two or three of the seeds, and see how they are provided for traveling. What scatters them? Will the cat-tail seed balloons float? Would the wind or the water be more likely to carry the cat-tail seeds to a place where they would grow? Describe the difference between the cat-tail balloon and the thistle balloon. 8. How crowded do the cat-tail plants grow? How are they arranged. to keep from shading each other? In how many ways is the wind a friend of the cat-tails? 9. How do the cat-tails help to build up land and make narrower ponds and streams? A TYPE LESSON FOR A COMPOSITE FLOWER Leading thought-Many plants have their flowers set close together to make a mass of color, like the geraniums or the clovers. But there are other plants where the flowers of one flower-head act like the members of a family, those at the center doing a certain kind of work for the production of seed, and those around the edges doing another kind of work. The sunflower, goldenrod, asters, daisies, cone-flower, thistle, dandelion, burdock, everlasting, and many other common flowers have their blossoms arranged in this way. Before any of the wild-flower members of this family are studied, the lesson on the garden sunflower should be given. (See Lesson CLXII). Method-These flowers may be studied in the schoolroom with suggestions for field observations. A lens is almost necessary for the study of most of these flowers. Observations-1. Can you see that what you call the flower consists of many flowers set together like a beautiful mosaic? Those at the center are called disk-flowers; those around the edges banner or ray-flowers. 2. Note that the flowers around the edges have differently shaped corollas than those at the center. How do they differ? Why should these be called the banner flowers? Why should they be called the ray flowers? How many banner-flowers are there in the flower family you are studying? How are the banners arranged to make the flower-head more attractive? Cut off or pull out all the banner-flowers and see how the flower-head looks. What do the banner-flowers hold out their ban ners for? Is it to attract us or the insects? Has the banner-flower any stigma or stamens? 3. Study the flowers at the center. Are they open, or are they unfolded, buds? Can you make a sketch of how they are arranged? Are any of the florets open? What is the shape and the color of the corolla? Can you see the stamen-tubes pushing out from some? What color are the stamen-tubes? Can you see the two-parted stigmas in others? What color is the pollen. Do the florets at the center or at the outside of the disk open first? When they first open, do you see the stamen-tube or the stigma? 4. The flower-heads are protected before they open with overlapping bracts, which may be compared to a shingled house protecting the flower family. As the flower-head opens, these bracts are pushed back beneath it. Describe the shape of these bracts. Are they set in regular, overlapping rows? Are they rough or smooth? Do they end bluntly, with a short point, with a long point, with a spine, or a hook? How do the bracts act when the flower family goes to sleep? Do they remain after the seeds are ripened? 5. Take a flower-head apart, and examine the florets. Can you see what part of the floret will be the seed? Is there a fringe of pappus above it? If so, what will this be on the seed? 6. Study the ripe seeds. How are they scattered? Do they have balloons? Is the balloon close to the seed? Is it fastened to all parts of it? Goldenrcd. THE GOLDENROD Teacher's Story Once I was called upon to take some children into the field to study autumn flowers. The day we studied goldenrod, I told them the following story on the way, and I found that they were pleased with the fancy and through it were led to see the true purpose of the goldenrod blossoming: "There are flowers which live in villages and cities, but people who also live in villages and cities are so stupid that they hardly know a flower city when they see it. This morning we are going to visit a golden city where the people are all dressed in yellow, and where they live together in families; and the families all live on top of their little, green, shingled houses, which are set in even rows along the street. In each of these families, there are some flowers whose business it is to furnish nectar and pollen and to produce seeds which have fuzzy balloons; while there are other flowers in each family which wave yellow banners to all the insects that pass by and signal them with a code of their own, thus: 'Here, right this way is a flower family that needs a bee or a beetle or an insect of some sort to bring it pollen from abroad, so that it can ripen its seed; and it will give nectar and plenty of pollen in exchange.' Of course, if the flowers could walk around like people, or fly like insects, they could fetch and carry their own pollen, but as it is, they have to depend upon insect messengers to do this for them. Let us see who of us will be the first to guess what the name of this golden city is, and who will be the first to find it." A street in goldenrod city. The children were delighted with this riddle and soon found the goldenrod city. We examined each little house with its ornate, green "shingles." These little houses, looking like cups, were arranged on the street stem, right side up, in an orderly manner and very close together; and where each joined the stem, there was a little, green bract for a doorstep. Living on these houses we found the flower families, each consisting of a few tubular disk-flowers opening out like bells, and coming from their centers were the long pollen-tubes or the yellow, two-parted stigmas. The ray-flowers had short but brilliant banners; and they, as well as the disk-flowers, had young seeds with pretty fringed pappus developing upon them. The banner-flowers were not set so regularly around the edges as in the asters; but the families were such close neighbors, that the banners reached from one house to another. And all of the families on all of the little, green streets were signalling insects, and one boy said, "They must be making a very loud yellow noise." We found that very many insects had responded to this call-honeybees, bumblebees, mining and carpenter bees, blue-black blister beetles with short wings and awkward bodies, beautiful golden-green chalcid flies, soldier beetles and many others; and we found the spherical gall and the spindle-shaped gall in the stems, and the strange gall up near the top which grew among the leaves. Unless one is a trained botanist it is wasted energy to try to distinguish any but the well-marked species of goldenrod; for, according to Gray, we have 56 species, the account of which makes twelve pages of most uninteresting reading in the new Manual. The goldenrod family is not in the least cliquish, the species have a habit of interbreeding to the confusion of the systematic botanist. Matthew's Field Book serves as well as any for distinguishing the well-marked species. LESSON CXXXVI THE GOLDENROD Leading thought-In the goldenrod the flower-heads or families are so small that, in order to attract the attention of the insects, they are set closely together along the stem to produce a mass of color. Method-Bring to the school-room any kind of goldenrod, and give the lesson on the flowers there. This should be followed by a field excursion to get as many kinds of goldenrod as possible. The following observations will bring out differences in well-marked species: Observations-1. Use Lesson CXXXV to study the flower. How many banner-flowers in the family? How many disk-flowers? Are the banners arranged as regularly around the edges as in the asters and daisies? How are the flower-heads set upon the stems? Which flower-heads open first-those at the base or at the tip of the stem? Do the upper stems of the plant blossom before those lower down? Do the stems bearing flowers come from the axils of the leaves? What is the general shape of the flower branches? Do they come off evenly at Disk-flower and ban- each side, or more at one side? Are the flower ner-flower of goldenrod. branches long or short? Make a sketch of the general shape of the goldenrod you are studying. 2. 3. Is the stem smooth, downy, or covered with bloom? What is its color? In cross-section, is it circular or angular? 4. What is the shape and form of the edges of the lower leaves? The upper ones? Are they set with, or without, petioles on the stem? Do they have a heart-shaped base? Are the leaves smooth or downy? Are they light, or dark green? 5. Field notes. Where do you find the goldenrod growing? Do you find one kind growing alone or several kinds growing together? Do you find any growing in the woods? If so, how do they differ in shape from those in the field? 6. How many kinds of insects do you find visiting goldenrod flowers? How many kinds of galls do you find on the goldenrod stems and leaves? 7. Study the goldenrods in November. Describe their seeds and how they are scattered. "I am alone with nature, With the soft September day; The lifting hills above me, Flit butterflies at play; And cones of garnet sumac Glow down the country way. "The autumn dandelion Beside the roadway burns; Above the lichened boulders Quiver the plumèd ferns. The cream-white silk of the milkweed From out the mossy rock-seams -MARY CLEMMER AMES. THE ASTERS ET us believe that the scientist who gave to the asters their Latin name was inspired. Aster means star and these, of all flowers, are most starlike; and in beautiful constellations they border our fields and woodsides. The aster combination of colors is often exquisite. Many have the rays or banners lavender, oar-shaped and set like the rays of a star around the yellow disk-flowers; these latter send out long, yellow anther tubes, overflowing with yellow pollen, and add to the stellar appearance of the flowerhead. "And asters by the brookside make asters in the brook." Thus sang H. H. of these beautiful masses of autumn flowers. But if H. H. had attempted to distinguish the species, she would have said rather that asters by the brookside make more asters in the book; for Gray's Manual assures us that we have 77 species including widely different forms, varying in size, color and also as to the environment in which they will grow. They range from the shiftless woodland species, which has a few whitish ray-flowers hanging shabbily about its yellow disk and with great, coarse leaves on long, gawky petioles climbing the zigzag stem, to the beautiful and dignified New England aster, which brings the glorious purple and orange of its great flower-heads to decorate our hills in September and October. Luckily, there are a few sp cies which are fairly well marked, and still more luckily, it is not of any consequence whether we know the species or not, so far as our enjoyment of the flowers themselves is concerned. The outline of this lesson will call the attention of the pupils to the chief points of difference and likeness in the aster species, and they will thus learn to discriminate in a general way. The asters, like the goldenrods, begin to bloom at the tip of the branches, the flower-heads nearest the central stem, blooming last. All of the asters are very sensitive, and the flowerheads will close promptly as soon as they are gathered. The ray or banner-flowers are pistillate, and therefore develop seed. The seed has I, an aster flower-head enlarged; 2, a disk-flower; 3, a banner-flower |