LESSONS WITH PLANTS 353 



seeds to a distance. The sweet pea when ripe splits open 

 and quickly curls the two halves of the pod into spirals, 

 thereby snapping off the seeds. The pansy does a similar 

 thing. Other plants also have such methods for snapping 

 out the seed. 



The common garden balsam and its wild cousin the touch- 

 me-not have seed pods that when ripe and slightly touched 

 split up into spiral parts, thereby throwing the seeds some 

 distance. 



Who will say that plants are uninteresting and stupid 

 things ? 



Grasses and Cereals 



Teach the pupils that grasses and grains are flowering 

 plants. Let them bring early in summer, timothy, wild 

 rye, June grass, and any grains that happen to be in flower. 

 With a magnifying glass and with diagrams, study briefly 

 the structure of a grass flower. Note that the more showy 

 parts of flowers in other plants are here replaced by incon- 

 spicuous green bracts. Generally the anther filaments are 

 slender and long, so that the anthers hang -out of the flower 

 and shake in the wind. Similarly the stigmas of grass flowers 

 are long and feathery, so as to catch the pollen which is 

 brought to them by the wind. The flowers of grasses are 

 small and are generally clustered together in heads or 

 spikes. Note the general appearance and growth of vari- 

 ous grasses. Note the hollow stems, the solid joints, and 

 the slender clasping leaves. Many grasses have large root- 

 stalks. 



Though it may be impossible to name all, it is instructive 

 to collect as many different kinds of grasses as can be found 



