Thomas W. Hoare

“ These three things are—water, air, and warmth. We can grow seeds without soil at all if we give them these three things. But if either water, air, or warmth be wanting, your seeds cannot grow.”
“That is why seeds won’t grow outside in winter, then,” said Frank.
“That is the reason,” his uncle answered. “In winter there is not enough heat to make seeds grow. If you sow seeds in a pot of dry soil in summer, and do not give them water, they will not grow.”
“I think a seed is a most wonderful thing,” said Tom.
“It is,” said Uncle George, “wonderful indeed. ”

“ Uncle George asked, and he handed Frank a pair of field-glasses which he used for watching the birds.
“Oh, yes,” said Frank, “I can see him quite plainly. He is a brown bird, with a white and yellow breast, all dotted over with small dark spots.”
“He is not such a beautiful bird as the chaffinch,” said Uncle George, “but he is a much finer singer. Our prettiest birds are by no means our best songsters. The lark, thrush, linnet, and nightingale are all plain birds to look at, but they are by far our sweetest singers.” ”

“ The ‘sea-swallows’ live on fish. Every time they dart down they seize and swallow a little fish. But it is done so quickly that you cannot see it.
“The gull’s flight is quite different. Sometimes he flies so lazily that he does not seem to move onwards at all. Then all of a sudden he darts down into the water to seize his prey. Sometimes he flaps his great white wings and wheels swiftly away, flying in great circles until he is a mere speck in the distance. The gull has a very sharp eye. Watch!”
Uncle George threw a piece of bread into the sea. ”

“ Where do they get this water from?”
“It must be from the soil,” said Frank.
“It must be,” said Uncle George. “If we keep a plant in a pot without watering it, it soon dies. All the water it contains will by and by travel up to the leaves. It passes out through tiny pores in the leaves into the air. If no more water comes up from the soil, the plant withers and dies. The roots of plants search the soil in all directions for 16 water. And in this water there is but little plant-food. We saw this when we boiled away the clear water which covered the soil in the glass. ”

“ No green plant can live without air and sunlight; and, in order to get these, our weak-stemmed sweet-pea has to climb. It clings to its stronger brethren just as the wild peas do in the hedgerow. Now notice how it climbs. The end part of each leaf consists of little gripping organs called tendrils. ”

“ Nature Study involves so many ingenious little deductions, that the reasoning powers are almost constantly employed, and intelligence grows proportionately. The child’s powers of observation are stimulated, and his memory is cultivated in the way most pleasing to his inquiring nature. By dissecting seeds, bulbs, buds, and flowers, his hand is trained, and methods expeditious and exact are inculcated. ”

“ But the one grown in soil has formed a new corm, which will produce new flowers next year. This new corm has grown upon the top of the old one. The crocus grown in water has also produced a new corm, but it is too small to produce a flower next year.
“Then, again, take the snowdrop. The one grown in the soil has produced two or three new bulbs, while that grown in water has not. These new bulbs were the side buds we noticed between the scales when we opened out our snowdrop bulb. In both snowdrops the old bulb has been completely used up to form green leaves and flower. ”

“ Just imagine how a bird would feel with one of these ticklish customers stuck in his throat, eh?
“Now, boys, make a sketch of one of the tiny eggs, also one of the big cabbage caterpillar, and then we will go out and have a game of cricket on the lawn.”
Exercises on Lesson XII. 1. Where would you look for the eggs of the white butterfly? Why are they always laid upon the same kind of plant, and why under the leaf? 2. Explain how caterpillars breathe. 3. Take any caterpillars you find. Observe the leaves you find them feeding upon. Give them fresh leaves every day, and watch how they grow. ”

“ The air, heated by the candle flame, rises up one side of the card, and the cold air goes down the other side to supply its place, drawing the smoke with it. The candle does not go out now, because it gets a constant stream of fresh air.”
“Are the balloons, which are large enough to carry people, fire-balloons?” asked Dolly.
“No, my dear,” replied Uncle George. “They are filled with a gas that is lighter—very much lighter—than the air. ”

