scarcely bite it. Put it to soak in tepid water, leaving it over night.
Next day look at the changes that have taken place in it. The first
thing we notice is that it has swollen until it is twice as large as it
was, being now soaked full of water. It is also softer than it was. Its
outer skin during the process of soaking has loosened, being no longer
firmly attached to the body of the bean. This skin, being unable to
stretch, soon splits open by the swelling of the bean inside. We can
easily slip it entirely off.
[Illustration: THE BEAN--EMBRYO-LEAVES, SEED-LEAVES, AND ROOT]
Having done this let us take a good look at the bean that is now out of
its skin. We see that it is composed of two thick parts which are
joined together at only one end. These two thick parts which make the
bulk of the bean are called seed-leaves (cotyledons).
Just at the point where they seem to be joined together there is a tiny
flat white object. Looking closely at this we discover it to be a plant
consisting of two minute leaves and a little blunt tip. As a matter of
fact, the two seed-leaves are not attached directly to each other, but
each is attached to this tiny plant, or embryo, as it is called. The
word "embryo" is a valuable one to use later, and its precise meaning
can easily be fixed by always calling the young plant tucked away in the
seed the embryo. The difficulty of learning new words does not lie in
their length, but in not knowing what they mean. A child who has been to
the circus has no trouble in remembering the word "elephant," and the
child who frequently hears the word "embryo" spoken in connection with
the plant concealed between the cotyledons quickly and unconsciously
learns it.
Place some of the soaked beans on damp cotton, and plant others in a pot
of earth, or, if it is Summer, in the garden. Those sprouted in the
house in the Winter must be kept warm. In a short time the little white
embryo tucked away in the bean begins to grow. We say the bean sprouts.
As the embryo develops, its little blunt tip grows down into the ground
and gives off roots. At the same time its two tiny white leaves grow
large and green, coming out from the seed-leaves (cotyledons) into the
air and sunshine. As the stem lengthens the seed-leaves are lifted up
above the ground along with the embryo. The bean thus seems to come out
of the ground, and children are very apt to want to cover it up. But it
has not really unplanted itself. The lower part of the stem and the
roots hold it firmly in the earth.
The bean on the damp cotton grows as well at first as that planted in
the earth, but it cannot get food enough to continue growth unless it
can thrust its roots into the earth. What enables it to grow at all on
the cotton, since that does not supply food, but only holds the
moisture, without which the bean could not sprout? There must be food
somewhere, and it is found packed away in the thick seed-leaves, which
contain a great deal of starch and a little of some other things.
[Illustration: THE BEAN--EMBRYO-LEAVES, COMPOUND LEAVES, AND BEGINNING
OF STEM]
The young plant, under the influence of warmth and moisture, is able to
draw out the nourishment from the seed-leaves. If we examine the
seed-leaves after the seed has sprouted we shall find them less hard and
firm; they have given part of their substance to the embryo. They have
also turned greenish in color, while, as we know, the leaves of the
embryo, which at first were so white and tiny, have also turned green
and grown larger. Between the two embryo-leaves there is a little
growing tip.
The young plant now no longer depends upon the seed-leaves for its
food. Down in the earth the roots are taking in nourishment, and up in
the air the little green leaves are also busy supplying food to the
growing plant. The little growing tip lengthens into a stem from which a
leaf is seen unfolding. This new leaf is not shaped like the
embryo-leaves nor like the seed-leaves. It has three leaflets. The stem
continues to lengthen, and soon another compound leaf appears. Thus the
stem lengthens and leaves keep coming, the little growing tip at the end
of the stem always pushing upward.
Very soon the stem becomes too long and slender to stand upright. Then
it does a strange thing. It circles about as though in search of
something. It moves very slowly, but if you notice which way it is
pointing in the morning, and again at noon, and again at night, you will
see that it has changed its position. Why does it do this? It wishes to
twine about a support, and will continue circling about until it finds
one. If there is none, the slender stem, unable to stand upright as it
lengthens, will in time bend to one side or even lie on the ground; but
the end still continues to circle about, and when at last it touches a
stick or the stem of another plant or anything else about which it can
twine, it continues its circling motion about the new support, and the
vine as it lengthens finally becomes twined about it.
