152 



ETON NATURE-STUDY 



the lessons, so that the pupils may not .know beforehand exactly 

 what to expect, or because the particular subjects do not lend them- 

 selves well to exhibition. 



OBSERVATIONAL LESSONS 



NATURE-STUDY 



PLANTS 



In connection with plants we 

 may have series of specimens 

 showing their growth from seed, 

 and from some special part, such 

 as a tuber. The potato may 

 perhaps be replaced by something 

 less bulky, and here a small col- 

 lection illustrating the growth of 

 a bulb may, if thought advisable, 

 be introduced. 



The next matter to be dealt 

 with, is the ordinary life of 

 plants and so much of their 

 structure as it has been thought 

 advisable to bring into the lessons. 

 For instance, such objects as 

 opening buds and fa}ling leaves, 

 on the one hand ; and parts of a 

 log, the skeletons of leaves and 

 stems and peculiarities of plant 

 construction, on the other. 



Sets of various seedlings may 

 be added for comparison and to 

 suggest the germination of others 

 than those mentioned in the book. 

 A series illustrating the economic 

 importance of cuttings from 

 stems, leaves, and roots, may very 

 well be arranged, together with 

 specimens showing the different 

 methods that are adopted in 

 grafting. 



There is hardly any end to the 

 small collections that can be got 

 together as time goes on, illus- 

 trating the various topics that we 

 have touched upon, in connection 

 with the growth and habits of 

 plants. One series may represent 

 methods adopted for climbing ; 

 another, such seeds as are distri- 

 buted by the wind ; or, again, 

 plants that dwell together. 



