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 200 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [10;5— May, 1914 



As for the program, she assured her that the pupils were doing 

 all the work themselves and that she was there merely for advice 

 and consultation. 



The day came at last and as Miss Lacy stood at the door, 

 waiting to receive the guests, she stole an occasional look of 

 satisfaction at the school room, beautifully decorated with pump- 

 kins and corn stalks and the blackboards adorned with sketches 

 of log cabins, pilgrims and turkeys that her pupils themselves had 

 made. Her glance wandered to the children, dressed in gala 

 attire, all impatience to have the guests arrive so that they could 

 begin their program. "No fear of any one misbehaving today," 

 she thought. This is their program and everyone of them feels 

 responsibility for its success." She met their anxious looks with 

 a smile of sympathy which warmed their hearts axid put them at 

 ease. 



It proved to be a great day. Josephine Lacy knew that the 

 program was good but she was not prepared for the enthusiastic 

 reception that each number received by the parents and friends 

 which thronged the school room. 



When the applause for the last number had died away, Miss 

 Lacy announced that she had prepared a little contest, in which 

 she hoped everyone would take part. *T have taken twenty-five 

 of the most co-mmon weeds which grew around here and placed 

 them about the room. Those mounted on cardboard are the 

 weeds and leaves which I pressed when the plants were still fresh 

 and green; those stuck in the bottles are the dried and ragged 

 weeds which can still be found in the vacant lot. In all there are 

 seventy-five speciinens each one of which bears a number. The 

 one who can correctly name the plant to which the largest number 

 of these specimens belong wins in the contest." 



Principal Dahl and Peter Wright, a member of the Board of 

 Education, came into the room just as they were ready to start. 

 For a moment their presence threatened to dampen the spirits of 

 the crowd. All restraint, however, vanished when both men 

 declared that they knew the common weeds and desired to enter 

 the contest too. 



Watch in hand, Miss Lacy gave the signal to start. Soon the 

 children and their guests were merrily jostling one another in 

 their eager desire to name all the weeds in the brief twenty-five 

 minutes allowed for the purpose. Great excite-ment prevailed 



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