SPRING NATURE STUDY. 535 



fixing their distinctive characteristics. Always centre the 

 work about one tree or shrub, observing that as carefully 

 as possible, using the others for contrast. For the little 

 folks in the first grade, a shrub like the lilac, or a small 

 tree, is better than a large tree. A great tree is a great 

 mass for little eyes to see, and a great unit for little minds 

 to comprehend as a unit. After they have watched the 

 development of a seed into a plant, with root, stems, leaves, 

 flowers, and fruit, they may be better able to grasp the idea 

 of the oneness of the great tree. Then, too, the little folks 

 can more easily watch the development of a shrub or of 

 a small tree. 



Select a tree standing alone, as much as possible, and one 

 fairly typical. Begin with the tree or shrub in the winter 

 state, when there are no leaves to distract the attention 

 from the plan, and try to observe it first at a distance, a 

 hundred feet or more, where the children cannot see the 

 details of bark or buds. Note its shape or outline, if this 

 is characteristic, not merely accidental (have children trace 

 it in the air with their finger), vase-shaped or umbrella- 

 shaped in the elm, egg-shaped in most maples, cone-shaped 

 in most evergreens, narrow cylindrical or " pencil-shaped " 

 in the Lombardy poplar. Impress shape by contrasting 

 with other trees in sight. Observe comparative height of 

 trunk and character of branching ; trunk extending to top 

 with branches horizontal, longest below, in the cone-shaped 

 evergreens ; in the elm the trunk soon lost in branches, 

 which fork or bifurcate again and again, curving outward 

 and downward, and bearing much fine spray ; in the maples 

 the trunk extending up one-third to two-thirds of the length 

 of the tree (longest in young trees), with lower branches 

 often nearly horizontal (unless the tree has been " trimmed 

 up"), and upper branches more and more nearly vertical 

 (the branching varying somewhat in different species of 



