^^_ THE PSYCHOLOGY 



Study of a Plant in Different Stages of School Life. 



Plant — Butter-and-Eggs, or Toad Flax. 



SpeciiiuMis oi' the whole plant slunild be obtained by the pupils. They should 

 dig up a few and transplant them in the school garden, or, in absence of an 

 appropriate place, in a box, which may be kept in the school-room. The earlier 

 in the season these plants are obtained the more likely they are to flourish. Try 

 to imitate in the school-room or yard the natural conditions of soil, light, and 

 moisture. 



Pupils should obser\'e while collecting, the kind of soil, the location, amount 

 of moisture generally present, all surroundings, and the date of collection. \\ ere 

 there few or many plants together ? Did they pull up easily or not ? Were there 

 bees or other insects about the flowers? Were there any larva feeding upon the 

 plants ? Do cattle or other animals eat the plant ? How do bees or other insects 

 enter and leave the flowers ? Were there any insects about the plants which cannot 

 get at the nectar in the flowers ? 



In the class-room, root, stem, and leaves may be observed in detail. Every- 

 thing should be discovered by the pupils themselves, if possible, without waste of 

 time and eftbrt, but there are always certain related facts w^hich may be conveyed 

 to the pupils through pictures or by words, especially in higher classes. The one 

 thing to avoid is the attempt to force the pupils to learn mere forms without actual 

 assimilation. The method of arousing mental activity varies in the difterent stages 

 as previously stated, and the same holds in the study of plants as in any other 

 study. 



FIRST STAGE. 



What part of the plant grows above ground? What is the nature of the 

 underground part ? Where was this particular specimen found ? Tell whether 

 it grew in shade or in sun, in dry, moist or in wet soil, or in water. How many 

 plants grew where the specimens were found? How close together did they 

 grow ? Were anv of the plants eaten off by animals ? What insects were noticed 

 about the flowers ? What were they doing ? 



PART OF PLANT ABOVE GROUND. 



How high does it grow ? How wide ? Are there branches ? What kind of 

 leaves are there? Do all the plants bear flowers ? What color are the flowers ? 

 What odor ? How many on each plant ? How^ are they arranged ? Are all the 

 flowers open at the same time ? What do they look like ? Cut out paper flowers 

 and leaves to look like the real ones. Color them. 



PART OF PLANT UNDERGROUND. 



What kind of structure do the branches grow from ? (Give name root-stock.) 

 How many branches grow from one root-stock ? How long is a root-stock ? 

 Find the fibrous parts growing downward from the root-stock. How many are 

 there ? How long ? Cut up the root-stock into several pieces and plant all the 

 pieces. 



