THE PI.ANT WORI^D 259 



A list of fifteen questions, some of which are given below, was written 

 upon an unused board : 



1. What part of a stem grows? 



2. What part of a root grows ? 



3. What determines the direction of stems? 



4. What determines the direction of roots? 



5. How does colored light affect the growth of plants ? 



6. Do plants grow more during the night or the day ? 



7. Do soils affect the growth of plants? 



8. What becomes of the water that plants take in ? 



9. Do leaves make food ; if so, what kind ? 

 10. Do plants breathe as animals do ? 



These questions were assigned to fifteen small groups in each division 

 of the ninth-year class. The members of each group discussed its ques- 

 tion and two days later handed in a statement of the best plan thought of 

 to solve the problem assigned. The results were mainly good and yet, 

 of necessity, involved original work ; for few parents were able to help 

 the children, no books on plant physiology were available, and no old 

 note-books of previous classes covered this ground. Points of detail, 

 such as air-tight joints, were omitted, but many answers were wholly or 

 partly workable. 



These papers were criticised and the best of each group returned. Then 

 a list of reference books, with references given for each problem, was 

 placed upon the black-board. Three days were allowed for consultation, 

 and a revised plan of procedure asked of each pupil. The results were 

 not given, as they were yet to be determined ; for instance, no pupil 

 could then say " the root turns away from the light, therefore the root is 

 influenced by light " ; yet each dealing with that question could, before 

 setting up the experiment, truly say, " if the root turns from the light," 

 or "if the root turns toward the light it will prove," etc. 



Here, again, the best paper of each group was corrected and returned ; 

 this paper was kept and followed in setting up the experiment or experi- 

 ments mentioned in it. Then each group made out a list of materials 

 needed for its problem. The next two lessons were written reviews, 

 so planned that the various groups in turn could be given time to select 

 the designated materials from the general assortment of glass, iron, 

 rubber, and wooden objects generally hoarded as a matter of principle 

 by science teachers. Some pupils had previously been asked to bring 

 various kinds of soil, tin and pasteboard boxes, and seeds. Several young 

 vigorous plants from the greenhouses near by had been placed with the 

 plants then flowering in the windows. 



In no case was a group able to find all the materials designated in its 



