490 Hatidbook of Nature-Study 



Attention to the behavior of the thirsty flowers may be gained by asking 

 the following questions: 



1. When a plant is wilted how does it look? How does its stem act? 

 Do its leaves stand up? What happens to the flower? 



2. Place the cut end ot the stem in water and look at it occasionally 

 during an hour; describe what happens to the stem, the leaves, the 

 blossom. 



3. To find how flowers drink, place the stem of a wilted plant in red 

 ink ; the next day cut the stem across and find how far the ink has been 

 lifted into it. 



HOW TO MAKE PLANTS COMFORTABLE 



NOTHER step in plant study comes naturally from 



planting the seeds in window-boxes or garden. 



This may be done in the kindergarten or in the 



primary grades. As soon as the children have had 



some experience in the growing of flowers, they 



should conduct some experiments which will teach 



them about the needs of plants. These experiments 



are fit for the work of the second or third grade. 



Uncle John says, "All plants want to grow; all they 



ask is that they shall be made comfortable." The 



following experiments should be made vital and full of interest, by 



impressing upon the children that through them they will learn to make 



their plants comfortable. 



Experiment I. To find out what kind of soil plants love best to grow in — ■ 

 Have the children of a class, or individuals representing a class, prepare 

 four little pots or boxes, as follows: Fill one with rich, woods humus, or 

 with potting earth from a florist's; another with poor, hard soil, which 

 may be found near excavations ; another with clean sand ; another with 

 sawdust. Plant the same kind of seeds in all four, and place them where 

 they will get plenty of light. Water them as often as needful. Note 

 which plants grow the best. This trial should cover six weeks at least 

 and attention should now and then be called to the relative growth of the 

 plants. 



Experiment 2. To prove thai plants need light in order to grow. — Fill 

 two pots with the same rich soil ; plant in these the same kind of seeds, 

 and give them both the same amount of water; keep one in the window 

 and place the other in a dark closet or under a box, and note what happens. 

 Or take two potted geraniums which look equally thrifty; keep one in the 

 light and the other in darkness. What happens? 



Experiment J. To show that the leaves love the light — Place a geranium 

 in a window and let it remain in the same position for two weeks. Which 

 way do all the leaves face? Turn it around, and note what the leaves 

 have done after a few days. 



Experiment 4. To show that plants need water — Fill three pots with 

 rich earth, plant the same kinds of seeds in each, and place them all in the 

 same window. Give one water as it needs it, keep another flooded with 

 water, and give the other none at all. What happens to the seeds in the 

 three pots? 



