+------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note | |Spelling, punctuation and inconsistencies | |in the original book have been retained. | +------------------------------------------+

[Illustration: Book Cover]

 The Renewal of Life

BY MISS MORLEY

 A SONG OF LIFE. 12mo $1. 25

 LIFE AND LOVE. 12mo 1. 25

 THE BEE PEOPLE. 12mo 1. 25

 THE HONEY-MAKERS. 12mo 1. 25

 LITTLE MITCHELL. 12mo 1. 25

 THE RENEWAL OF LIFE. 12mo 1. 25

 _Each fully illustrated_

A. C. McCLURG & CO. CHICAGO

 The Renewal of Life

 _How and When to Tell the Story to the Young_

 By

 Margaret Warner Morley

 Author of "A Song of Life, " "Life and Love, " etc. 

 Illustrated

 [Illustration: Publisher's Logo]

 Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co. 1906

 COPYRIGHT BY A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1906

 Published September 15, 1906 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 

Contents

 CHAPTER PAGE

 I. THE RENEWAL OF LIFE 9

 II. WHO IS TO TELL THE STORY, AND WHEN IS IT TO BE TOLD? 17

 III. HOW TO TELL THE STORY 27

 IV. TELLING THE TRUTH 36

 V. ON NATURE STUDY 40

 VI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEED 52

 VII. THE FERTILIZATION OF THE FLOWER 87

 VIII. WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM THE LIFE OF THE FISH 107

 IX. AMPHIBIOUS LIFE 127

 X. THE BIRD 137

 XI. THE MAMMAL 154

 XII. VIGILANCE 169

 XIII. THE TRANSFORMATION 178

 LIST OF BOOKS HELPFUL IN STUDYING PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE 193

_The Renewal of Life_

_How and When to Tell The Story to the Young_

I

THE RENEWAL OF LIFE

Every human being must sooner or later know the facts concerning theorigin of his life on the earth. One of the most puzzling questions ishow and when such information should be given to the young. 

There is nothing the parent more desires than that his child should havea high ideal in regard to the sex-life and that he should live inaccordance with that ideal, yet nowhere is careful and systematiceducation so lacking as here. 

What parent would allow his child to go untaught in the particularsconcerning truth-telling, honesty, cleanliness, and behavior, trustingthat in some way the child would discover the facts necessary to thepractice of these virtues and live accordingly? And yet with apparentinconsistency one of the prime virtues is neglected; one of the mostvital needs of every human being--the understanding of hissex-nature--is too often left entirely to chance. Not only is the youthuninstructed, but no proper way of learning the truth is within hisreach. It is as though he were set blindfold in the midst of dangerouspitfalls, with the admonition not to fall into any of them. Those whoought to tell the facts will not, consequently the facts must begathered from chance sources which are too often bad, poisoning mind andheart. Even the physiologies, with the exception of those large, and tothe average reader inaccessible, volumes used in medical schools, scarcely ever touch upon the subject. Of course these larger books giveonly the physiological facts couched in scientific terms. How and where, then, can the youth learn what he needs to know?

It is true there is a noble effort being made for young men, and to aless extent for young women, by certain organizations that exist forthe help of the young, to supply this curious defect in our educationalsystem; but these efforts reach but comparatively few members in acommunity, and come too late in the life of the young to give them theirfirst impressions on the subject. Perhaps the most encouraging sign forthe future is the interest that thousands of mothers in all walks oflife are to-day taking in the best methods of training their children toa right understanding and noble conception of sex-life. Innumerablemothers' clubs give the subject a place in the curriculum of the clubwork, at stated times discussing, reading, consulting all availableauthorities which may be of help. Some of these mothers live in poorhomes in neighborhoods where their children are exposed to all sorts ofevil communications and temptations. Others have sheltered homes, fromwhich the children go out among refined associates from whom there maybe little danger of learning that which is evil. Yet others live inmoderate circumstances, where the home influences may be good, butwhere the children are liable to mingle with a heterogeneous society intheir school and perhaps in their social life. 

Moreover, in all these homes there are children of differentnatures, --some with temperaments which make it easy for them to imbibeharmful information, while others as naturally resent such information. 

Nor is the child of rich parents living in a costly home necessarily thechild least likely to make mistakes. The facts quickly refute any suchidea. It is the child most carefully trained at home, with the mostinspiring counsel and the wisest guidance in all directions, who has thebest chance for successful living, the child whose parents not onlysecure the best outside assistance where such is necessary, but whothemselves take a vital and continuous interest in his education. Suchparents, where the help of nurses and teachers is necessary in the home, see to it that these helpers are wholesome, high-minded companions forthe growing minds put under their charge. 

The poorest child is the child of wealthy parents, who is turned over tohirelings, chosen more for their accent of a foreign tongue than fortheir knowledge of child life and of the laws which govern the growingmind and body. Such children not infrequently become as depraved as themost neglected and exposed child of the slums, later poisoning the mindsor shocking the sensibilities of children in the schools they attend. 

One of the difficulties every mother has to encounter is the presence ofundesirable companions in the school. The argument that a child comingfrom a sheltered home will not be influenced by such companions is onlyin part true. He may not be influenced, or, again, he may. Among olderchildren, if the wrongdoer be dazzling in manner, looks, socialposition, or even in power to lavish money, he will acquire a certainascendency over many of his companions, who, if not safeguarded againsthis allurements by a clear knowledge of the facts of life, may fall intohis snares. 

How, then, can all these various situations be dealt with? How, howmuch, when, and where shall the youth be safeguarded against influences, misconceptions, and mistakes which may mar his whole after-life? Theseare the questions which in part this book endeavors to answer. 

The answers come from the writer's experience of many years' work withmothers interested in this subject, especially from the testimony andthe questions of thousands of such mothers in all walks of life whopossessed children of all temperaments. 

The book is not meant to be either exhaustive or arbitrary. It iswritten with the single desire of helping the mother who may be gropingher way in this matter, its aim being twofold, --to indicate methods ofprocedure among which the mother may find one adapted to her specialneeds and circumstances, or at least from which she may get hints whichshe can herself follow in her own way, and to indicate sources ofinformation. 

One trivial difficulty has presented itself in preparing the succeedingchapters, and that is the lack in the English language of a pronounincluding both genders. The English impersonal pronoun, being masculinein form, is liable to create the impression that "he" or "his" exclusiveof "she" or "her" is the subject of discourse. This is not so. Generallythe masculine pronoun is used impersonally in this discussion, and thediscerning reader can easily decide from the context where this is notthe case. 

As a help to the busy mother in selecting books for herself and herchildren, a list is given at the end of the book. This list is by nomeans exhaustive. There are many other and doubtless equally good books. The books given are reliable, are prettily illustrated, are now inprint, and are easily obtainable at any book-store. If they are not instock the book-seller will be glad to send for them. Further, to aid inselecting and ordering, the retail price is added. A small circulatinglibrary of well chosen books adds greatly to the usefulness of amother's club, and such a library can be collected at small cost. 

Where the club is composed of heterogeneous members it is advisable thatthe president, or some member chosen for the purpose, should lead thediscussion, which should be on some one topic selected and made knownbeforehand. This leader should not only guide the discussion, but beready to explain the books and make the subject clear to those tired andoverworked mothers who have had fewer educational advantages but who arein need of such knowledge as will enable them to guide their children. 

A mother unconnected with a club, and unable to afford all the books shewants, can find many of those here recommended in the village or citylibrary; and where this is not the case the library is generally willingto make such purchases as its patrons request. 

II

WHO IS TO TELL THE STORY, AND WHEN IS IT TO BE TOLD?

Every thoughtful guardian of a child is sooner or later confronted withthree questions in connection with this subject, --

Who is to tell the story to the child?

When should it be told?

How should it be told?

_Who shall tell the story?_

The best teachers in this subject are undoubtedly the child's parents. 

Since the mother generally spends more time with him and is moreaccustomed to instruct him in manners and morals it naturally belongs toher to give him his first instruction here, and it is an opportunitywhich no mother understanding its value can afford to miss. 

Nothing draws a child so close to his mother as the knowledge, rightlyconveyed, of how truly he is a part of her. Almost without exception theyoung boy learning the truth from the lips of his mother has a newfeeling of reverence and love for her. Countless are the testimonies ofmothers as to the result of telling this fact. One illustration willanswer as an example of hundreds of similar ones. A certain little boylistened open-eyed to the story; then, the blood mounting to his cheeks, he threw himself into his mother's arms, exclaiming, "Oh, mamma, that iswhy I love you so!"

Moreover, if the right kind of confidence is established between motherand child, the child will come to his mother with his questions anddifficulties instead of trying to satisfy his curiosity elsewhere. 

The question is often asked, Will not close companionship and sympathybetween mother and child in a general way produce the same result, causing the child to confide in the mother in case of needinginformation, without any previous talks on the subject?

Of course the closer the relationship between the two the more easilywill the child confide everything; yet with very many children, if thisone subject is avoided (and particularly is this true as the child growsolder), it will not be introduced by the child, no matter how much hemay desire the knowledge, or how intimate in other ways may be his talkswith his mother. The judicious mother can get a hold upon her sonthrough this subject that nothing else gives; she can keep him closer toher, and oftentimes can guide him safely over difficult places. What istrue of the son is of course true of the daughter. The little girl willrespond as readily as her brother to confidences of this kind, and willfind them as helpful. She very often escapes much that her brother inhis freer life meets, yet undoubtedly in the great majority of cases theinstruction is as vitally necessary to her as to him. 

While the earliest teachings seem to fall most naturally to the mother, the father should also share the responsibility and the privilege, talking with frank confidence upon the subject whenever occasionoffers. 

The question is often asked, Is it not better for the father to talk tothe boys, the mother to the girls?

There no doubt are cases where this might be wise, but the mother, understanding the close relationship between her son and herself thatmay come through such talks, --a relationship continuing and increasingin value as the years go on, --would feel that she could not afford tolose anything so precious to both her boy and herself. 

While the establishment of this relationship might be difficult or evenimpossible later, it is easily begun in childhood and as easilycontinued. Moreover, many boys are specially helped by talking withtheir mother. They often feel in her a quicker sympathy and a moreperfect understanding of their needs; and as their instinctive desire isto understand life from _her_ point of view as well, they often feelsomething in her which is lacking in the father. On the other hand, theboy who is talked to exclusively by the mother, particularly when hebegins to develop into manhood may say, or think, "Oh, you cannotunderstand; you never were a man. " The father's voice here is needed, but if that is impossible there is abundant written testimony and advicefrom well-known men to youth on this subject which can be put into theboy's hands. 

While the child's best teachers of these intimate truths are undoubtedlyhis parents, it may happen for various reasons that this is impossible. The child may have grown to an age where the timid parent, who has nothitherto realized the necessity, cannot approach him. Or there may beother reasons. In such cases the duty may devolve upon some one elsecapable of fulfilling it. Such a one may be, should be, the minister. Itought to be a part of the recognized duty of every minister of acongregation to see that such of his young men as desire it areinstructed in the facts necessary to their well-being in this direction. It is not enough to tell them to live pure lives; they must be helped tounderstand their own organizations and everything pertaining to thisside of life that they need or want to know. There should be similarhelp obtainable by the young women of the congregation from somecompetent woman approved by the minister. Purity is an integral part ofthe religion of the new civilization, and purity and everything helpingto it should be as conscientiously and thoroughly taught in the churchesas are any other religious truths. In the church the young man, theyoung woman, should be able to find corroboration of the sex-truthstaught him by his parents; and those young people not so fortunate as toreceive instruction at home should be able to drink from their religiousteachers deep draughts from this spring of salvation. 

The family physician ought also to be a refuge of help for the young;and here the woman doctor, that blessing of these later days, can do awork of reformation and salvation. No one has more power to sow seeds ofwisdom in the homes of the people, helping the mother to understand anddesire the careful instruction of her children, and where the motherrequests it, being ready to give the needed help to the young peoplethemselves. 

Again, the teacher or some friend may be requested by the parent tocome to the help of the needy child. But whoever gives this information, it is needless to say, should himself be pure in heart, of high moralprinciples, with a firm belief in the value and possibility of purity, and with sufficient knowledge of the subject in all its aspects to be awise instructor, giving not only physiological information where that isdesirable, but working specially for ethical and spiritual elevation. Physiological facts alone may not have the slightest effect upon themanner of living; there should be first and deeply implanted a spiritualdesire for purity, when the knowledge of such facts may be a valuablehelp. 

The question is very often asked, Should this subject be taught inschools?

To a certain extent it is taught. Every botany class teaches itsrudiments; and in the higher grades, where biology is taught, the pupilcomes to a clear understanding of the main facts. School botany, however, merely glimpses at the truth, and biological classes are fewand far between. So, as far as the majority of children are concerned, the schools can hardly be said to touch the subject. Whether it wouldbe well for the schools to deal with it is a very difficult question, somuch depending upon the way the work is done. It might be possible tointroduce it helpfully in connection with a well graded system ofnature-study, but since such does not exist in most schools, and sincethere is very great danger in speaking in public on this subject beforechildren, no matter how well the speaking may be done, it is undoubtedlybetter not to approach it directly in the schools, --at least in gradesbelow the high school. Like religious training, this belongs peculiarlyto the home and the parent. Although she cannot give generalinstruction, the teacher of children can help by being watchful of herflock, alert to detect signs of wrong doing, ready to help by privatecounsel, and--when parents consent--to give information to any needychild. In dealing with this subject the teacher needs to be as wise asthe serpent and as harmless as the dove, not only for her own sake butfor the sake of those she wishes to help. 

_When to tell the story. _

It is an axiom of education that the foundations of knowledge should belaid in childhood. From all time it has been observed that what islearned in the earlier years remains most persistently through life. Hence we begin to inculcate moral truths at an early age. Ideas oftruthfulness and honesty, for instance, are graven so deeply on theyoung mind that they can never afterwards be erased. "Just as the twigis bent the tree's inclined, " said our forefathers, and it is true. "First impressions are the most lasting, " is another true adage. Thisbeing so, we should see to it that the first impression the child getson the subject in question is the one we wish him to keep. Many a lifehas been lamed and saddened because of the first terrible andineradicable impressions it received upon this all-important subject. Many a high-minded man and woman have gone through life tormented byimages of the first unworthy thoughts. No matter how good theafter-knowledge may be, it is almost impossible to erase from thetablets of memory that old first impression. 

Of course it would be absurd to tell a young child most of the facts, just as it would be absurd to try to teach him the whole arithmetic inone school term. He could not understand, and, particularly in the caseof the former subject, he would be harmed instead of helped. Just howand when to unfold the matter to his comprehension will be carefullyconsidered as these pages progress. Here let it suffice to say that withthe young child we may begin by building carefully block by block thefoundation we want to use later; with the older one we must needs workfaster, seeking to anticipate or counteract any unfortunate informationfrom outside sources. Thus the age of the child and his surroundingswill to an extent determine the time or times of telling the facts. 

III

HOW TO TELL THE STORY

This is the most difficult question to answer, and one that requirestime. Indeed, one might say it cannot be answered excepting in a generalway, and that any effort to tell the truth sacredly is better than notto tell it at all. Where the children are still young the task iscomparatively simple when once begun. It develops naturally, with timefor thought on the part of the teller; and the steps are easy andconvincing. 

One of the questions most frequently asked is this: Does not talkingabout these things fix the child's mind unduly upon them?

As a matter of experience it is just the other way. The child who hasalways known the facts is not curious. Why should he be? There isnothing to be curious about. It is all as much a matter of course tohim as the rising of the sun. And he is safeguarded against a certainpruriency that comes from wrongly stimulated and vilely fed curiosity. Instead of causing the child to think more about the subject, thetendency of good teaching is to prevent his thinking of it. 

Another question frequently asked is, Does not talking on this subjectarouse curiosity in children who otherwise would not be curious?

The answer is that it does not arouse harmful curiosity. The right kindof curiosity on any subject is of course good. Indeed without the desireto question and investigate everything about him man would be yet asavage living in a hole in the ground, and the starting-point of all thechild's after-knowledge is curiosity. There are two kinds of curiosity, a good kind and a bad kind. The good kind is interested in finding outthings for the sake of understanding them; the bad kind serves a badend, --in connection with this subject it leads to investigations whichproduce wrong thoughts and feelings, and is gratified for the sake ofproducing those thoughts and feelings. The same subject may give rise toeither kind of curiosity, according as it is presented. 

To-day we take every pains to stimulate the curiosity of our children. We teach them to observe carefully the flowers, the insects, theanimals, --everything about them. We cannot expect them to exercise theirstimulated minds on all other subjects and turn blind eyes upon this onewhich is obviously so important and so interesting. No, the more theylearn to look and ask about other things the more they will look andwish to ask about this. 

That children differ in curiosity is very true. Some children seem tohave very little curiosity about anything. Yet such children are sent toschool with as much care as are the children eager to know. A childmight show no interest in books, might find the reading lesson irksome;but the mother would know he was learning to read for the use thatreading would be to him later, not for the sake of the things in thereading-book. It is the same here, the child learns the facts for thesake of his future. There are good reasons which will appear later whyevery child should have the right information on this subject whether heseeks it or not. If he is indifferent, one can be sure the proper kindof information will not hurt him; if he is eager, one can be sure heought to be carefully and thoroughly instructed. 

As a rule the most active and eager children and those with the quickestminds are the ones most curious to understand the origin of life, thoughthere are exceptions. It is not legitimately gratified curiosity thatharms, but suppressed curiosity, which in this subject is almost sure toresult in the acquisition of wrong and often of perverting information. The surest way to arouse curiosity is to try to conceal something. Theonly thing, then, is to be ready to gratify honest curiosity by helpfulinformation. 

Nor is it safe to defer too long. What the mother wants her child toknow in a certain way she should tell him herself, before he has achance to hear it elsewhere. The moment he leaves her presence, themoment he starts alone to school, he may receive information which shewould give the world to prevent his receiving. Not that her telling willnecessarily keep him from hearing what others say, but to have his mindpreoccupied will tend to prevent the wrong ideas from taking firm root. 

 * * * * *

Another question very often asked is, Will teaching this subject notencourage children to talk about it with other children?

On the contrary, the tendency is to prevent talk. The children of afamily equally instructed will not find it worth talking about. Theyknow what they want to know, and understand that the only person who canreally tell them anything more is their mother, or whoever takes herplace in this. If they do talk of it in the spirit in which they havebeen taught, such talk can do no harm, excepting in the presence ofchildren not equally well instructed. 

To meet this danger the mother can take certain precautions. Having wonthe confidence of her child, she can generally trust him to keep thesematters confidential with her. She can explain that children do notalways know the truth about these things, and sometimes do not knowabout them at all. That some mothers do not tell their children, butthat she wants her child to understand everything just as it is, and tofeel that she can trust him not to talk on these matters excepting whenalone with her. 

