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Handbook of Nature-Study 



two or three of the seeds, and see how they are provided for traveling. 

 What scatters them? Will the cat-tail seed balloons float? Would the 

 wind or the water be more likely to carry the cat -tail seeds to a place 

 where they would grow? Describe the difference between the cat-tail 

 balloon and the thistle balloon. 



8. How crowded do the cat-tail plants grow? How are they arranged 

 to keep from shading each other? In how many ways is the wind a friend 

 of the cat-tails ? 



9. How do the cat-tails help to build up land and make narrower 

 ponds and streams? 



Daises and grasses. 



LESSON CXXXV 

 A TYPE LESSON FOR A COMPOSITE FLOWER 



Leading though'. Many plants have their flowers set close together to 

 make a mass of color, like the geraniums or the clovers. But there are 

 other plants where the flowers of one flower-head act like the members of 

 a family, those at the center doing a certain kind of work for the produc- 

 tion of seed, and those around the edges doing another kind of work. The 

 sunflower, goldenrod, asters, daisies, cone-flower, thistle, dandelion, bur- 

 dock, everlasting, and many other common flowers have their blossoms 

 arranged in this way. Before any cf the wild-flower members of this 

 family are studied, the lesson on the garden sunflower should be given. 

 (See Lesson CLXII). 



Method These flowers may be studied in the schoolroom with sug- 

 gestions for field observations. A lens is almost necessary for the study 

 of most of these flowers. 



Observationsi. Can you see that what you call the flower consists 

 of many flowers set together like a beautiful mosaic? Those at the center 

 are called disk-flowers; those around the edges banner or ray-flowers. 



2. Note that the flowers around the edges have differently shaped 

 corollas than those at the center. How do they differ? Why should 

 these be called the banner flowers? Why should they be called the ray- 

 flowers? How many banner-flowers are there in the flower family you 

 are studying? How are the banners arranged to make the flower-head 

 more attractive? Cut off or pull out all the banner-flowers and see how 

 the flower-head looks. What do the banner-flowers hold out their ban- 



