248 THE TEACHING BOTANIST 



69. Prepare a synoptical essay, not to exceed four hun- 

 dred words, on the Morphology and Ecology of 

 the Flower and Fruit. 



Materials. - - In part these may be bought in markets, in part 

 must be collected the year before. Typical follicles are Colum- 

 bine, and Larkspur or Monk's-hood ; legumes are green Beans 

 or Peas, or Locust pods ; winged fruits are Maple and Elm ; 

 others are Poppy, Sunflower, Shepherd's Purse. Of fleshy 

 fruits, good kinds are Grape, Tomato, and Orange (especially 

 navel), Apple, Banana, Cherry (canned are good), Strawberry, 

 Cranberry. Many others can be used, but these are particu- 

 larly typical and obtainable. 



Pedagogics. This is a very valuable exercise for morphol- 

 ogy. The students cannot, of course, from the fruits alone 

 settle all points of morphology, but they can settle many ; and 

 as for the rest, it will be a most valuable exercise for them to 

 form their hypotheses, and then have these confirmed or other- 

 wise by the teacher, who will supply missing data. This, under 

 rigid control, is a truly scientific procedure, indeed the greatest 

 help of the investigator. Their interpretation will be greatly 

 aided if they are shown pictures of the flowers from which the 

 fruits come, - - that is, if the flowers are not themselves avail- 

 able. The ideal would be for them to have several stages 

 from the flower to the fruit. It will be best to take the 

 fruits up in order, the simplest, i.e. the follicle, first, then the 

 legume, and so on. 



This must not be made a drawing lesson in still life, at least 

 not in class ; it can be largely worked out by diagrams. Dia- 

 grams which are halfway between the carpels and unmodified 

 leaves are particularly valuable, but, of course, the fruits should 

 be drawn and labelled for structure also. 



