3 1 6 ] The Fascination of Flowers 



overshadows its flower and foliage. The rugged, broad-based leaves, 

 with their three to five lobes, form a decorative design of classic 

 beauty. The delicately curved tendril on the pumpkin vine is 

 worth observing. Possibly the tendrils are a holdover from a remote 

 past when pumpkin vines lifted themselves off the ground, as 

 certain gourd vines do today. Occasionally you may notice a 

 pumpkin vine reaching out as it climbs on the edge of a field, 

 over mounds of earth or fences as if it were actually a climb- 

 ing plant. 



Pumpkin Seeds: At first a young pumpkin is held up by a stiff 

 stem, but as it grows heavier it rests on the ground. If you cut 

 across a green pumpkin, you will notice that instead of a cavity 

 inside, there are a number of partitions within which seeds are 

 borne. (A cucumber has much the same arrangement.) As the 

 pumpkin ripens, the partitions around the seeds become stringy 

 a very different texture from the "meat" that forms a thick solid 

 layer between the skin and the inner chamber. 



The pumpkin is a plant that requires no aid from man aside 

 from planting. Another favorable trait is that it helps to check 

 obnoxious weeds. 



Weeds Are the Farmer's Enemy 



The child who has a chance to work in a garden develops a 

 new respect for nature the greatest farmer of them all. As he 

 comes to realize what labor and skill go into producing plants, 

 he looks appreciatively at natural "crops" that no man has aided. 

 He concludes that although these plants which cover the country- 

 side may be attractive and have certain uses, they are nothing 

 but weeds if they spring up where they are not wanted. 



WEEDS PESTS THAT MAY BE BEAUTIFUL 



Children are sometimes perplexed about weeds. We usually 

 speak of them with disdain or annoyance, yet the flowers that 

 some produce are as lovely as those we carefully tend in a garden. 

 It is not the looks of the weeds that disturb us; their ability to 



