76 STATE POMOLOGIOAL SOCIETY. 



It is a great pity that so little attention is given to the subject of 

 fruits. The study of the plant often begun in the spring, fre- 

 quently touches very briefly upon it, if at all, while without it no 

 complete idea of plant development can be obtained. From the 

 less prominent kinds, the winged fruit of the maple and elm, or the 

 pod of the milkweed, to the apple, pear and grape the forms are 

 varied and the study of them no less interesting than that of any 

 other feature. The classification is simple aud the child soon learns 

 to distinguish between a dry fruit and a fleshy fruit, a stone truit or 

 a pome. It may be a discovery to learn that the strawberrj' is 

 not a berry, but the orange is ; that the raspberry and blackberry 

 are clusters of stone fruits ; and that the fig is a flower-stalk grown 

 pulpy ; and every such discovery is a healthy stimulant to further 

 progress. The fruits of our own State should claim the first atten- 

 tion. What are they? What fruits are sent from the State? What 

 are some -of the means of obtaining new varieties? It is interest- 

 ing to note in this connection how large a proportion of our fruits 

 belong to the Rose family. 



Two suggestions in regard to ways of working may not be out of 

 place just here, the use of drawing and the value of school collec- 

 tions. Drawing should properly go hand in hand with the study of 

 the plant from the first lessons. What the pupil has not seen he 

 cannot represent, what he can express correctly by the simplest out- 

 line, he has made his own. No exercise serves like this to quicken 

 observation, to fix impressions. The chief value of collections lies 

 in the making. Collections of seeds, of different kinds of wood, of 

 pressed flowers, of different forms of leaves, represent a large 

 amount of knowledge that would be gained in no other way, and the 

 encouragement of a most excellent habit. 



To our first question then, for what results may we look in such 

 a line of work as has been so hastily outlined, I answer : 



1st. It aff'ords the best training for the observation and the forma- 

 tion of careful habits of investigation and thoughtful judgment. 

 That much is due to training is shown in the advantage that the 

 child from the city school often has over the country boy or girl. 

 Under the skilful teacher the pupil learns to observe, to compare, 

 to verify, and to draw conclusions. He finds he must often go 

 back to correct imperfect impressions and that his hasty conc'usions 

 must be exchanged for those resting upon a wider basis of fact. 



2nd. It increases his capacity for enjoyment. Whether his 

 afler-woik lies in this direction or leads him far from it, he can never 



