The Teacher's Corner 



There is a special charm in the study of the spring flowers which is lacking 

 later in the season when wc have forgotten about winter in the wealth of sum 

 mer blossoming. The topics selected by the writers of Thk Nature-Sh t>y 

 Ki \ ii w this month are exceedingly interesting as special subje-ts for study. 



The Lady s Slipper or Moccasin Flcnver. The observations on this flower 

 should consist in the following: I )c scribe and sketch the leaves showing ho* 

 they join the stem and whether thev are alternate or opposite; describe the 

 sepals and their position in relation to the flower; note that there arc three 

 petals, the middle one of which is very different from the others in form; 

 describe the petal sac, the entrance to it, the color around the entrance to 

 attract the insect; the exit and the reason why an insect would not be likely to 

 come out by the same door that it went in ; note the two roundish bodies which 

 proiect into the openings of the sac at the exit, thrust a pencil against the 

 underside of one of these and note that the pollen comes off "in a plaster"; 

 cut away one side of the petal sac and find the stigma; describe it and its 

 situation with relation to the anthers and to the exit through which the insect 

 crawls out; note how the bees visiting the flowers one after another may carry 

 the pollen of one flower and deposit it upon the waiting stigma of another; 

 describe the seed capsule from the outside, cut it across and note the arrange- 

 ment of seeds and how the capsule opens to let the seeds out. 



The Skunk Cabbage. I know a place by a tiny lake where a cold spring wells 

 out of a tree-covered bank and feels its lucid way past the root-stalks of staunch 

 ferns and around mossy logs until it reaches the water below. Near-by it the 

 crinkle-root and miter-wort blossom and the adder tongue and trillium shake 

 their nodding bells, and a little at one side of the spring, between it and the 

 lakelet, grows a mass of great, spreading, bright green leaves which make the 

 nook look most tropical. Surely we plant near our ponds many things which 

 are not nearly so beautiful or luxuriant in foliage as is the much despised skunk- 

 cabbage. It was this very spot that Mary Rogers Miller describes in her 

 delightful Brook Book, where she discovered that the skunk cabbage not only 

 blossoms earlier in the spring than other flowers, but that it is able to germinate 

 enough heat to thaw for itself holes through the snow covering; she says 

 characteristically, "I like hardy folk — people who can germinate their own 

 fires and do work in spite of everything. Skunk cabbage is just such a sturdy- 

 citizen. " A study of this sturdy citizen which blossoms before the hepatica, 

 and even before the pussy-willow lifts its soft fur, will make for us an in- 

 teresting page in Nature's book. 



Observations on the Skunk Cabbage: Where does the skunk cabbage 

 grow? Have you discovered that snow melts quicker above the skunk cabbage 

 than elsewhere in its vicinity, if so describe it! Do the flowers or the leaves 

 appear first? Show by sketch how it looks when it first appears above ground ? 

 What is the color of the spathe? Does the spathe change its shape as it grows 

 older? Describe the spadix and the floweis bo*h in color and form. Do all 

 the flowers mature at the same time? If some of the stamens mature before 

 the pistils tell on what part of the spadix they grow. How eatly do you find 

 skunk cabbage in blossom in your locality? When do the leaves appear? 



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