ON THE TEACHING OF BOTANi' IN SCHOOLS. 425 



green leaf, root-absorption, transport of food material, storage of food 

 reserves, and other branches of the great question of the nutrition of 

 plants. The flower and the functions of its various parts can be studied 

 with interest and profit. Experiments on pollination and on the move- 

 ments of roots, leaves, and shoots are not too difficult for pupils in school. 

 School Gardens. {By Miss Lilian J. Clarke.) — At the James Allen's 

 Girls' School, Dulwich, we have tried for some years, instead of givin" 

 information in the Botany classes, to lead the girls to observe, to'draw 

 what they observe, to experiment, and to write accounts of their own 

 experiments. In this we have been greatly helped by possessing a garden 

 in which girls are allowed to own plots. The work has grown every 

 year until now more than a hundred girls possess gardens. At first 

 only order-beds were made. The girls were encouraged to own order- 

 beds and to obtain plants for them. Gradually more order-beds were 

 added, and now the most important British orders are represented, 

 two or more beds being sometimes allotted to one order. As far as 

 the size of the bed and the claims of other plants permit, each girl 

 is allowed to grow as many specimens of a particular species as she 

 likes. The owners of order Leguminos;i3 generally take a great interest in 

 growing sweet peas and ordinary peas and beans, and the owners of order 

 Solanaceaj grow tomatoes and potatoes. Town girls are usually so 

 ignorant of the growth of ordinary vegetables that we encourage our girls 

 to grow many. This year there are in the gardens cabbages, Brussels 

 sprouts, cauliflowers, turnips, peas, broad beans, scarlet runners, spinach, 

 beet, lettuce, potatoes, parsley, parsnips, carrots, etc. 



Fruits are valued as well as flowers, so most of the flowers are left to 

 form fruits, and various methods of seed-dispersal are studied, as well as 

 the structure of fruits. A large label is placed in front of each bed, and 

 the name of the order, <tc., is painted in white on a black background. 

 In each bed small labels are also used ; for it is the rule that to each plant, 

 or clump of plants, must be attached a label bearing the English name. 

 Gravelled paths run in many cases on three sides of the beds, so that many 

 girls can work at the same time without getting in each other's way. 



When studying pollination it seemed so necessary that the girls should 

 do some work of their own that beds were arranged in which pollination 

 experiments could be carried on. Some plants are covered with muslin 

 in order to exclude insects, while other plants of the same species are left 

 uncovered. Afterwards the girls find out whether fruits appear on either 

 set. When fruits are found on both the covered and uncovered plants, 

 the number and vigour of the fruits are compared. In some plants the 

 stamens are cut ofF while the flower is in bud. These pollination experi- 

 ments arouse great interest, not only in those who happen to be studying 

 pollination, but in girls of other classes. Numbers of plants are grown 

 for the sake of pollination by means of insects. Figwort, snapdragon, 

 foxglove, salvia, monkshood, sweet peas, and deadnettles are found most 

 useful, and clumps of these are grown in different parts of the garden. 

 A class often spends the lesson time in the garden, and is divided into 

 detachments for observation of the visits of insects. 



Experiments in assimilation are carried on in other beds, and the girls 

 find out under what conditions starch is formed in green plants. Stencils 

 are placed on some leaves, others are covered with vaseline, and various 

 simple experiments are made while the leaves are still on the plant. The 

 a,§pmijat|o|Ti experiment beds are pvvfiefi by a few girls only, but many 



