fuss
over her egg today? " Or, " That over-
grown young rooster has got a crow to
match his legs, hasn't he? " Contrast
these low tones with the song of the hen
as she issues forth in the first warm days

Poultry Dept., N. Y. State College of Agriculture

White leghorns are prolific layers

BIRDS

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 heing 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 ap-
proach 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 also will fight if her brood is dis-
turbed.

SUGGESTED READING — Farm Animals,
by James G. Lawson; Nature and Science
Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Harrison
E. Howe, Book 3, Surprises; The Pet
Book, by Anna B. Comstock.

LESSON 8
CHICKEN WAYS

LEADING THOUGHT — Chickens have
interesting habits of life and extensive
conversational powers.

METHOD — For this lesson it is neces-
sary that the pupils observe the inhabit-
ants of the poultry yard and answer these
questions a few at a time.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Did the chick get
out of the egg by its own efforts? Of what
use is the little tooth which is on the tip

of the upper part of a young chick'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 be-
fore 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 usually 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 there is a
hawk in sight?

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?

Parts of the bird labeled

This figure may be placed on the blackboard wher/j
pupils may consult it when studying colors and mark-
ings of birds.

5°

ANIMALS

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 es-
cape them?

Pigeon houses of the upper Nile

J. H. Comstock

PIGEONS

There is mention of domesticated
pigeons by writers three thousand years
ago; and Pliny relates that the Romans
were fervent pigeon fanciers at the be-
ginning 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 use-
fulness; its love and devotion to its 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 draw-
back to this correspondence was that it
went only in one direction; no bird from
home brought message of cheer to the
wandering knight. Nowadays mail routes,
telegraph wires, and wireless currents en-
mesh our globe, and the pigeon as a car-
rier is out-of-date; but fanciers still perfect
the homer breed and train pigeons for
very difficult flight competitions, some
of them over distances of hundreds of
miles. Recently a homer made one thou-
sand miles in two days, five hours, and
fifty minutes.

The natural food of pigeons is grain;
we feed them cracked corn, wheat, peas,
Kafir corn, millet, and occasionally hemp

BIRDS

Homing pigeons

Verne Morton

seed; it is best to feed mixed rations as
the birds tire of a monotonous diet. Pi-
geons should be fed twice a day; the pi-
geons and their near relatives, the doves7
are the only birds 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 mo-
tionless 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; how-
ever, some emotions which the children
will understand are voiced in the cooing.
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 in-
cubating. In the case of the homer the
father bird sits from about 10 A.M. to
4 P.M. and the mother the remainder of
the day and night. The devotion of pi-

geons 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 pe-
culiar manner; in the crops of both par-
ents is secreted a cheesy substance, known
as pigeon milk. The parent seizes the beak
of the squab in its own and pumps 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 has been 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.

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 about 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's task.
Some breeders make a double compart-

J. Deraary

Pouter pigeons

ANIMALS

ment 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 may be given to the
pigeons as material for building their
nests, so as to help keep in check the

LESSON 9
PIGEONS

Hugh Spencer

Domestic pigeon

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 one
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.

SUGGESTED READING — Animal Heroes,
by Ernest Thompson Seton (Story of
Arnaux); Audubon Bird Leaflets 2, 6,
101; Cher Ami, the Story of a Carrier
Pigeon, by Marion B. Cothren; Farm
Animals, by James G. .Lawson; Homing
Pigeons: Their Care and Training (U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Farmers7 Bul-
letin 1373); Mother Nature Series, by
Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor Troxell,
Book 3, In Field and Forest; The Pet
BooJk, by Anna B. Comstock; also, read-
ings on pages 28-29.

LEADING THOUGHT — The pigeons dif-
fer from other birds in appearance 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 an-
cient days, used as letter carriers.

METHOD — If there are pigeons kept
in the neighborhood, it is best to encour-
age the pupils to observe these birds out-
of-doors. Begin the work with an interest-
ing story and with a few questions which
will arouse the pupils' interest in the
birds.

OBSERVATIONS — i . For an out-of-door
exercise during recess let the pupils ob-
serve 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 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 differ-
ence between the flight of pigeons and
that of 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. How long is
it after the eggs are laid before the young
hatch?

9. How do the parents feed their young
and on what material?

10. What are some enemies of pigeons
and how do they escape from them? How
can we protect the pigeons?

11. Describe how a pigeon house
should be built.

BIRDS

12. What must you do for pigeons to bers, that I cannot refrain from quoting

keep them healthy and comfortable?

13. How many breeds of pigeons do
you know? Describe them.

For my own part I readily concur with
you in supposing that housedoves are de-
rived 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
Mostyns housedoves in Caernarvonshire;
which, though tempted by plenty of food
and gentle treatment, can never be pre-
vailed 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 promon-
tory. " You may drive nature out with a
pitchfork, but she will always return ":
"Naturam expellas furca . . . tamen us-
que recurret."

Virgil, as a familiar occurrence, by way
of simile, describes a dove haunting the
cavern of a rock in such engaging num-

the passage.

Qualis spelunca subito commota Co-
lumba,

Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice
nidi,

Fertur in arva volans, plausumque exter-
rita pennis

Dat tecto ingentem, mox aere lapsa
quieto,

Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque com-
movet 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

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 loneli-
ness, 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 mat-
ing 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 usu-
ally 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 chiefly upon his
education; he usually shows exultation
when singing by throwing the head back
like a prima donna, to let the music well

K. ' ' 11

Leonard K. Beyer

A goldfinch on her nest in a hawthorn

ANIMALS

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 plan-
tain 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 nest-
ing. 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 per-
fectly 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 it is 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 hold-
ing to the perch than for walking or hop-
ping on the ground.

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 usu-
ally 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 looks like a little ball of
feathers on the perch.

Canaries make a great fuss when build-
ing 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 makeshift of a nest is com-
pleted 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 re-
verse 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 an-
cestors 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 par-
tially digested in the parents' stomachs.
Their first plumage usually resembles
that of the mother.

In their wild state in the Canary Islands
and the Azores, 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 suc-
cessive heights as the season advances,
until finally they reach the high peaks.

THE GOLDFINCH OR THISTLE BIRD

The goldfinches are small birds but
their songs are so sweet and reedy that

BIRDS

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 of thistle seed; and they
throng the pastures and fence comers
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 head and back of the female are
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 wavelike up and down,
in graceful curves. Mr. Chapman says
that on the descending half of the curve
the male sings " Per-chick or-ree." The

Audubon Educational Leaflet No. 17

A pair of goldfinches

A. A. Allen

The nest and eggs of a goldfinch in an elm tree

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 fluffi-
ness. These birds make feather beds for
their young, or perhaps we should say
beds of down, since it is the thistledown
which is used for this mattress. The out-
side of the nest consists of fine shreds
of bark or fine grass closely woven; but
the inner portion is a mat of thistledown
— a cushion an inch and a half thick for
a nest which has an opening of scarcely
three inches; sometimes the outside is
ornamented with lichens. The nest is usu-
ally placed in some bush or tree, often in
an evergreen, and ordinarily not more
than five or six feet from the ground; but
sometimes it is placed thirty 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

56 ANIMALS

there is an abundance of thistledown for
building material.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon Bird
Leaflet 17; Bird Stories from Burroughs,
by John Burroughs; Canaries: Their Care
and Management by Alexander Wet-
more (U. S. Department of Agriculture,
Farmers7 Bulletin 1327); The Pet Book,
by Anna B. Comstock (Canary); also,
readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 10
THE CANARY AND THE GOLDFINCH

LEADING THOUGHT — The canary is a
close relative of the common wild gold-
finch. 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.
Ask the pupils to compare the canary
with the goldfinches which are common
in the summer. The canary offers oppor-
tunity for very close observation, which
will prove excellent training for the pupils
for beginning bird study.

OBSERVATIONS — i . If there are two
canaries in the cage, are they always pleas-
ant to each other? Which one is the
" boss "? How do they show displeasure
or bad temper? How do they show affec-
tion 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 notebook 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 cuttle-
bone? 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 licl?

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 claws and feet of this shape 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

BIRDS

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.

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 les-
son may be given to the pupils before the
end of school in June. The results may be
reported to the teacher in class when the
school begins in the autumn.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 gold-
finch 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 gold-
finch? 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 usually see them singly or in
flocks?

5. Where do the goldfinches stay dur-
ing the winter? What change takes place
in the coat of the male during the winter?
What do they eat during the winter?

6. At what time of year do the gold-
finches build their nests? 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 appear-
ance of the nest? What is the color of the
eggs?

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 frealc;
Or perhaps, to show their black and

golden wings;

Pausing upon their yellow flutterings,

KEATS

THE ROBIN

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
to enable them to read for themselves the
interesting story of this little life which
is lived every year before their eyes. More-
over, a robin notebook, if well kept, is a
treasure for any child; and the close obser-
vation 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 chiefly
upon fruits and berries. The robins do not

ANIMALS

Leonard K. Beyer

A robin and its hungry young

nest or sing while in Southland. 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 much 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 bril-
liant 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 to-
gether when flying in flocks during the

night. The white patch made by the un-
der 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 experi-
ence, that a soaking shower will drive
many of the worms and larvae 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 agoniz-
ing, angry cries they utter when they see
a cat or squirrel must express their feelings
fully; they give a very different warning
note when they see crow or hawk. This
note is hard to describe; it 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
and look; when he finally seizes the earth-
worm he braces himself on his strong legs
and tugs manfully until he sometimes al-

Herbert E. Gray

Four blue eggs in a nest on a rail fence

BIRDS

most falls over backward as the worm lets
go its hold. The robins, especially at nest-
ing time, eat many insects as well as earth-
worms.

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;
it then goes back and " peppers " it into
the nest material; after the latter is soaked,
the bird gets into it and molds it to the
body by 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. Four eggs, which
are an exquisite greenish blue in color, are
usually laid.

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

Leonard K. Beyer

A robin on its nest

A. A. Allen

Young robins. Their spotted breasts show
their relationship to the thrushes

a very young robin is its wide, yellow-mar-
gined mouth, which it opens like a satchel
every time the nest is jarred. This wide
mouth cannot but suggest to anyone who
sees it 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 experi-
mented 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
birds' eyes are opened when they are from
six to eight days old, and by that time the
feather tracts, that is, the places where
the feathers are to grow, are covered by
the spinelike 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, or to balance him
when alighting.

It is an anxious time for the old robins
when the young ones leave the nest, and

ANIMALS

they flutter about and scold at anyone
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 on the breast. The parents may
raise several broods, but they rarely use the

Leonard K. Beyer

This robin became so entangled in ma-
terial it had gathered for its nest tha{t it was
unable to fly

same nest for two consecutive broods,
both because it may be infested with para-
sites and because it is more or less soiled,
although the mother robin works hard to
keep it clean; she carries away all waste
matter in her beak and drops it at some
distance from the nest. 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 proved con-
clusively that the robins are far more bene-
ficial than damaging to the farmer; they

destroy many noxious insects, two-thirds
of their food throughout the year consist-
ing of insects; during April and May they
do a great work in destroying cutworms.

The robins stay in the North later than
most migrating birds, often not leaving
us entirely before November. Occasional
stragglers may remain all winter, in some
protected areas. 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 nest-
lings. 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 University 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 hus-
band to the old nesting site; probably
her faithful old husband had met with
some mischance during the winter.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 46; Bird-House to Let, by
Mary F. Terrel; Bird Stories from Bur-
roughs, by John Burroughs; First Lessons
in Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch; Na-
ture and Science Readers, by Edith M.
Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Book i.
Hunting, Book 2, Outdoor Visits, Book 5,
Science at Home; Nature Stories for CLII-

BIRDS

dren, Autumn, by Eva L. Gordon and
Jennie Hall; Science Stories, by Wilbur L.
Beauchamp, W. S. Gray and Co-authors,
Book i; also, readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON
THE ROBIN

LEADING THOUGHT — To understand all
we can about the life and ways of the
robin.

METHOD — 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, manila 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 chil-
dren's answers to questions of series " b."
Devote each page to one series of ques-
tions, 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
may have individual notebooks in which
each one may write his own answers to
the questions of the successive series,
which should be written on the black-
board at the proper time for the observa-
tions. This notebook should have a page
about 6x8 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 illus-
trative drawings, and any poems or other
literature pertinent to the subject.

OBSERVATIONS BY PUPILS — Series a
(to be given in March in the northern
states).

1. At what date did you see the first
robin this year?

2. Where did the robin spend the win-
ter? 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 feath-
ers? 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 earth-
worms?

Series d (to be given in the middle of
April or a little later) .

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?

ANIMALS

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. Do you believe each pair of robins
has 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 read-
ing 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. Flow 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?

THE BLUEBIRD

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 often
arrive in New York arnid 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,

BIRDS

"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, 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, al-
though the young bluebirds and robins are
both spotted, showing the thrush colors.
The robin is so much larger than the blue-
bird that commonly the relationship is
not noticed. This is easily explained be-
cause there is nothing to suggest a robin
in the exquisite cerulean blue of the blue-
bird'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 shad-
ows or even among bare branches they
in a measure reflect the surroundings and
thus render the bird less noticeable.
The female is paler, being grayish blue
above and with only a tinge of red-brown

This bluebird is nesting in a cavity drilled by
a woodpecker the previous year

Leonard K. Beyer

A hollow fence post is a common home of
the bluebird. The young are fed chiefly on
insects

on the breast; both birds are white
beneath.

The bluebirds haunt open woods, fields
of second growth, and especially old or-
chards. 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 re-
main 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 particu-
lar 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

64 ANIMALS

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 ber-
ries. It makes a specialty of beetles, cater-
pillars, and grasshoppers, and seems never
to touch any of our cultivated fruits. We
should do everything in our power to en-
courage and protect these birds from their
enemies, which are chiefly cats, squirrels,
and English sparrows.

The migration takes place in flocks dur-
ing autumn, but it is done in a most lei-
surely 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, contrast-
ing 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.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 24; Bird-House to Let, by
Mary F. Terrel; Bird Stories from Bur-
roughs, by John Burroughs; First Lessons

in Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch; Na-
ture and Science Readers, by Edith M.
Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Book i,
Hunting, Book 2, Outdoor Visits; Science
Stories, by Wilbur L. Beauchamp, W. S.
Gray and Co-authors, Book i; also, read-
ings on pages 28-29.

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 12
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.

METHOD — 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 les-
sons on the bluebird's value to us and its
winter migrations, and the lesson should
end in discussions of the best way to build
boxes for its use in nesting season, its pro-
tection from cats and other enemies.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Which comes north
earlier in spring, the robin or the blue-
bird?

2. How do the two resemble each othei
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. Flow does the male blue-
bird 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 blue-

bird 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?

10. What can we do to induce the blue-
birds to live near our houses? How can we
protect them?

1 1 . Where do the bluebirds spend the
winter?

BIRDS 65

12. Make a colored picture of a blue-
bird. How can we tell the bluebird from
the indigo bunting?

13. What are the bluebirds* chief ene-
mies?

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

The busy nuthatch climbs his tree
Around the great bole spirally,
Peeping into wrinkles gray,
Under ruffled lichens gay,
Lazily piping one sharp note
From his silver mailed throat.

— MAURICE THOMPSON

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 he has many interesting
ways quite his own. Nor is this "ank,
ank " his only note. I have often heard
a pair talking to each other in sweet confi-
dential syllables, " wit, wit, wit/' very dif-
ferent from the loud note meant for the
world at large. The nuthatches and chicka-
dees hunt together all winter; it is no mere
business partnership but a matter of con-
genial 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, hold-
ing itself safely in this position by thrust-
ing its toes out at right angles to the body,
thus getting a firm hold upon the bark.
Sometimes its foot will be twisted com-
pletely 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 that 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 as with 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

ANIMALS

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 al-

A family oj white-breasted nuthatches

S. A. Grimes

manner that the tail when spread shows
a broad white border on both sides. The
most striking contrast between the chicka-
dee 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 as its head or longer,
while the beak of the chickadee is a
short, sharp little pick. The bill of the
nuthatch is 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

ways 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 most assiduously, first
one side then the other, until it is per-
fectly clean.

The nuthatches are a great benefit to
our trees in winter, for then is when they
hunt for hiding pests on the trunks.
Their food consists of beetles, caterpillars,
pupas of various insects, also seeds of rag-
weed, sunflowers, acorns, etc. While the
nuthatch finds much of its food on trees,
yet Mr. Torrey has seen it awkwardly turn-

BIRDS

ing 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 com-
monly 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 59; The Nature Hour, by Lucille
Nicol, S. M. Levenson, and Teressa Kahn,
Sixth Year, Spring; also, readings on
pages 28-29.

LESSON 13
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.

METHOD — This bird, like the chicka-
dee and downy, gladly shares the suet ban-

A characteristic pose

L. H. Bailey

Leonard K. Beyer

The nuthatch runs head first down tree
trunks in search of insects. Here he is eating
suet which has been fastened to the tree

quet we prepare for them and may be ob-
served at leisure while " at table." The
contrast between the habits of the nut-
hatch and those of its companions makes
it a most valuable aid in stimulating close
and keen observation on the part of the
pupils.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 usu-
ally 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 does the arrangement of the
nuthatch's toes 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 nut-
hatch 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

ANIMALS

the eyes on the nuthatch as on the chicka-
dee? 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 chicka-
dee?

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 nut-
hatches oftener in winter than in sum-
mer?

Acadian chickadees

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

THE CHICKADEE

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 Code 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 curi-
osity 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

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 coun-
try wayfarer; that happy song " chick-a-
dee-dee-dee " finds its way to the dullest

consciousness and the most callous heart.
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 first
looks the twig over from above and then
hangs head down and inspects it from be-
low; it is a thorough worker and doesn't in-
tend to overlook anything whatever; and
however busily it is hunting, it always finds

BIRDS

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/7 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
flycatcher called phoebe, which cuts the
last syllable short and gives it a rising in-
flection. More than this, the chickadee
has some chatty conversational notes, and
now and then performs a bewitching little
yodel, which is a fit expression of its own
delicious personality.

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 se-
ductive little black bib under its chin.
The back is grayish, the wings and tail are
dark gray, the feathers having white mar-
gins. The breast is grayish white changing
to buff or brownish at the sides and below.
It is often called the " Black-capped Tit-
mouse/7 and it may always be distin-

S. A. Grimes

Black-capped chickadees. The friendly chick-
adee is easily tamed

A " banded '

Leonard K. Beyer

chickadee

guished 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
provide abundant food for the chicka-
dees. It has been estimated that one
chickadee will destroy several hundred in-
sect eggs in one day, and it has been
proved 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 put-
ting up beef fat or bones and thus we
can secure their valuable service. In sum-
mer 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 ma-
terial. 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.
How these fubsy birdlings manage to pack
themselves in such a small hole is a won-
der; it probably gives them good discipline
in bearing hardships cheerfully.

ANIMALS

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Aiidubon
Bird Leaflet 61; Bird Stories, by Edith M.
Patch; Bird Stories from Burroughs, by
John Burroughs; Nature and Science
Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Harrison
E. Howe, Book 2, Outdoor Visits; Win-
ter, by Dallas Lore Sharp; also, readings on
pages 28-29.

LESSON 14
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 sing-
ing 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.

METHOD — Put beef fat on the trees
near the schoolhouse in December and
replenish it 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 — i . Where have you
seen the chickadees? What were they do-
ing? Were there several together?

2. What is the common song of the
chickadee? What other notes has it? Have
you heard it yodel? Have you heard it
sing " fee-bee, fee-bee "? How does this
song differ from that of the phcebe? 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?

4. Compare the size of the chickadee
with that of the English sparrow.

5. 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?

6. Does the chickadee usually alight on
the ends of the branches or on the larger
portions near the trunk of the tree?

7. How can you distinguish the chicka-
dees from their companions, the nut-
hatches?

8. Does the chickadee ever seem dis-
couraged by the snow and cold weather?
Do you know another name for the
chickadee?

9. Where does it build its nest? Of
what material? Have you ever watched
one of these nests? If so, tell about it.

10. 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?

THE DOWNY WOODPECKER

Friend Downy is the name this at-
tractive little neighbor has earned, be-
cause 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 feath-
ers are white, barred with black at their
tips.
The downy has a way of alighting low

BIRDS

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 Erst, like the nuthatch; if it wishes
to go down a short distance it accom-
plishes this by a few awkward, backward
hops; but when it really wishes to descend,
it flies off and down. The downy, like
other woodpeckers, has a special arrange-
ment of its physical machinery which en-
ables it to climb trees in its own manner.
It can grasp the bark on the side of a tree
more firmly because its fourth toe is
turned backward and works as a com-
panion with the thumb. Thus it is able
to clutch the bark as with a pair of nip-
pers, two claws in front and two claws be-
hind; and as another aid, the tail is ar-
ranged to prop the bird, like a bracket.
The tail is rounded in shape and the mid-
dle 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 can-
not 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 larvae
working under the bark. When the wood-
pecker 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 up-
per part of the body as far back as pos-
sible, 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 impos-
sible to pull it out through a hole which is

Friend Downy

L. "W. Brownell

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 cov-
ered with short backward-slanting hooks
acting like a spear or harpoon; and thus
when the tongue is thrust into the grub it
pulls it out easily. The bones of the tongue
have a spring arrangement; when not in

Friend Downy's foot

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, it straightens. This spring ar-
rangement of the bones of the woodpeck-
er's tongue is a marvelous mechanism
and should be studied through pictures.
Since the food of the downy and the

ANIMALS

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 " weed-

A. A. Allen

Part of the tree has been cut away to show
Downy's nest

ing out the lonesomeness " and that is ex-
actly what the drumming of the wood-
pecker means. The male selects some
dried limb of hard wood and there beats
out his well-known signal which adver-
tises 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 her-
self; but within twenty minutes she had
drummed up two red-capped suitors who
chased each other about with great ani-
mosity, 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 glar-
ing and many 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 clownies drumming every spring, I
doubt if they are calling for new wives; I
believe they are, instead, calling the atten-
tion 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 par-
take 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 mar-
ried pairs.

The downy7 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
almost as fine as sawdust. The cloor to the
nest is a circle 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

BIRDS

that the hairy lives in the woods and is not trunk?
so commonly seen in orchards or on shade
trees. The food of the hairy is much like
that of the downy; it is, therefore, a
beneficial bird and should be protected.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 55; Bird Stories from Burroughs,
by John Burroughs; Mother Nature Series,
by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor Trox-
ell, Book 3, In Field and Forest; Nature
and Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch
and Harrison E. Howe, Book i, Hunting,
Book 2, Outdoor Visits; also, readings on
pages 28-29.

LESSON 15
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
is a " friend in need " to our forest, shade,
and orchard trees.

METHOD — If a piece of beef fat be
fastened upon the trunk or branch of a
tree which can be seen from the school-
room windows, there will be no lack of in-
terest 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 — i . What is the gen-
eral 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?

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 sup-
pose was the purpose of this music?

4. How does the downy climb a tree

How does it descend? How
do its actions differ from those of the nut-
hatch?

5. How does the arrangement of the
woodpecker's toes help it in climbing 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 do you think the downy does
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 account of how the
downy builds its nest and rears its young.

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 b}
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 fore-
noon. 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 bealc wore the surface percep-
tibly. 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

74 ANIMALS

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 neigh-
boring branches, and with spread plumage
and a sharp note demanded plainly
enough what my business was with his
drum. I was invading his privacy, dese-
crating his shrine, and the bird was much
put out. After some weeks the female ap-
peared; he had literally drummed up a
mate; his urgent and oft-repeated adver-
tisement was answered. Still the drum-
ming did not cease, but was quite as fer-
vent as before. If a mate could be won by
drumming she could be kept and enter-
tained 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

L. A. Fuertes

The yellow-bellied sapsucker

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 bev-
erage; 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 sap-
sucker 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, lias
in it all the fierceness of a toper crazy for
drink; they are particularly foncl of the
sap of the mountain ash, apple, thorn ap-
ple, canoe birch, cut-leaf birch, red maple,
red oak, white ash, and young pines. How-
ever, 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 extend-

BIRDS

ing back of the eye, bordered with white tree? If there are two rows or more, are the
above and below. There is a large, black holes set evenly one below another?
circular patch on the breast which is bor- ~ "

dered 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 sap-
sucker 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

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?

downy and hairy; when the bird is flying 4. How can you distinguish the sap-
the broad, white stripes extending from sucker from the other woodpeckers? How
the shoulders backward, form a long, oval have the hairy and downy which are such
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 Vir-
ginia 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 In the following winter the same bird
a hole in a tree about forty feet from the (a sapsuclcer) tapped a maple-tree in front
ground, and is likely to be in a dead birch, of my window in fifty-six places; and,
SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird when the day was sunny and the sap oozed
Leaflet 102; also, readings on pages 28-29. 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 barfc 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

good friends of the trees been made to suf-
fer for the sapsucker's sins?

5. What is the color of the sapsucker:
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?

LESSON 16
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 distin-
guish it from the downy and hairy, as the
latter are among the best bird friends of
the trees.

METHOD — Let the observations begin
with the study of the trees (common al-
most everywhere) which have been at-
tacked by the sapsucker, and thus lead
to an interest in the culprit.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Have you seen the
work of the sapsucker? Are the holes
drilled in rows completely around the

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. — " WIN-
TER NEIGHBORS/' JOHN BURROUGHS

ANIMALS

THE REDHEADED WOODPECKER

The redhead is well named, for his hel-
met and visor show a vivid glowing crim-
son 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 beauti-
ful 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

L. A. Fuertes

The redheaded woodpecker

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 flycatcher. The only time
that it pecks wood is when it is making a
hole for its nest.
As a drummer, the redhead is most

adept and his roll is a long one. He is an
adaptable fellow, and if there is no reso-
nant dead limb at hand, he has been
known to drum on tin roofs and lightning
rods; and once we also observed him exe-
cuting 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 redheaded and which drills holes
in the oak trees wherein he drives acorns
like pegs for later use.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 43; Mother Nature Series, by Fan-
nie W. Dunn and Eleanor Troxell, Book
3, In Field and Forest; Nature and Science
Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Harrison
E. Howe, Book i, Hunting; also, readings
on pages 28-29.

LESSON 17
THE REDHEADED WOODPECKER

LEADING THOUGHT — The redheaded
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.

METHOD — If there is a redhead in the
vicinity of your school the children will be
sure to see it. Write the following ques-
tions upon the blackboard and offer a
prize to the first one who will make a note
on where the redhead stores his winter
food.

OBSERVATIONS— - 1. Can you tell the
redhead from the other woodpeckers?
What colors especially mark his plum-
age?

2. Where does the redhead nest? De-
scribe eggs and nest.

BIRDS

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 redhead?
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?

Another trait our woodpeckers have
that endears them to me, and that has
never been pointedly noticed by our orni-
thologists, 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 rap-
ping 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. Or7 later in
the season, in the dense forest or by some
remote mountain lake, does that meas-
ured 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 last found a
voice — does that suggest anything less
than a deliberate musical performance? In
fact, our woodpeckers are /ust as charac-
teristically 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 de-
scribed. The woods are fall 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, es-
pecially 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 redheaded woodpecker that
drums upon a lightning-rod on his neigh-
bor's house. Nearly every clear, still morn-
ing 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." — " BIRDS, BEES AND SHARP
EYES/' JOHN BURROUGHS

THE FLICKER OR YELLOW-HAMMER

The first time I ever saw a flicker I said,
" What a wonderful meadowlark and
what is it doing on that ant hill? " But an-
other 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 meadowlark.
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 yel-
low beneath, which is very noticeable dur-
ing flight. There is a locket adorning the
breast; it is a thin, black crescent, much
narrower than that of the meadowlark.
Below the locket, the breast is yellowish
white thickly marked with circular, black
spots. The throat and sides of the head

ANIMALS

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

A brood of seven young flickers

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 mus-
tache. The beak is long, strong, somewhat
curved and dark colored. This bird is dis-
tinctly larger than the robin. The white
patch on the rump shows little or not at
all when the bird is at rest. This white
mark is known as a " color call " — for it
has been said that it serves as 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 — quite different from that
of the meadowlark; it does not stay so
constantly in the meadows, but often fre-
quents woods and orchards.

The flicker has many names, such as
golden-winged woodpecker, yellow-ham-
mer, highhole, 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 or-
chards can boast of a pair of these hand-
some birds during the nesting season of
May and June. The flicker is not above

renting any house he finds vacant, exca-
vated 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 insect food of the flicker
is ants, although it also eats beetles, flies,
and wild fruit; it does little or no damage
to planted crops. Its tongue has become
modified, like that of the anteater; it is
long and is covered with a sticky sub-
stance; 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; they are thus withdrawn and trans-
ferred to the capacious stomach of the
bird. It has been known to eat three thou-
sand 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

A. A. Allen

The male 'flicker has a black mustache

BIRDS

on his back hair. In doing all this he per-
forms 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 num-
ber. The feeding of the young flickers is a
process painful to watch. The parent takes
the food into its own stomach and par-
tially digests it, then thrusts its own bill
down the throat of the young one and
pumps the soft food into it "kerchug,
kerchug," until it seems as if the
young one must be shaken to its foun-
dations. The young flickers as soon as
they leave the nest climb around freely
on the home tree in a delightful, playful
manner.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 5; Bird Stories from Bur-
roughs, by John Burroughs; First Lessons
in Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch; Na-
ture and Science Readers, by Edith M.
Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Book 5,
Science at Home; also, readings on pages
28-29.

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

The female flicker

Stanley Mythaler

The homes of flickers

LESSON 18
THE FLICKER

LEADING THOUGHT — The flicker is a
true woodpecker but has changed its hab-
its and spends much of its time in mead-
ows hunting for ants and other insects;
it makes its nest in trunks of trees, like
its relatives. It can be distinguished from
the meadowlark by the white patch above
the tail which shows during flight.

METHOD — This is one of the most im-
portant of the birds of the meadow. The
work may be done in September, when
there are plenty of young flickers which
have not learned to be wary. The observa-
tions may be made in the field, a few ques-
tions being given at a time.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Where do you
find the flicker in the summer and early
autumn? How can you tell it from the
meadowlark 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 com-
pared to the robin? What is its general
color as compared to the meadowlark?

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. Describe the color and shape of
the beak. Is there a difference in markings
between the males and females?

ANIMALS

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?

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-code, or pileated woodpecker, the
largest and wildest of our Northern spe-
cies, 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. — " BIRDS, BEES AND
SHARP EYES," JOHN BURROUGHS

THE MEADOWLARK

The meadowlark

L. A. Fuertes

The first intimation we have in early
spring that the meadowlark 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.

The meadowlark, 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 cres-
cent or locket on the breast and each
shows the " white feather " during flight.
The latter is the chief distinguishing char-
acteristic; the outer tail feathers of the
meadowlark are white, while the tail feath-
ers 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 move-
ments and then soars smoothly over the
course, while the flicker makes a continu-
ous up-and-down, wavelike flight. The
songs of the two would surely never be
confused, for the meadowlark is among
our sweetest singers, to which class the
flicker with his " flick-a-flick " hardly be-
longs.

The colors of the meadowlark 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

BIRDS

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 meadowlark 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 meadowlark 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 north-
ern stay, from April to November, ex-
cept while it is moulting in late summer,
Mr. Mathews, who is an eminent author-
ity on bird songs, says that the meadow-
larks of New York have a different song
from those of Vermont or Nantucket, al-
though the music has always the same
general characteristics. The western spe-
cies 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.

The meadowlark's arched nest

R. W. Hegner

A father prairie horned lark at his nest.
These birds nest in early March, and often
snow falls on the nest and brooding bird

The nest is built in a depression in the
ground near a tuft of grass; it is con-
structed 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 num-
ber; they are white, speckled with brown
and purple. The young meadowlarks are
usually large enough to be out of the way
before haying time in July.

The food of the meadowlark during the
entire year consists almost exclusively of
insects which destroy the grass of our
meadows. It eats great quantities of grass-
hoppers, cutworms, chinch bugs, army
worms, wireworms, and weevils, and also
destroys some weed seeds. Each pupil
should make a diagram in his notebook
showing the proportions of the meadow-
lark's different kinds of food. This may be
copied from Audubon Leaflet 3. Everyone
should use his influence to the uttermost
to protect this valuable bird. It has been
estimated that the meadowlarks save to
every township where hay is produced,
twenty-five dollars each year on this crop
alone.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflets 3 and 111; Holiday Meadow, by
Edith M. Patch; also, readings on pages
28-29.

ANIMALS

LESSON 19

THE MEADOWLARK

LEADING THOUGHT — The meadowlark
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 iden-
tified 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 mead-
owlark, and also for learning how to dis-
tinguish 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 — i. Where have you
seen the meadowlark? 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 dif-
fer from those of the flicker?

2. Try to imitate the meadowlarFs
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?

4. Is the meadowlark larger or smaller
than the robin? Describe from your own
observations, as far as possible, the colors
of the meadowlark 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 Fuertes7 excellent picture
of the meadowlark in the Audubon Leaf-
let, 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 are there
in the nest? What are their colors and
markings?

6. What is the food of the meadow-
lark? Copy the diagram from the Audu-
bon Leaflet, showing the proportions of
the different kinds of insects which it de-
stroys.

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 overall/

— INA COOLBRITH

BIRDS

English sparrows at a feeding station

S. A. Grimes

THE ENGLISH SPARROW

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 housefly, 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 spar-
row, and it is safe to assert that the ma-
jority 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

84 ANIMALS

shorter and far more slender in appear-
ance, and is especially marked by the red-
dish brown crown.

When feeding, the English sparrows
are aggressive, and their lack of table man-
ners 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
farm animals. They only eat weed seeds
when other food fails them in the winter,
for they are civilized birds even if they do
not act so, and they much prefer the culti-
vated 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, bar-
ley, corn, sorghum, and rice are thus at-
tacked. 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 spar-
row into America is one of the greatest ar-
guments 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 after-
wards there were other importations of
the sparrows. In twenty years more, peo-

ple 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 them-
selves, and there is no rest for tired ears in
their vicinity. There are various noises
made by these birds which we can under-
stand if we are willing to take the pains:
the harassing chirping is their song; they
squall when frightened and peep plain-
tively when lonesome, and make a dis-
agreeable 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 clever-
ness and keenness. It is quick to take a
hint, if sufficiently pointed; firing a shot-
gun twice into a flock of these birds has
driven them from our premises; and tear-
ing down their nests assiduously for a
month seems to convey to them the idea
that they are not welcome. Another in-
stance 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 carne 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 duckings tried to reason out what
had happened.

The English sparrow's nest is quite in

BIRDS

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; several broods are reared
by one pair in a 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 coun-
try 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.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 90; Bird Friends, by Gilbert
H. Trafton; English Sparrow Control
(U. S. Department of Agriculture, Leaflet
61); Lives of the Hunted, by Ernest
Thompson Seton (A Street Troubadour);
Mother Nature Series, by Fannie W.
Dunn and Eleanor Troxell, Book 3, In
Field and Forest; see also readings on
pages 28-29.

LESSON 20
THE ENGLISH SPARROW

LEADING THOUGHT — The English spar-
row was introduced into America by peo-
ple who knew nothing of its habits. It has
finally overrun our whole country, and to
a great extent has driven out from towns
and villages our useful American song
birds; it should be discouraged and not
allowed to nest around our houses and

A. A. Allen

The sprawling nest of the English sparrow

grounds. As a sparrow it has interesting
habits which we should observe.

METHOD — 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 — i. How many kinds of
birds do you find in a flock of English spar-
rows?

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 notebook
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 mark-
ings 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?

ANIMALS

6. What is the shape of the beak? For
what sort of food is it adapted?

7. What is the food of the English
sparrows and where do they find it? De-
scribe 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 win-
ters? Do they winter out in the country or
in villages?

9. Describe by observation how they
try to drive away robins or other native
birds.

10. Describe the nest of this sparrow.
Of what material is it made? How is it sup-
ported? 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 generally give the
nestlings?

12. If you have ever seen these sparrows
do anything interesting, describe the cir-
cumstance.

13. In what ways are these birds a nui-
sance 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?

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

Leonard K. Beyer

A chipping sparrow on its nest ,

This midget lives in our midst, and yet
among all bird kind there is not another
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 spar-
row/' since it frugally gathers the crumbs
about our kitchen doors, yet it rarely be-
comes 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 coloi,
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 about one-third insects,
and everyone should know that this little
bird does good to our gardens and trees.
It takes in large numbers cabbage cater-
pillars, pea lice, the beet leaf-miners, leaf
hoppers, grasshoppers, and cutworms, and
does its share in annihilating the cater-
pillars of the terrible gypsy and browntail
moths. In fact, it works for our benefit
even in its vegetable food, as this consists

BIRDS

largely of the seeds of weeds and unde-
sirable grasses. It will often fly up from
its perch after flies or moths/ like a fly-
catcher; and the next time we note it, it
will be hopping around hunting for the
crumbs we have scattered for it on the
porch 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 suc-
cession 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 mar-
ket was exhausted and the soft, dead
needles of the white pine were used in-
stead 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

A. A. Allen

A cowbird laid the large egg in Ihis chip-
ping sparrow's nest. The cowbird depends
upon other birds to brood its eggs and care
for its young

A. A. Allen

" The breadline!' Young chipping sparrows
being fed by one of their parents

in vine or tree, usually not more than
ten or fifteen feet from the ground; a
vine on a house 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.

The chippy comes to us in early spring
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 disci-
pline but indulge their teasing progeny
until our patience, at least, is exhausted.
The young differ from the parents in hav-
ing streaked breasts and lacking the red-
dish crown. In the fall the chippy par-
ents 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 80; Bird-House to Let, by Mary F.
Terrel; Bird Stories from Burroughs, by
John Burroughs; Mother Nature Series,
by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor Trox-

ANIMALS

ell, Book 3, In Field and Forest; also, read-
ings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 21
THE CHIPPING SPARROW

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 rid-
ding our gardens of insect pests and seeds
of weeds.

METHOD — Begin this lesson with a
nest of the chippy, which is so unmistak-
able that it may be collected and identi-
fied 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 — i . 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 hid-
den when the leaves were about it? Meas-
ure 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 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 adapted for?

9. What is the food of the chippy?
Why has it been called the doorstep
sparrow?

10. Note whether the chippy catches
flies or moths on the wing like the phcebe.

1 1 . 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 notebook covering
the following points: Do both parents
build the nest? Flow is the framework
laid? How is the finishing done? What is
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 bay-
berry 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 /"ay, one

syllable, oft repeated;
He has but a word to say, and of that he

will not be cheated.

BIRDS

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

THE SONG SPARROW

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
In " 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 may 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 "Tchink,
t'chinL"

The song sparrow prefers the neighbor-
hood of brooks and ponds which are bor-
dered 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; when disturbed, however,
it never rises in the air but drops into a low

Leonard K. Beyer

The song sparrow usually builds its nest on
the ground

flight and plunges into a thicket with a
defiant twitch of the tail which says
plainly, " Find me if you can."

ANIMALS

A. A. Allen

The eggs are bluish white with many brown
markings

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 distin-
guishes 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 con-
structed of coarse weeds and grasses; and
sometimes only fine grass is used. Some-
times it is lined with hair, and again, with
fine grass; sometimes it is deep, but oc-
casionally 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 ob-
servation 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 spar-
rows stay 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.

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.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 31; Bird Stories from Burroughs,
by John Burroughs; Mother Nature Series,
by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor Trox-
ell, Book 3, In Field and Forest; also,
readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 22
THE SONG SPARROW

LEADING THOUGHT — The beautiful
song of this sparrow is usually heard earlier
in the spring than the notes of bluebird
or robin. The dark blotch in the center of
its speckled breast distinguishes this spar-
row from all others; it is very beneficial
and should be protected from cats.

" Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer "

BIRDS

METHOD — 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 — i. 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 tea-
kettle, 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?

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 spar-
rows and how do they benefit our fields
and gardens? Name some of the injurious
insects that they eat.

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 sing-
ing.

" Oh, sing/ sing-away/ sing-awayl "

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

THE MOCKINGBIRD

Among all the vocalists in the bird
world, the mockingbird is seldom rivaled
in the variety and richness of his repertoire.
The mockingbirds go as far north as south-
ern 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 he devotes the
nights to serenading; he may sing almost
all night long if there is moonlight, and
even on dark nights he gives now and
then a happy, sleepy song. Not all mock-
ingbirds are mockers; some sing their own
song, which is rich and beautiful; while
others learn, in addition, not only the

ANIMALS

L. A. Fuertes

The mockingbird

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 re-
lationship to the brown thrasher by lift-
ing 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 intro-
ducing 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, tak-
ing 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, be-
ing 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 often
kill snakes; good-sized black snakes have
been known to end thus; he will also drive
away birds much larger than himself. In
making his attack, the mocker hovers
above his enemy and strikes it at the back
of the head or neck.

The female lays from four to six pale
greenish or bluish eggs blotched with
brown which hatch in about two weeks;
then comes a period of hard work for the
parents, as both are indefatigable in catch-
ing insects to feed the young. The mocker,
by the way, is an amusing sight as he
chases a beetle on the ground, lifting his
wings in a pugnacious fashion. The mock-
ers 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

* : '''''" " ' • / "I • •' >'S^*"N|jS'

A. A. Allen

A mockingbird on her nest in a thicket

BIRDS

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/7 Mrs. Rowe
also observed that the male mockers have
hunting preserves of their own, not allow-
ing any other males of their species in
these precincts. The boundary was sus-
tained by tactics of both offense and
defense; but certain other species of
birds were allowed to trespass without
reproof.

Maurice Thompson describes in a de-
lightful 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 tri-
umph 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 much 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 dis-
tinctly 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:

^f^^ii^m,,^.^ ,.._ . „
%M . ; •

Leonard K. Beyer

The brown thrasher, a close relative of the
mockingbird; is also an accomplished musi-
cian

Whatever birds did or dreamed, tin's bird

could say.

Then down lie shot, bounced airily along
The sward, twitched in a grasshopper,

made song
Midffight, perched, prinked, and to his

art again.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 41; also, readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 23
THE MOCKINGBIRD

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 beauti-
ful 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 mock-
ingbirds near the schoolhouse, the work
can be done in the most ideal way by keep-
ing records in the school of all the obser-
vations made by the pupils, thus bringing
out an interesting mockingbird story.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Duringwhatmonths
of the year and for how many months does
the mockingbird sing in this locality?

ANIMALS

2. Does he sing only on moonlight
nights? Does he sing all night?

3. Can you distinguish the true mock-
ingbird song from the songs which he has
learned from other birds? Describe the
actions of a mocker when he is sing-
ing.

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 it was before he learned
it and how he acted while learning.

6. Describe the flight of the mocking-
birds. 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? Flow long be-
fore they hatch?

11. Give instances of the parents' de-
votion 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 mocking-
bird 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
tricks?

20. Tell a story which includes your
own observations on the ways of mocking-
birds which you have known.

Soft and low the song began: I scarcely
caught it as it ran

Through the melancholy trill of the plain-
tive whip-poor-will,

Through the ringdove's gentle wail, chat-
tering 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 be-
fore 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

BIRDS

THE CATBIRD

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 terri-
tory 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 vaude-
ville training, this bird is likely to intro-
duce 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 com-

panionship 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.

Robert Matheson

A catbird on its nest

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 differ-
ent shape; it is far more slender and has
a long, emotional tail. The way the cat-
bird 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

The catbird lays three to five eggs of a rich
greenish blue in a well constructed nest in a
dense thicket

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 al-
ways 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 pur-
pose destroy many insects which we can
well spare. Sixty-two per cent of the food
of the young has been found in one in-
stance to be cutworms, showing what a
splendid work the parents do in our gar-
dens. In fact, during a large part of the
summer, while these birds are rearing their
two broods, they benefit us greatly by de-
stroying the insect pests; and although
later they may attack our fruits and ber-
ries, 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 cat-
birds as well as the robins would feed
upon them instead of the cultivated fruits.

ANIMALS

The catbirds afford a striking example
for impressing upon children that each
species of birds haunts certain kinds of
places. The catbirds are not often found
in deep woods or in open fields, but usu-
ally 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-groomecl "; 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 trou-
ble of careful observation.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 70; Bird-House to Let, by Mary F.
Terrel; Bird Stories from Burroughs, by
John Burroughs; also, readings on pages
28-29.

LESSON 24
THE CATBIRD

LEADING THOUGHT — The catbird has
a beautiful song as well as the harsh
" miou," and can imitate other birds, al-
though 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.

METHOD — First, let the pupils study
and report upon the songs, scoldings, and
other notes of this our northern mocking-
bird; then let them describe its appearance
and habits.

OBSERVATIONS— i. 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 cat-
bird's true song. Are there any harsh notes
in it? Where does he sit while singing?
Describe the actions of the catbird while
he is singing.

3. Have you ever heard the catbird imi-

BIRDS

tate 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 ma-
terial 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 cat-
birds 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 proc-
ess. Describe how the catbirds take sun
baths.

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 blossom-
ing bough,

Drawls out, " Mi-eu, mi-ow! "
— " THE CATBIRD/' EDITH M. THOMAS

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

A family of seven young belted kingfishers that were posed for the camera

THE BELTED KINGFISHER

This patrol of our streams and lake
shores, in his cadet uniform, is indeed a
military figure as well as a militant per-
sonality. 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 per-
meates the ordinary fisherman. However,

ANIMALS

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

A moment between diggings. This male
belted kingfisher hesitates on the doorstep of
the nesting burrow which lie is digging. To
him, rather than to his mate, falls the task of
home-building

he does not fish for fun but for business;
his keen eye catches the gleam of a mov-
ing 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.
Usually 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, trust-
ing to his internal organs to select
the nourishing part; and later he gulps
up a ball of the indigestible scales and
bones.

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

Kingfisher's foot. This shows the weak
toes; the third and fourth are joined to-
gether, which undoubtedly assists the bird in
pushing out soil when excavating

of the head which he lifts into a crest, and
because of the shortness of the tail. The
beak is very long and strong, enabling the

kingfisher 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; this is of use
to the bird in pushing earth from the bur-
row, 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 King-
fisher 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 builcl their nest
in a burrow which they tunnel horizon-
tally in a bank; sometimes there is a vesti-
bule 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 nest-
lings, 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 re-
garded as nest lining. Wonderful tales are
told of the way the English kingfishers use

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.

A large sharply pointed bill and a good aim
behind it is all the equipment this feathered
fisherman needs to catch his food

BIRDS

fish bones to support the earth above their
nests, and tributes have been paid to their
architectural skill. But it is generally con-
ceded that the lining of fish bones in the
nests of our kingfisher is incidental, since
the food of the young is largely fish, al-
though 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 more
before this one learned to drop like a
bullet on its quarry.

The note of the kingfisher is a loud rat-
tle, 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
rarely trespassing upon its neighbor's pre-
serves. Unless it be the parent pair work-
ing near each other for the nestlings, or
the nestlings still under their care, we sel-
dom see two kingfishers in the same im-
mediate locality.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 19; also, readings on pages
28-29.

LESSON 25
THE KINGFISHER

LEADING THOUGHT — The kingfisher is
fitted by form of body and beak to be a
fisherman.

METHOD — 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 — i. 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 king-
fisher 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 differ-
ent 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?

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 Loose-
strife are growing;

By the bright little streams that all joyfully
run

Awhile in the shadow, and then in the sun.

ioo ANIMALS

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 grace-
fully o'er,

And the Sword-flag and Arrow-head grow
at his door.

There busily, busily, all the day long,

He seelcs 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 bur-
row loots 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

Disquiet yourselves not; Tis nothing but a little, downy owl. — SHELLEY

Of all the sounds to be heard at night
in the woods, the screech owl's song is
surely the most fascinating; its fascination
does not depend on music but upon the

Country Life in America

Screech owls

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 blood-curdling, 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 in-
dividuals; the great variety of quavers in
the song offers 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 spe-
cial adaptations for this. The eyes are

BIRDS

101

very large and the yellow iris opens and
closes about the pupil in a way quite simi-
lar to the arrangement in the cat's eye,
except that the pupil in the owl's eye is
round when contracted instead of elon-
gated; 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 my-
self 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 were on a pivot and
could be moved around and around in-
definitely. 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 end-
ing 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 resem-
blance 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 for-
ward 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 chan-
nel which extends from above the eye

S. A. Grimes

A barn or monkey -faced owl

around to the side of the throat. 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 direc-
tion 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 phases 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 day-
time 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, 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 ap-
ple orchards for nesting sites. They will
often use the abandoned nest of a wood-
pecker; the eggs are almost as round as
marbles and as white as chalk; it is well
that they are laid within a dark hole, for
otherwise their color would attract the

1O2

ANIMALS

S. A. Grimes

The great horned owl

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 imagina-
ble. 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 motion-
less upon its perch with its toes completely
covered with its fluffy feather skirt. Sud-
denly its eyes open, the round pupils en-
larging 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 hu-
man in its expression. It then stretches its
wings; it is astonishing how far 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 its
surroundings better.

The owls are loyal lovers and are said
to remain mated through life, the twain
being very devoted to their nests and nest-
lings. Sometimes the two wise-looking lit-
tle parents sit together on the eggs, a most
happy way to pass the wearisome incuba-
tion period.

The screech owls winter in the north

and are distinctly foresighted in pre-
paring 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, and also cater-
pillars and grasshoppers. However, the
larger part of their food is mice; some-
times small birds are caught, and the Eng-
lish sparrow is a frequent victim. Chickens
are rarely taken, except when small, since
this owlet is not as long as a robin. It swal-
lows its quarry as whole as possible, trust-
ing 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 crea-
tures which destroy his crops.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 11; Bird Stories, by Edith M.
Patch; Bird Stories from Burroughs, by
John Burroughs; Birds in the Wilderness,
by George M. Sutton; Mother Nature
Series, by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor
Troxell, Book 3, In Field and Forest; Our
Backdoor Neighbors, by Frank C. Pellett;
The Pet Boole, by Anna B. Comstock;
also, readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 26
THE SCREECH OWL

LEADING THOUGHT — This owl is espe-
cially 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 owl in captivity is a fascinat-
ing object for the children to observe.
However, it is so important that the chil-
dren learn the habits of this owl that the
teacher is advised to hinge the lesson on

BIRDS 103

any observation whatever made by the pu- 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

pils, and illustrate it with pictures and
stories.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Have you ever
heard the screech owl? At what time of

the day or night? Why was this? Why they get rid of the indigestible portion of
does the owl screech? How did you feel their food? How does this habit help sci-
when listening to the owl's song? entists to know the food of the owls?

2. Describe the owl's eyes. Are they 10. How does the screech owl work in-
adapted to see by night? What changes

take place in them to enable the owl to
see by day 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 be-
hind it?

3. Note the owl's beak. For what pur-
pose 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 advan-
tageous to this bird?

7. How does the owl's ear differ from
the ears of other birds? Of what special ad-
vantage is this? As the owl hunts during
the night, what does it do in the daytime?
How and by what means does it hide it-
self?

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

jury 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?

TWO WISE OWLS

We are two dusJky owls, and we live in a

tree;

Loolc 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 loofc 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

ANIMALS

S. A. Grimes

The fish hawk or osprey. This hawk builds its large nest from twenty to fifty feet above the
ground. It subsists almost entirely on fish

THE HAWKS

Above the tumult of the canon 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 miscon-
ceptions 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 con-
sider that a " hawk is a hawk/' and should
always be shot to save the poultry, al-
though 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-shoul-
dered 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 is 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
are not barred, and it 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 similar 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. When the bird wishes to
drop, it lifts and holds its wings above its

BIRDS

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 spe-
cies 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 unmusi-
cal 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 a hawk
has actually been seen to catch chick-
ens 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 go-
phers, etc., and only seven per cent con-
sists 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-shoul-

S. A. Grimes

The marsh hawk. This is a bird of the open
fields. It flies low in search of rodents, rep-
tiles, frogs, and insects. It may be identified
by a white spot on the rump

A. A. Allen

Red-tailed hawk

dered hawk feeds generally on mice,
snakes, frogs, fish, and is very fond of grass-
hoppers. Ninety per cent of its food con-
sists of creatures which injure our crops or
pastures and scarcely one and one-half 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. Further-
more, Dr. Fisher states that a pair of the
red-shouldered hawks bred for successive
years within a few hundred yards of a poul-
try farm containing 800 young chickens
and 400 ducks, and the owner never saw
them attempt to catch a fowl.

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 both 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 mead-
ows below them. Their eyes are remarka-
bly keen; they can see a moving creature
from a great height, and can suddenly
drop upon it like a thunderbolt out of a
clear sky. Their wonderful eyes are far-
sighted when they are circling in the sky,

BIRDS OF PREY AND SCAVENGERS

1. SPARROW HAWKS. In summer these
birds will be found from northern Canada
south to the Gulf states except in peninsular
Florida and the arid regions of the South-
west; in winter from the northern United States
to Panama. About eleven inches in length, this
pretty little hawk has readily adapted itself to
civilization and in densely populated areas
makes its nest about buildings and even in bird-
houses. The sparrow hawk should be protected
everywhere, for it is useful to man; it feeds
chiefly on mice and insects. (Photo by Doro-
thy M. Compton)

2. SNOWY OWL. One of the largest and most
handsome of owls, the snowy owl, is at home in
the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere;
it breeds as far north as land is found and as far
south as northern Quebec, Manitoba, and British
Columbia. In winter it migrates southward in
search of food if mice and lemmings become
scarce in the North. In North America the winter
range may extend as far south as the Gulf states,
in Europe as far south as France and Switzer-
land, and in Asia to northern India and Japan.
This owl is seldom seen in trees, preferring the
open country, probably because the rodents
which are its principal food are found there.
(Photo by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.)

3. A YOUNG SCREECH OWL. The range of
these birds extends from southern Canada to
the southern United States. They breed over
most of this area. The screech owl is not quite
so long as a robin. It often nests in a small
cavity in a tree or even in a birdhouse. It is
not unusual for the owl to use the same nesting
place year after year. It feeds largely on mice,
other small mammals, insects, and small birds.
This owl is unique in that it has two color
phases; both male and female may be either gray
or reddish brown. (Photo by Dorothy M. Comp*
ton)

4. HERRING GULL. These birds are scav-
engers found along the coasts and inland
waters of the Northern Hemisphere. They
nest in colonies, usually on islands but always
near the water. The nest of seaweed, grasses,
or moss is generally built on the ground. Flocks
of herring gulls are often seen near piers and
wharves where they perform a valuable service
by feeding on garbage and refuse. It is generally
this bird that follows coastwise boats waiting
for refuse to be thrown overboard. (Photo by
Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.)

5. AN ADULT SCREECH OWL. Perched in a
tree, the screech owl is difficult to detect, for
he is easily mistaken for branches and leaves.
(Photo by A. A. Allen)

6. A BLACK VULTURE AT THE ENTRANCE
TO ITS NEST. This is a scavenger of the South.
Though it rarely breeds north of Maryland,
it is occasionally seen in some of the central
states. The value of these birds in removing
health-menacing garbage and carrion is so
great that they are protected by law and public
sentiment. They are quite numerous in the
South and are often seen in towns and cities.
The black vulture does not build a nest; the
eggs are laid in cavities in trees or rocks, in
hollow stumps, or on the ground beneath bushes.
(Photo by S.A. Grimes')

7. AUDUBON'S CAR AC ABA. This bird's usual
range is from Lower California, Arizona, Texas,
and southern Florida southward to Ecuador;
it has been reported as an accidental visitor as
far north as Ontario. The nest is a bulky struc-
ture of sticks, branches, roots, grass, and leaveSj
usually placed in trees or on bushes or ledges.
Caracaras are often seen in the company of
vultures, feeding on carrion, and they also
capture and eat snakes, frogs, and lizards. The
caracara's flight is direct and rapid, not at all
like that of the vulture, which sails and soars in
spirals. (Photo by S. A. Grimes)

io8

ANIMALS

Leonard K. Beyer

Nest and eggs of the marsh hawk

but as they drop, the focus of the eyes
changes automatically with great rapid-
ity, so that by the time they reach the
earth they are nearsighted, 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 proba-
bly 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 have sharp and polished claws, even
as the warrior has a keen, bright sword; 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
sfeventy-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 to their young. Hawks
and eagles are very similar in form and
habits, and if the eagle is a noble bird, so
is the hawk.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflets 8, 9, 10, 37, 82, 122; Bird Stories
from Burroughs, by John Burroughs; Food
Habits of Common Hawlcs, by W. L.
McAtee (U. S. Department of Agricul-
ture, Circular 370); The Hawlcs of North
America, by John B. May; Our Backdoor
Neighbors, by Frank C. Pellett; also, read-
ings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 27
THE HAWKS

LEADING THOUGHT — Uninformed peo-
ple consider all hawks dangerous neigh-
bors 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 ordi-
nary 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.

METHOD — Begin by observations on
the flight of one of these hawks and sup-
plement 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 — i. How can you tell a

Leonard K. Beyer

Young marsh hawks

BIRDS

109

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 soar-
ing drop suddenly to earth? If so, why did
it do this?

4. How does a hawk hunt? How, when
it is so high in the air that it looks like a
circling speck in the sky, can it see a mouse
in a meadow? If it is so farsighted as
this, how can it be nearsighted 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
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 a beak of this
shape is meant for?

7. Why do people shoot hawks? Why
is it a mistake for people to wish to shoot
all hawks?

8. What is the food of the red-shoul-
dered 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?

1 1 . How devoted are the hawks to their
mates and to their young? Does a hawk,
having lost 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 mark-
ings 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 be-
tween them in habits?

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 be-
fore.
— " SUMMER DROUGHT," J. P. IRVINE

THE SWALLOWS AND THE CHIMNEY SWIFT

These friendly little birds spend their
time darting through the air on swift
wings, seeking and destroying insects
which are foes to us and to 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 nec-
essary 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 en-
ables the bird to open its mouth wide and
gives it more scope in the matter of catch-
ing 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 im-

ANIMALS

L. A. Fuertes

Swallows and swifts

possible 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 some-
what globular in shape, with an entrance
at one side. When the nest is on the side
of a cliff or in an unprotected portion 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 often there are many nests
built so closely together that they touch.
The eave swallow comes north about May
i, 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 ren-
der 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

A. A. Allen

Nests of cliff swallows

Leonard K. Beyer

Barn swallow and nest

the young. Both the barn and eave swal-
lows 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
bam 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.

THE BARN SWALLOWS — These birds
choose a bam where there is a hole in the
gable or where the doors are kept open all
the time. They build upon beams or raf-
ters, making a cup-shaped nest of layers of
pellets of mud, with grass between; it is
well lined with feathers. The nest is usu-
ally the shape of half of a shallow cup
which has been cut in two lengthwise, the

BIRDS

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 build-
ing 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

This barn swallow's nest is well feathered

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.

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 swal-
lows. These birds always choose the per-
pendicular 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

Leonard K. Beyer

The band of color across the breast is the dis-
tinguishing mark of the bank swallow

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.

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.

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

Leonard K. Beyer

Nesting site of a colony of bank swallows

112

ANIMALS

George Fiske, Jr.

A tree swallow

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, there-
fore, much more desirable neighbors than
the English sparrows. The tree swallows
congregate in great numbers for the south-
ern 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, and
a pure white breast with no band across
it; these peculiarities distinguish it from
all other species.

THE PURPLE MARTIN — The martin is
a larger bird than any other swallow, be-
ing 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 ex-

A. A. Allen

Nest of chimney swifts

Leonard K. Beyer

Two bank swallows at the entrances to their
burrows

tensively. But when the English sparrows
came, they took possession of the boxes,
and the martins have to a large extent dis-
appeared; this is a pity since they are bene-
ficial 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

When the old-fashioned fireplaces
went out of use and were walled up, leav-
ing the great old chimneys useless, these
sociable birds took possession of them.

BIRDS

113

Here they built their nests and reared their
young, and twittered and scrambled about,
awakened all sleepers in the neighbor-
hood 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 asso-
ciation 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 pos-
session 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 to-
gether and glued fast to the chimney wall
by means of the saliva secreted in the
mouth of the bird. After the nesting sea-
son, the swifts often gather in great flocks
and live together in some large chimney;
toward nightfall they may be seen cir-
cling about in great numbers and drop-
ping 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 chim-
ney. The swifts are never seen to alight
anywhere except in hollow trees or chim-
neys 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 chim-
ney side when the bird alights, thus
enabling 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. Chim-
ney swifts have been known to travel at the
rate of no 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-
istic 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 appear-
ance in the air make it resemble the bat
more than it does the swallow.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflets 13, 32, 33, and 49; Bird Stories,
by Edith M. Patch (Cliff Swallow); Bird
Stories from Burroughs, by John Bur-
roughs (Chimney Swift) ; First Lessons in
Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch (Cliff
Swallow, Bank Swallow); Holiday Pond,
by Edith M. Patch (Bank Swallow); Na-
ture and Science Readers, by Edith M.
Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Book i,
Hunting (Bank Swallow), Book 2, Out-
door Visits (Bank Swallow, Tree Swal-
low), Book 3, Surprises (Tree Swallow),
Book 5, Science at Home (Cliff Swallow) ;
also, readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 28
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 s.:udy the
swifts and swallows together to teach the
pupils to distinguish them apart.

OBSERVATIONS — i. What is the gen-
eral shape of the swallow? What is the
color of the forehead, throat, upper breast,
neck, rump, and tail?

2. Is the tail noticeably forked, espe-
cially during flight?

ANIMALS

Leonard K. Beyer1

Nest of bank swallows. The bank has been
cut away so that the nest and eggs could be
photographed

3. Describe the flight of the swallow.
What are the purposes 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 out-
side? 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 to-
gether?

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? De-
scribe 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 swal-
lows sing? Describe their conversational
notes.

15. When do the barn swallows mi-
grate 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 which is tenanted
by these birds look?

18. How far do the bank swallows
tunnel into the earth? What is the di-
ameter of one of these tunnels? Do they
extend straight or do they rise or deflect?

A. A. Allen

Nest and eggs of tree swallows

BIRDS

19. With what tools is the tunnel exca-
vated? Where is the nest situated in the
tunnel and how is it lined?

115

25. Where did the martins build their
nests before America was civilized?
Where do thev like to nest now? How do

20. How can you distinguish this spe- the purple martins benefit us and how
cies from the barn and eave and tree
swallows? At what time do the bank swal-
lows leave us for migration south?

THE TREE SWALLOW

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 birdhouses than the Eng-
lish 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.

can wre 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 the glue which it uses 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 chim-
ney swift from the swallows? In what re-
spect does the chimney swift resemble the
swallows? In what respects does it differ
from them?

THE HUMMINGBIRD

Formerly it was believed that this dain-
tiest 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 humming-
bird carries some pollen for these flowers
and may be counted as a friend in every
respect, since usually the insects in the
nectaries of those flowers with long tubu-
lar corollas are stealing nectar without
giving in return any 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 the mature
birds. The hummingbird's beak is exactly
fitted to probe those flowers where the
bird 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.

The natural home of the hummingbird
seems to have been in the American trop-
ics. The male of our one species east of
the Rocky Mountains has a ruby throat.
This bird comes to us after a very long
journey each year. One species on the Pa-

ANIMALS

The nest of the hummingbird is a
most exquisite structure; it is about three-
fourths of an inch in diameter on the in-
side and about half an inch deep. It is,
in shape, a symmetrical cup; the outside
is covered with lichens, so that it exactly
resembles the branch on which it rests;
the inside is lined with the down of plant
seeds and plant fibers. The lichens are
often fastened to the outside with the

A. A. Allen

Ruby -throated hummingbird turning her
eggs

cific Coast is known to travel three thou-
sand miles to the north for the summer
and back again in winter.

Hummingbirds are not supposed to
sing, but to use their voices for squeak-
ing 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.

Two young hummingbirds. They remain in
nest for about three weeks

Not much larger than a walnut, the hum-
mingbird's nest looks like a knot on a branch

silk web of spiders or caterpillars. The nest
is usually saddled on a branch of a tree
from ten to fifty 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.

SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 56; Mother Nature Series,
by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor Troxell,
Book 3, In Field and Forest; Nature and
Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch and
Harrison E. Howe, Book i, Hunting,
Book 5, Science at Home; also, readings
on pages 28-29.

LESSON 29
THE HUMMINGBIRD

LEADING THOUGHT — The humming-
bird 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 in-
sects.

METHOD — Give the questions to the

BIRDS

pupils and let them make the observations
when they have the opportunity.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Where did you
find the hummingbird? What flowers was
it visiting? At what time of day? Can you
tell whether it is a hummingbird or a
hawkmoth which is visiting the flowers?
At what time of day do the hawkmoths
appear?

2. Did you ever see the hummingbird
come to rest? Describe its actions while
resting.

117

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?

THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

The blackbirds are among our earliest
visitors in the spring; they come in flocks
and beset our leafless trees like punctua-
tion marks, meanwhile squeaking like mu-
sical wheelbarrows. What they are, where
they come from, where they are going and
what they are going to do, are the ques-
tions that naturally arise at the sight of
these sable flocks. It is not easy to distin-
guish grackles, cowbirds, and rusty black-
birds at a glance, but the redwing pro-
claims his identity from afar. The bright
red epaulets, margined behind with pale
yellow, make up a uniform which catches
the admiring eye. The bird's glossy black
plumage brings into greater contrast his
bright decorations. No one who has seen
his actions can doubt that he is fully
aware of his beauty: he comes sailing
down at the end of his strong, swift flight,
and balances himself on some bending
reed; then, dropping his long tail as if
it were the crank of his music box, and
holding both wings lifted to show his scar-
let decorations, he sings his " quong-quer-
ee-ee." Little wonder that such a hand-
some, military-looking fellow should be
able now and then to win more than
his share of feminine admiration. But
even though he become an entirely suc-
cessful bigamist or even trigamist, he has
proved himself to be a good protector
of each and all of his wives and nestlings;
however, he often has but one mate.

" The redwing flutes his O-ka-lee " is

Emerson's graphic description of the
sweet song of the redwing; 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 alarm-

Male and female red-winged blackbirds

ing. The male redwings come from the
South in March; they appear in flocks7
often three weeks before their mates ar-
rive. The female looks as though she be-
longed to quite a different species. Al-

ANIMALS

Nest and eggs of the red-winged blackbird

though her head and back are black, the
black is decidedly rusty; it is quite im-
possible to describe her, she is so incon-
spicuously speckled with brown, black,
whitish buff, and orange. Most of us never
recognize her unless we see her with her
spouse. She probably does most of the
nest building, and 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 char-
acteristics — her tail being long and of ob-
vious use as a steering organ; and she walks
with long, stiff strides. The redwings are
ever to be found in and about swamps
and marshes. The nest is usually built in
May; it is made of grasses and 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 redwings here in the
North, Mr. Forbush has said:

" Although the red-wings almost invari-
ably breed in the swamp or marsh, they
have a partiality for open fields and
plowed lands; however, most of the black-
birds that nest in the smaller swamps ad-
jacent 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 or-
chard, 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

A. A. Allen

The mother arrives with food for her young

million larvas. They eat the caterpillars of
the gypsy moth, the forest tent-caterpillar,
and other hairy larvae. They are among
the most destructive birds to weevils, click
beetles, and wire-worms. 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

BIRDS

119

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 [in
the North and East] the good they do far
outweighs the injury, and for this reason
they are protected by law."

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 25; also, readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 30
THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

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 in-
sects 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 — i . How can you dis-
tinguish the red-winged blackbird from
all other blackbirds? Where is the red
on his wings? Is there any other color be-
sides black on the wings? Where? What
is the color of the rest of the plumage of
this bird?

2. What is there peculiar in the flight
of the redwing? 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 redwing?
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? What note
does he give when he is surprised or sus-
picious? When frightened?

4. When does the redwing first appear
in the spring? Does he come alone or in
flocks? Does his mate come with him?
Where do the redwings winter? In what
localities do the red-winged blackbirds
live? Why do they live there? What is the
color of the mother redwing? Would you
know by her looks that she was a black-
bird? 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 ma-
terial? 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 redwing 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 redwings
do for forest trees? For orchards?

9. At what time in the summer do the
redwings disappear from the swamps?
Where do they gather in flocks? Where
is their special feeding ground on the way
south for the winter?

120

ANIMALS

The Baltimore oriole

THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE

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

Dangling from the slender, drooping
branches of the elm in winter, these
pocket nests look like some strange per-
sistent 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 ma-
terial, and although this is added last, the
inside of the nest is woven first. The ori-

BIRDS

121

oles like to build the framework of twine,
and it is marvelous 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 fiber, strong, fine
grass, and scraps of weeds. The favorite
lining is horsehair, 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 horsehair in a similar way? If we put
bright-colored twine or narrow ribbons in
convenient places, the orioles will weave
them into the nest, but the strings should
not be long lest the birds become entan-
gled. If the nest is strong the birds may
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 ori-
ole'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 sun-
shine. The female, although marked much
the same, has the back so dull and mot-
tled 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 ma-
terials 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

C. R. Crosby

An oriole's nest, anchored to the windward

same song, and I know of two individuals
at least whose songs were sung by no other
birds: one gave a phrase from the Wald-
vogel's song in Siegfried; the other whis-
tled over and over, " Sweet birdie, hello,
hello/7 The orioles can chatter and scold
as well as sing.

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/7
shrill and constant, if we stop for a mo-
ment under the nest in June. The young
birds dress in the safe colors of the mother,
the males not donning their bright plum-
age until the second year. A brilliant col-
ored fledgling would not live long in a
world where sharp eyes are in constant
quest for little birds to fill empty stom-
achs.

The food of the oriole places it among
our most beneficial birds, since it is al-
ways ready to cope with the hairy cater-
pillars avoided by most birds; it has learned
to abstract the caterpillar from his spines
and is thus able to swallow him minus his

122

ANIMALS

Young orioles just out of the nest

" whiskers/' The orioles are waging a great
war against the terrible brown-tail and
gypsy moths; they also eat click beetles
and many other noxious insects. Once
when we were breeding big caterpillars in
the Cornell University Insectary, an oriole
came in through the open windows of

Leonard K. Beyer

An orchard oriole

the greenhouse, and thinking he had
found a bonanza proceeded to work it,
carrying off our precious crawlers before
we discovered what was happening.

The orioles winter in Central America
and give us scarcely four months of their

company. They do not usually appear be-
fore May and leave in early September.
SUGGESTED READING — American Bird
Biographies, by A. A. Allen; Audubon
Bird Leaflet 26; Bird-House to Let, by
Mary F. Terrel; Bird Stories from Bur-
roughs, by John Burroughs; Nature and
Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch and
Harrison E. Howe, Book 2, Outdoor
Visits; Pathways in Science, by Gerald S.
Craig and Co-authors, Book 3, Our Wide,
Wide World; also, readings on pages 28-
29.

LESSON 31
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 the
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 notebooks and answer
them when they have opportunity. The

BIRDS

123

observations should be summed up once
a week.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 out-
side 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 nest-
lings 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 as-
sist 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; 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 in 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 house-
keeping, —
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

ANIMALS

THE CROW

Thoreau says: " What a perfectly New
England sound is this voice of the crow!
If you stand still anywhere in the out-
skirts of the town and listen, this is per-
haps 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/7

The crow is probably the most intelli-
gent 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 vir-
tues and of sins, as judged from our stand-
point; but we should listen to both sides
of the case before we pass judgment. I
find with crows, as with people, that 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 rav-
ages 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 inter-
esting than they were mischievous.

The crow is larger than any other of
our common black birds; 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 iri-
descence plays over the plumage, espe-
cially 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

BIRDS

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 blue jay
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, horsehair, 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 in 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 fol-
lowing her with obstreperous caws, al-
though they were as large as she.

While the note of the crow is harsh

Herbert E. Gray

A crow's nest and eggs

Young crows are a noisy lot

when close at hand, it has a musical qual-
ity 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 tremen-
dous 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 guttural
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 they 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

126

ANIMALS

Verne Morton

The story of a take-off. With the third wing
beat the crow is away

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 ac-
corded to any other person in the neigh-
borhood.

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 in-
sects, and many pests are thus destroyed.
The crows do harm to the farmer by pull-
ing the sprouting com and by destroying
the eggs and young of poultry. They also
do much harm by destroying the eggs and
nestlings of other birds which are bene-
ficial 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 cutworms 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.

One of the best methods of preventing
crows from taking sprouting com is to
treat the seed corn with some strong-
smelling substance, such as tar.

If any of the pupils in your school have
had any experience with tame crows they
will relate interesting examples 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
for a thimble to be laid aside when the
sewing was dropped, and would seize it
almost immediately. This same crow per-
sisted in taking the clothespins off the
line and burying them, so that he was
finally imprisoned on wash-clays. 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 seemed
to understand the game and was highly
indignant if the boy played out of turn
and made shots twice in succession.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 77; Bird Stories, by Edith M.
Patch; Bird Stories from Burroughs, by
John Burroughs; The Crow in its Relation
to Agriculture, by E. R. Kalmbach (U. S.
Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bul-
letin 1102); Our Baclcdoor Neighbors, by
Frank C. Pellett; The Pet Boole, by Anna
B. Comstock; The Stir of Nature, by
William H. Carr (Cleo and Mark);
Wild Animals I Have Known, by Er-
nest Thompson Seton; also, readings on
pages 28-29.

LESSON 32
THE CROW

LEADING THOUGHT — The crow has the
keenest intelligence of all 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.

METHOD — This work should begin in
winter with an effort on the part of the

BIRDS

127

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 seen in
winter, although usually built in ever-
greens. The nesting season is in early
April, and the questions about the nests
should be given then. Let the other ques-
tions 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 may 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-defense to
the farmer who wished to shoot him ";
" The best methods of preventing crows
from stealing planted corn."

OBSERVATIONS — i. How large is the
crow compared with other black birds?

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 rela-
tives?

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 besides
" 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 ac-
tion 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 bene-
fit than harm to the farmer and fruit-
grower?

19. Have you known of instances of
the crow's fondness for shining or glitter-
ing articles, like pieces of crockery or tin?

THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK

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 de-
scribes 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 dri-
est of grains.

What cheer/ What cheer!

That is the grosbeak's way,

With his sooty face and his coat of red

sings Maurice Thompson. Besides the
name given above, this bird has been

128

ANIMALS

After Audubon Leaflet 18

The cardinal grosbeak

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 grace-
ful, like the catbird or the scarlet tanager,
but is quite stout and is a veritable chunk
of brilliant color and bird dignity. The
only 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 her breast buffy,
while her crest, wings, and tail reflect in
faint ways the brilliancy of his costume.

The redbird's song is a stirring succes-
sion 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 cus-
tom 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
grapevine, 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 have the dull color
of the mother and have dark-colored bills.
Until the young birds are able to take care
of themselves, their dull color somewhat
protects them from the keen eyes of their
enemies. 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

Leonard K. Beyer

The cardinal builds its nest in thick bushes or
vines

BIRDS

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. How-
ever, the flocking habit is not characteris-
tic 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, grasshop-
pers, 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 cornfields 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 scatter-
ing 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 18; also, readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 33
THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK

LEADING THOUGHT — The cardinal is
the most brilliantly colored of all our
birds, and one of our most cheerful sing-
ers. We should seek to preserve it as a
beautiful ornament to our groves and
grounds.

METHOD — This work must be done
by personal observation in the field. The
field notes should be discussed in school.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Do you know the
cardinal? Why is it so called?

2. How many names do you know for
this bird?

Leonard "K. Beyer

The cardinal sings a beautiful song

3. Is the cardinal as large as the robin?
Is it graceful in shape?

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 are there 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?

130

ANIMALS

13. What happens to the fledglings of
the first brood while the mother is hatch-
ing 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. Flow can you induce the cardinals
to build near your home?

17. What do you know about the laws
protecting birds? Why should such laws
be observed?

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.

— NAYLOR

GEESE

To be called a goose should be con-
sidered most complimentary, for of all the
birds the goose is probably the most intel-
ligent. 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

Canada geese in a field of grain

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 cornfield 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.

In ancient Greece maidens made pets of
geese; and often there was such a devotion
between the bird and the 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 ob-
servation of Miss Ada Georgia. A lone
gander was the special pet of a small boy
in Elmira, New York, 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; occa-
sionally he would appear in the school
yard, where the pupils would tease him
by pretending to attack his master at the
risk of being so severely whipped with
the bird's wings that it was a test of
bravery among the boys so to challenge
him. His fidelity to his master was ex-
treme; 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 pro-
portions when walking, and the neck, be-
ing so much longer than that of the duck,
gives an appearance of grace and dignity.
The duck on the other hand is beautiful

BIRDS 131

only when on the water or on the wing; ciple of a propeller; but when swimming

its short legs, placed far back and far out at around in the pond she uses them at al-

the sides, make it a most ungraceful most right angles to the body. Although

walker. The beak of the goose is harder in they are such excellent oars they are also

texture and is not flat like the duck's; no efficient on land; when running, her body

wonder the bird was a favorite with the an- may waddle somewhat, but her head and

cient Greeks, for the high ridge from the neck are held aloft in stately dignity,

beak to the forehead resembles the fa- The Toulouse are our common gray

mous Grecian nose. The plumage of geese geese; the Embdens are pure white with

orange bill and bright blue eyes. The Afri-
can geese have a black head with a large
black knob on the base of the black bill;

is very beautiful and abundant and for
this reason they are profitable domestic

birds. They are picked late in summer 7

when the feathers are nearly ready to be the neck is long, snakelike, light gray, with'

molted; at this time the geese flap their a dark stripe down the back; the wings and

wings often and set showers of loose feath- tail are dark gray; there is a dewlap at the

ers flying. A stocking or a bag is slipped throat. The brown Chinese geese have

s^fm*- J-~U ^ "U.J_,J'«T 1 1 _1 . • • i i 11 11 i f 11 it -. -

over the bird's head and she is turned
breast side up with her head firmly be-
tween 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 feath-

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 are grayish brown. The
white Chinese are shaped like the brown

ers beneath the wings are plucked. Geese Chinese, but the knob and bill are orange
do not seem to suffer while being plucked and the eyes light blue,
except through the temporary inconven-

ience and ignominy of having their heads
thrust into a bag; their dignity is hurt
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 on earth; this
must surely be reminiscent of the old in-
stinct 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 por-
tion 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 prin-

THE HABITS OF GEESE

Geese are monogamous and are loyal
to their mates. Old-fashioned people de-
clare that they choose their mates on Saint
Valentine's Day, but this is a pretty myth;
when once mated, the pair live together
year after year until one dies; an interest-
ing 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 in-
ferred 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

132

ANIMALS

lives for loyalty. However, this was mis-
placed sentiment, for later in the summer
the happy pair was discovered in a distant
" slashing " with a fine family of goslings,
and all were 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 ap-
proached 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 defense.
The eggs are about twice as large as those
of the hen and have the ends more

A. A. Allen

A pair of Canada geese. While one broods the
eggs the other stands guard

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 haugh-
tiness. The father was just a plebeian
white gander, probably of Embden de-
scent, but he was a most efficient pro-
tector. The family always formed a proces-
sion 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 gos-
ling 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 sus-
picion and resentment by opening the
mouth wide and making a hissing noise,
showing the whole round tongue in
mocking defiance. When the gander at-
tacks, he thrusts his head forward, even
with or below the level of his back, 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, hold-
ing 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 makes 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 oppor-
tunity 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 feath-
ers, 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

BIRDS 133

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.

The Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation, Inc.

One corner of Jack Miner's Bird Sanctuary, Kingsville, Ontario, Canada, where Canada

geese find food, shelter } and protection

WILD GEESE

There is a sound, that, to the weather-
wise farmer, means cold and snow, even
though it is heard through the hazy atmos-
phere 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 instinct and in part by the topography
of the country. If ever fog or storm hides
the earth from his view, he is likely to be-
come 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 se-
cluded pond or lake. The food of wild

ANIMALS

geese consists of water plants, seeds and
corn, and some of the smaller animals liv-
ing 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

A. R. Dugmore

Wild geese flying in even ranks

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.

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 may serve as 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 per-
fectly 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 gan-
der 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 un-
easy 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 com-
pany on this, for webbed feet, uneasy rest-
ing place. Finally, after many days of
tribulation, the two valiantly started south
on foot. News was received of their prog-
ress 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 mi-
grating by tramping and had joined the
farmer's flock; but we were never able to
determine the length of time required for
this journey.

SUGGESTED READING — Audubon Bird
Leaflet 106; Birds in the Wilderness, by
George M. Sutton; Farm Animals, by
James G. Lawson; Nature and Science
Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Harrison
E. Howe, Book 2, Outdoor Visits, Book 3,
Surprises; The Pet Boot, by Anna B.
Comstock; also, readings on pages 28-29.

LESSON 34
GEESE

LEADING THOUGHT — Geese are the
most intelligent of the domesticated birds,
and they have many interesting habits.

METHOD — This lesson should not be

BIRDS

given unless there are geese where the
pupils may observe them. The questions
should be given a few at a time and an-
swered individually by the pupils after the
observations are made.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 be-
tween the neck of the goose and that of
the duck?

3. What can you say about the plum-
age 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 com-
pared with the body? How do geese exer-
cise 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? De-
scribe 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
the 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? De-
scribe 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 feath-
ers, 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 are defiance and distrust expressed?
How does a goose look when hissing?
What is the constant note which the gos-
ling makes?

7. Give such instances as you may know
illustrating the intelligence of geese, their
loyalty and bravery.

8. " The Canada Goose, its appearance,
nesting habits, and migrations," would be
an interesting topic for discussion.

GAME BIRDS

1. RING-NECKED PHEASANTS. These birds,
native to China, have been introduced into many
other parts of the world. They were first brought
to the United States in 1881 and since then have
become common in many of the states. The
cock is handsome and brightly colored, the hen
an inconspicuous brown. These pheasants are
found in fields and in hedgerows or brush-
covered areas rather than in forested sections.
They feed chiefly on the ground, eating weed
seeds, insects, ungarnered grain, and wild or
waste fruit. In winter, whenever the ground is
covered with crusted snow or ice, it is hard for
them to get food and many of them starve unless
man feeds them. Another difficulty of theirs in
winter is that their long tail feathers get loaded
with snow and ice, which keeps them from going
about after food and even from seeking shelter.
(Photo by courtesy of Country Life in America)

2. WILD TURKEY. This game bird was once
common from New England southward and
west to the Rocky Mountains. It has been
exterminated in the North, but it is still found
locally in the South and West. Because the
wild turkey thrives upon a variety of foods
and because it can adapt itself to varied con-
ditions of climate, it is again being introduced
in many sections of the country. (Photo by
L. W. Brownell)

3. NEST OF THE RUFFED GROUSE. The ruffed
grouse, a much prized game bird, is native
to the eastern and central United States. It
is a very hardy bird, being able to withstand
extreme cold, and to live on the buds and twigs
of trees when insects, berries, and seeds are
not available. In winter ruffed grouse take
shelter at night in a "pocket" of snow or be-
neath brush; in summer they usually roost in
trees. In appearance this bird is not unlike the
dusky grouse (No. 5), (Photo by Marjorie
Ruth Ross)

4. EASTERN BOB WHITE or QUAIL. Found
in the eastern United States, except penin-
sular Florida, and as far west as Colorado,
except New Mexico and southern Texas, bob-
white or quail are permanent residents. They
like open fields with brushy fence-corners or
low bushes near at hand for protection from
storm and enemies. The pretty song is often
translated bob-white or buck-wheat. The nest
is made upon the ground under a bunch of
grass or some bush, and in it are laid ten to
eighteen white eggs. The family or covey will
remain together until spring, and at night
will squat close together in a circle with tails
together and heads out ready to scatter in all
directions at the slightest indication of dan-
ger. In winter when quail are in this forma-
tion, they may be covered with snow; and
if a crust of sleet or ice which they are unable
to break should form, the entire covey may
smother or starve. (Photo by L. W. Brownell)

5. DUSKY GROUSE. A relative of the ruffed
grouse, this species is found in the Rocky
Mountain regions of the United States and
Canada. (Photo by L. W. Brownell)

6. A WOODCOCK ON ITS NEST. Except in
the Far West the woodcock is found wide-
spread over the United States. It winters in
the South. It lives largely on earthworms and
grubs for which it probes moist soft earth
with a long, sensitive bill. The courtship song-
flights of the male are unique: with a call to
his mate he rises into the air; by a series of
loops he flies higher and higher until from a
height of about two hundred feet he drops
suddenly to a place on the ground very near
where he started. The young quickly learn
to fly, but until they do they are frequently
carried from place to place by their mother
who holds them between her legs with her feet.
(Photo by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr.)

ANIMALS

The beginning of \the strut. These gobblers are strutting before the camera, hidden ^ by brush,
in an endeavor to attract the hen turkey whose mating call the camera man is imitating

THE TURKEY

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 en-
tirely to the influences of civilization.
Through the hundreds of years of domes-
tication it still retains many of its wild
habits. In fact, it has many qualities in
common with the red man. Take for in-
stance its sun dance, which anyone who
is willing to get up early enough in the
morning and who has a flock of turkeys
at hand can witness. Miss Ada Georgia
made a pilgrimage to witness this dance
and 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, var-
ied 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
a ' 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 sud-
denly when ' The Captain/ a great thirty
pound gobbler and leader of the flock,
made a rush at one of his younger breth-
ren 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 there-
fore chosen for this lesson. The colors and
markings of the plumage form the bronze
turkey's chief beauty. Reaching from the
skin of the neck halfway to the middle of
the back is a collar of glittering bronze
with greenish and purple iridescence, each

139

BIRDS

feather tipped with a narrow jet band, the four. On the inner side of the gob-
The remainder of the back is black except bier's legs, about one-third the bare space
that each feather is edged with bronze. above the foot, is a wicked-looking spur
The breast is like the collar and at its which is a most effective weapon. The
center is a tassel of black bristles called wings are large and powerful; the turkey
the beard which hangs limply downward flies well for such a large bird and usually
when the birds are feeding; but when the roosts high, choosing trees or the ridge-
gobbler stiffens his muscles to strut, this " " " * "

pole of the bam 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 al-
lowed 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

of the hen are like those of the gobbler stiff primary quills until their tips scrape
except that the bronze brilliance of breast, the ground, lifting meanwhile into a semi-

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-cov-
erts are lighter brown but also have the
black margin edged with white. The colors

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 are 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 be-
low 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 opening of the ear, seemingly a mere
hole, yet leading to a very efficient ear,
upon which every smallest sound im-
pinges.

The legs of the young turkeys are nearly
black, fading to a brownish gray when ma-
ture. The legs and feet are large and stout,
the middle toe of the three front ones be-
ing nearly twice the length of the one on
either side; the hind toe is the shortest of

circular fan his beautiful tail feathers; he
protrudes his chest, and raises the irides-
cent plumage of his neck like a ruff to
make a background against which he
throws back his red, white, and blue deco-
rated head. He moves forward with slow
and mincing steps and calls attention to
his grandeur by a series of most aggressive
" gobbles/7 But we must say for the gob-
bler 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 (southern New
York) 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
roundabout ways, and never moving in
the direction of the nest when she thinks
herself observed. Sometimes the sight of

140

any person near her nest will cause her to
desert it. The writer has spent many hours
when a child, sneaking in fence comers
and behind stumps and tree trunks, stalk-
ing turkeys' nests. Incubation takes four
weeks. The female is a most persistent sit-
ter 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;
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
should be left over to be trodden under
their awkward little feet. Their quarters
should be kept clean and free from vermin.

SUGGESTED READING — Farm Animals,
by James G. Lawson; also, readings on
pages 28-29.

LESSON 35
TURKEYS

LEADING THOUGHT — The turkey is a
native of America. It was introduced into

ANIMALS

Spain from Mexico about 1518, and since
then has been domesticated. However,
there are still in some parts of the coun-
try 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— i. Of what breed are
the turkeys you are studying: Bronze,
Black, Buff, White Holland, or Narragan-
sett?

2. What is the general shape and size
of the turkey? Describe its plumage, not-
ing every color which you can see in it.
Does the plumage of the hen turkey difr
fer 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; 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 tur
keys 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

BIRDS M1

each part of his plumage when he is scribe the turkey's egg, as well as you can,

" showing off " or strutting. "What do you as to color, shape, and size. Can one tell it

think is the bird's purpose in thus exhibit- by the taste from an ordinary hen's egg?

ing his fine feathers? Does the " king of About how many eggs does the turkey hen

the flock " permit any such action by lay in her nest before she begins to " get

other gobblers in his company? broody " and want to sit?

10. Are turkeys timid and cowardly or 13. How many days of incubation ^ are
independent and brave, ready to meet and required to hatch the turkey chick? Is it as
fight anything which they think is threat- downy and pretty as other little chicks?
ening to their comfort and safety? How often should the young chicks be fed,

11. When turkeys fight, what parts of and what food do you think is best for
their bodies seem to be used as weapons? them? Are turkey chicks as hardy as other
Does the male " gobble " during a fight, chicks?

or only as a challenge or in triumph when 14. Is the turkey hen generally a good

victorious? Do the hen turkeys ever fight, mother? Is she cross or gentle when sitting

or only the males? and when brooding her young? Is it pos-

12. How early in the spring does the sible to keep the mother turkey as closely
turkey hen begin to lay? Does she nest confined with her brood as it is with the
about the poultry yard and the bams or is mother hen? What supplies should be
she likely to seek some secret and distant given to her in the way of food, grits, dust-
spot where she may hide her eggs? De- baths, etc.?

BIRDS OF MARSH AND SHORE

1. SHOVELLER, SPOONBILL, OR BROADBILL. The
range of the shoveller extends from Alaska in
summer to Colombia, South America, in win-
ter. With its uniquely long, broad bill, this shal-
low-water 'dabbler" gathers up water and
ooze; by means of the comblike teeth with
which the bill is equipped it strains out the in-
sects and vegetable matter which are its fa-
vorite food. (Photo by L. W. Brownell)

2. THE MALLARD. The range of the mallard in
North America extends in summer south of
the Arctic circle, east to Hudson Bay, and south
to Lower California and Texas. In winter it is
found from the Aleutian Islands south to
Panama. Being a "dabbler" the mallard gen-
erally feeds in shallow water, but it is very
adaptable as to food and environment. From
the economic standpoint it is the most impor-
tant duck in the world, since it is the ancestor
of most domestic ducks, is 'widely distributed,
and produces meat of good quality. (Photo by
L. W. Brownell)

3. LESSER SCAUP DUCKS. This is one of the
most common ducks in the open waters of
rivers, larger lakes and bays, and along sea-
coasts. Its food, consisting chiefly of insects,
crustaceans, water snails, tadpoles, and aquatic
plants, it secures by diving. In the Gulf states,
the lesser scaup is often called the " raft duck "
because of the great numbers that collect into
flocks and move about on the water. These
rafts are sometimes a mile long. (Photo by
S. A. Grimes)

4. PIED-BILLED GREBE ON ITS NEST. The sum-
mer range of this grebe is from southern Canada
to the southern United States; its winter range
extends to Mexico and Cuba. It moves south
when ice forms on northern streams, and re-
turns when it breaks up in spring. Its food
consists chiefly of aquatic animals and some
water plants. To escape danger it dives rather
than flies. This grebe, like others, often carries
its young on its back, thus hiding them from
observers; the mother can even dive with the
young and when she comes again to the sur-
face keep them still concealed. (Photo by Olin
Sewall Pettingill, Jr.)

5. SPOTTED SANDPIPER APPROACHING ITS NEST.
The sandpiper (also called tip-up or tip-tail),
said to be the most widely and commonly dis-
tributed shore bird in North America, is found
in regions about both fresh and salt water. Al-
though it can swim and dive readily, its food
consists chiefly of grasshoppers, cutworms,
grubs, and pests of cultivated lands. The nest,
a hollow in the ground, may be along shores or
even in cultivated fields far from water; it is
built by the united efforts of the pair. (Photo
by L. W. Brownell)

6. CHICKS OF WILSON'S PLOVER, These newly
hatched chicks were picked up on a sandy beach

and " posed 3} in a shell. (Photo by Olin Sewall
Pettingill, Jr.)

7. WILSON'S PLOVER AT ITS NEST. (See also
No. 6.) Wilson's plover is found in the coastal
regions of southern North America and Cen~
tral America. It feeds on the tiny sea creatures
that the falling tide leaves strewn along mud
flats and sandy beaches. The nest, usually
placed above high water on a sandy beach, is
a hollowed out place in the sand. The young
and eggs blend so with the sand as to be almost
unnoticeable. In the one pictured here, note
one egg beneath the female, one in front of her,
and newly hatched chick behind her. (Photo
by S. A. Grimes)

8. KING RAIL ON ITS NEST. The range of this
bird is in the central and southern portions of
the eastern half of the United States. Its food
consists largely of insects of cultivated lands,
which it secures from the edges of swampy
areas in upla?ids. Rails are found chiefly in
grassy marshes. The legs are strong and the
wings are weak, and hence when pursued they
will run or hide, but will fly only as a last resort.
(Photo by S. A. Grimes)

9. THE COMMON TERN AT ITS NEST. Terns
live in both the Eastern and Western Hemi-
spheres.

Terns nest in colonies, usually on the open
sand of an island beach. They can be distin-
guished from gulls by their more pointed bills,
narrower wings, and by their habit of diving or
swimming to catch their food, which consists of
small fish, aquatic worms, and insects. (Photo by
S. A. Grimes)

10. AMERICAN EGRET, GREAT WHITE EGRET.
OR WHITE HERON. The summer range of this
egret is chiefly from the southern United States
south to Patagonia. In late summer it migrates
northward to Maine. Its winter range is Colo-
rado, Texas, and South Carolina southward.
The egrets and other herons are commonly
found about the shores of lakes, rivers, or bays.
They usually nest in flocks. Once in danger of
extinction, they are now under protection and
are increasing in numbers. (Photo by S. A.
Grimes)

11. AN AMERICAN BITTEGRN ON THE DEFEN-
SIVE. This inhabitant of the marshes ranges in
summer across the North American continent
from central Canada to the southern United
States. In winter it is found from the southern
United States to Panama. When approached
bitterns fall into a rigid pose which they hold
until the intruder retires or frightens them into
flight. The cry of this bird is most arresting and
unusual. It is compared to the sound of driving
a stake or the sound of a pump in action. Frogs,
snakes, small fish, mice, and insects comprise
its food. (Photo by S. A. Grimes)

FISHES

It remains yet unresolved whether the happiness of a man in this world doth con-
sist 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, ingen-
ious, 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

Dear, human, old Isaak Walton discov-
ered that nature-study, fishing, and phi-
losophy 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 got out of it.

Almost any of the fishes found in a
brook or pond may be kept in an aquar-
ium for a few days of observation in the
schoolroom. A large water pail or a bucket
does very well if there is no glass aquar-
ium. The water in an aquarium should
be changed whenever it becomes foul.
The practice should be established, once
for all, of putting these finny prisoners
back into the identical body of water from
which they were taken. Much damage has
been done by liberating fish in bodies of
water where they do not belong. Many
fish have cannibalistic traits: black bass,

for instance, if they are either the new-
comers or the original inhabitants, will
be likely to attack and destroy other
fish. Besides, even if the new home pro-
vides suitable living conditions for the
newcomers, they may upset the balance
existing among the various forms of plant
and animal life already there.

SUGGESTED READING — The Book of
Fishes, by J. O. LaGorce; Cold-blooded
Vertebrates, by Samuel F. Hildebrand,
Charles W. Gilmore, and Doris M. Coch-
ran, Vol. 8 of Smithsonian Scientific Se-
ries; The Complete Aquarium Book, by
W. T. Innes; Field Book of Ponds and
Streams, by Ann H. Morgan; A History of
Fishes, by J. R. Norman; Nature — by Sea-
side and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips
and Julia M. Wright, Book 3, Plants and
Animals; Our Great Outdoors: Reptiles,
Amphibians and Fishes, by C. W. G.
Eifrig; Young Folks' Book of Fishes, by
Ida M. Mellen. See also Bibliography.

THE GOLDFISH

Once upon a time, if stories are true,
there lived a king called Midas, whose
touch turned everything to gold. When-
ever I see goldfish, I wonder if, perhaps,
King Midas were not a Chinese and if he
perchance did not handle some of the lit-
tle 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

FISHES

145

native olive-green color. There are many
of such dull-colored goldfish in the lakes
and rivers of our country. It is almost in-
conceivable that one of the brilliant-col-
ored 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 aquar-
ium, is brilliant orange above and pale
lemon-yellow below; there are many speci-
mens 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
oxidized silver above and polished silver
below. The goldfish are closely related
to the carp and can live in waters that
are stale. If water plants and scavengers,
such as water snails, are kept in the
aquarium, the water does not become foul.
The water, then, need not be changed; but
unless the aquarium is covered, it will be
necessary to add water to replace that
which evaporates. 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

"DorsaT fi

Helen F. Hill

Fish in a hatchery pond

Goldfish with parts named

die from overfeeding than from starving.
Goldfish are naturally long-lived; Miss Ada
Georgia kept them until seven years old
in a school aquarium; and there is on rec-
ord one goldfish that lived nine years.

Too often the wonderful common
things are never noticed because of their
commonness; and there is no better in-
stance of this than the form and move-
ments 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 in the sense that it pushes
the body forward; this movement is not
at all similar to the action of an airplane
propeller or a ship's screw. 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.

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

ANIMALS

N. Y. State Conservation Dept.

Large-mouthed black bass
Aplites salmoides

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.

Fishes7 eyes have no eyelid but the eye-
ball is movable, and this often gives the
impression that the fish winks. Fishes are
necessarily nearsighted 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 of a fish have no con-
nection whatever with breathing.

The tongue of the fish is very bony or
gristly and immovable. Very little sense
of taste is developed in it. The shape,
number, and position of the teeth vary ac-
cording to the food habits of the fish. The
commonest teeth are fine, sharp, and short
and are arranged in pads, as seen in the
bullhead. Some fish have blunt teeth suit-
able for crushing shells. Some herbivorous
fishes have sharp teeth with serrated edges,
while those living upon crabs and snails
have incisor-like teeth. In some species we
find several types of teeth; in others, such
as goldfish or minnows in general, 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. Extend-
ing along the sides of the body from head
to tail is a line of modified scales contain-
ing small tubes connecting with nerves;

N. Y. State Conservation Dept.

A chain pickerel
Esox niger

N. Y. State Conservation Dept.

A yellow perch
Perca flavescens

this is called the lateral line and it is be-
lieved that it is in some way connected
with the fish's senses, perhaps with the
sense of hearing.

The covering of fishes varies: most fish,
such as the yellow perch and black bass,
are sheathed in an armor of scales; others,
such as the bullhead, have only a smooth
skin. All fish are covered with a slimy
substance which somewhat reduces fric-
tion as they swim through the water.

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

FISHES

gills are filled with tiny bloodvessels, and
as the water passes over them, the impu-
rities of the blood pass out through the
thin skin of the gills and the life-giving
oxygen passes in. Since most fish cannot
make use of air unless it is dissolved in
water, it is very important that the water
in the aquarium provide a sufficient sur-
face area to enable the fish to secure air.
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.

SUGGESTED READING— Goldfish Culture
for Amateurs, by A. E. Hodge and Arthur
Derham; Goldfish, Their Care in Small
Aquaria and Ponds, by E. C. Fearnow
(Document 980, Bureau of Fisheries,
Washington, D. C.); The Pet Book, by
Anna B. Comstock; also, readings on page
144.

LESSON 36

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 other minnow
would do as well.

Before the pupils begin the study, place
the diagram shown on p. 145 on the black-
board, with all the parts labeled; 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 — i . Where do fish live?

147

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 mov-
ing 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 mov-
ing? Do they move together or alternately?
How are they used when the fish swims
backward?

6. How are the ventral fins used? How
do they assist the fish when swimming?

7. Observe a dorsal fin and an anal fin.
How are these used when the fish is
swimming?

8. 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.

9. Watch the goldfish swim and de-
scribe the action of all the fins while it
is in motion. In what position are the fins
when the fish is at rest?

10. What is the nature of the covering
of the fish? Are the scales large or small?
In what direction do they seem to over-
lap? Of what use to the fish is this scaly
covering?

11. 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?

12. 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 nearsighted?

13. Can you see the nostrils? Is there
a little wartlike projection connected

ANIMALS

with the nostril? Do you think fishes
breathe through their nostrils?

14. Describe the mouth of the fish.
Does it open upward, downward, or di-
rectly 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?

15. Is the mouth kept always in mo-
tion? 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?

16. 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?

17. Can you find in books or cyclo-
pedias 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, swal-
low-tails which we see sometimes in gold-
fish? 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 land 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,
Lilce gold-red clouds at set of day;
Erelong you whirl with sudden whim
Ofi to your globe's most distant rim,
Where, greatened by the watery lens,
Methinlcs 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 parlyvool
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

THE BULLHEAD

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 lie never refuses
to bite, nor indeed, to be caught with the worst of anglers. — ISAAK WALTON

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?
Two of these barbels stand straight up;
the two largest ones stand out on each

FISHES

149

Common bullhead
Ameiurus nebulosus

State of New York Conservation Department

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 move-
ment, 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 breath-
ing 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 shaped de-
cidedly like a tadpole; this shape is espe-
cially fitted for groping about muddy

bottoms. The flat effect of the body is em-
phasized 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 whosoever touches
them. The dorsal fin is far forward and
not large; it is usually raised at a threat-
ening angle.

Near the tail there is a little fleshy dor-
sal fin 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

150

ANIMALS

the long? strong tail gives the fish good
motor power; it can swim very rapidly if
occasion requires.

The bullhead is mud-colored and has
no scales. The skin is very thick and leath-
ery so that it is always removed before the
fish is cooked. The bullhead 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.

Bullhead guarding his nest

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 circu-
lar area in shallow water, and on sandy or
gravelly ground. The nest is somewhat
excavated, both parents removing the peb-
bles 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 mix-
ing^ 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 individu-
als to the surface. This act is usually re-
peated several times in quick succession.

" The nests are usually made beneath
logs or other protecting objects and in
shallow water. The paternal care is con-
tinued for many days after the birth of the
young. At first these may be crowded to-
gether 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 sepa-
rated 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/'

SUGGESTED READING — Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; Backyard Explora-
tion, by Paul G. Howes; The Pet Book,
by Anna B. Comstock; The Pond Book,
by Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen;
also, readings on page 144.

LESSON 37

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 be-
havior of the fish.

OBSERVATIONS — i. What at the first
glance distinguishes the bullhead from
other fish? Describe these strange " whis-
kers" growing about the mouth; how
many are there and where are they situ-
ated? 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 bull-
head has barbels, or feelers, while the
trout and bass have none.

4. What is the shape of the mouth?

FISHES

151

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 all of 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 com-
pared 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 may 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 nat-
urally talce? 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 Ameiums. Horned
pout is its Boston name. Bullhead is good
enough for New York; and foi 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 /owl,
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 swal-
lows 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, uncomfort-
able as it may find its new relations, it
never loses sight of the humor of the oc-
casion. Its large head and expansive fore-
head betoken a large mind. It is the only
fish whose brain contains a Sylvian fissure,
a piling up of /issue consequent on the
abundance of gray matter. So it under-
stands 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.

— " FISH STORIES," CHARLES FREDERICK
HOLDER AND DAVID STARR JORDAN

ANIMALS

State of New York Conservation Department

The common sucker
Catostomus commersonnii

THE COMMON SUCKER

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
dong 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 when the waters are cold, are tasty
but somewhat more bony than most fishes,
while those taken from warm waters are
very inferior in flavor and often unpalat-
able.

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 impres-
sion of a Roman nose. The young speci-
mens have an irregular scale-mosaic pat-
tern of olive-green blotches on a paler
ground color, while the old ones are quite
brown above and on the sides. The suck-
ers 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. 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 very ex-
citable; in its efforts to escape, it will jump
from the aquarium more successfully than
any other fish. When resting on the bot-
tom, it is supported by its extended pec-
toral and ventral fins, which are strong al-
though not large.

FISHES

L53

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 project-
ing 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 re-
minds one of a very short elephant's
trunk, that it is enabled to reach and find
its food in the mud or gravel; so al-
though the sucker's mouth is not a beauti-
ful 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 consid-
ered 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 upstream to shallow riffles to
spawn. 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 retire to the
depths of the rivers or ponds.

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 cur-
rent and are, therefore, found in still
pools. The common sucker (Catostomus
commersonii), 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 on the floor.

SUGGESTED READING — Along the
Brook, by Raymond T. Fuller; Backyard
Exploration, by Paul G. Howes; also, read-
ings on page 144.

LESSON 38
THE COMMON SUCKER

LEADING THOUGHT — The sucker is es-
pecially adapted by shape for lying on the
bottom of ponds under still water wheie
its food is abundant.

METHOD — If still-water pools along
rivers 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 — i. 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 espe-
cially adapted in position and in move-
ment to the needs of a fish that lives on
the bottom of streams and ponds?

5. Note the nostrils. Are they used for
breathing?

6. Where is the mouth of the sucker
situated? What is its form? How is it
adapted to get food from the bottom of
the stream and from crevices in the rocks?

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 sometimes con-
sidered poor in quality as food? Is there a
difference in the flavor of their flesh de-
pending upon the temperature of the
water in which they live?

ANIMALS

State of New York Conservation Department

Common shiner or redfin
Notropis cornutus

THE SHINER

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. — THOREAXJ

There are many species of shiners and
it is by no means easy to recognize them
or to distinguish them from chub, dace,
and other minnows, since all these belong
to one family; they all have the same ar-
rangement 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 com-
mon 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 shin-
ing silver scales on the sides below flash
and glimmer with the changing hues of
the rainbow. Most of the other minnows
are darker than the shiners.

The body of the shiner is ideal for slip-
ping 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, and 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 dor-
sal. 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 con-
stantly in motion when moving through
the water. The ventrals are moved only
now and then and evidently help in keep-
ing 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, al-
though 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

FISHES

155

and shining; the whole eye is capable of 4. Describe or sketch the fish, showing

much movement forward and back. The
nostril is divided by a little projecting par-
tition 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.

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 hold their own only by
laying countless numbers of eggs. They
feed chiefly on water insects, algse, and
fish eggs, including their own. They are
pretty and graceful little creatures and
may be seen swimming up the current in
the middle of the brook. They often oc-
cur in schools or flocks, especially when
young.

SUGGESTED READING — BacJcyard Ex-
ploration, by Paul G. Howes; The Pet
Boole, by Anna B. Comstock; also, read-
ings on page 144.

LESSON 39
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 shin-
ers and as many as possible of the other
species of small fish found in our creeks
and brooks. The aquarium should stand
where the pupils may see it often. The fol-
lowing questions may be asked, giving the
children time for the work of observation.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 rap-
idly through the water?

2. What is the coloring above? On the
sides? Below?

3. 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?

position, relative size, and shape of all the
fins and the tail.

5. Describe the use and movements of
each of the fins when the fish is swim-
ming.

6. Describe the eyes. Do they move?

7. Describe the nostrils. Do you think
each one is double?

8. Does the mouth open upward, down-
ward, or forward? Have you ever seen the
shiner yawn? Why does it yawn? Why do
you yawn?

9. Where do you find the shiners liv-
ing? 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 chequered 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 lit-
tle 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

i56

ANIMALS

State of New York Conservation Department

The brook trout
Salvelinus f ontinalis

THE BROOK TROUT

Up and down the brook I ran, where beneath the banks so steep,
Lie the spotted trout asleep. — WHITTIER

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 sugges-
tion 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 be-
ing himself seen. Woe to the unfortu-
nate insect that falls upon the surface of
the water in his vicinity or even flies low
over it, for the trout will easily jump 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, mak-
ing 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, mak-
ing 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, bluish 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 out-
line. Behind the dorsal fin and near the
tail is the little, fleshy adipose fin, so called
because its tissue is more or less adipose
in nature. The tail is fan-shaped, slightly
notched at the end and is large and strong.

FISHES

The anal fin is rather Iarge? being shaped
much like the dorsal fin, only slightly
smaller. The ventral fins are directly be-
low the dorsal fin and a little behind its
middle. The pectorals are low down, being
below and just behind the gill arches.

In size the brook trout may reach four-
teen inches, but the majority of those
caught are seldom longer than seven or
eight inches. It does not flourish in water
which is warmer than 70° Fahrenheit,
and prefers a temperature of about 50°
Fahrenheit. It must have the pure water
of mountain streams and cannot endure
the 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 in most
parts of the United States. One small
mother trout lays from 400 to 600 eggs,
but the large-sized ones lay more. The pe-
riod of hatching depends upon the tem-
perature of the water. In depositing their
eggs the trout seek water with a gravelly
bottom, often where some spring enters
into a stream. The nest is shaped by the
tail of the fish, the larger stones being car-
ried away in the mouth. To make the pre-

Verne Morton

When resting on a stream bed trout face into
the current

Where the trout live

cious eggs secure they are covered with
gravel.

Strict laws have been enacted by almost
all of our states to protect the brook trout
and preserve it in our streams. While it is
true that brook trout spawn when five to
six inches in length, the legal size in most
states is six to seven inches; this gives
them a chance to spawn at least about
once before being caught. 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 to 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 pur-
pose 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 na-
tional 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?

SUGGESTED READING — Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; Backyard Explora-

i58

ANIMALS

tion, by Paul G. Howes; Mountain Neigh-
bors, by Edith M. Patch and Carroll L.
Fenton (Rainbow Trout) ; The Watchers
of the Trails, by Charles G. D. Roberts;
also, readings on page 144.

LESSON 40
THE BROOK TROUT

LEADING THOUGHT — The brook trout
have been exterminated in many streams
in our country largely because the game
laws were passed too late to save them;
and because of misuse of our waters. The
trout is one of the most cunning and beau-
tiful of our common fishes and the most
delicious for food. Many mountain
streams in our country could be well
stocked with brook trout.

METHOD — For this lesson secure a
trout from a fisherman at the opening of
trout season. In some states, a permit is
required before a trout may be legally kept
in captivity, unless it is a legally captured
specimen and is kept only during fishing
season.

OBSERVATIONS — i. In what streams are
the brook trout found? Must the water be
warm or cold? Can the trout live in im-
pure 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 are trout
caught? Why do they afford such excel-
lent 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 mark-
ings 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 un-
like the other fins? What is the shape of
the tail fin? Is it rounded, square, or cres-
cent-shaped across the end? What is the
position and size of the anal fin compared
with the dorsal? What are the colors on
the ventral fins and where are these fins

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. 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. Could a trout live in the streams of
your neighborhood? 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.

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 en-
sconcement 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, cas-
cades and drooping trees; where every-
thing was fair and promising to the eyes
for trout; but it required superhuman pa-
tience to lure them, and many a day I
scoreda 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 exer-
cise of skill, the quick turns in the stream
opening up new vistas, the little openings
in the forest, through which were seen dis-

FISHES

tant meadows and nodding flowers — all
these went to make up the real trout fish-
ing, 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 imprac-
ticable 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 phi-
losophy of patience and contentment.
" How poor are they that have not pa-
tience/7 said Othello. It is well to be con-
tent with things as we find them, and it is
well to go a-fishing, and 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/' HOLDER AND JORDAN

State of New York Conservation Department

Brook stickleback and nest
Eucalia inconstans

THE STICKLEBACK

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 algae 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.

i6o

ANIMALS

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 de-
stroy all other fishes. His ferocity is fright-
ful 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 stickle-
back. 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 under-
takes 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 swal-
lowing a stickleback tail first is a danger-
ous 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 " sal-
mon 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 the stickleback is floating
among the water weeds, the back is green-
ish mottled with paler green, but when
the fish is down on the gravel, it is much
darker. The lateral line is marked by a
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, in both appearance and
action.

When swimming, the stickleback darts
about rapidly, its dorsal and anal fins ex-
tended, its spines all abristle, and its tail
lashing the water with strong strokes.
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 and 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, accomplish-
ing this by a comical auger-like 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 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 algas called
frog-spittle. This would seem too delicate
a material for the house construction, but
he is a clever builder. He fastens his filmy
walls to some sterns of reed or grass, using
as a platform a supporting stem; the ones
which I have especially studied were fas-
tened 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 secretes 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

FISHES

161

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; 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 fin-
ished, the nest is like a bubble made of
threads of down, and yet it holds to-
gether 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 carefree.
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; she also enters the nest and
lays her eggs and then swims off uncon-
cernedly. 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 respon-
sibilities 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.

Some species arrange two cloors 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 brook 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 stick-
leback's obsession for fatherhood. He
placed in the aquarium two nests, one of
which was still guarded by its loyal
builder, who allowed himself to be caught

N. Y. State Conservation Dept.

Horned dace
Semotilus atromaculatus

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 algae from the bottom of the aquar-
ium and holding himself steady a short
distance away, apparently blow the algae
at the nest from a distance of half an
inch; 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. The habits of other species of
sticklebacks have been studied more than
have those of the brook stickleback.

SUGGESTED READING — Pathways in Sci-
ence, by G. S. Craig and Co-authors,

162

ANIMALS

Book 3, Our Wide, Wide World; The
Pet Book, by Anna B. Comstock; The
Pond Book, by Walter P. Porter and Ei-
nar A. Hansen; also, readings on page 144.

N. Y. State Conservation Dept.

A sculpin
Cottus cognatus

LESSON 41
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 algas and watches
it 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 algas 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 — i. How did the stick-
leback gets 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 protection 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 stickle-
backs? 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 ex-
tended when the fish is swimming?

7. When resting among the pond weed
of the aquarium what fins does the stick-
leback 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 stick-
leback nest looks? Of what is it built?
How is it supported? Is there one door or
two? Does the father or mother stickle-
back build the nest? Are the young in the
nest cared for? At what time is the nest
built?

THE SUNFISH

This little disc of gay color has won
many popular names. It is called pump-
kinseed, 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 headdress 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

FISHES

163

State of New York Conservation Department

Sunfish or pumpkinseed
Eupomotis gibbosus

clear brooks and ponds. It is a near rela-
tive of the rock bass and also of the black
bass and it has, according to its size, just
as gamy qualities as the latter. I once had
a sunfish on my line which made rne think
I had caught a bass and I do not know
whether I or the mad little pumpkinseed
was the more 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 min-
utes, 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 pecto-
ral fins, I have often thought, are the most
exquisite and gauzelike in texture of all
the fins I have ever seen; they are kept al-
most constantly in motion and move in
such graceful flowing undulations that it
is a joy to look at them.

164

ANIMALS

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 up-
per 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

Male sunfish guarding his nest

greenish-black in color, bordered by irides-
cent, 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 as he settles down into another corner
of the aquarium, his colors seem much
paler and we have to describe him over
again. The body below is brassy yellow.

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 in-
timidate 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.
In the sunfish duel, however, the partici-
pants do not seek to destroy each other but
to intimidate each other. The vanquished
one retires. Professor Gill says: "Mean-
while the male has selected a spot in very
shallow water near the shore, and gener-
ally in a mass of aquatic vegetation, not
too large or close together to entirely ex-
clude the light and heat of the sun, and
mostly under an overhanging 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 num-
ber of similar nests may be found close to-
gether, 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 peb-
bles. Such are removed by violent jerks of
the caudal fin or are taken up by the
mouth and carried to the circular bound-
ary 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 root-
lets of water plants. The nest has a diam-
eter 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 be-
come 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 fe-
males. For about a week, depending upon

PISHES

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" them-
selves 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 beauti-

165

2. What is the general shape of the
sunfish's body as seen from above? As
seen from the side? Why is it called pump-
kinseed?

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

ful, shimmering pumpkinseeds for nearly are the ventral fins in relation to the pec-

a year by feeding him every alternate
day with an earthworm; the unfortunate
worms are kept stored in damp soil in an
iron kettle during the winter. When I
threw one of them into the aquarium the
sunfish would seize it and shake it as a
terrier shakes a rat; but this was perhaps
to make sure of his hold. Once he at-
tempted to take a second worm directly
after the first; but it was a doubtful pro-
ceeding, and the worm reappeared as often
as a prima donna, waving each time a fren-
zied farewell to the world.

SUGGESTED READING— Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; Backyard Explo-
ration, by Paul G. Howes; The Pet Book,
by Anna B. Comstock; also, readings on
page 144.

LESSON 42

THE SUNFISH

LEADING THOUGHT — The pumpkin-
seeds are very gamy 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 pumpkinseed
in the jar aquarium is all that is neces-
sary for this lesson. However, it will add
much to the interest of the lesson if the
boys who have fished for pumpkinseeds
will tell of their experiences. The chil-
dren should acquire from this lesson
an interest in nesting habits of the sun-
fishes.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Where are the sun-
fish found? How do they act when they
take the hook?

torals? What is there peculiar about the
appearance and movements of the pec-
toral 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 por-
tion 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? Does 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?

The lamprey is not a fish at all, only a
wicked imitation of one which can deceive
nobody. But there are fishes which are un-
questionably 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 open-
ing 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 sun-
fish shine with all sorts of scarlet, blue,
green, and purple and golden colors.
There is a blaclc spot on his head which
looks like an ear, and sometimes grows out

i66

ANIMALS

in a long black flap, which makes the imi-
tation 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

State of New York Conservation Department

Johnny darter
Boleosoma nigrum

THE JOHNNY DARTER

We never tired of watching the little Johnny, or Tessellated darter (Boleosoma ni-
grum); 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 ex-
tends 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 slen-

FISHES

167

der stem. Crouching catlike before a snail shell, he will snap off a horn which the un-
lucky 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 or
breaks the shell. — DAVID STARR JORDAN

The johnny darters are, with the stickle-
backs, 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 some-
thing 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 queerly 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-mosaic; and he
has some other scale-mosaics also follow-
ing 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 pe-
culiar position of the eyes, which are set
in the top of his forehead; they are big,
alert eyes, with large black pupils, sur-
rounded 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.

Although he is no frog, yet johnny
darter seems to be in a fair way to de-

velop something to walk upon. His pec-
toral 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 pec-
toral fins outspread, the sharp points of
the rays taking hold of the gravel like
toenails and thus giving him the appear-
ance 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 spiny rays; when the fin is raised
it appears almost semicircular in shape.
The second dorsal fin is much longer, and
when lifted stands higher than the front
fin; its rays are all soft except the front
one. As soon as the johnny stops swim-
ming he shuts the front dorsal fin so that
it can scarcely be detected; when he is
frightened, his body lies motionless 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 feet, that is,
his paired fins, 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 upstream. 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

i68

ANIMALS

they were little fan-shaped feet; and when
swimming he uses his fins as a bird uses
its wings. There are many species of dart-
ers, some of them the most brilliantly
colored of all our fresh-water fishes. The
darters are perchlike 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 orna-
mentation, you will find in some brook in
which the darters live."

SUGGESTED READING— Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Har-
rison E. Howe, Book 2, Outdoor Visits;
The Pet Boole, by Anna B. Comstock;
The Pond Book, by Walter P. Porter and
Einar A. Hansen; also, readings on page
144.

LESSON 43
JOHNNY DARTER

LEADING THOUGHT — The johnny darter
naturally rests upon the bottom of the
stream. 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 fish 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 — i. 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 is there in the life of the
fish that makes this position of the eyes
advantageous?

8. Where do we find the johnny dart-
ers? 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 stud-
ies 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 illus-
trates 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 shel-
tered in the nooks. It comes from one
knows not whence; it flows to one knows
not whither. It awakens the desire to ex-
plore. It is fraught with mysteries. It typi-
fies the flood of life. It goes on forever.

In other words, the reason why the
brook is such a perfect nature-study sub-
ject is the fact that it is the central theme

FISHES

169

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 to-
morrow: he is happy here and now, or
never. Our stock of knowledge of com-
mon 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.77

I expect, therefore, that much good will

come from nature-study. It ought to revo-
lutionize 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 pres-
ent notions, but nature-study has come to
stay. It is in much the same stage of de-
velopment that manual-training and kin-
dergarten work were twenty-five years ago.
We must take care that it does not crystal-
lize into science-teaching on the one hand,
nor fall into mere sentimentalism on the
other.

I would again emphasize the impor-
tance 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.

— " THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA,"
L. H. BAILEY

AMPHIBIANS

Especially during early spring, one is
likely to see many frogs, toads, and sala-
manders about ponds and other shallow
water. These animals are harmless crea-
tures; they do not bite and their chief
method of defense is to escape to some
place of concealment.

While there are exceptions to the gen-
eral rule, and great variations in the life
habits of these animals, it may be said
that they are fitted to spend certain pe-
riods of their lives on land and other peri-
ods in water. In general, the immature
stages are passed in or quite near water
and the young are commonly called tad-
poles. Of course, this means that the males
and females of most species must return
each year to the ponds, streams, or pools
for the purpose of mating. Eggs are laid
at once and usually hatch within a few
days; the length of time varies according
to the species and the weather conditions.

To this entire group of cold-blooded an-
imals the term amphibian is applied; this
term was selected because it really means
" double life " — these animals live part of
their lives on land and part in or quite
near water. The presence or absence of a
tail, during adult life, divides the amphibi-
ans into two more or less natural groups,
the tailed and the tailless amphibians.

SUGGESTED READING — Along Nature's
Trails, by Lillian C. Athey; Backyard Ex-
ploration, by Paul G. Howes; Field Boole
of Ponds and Streams, by Ann H. Morgan;
Our Great Outdoors, Reptiles, Amphibi-
ans and Fishes, by C. W. G. Eifrig; Out-
of -Doors, A Guide to Nature, by Paul B.
Mann and George T. Hastings; Reptiles
and Amphibians; Their Habits and Adap-
tations, by Thomas Barbour; The Stir of
Nature, by William H. Carr. (See also
the Bibliography in the back of this
book.)

THE TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS

This group includes the frogs and toads.
In attaining the adult stage these animals
lose their tadpole tails; but we do not
mean that the tail drops from the body;

rather let us say that it is absorbed by
the body before the animal reaches the
adult stage.

THE COMMON TOAD

The toad hopped by us with jolting springs. — AKERS

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

bedrock 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.

TADPOLES

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 jelly-like substance, and are

AMPHIBIANS

171

dropped upon the pond bottom or at-
tached to water weeds; when first depos-
ited, 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 wrig-
gling 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
this substance the tadpole attaches itself
to water weeds, resting head up. When
the tadpoles are two or three days old, we
can detect little tassels on either side of

The toad in various stages of development
from the egg to the adult

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Eggs of the spadefoot toad, Bufo com-
pactilis. Some toads lay as many as 8,000 eggs
in a season

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 mem-
brane 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 some-
thing to eat, and at the same time is con-
stantly 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 prom-
inent and bulge like the eyes of the adult
toad.

The tail of the tadpole is long and flat,
surrounded by a fin, and so is an or-
gan for swimming. It strikes the water,
first this side and then that, making most
graceful curves, which seem to originate

ANIMALS

_ _

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Eggs of Hammond's spadefoot, Scaphiopus
hammondii. Although it looks so like our com-
mon toad} the spadefoot belongs to a different
genus; it lays its eggs in cylindrical masses on
submerged twigs or grass

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 tad-
pole 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. How-
ever, 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 com-
pletely. The feet are long and are pro-
vided 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 be-
comes 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 tad-
pole'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 grownup air; and
at this moment the tadpole attains toad-
ship. Numbers of tadpoles come out of
the water together, hopping hither and
thither with all of the eagerness and vim
of untried youth. It is through issuing
thus in hordes from the water 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 other-
wise colored, though this is not an in-
variable distinction. The best way to dis-
tinguish the two is to get the eggs and
develop the two families separately.

THE ADULT TOAD

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 irregu-
lar 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 disa-

AMPHIBIANS

greeable for the animal seeking toad din-
ners. This is especially true of the glands
in the elongated swellings above and just
back of the ear, which are called the pa-
rotid glands; these give forth a milky, poi-
sonous 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 ani-
mal with blood the temperature of the
surrounding atmosphere; the blood of the
warm-blooded animal has a temperature
of its own, which it maintains whether
the surrounding air is cold or hot.

The toad's face is well worth study; its
eyes are elevated and very pretty, the pupil
being oval and the surrounding iris shin-
ing like gold. The toad winks in a whole-
sale 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

S. H. Gage

A common toad, Bufo americanus, as he
appears in winter sleep and after awakening
in the spring

A. A. and A. H. Wright

The giant toad, Bufo alvarius. This huge
toad of the Southwest is from 3^4 to 6%
inches long. If molested it will secrete a fluid
which is strong enough to paralyze a dog

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 eardrum, 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 are
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 re-
moved from an earth or moss garden7
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
porches, 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

ANIMALS

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 sur-
face, 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 par-
ticular as to what kind of insects, but be-

A. A. and A. H. Wright

The little green toad, Bufo debilis. This
small amphibian, resembling a lichen in ap-
pearance, is about 1% inches long. It lives in
grassy ^ flat lands from Kansas and Colorado
south into northern Mexico

cause of the situations which it haunts, it
usually feeds upon those which are injuri-
ous to grass and plants. Indeed, the toad
is really the friend of the gardener and
the farmer, and has been most ungrate-
fully treated by those whom it has be-
friended. 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 ex-
tending backward from the segments of
the worm are likely to rasp the throat if
swallowed the wrong way. If the worm
prove too large a 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 ex-
pression 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 bur-
row 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 dor-
mant 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 they are swim-
ming rapidly, the front legs are laid back-
ward along the sides of the body, so as to
offer no resistance to the water; but when
they are 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 guttural trill; it
is made when the throat is puffed out al-
most 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 homy

AMPHIBIANS

skin, which it swallows; as this process is
usually done strictly in private, the ordi-
nary 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 only less
so are crows and also birds of prey.

SUGGESTED READING — The Frog Book,
by Mary C. Dickerson; Handbook of
Frogs and Toads, by Anna A. and Albert
H. Wright; Mother Nature Series, by Fan-
nie W. Dunn and Eleanor Troxell, Book
2, By the Roadside; Nature and Science
Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Harrison
E. Howe/Book i, Hunting; The Pond
Book, by Walter P. Porter and Einar A.
Hansen; Science Stories, by Wilbur L.
Beauchamp and Co-authors, Book i; also,
readings on page 170.

LESSON 44

THE TADPOLE AQUARIUM
LEADING THOUGHT — The children
should understand how to make the tad-
poles comfortable and thus be able to rear
them.

MATERIALS — A tin or agate pan, a deep
earthenware wash-bowl, a glass dish, or a
wide-mouthed glass jar.

THINGS TO BE DONE — i. 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 dis-
turb 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 shal-
low 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 care-
ful not to disturb them, and place upon
the stones.

4. Take some of the plants found grow-
ing 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 them 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 prob-
ably some plant growth. More water from
the pond should be added to replace that
evaporated.

9. Care should be taken that the tad-
pole 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. Pvemove 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 toads' eggs
are laid in strings of jelly in ponds. The
eggs hatch into tadpoles which are crea-
tures 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 ob-

F. Harper and A. A. Wright

Southern toad, Bufo terrestris. When the
male is croaking his throat is puffed out as
in the picture. The color of the Southern toads
varies from red or gray to black, and in size
they range in length from 1% inches to 3%
inches. They are found from North Carolina
to Florida and west to the Mississippi River

serve 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
jelly-like masses? If so, what are they? How
can you tell the eggs of toads from those of
frogs?

2. Is the jelly-like 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 the tadpole 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 dis-
appear 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?

ANIMALS

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 swim-
ming? 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 tad-
pole. If the tail or a leg is bitten off by
some other creature will it grow again?

LESSON 45
THE TOAD

LEADING THOUGHT — The toad is col-
ored so that it resembles the soil and thus
often escapes the observation of its ene-
mies. 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 toacl for
study.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Describe the gen-
eral 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?

AMPHIBIANS

177

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 con-
nected? 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 advan-
tage 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 swal-
lowing 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 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 escap-
ing or defending itself from its enemies?

16. How is the toad of great use to the
farmer and gardener?

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 com-
promise. _L< H> BAILEY

THE SPRING PEEPER OR PICKERING'S HYLA

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

Associated with the first songs of robin
and bluebird, is the equally delightful
chorus of the spring peepers, yet how in-
frequently 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 pro-

portions, permeated with undaunted
spirit. The chickadee is one of these, and
the spring peeper 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 one of the tiniest f roglets of them all, be-

i78

ANIMALS

ing little more than an inch long when
fully grown; it wears the Greek cross in

A. A. and A. H. Wright

The spring peeper^ Hyla crucifer. Here is
shown the characteristic St. Andrew's cross
on the peeper's back. This small frog, measur-
ing % inch to 1% inches in length will be
found from Manitoba to Maine and south-
ward

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.

The reason we see so little of spring
peepers is that they are protected from
discovery by their color. They have the
chameleon power of changing color to
match their background. This change can
be effected in twenty minutes; the darker
lines forming the cross change first, giving
a mottled appearance which is at once pro-
tective. I have taken three of these peep-
ers, all of them pale yellowish brown with
gray markings, and have placed one upon
a fern, one on dark soil, and one on the

A. A. and A. H. Wright

The note of the male spring peeper is a
shrill, clear call and while it is being given his
throat expands into a large bubble

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 flash-
light or lantern, as none of the peepers
seem to pay any attention to an artificial
light; the thin membrane beneath the
throat swells out until it seems almost

A. A. and A. H. Wright

The green tree frog} Hyla cinerea cinerea.
These frogs, 1% to 2% inches long are bright
green in color with a straw-colored stripe
along each side. On the tips of their toes are
discs which enable them to cling to vertical
surfaces. The green tree frogs are found from
Virginia to Texas and up the Mississippi
River to Illinois

large enough to balloon the little chap
off his perch. No wonder that, with such
a sounding-sac, the note is stirring.

The spring peepers 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 time to study these
wonderful feet is when the frog is climb-
ing up the sides of the glass jar. The
fingers are arranged as follows: two short
inside ones, a long one, and another short

AMPHIBIANS

179

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, disclike toes that the animals
hold themselves upon the tree trunks or
other upright objects.

The whole body of the tree frog, a rela-
tive of the spring peeper, 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 spring peepers 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 circular discs.

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

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Common tree toad, Hyla versicolor versi-
color. From Maine and southern Canada to
the Gulf states is the range of these tree
toads; their habitat is trees, logs, or stone
fences. The color varies from ashy gray to
brown or green; on the back is an irregular
dark star. The eggs, in groups of thirty to
forty, are attached to vegetation at the sur-
face of the water

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Anderson tree jrog, Hyla andersonii. This
is a small, beautiful, green frog with a light-
bordered, plum-colored band along each side
of its body. It lives chiefly in white cedar
swamps from New Jersey to South Carolina

luster. These tadpoles differ from those of
other frogs in that they often leave the
water while 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 de-
struction of mosquitoes, as pollywogs and
as grown up frogs, renders them of great
use to us. The voice of this peeper may be
occasionally 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 win-
ter, waking to give us the earliest news of
spring.

LESSON 46

SPRING PEEPER OR PICKERING'S HYLA
LEADING THOUGHT — The prettiest part
of the spring chorus of the frog ponds
is sung by the spring peepers. 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

i8o

ANIMALS

tiny pond of water. In this garden place
a spring peeper, cover the jar with mos-
quito 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 spring peeper is discov-
ered. Any species of tree frog will do;
but the Pickering's hyla, known every-
where as the spring peeper, is the most
interesting species to study.

OBSERVATIONS — i . How large is the
peeper? What is its color? Describe the
markings.

2. Place the peeper 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 animal? Place a peeper on
a piece of bark. After a time does it be-
come inconspicuous?

3. Describe the eyes. Note how little
the creature turns its head to see any-
thing 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? Exam-

ine the delicate membrane beneath the
throat. What has this to do with the
breathing?

5. What is the peeper'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 peeper 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 peeper very closely and
describe its nostrils and its ears.

8. Are the peepers 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
peeper laid? How do they look?

10. How do the peeper tadpoles differ
from other tadpoles? Describe them if
you have ever seen them. In what situa-
tions do they live?

11. Of what use are the peepers to us?

THE FROG

The stroller along brooksides is likely
to be surprised some day at seeing a bit
of moss and earth suddenly make a long,
high leap, without apparent provocation.
An investigation resolves the clump of
moss into a brilliantly green-spotted frog
with two light-yellow raised stripes down
his back; 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 environ-
ment. 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, however,
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
foot of the male leopard frog is much
swollen, making a fat thumb; the me-
chanics 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

AMPHIBIANS

181

The bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. This is our largest frog, sometimes attaining a length of
S inches. It is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico. The
bullfrog has a greenish drab back and a yellowish underside. The eggs are laid in a film,
perhaps 2 feet square on the surface of still water. Its sonorous bass notes, jug-o'-rum, are
heard in the evenings of early summer

hardened places at the joints, and some-
times 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 peepers7
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-col-
ored 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 hav-
ing 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 scat-
tered 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
eyelids 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 may have 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.

182

ANIMALS

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Male green frog, Rana clamitans. These in-
habitants oj deep and shallow ponds are
found in eastern North America from Hudson
Bay to the Gulf. In the North they are among
the largest frogs, ranging jrom 2 to 4 inches
in length. The jemale is shown in the follow-
ing picture

The jaws are horny and are armed with
teeth, which are for the purpose of bit-
ing off food rather than for chewing it.
When above water, the throat keeps up
a rhythmic motion which is the process
of breathing; but when below water this
motion ceases. The food of frogs is largely
composed of insects which frequent damp
places or live in the water.

The sound-sacs of the leopard frogs,
instead of being beneath the throat, as
is the case with toads and peepers, are
at the side of the throat; and when in-
flated may extend from just back of the
eyes, out above the front legs and part
way down the sides. The song is char-
acteristic, and pleasant to listen to, if not
too close by. Perhaps exception should be

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Female green frog, Rana clamitans. The
color of these frogs in general is greenish
brown with a bright green mark from the
eardrum forward along the jaw. Note that
the eardrum of the male is larger than that of
the female

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 demon-
strate 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 leopard frogs lay their
eggs in masses of jelly on the bottom of
the pond, usually where the water is

A. A, and A. H. Wright

Wood frog} Rana sylvatica. In spring these
frogs are found about ponds and temporary
pools in wooded areas; at other times they
are in the woods. They even hibernate under
stumps, stones, or logs in or near woods.
Their color varies from tan to brown, a
prominent black mask covering the sides of
the head. They range from, Quebec and Nova
Scotia south to the Carolinas and westward
to the plains

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
leopard frogs' are laid in masses. The bull-
frog and green frog lay large films of eggs
on the surface of the water.

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 rhythmically, but the drop-
ping of the lower jaw opens the mouth.
There are three rows of tiny black teeth

AMPHIBIANS

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 or
withdraw. The breathing-pore, which is

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Southern leopard frog, Rana sphenoceph-
ala. The home of this frog is in swamps, over-
flowed areas, or ponds in the southeastern
states and northward along the coast to New
Jersey. The pointed snout, glistening white
underside, and ridges extending backward
from each eye are characteristic

on the left side, is a hole in a slight pro-
tuberance.

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 tad-
poles 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.

SUGGESTED READING— Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; The Frog Book,
by Mary C. Dickerson; Handbook of

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Eggs of leopard frog, Rana pipiens pipiens.
and wood frog, Rana sylvatica. The eggs of
the leopard frog are laid in a flattened sphere
in waters of swampy marshes, overflows, and
ponds. In summer,, the adults are found in
swampy areas, grassy woodlands, or even hay
or grain fields. They range from the Pacific
coast states into Mexico. The eggs of the wood
frog are laid in round masses

Frogs and Toads, by Anna A. and Albert
H. Wright; Holiday Pond, by Edith M.
Patch; Nature and Science Readers, by
Edith M. Patch and Harrison E. Howe,
Book 2, Outdoor Visits; The Pond Book,
by Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen;
The Story of Frogs, by Mary B. Herring
(Unit Study Book, No. 351); also, read-
ings on page 170.

LESSON 47
THE FROG

LEADING THOUGHT — The frog lives
near or in ponds or streams. It is a power-

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Wright's bullfrog, Rana heckscheri. This is
a transforming tadpole. Note that the left
front leg has not yet pushed through the skin.
The range of this frog is from South Carolina
to Mississippi

TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS

1 and 2. AMERICAN BELL TOAD, Ascaphus
truei, male and fern-ale. The size of this toad
is \Y% to 2 inches. Note that the male is tailed.

Range: Northern California, Oregon, and
Washington, and eastward into Montana.
Habitat: Usually under rocks in small, cold
mountain streams; in rainy seasons they may
be found a short distance away from the water.
They seem to be rather solitary in habit.

3 and 4. OAK TOAD, Bufo quercicus. The
adults of this pigmy toad range in size from
*A to \Y± inches. Its color varies from light
brown to almost black. Note the expanded
vocal sac of the male (No. 4); when deflated
it is an apron fold under the throat. The call
is a high whistle, which is more birdlike than
froglike. A chorus of calls can be heard for more
than an eighth of a mile.

Range: North Carolina to Florida, west to
Louisiana. Habitat: Pine barrens.

5. NARROW MOUTH TOAD, Microhyla caro-
linensis. The size of these dark, smooth-skinned
toads ranges from %toiy5 inches. The voice of
the males resembles the bleating of sheep. The
eggs are laid in a surface film, each egg being
clearly outlined.

Range: From Virginia to Florida, westward
to Texas. Habitat: In moist places under
virtually any kind of cover, even haycocks and
decaying logs.

6. CANYON or SPOTTED TOAD, Bufo puncta-
tus. This toad is iy5 to 3 inches in size; its
color varies from greenish tan to red. The call
is high pitched and birdlike. The eggs are laid
singly in pools of intermittent streams. This
toad breeds from April to July.

Range: South central Texas to Lower Cali-
fornia and California. Habitat: Desert can-
yons.

7. GREAT PLAINS TOAD, Bufo cognatus.
These large-bodied, brown, gray, or greenish
toads measure from 1% to 4 inches. Their call
is harsh and low pitched. The vocal sac is shaped
like a sausage stood on end.

Range: Mostly west of the 10(M meridian,
from North Dakota southwestward to Mexico
and eastern California. Habitat: Grazing lands
in flood plains.

8. SPADEFOOT TOAD, Bufo compactilis. The
size of this desert toad is 2 to 3% inches; its
color is pinkish drab. It breeds in pools or
even in cattle tanks. Note the expanded sausage-
like vocal sac of this male.

Range: Utah and Nevada eastward to Ok-
lahoma and southward into Mexico. Habitat:
Deserts.

9. HAMMOND'S SPADEFOOT, Scaphiopus
hammondii. This toad ranges from 1% to 2%
inches in size. It breeds in temporary pools;
the tadpoles eat many mosquitoes, and the toads
eat many tadpoles. It is seldom seen above ground
except during rains of long duration. The un-
usual call is plaintive and catlike.

Range: From North Dakota southward to
Mexico, and westward to the Pacific coast.
Habitat: Burrows, which it digs in moist
ground with its strong, spadelike feet, and into
which it pushes itself by rocking its body.

10. CANADIAN or WINNIPEG TOAD, Bufo
hemiophrys. In size this toad ranges from 2%
to 3K inches. It has a very prominent heavy,
horny boss between its eyes and on its snout.
It may breed in the shallows at the edges of any
body of fresh water.

Range: North Dakota to Manitoba. Habi-
tat: Lakes and stream valleys.

11 and 12. YOSEMITE TOAD, Bufo canorus,
male and female. This is the only toad in the
United States that shows marked difference
between male and female. The male (No. 11)
is olive-colored, while the female (No. 12) is
light gray with many black areas. Its size is
from 2 to 3 inches.

Range: Yosemite National Park and cen-
tral Sierra Nevada at altitudes of 1000 to
1100 feet. Habitat: Wet meadows and mar*
gins of streams and lakes.

Photographs by A. A. and A. H. Wright

•i86

ANIMALS

ful jumper and has a slippery body. Its
eggs are laid in masses of jelly at the bot-
tom 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 en-
tirely out of water or only partially sub-
merged.

OBSERVATIONS— i. 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 frog's skin,
its color and texture. Compare the skins
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 obser-
vation from above? From below? How do
we usually discover that we are in the vi-
cinity of a frog?

4. Describe the frog's ears, eyes, nos-
trils, 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 ene-
mies?

8. What sounds does the frog make?
Where are the sound-sacs of the leopard
frog 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 leopard 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 tad-
poles, following the questions given in Les-
son 44.

12. What happens to the frog in
winter?

FESTINA LENTE

Once on a time there was a pool
Fringed all about with Rag-leaves cool
And spotted with cow-lilies garish,
Of frogs and pouts the ancient parish.
Aiders the creaking redwings sink on,
Tussocks that house blithe Bob o' Lin-
coln,

Hedged round the unassailed seclusion,
Where musfcrats piled their cells Carthu-
sian;

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 Theleine,
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 corne 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:
'T were wicked not to urge the step on,
When Providence has sent the weapon."
Old croalcers, deacons of the mire,
That led the deep batrachian choir,
" Ukl Uk! Caronkl " 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 bow 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,

AMPHIBIANS

187

But wins her way by circumstances;
Pray, wait awhile, until you know
We're so contrived as not to grow;
Let Nature talce 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 TAILED AMPHIBIANS

The best-known representatives of this
group are the salamanders of various types.
Barring accidents, a salamander retains its
tail throughout life. Salamanders resem-
ble lizards in shape, and many people
have incorrectly called them lizards. It
is not difficult to distinguish them, if
one bears in mind that the covering
of the salamander is rather soft and
somewhat moist, while that of the
lizard is rather dry and in the form of
scales.

The red-backed salamander lacks the
amphibian habits usual to the group; it
lives on land during its entire life. The
eggs are laid in a small cluster, in a decay-
ing log or stump; the adult is often to be
found quite near the egg cluster. On the

other extreme, the mud puppies and hell-
benders spend their entire lives in the
water. They are rarely seen, live chiefly
under rocks in stream beds, and feed
chiefly at night.

