186 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE,—1917. 
of dicotyledon stems and monocotyledon stems, as seen with a hand lens; 
lenticels; experiments to show passage of gases through lenticels. d 
3. Pollination Experiments.—The girls have charge of many plots in which 
they grow plants which they use in pollination experiments. When the plants 
are bearing flower-buds, many botany lesson-times are spent in the garden. 
Experiments are first made to see if pollen is necessary for the formation of 
fruit, and the girls themselves usually suggest that another set of experiments 
should be made in order to see if the non-formation of fruit is due to shock 
caused by cutting out the stamens of the flower. Experiments are then made 
to see if self-pollination can take place in various plants. Many different genera 
are taken, and as many experiments made in each case as time will allow. 
In the year 1916, after the girls had made experiments to see if pollen is 
‘necessary for the formation of fruit in a certain plant, and were comparing 
the results they had obtained with results obtained in previous years, they had 
the records of 500 experiments to consider before they drew any conclusions. 
The experiments in pollination afford good training in manipulation, in 
noting results of experiments, in comparing these results with other results, and 
in drawing conclusions from a large number of facts. 
After the results of a number of experiments have been noted and tabulated, 
references are made to Darwin’s and Miiller’s experiments in pollination ; and if 
the girls happen to have chosen any of the plants used in the experiments 
described in ‘ Cross- and Self-Fertilisation ’’ or ‘ The Fertilisation of Flowers,’ 
they often hear the results obtained by Darwin and others and compare them 
with the results of their own experiments. 
4. Study of Fruits.—There are many opportunities for the girls to study 
and draw the fruits in the lane, the wood, the Order beds, and the pollination 
beds. The observations enable the fruits to be classified. Many opportunities 
for the study of dispersal of seeds are also found in the botany gardens. The 
girls find growing in their gardens plants which had not been planted by 
them; and after the long holidays thousands of groundsel plants have been 
found in the wood. Dispersal of winged and plumed seeds and fruits by wind, 
and of hooked fruits by animals, are soon noted. Reference is made to Darwin’s 
observations and experiments on the dispersal of seed, and many of the girls 
read the chapter on dispersal of seeds in ‘ Origin of Species.’ 
Division IIT. 
Age of Girls, 14-17. Average time per week, 24 hours. 
1. Detailed study of seeds and seedlings, leading to many experiments, are 
carried out by the girls themselves in laboratory and garden. Various 
dicotyledon and monocotyledon seeds are examined and drawn. Experiments 
are made to see in what gases seeds germinate, and if seeds germinate at all 
temperatures. After the germination of various seeds has been watched, and 
successive stages in the seedlings drawn to scale, simple experiments are made 
to see in what parts of the root and stem growth is most rapid, to find if 
roots can absorb solids, to trace the path of the water in the plant, to deter- 
mine the influence of light, gravity, and moisture on the direction of growth 
2 roots, and the influence of light and gravity on the direction of growth of 
stems. 
Experiments are made by the girls to find what gas is given off by 
germinating seeds, and to determine if there is a rise of temperature when 
respiration takes place. 
Other experiments show what gas is given off by a green plant in the presence 
of light and carbon dioxide; the formation of starch in a green plant in the 
presence of light and carbon dioxide; the influence of light, warmth, and the 
presence of carbon dioxide and chlorophyll on the production of starch. 
Experiments are made to find whether a plant gives off water, to prove the 
presence of pores in leaves, to see from which side of a leaf more water is 
given off, and to measure the weight and volume of water given off by a plant 
in a certain time. 
The percentage of water and ash is found in plants, and then the composition 
of the ash is taken. Sometimes a girl in the Upper VI., specialising in science, 
may be able to analyse the ash; but, failing this, an analysis of the ash by 
