New Zealand Nature-study Book. 
Parr I. 
PLANT LIFE. 
I.—THE. PLANT. 
A plant is a living thing—it grows. When pulled up 
out of the ground it becomes dry and withered and finally 
dies. Moreover, when alive, it continually increases in bulk 
—sometimes indeed with great rapidity. 
Parts of a Plant.—The examination of any flowering 
shrub will show that it consists of a root, by which the 
plant is held in the soil—a stem, which generally grows 
upwards from the ground and gives off branches spread- 
ing out on all sides and bearing leaves. The stem and 
branches also bear flowers, some of which develop into fruit 
and seed. 
Note.—A course of lessons in Nature-study might well begin in 
the Primer classes, with the examination of the plant as a whole. 
The pupils should first of all grasp the idea that a plant differs 
from a piece of coal or rock—both of which are found in the 
sround—in being a living thing capable of growth, and that, like 
all other living things, when once dead, it not only ceases to grow 
but withers away and gradually disappears. 
A large number of young plants should be available for the | 
earlier lessons—both those with soft, and those with woody stems. 
An investigation of these will familiarise the pupils with the 
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