IN THE FIELD 187 



2. Compare the full-grown plants : size, roots, culm, nodes, 

 leaves. 



3. Compare the flowers of corn with those of wheat, rye, 

 and barley. 



The "tassel" of corn contains the sterile flowers; look 

 for their stamens and anthers. The " silk " is composed of 

 the long stigmas of the fertile flowers. Find the exact spot 

 from which a thread of silk starts. Pollen falling upon the 

 silk causes the young grain in the husk to grow. How is 

 the pollen shaken from the anthers ? Are the flowers well 

 adapted to wind-fertilization ? What is an important dif- 

 ference between the flowers of corn and the flowers of small 

 grain ? Corn is the only grass which bears the sterile and 

 fertile flowers on separate heads. 



4. Corn requires more heat than wheat. Does it grow 

 best in warm, sheltered bottoms or on exposed uplands? 

 How far north in your state and in the United States is it 

 successfully cultivated ? 



5. Use and importance. 



6. Varieties. Some are more hardy than others. Use 

 of different varieties : pop-corn, sugar-corn, and others. 



7. Compare the dicotyledonous bean with the monocoty- 

 ledonous grains and grasses. Hold the leaves up against 

 the light and notice the difference in venation. Could you 

 tell monocotyledons by the leaves alone ? To which class 

 do our common trees belong ? 



26. The Potato. 



MATERIAL : Whole plant, showing roots ; young tubers ; the old, 

 partly decayed tuber ; leaves and flowers ; plants injured by the potato 

 beetle ; adults, larvae, and eggs of the beetle ; mature tubers, showing 

 buds ; plants or sprouts grown in dark cellars ; seeds from the previous 

 year ; and seedlings at different stages of growth would also be very 

 instructive. 