The many local forms of amphibians
offer excellent opportunities for interest-
ing outdoor studies. Of the tailed am-
phibians, the newt is considered in detail,
and pictures of other representative sala-
manders are shown.

SUGGESTED READING — Backyard Explo-
ration, by Paul G. Howes; Nature— by
Seaside and Wayside, by Mary G. Phil-
lips and Julia M. Wright, Book 4, Our
Earth and Its Life; The Pond Book, by
Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen:
also, readings on page 170.

THE NEWT OR EFT

One of the most commonly seen sala- or woodland paths, and since they are

manders is the newt or eft. After a rain rarely seen except after rain, the wise

in spring or summer, we see these little people of old declared they rained down,

orange-red creatures sprawling along roads which was an easy way of explaining their

ANIMALS

A spotted salamander in natural surroundings

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 damp; otherwise they
would dry up and die. Thus, the newts
make a practice of not going out except
when the ground is rather moist. A closer
view of the eft shows plenty of peculiari-
ties 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 being usually 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 espe-
cially 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 pinholes in the end of
the snout.

The legs and feet look queerly inade-
quate 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 mis-
leading 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 touch-
ing 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 ara sure it is also used to

AMPHIBIANS

189

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 satis-
faction 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 particu-
larly 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, and the orange snout
approach stealthily to within half an inch
of the smug aphid. Then there would be a
flash as of lightning, something too swift
to see coming out of the eft's mouth and
swooping up the unsuspecting louse. Then

Red-spotted newt stalking plant lice

S. C. Bishop

Giant or California newt, Triturus torosus.
About ponds and streams from- lower Cali-
jornia to Alaska this newt may be seen; its
body is stout and is about six inches long

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 ef tship 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
eager for game.

This is the history of this species as
summarized from Mrs. S. H. Gage's
charming Story of Little Red Spot. The
egg is 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 sweet pea seed, is fas-
tened 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 keeled tail
is long and very thin. The newt is an ex-
pert 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; 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 in 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 about
two and a half years it lives upon land;
then it returns to the water. When this

TAILED AMPHIBIANS-

1 and 2. SPOTTED SALAMANDER, Ambystoma
maculatum. The adults are 6 inches long or
more; the body is glistening black with prom-
inent yellow spots. These, like other salamanders,
are entirely harmless; they neither bite nor
scratch. Their egg-masses are deposited during
early spring, while the water is still very cold, in
swampy areas or stagnant pools, and are often
attached to sticks or to submerged parts of plants.
While the eggs are developing, a greenish color,
caused by the presence of numerous algae,
appears in the gelatin of the egg-mass. This
seems to be peculiar to the egg-mass of this sala-
mander, and biologists are trying to learn the
reason for it.

Range: Locally in central North America
from Wisconsin and Nova Scotia southward.
Habitat: Damp dark places during most of
the year. In spring they migrate to ponds to
breed.

3. RED SALAMANDER, Pseudotriton ruber.
Adults are about 6 inches long; young adults
are coral red with irregular black spots; older
adults are somewhat purplish brown; the eggs,
laid in autumn, are attached to the underside
of a stone in a stream.

Range: Locally from New York to Georgia,
westward to the Mississippi River. Habitat:
Under flat stones in shallow water.

4. MARBLED SALAMANDER, Ambystoma
opacum. Adults are about 5 inches long, bluish
beneath and slaty gray on the back, with about
14 grayish-white bars. The creature is not likely
to be mistaken for any other large salamander
found within its range, because the others are
marked with yellow.

Range: Eastern and central North America.
Habitat: Under flat stones or in burrows in
the soil.

5. MUD PUPPY, Necturus rnaculosus. This Range: The central portion of the Missis-
animal, which looks like a huge salamander, sippi drainage basin. Habitat: Caves.

Photographs, except Figure 2, by S. C. Bishop; Figure 2 by Charles E. Mohr

has no scales, and its body is shiny. It does
not come out on land,

Range: Eastern and central United States.
Habitat: Rivers and lakes.

6. TIGER SALAMANDER, Ambystoma ti-
grinum. This is a large, dark brown, yellow-*
splotched salamander. The young, which are
called Axolotl, may even breed while still re-
taining their external gills and living in the
water.

Range: The United States east of the Cas-
cades.

7. SLIMY SALAMANDER, Plethodon glutino-
sus. Adults are about 5 to 6 inches long. The
body, which is very sticky, has a ground color of
black; the speckles vary from white to gray or
even silver. The belly has a dull lead color which
may or may not be flecked with white.

Range: New York to Wisconsin, south to
Florida and Texas.

8. SLENDER SALAMANDER, Batrachoseps
attenuatus. The body of this salamander is
slender, the legs are small and weak, and the
tail is long. The color in general is brown, but
slightly lighter on the back than on the belly
and sides.

Range: The Pacific slope from southwestern
Oregon to California.

9. CAVE SALAMANDER, Typhlotriton spe-
Iseus. This inconspicuous salamander has a
uniformly pale — almost while — body. The
eyes are rudimentary and are somewhat con-
cealed by the skin.

Range: The Ozark plateau region of Arkan-
sas, Kansas, and Missouri. Habitat: Caves.

10. CAVE SALAMANDER, Eurycea lucifuga.
The back of this salamander is vermilion or
orange, with irregular dark brown or black

192

ANIMALS

impulse comes upon it, it may be far
from any stream; but it seems to know
instinctively where to go. After it enters
the water, it is again transformed in color,
becoming olive-green above and buff be-
low, although it still retains the red spots

i? it

Anna Stryke

Early stage of vermilion-spotted newt. Eggs
of newt attached to water plant

along the back; and it also retains its pep-
per-like dots. Its tail develops a keel which
extends along its back and is somewhat
ruffled.

The male has the hind legs very large
and flat; the lighter-colored female has
more delicate and smaller legs. It is here
in the water that the efts find their mates
and finish careers which must surely have
been hazardous. During its long and var-
ied life, the eft often sheds its skin like
the snake; it has a strange habit of swal-
lowing its cast-off coat.

SUGGESTED READING— Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; also, readings on
pages 170 and 185.

LESSON 48

THE NEWT OR EFT

LEADING THOUGHT— -The newts are
born in the water and at first have gills.
Later they live on land and have lungs
for breathing air; then they go back to the
water and again develop the power of
breathing the oxygen contained in water;
they also develop a keeled tail.

METHOD — The little, orange eft or red-

spotted salamander may be kept in an
aquarium which has in it an object, such
as a stone or a clump of moss, which pro-
jects above the water. For food it should
be given small earthworms or leaves cov-
ered with plant lice. In this way it may be
studied at leisure.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 idots
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 it puts 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 more of these crea-
tures 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?

REPTILES

Yet when a child and barefoot, I more than once, at morn,
Have passed, I thought, a whiplash imbraided in the sun?
When, stooping to secure it, it wrinkled, and was gone.

— EMILY DICKINSON

The animals in the reptile group have a
covering of bony plates or scales. These
animals vary greatly in size and shape and
include such forms as snakes, lizards, tur-
tles, crocodiles, and alligators. They make
their homes in a great variety of places;
the alligators, the crocodiles, and some of
the snakes and turtles live in or near water,
while many of the snakes and lizards are
quite at home in desert regions.

If the teacher could bring herself to
take as much interest as did Mother Eve
in that " subtile animal/7 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 cap-
turing 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
stripe sought to frighten their teacher with
their weird prisoners. But she was equal
to the occasion, and surprised them by de-
claring 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
erroneous beliefs 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 bay-
ous of the southern coast; however, in
most localities, snakes are not only harm-
less but are beneficial to the farmer. The
superstition that if a snake is killed, its

tail will live until sundown is general
and has but slender foundation in the fact
that with snakes, which are lower in their
nerve-organization than mammals, the
process of death is a slow one. Some peo-
ple 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

F. Harper

Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis. Alli-
gators may reach a length of twelve feet; they
live in or about rivers and swamps of tropical
and sub-tropical regions. Their food consists
chiefly of fish, mammals, and waterfowl. They
are unique among reptiles in being able to
produce a loud bellowing noise. In the past,
alligators have been ruthlessly slaughtered
and even now need more protection

snakes slimy; on the contrary, they are
covered with perfectly dry scales. But the
most general superstition of all is that a
snake's thrusting out its tongue is an act
of animosity; the fact is, the tongue is a
sense organ and is used as an insect uses its
feelers or antennae, 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.

ANIMALS

F. Harper .and A. A. Wright

Alligator eggs. More than 30 eggs may be
laid by one jemale alligator; they are placed
above water level in a nest of swamp vegeta-
tion. When hatching, the young alligators are
about 8 inches long. Turtle eggs, often- laid in
the same pile of vegetation, are shown in the
foreground

This is rendered possible by the elasticity
of the body walls, and by 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 assisting 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 prog-
ress 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
pilot black snake, wind themselves about
their victims and crush 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 flycatcher adorns its nest with
these phantom snakes.

SUGGESTED READING — Along Nature's
Trails, by Lillian C. Athey; Animals in the
Sun, by William W. Robinson; Back-
yard Exploration, by Paul G. Howes;
Desert Neighbors, by Edith M. Patch and
Carroll L. Fenton; Nature — by Seaside
and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips and
Julia M. Wright, Book 4, Our Earth and
Its Life; Our Great Outdoors, Reptiles,
Amphibians and Fishes, by C. W. G.
Eifrig; Out-of-Doors — A Guide to Na-
ture, by Paul B. Mann and George T.
Hastings; The Pond Book, and Fields
and Fencerows, both by Walter P. Porter
and Einar A. Hansen; Reptiles and Am-
phibians, Tli err Habits and Adaptations,
by Thomas Barbour; Reptiles of North
America, Snakes of the World, Reptiles
of the World, The Book of Living Rep-
tiles, all by Raymond L. Ditmars; Snakes
Alive and How They Live, by Clifford H.
Pope; The Stir of Nature, by William
H. Carr; see also Bibliography.

THE GARTER OR GARDEN SNAKE

A chipmunk, or a sudden-whirring quail,

Is startled by my step as on I fare.
A gartersnafee across the dusty trail,
Glances and — is not there.

— RILEY

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
porch and was very friendly and unafraid
of the family. The children of the campus

REPTILES

Garter snakes

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; some-
times 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
two to two and one-half feet in length.

The garters are likely to congregate in
numbers in places favorable for hiberna-
tion, like rocky ledges or stony sidehills.
Here each snake finds a safe crevice, or
makes a burrow which sometimes extends
a yard or more underground. 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 fa-
vorable 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 earth-
worms, insects, toads, salamanders, frogs,
etc. The young are born from late July
to mid September and are about six inches
long at birth; one mother may have in her
brood from eleven to fifty snakelings; she
often stays with them only a few hours.
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

ANIMALS

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Common garter snake
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis

on record. The little snakes shift for their
own food, catching small toads, earth-
worms, 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.

SUGGESTED READING -— Holiday Hill, by
Edith M. Patch; also, readings on page
194.

LESSON 49
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 cap-
tured 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 col-
ors 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 s£y;

The sunbeams, broken silently,

On the bared rocks around me lie, —

Cold roclcs 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 " CROTALTJS

(THE RATTLESNAKE)/'
BRET HARTE

REPTILES

197

THE MILK SNAKE OR SPOTTED ADDER

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

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 ob-
ject in frequenting milk houses and sta-
bles 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 two and one-half
to three feet when fully grown. Although
it is commonly called 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 rub-
bish, 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 resem-
bles a puffball. The young hatch nearly
two months after the eggs are laid; mean-
while 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 defense, try to chew
the hand of the captor, but the wounds

it can inflict are very slight and heal
quickly.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 194.

LESSON 50

THE MILK SNAKE OR SPOTTED ADDER
LEADING THOUGHT — The milk snake is
found around stables where it hunts for
rats and mice; it never milks the cows.

METHOD — Although the snake acts
fierce, it is perfectly harmless and may be
captured in the hands and placed in a
glass-covered box for a study in the school-
room.

OBSERVATIONS-—!. 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.

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Milk make
Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum

198

ANIMALS

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 underside?

5. Have you ever seen a snake shed its
skin? Describe how it was done. How does
the sloughed-off skin look? What bird usu-
ally 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 lie 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 lie 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 over-
tooJc him, and he transfixed it with a pitch-
fort and laid it on a cock of hay, but it
revived and carne 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 in-
definite length. Nobody knows exactly
how deadly is its bite but nobody is known
to have been bitten and recovered. Irish-
men introduced into these meadows for
the first time, on seeing a snake, a creature
which they have seen only in pictures be-
fore, 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

Every boy who goes fishing knows the
snake found commonly about milldams
and wharves or on rocks and bushes near
the water. The teacher will have accom-

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Common water snake
Natrix sipedon sipedon

plished a great work, if these boys are
made to realize that this snake is more
interesting as a creature for study, than
as an object to pelt with stones.

The water snake is a dingy brown in
color, with cross-bands of brown 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 atti-
tude 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 clays.

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 man-
ner, 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

REPTILES

199

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.

The water snake may attain a length of
about four feet; but the usual size is two
and one-half to three 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. The young often num-
ber twenty-five to forty and are about eight
inches long.

SUGGESTED READING — Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; Field Book of
Ponds and Streams, by Ann H. Morgan;
also, readings on page 194.

LESSON 51

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 chil-
dren to observe it in its native surround-
ings.

OBSERVATIONS— i. 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 favor-
ite place to which it will usually go to sun
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 indis-
tinctly 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 be-
hind. 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-look-
ing 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

SNAKES

1. RIBBON SNAKE, Thamnophis sauritus
sauritus. This slender , harmless snake feeds
chiefly upon earthworms and young frogs and
toads.

Range: From Maine, Ontario, and Michi-
gan to Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Habitat: Swamps and moist places.

2. CORAL SNAKE, Micrurus fulvius fulvius.
This beautiful snake is extremely poisonous.
Few persons are bitten by it, however, for it is
nocturnal in habit and during the day it hides
in burrows. Moreover, it does not strike, as
most snakes do, but bites into the flesh and
chews. It injects so much venom in that way
that when it does attack its bite is very dangerous.
This dangerous coral snake can be easily dis-
tinguished from certain other snakes, which
appear to mimic its coloration, by the yellow
bands which separate its black from its red
bands. Look out for the snake with the yellow
bands! Gentle though it may seem, do not play
with it.

3. RUBBER BOA, Charina bottse. Often
spoken of as blind, this boa does have rudi-
mentary eyes, which are, however, almost use-
less.

Range: In humid regions from Utah and
Montana to the Pacific coast.

4. ROUGH GREEN SNAKE, Opheodrys £es-
tivus. Gentle and harmless, this snake is chiefly
insectivorous. It can seldom be induced to bite,
and when it does so, its teeth rarely break the
skin.

Range: From New Jersey south to the Gulf
of Mexico and west to Missouri and New
Mexico. Habitat : Trees and bushy places.

5. TIMBER RATTLER, Crotalus horridus. In
North America, this rattlesnake is the best
known and the most widely distributed. It is
more variable in color than is any other rattler.
In winter, great numbers hibernate in the same

Photographs by A. A,

area, and in early spring, when there is a warm
day, may crawl out into the sunshine. They
usually remain near the den and again seek its
protection if the temperature drops appreciably.
The food of the timber rattler consists chiefly of
warm-blooded animals such as birds, rats, mice,
and rabbits. It is generally 3 to 5 feet long.

Range: Eastern United States to Mississippi
Valley states. Habitat: More various than that
of any other rattler; it is found in both swampy
and mountainous regions.

6. DESERT GOPHER SNAKE or BULL SNAKE,
Pituophis catenifer deserticola. This useful
snake, which feeds chiefly on rodents, is in
some states protected by law. The length of
an adult is usually more than 4 feet.

Range: Southern California to Idaho and
Washington. Other bull snakes are found from
British Columbia to Mexico. Habitat: Desert
areas.

7. RING-NECKED SNAKE or EASTERN RING-
NECKED SNAKE, Diadophis punctatus ed~
wardsii. The food of this snake shows great
variety; it includes other small snakes, lizards,
salamanders, and earthworms.

Range: Species are found generally over
southern Canada, the United States, and
Mexico. Habitat: Under old boards, loose
stones, or pieces of bark.

8. SIDEWINDER or HORNED RATTLESNAKE,
Crotalus cerastes. Its peculiar means of loco-
motion gives this snake its name: the body is
thrown forward in a series of large loops, and
moves at an angle from the direction in which
the head is pointed. This way of getting over
the ground seems better adapted than the gait
of most snakes would be to life in sandy deserts,
to which the sidewinder's habitat is virtually
limited. It is known to feed on such animals as
pocket mice, kangaroo rats, and lizards.

Range: Lower California to southwest Utah.

and A. H. Wright

SNAKES

1. PIKE-HEADED TREE SNAKE or AEIZONA
LONG-HEADED SNAKE, Oxybelis micropthala-
mus. This gentle, slender snake can produce
a poisonous bite, which it uses to paralyze its
prey. It feeds chiefly on lizards and various small
animals.

Range: In the United States, southern
Arizona. Habitat: Trees.

2. PILOT BLACK SNAKE, Elaphe obsoleta
obsoleta. Rats and other small rodents are the
food of this useful snake. Adults are usually
5J^ feet long, but have reached a length of 7 and
8 feet.

Range: From southern New England west-
ward to Michigan, southward to Florida and
Texas.

3. COPPERHEAD, Agkistrodon mokasen
mokasen. The copperhead is common in many
parts of the United States, and is probably
responsible for more bites than is any other kind
of snake. Deaths from its bite have been recorded,
but reports from the Antivenin Institute over a
period of two years show that although in this
time more than three hundred persons were
bitten, there were no fatalities, whether or not
treatment was given. The food of the copperhead
consists mainly of insects, birds, small rodents,
and amphibians. It is rather sluggish in habits,
and, when molested, usually tries to escape; but
if it is taken by surprise or cornered, it defends
itself vigorously.

Range: Massachusetts to Florida and west-
ward to Arkansas and Texas. Habitat: The
copperhead usually inhabits drier ground than
its relative the moccasin (No. 6).

4. BOYLE'S KING SNAKE or BOYLE'S MILK
SNAKE, Lampropeltis getulus boylii. This
snake belongs to a great group of king snakes, all
of which do much good to farmers by destroying
rodents and many other harmful creatures, in-
cluding even poisonous snakes.

Range: Arizona, western Nevada, and Cali-
fornia. Other species are widely distributed.

. Photographs by A.

Habitat: Regions of small streams, especially
where chaparral is present.

5. GRAY PILOT SNAKE, Elaphe obsolete
confinis. The habits of this snake are similar
to those of the pilot black snake (No. 2).

Range: The lower Mississippi Valley, South
Atlantic, and Gulf states.

6. WATER MOCCASIN or COTTONMOUTH,
Agkistrodon piscivorus. This poisonous snake
is heavier and larger than the copperhead, since
it grows from 3 to 5 or even 6 feet in length. The
name of cottonmouth has been given it because
of the white appearance of the open mouth. It
is found in regions of swamps or slow-flowing
streams, and in sunny hours is often to be seen
at rest on any object that overhangs the water;
it stays in such a position that if danger appears
it can dive into the water. It eats both warm-
and cold-blooded animals, even including other
snakes. The young are born alive.

Range: From southern Virginia to Florida
and the Gulf states. Habitat: Swampy areas.

7. CALIFORNIA LYRE SNAKE, Trimorphodon
vandenburghi. The bite of this slender, non-
aggressive snake, which it uses to kill or numb
the small animals that are its prey, is possibly
poisonous to man.

Range: California. Other snakes of this
group are found in the southwestern United
States, Mexico, and Central and South Amer-
ica.

8. SOUTHERN HOGNOSE SNAKE, Heterdon
simus. When threatened, this harmless snake
may "play possum"; or it may expand its body,
flatten its head, and hiss. It seems to feel that
all dead snakes should lie on their backs; for, if
turned on its belly when playing dead, it will
flop over on its back. After a short time, if it is
not disturbed again, it will turn over and crawl
away. Because their threatening actions and
ferocious appearance have led people to con-
sider them dangerous to man, many of these in-
offensive snakes have been killed.

Range : From Florida to Indiana.

A. and A. H. Wright

2O4

ANIMALS

THE TURTLE

A turtle is at heart a misanthrope; its
shell is in itself proof of its owner's dis-
trust of this world. But we need not won-
der 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 smilo
don 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

A, A. and A. H. Wright

Mud turtle, Kinosternon subrubrum hip-
pocrepis, viewed jrom above. Many species
of mud turtles are found in the eastern, cen-
tral, and southern United States. The one pic-
tured is found from Alabama to Texas and
north to Kansas. When in captivity, mud
turtles will eat lettuce and meat

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

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Mud turtle viewed from below

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.
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 cara-
pace 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 breastbone. The mark-

REPTILES

205

ings and colors of the shell offer excellent
subjects for drawing. The painted terra-
pin 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, 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 cover-
ing 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

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Painted turtle, or terrapin, Chrysemys belli
marginata. The painted turtle pictured is
found from the Mississippi River eastward;
but species can be jound anywhere in the
United States except in deserts and very high
mountains. This turtle often swims about
rocks and logs that protrude above the water

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 mem-
brane 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 turtle's nostrils are mere pinholes
in the snout. The mouth is a more or less
hooked beak, and is armed with cutting
edges instead of teeth. The constant pul-
sation in the throat is caused by the tur-
tle's swallowing air for breathing.

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Chicken turtle, Deirochelys reticularia.
This turtle is at home on the coastal plain
from North Carolina to Mississippi. Its high
shell may reach a length of eight inches; its
neck is long and snakelike

The turtle's legs, although so large and
soft, have bones within them, as the skele-
ton 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 which frequently bears
many scales or plates. Thus, large bright-
colored scales are conspicuous on the fore
legs of the wood turtle, and the tail of
the snapping turtle bears a saw-toothed
armor of dorsal plates.

The enemies of turtles are the larger
fishes and other turtles. Two turtles
should never be kept in the same aquar-

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Diamond back terrapin, Malaclemys cen-
trata. The home of the diamond back is in
salt marshes from Florida to Massachusetts.
In captivity it will eat lettuce, oysters, beef,
chopped clams, or fish. Its flesh is used as
meat and for making soup

206

ANIMALS

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Florida snapper, Chelydra osceola, viewed
from above. Snappers live in slow-running
streams, ponds, or marshes; the female often
goes some distance from her regular home to
bury her round, white eggs — usually about
two dozen in number.

ium? since they eat each other's 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 ber-
ries. In an aquarium, a turtle should be
fed earthworms, chopped fresh beef, let-
tuce 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, water
turtles may bury themselves in the ooze
at the bottom of ponds and streams. The
land turtles dig themselves into the earth.
Their eggs have white leathery shells, are
oblong or round, 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 common kinds:
(a) The Snapping Turtle — This some-
times attains a shell fourteen inches long
and a weight of forty pounds. It is a vicious

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Florida snapper viewed from below

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Gopher turtle, Gopherus berlandieri. These
turtles are related to the huge turtles of the
Galapagos Islands. The one pictured is found
in the Rio Grande region; but the range of the
gopher turtles extends widely through the
South and the Southwest

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. The large alligator
snapper of the South may attain a weight
of one hundred pounds.

(b) The Mud Turtle - The musk tur-
tle and the common mud turtle both in-
habit 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.

REPTILES

red mottled border of its shell. It makes
a good pet, if kept in an aquarium by it-
self, but will destroy other creatures. It
will eat meat or chopped fish, and is fond
of earthworms and soft insects. It finds
its food most readily under water.

(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 fa-
vorite perch is upon a log with many of
its companions. It feeds under water, eat-
ing insect larvae, dead fish, and vegetation.
It likes fresh lettuce.

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Spotted turtle, Clemmys guttata. The
range of the spotted turtles extends jrom
Michigan to Maine and south to Florida. In
captivity they often become very tame; they
prefer raw food — earthworms, aquatic in-
sects, ground beef, or fish

(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, orna-
mented 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, but also enjoys
chopped meat. It makes an interesting
pet and will soon learn to eat from the
fingers of its master.

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Eggs of spotted turtle
Clemmys guttata

(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? too, in captivity
will eat chopped meat. It lives to a great
age.

A. A. and A. H. Wright

A young wood turtle
Clemmys insculpta

208

ANIMALS

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Box turtle, Terrapene major. One or more
species of box turtle can be found in almost
any portion of the United States from the
Rocky Mountains eastward

(g) The Soft-shelled Turtle — These
are found in streams and canals. The up-
per shell looks as if it were of one piece
of soft leather, and resembles a griddle-
cake. The neck is very long and the
head particularly snakelike with a piglike
snout. Although soft-shelled, these turtles
are far from soft-tempered, and must be
handled with care. In captivity they must
be kept in water.

SUGGESTED READING— Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; Field Book of
Ponds and Streams, by Ann H. Morgan;
First Lessons in Nature Study, and Holi-
day Pond, both by Edith M. Patch; Hum-
phrey: One Hundred Years along the
Wayside with a Box Turtle, by Marjorie
Flack; The Spring of trie Year, by Dallas
Lore Sharp (Turtle Eggs for Agassiz);
also, readings on page 194.

A. A. and A. H. Wright

Soft-shelled turtle, Amyda emoryi. The
species pictured is found in Texas, Oklahoma,
and Arkansas; other species may be found
from Canada south to the Gulf and as jar
west as Colorado

LESSON 52
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.

OBSERVATIONS — i . How much can you
see of the turtle when it is walking? If

A snapping turtle

J. T. Lloyd

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 from the
upper? What is the advantage to the tur-
tle 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 col-
ored 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 to-
gether?

3. Is the border of the upper shell dif-
ferent from the central portion in color
and markings? Is the edge smooth or scal-
loped?

REPTILES

209

4. How far does the turtle's head pro-
ject 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 the turtle 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.
What is the cause of this constant pulsa-
tion?

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 fright-
ened 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?

LIZARDS

1 and 2. BANDED GECKO, Coleonyx brevis.
The gecko, a male, shown in (1) has lost the
tip of its fragile tail In (2) another gecko, a
female, is pictured with a complete tail. An
interesting fact about these creatures is that
after the tail has been lost another complete
tail may later be regenerated. This is char-
acteristic of lizards. The banded gecko is 2 to
3 inches long, and is yellow and brown in
color; its small scales give it a very soft, smooth
appearance.

Range: Found only in Texas. Habitat:
Under stones; it comes out at night.

3. CHAMELEON, Anolis carolinensis. This
well-known lizard changes color with tempera-
ture conditions: it may fade from dark brown
to pale green in three minutes. Often seen in
captivity, it can be fed on meal worms and
flies; it needs water to drink.

Range: North Carolina and Florida to the
Rio Grande.

4. FENCE LIZARD, Sceloporus thayeri. Like
other lizards, this animal eats insects. It is
about 5 inches long.

5. GLASS SNAKE or LEGLESS LIZARD,
Ophisaurus ventralis. This long, slender lizard
is smooth and glassy. It has a ground color of
olive, black, or brown, with greenish to black
markings, and a greenish white on the under
portions of the body. The long tail makes up
about two-thirds of the total length of the animal.
An average full-grown specimen is about 24
inches long, but some individuals may attain a
length of 3 feet. Like most other lizards, the glass
snake, if seized, can shed its tail. While its
astonished pursuer gazes at the tail, the body
escapes. A new tail begins to grow at once, but
it seems never to grow quite as large as the orig-
inal. The glass snake can be distinguished from
a true snake by an ear opening on each side of
the head, by numerous rows of small, overlapping
scales on its belly, and by movable eyelids.

Range: Virginia to Florida westward to

Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Mexico. Habitat;
Chiefly in the ground.

6. ALLIGATOR LIZARD or PLATED LIZARD,
Gerrhonotus inf emails. Whatever this lizard
hears must "go in one ear and out the other";
for one can look through the ear openings directly
through the head. These lizards, which are
about 18 inches long, make interesting pets.

Range: Southern Texas and northern Mex-
ico.

7. SONORAN SKINK, Eumeces obsoletus.
Skinks are seldom seen in captivity, for they
are hard to capture. They are active in day-
light. The females of some skinks stay with
their eggs until they hatch.

Range: Utah and Kansas to northern Mex-
ico. Other kinds are widely distributed over
North and Central America; there are many
in the Old World.

8. GILA MONSTER, Heloderma suspectum.
As far as is known, no two gila monsters show
exactly the same color patterns. Orange, salmon,
and brown or black are the chief colors, but they
are variously arranged. This and the closely re-
lated Mexican beaded lizard are the only poison-
ous lizards known in the New World. In the
gila monster the poison glands are situated in
the lower jaw and the venom flows out around
the teeth and gums* Therefore, since the teeth
are above the level of the glands, the poison some-
times does not enter a wound made by the teeth.
This lizard is rather sluggish and quite often
will not bite even if it is given a good chance to
do so. When it does bite, it holds on with a strong
grip. In walking it moves slowly and seems
awkward, but it is active enough to climb trees
and bushes, evidently in search of bird's eggs, of
which it is very fond. If it is given plenty of
drinking water, it can be kept in captivity for
years on a diet of hen's eggs.

Range: Arizona and New Mexico. Habitat;
Deserts.

Photographs by A. A. and A. H. Wright

LIZARDS

1 and 2. REGAL HORNED TOAD, Phrynosoma
solare. This lizard is called " regal " because
the row of spines across the sides and rear of
the head gives the effect of a crown. Its color
is yellowish, brownish, reddish, or grayish.
The eggs are shown in No. 2.

Range: Arizona and Lower California.
Other kinds are found throughout the western
and southwestern states and northern Mexico.

3. HORNED TOAD, Phrynosoma blainvillii.
These lizards, commonly called (lhorned toads"
are inhabitants of hot, dry regions. In the warmer
months they live above ground during the hours
of daylight, and are most active when the heat
is greatest. Before dark they bury themselves
in the sand. They hibernate in winter. In color
they often resemble somewhat the ground where
they live. A strange habit of the horned toad is
that cf " squirting blood " from one or both eyes,
perhaps as a means of self-defense. The blood
has not been found to be poisonous, and must
be ejected more to scare than actually to injure
the enemy. The horned toad can be tamed, and
is often kept for a pet. All too often, however, its
owner does not provide enough of the right kind
of food — various kinds of small insects — for it,
and in such circumstances its ability to live for
a long time without food or water serves only to
prolong its discomfort. In the Southwest these
lizards are sometimes stuffed and sold to tourists
as souvenirs, but some states have passed laws
prohibiting such sales.

Range: San Francisco into Lower Cali-
fornia.

4. HORNED TOADS FEEDING ON ANTS. In
this picture several kinds of horned toads are
shown feeding on ants in a pile of sand. They
did not dash into the pile, but stood about it
in a circle and caught the ants as they came out.

5. MALE FENCE LIZARD, Sceloporus spino-
sus. On either side of the belly the male lizard

Photographs by A.

has a large blue or purple spot margined with
black. Such marks are used to identify many
male lizards.

Range: Northern Mexico, New Mexico, and
Texas to western Florida. Habitat: Trunks of
standing or fallen trees.

6. MOUNTAIN BOOMER or COLLARED LIZ-
ARD, Crotaphytus collaris baileyi. This un-
usual looking animal makes a good pet if enough
food can be provided for it. It lives chiefly on
insects and blossoms of various plants, but it
also has cannibalistic habits, and so must not
be kept in a cage with other lizards of equal or
smaller size. It is found about rocks at high
altitudes. If alarmed or pursued, it runs until it
can find a crevice in the rocks. It is a swift
runner and a high jumper, being able to clear
an object as much as two feet high. In the hottest
part of the day its colors seem brighter than
during the cooler hours.

Range: Southwestern United States and
Mexico. Habitat: Dry, rocky regions.

7. WHIP-TAIL or RACE RUNNER, Cnemi-
dophorus gularis. These striped lizards are
active all day under the hottest sun in open
areas. In the specimen pictured here, note the
balls of dirt on its toes from running in soft
dirt after a rain.

Range: Southwestern United States and
northern Mexico. A six-line race runner is
common in the East.

8. CHUCK-WALLA, Sauromalus obesus. This
large lizard, 10 to 16 inches long, is a vege-
tarian. It protects itself by escaping into
crevices. This specimen ran into a crevice and
puffed himself up to such a size that it was
hard to get him out.

Range: Southwestern United States. Habi-
tat: Rocky places in desert areas.

A. and A. H. Wright

MAMMALS

Mammals, in contrast to fishes, am-
phibians, and reptiles, are warm-blooded
animals, as are birds. The skin of most
mammals is more or less hairy, in con-
trast to the scale-covered fish and the
feathered birds. The young of most mam-
mals are born alive, whereas the young of
birds, fish, amphibians, and some species

Marthe Ann, one year old. Human beings are
mammals

of reptiles hatch from eggs. After birth
young mammals breathe by lungs rather
than by gills as do the fish; for a time they
are nourished with milk produced by the
mother.

Great variations exist in the mammal
group. Some of the typical animals in the
mammal group which illustrate these vari-
ations are opossum, armadillo, whale,
deer, buffalo, rabbit, mouse, woodchuck,
mole, bat, bear, horse, cat, dog, and man.

Man has always depended a great deal
on the lower mammal forms; he uses
them for food, clothing, transportation,
and numerous other purposes. Many

forms are domesticated and have served
as man's obedient servants for many cen-
turies.

Some of the so-called game animals
have suffered wanton destruction at the
hands of " civilized man/7 but in more
recent years many laws and regulations
have been passed to give these animals
more chances to live. Even more stringent
laws are needed and rigid enforcement
must be exacted if wild animals in gen-
eral are to be expected to increase in
number.

SUGGESTED READING — Along Nature's
Trails, by Lillian C. Athey; Animals of
America, edited by H. E. Anthony; The
Book about Animals, published by Fred-
erick Warne and Company; Field Boole
of North American Mammals, by H. E.
Anthony; Homes and Habits of Wild
Animals, by Karl P. Schmidt; Lives of
Game Animals, by Ernest Thompson
Seton; Nature — by Seaside and Way-
side, by Mary G. Phillips and Julia M.
Wright, Book 4, Our Earth and Its Life;
Our Great Outdoors, Mammals, by C.
W. G. Eifrig; Our Wild Animals, by
Edwin L. Moseley; Out of Doors: A
Guide to Nature, by Paul B. Mann and
George T. Hastings; The Picture Book of
Animals, The Second Picture Book of
Animals, both by Isabel E. Lord; Present
Day Mammals, by Claude W. Leister;
The Stir of Nature, by William H. Carr;
Tracks and Trails, by Leonard Rossell;
Wild Animals of North America, by E.
W. Nelson; additional references are to
be found in the bibliography in the back
of this Handbook, under various head-
ings: Mammals, Animals in General,
Nature-study in General, Textbooks
and Readers, Nature Poetry, Magazines
and Periodicals, Books for Parents and
Teachers.

MAMMALS

215

THE COTTON-TAIL RABBIT

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

It is well for Molly Cotton-tail and her
family that they have learned to shun
more than guns, for almost every preda-
tory animal and bird makes a dinner of
them on every possible occasion. But de-
spite 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, be-
neath 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 the hind feet on each side and
ahead of them; because 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 hid-
den 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 dam-
age 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? "

A cotton-tail rabbit

When the rabbit is running or 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 con-
stantly, 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 man-
ner.

The rabbit has an upper and lower

2l6

ANIMALS

Verne Morton

The rabbits' ears are ever alert for any sign
of danger

pair of incisors like other rodents, but on
the upper jaw there is a short incisor be-
hind each 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 in-
cisors. 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 wab-
bling of lips finally taking it in, mean-
while chewing it with a sidewise motion
of the jaws. The rabbit's whiskers are val-
uable as feelers, and are always kept on
the qui vfve 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 en-
able 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 can-
not 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 ani-
mal which sits for long periods upon the
snow. When sleeping, the rabbit folds the
front paws under and 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 calcu-
lated 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 gen-
eral color of the rabbit fits in with nat-
ural 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.

The cotton-tail does not dig a burrow,

A Dutch rabbit and Belgian hares

MAMMALS

217

but sometimes occupies the deserted bur-
row 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 ani-
mal to sit. The mother prepares a shal-
low excavation in which she makes a soft
bed for the young, using grass and her
own hair for the purpose; and she con-
structs a coarse felted coverlet, under
which she tucks her babies with care
every time she leaves them. Young rab-
bits 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, snake,
and occasionally red squirrel all relish the
young cotton-tail if they can get it. Noth-
ing 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. 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 can also bite, and
when two males are fighting, they bite
each other savagely. 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 and the com-
mon domestic rabbit are true rabbits. The
jack rabbit is a true hare.

Not the least of tributes to the rabbit's
sagacity are the Negro folk stories told

"by Uncle Remus, wherein Brer Rabbit,
although often in trouble, is really the
most clever of all the animals. I have
often thought when I have seen the tac-
tics 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

Rabbits playing in the moonlight

back to safety, while the dog went over,
landing on the rocks nearly three hundred
feet below.

An interesting relative of the cotton-
tail is the varying hare or snow-shoe rabbit
that lives in the wooded regions of north-
eastern North America. Of all animals he
is one of the most defenseless; foxes,
mink, and other flesh-eating inhabitants
of the woods find him an easy prey. He has
not even a burrow to flee to when pur-
sued by his enemies.

He passes the day half asleep and mo-
tionless beneath the sheltering branches
of a low fir tree or in a dense thicket. With
the coming of night he starts off in search
of food.

He has one important advantage over
his enemies: twice each year his heavy
coat of fur is shed. In the summer the
coat is a reddish brown that so blends
with his surroundings that he is hardly
noticeable; in the winter it is perfectly

2l8

ANIMALS

white so that against a background of
snow he is nearly invisible.

SUGGESTED READING — Farm Animals,
by James G. Lawson; Holiday Hill, by
Edith M. Patch; Mother Nature Series,
by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor Trox-
ell, Book i, Baby Animals; The Museum
Comes to Life, by Maribelle Cormack
and William P. Alexander; Our Backdoor
Neighbors, by Frank C. Pellett; The Pet
Boole, by Anna B. Cornstock; Wild Ani-
mals I Have Known, or Lobor Rag and
Vixen, both by Ernest Thompson Seton;
also, readings on page 214.

LESSON 53
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.

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 prop-
erly fed and cared for, and may thus be
studied at close range. The cage I have
used for rabbits 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
oilcloth 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 — i. 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 star-
tled? When not quite certain about the
direction of the noise? Explain the rea-
sons 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 up-
per 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 rab-
bit'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 rab-
bit 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 squir-
rel's? In what position are the legs when
the rabbit is resting? When it is standing?
When it is lifted up for observation?

7. How does the cotton-tail escape be-
ing 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?

MAMMALS

2,19

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 fol-
low them? Do rabbits ever fight their ene-

mies? 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 bur-
rows? How many breeds of tame rabbits
do you kno\v?

13. Write or tell stories on the follow-
ing 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/'

Silas Lottridge

Winter lodge of muskrats

THE MUSKRAT

Having finished this first course of big-neclc 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

Tracking is a part of the education of
every boy who aspires to a knowledge of
wood lore; and a boy with this accom-

plishment is sure to be looked upon with
great admiration by other boys less
skilled in the interpretation of that writ-

220

ANIMALS

The Muskrat

Silas Lottridge

ing 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 ani-
mal, 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 musk-
rat 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 dis-
tinguishes the track of the muskrat from
that of the mink, as the bushy tail of the
latter does not make so distinct a mark.
Furthermore the claws of the feet show
distinctly in a muskrat track; those of
the mink do not. Measuring the track is
a simple 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 then 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;
the hind feet are likewise much longer
than the front feet and have a web be-
tween 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 flat-
tened 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 some-

A muskrat' s summer home, drawn by A.
MacKinnon, a boy of thirteen years

MAMMALS

221

times plucked out leaving the soft, fine
under coat, which is often dyed black
and sold under the name of "" Hudson
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 rud-
der 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. Muskrats 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 musk-
rats 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 hunt-
ing for food at night, although sometimes

Frank H. Steinicke

A beaver lodge in winter. In the foreground
is the " air hole!3 In general this home looks
like that of the muskrat, but it is larger and is
made of coarser materials

National Parks Bureau, Dominion of Canada

Adult Beaver. The habits of beavers some-
what resemble those of muskrats. Beavers
may weigh from 40 to 60 pounds and reach
a length of 40 inches. In North America they
range from Hudson Bay and Alaska south
into Mexico in the West and the southern
Alleghenies in the East

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 shal-
low pond, is built upon with reeds, mak-
ing 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 re-
gards it as a habitation. 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
in some instances an air-hole. 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 except the mink
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.

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 Stted for burrows,
then a burrow will be used as a winter

222 ANIMALS

retreat; but if the banks are shallow, the
muskrats unite in building cabins. The
main entrance to the muskrat burrow is
usually 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 also often a

National Parks Bureau, Dominion of Canada

Young beavers feeding in the shallow water
near the lower edge of a beaver dam

passage, with a hidden entrance, leading
out to dry land.

The flesh of the muskrat is delicious,
and therefore the animal has many ene-
mies; foxes, weasels, dogs, minks, and also
hawks and owls prey upon it. It is, in-
deed, a good human food. It escapes the
sight of its enemies as does the mouse,
by having inconspicuous fur; when dis-
covered, it escapes its enemies by swim-
ming, although when cornered it is cou-
rageous 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.

It is called muskrat because of the odor,
somewhat resembling musk, which it ex-
cretes from two glands on the lower side
of -the body between the hind legs; these
glands may be seen when the skin is re-

moved, which is the too common plight
of this poor creature, since it is hunted
mercilessly for its pelt.

The little muskrats are bom in April
and there are usually from three to seven
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.

SUGGESTED READING — The Beaver: Its
Worlc and Its Ways, by Edward R. War-
ren; Beaver Pioneers, by Wendell and
Lucie Chapman; The Fall of the Year,
and Winter, both by Dallas L. Sharp; also,
readings on page 214.

LESSON 54
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 cattails 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 musk-
rat lodges in the region they should be
visited and described. For studying the
muskrat's form a live muskrat in captivity
is almost necessary. 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 chil-
dren should read all the stories of beavers
which are available, as the two animals
are very much alike in their habits.

OBSERVATIONS — i . In what locality
have you discovered the tracks of the
muskrat? Describe its general appearance.
Measure the muskrat's track as follows:

MAMMALS

223

(a) width and length of the print of one
foot; (b) the width between the prints
of the two hind feet; (c) the length be-
tween the prints made by the hind feet in
several successive steps or jumps.

2. Was the muskrafs 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 musk-
rat 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 niuskraf s tail was
long or short, bare or brushy, slender or
stout?

4. How long is the largest muskrat you
'3ver 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 muskrat7 s eyes, ears,
and teeth. For what are the teeth espe-
cially 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 cover-
ing? 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 pre-
pare the food for eating? Does it seek
its food during the night or day? Have you
ever observed the muskraf s dining room?
If so, describe it.

12. Describe the structure of the musk-

rat's winter lodge, or cabin, in the follow-
ing particulars: What is its size? Where
built? Of what material? How many
rooms in it? Are these rooms above or be-
low the water level? Of what is the bed
made? How is it arranged so that the en-
trance is not closed by the ice? Is such a
home built by one or more muskrats? How
many live within it? Do the muskrats al-
ways 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 lead-
ing 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

Leonard K. Beyer

Trees felled by beavers. Unlike muskrats,
beavers fell trees. They have cut these birches
either to use the bark for food or the trunks
jor reinforcement of a dam. In the back-
ground, note the area covered by water held
by a beaver dam

those of beavers 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?

ANIMALS

Nature Photography around the Year, Percy A. Morris,
© D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.

THE HOUSE MOUSE

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

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 flit-
ting shadow; if it were black or white or
any other color, it would be more often
seen and destroyed. It has been very
closely associated with man; as a result
of this fact the species has been able to
spread over the world.

At first glance one wonders what pos-
sible 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 Revel ey first called my
attention to the fact that the house mouse
uses its tail in climbing. I verified this in-
teresting 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, and then in trying
to stretch to the edge of his jar, he in-
variably 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 in climbing up the sides of walls.
The tail is also of some use when the
mouse jumps directly upward. 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

MAMMALS

225

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 that
people like to eat and, when eating, fre-
quently holds its food in its front paws
like a squirrel.

The thin, velvety ears are flaring cornu-
copias 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 then four grinding
teeth on each side, above and below, like
the teeth of woodchucks and other ro-
dents. 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 rub-
bing them both simultaneously from be-
hind the ears down over the face. It takes
its hind foot in both front feet and nib-
bles and licks it. It scratches the back of
its head with its hind foot.

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 wall, 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.

Verne Morton

Young field mice, blind, pink, and hairless

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 Pil-
grim 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 while there I
observed that as soon as the bell rang for
noon, the mice would appear instantly,
hunting wastebaskets for scraps of lunch.
They had learned to connect the sound of
the bell with food.

226

ANIMALS

Anna Stryke

A white-footed or deer mouse may use an
old bird's nest for its home

Of all our wild mice, the white-footed
or deer mouse is the most interesting
and attractive. It is found almost exclu-
sively 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 in 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 which looks 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. This mouse makes
its nest in hollow trees and stores nuts
for winter use. We once found two quarts
of shelled beechnuts in such a nest. It
also likes the hips of the wild rose and
many kinds of berries; it sometimes makes
its home in a bird's nest, which it roofs
over to suit itself. The young mice are
usually carried in the mother's mouth,
one at a time. As an inhabitant of sum-
mer cottages, white-foot is cunning and
mischievous; it pulls cotton out of quilts,
takes covers from 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, show-
ing 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 runways under the snow, mak-
ing strange corrugated patterns over the

ground which attract our attention in
spring. It has a heavy body, short legs,
short ears, and a short tail. It is brownish
or blackish in color. It sometimes digs
burrows straight into the ground, but
more often makes its nest in waste mead-
ows. 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 rap-
idly and would otherwise soon overrun
and destroy the grain fields. They cause
tremendous damage by girdling valuable
fruit trees. 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 to teach them how to
distinguish them from other tracks.

Country Life in America

A white-footed mouse at her own doorway in
the woods

MAMMALS

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
imprisoned animal is left to languish and
starve. The teacher cannot enforce too
strongly upon the child the ethics of trap-
ping. 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 oppor-
tunity for giving the children a lesson in
humane trapping. Let them set a tin-can
trap for meadow mice or deer mice. They
must examine the traps every morning.
The little prisoners may be brought to
school and studied; meanwhile, they
should be treated kindly and fed bounti-
fully. 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

227

Tracks of a white-footed mouse. Note how
the long tail has left a print in the snow. As
this mouse does not hibernate, its tracks are
often seen on snow

Nature Photography around the Year, Percy A. Morris,
-© D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.

A meadow mouse

child has become thoroughly interested in
it and its life is always bad.

SUGGESTED READING — The Museum
Comes to Life, by Maribelle Cormack
and William P. Alexander; Winter,
by Dallas L. Sharp; also, readings on
page 214.

LESSON 55
THE HOUSE MOUSE

LEADING THOUGHT — The mouse is fit-
ted 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 aquar-
ium jars with wire screen covers; by plac-
ing 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
mousy odor can be obviated while the
little creature is being studied. A little
water in a wide-necked bottle can be low-
ered 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 him a chance to show
his feats as an acrobat.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Why is the color of
the mouse of special benefit to it? Do
you think it protects it from the sight of

228

ANIMALS

Robert T. Hatt

A tin-can trap for catching small rodents
alive. To a choke trap is wired a tin can with
a piece slightly larger than the bait treadle of
the trap cut out. To the choke wire of the
trap is fastened a square of coarse wire mesh

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 com-
pared with its body? What is the cover-
ing 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 com-
pared 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 purpose 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?

American Humane Society

A woodchuck caught in a humane trap. If
such traps are visited frequently, animals
caught in them do not suffer such agonies as
in ordinary steel traps. Information about
various types of humane traps can be secured
from the American Humane Society, Albany,
N.Y.

MAMMALS

THE WOODCHUCK

He who knows the ways of the wood-
chuck 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 un-
dertakes to dig out a woodchuck, one
needs to be not only a husky individual,
but something of an engineer; the direc-
tion 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 enlarge-
ment of the burrow, lined with soft grass
which the woodchucks bring in in their
mouths. During the early part of the sea-
son, 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 dwell-

ing, 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 rest-
ing. It often goes some distance from its
burrow to feed, and at short intervals lifts

The woodchuck is at home in grassy meadows

2JO

ANIMALS

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 run-
ning, 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 mak-
ing 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 wood-

W. J. Hamilton, Jr.

. . amon, r.

These young woodchucks are as tame as

kittens

chuck 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. In recent years it has been con-
sidered a game animal and furnishes much
sport for the rifleman. It is an animal of
resources and will climb a tree if attacked
by a dog; it will also climb trees for fruit,
such as wild cherries or peaches. During
the late summer, it is the ground hog's
business to feed very constantly and be-
come very fat. About the first of October,
it retires to its den and sleeps until the
end of February or early March, in the
eastern United States. During this dor-
mant 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
spring, when it comes out of its burrow
looking gaunt and lean. The old saying
that the ground hog comes out on Candle-
mas Day, and if it sees its shadow, goes
back to sleep for six weeks more, may
savor of meteorological truth, but it is cer-
tainly 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 red-
dish 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 condi-
tion 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.

The woodchuck's ears are roundish and
not prominent; the sense of hearing is
acute. The teeth consist of two large white
incisors at the front of each jaw, then a
bare space, and then 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, forms 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; it also
can whistle. I had a woodchuck acquaint-
ance once which always gave a high, shrill,
almost birdlike whistle when I came in
view. 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 exer-
cises with a " clear soprano/7 The young
woodchucks are born from late March to
mid May, and the litter usually numbers
four or five. In June the " chucklings "
may be seen following the mother in the

MAMMALS

231

field with much babyish grunting. If cap- direction do the underground galleries

tured at this period, they make very in-
teresting pets. By July the young wood-
chucks leave the home burrow and start
burrows of their own.

SUGGESTED READING — Bozo, the Wood-
chuck, by Dorothy L. Brown and Mar-
guerite Butterfield; Holiday Meadow, by
Edith M. Patch; Mother Nature Series,
by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor Troxell,
Book 2, By the Roadside; The Museum
Comes to Life, by Maribelle Cormack
and William P. Alexander; The Pet Book,
by Anna B. Comstock; also, readings on
page 214.

LESSON 56
THE WOODCHUCK OR GROUND HOG

LEADING THOUGHT — The woodchuck
has thriven with civilization, notwith-
standing 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, may be 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 — i. Where is the wood-
chuck 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? Play a mouth organ near the wood-
chuck'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 wood-
chuck bring it out? How is the burrow
made so that the woodchuck is not
drowned in case of heavy rains? In what

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 wood-
chuck 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 wroodchuck
that you have ever seen? What is the
woodchucFs 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 the 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 wood-
chuck's ear? Can it hear well? 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 ap-
pearance 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 Hub-
bard'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.

ANIMALS

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 in-
obvious, with a faint chestnut iris, with
but little expression and that more of resig-
nation 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 whit-
ish 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 slen-
der 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 /aw on the other, yet as if
more from instinct than anger. Which-
ever 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 some-
times, but standing on its fore feet with
its head down, i. e., half sitting, half stand-
ing. We sat looking at one another about
half an hour, till we began to feel mes-
meric 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 con-

ciliatory 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 meas-
ured 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 purely 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 im-
mediately 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 par-
tridge'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 nat-
uralized 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 wis-
dom 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

MAMMALS

THE RED SQUIRREL OR CHICKAREE

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.

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 comprehen-
sion which can take into account a pro-
jectile, and much less a shot from a gun;
but though it does not understand, it ex-
periences 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 ter-
ror. 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 dif-
ferent; but now it seems to me that any-
one who hunts what few wild creatures
we have left, and which are in nowise in-
jurious, is, whatever he may think of him-
self, 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 shotgun
has exterminated this splendid species lo-
cally. 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 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,

Dorothy M. Compton

Red squirrel at feeding log

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/7 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 uni-
verse were fixed on him . . . and then
suddenly, before you could say " Jack
Robinson " he would be in the top of a

ANIMALS

A red squirrel on his vine bridge

young pitch pine, winding up his clock,
and chiding all imaginary spectators, so-
liloquizing 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, O my beating
heart! " which is all pure affectation be-
cause he knows he can scurry away in per-
fect 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
that, as Riley puts it, " he lets his own
tail tell on him/7 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 lit-
tle claws cling securely to the bark. He can
climb out on the smallest twigs quite as
well, when he needs to clo so, in passing
from tree to tree or when gathering
acorns.

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 tree tops, 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 fol-
lowing 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
brightly colored and is a conspicuous ob-
ject; his back is bright russet, almost red,
and along his sides, where the red meets
the grayish white of the underside, there
is a dark line which is very ornamental.
With the corning of summer, however, his
coat becomes quite dingy. In November
he moults, and his bright color returns.
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, 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 run-
ner; the hips are very strong, which in-
sures 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 character-
istic. The tracks are paired and those of
the large five-toed hind feet are always in
front.

Squirrel tracks

MAMMALS

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 op-
posite 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, buds, and
cones; it is marvelous how he will take a
cone apart, tearing of! the scales and leav-
ing 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

A. A. Allen

A gray squirrel with food in its paws

Dwight E. Sollberger

Flying squirrel just leaving home

find his winter stores untouched the next
summer. He also likes birds' eggs and nest-
lings, and if it were not for the chastise-
ment he gets from the parent robins,
he would work much damage in this
way.

The red squirrels use a great variety of
places for nests. In different localities vari-
ous types of nests are constructed; some
individuals prefer hollow trees, some build
nests in clumps of vines, such as wild
grape vines, and still others make their
homes in the ground under or about
stumps. During the winter, the red squir-
rel does not remain at home except in
the coldest weather, when he lies cozily
with his tail wrapped around him like a
fur neck-piece 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 birdhouse 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 be-
cause of his greediness we have been com-
pelled to use picture wire for tying on
the suet.

The young are born in a well-protected
nest. There are four to six in a litter and
they usually appear in April. If it is neces-

ANIMALS

sary to move the young the mother grasps
the babies by the loose skin of their un-
derparts and carries them to safety.

The squirrel has several ways of ex-
pressing 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 be their chief actor.
Surprise, incredulousness, indignation,
fear, anger, and joy are all perfectly ex-
pressed by tail gestures and also by voice.
As a vocalist he excels; he chatters with
curiosity, " chips " with surprise, scolds
by giving a guttural 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Bannertail, the
Story of a Gray Squirrel, by Ernest
Thompson Seton; Holiday Hill, by Edith
M. Patch; Mother Nature Series, by Fan-
nie W. Dunn and Eleanor Troxell, Book
i, Baby Animals, Book 2, By the Road-
side; The Museum Comes to Life, by
Maribelle Corrnack and William P. Alex-
ander; Our Backdoor Neighbors, by Frank
C. Pellett; The Pet Book, by Anna B.
Comstock; also, reading on page 214.

LESSON 57

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 illus-
trating its habits.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 look-
ing 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 the squirrel?

3. Look closely and see if a squirrel fol-
lows the same route always when pass-
ing 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 squir-
rel 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 sum-
mer 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 squir-
rel is jumping? Of what use is it in the
winter in the nest?

MAMMALS

8. What is the food of the squirrel dur-
ing the autumn? Winter? Spring? Sum-
mer? 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 home? Of what is it made and where
built? In what sort of nest are the young
born and reared? At what time of the
year are the young born? How does the

237

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 sur-
prise, 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?

FURRY

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 detail-
ing all that happens to it, and 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 after-
ward, and they will surely enjoy the writ-
ing very much.

EXTRACTS FROM FURRY' s NOTEBOOK

May 18, 1902— -The baby squirrel is
just large enough to cuddle in one hand.
He cuddles all right when once he is cap-
tured; 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 dis-
gust. Evidently he does not believe he
needs a food for brain and nerve. He al-
ways 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

238

ANIMALS

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 squir-
rel 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 paste-
board 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 — Tonight I gave Furry a wal-
nut meat. As soon as he smelled it he be-
came 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 teeth7 so I mash them
and soak them in water and now he eats
them like a little piggy-wig with no man-
ners 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 mis-
chief; he tips over his cup of milk and
has commenced gnawing off the wall-

paper behind the bookshelf to make him
a nest. The paper is green and will prob-
ably make him sorry.

June 5 -— This morning Furry was hid-
den 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 book-
case, far beyond my reach.

June 6 — 1 have not seen Furry for
twenty-four hours, but he is here surely
enough. Last night he tipped over the
ink bottles and scattered nut shells over
the floor. He prefers pecans to any other
nuts.

June 7 — I caught Furry today and he
bit my finger so that it bled. But after-
wards, 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 be-
hind. 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 — - 1 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 him-
self, 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
notebook. I wish that he could have writ-
ten on these of the things that he thought
about me and my performances. It would
certainly have been the most interesting
book in the world concerning squirrels.

MAMMALS

239

THE CHIPMUNK

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 gather-
ing 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 cau-
tion, quite foreign to the red squirrel in
a similar situation. He would creep out,
seize an acorn in his teeth, creep back
to a larger limb, take off the shell, and
with his little paws stuff the kernel into
his cheek-pouches; he took hold of one
side of his 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 neces-
sary 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

Leonard K. Beyer

This chipmunk has his cheek-pouches well
stuffed

tree and retreated to his den in the side-
hill, the door of which I had already dis-
covered, 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

" Chipsie," a chipmunk of the Sierras

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 un-
derstand her little companion, and the re-
lations between them were full of mutual
confidence. He was fond of English wal-
nuts and would always hide away all that
were placed in a dish on the table. One
day his mistress, when taking off her hat
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 hatbox, the cover of which was
always carefully closed.

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 usu-

ANIMALS

Dorothy M. Conipton

Peanuts are a favorite food oj tame chip-
munks

ally made in a dry hillside, the passage-
way just large enough for its own body,
widening to a nest which is well bedded
clown. 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 mild winters it may be
up and about on bright, sunny days. 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 con-
spicuous; 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. He is even
more amusing than the red squirrel in this
attitude, probably because lie is more in-
nocent 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,

Chipmunks sometimes cache their food
under stumps

ai'^' J^L^_^_

Dorothy M. Coinpton

Common chipmunk, often called ground
squirrel

as a rule. He does upon occasion rob the
flower garden of valued bulbs. He is
pretty and distinctly companionable, and
I can rejoice 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 scamper--
ing around our porch floor and peeping
in at our windows, as if taking a reciprocal
interest in us.

SUGGESTED READING — The Museum
Comes to Life, by Maribelle Cormack and
William P. Alexander; The Pet Boole, by
Anna B. Comstock; Tami, the Story of a
Chipmunk, by Bertha C. Cacly; also, read-
ings on page 214.

LESSON 58
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 bur-
row. It stores food for winter in its
den.

METHOD — The field notebook should
be the basis for this wrork. 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 — i . 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

MAMMALS 241

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 earn- 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 ap-
pear in the spring?

7. Observe carefully the different tones
of the chipmunk and compare its chatter-
ing with that of the squirrel.

Verne Morton

A bat

THE LITTLE BROWN BAT

His small umbrella, quaintly halved,

Describing in the air an arc alike inscrutable,—

Elate philosopher/ — EMILY DICKINSON

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

242

ANIMALS

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!
The superstitions which link the bat with
evil malign this bright, engaging little
creature. There are no other wings so
wonderful as the bat's; the thin mem-

_ j

Hung up for his daytime nap

brane 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 consists of darting
hither and thither with incredible swift-
ness, and making sharp turns with no ap-
parent effort. Swifts and swallows cannot

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. 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 serv-
ice to us on summer evenings by swallow-
ing a multitude of insects.

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 elon-
gated fingers. If a boy's fingers were as long
in proportion as a bat's, they would meas-
ure 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, resem-
bling 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 ren-
ders him unable to walk, and when at-
tempting 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 climb-
ing.

The little brown bat's wings often meas-
ure 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

MAMMALS

243

ankle; the tiny 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-downy in his sleep-
ing habits, slumbering during the daytime
while hanging head downward, without
any inconvenience from a rush of blood
to the brain; when he is 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 to-
gether 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 might well look
to it that they be 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 comi-
cal 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 differ-
ently 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 for them later. The little ones are
born in July and usually occur as twins.
During the winter, some bats hibernate
like woodchucks or chipmunks. They se-
lect 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 eve-
nings, or perhaps early in the morning,
and do their best to rid the world of insect
nuisances. Others migrate to the south
with the advent of cold weather.

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 insects, which is an ungrateful slander.
Some people believe that all bats are vam-
pires, and only await an opportunity to
suck blood from their victims. It is true
that in South America there are two spe-
cies which occasionally attack people who
are careless enough to sleep with their
toes uncovered, but feet thus injured seem
to recover speedily. These bats do little
damage to people, although they some-
times pester animals; and there are no
vampires in the United States. Our bats,
on the contrary, are innocent and bene-
ficial to man. There are a few species in
our country which have little, leaflike
growths on the end of the nose; these
growths serve the purpose of sensory
organs.

SUGGESTED READING — Mother Nature
Series, by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor
Troxell, Book 3, In Field and Forest; The
Museum Comes to Life, by Maribelle
Cormack and William P. Alexander; The
Pet Book, by Anna B. Comstock; also,
readings on page 214.

LESSON 59
THE BAT

LEADING THOUGHT — Although the
bat's wings are very different from those
of the bird, yet it is a rapid and agile
flier. It flies in the dusk and catches great
numbers of mosquitoes and other trouble-
some 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 com-

244

ANIMALS

fortably 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 — i. At what time of
day do we see bats flying? Describe how

Charles E. Mohr

Little brown bats hibernating in a Pennsyl-
vania cave

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 frame-
work 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 its 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 day-
light?

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 ex-
pect 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
its habits?

10. How and where do the bats pass
the winter? How are they beneficial to us?
Are they ever harmful? What are some
superstitions about the bat?

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 under-
stand. Arithmetic has to do with broker-
age 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

MAMMALS

245

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 edu-
cation is that which begins with the ma-
terials at hand. A child knows a stone
before it knows the earth.

— " THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA/'
L. H. BAILEY

THE SKUNK

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 trust-
ing to its immunity from danger, makes its
home under the barn. In the fall it be-
comes very fat, and during the early part
of winter it 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 scru-
pulously neat about its own nest. The
young skunks are very active and inter-
esting to watch when playing together
like kittens.

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 defense
is contained in two glands near the base

of the tail. These little glands are about
the size of marbles, and the quantity of
liquid forced from them in a discharge is
considerable and it will permeate the at-
mosphere with its odor for a distance
of half a mile down wind. Because this
discharge is so disagreeable to all other
creatures, the skunk's intelligence has not
become so highly developed as has that of
some animals. It has not been obliged to
rely upon its cunning to escape its ene-
mies, and has therefore never developed

Verne Morton

A skunk. Note the long, pointed head and the
bushy tail

either fear or cleverness. It marches abroad
without haste, confident that every crea-
ture 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 wis-
dom from experience; it never learns to
avoid a trap, or the dangers of a railway
or trolley track. It plods deliberately across
highways, leaving its protection to the
motorist.

246

The skunk's food consists largely of
fruits and berries, insects, mice, snakes,
frogs, 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. Mer-
riam, 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

ANIMALS

SUGGESTED READING — The Museum
Comes to Life, by Maribelle Cormack and
William P. Alexander; The Pet Book, by
Anna B. Comstock; also, readings on
page 214.

Doubleday, Page & Co.

Pet skunks

meadow that abounded in grasshoppers.
Here, Meph would fairly revel in his fa-
vorite food, and it was rich sport to watch
his manoeuvres. 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 farmers is the raiding of hens'
nests or the beehives; this can be obviated
by properly housing the poultry and bees.
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, surprisingly, under its own name; it
is exported in great quantities to Europe.

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.

LESSON 60

THE SKUNK

LEADING THOUGHT — The skunk has de-
pended so long upon protecting itself from
its enemies by its disagreeable odor that
it has become stupid and unadaptable,
and seems never to be able to learn to
keep off railroad tracks or highways. It is
a very beneficial animal to the farmer be-
cause its food consists so largely of injuri-
ous insects and rodents.

METHOD — The questions should be
given the pupils and they should answer
them from personal observations or in-
quiries.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 wooclchuck
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 fol-
lows: How many toes show in the track?
Does the palm or heel show? Are the tracks

MAMMALS

247

near together? Do they form a single or
a double line?

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 fright-
ens the belated farm-boy, whom he curi-
ously follows with a mysterious hollow
beating of his feet upon the ground/7
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 pat-
ting 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 prob-
ably 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 ex-
cept in the expression of anger.

— " WILD NEIGHBORS,"
ERNEST INGERSOLL

General Biological Supply House, Chicago

A raccoon. In the picture the heavy dark portion over the top of his head is caused by a
shadow — but he does have a black mask across his eyes

THE RACCOON

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

ANIMALS

Treed

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.

What country child, wandering by the
brook and watching its turbulence in early
spring, has not viewed with awe a foot-
print 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 resem-
blance 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 dur-

ing the 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 two 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 de-
pending on how fast the animal is going;
when it runs it goes on its toes, but when
walking it 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 almost to 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 tooth-
some luxury, it strips down the husks and
often breaks the plant, doing much dam-
age. It is also fond of poultry and often
raids hen houses; it also destroys birds'
nests and the young, thus doing harm to
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 tur-
tle 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
home a hollow tree or a cavern in a ledge
near a stream, because of its liking for
water creatures.

Coons when in captivity have been
known to wash their meat before eating
it. I have watched a pet coon perform this
act; he would take a piece of meat in his

MAMMALS

249

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 me-
chanical to occupy his mind. After the
meat had been soaked until it was white
and flabby, he would take it in his hands
and hang onto it with a tight grip while he
pulled off pieces with his teeth; or some-
times 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 an amusing 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 ap-
parent 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 day 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 remain dormant during the most se-
vere weeks of winter, coming out during
periods of thaw.

The young are born in April; 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 re-
mains together until fall. 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, look-
ing longingly at remains of food in the
pan; the coon would make no move until
the disarmed biddy had come close to the
pan. Then there would be 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 sus-
pend above the trap a bit of bright tin; in
studying this glittering mystery, they for
get all about traps.

SUGGESTED READING — Mother Nature
Series, by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor

Marion E. Wesp

This pet raccoon is angry because she has
been taken from the shoulder of her mistress
and placed on a post to have her picture taken

ANIMALS

Troxell, Book i, Baby Animals, Book 3,
In Field and Forest; The Museum Comes
to Life, by Maribelle Cormack and Wil-
liam P. Alexander; The Pet Boole, by Anna
B. Comstock; Ringtail, by Alice C. Gall
and F. H. Crew; also, readings on page 214.

LESSON 61
THE RACCOON

LEADING THOUGHT — The raccoon lives
in hollow trees OT 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 de-
scribe 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 oppor-
tunity offers. I would suggest the follow-
ing 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/7

OBSERVATIONS — i. Where have you
found raccoon tracks? How do they differ
from those of fox or dog? How far are the
foot prints 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 dam-
age 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? De-
scribe 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, ears, and nose. Has it teeth re-
sembling 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 clo 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 by day or by
night?

8. At what time of year are coons fat-
test? 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?

THE WOLF

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 lo-
calities, the study of the wolf must, of
course, be a matter of reading, unless the
pupils have an opportunity to study the
animal in zoological gardens.

MAMMALS

It might be well to begin this lesson
on the wolf with a talk about the gray
wolves which our ancestors had to con-
tend 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 Moun-
tains, 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 inter-
esting 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 sto-
ries in our own literature which deal with
our native wolves. Some of the best are
noted in the suggested reading at the end
of this section.

K H. McCleery

Wolves, seldom seen now, once ranged over
many parts of North America

Leonard K. Beyer

A captive wolf

From some or all of these stories, the
pupils should get information about the
habits of the wolves. This information
may be incorporated in an essay or an
oral exercise and should cover the follow-
ing points: Where do the wolves live?
On what do they feed? How do they get
their prey? How do they call to each
other? Description of the den where the
young are reared. The wolfs cleverness
in eluding hunters and traps.

SUGGESTED READING — Animal Heroes,
Lives of the Hunted, and Wild Animals
I Have Known, all by Ernest Thompson
Seton; Watched by Wild Animals, by
Enos A. Mills; also, readings on page 214.

THE FOX

Do we not always, on a clear morning
of winter, feel a thrill that must have
something primitive in its quality at see-
ing certain tracks in the snow that some-
how 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
sturnp, 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

ANIMALS

Red fox cubs

place as a den for the young foxes; often
an open field or sidehill is chosen for
this. The den is carpeted with grass and
is a very comfortable place for the fox
puppies.

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 ex-
pression of extreme cleverness, while the
width of the head between the upstand-
ing, 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 is white-tipped. This tail is
not merely for beauty, for it affords the fox
warmth during the winter, as anyone who
has observed the way it is wrapped around
the sleeping animal may see. 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 color phases of the red fox.

The fox is an inveterate hunter of the
animals of the field; meadow mice, rab-
bits, woodchucks, frogs, snakes, and grass-
hoppers 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 poul-
try. 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 con-
venient 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 occa-
sion, and hunts him with dogs in the win-
ter, he has cleared the land of wolves and
panthers, so that foxes are probably safer
than before any land was ploughed.7'

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 con-
siderable 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.

Many are the wiles of the fox to mislead
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

Verne Morton

The attentive ears and bright eyes of these
fox cubs show a keen interest in their sur-
roundings

MAMMALS

253

follows roads and beaten paths and also
goes around and around in the midst of
a herd of cattle or sheep so that his scent
is hidden; he crosses streams on logs and
invents various other devices too numer-
ous 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, into 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 gray and woolly at first and are
fascinating little creatures, being exceed-
ingly 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 of feeding her rapidly growing
litter is upon her.

SUGGESTED READING — Biography of a
Silver Fox, by Ernest Thompson Seton;
The Fall of the Year, by Dallas L. Sharp;
Mother Nature Series, by Fannie W.
Dunn and Eleanor Troxell, Book i, Baby
Animals; The Pet Boofc, by Anna B. Corn-
stock; Red Fox, by Charles G. D. Roberts;
Skinny, the Gray Fox, by Agnes A. At-
kinson; Sprite, the Story of a Red Fox,
by Ernest H. Baynes; Wild Animals I
Have Known, by Ernest Thompson Seton;
also, readings on page 214.

LESSON 62
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.

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 be-
tween foxes and dogs should be empha-
sized.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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?

6. When chased by dogs, in what di-
rection 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?

U. S. Bureau of Biol. Survey

Silver fox

ANIMALS

National Sportsman

English setter. This is the famous Brownie's Spot, field trial winner and bench show

champion

DOGS

Not only today but in ancient days, be-
fore 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 independ-
ently 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 crea-
tures, we can understand how they be-
came 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 Egyp-
tians 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 pres-
ent. There are 200 distinct breeds of dogs

known today, and many of these have
been bred for special purposes. The pale-
ontologists, 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 neces-
sity, 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

MAMMALS

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 dig-
ging 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 weap-
ons in her armory. It is an interesting fact
that Newfoundland dogs, which are such

U. S. Dept. Agriculture

Boston terrier. This small popular breed is
one of the few to originate in America. It is
very companionable and highly intelligent

famous swimmers, have their toes some-
what webbed.

The dog's body is long, lean, and very
muscular, a fat dog being usually pam-
pered 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 com-
parable to that of the mink or muskrat.
When a dog is running, his body is ex-
tended to its fullest length; in fact, it
seems to " lie flat/7 the outstretched legs
heightening the effect of extreme muscu-
lar 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

U. S. Dept. Agriculture

Beagle. These hounds hunt individually, in
pairs, or in packs; they are used chiefly for
hunting rabbits

a beautiful brown, although this varies
with breeds; in puppies, the iris is usually
blue. The pupil is round like our own; and
although dogs probably cannot see as well
in the dark as the cat, they see well at
night and 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 carry-
ing the scent to the wide nostrils; these
are situated at the most forward part of
the face, and thus may be lifted in any

U. S. Dept. Agriculture

Greyhound. This swiftest of all large dogs
hunts by sight

ANIMALS

St. Bernard. These dogs stand about thirty
inches high and have an average weight of
175 pounds

direction to receive the marvelous impres-
sions, so completely beyond our compre-
hension. Think of being able to scent the
track of a fox made several hours previ-
ously, and not only to scent it, but to fol-
low it 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. Furthermore, according to
E. H. Baynes, the dog's sense of smell is
keen enough to distinguish the scent of
the particular creature he is hunting from
that of all others, and to distinguish the
scent of several animals from that of only
one. He knows the difference between
foot scent and body scent, and he can
immediately tell the scent of a wounded
animal from that of a dead one. He can
tell, moreover, the direction in which
foot scent leads, and some dogs, at least,
can follow a particular trail no matter
how many other scents have been super-
imposed upon it. It has been said that
the sense of smell in dogs, and especially
in hounds, is so acute that the amount of
odor required to stimulate the nose is too
slight to be expressed. When the nose of
a dog becomes dry it is a sign of illness.

A light fall of damp snow gives the dog
the best conditions for following a track

by scent. 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.

Because the dog's sense of smell is so
important to him, he should never be
punished by being struck over the nose.
Nor should he be struck at all about the
head and ears, lest his hearing be dam-
aged. A dog is so sensitive to inflections
and tones of voice that a severe word is
usually punishment enough; if it seems
necessary to strike him, he should be
struck only on the foreshoulders and
sides. A folded newspaper is good for the
purpose.

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 ani-
mal 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.

Dogs' teeth are especially fitted for their
work. The incisors are small and sharp; the

H. M. Isenhower

Pointer. These dogs are called pointers be-
cause of their habit of pointing at the con-
cealed game birds they have scented. This is
Isenhower's Flaro, a champion

MAMMALS

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 adapted 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, gnaw-
ing with the back teeth first 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 di-
gesting unchewed food are something that
the hustling American may well envy.

Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Page

Beagle pups. Beagles are small models of
foxhounds; they are not so swift as foxhounds,
but seem to have a keener sense of smell

Of all domestic animals, the dog is most
humanly understandable in expressing
emotions. If delighted, he leaps about giv-
ing 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 jeal-
ously. 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

Helen F. Hill

English springer spaniel. No other family
of dogs contains so many recognized breeds
as the spaniel family — seven hunting and
two^ toy breeds. Formerly these dogs were
trained to flush or " spring " the game so that
swifter dogs or falcons could catch it; today
they are popular as all-purpose dogs

The Seeing Eye, Inc.

A Seeing^ Eye dog. The training of dogs to
lead the blind began in the United States; the
same methods have now become popular in
Europe. The Seeing Eye has headquarters in
New York City

ANIMALS

that it is really a continuation of his back- Baynes; The Story of Scotch, by Enos A.
bone. When afraid, he whines and lies flat Mills; Stickeen; the Story of a Dog, by

1 1 ,-» f^ —» T-> .* ^ T-* ^-vl 1 _ . * £.1 !_„!_' _ 1 _ 1 * 1 T 1 ~\ IT • TTrr-TTA • 1 TTTT T s-

upon his belly, often looking beseechingly
up toward his master as if begging not to

H. M. Isenhower

English pointer pups

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 ex-
cited, he barks and every bark expresses
high nervous tension.

Almost all dogs that chase their prey
bark when so doing. This action would at
first sight seem foolish, in that it reveals
their whereabouts to their victims and
also adds an incentive to flight. These
dogs have been trained through many
generations and have been selected be-
cause of various peculiarities; a good fox
hound, coon hound, or rabbit hound
barks in order to tell the hunter, not only
where it is but what it is doing. A certain
kind of bark may indicate to the hunter
that the game is " treed " or chased into
a hole.

Most breeds of clogs 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/7 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.

SUGGESTED READING — The Book of
Dogs, by James G. Lawson; Call of the
Wild, by Jack London; Mother Nature
Series, by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor
Troxell, Book i, Baby Animals; The Pet
Boole, by Anna B. Comstock; Polaris, the
Story of an Eskimo Dog, by Ernest H.

John Muir; Wild Animals I Have Known,
Animal Heroes, and Lives of the Hunted^
all by Ernest Thompson Seton; A Friend
in the Dark, by Ruth A. Knight; also,
readings on page 214.

LESSON 63
DOGS

LEADING THOUGHT — The dog is a do-
mesticated descendant of wolflike ani-
mals 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 — i. Why are the legs
of the dog compared with those of the
cat long and strong in proportion to the
body?

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

Leonard K. Beyer

Collie. This breed of dogs shows great in-
telligence in the herding of various kinds of
domestic animals; it has long been used in
Scotland, but its popularity has spread to
many other countries. The one pictured here
is not today the show type

MAMMALS

claws, the dog or the cat? Can the dog
retract his claws so that they are not visi-
ble, 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 cover-
ing of the dog and the cat? What is the

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 in Alaska

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 cov-
ered? 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 con-
veying sounds to his inner ear. Do you
think that dogs can hear well?

7. What is the position of the nose in
the dog's face? Of what use is this? De-

Mr, and Airs. J. W. Page

English setter. This breed originated in
England from a cross between a field spaniel
and a pointer

scribe 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 be-
come 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

St. Bernard, This breed of huge dogs was
developed by monks in the Swiss Alps to aid
in the rescue of people lost in the mountains

260

ANIMALS

he follow it by sight or by smell? What are
the conditions most favorable for retain-
ing 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 com-
fortable in other ways?

11. Tell or write a story of some dog
of which you know by experience or hear-
say. Of what use was the dog to the pio-
neer? How are dogs used in the Arctic
regions? In Holland?

12. How many breeds of dogs do you
know? Describe these breeds 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 fol-
lowing breeds: Newfoundland, St. Ber-
nard, mastiffs, hounds, collies, spaniels,
setters, pointers, bulldogs, terriers, and
pugs.

A cat family

Verne Morton

THE CAT

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

MAMMALS

261

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 com-
fort was, especially when my naughtiness
was the cause of my weeping, and when,
therefore, I felt that the whole world, ex-
cept Jenny, was against me.

Jenny was a cat of remarkable intelli-
gence and was very obedient and useful.
Coming down the kitchen stairs one day,
she played with the latch, and someone
who heard her opened the door. She did
this several times, when one day she
chanced to push down the latch, and thus

Folks are so tiresome! "

Kittens

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 support-
ing her weight and pressing down with
the foot of the other on the thumb-piece
of the latch. I remember that guests were
greatly astonished to see her coming thus
swinging into the sitting room. Later she
tried the latches from the other side, jump-
ing 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/7 and " No, No," prob-
ably 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

262

ANIMALS

Marion E. Wesp

On the doorstep

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 happi-
ness of intimate companionship. When
frightened the cat yowls, and when hurt
it 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 con-
tempt; and unfortunately, its love song is
scarcely less agonizing to the listener. The
cat's whole body enters into the expres-
sion of its emotions. When feeling affec-
tionate 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 fright-
ened, 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.

While we feed cats milk and scraps
from our own table, they have never be-
come entirely civilized in their tastes.
They always catch mice and other small
animals and prove pestiferous in destroy-
ing 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 into the blow with which the cat
strikes down and stuns its victim, which
it later kills by gripping the throat with
the strong tushes. It carries its victims as
it does its 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 pow-
erful muscles. It walks on the padded toes,
five on the front feet and four on 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.

John W. Decker

Anticipation

MAMMALS

263

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 set-
ting 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.

Cats7 eyes are adapted better than ours
for seeing in the dim light; 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 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 arrange-
ment for utilizing the light, and their eyes
glow like living coals. Of course, since the
cat is a night hunter, this power of multi-
plying 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.

The cat's teeth are peculiarly fitted for
its needs. The six doll-like incisors of the
upper and lower jaw are merely for scrap-
ing 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 are for seizing
and carrying prey. The cat is able to open
its mouth as wide as a right angle, in order

Marion E. Wesp

An aristocrat

Amicable advances

better to 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 pa-
pillae 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 sensi-
tive 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 washcloth and
licking it clean after she rubs her face.

264 ANIMALS

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

This cat has been trained to be friendly with
birds

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 edu-
cation 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.

The cat loves warmth and finds her
place beneath the stove or at the hearth-
side. 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 passion-
ate 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

Every owner of a cat owes it to the
world to train Puss to leave birds alone.
If this training is begun during kitten-
hood, 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 effica-
cious, if the cat is intelligent. We have
never had a cat whose early training we
controlled, that could ever be induced
even to 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 fol-
lowing 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 com-
munity, because of the slaughter of many
beneficial and beautiful birds which it en-
tails.

SUGGESTED READING — Animal Heroes,
by Ernest Thompson Seton; Baby Ani-
mals on the Farm, by Kate E. Agnew and
Margaret Coble; The Blot: Little City
Cat, by Phyllis Crawford; Mother Nature
Series, by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor
Troxell, Book i, Baby Animals; The Pet
Book, by Anna B. Comstock; also, read-
ings on page 214.

LESSON 64
THE CAT

LEADING THOUGHT — The cat was made
a domestic animal before man wrote his-
tories. It gets prey by springing from am-
bush 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 kit-
tens 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 — i. How much of Pus-
sy'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 ex-
press affection, pleasure, and anger? When
she carries her tail straight up in the air
is she in a pleasant mood? WTien 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 tunning after them as a
dog does? Describe how she lies in am-
bush. How does she hold the mouse as
she pounces upon it? How does she carry
it home to her kittens?

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

MAMMALS 265

she touch them to the ground when she
walks? Which walks 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 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? De-
scribe 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 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 too
warm a 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

266

ANIMALS

cat punish her kittens? How does she teach
them to catch mice? How do kittens play?
How does the exercise they get in play-
ing fit them to become hunters?

12. How should cats be trained not to
touch birds? When must this training be-
gin? 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 follow-
ing subjects: (i) The Things Which My
Pet Cat Does; (2) The Wild Cat; (3)
The Lion; (4) The Tiger; (5) The Leo-
pard; (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.

A herd of goats by the Nueces River, Texas

A. A. Wright

THE GOAT

Little do we in America realize the close
companionship that has existed in older
countries, from time immemorial, be-
tween 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 wrater
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 goatskins 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 pe-
culiarities of form and habit, we should
consider it as a wild animal, living upon
the mountain heights amid rocks and snow

MAMMALS

and scant vegetation. It is marvelously
sure-footed, and 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 other low
buildings.

U. S. Dept. Agriculture

Saanen goats in Switzerland

It is a common saying that a goat will
eat anything, and much sport is made of
this peculiarity. This fact has more mean-
ing 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 usu-
ally 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 ac-
count, and give voice in case of alarm.

Saanen doe

Goat leaders exhibit jealousy of their rights
to be first over the stepping-stones or to
walk the teetering log bridges at the roar-
ing creeks/7 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.

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 some-
what flattened and angular, are often
knobbed somewhat in front, and curve
backward above the neck; they are, how-
ever, very efficient as weapons of defense.
The legs are strong, though not large, and
are well fitted for leaping and running.

N". Y. Agr. Exp. Station, Geneva

Toggenburg goat. This Swiss breed, de-
veloped by a careful selection of animals for
many years, has attained a very definite
standard of size, color } and conformation

z68

ANIMALS

N. Y. Agr. Exp. Station, Geneva

French alpine doe. Alpines are sturdy, and
have been bred for high production of fine-
flavored milk

The feet have two hoofs, that is, the ani-
mal walks upon two toenails. There are
two smaller toes behind and above the
hoofs. The goat can run with great rapid-
ity. The tail of the goat is short like that
of the deer, and does not need to be am-
putated 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 but-
ting 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 dis-
play far more affection for their owner
than do sheep.

Our famous Rocky Mountain goat, al-
though 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 cylin-
drically 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 re-
turn 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 sub-
stance 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 moun-
tain lions respectfully alone."

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 par-
ticularly 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 win-
ter sets in about November i, 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 foothills, 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 un-
til about midsummer, when they reach
the high places of scanty vegetation; then
they start on the downward journey, re-
turning to the home and stables about
November i. The milk from goats is
mixed with that from cows to make cheese,

MAMMALS

269

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 inferior to that made
from the cow's. The milk, when the ani-
mals 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 goafs 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 a day,
while an ordinary goat is considered fairly
good if it yields two quarts a 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 undercoat 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 Cash-
mere shawls; ten goats furnish barely
enough of this wool for one shawl. The
Cashmere goats are grown most largely in
Tibet, and the wool is shipped from the
high tableland to the Valley of Cashmere,
where it 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 An-
gora goat is a beautiful and delicate ani-
mal, 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' Bulle-

tin The Angora Goat, United States De-
partment 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Farm Animals,
by James G. Lawson; Mountain Neigh-
bors, by Edith M. Patch and Carroll L.
Fenton; The Pet Book, by Anna B. Corn-
stock; also, some of the readings on
page 214.

LESSON 65
THE GOAT

LEADING THOUGHT — Goats are among
our most interesting domesticated ani-
mals, and their history is closely inter-
woven with the history of the develop-
ment 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 begin-
ning of this lesson may well be a span of
goats thus employed. The lesson should
not be given unless the pupils have an op-
portunity 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.

Bureau of Animal Industry, TJ, S. D. A.

Angora goat

270

ANIMALS

Following are topics for such work: " The
Milch Goat of Switzerland/7 " How Cash-
mere Shawls Are Made/' "The Angora
Goat/' " The Chamois/7

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 that 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 goafs beard. Do you sup-
pose 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 moun-
tains? Do you think the goat is intelli-
gent? 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 ac-
tions. 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 Icnows 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 peril-
ous 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 con-
sciousness 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.

— " OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS,"
CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT

THE SHEEP

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? Individ-
ual 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-dwell-
ing to the pastures. — " THE FLOCK/' 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 warn-
ing of the approach of danger; as soon as
the signal came, they made their escape,

MAMMALS

Sheep at rest

Verne Morton

not in the straight away race like the deer,
but in following the leader over rock,
ledge, and precipice to mountain fast-
nesses where neither 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, deli-
cate, 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 gov-
ernment reserves.

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 that se-
cretes an oily substance, which perhaps
serves in preventing the hoof from becom-
ing too dry. The ears are large and are
moved to catch better the direction of
sound. The eyes are peculiar; in the sun-
light the pupil is a mere slit, while the iris
is yellow or brownish, but in the dark,
even of the stable, the pupils enlarge, al-
most covering the eye. The ewes either
lack horns or have small ones, but the

Bureau of Animal Industry, U, S. D. A.

Cheviot sheep

ANIMALS

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A.

Ewe with her lamb

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 rival
rams. The ram can strike a hard blow with
head or 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, fashioned
like a ram's head and used to knock down
walls, 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 amus-
ing in the sheep.

Sheep under attack and danger are si-
lent; ordinarily they keep up a constant,
gentle bleating to keep each other in-
formed of their whereabouts; they also
give a peculiar call when water is discov-
ered, 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.

Lambs quickly become true members
of the herd. Mary Austin says, " Young
lambs are principally legs, the connecting
body being simply a contrivance for con-
verting milk into more leg, so you under-

stand 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." The older
lambs have games which they play un-
tiringly, 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 at-
tain the place of leader. In playing this
the head lamb leads the chase over most
difficult places, such as logs, stones, and
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 deli-
cacy. This tail becomes so cumbersome
that wheels are placed beneath it, so that
it trundles along behind its owner.

In the Rocky Mountains we have a
noble species of wild sheep which is likely

Mutual contentment

MAMMALS

to become extinct soon. The different
breeds of domesticated sheep are sup-
posed to have been derived from different
wild species. Of the domesticated vari-
eties, we have the Merinos, which origi-
nated 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, Shrop-
shire, and Dorset, give a medium length

Rams in pasture

Verne Morton

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 is the ancient enemy of sheep;
and even now, after hundreds of years of
domestication, some of our dogs will re-
vert 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
caretaker of sheep, that a beautiful rela-
tionship has been established between
these dogs and their flocks.

SUGGESTED READING — Baby Animals
on the Farm, by Kate E. Agnew and Mar-
garet Coble; Farm Animals, by James G.
Lawson; Lives of the Hunted, by Ernest
Thompson Seton; The Pet Boole, by Anna
B. Comstock; also, some of the readings
on page 214.

LESSON 66
THE SHEEP

LEADING THOUGHT — Sheep live natu-
rally in high altitudes. When attacked by

Bureau of Animal Industry, IT. S. D. A.

Corriedale ram

enemies, they follow their leader over diffi-
cult and dangerous mountain places.

METHOD — The questions of this lesson
should be given to the pupils and the ob-
servations should be made upon the sheep
in pasture or stable. Much written work
may be done in connection with this les-
son. 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."

OBSERVATIONS — i. What is the chief
characteristic that separates sheep from
other animals? What is the difference be-
tween wool and hair? Why is wool of spe-
cial use to sheep in their native haunts? Is
there any hair on sheep?

2. Where do the wild sheep live? What

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A-

Hampshire ewe

274

ANIMALS

is the climate in these places? Does wool
serve them well on this account? What
sort of pasturage do sheep find on moun-
tains? Could cows live where sheep thrive?
Describe the sheep's teeth and how they
are arranged to enable it to crop vegeta-
tion closely. What happens to the vege-
tation 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 com-
parison? 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 chew-
ing 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 kill-
ing sheep? At what time of day or night
was this done? Did you ever know of one
dog attacking a flock of sheep alone?

THE HORSE

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/ 1 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 Moun-
tain Range; its forefeet 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 Mesohip-
pus and various other hippuses, which
showed in each age a successive enlarge-

ment 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 serv-

MAMMALS

275

Mares and colts in shady pasture

Marion E. Wesp

iceable in running swiftly over the dry
plains. 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-pliocene age, arriving there suffi-
ciently 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 some-
one, 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 Shet-
land ponies are also wild in the islands
north of Scotland, and the zebras, the
most truly wild of all, roam the plains of
Africa. In a state of wildness, there is al-
ways 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 wit-
ness, 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 ter-
rible 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 at-
tractions win their following of mares.
However, there are times and places where
many of these herds join, making large
bands wandering together.

Field Museum of Natural History

Ancestors of the horse — a restoration

ANIMALS

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A.

Morgan horse

The length of the horse's leg was evi-
dently 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 devel-
opment 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 neces-
sary in order than 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; it should be broad be-
tween 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. If the ears are
laid back it is a sign that the horse is an-
gry; 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 be-
ing 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-flar-
ing, and sensitive; in the wild stage, scent
was one of the horse's chief aids in detect-
ing the enemy. The lips should not be too
thick and the lower jaw should be narrow
where it joins the head.

The horse's teeth are peculiar; there
are six incisors on each jaw; 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 mo-
tion of the jaws peculiar to the cow and
sheep.

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 shecl every year. The
mane and the forelock are useful in pro-
tecting the head and neck from flies; the

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D, A.

Percheron draft horse

MAMMALS

277

tail also is an efficient fly-brush. The mane
and tail have thus a practical value, and
they also add greatly to the animal's
beauty. To dock a horse's tail for pur-
poses of 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 that 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 at frequent intervals.
The colt's legs are so long that it must
spread the front legs wide apart in order
to 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.

The horse has several natural gaits and
some that are artificial. Its natural methods
of progression are the walk, the trot, the
amble, and the gallop. When walking
there are always two or more feet on the
ground and the movement of the feet con-
sists in placing successively the right hind
foot, the right fore foot, left hind foot, left

Bureau of Animal Industry, TJ. S. D. A.

Carriage stallion

Bureau of Animal Industry, TJ. S. D. A.

Man o' War. A famous race horse and the
father of famous racers

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 in a walk
but much more rapidly; and in the gal-
lop, 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 be-
neath 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/7 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 parties

278

ANIMALS

A herd of ponies in the Isle of Shetland
guarded by a sheep dog

lar 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 better
controlled by the voice of the driver than
by a blow from the whip.

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 un-
avoidable, 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 cruel
use of the tight-drawn over checkrein
should not be permitted, although a mod-
erate 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 un-
til the perspiration has stopped steaming.
The grooming of a horse is a part of its
rights, and its legs should receive more at-
tention 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Baby Animals
on the Farm, by Kate E. Agnew and Mar-
garet Coble; Before the Dawn of History,
by Charles R. Knight; Farm Animals, by
James G. Lawson; Jinny: The Story of a
Filly, by Bert C. Thayer; Mother Nature
Series, by Fannie W. Dunn and Eleanor
Troxell, Book i, Baby Animals; The Pet
Boole, by Anna B. Comstock; Wild Ani-
mals I Have Known, by Ernest Thompson
Seton; also, some of the readings on
page 214.

LESSON 67
THE HORSE

LEADING THOUGHT — The horse as a
wild animal depended largely upon its

Percheron colt

Marion E. Wesp

MAMMALS

279

strength and fleetness to escape its ene-
mies, 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 Pac-
ing Mustang " in Wild Animals I Have
Known is an excellent story to show the
habits of the herds of wild horses. Before
beginning actual study of the domestic
horses, ask for oral or written English exer-
cises descriptive of the lives of the wild
horses. After the interest has been thus
aroused the following observations may be
suggested, a few at a time, to be made in-
cidentally in the street or in the stable.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 develop-
ment of such long legs? Do you think
the length of the horse's neck and head
corresponds 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 toenail
of the horse? What advantage is this sort
of 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 in-
dicate: When lifted and pointing forward?
When thrown back? Can you tell by the
action of the ears whether a horse is nerv-
ous 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?

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? 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 treat-
ing 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.

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 more? What qualities
should a man have to be a good horse
trainer? Why is shying a good quality in

280

ANIMALS

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 checkrein be used when driving?
Why not? 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 bam?
What is your opinion of a man who lets
his horse stand waiting in the cold, un-
blanketed? If horses were kept out of
doors all the time would this treatment
be so cruel and dangerous? Why not?
Why should dusty hay be dampened be-
fore it is fed to a horse? Why should a
horse be groomed? Which should receive
more 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: the thoroughbred, the hack-
ney, and other coach horses; the Ameri-
can trotter, the Percheron, the Clydesdale.

16. Write English themes on the fol-
lowing 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."

Many horses shy a good deal at objects
they meet on the road. This mostly arises
from nervousness, because the objects are
not familial to them. Therefore, to cure
the habit, you must get your horse accus-
tomed 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. — " A COUNTRY READER," H. B. M.
BUCHANAN.

CATTLE

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 for-
midable 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, strong neck, and short
massive horns of the bull are not so much

for defense against enemies as against rival
bulls. The bull not only tosses and gores
his victim, but kneels or tramples upon it.
Both bull and cow have effective weap-
ons of defense in the hind feet, which
kick powerfully. The buffalo bull of India
will attack a tiger single-handed, and usu-
ally 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 ar-
ranged 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

MAMMALS

281

John L. Rich

Bison or American buffalo. The original wild cattle of America

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-chew-
ing is this: The cattle graze mornings
and evenings, swallowing the food as fast
as cropped, and storing it in their ruminat-
ing 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 side-
wise movement of the jaws and again
swallowed. There is probably no more per-
fect 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 keep abreast and move along when
grazing, heads in the same direction.

Connected with the grazing habit, is
that of the hiding of the newborn 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 ac-
tually 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 a day,
suffices to insure health and growth. The
cow, on the other hand, giving her milk
out only twice a 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.

A fine cow is a beautiful creature, her
soft yellow skin beneath the sleek coat of

Cows in pasture. A Jersey and a Holstein

282

ANIMALS

Marion E. Wesp

A very young Jersey calf gets its breakfast

short hair, the well-proportioned body? the
mild face, crowned with spreading, pol-
ished 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 di-
rection, 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. Al-
though 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 dewclaws. 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 and 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 swim-
mer, a case being on record where a cow
swam five miles. But a cow would be ill-
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 buffa-

loes, wallow in the mud and thus coat
themselves with a fly-proof armor.

There is a fairly extensive range of emo-
tions 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 bello wings
and mutterings which we can partially un-
derstand.

Every herd of cows has its leader, who
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 each cow in a herd 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 mountainsides of the Alps at
a headlong pace and never making a mis-
take. In lying down, the cow first kneels
with the front legs, or rather drops on her
wrists, then the hindquarters go down,
and the front follow. She does not lie flat

E. S. Harrison

Cornell Ormsby Esteem. Holstein heifer, an
all-American yearling

MAMMALS

283

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 hindquarters.

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 carry-
ing burdens and as draft 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 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 tedi-
ous 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 con-
sumed 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.

Because of two main uses of cattle by
civilized man, he has bred them in two

Animal Husbandry Dept., Cornell U."

Glen Carncck's Jessie 9th. Angus heifer ready
jor the show ring

Eugene J. Hall

Lady Fairfax. A prize winning Hereford
cow. Herefords are one of the leading breeds
of beef cattle

directions; for producing beef? and for
milk. The beef cattle are chiefly Aberdeen-
Angus, Galloway, Shorthorn or Durham,
and Hereford; the dairy breeds are the
Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Holstein-
Friesian and Brown Swiss. The beef ani-
mal is, in cross section, approximately like
a brick set sidewise. It should be big and
full across the loins and back, the shoul-
ders 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 be-
ing approximately square in cross-section,
The outline of her back is not straight, but
sags in front of the hips, which are promi-
nent 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 indi-
cate a good milch cow: Head high be-
tween the eyes, showing large air passages
and indicating strong lungs. Eyes clear
large, and placid, indicating good disposi-
tion. Mouth large, with a muscular lowei
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 sup-
ported, and increasing in size toward the

284 ANIMALS

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 vertebras. 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.

E. S. Harrison,

Cornell Ollie Catherine. A prize-winning
Holstein cow

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 rnilk it pays him well to get
the best possible machine to make it, and
that is always a cow of the milch 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 graz-

ing 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.

How TO PRODUCE GOOD MILK
There are four main ingredients of milk
— - fat, protein, sugar, and ash. The fat is
for the purpose of supplying the animal
with fat, which may be used as such, or
which may be converted into energy. The
protein supplies the material from which
muscle tissue is built. The sugar provides
a source of energy. The protein and sugar
considered together form what we know
as curd, which is the main ingredient of
cheese; however, cheese, to be good,
should contain a full amount of butter fat.
The ash which may be seen as residue
when milk is burned, builds up the bone
of the animal.

Jersey cows produce a milk containing
a higher per cent of fat than any other
common dairy breed in the United States.
The Holstein cows produce a large flow
of milk with a low per cent of fat. The
quantity of sugar is relatively constant,
while the protein increases with the fat
but not in direct proportion.

The dairy barn should have concrete
floors and metal equipment to aid in keep-
ing the surroundings clean. The produc-
tion of clean milk requires that the cows
be brushed or groomed each day; that
their udders be washed before each milk-
ing, preferably with individual washcloths
saturated in a mild chlorine solution. As
soon as the milk is drawn from the udder,
it should be taken to a dairy house where
it should be strained into sterilized cans.
The milk should then be cooled immedi-
ately, and kept at a low temperature until
it is ready to be used. Milk absorbs odors
or flavors very readily, and therefore should
never be kept in the dairy barn itself. A
pure quality of milk that may be safely
consumed raw must be produced by
healthy cows, cared for by healthy attend-

MAMMALS

ants under sanitary conditions. Pasteuriza-
tion of milk destroys bacteria and makes it
possible to keep the milk sweet for several
days if stored in a refrigerator.

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

It is impossible to overestimate the im-
portance 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 re-
garded as such in producing milk. First,
she should have plenty of food of the right
kind, that is, 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 pro-
vide 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 obvi-
ating 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 nearby.
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 that are not paying their board.
SUGGESTED READING — Baby Animals
on the Farm, by Kate E. Agnew and Mar-
garet Coble; Farm Animals, by James G.
Lawson; The Pet Boole, by Anna B. Corn-
stock; Better Dairy Farming, by E. S.
Savage and L. A. Maynard; Feeds and
Feeding, by L. A. Maynard; also, some
of the readings on page 214.

LESSON 68
THE Cow

LEADING THOUGHT — Certain character-
istics which enable the cow to live suc-
cessfully as a wild animal have rendered
her of great use to us as a domestic animal.

METHOD — Begin the lesson by leading
the pupils to understand the peculiar
adaptation of cattle for success as wild ani-
mals. 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/7 "The
American Bison," " The Cowboys 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 Ori-
gin and Names." The following questions
may be given out a few at a time and an-
swered as the pupils have opportunity for
observation.

OBSERVATIONS — i. What are the char-
acteristics of a fine cow? Describe her
horns, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Do you
think she can hear well? What is the atti-
tude 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 for walking
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

286

ANIMALS

a good runner? Is she a good jumper? Can
she swim?

3. For what use was the cow's tail evi-
dently intended? How do the wild buf-
faloes and bison 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 read-
ily learn to take each her own place in the
stable? How is leadership of the herd at-
tained? 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 them-
selves 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 ani-
mal? 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. What must be the per cent of but-
ter fat in milk to make it legally salable in
your state? How many months of the year
should a good cow give milk?

13. Should a dog be used in driving
dairy cows? Why not?

14. Why is a cool draughty bam an ex-
pensive place in which to keep cattle?
Why is a barn not well ventilated a
danger?

15. Why 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 rec-
ord 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 ani-
mals? Do you know of any place where
oxen are used as riding animals?

18. How many industries are depend-
ent upon cattle?

19. Give oral or written exercises on the
following themes: " How the Best Butter
Is Made "; " The Use of Bacteria in But-
ter"; "How Dairy Cheese Is Made";
" How Fancy Cheeses Are Made/7

THE PIG

I wander through the underbresh,
Where pig tracks pintin' to'rds the crick,
Is picked and printed in the fresh
Black bottom-lands, like wirnmern prick
Their pie-crusts with a fork — RILEY

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

MAMMALS

Breakfast, cafeteria style

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A.

considered sport unless it was dangerous.
The wild hog of Europe is the ancestor
of our common domesticated breeds, al-
though the Chinese domesticated their
own wild species, even before the dawn of
history.

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 thick-
ets. 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 origi-
nal savagery, and are dangerous when in-
furiated. 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 discourag-

ing 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 that 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

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A.

Razorback. A hog of no definite breed,
which is allowed to roam at will in some of
the southern states

288

ANIMALS

Duroc-Jersey boar

chaff, and yet it 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 re-
markable 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 pres-
ence 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

W~WjJi?%<' , " v-,v."

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 kill-
ing 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 shoul-
ders, 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

Poland China hog

Eugene J. Hall

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A.

Hampshire boar

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
ancl 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. We stuff it
so with fattening food, however, that it
does not have a chance to use its brain, ex-
cept now and then when it breaks out of
the sty and we try to drive it back. Under

MAMMALS

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 pro-
claim that they are full of strategy and
cunning, and are exceedingly fierce.

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 when-
ever 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/7 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.

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 es-
pecially acorns and beech nuts; in the
autumn it becomes very fat through feed-
ing upon the latter. The mast-fed bacon
of the semi-wild hogs of the southern
states is considered the best of all. But

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A.

Tamworth barrow} a bacon type

Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. D. A.

A champion Berkshire sow

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 sendee 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: the constant grunting, which
is a sound that keeps the pig herd to-
gether, 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 conver-
sation than this; I knew a certain lady, a
lover of animals, who once undertook to
talk pig language as best she could imitate
it, to two of her sows when they were en-
gaged in eating. They stopped eating,
looked at each other a moment and forth-
with began fighting, each evidently attrib-
uting the lady's remark to the other, and
obviously it was of an uncomplimentary
character.

The pig's ability to take on fat was evi-
dently a provision, in the wild state, for
storing up from mast fat that should help
sustain the animal during the hardships
of winter; and this characteristic is what
makes swine useful for our own food. Pigs,
to do best, should be allowed to have pas-
ture and plenty of fresh green food. Their
troughs should be kept clean and they

ANIMALS OF ZOOS AND PARKS

1. RHINOCEROS. From two Greek words
which mean " nose " and " horn }} we have the
word " rhinoceros." Note the hornlike projec-
tion on the nose of this African animal which
is shown in the picture ; a form in Asia differs
slightly in appearance. Range: Tropical por-
tions of Asia and Africa.

2. HIPPOPOTAMUS. This thick-skinned,
short-legged, four-toed animal is at home in
the rivers of Africa. It feeds chiefly on grass
and aquatic plants. The word "hippopota-
mus " is derived from two Greek words which
mean "river" and "horse"

3. KANGAROO. The short forelegs and the
powerful hind legs which it uses for jumping
give the kangaroo a unique appearance. By
means of great leaps, this animal travels rap-
idly. The immature young are carried in an
external pouch. There are various kinds of
kangaroos; the red kangaroo is shown in the
picture.

4. ZEBRA. These swift, wild animals of
Africa are members of the horse family; their
unique color arrangement, of dark stripes on
a tawny background, is definitely character-
istic of them. The colt in the picture is one
week old.

5. MALAY TIGER. The range of this large
member of the cat family extends throughout
most of Asia from southern Siberia south to
Java and Sumatra. In color, a Malay tiger is
tawny with black cross stripes. The male,
much larger than the female, may reach a
length of ten feet including the tail.

6. POLAR BEAR. Found in Arctic regions,
this white bear is to be seen on ice floes as
well as swimming about in the water; it may
weigh as much as 1500 pounds and reach a
length of 9 feet.

Photographs by New York Zoological Society

7. NUBIAN GIRAFFE. This uniquely spotted
African mammal may reach a height of
twenty feet. By means of a very long neck
and a grasping tongue, it can easily secure
for its food leaves from trees. While it may
remind one somewhat of a horse, it is really,
to some extent, like a cow; it chews a cud.

8. BACTRIAN OR TWO-HUMPED CAMEL.
Long ago the camel was domesticated by man
and is to this day an important beast of bur-
den in northern Africa and western Asia. It
is especially adapted to withstand the hard-
ships of the deserts; it can go without drink-
ing water for several days because certain
portions of its stomach serve as water reser-
voirs. Water can be taken in large quantities
and then used as needed. There is a one-
humped camel known as the Arabian or
dromedary camel.

9. WAPITI OR AMERICAN "ELK." This
American mammal is incorrectly called
" elk " ; that title really belongs to our moose,
which is a true elk. The wapiti's range is now
restricted chiefly to more remote regions of
the western United States and Canada; but
formerly the animal was found also in the
central and eastern United States. In color, it
is chestnut red in summer and rather grayish
in winter.

10. VIRGINIA OR WHITE-TAILED DEER.
Only the males possess antlers; these are of
solid bone, are directed forwards with the
prongs upward, and are shed every spring.
These deer were formerly very common in
the plains and forests of the central and
southern United States; but now they are
abundant in only certain of the wilder por-
tions of their former range. Their food con-
sists of buds, leaves, tender bark, and various
other forms of plant life.

292

ANIMALS

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 Berkshire, which are
black and white markings, and have ears
extending erect; the Poland China, which
are black and white with drooping ears;

A family meal

Marion E. Wesp

the Duroc-Jersey, which are red or chest-
nut with drooping ears; the Yorkshire and
Cheshire, which are white with erect ears;
and the Chester White, which are white
with drooping ears. The Poland China
and Duroc-Jersey are both pure American
breeds.

SUGGESTED READING — Baby Animals on
the Farm, by Kate E. Agnew and Margaret
Coble; Farm Animals, by James G. Law-
son; Mother Nature Series, by Fannie W.
Dunn and Eleanor Troxell, Book i, Baby
Animals; The Pet Book, by Anna B. Corn-
stock; also, some of the readings on
page 214.

LESSON 69
THE PIG

LEADING THOUGHT — The pig is some-
thing 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, which should be
discussed when they are given to the class.
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.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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?

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 ad-
vantage 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?

MAMMALS

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.

1 1 . What instances have you heard that
show the hog's intelligence?

12. Give an oral or written English ex-

293

Were Regarded by the Ancient Egyptians,
Greeks, and Romans " (see encyclope-
dia); " The Story of Hunting Wild Hogs
in India "; " The Razor-Back Hogs of the
South "; " The Wart Hog of Africa ";
" Popular Breeds of Hogs."

The nice little pig with a guerly tail,
All soft as satin and pinky pale
Is a very different thing by far

ercise on one of the following topics: Than the Jumps of iniquity big pigs are.
" The Antiquity of Swine; How They — NONSENSE RHYME

INSECTS

Luna moth
Flannel-moth

Cecropia moth

Wood engraving by Anna Botsford Comstock

Juno moth

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, most important of
all, they are small and are, therefore, easily
confined for observation.

About us on every side are myriads of
tiny creatures that commonly pass un-
noticed, and even when we observe them,
we usually think them unworthy of se-
rious consideration. But all life is linked
together in such a way that no part of the
chain is unimportant. Frequently the ac-
tion of some of these minute beings seri-
ously affects the material success or failure
of a great commonwealth. The introduc-
tion and spread of a single species of insect
(the cottony-cushion scale) in Califor-
nia threatened the destruction of the ex-
tensive orchards of that state; thousands of
trees perished. The introduction of a few
individuals of a particular kind of lady-bug

(Rodolia cardinalis), which feeds upon
this pest and multiplies rapidly, soon
checked the pest? and averted the disaster.

But insects are of interest to us for
other reasons than the influence they may
have upon our material welfare; the study
of them is a fruitful field for intellectual
growth. It is not a small matter to be able
to view intelligently the facts presented by
the insect world, to know something of
what is going on around us. And so exten-
sive and complex is this field that no one
gains more than a mere smattering con-
cerning it.

We know as yet comparatively little
about the minute structure of insects; the
transformations and habits of the greater
number of species have not been studied;
and the blood-relationship of the various
groups of insects is very imperfectly under-
stood. If, therefore, one would learn some-
thing of the action of the laws that govern
the life and development of organized
beings, and at the same time experience

INSECTS

295

the pleasure derived from original investi-
gation, he cannot find a better field than
is offered by the study of insects.

But it is not necessary that one should
have the tastes and leisure required for
careful scientific investigation in order to
profit by this study. It can be made a
recreation, a source of entertainment
when we are tired, a pleasant occupation
for our thoughts when we walk. Any one
can find out something new regarding in-
sect architecture — the ways in which
these creatures build nests for them-
selves or for their young. It is easy to ob-
serve remarkable feats of engineering,
wonderful industry, unremitting care of
young, tragedies, and even war and slav-
ery.

The abundance of insects makes it easy
to study them. They can be found where-
ever man can live, and at all seasons. This
abundance is even greater than is com-
monly supposed. The number of individ-
uals in a single species is beyond compu-
tation: who can count the aphids or the
scale-insects in a single orchard, or the
bees in a single meadow?

Not only are insects numerous when we
regard individuals, but the number of
species is far greater than that of all other
animals taken together. The number of
species in a single family is greater in sev-
eral cases than the number of stars visible
in a clear night.

The word insect is often applied incor-
rectly to any minute animal; but the term
should be restricted to those forms possess-
ing six legs and belonging to the class,
Hexapoda. The name Hexapoda is from
two Greek words : hex, six; and pous, foot.
It refers to the fact that the members of
this order differ from other arthropods in
the possession of only six feet. Thus
spiders, which have eight legs, are not in-
sects.

Insects breathe by means of a system
of air-tubes (tracheae) which extend
through the body. This is true even in the
case of those that live in water and are
supplied with gill-like organs (the tracheal
gills). The head is distinct from the tho-
rax, and bears a single pair of antennae; in

these respects they are allied to the milli-
pedes and centipedes although they are ap-
parently more closely related to a small
group of animals known as symphylids.

Insects can be easily distinguished by
the number of their feet, and usually, also
by the presence of wings.

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 intelli-
gently to know something of the life
stories, habits, and structure of the com-
mon insects.

Nearly all insects in the course of their
lives undergo remarkable changes in form.
Thus the butterfly, which delights us with
its airy flight, was at one time a caterpillar;
and the busy bee lived first the life of a
clumsy grub. Generally speaking, insects
develop from eggs. The word egg brings
before most of 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;
the shells may be ornately ribbed and pit-
ted, are sometimes adorned with spines, and
are as beautiful to look at through a micro-
scope as the most artistic piece of mosaic.

From the eggs, larvae (singular, larva)
issue. These larvae may be caterpillars, or
the creatures commonly called worms, or
perhaps maggots or grubs. The larval stage
is 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 in-
sects 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 sup-
ported by it. This skin is so firm that it can-
not stretch to accommodate the increas-
ing size of the growing insect, so 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

296 ANIMALS

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.

Eggs of insects: 1, the tree-cricket, (Ecan-
thua nigricornus ; 2, the White Mountain but-
terfly, CEnis semidea; 3, stinkbug, Piezoste-
rum subulatum; 4, water-measurer, Hydrom-
etra martini

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.

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 dis-
turbed. The pupa of the mosquito is ac-
tive and is an exception to the rule. The
pupa is usually an oblong object and
seems to be without head, feet, or wings;

M. V. Slingerland

Full-grown caterpillar of the luna moth

but if it is examined closely, especially in
the case of butterflies and moths, the an-
tennas, wings, and legs may be seen, folded
down beneath the pupa skin.

Many larvas, especially among the
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 larva? of butterflies
do not make a silken cocoon, but the
pupa is suspended to some object by a
silken knob, sometimes 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 under-
standingly.

M. V. Slingerland

The forest tent-caterpillar shedding its skin

M. V. Slingerland

A luna cocoon cut open, showing the pupa

INSECTS

297

A butterfly chrysalis

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 the 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 in-
sect 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 in-
active pupa stage. With some insects, like
the grasshoppers, the young, as soon as
they are hatched, resemble the adult forms

Insect brownies; tree hoppers as seen through
a lens

in appearance. These insects, like the
larvae, 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 dragonflies, crickets, grasshop-
pers, and bugs are of this type. It must be
remembered that while many people refer
to all insects as bugs, the term bug is cor-

The delicate, exquisite green of the luna's wings is set
off by the rose-purple, velvet border of the front wings,
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
gives the moth a most graceful shape, and at the same
time probably affords it protection from observation.
During the daytime the moth hangs, wings down, be-
neath 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

The grasshopper is an example oj incomplete
metamorphosis

1 nymph, first stage; 2, nymph, second stage; 3,
nymph, third stage; 4, nymph, fourth stage; 5, nymph,
fifth stage; 6, adult

298

ANIMALS

rectly applied only to one group of in-
sects. This group includes such forms as
stinkbugs, squash bugs, plant lice, and

tree hoppers. The young of insects with
an incomplete metamorphosis are called
nymphs instead of larvae.

SUMMARY OF THE METAMORPHOSES OF INSECTS

Kinds of Metamorphosis

I. Complete metamorphosis
(example, butterfly)

II. Incomplete metamorphosis
(example, grasshopper)

THE STRUCTURE OF INSECTS
The insect body is made up of ringlike
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 re-
gions: the head, the thorax, and the ab-
domen. The head bears the eyes, the an-
tennae, and the mouth-parts. On each side

A part of the compound eye, enlarged, of an
insect

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 larvag of insects with
complete metamorphosis, such as caterpil-
lars, maggots, and beetle grubs. In addi-
tion to the compound eyes, many adult in-
sects possess simple eyes; these are placed
between the compound eyes and are usu-
ally three in number. Often they cannot
be seen without the aid of a lens.

The antennae or feelers are composed
of many segments and are inserted in front
of the eyes or between them. They vary

Names of Stages

Egg-

Larva.

Pupa. (Among the moths the pupa is

sometimes enclosed in a cocoon.)
1 Adult or winged insect.

(Egg-

^ Nymph (several stages).

[Adult, or imago.

greatly in form. In some insects they
are mere threads; in others, like the silk-
worm moths, they are large, feather-like
organs.

....FORE WING OR WING COVER

May Gyger

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 get-
ting the juices from plants or the blood
from animals, and others long delicate
tubes for sipping the nectar from flowers.

INSECTS

299

M. V. Slingerland

A sphinx moth with the sucking tongue un-
rolled

In the biting insects, the mouth-parts
consist of an upper lip, the labrum,
an 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 maxillae (singular maxilla) .
There may be also within the mouth one
or two tonguelike organs. Upon the
maxillae and upon the lower lip there may
also be feelers, which are called palpi
(singular 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, children can ob-
serve the mandibles and the palpi without
the aid of a lens.

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

The mouth of the tree hopper, shown here
extending beneath the body, is a long, three-
jointed sucking tube

mesothorax, and the hind one, the meta-
thorax. Each of these segments bears a
pair of legs and, in the winged insects, the
second and third segments bear the wings.

The mouth-parts of a grasshopper, enlarged
and named

8, upper lip or labrum; 10, mandibles or upper jaws;
11, maxillae or lower jaws; 12, under lip or labium; 13,
tongue; d, palpi

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 be-

.... ABDOMEN.,

T^« \u&r ~WLESS PROPLEe

May Gyger

A caterpillar, with the parts of the external
anatomy named

ing five. The last segment of the tarsus
usually bears one or two claws.

While we have little to do with the in-
ternal 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

300

ANIMALS

the mouth, but 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 trachese (tra'-
Jce-ee), which permeate the insect's body
and thus carry the air to every smallest
part of its anatomy. The blood of the in-
sect 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Elementary Les-
sons on Insects, by James G. Needham;
Field Book of Insects, by Frank E. Lutz;
Hand Book for the Curious, by Paul G.
Howes; Insect Life, by John Henry Corn-
stock; Insect Ways, by Clarence M. Weed;
An Introduction to Entomology, by John
Henry Comstock; A Manual for the Study
of Insects, by John Henry Comstock,
Anna B. Comstock, and Glenn W. Her-
rick; Nature Study and Science, by Gil-
bert H. Trafton; Our Insect Friends and
Foes and Spiders, published by the Na-
tional Geographic Society; Parade of the
Animal Kingdom, by Robert Hegner; ad-
ditional references are to be found in the
bibliography in the back of this Hand-
book, under various headings: Insects and
Other Invertebrates, Animals in Gen-
eral, Nature-Study in General, Textbooks
and Readers, Nature Poetry, Magazines
and Periodicals, Books for Parents and
Teachers. Many state and federal bulle-
tins give additional information.

Head

SUMMARY OF STRUCTURE OF AN INSECT

Antennas.
Compound eyes.
Simple eyes or ocelli.

Labrum, or upper lip.

, , i , Mandibles, or upper jaws.

Mouth-parts Maxillae, or lower jaws, and maxillary palpi.

Labium and labial palpi.

Thorax

Pro thorax and first pair of legs.
Mesothoraxand / second pair of legs.

Metathorax and

Wing

Leg

first pair of wings,
third pair of legs,
second pair of wings.

veins.

cells.

Two small segments called coxa and tro-
chanter.

Femur.

Tibia.

Tarsus and claws.

Abdomen

The abdomen bears

ears (in locusts only)

spiracles.

ovipositor.

INSECTS.

301

INSECTS OF THE FIELDS AND WOODS

Some insects go through all the stages pecially well adapted for nature-study be-

of their development on land; these are cause specimens are constantly available,

the insects of fields and woods. This The insects presented from page 301 to

group includes some of the most interest^ page 400 are common examples of this

ing and beautiful of insects. They are es- group.

THE BLACK SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY

This graceful butterfly is a very good
friend to the flowers, being a most effi-
cient 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 " swallowtails/7
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 elabo-
rate, 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 eyespot with a
black center. On the lower surface of the

M. V. Slingerland

Black swallowtail butterfly

M. V. Slingerland

The eggs of the black swallowtail butterfly,
enlarged

wings, most of the yellow spots are re-
placed 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 eggs, which are just the color of a drop
of honey, on the under surface of the
leaves of the food plant. After about ten
days there hatch from these eggs spiny lit-
tle fellows, black and angular, each with a
saddle-shaped, whitish blotch in the mid-
dle of the 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 por-
tions 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

ANIMALS

Dept. of Entomology, Cornell U.

Black swallowtail caterpillars, showing two
stages of growth

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 sepa-
rately. Swelling out to fill its new skin to
the utmost, the caterpillar leaves its cast-
off clothes clinging to the silken carpet
and marches back to its supper.

But after one of these changes of skin
it becomes a very different looking cater-
pillar, 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 yel-
low 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.

When we were children we spent hours
poking these interesting creatures with
straws to see them push forth their bril-
liant 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 hur-
ried 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 cater-
pillars 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.

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, fas-
tening 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 earlike
projections in front. Then comes the criti-
cal 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 in-

INSECTS

305

serts 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 at-
tached, and is thus undoubtedly protected
from the sight of possible enemies. Then
some day it breaks open, and from it issues
a crumpled mass of very damp insect vel-
vet, which soon expands into a beautiful
butterfly.

SUGGESTED READING — Butterfly and
Moth Book, by Ellen Robertson-Miller;
Holiday Meadow, by Edith M. Patch;
How to Know the Butterflies, by John
Henry Comstock and Anna B. Comstock;
Nature — by Seaside and Wayside, by
Mary G. Phillips and Julia M. Wright,
Book 3, Plants and Animals; Now for
Creatures, by Shelby Shackelford; Scien-
tific Living Series, Winter Comes and
Goes, by George W. Frasier, Helen Dol-
man, and Kathryne Van Noy; also, read-
ings on page 300.

LESSON 70

THE BLACK SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY
LEADING THOUGHT — The caterpillars of
the swallowtail butterflies have scent
organs near the head which they thrust
forth when attacked, thus giving off a dis-
agreeable 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 feed-
ing, 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 — i. Touch the caterpil-
lar 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 caterpil-

lar? Does the caterpillar try to hide under
the leaves when feeding?

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 pro-
legs? 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? Aie these
white on the white segments and black on
the black segments? What is the color
of the spines at their base?

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.

At the top is a caterpillar oj the black swal-
lowtail butterfly ready to change to the chrys-
alis form. Below is shown a chrysalis of the
black swallowtail butterfly

ANIMALS

THE BUTTERFLY

A tiger swallowtail butterfly visiting a lily

8. When a caterpillar is full grown, how
does it hang itself up to change to a
chrysalis? How does it make the silk but-
ton? How does it weave the loop or hal-
ter? How does it fasten it? When the hal-
ter 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 chrys-
alis 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?

1 . Why is this butterfly called the black
swallowtail? 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 be-
tween 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 eyespot
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 but-
terfly? Describe its antennaa. 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 mother butterfly dif-
fer in size and in markings from her mate?

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 chrys-
alis. 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

INSECTS

Migrating monarch butterflies

American Museum of Natural History

THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY

It is a great advantage to an insect to
have the bird problem eliminated, and
the monarch butterfly enjoys this ad-
vantage 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 zig-
zag dodging movements of other butter-
flies. 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 milk-
weed sprouted. There she deposits her
eggs, from which hatch individuals that
carry on the migration as far to the north
as possible. It usually arrives in New York
State early in July. As cold weather ap-
proaches, the monarchs often gather in
large flocks and move back to the South.
How they find their way we cannot un-
derstand, since there are among them
none of the individuals which pressed
northward early in the season.

The very brilliant copper-red color of
the upper sides of the wings of the mon-
arch 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

ANIMALS

The monarch butterfly

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 mark-
ings. The hind wings and the front por-
tions of the front wings have, on their
lower sides, a ground color of pale yel-
low, which makes the insect less con-
spicuous when it alights and folds its
wings above its back, upper surfaces to-
gether. The black veins, on the lower sur-
face 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 distinguish-
ing 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. It is very inter-
esting to see a butterfly feeding upon
nectar; this may be observed in the
garden almost any day. I have also ob-
served it indoors, by bringing in petu-
nias and nasturtiums for my imprisoned
butterflies, but they are not so likely to
eat when in confinement. The antennae
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
antenna 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 mon-
arch 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.

It is very interesting to the pupils if they
are able to see a bit of the butterfly's wing
through a lens or microscope; the cover-
ing of scales, arranged in such perfect

The viceroy butterfly. Note the black band
on the hind wings. This band distinguishes
the viceroy from the monarch, which it re-
sembles in color and markings

INSECTS

rows, is very beautiful and also very won-
derful. 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.

The monarch is, for some reason un-
known 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 disagreeable and which,
therefore, should be left severely alone.
There is another butterfly called the vice-
roy which has taken advantage of this im-
munity 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.

The milkweed caterpillar, which is the
young of the monarch butterfly, is a strik-
ing object, and when fully grown is about
two inches long. The milkweed is a suc-
culent food and the caterpillar may ma-
ture 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 fright-
ened, the whiplashes at the front of the
body twitch excitedly; when it walks, they

The scales on a butterfly's wing as seen
through a microscope

move back and forth. Those at the rear of
the body are more quiet and not so expres-
sive of caterpillar emotions. These fila-
ments are undoubtedly of use in frighten-

M. V. Slingerland

The monarch caterpillar

ing 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 dis-
turbed 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 inconspicu-
ous among the grass and thus perhaps save
them from the attack of some animals
other than birds. These caterpillars, like
all others, grow by shedding the skeleton
skin as often as it becomes too tight.

The monarch chrysalis is, I maintain,

308

ANIMALS

the most beautiful gem in Nature's jewel
casket; it is an oblong jewel of jade,
darker at the upper end and shading to

Monarch chrysalis. A jewel of
gold

ing jade and

the most exquisite whitish green below;
outlining this lower paler portion are shin-
ing 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
underside 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Butterfly and
Moth Book, by Ellen Robertson-Miller;
Do You Know? by Janet Smalley; How to
Know the Butterflies, by John Henry
Comstock and Anna B. Comstock; Inter-
esting Neighbors, by Oliver P. Jenkins;
Now for Creatures, by Shelby Shackelf ord;

Scientific Living Series, Winter Comes
and Goes, by George W. Frasier, Helen
Dolman, and Kathryne Van Noy; also,
readings on page 300.

LESSON 71
THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY

LEADING THOUGHT — The monarch but-
terfly migrates northward in spring and
summer, moving up as the milkweed ap-
pears, 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 may 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.

L. W. Brownell

Monarch butterfly emerging from the chrysa-

INSECTS
THE BUTTERFLY

OBSERVATIONS— i. How can you tell
the monarch butterfly from all others?
What part of the wings is red? What por-
tions 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 antennas. How do they differ
from the antennse of moths? How many
legs has this butterfly? Flow does this dif-
fer 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 imi-
tates it and thus gains an advantage?

THE 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 mark-
ings of the caterpillar? Do you think these
make it conspicuous?

3. How many whiplash-shaped fila-
ments 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?

Above, a monarch butterfly ; below, a vice-
roy. In color and markings, except for t he-
black bands on the hind wings of the viceroy,
they are similar

Does it feed during the night as well as the
day?

5. If disturbed, what does the caterpil-
lar 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 but-
terfly?

3. To what is the chrysalis attached? Is
it in a position where it does not attract
attention? How is it attached to the ob-
ject?

4. After three or four days, how does the
chrysalis change in color? Observe, if you
can, the butterfly come out from the chrys-
alis, noting the following points: Where
does the chrysalis skin open? How does
the butterfly look when it first comes out?

310

ANIMALS

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 inew;

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 mornino-

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

Brown and furry,
Caterpillar in a hurry,
Take your walk
To the shady leaf or stalk,
Or what not,

Many times during autumn, the chil-
dren 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 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 sun-
shine.

The woolly bear is variable in appear-
ance; sometimes five of the front segments
are black, four of the middle reddish
brown, and three of the hind segments
black. In others only four front segments
are black, six are reddish, and two are
black at the end of the body; there are still

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 ROSSETTI

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 count only 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

INSECTS

front three belong to the abdomen, and
the prolegs are on the 3rd, 4th, Jth, 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 seg-
ments of the thorax, but eight of the
abdominal segments have a spiracle on
either side.

The woolly bear's head is polished black;
its antennae are two tiny, yellow projec-
tions 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, there-
fore, 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 wre
take it up with great difficulty. These

Woolly bears

M. V. Slingerland

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, dan-
delion, 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 pro-
tected from storms but have the ordinary
winter temperature. Keeping it in a warm
room during the winter often proves fatal.

M. V. Slingerland

The Isabella tiger moths, the adults of the
woolly bear. The larger is the jemale

M. V. Slingerland

The cocoon oj the woolly bear

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 win-
ter 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 sipin about itself and

312

ANIMALS

squeeze itself into such a small cocoon;
and it is quite as amazing to see within the
cocoon the smooth little pupa, in which is
condensed all that was essential of the
caterpillar. Sometimes when the cater-
pillars are kept in a warm room they make
their cocoons in the fall, but this is not
natural.

The issuing of the moth from the co-
coon is an interesting lesson for the last of
May. The size of the moth which comes
from the cocoon seems quite miraculous
compared 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 antennae are
small and inconspicuous. The moths are
night fliers, and the mother moth seeks
some plant that will be suitable food for
the little caterpillar as soon as it is
hatched; here she lays her eggs.

SUGGESTED READING — Do You Know?
by Janet Smalley; Nature — by Seaside and
Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips and Julia
M. Wright, Book 3, Plants and Animals;
also, readings on page 300.

LESSON 72

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, usu-
ally in early spring, of silk woven with its
own hair. In late spring, 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 — i . How can you tell
the woolly bear from all other caterpillars?
Are they all colored alike? How many seg-
ments of the body are black at the front
end? How many are red? How many seg-
ments 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 the woolly
bear from its enemies? What are its ene-
mies?

11. Where should the woolly bear be
kept in winter to make it comfortable?

INSECTS

3*3

THE COCOON

1. When does the woolly bear usually
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 co-
coon?

4. Cut open a cocoon and describe how
the 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 fixt upon the plant
On whose soft leaves it hangs, and from

whose cup

Drains imperceptibly its nourishment.
Endeared my wanderings.

— WORDSWORTH

Before your sight,

Mounts on the breeze the butterfly, and

soars.
Small creature as she is? from earth's bright

Rowers
Into the dewy clouds.

— WORDSWORTH

THE CECROPIA

The silkworm which gives us the silk
of commerce has been domesticated for
centuries in China. Because of this do-
mestication, 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 silkworms which produce
a strong and lustrous silk; but the cater-
pillars have proved difficult to rear in large
numbers. Moreover, it would take years to
domesticate them, and the amount of la-
bor involved in the production of their
silk would be so great that they are un-
likely, for many years at least, to be of
commercial importance.

The names of our common native silk-
worms are cecropia, promethea, polyphe-
mus, 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 in-
conspicuous among the leaves on which
they feed. None of the caterpillars of the
giant silkworms occur in sufficient num-
bers 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 in-

M. V. Slingerland
The cecropia moth

terested in the visitors to our street lights.

The cecropia is the largest of our giant
silkworms, the wings of the moth expand-
ing sometimes six and one-half inches. It
occurs from the Atlantic Coast to the
Rocky Mountains.

The cecropia cocoon is found most
abundantly on our orchard and shade
trees; it is called by the children the

3*4

ANIMALS

M. V. Slingerland

The eggs of the cecropia moth, enlarged

"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 paper-like 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 mak-
ing 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 open-

ing in the lower lip; it then makes a loose
network 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 87s. 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

M. V. Slingerland

The cecropia caterpillar molting

M. V. Slingerland

Full-grown cecropia caterpillars

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 brilliantly 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 antennas, like great feath-
ers, 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

INSECTS

315

much the strong silken cocoon is needed
for protection from enemies, as well as
from inclement weather.

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, look-

M. V. Slingerland

Cecropia caterpillar weaving its cocoon

ing as if it had been dipped in water and
had been squeezed in an inconsiderate
hand. But the wet wings soon spread, the
bright antennae stretch out, the furry cov-
ering of the body becomes dry and fluffy,
and the large moth appears in all its per-
fection. 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 zig-
zag white line; each wing bears, near its
center, a crescent-shaped white spot bor-
dered 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.

M. V. Slingerland

A cecropia cocoon

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 yel-
low 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

M. V. Slingerland

A cecropia cocoon cut open, showing the pupa
within it

316 ANIMALS

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 blu-

M. V. Slingerland

Just out of the cocoon

ish green in color, the large tubercles on
the second and third segments being deep
orange, and 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 be-
gins to spin its cocoon.
SUGGESTED READING — Butterfly and

Moth Book, by Ellen Robertson-Miller;
Caterpillars and Their Moths, by Ida M.
Eliot and Caroline G. Soule; Nature —
by Seaside and Wayside, by Mary G. Phil-
lips and Julia M. Wright, Book 3, Plants
and Animals; Nature and Science Readers,
by Edith M. Patch and Harrison E. Howe,
Book i, Hunting; Scientific Living Series,
Winter Comes and Goes, by George W.
Frasier, Helen Dolman, and Kathryne
Van Noy; also, readings on page 300.

LESSON 73
THE CECROPIA

LEADING THOUGHT — The cecropia
moth passes the winter as a pupa in a co-
coon 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 full-grown caterpillars are large and
green with beautiful blue and orange tu-
bercles.

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 thor-
oughly wet at least once a week. How-
ever, it is better to keep them in a box out
of doors where they can have the advan-
tage 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 to eat when the eggs
hatch.

THE COCOON

OBSERVATIONS — i. How does the co-
coon 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 at-
tached to it?

2. Where do you find cecropia co-
coons? 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 pro-

INSECTS

tect the pupa from changes of tempera-
ture and dampness?

4. Is the outside covering easy to tear?
What birds have been known 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?

THE PUPA

1. Take a pupa out of a cocoon care-
fully and place it on cotton in a wide-
mouthed fruit jar where it may be ob-
served. 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 antennas and the mouth?

3. Describe how the wing coverings
look. Count the rings in the abdomen.

4. Why does the pupa need to be pro-
tected by a cocoon?

THE MOTH

1. What is the first sign 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

317

spread out and dry. How does the cover-
ing of the wings change in appearance?

3. Make a \vater-color drawing or de-
scribe in detail the fully expanded moth,
showing the color and markings of wings,
body, and antennae.

4. Do the moths eat anything?

5. If one of the moths lays eggs, de-
scribe 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 co-
coon; describe how it begins and how it
acts as long as you can see it. Where does
the silk come from?

THE PROMETHEA

The promethea is not so large as the
cecropia, although the female resembles
the latter somewhat. It is the most com-
mon of all our giant silkworms. Its cater-
pillars feed upon wild cherry, lilac, ash,
sassafras, buttonwood, and many other
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 dis-
guise that only the very wisest of birds
ever suspect its presence. When the pro-
methea caterpillar begins to spin, it selects
a leaf and covers the upper side with silk,
then it covers the petiole with silk, fas-
tening it with a strong band to the twig,
so that not even most violent winter winds

ANIMALS

The female promethea

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 al-
ways 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 leaf-
let 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.

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 dif-
fer somewhat in habit from the other
silkworms, 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.

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 spell-
ing 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 underside 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 beau-
tiful 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 pros-
perous looking. Its color is a beautiful,
light, greenish blue, and its head is yellow.
It has six rows of short, round, black tuber-
cles. 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.

M. V. Slingerland

Promethea cocoons; the one on the left
has been cut away to show the pupa. Note
how the leaves are fastened by silk to the
twigs

INSECTS

THE CYNTHIA

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; there-
fore the lesson indicated for the prome-
thea 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 intro-
duced.

SUGGESTED READING — Butterfly and
Moth Boole, by Ellen Robertson-Miller;
Caterpillars and Their Moths, by Ida M.
Eliot and Caroline G. Soule; also, read-
ings on page 300.

LESSON 74
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

M. V. Slingerland

Promethea caterpillars

A polyphemus moth and cocoon. This is a
yellowish or brownish moth with a window-
like spot in each wing

late in the spring when they can have
natural conditions for laying their eggs,
and the young caterpillars will be supplied
with plenty of food consisting of new and
tender leaves.

THE COCOON

OBSERVATIONS — i . On what tree did
you find it? Does it look like a cocoon?
Does it not look like a dried leaf still cling-
ing 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 fas-
tened the leaf to the twig?

3. Tear off the leaf and study the co-
coon. 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 antennae of
the moth are? Can you see the wing cov-
ers? 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 ce-
cropia? This is the mother promethea,

2. Are any of the moths almost black in
color with wings bordered with gray and

ANIMALS

with graceful prolonged tips to the front
wings? This is the father moth.

3. Make water-color drawings of pro-
methea moths, male and female.

4. If the 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 the color
of the caterpillar 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 caterpil-
lar makes its cocoon.

THE HUMMINGBIRD OR SPHINX MOTHS

M. V. Slingerland

The moth of the sphinx caterpillar which
feeds on tomato plants

If during the early evening, when all
the swift hummingbirds 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 bul-
let, we know that it is a hummingbird or
sphinx moth. And when we see a cater-
pillar with a horn on the wrong end of
the body, a caterpillar which, when dis-
turbed, 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 bor-

ing 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 larvas to the Egyptian Sphinx, there
are still other resemblances. These insects
present three riddles: The first one is,
" Am I a hummingbird? " the second,
" Why do I wear a horn or an eyespot 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? "

The sphinx moths are beautiful and

Sphinx larva in sphinx attitude

INSECTS

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 extraordi-
nary rapidity. The hind wings are shorter,
but act as one with the front wings. The
body is stout and spindle-shaped. The
antennae 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, al-
though often complex, shows perfect re-
finement. Olive, tan, brown and ochre,
black and yellow, and the whole gamut of
grays, with eyespots or bands athwart the
hind wings of rose color or crimson, are
some of the sphinx color schemes.

Most of the sphinx moths have re-
markably long tongues, which are some-
times twice the length of the body. "When
not in use, the tongue is curled like a
watch spring in front of 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 tubu-
lar corollas, like the petunia, the morn-

321

ing glory, or the nasturtium. Some of
these flowers, like jimson weed and flow-
ering tobacco, open late in the day when
these evening visitors are flying about.
In some cases, especially among the or-

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

M. V. Slingerland

The tobacco sphinx moth with tongue ex-
tended

chids, there is a special partnership es-
tablished between one species of flower
and one species of sphinx moth. The to-
bacco sphinx is an instance of such part-
nership; 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.

The sphinx caterpillars are leaf-eaters,
and each species feeds upon a limited
number of plants which are usually re-
lated; 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 pel-
lets 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 orna-
mented with oblique stripes along the
sides, and in others the stripes are length-

ANIMALS

Dept. of Entomology, Cornell U.

Adults of the Myron sphinx

wise. There is often a great variation in
color between the caterpillars of the same
species; the tomato worm is sometimes
green and sometimes black.

In the young larva the horn on the
rear end is often of different color from
the body; in some species it stands straight
up and in some it is curled toward the
back. It is an absolutely harmless projec-
tion and does not sting nor is it poisonous.
However, it looks awe-inspiring and per-
haps 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
eyespot 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 dis-
turbed 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 fero-
cious 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.

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 work-
ing jaws can cut it freely. These caterpil-
lars 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 col-
ored. Through the spiracles the air is ai
mitted 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.

Often one of these caterpillars is seen
covered with white objects which the un-
informed, who do not know that caterpil-
lars never lay eggs, have called eggs. But
the sphinx moths at any stage would have
horror of such eggs as these! They are not

•"I

M. V. Slingerland

Eggs of the Myron sphinx

eggs but are little silken cocoons spun by
the larva? of a hymenopterous parasite.
It is a tiny four-winged " fly " which lays

INSECTS

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 vic-
tim. 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.

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 sur-
face 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 antennas cases can be
distinctly seen. In other species the pupas
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.

SUGGESTED READING — Butterfly and
Moth Book, by Ellen Robertson-Miller;
Caterpillars and Their Moths, by Ida M.
Eliot and Caroline G. Soule; Holiday Hill,
by Edith M. Patch; Interesting Neigh-
bors, by Oliver P. Jenkins; Nature — by
Seaside and Wayside, by Mary G. Phil-
lips and Julia M. Wright, Book 3, Plants
and Animals; also, readings on page 300.

M. V. Slingerland

A "cake walk" Caterpillars of the Myron
sphinx in an attitude of defense

M. V. Slingerland

Pupce of the Myron sphinx within the co-
coons

LESSON 75
THE HUMMINGBIRD OR SPHINX MOTHS

LEADING THOUGHT — The sphinx cater-
pillars have a slender horn or eyespot on
the last segment of the body. When dis-
turbed or when resting they rear the front
part of the body in a threatening attitude.
They spin no cocoons but change to pupas
in the ground. The adults are called hum-
mingbird moths, because of their swift
and purring flight. The sphinx moths
carry pollen for many flowers.

METHOD— The sphinx caterpillar found
on the potato or tobacco, or one of the
species feeding upon the Virginia creeper,
is in autumn available in almost any lo-
cality 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 try1 to rear the adults from
the pupas 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.

ANIMALS

M. V. Slingerland

A Myron caterpillar that has been para-
sitized. The white objects upon it are the
cocoons of the little grubs which feed upon
the fatty parts of the caterpillar

THE CATERPILLAR

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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?

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 caterpil-
lar? Do you think it is a sting? If there is
no horn, is there an eyespot on the last
segment? What color is it? Can you think
of any way in which this eyespot protects
the caterpillar?

4. Which segments of the caterpillar
are the largest? When the creature is dis-
turbed 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 as-
sume when resting? Do you think that
it resembles the Egyptian Sphinx when
resting?

5. How many true legs has this cater-
pillar? How does it use them when feed-
ing? 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?

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 vou
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 ob-
jects? What are these? Does the cater-
pillar 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
antennas cases?

THE MOTH

i. Where did you find this moth? Was
it flying by daylight or in the dusk? How
did its rapidly moving wings sound? Was
it visiting flowers? What flowers? Where
is the nectar in these flowers?

The white-lined sphinx moth

INSECTS

325

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 beauti-
ful? Make a sketch of the moth in water
color.

4. What is the shape of the antennae?
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 de-
pendent on the sphinx moths for carry-
ing their pollen? How many kinds of
sphinx moths do you know?

