Examine the wings carefully with a magnifying glass, as the tiny scarlet and yellow feathers are easily rubbed off and spoilt, especially if the creature flutter about.
Personally I don’t use a net; I catch them by drawing their portraits in my sketch-book. It saves a lot of trouble to them and to me.
Trees.—Then Scouts should know all about the different trees in their country and know their names by their appearance in summer and also in winter; and what they are good for, and what their leaves are like and their flower or their fruit as the case may be. It helps you very much in camp to know what kind of wood burns well, such as pine wood or sugar bush or gum tree. Also which kinds of wood are best for carving, for making walking sticks, for painting on.
The common trees which a Scout should know by sight are:
- Oak
- Elm
- Plane
- Cedar
- Fir
- Poplar
- Pine
- Sycamore
- Larch
- Willow
- Holly
- Horse Chestnut
- Ash
- Lime
- Beech
- Birch
- Spanish Chestnut
- Walnut
Flowers.—Flowers, of course, interest girls as much as any kind of plant, because they are easily cultivated, and every Scout ought to know the names of most of the common flowers and to understand how they live and how they ought to be treated; when to plant them and when to expect them coming up; and how they produce their seed and how they send it about and re-plant themselves in different parts near them.
For instance, if you have a magnifying glass you can examine a dandelion seed with it. Few things are more beautiful. It is much the same as a thistle seed, tucked away cleverly till it is ripe, and it all opens into a delicate feathery kind of parachute each carrying a seed. This blows about with the wind many miles before it actually falls to the ground and there sows itself.
Poplar.