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of fruits; that the burr of the burdock, the pod of the 
milkweed, the puff of the dandelion, are fruits, as well 
as the apple and the pear, the acorn and the walnut. 
We learned that the chief importance of these fruits 
lies in the fact just mentioned; that they hold the seeds 
of the plants. 
Then we learned something about the many different 
kinds of seeds, and of how these seeds managed to be- 
come separated from the parent plant, and to get a start 
mite, 
_ Next we read of the baby plant which lies hidden 
within every perfect seed. We learned how this is kept 
safe and warm, and supplied with food, and how at last 
it finds its way out of the seed shell into the world. 
If you have been using this book in the right way, 
not only have you read about these things, but you have 
seen them with your own eyes. 
Some of the fruits you have tasted, and others you 
have handled. 
You have examined the silky sails of the seeds which 
float through the air, and the hooks and claws of those 
little tramps that manage to steal free rides. 
And some seeds you have planted. These you have 
watched day by day, and you have seen that the baby 
plants burst their seed shells much as a chick bursts its 
eggshell. 
Now what I want you to do is this: I want you 
to study carefully the different parts of these little 
creatures that are living out their strange, beautiful lives 
under your very eyes. I want you to watch them from 
day to day; to learn how they eat and drink and work 
