444 NATURE-STUDY 



also some that have gone to seed. In the school-room make 

 a study of the head. This is not a single flower, but a collec- 

 tion of hundreds of flowers side by side. (See page 335 and 

 adapt.) Use black-board drawings freely, and make cuts 

 through the head as shown in fig. 134. Observe the tubular 

 flowers in the centre, then the rays. Derive a ray flower 

 from a tubular flower by imagining it split open on one side. 

 Note the "seeds," really the fruit. Examine the head gone 

 to seed. Note how numerous the "seeds" are and how 

 closely packed. Note the green leaf -like "scales" on the 

 outside. Have pupils make diagrammatic drawings show- 

 ing details. (Suggest saving the sunflower heads when ripe 

 to hang out in winter for the birds.) (K, M, 154, 156, 158, 

 etc.) Gather wild sunflowers,* asters,* daisies,* garden 

 "single" asters,* zinnias, etc., and note that they are com- 

 posites too. (168, etc.) 



Annuals, biennials, and perennials: Observe in the gar- 

 den how the annuals die after flowering, the same season they 

 are sown; how beets, carrots, etc. have their leaves frozen 

 but the roots remain alive; similarly with perennials, some 

 are frozen above ground, others like shrubs, vines, and trees 

 persist year after year above ground. Take up carrots,* 

 beets,* cabbage,* etc., and save some for planting in the 

 spring, for further study. Discuss the meaning of fleshy 

 roots, tubers,* and bulbs* to the plant. They are store- 

 houses of food (starch — show it) for the plant's next year's 

 growth. What use do we make of them? Make a list of 

 such storehouses that we eat. (K, 152, 156, 158, 154, S, R, P.) 



Cei'eals, rice and corn included: Collect some of each. 

 Shell or husk it. Grind some in a mortar. Observe the 

 white powdery contents of the kernels. Examine corn- 



