THE PLANT WORLD 127 



camera in place of the gun is already gaining ground ; the new herbarium 

 composed of mental pictures should find its way into our schools. 



The child who can close his eyes and describe accurately and vividly 

 a plant and its surroundings, is started in the right direction. Last May 

 the children of the first primary grade of a school in Chicago were taken 

 thirty miles to see the flowers on the flood plain of the Des Plaines River. 

 They had in a measure been prepared for this during the winter. It had 

 been a favorite exercise for their nature-teacher to say, " Now, we will 

 all close our eyes. I see an elm leaf ; can you see it? " 



For a moment there would be silence, then a chorus of " I can see 

 it!" "lean .see it!" "Mine's notched," " Mine 's notched twice," 

 "Mine's one sided," " Mine is too" ; then over in the corner a little 

 wail — " Where is it ? I can't see it anywhere." 



" She was n't here that day we had the elm leaves." 



" I can make her one on the blackboard, may I? " 



"I'll make a ripe one all dry and brown." 



"I'd rather make a nice green, live one." 



And it would end in each drawing the thing as he saw it, a present 

 consummation of Kipling's view of a happy future. 



There was quite a stock of leaves of various kinds, and even whole 

 trees that could be seen with the eyes closed, but only teacher could see 

 hepaticas and spring beauties and bloodroots. 



So it was a great and momentous day when we set out for River 

 Forest. All had agreed to gather no flowers where it would spoil a pic- 

 ture, and because the teacher knew where the most beautiful pictures 

 were, all were to keep close to her. The first picture was a colony of 

 several families of hepaticas on the side of the terrace leading down into 

 the basin. We noted the open blossoms, the nodding buds, the soft furry 

 covering of the buds and young leaves, and the rich red-purple tones of 

 the old ones. We looked and looked and closed our eyes and looked 

 again. Then we went on to the great host of spring beauties camping 

 on the plain. Later, we tarried by a mass of purple phlox at the foot of 

 a linden tree. The morning's work consisted in fixing these three pic- 

 tures and a fourth which was the landscape, the general setting for them 

 all, the old flood-plain with its magnificent elms and white maples then 

 in blossom, the broad blue river on one side, the terrace on the other, 

 and the sunshine over all. 



Each then selected a single flower to take home as a souvenir and we 

 hurried to the train. The children were perfectly satisfied with their one 

 blossom ; the beautiful scene was left unmarred, and to this day those 

 little folks can close their eyes and see their four River Forest pictures. 

 Had they gathered the flowers, their interest would have centered on 

 that, the picture remaining would have been confused, and the final 



