The Natural History of Chautauqua 



tonia; Twisted-stalk; False Solomon' s-seal; Canada May- 

 flower; Solomon's Seal; Bellwort; Trilliums; Adder's Tongue; 

 Orchids; Wild Ginger; Wood Anemone; Hepaticas; Colum- 

 bine; Blue Cohosh; Twin-leaf; Blood-root; Dutchman's 

 Breeches; Tiarella; Wild Geranium; Oxalis; Polygala; En- 

 chanter's Nightshade; Ginseng; Pyrola; Partridge Berry. 



Suggestions for individual work: 



1. Collect a goodly quantity, say a quart, of dead leaves, from the 

 surface of the woodland floor. Then sort them, putting leaves of a 

 kind together. What species are represented? In what proportions? 

 Does this indicate the relative proportions of trees in the woods? An- 

 swer carefully. 



2. What conditions do you find in the layer just below the loose sur- 

 face-layer of leaves ? Why ? Dig down below this second layer. What 

 do you find ? Dig to the true earthy soil. How thick is the leaf mold 

 layer? What are the characteristics of the true soil as to color, texture, 

 moisture ? 



3. Turn over a decaying log. What plants and animals do you find 

 beneath it? 



4. Make a list, throughout the season, of the birds, mammals, rep- 

 tiles and batrachians that you find inhabiting a given woodland or 

 grove. Which of these live chiefly on the floor ? 



5. Follow one of the spring wild flowers through the various stages 

 in its life cycle. In what form does it spend the summer ? the fall ? the 

 winter ? 



6. What plants do you find in the woodland, under the snow in 

 winter? 



7. What are the characteristic flowers of your woodlands in the 

 autumn? What preparations do they make for winter? 



8. Are your woodland wild flowers mostly gregarious or solitary? 

 flowers single or in large clusters? contrast with roadside plants. 



9. What is being done in your region to preserve the woodlands as 

 places of beauty? What can be done? 