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

It is difficult to decide which seems the
more 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 ap-
ple worm is plump and lively; and while
it is 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 make-
shifts on the part of the caterpillar for car-
rying the long body, since the three pairs
of front legs are the ones from which de-
velop the legs of the moth. The noticing

of the legs of the codling moth is an im-
portant observation on the part of the pu-
pils, 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

M. V. Slingerland

The adult of the codling moth, showing the
variations of its markings. The two larger
ones are about three times natural size

ANIMALS

M. V. Slingerland

A wormy apple

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 en-
tangled 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 some time 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 ap-
ple; 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 be-
gins 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 ap-
ples rot about the injured places and thus
cannot be stored successfully; the apples
thus injured look unattractive, and there-
fore their market value is lessened; wormy
apples, packed in barrels with others, rot
and contaminate all the neighboring ap-

ples. This insect also attacks pears and
sometimes peaches.

The larvas usually leave the apples be-
fore 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 cod-
ling lame are in their winter quarters that
our bird friends of the winter, the nut-
hatches, woodpeckers, and chickadees, de-
stroy them in great numbers, hunting
eagerly for them in every crevice of the
trees. It is therefore good policy for us to

M. V. Slingerland

Larva of the codling moth, greatly enlarged

INSECTS

327

coax these birds to our orchards by plac-
ing 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 pupae
which soon change to moths? and thus
another generation gets in its work before
the apples are harvested.

The codling moth is a beautiful little
creature with delicate antennae 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 which have
wintered in cocoons 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 blos-
som and finds entrance there; and it is
therefore important that its first lunch
should include a bit of arsenic and thus

M. V. Slingerland

The pupce and cocoons oj codling moths

M. V. Slingerland

Just ready to spray. A pear and two apples
with the petals recently fallen and with the
calyx lobes widely spread

end its career before it fairly begins. The
trees should be sprayed with some stom-
ach 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 the lesson on the
apple.)

SUGGESTED READING — Insect Pests of
Farm, Garden and Orchard, by E. D. San-
derson and L. M. Peaks; Manual of Inju-
rious Insects, by Glenn W. Herrick; also,
readings on page 300.

LESSON 76
THE CODLING MOTH
LEADING THOUGHT — The codling moth
is a tiny brown moth with bronze mark-
ings, 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 attain-
ing its growth it leaves the apple and hides
beneath the bark of the tree or in some
other protected place, and in the spring

ANIMALS

M. V. Slingerland

Almost too late to spray. The apple on the
left has the calyx lobes nearly drawn to-
gether. The pear on the right still has the
calyx cavity open

makes the cocoon from which the moth
issues in time to lay eggs upon the young
apples.

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 larvae found in their winter
quarters. Place these larvas in a box with
cheesecloth tacked over its open side;
place this box out of doors in a protected
position. Examine the cocoons to find the
pupae about the last of April; after the
pupae appear, look for the moths in about
five days.

It would be a very good idea for the pu-
pils 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 alco-
hol; 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 sec-
tion. 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 — i. Find an apple with
a codling moth larva in it. How large is
the worm? How does it act when dis-
turbed?

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 cod-
ling moth injure the apple? Does it injure
other fruits than apples?

6. How late in the fall do you find the
codling larvae in the apple? Where
do these larvae 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 pro-
tected 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.

INSECTS

1. How does the cocoon look outside
and inside? What is in the cocoon? Why
was the cocoon made? When w^as it
made?

2. Place the cocoons in a box covered
with cheesecloth and place the box out
of doors where the contents can be fre-
quently observed and make the following
notes:

(a) When does the larva change to
the pupa? Describe the pupa. How does
the cocoon look after the moth issues
from it?

(b) Describe the moth, noting color
of head, thorax, body, and front and hind
wings.

3. If these moths were free to fly
around the orchard, when and where
would they lay their eggs?

4. 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?

5. How do the nuthatches, downy
woodpeckers, and chickadees help us get
rid of the codling moth?

6. 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.

LEAF-MINERS

And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean
To be some happy creature's palace.

— LOWELL

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 in-
sects have discovered this hidden treasure,
which they mine while safely protected
from sight, and thus make strange figures
upon the leaves.

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 ser-
pent. Some serpentine mines are made by
the caterpillars of certain 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

Grace H. Griswold

Serpentine mines in a columbine leaf

330

ANIMALS

,L> '• ,. '. . .:• J

Grace H. Griswold

A verbena leaf, showing mines that are mere
blotches

whole life history and wanderings of the
little creature, from the time when, as
small as a pinpoint, it began to feed, un-
til it attained its full growth. As it in-
creased in size, its appetite grew larger
also, and these two forces working to-
gether naturally enlarged its house. When
finally the little miner got its growth, it
made a rather larger and more com-
modious room at the end of its mine,
which to us looks like the head of the ser-
pent; here it changed to a pupa, perhaps
after nibbling a hole with its sharp little
jaws, so that when it changed to a soft,
fluffy little moth with mouth unfitted for
biting, it was able to escape. In some spe-
cies, 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 be-
hind. Mines of this sort are often seen on
the leaves of the nasturtium, the smooth

pigweed, the columbine, and many other
plants. There are mines of many shapes,
each form being made by a different spe-
cies 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 the serpentine
miners do. The larvas of beetles, flies, and
moths may mine leaves, each species hav-
ing 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
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 mali-
foliella, 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

Dept. of Entomology, Cornell IT,

Mines oj the trumpet leaf-miner

INSECTS

33*

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 w;as happen-
ing. 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 open-
ing the door, the caterpillar changes to a
little, long pupa, very close to its exit; and
later it emerges, 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.

The gross mines in the leaves of dock
and beet are not pretty. The 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 larvae
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 larvae
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
Anrhomyida*; and there are several species
which have the perturbing habit of min-
ing the leaves of beets and spinach. It be-
hooves those of us who are fond of these
" greens," as our New England ances-
tors 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 houseflies, 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 gar-
dens, since they also mine in the smooth
pigweed.

SUGGESTED READING — Insect Pests of
Farm, Garden and Orchard, by E. D. San-

The pine-needle leaf-miner. Note the
mined leaves. The pupa, the caterpillar, and
the moth of the leaf-miner are much enlarged

derson and L. M. Peairs; Leaf Mining In-
sects, by James G. Needham, Stuart W.
Frost and Beatrice W. Tothill; also, read-
ings on page 300.

LESSON 77
LEAF-MINERS

LEADING THOUGHT — The serpent-like
markings and the blister-like blotches
which we often see on leaves are made
by the larvas 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 les-
son since it may be found in its mine in
early autumn. 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 — i . 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? Is there more than one in-
sect in the mine? Open the mine and see
how the miner looks.

332

ANIMALS

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 pro-
tected from the birds or insects of prey
while it is getting its growth?

7. Look on leaves of nasturtium, colum-

bine, lamb's quarters, dock, and burdock,
for serpentine mines. Are the mines on
these different plants alike? Do you sup-
pose the mines are made by the same
insect?

8. Look on leaves of dock, burdock,
beet, and spinach for blotch mines. Is
there more than one insect in these
mines? If the insects are present, hold the
leaf up 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 circu-
lar door by which it escaped? Would you
think there was enough substance in
half a pine needle to support a little crea-
ture 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 mus-
lin tied close about the petiole and thus
capture the winged insect.

THE LEAF-ROLLERS

If we look closely at sumac leaves be-
fore they are aflame from autumn's torch,
we find many of the leaflets rolled into lit-
tle cornucopias fastened with silk. The
silk is not in a web, like that of the spider,
but the strands are twisted together, hun-
dreds 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 peo-
ple think that insects will eat anything
that comes in their way; but of all animals,
insects are the most fastidious as to their
food.

Some species of leaf-rollers unite several
leaflets together, while others use a single
leaf. The sumac leaf-roller begins in a sin-
gle leaf; but in its later stages, it fastens
together two or three of the terminal leaf-
lets 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 cen-
ter, 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

INSECTS

333

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 habi-
tation 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 underside 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

Witch hazel, showing work of leaf-rollers,
leaf -miners, and gall-makers

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 lit-
tle 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 hun-
dreds of times, fastening the silk first to
one side and then to the other. Some ob-
servers believe that the caterpillar throws
its weight upon the silk, in order to pull

Leaf-rollers in sumac, showing the fastening
of the silk stay-ropes

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 cater-
pillars 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

Grace H. G'ris-wold

A leaf of hollyhock rolled by a leaf-roller

334

ANIMALS

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 RutiJana,
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

Leaflets fastened together by the skipper
caterpillar to make a nest. The adult skipper
is shown

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 in-
sects dry up and do not mature.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 300.

LESSON 78
THE LEAF-ROLLERS

LEADING THOUGHT — Many kinds of in-
sects roll the leaves of trees and plants into
tents, in which they dwell and feed dur-
ing 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 — i . What is the name
of the trees and shrubs from which these
rolled leaves that you have collected were
taken?

2. Is more than one leaf or leaflet
used in making the roll?

3. Is the leaf rolled crosswise or length-
wise? How large is the tube thus made?

4. Is the nest in the shape of a tube, or
are several leaves fastened together, mak-
ing a box-shaped nest?

5. How is the roll made fast? Examine
the little silken ropes with a lens and de-
scribe 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 to-
gether 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 cater-
pillar made this roll?

8. How do you think a caterpillar man-
ages 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
make the rolls on two different species of
trees?

9. In July or early August get some of
the rolls with the caterpillars in them? un-
roll 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.

INSECTS

L. H. Weld

The spiny oak- The pointed bullet-gall on oak A duster of The acorn
gall twigs galls on mid- plum-gall

rib of an oak

leaf

THE GALL DWELLERS

He retired to his chamber, took his lamp, and summoned the genius as usual. " Gen-
ius/' 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 pro-
vided 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

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 in-
sects and plant tissues; we do not under-
stand exactly 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 cer-
tain 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.

We may take the history of the com-
mon oak apple as an example. A little,
four-winged, flylike creature, a wasp, 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

336 ANIMALS

of one of the leaf veins. As it eats, it dis-
charges through its mouth into the tissues
of the leaf a substance which is secreted
from glands within its body. Immediately

Oak apple, showing the larva of the gall
insect

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 have what we are accus-
tomed to call 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, 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 wasp,
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 shel-
ters 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 them-
selves in his domain, and to 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.

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 an-
other story. A little brown and gray mot-
tled 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 ac-
commodatingly enlarges into an oblong
room. The caterpillar feeds upon the sub-
stance of the stem until it attains its
growth, and then it cuts, with sharp jaws,

Willow cone-galls

Verne Morton

INSECTS

337

a little oval door at the upper end of its
house and makes an even bevel by widen-
ing 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
\vhen 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.

Many galls are compound, that is, they
are made up of a community of larvae,
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 par-
ticular history, which proves a most inter-
esting story if we seek to read it with our
own eyes.

SUGGESTED READING — Interesting
Neighbors, by Oliver P. Jenkins; Nature
and Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch
and Harrison E. Howe, Book 2, Outdoor
Visits; Scientific Living Series, Winter
Comes and Goes, by George W. Frasier,
Helen Dolman, and Kathryne Van Noy;
also, readings on page 300.

LESSON 79
THE GALL DWELLERS
LEADING THOUGHT — The galls are pro-
tective habitations for the little insects

L . _„ _ . J

M. V. Slingerland

Spherical gall of the goldenrod, opened, show-
ing its prosperous looking owner

Glenn W. Herrick

The vagabond gall of the cotton-wood

wliich dwell within them. Each kind of
insect makes its o\vn peculiar gall on a
certain species of plant.

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 put them
where they may be under observation for
perhaps several months; note what sort of
winged insect comes from each.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 in-
side of the gall?

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? Is
there more than one insect in the galls

ANIMALS

C. V. Triggerson

Pictured here are porcupine galls on the
leaf of a white oak; a section of a porcupine
gall showing^ the cells; and a female gall- flu
laying eggs in an oak bud

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?

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.

Stem of goldenrod showing the spherical
gall above, made by the larva of a fly; and
the spindle-shaped gall below, made by the
caterpillar of a moth

My house hath no window,
Tis dark as the night/

But I mate 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

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,

INSECTS

339

does not long voluntarily burden any
object.

Since we naturally select the most sali-
ent characteristic of a creature to present
first to young pupils, we naturally begin
this lesson with the peculiarity which
makes this insect a u grasshopper?7 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 mid-
dle legs a trifle longer, but the femur of the
hind leg is nearly as long as the entire
body, and contains many powerful mus-
cles which have the appearance of being

V..FORE WING OR WINS COVER

A grasshopper with parts of the external
anatomy named

braided, because of the way they are at-
tached 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.
Since so many species of birds feed upon
the grasshopper, its leaping power is much

The America?!, bird grasshopper

needed to escape them. However, when
the grasshopper makes a journey it uses its
wings.

As we watch a grasshopper crawling up
the side of a vial or tumbler we can exam-
ine 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 con-
sists of three segments and a claw; when
the insect is quiet, the entire foot rests
upon the ground; but when it is climbing
on glass, the toe pads are used.

The grasshopper's face has a droll ex-
pression; would that some caricaturist
could analyze itl It is a long face, and the
compound eyes placed high upon it give
a look of solemnity. The simple eyes can

The mouth-parts of a grasshopper, enlarged

8, upper lip or labrum, 10, upper jaws or mandibles.
11, lower jaws or maxillae. 12, under lip or labium. 13,
tongue, d, palpi

340

ANIMALS

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 an-
tennas are short but alert. The two pairs
or 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 down-
wards, making an even-edged, long hole
on the leaf margin; it makes the hole
deeper by repeating the process. It some-

A drawing of a grasshopper without the
wings to show an ear, labeled t

air. The grasshopper's flight is usually
swift and short; but in years of famine
some kinds of grasshoppers fly high in the
air and for long distances, a fact recorded
in the Bible regarding the plague of lo-
custs. 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 pro-
tected; to find them, we must lift the
wings in order to see the two large sound-
ing discs, one on each side of the first seg-
ment 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 grass-
hoppers is a varied performance, each spe-
cies doing it in its own way. One species
makes a most seductive little note by plac-

times 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 ing the femur and tibia of the hind legs
and its whole attitude is one of deep satis- together; with the hind feet completely

off the ground, the legs are moved up and

faction. There is an up-rolled 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 drought will eat
almost any living plant.

Back of the head is a sunbonnet-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, mem-
branous 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 length-
wise like a fan beneath the wing covers;

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.

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 be-
neath the body in order to do it. It pol-
ishes 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 antennae; this is accom-
plished by tipping the head sidewise, and

they are strongly veined and circular in , , A ^

shape, giving much surface for beating the bending it down so that the antenna of

INSECTS

341

one side rests upon the floor; it then plants
the front foot of that side firmly upon the
antenna and pulls it slowly backward be-
tween the foot and floor.

The grasshopper has some means of de-
fense 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 chil-
dren who are wont to seize the insect by
its jumping legs and hold it up, command-
ing it to " chew tobacco.77

Grasshoppers are insects with incom-
plete 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 pupal 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 hid-
ing place with a gurnmy substance so that
no intruders or robbers may work harm

Grasshoppers laying eggs

a, a, a, females, ovipositing; 6, egg-pod extracted
from the ground with the end broken open; c, a few
eggs lying loose upon the ground; d, e, show the earth
partially removed to illustrate an egg-mass already m
place and one being placed; / shows where such a mass
aas been covered up

Long-horned or meadow grasshopper

to her progeny. Most species of grasshop-
pers 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.

SUGGESTED READING— -Do You Know?
by Janet Smalley; Insect Pests of Farm,
Garden and Orchard, by E. D. Sanderson
and L. M. Peairs; Insect People, by Elea-
nor King and Wellmer Pessels; Nature
— by Seaside and Wayside, by Maw G.
Phillips and Julia M." Wright, Book 3,
Plants and Animals; also, readings on
page 300.

LESSON 80
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 es-
capes by long jumps and by flight. It can
make long journeys on the wing.

METHOD — The red-legged grasshopper
(M. femur-rubrum) has been selected for
this lesson because it is the most common
of all grasshoppers in many parts of our
country, though other species may be used
as well. The red-legged locust or grass-
hopper has, as is indicated by its name, the
large femur of the hind legs reddish in
color. Place the grasshopper under a tum-
bler and upon a spray of fresh herbage,
and allow the pupils to observe it at lei-
sure. It might be well to keep some of
the grasshoppers in a cage similar to that
described for crickets. When one is study-
ing the feet, or other parts of the insect
requiring close scrutiny, the grasshopper

342

ANIMALS

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.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Since a grasshopper
is such a high jumper, discover if you can

Left, wing of male; and right, wing of female
meadow grasshoppers

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 grass-
hopper 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? De-
scribe the little pad between the claws.

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 antennas? 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 may happen to the
crops?

6. What do you see just back of the
grasshopper's head, when looked at from
above?

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 fly-
ing? 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 in-
sect breathes. Can you see the spiracles or
breathing pores? Lift the wings, and find
the ear on the first segment of the ab-
domen.

9. If you seize the grasshopper how
may it show that it is offended?

10. How does the grasshopper perform

Front leg of a katydid showing the ear near
the elbow

its toilet? Describe how it cleans its an-
tennas, 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 antennas
shorter than half the length of their bod-
ies? Do some have antennae longer than
their bodies? Where are the long-horned

INSECTS 343

grasshoppers found? Describe how they
resemble the katydids in the way they
make music and in the position of their
ears.

THE KATYDID

I love to hear thine earnest voice
Wherever thou art hid,
Thou testy little dogmatist,
Thou pretty katydid,

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 si-
lence/' and the word " rasping " well de-
scribes the note.

The katydids are beautiful insects, with
green, finely veined, leaflike 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, deli-
cate fawn-colored antennae, and the
brownish fiddle of the male, which con-
sists 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.

Thou mindest me of gentle follcs,
Old gentle folks are they,
Thou say'st an undisputed thing
In such a solemn way.

— HOLMES

There is a suture the length of the ab-
domen in which are placed the spiracles.
The insect breathes by sidewise expansion
and contraction, and the sutures rhythmi-
cally open and shut; when they are open,
the spiracles can be seen as black dots.

The angular-winged katydid and her eggs

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 overlapping 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 leaflike wings
of these insects are, in form and color? so

344

ANIMALS

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

The front portions of the wings of a male
katydid showing the file, f, on one wing and
the scraper, s, on the other

feet, while biting it off like a grazing cow,
and if it is tough, chews it industriously
with the sidewise-working jaws. A katy-
did will often remain quiet a long time
with one long antenna directed forward
and the other backward, as if on the look-
out 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 mandi-
bles with the aid of the palpi. But one
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 down-
ward over the eye and then licking it
clean. It cleans its antenna with its man-
dibles by beginning at the base and draw-
ing 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."
SUGGESTED READING — Nature — by Sea-
side and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips
and Julia M. Wright, Book 3, Plants and
Animals; also, readings on page 300.

LESSON 81
THE KATYDID

LEADING THOUGHT — The katydids re-
semble 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 encourag-
ing 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 grasshop-
per and also that on the cricket. These les-
sons will serve to call the attention of the
pupils to the differences and resem-
blances between the katydid and these
two related insects.

THE BLACK CRICKET

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 musi-
cal 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 dur-
ing the night, my cricket would respond
with a most vivacious and sympathetic
chirping.

The patent-leather finish to this crick-
et's clothes is of great use; for, although
the cricket is an efficient jumper, it is, after

The field cricket

INSECTS

345

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.

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 w7hen
it issues from its door. These crickets can-
not fly, since they have no wings under

Left, a house cricket; center, field cricket;
right, another species of field cricket

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 ad-
joining segment 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; the simple eyes are present, but
are discerned with difficulty. The antennae

The wing of a male cricket enlarged, a, file;
b, scraper

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 keep-
ing generally clean as are some other in-

A section of the file enlarged

sects, but they are always cleaning their
antennas. I have seen a cricket play his
wing mandolin lustily and at the same
time carefully clean his antennae; he pol-
ished these by putting up a foot and bend-

The front leg of a cricket enlarged to show
the ear at a

ing 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 flexi-
bility of the antennae is due to the fact

346

ANIMALS

that they are many jointed. The palpi are
easily seen, a large pair above and a smaller
pair beneath the " chin/7 The palpi are
used to test food and prove if it be palata-
ble. 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-work-
ing jaws, chewing the toothsome morsel
with gusto. They take hold of the sub-

A cricket cage

stance they are eating with the front feet
as if to make sure of it.

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 drumhead 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 vi-
bration, and sending the sound a long dis-
tance. The female cricket's wing covers
are more normal in venation; and she may
always be distinguished from her spouse
by the long swordlike ovipositor at the end
of her body; this she thrusts into the
ground when she lays her eggs, thus plac-
ing them where they will remain safely
protected during the winter. Both sexes
have a pair of " tail feathers/' as the chil-
dren call them, which are known as the
cerci (sing, cercus) 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 crick-
ets literally hear with their elbows, as do
the katydids and the meadow grasshop-
pers. The ear is easily seen with the naked
eye as a little white, disclike spot.

The chirp of the cricket is, in literature,
usually associated with the coming of au-
tumn; 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 af-
ternoon 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 ladylove but stands
sturdily at his own gate, playing his man-
dolin 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 mili-
tant note. If the two rivals come in sight
of each other there is a fierce duel. They

INSECTS

rush at each other with wide-open jaws,
and fight until one is conquered and re-
treats, often minus an antenna, cercus, or
even a leg. The cricket's note has a wide
range of expression. When waiting for his
ladylove, 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 seduc-
tive whispering, even having in it an un-
certain quiver, as if his feelings were too
strong for utterance.

SUGGESTED READING — Nature — by Sea-
side and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips
and Julia M. Wright, Book 3, Plants and
Animals; Nature and Science Readers, by
Edith M. Patch and Harrison E. Howe,
Book i, Hunting; also, readings on page
300.

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 cor-
ners, and will, if encouraged, take up their
abode among our hearthstones. The great-
est 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 em-
blem 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

347

Nick the glad, silent moments as they
pass.

— " WAYS OF THE SIX-FOOTED/'
COMSTOCK

LESSON 82
THE BLACK CRICKET

LEADING THOUGHT — The crickets are
among the most famous of the insect mu-
sicians. They live in the fields under stones
and in burrows, and feed upon grass and
clover. As with most birds, only the male
makes music; he has his wing covers de-
veloped into a mandolin or violin, which
he plays to attract his mate and also for
his own pleasure.

METHOD — Make some cricket cages
as follows: Take a small flowerpot and
plant in it a root of fresh grass OF clover.
Place over this and press well into the
soil a glass chimney, or a small piece of
fine mesh screen rolled into the shape of a
cylinder and fastened securely with
string or fine wire. Cover the top with
mosquito netting. Place the pot in its
saucer, so that it may be watered by keep-
ing 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, and ask for the following observa-
tions. 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 — i. 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 ran 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

348

ANIMALS

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 tarsi of each pair of
legs?

4. Study the cricket's head. Can you
see the eyes? Describe the antennae —
their color, length, and the way they are
used. Watch the cricket clean its antennae
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 grasshop-
per does? Note the cricket when he is play-
ing 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 crick-
ets in the fields? Do the black crickets
chirp in the daytime or after dark? Do
they chirp in cold or windy weather, or
only when the sun shines?

CRICKET SONG
Welcome with thy clicking, cricket/
Clicking songs of sober mirth;
Autumn, stripping field and thicket,
Brings tliee to my hearth,
Where thy clicking shrills and quiclcens,
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

This is a slim, ghostlike 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 antennae, living
threads, pale gray in color, join the head
with amber globelike 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, swordlike
ovipositor.

The snowy tree cricket, like its rela-
tives, spends much time at its toilet. It
whips the front foot over an antenna and
brings the base of the latter to the mandi-
bles with the palpi and then cleans it care-
fully to the very tip. It washes its face with
the front foot, always with a downward
movement. If the hind foot becomes en-
tangled 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 clean-

INSECTS

349

ing 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, hold-
ing the ornate member out from its com-
panions as if it were stiff with a conscious-
ness of its own importance.

There are two common species of the
snowy tree crickets which can hardly be
separated except by specialists or by watch-
ing their habits. One is called " the whis-
tler " 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, rhyth-
mic, and sleep-inspiring; it begins in the
late afternoon and continues all night un-
til the early, cold hours of the approach-
ing dawn. The vivacity of the music de-
pends 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 mu-
sicians 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

The snowy tree cricket

will join, but not in harmony at first. For
some time there may be a seesaw of ac-
cented 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 rhyth-
mical beat is once established, it is in as
perfect time as if governed by the baton of

Eggs of the snowy tree cricket, laid in rasp-
berry cane; c and d, egg enlarged

a Damrosch or a Thomas. The throbbing
of the cricket heart of September, it has
been fitly named. Sometimes an injudi-
cious 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 after-
noons and continues without ceasing un-
til 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.)

350 ANIMALS

The lesson on this cricket may be

adapted from that on the black cricket.

SUGGESTED READING— Fields and Fence-

INSECTS 383

rows, by Walter P. Porter and Einar A.
Hansen; First Lessons in Nature Study,
by Edith M. Patch; Nature — by Seaside
and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips and
Julia M. Wright, Book i, Some Animals
and Their Homes; also, readings on
page 300.

LESSON 95
THE YELLOW JACKET

LEADING THOUGHT — The wasps were
the original paper makers, using wood
pulp for the purpose. Some species con-
struct 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, and with sharp scis-
sors remove one side of the covering of the
nest? leaving the combs exposed and fol-
low with the questions and suggestions
indicated. From this study of the nest en-
courage 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.
381.)

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 honeybee. 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 dif-
ference in size?

384 ANIMALS

5. How do the young wasp grubs man-
age 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 the 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 ob-
serve her. What are the colors of the yel-
low 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 antennae and eyes. How does
she eat the fruit juice? Can you observe
the motion of her body when she
breathes?

THE LEAF-CUTTER BEE

One beautiful day in late June when I
was picking some roses, I saw a bee, almost
as large as a honeybee but different in
shape and darker in color, alight on a leaf

A leaf-cutter bee, its nest, and rose leaves cut
by the bee

and, moving with nervous rapidity, cut a
circle out of a leaf with her jaws " quick-
er'n a wink "; then, taking the piece be-
tween her forefeet and perhaps holding
it also with her jaws, she flew away, the
green disc looking as large in propor-
tion to her size as a big bass 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, fasten-
ing them together with some saliva glue
from her mouth. After the cup was made
to her liking, she went in search of food,
which she found in the pollen of some

INSECTS

flowers. This pollen was carried not as the
honeybees 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 rirn
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 bas-
ket ever made by a mother, all safely en-
closed 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 howr 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
now7 and although it is mummy-shaped,
we can see its folded wings and antennas.
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 sun-
shiny world, until its younger brothers and
sisters have gone out before it.

Anna C. Stryke

A pansy cut by a leaf-cutter bee

There are many species of these leaf-
cutter bees and each species makes its own
kind of 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, New York, we found
a species which rolled maple leaves into a
tube that 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; perhaps the most
common of all wedge their cups between
or beneath the shingles on the roofs of
summer cottages. But, however or wher-
ever the leaf-cutter works, she is a master
mechanic and does her work with niceness
and daintiness.

SUGGESTED READING — Interesting
Neighbors, by Oliver P. Jenkins; Nature —
by Seaside and Wayside, by Mary G. Phil-
lips and Julia M. Wright, Book i, Some
Animals and Their Homes; Nature and

386 ANIMALS

Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch and
Harrison E. Howe? Book 2, Outdoor
Visits; also, readings on page 300.

LESSON 96
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 re-
turn, so that 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 — i . Do you find rose
leaves with round holes cut in their edges?
Do you find on the same bush some leaf-
lets with oblong holes in them? Sketch or
describe the rose leaf thus cut, noting ex-
actly the shape of the holes. Are the cir-
cular 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 were 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.

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 as the top of the cup or a little
larger? 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 beebread 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

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 there was once pith. 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 saw-
dust 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 to-
gether, 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 paralyzed insects or
spiders are in the cells, 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
spring, she selects some twig of sumac,
elder, or raspberry which has been broken,
and thus 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 gathers pol-
len and packs beebread in the bottom of
the cell to the depth of a quarter-inch,
and then lays upon it a tiny white egg. She
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 tun-
nel; this is the roof for the first cell and
the floor of the next one; she then gathers

INSECTS 387

more pollen, lays another egg? and builds
another partition.

Thus she fills the tunnel, almost to the
opening, with cells, sometimes as many as
fourteen; but she always leaves a space for

The little carpenter bee; her nest, cut open
to show the eldest larva at the bottom and
the youngest nearest the entrance

Nest of the carpenter wasp

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 beebread industriously.
This grub grows by shedding its skin w7hen
it becomes too tight, then changes to a
pupa, and later to a bee resembling its
mother. But? though fully grown, it can-
not get out into the sunshine, for all its
younger brothers and sisters are blocking
the tunnel ahead of it; so it simply tears
down the partition above it and kicks
away the little pieces. The little grub
bides its time until the next youngest
brother or sister tears down the partition
above its head and pushes the fragments
into the very face of the elder, which, in
turn, pushes them away. Thus, while the
young bees are waiting, they are kept
more or less busy pushing behind them
the broken bits of all the partitions above
them. Finally, the youngest gets its
growth, and there they all are in the tun-
nel, 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

388

all housed within, does she enter. It is
easy to distinguish her, for her wings are
torn and frayed with her long labor of

Nest of the large carpenter wasp

building the nest, until they scarcely serve
to carry her afield; but she remains on
guard over her brood.

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 pupae are always in long, slen-
der, silken cocoons, and we have no evi-

ANIMALS

dence that the mother remains in attend-
ance.

SUGGESTED READING — Interesting
Neighbors, by Oliver P. Jenkins; Nature
— by Seaside and Wayside, by Mary G,
Phillips and Julia M. Wright, Book i,
Some Animals and Their Homes; also,
readings on page 300.

LESSON 97
THE LITTLE CARPENTER BEE

LEADING THOUGHT — Not all bees live
in colonies like the honeybees and bum-
blebees. 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
early summer or in autumn. In spring or
early summer, 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 may be found,
stowed away in the home tunnel, for the
winter.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 neces-
sary, to determine whether they are made
of tiny bits of wood or of mud. If made
of mud, what insect made them? If of lit-
tle chips, how and by what were they
constructed?

3. Are there any insects in the cells? If
so, describe them. Is there beebread 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?

INSECTS 389

6. Take a glass tube, the hollow at the a black paper or cloth made fast with rub-

center being about one-eighth of an inch
across, a tube which you can get in any
drug store. Break this tube into sections
nix or seven inches long, wrap around each

ber bands, and suspend them in a hedge
or among thick bushes in May. Examine
these tubes each week to see i'f the wasps
or bees are using them.

THE BUMBLEBEE

Thou? in sunny solitudes,
Rover of the underwoods,
The green silence dost replace
With thy mellow, breezy bass.

— EMERSON

There seems to have been a hereditary
war between the farm boy and the bum-
blebee, 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 today
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 earning their pollen;
for of all the insects of the field, the bum-
blebees are the best and most needed
friends of flo\vers.

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 visit-
ants 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 mixes into a
loaf as large as a bean upon which she lays
a few tiny eggs and then covers them with
wax. She then makes a honey-pot of wax

A bumblebee

as large as a small thimble and fills it with
honey; thus provided with food she broods
over her eggs, keeping them warm until
they hatch. Each little bee grub then bur-
rows into the beebread, making for itself a
cave while satisfying its hunger. When
fully grown, it spins about itself a cocoon,
changes to a pupa, and then comes out a
true bumblebee but smaller than her
queen mother. These workers are daugh-
ters and are happy in caring for the grow-
ing family; they gather pollen and nectar
and add to the mass of beebread for the
young to burrow in; meanwhile the queen
remains at home and devotes her energies

39°

ANIMALS

A bumblebee nest in midsummer

to laying eggs. 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.

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 quantify to be a profit-
able crop unless there are bumblebees to
pollinate its blossoms. Late in the sum-
mer, queens and drones are developed
in the bumblebee nest, the drones, as
with the honeybees, being mates for the
queens. But of all the numerous popula-
tion of the bumblebee nest, only the
queens survive the rigors of winter, and
on them and their success depends the fu-
ture 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 antennas and a mouth fitted for bit-
ing 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 obser-
vations possible to make is to note how
the bumblebee brushes the pollen from
her fur and packs it into her pollen bas-
kets.

SUGGESTED READING — Fields and
Fencerows, by Walter P. Porter and Einar
A. Hansen; First Lessons in Nature Study,
by Edith M. Patch; Interesting Neighbors,
by Oliver P. Jenkins; Nature — by Seaside
and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips and
Julia M. Wright, Book i, Some Animals
and Their Homes; Nature and Science
Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Harrison
E. Howe, Book i, Hunting, Book 2, Out-
door Visits, Book 3, Surprises; also, read-
ings on page 300.

LESSON 98
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, there-
fore, 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 en-
courage the pupils to answer them as they
have opportunity to observe the bumble-
bees 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 danger-
ous proceeding for the pupil, but also
means the destruction of a colony of these
very useful insects. However, if the loca-

INSECTS

391

tion of a nest is discovered, it may be dug
up and studied after the first heavy frost.
Special stress should be laid upon the ob-
servations of the actions of the bees when
visiting flowers.

OBSERVATIONS— i. In how many flow-
ers do you find the bumblebee? Watch
her closely and see how she gets the nec-
tar. Notice how she " bumbles around " in
a flo\ver 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 wrhich legs are her pollen bas-
kets? 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 antennas. Are they ac-

tive? How many pairs of wings has she?
Do you think they are strong? Which pair
of legs is the shortest? How many seg-
ments are there in the leg? Do you see the
claws on the foot?

3. \\Tiat 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 bum-
blebee 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 bumble-
bee benefit us?

THE HONEYBEE

During many years naturalists have
been studying the habits and adaptations
of the honeybees, and, as yet, the story of
their wonderful ways is not half told. Al-
though 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 fascinat-
ing 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 wiiere the kings are
powerless and the queen works as hard as
and longer than any of her subjects; and
then tell them that the pages of history
contain no account of a republic so won-
derful 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 beekeeper from three to five
dollars a year and prove a business edu-
cation to him in the meantime.

Bees are perfect socialists. They have
noncompetitive labor, united capital,
communal habitations, and unity of inter-
ests. The bee commune is composed of
castes as immutable as those of the Brah-
mins, 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 we should first of all

1 2 3

1, queen bee. 2} drone. 3, worker

ANIMALS

study the physical adaptations of the
members of these castes for their special
work in the community.

THE WORKER

There are three divisions to the body
of the bee7 as in all insects — head, thorax,

From Anatomy and Physiology of the Honeybee by
Snodgrass. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.

Legs of the honeybee

A, front leg of worker showing antenna cleaner (g, h);
B, spine of antenna cleaner; C, antenna cleaner enlarged;
D, middle leg of worker, anterior surface; E, left hind
leg of queen, outer surface; F, left hind leg of worker,
outer surface, showing pollen basket (Cb) ; G, first tarsal
joint (Tar.), inner surface, of leg of worker, showing
pollen, comb (transverse rows of spines); H, left hind
leg of drone, outer surface

and abdomen. The head bears the eyes,
antennae, and mouth-parts (p. 393, W).
There are two large compound eyes on
either side of the head and three simple
eyes between them. The antennas 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,
beadlike 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 be-
low 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 antenna comb
between the tibia and tarsus, A(g,h) and
C; the hind leg has a pollen basket,
which is a long cavity bordered by hairs
wherein the pollen is packed and carried,
F(Cb).

On the other side of the large joint be-
yond the pollen basket are rows of spines
which serve to collect pollen grains from
other parts of the body, G, and be-
tween these two large segments is a cleft
through which pollen is forced in loading
the baskets. This loading must occur while
the bee is on the wing, so that the legs
may be free for the peculiar actions by
which the loading is brought about.

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 three to 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, four
of the segments are composed of a cen-
tral part with an overlapping plate on
each side. These flaps cover the eight
areas through which wax is secreted; but
without dissection this cannot be seen,
except when the wax plates are abnormally
large, in which event they may protrude
and be visible. The flecks of wax there
formed are used by the bees to build
their combs.

THE QUEEN

The queen bee is a truly royal insect.
She is much larger than the worker, her
body being long and pointed, and extend-
ing far beyond the tips of her closed wings,
giving her a graceful form. She has no pol-

INSECTS

393

len 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 apart-
ment. The little white bee grub, as
soon as it hatches, is fed for five days
on the same food that is given to the
worker grubs in the earliest part of their
feeding period; it is a special substance,
secreted by the worker bees, called royal
jelly. This food is very nourishing, and af-
ter 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.

\\Tien 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 destroy the poor princess
within. If she finds another full-grown
queen, the two fight until one succumbs.
The queen rarely uses her sting upon any-
thing 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

Comb of the honeybee. The beginnings of
two queen cells are represented on the lower
edge of the comb, and a completed queen cell
extends over the face of the comb near the left-
side. From the lower end of it hangs a lid
which was cut away by the workers to allow
the queen to emerge

the colony. She runs about on the conib,
pokes her head into a eel! to see if it is
ready, then turning about thrusts her ab-
domen 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 a minute,
often producing two thousand eggs dur-
ing a day, which would equal in weight her
own body. If the workers do not allow her
to destroy the other developing queens,
she departs from the hive with a major
portion of the worker bees in what is
known as a swarm, seeking a home else-
where.

THE DRONE

The drone differs much from the queen
and the worker. He is broad and blunt, be-
ing very different in shape from the queen,
and larger than the worker (p. 591,
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 (D, below*. His wings are larger
and stronger than those of the worker or

A. J. Hamrnar

D, head of drone. Q, head of queen bee. W,
head of worker. X, worker bee seen from un-
derneath, showing plates of wax secreted from
the wax pockets

394

ANIMALS

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 work-
ers until the latter part of the season when
the honey supply runs low, and then he is
driven from the hive to die of starvation.
The drone should be called a prince or
king, since his particular office in the hive
is to mate with the queen.

SUGGESTED READING -— The Bee People,
by Margaret \V. Morley; The Busy Little
Honeybee, by Josephine M. True; The
Children's Life of the Bee, by Maurice
Maeterlinck; Fields and Fencerows, by
Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen;
Honeybees and Fain- Dust, by Maw G.
Phillips; Nature — by Seaside and Way-
side, by Man* G. Phillips and Julia M.
Wright, Book i, Some Animals and Their
Homes; Our Insect Friends and Foes and
Spiders, published by the National Geo-
graphic Society; also, readings on page 300.

LESSON 99
THE HONEYBEE

LEADING THOUGHT — In a colony of
honeybees there are three different forms
of bees, the queens, the drones? and the
workers. All of these have their own spe-
cial 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 may turn for
material for this lesson. If this is not prac-
tical 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 wrhicri 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 honeybee, a closer study of the
form of the insect than the living bee
might see fit to permit is desirable. There
are no more wonderful instances of adap-
tation 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 beekeep-
ers, that they know these adaptations.

A lens is almost necessary for these les-
sons 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 — i . How many divi-
sions 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 antennae.

6. What can you see of the mouth? De-
scribe it.

7. Look at the tongue under the micro-
scope and see how it is fitted for getting
nectar from flowers.

8. What organs are borne on the tho-
rax?

9. Study the front or middle leg. How
many joints has it?

10. With a lens find the antennae-
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 de-
scribe how it forms the pollen basket.

14. Note the cleft through which the
pollen is forced in loading the pollen bas-
kets and the pollen combs just below it.

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?

INSECTS

395

17. Study the lower side of the body;
do you know where the wax comes from?

18, Write an account of the develop-
ment of the larva of the worker bee; the
duties of a worker bee from the time it
issues from its cocoon until it dies work-
ing 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 a story of 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 rarely
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 com-
pared 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 the worker.

6. Compare the size of his wings with
those of the queen and the worker.

7. Write a composition on the drone.
This should cover the following points:
In what sort of cell the drone is developed;
whether he goes 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 bv what means it occurs.

HONEYCOMB

The structure of honeycomb 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 have
proved that, considering the material of
construction^ honeycomb exemplifies the
strongest and most economic structure
possible for the storing of liquid contents.
While recent instruments of greater pre-
cision in measuring angles show less per-
fection in honeycomb than the ancients
believed, yet the fact still stands that the
general plan of it is mathematically ex-
cellent.

Some have tried to detract from bee
skill, by stating that the six-sided cell is
simply the result of crowding cells to-
gether. Perhaps this was the remote origin

of the hexagonal cell; but if we watch a
bee build her comb, we find that she be-
gins with a base laid out in triangular pyra-
mids., on either side of which she builds
out six-sided cells. A cell just begun, is as
distinctly six-sided as when completed.

The cell of a honeycomb 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 usually lie horizontal, al-
though 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 comb foun-

396 ANIMALS

elation 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. This comb foundation is beauti-
fully constructed in imitation of the
base of the normal cells, and some-

*4 section of honey. Each cell is capped and
supported by six girders

times has some surplus wax in it which
can be used to draw out the first part of
the sides of the cell. In order to make a
fine section of comb honey, the apiarist
uses a full sheet of this material, which
guides the bees in the direction of their
comb and gives uniform cells throughout.
The cells of honeycomb are used also for
the storing of beebread and also as cradles
for the young bees.

LESSON 100
THE HONEYCOMB

LEADING THOUGHT — The cells of
honeycomb 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 comb foundation
which may be obtained in any apian-.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Look at a bit of
empty honeycomb; what is the shape of
the cell as you look down into it?

2. \\Tiat 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 honeycomb economizes space as stor-
age for honey, and why an economy of
space is of use to bees in the wild state.

4. In the hive is the honeycomb placed
so that the length of the cells is horizontal
or up and down?

5. Observe honeycomb 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.

j. By what means is the honeycomb
made fast to the sides of the section or the
hive?

8. Study a bit of comb foundation and
note where the bees will pull out the wax
to form the cell.

9. Why and how is comb foundation
used by the bee-keeper?

10. For what purpose besides storing
honey are the cells of honeycomb used by
the bees?

INDUSTRIES OF THE HIVE AND THE OBSERVATION HIVE

Beehives are the houses which man fur-
nishes 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 either
large frames containing comb for the stor-

age of honey which is to be thrown out
and sold as liquid honey by means of a
honey extractor, or smaller sections which
contain about one pound of honey and
which are sold as made by the bees. 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

INSECTS

397"

their filled combs and replace them with
others to be filled, and thus ^et a large
crop of honey. The number of bees in a

colony varies; there should be at least
forty thousand 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.
Honeycomb is built of wax and is hung

from the frame so that the cells are hori-
zontal; 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 citi-
zens 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.

Honey is made from the nectar of flow-
ers 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
that brings about chemical changes, the
chief of which is changing the cane sugar
of the nectar into the more easily digested
grape sugar and fruit 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 seven-
teenth century honey was the only means
people had for sweetening their food, as
sugar was unknown.

Beebread is made from the pollen of
iowers which is mixed with nectar or
honey so as to hold it together; it is car-
ried 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 for the developing brood. Propolis is
l>ee glue; it is used as a cement and varnish;
it is gathered by the bees from the leaf

bn^N if ttrLici trtt> UK! p!
vhcn tht'. cjn ^tt it, till

Lilt

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 everv crack; it is applied as a varnish
to the cells of the honeycomb if they re-
main 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
food already largely digested; this food
the nurse bees secrete from glands in their
heads.

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 forty pounds of
honey left in the brood chamber for win-
ter use. In winter, the hives should be pro-
tected from the cold by being placed in
special houses or by being encased in
larger "boxes, an opening being left 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 sum-
mer. Many beekeepers put their bees in
cellars during the winter, but this method
is not as safe as the packed hive. Care
should be taken in summer to place the
hives so that they are shaded at least part

398 ANIMALS

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 mate it less brittle and then is
carried to the place where the comb is be-
ing 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 dis-
gorges 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.

The bee nurses run about on the comb
feeding the young bee grubs partially di-
gested honey and pollen. Whenever the
queen moves about the comb she is fol-
lowed 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 atten-
tion 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.

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, the sticky substance
which they get from leaf buds and other

vegetable sources. \\Tien bees fan to set
up a current of air in the hive, they glide
back and forth, moving the wings so rap-
idly 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 Sep-
tember, undoubtedly the pupils may be
able to see the murder of the drones by
their sisters. But the children should un-
derstand that this killing of the drones
is necessary for the preservation of the
colony, as the workers could not store
enough honey to keep the colony alive
during the winter if the drones were al-
lowed 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 101

THE INDUSTRIES OF THE HIVE

LEADING THOUGHT — In the hive are
carried on the industries of wax-making,
building of honeycomb, storing of honey
and beebread, caring for the young, keep-
ing the hive clean and ventilated, and calk-
ing 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, is
sufficient if there is no observation hive.
This lesson may be an informal talk be-
tween 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

INSECTS

be able to verify for themselves the won-
derful tales concerning the lives and do-
ings of the bees which have been told us
by naturalists. Moreover, the study thus
made of the habits of the bees is an ex-
cellent preparation for the practical apia-
rist, 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 con-
structed 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 cov-
ered 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 conie into col-
lision 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.

Listed in the Source of Materials at
the back of this book is an observation hive
which we have used by stocking it afresh
each season, it being too small for a
self-sustaining colony. But it has the ad-
vantage 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.

OBSERVATIONS — Industries and Care
of the Hive — i . What is the hive, and
what do wild bees use instead of the hive?
Describe as follows:

2. A brood chamber and a super and
the uses of each.

3. How many and what bees live in a
hive.

Verne Morton

A hornets' nest. The entrance, near the bot-
tom, may be seen

4. How the honeycomb 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.

j. \\Tiat beebread is and its uses.

8. \\Tiat 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 honeycomb.

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 beebread?

16. Describe how the nurse bees feed

400

ANIMALS

the young, and how the young look when
eating.

17. Describe how the 4* ladies in wait-
ing " 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 win-
dow?

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?

INSECTS OF THE BROOK AND POND

The insects considered on pages 400' to
415 spend a part or all of their lives in
brooks and ponds. These insects may be

From Elementary Lessons on Insects, Needfaam

A tray of -water with floating algae, weeds,

etc., dipped from a pond

A, a may -fly nymph. B, a damsel-fly nymph. C, a

midge larva. D, the flocculent dwelling tube of a smaller

raldge larva. E, a water strider. F, a small dragonfly
nymph. G, a tadpole

easily studied in the schoolroom, if an
aquarium is available. The aquarium may
be quite simple, or it may be a more elabo-
rate one. See Fig. page 5.

SUGGESTED READING— Along the Broolc,
by Raymond T. Fuller; Field Book of
Ponds and Streams, by Ann H. Morgan;
Life of Inland Waters, by James G. Need-
ham and J. T. Lloyd; The Pond Book, by

Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen;

also, readings on page 300.

LESSON 102
How TO MAKE AN AQUARIUM

The schoolroom aquarium may be a
very simple affair and still be effective. Al-
most any glass receptacle will do, glass be-
ing 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: i. 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 avail-
able are waterweed, bladderwort, water
starwort, water cress, stoneworts, frog spit-
tle, 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 win-
dow in the schoolroom, place it far enough
at one side of some other window so that
it will not receive too much sunlight.

INSECTS

401

7. To get living creatures for the aquar-
ium 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. After the material has been brought
into the schoolroom, it should be poured
out into a shallow pan so that it can be
sorted into other containers for further
study. A little experience will soon show
what kinds of creatures are likely to eat
others in an aquarium. By putting similar
ones together in one container, it will be
quite possible to distribute them in such
a manner that there will not be many fa-
talities. It is \vell to put only a few crea-
tures in each container.

THE CARE OF THE AQUARIUM — Care
should be taken to preserve the plant life
in the aquarium, as the plants are neces-
sary to the life of the animals. They not
only supply the food, but they give off
the oxygen which the animals need for
breathing, and they also take up from the
wrater 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 boat-
men and water beetles, from escaping, tie
over it a bit of mosquito netting, or lay
upon the top a little square of the 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 degrees Fahrenheit, but this is not al-
ways possible in the schoolroom.

An inexpensive and durable aquarium

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.

SUGGESTED READING — An Aquarium
Boole for Boys and Girls, by Alfred P.
Morgan; The Complete Aquarium Book,
by William T. Innes.

THE DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSEL FLIES

A pond without dragonflies darting
above it, or without the exquisitely irides-
cent 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 wrhich
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 prej-
udices of the ignorant — deviTs-darning-
needles, snake doctors, snake feeders, etc.
Despite all this slander, the dragonflies re-

AQUATIC IXSECT8

1. STONE FLY, Piecoptera. Left, adult;

right, nymph. The adults are most commonly
seen in numbers about street lights. The
nymphs sic'tm or crawl; they are found on
the underside of rocks in swiftly-flowing
permanent streams.

2. MAY FLY, Epkemerida. Left, nymph;

right, adult. At most, the adults live only one

or two days. The nymphs live in all sorts of
aquatic situations.

3. BACK SWOOIER* Xptonecta. The bad:

of this insect is shaped like the bottom of a
boat, so that by using the hind legs for oars
it swims on its back with great ease.

4. WATER BOATMAN, Corixa. Although this
insect swims, it spends much of the time an-
chored on the bottom of the stream or pond.
Even during the winter months the water
boatman is active beneatlt the ice.

5. WATER WALKING STICK, Ranatra. -4 long

breathing-tube is to be found at the end of
this insect's abdomen; by means of this tube,
the insect can rest at the bottom of a very
shallow pond and still breathe by projecting
the tube to the surface of the water.

6. WATER SCORPION, Nepa. This insect
looks quite lifeless as it waits quietly in the
trash of a shallow pond for its prey. With its
sharp sucking beak and its strong front legs
it attacks many aquatic animals which are
larger than itself.

7. WATER BUG, Belostoma. After the female
has glued her numerous eggs to the back of
the male, he very obligingly stays near the
surface of the water and elevates the eggs into
the air where they hatch.

8. GIANT WATER BUG OR ELECTRIC-LIGHT
BUG, Benacus. The striped eggs of this insect
are large and are laid in clusters on some
piece of vegetation which projects from water.

9. WATER STRIDER, Gerris. These preda-
cious insects move at a rapid but somewhat

uncertain rate over the surface of more quiet
waters.

10. DOBSON, Corydalis. Larva at left; fe-
male adult in center; head of male at right.
The larvcet known as hellgrammites, are
found under stones in the beds of swiftly-flow-
ing streams.

11. PREDACIOUS DIVING BEETLE, Dytiseus.

Larva at left; adult at right. The larvoe seize
aquatic creatures much larger than themselves
and suck the softer portions from their bod-
ies. The brownish-blade adults are seen in
quiet water.

12. DIVING BEETLE, Acilius. Larva at left;
adult at right. It is a common sight to see the
slender larva hanging head down with their
air-breathing "tails" projecting into the air

through the upper surface of the water.

13. WATER SCAVENGER BEETLE, Hydroph-
ilus. Larva at left; adult at right. In quiet

pools, these black beetles may be found swim-
ming through the water or hanging head up

at the surface.

14. WHIRLIGIG BEETLE, Gyrinus. One may
see companies of these bluish-black, flattened
beetles "whirling about over the surface of
brooks or ponds. Their eyes are divided in
such a manner as to appear as four eyes —
two looking into the water and two looking
into the air.

15. WATER PENNY OR RIFFLE BEETLE,
Psephenus. Larva, left, shows back view;
right shows side view. During any season
these larva? can be found clinging tightly to
the lower surface of stones in rapid streams.
In general appearance they resemble a crusta-
cean more than an insect.

16. BLACK FLY, Simulium. The larvce are
aquatic and are able to maintain their position

in rapid water by means of a sucking disk at
the tail end of the body. Great numbers of
these larva? form the so-called " black moss "

•which is so evident in some streams in early

summer.

17. CRANE FLY, Tipula. Larva at left;
adult at right. Great variations as to habits
and habitats exist among the larvos of the
various kinds of crane flies; some are aquatic,
some live on plants, and still others live in
soil.

IB. DRONE FLY, Eristalis. Left, larva, often
called the rat-tailed maggot; right, adult.
The drone fly resembles so closely a male
honey bee that as it hovers about flowers it is
often mistaken for a drone bee. The larva, or
rat-tailed maggot, lives about decaying plant
and animal material in foul water. The tail-
like appendage at the rear end of the body is
a breathing-tube.

From Comman Water Insects* by Ann Morgan

ANIMALS

From, f hit do or Studies, Necdharn

The ten-spot, a common dragonfly

main not only entirely harmless to man,
but in reality his friends and allies in wag-
ing war against flies and mosquitoes; they
are especially valuable in battling mos-
quitoes sinee the nymphs, or young, of the
dragonfly take the wrigglers in the water,
and the adults, on swiftest wings, take the
mosquitoes that are hovering over ponds
laying their eggs.

The poets have been lavish in their at-
tention 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.

Tennyson drew inspiration for one of
his most beautiful poems from the two
stages of dragonfly life. But perhaps Low-
ell 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 Jbiitting
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 rasselled 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 dragonflies 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 dragonfly
slander, for it is full of curiosity, and will
hold itself on wings whirring too rapidly
to make even a blur, while it examines
our faces or inspects the pictures or fur-
niture or other objects which attract it.

Another thing we may note when
dreaming by the pond is that the larger
species of dragonflies keep to the higher
regions above the water, while the smaller
species and the damsel flies flit near its sur-
face. Well may the smaller species keep

A damsel fly

below their fierce kindred; otherwise they
would surely be utilized to sate their hun-
ger, for these insects are well named drag-
ons, and dragons do not stop to inquire

INSECTS

405

whether their victims are relatives or not.
It is when they are resting that the dragon-
flies and damsel flies reveal their most no-
ticeable differences. The dragonfly ex-
tends 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 for-
ward and down when it rests; but the
damsel flies fold their wings together over
the back when resting. The damsel flies

Nymph oj a damsel fly on an aquatic plant

have more brilliantly colored bodies than
do the dragonflies, many of them being
iridescent green or copper}-; 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 dragonflies and damsel flies, but
they all have the same general habits.

The dragonfly 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 dragonfly's eggs are laid in
the water; in some instances they are sim-
ply 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

Xymph of a dragonfly* shoichig the posi-
tion oj the large lower lip folded beneath the
head

queer, spider-like legs and no wings, al-
though there are four little wing pads ex-
tending 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 it 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

From Outdoor Studies, Needham

The same dragonfly nymph seen from above

406

ANIMALS

always practically In ambush awaiting
their victims.

The breathing of the dragonfly nymphs
is peculiar; there is an enlargement of the
rear end of the alimentary canal, in the
walls of which tracheae or breathing-tubes
extend in all directions. The nymph draws
water into this cavity and then expels it,
thus bathing the tracheae with the air
mixed with water and purifying the air
within them. Expelling the water so forci-
bly propels the nymph ahead, so this act

The cast skin of a dragonfly nymph. The
skin splits along the back and the adult
emerges, leaving the empty skin attached to
the object upon which the transformation
tool: place

serves as a method of swimming as well
as of breathing. Damsel fly nymphs, on
the other hand, have at the rear end of
the body three long, platelike gills, each
ramified with tracheae.

Nymphs grow by shedding the skin as
fast as it becomes too small; and when
finally ready to emerge, they crawl op on
some object out of the water and molt for
the last time, and are thereafter swift
creatures of the air.

SUGGESTED READING — Do You Know?
by Janet Smalley; First Lessons in Nature
Study, by Edith M. Patch; Holiday Pond,
by Edith M. Patch; Insect People, by
Eleanor King and Wellmer Pessels; Na-
ture and Science Readers, by Edith M.
Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Book 3, SUP
prises; also, readings on pages 300 and 400.

LESSON 103
THE DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSEL FLIES

LEADING THOUGHT — The dragonflies
are among the swiftest of all winged crea-
tures and their rapid, darting flight en-
ables them to hawk their prey, which con-
sists of other flying insects. Their first
stages are passed in the bottoms of ponds
where they feed voraciously on aquatic
creatures. The dragonflies are beneficial
to us because, when very young and when
full grown, they feed largely upon mos-
quitoes.

METHOD — The work of observing the
habits of adult dragonflies should be
largely done in the field during late sum-
mer and early autumn. The points for ob-
servation should be given the pupils for
summer vacation use, and the results
placed in the field notebook.

The nymphs may be studied in the
spring, when getting material for the
aquarium. April and May are good months
for securing them. They are collected by
using a dip net, and are found in the bot-
toms 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 in-
sects; 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 dragonfly 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 sur-
face of the water which the nymphs, wThen
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 DRAG-
ONFLIES AND DAMSEL FLIES — i. 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 plumelike gills at the

INSECTS

4°7

end of the body? If so, how many? Are
these platelike 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-
flies or into damsel flies?

3. If there are no plumelike 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 pro-
tects them from observation. What ene-
mies 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 antennae
long?

5. Observe how the nymphs of both
dragoniies and damsel lies 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 plumelike gills breathes? Notice if the
water is drawn into the rear end of the
body and then expelled. Does this proc-
ess help the insect in swimming?

7. \\Tien the dragonfly 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 rashes and reeds along the pond
margin, and see if you can find the empty
nymph skins from which the adults
emerged. "Wliere is the opening in them?

OBSERVATIONS ox THE ADULT DRAGON-
FLIES — i. Catch a dragonfly, place it un-
der 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 com-
pared 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? \\Tiy does the dragonfly need
such large eyes? Why does a creature with
such eyes not need long antenna?? Can you
see the dragonfly's antennae? 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 ho\\ 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 dragonfly's wings? Why
do these wings need to be strong?

3. Is the dragonfly's abdomen as wide
as the front part of the body? What help
is it to the insect when flying to have such
a Song 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 dragonflics 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 dragonflies hunting? In looking ovci
a pond where there are many dragonflies
darting about, do the larger species fly
higher than the smaller ones?

2. Note the way the dragonflies 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 dragonflies?

5. The damsel flies are those which hold
their wings folded above the back when
resting. Are these as large and strong-
bodied as the dragonflies? Are their bodies
more brilliantly colored? How does the
shape of the head and eyes differ from
those of the dragonflies? How many
different-colored damsel iies can you
find?

4. Do you see some dragonflies clipping
down in the water as they fly? If so? they

4oS ANIMALS

are laying their eg^s. Note if you ind face of the water. If so, these are damsel
others* clfngine; to reeds or other plants flies inserting their eggs into the stern of
with the abdomen thrust below the sur- the plant.

THE CADDIS WORMS AND THE CADDIS FLIES

People who have never tried to fathom
the mysteries of the bottom of brook or

pond are to be pitied, fust to lie flat, face
downward, and watch for a time all that

happens down there in that water world

From .1 G d*le to the Study o/ Freshwater Biology,
\Vedliani

Types of caddis- worm cases

is far more interesting than witnessing any
play ever given at matinee. At first one sees
nothing, since all the swift-moving crea-
tures 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 *4 stay their wavy
bodies 'gainst the stream "; and then
something strange happens. A bit of rub-
bish 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 it-
self legs. These mysteries can only be
solved with a dip net and a pail half filled
with water, in which we may cam' 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 to-
gether lengthwise; some are built like log
cabins, crosswise; some consist simply of a
hollow stem cut a convenient length;
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.

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 seg-
ments 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 ab-
domen, and apparently between the seg-
ments, are little tassels of short, white,
threadlike gills. These are filled with air,
impure from contact with the blood,
which exchanges its impurities speedily
for the oxygen from the air that is mixed
with the water. Water is kept flowing in

A caddis worm in its case

INSECTS

409

at the front door of the cabin, over the
gills and out at the back door, by the rhyth-
mic movement of the body of the little
hermit, and thus a supply of oxygen Is
steadily maintained.

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
straggles to turn itself over, case and all. It
will turn over within the case. It keeps Its
hold upon the case by two forward-curv-
ing 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 abdo-
men 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 upf thus moving through the
water spasmodically, in a manner that re-
minds us of the crayfish's swimming ex-
cept that the caddis worm goes head first.
This log-cabin species can turn its case
over dexterously by movements of its legs.

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 caterpil-
lars, has the opening of the silk gland near
the lower lip. The of most caddis

worms Is vegetable, usually the various

Log-cabin i^ipe of

Pupa of caddis fly removed from its

Note the threadlike gtHs

species of water plants; but there are some
species which are carnivorous, like the net-
builder, which is a fisherman.

The caddis-worm case protects Its in-
mate 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.

While it is difficult to see the exact
operation of building the caddis-worm
house, the general proceeding may be read-
ily 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 iower petals cut
into strips, fit for caddis lumber. In a few
hours the little house will look like a blos-
som with several rows of bright petals set
around its doorway.

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, which is

4ic

ANIMALS

often 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 shot, it is so arranged
as to allow the water to flow through and
to bring oxygen to the threadlike gills,
which are on the pupa8 as well as on the
larva?. When ready to emerge, the pupa
crawls out of its case and climbs to some
object above the water and 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 ex-
panding as soon as touched by the air.

A caddis flu

Caddis flies are familiar to us all even if
we do not know them by name. They are
night fliers and flame worshipers. Their
parchment-like or leathery wings are
folded like a roof over the back, and from
the side the caddis fly appears as an elon-
gated triangle with unequal sides. The
front wings are long and the hind ones
shorter and wider; the antennae 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. 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 div-
ing 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 itted for div-
ing than would be those of the moth. I
have seen caddis flies swim vigorously.

SUGGESTED READING — First Lessons in
Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch; also?
readings on pages 300 and 400.

LESSON 104
THE CADDIS WORMS AND CADDIS FLIES

Lr-ADiNG 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 adults of the caddis worm are winged
mothlike creatures which come in num-
bers 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 — i . Where do you End
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 material can
you find on one case? Describe one as ex-
actly as possible. Find an empty case and
describe it inside. Why is it so smooth in-
side? 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 seg-
ments back of it? What is the color of the
body? Why is this difference of color be-
tween 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 sur-
face or swim, what does the caddis worm
do? When reaching far out of its case does

INSECTS

it ever lose its hold? How 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?
\\Tien it reaches far out of its case, note
the breathing gills. Describe them. Can
you see how many there are on the seg-
ments? How is the blood purified through
these gills?

7. What are the caddis worm's ene-
mies? 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? De-
scribe how it acts when eating.

10. How does the caddis worm build its
case? Watch one when it makes an addi-
tion to its case, and describe all that you
can see.

1 1 . 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, antennae, and legs? Has it breathing
filaments like the larva? Cover the aquar-
ium 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 antennae.

411

Does the caddis fly walk on its toes, or on
its complete foot?

i-j. Examine the insects which come
around the lights at night in the spring
and summer. Can you tell the caddis iics
from the other insects? Do they dash into
the light? Do they seem anxious to burn
themselves?

Little brook, so simple, so unassuming
— • and yet how many filings love tfieef

Lo! Sun and Af oon fool' down and glass
themselves in thy waters.

And the trout balances itself bow-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 earn' them below the wave to
their nests — or sit on a dry stone to trim
their whiskers.

And the May-fly practices for the mil-
lionth time the miracle of the resurrec-
tion, floating op an ungainly grub from
the mod 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 dis-
guise likewise emerges.

And the pricfc-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 broofc, for so many things love
thee.

— EDWARD CARPENTER

THE MOSQUITO

In defiance of the adage, the mother of
our most common mosquitoes does not

hesitate to pot her eggs all in one "basket,
But perhaps she knows it is about the saf-
est little basket for eggs in this world of

uncertainties. If it were possible to begin
this lessoe with the little "tot-shaped egg
baskets, I should advise it. 'They may be

found in almost any rain barrel, and the
egjs 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 pouted upon them.
The young rnosqiiito7 or wriggler, breaks

412

ANIMALS

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 crea-
ture to view through a hand lens. The

The egg-raft of a mosquito

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 tracheae of the body. This tube has
at the tip a star-shaped valve, which can
be opened and shut; when it is opened at
the surface of the water, it keeps the little
creature aioat and meanwhile allows air
to pass into the body. When the wriggler
is thus hanging to the surface of the water,
it feeds upon small particles of decaying
vegetation; it has a remarkable pair of jaws
armed with brushes, which in our com-
mon 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
otiier tube at the end of the body supports
the swimming organs, which consist of
four finger-like processes and various
bunches of hairs. \\Tien swimming, the
wriggler goes tail first, the swimming or-
gans 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/ 1 have often observed wrig-
glers standing on their heads in the bot-

D C?

A mosquito aquarium. Note the egg-raft,
larv(K} pupce^ and the adult emerging

At the left is a larva and at the right a pupa
of the mosquito

torn 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.

The pupa has the head and thoracic seg-
ments 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 or-
gans which are little, leaflike 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. How-

INSECTS

4*3

ever, 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 mos-
quito carefully works itself out; until its
wings are free and dry, it rests 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 that both the
larvse and pupse of mosquitoes are obliged
to rise to the surface and push their breath-
ing-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.

The male mosquitoes have bushy or
feathery antennae. These antennse are
hearing organs of very remarkable con-
struction. The Anopheles may be distin-
guished from the Culex by the following

Antenna of the mosquito; left, male; right,
female

characteristics: Its wings are spotted in-
stead 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 dan-

Normal resting position of mosquito larva
and pupa. Left; larva of Culex, the common

house mosquito. Middle; larva o/ Anopheles,
the carrier of malaria. Right; pupa oj Culex.
Note the breathing-tubes

gerous 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 ornamen-
tal 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 vibra-
tion of the wings, and her musical per-
formances are for the purpose of attract-
ing her mate, as it has been shown that
he can hear through his antennse a range
of notes covering the middle and next
higher octaves of the piano.

Science has shown us that the mos-
quitoes 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 are
transmitted by the biting mosquito, and
with almost equal bravery other men have
demonstrated that the germs of malaria
are also thus carried.

In the North, our greatest danger is
from the mosquitoes which carry the ma-
larial germs. 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 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 mos-
quito and accumulate in the salivary

ANIMALS

glands. The reason any mosquito bite or
insect bite swells and itches is that, 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 proved that in the most malarial

Normal position of Culex and Anopheles on
a wall; Culex above and Anopheles below

countries, like Italy and India, people
are entirely free from malaria if they are
not bitten by mosquitoes. Thus the
mosquito is the sole carrier of the malaria
germs.

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 mos-
quito larvae in rain barrels, ponds, or pools
of stagnant water. If such places are found,
let the pupils themselves apply the fol-
lowing remedies.

1. Rain barrels should be securely cov-
ered.

2. 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 chil-

dren 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Common Pests,
by Rennie W. Doane; Insects Injurious to
the Household and Annoying to Man, by
Glenn W. Herrick; Nature — by Seaside
and Wayside, by Maty G. Phillips and
Julia M. Wright, Book 2, Some Animal
Neighbors; Scientific Living Series, Win-
ter Comes and Goes, by George W.
Frasier, Helen Dolman, and Kathryne
Van Noy; also, readings on pages 300 and
400.

LESSON 105
THE MOSQUITO

LEADING THOUGHT — The wrigglers, or
wigglers, which we find in rain barrels and
stagnant water are the larvae of mos-
quitoes. 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 school-
room a family of wrigglers from some
pond or rain barrel. For the pupils7 per-
sonal observation, take some of the wrig-
glers 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 ob-
serve 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 peri-
ods, 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 les-
son 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 compara-

INSECTS •

415

tively 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 — i . Note if all the wrig-
glers are of the same general shape, or if
some of them have a very large head; these
latter are the pupae and the former are the
larvae. We will study the larvae 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?

3. Observe one resting at the top. At
what angle does it hold itself to the sur-
face 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 antennae?

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 be-
come filled with water when the wriggler
is swimming? Can you see the two air ves-
sels, or tracheae, 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 bot-
tom of the bottle or aquarium?

THE PUPA

1. What is the most noticeable differ-
ence in appearance between the larva and
pupa?

2. When the pupa rests at the surface

of the water, is it the same end up as the
wriggler?

3. 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.

4. 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 pupse of other fiies
and moths and butterflies?

5. 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 f eathery antennae
extending out in front? If so, what kind
of mosquito is it?

2. Do the mosquitoes with bushy an-
tennae 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 Anoph-
eles?

6. Why is the Anopheles more danger-
ous than the Culex?

7. Examine a mosquito's wing under a
microscope and describe it.

8. Examine the antennae of a male
and of a female mosquito under a micro-
scope, and describe the difference.

9. Which sex of the mosquito does the
biting and the singing?

10. How is the singing done?

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN

INSECTS

This group Includes backboneless ani-
mals other than insects. Among these are
spiders and their relatives, centipedes and
millipedes, crustaceans, mollusks or
shelled animals, worms, and seashore crea-
tures representing several other groups.

SUGGESTED READING — Animals of the
Seashore, by Horace G. Richards; Back-
yard Exploration, by Paul G, Howes; The
Burgess Seashore Book for Children, by
Thornton W. Burgess; Field Book of
Ponds and Streams, by Ann H. Morgan;
Hand Book for the Curious, by Paul G.
Howes; Holiday Shore, by Edith M. Patch
and Carroll Lane Fenton; Nature — by
Seaside and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips

and Julia M. Wright, Book i, Some Ani-
mals and Their Homes, Book 2, Some
Animal Neighbors; Parade of the Animal
Kingdom, by Robert Hegner; Sea-Beach
at Ebb-Tide, by Augusta F. Arnold;
Strange Sea-Shells and Their Stories, by
A. Hyatt Verrill; The Wonders of the Sea,
by F. Martin Duncan and L. T. Duncan;
additional references are to be found in
the bibliography in the back of the Hand-
book, under various headings: Insects and
Other Invertebrates, Animals in General,
Nature-Study in General, Textbooks and
Readers, Nature Poetry, Magazines and
Periodicals, Books for Parents and Teach-
ers.

THE GARDEN SNAIL

Perchance if those who speak so glibly
of a " snail's pace " should study It, they
would not sneer at it, for, carefully ob-
served, it seems to be one of the most won-
derful methods of locomotion ever de-
vised 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 ef-
fort. 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 mar-
ble 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;

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

but If danger Is perceived, the eye Is pulled
back exactly as if the marble were pulled
back through the middle of the glove fin-
ger; or as a boy would say, t4 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 test-
Ing the nature of the surface on which the
snail is crawling. It is an interesting ex-
periment 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

417

Snail sketches. 1, The thorny path to bliss.
2, Snail showing the breathing pore. 3, Pros-
pecting

E, Morton Miller

Tree snails oestivating on the under side of a
piece of bark

of him, the snail is well equipped to ob-
serve the topography of his Immediate
vicinity; If he wishes to explore above, he
can stand on the tip of his tall and reach
far up; and if there is anything to take
hold of, he can glue his foot fast to it and
pull himself up. Moreover, I am con-
vinced 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 porch railing, so as to
study them; and every snail was deter-
mined 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
foot and begin to work his way into the
fruit. He has an efficient set of upper
teeth, which look like a saw and are col-
ored as if he chewed tobacco; with these
teeth and with his round tongue, which
we can see popping out, he soon makes

SHELLS OF FLORIDA AND THE EAST COAST

1. CROWN MELOXGENA. Melongena jcoronsi,

Gmelin. Reported Jrom Florida and West In-
dies. The species lives in brackish water and is
fond o] the razor-back clam and oyster. It ob-
tains its name from the croicnlike apptaranee

of the projections on the shell whorls. Length,

2 to 5 inches.

2. BROWN-MOUTH CYMATIUM, Cymatium
chlorostomum, Lamarck. This species is com-
monly found 'in the West Indies and Florida
Keys. Length, 3 inches.

3. WHITE-MOUTH CYMATIUM,, Cymatium
tuberosum, Lamarck. The illustration shows an
immature 'individual. A mature specimen is
similar to Figure 2. The species i.* distributed
in Florida Keys and West Indies, Length, 2 to

3 inches.

4. LINED MUREX, Murex cobrltti, Bernardii.

Collected at depths of from 10 to 150 fathoms
from Cedar Keys to Texas and the West In-
dies. Length, & inches.

5. MOSSY ARK, Area umbonata, Lamarck.

These bivalves are distributed from North
Carolina to the West Indies and Gulf oj
Mexico. They are often cast up on the Florida
beaches by storms. Length, 2 to 3 inches.

6. BLACK LACE MTJBEX, Murex mfus, La-
marck. Thi$ species u gathered in water from

1 to 30 fathoms in depth from North Carolina
to the West Indies. Length, 2 inches.

7. APPLE MUREX, Murex pomum, Gmelin.
Abundant in West Indies; also reported from
North Carolina and the Gulf of Mexico. The
shell mouth is lined with bright yellow. Length,

2 to 5 inches.

8. WHITE-SPXXE MITBEX, Murex fulvescens,

Sowerby. The color varies jrom white to pink.
The shell is found jrom North Carolina to
Florida and the West Indies. Length, 6 inches.

9. MOON SHELL, Polinicles duplicata. Say.

The species ranges jrom New England to the
Gulf of California. It possesses a chitinous
operculwn, and u either bluish or brownish
tinged on the upper surface. Diameter, 3 inches.

10. ROCK WORM SHELL, Vermetus nigricans,

DalL This mollusk forms a much-coiled and
cylindrical shell. It is commonly found at-
tached to rocks, and even contributes to reef
building. Distributed from West Florida to
Florida Keys.

11. MOUSE CONE, Conns mus, Hwass* This
mottled chestnut-colored cone possesses a stri-
ated body-whorl. It is commonly found in shal-
low bays in Florida and the West Indies.
Length? I to 2 in-ches.

12. FLORIDA CONE, Conus fioridanus, Gabb.
This species is referred to as " Chinese tops"
since the surface markings resemble the char-
acters of the Chinese alphabet. It ranges from
North Carolina to the Gulf of California.
Length^ 1% inches.

13. GIANT BAND SHELL, Fasciolaria glgantea,
Kiencr. The illustration shows a young shell
2 to 3 inches long; a mature one may reach a

length of 24 inches. The surface is yellowish
and the" aperture orange-red. It is found in
North Carolina, West Indies, and Brazil.

14. LETTERED OLIVE, Oliva litterata, La-
marck. These polished shells with hieroglyphic
markings are fairly common from North Caro-
lina to" Texas and the West Indies. They live
in colonies and are sand burrowers. Length,
I1/-* to 2% inches.

15. NETTED OLIVE, Oliva reticularis, La-
marck. This shell possesses a woven pattern of
fine brown lines on a white background. It oc-
curs in the West Indies and Florida. Length,

1 to 21/4 inches.

16. MOTTLED TOP SHELL, Calliostoma jujubi-
num, Gmelin. The shell is conical, and is pearly
within the mouth. Distributed from North
Carolina to the West Indies. Length, 1 inch.

17. RIDGED CHIONE, Chione cancellata, Lin-
naeus. This shell occurs in abundance in the
Gulf of California. It is distributed jrom North
Carolina to Brazil- Diameter, 1 inch.

IS. BEAMING SCALLOP, Pecten irradians, La-
marck. This common edible species ranges
from New England to Cape Hatteras. The ex-
terior is brown marked by bars of red, purple,
or orange. Diameter, 2 to 3 inches.

19. VASE SHELL, Vasum muricatum, Born.
The shell color is white lined with pink. It is
found in the Florida Keys, West Indies, and
Panama. Length, 3 inches.

20. PONDEROUS ARK, Area ponderosa, Say*
This species is distributed jrom Cape Cod to
Texas and the West Indies. In the fossil state
it is found in New Jersey. Diameter, 2 inches.

21. SPIXY PEARL SHELL, Margitifera radiata,
Leach. Distributed from Georgia to the West
Indies. They are found associated with the
sponges in Florida. Diameter, 1^2 in-ches.

22. LITTLE RED MUREX, Murex rnessorius,
Reeve. This shell is found in the Florida Keys
and West Indies. Length, about 1 inch.

23. ROSE EUGLANDINA, Euglandina rosea,
Ferussac. This rose-colored land shell is found
in Western Florida. It conceals itself in brush
durinff the rainy season.

24. CALICO SCALLOP, Pecten gibbus, Lin-
nceus. The shell is mottled with red, brown,
and orange. Distributed in North Carolina and
the West Indies. Diameter, 1% to 2 inches.

25. VOLCANO SHELL, Fissurella fasicularis,
Lamarck. The common name is based on the
resemblance of the shell to a volcano; it is
found in the Florida Keys and West Indies.
Diameter^ 1 inch.

From Handbook for Shell Collectors, Walter F. Webb

420

ANIMALS

an appreciable hole in the pulp; but his
table manners are not nice, since he Is a
hopeless slobberer.

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

Hugh Spencer

Slugs with eye-stalks extended. Slugs are rela-
tives of land snails but they have no shells

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 breath-
ing.

The snail acts quickly 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 comi-
cal; he goes to the edge of a leaf and pokes
one eye over to see what the new terri-
tory is like; but if his eye strikes an ob-
ject he pulls that one back, and prospects
for a time with the other. He can lengthen
trie eyestalk 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 en-
tire ball game through a knothole 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
01 hanging wrong side up from the ceil-
ing; and, finally, we admire his utter reti-
cence when things do not go to suit him.
I think the reason I always call a snail
" he " is that he seems such a philosopher
— a Diogenes in his tub. However, since
the snail combines both sexes in one
individual the pronoun is surely applica-
ble.

When observed through a lens, the
snail's skin looks like that of the alligator,
rough and divided into plates, with a sur-
face like pebbled leather; and no insect in-
truder 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 crawl-
ing 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 wher-
ever he goes.

Snail eggs are as large as small peas, al-
most 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

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

421

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 some-
times three doors, one behind another,
across the entrance to his shell, leaving a
tiny hole to admit the air. There are vari-
eties 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 re-
garded as a table luxury by the ancient
Romans.

SUGGESTED READING — First Lessons in
Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch; also,
readings on page 416.

LESSON 106

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 cheesecloth fastened with a rubber
band should be placed over the top of the
jar, A tumbler inverted over a dishT on
which is a leaf or two7 makes a good obser-
vation cage to pass around the room for
closer examination. An empty shell should
be at hand, which may be opened and
examined.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 track does a snail leave
behind it? What is the use of this mucus?

4. Where are the snail's eyes? \\Tiy is
this arrangement convenient? If we touch
one of the eyes what happens? What ad-
vantage 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. \\Tiat 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 at-
tacked? \\Tien 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 keep-
ing 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

walls, tell me this I pray!

422 ANIMALS

Is it an honest snail you seek that makes Or do you go slow because you know, your
you go so slow, house is near and tight?

And over the edges of all things peek? And there is no hurry and surely no worry
Have you found him, I want to know, lest you stay out late at night.

THE EARTHWORM

Although not generally considered at-
tractive, 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 eco-
nomic importance to the agriculturist.
The lesson should have special reference
to the wort done by earthworms and to
the simplicity of the tools with which the
work is done.

Hugh. Spencer

Earthworms

The earthworm is, among lower ani-
mals, essentially the farmer. Long "before
men 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 addi-
tion of amendments — factors of compar-
atively recent development in the man-
agement 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 sub-
soil, 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 amend-
ment, 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 mat-
ter near the surface, where it may be in-
corporated into the soil of the root zone.
It drags into its burrows dead leaves, flow-
ers, 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
surplus water. They plant seeds by cover-
ing those that lie on the ground with soil
from below the surface — good, enriched,
well granulated soil it is, too. They fur-
ther care for the growing plants by culti-
vating, 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 fifty thousand earthworms in an acre,
and that the whole superficial layer of
vegetable mold passes through their bod-
ies in the course of every few years, at the
rate of eighteen tons an acre yearly.

This agricultural work of the earthworm
has been going on for ages. Wild land
owes much of its beauty- to this diminu-
tive creature which keeps the soil in good
condition. The earthworm has under-
mined and buried rocks, changing greatly
the aspect of the landscape. In this way
it even has preserved ruins and ancient
works of art. Several Roman villas in Eng-
land owe their preservation to the earth-
worm. All this work is accomplished with
the most primitive tools: a tiny proboscis,

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

423

a distensible pharynx, a rather indeter-
minate tail, a gizzard, and the calcar-
eous glands peculiar to this lowly crea-
ture.

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
sete — tiny, bristle-like projections. These
will be seen to be in double rows on each
segment, excepting the first three and the
last. The setae turn so that they point in
the opposite direction from that in 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
worms 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 circu-
lar and the extension of longitudinal mus-
cles, and shortened by the opposite move-
ment.

The number of segments may vary with
the age of the worm. In the immature
earthworm, the clitellom, a thick, whitish
ring near the end, is absent. The laying of
the eartlwomfs eggs is an interesting per-
formance. A saclike 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 ma-
nure piles or under stones.

Earthworms are completely deaf, al-
though 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 angle-
worm 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 gen-
erally in an enlargement where one or
several worms 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 tower-
like " castings " so characteristic of the
earthworm are formed with excreted earth.
Using the tail as a trowel, it places earth
now on one now on the other.

In this work, of course, the tail protrudes;
in the search for food, the is out.

A worm, then, must make its home, nar-
row 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 com-
pact soil, in fifteen minutes. Pupils should
be able to make these observations easily
either in the tenariom or in the garden.

In plugging the mouths of their bur-
rows, 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 in dry

ground or 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 bur-
row 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 fall length,
the head uppermost. Here they are discov-

424

ANIMALS

ered by keen-eyed "birds and sacrificed by
thousands, notwithstanding the strong
muscular protest of which they are ca-
pable.

Seemingly conscious of its inability to
find the way back to its home, an earth-
worm 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 cannibal-
istic designs on fellow earthworms. In the
schoolroom, earthworms may be fed on
pieces of lettuce or cabbage leaves. A feed-
ing worm will show the proboscis, an ex-
tension 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 suc-
tion 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 ani-
mals. 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."

SUGGESTED READING — Backyard Explo-
ration, by Paul G. Howes; First Lessons in
Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch; Nature
— by Seaside and Wayside, by Mary1- G.
Phillips and Julia M. Wright, Book 27
Some Animal Neighbors; Our Plant and
Animal Neighbors, by Frank B. Younger;
also, readings on page 416.

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 occa-

sion, ft fits in with the spirit of the boy.
It is not by chance that the angleworm,
earthworm, fishworm, is found in even7
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 mis-
sion is performed.

— " BOYS' FISH AND BOYS' FISHING/'
DAVID STARR JORDAN

LESSON 107
THE EARTHWORM

LEADING THOUGHT — The earthworm is
a creature of the soil and is of great eco-
nomic importance.

METHOD — Any garden furnishes abun-
dant material for the study of earthworms.
They are nocturnal workers and may be
observed by lantern or flashlight. 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 — i . 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?

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

425

2. Compare the lengths of the con-
tracted and extended body. How can the
change be 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 even-
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 yon find earthworms at work?

6. Is the earthworm seen most often
at night or by day? \\Tiere is it the rest
of the time? How' does it hold to its bur-
row? When Is the tail end at the top?
\\Tien 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. \\Tiat are the enemies of the earth-
worm? Is it a friend or an enemy to us?
Why?

10. The earthworm is a good agricultur-
ist. Why?

THE CRAYFISH

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 capabil-
ities, then might we hope to achieve what
lies before us.

The most striking thing in the appear-
ance of the crayfish is the great pair of
nippers on each of the front legs. Wonder-
fully are its " thumb and finger 7? put to-
gether; the " thumb " is jointed so that it
can move back and forth freely; and both
are armed, along the inside edge, with
sawr 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 nip-
pers 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

The crayfish

tipped with single claws, and fringed on
their inner edges. These are the maxilli-
peds, 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 al-
ways has a " three-fork " dinner; and as

ANIMALS

Charles E. Mohr

A blind white crayfish found living in the
darkness of a cave in Kentucky

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 maxillae 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 rnaxillse, on
each side, are two pairs of threadlike flap-
pers 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 cam-ing.

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 cephalo-
thorax 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 antennae are as flexible as
braided whiplashes, large at the base and
ending in a threadlike tip. They are com-
posed of many segments, the basal ones
being quite large. Above the antennae 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 antennas 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 antennas and anten-
nules 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 an-
other segment greatly modified. The first
segment, or that next to the cephalo-
thorax, 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 remark-
able organ. It can be closed or extended

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

427

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
feather-like organs called swimmerets.
Each swimmeret consists of a basal seg-
ment 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 seg-
ments; her mate has an additional larger
pair on the first segment. These swim-
merets, when at rest, lie close to the ab-
domen 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 walk-
ing, 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 back-
ward.

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 fly-
ing through the water. I cannot discover

that the swimmerets help in this move-
ment*

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 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 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 brook-
sides 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 trie creature until it moves;

B. Morton Miller

A land crab, a relative of the crayfish. Note
the eye-stalks

428

ANIMALS

and if some enemy surprises one, it swims
off with terrific jerks which roil all the
water around; thus it 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

E. Morton Miller

Fiddler crabs, so called from the position in
which the male often holds the enlarged claw,
are burrowing crabs of the Atlantic coast

around the mouth of the well, making
well-curbs of mud; these are ordinarily
called " crawfish chimneys." The cray-
fishes 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, per-
fect 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,
antennae, etc., but if it happens to lose
any of these organs they will grow again.
We have often found one of these crea-
tures 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 com-
fort, a bottom of three inches of clean
gravel. She always commences at one side
by thrusting down her antennae and nip-
pers 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- be-
tween her great claws and her breast. She
keeps her load from overflowing by hold-
ing 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 un-
natural quadruped.

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

429

I had two crayfishes In a cage in an
aquarium, and each made a nest in the
gravel at opposite ends of the cage, heap-
ing 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 home-
ward. 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 con-
stantly the larger pair of jaw-feet are used
to help pick up and carry the loads.

SUGGESTED READING — The Pond Book,
by Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen;
Scientific Living Series, Winter Comes
and Goes, by George W. Frasier, Helen
Dolman, and Kathryne Van Noy; also,
readings on page 416.

LESSON 108
THE CRAYFISH

LEADING THOUGHT — The crayfish, or
crawfish, as it is sometimes called, has
one pair of legs developed into great pin-
cers 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 aquar-
ium (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. After-
wards, place gravel and stone in the bot-
tom 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 chil-
dren can watch the process of excavation.

OBSERVATIONS— i. What is there pe-

culiar 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 suc-
ceeding part is larger from the body to the
claws. Note the tips which form the nip-
pers, or chelae, 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 be-
hind the great claw and describe how they
help the work of the nippers.

2. Study the pair of legs behind the
great claws or chelae, 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 be-
hind these; are they similar? How do the
twro 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 be-
hind 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 of the mouth?

5. How many legs, in all, has the cray-
fish? What are the short legs near the
mouth used for? What are the great nip-
pers 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 cephalo-
thorax; 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

SEASHORE CREATURES

1. SEA URCHIN, Strongylocentrotus. The

sea urchin i$ found along the Atlantic, Arctic,
and Pacific coast®. Us habitat varies from
tide pools and shallow waters to very deep water.
The body of the living animal is a flattened
hemisphere covered with short spines. What is
usually described as a sea urchin is really the
skeleton or "test."

2. FIDDLER CRAB, Uca. Fiddler crabs are

common along the Atlantic coast of the United

States. Above high tide great numbers of these
crustaceans are found rushing into their bur-
rows for shelter as one approaches.

3. COMMON STARFISH, Asterias. One or
the other of the two common varieties may
be expected along the coast from the Gulf of
Mexico to Labrador. The mouth is at the
center of the lower surface of the animal and
through the mouth the stomach is turned inside
out to engulf and digest food. Its ability to de-
vour mollusks makes the starfish a great enemy
of oyster beds; it can force open the shells of
an oyster, mussel, or other mottusk by pidling
steadily with its strong arms and tubular feeL
For that reason starfish caught at oyster beds are
destroyed by plunging them into boiling water.
Oystermen used to chop them in two and throw
the pieces back into the w*ater until they learned
thai each of the pieces could become a new star-
fish.

4. EGG CASES or FISHERMAN'S PURSES,
Elasmobranch. These queer egg cases of sharks
and skates are found empty along the shore.

5. THE NOTCH-SIDE SHELL, Pleurotoma
nana. This species belongs to a large family of
shells with a world-wide distribution.

6. SAND DOLLAR, Echinarachnius. While
sand dollars are capabk of moving about over
the ocean bottom by means of suckerlike feet,
they do not seem able to right themselves if they
are turned on their backs; and so thousands are

cast helpless upon the shores by storms. They
are found mostly from New Jersey northward
to the Arctic Ocean, The specimens picked up
on the shore are usually only the skeleton or
"test. " The skeleton shows a design in five rays
branching from a common center, a clear indi-
cation that sand dollars and starfish are related.

7. GIANT WHELK, Busycon or Fulgur.
These whelks may be found from Cape Cod
to the G'idf of Mexico, being most abundant
along the coast of New Jersey and Long Island
Sound on sandy or gravelly beaches near the
low-tide level The strings of egg capsules
which are often found on the beach are unique;
each tough capsule may contain about two
dozen eggs or young whelks.

8. GREAT ARK SHELL, Area. The ark shells
are cosmopolitan in their distribution; in ad-
dition to being distributed in both the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans they are found in the Medi-
terranean.

9. STAR CORAL, Astrangia danse. What one
usually knows as coral is only the stony skeletal
remains of coral animals; but pictured here
are the living animal forms, known as polyps.
They are glassy in appearance and each polyp
has eighteen to twenty-four tentacles or stinging
organs by means of which it captures its prey.

10. SAND CRAB, Hippa. This very common
yellowish-white crustacean^ sometimes used
for fish bait, lives in shallow water along the
sandy beaches from New Jersey to Long
Island. With its pointed abdomen as a tool a
sand crab digs a burrow very quickly,

11. JELLYFISH, The jellyfish is shaped like
an umbrella and has its mouth and stomach
in the position occupied by the handle of a real
umbrella; the tentacles and other sense organs
are attached to the outer edge of the umbrella.
By means of its tentacles the jellyfish captures
the small animals upon which it feeds.

Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History

ANIMALS

or polled in? Can they be moved in all
directions? Of what advantage is this to
the crayfish?

8. How many antennae has the cray-
fish? Describe the long ones and tell how
they are used. Do the two short ones on
each side come from the same basal seg-
ment? These little ones are called the an-
tennules. Describe the antennules of each
side and tell how they differ. Can you see
the little finger-like organs which clasp
above the antenna? and below the anten-
nules 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 is the shape of each seg-
ment. 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. Howr 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?

n. 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 nip-
pers obstruct the progress of the crayfish
when it is swimming?

13. When does the crayfish me 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 know7 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 de-
fend 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
chimneys?

16. If the crayfish loses one of its legs
or antennae, does it grow out again? How
does the crayfish grow7?

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? How7 does it use its
jaw-feet, its nippers, and its first and sec-
ond pairs of walking legs in this work?

A rock-lined, wood-embosomed nook,
Dim cloister of the chanting brook/
A chamber within the channeled 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

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 III 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 some-
where. 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

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

433

mere knob, usually black and ornamental,
and is called the trochanter. Then conies
the femur, a rather long segment directed
upward; next Is a short swollen segment
— the 4i knee joint " or patella; next the
tibia, which is also rather long. Then
come the metatarsus and tarsus, which
seemingly make one long downward-di-
rected segment, outcurving at the tips, on
which the " daddy " tiptoes 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 sur-
face 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 explor-
ing 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 na-
ture 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, w?hen we know it is capable
of transmitting intelligence from Its tip.

Daddy longlegs

The " daddy " is a good traveler and
moves with remarkable rapidity. And wrhy
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 neighbor-
hood, 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

One of ff daddy's " long legs with segments
named

head, they can be extended quite a dis-
tance If " daddy " wishes to test a sub-
stance. 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 lit-
tle oblong object, looking more like a big
grain of wheat than anything else, because
in these creatures the head, thorax, and ab-
domen 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 or-
gan of sight the creature must be a Cy-
clops 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.

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 indus-
triously nibbles it clean for the whole
length to the very toe. Owing to the like-
lihood of his losing one of his legs, he has

434

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 long-
legs 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 un-
til after the female, which, by the ^vay,
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 creatures which look just
like the old daddy longlegs. except for
their size. They get their growth like in-
sects, 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 vege-
table 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 T? 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 har-
vesting.

SUGGESTED READING — First Lessons in
Nature Study, by Edith M. Patch; also,
readings on page 416.

LESSON 109

THE DADDY LONGLEGS

LEADING THOUGHT — These long-legged

creatures have one pair of legs too many

to allow them to be classed with the in-

ANIMALS

sects. They are more nearly related to the
spiders, which 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 tum-
bler, and let the pupils observe him at
leisure. If you place a few drops of sweet-
ened water at one side of the cage, the
children will surely have an opportunity
to see this amusifig creature clean his legs.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 cer-
tainly 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 dis-
tinct 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 de-
caying 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 ex-
plore it with his legs. How much of the
leg is used as a foot when the " daddy "
stands or runs?

6. When running fast7 how does the

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS THAN INSECTS

435

" daddy " earn- his body? When explor-
ing how does he earn- 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 4t daddy " with one leg
much shorter than the other? How could
you explain this?

8. Try to discover what the daddy long-
legs eats, and where he finds his food.

liii,

G. BL J*nks

The poisonous black widow or hourglass spider. It awrf the are the

in the United States

SPIDERS

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
airplanes and balloons, which are more
efficient than any that we have yet con-
structed; for although they are not exactly
dirigible, yet they carry the little balloon-
ists where they wish to go, and there are
few fatal accidents. Moreover, the spiders
are of much economic importance, since
they destroy countless xniHioas of insects
every year, most of which are noxious —
like flies, mosquitoes, bugs, and grasshop-
pers.

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* Al-

A nether of the black widow. Above is

underside to show the red hourglass

436

ANIMALS

though there is a little venom injected
into tht wound by the bite of any spider,
yet there are few species found in the
United States whose bite is sufficiently

The tarantula, a large, dark-colored, hairy §j)i-
derjountl in the Southicest.lt is poisonous

venomous to be feared. With the excep-
tion of the tarantulas of the Southwest,
and the hourglass or black widow, which
seems now to be extending its range from
the Sooth, the spiders of the United States
are really as harmless to handle as are most
of our common insects.

There is no need for studying the anat-
omy of the spider closely in nature-study.
Our interest lies much more in the won-
derful 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 be-
tween.

— ELIZABETH AKERS

Our house spiders are indefatigable cur-
tain-weavers. We never suspect their pres-
ence, until suddenly their curtains appear
before our eyes, in the angles of the ceil-
ings — 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 comer 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 the legs. If a
spider is frightened, it at first tries to hide
and then may drop by a thread to the
Moor. If we catch the little acrobat it will
usually " play possum " and we may ex-
amine it more closely through a lens. We
shall ind 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 ab-
domen has no segments like that of the in-
sects, 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

:Wy

. » 4 * l&4f •- !j

;, :,K -IK »Hj; WAf. S-rf^" .

An orange garden spider and web. This spi-
der is common in the United States; its web
is spun in fields and gardens.

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

457

is situated near its lower lip. The spider's
silk conies from two or three pairs of spin-
nerets which are finger-like 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 spinner-
ets, 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, cling-
ing to anything that it touches. The
body and the legs of spiders are usually
hair\\

SUGGESTED READING — Do you Know?
by Janet Smalley; Fields and Fencerows,

The banana spider. These spiders differ
from other Arachnida by having the abdo-
men unsegmented and Joined to the thorax by
a short, narrow stalk as shown here

by Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen;
First Lessons in Nature Study, by Edith
M. Patch; Insect People, by Eleanor King
and Wellmer Pessels; A Manual for the
Study of Insects, by John Henry Com-
stock7 Anna B. Comstock, and Glenn W.
Herrick; Nature — by Seaside and Way-
$ide> by Mary G. Phillips and Julia M.
Wright, Book i, Some Animals and Their
Homes; Nature and Science Readers, by
Edith M. Patch and Harrison E. Howe,
Book i? Hunting, Book 27 Outdoor
Visits, Book 3, Surprises, Book 5, Science
at Home; Our Insect Friends and Foes
and Spiders, published by the National
Geographic Society; The Spider Book, by
John Heniy Comstock (out of print);

Spider Webs and Sunflowers, by Man- G,

Phillips; also, readings on page 416.

LESSON no
COBWEBS

LEADING THOUGHT — The cobwebs

which are found in the corners of ceilings
and in other dark places In our houses are

A jumping

made by the house spider, which spins its
web In these situations for the purpose of
catching Insects.

METHOD — The pupils should have un-
der observation, a cobweb In a corner of a
room, preferably with a spider In It.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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.

The spiny-bellied spider

ANIMALS

3. If a fly becomes tangled in a web,
describe the action of the spicier. 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? Ho\v does the spider
differ from insects in this respect? How'
mam* 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 of eyes
does it have?

When the tangled cobweb pulls

The cornflower's cap awn*,
And the lilies tall lean over the wall
To bow to the butterfly,
It is July.

'— SUSAN HARTLEY SWETT

THE FUNNEL WEB OF A GRASS SPIDER

And dew- bright webs festoon the grass
In roadside fields at morning.

— ELIZABETH AKERS

The funnel web of a grass spider

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 by the architect, the grass 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 sur-
rounding 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 difficult}-. 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 grasshop-
per.

The funnel-shaped webs in dark cor-
ners 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Holiday
Meadow, by Edith M. Patch; also, read-
ings on page 437.

LESSON 111

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.

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

439

METHOD — Ask the pupils to observe a
web on the grass with a spider within it.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What is the gen-
eral 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? By what means 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. \VTiat insects become entangled in
this web?

6. Compare this web with similar fun-
nel webs found in corners of cellars, sheds,
or porches, and see if you think the same
kind of spider made both.

THE ORB WEB

Of all the structures made by the lower
creatures, the orb web of the spider is, be-
yond question, the most intricate and
beautiful in design, and the most exquisite
in workmanship. The watching of the con-
struction of one of these wrebs is an expe-
rience that brings us close to those mys-
teries 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 yel-
low garden spider is, perhaps, the best sub-
ject for this study, although many of the
smaller orbs are far more delicate in struc-
ture. 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 frame-
work, 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 ir-
regular 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,

An orb web on a dewy morning

and adheres to any object brought in con-
tact with it. An insect which touches one
of these spirals and tries to escape be-
comes entangled in the neighboring lines
and is thus held fast until the spider can

ANIMALS

The finished web of a triangle spider

reach It. If one of these elastic lines be ex-
amined 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 adhe-
sive.

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 watch-
ful 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 sen-
tinel. When the insect becomes en-
tangled, the spider rashes out and envelops

it in a band of silk, which feat it accom-
plishes 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
the spider usually sits there, or to its den
at one side, if it is a den-making species,
and there sucks the insect's blood, care-
fully throwing away the hard parts.

The spider does not became 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

The triangle spider usually rests on the single
line of the web

Some of the orb weavers strengthen their
orb webs by spinning a zigzag ribbon, as pic-
tured above, across the center

twenty-four hours, but this depends
largely upon whether the web has mean-
while 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

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

441

walking along to some other point, spin-
ning the thread as it goes and holding the
line clear of the object on which it is walk-
ing by means of one of its hind legs. \VTien
the right point is reached, it pulls the line
tight, fastens it, and then, in a similar fash-
ion, 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 on to
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

The spinner of this web, Amaurobius, lives

in a crevice in the cliff. The web was spun
about the entrance

which it has used as a scaffolding. A care-
ful observer may often see remnants of
this first spiral on the radii between the

The irregular web of a dictynid

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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings
page 437.

LESSON

112

THE ORB WEB

LEADING THOUGHT — Perhaps no struc-
ture 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 — i. Is the orb web usu-
ally hung horizontally or vertically?

ANIMALS

Web of a kackled-band spider

2. Observe the radii, or " spokes/7 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 cir-
cle complete? Are the lines the same dis-
tance 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 ad-
heres to the point and is elastic. What is
the reason for this difference in the sticki-

ness and elasticity7 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 discov-
ering when an insect strikes the web than
does the spider that hides in a den at one
side. Describe the method 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?

1 1 . How does the spider manage to run
about its web without becoming en-
tangled in the sticky thread? How often
does the orb weaver make a new web?

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 attend-
ance; break the web without frightening
the spider and see it replace it in the early
evening, or in the morning about day-
break. An orb weaver may be brought into

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

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

443

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 — i . How does the spider
manage to place the supporting line be-
tween two points?

2. How does it make the framework for
holding the web in place?

3. How does it make the Erst radius?

4. How does it make the other radii and
select the point which is to be the center
of the 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 that the spider spins
used?

8. Where does it begin to spin the per-
manent 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 fin-
ished?

9. If the center of the web has a zigzag
ribbon of silk, when was it put on?

ic. How many minutes did it take the
spider to complete the web?

THE FILMY DOME

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 dis-
tance 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, rashes 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 437.

LESSON 113
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 sum-
mer 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 ex-
quisitely iridescent under the sun's rays.
Such a dome may be studied by a class or
by the pupils individually.

A filmy dome web with its maker

444

OBSERVATIONS — i. \\Tiere did you dis-
cover 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 deli-
cate?

ANIMALS

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.
— " THE PRISONER OF CHILLON,"
LORD BYRON

BALLOONING SPIDERS

If we look across the grass some warm
sunny morning or evening of early fall, we
see threads of spider silk clinging eveiy-

A sea of gossamer. The webs of ballooning

spiders

where; 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 plowred field,
taken in autumn, which looks like the
waves of a lake; so completely is the
ground covered with spider threads that
it shows the " path of the son " like water.
When w?e 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 some-

times walks off on it, using it as a bridge,
or sometimes it begins again. If the thread
does not become entangled with any ob-
ject, there is soon enough given off for the
friction of the air current upon it to sup-
port 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 dis-
covered in midocean.

Thus we see that the spiders have the
same way of distributing their species over
the globe as have the thistles and dande-
lions. 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
wras 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 437.

A noiseless, patient spider,

I marFd where on a little promontory it
stood isolated,

MarFd "how to explore the vacant vast sur-
rounding,

It launched forth filament, filament, fila-
ment out of itself;

Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speed-
ing them.

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

445

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detacfied? 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 114

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,

OBSERVATIONS — i . Look across the
grass some warm sunny morning or eve-
ning of early fall, and note the threads of
spider silk gleaming everywhere, not regu-
lar webs, but single threads spun from
grass stalk to grass stalk, or from one object
to another, until the ground seems glisten-
ing 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 en-
tangled in any surrounding object what
happens? If the thread does become en-
tangled, what happens?

5, How far do you suppose a spider can
travel on this silken airplane? Why should
the young spider wish to travel?

THE WHITE CRAB SPIDER

There are certain spiders which are crab-
like 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.

The white crab spider is a little rascal
that has discovered the advantage of pro-
tective coloring as a means of hiding itself
from the view of its victims,, until it is too

The white crab spider

late for them to save themselves; the small
assassin always takes on the color of the
flower in which it lies concealed. In the

A white crab spider with a bee it has captured

white trillium, it is greenish white; while
in the goldenrod 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

446

ANIMALS

it may drop by a silken thread. It is espe-
cially interesting, since it illustrates an-
other use for protective coloring; and also
because this species seems to be able to
change its colors to suit its surroundings.

SUGGESTED READING — Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Har-
rison E. Howe," Book 2, Outdoor Visits;
also, readings on page 437.

LESSON 11 ;
THE WHITE CRAB SPIDER

LEADING THOUGHT — 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 incon-
spicuous it is, and arouse an interest in the
different colors which these spiders as-
sume in different flowers.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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? x\re the colors
the same "in the spiders found in the tril-
liums 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 or in a daffodil, and
note if the color changes.

4. Do the crab spiders make webs? How
do they trap their prey?

HOW THE SPIDER MOTHERS TAKE CARE OF THEIR EGGS

a circular lichen on the stone, but if it is
examined it is found to consist of an up-
per, 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 orb weavers makes a very re-
markable nest, which it attaches to the
branches of weeds or shrubs. This sac is
about as large as a hickory nut, and opens
.- _. Q1. , . like a vase at the top. It is very securely

M. V. Slingerland * •, i ,1 i f-n

. , ., jj , . T . suspended by many strong threads ot silk,

A crab spider on a goldenrod f upper right. r J J °

The spider is white when lurking in the white
trillium and yellow when among the flowers
oj the goldenrod

Protecting her eggs from the vicissi-
tudes of the weather seems to be the spi-
der mother's chief care; though at the same
time and by the same means she protects
them from the attacks of predacious in-
sects. Many of the species make silken egg-
sacs, which are often elaborate in construc-
tion, and are carefully placed in protected
situations.

Often a little silvery disc may be seen Entrance to the underground nest of a turret
attached to a stone in a field. It resembles spider

INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS OTHER THAN INSECTS

447

so that the blasts of winter cannot tear it
loose. The outside is shining and water-
proof, while inside it has a fit lining for
a spiderling cradle.

TRAP-DOOR SPID6R

A female turret spider with egg-sac

Dr. Burt G. Wilder studied the devel-
opment 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 bom to
serve as 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 hun-
dred 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.

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

The nest of Ariadna, a long, slender tube of
silk in a crack in a wood block

Ward's Natural Science Establishment, Inc.

The trap-door spider and her nest. The
spider digs a tunnel in the ground, coats the
iDalls with earth and saliva, and then spins a
lining of silk. The hinged door is a continua-
tion of the walls with the outer surface cov-
ered with earth

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.
SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 437.

LESSON 116
THE NESTS OF SPIDERS

LEADING THOUGHT — The spider moth-
ers have many interesting ways of protect-

INVERTEBRATES

1. WATER SPIDER, Lycosa. This is one oj

very few spiders that frequent the water,

2. HOUSE CENTIPEDE, Scutigera. Each seg-
ment of the flattened body of this centipede
bears a single pair of very long legs.

3. SCORPION, Scorpionida. A scorpion is
characterized by a long, slender, flattened
body which ends in a curved, venomous
stinger. The sting causes much pain but is
seldom if ever fatal to man.

4. MILLIPEDE, Spirobolus. These animals
live in damp places and feed chiefly on de-
caying matter.

5. WATER Sow BUG, Asellus. In the decay-
ing vegetation and bottom trash of stagnant,
shallow water, one often finds these flattened
crustaceans.

6 and 8. FAIRY SHRIMPS, Eubranchipus.

These crustaceans always swim on their
backs; they are about one inch long.

7. TADPOLE SHRIMP, Apus. This near rela-
tive of the fairy shrimp is an aquatic animal
It is shield-shaped like the horseshoe crab.

9. DOG LOUSE, Linognathus piliferus. This
is the common louse of dogs ; to the casual ob-
server it could not be distinguished from the
lice which infest other animals.

10. SCUD, Gammanis, In the eastern United
States, these may be found the year round in
streams or ponds.

11. WATER FLEA, Daphnia. Daphnia is one

of the many kinds of crustaceans called water
fleas. They are us-ually found in quiet water
where they feed on algce. Water fleas are an
important source of food for fish and aquatic

insects.

12. Pleurocera. This mollusk is found in
great variety and abundance in rivers in the
eastern United States from the Great Lakes
south.

13. COPEPOD, Cyclops. Cyclops represents
a group of tiny crustaceans known as cope-
pods.

14. FRESH-WATER LIMPET, Ancylus. These
snails are generally distributed; they live in
streams as well as in quiet water.

15. Gonipbasis. Full grown fresh-water
snails of this species are 1% inches long ; they
are found in rapid currents as well as among
plant growth of quiet waters.

16. Vivipara. These snails may reach a
length of 2 inches; they are found on the
muddy bottoms of streams and lakes.

17. WHEEL SNAILS, Helisoma (Planorbis).
The shell is coiled in a flat spiral with a
sunken center.

13. Campeloma. This snail is found from
the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf of Mexico.
The young are born alive.

19. Valvata. This small, widely distributed
snail exists in great numbers in both deep and
shallow water.

20. Bythinia. This European snail has been
introduced, by the operations of commerce,
into the Hudson River and the Great Lakes
region.

21. Amnicola. On sandy bottoms and
among water vegetation, these snails are
widely distributed in shallow water.

22. Paludestrina. These tiny snails, about
one-sixth of an inch long, are distributed from
the Atlantic to the Pacific in fresh water.

23. COMMON POND SNAIL, Lymnaea. This
snail represents a widely distributed group of
common snails which differ greatly in size;
they form an important item in the food of
water birds, fishes, and frogs.

24. POUCH SNAIL, Physa. Pouch snails are
remarkably active. In color and shape they
vary so greatly that it is often difficult to
identify them. They are interesting to observe
and may be kept easily in an aquarium.

25. FINGERNAIL CLAM, Sphserium. These
small white mussels are about half an inch
long; they are widely distributed, being
found in the fresh water of almost any pond,
stream, or lake.

26. PAPER-SHELL MUSSEL, Anodonta. The
shell of this mail is thin, usually smooth, and
often marked by concentric rings. They are
found from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean,

ANIMALS

The egg-sac of one of the orb weavers. It is
made in the autumn and contains 500 or more
eggs. The eggs hatch early in the winter but

no spiders emerge until spring. During the
•winter the stronger spiders calmly ^ devour

their weaker brothers, and in the spring those
which survive emerge well nourished to fight
their battles in the outside world

ing their eggs, wThich 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 spid'erlings come out. This is a good
lesson for September and October.

OBSERVATIONS — i. In what situation
did you find the nest? How was it pro-
tected 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 spi-
derlings hatch? Do as many spiders come
out of the sac as there were eggs? Why is
this?

PART III
PLANTS

HO\X7 TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF PLANTS
AND THEJR FLOWERS

Mountain laurel

W. C. Muenscher

The only right way to begin plant study
with young children is through awaken-
ing 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 in-
formally. The teacher may say: " Thank
you, John, for this bouquet. Why? here
is a pansy, a bachelor's button, a larkspur,
and a poppy/7 Or, " Julia has brought me
a beautiful flower. What is its name, I
wonder? " Then may follow a little dis-
cussion, which the teacher leads to the
proper conclusion. If this course is con-
sistently followed, the children will learn
the names of the common flowers of
wood, field, and garden, and never realize
that they are studying anything.

The next step is to inspire the child with
a desire to care for and preserve his bou-
quet. The posies brought in the perspiring
little hand may be wilted and look de-
jected; 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 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 im-
mediately. This is a lesson in duty as well
as in plant study. Attention to the be-
havior of the thirsty flowers may be gained
by asking the following questions:

i. When a plant is wilted how does
it look? How does its stem act? Do its

PLANTS

Columbine^ Aquilegia

leaves stand up? What happens to the
flowers?

2. Place the cut end of the stem in
water and look at it occasionally during
an hour; describe what happens to the
stern, the leaves, the blossom.

SOME NEEDS OF PLANTS

Another step in plant study comes natu-
rally 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 ex-
perience 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 comforta-
ble." The following experiments should
be made vital and full of interest, by im-
pressing upon the children that through
them they will learn to give their plants
what they need for growth,

EXPERIMENT i. To find out in what
kind of soil plants grow best — Have the
children of a class, or individuals repre-
senting 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; an-
other with clean sand; another with saw-
dust. Plant the same kind of seeds in all
four, and place them where they will get

plenty of light. It is best to select seeds
that germinate quickly, such as beans,
radishes, lettuce, or calendula. 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 rela-
tive 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. Keep the soil moist;
place one pot in the window and place the
other in a dark closet or under a box, and
note what happens; in which pot do the
plants have the more normal growth?
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
turn toward 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 wThat 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 kind of seeds in
each, and place them all in the same
window. Give one water sufficient to keep

Eva L. Gordon

A terrarium. This glass box with a hinged
lid is easily made of six pieces of glass and
some adhesive tape. When some soil is placed
in such a box, various plants can be grown,
and many kinds of insects,, reptiles, or am-
phibians will be perfectly at home there

HOW TO BEGIN PLANT STUDY

455

the soil moist, 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 chiefly upon the genius of the
teacher. The interest in the results should
be keen; even- child should feel that every
seed planted is a living thing and that it
is struggling to grow; even* look at the ex-
periments should be like another chapter
in a continued story.

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 chil-
dren; but the need for light is not so ap-
parent, and Uncle John's story of the
starch factory7 is the most simple and
graphic way of making known to the chil-
dren the processes of plant nourishment.
He tells us that plants are like us; they
have to have food to make them grow7;
wrhere 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

Eel grass, Vallisneria. A quiet-water plant,
eel grass produces its male flowers under
water; its female flowers bloom at the top.
When mature, the male flowers float to the
surface, where pollination occurs; the female
flowers are then retracted to mature the
fruits under water. This plant is the favorite
food of canvas-back ducks

W. C. Muenscher

Gray or old field birch. Although these
birches grow in clumps, several trunks from
a common root, observe that the trunks soon
separate widely, thus providing abundant
light for the leaves

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 the sun
rises, and stop working when it sets. But
the starch has to be changed to sugar be-
fore the plant can use it for nourishment
and growth; and so the leaves, after mak-
ing 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

456

PLANTS

A flower with the parts named

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 tlie 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

The scientific names given to the parts
of plants have been the stumbling block
to many teachers, and yet this part of
plant study should be 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 talk-

ing 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."

" The purple trillium has a purple co-
rolla, the white trillium a white corolla;
and both have green sepals/'

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 " grownup " 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's body " or Molly's golden hair
" the yellow top " to her head. All the
names should be taught gradually by con-
stant 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.

The lesson on the garden or horseshoe
geranium with single flowers may be given
first in teaching the structure of a flower,
since the geranium blossom is simple and
easily understood.

A flower with petals united forming a tube,
and with sepals likewise united

HOW TO BEGIN PLANT STUDY
TEACH THE USE OF THE FLOWER

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, whereas 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 de-
veloping 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 aHn they are to human things.
— LONGFELLOW

FLOWER AND INSECT PARTNERS

It is undoubtedly true that the proc-
esses of cross-pollination and the compli-
cated 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:

•WdrfL

•Stipules

A leaf with parts named

A hawk moth or sphinx. A moth may carry
pollen from one flower to another

1. Pollen is needed to make most seeds
form; some flowers need the pollen from
other flowers of the same kind to produce
their seeds; but many flowers use the pol-
len from their own flowers to pollinate
their ovules, which grow into seeds.

2. Flowers have neither legs like some
animals, nor have the}- wings like butter-
flies, therefore they cannot go after pollen;
in seeking food and drink from flowers
insects carry pollen from one flower to
another.

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, and then I found a tiny young
cone and explained to him that this was
a pine blossom, and that in order to be-
come a cone with seeds, it must have some
pollen fall upon it. We saw that the wind
sifted the pollen over it and then we ex-
amined 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

PLANTS

THE RELATION OF PLANTS
TO GEOGRAPHY

A skipper visiting flowering heads of English
plantain

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. We found
afterwards, that insects seem to be called
to the flowers by color or by fragrance, or
by both of these means. The dandelion
we watched was very bright and the in-
sects were busy there; then we found bees
working on mignonette whose blossoms
were so small that Jack did not think they
were blossoms at all, and we concluded
that in this case the bees were attracted by
fragrance. We found other flowers which
attracted bees by both color and fragrance;
and this insect-flower partnership re-
mained a factor of great interest in the
child's mind.

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,
cattails in the s\vamp7 and water lilies
floating on the pond. This may all be
taught by simply asking the pupils ques-
tions relating to the soil and the special
conditions of the locality where they
found the flowers they bring to school.

SEED GERMINATION

In the early days of nature-study, this
one feature of plant life came near " gob-
bling 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 food material for its

"W. P. Alexander

Early saxifrage. This spring flower is at
home on exposed rocks and dry hillsides

HOW TO BEGIN PLANT STUDY

future growth packed all around It, Is In-
teresting 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. 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 ger-
mination of seeds should be made while
the children are eagerly watching the com-
ing of the plants in their gardens or win-
dow-boxes:

1. Which comes out of the seed first,
the root or the shoot and leaves? Which
way does the root grow? up or down?
Which way do the leaves grow, no matter
which side up the seed is planted?

2. How do the seed leaves 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 young plant begins to
grow?

SUGGESTED READING — The Book of
Plants, by Bertha M. Parker and Henry C.
Cowles; Discovering Our World, by Wil-
bur L. Beauchamp and Ca-authois, Book
i; First Studies of Plant Life, by George
Francis Atkinson; The Flyaways and
Other Seed Travelers, by Francis M.
Fultz; How to Know the Wild Fruits, by
Maude G. Peterson; Nature — by Seaside
and Wayside, by Mary G. Phillips and

Egg-shell experiment farm. The plants
from left to right: cabbage, field corn, pop-
corn, wheat, buckwheat

Julia M. Wright, Book 3, Plants and Ani-
mals, Book 4,, Our Earth and Its Life;
Nature and Science Readers, by Edith M.
Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Book 6, The
Work of Scientists; Nature Stories for
Children, by Nora B. Albright, Eva L.
Gordon, and Jennie Hall, Spring, Autumn,
and Books i and 2; Plants and Their
Children, by Mrs. William Starr Dana
(Frances Theodora Parsons); Plants Use-
ful to Man, by Wilfred W. Robblns and
Francis Ramaley; Science of Plant Life, by
Edgar N. Transeau; Science Stories, by
Wilbur L. Beauchamp and Co-authors,
Books i, 2, and 3; Useful Wild Plants of
the United States and Canada, by Charles
F. Saunders; Wild Flowers and Ferns in
Their Homes and in Our Gardens, by
Herbert Durand. Additional references are
to be found in the bibliography in the
back of this Handbook, under various
headings: Plant Life, Nature-study in
General, Textbooks and Readers, Nature
Poetry, Magazines and Periodicals, Books
for Parents and Teachers.

WILD FLOWERS

Because of their beauty and scientific
value, special need exists for the protection
of our native wild flowers and shrubs. It
is understandable that these uncultivated

O. L. Foster

Spring beauty

plants should attract the visitor, but in
too many Instances he is not satisfied to
enjoy their beauty as they exist in their
natural habitats. All too frequently he
picks flowers in large numbers, only to dis-
card them faded and wilted a few hours
later. Often valuable plants are dug out
or pulled up by their roots, probably with
the idea that these flowers or shrubs would
have the same beauty in a garden as in the
woods or fields \vhere they grow naturally.
Such practices are to be discouraged. In
the first place, wild flo\vers are almost al-
ways most attractive in their natural sur-
roundings. Furthermore the transplanting
of flowers and shrubs from woods or
swamps to a cultivated garden is a delicate
operation, and there is very little likeli-
hood of its being accomplished success-
fully.
Extensive removal of these plants

whether from field, marsh, or woods is
likely to bring about the extinction of
certain species and from both scientific
and aesthetic standpoints this is highly
unfortunate.

The malicious destruction of flowering
plants should^ of course, not be allowed.
Some plants are so rare, or otherwise in
danger of extinction, that state lawTs have
been enacted wrhich protect them. For
example in New York State, trailing ar-
butus, flowrering dogwood, fringed gen-
tian, pink lady's-slipper, yellow lady's-slip-
per? and mountain laurel are protected by
law.

Some flowers are so abundant that they
can be picked in moderation if the roots
are not disturbed, if plenty of flowers are
left for seed, and if the plant itself is not
taken with the flo\ver. Trilliums, for ex-
ample, cannot be picked without seriously
harming the plant, for the food-producing
leaves and stem are taken with the fiWer.
Everyone should have the privilege of en-

O. L. Foster

Cut-leaved toothwort or pepper-root

WILD FLOWERS

joying the natural beauty of the country-
side. Such enjoyment is impossible if "a
relatively small number of people insist
upon picking and destroying native plants
for their own selfish interests.

SUGGESTED READING — Book of Wild
Flowers for Young People, by F. Schuyler
Mathews; Field Book of American Wild
Flowers, by F. Schuyler Mathews; The
Flower Finder, by George L. Walton;
Flower Guide: Wild Flowers East of the
Rockies, by Chester A. Reed; A Guide
to the Wild Flowers, by Alice Lounsberry;
A Guide to the Wild Flowers East of the

461

Mississippi and North of Virginia, by
Norman Taylor; How to Know the Wild
Flowers, and According to Season, both by
Mrs. William Starr Dana (Frances Theo-
dora Parsons); My Wild Flower Garden,
by Herbert Durand; Flowers of the Wild:
Their Culture and Requirements, by
Frank C. Pellctt; National Geographic
Book of Wild Flowers, by E. J. Showalter;
Our Early Wild Flowers, The Wayside
Flowers of Summer, Our Northern Au-
tumn, all by Harriet L. Keeler; Wild
Flowers, by Homer D. House; also, read-
ings on page 459.

THE HEPATICA

The wise men say the hepatica flower has no petals but has pinic, white or pur-
ple 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 WELD 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 return-
ing 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 il-
lusion; 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.

In the spring, new leaves may appear
very soon after the flowers; these leaves
are present until the following spring. The
hepatica flowers are white, pink, and lav-
ender; the latter are sometimes called
" blue." The colored floral parts, so-called
petals, are in reality all sepals and often
vary in number, from six to twelve. On
dark days and during the night, the young
blossoms close; but when they become old
and faded they remain open all the time.

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 holds
aloft the little horseshoe-shaped, whitish
stigma, which if pollinated usually de-
velops into a fruit. The hepatica is a per-

PLANTS

neath and mottled green and purple
above, making beautiful subjects for water
color drawings. The new hepatica leaves
are put forth in the spring, before the
leaves appear on the trees. The roots are
quite numerous and fine.

LESSON 117
THE HEPATICA

LEADING THOUGHT — The hepatica
flower buds are developed in the fall, and
are ready to blossom early in the spring.
This plant thrives best in moist and shady
woods.

METHOD — The pupils should have the
questions before they go into the woods

Hepaticas

ennial, and its natural habitat is rich, moist
woods. While it is adapted to the shade
of woods, it can be successfully trans-
planted to suitable situations in lawns and
gardens. The leaves which have passed the
winter under the snow are rich purple be-

Robert Conn

Hepaticas in natural surroundings

Evelyn Mitchell

Embroidery design jrom the hepatica

to observe spring flowers^ and should an-
swer them individually.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 be-
tween the leaves that remained over win-
ter and those that appear in the spring?

3. Find a hepatica plant before it be-

WILD FLOWERS

463

gins to blossom. Look, if possible, at its Turn back the three sepal-like bracts and

•ffaTrr r*£*n$~£>'T T l<ae/"'Tn rvxa 4-1-11 ,arn=i 1 * 4-4.1 /> -fl *v ».**.. -~^._ J_l . «. Jt_TL _ _ t . f «t n *

very center. Describe these little lower
buds.

4. How does the bud look when it be-
gins to lift up? Describe the stems and
the little bracts that hold the bud.

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 in stormy weather? Are they all
fragrant?

6. How many sepals has your hepatica?

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 fruit?

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 sum-
mer and autumn, noting what happens
to it.

THE YELLOW ADDER'S-TONGUE

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 ns to detect. But this child was
slow in learning this great fact, and, until she was a woman, the adder Ytongue 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 WHJD FLOWERS "

This little lily of the woods is a fasci-
nating plant. Its leaves of pale green mot-
tled with brownish purple often cover
closely large irregular areas in the rich soil
of our woodlands and it is sometimes
found in open fields; 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 care-
lessly they seem to come from one slen-
der 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 bulblike in form; but it is not
made up of layers, as is a bulb. It is a store-
house for food and also a means of spread-
ing the species; for from the conns there
grow little corms called cormels? and each
cormel develops a separate plant. This un-
derground 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 identi-
fied as sepals only by their outside posi-
tion, although they are thicker in texture.

W. P. Alexander

Adder' s-tongue or dog's-tooth violet

464 PLANTS

They are purplish brown outside, which
makes 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

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 numer-
ous and are fleshy and crescent-shaped.

But the adderVtongue, like many other
early blooming flowers, is a child of the
spring. The leaves, at first so prettily mot-

Addefs-tongue going to seed

Verne Morton

where they join the stem, each has on each
side an ear-shaped lobe.

The open flowrer is bell-shaped; and like
other bells it has a clapper, or tongue. This
is formed by six downward-hanging sta-
mens, 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 clap-
per that the visiting insects 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

tied, fade out to plain green; and by mid-
summer 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
manufactured 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.

LESSON 118

ADDER'S-TONGUE OR DOG'S-TOOTH
VIOLET

LEADING THOUGHT — The adder's-
tongue is a lily, and its mottled leaves
appear in the spring, each pair coming

WILD FLOWERS

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 per-
fected through the pollen carried by in-
sects.

METHOD — This plant should be studied
in the woods? notes being made on it there.
But a plant showing corm, roots, leaves,
and blossom may be brought to the
schoolhouse for detailed study, and then
planted in a shady place in the school
garden.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Where does the ad-
der Vtongue grow? Do you ever find it in
open fields? How early do you find its
leaves above ground? At what time do 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 Vtongue plants occur
singly or in patches?

4. Is the flower lifted up, or is it droop-
ing? What is its general shape? How7 many
sepals? How would you know they were
sepals? How do they differ in- color, out- ,
side 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.

5. If the perianth, or the sepals and
petals together, makes a bell-shaped flower,
what makes the clapper to the bell? How
do the insects use this clapper when they

Adder' s-tongue in natural surroundings

visit the flower? Do the flowers stay open
nights and dark days?

6. How many stamens are there? De-
scribe 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?

7. 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 the shape of the seeds of this
plant?

PLANTS

Verne Morton

BLOODROOT

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

Only a few generations ago, this land
of ours was peopled by those who found it
fitting to paint their bodies to represent
their mental or spiritual conditions or in-
tentions. For this purpose they had stud-
ied 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; 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 them-
selves 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, attract the
hungry bees which 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 unthink-
ingly prone to attribute consciousness to
the little plants.

Not only does the leaf enfold the bud,
but it continues to enfold the flowerstalk
after the blossom opens. There are two
sepals which enclose the bud, but fall off

WILD FLOWERS

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 sta-
mens, often twenty-four, 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 notice-
able in the freshly opened blossoms. It is
likely to shrivel before its homegrown pol-
len is ripe. The blossoms open wide on
sunny mornings; the petals rise up in the
afternoon and close at night, and also re-
main closed during dark, stormy days un-
til they are quite old, when they remain
open; they are now ready to fall to the
ground at the slightest jar, leaving the ob-
long, green seed pod set on the stem at a
neat bevel, and perhaps still crowned with
the yellowish stigma. The seed pod is ob-
long 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 out-
side of the roll; it is pale green with a net-
work of pinkish veins, and its edges are
attractively lobed; the petiole is fleshy?
stout, and reddish amber in color. The
flowerstalk is likewise fleshy and is tinged
with raw sienna; the stalks of both leaf
and flower stand side by side. After the
petals of the flower have fallen, the leaf
grows much larger, 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 tibe rootstock. Once in clear-

O. L, Foster

Bloodroot3 showing leaf not yet unrolled

ing a path through a woodland, we hap-
pened to hack off a mass of these root-
stocks, 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 119
BLOODROOT

LEADING THOUGHT — - The bloodroot
has a fleshy rootstock, in which is stored
food for the nourishment of the plant in
early spring. The flower bud is at first pro-
tected 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 should be

468 PLANTS

studied In the woods where it is to be
found growing.

OBSERVATIONS — i . At what time of
year does bloodroot blossom? In what situ-
ations does it thrive?

2. \\Tiat do we see irst when the blood-
root puts Its head above the soil? Where
is the flower bud? How is it protected by
the leaf?

3. Study the flower. How many sepals
has it? What is their color? \\Tiat 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 po-
sition 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 dur-
ing dark days? Do the flowers longest open
do this? Describe how the petals and se-
pals fall.

5. Describe the stamens. What is the
color of the anthers? Of the pollen? De-
scribe 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 stalk of the
flower. How are both flowerstalk 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. Compare the bloodroot with the
popples; do you find any resemblance be-
tween the habits of these two kinds of
flowers?

THE TRILLIUM

Buffalo Museum of Science

The white trillium

It would be well for the designer of
tapestries to study the carpets of our for-
ests 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 blos-
som. It is a fine study of the artistic pos-
sibilities of the triangle when reduced to
terms of leaves, petals, and sepals.

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 in-
stead 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 to the petals, so that when we
look straight into the flower we see it as

WILD FLOWERS

a six-pointed star, three of the points be-
ing green sepals. The pistil of the trilliuin
is six-lobed. It is dark red in the purple
trillium and very large; In the white spe-
cies, 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 flowerstalk rises from the cen-
ter w^here three large leaves join. The
flowrerstalk 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
flowerstalk varies with different species,
and so does the length of the stem of the
plant, the latter being fleshy and green to-
ward the top and reddish toward the root.
The trilliums have a thick, fleshy, and
much scarred rootstock from which ex-
tend rootlets which are often corrugated.
The trilliums are perennial and growf
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 num-
bers in the same locality, while the purple
trillium is found only here and there. Flies
and beetles carry the pollen for the red
trillium, apparently attracted to it by its
rank odor, which is very disagreeable to

Buffalo Museum of Science

Red trUliuim

The stemless trillium

us. The large white trillium Is visited by
bees and butterflies. The fruit of the tril-
lium 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-quar-
ters 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 homeo-
pathic pills. In cross section, it can be
seen that the trillium berry Is star-shaped
with three compartments, the seeds grow-
ing on the partitions. This trillium fruit
is very rough outside, but smooth inside,
and the dried stamens often still cling
to it.

The trilliums are so called from the
word triplum, meaning threefold, as there
are three leaves, three petals, and three
sepals.

PLANTS

White trittiums in natural surroundings

LESSON 120
THE TRILLIUM

LEADING THOUGHT — The trilliums are
lilies, and are often called wood lilies, be-
cause of their favorite haunts. There are
several species, but they are all alike in
that they have three sepals, three petals,
and three leaves.

METHOD — This lesson may be given
from trilliums observed in the woods by
the pupils, who should be encouraged to
watch the development of the berry and
also to learn all the different species com-
mon to a locality.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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
flowerstalk or peduncle 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 raffled 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? Does this seem
to bring different kinds of insects to each?

6. How does the color of the white tril-
lium change as the blossom matures?
\\Tiat is the color and shape of the fruit
of each different species of trillium? When
is the fruit ripe?

Trillium and adders-tongue. These plants
may^ often be found growing in the same
habitat

WILD FLOWERS

D utch ma n 7$-breech es

O. L. Foster

DUTCHMAN'S-BREECHES AND SQUIRREL CORN

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 air7
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 under side. 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 a stem under
the ground. These plants grow in the
woodlands, and by spreading their green
leaves early, before the trees are in foliage,
they have the advantage of the spring sun-
shine. Thus they make their food for ma-
turing their seeds, and also store some of it
in their underground parts for use early

472

PLANTS

the following spring. By midsummer the
leaves have entirely disappeared, and an-
other carpet is spread in the place which
they once covered.

DiitchmanYbreech.es and squirrel corn
resemble each other so closely that they
are often confused; however, they are
quite different in form; the 44 legs " of

The underground storehouse of Dutchman's-

breeches

the Dutchman Vbreeches are quite long
and spread wide apart, while the blos-
soms of the squirrel com are rounded
bags instead of u legs/' The underground
parts of the two are quite different.
The Dutchman Vbreeches grows from
a little bulb made up of grayish scales,
wiiile the squirrel com develops from a
round, yellow tuber; these yellow, kernel-
like tubers are scattered among the roots,
each capable of developing a plant next
year. The Dutchman Vbreeches grow in
thin woodlands and on rocky hillsides, but
the squirrel com is found more often in
rich, moist woods. The blossom of the
Dutchman Vbreeches 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.

The legs of the Dutchman Vbreeches
are nectar pockets with tubes leading to
them, and are formed by two petals. Op-
posite these two petals are two others more
or less spoon-shaped, with the spoon
bowls united to protect the anthers and
stigma. There are twro little sepals which
are scalelike.

The seed capsule of the Dutchman V
breeches is a long pod with a slender.

pointed end, and it opens lengthwise. The
seed capsules of the squirrel corn are simi-
lar and I have found in one capsule
twelve seeds, which were shaped like little

Seed capsule of squirrel corn

kernels of corn, black in color, and sRiny
like patent leather.

LESSON 121

DUTCHMANVBREECHES AND
SQUIRREL CORN

LEADING THOUGHT — The Dutchman V
breeches, or " boys and girls," as it is often
called, is one of the earliest flowers of rich
woodlands. There are interesting differ-
ences between this flower and its close
relative, squirrel corn. The flowers of both
of these resemble in structure the flowers
of the bleeding heart.

Dutchman' s-breeches in rich woodland en-
vironment

WILD FLOWERS

METHOD— As the Dutchman's-breeches
blossoms in April and May, usually earlier
than squirrel corn, 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 parks or woodlands.

OBSERVATIONS — i. \\Tiere do you find
DutchmanVbreeches? Which do you pre-
fer to call these flowers, Dutchman V
breeches or boys and girls? Are there leaves
on the trees when these flowers are in
bloom?

2. Which blossoms earlier in the sea-
ion, Dutchman Vbreeches or squirrel
corn? How do the flowers of the two differ
in shape? In odor?

3. In the flower of the DutchmanV
breeches find two petals which protect
the nectar. How do they look? What part
of the breeches do they form? Find two
other petals which protect the pollen and
stigma.

4. Find the two sepals. How many
bracts do you find on the flower stalk?

5. What insects visit these flowers? De-
scribe how they get the nectar.

6. Have you ever seen squirrels harvest-
ing squirrel corn? What is the purpose
of the kernels of the squirrel com?

y. Study the leaf. How many main parts
are there to it? How are these parts di-
vided? 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 Dutch-

Verae Morton

Squirrel corn

manVbreeches. 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 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

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 "

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

PLANTS

Verne Morion

Jack-in-t he-pulpit or Indian turnip

upon a club-shaped stern, 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; an abundance of blossoms occurs
in late May. This plant has another name,
which it has 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 en-
circling 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 In-
dian when enduring torture; but this is an
undeserved tribute. When raw, these
conns are peppery because they are filled
with minute, needle-like crystals which,
however, soften with boiling, and the In-
dians boiled them before eating them.

Jack-in-the-pulpit is a near cousin to the
calk 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 flow-
ers are mere little projections, almost
white in color, each usually bearing four
purplish, cuplike 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-bear-
ing flowers being set above the others; but
usually they are on separate plants. Pro-
fessor x\tkinson has demonstrated that
when a plant becomes very strong and
thrifty, its spadix will be set with the pistil-
late flowers and its berries will be many;
but if the same plant becomes weak7 it
produces the pollen-bearing flowers the
next year.

When " Jack " first appears in the
spring it looks like a mottled, pointed peg,
for it is wrell 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, which
enfolds 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 only
one of these compound leaves, but the
leaflets are so large that they seem like
three entire leaves.

The spathes, or pulpits, vary in color,

Leonard K. Beyer

Calla lily or water arum

WILD FLOWERS

475

some being maroon and white or greenish,
and some greenish and white. They are
very pretty objects for water-color draw-
ings.

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.

The berries of Jack-in-the-pulpit

After a time the spathe falls away? show7-
ing the globular, green, shining berries. In
August even the leaves may wither away,
at which time the berries are brilliant scar-
let. 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.

LESSON 122
JACK-XN-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.

1, Jack-in-the-pulpit unfolding. 2, Spadix

with pistillate flowers. 3, Spadix with starni-
nate flowers

P, Pistillate flower, enlarged. An, a staminate flower
enlarged, showing four anthers

METHOD — The questions should be an-
swered 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 — i. 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?

476

PLANTS

2. How does the Tack-in-the-pulpit look spadix; if you call the spadix " Jack," then

2 . _ , ^ - _-r t- . i _ n_ ._ _1-^j.l,^ "L,^ ^~* ^. 1 ^~ A -11 j-l

when it first pushes out from the ground?
How are its leaves rolled in its spring over-
coat?

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. Note how they rise above
the flower. How many leaflets has each
leaf? Sketch the leaflets to show the vena-
tion. 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

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 earning
the pollen for " Jack "? Do you know how
its berries look in June? How do they look
in August? Do the leaves last as long as
the berries?

9. 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 Pul-
pit."

THE VIOLET

It is interesting to note the flowers
which have impinged upon the imagina-
tion 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 loveliness.

Verne Morton

Round-leaved yellow violet

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 stone7
Half hidden from the eye;

Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.

And Barry Cornwall declares that the vi-
olet

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 un-
mindful of the poets. There are many dif-
ferent species, and they frequent quite dif-
ferent locations. Some live in the woods,
others in meadows, and others in damp,

WILD FLOWERS

marshy ground. They are divided into two
distinct groups — those where the leaf-
stalks come directly from the underground
rootstocks, and those where the leaves
come from a common stem, the latter be-
ing called the leafy-stemmed violets. Much
attention should be given to sketching
and studying accurately the leaves of the
specimens under observation, for the dif-
ferences in the shapes of the leaves, in
many instances, determine the species; in
some cases the size and shape of the stip-
ules determine 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 rootstock, the flower stems
rise from the same situation; but in the
leafy-stemmed violets the flowrer 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.

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 rest-

Verne Morton

Verne Morion

Dog violet

Common blue violet, showing two of the
little flowers which never open lying beneath
the bare rootstocks. Note the three-solved
seed capsules

ing 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 swreet treasure,
which is at the rearmost point of the nec-
tary, the insect must thrust its tongue
through a little door guarded by both an-
thers 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 un-
desirable insects like ants, I am convinced
that it is also useful in brushing the pollen
from the tongues of the insect visitors.

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 o£ the species of
violets can be found the small flowers
which never open; they have no petals, but

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Long-spurred violet

within them the pollen and the pistil are
fully developed. These flowers seem to be
developed only for self-pollination, and in
the botanies they are called cleistogamous
flowers; in some species they are on up-
right 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 123
THE VIOLET

LEADING THOUGHT — Each violet flower
has a well of nectar? with lines pointing to
it. Violets have also down near their roots
flowers that never open, which are self-
pollinated 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 lo-
cality. This may be in the form of pressed
and mounted specimens, or of water-color
drawings. In either case, the leaf, leaf-
stalk, flower, flowerstalk, and rootstock
should be shown, and each blossom should
be neatly labeled with name, locality, and
date. From the nature-study standpoint,
a portfolio of drawings is the more desira-
ble, since from making the drawings the
pupils become more observant of the dif-
ferences in structure and color which dis-
tinguish the species. Such a portfolio may
be a most beautiful object; the cover of

thick cardboard may have an original, con-
ventionalized design made from the flow-
ers 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.

V«rne Morton

The Canada white violet, a leafy -stemmed
species

WILD FLOWERS

479

OBSERVATIONS — i. Describe the local-
ity 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 mar-
gin and noting whether it is rolled toward
the stem at its base. Is the petiole longer
or shorter than the leaf? Are there stipules
where the leaf joins the main stem? If so,
are they toothed on the edge?

3. What is the color of the leaf above?
Are the leaves and sterns downy and vel-
vety, or smooth and glossy?

4. Does the flowerstalk come from the
rootstock of the plant, or does it grow
from the main stem at the axil of the
leaf? Are the flowerstalks 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?

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 opening 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 open-
ing that leads to the nectar fringed at their
bases?

8. What colors are the petals? Are they
the same on both sides? How are they

Leonard K, "Beyer

BircTs-foot violet

marked and veined? Are the flowers fra-
grant?

9. What color are the anthers? What
color is the stigma? Examine a fading vio-
let, 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?

THE MAY APPLE OR MANDRAKE

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 um-
brellas 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

PLANTS

Verne Morton

May apple or mandrake

into place and surmounted with a clover
leaflet hat. Then a pin is thrust through
hat, head, and neck into the stem of
the dressed plant, and the whole is prop-
erly 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 wood-
lands, and in the fence-corners, along road-
sides. The first lesson of all should be to
notice how nature has folded these little
umbrellas. Study the plants when they
first put their heads above ground, each
like a 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 inter-
esting study in varieties of form and size.
Some of the leaves have only four lobes
while others have many more. I have
found them with as many as nine, al-
though 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 send-
ing 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 which we find in cloth
umbrellas. The lobes of the mandrake leaf
or parasol are divided almost to the center.
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 leaves are double;
one of these twin leaves 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. How-
ever, the number of lobes varies. Neither
of these double leaf-parasols has its ribs
extending out toward the other; instead
they are at the side next each other, ex-
actly as if the original single stem had
been split and the whole parasol had been
torn in twain.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

May apple, showing flowers and leaves

WILD FLOWERS

But of greatest interest is the bud car-
ried under this double parasol. At first it is
a little, elongate, green ball on a rather stii
little stalk, which arises just where the two
branches fork. One of the strange things
about this 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 is covered by 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 mem-
brane. As the greenish white petals spread
out, they disclose a triangular mass of yel-
low' stamens grouped about the big seed
box, each side of the triangle being op-
posite 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 collects the pollen
for her new nest, and " bumbles " around
in the flower while getting her load, so
that she becomes well dusted with the pol-
len, 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 raffled stigma, looks as
if it were surely going to " grow tip " into

May apples as they grow

a May apple. There are usually six wide,
white, rounded petals, three on the out-
side and three on the inside; but some-
times 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 the green
fruit — which is a berry instead of an apple
— has nothing to do but grow, until in
July it is as juicy and luscious to the thirst}7
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.
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?

While the May apple Itself is edible,
certainly its root is not, except when given
by physicians as a medicine, for it is quite

482

PLANTS

poisonous when eaten. When we see How high is the stem? What is its color
plants growing in colonies or patches, it at the bottom and at the top? How many

usually means that very interesting things
are going on underground beneath thern?
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 root-
lets. There is a large rosette of these roots
under the plant we are studying, and we
can always find a rosette of them under

ribs does it divide into at the top? Are
these ribs as smooth as the stem? How
does the parasol lining differ from its out-
side in color and feeling?

4. Study the leaf 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?

5. Take a plant with two leaves. Where
is the flower bud to be found? How is it

the place where the plant stood last year, protected from the sun? Does the stem
Beneath the present plant we can find the divide equally on each side of it or is one
bud from which will grow the rootstock part larger than the other? Are the^twin
for the coming year. The working out of " r ""

the branching and the peculiarities of
these rootstocks is an excellent lesson in
this peculiar and interesting kind of plant
reproduction.