Of course there will be instances where this does not succeed, and thechildren eager and pure will speak in the presence of the neighbors'children and make trouble. Then the question is, Which is better, to runthat risk and take the consequences, or to run the risk of allowing thechild to remain ignorant? If the child could really remain ignorant, there might be room for argument against enlightening him, but there isgreat danger that he will be enlightened in a very unenlightened manner, and possibly by those same neighbors' children who are truly ignorant, though they may not be ignorant in just the way their fond parentsbelieve them to be. 

Many people still confound ignorance with innocence, though these areby no means related. The most ignorant person in the world might be theleast innocent, and the most innocent might very well be the mostenlightened. It not infrequently happens that the very children whosemothers are most opposed to enlightenment on this subject are dangerouscompanions for good children. 

To guard against unprofitable or otherwise harmful teaching, the mothershould instruct the child not to listen to talk on this subject and notto join in it, and at the same time tell him that in case he does hearanything that troubles him he should come to her and she will talk itover and explain, so that he may know what is right and what wrong. Sheshould promise to tell him _the truth_ about whatever he may want toknow. 

Having made this promise she must keep it. There is nothing moredangerous than to put a child off with evasive answers. He immediatelyjumps to the conclusion that there is some reason why his mother isafraid or ashamed to explain things to him, and if he has heard evilrumors it is quite natural for him to suspect that what he has heard isthe truth and the whole truth, else why should his mother not help him?He soon feels ashamed to ask her questions which she refuses to answer, and he ceases to confide in her. There is nothing easier than to win andkeep the confidence of a child, and often there is nothing moredifficult than to regain it when once it is lost, particularly in thisdirection. It is a loss the mother can by no means afford to sustain. 

Mothers sometimes object that their young sons bring them the mostshocking or absurd stories which they have heard in school or elsewhere. The mother who gives one moment's serious thought to such a situationwill be forced to the conclusion that for her to hear such tales isnothing compared to the child's hearing them, and that his coming to hismother is proof of his own innocence. It is surely her first duty, nomatter how difficult or unsavory the task, to sift out the wrong fromthe right, to show the child wherein the story is absurd, wicked, andharmful. At such a crisis the mother should be very careful not to showany offence because the child has brought her the story. She may condemnthe story as severely as she likes, but she must be careful that thechild does not feel himself included in the condemnation. She must alsobe careful in denying the story not to deny the germ of truth which itwill contain, or the child may conclude that she is talking against thefacts, and is either ignorant or trying to conceal the truth. Many amother has said in despair, "My boy of nine knows more about thesethings than I know myself. "

It would be a great mistake to let the boy hear such a confession, ashis very best safeguard is his confidence in the knowledge of hismother, or whoever assumes the duty of instructing him in thesematters. 

IV

TELLING THE TRUTH

Should the mother tell pleasant but totally false stories as to theorigin of the child, --or should she tell the truth?

It is generally safer to tell the truth. Excepting with very youngchildren the fiction is not long believed, and a course of deception, having been entered upon, oftentimes proves a stumbling block in the wayof later veracity. It is so much easier to go on telling fairy-tales. Moreover, the truth, properly conveyed, is far more beautiful than anyfairy-tale. 

The parent must not forget that the child's mind is a blank page uponwhich any picture may be drawn, and that the child sees only what ispresented to him. The thousand problems, the thousand troubles andfears, and all the knowledge of evil that burden the mind of the adultare entirely absent from that of the child. He sees only the oneshining fact, that he was once a part of his dear mother, nourished andprotected by her until he was ready to open his eyes on the big world. The child has very little interest in details as a rule; and how to meetthe demand for them, should it arise, will be considered later. 

If the mother tells the story of the stork bringing the newcomer to thehome, or of the doctor carrying him in his pocket, or the apothecaryselling him over the counter, the child very soon learns that this isnot true. He gets an inkling of the truth, understands that he has beendeceived, and according to his age, his nature, and what he has heard, he will draw his conclusions as to why his mother did not tell him thetruth. 

Mothers often ask whether there is any more reason for refraining fromthe stork fiction than from the Santa Claus one. When Santa Claus isfound out, the whole thing is generally understood as a joke, a pleasantsort of fairy tale. There was nothing hidden behind the fiction. In theother case, if the child chances somewhere to hear the facts stated in acoarse manner, he will be likely to feel instinctively that the newtale is the true one, and will naturally conclude that the pretty fablewas told to conceal a most unsavory truth. His first impression of thereal facts will in such a case be ugly and--in a deep sense--false. Itwill hurt his sensibilities, or arouse his lower nature, according tohis temperament. 

The mother can guide herself by a rule which has exceptions but which inthe main holds good: The child able to ask a question is able tounderstand the answer. 

This is by no means saying that all the facts should be stated at once. That would be absurd. The question asked should be answered as simply aspossible, the parent remembering that children's questions are usuallymore profound to the hearer than to the asker. It is difficult for theadult not to read into the child's chance question all the profundity ofhis own years of experience, and the mother who approaches this subjectwith dread is almost invariably astonished and relieved to find howeasily the child is satisfied. 

Where the child asks by chance or design (and it is a wise parent whocan always decide which it is) a question beyond his comprehension, orone that the parent is not ready to answer, he can be put offtemporarily with the promise to explain another time. The child mayforget all about it. If not, then the promise must be kept; and the veryfact that the child remembers shows that he is thinking, and thereforeought to be helped. If the child asks questions which the mother feelssure he is not ready to have answered, she can promise to tell him whenhe gets older, explaining that he could not understand now. In suchcases, however, the mother should always manifest a willingness to tellhim something; she should talk with him enough to make him feel sure shewill keep her promise. He should never be allowed to forget that he cango to his mother as frankly as to his own heart, with the certainty offinding sympathy and aid. And she should not let him forget that he isnot to seek information from outside sources, such information beingunreliable. 

V

ON NATURE STUDY

Since the most beautiful and ideal way of presenting the facts of therenewal of life is through nature-study, a few words as to the handlingof this interesting topic may be helpful to some mothers. 

In all nature-work with the child, the subjects treated should be madeinteresting and beautiful. This cannot be too strongly insisted upon. The child has a right to the pleasure, the elevation of sentiment, theplay of imagination which the contemplation of nature is able to give insuch a peculiar degree. He has a right to the romance of the flower, cloud, bird, fish, animal life, plant life, in all their ramifications. It is a part of his soul-development. Consequently, whatever is done forhim should be done in such a way as not to hurt his sensibilities. Hispleasure in nature should be increased, not lessened, as a result ofhis study. 

As his knowledge expands his interest should deepen. This will almostnever be the case where the first instruction is purely technical. Nothing, for instance, has deadened the interest of children in plantlife so much as the study of botany. This is because the school methodshave been wrong, the work being almost always approached from the wrongend. It is because the learner's mind is dammed up by difficult and tohim empty technical terms. As a consequence, the course of its flow inthis direction is stopped, and instead of a clear stream leapingjoyfully through the woods and meadows finally to reach the great goalof the boundless ocean, it resembles rather a motionless pond, thesurface of which is covered with lifeless and unlovely debris. Naturallythe child seeks to escape from this uninteresting and dead pool byturning his mental energies in other directions, and too often he losesinterest forever, and with it the pleasure and the vast profit thatmight have come to him from a different conception of the subject. 

Facts about the life of the plant should be abundantly presented, andthe facts as collected and told to-day are well-nigh inexhaustible aswell as fascinating. True stories of plant life can be, and should be, as interesting as any other stories. Technical terms should be used atfirst with great restraint, and, as a rule, only where they areobviously convenient or of such universal application that they are adistinct help in developing a sense of the continuity of living things. Those that are used should be so skilfully introduced, and their meaningso thoroughly digested, that they do not seem like technical terms. 

Perhaps an illustration will make this point clearer. A child who lovesflowers goes to school; he is given one of his favorites and told topull it to pieces, look at its different parts, and label them with suchwords as petals, sepals, pistil, stamens; to these are presently addedcalyx, corolla, monopetalous, polypetalous, innate, adnate, indehiscent, etc. , until the child's mind resembles a lumber room of senselessrubbish, in which the flower is buried and lost. To a sensitive childthis process is exceedingly painful. He often feels as though he weremurdering some helpless thing he had loved, and conceals his tears andhis heartache for fear of being laughed at. Less sensitive children aresoon wearied and disgusted, and the love for nature which might havebeen aroused in them, to the sweetening and steadying of their wholeafter-life, receives a fatal check. 

While the child's love for flowers, and his sentiment concerning them, should not be harmed by his plant work, on the other hand a certaintendency to weak sentimentality wherever encountered should berestrained. He should not be a mere receptacle for dry ashes nor yet amush of sentimentality. The wise leader will discover the broad middlecourse where love of the flower shall be deepened, and, as it were, broadened, by knowledge of its wonderful structure and functions. Thesecan be well understood without so much as one technical term, though theskilful introduction of a few helpful words will not detract at all fromthe pleasure of the study, and will be most convenient. 

[Illustration: THE ANEMONE OR WIND-FLOWER]

Even the botanical names of the flowers themselves are of questionablevalue. The main thing is to recognize the flower as we recognize anyother friend, and of course some name is necessary, but that this namebe technical is, in most cases, not even desirable. "Wind-flower" isquite as good as "anemone, " better, indeed, as it expresses a certainfeeling about the flower that "anemone" does not convey. So, too, "mayflower" is more suggestive than "trailing arbutus, " and that than_Epigæa repens_. Thus at first let the children learn only the commonnames of the flowers, at the same time that they discover all that isinteresting about them. Later, when their interest is sure, the prettyname "anemone" will give an added charm. They can be told that it comesfrom the Greek word _anemos_, meaning wind, and that anemones grow inGreece, and all that part of the world, and are gathered by the littlechildren there. If the children are of an age to be studying or readingthe tales of mythology, or the fascinating beginnings of Greek and Romanhistory, they will be delighted to think that anemones were no doubtgathered by Ulysses and Hector and the other Trojan heroes when theywere children in that far-away land, and that the grandson of Æneas sawthem in the Campagna near the Rome he founded, as the Italian childrensee them to-day. Thus through his botany the child can get a more vividsense of the life of the past, can have a link forged in that invaluablemental chain which links him, mind, body, and soul, to everything elsein the universe, and the consciousness of which is one of our mostprecious and helpful endowments in this life. 

The universality of life and mind and soul, the universality of themethods of their manifestations even, the unity of life, --nothing byitself, everything going out into and permeating everything else, --thisgreat truth, which ought to burst upon the young mind with controllingforce at a critical period later, should have its way prepared inchildhood. 

So far as technical terms are concerned, the child will gladly takethem--in small doses--when he understands the things theyrepresent, --that is, when the knowledge comes before the label; and whenhe recognizes their convenience in grouping the different varieties andspecies so that their relations to themselves and to other plants can bekept in the mind with a minimum of exertion. 

[Illustration: WILD ROSE WITH BEES GATHERING HONEY]

The time comes when the analysis of the flower can be as interesting asany part of the work, if it has been preceded by other information andif it is pursued intelligently and delightfully. To illustrate again. The wild rose looked at simply as a thing of beauty and perfume becomesyet more interesting to the child who watches the bee gather its goldenpollen and its luscious nectar. There is a bond of union now betweenthe fragile flower and its winged guest that begets an altruism whichlater becomes normally the corner-stone of character. When the gracefultribute of the bee to the flower is presently understood, and the childlearns that the seeds of the flower have to thank the bee for theirlife, the mind expands yet more, and glows at the thought of thisrelationship in which each of these charming creatures practicallypreserves the life of the other. 

[Illustration: THE SEED, THE CHILD OF THE PLANT, IS AT THE HEART OFEVERY FLOWER]

Now, too, the thought that the seed, the child of the plant, is at theheart of every flower, that it is for this nascent life, this newventure into the great world, that the blossom unfolds in beauty andsheds its perfume on the summer air, yet more expands the joyousinterest taken in the blossom. The mind, through a knowledge of thesefacts, can leap out into wider spaces of feeling and imagination. Thusevery truth the child learns about the rose in those first tender yearsought to add to his poetic conception of it. Thus he should learn hisrose until the time comes when its relation to certain other plants willbe full of meaning and full of interest. Perhaps the child has studiedthe apple blossom, the strawberry flower, the peach blossom in this samedelightful way. With a very little help he will recognize the similarityof all three to the rose. He will be delighted to know that these are astruly related as they seem to be, that they are indeed cousins in onecharming family. How they came to be so different will be a naturalquestion, the answer to which will involve the latest and most valuablescientific discoveries. Indeed, in studying nature we should begin withthe latest discoveries of science, which are biological and vital, andend with man's earlier efforts toward knowledge, --that is, withclassification and nomenclature. When the child knows his plants he maybe interested in their relationships and willing to do the necessarydrudgery toward establishing them. If not, it doesn't matter, he has thereally vital part of the subject, the part that will best help himtoward understanding all life, his own included. 

It is to foster a high sentiment toward the life of the plant that thenumerous so-called unscientific botanies which crowd the book-storesto-day are so valuable, and the numbers that are sold testify to theinterest this side of the subject awakens. What technical botany hasanything like the sale of these less technical books? So far as the realdevelopment of the world at large is concerned they are of inestimablymore use than the technical works, though of course those were the sternPuritan parents who have given rise to this flock of lovelynon-puritanical children, and without which they of course could nothave existed. 

The technical botanies indeed have their use to-day, and it can beconfidently expected that they will be more used than ever before, because of the large numbers who have had their interest quickened and adesire to know more awakened. Those who would have found botanyinteresting in spite of the old methods will pursue it yet more eagerlyunder the new. Many who would have turned away from it entirely willcontinue their study into the technical works, while great numbers whohave no leaning toward technical study and would have had nothing to dowith botany under the old methods, under the new will assimilate thebest truths the study of this subject is able to give, and so far fromfinding a wild rose less fragrant or less beautiful because of theirclose scrutiny of it, they will find it infinitely more so, --infinitelymore rich in affording poetical thoughts, comparisons, and images. 

What is true of plant life is equally true of animal life. The firstattention should be directed toward the animal itself, its life andhabits, technical information coming afterwards. 

VI

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEED

In dealing with the special subject of this book too much stress cannotbe laid upon the value of associating the phenomena of the renewal oflife with all other vital phenomena, instead of divorcing it from them. 

Two reasons why the subject of reproduction has such undue prominence inthe minds of many people are, first, the manner in which it has beenmade conspicuous through concealment; and second, the fact that whenspoken of at all, it has been treated as a unique phenomenon unrelatedto anything else. These are not the only reasons, but they are strongones, and their existence is quite unnecessary. 

Education, therefore, should remove both of these stumbling-blocks. Thefirst one is easily removed, though the value of its removal dependsentirely upon the manner in which that removal is accomplished. Thesecond is also easily removed, the only difficulty being how to do it inthe most helpful manner. The problem, then, for the instructor to solveis, how fully to acquaint the child with the phenomena of thereproductive life without making the subject unduly prominent. 

This can well be done by interesting him in all the phenomena of livingthings, and allowing the reproductive function to take its place, not assomething alone and different from everything else, but as one in aseries of vital phenomena, all equally important and all interesting;not as something peculiar to human life or to the higher animals, butbelonging equally to every living thing, whether animal or plant, andmanifesting itself in the same way everywhere. Nor is this as difficultas at first glance it may seem. Indeed it is not difficult at all if onecan begin with the young child, building little by little the foundationupon which later to erect a noble superstructure. 

It is a beautiful fact that the plant world offers illustrations of allthe underlying phenomena of the reproductive life, and that through theflowers the little one can get his first introduction to the greatsubject. Not that he will at first understand the connection between theflower life and the human life, but the facts in the flower having beenclearly perceived, there is nothing easier or more beautiful than toexpand the idea when the time comes, until it embraces all life. 

But what about those children who are no longer in their infancy? Howare they to be taught?

In practically the same way, with some modification of method. 

Since the aim here is to present the subject from the beginning, thefirst succeeding chapters will deal with it as applied to the youngchild. Following this, methods for use with older children will bediscussed. 

 * * * * *

Objects to be accomplished with the younger children in the study of theplant. 

(1) To make them feel that the plants are living things with activitieslike other living things. 

(2) To convey a clear idea of the true relation of seed to plant. Thiscan be amplified later to cover the reproductive phenomena of humanlife. 

(3) To give them a foundation for understanding the relation of fatherto child, when the time comes to explain that. 

 * * * * *

Some children naturally think of the plant as alive; they endow it withthought, feeling, and emotion; talk to it, consult it, caress it. Othersdo not. In both cases it is of value to the child to know the deepertruths concerning the life of the plant. In the one case it will steadysentimentality and guard against later loss of interest, in the other itwill stimulate imagination and foster a high type of sentiment. 

An easy and effective way to begin the study of the plant is to watch itas it sprouts from the seed. Since a large seed, easy to see and simplein structure, is best, an ordinary bean answers the purpose admirably, particularly as the bean has the convenient habit of rising up abovethe ground when it sprouts, the development of the embryo proceeding infull view. Any of the common varieties will answer the purpose, thoughof course the larger the bean the more easily it can be observed. 

A child of three or four will be interested in watching a seed grow. Thefirst season he may get only one idea, the seed grows into a plant. Thenext season the experiment may be repeated with as much of the story ofthe plant added as the little one can understand. Thus Spring afterSpring the child plants his seeds and watches them grow, constantlyadding to his store of knowledge about them, until the story of theplant and its seed is as familiar to him as any fairy-tale, and has goneinto his consciousness to stay there forever. Let us examine the bean, then, and see what can be learned from it, the information thus obtainedto be shared with the child as fast as his age and his power ofunderstanding permit. 

[Illustration: THE BEAN, SPROUTING, TO SHOW THE TWO SEED-LEAVES AND THEEMBRYO]

First let us examine the dry bean. It is hard, so hard that we canscarcely bite it. Put it to soak in tepid water, leaving it over night. Next day look at the changes that have taken place in it. The firstthing we notice is that it has swollen until it is twice as large as itwas, being now soaked full of water. It is also softer than it was. Itsouter skin during the process of soaking has loosened, being no longerfirmly attached to the body of the bean. This skin, being unable tostretch, soon splits open by the swelling of the bean inside. We caneasily slip it entirely off. 

[Illustration: THE BEAN--EMBRYO-LEAVES, SEED-LEAVES, AND ROOT]

Having done this let us take a good look at the bean that is now out ofits skin. We see that it is composed of two thick parts which arejoined together at only one end. These two thick parts which make thebulk of the bean are called seed-leaves (cotyledons). 

Just at the point where they seem to be joined together there is a tinyflat white object. Looking closely at this we discover it to be a plantconsisting of two minute leaves and a little blunt tip. As a matter offact, the two seed-leaves are not attached directly to each other, buteach is attached to this tiny plant, or embryo, as it is called. Theword "embryo" is a valuable one to use later, and its precise meaningcan easily be fixed by always calling the young plant tucked away in theseed the embryo. The difficulty of learning new words does not lie intheir length, but in not knowing what they mean. A child who has been tothe circus has no trouble in remembering the word "elephant, " and thechild who frequently hears the word "embryo" spoken in connection withthe plant concealed between the cotyledons quickly and unconsciouslylearns it. 

Place some of the soaked beans on damp cotton, and plant others in a potof earth, or, if it is Summer, in the garden. Those sprouted in thehouse in the Winter must be kept warm. In a short time the little whiteembryo tucked away in the bean begins to grow. We say the bean sprouts. As the embryo develops, its little blunt tip grows down into the groundand gives off roots. At the same time its two tiny white leaves growlarge and green, coming out from the seed-leaves (cotyledons) into theair and sunshine. As the stem lengthens the seed-leaves are lifted upabove the ground along with the embryo. The bean thus seems to come outof the ground, and children are very apt to want to cover it up. But ithas not really unplanted itself. The lower part of the stem and theroots hold it firmly in the earth. 

The bean on the damp cotton grows as well at first as that planted inthe earth, but it cannot get food enough to continue growth unless itcan thrust its roots into the earth. What enables it to grow at all onthe cotton, since that does not supply food, but only holds themoisture, without which the bean could not sprout? There must be foodsomewhere, and it is found packed away in the thick seed-leaves, whichcontain a great deal of starch and a little of some other things. 

[Illustration: THE BEAN--EMBRYO-LEAVES, COMPOUND LEAVES, AND BEGINNINGOF STEM]

The young plant, under the influence of warmth and moisture, is able todraw out the nourishment from the seed-leaves. If we examine theseed-leaves after the seed has sprouted we shall find them less hard andfirm; they have given part of their substance to the embryo. They havealso turned greenish in color, while, as we know, the leaves of theembryo, which at first were so white and tiny, have also turned greenand grown larger. Between the two embryo-leaves there is a littlegrowing tip. 

The young plant now no longer depends upon the seed-leaves for itsfood. Down in the earth the roots are taking in nourishment, and up inthe air the little green leaves are also busy supplying food to thegrowing plant. The little growing tip lengthens into a stem from which aleaf is seen unfolding. This new leaf is not shaped like theembryo-leaves nor like the seed-leaves. It has three leaflets. The stemcontinues to lengthen, and soon another compound leaf appears. Thus thestem lengthens and leaves keep coming, the little growing tip at the endof the stem always pushing upward. 

Very soon the stem becomes too long and slender to stand upright. Thenit does a strange thing. It circles about as though in search ofsomething. It moves very slowly, but if you notice which way it ispointing in the morning, and again at noon, and again at night, you willsee that it has changed its position. Why does it do this? It wishes totwine about a support, and will continue circling about until it findsone. If there is none, the slender stem, unable to stand upright as itlengthens, will in time bend to one side or even lie on the ground; butthe end still continues to circle about, and when at last it touches astick or the stem of another plant or anything else about which it cantwine, it continues its circling motion about the new support, and thevine as it lengthens finally becomes twined about it. 

How does the food which the plant takes from the earth and the air findits way to the different parts of the plant to nourish them?

The plant food is in a liquid form called sap, which runs throughchannels in the roots and stems and leaves, and is thus carried to allparts of the plant. To a certain extent it is like the blood of animals, which finds its way all through the body and supplies food to thetissues. 

The plant is alive; it eats, it breathes; sometimes it even moves. Itbreathes the same air that we do, only it takes it in through tiny poresin the leaves. Eating and breathing, the plant continues to grow, leafafter leaf unfolding. At last, in the axil of one of the leaves therecomes a little bud that does not unfold into a leaf but into a flower. 

The appearance of this first blossom on the plant the child has himselfraised from the seed will be watched with eagerness, and its advent canbe made a subject of general pleasure and notice in the home. Thechild's pleasure in his flower will be greatly increased if he findsthat others are also watching and enjoying it. 

Here, too, is a chance to develop a certain respect or reverence for thebeautiful and fragile flower. It is not to be picked. We are to leavethis flower and see what becomes of it. If we pick it, it will soonwither and die. If we leave it where it is, it will continue to grow, and something very interesting will happen. After a few days the prettywhite or red flower-leaves or petals will fall off; but anydisappointment which the child may feel at the falling of the petals canbe quickly changed into interest about what remains, for not all theflower fell. The centre of it is still there. It is a little green pod. It is so delicate that by holding it against the light one can easilysee the little seedlets, or ovules, inside. "Ovule" is a good word tolearn, and the easiest way is to use it at once, always referring tothis little seedlet in the young flower-pod as the ovule. The word"ovule" means little egg; later, a word almost identical will be usedfor the eggs of animals. 

[Illustration: THE BEAN--THE SEEDLETS, OR OVULES, IN THE YOUNG PODS]

Thus by a use of carefully chosen, well-understood terms the child hasfrom the very beginning a dawning sense of the oneness of all life. Hecan be told that "ovule" means little egg, and that the seed of theplant is the egg of the plant, which hatches--sprouts--into the plant wesee. 

It is better not to break the tender little pod to show the ovules, evenif there are plenty of flowers. Look at the pod against the light andsee the ovules dimly outlined. Each ovule is attached to the pod by alittle stem which can also be seen with the light shining through thepod. The stem the child can look for when the peas are being shelled fordinner, or when lima beans are being shelled. If the pea or bean pod isopened carefully, the whole row of seeds will be seen attached to thepod, each by its exceedingly short stem. 

The ovary is a part of the plant in which grow the ovules. The perfectand clear understanding of just what the ovary is will be very helpfullater, and the word "ovary" will be found extremely useful. 

The interest should not be concentrated on the ovary to the exclusion ofother flower parts. The bright petals should have their share ofattention. They form a nest, or home, or covering, to enfold or wrapabout the delicate seed-pod. The thought that they are fragrant andbeautiful because of the young life they cherish, and that they neverappear excepting where there are young seeds to be cared for, and thatevery flower has the little pod or seed-cradle at its centre, can bemade to cast a lovely glow over this side of the flower-life, whichwill later reflect more or less strongly upon all life. 

When the child discovers that the ovules are attached to the ovary bylittle stems, this very important question can be answered, --How are theovules nourished? They must have food, or they cannot develop intoseeds. 

The sap, which is the food of the plant, runs through the little stemsthat hold the ovules to the ovary, and thus, entering the ovules, nourishes them. The ovule has no embryo. It is a very simple littleseedlet indeed. But after a while its little embryo begins to form andits seed-leaves to develop. When the ovule has developed in this way wecall it a seed. It remains attached to the ovary, receiving nourishmentfrom the sap until it is quite ripe. As the seed forms in its littlepod, its thick sturdy seed-leaves become larger and fuller. The sapconstantly stores up in them plenty of good food. Thus the parent plantprovides for the seed, so that when it goes out into the world alone itmay not perish until it has learned to care for itself. The food in theseed-leaves is the bank account which starts the young plant in life. 

When the seed is fully formed, its seed-leaves full of food, its embryoperfect, then we say it is ripe. It no longer needs to draw nourishmentfrom the sap of the parent-plant. It is able to start in the world onits own account. When the seed ripens, its little stem withers away, sothat the seed lies loose in the pod. In the case of the bean-pod, whenthe seed becomes free the pod opens, and the seed or bean, as we callit, falls out. 

If we look at a ripe bean or pea or any seed we shall find upon one edgeof it the scar where the little stem was attached. The scar is theumbilicus or "navel" of the seed. The seed does not become free from itsattachment to the pod until it is able to live alone. As long as itcontinues to grow it remains attached and receives the sap. As soon asit has its growth and no longer needs the sap it separates from the pod. This separation is easy and natural. There is no tearing apart, nomutilation. It is exactly like the falling of the leaves in the Autumn. It is, in short, the birth of the seed or infant plant. 

Some mothers talk of the mother-plant and the seed-babies from thebeginning. They show how the little seeds are fed and protected, howthey are literally a part of the mother-plant. Other mothers prefer totell only the botanical story, leaving all application to animal lifefor later consideration. In either case the essential points are a clearunderstanding of the growth of the ovule in the ovary, the manner inwhich it is nourished and protected, and its final separation from theovary to enter into the outer world as an individual provided witheverything necessary to its needs. 

Some mothers use the words "sprout" and "hatch" interchangeably, speaking sometimes of the hatching of the seeds, in order to make morevivid the realization of the similarity of processes in the plant andthe bird. They also speak of the birth of the seed. Clearly tounderstand the relation of the seed to the mother-plant is to understandaccurately and scientifically the relation of every living creature toits mother. 

The child who enjoys planting the bean one season will want to plant itthe next, for there is nothing children more delight in than plantingthings and watching them grow. This interest can be encouraged in anyhome, for where there is no available yard a few flower-pots of earth, or a box of it, will afford opportunity for a good deal of pleasure andinstruction. The child can be encouraged to collect seeds that areformed like the bean, and plant them too. He will quickly discover thata peanut is made essentially like a bean, and he will be interested toplant some raw peanuts. The pea, too, he will soon add to his list. Asthe season advances he will discover the cucumber, melon, and squashseeds, and, with a little help, the apple, pear, and quince seeds, aswell as those of the cherry, plum, and peach. The latter have very hardouter coats, but are formed in all essentials like the bean. Indeed hecan have a very long list by the end of Summer. But he cannot make thesegreen seeds grow. That is, many of them will not sprout until they havelain a certain length of time. So even where they are ripe and fallfrom their pods, he had better keep them until toward Spring beforeplanting, even in the house. 

[Illustration: MORNING-GLORY SEED, SHOWING SEED-LEAVES AND EMBRYO]

If he takes pleasure in examining his seeds, he will find in each onethe tiny embryo tucked in between the seed-leaves; in the apple seed theyoung apple-tree, in the pumpkin seed the young pumpkin vine. Even thevegetables being prepared for his dinner can be interesting to him. Asthe peas are shelled he can see the pretty green seeds attached to theside of the pod. He can find the embryo even in the unripe seed, but heknows there would be no use in planting these green peas, for they arenot yet fit to live apart from the mother-plant. If they were torn awayand planted in the ground they would perish. 

Not all seeds have the food for the embryo stored up in the seed-leaves. If a morning-glory seed be soaked, it will swell up and soften, and thehard outer skin will burst. Inside will be found a tiny embryo with twothin, papery seed-leaves that contain no nourishment to speak of. Butpacked about the embryo is a rich food-substance which, though hard inthe dry seed, becomes soft and gelatinous upon soaking, looking indeednot unlike the white of the egg, and having the same use; for it formsthe first food of the embryo, which absorbs it. The embryo thus beginsits growth, which continues until the roots and first leaves aresufficiently developed to supply nourishment. 

[Illustration: FOUR O'CLOCK SEED, SHOWING SEED-LEAVES AND EMBRYO]

After the child has studied his beans, let him then study themorning-glory and four-o'clock seeds, which store the food separatelyfrom the embryo instead of in its seed-leaves. In every seed there isfood enough stored up to give the embryo its first start in life. 

During the Summer the child can be helped to pass many pleasant hourslooking at seed-pods and finding as many kinds as possible. He candiscover how the ovaries are placed in the flower and wrapped about bythe bright petals, being covered while yet in the bud by the greencalyx. He can look at the different forms of ovaries and discover howsome, like the bean, have only one compartment or cell, while others, like the apple-core, have five, and yet others, like the poppy pod, havemany. If he is interested, he can quickly and unconsciously learn manyof the more common botanical terms used in describing plants, so thatwhen he comes to study technical botany he will find it shorn of most ofits terrors. 

[Illustration: DIFFERENT KINDS OF OVARIES--BEAN, APPLE-CORE, POPPY POD]

Certain botanical terms are valuable both now and later; used simply, just as we talk of table, chair, bed-post, garden-walk, etc. , they are, as has been said, learned unconsciously. 

[Illustration: FLOWER--OVARY, STYLE, STIGMA, STAMENS, ANTHERS, PETALS, SEPALS]

In teaching the later facts of the reproductive life, it is a great helpfor the child to know the names and uses of certain parts of the flower;in many flowers, as for instance the lily, the parts can be seen withoutpulling the flower to pieces. In the centre is the ovary, as the childalready knows. Let him notice the long stalk on top of it and learn tocall this the style. On top of the style is a knob--the stigma. Ovary, style, and stigma together make the pistil. Surrounding the pistil aresix stamens, each having a slender stem or filament and terminating in alittle box; this box is called the anther and is filled withflower-dust or pollen. Around these is a circle of bright petals. Inmany flowers, outside the petals is a circle of green sepals, which insome plants fall off or turn down when the bud opens. 

 THE FLOWER

 _Sepals_--usually green and affording protection to the bud. 

 _Petals_--usually large and bright. 

 _Stamens_--{ filament (stem of anther) { anther (containing pollen)

 { ovary (seed-pod) _Pistil_--{ style (stem of stigma not always present) { stigma (knob at top of style or ovary)

[Illustration: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG BEAN-POD FROM THE FLOWER]

The care of the mother for her offspring, that impulse of nature foundeverywhere in nature's children, is beautifully illustrated in theflowers. When first the petals fall, leaving the tiny green pod, itstands up on its stalk, but in a few days it will be found hanging down. Why should this be? For one thing, as the pod turns down it gets out ofthe way of the other buds that one by one are preparing to blossom, forbeans generally grow in clusters, one blossoming after another. Thus allthe flowers have plenty of room and air and sunshine, and a lesson inunselfishness and thoughtfulness for others may be learned. Moreover, the hanging pod is better protected against accidents than the uprightone. It is less noticeable and less likely to be knocked or broken off. The mother-plant takes every precaution possible for the welfare of theseed-children, even sending them far from home for their benefit. 

[Illustration: THE SHEDDING OF YOUNG SWEET-PEAS FROM THE POD]

Every one has noticed how the sweet-pea pods are curled up when theseeds are shed. This curling takes place just at the moment when the podopens to allow the seeds to escape. This sudden twisting of the podflings the seeds sometimes long distances. If the seed were to fallclose to the mother-plant it would find the soil impoverished incertain ways, the mother-plant having absorbed the food materials fromit. If the seed can be hurled out of reach of the absorbing roots of themother-plant, it may have a better chance; even if it should fall whereother things are growing, it may find the peculiar food it wantssufficiently abundant, for not all plants absorb just the same thingsfrom the soil. 

[Illustration: THE SHEDDING OF VARIOUS KINDS OF SEEDS]

Looking at the dried bean and pea-pods in the fall of the year, we shallfind nearly all of them twisted. And looking over the other plants ofthe fields and hedges, we see how much trouble has been taken to enablethe seeds to go out in the world and find new growing-places. Some seedsare snapped out, as the touch-me-nots and witch-hazels; some aresupplied with flat wing-like surfaces to be borne by the wind, as themaple-keys and elm seeds; some have bristles or down upon which to floatin the air, as the lilies, dandelions, and lettuces; some have hooks bywhich to attach themselves to the coats of passing animals; and othershave yet other devices for getting to pastures new. The whole subject ofhow seeds travel about the world is very interesting, and collectingthese wanderers and watching their habits will afford a rich summer'sentertainment. 

Thus the child learns a thousand interesting things about the plantlife, --among them, but not in any way prominent, the phenomena which areconnected with the reproduction of the plant. This work can all be donebefore the child is eight years old, and in many cases it can be donemuch earlier, at least so far as inculcating the most essential truthsis concerned. Many details will slip away in time, but if the work isthoroughly done the great primal truths of living things will stay, andas the child's life unfolds, they will illuminate it in certaindirections. 

According to the age and opportunities of the child his informationabout the plant can be enlarged. The plant's method of breathing can beexplained to one who knows something about the composition of the air, and of the use which the human body makes of the oxygen. The child whocan understand it will be greatly interested to know that the plant usesthe oxygen of the air, and returns carbon dioxide to it as a waste, essentially as his own body does. He should also know that the plantbreathes very little in comparison to the animal, consequently it doesnot greatly affect the air, taking out but little oxygen and returningto it but little carbon dioxide. 

The plant's method of taking nourishment from air and soil is also veryinteresting. It is only the green parts of the plant that can take foodfrom the air. The plant can become and remain green only under theinfluence of sunlight. So finally the plant owes its life to the powerof the sun, just as in one way or another we all do. Plants in a darkplace soon lose their green color, grow pale and sickly, and finallydie. All green leaves and the young green twigs are able to take foodfrom the air. The food they thus take is carbon dioxide, the very thingboth plants and animals breathe out as a waste, and whose presence inlarge quantities makes air unfit to breathe. But the plant must have thecarbon dioxide and can get it only from the air, so it is constantlywithdrawing this harmful substance from the air and converting it intoplant tissue. It consumes only part of the carbon dioxide, however, forthe oxygen that is tied up in the carbon dioxide is set free and givenback to the air, only the carbon being retained. So the plant iscontinually taking in the destructive carbon dioxide and giving out thewholesome oxygen, thus keeping the air pure and fit for us to breathe. In short, the plant eats with its roots and with its leaves. With itsroots it eats certain things it finds in the earth, and with its leavesand other green parts it eats the suffocating gas we breathe into theair. 

This important function of the plant, in supplying the oxygen we needand in destroying the harmful carbon dioxide, can be illustrated in manygraphic ways. We depend upon the plants for our very existence in thisrespect: they stand between us and destruction from excessiveaccumulations of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the carbon dioxideis so important to the plant that it could not exist without it. All thecarbon it gets is obtained from this source. Wood is largely carbon; acharred stick which retains its full size and shape is almost purecarbon. Thus the breath of our bodies is converted by the plant into thewood from which we construct our houses, furniture, etc. In a certainsense the chair we sit upon is made of the breath of our bodies. Besidesthese debts to the plant, we finally owe to it the food we consume, which comes from the plant, even meat being but vegetable matter onestep removed. The plant changes the chemicals which the animal cannotuse in their crude form, into plant substances which animals can use. Thus the vegetable and animal kingdoms are mutually dependent upon eachother. Neither could exist, at least in its present condition, withoutthe other. 

Not only will such facts as these be interesting to most children, theywill deepen the dawning consciousness of the fundamental unity of allforms of life, which it should be the province of nature-study todevelop. 

It may not be out of place here to say a few words about the picking offlowers. Children instinctively want to pick them. They wish to possess, touch, caress these lovely objects. If left unguided, this tendencyshortly degenerates in many children into a desire to pick every flowerin sight. A walk taken by such children through the fields can be tracedby the wild flowers that strew the way. Great handfuls are gathered, andthen, becoming burdensome, are thrown down. The child who lovinglywatches his flowers grow and blossom will be less likely to destroy inthis wanton manner. Here, too, is a good opportunity to teach him to bethoughtful and generous to others. If he carelessly tears up and throwsaway the flowers, those who come after him will not have them to enjoy;it is far better to look at the flowers and admire them in their ownhomes and leave them there. A little crowd of hepaticas at the root of atree in the woods is one of the most charming sights of spring. Let thechild who finds such a treasure call the rest, that they too may enjoythe pretty picture; let the children get down and put their facesagainst the flowers if they want to smell them, and then go away leavingthe beauty undisturbed. Their adult comrade at such a time by exclaimingappreciatively over the sweetness of the little scene, the brightflowers against the dark tree, the green moss growing over the rock atone side, can often open young eyes to a harmony of beauty which willcause the whole composition to be recalled later with pure pleasure; afar deeper and higher pleasure this little picture lingering in thememory than any number of flowers torn from their places soon to wilt inthe hands of the vandals whose only thought is how to get the most inthe shortest time. 

