210 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



OBSERVATIONS FOR PUPILS 

 THE APPLE 



1. Make a careful study of some apple blossoms. See if you can 

 identify all of these parts : 



The calyx lobes, which represent the sepals. 



The petals. 



The stamens, each with filament and anther, the latter containing 



pollen. 

 The pistils, united in the ovary, with the lower part of the styles 



also united and bearing a fringe of hairs, then separating and 



each having the stigma at the top. 

 The nectar cup on the top of the ovary. 



2. See if you can determine how the nectar is protected from ants 

 and wingless insects by the palisade of filaments around the outside and 

 the hairs upon the united styles in the middle. 



Thrust a sharp pencil point down through the hairs to see how the 

 long-tongued bee could get at the nectar while the short-tongued ant is 

 excluded from it. 



3. Watch the apple trees on a bright day to see what sorts of insects 

 you find visiting the blossoms. 



Make a list of as many different kinds as you recognize. Are 

 any of the bees collecting honey ? Can you see them thrust their 

 tongues down to get the nectar ? 



4. When it rains much of the time during the blossoming of the 

 apple trees, are the bees able to carry the pollen as well as when the 

 weather is fair ? 



B 



i. Tell or write a little story with this title : The Mission of the 

 Apple Petals. Follow some such outline as this : 



The pistil in the bud. 



The nectar cup that it covers. 



The purpose in attracting the bees. 



The carrying of the pollen by the bees. 



The fertilization of the flowers. 



The falling away of the petals. 



The development of the fruit. 



