Plants and their children
MRS. WILLIAM STARR DANA AUTHOR OF “HOW TO KNOW THE WILD FLOWERS”
ILLUSTRATED BY
ALICE JOSEPHINE SMITH
NEW YORK
CINCINNATI
CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
Copyright, 1896, by AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY.
DANA’S PLANTS. W. P. 2
A child’s reading book, it seems to me, should secure for the child three things,—practice in the art of reading, amusement, and instruction. Whether my little book is fitted to attain this threefold object, others must decide; but in laying it before the public, let me urge careful attention to a few suggestions.
1. As the book is arranged so as to begin with the opening of the school year and to follow it to its close, the interest of pupils will be increased by reading the different chapters during the seasons to which they refer.
2. The teacher should exercise judgment as to the omission of any chapter or group of chapters which may seem beyond the comprehension of the class. With a little care, such an omission may nearly always be made without injury to the usefulness of the rest of the book.
Frances Theodora Parsons
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PREFACE
CONTENTS
Part I—Fruits and Seeds
IN THE ORCHARD
THE STORY OF THE BEE
THE APPLE’S TREASURES
WHAT A PLANT LIVES FOR
THE WORLD WITHOUT PLANTS
HOW THE APPLE SHIELDS ITS YOUNG
SOME COUSINS OF THE APPLE
UNEATABLE FRUITS
MORE COUSINS OF THE APPLE
STILL MORE COUSINS
IN THE WOODS
WHY SEEDS TRAVEL
SOME LITTLE TRAMPS
SEED SAILBOATS
WINGED SEEDS
SHOOTING SEEDS
THE CHESTNUT AND OTHER SEEDS
SOME STRANGE STORIES
Part II—Young Plants
HOW THE BABY PLANT LIVES
A SCHOOLROOM GARDEN
SEEDS AS FOOD
AN IMPATIENT PLANT BABY
A HUMPBACKED PLANT BABY
Part III—Roots and Stems
ROOT HAIRS
ROOTS AND UNDERGROUND STEMS
ABOVE-GROUND ROOTS
WHAT FEW CHILDREN KNOW
PLANTS THAT CANNOT STAND ALONE
SOME HABITS OF STEMS
STEMS AND SEED LEAVES
“WELL DONE, LITTLE STEM”
Part IV—Buds
BUDS IN WINTER
A HAPPY SURPRISE
SOME ASTONISHING BUDS
Part V—Leaves
HOW TO LOOK AT A LEAF
THE MOST WONDERFUL THING IN THE WORLD
HOW A PLANT IS BUILT
HOW A PLANT’S FOOD IS COOKED
A STEEP CLIMB
HOW A PLANT PERSPIRES
HOW A PLANT STORES ITS FOOD
LEAF GREEN AND SUNBEAM
PLANT OR ANIMAL?
HOW WE ARE HELPED BY LEAF GREEN AND SUNBEAM
HOW A PLANT BREATHES
THE DILIGENT TREE
LEAVES AND ROOTS
LEAF VEINS
LEAF SHAPES
HAIRY LEAVES
WOOLLY AND “DUSTY” LEAVES
PRICKLES AND POISON
SOME CRUEL TRAPS
MORE CRUEL TRAPS
THE FALL OF THE LEAF
Part VI—Flowers
THE BUILDING PLAN OF THE CHERRY BLOSSOM
LILIES
ABOUT STAMENS
FLOWER DUST, OR POLLEN
ABOUT PISTILS
THE FIRST ARRIVAL
PUSSY WILLOWS
ALDERS AND BIRCHES
THE GREAT TREES
THE UNSEEN VISITOR
PLANT PACKAGES
UNDERGROUND STOREHOUSES
DIFFERENT BUILDING PLANS
A CELEBRATED FAMILY
CLEVER CUSTOMS
FLOWERS THAT TURN NIGHT INTO DAY
HORRID HABITS
THE STORY OF THE STRAWBERRY
A COUSIN OF THE STRAWBERRY
ANOTHER COUSIN
PEA BLOSSOMS AND PEAS
THE CLOVER’S TRICK
MORE TRICKS
AN OLD FRIEND
THE LARGEST PLANT FAMILY IN THE WORLD
ROBIN’S PLANTAIN, GOLDEN-ROD, AND ASTER
THE LAST OF THE FLOWERS
Part VII—Learning to See
A BAD HABIT
A COUNTRY ROAD
A HOLIDAY LESSON
INDEX
