le
green cocoon with golden dots, hanging by a thread-like attachment.
Early in the season the larvae may be found feeding on the leaves.

This plant is troublesome in some fields and gardens and so is classed
as a weed. When the stems come up in the spring, they are soft and
tender and are sometimes used as pot herbs.

CORRELATIONS

Draw a leaf, a flower, a pair of pods, and a seed with its tuft.

Write an account of a visit to the woods to study wild flowers.

TREES

A study of the pines of the locality may be commenced in November, after
the deciduous trees have lost their leaves and have entered their
quiescent winter period. This is the time when the evergreens stand out
prominently on the landscape, in sharp contrast with the other trees
that have been stripped of their broad leaves and now look bare and
lifeless. If no pines are to be found in the vicinity, cedar or hemlock
may be substituted. The lessons should, as far as possible, be
observational. The pupils should be encouraged to make observations for
themselves out of school. At least one lesson should be conducted
out-of-doors, a suitable pine tree having been selected beforehand for
the purpose. The following method will serve as a guide in the outdoor
study of any species of tree:

THE WHITE PINE

Have the pupils observe the shape and height of the tree from a distance
and trace the outline with the finger. Compare the shape of this tree
with others near by of the same species and then with members of other
species. Have the pupils describe in what particulars the shapes differ
in different trees. They will come to realize that the difference in
shape results from differences in length, direction, and arrangement of
branches. They may notice that other evergreens resemble the pine in
that the stems are all straight and extend as a gradually tapering shaft
from the bottom to the top, that all have a more or less conical shape,
and that the branches grow straight out from the main stem and not
slanting off as in the case of the maples and elms.

Coming close to the tree, the pupils may first examine the trunk. By
using a string or tape-line, they may find out how big it is around and
the length of the diameter. Tell them how big some evergreens are (the
giant trees of the Pacific Coast are sometimes over forty feet around).
Have them notice where the trunk is largest, and let them find out why a
tree needs to be so strong at the ground. Heavy