148 NATURE STUDY AND AGRICULTURE 



see if they remain in the same position as during the day- 

 light. Study the flowers. Are they arranged singly or in 

 clusters? Have the pupils decide for themselves whether 

 or not a clover head is a single flower or a number of 

 flowers. Find the parts of one flower; compare with a 

 sweet pea flower. How many flowers do you find in one 

 head? Which flowers open first; those on the outside of 

 the head or those at the center ? Examine a number before 

 deciding. Examine some old faded flowers for the seeds; 

 where are they ? Does one flower produce more than one 

 seed ? When should clover be mown to make good hay ? 

 It should be cut just when the flowers are beginning to 

 fade. How does it compare with other kinds of hay? 

 The stems and leaves contain so much nutritious food that 

 it is considered one of the most important hay crops grown. 

 Will the plant produce a second crop ? Does this second 

 crop produce flowers and seeds? The second crop is 

 frequently cut for the purpose of obtaining the seeds for 

 market or to sow a new plat next spring. How is the seed 

 obtained? By running the plants through a machine 

 something like a thresher, known as a clover huller. 



Dig up a plant and study the root. Note size, length, 

 and branches. What advantage is this thick, long root 

 to the plant? What advantage to the soil? What else 

 do you find on the roots ? These small bodies are nodules 

 or tubercles. Where do you find the tubercles most nu- 

 merous ? Count the number on a small root. What are the 

 tubercles ? They are growths on the root caused by small 

 living organisms known as bacteria. These bacteria take 

 from the air in the soil the free nitrogen and act upon this 

 in the tubercles so that the plant can use it just as it can the 