How does the food which the plant takes from the earth and the air find
its way to the different parts of the plant to nourish them?
The plant food is in a liquid form called sap, which runs through
channels in the roots and stems and leaves, and is thus carried to all
parts of the plant. To a certain extent it is like the blood of animals,
which finds its way all through the body and supplies food to the
tissues.
The plant is alive; it eats, it breathes; sometimes it even moves. It
breathes the same air that we do, only it takes it in through tiny pores
in the leaves. Eating and breathing, the plant continues to grow, leaf
after leaf unfolding. At last, in the axil of one of the leaves there
comes a little bud that does not unfold into a leaf but into a flower.
The appearance of this first blossom on the plant the child has himself
raised from the seed will be watched with eagerness, and its advent can
be made a subject of general pleasure and notice in the home. The
child's pleasure in his flower will be greatly increased if he finds
that others are also watching and enjoying it.
Here, too, is a chance to develop a certain respect or reverence for the
beautiful and fragile flower. It is not to be picked. We are to leave
this flower and see what becomes of it. If we pick it, it will soon
wither and die. If we leave it where it is, it will continue to grow,
and something very interesting will happen. After a few days the pretty
white or red flower-leaves or petals will fall off; but any
disappointment which the child may feel at the falling of the petals can
be quickly changed into interest about what remains, for not all the
flower fell. The centre of it is still there. It is a little green pod.
It is so delicate that by holding it against the light one can easily
see the little seedlets, or ovules, inside. "Ovule" is a good word to
learn, and the easiest way is to use it at once, always referring to
this little seedlet in the young flower-pod as the ovule. The word
"ovule" means little egg; later, a word almost identical will be used
for the eggs of animals.
[Illustration: THE BEAN--THE SEEDLETS, OR OVULES, IN THE YOUNG PODS]
Thus by a use of carefully chosen, well-understood terms the child has
from the very beginning a dawning sense of the oneness of all life. He
can be told that "ovule" means little egg, and that the seed of the
plant is the egg of the plant, which hatches--sprouts--into the plant we
see.
It is better not to break the tender little pod to show the ovules, even
if there are plenty of flowers. Look at the pod against the light and
see the ovules dimly outlined. Each ovule is attached to the pod by a
little stem which can also be seen with the light shining through the
pod. The stem the child can look for when the peas are being shelled for
dinner, or when lima beans are being shelled. If the pea or bean pod is
opened carefully, the whole row of seeds will be seen attached to the
pod, each by its exceedingly short stem.
The ovary is a part of the plant in which grow the ovules. The perfect
and clear understanding of just what the ovary is will be very helpful
later, and the word "ovary" will be found extremely useful.
The interest should not be concentrated on the ovary to the exclusion of
other flower parts. The bright petals should have their share of
attention. They form a nest, or home, or covering, to enfold or wrap
about the delicate seed-pod. The thought that they are fragrant and
beautiful because of the young life they cherish, and that they never
appear excepting where there are young seeds to be cared for, and that
every flower has the little pod or seed-cradle at its centre, can be
made to cast a lovely glow over this side of the flower-life, which
will later reflect more or less strongly upon all life.
When the child discovers that the ovules are attached to the ovary by
little stems, this very important question can be answered,--How are the
ovules nourished? They must have food, or they cannot develop into
seeds.
The sap, which is the food of the plant, runs through the little stems
that hold the ovules to the ovary, and thus, entering the ovules,
nourishes them. The ovule has no embryo. It is a very simple little
seedlet indeed. But after a while its little embryo begins to form and
its seed-leaves to develop. When the ovule has developed in this way we
call it a seed. It remains attached to the ovary, receiving nourishment
from the sap until it is quite ripe. As the seed forms in its little
pod, its thick sturdy seed-leaves become larger and fuller. The sap
constantly stores up in them plenty of good food. Thus the parent plant
provides for the seed, so that when it goes out into the world alone it
may not perish until it has learned to care for itself. The food in the
seed-leaves is the bank account which starts the young plant in life.
