254 APPENDIX 



positce; but such errors may be turned to good account by a tactful 

 teacher, since they lead very naturally to the consideration of impor- 

 tant floral differences. 



When a general knowledge of plant families has been obtained, 

 the pupil's attention may well be directed to such large and well- 

 marked genera as Lilium, Ranunculus, Delphinium, Lepidium, 

 Prunus, and the like, and he should be led to contrast these with 

 others of the same families. Similarly, species of two or three simple 

 genera should be considered as such. 



After this introduction to classification, the use of keys and the 

 manual will be readily grasped by pupils who are to pursue the sub- 

 ject further, and it may be suggested to teachers that greater enthu- 

 siasm in the study of local flora can be stimulated if the subject is 

 optional than if it is made obligatory. Special care should be exer- 

 cised to direct the attention of the pupil to those plants which, owing 

 to their inconspicuous flowers, are likely to be overlooked or thought 

 too difficult for study. Many small flowers, such as those of Mollugo, 

 Acer, Galium, etc., will be found relatively simple and instructive, while 

 those of the far more showy Fringed Polygala, Lady's Slipper, Canna, 

 and the like, are, from their irregularity, perplexing and discouraging 

 to the beginner. The successful examination of the flower of a plan- 

 tain, rush, or grass, obtained in the neighborhood of the schoolhouse 

 will train the pupil's powers of observation far more effectively than 

 the dissection of many showy greenhouse flowers. 



The teacher's success in this work will be in a general way pro- 

 portionate to his own knowledge of plants, their names, and relation- 

 ships. He is, therefore, urged to acquaint himself so far as possible 

 with the plants of his region by the use of the manual. While a 

 knowledge of his local flora will help him greatly, an ignorance of the 

 names and affinities of common plants will expose him to frequent 

 mortifying experiences when questioned by his pupils and others. 



The importance of a school herbarium, even if it be small and 

 comprise but a few hundred of the commonest plants, can scarcely be 

 overestimated. Explicit directions for the collecting, labeling, and 

 caring for the herbarium specimens will be found in Gray's " Struc- 

 tural Botany," pp. 370-381, or W. W. Bailey's " Botanizing" (Preston 

 & Rounds Co., Providence). Until the teacher has gained some ex- 

 perience in identifying species, he will do well to send to some large 

 botanical establishment for determination, duplicates of such plants 

 as he is placing in the herbarium. There are several botanical estab- 

 lishments (for example the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, 

 Cambridge, Mass.) where well-prepared dried specimens of native 

 plants will ordinarily be identified free of charge, provided the speci- 

 mens may be retained. Each specimen must show, in the case of small 

 species, the whole plant, of larger ones, 10 or 12 inches of stem bearing 