“ The young plant is fed by these until its root grows far down into the soil and its shoot grows high up into the air—until it is old enough and strong enough to find food for itself, in fact.
“In the bud, the little shoot is fed by the sap of the mother-plant. Here, in the seed, we have a baby plant wrapped up in two coats, one thick and leathery and the other soft and warm; and, in place of a large 28 feeding-bottle, there are two huge masses of plant-food wrapped up with it.”
“Why do we put seeds in the ground to make them grow?” asked Frank.
“A seed requires three things to make it grow. ”

“ Let us now look at the ordinary pea plant. Its leaf has four pairs of leaflets and three pairs of tendrils 33 besides the terminal tendril—seven tendrils altogether. The stipules here are also very large—much larger than those of the sweet-pea. But the stem is round and smooth. There are no green outgrowths. Here is a wild pea, which I found to-day, which has no leaves at all. All its leaflets have been turned into tendrils or gripping organs. But look at the enormous stipules it has! They are much bigger than ordinary pea leaves.
A Wild Pea with no Leaves. Young Sweet-Peas have no Tendrils. ”

“ We have a fine chance now, boys, of watching the gull. See, there are some walking on the sand quite close to us, some are floating idly on the sea, some are flying all round us. They think, no doubt, we have lots of bread for them. ”

“ The seed-vessel of the tulip, also, stands right up in the centre of the flower, while that of the snowdrop (and crocus) is placed underneath the flower altogether.”
“How is it, Uncle George, that the flowers of both tulip and crocus open out wide when the sun shines and close when the sun goes down?” asked Frank.
“Plants can feel to a certain extent,” said Uncle George. “That is to say, they are affected by heat and cold, by light and shade. A great many flowers close up at night—the daisy, for instance; and have you never 28 noticed how clover leaves fold up long before night comes?” ”

“ Uncle George replied. “The rook is 15 one of the farmer’s best friends; and if it were not for thrushes, starlings, blackbirds, and such insect-eating birds, our gardens would be overrun with insects. If these insects were allowed to increase, we should not be able to grow anything. Even the sparrow is the gardener’s friend. He eats the caterpillars that would spoil our fruit trees and bushes.” ”

“ Frank asked.
“They cannot live without air. They carry a supply of air under their wing-cases. They just come up to renew it from time to time. This is done by thrusting the end of their bodies out of the water as you see.”
“One would think they ought to thrust their heads out to get air,” said Tom.
“That seems more natural to us, because we breathe with our mouths,” said Uncle George. “These animals take in air with their tails. A great many pond insects breathe in this curious way.” ”

“ Tom asked.
“They will perhaps be grown up and able to take care of themselves by that time, Tom,” said Uncle George.
“The harvest-mouse stores up corn in its nest. Before winter comes it makes a hole in the ground. Here it sleeps through most of the winter and spring. It wakes up from time to time and feeds upon its store of grains.”
“It is much smaller and browner than our house-mouse,” said Frank.
“Yes, Frank, it is our smallest four-footed animal. We have many kinds of mice in this 32 country. The brown rat is the largest and the harvest-mouse is the smallest of our mouse family.” ”

“ Now, why should it seek other soil?”
“For food!”
“That is right, Frank. Those plants which have underground stems seem to die down every autumn; but they are alive all the time under ground, safe from the frosts and bitter winds which kill tender plants. And they peep up in a new place in spring.
Anemone.
“Now I want you to tell me why these underground stems are swollen out so. It cannot be for strength, for creeping stems don’t require to be strong.
“Fetch me a raw potato, Tom, please!
“Now,” Uncle George continued, “tell me what this potato is.”
“It is an underground stem,” said Frank. ”

“ In the great quantities of water which pass up the wood and into the air from the leaves there is always a very little mineral matter dissolved. This small quantity of mineral matter comes from the soil. This, along with water and the large quantity of matter taken from the air, are changed, inside the leaf, into a fluid which we call sap.
“Our four experiments show us that water travels up through the wood-layer from soil to leaf; and also that 22 sap travels down through one of the outside layers of the stem.”
Questions on Lesson III. 1. How does water travel in a plant? ”

