NATURE'S TEACHINGS 



Here, too, is the ant, whose example all idle peo- 

 ple are told to follow. You may learn from the in- 

 sects that the smallest of God's creatures have work 

 to do. 



The soil and the rocks can tell you wonderful 

 stories. They have traveled great distances and have 

 seen many strange sights along the way. When you 

 know them well, you can often find out where they 

 have come from. 



You have already learned many things about plants ; 

 you can name their parts and you have seen the beauti- 

 ful blossoms fade and die. You know that from them 

 comes the seed with its baby plant wrapped close to 

 protect it from harm. 



But do you know that there are some plants upon 

 which no bright, fragrant blossoms are ever seen? 

 It is about these flowerless plants that we are going 

 to read in this book. Perhaps you think that there 

 are not many of them. If so, you are mistaken; 

 there is really a greater number of flowerless plants 

 than there is of flowering ones. Among them are 

 ferns, mosses, and seaweeds. Others are the lichens, 

 ground pine, and fungi, such as toadstools, or mush- 

 rooms. 



The ferns are the largest of them all. They are 

 also the most like the flowering plants. Like them 

 their leaves are closely packed away from the winter's 

 cold. When spring comes, the ferns stretch up into 



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