LESSON 124
THE MANDRAKE

LEADING THOUGHT — These interesting
plants grow in colonies because of the
spreading of their underground stems.
Their fruit is well hidden by its green para-
sol 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 — i . How do the man-
drakes 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 leaves or 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 leaves in the
patch?

3. Take a simple plant and study it
carefully. What sort of stem has it? Can
you find at its base the old umbrella case?

leaves of the same size? How many lobes
has each? What are the chief differences
in shape between one of these twin leaves
and one which has no flower bud?

6. How does the flower bud look? 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 down-
ward? As the flower opens, what is the
shape of the group of stamens at the cen-
ter? 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?

12. Why must we not taste of the man^
drake root?

13. In late July, visit the mandrake
patch again. Are there any leaves now?
What is left of the plants?

WILD FLOWERS

483

THE BLUETS

During April, great patches of blue ap-
pear 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. After the corolla has fallen the
sepals remain.

If we look carefully at the bluets we
find two forms of flowers: a, those with a
two-lobed stigma protuding from the
opening of the flowrer-tube; b, those where
the throat of the tube seems closed by
four anthers which join like four finger-
tips 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 half-way down; while those
that have the four anthers near the open-
ing of the tube have a pistil with a short
style which brings the stigmas about half-
way up the tube. An insect visiting the
flower a gets her tongue dusted with pol-
len from the anthers at the middle of the
tube; and this pollen is ready to be brushed
off against the stigmas of a flower of the
b form. A bee visiting a bluet of the b
form receives the pollen at the base of her
tongue; from here it can be brushed off
by the protruding stigmas of the flowers
of the a form.

This arrangement in flowers for the
reciprocal exchange of pollen also char-
acterizes members of the primrose family;
it is certainly a very clever arrangement for
securing cross-pollination.

LESSON 125
THE BLUETS

LEADING THOUGHT — The bluets have
two forms of flowers, the anthers and

stigmas being placed in different positions
in the two.

METHOD — Ask the children to bring in
several bits of sod covered with bluets.
Let the pupils, with the aid of a lens if
necessary, find the two different forms of

Bluets

Cyras Crosby

flowers. Later, let each see a flower of each
form with the tube opened lengthwise.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Where do the blu-
ets grow? Do they grow singly or in
masses? On what kind of soil do they
grow, in woods or meadows? At wiiat time
of year do they bloom?

6, Section of a bluet blossom that ha$ the
anthers at the throat of the tube and the
stigmas below, a, Section of a bluet with the
stigmas protruding and the anthers be-
low

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?

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?

484

PLANTS

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 has the flower of
the bluet? Do these sepals fall off when
the corolla falls?

THE YELLOW LADY'S-SLIPPER

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

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Showy lady's-slipper

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 Vslipper,
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. The sepals are yel-
low, and are wider than the two long
streamers that extend out at right angles
to them, which are petals; the brighter
color of the latter, their markings of red-
dish 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, adhering to what-
ever touches it, 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

WILD FLOWERS

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 diver-
sion as a stamen grown wide and long to
make an aw?ning above a stigma.

The general color of the flowrer is yellow,
and there are some dark red spots on the
stamen-awning and along the folded-in
surface of the petal sac. The little bee
alights on the flower and crawls into the
well at the center, the recurved edges pre-
venting it from returning by the same
opening. At the bottom of the sac there
are vegetable hairs to be browsed upon;

Leonard K. Beyer

Lesser purple-fringed orchis

Buffalo Miis**nm of Science

Smaller yellow lady's-slipper

if there is nectar, 1 have never been able
to detect it with my coarse organs of taste;
and Mr. Eugene Barker, who has exam-
ined 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.

After a satisfying meal the bee, which
is a lively crawler, seeks to get out to the
light again through one of the open-
ings 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 honeybees 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 fre-
quently by insects, and adds feelingly:
" My long waiting wras rewarded with
little insect activity aside from the mos-
quitoes which furnished plenty of enter-
tainment."

486

PLANTS

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Larger yellow lady's-slipper

The ovary looks like a widened and
ribbed portion of the flowerstalk, and is
hairy outside; its walls are thick and ob-
scurely three-angled; seen in cross section

the seeds are arranged in a triangular fash-
ion which is very pretty.

The leaves of the yellow7 lady's-slipper
are oval or elliptic, with smooth edges
and parallel veins; they often have nar-
row veins between each two heavier ones.
The leaves are of vivid yellowish green and
are scattered, in a picturesque manner,
alternately along the stem, wdiich their
bases completely clasp. The stem is some-
what rough and ribbed and is likely to

Detail of yellow lady's-slipper

I, I, leaf; s,s, sepals; p,p, petals; p.,s., petal sac.
» Side view: a.c., anther cover; p.s., petal sac; a, anther.

, an, anther closed ; o, anther open

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Pink moccasin flower or stemless lady's-
slipper

grow crooked; it grows from one to two
feet in height. The roots are a mass of
small rootlets. This 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 dark-pink lines which lead to
the little opening of the well. The down-
ward-folded edges prevent the visiting
insect from getting out by this opening
even more surely than in the other species.
The side petals are not so long as in the

WILD FLOWERS

vellow species, and they extend forward
as if to guide the insect to the well in
the Io\ver 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 ladyYslipper; they arise
from the base of the flowerstalk. They are
broadly ovate, and from six to seven inches
long. This species growrs in sandy or rocky
woods.

Another species more beautiful than
these is the showy ladyVslipper, which
is white with a pink entrance to the petal
sac. This grows by preference 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/7 or
sac.

LESSON 126
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
pollination.

METHOD — A trip may be taken to see
these plants where they grow.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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? What is

Buffalo Museum of Science

Showy lady's-slipper. In this native habi-
tat it is surrounded by such plants as horse-
tail, Indian cucumber, and ferns

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 pro-
jecting 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. 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.

6. How is the insect attracted? How is
it trapped?

7. Look at the seed capsule and de-
scribe it from the outside.

8. How many species of ladyVslippers
do you know? Do you know the pink, or
stemless species? How does it differ from
the yellow species?

483

PLANTS

• THE EVENING PRIMROSE

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 beau-
tiful, mysterious experience. Although it
may be no more wonderful than the un-
folding of any other flower, yet the sud-

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Evening primrose in flower

denness of it makes it seem more mar-
velous. For two or three days it may have
been getting ready; the long tube wThich
looks like the flowerstalk has been turn-
ing 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 after-
noon to nine or ten in the evening, the
petals begin to unfurl; they are wrapped
around each other in the bud as an um-
brella 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 opening too; 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 neigh-
boring plants, form constellations of starry
bloom that invite attention, and night-fly-
ing insects are often seen on them. There
is a difference in the time required for
a primrose flower to unfold, probably de-
pending 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 angu-
larly, and finally their tips open and each

WILD FLOWERS

sepal turns back lengthwise along the
seed-tube.

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 cob-
webby 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 flowerstalk, 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 par-
tially open, for a day or two. But the night-
flying moths which gather nectar have

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 cap-
sides. Cross section of seed capsule with seeds
above

Verne Morton

Winter rosette of evening primrose

the first chance, and it is they who carry
the flower's pollen.

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 de-
scends to the ground, digs down into it
and there changes to a pupa; it remains
there until the next summer and then,
from this winter cell, emerges an exqui-
sitely 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 an-
tennae are pinkish. Coiled up beneath the
head is a long sucking-tube which may
be unfolded. 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

490

PLANTS

partially closed flower, thus carrying the
pollen to the ripened stigmas, its colors
meanwhile protecting it almost com-
pletely from observation. The fading pet-
als 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, form an
equally perfect protection from observa-
tion.

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 some-
what, 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 ob-
scurely 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 di-
visions of these urns we may see the
brown seeds, which are tossed by the win-
ter winds far and near. The young plants
develop into vigorous rosettes during the
late summer and autumn, and thus pass
the winter under the snow coverlet.

SUGGESTED READING — Holiday Hill,
by Edith M. Patch; also, readings on
page 461.

LESSON 127

THE EVENING PRIMROSE

LEADING THOUGHT — The pollen of the
evening primrose is carried by night-flying
insects. The evening primrose's flowers

open in the evening; 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 specM
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
notebook; 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 — i . 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 which are at the base
of the flowerstalk look? 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 ap-
pearance of the budstalk? 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 tongue
must an insect have to reach this nectar?

WILD FLOWERS

491

How do the fading flowers look and act?

j. Describe the seed pod. Cot it across,
and see how many compartments there
are within it. How are the seeds arranged
in it? How7 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 are 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 in-
sects 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?

THE MILKWEED

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 LAUBANCE

Is there any other young plant that
shows off its baby clothes as does the
young milkweed I When it comes up
through the soil, each leaf is folded length-
wise around the stem, flannel side out,
and it is entirely soft and white and in-
fantile. 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 the qualities of crude
rubber. At the first trial it seems quite
impossible to tell from which part of the
stem this wrhite juice comes, but by blot-
ting the cut end once or twice, we can see
that the hollow of the center of the stem
has around it a dark green ring, and that
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. Milkweed is seldom eaten by graz-
ing animals. If a milkweed stem be broken
or gashed, this juice soon heals the wound.
If cut across, every vein in every leaf pro-
duces "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,

Verne Morton

Milkweed in blossom

but it yields readily to chloroform, which
is a solvent of rubber.

The milkweed leaves are in stately con-
ventional pairs; if one pair points east and
west, the pair above and the pair below
point north and south. The leaf is beauti-
ful in every particular; it has a dark green
upper surface, with veins that join in scal-
lops near the "border; it is soft to the touch
on the upper surface, and is velvety below.

PLANTS

Leonard K. Beyer

Milkweed in natural surroundings

The lens reveals that the white under sur-
face, or the nap of the velvet? is a cover
of fine white hairs.

The flower of the milkweed is too com-
plicated for little folks even to try to un-
derstand; but for the pupils of the seventh
and eighth grades it will prove an inter-
esting subject for investigation, if they
study it with the help of a lens. In ex-
amining the globular bud, we see the five
hairy sepals, which are later hidden by
the five long, pinkish green petals that
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;
in the center of each is a little, fleshy
tongue, with its curved point resting on
the disk at the center of the flower. Be-
tween 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 pol-
len-bags are sticky, and they contract so
as to close over the feet of the visiting bee.
Since the stalk 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 pro-
ceeds to close upon them, its edges be-
ing 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 pas-
sage 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. Sometimes bees be-
come 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 carrv off the nectar.

, Milkweed flower, enlarged. 2, Same, more
enlarged

a, a, nectar-horns ; p, pocket; o, openings to pocket;
» pollen-bags in place; s' pollen -bags removed

WILD FLOWERS

The milkweed pod has been the ad-
miration of nature students from the be-
ginning, and surely there are few plant
structures that so interest 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 searn, 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
embroider}7-. We open the pod by pulling
it apart along the seam; and this is not
a searn 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 bumble-
bees " 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. Be-
low the opening is a line of white velvet;
at one end7 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 milk-
weed 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 out-
side 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 al-
together there are enough of the threads

Milkweed seed balloons just leaving the shel-
tering pod

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
one of the softest textile fibers 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 a stream or
lake, and the seed dropped upon the
water? It must then sink unless it has a
life preserver; this margin that we have
noted keeps it afloat; if you do not believe
it, try it.

If we pull off all the seeds, we can see
that the velvety support is fiat 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 128
THE MILKWEED

LEADING THOUGHT — The milkweed
when wounded secretes a milky juice
which is of a rubber-like composition; it
flows out of the wounded plant and soon
hardens, thus protecting the wound. Milk-
weed flowers depend entirely upon insects
for pollination; the pollen is not a free,
yellow powder, but it is contained in
paired sacs, which are joined in V-shape.

PLANTS

Milkweeds sending forth their seed balloons

The seeds are carried by balloons, and
they can float on water as well.

METHOD — Begin the study of the
plant when it first appears above ground
in April or May. Give the pupils the ques-
tions 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 Septem-
ber or October. When studying the milky
Juice, add a geography lesson on rubber
trees and the way that rubber is made.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 milk-
weed 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? Why not?

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 stalk 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 in one
plant? Which of these clusters opens
first? Last?

4. Take off a single bud with its stalk
or pedicel. Does the milky juice come at
the break? Is the bud stalk stiff or droop-
ing? What is its color and how does it feel?
What is the shape of the bud? How many
sepals has it? Look at the stalk, sepals, and
bud with a lens and describe their cover-
ing. Look for a flower just opening where
the petals stand out around it like a five-

MUkweed pod

WILD FLO\\TERS

495

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.
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 saddlebags
and each bag comes from a pocket at one
side of, and above the long pocket. Do
these saddlebags 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 saddlebags 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 saddlebags? Catch a bee in a
collecting tube and see if her feet have
upon them these pollen-sacs. After these
pollen-sacs have been gathered upon her
feet, what happens to them when she
visits the next flower? Is the opening of
the long pocket like a trap? 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?
How does the inilkwTeed benefit by having
so many flowers and by offering such an
abundance of nectar?

THE WHITE WATER LILY

Whence O fragrant form of light,
Hast thou drifted through the night
Swanlifce, to a leafy nest,
On the restless waves at rest.

Verne Mortem

Thus asks Father Tabb, and if the %
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."

496 PLANTS

There is no better example for teach-
ing the relation between geography and

plant life than the water lily. Here is a

plant that has dwelt so long in a certain

Egyptian lotus flower and seed vessel

situation that it cannot live elsewhere.
The conditions which it demands are
quiet waterr not too deep, and with silt
bottom. Every part of the plant relies
upon these conditions. The rootstock has
but few rootlets; and it lies buried in the
silt, where it acts as an anchor. Rising from
the rootstock is a stalk as pliable as if
made of rubber, and yet it is strong; its
strength and flexibility are gained by hav-
ing at its center four hollow tubular chan-
nels, and smaller channels near the out-
side. 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 stalk 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; above7 it is green with
a polished surface, and here are situated
its air-pores, although the leaves of most
plants have these stomata in the lower
surface. But how could the water lily leaf
secure air, 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.

The bud is a little, egg-shaped buoy
protected by its four pinkish brown, leath-
ery 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 brown-
ish 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 out-
side; 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 petal-
like at the base and pointed at the tip.
The inner rows of stamens make a fine
golden fringe around the cup-shaped
pistil.

It has been stated that pond lilies, in
the state of nature, have an interesting
way of opening in the early morning, clos-
ing at noon, and opening again toward
evening. If we knew better the habits of

Seed vessel of white pond lily

the insects which pollinate 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

WILD FLOWERS

497

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. 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 to float 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 fa-
vorable, it develops into a new plant.

To emphasize the fact that the wrater
lily is dependent upon certain geographi-
cal conditions, ask the pupils to imagine
a water lily planted upon a hillside. How
could its roots, furnished with such in-
sufficient 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 wrater lilies grow in their own neigh-
borhood, they can understand the condi-
tions under which the plant grows in
other countries. Thus, when they read
about the great Victoria regia of the Ama-
zon— 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 culti-
vate in the child an intelligent geographi-
cal imagination.

SUGGESTED READING — Science Stories,
by Wilbur L. Beauchamp and Co-authors,
Book 3; also, readings on page 461.

LESSON 129
THE WATER LILY

LEADING THOUGHT — The water lily has
become dependent upon certain condi-
tions 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 school-
room 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 — i. 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 petiole 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? 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 stalk has
the flower? How does this stalk 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 root has the water
lily? Are there many fine rootlets upon it?
Why? How does this rootstock serve the
plant aside from getting moisture?

8. Imagine a water lily set on a dry
hillside. Could the stalks uphold the

498 PLANTS

flowers or leaves? Is the petiole large
enough to hold out such a thick, heavy
leaf?

9. Judging from what you know of the

places where water lilies grow and the con-
dition of the water there, describe the
Nile where the lotus grows. Describe the
Amazon where the Victoria regia grows.

POND WEED

The study of any plant which has ob-
vious limitations as to where it may grow
should be made a help in the study of

Pondweed

geography. Pondweed is an excellent sub-
ject to illustrate this principle; it grows
only in quiet beds of sluggish streams or
in ponds, or in the shallow protected por-
tions of lakes. It has tremendous powers
of stretching up, which render it able to
grow at greater depth than one would sup-
pose possible; it often flourishes 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 absorb-
ing water 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, and soon dies.

The stem is very soft and pliable and
the plant is supported and held upright
by the water. A cross-section of the stem
shows that its substance is spongy, the
larger open cells being near the outer edge?
and 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, pa-
pery, and so shining as to give the im-
pression 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.

1, Flower of a pondweed enlarged, early
stage. 2, Same at later stage

In blossom time the pondweed shows
its real beauty. The stems grow and growy
like Jack's beanstalk, and what was a
bed of leaves on the pond bottom sud-
denly changes into a forest of high plants,

WILD FLOWERS

499

each one standing tall and straight and
with ever\- leaf extended, as if its stems
were as strong and stii 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,
with 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.

Although the stem is flexible, the some-
what curved, enlarged stalk 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 stig-
mas arranged in a solid square at the cen-
ter; at each side of this central square
is a double-barrelled anther, and outside
of each anther is a queer, little, dipper-
shaped, green flap. When the anthers
open, they push away from the stigmas
and throw their pollen toward the out-
side. There may be thirty or more of these
tiny, cross-shaped iowers In one flower-
head. In the budr the cup-shaped flaps
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.

SUGGESTED READING — Field Book of
Ponds and Streams, by Ann HL Morgan;
also, readings on page 461.

LESSON 130

PONDWEED

LEADING THOUGHT — The pondweed
lives entirely Mow the water; at blossom
time, however, it sends up its iowerstalks
to the surface of the water, and there
sheds its pollen, thus securing crass-pol-
lination.

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 blossom-
ing, which occurs in late July. After the
pupils have where it grows, the plants
themselves may be studied in an aquar-
ium, or by placing them in a pail or
basin of water. There are confusing num-
bers of pondweeds but any of them will
do for this lesson. The one described
above is P. perfoliafus.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Where is the pond-
weed found? Does it e\*er grow out of
water? Does it ever grow in very deep
water? Does it ever in swiftly flow-

ing water?

2. Has the pondweed a root? Does the
pondweed to have water carried to its
leaves, as it would if it were living in the
air? What is one of the chief of the
roots to the pondweed? Break off a plant;
does it float? Do you think it would ioat
off and die, if it were not held by its root?

3. Compare the stem of pondweed with
that of any land plant standing straight.
What is the chief difference? Why

the pondweed not a stiff to

hold it op? Cut the across, and see

if you can observe why it

4. Examine the leaves. Are all of them
below the surface of the water? If
Ioat, 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 diierence 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 tex-
ture from those submerged? Sketch the
leaf, showing its shape, its edges, and the
way it joins die stem.

5. How far below the surface of the
water does the pondweed usually He? Does
it ever rise op to the water's surface?
When? Have you ever noticed the pond-
weed in blossom? How does the blossom
look on the water? Can you see the white
pollen Boating on the surface of the
water? Look down into the water and see

PLANTS

the way the pondweed stands when in
blossom.

6. Study the blossom. Note the stalk
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 "stalk 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 an-
thers arranged around them. Describe the
flap which protects each anther, \\lien
the anthers open do they discharge the
pollen toward or away from the stigmas?

7. What happens after the flowers are
pollinated? 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,
Overshadowed 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.

— 4" BIRCH STREAM/'
ANNA BOYNTON AVERILL

Cattails sending off their seed and balloons

Verne Morton

THE CATTAIL

In June and early July, if the cattail
be closely observed, it will be seen to have
the upper half of the cat's tail much nar-
rower 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 yel-
low. 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

WILD FLOWERS

sifted down upon the pistillate flowers be-
low by even' breeze; and with even* puff
of stronger wind, the pollen is showered
over all neighboring flowers to the lee-
ward. There is not much use in trying to
find the pistillate flowers In the plush of
the cattail. They have no sepals or pet-
als, and are so Imbedded In thick 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 cattail. The pupils
can find what these flowers are by study-
ing the fruit; in fact, the fruit does not
differ very much from the flower, except
that it is mature and is browner In color.

A cattail fruit with its balloon

It Is an interesting process to take apart
a cattail 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 two parts: the free
portion, which is long and narrow and flat
toward its tapering tip but is bent into' a
trough as It nears the plant, and the lower
portion, which clasps the plant entirely
or partially, depending upon whether it
is an outer or inner leaf. This clasping of
the stalk by the leaf adds to its strength.
We almost feel as if these alternate leaves
were consciously doing their best to pro-
tect the slender flower stein. The free part
of the leaves is strengthened by lengthwise
veins, and they form edges that never tear
or break. They are very flexible, and there-
fore yield to the wind rather than defy
it. If we look at a leaf in cross section,

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Cattail in blossom. The staminate flowers
are massed at the tip, and the pistillate flow-
ers which form the i£ cattail ™ are massed
lower on the stalk

we can see the two thick walls strength-
ened 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 stiff7
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 grace-
ful curves contrast pleasantly with its ram-
rod-like stiffness. It Is DO wonder that
artiste and decorators have used the cat-
tail lavishly as a model. It is interest-
ing to note that the only portion of the

PLANTS

leaves injured by the wind is the extreme

tJP-

The cattail is adapted for living in

swamps where the soil is wet but not un-
der water all the time. When the land is
drained, or when it is flooded for a con-
siderable time, the cattails 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 cattail roots are fine and fibrous and
are especially fitted, lite 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 pha-
lanx of encroaching plants, like the reeds
and rashes, 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, giv-
ing place to other plants which find there
a congenial environment. The place where
I studied the cattails as a child is now a
garden of joe pye weed and wild sun-
flowers.

SUGGESTED READING — Tlie Pond Book,
by Walter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen;
alsoy readings on page 461 .

THE CATTAIL

LEADING THOUGHT — The cattail is
adapted to places where the soil is wet
but not under water; its pollen is scat-
tered by the wind, and its seeds are
scattered by wind and water. Its leaves
and stalks are not injured or broken by
the wind.

METHOD — As this is primarily a geog-
raphy 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 study-
ing the seeds, it is well to be careful, or
the schoolroom and the pupils will be
clothed with the " down " for weeks.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 cattails if the land
on which they grow is flooded for a sea-
son? What happens to them if the land
is drained?

2. How wide a strip do the cattails
cover, where you have found them? Are
they near a pond or brook or stream? Do
they grow out in the stream? \\liy do they
not extend further inland? What is the
character of the soil on which they grow?

3. What sort of root has the cattail?
Why is this root especially adapted to
the soil where cattails grow? Describe the
rootstock.

4. The cattail plant. Are the leaves ar-
ranged opposite or alternate? Tear off a
few of the leaves and describe the differ-
ence 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 seedstalk
were bare and not supported by the leaves?

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 sup-
ports it has. Does the cattail leaf break
or tear along its edges easily? Does the
wind injure any part of the leaf?

6. Study the cattail flowers the last
half of June. Note the part that will de-
velop 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 cattail have no
sepals, petals, odor, or nectar. Do you
think that their pollen is carried to them
by the bees? How is it carried?

y. Examine the cattail in fall or win-
ter. What has happened to that part of
the stalk above the cattail where the
anthers grew? Study two or three of the
fruits, and see how they are provided for
traveling. What scatters them? Will the

WILD

503

cattail balloons ioat? Would the wind
or the water be more likely to earn" the
cattail seeds to a place where they would

grow? Describe the difference between
the cattail balloon and the thistle balloon.

8. How crowded do the cattail plants
grow? How are they arranged to keep
from shading each other? In how many
ways is the wind a friend of the cattails?

9. How do the cattails help to build
up land and make narrower ponds
streams?

LESSON 131

A TYPE LESSON FOR A

COMPOSITE FLOWER

LEADING THOUGHT — Many plants have
their flowers set close together and thus
make a mass of color, like the geraniums
or the clovers. But there are other plants
where there are different kinds of flowers
in one head, those at the center doing a
certain kind of work for the production
of seed, and those around the doing

another kind of work. The sunflower.
goldenrod, asters, daisies, coneflower, this-
tle, dandelion, burdock, everlasting, and
many other common iowers have their
blossoms arranged In this way. Before any
of the wild flower members of this family
are studied, the lesson on the garden sun-
flower should be given, (See Lesson 159.)

METHOD — These flowers may be stud-
ied in the schoolroom with suggestions
for field observations. A lens is almost
necessary for the study of most of these
flowers.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Can you see that
what you call the flower consists of many
flowers set together like a beautiful mo-
saic? Those at the center are called disc
flowers; those around the ray

flowers.

2. Note that the flowers around the
edges have differently shaped corollas than

If Jt^l^'- &r ' f?

at the center. How do they differ?

Why could these fie called the banner
flowers? Why arc they the ray flow-

ers? How many ray flowers are there in the
flower-head you are studying? Cut off or
pull out all the ray flowers see how the
flower-head looks. Why do you think the
ray flowers out their banners? Has

the ray flower any or stamens?

3. Study the flowers at tlic* center. Are
they open, or are they unfolded buds? Can
you make a sketch of how they are ar-
ranged? Are any of the florets open? What
is the shape the color of the corolla?
Can you see the stamen-tubes pushing out
from some? What color are the stamen-
tubes? Can you sec the two-parted stigmas
in others? What color is the pollen? Do
the florets at the center or at the outside of
the disc open irst? When they first open,
do you see the stamen-tube or the stigma?

4. 'The flower-heads are protected be-
fore they open with overlapping bracts.
As the opens, these bracts are
pushed it. Describe the

of bracts. Are they set in reg-

ular. Are they or

smooth? Do they bluntly, with a short
point, with a long point, with a spine, or
with a hook? How do the bracts act when
the flower-head goes to sleep? Do they re-
main after the are

5. Study the fruits. How are they
scattered? Do they have Is the
balloon close to the Is it

to all parts of it?

THE GOLDENROD

Once I was 'Called upon to
children into the field to study autumn
Sewers. The day we studio! goldenrod.

I told them the following story on the

way, 1 found they were

with the fancy and through it were led

PLANTS

Gohlenrod

to see the true purpose of the goldenrocTs

blossoming:

*4 There ate flowers which live in vil-
lages cities, but people who also live

in and cities are so stupid that

know a flower city when they

see it. This morning we are going to

visit a 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

fruits which have fuzzy balloons; while

there are other flowers in each family

which wave yellow banners to all the in-

that by and signal them with a

of their own, thus: * Here, right this

is a lower family that needs a bee or

a of an insect of some sort to bring

i! from abroad, so that it can

Its it will give nectar and

of 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 messen-
gers 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."

The children were delighted with this
riddle and soon found the goldenrod city.
We examined cadi 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
lower families, each consisting of a few
tubular disc 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 disc flowers, had young fruits with
pretty fringed pappus developing upon
them. The ray 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 signaling
to insects, and one boy said, 4i They must
be making a very loud yellow noise/' We
found that very many insects had re-
sponded to this call — honeybees, bumble-
bees, mining and carpenter bees, blue-
black blister beetles with short wings and
awkward bodies, beautiful golden-green
chalcid flies, soldier beetles, and many

A street in goldenrod city

WILD

others; and we found the spherical gall
and the spindle-shaped gall in the stems,
and the strange gal! 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 fifty-six
species, the account of which makes
twelve pages of most uninteresting read-
ing in the Manual. The goldenrod family
is not in the least cliquish; the
have a habit of interbreeding, to the con-
fusion of the systematic botanist.

SUGGESTED READING — JsTature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Har-
rison E. Howe, Book 2, Outdoor Visits;
also, readings on page 461.

132
THE GOLDENROD

LEADING THOUGHT — In the goWcnrod

the lower-heads are very small. They at-
tract the attention of the insects

D Iw flc> tiv r n

n rod

Insect on The one u

the lower

they are set closely together the

stem, thus producing a mass of color.

METHOD — There should be a ex-

cursion to get as many linds of goldenrod
as possible. Bring to the schoolroom any
kind of give further les-

sons on the flowers there. The following
observations will out in

well-marked species,

OBSERVATIONS — i . Use Lesson 131 to
study the flower, How many ray lowers
in the hod? How flowers? Are

the rays arranged as around the

"as in the asters and daisies? How
are the set the stems?

Which flower-heads first — at

the or al the tip of the Do

the upper stems of the be-

fore those lower down?

2. Do the come
from the of the What is the
general of the flower branches? Do
they come off evenly at or

at one side? Are the

or short? Make a sketch of the

of the goldeiirod you are studying,

3. Is the smooth, downy, or cov-
ered with bloom? What is its color? In
cross-section, is it circular or

4. What is the and form of the

of the lower leaves? The upper
ernes? Are they set with or without
petioles oa the stem? Do they havr a

5c6

PLANTS

base? Are the leaves smooth

or downy? Are they light or dark green?
5, Field Where do find the

golden rod growing? Do you find one kind
growing alone fir 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 lowers? Ho\\
many kinds of galls do you find on the
goklenrod stems and leaves?

-. Study the goldenrods in November.
Describe their fruits and how they are
scattered.

1 am alone with nature,

Wifii fhe 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 plumed ferns.
The cream-white silt of the milkweed

Floats from its sea-green pod;
From out the mossy rock-seams

Flashes the gofcfenrod.

— MARY CLEMMER AMES

THE ASTERS

'Let us the

to the Latin was

Aster star, of

all are in

our

and The of

colors is exquisite. The ray lowers

of many asters are lavender, oar-shaped,
and are set like the rays of a star around the
yellow disc flowers; these latter send out
long, yellow anther tubes, overflowing
with yellow pollen, and add to the stellar
of the flower-head.

And asters by the brooJcside make asters
in the brook.

Thus H. H. of these beautiful

of autumn lowers. 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 dif-
ferent forms, rawing in size, color, and
also as to the environment in which they
will grow. They range from woodland
species, which have a few whitish ray
flowers hanging shabbily about the yellow
disc and great, coarse leaves on long,
gawky petioles along 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.

Luckily, there are a few species which
are fairly well marked^ and still more

WILD FLOWERS

luckily, it is not of any consequence

whether we know the species or not. so
far as our enjoyment of the flowers them-
selves is concerned. The outline of this

lesson will call the attention of the pupils
to the chief points of difference and like-
ness in the aster species, and they will
thus learn to discriminate in a general

way. The asters, like the goldenrods, be-
gin 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 usually
close as soon as they are gathered. The
ray flowers are pistillate, and therefore de-

5°7

velop akenes. The akene lias attached to
its rim a ring of pappus, and is ballooned
to its final destination. In late autumn the

2, a disc

Aster*

matured flower-heads are fuzzy* with
ready for invitations from any passing
wind to fly whither it listeth.

133
THE ASTERS

LEADING THOUGHT — There are very
many different kinds of asters, they
all have their flowers similarly

to of the sunflower.

METHOD — Have the pupils collect as
many kinds of as being

careful to get the and to take

notes on where kind found —

that is, whether in the woodlands, by the
brooksides or in the This les-

son should follow that on the sunflower.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What was the char-
acter of the soil and surroundings where
this aster grew? Were num-

bers of this kind together? Were

the flowers wide when you
them? How soon did close?

2. How high did the plants stand when
growing? Were there many flowers, or
few, on each plant?

3. Study the lower the
Describe each as follows: the the
size, the edges, the way it to
the stem.

4. Is the stem many-branched or few?
Do the branches bearing extend
in all directions? Are the stems hairy or
smooth, what is their color?

5. What is the diameter of the single
Bower-hod? What is the color of the ray
flowers? How many ray flowers are there?
What is the shape of a single ray as com-

508

pared with that of a sunflower? What are
the colors of the disc flowers? Of the
pollen? Do the disc flowers change color
after blossoming?

6, Look at the bracts below the flower-
head. Are they all the same shape? \\Tiat
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 disc flower.

PLANTS

note the young fruit, the pappus, the tubu-
lar five-parted corolla, the anther-tube,
and the stigmas. In the ray flower, find
the young fruit, 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 late autumn;
describe the akenes and how they are
scattered.

THE JEWELWEED

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

Jewelweed

them first. If the flowers of the jewelweed
have been likened to ladies7 earrings, then
the bud must be likened to the old-
fashioned earbob; for it is done up in
the neatest little triangular knob imagina-
ble, with a little curly pigtail appendage
at one side, and protected above by two
cup-shaped sepals, their pale green seem-

OR TOUCH-ME-NOT

ing like enamel on the pale gold of the
bud. It is worth while to give a glance at
the stalk 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.

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. 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 pos-
terior 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 attach-
ment above when the insect is probing it,

WILD FLOWERS

must make the 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, bringing A .,_„ . ^

the anthers together like five closed fingers the opening to the "sac, thus holding the
holding a fist full of pollen-dust, just ready flower firm while thrusting the head into
to sift it on the first one that chances to ~~ " " " " "

509

heaping it on her leg baskets. It was comi-
cal to see her contortions to get the pollen
off her back. The action of these bumble-
bees in these flowers is in marked contrast
to that of the large bumblebees and the
honeybees. One medium-sized species of
bumblebee has learned the trick of em-
bracing with the front legs the narrow,
stiff portion of the petals which encircles

pass below. Thus it is that the bumble-
bee gets its back well dusted with the
creamy-white pollen and does a great busi-
ness 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 crook-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 dif-
ferent 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 beneath
the flower. The shape of the nectar-spur
suggests that an insect with a long, flexible
sucking-tube that could curl around and
probe it to the bottom would be most
successful in securing the nectar; and
some butterflies do avail themselves of
the contents of this bronze pitcher. Mr.
Mathews mentions the black swallowtail
butterfly and I have seen the yellow road-
side butterfly partaking of the nectar. But
I am sure that the flowers wiiich 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 ac-
commodatingly 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,

the sac. The huge species — black with
very yellow plush — does not attempt to
get the nectar in a legitimate manner* but
systematically alights, back downward, be-
low the sac of the flower, with head to-
ward the curved spur, and cuts open the
sac for the nectar. A nectar-robber of the
most pronounced type! The honeybees,
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 finally suc-
ceed, as a ra!e? in gaining a foothold and
securing the nectar. But the niidget bum-
blebees in probing the orange jewelweed
show a savoir faire 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 spe-
cies 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. 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 floial 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

5io

u** f1ic fitter* dtM.l<*p HXCL The little,
^tra^ht, dfjittjittd *i:cd pod!*- are 4ttptd
prettify JEt1 JKvMint quite plump frmn
the Hxds vuthin them. Impatient?

We ay so! This

so and we

It of so touchy, at

the jar It is ripe, splits

parts, all

of at the end

fly up in what was the

lip of the but which now like

a five arms.

this act the fat,

the

and to for

growth the following spring. This sur-
prising of its is the
origin of the touch-me-not,

the scientific by

are known,

The lias other — cel-

andine silver-leal ladies'-ear-

drop. It is an annual with a slight
surface-spreading growth of roots, seeming
scarcely strong to the

PLANTS

"" branching stems, did not the plants have
the ktbit of sruwinc in a toummnitv, each
he! pi nil to support IN neighbor. Hie stern
is rmiiu'l, hollow, and much swollen at the
^ joint; it i". tn!ri,:.!iicent filled with mois-
ture, and its outer covering is a smooth
silki! skin, which may he readily stripped
off. Both species of jewelwecd vary in the
color of their stems, some being green,
others reel 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 Mow, 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 l>e seen, particularly on the under
side. When plunged beneath dear water,
j thev immediately take on the appearance
*/* - of burnished silver; when removed, no
drop remains on their surface.

The flowerstalks from the axils

of the leaves and are very slender and
threadlike, and the lowers nod and swing
witli every breeze. They grow in open,
drooping clusters, few blossoms open at a
time, and with buds seed capsules
present in various stages of growth.

The jewel weed is involuntarily most
hospitable, and always houses many
guests. Galls are formed on the leaves
flowers; the hollow steins are in-
habited by stalk-borers; leaf-miners live
between the upper and under surfaces
of the leaves, making curious arabesque
patterns initials as if embroidering

milady's gown.

LESSON 134
THE JEWELWEED OR TOUCH-ME-NOT

LEADING THOUGHT — The jewelweed
be found by the brookside, in

or in any and well-shaded

area. If is provided with a remarkable
contrivance for scattering its far

afield. It lias no for open sunny

places, unless they are very damp. There
are two kinds, growing to-

WILD

gether, though the spotted touch-me-not
(fmpatiens biflora) is said to be4 more

widely distributed than Its relative — the
golden or pale touch-me-not ! Impaticns
paJIida ') .

METHOD — The jewel weed should be
studied where they arc growing; but if
this is impracticable, a bouquet of both
kinds (if possible), bearing buds, blos-
soms, 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,
thus be prompted to look with keener
eyes at other common weeds.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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
soi!7 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 alter-
nately on the stalk? Are their en-
tire, toothed, or scalloped? Do the}* vary
in color on upper and lower surfaces? Are
they smooth or in the least degree rough
or hair}*? 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 flowerstalks spring
from the main stalk? Do the iowers grow
singly or in clusters? Do the blossoms all
open at nearly the same time or form a

succession of bud, flower, 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 nee tar horn. Can \ou find the
two petals? Can you set4 that each petal
lias a lobe near where it joins the stem?
Find the little knob down

the entrance of the nectar sac; of what
is it composed? Look at it with a lens,

tell how many unite to

the knob. Where is the pollen and what
is its color? Wkit insect do you think
could the at the of

the sac? Could any insect get at

the nectar without its

the flat of the

boxes? What the

fall off? Describe how the do the

work of of the jewelweeds.

Write or tell as a story own observa-
tions on the of the
visiting these flowers.

7. Carefully a

touching it; can see the lines

of between its How

are there? What the

pod is touched? Arc the sections

at the stalk, or at the of

the pod? Hold a pod at arm's when

it is discharging its contents measure

the distance to which the are

thrown. Of what use is this of

throwing to the plant?

8. Describe the in

color the yellow and the

jewelweeds. Watch to see if the
visit both of kinds of

jewelweed.

WEEDS

Chicory enough to make anyone see blue

W. C. Muenscher

The worst treed in corn may be — corn.

— PROFESSOR I. P. ROBERTS

Nature Is the farmer. Continually
she reaps, making all the forces

of the universe her and helpers; the

sun's rays, wind, rain snow, insects
birds, 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 obedi-
ence, and under his control does im-
mensely tetter work than when unguided.
But Dame Nature is an ** eye-servant."
Let the master relax his vigilance for ever
so short a time, among the crops of
his desire will come stealing in the hardyy

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 loca-
tions and not in others. Our grandmothers
considered i4 butter-and-eggs " a pretty
posy, and planted it in their gardens,
wherefrom it escaped, and it is now a ted
weed wherever it grows. A weed may
crowd out our cultivated plants, by steal-
ing 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

WEEDS

51?

upon it; or in some cases, as with the

wild parsnip, the plant may be poisonous.

Each weed has Its own wav of winning

in the struggle with our crops, and it bef-

hooves us to find that way as soon as pos-
sible in order to circumvent it. This we
can do only by a careful study of the pe-
culiarities 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,
leaf}- rosette the food drawn from the soil
and air during the irst season, to perfect
its fruitage in the second year; or a peren-
nial, surviving and springing up to spread
its kind and pester the farmer year after
year, unless he can destroy it 4i root and
branch/' Purslane is an example of the
first class, burdock or mullein of the sec-
ond, and the field sorrel or Canada thistle
of the third. According to their nature the
farmer must use different means of ex-
termination; 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 manu-
factured 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,

SUGGESTED READING — A Manual of
Weeds, by Ada E. Georgia; Weeds, by
W. C. Muenscher; also, readings on
459 and 461.

LESSON 155
OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF A WEED

i. Why do we call a plant a weal? Is a
weed a weed wherever it grows? How
about " botter-and-eggs " when it grew in
Grandmothers garden? Why do we call
that a weed now? What did. Grandmother
call it?

2. \\1iy must we study the habits of a
weed before we know how to fight if?

We should a*>k of every weed in our
garden or on our Line! the following ques-
tions, and let it answer them through our
observations in order to know why the
weed grows where it chooses, despite our
efforts.

3. How did this weed itself where
! find it growing? By what agency was its

brought and

4. What kind of has it? If it has a

like the mullein, what
does it derive it? If it has a spreading
shallow-growing root like the purslane,
what it gain? If it has a

creeping with

the Canada thistle, is it thereby

helped?

5. Is the woody or fleshy? Is it
erect or or Does it

any the character

of its stem?

6. Note carefully the Are
eaten by grazing animals? Are they cov-
ered with prickles like the or
like the mullein, or are they bitter
acrid like the wild carrot?

7. Study the blossoms. How early
the weed bloom? How long it
in bloom? How arc the flower buds
the ripening seeds protected?

8. Does it many seeds? Are
ripened at the or are
ripened during a period? Of what

is this? How are the scat-
tered, carried, planted? Compute how
many one of this
in one year.

9. \Vhat are in a

may do to our

crops?

That which ye sow ye reap. Sec

The was the

Was corn. The Silence and the
know!

— EDWIN ARNOLD

514

PLANTS

POISON IVY1

Poison ivy may be found creeping over
the ground, climbing as a vine, attached
by aerial rootlets in trees, walls, or fences.
or growing erect as a shrub. The alternate,
compound leaves are up of three

this has given rise to the line

let it be.

the fall and winter, the can

be by the presence of

clusters of white, berry-like fruits.

It is from the

or Virginia creepers which

up of five or more leaf-

1 year thousands of people

throughout the country suffer froia the eflfcets
of poison ivy, the editors Iiave it well

to include her*1 a nummary of the treatment
recommended In Cornell Extension Bulletin,
Ivy Poison by Professor

W. C. Muenscher.

lets and in late summer have clusters of
blue berries.

PREVENTION OF IVY POISONING AFTER
CONTACT WITH THE PLANT

Wash the hands, the face, or affected
parts in a solution of 5 per cent Iron chlo-
ride in a half-and-half mixture of alcohol
and water. If this solution is applied be-
fore or immediately after going into a
region where poison ivy is known to grow
no harmful effects need be expected. This
reined}" is nonpoisonous and inexpensive
and it can be obtained at almost any drag
store.

If the iron chloride is not available,
considerable protection from the effects
of exposure to poison ivy may be secured
by thoroughly washing the skin of the
affected parts several times with hot water
and a laundry soap that contains an excess
of free alkali. Use a heavy lather and
rinse off at least three or four times.

CURATIVE TREATMENT WHEN
POISONING HAS BEGUN

Soaking in hot water usually gives re-
lief. The application of baking soda, one
or two teaspoons to a cup of water, is
often effective in relieving the pain caused
by the inflammation. To soothe the pain
and prevent the general spread of the in-
flammation, fluid extract of Grindelia di-
luted with six to ten parts of water is
recommended. This may be applied with
a clean bandage, which should be kept
moist and frequently changed.

Do not apply ointment or other oily
substances until after the poison has ex-
hausted itself. Sugar of lead is not recom-
mended.

If the case of poisoning is a severe one,
it is to consult a physician before

attempting to use any remedy.

WEEDS

5*5

W, C. MttcBKfaer, Ivy Swntus, Cornell Bulletin 111

of ivy

1 Foi»a ivy, R/tm foxfrnffrctfrcm. Lfwlstallc b*»rmg; three leaffets; fasdff vi«!*I«?, 2, Vi*g«cua nwrer, Prrthrrr-

quinqMf&lm, Leafstalk bwriog I5ve I«fiets. 3 Bilky doRW€»d» rontuji aw MV^IA. Lesiii''*^ wi*h urn* blade,
leaven oppwrt?. 4T FwMptaiit pirmsic, J?liuf r4Kadc*i*«. Leafstalk, !*tanng thrve ieaSrts; I>JUB hidden unfit r boK of
leafstalk. 5, Poison snm»e Rhw twnfx. llumva letfatalk b«nnR pww&l leafi^s with P«H>« th si

bwda visible, $» Dwarf smmac, Rhm ^larpn of Imfirts sm^* th or tr^thed. l«af axa wmgnl, 7,

sumac, Mkm elakm, Margin of tcwthrd, bidden under tmv of I«if«ta!te. S, Sta«h«ni var.Ar

ty^hmm* Lti» 7, hut I«av«« twigar are fealty. I, Mountain asli, Ssirfon rmmrnBC, Margin of !**Si*tR tootht*i;
buds 10. Blaefc msh Mtmh. and oppttfite* 11 Elderberrj^ Sambucot

L«ive« buds opp«te

5i6

PLAXTS

COMMON OR FIELD BUTTERCUP

The buttercups, bright-eyed and bold

Held tip fhcir ekilkrs of gold

To the sunshine and the dew.

Leonard K. Bt yer

buttercup

There are widely varying

of Some of them grow in

in swamps, some even

In water. The of butter-

are but a have white

On the blossoms

are very OR they are

very The or field

is distributed, is

the here.

Common are al-

in the of the chil-

dren, they grow in the fields;

yet the two are so different in

they to the child

something of the marvelous differences
flowers; for the butter-
is a flower, while the

is a group of tiny flowers.
The buttercup are five

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 arc normally five in number,

but often there are six or more; the petals
are pale beneath, but on the Inside they

are a 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 com-
plexion indeed that would not reflect yel-
low 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 a
little scale growing there; beneath it is
developed the nectar,

When the buttercup first opens, all of
the anthers are huddled in the center,
so that it looks like a golden nest full of

W, C. Mn«scber
Of

WEEDS

golden eggs. Later the filaments stretch
up, lifting the anthers into a loose,
rounded tuft, almost concealing the
bunch of pistils, which are packed dose
together beneath even* stigma. Later, the
filaments straighten baet, throwing the
anthers in a fringy ring about the
green pistils; and each pistil sends up a
short, yellowish stigma. The anthers open
away from the pistils and thus prevent
self-pollination to some degree; they also
seem to shed much of their pollen
the stigmas are ready to receive it.

Sometimes petals and sepals fall simul-
taneously and sometimes first one or the
other; but they always leave the
bunch of pistils with a fringe of

old stamens clinging to them. Later the
pistils mature, making a globular head.
Each fruit is a true akene; it is flattened

has at its a short, recurved

may serve to It to catch

a on pas.sers-by. However, the akenes,

containing the seeds, are largely
by the winds.

The in sunny situa-

tions, in and but

Buttercup

Buttercup flower slightly t?t>!nr<?etL Note
the ncale wtf/iic; the nectar at the hn*w of the
fa!! ing jwtal

it cannot the of the woods.

It is a pretty Its are

downy the but

the the a variety of

on the the lower

have seven) cut

divisions, while the

the
the longest, the

of buttercups, are

its chief but

136
THE

LEADING THOUGHT — The buttercup
the in sonny

places, "bat is a

lower, while is a cluster.

METHOD — Buttercups brought by the
pupils to school for this lesson.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Look at the back

of a flower of the buttercup. What Is there

peculiar about the How do the

look on the buttercup bud? How

do they later?

2. Look into the flower. How many
are there? Are there the num-
ber of in all the lowers of the same
plant? What is the shape of a petal? Com-
pare its upper and lower sides. Take a

5i8

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 the}' look
when the flower first opens? How later?

5. When the petals fall what is left?

PLANTS

Can you see now how each little pistil
will develop into an akene?

6. Describe the globular head of akenes.

-*. Look at the buttercups' 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.

S. Where do the buttercups grow? Do
we find them in the woods? What insects
do vou find visiting the flowers?

THE HEDGE BINDWEED

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

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Bindweed

gardening, and for the first time in my
life 1 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-
stalks showed no burs, for the bindweed

had caught the burdock 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, which resolved
itself later into a field of corn, in which
everv- 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
readily 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, sway-
ing them 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; but
when during its graceful swaying the
hook catches to some object, it makes fast
with amazing rapidity; later the young
arrow-shaped leaves get an ear over the
support, and in a very short time the vine
makes its first loop, and the deed is done.
It twines and winds 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 makes only enough
turns around it to hold itself firmly; but if
it catches to something as unstable as its
own stems, the stems twist until they be-
come SO' hard-twisted that they form a
support in themselves.

WEEDS

519

It is rather difficult to perceive the al-
ternate arrangement of the leaves on the

bindweed stem, since they twist under or
over so that they spread their whole grace-
ful 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 grace-
fully lobed. Early in the year the leaves
are glossy and perfect; but many insects
nibble them, so that by September they
are usually riddled with holes.

The flower bud is twisted as if the bind-
weed were so in the habit of twisting that
it carried the matter farther than neces-
sary. Enveloping the base of the flower
bud are two large sepal-like bracts,
keeled like a duck's breast down the cen-
ter; if these are pulled back, it is seen that
they are not part of the flower,
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 some-
times a vivid pink-purple and sometimes
entirely white. Looking down into this
flower-bell, we find five little nectar wells;
and each two of these wells are
by a stamen which is joined to the co-
rolla at its base and at its anther-end
presses close about the style of the pistil.
When the flower first opens it the

spoon-shaped stigmas close together, push-
ing up through the anther cluster; later,
the style elongates, bringing the
far beyond the anthers. The pollen is
white, and through the lens looks like tiny
pearls.

When we study the maturing
capsule, we can understand the uneven
size of the sepals tetter; for after the co-
rolla with the attached falls, the
sepals close up around the pisti; the small-
est, sepal wraps it first, and the
in order of the matured
pod; and outside of all, the great, leafy
beads with 'their strong keels provide pro-

tection. The has two cells two
seeds in cell. it is not by

the spreads; it is the

running rootstock which, when the plant

once a start, helps it to cover a

area. The is a relative of

the morn ing-glory it will prove an

interesting study to the two

in of twining, in the time of day

of the opening of flowers, the shape

of the leaves, etc. So far as my own

observations go, the bindweed flowers

seem to only the

of the day, but M tiller says the

on moonlight nights

moths. This is an

for investigation,

it be by a old to

observations.

There are of

but all in The

the at the of

the lower.

137
THE BINDWEED

LEADING THOUGHT — There are

plants which to

for The Is

of the it hold of

is an inter-
stow.

— It is to

it but if this Is not

practical, the vine with Its
be into the the two

in
live positions. of the

be to the for

in the

field. It Is an for

or water-color drawing.

OBSERVATIONS — i . How the "bind-
weed get support; so its loves and
its flowers may out in the sunshine?

Why its own not support it?

What would 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

52:

PLANTS

In the direction? How does it first

catch of the other plant? If the sup-

are there, and how are they set in the
flower? flow does the pistil look when the

porting object Is firm, does it wind as often flower first opens? Later? Can you see
for a given space as when it has a frail the color of the pollen? Can you find

support? Can you see the reason for this?
^. Look at the leaves. Sketch one, to be

you see its beautiful form and
veins. Note if the leaves are arranged al-
ternately on the stem, and then observe
how and why they seem to come from one
side of the stem. "\\Tiv do tliev do this?

where the nectar is borne? How many
nectar wells arc there?
6. \\liat insects do you find visiting

bindweed flowers? Do the flowers remain
open at night or on dark days?

-T. Study the seed capsule. How is it pro-
tected on the outside? What next en-

4. What is there "peculiar" the folds It? Cut a seed capsule Across with all

flower bud? Look at its stalk careful!}' and
describe it. Cut it across and look at the
end with a lens and describe it. Turn back

its coverings, and see how it is protected.
How many seeds are there in the capsule?
S. Has the bindweed other methods of

two sepal-like bracts at the base of the spreading than by seeds? Look at the roots

or bud. Are they a part of the and tell what you observe about them,
flower, or are they below "it? Find the true g. Make a study of the plant on which

sepals. How many are there? Are they all the bindweed is climbing, and tell what
the same size? " " - has happened to it.

5. Examine the flower in blossom. ic. Compare the bindweed with the

What is its shape? Describe its colors, morning-glory, and notice the differences

Look into it. How manv stamens and resemblances.

THE DODDER

Brooklyn Botanic

Dodder or love vine

The dodder, which is also known by
names as diverse as ** strangle-weed 'y and
"love vine/* Is a good example of the

changes that take place in a plant which
has become a parasite. When a plant
ceases to be self-supporting, when its gets
its living from the food made by other
plants for their own sustenance, it loses
its own power of food-making. The dod-
der has no leaves of its own, for it does
not manufacture or digest its own food.
Its dull yellow stems reach out in long
tendrils swayed by ever}' breeze until they
come in contact with some other plant.
The tendrils wind about the victim plant,
always under from the right side and over
from' the left. They get their hold by
means of suckers which develop on the
coiled stem; so firmly are these suckers
attached that the yellowish stem will
break before they can be torn from their
hold. The devilfish uses the suckers on
its tentacles only to hold fast its prey; but
the suckers of the dodder penetrate the
bark of the victim to the sap channels
where they suck the matured sap which is
necessary to the life of the host plant.
The development of the dodder from

WEEDS

this point Is an example of the further his-
tory of a parasite. No sooner has it tapped
a succulent victim than its now useless
root and lower portions wither away and
leave the dodder wholly deprived of con-
tact with the earth.

The stems of the dodder are plentifully
studded with small, dull-white flowers
tightly bunched. 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 arc shiftless
looking and are yellowish or greenish
white; despite its shiftless appearance,
however, each flower usually matures four
perfectly good, plump seeds. The
vessels are globular capsules and develop
rapidly while the blossoming continues

Botanic Garfra

in on of

They of

the of this

get

the rest; the

not to test his clover

for it the

of its

There are of

or less in America. of the

Is the iax

live only of

plants, while any

Where it flour-
ishes, it so it
large yellow in

out the of its victims.

138
THE
LEADING THOUGHT — There are

which not only other

plants to hold up, but

PLANTS

Leonard K. Beyer

White or oxeye daisy

their living by drawing the vital sap from
the host plants.

METHOD — Bring in dodder with the
host plant for the pupils to study in the
schoolroom, and ask them to observe after-
wards the deadly work of this parasite in
the fidd.

OBSERVATIONS— i. 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 ex-
amine with a lens the place where they
were attached, and note if they enter into
the stem of the host plant.

3. How does the dodder get hold of its

host? 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 tnow
whether lie remembers, the recitation is
employed, — re-cite, to tell over again. The
educational processes of my younger days
were mostly of tin's order, — the boot 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
lie has found out or what he feels, or to
suggest what further steps may be taken,
and not to mark him on what he remem-
bers. In other words, the present-day proc-
ess 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 acquir-
ing for himself and to answer his natural
inquiries; but information-giving about
nature subjects is not nature-study. —
"THE OUTLOOK TO NATURE,"
L- H. BAKJEY

THE WHITE DAISY

Every child loves this 9owrer, 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, wre 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 fanner 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 ray flowers are
white; there may be twenty or thirty of

WEEDS

5-3

A daisy meadow

Verne Morton

these, making a beautiful frame for the
golden-yellow disc flowers. The ray is
rather broad, veined, and toothed at the
tip. The ray flower has a pistil which
shows its two-parted stigma at the base of
the banner. The disc 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 iowers develop no pappus,
and therefore the akenes have no balloons.
They seem in the present day to depend
upon the ignorance and helplessness of
man to scatter their akenes far and wide
with the grass and clover seed which he
sows for his own crops. It was thus that
the daisy came to America, and in this
manner it still continues to flaunt its ban-
ners in our meadows and pastures. The
white daisy is not a daisy, but a chrysan-
themum. It has never been called by this
name popularly, but has at least twenty
other common names, among them the
oxeye daisy, moonpenny, and herb Mar-
garet.

LESSON 139
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 131.

Yellow daisy or black-eyed Susan

THE YELLOW DAISY OR BLACK-EYED SUSAN

These beautiful, showy flowers have ange banners around the cone of purple-
rich contrasts in their color scheme. The brown disc flowers. The rays are notched
ten to twenty ray flowers wave rich, or- and bent downward at their tips; each

524

PLANTS

ray flower has a pistil, and develops a
seed. The disc 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 devel-
oped, and therefore the seeds are not car-
ried far by the wind.

The stem Is strong and erect; the bracts
of the Involucre 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 florets
around the base of the cone open and
push out their yellow pollen through the
brown tubes; then day by day the blos-
soming circle climbs toward the apex —
a beautiful way of blossoming upward.

LESSON 140
THE BLACK-EYED SUSAN

LEADING THOUGHT— -This flower should
be studied by the outline given in Les-
son 131.

THE THISTLE

O. L. Foster

Bull or common thistle

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 (Cirsium pumilum). It 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 root-
stocks 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. Rootstocks
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 stem 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 stem; they are
deep green, covered above with rough and
bristling hairs, and when young are cov-
ered on the under side with soft, gray
wool which falls away later. The spines
grow on the edges of the leaves, which are

WEEDS

deeply lobed and are also somewhat wavy
and ruffled, thus causing the savage spears
to meet the enemy in any direction. The
veins are without spines. Small buds or
branches may be found at the axils of the
leaves; and if a plant is beheaded, those
axillary buds nearest the top of the stem
will grow vigorously.

The thistle flowers are purple in color
and very fragrant; they grow in single
heads at the summit of the stem, and from
the axils of the upper leaves. The top-
most heads open first. Of the individual
flowers in the head, those of the outer
rows first mature and their pistils protrude;
the pollen grains are white. In each flower,
the corolla is tube-shaped and purple, part-
ing 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 w7hich 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 abun-

525

A floret jrom a thistle flower-head

dant nectar are the favorites of insects.
Butterflies of many species, moths, bee-
tles, and bees — especially the bumble-

bees — are the happy guests of the thistle
blooms.

The thistles believe in large families; a
single head of the lance-1 eaved thistle

W. C. Baker

Canada thistle

has been known to have 116 seeds. Each
seed is covered by a tight hard shell and
the whole fruit is called an akene. 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

526 PLANTS

the lobes being split into the silken floss.
At the larger end of the akene is a circu-
lar 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 akene. 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 fe\v
moments in the sun, the threads spread,
the filmy branchlets open out, and a fairy
parachute is formed, with the seed hang-
ing beneath; if no breath of air touches
it wrhile 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 akene 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 per-
fect globe.

For the first season after the seed has
rooted, the thistle develops only a rosette,
meanwhile putting down roots and be-
coming permanently established. The
next season, the flowers and akenes 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 rootstocks
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 spread-
ing. While it develops many akenes, a
large number of its seeds are infertile and
will not grow.

LESSON 141

THE COMMON OR LANCE-LEAVED
THISTLE

LEADING THOUGHT — The thistle is cov-
ered 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.

METHOD — A thistle plant brought into
the schoolroom — - root and all — and
placed in water will serve well for this
lesson. The pupils should first be ques-
tioned about where the thistles are found.
Any thistle will do for the lesson.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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
\veak, 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
are 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?
Study the thistle flower according to
Lesson 131.

7. Carefully study a thistle balloon.
How is the floss attached to the akene?
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 an
akene^from among its closely packed fel-

WEEDS

527

lows in the thistle-head, and put it in the
sun or in a warm, dry place where it can-
not blow away. How long does it take for
the balloon to open out? \Vhat 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 akenes
still attached to it? How far do you think
the thistle balloons might travel?

8, If a thistle akene Ends a place for
planting during the autumn, how does the
young plant look the next season? De-
scribe the thistle rosette. What growth
does it make the second summer? \\Tiat
happens to it then?

9. \\liy can you not cultivate out the
Canada thistle as you can the other
species? Why is it less dependent on its
akenes for propagation than the others?

THE BURDOCK

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 peti-
oles 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 re-
mains selfish in this respect always, for
its great basal leaves prevent other plants
from getting much sunlight when they
grow near its own roots. One wonders at
first how a plant with such large leaves can
avoid shading itself; we must study care-
fully the arrangement of its leaves in order
to understand this. The long basal leaves
are stretched out flat; the next higher,
somewhat smaller ones are lifted at an
angle so as not to stand in their light.
This arrangement characterizes in gen-
eral 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 adjusted
as to form a pyramid, allowing the sun-
light 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, bor-
dered 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
peculiarity of structure which shuts off
sunlight from plants below. On the lower

D. L. Foster

Common burdock, showing blossom and buds

side, the leaf is whitish and feltlilce to the
touch; above, it is a raw green, often some-
what smooth and shiny. The leaf is in
quality poor, coarse, and flimsy, and it
hangs — a web of shoddy — on its strong
supporting ribs; its edges are slightly
notched and much ruffled. 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

528

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 pyr-
amid 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-head is a fortress bristling with
spears which are not changed to peaceful
priming-hooks, although they are hooked
at the sharp end, every hook turning to-
ward 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

A burdock floret with hooked bract

involucre — a veritable blockhouse. The
flower might be a tidbit for the grazing
animal; but if so, he has never discovered
it, for these hooks may have kept him
from ever enjoying a taste. The bracts,
not only by hooks at the tip, but also by
spreading out at the bases, make a thickly
battened covering for the flower-cluster.

But if we tear open one of these little
heads, 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 dust-
ing out the pollen from the anther-tubes,
but later they change to very delicate pairs
of curly Y7s. The young akene is shining
white, and the pappus forms a short, white
fluff at the upper margin; but this is sim-
ply a family trait, for the burdock akenes

PLANTS

never need to be ballooned to their des-
tination; they have a surer method of
travel. When in full bloom, the burdock
flower-heads are very pretty and the skill-
ful child weaver makes them into beauti-
ful baskets. When I was a small girl, I
made whole sets of furniture from these
flowers; and then, becoming more ambi-
tious, wove some into a coronet which \
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/7

In winter, the tough, gray stalks of
the burdock still stand; although they may
partially break. They insert 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 append-
age, threshes out the seeds, and unheed-
ingly plants them by trampling them into
the ground. Probably some of the live-
stock of our Pilgrim Fathers came to
America thus burdened; for the burdock
is a European weed, although now it flour-
ishes 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 ap-
parently like their bitter taste, and lay
eggs upon them, which hatch into larvae
that live all their lives between the upper
and lower surfaces of the leaf. Often the
leaves are entirely destroyed by the mi-
nute larvas of a fly, which live together
cozily between these leaf blankets, giving
the leaves the appearance of being af-
flicted with large blisters. A small moth
caterpillar finds both food and shelter in
the ripe fruiting heads.

The burdocks have long vigorous tap-
roots, and it is therefore difficult to eradi-
cate them without much labor. But per-
sistently cutting off the plant at the root
will, if the cut be deep, finally discourage
this determined weed.

WEEDS

3-9

LESSON 142
THE BURDOCK

LEADING THOUGHT — The burdock
thrives because its great leaves shade down
plants in its vicinity, and also because it
has taproots. It scatters its seed by hooking
its seed-heads fast to the passer-by.

METHOD — Study a healthy burdock
plant in the field7 to show how it shades
down other plants and does not shade
itself. The flowers may be brought into
the schoolroom for detailed study.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Note a young plant.
How much space do 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 man-
ages to shade down other plants with its

leaves and yet does not let its own opper
leaves shade those below.

4. Study a lower and an upper leaf.
\\Tiat is the general shape? What peculi-
arity where it joins the petiole? \\liat is
the texture of the leaf above and below?
The color? Describe the petiole and how
it joins the stem.

5. Where do the iowers appear on the
stem? Are there many flowers developed?
Count all the lower-heads on a thrifty
burdock.

6. The burdock has its flowers gathered
into heads, like the sunflower and thistle.
Describe the burdock flower-head accord-
ing to Lesson 131.

7. \\Tiat insects visit the burdock flow-
ers? Can you make baskets from the
flower-heads?

8. Study the burdock again in winter,
and see what has happened to it. Describe
the fruit. How are the fruits carried far
away from the parent plant? How many
akenes in a single " house "? How do they
escape?

9. Write the biography of a burdock
plant which came to America as a fruit,
attached to the tail of a Shetland pony.

PRICKLY LETTUCE, A COMPASS PLANT

The more we know of plants, the more
we admire their ways of attaining success
in a world where a species attains success
only after a long straggle. The success of
prickly lettuce depends much upon its be-
ing able to live in dry situations and with-
stand 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 accom-
plished 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. 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, turning edgewise to the
sun, retaining its moisture and thriv-
ing when cultivated plants are dry and
dying.

530

PLANTS

LESSON 143
PRICKLY LETTUCE

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Wild lettuce

It also has another " anchor to the
windward." A plant so full of juice would
prove attractive food for cattle when pas-
tures are dry. The leaves of prickly lettuce
perhaps escape because each has a row of
very sharp spines on the lower side of the
midrib. If we watch a grazing animal such
as a cow, reach out her tongue to pull the
herbage into her mouth,, we see that these
spines repel her. The teasel has the
same means of warning off meddlesome
tongues. The prickly lettuce also has
spines on its stem, and the leaves are
toothed with spines at their points.

LEADING THOUGHT — The sunshine sets
the machinery in the leaf-factories going?
and incidentally increases evaporation
from the plant, as it does from any moist
surface. The wild lettuce plant has the
edges of its leaves turned to the sun; thus
they stand in one plane and have less
surface exposed directly to the sun. The
leaves are usually directed north and
south. The lettuce also has spines which
protect it from grazing animals.

METHOD — The lettuce should be stud-
ied 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 flow-
ers may be studied by the outline given
in Lesson 131.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Where does the
prickly lettuce grow? What sort of stem
has it? How are the leaves arranged on
the stem?

2. If the leaves stood straight out from

Cyrus Crosby

A common compass plant; note the prickles

WEEDS

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 side wise 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 thev

531

get more sun? (See Lesson on the Sun,
page 833.)

4. What is the shape of the lettuce
leaf? How does it clasp the stalk? 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 ar-
ranged on the lettuce leaf, and in what
way may these spines protect the lettuce
from grazing animals? Sketch a leaf show-
ing its shape, its venation, and its spines.

Common dandelion

Hugh Spencer

THE DANDELION

This is the most persistent and indomi-
table 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 trou-
ble 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 the Spring's largess, which she scat-
ters now

To rich and poor dike, with lavish hand.
Though most hearts never understand
To take it at God's value, but pass by
The offered wealth with unrewarded eye.

It is very difficult for us, when we watch
the behavior of the dandelions, not to at-
tribute to them thinking power, they have

PLANTS

so many ways of getting ahead of us. I al-
ways 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 cal-
low weaklings, I fonnd there, in their
midst, a dandelion rosette with ten great
leaves spreading out and completely shad-
ing 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 be-
ing a foot in length. It was smooth, whit-
ish, and fleshy, and, when cut, bled a
milky juice; 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, sup-
posed to look like lions" teeth in pro-
file; thus the plant was called in France
" dents-de-lion " (teeth of the lion), and
we have made from this the name dande-
lion. The leaves are bitter, and grazing
animals do not like to eat them.

The hollow stalk of the blossorn-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.
If the plant is in a lawn, the stem is short,
indeed so short that the lawn mower can-
not cut off the flower-head. In this situa-
tion 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
stalk lifts up sometimes two feet or
more. We once found two such stems
each measuring over thirty inches in
height.

Before a dandelion head opens, the

stem, unless very short, is likely to bend
down, 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. Usu-
ally 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 akenes.

In the life of the flower-head the in-
volucre, 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 co-
rolla outward; and now we can see that
the five lobes in the bud are the five
notches at the end of the corolla. All the
flowers in the dandelion head have ban-
ners, but those at the center, belonging
to the younger flowers, have shorter and
darker yellow corollas. After a corolla has
opened, 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 akene. 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

WEEDS

533

44 beak ?y and the pappus is attached to
this.

Every day more blossoms may 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 along their lower sides
thick or brownish portions 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.

After all the florets of a dandelion head
have blossomed, they may stay in retire-
ment for several days, and during this
period the flowerstalk often grows in-
dustriously; and when the shutters of the
little green house are again let down, what

a different appearance has the dandelion
head! The akenes with their balloons are
set so as to make an exquisite, filmy globes

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Dandelion, showing stages from bud to " old

man

1, Floret of dandelion ; 2, akene of dandelion.
Both enlarged

now they are ready to coquette with the
wind, and one after another all the bal-
loons go sailing off. One of these akenes
is well worth careful observation through
a lens. The balloon is attached to the top
of the beak as an umbrella frame is at-
tached to the handle, except that the
" ribs " are many and fluffy; while the
dandelion youngster, hanging below, has
an overcoat arniecl 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
akenes are gone; it is like a mosaic, with
a pit at the center of each figure where
the akene was attached. There is an in-
teresting mechanism connected with this
receptacle. Before the akenes are fully out
this soon-to-be-bald head is concave at
the center; later it becomes convex, and
the mechanism of this movement lib-
erates the akenes which are embedded
in it.

Each freshly opened corolla-tube is full
to overflowing with nectar, and much pol-
len is developed; therefore, the dandelion
has many kinds of insect visitors. Bet per-
haps the bee shows us best where the
nectar is found; she thrusts her tongue

534

PLANTS

down Into the little tubes below the rays,
working very rapidly from floret to floret.
The dandelion stigmas have a special pro-
vision for securing cross-pollination; if
that fails, they may be self-pollinated; and
now the savants have found that the pis-
tils 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 pos-
session of our lands: (a) It blossoms early
in the spring and until snow falls, pro-
ducing seed for a long season, (b) It is
broadminded as to its location, and flour-
ishes on all sorts of soils, (c) It thrusts
its long taproots 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)
Many insects visit it, and so it has plenty
of pollen carriers to insure strong seeds;
it can also develop seeds from its own
pollen, or it even can develop seeds with-
out any pollen, (f) It develops almost
numberless akenes, and the wind scatters
them far and wide and they thus take pos-
session of new territory, (g) It forms vig-
orous leaf-rosettes in the fall, and thus is
able to begin growth early in the spring.

LESSON 144
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 an-
swers.

The dandelion is a composite flower
and may be studied according to Lesson
131. All the florets are ray flowers.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Where do you find
dandelions growing? If they are on the
lawn, how long are their blossom- or seed-
stalks? If in a meadow or among high

grass, how long is the blossom-stalk? Is
the blossom-stalk 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?

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 rays? Are the ray flowers of
the center of the head the same color and
length as those outside? Examine a floret
and note the young akene. Is the pappus
attached to it or above it?

6. What happens to the dandelion
blossom on rainy or dark days? Do you
think that this has anything to do with
the insect visitors? Do bees and other in-
sects gather nectar during dark or rainy
days?

7. Note at what hour the dandelions
on the lawn close and at what hour they
open 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 dande-
lion head have blossomed, what happens

WEEDS

535

to it? 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 ex-
amine the " bald head " with a lens. Can
you see where the seeds were set?

10. Examine a dandelion akene with a
lens. Describe the balloon, the beak or
stem of the balloon, and the akene.

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 lowers she
probes.

13. Tell all the things that you can
remember about the dandelion which
help it to live and thrive.

14. What use do we make of the
dandelion?

THE PEARLY EVERLASTING

These wraithlike flowers seem never to
have been alive, rather than to have been
endowed with everlasting life. Cattle do
not often eat them. The stems are cov-
ered with white felt; the long narrow
leaves are very pale green, and when ex-
amined with a lens? look as if they were
covered with a layer of cotton which dis-
guises all venation except the thick mid-
rib. The leaves are set alternate, and be-
come shorter and narrower and whiter

Verne Morton

toward the top of the plant. All this
cottony covering tends to prevent the
evaporation of water from the plant dur-
ing the long droughts. The everlasting
never has much juice in its leaves, but
what it has, it keeps.

The flowerstalks are rather stout,
wooly, 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.

The pistillate flower-heads of pearly ever-
lasting

1, Pistillate floret; 2, pappus; 3, staminate
floret. All enlarged

PLANTS

of this tassel of lemon- with five little flaps, making a cone at the

536

At the center

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

Leonard K. Beyer

A good stand of pearly everlasting

seed-bearing flower has a long, delicate
tube, ending in five needle-like 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 Japa-
nese 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.

The staminate or pollen-bearing flower-
heads are like wrhite birds7 nests, the white
bracts forming the nest and the little yel-
low flowers the eggs. The flower has a
tubular, five-pointed, starlike corolla, with
five stamens joined in a tube at the mid-
dle, standing up like a barrel from the co-
rolla. The anther-tube is ocher-yellow
with brown stripes, and is closed at first

top. Later, the orange-yellow pollen
bulges out as if it were boiling over. The
flowers around the edges of the flower disc
open first.

LESSON 145
THE PEARLY EVERLASTING

LEADING THOUGHT — There are often
found growing on the poor soil in dry
pastures, clumps of soft, whitish plants
wrhich are seldom 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 often in sepa-
rate clumps. If this is not practicable,
bring both kinds of flowers into the
schoolroom for study.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Where does the
pearly everlasting grow? Do cattle eat it?
What is the general color of the plant?
With what is the stem covered?

2. What is the shape of the leaves?
How are they veined? With what are they
covered? Flow are they placed on the
stern? What is the relative size of the
lower and upper leaves?

3. Do you see some plants which have
egg-shaped flower-heads, each with a yel-
low 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 flower-heads that
look like little white birds7 nests filled
with yellow eggs? Look at one of them
with a lens, and tell what kind of flower-
head it is.

4. Except that the pistillate and stami-
nate flowers are on different plants, the
flowers of the pearly everlasting should be
studied according to Lesson 131.

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?

WEEDS

537

MULLEIN

I lite the plants that you call weeds, —
Sedge, hardhaclc, 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 be-
cause we belong to the chosen few of the
4i 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 wre study its many ways of " winning
out " then we may bow to it and call it
" brother."

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 anasmic 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 un-
trained 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 vic-
tim; she told me that to be beautiful, I
needed only to rub my cheeks with mul-
lein leaves, an experience which convinced
me that there were other things far more
desirable than beauty — comfort, for in-
stance. This felt on the mullein is beauti-
ful 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

Verne Morton

Mullein, Note the stone fence in the back-
ground. Mullein often grows in such places

wonder the sheep will not eat mullein un-
less starved! This frostlike felt covering
not only may make the plant unpalatable
to grazing animals but may also help to
keep the water in the leaves from evapo-
rating. I soon discovered another means
by which the mullein resists drought,
when I tried to dig up the plant with a
stick; I followed its taproot down far
enough to understand that it was a sub-
soiler 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 cap-
sule-crowded stem. I estimated there were
hundreds of seed capsules on that one

538

PLANTS

1, 2, Mullein flowers in different stages. 3,

Mullein seed enlarged. 4, A bit of mullein leaf

enlarged

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 grabs, 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 fash-
ion. 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 be-
tween them; but after the upper anthers
have shed their pollen, these stamens
curve up like boars7 teeth and splash their
pollen on the upper petals, the stigma
protruding one-sidedly below. Later the
corolla, with the stamens which are at-
tached to it, falls off, leaving the stigma
and style attached to the seed capsule.

The color of the mullein flowers varies
from lemon-yellow to white. The fila-
ments are pale yellow; the anthers and

pollen, orange. The seed capsule is en-
cased in the long calyx-lobes, and is shaped
like a blunt egg. By cutting it in two cross-
wise, the central core, tough and flattened
and almost filling the capsule, is revealed,
and growing upon its surface are number-
less tiny brown seeds, as fine as gun-
powder. Later the capsule divides par-
tially 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 in any place where it
can reach the soil, and during the first
season growrs a beautiful velvety rosette of
fuzzy leaves. These rosettes lie flat under
the snow, with their taproots 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.
SUGGESTED READING — Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and
Harrison E. Howe, Book 5, Science at
Home; also, readings on page 513.

LESSON 146
MULLEIN

LEADING THOUGHT — The mullein has
its leaves covered with felt, which may

A typical winter rosette of mullein

WEEDS

539

help to retard evaporation. The plant is
seldom eaten by grazing animals. It has
a deep root, and thus gets moisture be-
yond 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 un-
eaten 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 les-
son.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Where does the
mullein grow? Do you ever see it in
swamps or woodlands? Do cattle or sheep
eat it? Does it flourish during the summer
drought? Look at a mullein leaf with a
lens and describe its appearance.

2. What sort of root has the mullein?
How is its root adapted to get moisture
which other plants cannot reach? De-
scribe the flowering stalk. How are the
leaves arranged on it and attached to it?
Are there several branching flowerstalks 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 invari-
able, 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 cov-
ered" 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 ind 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 cap-
sule open and by wrhat 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 howr it is fitted
to live beneath the snows of winter. What
is the advantage of this habit?

8. Write a theme telling some ways the
mullein has of flourishing and of com-
bating other plants.

The mullein's pillar, tipped with golden

flowers,

Slim rises upward, and yon yellow bird
Shoots to its top.

— " THE HELL HOLLOW,"

A. B. STREET

THE TEASEL

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, which recall the purple flowers and
the ribbed akenes.

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 im-
possible to take hold anywhere without
being pricked by either large or small
spines. The leaves 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

PLANTS

The teasel begins at the middle and blossoms both ways

the tongue of grazing beast that tries to
lift this leaf into the mouth. If one pair
of clasping leaves points east and west, the
next pairs above and below point north
and south.

The flowerstalks come off at the axils
of the leaves and therefore each pair stands
at right angles to the ones above and be-
low. The flowers 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, 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 in-
ward and downward toward the base. The

clover begins at the base and blossoms to-
ward the tip, or the center. But the teasel
begins at the middle and blossoms both
ways. Some summer morning we wall 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 grow-
ing seed. Away from each other this dou-
ble 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 better repays close ex-
amination than does that of the teasel.
If we do not pull the flower-head apart,
what we see is a little purple flower con-
sisting of a white tube with four purple
lobes at the end, the lower lobe being a
little longer than the others and turning

WEEDS

up slightly at its tip; projecting from be-
tween 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 an-
thers have fallen or shriveled, the white
stigma extends out of the blossom like a
long white tongue and is crowded with
white pollen grains.

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
fruit will look later. Enfolding ovary and
tube is the bract with its spiny edges,
pushing its spear outward, but not so far
out as the opening of the flower. The pol-
len of the teasel is white and globular,
with three little rosettes arranged at equal
distances upon it like a bomb with three

Teasel flower and fruit enlarged. The
stigma of a teasel floret muck magnified to
show the pollen adhering to it. Below are
pollen graim greatly magnified

"VWne Morton

A winter rosette of teasel

fuses. These little rosettes are the grow-
ing 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 chil-
dren 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 is not always
uniform in the matter of rows of lowers.
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; it wiU'often stand
even until the ensuing summer, its heads
empty where once were 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.

54-

PLANTS

LESSON 147

THE TEASEL

LEADING THOUGHT — The teasel is a
plant in armor. It has a peculiar method
of beginning to blossom in the middle of
the flower-head and then blossoming up-
ward and downward from this point.

METHOD — In September, bring in a
teasel plant which shows all stages of blos-
soming, and let the pupils make observa-
tions in the schoolroom.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Where does the
teasel grow? Is it eaten by cattle? How is
it protected?

2. What sort of stem has it? Is it hol-
low or solid? Where upon it are the spines
situated? Are the spines all of the same
size? Can you take hold of the stem any-
where 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 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 flowerstems 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 flow-
ers? 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 akenes?

6. Examine a single flower. How is it
protected? Cut out a flower and bract and
see how the long-spined bract enfolds
it. Would the bract spear deter cattle
from grazing on the blossom? 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 be-
ing 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?

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

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.

But for those people who admire lace
of intricate pattern, and beautiful blos-

soms, whether they grow on scalawag
plants or not, this medallion flower attrib-
uted to Queen Anne is well worth study-
ing. It belongs to the family Umbellifer^,
which one of my small pupils always called
" umbrelliferag " 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 um-
bels, 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 a pistil com-

WEEDS

posed of two parts set snugly together,
which rests in a solid, bristly, green, cup-
like calyx. Twenty or thirty of these little
blossoms are set in a rosette, the stalks
of graded length; and where the bases of
the stalks meet are some long, pointed,
narrow bracts. Each of these little flower-
clusters, or umbels, has a long stalk, its
length being just fit to bring it to its
right place in the medallion pattern of

Verne Morton

Queen Anne's lace or wM carrot

An inner and a border floret and a bract of
Queen Anne's lace, enlarged

this royal lace. And these stalks also have
set at their bases some bracts with long,
threadlike lobes, which make a delicate,
green background for the opening blos-
soms; these bracts curl up about the buds
and the seeds. If we look straight into the
large flower-cluster, we can see that each
component cluster, or umbellet, seems
to have its own share in making the larger
pattern; the outside blossoms of the out-
side clusters have the outside petals larger,
thus forming a beautiful border. 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 stalk. 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 ex-
plained 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 fas-
ten her lace medallions upon her royal
person with garnet-headed pins?

When the flowers wither and the fruits
begin to form, every one of the little um-
bels turns toward the center, its stalk
curving over so that the outside umbels
reach over and close over the whole flower-
head; 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. Such little
porcupines as the fruits are! Each fruit is
clothed with long spines set in bristling

544

PLANTS

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 lo-
calities as the " birdYnest weed/' because
the maturing fruit-clusters, their edges
curving inwrard, look like little birds7 nests.

•I

Charles F. Fudge

Fruiting cluster or " bird's nest " oj wild
carrot

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 fruits; and the plant from which this
" bird's nest " was taken developed nine
more quite as large.

Altogether the wild carrot is well fitted
to maintain itself in the struggle for ex-
istence, 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 an
acrid taste. Winter's cold cannot harm it,
for it is a biennial; its seeds often germi-
nate in the fall, sending down long, slen-
der taproots crowned with tufts of in-

conspicuous 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 pro-
lific seed production by cutting or uproot-
ing the plants as soon as the first blos-
soms open.

SUGGESTED READING— Holiday Meadow,
by Edith M. Patch; also, readings on
page 513.

LESSON 148
QUEEN ANNE'S LACE OR WILD CARROT

LEADING THOUGHT — Queen Anne's
lace is a weed wrhich 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 wrhich it manages to plant success-
fully.

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. The
wreed is very common along most country
roadsides, and in many pastures and mead-
ows. It blossoms very late in the autumn,
and is available for lessons often as late
as November. Its fruit-clusters may be
used for a lesson at almost any time during
the winter.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Look at a wild car-
rot 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-parted
white pistil?

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 stalk reaching
directly to the main stein? 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 flow-
ers not yet open. Can you see the thread-
like green bracts that close up around each
bud? Can you see finely divided, thread-
like 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 fruits are being matured?

6. What is the general shape of the
fruit-cluster of the wild carrot? Have
you ever found such a cluster broken
off and blowing across the snow7? Do
you think this is one way the seed is
planted?

y. Examine a fruit 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 fruit cling
to its stem or break away when it is
touched?

8. Take one fruit-cluster and count
the number of seeds within it. How many
fruit-clusters do you find on a single plant?

WEEDS 545

How many fruits do you therefore think
a single plant produces?

9. \\Tiat would 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 feed-
ing on the fruits of the wild carrot?

I do not want change; I want the same
old and Joved tilings, the same wild flow-
ers, 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 up-
wards to their ideal. Let me see the idle
shadows resting on the white dust; let me
hear the bumble-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 bry-
ony bine7 at first crudely ambitions 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 succes-
sion year by year.

PAGEANT OF SUMMER/'
RICHARD JEFFERIES

GARDEN FLOWERS

People have always admired the wild
flowers that grow in the woods and mead-
ows, and have wanted to be able to bring
them near their homes. And so when
someone would see a flower that he
thought especially beautiful growing in
field or forest, he would take it from its
native home and plant it in a garden. If
others admired it, they would ask for
seeds, roots, or cuttings; and thus the plant
would come to many gardens. As many
wild flowers are beautiful, and as various
people have varying tastes, in this way
many kinds of flowering plants have come
into cultivation.

But man is seldom content to leave a
thing as he finds it; and so after a time
people set about improving upon nature.
Plant breeders have tried in many ways
to add to the attractiveness of flowers in
size, color, and shape. Often they have
succeeded, and some strains have been
greatly improved: thus, the aster that
grows in our gardens is much more elab-
orate than the natural plant; Shakespeare's
modest wild eglantine has yielded sixteen
varieties of sweetbriar. Others, like the
morning-glory and the calla lily, have
changed very little during years of culti-
vation. Perhaps it is well that we have
not always succeeded in improving upon
nature; it is pleasant to have cultivated
elegance and natural simplicity side by
side.

Some garden flowers have been popular
for many years; these we call " old-fash-
ioned/' They are still popular today; they
are not out-of-date, like old-fashioned

clothes; in their case, "old-fashioned"
means rather that they have stood the
test of time. Everyone knows the charm
of an old-fashioned garden. But there are
also new strains that bid fair to win their
way and to stand the test as well as the
older flowers, from which some of them
have been developed, as the delphinium
from the old-fashioned larkspur. All of
them, however, even the most elegant
newcomer, came originally from some
wild flower.

Wild or cultivated, simple or ornate,
flowers are among the most important
means of decorating our homes and gar-
dens. Every dooryard throughout the land
is a picture that is viewed by the passer-by.
Whether the picture is attractive or not
may depend very largely upon the pres-
ence or absence of attractive flowers in the
yard or about the door.

SUGGESTED READING — The Book of An-
nuals and The Book of Perennials, both
by Alfred C. Hottes; Flowers and Their
Travels, by Frances M. Fox; Garden Bulbs
in Color, by H. J. McFarland, R. Marion
Hatton, and D, J. Foley; Garden Guide:
The Amateur Gardener's Handbook, ed-
ited by A. T. De La Mare Company, Inc.;
The Garden Month by Month, by Mabel
C. Sedgwick; The Gardener's First Year
and The Gardener's Second Year, both by
Alfred Bates; The Junior Gardener, by
Dorothy W. Greene and Rosetta C. Gold-
smith; Peter and Penny Plant a Garden,
by Gertrude and Frances Dubois; The
Children Make a Garden, by Dorothy H.
Jenkins; also, readings on page 459.

GARDEN FLOWERS

Ferry-Morse Seed Co.

THE CROCUS

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.

The crocus has a corm instead of a bulb
like the snowdrop or daffodil. A conn 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 pa-
pery 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 out-
side, and their texture, especially on the

outer side, is coarser than that of the
three protected petals. But sepals and pet-
als 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.

The three stamens are set at the throat
of the corolla-tube. The anthers are very
long and open along the sides. The an-
thers mature first, and shed their pollen

The old and young corms of the crocus

in the cup of the blossom where any in-
sect, 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

548 PLANTS

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

LESSON 149
THE CROCUS

ats

The crocus

p, petal; sp, sepal; an, anther; f, filament; stg,
stigma; b, mother corm; b' b' b' young conns

develop several small corms, each capable
of growing a plant next year. But after
two years of this second-story sort of mul-
tiplication the young crocuses are pushed
above the surface of the ground. Thus,
they need to be replanted every two or
three years. Crocuses maybe 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.

LEADING THOUGHT — The crocus blos-
soms appear very early in the spring, be-
cause the plants have food stored in under-
ground storehouses. Crocuses multiply by
seeds and by corms.

METHOD — If it is possible to have cro-
cuses in boxes in the schoolroom windows,
the flowers may thus best be studied.
Otherwise, when crocuses are in bloom
bring them into the schoolroom, corms
and all, and place them where the chil-
dren may study them at leisure.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 corm. How many overcoats protect
its leaves? What is at the very center of
the corm? 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?

4. Do the flowers or the leaves have
stems, or do they arise directly from the
corm?

5. What is the shape of the open crocus
flower? Can you tell the difference be-
tween 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 makes 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?

GARDEN FLOWERS

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 corras multiply?
Why do they often need resetting?

1 1 . 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 1 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:

549

Yet a beam that pierced, and a thrill

that smote

Calfd me and drew me from far away;
I rose, I came, to the open day
I have won, unshelter'd* alone, remote.
— 4* THE CROCUS/'
HARRIET E. H. KING

When first the crocus thrusts its point of
gold,

Up through trie still snow-drifted garden-
mould,

And folded green things in dim woods un-
close

Their crinkled spears, a sudden tremor
goes

Into my veins and makes me Icith and kin

To even? wild-born thing that thrills and
blows.

— " A TOUCH OF NATURE,"
T. B. ALDRICH

THE DAFFODILS AND THEIR RELATIVES

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.

The daffodils and their relatives, the
jonquils and narcissuses, 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-col-
ored 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. 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 an-
thers 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; 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 that 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.
When the flowerstalk first appears, it

PLANTS

Daffodil

comes up like a sheathed sword, pointing
toward the zenith, green, veined length-
wise,, and with a noticeable thickening at
each edge. As the petals grow? the sheath
begins to round out; 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, al-
though 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. At the base
the groove extends part way around the
flowerstalk. The number of leaves varies
with the variety, and they are usually as
tall as the flowerstalk. 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 Septem-
ber 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 daffo-
dils 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 satisfac-
tory,, 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 Nar-

Leonard K. Beyer

Poet's narcissus

GARDEN FLOWERS

cissus bent over the pool in joy at view-
Ing himself, if he was as beautiful a man
as the poet's narcissus is a flower.

LESSON 150
DAFFODILS, JONQUILS, AND NARCISSUSES

LEADING THOUGHT — The daffodil jon-
quil, and narcissus are very closely related,
and quite similar. They all come from
bulbs wThich should be planted in Sep-
tember; but after the first planting, they
will flower on year after year, bringing
much brightness to the gardens in the
early spring.

METHOD — The flowrers 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 wrork should
lead directly to an interest in the cultiva-
tion of the plants. In seedsmen's cata-
logues or other books, the children will
find methods of planting and cultivating
these flowers in cities. Daffodils are espe-

Jonquil showing detail of flower

a, corona or crown; b, sepals and petals forming
perianth; e, corolla tube; d» ovary or seedease; e, sheath
or spathe

W. Atlee Burpee Co,

Paper-white narcissus

daily adapted for both window gardens
and school gardens.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Note the shape of
the flower. Has it any sepals? Can you see
any difference in color, position, and tex-
ture between the petals and sepals?

2. HOWT do the petal-like parts of these
flowers look? How7 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? Peel the sepals and pet-
als 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

552

PLANTS

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 pol-
len? 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 ar-
ranged?

8. Where the flowTerstalk joins the
stem, what do you see? Are there one or
more flowerstalks coming from this
spathe?

9. Describe the flowerstalk. Are the
leaves wide or narrow? Are they as long
as the flowerstalk, are they flat, or are
they grooved?

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 can they be protected 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?

I emphatically deny the common no-
tion 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 there-
fore 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 Imagina-
tion 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
tie breaking of the furrow; and there is
always the landscape, the free fields, the
clean soil, the rain, tie promise of tie
crops. Of all men's labor, the farmer's is
tie most creative. I cannot ielp wonder-
ing wiy it is tiat men will eagerly seek
work in tie grease and grime of a noisy
factory, but will recoil at wiat tiey call
tie dirty work of tie farm. So muci are
we yet bound by tradition/

— L. H. BAILEY

THE TULIP

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 repro-
duced in priceless webs from looms of the
most skilled weavers. No sooner was she
seen than worshiped, and shortly all Eu-
rope was at her feet.

A hundred years later, the Netherlands
was possessed with the tulip mania. Grow-
ers 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 important industries of the Nether-
lands.

There are a great many varieties of tu-

GARDEN FLOWERS

Tulips in a border

lips, 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 in-
ner 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 yel-
low-margined, each point of the star be-
ing at the middle of a petal or sepal; the
three points on the petals are longer than
those on the sepals.

When the flower 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 sur-
round 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 rest of 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 makes a Doric
capital; in others, the divisions are so
curled as to make the capital almost Ionic.
The six stout, paddle-shaped stamens
have their bases expanded so as to en-
circle completely the base of the pistil
column; these wide filaments are narrower
just below the point where the large an-
thers 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,
a position which probably insures cross-
pollination by insects, since the bees can-

554

PLANTS

not reach the nectar at the base of the pis-
til without dusting themselves with pol-
len.

The flower stem is stout, pale green,
covered with a whitish bloorn. The leaves

Tulip seed capsule

1, Tulip seed capsule ; 2, same opened ; 3, cross section

of same

are long, trough-shaped, and narrow with
parallel veins; the bases of the lower ones
encircle the flower stein and have their
edges more or less ruffled and their tips
recurved; the upper leaves do not com-
pletely encircle the flower stem at their
bases. The texture of the leaves is some-
what 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 orna-
mental tip to the flowerstalk; it is three-
sided, and has within double rows of seeds
along each angle.

The bulb is formed of several coats, or
layers, each of which extends upward and
may grow into a leaf; this shows that the
bulb is made up of leaves which are thick-
ened with the food stored up in them dur-
ing one season, so as to start the plant
growing early the next spring. In the heart
of each bulb is a flower bud, sheltered by
the fleshy leaf-layers around it, which fur-
nish it food in the spring. This structure
of the bulb shows how 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 minerals 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, depend-
ing 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. Most of these seedlings
will be worthless; a few may develop into
desirable new tulips. 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.

LESSON 151
THE TULIP

LEADING THOUGHT — The tulips blos-
som early, because they have food stored
in the bulbs the year before, ready to use
early in the spring. There are many varie-
ties; each is worth studying carefully, and

we should all know how to grow these
beautiful flowers.

METHOD — These observations may be
made upon tulips in school gardens or
bouquets. The best methods of cultivat-
ing should be a part of the garden training.
For this, consult the seed catalogues; also
let the pupils form some idea of the num-
ber of varieties from the seed catalogues.
Water-color drawings may be used as
helps in studying the tulip. The red va-
rieties are best for beginning the study,
and then follow with the other colors;
note differences.

OBSERVATIONS — i. What is the color
of your tulip? Is it all the same color? Is
the bottom of the flower different in color?
What does the pretty shape of these dif-
ferent colors at the heart of the flower
resemble?

2. Look at a tulip just opening. What
causes it to appear so triangular? Can you
see that the three sepals are placed out-
side 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?
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 be-
gins 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?

GARDEN FLOWERS 555

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. \\Tiat color are they? What color
is the pollen? Do the anthers reach up to
the stigma, or tip of the seed pod? Where
is the nectar in tulips? How do the insects
become covered with the pollen in reach-
ing it? Do the flowers remain open dur-
ing dark and stormy days?

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? Do you know the history
of tulips?

THE PANSY

Some people are pansy-faced and some
pansies are human-faced, and for some oc-
cult reason this puts people and pansies on
a distinctly chummy basis. When we ana-
lyze 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 eydashy. The opening of
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 spul
made by the lower petal extending be-
hind the flower. The lines on the lower
and side petals all converge, pointing di-
rectly to the opening which leads to this
nectar-well. Moreover, the broad lower
petal serves as a platform for the bee to
alight upon, while she probes the nectar-
well with her tongue.

PLANTS

Verne Morton

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 sta-
mens, the brown, scalloped collar being
the anthers; his legs consist of prolonga-
tions 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.

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 flowerstalk is quite short
and bends so that the pansy seems to look
sidewise at us instead of staring straight
upward. The plant stem is angled and
crooked and stout. In form, the leaves are
most varied; 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 if would

GARDEN FLOWERS

be improbable that one would End two
leaves just alike.

The pansy ripens many seeds. The
ribbed seed capsule, with its base set in
the 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, 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 sum-
mer 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 sum-
mer and fall months. When sowing pansy
seed in August, sow the seed broadcast
in a seed-bed out-of-doors, cover it very
lightly with fine soil or well-rotted ma-
nure, and press the seed in with a small
board; then mulch the seed-bed to the
thickness of one inch with long, strawy
horse manure from which the small par-
ticles have been shaken off, 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. 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 con-
dition longer if picked in the early morn-
ing before the bees begin paying calls, for

a fertilized flower fades more quickly than
one which has received no pollen,

LESSON 152
THE PANSY

LEADING THOUGHT — The pansy is a
member of the violet family. The flower
often resembles a face; the colors, mark-
ings, 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 who
appears in the flower as it fades. A more
practical interest may be cultivated by
studying the great numbers of varieties in
the seed catalogues and learning their
names. This is one of the studies which
leads directly to gardening. There are
many beautiful pansy poenis which
should be read in connection with the
lesson.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 brashes at
the base of the two side petals.

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?

558 PLANTS

8. How many sepals has the pansy? De-
scribe them. How are they attached?
When the flower fades and the petals fall,
do the sepals also fall?

9. \\Tiere 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 pre-
pared?

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 se-
crets all its own? secrets that baffle the
wisest men; yet this plant was my friend.
It faded when I withheld the light, it
vrilted when I neglected to give it water,
it flourished when I supplied its simple
needs. One week I went away on a vaca-
tion, 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.

NATURE-STUDY IDEA,"
L. H. BAILEY

Verne Morton

THE BLEEDING HEART

The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,
Though to itself it only live and die.

— SHAKESPEARE

For the intricate structure of this type
of flower, the bleeding heart is much more
easily studied than its smaller wild sisters,
the Dutchman Vbreeches 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 understand-
ingly.
The flowers of the bleeding heart are

GARDEIs? FLOWERS

559

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 un-
opened 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 downward the nectar does not
flow out. When these outer petals are re-
moved, 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 di-
vided 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
tip7 and between them they clasp the an-
thers 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 frame-
work 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 fila-
ments, each bearing a small, brilliant yel-
low 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 disc-
like. During the period when the pollen
is produced, the stigma is flat and imma-
ture; but after the pollen is shed, it be-
comes rounded into lobes ready to receive
pollen from other flowers.

Although the description of the plant
of this flower is most complex and elabo-
rate, the workings of the flower are most

1, Flower of bleeding heart with siring door
ajar. 2, Side view of flower showing the broad
tips of the inner petals. 3, Flower with outer
petals removed shorn ng Inner petals — and
the heart-shaped bases of the stamens

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 nec-
tar 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 twro 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; at first they simply
spread apart, but later they curve back-
ward. 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.

LESSON 153
THE BLEEDING HEART
LEADING THOUGHT — The bleeding
heart flower has its pollen and stigma cov-
ered by a double swing door, which the

560 PLANTS

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 in-
sects are visiting them.

OBSERVATIONS — i. How are these flow-
ers 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
which project beyond the outer petals
shaped? 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 sta-
mens 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

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 ware. 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
stern 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 stiffly,
as if inviting the wind to shake out the
seeds.

The rough covering of the bud con-
sists 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 op-
posite outer petals unfold, leaving the two
inner petals standing erect, until the sun-
shine folds them back. An open poppy,

GARDEN FLOWERS

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 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 ex-
pand or dilate near the anthers, and we
should also note the color of the masses
of pollen which crowd out from the
anthers.

Despite the many varieties of poppies,
there are only four species commonly cul-
tivated. 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 characteristics, except that
its foliage is green and not covered with
bloom. Its blossom is scarlet and very

Anna C. Sttyke

The poppy seed-shaker

large, and has a purple center in the petals
and purple stamens; it has three sepals. Its
flowerstalks are stout and leafy. The corn
poppyr which grows in the fields of Eu-

F. A. Southard, Jr.

Oriental poppies, showing buds and blossom

rope, 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 Arc-
tic, 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 com poppy are annuals, while the
Arctic and the Oriental species are peren-
nials.

The bees are overfond 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
honeybee seize a bunch of the anthers and
rub them against the underside of her
body, meanwhile standing on her head in
an attitude of delirious joy. As an indica-
tion of the honeybee'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 evidence that she trusted,

562 PLANTS

at least in part, 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 perform-
ances. After fertilization, the stigma disc
develops a scalloped edge, a stigma round-
ing 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 wratch the whole process. Just
beneath the stigma disc, and between
each two of the sharp ridges, the point
loosens; later, it turns outward and back,
leaving a hole wrhich 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 grace-
ful 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 154
THE POPPIES

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
fe\v at a time.

METHOD — It is best to study these flow-
ers in the garden, but the lesson may be
given if some of the plants with the buds
are brought to the schoolroom, care be-
ing taken that they do not droop.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 disc which covers it. How many ridges
on this disc? 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 pos-
sible, and note the colors of the petals on
the outside, the inside, and at the base;
of the stamens, including filaments, an-
thers, and pollen; of the pistil disc 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 rip-
ens. How does the stigma disc look? What
is the shape of the capsule below the disc?
Is it ridged? What relation do its ridges
bear to the stigma ridges on the disc?
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

GARDEN FLOWERS

beneath the edge of the disc 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

563

with bloom. \\Tiat is there peculiar about
the smell of the poppy plant? \\liere do
poppies grow wild?

ic. 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?

THE CALIFORNIA POPPY

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 Cali-
fornia foothills. We can easily understand
why it w^as 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 fa-
vored flowrer. There is a peculiar beauty
in the contrast between the shining flowrer
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 Cali-
fornia early in the nineteenth century, ac-
companying a Russian scientific expedi-
tion; 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
or 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 riin is lacking. The bud itself

9 J*

California poppies

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, some-
what ribbed, and has a rosy tip; it con-
sists 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 wratch
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 loos-
ened, and finally it drops.
The petals are folded under the cap in

564 PLANTS

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

Anna C, Stryke

California poppies

with their precious gold dust. When only
partially opened, the petals cling protect-
ingly about the many long stamens; but
when completely opened, the four petals
flare wide, making a flower with a golden
rim and an 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 re-
pulsive. Compare one of these small, pale
flowers with the great, rich, orange ones
that glorify some favored regions in the
Mofave 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 abun-
dance 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 sun-
shine insures insect visitors. In our East-
ern gardens it closes its petals in the same
order in which they wrere opened, al-
though there are statements that in Cali-
fornia each petal folds singly around its
own quota of anthers. The insects in Cali-
fornia 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 wrho
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 length-
wise, 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 finger-like lobes. The color of this
foliage and its form show adaptations to
desert conditions.

This plant has a long, smooth taproot,

GARDEN FLOWERS

especially adapted for storing food and
moisture needed during the long, dry Cali-
fornia summers; for it is perennial in its
native state, although in the wintry East,
we plant it as an annual.

LESSON 155
THE CALIFORNIA POPPY

LEADING THOUGHT — The California
poppy is a native of California; there 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 flower in the garden. In
the East, it flowers until frost comes, and
affords a delightful subject for a Septem-
ber lesson. In California it should be stud-
ied in the spring, when the hills are
covered with it. But the plant may be
brought into the schoolroom, root and
all, and placed in a jar? under which con-
ditions it will continue to blossom.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Look at the Cali-
fornia poppy as a whole and tell, if you
can, why it is so beautiful when in blos-
som.

2. Look at the flower bud. What sort
of stalk has it? What is the shape of the
stalk just below the bud? What is the
color of the little rim on which the bud
rests? What peculiarity has this bud? De-
scribe the little cap.

3. Watch a flower unfold. What hap-
pens 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?

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?

3. 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 di-
vided. 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 stow
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 sea7
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 bad 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 dis-
tant town;

The flower went with me, fairly wrought
Into the finest fiber of my thought.
— " A CALIFORNIA POPPY IN NOVEMBER,"

IRENE HARDY

PLANTS

THE NASTURTIUM

It is quite fitting that the nasturtium
leaves should be shaped like shields, for
that is one of their uses; they are shields
which 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 which shades the tender de-
veloping seed from the "burning sun. But
they do not 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 hid-
den; its five sepals are united at their base,

W. Atlee Burpee Co.

Single nasturtium

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 nectarl The lower petals
tell another story; they stand out, mak-
ing a platform or doorstep, on which the
visiting bee alights. But it requires a big
insect to pollinate 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 foot-
bridge at their inner end; and this foot-
bridge is quite impassable, because it is
beset with irregular little spikes and pro-
jecting 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

GARDEN FLOWERS

567

pollen doors, the filament lifts it up and
places it like a sentinel blocking the door-
way 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 stand-
ing guard at the same time, but, as soon
as their pollen is exhausted, they shrivel
and give room for fresh anthers. Mean-
while, the stigma has its three lobes
closed and lying idly behind and below
the anthers; after all the pollen is shed,
the style rises 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 flares its colors wide,
thus attracting the bees and humming-
birds, yet the growing seeds are protected.
The stalk which held the flowrer up
straight now twists around in a spiral and
draws the triplet seeds down behind the
green shields.

Nasturtium leaves are very pretty, and
are often used as subjects for decorative
water-color drawings. The almost circu-
lar leaf has its stalk 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 be-
neath 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

1, Nasturtium flower in early stage of blos-
soming. Note the anthers lifted in the path
to the nectar which is indicated by the arrow.
The closed stigma w 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 leaf showing the work of serpen-
tine miners

no trellis, the main stem grows quite
stocky, often lifting the plant a foot or
two in height, and from its summit send-
ing out a fountain of leaf- and flower-
stalks. Some nasturtiums are dwarf and
need no support.

The nasturtium is among the most in-
teresting 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.saysofit:

How carelessly it wears the velvet of the
same

l/nfathomed red? which ceased when Ti-
tian ceased

To paint it in the robes of doge and priest.

LESSON 156
THE NASTURTIUM

LEADING THOUGHT — The nasturtium
has a special arrangement by which it
sends its own pollen to other flowers and

568 PLANTS

receives pollen from other flowers by in-
sect messengers.

METHOD — The nasturtiums and their
foliage should be brought into the school-
room in sufficient quantity so that each
child may have a leaf and a flower for
study. The object of the lesson is to in-
terest 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 — i. 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 mark-
ings are there on the upper petals? Where
do these lines point? Are there any mark-
ings 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 wTould
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 gar-

den, select a nasturtium that is just open-
ing 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 gather-
ing 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 which rake the pollen off the visiting
insect? Do you know why it is an advan-
tage to the nasturtium to develop its seed
by the aid of the pollen from another
plant?

7. Can you see the beginning of the
seedcase when the stigma arises to receive
the pollen?

8. The flowers project beyond the
leaves. Do the ripening seedcases do this?
What happens to their stems to withdraw
them behind the leaf?

9. Sketch a nasturtium leaf, and ex-
plain in what way it is like a shield. How
does the leaf look when under water?

10. What sort of stem has the nas-
turtium? How does it manage to climb
the trellis? If it has no trellis upon which
it can climb, does it lie flat upon the
ground?

THE BEE-LARKSPUR

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 insect guests.
The brilliant color of the flowers is due
to the sepals, which are purple or blue,
in varying shades; each has on the back
side near its tip, a green thickened spot.

If we glance up the flowerstalk, 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 rear-
most sepal is prolonged into a spur, which
forms the outside covering of the nectar-

GARDEN FLOWERS

spur; it Is greenish, and is wrinkled like
a long-wristed suede glove; two sepals
spread wide at the sides and two more be-
low. All this expanse of blue sepals is a
background for the petals, which, by their
contrasting color, attract the bees looking
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 t\vo more tiny, fuzzy, spreading
petals, often notched 'at the* tip and al-
ways hinged in a peculiar way about the
upper petal; they stand 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 Sower just

569

opened, we see below the petals a bunch
of green anthers, hanging by white thread-
like filaments to the center of the flower
and looking like a bunch of lilliputian

Cyras Crosby

Bee-larkspur

I, Drawing of the bee-larkspur flower en-
larged. 2, The seed capsule of the bee-larkspur

bananas. Behind these anthers is an un-
developed 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 theii 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
into the 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 por-

570

PLANTS

tiort of the stalk, and those below them
that are in more advanced stages.

The bees, especially the bumblebee.,
will tell the pollination story to us in the
garden. A visiting bee alights on the lower
petals; grasping these firmly she thrusts her
head into the opening between them and
probes the spur twice, once in each nectar-
well. It is a fascinating pastime to fol-
low the bee as it goes from flower to flower
like a Madam Pompadour, powdered with
white pollen. The tips of the tall flower-

The larkspur

1, Early stage with stigma deflected. 2, Advanced stage
with stigma raised

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. Thus they 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; and then 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 157
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
inducing the bees to carry its pollen.

METHOD -— Bring to the schoolroom a
flowerstalk 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 visit-
ing bees and the maturing seeds. Ask
them to write an account of a bumblebee
making morning calls on the larkspurs.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 flowerstalk. 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?

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 contrast-
ing 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 are at the lower part of
the entrance? 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 de-
scribe what you see below the petals.
What is the color of the anthers? Of the
filaments? Can you see the stigma?

GARDEN FLOWERS

571

6. Take a flower farther down the stalk,
which has therefore been open longer,
and describe the position of the anthers
in this. Are any of them standing up-
right? Are they discharging their pollen?
What color is the pollen? Are these up-
right anthers in the way of the bee when
she thrusts her tongue into the nectar-
tube?

7. Take the oldest flower you can find.
\Vhat has happened to the anthers? Can
you see the pistils in this flower? 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 iower is
shed?

9. SUGGESTIONS FOR OBSERVATION IN
THE GARDEN — Watch a bumblebee work-
ing on the larkspur and answer the fol-
lowing questions: How does she hold on
to the flower? "\\Tiere 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?
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

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.

— " FLOWER-DE-LUCE/' HENRY W. LONGFELLOW

The iris blossom has a strange appear-
ance, and this is because nothing in it
is what it seems. The style of the pistil
is divided into three broad branches which
look like petals. These, with the sepals,
form a tunnel through which bees may
pass. The true petals, marked with beau-
tiful purple lines, stand between these
tunnels. It has been said that such lines
on flowers guide insects to the nectar-
wells. This belief is open to question; for
certainly these lines on the iris leading to
the center of the flower do not lead to
the nectar-wells. If we look directly down
into the flower of the blue flag, we see
ridges on the broad styles and purple
veins on the petals, all leading to the

center of the flower. If an insect alighting
there should seek for nectar-wells at the
point where all these lines meet, it would
find no nectar.

Dr. Needham, in an admirable study
of this flower and its visitors, tells us
that he has seen the little butterflies called
"skippers," the flag weevils, and other
flower beetles apparently made victims
of this deceptive appearance; this is some
evidence that the guiding lines on flowers
are noted and followed by insects.

The Hue flag seems to be specially
designed for bees; even the large showy
blossom is, according to Sir John Lub-
bock? the favorite color of the bee. The
bees seem to have no difficulty in finding

PLANTS

Larger blue flag

Leonard K. Beyer

the nectar. The sepal with its purple and
yellow tip and its dark veining and golden
guiding lines marks the path to the nec-
tar, which is far from the center of the
flower. The 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. The tunnel
leads to the nectar-wells 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 termi-
nalis and Osmia destructa); each of these
alighted with precision on the lip which
forms the landing-platform of each tun-
nel? pushed its way in, got the nectar
from both wells, came out, and immedi-
ately went to another tunnel. One might
ask why the bee in corning out did not
deposit the pollen from the anther on the
stigma of the same flower. The stigma
prevents this by hanging down, like a
flap to a tent, above the entrance; its
surface is so directed that it gathers pollen
from the entering bee and turns its blank

side to the bee making an exit. This
ingenious arrangement insures the cross-
fertilization which Darwin has shown
us is so necessary for the most vigorous
and beautiful offspring.

The arrangement of the flower parts of
the iris may be described briefly thus:
three petals, three sepals, and a style with
three branches; the latter are broad and
flat and cover the bases of the three se-
pals, forming 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 bum-
blebee as a pollen-carrier, since the en-
trance between the style and the sepal
is large enough to admit this larger insect.
The bumblebees and the honeybees work
in different varieties of iris in gardens.

In some varieties of iris there is a coat-
ing resembling plush on the style which
forms the floor of the tunnel. Through
a lens this plush is exquisite — the nap
of white filaments standing up tipped
with brilliant yellow. Various theories as
to the use of this plush have been ad-
vanced, a plausible one being that it is

GARDEN FLOWERS

to keep the ants out; but the ants could
easily pass along either side of it. One
day in the garden while I was holding an
iris in my hand, 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. Did she possi-
bly find something there to eat?

LESSON 158
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 — \\Tiile 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.

573

OBSERVATIONS — i . Look for the side
doors of the iris blossom. Which part of
the flower forms the doorstep? How is it

'Sepal

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 tiie petals

marked? Which part of the flower makes
the arch above the entrance?

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

Cyrus Crosby

WUd iris in 'natural surroundings

Fleur-de-lis

574

PLANTS

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?

5. Watch the insects visiting the iris.
Do you know what they are? What do
the different insects do?

6. Describe the way the iris flower bud
is enfolded in bracts. What is there pe-
culiar 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.

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 blos-
som, instead of a sceptre.
— " AMONG THE FLOWERS AND TREES

WrITH THE POETS/' WAIT AND LEONARD

THE SUNFLOWER

Anna C. Stryke

The sunflower. Next to the ray flowers are
the florets in the last stages of blossoming
with stigmas protruding; next within are
rows in the earlier stage with pollen bursting
from the. anther-tubes, while at the center are
unopened buds

Many of the most "beautiful of the
autumn flowers belong to the Composite,
a family of such complicated flower ar-
rangement that it is very difficult for the
child or the beginner in botany to com-
prehend it; and yet? when once under-
stood, the composite scheme is very sim-
ple and beautiful, and is repeated over

and over in flowers of very different ap-
pearance. 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 which attract insects;
while the disc flowers, which they sur-
round, attend to the matter of the pollina-
tion and production of seed.

The large garden sunflower is the teach-
er'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 composite 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

GARDEN FLOWERS

575

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, ear-
like 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 pro-
tecting 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 (shown in figure) 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 open-
ing 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 back-
wards so as to offer a receptive surface to
pollen grains from other florets, or even
other sunflowers. In the process of curl-
ing back, they press the anther-tube down
into the coroHa, and thus make the floret
shorter than when in the pollen stage.
The ray flower differs in many essentials
from the perfect florets of the disc. If
we remove one from the flower-head, we

\ J / »s-'sk * '

» y «V 4-
'/ * / '/

/ !• / ,

The flower of the sunflower enlarged

1. A florr! of tht- sunfl'»w*T in the liu«.l ptaa*? ar» it ap-

pears at the c.vnH'T of iln* sunJknvtT, Not*4 the* proUtling
braet at the riuht. 2, A floret m far-heat stage of blossom-
ing. 3, A fluri'i in the latest Htiijw of bloom with the parts
named. 4, A ray or banner flower

find at its base a seedlike portion, which
is a mere pretense; it is shrunken, and
never can be a seed because it has con-
nected 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, petal-like 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.

But more wonderful than the perfec-
tion of each floret is their arrangement
in the flower-head. Around the edge of
the disc the ray flowers, in double or
treble rank, flare wide their long petals
like the rays of the sun, making the sun-
flower a most striking object in the land-
scape. 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 ferti-
lized 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 be-
ing 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 an exquisite pattern of circling radii,
cut by radii circling in the opposite direc-

Agronomy Dept. Cornell U.

A field of sunflowers

tion; 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 sun-
flower from its rim to its center, we need
to wratch it day by day — then only can
its beauty become a part of us.

The great green bracts, with their long
pointed tips, which overlap each other
around the base of the sunflower head,
should be noted with care, because these
bracts have manifold forms in the great
Composite family; and the pupil should
learn to recognize this part of the flower-
head, merely from its position. In the
burdocks, these tracts form the hooks
which fasten to the passer-by; in the
thistle, they form the prickly vase about
the blossom; while in the pearly everlast-
ing, 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 out-
side 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
disc.

In looking at a mass of garden sun-

PLANTS

flowers, we are convinced that the heavy
heads bend the stems, and this is prob-
ably 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, \ve 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 be-
lief shows the utter contentment of most
people with a pretty theory. If you be-
lieve it, you had best ask the first sun-
flower you see if it is true, and she will
answer you if you will ask the question
morning, noon, and night. My own ob-
servations make me believe that the sun-
flower, 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, al-
though I have seen whole fields of sun-
flowers 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 blossom-
ing before they become heavy with ripen-
ing 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 be-
come loosened, and as the great stem is
assaulted by the winds of autumn, the
bended heads shake out their seed and
scatter them far afield.

LESSON 159
THE SUNFLOWER

LEADING THOUGHT — The sunflower is
not a single flower, but is a large number
of flowers living together; and each little
flower, or floret, as it is called, has its
own work to do.

METHOD — Early in September, when
school first opens, is the time for this
lesson. If sunflowers are growing near byy
they should be studied where they stand;

GARDEN FLOWERS

and their story may thus be more com-
pletely 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 sun-
flower that has only partially blossomed
is also needed for taking apart to show
the arrangement of this big flower-cluster.
Take a bud from the center, a floret show-
ing anther-tube and another showing the
curled pair of stigmas, and a ray or banner
flower. (See Fig. p. 575.) Each pupil
should be furnished with these four
florets; and after he has studied them,
show him the other half of the sun-
flower, with each floret in place. After
this preliminary study, let the pupils ob-
serve the blossoming sunflower for sev-
eral consecutive days.

OBSERVATIONS— - 1. A little flower
which is part of a big flower-cluster is
called a floret. Yon have before you three
florets of a sunflower and a ray floret.
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, leaflike 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. De-
scribe the shape of the open corolla. Look
at the brown tube with a lens. How many
sides has it? How many little points pro-
jecting 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 sev-
eral anthers are joined together to make

this tube? Open the corolla-tube carefully,
and see if you can answer this last ques-
tion. Open the anther-tube, and see if
you can ind 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 Boret 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. Take a ray 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 ray flower any pistil or stamens?
Of what use is the ray flower to the sun-
lower cluster? Do you think that we
would plant sunflowers in our gardens
for their beauty if they had no ray flowers?

5. After studying the separate flowers,
study a sunflower in blossom, and note
the following: Where are the ray flowers
placed? How many rows are there? How
are they set so that their rays make the
sunflower look like the sun? Do you see
why the central portion of the sunflower
is called the disc, and the outer flowers
are called the rays — in imitation of the
sun?

6. Next to the ray 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 iower-head?
Note the beautiful pattern in which the
buds are arranged. Can you see the sepa-
rate buds at the very center of the sun-
flower? 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 sun-
flower you are observing is in garden or
field, note how many days elapse between

578 PLANTS

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 disc? 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
"4 shingle " the house of the sunflower
cluster? This covering of the disc, or the
house of the sunflower cluster, 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 re-
main? How does the sunflower scatter the

seeds? Note how the disc looks after the
seeds are all gone. What birds are espe-
cially fond of sunflower seeds? Of what
use are the seeds commercially?

Flowers have an expression of counte-
nance 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 holly-
hock

— HENRY WARD BEECHER

Eagle of flowers/ 1 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

THE BACHELOR'S-BUTTON

Stumpp and Walter Co.

Bachelor's-button

This beautiful garden flower gives a
variation in form from other composites
when studied according to Lesson 131.
This valued flower came to us from Eu-
rope and it sometimes escapes cultiva-
tion 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 clusters
repays close study better than does the
bachelor's-button. The flowers are all tu-
bular, 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 marginal flow-
ers 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 marginal flowers
have no duty in the way of maturing seeds.

GARDEN FLOWERS

In some varieties the marginal flowers are
white, and in others they are blue, pink?
or purple. They vary in number from
seven to fourteen or more.

The disc 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 to-
gether, but with a pollen brash 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 T? 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, which are
really akenes, 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 re-
mains 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

Stumpp and Walter Co.

Sweet sultan. This flower comes in many
shades

sunflower. The short pappus is hardly suf-
ficient to buoy up the seed, and yet un-
doubtedly aids it to make a flying jump

with the passing breeze.

LESSON 160
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 131.

THE SALVIA OR SCARLET SAGE

The flower story of the sage is so pe-
culiar that Darwin has used it to illustrate
the mechanisms which the visiting in-
sects must work in some flowers in or-
der to get the nectar. The scarlet sage,
which gladdens our flower-beds during
the summer and autumn with its bril-
liance, 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 creature
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 of various
types, 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

PLANTS

The salvia or scarlet sage, showing the
bracts still present above and falling as the
flowers open

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 co-
rolla-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.

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 visit-
ing 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 search-
ing 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

1, Blossom of scarlet sage as seen from out-
side. 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

GARDEN FLOWERS

in this. If we glance at a flowerstalk, 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
flowerstalk continues to develop buds at
its tip for a long season; and this, taken
together with its scarlet bracts and flow-
ers, renders the salvia a thing of beauty in
our gardens, and makes it cry aloud to
pollen-carriers that here, even in late au-
tumn, there is plenty of nectar.

LESSON 161
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 which pleases our eyes and at-
tracts the pollen-carrying insects. Its an-
thers are placed 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 ob-
servation 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 — i. 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 en-
trance to the tube? What does the hood
hold? Is there any platform made by the
lower lip of the corolla for a visiting in-
sect 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 an-
thers and becomes 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 an-
thers by the bee? Why?

5. Experiment to find where the nectar
is. Do you ever see bees getting the nec-
tar from fallen flowers? Do they get the
nectar 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 sta-
mens of the scarlet sage with the mecha-
nism of the stamens of the common
garden sage.

PETUNIAS

These red-purple and white flowers, compound of two original species; the

which, massed in borders and beds, make first one was found on the shores of the

gay our gardens and grounds in late sum- La Plata in South America and was in-

mer and early autumn, have an interest- troduced into Europe in 1823. " It Is a

ing history. Professor L. H. Bailey uses it plant of upright habit, thick sticky leaves

as an illustration in his thought-inspiring and sticky stems, and very long-tubed

book, The Survival of the I/mite; he says white flowers which exhale a strong per-

that our modem petunias are a strange fume at nightfall." The second species of

PLANTS

W. Atlee Burpee Co.

petunia came from seeds sent from Argen-
tina to the Glasgow Botanical Gardens in
1831. " This is a more compact plant than
the other, with a decumbent base, nar-
rower 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 vio-
lacea and it was easily hybridized writh the
white species; it is now, strangely enough,
lost to cultivation, although the white spe-
cies is found in some old gardens. The hy-
brids 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 the
long-tongued sphinx or hummingbird
moths secure much nectar from their blos-
soms.

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 devel-
oped 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 length-
wise 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

GARDEN FLOWERS

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 End another anther, as
yet unopened, 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 in-
teresting 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 sud-
denly inward so as to " cuddle up " to the
pistil, the base of which is set In the nec-
tar-well at the bottom of the flower. If
we introduce a slender pencil or a tooth-
pick 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 an-
thers 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 ap-
parently opens up a new stlgmatic surface
for the pollen brought from other flowers
by visiting insects.

Dr. James G. Needham says that at
Lake Forest he has been attracted to the
petunia beds in the twilight by the whir-
ring 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

583

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.

t A petunia blossom cut open on, the upper
side, showing the pistil surrounded by the in-
curved stamens and the partially* opened
stigma surrounded by the anthers. Nate the
short stamen below the pistil

With their long feeding tubes the hum-
mingbird moths have little difficulty in
securing the nectar, but bees also "will
work industriously In the petunias. They
will scramble Into the blossoms and, ap-
parently complaining with high-pitched
buzzing because of the tight fit, rifle the
nectar-wells that seem to be better
adapted to insects of quite different build.

The leaves of the petunia are so broadly
ovate as to be almost lozenge-shape, es-
pecially 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 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 co-
rolla — 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

584

capsule Tbe removed, the many seeds look
lite 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 ine as dust, and yet,
when examined with a lens, they are seen
to be exquisitely netted and pitted.

SUGGESTED READING — Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Har-
rison E. Howe, "Book 5, Science at Home;
also, readings on page 546.

LESSON 162
THE PETUNIA

LEADING THOUGHT — The petunias are
native to South America; they have an in-
teresting history. Such insects as hum-
mingbird moths are attacted to their flow-
ers, and from them easily secure pollen
and nectar.

METHOD — The petunias are such de-
termined bloomers that they give us flow-
ers up to the time of killing frosts, and
they are therefore good material for na-
ture lessons. Each pupil should have a
lower in hand to observe during the les-
son, and should also have access to a pe-
tunia bed for observations on the habits
of the plant.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What colors do you
ind in the petunia flowers? If they are
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 ar-
ranged? How many anthers do you see?
What is the color of the anthers? Of the
pollen?

4. Sketch or describe the iower from

PLANTS

the side. What is the shape of the co
rolla-tube? Is it smooth or fuzzy? How is
it marked? \\Tiat 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 at-
tached 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 •with-
drawn, 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 suffi-
ciently 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 twi-
light, and note whether there are any in-
sects 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
flowerstalks come off the main stem?

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
the seeds any noticeable pits or mark-
ings?

GARDEN FLOWERS

585

THE GARDEN OR GERANIUM

The geraniums perhaps do more to
brighten the world than almost any other
cultivated flowers. They will grow for
everyone, whether for the gardener in the
conservatory of the rich, or in a tin can
on the window sill of the crowded tene-
ment 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 south-
ern Africa, and the two ancestors of our
common bedding geraniums were intro-
duced 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 iower;
and its leaves and stems may likewise be
used for the first lessons in plant structure.

The stem is thick and fleshy, and is

L. ;4?t<>l«!nr

butterfly on a geranium

Horseshoe geranium. Xote the positions of
the opened flowers and the buds. Note the
shape of the two upper petals with their col-
ored lines. The flower at the left, in pro~

file, that these upper project

farther forward than those below. Note the
cluster of young buds set in a circlet of bracts
just below this 'flower

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. Two stipules are found
on the stem at the base of each petiole.
These stipules often remain after the
leaves have fallen, thus giving the stem
an unkempt look. The leaves are of vari-
ous shapes, although of one general pat-
tern; they are circular and beautifully scal-
loped and lobed, with veins for every lobe
radiating from the petiole; they are vel-
vety above and of quite different texture
beneath, and many show the dark horse-
shoe which gives the name to this variety.
The petiole is usually long and stiff and
the leaves are set alternately upon the
stem.

586

PLANTS

The flower has five petals, and at first
glance they seem of much the same shape
and position; but if we look at them care-
fully, 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 cen-
ter of the flower; 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 flowerstalk, the nectar-gland form-
ing a hump near the base of the stalk. If
we thrust a needle down the whole length
of this nectar-tube we can see that this
bright flowrer developed its nectar espe-
cially for some long-tongued insect, prob-
ably a butterfly. It is interesting to note
that in the doable geranium where the
stamens have been all changed to petals
and where, therefore, no seeds are formed,
this nectar-well has been lost.

There are five sepals, the lower one be-
ing the largest. But the geranium is care-
less 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 sta-
mens, three of them without anthers. But
this is not always true; there are some-
times five anthers and two or three fila-
ments 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 crane's-bill 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 en-
closed in its own protecting sepals. But
soon each flowerstalk 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.

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 les-
son 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, and plant the cuttings in these
boxes, putting the stems for one-third of
their length in the sand; place them in a
cool room and keep them constantly
moist. After about a month the plants
may be repotted in fertile soil. The fall is
the best time to make cuttings.

LESSON 163

THE GARDEN OR HORSESHOE
GERANIUM

LEADING THOUGHT — The geraniums
are very much prized as flowers for orna-
mental beds. Let us see why they are so
valued.

METHOD — A variety of geranium with
single Sowers 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, sta-
mens, and pistil, and label them with the
proper names.

GARDEN FLOWERS

587

OBSERVATIONS — i. What sort of
has the geranium? Is it smooth or downy?
What makes the geranium look so

rough and untidy?

2. Study the leaf. Show, by description
or by drawing, its shape, its wings, and its
veins. What are its colors and texture
above? Beneath? Is the petiole long or
short? What grows at the base of the peti-
ole where it joins the stem? What mark-
ing is there on the leaf, which makes us
call this a "horseshoe geranium*? Are
there other geraniums with leaves of simi-
lar 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 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-
stalk? For what insects is it fitted? Are
there nectar-tubes in the stems of the
geraniums with double flowers?

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 gera-
nium fruit look? Sketch the pod. Do the
geraniums develop many seeds? Why not?
Do yon 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 flow-
ers are all in the bud, and note the follow-

ing: When the buds first appear, what
protects them? What of these

bracts later? How do the sepals protect
the bud? Are the upright and

of a

Sp, sepals: P. petals: A, anthers: F, filament: Pt,
stigma; O, opening to n*ctar gland; N, nectar gland

stiff or drooping? How many buds are
there in a cluster?

9, Take notes on successive days as fol-
lows: What to the as the
bud gets ready to bloom? Is it a centra!
or an outside blossom that irst?
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

and grow.

God' made the lowers to beautify
The earth, and cheer man's careful niood;
And' he is happiest who hath power
To gather wisdom from a Sower,
And wake his heart in every hour
To pleasant gratitude.

— WORDSWORTH

588

PLANTS

THE SWEET PEA

Here are sweet peas on tiptoe 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.

Among the most attractive of the seeds
which make up the treasure of the chil-
dren's seed packets are the sweet peas.
They are smooth little white or brown
globules, marked with a scar on the side
showing where they were attached to the

Sweet pea, blossoms and seed pods

pod. One of these peas divides readily into
two sections; and after it has been soaked
in water for twenty-four hours, the em-
bryo 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 a leaf shoot emerges from the same
place; but the two act very differently.
The shoot 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 wrhich may be seen the fringe
of roots, which take up the minerals 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 stalks 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 grow
vigorously without a support outside of
itself.

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 Na-
ture'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

GARDEN FLOWERS

589

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 pro-
jecting 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, be-
low the stigma. But strange to say, one
lone, lorn stamen " locks 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 another stigma,
The interesting part of this mechanism
is the brush near the tip of the style be-
low the stigma — a veritable broom, with
splints all directed upward. As the pollen
is discharged around it, the brash lifts it
up when the keel is pressed down, and the

f *

Blossom oj sweet pea with parts labelled

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 structure, sweet peas, of all flow-
ers, are the most difficult to cross-pollinate,
since they are so likely to receive some of
their own pollen during this process.

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

W. Atlee Burpee Co.

Sweet pea in flower

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 cols into a
spiral, flinging the seed many feet distant
in different directions.

LESSON 164
THE SWEET PEA

LEADING THOUGHT — The sweet pea
has some of 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 les-
son. A study should be made of the peas
before they are planted, and their germina-
tion carefully watched. Later, the method
of climbing, the flower and the fruit
should each be the subject of a lesson.

PLANTS

Sweet-pea pod bursting in spiral

OBSERVATIONS ox GERMINATION— i.

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 al-
ternately?

5. Take a leaf and also a spray of the
tendrils. How many leaflets are there in
the compound leaf? Describe the petiole
and the basal leaves. How far apart are the
leaflets on the mid-stalk? Compare the
stalk 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 to-
ward the tip of the stalk often change to
tendrils? Why do you think so? How do
tendrils aid the sweet pea? 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 — i . Take the sweet pea in blos-
som. Why is the large upper petal called
the banner? I low does it compare in size
with the oilier petals? \\Tiat is its purpose
when the flower is open? \\Tiy 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 be-
low the wings. Do you think that it is
made of two petals grown together? \\Tiy
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 get-
ting 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 de-
velop? 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 re-
ceive 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?

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

THE CLOVERS

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

their relative the alfalfa; while of the true

clovers there are the reel the zigzag, the
buffalo, the rabbit* s-foot, the white, the
alsike, the crimson, and two yellow or hop
clovers.

In all the clovers, those blossoms which
are lowest, or on the outside of the hod,
blossom first, and all of them have upon
their roots the little swellings, or nodules,
which are the houses in which the benef-
icent "bacteria grow.

If we pull up or dig out the roots of

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 it has been discovered that
it has also a mysterious' and undoubtedly
an ancient partnership with bacteria be-
low grotind? which,, moreover, brings fer-
tility to the soil. The making of a collec-
tion 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

Heads of crimson clever

PLANTS

Bulletin 455, IL S. D. A.

A young clover plant showing nodules or root
tubercles

alfalfa, or of the true clovers or vetches,
we find upon the rootlets little swellings
which are called nodules, or root tuber-
cles. Although these tubercles look so un-
interesting, no fairy stow 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-Eve thou-
sand 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 wrere injuri-
ous 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 bac-
teria homes and places 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 in making food;
but these little bacteria extract it from
the air which fills ever}' little space be-
tween 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 sub-
stance, and the soil falls heir to it.

Nitrogen in the form of commercial fer-
tilizer is very expensive when the farmer
has to buy it. 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.

Alfalfa is so dependent on its little un-
derground partners., that it cannot grow

Stempp and "Walter Co.

Red clatter

CULTIVATED PLANTS

well 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, or better still he inocu-
lates the clover seed with a culture of the
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 hut! 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 protein which otherwise would have
to be furnished to cattle in expensive
or cottonseed meal. The fanner who gives
his stock alfalfa does not need to pay such
large bills for grain. Other plants belong-

F«mert* 1722, T. S, D. A.

Single plant of a portion 0}

the root

Alfalfa

ing to the family as the clovers —

like the vetches — have

bacteria on their roots. But
of has its own of bacteria,

although in some cases soil inoculated
with bacteria from of legume

will grow them on of another

species.

In addition to the enriching of the soil,
clover roots, which penetrate very deeply,
protect land from washed away by

freshets and heavy rains; since clover
makes a thick carpet over the sur-
face of the soil, it prevents evaporation
thus 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
its leaves above its roots

within the soil, keeping out weeds and
protecting the land, ( See 770-

75. ) In the spring it may be plowed under,
and thus it will add to the fertility.

This is an aesthetically pleasing crop,
for a ield of crimson clover in bloom is
one of the beautiful sights in our

rural landscape.

Red clover has such iorets that,

of all our bees, only the bumblebees have
sufficiently long tongues to reach the nec-
tar. It is, therefore, dependent upon this
bee for developing its seed, and the en-
lightened fanner of today looks upon the

PLANTS

Yellow or hop clover, buffalo clover, and
rabbit-foot or pussy clover

bumblebees as his good friends. The ex-
port of clover seed from the United States
has sometimes reached the value of two
million dollars a year, and this great in-
dustry 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Botany of Crop
Plants, by Wilfred W. Robbins; Hand-
book of Farming for Boys and Girls, by
R. A. Power and Vincent E. Kivlin; Our
Plant Friends and Foesr by William A.
DuPuy; Plants Useful to Man, by Wilfred
W. Robbins and Francis Ramaley; also,
bulletins, leaflets, and circulars published
by the United States Department of Ag-
riculture.

LESSON 165
THE CLOVERS

LEADING THOUGHT — The clovers en-
rich with nitrogen the soil in which they

are planted. They are very valuable as
food for stock. Their flowers are pollinated
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 — i . 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 swell-
ings 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 help to protect
the land from being washed away 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

In passing along the country roads, es-
pecially those which have suffered up-
heaval 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 per-
fume 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 high 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, tak-
ing air and drainage with them and build-
ing, with the aid of their underground
partners, nitrogen factories which will en-
rich the poverty-stricken earth, so that
other plants may find nourishment in it.
Never was there such another benefi-
cent weed as the sweet clover — benefi-
cent alike to man, bee, and soil. Usually

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

595

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.

Lite 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 Icaiets
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 stow. The blossom stalk, which
comes from the axil of the leaf, is at irst
an inch or so long, packed closely with
little green buds having pointed tips. But
as soon as the blossoming begins, the stalk
elongates, bringing the flowers farther
apart — just as if the buds had been fas-
tened 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 budsy and thus the bios-

White sweet clover

Yellow sweet clover

som 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 scat-
tered.

The blossom is very much like a dimin-
utive 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 visited 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 rip-
ened pod is well encased in the calyx at
its base. The foliage of the sweet clover is
fragrant,, especially so when drying; It is
to some extent 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
pages 459, 461, 513, and 594.

596

PLANTS

LESSON 166
SWEET CLOVER

LEADING THOUGHT — This beneficent
plant grows in soil that is often too poor
for other plants to thrive in. It brings
available nitrogen 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 in-
sects which visit it7 should be noted.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What first makes
you aware that you are near sweet clover?
On what kinds of soil, and in what locali-
ties, does sweet clover abound?

2. Do you know how sweet clover grow-
ing 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 like-
ness 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 flowerstalk look
before it begins to blossom? What hap-
pens 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 ban-
ner? 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 flow-
ers bequeath,

And all the winds o'er summer hills career-
ing

Sound softer for the sweetness that they
breathe.

— THERON BROWN

THE WHITE CLOVER

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 sometimes use the white
clover in our lawns because of a pecu-
liarity of its stem which, instead of stand-
ing 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 Linnasus 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 neat
each other, looks like going to sleep, and
is one of the things which even the little
child will enjov observing.

The clover head is made up of many
little flowers; each one has a tubular calyx
with five delicate points and a little stalk

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

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 they are open, the honey bees, which
eagerly visit white clover wherever it is
growing, begin at once their work of gath-
ering nectar and carrying pollen; as soon
as the florets are pollinated 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. In this case, how-
ever, 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 pollinating
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, orange
blossoms. So valuable is the white clover
as a honey plant that apiarists often grow
acres of it for their bees.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
pages 459, 461, 513, and 594.

LESSON 167
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 — i . Where does the
white clover grow? Why is it sometimes
used in lawns?

2. Note carefully the clover leaf, the
shape of the three leaflets, stalks, and

Stumpp and Walter Co.

White clover

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

598 PLANTS

leaves at night. How do the two side
leaflets act? The central leaflet?

4. Take a white-clover head, and note
that it is made up of many little flowers.
How many? Study one of the little flow-
ers with a lens. Can you see its calyx? Its
petals? Its stalk? In what way is it simi-
lar to the blossom of the sweet pea?

5. Take a head of white clover which
has not yet blossomed. Tie a string about
its stalk 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? 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?
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,
J 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

THE MAIZE OR INDIAN CORN

Hail/ Ha-wen-ni-yuf Listen with open cars 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.

Thus prayed the Iroquois Indians when
the corn had ripened on the hills and val-
leys 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 tablelands 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 dis-
covered. 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, or 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 primi-
tive 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

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

Seneca Indian women husking corn for braiding

Arthur C. Parker

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 a serious
enemy to it; 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
fibers 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 would 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 far-

ther apart at the top? where the wind
strikes, and where the bending and bow-
ing of the stalk is necessary.

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 stalk there is a little growth which
serves as 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 com leaf enables it 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 with-
out breaking the leaf margins. The leaf is
thus protected from the wind, whether it
is struck from above or horizontally. The

6oo

PLANTS

Farmers' Bulletin 537, TT. g. D. A.

A good hill of corn. The hills of corn about
this one have been removed so that it may
stand out more clearly. Note the tassels and
the drooping position of the well-filled ears

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
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. 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 exam-
ined, the part serving as a 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 out-
side, 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 and stigma 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

If we cut a kernel of corn crosswise we
can see, near the point where it joins the

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

601

cob, the little plant. Corn should be ger-
minated 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 within a color-
less sheath 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 na-
ture, for the pollen-tube must push down
through the center of the corn silk for its
whole length, in order to reach the wait-
ing ovule and thus make possible the de-

velopment of a kernel of corn. These
young, unfertilized kernels are pretty ob-
jects, looking like seed pearls, each
wrapped in furry bracts. If the silk from
one of these young flowers does not re-
ceive its grain of pollen, then the kernel

A tassel of corn, showing the pollen-bearing
flowers

1, The anthers of corn. 2, The tip o/ the

corn silk showing the stigma. 3, The pistillate
flower, which will develop into the kernel

will not develop and the ear will be im-
perfect. 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 exempli-
fied when we have the black and white
varieties of sweet corn growing near each
other.

One reason why corn is such a valu-
able plant to us is that its growth is so
rapid. It is usually not planted until late
spring, yet, with some varieties, by Sep-
tember the stalks may be as much as
twenty feet in height. The secret of this is
that the corn, unlike many other plants,
has many points of growth. While young,
the part of the stalk just above each node
is a growing center and the tip of the stalk
also grows; the first two experiments sug-
gested below will demonstrate this. In
most plants, the tip of the stem is the only
center of growth. 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 sug-
gested to demonstrate this.

During drought the corn leaves check
the transpiration of water by rolling to-
gether lengthwise in tubes, thus offering
less surface to the sun and air. The farmer
calls this the curling of the corn, and it is

602

PLANTS

Ears of corn with braided husks as the In-
dians used to carry them

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.

SUGGESTED READING — Corn and Corn
Growing, by Henry A. Wallace and Earl
N. Bressman; Nature and Science Read-
ers, by Edith M. Patch and Harrison E.
Howe, Book 4, Through Four Seasons;
The Story Book of Foods from the Field
(The Story Book of Corn), by Maud F.
and Miska Petersham; Useful Plants of the
World, by Willard N, Clute; also, read-
ings on pages 459 and 594.

LESSON 168
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 resist-
ing 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 notebooks 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 schoolroom or in
the field, or both.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE CORN PLANT —
i. 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? De-
scribe the veins. Does the leaf tear easily
across? Does it tear easily lengthwise?

Agronomy Dept., State College of Agr., Cornell U.

A corn shock. In regions where corn is not
harvested by machinery, and where it is not
used for silage, it is often shocked to permit it
to mature

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

603

Of what use to the plant is this condi-
tion?

5. Are the edges of the corn leaf straight
or ruffled? How does this ruffled edge per-
mit the leaf to turn without breaking?
Describe at length the benefit the corn
plant derives from having leaves which are
not easily broken across and which 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 the
wind.

OBSERVATIONS 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 it was fitted against the side of the
stalk.

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 com
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 corn silk? 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

Extension Chart, U. S. D. A,

Sugar cane, a near relative of corn, is a crop
of tropical and subtropical regions. The
stalks in the foreground have been stripped
of leaves and are ready for the mill

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 rela-
tion 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 may have
caused this?

16. Describe the requisite for a perfect
ear of seed corn. Why should the plant
from which the seed ear is taken be vigor-
ous and perfect?

OBSERVATIONS ON THE GROWTH OF
CORN — WORK FOR THE SUMMER VACA-
TION — 17. How does the com look when
it first comes up? How many leaves are
there in the pointed roll which first ap-
pears 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. Note that the kernel is the ovary.
The silk is the style; it is attached to the
ovary and is long enough to extend out
beyond the husks; at its tip is the branched
stigma.

20. What carries the pollen for the

604 PLANTS

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 i

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 dis-
tance 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 com is still green in
August, bend it down and place a stick
across it at about half its length. Describe
how it differs in position 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 posi-
tion.

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?

Cotton pickers at work

U. S. Department of Agriculture

THE COTTON PLANT

There are some plants which have
made great chapters in the histories of na-
tions, and cotton is one of them. The fiber
of cotton was used for making clothing so
long ago that its discovery is shrouded in

in this land we find certain laws concern-
ing cotton which were codified about 800
B.C.; and allusions to the fine? white rai-
ment on the peoples of India are frequent
in ancient history. Cotton was introduced

the myths of prehistoric times. But we into Egypt from India at an early date; it
believe it first came into use in India, for was in common use there about 150 B.C.

