HOW NATURE STUDY SHOULD BE TAUGHT 12/ 



roots may penetrate in darkness. You supply the 

 food and nature does the rest. If the growth is 

 on a net stretched across a transparent vessel con- 

 taining only the liquid, with no opaque objects 

 among which the roots may naturally shun the 

 light, heavy paper or black cloth should be wrapped 

 around the glass, the wrapper to be removed when- 

 ever it is desired to examine the plant. 



Children like novelty. By this artificial feeding 

 there is no limit to the novelty. A cup-like de- 

 pression may be chipped in the side of a brick, 

 and the fragments put back into the hole. Place 

 the brick on a plate, supply the food, and ger- 

 minate the seed on the chippings. The bits of 

 brick hold the plant and you feed it. 



A cloth may be stretched between two supports, 

 and the nutrient solution applied by allowing it 

 to drip through a hole in the bottom of a sus- 

 pended can. The plants may be grown on this 

 cloth like epiphytes. It is not absolutely neces- 

 sary that the roots be kept in darkness, but 

 growth is hastened and improved, by placing a box 

 with openings so arranged that the plant may be 

 in the light and the roots in the dark. 



The roots are almost seen to grow. The ap- 

 pearance of new root hairs is looked for eagerly. 