Should children never gather flowers, then? Of course they should. Butthey should learn to exercise restraint, and as they grow older, judgment. They can easily be persuaded to gather only a few flowers. Afew are almost always more beautiful than a great mass, and there is noexception to this whatever where the delicate spring flowers areconcerned. Let the child carefully gather a few to take home to mother, father, sister, aunt, some dear one who has not shared the walk. Theseflowers should not be neglected, but at once put in water, placed wherethey can be seen and enjoyed, and the water should be changed every dayas long as they last. In this way the flower gives real pleasure to anumber of people, and the child learns several lessons valuable to theformation of his character. 

As the child grows older, he can be taught not only self-controlagainst gathering useless quantities of flowers, but also to exercisejudgment in regard to those he does pick. For instance, seeing a flamingbush against a superb background of green foliage, shall he disturb thepoise of the picture for the sake of taking some of the flowers? Betteris it to look about for similar flowers less beautifully placed. Insteadof culling from the little hepatica company at the tree root, let himsearch for more hidden or less beautifully grouped flowers. The isolatedflowers will be just as pretty after they are picked as are those in thefortunately placed groups; for he will soon learn that with the flowerhe cannot take its surroundings excepting in the memory. In this way hewill be able to carry away a beautiful mind-picture such as would notremain if he had destroyed it; he will become more observant of theflowers as pictures, cultivate his taste, in short, and also learn toenjoy beauty without destroying it. 

Wanton destruction of flowers should never be countenanced, no matterhow abundant the flowers may be. Self-restraint is not inculcated forthe sake of saving the flowers so much as for the influence it will haveupon the development of the child, although there are parts of thecountry where one would like to see it exercised for the sake of theflowers themselves. The child who learns to respect flowers will neverbe one of that discreditable company who by sheer vandalism areconstantly driving the wild flowers farther into the back country, finally exterminating whole species. In many parts of New England, bankswhich were carpeted with arbutus a generation ago are now devoid of asingle root. Spring may come and Spring may go, but no may-flowers willever again shine from those banks to delight the eye of the woodlandwanderer. All the generations to come must be deprived of the pleasureof these delightful flowers, the earliest visitants of spring--to whatend? Did the pleasure they gave to those who took them compensate in theleast degree for their loss to the world? Truly not. 

In all the open places near cities, where flowers would delight thegreatest number of eyes and hearts, there are no flowers, and thisbecause those who went first had no respect for the flowers themselvesor for the rights of those who came after. 

Not only should the child learn to exercise judgment in gatheringflowers, but he should also learn how to gather them properly. If thearbutus had not been carelessly torn up by the roots and trampled on, itwould have yielded its whole tribute of blossoms year after year withoutdisappearing. If the arbutus-gatherers, knowing the nature of thetreasure they were gathering, had gone armed with scissors and hadclipped the blossoming ends without other injury to the plant, at thesame time taking care not to trample it, the banks would still have beenclad in beauty. 

VII

THE FERTILIZATION OF THE FLOWER

As a preparation for this work, let the children notice the flower-dustor pollen that shakes out of the flowers or is seen clinging to theanthers. 

[Illustration: BEE--SHOWING POLLEN-BASKET]

The child presently discovers where the pollen comes from. It is hiddenin the anthers. He can hunt in all the flowers to find these littlepollen-boxes, some of which, as in the goldenrods, are so small that hewill have hard work to find them, even though they shed such clouds ofpollen. He can notice the different kinds of stamens, see how some havelong stems or filaments, others short ones, others again none at all. The filament is of no other use than to hold up the anther. The antherwith its pollen is the important thing; so there may be useful stamenswith no filaments, but never useful stamens with no anthers. 

The amount of pollen in the flowers is always astonishing andinteresting. Why should there be so much?

That the bee gathers honey from the blossoms is one of the earliestthings the child learns. Just whereabouts in the flower-cup, and justhow the bee finds this honey, how it carries it home, where and how andwhy it stores it in the hive, is one of the most fascinating of stories, as good as a fairy tale. In connection with this comes very naturallythe story of the bees and the pollen. The child will be delighted tolearn that the bees collect pollen as well as honey; that the honey beesand bumble-bees have baskets on their legs on purpose to carry it home;that they knead it up with honey and make it into what is known asbee-bread. 

We seldom see bee-bread these days, as patent hives furnish all thehoney found in city stores and no bee-bread is sold. In remote countryplaces, however, where the honey is removed _en masse_ from the hive, there will be plenty of bee-bread to give piquancy to the children'sbread and honey. Moreover, where bees are kept, the bee-keeper canusually be persuaded to take out a little bee-bread for the children tosee and taste; for it is always present no matter what the kind of hiveused, though it is not always easily obtainable, for where theirhousehold arrangements permit, the bees generally prefer to store it inthe lower chambers away from the honey. Thus the flower supplies largequantities of food for the bees and for us, and long ago, before Americawas discovered and before cane-sugar came into use, the people dependedupon honey for their sweetening. 

When the children have found how general is the presence of pollen inthe flowers, where it comes from, and how it is gathered by the bees, they can learn that the pollen is valuable to the plant itself. It isindeed one of the most necessary parts of the flower, for without it theovules could not develop. 

The effect of the pollen upon the seeds can be prettily illustrated by asimple experiment. Take two or three little pots of geraniums whose budsare just ready to open. Be sure to have single geraniums, and to standthem where they will not be disturbed and where the wind will not blowupon them. Shortly after the flower opens, the anthers will be seencrowded in its throat and covered with pollen. After a few days thepollen will have dried up, and the style, tipped with a five-rayedstar-like stigma, will push up above the anthers. Mark pot No. 1 asuntouched. From pot No. 2 carefully take a little pollen on the end of asmall clean paint-brush or tooth-pick and touch with it the five-rayed, star-like stigma of the flowers in pot No. 3. Be careful not to let anyof it touch the stigmas of the flowers in pot No. 2, the pot from whoseflowers the pollen is taken. 

Leave the flower-pots undisturbed and watch results. When the flowersfinally drop their petals, in pots No. 1 and No. 2 there will be noseed-pods remaining, everything will drop, including the littleflower-stalks and the main stalk supporting the whole cluster offlowers. In short, no trace of flowers will be left. So far asseed-forming is concerned, the flowers might as well never haveblossomed. Very different will be the result in the flowers of pot No. 3. These received the pollen on the stigma, and in some way this pollenaffected the ovules so that they began to develop. We say the flower wasfertilized by the pollen, and "fertilized" is a valuable word to learnat once. When the petals of the fertilized flowers fall, all does notfall. There remains the ovary with the long style and the star-likestigma. The ovary continues to grow, as do the seeds within it. Sincethe geranium is a house-plant, raised under unnatural conditions, notall the fertilized flowers will succeed. Some may fall at once, like theunfertilized ones. But out of the whole bunch of fertilized flowers somewill be almost sure to start the development enough to show that in someway the fertilized flowers were able to produce seeds, while the otherswill in no case make any attempt at seed-forming. Even though none ofthe seeds come to perfection, the fact that they start at all willdemonstrate the effect of the pollen. The geranium is a good plant touse in illustrating this point, because it is so constructed that itcannot fertilize its own flowers. 

What the child thus far learns is simply that the pollen is in some waynecessary to the development of the ovule. If the experiment with thegeraniums is not practicable, the child can be told that the pollen isnecessary to the development of the seed, that it falls upon the stigmaand nourishes the little ovules down in the ovary, and that no seed canform without the aid of the pollen. All the seeds we plant in the flowergardens or in the vegetable gardens, and all the grain we sow in thefields, are produced by the help of pollen. All the peas and beans andother seeds we eat owe their existence in part to the pollen, andwithout it they could not develop. 

Some parents teach their children at once that the pistil is themother-part of the plant, caring for the young seeds, the stamens thefather part, providing for them, and that the stamens and pistilgrowing in the same flower are brothers and sisters. Other parentsprefer to use only botanical terms, leaving the extension of the thoughtto later consideration or to the child's own logic, for children oftenreason out all the facts--in a very general way, of course--from onlythis botanical study. 

But we are not yet done with the pollen. It not only assists the ovuleto develop, but it impresses upon it its own characteristics. In otherwords, the seed inherits from the pollen as well as from the ovule. Inheritance is a very wonderful thing. It is that power which causes theoffspring to resemble its parents. In some wonderful way the tiny ovule, the tiny pollen grain, remember everything about the plant they camefrom and are able to transmit this memory to the developing offspring, so that it may become like its parents. 

Again, the child under eight can understand the principal facts offertilization. The older child can add to his stock of facts, and one ofthe things he will be likely to want to know is how the little pollengrain up on the stigma can influence the ovule down in the ovary. 

We know how the ovule is formed. We know that it grows from the insideof the ovary. If we were able to examine the development of the pollengrain inside the anther from its very beginning, we should find the samething true of it. The anther is a little box like the ovary, and thepollen grain grows from the inside of it, being at first a part of itand nourished by the same sap. When it became ripe it fell free into theanther cavity. We then have a little box full of ripe pollen grains. [1]

The pollen grain is like the ovule in structure, only much smaller. Itis so tiny and the anther so small that we cannot watch its developmentas we can that of the ovule. But botanists have taken great pains toexamine the pollen and to watch its development under the microscope, sothat from them we know the truth. 

If we examine the young ovule we find it apparently nothing but a littlesac full of a semi-liquid substance. This semi-liquid substance, or atleast a part of it, is alive and is very important. It is protoplasm, which is the only living substance; all the living parts of plants andanimals are made from protoplasm. 

[Illustration: POLLEN GRAINS (MAGNIFIED), AND STIGMA]

The pollen grain is also a little sac containing protoplasm. Thus wehave these two little sacs of living substance, each growing in asimilar manner, one to the inside of an ovary, the other to the insideof an anther. Naturally, it is the living substance in these little sacsthat is important. It is the living substance of the ovule that uniteswith the living substance of the pollen grain to become a seed; or, tosay the same thing another way, it is the living substance of the pollengrain that unites with that of the ovule to become a seed; or yet again, it is the union of these two living substances that enables the seed todevelop. 

[Illustration: THE POLLEN TUBE PASSING THROUGH THE STYLE TO THE OVARY]

To understand how the pollen substance finds its way to the ovulesubstance let us examine the pollen grain a little more carefully. Pollen grains are of many shapes, though usually they are globe-shaped, or football-shaped. Tiny as they are, the outer skin is often markedwith grooves and ridges in a very ornamental manner. They have twoskins, an outer hard one, a softer inner one. The outer skin is notequally thick and hard all over. It has little glazed spots sometimes, like little glazed windows. Now, when the pistil is ripe the stigma is_sticky_. When the pollen grain falls upon this sticky stigma its insidewall swells up, just as the bean does when we soak it. But the outsidewall cannot swell, consequently the inner wall finally breaks through atone of the weak spots in the outer wall. Then the inner wall absorbingmoisture and nutriment from the stigma actually grows, becoming a tube, which finds its way down through the style. The living substance of thepollen grain runs into the tip of this tube, and so is carried with itdown through the style. The tube is nourished by the juices of the styleas it goes along, and finally it gets to the ovary and the ovule. Everyovule has a tiny opening, or micropyle as it is called, and it is noweasy to guess what that is for. The pollen tube pushes straight towardthe micropyle, enters into the ovule through the micropyle, and then theliving substance it has carried all this distance in its tip breaksthrough its delicate wall and mingles with the living substance of theovule. When this has happened, the ovule begins to grow and to developinto a seed. 

[Illustration: ENTRANCE OF POLLEN-TUBE THROUGH THE MICROPYLE TO THEOVULE]

We see that the whole pollen grain could not possibly force its waydown to the ovule. It cannot move of itself, for one thing, and if itcould it is too large to pass between the tissues of the style. So itsimply sends down the long tube, which grows fast, pushing along throughthe style, whose tissues are rather loose, and carrying with it the onlyvaluable part of the pollen grain, its living protoplasm. No ovule canpossibly grow into a grain without this tiny bit of pollen. 

In explaining this union of the two protoplasms, the child's mind can beturned upon the wonderful mystery--one of the great mysteries of theuniverse--of how this tiny atom can influence the whole future plant. There is ample opportunity here to elevate his mind and spirit to a highplane, and, by talking of the wonders of inheritance, to give many ahint for future reflection. Without this law of inheritance the worldwould be chaos. Imagine the seed of a rose sometimes developing into anoak tree, the egg of a bird into a bee or a trout. Imagine eggsdeveloping haphazard into anything. There would be no use in living. Nothing could be depended upon. But there is no danger that any suchthing will happen: the law of inheritance is unyielding. From a roseseed must come a rose bush, --and this is good. But on the other hand, from the seed of a weak, poor plant will grow another weak, poor plant. Whatever the parent is, good or bad, that must the offspring be. Butsometimes the offspring inherits only the best in the parents, and so isbetter than they. 

Thus in gathering his seeds, the child will select only the largest andbest and take them from only the best plants to put in his garden thenext year, at the same time planting beautiful truths in the garden ofhis soul. Not the least of these truths is a profound sense of theimmutability of law. Through his nature-work the child can learn asnowhere else the stern, unbreakable decrees of law, and the respect andreverence due to it from every intelligent being. Another important andfar-reaching fact that the child can learn from his garden is, that hisplants are good or poor according to the care he takes of them. Theymust have the right kind of food (soil), the right amount of water, theright temperature and surroundings, --some loving the open sunshine, others needing to be partly protected from it. In short, according asits environment is suited to its needs, and as its inheritance is goodor bad, will the plant be strong and handsome or otherwise. 

Another truth to be learned from the flowers is the value ofcross-fertilization. This was demonstrated by the great Darwin, whofertilized a number of flowers with their own pollen, and an equalnumber with the pollen from the blossoms of another plant of the samekind. When the seeds were ripe he gathered them, carefully keeping thoseof the self-fertilized flowers separate from the others. The next seasonhe planted both sets of seeds under exactly the same conditions, thatis, they had the same soil and moisture, the same sun and air, and thesame care. The plants that grew from these two sets of seeds were verydifferent, those from the self-fertilized seeds being smaller and weakerin every way than those from the seeds fertilized with pollen fromanother plant, or cross-fertilized, as we say, thus proving that it isnot best for the plant to be self-fertilized. Someway, it needs thestimulus from less closely related pollen in order to grow vigorouslyand perfectly. 

While the cross-fertilization of the same order of plants is sodesirable, it is not possible for the pollen of one order to fertilizethe ovules of another order. There must be a certain degree ofsimilarity between flowers able to fertilize each other. The pollen ofan apple blossom might, for instance, rest upon the stigma of a lily, but the pollen could not penetrate to the lily ovule. It would have noeffect upon the lily. 

That the seed inherits equally from the ovule and the pollen grain is atruth that should be impressed in many ways. It is very wonderful thatanything so small as a pollen grain, often as small as the tiniest speckof dust, should be able to transmit to the young seed the peculiaritiesof the plant from which it came. That it does this, the child himselfcan prove in a most interesting way. He can plant some white petuniaseeds in one side of his garden, and some red ones in the other. Theseeds should come from a reliable florist's in order to be sure ofresults. When the petunias ripen their seeds, those from the whiteflowers should be gathered and carefully labelled, and then those of thered flowers, care being taken not to mix the two colors. The nextsummer, plant the seeds as before. When the flowers blossom, those inthe white bed will no longer be white, --some may be, but others will bered, and still others red and white. The same will be true of theflowers in the red bed. What has happened? The bees going from flower toflower have carried the pollen from one bed to the other, and some ofit, rubbing off on the stigmas as the bees searched for honey, fertilized the flowers. Thus some of the ovules of the white flowersreceived an impression of red from the pollen of the red flowers, andgrew into red flowering plants. In others where the impression of redwas less strong, the result was the production of red-and-white spottedflowers. 

By fertilizing white flowers with pollen from red ones we can almostalways get seeds that will develop into plants bearing flowers that arenot white. What is true of color is true of other characteristics of theplant, such, for instance, as size and shape of leaves, habit of growth, size, shape, and quality of fruit, etc. Thus by carefulcross-fertilization, we are able to produce not only beautiful and newblossoms, but also many delicious new fruits. Most of our cultivatedfruits have been produced in this way. For instance, if two species ofwild strawberries were found, one, large and beautiful but sour ortasteless, the other, small but delicious, the two could be bredtogether until finally a perfect berry, large and well-flavored, wouldresult. 

[Illustration: FLOWERS NEEDING CROSS-FERTILIZATION, SOME WITH OVARY BUTNO STAMENS, OTHERS WITH STAMENS BUT NO OVARY]

When the children are interested in their gardens they can try to make anew flower, using for the first experiments one that comes up from theseed, blossoms, and matures its seeds the same year, and also readilychanges its color as a result of cross-fertilization. Such are thepetunia and the sweet-pea. The prettiest new flower produced can bemarked and its seeds saved for future use, and the flower can have aname of its own. Florists often name their choice new flowers from somebeautiful woman, and it would be a pretty tribute on the part of thechild to name his favorite new petunia or sweet-pea after his mother. Ofcourse this work will necessarily be very crude and the resultsuncertain, since the successful production of new plants is a science initself; but enough can be done to interest the young experimenterthoroughly and enable him to learn many valuable lessons. In theseearly, childish experiments, an interest in gardening may be awakened, which will last through life, the man, the woman, finding rest, relaxation, exercise, and pleasure in going from the trying daily workto the garden a while every day. Even a plot of ground a few feet squarecan afford great opportunity for experiment and beauty. 

Cross-fertilization among the plants does not, of course, depend uponman as an agent. Since cross-fertilization is so valuable, it is notsurprising to find many devices in the plant world for securing it. Honey and color, which attract winged messengers, are among the mostuniversal helps to cross-fertilization. In many cases, the structure ofthe flower is such that it cannot fertilize itself. In the geranium, thestamen and the pistil in the same flower mature at different times. Insome species, as among the lilies, the style is so long that the pollencould not fall upon it without artificial aid. Some flowers are soconstructed that they can be fertilized by certain kinds of insects andby no others; among these are the orchids and our clovers andmilk-weeds. Again, some flowers have an ovary but no stamens, while aneighbor has stamens but no ovary, making self-fertilization absolutelyimpossible. 

Indeed there is nothing more fascinating in the study of botany than themethods by which the flowers secure cross-fertilization, nearly all ofour common garden-flowers affording illustrations. Here too, is a fieldwhere the young botanist can do really valuable work, for while much isknown and has been written on the subject, much remains unknown. Thereare many books that give valuable and delightful information aboutcross-fertilization. 

