618 Handbook of Nature-Sttidy 



and rainy days, only exposing its riches when the sunshine insures insect 

 visitors. It closes its petals in the same order in which they were opened 

 in our Eastern gardens, although there are statements that in California, 

 each petal folds singly around its own quota of anthers. The insects in 

 California take advantage of the closing petals and often get a night's 

 lodging within them, where they are cozily housed with plenty of pollen 

 for supper and breakfast ; and they pay their bill in a strange way by 

 carrying off as much of the golden meal as adheres to them, just as the 

 man who weighs gold-dust gets his pay from what adheres to the pan 

 of his scales. 



After the petals fall, the little pod is very small, but its growth is as 

 astonishing as that of Jack's beanstalk ; it finally attains a slim length 

 of three inches, and often more. It is grooved, the groove running 

 straight from its rimmed base to its rosy tip; but later a strange 

 twisting takes place. If we open one of these capsules, lengthwise, we 

 must admire the orderly way in which the little green seeds are fastened 

 by decliate white threads, in two crowded rows, the whole length of 

 the pod. 



The leaf is delicately cut and makes the foliage a fine mass, but each 

 leaf is quite regular in its form. It has a long, flattened petiole, which 

 broadens and clasps the stem somewhat at its base. Its blade has five 

 main divisions, each of which is deeply cut into fingerlike lobes. The 

 color of this foliage and its form show adaptations to desert conditions. 



This plant has a long, smooth tap root, especially adapted for storing 

 food and moisture needed during the long, dry California summers; for it 

 is perennial in its native state, although in the wintry East, we plant it as 

 an annual. 



LESSON CLVI 

 THE CALIFORNIA POPPY 



Leading thought The California poppy is a native of California. It 

 blossoms during the months of February, March and April in greatest 

 abundance. It is found in the desert as well as among the foothills. 



Method If possible, the students should study this in the garden. In 

 the East, it flowers until frost comes, and affords a delightful subject for a 

 September lesson. In California it should be studied in the spring, when 

 the hills are covered with them. But the plant may be brought into the 

 schoolroom, root and all, and placed in a jar, under which conditions it 

 will continue to blossom. 



Observations i. Look at the California poppy as a whole and tell, if 

 you can, why it is so beautiful when in blossom. 



2. Look at the flower bud. What sort of a stem has it? What is 

 the shape of the stem just below the bud ? What is the color of the little 

 rim on which the bud rests? What peculiarity has this bud? Describe 

 the little cap. 



3. Watch a flower unfold. What happens to the "toboggan cap?" 

 How does the bud look after the cap is gone? What is its appearance 

 when the petals first open ? When they are completely open ? 



4. Describe the anthers. How do they stand when the flower first 

 opens ? How later ? Can you see the stigmas at first ? Describe them as 

 they look later. 



