348 NATURE STUDY. 



Roots. Are the large plants hard to pull up ? How 

 held in the ground ? Do the roots grow straight down ? or 

 do they grow out at the sides ? Use of the branches of 

 the roots ? Pull up and bring to school two or three 

 plants. 



Leaves. Uses : To make the plant look pretty and to 

 cover up, particularly at night or when it is cold, the flowers 

 and " cheeses." Positions : Growing and turning up toward 

 the light ; when the grass is short, and the plant is not 

 shaded, the stem is usually prostrate and the leaves near 

 the ground. Arrangement : Covering the ground, with few 

 or no open spaces, giving each large leaf the sunlight. 

 Note how few leaves are covered by others, and how the 

 young leaves are snugly placed in the space between the 

 stem of the plant and the stem of the leaf, in the axil of 

 the large leaves. Have the children fold a piece of paper 

 as the little leaves are folded, like a fan. Does Mother 

 Mallow take good care of her baby leaves ? As the leaves 

 grow larger and stronger, the plant spreads them out, 

 lengthens their stem, and slowly pushes them up to work 

 for themselves and for the rest of the plant. When it 

 gets cold, they often fold up again, and snuggle down un- 

 der the old leaves. 



Flowers. Position : In the axils of the large leaves. Late 

 in the fall, long after the frost has killed most of the other 

 flowers, we can find the mallow flowers. How do the 

 leaves protect the flowers from the cold ? Where are the 

 baby flowers ? How are they kept warm ? 



Fruit, or " Cheeses." Position : Under the leaves. How 

 kept warm ? How are the baby cheeses covered ? Look 

 for the oldest " cheeses " you can find, those which have 

 turned brown. Try to find some which fall or break very 

 easily into pieces, each shaped something like a piece of 

 an orange. Each of these three-sided pieces is a seed. 