The method of fertilization of the flowers satisfactorily accounts forthe great amount of pollen produced. Being blown by the wind or carriedby insects, much of it is wasted, consequently there must be ampleallowance made for this waste. So the flowers produce thousands ofpollen grains which they can never use themselves. 

VIII

WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM THE LIFE OF THE FISH

Whatever is universal is good. 

Whatever is universal is true. 

Whatever is universal is beautiful. 

Nothing disperses, so to speak, the fogs enveloping the thought of sexlike the realization of its universality. The air clears when we knowthat every living thing is bound by the same laws, even the flowers inour gardens. 

We have an interesting testimony as to the helpfulness of this thoughtfrom one of the great educators of youth, Fröbel. Speaking of his ownchildhood when he became conscious of what his father, who was aminister, was constantly meeting in his parish work, he says:

 "Matrimonial and family relations were often the subject of his admonitory and corrective conversation and remonstrances. The way in which my father spoke of this, made me consider the subject as one of the most pressing and difficult for man, and in my youth and innocence, I felt deep grief and pain that man alone among created things should pay the penalty of such a sexual difference that made it hard for him to do right. . . . Just then my oldest brother, who lived away from home, came back for a time, and when I told him my delight in the purple threads of the hazel buds, he made me notice a similar sexual difference among flowers. 

 "Now my mind was satisfied. I learned that what had troubled me was a widespread arrangement throughout nature to which even the quiet, beautiful growths of flowers were subject. Henceforth human and natural life, soul and flower existence, were inseparable in my eyes, and my hazel blossoms I see still, like angels that opened to me the great temple of nature. . . . Henceforth it seemed as if I had the clue of Ariadne, which would lead me through all the wrong and devious ways of life; and a life of more than thirty years with nature, often, it is true, falling back and clouded for great intervals, has taught me to know this, especially the plant and tree world, as a mirror--I might say, an emblem--of man's life in its highest spiritual relations; so that I look upon it as one of the greatest and deepest conceptions of human life and spirit when in holy Scripture the comparison of good and evil is drawn from a tree. Nature, as a whole, --even the realms of crystals and stones, --teaches us to discriminate good from evil; but, for me, not so powerfully, quietly, clearly, and openly as the plant and flower kingdom. "

The stronger this feeling of the universality of sex, the moredispersive, as it were, is the thought of the subject. It would bedifficult to connect personal and impure thoughts or feelings with astar whose distance in space was realized; and so with all otherthoughts, the more they can be elevated into wide, general regions, theless disturbing they will be likely to become. 

All the facts of sex-life can be learned in the flower, and theassociations thus indelibly impressed cannot fail to leave at least atrace of fragrance and loveliness on even an obtuse nature. No matterwhat the later experiences or mistakes may be, the whole conception ofthis side of life cannot sink so low as might be the case if there werenot this flower-sweet background. And that is worth something. 

It is not difficult to pass at once from the flower life to human life, and there are cases where this may be advisable. When, however, thebeginning-work has been done with young children, and when we considerall the stress laid upon nature-work these days in school and out, andall the books written and all the stories told of living creatures ofall kinds, it is helpful and easy to linger in the delightful andimpersonal realm of the lower life yet longer, with this distinctadvantage, that the _feeling_ of universality, which is very differentfrom the _thought_ of it, will be strengthened. 

For several reasons, the step from plant life to animal life can well betaken by means of the fish, particularly with little children. There isnothing prettier than living fishes in water. The fascination they havefor all conditions and ages is shown by the crowds always seen atexhibitions of live fish in aquaria. 

The child can have his little aquarium at home, which may consist of aglass globe plentifully supplied with some pretty water weed and agoldfish or two. Fishes do not like the bright light all around them, and should be provided with some sort of refuge, like the water weed, or if the tank is large enough, with stones piled up to make a cave. Forthe same reason, the globe should not be set in the window or on themiddle of a small table, but should be placed where at least one side ofit may be shadowed by something. Pebbles should be put in the bottom ofthe tank and not too many fishes crowded together. They need room tomove freely, and also plenty of fresh water for breathing. At thebird-stores small aquaria can usually be bought and fitted out with theproper amount of water plants to balance the breathing of the fishes. For the impurity breathed out by the fish is the same as that breathedout by all creatures, the carbon dioxide which it discharges into thewater being just what the water plant needs to grow on. Also the waterplant returns pure oxygen to the water, which is just what the fishneeds to breathe. This story of the interdependence of the two, and thepossibility of so balancing the plant and animal life in the tank thatit is never necessary to change the water, can be made veryinteresting, and, needless to say, very illuminating. The fish cannotlive out of the water, and yet it breathes air. There is always air inthe water unless it has been artificially removed as by boiling, andthis little bit of air is enough for the fish, which is cold-blooded anddoes not need so much fuel to keep its vital forces burning. But thislittle it must have, and it will suffer for the want of it, just as wesuffer in a very close, unventilated room; and if the supply shouldbecome too small, the fish will die, just as we should die in a roomwhere no fresh air could enter. So the fish must have the water changedunless there is enough plant life in its tank to keep the air pure. Whensuffering for air, the fish shows signs of distress, which should neverbe ignored. If it keeps close to the surface of the water with its mouthup and frequently swallows the outside air, that is a sign it needsfresh water. If it does not have it after a while it will die, as itcannot live on air undiluted by water. 

Fishes need very little feeding, particularly if there are water plantsin the tank; they find food from them. The best way is to follow thedirections of the man who sells you the fishes. If too much food isgiven them it quickly fouls the aquarium, and then the water must bechanged and everything cleaned up. In changing the water, care should betaken to have that which is put in about the same temperature as thattaken out. A sudden application of too cold water is not good for thefishes. The children should take care of their pets themselves and seethat they do not suffer. 

The motions of the fish are what make it so attractive. How does itswim? Not with its fins to any extent. The whole back part of the body, including the tail, is moved from side to side as the fish swims. Itmoves its tail as a paddle is used at the stern of a boat, and so thefish paddles himself along. The fins are used more as balancers. Theykeep the fish upright in the water. As soon as it stops using them, itturns over on one side. 

The fish opens and shuts its mouth constantly; it appears to beswallowing water. And so it is, so far as its mouth is concerned, butthe water it takes in does not go down into the stomach. It is notreally swallowed, but passes out at the gills, which are also constantlyopening and shutting. The gills are red inside and are covered with afine network of blood vessels. The air in the water moves against thesedelicate blood vessels, which are able to take what they need--theoxygen--from it. Thus the fish uses gills instead of lungs forbreathing. 

Sometimes, fishes pick up pebbles in their mouths and drop them again. Some fishes, but not goldfishes, make noises. 

The adaptation of the fish to its surroundings is interesting. Not onlyis its form the very best for moving quickly through the water, but itscovering is peculiarly appropriate, many fishes having a hard, protecting coat of shining scales. These scales, besides being beautifuland useful, are interesting in another way, for we know that they areonly modified hairs, growing from the skin as hairs grow but havingtheir form and size developed in special ways to serve their purpose. Scales and feathers are only another form of hairs. 

Many interesting stories of fishes can be told or read to the children, and among other things they can learn about the swim-bladder, the large, strong air-sac, which can be compressed or distended at pleasure, makingthe fish lighter or heavier and enabling it to rise to the surface ofthe water or sink to the bottom. In Nova Scotia, where many codfishesare caught, the swim-bladders are called sounds, and are cooked as adelicacy. 

In the spring of the year we eat the roe of fish, which is nothing morenor less than fish eggs. Wherever shad are used, the children will befamiliar with the shad roe; and in the South mullet roes are universallyused. The people there dry them in the sun, and the childrenparticularly are very fond of them. The Russian caviare is the eggs of aspecies of fish, and is considered a great delicacy by some people. 

Where do these eggs come from? The fish market or the kitchen on fishday will answer the question. The child who is privileged to pass partof the summer at the seashore where fishermen ply their trade will haveample opportunity to know, as will the child who goes fishing in anybrook or pond and is allowed (as he always should be) to clean and cookthe fish he has caught. Also the smelts, which are cooked whole, onlythe intestines being removed through a hole near the gills, will answerthe question. 

[Illustration: THE OVARY OF A FISH]

The eggs of the fish are contained in a sort of double pouch or sac, shaped something like an old-fashioned silk purse. These sacs open intothe intestine near its exit. They are the ovaries of the fish. From theinside of each ovary the tiny eggs, or ova, grow, just as the ovulesgrow in the plant ovary or seed-pod. At first they are a part of theovary; later they grow larger and fall loose, until the ovary is filledwith them. The ovary is always inside the fish. It is there when thefish is born, and even then there are the tiniest hints of ova in it. But the ova do not grow large until the fish is mature; they wait untilthe fish has developed its strength, its bone, and muscle. Then in thespringtime they grow rapidly. They grow until they are ripe, when theylie free in the ovary; and others grow and are freed in the same wayuntil the ovary, which has also enlarged to accommodate them, is quitefull. The female fish is larger than the male, and looks plump androunded at this season. In course of time the eggs thus developed willbe shed--or born--whether they are fertilized or not. But, if they arenot fertilized, no further growth will take place in them, and they willsoon perish. 

The child, knowing about the fertilization of flowers, can easily be ledto see that the fish ova, like the flower ovules, cannot develop withoutpollen. The anthers containing the pollen are found in the male fish, and look like the ovaries, only they are not so large and their contentsare not so firm. They seem filled with a formless substance instead ofwith little globular eggs. Under the microscope this formless substanceis seen to be made of a semi-fluid material in which are held millionsof pollen grains! Only we no longer call them pollen grains. We may callthem fertilizing cells if we please, though there are several names forthem. But they are essentially the same as pollen. They grow, in thesame way, from the inside of the anther (which may now be called thetesticle) and become free when ripe. The pollen grains cannot move ofthemselves; the fertilizing cells can. Each fertilizing cell is like anovum, excepting that it is not so spherical and is lengthened into asort of lash by which it can propel itself through the water. When theova are laid by one fish, the other swims over them and the fertilizingfluid is expelled into the water just as the eggs were. There is nounion whatever between the parents for the purpose of fertilization. Assoon as a fertilizing cell comes in contact with an ovum it seeks toenter into its substance, and as soon as this has happened, the twocells thus united begin to develop into a very tiny fish. As soon as thechange begins, we have the _embryo_ of the fish, which thus correspondsto the embryo of the seed. 

There is one great difference between the ovary of the plant and that ofthe fish. When the plant ovary is ripe, its seeds are shed, and then theovary itself falls off. The plant ovary thus bears only one set ofseeds. In the fish, the ovary always remains in the fish, and after theeggs are shed, it shrinks up to a very small size, and remains so untilit again develops and becomes distended with more eggs the followingseason. The same is true of the fish's testicles. When the time comes, the fertilizing material is expelled. After this the sac shrinks up tosmall size until the following season. 

When the embryo has grown to its perfect form, the egg-shell is brokenand out swims the young fish. When it leaves the shell we say ithatches, just as we say the plant embryo sprouts when it leaves theegg-shell or seed-shell. Like the pollen of the flower, the fertilizingcells of the fish cannot act upon any ova but those of its own species. 

The young fish, like the young plant, inherits characteristics from bothparents. From its father it may acquire a certain shape, certainmarkings, a certain disposition. Since the father's part in the creationof his offspring is less obvious and apparently less intimate than thatof the mother, the child can be helped to put a certain value on thethought of fatherhood which later will strengthen the bond of unionbetween himself and his own father, deepening his love for his fatherand his confidence in him. That the boy love his father is as necessaryto his welfare as that he love his mother, and the mother should, in allthe early years in which the sex instruction may fall most heavily onher, impress upon the young heart the beauty and glory of paternity. The sacrifice of the father who gives all his strength and time, scarceallowing himself a moment of relaxation or absence from business that hemay provide for the needs of the family, is as great as the sacrifice ofthe mother who devotes her time and strength to caring for the home andthe children. The tendency in teaching young people is to lay all thestress on motherhood and mother love, which is a manifest injustice tothe human father, who deserves not only the natural love of hischildren, but the deeper, more consecrated love which comes from a pureand perfect knowledge of fatherhood. 

Perhaps nothing will help a young man at the most critical age of hislife so much as his love and faith in his father. And perhaps nothingwill tend to lift the whole subject of paternity in the popular mind tothe plane where it belongs, as will this love and knowledge, when it isbred in the child from his early years. Many difficulties in handlingthis subject that become insuperable might never even exist if theknowledge of fatherhood, if love and respect for it and for the fatheras the giver of life, were bred into the boy at an early age. Moreover acertain shyness, which often makes it more difficult for fathers to talkto their sons on these matters than for the mothers to do so, would nothave existed if they themselves as children and youth had been educatedto a complete knowledge of the sex-life by one or both parents. Thecause of this shyness is in many cases ignorance of how to present thefacts, and a misconception of the difficulties of speaking to apure-minded child about them. Nothing surprises the parent more than theway difficulties vanish when once the course of instruction to the youthhas been entered upon. 

In the lower life the father seldom cares for his offspring; and this istrue among the fishes, where neither parent as a rule assumes any otherresponsibility than properly disposing of and fertilizing the eggs. Where, however, any care is taken, it not infrequently devolves upon thefather instead of the mother. This is true of the fresh-water blackbass and of the stickleback, where the father protects the eggs untilthey are hatched, and protects and cares for the young fish. In the caseof the stickleback, the father even makes a nest to contain the eggs. 

Thus far, the process of the renewal of life is, so to speak, impersonal. The eggs are laid by one fish and fertilized by the other, this being necessary to the development of the young. The parents areendowed with an instinct which informs them when the time is at hand;and the male fish guided by this instinct applies the fertilizingmaterial where it is needed, --that is, over the surface of thefresh-laid eggs. The number of eggs laid by fishes should be noticed, asit is a fact which will be useful later. Several millions of eggs havebeen counted in the ovaries of one fish. The number of fertilizing cellsin one testicle would be incalculable. Fish eggs and young fishes areliable to many fatalities; they are destroyed in immense numbers. Consequently, if the race is to survive, there must be an almostinexhaustible supply. 

Fishes kept in confinement will not as a rule multiply. Nothing is sosensitive as the reproductive system. Lacking certain stimuli which itfinds in its natural surroundings, it will not become active. Thegoldfish in the globe will, if a female, have the ovary containingundeveloped ova, the male will have the testicles containing thefertilizing cells, but these will not mature. It is as though the wholesystem of the fish missed the freedom of space, the changes of season, the variety of substances at the bottom of the water, --all that goes tomake "home" for it, and so languished in body as well as spirits. 

The child who, in connection with a multitude of other interesting factsconcerning fish life, learns those concerning its multiplication, willlook upon them as perfectly natural and matter-of-fact. 

But, some one objects, will not the child at this point guess the wholetruth? Suppose he does? Is not that just what we want him to do? Is itnot a sign that he has a good reasoning mind? He may arrive at the rightgeneral conclusion, but he has a conception that is very general, vague, not at all personal, and entirely lacking in any material formalodorous thoughts and feelings. By constantly turning his thoughts tothe wonders and truths of heredity and to the marvel of the developmentof living things from such insignificant yet momentous beginnings, andby telling him interesting facts of animals and plants along theselines, his thought can be kept general and on a high plane. Wheredetails are demanded, the parent ought to be thankful that these arepresented to him for elucidation instead of to some incapable outsider, and he can meet the demand according to circumstances, --all of whichwill be discussed more fully presently. 

If the parent keeps ever in mind the fact that the child _must know_some time, and ought to gain a high conception of the subject beforebeing exposed to degrading influences, if he asks himself in allhonesty, "Unless I answer this, who will? and how?" he will be helped todo what in his own heart he knows to be his duty. 

Moreover, there is a great gain to many a child in learning the mainfacts at an age where they do not appeal powerfully to his imaginationnor move his senses. Later, when any reference to the subject may havethis effect, and when there is enough to understand and meet withoutgoing back to the rudiments, it will be much less difficult to give theneeded aid with this background, which causes the child to feel that hehas "always known. " To have always known a thing robs it of any greatspecial interest. We pay no attention to the sun that shines upon us, but if this were a phenomenon of very rare occurrence we should bethrilled by it and aroused to curiosity and special observation andinterest. 

The child's knowledge of the sexuality of nature should be as much amatter of fact as any other knowledge, and the mystery of it should bepresented to him as a sublime and beautiful mystery, creating animpression he cannot wholly escape from when he finds himself caught inthe vortex of his own adulthood. 

IX

AMPHIBIOUS LIFE

To the parents who desire to lead the child's mind through a longsequence of thought from the lower to the higher life, the amphibianaffords an easy step in this ascending scale. And among amphibians thatfamiliar and picturesque harbinger of spring, the frog, and his cousinthe friendly toad, are the best adapted. 

Children are always interested in frogs because they jump so well. Thissuggests a starting-point for making their closer acquaintance. Why dothey jump so well? It is because of their long hind legs. A littlewatching of either frog or toad will show exactly how the legs are usedand wherein they differ from, and also resemble, the child's own legs. The little hands of the frog and toad, their way of sitting, leaning ontheir short arms, their eagerness to snap up a tempting fly, the queertongue fastened the other way round from ours, and its lightning-likespeed which is a result of this same position in the mouth, --a hundredinteresting things can be learned about the toads and frogs. 

Toads are very easily tamed, and make most amusing as well as usefulpets if there is a garden to be protected from marauding insects. Theygenerally have a hole or corner to which they come home regularly atnight, and with a little patience can be so tamed that they will takefood, of living insect or even of scraps of meat, from the child's hand. Their power to gormandize seems unlimited, and the number of insectsthey can swallow without protest is almost incredible. They will keep asmall garden quite free from slugs and other pests. They have no badhabits, do not bark at night, or chase cats, or bite, or steal, orinsist upon coming into the house, or scratch up the flower-beds. Someaccuse them of causing warts, but this is not true. When handled, theysometimes give forth an acrid liquid from the skin, which stings themouths of tormenting dogs and smears meddling fingers. But this, thoughunpleasant, does no harm. Many people have handled toads freely andnever had a wart; many others who have never touched a toad have hadmany warts. 

The toad may be ugly to look at, but that is not his fault. To many, heis more comical than ugly, and no creature has more beautiful eyes thanthis same homely toad. He is one of the most useful of animals, andshould never be killed or ill treated. 

The frog is less familiar to us than the toad, living as he does in thewater or in wet places. Boys often take delight in killing him, havingtheories of the terrible influence he exercises in the affairs of man. He is as harmless as the toad and of value in keeping down insect pests, since these are also his food. 

In the spring of the year, the frogs and toads will be heard chirping, the frog in particular sometimes filling the night with his din. Theearliest of these voices comes from the smaller green frogs, or"peepers, " as they are often called because of the peeping noise theymake. The deep bass croak comes from the large bull-frog, so named fromhis size and not from his sex, for there are female bull-frogs. When thefrogs begin to peep, the children will enjoy making an excursion inquest of frogs' eggs. These will be found in any pond where the voice ofthe frog is heard, and can be taken with a long-handled dipper or bywading, --the latter practice to be cautiously indulged in northernlatitudes at this time of year, as the water may yet be very cold. 

