70 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM 



Note: — In this book we speak of seeds not in the botanical sense 

 of the term, but in the sense of it as used by the seedsman, and as 

 understood by the general public. What we call seeds may, therefore, 

 be true seeds (ripened ovules) like beans, or dry fruits (ripened pistils) 

 like pitchforks (fig, 39), or dry fruits in their husks like oats. 



Study 8. The November Seed-Crop 

 The program of this study will cover the exploration of a 

 small area well overgrown with herbage. The variety of 

 forms found will be greater if diverse situations, wet and dry, 

 in sun and in shade, are included. Collect seeds of all kinds 

 as encountered (omitting fleshy fruits and nuts), and note 

 what sort of plant produces each kind. It will be well to 

 take specimens of the seeds in their containers for closer 

 examination at home. 



The apparatus needed, besides knife and lens, will be a 

 supply of envelopes, large and small, to hold the specimens 

 collected, with names and data. 



The record of this study will consist of annotated and illus- 

 trated lists of the seeds examined, arranged under as many 

 categories as desired, such as: Cereals, Lentils, Seeds with 

 hairs for air-drifting, etc. Let the list include such data as, 

 kind of plant, size of seed (give measurements in millimeters : 

 if very small, lay enough seeds, in line and touching each 

 other, upon a metric rule — such as Fig. i on p. 12 — to reach 

 one centimeter, and divide for average diameter), characters 

 affecting dispersal, characters of hull affecting its release, 

 animals observed to feed upon it or to live within it, etc. 

 Let the illustrations be simple outline sketches. As to 

 names, if you do not know them, save time by asking an 

 instructor or someone who does know them. 