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

But not until our Civil War laid fallow
the cotton fields of the United States, did
Egypt realize the value of its crop; and al-
though much money was lost there in ag-
ricultural speculation after our own prod-
uct was again put on the market, still
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 cot-
ton. 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 fiber in use
in Brazil.

It is a strange fact that the only region
of the world between the parallels of 40°
north and 40° south latitude where cot-
ton 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 in-
vention 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 in the
United States, since it revived the profits
of slave-holding. The institution of slav-
ery 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 — a
process theretofore done slowly and labo-
riously by hand — suddenly made the rais-
ing of cotton so profitable that slaves were
again employed in its production with
great financial benefits. And thus it came

Cotton in blossom

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 pet-
ioles. 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.

The flower bud is partially hidden be-
neath the clasping bracts of the involucre.
These bracts are three or four in number,
and they have the edges so deeply lobed

6o6

PLANTS

TJ. S. Department of Agriculture

A single cotton plant loaded with maturing
bolls

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.

There are many stamens which have
their filaments united in a tube extending
up into the middle of the flower and en-
larging a little at the tip; below the en-
larged 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 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 re-
mains 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
pinpoints. There are, extending back
from the pointed tip, three to five creases
or sutures, which show where the boll will
open. If we open a nearly ripened boll? we
find that halfway between each two su-
tures 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 cen-
tral 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 fibers are at-
tached to the covering of the seed around
the blunt end, and usually the pointed
end is bare. When the boll opens, the cot-
ton becomes very fluffy and if not picked
will blow away. The wild cotton dissemi-
nates 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 extend-
ing 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 shriv-
eling. This action tears the boll apart
along the sutures and exposes the seeds
with their fluffy balloons to the action of

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

607

the wind. The ripe, open, empty boll is
worth looking at; the sections are wide
apart and each white, delicate, parch-
ment-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 seeds.

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 upon
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 Amer-
ica, and there are listed more than one
hundred and thirty varieties which have
originated in our country.

SUGGESTED READING — Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Har-
rison E. Howe, Book 3, Surprises, Book 5,
Science at Home; The Story of Cotton, by
Dorothy Scarborough; also, readings on
pages 459 and 594.

LESSON 169
COTTON

LEADING THOUGHT — Cotton has had a
great influence upon our country politi-
cally as well as industrially. Its fiber was
used by the ancients, and it is today one
of the most important crops in the regions
where it is grown.

METHOD— A cotton plant with blos-
soms and ripe bolls upon it may be
brought into the schoolroom or studied in
the field.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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

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, set in the involucral bracts

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 de-
stroy 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 flow-
ers 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 per
fectly straight or does it bend at the tip?

6o8

PLANTS

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 them?

11. Open a nearly ripe boll very care-
fully. How many partitions are there in it?
Where are they in relation to the open-
ings? 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 by its blunt end?

12. How many seeds in each chamber
in the cotton boll? Where on the seed
does the cotton grow? How does the cot-

ton 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 fol-
lowing topics: "The History of the Cot-
ton Plant from Ancient Times until To-
day," " How the Cotton Plant Has Af-
fected 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

Verne Morton

THE STRAWBERRY

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

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

know that the flowers of the field " do not
care a rap " whether man notices them or
not; insect attentions are what they need,
and they are surely as indifferent to our
indifference as we are to theirs.

The field strawberry's five petals are lit-
tle cups of white held up protectingly
around anthers and pistils; each petal has
its base narrowed into a little stalk which
the botanists call a claw. When the blos-
som first opens, the anthers are little, flat,
vividly lemon-yellow discs, each disc con-
sisting 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-yel-
low 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
stigma. 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 neigh-
bors; the five shorter ones, however, are
not sepals but are bracts below the calyx.

Left, a strawberry leaf. Right above, a pistil-
late flower. Right below, a perfect flower

The sepals unite at their bases so that the
strawberry has really a lobed calyx instead
of separate sepals. The blossom stalk is
soft, pinkish, and silky; it wilts easily.
There are several blossoms borne upon
one stalk 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

Strawberry fruit

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 appear-
ance 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.

If a comparison of the wild and culti-
vated strawberries is practicable, it makes
this lesson more interesting. While the
wild flowers are usually perfect, many cul-
tivated varieties have the pollen and pis-
tils borne in different flowers, and they de-
pend upon the bees to cany their pollen.
The blossom stalk of the garden strawberry
is round, smooth, and quite strong, hold-
ing its branching panicle of flowers erect,
and it is usually shorter than the leafstalks
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 pis-
tils 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 contain-
ing many seeds, like the currant or grape.
The strawberry is a fleshy fruit bearing its

6io

PLANTS

akenes, the hard parts which we have al-
ways called seeds, in shallow pits on its
surface. These alcenes 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 alcenes 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 col-
ored 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 un-
noticeable. 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 ex-
tends 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 considerable
root growth, the runner ceases to carry-
sap from the main stem and withers to a
mere dry fiber. The parent plant con-
tinues to live and bear fruit, for the straw-
berry 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
pages 459 and 594.

LESSON 170
THE STRAWBERRY

LEADING THOUGHT — The strawberry
plant has two methods of perpetuating

itself, one by the akenes 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. Cultivated plants are grown from
runners, but new species must be grown
from seed.

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, in-
cluding the clasping stipules and sheath
at its base. Each one should also have a
strawberry blossom and bud, and if pos-
sible a green or ripe fruit.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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.
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 be-
gin to grow? Does the runner strike root
before forming a new plant or does the lit-
tle plant grow on the runner and draw sus-
tenance 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 blossoms.
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 are there? 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 blos-
som with the stamens? Does the wild blos-
som 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 clus-

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

611

ters? 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 straw-
berries 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.

f When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock "

Verne Morton

THE PUMPKIN

If the pumpkin were as rare as some
orchids, people would make long pil-
grimages 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 weak-
ness in its appearance; the vine stem is
strong, ridged, and spiny. The spines upon
it are surely a protection upder some cir-
cumstances, for I remember distinctly
that when, as children, barefooted 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 punish-
ment 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 pump-
kin leaf is as worthy of the sculptor's chisel
as is that of the classic acanthus; it is pal-
mately 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 and paler below;
they are covered on both sides with mi-

6l2

PLANTS

note bristles, and their edges are finely
toothed. The bristly, angled stalk which
lifts it aloft is a quite worthy support for
so beautiful a leaf. And, during our child-

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

hood, 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.

Growing from a point nearly opposite
a leaf may be seen the pumpkin's elabo-
rate 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 cling-
ing to trees? as do the gourd vines of today.
But the pumpkin was cultivated in fields
with the maize by the North American
Indians, long before the Pilgrim Fathers
came to America and made its fruit into
pies. Since the pumpkin cannot sustain it-
self in our northern climate without the
help of man, it was evidently a native of a
warmer land. With cultivation it now

sends its long stems out for many feet, rest-
ing entirely upon the ground. But, like a
conservative, elderly maiden lady, it still
\vears corkscrew curls in memory of a fash-
ion 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, per-
manently. The expanding of the flower
bud is a pretty process; each lobe, sup-
ported by a strong midrib, spreads out
into one of the points of a five-pointed
star; each point is 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

Verne Morton

The Staminate blossom of the pumpkin,
showing the anther knob at the left. A bud of
the staminate flower at the center and a
closed blossom at the right

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

613

tumed-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
may7 willy-nilly, get a night's lodging, for
these folded edges literally hem her in.

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 lilliputian 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 bee must stand on her
head and brush her pollen-dusted side
against the 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.

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 up-
holds 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 incon-
spicuous 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

nectar below the latter; the nectar-cup
is carpeted with the softest of buff velvet,
and while it does not reek with nectar, as
does the cup which encompasses the

1, Base of pistillate blossom; 0, ovary
which develops into the pumpkin; N, nectar
cup; St, stigmas. 2, Base of a staminate blos-
som; N, opening into the nectar cup; An,
anthers joined, forming a knob, 3, Pumpkin
tendril

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 nectar
there. The pumpkin is absolutely depend-
ent upon the work of bees and other in-
sects for carrying its pollen from the blos-
som that bears it to the one which lacks
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, to open no
more. 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 sus-
tenance 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 effi-
cient 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 other

614

PLANTS

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

A squash plant breaking out of the seed
coats at the left. The operation further pro-
gressed is shown at the right

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.

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 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 per-
mitted, they could grow into plants next
year.

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 it is 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 nourish-
ment of the young plant. Between these
two halves, at the pointed end, is the em-
bryo, 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 pro-
jection, while the seed leaves are pulled
from their snug quarters. If the seed
leaves are not released, the seed shell
clamps them 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 Hal-

Section of a pumpkin just after the blossom
has fallen. Note how the seeds are borne

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

lowe'en jack-o'-lantern appeals to the chil-
dren. In this connection, a study of ex-
pression might be made interesting; the
turning of the corners of the mouth up or
down7 and the angles of the eyebrows?
making all the difference between a jolly
grin and an " awful face."

SUGGESTED READING — Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Har-
rison E. Howe, Book 3, Surprises; also,
readings on pages 459 and 594.

LESSON 171
THE PUMPKIN

LEADING THOUGHT — The pumpkin and
squash were cultivated by the American
Indians in their cornfields long before Co-
lumbus discovered the new world. Insects
carry the pollen for the flowers of these
plants? which must be cross-pollinated in
order to develop their fruit.

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 observa-
tion. The lesson on the pumpkin fruit
may be given later. A small green pump-
kin should be studied with the ripe one,
and also with the blossoms, so as to show
the position of the seeds during develop-
ment. This lesson can be modified to fit
the cucumber, the melon, the squash, and
the gourd.

THE PUMPKIN VINE AND FLOWERS
OBSERVATIONS — i. How many differ-
ent forms of flowers do you find on a
pumpkin vine? What are the chief dif-
ferences in their shape?

2. Look first at the flowers with the
long slender stalks. 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?

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

Verne Morton

Pistillate flowers of the squash in various
stages

than the others. Do all the pumpkin flow-
ers 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 be-
neath it. Note if the bees find the open-
ings 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 an-
other flower?

5. Describe the calyx behind this pol-
len-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

6i6

PLANTS

Verne Morton

A. pumpkin vine showing tendrils, a flower,
and an immature pumpkin

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 in-
sects 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
howr 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?

i o. 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 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 — i . Do you think the
pumpkin is a beautiful fruit? Why? De-
scribe its shape and the way it is creased.

Describe the rind, its color and its texture.
Describe the stalk; does it cling to the
pumpkin? How many ridges in the stalk
where it joins the vine? How many where
it joins the pumpkin? Which part of the
stalk is larger? Does this give it a firmer
hold?

2. Cut in halves crosswise a small green
pumpkin and a ripe one. Which is more
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? What is left
of a pumpkin after the cattle have eaten
it? Might the seeds thus left plant them-
selves?

4. Is the pumpkin seed attached at the
round end or at 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 embryo plant? 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

Bodger Seeds, Ltd.

Gourds of many varieties are grown for
ornamental purposes. Pumpkins, squashes,
and cucumbers are all members of the gourd
family

CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

617

root or the shoot? 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? In what ways
are the seed leaves useful to the plant?

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East
and from West,

From North and from South come the pil-
grim 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 can-
dle within/
When we laughed round the corn-heap,

with hearts all in tune,
Our chair a broad pumpkin — our lantern

the rnoon,
Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like

steam,
In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats

for her team!

— J. G. WHITTLER

TREES

W. C. Muenscher

Douglas firs, San Juan Island, Washington. These trees show the effects of strong prevailing

winds from one direction

I wonder if they lilce 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," CHARLOTTE PERKINS STETSON

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, in-
stead 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 divi-
sions 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 root-
lets, 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.

TREES

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 and
minerals 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 the part beneath the
ground is 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; \vhen they find plenty of food and
water the rootlets interlace forming a solid
mat. On the Cornell University campus
are certain elms whose roots, ever}' six or
seven years, fill and clog the nearby sewers;
these trees send most of their roots in the
direction of the sewer pipe. The fine root-
lets upon the tree roots are covered with
root hairs, which really form the mouths

A tree with parts named

Avenue of trees

by which liquids are taken into the
tree.

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 up-
rooted 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 today 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

6zo

PLANTS

U. S. Forest Service

Loblolly pine. Annual rings near the center
are narrow, but they become much wider.
This increased rate of growth was due to
thinning of the stand

through the leaf canopy and expose the
leaves to the sunlight. It also is a channel
by which the sap 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 sapwood
consists of the more recent annual rings
of growth. Within the sapwood are con-
centric 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 a structure similar to that of
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 usually on the out-
ermost parts of the tree. A leaf would be
of little use, unless it could 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 peti-
ole 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 baric,
Working a wonderful plan
That the leaves never know,
And the branches that grow
On the blink of the tide never see.

— JOHN B. TABB

THE WAY A TREE GROWS

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 in-
stead, 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 water and
minerals 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 sapwood of
the trunk, out through the branches to
the leaves, where in the leaf-factories the

TREES

621

water and free oxygen are given off to the
air, and the nourishing elements retained
and mixed with certain chemical ele-
ments 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 min-
erals from the soil; the finished product is
largely starch. Thus, it is well, \vhen 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 wrhen w?e 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-
wrood of the limbs, the branches, and
trunk, to be used for the growth of the
next year's leaves. But starch cannot be as-
similated 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 stom-
ach and digest the food they have made
for the tree's use. In the mysterious labo-
ratory 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 darlc. 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.

A big tulip poplar, in Jackson County, North
Carolina

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 chlo-
rophyl, the living protoplasm in the leaf
cells, has been withdrawn and is safely se-
cluded in the woody part of the tree. The

622

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Trees in winter

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.

SUGGESTED READING — Field Eoolc of
American Trees and Shrubs, by F. Schuy-
ler Mathews; The Forest: A Handbook for
Teachers, by Mrs. Priscilla D. Edgerton;
Forest Facts for Schools, by Charles L.
Pack and Tom Gill; A Guide to the Trees,
by Alice Lounsberry; How a Tree Grows,
by William Somerville; Our Native Trees
and How to Identify Them, by Harriet L.
Keeler; Our Northern Shrubs and How to
Identify Them, by Harriet L. Keeler; Our
Trees, How to Know Them, by A. I.
Emerson and C. M. Weed; The Tree
BooJc, by Julia Ellen Rogers; Trees, by
Julia Ellen Rogers; Trees; A Simple
Guide for Quick Identification of Forest
Trees, by O. L. Sponsler; Trees in Winter,
by A. F. Blakeslee and C. D. Jarvis; Trees
of Northeastern United States, by H. P.
Brown; additional references are to be
found in the bibliography in the back of
this Handbook, under Plant Life, Nature-
Study in General, Textbooks and Readers;
also, readings on page 459.

HOW TO BEGIN TREE STUDY

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 uncon-
sciously learn that leaf by name. Thus,
tree study may be begun in the kindergar-
ten or the primary grades,
i. Let the pupils use their leaves as a

TREES

U. S. Forest Service

Mt. Baker from Table Mountain, Washington. Trees growing near timberline are stunted

color lesson by classifying them according
to color, and thus train the eye to dis-
criminate tints and color values.

2. Let them classify the leaves accord-
ing to form7 selecting those which resem-
ble 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 out-
lining 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 l>eing, 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 Poca-

hontas 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 school building when the tree was
planted. To begin the pupils7 work? let
each have a little notebook in which shall
be written, sketched, or described all that
happens to this particular tree for a year.
The following words with their meanings
should be given in the reading and spell-
ing lessons: Head, bole, trunk, branches,
twigs, spray, roots, bark, leaf, petiole, foli-
age, sap.

LESSON 172
TREE STUDY

AUTUMN WORK — i. 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

624

PLANTS

___ J

Mountain maple} sugar maple, and red maple

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 be-
tween 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 thick-
ness of its petiole. Are the leaves set op-
posite 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 notebook the two
leaves which differ most from each other
of any that grew1 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 WORK — i . 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

— 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 that of the large branches?

2. Study the cut end of a log or stump
and also study a slab. Which is the heart-
wood and which is the sapwood? Can you
see the rings of growth? Can you count
these rings and tell the age of the tree
from which this log came? Describe, if
you can, how a tree trunk grows larger
each year. What is it that makes the grain
in the wood which we use for furniture? If
we girdle a tree why may 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 it 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

Trunks of young birches, black on leftj yellow
on right

TREES

beef fat upon its branches, and note all
of the kinds of birds which come to feast
upon it.

SPRING WORK — i . 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

Tamarack

Ralph "W. Curtis

Verne Morton

Sycamore in winter

order to get sunshine? What would hap-
pen 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?

626

PLANTS

Hemlocks under a load of snow

Are the blossoms which bear the fruit on
different trees from those that bear the
pollen, or are these flowers placed sepa-
rately 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 the tree? What sort
of fruits are formed by these flowers? How
are the fruits 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 3^ 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 the
length 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 3.14.

LESSON 173
How TO MAKE LEAF PRINTS

A very practical help in interesting chil-
dren 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,
Virginia, 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 Gil-
lette gave me my first lesson in making
leaf prints.

MATERIAL — i. A smooth surface such
as a slate, a thick plate of glass, or a mar-
ble slab about 12 X 15 inches.

2. A tube of printer's ink,, either green
or black; one tube contains a sufficient
supply of ink for making several hundred

Alder showing staminate catkins of current
year, and fruits matured from pistillate cat"
kins of preceding year

TREES

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. A
letter press may be used instead of one
roller.

4. A small bottle of kerosene to dilute
the ink, and a bottle of gasoline for clean-
ing the outfit after using, care being taken
to store them safe from fire.

5. Sheets of paper; 8-4 X n inches is a
good size. The paper should be of good
quality, with smooth surface, in order that
it may take and hold a clear outline. The
ordinary pap^r used in printers' offices for
printing newspapers works fairly well.

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/'

Linden in blossom

Leaf print of a sycamore maple

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
down with all the strength possible; a sec-
ond passage of the roller blurs the print.
Two prints are made at each rolling, one
of the upper7 and one of the under side of
the leaf. Dry and wrinkled leaves may be
made pliant by soaking in water, and dry-
ing 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 OT 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

628

PLANTS

Troy Studio

Sugar bush in spring

THE MAPLES

The sugar maple, combining beaut}1
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 sum-
mer landscape; but when it occurs in the
forest, its noble bole, a pillar of granite
gray, rises to uphold the arches of the for-
est canopy; and it often attains there the
height of one hundred feet. It grows rap-
idly 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 petiole be-
ing 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 oc-
casionally red. The leaves are placed oppo-
site. The shade made by the foliage of the
maple is so dense that it shades down the
plants beneath it; even grass grows 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.

It is its autumn transfiguration which
has made people observant of the maple's
beauty; yellow, orange, crimson, and scar-
let foliage makes these trees gorgeous
when October comes. Nor do the trees get
their color uniformly; even in September,

TREES

the maple may 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
much of the manufactured food and have
stored it snugly in trunk and branch for
winter keeping. Thus, only the mineral
substances and waste materials 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, beau-
tiful, old age of the leaf. When the leaves
finally fall, they form a mulch-carpet and
add their substance to the humus from
which trees and other plants draw new
powers for growth.

After ever}* 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 pur-
plish, a color given It by the winter buds.
These buds are sharp-pointed and long.
In late winter, their covering of scales
shows premonitions of spring by enlarg-

Sugar maple leaves

Sugar maple blossoms

ing, and as if due to the soft influence,
they become downy, and take on a sun-
shine 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. The
flowers appear in tassel-like clusters, each
downy, drooping thread of the tassel bear-
ing at its tip a five-lobed calyx, wrhich
may hold seven or eight long, drooping
stamens or a pistil with long, double stig-
mas. 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.

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 fruits; 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

630

PLANTS

MAPLE SUGAR MAKING

Sugar maple growing in the open

seeds ripen In September. 1 have seen
seedlings growing thickly for rods to the
leeward of their parent tree, which stood
in an open field. The maples may
bear blossoms and produce seeds every
year.

There are six species of native maples
which are readily distinguishable. The sil-
ver 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 in-
troduced 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 heartwood showing shades of brown;
it takes a fine polish and is used as a fin-
ishing 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.

Although we have tapped the trees in
America for many hundred years, we do
not as yet understand perfectly the mys-
teries of the sap flow. In 1903, the scien-
tists 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.

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 sapwood 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 disap-
pears, being converted into tree-food in
the sap, and then begins that wonderful
surging up and down of the sap tide. Dur-
ing the first part of a typical sugar season,
more sap comes from above down than
from below up; toward the end of the sea-
son, during poor sap days, there is more
sap coming up from below than down
from above. The ideal sugar weather con-
sists 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 suc-
tion 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, marble-like 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
today. 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 stone-
boat 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 pas-
ture to the woods, where it eventually ar-
rived 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 strik-
ing their faces, " gee'd and haw'd " up hill
and down dale through the woods, stop-
ping here and there while the men with
augers bored holes in certain trees near
other holes which had been made in years

TREES 631

gone by. When the auger was withdrawn,
the sap followed It7 and enthusiastic
young tongues met it half way, though

Verne Morton

A foretaste. An old-fashioned sugar bush

Maple seedling

they received more chips than sweetness
therefrom; then the spiles were driven in
with a wooden mallet.

The next day after " tapping/7 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 deli-
cious was the odor of the sap steam, per-
meating the woods farther than the shafts
of firelight pierced the gloom I 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 usl We
poked the fire to send the sparks upward,
and now and then added more sap from
a barrel, and removed the scurn 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 Indi-
ans, bears, panthers, and wolves which
had roamed these woods when our father
was a little boy; and came to each of us a

PLANTS

M. V. Slingerland

Leaves of silver maple

disquieting suspicion that perhaps they
were not all gone yet, for everything
seemed possible in those night-shrouded
woods; and OUT hearts suddenly " jumped
into our throats " when nearby there
sounded the tremulous, blood-curdling
cry of the screech owl.

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 pour-
ing it thick and hot upon snow made

that most delicious of all sweets — the
maple wax; or we stirred it until it
" grained/7 before we poured it into the
tins to make the " cakes " of maple sugar.

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 care-
fully covered. The old caldron kettle is
broken, or lies rusting in the shed. In its
place, in the newfangled sugar-houses,
are evaporating vats, set over furnaces
with chimneys. But we may as well con-
fess that the maple sirup of today seems
to us a pale and anemic 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.

SUGGESTED READING — - Maple Sugar
Time, by Royce S. Pitkin; Nature and
Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch and
Harrison E. Howe, Book 4, Through Four
Seasons; Our Plant Friends and Foes, by
William A. DuPuy; also, readings on
page 622.

LESSON 174
THE SUGAR MAPLE

LEADING THOUGHT — The sugar maple
grows very rapidly, and is therefore a use-
ful shade tree. Its wood is used for many
purposes, and from its sap is made a de-
licious sugar.

METHOD — This study of the maple
should be done by the pupils out of doors,
with a tree to answer the questions. The

Ralph W. Curtis

Blossoms of the silver maple

TREES

633

study of the leaves, blossoms, and fruit
may be made in the schoolroom. The
maple is an excellent subject for Lesson
172. The observations should begin in
the fall and continue at intervals until
June.

OBSERVATIONS. FALL WORK — i . 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?

2. Can you find fruits on your tree?
Each fruit 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 halves of the key good or is one
empty? How are the fruits scattered and
planted? How far will a maple key fly on
its wings? Plant a maple fruit where you
can watch it grow next year.

3. Make leaf prints and describe a leaf
of the maple, showing its shape, its veins,

Ralph W. Curtis

Blossoms of mountain maple

Ralph W. Curtis

Blossoms of striped maple

and petiole. Are the leaves arranged op-
posite 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 be-
neath the tree? Do the same plants grow
there as in the open field?

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 au-
tumn 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 col-
ored brightly shed their leaves before the

PLANTS

Ralph W. Curtis

Leaves and fruit of striped maple

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 ex-
tend up through the entire tree? Is the
spray fine or coarse? Is it straight or
crooked?

9. Study the winter buds. Are they al-
ternate or opposite on the twigs? Are they
shining or dull?

SPRING WORK — 10. At wiiat 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. \Vhen 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?

Ralph W. Curtis

Blossoms of red maple

THE AMERICAN ELM

Although the American elm loves moist
woods, it is one of those trees that enjoy
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 be-
ing planted, the elms on the Cornell Uni-
versity campus clasped branches across
the avenues; and the beauty of many a
village and city is due chiefly to these grace-
ful trees of bounteous shade. Moreover,
the elm is at no time more beautiful than
when it traces its flowing lines against

TREES

635

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 grace-
fully, as if it weie made purposely to sus-
tain from its fine tips the woven pocket-
nest of the oriolo. No wonder this bird so
often chooses the elin for its rooftreel

In winter, the dark, coarsely-ridged bark
and the peculiar, wiry, thick spray, as well
as the characteristic shape of the tree re-
veal to us its identity; some elms have a
peculiar habit of growing their short
branches all the way down their trunk,
making them look as if they were en-
twined with a vine. The elm leaf, although
its ribs are straight and simple, shows a
little quirk of its own \n 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 di-
rections, while the leaf of the slippery
elm is rough whichever way it may be
stroked. The edges of the leaf have saw
teeth, which are in turn toothed; the
petiole is short. The leaf comes out of

Ralph W. Curtis

American elm, vase type

Ralph W. Curtis

Blossoms of slippery elm

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 ir-
regular number of lobes, and for every
lobe, a stamen which consists of a thread-
like 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 fruit 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 fiat. Each fruit
shows at its base the old calyx and is at-
tached 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 fruits, al-

PLANTS

Elm fruit

G. F. Morgan

though few of them find places fit for
growth of seeds.

The elm roots are water hunters and
extend deep into the earth; most of them
grow toward water, seeming to know the
way. The elm heartwood is reddish, the
sapwood 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, saddler^-, and is now used more ex-
tensively 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 slipper}- 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 pe-
culiar cork}- growth on its brancne*, g.v.ng
it a very unkempt look. The wahoo, or
winged elm7 is a small tree, and its twigs
are ornamented on each side by a corky
layer. The English elm has a solid, round
head7 very different from that of our grace-
ful species. The elms are long-lived, un-
less attacked by insects or disease; some
elm trees have lived 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.

Lovers of the elm are at present much
alarmed at the inroads made by the Dutch
elm disease, so called because it was first
discovered in Holland. It first appeared in
this country in Ohio in 1930, and many

hundreds of infected trees have since been
discovered in northern New Jersey and
southeastern New York. The disease is
caused by a fungus, Ceratostomella ulrni,
the spores of which are carried from tree
to tree by the European elm bark-beetle.

A tree seriously infected is doomed, and
will serve as a focal point of infection to
healthy trees. Dead branches should be
cut and burned as soon as seen, and thor-
oughly infected trees should be completely
destroyed, root and branch. Any compe-
tent plant pathologist can from a study of
infected twigs identify the disease, which
in its early stages resembles less serious
disorders.

Unless the disease is eradicated by these
drastic measures, our beautiful elms may
succumb as did the chestnuts to the chest-
nut blight. No one would willingly picture
America without its elms.

SUGGESTED READING — Holiday Hill, by
Edith M. Patch; Our Plant Friends and
Foes, by William A. DuPuy; Under These
Trees, by Grace Humphry; also, readings
on page 622.

LESSON 175
THE ELM

LEADING THOUGHT — The elm has a pe-
culiarly graceful form, which makes it of

Ralph W. Curtis

American elm

TREES

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 au-
tumn tints, and later it should be sketched
again when its branches are naked. Its
blossoms should be studied in March and
April and its fruits in May.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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? De-
scribe 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 which-
ever way you stroke them? If a leaf is
folded lengthwise are the two halves ex-
actly 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.

American elm

Verne Morton

American elm in winter

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 Amer-
ican elms.

j. What birds love to build in the elm
trees?

638

PLANTS

8, What disease threatens our elms?
What steps should be taken to save the
elms?

SPRING WORK — 9. Which appear first,
the blossoms or the leaves? Describe the

elm blossom. How long before the fruits
ripen? How are the fruits attached to the
twig? Describe an elm fruit. How are the
fruits scattered? How are the young leaves
folded as they come out of the bud?

THE OAKS

'The symbol of rugged strength since
man first gazed upon its noble propor-
tions, the oak more than other trees has

White-oak leaves and acorn

been entangled in human myth, legend,
and imagination. It was regarded as the
special tree of Zeus by the Greeks; while
in primitive England the strange worship
of the Druids centered on it. 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

tlie hills commands.

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 crooked or gnarled but which
may be long and strong; the smaller

Lewis W. Hender&hot

White oak in winter

TREES

639

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 di-
vided 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 sw:eet
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, post, and chinquapin oaks.

Leaves and acorn of swamp white oak

AA. The bhck oalc group, the leaves of
wThich 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 black, red, scarlet,
Spanish, pin, scrub, blackjack, 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 tree books, and the
pupils may learn to distinguish some of
them.

The acorns and their scaly saucers are

varied in shape, and are a delight to chil-
dren as well as to pigs. The great acorns of

the red oak are made into cups and saucers

Leaves and acorn of chestnut oak

by the girls, and those of the scarlet oak
into tops by the boys. The white oaks turn

Ralph W. Curtis

Blossoms of chestnut oak. Compare with
chestnut blossoms, p. 646

640

PLANTS

•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.

are inconspicuous, at the axils of the leaves,
and have irregular or curved stigmas; they
are on the same branch as the pollen-bear-
ing flowers.

The oak is long-lived; it does not pro-
duce acorns until about twenty years of
age and requires about a century to ma-
ture. 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 Conqueror came. The
famous Wadsworth Oak at Geneseo,

White oak in winter

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, flacidly
down at the mercy of the wind, like a new-
born butterfly or dragonfly."

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

Cup and saucer made from the acorn of
red oak

Leaves and acorn of red oak

New York, had a circumference of
twenty-seven feet. This was a swamp
white oak. One reason for their attaining
great age is long, strong, taproots which
plant them deep; doubtless the great
number of roots near the surface which
act as braces, and their large and luxurious
heads, also help the oaks to survive.

Oak wood is usually heavy, very strong,
tough, and coarse. The heart is brown, the
sapwood 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.

SUGGESTED READING — First Studies of
Plant Life, by George F. Atkinson; Nature
and Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch
and Harrison E. Howe, Book 2, Outdoor
Visits; Our Plant Friends and Foes, by
William A. DuPuy; Under These Trees,

by Grace Humphry; also, readings on
page 622.

TREES 641

edge of all the species of oaks In the neigh-
borhood. The tree may be sketched, essays
concerning the connection of the oak with
human history may be written, while the
leaves and acorns may be brought into the

Leaves and acorn of black oak

LESSON 176
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.

Leaves and acorn of bur oak

METHOD — Any oak tree may be used
for this lesson; but whatever species is
used, the lesson should lead to the knowl-

Leaves and acorn of scarlet oak

Verne Morton

Beeck, a near relative of the oak

schoolroom for study. Use Lesson 173 for
a study of leaves of all the oaks of the
neighborhood.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Describe the oak
tree which you are studying. Where is it

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Beech photographed in April showing last
year's leaves

growing? What shape is its head? How
high in proportion to the head is the
trunk? What is the color and character of
its baric? 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 notebook. 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 differ-
ence 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? Is the kernel of the
acorn sweet or bitter? Plant an acorn and
watch it sprout.

4. Read stories about oak trees, and
write them in your notebook in your own
words.

5. How great an age may the oak at-
tain? Describe how the country round
about looked when the oak you are study-
ing 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 differ-
ence in taste of the acorns? The difference
in the general color of the bark?

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 the pistillate flower
situated in relation to the pollen-bearing
flower?

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.

9. For what is the oak wood used? How
is the bark used?

Beech nuts and " husks

TREES

643

THE SHAGBARK HICKORY

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 may like a great man more
because of his negligence of fashion's de-
mands, 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 al-
most 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 un-
symmetrical oblong head; the lower
branches are usually shorter than the up-
per 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 ex-
pand. There are from eight to ten bud

scales; the inner ones, which are red, in-
crease 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 conspicu-
ous leaf scars.

The hickory bears its staminate and pis-
tillate flowers on the same tree. The pol-
len-bearing flowers grow at the base of
the season's shoots in slender, pendulous

Ralph "W. Curtis

Shagbark hickory. Note loose strips of bark

644

PLANTS

Ralph W. Curtis

Shellbark or shag bark hickory

green catkins, which occur usually in clus-
ters of three swinging from a common
stem. The pistillate flowers grow at the
tips of the season's shoots singly or per-
haps two or three on a common stem. In
the shagbark the middle lobe of the stami-
nate 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 stig-
mas.

The big shagbark, or king nut, is simi-
lar 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 that of 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 tulip-like 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 mois-
ture. It is capable of resisting immense
strain, and therefore it is used for the
handles of spades, plows, and other tools.
As a fuel, it is superior to most woods,
making a glowing, hot, and quite lasting
fire.

LESSON 177
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 proc-
ess; and a little later the blossoms may be
studied. The work should be taken up
again in the fall, when the fruit is ripe.

Opening leaf bud of shagbark hickory

TREES

°45

OBSERVATIONS. WINTER WORK — i .
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, yel-
lowish-brown, or do they have a reddish
tinge?

5. Count the bud scales. Are they
downy or smooth?

SPRING WORK — 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 WORK— 10. Does the hick-
ory you are studying grow in an open field
or in a 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 petioles or petiolules
to "the mid-stem or petiole? Are they
smooth or downy on the underside? Are
the leaves set upon the twigs alternately
or opposite each other? How are the leaf-
lets set upon the mid-stem?

1 3. 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 taste of the kernel sweet or
bitter?

THE CHESTNUT

The chestnut, formerly one of the most
useful and valuable trees in the eastern
United States, has been eliminated over
most of its natural range by the deadly
chestnut bark disease. In the Southeast
live chestnut trees are still to be found,
but over most of the land, where they
grew originally, growing chestnut exists
only as small sprouts. These sprouts are
almost always badly diseased and able to
live for only a few years. It is almost cer-
tain that within a short span of time, all
mature chestnut trees will disappear.

The interest in native chestnut, even
though most of it is gone, and not likely
to reappear, is still so great that a discus-
sion of it is included here.

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 inter-
ested in food than in beauty. The fact
that the chestnuts are sought so eagerly
has taken away from interest in the ap-
pearance of the tree. The chestnut has a
great round head set firmly on a handsome
boley which is covered with grayish brown
bark divided into rather broad, flat, ir-
regular 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 fruit-
ing twigs seeming to be arranged in ro-
settes 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

646

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Not long ago these chestnuts were living
and flourishing. Now, as is true of most of
the other chestnuts in the United States, only
their gaunt skeletons remain

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 in-
stead of being sharply toothed. The burs
appear at the axils of the leaves near the
end of the twig. Thoreau has given us
an 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 Na-
ture 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. Oc-
casionally there is only one nut developed
in a bur, and it grows to be almost globu-
lar. The color we call chestnut is derived
from the beautiful red-brown of the pol-
ished shell of the nut, polished except
where the base joins the bur, and at the
apex, which is gray and downy.

The chestnut is a beautiful tree,

Leaves and blossoms of the chestnut

TREES

647

whether green in summer or glowing
golden yellow in autumn, or bare in win-
ter; but it is most beautiful during late
June and July, when covered with constel-
lations of pale yellow stars. Each of these
stars is a rosette of the pollen-bearing blos-
soms; each ray consists of a catkin often six
or eight inches in length, looking like a
thread of yellowish chenille fringe; cloth-
ing 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

Detail of chestnut blossoms

a, a, pistillate flowers set in a base of scales; b, pistil-
late flower enlarged; c, stamiiiate flower enlarged

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 won-
der 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.

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 stalk with more little green bunches

scattered along it, which are undeveloped
pistillate blossoms. The one or two flow-

Verne Morton

Chestnuts in burs

ers at the base of the stalk seem to 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.

Whereas the chestnut blooms in the
summer, the blossoms of the other mem-
bers of its family appear earlier; and their
fruit has formed when the chestnut comes
into bloom.

Chestnut wood is light, rather soft, stiff,
coarse, and not strong. It is used in cabi-
net work, cooperage, and for telegraph
poles and railway ties. When burned as
fuel, it snaps and crackles almost as much
as hemlock.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 622.

O. L. Foster

Chestnuts

PLANTS

THE HORSE CHESTNUT

Ralph W. Curtis

Horse chestnut in blossom

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 hand-
some 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 es-
sentially 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 background in a most striking fash-
ion. " 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.

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 car-
rying from four to six flowers. The calyx
has five unequal lobes, and it and the
stem are downy. Five spreading and un-
equal petals with ruffled margins are
raised on short claws, to form the corolla;
seven stamens with orange colored an-
thers are thrust far out and up from the
flower. The blossoms are creamy or pink-
ish white and have purple or yellow
blotches in their throats. Not all the flow-
ers have perfect pistils. The stigmas ripen
before the pollen, and are often thrust
forth from the unopened flower. The flow-
ers are fragrant and are eagerly visited by
bumblebees, honeybees, and wasps.

Very soon after the blossom falls, there
may be seen one or two green, prickly
balls, which contain the fruits. By Octo-
ber the green, spherical husk breaks open
in three parts, showing its white satin lin-
ing 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 single burly occupant that is
there when the husk opens. The great,
round, pale scar on the nut is where it

a. Blossom of the sweet buckeye and young
fruit; b, Blossom and young fruit of horse
chestnut

TREES

foined the husk. Very few American ani-
mals 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, be-
sides 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 horse-
shoe-shaped scar left by the falling leaf of
last year. The " nails " in this horseshoe
are formed by the leafy fibers which
joined the petiole to the twig. The great
terminal buds hold both leaves and flow-
ers. 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 boss-chestnut's leetle hands un-
fold
Softer'n a baby's be at three days old.

The leaf, when fully developed, has
seven leaflets, of which the central ones

Ralph W. Curtis

Horse chestnut blossoms and leaves

O. L. Foster

Buckeyes, They resemble horse chestnuts

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 underside 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
fibers, 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 them-
selves up and showing on their inner sur-
faces 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 ako an American
species and grows in the Allegheny Moun-
tains.

LESSON i 78
THE HORSE CHESTNUT

LEADING THOUGHT — The horse chest-
nut has b'.>-\ introduced in America as a

650

PLANTS

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, since 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 visi-
tors when it is in bloom.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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
makes 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 flowerstalk 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?

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. 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 be-
low. 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 al-
ternate? When they fall, do they drop en-
tire or do the leaflets fall apart from the
petiole?

9. Make a sketch of 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 buck-
eye?

TREES

Ralph "W, Curtis

Yellow-twigged and weeping willows

THE WILLOWS

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 handsome7 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

The willow Thoreau noted, is the
golden osier, a colonial dame, a descendant
from the white willow of Europe. It is the
most common tree planted along streams
to confine them to their channels, and af-
fords an excellent subject for a nature-
study lesson. The golden osier has a short
though magnificent trunk, giving off tre-
mendous 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 most beloved by children
is the pussy willow7 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, larger than the pussies
of other willows. These are favorite ob-
jects for a nature-study lesson, and yet
how little have the teachers or pupils
known about these flowers!

The showy willow pussies are the pol-
len-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

652 PLANTS

seed are borne on another tree entirely
and in similar greenish gray catkins, but
not so soft and furry. In the pistillate cat-

tH.fl

Enlarged willow blossoms

Pistillate blossom showing nectar-gland, (n.gl.) Stami-
nate flower showing the nectar-gland (n.gl.)

kin 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 and the wind 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 work-
ing 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, carry-
ing their pollen loads, which fertilize the
stigmas on trees where there is no pollen.

In June the willow seed is ripe. The cat-
kin 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 pro-
duced 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, malce
these trees of great use as soil binders.
There are few things better than a thick
hedge of willows to hold streams to their
proper channels during floods; the roots

Verne Morton

Willow pussies; the staminate blossoms of
the willow

TREES

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 be-
low than above. The willows are, as a
whole, water lovers and quick growers.

Although willow wood is soft and ex-
ceedingly light, it is very tough when sea-
soned 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 wil-
low wood. The toughness and flexibility
of the willow twigs have given rise to
many industries; baskets, hampers, 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.

There are many insect inhabitants of
the willow, but perhaps the most interest-
ing is the little chap who 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

Verne Morton

Pistillate blossoms of the pussy willow

twig; as soon as the little grub hatches, it
begins to gnaw the twig, and this irrita-
tion 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 deli-
cate little fly. The larva in this gall does
not live alone. It has its own little apart-
ment at the center, but other gall gnats
live in outer chambers and breed there in
great 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

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Seeds of the willow

little flies when they shall issue in the
spring. (Seep. 337.)

There is another interesting winter ten-
ant of willow leaves, but it is rather diffi-
cult 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. A larva of
the autumn brood of this butterfly eats off
the tip of the leaf each side of the midrib
for about half its length, fastens the peti-
ole 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 un-
til fresh leaves on the willow in spring af-
ford it new food.
SUGGESTED READING — Page 622.

LESSON 179
THE WILLOWS

LEADING THOUGHT — The willows have
their pollen-bearing flowers and their seed-
bearing flowers on separate trees; the pol-
len is distributed by bees and by the wind.
The willow pussies are the pollen-bearing
flowers.

METHOD — As early in March as is prac-
ticable, 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 win-
dow. The catkins will soon begin to push
out from the bud scales, and the whole
process of flowering may be watched.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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. De-
scribe the little bract, which is like a pro-
tecting 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 sta-
mens.

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 can-
not 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 work-
ing on the willow blossoms? What are
they after?

j. What sort of seed has the willow?
How is it scattered? Do you think the
wind or water has most to do with plant-
ing 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?

TREES 655

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 chemicals 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 gall 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 cat-
erpillars of the viceroy butterfly.

THE COTTONWOOD OR CAROLINA POPLAR

The sojourner on our western plains
where streams are few and sluggish, dis-
appearing entirely in summer, soon learns
to love the cottonwoods, for they will
grow and cast their shade for men and cat-
tle where few other trees 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-fur-
rowed, 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 cot-
tonwood is one of the stateliest inhabit-
ants 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

Cottonwood

656 PLANTS

reddish, those of last year's growth being
smooth and round, while those showing
previous growth are angular. The buds are

Anna C. Stryke

Staminate catkin of cottonwood

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, pur-
plish 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 differ-
ent; they look like a string of little, green-
ish 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."

The foliage of the cottonwood is like
that of other poplars, trembling with the
breeze. The heavy, subcircular leaf is sup-
ported 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 fasci-
nating impression as of leaves beckoning.
The leaf is in itself pretty. It is from three
to five inches long, broad, slightly angu-
lar 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 alternately on the twigs.

In the autumn the leaves are brilliant
yellow. The wood is soft, weak, fine-
grained, whitish or yellowish, and has a

Cyrus Crosby

The growing- fruits of the cottonwood -

TREES

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 Moun-
tains and from Manitoba to Texas.

LESSON 180
THE COTTONWOOD

LEADING THOUGHT — The cottonwood
is a poplar. It grows rapidly and flour-
ishes 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 unfold-
ing of the leaves and study the tree. Twigs
of the aspen, if brought indoors in early
spring, provide a very interesting study.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What is the color
of the bark on the cottonwood? Is it ridged
deeply? What is the color of the twigs?

Ralph W. Curtis

Flowers of trembling aspen, sometimes called
£f popple tree" a near relative of the cotton-
wood

Ralph W. Curtis

Lombardy poplar, another relative of the cot-
tonwood

Are they round or angular, or both? De-
scribe the winter buds and bud scales. Can
you tell which bud will produce leaves and
which flo\vers?

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?

3. Find a pollen-bearing catkin. De-
scribe the stamens. Can you see anything
but the anthers? On what are they set?

658 PLANTS

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 neck-
lace.

5. When do the seeds ripen? If you
have lived near the tree, how do you know
when they are ripe? How long is the cat-

Seed pod of poplar, shut and open

kin 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 " cotton-
wood "?

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 cotton-
wood look? Does it twinkle with the
wind? Examine the leaves upon a branch
and tell why you think they twinkle. Are
the petioles round or flat? Are they flat-
tened sidewise or up and down? Are they
stiff or slender? Describe the leaves, giving
their shape, veins, edges, color, and tex-
ture above and below. Are the edges ruf-
fled 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 tremble in the
slightest breeze? 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 beau-
tiful shade tree? How long does it take it
to grow? What kind of wood does it pro-
duce? For what is the wood of the cotton-
wood used?

THE WHITE ASH

Myths and legends cluster about the
ash tree. It was, in the Norse mythology,
the tree " Igdrasil," the tree of the uni-
verse, which was the origin of all things.
" 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 Ameri-
can Indians made their canoe paddles
from it.

The bark of the ashes is very beauti-
ful. 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 seem-
ingly 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 grace-
ful; the leaves are from eight to twelve
inches long and are composed of from
five to nine leaflets. The leaflets have little
petiolules connecting them with the peti-
ole; in shape they are ovate with edges ob-
scurely 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 for the horse chestnut,
the ashes are our only common trees with
compound leaves which have the leaves
opposite. This characteristic distinguishes
the ashes from the hickories. The autumn
foliage has a very peculiar color; the leaves

TREES

are dull purple above and pale yellow be-
low; this brings the sunshine color into
the shadowj- parts of the tree, and gives
a curious effect of no perspective. Not-
withstanding this, the autumn coloring is
a joy to the artistic eye and is very char-
acteristic.

The fruits of the ash are borne in
crowded clusters; the delicate stalk, from
three to five inches long, is branched into
smaller stalks to wThich are joined two or
three keys. Often several of these main
stalks come from the same bud at the tip
of last year's wood, so that they seem
crowded. The fruit 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

Ralph. W, Curtis

White ash

G. P. Morgan

Pistillate blossoms of white ash

sort of mulberry brown, an inch and a
half long, and handsome." The fruits
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.

The flowrers appear in April or May,
before the leaves. The pistillate flowers
make an untidy fringe, curling in every
direction around the twigs. The chief
flowerstalk is three to four inches long,
quite stout, pale green, and from this arise
short, fringed stalks, each carrying along
its sides the knobs on little stalks — which
are the pistillate flowers. Each tiny flower
seems to be bristling with individuality,
standing off at an angle to get a share of
the 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 con-
sist 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 an-
thers are plucked off, because they hang

66o

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Young ash

in such a crowded mass. Later the leaves
come out beyond them.

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 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 ap-
pear 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 may 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 181
ASH TREES

LEADING THOUGHT— The ashes are
among our most valuable timber trees; the
white ash is one of the most beautiful and
useful of them all. It does not make for-
ests, 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
may be given to them for their field note-
books. The lesson may begin in the fall
and be continued in the spring.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What is there about
the bark of the ash tree which distin-
guishes 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 dis-
tinguish the ashes from all our other trees
which have 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?

TREES

661

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?

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

Icin,

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.
— " UNDER THE WILLOWS/' LOWELL

THE APPLE TREE

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 "

An old-fashioned orchard is always a de-
light to those of us who love the pictur-
esque. The venerable apple tree with its
great twisted and gnarled branches, rear-
ing aloft its rounded head, and casting its
shadow on the green turf below, is a pic-
ture 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 are few plants
that respond more generously to cultiva-
tion 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 Au-
gust 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 south-
western 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 Switzer-
land ate this fruit. In this country the ap-
ple thrives best on clay loam, although it
grows on a great variety of soils; where
wheat and corn grow, there will the apple
grow also. In general, the shape of the
apple-tree head is rounded or broadly py-
ramidal; however, this differs somewhat
with varieties. The trunk is short and
rather stocky, the bark is a beautiful soft

A Baldwin apple tree

662

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Apple tree in winter

gray and is decidedly scaly, flaking off in
pieces which are more or less quadrangu-
lar. 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
an 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 deter-
mined to be a tree in itself. The leaves
are oval? with toothed edges and long peti-
oles. 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.

It has long been the practice not to
depend upon the seeds for reproducing
a variety; for, since insects do such a large

work in pollinating the apple flowers, it
would be quite difficult to be sure that a
seed would not be a result of a cross be-
tween two varieties. Therefore, the mat-
ter is made certain by the process of graft-
ing or budding. There are several modes
of grafting; one in common use is the
cleft-graft. A scion, which is a twig bear-
ing 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

Cleft-grafting

I, Cleft-graft; 2, scion for cleft -grafting; 3,
waxed

the graft

TREES

663

the wounded parts are covered with graft-
ing wax, which keeps in the moisture and
keeps out disease germs.

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 sev-
eral 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 share of the water
and minerals in the soil. Some varieties
begin to bear much sooner than others,
even at seven years; 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 short. This
makes the picking of the fruit much easier
and also exposes the tree less to wind and
sun-scald.

Shield-budding

1, The T-shaped slit and the bud ; 2, the bud set in th«,
slit ; 3, the bud tied

Verne Morton

Thorn apple. In winter, the low broad form
of this tree is quite evident

There are certain underlying principles
of pruning that every child should know:
The pruning of the root cuts down the
amount of moisture 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 no stump should be left
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 thorn

664

PLANTS

apple. 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 bou-
quet 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.

SUGGESTED READING — The Apple Tree,
by Liberty Hyde Bailey; Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and Har-
rison E. Howe, Book 4, Through Four
Seasons; OUT Plant Friends and Foes, by
William A. DuPuy; also, readings on
page 622.

LESSON 182
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. If apple trees of a cer-
tain variety are desired, they can be pro-
duced by budding or grafting; trees grown
from apple seeds do not produce apples of
the same variety as those of the parent
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 — i . How tall is the
largest apple tree you know? What variety
is it? How old is it? How can you dis-
tinguish 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 al-
ternate? 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 " bud-
ding"? What is the difference between
grafting and budding? Describe the proc-
ess 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? At what age
does an apple tree usually come into bear-
ing?

13. Is the practice now to allow an
apple tree to grow tall? Why is an apple
tree with a short trunk better than one
with a long trunk?

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 primed and how the wound thus made
should be treated. Why?

TREES

66;

HOW AN APPLE GROWS

An apple tree in full blossom is a beau-
tiful 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 win-
ter buds, which are protected during win-
ter 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 experi-
enced, and thus reveal its age.

Varieties of apples differ in whether the
blossoms or the leaves push out first; the
season may cause a like difference. The
white, downy leaves at first have two nar-
row 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 be-
tween 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 m ten differ-
ent grdup% but this is not easy txpee.

';Tpbc, fite pale gjeen styles are very silky
and downy "and "are* tipped ""with green
stigmas. The pistils all unite at their bases

making a five4obed, compound ovary.
The upper part of this ovary may be seen
above the calyx-cup, but the lower por-
tion 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

Verne Morton

Apple blossoms

these pistils becomes one of the five cells
in the apple core. If one of the stigmas
does not receive pollen, its ovary will de-
velop no seed; this often makes the apple
lopsided. 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, wrin-
kled scales at the blossom end; within
them may be seen the dried and wrin-
kled stamens, and within the circle of
stamens, the sere and blackened styles.
There may be five or six, or even more

666

PLANTS

Verne Morton

Peach blossoms

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 usually at
the end of the twigs and spurs of the apple
tree; and only rarely do they grow along
the sides of the branches as do those of 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 devel-
oped, which pushes on and continues the
growth of the twig, and will in turn be a
spur and bear blossoms the following year.

LESSON 183
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 observa-
tions, 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 re-
lation to the blossom.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 ap-
pear 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 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

Verne Mortem

Pear blossom$

TREES

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 parts of
the blossom remain? 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 spray-
ing 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?

M. V. Slingerland

Just ready to spray. A pear and two apples
from which the petals have already fallen,
with calyx lobes widely spread

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

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

Apples seem to have played a very im-
portant part in human history, and from
the first had much effect upon human
destiny, judging from the trouble that en-
sued 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 cen-
turies, 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 pe-
culiar form, and also its own colors and
markings and its own texture and flavor.
Some have tough skins, others bruise read-
ily even with careful handling; but to all

668

PLANTS

kinds, the skin is an armor against those
ever-present foes, the fungus spores, myri-
ads 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;

1, Apple cut along core; 2, Apple cut across
core showing the five carpels and the ten
outer core lines

a, cavity; b, basin; c, calyx lobes; d, calyx-tube with
withered stamens attached ; e, carpels ; f , outer core lines,
terminating at a point where stamens are attached ; g,
fibers extending from, stem to basin

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.

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; quite often the

number is two. If a carpel is empty,
the apple is often lopsided, and this sig-
nifies that the stigma of that ovary re-
ceived 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 at-
tached to the inner edge of a carpel, or
seed box. Other bundles of fibers pass
through the flesh about halfway between
the core and the skin. Delicate as they
are, so that no one observes them in eat-
ing 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 dissect-
ing 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 seeds 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.

Apples, even of the same variety, differ
much in yield and quality according to
the soil and climate in which they grow.
Varieties of apples are constantly chang-
ing; new varieties are introduced and older
varieties are discarded. The Baldwin is
still the leading variety in New York State
but it has a distinct downward trend in
the newer plantings. Northern Spy and
Rhode Island Greening are still holding
their Own. In the plantings of recent years,
Mclntosh and Corfland have been most

TREES

669

popular; it is only a question of time un-
til the Mclntosh will lead in New York
State.

Too often in passing through the coun-
try, we see neglected and unprofitable
orchards, with soil untilled, the trees un-
pruned 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 horti-
culture.

LESSON 184
THE APPLE

LEADING THOUGHT — The apple is a
nutritious fruit, wholesome and easily di-
gested. The varieties of apple differ in
shape, size, color, texture, and flavor. A
perfect apple has no bruise upon it and
no wormholes in it.

METHOD — Typical blossoms of differ-
ent 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 accord-
ing to size, shape, color, flavor, and tex-
ture.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Sketch the shape of
your apple. Is it almost spherical, or flat-
tened, 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 character-
istic 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. Wliat 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 i. Take three apples of
equal soundness and peel one of them;
place them on a shelf. Place one of the un-
peeled 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 de-
cay? What should these two experiments
teach us about 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

6yo

PLANTS

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."

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 aver-
age size, texture, and color of the skin? the
shape of the cavities at the stem and blos-
som ends, the color, texture, and flavor of
the pulp, and the position within the apple
of the core.

THE PINE

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 one hundred and
fifty to two hundred feet in height and
reaching an age of from two to three hun-
dred years. On the Pacific coast, the splen-
did 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 twenty-two 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 unimpression-
able feel. Their dark foliage outlined
against wintry skies appeals to the imagi-
nation, 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 es-
sentially to earlier ages, when the climate
was far different from that of today, 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 blan-
ket, 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.

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 appears to be possessed of evil, for
it seems to like best of all to lay its 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 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. 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

TREES

with even three. This evil insect injures
the leaders of other conifers also, but
these are less likely to allow two competi-
tors 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 win-
ter; the pitch pine has the foliage yellow-

G. F. Morgan

Austrian pine in blossom showing staminate
flowers

,,.._ ,...?**^pl?t:.^?'»:i

Verne Morton

White pine in Winter

ish 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.

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 cov-
ered with pinfeathers. In many of the spe-
cies 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 us to deter-
mine the species of 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

6?2

PLANTS

G. F. Morgan

Austrian pine, staminate blossoms and empty
cones

white pine needles are triangular in sec-
tion, 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 pass-
ing through the tree, sets them into vibra-
tion, making a sighing sound which seems
to the listener like the voice of the tree.
Therefore, the pine is the most compan-
ionable of all our trees and, to one who
observes them closely, each tree has
its own tones and whispers a different
story.

The appearance of the unripe cone is
another convincing evidence that mathe-
matics is the basis of the beautiful. The
pattern of the overlapping scales is intri-
cate 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; 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 an-
other distinguishing characteristic of the
pine, and sketching the outside of scales
from several different species of pine
cones will develop the pupils7 powers of
observation; the tip of the scale may be
thickened or armed with a spine.

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 make 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 grow-
ing tip of the twig, is pointed upward, and
its sheath scales are turned back like chaff
around its base.

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 back-
ground of foliage. In the Austrian pine,

Ralph W. Curtis

Young and mature cones of white pine

TREES

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 de-
scends a yellow shower when 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 yel-
low 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.

If we examine the growing tips of the
pine branches, we find the leaves look
callow and pinfeathery. 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 parch-
ment and is cylindrical, because the pine
needles within it are perfectly adjusted

White pine
Pitch pine

Ralph W. Curtis

Norway spruce
Hemlock

R. E. Horse

White pines

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 lum-
ber 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 south-
ern states, the long-leaved 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

U. S. Geological Survey, G. K. Gilbert

Yellow pine on the brink of the Little Yose-
mite Valley

PLANTS

Leonard K. Beyer

Seminole boy in a cypress dugout, Everglades,
Florida

by the turpentine gatherers. This resin
is taken to a distillery, where the turpen-
tine is given off as a vapor and condensed
in a coiled tube which is kept cold. What
is left is known as u rosin."

LESSON 185
THE PINE

LEADING THOUGHT — The pines are
among our most ancient trees. Their foli-
age is evergreen but is shed gradually. The
pollen-bearing and the seed-producing
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 inter-
esting. The Austrian pine which is com-
monly planted in parks is a good subject.
The leaves and cones may be studied in
the schoolroom, each pupil having a speci-
men.

OBSERVATIONS — i. What is the gen-
eral 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 sev-
eral together in what we call a bundle.
Flow 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 exam-
ine it with a lens. What is the outline in
cross section? Why does the wind make
a moaning sound in the pines?

White-pine cone

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 de-
scribe its general shape. Note that it is
made up of short, overlapping 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 be in June. This time
is easily determined because the air around
the tree is then filled with the yellow pol-
len dust. Study the pollen-bearing flower.
Is it conelike in form? Does it produce a
great deal of pollen? If you have a micro-
scope, 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?

TREES 675

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? Look beneath the scales
of a little cone with a lens and see if you
can find the flowers. What is it that car-
ries the pine pollen to the flowers in the
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 differ-
ence between resin and rosin?

9. How long do the pine trees live?
Write a story of some of the changes that

" have taken place in 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.

THE NORWAY SPRUCE

The Norway spruce is a native of Eu-
rope, and we find it in America one of
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 distin-
guished 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 con-
cerning 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.
The Norway spruce tree is in form
a beautiful cone, slanting from its slen-
der 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 pecu-
liarity which is of much use to the tree,
because it is a native of the snowy north-
ern 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 back-
ward from the tip, and the hand is pricked

PLANTS

Norway spruce

by hundreds of the sharp, bayonet-pointed
leaves; this arrangement permits the snow
to 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,
and those above lift up angularly. Per-
haps 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, and 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 flower-like
in form. In the balsam fir, which is often
planted with the Norway spruce, these
buds are varnished.

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 conspicu-

ous. 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 place for
seeds; but when it begins to open, squir-
rels impatiently tear it to pieces, harvest-
ing the seeds and leaving a pile of cone
scales beneath the tree to tell of their
piracy.

A Norway spruce in blossom is a beauti-
ful 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 at the
base of the scales; and for some time they
remain most ornamentally purplish red.
Before the cone is heavy enough to bend
from its own weight, it turns around and
downward, and then changes its color to
green, ripening into brown in the fall.

The Norway spruce grows on the Alps

G. F. Morgan

Staminate blossoms and young cone of a Nor-
way spruce

TREES

677

abundantly, and like the youth with the tree should be observed by all of the pu-
banner, "excelsior" is its motto; this ap- pils? and- they should bring in twigs and
pears even in its scientific name (Picea ex- cones for study in the schoolroom. The
celsa ) . 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 orna-
mental planting and for windbreaks.

SUGGESTED READING — Nature and Sci-
ence Readers, by Edith M. Patch and
Harrison E. Howe, Book 5, Science at
Home; also, readings on page 622.

LESSON 186
THE NORWAY SPRUCE

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

L. H, Bailey

Cones of Norway spruce

Cyrus Crosby

A cone of Norway spruce, showing that the
spiral of the scales is in rows of five

lesson should be taken up again in May
when the trees are in blossom.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What is the gen-
eral 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 snow-
storms?

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

6y8

PLANTS

discover the scales of the bud which pro-
duced 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 de-
scribe a cone scale, paying special atten-
tion 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 scat-
ter the seed? Do you observe squirrels tear-
ing these apart to get the seed?

6. The Norway spruce blossoms in
May. Find the little flower which will pro-
duce the cone, and describe it. What color
is it? Is it upright or hanging down? Do
the scales turn toward the tip or back-
ward? 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 blos-
soms? After the pollen is shed, note if the
scales of the young cones close up. How
long before the cones begin to droop?

7. What use do we make of the Nor-
way spruce? What is it used for in Eu-
rope?

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 Jhiow, 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 pealc was flung,
Long after rise of sun.

There did I dutch the granite with firm

feet,

There shake rny boughs above the roar-
ing 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 prec-
ipice,
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 lie came to

soar,

And like a hunter, on my gnarled wrist
The dappled falcon bore.
— From " THE SPIRIT OF THE PINE,"
BAYARD TAYLOR

TREES

679

THE HEMLOCK

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

In its prime, the hemlock is a magnifi-
cent tree. It reaches the height of from
sixty to one hundred feet and is cone-
shaped. Its fine, dense foliage and droop-
ing branches give it an appearance of ex-
quisite delicacy; and I have yet to see else-
where 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 appear-
ance; 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 bur-
den slide off. The bark is reddish, or some-
times 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 ar-
ranged in a spiral, but this is hard to dem-
onstrate. 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 lit-
tle 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, mak-
ing the tree very beautiful and giving it
the appearance of blossoming. The leaves
are shed during the third year. The hem-
lock 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 proba-
bly but few have an opportunity to try
their wings. The cones mature in one year,
and usually fall in the spring. The hem-
lock blossoms in May; the pistillate flow-

Ralph W. Curtis

Hemlock branch showing young and mature

cones

ers 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 te-
nacity and the wood does not split in nail-
ing. Oil distilled from the leaves of hem-
lock 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

68o

PLANTS

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.
SUGGESTED READING — Page 622.

LESSON 187
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 ques-
tions and have them make notes on the
hemlock trees of the neighborhood. The
study of the leaves and the cones may be
made in the schoolroom.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 hem-
lock 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

Through cloud rifts the sunlight is streaming in floods to far depths of the wood,
Retouching tlie velvet-leafed dogwood to crimson as vital as blood.

There is no prettier story among the
flowers than that of the bracts of the dog-
wood, 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 my-
self 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. They are
wrapped in four close-clasping, purplish
brown scales, one pair inside and one pair
outside, both thick and well fitted to pro-
tect the bunch of tiny flower buds at their
center. But when spring comes, these bud
scales change their duties, and by rapid
growth become four beautiful white or

§inkish bracts which we call the dogwood
ower. For months these bracts cover the
true flowers which are at their center and
then display them to an admiring world.

TREES

681

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.

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, green-
ish yellow anthers set on filaments which
lift them up between the petals; and at
the center of all is the tiny green pistil.

Dogwood

Hugh Spencer

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 neigh-
bors. This habit makes this tree a favorite
for planting, since it forms a mass of
white bloom.

The dogwood banners unfurl before the
flowers at their hearts open, and they re-

Blossom and bud of dogwood enlarged

main after the last flower has received
within itself the vital pollen which will
enable it to mature into a beautiful berry.
This long period of bloom is another qual-
ity which adds to the value of the dog-
wood 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 lilliputian churns with dashers.
In autumn, the foliage turns to a rich,
purplish crimson — a most satisfying
color.

Charles E. Mohr

Dwarf cornel or bunchberry — a dwarf dog-
wood

682

PLANTS

During the winter, the flowering dog-
wood, which renders our forests so beau-
tiful in early spring, may be readily recog-
nized by its bark, which is broken up into
small scales and mottled like the skin of

The -flower buds of the dogwood are formed
during the previous season

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 attrac-
tive 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 stom-
ach, the tender white kernel within it,
which includes the stored food and the
embryo. There are in the North other
common species of dogwood which have
dark blue fruit.
SUGGESTED READING — Page 622.

LESSON 188
THE DOGWOOD

LEADING THOUGHT — The real petals
of the dogwood are not the chief means
of attracting insects to its flowers. The

showy portions are really bracts and not
the true flower.

METHOD — Observe 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.

OBSERVATIONS — i . What is there at
the center of the group of bracts? How do
the parts at the center look? Are they
of the same shape? Are some opened and
others not? 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 sta-
mens and a pistil, has it not all that a
flower needs?

2. How many of these flowers are there
at the center of what is often called 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 flow-
ers at the center. What is there peculiar
about each one of these white bracts?
Find one of the flower-heads which is not
yet opened and watch it develop into a
small flower.

4. Sketch the bracts from below. Is one
pair wider than the other? Is the wider
pair inside or outside?

5. Where are the flowers of the dog-
wood 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?

TREES

683

THE VELVET OR STAGHORN SUMAC

The sumacs with flame leaves at half-mast, lilce wildfire spread over the glade;
Above them, the crows on frayed pinions move northward in ragged parade.

The sumacs, in early autumn, form a
" firing line " along the borders of wood-
lands and fences, before any other plant
but the Virginia creeper lias taken on
brighter colors. No other leaves can emu-
late the burning scarlet of their hues. The
sumacs are a glory to our hills; and some-
time, when Americans have time to culti-
vate a true artistic sense, these shrubs will
play an important part in landscape gar-
dening. 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 naked-
ness they are most picturesque, with their
broadly branching twigs bearing aloft the
wine-colored pompons against the back-
ground of snow; at this time and in early
spring when more desirable food is lack-
ing, the birds eat the pleasantly acid
drupes. In spring, they put out their soft
leaves in exquisite shades of pale pinkish
green, and when in blossom their stami-
nate 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 fin-
gers down a branch, we can tell, even with-
out looking, where last year's growth be-
gan and ended, because of the velvety feel,
The name staghorn sumac is just as fit-
ting, 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
nursery for the next year's bud, which is
nestled below it. The leaves are com-
pound and the number of leaflets varies

Sumac

Verne Morton

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 of
the' midrib like a fern, but naturally droop
somewhat, and thus conceal their under-
sides, which are much lighter in color.
The leaflets are not always set exactly

PLANTS

Verne Morton

The staghorn sumac

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 some-
times are two and sometimes one, with
two basal lobes.

The wine-colored " bob " is cone-
shaped7 but with a bunchy surface. Re-
move all the drupes from it and note its
framework of tiny branches, and again
pay admiring tribute to nature's way of
doing up compact packages. Each fruit is
a drupe, as is also the cherry. A drupe is
merely a seed within a fleshy layer, all be-
ing 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 pleas-
antly acid taste, and one of my childhood
diversions was to share these fruits in win-
ter with the birds. I probably inadver-
tently ate also many a little six-footed
brother hidden away for winter safe-keep-
ing, 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, widespreading twigs.
Each terminal twig was a stem for trie
bouquet of blossom and fruit set about
with graceful leaves, but in the winter,
after the leaves have fallen, the coarse
branching is very noticeable. The wood
of the sumac has a pith, and is coarse in
texture.

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 mid-
rib 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 pyra-
mids 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, Pistillate flower from a " bob!' b} Stami-
nate flower from the greenish panicle

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.

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 (page 514), 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 peti-
ole 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 189
THE VELVET OR STAGHORN SUMAC

LEADING THOUGHT — The sumac is a
beautiful shrub in summer because of its
fernlike leaves; it is picturesque in winter,
and its colors in autumn are most bril-
liant. Its dark red fruit clusters remain
upon it during the entire winter. In June
it shows two kinds of blossoms on dif-
ferent shrubs; one is whitish and bears the
Eollen, the other is reddish and is a pistil-
ite flower, later developing into the seed
on the " bob/7 or fruit cluster.

METHOD — Begin this study in Octo-
ber 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 in-
terest 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 clus-
ters or bobs makes them excellent subjects
for winter sketching.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 pecul-
iar 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?

TREES 685

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 accurately 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 lit-
tle 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 fruit; 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 in-
sects can you find wintering in the bob?
Find a fruit free from insects and taste
it.

WINTER WORK — 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 are the
wood and pith?

MAY OR JUNE WORK — 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 blos-
soms all look alike. Are the different
kinds of blossoms found on the same
tree or on different trees? Take one
uf the white pyramidal blossom clusters;
look at one of these flowers with a lens

686

PLANTS

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 clus-
ter 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 stig-

mas protruding beyond it? What insects
visit these flowers?

9. How can you tell the velvet or stag-
horn 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 exten-
sively 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

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.

Witch hazel is not only a most inter-
esting 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 un-
der very advantageous circumstances it
has been known to take a treelike 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 heartwood of softer sub-
stance 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.
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 almost straight,
and 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 apart-
ment houses for insects, especially the
insects that make galls. Of these there
are many species, each making a differ-
ently shaped galL One of the most com-
mon is a gall shaped like a little horn or
spur on the upper side of the leaf and hav-

ing a tiny door opening on the underside
of the leaf. If one of these snug little
homes is torn open, it will be found occu-
pied 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, fringelike flowers. Usually the
flowers are in clusters of three, but occa-
sionally 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 be-
tween each two of these stamens is a lit-
tle scale just opposite the petal. The an-
thers are most interesting. Each has two

TREES 687

little doors which fly open, as if by magic
springs, and throw out the pollen which
clings to them. The pistil has two stig-

Ralph W. Curtis

Blossoms, leaves, and fruits oj witch hazel

Leaves, fruits, and blossoms of witch hazeL
Various types of galls, and the work oj miners
can be seen on the leaves

mas, which are joined above the two-
celled ovary within which the seeds de-
velop. 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 pet-
als fall, the calyx forms a beautiful little
urn, holding the growing fruit.

The nuts seem to require a sharp frost
to separate the closely joined parts; it re-
quires 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 it turns 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 par-
ticularly 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

688

PLANTS

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

1, A queer little face — witch-hazel nut
ready to shoot its seeds. 2, Enlarged flower
of witch hazel showing the long petals

p, with dotted line, the pistil; an, anther; o, anther
with doors open ; c, lobes of calyx ; sc, scale opposite the
base of petal

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 chil-
dren 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 190
THE WITCH HAZEL

LEADING THOUGHT — The witch hazel
blossoms during the autumn, and thus
adds beauty to the landscape. It has an in-
teresting mechanism by which its seeds
are shot for a distance of many feet.

METHOD — This lesson divides natu-
rally into two parts; a study of the way the
seeds are distributed is fitted for the pri-
mary grades, and a study of the flower for
more advanced grades. For the primary
grades the lesson should begin by the gath-
ering of the twigs which bear the fruit.
These should be brought to the school-

room — there to await results. Soon the
seeds will be popping all over the school-
room, 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 blos-
soms 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 — i. 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

G. F. Morgan

Flowers and fruit of witch hazel

TREES

689

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 promi-
nent? Are the leaves of the same color on
both sides?

5. Are there many queerly 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 clus-
ters? 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 clus-
ter 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, re-
sembles 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.

THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL

As a child I never doubted that the
laurel wreaths of Grecian heroes were
made from mountain laurel, and I sup-
posed, 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 head-
gear 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

Mountain laurel

W. C. Muenscher

690 PLANTS

branching twigs, which are huddled to-
gether in a manner that brings into a mass
many flowers. I have counted seventy-five
of them in a single bunch; the youngest

Diagram of flower of laurel

pf pocket ; st, stamen

flowers grow nearest the tip of the twig.
The blossom stems are pink, and afford a
rich background for the starry open flow-
ers and knobby closed buds. The bud of
the laurel blossom is very pretty and re-
sembles a bit of rose-colored pottery; it
has a five-sided, pyramidal top, and at the
base of the pyramid are ten little but-
tresses 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 grow-
ing until it forms a bow-shaped spring, like
a sapling with the top bent to the ground.
The opening flower is saucer-like, 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.

Each laurel flower is thus set with ten

spring-traps; a moth or bee, 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 cob-
web 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 fila-
ments 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, al-
most globular seeds.

The mountain laurel grows in woods
and shows a preference for rocky moun-
tain 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 191
THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL

LEADING THOUGHT — The laurel blos-
som is set with ten springs, and each

TREES

691

spring acts as a sling in throwing pollen
upon visiting insects, thus sprinkling the
visitor with pollen which it carries to
other 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 — i . How are the laurel
leaves set about the blossom clusters?
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.

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 set-
ting 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 pol-
len 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 J go7

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, lilce bells
On rosaries strung, and listening there,

Verne Morton

Spray of mountain laurel

692 PLANTS

Forget the icy wind that tells The rabbit and the snowbound bird

Of turfless fields, and forests bare. Forget the world is white and cold.

All gently with th* inclement scene , , ..„ , ., . , , ,

I feel its glossy verdure Wend; - And stJ/' ™d rui" u"df ™f d'

I bless that lovely evergreen u Oucea arbor with the fadeless crown,

As heart in exile hails a friend. Its bnghtness warms the frosty void,

And softens winter s surliest frown.

Its boughs7 by tempest scarcely stirred, — From " THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL/'

Are tents beneath whose emerald fold THERON BROWN

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

FERNS

Many interesting things about ferns
may be taught to the young child, but the
more careful study of these plants is bet-
ter adapted to the pupils in the higher
grades, and is one of the wide-open doors
that lead directly from nature-study to
systematic science. While the pupils are
studying the different forms in which
ferns bear their fruit, they can make col-
lections of all the ferns of the locality.
Since ferns are easily pressed and are beau-
tiful objects when mounted on white pa-
per, the making of a fern herbarium is a
delightful pastime; or leaf prints may be
made which give beautiful results (see p.
626); but better, perhaps, than either col-
lections or prints, are pencil or water-color
drawings with details of the fruiting or-

gans enlarged. Not only is such a portfolio
a thing of beauty, but the close observa-
tion needed for drawing brings much
knowledge to the artist.

SUGGESTED READING — - Field Book of
Common Ferns, by Herbert Durand;
Fields and Fencerows, by Walter P. Por-
ter and Einar A. Hansen; First Studies of
Plant Life, by George F. Atkinson; Guide
to Eastern Ferns, by Edgar T. Wherry;
How to Know the Ferns, by Frances The-
odora Parsons; Our Ferns; Their Haunts,
Habits and Folklore, by Willard N. Clute;
Wild Flowers and Ferns in Their Homes
and in Our Gardens, by Herbert Durand;
additional references are to be found in
the bibliography in the back of this Hand-
book.

THE CHRISTMAS FERN

No shivering frond that shuns the blast sways on its slender chaffy stern;
Full veined and lusty green it stands, of all the wintry woods the gem.

— W. N. CLUTE

The rootstock of the fern is a humble
example of " rising on stepping stones of
our dead selves/7 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, grow beautiful green fronds and
numerous rootlets. These graceful fronds
rejoice the world and our eyes for the sum-
mer, and make glad the one who, in win-
ter, 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 fol-
lowing summer has made the whole wood-
land green and the young fronds are grow-

ing 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 those fronds, 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.
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

PLANTS

Verne Morton

The Christmas fern. The contracted tips of
some of the fronds consist of fruiting pinnce

surface of the ground. This upright root-
stock 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.

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 appear-
ance. Its pinnae, or leaflets, are individu-
ally 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 pinnae are deli-
cately toothed; each point is armed with
a little spine, and the veins are fine,
straight, and free to the margin; the lower
pinnae often have the earlike lobe com-
pletely severed.

In studying a fertile fern from above,
we notice that about a dozen pairs of the
pinnae 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 depres-

sion at its center; by the middle of June,
masses of tiny globules, not larger than
pinpoints, push out from beneath the
margin of these dots. The blister-like
membrane is simply a cover for the grow-
ing 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 underside
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 num-
berless 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 struc-
ture and contains in its heart the living
fern-substance.

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 uninformed 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, whence its common
name, which is more easily remembered
than Polystichum acrosticlioides, its real
name. It grows best in well-shaded wood-
lands, liking better the trees which shed
their leaves than the evergreens. It is in-
deed well adapted to thrive in damp, cold
shade; it is rarely found on slopes which

1, Fertile leaflet of Christmas fern showing
indusia and spore cases. 23 An indusium and
spore cases, enlarged. 3, A spore case, en-
larged. 4, A spore case discharging spores,
enlarged

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

face the south, and full sunshine may kill
it.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 693.

LESSON 192

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 ter-
minal pinnae.

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 pinnse of the tip; one of
the lower pinnas should be drawn in detail,
showing the serrate edge, the ear, and the
venation. The teacher should use the fol-
lowing 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.

A frond is all of the fern which grows
on one stem from the rootstock; the blade
is that portion which bears leaflets; the

695

stipe is the stem or petiole; the rachfs is
the midrib and is a continuation of the

Buffalo Museum of Science

Common polypody, often mistaken for the
Christmas fern

Leaf print of a fern with the parts named.
This fern is twice pinnate

stipe; the pinna is a chief division of the
midrib or rachis, when the fern is com-
pound; the pinnule is a leaflet of the last
division; the son 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 on the blackboard a diagram
of the fern with its parts named, so that
the pupils may consult it while studying
ferns.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Study a stump of
the Christmas ferns. Are there any with-
ered fronds? Where do they join the root-
stock? Do the green fronds corne from the
same place on the rootstock as the with-
ered ones?

2. Take a frond of the Christmas fern.
Are 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

696 PLANTS

same number of pinnse on each side? Can
you find fronds where the pinnae 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 pinnas near
the tip of the frond, and examine it be-
neath. Can you see some circular, round-
ish, blister-like 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
pinna? 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 pinnae?

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 Christ-
mas fern?

FERN SONG

Dance to the beat of the ram, 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 re/oice in the beat of the rain/

— JOHN B. TABB

THE BRACKEN

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 Cali-
fornia, on the rugged sides of the Alps,
and in many other far places, I have al-
ways 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
spores, if caught at midnight on a white
napkin, are supposed to render the pos-
sessor 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 pat-
terns of the fern leaf; it is in fact a lesson
in pinnateness. The two lower branches
are large and spreading, and are in them-
selves 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 fu-
ture 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 pin-
nate, should also be understood.

The bracken does not grow best in com-
plete shade, but it becomes established in
waste places which are not too shaded;
it thrives especially in woodsides, and in
fence-corners on high and cold land. As
Professor Clute says, " It is found both in
woodland and in the open field; its favor-
ite haunt is neither, but is that halfway
ground where man leaves off 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 tri-
angular fronds often measure two or three
feet across, and are supposed to bear a like-
ness to an eagle with spread wings. Its root-
stock is usually too deeply embedded in
earth for the study of any except the most
energetic; it is about the size of a lead pen-
cil and is black and smooth; in its way it
is a great traveler, sending up fronds fif-

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

697

teen or twenty feet from its starting place.
It also sends off branching rootstocks.

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 push-
ing 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 thus made, supposed to stand for
Christ, is a potent protection from
witches. But this figure has also been com-
pared 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

Verne Morton

Bracken

1, Fruiting pinnules of the maidenhair fern,
enlarged. 2, Fruiting pinnule of the bracken,
enlarged. In both these species the spores are
borne under the recurved edges of the pin-
nules

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 crosiers, 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Useful Wild
Plants of the United States and Canada,
by Charles F. Saunders; also, readings on
page 693.

LESSON 193
THE BRACKEN-
LEADING THOUGHT — The bracken is a
fern which is found in many parts of
the world. It is much branched and di-
vided, 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

698

PLANTS

superstitions connected with this fern and
as far as possible interest the pupils in its
literature.

OBSERVATIONS— i. 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 leaf-
lets, 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 pin-
nules. 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 3
thing is once pinnate, it means that it
has along each side divisions similar to a
feather; twice pinnate means that each
feather has little feathers along each side;
thrice pinnate means that the little feath-
ers have similar feathers along each side,
and so on.

3. Can you see whether 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

Verne Morton

Fiddle heads or crosiers. Young ferns unfold-
ing

All of the parts of the frond of a fern
are tightly folded spirally within the bud
and every fold of every leaflet is also
folded in a spiral. But the first glance at
one of these little woolly spirals gives us
but small conception of its marvelous en-
folding. Every part of the frond is present
in that bud, even to the fruiting organs;
all the pinnae and the pinnules are packed
in the smallest compass — each division,
even to the smallest pinnule, coiled in a
spiral toward its base. These coiled fern
buds are called crosiers; they are woolly,
with scales instead of hairs. 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 pinnae, 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 pinnae,
loosen and seem to stretch and yawn be-
fore taking a look at the world which they
have just entered; it may be several days
before all signs of the complex coiling dis-
appear. The crosiers of the bracken are

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

699

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 would a miracle.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 693.

LESSON 194
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. However7 any
fern bud will do. The lesson may be best
given in May when the woodland ferns
are starting. A root of a common fern

with its buds may be brought to the
schoolroom, where the process of unfold-
ing may be watched at leisure. Later, the
plant may be set out in a suitable place.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Take a very young
bud. How does it look? Do you see any
reason why uninformed 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? How is the
stem grooved to make the spiral com-
pact?

2. Take a crosier a little further ad-
vanced. How are its pinnae 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 notebook the story of
the unfolding fern, and sketch its stages
each day from the time it is cuddled dowr
in a spiral until it is a fully expanded frond.

THE FRUITING OF THE FERN

If we were required to know the position of the fruit dots or the character of the in-
dusium, 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.

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 grace-
ful ferns. Each spore has an outside hard
layer, and within this an atom of fern-
substance; but it cannot be developed un-
less 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
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 de-

velops into a tiny heart-shaped, leaflike
structure which botanists call the prothal-
lium; this has on its lower side little roots
which reach down into the soil for nour-
ishment; and on its lower 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

yoo

PLANTS

spore dots on them. To study the struc-
ture of the spore requires the highest pow-
ers of the microscope; and even the pro-
thallium in most species is very small,
varying from the size of a pinhead to that
of a small pea, and it is therefore quite

Prothallium, greatly enlarged, showing the
two kinds of pockets and the rootlets

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 or in greenhouses, but the
teacher who is able to show her pupils
this stage of the fern will be very for-
tunate. 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. 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 (plu-
ral sporangia ) , and is fastened to the leaf
by a stalk and has, almost encircling it, a
jointed ring. (See figure on p. 694.)

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 dis-
tinctly. The spore cases may also be seen

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 dis-
charges the spores. 2, Prothallium, enlarged. 3, Young
fern growing from the prothallium

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 lit-
tle polypody thus protect their spores.
Whether this blanket be circular, or horse-
shoe-shaped, or oblong, or in the form of
pocket or cup, depends upon the genus
to which the fern belongs. The little pro-
tecting blanket membrane is called the
indusium, and while its shape distin-
guishes 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

1, Fruiting pinnule of the boulder fern, en-
larged. 2, Fruiting pinnules of spleenwort,
enlarged

great conservatories saw for the first time
the tree ferns of the tropics. One of these
was labeled DicJcsonia, and, mystified, I
asked the privilege of examining the
fronds for fruiting organs; when lo! the

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

701

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.

The children are always interested in
the way the maidenhair folds over the tips

Fruiting pinnules of evergreen wood fern

of her scallops to protect her spore nur-
sery. 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 dif-
ferent from the others that one would not
think they were originally of the same pat-
tern; but although their pinnules are
changed into cups, or spore pockets, of
various shapes, if they be examined care-
fully they will be seen to have the same
general structure and the same divisions,
however much contracted, as have the
large sterile fronds. The Osmimdas, which
include the interrupted, the cinnamon,
and the flowering ferns, are especially
good for this part of the lesson. The sensi-
tive fern, so common in damp places in

Fruiting pinnules of the chain fern

open fields, is also an excellent illustra-
tion of this method of fruiting. While
studying the ferns, the teacher should lay
stress upon the fact that they represent an
early and simple form of plant, 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 693.

LESSON 195
THE FRUITING OF THE FERN

LEADING THOUGHT — Ferns do not have
flowers, but they produce spores. Spores
are not seeds; but fern spores grow into
a tiny prothallium, and this in turn pro-
duces a young fern. Each genus of ferns
has its own peculiar way of protecting its
spores; and if we learn these different
ways, we can recognize most ferns with-
out 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 fruit-
ing organs are green, and it may be fin-
ished in September after the spores are
discharged. Begin with the Christmas

A sensitive fern, showing sterile and fertile
fronds

702

fern, which ripens in June, and make the
fruiting of this species a basis for com-
parison. Follow this with other wood
ferns which bear fruit dots on the back of

Diagram of the interrupted fern, showing
the three pairs of fruiting pinna, and a part
of one of these enlarged. This fern often has
fronds four or five feet high

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 prep-
aration for the further study of those
which have special fruiting fronds; the
interrupted fern has, at about the middle
of its frond, one to five pinnas 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 exam-
ine the spore cases and the spores through
a one-sixth objective. It must be remem-
bered 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.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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

PLANTS

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?

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 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 surname, or generic
name. Study as many kinds of wood ferns
as you can find. If the blanket, or indu-
sium, 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 lies
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 are 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 pinnae withered and
brown. Examine these withered pinna*,
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 pinnas 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,

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

703

lie.

Bulletin 119, Agricultural Extension Service, Ohio State TJ.

Important characteristics which distinguish fern groups

1, Sensitive fern: a, frond; b, spore-bearing frond

2, Hartford or climbing fern

3, Grape fern: a, frond; b, modified frond producing
spore cases ; c, detail of spore cases

4, Spleenwort: a, frond; b» spore cases like pockets
above veins

5, Common polypody: a, frond; b, large fruiting dots

6, Interrupted fern: a, spore-bearing pinnae (leaflets)
confined to a few in middle of frond; b and c, details
showing arrangement of spore cases

7, Cinnamon fern: a, fertile frond

8, Royal fern: a, frond; b, the modified pinnsB at the
tip producing spores

9, Maidenhair fern; a, pinnae; b, detail showing spores
beneath the folded margins of pinnaa

10, Bracken: a, entire frond; b, detail of pinnse; c,
spore-bearing folded margins of a pinnule

XI, Chain fern: a, pinns ; b, spore areas showing chain
formation

_12, Christmas fern: a, frond; b, spore cluster; c, de-
tail of spore clusters

13, Bladder fern: a, frond; b, fruit dots

FERNS

1. PURPLE CLIFF BRAKE, Pellaea atropur-
purea. Sometimes called " winter brake " be-
cause in its southern range the fronds remain
green all winter, this jern u-sualhj grows in
situations which can be reached only with
difficulty. It can be grown in cultivation if it
is always kept in the same position. Should
the plant be moved, the change in relation to
the light will retard its growth.

Range: New England and British Colum-
bia south and west to California and north-
ern Mexico. Habitat: Crevices in dry rocks.
(Photo by Dr. and Mrs. John Small)

2. CLIMBING FERN, Lygodium palmatum.
Seventy-five years ago this fern was common,
but in many places reckless picking has al-
most exterminated it. The jronds, 1 to 3 feet
long, twine or climb about other plants or
trail on the ground. The specimen shown in
the picture is a typical young plant, which
differs somewhat in general appearance from
a mature plant.

Range: Massachusetts south to Florida.
Habitat: Banks of streams. (Photo by
Charles E. Mohr)

3. GRAPE FERN. This is one of the many
variations of Botrychium dissectum.

Range: Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
west to Wisconsin and Iowa, south to South
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Habitat: A
great variety of habitats: sterile hilltops, dry
pastures, meadows, thickets, rich swampy
woods and sandy banks in pine barrens.
(Photo by Dr. and Mrs. John Small)

4. HART'S-TONGUE, Phyllitis Scolopen-
drium. Although very rare in this country,
this fern is common in parts of Eurasia, espe-
cially Great Britain.

Range: Locally in New Brunswick, On-
tario, central New York, Tennessee, and
North Carolina. Habitat: Shaded ravines in
regions where there are limestone cliffs.
(Photo by Dr. and Mrs. John Small)

5. HAY-SCENTED FERN, Dennstsedtia
punctilobula. The fronds of this slender,
tapering, pale green fern are 1% to 2 feet
long. They are very fragrant when dried.

Range: Nova Scotia to Minnesota south
to Georgia. Habitat: Rocky pastures, mead-

ows, thickets, and near swamps. (Photo by
Leonard K. Beyer)

6. MAIDENHAIR FERN, Adiantum pedatum.
Except on the Atlantic coastal plains, this
fern is rather widely distributed throughout
North America. It is found in sheltered, shady
places rather than in open areas of the woods.

Range: Nova Scotia to British Columbia
south to Georgia and Arkansas. Habitat:
Rich, moist woodlands. (Photo by Dr. and
Mrs. John Small)

7. INTERRUPTED FERN, Osmunda Clayton-
iana. This fern} the cinnamon fern (No. 9),
and the royal jern (No. 10), are similar in
many ways; they are tall, showy, and beauti-
ful. They can be transplanted if shade, plenty
of water, and good soil are provided.

Range : Minnesota to Newfoundland south
to Missouri, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
Habitat: Swampy areas. (Photo by Brook-
lyn Botanic Garden)

8. WALKING LEAF FERN, Camptosorus rhi-
zophyllus. The end frond of this fern seems
capable of taking root at its tip; thus new
plants are started. Sometimes the third gen-
eration maintains a connection with the
original plant,

Range: From Maine and southern Canada
to Georgia and westward. Habitat: Locally
in shady ravines on cliffs or decaying stumps.
(Photo by Verne Morton)

9. CINNAMON FERN, Osmunda cinna-
momea. The sterile fronds of this fern are
quite similar in appearance to those of the
interrupted fern; they can be distinguished
by a tuft of wool at the base of the pinnce.

Range: Canada to Florida west to New
Mexico and into South America. Habitat:
Swampy areas. (Photo by Brooklyn Botanic
Garden)

10. ROYAL OR FLOWERING FERN, Osmunda
regalis. In North America the usual height of
this fern is 2 to 5 feet, but in Europe it is
said to reach a height of 10 feet.

Range: Southern and eastern Canada to
Nebraska, Mississippi, and Florida into tropi-
cal America. Habitat: Swampy areas. (Photo
by Buffalo Museum of Science)

PLANTS

which has fronds that look like magnifi-
cent ostrich feathers, has stiff little stalks
of fruiting fronds very unlike the magnifi-
cent 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 resem-
blance 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 in the making of our coal
beds.

Nature made ferns for pure leaves to see
what she could do in that line.

— THOREAU

THE FIELD HORSETAIL

1, Fertile plant of the field horsetail; 2,
spores; 3, disc discharging spores; 4, disc
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 curi-
osity to children. The stalk is pale and un-

canny looking; the pinkish stem, all the
same size from bottom to top, is orna-
mented at intervals with upward-point-
ing, 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, ex-
tending 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 leafs 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 ex-
tends 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 look-
ing 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

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

707

W. C. Muenscher

Field horsetail, Equisetum arvense, though
not a flowering plant " blooms " with spores

spike of the plantain; but later, after the
fertile stalks have died clown, these cover
the ground with their strange fringes. Not
all kinds of horsetails have separate fruit-
ing and vegetative shoots; in some the
same stalk bears both fruiting and vegeta-
tive parts.

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 brushi-
ness. 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 Equisetum is
one of the plants which give evidence of
nature's resourcefulness; its remote ances-
tors probably had a whorl of leaves at each
joint or node of the main stem and
branches; but the plant now has so many
green branches that it does not really need
the leaves, and thus they have been re-
duced to mere points, and look like noth-
ing but " trimming/' they are so purely
ornamental. Each little cup or socket, of
the joint or node, in branch or stern, 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 sea-
son 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.

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 grada-
tion 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 underside. The food made in the
summer is stored in little tubers, which
may be seen in the rootstocks.

Dr. and Mrs. John Small

Club moss or ground pine, Lycopodium
alopecuroides. This plant is common in the
bogs of pine-barrens

7o8 PLANTS

SUGGESTED READING — Fern Allies of
North America, by Willard N. Clute;
Fields and Fencerovrs, by Walter P. Por-

Sterile plant of the field horsetail

ter and Einar A. Hansen; Guide to East-
ern Ferns, by Edgar T. Wherry.

LESSON 196
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 may be brought to the schoolroom
and the observation lesson given there.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Where are these
plants found? On what kind of soil?

2. In what respect does this plant dif-
fer 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
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 PLANT

LEADING THOUGHT — The horsetail or
Equisetum is nourished by very different-
looking sterns from 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

Dorothy M. Compton

Ground pine, Lycopodium complanatum,
is widely distributed in dry coniferous woods
throughout North America, Europe, and Asia

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

709

numerous, and do not resemble the fer-
tile plants in form or color. These sterile
plants may be used for a lesson in Septem-
ber or October. Some of these plants with
their roots may be brought into the
schoolroom for study.

OBSERVATIONS— i. 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
it 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 sec-
tion. How many angles has it? What rela-
tion 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 root-
stock dies off at the oldest end each year,
like the fern? Can you find the little tubers
in the rootstock which contain nourish-
ment for next year's spore-bearing stalks?

THE HAIR-CAP MOSS OR PIGEON WHEAT

The mosses are a special delight to chil-
dren 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 natu-
rally concluded that fairy forests were
evergreen. We also had other diversions
with pigeon wheat, for we took the fruit-
ing stem, pulled the cap off the spore cap-
sule, and tucked the other end of the red
stem into the middle of the capsule, mak-
ing 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; thus their soft, green sur-
faces do not lose as much moisture by ex-
posure to the air. More than this, they
huddle close to the stem and in this posi-
tion they are less likely to suffer from the
effect of drought. But as soon as the rains
come, they straighten back at right angles

710

PLANTS

George E. Nichols

Hair-cap moss or pigeon wheat

to the stem, and curve their tips down-
ward. 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.

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
stalks, each stalk 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 re-
veals it as covered with a yellowish mo-
hair cap, ending in a golden-brown peak

at its tip, as if it were the original pattern
of the toboggan cap; it closes loosely
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 stalk lengthens; it pro-
tects 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 pedes-
tal where it joins the coral stalk, and with
a lid on its top like a sugar-bowl cover,
with a point instead of a knob at its center.

Hair-cap moss

1, Moss stem carrying the egg before fertilization,
la, The same stem, carrying the spore capsule and its
stalk; b, stalk; c, spore capsule, with cap covering it.
2, Stalk showing the starlike cups; d, the cup in which
was developed the sperms which fertilized the egg at a,
this year; e, last year's cup; f, the cup of year before
last; only the upper leaves of the stem are alive. 3,
Spore capsule with the cap removed, showing the lid.

4, Spore capsule with lid off and shaking out the spores.

5, The cap. 6, Starlike cup in which the sperm is de-
veloped. 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

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

711

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 cap-
sule, 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 be-
tween 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; thus
its spores are shaken out 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; and on
these threads little buds appear, each of
which grows up into a moss stem.

If we examine some other plants of
pigeon wheat moss, we find that some
stems end in yellowish cups which look
almost like blossoms; on closer examina-
tion, 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
antheridia, too small for us to see without
a high-power microscope. The sperm cells
from these antheridia are carried to other
plants, some of which produce egg cells at

their very tips, although the egg cell has
no leaf rosette to show where it is. This
egg cell, after receiving the sperm cells,
grows into the spore capsule supported on
its coral stem. These — stalk, capsule, and
all — grow up out of the mother plant;
the red stalk 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 sperm cells, 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. This condition is
true of pigeon wheat and some others; but
many other mosses have sperm and egg
cells on the same plant.

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 egg cell at its tip;
another plant with a star-cup holding the
moss sperm cell which is splashed by a
raindrop over to the waiting egg.

2. The egg cell as soon as fertilized de-
velops into a spore capsule, which 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.

SUGGESTED READING — First Studies of
Plant Life, by George F. Atkinson; How
to Know the Mosses, by Elizabeth M.
Dunham; Mosses with a Hand-Lens, by
A. J. Grout.

LESSON 197
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, and moss plants
with their green foliage. In June we can

MOSSES AND HEPATICS

These plants make up that portion of the plant
kingdom known as Bryophytes or Bryophyta.
Although they number more than 16,000 species,
most of which are mosses, comparatively few
are of any economic importance. The group is,
however, of great interest to scientists because its
members seem to represent a step in development
between the algae and higher plants.

Bryophytes do not have true roots as do the
higher plants; instead of roots they have numer-
ous hairlike growths called rhizoids. The rhi-
zoids of the hepatics are only one-celled; those of
the mosses are much more highly developed.

Hepatics grow in such a way as to make a
flat covering over the ground. Mosses, because
of their vegetative multiplication, usually grow
in compact clusters. Their compactness enables
mosses to store up for a long time any moisture
that they collect. When dry they are dormant.

Mosses and liverworts are best distinguished
by the way in which their spores are released.
In mosses, with a few exceptions, the end of the
capsule forms a lid which falls off, thus releasing
the spores. In liverworts, the end of the capsule
splits lengthwise and the segments bend apart,
allowing the spores to fall out. Although not all
liverworts have flat thalli, like those shown in
Figures 6 and 8, and many are surprisingly
mosslike in appearance, these can be dis-
tinguished from mosses because the leaves of
liverworts are only a single cell in thickness
throughout all their area.

1. BROOM Moss, Dicranuro scoparium.
This moss has its name from the resemblance
it bears to a hair broom or long brush. It is so
abundant throughout most parts of the Northern
Hemisphere that it is often used by florists to
produce the effect of green banks in exhibits.
(Photo by E. B. Mains)

2. COMMON HAIR-CAP, BIRD WHEAT, or
PIGEON WHEAT Moss, Polytrichium com-
mune. This very common moss, found not
only in all parts of North America but in Eu-
rope and Asia as well, is the plant most people
have in mind when they speak of moss. It
grows, not only in woods but also in old fields
and meadows, where it must withstand great
variations in temperature and moisture. When
dry, the leaves fold up against the stem and dry
plants present a very different aspect from damp

ones. In Europe the hair-cap mosses are used
for small brooms and bed fillings. This is our
largest moss; its stems may reach a foot in
length but they are usually much smaller.
(Photo by E. B. Mains')

3. COMMON FERN Moss, Thuidium deli-
catulum. In distribution this moss is general;
it grows on soil, stones, and logs in damp
places. In appearance, it resembles a delicate
fern; its general form reminds one of some of
the types of frost pictures seen on windows in
winter. (Photo by W. C. Steere)

4. AWNED HAIR-CAP Moss, Polyirichium
piliferum. This moss is much smaller than the
pigeon wheat; it may be found growing in
very dry situations, at high altitudes, and
even on bare rock ledges. (Photo by Buffalo
Museum of Science')

5. PLUME Moss, Hypnum Crista-castrensis.
In moist cool forests, one may expect to see this
yellow-green moss at its best; there it may be
found even completely covering old logs and
stumps. (Photo by Buffalo Museum of Science)

6. PURPLE-FRINGED RICCIA, Ricciocarpus
natans. This near relative of the mosses be-
longs to a group of plants known as hepatics.
It is shown in the picture as it grows in stag-
nant pools; it may also grow on land, in which
case it has a very different appearance. (Photo
by W. C. Steere)

7 and 8. TRUE LIVERWORT, Marchantia
polymorpha. These plants, known as liver-
worts or hepatics, are close allies of the mosses.
The plant body is in the form of a thallus (as
shown in the pictures) rather than a main stem
and leaves. The thallus creeps on the ground to
which it is attached by large hairs called rhizoids;
these rhizoids perform the functions of roots.
In No. 7, the portions of the plants which re-
semble the ribs of an umbrella bear the female
reproductive bodies. The little cups on the
surface of the thallus in No. 8 produce vege-
tative reproductive bodies called gemmse or
brood bodies. A slightly different umbrella-
shaped growth on another plant (not figured)
produces the male reproductive bodies. (Photos
by E. B. Mains)

PLANTS

End 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 be-
lieved that a plant, by the shape of its leaf
or flower, indicated its nature as a medi-
cine, and as this moss looked like hair,
the water in which it was steeped was used
as a hair tonic.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 de-
scribe 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 lit-
tle 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 around the edge
the tiny teeth which hold this lid in place?

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. Meas-
ured 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, de-
scribe 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 position 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?

MUSHROOMS AND OTHER FUNGI

There is something uncanny about
plants which have no green parts; indeed,
many people find it difficult to think of
them as plants. It is, therefore, no wonder
that many superstitions cluster about
toadstools. In times of old, not only was it
believed that toads sat on them, but that
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.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

A fairy ring

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture

When we find plants with no green
parts which grow and thrive, though un-
able to manufacture their own organic
food through the alchemy of chlorophyll,
sunlight, and air, we may safely infer that
in one way or another they gain the prod-
ucts 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 re-
mains 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 ene-
mies of living trees; but most of the fun-

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

A lichen

gus 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 mate-
rial, so that the major part of it returns to
the air in gaseous form, and the remainder,
now mostly hurnus, mingles with the soil.
As a table delicacy, mushrooms are
highly prized. A very large number of

George F. Atkinson

Meadow mushroom. A common edible mush-
room

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

7i6

PLANTS

mushrooms, since the most careful direc-
tions may be disregarded or misunder-
stood. 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.

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
characteristics. 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 be-
neath 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

George F. Atkinson

The deadly amanita, Amanita phalloides.
Note the form of the ring, and the cup at the
base of the stem

George F. Atkinson

Young stages of cultivated edible mushrooms,
showing spawn

brown or has become infested with fly
larvae.

How MUSHROOMS LOOK AND How THEY
LIVE

There are many kinds of mushrooms
varying greatly in form, color, and size, but
wherever they appear it means that some-
time 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 um-
brella-shaped. Attached to the cap, and
usually under it, are platelike growths
called gills, or a fleshy surface which is full
of pores. In the gills, each side of each
plate develops spores. These, as fine as
dust, are capable of producing other mush-
rooms.

In the common edible species of mush-
room (Agaricus campestris), the stem is
white and almost cylindrical, tapering
slightly toward the base; it is solid, al-
though the core is not so firm as the out-
side. 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 at-

tached 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 rem-

FLOWERLESS PLANTS 717

METHOD — The ideal method would be
to study the mushrooms in the field and
forest, making an excursion for the pur-
pose of collecting as many species as pos-

Cone- Bell-
shaped shaped

Convex

Plane

nant is called the ring or collar. The col-
lar 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 be-
neath the cap are at first white, but later,
as the spores mature, they become brown-
ish black because of the ripened spores.

SUGGESTED READING — Field Book of
Common Mushrooms, by William S.
Thomas; Fields and Fencerows, by Wal-
ter P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen; First
Studies of Plant Life, by George F. Atkin-
son; The Mushroom Book, by Nina L.
Marshall; The Mushroom Handbook, by
Louis C. C. Krieger; Mushrooms, by
W. B. McDougall; Mushrooms of Field
and Wood, by Margaret McKenny; Na-
ture and Science Readers, by Edith M.
Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Book 4,
Through Four Seasons; Our Plant Friends
and Foes, by William A. DuPuy.

LESSON 198
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.
Tlie dust which falls from ripe mush-
rooms is made up of spores, which are
not true seeds, but which will start a new
growth of the fungus.

Raised
at center

Depressed

Funnel
form

sible. 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 pos-
sible. There are a few terms which the
pupils should learn to use, and one
method of teaching them is to place the
diagrams shown above and on page 719,
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 draw-
ing there should be made on a supple-

George F. Atkinson
Inky-cap mushroom

PLANTS

George F. Atkinson

Rooted Collybia, Collybia radicata. In
woods, during summer, in groups or singly
this mushroom is common. The stem extends
into the ground for some distance, giving the
appearance of a " tap root >}

mentary 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 her-
barium.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 speci-
mens?

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 sur-
face 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?

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, al-
though 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?

George F. Atkinson

A spore print from the common edible mush-
room

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

719

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/7 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."

j. 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 ex-
clude 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

r CaporPileus

Gill*

Spawn

Mushroom with parts named

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 mush-
rooms?

8. Look at the stem. What is its length?
Its color? Is it slender or stocky? Is its sur-
face shiny, smooth, scaly, striate, or
dotted? Has it a collar or ring around it
near the top? What is the appearance of

Gills
free

Gills
adnexed

Gills
decurrent

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 mush-
rooms 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 mush-
room " spawn "?

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 in-
vestigation the relation between the but-
tons 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?

11. Do you know the common edible
mushroom when you see it? What charac-
teristics 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?

J2O

PLANTS

PUFFBALLS

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

Dr. and Mrs. John Small

Puffballs. On the left is shown Lycoperdon,
on the right, Scleroderma. The mature spores
escape through the openings to be seen on
Lycoperdon

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 sprin-
kled with salt and pepper and fried in hot
fat until browned. All the puffballs are
edible, but uninformed 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 puff-
ball " — is pear-shaped, with its small end
made fast to the ground, which is per-
meated 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 exten-
sively in pioneer days to stop the bleed-
ing of wounds and especially for nose-
bleed.

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 at-
tached 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 717.

Win. P. Alexander

Cup-shaped puffball, Calvatia cyathifor-
mis. This edible puffball may reach 6 inches
in diameter; it is found on open grassy
ground in early autumn

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

LESSON 199

PUFFBALLS

LEADING THOUGHT — The puffballs are
fungi that grow from the threads or my-
celia 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 car-
ried off by the wind and thus 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 — i. 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.

An earthstar

Verne Morton

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 puff-

George F. Atkinson

Giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea. It is not
unusual to find these puffballs 10 to 20 inches
in diameter. This is the largest puffball and
is a great favorite among the edible varieties.
In prime condition the flesh is white; it is
edible as long as it remains white

ball, 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 puff-
ball, or are there one or more special open-
ings 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
earthstars, 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?

(b) Let this star saucer become very
dry; how does it act?

(d) Where and how does the spore
dust escape from the earthstars?

7. For what medicinal purpose is the
" smoke " of the puffball sometimes used?

THE BRACKET FUNGI

There are some naturalists who think
that one kind of life is as good as another
and therefore call all things good. Per-

haps this is the only true attitude for the
nature lover. To such the bracket-like
fungi which appear upon the sides of our

722

PLANTS

A bracket fungus

Verne Morton

forest and shade trees are simply an addi-
tional beauty, a bountiful ornamentation.
But some of us have become special plead-
ers 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 (Polyporus 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. sulphureus) is sul-
phur yellow above and below; usually
many of these yellow brackets are grouped
together, their fan-shaped caps overlap-
ping. 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-chop-
per; often they gain entrance through an
unhealed knot hole. To one who under-
stands trees and loves them, these wounds
inflicted by forces they cannot withstand
are truly pathetic. After the wound is
made and before the healing is accomp-
lished, 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 down-
ward, 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.

George F. Atkinson

A bracket fungus, Polyporus versicolor.
This is a common form of Polyporus iound^ on
dead wood. When wet this fungus is flexible
but when dry it is woody, and almost brittle

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

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 thor-
oughly 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 de-
veloped 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 con-
centric rings around the point of attach-

George F. Atkinson

Oyster mushroom^ Pleurotus ostreatus

George F. Atkinson

This woody type of pore jungi, Gando-
derma, usually jound growing on old wood
has a brittle polished crust

ment. The creamy surface of the great
bracket fungus on which etchings are
made is composed of a layer of these mi-
nute 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 a fun-
gus becomes established, the tree is proba-
bly doomed and its lumber made worth-
less even though, as sometimes happens,
the tree heals its wounds so that the fun-
gus is imprisoned and can never send out
fruiting brackets. Thus it is most impor-
tant 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 should
be painted. While ordinary paint if re-
newed 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 in-
valuable service in the protection of our
forests if we teach the rising generation
the respectful treatment of trees — which

PLANTS

George IP. Atkinson

Edible boletus, Boletus edulis. This is a
common 'plant in woods and open places dur-
ing July and August. It has tubes instead of
gills below the cap. The spores are developed
within the tubes , as m the bracket fungi

is due living conditions whose span of life
may cover centuries.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 717.

LESSON 200
BRACKET FUNGI

LEADING THOUGHT — The fungi which
we see growing shelflike from trees are
deadily 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 fun-
gus itself may be studied at leisure in the
schoolroom.

OBSERVATIONS — i . On what kind of
tree is the bracket fungus growing? Is it
alive or dead? If living, does it look vigor-
ous 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 up-
per 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,

William P. Alexander

Bear's head fungus, Hydirum caput-ursi.
This beautiful fungus grows in white dumps
of irregular shape and hangs from decaying
trees or logs like clumps^ of icicles; the spores
are produced on teeth instead of in pores or
gills as in many other mushrooms

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

725

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 en-
tered; 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 fun-
gus 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 other plants?

10. What treatment must we give trees
to keep them free from this enemy?

LESSON 201
HEDGEHOG FUNGI

There is something mysterious about
all fungi, but perhaps none of these won-
derful organisms so strangely impresses
the observer as the fountain-like masses
of creamy white or the branching white
coral that we see growing on a dead tree
trunk. The waiter remembers as a child
that the finding of these woodland treas-
ures 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 droop-

ing 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, unless the position of the tree
has changed since they grew. There is one
species called the " satyr's beard/' some-
times found on living trees, which is a
mere bunch of downward-hanging spines;
the coral-like species is called Hydnurn
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 bearVhead fungus; it is often eight
inches across.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 717.

OBSERVATIONS— i. These fungi come
from a stem which extends into the wood.

2. This stern divides into many branch-
lets.

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 202
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 saucer-like fungi. They
are most 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

George F. Atkinson

The scarlet saucer, Sarcocypha coccinea

PLANTS

George F. Atkinson

An edible morel, Morchella esculenta

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 sau-
cer is the most exquisite scarlet, shading
to crimson. This crimson lining bears the
spores in little sacs all over its surface.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 71 7.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 saucer bottom side up —
that is, scarlet side down — on a piece of
white paper, and see whether you can get
a spore harvest.

LESSON 203
THE MORELS

In May or June in open, damp places,
such as orchards or the moist fence-cor-
ners of meadows, the morels may be

found. This mushroom family contains no
member that is poisonous, and the mem-
bers 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 net-
work. The outside edges of the net-
work are yellowish or brownish when the
morel is young and edible, but later turn
dark as the spores develop. In some spe-
cies the stems are comparatively smooth
and in others their surface is more or less
wrinkled. The spores are borne in the de-
pressions of the network. These mush-
rooms should not be eaten after the cells
change from creamy white to brownish.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 717.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Where did you find
the morels?

2. Describe the stem. Is it solid or hol-
low? 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?

Stinkhorns

George P. Atkinson

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

727

4. Take one of these fungi, lay it on a
sheet of white paper, and note the color
of the spores.

LESSON 204
THE STINKHOKNS

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 offen-
sive 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 bear-
ers/' and it is a most appropriate name.
The stout, white stem is composed of net-
work without and within. The outer cov-
ering 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 net-
work. 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 cham-
bers 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Readings on
page 717.

George F. Atkinson

Bird's nest fungi

MOLDS

It is lucky for our peace of mind that
our eyes are not provided with micro-
scopic lenses, for then we should know
that the dust, which seems to foregather
upon our furniture from nowhere, is com-
posed 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 thou-
sands of spores, each one ready 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 placey 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, be-

728

PLANTS

gin to enlarge, forming little gobules; 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 tas-

Bread mold

sels instead of growing within little glob-
ular 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, globu-
lar 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 the other 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 hap-
pening 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.

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.

SUGGESTED READING — The Book of
Plants, by Bertha M. Parker and Henry C.
Cowles; Fields and Fencerows, by Walter
P. Porter and Einar A. Hansen; Nature
and Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch
and Harrison E. Howe, Book 4, Through
Four Seasons.

LESSON 205
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 nour-
ishment, if the temperature is warm, the
air is 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

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

729

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 scat-
ter 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 les-
son, and it is much more interesting for
the pupils if they can see the mold under
a microscope with a three-fourths objec-
tive.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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? Has it any odor?

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 micro-
scope or a lens. Describe the threads. De-
scribe 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, and put on a cover glass. Ex-
amine the mold with a three-fourths ob-
jective, and describe the spores and spore

cases.

BACTERIA

The yellow, pink, or purple spots devel-
oped upon the moist and moldy bread
may be caused by bacteria and yeast. Bac-
teria are one-celled organisms; they are
the smallest known living things, and can
be seen only through a high-power micro-
scope.

Bacteria are found almost everywhere
— in the soil, on foods and fruits, in the
water of ponds, streams, and wells, in the
mouths and stomachs of all animals, and
in fact in almost all possible places. They
occur also in the air. Most of them are
harmless, some of them are useful, and
many 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 contagious diseases are
produced by bacteria. Diphtheria, scarlet
fever, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, influ-
enza, grippe, colds, cholera, lockjaw, lep-
rosy, blood poisoning, and many other
diseases are thought to be 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; some are an absolute
necessity in making cheese. The making
of cider into vinegar is the work of bac-
teria; some help to decompose the dead

73°

PLANTS

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 bac-
teria which get into the blood. These lit-
tle fighting cells move everywhere with
our blood, and if we keep healthy and vigo-
rous by right living, right food, and ex-
ercise, these cells may prove strong enough
to kill the disease germs before they harm
us. Direct sunlight also kills some of the
bacteria. Exposure to the air is also a help
in subduing disease germs. Bichloride of
mercury, carbolic acid, formaldehyde, and
burning sulphur also kill germs. We can
do much to protect ourselves from harm-
ful bacteria by being very clean in our per-
sons and in our homes, by bathing fre-
quently, and washing often with soap. We

Experiment C shows the way the de-
structive 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 indicates a value of sunshine.

SUGGESTED READING — The Book of
Plants, by Bertha M. Parker and Henry C.
Cowles; Nature and Science Readers, by
Edith M. Patch and Harrison E. Howe,
Book 4, Through Four Seasons.

LESSON 206
BACTERIA

LEADING THOUGHT — Bacteria are such
small plants that we cannot see them
without the aid of a microscope, but they

1, A bacillus which causes cholera. 2, A ba-
cillus which causes typhoid. 3, A bacillus
found in sewage

All these are much enlarged

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 min-
utes 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 bac-
teria.

Experiment B shows that bacteria can
be transplanted to gelatin, which is a ma-
terial favorable for their 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 gela-
tin. They should thus learn the value of
washing their hands often or of keeping
their fingers out of their mouths.

4, Bacteria from tubercle on white sweet
clover, much enlarged. 5 and 6, Bacteria of
lactic acid ferments in ripening of cheese,
much enlarged

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

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

731

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 it in a saucer, leave it uncov-
ered for a time or blow dust upon it, label
it with the date, then cover it with a tum-
bler to keep it from drying and place it 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 were 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 po-
tato showing the bacteria spots. What
are the bacteria doing to the potato? Take
a part of the slice of potato with the bac-
teria spots upon it, and put it in the sun-
shine. 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 fingernails be kept
clean?

3. Why should we never bite the
fingernails or 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 house cleaning 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
dry duster for removing dust?

10. Why should the prohibition against
spitting in public places be strictly en-
forced?

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 of such
a disease as typhoid fever, should water be
boiled before drinking?

This habit of looting first at what we
call the beauty of objects is closely asso-
ciated with the old conceit that every-
thing is made to please man: man is only
demanding his own. It is true that every-
thing 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-as-
surance. 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 them-
selves/ Each thing lives for itself and its
Icind, and to live is worth the effort of liv-
ing 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 aslced 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

PART IV
EARTH AND SKY

EARTH AND SKY

SUGGESTED READING — Along the Hill, L. Beauchamp and Co-authors, Books i,

by Carroll Lane Fenton; Autobiography 2, 3; The Story of a Billion Years, by W.

of the Earth, by John H. Bradley; The O. Hotchkiss; The Story of Earth and Sky,"

Boys' Book of the Earth, by Sidney A. byCarletonW.WashburneandHeluizC!

Small; The Earth Changes, by Jannette Washburne; The Story of Earthquakes

M. Lucas; The First Book of the Earth, by and Volcanoes, by Gaylord Johnson;

Harold O. Rugg and Louise Krueger; Stories in Stone, by Willis T. Lee; The

Nature and Science Readers, Edith M. Strange Adventures of a Pebble, by F. B.

Patch and Harrison E. Howe, Books 3, 4, Atkinson (Hallam Hawksworth, pseud.);

5, 6; Old Mother Earth, by Kirtley F. This Earth of Ours, by Jean-Henri d

Mather; Our Planet the Earth; Then and Fabre; Our Amazing Earth, by Carroll

Now, by Lillian Rifkin; Pathways in Sci- Lane Fenton; additional references are to

ence, by Gerald S. Craig and Co-authors, be found in the bibliography at the end

Books 2 to 6; Science Stories, by Wilbur of this Handbook.

THE BROOK

Little broolc, sing a song of a leaf that sailed along,

Down the golden braided center of your current swift and strong.

- J. W. RlLEY

A brook is undoubtedly the most fasci-
nating bit of geography which the child
encounters; and yet how few children who
happily play in the brook — wading, mak-
ing dams, drawing out the crayfish by his
own grip from his lurking place under
the log, or watching schools of tiny min-
nows — ever dream that they are dealing
with real geography. The geography les-
son on the brook should not be given for
the purpose of making work out of play,
but to conserve all the natural interest in
the brook, and to add to it by revealing
other and more interesting facts concern-
ing the brook. A child who thus studies it
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 in-
teresting time to study a brook is after
a rain; and May or October gives 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 in-
terest.

Each brook has its own history, which
can be revealed only to the eyes of those
who 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
slopes does it gain enough power to cut
its bed deep in the earth. Where it flows
with swift current down a hillside, it cuts
its bed deeper, because swift-moving water
has great 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 hill-
side than when crossing level fields. The
delightful way in which brooks meander
across level areas is due to some obstruc-
tion, such as a tree, a stone, or a bunch
of grass or shrubs, which interferes more
with the movement of water on a plain
than on a hillside. Gravity, which forever
pulls water down a steep slope, acts upon
it less forcibly on gently sloping or nearly
level lands. After a stream has thus started
its crooked course, in time of flood the
current strikes with great force on the
outside of the curves, thereby cutting
them back and making the stream 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 rapidly 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 vol-
ume of the brook; the action of gravity
upon this larger volume 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

THE BROOK

737

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. Thus, after a time there are
so many drops carrying loads and bump-
ing along, knocking loose more earth, that
the whole brook, which is made up of
drops, looks muddy. In its work as a dig-
ger, 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 loosen
other bits of dirt and gravel; and all the
drops hastening on, working hard to-
gether, cut 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.
And when the drops have torn loose a
rock or a pebble, they do not merely carry
it; they pound and grind it with other
rocks and pebbles, wearing away its sharp
edges and breaking it into smaller and
smaller pieces, until it may finally be a
rock or a pebble no longer, but only a
powder as fine as flour. On and on the
brook flows, a gang of workers each of
which is using its own load as a tool,
all in close procession, and working dou-
ble quick. But as soon as the brook
reaches a plain or level, it slows down
and the drops act tired; they 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 won-
dered at, when we once think of all that
is going on in the brook during periods
of flood. There are some simple experi-
ments 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,
a smaller hole will be formed than if the
pitcher is held high up; this shows that

The brook. Its snowbank source, its tools} and
its workshop

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, tears away more earth
at bends and curves than when it is flow-
ing in a straight line; for ordinarily, when
flowing straight, the current is swiftest

738

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

EARTH AND SKY

Even the large stones along the bank were
probably brought there by the brook when
it was working hard. When it works hard
again, it may carry them somewhere else

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 207
THE BROOK

LEADING THOUGHT — The water from
the little brook near our school is flowing
toward the ocean, and is meanwhile dig-
ging out and carrying along with it the
soil through which it flows.

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 dur-
ing 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— i. 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 in woods? Is the land about it
level, or does it slope?

2. Are its banks deeper at the begin-
ning, 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 it is flowing
through a level area? Are the banks more
worn away and steep where the brook
flows through woods or bushes than
where it is flowing 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 win-
dow 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

THE BROOK

739

that it carried when it was flooded? Do
you think that one of the tools 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. As the pebbles are being rolled
along the bed of the stream, do you feel
them strike against your feet or legs?

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 downstream — a fast or a slow
current?

13. Does 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 in-
sects 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;
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 the 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.

LIFE IN THE BROOK

By any body of water, whether brook,
river, pond, lake, canal, or sea, there will
be found many kinds of plant and animal
life, which constitute a wealth of nature
material. The plant life is somewhat dif-
ferent from that which grows far away
from bodies of water; the forms of animal
life vary with the quantity and condition
of the water.

All bodies of water serve as highways,
over which not only man but other ani-
mals travel from one region to another.
Even many birds follow watercourses in
their migrations. Plants growing along
a watercourse often have their seeds car-
ried by the water and dropped at points

many miles downstream. The seeds of
plants growing near large bodies of wa-
ter may be carried by waves to distant
shores.

Information about many forms of life
occurring in or near water may be found in
the parts of this book dealing with plants
and animals.

SUGGESTED READING— Along the Brook,
by Raymond T. Fuller; also, readings on
pages 144 and 400.

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 SKY

In such a situation may be found many kinds
of plant and animal life

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 Be-
yond and its name was Mystery.

The mystery of this brook was its chang-
ing 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

HOW A BROOK DROPS ITS LOAD

The brook is most discriminating in
the way it takes up its burdens, and also
in the way it lays them down. With quite
superhuman wisdom, it selects the light-
est 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 culti-
vated 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

THE BROOK

741

finer and more fertile portions of the soil.
There are many instances in our southern
states where this difference in the direc-
tion 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 peb-
bles 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 de-
posits its mud and makes a soft bottom;
while under the swifter part of the cur-
rent, 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 the pupils can build across
a stony brook 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;
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 swift-
est, 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

W. G. Pierce, U. S. Geological Survey

A meandering stream. In time of flood, this
stream brought down much of the soil of the
flood plain through which it wanders

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. 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 ex-
tending out into the lake or pond is thus
built up. In this manner the great river
deltas are formed.

LESSON 208
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

742

EARTH AND SKY

from its quiet pools. Have it brought into
the schoolroom, and shake it thoroughly.
Then place it in a window and ask the pu-
pils to observe the following things:

( a ) Does the mud begin to settle while
the water is in motion; that is7 while it is
being shaken?

(b) As soon as it is quiet, does the set-
tling process begin?

(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 dis-
turbed even a little it becomes roily again,
which means that as soon as the water is
in motion it takes up its load.

OBSERVATIONS — i . Where is the cur-
rent swiftest, in the middle or at the side
of the stream?

2. What is the difference, in the bot-
tom of the brook, between the place be-
low 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 it flows 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 ex-
tending out into a lake or pond where the
stream enters it? What is the delta of a
stream?

ROCKS AND MINERALS
REVISED BY H. RIES

Professor of Geology in Cornell University

J. K. Hillers, U. S. Geological Survey

Rock showing glacial strice — the scratches made by other rocks and gravel carried in the ice

Any brook or stream which you may
have observed has doubtless been rolling
on its way for countless ages; and, however
small and insignificant its appearance, it
has probably caused great changes in the
countryside through which it flows. Some-
where along its course it may have cut
deep gorges; and where it empties into
a lake or into another stream, it may
have built out great points or sandbars.
Through all these years, it has been carry-
ing with it great masses of the materials
which it excavates, transports, and rede-
posits, and it will probably continue to do
so for centuries to come.

In a general way, the materials that it

carries are of two types, coarse and fine,
the first consisting of rocks, pebbles, and
sand, and the second of silty and clayey
substances. Both of these types, and the
brook's way with them, are of great im-
portance to human life.

As we have seen, the brook both picks
things up and lays them down. Both
these acts are of benefit to man; they have
given us, for instance, the rich bottom
lands of the Mississippi and Missouri
valleys. But they can also be of great harm,
for water may carry off the soil which it or
some other agency long ago deposited;
and when it has done so, centuries wall
pass before that soil can be replaced.

744

EARTH AND SKY

Many children are naturally interested
in stones. The peculiar shapes, odd mark-
ings, and colorings of stones attract a
child's attention and arouse in him a
desire to know more about them.

I once knew two children, aged seven
and five, who could almost invariably
recognize the different boulders and peb-

Photomlcrograph by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal. Many minerals are crystalline
in form

bles of rock which they found scattered
over the surface in the region about
Ithaca, New York. 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 glaciers and
dropped in Ithaca. It was a story they
liked, and their interest in these granite
voyagers was always one of the many ele-
ments that helped to make our walks in
the field delightful.

The term mineral is not generally used
in its broadest sense; it really means any
substance which is neither plant nor ani-
mal. To be specific we will restrict its use
to the more limited meaning — " an inor-
ganic substance occurring in nature, hav-
ing a definite chemical composition, and
usually a distinct crystalline form." A
mineral may also be defined as a single
chemical element, or two or more ele-
ments chemically combined, forming a
part of the earth's crust.

Some eight or ten chemical elements,
in various combinations, make up most
of our common rock-forming minerals;
they are oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron,
calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium,
sulphur, and carbon.

A rock is an aggregation of minerals: it
may be made up entirely of a single min-
eral, as is rock salt; but more often a rock
contains two or more minerals. Granite,
for example, is composed of feldspar,
quartz, and mica, and may contain horn-
blende.

SUGGESTED READING — Along the Hill,
by Carroll Lane Fenton; The Boole of
Minerals, by Alfred C. Hawkins; Field
Boole of Common Rocks and Minerals,
by Frederic B. Loomis; Getting Ac-
quainted with Minerals, by George L.
English; Story Book of Earth's Treasures,
by Maude F. and Miska Petersham; The
Story of the Minerals, by Herbert P.
Whitlock; also, readings on page 734.

I. ROCKS

Perhaps you have heard someone use
the expression " rock bottom " to mean
the foundation, base, or beginning of
something. The words are very expressive,
and have their meaning buried in the
earth. When we look out over a lawn,
park, field, or even a large body of water,
we see the surface and do not stop to
think that far beneath are beds of solid
rock. We can see exposures of various
types of rock in such places as cuts made
for highways or railroads, along deeply cut
stream banks, in quarries, or sometimes

outcropping in the slope of a moun-
tain.

To understand what is meant by the
term rock, we need to recall what was said
in the discussion of minerals. Rocks are
aggregations of minerals, and minerals
are composed of elements or chemical
combinations of elements.

The study of rocks is treated under that
branch of science called geology. In a text-
book on that subject will be found much
interesting information on rocks; but for
our purposes it seems best to consider only

ROCKS AND MINERALS

745

few of the more common rocks, or stones,
as they are sometimes called.

It will be well to mention, however,
that rocks are divided into three main
groups; these divisions are determined by
their origin, their position in the earth's
crust, and their location in respect to each
other. The three groups are sedimentary

roclcs, formed from sediments deposited
chiefly by water, sometimes by wind or
glaciers; igneous rocks, formed by the
solidification of molten rock; and meta-
morphic rooks, formed from the other
two groups, by processes which produced
such changes in them as to warrant plac-
ing them in a separate group.

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

The materials in these rocks are in lay-
ers; they were deposited by the water or
wind assisted by the force of gravity; they
were laid down according to size or weight
of individual particles. The materials vary
according to the places where they were
laid down, such as deserts, river beds, del-
tas, beaches, or ocean bottoms. (See also
The Brook, p. 735.)

If you will put some muddy water in a
glass tumbler and watch the mud settle,
you will notice that some of the larger par-
ticles settle very soon, while some of the
finer particles will be held for hours before
they are dropped. This simple experiment
shows, in a general way, what takes place
in a muddy stream. During and after a
hard rain, a stream carries much more
sediment than at any other time. Some of
the finer particles are not dropped until
they reach the body of water into which
the stream is flowing, and there in quiet
water they settle down. Thus sediment
may build up deltas or settle on the ocean
or lake bottoms.

In the ocean there live many animals
which secrete shells, and there are fishes
with bony skeletons. When these animals
die, their hard parts settle to the bottom,
where they are covered with sediment
which preserves them. Later, when this
sediment has hardened to rock, we find
these animal remains preserved as fossils.
A plant organism may leave an impression
of its form in the sediment, even though
the vegetable matter has decayed. The

C. D. Walcott, U. S. Geological Survey

A large piece of sandstone showing the uneven
effects of weathering

various kinds of fossils serve as a sort of
key or index to aid scientists in determin-
ing at what time, in the history of the
earth, the particular rock-forming materi-
als were laid down. In shale, a rock formed
from old clay beds, we sometimes find
footprints of prehistoric animals and im-
pressions of raindrops that fell many ages
ago.

Some common examples of sedimentary
rock are limestone, shale, and sandstone;
even iron ore beds, coal, and rock salt are
included in this group.

746

EARTH AND SKY

IGNEOUS ROCKS

These rocks have been formed, by cool-
ing, from materials that have been forced
up from the interior of the earth. These
materials are in the form of molten lava,
which does not always reach the surface
before it cools. They do not show assort-
ment and stratification as do sedimentary
rocks, but have, instead, a crystalline tex-
ture. The size of the grains is determined

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

by the position in which the molten mate-
rial cooled; the portions cooling at or near
the surface of the earth contain smaller
crystals than do the materials which
cooled more slowly at points far below
the surface of the earth. Granite is one of
the most common igneous rocks.

GRANITE

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 whit-
ish or flesh-colored and the smooth sur-
face of its cleavage planes shines bril-
liantly as the light strikes upon it; it can
be scratched with a knife but this requires
effort. The mica is in pearly scales, some-
times whitish and sometimes black. The
scales of these mica particles may be lifted
off with a knife, and it may thus be distin-

guished. If there are black particles in the
granite which do not separate, like the
mica, into thin layers, they probably con-
sist of hornblende.

Granite is used extensively for building
purposes and for monuments. It is a very
durable stone; when polished it endures
better than when rough-finished, since the
polished surface gives less opportunity
for water to lodge and freeze. If granite,
by prolonged weathering, is broken down
to grains of sand and clay, these may be
washed away and carried into lakes or the
ocean where they settle down in more
or less sorted forms. If the sand grains
form a deposit of appreciable size and
extent, this becomes a sandstone rock.

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,
New York. The Department of Parks of
the City of New York has furnished the
following information concerning the
treatment given to the monument:

After the obelisk had been standing in
its new home about two years, the surface
began to chip. In 1885, four years after its
erection, a coating of paraffin wax was
recommended for its surface. It was found
that there were many loose flakes of large
size; all such flakes that could be saved
were left in place. To have removed these
flakes would have damaged the hiero-
glyphics to a serious degree. Within a few
months the entire monument was coated
with wax.

In 1893 these areas were treated by pres-
sure to insure that a solid body of paraffin
wax would fill all openings and prevent
any accidental movement. The flakes are
mapped and numbered for the purpose of
ascertaining at any time whether they
have increased in area or whether new
ones have developed. A thorough exam-
ination in 1913 showed no further de-
terioration; but as a precautionary measure
a coating of liquid veneer was applied to

ROCKS AND MINERALS

the surface; this veneer did not penetrate
and was soon washed away by the rain.

In 1930, forty-five years after the appli-
cation of the preservative, no indication
could be found of any need for renewing
the treatment. The preservative had ab-
solutely stopped and prevented what
would have been the rapid disintegration
of the oldest and perhaps the most inter-
esting monument in America.

This shaft has a most interesting his-
tory. It was quarried near Assuan, in the
most famous of all the 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 an-
cient city of On, later called Heliopolis,
situated on a plateau near the present city
of Cairo; On was the city where Moses
was bom and reared. One of these obe-
lisks still stands where it was first placed
as a part of a magnificent temple, the tem-
ple a part of a magnificent city. It now
stands alone in the middle of a great fer-
tile 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 bul-
lock 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 contempo-
raries of its erection, caws hoarsely as it
alights on the beautiful apex of this an-
cient 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 209
IGNEOUS ROCKS: GRANITE
LEADING THOUGHT — Granite is com-
posed of feldspar, quartz, and mica, and
often contains hornblende.

J. H. Comstock

The granite obelisk still standing on the site
of the ancient city of On

METHOD — Specimens of coarse granite
and a pocket knife are needed.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 made of granite have
you seen? What monuments made from
it have you seen?

3. What is weathering? Mention some
of the characteristics of weathering. Why
does the rough-finished granite weathei
sooner than that which is polished?

4. Examine some sand with a lens.
What mineral do you find present in it
in the greatest quantity?

5. Write the story of the Cleopatra's
Needle in Central Park, New York City.

748

EARTH AND SKY

METAMORPHIC ROCKS

Metamorphic means changed; it is
therefore to be understood that meta-
morphic rocks are those rocks whose tex-
ture and mineral composition have been
changed since they were originally formed
as igneous or sedimentary rocks. They may
have decayed or they may have been made
stronger by the process; but in general
the term is used to mean changes that
have occurred in rocks as a result of great

weight, heat, movement, and pressure, in
the presence of water and gases. The
depth within the earth's crust at which
the process took place determines chiefly
which factor was most important in bring-
ing about the change.

Some common metamorphic rocks are
slate, formed from clay; marble, from
limestone; quartzite, from sandstone; and
anthracite coal from soft coal.

CALCITE, LIMESTONE, AND MARBLE

Calcite or calc spar, wrliich is calcium
carbonate, is a mineral and is the material
of which marble, limestone, and chalk are

Forms of calcite crystals

made. The faces of the calcite crystal are
always arranged in groups of three or mul-
tiples of three — a three-sided pyramid or
two pyramids joined base to base. When
acute and formed of three pairs of faces,
the crystals are called dogtooth 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 forming rhombs. When these
cleaved or split pieces are transparent,
they are called Iceland spar. When an ob-
ject 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 hydro-
chloric (muriatic) acid is dropped on it,
it will effervesce.

Limestone has often been 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 skeletons are calcium
carbonate in composition. In the water,
the shells and corals were broken down,

Buffalo Museum of Science

Fossilized Coral: the skeletons of coral ani-
mak

ROCKS AND MINERALS

749

and then deposited in layers on the bot-
tom of the sea; in addition some car-
bonate of lime has been precipitated from
sea water. Layers of limestone are now be-
ing deposited off the shores of Florida,
where corals grow in great abundance.
Limestone is used extensively for building
purposes, and in many climates is very
durable. The great pyramids of Egypt are
of limestone. 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 sta-
lactites and stalagmites, which were made
by the lime-bearing water dripping down
and evaporating, leaving its burden in crys-
tals behind it. When the roof of a cave
falls in, the cavity thus made is called a
sink hole and is often dangerous. The fa-
mous Natural Bridge in Virginia is all
that is left of what was once the roof of
such a cavern. Other famous caves are
Luray and Mammoth in the East and
Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico. The
water of limestone regions is always hard,
because of the lime which it holds in solu-
tion; and in such regions the streams usu-
ally have no silt, but have clean bottoms;
moreover, the springs are likely to be-
come 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 to
think how many years it must have re-
quired for the shells of such tiny beings to
build up the beds which make the great
chalk cliffs of England!

Marble is formed inside the earth from
limestone, under the influence of heat and
pressure; it differs from limestone chiefly
in that the grains are of crystalline struc-
ture, and are larger; it is usually white or
gray in color, and sometimes is found in
differing 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 princi-
pal marble deposits in the United States
are in Vermont, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Some marbles do not last well when ex-
posed to severe climatic conditions. Mar-
ble 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.

LESSON 210
CALCITE, LIMESTONE, AND MARBLE

LEADING THOUGHT — Calcite or calc
spar is lime carbonate. The best known
forms of its crystals are rhombic; but in-
stead of having twelve right-angled edges,
the sides are lozenge-shaped, and are set
together with six obtuse angles and six
acute. Dogtooth spar is one form of cal-
cite crystal. Limestone is a solid form of
calcite. Marble is granular limestone,
which is made of crystalline grains of cal-
cite. Chalk is soft, fine-grained limestone.

METHOD — Specimens of dogtooth 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.

Marbles which are composed of mineral
dolomite, a carbonate of lime and mag-
nesia, will not effervesce with cold acid.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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? Ex-
amine it with a lens to see. What is its
color? Have you seen marble of other col-

75°

EARTH AND SKY

ors than white? Do you know the reason
why marble is sometimes clouded and
streaked?

3. What are the uses of marble? What
have you ever seen made from marble?
Why is it used for sculpture? What fa-
mous statues which were made of marble
have you seen? Name some of the fa-
mous ancient marble buildings.

4. Test a piece of limestone for hard-
ness. Can you scratch it with a knife? Is it
as soft as marble? Put a drop of acid on
it. Does it effervesce? If there are any fos-
sils 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.

5. Are there any buildings in your town
made of limestone? How do you know the
stone is limestone? Where was it ob-
tained? Is it affected by the weather?

6. 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?

7. How is the lime which is used for
plastering houses made?

8. Write a theme on how the chalk
rocks are made.

9. 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 ma-
terial are the bones of our own bodies
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 our-
selves. I weigh my words well when I as-
sert, that the man who shoufd know the
true history of the bit of chalk which every
carpenter carries about in his breeches-
pocket, though ignorant of all other his-
tory, is likely, if lie will think his knowl-
edge 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 stu-
dent who is deep-read in the records of
humanity and ignorant of those of Na-
ture.

During the chalk period, or " Creta-
ceous epoch/' not one of the present great
physical features of the globe was in exist-
ence. Our great mountain ranges, Pyr-
enees, Alps, Himalayas, Andes, have all
been upheaved since the chalk was de-
posited, and the Cretaceous sea flowed
over the sites of Sinai and Ararat. All
this is certain, because rocfa of Cretaceous
or still later date, have shared in the eleva-
tory 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

II. MINERALS

For the pupils in the elementary grades
it seems best to limit the study of minerals
to those which make up our common
rocks. In order to teach about these min-
erals well, the teacher should have at least
one set of labeled specimens. Such a col-
lection may be obtained from a supply
house. These collections vary in number
of specimens and price. The teacher
should have one or two perfect crystals

of quartz, feldspar, and calcite. An excel-
lent practice for a boy is to copy these crys-
tals in wood for the use of the teacher.

The physical characteristics used in
identifying minerals are briefly as fol-
lows:

i. Form. This may be crystalline,
which shows the shape of the crystals defi-
nitely; granular, as in marble, the grains
having the internal structure, but not the

external form, of crystals; compact, which
is without crystalline form? as in limestone
or flint.

2. Color.

3. Luster or shine, which may be glossy
like quartz, pearly like the inside of a shell,
silky like asbestos, dull, or metallic like
gold.

ROCKS AND MINERALS 751

4. Hardness or resistance to scratching

thus: easily scratched with the fingernail;
cannot be scratched by the fingernail;
easily scratched with steel; with difficulty
scratched with steel; not to be scratched
by steel. A pocket knife is usually the im-
plement used for scratching.
SUGGESTED READING — Page 744.

CRYSTAL GROWTH

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
the most 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.

That a substance which has been dis-
solved in water should, when the water
evaporates, assemble its particles in solid
form of a certain shape, with its plane sur-
faces 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 be-
ings, but it seems so. The fact that when
an imperfect crystal, unfinished or broken,
is placed in water which is saturated with

Forms of quartz crystals

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 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 won-
ders than those claimed by the alchemists
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

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

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 les-
son 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 ex-
periment before the pupils instead of
trusting the substance to them indiscrimi-
nately. Blue vitriol forms an exquisitely
beautiful blue crystal, which is lozenge-
shaped with oblique edges. Often, as pur-
chased from the drug store, we find it in
the form of rather large, broken, or im-
perfect crystals. One of the pretty experi-
ments 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 build-

7?2

EARTH AND SKY

ing 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 won-
derful preservative qualities; if either ani-
mal or vegetable tissues are permeated by
it, they will remain dry and unchanged.

Copper sulphate solutions have also
been effectively used in treating seeds of
some farm crops to kill spores which might
be present and would later cause smuts or
other fungus diseases to develop on the
growing crops.

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 forma-
tion 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 crys-
tals, like the snow, which are formed from
vapor. Thus, substances must be molten
hot, or dissolved in a liquid, or in the form
of gas, in order to grow into crystals.

LESSON 211
CRYSTAL GROWTH

LEADING THOUGHT — Different sub-
stances 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 solu-
tion 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 toothpick
which is placed across the mouth of the
vial; the other end should reach the bot-
tom 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 chil-
dren observe them closely. Care should
be taken to prevent the children from try-
ing to eat these beautiful crystals, by tell-
ing them that the red and blue crystals
are poisonous.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 de-
scribe 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 potas-
sium 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?

ROCKS AND MINERALS

753

SALT

" 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 sub-
stance; if the water is hot, it dissolves
more of most substances. To make a sat-
urated 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.

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 evapo-
rates rapidly, the crystals are smaller, be-
cause so many crystals which do not have
material for large growth are started.
When the water is evaporated, to appreci-
ate 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 several methods.
The more common ones include mining
of large deposits of rock salt, evaporation
of lake or ocean water which is salty; and
the pumping of water down to a salt de-
posit and thereby dissolving the salt. In

the latter case, the salt solution is brought
to the surface and evaporated. The oldest
salt works in this country were in Syracuse,
New York, where the salt was obtained
from salt springs which were famous
among the American Indians. At Ithaca,
New York, the salt deposits are about 2,000
feet below the surface of the earth. Salt
is obtained in a number of states, either
from wells or through mines. Salt is ob-
tained by evaporating sea water on San
Francisco Bay, and from lake water at
Salt Lake City. The largest salt mines in
the world include those of Germany and
Poland; these have been worked for many,
many years.

When the United States was first set-
tled, salt was brought over from England;
but this was so expensive that people
could not afford it, and so they soon be-
gan 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.

Salt lakes are found in natural basins of
arid lands, and are always without outlets.
The water which runs in escapes by evapo-
ration, 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 212
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, and

754

EARTH AND SKY

some salt and water. Let each pupil take
five teaspoonfuls of water and add to this
two spoonfuls of salt, stirring the mixture
until it is dissolved. When the water will
take no more salt, let each pupil write his
name and the date on the square of paper
and 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-- i. 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 has stood exposed to the air for
several days, what becomes of the water?
From which saucers did the water evapo-

rate 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 be-
gan? 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 can^
not get salt to eat?

6. How are dairy salt and table salt ob-
tained? 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 some salt lakes.
Why are some lakes salt? Why is the
ocean salt?

