26 NATURE STUDY 



yourself. One plant is essential, with enough flower 

 heads so that each child may have a portion. 



Do the bees visit this flower ? Why do you think so ? 

 What is the little purple thing with a long white tube 

 which you hold in your hand ? "Why do you think that 

 it is a flower ? What other plants do you know in Avhich 

 many flowers are crowded together in one head ? Is it bet- 

 ter for the flowers to live in this way, rather than singly ? 

 "Why ? Why is it better for the flowers to be more easily 

 seen ? Why is it good for the bees to visit it ? How else 

 can the bees tell that the thistle has honey for it and wants 

 it to come ? What good are the prickly scales round 

 the flowers ? What good are the prickles on the leaves ? 

 When does the flower go to sleep ? How ? ^Vhy ? Whj 

 is it closed on rainy days ? What is the good of the 

 thistle down to the young fruits ? "Wliy is it better for the 

 young seeds to sprout far away from the mother plant ? 



These lessons on the thistle should be followed up with 

 drawings, a great deal of oral, and a limited amount of 

 written expression. 



There are several stories of the' thistle which would make 

 excellent language or reading lessons, such as Andersen's 

 charming tale of " The Thistle," and the " Cousin of the 

 Eose " in Stories from Fairy Land. Mrs. Dodge's " This- 

 tle " is excellent. '^How West Wind Helped Dandelion," 

 in Emilie Poulsson's In the Child's World would help to 

 drive home the fact of the distribution of seeds. 



The following salient points with reference to the 

 other flowers mentioned may be of use. I have purposely 

 omitted much that any one might see, and have selected 

 the more interesting points, and sought to give informa- 

 tion not readily obtained by the amateur. It is taken 



