CHAPTER XVII 

 LESSONS WITH PLANTS 



THESE lessons are intended to acquaint the child with 

 the life and nature of plants, with the conditions under which 

 they grow, and with the functions of the various organs. 

 The plants should be studied as living creatures, not merely 

 as dead specimens. There is a practical side to this study, 

 as it should teach the child how to cultivate plants. 



Plant lessons are easy to give. Plants are clean and 

 not repugnant. There is an element of beauty in the work 

 that appeals to children, and this fact should be taken 

 advantage of. There is an abundance of illustrative mate- 

 rial, easily obtained, which changes with the seasons. 



Many of these lessons should be given or applied in the 

 school garden, where much material may be obtained. In 

 fact, the garden should be a sort of botanical laboratory for 

 this work. Therefore read the suggestions in the previous 

 chapter. 



Germination 



It is a traditional custom in nearly all schools to plant 

 seeds in the spring and to see them grow. Generally this 

 is not very profitable as usually conducted. The planting 

 of seeds and the observation of their development may be 

 made to teach valuable lessons in gardening and the con- 