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 most
sand and sandstones, and it occurs, mixed

QUARTZ

and transparent it is called rock crystal; if
smoky brown, it is called smoky quartz;
if purple, amethyst, (b) In crystals or
masses, 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,

with grains of other minerals, in granite, opaque or translucent, when polished. If

*• " ' bright red, it is carnelian; if brownish red,

sard; if in various colors in bands, agate;
if dull red or brown, jasper; if green with
red spots, bloodstone; if smoky or gray,
breaking with small, shell-like, or con-
choidal 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

gneiss, and many lavas; it also occurs in
the form of veins, and sometimes in crys-
tals ornamenting the walls of cavities in
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 de-
posited at the same time, and in this way
the ores of the precious metals came to
be associated with quartz. Sometimes
silica is deposited from hot springs or
geysers, forming a spongy substance called
geyserite. In this case, some of the water
is combined with the silica, making what
is called opal. Quartz will cut glass.
Quartz occurs in many varieties: (a)

^r «-l.«J.J. J.JU W^U.JL.J JLJ.J. J.J.JLC1J.J. V V U.JLJLVxt.JLVxiJ . \ "" / ^"^ *. -«»v» ». - ^ —

In crystals or masses like glass. If colorless and flint, the silica having permeated the

ROCKS AND MINERALS

755

plant tissue so that the texture of the
wood is preserved.

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 car-
tridges, and the guns were called flint-
locks. 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 civiliza-
tion.

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, ground to a fine powder,
it is combined with japans and oils and
used as a finish for wood surfaces. Much
mineral wool is now made from glass, and
is widely used for insulation in the walls
of houses. Quartz combined with sodium
or potassium and water forms a liquid
called water-glass, which is used for water-
proof surfaces; it is also fireproof to a cer-
tain degree. Water-glass is the best sub-
stance in which to preserve eggs; one part
of commercial water-glass to ten parts of
water makes a proper solution for this
purpose.

LESSON 213
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 pyra-
mid. 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 be-
fore them as many varieties of quartz as
possible; at least they should have rock
crystal, amethyst, rose and smoky quartz,
and flint.

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 formation of the petrified forests of
Arizona?

FELDSPAR

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 labra-
dorite, which is dark gray, brown or green-
ish 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 pink-
ish. Orthoclase is different from other feld-
spars in that, when it splits, its plane sur-

faces form right angles. Feldspar is next
in the scale of hardness to quartz, and
will with effort and perseverance scratch

Forms of feldspar crystals

glass but will not cut it; it can be scratched
with a steel point. Its luster is glassy and
often somewhat pearly.

FOSSILS

In very early times fossils were considered
more or less as freak relics of an ancient past;
but now a fossil may be defined as an organ-
ism or anything indicating the former pres-
ence of an organism which has been preserved
in any natural deposit in or on the earths
crust. In fact, any vestige of life of a former
age may be considered a fossil.

The types of fossils vary greatly in their
nature, and in their completeness. There are
instances of animals having been preserved as
unaltered remains. Such is the case of the rare
mammoths found in Siberia and the insects
caught in the tree resin which we now find as
amber. Petrifactions are fossils in which some
of the original portions of the organisms have
been replaced at least in part by a mineral.
A mold is an interesting type of fossil; it is
the impression of a plant or animal left for-
merly in soft mud. After the body decayed or
was removed in some manner the impression
still remained and became permanently pre-
served. A shell formerly buried in rock and
later dissolved by water leaves a cavity bear-
ing the shape of the shell; if later that cavity
becomes filled with some mineral substance
the result is a fossil called a cast. Trails of
marine animals } tracks of dinosaurs, or bur-
rows of worms are all considered as fossils.

The sea is the most favorable place for the
burial of organisms; many forms of life are
present, much sediment is available to cover
the dead bodies, and decay is checked by the
salt water. There are few places where good
preservation of land animals has been pos-
sible; but fossils of land animals have been
found in caves, under lava flows, and in
swamps; in some instances the bodies have
been washed out to sea and preserved there.

By means of fossils man has been able to
unravel much interesting earth history. In
fact some fossils and combinations of fossils
have come to be known as "guide fossils"
and these can be used to determine very defi-
nitely the geologic aqe of the rock strata in
which they are found. From fossils much can
be learned about the factors of the environ-
ment in which the plant or animal lived —
whether the atmosphere was moist or dry,
cool or warm, whether the water was fresh or
salty.

1. HYPOHIPPUS skeleton found in rocks in
Colorado.

2. BRACHIOPODS, Lingula. These soft-bodied
animals had two shells not quite equal in size.
See No. 7 and No. 9.

3. CRANE FLY, Tipula. We can see that this
insect was very similar to the present-day
crane fly.

4. TRILOBITES, Phacops. These crustaceans
were among the first fossils to attract the at-
tention of naturalists and are used as " guide
fossils " in the rock formations of the Cam-
brian period. The trilobites varied in length
from a fraction of an inch to two feet.

5. CYCADS, Otozamites. These plants were
similar to pines and spruces in structure but
their palmlike leaves were somewhat on the
order of ferns. A few tropical forms of cycads
are to be found living today.

6. CRINOID OR SEA LILY, Taxocrinus. This
animal was named from its resemblance to a
lily. It had a long stem, at the upper end of
which was a cluster of plumelike arms as
shown in the picture.

7 AND Q.BRACHIOPOD. Pictured here are dif-
ferent aspects of this very abundant fossil.
The animal has an "upper" and "lower"
valve rather than a " right " and a " left " as
have the oyster, clam, and mussel. More than
200 kinds of living brachiopods are known;
but in the Paleozoic time there were more
than 2500 known forms in what is now North
America. They do not move about but are
fixed to one place in the sea by a stalk from
the lower valve.

8. DINOSAUR TRACKS. These tracks were
found on the brownstone of Connecticut Val-
ley; the fossil shown in this picture is in
the collection at Amherst College. Dinosaurs
were reptiles which ran about on their hind
legs as do birds. They were so abundant and
were such extraordinary animals that the time
in which they lived has been called the Age
of Reptiles. These creatures were at least as
much diversified in size, form, and adapta-
tions as are the mammals of today. Some had
birdlike feet with great claws; others which
lived in swampy areas had huge ducklike bills.
Still other dinosaurs reached a length of 60
feet or more and weighed as much as 40 tons.

Photographs by courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History
and the Buffalo Museum of Science

758

North Carolina leads all other states in
the production of feldspar; but consider-
able quantities are produced in South
Dakota, New Hampshire, and Colorado.
It is quarried, crushed, and ground to pow-
der as fine as flour to use with the clay
from which china and most kinds of white
pottery are made. Kaolin, which has been
used so extensively in making the finest
porcelain, is the purest of all clays, and is
formed of weathered feldspar. Moonstone
is clean soda-lime feldspar, whitish in
color, and with a reflection something like
an opal.

LESSON 214
FELDSPAR

LEADING THOUGHT — Feldspar is an ex-
ceedingly common mineral in some rocks.
When broken, orthoclase feldspar splits
in two directions nearly at right angles to
each other, making pieces that are ob-
liquely brick-shaped. It is next in hardness
to quartz; it will scratch glass but will not
cut it.

EARTH AND SKY

METHOD — - If possible have the com-
mon feldspar (orthoclase), and some of
the less common kinds like oligoclase and
labradorite.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 character-
istics of both.

8. Hunt over the pebbles found in a
sand-bank. Which ones are quartz? Do
you find any of feldspar?

MICA

The mica crystal when perfect has six
sides and flat ends, because it splits very
easily at angles to the sides. 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
thumbnail. Its distinguishing character-
istic is that the thin layers into which it
splits bend without breaking. When mica
flakes decay, they take on a golden luster
and are frequently mistaken for gold.

Mica was used in antiquity for win-
dows. Because it is transparent and not
affected by heat, it has been used in the
doors of stoves and furnaces and for lamp
chimneys. Powdered mica is the artificial
snow that is scattered over cotton batting
for the decoration of Christmas trees.

Mica mines are scarce in this country;
but the mining of mica is important in
North Carolina and New Hampshire.
India and Canada are also sources of sup-

ply. The entire production of this mineral
in the United States for the year 1936 was
valued at almost a million dollars. Most
of this output was used in the electrical
industries, since mica is one of the best
insulating materials known.

LESSON 215
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 ordi-
nary mica is light colored, but there is a
black form.

METHOD — If it is not possible to ob-
tain a mica crystal, get a thick piece of
mica which the pupils may split off into
layers.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Describe your piece

ROCKS AND MINERALS 759

of mica. Pull off a layer with the point scratch it with the thumbnail? What

of your knife. See if you can separate this color is the streak left by scratching it

layer into two layers or more. with steel?

2. Can you see through mica? Can you 3. What are some of the uses of mica?

bend it? Does it break easily? What is the How is it especially fitted for some uses?

color of your specimen? What is its luster? 4. Write a theme on how and where

Can you cut it with a knife? Can you mica is obtained.

THE SOIL

REVISED BY H. O. BUCKMAN

Professor of Soil Technology, Cornell University

Arthur Keith, U. S. Geological Survey

The brook mitt even at low water grinds ceaselessly, sorting out the finer products and
carrying them away to serve as soil material

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 to-
morrow. 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

While the coarser burden of streams
is of great consequence, as the preceding
sections have shown, the finer materials so
carried are of even greater human im-

portance. Few people realize the signifi-
cance of the soil and the part that it plays
in the life of man. Because a child, after
making mud pies, is told that his face is

THE SOIL

dirty, he naturally concludes that soil is
mere dirt. But it is only when out of place
that soil is dirt; for in place and perform-
ing its normal and natural functions, it
is the home of miracles — the seat of
the intricate chemical and biochemical
changes that make possible the nourish-
ment of higher plants on which all animal
life depends. The study of soil is a funda-
mental introduction to agriculture.

SOIL MATERIAL

If we should go back to the very be-
ginning, we should find that soil forma-
tion is initiated by rock fragments of vari-
ous kinds — some coarse, some fine, some
very fine. In our study of the brook, it
was noted that certain stones with sharp
corners were just entering the water mill
while others had been reduced to gravel,
sand, or even rock flour. We saw how this
grinding action is done, why it is so effec-
tive, and how the mineral grist is sorted
and sifted as it is carried along. And
finally we saw it deposited ready for the
next step in soil formation.

Map of the United States, showing the south-
ern extent of glaciation

It must not be inferred that running
water is the only grinding and carrying
agency engaged in the preparation of soil
material. The United States, north of a
line roughly traced by the Ohio and Mis-
souri rivers, was at one time covered by
an immense ice sheet that pushed over
our lands from the north. This great ice
mantle, many hundreds of feet in thick-
ness, scoured the bedrocks, tearing, rend-
ing, and grinding, often to the fineness of

W. C. Alden, U. S. Geological Survey

Boulders, sand, and rock -flour were carried
southward by the glacial ice. Climatic agencies
have since changed the finer of such materials
into soils, some of them the most fertile in
the United States. Even this great boulder is
slowly yielding to the attacks of the weather

powder. Millions of tons of rock material,
varying in size from boulders to gravel,
sand, and clay, were carried southward
for miles, often hundreds of miles, finally
to be dumped indiscriminately as the ice
melted away. Perhaps one-fifth of the
United States was covered by such rock
debris ready to be changed by weathering
agencies into soil.

Soil material, once it is sufficiently fine,
is also subject to transportation by wind.
In fact, thousands of square miles in our
Middle West are covered by such finely
divided materials, the result of ancient and
violent " dust storms/' This silty deposit,
often many feet in thickness, is called

Agronomy Dept. Cornell U,

Boulders left by a glacier

EARTH AND SKY

SOIL FORMATION

A. F. Gustafson

A soil formed by the weathering of the
wind-carried e£ loess " of Illinois. The fertile
land on either side is being eroded by the
stream

" loess " and has produced some of our
most fertile soils.

But there are other agencies besides
running water, glacial ice, and restless
winds that help grind the bedrock into
soil material. If we visit some rocky cliff,
we are sure to find at its base heaps of
stones, which the geologist calls " talus."
These we know were pried loose by tem-
perature changes aided by freezing water
— Jack Frost and his ice wedges. This
stone-cracking goes on everywhere in re-
gions where the temperature drops below
the freezing point, and not only furnishes
soil material in place but also aids the
scouring of the winds and the grinding,
mill-like action of ice and water.

The mere fining of rock material,
whether in place or transported, does not
produce a soil; far from it. Other and more
complex changes must occur. The action
of atmospheric gases, especially oxygen
and carbon dioxide, is particularly effec-
tive. We know how iron rusts and falls
away, and how limestone slowly etches
and dissolves. In a similar way rock ma-

Charles E. Mohr

A common rock lichen, Lecidia albocserules-
cens

G. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey

A rock split by the roots of a tree. The log in
the foreground is also being reduced to soil

terials decompose and form fine earth, the
mother substance of our soil.

As this decay progresses another and a
very different material gradually appears
— organic matter. First, perhaps, lichens
gain a foothold on the soil material. Then
higher plants appear. And as they die and
regenerate, their tissue is left mixed with
the decomposing mineral fragments. This
organic matter, acted on by bacteria,
molds, and other micro-organisms, de-
cays, and " humus," the dark coloring mat-
ter of soil, is produced. One of the essen-
tial differences between a fertile soil and

i mere mass of rock fragments lies in the
urganic content of the former. This point
should be kept constantly in mind, es-
pecially when soil productivity is the
issue.

Humus intensifies the chemical proc-
esses already described, stimulates the life
within the soil, and initiates certain
biochemical changes essential to higher
plants. Gradually the raw soil material
supplies a more suitable foothold for
higher plants and provides nutrients more
abundantly for their growth. Thus a soil
is slowly evolved from the lifeless rock
and the residues of living matter — a soil
that should present, if properly handled,
the loose, mellow seed-bed that brings joy
to a farmer's heart.

KINDS OF SOIL

Soils may be divided for convenience
into four groups, according to the pre-
dominant sizes of mineral particles. Thus
we readily recognize " gravel/' " sands,"
" loams/' and u clay." Gravel soil is very
coarse and not of great value in growing
plants. Sand soils are loose and open and
easy to till. Water drains through such
soil very rapidly and its moisture-holding
capacity is usually low. It is likely to be
droughty. But when it contains plenty of
humus it is a very satisfactory soil, espe-
cially for certain vegetables.

Clay soils are sticky and cohesive when
wet and are likely to be cloddy when dry.
It is often difficult to create a suitable
seed-bed on such soils; besides, they drain
very slowly. A loam, which combines the
desirable properties of both a sand and
a clay without their disadvantages, is per-
haps the ideal soil for general purposes.
Most field soils are loams of some kind.

SUGGESTED READING — The Adventures
of a Grain of Dust, by F. B . Atkinson ( Hal-
lam Hawksworth, pseud.); also, readings
on pages 734 and 770.

LESSON 216
THE SOIL

LEADING THOUGHT — The soil usually
Is composed of a mixture of different sizes
of mineral particles (sand, silt, and clay)

THE SOIL 763

with variable amounts of humus depend-
ing on circumstances. Soil, to supply
most plants satisfactorily, should be well
drained and porous so that roots may pene-
trate it easily, and readily obtain from it
sufficient water and nutrients.

METHOD — The children should bring
in as many different samples of soil as
possible. Then classify them as gravel,
sand, loam, or clay as the case may be.
Now try to find some loams that are es-
pecially sandy — they should be called
" sandy loams." In like manner identify
some " clay loams " — that is, soils that
contain more fine material than a typical
loam but less than a real clay.

Now select a soil that is quite sandy
and one that is decidedly clayey. Wet
both moderately and knead them with
the fingers. Add more water if necessary.
Note the differences in the feel and other
physical properties. The clay, if rightly se-
lected and properly moistened, should be
sticky and plastic. When dry it becomes
hard. Try making marbles with this soil.
The sand, on the other hand, is hardly
sticky at all and a marble made of it usu-
ally falls apart when dried. Now the class
is ready for further observations.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Examine a sandy
soil under a hand lens and tell why you
think that it contains different sizes of
mineral particles. The more numerous
mineral fragments that you see are prob-
ably quartz.

2. Examine this soil, or some other soil
more suitable, for hurnus. Humus is quite
dark and acts as a coloring matter by coat-
ing the sand particles and by mixing with
clay. It furnishes plant food 'and improves
the physical condition of soils in which
it is present.

3. Compare the sand and the clay that
were used to make marbles under the
hand lens. Describe the differences most
apparent.

4. Take a piece of fresh rock such as
shale or soft limestone and pound it into
fine pieces. Does the fine material look
like soil? Would it grow plants very satis-
factorily? In what respects does a soil
differ from fresh rock powder?

5. How does water grind up rocks and

EARTH AND SKY

G. ~K. Gilbert, IT. S. Geological Survey

Jack Frost is busy here with his ice wedges,
flaking, scaling, and cracking the rocks, add-
ing little by little to the talus slope at their
base. His effect in the soil itself is even more
marked, especially in the spring when freezing
and thawing occur in rapid succession

help make soil material? Is the "brook a
good rock mill?

6. What part does wind perform in sup-
plying soil material? Where is " loess "
found?

7. How does Jack Frost take a hand in
soil formation? Why are his ice wedges
so effective?

8. If there is a cliff or a gorge in your
neighborhood, look for the work of Jack
Frost. Find a " talus/'

9. Have you ever noticed old headstones
in a cemetery that are crumbling to pieces
or are so worn that the carving can hardly
be seen? This is the work of the gases of
the air — oxygen and carbon dioxide. Ex-
amine such tombstones again carefully.
The gases of the air affect soil minerals in
just the same way.

10. Find a road cut where a suitable
soil is exposed for a considerable depth.
The dark surface layer on top is called

" surface " soil. Below, extending perhaps
to a depth of three feet, is the " subsoil."
Underneath is " soil material " and per-
haps farther down may be seen " bed-
rock." Examine the various layers. They
show the changes that occur as " soil ma-
terial " is changed to soil.

11. Now explain in your own words
how soil material is prepared and how it
is changed to a fertile soil. This would be
a good subject for a short essay.

EXPERIMENT i. To show what Icind of
soil drains most readily and which holds
the most water.

Take two straight glass lamp chimneys
or pieces of tubing six or eight inches long
(see sketch), tie cheesecloth over the bot-
toms, and trim it neatly. Then fill one
with a dry, sandy soil and the other with
a fine, dry, clayey one. Compact the soils
by jarring. Then set the chimneys (see
sketch) so that any water coming through
the soils may be caught in glasses or pans.

Now carefully pour water from a meas-
ured quantity on the sandy soil just fast
enough to keep the soil surface nicely
covered. Consult a watch and note how
long it takes for the water to run through
and drip from the bottom of the column.
At this time cease adding water and make
note of the total amount of water added.

Do the same with the clay. Compare

Apparatus for Experiment I

the time necessary for drainage to occur
in the two cases.

After water has ceased dripping through
the soils, measure the amount caught in
each case. Now see if you can determine
which soil held more water. Ease of drain-
age and moisture-holding capacity are
both important in a practical way.

Hint to teacher — Water usually passes
through sand much more rapidly than
through clayey soils. But clayey soils have
a much greater water capacity, especially
if humus is present in sufficient amounts.
To show this difference in moisture capac-
ity the water added and that coming
through should be carefully measured.

Sands are well-drained soils, while clays
often give difficulty in this respect. This
is important in the spring when an early
seed-bed is necessary. But clays resist
drought better because of their high water
capacity. These practical points should
be brought out as the object lessons of
this experiment.

EXPERIMENT 2. To show that soil can
lift water from below.

Fill two chimneys as already directed
in Experiment i, but instead of pouring
water on the soils, set the chimneys in a
shallow pan of water (see sketch ) . Watch
what happens. In which soil does the
water rise more rapidly? In which does
the water rise higher after several days?

Hint to teacher — - Water rises through
a sandy soil more rapidly than through a
clayey one, but if time enough is given,
the upward distance will be greater in the
clay. It would seem, therefore, that clay
will move water farther for the use of
plants and convey more because of its
greater moisture capacity. The object of
this experiment obviously is to learn the
capacity of soils to supply crops with mois-
ture. Apply this thought as practically as
possible.

EXPERIMENT 3. To show the effect of
organic matter on the physical condition
of a clayey soil.

Go to the woods, scrape away the sur-
face accumulation of leaves and other un-
decayed matter, and get some of the dark
humus (leaf mold) below. Mix this with

THE SOIL 765

the heaviest clay soil that has been col-
lected. Use one part of humus to three
parts of clay.

First, take some of the original clay,
add water slowly, and work the soil into
the very best condition possible for plant
growth. Apply just the right amount of
water. Treat the soil just as though you
were going to pot it and use it for growing
plants.

Now work up the humus-treated clay in
the same way. Which soil works up better

Apparatus for Experiment 2

and more easily? Compare the two sam-
ples. Why should a good supply of or-
ganic matter be kept in a field soil? Can
you guess how humus affects the water-
holding power of soil? Will it lower or
raise it?

Hint to teacher — If leaf mold is not
available for this exercise, use well de-
composed organic matter of any kind.
Humus makes soils easier to work and less-
ens the labor of seed-bed preparation. It
also increases the water-holding capacity
of soils and renders land less susceptible
to drought. These are the practical points
that should be stressed in this experiment.

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 plough-
share 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

766 EARTH AND SKY

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 under-
stand.

What is it? Only a handful of dust: to your

touch

A dry, rough powder you trample be-
neath your feet,
Dark and lifeless; but think for a moment,

how much

It hides and holds that is beautiful, bit-
ter, 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, fra-
grance 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 hol-
low had for me a new interest. The day
passed, the work was done, and I at least
had had a rich experience/'

HOW VALUABLE SOIL IS LOST

BY A. F. GUSTAFSON

Professor of Soil Technology, Cornell University

Were the soil indestructible and ever-
lasting, as so many people imagine, its
study would be of general interest only.
Unfortunately, however, our lands are sub-
ject to ravages and losses so extensive and
far-reaching that not only is their crop
producing capacity much reduced but also
they oftentimes are threatened with total
destruction. Because man formerly did
not realize that this was true, he took no
steps to prevent such losses; and when he
finally became conscious of the danger,
much damage had already been done.

Many years ago, when the white man
came to this country, he found the east-
ern part of what is now the United States
covered with forest trees. In the central
Mississippi Valley area there were forests
along many of the larger streams, and tall-
growing prairie grasses on the wide open
spaces between them. To the westward on
the Great Plains, where the rainfall was
less, the land was covered with short

grasses. In the mountains farther west and
along the western coast, trees grew at
lower elevations wherever the rainfall was
sufficient for them. Thus, in nature, the
land was covered, protected, and held in
place by vegetation; and that form of vege-
tation for the growth of which conditions
were most favorable predominated.

The trees covered the soil somewhat
like leaky umbrellas. Rain fell on the
leaves, twigs, and branches; thus the fall
of the raindrops was broken and some of
the water ran down the branches and
trunks of the trees directly into the soil,
which held part of it for the use of the
trees. Likewise, the rain fell on the prairie
grasses and ran down into the soil very
much as it did in the forest.

The leaf and twig litter in the forest
caught the water, so that much of it could
be absorbed by the soil. The old dead
grasses on the prairies and plains held
water in much the same way. Under both

THE SOIL

767

W. C. Mendenhall, 0. S. Geological Survey

The work of the wind. Wind erosion is irresistible. The wind has covered forests, farmsteads,

and even cities with sand

grass and trees the soil was loose and open.
Decaying roots left openings in the soil.
The remains of leaves and grasses were
broken down by earthworms and other
organisms living in the soil; as these ani-
mals moved about, they left many open-
ings in the soil. Moreover, the decaying
litter kept the soil in a loose condition,
and so enabled it to absorb the rain rather
rapidly. The litter itself also absorbed con-
siderable water, so that less was lost as
run-off to the streams. The old dead grass
and the growing grass kept the water from
running off until much of the rainfall
soaked into the soil. The absorbed rain
water came back to the surface of the soil
at lower elevations, in the form of springs.
During long periods between rains, the
springs supplied water for man and for his
livestock; the excess, then as now, flowed
off to form streams which in turn fed the
larger bodies of water.
The white man cut down the forest

trees and then plowed the land; a little
later he broke the sod on the prairies.
Once Nature's protecting cover for the
soil was plowed under it soon rotted and
was lost. Immediately after the forest was
cleared, good yields of wheat, corn, and
other farm crops were produced even on
rather steep slopes. But when the roots
of trees and grasses and the other organic
matter in the soil had decayed and disap-
peared, the supply could not be quickly re-
newed; and as a result, the soil was no
longer loose and open but became hard
and closely packed. In this condition it
would not readily absorb water, which
consequently ran off the fields into the
brooks.

When the topsoil was thus left with-
out protection, the raindrops fell directly
on the bare surface and churned it into
a thin mud. This mud ran down the
slopes and filled up the small openings in
the soil called pores. In the forest or un-

EARTH AND SKY

IT. S. Soil Conservation Service (N. C.)

The sides of these old gullies have been
seeded and mulched with pine needles; this
helps keep the soil moist and encourages the
growth of the young seedlings. Vegetation will
soon cover the soil and protect it from further
washing. Pine trees are usually planted in the
mulch

der the prairie grasses these pores and
wormholes were loosely covered with lit-
ter, and being open they permitted the
rain to enter the soil freely. But after cul-
tivation and rains had clogged the open-
ings in the soil, much rain water ran off
the sloping fields. It is the running off of
this surface water that causes erosion or
the loss of soil. In the farmer's sloping,
clean-cultivated fields, the water collects

J. S. Cutler, TL S. Soil Conservation Service (Ohio)

Rows of cultivated crops running up and
down the slope often permit loss of soil. The
stubble in the foreground stopped the wasting
of the soil. Strip cropping usually prevents
such loss

between the rows, and if these run down
hill, much water and soil are lost. As more
water runs in one place, it runs faster and
faster; this gives it added cutting and
carrying power, so that the top soil may
be readily carried away. Often slight de-
pressions such as wheel tracks or furrows
become rills and even small gullies during
a single rain.

Heavy rains cause more loss of soil than
do light showers. More soil is lost from
steep slopes than from gentle ones. If
heavy rain falls on wet soils, they can take
up but little of it and most of the rain

W. C. Lowdermilk, U. S. Forest Service

Badly gullied slope, Oak Creek drainage
area, California. This washing resulted from
the Tehockapi cloudburst^ October, 1933.
Note that one of the men in the foreground
is up to his waist in one of the smaller gullies

must run off over the surface. Much more
erosion occurs, therefore, if rain falls on
wet soil than if it falls on dry soil. Bare
soils, clean-cultivated orchard soils, or soils
growing cultivated crops such as vegeta-
bles, corn, cotton, and tobacco have little
protection and suffer greater losses by
washing than do soils protected by forests
or pasture or hay grasses.

Soils that are well supplied with all
of the plant foods and that are in good
condition in every way produce large

THE SOIL

yields. Large yields which are accompanied
by a thick thrifty growth help protect and
hold the soil. Moreover, soil in good tilth
is open and porous and thus takes up rain
water, so that less runs off carrying soil and
plant food away with it. Water absorbed
by the soil is saved for future use; that
which runs off the surface causes the ero-
sion. Anything, therefore, that slows down
the flow of water over cultivated land
checks the loss of soil by erosion.

During dry periods, the finest material
in bare soils, especially sandy ones, may
be carried away by the wind. It drifts into
roads and ditches and onto farmsteads and
crops so as to cause untold damage.

SOIL EROSION, AN OLD PROBLEM

As far back as colonial days, Washing-
ton and Jefferson as farmers recognized
erosion on their lands in Virginia. Geolo-
gists have long believed that soil losses
through erosion are so serious as to
threaten mankind with starvation at some
time in the future. Farmers and workers
in experiment stations have recognized
the menace of soil erosion for more than
half a century; as long ago as 1885 Priestly
H. Mangum built on his own North Caro-
lina farm his first terrace, modeled on
methods of terracing already in use in
Georgia. (For further discussion of the
Mangum terrace, as it is called after its in-
ventor, see p. 774.) Bulletins discussing
soil erosion were published soon after 1890
in Tennessee and Arkansas.

Not until 1934, however, did the fed-
eral government make a systematic at-
tempt to control erosion. In that year the
Soil Erosion Service was established in
the United States Department of the In-
terior; it has since been broadened into
the Soil Conservation Service and trans-
ferred to the Department of Agriculture.
Dr. H. H. Bennett was called on to head
this service; he was well qualified for this
position by his long interest in and experi-
ence with soil erosion in the South, and
by his recognition of the seriousness of
the injury done by erosion to the fertile
cotton lands of the South, the corn soils

U. S. Soil Conservation Service (N. C.)

Sheet erosion and gullies in a North Caro-
lina pasture. Severe sheet erosion usually pre-
cedes this type of gullying. Active erosion in
places of this sort may usually be checked by
means of grass and legumes and woody vines
or brushy shrubs. Immediate attention is
needed here

of the Middle West, and the wheat and
orchard lands of the Far West.

One of the first tasks confronting the
Soil Erosion Service was the making of a
survey to learn the extent and seriousness
of soil erosion by wind and water through-
out the United States. The results of the
survey were alarming. It was found that
all but 30 per cent of the land area of the
United States had been injured by ero-
sion. Of the total area 45 per cent or 855,-
000,000 acres had lost from one-fourth to
three-fourths of the top six inches of soil.
Of this depleted portion 10 per cent had
lost more than three-fourths of its top-
soil. Wind erosion had damaged 233,000,-
ooo acres or 17 per cent of the country.
This survey was made in 1934; and, of
course, much additional damage has oc-
curred during 1935, 1936, 1937, anc^ 193^'
nearly 90,000,000 acres or one-twentieth
of the country have been severely dam-
aged or completely destroyed for agricul-
ture by wind erosion. By far the most of
the total damage to the soil has been done
by the somewhat uniform removal of sur-
face soil, known as sheet erosion; but al-
most one-half of the country has been

EARTH AND SKY

damaged by gullying, and on the land actu-
ally occupied by gullies, they do greater in-
jury than does sheet erosion; gullies too
large to cross with ordinary farm imple-
ments make farming difficult and have
greatly increased the cost of growing some
crops.

SUGGESTED READING — Conservation in
the United States, by A. F. Gustafson,
H. Ries, C. H. Guise, and W. J. Hamilton,

J. S. Cutler, U. S. Soil Conservation Service (Mich.)

The topsail has all been washed away from
the hill shown in the background. Now the
under soil is washing down upon good soil
and covering it up — a common occurrence
in many parts of the United States

Jr.; Conservation of the Soil, by A. F.
Gustafson; Little Waters, by H. S. Person;
The River, by Pare Lorentz; Soil Erosion
and Its Control, by Quincy C. Ayres; Soil
Erosion Control, by Austin E. Burges;
also, readings on page 734.

LESSON 217
How VALUABLE SOIL Is LOST

LEADING THOUGHT — Soil on a sloping
surface that lacks a protecting cover of
some type of vegetation is easily washed
away. This washing away of soil is called
erosion.

METHOD — Erosion may be studied at
any time, but perhaps the best time is im-
mediately after a hard rain, in a place
where there is some soil that is not cov-
ered with a protecting crop.

OBSERVATIONS — i . When the white
man came to our country, what conditions
existed in the eastern and western sec-
tions? Where did great grassland areas
exist?

2. What, in a general way, becomes of
much of the rain that falls on land cov-
ered by trees or heavy grass? Why is the
soil under trees and grass usually loose and
open? How do earthworms serve in help-
ing the soil to remain open? See The
Earthworm, page 422.

3. Once rain water has been absorbed
by the soil, under what conditions may
we expect to see it again?

4. Why did the early settlers remove so
many forest trees from the land? What
changes occurred in the soil after several
crops had been produced? Why does
worn-out soil become hard and packed to-
gether?

5. Why does much of the water that
falls on the bare soil of sloping fields run
off? What is erosion?

6. Why does more erosion occur if rain
falls on soil that is already wet, than if
it falls on dry soil? Why do bare fields suf-
fer more loss than do those that are cov-
ered by forests or grass? How do trees and
grass conserve water and soil?

7. How long ago was erosion noticed in
our country?

8. What has the federal government
done in an effort to control erosion? How
much of the land area of the United States
has been damaged by erosion? How much
has been damaged by wind erosion? In
what ways do sheet erosion and gullying
differ?

HOW TO CONSERVE OUR SOIL

BY A. F. GUSTAFSON

As already shown, sloping fields on
which are grown clean-cultivated farm or
garden crops and clean-cultivated or-

chards or groves are subject to extensive
soil erosion, which may result either from
rains or from water running off after the

THE SOIL

H. A. Daniel, Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station

An Oklahoma country road filed with sand after a wind storm in April, 1936. The grass and

weeds hold the sand in drifts

J. S. Cutler, U. S. Soil Conservation Service (Ohio)

Strip-cropping. On sloping land clean-cultivated crops are alternated with close-growing
crops; all are farmed on the contour. This helps to prevent erosion, and to keep water on
the land

772

EARTH AND SKY

thawing of snow. How may this loss of
valuable soil be prevented?

We may learn much about conserva-
tion from Nature. Seldom does Nature
permit much of the soil to remain bare
or exposed long in areas that receive rain
enough for fairly good growth of crops.
Land that is not under a crop, if not culti-

and materials for man's clothing. Various
methods have been developed and used
during the past half-century.

Fertilization. To fertilize the soil to
whatever extent is economical for the
production of relatively large crop yields
is a first step. Thrifty crops protect the soil
better, and they leave on it more residue
materials such as stalks of corn or cotton,
potato tops, and wheat, oat, or barley

"W. R. Mattoon, U. S. Forest Service (Tenn.)

Before. Large gully with banks sloped, be-
ing planted to black or common locust, oaks}
and Japanese honeysuckle vines. The brush
dam in the foreground helps to hold soil until
the plantings get well started

vated, is soon covered with weeds and
grasses, and these plants help to hold the
soil against washing. Grasses, however,
give much better protection than do most
weeds. In forests, or even in pastures
or meadows that are making reasonably
good growth, the vegetation protects and
holds the soil. Keeping the soil covered
and protected by close-growing vegeta-
tion, then, is one important way of con-
trolling soil erosion by both wind and
water.

Of course, we cannot grow cotton, com,
or vegetable crops and at the same time
keep the soil covered with grass. We must
therefore develop ways and means of man-
aging the land so that it will continue to
produce food for man and his livestock

W. R. Mattoon, IT. S. Forest Service (Tenn.)

After, The gully shown in the opposite
picture at the end of the first season. In an-
other year or two the plantings will have
checked erosion entirely

stubble to protect it somewhat, until
such materials are plowed under. These
residue materials help to hold the soil to-
gether and upon decaying supply plant
nutrients for the crops that follow. In
some areas, economical fertilization con-
sists of the addition of phosphorus alone,
in such forms as superphosphate, basic
slag, or rock phosphate; in other areas, es-
pecially on sandy soils, potash salts are
needed in addition to phosphorus; and
vegetables in general require the applica-
tion of nitrogen as well as phosphorus
and potash, or they may require a com-
plete fertilizer.

Growing legumes. In all extensive crop-
ping systems, legumes are needed to help
keep up the yield of grain and grass crops.
Such legumes as red and alsike clover,

THE SOIL

alfalfa, lespedeza, and sweet clover can be
used. Wherever the soil is too low in
lime a dressing of an economical form of
lime is needed to enable these legumes
to protect the soil and to produce good
yields.

Crop rotations. The growing of crops
in rotation is usually good farm practice.
Rotation means the growing of crops
in regular order such as cotton, corn, po-
tatoes, or other vegetable crop the first
year, barley, oats, wheat, or other grain
crop the second year, and a legume or grass
the third year. Grass for hay the fourth
year often follows. On lands that wash
rather easily, grass for hay for several ad-
ditional years makes a longer and better
rotation. Thus the land is kept in a culti-
vated crop a smaller proportion of the
time than if a three- or four-year rotation
is followed.

On land which is steep and easily
eroded, long-term meadows or pasture
give good protection to the soil and should
at the same time provide fair income for
such lands. Both meadows and pastures
require fertilization, at least with phos-
phorus and often with lime, in order that
they may produce good yields and inci-
dentally that they may provide suitable
soil protection.

Planting trees. Steeper, more easily
eroded, shallower, and less productive
land may well be reforested. Care should
be taken to make certain that erosion is
brought under control before planting,
because several years usually pass before
the trees that are planted become large
enough to hold the soil in place. Once
young trees are well established, however,
they afford excellent protection for the
soil.

Contour farming. Many advantages ac-
company the carrying out of all tillage,
seeding, and most harvesting operations on
the contour, or crosswise on all the main
slopes. To begin with, it is easier to plow
across than up and down slopes. The cross-
wise depressions left by the plow catch
and hold water until it soaks into the soil.
If the soil is well plowed, seed-bed prepa-
ration may best be done on the contour,

W. R. Mattoon, U. S. Forest Service (Term.)

Locusts not only hold the soil, "but enrich it;
they also produce useful wood

for the same reason that the plowing may
best be done in this way.

Seeding crops across the slopes has
many advantages. Any depressions and
ridges left by seeding implements check
the flow of water over the surface and
give the soil more opportunity to absorb
the water. Up- and downhill cultivation,
on the other hand, often leads to heavy
loss of soil both by sheet erosion and by
gullying. When grains and grasses are
seeded on the contour the plants are in
rows across the slope. Thus much more
water is held by the rows than would have
been held if the rows had been seeded up-
and downhill.

Contour harvesting is advantageous in
that it requires less horse or tractor power
than up- and downhill harvesting. Mak-
ing wheel tracks down slopes should be
avoided because these lead to the collec-

774

EARTH AND SKY

W. A. Rockie and P. C, McGrew, Washington
Agricultural Experiment Station

One heavy rain caused this washing of soil.
Note that the land under grass and shrubs to
the left has not lost its productive topsoil

tion of water and often result in gully
formation. Contour tillage saves much
water for use in dry periods and thus often
increases crop yields materially.

Contour strip cropping. Entire slopes
are often plowed and planted all at the
same time to a clean-tilled crop such as
corn or cotton. Rain water falling on the
slope collects in low places, and as it
passes down over the surface, the streams
grow larger and flow faster. Soon they at-
tain great cutting and carrying power. Un-
der these conditions the result of a heavy
rain may be gullying as well as severe sheet
washing.

Nowadays many long slopes are broken
up into a number of strips laid out across
the slope so that crop rows are on the
level. Grass is alternated with clean-tilled
crops on part of the sloping land. On the
other land grain is alternated with clover
or another legume, thus completing a
four-year rotation. Some sheet washing is
bound to take place on bare slopes under
heavy beating rains, but the grass strips
check the current and cause sedimenta-
tion. (For a fuller explanation of this proc-
ess, see the lesson on the brook, p. 736.)
The checking of the flow of water by the
grass strips thus tends to prevent gully
formation. The best width of strip to use
varies with such factors as soil, type of
rainfall, crops, and the steepness of slope.

Terracing. About 1885, Mr- Priestly H.
Mangum, who lived near Wake Forest,
North Carolina, after observing the effects
of various hillside ditches, developed a ter-
race with a broad-bottomed channel so
laid out as to give the channel a slight
slope toward the outlet. The principles de-
veloped by Mangum have been extensively
adopted : terraces are now usually laid out
in accord with a definite plan for the
field to be protected. Each terrace has its
own channel, which is in fact a hillside
ditch. These channels break up long slopes
into a number of small watersheds. The
water instead of " running off " rapidly
in the usual way and causing severe sheet
washing and gullying is made to " walk "
slowly along the contour of the land.

In parts of the South, strip cropping is
practiced on terraced land. One must
study all the conditions and then employ
such erosion-control measures as will re-
duce the loss of soil as much as possible
and at the same time produce the crops
needed by man for himself and his live-
stock.

Controlling wind erosion. Keeping the
soil covered with vegetation, rotating
crops, keeping the soil rough rather than

A. F. Gustafson

American beach grass planted on blowing
beach sand on Long Island, New York. Even
such weeds as the lowly cocklebur in the fore-
ground help hold the soil against blowing

THE SOIL

775

smooth, strip cropping and seeding crops
across the prevailing wind direction, mak-
ing furrows across the slopes on the level
for holding water, and planting tall crops
or trees as windbreaks — all these help to
check the blowing away of valuable soil,
and the drifting of sands on to crops,
roads, and farmsteads. The level furrows
hold water that is badly needed for crops.
The conservation of water, therefore, pro-
duces more plant growth and better cover
for the protection of the soil; and, more-
over, the water so saved keeps the soil
moist longer and thus helps greatly in the
control of wind erosion.

LESSON 218
How TO CONSERVE OUR SOILS

LEADING THOUGHT — Soils may be con-
served by fertilization and liming, the
growing of legumes, rotation of crops,
reforestation, contour cultivation, strip
cropping, and the building of terraces.

METHOD — In most sections of the
United States, it will be possible for pu-
pils to locate some land that has sufficient
slope to show the effects of erosion on
bare soil after a hard rain.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Can you find a

clean-cultivated field on a slope that
shows any loss of soil particles? What does
Nature do to land from which a cultivated
crop has been taken? In what way do
meadows, pastures, and forests help pre-
vent erosion?

2. In what way can fertilizers applied
to the soil influence the amount of ero-
sion that takes place?

3. How may legumes serve in the pre-
vention of erosion?

4. What is meant by rotation of crops?
Does this practice have any influence in
preventing erosion?

5. If a farmer desires to prevent erosion
is it better for him to plow, cultivate, and
harvest his fields up- and downhill or on
the contour?

6. What is strip cropping? How does
this method tend to check erosion?

7. Where did Mr. Priestly Mangum
build his first terrace? Describe a Mangum
terrace. How do terraces check the rate of
flow of run-off water? How does this
lessen erosion? What kind of farming can
be practiced on terraced land?

8. How can the blowing of soil, or wind
erosion, be controlled?

9. Are some methods of control effec-
tive for both wind and water erosion?

THE MAGNET

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 Moun-
tain Island magnet described in the Ara-
bian 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 Mid-
dle Ages. Professor George L. Burr assures
me that this mountain of lodestone and
the fear which it inspired were potent fac-
tors in the development of medieval navi-
gation. 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 re-
pellent to a force similar to itself, we per-
ceive clearly. We also know that there is
less of this force at a point in the magnet
halfway 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 of
drawing a needle to a magnet by trying to
attract it first at its point and then along
its length. The child likes to demonstrate
that this force extends out beyond the
ends of the magnet by seeing across how
wide a space the magnet, without touch-
ing 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 tak-
ing them away from the weaker; it can also
be demonstrated by a competition be-

tween 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 mag-
nets 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 ap-
proaching a suspended magnetized needle
with a magnet. These attractive and repel-
lent forces are most interestingly demon-
strated by the experiment in question 13
of the lesson. These needles floating on
cork join the magnet or flee from it, ac-
cording 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, we
convert the needle into 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 or
other metal, 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 mag-
netized 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

THE MAGNET

777

nearest our North Pole its north magnetic
pole? That is merely a matter of conven-
ience 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 com-
pass is made. This most useful instrument
is said to have been invented by the
Chinese at least as early as 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 com-
pass " is to tell all the points on the com-
pass 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 one
or both poles of a magnet close beneath;
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.

The action of the magnetic force of the
earth on the electrons streaming from the
sun produces the auroral streamers called
Aurora Borealis in North latitudes and
Aurora Australis in high Southern lati-
tudes.

Magnets made from lodestone are
called natural magnets. A bar magnet or
a horseshoe magnet has received its mag-
netism from some other magnet or from
electrical sources. An electromagnet 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 2x9

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 direc-
tions; 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 near the north pole of
the world.

METHOD — Cheap toy horseshoe mag-
nets are sufficiently good for this lesson,
but the teacher should have a bar mag-
net, also a cheap toy compass, and a speci-
men 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 — i. How do we know
that an object is a magnet? How many
kinds of magnets do you know? Of what
substance are the objects which the mag-
nets can pick up made? 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 mag-
netic 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 the
tack 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

778

EARTH AND SKY

" 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 at-
tract 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

the other; what happens? Bring the eye
of one toward the eye of the other; what
happens? When a needle is thus mag-
netized the end which turns toward the
north is called the north pole, and the end
pointing south is called the south pole.

1 1 . Try this same experiment by thrust-
ing the needles through the top of a cork
and floating 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 nee-
dles 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

strongly than before? Bring two ends of upon the compass needle which end 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 forces in the two ends of a magnet
are different in character?

7. Magnetize a metal 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 bade
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, or, better, float a magnetized
sewing needle on the surface of a glass
of water. 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 hap-
pens?

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

your magnet is the north pole and which
the south pole?

13. Magnetize several long sewing nee-
dles by rubbing some of them with the
magnet from the point toward the eye
and some from the eye toward the point.
Take some small corks, cut them in cross
sections about one-fourth inch thick, and
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 un-
derneath; what forms do the filings as-
sume? Do they make a picture of the di-
rection 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 be-
low the filings. Place two similar poles of
a bar magnet beneath the filings; what
form do they take now?

THE MAGNET

779

16. What is lodestone? Why is it so
called?

17. What is the difference between
lodestone and a bar magnet? What is an
electromagnet?

18. Write an English theme on "The
Discovery and Early Use of the Mariner's
Compass/7

Now, chief of all, the magnet's power I

And from what laws the attractive func-

tions spring;
The magnet's name the observing Gre-

cians drew

From the magnetic regions where it grew;
Its viewless potent virtues men surprise,
Its strange effects they view with wonder-

ing 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 main-
tain,

Circle 'neath circle downward draws in
vain,

Whilst free in air disports the oscillating
chain.

— "DE RERUM NATURE," LUCRETIUS,

93-52 B.C.

SUGGESTED READING — Discovering Our
World, Book i, by Wilbur L. Beauchamp,
Mary Melrose and Glenn O. Blough;
Easy Experiments in Elementary Science,
by Herbert McKay; Magnetism and Elec-
tricity (Living in a World of Science
Series), by Morris Meister; Science Re-
lated to Life, by Frank Reh, Book 3, Mag-
netism and Electricity.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

BY WILFORD M. WILSON

Late Section Director, U. S. Weather Bureau, and Professor of Meteorology
in Cornell University.

Lightning flash behind a cloud

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/'

Let us suppose we have just returned
from a trip, of two or three months, to
some distant part of the country. We can
tell of the people we saw, the cities we
visited, and the weather we found in the
various places; but we cannot tell, from
personal experience, about the climate of
the places we visited. The weather is the
condition of the atmosphere at the mo-
ment, while climate is the sum total of
weather conditions over a period of sev-

eral years. One season may be very dry,
while another may be very wet, one may
be exceedingly cold, and the next may be
unusually hot; but climate is a term which
includes all of these variations.

A study of weather quite naturally re-
sults in a study of climate, since climate
includes, in addition to all the regular
daily, monthly, seasonal, or annual aver-
ages, all the extreme departures from these
general conditions. We live in weather;
we partake of its moods;, we reflect its sun-
shine and shadows; it invades the everyday
affairs of life, influences every business
and social activity, and molds the char-
acter 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 prob-

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

781

lem appeared to be so complicated and so
complex that it baffled their utmost en-
deavors.

SUGGESTED READING — A Book about
the Weather, by Charles F. Talman; Ex-
ploring the Upper Atmosphere, by Dor-
othy Fisk; Meteorology, by Donald S. Pis-
ton; Weather, by Gayle Pickwell; Why
the Weather?, by Charles F. Brooks.

THE TOWER OF THE WINDS AT ATHENS

The Tower of the Winds, erected prob-
ably before 35 B.C., indicates the knowl-
edge of the weather possessed by the
ancient Greeks. This tower is a little octa-
gon, 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.

Boreas, the cold north wind, is rep-
resented by the figure of an old man
wearing a thick mantle, high buskins
(boots) , and blowing on a " wreathed
horn/' Caecias, 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
holding a dish of olives, because this
wind shakes down the olives in Attica.

Apeliotes, the east wind, which brought
weather favorable to the growth of vegeta-
tion, is shown by the figure of a beautiful
youth bearing fruit and flowers in his
tucked-up mantle.

Notus, the warm south wind, brought
rain, and he is about to pour the water
over the earth from the jar which he car-
ries.

Lips, the southwest wind, beloved of
the Greek sailors, drives a ship before him,

J. H. Comstock

The Tower of the Winds at Athens

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

while Zephyrus, the gentle west wind, is
represented by a youth lightly clad, scat-
tering flowers as he goes.

Sciron, the northwest wind, which
brought dry and usually cold weather to
Athens, is symbolized in the figure of a
man holding a vessel of charcoal in his
hands, because this wind parched the
vegetation. 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

There is no record of any rational prog-
ress having been made in the study of the
weather until about the middle of the
seventeenth century, when Torricelli dis-
covered the principles of the barometer.
This was a most important discovery and
marks the beginning of the modern sci-
ence of meteorology. Soon after Torri-
celli's discovery of the barometer his great
teacher, Galileo, discovered the thermom-
eter, and thus made possible the collec-
tion of data upon which all meteorologi-
cal investigations are based. About one
hundred years after the discovery of the
barometer, Benjamin Franklin made a dis-
covery of equal importance. He demon-
strated that storms were eddies in the at-
mosphere, and that they progressed or

782

EARTH AND SKY

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 astron-
omy, had arranged with a friend in Bos-
ton 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 ob-
servations. 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 in-
quiry to all surrounding mail stations, ask-
ing for the time of the beginning and
ending of the storm, the direction and
strength of the wind, etc. When the in-
formation 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 begin-
ning of the storm was later than at Phila-
delphia. 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, 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 lit-

tle 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 concep-
tion 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 a progressive movement. James
Espy followed Redfield in the construc-
tion of weather maps, although he had al-
ready 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 tele-
graph. He made no attempt to make fore-
casts, but used his weather map to dem-
onstrate to members of Congress the
feasibility of a national weather service.

An incident occurred during the Cri-
mean War that gave meteorology a great
impetus, especially in Europe. On No-
vember 10, 1854, while the French fleet
was at anchor in the Black Sea, a storm
of great intensity occurred which practi-
cally destroyed its effectiveness against the
enemy. The investigation that followed
showed that the storm came from western
Europe, and that if there had been ade-
quate means of communication and its
character and direction of progress been
known, it would have been possible to
warn the fleet of its approach and thus
afford an opportunity for its protection.

This report created a profound impres-
sion among scientific men, and active
measures were taken at once, which re-
sulted in the organization of weather
services in the principal countries of Eu-
rope between 1855 and 1860.

The work of Professor Henry Abbe,
and others in this country would, doubt-
less, have resulted in such an organization
in the United States in the early 6o's, had

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

783

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

giving birth to the present meteorological
bureau in the United States was finally
passed by Congress. Dr. Lapham issued
from Chicago, Illinois, on November
10, 1871, the first official forecast of
the weather which was made in this
country.

THE ATMOSPHERE

What is known about the atmosphere
of our earth has been learned from the ex-
ploration of a comparatively thin layer at
the bottom. There is reason to believe
that the atmosphere extends upward
about two hundred miles from the surface
of the earth. We have a great mass of ob-
servations 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 modi-
fications 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 balloons,
airplanes, and the radio meteorograph;
temperature, pressure, and humidity can
be recorded each minute. From obser-
vations thus obtained much has been
learned about the upper atmosphere that
was not even suspected before. Some the-
ories have been confirmed and others de-
stroyed, but this line of research, air mass
analysis, is gradually bringing us nearer the
truth.

The work is being carried on under the
direction of the United States Weather
Bureau, in co-operation with the United
States Army and Navy.

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 atmos-
phere are not chemically combined but
are very thoroughly mixed, as one might
mix sugar and salt. Samples of air col-

Photomicrograph by

W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

lected from all parts of the world show
that the relative proportion of the gases
forming the atmosphere is practically uni-
form.

THE COMPOSITION OF Am

Dry air is composed chiefly of oxygen
and nitrogen. There are, however, small
quantities of carbon dioxide, argon, he-
lium, krypton, neon, hydrogen, and xenon,
and probably other gases yet to be dis-
covered.

The approximate proportion by volume
is as follows: nitrogen 78 parts, oxygen
21 parts, argon i part, carbon dioxide .03
part, and krypton, helium, and xenon a
trace. Pure dry air does not exist in na-
ture, so there is always present in natural
air a variable amount of water vapor, de-
pending upon the temperature and the
source of supply. Besides these, which
may be termed the permanent constitu-
ents of the atmosphere, many other sub-
stances are occasionally met with. Light-
ning produces minute quantities of am-

784

EARTH AND SKY

monia, 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 inves-
tigations in atmospheric electricity lead to
the conclusion that electric ions are also
present, and perform important func-
tions, especially with respect to precipi-
tation.

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, produc-
ing 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 it is so united, the bonds that hold it
are easily broken and the gas set free. For
this reason, it is utilized in the manufac-
ture of explosives, such as gunpowder, gun-
cotton, 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 oxy-
gen a fire once started could not be con-
trolled. Although nitrogen does not con-
tribute 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 for both ani-
mals 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 re-
sults from the burning of fuel and is ex-
haled by the breathing of animals. It also
results from certain chemical reactions.

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

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, accu-
mulates 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, because it is
heavier than air, lies so close to the ground
that a man standing erect will have no dif-
ficulty in breathing, while a dog will die
of suffocation. It also accumulates in un-
used 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 extin-
guished because of the lack of oxygen to
support combustion.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

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 car-
bon 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 sun-
light, 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;
it was included with the nitrogen in all
previous analyses of air. It constitutes
about 1% of air by volume. Krypton,
neon, and xenon exist in minute quanti-
ties and have some interest chemically,
but little for the meteorologists. Helium
and hydrogen probably exist at great ele-
vations in the atmosphere.

WATER VAPOR

The vapor of water in the atmosphere
varies from about i % for arid regions to
about 5% of the weight of the air for

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Compound snow crystals

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 eleva-
tion, and probably disappears at an ele-

785

vation of five or six miles above the sur-
face. The amount of water in the form of
vapor that can exist in the atmosphere
increases with the temperature, being .54

Photomicrograph by
W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

grain Troy per cubic foot at zero tem-
perature and 14.81 at 90°. When the air
has taken up all the moisture it can con-
tain at a given temperature it is said to be
saturated.

The dewpoint is the temperature at
which saturation occurs. If the air is satu-
rated, the temperature of the air and the
dewpoint will be the same, but if the air
is not saturated the dewpoint will be be-
low that of the air.

Relative humidity is expressed in per-
centages of the amount necessary to satu-
rate. If the air contains one-half enough
vapor to saturate it, the relative humidity
will be 50%; if one-fourth enough to satu-
rate, 25%; if saturated, ioo%? 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 coun-
terbalance 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 humid-
ity 100%; dewpoint 32°; absolute humid-
ity 2.11 grains per cubic foot 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,
is easily compressed, expands when heated
and contracts when cooled. It is acted
upon by gravity and, therefore, has weight

y86

EARTH AND SKY

"Weather Bureau, U. S. D. A.

Aneroid barograph

and exerts pressure? which at sea level
amounts 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 de-
creases 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 the lessons on air pres-
sure and the barometer.)

LESSON 220
EXPERIMENTS TO SHOW AIR PRESSURE

LEADING THOUGHT — The air presses
equally in all directions.

EXPERIMENT i. 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 turn-
bier, pressing the paper down firmly upon
the edge of the glass. Turn the glass bot-
tom 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 side-
wise; does the water flow out? If not, why?

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 i 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 bot-
tom side up it shows the air is pressing up-
ward with sufficient force to keep the
water within the glass.

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Composite snow crystal; high cloud at the
center and medium high cloud at the border

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 per-

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

787

formed 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 that the air is pressing
in both directions upon it.

LESSON 221

EXPERIMENT TO SHOW WEIGHT OF AIR:
THE BAROMETER

LEADING THOUGHT — The weight of
our atmosphere balances a column of mer-
cury 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 moun-
tains, and, to a certain extent, it indicates
changes of the weather.

METHOD — A glass tube about 36 inches
long, closed at one end; a little glass fun-
nel 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

Weather Bureau, TJ. S. D. A.

Aneroid barometer

A barometer made by pupils

mercury in the following process, or you
will be as badly off as old Sisyphus with his
rolling stone.

Set the closed end of the tube in the
empty cup so that any spilled mercury
will not be lost; with the help of the fun-
nel 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 re-
move 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

EARTH AND SKY

Weather Bureau, U. S. D. A.

Valley fog and cirro-stratus clouds seen from
Mt. Wilson

the surface in the cup to the top of the
mercury in the tube.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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?

THE HEIGHT OF THE ATMOSPHERE

Atmosphere is the general term applied
to the layer of air which surrounds the
earth. It is about two hundred miles in
height; and it is further divided into tropo-
sphere, tropopause, and stratosphere. The
troposphere averages about ten miles in
height and in it all storms are found. The
tropopause is a region just beyond the
troposphere, and almost no activity exists
there. The stratosphere is the portion ex-
tending far out into space; it has no wind
and no weather. In the stratosphere all is
at rest.

As we have seen, the air near the sur-
face is a mixture of eight gases. 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
weights of gases differ just as the weights
of different solids, such as lead, wood, or
iron differ. For instance, nitrogen is 14
and oxygen 16 times heavier than hydro-
gen.

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 advan-
tage 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 10 pounds.

There are two forces in constant opera-
tion on each gas that surrounds the earth,
viz.7 expansive force and gravity. Expan-
sive force pushes the gas up and gravity
pulls it down, but the force of gravity de-

Weather Bureau, TJ. S. D. A.

Tufted cirrus clouds

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

789

creases 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 w7hich 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 10
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.

There are other ways in which we are
able to gain some idea of the approximate
height at which there is an appreciable at-
mosphere. When the rays of light from
the sun enter our atmosphere they are
broken up or scattered — diffracted — so
that the atniosphere 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.

Todd's New Astronomy

The zone of twilight in midwinter

From this it is calculated that the atmos-
phere 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.

Taylor Instrument
Companies

Maximum and minimum thermometer. The
index, a miniature glass bottle with a piece of
steel wire inside, is left at the highest and
lowest points recorded; it can be pulled down
with a magnet

Their velocity is so great that the slight
resistance offered by the air generates
enough heat by friction, or by the .com-
pression 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 at-
mosphere. 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 at-
mosphere to render meteors luminous as
188 miles.

79o EARTH AND SKY

TEMPERATURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE

The condition of the atmosphere with
respect to its temperature is determined
by means of the thermometer. This instru-
ment is in such common use that a de-
tailed description is not necessary. It
might be interesting to note that the in-

mined. This is obviated in the modem
thermometer by the use of mercury or al-
cohol in a vacuum tube. Mercury is not
used when very low temperatures must be
registered, because it congeals at about 45
degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

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Taylor Instrument Companies

The three standard thermometer scales

strument invented by Galileo was very dif-
ferent from those now in use. Galileo's
original thermometer was what is know
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 barome-
ter before the temperature could be deter-

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 Fahren-
heit 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 not so common
but is used in some parts of Europe. 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 Fah-
renheit. 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 neces-
sary to indicate the scale in use.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

791

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 com-
posed 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 facts 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 cor-
responding 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

The general circulation of the atmos-
phere may be best studied by disregard-
ing those smaller differences of tempera-
ture 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 con-
stant 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 Equato-
rial Current, the Japan Current, some-
times called Kuro Siwo 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 air 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 cir-
cling the globe and its name is the Pre-
vailing Westerlies. The other air 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 air rivers, one extending southward
from latitude about 30° nearly to the
South Pole with its current, like its coun-
terpart in the northern hemisphere, flow-
ing from west to east, circling the globe.
It is also called the Prevailing Westerlies.
The other air river in the southern hemi-
sphere 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
air rivers in each hemisphere belts the
earth at about 35° north and 30° south
of the equator. Why does the air move.

EARTH AND SKY

Ellsworth Huntington and Suinner W. Gushing, Principles of Human Geography,

John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Ocean currents

and why does it move in such a regular,
systematic manner? To answer these ques-
tions we will rely upon gravity, the heat
from the sun, and the effect of the rota-
tion of the earth on moving wind currents.
Everyone knows that water flows down
hill because of the force of gravity. Grav-

J. Jtussell Smith, Human Geography,
The John C. Winston Co.

The earth's prevailing winds and air circu-
lation

ity is nature's great peacemaker. It is al-
ways 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 vibra-
tion. 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, cop-
per, water, and many other substances ex-
pand under heat. Air is a gas and expands

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

793

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 accord-
ance 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 be-
come lighter than the surrounding cool
air, it moves, and air in motion is wind.
Figure No. i 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 oc-
curs frequently at night after the heat

Ellsworth Huntington and Sumner W. Gushing, Princi-
ples of Human Geography, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Pressure belts on a simplified globe

from the sun is withdrawn and gravity
has settled the atmosphere. When the
rays of the sun fall on the earth upon
which this quiet air rests they warm the
earth first, and then the layer of air im-
mediately 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 tempera-
ture than the air above it. It will, there-
fore, expand. It cannot expand downward
because of the earth. It cannot expand

Fig. 1. Diagram showing air currents set up
by sun's heat

much laterally because it is pressed upon
by air that is also seeking more space. It
therefore expands upward as represented
by the line ABC. Now in expanding up-
ward it lifts all the air above it, and the
line H, representing the top of the at-
mosphere, 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 mar-
gins. 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 is
pushed upward and the whole circula-
tion, 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, ex-
panded, 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 atmos-
phere will just counterbalance a column
of mercury 30.00 inches high in a barom-
eter tube of the same size. (See this type
of barometer in the sketch shown on p.
787.) We, therefore, say that the normal
pressure of the atmosphere at sea level

794

EARTH AND SKY

is about 30.00 inches. If7 for any rea-
son, 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

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 there-
fore have low pressure at the warm center,
29.90 inches; and we have high pressure,
30.10 inches, at the cool margins. From
this illustration we obtain the six princi-
ples of convectional circulation, viz.:

Fig. 2. Isobars of the world

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 sur-
face 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, be-
cause, 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

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.

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. i represent a section of the atmos-
phere 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 ex-

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

795

pect 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 sur-
face 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

i 1 1

Hifh

Equator

Fig. 3. Diagram showing air currents along
any meridian

equator, with areas of high pressure at
the poles. Let us examine the chart. Be-
ginning at the equator, and bearing in
mind that the normal pressure is about
30.00 inches, we find irregular lines, rep-
resenting 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 re-
verse 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 gradu-
ally up to about latitude 35° in the north-
ern 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 791?

Thus far our theory does not accord
very well with the facts. True, we found
the low pressure at the equator as antici-
pated; 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 recon-
struct Fig. i, 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.

The diagram shown above now repre-
sents the true pressure along any meridian,
as determined by actual observations, and
we cannot escape the conviction that the
requirements as to temperature and pres-
sure 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 princi-
ples of a convectional circulation, viz., low
pressure at the warm center and a high
pressure at the cool margins, are thus ful-
filled. 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 792.

On either side of the equator and blow-
ing toward it, we find the famous trade
winds — the most constant and steady
winds of the world. Their northern and

796

EARTH AND SKY

Weather Bureau, U. S. D. A.

Cup anemometer. The dial cover is removed
to show the mechanism

southern margins coincide with the tropi-
cal belts of high pressure. They blow from
high pressure to low pressure and we can-
not doubt that they act in obedience to
the fifth principle of convectional circula-
tion. From observation of the lofty cirrus
clouds in the trade wind belts, we have
abundant evidence of upper currents, flow-
ing away from the equator toward the
tropical belts of high pressure; thus the
sixth principle is satisfied. The torrential
rains and violent thunderstorms, charac-
teristic of the equatorial regions, bear evi-
dence to the rapid cooling of the ascend-
ing currents near the equator; while the
clear, cool weather and light winds of the
Horse Latitudes clearly indicate the pres-
ence 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 peculiar-
ity is not in strict accord with our ideas of
a simple convectional circulation and sug-

gests 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, de-
scribes 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.
792) we find that the winds moving to-
ward the equator turn to our right; like-
wise, if we face the equator from the south-
ern 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 prob-
lem in mathematics, and for the benefit of
those versed in the science the formula is
given. The amount of such a force is ex-
pressed by 2 MVW sin D, where M is the
mass, V the velocity, W the angular rota-
tion of the earth, and D the latitude.

Not all of us may be able to solve the
problem, but we may understand some-
thing 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 ex-
perience of this principle may be gained
in a street car while it is rounding a curve.

In the diagram shown on the next page
we have a view of the Northern Hemi-
sphere. The direction of the rotation is in-
dicated by the curved arrows outside the

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

797

circle representing the equator. Suppose
that a wind starts from the equator, mov-
ing along the meridian A directly toward
the North Pole. It is clear that it cannot
continue to move along the meridian, be-
cause the direction of the meridian with
reference to space is continually chang-
ing, and the inertia of the wind compels it
to move in a straight line without refer-
ence 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 direc-
tion, 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 me-
ridians 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

Diagram showing the effect of the earth's ro-
tation on the atmosphere

high pressure at the tropics. If we refer
to Fig. 2, page 794, we see that not all air
that ascends at the equator descends at

the tropics, else there would be an ab-
sence of air at the higher latitudes, which
is manifestly not the case. On the other

The circumpolar whirl

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 trop-
ics, 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, obey-
ing 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 North-
ern and to the left in the Southern Hemi-
sphere. 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.

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

798

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 suffi-
cient centrifugal force to open an empty
core. Those who have visited the great
whirlpool at Niagara have undoubtedly
noticed that the whirling waters are held
away from the center and piled up around
the margins by the centrifugal force devel-
oped. 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 short-
ens, because the law of the conservation
of areas requires that the radius must al-
ways 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 de-
creased one-half and the velocity, there-
fore, doubled; but at latitude 60° the east-
ward 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 gyra-
tion winds, in thus withdrawing the air

EARTH AND SKY

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 con-
sidered are: (i) 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 pres-
sure from the equator. These questions
may be considered together.

It is to be remembered that the South-
ern Hemisphere is the water hemisphere,
and that the prevailing westerlies, in glid-
ing over the smooth water surface, are but
little retarded by friction and, therefore,
attain a higher velocity than the corre-
sponding winds of the Northern Hemi-
sphere, where the rougher surface ma-
terially retards their movement. As a
consequence, the circumpolar whirl of the
Southern Hemisphere is stronger, and de-
velops 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 tropi-
cal belt of high pressure about five degrees
nearer the equator than do the weaker
forces that operate in the Northern Hemi-
sphere.

STORMS

Having gained a comprehensive view
of the general planetary wind system, we
may now undertake the study of local dis-
turbances that arise within the general
circulation and are known as " storms/'

Storms are simply eddies in the atmos-
phere. They may be compared to the ed-
dies 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 suffi-
cient centrifugal force to hold some of
the water away from the center, thus
forming a well-marked depression, fre-
quently of considerable depth. The whole
circulation of the eddy is quite independ-

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

799

ent of the current of the stream which
carries it along its course, and while its
general direction and velocity of move-
ment 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 atmos-
phere 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 con-
forms in a general way to its velocity; but,
like the eddies in the river, they do not
always move in straight lines or 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 may revolve in either

direction, depending upon the direction
in which the initial force was applied, but
the storm eddies in the atmosphere al-

Photomicrograph "by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

ways revolve counterclockwise in the
Northern Hemisphere, and clockwise in
the Southern.

This is due to the deflecting force of the
earth's rotation, winch is fully explained
on pages 796-98.

WEATHER MAPS

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 rneteorologi-

Photomicrograph by
W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

cal situation over a large territory at a
given instant of time; and, while a single
map conveys no indication of the move-
ments continually taking place in the at-
mosphere, a series of maps, like a moving
picture, shows not only the whirling ed-
dies, 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 move-

ments 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 under-
standing of the problems presented by
the atmosphere. (See pp. 801-6.)

THE PRINCIPLES OF WEATHER
FORECASTING

The forecasting of the weather has been
made possible by the electric telegraph.
It is based upon a perfectly simple, rational

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

8oo

EARTH AND SKY

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 ac-
cept his statement without question, be-
cause we are confident that he knows the
speed at which the train is approaching;
a few clicks of his telegraph instrument
have told him just where it is, and the
time it will arrive, barring accidents, is

Photomicrograph by
W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal

a simple calculation. Information of com-
ing weather changes is 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 longi-
tudinal extent (the general currents carry
storms of the middle latitudes eastward
around the world and those of the tropics
westward), the earlier advancing changes
may be recognized and the more accu-
rately 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 7:30 A.M. and 7:30 P.M. Eastern
Standard Time, throughout the country,
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 sta-
tions 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 give to the forecaster two
daily photographs of the weather condi-
tions over a territory embracing nearly the
whole of the inhabited part of the West-
ern 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 prob-
able time of its arrival sent to those places
that lie in its path. The method is per-
fectly 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 fore-
casts that accompany the map are based.

MAPS, WHERE PUBLISHED AND How OB-
TAINED

Weather maps are published in some
daily papers, and in somewhat larger form,
and more in detail, at Weather Bureau
stations in some of the largest cities. They
may usually be obtained for school use by
applying to the Chief of the Weather Bu-
reau 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 speci-
fied, 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 informa-
tion necessary to make a forecast for your-
self. Weather maps are published so ex-
tensively 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, rain-
fall, wind, and weather are 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.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

801

THE VALUE OF THE WEATHER SERVICE

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 severe changes come un-
announced. 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 $4,400,000 in
1929 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 many millions
of dollars annually.

HOW TO READ WEATHER MAPS

Weather maps may be obtained by writ-
ing to the Chief of the Weather Bureau,
Washington, D. C., stating that you wish
to post the maps in a public place. A sup-
ply 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.

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
meanings of these two words. Isobar is
made up of two Greek words, isos mean-
ing equal and baros meaning weight.
Therefore, as 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 two Greek words,
isos meaning equal and therme meaning
heat. Therefore, on the map the dotted
lines show the region where the tempera-
ture is the same. If at the end of the
dotted line you find 60 it means that,
wherever that line passes, the thermome-
ter stands at 60 degrees.

HIGHS AND Lows

Many of the " highs " and " lows " enter
the United States from the Pacific Ocean
about the latitude of Washington State or
southwest British Columbia; however, by
far the greater number enter from the

Map of a storm

Canadian Northwest. They follow one an-
other 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 far-
ther 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

802

EARTH AND SKY

SUNDAY, DECEKIBE

V. S. weather maps, showing the eastward progress of an area of low pressure for four

indicated by the line of dots

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

803

consecutive days. Note the course of the low that was on the Pacific coast Dec. 24; this is
and dashes on the later maps

804

EARTH AND SKY

marked in winter, and wind storms are
more marked and more regular.

A low area is called a cyclone and a
high area an anticyclone. 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
may be very destructive. The little whirl-

NE. winds SE. winds NW. winds

SW. winds

Hurricane
warning

Cold wave

Explanation of storm and hurricane signals

Storm warning — A red flag with a black center indi-
cates 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 ex-
pected 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 ex-
tremely severe and dangerous storms which occasionally
move across the Lakes and northern Atlantic coast.

No night hurricane warnings are displayed.

winds which lift the dust in the roads
are rotary winds also, but merely the ed-
dies of a gentle wind.

In a cyclone or " low," and also in a tor-
nado, the air blows from all sides spirally
inward toward the center where there is a
column of ascending air.

In an anticyclone or " high " the air
blows outward in every direction in curved
lines from a column of descending air.

In the map (page 801 ) , the curved lines
are isobars; the line of crosses, A to B,

indicates the course of the storm; the ar-
rows indicate the direction of the wind —
note that it is moving counterclockwise
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 pas-
sage of a cyclone are briefly as follows:
Small, changing wisps of cirrus clouds ap-
pear about twenty-four 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 tempera-
ture of the atmosphere is warmer. An ac-
curate record of the temperature range
can be had from the maximum and mini-
mum thermometers (page 789). 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.

Formerly, the Weather Bureau used a
series of flags, displayed in public places,
to indicate approaching weather condi-
tions; but that practice in general has been
discontinued. Some local authorities still
maintain the system at their own expense.
The storm and hurricane warnings and
the cold wave signal are still in use.

LESSON 222
How TO READ WEATHER MAPS

LEADING THOUGHT — Weather maps are
made with great care by the Weather Bu-
reau 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.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

805

METHOD — Get several weather maps
from a nearby 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— i. 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 indi-
cate?

4. In general, what is the direction of
the winds with reference to this high cen-
ter?

5. Is the air rising or sinking at the cen-
ter 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 ar-
rows 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 posi-
tion that they were the day before? Where

Weather Bureau, U. S. D. A.

A rain gauge dismantled to show parts. By
means of this instrument the amount of rain-
fall is measured by inches

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, ex-
tend?

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 low-
est? Do high temperatures accompany low
pressures? Why?

14. What is the condition of the sky
just east of a low center? What is its con-
dition 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 to-
ward 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 be-
tween the isobars?

16. Describe the weather accompany-
ing the approach and passage of a low in

8o6

EARTH AND SKY

the region where your town is situated.
What sort of clouds would you have,
what winds, what change of the barome-
ter and thermometer?

Note: The amount of rainfall that has
been recorded in representative areas will
be indicated in a table printed below the
map.

How TO FIND THE GENERAL DIRECTION

AND AVERAGE RATE OF MOTION OF HIGHS

AND Lows

OBSERVATIONS — i. 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 un-
til 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. Di-
vide 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.

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 7:30 o'clock in the morning
and again at 7:30 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 ob-
servations for a month.

Few schools are able to have a working
barometer, but observations of tempera-
ture 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 from 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. See weather maps for explana-
tion of symbols.

OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE
WEATHER

It is an interesting hobby to really ob-
serve the weather. Of course, we all talk
about the weather if rain or snow is fall-
ing; some people even remark about the
wind. Let us make it a daily habit to give
a thought to weather conditions: the wind
directions; the presence or absence of dew
during the hours of evening, night, or early
morning; and the readings of the ba-
rometer, thermometer, and the weather
maps if any are available.

There are many "weather signs" in
common circulation; some have abso-
lutely no foundation and others have sci-
entific basis. The latter can usually be de-
pended upon, and, in many instances, are

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

807

quite interesting to study in an effort to
find a reason why they are good signs. To
make a collection of all the weather signs
that one can learn from friends or find
in various books is another interesting
hobby; the next thing, for an inquiring
mind, is to attempt to find out how many
are merely sayings and how many are
really good signs. Some of the books listed
in the bibliography will be found quite
useful in this field of inquiry.

MANY WEATHER PROVERBS ARE BASED
ON SCIENTIFIC FACTS

There follows a short list of weather
proverbs or sayings that are based on sci-
entific facts:

Evening red and morning gray,
Set the traveler on his way;
Evening gray and morning red,
Bring down rain upon his head.

Rainbow in the morning? sailors take warn'

ing>
Rainbow at night, sailor's delight.

Mackerel scales and mare's tails
Make lofty ships to carry low sails.

A mackerel sky,

Not twenty-four hours dry.

When walls are unusually damp, rain is
to be expected.

Clouds flying against the wind indicate
rain.

CHART FOR SCHOOL WEATHER-RECORDS

Date

Hour

Temp.

Barom-
eter

Direc-
tion of
Wind

Cloudi-
ness.
Fogs

Dew or
Frost

Rain or
Snow

Remarks

Weekly
Sum-
mary

WATER FORMS

Water in its various changing forms,
liquid, gas, and solid? is an example of an-
other overworked miracle — so common
that we fail to see the miraculous in it.
We cultivate the imagination of our chil-
dren by tales of the prince who became
invisible when he put on his cap of dark-
ness, and who made far journeys through
the air on his magic carpet. And yet no
cap of darkness ever wrought more aston-
ishing disappearances than occur when
this most common of our earth's elements
disappears from under our very eyes, dis-
solving into thin air. We cloak the miracle
by saying " water evaporates/7 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

Gayle Pickwell

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 per-
sonifies:

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;

I pass through the pores of the ocean and

shores;
/ change, but I cannot die.

We have, however, learned the mysteri-
ous 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,

WATER FORMS

809

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 in-
visible 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
windowpane 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

Weather Bureau, IT. S. D. A.

"Hailstones as large as hens' eggs" is no
figure of speech as applied to these stones that
fell at Girard, III., in 1929. Note the three eggs
in front of the right-hand pile of hailstones

if the night be very cold, we find next
morning upon the windowpane 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 freez-
ing cold, the next morning we find the
grass blades covered with the beautiful
crystals of hoar frost.

If a rain cloud 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,

Weather Bureau, U. S. D. A.

After an ice storm. After this storm of Nov.
26, 1929, at Worcester, Mass., the ice on the
wires was three inches in diameter and
weighed 800 pounds per wire from pole to
pole

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 de-
grees? 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. More-

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Snow crystal formed in high clouds

over, the rays are decorated, making thou-
sands of intricate and beautiful forms; but
if one ray of the six is ornamented with
additional crystals the other five are deco-
rated likewise. Those snow crystals formed
in the higher clouds and, therefore, in

8io

EARTH AND SKY

cooler regions may be more solid in form,
the spaces in the angles being built out
to the tips of the rays, and including air
spaces set in symmetrical patterns; and
some of the crystals may be columnar in

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Composite snow crystal,' the center formed
in a high cloud and the margins in a lower
cloud

form? the column being six-sided. Those
snow crystals formed in the lower cur-
rents of air, and therefore in warmer re-
gions, on the other hand, show their six
rays marvelously ornamented. The rea-
son why the snow crystals are so much
more beautiful and perfect than the crys-
tals of hoar frost or ice, is that they are
formed from water vapor, and grow freely
in the regions of the upper air. Mr. W. A.
Bentley, who spent many years photo-
graphing the snow crystals, found nearly
5,000 distinct designs.

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, be-
cause 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 al-
ready 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.

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 satu-
rated 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.
A person who wears spectacles finds them
unclouded during warm days; but in win-
ter the glasses become cold out-of-doors,
and as soon as they are brought into con-
tact with the warmer, damp atmosphere
of a room, they are covered with a mist.
In a like manner, the windowpane in win-
ter, 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 cur-
rents until it is wrung out by coming into
contact with the cold. The air thus filled

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

Blizzard type of snow crystal formed in low
cloud

with water vapor may be entirely clear
near the surface of the earth; but, as it
rises, it comes in contact with cooler air

WATER FORMS

811

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 moun-
tain 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 cur-
rent 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.

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 given off by the
plants, which could not evaporate in the

Weather Bureau, U. S. D. A.

Cumulus clouds

cold night air. On windy nights, the stra-
tum of air cooled by the surface of the
earth is moved along and more air takes

W. A. Bentley

Dew on a spider's web

its place, and it therefore does not be-
come 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
usually begins to form 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 " heav-
ing'7 is one cause for the winter-killing
of wheat. Sleet consists of rain crystallized
in the form of sharp needles. Hail con-
sists of ice and snow compacted together,
making the hard, more or less globular
hailstones.

SUGGESTED READING— Fogs and Clouds,
by William J. Humphreys; The Wonders
of Water, by Marian E. Baer; also, read-
ings on page 781.

8l2

EARTH AND SKY

W. A. Bentley

In transpiring, plants give off moisture.
" The magic of the cold " has held Ms mois-
ture in the form of drops on a strawberry leaf

LESSON 223
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.

METHOD — The answers to the ques-
tions of this lesson should, as far as pos-
sible, be given in the form of a demonstra-
tion. 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 advanta-
geous 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 to-
gether 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 — i . Place a saucer filled
with water near a stove or radiator; do

not cover it or disturb it. Place another
saucer filled with water near this but cover
it with a tight box. From which saucer
does the water evaporate more 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 atmos-
phere where does it go? Why do we say
" the weather is damp "? What force is
it that wrings the water out of the atmos-
phere?

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 cov-
ered with mist as soon as they enter a
warm room after having been out in the
cold? Why do the windowpanes become
covered with mist during cold weather?
Is it the mist on the outside or on the

W. A. Bentley

Frost crystals on a windowpane

WATER FORMS

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

Photomicrograph by "W. A. Bentley

Forms of hoar frost

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, evap-
orated?

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

Marjorie Ruth Ross

Hoar frost on a tree

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 " win-
ter-kill " on wet soil?

1 1 . Why does frost form on a window-
pane? How many different figures can you
trace on a frosted pane? Are there any long,
needle-like 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 windowpane?

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

Photomicrograph by W. A. Bentley

High cloud snow crystal

8i4 EARTH AND SKY

you find any solid crystals? Can you find The thin snow now driving from the

any crystals that are triangular? When the north and lodging on my coat consists of

snow is falling in large, feathery flakes, those beautiful star crystals, not cottony

can you find the crystals? Why not? and chubby spokes, but thin and partly

13. What is the difference between a transparent crystals. They are about a

hailstone and a snow crystal? What is tenth of an inch in diameter, perfect little

sleet? wheels with six spolces without a tire, or

rather with six perfect little leaflets, fern-

When in the night we wake and hear the like, with a distinct straight and slender

raj*n midrib, raying from the center. On each

Which on the white bloom of the orchard side of each midrib there is a transparent

falls thin blade with a crenate edge. How full

And on 'the young, green wheat-blades, of creative genius is the air in which these

where thought recalls are generated! I should hardly admire

How in the furrow stands the rusting plow, more if real stars fell and lodged on my

Then fancy pictures what the day will coat. Nature is full of genius, full of divin-

see _ ity. Nothing is cheap and coarse, neither

The ducklings paddling in the puddled dewdrops nor snowflakes.

jane A divinity must have stirred within

Sheep grazing slowly up the emerald slope, them before the ciystals did thus shoot

Clear bird-notes ringing, and the droning and set. Wheels of storm-chariots. The

j,ee same law that shapes the earth-star shapes

Among the lilac's bloom — enchanting the snow-stars. As surely as the petals of

hope _ a flower are fixed, each of these countless

How fair the fading dreams we entertain, snow-stars comes whirling to earth, pro-

When in the night we wake and hear the nouncing thus, with emphasis, the num-

rainl — ROBERT BURNS WILSON ber six. — THOREAU'S JOURNAL

THE SKIES
REVISED BY S. L. BOOTHROYD

Professor of Astronomy in Cornell University

Halley's Comet, May 7, 1910

Lick Observatory

THE STORY OF THE STARS

Why did not somebody teach me the constellations and malce me at home in the
starry heavens, which are always overhead, and which I don't half know to this day.

— THOMAS CAKLYLE

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 by which the mys-
teries of the skies are made plain to us:
first, by our own eyes; second, by the tele-
scope; and third, by the spectroscope and
other physical instruments. These instru-
ments help us to interpret the messages
brought by the light coming from the
heavenly bodies. The spectroscope is an
instrument which tells us, by analyzing
the light of stars, not only the chemical
elements which compose them, but some-
thing of the state in which the gases exist
in the stars, planets, and nebulae. It also
makes possible the measurement of the
rate at which a heavenly body is approach-
ing or receding from us. Further still it
gives information which assists in deter-
mining the temperature of stars as well as
in measuring their sizes.

Thus7 we have learned many things
about the stars; we know that every shin-
ing star is a great blazing sun, and there
is no reason to doubt that many of these

8i6

EARTH AND SKY

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.

The telescope early revealed to Galileo
that the Milky Way or Galaxy is not a
nebulous band of hazy light around the
sky, as it appears to the unaided eye, but
is composed of myriads of faint stars, too
faint to be seen individually without tele-
scopic aid.

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 circuit
in five years, another in sixteen years, an-
other in forty-six years; while there is at
least one lazy pair which seems to require
fully sixteen hundred years to complete
one journey around their elongated, oval
orbit. 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 days, at 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. Con-
sequently, they have come to express dis-
tance to heavenly bodies in terms of the
time it takes light to reach us from them.
Light travels 186,300 miles a second or
about six trillion miles a year; this distance
is called a light-year. Thus a star whose
distance is such that it takes eight years
for its light to reach us, is said to be
removed from us eight light-years. Light
reaches us from the sun in eight and one-
third minutes; but it takes more than four
years for a ray to reach us from the nearest
star. It adds new interest to the Polestar
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 started on its journey before
America was discovered. Most of the stars
are so far away that we cannot measure
the distance.

Although stars seem stationary, they are
all moving through space just as our own
sun is doing; but the stars are so far away
that even if one moved a million miles a
day, it would require years of observation
to detect that it moved at all, except for
that component of its motion which is
directly toward or. -a way from us. We know
the stars are in motion — just as planets
are in motion in our solar system. The
problem of determining these motions be-
longs in the realm of advanced astronomi-
cal study, and is too difficult to consider
here.

The spectroscope reveals the life cycle
of stars; when young they are composed of
thin gases shining red and are giant stars;
when older and more condensed they
shine yellow; when still more condensed
they shine white and may shine blue. This
condition marks the end of their infancy;
then they decline through these colors in
reverse order. When on the decline, they
become yellowish, white stars; after this
they change very little in size and shine
with a constant light through millions
upon millions of years; this stage consti-
tutes the solar stage of their life and oc-
cupies the major part of their life history.

Scattered through the skies are objects
which look like clouds; these are the so-
called nebulas. Some of these have already
been found to consist of stars arranged in
a globular system of suns. Others have
been found to be whole Milky-Way sys-
tems — the so-called spiral nebulae; others
are found to be large volumes of glowing
gas and yet others are immense areas of
interstellar dust illumined by giant stars.

Only two nebula* can be seen with the
unaided eye. The telescope, by the aid of
photography, reveals planetary nebulae,
and both bright and dark irregular nebulae
within our own Milky-Way system of stars
and in the Magellanic clouds (those near-
est external galaxies beyond the Milky-

Way system known to man ) . Photographs
taken by the largest telescopes reveal mil-
lions of spiral nebulae which are distant
Milky- Way systems of stars, each contain-
ing all the types of stars, planetary nebulae,
and irregular nebulae which are found in
our own Milky- Way system.

The planetary nebulae are so named be-
cause they have a fairly definite boundary
and may appear like a luminous disc or
luminous ring; they always have at their
center a hot star, whose radiation is rich-
est in the ultraviolet rays.

The number of stars that can be seen
in the whole sky with the unaided eye is
between six and seven thousand; since we
see only half of the sky at once, and since
the region near the horizon is obscured
by a more or less dense haze, we can sel-
dom see more than about two thousand
stars at a given time. With the help of the
telescope, about eight hundred thousand
stars have been seen individually, classi-
fied, and catalogued, while photography of
the skies reveals thousands of millions.

The Milky Way or Galaxy, that great
white band across the heavens, is made up
of stars which are so far away that we can-
not see them individually, but see only
their diffused light. It is well called a
" river of stars " flowing in a circle around
our whole sky; and during the early hours
of night, except in the months of spring,
one-half of it is seen directly above us
while the other half is hidden below us.
If one observes the skies at a late hour of
the night in early spring, a portion of
the Galaxy can be seen then; since it is
not visible in early evening hours, most
observers do not see it during the spring
months. 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

THE SKIES 817

river divides into three streams with long,
blue islands between.

SUGGESTED READING — Astronomy for
the Layman, by Frank Reh; Boys' Book
of Astronomy, by Goodwin D. Swezey
and }. Harris Gable; Consider the Heav-
ens, by Forest R. Moulton; Exploring the
Heavens, by G. Clyde Fisher; Handbook
of the Heavens, by Hubert J. Bernhard,
Dorothy A. Bennett, and Hugh S. Rice;
Let's Look at the Stars, by Edwin B. Frost;
Our Wonderful Universe, by Clarence A.
Chant; Pathways in Science, by Gerald S.
Craig and Co-authors, Book 2, Out-of-
Doors, Book 3, Our Wide, Wide World,
Book 5, Learning About Our World, and
Book 6, Our Earth and Its Story; The
Stars for Children, by Gaylord Johnson;
The Stars for Sam, by W. Maxwell Reed;
Science Stories, by Wilbur L. Beauchamp
and Co-authors, Books i and 2; Through
Space and Time, by Sir James H. Jeans;
Through the Telescope, by Edward A.
Fath; When the Stars Come Out, by
Robert H. Baker; Wonders of the Sky, by
Mary Proctor; The Young Folk's Book
of the Heavens, by Mary Proctor; addi-
tional references are to be found in the
bibliography in the back of this Hand-
book.

Books particularly useful in the study of
stars:

Astronomy for Young Folks, by Isabel
M. Lewis; Astronomy from a Dipper, by
Eliot C. Clarke; A Beginner's Star Book,
by Kelvin McKready ( Edgar G. Murphy) ;
The Book of Stars for Young People, by
William T. Olcott; Field Book of the
Skies, by William T. Olcott and Edmund
W. Putnam; The Friendly Stars, by
Martha E. Martin; Introducing the Con-
stellations, by Robert H. Baker; Our Stars
Month by Month, by Mary Proctor; addi-
tional references are to be found in the
bibliography in the back of this Hand-
book.

8i8

EARTH AND SKY

HOW TO BEGIN STAR STUDY:
THE CIRCUMPOLAR CONSTELLATIONS

THE POLESTAR AND THE
DIPPERS

The way to begin star study is to learn
to know the Big Dipper, and through its
pointers to distinguish the Polestar; for
whenever we try to find any star we have
to find the Big Dipper and Polestar first,
so as to have some fixed point to start

of us who live in the Northern Hemi-
sphere, the North Star never sets, but is
always in our sky. Of course, the North
Star has nothing to do with the axis ot
our earth any more than the figure on the
blackboard has to do with the pointer; it
simply happens to lie in the direction to-
ward which the northern end of the earth's

Stars of late summer and autumn

S. L. Boothroyd

Key map to the sky as the observer in the Northern Hemisphere faces south. An observer in the Southern
Hemisphere would need to face north and hold the map upside down. _ m

On Sept. 1, 10 P.M., Sept. 15, 9 P.M., Oct. 1, 8 P.M., Oct. 15, 7 P.M., Nov. 1, 6 P.M., the regions shown in the
center of the map are due south of an observer in the Northern Hemisphere and due north of an observer in
the Southern Hemisphere. Use the map that represents the date nearest the time the observations are being made

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 Polestar. 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

axis points. In the southern skies, there
is no bright star which lies directly above
the South Pole, so there is no South Pole-
star.

The Polestar cannot be seen from the
Southern Hemisphere; but if we should
start from Florida, on a journey toward
Baflhi's Bay, we should discover that each
night this star would seem higher in the
sky. And if we should succeed in reaching

THE SKIES

819

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 we could
see would rise or set, but would move
around us in circles parallel to the horizon.
The Big Dipper shows us the Polestar,
and seems to revolve around it counter-
clockwise every twenty-three hours and
fifty-six minutes; but of course this ap-
pearance is caused by the fact that we
ourselves are revolving from west to east.

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 any-
one who understands it is able to compute
exact time by it.

The Little Dipper lies much nearer the
Polestar than does the Big Dipper; in fact,
the Polestar itself is the end of the handle
of the Little Dipper. Besides the Polestar,

S. L. Boothroyd

North circumpolar chart. For observations
about 9 P.M. Hold the map in such a way that
the name of the month in which the observa-
tion is made is at the top of the map

Therefore, the stars seem to revolve
counterclockwise about the Polestar as
we face it. The fact that the sky makes
one revolution in nearly four minutes less
than twenty-four hours is due to the an-
nual motion of the earth around the sun.
The Big Dipper is seen east of the Pole-
star with handle down early in the eve-
ning in January, and it is seen west of the
Polestar with handle up at the same time
of evening in July; but the time of year
that a certain star reaches a given point
with reference to our horizon is so invaria-
ble that if we know star time, or sidereal
time as it is called, we can tell just what
hour of night it is when a star is at this
point.

S. L. Boothroyd

South circum.polar chart. For observations
about 9 P.M. Hold the map in such a way that
the month in which the observation is made
occurs at the top of the map

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 be-
low the Polestar according to the hour of
the evening and the night of the year,
for it apparently revolves about the Pole-
star as does the Big Dipper. The two Dip-
pers open toward each other, and as some-
one has said, " They pour into each other/'
The Big Dipper is a part of a constella-
tion called Ursa Ma/or, 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

820

EARTH AND SKY

story of the Big and Little Bears: A beau-
tiful mother called Callisto had a little son
whom she named Areas. 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,

The Polestar and the Big and Little Dippers

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.

SUGGESTED READING — Elementary Sci-
ence by Grades, by Ellis C. Persing and
Elizabeth K. Peeples, Book 2; Nature and
Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch
and Harrison E. Howe, Book 3, Sur-
prises; Star Myths from Many Lands,
by Dorothy Renick; also, readings on
page 817.

LESSON 224
THE Two DIPPERS
LEADING THOUGHT — The North Star or
Polestar can always be found by the stars
known as the pointers in the Big Dipper;
the stars of the Big Dipper seem to re-
volve around the Polestar once in twenty-
three hours and fifty-six minutes.

METHOD — The time to begin these ob-
servations is when the moon is in its last
quarter, so that the moonlight will not
pale the stars in early evening. Draw upon
the blackboard, from the chart shown
opposite, 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 Polestar, 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 fol-
lowing questions.

OBSERVATIONS — i . 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 so called?

4. Make a drawing showing how you
can always find the Polestar, 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 Polestar, or away from it?

9. On the night of your observation
was it above or below the Polestar 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 Polestar all
night? Look at it at seven o'clock and
again at nine o'clock and see whether it
has changed position.

11. Do you think it moves around the
Polestar approximately every twenty-four
hours? In which direction? How could
you tell the time of night by the Big Dip-
per and the Polestar?

12. Does the Big Dipper ever rise and
set?

13. The Big Dipper is part of 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 Polestar, 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 SKIES

821

the Little Dipper's handle is the Polestar
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.

14. Is the Little Dipper nearer or far-
ther from the Polestar than the Big Dip-
per?

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 Polestar?

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 evenings of January, Febru-
ary, March, and April.

After the above lessons are well learned,
give the following questions about Polaris
(the North Star) and try to have the
pupils think out the answers.

19. How many names has the Polestar?
Can the Polestar be seen from the South-
ern Hemisphere? If not, why not?

20. If you should start from southern
Florida and travel straight north, how
would the Polestar seem to change posi-
tion each succeeding night?

21. If you could stand at the North
Pole, where would the Polestar 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 dis-
tances 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 constellations which
contain the Big and Little Dippers were
named the Big and Little Bears, and those

are their Latin names to this day. Write
a story about what the ancient Greeks
told about these Bears and how they came
to be in the sky.

CASSIOPEIA'S CHAIR, CEPHEUS,
AND THE DRAGON

There are other constellations besides
the two Dippers which never rise and set
in the latitude of central New York, be-
cause they are so near to the Polestar 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 in this
latitude but not quite, for it is far enough

The polar constellations as they appear at
about 8 P.M. on January 20, the Dragon being
below the Polestar. By revolving this chart
as indicated, the positions of the stars are
shown for 6 P.M., midnight, 6 A.M., and noon
of January 20

away from Polaris to dip below the hori-
zon for a few hours during each circuit
around the Pole.

Queen Cassiopeia's Chair is on the op-
posite side of the Polestar 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

822

EARTH AND SKY

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 Polestar quite near to his royal spouse.
His constellation is marked by five stars,
four of which form a lozenge, and a line
connecting the t\vo stars on the side of
the lozenge farthest from Cassiopeia, if
extended, will reach the Polestar 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 Cas-
siopeia, who being a vain and jealous lady
boasted that she and her daughter An-
dromeda were far more beautiful than any
goddesses that ever were, and thus in-
curred the wrath of Juno and Jupiter who
set the whole family " sky high " and quite
out of the way, a punishment which has
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 Dip-
pers 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 and three his
head, the two brighter ones being the eyes.

SUGGESTED READING — Elementary Sci-
ence by Grades, by Ellis C. Parsing and
Elizabeth K. Peeples, Book 3; also, read-
ings on page 817.

LESSON 225

CASSIOPEIA'S CHAIR, CEPHEUS,
AND THE DRAGON

LEADING THOUGHT — To learn to know
and to map the constellations which are
so near the Polestar that they never rise
or set in our latitude, but seem to swing
around the North Star once in twenty-
three hours and fifty-six minutes.

METHOD — Place on i-he blackboard the

diagram given showing the Polestar, the
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 pu-
pils 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
folio wing 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 ap-
parent movement of these stars around
the Polestar.

OBSERVATIONS — i . How many stars
form Cassiopeia's Chair? Make a draw-
ing showing them and their relation to the
Polestar.

2. Is the Queen's Chair on the same
side of the Polestar as the Big Dipper?
Is the top or the bottom of the " W "
which forms Cassiopeia's Chair turned to-
ward the Polestar?

3. Does Cassiopeia's Chair move
around the Polestar, like the Big Dipper?

4. How many stars mark the constel-
lation 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
Polestar, and in which direction?

7. Describe where the Dragon lies, and
where his tail and his head are in relation
to the two Dippers. Make a sketch of the
Dragon.

8. Why do all the polar constellations
seem to move around the Polestar every
twenty-three hours and fifty-six minutes,
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 con-
stellations "?

TOPICS FOR ENGLISH THEMES — The
Story of Queen Cassiopeia, King Cepheus,
and their Daughter, Andromeda; The
Story of the Dragon.

THE SKIES

823

THE WINTER STARS

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 makes 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 per-
ceive 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-ry'on)

During the evenings of January, Febru-
ary, 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 Polestar. Orion is a con-
stellation which almost everyone knows;
three stars in a row outline his belt, and a
curving line of stars, set obliquely below
the belt, outlines the sword. Above the
belt as the constellation is seen in the eve-
ning sky of middle northern latitudes we
can see the splendid red star Betelgeuse
(bet'el-jooz) , and below the belt, at about
an equal distance, is the white star Rigel
(ry'/el). 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 re-
sults, 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 off the
plunging bull whose eye is the red Aldeb-
aran (al-deb'a-ran) . And beyond him fol-
lows the Great Dog with the bright blue-
white 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,
The three beautiful stars which make;
Orion's belt are all double stars; the belt

Orion, the three large stars in a line form-
ing the belt, the curved line of smaller stars
below forming the sword, Betelgeuse above to
the left, Rigel below the belt, forming with
Betelgeuse and the three stars of the belt a
long narrow diamond in the sky

is just three degrees long and is a good
unit for sky measurement. The sword is
not merely the three stars which we ordi-
narily see, but is really a curved line of
five stars; and what seems to be a hazy
star, third from the tip of the sword is in
fact a great nebula. Through the tele-
scope this nebula seems a splash of light
with six beautiful stars within it. Near lati-
tude 40 degrees north, the first star in
Orion to appear above the horizon is red

EARTH AND SKY

diagram of the principal stars of winter as seen in early evening late in February

Betelgeuse, a blushing young giant just
starting on its career as a star; it is com-
posed of a gas much thinner than our air.
Its diameter is 300,000,000 miles, which
is more than one and one-half times that
of the Earth's orbit. It is 200 light-years

away from us. About fifteen minutes after
Betelgeuse rises, and after the belt and
sword are in sight, a white sparkling star
appears 10 degrees to the south of the belt.
This is Rigel, at a distance of 550 light-
years. Seventeen thousand of our suns

THE SKIES

Stars of late autumn and winter

S. L. Boothxoyd

Key map to the sky as the observer in the Northern Hemisphere faces south. An observer in the Southern
Hemisphere would need to face north and hold the map upside down

On Nov. 30, 12 P.M., Dec. 15, 11 P.M., Jan. 1, 10 P.M., Jan. 15, 9 P.M., Feb. I, 8 P.M., Feb. 15, 7 P.M., March 1,
6 P.M., the regions shown in the center of the map are due seuth of an observer in the Northern Hemisphere and due
north of an observer in the Southern Hemisphere. Use the map that represents the date nearest the time the
observations are being made

would be required to send us the same
amount of light if they were as far away as
this lovely star.

SUGGESTED READING — Elementary Sci-
ence by Grades, by Ellis C. Persing and
Elizabeth K. Peeples, Book 3; also, read-
ings on page 817.

LESSON 226
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 ob-
servations in the evening and give their
report the next day.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Where is Orion in
relation to the Polestar?

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 Bet-
elgeuse. 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 an-
other bright star at about the same dis-
tance below that Betelgeuse is above.
What is the color of this star? What does
its color signify? The name of this 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.

826

EARTH AND SKY

Sketch this figure with the belt and sword,
and write on your diagram the name of
the red star above and the white star be-
low and also the name of the constella-
tion.

6. Which star of the constellation rises
first in the evening? Which last?

7. Write a story about Orion, the great
hunter.

ALDEBARAN AND THE PLEIADES

Almost in a line with the belt of Orion,
up in the skies northwest from it, is the
rosy star Aldebaran. This star, which is
also a ruddy young giant, marks the end
of the lower arm of a V-shaped cluster

Aldebaran in the V-shaped duster called
the Hyades. This is a part of the constellation
Taurus

composed of this and four other stars.
This cluster is the Hyades (hy'a-deez).
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 neigh-
bor of ours, since it takes light only fifty-
seven years to pass from it to us. It gives
off about one hundred 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 when
the moon occults the star.

Pld

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M '*5

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9 Alcyo*

7tf &
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Ztra

The Pleiades, a well-known group of stars }
with the visible stars named

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
(plee'ya-deez); most eyes can count only
six stars in the cluster. There are nine stars
large enough to be seen through the field
glass, and which have been given names-
but sky photography has revealed to us
that there are more than two 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 they form a great star system,
known as an open cluster. These stars
which look so close together to us are
really so far apart 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 Plei-
ades are so far from us that it takes light
three hundred years to reach us from
them. There is a mythical story 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/' This myth is proba-
bly founded on fact.

LESSON 227
ALDEBARAN AND THE PLEIADES

LEADING THOUGHT — The Pleiades
seem to be a little misty group of six stars,
but instead there are in it two thousand
stars. Half way between the Pleiades and
Orion's belt is Aldebaran, an adolescent
ruddy star.

METHOD — Draw the diagram (p. 824)
on the blackboard showing Orion, Al-
debaran, and the Pleiades, and the lines
B, C, D. Give an outline of the observa-
tions to be made by the pupils, and let
them work out the answers when they
have opportunity. Each pupil should pre-
pare a chart of these constellations.

OBSERVATIONS — i. Imagine a lint
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.

THE SKIES

3. Can you see the figure V formed by
Aldebaran and four fainter stars? Sketch
the V and show where in it Aldebaran be-
longs. This V-shaped cluster 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
are named, and how many does photog-
raphy show that there really are in the
group?

8. How far apart from each other are
the nearest neighbors of the Pleiades?

THE TWO DOG STARS, SIRIUS
AND PROCYON

If a line from Aldebaran is passed
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'i-us) the most
brilliant of all the stars in our skies, glint-
ing 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.

Sirius has reached the blue white stage
of star development. Although it is larger
than our sun, and gives twenty-six times
as much light as our sun, its superior bril-
liance is due to its nearness to us; it is only
eight and three-fourths light-years away
from us. It is the most celebrated star in
literature. The ancients knew it, the Egyp-
tians worshipped it, Homer sang of it, and
it has had its place in the poetry of all ages.

Orion and the Dog Stars

B, Betelgeuse; R, Rigel; S, Sirius, the Great Dog Star;
P, Procyon, the Little Dog Star

Procyon (pro'si-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
five times as much light as our sun, and
is only ten light-years away from us.

LESSON 228
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 constel-
lation 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 beau-
tiful blue 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 which can be
seen near it. After giving these directions
let the children make the following obser-
vations.

OBSERVATIONS — i. How do you find
Sirius? Which rises first, Orion or Sirius?

8z8

EARTH AND SKY

2. What color is Sirius? Judging from
its color what stage of development do you
think it is in?

3. Try to 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? What direction is it from
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

Capella is nearer to the North Star than
any other of the bright stars, and in the
latitude of northern New York it is a cir-
cumpolar star. Its light very much resem-
bles that of our sun, as does that of all

Capella in the constellation Auriga

the bright yellow white stars; but it is a
much larger star. Capella is always a beau-
tiful 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.

Capella is a double star; its two com-
ponents give off 1 50 times as much light
as our sun and it is forty-eight light-years
away from us. If our sun were where Ca-
pella is, it would be barely visible to the
unaided eye on a very clear night. These
two components, which make up Capella

as we know it, are removed from each
other about the same distance as the earth
and the sun. One revolves about the other
in a period of 104 days. The attraction be-
tween these two massive suns is more
powerful than the attraction between the
earth and the sun; hence they race three
and one-half times as fast in their orbits
as does the earth.

During the winter evenings we see two
stars set like glowing eyes almost in the
zenith, and in a region of the sky where

Gemini, the heavenly twins: the larger one is
Pollux, and the smaller, Castor

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 south-
ward 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. Although
Castor and Pollux seem so near together
in the sky, they are separated by a distance
of eleven light-years, Castor being that
much farther away from us than Pollux.

The twin stars are supposed to exert a
benign influence on oceans and seas and
are, therefore, beloved by sailors. When
a boy says " By Jimminy," he does not re-
alize that he may be using an ancient ex-
pletive " By Gemini/' which is the Latin
name of these twin stars and was a favorite
ancient oath, especially with sailors.

Castor is easily seen as a double star in
a three-inch telescope. Each star of the
pair is really two stars, as revealed by the
spectroscope. There are also three other
faint stars in the system, so Castor is really
seven stars — a most remarkable system.

LESSON 229
CAPELLA AND THE HEAVENLY TWINS

LEADING THOUGHT — There are, during
he evenings of January and February,
hree brilliant stars almost directly over-
lead. One of these is Capella; the other
wo are the Heavenly Twins.

METHOD — Place on the board the part
>f the chart (p. 824) showing the Big
Dipper, Polestar, Capella, and the Twins.
Draw a line, L, from the pointers of the
Jig Dipper, and extend it to the Polestar.
Draw another line, K, from the Polestar
it right angles to the line L? and on the
ide away from the Big Dipper's handle,
md it will pass through a large, brilliant,
Bellow star which is Capella. Ask the pu-
)ils to imagine similar lines drawn across
he sky when they are making their ob-
;ervations, and thus find these stars, and
:o place them on their charts, making the
Allowing observations.

THE SKIES 829

OBSERVATIONS — i. Is Capella as near
to the Polestar as the Big Dipper? Is it
near enough so that it never sets where
you live?

2. Can you see the shieldlike constella-
tion of which Capella is a part? Do you
know the name of this constellation?

3. How do you find the Heavenly
Twins after you have found Capella?

4. Why are these stars called the Heav-
enly Twins? What is their Latin name?
What are the names of the two stars?

5. How can you tell the Heavenly
Twins from the Little Dog Star and its
companion?

6. Read in the books all that you can
find about the Heavenly Twins. Try to
find whether they are the same age,
whether they are as near together as they
seem, and whether they are going in the
same direction. What sort of influence
did the ancient sailors attribute to these
twin stars?

THE STARS OF SUMMER

To us, who dwell in a world of change,
he stars give the comfort of abidingness;
hey remain ever the same to our eyes and
he teacher should make much of this.
When we once come to know a star, we
enow exactly where to find it in the heav-
jns, wherever we may be. A star which a
person knows during childhood will, in
ater life and in other lands, seem a
staunch friend and a bond, drawing
lim back to his early home and associa-
ions.

The summer is an inviting season for
naking the acquaintance of eight of the
ifteen brightest stars visible in northern
atitudes. Few midsummer entertain-
nents rival that of lying on one's back on
:he grass of some open space which com-
nands a wide view of the heavens. There
vith a planisphere and an intermittently
ighted flashlight with which to consult it,
earn by sight, by name, and by heart
:hose brilliant stars which will ever after
neet our uplifted eyes with friendly greet-
ng. To teach the children in a true in-

forming way about the stars, the teacher
should know them, and nowhere in Na-
ture's realm is there a more thought-awak-
ening lesson.

LESSON 230
THE BRIGHT STARS OF SUMMER

LEADING THOUGHT — The stars we see
shining during summer evenings are not
the same ones that we see during the win-
ter evenings, except those in the circum-
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
Polestar 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 imagi-
nary straight line from one star to another

830

and to observe the angles made by such
lines connecting three or four stars.

Place upon the blackboard the figures
from the chart below, as indicated, leav-

EARTH AND SKY

this line lies a group of stars 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

A chart of the brightest stars of summer, showing their positions in early evenings of June

ing each one there until the pupils have
observed and learned it. Then erase it
and put on 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'yu-Ius)

Draw upon the blackboard from the
above chart the Polestar, the Big Dip-
per, 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 back-
ward into the western skies; just west of

and diamond-glittering star called Regu-
lus. It is a great sun giving out seventy
times as much light as our own sun, and
this light reaches us in about fifty-seven
years. The Sickle is part of a constellation

Regulus, the large star in the handle of the
sickle

THE SKIES

831

JULY

CANES V CHAT Id

--A CO*
\ ~BQR

+
______.^

AM 8SR£#iCI<S

4:^^:

Ocnttba/a

OPHWCHU&

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MOMOCER&S

CORV^-S

SCORPIO

HYD

% Brighter +han First

A Third Maym'tutfc

m fourth M<xf»/fvJc or fai/rte

MAY

Stars of spring and summer

S. L. Boothroyd

Key map to the sky as the observer in the Northern Hemisphere faces south. An observer in the Southern
Hemisphere would need to face north and hold the map upside down % .

On April I, 12 P.M., April 15, 11 P.M., May 1, 10 P.M., May 15, 9 P.M., June 1, 8 p M., the regions shown in the
center of the map are due south of an observer in the Northern Hemisphere and due north of an observer in
the Southern Hemisphere. Use the map that represents the date nearest the time the observations are being made

called the Lion, from which comes the
shower of meteors which we see on the
evenings from November 11 — 15. Regu-
lus is seen best in the evening skies of
spring.

ARCTURUS (ark-tu'rus)
Place on the blackboard the Big Dipper,
the Polestar and the line E, Arcturus, and
the Crown. Extend the handle of the Big

bright as our own sun, but its light does
not reach us for thirty-eight years after it
is given off. Arcturus is a giant sun, having

Arcturus and the Big Dipper

Dipper following its own curve for about
its own length and it will end in a beauti-
ful, orange star, the only very bright one
in that region. It is one hundred times as

The Northern Crown

a diameter of nineteen million miles. Dur-
ing the latter part of June and July it is
almost overhead in the early evening.

THE CROWN

Between Arcturus and Vega, but much
nearer the former, is a circle of smaller

832

EARTH AND SKY

stars that is called the Northern Crown,
which because of its form is quite notice-
able.

SPICA (spy 'lea)

Place on the blackboard the Big Dipper,
Polestar, line F (Fig. p. 830 )7 and Spica.
To find Spica draw a line through the star
on the outer edge of the top of the bowl of

Vega and her train of five stars

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
p. 830.) Spica is a white star, and is the
only bright one in that part of the sky.
It is over two hundred light-years dis-
tant; 1,500 of our suns would be required
to equal its brilliance at that distance.
Spica is in the constellation called the
Virgin.

VEGA (vee'ga)

Place on the blackboard the Polestar,
the Big Dipper, the lines H and I (Fig. p.
830), and Vega with her five attendant
stars, as shown in the chart. Teach that
these stars are the chief ones in the constel-
lation called the Lyre. To find Vega, draw
a line from the Polestar 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 that lie near
it and outline a parallelogram with slant-
ing ends. Vega is the most brilliant sum-
mer star that we see in the Northern
Hemisphere. It is a very large sun, giving
out fifty times as much light as our sun; it
is so far away that it requires twenty-six
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)

Add to the last diagram on the black-
board the line E (Fig. p. 830 ), to Arcturus,
the line B, and An tares. To find this star,
draw a line half way between Arcturus and
Vega from the Polestar straight across the
sky to the south, and just above the south-
ern 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 com-
panions and extending toward the south
will reach Antares. Late June and July

Antares, a brilliant star in the southern skies

about ten o'clock in the evening is the
best for viewing this beautiful star. An in-
teresting thing about Antares is that it is
the greatest of the young giant stars yet
measured; it has a diameter of 400,000,000
miles.

DENEB OR ARIDED (den'eb; a'ri-ded)
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

THE SKIES

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 in the eastern skies during the
evenings of June and July, with its upright
arm nearly horizontal as seen in a middle
northern latitude. Deneb is white in color

833

The Northern Cross, in the constellation of
the Swan

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 six
hundred years to reach us from Deneb. It
and the cross are a part of the constellation
of Cygnus, or the Swan.

ALTAIR (al'ta-ir)

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 the small
star on either side, all three being in a line.

The three belong to a constellation called
the Eagle, and may be seen in early eve-
ning from June to December. Altair,

Altair in the constellation of the Eagle

Deneb, and Vega form a triangle with the
most acute angle at Altair. (See diagr. 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 form-
ing the tail. It is also called Job's Coffin,
but the reason for this is uncertain, un-
less Job's trials extended to a coffin which
could not possibly fit him. If the line C
on the chart drawn from the Polestar to

The Dolphin or Job's Coffin

Deneb be extended, it will touch the Dol-
phin. 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.

THE SUN

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 stimu-
late in her pupils a desire to know some-
thing 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

EARTH AND SKY

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 fifty thou-
sand miles across, and our whole world
could have been dropped into it with
twelve thousand miles to spare all around
it. We do not know the cause of these
sunspots, but we know they appear in
greater numbers in certain regions of
the sun, above and below the equator.
And since each sunspot retains its place
on the surface of the sun, just as a hole
dug in the surface of our earth would re-
tain 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
that 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 explosions 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 bul-
let travels. Think what fireworks one
might see from the sun's surface all the
time! These great, explosive flames can
be seen by the telescope when the moon
eclipses the sun, and may be seen with the

aid of a spectroscope at any time. Besides
these magnificent explosions, there is sur-
rounding 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 only during total eclipses. By
means of the spectroscope we know that
there are about seventy chemical ele-
ments in the sun, which are the same as
those we find upon our earth. The ele-
ment helium which gets its name from
Helios, the sun, was discovered in the
sun by means of the spectroscope before it
was isolated on the earth.

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, and
your football would weigh on the sun.

SUGGESTED READING — Elementary Sci-
ence by Grades, by Ellis C. Persing and
John A. Hollinger, Book 6; Nature and
Science Readers, by Edith M. Patch
and Harrison E. Howe, Book 6, The Wort
of Scientists, and Book 3, Surprises; Ro-
mance of the Sun, by Mary Proctor; The
Sun, by Charles G. Abbot; also, readings
on page 817.

OUR SUN AND ITS FAMILY —

THE SOLAR SYSTEM
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 so large as the Polestar;
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, called planets;
these planets revolve around the sun on
almost the same level or plane in which
our world revolves, but some of these
worlds are much nearer the sun and others

THE SKIES

335

are much farther away than ours. See the
diagram showing the orbits of planets,
below, and page 836.

One peculiar thing about all the planets
of the sun's family and all their moons is
that they shine by reflecting the light of
the sun, and none of them is 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 arid 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 closely fol-
low the path of the sun and the 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 planets of our sun's
family and are not stars at all.

To determine which planets are morn-
ing or evening stars at a given time con-
sult an almanac for the current year, or
such a publication as The Monthly Eve-
ning Sky Map.

The planets in order of their relative
distance from the sun are Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune, and Pluto.

The planet nearest the sun is Mercury;
it was so named by the ancients because
it travels very rapidly about the sun, and
the god Mercury was very fleet-footed be-
cause of his winged slippers. It makes a
circle about the sun in eighty-eight days;
that means its year is eighty-eight days
long. The amount of heat it receives is
four and three-fifths to ten and one-fourth
times greater than the amount received
per unit area outside of the earth's atmos-
phere. Because Mercury follows the sun
so closely, it is very difficult to observe;
but it is possible to see it sometimes, quite
near the horizon, as a morning or evening
star.

Venus is the next planet in order of
distance from the sun, and is called the
twin sister of the earth; it is a little
smaller than the earth, but has about the
same amount of atmosphere, of a different
composition. Venus is, to earth dwellers,

the most brilliant object in the sky, with
the exception of the sun and moon. It re-
ceives about twice as much heat and light
from the sun as does the earth. The silvery
light from Venus is so strong that on
moonless nights it often casts shadows.
Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, is only
about one-twelfth as bright as Venus is at
its brightest. This planet makes a circuit
about the sun in a period of 225 days.

Our earth, with its year of 365 J4 days,
comes next. If we could view Earth from
some other nearby planet, it too would
shine by reflected light from the sun. If
the earth and moon could be seen from
Venus, when Venus and the earth are
nearest each other, the moon would ap-
pear as bright as Venus at its best, and

Astronomic*! t/*it

S. L. Boothroyd

The orbits of the Inner Planets. Note that
each planet has an orbit which is not circular
but is very nearly so

earth would be about eighty times as bril-
liant.

Mars is next in relative distance from
the sun, but is so much farther from the
sun that it receives only about one-half as
much heat and light as does the earth, per
unit of area outside of the earth's atmos-
phere. Polar caps may be seen on Mars,
similar to those around our North and
South Poles. A year on Mars is equal to
687 of our days or 669 % of its own. While
Mercury and Venus have no satellites
and the earth has only one, Mars has

836

EARTH AND SKY

two; these satellites are named Phobos
and Deiinos. They are quite small; Pho-
bos has a diameter of seven miles, and
goes around Mars every seven hours, while
Deiinos has a diameter of sixteen miles
and circles Mars every thirty hours. The
diameter of our moon is 2163 miles, and
it circles the earth every twenty-seven and
one-third days. If you were on Mars, you
would see Phobos rise in the west and set
in the east, while Deiinos would rise in
the east and set in the west.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars as a
group are relatively near the sun. Since

S. L. Boothroyd

The Outer Planets and their orbits. The
orbits of these planets also are not circular
but are nearly so

they are nearer the sun than other planets,
they are called the Inner Planets. Be-
cause they are not greatly different in size
from the earth and have earthlike sur-
faces they are also called Terrestrial
Planets.

The remaining planets are larger than
the ones just discussed, and as a group
they are called the Major Planets. They
are much farther from the sun and for
that reason they are often called the Outer
Planets. In contrast to the Terrestrial
Planets, all except Pluto have immensely
deep, cloudy atmospheres, and so we see

only the outer layer of clouds, hundreds of
miles deep, which completely hide their
surfaces.

Beyond the Terrestrial Planets, there
is a tremendous space in our solar system;
in this space are to be found several hun-
dred smaller bodies, called planetoids or
asteroids. The next planet is Jupiter,
found at a great distance from Mars. Ju-
piter is the largest of all the planets; its di-
ameter is eleven times and its volume
thirteen hundred times those of the earth.
In reality, it is larger in mass and volume
than all the other eight planets put to-
gether. About twelve years are required
for the journey of Jupiter around the sun.
The atmosphere of Jupiter seems very
dense with vapors of ammonia and me-
thane. Jupiter has eleven satellites, and
three of them go around the planet in the
opposite direction from the other eight
satellites, which go around him from
west to east as does our moon about the
earth.

Saturn is located at a point nine and
one-half times the earth's distance from
the sun, and requires about twenty-nine
and one-half years to go around the sun.
This is the last planet that can be easily
seen with the naked eye, and it appears
about as bright as Arcturus; it has a defi-
nite orange tinge. This planet is sur-
rounded by nine satellites and by multi-
tudes of tiny particles which revolve in
circular orbits, and are so numerous that
seen from the earth they appear like flat
rings encircling the planet. With even a
small telescope the rings are quite evident,
except when presented edgewise or nearly
so.

Soon after Uranus had been discovered,
the astronomers calculated its orbit and
thereby found where it should be from
day to day; but the planet did not behave
as they thought it should. The astrono-
mers decided there was a far-distant body
pulling the planet Uranus from its com-
puted orbit; they undertook to calculate
the position of the body that must be
causing the disturbance, and in 1846 two
different men, working independently,
discovered a new planet, Neptune, in

the position calculated. Neptune requires
nearly 165 years to complete a journey
around the sun. One satellite, similar in
size to our moon? accompanies Neptune
on its long journey.

Even after Neptune had been discov-
ered, Uranus still failed to follow the new
orbit computed for it. A long series of
computations followed, and in 1930 a new
planet was located near the position pre-
dicted from the remaining discrepancies
in Uranus' orbit. The name Pluto, sug-
gested by a child in England, has been
given to this planet. Its trip around the
sun has been calculated to require about
248 years; it is about forty times as far
from the sun as is the earth, and is quite
likely one of several planets that may ex-
ist in the remote portions of the solar
system. Careful photographic search,
among the millions of faint stars, may
reveal more distant planets in the future.
Powerful spectrographs, aided by the light
grasp of some of the great reflectors now
or soon to be available, may reveal new
and interesting wonders about the sun
and his attendant planets.

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 ex-
plains that if here in the Atlantic States
we should make a model of our solar sys-
tem by putting an apple of four and one-
half inches diameter down in a field to
represent the sun, our earth could be
represented by a mustard seed forty feet
away revolving around the apple; and
Neptune could be represented as a small
pea circling around the apple at the dis-
tance of a quarter of a mile. Now that a
planet more distant than Neptune has
been discovered, the size of our solar
system has been definitely increased and
we shall need to consider Pluto in con-
structing our model. Pluto is forty times
farther away from the sun than is the
earth; so we shall need to represent Pluto
by an object placed at a point 1600 feet
from the apple which we have used to
represent the sun. But to find the star

THE SKIES 837

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 steamer and
go out into the Pacific Ocean before we
should reach our nearest star neighbor,
which would be another sun like our own
represented by a pair of apples.

A HAPPY FAMILY

The Sun, a great father, is hanging in

space

With his children all playing around?
And each child is careful to play as it

should,
Without commotion or sound.

Little Mercury stays near his father's side
And hangs on his every smile,

While he lidcs up his tiny impertinent

heels
And speeds over mile after mile.

Next to Mercury the beauteous one,

Venus, her father's delight,
Unrivaled reigns, without sceptre or
crown,

The glorious queen of the night.

And Venus's twin, our own Mother Earth,

Though not considered so fair,
Must be great to observe on a clear night

in June,

With the moonbeams astream through
her hair.

Then next to the Earth comes little red

Mars

With Deimos and Phobos at hand,
They swing into place and scamper

around
Within the Zodiac band.

After Mars comes Jupiter, largest of all;

His father looks at him with pride;
And with the big giant his ten satellites

Come tripping in side by side.

Then Saturn rolls in his three pretty rings
While around him nine moons swarm;

He's next to his brother Jupiter in size
And his sister Venus in charm.

838 EARTH AND SKY

And out beyond Saturn are still other
twins,

Uranus and Neptune, so far
That to either of them, astronomers say

Their father loolcs like a big star.

And Pluto finally comes out into view7

After aeons of hiding away;
Although he is quiet, secretive, and shy,

He merrily joins in the play.

But the Sun and his family will all stay in

place

Right on to the end of time;
Nor does it disturb them one tittle or jot
This spinning them into a rhyme.
"MONTHLY EVENING SKY MAP/'
NANCY L. MOOREFIELD
(April 1937)

COMETS AND METEORS

COMETS

Besides planets and stars there are in
space other bodies moving around our
great star, the sun, and following paths
shaped quite differently from those fol-
lowed by our earth and i^3 sister planets.
We move around the sun nearly in a circle
with the sun at the center, but these other

Lick Observatory

Halley's Comet, May 6, 1910. This photo-
graph was taken in Chile

heavenly bodies move in narrow oval or-
bits, the sun being near one end of the
ellipse and the other end being much far-
ther out in space? in some cases beyond
our farthest planet. These bodies do not
revolve around the sun in the same plane
as our world and the other planets; indeed
they often move in quite the opposite di-
rection. The most noticeable of these bod-
ies 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 sunward 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. When nearest the sun, it is
just within the orbit of Mercury, and
when farthest, it is about one hundred and
ten million miles nearer the sun than
Jupiter.

There are about five hundred comets
whose courses have been thus determined;
the longest accurately known period be-
longs 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 travel such long routes that
they come back only once in hundreds or
even thousands of years. About twelve
hundred comets have been discovered,
many of them so small that they can only
be seen with 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 meas-
ured; one was thirty-one times, and an-
other 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
comet head decreases as it approaches
the sun. The head of a comet is supposed

THE SKIES

839

to be a swarm of meteors with some gas,
glowing by the reflected light of the sun.
When in the end of the orbit near the
sun, the gas which the comet contains
absorbs the energy of the ultraviolet radi-
ation of the sun and re-emits it as visible
light; thus at such times the comet ap-
pears to be partly self-luminous. 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 push-
ing against the particles of the gas of com-
ets it sends them streaming away from the
sun, just as the heat appears to push out
a flaring cloud of steam from the spout of
a teakettle.

Comets have played an important part
in history; they were formerly considered
signs of the approval or wrath of God. The
return of Halley's Comet appearing in
1066 struck terror to the Saxons and pre-
saged the Norman conquest of England.
The comet of 181 1 was thought to warn us
of the war of 1812 and Napoleon of his
coming defeat. This was a wonderful
comet illuminating our skies for a year
and a half; its rosy head was veiled in a
gaseous sphere, which with the head was
larger than the sun. Some comets, which
have failed to appear when expected, have
their orbits marked by swarms of meteors.

SUGGESTED READING — Romance of the
Comets, by Mary Proctor; also, readings
on page 817.

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 heaven has fallen. But astronomers tell
us that these so-called shooting stars are
small pieces of solid material which are
traveling around the sun in an orbit that
intersects the orbit of the earth. Arriving
at the point of intersection of the orbits,
when the earth is there, they hit the upper
atmosphere and become luminous. The
flash of light, which we call the shooting

star, is due to the heat resulting from the
impact, just as a bullet melts when it hits
a big rock. The difference between the
small dust particle, which in reality is a
meteor, and the bullet striking a big rock,
is that the meteor strikes a lot of air mole-
cules; one after another, the molecules
become luminous by the impacts. The
molecules of air become luminous along
the path traveled by the meteor through
a distance of some thirty to sixty miles
through the rare upper atmosphere of the
earth. For some time after the bright
flash of light has vanished, one sees the
numerous particles of the meteor left be-
hind, and also the glowing air molecules
which cause the luminous train as they
persist in the path of a bright shooting
star.

Meteorites sometimes weigh hundreds
of pounds; one in the Yale Museum
weighs 1,635 pounds. If it were not for the
air, which wraps our globe like a great
kindly blanket, and by its friction heats
the meteors and reduces them to micro-
scopic dust particles, no one could live on
this earth; the meteors would pelt us to
death. It is reliably estimated that during
every twenty-four hours our world meets
hundreds of millions of these meteors;
some of them are no larger than fine shot
and others weigh a few ounces. Occa-
sionally meteorites which weigh from a
few pounds to many tons do reach the
earth. The origin of these is not certainly
known; but some may be the larger parti-
cles which make up the nucleus of small
comets. Others almost certainly come to
earth from interstellar space.

THE RELATION BETWEEN COMETS
AND METEORS

Before we see the meteor as a shooting
star, it is traveling around the sun in an
orbit which intersected the orbit of the
earth. It is very interesting to know that
many meteors travel in swarms made up
of a scattered assemblage of particles of
matter; this matter once formed part of
the head of a comet. Whenever the orbit
of a comet intersects or comes very near

840

EARTH AND SKY

the orbit of the earth, we get a shower of
meteors if we are in that part of our orbit
which is near the orbit of the comet. For
instance, on May sixth the earth passes
near the orbit of Halleys comet; we always
get many meteors near that date whose
paths seem to radiate from a point near
the star Eta Aquarii. These meteors are
known as Eta Aquarids.

In the same way the orbit of Turtle's
comet of 1862 intersects the orbit of the
earth near the point where our planet
is on about August 10. Since much of
the original material of this comet is
widely dispersed around its orbit, we get
meteors of this swarm from about July
12 to September i of each year. As
the paths of these shooting stars seem
to radiate from a point in the constellation
Perseus, they are called Perseid Meteors.
The orbits of these meteors lie in a plane
nearly at right angles to the earth's orbit
plane. It is a very elongated orbit; at its
farthest point from the sun it reaches
nearly to the orbit of Pluto. Turtle's
comet and its associated meteors take 123
years to complete one circuit of the orbit.
This is an unusually good meteor shower
to observe, because the meteors are fairly
abundant every year; many of them are
bright enough to be seen even in the pres-
ence of the full moon, and besides this
the August nights are comfortable nights
for outdoor observations.

The most notable meteor shower is un-
doubtedly the Leonid shower; the paths of
these meteors seem to come from a point
near the curve of the Sickle, in the con-
stellation Leo. These meteors are associ-
ated with Temple's comet of 1866; its or-
bit crosses the orbit of the earth at the
place where we are about November 14.
As the main meteor swarm is very com-
pact, some spectacular meteor showers
often occur when the earth encounters
the main swarm, every thirty-three years.

Some Leonid meteors are seen every year,
near the middle of November. Some spec-
tacular showers of Leonids occurred in
1799, 1833, and 1866, when meteors were
counted by several observers, each watch-
ing small areas of the sky, at rates as high
as 300,000 per hour. Historical records of
spectacular showers of these meteors can
be traced in Chinese annals, almost to
New Testament times.

We are now nearly certain that all me-
teors whose paths as shooting stars seem
to radiate from a small area on the sky
were traveling in elliptical orbits about the
sun, and hence were members of the solar
system even before becoming a part of
the earth. Such meteor showers take their
names from the star or constellation in the
area from which they seem to radiate.

There are, however, many meteors ap-
pearing all the time whose paths have no
radiant, or central point of origin; recent
observations indicate that all of these
come to us from interstellar space. They
are continually streaming through the
solar system along hyperbolic orbits; those
whose orbits intersect the orbit of the
earth and arrive at the point of intersec-
tion when the earth is there, produce the
flash of light we see as a shooting star.
They thereby lose their identity as inde-
pendent bodies and become a part of the
earth. Judging by the number of meteors
that strike the earth yearly, the number
streaming through the solar system must
run into millions of millions daily.

We thus learn from observation and
the study of meteors that interstellar space
is far from being completely devoid of
matter. Occasionally one of these pieces
of matter is so large that it is not com-
pletely disintegrated in its passage through
our atmosphere, and solid pieces of it fall
on the surface of the earth. Such an event
is called a fall of meteorites and the pieces
which fall are called meteorites.

THE SKIES

THE RELATION BETWEEN THE TROPIC OF CANCER AND
THE PLANTING OF THE GARDEN

BY JOHN W. SPENCER

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/7 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 supersti-
tions 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 loca-
tion on the map, particularly when later
they learn what happens to my three
young friends. There is one in Quito,
Ecuador, of whom we will speak as Equa-
tor Shem; the one on the Island of Cuba
is named Tropic of Cancer Ham; and the
other in Sao Paulo, Brazil, answers to the
name of Tropic of Capricorn Japhet.

What happens to these three boys,
Shem, Ham, and Japhet, is this. At cer-
tain 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 lumi-
nary 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 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 and nights 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 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

842 EARTH AND SKY

day in March spring begins, when the year, and with no price of admission at

Equator boy finds it so hot that he would that.

like to take off his flesh, and sit in his For only one day do the sun's rays fall
bones. After a few days, Equator Shem directly on top of the head of Tropic of
will find he again has a shadow at noon Cancer Ham, who lives on the Island of
— a short one it is true, but it will get Cuba — just for one day, after which the
longer and longer each day. Now his up and down rays travel back towards the
shadow will be on the south side of him. Equator Shem. On the twenty-third of
Is this a queer thing to happen? On which September Shem again has no shadow at
side of you is your noontime shadow? I noon, and the almanac makers say that
will give every one of you a red apple that is the last day of summer, and tomorrow
finds it anywhere but on the north side will be the first day of autumn. Again it is
of him at twelve o'clock. Every time the very hot where Shem lives, but the alli-
sun shines at noon, watch to find your gators and monkeys and the parrots do not
old uncle in the wrong, and thereby get seem to mind it. Where do the up and
the apple. Each day that the shadow of down rays of the sun go next? They keep
Equator Shem becomes longer and longer, going south, hunting for the boy named
the noonday shadow of Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Japhet, to warm him
Ham, living on the Island of Cuba, will up, as was the case with the boys in Cuba
be getting shorter and shorter, until at and at the Equator. The up and down rays
last there comes a day during the last of do not find the top of the head of the lad
June when he, too, will have no shadow, in the City of Sao Paulo, Brazil, until the
and the almanac says that that day is the last part of December, just three days be-
beginning of summer. fore Christmas, and then the almanac says
Now it will be the turn of the Tropic this is the beginning of winter, and the
of Cancer Ham, on the Island of Cuba, shorter days of the year, when we in the
to say the weather is hotter than two State of New York light the lamp at five
Fourths of July beat into one, and he too o'clock in the afternoon. Now, my boys
will wish that he could take off his flesh, and girls, do you understand why we have
and sit in his bones. Everybody in the a change of seasons? Do you understand
State of New York will say that the first that the sun changes his manner of pitch-
summer day is the longest day of the year, ing his rays at us? That in winter, when
It is on this day that Equator Shem will he is over the head of the Tropic of Capri-
have as long a shadow as he ever had in corn Japhet in Sao Paulo, and making
his life. No United States boy will ever summer on that part of the earth, to us
be without a shadow at noon so long as he people in the north, in the State of New
remains in his own country. When the York, he pitches only slanting rays that
eight o'clock curfew bell says it is time for do not hit us hard, and have but little
boys and girls to go to bed, it will yet be power? Thus you will see that the rays of
light enough to read the papers. The sun the sun that strike the earth direct blows,
not only sets late on that first summer day, swing back and forth like a pendulum,
but it appears early next morning. What year after year, and century after century,
a beautiful spectacle a sunrise in June is! coming north as far as Tropic of Cancer
Men of wealth will pay thousands of dol- Shem, but no farther, and then swinging
lars for pictures showing its glory, yet I south as far as the boy named Tropic of
suppose that not one boy in five hun- Capricorn Japhet, and no farther, just
dred ever saw the beauty of the birth stopping and swinging back again towards
of a new day in the sixth month of the the north.

THE SKIES

843

THE ECLIPTIC AND THE ZODIAC

BY S. L. BOOTHROYD

Long before man began to write his-
tory, he noticed that the sun appeared to
move all the way around the sky in a year.
He noticed also that the yearly path
among the stars was always the same. If
the moon happened to be on the sun's
path at the time of new moon, there was
always an eclipse of the sun; and if the
moon was on the same line at full moon
there was always an eclipse of the moon.
What was more natural than to call this
line the Ecliptic? Since it was found by
observation that the moon and the wan-
dering stars which we now call planets,
were always quite near this same line, it
was perfectly natural that this band of the
sky traversed by the sun, moonr and plan-
ets should seem especially important to
early man. This region of the sky, a band
16° wide, 8° on either side of the Ecliptic,
is called the Zodiac and the stars in it
were, long ago, divided into twelve groups
called constellations.

These constellations, in order, around
the Ecliptic are: Aries, the Ram; Taurus,
the Bull; Gemini, the Twins; Cancer, the
Crab; Leo, the Lion; Virgo, the Virgin;
Libra, the Scales; Scorpio, the Scorpion;
Sagittarius, the Archer; Capricornus, the
Sea Goat; Aquarius, the Water Bearer;
and Pisces, the Fishes. What a collection
of zoological specimens this is!

If one were to go from California to
New York across the United States, he
would pass through many states; as he left
one state he would pass into the state to
the east of the one he had just left. In the
same way the sun in its annual eastward
journey around the sky as he leaves one
zodiacal constellation enters another.

A little more than two thousand years
ago, when these zodiacal constellations
were adopted, substantially as they are
known to us, the sun just as it crosses the
Equator, going north on about March 21,
was entering Aries. We still call this point

the first of Aries, and Aries the first sign
of the Zodiac; but due to an effect we call
" precession of the equinoxes " this point
is now in the constellation Pisces.

At present, the sun is in the same con-
stellation about a month later than it was
when the zodiacal constellations were
adopted; and furthermore, owing to slight
changes in the boundaries of the constel-
lations as we know them, the dates are not
the same as given in the almanac.

Referring to star maps, pages 818, 825,
and 831, the line marked Ecliptic is the
sun's apparent annual path around the
sky. On the maps the approximate time
when the sun is in each of the constella-
tions along the Ecliptic is given. If de-
sired, more accurate dates may be found
in the following table.

At present, the sun is in the given
constellations during approximately the
times indicated:

1. Aries

2. Taurus

3. Gemini

4. Cancer

5. Leo

6. Virgo

7. Libra

8. Scorpio and
Ophiuchus

9. Sagittarius

10. Capricornus

11. Aquarius

12. Pisces

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 constellations of the Zodiac are
marked by brilliant stars which have al-
ready been learned. Regulus is the heart
of Leo, the Lion; Spica which means

April 18

to May 14

May 14

" June 21

June 21

" July 20

July 20

99 Aug. 10

Aug. 10

77 Sept. 16

Sept. 16

" Oct. 31

Oct. 31

" Nov. 23

Nov. 23

" Dec. 18

Dec. 18

99 Jan. 19

Jan. 19

99 Feb. 16

Feb. 16

99 Mar. 12

Mar. 12

99 Apr. 18

844 EARTH

" 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 fiery7 eye
of Taurus, the Bull, while Gemini, or the
Twins, are the most conspicuous of the
stars high overhead in the evening skies
of February and March.

In almanacs one may see a table in-
dicating the signs of the Zodiac; for a
certain stated period the sun is said to
be in a definite sign which corresponded
to the region traversed by the sun at the

AND SKY

time these Zodiacal constellations were
adopted. Each of the twelve Zodiacal con-
stellations constitutes a sign. The times
given in these signs are those that were
used by the ancients.

The following lines will aid one in be-
coming familiar with the relative positions
of the zodiac:

The Ram, the Bull, the Heavenly Twins
And next the Crab, the Lion shines,
The Virgin and the Scales.
The Scorpion, the Archer and He-goat,
The Man that holds the Watering-pot,
The Fish with glittering tails.

THE SKY CLOCK

BY S. L. BOOTHROYD

Since the sky, to a northern observer,
appears as a vast sphere which turns at a
uniform rate about the line joining the ob-
server's eye to Polaris it is evident that the
turning of the sky may be used to meas-
ure the passage of time. Of course, the stars
appear as fixed points upon this sphere.

Everywhere on the earth, north of 33°
north latitude, the five bright stars of Cas-
siopeia and all the stars of the Big Dipper,

S. L. Boothroyd

A. sky clock which can be made from a piece of
heavy firm paper

except the two farthest from Polaris, are
always above the observer's horizon.

All the stars on the sky appear to move
as though they were bright points on the
surface of an immense sphere. To a per-
son facing Polaris the sky seems to be ro-
tating counterclockwise about the line
joining his eye to Polaris. It rotates at
such a rate that the line joining Polaris
to any star appears to revolve through 360
degrees in 23 hours 56 minutes and 4
seconds. This is the rate of rotation of the
earth on its axis. Since this apparent ro-
tation of the sky about the line joining the
observer's eye to Polaris takes place at a
perfectly uniform rate, we may regard the
sky about the North Star as the face of a
great sky clock.

It is most convenient to consider the
hour hand of this sky clock as the line
joining Polaris to the star Caph (caf ) in
Cassiopeia. See the north circumpolar star
map. The dial of this sky clock must be
considered as a circle drawn around Polaris
as a center, and the figures on the clock
face go around the dial in the opposite
direction from those on an ordinary clock.
Also the clock has 24 divisions or hours on
its face instead of 12. The o or 24 hour di-
vision is straight above Polaris and the 12

THE SKIES

845

hour division is straight below the same
star. The left half of the dial is then num-
bered from o (or 24) at the top to 12 at
the lowest point straight below Polaris,
and the right half of the dial is numbered
from 12 at the lowest point to 24 (or o)
at the top.

One then imagines this dial printed on
the sky, and to get the star time simply
notes where the line from Polaris to Caph
crosses the face of the dial. As an aid to
observing the star time with fair accuracy,
make a dial on a piece of stiff white bristol
board, cut in a circle one foot across. Make
a hole one-half inch in diameter at the
center of the dial. Divide the circumfer-
ence into 24 equal spaces and number the
divisions, with black waterproof ink, from
o to 23. Fasten a piece of black string 8
inches long on a line from the center of
the dial to a point about one inch above
the center and fasten to the other end a
bullet or a washer so the string will hang
plumb when the dial is held up to the
observer as he faces the Polestar. Hold
the dial up so that Polaris can be seen
through the hole in the center; then turn
the dial around the line leading from the
eye to Polaris until the plumb line falls di-
rectly over the line from the center to the
12 hour mark on the dial. At this mo-
ment, note where the line from Polaris to
Caph crosses the dial; the reading of the
dial at this point is star time, called side-
real time by the astronomer. This time is
used also by sailors and others who often
need to calculate time without the use
of the customary timepieces.

Suppose that on an August evening one
has found (with the aid of the dial just
described) the time to be 19 hours. The
observer will now locate the line marked

XIX on the equator of the Equatorial Star
Map and the line marked XIX extending
from the center to the boundary of the
Circumpolar Star Chart. These lines in-
dicate the line on the sky which at that
moment passes from Polaris directly over-
head to the south part of the horizon.
Again, if the star time read on the dial is
20 hours, then the line from Polaris to

XX on the boundary of the Circumpolar

Star Chart, and the line marked XX on
the equator of the Equatorial Star Chart,
are at that moment the line on the sky
which passes from Polaris through the
zenith to the south part of the horizon.
It makes no difference what the day of
the year happens to be; a person can, by
using his dial, observe the star time and
tell just what part of the sky as shown on
the star map is on his celestial meridian,
as the line from Polaris through his zenith
to the south part of the horizon is called.
The ability to get star time thus enables
one to use his star maps more effectively
as aids in learning to know the constella-
tions and stars.