When the seed is fully formed, its seed-leaves full of food, its embryo
perfect, then we say it is ripe. It no longer needs to draw nourishment
from the sap of the parent-plant. It is able to start in the world on
its own account. When the seed ripens, its little stem withers away, so
that the seed lies loose in the pod. In the case of the bean-pod, when
the seed becomes free the pod opens, and the seed or bean, as we call
it, falls out.
If we look at a ripe bean or pea or any seed we shall find upon one edge
of it the scar where the little stem was attached. The scar is the
umbilicus or "navel" of the seed. The seed does not become free from its
attachment to the pod until it is able to live alone. As long as it
continues to grow it remains attached and receives the sap. As soon as
it has its growth and no longer needs the sap it separates from the pod.
This separation is easy and natural. There is no tearing apart, no
mutilation. It is exactly like the falling of the leaves in the Autumn.
It is, in short, the birth of the seed or infant plant.
Some mothers talk of the mother-plant and the seed-babies from the
beginning. They show how the little seeds are fed and protected, how
they are literally a part of the mother-plant. Other mothers prefer to
tell only the botanical story, leaving all application to animal life
for later consideration. In either case the essential points are a clear
understanding of the growth of the ovule in the ovary, the manner in
which it is nourished and protected, and its final separation from the
ovary to enter into the outer world as an individual provided with
everything necessary to its needs.
Some mothers use the words "sprout" and "hatch" interchangeably,
speaking sometimes of the hatching of the seeds, in order to make more
vivid the realization of the similarity of processes in the plant and
the bird. They also speak of the birth of the seed. Clearly to
understand the relation of the seed to the mother-plant is to understand
accurately and scientifically the relation of every living creature to
its mother.
The child who enjoys planting the bean one season will want to plant it
the next, for there is nothing children more delight in than planting
things and watching them grow. This interest can be encouraged in any
home, for where there is no available yard a few flower-pots of earth,
or a box of it, will afford opportunity for a good deal of pleasure and
instruction. The child can be encouraged to collect seeds that are
formed like the bean, and plant them too. He will quickly discover that
a peanut is made essentially like a bean, and he will be interested to
plant some raw peanuts. The pea, too, he will soon add to his list. As
the season advances he will discover the cucumber, melon, and squash
seeds, and, with a little help, the apple, pear, and quince seeds, as
well as those of the cherry, plum, and peach. The latter have very hard
outer coats, but are formed in all essentials like the bean. Indeed he
can have a very long list by the end of Summer. But he cannot make these
green seeds grow. That is, many of them will not sprout until they have
lain a certain length of time. So even where they are ripe and fall
from their pods, he had better keep them until toward Spring before
planting, even in the house.
[Illustration: MORNING-GLORY SEED, SHOWING SEED-LEAVES AND EMBRYO]
If he takes pleasure in examining his seeds, he will find in each one
the tiny embryo tucked in between the seed-leaves; in the apple seed the
young apple-tree, in the pumpkin seed the young pumpkin vine. Even the
vegetables being prepared for his dinner can be interesting to him. As
the peas are shelled he can see the pretty green seeds attached to the
side of the pod. He can find the embryo even in the unripe seed, but he
knows there would be no use in planting these green peas, for they are
not yet fit to live apart from the mother-plant. If they were torn away
and planted in the ground they would perish.
Not all seeds have the food for the embryo stored up in the seed-leaves.
If a morning-glory seed be soaked, it will swell up and soften, and the
hard outer skin will burst. Inside will be found a tiny embryo with two
thin, papery seed-leaves that contain no nourishment to speak of. But
packed about the embryo is a rich food-substance which, though hard in
the dry seed, becomes soft and gelatinous upon soaking, looking indeed
not unlike the white of the egg, and having the same use; for it forms
the first food of the embryo, which absorbs it. The embryo thus begins
its growth, which continues until the roots and first leaves are
sufficiently developed to supply nourishment.
