138 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [11:3— Mar., 1915 



Problems — 



How are these vegetables raised? 



How can these be kept for winter use? 



Which of these make the best food? 



Which can be raised most easily in a small garden? 



II. Plants in Nature's Garden. 



1. Flowers that grow in open, sunny places; such as asters, clovers, 



daisies, goldenrods, wild sunflowers, toadflax, thistles. 

 Problems — 



How many different kinds of goldenrods can you find? 

 In what ways is the wild aster like the cultivated aster? 

 How is the toadflax made so as to bring about insect pollination? 

 How can we tell the kinds of clovers apart? 



2. Plants without flowers. 

 Ferns — ^both wild and cultivated. 



Problems — 



How do the various ferns differ from each other? 

 What care do ferns as house plants require? 



3. Shade trees of Mankato; such as maples, elms, linden, catalpa, 



box elder, hackberry, honey locust, white poplar. 

 Work of the parts of a tree, root, stem, leaf. 

 Problems — 



Which is the best shade tree in Mankato? 



Arrange the shade trees in the order of their occurrence on the 



streets that you are familiar with. 

 What care do shade trees require? 

 How can we tell the different maples apart? 

 What is the chief character by which each tree may be named? 

 What work is done by the root of a maple tree? By the stem? By 



the leaf? 



4. Calendar of leaf coloring of trees, shrubs, and vines; Name of 



plant, color of leaf, date, name of child first reporting. 



5. Plants that move. 



Sensitive plant, white clover, mallow, sunflower, geranium. 

 Problems — 



What kind of motion do the leaves and flowers of some plants have? 

 What causes these movements? 



III. Some Animal Friends and Foes. 



1. Spiders; orb weaver, grass spider, cobweb spider; value, web ; 



spinning habits. 



2. Water insects, such as whirligig beetle, water strider, water boat- 



man, backswimmer, water beetles, nymph of dragon fly; 

 methods of moving and breathing. 



3. Housefly, relation to disease. 



4. Crayfish, habits, value. 



5. Compare bird life now with that in spring. 



6. Feeding winter bir'^'- 





