Fruits. 1 7 



amined with care ; its outside appearance noted whether 

 wrinkled, as in the peach, or smooth, as in the cherry. 



Crack the pit and examine the seed inside. Some 

 stone-fruit seeds have a third skin around them. 



V. Nuts. 



Here are things which are always brought to the school. 

 The hickory-fruit with its thick, soft, woody outside split- 

 ting away from the white-shelled nut within; the butternut 

 with its thin brown papery covering and its very rough shell; 

 the triangular beechnut and the spherical hazel in their 

 flower-like burs; the horse-chestnut with its bur and large 

 scar are all excellent objects for winter study. 



It is well to study the interior not merely by cracking the 

 nuts, but also by sawing through with a butcher's saw. This 

 will show beautifully how intricate is the interior of some 

 nutshells. 



City teachers can study English walnuts, cocoanuts, 

 pecans, filberts, Brazil-nuts, etc., in a similar manner. 



VI. The Poppy (a dry fruit]. 



This is always a most delightful fruit to observe. Its 

 elegant shape is a good object to draw. The cap on the 

 top is pretty, and the row of openings around it like a row 

 of windows up under the eaves of a circular tower are curi- 

 ous. The top should be removed carefully, and then is 

 disclosed a series of partitions radiating from the centre. 



Here are myriads of little black or dark-brown seeds. 

 These seeds are perfect spheres. Here is a good oppor- 

 tunity to teach plan in nature. The little windows remain 

 shut until the seeds are ripe. Then the windows open, and 

 out come the seeds. Taste of the seeds. Are they good ? 

 Tell the children of the milky juice of the poppy-plant. 

 Tell them about the opium which is made from the juice; 

 of its culture in the far East, and of the danger of using any- 

 thing which contains opium. 



