192 NA TURE STUD Y RE VIEW [10:5— May, 1914 



right, I wonder why they don't teach it in the schools, — ^they 

 seem to teach everything else." 



Although the day was Saturday, she found herself awake at 

 five o'clock in the morning, thinking, — a. habit she had acquired 

 in college, when she had problems that were difficult to solve. 



"If only I had a garden or park near the school." Suddenly 

 she clasped her hands together and sat bolt upright in bed. "The 

 weeds — the weeds in the vacant lot, why wouldn't they do? If father 

 is right, I'll prove it with the weeds." 



Josephine Lacy was young, and hope sprang up readily in her 

 heart. The girl went about her work with much of her old- 

 time vigor. She wrote letters asking, the State Agricultural 

 Department for all the bulletins they had on weeds and then she 

 went over to study the possibilities of the vacant lot. 



Monday afternoon when the school seemed possessed with a 

 spirit of unrest, their teacher did not scold, but told them in a 

 pleasant tone to lay aside their work, that she had something 

 she wished to show them. Going to a closet, she brought out 

 a tall plant which she had dug out by the root. 



"The name of this plant is Curled Dock. Can any of you tell 

 me how it got its name ? ' ' 



" 'Cause its leaves are curly." half a dozen voices cried in chorus. 



"Yes, there are other members of the Dock family, but this 

 one can always be told by its leaves." 



"What are those brown things in the middle of the plant, that 

 look like coffee?" 



It was little May Brittonwho asked the question. Before Miss 

 Lacy could answer her, Bobby Day cried, "Why they're seeds! 

 Don't you know seeds when you see them?" 



"The seeds are pale green first, May, and then they turn dark 

 brown when they are ripe." Miss Lacy ran her fingers along 

 the brown seeds which grew on a long stem, as she spoke. "Can 

 any one tell me what the plant does?" 



"Why the plant can't do anything," Joe Bangs cried, with some 

 contempt in his voice. "They have roots which hold them in 

 the ground, so they can't move!" 



"The plant is a living being, Joe, and everything must eat, 

 drink, and breathe that is alive." 



"But plants haven't mouths, so how can they eat, drink and 

 breathe?" Joe remarked with doubt in his voice. 



