74 
Ohio Naturalist. 
[ Vol. 1, No. 5 
It is desired that the pupils consult teachers, parents, and others, 
who may be able to advise as to the subject, kind and extent of the 
work, also as to the best arrangement and wording of the report, 
and the labelling and preparation of the accompanying illustrative 
material. 
The report is to contain a detailed account of the work actually 
done by the pupil and in no case to contain anything not his own. 
The names of those entering the competition must be sent to the 
undersigned on or before March 30th. The suggestions, directions 
and explanation of the three subjects proposed are as follows: 
Bbvological.— All the kinds of Mosses in the region should be 
collected and put under slight pressure till dry; then a small por- 
tion should be glued directly upon a piece of card-board and a larger 
amount placed in a paper pocket and attached to the same piece; 
the notes and drawings can also be attached to the same card-board 
which for each species should be 8j x 11 J inches. Most of the kinds 
(species) can be found in fruit; the latter is a capsule (little pod) on 
a slender stem called the seta. Specimens without fruit are not 
very satisfactory. 
Tell in each ease on what the specimen grows, as the ground, 
tree trunk, old log, rock, boulder, etc. ; add other notes relating to 
its situation (habitat), abundance, appearance, general character 
(habit), etc. 
Draw an enlarged figure at least of the capsule (fruit) of some 
or all of the species (kinds) collected. In the early stage there is 
usually a cap (called calyptra) on the capsule. When the capsule 
is ripe it opens by a lid (called the operculum) for the escape of the 
spores. Notice the teeth (called collectively the peristome) sur- 
rounding the mouth of the 'capsule — evident when the operculum 
falls off. 
A good pocket lens must be used for this work. The drawings 
must be clear; after completed with a sharp lead pencil it would be 
well to retrace with a fine pen and india (or drawing) ink. Exces- 
sive shading of the figures is objectionable. 
If a book is desired, a suitable one for beginners is Grout’s 
■“ Mosses with a Hand-lens,” price $1.10; orders sent to the author 
or to tlie writer of this article will be promptly attended to. But for 
the purposes of this competition the botanical names of mosses are 
not required; it will be of course more interesting if an attempt at 
the identification of the species is in all cases made. 
Liche NOLOGIC A L. — All the kinds of Lichens in the region should 
be collected. The little disks, or saucer-like bodies, on the plants 
are the fruit (called the apothecium); the apothecia are more dis- 
tinct and striking in appearance, as is the whole plant also, when 
moist; therefore the best time to collect lichens is after a prolonged 
rain, or when the air is moist; when dry they are usually brittle 
-and cannot be satisfactorily handled. 
