CHAPTER V 



any time. There is no doubt of the value of this habit to the plant in 

 preventing radiation of heat from the leaves. Darwin found that 

 clover leaves artificially prevented from folding on a cold night 

 perished, while the other clover leaves survived. A discussion of the 

 causes that produce these movements of the leaves, hardly belongs to 

 elementary work. 



It is not strange that a climate like ours should have a large num- 

 ber of perennials with bulbs or other underground storehouses. 

 These underground parts can store more food than seeds, and are pro- 

 tected by the soil from evaporation during the long dry season. 

 They need only to protect themselves against the attacks of rodents 

 as most of them do. I have found that the soap-root, Chlorogdtum 

 pomeridianum, appeals especially to little folks, perhaps because of 

 its utilitarian associations. Its botanical story is easy to read. The 

 flowers open at night and perhaps stand a better chance for pollina- 

 tion by coming so late in the season. The cluster lily, Brodicea 

 capitata, and the blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium helium, are such 

 common plants that they should be known from their first appear- 

 ance. Common names for the Brodiaea are many ; calling it wild 

 onion should be discouraged because of the confusion with the true 

 wild onions, Alliums, that are common in many regions. Of course 

 Sisyrinchium is not a grass, but the common name is well established. 

 Many of the perennials of this season belong, like No. i, to the 

 family Umbelliferae ; the mint family, Labiatae, too, is well repre- 

 sented in the new growth of this season. Of course the ferns are not 

 to be ignored in this field lesson because they are to be studied later. 

 There is no reason, except the matter of time, why they should not all 

 be taken up at once. Children should certainly know the common 

 names of all the ferns of their vicinity. 



The Chilicothe, Micrampelis, or Megarrhiza in California Flora, 

 deserves, I think, all the space given it in the Reader. It is a com- 

 mon and an attractive plant and is interesting in many ways. In 

 Rattan's "California Flora," an account of the germination of its 

 seeds is given ; children should be asked to collect the seeds during 

 the summer for growth in the schoolroom another year, as the seeds 

 seldom germinate out of doors in Southern California. Perhaps 

 some one else will succeed better than I have in seeing insects polli- 

 nate the flowers. I have seen only flies visit them in a haphazard 

 way that did not seem to benefit the flowers. I have not had oppor- 

 tunity to watch the plants at night. Of course the showy, white co- 

 rollas are superfluous if the flowers are pollinated by the wind only. 

 If a plant should be growing near the school building, by all means 



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