[Illustration: FOUR O'CLOCK SEED, SHOWING SEED-LEAVES AND EMBRYO]
After the child has studied his beans, let him then study the
morning-glory and four-o'clock seeds, which store the food separately
from the embryo instead of in its seed-leaves. In every seed there is
food enough stored up to give the embryo its first start in life.
During the Summer the child can be helped to pass many pleasant hours
looking at seed-pods and finding as many kinds as possible. He can
discover how the ovaries are placed in the flower and wrapped about by
the bright petals, being covered while yet in the bud by the green
calyx. He can look at the different forms of ovaries and discover how
some, like the bean, have only one compartment or cell, while others,
like the apple-core, have five, and yet others, like the poppy pod, have
many. If he is interested, he can quickly and unconsciously learn many
of the more common botanical terms used in describing plants, so that
when he comes to study technical botany he will find it shorn of most of
its terrors.
[Illustration: DIFFERENT KINDS OF OVARIES--BEAN, APPLE-CORE, POPPY POD]
Certain botanical terms are valuable both now and later; used simply,
just as we talk of table, chair, bed-post, garden-walk, etc., they are,
as has been said, learned unconsciously.
[Illustration: FLOWER--OVARY, STYLE, STIGMA, STAMENS, ANTHERS, PETALS,
SEPALS]
In teaching the later facts of the reproductive life, it is a great help
for the child to know the names and uses of certain parts of the flower;
in many flowers, as for instance the lily, the parts can be seen without
pulling the flower to pieces. In the centre is the ovary, as the child
already knows. Let him notice the long stalk on top of it and learn to
call this the style. On top of the style is a knob--the stigma. Ovary,
style, and stigma together make the pistil. Surrounding the pistil are
six stamens, each having a slender stem or filament and terminating in a
little box; this box is called the anther and is filled with
flower-dust or pollen. Around these is a circle of bright petals. In
many flowers, outside the petals is a circle of green sepals, which in
some plants fall off or turn down when the bud opens.
THE FLOWER
_Sepals_--usually green and affording protection to the bud.
_Petals_--usually large and bright.
_Stamens_--{ filament (stem of anther)
{ anther (containing pollen)
{ ovary (seed-pod)
_Pistil_--{ style (stem of stigma not always present)
{ stigma (knob at top of style or ovary)
[Illustration: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG BEAN-POD FROM THE FLOWER]
The care of the mother for her offspring, that impulse of nature found
everywhere in nature's children, is beautifully illustrated in the
flowers. When first the petals fall, leaving the tiny green pod, it
stands up on its stalk, but in a few days it will be found hanging down.
Why should this be? For one thing, as the pod turns down it gets out of
the way of the other buds that one by one are preparing to blossom, for
beans generally grow in clusters, one blossoming after another. Thus all
the flowers have plenty of room and air and sunshine, and a lesson in
unselfishness and thoughtfulness for others may be learned. Moreover,
the hanging pod is better protected against accidents than the upright
one. It is less noticeable and less likely to be knocked or broken off.
The mother-plant takes every precaution possible for the welfare of the
seed-children, even sending them far from home for their benefit.
[Illustration: THE SHEDDING OF YOUNG SWEET-PEAS FROM THE POD]
Every one has noticed how the sweet-pea pods are curled up when the
seeds are shed. This curling takes place just at the moment when the pod
opens to allow the seeds to escape. This sudden twisting of the pod
flings the seeds sometimes long distances. If the seed were to fall
close to the mother-plant it would find the soil impoverished in
certain ways, the mother-plant having absorbed the food materials from
it. If the seed can be hurled out of reach of the absorbing roots of the
mother-plant, it may have a better chance; even if it should fall where
other things are growing, it may find the peculiar food it wants
sufficiently abundant, for not all plants absorb just the same things
from the soil.
