8^6 Rural School Leaflet. 



SCENERY 



The teacher can do much to interest children in the landscape.- This 

 should not be done by means of any definite lesson for the purpose. 

 More may be done by merely showing an interest and mentioning to the 

 children some of the out-of-door pictures than by manifesting too much 

 enthusiasm. There might be occasional moments when it will be best 

 for both teacher and children to go outside the schoolroom and let the 

 fresh air in. At such times she might ask the children to be prepared 

 when they go back into the schoolroom to tell her some of the things 

 they saw. She might incidentally mention a distant tree on a hillside, 

 an artistic piece of nature's planting, or some homelike farmhouse that 

 appeals to her. 



On page 57 will be found an illustration which shows a very attrac- 

 tive bit of scenery. Let the children look at this and discuss it for one 

 of their language lessons. It may help to interest them in some of the 

 out-of-door scenes about them. 



HOW WEEDS INCREASE 

 Paul J. White 



It is one of the practices of nature to attempt to keep the earth covered 

 during the growing season with some kind of plant growth. You have 

 probably noticed how difficult it is to keep weeds from growing, even 

 in the path or roadway. It is interesting to notice what kinds of weeds 

 grow under such conditions. Peppergrass is common. Knot-grass or 

 door-weed will also thrive w'here other plants fail. But why do these 

 plants grow under such adverse conditions? We cannot fully answer 

 this question, but it is likely that they have acquired the power of en- 

 durance to a greater degree than their neighbors. It is certain that they 

 do not prefer harsh conditions, for most plants of this character will 

 grow to greater perfection if they have an opportunity. 



We should all like to know some easy way of keeping the weeds out 

 of our gardens and lawns. There is no easy way yet known. A knowl- 

 edge of how weeds increase, and how long they live, may help us con- 

 siderably. All our common weeds produce seeds, some of them in 

 immense numbers. Did you ever try to count the seeds on a dandelion 

 head? If each dandelion should produce five seed heads, and each one 

 should contain two hundred seeds, how many dandelions could you grow 

 in five years from one seed? Is it strange that there are so many dande- 

 lions? 



