NATURE STUDY IN SCHOOLS. 41 



THE WHITE PINE. 



The pine tree is an evergreen. It is cone-shaped, the branches being 

 longest at the bottom and growing shorter as they go to the top. 



The roots are multiple roots. They grow very near the surface of the 

 ground. That is why so many pine trees are blown over. 



The trunk is large at the bottom and small at the top. The average 

 height of the trunk is from seventy to one hundred and eighty feet, but it 

 has been known to grow as high as Bunker Hill Monument. The trunk is 

 very straight. They are the tallest trees we have. The trunk is used for 

 making boards and masts of ships. 



The branches are arranged in whorls. There are usually five in a whorl. 

 Each whorl shows a year's growth. The bark is very smooth on young- 

 trees. It is a grayish color. Some of the lower branches do not get sun 

 enough and they die and drop off. 



The wood is white. There are little circles in the wood and each circle 

 shows a year's growth. The wood is used for floors and inside finishing. 



The leaves are green and are shaped like a triangular prism pointed at 

 the top. One side is dark green and the other two are lighter green.' One 

 side rounds out, and the other two curve in. The light green sides have 

 white lines running through them. If you look through a microscope they 

 would look like a line of white dots. There are five leaves in a bunch and 

 the bunches are arranged in spirals around the branch. 



The cones are dark brown underneath and light brown on top. The 

 light brown forms a triangle on the scale. The cone is large at the top and 

 small at the bottom. It is made up of scales arranged in spirals. The scale 

 is to protect the seed and the wing. The cone is found on the second year's 

 growth back. The seed is to be blown round and make more trees. The 

 wing is to help carry the seed, and to act as a little sail. 



The little buds are green, and are found in whorls at the end of the 

 branch with the largest in the middle. 



LESSON ON CORAL IN NINTH GRADE, WILLIAMS SCHOOL. 



AUBURNDALE, MASS. 



BY 



John O. Godfrey. 



A lesson upon coral was given to the pupils of the 

 ninth grade, Williams School, Auburndale. Average age 

 of pupils, 14 years, 5 months. 



Specimens were at hand, and the pupils were deeply 

 interested in the lesson. Not a point was given which 

 was possible for them to find out for themselves. 