[Illustration: THE SHEDDING OF VARIOUS KINDS OF SEEDS]
Looking at the dried bean and pea-pods in the fall of the year, we shall
find nearly all of them twisted. And looking over the other plants of
the fields and hedges, we see how much trouble has been taken to enable
the seeds to go out in the world and find new growing-places. Some seeds
are snapped out, as the touch-me-nots and witch-hazels; some are
supplied with flat wing-like surfaces to be borne by the wind, as the
maple-keys and elm seeds; some have bristles or down upon which to float
in the air, as the lilies, dandelions, and lettuces; some have hooks by
which to attach themselves to the coats of passing animals; and others
have yet other devices for getting to pastures new. The whole subject of
how seeds travel about the world is very interesting, and collecting
these wanderers and watching their habits will afford a rich summer's
entertainment.
Thus the child learns a thousand interesting things about the plant
life,--among them, but not in any way prominent, the phenomena which are
connected with the reproduction of the plant. This work can all be done
before the child is eight years old, and in many cases it can be done
much earlier, at least so far as inculcating the most essential truths
is concerned. Many details will slip away in time, but if the work is
thoroughly done the great primal truths of living things will stay, and
as the child's life unfolds, they will illuminate it in certain
directions.
According to the age and opportunities of the child his information
about the plant can be enlarged. The plant's method of breathing can be
explained to one who knows something about the composition of the air,
and of the use which the human body makes of the oxygen. The child who
can understand it will be greatly interested to know that the plant uses
the oxygen of the air, and returns carbon dioxide to it as a waste,
essentially as his own body does. He should also know that the plant
breathes very little in comparison to the animal, consequently it does
not greatly affect the air, taking out but little oxygen and returning
to it but little carbon dioxide.
The plant's method of taking nourishment from air and soil is also very
interesting. It is only the green parts of the plant that can take food
from the air. The plant can become and remain green only under the
influence of sunlight. So finally the plant owes its life to the power
of the sun, just as in one way or another we all do. Plants in a dark
place soon lose their green color, grow pale and sickly, and finally
die. All green leaves and the young green twigs are able to take food
from the air. The food they thus take is carbon dioxide, the very thing
both plants and animals breathe out as a waste, and whose presence in
large quantities makes air unfit to breathe. But the plant must have the
carbon dioxide and can get it only from the air, so it is constantly
withdrawing this harmful substance from the air and converting it into
plant tissue. It consumes only part of the carbon dioxide, however, for
the oxygen that is tied up in the carbon dioxide is set free and given
back to the air, only the carbon being retained. So the plant is
continually taking in the destructive carbon dioxide and giving out the
wholesome oxygen, thus keeping the air pure and fit for us to breathe.
In short, the plant eats with its roots and with its leaves. With its
roots it eats certain things it finds in the earth, and with its leaves
and other green parts it eats the suffocating gas we breathe into the
air.
This important function of the plant, in supplying the oxygen we need
and in destroying the harmful carbon dioxide, can be illustrated in many
graphic ways. We depend upon the plants for our very existence in this
respect: they stand between us and destruction from excessive
accumulations of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the carbon dioxide
is so important to the plant that it could not exist without it. All the
carbon it gets is obtained from this source. Wood is largely carbon; a
charred stick which retains its full size and shape is almost pure
carbon. Thus the breath of our bodies is converted by the plant into the
wood from which we construct our houses, furniture, etc. In a certain
sense the chair we sit upon is made of the breath of our bodies. Besides
these debts to the plant, we finally owe to it the food we consume,
which comes from the plant, even meat being but vegetable matter one
step removed. The plant changes the chemicals which the animal cannot
use in their crude form, into plant substances which animals can use.
Thus the vegetable and animal kingdoms are mutually dependent upon each
other. Neither could exist, at least in its present condition, without
the other.
Not only will such facts as these be interesting to most children, they
will deepen the dawning consciousness of the fundamental unity of all
forms of life, which it should be the province of nature-study to
develop.