Teachers' Leaflet. 535 



the plant is helpless to accomplish this without aid from bees and other insects. 

 The three stamens are united in a little club in the bottom of the flower and 

 against it each visiting insect bumps itself, getting well dusted with pollen which 

 it rubs off on the three two-lobed pistils which it finds in the other blossom. 



LESSON XI. 

 THE FRUIT. 



Purpose. — To interest the pupil in the value of the fruit as food for 

 men and animals. 



Material. — A ripe pumpkin. 



Observations by pupils: 



1. Describe as well as you can the appearance of the fruit. Count 

 the ridges; do the numbers of ridges vary on different pumpkins? 



2. Is the stem solid or hollow? Smooth or corrugated? 



3. What made the round, brown blotch opposite the stem? 



4. Tell how the seeds are arranged in their case. Do they point 

 tow^ard the center or the outside? How are they held in place? 



Facts for the teacher. — A tree bearing fruit as large and heavy as this would 

 need to be very sturdy and strong. Show how the vine saves strength by letting 

 the earth support its fruit, so that it is able to devote most of its energies to 

 making it grow. Its solid, corrugated stem, knobbed at the point of attachment is 

 very different from the smooth, round one of the squash. The blotch opposite the 

 stem shows where the blossom fell away. The number of ridges vary. The 

 writer has counted as many as thirty-nine on one big pumpkin and as few as fifteen 

 on another. 



Inside the thick, shining, yellow shell lies the solid, meaty portion which is 

 used for pies ; next, and packed loosely about the seed compartment is a mass of 

 stringy pulp. There are three divisions of the seed compartment, in each of which 

 there are two stacks of seeds, placed one above another in layers of three. Note 

 that the point of attachment of the seed is on the outside wall of the compartment. 



The seeds them.selves are flat, oval, pointed, strengthened by a thickened ridge 

 about the edge, but peeling easil}-, and the plump starchy meat within is palatable. 



The chief value of the crop is as food for milch cows ; it causes a yield of milk 

 so rich that the butter made from it is golden as its flesh. But the Hallow-e'en 

 jack-o'lantern appeals to the children. In this connection a study of expression 

 might be made interesting: the turning of the corners of the mouth up or down 

 and the angles of the eye-brows making all the difference between a jolly grin 

 and an "awful face." 



References: " Cyclopedia of Horticulture," Bailey; " Farmers' Cyclo- 

 pedia of Agriculture," Orange, Judd & Co. 



THE TURTLES. 



Preliminary work. — The occasion for this lesson should be when pupils find 

 a turtle or when one is introduced into the aquarium. We have inland in New 

 York State several turtles, any one of which will do for this lesson. The follow- 

 ing are our most common species: 



