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Rural School Leaflet 



about it. The leaves are placed obliquely on the stem. The base of the 

 leaf is unequal, that is, one side is longer than the other. The flowers 



appear early in the spring, before the leaves, 

 and the fruit or seed, which is winged on 

 the margin, ripens as the leaves appear. 

 The wings have sharp points and are curved 

 at the apex so as to make a sort of notch. 

 Poplar. — The poplar is one of the most 

 widely distributed trees in this country, 

 ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific 

 Coast and all through the northern tier of 

 States. The leaves are smooth, dark green 

 above and grayish green beneath. The stem of the leaf, called the 

 petiole, is flattened so that the slightest wind causes the leaves to 

 rustle and shake, and because of this the tree is called in many places 

 the "quaking aspen." 



Poplar 



IV. PROPAGATING TREES IN SCHOOL GARDENS 



The tree nursery. — The fact that the raising of trees in a nursery occupies 

 one to three years, and that much of the work can be performed during 

 the time the schools are in session, makes this kind of work very desirable 

 for schools. Besides, a tree is of permanent value. After being raised 

 from seed and cared for in the school garden, it can be set out to grow in 

 some place where it is needed. It then becomes not only an object lesson, 

 but a thing of beauty and of permanent value, reflecting honor and credit 

 on those who have been thoughtful enough to plant it and care for it. 



The work of starting a school-garden nursery should be begun only on 

 a small scale, so as not to become too large to handle later on when the 

 trees need more attention. If each pupil has a share and an interest in 

 raising but one or two trees apiece, 

 the pleasure derived from this 

 work will be just as great as if he 

 tried to raise a hundred or a 

 thousand; and think of the large 

 number of trees that would be set 

 out, even if only one or two are 

 planted each year by each pupil ! 



The first thing necessary to start 

 a tree nursery is to have some 

 seed, and the next is to have a 

 suitable place in which to sow it. Let us begin with a very few kinds 

 of trees and see whether we can be successful with these ; perhaps we can 



Elm 



