1. _Directions for raising in the Schoolroom_.--The seeds should be
planted in boxes tilled with clean sand. Plates or shallow crockery pans
are also used, but the sand is apt to become caked, and the pupils are
likely to keep the seeds too wet if they are planted in vessels that
will not drain. The boxes should be covered with panes of glass till the
seedlings are well started, and should be kept at a temperature of from
65° to 70° Fahr. It is very important to keep them covered while the seeds
are germinating, otherwise the sand will be certain to become too dry if
kept in a sufficiently warm place. Light is not necessary, and in winter
time the neighborhood of the furnace is often a very convenient place
to keep them safe from frost. They should not be in the sun while
germinating. When the first sprouts appear above the ground let another
set be planted, and so on, till a series is obtained ranging from plants
several inches high to those just starting from the seed. The seeds
themselves should be soaked for a day and the series is then ready
for study. The time required for their growth varies according to the
temperature, moisture, etc. Dr. Goodale says they should be ready in ten
days.[1]
[Footnote 1: Concerning a few Common Plants, by G.L. Goodale, Boston, D.C.
Heath & Co. This little book, which is published, in pamphlet form, for
fifteen cents, will be found exceedingly useful.]
I have never been able to raise them so quickly in the schoolroom, nor
have the pupils to whom I have given them to plant done so at home.
Generally, it is three weeks, at least, before the first specimens are as
large as is desirable.
Germinating seeds need warmth, moisture and air. The necessary conditions
are supplied in the very best way by growing them on sponge, but it would
be difficult to raise enough for a large class in this manner. Place a
piece of moist sponge in a jelly-glass, or any glass that is larger at the
top, so that the sponge may not sink to the bottom, and pour some water
into the glass, but not so much as to touch the sponge. The whole should
be covered with a larger inverted glass, which must not be so close as
to prevent a circulation of air. The plants can thus be watched at every
stage and some should always be grown in this way. The water in the
tumbler will keep the sponge damp, and the roots, after emerging from
the sponge, will grow well in the moist air. Seeds can also be grown on
blotting paper. Put the seeds on several thicknesses of moist blotting
paper on a plate, cover them with more moist paper, and invert another
plate over them, taking care to allow the free entrance of air.
If possible, it is by far the best way to have the seeds growing in the
schoolroom, and make it a regular custom for the pupils to observe them
every morning and take notes of their growth.
These lessons on seeds are suitable for pupils of every age, from adults
to the youngest children who go to school. The difference should be only
in the mode of treatment; but the same principles should be brought out,
whatever the age and power of comprehension of the pupil.
For these lessons the following seeds should be planted, according to the
above directions:
Morning-Glory, Sunflower or Squash, Bean, Pea, Red Clover, Flax, Corn,
Wheat, and Oats.[1] If they can be procured plant also acorns, Pine-seeds,
Maple-seeds, and horsechestnuts.
[Footnote 1: A package of these seeds may be obtained for fifty cents,
from Joseph Breck & Son, Boston, Mass. They will be sent by mail, postage
paid.]
2. _Study of Morning-Glory, Sunflower, Bean, and Pea_.--For reasons
hereafter given, I consider the Morning-Glory the best seedling to begin
upon. Having a series, as above described, before them, the pupils should
draw the seedlings. When the drawings are made, let them letter alike the
corresponding parts, beginning with the plantlet in the seed, and using
new letters when a new part is developed. The seed coats need not be
lettered, as they do not belong to the plantlet.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Germination of Morning Glory, _a_, caulicle; _b_,
cotyledons; _c_, plumule; _d_, roots.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Germination of Sunflower.]
After drawing the Morning-Glory series, let them draw the Sunflower or
Squash in the same way, then the Bean, and finally the Pea. Let them write
answers to the following questions: