106 
MANUAL OF NATURE) STUDY. 
FIFTH YEAR WORK. 
A .— Plant Life. 
1. Study stems as to arrangement and growth .— 
Collect a number of stems from trees of different 
kinds, selecting the younger shoots as far as possi¬ 
ble. Each pupil should be provided with several 
specimens. Point out the bark, wood and pith. 
Where is the pith? The bark? The wood fiber? 
These parts will be better fixed in mind by drawing 
cross-sections of the stem. Require the pupils to 
draw cross-sections of walnut, hickory, oak, elder, 
heavenwood and some of the herbs for comparison. 
See if the children can separate the bark into three 
parts, viz., outer layer, middle, and inner or bast 
layer. Compare several sprouts, one of which 
shall be the linden or basswood. It will be inter¬ 
esting now to give a general classification of stems, 
so that the pupil may know them in all their forms, 
bearing in mind that the stem is the axis of a plant, 
which, when developed, always bears geometrically 
arranged leaves, and that a branch is a secondary 
stem. For the purpose of such classification, col¬ 
lect some plants, as sage, lilac, elder, hazelnut, 
haws, crabs, or thorns, raspberry, rose, pea vines, 
beans, grapes, pumpkin vine, strawberry, little 
dew-berry, passion flower, Virginia creeper, ivy 
(avoiding the poison ivy, which is known by its 
