lamp, may
be obtained for one dollar by sending to the Educational Supply Co., No. 6
Hamilton Place, Boston.]

Two small wide-mouthed bottles. A narrow-necked bottle. A glass funnel. A
bit of bent glass-tubing. A bit of straight glass-tubing. A flat piece of
glass. A test-tube, with jet. An alcohol lamp. A bent wire with taper.
A card. A slip of a plant. A dish and pitcher of water. Beeswax or
paraffine. Shavings. Lime water. Matches.

_Gray's First Lessons. Revised edition_. Sect. XVI, 445-7, 437.

_How Plants Grow_. Chap. III, 279-288.

II.

SEEDLINGS.

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 deg. to 70 deg. 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
pie