Rural School Leaflet 



1323 



grow poppies in their flower gardens. They should be 



encouraged to grow some of the shir ley poppies, which 



have been developed from the common wild field 



poppy of Europe. True shirley poppies are single; 



they always have a white base with yellow or white 



stamens, anthers, and pollen, and never have any 



black in them. The flowers last longer than those of 



the common poppies. 



The attention of the children should be called to the 



milky juice of the poppies, to the margin of the leaves, 



to the nodding buds, and to the color of the flowers. 



At what time of day do poppies usually open? How 



many petals has the flower, and how are they arranged ? 



Do all poppies have leaves on the flower stem? The 



development of the seed capsule should be observed 



by the children. The seeds when looked at through 



a lens are most interesting. 



Pear. Rose family. In many schools earty blos- 

 soms of trees are studied by forcing the leaf buds 



and the flower buds. The 

 children bring twigs into the 

 schoolroom, place them in 

 water, and watch them develop, 

 the way for observation later in the out-of-doors. 

 In connection with the pear some points of in- 

 terest are as follows: 



The pear thrives best on a rather heavy soil 

 with a friable clay subsoil. The fruit is improved 

 in quality if allowed to ripen indoors. Pears 

 should be picked as soon as they have reached 

 full size, and about two weeks in advance of 

 their normal ripening. Attention should be 

 called to the insect enemies of the pear, the 

 borers and the codling moth. The pear trees 

 in the neighborhood should be observed to 

 see whether any are attacked by blight. 



Lady's-slipper. Orchid family. The lady's- 

 slipper with its showy blossoms always has 

 an interest for young persons. Their observa- 

 tion may be so directed that they will notice 

 the stems, whether they are smooth or hairy, 

 Lady's-slipper how the leaves grow, the shape, the veining, 



Clay ton ia 

 This prepares 