“ Uncle George now poured water into the outer dish until it was level with the water inside the bell-jar. Then he took out the stopper and pushed a lighted taper into the bell-jar. The taper at once went out.
Candle in Stoppered Jar—gone out.
“This shows us,” he said, “that a part of the air causes things to burn. The other part of the air does not. It puts burning things out. If we blow the fire with a bellows or 52 fan, it burns more brightly and quickly. Why? Just because we are forcing a stream of air upon it, and a part of that stream of air is changed by the burning.” ”

“ Soon another pair of these feathery gills appeared: so that each little creature had now three on each side of his head.
By the end of the second week the little creatures had all wriggled out of the eggs. They hung together by their feathery gills in little black groups.
“What shall we feed them on?” Frank asked his uncle.
“They are not at all nice in their tastes,” Uncle George replied. “They will eat almost anything, from water weeds up to drowned kittens. If they get nothing else, they will eat one another, and not mind it a bit.” ”

“ They are without tendrils of any kind. This shows us, I think, that the sweet-pea was at one time a small plant, like its relative the clover. It grew in open places and did not have to struggle for light and air. But, by and by, when strong growing plants took up the soil, it became forced to produce climbing organs or become choked out. And, having turned its leaves into climbing or gripping organs, it made up for the loss of leaves by producing large stipules and green out-growths to stem and leaf. ”

“ Be careful to use water not colder than the temperature of the room in which the seeds are grown. Nothing checks growth more effectively than chilling with icy-cold water. It is a good plan to keep the watering-pan full of water near the hot pipes, refilling it always after use.
Seeds germinate best in the dark, but whenever the plumule shows above the sawdust, the box containing them should be placed in the light. Sufficient seeds should be sown at one time to supply a plant to each pupil once a week for at least four weeks. ”

“ Yet, if we grow a sloe plant in the garden, we find that its sharp spines gradually disappear. They become branches bearing leaves and flowers.
“But plants have other ways of protecting themselves against animals. Look through the hedge into the meadow and you will notice that while the grass has been eaten bare, there are other plants which have been left to grow up untouched. Buttercups grow up all over the field, and tall ragwort plants. How is it that the cows do not eat these plants? They are not armed with spines or prickles. ”

“ Dig up a primrose plant, and make a rough sketch showing underground stem, roots, and leaves. 2. An underground stem may be of use to a plant in three different ways. Can you name them? 3. There are two distinct kinds of underground stems—those that grow quickly and those that grow slowly. Name three of each kind, and tell how they differ in shape. 4. Compare a potato with a horse-chestnut twig. Supposing your twig to be swollen out with plant-food, what parts of it do the “eyes” of the potato represent? ”

“ The creature spins this cocoon to protect its chrysalis, of course. The silk is produced in two long, coiled tubes, which occupy nearly the whole length of the creature’s body.
“Silk, before it issues from the caterpillar’s body, is a fluid. Whenever it comes out into the air, it becomes horny. Two strands are produced at once—one from each of the long coiled tubes. Before they leave the caterpillar’s body they are pressed together to form one flat, ribbon-like thread. Silk is one of the strongest fibres in the world. It is nearly as strong as steel, and much stronger than many of our metals. ”

“ Make a drawing of a small beech twig, showing buds and leaf-scars.
25 IV.—A BABY PLANT.
“To-day,” said Uncle George, “we are going to try to find out something about seeds.” And he placed upon the table a saucerful of beans which had been soaking in water for two days.
“First let us look at the seeds as they are when we get them from the shop,” he said, laying a handful of hard, wrinkled beans upon the table.
“They are as hard as stones, and very much smaller than those we soaked,” said Frank.
“Yes, that is one thing we have learned about them already. Seeds take in water and swell greatly.” ”

“ There would be no room for three hundred seeds to grow there. Besides that, the parent plant has already exhausted the soil. It is necessary that they should seek pastures new, and therefore the seeds of most plants are furnished with some means of travelling.”
“Are all seeds carried by the wind?” Tom asked.
“Oh dear no,” Uncle George replied, “plants have many ways of scattering their seeds. Some plants, by suddenly bursting their seed-vessels, shoot their seeds far out; some seeds are furnished with little hooks which grip on to the fur of passing animals; some are carried by birds ”