seed case open?

What are the seeds for?

How many seeds are in each case?

Why should a plant have so many seeds?

How are the seed cases fitted for protecting the seeds?

Are any two seeds alike in shape?

Are the seeds easy to find if they are spilled upon the ground?

What makes them hard to find?

Where do nearly all seeds spend the winter?

Of what use is the hard shell of the seed?

SEED DISPERSAL

Study only a few of the more striking examples of seed dispersal with
the Form I class. Seeds that fly and seeds that steal rides are good
examples of classes of seeds whose methods of dispersal will prove of
interest to children.

LESSON ON SEEDS THAT FLY

~Materials.~--A milkweed pod; a ripe dandelion head.

~Introduction.~--A short conversation about the effects of the crowding of
plants, as carrots and turnips, in a garden plot, and hence the need for
the scattering of seeds.

~Observations.~--Open a milkweed pod in the presence of the class, so that
they may see how the pod opens, how beautifully the seeds are arranged,
and how the silk tufts are so closely packed in together.

Allow a pupil to lift a seed out, blow it in the air, and observe how
the silk opens out like an umbrella. Distribute seeds, one to each
pupil. Ask the pupils to find out why this little airship is able to
carry the seed. They will find that the seeds though broad, are thin and
light, and the silky plumes very light.

Ask the pupils to release their milkweed seeds at recess, when out of
school, and find out how far they can fly. This is an interesting
experiment for a windy day.

The white balls of the dandelion are next examined, the tiny seeds are
found standing on tiptoe on a raised platform, each grasping a tiny
parachute and waiting for a puff of wind to start them off. A pupil is
permitted to give the puff. Seeds are distributed, and the means of
flight is compared with that of the milkweed. The shape of the seeds is
observed and also the tiny anchor points at the lower end of the seed
for clutching the ground when the seed alights.

Another lesson on seeds that fly can be based on the study of tree
seeds, using those of the maple, elm, basswood, pine, and spruce.

CORRELATIONS

1. Drawing of milkweed pods and seeds, and drawing of the dandelion
seed-ball and the seeds when floating in the air.

2. Reading and literature. Interpret the thought and read expressively:

Dainty milkweed babies, wrapped i