Lessons on Seeds. 29 



the little gate and the scar occupy very different positions 

 on the seeds of different kinds of plants. 



III. The Overcoat Tell the pupils that the little baby 

 plant (germ) must have a coat to keep it warm. Soak the 

 seeds and carefully cut away the outer seed -coat (overcoat). 

 The children should do the same with a pin, Get them to 

 describe the outer coat (testa). Such words as smooth, 

 rough, thin, thick, white, brown, wrinkled, ridged, etc., will 

 come up and furnish excellent language drill. 



IV. But tell them that kind Mother Nature gave the little 

 baby plant two coats, and ask them to find the undercoat. 

 Tell them that the baby is sleeping and they must be care- 

 ful so as not to wake it up. They will thus find the inner 

 coat (tegmen) and then the baby itself is exposed. 



V. The Baby. Direct the pupils to separate the seed- 

 leaves and see the "ittle baby lying there between, i. Point 

 out the pointed portion ; it is the baby's foot (radicle). 2. 

 Point out the two little leaves (plumule). This is the 

 baby's head. Then taking some fresh seeds, plant them on 

 wet cotton in tumblers so that the growth may be observed. 

 No drawings of the inside were made because of its small 

 size, but the children were encouraged to tell all they knew 

 of the coats and other parts of the seed. 



VI. Growth. Figures i and 2 of Fig. 4 were traced 

 around, and special attention was called to the little gate, 

 so that the children became eager to watch the little baby 

 creep out through the gate. Drawings were made every 

 two or three days. Errors were carefully noted, as, for ex- 

 ample, when a little six-year-old drew the roots in figure 6, 

 making them turn upward, and when an eight-year-old put 

 parallel veins on cut 9. 



IV. Subsequent Work. 



Corn was planted Jan. 28, and observations lasted through 

 the first week of March. Then pease were planted, and by 

 the time they had been studied young maples, acorns, horse- 



