JUNIOR NAXXJRALISX CIvUB, 



— LESSON I — 



OCTOBER 1, 1899. 



PREPARED BY THE BUREAU OF NATURE-STUDY, 



College of Agriculture^ Cornell University, Ithaca, N, Y, 



Seed Travelers. 



ALICE G. MC CLOSKEY. 



Not many years ago, in a country which lies between the Baltic 

 and North Seas, there dwelt a writer of stories named Hans Chris- 

 tian Andersen. He called his native land a '• swan's nest," and I 

 think that he was the most beautiful of all the swans that ever rested 

 there. Junior Naturalists should become familiar with the " House- 

 hold Tales " written by this Danish author, for by reading them you 

 will learn to take pleasure in some of the common things about you. 



How many of you have ever stopped to look at a burdock as you 

 walked along a highway ? I fear you think it is only a w^eed that 

 could not possibly be interesting. Will you read Andersen's story 

 of " The Happy Family " and find out how many delightful things 

 he discovered by observing this common plant ? If he had not 

 noticed tlie burdock, he never would have seen the little white snails 

 that lived beneath its broad leaves. 



For the first lesson this year we are going to ask you to study seed 

 travelers. Do not think because they are smaU and easily found 

 that they will have no interest for you. Some seeds are wonderfully 

 constructed and have remarkable ways of journeying from place to 

 place. They float on the w^ater, are carried by the wind, and slide 

 on the snow. You may find it hard to believe, but many have been 

 shot out of pods and sent long distances. Numberless seeds reach 

 new homes by clinging to the clothing of people and the coats of 

 animals. Do you not wish plants could talk so that we might hear 



the history of their travels ? 



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