Plants and their children

by Frances Theodora Parsons

HOW TO LOOK AT A LEAF

To-day we begin to learn what we can about the leaves of plants. I hope that enough fresh green leaves have been brought to school to allow every child here to have one on the desk before him, so that he may see, as far as is possible, just what is being talked about.

This picture (Fig. [133]) shows you the leaf of the quince. Now, suppose you held in your hand a leaf fresh from the quince tree, and were asked to describe it to a blind person, how would you tell about it?

Fig. 133

You would begin, I fancy, by saying, “This leaf is green,” for the color of an object is one of the things we notice first.

Next perhaps you would describe its shape. “This quince leaf is rounded, yet it is too long to be called a round leaf.” So you would use the word “oblong.”

Like most leaves, then, it is green; and like some other leaves, it is oblong.

Now look at this picture (Fig. [134]) of the maple leaf. This, you see, is not oblong, but three-pointed.

What other differences do you notice between these two leaves?