THE SCOPE OF NATURE-STUDY 35 



decided upon gave each different kind of plant a fair opportunity 

 for growth. 



The four adjacent areas on either side of the flower-bed — one 

 for each grade — were devoted to plants selected for their economic 

 value. Such plants were selected as would be useful in preparing 

 the children's luncheons the next year. To this end each plot, 20 

 feet square, was devoted to one or two kinds of plants, and the 

 grade caring for it was responsible to the entire school for the 

 result. The plants chosen were beans, peas, potatoes, cabbage, 

 carrots, parsnips, beets, tomatoes, turnips, onions, peppers, cucum- 

 bers (for pickles), and corn. Radishes and lettuce were sown in 

 certain spots not available for other plants. 



It was proposed to show, for example, the great debt of man- 

 kind to the Cruciferae. There is no part of the plant body that has 

 not been developed in different members of this useful family for 

 the food of man ; thus, in the turnip and radish, the root ; in the 

 cabbage, the leaves. The Solanaceae were represented by the tomato, 

 potato, and pepper, the innocuous relatives of the poisonous night- 

 shade. The parsnip and carrot represented the Umhelliferae, and 

 beets strove for the ascendancy with their wild and vigorous relative, 

 the pigweed of the goosefoot family, or Chenopodiaceae. The peas 

 and beans are the favorites chosen from the Legtimmosae — an 

 interesting family of plants, both useful and ornamental. 



The four areas at the opposite ends of the garden were devoted 

 to various members of the grass family — maize, wheat, oats, rye, 

 barley, broom-corn, and sorghum ; and a small strip was sown with 

 flax. Later in the season some space was found for buckwheat, 

 the most useful member belonging to that family of gutter snipes, 

 the smartweeds. The same aspects for study were presented by the 

 plants cultivated for their flowers. 



In connection with this part of garden-work there are three 

 interesting lines of study: (i) the original habits of the plant 

 in its wild state, and its near relatives that now may be found 

 growing wild; (2) the steps in cultivation and the conditions pro- 

 vided which have developed the cultivated form; (3) the nature, 

 constitution, relative value, and distribution of the food-product 

 thus obtained. 



Another point of view from which the garden as a whole was 

 studied is that of the actual problems which the different plants 



