In this way they will come to realize that
every good seed has in it a tiny plant asleep and that warmth and
moisture are needed to awaken it and help it to grow. It sends one
delicate shoot down into the soil and another up into the light. Another
interesting way to plant seeds is in egg-shells filled with fine, moist
soil, which are set in rows in a box of sand. One seed only should be
put in a shell. The plants may be grown to quite a size and then set out
in the garden plot, the shell having first been broken off and the ball
of earth containing the roots carefully set down in a small hole, packed
about with garden soil, and watered. The pupils should draw diagrams or
maps of their plots and afterwards of the whole garden. (See Manual on
_Geography_.) They can mark the lines of plants, and those who can write
can give in short, simple sentences the main things noticed from day to
day. They should give the day and date when the seeds were planted, when
plants came up, when rain storms occurred, when work in weeding,
thinning, and cultivating was done, when the plants were fit to use, and
how they were disposed of, etc. This will serve as profitable seat work
in writing, drawing, and language. Simple problems based upon dimensions
of plots and the value of vegetables, etc., afford excellent
supplementary exercises in arithmetic.

WILD FLOWERS

The admiration that even little children have for the wild flowers of
the woods and their delight in finding and gathering them is sufficient
justification for including them in studies for Form I. The teacher must
be careful, however, lest he go too far in the critical examination of
the parts of the flowers, forgetting that little children are not
interested in stamens and petals, but in the fresh, fragrant, and
delicate blossoms that beautify the little banks and hollows of every
woodland and that brighten up the fields and roadsides in spring time.
The teacher should aim to deepen that childish admiration and give to
the child a more intelligent appreciation of the beauties of the wild
flowers and a desire to protect them from extermination.

No attempt should be made to prohibit the picking of wild flowers, but
the pupils should be instructed not to pull up plants by the roots. The
picking of flowers in moderation does not injure the plants, but rather
tends to increase their vigour. Pupils should pick flowers with some
purpose in view, rather than to see how big a bun