5i8 Home Nature- Study Course. 



LESSON LXXXIII. 

 leaves and fruit. 



Purpose. — To make the pupil observe the foliage and fruit in detail. 



Note that the leaves are longer and sharper than those of the balsam. 

 Let each pupil take a leaf and by turning it slowly and letting the light 

 strike across it, it will be seen to have four sides. Cut the leaf across 

 and note that it is diamond-shape in cross section. Take a branch and by 

 passing the hand over it from tip toward base feel the sharpness of the 

 leaves. In studying a branch note how far each terminal twig grew 

 last season ; the remnant of last year's bud will mark the place. Note 

 that the buds in winter look like little, brown flowers, and that they are 

 not varnished like the balsam buds. 



In studying the cone note first its shape and measure its length ; if 

 possible have the pupils sketch it. Note that each scale has a little 

 notch at its outer tip ; tear ofif a scale and let each pupil have one for 

 studying and drawing. Put the cone in a dry place in a pasteboard box 

 and let the pupils see it open and note where the seeds lie ; let each one 

 sketch a seed. 



NOTES ON SPRUCE. 



We have three native species of spruce, all of which may be found in the 

 mountain districts of northern New York. These are called the white, the red 

 and the black spruce. Lumbermen consider the black and red identical but 

 botanists separate them ; the black spruce has dark bluish-green foliage and it 

 retains its cones for many years, so that it has a shaggy, rough appearance. The 

 red spruce has yellowish-green foliage and sheds its cones yearly. The wood of 

 both these species is used for interior finishing and flooring, and especially for 

 pulp for making paper. Spruce beer is made by boiling young branches in water 

 and adding to it molasses and yeast ; chewing" gum is made from resin which 

 exudes from the tree. The white spruce has light, pea-green foliage; the leaves 

 when crushed give ofif a very disagreeable odor. The cones are shed as soon as 

 the seeds are scattered, its wood is especially used for paper pulp. — (See books 

 mentioned in study of Balsam fir). 