The eggs are gray, spherical, about as large as sweet-pea seeds, andhave a black spot on one side. They are found embedded many together ina colorless jelly-like substance. The egg-mass should be handledcarefully and put whole into a jar or pail of water and thus carriedhome. It should not stand with the sun shining directly on it, and whenthe water is changed, every other day, that which is used should be ofabout the same temperature as that removed. Water drawn cold from thepipes will sometimes kill the eggs. 

If all goes well, in a few days the eggs will hatch. Out of them willhatch, not frogs, but tadpoles, or pollywogs, as they are also called. Everyone likes to watch a tadpole--certainly every child does. As soonas the eggs hatch, the surrounding jelly substance may be thrown away, merely as a matter of convenience. Its use is to protect the eggs and toafford the first food for the tadpole. If left too long in the water, itbecomes broken up, discolored and unpleasant. The tadpoles should havefresh water every day or two, care again being exercised not to use ittoo cold, and they must be fed. They will eat almost anything, crumbs ofcrackers or bread, and bits of raw meat or fish being very acceptable. If they are well fed on meat or fish, they will grow faster and changeearlier into frogs. Indeed, by underfeeding tadpoles a person can keepthem a whole year from undergoing the changes they would have normallyundergone in a few weeks. The large bull-frog tadpoles naturally taketwo years to develop, though a very nutritious diet may possibly hastenthem. 

[Illustration: TADPOLES AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF GROWTH]

The tadpole has very small eyes, a very small mouth, and tiny gillopenings like a fish. Indeed, so far as its life at this stage isconcerned, to all intents and purposes it is a fish. It cannot live outof the water, it breathes by gills, it swims by its tail, but it has nofins. It wiggles about the jar or tank in a very lively way, and oughtto have water weeds or stones to hide under, and pebbles or gravel inthe bottom of the receptacle. 

The ordinary tadpole, if well fed, astonishes and delights his youngkeepers in a few days by putting forth a pair of tiny hind legs, whichgenerally trail behind him when he swims, though he often kicks withthem, perhaps for exercise. He grows larger and his legs longer, and oneday a row of fingers may be seen peeping out of his gill slit, as thoughout of an armhole, and then he will thrust out a forearm, then anotherfrom the other gill slit. After this, changes are rapid, and his keepersshould put a stone or some firm object in the water, reaching above thesurface, so that he can climb up into the air; for now his lungs arerapidly forming, and soon he can no longer breathe by gills. At thisstage, his tail begins to disappear. It does not fall off, as somethink, but its substance is absorbed into his body until no tail isleft. Finally, his head changes its shape, his baby mouth is replaced bya wide frog mouth, his eyes stand out with projecting lids, hisear-plates showing back of them, and we have a full-grown frog. 

To the child who understands the origin of the fish eggs a fewquestions which he can easily answer himself will be enough to callattention to the important differences, and also to deepen theimpression of the unity of life as expressed in flower, fish, and frog. The ova of the frog develop in an ovary exactly as do the ova of a fish;they develop in the same way and at the maturity of the animal. Thefertilizing cells develop like those of the fish. In both cases, thereproductive elements are laid, shed, or born, when the time comes. Before the eggs of the frogs and toads are laid they have no albuminouscovering. The moisture that envelops them swells up into the jelly-likemass upon coming in contact with water. 

There are important differences between the frog and the fish. The frogis a more complex animal and, so to speak, more difficult to create, andit lays fewer eggs. Since there are fewer eggs they must be morecarefully fertilized; that is, the fertilizing material must be sure tocome in contact with all of them. Consequently at the moment when theeggs are finding their way into the water they are fertilized; notwithin the female body, but just as they are leaving it. 

The child accustomed to notice what he sees will observe the pairedfrogs in the pond. He can be told that they take this position justbefore the eggs are laid so that every egg will surely be fertilized. Inthe amphibious animals the relation of the two parents is closer than inthe fishes, but yet there is no union between them, that appearing onlywhen it is necessary. The stern law of necessity governing every step ofthe reproductive function may be made very impressive to the young mind;also _the reign of law_ throughout life. 

To explain frankly, simply, and scientifically such phenomena as that ofthe paired frogs will tend to rob them of dangerous interest. Not tospeak of them will not prevent the child's seeing them, and hisimagination may foster much less wholesome thoughts. 

There are frogs and toads that care for their young, but parentalaffection in this form of life is rare. The eggs are laid in a favorablespot, and then left. Toads as well as frogs lay their eggs in thewater. The instinct of the toad leads it to seek the water at theegg-laying season, as its tadpole, like that of the frog, can live onlyin the water. At other seasons of the year the toad does not enter thewater. 

Frogs' eggs are laid in compact masses, while toads' eggs are laid instrings or ropes; and in this way they can be recognized, though afterthey have once hatched the tadpoles of both are so much alike that theycannot be told apart. Sometimes the children will be disappointedbecause the tadpole does not change into a frog nor yet into a toad. Itgets its four legs but does not lose its tail; it never loses its tail. In short, it is not a frog or a toad, but a salamander or water-lizard, which lays eggs similar to those of the frog, and whose young upon firsthatching look very much like young tadpoles. 

If eggs are found in a pond where frogs are not heard or seen, they willalmost always turn out to be the eggs of a salamander. 

X

THE BIRD

From the flower to the bird is a step easily taken if the parent prefersto omit the intermediate steps, or, after the story of the bird has beentold, the stories of fish and frog can follow as occasion offers, instead of preceding it. The bird is peculiarly valuable in teaching theorigin of life to the child, since in it we have such highly developedhome and family instincts, the father bearing his share of the burden, illustrations of which are rare in the lower forms of life. Aseverywhere else, the best starting-point is with the life and interestsof the bird itself, and for this caged birds are far better than thefree ones, even though they may be only the sparrows and pigeons of thecity streets. 

The flight of birds is that which particularly interests children aswell as every one else. Birds will soon learn to come to a place wherethey are fed regularly; and the style of flight, depending upon the sizeand shape of the wing as well as the shape of the bird's body, is a veryinteresting study. Many a country child knows the common birds by theirflight even when the bird is too far away and moving too fast to bedistinctly seen. What he generally does not think of is _why_ the birdhas this peculiar flight, and to have his attention called to it mayincrease his interest in watching the living bird. 

Whatever increases the boy's interest in the live bird tends to decreasehis desire to make it a dead bird; and the numerous good bird-books, aswell as the substitution in so many cases of the camera for the gun, hastended to preserve the lives of the birds and to create a sentiment infavor of their preservation. If the young child is taught to watch thebirds and care for them, he will not often, when older, thirst to taketheir lives. 

While the flight of the bird may engage the first interest of the child, its manner of eating and drinking is worth attention, and the nature ofits food is of the greatest importance. The shape of the bird's beakwill decide, at least in a general way, the kind of food it eats; and alittle study of birds will convince any one that all birds are useful tothe agriculturist, either as destroyers of noxious insects or of weedseeds. While some birds swallow the seeds whole and pass them againunharmed, thus spreading the plant, others crack the seed coat and eatthe contents, which of course destroys the seed. Even where the birdsare the means of sowing seeds they do more good than harm; for the seedsthus sown are not often harmful, and those same birds destroy a vastnumber of noxious insects. Even owls and hawks, by destroying mice inthe farmer's fields, do him a service that much more than compensatesfor the loss of an occasional chicken. 

While the birds are of inestimable value to the farmer and to any onewho has a garden, their influence on our lives in another direction isalso very great, as difficult to estimate perhaps, as that of flowers. Who can doubt that these little brothers of the air are one of the mostcivilizing and elevating factors in man's daily life? Their song, theirflight, their thousand and one charming or entertaining habits, theirstrong expression of personality, their poetical and mysterious comingsand goings, appeal powerfully to the higher imagination. 

The migration of birds is alone enough to fill the mind with enchantingdreams. To know that every night in late summer and in autumn there is astream of birds moving high in the air along the line of the sea-coastand of the great valleys is enough to awaken fancy. This wingedprocession moving along its aerial highway is made of the small andtimid birds that dare not fly by day for fear of hawks and otherenemies; they may be as high as three miles above the surface of theearth, their height being estimated by watching them through thetelescope as they cross the surface of the moon. Imagine looking throughthe telescope at the face of the full moon some night and seeing anendless procession of little birds speeding across its shining face!

The amazing power of birds to see and hear, and, most interesting ofall, their nest-building habits are calculated to arouse the wonder andadmiration of every observer. What child would not watch with intenseinterest the bringing of the straws or other materials, and the deftweaving of them into the home which is presently to receive the preciouseggs? Even the city sparrow may here be a boon to the mother. Sufficiently encouraged, it will accommodatingly build almost anywhere. 

The child who knows the story of fish life and frog life will needlittle telling here, and that is one argument in favor of taking all thegradual steps from flower to bird. By this time the main ideas arefirmly lodged, the child will readily draw his own conclusions as to therest; but there are one or two facts connected with the origin of thebird which are of great value in fixing the idea of _necessity_ which isat the foundation of all reproductive phenomena. Everything is as it isbecause it is necessary that it should be so. In the frog the higherdevelopment made necessary greater economy in the production of the eggand the fertilizing cell, and this economy of material necessitated themore certain fertilization of the egg. 

In the bird a great step upwards has been taken. Here we have somethingmuch more complex in every way. The frog was cold-blooded, comparativelysluggish, and comparatively simple in structure. The bird iswarm-blooded, intensely active, and very much more complex both inbodily structure and in mind development. Here the reproductive activityis yet more economically conducted, and instead of thirty or more eggs, the bird produces often not more than six in a season, and even asmaller number if it is single-brooded, some eagles, for instance, rearing only two young in a season. Naturally these few eggs must bevery carefully protected. Since they are not laid in the yielding mediumof water, they cannot have so soft a covering as the eggs of the fish orfrog, but are enclosed in a hard shell. This shell must of course beformed before the egg is laid, and the egg must be fertilized beforethe hard shell encloses it and thus makes forever impossible theentrance of the fertilizing cell. 

The ovaries of the bird are in the small of the back close to thebackbone, and there is a tube called the oviduct or egg-duct, leadingfrom the ovary down to the lower end of the intestine, which it enters. There is no separate opening for the oviduct into the outer world. 

There are two ovaries, with their oviducts, in the young bird, but theseare so small that it is very difficult indeed to find them. As the birdapproaches maturity, one ovary and its oviduct enlarge, and the ova, which develop from the inside of the ovary just as the ovule developsinside the flower ovary, also become large. Although the bird is bornwith two ovaries, but one, usually, develops, generally the one on theleft side. 

When the bird comes to maturity, there is born in it a yearning for homeand offspring. As the eggs develop, the bird turns to the nest and tothe mate who is to share with her all this beautiful life. When the matehas been chosen, both prepare the nest to receive the eggs, which willsoon be ready. It is during this period that the fertilizing fluid isplaced in the lower end of the egg-duct, whence the fertilizing cells, by their power of motion, quickly make their way to the egg, which hasjust begun its journey down the oviduct and is as yet without a shell. The shell-less egg is well known to most country children, as hens oftenlay one; and this will always happen where there is not lime enough inthe food of the poultry. 

After the egg is fertilized it continues its slow journey down theoviduct, which enlarges to accommodate it. At first the egg consists ofthe yolk alone. This grows to its full size before it leaves the ovary. The yolk in short _is_ the egg. But there is not enough food material init for the development of the bird, so as it passes down the egg-duct itbecomes coated by the so-called "white" of the egg, which is a substancesecreted from the lining of the egg-duct and is not alive, as is acertain part of the yolk. It is merely stored-up food like that in themorning-glory seed, for this egg is the seed of the bird. At the lowerend of the egg-duct there is secreted a limy liquid which covers theshell-less egg and hardens, making the shell. So finally the fertilizedegg has its shell and is ready to be laid. When this time comes, thebird seeks her nest, and the egg is laid or born, and lies warm andliving, like a jewel in the nest. 

It is hardly necessary to add that the fertilizing cells in the malebird have an origin similar to that of the ova. The testicles and theirducts are too small to be easily seen in the young bird and in thewinter-time, but can be seen during reproductive activity. The male birdcan usually be told from the female by differences in color and plumage, but where this is not the case the two sexes cannot be told apartwithout actually killing and dissecting the birds, so very simple arethe generative organs. 

The ripening of the reproductive elements in the bird occurs in thespring of the year, and is always with a few exceptions accompanied bythe instinct of nest-making. The birds instinctively and joyfullyprepare the home for their young at this time, both parents joining tomake the pretty structure. With the child the higher emotions whichalways accompany reproductive activity in the bird life should be keptever prominent, --the affection between the parents, their care and lovefor each other, the care and love for the helpless young, theirhappiness in this duty as shown in their song and bright colors. Unlikethe fish and the frog, the bird cannot develop unless the egg is keptwarm, and after it hatches the young bird cannot take care of itself forseveral weeks. It must be carefully nurtured, and finally even taughthow to fly and find its food. 

The maternal hen can be a treasure to the mother seeking to impress thelesson of love and care; the only defect is the indifference of thefather, which is in marked contrast to the interest shown by otherbirds, though there are many proofs that the cock is not withoutparental love, as where young chicks have been abandoned he has beenknown to rear them. 

The love of both the birds for their helpless young, and their devotionto each other, can be impressed on the young mind in many a picture ofbeauty. Many birds pair for life, returning to the same nest year afteryear. Nor should the instruction fail to impress upon the young mind theadvance of love and tenderness on the parent for the offspring as weascend the scale of life. The flowers, the fishes, the frogs, entrusttheir offspring to the care of Mother Nature; the birds cannot do this. The mother and the father of the helpless little creatures take deep joyin sacrificing their own freedom and strength and time to this lovingduty. A bird will even lose its life for its young, trying to drive offan enemy; and every one knows how dangerous it is to approach the nestof any large bird, eagles and even cranes sometimes killing men and boyswho try to rob them of their young. 

The plumage of birds is a pretty subject of study. The wonderful way inwhich feathers are adapted to their use, in keeping the bird warmwithout greatly increasing its weight or impeding its flight, may bemade very interesting; also their beauty both of structure and color, and the fact that at maturity the plumage often undergoes remarkablechanges. Young birds are colored like the mother. The brilliant male ofthe Baltimore oriole gets his bright dress at maturity, but until thattime he is as soberly clad as his quiet little mother. 

The inheritance of the young bird from its father should be enlargedupon. At the beginning, though the male birds resemble the mother inappearance, at maturity they wake up to the characteristics of theirfather. Then the brilliant colors begin to play over their feathers--hiscolors. Then the song trembles from their throats--his song; and thebeautiful creatures might sing as their wonderful wings flash throughthe air, "All this loveliness I owe to my father: it is from him Ireceived this glorious heritage of beauty and song. "

The child can learn the terrible consequences to the birds of theirfeathers being taken as ornaments by human beings. The children can betold that the plumage is most beautiful at the mating and nestingseason, and that thousands of birds, both male and female, are slainthen, that the eggs and young birds consequently die, and that somespecies have been almost if not quite exterminated in this cruel way. The Audubon societies are organized for the purpose of instructing youngpeople about the birds and getting their coöperation in opposing thisneedless slaughter. Some of these organizations are extremelyinteresting in their field and lecture work on birds; every neighborhoodcould have its Audubon society, to the great pleasure and profit of themembers as well as to the profit of the birds. 

Where the mother desires to pass directly from the flower to the bird, this can be well done by comparing the two, so far as their generativeprocesses are concerned, at every step. She can remind the little one ofhow the flower seed is treasured in the ovary until it is able to go outinto the big world, and can then tell him that the wonderful seed of thebird, which we call the egg, is treasured in the same way; this to befollowed by the story of the care needed by the bird's egg after it isborn, --how it cannot be left to shift for itself, but must be watchedover and kept warm by its loving little parents until it is fit to leavethe shell, how it then breaks its prison and comes forth so weak andhelpless to be yet further loved and cared for and taught by itsfaithful parents. 

The question is often asked, should not the story of motherhood precedethat of fatherhood in all this early teaching? Up to a certain point itmay be well, and the story of the life and development of the egg can betold to young children, with the father-bird merely an æsthetic factor, so to speak. His care of the young, and protection of the mother-birdcan be dilated upon without going any farther. This is a course, however, which it will not be wise to follow too long, particularly withboys, whose interest will be greater when they know that the father toohas a vital interest in the life of his offspring. Moreover, there is acertain spiritual value in connecting the equal need and responsibilityof both parents in the creation of their offspring. The child thenknows that he has the whole truth, and half truths are never quitesafe. 

If the child knows the story of flower, fish, and frog life, he willdraw his own conclusions about the birds, and it will be wiser franklyto tell him this part of the story. If he knows nothing of the earlierwork, and the mother begins with the young birds in the nest, accordingto his age and surroundings he should be told more or less, the motheralways remembering that if she defers too long somebody may anticipateher with the kind of information she particularly desires to avoid. 

Another question often asked concerning the bird is, "Would the egg belaid if it were not fertilized?" It might be or it might not. In allforms of life the sensitive reproductive system responds with peculiarreadiness to its environment. In birds if it does not receive thestimulus that comes from mating, the ova may not develop at all, butremain small and attached to the ovary. Or, a few may be completed andlaid, as is often seen in the case of caged female canaries. But theseeggs of course could never hatch. They are perfect so far as the ovumis concerned, but lacking fertilization they cannot continue theirdevelopment. 

Another question often asked, and of peculiar meaning, is, "If thereproductive system be not exercised, will it not perish for lack ofexercise?" The latest word of science on this subject is that it willnot, either in the bird or elsewhere. In a healthy organism it cansafely remain inoperative with the certainty of becoming active at alater period if then it receive the normal stimulus. 

The lessons to be learned from the birds are many. From them can beanswered all questions, for now we have passed that most difficult ofall points, the relation of father to child in the animal world, andeverything else can be explained through the knowledge already gained. The well-taught child will recognize the justice and necessity for theexisting processes of life. He will realize their deep meaning, theirfar-reaching influence, and their tremendous importance in preservingupon the earth the multitudes of living forms that inhabit it. 

The flower and the bird are the two most important helps in impartingthe facts concerning the renewal of life throughout nature. 

XI

THE MAMMAL

The mother who has conducted the child through the various life forms upto the mammal will not be likely to wish to stop there. Having gone thusfar, it will be easy to continue and reveal to the child the wonderfullife that yet remains. 

The question is often asked, whether country children are not much morelikely to learn these truths naturally and without instruction than citychildren. The answer is that they are more likely to learn the facts, but knowing the facts is by no means understanding the subject; andwhether knowledge of the facts is good or bad for the child dependsentirely upon the impression it makes upon him. Undoubtedly the countrychild is in a better position to receive instruction, but whether thisinstruction tends to refine his feelings and elevate his heart dependsaltogether upon how it is given. Probably the average country boy has nomore spiritual conception of the matter than the average city boy, though he may have a more wholesome and, so to speak, utilitarianthought of it. His interest at least reaches out to results, for thesuccessful multiplication of the stock on the farm may be a matter ofvital importance to him. 

