WEED] TREES IN WINTER 251 



But all are good housekeepers. They keep their nests clean, 

 allotting different parts of the nest to different uses and burying 

 offensive substances that cannot be removed. In all the animal 

 kingdom the ants most nearly approach man in the diversity of 

 their activities, and in an apparent application of intelligence to 

 the practical problems of existence. 



THE STUDY OF DECIDUOUS TREES IN WINTER 



BY CLARENCE M. WEED 

 State Normal School, Lowell, Mass. 



To one who has paid little or no attention to the subject it is 

 surprising what distinctive characteristics the leafless twigs of 

 our native trees and shrubs present. To a very great degree 

 they are as easily recognized as are the leaves themselves. They 

 furnish a natural and practical subject for nature-studies during 

 the winter months. Such studies may well be begun just as the 

 last leaves are falling, when the transition from the study of the 

 leaf to the twig is natural. So far as possibk twigs from the 

 identical trees which have been studied as to leaves, should at 

 first be taken. This is not always feasible so far as providing 

 specimens for the whole school is concerned, for the trees may 

 very likely be ones from which it is not desirable to remove many 

 twigs. In such cases one or two of the twigs may be taken to 

 hold before the pupils as illustrations, and the main supply be 

 derived from the less valuable trees in the fields and woods. 



In general the supply of material for the study of twigs may be 

 obtained in any one of three ways. The twigs may be gathered 

 by the teacher herself, by one or more of the pupils delegated to 

 the work, or by the class as a whole on a field excursion. The 

 solution of this problem may well be left to the special circum- 

 stances in each case. There is no reason why any one of the 

 rtiethods named should be exclusively employed. There are ad- 

 vantages in all three : The teacher who fails to go into the fields 

 and woods occasionally is scarcely likely to be successful in her 

 nature-study work in the schoolroom. It is a great advantage 

 to have a definite object in view in outdoor excursions, and a 

 walk of an hour or two will generally furnish sufficient material 

 to last several davs. In everv class above the third grade, at 



