io6 



NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



know, and for other sections the teachers, at some of their 

 local meetings, should appoint a committee to arrange a 



suitable list. 



It has been thought by teach- 

 ers of long experience that, be- 

 side the casual acquaintance of 

 a good many more, it will not 

 be too much to learn a little 

 more fully twelve plants a year, 

 grouping, drawing, and writing 

 lessons about them. The chil- 

 dren should be directed to fol- 

 low their growth, learn their 

 habitats, make collections of 

 their seeds, and be able to tell 

 the plant by a leaf, flower, or 

 seed. If this be done during 

 the eight grades, the children 

 should have formed a practical 

 acquaintance with about one 

 hundred of our common plants. 

 A number of poisonous plants 

 occur, either widely distributed 

 or locally, in the United States. 1 

 Fourteen of these are included 

 in the above lists, and they may 

 be briefly described below. The 



FRINGED GENTIANS 



FIG. 43. 



(Photographed, but not plucked, by 

 the author) 



1 V. K. Chesnut. " Thirty Poisonous 

 Plants of the United States," Farmer's 

 Bulletin, No. 86, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 32 pp., 24 figures. This can be obtained gratis on 

 application to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 