We must bear in mind that the time
we use is standard time. This time is the
local mean time for a given meridian, usu-
ally a meridian that is a multiple of 15
degrees from Greenwich, England. The
Eastern standard time is the mean time for
the 75° meridian west of Greenwich. It is
therefore 5 hours slower than Greenwich
time. If a standard meridian were 75 de-
grees east of Greenwich its time would be
5 hours faster than that of Greenwich.

Unless one lives exactly on the merid-
ian that is the basis for the time that is
used in his particular time belt, he is not
using the exact time indicated by the
position of the sun. He is using standard
time and the time indicated by the mean
sun is known as local mean solar time. It
is easy to find the local mean solar time
for any location after one has determined,
by means of the sky clock, the star time.
The following rule is used:

Subtract from the star time observed,
a number of hours which is twice the num-
ber of months since March 23 and the
remainder will be the number of hours
since the observer's preceding local mean
noon. If the observed star time is less
than twice the number of months since
March 23, add 24 hours to the observed
time before subtracting.

Following are examples to illustrate the
use of the sky clock:

i. Suppose that on the night of August
18, at Ithaca, New York, the sky clock
was read. The part of the sky between the

846

EARTH AND SKY

lines marked XIX and XX on the star
maps was on the celestial meridian and
the star time was observed to be 19 hours
and 40 minutes.

August 18 is 4 months and 25 days after
March 23, or 4 25/30 months. This num-
ber of months multiplied by 2 equals
92/3.

This number expressed as hours and
minutes equals 9 hours and 40 minutes
and when this number is subtracted from
the observed star time, 19 hours and 40
minutes, the remainder is 10. This figure
represents the number of hours since
the observer's local mean noon, or 10
P.M. by local mean solar time.

2. Suppose on the night of January 27
at Boston, Massachusetts, the sky clock
was read, and the part of the sky between
the lines marked VII and VIII on the sky
maps was on the celestial meridian. The
star time was observed to be 7 hours and
20 minutes.

January 27 is 10 months and 4 days
after March 23 or 104/30 months after
March 23. This number of months multi-
plied by 2 equals 204/15. This number
expressed as hours and minutes equals 20
hours and 16 minutes. Since 20 hours and
16 minutes is larger than the observed star
time, 7 hours and 20 minutes, 24 hours
must be added to 7 hours and 20 minutes
making 31 hours and 20 minutes; 31
hours and 20 minutes minus 20 hours and
16 minutes equals 11 hours and 4 min-
utes. Hence the observation was made 4
minutes after 1 1 on the night of January
27, local mean solar time.

If the observer wishes to express this
" local mean solar time " in the " standard
time " for the belt in which he lives, one
more step must be taken. It is necessary
to determine the longitude of the place
where the observations are being made.
The longitude is expressed in degrees; it
can be easily determined by use of a map.

By consulting a map which shows the
standard time belts, determine what me-
ridian is used as the standard meridian of
the time belt in which the observations
are being made; next determine how far
east or west of the standard meridian the
observer is located. For each degree there
will be a difference of 4 minutes of time;
that is, if the observer is i degree east of
the standard meridian, his local mean
solar time will be 4 minutes faster than
standard time. If he is i degree west of
the standard meridian, his local mean
solar time will be 4 minutes slower than
standard time. Therefore, if local mean
solar time has been found, the standard
time can be easily found provided one
knows the longitude of the place where
the observations were made. Four minutes
will be added to the standard time for
each degree the observer is located east of
the standard meridian; 4 minutes will be
subtracted from standard time for each
degree the observer is located west of
the standard meridian. Thus, it will be
seen that the local mean solar time
will be faster than standard time if east
of a standard meridian and slower than
standard time if west of a standard me-
ridian.

Let us refer to the examples given on
this and the preceding page; note that the
reading of the sky clock in Example i was
taken at Ithaca, New York. This town has
a longitude of 1 1A degrees west of the 75th
meridian; it is in the Eastern standard
time belt, whose standard meridian is 75
degrees. Therefore, since Ithaca is 1 1A de-
grees west of the standard meridian, its
local mean solar time would be 6 minutes
slower than standard time. Boston, at
which point the sky clock was read in
Example 2, is at a point 4 degrees east
of the 75th meridian; therefore its local
mean solar time would be 16 minutes
faster than standard time.

THE SKIES

847

THE EQUATORIAL STAR FINDER

BY S. L. BOOTHROYD

The line marked Equator on the star
maps is the line in which the plane of
the earth's equator extended outward
meets the sky. By means of a very sim-
ple homemade device, which we call an
equatorial star finder we can locate visible
stars and the equator of the sky, or the
Celestial Equator as it is called.

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING AND OPERATING
THE EQUATORIAL STAR FINDER

Cut pieces A, B, and C from a piece
of plank 2 by 8 inches which has been
planed and smoothed off on all sides; it
should then be about jl/2 inches wide and
i /8 inches thick. Pieces A and B are each
about 2 feet long with the ends accurately
squared. Piece C is cut square on one end
and on a bevel on the other end, the face
in contact with B being about 11 inches
long and the upper face being about 9^2
inches long. Pieces A and B are hinged
together at one end so that their inner
faces will be everywhere in contact when
the hinges are closed. Block C is nailed
or screwed to piece B, as shown in the
illustration. A % inch hole is bored into
C at right angles to its upper surface and
extending to within l/4 inch of the lower
surface of piece B. The center of this hole
must be 6 inches from the upper edge
of the upper face of C and at the center
of the face. The use of a press drill will
insure the hole being at right angles to
the face of C and will also prevent the
hole being bored entirely through B.

Into this hole is inserted the polar axis,
F, of the star finder. This can be made
from a piece of broom handle which is
very straight, and can be filed or sand-
papered to accurately fit the hole in C,
so that it will not wobble when pushed to
the bottom of the hole and yet will be free
to turn on its axis without undue effort.

Disc E is a circular piece of masonite,
7/8 inches in diameter, in the center of

which is bored a hole, % inch in diame-
ter. The polar axis will just go through
this hole and allow the disc to be turned
on this axis, and yet be tight enough not
to turn of its own accord. On the top
face of disc E is glued a specially gradu-

S, L. Boothroyd

The equatorial star finder. See pp. 847-50
jor instructions jor making and using it

ated protractor on which are printed the
positions of 40 bright stars as projected
on the equator plane of the celestial
sphere. This protractor sheet1 is shown
in the first illustration on page 848. When
this protractor sheet is glued to the disc
above mentioned, we shall call disc E the
" hour disc " of the star finder.

Flatten the upper 6 inches of one side
of the polar axis, F, cutting a maximum

1 The protractor and hour disc may be ob-
tained from the Comstock Publishing Com-
pany, Inc., Ithaca. New York for 10$.

EARTH AND SKY

depth of % inch from the round stick.
G is another disc of masonite of the same
size as disc E, 7% inches in diameter. G
is nailed to the polar axis so that a di-
ameter of the disc lies accurately along

Hour disc, E

S. L. Boothroyd

the flattened face of the upper end of
the polar axis, F. Now bore a l/4 inch
hole through the center of disc G and
through the axis of the polar axis, F,
and at right angles thereto. Glue to disc
G the declination protractor shown in
the illustration opposite. Be sure to
glue this to disc G so that the arrow
marked to visible pole points upward
when the polar axis, F, is vertical. This
disc, G, with its declination protractor
glued to it will be called the " decimation
disc/'

Next, prepare the star pointer, H. Use
a piece of wood % inch wide, Vs inch
thick and 10 inches long; symmetrically
point one end and bore a % inch hole
three inches from the point and in the
center of the piece. A % inch bolt
through this and through the % inch
hole bored through the declination disc,
G, and the polar axis, F, will pivot this
pointer, H, to the upper end of the polar
axis, F, as shown in the illustration. Put
washers under the head of the bolt, un-
der the nut, and between the star pointer,
H, and the declination disc, G. Screw the
nut tight enough so that the star pointer,

H, will remain in any position, and so that
it is not too hard to turn. It is well to put a
lock washer on to prevent the nut coming
unscrewed. Insert screw eyes on the cen-
ter line of this pointer, near its ends, and
the pointer, F, is complete.

Next, rotate the star pointer, H, on its
axis until it points at o degrees on the
declination disc, G. Then rotate the polar
axis, F7 until the star pointer is parallel to
the long side of piece B, and is pointing
away from the hinges. Now hold the polar
axis, F, so that it will not turn on its axis
and rotate the hour disc, E, until the o-
hour-to-i2 hour line is parallel to the star
pointer, H, with the o hour point under
the point of the star pointer, H. Cut
an arrow point, K, from a piece of dura-
ble paper and glue it to a small piece of
masonite to bring it on a level with the
graduated face of the hour disc, E. Place
the arrow point at the outer edge of the
hour disc, E, with the point of the arrow
at the end of the o hour line and pointing
to the center of the hour disc, E. Next
bore a hole in the polar axis, F, radially
in from where the o hour line of the hour
disc, E, meets the polar axis when all has
been adjusted as has been explained. This
hole should be a little smaller than a six-

rf^ry^Jfefc

^^ * §

r° *

Q •%

TO VISIBLE POLE

S. L. Boothroyd

Declination disc, G

penny finishing nail and should be about
3/s inch deep. A nail when inserted in
this hole, with the instrument adjusted
as directed, will be over the o hour line
of the hour disc, E. It will be well to file
off the head of the nail to a blunt point,
after the nail has been snugly driven into
the hole which was bored to receive it.
We shall call the nail the right ascension
pointer, L.

THE SKIES

849

Lastly, prepare a piece of % inch thick
board for piece D7 in illustration page 847.
The preparation of this is "best explained
by showing a side view of it with all the
necessary dimensions and angles given on
the diagram below.

The degrees in angle W should be equal
to the latitude of the locality where the
instrument is to be used. Angles Y and Z

OF YOUR
LOCALITY

The equatorial star finder, piece D

are always 90°. Angle X is equal to 180°
minus latitude of the locality where the
instrument is to be used. Line ZY is always
8 inches. Line XY may be made about 4
inches; then the other lines are fully de-
termined if the angles are laid out as
specified.

With piece A on a horizontal surface,
rotate B about the hinges until D can be
placed with side ZY in contact with the
upper face of piece A and side WX in
contact with the lower face of piece B.
Piece D7 when accurately constructed for
latitudes between 30° and 90 °7 will stay
in place without anything but friction be-
tween the surfaces to hold it in place. For

latitudes below 30°, piece D will need to
be nailed or screwed into place. Piece D
will be called the latitude board.

The equatorial star finder is now ready
to be put in the place where it is to be
used for observation. It must be set on a
level surface, at least 2% feet long and
about i foot wide, with its long dimension
north and south. The surface should be
about as high as a table or perhaps a little
higher.

With a compass, if you know the com^
pass variation, or by means of the shadow
of a vertical stick at apparent noon, mark
a north and south line on the top of your
table or slab. The line must be exactly
north and south and the top of the table
must be level if your star finder is to point
accurately to the stars you wish to locate.

Having everything ready, go out with
the star finder and place the long side of
piece A of the star finder on the north and
south line of the level surface, and with
the polar axis, F, pointing towards the visi-
ble pole of the heavens. For an observer
in the Northern Hemisphere, it will point
at Polaris very nearly. You are now ready
to use your star finder. Some star which
you already know can be used as a helper
to aid you in finding an unknown star.
It is best, however, to select a helper that
is located some distance from Polaris.
Suppose you know the star Vega and wish
to find the star Capella. Turn the polar
axis, F, about its axis, and the star pointer,
H, about its pivot until you can see Vega
through the sight line determined by the
center line of the two screw eyes in the
star pointer, H. Now hold the polar axis,
F, from turning and rotate the hour disc,
E, until the star Vega shown on it is
under the right ascension pointer, L. Now
hold the hour disc, E, from turning and
rotate the polar axis, F? until the right
ascension pointer is over the star, Capella.
Note, on the hour disc, E, the declination
of Capella, which is its angular distance
from the celestial equator. Now move
the point of the star pointer, H, over the
protractor on disc G until it is on the
degree mark corresponding to the declina-
tion of Capella, as read off the hour disc,

850

EARTH AND SKY

E, and the star pointer, H, will now be
pointing at Capella, providing you have
performed these operations promptly.

By following the above procedure, one
can point the star finder at any of the
forty stars shown on the hour disc, E, of
the instrument, whether the star is above
or below the horizon. Of course, you can
see only those stars which are above your
horizon. Do not expect to find all the
stars by one pointing on Vega, as in the
example illustrated; but set on Vega, or
some other known star each time, and ad-
just the hour disc, E, as explained above,
before setting on the star to be found.

Another way to find an unknown star is
to find the star time using the sky clock
explained on page 844. Immediately after
you have obtained the star time, rotate the
hour disc, E, of the star finder until the
reading on the hour disc which is under
the time arrow, K, is the same as the star
time. Now hold the hour disc, E, until the
right ascension pointer, L, is over the star
to be found. Read its declination from
the hour disc, E? adjust the star pointer,
H7 to this reading on its protractor, G, and
the star pointer will point at the star in
question.

It should, from the above, be seen that
one can use the star finder to obtain the
star time. For example, suppose one
knows where to find the star Vega. Ro-
tate the polar axis and adjust the star
pointer until Vega is seen along the star
pointer. Now hold the polar axis and
rotate the hour disc, E, until Vega is under
the right ascension pointer, L. The star
time is the reading on the hour disc op-
posite the time arrow, K. To find other
stars than those shown on the hour disc,
consult the star maps on pages 818, 825,
and 831 and find the right ascension and
declination of each star. Then after ad-
justing the hour disc, E, by one of the
methods already explained, hold the
hour disc, E, and rotate the polar axis, F,
until the right ascension pointer, L,
points to the right ascension of the star
to be found. Then adjust the star pointer,
H, until its pointer is over the declination

of said star, and the star pointer will be
pointed at the star to be identified.

An ingenious boy will use the works of
an old alarm clock to cause the hour disc
to turn around at the proper rate, so that
when once set with the time arrow at star
time, it will continue to be so as long as
the clock runs. One can then point at
one star after another without first re-
adjusting the hour disc. The clock keeps
the hour disc, E, adjusted, when once set.
People who are more deeply interested
in the subject will make the whole ap-
paratus a little heavier than indicated in
the instructions given here. A small tele-
scope can then be mounted on the star
pointer; this makes possible the observa-
tion of many objects that are not easily
visible to the naked eye.

To find planets, obtain, from some re-
liable source, the right ascension and
declination of the planet and follow the
instructions for pointing at stars of known
right ascension and declination.

The hour disc, E, shown here is for
use in the Northern Hemisphere. This
disc, and also one that can be used in the
Southern Hemisphere, may be secured
from Comstock Publishing Company
Inc., Ithaca, New York.

The outer edge of the hour disc, E,
represents the Celestial Equator. The fig-
ures appearing near the outer edge of the
disc indicate right ascension. For exam-
ple, to find the right ascension of Vega,
imagine a line drawn from the center of
the disc through Vega until it intersects
the graduated outer edge of the disc. The
reading at this point in hours and min-
utes is the right ascension of Vega. It is
about 18 hours and 30 minutes.

The concentric circles on the disc rep-
resent the parallels of declination which
are similar to parallels of latitude on the
earth. To find the declination of Vega
note that it lies between the parallels of
declination of 30° and 40°. The decima-
tion being about 38%°. Stars which are
represented by circles (O) have north
declination and those represented by
crosses (+) have south declination.

THE SKIES

851

THE RELATIONS OF THE SUN TO THE EARTH

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 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, be-
cause it passes obliquely through our at-
mosphere-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 dis-
tance 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 be-
come thoroughly heated; it is still true
that 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 him-
self which is the shortest and which the
longest day of the year. There is a slight
variation in different years; for a person in
latitude 45° north the shortest day of
the year when this lesson was written, as
computed from a current almanac, was
December 22; the day was eight hours
and forty-six minutes long. The longest
day of the year was June 22, and it
was fifteen hours and thirty-seven min-
utes in duration. On the longest day of

the year the sun reaches its farthest point
north and is, therefore, most nearly above
us at midday. 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 midday than
during any other day of the year.

L. -.-1*88. -• ys». ^

Adapted from T odd's New Astronomy

Path of the sun across the sky of an ob-
server in about latitude 40 degrees north, on
June 22, on March 21 or September 23, and
on December 22

The movement of the sun north and
south is an interesting subject for per-
sonal investigation, as suggested in the
lesson. Through quite involuntary obser-
vation, 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
Lake 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.

Because of the vast weight of the sun,

EARTH AND SKY

the force of gravity upon its surface is so
great that even if it were not for the
white-hot fireworks so constantly active
there, 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 pu-
pils, 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 231
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

A shadow stick

than the path which it follows in Decem-
ber, 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 and arithmetic.
OBSERVATIONS — i. 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? At 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. On what day of the year is the sun
nearest a point directly over our heads at
midday?

8. On which day of the year is the sun
at midday 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. Ob-
serve 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 al-
ways or does its place of rising and setting
move northward or southward?

10. Is the sun farthest south on the
shortest day of the year? If so, is it farth-
est 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 more massive
than the earth that, in spite of its greater
size, 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 up-
right in a level board and place the board
lengthwise on a sill of a south window or
where it will be in the sunlight, at least
from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Mark the shadow
cast by the peg at half-hour intervals dur-
ing a sunny day and draw a line with pen-
cil or chalk outlining the tip of the
shadow of the stick. Make a similar out-
line 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, on March 21, June
22, September 23, and December 22, or
as near these dates as possible.

A measurement that is even more exact
than the one just described can be ob-
tained by means of a gnomon pin placed
in a board. (See List of Helpful Materials
at the end of this Handbook.)

THE SKIES

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.

How TO MAKE A SUNDIAL

METHOD — The diagram for the dial is
a lesson in mechanical drawing. Each pu-
pil 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.

MATERIALS — For the gnomon a piece
of board a half inch thick and six inches
square is required. It should be given sev-
eral coats of white paint so that it will not

853

warp. For the dial, take a board about 14
inches square and an inch or more thick.
The lower edge may be bevelled if de-

A sundial made by pupils

The gnomon

sired. This should be given three coats
of white paint, so that it will 'not warp and
check.

To MAKE THE GNOMON — The word
gnomon is a Greek word meaning " one
that 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 sure its
angles are right angles. Let s, t, u, v rep-
resent 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 pro-
tractor, costing fifteen cents, or by work-
ing it out without any help except know-
ing that a right angle is 90°, 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 AA" a foot long and one-fourth inch
at the left of the center. Then draw the
line BB" exactly parallel to the line AA"
and a half inch to the right of it. These

§54

EARTH AND SKY

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.

The face of the sundial

With a compass, or a pencil fastened to
a string, draw the half-circle AA'A" with
a radius of six inches, with the point c
for its center. Draw a similar half-circle
BB'B" opposite, with c' for its center.
Then draw the half-circle from DD'D",
from c with a radius of five and three-
quarter inches. Then draw similarly from
c' the half-circle EE'E". Then draw from
c the half-circle FF'F" with a radius of
five inches, and a similar half-circle
GG'G" from c' as a center.

Find the points M, M' just six inches
from the points F, G; draw the line }K
through M, M' exactly at right angles to
the line AA". This will mark the six
o'clock points; 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 out-
line all the semicircles 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 AA" extending
exactly north and south. If no compass
is available, wait until noon by the sun
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 EK'?
on which the shadow falls at one, two,
three, four, and five o'clock by sun time;
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 by sun
time. Draw lines from M to these points,
and lines from M' to the point on the
arc EK'. 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.

Sundial on the author's lawn

THE SKIES

855

THE MOON

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 appears as 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 toward 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 uninformed 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 feel-
ing 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 en-
tirely turned away from us wre say there
is no moon, although it is always there

Lick Observatory

The Moon, age 14.9 days. This and the fol-
lowing photograph were made with the 36-
inch refractor of the Lick Observatory

just the same. Thus, although we can
never see the other side of the moon, we
can understand that the sun shines on all
sides of it.

Our earth, like the moon, shines al-
ways by reflected light and is almost four
times as wide as 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 which illumines it, part of
which is reflected from the moon back
again to us. Sometimes pupils confuse this
appearance of the moon with a partial
eclipse; but the former is the old moon,
which is one edge of the moon shining in
the sunlight, the remainder faintly illu-
mined by earth light, while an eclipse must
always occur at the full of the moon when
the earth passes between the sun and the

856

EARTH AND SKY

moon, almost completely hiding the latter
in its shadow.

It is approximately a month from one
new moon to the next, since it talces
twenty-nine and one-half days for the
moon to complete its cycle around the
earth with respect to the sun, and thus
turn once around in the sunshine. There-
fore, each moon day is fourteen and three-

Lick Observatory
The moon, age 22.06 days

quarter days long and the night is the
same length. The moon always rises in the
eastern sky and sets in the western sky. The
full moon rises at sunset and sets at sun-
rise, 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 at full moon in August

and September, that we have several
nights when the full moon lengthens the
day; and it is called the " harvest moon,"
because in northern Europe in earlier
times it was customary to work and sing
in the harvest fields until late at night.

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 dis-
tance 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 cir-
cular 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 relatively level. Thirty-three thou-
sand of these craters have been discov-
ered. And, too, on the moon, there are
great plains and chasms; and all these fea-
tures of the rnoon have been photo-
graphed, measured, and mapped by peo-
ple on our earth. For a boy studying
geometry, the measuring of the height of
the mountains of the moon is an inter-
esting story.

But we could never in our present
bodies visit the moon, because of one ter-
rible fact — the moon has no air surround-
ing 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

THE SKIES

857

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 atmospheric
dust to scatter the blue rays of light, leav-
ing 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, although
some light reflected from the rocks around
us might reach us. Hiding in such a
shadow would be like putting on the in-
visible cloak of fairy lore. And because
there would be 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 blanket to prevent radia-
tion of heat to outer space and to shield
from the direct radiation of the sun,
the temperature of the moon reaches
above boiling point at noon and near
absolute zero at midnight. 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 con-
traction under cold must break and crum-
ble even the firmest rock. 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 dash-
ing over their surface. However, the rocks
and mountains of the moon may be
changed in shape by the battering of me-
teorites, which pelt into the moon by the
million, since the moon has no air to
set them afire and make them into harm-
less 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, or seas; graced by not a green
thing — not even a blade of grass or a
tree, or by the presence of any living
creature! Out there in space it whirls its
dreary round, with its stupendous moun-
tains cutting the black skies with their
jagged peaks aboye, and casting their inky
shadows below; heated to a terrific tem-
perature, by the sun's rays, then suddenly
immersed into cold that would freeze our
air solid, 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.

SUGGESTED READING — Elementary Sci-
ence by Grades, by Ellis C. Persing and
John A. Hollinger, Book 6; Romance of
the Moon, by Mary Proctor; also, read-
ings on page 817.

LESSON 232
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 — Darken the room as
much as possible; use a lighted lamp or
electric light for the sun, which is, of
course, stationary. Take a large apple to

858

represent the earth and a small one to
represent the moon. Thrust a piece of
stiff wire, at least one foot long, 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 piece of
wire just above the earth apple. Hold the

EARTH AND SKY

Experiment for illustrating the phases of the
moon

wire 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 it is
between the earth and the sun the moon
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 and 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. The moon always keeps one face to-
ward 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 let-
ting 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.

OBSERVATIONS— i. Describe how the
moon looks when it is full.

2. What do you think you see in the
moon?

3. Describe the difference in appear-
ance 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 in-
stead 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 approxi-
mately the difference in time of moonrise
on two successive nights?

1 1 . 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
lighted by the sun? 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?

THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE MOON
QUESTIONS FOR THE PUPILS TO THINK
ABOUT AND ANSWER IF THEY CAN —
17. Since it has been found 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. Why is it so much hotter and
colder on the moon than upon the earth?

THE SKIES 859

25. If you could shout on the moon,
how would it sound? If one hundred can-
nons should be fired at once on the moon,
how would it sound?

26. Is there any rain or snow on the
moon? Are there any clouds there? If there
is no air or water on the moon, would
the intense heat and the powerful cold af-
fect the soils or rocks, as freezing and
thawing affect our rocks?

27. 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
many pounds could he carry on the
moon?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BY EVA L. GORDON

Cornell University

NOTE

This list of books is by no means com- many ages, appropriate for use over a wide
plete. The books included have been area. Books for recreational reading have
chosen from those the writer has used or been included, as well as those for in-
examined, and many of them have already formational use or reference. Preference
been mentioned in connection with the has been given to well-written, well-illus-
topics discussed in the preceding pages of trated books, with the hope that many
this Handbook. An attempt has been readers will find in these pages pleasant
made to suggest material for readers of help in their nature studies.

NATURE STUDY JN GENERAL

GENERAL INFORMATION AND STORIES

ALONG THE BROOK. By Raymond T. Ful-
ler. Reynal & Hitchcock, New York.
1931. 89 pages. $1.25. A small book dis-
cussing fifty denizens of brooks of
northeastern United States, and de-
scribing a few plants. Grades 5 to 7.

ALONG NATURE'S TRAILS. By Lillian C.
Athey. American Book Co., New York.
1936. 351 pages. $1.20. A brief general
survey of plant and animal life of east-
ern North America. Grades 5 to 8.

ALONG THE SHORE. By Eva L. Butler. Rey-
nal & Hitchcock, New York. 1930. 103
pages. $1.25. Short, simply told ac-
counts of some common sea animals
and plants. Grades 5 to 8.

AMERICAN CONSERVATION; IN PICTURE
AND IN STORY. Compiled by Ovid M.
Butler. American Forestry Association,
Washington, D. C. 1935. 144 pages.
$2.50. Photographs, with explanatory
text. Adult.

AN AQUARIUM BOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
By Alfred P. Morgan. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York. 1936. 191 pages.
$2.00. An excellent guide for maintain-
ing aquaria, including, also, much in-
formation about aquarium inhabitants.
Grades 5 to 8.

BEACHCOMBER BOBBIE. By Florence Bour-
geois, Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden
City, N. Y. 1935. 32 pages. $.50. A
colorfully illustrated story of a small
boy's adventures with seashore animals.
Grades i to 3.

THE BURGESS SEASHORE BOOK FOR CHIL-
DREN. By Thornton W. Burgess. Little,
Brown & Co., Boston. 1929. 350 pages.
$3.00. Well-illustrated accounts of
many animals and of some of the com-
moner plants of the seashore, told in
story form. Grades 4 to 6.

THE COMPLETE AQUARIUM BOOK. By

William T. Innes, Blue Ribbon Books,
Inc., New York. 1936. 317 pages. $.98.
A new edition of a helpful reference,
chiefly on the care and breeding of gold-
fish and tropical fishes. Adult.

THE CONQUEST OF LIFE. By Theodore
Koppanyi. D. Appleton-Century Co.,
Inc., New York. 1930. 263 pages. $2.00.
Valuable popular treatment of biology,
one of The Appleton New World of
Science Series. Adult.

CONSERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES. By
A. F. Gustafson, H. Ries, W. J. Hamil-
ton, Jr., and C. H. Guise. Comstock
Publishing Co., Inc., Ithaca, N. Y.
1939. 430 pages. $3.00. A well-illus-
trated survey, the four parts of which
consider soils, forests, animal life, and
mineral resources. Adult.

CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL RE-
SOURCES. By Loomis Havemeyer and
others. The Macmillan Co., New York.
1930. 551 pages. $4.00. A new edition,
based on Van Rise's The Conservation
of Natural Resources in the United
States. Adult.

DESERT NEIGHBORS. By Edith M. Patch
and C. L. Fenton. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1937. 176 pages. $1.75.
Fourteen accurate, well-presented stor-
ies of living things of the southwestern
deserts of the United States. Grades 3
to 5.

Do You BELIEVE IT? By Otis W- Cald-
well and Gerhard E. Lundeen. Garden
City Publishing Co., Garden City,
N. Y. 1934. 317 pages. $1.00. The his-
tory of many common superstitions,
showing their influence and their actual
fallacy. Adult.

EVOLUTION YESTERDAY AND TODAY. By
Horatio H. Newman. Williams & Wil-
kins Co., Baltimore, Md. 1932. 181

864

pages. $1.00. One of the Century of
Progress Series of carefully prepared dis-
cussions of various phases of science.
Adult.

EXPLORING THE EARTH AND ITS LIFE IN A
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM. By James
L. McCreery. F. A. Stokes Co., New
York. 1933. 269 pages. $2.00. A unique
book, based on the collections in the
American Museum of Natural History
in New York. Grades 6 to 8.

FlELDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY. By E.

Laurence Palmer. McGraw-Hill Book
Co., Inc., New York. In preparation, to
be published probably in 1942. About
700 pages. $3.50. This well-known
sourcebook of information and help in
field identification of more than 1500
kinds of things is completely rewritten
and newly illustrated. Useful over most
of the United States, in grade 6 and
above.

FIELD BOOK OF PONDS AND STREAMS. By
Ann H. Morgan. G. P. Putnam's Sons,
New York. 1930. 464 pages. $3.50. A
most satisfactory handbook for the
study of plants and animals found in
and near water. Abundant and excel-
lent illustrations. Grade 6 and above.

FIELDS AND FENCEROWS. By W. P. Porter
and E. A. Hansen. American Book Co.,
New York. 1937. 280 pages. $.84.
Abundantly illustrated, compact infor-
mation about many plants and animals,
emphasizing those of the countryside
of eastern North America. Grades, 4
to 7.

FOREST NEIGHBORS. By Edith M. Patch
and C. L. Fenton. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1938. 198 pages. $1.50.
Eighteen authentic stories of big and
little animals of the " North Woods/'
Grades 3 to 5.

HOLIDAY HILL. By Edith M. Patch. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1931. 135
pages. $1.50 or $1.00. Accounts of a
hill in eastern America, containing the
story of an old boulder, and of plants
and animals through the year. Grades
3 to 5.

HOLIDAY MEADOW. By Edith M. Patch.
The Macmillan Co., New York. 1930.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

165 pages. $1.56 or $1.00. Two chil-
dren's explorations among the plants
and animals in a farm meadow. Grades
3 to 5.

HOLIDAY POND. By Edith M. Patch. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1929. 147
pages. $1.50 or $1.00. An invitation to
visit an eastern American pond and
meet some of the plants and animals
to be found there. Grades 3 to 5.

HOLIDAY SHORE. By Edith M. Patch and
C. L. Fenton. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1935. 150 pages. $2.00. Ac-
curate introduction to marine life, par-
ticularly of the Atlantic Coast. Grades

3 to 5.

INTERESTING NEIGHBORS. By Oliver P. Jen-
kins. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Inc.,
Philadelphia. 1922. 248 pages. $1.12.
Excellently written, accurate narratives
about many common plants and ani-
mals, usable over a wide area. Grades

4 to 6.

THE LIFE OF INLAND WATERS. By James
G. Needham and J. T. Lloyd. Corn-
stock Publishing Co., Inc., Ithaca,
N. Y. Third edition, 1937. 438 pages.
$3.00. Abundantly illustrated and de-
lightfully written information. Adult.
A Guide to the Study of Fresh-Water
Biology, by James G. Needham and
Paul R. Needham, Comstock Publish-
ing Co., Inc., Ithaca, N. Y., 1938, 88
pages, $1.00, a well-illustrated help in
identification, is useful in connection
with the book mentioned.

THE LIVING WORLD. By Samuel H. Wil-
liams. The Macmillan Co., New York.
1937. 704 pages. $3.60. A college book,
designed for a cultural course in biol-
ogy, and useful to the average reader
who is interested in the out-of-doors.
Adult.

MOUNTAIN NEIGHBORS. By Edith M.
Patch and C. L. Fenton. The Mac-
millan Co., New York. 1936. 156 pages.
$1.75. Fourteen well-told, illustrated
stories of wild life in the western moun-
tains of America. Grades 3 to 5.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM. By
James G. Needham. Comstock Pub-
lishing Co., Inc., Ithaca, N. Y. 1914.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

348 pages. $1.50. Simple descriptions
of common plants and animals on
farms of northeastern United States,
with suggestions for their study. Grade
7 and above.

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY AROUND THE
YEAR. By Percy A. Morris. D. Appleton-
Century Co., Inc., New York. 1938.
269 pages. $4.00. A profusely illustrated
book which combines month-by-month
lists of nature objects with instructions
and suggestions for the nature photog-
rapher. Adult.

NATURE TRAILS. By Dietrich Lange. D.
Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New
York. 1927. 261 pages. $1.20; stu-
dent's edition, $.64. Short, interesting
sketches about many living things.
Grade 6 and above.

NATURE'S SECRETS. Edited by G. Clyde
Fisher. Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., New
York. 1927. 951 pages. $1.89. Material
by different authors on plants and ani-
mals of several groups, useful for gen-
eral information. Grade 7 and above.

ONE THOUSAND AND ONE QUESTIONS
ANSWERED ABOUT YOUR AQUARIUM. By
Ida M. Mellen and Robert J, Lanier.
Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. 1935.
463 pages. $3.00. Comprehensive refer-
ence. Adult.

OUR NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR
CONSERVATION. By A. E. Parkins and
J. R. Whdtaker. John Wiley and Sons,
Inc., New York. 1936. 650 pages. $4.00.
A balanced, concrete view of the re-
sources and conservation problems of
the United States, composed of con-
tributions of twenty authors, each a
specialist in his particular field. Adult.

OUR PLANT AND ANIMAL NEIGHBORS. By
Frank B. Younger. C. C. Nelson Pub-
lishing Co., Appleton, Wis. 1929. 242
pages. $1.00. One of the few textbooks
on plant and animal life written from
the point of view of conservation.
Grades 7 and above.

OUT-OF-DOORS; A GUIDE TO NATURE. By
Paul B. Mann and George T. Hastings.
Henry Holt & Co., Inc., New York.
1932. 458 pages. $2.00 or $1.68. A con-
densed, general survey of plant life, of

865

animal life, and of earth and sky, con-
taining suggestions for activities and
for further reading. Grades 5 to 9.

THE OUTLINE OF SCIENCE. Edited by Sir
J. Arthur Thomson. G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York. One-volume edition,
1937. 1220 pages. $3.95. An older book,
but still valuable for its simple discus-
sions of many subjects and for its
abundant, excellent illustrations. The
author's The Outline of Natural His-
tory, one-volume edition, 1932, 700
pages, $5.00, is also valuable. Grade 6
and above.

THE POND BOOK. By W. P. Porter and
E. A. Hansen. American Book Co.,
New York. 1936. 216 pages. $.84. Sim-
ple, well-illustrated, accurate informa-
tion about pond life, including plants
and animals found in the water and
along the shores. Usable over mucV of
the United States. Grades 4 to 7.

SEA-BEACH AT EBB-TIDE. By Augusta F.
Arnold. D. Appleton-Century Co.,
Inc., New York. 1901. 490 pages. $5.00.
Classic reference for plant and animal
life. Adult.

THE SEA FOR SAM. By W. Maxwell Reed
and Wilfrid S. Bronson. Harcourt,
Brace & Co.r Inc., New York. 1935. 374
pages. $3.00. A carefully prepared, well-
illustrated reference on the sea and its
life. Grade 6 and above.

SMITHSONIAN SCIENTIFIC SERIES. By
Charles G. Abbot, editor-in-chief.
Smithsonian Institute Series, Inc.,
Smithsonian Institute, Washington,
D. C. 1929-1932. 12 volumes. $99.00,
patrons7 edition; leather memorial edi-
tion, $198.00. An excellent series,
treating all phases of science, written
for lay readers, by specialists in the
various fields. Adult.

THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE. By Jean-
Henri C. Fabre. D. Appleton-Century
Co., Inc., New York. 1919. 400 pages.
$2.50. True stories about plants, ani-
mals, planets, metals, and other sub-
jects, translated from the works of a
famous French scientist. Grade 6 and
above.

THE STORY BOOK OF THINGS WF, USE. By

866

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Maud F. and Miska Petersham. The
John C. Winston Co., Philadelphia.
1933. 128 pages. $2.00; or in four vol-
umes, $.60 each. Attractively illus-
trated, simple material on houses,
clothing, food and transportation.
Grades 3 to 5.

THE STORY OF EVOLUTION. By Benjamin
C. Gruenberg. Garden City Publishing
Co., Garden City, New York. 1929. 489
pages. $1.00 (Star books). Non-techni-
cal, authentic explanation of the sub-
ject and its influence on modern think-
ing. Adult.

TREES, STARS AND BIRDS. By Edwin L.
Moseley. World Book Co., Yonkers,
N. Y. Revised edition, 1935. 426 pages.
$1.60. Accurate information, written
simply, interspersed with frequent sug-
gestions for observations, and present-
ing the subject of conservation well.
Grade 6 and above.

WONDERS OF SCIENCE. Selected and ar-
ranged by Eva M. Tappan. Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston. 1927. 257 pages.

$1.00 (school edition). Thirty-five
short articles by various authors, about
many phases of science. Grade 7 and
above.

THE WONDERS OF THE SEA. By F. Martin
Duncan and L. T. Duncan. Oxford
University Press, New York. 1928-
1929. 6 volumes, 72 to 86 pages each.
$.40 or $.55 each. English books, useful
on the Atlantic Coast of America, pre-
senting abundantly illustrated material
on plants and animals of the sea. Grades
4 to 8.

Publications of various departments of
the United States Government, partic-
ularly of the Department of Agricul-
ture, contain much valuable informa-
tion on subjects covered by this book.
Much is also published by the States,
by other national governments, by col-
leges and universities, and by other
public and private agencies. Much of
this material is free or inexpensive. Lists
of available publications often may be
procured.

ESSAYS AND TRAVEL

ADVENTURES IN GREEN PLACES; GRAY
EAGLE; THE WAY OF THE WILD. All
by Herbert R. Sass. G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York. 1926, 1927, 1925. 293,
269, 321 pages. $3.50, $2.50, $2.50.
Studies of swamps and deltas of South
Carolina and of the wild life there. Age
11 and above.

BEYOND THE PASTURE BARS; HIGHLANDS
AND HOLLOWS; A WATCHER IN THE
WOODS. All by Dallas L. Sharp. D. Ap-
pleton-Century Co., Inc., New York.
1914, 1923, 1901. 160, 120, 205 pages.
$.85, $.75, $1.35 (student's edition,
$.50). Selections about animals, from
Sharp's delightful essays. Grade 6 and
above.

A BOOK LOVER'S HOLIDAYS IN THE OPEN.
By Theodore Roosevelt. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York. 1916. 373 pages.
$3.00. Other volumes of essays and
travels, by the same author, published

by Scribner, include: African Game
Trails, 1924, 583 pages, $6.00; Outdoor
Pastimes of an American Hunter, 1908,
409 pages, $3.00; Through the Brazilian
Wilderness, 1914, 383 pages, $3.00.
Adult.

THE BOOK OF A NATURALIST. By William
H. Hudson. E. P. Dutton & Co., New
York. 1919. 360 pages. $2.50. An Eng-
lish naturalist's accounts of simple
everyday things of nature. Other books
by the same author, published by Dut-
ton include: Birds in London, 1924,
339 pages, $2.50; Far Away and Long
Ago, 1924, 332 pages, $2.00; Hampshire
Days, 1923, 315 pages, $2.00; The Nat-
uralist in La Plata, 1922, 394 pages,
$3.00; and other titles. Adult.

CAMP FIRES IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES.
By William T. Hornaday. Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York. 1906. 353
pages. $5.00. Adventures, incidents of

BIBLIOGRAPHY

867

camp life and sketches of wild life.
Adult.

CAMPS AND CRUISES OF AN ORNITHOLO-
GIST; MY TROPICAL AIR CASTLE; LIFE
IN AN AIR CASTLE. All by Frank M.
Chapman. D. Appleton-Century Co.,
Inc., New York. 1908, 1929, 1938. 431,
417, 262 pages. $4.00, $3.50, $3.00. De-
lightful descriptions of experiences on
collecting trips for the American Mu-
seum of Natural History, and with trop-
ical wild life on Barro Colorado, an
island in the Panama Canal Zone.
Adult.

THE CLERK OF THE WOODS; A FLORIDA
SKETCHBOOK; FOOTING IT IN FRANCO-
NIA. All by Bradford Torrey. Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston. 1893, 1924, 1901.
280, 242, 251 pages. $2.00 each. Enter-
taining essays by a naturalist whose
chief interest was perhaps in bird life.
Adult.

THE COMPLEAT ANGLER. By Izaak Wal-
ton and Charles Cotton. E. P. Button
& Co., New York. 1925. 215 pages. $.90
or $1.00 (Everyman's Library), Ameri-
can edition, $10.00. Classic essays on
fish, fishing, and other subjects. Adult.

DWELLERS OF THE SILENCES. By Alexan-
der Sprunt, Jr. Dodd, Mead & Co.,
New York. 1928-1931. 345 pages.
$2.50. Fascinating stories of wild life,
especially birds, in the Carolina low
country. Age 12 and above.

ENDS OF THE EARTH. By Roy Chapman
Andrews. Garden City Publishing Co.,
Garden City, N. Y. 1929. 299 pages.
$1.00. A thrilling tale of ten years spent
on whaling ships. Adult.

EXPLORING FOR PLANTS. By David G.
Fairchild. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1930. 591 pages. $3.50. Accounts
of experiences in many lands, in search
of plants which could be introduced in
the United States. Adult.

EXPLORING WITH BEEBE: Selections for
Younger Readers from the Writings of
William Beebe. G. P. Putnam's Sons,
New York. 1932. 213 pages. $2.50.
Other popular accounts of scientific ex-
peditions to many lands and seas, by
the same author, published by Putnam,

include: The Arcturus Adventure,
1928, 439 pages, $7.50; Beneath Tropic
Seas, 1929, 234 pages, $3.50; Galapagos,
World's End, 1928, 443 pages, $6.00;
Pheasant Jungles, 1927, 248 pages,
$3.00. Grade 6 and above. Beneath
Tropic Seas is also published in a $1.59
edition, by Blue Ribbon Books, Inc.,
New York.

THE FACE OF THE FIELDS. By Dallas L.
Sharp. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
1911. 260 pages. $2.00. Other volumes
of Sharp's delightful essays on nature
subjects, also published by Houghton
Mifflin, include: The Lay of the Land,
1908, 214 pages; The Hills of Hingham,
1916, 221 pages; Roof and Meadow,
1904, 281 pages; Where Rolls the Ore-
gon, 1914; $2.00 each. Adult.

THE FALL OF THE YEAR; WINTER; THE
SPRING OF THE YEAR; SUMMER (Nature
Series, Books i, 2, 3, and 4) . By Dallas
L. Sharp. Houghton Mifflin Co., Bos-
ton. 1911, 1912, 1909, 1914. 126, 148,
148, 132 pages. $1.12 each. Collections
of Sharp's delightful essays, arranged
for supplementary reading in grade 6
and above.

FIELD AND HEDGEROW; THE STORY OF
MY HEART. Both by Richard Jefferies.
Longmans, Green & Co., New York.
1890, 1896. 331, 206 pages. $2.40, $1.40.
The first consists of enjoyable sketches
about familiar things, by an English
literary artist; the second is autobio-
graphical. Adult.

FISHERMAN'S LUCK; LITTLE RIVERS. Both
by Henry Van Dyke. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York. 1920, 1920, (New edi-
tions). 256, 290 pages. Leather, $3.50,
cloth, $3.00 each. A nature lover's
thoughts, experiences and reminis-
cences. Also published by Scribner's
are the author's Days Off, 1920, 293
pages; The Blue Flower, 1920, 271
pages; leather, $3.50, cloth, $3.00 each;
all four books also in the Sylvanora edi-
tion, $1.50 each. Adult.

FRESH FIELDS. By John Burroughs.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1895.
284 pages. $2.25. A collection of charm-
ing essays by a famous nature writer.

868

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The twenty-three volumes of Bur-
roughs' Works include also: Leaf and
Tendril, 1908, 288 pages; Locusts and
Wild Honey, 1907, 235 pages; Signs
and Seasons, 1886, 271 pages; Wake
Robin, 1899, 233 pages; Ways of Na-
ture, 1905, 279 pages; Winter Sun-
shine, 1875, 241 pages. $2.25 each.
Adult. The Riverside Literature Series,
Hough ton Mifflin Co., includes several
collections of Burroughs7 writings, se-
lected for readers of grade 7 and above,
at $.32 or $.48.

GLIMPSES INTO THE WORLD OF SCIENCE.
By Mary G. Phillips and William H.
Geisler. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
1929. 337 pages. $.80. Sketches drawn
partly from the writings of eminent
scientists of many fields. Adult.

THE GRAND CANYON OF THE COLORADO;
THE DESERT. Both by John C. Van
Dyke. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1920, 1918. 218, 233 pages. $2.50,
$3.00. Studies in " Natural Appear-
ances " by a professor of the history of
art. Adult.

GREEN MOUNTAINS TO SIERRAS. By
Zephine Humphrey. E. P. Dutton &
Co., Inc., New York. 1936. 253 pages.
$2.50. A unique, American travel book.
Adult.

HALF-MILE DOWN. By William Beebe.
Harcourt, Brace & Co., Inc., New York.
1934. S^B Pages- $5.00. Good reading
about the author's deep-sea diving ad-
ventures, especially the descent in the
bathysphere during the summer of
1934. Adult.

HAPPY NATURE ADVENTURES. By Mary C.
Butler. Dorrance & Co., Philadelphia.
1937. 113 pages. $1.25. A small volume
of short essays on various subjects.
Adult.

HUNTING WILD LIFE WITH CAMERA AND
FLASHLIGHT. By George Shiras, 3rd.
National Geographic Society, Wash-
ington, D. C. 1935. 2 volumes, 471, 458
pages. $5.00. A beautifully illustrated
record of sixty-five years' visits to the
woods and waters of North America.
Adult.
JUNGLE ISLAND. By W. C. Allee and M. H.

Alice. Rand, McNally Co., Chicago,
1925. 215 pages. $.88. A well-illus-
trated, interesting account of the ani-
mal life on a small tropical island in
Gatun Lake. Grades 6 to 8.

JUNGLE PORTRAITS. By Mrs. Delia J. Ake-
ley. Robert M. McBride & Co., New
York. 1930. 251 pages. $1.75. Chron-
icles of experiences on collecting trips
in Africa. Adult.

THE LAND OF LITTLE RAIN. By Mary
Austin. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
1903. 281 pages. $3.00. Charmingly
written essays, by an author who has
written much about the southwestern
United States. Adult.

LOG OF THE SUN; JUNGLE PEACE. Both by
William Beebe. Henry Holt & Co.,
Inc., New York. 1926, 1928. 321, 297
pages. $2.50 each. Popular accounts of
scientific expeditions. Adult.

THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA; THE
YOSEMITE. Both by John Muir. D. Ap-
pleton-Century Co., Inc., New York.
1911, 1912. 389, 284 pages. $3.50, $4.00.
Well-told, interesting accounts of the
exploring trips of a renowned natural
scientist. Adult.

MY FIRST SUMMER IN THE SIERRAS. By
John Muir. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston. 1911. 354 pages. $3.50. Inter-
esting accounts of the exploring trips
of a well-known natural scientist. Other
books by the same author, published
by Houghton Mifflin, include: Travels
in Alaska, 1915, 326 pages; Steep Trails,
1918, 390 pages; The Cruise of the Cor-
win, 1917, 278 pages; A Thousand Mile
Walk to the Gulf, 1916, 219 pages; each
$3.00. Adult.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. By
Gilbert White. E. P. Dutton & Co.,
New York. 1912. 255 pages. $.90 or
$1.00 (Everyman's Library); American
edition, $10.00; Kings' Treasuries of
Literature, $.50. Interesting and accu-
rate observations of a famous i8th cen-
tury English naturalist. Adult.

NATURE RAMBLES: AN INTRODUCTION TO
COUNTRY LORE, SPRING, SUMMER, AU-
TUMN, WINTER. By Oliver P. Medsger.
Frederick Warne & Co., New York,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1, 1932. Four volumes, 160 pages
each. $2.00 each. Informal talks to the
reader, in which the author points out
interesting things to see, particularly in
northeastern United States. Grade 6
and above.

OUR NATIONAL PARKS. By John Muir.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1909.
382 pages. $3.50, or $4.00 with 32 views
and maps. Muir's plea for appreciation
and conservation of national parks.
Adult.

OUR WONDERFUL WORLD. By Frances J.
Olcott. Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
1935. 320 pages. $2.50. 130 stories and
articles, written by various authors,
many of them well-known scientists.
Grade 7 and above.

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK.
By Enos A. Mills. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston. New edition, 1932. 262
pages. $2.50. The story of Estes Park
and its discovery and development.
Other books about the Rocky Moun-
tain region, by the same author, also
published by Houghton Mifflin Co., in-
clude: Wild Life in the Rockies, 1909,
263 pages, $2.50; The Rocky Mountain
Wonderland, 1915, 362 pages, $2.50;
The Spell of the Rockies, 1911, 355
pages, $3.00; Waiting in the Wilder-
ness, 1932, 254 pages, $2.50; Romance
of Geology, 1932, 245 pages, $2.50;
Bird Memories of the Rockies, 1931,
263 pages, $2.50; Adventures of a Na-
ture Guide, 1932, 271 pages, $2.50.
Adult.

SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! By Dallas L.
Sharp. Harper & Brothers, New York.
1926. 227 pages. $2.50. A plea for ap-
preciation of wild life. Adult.

SCIENCE IN LITERATURE. Edited by Fred-
erick H. Law. Harper & Brothers, New
York. 1929. 364 pages. $1.20. A series
of essays, by many authors, covering
many fields of science. Each essay is
preceded by a brief biography of the
author, and followed by a list of books
for further reading. Grade 6 and above.

TALES FROM NATURE'S WONDERLANDS.

By William T. Hornaday. Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York. 1924. 235
pages. $2.50. Tales of strange phenom-
ena, of the habits of little known ani-
mals, and of queer corners of the earth,
by the former director of the New York
Zoological Park. Grade 7 and above.

THROUGH THE WOODS; THE ENGLISH
WOODLAND — APRIL TO APRIL. By
Herbert E. Bates. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1936. 141 pages. $3.00. A
discourse illustrated with attractive
wood engravings. Adult.

VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE. By Charles Dar-
win. E, P. Button & Co., Inc., New
York. 1920. 496 pages. $.90 (Every-
man's Library). An epoch-making ac-
count of a naturalist's explorations.
Adult.

WALDEN. By Henry David Thoreau,
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1893.
522 pages, $2.50. One of the best-
known volumes of Thoreau's works.
Others, published by Houghton Mif-
flin, include: Cape Cod, 1914, 336
pages; The Maine Woods, 1892, 328
pages; A Week on the Concord and
Merrimack Rivers, 1894, 530 pages;
Early Spring in Massachusetts, 1881,
318 pages; Summer, 1884, 3&2 Pages?
Autumn, 1892, 470 pages; Winter,
1888, 439 pages; each $2.50. Adult.
Walden is also published, in a dollar
edition, by Grosset & Dunlap, New
York.

WHALE HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAM-
ERA. By Roy Chapman Andrews. D. Ap-
pleton-Century Co., Inc., New York.
1926. 333 pages. $5.00. An interesting
account of the author's experiences.
Adult.

WILD HONEY. By Samuel Scoville, Jr.
Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1929. 203
pages. $3.00. Experiences with wild
folk, entertainingly told. Adult.

YOUR NATIONAL PARJKS. By Enos A. Mills.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1917,
431 pages. $3.00. A well-written plea
for preservation of natural wonder-
lands. Adult.

8yo

BIBLIOGRAPHY

POETRY

BIRD AND BOUGH. By John Burroughs.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1906.
70 pages. $1.50. A volume of poems by
a famous writer-naturalist. Adult.

THE BIRD-LOVER'S ANTHOLOGY. Edited by
Jessie B. Rittenhouse and Clinton Scol-
lard. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
1930. 299 pages. $2.00. An attractive
collection of poems.

CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSE. By Robert
Louis Stevenson. Various editions, at
different prices, are available from sev-
eral publishers, among them Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York, John C.
Winston Co., Philadelphia, M. A.
Donohue & Co., Chicago. Favorite
poems of children. .Grade 4 and above.

HIGH TIDE; THE MELODY OF EARTH; STAR
POINTS. All arranged by Mrs. Waldo
Richards. Houghton Mifflin Co., Bos-
ton. 1916, 1918, 1921. 206, 295, 229
pages. Cloth, $2.00; leather, $2.75 each.
Anthologies containing many worth-
while nature poems. Adult.

THE NATURE LOVER'S KNAPSACK. By Ed-
win O. Grover. Thomas Y. Crowell
Co., New York. 1927. 304 pages. $2.50.
A pleasing anthology. Grade 8 and
above.

POEMS OF SCIENCE. By William Pallister.
Playford Press, New York. 1931. 248
pages. $2.50-53.50. A collection of
original poems designed to encourage
appreciation of the beauty as well as of
the usefulness of science. Adult.

POETRY'S PLEA FOR ANIMALS. By Frances
E. Clarke. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.,
New York. 1927. 426 pages. $3.00.
"An anthology of justice and mercy

for our kindred in fur and feathers."
Grade 7 and above.

THE POSY RING. By Kate Douglas Wig-
gin and Nora Archibald Smith. Hough-
ton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1903. 297
pages. $1.10. A collection of poems for
children.

SILVER PENNIES. By Blanche J. Thomp-
son. The Macmillan Co., New York.
1925. 138 pages. $.88. A collection of
poems, many of them nature poems,
for children of the first six grades.

SONGS OF SUMMER; GREEN FIELDS AND
RUNNING BROOKS; RHYMES OF CHILD-
HOOD. All by James Whitcomb Riley.
Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, Ind.
1908, 1895, 1891. 189, 224, 186 pages.
$1.00, $2.00, $2.00. Many of this poet's
nature poems appeal to children of
grades 5 to 8.

UNDER THE TENT OF THE SKY. Selected
by John E. Brewton. The Macmillan
Co., New York. 1937. 221 pages. $2.00.
A collection of poems about animals,
including new verses as well as many
old favorites. Ages 6 to 14.

Well-known nature poems will be found
in the collected poems of these and
other poets, among them Elizabeth
Barrett Browning, William Cullen
Bryant, Rupert Brooke, Robert Burns,
Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emer-
son, Jean Ingelow, Sidney Lanier, Lucy
Larcom, Henry Wadsworth LongfeL
low, James Russell Lowell, Alfred Ten^
nyson, Henry Van Dyke, John Green-
leaf Whittier, and Walt Whitman.
Various editions, from many publish-*

ers.

HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY

ADVENTURES IN BIRD PROTECTION; AN AU-
TOBIOGRAPHY. By T. Gilbert Pearson.
D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New

York. 1937. 473 Pages. $3.50. Written
by one of the founders of the National
Association of Audubon Societies, who

BIBLIOGRAPHY

871

for thirty-five years has been working
for bird conservation and protection.
Adult.

AMERICAN INVENTORS; AMERICAN SCIEN-
TISTS. Both by Clarence J. Hylander.
The Macmillan Co., New York. 1934,

1935. 231, 199 pages. $2.00 each. Brief
biographies of nineteen inventors and
twenty-six scientists. Grades 6 to 8.

AMERICAN NATURISTS. By Henry C.
Tracy. E. P. Button & Co., New York.
1930. 282 pages. $3.00. Stimulating
sketches of a group of American stu-
dents and writers of nature. Adult.

BUILDERS OF EMPIRE. By Floyd L. Dar-
row. Longmans, Green & Co., New
York. 1930. 303 pages. $2.00. Short ac-
counts of many men whose achieve-
ments have helped to build American
civilization. Grades 6 to 8.

AUDUBON. By Constance Rourke. Har-
court, Brace & Co., Inc., New York.

1936. 342 pages. $3.00. An abundantly
illustrated, interesting biography.
Adult.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A BIRD LOVER. By
Frank M. Chapman. D. Appleton-Cen-
tury Co., Inc., New York. 1933. 433
pages. $3.75. A famous American orni-
thologist, curator of birds in the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History, tells
the story of his career and of his work.
Adult.

CHARLES DARWIN. By Gamaliel Bradford.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1926.
314 pages. $3.50. A pleasing, informal
account of the life of a great naturalist.
Adult.

FAMOUS MEN OF SCIENCE. By Mrs. Sarah
Knowles Bolton. Thomas Y. Crowell
Co., New York. Revised and enlarged
edition, 1938. 383 pages. $2.00. A group
of biographies, which have been re-
vised and reprinted several times.
Grades 7 to 10.

GREEN LAURELS. By Donald C. Peattie.
Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York.
1936. 368 pages. $375. A popular col-
lection of biographical sketches of great
naturalists. Adult.

HEROES OF SCIENCE. By Joseph Cottier
and Haym Jaffe. Little, Brown & Co.,

Boston. 1932. 205 pages. $.90. Biogra-
phies of nineteen heroes of pure sci-
ence, biology and medicine, part of the
authors' Heroes of Civilization. Grade
7 and above.

IMPRESSIONS OF GREAT NATURALISTS. By
Henry Fairfield Osborn. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York. 1928. 216 pages.
$2.50. A revised and enlarged edition of
an interesting group of biographical
sketches of great naturalists. Adult.

THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF CHARLES DAR-
WIN. Edited by Francis Darwin. D. Ap-
pleton-Century Co., Inc., New York.
1911. 2 volumes. $8.00. A detailed treat-
ment, including an autobiographical
chapter. Adult.

LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOHN MUIR. By Wil-
liam F. Bade. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston. 1924. 2 volumes, 454 pages.
$7.50. An interesting study of a famous
American natural scientist.

MADAME CURIE: A BIOGRAPHY. By Eve
Curie. Doubleday7 Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. 1937. 393 pages. $3.50.
A very popular account of the life of the
codiscoverer of radium, written by her
daughter. Grade 8 and above.

MEN WHO FOUND OUT. By Amabel Wil-
liams-Ellis. Coward, McCann, Inc.,
New York. 1930. 259 pages. $2.00. De-
lightful sketches of the lives and work
of a number of well-known scientists.
Grades 6 to 8.

MICROBE HUNTERS. By Paul de Kruif.
Harcourt, Brace & Co., Inc., New York.

1927. 363 pages. $3.50. One of the best-
known of the author's dramatically told
sketches of scientists and scientific dis-
coveries. Others, also published by Har-
court, Brace, are: Hunger Fighters,

1928, 376 pages, $3.50; Men Against
Death, 1932, 363 pages, $1.49; Why
Keep Them Alive? 1936, 293 pages,
$1.49; The Fight for Life, 1938, 342
pages, $3.00. Adult.

THE STORY OF MY BOYHOOD AND YOUTH.
By John Muir. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston. 1913. 293 pages. $3.00. An
interesting autobiography, selected
chapters of which are published by
Houghton Mifflin, under the title, The

872

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boyhood of a Naturalist, 123 pages,
$.32, $.48. Grade 8 and above.
THE WORLD WAS MY GARDEN. By David
G. Fairchild. Charles Scribner's Sons,
New York. 1938. 508 pages. $3.75. The
autobiography of an American botanist,

who, for more than twenty years, was in
charge of the division of Foreign Plant
Exploration and Introduction of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture. Delightfully written and well
illustrated with photographs. AduJt.

TEXTBOOKS AND READERS

DICKY AND PEGGY IN THE ORCHARD. By
Margaret S. Young. American Book
Co., New York. 1936. 127 pages. $.68.
Pleasant nature stories, arranged sea-
sonally, with four colored plates illus-
trating plants and animals considered.
Grade i or 2.

DISCOVERING OUR WORLD. By Wilbur L.
Beauchamp, Mary Melrose and Glenn
O. Blough. Scott, Foresman & Co.,
Chicago. Book i, 1937, 288 pages, $.88;
Book 2, 1938, 352 pages, $.96; Book 3,
in preparation. Attractive, carefully
prepared books, arranged on the unit-
problem plan, designed for a course in
science for grades 4, 5, and 6, to follow
Science Stories, Books i, 2, and 3.

EASY EXPERIMENTS IN ELEMENTARY SCI-
ENCE. By Herbert McKay. Oxford Uni-
versity Press, New York. 1925. 144
pages. $.60. A practical little book for
use with young students. Grade 5 and
above.

ELEMENTARY SCIENCE BY GRADES. Edited
by Frank W. Ballou. D. Appleton-Cen-
tury Co.7 Inc. 1928-1933. 128-340
pages each. Books i, 2, 3, by Ellis C.
Persing and Elizabeth K. Peeples, re-
vised editions, $.72, $.72, $.80; Book 4,
by E. C. Persing and Edward E. Wild-
man, $.92; Book 5, by E. C. Persing and
C. L. Thiele, $.96; Book 6, by E. C.
Persing and John A. Hollinger, $1.00.
Usable and dependable material for
grades i to 6.

THE FIND OUT BOOKS. By Orange County
Teachers. University of North Carolina
Press, Chapel Hill, N. C. Volume i,
1934, volume 2, 1937. 1I2> *44 pages.
$.60, $.75. Readers, chiefly in the field
of biology, for grades i and 2.

FIRST LESSONS IN NATURE STUDY. By
Edith M. Patch. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. Revised edition, 1932. 303
pages. $1.20. Charmingly written, accu-
rate material about many common
plants and animals. Grades 3 and 4.

FIRST STEPS IN SCIENCE. By Herbert
McKay. Oxford University Press, New
York. 1929. 6 volumes, 64 pages each.
$.40 each. Simple experiments and ob-
servations are suggested in each of the
books: Rain in the Garden, Sound and
Noise, Candles and Lamps, The Air
and the Wind, Looking Glasses, and
The Sun and tlie Moon. Grades 4 to 6.

HANDBOOK OF FARMING FOR BOYS AND
GIRLS. By Richard A. Power and Vin-
cent E. Kivlin. E. M. Hale & Co., Mil-
waukee, Wis. 1937. 684 pages. $2.00.
A textbook on farm life and work, ar-
ranged according to the seasons. Grade
7 and above.

MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY (Living in
a World of Science Series) . By Morris
Meister. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. One of a set of 4 volumes, 1929-
1935. 210~238 pages each. $1.12 each,
or bound in two volumes, $1.40 each.
Valuable and practical information and
suggestions for study. Other volumes in
the series are: Water and Air; Heat and
Health; Energy and Power. Grades 7
and 8, and teachers of elementary
grades.

MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY (Science
Related to Life Series, Book 3). By
Frank Reh. American Book Co., New
York. 1932. 188 pages. $.64. Three addi-
tional volumes, Water, Air and Sound;
Heat and Health; Light, Forces and
Machines, complete this simple useful

BIBLIOGRAPHY

873

series, available in two volumes at $.96
and $1.00, or in four at $.64 each.
Grades 5 to 8.

MOTHER NATURE SERIES. Book i, Baby
Animals; Book 2, By the Roadside;
Book 3, In Field and Forest. By Fannie
W. Dunn and Eleanor Troxell. Row,
Peterson Co., Evanston, 111. 1928. 160,
256, 288 pages. $.68, $.76, $.80. Stories,
chiefly of animal life. Grades 2, 3, and 4.

NATURE AND SCIENCE READERS. By Edith
M. Patch and Harrison E. Howe. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1932-1935.
6 books: Book i, Hunting, 169 pages,
$.72; Book 2, Outdoor Visits, 223 pages,
$.72; Book 3, Surprises, 320 pages, $.76;
Book 4, Through Four Seasons, 345
pages, $.76; Book 5, Science at Home,
464 pages, $.80; Book 6, Worlc of Sci-
entists, 496 pages, $.80. A carefully pre-
pared, accurate series, in which the first
books are predominantly biological, but
the books for higher grades introduce
a considerable amount of interestingly
organized physical science. Grades i
to 6.

NATURE — BY SEASIDE AND WAYSIDE. By
Mary G. Phillips and Julia M. Wright.
D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. 1936. 4
books: Book i, Some Animals and
Their Homes, 151 pages, $.64; Book 2,
Some Animal Neighbors, 196 pages,
$.68; Book 3, Plants and Animals, 252
pages, $.72; Book 4, Our Earth and Its
Life, 288 pages, $.76. A revised series,
dealing chiefly with biological science.
Grades 2 to 6.

THE NATURE HOUR. By Lucile Nicol,
S. M. Levenson, and Teressa Kahn.
Silver, Burdett & Co., New York. 1935.
4 volumes, two for fifth year and two
for sixth year, 118, 114, 132, 134 pages.
5th year, $.76 each; 6th year, $.80 each.
Much worthwhile material in the field
of biology, and considerable emphasis
on conservation. Grades 5 and 6.

NATURE IN AGRICULTURE. By Walter L,
Conway, Harry N. Kauffman, and Wil-
liam H. Lancelot. Webb Publishing
Co., St. Paul, Minn. 1928. 256 pages.
$1.20. Elementary school agriculture.
Grade 6 and above.

NATURE SCIENCE SERIES. By G. Clyde
Fisher and Marion L. Langham. Noble
and Noble, Publishers, Inc., New York.
1934-1936. Six books: Our Pets, 221
pages; On the Farm, 233 pages; World
of Nature, 210 pages; Ways of the Wild
Folk, 251 pages; Our Wonder World,
245 pages; In Field and Garden, 246
pages. $.96 each. A set of nature read-
ers for grades i to 6, combining infor-
mational material about plants and ani-
mals with myths and poems.

NATURE STORIES FOR CHILDREN. Books
i and 2, by Nora Albright and Jennie
Hall, 1927, 96 pages each, $.72 each;
Autumn and Spring, by Eva L. Gordon
and Jennie Hall, 1926, 1927, 90, 88
pages, $.72 each; Elementary Science,
by Grace Holtz and Jennie Hall, 1930,
160 pages, $.80. Mentzer-Bush & Co.,
Chicago. The first four books, for
grades i and 2, are based on actual field
and classroom experiences; the last, for
grade 3, contains stories of the ways in
which living things make use of the
world about them.

NATURE STUDY AND HEALTH EDUCATION.
By Alice Jean Patterson. McKnight
and McKnight, Bloomington, 111.
Grades i and 2 (teacher's text), 1928,
164 pages, $.80; grade 3, 1928, 184
pages, $.60; grade 4, 1927, 131 pages,
$.60; grade 5, 1926, 192 pages, $.70;
grade 6, 1927, 224 pages, $.80. Work-
books, grade 3, 1928, 96 pages, $.40;
grade 4, 1926, 80 pages, $.40; grade 5,
1926, 78 pages, $.40; grade 6, 1927, 96
pages, $.40. Science for the Junior
High School (text), 1929, 360 pages,
$1.40, grades 7 and 8. Sane, well-
planned course.

NATURE STUDY AND SCIENCE. By Gilbert
H. Trafton. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1927. 393 pages. $1.20. A text-
book, arranged on a seasonal plan, pre-
senting simple information, and outlin-
ing 170 projects, some for individual
and some for group work. Grades 4 to 6,

OUR ANIMAL BOOKS. Edited by Frances
E. Clarke. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
1937. 7 books: Primer, Fuzzy Tail, by
A. Sondergaard, 139 pages, $.72; Book

874

BIBLIOGRAPHY

i, Sniff, by J. S. Tippett and M. Tip-
pett, 190 pages, $.80; Book 2, Pets and
Friends, by E. Myers, 192 pages, $.84;
Book 3, The Pet Club, by K. Masters,
230 pages, $.92; Book 4, On Charlie
Clarice's Farm, by K. Keelor, 202 pages,
$.72; Book 5, Our Town and City Ani-
mals, by F. Clarke and K. Keelor, 224
pages, $.76; Book 6, Paths to Conserva-
tion, by J. S. Tippett, 311 pages, $.88.
An interesting series in humane educa-
tion. Grades i to 6.

OUR FARM BABIES; OTHER FARM BABIES.
By Oliver S. Hamer and Anna M.
Hamer. McKnight & McKnight,
Bloomington, 111. 1934. 133, 136 pages.
$.80 each. Supplementary readers,
which present much information about
common domestic and wild animals of
farms. Grades 2 to 3.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES. By Albert E.
Shirling. World Book Co., Yonkers,
N. Y. 1928. 250 pages. $1.08. Accurate
supplementary reader.

PATHWAYS IN SCIENCE. By Gerald S.
Craig and Co-authors. Ginn & Co.7
Boston. 1932-1933. 194-462 pages
each. Book i, We Look About Us,
$.72; Book 2, Out of Doors, $.80; Book
3, Our Wide, Wide World, $.80;
Book 4, The Earth and Living Things,
• $.80; Book 5, Learning About Our
World, $.84; Book 6, Our Earth and Its
Story, $.84. A series containing much
good material in many fields. Teachers'
manual with each book. Grades i to 6.

SCIENCE STORIES. By Wilbur L. Beau-
champ and Others. Scott, Foresman &

Co., Chicago. Book i, by W. L. Beau-
champ, Gertrude Cramp ton and W. S.
Gray, 1933, 144 pages, $.64; Books 2
and 3, by W. L. Beauchamp, Harriet
M. Fogg, Gertrude Crampton and
W. S. Gray, 1935, 1936, 176, 256 pages,
$.72, $.80; Teacher's Guidebook, $.28.
Excellently planned and well-written
material in both physical and biologi-
cal science. Attractive in makeup and
illustration, and designed to prompt
and direct much child activity. Grades
i to 3, to precede Discovering Our
World.

SCIENTIFIC LIVING SERIES. By George W.
Frasier and Helen Dolman. L. W,
Singer Co., Syracuse, N. Y. 1937, 1938.
We See (Pre-Primer), 32 pages, $.20;
Sunshine and Rain (Primer), 64 pages,
$.60; Through the Year (Book i), 156
pages, $.72; Winter Comes and Goes
(Book 2), 224 pages, $.84. Exception-
ally attractive in makeup and illustra-
tion, with content closely related to
child experiences. Grades i and 2.

STORIES OF OUTDOOR SCIENCE. By Lewis
M. Dougan. Lyons & Carnahan, Chi^
cago. 1933. 376 pages. $.80. An intro-
duction to science for children of the
Mississippi Valley. Grades 5 to 7.

UNIT STUDY BOOKS. By various authors.
American Education Press, Inc., Co-
lumbus, Ohio. 1934-1936. 36 pages
each. $.10 each. Factual material in
science and social science, graded for
use in grades i to 6 or 7, fifteen or more
pamphlets on different topics for each
grade.

BOOKS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS

CHILD AND UNIVERSE. By Bertha Stevens.
Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc., New York.
1931. 249 pages. $3.75. A beautifully
illustrated book which presents some
interesting ideas for teaching small
children about the universe. Adult.

THE DOORWAY TO NATURE. By Raymond
T. Fuller. Reynal & Hitchcock, New

York. 1931. 284 pages. $2.50. A pleas-
antly written book suggesting nature
explorations near home. Adult.

NATURE STUDY AND LIFE. By Clifton F.
Hodge. Ginn & Co., Boston. 1902. 514
pages. $2.40. A long used reference for
teachers. Adult.

OUR LIVING WORLD. By Elliot R. Down-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

875

Ing. Longmans, Green and Co., New
York. 1928. 494 pages. $2.00. Both this
and the author's Guide in Biological
Nature Study, 1924, 120 pages, $1.80,
contain helpful material in content
and method, as does the author's Our
Physical World, 1925, 367 pages, $2.00.
Adult.

PRACTICAL NATURE STUDY AND ELEMEN-
TARY AGRICULTURE. By J. M. Coulter
and Alice }. Patterson. D. Appleton-
Century Co., Inc., New York. 1909.
354 pages. $1.60. A manual for teachers
and normal school students.

A PROGRAM FOR TEACHING SCIENCE. By
the Committee on Science Teaching,
National Society for the Study of Edu-
cation. Thirty-first Yearbook, Part I.
Public School Publishing Co., Bloom-
ington, 111. 1932. 370 pages. Cloth,
$2,50, paper, $1.75. Suggestions and

materials for a twelve-year program in
science. Adult.

SCIENCE IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. By
W. C. Croxton. McGraw-Hill Book
Co., Inc., New York. 1937. 466 pages.
$3.00. Discussion of such topics as the
aims, the method, and the place of ele-
mentary science, and about 300 pages
of concrete suggestions for an activity
program. Adult.

SCIENCE IN THE NEW EDUCATION. By S. R.
Slavson and R. K. Speer. Prentice-Hall,
Inc., New York. 1934. 396 pages. $2.50.
An extensive treatment applied to the
elementary school. Adult.

THE STUDY OF NATURE. By Alice Jean
Patterson. Public School Publishing
Co., Bloomington, 111. 1923. 238 pages.
$.90. Graded lessons in nature study
and health for the first six grades.
Adult.

MAGAZINES AND PERIODICALS

AMERICAN FORESTS. Published by the
American Forestry Association, Wash-
ington, D. C. Monthly. $4.00 a year.
Well-illustrated magazine, emphasiz-
ing forests and forest life, but present-
ing some related material.

BIRD LORE. Published by the National
Association of Audubon Societies,
1006 Fifth Ave., New York. Bi-
monthly. $1.50 a year in the United
States, $175 foreign. Well-illustrated
articles on birds, with suggestions for
bird study.

CORNELL RURAL SCHOOL LEAFLETS. Pre-
pared and supervised by E. Laurence
Palmer. New York State College of
Agriculture at Cornell University,
Ithaca, N. Y. Four issues a year: Janu-
ary, March, September, November.
$.50 a year; teachers' number (Septem-
ber), $.20; children's numbers, $.10
each. Each of the children's numbers
deals with a phase of biological or
physical science; the teachers' numbers
emphasize applications to school situa-

tions and articles of general interest.
Illustrated. Useful to elementary teach-
ers, and for students above grade 3.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE. Pub-
lished by the National Geographic
Society, Washington, D. C. Monthly.
$3.50 a year. Abundantly and beauti-
fully illustrated material, much of it in
the field of natural science.

NATURAL HISTORY. Published by the
American Museum of Natural History,
79th St. and Central Park W., New
York. Monthly except July and August.
$3.00 a year. Well-illustrated records of
the Museum's expeditions, and other
articles of interest to students of natural
history. The museum also publishes
Junior Natural History, monthly, $1.00
a year.

NATURE MAGAZINE. Published by the
American Nature Association, Wash-
ington, D. C. Monthly. $3.00 a year.
Beautifully illustrated articles of gen-
eral interest, in many fields of natural
history. The American Nature Asso-

8y6

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ciation publishes, also, bulletins con-
cerning conservation, nature education
and related subjects, and serves as a
source of varied information for teach-
ers and students of nature study and for
those who desire camp experience.

SCIENCE DIGEST. Published by Science
Digest, Inc., 631-643 St. Clair St., Chi-
cago. Monthly. $2.50 a year. Similar in
makeup to the Readers' Digest, but
presenting " the pertinent news of all
branches of science/'

SCIENCE GUIDE FOR ELEMENTARY
SCHOOLS. Published by the California
State Department of Education.
Monthly except June and July. $1.25 a

year, single copies $.15 each. Obtain-
able from the Division of Textbooks
and Publications, California State De-
partment of Education, Sacramento.
These pamphlets discuss many groups
of living things and various phases of
physical science, combining content
and suggestions for study. They are
particularly helpful for West Coast
schools, but many general numbers
could be used anywhere. Illustrated.
SCIENCE NEWS LETTER. Published by Sci-
ence Service, Inc., 2101 Constitution
Ave., Washington, D. C. Weekly.
$5.00 a year. Short articles, presenting a
summary of current science.

ANIMAL LIFE

ANIMALS IN GENERAL

ALL ABOUT PETS. By Margery Bianco.
The Macmillan Co.7 New York. 1929.
134 pages. $2.00. Information and
stories about pet animals, with direc-
tions for caring for them. In More
About Animals, 1934, 127 pages, $1.75,
the author tells twelve more stories
about pet animals. Grades 5 to 7.

THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY. By
William T. Hornaday. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York. New edition,
1935. 474 pages. $5.00. Useful informa-
tion about mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians and fishes. Grade 7 and
above. Other books about animals, by
the same author, published by Scrib-
ner's, are: A Wild- Animal Roundup,
1925, 372 pages, $5.00 (stories of the
past and present); and The Minds and
Manners of Wild Animals, 1922, 328
pages, $2.50.

ANIMAL FRIENDS STORY BOOK. By Watty
Piper. Platt & Munk Co., New York.
1927-1935. 88 pages. $2.00. Simple
stories, with large illustrations, partly
in color, of several kinds of domestic
animals. Grades 2 to 3.

ANIMAL HEROES. By Ernest T. Seton.
Grosset & Dunlap, New York. 1905.
362 pages. $1.00. Stories of animal life,
based on actual happenings. Grade 6
and above.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. The Orthovis
Co., Chicago. 1933. Unpaged. $2.00.
Pictures of animal groups from the
Field Museum in Chicago, with de-
scriptive text. The pictures have a
three-dimensional appearance when
viewed through an orthoscope, which
comes with the book. The Footprint
Series, Sets i and 2, 1934-1935, four
1 6-page volumes each, $1.00 each, are
similar. All grades.

ANIMAL SECRETS TOLD. By Harry C.
Brearley. F. A. Stokes Co., New York.
1911. 274 pages. $2.50. Brief explana-
tions of animal structures under such
headings as eyes, ears, noses and claws.
Grade 6 and above.

ANIMALS IN BLACK AND WHITE. By Eric
F. Daglish. William Morrow & Co.,
New York. 1938. 255 pages. $2.50. A
one-volume edition of an English series
illustrating and describing mammals,
birds, reptiles and fish from many parts
of the world. Grade 4 and above.

AT THE Zoo. By Captain R. Cheyne-
Stout. Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., New
York. 1937. 56 pages. $2.00. A unique
book combining brief descriptions of
about forty animals with stereoscopic
pictures, to be viewed through a
device contained in the book. All
grades.

AT THE Zoo. By Arthur O. Cooke. Platt
& Munk Co., New York. 1935. 152
pages. $1.25. A large book, describing
and illustrating forty zoo animals,
mostly mammals. Grades 4 to 6.

BABY ANIMALS ON THE FARM. By Kate E.
Agnew and Margaret Coble. World
Book Co., Yonkers, N. Y. 1933. 153
pages. $.76. Experiences of a boy and
girl, with kittens, puppies and other
baby animals. Grade i.

BACKYARD EXPLORATION. By Paul G.
Howes. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. New edition, 1935. 227
pages. $3.00. A volume of information
about common living things other than
birds and mammals, well illustrated.
Adults and older children.

BIRD AND ANIMAL PAINTINGS. By R. Bruce
Horsfall. Nature Magazine, Washing-
ton, D. C. 1928. 58 pages. Cloth, $1.50.
168 colored pictures of birds, mammals

8y8

and insects, with notes on their life
history. All grades.

THE BOOK ABOUT ANIMALS. Frederick
Warne & Co., New York. 1933. 100
pages. $2.00. Attractive large book,
illustrated with twelve color plates and
many excellent photographs of both
native and exotic birds and mammals.
Simple text. Grades 3 to 4.

THE BOOK OF WILD PETS. By Clifford
B. Moore. G. P. Putnam's. Sons, New
York. 1937. 553 pages. $5.00. A com-
prehensive and well-illustrated book on
the care, feeding and habits of many
kinds of animals in captivity. In
five parts: the terrarium, the aquar-
ium, insects and spiders, mammals,
and birds, each with a bibliography.
Adult.

A CHILD'S STORY OF THE ANIMAL WORLD.
By Edward G. Huey. Reynal & Hitch-
cock, Inc., New York. 193^ 355 pages.
$3.50. A survey of the chief groups of
animals, emphasizing the vertebrates.
Grades 5 to 8.

COMMON PESTS. By Rennie W. Doane.
Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, 111.
1931. 397 pages. $4.00. Essential facts
about and suggestions for control of
many kinds of pests. Adult.

DENIZENS OF THE MOUNTAINS. By Ed-
mund C. Jaeger. Charles C. Thomas,
Springfield, 111. 1930. 168 pages. $2.00.
Authentic life history sketches of some
of the more familiar and interesting
mammals and birds. Grade 6 and
above. The author's Denizens of the
Desert, 1922, 299 pages, $3.00, pub-
lished by Houghton Mifflin Co., Bos-
ton, is similar in its scope.

FARM ANIMALS; WILD ANIMALS. Both by
James G. Lawson. Rand, McNally &
Co., Chicago. 1935. 64 pages each. $.10
each. Photographs and descriptions of
one hundred important animals are
contained in each book. Grade 5.

FIELD BOOK OF ANIMAL LIFE IN WINTER.
By Ann H. Morgan G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York. 1939. 416 pages.
$3.50. A well-illustrated guide to a most
interesting field of study, by the author
of the Field Boole of Ponds and

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Streams. Adult, but younger students
can use it.

HAND BOOK FOR THE CURIOUS. By Paul G.
Howes. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New
York. 1936. 372 pages. $3.75. An
abundantly illustrated, helpful source
of information about many animals of
eastern United States, covering the
principal groups except the protozoans,
the birds, and the mammals. Grade 6
and above.

IN THE Zoo. By W. Reid Blair. Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York. 1929. 195
pages. $2.50. This book discusses how
animals are cared for and fed in the
zoo, and includes many anecdotes.
Written by the Director of the New
York Zoological Park, and illustrated
with photographs, it will interest read-
ers of many ages.

LIVES OF THE HUNTED. By Ernest T.
Seton. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1901. 360 pages. $2.50. This and
other stories by the same author are
interesting portrayals of wild animal
life. Grade 6 and above.

A MANUAL OF LAND AND FRESH WATER
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF THE UNITED
STATES (EXCLUSIVE OF BIRDS). By
Henry S. Pratt. P. Blakiston's Son &
Co., Inc., Philadelphia. Second edition,
1935. 416 pages. $6.00. A well-illus-
trated guide to identification and
study. Adult.

MANUAL OF THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
By David Starr Jordan. World Book
Co., Yonkers, N. Y. 1929. 446 pages.
$4.00. A classic guide for identification
and study.

THE MUSEUM COMES TO LIFE. By Mari-
belle Cormack and William P. Alexan-
der. American Book Co., New York.
1931. 208 pages. $.84. Information
about the habits and lives of common
animals, presented through an imagina-
tive story. Grades 3 to 5.

NATURE NARRATIVES, I and II. By Austin
H. Clark. Williams & Wilkins Co.,
Baltimore, Md. 1929, 1931. 143, 100
pages. $1.00 each. In each volume are
fifty short accounts of animals from
all over the world. Grades 6 to 8.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

879

Now FOR CREATURES! By Shelby Shackel-
ford. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1936. 130 pages. $2.00. Inter-
esting stories of little animals, pre-
sented through a small boy's experi-
ences. Grades 4 to 6.

OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS, By Frank C.
Pellett. The Abingdon Press, New
York. 1917. 209 pages. $1.50. Experi-
ences of the author with familiar small
animals, illustrated with photographs.
Grade 6 and above.

PARADE OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. By
Robert Hegner, assisted by Jane Z.
Hegner. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1935. 675 pages. $5.00. A com-
prehensive survey of the animal king-
dom, written in nontechnical language,
and abundantly and excellently illus-
trated. Grade 6 and above.

THE PET BOOK. By Anna B. Comstock.
Comstock Publishing Co., Inc., Ithaca,
N. Y. 1914. 310 pages. $3.50. Well-
illustrated descriptions of habits, sug-
gested housing and care of many kinds
of pet animals. Grade 6 and above.

PETS FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT. By A.
Hyatt Verrill. Charles Scribner's Sons,
New York. 1915. 373 pages. $2.75.
Directions for the care of many kinds
of pet animals. Grade 7 and above.

THE PICTURE BOOK OF ANIMALS; THE
SECOND PICTURE BOOK OF ANIMALS.
Selected by Isabel E. Lord. The Mac-
millan Co., New York. 1931, 1933. 114,
120 pages. $2.50 each. Attractive books
containing large photographs of many
kinds of animals, from many parts of
the world. Very brief text. Grades i
to 8.

STANDARD NATURAL HISTORY. Edited by
W. P. Pycraft. Frederick Warne & Co.,
New York. 1931. 960 pages. $6.00. A
survey of the animal kingdom, from
amoeba to man, written by several- dis-
tinguished authors. Good reading, with
abundant illustrations, partly in color.
Adult, but useful also with younger
readers.

THE STIR OF NATURE. By William H.
Carr. Oxford University Press, New
York. 1930. 208 pages. (Out of print.)

Much excellent information about
some animals, particularly of northeast-
ern United States, combined with
helpful suggestions for learning about
them. Grades 5 to 7.

TRACKS AND TRAILS. By Leonard Rossell.
The Macmillan Co., New York. 1928.
138 pages. $1.25. Track studies in story
form, illustrated with photographs and
sketches by the author. Grade 6 and
above.

VANISHING WILDERNESS. By Francesca R.
La Monte and Micaela H. Welch.
Liveright Publishing Corp., New York.

1934. 351 Pages- $2-5°- Well-written,
interesting accounts of the life and
habits of nineteen kinds of animals,
many of which are in danger of becom-
ing extinct, or of becoming restricted
to protected areas or zoos. Age 10 and
above.

WATCHERS OF THE TRAILS. By Charles G.
D. Roberts. L. C. Page & Co., Boston.
1904. 361 pages. $3.00. Nature fiction
based on animal life, excelling in de-
scriptive detail. Adult. Other books by
the same author, from the same pub-
lisher, are: Haunters of the Silences,

1907, 316 pages; House in the Water,

1908, 301 pages; The Kindred of the
Wild, 1902, 374 pages. $3.00 each.

WHO GOES THERE? By Dorothy P. La-
throp. The Macmillan Co., New York.

1935. 40 pages. $1.50. Common small
animals of eastern United States, and
their tracks in the snow, beautifully
pictured. Simple story. Grades i to 3.

WILD ANIMAL PETS. By William L. and
Irene Finley. Charles Scribner's Sons,
New York. 1928. 311 pages. $3.50. True
accounts of experiences in photograph-
ing wild animals. Grade 6 and above.

WILD ANIMALS I HAVE KNOWN. By Er-
nest T. Seton. Grosset & Dunlap, Inc.,
New York. 1898. 358 pages. $1.00.
Well-known stories built about real
animal characters and real incidents.
Grade 6 and above.

WILD FOLK. By Samuel Scoville, Jr.
Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1922.
184 pages. $2.50. Readable stories of
the raccoon, black bear, skunk, chip-

88o

BIBLIOGRAPHY

munk, fisher, red fox and other ani-
mals. More Wild Folk, 1924, 184 pages,
$2.00, a companion book, is published
by D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.,
New York. Grade 6 and above.

WELD LIFE OF THE SOUTH. By Archibald
Rutledge. F. A. Stokes Co., New York.
1935. 262 pages. $1.75* Eighty short
sketches about wild life in South Caro-
lina. Grade 6 and above.

WORLD NATURAL HISTORY. By E. G.
Boulenger. Charles Scribner's Sons,
New York. 1937. 268 pages. $3.00. A

survey of the animal kingdom, well
illustrated with photographs and
drawings, written for the general reader,
by the Director of the Aquarium and
Curator of Reptiles in the London Zoo.
The same author has written A Natural
History of the Seas, 1936, 215 pages,
$3.00, published by D. Appleton-
Century Co., Inc., New York; and The
London Zoo, 1938, 220 pages, $2.00;
and Infants of the Zoo, 1934, 158
pages, $2.00, both published by E. P.
Button & Co., New York.

MAMMALS
(See also Nature Study in General and Animals in General)

ANIMALS OF AMERICA: "Mammals of
America." Edited by H. E. Anthony
and J. W. McSpadden. Garden City
Publishing Co., Garden City, N. Y.
1917, 1937. 362 pages. $2.19. A new
edition of a formerly expensive book,
describing and illustrating about 200
kinds of animals. All grades.

AQUATIC MAMMALS. By A. Brazier How-
ell. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield,
111. 1930. 332 pages. $5.00. A compre-
hensive and valuable work, written in
nontechnical language. Adult.

AZAM; THE STORY OF AN ARABIAN COLT
AND His FRIENDS. By Irvin S. Cobb.
Rand, McNally & Co., Chicago. 1937.
79 pages. $1.50. A simply told story of
the life and training of a colt on a Cali-
fornia farm, illustrated with excellent
photographs. All grades.

BAMBI — A LIFE IN THE WOODS. By Felix
Salten. Simon & Schuster, Inc., New
York. 1928. 293 pages. $2.50. An ap-
pealing story of a deer. A $.75 edition is
published by Grosset & Dunlap, New
York. Grade 7 and above.

BANNERTAEL: THE STORY OF A GRAY
SQUIRREL. By Ernest T. Seton. Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York. 1922. 259
pages. $2.50. This and other stories by
the same author are interesting and

sympathetic portrayals of wild animal
life. Grade 6 and above.

THE BEAVER: ITS WORKS AND ITS WAYS.
By Edward R. Warren. Williams &
Wilkins Co., Baltimore, Md. 1927. 177
pages. $1.00. Simple, authentic infor-
mation, abundantly illustrated with
photographs. Grade 8 and above.

BEAVER PIONEERS. By Wendell Chapman
and Lucie Chapman. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York. 1937. 167 pages.
$2.00. A delightful, attractively pre-
sented story of beaver life based on per-
sonal observations by the authors.
Grades 6 to 8.

BETTER DAIRY FARMING. By E. S. Savage
and L. A. Maynard. Savage-Maynard
Co., Ithaca, N. Y. 1923. 250 pages.
(Out of print.) A discussion of the
breeding, feeding, handling and care
of dairy cattle. Adult.

THE BIOGRAPHY OF A SILVER Fox; THE
BIOGRAPHY OF A GRIZZLY. Both by Er-
nest T. Seton. D. Appleton-Century
Co., Inc., New York. 1909, 1918. 209,
167 pages. $2.50, $2.00. Other editions
of these well-liked stories and others by
the same author are available. Grade 6
and above.

THE BLOT: LITTLE CITY CAT. By Phyllis
Crawford. Peter Smith & Co., New

BIBLIOGRAPHY

881

York. 1930. 56 pages. $1.25. A well-told
story for little children.

THE BOOK OF ANIMAL LIFE. By Thora
Stowell and Thornton W. Burgess.
Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1937. 327
pages $2.50. Nontechnical informa-
tion about the characteristics, lives and
habits of mammals, large and small,
domestic and wild. Grade 7 and above.

THE BOOK OF DOGS. By James G. Lawson.
Rand, McNally & Co., Chicago. 1936.
64 pages. $.10. Photographs and de-
scriptions of more than a hundred
breeds of dogs. All grades.

THE BOOK OF ZOOGRAPHY. By Raymond
L. Ditmars. J. B. Lippincott Co., Phila-
delphia. 1934. 64 pages. $2.00. A sur-
vey of mammal life throughout the
world, illustrated with colorful maps
on which the chief forms are pictured.
Grades 6 to 8.

Bozo, THE WOODCHUCK. By Dorothy L.
Brown and Marguerite Butterfield.
American Book Co., New York. 1933.
116 pages. $.52. A simply written story
of a pet woodchuck from the time he
was captured to his return to wild life.
Grade 4.

THE CALL OF THE WILD. By Jack Lon-
don. Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New
York. 1903. 211 pages. $1.00. New edi-
tion of an excellent dog story. Grade 8
and above.

DEER AT NIGHT IN THE NORTH WOODS.
By Tappan Gregory. Charles C.
Thomas, Springfield, 111. 1930. 212
pages. $4.00. A record in words and
splendid photographs of some twenty
years of experience photographing wild
animals at night. Adult.

THE DOG BOOK. By Diana Thorne and
Albert P. Terhune. Saalfield Publish-
ing Co., Akron, Ohio. 1932. 96 pages.
$1.00. Twelve well-known breeds of
dogs, pictured in full-page, pastel por-
traits, with descriptions by Mr. Ter-
hune. All grades.

FEEDS AND FEEDING. By F. B. Morrison.
Morrison Publishing Co., Ithaca, N. Y.
1937. Abridged edition. 503 pages.
$2.75. A handbook for the student and
stockman.

FIELD BOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN MAM-
MALS. By H. E. Anthony. G. P. Put-
nam's Sons, New York. 1928. 625
pages. $5.00. A standard guide, non-
technical and well illustrated. Grade 7
and above.

FLAT TAIL, By Alice C. Gall and Fleming
H. Crew. Oxford University Press,
New York. 1935. 126 pages. $1.50. An
interesting story of a year in a beaver's
life. Grades 3 to 5.

A FRIEND IN THE DARK. By Ruth A.
Knight. Grosset and Dunlap, Inc., New
York. 1937. 71 pages. $1.00. A well-told
story of the training and work of a
" Seeing Eye " dog. Grade 5 and above.

FUZZY AND His NEIGHBORS. By Jose F.
Nonidez. D. Appleton-Century Co.,
Inc., New York. 1932. 147 pages. $1.50.
A true story of the chipmunk and other
little animals that the author met in his
garden on Cape Cod. Ages 6 to 10.

GRAY SQUIRREL. By Joseph W. Lippin-
cott. Penn Publishing Co., Philadel-
phia. 1921. 144 pages. $1.50. A sympa-
thetic story based on the author's ob-
servations. Grade 6 and above. The
same author has written other stories
of animals, also published by Penn.

THE GRIZZLY; OUR GREATEST WILD ANI-
MAL. By Enos A. Mills. Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston. 1919. 289 pages.
$2.50. Interesting and instructive
sketches based on personal experiences.
Adult.

HOMES AND HABITS OF WELD ANIMALS.
By Karl P. Schmidt. M. A. Donohue &
Co., Chicago. 1934. 64 pages. $1.50. A
large, beautifully illustrated book of ex-
cellent information about North
American Mammals. Grade 5 and
above.

IN BEAVER WORLD. By Enos A. Mills.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1913.
228 pages. $2.50. A good general ac-
count, based largely on experiences of
the author. Adult.

JIMMIE, THE STORY OF A BLACK BEAR
CUB. By Ernest H. Baynes. The Mac-
millan Co., New York. 1923. 134 pages.
$2.00. A delightful story of the antics
of a mischievous pet cub. Grades 5 to 8.

882

BIBLIOGRAPHY

JINNY; THE STORY OF A FILLY. By Bert C.
Thayer. Farrar & Rinehart, New York.
1934. 102 pages. $2.50. Appealing
photographs and brief text about a
coifs first year. Ages 8 to 10.

KEEMA OF THE MONKEY PEOPLE. By
Walter J. Wilwerding. The Macmillan
Co., New York. 1936. 120 pages. $2.00.
An excellent story of the life of an East
African blue monkey. Grade 5 and
above.

KEO THE OTTER. By Virgie Bernhardt.
Grosset & Dunlap, New York. 1937.
47 Pages- $-25- An interestingly illus-
trated brief life history. Grades 2 and 3.

LAD, A DOG. By Albert P. Terhune. E. P.
Dutton & Co., New York. 1926. 371
pages. $2.00. A well-liked story, by an
author who has written much about
dogs. Grade 6 and above.

THE LITTLE WOLF. By Wendell Chap-
man and Lucie Chapman. Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York. 1936. 140
pages. $2.00. A story of the Rocky
Mountain coyote, and of the animals
with whom he lived. Grades 4 to 6.

LIVES OF GAME ANIMALS. By Ernest T.
Seton. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y, 1929. 8 or 4 vols., 3111
pages. (Out of print.) Detailed, inter-
esting accounts of North American
mammals, written in popular style, and
well illustrated. Obtainable in many
libraries. Grade 8 and above.

MELD ANIMALS. By Julius King. Grosset
& Dunlap, Inc., New York. 1936. 39
pages. $.50. Full-page color plates and
page-length descriptions of twenty
common small mammals of eastern
North America. Grades 5 to 7.

NATURAL HISTORY ANIMALS. By George
Jennison. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1927. 343 pages. $3.75. A pro-
fusely illustrated "Who's Who" of
the animal world, by an English author.
All ages.

OUR GREAT OUTDOORS: MAMMALS. By
C. W. G. Eifrig. Rand, McNally & Co.,
Chicago. 1928. 270 pages. $1.40. Use-
ful information about American mam-
mals and some notable forms from for-
eign countries. Grades 6 to 8.

OUR WILD ANIMALS. By Edwin L. Mose-
ley. D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.,
New York. 1927. 322 pages $1.75. A
survey of North American mammals,
most of them widely distributed in the
United States and Canada. Grades 5
to 7.

POLARIS, THE STORY OF AN ESKIMO DOG.
By Ernest H. Baynes. The Macmillan
Co., New York. 1923. 137 pages. $2.00.
An account of the puppy days of a dog
whose parents took Peary to the North
Pole, and who himself was sent to
Dr. Grenfell in Greenland. Grades 5
to 8.

PRESENT DAY MAMMALS. By Claude W.
Leister. New York Zoological Park,
New York. 1931. 74 pages. $1.15. An
illustrated chart of the orders of mam-
mals, of value in large libraries. Grade
7 and above.

RED Fox. By Charles G. D. Roberts.
L. C. Page & Co., Boston. 1905. 340
pages. $3.00. A fox story well worth
reading. Grade 6 and above.

RINGTAIL. By Alice C. Gall and Fleming
H. Crew. Oxford University Press,
New York. 1933. 115 pages. $1.00. A
well-written story of a year in the life of
a young raccoon. Grades 3 to 5.

SAJO AND THE BEAVER PEOPLE. By Grey
Owl. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1936. 201 pages. $2.50. An ap-
pealing story built around the experi-
ences of two Indian children and their
two pet beavers, illustrated with par-
ticularly interesting pencil drawings.
Grade 6 and above.

SCARFACE, THE STORY OF A GRIZZLY. By

Dorr G. Yeager. The Penn Publishing
Co., Philadelphia. 1935. 254 pages.
$2.00. The story of a grizzly bear, from
his birth, through thirty years, until his
death. Grade 6 and above.
SILVER BOY. By Vance Joseph Hoyt.
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., New
York. 1929. 265 pages. $2.00. Well-told
life story of a California gray fox. Ages
10 to 14. The same author has written
Bar-Rac: the Biography of a Raccoon,
1931, in pages, and Zorra: the Biog-
raphy of a Gray Fox, 1933, 125 pages,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

883

$1.50 each, both published by Lothrop,
Lee & Shepard.

SKINNY, THE GRAY Fox. By Agnes A. At-
kinson. The Viking Press, Inc., New
York. 1936. 111 pages. $1.50. A story
which resulted from ten years' observa-
tion of gray foxes near the author's
home in the West. Ages 8 to 12.

THE SPRITE; THE STORY OF A RED Fox.
By Ernest H. Baynes. The Macmillan
Co., New York. 1924. 134 pages. $2.00.
A favorite story of a fox brought up as a
pet. Grades 5 to 8.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FUR-BEARERS. By
John Burroughs. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston. 1875-1928. School edi-
tion, 150 pages. $.96. Short observa-
tions of common mammals, written by
a famous nature writer. Grades 6 to 8.

STICKEEN; THE STORY OF A DOG. By John
Muir. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
1909. 82 pages. Cloth, $.48. An exciting
story of a battle for life on an Alaskan
glacier, and one of the best dog stories
ever written. Grade 7 and above.

THE STORY OF MATKA. By David Starr
Jordan. World Book Co., Yonkers,
N. Y. Revised edition, 1921. 80
pages. $.72. The life of the fur seals of
Alaska, with information about the seal-
fur industry, useful in conservation
studies. Grade 6 and above.

THE STORY OF SCOTCH. By Enos A. Mills.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1916.
63 pages. $1.25. A very good dog story.
Grade 6 and above.

TAMI, THE STORY OF A CHIPMUNK. By
Bertha C. Cady. Slingerland-Comstock
Publishing Co., Ithaca, N. Y. 1927.
104 pages. $1.00. Charming story of a
pet. Ages to 10.

WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS; WILD ANI-
MAL HOMESTEADS. Both by Enos A.

Mills. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
1922, 1923, new editions, 1932. 251,
270 pages. $2.50 each. Stories of mam-
mals based chiefly on the author's long
experience with animals of the Rocky
Mountains. Grade 6 and above.

WHO'S WHO IN THE Zoo. Edited by
Ralph De Sola and Staff. Blue Ribbon
Books, New York. 1937. 223 pages.
$1.69. A beautiful book prepared by
workers of the Federal Writers' project
in the City of New York, which con-
tains brief accounts and excellent
photographs and range-maps of more
than a hundred wild animals. All
grades.

WILD ANIMALS AT HOME. By Ernest T.
Seton. Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New
York. 1913. 241 pages. $1.00. Short
tales of American mammals, based
chiefly on observations made in the
Rocky Mountains over a period of
nearly thirty years. Grades 5 to 8.

WILD ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA.
By Edward W. Nelson. The Nation-
al Geographic Society, Washington,
D. C. Revised edition, 1930. 254 pages.
$2.00. Accurate biographies of 119
mammals of North America, with
about fifty pages of colored portraits by
L. A. Fuertes, many photographs, and
a helpful section on mammal tracks,
by Ernest T. Seton. All grades.

WILDERNESS WANDERERS. By Wendell
Chapman and Lucie Chapman.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
1937. 318 pages. $3.75. Fascinating
stories of Rocky Mountain animals.
Grades 6 to 8.

ZEKE, THE RACCOON. By Rhea Wells. The
Viking Press, New York. 1933. 159
pages. $2.00. An amusing story of a pet
raccoon. Ages to 10.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIRDS

(See also Nature Study in General and Animals in General)

THE ABC or ATTRACTING BIRDS. By Alvin
M. Peterson. Bruce Publishing Co., Mil-
waukee. 1937. 146 pages. $1.50. The
newest and most attractive book on the
subject, giving many simple, clear sug-
gestions. Grade 5 and above.
AMERICAN BIRD BIOGRAPHIES. By Arthur
A. Allen. Comstock Publishing Co.,
Inc., Ithaca, N. Y. 1934. 238 pages.
$3.50. Complete life histories of twenty
birds, told in autobiographical form and
beautifully illustrated with photographs
and colored plates. Grades 5 to 8.
AMERICAN BIRDS. By William L. Finley.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
1908. 256 pages. $3.00. Accurate ac-
counts, with pen and camera, of about
thirty western American birds. 5rade
8 and above.

AMERICAN LAND BIRDS. By Alice E. Ball.
Tudor Publishing Co., New York. New
edition, 1936. 295 pages. $1.69. Ac-
counts of about 200 birds, arranged ac-
cording to season, illustrated in color.
Grade 6 and above.

AUDXJBON BIRD CARDS: set i, 50 Winter
Birds; set 2, 50 Spring Birds; set 3, 50
Summer Birds. By Allan Brooks. Na-
tional Association of Audubon Socie-
ties, New York. Each set, $1.00. Col-
ored, postcard-size pictures of birds of
eastern North America, with text, by
Alden H. Hadley. All grades.
AUDUBON BIRD LEAFLETS. Published by
the National Association of Audubon
Societies, New York. 4 pages each. $.05
each. More than a hundred leaflets, each
an account of a bird, illustrated in color.
All grades.

THE BIRD BOOK. By Neltje Blanchan,
pseud. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. 1932. 568 pages. $2.95.
A new edition, combining in one vol-
ume, Bird Neighbors and Birds that

Hunt and are Hunted. Grade 7 and
above.

THE BIRD BOOK. By Fannie H. Eckstorm.
D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. 1901. 281
pages. $1.28. An old book, which con-
tains much interesting material. Grade
6 and above.

BIRD FLIGHT. By Gordon C. Aymar. Dodd,
Mead & Co., New York. 1935. 24<5
pages. $4.00. More than 175 action pho-
tographs of birds in flight, with explana-
tory text on bird flight and related top-
ics. Adult.

BIRD FRIENDS. By Gilbert H. Trafton.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1916.
33° pages. $3.50. An older book for
general study of American birds.
BIRD GUIDE: LAND BIRDS EAST OF THE
ROCKIES; BIRD GUIDE: WATER BIRDS,
GAME BIRDS AND BIRDS OF PREY EAST
OF THE ROCKIES. Both by Chester A.
Reed. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden
City, N. Y. 1925, 1921. 238, 240 pages.
$1.25 or $1.50 each. Widely used pocket
guides. Grade 4 and above.
BIRD-HOUSE TO LET. By Mary F. Terrel.
F. A. Stokes Co., New York. 1931. 146
pages. $1.50. A simple story-record of
the birds that nested in a New Jersey
garden. Ages 6 to 10.

BIRD HOUSES BOYS CAN BUILD. By Albert
F. Siepert. The Manual Arts Press,
Peoria, 111. Revised edition, 1936. 64
pages. $.65. Pictures and drawings of
houses and suggestions on feeding and
attracting birds. Grade 7 and above.
THE BIRD KINGDOM. The Orthovis Co.,
Chicago. 1934. 42 Pages. $2.00. Photo-
graphs of habitat groups in the Field
Museum of Natural History in Chi-
cago, with accompanying pictures to be
viewed through an orthoscope which
makes the pictures appear three-dimen-
sional. A companion book, The Animal

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kingdom, $2.00, and the Footprint
Series, two sets of four books at $1.00 a
set, are also available. All grades.

BIRD LIFE. By Frank M. Chapman. D.
Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New York.
Revised edition, 1924. 284 pages. $5.00.
A standard guide to the study of com-
mon birds. Grade 7 and above.

BIRD STORIES. By Edith M. Patch. Little,
Brown & Co., Boston. 1921. 212 pages.
$1.75. Biographies of twelve birds,
written entertainingly. Grades 4 to 6.

BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS. By John
Burroughs. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston. 1911. School edition. 174
pages. $1.12. Stories and poems about
common American birds, by a famous
naturalist. Grade 7 and above.

BIRD STUDY FOR SCHOOLS SERIES. Pub-
lished by the National Association of
Audubon Societies, New York. $.05 or
$.10 each. Various articles covering
such topics as general activities, field
trips, winter feeding, bird houses, bird
day, and building a nature interest.
Chiqfly for teacher's use.

BIRDS, books i, 2, and 3. By Julius King.
Harter Publishing Co., Cleveland,
Ohio. 1934. Various pages. $.10 each.
Each book describes fifteen common
birds. Illustrations in color, from paint-
ings by Allan Brooks. Grade 3 and
above.

BIRDS AND THEIR ATTRIBUTES. By Glover
M. Allen. Marshall Jones Co., Boston.
1925. 326 pages. $3.50. General survey
of the life and structure of birds and
their relation to man. Adult.

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATION TO MAN. By
Clarence M. Weed and Ned Dearborn.
J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.
Fourth edition, 1935. 420 pages. $3.50.
An older book, which contains a gen-
eral survey of the foods of birds, with
material on various groups. Adult.

BIRDS IN THE WILDERNESS. By George M.
Sutton. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1936. 214 pages. $3.50. An in-
formal and interesting account of the
author's experiences while on bird-
study expeditions in United States and
Canada. Adult.

885

BIRDS OF AMERICA. Edited by T. Gilbert
Pearson. Garden City Publishing Co.,
Garden City, N. Y. 1936. 1000 pages.
$3.95. A new edition of an older,
expensive publication, which illus-
trates in color and describes about a
thousand kinds of American birds. All
grades.

BIRDS OF CANADA. By P. A. Taverner.
David McKay Co., Philadelphia. 1938.
445 Pages- $4.00. Guides for study and
identification. Adult.

BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND OTHER
NEW ENGLAND STATES. By Edward H.
Forbush. State Board of Agriculture,
Boston. 1929. 3 vols., 1408 pages.
$15.00. An excellent extensive treat-
ment, with superior colored illustra-
tions by L. A. Fuertes and Allan
Brooks. Adult.

THE BIRDS OF MINNESOTA. By Thomas S.
Roberts. University of Minnesota Press,
Minneapolis, Minn. 1932. 2 vols., 1512
pages. $15,00. Excellently illustrated in
color, and valuable in Minnesota and
adjacent regions. Bird Portraits in
Color, 186 pages, $3.50, a collection of
the color plates from the two volumes,
with a page of text for each plate is also
available, as are A Manual for the Iden-
tification of the Birds of Minnesota
and Neighboring States, 279 pages,
$1.50; and Two Hundred and Ninety-
five American Birds, 1936, 92 pages
colored pictures in spiral binding,
$2.00, or loose in portfolio, $1.50.

THE BIRDS OF NEW YORK. By Elon H.
Eaton. New York State Museum, Al-
bany, New York. 1916. 2 vols. 1220
pages. $6.00, plus transportation. A
comprehensive treatment, illustrated
in color by L. A. Fuertes. Adult.

BIRDS OF THE OCEAN. By W. B. Alex-
ander. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
1928. 428 pages. $3.50. Convenient
guide for identification. Adult.

BIRDS OF THE PACIFIC COAST. By William
A. Eliot. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New
York. 1926. 211 pages. $3.50. Illus-
trated field guide. Adult.

BIRDS OF THE PACIFIC STATES. By Ralph
A. Hoffman. Houghton Mifflin Co.,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boston. 1927. 353 pages. $5.00. A man-
ual for adults.

BIRDS OF THE SOUTH. By Charlotte H.
Green. University of North Carolina
Press, Chapel Hill, N. C. 1933. 292
pages. $1.50. A beginner's book, illus-
trated in color. Grades 6 to 8.

BIRDS OF THE WILD — How TO MAKE
YOUR HOME THEIR HOME. By Frank
C. Pellett. A. T. De La Mare Co., Inc.,
New York. 1928. 128 pages. $1.00.
Well-written discussion for those who
wish to attract birds to their home
grounds. Adult.

THE BOOK OF BIRD LIFE. By Arthur A.
Allen. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., New
York. 1930. 426 pages. $3.50. A very
readable book, discussing bird life in
general, and methods of bird study.
Well illustrated with photographs. For
adults, but usuable in grade 6 and
above.

THE BOOK OF BIRDS. Edited by Gilbert
Grosvenor and Alexander Wetmore.
The National Geographic Society,
Washington, D. C. 1937. 738 pages.
$5.00. Two volumes, made up of mate-
rial which has appeared in the National
Geographic Magazine, illustrating in
color and describing nearly a thousand
birds of North America north of Mex-
ico. All grades.

BOY BIRD HOUSE ARCHITECTURE. By Leon
H. Baxter. Brace Publishing Co., Mil-
waukee. 1920. 62 pages. $1.00. Simple
detailed plans, accompanied by brief
text which discusses problems of at-
tracting birds. Grade 4 and above.

CHANCO; A UNITED STATES ARMY HOM-
ING PIGEON. By Helen O. Watson.
Harper & Brothers, New York. 1938.
163 pages. $2.00. A fascinating story of
incidents and events in the lives of real
homers. Grade 5 and above.

CHER AMI; THE STORY OF A CARRIER
PIGEON. By Marion B. Cothren. Little,
Brown & Co., Boston. 1934. 83 pages.
$1.25. A story of the World War.
Grade 4 and above.

THE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF BIRDS. By Olive
Thorne Miller. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston. 1927 edition. 360 pages. $3.00.

A single volume combining the First
Boole of Birds, and the Second Book of
Birds. The First Book, a good general
discussion, is obtainable separately, at
$.96. Grades 4 to 6.

FIELD BOOK OF WILD BIRDS AND THEIR
Music. By F. Schuyler Mathews. G. P.
Putnam's Sons, New York. Revised
edition, 1921. 325 pages. $3.50. A guide
for identification for adults.

FIELD BOOK OF THE BIRDS OF THE PANAMA
CANAL ZONE. By B. B. Sturgis. G. P.
Putnam's Sons, New York. 1928. 466
pages. $3.50. A popular illustrated
handbook for identification. Adult.

THE FIELDBOOK OF BIRDS OF THE SOUTH-
WESTERN UNITED STATES. By L. E. Wy-
man and Elizabeth Burnell. Houghton
MifHin Co., Boston. 1925. 308 pages.
$3.50. Adult.

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS. By Roger T.
Peterson. Houghton Mifflin Co., Bos-
ton. 1934. 188 pages. $2.75. A small
book, distinguished for its unique help
in outdoor identification of birds of
eastern North America. Grade 7 and
above.

THE GOLDEN PLOVER AND OTHER BIRDS —
AMERICAN BIRD BIOGRAPHIES, SECOND
SERIES. By Arthur A. Allen. Comstock
Publishing Co., Inc., Ithaca, N. Y.
1939. 324 pages. $3.00. Stories of
twenty-seven birds, similar in style and
illustration to American Bird Biog-
raphies. Grade 5 and above.

A GUIDE TO BIRD SONGS. By Aretas A.
Saunders. D. Appleton-Century Co.,
Inc., New York. 1935. 3°2 Pa§es- $2-5°-
Detailed popular presentation of songs
and singing habits of 1 50 common land
birds east of the Rockies. Adult.

HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH
AMERICA. By Frank M. Chapman.
D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New
York. 1932. 581 pages. $5.00. The
standard manual for the region, for
adults or older students.

HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF THE WESTERN
UNITED STATES. By Florence M. Bailey.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1935.
590 pages. $6.00. Standard manual for
the West. Adult.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

887

THE HAWKS OF NORTH AMERICA; THEIR
FIELD IDENTIFICATION AND FEEDING
HABITS. By John B. May. National As-
sociation of Audubon Societies, New
York. 1935. 172 pages. $1.25. A com-
plete, well-illustrated book written as a
part of an intensive educational cam-
paign in behalf of these birds. Grade 6
and above.

How TO HAVE BIRD NEIGHBORS. By S.
Louise Patteson. D. C. Heath & Co.,
Boston. 1917. 131 pages. $.92. The au-
thor's experiences in attracting birds.
Age 10 and above.

THE LIFE STORY OF BIRDS; How TO SEE
BIRDS. Both by Eric F. Daglish. Wil-
liam Morrow & Co., New York. 1930,
1932. 236, 128 pages. $3.00, $1.50.
Books by an English author, the first a
general account of the habits of birds,
the second a discussion of attracting
and watching birds, and of such topics
as beaks, feet, song, and nests. Grade 7
and above.

METHODS OF ATTRACTING BIRDS. By Gil-
bert H. Trafton. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston. 1910. 180 pages. $2.00. A
small book, for grade 6 and above.

ORNITHOLOGY LABORATORY NOTEBOOK
FOR INTENSIVE STUDY OF THE BIRDS OF
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. By A. A.
Allen, L. A. Fuertes, and Miles Pirnie.
Comstock Publishing Co., Inc., Ithaca,
N. Y. Fourth edition, 1941. 272 pages.
$3.00. Illustrated outlines for study,
with a key for identification of birds'
nests in winter. Adult.

OUR BIRD FRIENDS AND FOES. By William
A. DuPuy. John C. Winston Co.,
Philadelphia. 1925. 319 pages. $1.00.
A discussion of adaptations, general
habits, and relation to man. Grades 5
to 8.

OUR WINTER BIRDS. By Frank M. Chap-
man. D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.,
New York. 1918. 180 pages. Student's
edition, $.80. Well-written short ac-
counts of winter birds, with sugges-
tions for caring for them. Small, but
useful colored pictures. Grades 6 to 8.

PADDLEWINGS: THE PENGUIN OF GALA-
PAGOS. By Wilfrid S. Bronson. The

Macmillan Co., New York. 1931. 106
pages. $2.00. An excellent story, into
which much information has been
woven, illustrated with amusing and
instructive drawings. Grades 4 to 6.

PERMANENT BIRD HOUSES. By Gladstone
Califf. Bruce Publishing Co., Milwau-
kee, Wis. 1924. 64 pages. $1.00. Plans
and instructions for several types.
Grade 7 and above.

PRACTICAL VALUE OF BIRDS. By Junius
Henderson. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1927. 342 pages. $2.50. Good
general and systematic discussions.
Adult.

RED BOOK OF BIRDS OF AMERICA; BLUE
BOOK OF BIRDS OF AMERICA; GREEN
BOOK OF BIRDS OF AMERICA. By Frank
G. Ashbrook. Whitman Publishing
Co., Racine, Wis. 1931. 96 pages each.
$.10 each. Pocket-sized guides, illus-
trated with fair colored pictures. All
ages.

THE RESTLESS ROBIN. By Marjorie Flack.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1937.
48 pages. $1.50. An attractive picture-
story book in color, presenting many
facts about robins. Grades 3 to 4.

SONG-BIRD SANCTUARIES; WITH TABLES OF
TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES ATTRACTIVE
TO BIRDS. By Roger T. Peterson. Na-
tional Association of Audubon Socie-
ties, New York. 1937. 30 pages. $.25.
Prepared with the cooperation of the
New York State College of Forestry.
Adult.

SONGS OF WILD BIRDS; MORE SONGS OF
WILD BIRDS. Both by Albert R. Brand.
Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York.
1934, 1936. 91, 116 pages. $2.00, $2.50.
Unique books designed to aid in learn-
ing to recognize birds by their songs.
The first contains two double-faced
unbreakable phonograph records of
the songs, recorded from nature, of 35
birds of eastern North America, and
the second, three records, with 43
songs. All grades, particularly 5 to 8.

TRAVELING WITH THE BIRDS. By Rudyerd
Boulton, M. A. Donohue & Co., Chi-
cago. 1933. 64 pages. $1.50. A large
book, illustrated in color, which tells

BIBLIOGRAPHY

the story of bird migration. Grades 4
to 6.

TRAVELS OF BIRDS. By Frank M. Chap-
man. D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.,
New York. 1916. 160 pages. $.76. A
very satisfactory discussion for children
of the problems of bird migration.
Grades 5 to 7.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRI-
CULTURE FARMERS' BULLETINS, CIRCU-
LARS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS. Super-
intendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, D. C.
Numerous publications on birds, and
other subjects, a list of which is avail-
able.

WAKE ROBIN. By John Burroughs.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1899.
233 pages. $2.25. Delightful interpre-
tations of bird life. Adult.

WESTERN BIRD GUIDE. By Chester A.
Reed. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. 1913. 255 pages. $1.75.
Convenient pocket guide. All ages.

WHAT BIRD Is THAT? By Frank M.
Chapman. D. Appleton-Century Co.,
Inc., New York. 1935 edition. 158
pages. $1.50. A compact guide, illus-
trated with small colored pictures, for
identification of the land birds of
eastern United States. Grade 6 and
above.

WILD BIRD GUESTS; How TO ENTERTAIN
THEM. By Ernest H. Baynes. E. P.
Dutton & Co., New York. 1915. 326
pages. $1.00. An old, but very useful
book, discussing many phases of bird
protection. Grades 5 to S.

A YEAR IN THE WONDERLAND OF BIRDS.
By Hallam Hawksworth (G. F. At-
kinson). Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1925. 245 pages. $1.00. Birds and
bird life, presented seasonally. Grade
6 and above.

See also, Nature Study in General, Ani-
mals in General, Textbooks and Read-
ers, Nature Poetry.

REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS AND FISH
(See also Nature Study in General and Animals in General)

ABOUT FISH AND OTHER DENIZENS
OF THE SEAS AND RIVERS; ALL ABOUT
REPTILES (INCLUDING FROGS AND
TOADS). Both by W. S. Berridge.
Robert M. McBride & Co., New York.
1934, 1935. 253, 270 pages. $2.50 each.
Information for the layman, by an
English author. Adult.

AMERICAN FOOD AND GAME FISHES. By
David S. Jordan and Barton W. Ever-
mann. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. 1934. 572 pages. $5.00.
Standard work on fishes north of
Panama. Adult.

ANIMALS IN THE SUN. By William W.
Robinson. Harper & Brothers, New
York. 1934. 63 pages. $2.00. Brief, well-
written information about crocodiles,
alligators, lizards, turtles, and snakes,
chiefly of North America. Grades 5
to 8.

BIOLOGY OF THE AMPHIBIA. By G. Kings-
ley Noble. McGraw-Hill Book Co.,

Inc., New York. 1931. 577 pages. $5.00.
A comprehensive study of the group.
Adult.

THE BOOK OF FISHES. By John O. La
Gorce and others. National Geo-
graphic Society, Washington, D. C.
1924. 243 pages. $2.00. Articles and
fish biographies, well illustrated in
color and with photographs. All grades.

THE BOOK OF LIVING REPTILES. By Ray-
mond L. Ditmars. J. B. Lippincott
Co., Philadelphia. 1936. 64 pages.
$2.00. Brief information about reptiles
all over the world, illustrated with
maps on which are placed species na-
tive to the region. Grades 5 to 7.

Do You KNOW ABOUT FISHES? By Janet
Smalley. William Morrow & Co., New
York. 1936. 45 pages. $1.25. Attrac-
tive colored pictures, accompanied by
simple text. Grades 2 to 4.

FlNGERFINS: THE TALE OF A SARGASSO

FISH. By Wilfrid S. Bronson. The

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Macmillan Co., New York. 1930. 52
pages. $2.00. A lively, interesting nar-
rative, excellently illustrated by the
author. Grades 3 to 5.

WISHES: THEIR JOURNEYS AND MIGRA-
TIONS. By Louis Roule. W. W. Norton
& Co., Inc., New York. 1935. 319
pages. $3.75. An interesting, non-
technical account, translated from the
French. Adult.

FISHES IN THE HOME. By Ida M. Mellen.
Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. 1927.
178 pages. $2.00. Care of aquarium
fishes, particularly tropical fishes.
Adult.

THE FROG BOOK. By Mary C. Dickerson.
Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City,
N. Y. 1931 edition. 253 pages. $5.00. A
reprint of an excellent nontechnical
study of North American frogs and
toads, well illustrated. Grade 6 and
above.

GOLDFISH, THEIR CARE IN SMALL AQUA-
RIA AND PONDS. By E. C. Fearnow,
Commissioner of Fisheries, Washing-
ton, D. C. (Document 980). 1924. 16
pages. $.05. Valuable suggestions for
amateurs. Grade 6 and above.

GOLDFISH CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. By
A. E. Hodge and A. Derham. F. A,
Stokes Co., New York. 1928. 103
pages. $2.00. How to breed and
rear goldfish in aquaria and ponds.
Adult.

HANDBOOK OF FROGS AND TOADS. By
Anna A. Wright and Albert H.
Wright. Comstock Publishing Co.,
Inc., Ithaca, N. Y. 1934. 244 pages.
$2.50. General discussion, followed by
accounts of many species, abundantly
illustrated with excellent photographs.
Grade 7 and above.

A HISTORY OF FISHES. By J. R. Norman.
F. A. Stokes Co., New York. 1931. 463
pages. $7.50. An interesting answer to
many questions about the life and hab-
its of fish. Adult.

HUMPHREY; ONE HUNDRED YEARS ALONG
THE WAYSIDE WITH A Box TURTLE. By
Marjorie Flack. Doubleday, Doran &
Co., Garden City, N. Y. 1934. 84
pages. $2.00. An attractively illustrated

889

story in which much information about
the turtle is combined with incidents
in American History. Grades 2 and 3.

THE LIFE STORY OF THE FISH. By Brian
Curtis. D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.,
New York. 1938. 260 pages. $3.00. A
well-written, scientifically true discus-
sion, which has been very well re-
ceived. Adult.

LITTLE TOAD. By Frances M. Fox. Vik-
ing Press, Inc., New York. 1938. 79
pages. $1.00. An imaginative story
which presents the facts of the life
history and habits of a toad, written
for small children.

MARINE FISHES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST.
By Charles M. Breder. G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York. 1929. 375 pages.
$3.50. Popular guide. Adult.

MINNOWS OF MICHIGAN. By Carl Hubbs
and Gerald Cooper. Bulletin 8, Cran-
brook Institute of Science, Bloomfield
Hills, Mich. 1936. 95 pages. $.50. A
brief discussion by recognized authori-
ties. Adult.

OUR GREAT OUTDOORS: REPTILES, AM-
PHIBIANS, AND FISHES. By C. W. G.
Eifrig. Rand, McNally & Co., Chicago.
1930. 257 pages. $1.40. General sur-
veys of the groups, followed by short
accounts of many American species.
Grades 6 to 8.

POLLWIGGLE'S PROGRESS. By Wilfrid S.
Bronson. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1932. 122 pages. $2.00. The life
story of a bullfrog, from egg to adult,
illustrated with interesting and very
valuable drawings by the author.
Grades 3 to 5.

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS; THEIR HAB-
ITS AND ADAPTATIONS. By Thomas Bar-
bour. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Revised edition, 1934. 149 pages. $4.00.
Readable, thoroughly scientific ac-
count. Adult.

THE REPTILES OF NORTH AMERICA. By
Raymond L. Ditmars. Doubleday,
Doran & Co., Garden City, N. Y. Re-
vised edition. 1936. 627 pages. $6.75.
A review of reptiles, of all groups, in-
habiting the United States and north-
ern Mexico, prepared particularly for

890

BIBLIOGRAPHY

use in identifying them. Eight colored
plates and many photographs. Grade 7
and above.

REPTILES OF THE WORLD. By Raymond
L. Ditmars. The Macmillan Co., New
York. Revised edition, 1933. 341 pages.
$5.00; Imperial edition, $1.98. Gen-
eral information about reptiles, of
all groups, from both hemispheres,
abundantly illustrated. Grade 7 and
above.

SEA-HORSE ADVENTURE. By Irmengarde
Eberle and Else Bostelmann. Holiday
House, Inc., New York. 1937. 53 pages.
$2.00. A colorfully illustrated story,
based on scientific information. Grades
4 to 6.

SNAKES ALIVE AND How THEY LIVE. By
Clifford H. Pope. The Viking Press,
New York. 1937. 250 pages. $2.50.
General information about snakes,
with an appendix telling how to iden-
tify the snakes of the United States.
Well illustrated. For adults, but usable
in the upper grades.

SNAKES AND THEIR WAYS. By C. Howard
Curran and Carl F. Kauffeld. Harper
& Brothers, New York. 1937. 302
pages. $3.50. A scientifically accurate,
nontechnical account. Adult.

SNAKES OF THE WORLD. By Raymond L.
Ditmars. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1937. 207 pages. $5.00; Imperial
edition, $1.98. A popular account of
general habits of snakes, with brief dis-
cussions of species. Excellent photo-
graphic illustrations. Grades 6 to 8.

THE STORY OF FROGS. By Mary B. Her-
ring. (Unit Study Book, 351) Ameri-

can Education Press, Inc., Columbus,
Ohio. 1934. 36 pages. $.10. Very good
material for grade 3.

STRANGE REPTILES AND THEIR STORIES.
By A. Hyatt Verrill. L. C. Page & Co.,
Boston. 1937. 209 pages. $2.50. A
frankly popular account, not of great
value as a reference, but interesting in
its treatment of prejudices and super-
stitions about snakes. Grade 7 and
above.

TIM TADPOLE AND THE GREAT BULLFROG.
By Marjorie Flack. Doubleday, Doran
& Co., Garden City, N. Y. 1934. 32
pages. $1.00. Information in the form
of fiction, interestingly illustrated by
the author. Ages 4 to 8.

TROUT STREAMS. By Paul R. Needham.
Comstock Publishing Co., Inc., Ithaca,
N. Y. 1940. 233 pages. $3.00. A study
of the conditions that determine the
productivity of trout streams, and sug-
gestions for stream and lake manage-
ment, written for anglers, sportsmen
and conservationists. Adult.

WAGTAIL. By Alice C. Gall and Fleming
H. Crew. Oxford University Press,
New York. 1932. 131 pages. $1.00. A
story of the life of a tadpole and his
associates, told with some personifica-
tion, and illustrated with very attrac-
tive drawings. Grades 3 to 5.

THE YOUNG FOLKS' BOOK OF FISHES. By
Ida M. Mellen. Dodd, Mead & Co.,
New York. 1927. 170 pages. $2.00. De-
cidedly readable material, giving both
general and specific information.
Grades 6 to 8.

INSECTS AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES

(See also Nature Study in General and Animals in General)

ANIMALS OF THE SEASHORE. By Hoiace G.
Richards. Bruce Humphries, Inc., Bos-
ton. 1938. 273 pages. $3.00. A new,
illustrated guide to seashore animals
of the Atlantic Coast, particularly be-
tween Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras.
Grade 7 and above.

ANT HILLS AND SOAP BUBBLES. By Mary
G. Phillips. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.
1927. 265 pages. $.92. Accurate infor-
mation about ants, in fairy-tale setting.
Grade 4 and above.

THE BEE PEOPLE. By Margaret W. Mor-
ley. A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Revised edition, 1937. 177 pages. $2.00.
Detailed story of bee structure and
function, illustrated attractively in
color. Grade 4 and above.

BUMBLEBEES AND THEIR WAYS. By Otto
E. Plath. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1934. 217 pages. $4.50. Informa-
tion about the life history and inter-
esting habits of bumblebees, illus-
trated, partly in color. Adult.

THE BUSY LITTLE HONEYBEE. By Jose-
phine M. True. Rand, McNally Co.,
Chicago, 111. 1936. 63 pages. $.10. Sim-
ple information about bees. Grade 4
and above.

BUTTERFLIES OF AMERICA; BUGS OF
AMERICA. Both by Lillian D. Fazzini.
Whitman Publishing Co., Racine,
Wis. 1934, 1937. 96 pages each. $.10
each. Pocket-sized guides, one to the
common species of fairly large-sized
moths and butterflies, the other to in-
sects of other groups. For beginners.

BUTTERFLY AND MOTH BOOK. By Ellen
Robertson-Miller. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York. Revised and en-
larged edition, 1931. 277 pages. $2.50.
Detailed life histories of 40 moths and
butterflies, well illustrated with photo-
graphs. Grade 5 and above.

THE BUTTERFLY BOOK. By W. J. Hol-
land. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden
City, N. Y. Revised and enlarged edi-
tion, 1931. 440 pages. $10.00. Stand-
ard guide to butterflies north of the
American-Mexican border, particularly
valuable for the many colored illustra-
tions. Adult.

THE BUTTERFLY GUIDE. By W. J. Hol-
land. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden
City, N. Y. 1916. 237 pages. $1.25 or
$1.50. Pocket manual for the com-
moner North American species. Adult.

CATERPILLARS AND THEIR MOTHS. By Ida
M. Eliot and Caroline G. Soule. D.
Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New
York. 1902. 299 pages. $3.00. Detailed,
interesting accounts of the writers' ex-
periences in life history studies of 43
species. Adult.

THE CHILDREN'S LIFE OF THE BEE. By
Maurice Maeterlinck. Dodd, Mead &

891

Co., New York. 1919. 192 pages. $2.00.
A beautifully told story, consisting of
selected passages from the author's
book for adults. Grades 6 to 8.

DESTRUCTIVE AND USEFUL INSECTS. By C<
L. Metcalf and W. P. Flint. McGraw-
Hill Book Co., Inc., New York. 1928.
918 pages. $7.50. An extensive discus-
sion of the habits and control of in-
sects. Adult. The same authors have
published (McGraw-Hill) The Funda-
mentals of Insect Life, 1932, 581
pages, $4.00.

DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING AND PRE-
SERVING INSECTS. By A. B. Klots.
Ward's Natural Science Establish-
ment, Inc., Rochester, N. Y. 1932. 30
pages. $.15. A helpful pamphlet.
Adult.

Do You KNOW? By Janet Smalley. Wil-
liam Morrow & Co., Inc., New York.

1934. 46 pages. $1.25. A colorful little
book presenting information about
twelve common insects and spiders.
Grades 2 to 4.

ELEMENTARY LESSONS ON INSECTS. By
James G. Needham. Charles C.
Thomas, Springfield, 111. 1928. 206
pages. $2.00. A simple introduction,
especially valuable for the suggestions
on collecting. Grade 7 and above.

FIELD BOOK OF INSECTS. By Frank E.
Lutz. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.

1935. 510 pages. $3.50. Third revised
edition of an excellent guide to insects
of North America north of Mexico.
Grade 6 and above.

FLORIDA SEA SHELLS. By Bertha Aldrich
and Ethel Snyder. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston. 1936. 156 pages. $1.50. A
simple guide to Florida shells and shell
collecting. Adult.

FOREST INSECTS. By R. W. Doane, E. C.
Van Dyke, W. J. Chamberlin and H.
E. Burke. McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
Inc., New York. 1936. 463 pages. $4.50.
A useful source of information on for-
est insects and their control, for for-
esters and students. Adult.

FRESH WATER BIOLOGY. By Henry B.
Ward and George C. Whipple. John
Wiley & Sons, New York. 1918. 1109

892

BIBLIOGRAPHY

pages. $7.00. An excellent reference.
Adult.

A HANDBOOK FOR SHELL COLLECTORS. By
Walter F. Webb. Published by the
Author, Rochester, N. Y. 1936" 291
pages. $2.50. An inexpensive guide to
the shells of the world which ap-
pear most commonly in collections.
Adult.

HONEY BEES AND FAIRY DUST. By Mary
G. Phillips. D. C. Heath & Co., Bos-
ton. 1926. 213 pages. $.88. Accurate
information about bees, in fairy-tale
setting. Grade 4 and above.

How TO KNOW THE BuTTERFLrES, By John
H. Comstock and Anna B. Comstock.
Comstock Publishing Co., Inc., Ithaca7
N. Y. 1929. 323 pages. $3.50. A popu-
lar, illustrated manual describing 152
species and varieties common in the
eastern half of the United States. Pri-
marily for adult use.

INSECT ADVENTURES; FABRE'S BOOK OF
INSECTS. Both by Jean-Henri C. Fabre.
Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. 1917,
1926. 287, 271 pages. $2.50, $2.00. Se-
lections from the writings of the fa-
mous French student of insects, retold
for children. Grade 5 and above.

INSECT ALLIES. By Eleanor King and
Wellmer Pessels. Harper & Brothers,
New York. 1938. 45 pages. $1.25. Well-
written, well-illustrated material on the
relation of insects to man, stressing
modern methods of biological control.
Grade 5 and above.

THE INSECT BOOK. By Leland O. How-
ard. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden
City, N. Y. 1923. 456 pages. $5.00. A
1937 reissue of a popular account of
the bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers,
flies and other North American in-
sects exclusive of the butterflies,
moths and beetles. Adult.

INSECT ENEMIES OF SHADE TREES. By
Glenn W. Herrick. Comstock Pub-
lishing Co., Inc., Ithaca, N. Y. 1935.
417 pages. $4.50. A well-illustrated,
nontechnical discussion. Adult.
INSECT LIFE. By John H. Comstock. D.
Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New
York. New edition, 1924. 349 pages.

$5.00. Detailed lessons on the insects
of eastern United States, and some
spiders. High school and above.

INSECT PEOPLE. By Eleanor King and
Wellmer Pessels. Harper & Brothers,
New York. 1937. 63 pages. $1.25. An
attractive book, illustrated with photo-
graphs, which presents information
about many common insects and some
spiders. Grades 5 to 8.

INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND OR-
CHARD. By E. D wight Sanderson and
L. M. Peairs. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
New York. Third edition, 1931. 568
pages. $4.50. Good general manual,
grouping insects according to food
plants. Adult.

INSECT SINGERS: A NATURAL HISTORY OF
THE CICADAS. By J. G. Myers. George
Routledge & Sons, London, Eng. 1929.
304 pages. 2is. An interesting, in-
formative account. Adult.

INSECT WAYS. By Clarence M. Weed.
D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New
York. 1930. 325 pages. $1.36. Interest-
ing accounts of the lives of many com-
mon insects occurring in North
America. Grade 6 and above.

INSECTS (Western Nature Study Series).
Edited by Gayle Pickwell. Sutton-
house, Ltd., Publishers, Los Angeles,
Calif. 1933. 304 pages. $3.00. A book
for teachers, students and others inter-
ested in insects. Adult.

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE HOUSEHOLD
AND ANNOYING TO MAN. By Glenn W.
Herrick. The Macmillan Co., New
York Revised, 1926. 478 pages. $3.50.
A standard work on the group. Adult.

INSECTS — MAN'S CHIEF COMPETITORS .
By W. P. Flint and C. L. Metcalf.
Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore,
Md. 1933. 133 pages. $1.00. One of
the Century of Progress Series of dis-
cussions of popular science. Adult.

INSECTS OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA.
By E. 0. Essig. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1929. 1035 pages. $7.50 or
$10.00. Standard manual for identifica-
tion. Adult.

AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY. By
John H. Comstock. Comstock Pub-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

lishing Co., Inc., Ithaca, N. Y. 1940.
1064 pages. $5.00. A standard manual,
interestingly written and well illus-
trated. Adult.

LEAF MINING INSECTS. By James G.
Needham, S. W. Frost, and Beatrice
W. Tothill. Williams & Wilkins Co.,
Baltimore, Md. 1928. 351 pages. $2.50.
A comprehensive study, with lists of
insects and of host plants. Adult.

LITTLE BLACK ANT. By Alice C. Gall and
Fleming H. Crew. Oxford University
Press, New York. 1936. 128 pages.
$1.50. A humanized, but sympathetic
and informative story of ant life, at-
tractively illustrated. Grades 3 to 5.

A MANUAL FOR THE STUDY OF INSECTS.
By John H. Comstock and Anna B.
Comstock. Comstock Publishing Co.,
Inc., Ithaca, N. Y. Revised by Glenn
W. Herrick, 1938. 401 pages. $4.00.
An elementary work, well illustrated,
planned for teachers and older stu-
dents.

A MANUAL OF THE COMMON INVERTE-
BRATE ANIMALS (EXCLUSIVE OF IN-
SECTS). By Henry S. Pratt. P. Blakis-
ton's Son & Co.? Inc., Philadelphia.
Revised edition, 1935. 854 pages.
$7.50. A standard, illustrated manual
for identification. Adult.

MANUAL OF INJURIOUS INSECTS. By
Glenn W. Herrick. Henry Holt & Co.,
Inc., New York. 1925. 489 pages.
$4.75. Valuable reference for adults.

THE MOTH BOOK. By W. J. Holland.
Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden
City, New York. 1933. 600 pages.
$5.00. New printing of a well-illus-
trated, standard book on moths. Adult.

MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. By Lina M.
Johns and May Averill. F. A. Owen
Publishing Co., Dansville, N. Y. New
edition, 1930. 128 pages. $,72. Very
brief stories of sixteen common moths
and butterflies, illustrated with photo-
graphs and drawings. Grades 3 to 4.

OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES. By Wil-
liam A. DuPuy. The John C. Winston
Co., Philadelphia. 1925. 318 pages.
$1.00. A book which aims "to show
the general reader the vastly important

893

relationship which exists between in-
sects and human beings." Grades 5
to 8.

OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES AND SPI-
DERS. The National Geographic So-
ciety, Washington, D. C. 1935. 252
pages. $2.50. A collection of splendidly
illustrated material that has appeared
in the National Geographic Magazine.
All grades.

SEASHORE ANIMALS OF THE PACIFIC
COAST. By Myrtle E. Johnson and
Harry J. Snook. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1927. 659 pages. $6.00. Ex-
cellent manual, touching chiefly in-
vertebrate animals. Adult.

SOCIAL LIFE AMONG THE INSECTS. By
William M. Wheeler. Harcourt, Brace
& Co., New York. 1923. 375 pages.
$5.00. An extremely interesting, com-
prehensive account. The same author
has written Ants, Their Structure, De-
velopment and Behavior, 1926, 663
pages, $7.50, published by the Colum-
bia University Press, New York; and
Colony-Founding Ants, 1933, 189
pages, $2.00, published by Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Adult.

SOCIAL LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD; THE
WONDERS OF INSTINCT. Both by Jean-
Henri C. Fabre. D. Appleton-Century
Co., Inc., New York. 1912, 1918. 327,
322 pages. $4.00 each. Charmingly told
studies, by a noted French scientist.
Adult. Others of his writings about in-
sects and their kin include: The Life
of the Spider, 1913, 404 pages; Bram-
ble Bees and Others, 1915, 456 pages;
The Hunting Wasps, 1915, 427 pages;
The Sacred Beetle and Others, 1918,
425 pages; More Beetles, 1922, 322
pages; The Glow-worm and Other
Beetles, 1919, 488 pages; More Hunt-
ing Wasps, 1921, 376 pages; The Life
of the Weevil, 1922, 346 pages; The
Life of the Scorpion, 1923, 344 pages;
all published by Dodd, Mead & Co.,
New York, $2.50 each.

THE SPIDER BOOK. By John Henry Com-
stock. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. 1940. 729 pages. $6.00.

§94

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Excellent manual, obtainable at many
libraries. Adult.

SPIDER WEBS AND SUNFLOWERS, By Mary
G. Phillips. D. C. Heath & Co., Bos-
ton. 1928, 257 pages. $.88. Authentic
information about spiders, in a fairy-
tale setting. Grade 4 and above.

STRANGE SEASHELLS AND THEIR STORIES.
By A. Hyatt Verrill. L. C. Page & Co.,
Boston. 1936. 211 pages. $2.50. Un-
usual information about shelled ani-
mals, emphasizing forms found along
the coasts of the United States.- Grade
6 and above.

TERMITE CITY. By Alfred E. Emerson
and Eleanor Fish. Rand, McNally Co.,
Chicago. 1937. 127 pages. $1.50. An
absorbing and excellently told story,
attractive in illustration and makeup.
Grades 5 to 8.

THE WITCHERY OF WASPS. By Edward
G. Reinhard. D. Appleton-Century

Co., Inc., New York. 1929. 291 pages.
$2.50. Vividly described studies of the
various kinds of American solitary
wasps. Adult.

THE WONDER WORLD OF ANTS. By Wil-
frid S. Bronson. Harcourt, Brace & Co.,
Inc., New York. 1937. 87 pages. $1.50.
An excellently illustrated, well-told
account of the structure of ants, and
of the habits of many kinds. Grades 4
to 6.

WONDERS OF INSECT LIFE. By F. Martin
Duncan and L. T. Duncan. Oxford
University Press, New York. 1927-
1929. 6 volumes, 84 to 88 pages each.
$.40 or $.55 each. Simply written mate-
rial on butterflies and moths, bees,
wasps and ants, beetles and flies, spi-
ders and scorpions, curious insects, and
insects in pond and stream. Prepared in
England. Grades 5 to 8.

