418 NATURE STUDY. 



how cracks are sealed with pitch in freshly gathered im- 

 mature cones. (See cone of spruce, Fig. 37, page 419). 

 If cones are kept in schoolroom a few days, the scales curl 

 back, disclosing the pockets in which the seed-babies are 

 kept from rain and cold. 



Seed-babies. Remove a few scales, and show how the 

 seeds are placed, two at the base of each scale, each in a 

 little pit, each with a wing ready for sailing-time. What 

 a beautiful cradle, warm and snug ! How much better to 

 sleep with two together, so that they may have company! 

 Shake the cradle, and see how gracefully the seeds circle 

 downward, and how gently they drop to the floor. 



Summary. Now we have discovered the secret the pine 

 is whispering. Who can tell best: how the pine mother 

 rocks her cradles and babies ; how she keeps them warm, 

 covers them up, and lets them out at the right time ; how 

 she helps them start out for themselves ? 



Expressive Work. Have children mould cone in clay, or 

 draw in outline on black-board, fastened to a branch, with 

 two or three seed-babies flying from it. 



Step V. What the Pine Does for Man. 



Beauty. What the pine and other evergreens add to 

 winter. How beautiful their green above the white snow ! 

 How much prettier than the bare trees, which have lost 

 their leaves ! 



Protection. Tell how evergreens are planted closely in 

 rows to protect houses from the wind. The winter birds 

 and rabbits like to nestle among the evergreens. 



Food. Where the pines are abundant, the seeds are often 

 used by people for food, particularly where the seeds are 

 much larger than those we have (California pine nuts). 

 Birds and squirrels are fond of them. Mother Pine or 

 Mother Nature, or God must be thinking of this ; when 



