Fig. 68
Fig. 69
Fig. 70
The seeds of the pine tree are hidden away in the pine cone (Fig. [69]) you know so well, and those of the hemlock in the hemlock cone (Fig. [61]). When they are quite ripe, they break away from these cones. In so doing, each one carries with it a little piece of the cone, which acts as a wing to the seed (Fig. [70]).
Nearly all of these seeds you can find for yourselves when you wander about the country. Indeed, if you have eyes that are good for anything, many of them you cannot help seeing. It is all very well to read about these plants and trees, and to look at pictures of their flowers and fruits, and to have your teacher bring into the schoolroom specimens for examination. If this is all the city children can do (although even in the city one can do more than this), why, surely it is far better than nothing.
But best of all is it to go right into the woods and fields where these strange, interesting creatures are living, and to see for yourselves their manners and customs.