PLANT LIFE

PLANTS IN GENERAL
(See also Nature Study in General)

THE BOOK OF PLANTS. By Bertha M.
Parker and Henry C. Cowles. Hough-
ton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1925. 252
pages. $1.16. Simply written material
planned to present certain fundamen-
tal ideas about plant life, for the most
part through concrete examples.
Grades 6 to 8.

THE COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS AND
THEIR MEANINGS. By Willard N. Clute.
W. N. Clute & Co., Indianapolis, Ind.
1931. 164 pages. $3.00. Interesting folk-
lore. Adult.

ECONOMIC BOTANY. By Albert F. Hill.
McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New
York. 1937. 592 pages. $4.00. A college
textbook of useful plants and plant
products. Adult.

FIELD BOOK OF WESTERN WILD FLOW-
ERS. By Margaret Armstrong. G. P. Put-
nam's Sons, New York. 1927. 596 pages.
$3.50. Good guide. Adult.

FIRST BOOK OF GRASSES. By Mrs. Agnes
Chase. W. A. Silveus, 832 Cambridge
Oval, San Antonio, Texas. Revised edi-
tion, 1937. 138 pages. $1.25. Explana-
tions of the structure of grasses, based
on a study of the commoner species, for
beginners. Adult.

FIRST STUDIES OF PLANT LIFE. By George
F. Atkinson. Ginn & Co., Boston. 1901.
266 pages. $.96. An older book, which
gives accurate, detailed information in
simple form. Grade 5 and above.

FLORA OF THE PRAIRIES AND PLAINS OF
CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA; FLORA OF
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT
PLAINS. Both by P. A. Rydberg. Pub-
lished by the Author, New York Bo-
tanical Garden, Bronx Park, N. Y.
1932, 1922. 969, 1110 pages. $5.50.
Valuable manuals. Adult.

FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED
STATES. By John K. Small. John K.

Small, New York. 1913. 1370 pages.
$5.00. Best manual for the region.
Adult.

FLORA OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. By
Philip Munz. J. W. Stacey, Inc., Dis-
tributor, San Francisco, Calif. 1935. 642
pages. $5.00. Valuable manual for the
region. Adult

FLORIDA WILD FLOWERS. By Mary F,
Baker. The Macmillan Co., New York.
New edition, 1938. 258 pages. $3.50,
An enlarged, more profusely illustrated
edition. Adult.

THE FLOWER AND THE BEE. By John H.
Lovell. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1918. 286 pages. $3.00. An inter-
esting study of plant life and plant
pollination. Adult.

FLOWER FAMILIES AND ANCESTORS. By F.
E. and Edith S. Clements. H. W. Wil-
son Co., New York. 1928. 156 pages.
$2.40. An interesting and well-illus-
trated introduction to the study of
plants and plant relationships. Adult.
The Clements Flower Books, pub-
lished by Wilson, include also: Flow-
ers of Coast and Sierra, 1928, 226 pages,
$3.00; Flowers of Mountain and Plain,
second edition, 1928, 79 pages, $1.50;
RocJcy Mountain Flowers, 1928, 392
pages, $3.50.

THE FLY-AWAYS AND OTHER SEED TRAV-
ELERS. By Francis M. Fultz. Public
School Publishing Co., Bloomington,
111. 1928 edition. 186 pages. $.75. An
old book, which contains much simple
information on seed dispersal. Grades
3 and 4.

THE FRAGRANT PATH. By Louise B.
Wilder. The Macmillan Company,
New York. 1932. 407 pages. $3.00. A
book about sweet-scented flowers and
leaves. Adult.

THE GREEN LEAF. By D. T. MacDougal.

896

D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., New
York. 1930. 141 pages. $2.00. A dis-
cussion of the work of green leaves,
one of Appleton's New World of Sci-
ence Series. Adult.

How PLANTS GET THEIR NAMES. By Lib-
erty Hyde Bailey. The Macmillan Co.?
New York. 1933. 215 pages. $2.50. An
explanation of the principles and prac-
tices of naming plants, told in a narra-
tive rather than in a technical way.
Adult.

How TO KNOW WILD FRUITS. By Maude
G. Peterson. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1923. 383 pages. $2.50. Descrip-
tions of about 200 species of plants of
the northeastern States., which have at-
tractively colored fruits, arranged ac-
cording to color of ripe fruit. Written
for adults, but useful in grade 6 and
above.

ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF NORTHERN UNITED
STATES, CANADA, and THE BRITISH
POSSESSIONS. By N. L. Britton and A.
Brown. H. de la Montagne, Jr., New
York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park,
New York. Second edition, 1913. Three
volumes, 680, 733, 637 pages. $13.50. A
complete, usable manual. Adult.

ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF THE PACIFIC
STATES. By Leroy Abrams. Stanford
University Press, Stanford University,
Calif. 1923. 570 pages. $9.00. Volume
One, Ferns to Birthworts, has been pub-
lished, two more volumes are in prepa-
ration. Adult.

LESSONS IN BOTANY. By Asa Gray. Ameri-
can Book Co., New York. 1887. 226
pages. $1.32. A clearly illustrated, un-
derstandable " grammar and diction-
ary " for use with manuals of botany.
Adult.

MANUAL OF CULTIVATED PLANTS. By Lib-
erty Hyde Bailey. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1924. 891 pages. $5.00.
Standard handbook. Adult.

MANUAL OF THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF
CALIFORNIA. By W. L. Jepson. Asso-
ciated Students Store, Berkeley, Calif.
1925. 1238 pages. $7.50. Technical work
for the West. Adult.

NEW MANUAL OF BOTANY. By Asa Gray.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Book Co., New York. 1908.
926 pages. $3.50. The classic man-
ual for the central and northeastern
United States and adjacent Canada.
Adult.

A NEW MANUAL OF THE BOTANY OF THE
CENTRAL ROCKY MOUNTAINS. By John
M. Coulter and A. Nelson. American
Book Co., New York. 1909. 646 pages.
$3.50. Standard manual for the region.
Adult.

OUR PLANT FRIENDS AND FOES. By Wil-
liam A. DuPuy. The John C. Winston
Co., Philadelphia. 1930. 277 pages.
$1.00. Accounts of many plants, most
of them of economic importance.
Grades 6 and 7.

PLANT LIFE AND PLANT USES. By John
M. Coulter. American Book Co., New
York. 1913. 480 pages. $1.80. The work
of a recognized authority. Adult.

PLANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN. By Mrs.
William S. Dana (Mrs. Frances T.
Parsons). American Book Co., New
York. 1896. 272 pages. $.84. Informa-
tion on plant life, arranged seasonally.
Grades 4 to 6.

PLANTS USEFUL TO MAN. By Wilfred
W. Robbins and Francis Ramaley.
P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia.
1933. Second edition, 422 pages. $3.50.
Interesting information, chiefly about
crop plants. Adult.

POISONOUS PLANTS OF THE UNITED
STATES. By W. C. Muenscher. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1939. 300
pages. $3.00 approx. Accounts of more
than 1 50 species of plants poisonous to
the touch or when eaten by human be-
ings or other animals. 75 full-page illus-
trations. Adult.

THE PRINCIPLES OF FLOWER ARRANGE-
MENT. By Edward A. White. A. T. De
La Mare Co., Inc. (Dodd, Mead &
Co.), New York. Third edition, re-
vised, 1936. 200 pages. $3.00. Useful to
those who wish to display flowers effec-
tively. Adult.

SCIENCE OF PLANT LIFE. By Edgar N.
Transeau. World Book Co., Yonkers,
N. Y. 1919. 336 pages. $1.68. A high
school text for a half year course in

BIBLIOGRAPHY

botany, useful as a reference. Grade 8
and above.

SOUTHERN WILD FLOWERS AND TREES.
By Alice Lounsberry. F. A. Stokes Co.,
New York. 1901. 570 pages. $5.00.
Good handbook for the Southeast.
Adult

SPRING WILD FLOWERS OF THE OPEN
FIELD. (Western Nature Study Series.)
Edited by Gayle Pickwell. Suttonhouse,
Ltd., Publishers, Los Angeles, Calif.
1933. 156 pages. $2.50. A well-illus-
trated presentation of the wild flowers
of California hills and lowlands. Adult.

TEXAS WILD FLOWERS. By Ellen D.
Schulz. Laidlaw Brothers, Chicago.
1928. 505 pages. $3.00. The best popu-
lar book for the region. Adult.

USEFUL PLANTS OF THE WORLD. By Wil-
lard N. Clute. W. N. Clute & Co., In-
dianapolis, Ind. Second edition, 1928.
237 pages. $3.75. Discussion of many
species, both cultivated and wild,
grouped according to use. Adult.

USEFUL WILD PLANTS OF THE UNITED

STATES AND CANADA. By Charles F,
Saunders. Robert M. McBride & Co.,
New York. 1920. 275 Pages. (Out of
print.) Information about wild plants
used for food, beverages, soaps, medi-
cines and for other purposes. Grade 6
and above.

WESTERN FLOWER GUIDE. By Charles F.
Saunders. Doubleday, Doran & Co.,
Garden City, N. Y. 1917. 286 pages.
$1.75. An illustrated, pocket-sized guide
to easy identification. The same author
has written Western Wild Flowers and
Their Stories, 1933, 334 pages, $3.00,
history and myths concerning flowers
and flowering shrubs, also published by
Doubleday. Adult.

WILD FLOWERS AND FERNS IN THEIR
HOMES AND IN OUR GARDENS. By Her-
bert Durand. G. P. Putnam's Sons,
New York. 1925. 410 text pages. $3.50.
Revised and enlarged edition of a book
concerned with wild plants and their
culture. Well illustrated. Adult.

WILD FLOWERS AND WEEDS

ACCORDING TO SEASON. By Frances Theo-
dora Parsons (Mrs. William Starr
Dana). Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. New edition, 1924. 197 pages.
$1.50. Talks about the flowers in the
order of their appearance. Adult.

THE BOOK OF WILD FLOWERS. Edited by
W. J. Showalter. The National Geo-
graphic Society, Washington, D. C.
Revised edition, 1933, 243 pages. $3.00.
A compilation of material from the Na-
tional Geographic Magazine describing
and illustrating about 250 species, in-
cluding some familiar grasses. All
grades.

THE BOOK OF WILD FLOWERS FOR YOUNG
PEOPLE. By F. Schuyler Mathews. G. P.
Putnam's Sons, New York. 1923. 412
pages. $3.00. Information presented
through conversations, arranged accord-
ing to seasonal sequence. Grades 6 to 8.

FIELD BOOK OF AMERICAN WILD FLOW-

ERS. By F. Schuyler Mathews. G. P.
Putnam's Sons, New York. 1929. 610
text pages. $3.50. Useful, pocket-sized
guide which illustrates and describes
many species of flowering plants found
east of the icoth meridian. Grade 6 and
above, although planned for adults.

THE FLOWER FINDER. By George L. Wal-
ton. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia.
Revised edition, 1935. 394 pages. $2.50.
Handbook for identification, illustrated
with pen and ink drawings. Adult.

FLOWER GUIDE: WILD FLOWERS EAST OF
THE ROCKIES. By Chester A. Reed.
Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City,
New York. 1911. 228 pages. $1.25. A
handy pocket guide, illustrated in color,
useful but not complete. Grade 6 and
above.

FLOWERS OF THE WILD: THEIR CULTURE
AND REQUIREMENTS. By Frank C. Pel-
lett. A. T. De La Mare Co., Inc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

( Dodd, Mead & Co.), New York, 1931.
170 pages. $1.00. Accounts of most of
the common wild flowers suited for
naturalization or cultivation in the
northeastern States and some from the
West. Adult.

A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS. By Alice
Lounsberry. F. A. Stokes Co., New
York. 1899. 347 pages. $5.00. Well-
known, illustrated handbook. Adult.

A GUIDE TO THE WILD FLOWERS EAST OF

THE MISSISSIPPI AND NORTH OF VlR-

GINIA. By Norman Taylor. Garden City
Publishing Co., Garden City, N. Y.
1928. 367 pages. $1.59. Nontechnical
keys and descriptions of 1200 kinds of
wild flowers, vines and water plants.
Illustrated. Grade 7 and above.

How TO KNOW THE WILD FLOWERS. By
Mrs. Frances T. Parsons. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, New York. New edition,
1921. 346 pages. $3.50. An old, but use-
ful guide to the names, haunts and hab-
its of about 400 wild flowers of eastern
United States. Grade 7 and above.

A MANUAL OF WEEDS. By Ada Georgia.
The Macmillan Co., New York. 1914.
593 Pages. $3.00. An excellent source
of information about common weed
plants. Written for adults, but useful
in grade 6 and above.

MY WILD FLOWER GARDEN. By Herbert
Durand. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New
York. 1927. 242 pages. $2.75. Charm-
ing descriptions of making wild flower
gardens. Adult.

OUR EARLY WILD FLOWERS; THE WAY-
SIDE FLOWERS OF SUMMER; OUR
NORTHERN AUTUMN. All by Harriet L.
Keeler. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1916, 1917, 1920. 252, 288, 194
pages. $2.50, $2.00, $2.00. Helpful, ac-

curate information, pleasant to read.
Grade j and above.

SOME FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. Com-
piled by James E. Jones. The Macmil-
lan Co., New York. 1930. 98 pages.
$.50. A pocket manual for identifica-
tion of wild flowers of northern United
States and Canada. Small photographs,
arranged according to color of flower,
with brief text. Grade 6 and above.

WEEDS. By W. C. Muenscher. The Mac-
rnillan Co., New York. 1935. 599 Pages.
$6.00. An excellent, illustrated guide to
the weeds of the United States and
Canada, and their control. Adult.

WILD FLOWERS. By Homer D. House.
The Macmillan Co., New York. Im-
perial edition, 1936. 626 pages. $3.95.
An extensive treatment, containing
probably the largest collection of col-
ored illustrations available in any one
book, and considering many species of
plants, most of which grow in eastern
United States, although a few are west-
ern species. All grades.

WILD FLOWERS AT A GLANCE. By Julius
King. Harter Publishing Co., Cleve-
land, Ohio. 1935. 62 pages. $.10. A
small guide, illustrated in color, to
some of the commoner wild flowers.
All ages.

WILD FLOWERS OF THE ALLEGHANIES. By
Joseph E. Harned. Published by the
Author, Oakland, Md. 1936. 707 pages.
$3.75. An illustrated guide to identifi-
cation. Adult.

WILD FLOWERS OF AMERICA. By Jane
Harvey. Whitman Publishing Co.,
Racine, Wis. 1932. 96 pages. $.10.
Pocket-sized guide, with a brief de-
scription of each flower, and fair col-
ored illustrations. All ages.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

FERN ALLIES OF NORTH AMERICA. By
Willard N. Clute. W. N. Clute & Co.,
Indianapolis, Ind. 1928. 288 pages.
$4.00. Best popular guide to the horse-

tails, club mosses or ground pines and
closely related plants. Well illustrated.
Adult.
FERNS OF THE NORTHWEST. By Theodore

BIBLIOGRAPHY

C. Frye. Binfords & Mort, Portland,
Ore. 1934. 184 pages. $2.00. Useful
guide. Adult.

FERNS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES. By
John K. Small. Science Press Printing
Co., Lancaster, Pa. 1938. 517 pages.
$3.50. Standard manual. The same au-
thor has prepared The Ferns of New
York City, 1935, 2§5 Pages> $2-5°? pub-
lished by Science Press. Adult.

FIELD BOOK OF COMMON FERNS, By Her-
bert Durand. G. P. Putnam's Sons,
New York. 1928. 220 pages. $2.50.
Pocket-sized guide to 50 common ferns
of eastern North America. Grade 6 and
above.

FIELD BOOK OF COMMON MUSHROOMS.
By William S. Thomas. G. P. Put-
nam's Sons, New York. 1936. 392 pages.
$3.50. A helpful, pocket-sized guide,
illustrated with 17 color plates, which
considers about 100 species of common
mushrooms. Grade 6 and above.

GUIDE TO EASTERN FERNS. By Edgar T.
Wherry. Science Press Printing Co.,
Lancaster, Pa. 1937. 220 pages. $1.00.
A helpful guide to about 100 ferns and
fern allies (horsetails, club mosses and
their relatives) of eastern North Amer-
ica, particularly the middle Atlantic re-
gion. Somewhat technical, well illus-
trated. Grade 7 and above.

How TO KNOW THE FERNS. By Frances T.
Parsons. Charles Scribner's Sons, New
York. 1922. 215 pages. $2.50. Manual,
concisely and interestingly written.
Adult.

How TO KNOW THE MOSSES. By Mrs.
Elizabeth M. Dunham. Houghton Mif-
flin Co., Boston. 1916. 287 pages. $2.50.
A beginner's guide to the mosses of
northeastern United States, describing
about 150 species. Grade 6 and above.

THE LICHEN FLORA OF THE UNITED
STATES. By Bruce Fink. University of
Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Mich.
1935. 426 pages. $4.00. Technical man-
ual. Adult.

MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS. By A. J.
Grout. A. J. Grout, New Brighton,
Conn. 1924. 339 pages. $3.50. Popular
guide to the common or conspicuous
mosses and liverworts of northeastern
United States. Adult.

THE MUSHROOM BOOK. By Nina L. Mar-
shall. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden
City, N. Y. 1936. 203 pages. $3.00. A
reissue of an older guide to the com-
moner fungi, with special emphasis on
the edible varieties. Adult.

THE MUSHROOM HANDBOOK. By Louis
C. C. Krieger. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1935. 552 Pa§es- $3-5°- A
popular, reliable guide to the higher
fungi, describing 238 species. Abun-
dantly illustrated. Grade 7 and
above.

MUSHROOMS. By W. B. McDougall.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1925.
160 pages. $3.50. Handbook of edible
and inedible species, describing about
100 kinds. Grade 6 and above.

MUSHROOMS OF FIELD AND WOOD. By
Margaret McKenny. Reynal & Hitch-
cock, Inc., New York. 1929. 210 pages.
$2,00. Guide to about 130 species of
the larger and more conspicuous forms
of mushrooms. Grade 7 and above.

OUR FERNS; THEIR HAUNTS, HABITS AND
FOLKLORE. By Willard N. Clute. W. N.
Clute & Co.? Indianapolis, Ind. 1938,
338 pages. $4.00. An abundantly illus-
trated, popular account of all ferns east
of the Mississippi and north of the
Gulf States. Adult.

GARDEN FLOWERS AND CULTIVATED CROP PLANTS

ADVENTURES IN GARDENING FOR BOYS AND
GIRLS. By Maurice G. Kains. Green-
berg Publisher, Inc., New York. 1937.
288 pages. $2.50. Detailed story of gar-

dening, which suggests many experi-
ments. Ages 10 to 15.
BEGINNING TO GARDEN. By Helen P.
Wodell. The Macmillan Co., New

goo

BIBLIOGRAPHY

York. 1928. 104 pages. $1.00. A satis-
factory guide for beginning gardeners.
Grades 4 to 7.

THE BOOK OF ANNUALS; THE BOOK OF
PERENNIALS. Both by Alfred C. Hottes.
A. T. De La Mare Co., Inc. (Dodd,
Mead & Co.), New York. 1928, 1927.
182, 200 pages. $1.50, $2.00. Profusely
illustrated guides. Adult.

BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS. By Wilfred W.
Robbins. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Inc.,
Philadelphia. Third revised edition,
1931. 639 pages. $4.00. Standard refer-
ence and textbook. Adult.

THE CHILDREN MAKE A GARDEN. By
Dorothy H. Jenkins. Doubleday, Doran
& Co., Garden City, N. Y. 1936. 70
pages. $1.50. Practical and simple di-
rections and suggestions. Grades 3 to 5.

THE CHILD'S FOOD GARDEN. By Van
Evrie Kilpatrick. World Book Co.,
Yonkers, N. Y. 1918. 64 pages. $.36. A
brief guide, emphasizing food plants.
Grade 4 and above.

CORN AND CORN GROWING. By Henry A.
Wallace and Earl N. Bressman. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Fourth
edition, revised, 1937. 436 pages. $2.75.
Extensive discussion, one of the Wiley
Farm Series. Adult.

COTTON AND OTHER USEFUL FIBERS. By
N. B. Allen. Ginn & Co., Boston. 1929.
368 pages. $.96. One of the Stories of
Raw Materials. Grades 5 to 7.

FLOWERS AND THEIR TRAVELS. By Frances
M. Fox. Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianap-
olis, Ind. 1936. 229 pages. $1.50. Ac-
counts of the origin and cultivation of
many garden plants, of weeds and their
travels, of famous botanists, and other
material about plants. Grade 5 and
above.

GARDEN BULBS IN COLOR. By J. Horace
McFarland, R. Marion Hatton and
Daniel J. Foley. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1938. 296 pages. $3.50. 275
colored pictures and numerous half-
tones, with text describing each plant
and evaluating it for the average gar-
den. Adult.

GARDEN FLOWERS IN COLOR. By Glendon
A. Stevens. The Macmillan Co., New

York. 1934. 320 pages. $3.75; Imperial
edition, $1.98. A picture cyclopedia of
flowers, prepared for adults, but useful
also for children.

GARDEN GUIDE: THE AMATEUR GARDEN-
ERS' HANDBOOK. Edited and published
by A. T. De La Mare Co., Inc. (Dodd,
Mead & Co.), New York. 1917, rewrit-
ten and enlarged, 1934. 576 pages.
$2.00. A comprehensive illustrated
guide of established popularity. Adult.

THE GARDEN MONTH BY MONTH. By
Mabel C. Sedgwick. F. A. Stokes Co.,
New York. 1935. 5l& Pa§es- $8-50.
Well illustrated, with text in tabular
form. Adult.

THE GARDENER'S FIRST YEAR; THE GAR-
DENER'S SECOND YEAR. Both by Alfred
Bates. Longmans, Green & Co., New
York. 1936, 1937. 256, 287 pages. $2.00
each. The first of these simply written
guides for beginning gardeners discusses
culture and kinds of annuals; the sec-
ond perennials and bulbs. Grade 6 and
above.

GARDENING INDOORS. By F. F. Rockwell
and Esther C. Grayson. The Macmil-
lan Co., New York. 1938. 201 pages.
$2.50. Discussions of types of indoor
gardens and suggestions for starting
and maintaining them. Adult.

GARDENS IN GLASS. By Mildred N. An-
drews. A. T. De La Mare Co.? Inc.
(Dodd, Mead & Co.), New York. 1934.
120 pages. $1.50. An interesting vol-
ume on the art of terrarium building.
Adult.

HORTUS. A CONCISE DICTIONARY OF GAR-
DENING, GENERAL HORTICULTURE, AND
CULTIVATED PLANTS IN NORTH AMER-
ICA. Compiled by L. H. Bailey and
Ethel Z. Bailey. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1935. 755 pages. $5.00. A
newly revised edition, with a supple-
ment.

THE JUNIOR GARDENER. By Dorothy W.
Greene and Rosetta C. Goldsmith.
Vanguard Press, New York. 1934. 53
pages. $1.25. Suggestions for the child's
first garden, presented attractively.
Ages 8 to 14.

PETER AND PENNY PLANT A GARDEN. By

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gertrude Dubois and Frances Dubois.
F. A. Stokes Co., New York. 1936. 220
pages. $1.25. An elementary garden
book, presented in story form. Grades
4 to 6.

THE STORY BOOK OF FOODS FROM THE
FIELD. By Maud F. and Miska Peter-
sham. The John C. Winston Co.,
Philadelphia. 1936. 128 pages. $2.00; or
in four separate volumes, $.60 each.

901

Well-told information, beautifully il-
lustrated in color, about wheat, corn,
rice and sugar. Grades 3 to 6.
THE STORY OF COTTON. By Dorothy
Scarborough. Harper & Brothers, New
York. 1933. 99 pages. $1.25. The his-
tory, cultivation and uses of cotton,
written in narrative form, presenting
the social and economic sides of the
industry. Ages 10 to 16.

TREES, SHRUBS AND WOODY VINES

THE APPLE TREE. By Liberty Hyde
Bailey. The Macmillan Co., New York.
1922. 117 pages. (Out of print.) A de-
lightful means of gaining acquaintance
with apple trees. Adult.

FIELD BOOK OF AMERICAN TREES AND
SHRUBS. By F. Schuyler Mathews.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 1915.
482 pages. $3.50. A helpful guide for
the identification of native trees and
shrubs throughout the United States,
through keys, illustrations and descrip-
tions. Grade 6 and above.

THE FOREST: A HANDBOOK FOR TEACH-
ERS. By Mrs. D. Priscilla Edgerton. Su-
perintendent of Documents, Govern-
ment Printing Office, Washington,
D. C. Misc. Circular 98. 1927. 72 pages.
$.10. Outlines by grades, supplemen-
tary exercises and helpful suggestions
for the study of trees and forestry.
Adult.

FOREST FACTS FOR SCHOOLS. By Charles
L. Pack and Tom Gill. The Macmillan
Co., New York. 1931. 346 pages. $1.00.
A satisfactory survey of forests and for-
est problems, arranged in five units.
Grades 7 and 8.

FORESTS AND MANKIND. By Charles L.
Pack and Tom Gill. The Macmillan
Co., New York. 1929. 250 pages. $3.00.
A comprehensive, humanistic treat-
ment of the subject. Adult.

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE TREES.
By }. Horace McFarland. The Macmil-
lan Co., New York. 1904. 241 pages.

$1.75. Popular nonscientific sketches
about common trees. Adult.

A GUIDE TO THE TREES. By Alice Louns-
berry. F. A. Stokes Co., New York.
1900. 313 pages. $5.00. A rather liter-
ary presentation of information about
nearly two hundred trees and some
shrubs, most of them found in north-
eastern America. Grade 7 and above.

HANDBOOK OF TREES OF THE NORTHEAST-
ERN UNITED STATES AND CANADA. By
Romeyn B. Hough. Romeyn B. Hough
Co., Lowville, N. Y. 1924. 470 pages.
$6.00. A well-illustrated manual. Adult.

How A TREE GROWS. By William Som-
erville. Oxford University Press,
New York. 1927. 212 pages. $3.50.
A detailed and interesting study.
Adult.

KNOWING YOUR TREES. By G. H. Colling-
wood. American Forestry Association,
Washington, D. C. 1937. 1O9 Pages*
$1.00. A large book containing descrip-
tions of fifty American trees, with pho-
tographs of the whole trees, the bark,
leaf, flower and fruit, and maps show-
ing their distribution. Adult.

MANUAL OF CULTIVATED TREES AND
SHRUBS HARDY IN NORTH AMERICA. By
Alfred Rehder. The Macmillan Co.,
New York. 1934. 930 pages. $5.00.
A standard comprehensive manual.
Adult.

MANUAL OF TREES OF NORTH AMERICA.
By Charles S. Sargent. Houghton Mif-
flin Co., Boston. 1922. 910 pages. $5.00,

902

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Standard manual for advanced stu-
dents. Adult.

MAPLE SUGAR TIME. By Royce S. Pitkin.
Stephen Daye Press, Brattleboro, Vt.
1934. 64 pages. $1.00. A simple story of
two boys7 experiences. Ages 6 to 10.

NUTS AND CITRUS FRUITS. By Francis C.
Owen and Ellen M. Ramsay. F. A.
Owen Publishing Co., Dansville, N. Y.
1928. 128 pages. $.72. Simply written
informational material. Grades 3 and 4.

OUR FORESTS: A NATIONAL PROBLEM. By
Ben J. Rohan. C. C. Nelson Publish-
ing Co., Appleton, Wis. 1929. 190
pages. $1.50. A useful summary, writ-
ten from the point of view of conserva-
tion; volume one of the Exploratory
Science Series, which includes also
Plant and Animal Neighbors, Conser-
vation, by Frank B. Younger and Our
Food Supply, Agriculture, by Alfred G.
Oosterhous. Grades 7 and 8.

OUR NATIVE TREES AND How TO IDEN-
TIFY THEM; OUR NORTHERN SHRUBS
AND How TO IDENTIFY THEM. Both by
Harriet L. Keeler. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York. 1900, 1903. 557, 551
pages. $3.00 each. Descriptions and il-
lustrations of trees and shrubs of north-
eastern United States, including native
species and some naturalized plants.
Adult.

OUR TREES; How TO KNOW THEM. By
Arthur L Emerson and Clarence M.
Weed. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadel-
phia. Fifth edition, 1937. 295 pages.
$2.75. A guide for use in any season,
including about 140 species of trees of
the United States. Grade 6 and above.

AN OUTLINE OF GENERAL FORESTRY. By
Joseph S. Illick. Barnes & Nobles, Inc.,
New York. 1936. 275 pages. $1.50.
Good summary, one of the college out-
line series of abbreviated textbooks.
Adult.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN TREES AND SHRUBS. By
Burton O. Longyear. G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York. 1927. 262 pages.
$3.50. Popular manual. Adult.

THE STORY OF THE FOREST. By J. Gordon
Dorrance. American Book Co., New
York. 1916. 237 pages. $.76. A narra-

tive account containing interesting ma-
terial. Grades 4 to 6.

THE STORY OF A THOUSAND-YEAR PINE
AND OTHER TALES OF WILD LIFE. By
Enos A. Mills. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston. 1914. 119 pages. $1.25 or $.32.
Selected tales of the author's experi-
ences. Grade 8 and above.

TALKING LEAVES. By Julius King. The
Harter Publishing Co., Cleveland,
Ohio. 1934. 62 pages. $.10. Pictures and
brief descriptions to help children in
identifying 59 of the most familiar
American trees.

THE TREE BOOK. By Julia Ellen Rogers.
Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City,
N. Y. 1914. 589 pages. $5.00. Descrip-
tions of many kinds of trees, and infor-
mation of a general nature, written in
simple, informal style, occasionally in-
accurate. Grade 6 and above.

TREE FLOWERS OF FOREST, PARK AND
STREET. By Walter E. Rogers. Pub-
lished by the author, Appleton, Wis.
1935. 500 pages. $7.50. Chiefly beauti-
ful pictures. Adult.

TREES. By Julia Ellen Rogers. Grosset &
Dunlap, New York. 1909. 248 pages.
$1.00. A simple account of common
trees, written for children of grade 4
and above.

TREES. By O. L. Sponsler. George Wahr,
Ann Arbor, Mich. 1923. 158 pages.
$1 .50. Well-illustrated, nontechnical
pocket guide to trees of the Great Lakes
region. Grade 7 and above.

TREES AS GOOD CITIZENS. By Charles L.
Pack. American Nature Association,
Washington, D. C. 1922. 257 pages.
$2.00. Identification, selection for vari-
ous places, culture, and uses of many
kinds of trees. Well illustrated. Adult.

TREES IN WINTER, THEIR STUDY, PLANT-
ING, CARE AND IDENTIFICATION. By Al-
bert F. Blakeslee and C. D. Jarvis. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1926. 446
pages. $2.00. Well-illustrated hand-
book showing buds, bark, habit and
other characters of trees of northeast-
ern United States. Adult.

TREES OF NORTH AMERICA. By Donald
C. Peattie. Whitman Publishing Co.,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

903

Racine, Wis. 1934. 96 pages. $.10.
Pocket-sized descriptive guide to 178
trees, illustrated in color. Age 10 and
above.

TREES OF NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES,
NATIVE AND NATURALIZED. By H. P.
Brown. Christopher Publishing House,
Boston. 1938. 490 pages. $3.00. A book
for those who are seriously interested
in studying trees, containing descrip-
tions and detailed line drawings of 152
kinds of trees. Adult.

TREES OF THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES. By
William C. Coker and Henry R. Tot-
ten. University of North Carolina
Press, Chapel Hill, N. C. 1934. 450
pages. $2.00. A scientific description,
simply presented, of about 200 native,
naturalized and rare species of trees
and shrubs found in the region. Adult.

UNDER THESE TREES. By Grace Hum-
phrey. Milton Bradley Co., Springfield,
Mass. 1925. 278 pages. $1.75. Stories of
ten famous trees of history.

EARTH AND SKY

THE EARTH AND ITS LIFE

THE ADVENTURES OF A GRAIN OF DUST.
By F. B. Atkinson (Hallam Hawks-
worth, pseud.). Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York. 1922. 261 pages. $1.20.
Entertaining and instructive story of
soil formation and maintenance. Grade
6 and above.

ALONG THE HILL. By Carroll L. Fenton.
Reynal & Hitchcock, New York. 1935.
103 pages. $1.25. A very satisfactory lit-
tle book, presenting much information
about the history and makeup of the
earth. Grades 5 to 7.

ANIMALS OF THE PAST. By Frederic A.
Lucas. American Museum of Natural
History, New York. 1929. 221 pages.
$.75. A new edition of an older book,
which discusses fossils and how they
are formed, why animals become ex-
tinct, and is devoted particularly to
some of the more remarkable fossil ani-
mals. Illustrated. Adult.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE EARTH. By John
H. Bradley. Coward-McCann, Inc.,
New York. 1935. 347 pages. $3.00. An
interesting life history of the earth and
the changes through which it has
passed. The author's earlier book, The
Parade of the Living, 1930, 308 pages,
$3.00, also published by Coward-
McCann, is an equally interesting story
of the development of life on the earth.
Adult.

BEASTS OF THE TAR PITS: TALES OF AN-
CIENT AMERICA; ANCIENT ANIMALS.
Both by William W. Robinson. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1932, 1934.
55, 108 pages. $2.00 each. Two very
attractive books, the first telling of the
animals whose fossils have been found
in the tar pits near Los Angeles, and
the second devoted chiefly to the his-
tory of backboned animals. Grades 5
to 8.

BEFORE THE DAWN OF HISTORY. By
Charles R. Knight. Whittlesey House,
McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New
York. 1935. 127 pages. $2.50. A large
book, containing 44 full-page reproduc-
tions of probably the best restorations
known of ancient geologic times.
Grade 5 and above.

THE BOOK OF MINERALS. By Alfred C.
Hawkins. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
New York. 1935. 173 pages. $1.50. A
nontechnical story of the important
minerals which furnish products in
daily use, or which furnish gem stones.
For adults and older children.

THE BOOK OF PREHISTORIC ANIMALS. By
Raymond L. Ditmars. J. B. Lippincott
Co., Philadelphia. 1935. 64 pages.
$2.00. Chiefly accounts of animals that
lived after the dawn of the age of rep-
tiles, the beginning of the Triassic pe-
riod, illustrated with colored pictorial
maps. Grade 6 and above.

THE BOY'S BOOK OF THE EARTH. By Sid-
ney A. Small. E. P. Button & Co., New
York. 1924. 281 pages. $1.00. An older
account of the earth and the develop-
ment of its life. Grades 7 and 8.

CONSERVATION OF THE SOIL. By A. F.
Gustafson. McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
Inc., New York. 1937. 312 pages. $3.00.
Detailed discussion for adults.

DOWN TO EARTH. By Carey Croneis and
William C. Krumbein. University of
Chicago Press, Chicago. 1936. 501
pages. $3.75 or $5.00. An introduction
to geology, prepared both for the gen-
eral reader and for use as a text. Adult.

THE EARTH CHANGES. By Jannette M.
Lucas. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadel-
phia. 1937. 88 pages. $2.50. Accounts
of geologic changes, mineral deposits,
climatic conditions, and the main char-
acteristics of plant and animal life dur-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

9°5

ing fourteen geologic periods since the
beginning of Paleozoic time, illustrated
with attractive and helpful colored
maps. Grade 5 and above.

THE EARTH FOR SAM. By W. Maxwell
Reed. Harcourt, Brace & Co., New
York. 1930. 399 pages. $3.50. A long,
abundantly illustrated account of geo-
logic history, particularly since the Si-
lurian period. Grade 5 and above.

EXPLORING THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE. By
Dorothy Fisk. Oxford University Press,
New York. 1934. 166 pages. $1.75. A
popular account, interestingly written.
Grade 7 and above.

FIELD BOOK OF COMMON ROCKS AND
MINERALS. By Frederic B. Loomis.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 1923.
296 pages. $3.50. A well-illustrated,
standard handbook for identifying
rocks and minerals. Primarily for
adults.

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE EARTH. By
Harold O. Rugg and Louise Krueger.
Ginn & Co., Boston. 1937. 275 pages.
$.80. Useful, simply written informa-
tion about the earth and its life; vol-
ume one of the Rugg Social Science
Series. Grades 3 to 5.

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH MINERALS.
By George L. English. Mineralogical
Publishing Co., Rochester, N. Y. 1934.
324 pages. $2.50. Interestingly written
book for the layman with suitable tech-
nical information. Adult.

LIFE LONG AGO: THE STORY OF FOSSILS.
By Carroll L. Fenton. Reynal & Hitch-
cock, New York. 1937. 297 pages.
$3.50. Perhaps the most complete ac-
count, for young readers, of fossils and
of life since its beginning on earth.
Grade 6 and above.

LITTLE WATERS, THEIR USE AND RELA-
TIONS TO THE LAND. By H. S. Person.
Superintendent of Documents, Wash-
ington, D. C. Revised, 1936. 82 pages.
$.15. A simply written, abundantly il-
lustrated study of headwater streams
and other little waters in relation to
flood control. Grade 7 and above.

THE LIVING PAST. By John C. Merriam.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
1930. 144 pages. $2.00. Authentic ac-

counts of ancient life, written in simple
language. Adult.

MIGHTY ANIMALS. By Jennie I. Mix.
American Book Co., New York. 1912.
144 pages. $.60. Chiefly valuable for its
description of the method by which
fossil bones were recovered from rock
and prepared for display. Grades 5 to 6.

NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS. By
T. L. Lyon and H. O. Buckman. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1929. 428
pages. $3.50. A readable discussion of
the physical nature of soil, plant nutri-
ents in soils, the origin of soils, main-
tenance of soil fertility, acidity, nitro-
gen relationships and fertilizers. Adult.

OUR AMAZING EARTH. By Carroll Lane
Fenton. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. 1938. 363 pages. $4.50.
A popular presentation of geology for
the general reader. Illustrated. Adult.

OLD MOTHER EARTH. By Kirtley F.
Mather. Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Mass. 1929. 177 pages.
$2.50. A popular presentation of his-
torical geology, with simple, clear illus-
trations. Adult.

OUR PLANET THE EARTH; THEN AND Now.
By Lillian Rifkin. Lothrop, Lee & Shep-
ard Co., New York. 1934. 62 pages.
$1.75. A brief, well-illustrated survey of
the development of the earth and its
life; worked out in a fifth grade class-
room. Grades 4 to 5.

THE RIVER. By Pare Lorentz. Stackpole
Sons, New York. 1938. 64 pages. $2.00.
An excellently illustrated history of the
Mississippi River and its valley, from
the standpoint of flood and soil erosion
control. Grade 5 and above.

SOIL EROSION AND ITS CONTROL. By
Quincy C. Ayres. McGraw-Hill Book
Co., Inc., New York. 1936. 365 pages.
$3.50. Adult.

SOIL EROSION CONTROL. By Austin E.
Burges. Turner E. Smith & Co., At-
lanta, Ga. 1936. 221 pages. $1.60. Prac-
tical exposition of the new science of
soil erosion control, for students, farm-
ers and the general public.

THE STORY BOOK OF EARTH'S TREASURES.
By Maud F. and Miska Petersham.
The John C. Winston Co., Philadel-

906

BIBLIOGRAPHY

phia. 1935. 128 pages. $2.00, or in four
separate volumes, $.60 each. Simply
written, beautifully illustrated stories of
coal, gold, oil, and iron and steel.
Grades 3 to 6.

THE STORY OF A BILLION YEARS. By W.
O. Hotchkiss. Williams & Wilkins Co.,
Baltimore, Md. 1932. 137 pages. $1.00.
An excellent short, popular account of
the changes in the earth. Adult.

THE STORY OF EARTH AND SKY. By Carle-
ton W. Washburne and Heluiz C.
Washburne, in collaboration with
Frederick Reed. D. Appleton-Century
Co., Inc., New York. 1933, 1935* 388
pages. $3.50; students' edition. $1.32. A
comprehensive book, containing mate-
rial on the earth and its history, the
solar system, stars and other heavenly
bodies, with a section on How We
Found Out These Things. Grades 5
to 8.

THE STORY OF EARTHQUAKES AND VOL-
CANOES. By Gaylord Johnson. Julian
Messner, Inc., New York. 1938. 144
pages. $2.00. A fascinating story com-
bining geology and history. Grade j
and above.

THE STORY OF THE MINERALS. By Herbert
P. Whitlock. American Museum of

Natural History, New York. 1932. 144
pages. $1.00. A helpful brief story, No.
12, of the Museum Handbook Series.
Adult.

STORIES IN STONE. By Willis T. Lee. D.
Van Nostrand Co., Inc., New York.
1926. 226 pages. $3.00. A readable story
of earth forms in North America.
Grade 7 and above.

THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A PEBBLE.
By F. B. Atkinson (Hallam Hawks-
worth, pseud.). Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York. 1921. 309 pages. $1.20.
Entertaining and instructive material
about the earth, arranged for study
month by month. Grade 6 and above.

THIS EARTH OF OURS. By Jean-Henri C.
Fabre. D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc.,
New York. 1923. 349 pages. $2.50.
Sketches on physical geography, more
valuable as science literature than as a
source of information. Grade 7 and
above.

THE WORLD OF FOSSILS. By Carroll Lane
Fenton. D. Appleton-Century Co.,
Inc., New York. 1933. 192 pages. $2.00.
A discussion of the methods of the
paleontologist and of discoveries about
life in North America in prehistoric
times. Adult.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

FOGS AND CLOUDS. By W. J. Humphreys.
Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore,
Md. 1926. 104 pages. $4.00. Beautiful
collection of cloud pictures. The au-
thor's Weather Rambles, 1937, 265
pages, $2.50, published by Williams &
Wilkins, is also valuable. Adult.

METEOROLOGY. By Willis I. Milham. The
Macmillan Co., New York. 1912. 549
pages. $4.40. A clear, understandable
textbook about the weather. Adult.

METEOROLOGY. By Donald S. Piston. P.
Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia.
1931. 194 pages. $2.50. Planned as a
college text in the science of weather,
but useful for reference. Adult.

WEATHER. By E. E. Free and Travis

Hoke. Robert M. McBride & Co., New
York. 1928. 337 pages. $3.00, or $1.75.
A popularly written book designed to
tell Americans "what weather facts
they yearn to know/' Adult.

WEATHER. (NATURAL HISTORY STUDIES,
No. 4.) By Gayle Pickwell. McGraw-
Hill Book Company. 1937. 180
pages. $3.00. A large beautifully illus-
trated book, which presents a simply
told story of the weather and its fac-
tors. Grade 7 and above.

WHY THE WEATHER? By Charles F.
Brooks, with the collaboration of Elea-
nor S. Brooks and John Nelson. Har-
court, Brace & Co., New York. Revised
and enlarged edition, 1935. 312 pages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

907

$2.50. A simple, readable discussion of
general features of the weather. Grade
6 and above.

THE WONDERS OF WATER. By Marian E.
Baer. Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., New

York. 1938. 122 pages. $1.50. A simply
told story of water, its forms and its
importance to living things. Ages 7
to 10.

STARS AND SKY

ASTRONOMY FOR THE LAYMAN. By Frank
Reh. D. Appleton-Century Co. Inc.,
New York. 1936. 325 pages. $3.00. An
interesting and helpful book for the
average reader. Adult.

ASTRONOMY FOR YOUNG FOLKS. By Isa-
bel M. Lewis. Dodd, Mead & Co., New
York. Revised edition, 1932. 351 pages.
$2.00. A clearly written, accurate de-
scriptive account, including directions
for recognizing the constellations of
each month. Grade 5 and above.

ASTRONOMY FROM A DIPPER. By Eliot C.
Clarke. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
New edition, 1933. 80 pages. $1.25. A
pocket handbook showing how to lo-
cate the principal stars, using the
Big Dipper as a starting point. Grades
4 to 6.

A BEGINNER'S STAR BOOK. By Edgar G.
Murphy (Kelvin McKready, pseud.).
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
Fourth revised edition, 1937. 176 pages.
$3.50. One of the best guides and
sources of information for amateurs.
Adult, but useful in grade 7 and above.

THE BOOK OF STARS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
By William T. Olcott. G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York. 1923. 399 pages. $3.00.
Good information and clear, simple di-
rections for finding constellations at all
seasons. Grades 7 and 8.

BOY'S BOOK OF ASTRONOMY. By Goodwin
D. Swezey and J. Harris Gable. E. P.
Button & Co., New York. Revised edi-
tion, 1936. 304 pages. $2.00. A simply
written general book. Grades 6 to 8.

CONSIDER THE HEAVENS. By Forest R.
Moulton. Doubleday, Doran & Co.,
Garden City, N. Y. 1935. 343 pages.
$3.50. A well-written and authoritative
book for the layman. Adult.

DAYLIGHT, TWILIGHT, DARKNESS AND
TIME. By Lucia C. Harrison. Silver,
Burdett & Co., New York. 1935. 224
pages. $1.24. A simply written presenta-
tion of the meaning and measurements
of latitude and longitude in terms of
human affairs. Grade 8 and above.

EVENINGS WITH THE STARS. By Mary
Proctor. Harper & Brothers, New York.
1925. 219 pages. $2.50. Interesting sug-
gestions for learning about the stars.
Grade 7 and above.

EXPLORING THE HEAVENS. By G. Clyde
Fisher. Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New
York. 1937. 238 pages. $2.50. A non-
technical book containing much infor-
mation. Adult.

FIELD BOOK OF THE SKIES. By William T.
Olcott and Edmund W. Putnam. G.
P. Putnam's Sons, New York. Second
revised edition, 1934. 549 pages. $3.50.
An excellent, detailed guidebook for
the study of the skies. Planned for
adults, but useful in the upper elemen-
tary grades.

THE FRIENDLY STARS. By Martha E. Mar-
tin. Harper & Brothers, New York.
1907. 264 pages. $2.00. A charmingly
written account emphasizing the more
conspicuous stars and constellations.
Age 12 and over.

HANDBOOK OF THE HEAVENS. By Hubert
J. Bernhard, Dorothy A. Bennett, and
Hugh S. Rice, editors. Whittlesey
House, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.,
New York. 1935. 147 pages. $1.00. A
brief, accurate treatment, especially
valuable for beginners. Grade 8 and
above.

INTRODUCING THE CONSTELLATIONS. By
Robert H. Baker. Viking Press, Inc.,
New York. 1937. 205 pages. $2.50. An

908

BIBLIOGRAPHY

attractive book, interestingly organized
and very helpful. Grade 7 and above.

LET'S LOOK AT THE STARS. By Edwin B.
Frost. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
1935. 118 pages. $2.00. A beautiful
book of simply written, accurate infor-
mation. Grade 5 and above.

OUR STARLAND. By C. C. Wylie. Lyons &
Carnahan, Chicago. 1938. 378 pages.
$.88. One of the simplest and most
complete easy guides to the study of
the heavens. Grade 5 and above.

OUR STARS MONTH BY MONTH. By Mary
Proctor. Frederick Warne & Co., Inc.,
New York. 1937. 92 pages. $1.00. A
simply written book by an English au-
thor, illustrated with star charts for
each month. Grade 7 and above.

OUR WONDERFUL UNIVERSE. By Clarence
A. Chant. World Book Co., Yonkers,
N. Y. 1928. 191 pages. $1.60. An in-
formal presentation of the subject, in-
cluding suggestions for many observa-
tions and experiments. Grade 7 and
above.

THE PAGEANT OF THE STARS. By W. J.
Luyten. Doubleday, Doran & Co., Gar-
den City, N. Y. 1929. 300 pages. $2.50.
An interesting book of authoritative
star knowledge for the adult layman.

ROMANCE OF THE COMETS. By Mary Proc-
tor. Harper & Brothers, New York.
1926. 210 pages. (Out of print.) Scien-
tific information with some legends.
Adult.

ROMANCE OF THE SUN. By Mary Proctor.
Harper & Brothers, New York. 1927.
266 pages. $2.50. Sound scientific in-
formation, interestingly written. Adult.

STAR MYTHS FROM MANY LANDS. By
Dorothy Renick. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York. 1931. 206 pages. $.88.
Myths from various parts of the world
and from various ages, concerning sev-
eral constellations. For older readers.

THE STARS FOR CHILDREN. By Gaylord
Johnson. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1934. 281 pages. $1.50. An ele-
mentary book on stars, planets and the
moon. Grades 3 to 6.
THE STARS FOR SAM. By W. Maxwell

Reed. Harcourt, Brace & Co., New
York. 1931. 198 pages. $3.00. A discus-
sion of recent knowledge about the
Universe, not a guide to identify heav-
enly bodies. Grade 7 and above.

THE SUN. By Charles G, Abbot. D. Apple-
ton-Century Co., Inc., New York. Re-
vised edition, 1929. 433 pages. $3.50.
An older book, presenting much infor-
mation. Adult.

THROUGH SPACE AND TIME. By Sir James
H. Jeans. The Macmillan Co., New
York. 1934. 224 pages. $3.00. Excel-
lently written information, by the au-
thor of other valuable material in the
field, such as The Mysterious Universe,
1930, 163 pages, $2.25; Stars in Their
Courses, 1931, 173 pages, $2.50; The
Universe Around Us, revised edition,
1934, S^0 Pages? $4«oo; all published by
The Macmillan Company. Adult.

THROUGH THE TELESCOPE. By Edward A.
Path. Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill
Book Co., Inc., New York. 1936. 227
pages. $2.75. An excellently written sur-
vey, not intended as a guide for identi-
fication, but containing much informa-
tion. Primarily for adults, but useful
above grade 7.

THE UNIVERSE UNFOLDING. By Robert H.
Baker. William & Wilkins, Baltimore,
Md. 1932. 150 pages. $1.00. A very good
survey of astronomy, one of the Cen-
tury of Progress Series. Adult.

WHEN THE STARS COME OUT. By Robert
H. Baker. Viking Press, Inc., New
York. 1934. 197 pages. $2.50. An attrac-
tive book which presents much simple,
interesting information. Grade 7 and
above.

WONDERS OF THE SKY. By Mary Proctor.
Frederick Warne & Co., Inc., New
York. 1932. 96 pages. $.60. A small
book, illustrated with diagrams, for the
general reader. Grade 7 and above.

THE YOUNG FOLK'S BOOK OF THE HEAV-
ENS. By Mary Proctor. Little, Brown &
Co., Boston. 1924. 270 pages. $2.00. An
older book, combining clear, simple
information, mythology and legend.
Grade 7 and above.

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Materials at hand or available from the
outdoors will usually fill the needs of stu-
dents and teachers of nature-study. Sup-
plementary materials, or materials not
readily available, may be obtained from
the firms here listed.

A. I. ROOT Co., Medina, Ohio.
Observation beehives.

AUSTIN WORKSHOPS, Hanover, New

Hampshire.

Ant, cricket, and spider observation
houses; also bird houses and terraria.

CAMBOSCO SCIENTIFIC Co., Waverly,

Mass.

Complete line of material and appara-
tus for biology. No living material.

CAROLINA BIOLOGICAL SUPPLY Co., Elon

College, North Carolina.
All biological supplies, featuring living
and preserved materials.

CELESTIAL MAP PUBLISHING Co., 244

Adams St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Charts, maps, and other aids for sky
study.

CENTRAL SCIENTIFIC Co., 460 East Ohio

St., Chicago, 111.

Standard supplies for all commonly
taught sciences.

DENOYER-GEPPERT Co., 5235-57 Ravens-
wood Ave., Chicago, 111.
Models, charts, lantern slides, and gen-
eral scientific apparatus.

EASTERN SCIENCE SUPPLY Co., Box 1414,

Boston, Mass.

Telescopes in various price ranges for
sky study.

GENERAL BIOLOGICAL SUPPLY HOUSE,
761-763 East 69111 Place, Chicago, 111.
Turtox Teache/s Manual and Biology
Catalogue. Supply almost anything
needed by a science teacher includ-
ing terraria and aquaria.

HAMMETT'S SCHOOL SUPPLY Co., Cam-
bridge, Mass.

Planispheres, other aids for sky study,
and educational supplies.

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY SUPPLY

DEPARTMENT, Woods Hole, Mass.
An excellent source of living and pre-
served marine material.

NEW YORK SCIENTIFIC SUPPLY Co., 111-
113 East 22nd St., New York, N. Y.
General apparatus and supplies includ-
ing living and preserved materials,

SOUTHERN BIOLOGICAL SUPPLY Co., 517
Decatur St., New Orleans, Louisiana,
Living and preserved specimens.

SOUTHWESTERN BIOLOGICAL SUPPLY Co.,
415 North Tyler Ave., Dallas, Texas.
General supplies and apparatus.

STANDARD SCIENTIFIC SUPPLY CORP., 34-

38 West 4th St., New York, N. Y.
General scientific apparatus and sup-
plies.

WARD'S NATURAL SCIENCE ESTABLISH-
MENT, INC., 302 North Goodman St.,
Rochester, N. Y.

Minerals, fossils, living material, pre-
served specimens, and almost all
supplies for natural science.

WEBB, WALTER F., 202 Westminster

Road, Rochester, N. Y.
Shells from all parts of the world.

WESTERN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES,
University Place Station, Lincoln,
Nebraska.

Living and preserved materials, aquaria,
supplies, and general apparatus.

Summer nature camps and biological sta-
tions offer invaluable instruction in
the preparation and use of equip-
ment of all kinds.

INDEX

Abbe, Henry, 782-83
Aberdeen-Angus, 283
Acid, carbolic, 730

nitrous, 784
Acilius, 402-3
Acorns, 638-41
Adder, spotted, 197-99
Adder's-tongue, 463-65, 470
Adiantum pedatum, 704-5
Adult stage of insects, 298
Agaricus campestris, 716-17
Agassiz, Louis, Longfellow's poem to, 2-3
Agate, 754
Agkistrodon mokasen mokasen, 202-3

piscivorus, 202-3
Ailanthus tree, 319
Air, as gas, 783

ascending, 804

circulation of earth, 792

composition of, 783

currents along meridian, 795

currents caused by sun, 793

descending, 804

mass analysis, 783

pressure belts on simplified globe, 793

pressure of, normal, 793

weight of, 787-88
Air-pores in leaves, 496
Air-tubes of insects, 295
Akenes, 507, 517, 523, 525, 526, 532, 533, 539, 579,

610

Akers, Elizabeth, 170, 436, 438, 471
Alaria florida, 489
Aldebaran, 823, 826-27, 844
Alder, 626

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 65, 549
Alfalfa, 591, 592, 593, 772
Allen, James Lane, 128
Alligator, 193

eggs of, 194

Alligator mississippiensis, 193
Altair, 833

Altenburger cheese, 269
Alum, 751, 752
Aluminum, 744
Amanita, deadly, 716
Amanita phalloides, 716
Amaurobius, 441
Ambystoma maculatwn, 188, 190-91

opacum, 190-91

tigrinum, 190-91
Ameiurus nebulosus, 149
American Humane Society, 228
Ames, Mary Clemmer, 506
Amethyst, 754

Ammonia, 783-84
Amnicola, 448-49

Amphibians, 170-92; see also Table of Con-
tents, List of Plates, and index entries of
individual names

tailed, 170, 187-92

tailless, 170-87
Amyda emoryi, 208
Ancylus, 448-49
Andrena} 485
Andromeda, 822

Animals, 26-452; see also Table of Contents,
List of Plates, and individual index en-
tries

groups of, 26

invertebrate other than insects, 416-50

prehistoric, footprints of, 745
Anemometer, cup, 796
Aneroid barograph, 786
Angleworm, 424; see also Earthworm
Angus, 283
Annual, 513

Annulus of mushroom, 719
Anodonta, 448-49
Anolis carolinensis, 210-11
Anopheles, 413; see also Mosquito
Ant, see Ants

lion, 35^-56
Antares, 832, 844
Antenna comb of ant, 375

of wasp, 382
Antennse, 298, 300, 339, 375, 410, 413, 426

of ants, 375

of Caddis worms, 410

of crayfish, 426

of mosquitoes, 413
Antennules of crayfish, 426
Antheridia of moss, 711
Anthers, 456, 475, 477, 547, 601
Anti-cyclone, 804
Ant-nest, 374-78

Fielde, 374

Lubbock, 373
Ants, 369-78

agricultural, 370

carpenter, black, 374

kings of, 370

queens of, 370

red, 375

ways of, 369-74
Apeliotes (east wind), 781
Apiary, 394-96, 398
Aphids, 351-54, 371, 687

parasites of, 352, 353

stables of, 371

914

INDEX

Aphis lion, 356-58
Aplites salmoides, 146
Apple, how it grows, 665-67

blossoms of, ready to spray, 327, 667

blossoms of, too late to spray, 328

May, 479-82

native, 663

oak, 335-36

thorn, 663

tree, 661-70

varieties of, 668
Apus, 448-49
Aquarium, 5

care of, 401

how to make an, 400-401

inexpensive., 401

mosquito, 412

tadpole, 175-76
Aquarius, 843
Aquatic insects, 400-415
Aquila, 833
Aquilegia, 454
Arabian Nights Entertainment, excerpt from,

335
Area, 430-31

ponderosa, 418-19

umboriata, 418-19
Areas, 820

Archer, the, 843, 844
Arcturus, 829, 831
Argon, 783, 785
Ariadna, nest of, 447
Arided, 832-33
Aries, 843
Aril, 497
Ark, mossy, 418-19

ponderous, 418-19

shell, great, 430-31
Arnold, Edwin, 513
Arum, water, 474
Ascaphm truei, 184-85
Asellus, 448-49
Ash, black, 515

mountain, 515

white, 658-61
Aspen, 657
Asterias, 430-31
Asteroids, 836
Asters, 506-8
Astrangia dance, 430-31
Astronomers, 816
Atkinson, George, 474, 723
Atmosphere, 783-91

height of, 788

pressure of, 785-88

temperature of, 790
Auriga, 828
Aurora australis, 777

borealis, 777
Austin, Mary, 270, 272
Averill, Anna Boynton, 500
Axil of a leaf, 687
Ayrshire, 283

Babcock milk tester, 285
Bachelor's button, 578-79
Bacillus, cholera, 730

typhoid, 730
Back swimmer, 402-3
Bacteria, 591, 592, 729-31, 762
Bailey, L. H., 40, 168-69, 177, 244-^5, 522, 531,

552, 558, 581, 731, 740
Balloons, cattail, 500, 501

seed, 493

Banded chickadee, 69
Banner flowers, 574
Barbels of bullhead, 149

of feather, 29
Barbs of feathers, 29
Barker, Eugene, 161, 162, 485
Barograph, aneroid, 786, 787
Barometer, 781, 787, 801, 804, 806

made by pupils, 787

principles of, 781
Barrow, 389; see also Pig
Baskett, J. N., 67, 78
Bass, large-mouthed black, 146
Bat, brown, little, 241-44
Batrachoseps attenuatus, 190-91
Bats, hibernating, 244
Beagle, 255, 257

Beaks of birds, form and use of, 39-40
Bear, Great (constellation), 819

Little (constellation), 819

polar, 290-91
Beauty, spring, 460
Beaver, adult, 221

winter lodge of, 221
Beavers, young, 222

trees felled by, 223
Bee, see Bees

glue, 398
Beebread, 397
Beech, 641, 642

nuts of, 642

Beecher, Henry Ward, 578
Beehive, an observation, 8, 396-99
Bee-larkspur, 568-71
Bees, 517, 525, 571, 580, 591, 597, 613

as carriers of pollen, 457

carpenter, little, 386-89

honey, 391-99

leaf-cutter, 11, 384-S6

long-tongued, 606

mining, on lady's-slippers, 485

solitary, 572
Beet leaf miners, 86

Beetles, 90, 330, 362-66, 402-3, 475, 517, 525,
538-71

as pollen carriers, 475

diving, 402-3

flower, 571

ladyb-vd, 364r-66

potato, Colorado, 362-64

riffle, 402-3

whirligig, 402-3
Belgian hares, 216

INDEX

9*5

3elostoma, 402-3

3enacus, 402-3

3ennett, H. H., 769

Bentley, W. A., 810

Berkshire, 289, 292; see also Pig

Betelgeuse, 823-25

Biennial, 513, 541

Bill of duck, 39

of hen, 39

Bills and feet of birds, types of, 41
Bills of birds, comparison of, 39
Bindweed, field, 519

hedge, 518-20
Bine, bryony, 545
Birch, black, 624

gray or old field, 455

yellow, 624
Birches, bark of, 624

Birds, 27-143 ; see also Table of Contents, List
of Plates, and individual index entries

attracting, 43-44

bath for, 44

beaks, form and use of, 39^40

conversation of, 48-49

distinguished from other creatures, 29

feeding station for, 43, 44

feet of, 40-42

game, 46, 136-37

gizzard of, 48

groups of, distinguished, 47-50

houses for, 51, 63

how they fly, 33-35

introduced into America, 84

marsh, 142-43

migration of, 35-37

nests in winter, 46-47

nostrils of, 39

of prey, 106-7

parts of, labeled, 49

sanctuary for, 133

scavengers, 106-7

seed-eating, 680

shore, 142-43

songs, recording of, 42-43

study of, suggestive outline for, 61-62

suitable for schoolroom study, 28

tails of, in flight, 34r-35

thistle, 54r-57

value of, 45-46

wings of, 34r-35
Bird's-foot violet, 479

Bird's-nest weed, 544; see also Carrot, wild
Bison, 281

Bittern, American, 142-43
Black fly, 402-3
Black widow spider, 435
Blackbird, red-winged, 117-1S
Blade of leaf, 457, 620

of fern, 695

Bleeding heart, 55&-60
Blights, 728
Bloodroot, 466-68
Bloodstone, 754

Blossom; see Flower

Bluebird, 62-65

Bluets, 483-84

Blue flag, 571-74

Blue vitriol, 751

Boa, rubber, 20CK-201

Boar, 288; see also Pig

" Bob," 683, 684

Bobolink, migration routes of, 37

Bobwhite, 46, 136-37

Bole of tree, 618, 619, 671

Boleosoma nigrum, 166-69

Boletus, edible, 724

Boletus edulis, 724

Bolls, cotton, 606, 607

Boomer, mountain, 212-13

Boreas (the north wind), 781

Borers, stalk, 510

Botrychium dissectum, 704-5

Boulders, 744, 761

Box elder, 630

" Boys and girls," 472

Brace-roots, 600

Brachiopods, 75&-S7

Bracken, 696-98, 703

Bracket fungi, 721-25

Bract, 456, 543, 680, 681

Brake, purple cliff, 704^-5

" Brake," 697

Branch of tree, 618, 619, 620

Breast of bird, 49

Breeds of horses, 280

Broadbffl, 142-43

Brood bodies of liverwort, 712-13

Brook, 736-42

as geography lesson, 736

how it drops its load, 740-42

in winter, 15

insects of, 400-415

life in, 739

mill, 760

source, tools, workshop of, 737
Brown Swiss cattle, 283
Brown, Theron, 596, 692
Browning, Robert, 476, 827
Bryant, W. C., 456
Buchanan, H. B. M., 280
Buckeye, blossom of, 648

fruit of, 649

Ohio, 649

sweet, 649
Bud, fern, how it unfolds, 69S-99

dogwood, 682

leaf, of hickory, 644
Budding, 663
Buffalo, American, 281
Bujo alvarisj 173

americanus, 170-77

canorus, 184r-85
cognatus, 184-85
compactilis, 186-87

eggs of, 171
debilis, 174

916 INDEX

Bufo — continued

hemiophrys, 184-85

punctatus, 184-85

quercicus, 184-85

terrestris, 176
Bug, chinch, 81

Grot on, 350
Bulb, 463, 547

Bull, the (constellation), 843, 844
Bullfrog, 181, 183

Wright's, tadpole of, 183
Bullhead, common, 148-51
Bumblebee, 389-91, 481, 509, 525, 572, 573, 593,
594

queen, 481
Bunchberry, 681
Burdock, 513, 527-29, 576
Bureau, Weather, 800-806
Burkett, Charles William, 270
Burr, George L., 776
Burroughs, John, 74, 75, 77, 80
Burs, of chestnut, 646, 647
Bush, sugar, 628
Biisycon, 430-31
Buttercup, common, 516-18

field, 516-18

swamp, 516

Butterflies, 296, 297, 301-10, 489, 509, 525, 585,
606, 654

visiting evening primrose, 489
Butterfly, chrysalis of, 297

emerging from chrysalis, 308

metamorphosis of, 298

scales on wing of, 307
Button, bachelor's, 578-79
" Button stage " of mushroom, 716, 719
Byron, Lord, 444, 667
Bythinia, 448-49

Caddis flies, 408-11

worms, 408-11

Caecias (the northeast wind), 781
Calc spar, 749
Calcite, 748-50
Calcium, 744

Calf, Jersey, 282; see also Cattle
" Call colors " of birds, 58
Calla lily, 474

Calliostoma jujubinum, 418-19
Callisto, 820
Calvatia cyathijormiSj 720

gigantea, 721

Calves, dehorning of, 285
Calyx, 456

lobes of, 456

tube, 456

Cambium layer, 620, 722
Camel, Bactrian, 290-91

two-humped, 290-91
Campeloma, 448-49
Camptosorus rhizophyllus, 704-5
Canary, 53-57

diet of, 54

Cancer (constellation), 843

Tropic of, 841
Cane, sugar, 603
Canker-worms, 90
Cap of mushroom, 719
Capella, 821, 828-29, 849
Caph, 844, 845
Capricorn, Tropic of, 842
Capricornus, 843
Capsule, seed, 472, 477, 489, 537, 554

spore, of moss, 710
Caracara, Audubon's, 106-7
Carapace of crayfish, 426, 428

of turtle, 204
Caraway worms, 304
Carbon, 744

dioxide, 783, 784, 785, 789
Carbonate, lime, 749
Carbonic acid gas, 749
Carboniferous Age, 701
Cardinal grosbeak, 127-130

Kentucky, 128
Carlsbad Caverns, 749
Carlyle, Thomas, 815
Carnelian, 754
Carolina poplar, 655-58
Carpels, 668
Carpenter, Edward, 411
Carpenter bee, little, 386-89
Carrara marble, 749
Carriage stallion, 277
Carrot, wild, 542-45
Cases, caddis worms, types of, 408-9
Cassiopeia's chair, 821-22, 844
Cast (type of fossil) , 756
Castor (star), 828
Cat, 260-66
Catbird, 95-97

Caterpillars, 86, 90, 93, 295, 296, 297, 299, 302,
303, 307, 311, 314, 315, 319, 323, 324

cecropia, molting, 314

hatching of, 315

legs of, 299

parasitized, 324

parts of external anatomy of, 299

scent organs of, 302

shedding skin, 297

stages of growth of, 302
Catkins, pollen, 673
Catostomus commersonii, 152-53
Cattail, 500-503
Cattle, 280-86

beef, 283

dairy, 283

wild, 281
Cavern, 749
Caves, famous, 749
Cayuga Lake Basin, 161
Cecropia, 313-17

wood engraving of, 294
Cedar, red, and seedlings, 20

waxwings, 27 ,

Celandine, 510

INDEX

9*7

Celestial Equator, 847
Centigrade thermometer scale, 790
Centipedes, 295
Cephalothorax, 426
Cepheus (constellation), 821-22
C 'eratostomella ulmi, 636
Chair, Cassiopeia's, 821-22
Chalk, 748, 749
Chameleon, 210-11
Chapman, Frank M., 55, 105
Charina bottce, 200-201
Cheese, Altenburger, 269
bacteria aid in making, 729
goats' milk, 268-69
Roquefort, 269
Sweitzer, 269
varieties of, 268-69
Chelae, 429

Chelydra osceola, 206
Chemical elements, 744
Cheshire, 292; see also Pig
Chester White, 292; see also Pig
Chestnut, 645-47

horse, 648-50
Chickadee, 68-70

Acadian, 68

Chickaree, 233-38; see also Squirrel, red
Chickens, 28, 29-35, 47-50
Chicks, 47
Chicory, 512
Chinch bugs, 81
Chione cancellata, 418-19
Chione, ridged, 418-19
Chipmunk, 239-41
Chlorophyll, 621, 715
Cholera, 729

bacillus, 730

Chrysalis, 296, 297, 302, 303, 308; see also In-
sects, Butterflies
making of, 302-3
Chrysanthemum, 523
Chrysemys belli marginata, 205
Chuck-walla, 212-13
Circumpolar constellations, 818-22

whirl, 797

Cirro-stratus clouds, 788
Cirrus clouds, 788, 796, 804
Cirsium pumilum, 524
Clams, fingernail, 44S-49
Clape, 78; see also Flicker
Claw of crayfish, 425

of insect, 298, 300, 339
Clay, 763, 760-65; see also Soil
Cleeves, E. W.} 217
Cleistogamous flowers, 478
Clemmys guttata, 207
Cleopatra's Needle, 746

Climate and weather, 780-807; see also Table
of Contents, Water forms, Crystals,
Snow, Winds, Storms and other individ-
ual index entries
definition of, 780
Clisodon terminalis, 572

Clitellum, 423
Clock, sky, 844-46
Clouds, 808, 811
cirro-stratus, 788
cirrus, 796, 804
cumulus, 811
Magellanic, 816
nimbus, 804
tufted cirrus, 788
Clover, 591-94
alsike, 591, 772
buffalo, 591, 594
crimson, 591, 593
hop, 591,594
pussy, 594

rabbit's-foot, 591,594
red, 591, 592, 593, 772
sweet, 594-96, 773
white, 591, 595
yellow, 591, 594, 595
true, 592

white, 591, 596-98
yellow, 591
zigzag, 591

Clute, W. N., 693, 696
Clydesdales, 278
Cnemidophorus gularis, 212-13
Coach horses, 278
Coal, 745
Cob, 600
Cobwebs, 436-46
Cocklebur, 774
Cockroach, American, 350-51
Cocoon, 296, 311,315, 318, 319

weaving of, 315
Codling moth, 325-29
Coffin, Job's, 833
Colds, 729

Coleonyx brews, 210-11
Collie, 258, 273
Collybia radicata, 718
Collybia, rooted, 718
Colors, autumn, of leaves, 622
call, of birds, 58
of stars, 816
Colt, see Horse, 274r-SO
Columbine, 454

serpentine mines in leaf of, 329, 330
Comb, bumblebee, 390
foundation, 395—96

honeybee, see Honeybee, and Honeycomb
Comets, 815, 838-40
Encke's, 838
Halley's, 815, 838, 840
Temple's, 840
Tuttle's, 840
Compass, mariner's, 777

plant, 529-31

Composite, 503-8, 522-36, 574, 576
Composite flower, type lesson for, 503 ; see also

Composites

Compound leaves, 643, 683
Comstock, J. H., 304

918 INDEX

Cone, Florida, 418-19

hemlock, 679

mouse, 418-19

Norway spruce, 677

white pine, 672, 674
Cone-bearing trees, 670-78
Conservation of soil, 770-75
Constellations, 818, 819, 821, 823-29, 830, 831,
833 ; see also individual index entries

circumpolar, 818-22

maps of, 818, 819, 824, 825, 830, 831

polar, 821

summer, 818, 819, 830, 831, 833

winter, 818, 819, 821, 823-29

zodiacal, 843
Contour farming, 771, 773-75

harvesting, 773

strip cropping, 774

tillage, 774
Conus floridanus, 418-19

mus, 418-19
Cooke, Wells W., 35
Coolbrith, Ina, 82
Coon, see Raccoon
Copadeoro, 563
Copepod, 448-49
Copper sulphate, 751, 752
Copperhead, 202-3
Coral, 748

fossilized, 748

star, 430-31
Core, apple, 668

lines, 668
Corixa, 402-3

Corm, 463, 465, 474, 475, 547
Cormels, 463
Corn, ear of, 600

husk of, 600

Indian, 598-604

plant, 598-604

silk, 600

squirrel, 558

Corn-cracker, red, 128; see also Cardinal
Cornel, dwarf, 681
Cornflower, 578-79
Cornus Amomum, 515
Cornwall, Barry, 476
Corolla, 456

lobes of, 456

tube, 456, 547, 551
Corona of flower, 551

of sun, 834
Correlation of nature study with other school

subjects, 1-24

Corriedale ram, 273; see also Sheep
Cortland apple, 668
Corydalis, 402-3
Cotswold, 273; see also Sheep
Cotton, 604-8

bolls, 606
flower, 606, 607

gin, 605

pickers at work, 604

Cotton-boll caterpillars, 93
Cottonmouth, see Moccasin, water
Cotton-tail, 215-19
Cottonwood, 655-58

gall on, 337
Coitus cognatus, 162
Cotyledons, 459
Cow, 283; see also Cattle

Hereford, 283

Holstein, 281, 282, 283, 284

Jersey, 281, 282

milch, 283
Cowbird, egg of, 87
Cowpeas, 593
Cowslip, 516
Coxa, 300, 433

Crab (constellation), 843, 844
Crabs, burrowing, 428

fiddler, 428, 430-31

land, 427

sand, 430-31
Crane fly, 402-3, 756-57
Crawfish, see Crayfish
Crayfish, 425-29, 432

white, blind, 426
Creeper, Virginia, 515
Cretaceous epoch, 750
Cricket, black, 344-348

field, 344, 345

house, 345

tree, egg of, 296
snowy, 348-50
Crimean War, 782
Crinoid, 756-57
Crocus, 547-49, 550
Crop plants, cultivated, 591-617
Crop rotation, 773
Cropping, strip, 768, 771
Crosiers, fern, 695, 697, 698
Cross, northern, 817, 833
Cross-pollination, 553
Crotalus cerastes, 200-201

horridus, 200-201

Crotaphytus collaris baileyi, 212-13
Croton bug, stages of development of, 350; see

also Cockroach
Crow, American, 124-27

fish, 125
Crown, of birds, 49

northern, 829, 831-32

of tree, 618, 619

of daffodil, 551
Crystallizing of water, 811
Crystals, alum, 752

calcite, 748

feldspar, 755

frost, 812, 813

growth of, 751-52

quartz, 751

rock, 754

salt, 753

snow, 744, 746, 751, 781, 783, 784, 785, 786,
799, 800, 809, 810, 813

INDEX

919

Cubs, fox, 252
Cucujo, see Firefly
Cucumber, 615

Culex, 413 ; see also Mosquito
Cultivated crop plants, 591-617
Cumulus cloud, 811
Cup of mushroom, 719
Curculio, plum, 325
Currant leaf roller, 334
Current, air, caused by sun, 793

equatorial, 791

Japan, 791

Kuro Siwo, 791

ocean, 791, 792
Cut worms, 81, 86, 90
Cycads, 756-57
Cyclone, 804
Cyclops, 448-49
Cygnus, 833
Cymatium, brown-mouth, 418-19

white-mouth, 418-19
Cymatium chlorostomum, 418-19

tuberosum, 418-19
Cynthia moth, 319
Cypress dugout, 674
Cypripedium acaule, 486
Cyrtophyllus, 343

Dace, horned, 161

" Daddy Longlegs," 432-35

Daffodils and their relatives, 549-52

Dairy, see Cattle

Daisies, meadow, 523

oxeye, 522

white, 522-24

wood cut of, 503

yellow, 523-24
Damsel flies, 401-8
Dandelion, 531-35
Dandridge, Danske, 466
Daphnia, 448-49
Darter, Johnny, 166-69

tessellated, 166

Darwin, Charles, 422, 424, 572, 579
Dauber, mud, 378-80
Davie, Oliver, 95
Day, length of, 851
Decay, definition of, 715
Declination disc for star finder, 848
Deer, Virginia, 290-91

white-tailed, 290-91
Deimos, 836

DeirocJielys reticularia, 205
Deland, Margaret, 488
Deltas, 741
Deneb, 832-33

Dennstaedtia punctilobula, 704r-5
DeviFs-darning-needle, 401; see also Dragon-
flies

Dew, 439, 785, 801-14
Pewpoint, 785

Diadophis punctatus edwardsii, 200-201
Dickinson, Emily, 193, 197, 241

Dicksonia, 700, 701
Dicranum scopariumf 712-13
Dictynid, web of, 441
Dinosaur tracks, 756-57
Diphtheria, 729
Dipper, big, 818, 829, 831, 844

little, 819

milk, 844

Dippers and Polestar, 818-21
Disc flowers, see Flowers
Disease, Dutch elm, 636
Diseases, contagious, 729
Diving beetle, 402-3
Dobson, 402-3
Dodder, 520-22
Dog louse, 448-49

star, great, 823; see also Stars, Constellations
Dogs, 254-60, 273
Dog's-tooth violet, 463-65
Dogtooth spar, 748
Dogwood, 680-82

dwarf, 681

flowering, 681, 682

silky, 515

Dolphin (constellation), 833
Dome, filmy, 443-44
Doodlebug, see Ant lion
Dorset, 273 ; see also Sheep
Dragon (constellation), 821-22
Dragonflies, 401-8
Drake, Joseph Rodman, 94
Drawing and nature study, 10
Drone fly, 402-3
Drone3 honeybee, see Honeybee
Drupes, 682, 684
Ducklings, 48

Ducks, 29, 41-42, 48, 142-43
Dugout, cypress, 674
Durham (cattle), 283
Duroc-Jersey, 288-92; see also Pig
" Dust storms," 761
Dutchman Js-breeches, 471-73, 558
Dyes, 653
Dytiscus, 402-3

Eagle (constellation), 833
Ear, of birds, 38

of corn, 600

of cricket, 345

of grasshopper, 340

of insects, 298, 300, 339, 340, 345
Eardrop, ladies', 510
Earth, 835-36

and Sky, 732-859; see also Table of Contents,
and index entries of individual names

path of, about sun, 791

relation of, to sun, 851^53

rotation of, 792, 844
Earthstar, 721
Earthworm, 422-25
Echinarachnius, 430-31
Eclipses, 834
Ecliptic, 843-44

920

INDEX

Economic importance of birds, 45-46

Eddies in atmosphere, 781, 782, 799

Eel grass, 455

Eft, 187-89, 192

Egg cases of sharks and rays, 430-31

cells of moss, 711

raft of mosquito, 412
Eggplant, 582

Eggs of birds, see Table of Contents, List of
Plates, and individual index entries

of insects, 295, 296, 298, 301, 314, 322, 343, 349,
362, 412; see also Table of Contents, List
of Plates, and individual index entries

of spotted turtle, 207
Egg-shell experiment farm, 459
Egret, American, 142-43

white, great, 142-43
Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta, 202-3

obsoleta con finis, 202-3
Elasmobranch, 430-31
Elder, box, 630
Elderberry, 515
Electric light bug, 402-3
Electromagnet, 777
Elements, chemical, 744
" Elk," American, 290-91
Ellipse, 791
Ell-yard, 823
Elm, American, 634-38

cork, 636

disease, Dutch, 636

English, 636

fruit of, 635, 636

slippery, 636

vase type, 635

white, 636

winged, 636

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 117, 389
Eohippus, see Horse, 274r-80
Ephemerida, 402-3
Equator, 795, 843

celestial, 847
Equatorial current, 791

star finder, 847-50
" Equinoxes, precession of," 843
Equisetum, 707
Equisetum arvense, 707
Eristalis, 402-3
Erosion, defined, 768, 769

sheet, 769

wind, 767, 769

Eschscholtzia calijornica, 563
Esox niger, 146
Espy, James, 782
Eta Aquarids, 840
Eubranchipus, 448-49
Eucalia inconstans, 159-62
Euglandina, rose, 418-19
Euglandina rosea, 418-19
Eumeces obsoletus, 210-11
Eupomotis gibbosus, 162-66
Eurycea lucijuga, 190-91
Evaporation, 810

Evening primrose, 488-91

Everlasting, pearly, 535-36, 576

Ewe, 272, 273; see also Sheep

Excursions, field, 15

Experiments to show air pressure, 786-87

to show weight of air, 787-88

with soil, 764-65
Eye stalks of slugs, 420
Eyes, birds, 38

cats', adaptations of, 263

compound, of insects, 298, 300, 339-40, 426

simple, of insects, 298, 300, 339-40

stalked, 426, 427

Factory, leaf, 455

starch, 455

Fahrenheit thermometer scale, 790
Fairy ring, 715

shrimps, 448-49

Family, composite, type lesson for, 503
Farming, contour, 773-75
Fasciolaria gigantea, 418-19
Feathers, 29-33

as clothing, 29-31

as ornament, 31-33

colors of, 31-33

of rooster, 30

oiling of, 30-31

parts of, 29-31, 34r-35

peacock, 32

wing, parts of, 34-35
Feeding station for birds, 43, 44, 67, 83
Feelers of insects, 298, 339; see also Antennae
Feet, see also Foot

duck and hen, compared, 41-42

jaw, 425, 426

types of birds, 40-42

walking, 426

Feldspar, 744, 746, 755, 758
Femur, 298, 299, 300, 339, 433
Fern bud, how it unfolds, 698-99

characteristics, key to, 703

leaflet with spore cases, 694

mounted, 17

parts named, 695

stages in life of, 700
Ferns, 693-706 ; see also List of Plates

bladder, 702, 703

boulder, 702
fruiting pinnule of, 700

bracken, 696-98, 703

brake, 696-98, 703

chain, 701, 702, 703

Christmas, 693-96, 702, 703

cinnamon, 701, 702, 703, 704-5

climbing, 703, 704-5

crosiers of, 698-99

fertile, 694

fiddle-heads of, 698-99

flowering, 701, 702

fruiting, 693-95, 699-706

grape, 703, 704-5

Hartford, 703

INDEX

921

Ferns — continued

hart's-tongue, 704-5

hay-scented, 704-5

indusia of, 694, 695, 699-706

interrupted, 701, 702, 703, 704-5

life stages of, 699-706

maidenhair, 702, 703, 704-5

ostrich, 702

pinnae of, 694, 695

pinnule of, 695, 698-99

polypody, common, 695

prothallium, 699-703

rachis of, 694, 695

rootstock of, 693

royal, 702, 703, 704-5

sensitive, 701, 702, 703

son of, 695, 699-706

spleenwort, fruiting pinnules of, 700

sporangia, 694, 699-706

cpore cases of, 694, 695, 699-706

stem or stipe of, 694, 695

tree, 693

walking leaf, 704-5

wood, evergreen, 701, 702

Woodsia, 702
Fertilization, 772
Fertilizer, complete, 772
Fever, typhoid, 729
Fiddlehead of fern, 695, 698
Fiddler, see Cricket, tree
Fiddler crab, 428, 430-31
Field glasses, 9-10
Field notebook, 13-15
Fielde, Adele, 370, 375
Fielde ant nest, 374
Filament, see Flower, parts of
File of katydid, 344, 345
Filmy dome, 443-44
Finder, star, equatorial, 847-50
Fins, 145-46
anal, 145
caudal, 145
dorsal, 145
pectoral, 145, 146

tail, 145

ventral, 145, 146
Fir, Douglas, 618, 675
Firefly, 367-69
Fisher, A. K, 105
Fisherman's purses, 430-31
Fishes, 144-69; see also Table of Contents and

individual index entries
(constellation), 843, 844
parts of, 145
Fishworm, 422-25
Fiske, John, 598
Fissurella jasicularis, 418-19
Fitch, Asa, 489
Flag, blue, 571-74
Flagg, Wilson, 43
Flappers of crayfish, 426
Flax dodder, 521
Fleur-de-lis, 573

Flicker, 77-80

Flies, 90, 330, 331, 358-61, 517, 654; see also
Table of Contents, List of Plates, and
individual index entries
as pollen earners, 475
crane, 756-57
damsel, 401-8
dragon, 401-8
house, 358-61
larvse of, 360, 716 ; see also List of Plates and

individual index entries
pupse, 360; see also List of Plates and indi-
vidual index entries
stone, 402-3

Flight of birds, 33-35, 134
Flint, 754, 755
Floret, 525, 528, 543, 575; see also individual

index entries of Flowers
Florida cone, 418-19
Flour, rock, 761

Flower and insect partners, 457
Flowerless plants, 693-731; see also Table of
Contents, List of Plates, and individual
index entries

Flowers, see entries below, also Table of Con-
tents and individual index entries
banner ; see Flowers, ray
cleistogamous, 478
composite, type lesson for, 503; see also

Flowers, disc, and Flowers, ray
disc, 503, 505, 507, 523, 524, 574; see also

Composite flowers
garden, 546-90; see also Table of Contents

and index entries of individual names
parts of, 456, 486, 492, 498, 559, 567, 573, 574,
575, 580, 583, 587, 589, 607, 609, 612, 613,
688, 690

perfect, 607, 609, 688, 690
pistillate, or seed-bearing, 475, 501, 507, 535,

600, 601, 609, 613, 615, 640, 647, 654, 656,
657, 684

ray, 503, 507, 523, 574; see also Composite

flowers
staminate or pollen-bearing, 475, 501, 535, 536,

601, 640, 647, 651, 654, 656, 684
study of, how to begin, 453-59
use of, how to teach, 457

wild, 460-511; see also Table of Contents,
List of Plates, and index entries of in-
dividual names
Fly, see Flies
Fog, 788, 811
Foot, see also Feet

of downy woodpecker, 71

of housefly, 359

of insects, 299, 339; see also individual index
entries of insects

of kingfisher, 98

Footprints of prehistoric animals, 745
Forecasting, weather, principles of, 799-800
Forecasts, weather, based on maps, 799-806
Forest, petrified, 754
Formaldehyde. 730

922

INDEX

Forms of water, 808-14
Forsyth, Mary Isabella, 83
Fossil coral, 748
Fossils, 745, 748, 756-57
" Fossils, guide," 756
Fox, red, 251-53

silver, 253

Franklin, Benjamin, 781, 782
Fraxiiius nigra, 515

Frog, 180-83, 186-87; see also List of Plates and
individual index entries

bull, 181, 182

green, 180, 181, 182

leopard, 180, 181, 182, 183
southern, 183

tree, 10, 178, 179; see also Toad, tree
Anderson, 179
green, 178

wood, 182

Fronds, fern, 693, 695; see also individual in-
dex entries of Ferns

fertile, 701

sterile, 701
Frost crystals, 813

hoar, 811, 813

Fruiting of fern, 693-95, 699-706
Fruits, see Table of Contents and index entries

of individual plants
Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, 82
Fulgur, 430-31
Fungi, 288, 714-27

bear's head, 724

bird's nest, 727

bracket, 715, 721-25

hedgehog, 725

pore, 723
Furry, a red squirrel, 237-38

Gaits of horses, 277

Galaxy, 816, 817

Galileo, 781, 790, 816

Gall dwellers, 335-38, 653, 686

GaUs, 333, 335-38, 505, 510, 653, 687

acorn, plum, 335

bullet, oak, 335

cone, willow, 336, 653
witch hazel, 337

goldenrod, 337, 505

jewelweed, 510

porcupine, 338

rose, 337

spherical, goldenrod, 337

spiny, oak, 335

vagabond, 337
Game birds, 46, 136-37
Gammarm, 448-49
Gander, 132
Gandoderma, 723
Garden Flowers, 546-90
Gas, carbonic acid, 749
Gases, see Climate and Weather, 780-807

lightest known, 789
Gauge, rain, 805

Gecko, banded, 210-11
Geese, 130-135

African, 131

Canada, 130, 132, 133-135

Chinese, brown, 131
white, 131

Embden, 131, 132

Toulouse, 131

wild, 133-135

Gelechia pirdjoliella, 330-31
Gemini, 828-29, 843, 844
Gemmae of liverworts, 712
Geography, lesson in, from cattle, 284
Geology, 744

Georgia, Ada, 130, 138, 145
Geranium, 585-87
Germination of seeds, 458, 459
Gerrhonotus injernalis, 210-11
Gerris, 402-3
Geyserite, 754
Giant water bug, 402-3
Gibson, Hamilton, 688
Gill, Theodore, 150, 164
Gills of crayfish, 427

of fish, 145; see also Fishes

of insects, 295

of mushrooms, 716, 719
Gin, cotton, 605
Giraffe, Nubian, 290-91
Gizzard of bird, 48

of earthworm, 423
Glaciation in United States, 761
Glacier, rocks left by, 761
Glands of earthworms, calcareous, 423
Glass, 755
Glasses, field, 9-10
Glow worm, 367-69
Glue, bee, 398
Gnats, gall, 653
Gneiss, 754
Gnomon, 853-54
Goats, 266-70

Angora, 269

Cashmere, 269

cheese from milk of, 268-69

French alpine, 268

milch, 268-69

Mohair, 269

Rocky Mountain, 268

Saanen, 267

Toggenburg, 267
Goldeneyes, see Lacewing
Goldenrod, 503-6

dodder on stem of, 521

galls on, 336, 337, 338
Goldfinch, 46, 54-57
Goldfish, 144r48
Goniobasis, 448-49
Goodale, Elaine, 484
Goose, 130-35
Gopherus berlandieri, 206
Goslings, 132
Gourds, 615, 616

INDEX

923

rafting, cleft, 662
randfather Greybeard, 4.32-35
ranite, 744, 746-47, 754
rass, beach, American, 774
eel, 455
pigeon, 710

rasshopper, 81, 86, 90, 297, 299, 338-43
American bird, 339
incomplete metamorphosis of, 297
long-horned, 341
meadow, 341
mouth-parts of, 299, 339
parts of external anatomy of, 298, 339
red-legged, 341
short horned, 340, 341
ravel, 763
ravity, 736, 788
rebe, pied-billed, 142-43
-reene, Robert, 33
rreening, Rhode Island, 668
rreyhound, 255
rrindelia, 514
rrippe, 729

rrosbeak, cardinal, 127-30
Iround hog (woodchuck), 15, 222-32
rrouse, 46
dusky, 136-37
ruffed, nest of, 136-37
}rubs, 295; se*e ako Caterpillars
Guernsey, 283
half Stream, 791
kill, herring, 106-7
Jullies, 768, 769, 772
lyrinus, 402-3

lackney, English, 278

lail, 809, 811

lailstones, 809

lairbird, 87; see also Sparrow, chipping

lairs, root, 619

lalo, 834

lampshire, 273, 288; see also Pig and Sheep

lardy, Irene, 565

lares, Belgian, 216, 217

varying, 217

larte, Bret, 104, 196, 224
larvestmen, 434; see also Daddy longlegs
lawks, 104-7; see also Birds of Prey

Cooper's, 105

duck, 38

fish, 104

hen, 104-7

marsh, 105, 108

red-shouldered, 104r-7

red-tailed, 104-7

sharp-shinned, 105

sparrow, 106-7
' Haws," 664

Haymakers, 434; see also Daddy longlegs
Hazel, witch, 686-89

Head of insects, 298, 299, 300, 339, 359; see also
Insects

of trees, 618, 619

Heart, bleeding, 558-60
Heartwood, 620, 630, 636, 686
Heavenly twins, 828-29
He-goat (constellation), 844
Heifer, 282, 283; see also Cattle
Helios (the sun), 834
Helium, 783, 785, 789, 834
Helisoma, 448-49
Hellbenders, 187
Heloderma suspectum, 210-11
Hemispheres, 798
Hemlocks, 626, 673, 679-80
Hen, 28, 29-35, 47-50; see also Chickens
Henry, Joseph, 782
Hepatica, 461-63
Hepatics and mosses, 712-13
Herb, Margaret, 523
Herford, Oliver, 215, 283, 369
Heron, white, 142-43
Heterodon simus, 202-3
Hexapoda, 295
H. H., 506, 567
Hickories, 24, 643-45, 658
Higginson, Ella, 598
High pressure, 794r-95
Highhole, 78; see ako Flicker
Highs and lows, 801, 806
Hippa, 430-31
Hippopotamus, 290-91
Hive, bee, 396-99
Hoarfrost, 811,813
Hogs, 286-89, 292, 293; see also Pig
breeds of, 292
wart, 292
wild, 287

Holder, Charles Frederick, 151, 158-59
Hollyhock leaf, work of leaf-roller on, 33S
Holmes, 0. W., 343
Holstein, 283, 284; see also Cattle
Homer, 827
Honey, 395-99

Honeybee, 391-99, 485, 509, 572
Honeycomb, 395-96; see also Honeybee
Hoppers, leaf, 86

tree, 297

Hornblende, 744, 746
Home, R. H., 310
Hornet, black, white faced, 381

nest of, 399
Horses, 274-280
ancestors of, 274r-75
breeds of, 278, 280
coach, 278
draft, 275, 276
Horse chestnut, 648-50

latitudes, 796
Horsetail, field, 706-9
Hour disc of star finder, 848
Hourglass spider, 435
House centipede, 448-49
for wrens, 46
mouse, 224r-28
House-fly, 358-61

924 INDEX

Howells, William Dean, 120

Howitt, Mary, 100

Huber, Pierre, 354

Humane Society, American, 228

Humidity, absolute, 785

relative, 785
Hummingbird, 44, 115-17

moth, 320-25
Humus, 629, 762, 763
Hurricane, 800

signals, 804
Huxley, Thomas, 750
Hyades, 826
Hydnum caput-ursi, 724

coraloideS; 725
Hydrogen, 783, 785, 788, 789
Hydrometra martini, 296
Hydrophilus, 402-3
Hyla andersonii, 179

cinerea cinerea, 178

crucifer, 177-80

versicolor versicolor, 10, 179
Hyla, Pickering's, 177-80
Hypnum Crista-castrensis, 712-13
Hypohippus, 756-57

" I do not know," when it should be said, 3, 4
Ice storm, 809

wedges, 762

work of, 764

Igneous rock, 746-47; see also Rocks
Imago, 298; see also Insects, adults of
ImpatienSj 508-11
Indian corn, 602

Indian turnip, 747; see also Jack-in-the-pulpit
Indians, American, 598, 615

Iroquois, 598

Oneida, 686

Seneca, 599
Indusia, 694

Indusium, 694, 700, 702; see also Ferns
Influenza, 729
Ingersoll, Ernest, 247

Insects, 294^415; see also Table of Contents,
List of Plates, and index entries of indi-
vidual names

abdomen of, 298, 339

adults, 297, 298

antennas of, 298, 339

aquatic, 402-3

as pollination agents, 493

breathing pores of, 300, 339

compound eyes of, 298, 339

definition of, 295

eggs of, 295, 296, 298

gall, 686

heads of, 298, 339

larvae of, 298

legs, parts of, 299, 339

metamorphoses of, 298

mouth-parts of, 298, 299, 339

nymphs of, 298

of brook and pond, 400-415

Insects — continued

of fields and woods, 301-400

partners with flowers, 457

parts of external anatomy, 298, 339

simple eyes of, 298, 339

stages in life history of, 295-98

structure of, 298-300, 339

thorax of, 298, 299, 339

water, 400-415

Invertebrates, other than insects, 416-50
Iris, 571-74

wild, 573

yellow, wild, 572
Iron, 744

ore, 745

Iroquois Indians, 598
Irvine, J. P., 109
Isabella Tiger moth, 310-13
Isaiah, 651

Isobars, 794, 801, 804
Isotherm, 801
Ivy, poison, 514-15, 684

poisoning, curative treatment for., 514

prevention of, 514

Jack Frost, his work, 762, 764

Ice wedges of, 764
Jack-in-the-pulpit, 473-76
Jackson, Helen Hunt 591 ; see also H. H.
Japan current, 791
Jasper, 754
" Javelins," 287
Jaw-feet, 425-26
Jay, blue, 125

Jefferies, Richard, 545, 765
Jellyfish, 430-31
Jersey cows, 283, 284
Jewelweed, 508-11

dodder on stem of, 521
Jims on weed, 582
Job's Coffin, 833
Johnny darter, 166-69
Jonquils, 549, 551
Jordan, David Starr, 151, 158-59, 160, 165-66

166-67, 168, 423, 424
Jug-builder, 379
Juniper, leaf -roller of, 334
Juno, 820, 822
Jupiter, 820, 822, 835, 836

Kalmia, 691

Kangaroo, 290-91

Kaolin, 758

Katydid, 340, 342, 343-44

Keats, John, 57, 155, 588

Kentucky cardinal, 127-30

" Key " of maple, 629

King Cepheus, 821-22

King, Harriet E. H., 549

Kingfisher, 31, 97-100

Kings, ant, 370

Kinosternon subrvhrum hippocrepis, 204

Kittens, 260, 261; see also Cats

INDEX

Klondike Jack, 259
Krypton, 783, 785
Kuro Siwo current, 791

Labium, 299, 300, 339; see aho Insects, mouth-
parts of

Labradorite, 755, 758

Labrum, 299, 300, 339; see also Insects, mouth-
parts of

Lace, Queen Anne's, 542-45
Lacewing, 356-58
Lacquer, Japanese, 685
Ladies' ear-drop, 510
Ladybird, 364-66
Lady's-slipper, showy, 484, 487

stemless, 486

yellow, 484-87
Lakes, salt, 753
Lamb, 272 ; see also Sheep
Lamprey, 165-66
Lampropeltis getulus boylii, 202-3

triangulum triangulum, 197-99
Lanceolate leaves, 490
Lanier, Sidney, 93
Lapham, Increase A., 783
Larcom, Lucy, 89, 91, 537
Lark, prairie horned, at nest, 81
Larkspur, bee, 568-71

Larva, insect, 295, 298, 320, 326, 360, 364, 368,
412-13 ; see also List of Plates and indi-
vidual index entries of insects
Laurel, mountain, 453, 689-92

pale, 690

sheep, 690

swamp, 690
Laurence, Kay, 491
Lavas, 754

" Leader," of evergreens, 670
Leaf arrangement, 628, 643, 683

blade of, 457

coloring of, 622

factory, 455

leaflets of, 643, 649, 658, 683

midrib of, 457

parts of, 457

petiole of, 457

prints, how to make, 626-27

stipules, 457
Leaf cutter bee, 384-86
Leaf hoppers, 86
Leaf-miners, 329-32, 333, 510, 687
Leaf-rollers, 332-34

Leaves, see Leaf, ako Table of Contents and
individual index entries of plants

alternate, 643, 683

compound, 474, 643, 658, 683

lanceolate, 490

opposite, 628

Lecidia albocaerulescens, 762
Leghorns, white, 48
Legs of insects, 299-300, 339

of insects, prop, 299
true, 299

925

Legumes, growing, 772
Lenses, hand, 9
Lenticels, 621, 686
Leo, 840, 843, 844
Leonids, 840
Leprosy, 729
Lespedeza, 773
Lettuce, prickly, 529-31

wild, 530
Libra, 843
Lice, dog, 448-49

pea, 86

plant, 86, 90, 351-54, 371, 687
Lichen, 715, 762
Lick, salt, 753
Light, speed of, 816
Light year, 816
Lightning, 780, 783-84
Lily, adderVfcongue, 464

calla, 474

pond, seed vessel of, 496

water, white, 495-9-8

wood, 470
Lime, as fertilizer, 773

carbonate, 749
Limestone, 745, 748-50
Limpet, fresh-water, 448-49
Linden, 627
Lingula, 756-57
Linnaeus, 596

Lmognathus pilijerus, 448-49
Lion (constellation), 831, 843

ant, 354-56

Lips (southwest wind), 781
Litter, leaf and twig, 766
Liverworts, 712-13
Lizards, 210-13

alligator, 210-11

collared, 212-13

contrasted with salamanders, 187

fence, 210-11, 212-13

legless, 210-11

plated, 210-11
Loams, 763
Lobes of a leaf, 628
Lockjaw, 729

Locust, red-legged, 341-43; see also Grass-
hopper

trees, 773
Lodestone, 777
Loess, 762

Log-cabin cases of caddis worm, 409
Longfellow, H. W., 2-3, 457, 571
Longitude, 846
Longlegs, daddy, 432-35
Lotus, 497

Egyptian, flower of, 496
Louse, dog, 448-49
Love vine, 520-22
Low pressure, 794, 795

about the equator, 795

Lowell, James Russell, 7, 123, 148, 186-87 329
369, 404, 531 , 649, 661, 851

026 INDEX

Lows and highs, 801, 806

Lubbock, ant-nest, 373-74, 377-78

Lubbock, Sir John, 381, 571

Lucretius, 779

Lima moth, 296, 297, 313

Luray Caverns, 749

Lycoperdon, 720

Lycopodium alopecur aides, 707

complanatwm, 708
Lycosa, 448-49
Lyg ' odium palmatum, 704^-5
Lymncea, 448-49
Lyre, 832

Magellanic clouds, 816

Maggots, 295, 360; see also Caterpillars

of houseflies, 360
Magnesium, 744
Magnets, 776-79
Maidenhair fern, 697, 701, 704-5
Maize, 598-604

Majors, 370; see also Ant, ways of
Malaclemys centrata, 205
Malaria, 41&-14
Mallard duck, 142-43

Mammals, 26, 214-93; see also Table of Con-
tents, List of Plates, and individual index
entries

Mammoth Cave, 749
Mammoths, 756

Mandibles, 299, 300, 339; see also Insects,
mouth-parts of

of crayfish, 426
Mandrake, 479-82
Mangum, Priestly H., 769, 774
Man o' War, 277
Maple, cut-leaf, 630

goosefoot, 630

mountain, 624, 630, 633

Norway, 630

red, 624, 630, 634

silver, 630, 632

striped, 630, 633, 634

sugar, 624, 628

sugar made from, 630

sycamore, 627, 630
Maps, weather, 800, 801, 802-3, 806
Marble, 748-50

deposits in United States, 749
Marchantia polymorpha, 712-13
Mares, 275; see also Horse
Margitifera radiata, 418-19
Mangold, marsh, 516
Mariner's compass, 777
Mars, 835-36
Martin, purple, 112, 115
Mathews, F. S., 43, 81, 95, 125, 509
Maxillae, 299, 300, 339, 426; see also Insects,

mouth-parts of
Maxillipeds, 425
Maximum thermometer, 804
May apple, 475^82
Maybeetle in flight, 369

Mayfly, 402-3
Mclntosh apple, 668
Meadowlark, 80-82
Meandering stream, 741
Medic, black, 591

spotted, 591

Melanoplus jemur-rubrum, 341
Melon, 615

Melongena corona, 418-19
Melongena, crown, 418-19
Membrane, nictitating, 181
Mercury, 786, 835, 836

bichloride of, 730
Meridian, 845

standard, 846

Mesohippus, see Horse, 274r-80
Mesothorax, 299, 300; see als<? Thorax of in-
sects

Metamorphic rocks, 748-50
Metamorphoses of insects, 298
Metamorphosis, complete, 297, 298

incomplete, 297-98, 341
Metatarsus, 433

Metathorax, 299, 300 ; see also Thorax of insects
Meteor shower, Leonid, 840
Meteorites, 839
Meteorology, 781, 782
Meteors, 789, 838-40

Perseid, 840

relation to comets, 839-40
Mica, 744, 746, 758-59
Mice, 224-28

deer, 226, 227

field, 225, 226, 227

house, 224-28

meadow, 225, 226, 227

white-footed, 226, 227
Microhyla carolinensis, 184r-85
Micro-organisms, 762
Microscope, 9-10
Micrurus julvius julvius, 200-201
Midrib of leaf, 457, 694
Migrants, bird, fall, 36

spring, 36

Migration, bird, 35-37, 64
records of, 36-37
routes of, 35-37

of monarch butterflies, 305
Milch goats, 268-69

cows, 283
Mildews, 728

Milk, 283-86; see also Cattle and Goats
Milkweed, 491-95

butterfly, caterpillar of, 307; see also Monarch

butterfly

Milky Way, 816, 817
Millipedes, 295, 448-49
Milt, 161
Mineral wool, 755

Minerals, 620, 621, 744; see also Rocks
Miners, leaf, and their work, 86, 329, 330, 331,

510, 561, 567, 687
Mines, blotch, 330

INDEX

927

Mines — continued

serpentine, 329, 330, 567

trumpet, 330

Minims, 370 ; see also Ant, ways of
Minnows, 155

Minors, 370; see also Ant, ways of
Mist, 811
Moccasin flower, pink, 486

water, 202-3
Mockingbird, 91-94
Mold, type of fossil, 756
Molds, 727-28, 762
Molting of insects, 295-96
Monarch chrysalis, 308
Monster, Gila, 210-11
Moon, 855-59

phases of, 858

photographs of, 855, 856

physical geography of, 858-59

shell, 418-19

visit to, 856-57
Moonpenny, 523
Moons, 835
Moonstone, 758
Moorefield, Nancy L., 837-38
Morchella esculenta, 726
Morels, 726-27
Morgan (horse) , 276
Morning-glory, 519
Mosquito, 411-15
Moss, broom, 712-13

club, 707

fern, common, 712-13

hair-cap, 70&-14
awned, 712-13
common, 712-13

pigeon wheat, 712-13

plume, 712-13

Mosses and hepatics, 712-13
Moths, 294, 296, 297, 315, 330, 457, 525, 582, 584,
606, 664

cecropia, 294, 313-17

codling, 664

Cynthia, 319

emergence of, 315

flannel, engraving of, 294

hawk, 457

hummingbird, 582, 584

Isabella Tiger, 310-11

Juno, engraving of, 294

luna, 294, 296, 297

night-flying, 489

polyphemus, 319

promethea, 317-20

sphinx, 299, 320-25, 457
Mount, plant, 17
Mouse, see Mice

cone, 418-19

Mouth-parts of insect, 298-300, 339, 353
Mud-dauber, 378-80
Mud puppies, 187
Mud wasp, 379
Muenscher, W. C., 514-15

Mullein, 513, 537-39

Miffler, 519

Murex, apple, 418-19

black lace, 418-19
Murex cobritti, 418-19

fulvescens, 418-19
Murex, lined, 418-19

little red, 418-19
Murex messorius, 418-19

pomum, 418-19

rujus, 418-19

Murex, white-spike, 418-19
Mushrooms and other fungi, 714-27

edible, common, 718

inky-cap, 717

meadow, 715, 716-17

oyster, 723

parts named, 719

shapes of, 717

Musicians, insect, see Cricket
Muskrat, 219-23
Mussel, paper-shell, 448-49
Mycelium, 723

of molds, 727

of mushroom, 719

Names, popular or common, 10-11

scientific, 10-11
Nape, 49
Narcissus, paper-white, 551

poet's, 550

Narcissuses, 549, 550, 551
Nasturtium, 566-68

leaf-miner. 330, 331
Natrix sipedon sipedon, 198-99
Natural Bridge, 749

Nature-study and science compared, 5, 21-22
Nature-study, teaching of, 1-24; see also Table

of Contents
Nebulae, 816, 817
Nectar, 478, 572, 613

gland, 652

Nectary of a violet, 477
Necturus maculosus, 190-91
Needham, J. G., 571, 572, 583
Needles, pine, in bundles, 671
Neon, 783, 785
Nepa, 402-3
Neptune, 835, 836-37
Nesting boxes, 43-44
Nests of birds

bittern, American, 142-43

blackbird, red-winged, 118

bluebird, 63-64

brown thrasher, 93

cardinal, 128

catbird, 95, 96

crow, 125

downy woodpecker, 72

flicker, 78, 79

goldfinch, 53, 55-57

grebe, pied-billed, 142-43

grouse, ruffed, 136-37

928 INDEX

Nests — continued

hawk, fish, 104
marsh, 108

hummingbird, 116

kingfisher, 98

lark, prairie horned, 81

meadowlark, 81

mockingbird, 92

oriole, Baltimore, 121, 635

osprey, 104

owl, great horned, 102

plover, Wilson's, 142-43

rail, king, 142-43

robin, 58, 59

sparrow, chipping, 86, 87
English, 85
song, 89, 90

study of, in winter, 46-47

swallow, bank, 111, 112, 114
barn, 110, 111
cliff, 110
eave, 110
tree, 112, 114

swift, chimney, 112

tern, common, 142-43

vulture, black, 106-7

woodcock, 136-37
Nests of fish

bullhead, 150

sunfish, 164
Nests of insects

ant, 374-78

bumblebee, 390

wasps, 379, 380, 381, 387, 388
Net builder, 409
Newcomb, Simon, 837
Newfoundland dog, 255
Newt, 187-89, 192

giant or California, 189
Nightingale, Virginia, 128 ; see also Cardinal
Nightshade, family of plants, 582
Nile River, 497
Nimbus clouds, 804
Nitrogen, 592, 593, 594, 596, 621, 772, 783, 784,

788, 789

Nitrous acid, 784
Nodes, 599-601
Nodules, 591, 592
North Pole, 777
North Star, 818
Northern Cross, 817
Nostrils of birds, 39

of fish, 145

Notebook, field, 13-16
Notonecta, 402-3
Notropis cornutuSj 154-55
Notus (south wind), 781
Nubias, 269

Nuthatch, white-breasted, 65-68
Nuts and twigs, mounted, 9

beech, 642

hickory, 643

king, 644

Nuts — continued

shagbark, big, 644

witch hazel, 688
Nymph of damsel fly, 405-6

of dragonfly, 405-6

of insects, 298; see also Insects

Oak apple, 335-36

Wadsworth, 640
Oaks, 638-42

black, 639, 641

blackjack, 639

bur, 639, 641

chestnut, 639

chinquapin, 639

galls on, 335, 33S

laurel, 639

pin, 639

post, 639

red, 639, 640

scarlet, 639, 641

scrub, 639

Spanish, 639

white, 638, 639, 640
swamp, 639

willow, 639
Obelisk, 746, 747
Observatories, 800
Ocean currents, 791, 792
Ocelli, 298, 330, 339; see also Eyes of insects,

simple

(Ecanthus nigricornus, 296
CEnis semidea, 296
Oligoclase, 755, 758
Oliva litterata, 418-19

reticularis, 418-19
Olive, lettered, 418-19

netted, 418-19
Omnivorous creatures, 424
Oneida Indians, 686
Opal, 754

Ophisaurus ventralis, 210-11
Opheodrys CB&tivus, 200-201
Orb-weavers, 440
Orchid, see Orchis and Lady's slipper

purple-fringed, lesser, 485
Organic matter, 762
Oriole, Baltimore, 120-23

orchard, 122
Orion, 823-26, 827

Ornithology, Department of, Cornell Univer-
sity, 43

Orohippus, see Horse, 274r-80
Orthoclase, 755, 758
Osmia destructa, 572
Osmunda cinnamomea, 704r-5

Claytoniana, 704r-5

regalis, 704-5
Osmundas, 701, 704-5
Osprey, 104
Otozamites, 756-57
Ovary, 456, 547, 551, 613
Ovipositor, 298, 300, 339

INDEX

929

Ovules, 456, 600
Owl, barn, 101

great horned, 102

monkey-faced, 101

screech, 100-103, 106-7, 632

snowy, 106-7

Oxen, 283; see also Cattle
Oxeye daisy, 523
Oxybelis micropthalamus, 202-3
Oxygen, 621, 744, 754, 783, 784, 785, 788, 789
Ozone, 784

Palpi, 298, 299, 300, 339, 340, 433; see also In-
sects, mouth-parts of
Paludestrina, 448-49
Panicle, 683, 686
Pansy, 385, 555-58
Pappus, 504, 507, 535
Parasites, 324, 352, 520-21, 715
Parasols of May apple, 480-82
Parian marble, 749
Parks, some animals of, 290-91
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, 515
Partridges, 679, 683
Pasteurization, 285
Patella, 433

Pattee, Fred Lewis, 679
Pea, sweet, 588-90, 595
Peach, blossoms of, 666
Peacocks, 33
Pear, blossoms of, 327, 328, 666

tree, Endicott, 19
Peccaries, 287
Pecten gibbus, 418-19

irradiam, 418-19
Peduncle, 456
Peeper, spring, 177-80
Pelargoniums, 585
Pelicans, 30

Pellaea atropurpurea, 704-5
Pentelican marble, 749
Pepper-root, 460
Perca flavescens, 146
Perch, yellow, 146
Percherons, 278

Perennial, 461-62, 513, 524, 526, 610
Perianth, 551
Perseid meteors, 840
Perseus, 840

Petiole of leaf, 457, 620, 622, 694
Petrifactions, 756
Petrified forest, 754
Pets, 15, 230, 246, 249
Petunia violacea, 582
Petunias, 581-84
Phacops, 756-57
Pharynx, 423
Pheasant, 46, 136-37
Phobos, 836
Phoebes, young, 27
Phosphate, rock, 772
Phosphorus, 621, 772
Photinus pyralis, 367

Phrynosoma blainvillii, 212-13

solare, 212-13

Phyllitis Scolopeiidrium, 704r-5
Physa, 44S-49
Picea 'excelsa, 677
Pickerel, chain, 146
Piezosterum subulatum, 296
Pig, 286^-89, 293
Pigeons, 50-53
domesticated, 50-53
homing, 50, 51
houses of, on Nile, 50
pouter, 51

Pigweed leaves, mines in, 330
Pileus of mushrooms, 719
Pine, 670-75
Austrian, 671, 672

ground, 707, 708; see also Lycopodium
loblolly, 620
pitch, 671, 673
sap, 673
white, 671-74
yellow, 673

Pine-needle, miner in, 330-31
Pinnas, fruiting, of fern, 694, 695, 698
Pinnate, 695, 698

Pinnule, 694-98; see also individual index en-
tries of ferns
Pisces, 843

Pistil, see Flower, parts of
Pistillate flower, 475, 501, 600, 601, 647, 652, 653,
659, 684; see also Flowers and index en-
tries of individual plants
Pith, 620, 684, 686

Pituophis catenifer deserticola, 200-201
Planetoids, 836
Planets, 834-37
distinguished from stars, 835
Inner, orbits of, 835
major, 836
Outer, orbits of, 836
terrestrial, 836
Planisphere, 843
Planorbis, 448-49
Plant lice, 351-54, 371, 687
Plantain, English, 458

Plants, 453-731; see also Table of Contents,
List of Plates, and index entries of indi-
vidual names

cultivated crop, 591-617; see also Table of
Contents, List of Plates, and index en-
tries of individual names
flowerless, 693-731; see also Table of Con-
tents, Lists of Plates, and index entries of
individual names
how to begin study of, 453-59
mounted, 17

needs of, experiments to show, 454-56
transplanting of, 460
Plastron of turtle, 204
Plecoptera, 402-3
Pleiades, 816, 826-27
Plethedon glutinosus, 190-91

930

Pleurocera, 448-49

Pleurotoma nana, 430-31

Pleurotus ostreatus, 723

Plover, golden, migration route of, 36

Wilson's, 142-43
Plum curculio, 325
Pluto, 835-37, 840
Pod, seed, of plants, 494, 590, 658
Pointer, 256, 258; see also Dogs
Poison ivy, 514-15, 684
Poland China, 292; see also Pig
Polar caps on Mars, 835
Polaris, 821, 844, 8453 849
Poles of magnet, 777
Polestar, 816, 818-21, 829

and dippers, 818-21
Polinicies duplicata, 418-19
Pollarded willows, 653
Pollen, 456, 457, 547, 784

carriers of, 475

use of, 457

Pollen-bearing flowers, 536
Pollination, cross, 553

insects as agents of, 493

self, 478
Pollux, 828
Polyphemus, 313, 319
Polypody, 695, 700, 703
Polyporus applanatus, 722

ludduSj 722

sulphweus, 722

versicolor, 722

Polystichum acrostichoides, 694
Polytnchium commune, 712-13

piliferum, 712-13
Pond, insects of, 400-415
Pondweed, 498-500
Ponies, herd of, 278

Shetland, 275, 278
Poplar, Carolina, 655-58

Lombardy, 657

tulip, 621
Poppies, 560-63

arctic, 561

California, 563-65

corn, 561

Iceland, 561

opium, 561

Oriental, 561

relatives of bloodroot, 466

Shirley, 561
" Popple tree," 657
Porcupine galls, 338
Pores, breathing, 686

of mushrooms, 716

of soil, 767
Potash, 772

salts, 772
Potassium, 744, 755

bichromate, 751, 752
Potato, 582

Pout, horned, 150, 151 ; see also Bullhead
" Precession of equinoxes," 843

INDEX

Predacious diving beetle, 402-3

Pressure and temperature, distribution of, 791

air, normal, 793

atmospheric, 785-88

belts on simplified globe, 793

high, 794

low, 794

normal, 786
Prickly lettuce, 529-31
Primrose, evening, 488-91
Proboscis, 422
Procyon, 823, 827-28
Prolegs, 299
Promethea, 313, 317-20
Propolis, 397
Proteids, 621
Prothallium, of ferns, 699, 700, 701

stage of Equisetum, 707

Prothorax, 299, 300 ; see also Thorax of insects
Protoplasm, 728
Proverbs, weather, 807
Pruning, principles of, 663
Psephenusf 402-3
Pseudotrilon ruber, 190-91
Puffballs, 720-21

beaker, 720

cup-shaped, 720

giant, 721
Pulvillus, 298, 339
Pumpkin, 611-17

pistillate flower of, 612

staminate flower of, 612
Pumpkinseed, see Sunfish
Pupje of insects, 296, 297, 298, 315, 321, 360,
364, 368, 409-10, 412-13; see also Insects,
metamorphosis of
Puppy, mud, 190-91
Pups, 257, 258
Purslane, 513
Pussy willow, 651, 652
Pyramids of Egypt, 749

Quail, 136-37

Quaker ladies, see Bluets, 483-84

Quartz, 744, 746, 751, 754-55

crystals of, 751

milky, 754

rose, 754

sand, 755

smoky, 754
Queen Anne's Lace, 542-45

Cassiopeia's Chair, 821
Queens, ant, 370

bumblebee, 389, 481

honeybee, see Honeybee

Rabbit, cotton-tail, 215-19

Dutch, 216

snow-shoe, 217
Raccoon, 247-52
Rachis, 694, 695, 698
Radii of web, 439
Rail, king, 142-43

INDEX

931

Rain, 804, 808-14

gauge, 805

Ram (constellation), 843, 844
Rams, 272, 273 ; see also Sheep
Rana catesbeiana, 181, 182

heckscheri, 183

pipiens pipiens, eggs of, 183

sphenocephala, 183

sylvatica, 182, 183
Ranatra, 402-3
Rattlesnakes, see List of Plates, Snakes, and

index entries of individual names
Raven, northern, 124, 125
Ray flowers, 504-5, 523, 574
Rays, soft, of fish, 145
Razorback, 287, 289
Reaumur thermometer scale, 790
Redbird, crested, 128

Virginia, 128

winter, 128

Redfield, William, 782
Redfin (common shiner), 154-55
Redheaded woodpecker, 76
Redstart at nest, 28

References, see Suggested Readings and Bib-
liography

Regulus, 829, 830-31, 843
Remus, Uncle, 217

Reptiles, 193-213; see also Table of Contents,
List of Plates, and index entries of indi-
vidual names
Residents, bird, in summer, 36

in winter, 36

permanent, 36
Reveley, Ida, 224
Rexford, Eben, 64
Rhinoceros, 290-91
Rhus canadensiSf 515

copallina, 515

glabra, 515, 684

toxicodendron, 515

ty pinna, 515

Vernix, 515

Riccia, purple-fringed, 712-13
Ricciocarpus natans, 712-13
Riffle beetle, 402-3
Rigel, 823-26
Riley, C. V., 368

Riley, J. W., 72, 194, 286, 343, 367, 481, 735
Ring, fairy, 715

mushroom, 719
Rings, annual, of tree, 620
Roberts, I. P., 512
Robin, 57-62
Rock flour, 761

lichen, 762

salt, 745

worm shell, 418-19
Rocks, 744-59

groups of, 745

igneous, 746-47

metamorphic, 745, 748-50

sedimentary, 745

Rocks — continued

striae on, 743

weathering of, 745
Rodents, 219-23, 224-28

teeth of, 215-16

traps for catching alive, 228
Roosevelt, Theodore, 287, 292
Rootlets, 619
Roots, fern, 695

alfalfa, system of, 593

hairs, 619

purposes of, 498, 619

reproduction by, 482

tree, 618

tubercles on, 592
Rootstock, fern, 693, 695
Roquefort cheese, 269
Rosana, 334

Rose, mossy gall on, 337
Rosettes, 482, 489, 490, 513, 526, 538, 541
Rosin, 674

Rossetti, Christina, 310, 325
Rotation of crops, 773, 774

of earth, 792, 797, 840, 844
Rowe, P. W.} Mrs., 92
Rubber boa, 200-201
Rump of bird, 49
Runner, race, 212-13
Runners of strawberry, 610
Rusts, 728, 762
Rutilana, 334

Sage, scarlet, 579-81
Sagittarius, 843-44
St. Bernard, 256, 259
Salamanders, cave, 190-91

characteristics of, 187

marbled, 190-91

red, 190-91

red-backed, 187

slender, 190-91

slimy, 190-91

spotted, 188, 190-91

tiger, 190-91
Salicylic acid, 653
Salt, 753-54

lakes, 753

rock, 745

Salvelinus fontinalis, 156-59
Salvia, 579-81
Sambucus canadensis, 515
Sand, 761, 763

dollar, 430-31

moving, 735

quartz, 755
Sandpaper, 755
Sandpiper, spotted, 142-43
Sandstone, 745
Sap, 627

pine, 673

spiles, 631
Saprophytes, 715
Sapsucker, yellow-bellied, 74-75

932

INDEX

Sapwood, 620, 636
Sarcocypha coccinea, 725—26
Sard, 754

Satellites, 835, 836, 837
Saturated solution, 753
Saturn, 835, 836
Saucer, scarlet, 725-26
Saunders, A. A., 43
Sauromalus obesus, 212-13
Saxifrage, early, 458
Scales (constellation), 843

on butterfly wing, 307

spiral arrangement of, 677

thermometer, 790
Scallop, beaming, 418-19

calico, 418-19

Scaphiopus hammondii, 172, 186-87
Scarlet fever, 729
Scaup, 142-43
Scavengers, 106-7
Sceloporus spinosus, 212-13

thayeri, 210-11

Scent organs of caterpillars, 302, 303
Schweitzer cheese, 269

Science and nature-study compared, 5, 21-22
Scientific names, uses of, 10-11
Scion, 662

Sciron (northwest wind), 781
Scleroderma, 720
Scorpio, 843-44
Scorpion, 448-49
Scorpion (constellation), 843-44
Scorpionida, 448-49
Scraper of katydid, 344, 345
Screech owl, 106-7
Scud, 448-49
Sculpin, 162
Scutigera, 448-49
Sea Goat (constellation), 843

lily, 756-57

urchin, 430-31
Seashore creatures, 430-31
Secretion of milkweed, 491
Sedimentary rocks, 745; see also Rocks and

Brook
Seed balloons, 493, 494

capsules, 472, 489, 537, 557

clover, inoculation of, 593

germination, 458

leaves, 459
Seedling, maple, 631
Seeing Eye dog, 257
Self-pollination, 478
Seminole Indian boy, 674
Semotilus atromaculatus, 161
Seneca Indians, 599
Sepal, 456

Serpentine miners, 567
Seta, 423

Seton, Ernest Thompson, 13-15, 217, 264
Setter, English, 254, 256, 259
Shadow stick, 852-53
Shagbark hickory, 643-45

Shakespeare, William, 476, 528, 558
Shale, 745

Sharp, Dallas Lore, 217, 219, 221
Sheep, 270-74

breeds of, 273

Cheviot, 271

dog, 273

Merino, 273
Sheet erosion, 769

washing, form of erosion, 774
Shellbark hickory, 643-45
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 100, 808
Shells, seashore, 41&-19

ark, great, 430-31

band, giant, 418-19

moon, 418-19

mottled top, 418-19

notch-side, 430-31

rock worm, 418—19

spiny pearl, 418—19

vase, 418-19

volcano, 418-19
Shiner, common, 154-55
Shorthorn, 283
Shoveller (duck), 142-43
Shropshire, 272, 273; see also Sheep
Shrub, 686

Sickle (constellation), 830, 840
Sidereal time, 819
Sidewinder (snake) , 200-201
Signals, storm and hurricane, 804
Signs, weather, 806
Silicon, 744, 754
Silk, corn, 600, 601
Silkworms, 313
Silver-leaf, 510
Simulium, 402—3
Sirius, 823, 827-28
"Siruping down," 632
Skies, 815-59
Skimmer, big green, 404
Skink, Sonoran, 210-11
Skipper, 334, 458, 571
Skunk, 245-47
Sky and earth, 732-859
Sky clock, 844-46
Slag, basic, 772
Sleet, 809, 811
Slope, gullied, 768
Slugs, 420
Smuts, 728
Snails, garden, 416-17, 420-22

pond, common, 448-49

pouch, 448-49

spiraled, 420

tree, 417
Snake doctors, 401

feeders, 401; see also Dragonflies
Snakes, 193-203

black, pilot, 202-3

bull, 200-201

copperhead, 202-3

coral, 200-201

INDEX

933

Snakes — continued

garden or garter, 194-96

glass (a lizard) ,210-11

gopher, desert, 200-201

green, rough, 200-201

hognose, southern, 202-3

king, Boyle's, 202-3

long-headed, Arizona, 202-3

lyre, California, 202-3

milk, 197-99
Boyle's, 202-3

pilot, gray, 202-3

rattlesnake, 200-203

ribbon, 200-201

ring-necked, 200-201
eastern, 200-201

tree, pike-headed, 202-3

water, 198-99

moccasin, 202-3
Snapper, Florida, 206
Snow, 809

crystals (snowfiakes), 744, 746, 751, 781, 784,

785, 786, 799, 800, 809, 810, 813
Snowdrop, 547
Sodium, 744, 755

Soil, 760-75; see also Table of Contents and
index entries of individual names

clay, 763

conservation of, 770-75

erosion, 761, 766-70

experiments, 764-65

formation of, 762-63

gravelly, 763

inoculated, 593

kinds of, 763

loam, 763

materials, 761-62

organic content of, 763

sandy, 763

transported by wind, 761
Solar system, 834-38
Solomon, Song of, 661
Solution, saturated, 753
Songs, bird, 42-43

recording of, 42-43
Sorbus americanaj 515
Sori of ferns, 695
Sorrel, field, 513

Southdown, 272-73; see also Sheep
Sow, 287, 289; see also Pig
Spadefoot, Hammond's, 172, 186-87
Spadix, 474

Spaniel, English springer, 257
Spar, dogtooth, 748, 749

Iceland, 748
Sparrow, chipping, 86-89

English, 83-86

field, 88

song, 89-91
Spathe, 474, 551
Spawn of mushrooms, 716, 719
Spectrographs, 837
Spectroscope, 815, 816, 834

Spencer, Uncle John, 16, 22, 760
Sperm cells of moss, 711
Sphcerium, 448-49
Sphinx moth, 320-25, 457, 582

long-tongued, 582

Myron, 322-24

Pandora, 322

white-lined, 324
Spica, 829, 832, 843
Spiders, 434-50

Ariadna, 447

ballooning, 444r-45

banana, 437

black widow, 435

crab, 445-46

dictynid, 441

eggs of, 446-50

grass, 436, 438-39

hackled-band, 442

hourglass, 435

house, 436

jumping, 437

running, 447

spiny-bellied, 437

trap-door, 447

triangle, 440

turret, 446, 447

webs of, 442, 811; see also individual index
entries of spiders

white crab, 445-46
Spiles, galvanized, 632

sap, 631

sumac, 632
Spines of fish, 145
Spiny pearl shell, 418-19

Spiracles, 298, 299, 300, 322, 339; see also indi-
vidual index entries of insects
Spirobolus, 448-49
Spleenwort, 702-3
Spoonbill, 142-43
Sporangia, 694, 695, 700
Sporangium, 700
Spore print, mushroom, 718
Spores, 695, 699, 784; see also Flowerless plants

fern, 694, 695; see also individual index en-
tries of ferns

horsetail, 706

moss, 710

mushroom, 717, 719

what they are, 701
Spray of tree, 618, 619, 620
Spraying, time for, 667
Spring beauty, 460
Spruce, black, 675

blossoms of, 676

Norway, 673, 675-78

red, 675

white, 675
Spur of violet, 477
Spy, Northern, 668
Squash, 615

pistillate flowers of, 615
seedling of, 614

934

INDEX

Squirrel corn, 471-73, 558
Squirrel, flying, 235

gray, 235

red, 233-38, 646, 680

tracks of, 234
Stalactites, 749
Stalagmites, 749
Stalk borers, 510
Stallion, 277; see also Horse
Stamens, 456, 547; see also Staminate flowers

and Flowers

Staminate flowers, 475, 501, 535, 536, 601, 647,
652, 656, 671, 676, 684; see also index en-
tries of individual plants
Star finder, equatorial, 847-50

study, how to begin it, 818-33

time, 819, 844, 850
Starch, 621
Starch-factory, 455
Starfish, common, 430-31

Stars, 815-55; see also Table of Contents and
index entries of individual names

charts of, autumn, 818, 825
by seasons, 818, 819/821, 824, 825, 830-31
circumpolar, 819
spring, 831
summer, 818, 831
winter, 824, 825

colors of, 816

distinguished from planets, 835

double, 816

evening, 835

giant, 816

life cycle of, 816

morning, 835

number of, visible, 817

shooting, 789, 839

summer, 829-38

winter, 823-29
Stem of mushrooms, 716, 719

of a tree, 619

underground, 482

Stetson, Charlotte Perkins, 274, 618
Stick, shadow, 852-53
Stickleback, 15&-62

Stigma, 456, 481, 547; see also Pistillate flowers,
Mowers, and individual index entries of
plants

Stinkbug, 296
Stinkhorns, 726, 727
Stipe of ferns, 694, 695

of mushrooms, 719
Stipules of a leaf, 457
Stomata, 496, 621
Stone fly, 402-3
Storms, ice, 809

definition of, 781, 798-99

" dust," 761

map of, 801

movements of, 782

signals of, 804

wind, 771
Stratosphere, 788
Strawberry, 608-10

Stream, Gulf, 791

meandering, 18, 741
Street, A. B., 539
Striae on rock, 743
Strip cropping, 768, 771, 774
Strongylocentrotus, 430-31
Style, 456, 547; see also Pistillate flowery
Sucker, common, 152-53
Suckers of dodder, 520
Sucking tube of insects, 298
Sugar, 621

bush, 628, 631

cane, 603

changed from starch, 455

maple, making of, 630
Sulphate, copper, 751
Sulphur, 621, 730, 744
Sultan, sweet, 579
Sumac, dwarf, 515

fragrant, 515

leaf-rollers on, 333

poison, 515, 684

smooth, 515, 684

spiles made from, 631

staghorn, 515, 683-86

velvet, 683-86
Sun, 833-38

family of, 834^38

path of, 843, 851-53

relation of, to earth, 851-53
Sundial, 853-54
Sunfish, 162-66
Sunflower, 574-78
Sunspots, 834
Superphosphate, 772
Supers, see Hive
Susan, black-eyed, 523-24
Swallows, 109-15

bank, 111-12, 114-15

barn, 110-11, 114

cliff, 110, 114

eave, 110, 114

tree, 111-12, 115
Swan (constellation), 833
Sweet pea, 588-90, 595
Swett, Susan Hartley, 438
Swift, chimney, 109-15
Swimmerets, 427
Swiss, Brown, 283
Sycamore, 625

Tabb, John B., 31, 177, 533, 620, 627, 696
Tadpole shrimp, 448-49
Tadpoles, 170-72, 174, 175-76

aquarium for, 175-76
Tail coverts of bird, 49
Talus, 762
Tamarack, 625
Tamworth, 289; see also Pig
Tannin, 653, 685
Tarantula, 436
Tarsus of birds, 49

of daddy longlegs, 433

of insects, 298-300, 339

INDEX

935

Tassels of com, 60i

Taurus (constellation), 826, 843, 844

Taxocrinus, 756-57

Taylor, Bayard, 348, 678

Teaching of nature-study, 1-24

Teasel, 539-42

Telegraph, electric, 799-800

Telescope, 815, 816

Temperature and pressure, distribution of, 791

of atmosphere, 790
Ten spot, 404
Tendrils, 589, 613, 615, 616
Tennyson, 404, 598
Tent-caterpillar, forest, 296
Tern, arctic, 35

common, 34, 142-43
Terraces, as used in farming, 769
Terracing, 774
Terrapene major, 207, 208
Terrapin, 205, 206-7

diamond back, 205

painted, 206-7

wood, 207
Terrarium, 303, 454
Terrier, Boston, 255
Thallus, 712-13
Thamnophis sauritus sauritus, 200-201

sirtalis sirtalis, 194^96
Thaxter, Celia, 766
Thermometer, 781, 789, 790-91, 804

Centigrade, 790

Fahrenheit, 790

maximum-minimum, 789

Reaumur, 790

scales, 790
Thistle, 524-27, 576

bird (goldfinch), 54r-57

buU, 524

Canada, 513, 524, 525

common, 524

lance-leaved, 524-25
Thomas, Edith M., 97
Thompson, Maurice, 65, 93, 127
Thorax of insects, 298, 299, 300, 339; see also

Insect, parts of

Thoreau, H. D., 14, 15, 124, 154, 198, 199, 231-
32, 238, 640, 646, 651, 686, 699, 706,
814

Thornapple, 663-64
Thrasher, brown, 93
Thrush family, 62
Thuidium delicatulum, 712-13
Tibia of daddy longlegs, 433

of insects, 298, 299, 300, 339
Tiger, Malay, 290-91
Timberline, trees at, 623
Time, local mean, 845

local mean solar, 845, 846

mean, 845

sidereal, 819

standard, 845, 846
Eastern, 845

star, 819, 844, 850
Tinder, 755

Tineids, 330
Tineina, 330
Tipula, 402-3, 756-57
Titmouse, black capped, 68-70
Toad, 170-77, 184-85; see also Frog and Frog,
tree

American, 170-77

bell, American, 184-85

Canadian or Winnipeg, 184r-85

canyon, 184-85

common, 170-77

eggs of, 175-76, 186-87

giant, 173

Great Plains, 184-85

green, little, 174

horned (a lizard), 210-11, 212-13
regal (a lizard), 212-13

narrow mouth, 184-85

oak, 184-85

southern, 176

spadefoot, 171, 186-87

spotted, 18^-85

tree, 10, 179 ; see also Frog, tree

Yosemite, 184-85
Tobacco, 582
Tomato, 582

Toothwort, cut-leaved, 460
Topsoil, 767, 770
Tornado, 804
Torrey, Bradford, 66
Torricelli, 781
Tortricids, 333
Touch-me-not, 508-11
Tracheae, of insects, 295, 300, 412
Tracks as fossils, 756

of cat, 263

of crow, 126

of dinosaur, 756-57

of mouse, white-footed, 227

of squirrel, red, 234
Trade winds, 791, 795-96
Transpiration, 601, 812
Transplanting of flowers, 460
Transportation of soil by wind, 761
Traps for catching rodents alive, 228

humane, 228
Tree frog, 10, 179

snails, 417

toad, 10, 179, see also Frog, tree
Tree-cricket, egg of, 296
Tree-hoppers, 297, 299

Trees, 24, 618-92; see also Table of Contents
and index entries of individual names

at timberline, 623

cone-bearing, 670-78

historic, 19, 640

how they grow, 620

parts of, 618, 619

planting to conserve soil, 773

study of, how to begin, 622-27

wounds in, treatment of, 723
Trillium, 468-70

painted, 469

purple, 469

936 INDEX

Trillium — continued
red, 469
stemless, 469
white, 468-70
Trilobites, 756-57

Trimorphodon vandenburghii, 202-3
Triplum, 469
Triturus torosus, 189
Trochanter, 300, 433
Tropic of Cancer, 841

of Capricon, 842
Tropopause, 788
Troposphere, 788
Trotter, American, 278
Trout, brook, 156-59
Trowbridge, J. T., 432
Truffles, 288

Trunk of a tree, 618, 619
Tubercles, insect, 315, 316

root, 592
Tuberculosis, 729
Tulip, 552-55
Tulip tree, 621
Turkey, 138-41

black, 140

bronze, 140

buff, 140

gobbler, 32

Holland, white, 140

Narragansett, 140

wild, 136-37

Turnip, Indian, 474; see also Jack-in-the-pulpit
Turpentine, 674
Turtles, 204-9

box, 207, 208

chicken, 205

gopher, 206

mud, 204, 206

musk, 206

painted, 205

pond, 206-7

snapping, 206, 208
Florida, 206

soft-shelled, 208

spotted, 207

wood, 207
Twigs, mounted, 9

of a tree, 620
Twilight, zone of, 789
Twins, heavenly, 828-29, 843, 844
Tyndall, John, 792
Typhlotriton spelcBus, 190-91
Typhoid bacillus, 730

Uca, 430-31

Umbelliferce, 542

" Uncle John," see Spencer, John W.

Uranus, 835, 836-37

Ursa Major, 819

Valley of Cashmere, 269
Vallisrieridj 455
Valvata, 448-49

Vampires (bats), 243
Van Dyke, Henry, 80, 89
Vapor, water, 785, 810
Vase shell, 418-19
Vasum muricatum, 418-19
Vega, 831, 832, 849
Veins, minerals in, 754

of leaf, 620

of leaves, parallel, 600

of quartz, 754
Venus (planet), 835, 836
Verbena leaf, blotch mines in, 330
'Vermetits nigricans, 418-19
Vetches, 592, 593
Viceroy butterfly, 306, 307, 654
Victoria regia, 497
Vine, love, 520-22

pumpkin, 615
Violet, 476-79

bird's-foot, 479

blue, common, 477

dog, 477

dog's-tooth, 463-65

long-spurred, 4, 478

seed capsules of, 477

spur of, 477

white, Canada, 478

yellow, round-leaved, 476
Vireo, red-eyed, 39, 45
Virgil, 53

Virgin (constellation), 843, 844
Virginia creeper, 515
Virgo, 843, 844
Visitors, bird, 36
Vitriol, blue, 751
Vivipara, 448-49
Volva of mushroom, 719
Vulture, black, 106-7

Wadsworth oak, 640
Wahoo, 636

Wait, Minnie Curtis, 608
Wake-up (flicker), 78
Walking stick, water, 402-3
Walton, Isaak, 144, 148
Wapiti, 290-91
Wasp, face of, 382
Wasps, 380-84

carpenter, 387, 388

jug builder, 379

mud, 379

mud dauber, 378-80

nests of, 381

yellow-jacket, 379, 380-84
Water Bearer (constellation), 843
Water boatman, 402-3

bug, 402-3

flea, 448-49

forms, 808-14

life, some forms of, 400

lily, white, 495-98

penny, 402-3

pond or brook, inhabitants of, 400-415

INDEX

937

Water — continued

scavenger beetle,, 402-3

scorpion, 402-3

sow bug, 448-49

spider, 448-49

strider, 402-3

vapor, 785
Water-glass, 755

Watering pot (constellation), 844
Water-measurer, egg of, 296
Wax, honeybee, 393, 396; see also Honeybee
Waxwings, cedar, 27

Weather and climate, 780-807; see also Table
of Contents, Water forms, Crystals,
Snow, Winds, Storms, and individual in-
dex entries

Bureau, 804

forecasting, principles of, 799-800

maps, 799-807

observations, 806

proverbs, 807

signs, 806

Weathering, 745, 762
Weaver, orb, egg-sac of, 450
Weavers, cobweb, 446

orb, 440
Web, ballooning spider's, 444

dew on, 811

filmy dome, 443-44

funnel, 438-39

grass spider's, 436

orb, 439-43

Weed, bird's-nest, 544

Weeds, 512-45; see also Table of Contents
and index entries of individual names

definition of, 512

Jimson, 582

outline for study of, 513

seeds of, as bird feed, 81, 90
Weevils, 81, 571
Westerlies, prevailing, 791
Wheat, bird, 712-13

pigeon, 709-14

shock of, 21
Wheel snails, 448-49
Whelk, giant, 430-31
Whip-tail, 212-13
Whirligig beetle, 402-3
Whistler (tree cricket), 348-50
White, Chester (hog), 292
White, Gilbert, 53
Whitetail (dragonfly), 405
Whitman, Walt, 445
Whitney, Eli, 605

Whittier, John Greenleaf, 156, 617
Whorl, arrangement of branches in, 670
Widow, black, 435
Wigglers, 414; see also Mosquito
Wilder, Burt G., 447
Wild flowers, 460-511
William the First of England, 286
WiUows, 1, 651-53

cone gall of, 336, 653

Willows — continued

pollarded, 653

pussy, 651

weeping, 651

yellow-twigged, 651
Wilson, Alexander, 42
Wilson, Robert Burns, 814
Wind erosion, 767, 774

influence of. on trees, 618

storm, 771
Winds of the world, 791-98

prevailing, 792

rotary, 804

Tower of, 781

Trade, 791, 795-96

work of, 767
Wings, bird, 34-35, 49

butterfly, 307

fore, 298, 339

grasshopper, 340

hind, 298, 339

insect, 298, 300, 307, 339, 340, 342, 344

katydid, 344

meadow grasshoppers, 342
Winter stars, 823-29
Wister, Owen, 268
Witch hazel, 686-89

leaf-rollers, leaf-miners, and galls on, 333, 337
Wolf, 250-51

Woodchucks, 15, 228, 229-32
Woodcock, 136-37
Woodpecker, downy, 70-74

golden- winged, 78

pileated, work of, 39

redheaded, 76-77
Woodsia, 702

Wool, 270; see also Sheep and Goats
Woolly bear, 310-13
Wordsworth, 313, 476, 587, 598
Workers, ant, 370

honeybee, 391-95
World winds, 791-98
Worms, army, 81

wire, 81

Wren house, 46
Wrigglers, 414; see also Mosquito

Xenon, 783, 785

Yard-ell, 823

Yarup, 78; see also Flicker

Year, light, 816

Yellow-hammer, 78; see also Flicker

Yellow jacket, 379, 380-84

Yorkshire, 292; see also Pig

Zebra, 290-91

Zephyrus (the west wind) , 781

Zodiac and Ecliptic, 843-44

Zodiacal constellations, 844

Zone of twilight, 789

Zoos, animals of, 290-91

•I HI ••«»»• "•-•

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