246 THE TEACHING BOTANIST 



c. A flower with inferior ovary, but other parts 



distinct. 



d. A flower with inferior ovary, but other parts 



united. 



Materials. For Exercise 64 there should be obtained from 

 a greenhouse some of the more special forms of flowers, such as 

 Begonia, Calla, Orchids, Poinsettia, Narcissus, etc., of which the 

 different specialized parts are to be recognized by the student, 

 and reduced to their proper categories of sepals, petals, etc. Of 

 course, only a few of each kind can be had, as they are expen- 

 sive, but they need not be taken apart, or only partially, and 

 by the teacher ; they may be passed from one student to 

 another. To some extent herbarium specimens, especially if 

 prepared for the purpose, could be used instead of fresh mate- 

 rial, but the latter is always best. For Exercise 65 material 

 is best available in summer, but something may be done with 

 greenhouse or even herbarium material. 



Pedagogics. Under Exercise 64 comes some good morpho- 

 logical practice, training in the habit of recognizing similarity 

 of original nature under diversity of form. 



In Exercise 65 some terminology will have its use, but this 

 subject of flower clusters, while of considerable value in classifi- 

 cation, is not of much interest otherwise. Of course, care is 

 taken by the teacher to select the more marked types. 



Most valuable is the work of Exercise 66. This cannot, 

 it is true, be made from observation, but must be worked out 

 theoretically, as shown on the accompanying diagrams (Fig. 

 28). The exercise has great value in contributing to ideas 

 of almost mathematical clearness. A student cannot construct 

 these diagrams who does not perfectly understand the mor- 

 phology of the complex flowers. Series a is about like the 