The extension of knowledge from the bird to the mammal may be madethrough the medium of the family pets. Fido, puss, the pet rabbits, orsquirrels may serve to elucidate the subject. Indeed, at this stage thewell-instructed child himself will be ready to give all the essentialfacts, and will feel free to ask questions concerning the facts he doesnot understand. If he has traced the continuity of the egg from theflower to the bird it will not be difficult for him to realize that eventhe higher animal has its origin in the same way. The mother can veryreverently explain to him that the cat too has ovaries; that from thesedevelop ova which are few in number and need very special care. Theycannot be laid in a nest like the bird's egg. They are very tiny, nolarger than the head of a small pin, and they have no hard shell. 

It is their destiny to remain in the oviduct and develop. That is, instead of being born like the bird's egg and then being hatched, theseeggs first develop and afterwards are born. But if not fertilized theywould not continue to develop. The cat has two ovaries, which develop atmaturity and ripen the ova, and these pass into the oviducts, which aretubes like the oviducts of the bird. Here the egg remains a certainlength of time, and then if it is not fertilized it is passed away; butif it is fertilized a marvellous change takes place in this tiny cell:it remains within the oviduct and is there supplied with nourishment byblood-vessels essentially as the flower seed is supplied with food fromthe sap. Generally three or five of these ova develop at the same time, some in one oviduct, some in the other. When these tiny eggs havedeveloped into kittens strong enough and perfect enough to makeentrance into the world safe, they are born just as the egg is born. Unlike the oviduct of the bird, which opens into the intestine, theseducts unite just before the end, and have separate openings of theirown. 

As soon as the young are born the mother begins to care for them. Forseveral weeks they depend upon the milk she secretes for their food, andupon her constant care and loving watchfulness for their life. Thethought of parental love and care should be much more stronglyemphasized at every step than the mere physical facts, though it isnecessary that they too be clearly comprehended. The sacrifice of theparent for the child is one of the most universal and unselfish facts oflife, and many stories illustrating it can be collected and told. It isnot necessary to tell them as obviously pointing a moral, yet theyshould be told as dramatically and interestingly as possible, that thechild may get a strong impression of this great force. Among mammals itis true, (but this need not be dwelt upon with the child, ) that manymales pay no attention to their offspring; though some, as the cattle, defend the females and young if a herd is attacked by savage animals, byputting them in the centre and themselves forming a circle about them. It is the mother love and care, however, which are here most prominent;but the child who knows the facts concerning paternity should not beallowed to forget the great factor of inheritance, and that theoffspring gets its characteristics from the father as well as from themother. 

There is only one more step to be taken in the _modus operandi_ ofreproduction, and that is in the higher mammal, where the ovum passesdown through a slender oviduct into an enlarged chamber or womb, whereit remains a certain length of time, finally if unfertilized, to passaway unnoticed; if fertilized, to develop into a young animal which intime will be born helpless and dependent upon the love and care of themother. In some of the higher mammals, as the sheep and the goat, thereare generally two ova developed in the womb at the same time; that is, twins are born. In the larger ones, as the horse and the cow, but oneovum generally develops, though the development of two is not uncommon. 

As a result of these teachings, which are not formal like school work, but given as opportunity offers and in as interesting and outreaching away as possible, the child learns that all life develops in the sameway. That all life, even human, starts as a tiny ovum. That these tinyova are produced in every female by a special tissue called the ovary, which develops at maturity when the eggs begin to ripen; that if the ovaare not fertilized they do not develop; if they are fertilized theydevelop into an individual like the parent, though having personalpeculiarities of its own. The fertilizing cells are produced in everymale from a special tissue, which greatly develops at maturity when thefertilizing cells are matured and are capable of uniting with the ovumto produce the new being. 

Along with these necessarily material facts the youth is firmlyimpressed with the high office of this great function, his thoughtsconcerning it are honest and clear, and he understands in a natural waythe necessity for respecting it and guarding it for the good of thosewho are to follow. The essential facts the child can well learn beforehis own maturity. They seem to him matter-of-fact, like any otherphenomena of life. He does not need to brood over an incomprehensibleand veiled mystery, and the whole subject cannot fail to have a broadersignificance, a deeper, wider meaning, a purer influence than it couldhave if only the physiological facts relating to his own life came tohis knowledge. 

But should one wait for all these intermediate steps before telling thefacts of human life?

That perhaps depends upon the temperament and circumstances of theparent and the needs of the child. It does not matter much whether thesteps are taken consecutively or not, so long as the child gets a clearidea of the main facts and connects them in his mind with similarphenomena in all forms of life. Nor is a great store of knowledge onthe part of the parent necessary. Each will tell in his own way suchfacts as he knows, keeping only in mind that he is to impress the childwith the wonder and beauty of reproduction as a means to an end, and asa universal law working essentially alike in every living thing. 

There is something deeper than mere knowing, which the parent wishes tokindle, like a sacred fire which can never be extinguished, in the soulof his child. That is, a high reverence for the noble mystery of humanlife in its inception, and a deep love for his parents and a profoundfaith in them, such a love and reverence that any impulse to subvert theforces of his own life may be met with successful resistance. 

The boy who hears from his mother's lips his first knowledge of his ownorigin, who learns from her the full meaning of maternity, itssacrifices and suffering and the great love that gladly endures all, suffers all, for the sake of the precious child who is to come to herarms, --for the young life, his life, that she is to guide andcherish, --can never enshrine a debased image of womanhood in his heartof hearts. With some children--and some mothers--this might well be thechild's first introduction to the subject. Afterwards he could be shownthe flower and its seeds, the fish and its eggs, the egg of the bird, and somewhat later introduced to the pollen of the flower as necessaryto the completing of the wonderful transformation. 

Nor will it be difficult in these growing years to instil into the boythe best elements of chivalry which shall make him a champion for hismother's sex. He ought to be trained to a certain respect and courtesytoward girls and women as he grows older, by many devices in the homelife which will suggest themselves to any mother. A feeling ofprotection for motherhood can be fostered in the boy through hisrelations with the lower animals; many a one has had the truth impressedupon him by his mother's admonition not to handle kitty roughly or chaseher about too much, as she is carrying under her heart the burden of newlife. Keeping and caring for pets may be a great education to thegrowing boy. It interests him in animal life, gives him occupation athome; and in breeding his pigeons, rabbits, or squirrels his interest inobtaining good specimens may be an open door to instruction ofinestimable value far beyond pigeons and rabbits. 

Again, the boy's pet may by some mothers be found an easy introductionto the story of the development of the new life, the main stress beinglaid upon the care of the little mother, who must be treated withspecial kindness and consideration, and must be well fed. Some mothersencourage the children to save a little of their own milk and cream forpussy at this time, thus conveying the impression that some sacrifice oftheir own comfort is due to the mother who is bearing this extra burdenof life. If the child is curious, the mother can tell him so sacredlythe principal physiological facts that he will go from her feeling aslittle inclination to speak carelessly of what he has heard as he wouldfeel like shouting his prayers aloud in the street. 

It will naturally occur to the mother to connect this whole subjectclosely with the religious thought of the child; and where this is donesimply and without theology, but as an expression of the great divinelove and foresight that passes like a golden thread through every formof living creature, it may be exceedingly beautiful and exceedinglyhelpful. 

It is now time to answer the question, "What is to be done with theolder child who has received little or no preliminary instruction?"

From eleven to fourteen the boy can be told the facts he needs to knowwith as much preparatory flower and animal studies as can be madeinteresting to him. Everything will depend upon his temperament and thekind of information he may have already received. He may be interested;the chances are he will not be, or at least will pretend he is not. Insuch a case he must be made to listen, and some such preliminary as thefollowing will generally attain the required result. 

"There are some things that every man must understand rightly. I want tobe sure you understand them, so that you may know the true from thefalse, the right from the wrong, and will not show yourself ignorantbefore the world. "

Generally to be seriously called a man at this age, or invited to enterthe domain of the man, will conquer, and he will listen even though hemay pretend not to. It often happens that the boy entering the "contraryage" wants above all things to know, and yet is ashamed to listen. It isgenerally safer to talk to the boy at this time than to rely wholly uponbooks to be read by him. Give him the books by all means but talk themover with him, supplementing them in any way that seems best. It may bebetter for the father to talk to the hitherto uninstructed lad at thisage, but where this is not possible then the mother should see that theboy has the information he needs, in the most outreaching form she canbestow it, trying to make him realize the universality of the truth, thefact that every living thing is subject to essentially the same sexlaws. It is best for him to feel that both parents understand and areinterested in this side of his development, and the mother, even thoughthe father gives the instruction, may be able to show her son that shetoo knows and cares. It will be much less difficult as a rule for themother to talk to the girl at this age, and of course there will be manychildren, both boys and girls, with whom no difficulty will beencountered. 

With older children, those perhaps from fourteen to eighteen, yet othermethods may need to be pursued. Many youths can be approached withoutdifficulty, and what they need to know can be explained directly tothem. Whether this is so or not often depends quite as much on theparent as on the child. Where the mother feels that a direct appeal tothe youth would be injudicious she can sometimes gain his interest byindirect methods. If there are younger children she can introduce thesubject by saying that she is anxious to have the children instructedproperly in this subject, and that she relies upon him to assist her invarious ways, and particularly by always understanding what she isdoing, and adding the weight of his influence as an older brother. Shecan then consult him as to the best way of going to work, explainingabout the botany work and what she hopes to gain by using it, all thetime taking for granted that he knows everything. If he is interested, she can explain all to him in this way, opening the door to certainother information she must be sure that he has. Of course she may beable to relegate all this instruction to the child's father, but if forany reason this is not possible, the boy must get his help eitherdirectly or indirectly from her; and in any case if it is possible toassociate him with her in the task of enlightening and helping hisyounger brothers it may give a certain definiteness of thought on thesubject, and, what is of more importance, a sense of responsibility inregard to it. It will also help him to a realization of the universalnature of the manifestation of this side of life. By occasional appealsto his sympathy and help as time goes on and getting him to read certainbooks in order to help her to decide whether they would help the others, she may be able to do him an incalculable benefit. Even though he mayargue against instruction, that will give an opportunity to put in hisway sources of knowledge, and if he does not feel inclined to read thebooks recommended they can be left in his way where he can read themwithout being detected, which he will be apt to do. Generally youngpeople are eager for instruction, though where they have been neglectedand have formed false ideas and ideals they sometimes become perverse, particularly toward members of their own family. This may often be dueto fear in one form or another, and the wise parent will leave no meansuntried to give the youth somehow the help he needs. Many parents feelit wise to give the youth some good book on the subject suited to hisage, a book of his own which he can keep in his room to consult wheneverhe is puzzled or doubtful about his rule of conduct. 

XII

VIGILANCE

That the facts concerning the normal reproductive life throughout naturecan be presented in such a way as to create a worthy image in the mindof the learner there can be no doubt. 

The question naturally arises, "Is this enough to insure morality andpersonal purity in the youth?" Few knowing the tendency of the age wouldhesitate to say most emphatically that it is not enough. 

The end in view being to prepare the young soul for the great battle oflife, to put upon it the armor of a knight which shall be borneuntarnished, the first instruction concerning the facts of thereproductive life may well be impersonal, poetical, beautiful, fillingthe mind with sentiment, --not sentimentality, --so that the mental visionof this side of life shall be one worthy of the glorious mind of man. To keep the mind of the child wisely impressed with the beauty, theachievements, of the great reproductive force in nature, which isdirectly responsible for every living thing on the earth, is to helpimmeasurably toward branding a high instead of a low ideal on hissoul, --an ideal which he cannot lose when he reaches the great climaxthat transforms him into an adult capable of reproducing his kind, andwhen whatever most powerfully influences him will become a determiningfactor in the administration of his whole after life. 

Side by side, however, with this illumination of nature's methods shouldgo the most careful training and watchfulness in the care of the child'sown person, --not that he need connect the two in the least. Later, ofcourse, he will, and should as time goes on, have the most carefulinstruction concerning his own body and its functions. There are a fewsimple observances that every human being should learn from childhood, and learn so thoroughly and so fix as a matter of habit, that he cannever break away from them. 

At first the parent attends to the child's wants, later the child mustcare for himself; and while he ought not to be burdened with too muchthought of his body, yet there are a few simple rules of hygiene whichhe should follow as a matter of habit, and there is one subject uponwhich he should be most carefully instructed, --that is, maintaining thesexual purity of his body. He should be taught from the beginning tothink of his body as the sacred temple of his soul, which it is a sinagainst nature and against God to defile. That the child's body be keptuncontaminated is one of the most priceless gifts his parents can bestowupon him; the value of this was so keenly felt in antiquity that at acertain period of Greek supremacy the laws were most stringentconcerning it, a youth sinning against himself being put to death. 

There seems to be a growing need of watchfulness over children in thisrespect; few who have not looked especially into the matter have anyidea of the prevalence of harmful habits. Sex abuse has been called "thedisease of civilization"; and where it takes firm root, it isexceedingly disastrous to the life of a nation, not only destroying, directly or indirectly, individuals, but so weakening the stock that thewhole nation degenerates. 

The root of the difficulty perhaps lies in the low ideal of this age onthat subject. Where the ideal is low there can be no hope of a highresult. That the current theories which control the lives of the many inthis direction are false is the conclusion of the best scientific workof the present times. Where these theories, however, have been bred intoyouth for generations, they may to an extent be true simply as a resultof this breeding. Darwin in his "Descent of Man" says: "It is worthy ofremark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years oflife, whilst the brain is impressible, appears to acquire almost thenature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it isfollowed independently of reason. "

For the parent, then, to inculcate this quasi instinct against sex abusein any form is to give the child the best armor he could possibly have;and if this could be done for generations, the instinct would not needsuch careful fostering, as it would be born more or less developed withthe child. 

Every parent of a purely reared child is putting a stone in thefoundation of prosperity for this wonderful new civilization, which willgo on evolving, or die of decrepitude, just as its central dynamicforce, the sex life of the people, finally decides. Sex immorality is, as every one knows, one of the signs of the approaching death of anation. 

Few young mothers realize the great need of watchfulness against theformation of bad habits in even young children. And many make themistake of supposing that with children instruction can take the placeof watchfulness. During the early years of a child's life carefulwatching as well as careful teaching, is necessary. Nor does the socialgrade of the child bring immunity or the reverse. The mother who says toherself, "Oh, _my_ child would not, " does not understand the nature ofthe problem. Anybody's child may innocently fall into this error, andevery mother should equip herself with all the information necessary toguard against this most insidious of all foes and to meet it if itappears, realizing that watchfulness is necessary almost from the hourof birth, --even children in the cradle frequently needing attention inthis respect. Every young mother should know that among a certain classof people, from whom her nurse will likely be drawn, there are many whohave theories most pernicious to the welfare of the child, the nurseherself not infrequently, through ignorance perhaps, being guilty ofinitiating the babe into a course from which it will be most difficultfor him ever to depart. It is not safe to take for granted that anychild does not need a certain amount of watchfulness. The most highlyorganized, most "high strung" sensitive natures are among those most indanger, not only from forming unfortunate habits, but from theirresults. 

Watchfulness during the early years of the child's life, instruction incaring for himself, plenty of outdoor exercise, unstimulating food, sufficient sleep, the cold bath, agreeable occupation, abundant materialfor wholesome thought and imagination, will in most cases bring thechild safely to the first great milestone in his life journey, theperiod of adolescence. 

As the child grows older he should be warned against certain dangerswhich may beset him from other vicious or ignorant children; and ofcourse the child's temperament, his heredity, the weakness or strengthof his desires in the direction of sense pleasures, and the amount ofwill-power he possesses will guide the parent in the nature and amountof such instruction. Some mothers whose children have strong animalinstincts are afraid to instruct them on that account. Such children arein peculiar need of watchfulness and knowledge, and the right kind ofinstruction does not tend to waken the senses. Of course no child shouldbe sent away to school without an impressive warning against certainhabits all too prevalent among boys in boarding schools. Here it may bewise to let him know something of what he will be sure to see or hear, that he may not be taken unawares, puzzled and tempted by things whichto him will seem not to have come within the experience of his parentsif they said nothing to him about them. The boy warned by his parents ofthe falsity of the strange doctrines he may hear preached by theseunguided youths will not readily be deluded. The pure but ignorant boygoing for the first time into the new life of the school, looking up tothe older boys with that peculiar veneration the younger boy almostalways feels for the older, moved in his senses by what he hears andsees, may speedily forget such home warnings as seem vague andpointless, and he may yield himself to a course most disastrous to hisfuture. 

How can it fail to be the duty of every parent to protect the childagainst the chance of making these fatal mistakes through ignorance?Young people cannot be kept wholly out of reach of temptation, nor wouldit be best for them if they could be. Far better is it so to strengthenthe moral fibre that they can resist. 

From time to time there appears in our best publications an appeal fromsome noted educator for the better instruction of youth at home, andtheir almost universal plea is that the youth be told by the mother thefacts needed to give him a reverence for womanhood. 

XIII

THE TRANSFORMATION

The most difficult problems of the educator are found in connection withchanges which take place in the child at the age of adolescence orpuberty. This age has never been so carefully and systematically studiedas at the present time, and it is proving an unsuspected key for solvingmany puzzling problems of racial evolution as well as of individualdevelopment. Personally it is a time of tremendous stress, --physical, mental, and moral; the young person who escapes turmoil being theexception, not the rule. 

Certain of the physical changes which occur are familiar to all, but thedeep meaning of these changes is less generally understood. The parentwho has wisely guided the child to this critical period has done much, but it would be a mistake to suppose that all has now been done thatcan be done. 

The habits of self-reliance, self-control, and right thinking formedthrough the years of childhood will indeed help now. But there awakensfor the first time a new force: the child is, in a literal as well asfigurative sense, being born anew. At this new birth, which is sometimesvery difficult, he enters into a hitherto unknown world of interests andfeelings. While the change from child to adult may proceed as a gradualand placid unfolding in some individuals, in the great majority itadvances with irregular and disturbing demonstrations. This great changetakes place in girls generally at from thirteen to fifteen, and in boysa year or two later, though it is not completed for a period of five orsix years. During this time the most profound alterations take place innearly all parts of the body; the mind undergoes a similarmetamorphosis, so that often the child so carefully watched frombabyhood seems entirely superseded by a new being. 

This is preëminently the age of romance. It is the borderland where isfought the battle of individuality, and it is probable that at this timeis decided in a very deep way what is to be the trend of the whole afterlife. There is at this period such susceptibility to impressions thatthere may be indelibly stamped mental images that are the exact oppositeof those of childhood, the childish memory remaining as a thing apartand by itself, --a curious separation and continuation of two lines ofideas, which every one has perhaps experienced to some extent and onsome subject. 

It is probable that impressions received now are of more importance indetermining conduct than at any other period, or at least in determiningit for a long period of years, the period when the individual makes hisstrongest impression upon the world. Reversion to the faith or theideals of childhood, which so often occurs in old age, is of slightimportance to society as compared to the influence of the individualwhen at the zenith of his powers. Consequently, it is of the utmostimportance that the right thought and the high ideal be firmly implantedat this new birth. Undoubtedly the habits of childhood make impressionsin the same direction more easily received, and where self-indulgenceand gratification of the senses have been prominent, they will be sureto exert a tremendous power now, and _vice versa_. Thus a clearunderstanding of this period is of the utmost importance to whoeverundertakes the guidance of youth. 

The central point about which everything now revolves is the coming tomaturity of the sexual system. It is as absurd as it is harmful toignore the fact that this is primarily what the change means, and thatwith the physical power to become a parent there normally appears, either initially or with greatly increased force, the sex appetite. Thisis normally true of both boys and girls, though the forces that havegone to make our present civilization have, at least in many cases, madethe physiological sense cry subordinate in the girl, and occasionallythis is also true of the boy. 

There is no period in the life of the human being when he so needs helpin certain ways as now, and no time when it is so difficult to helphim, as every youth now more than ever before affords an individualproblem. One of the difficulties attending this period is the tendencyto unsymmetrical growth. Oftentimes the body shoots up with amazingrapidity, this quick growth of bone and muscle drawing heavily on thewhole system; parents recognize the condition by saying the child hasoutgrown his strength. He has often outgrown much more than this, forhis intellect may not have been able to keep pace, and we notinfrequently have the anomaly of an adult body with the mind of a child. No one is more conscious of this incongruity than the subject himself, whose anatomy seems to have run away with him. This rapid growth isgenerally marked by excessive development of some parts over others, sothat the child becomes clumsy and awkward. If the subject is a boy, thesudden change in the size of his vocal chords often causes a distressing"breaking" of the voice which adds materially to the general sense ofdisharmony. 

Those who have not experienced this sudden and unsymmetricaldevelopment can have little idea of the trials of the young soul goingthrough it, a suffering so great that suicide is often seriouslycontemplated as the only solution. And all this turmoil is kept withinthe heart of the sufferer. To the outsider the boy, the girl, is merely"cranky" or "contrary. " If not constantly nagged at and reproved for hisawkwardness at home, he is sure to have it ridiculed by his schoolmates, particularly by those of the opposite sex. He cannot help beinground-shouldered and loose-jointed, with protruding shoulder-blades andawkward motions; and the pathos of it is, he thinks he must alwaysremain so, an ugly failure and a laughing-stock to the community. Theeffect this has upon him will depend upon his temperament. Verysensitive and fine natures often instinctively seek to cover the realtrouble by exaggerating the defects in every way possible, --makingbelieve they do it all on purpose, and acting the clown and the ruffian, giving way to the irritability natural to the condition with a sort ofreckless despair which is sure to be misunderstood and censured bythose he loves best. When this stage is reached, it is easy for him toimagine himself a social outcast, a useless encumbrance that nobodyloves, a clumsy dolt that nobody likes to have about. Again he maybecome sullen, morose, resentful, and suspicious toward all about him. Or, a timid nature may become more timid, shrinking, weak of will, anddespondent concerning life in general; or the subject may show anexaggerated egotism which seeks by sheer intrusion of self to forceeverything else aside. 

In the course of a few years he grows out of these difficulties, but thesuffering he underwent may have made such an impression upon hisexcessively sensitive nerve centres that he never entirely recovers fromit, and may be controlled by it in ways he does not suspect all the restof his life. 

It is needless to say that a large part of this suffering could beaverted by knowledge on the part of the parents and of other adults withwhom the youth comes in contact, as well as on the part of the youthhimself. What he most needs in his "awkward age" is sympathy, patience, firmness, and instruction, and his physical defects should never beridiculed. Perhaps nothing is more helpful to youth at this stage thanto have its vagaries treated seriously. Wonderful dreams of future gloryand accomplishment, remarkable theories of the universe, astoundingschemes for impossible inventions, new Utopias, wild adventures, and attimes even questionable escapades are the natural and luxurious growthof the newly stimulated imagination. They do no harm, and are a safetyvalve which should be understood. Honest sympathy, where sympathy ismerited, will give weight to warning and disapproval, which would haveno weight at all if the whole fabric of the imagination, which is soreal and so precious to the imaginer, were condemned withoutdiscrimination. These dreams of youth are often the real stuff out ofwhich the fabric of life is later to be woven, taking new forms it maybe, but getting their inception there. Some one has said that if thefacts could be known, the thought germs whence finally came the steamengine and the electric telegraph were probably conceived in the brainof an adolescent; and we know that poets are born at that age. 

Many of the dreams of the youth may seem fantastic and ridiculous, butif the adult can only remember that they are not so to the dreamer andthat this is a phase through which he is passing, --a phase which in mostcases will pass entirely, leaving only, so to speak, a glow behind, --hewill be more sympathetic and thus more helpful. If he can also realizethat these dreams of the youth are an expression on the highest plane ofthe creative instinct which is in a sense controlling his body, mind, and soul, these vagaries, far from being ridiculous, will be recognizedas worthy of the deepest respect. Now, too, the parent who has won thefull confidence of the child through confidential talks on sex matterscan without difficulty instruct him in the meaning and control of thenew forces that are at work upon him. 

The whole subject now changes. It becomes personal, and his thoughts areclouded by new problems and by the imperious demands of the body. According to the nature, inheritance, and previous habits of the youththese demands assert themselves. And now is the time of greatest dangerfrom ignorance. Even though the boy has been well taught up to this age, if he is cast adrift now on the turbulent sea of desire and allowed togather information from the sources all too available, there may occur asplit between the thought of his childhood on this subject and thethought of his adulthood. If he is not allowed to drift, however, butgiven a chart and compass, the knowledge he has already of how to sailhis ship will enable him to make straight for the right port, which hewill have a good chance of reaching, no matter how stormy the seas hemay have to traverse. With the right knowledge now, the idea and theideal of his childhood may become the idea and the ideal of his manhood. If the child's thought of the subject has been unworthy, the danger offorever enshrining a wrong image in the soul of the adult is greater, and the difficulty of placing there the right one is enhanced. 

The outward signs of the girl's development are usually explainedbeforehand sufficiently to enable her properly to care for herself. Itis unnecessary to add that this should always be done, as nothing ismore unjust than to leave her in a state of ignorance where the naturalexpression of her maturity may fill her mind with fears which may affecther nervous system ever after, even if they do not lead her to do actswhich may permanently impair her reproductive vitality, and injure herhealth in other ways. All that she needs to know about the proper careof her person should be told her in the most considerate yet explicitmanner, as should whatever is told her upon any part of the subject. Itis a mistake to be vague now. Whatever is told concerning thereproductive processes should be said with the greatest clearness, leaving no room for brooding and imagination. And here, too, the wiseparent will take into account the phenomenon of desire, which, so farfrom being abnormal in the girl, is normal in the truest sense. It maynot play an important part in her life at this time, and often it doesnot, but again it may. Nor is the girl of whom this latter is true inany sense less fine or less worthy; perhaps on the contrary she is thebest product of her race. Nor should she be afraid or ashamed of hernature, but only helped to understand and take care of herself and ofher powers. 

With the youth at this period the changes that fit him for his new placein the world are generally ignored. He does not know what is normal andwhat abnormal in his physiological development, and is often the victimof groundless fears that use up his strength or send him in despair toseek assistance from the most easily available sources of information, those baleful writings and despicable quack practitioners everywheresoliciting and alarming youth, and whose career forms one of the saddestcommentaries on the state of our civilization. 

The young man should know the truth about himself. He should understandthe vast range of the change that is taking place in him, and that notwo individuals necessarily develop just alike, either physically ormentally; and he should understand what are its normal phenomena, andhow without fear to recognize and control deviations from them. Manyparents direct the boy to go at once to the family physician if he istroubled or puzzled in any way. A few moments' talk with a wise doctormay save much useless worry. The more nervous and sensitive the boy atthis time the more likely he will be to suffer from imagined troubles, and the greater his danger of falling into real ones. 

While the youth must know the physiological and anatomical facts andmust know in a general way the consequences of vice, he will seldom berestrained or helped by the methods of the alarmist. It is far betterthat his mind at this time dwell upon the normal and noble side of sexlife than on its abnormal and ignoble side. The value of diet, coldwater, exercise, and occupation should be understood by the young peoplethemselves, and also the tremendous value of thought in helping orhindering. Faith in one's power to win is the first requisite in anycontest, and fortunately science to-day is saying what the inner heartof man must always have told him was true, that a chaste life is bothpossible and safe. Indeed the scientists of to-day declare it to beadvantageous, heightening the power of the individual in all directions, and particularly at the growing age. 

Every parent has an ideal as to how he wishes his daughter to be treatedby young men, and how he wishes her to conduct herself toward them. Thatthis ideal be reached in the case of the daughter, it is necessary thatthe son be trained to a chivalry and respect for all women, which willmake it impossible for him to take liberties with any woman. A rightknowledge of the real meaning and the responsibilities and duties oftheir lives at this time would be a better safeguard for most youngpeople than any amount of chaperonage. Nor will such training in any waylessen the joy of life, or the charms of courtship, but on the contrary, will enhance all that is most precious. 

When the youth goes finally into the real battle of life, into the worldof business, of competition, and temptation, he will need all hisfortitude and all his knowledge to guide him aright in his personallife. And then it is that he will begin to realize what his parents havereally done for him, and to appreciate their forethought and care. Then, too, he not infrequently expresses in the strongest terms his gratitudeto the mother, the father, who have guided his course safely over thedangerous shoals. 

The life battle of the youth who has been carefully instructed andpreserved clean in mind and body is very different from that of him whohas been weakened in will and perverted in mind from lack of suchpreservation; he knows that purity is both possible and good, anddesires it above all things for his sons, both for their happiness andfor their material success in life. 

Habits of thought and action have an incalculable influence upon thebody as well as upon the mind; and here as everywhere else, the ideal, whether it be high or low, will control the destiny of the man. 

LIST OF BOOKS HELPFUL IN STUDYING PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I

BOOKS HELPFUL IN STUDYING PLANT LIFE

 Andrews, Jane: Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children $0. 50

 Bailey, L. H. : Plant Breeding 0. 75

 Bass, Florence: Plant Life. Nature Stories for Young Readers 0. 25

 Dana, Mrs. William Starr (Frances T. Parsons): How to Know the Wild Flowers 2. 00

 Going, Maud: Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers. Untechnical Studies for Unlearned Lovers of Nature 1. 50 With the Wild Flowers, from Pussy Willow to Thistledown 1. 00 With the Trees 1. 00

 Gray, Asa: School and Field Book of Botany 1. 80

 Huntington, Annie Oakes: Studies of Trees in Winter 2. 50

 Keeler, Harriet L. : Our Native Trees and How to Identify them 2. 00

 Laing, Mary E. : The Life of a Bean. For little children 0. 15

 Lounsberry, Alice: A Guide to the Trees 1. 75

 Lubbock, Sir John: Flowers, Fruits, and Leaves. Treats of fertilization of flowers, seed dispersal, leaves, stinging hairs, etc. 0. 75

 Morley, Margaret W. : Seed Babies. For young children, showing how plants come from seeds 0. 25 Little Wanderers. For children, on the methods of seed dispersal 0. 30 Flowers and Their Friends. Stories of plants and how they do their work of living 0. 50 A Few Familiar Flowers. A book of methods for teaching beginning botany 0. 75

 Newell, Jane H. : Reader in Botany. Part I. From Seed to Leaf 0. 60 Part II. From Flower to Fruit 0. 60

 Parsons, Frances Theodora (Mrs. W. S. Dana): According to Season. Talks about the flowers in the order of their appearance in the woods and fields 1. 75

 Rogers, Julia Ellen: The Tree Book. North American trees, uses, and culture 3. 00

 Roth, Filibert: First Book of Forestry 1. 25

 Spear, Mary A. : Leaves and Flowers. Botany for young learners, giving the principal botanical terms 0. 25

 Weed, Clarence M. : Seed Travellers. On seed dispersal; for older children 0. 25

II

BOOKS HELPFUL IN STUDYING ANIMAL LIFE

 American Humane Education Society: Publications, and "Our Dumb Animals, " a magazine Per year $0. 50

 Bass, Florence: Animal Life. Nature Stories for Young Readers 0. 35

 Bateman, Rev. Gregory C. : Fresh Water Aquaria 1. 40

 Burroughs, John: Locusts and Wild Honey 1. 25 Signs and Seasons 1. 25 Wake Robin 1. 25 Ways of Nature 1. 50

 Chapman, Frank M. : Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America 3. 00

 Comstock, Anna Botsford: Ways of the Six-Footed. Stories of Insect Life 0. 40

 Comstock, John Henry: Insect Life 1. 75

 Dixon, Charles: Birds' Nests 1. 20

 Eddy, Sarah J. : Friends and Helpers 0. 60

 Howard, Leland O. : The Insect Book 3. 00

 Hulbert, W. D. : Forest Neighbors. Life Stories of Wild Animals 1. 50

 Jackson, Gabrielle E. : The Adventures of Tommy Postoffice. The True Story of a Cat 0. 75

 Jackson, Helen Hunt: Cat Stories 2. 00

 Job, Herbert K. : Wild Wings. Adventures of a Camera Hunter among the larger Wild Birds of North America over Sea and Land 3. 00

 Jordan, David Starr (_Editor_): True Tales of Birds and Beasts 0. 40

 Keyser, Leander S. : Birds of the Rockies 1. 50

 Long, William J. : Ways of the Wood Folk 0. 50 Wilderness Ways 0. 45 Secrets of the Woods 0. 50 Wood Folk at School 0. 50 A Little Brother to the Bear, and Other Animal Stories 1. 50

 Mathews, F. Schuyler: Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music 2. 00 Familiar Life in Field and Forest. The Animals, Birds, Frogs, and Salamanders 1. 75

 Miller, Mary Rogers: The Brook Book 1. 35

 Morley, Margaret W. : Butterflies and Bees 0. 60 The Insect Folk 0. 45 A Song of Life 1. 25 Life and Love 1. 25 The Bee People 1. 25 The Honey-Makers 1. 25 Little Mitchell. The Story of a Squirrel 1. 25 Our Four-Footed Friends. A Monthly Magazine. Per year 0. 50

 Patterson, Alice Jean: The Spinner Family. About Spiders 1. 00

 Repplier, Agnes: The Fireside Sphinx. A Book about Cats for Older Readers 2. 00

 Seton, Ernest Thompson: Animal Heroes 2. 00 The Biography of a Grizzly 1. 50 Lives of the Hunted 1. 75 The Trail of the Sandhill Stag 1. 50 Wild Animals I Have Known 2. 00

 Weed, Clarence M. : Stories of Insect Life Spring and Summer. First Series 0. 25 Autumn. Second Series 0. 30

 Wheelock, Irene Grosvenor: Nestlings of Forest and Marsh 1. 00

 Winslow, Helen M. : Concerning Cats. Stories of Historical and Other Cats 1. 50

 Wood, Rev. Theodore: A Natural History of Birds, Fishes, etc. 1. 25

 Wright, Julia McNair: Seaside and Wayside. School reading books. 4 vols. Vol. I. 0. 25 Vol. II. 0. 35 Vol. III. 0. 45 Vol. IV. 0. 60

III

MISCELLANEOUS

 Ellis, Havelock: Man and Woman. For those interested in the philosophical and scientific side of the subject. In the Contemporary Science Series 1. 50

 Geddes and Thompson: The Evolution of Sex. Contemporary Science Series 1. 50

 Hall, G. Stanley: Adolescence. Two volumes 7. 50

 Layard, Rev. E. B. : Religion in Boyhood. Chapter on How to Form Character. This book has an Introduction by the Rev. Endicott Peabody, head master of Groton School, Groton, Mass. 0. 75

 Lyttleton, Rev. The Hon. E. : Mothers and Sons 1. 00 Training of the Young in Laws of Sex 1. 00

 Stall, Sylvanus, D. D. : What a Young Boy Ought to Know 1. 00 What a Young Man Ought to Know 1. 00 What a Young Husband Ought to Know 1. 00 What a Man of Forty-five Ought to Know 1. 00

 Wood-Allen, Dr. Mary: What a Young Girl Ought to Know 1. 00 What a Young Woman Ought to Know 1. 00 What a Young Wife Ought to Know 1. 00 Almost a Man 0. 50 Almost a Woman 0. 50

BY MISS MORLEY

The Bee People

_ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR_

Price $1. 25

It is the story, told in most fascinating style, of the honey bee, howit is born, how it lives, how it gathers honey, and all about it, notomitting its sting. The bee is credited with powers of reasoning, andthe troubles of the queen bee in retaining her throne are set forth in adelightfully fairy-story-like way which will win every child that readsit. --_The Times, Philadelphia. _

Probably no branch of natural history is more interesting than the beepeople, and when told by an appreciative student is doubly so. MissMorley carries out the human idea suggested in the title; and theworker, the drone, the queen, and all the inmates of a hive are given alife-like personality. Many illustrations aid in telling the story, andmany wonderful things concerning the habits of these little people areconstantly revealed. --_The Detroit News Tribune. _

 * * * * *

The Honey Makers

_ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR_

Price $1. 25

Unlike Miss Morley's other works, this book is intended for olderreaders. The first part of the book is devoted to the scientificexposition of the bee's structure, habits, etc. , and it is surprisinghow much interest and humor the author has managed to infuse into thesubject. The second part performs an original and valuable service toliterature. To the bees more than to any other portion of the animalkingdom has attention been devoted by poets and thinkers seekinginspiration, and from this wealth of allusion and anecdote Miss Morleyhas culled the choicest and most striking parts. 

 * * * * *

A Song of Life

_ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR AND ROBERT FORSYTH_

Price $1. 25

With simple, beautiful phrases, with pure and admiring words to describethe process of life, and with scores of gracefully outlined forms ofplant and bird and beast by a helpful artist, has this song of life beensung and illustrated to delight and instruct in the happiest way many awondering child concerning the mystery of life. --_The Churchman, NewYork. _

The plan of the work is novel, and the narrative is accurate andinteresting to an unusual degree. Few writers on life's history give somuch of it in a space so limited. --_The Nation, New York. _

 * * * * *

Life and Love

_ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR_

Price $1. 25

Margaret Warner Morley has written in "Life and Love" a book whichshould be placed in the hands of every young man and woman. It is afearless yet clean-minded study of the development of life and therelations thereof from the protoplasm to mankind. The work is logical, instructive, impressive. It should result in the innocence of knowledge, which is better than the innocence of ignorance. It is a pleasure to seea woman handling so delicate a topic so well. Miss Morley deservesthanks for doing it so impeccably. Even a prude can find nothing to carpat in the valuable little volume. --_Boston Journal. _

It is an agreeable and useful little volume, explanatory of themysteries of plant and animal life, --such a book as parents will do wellto place in the hands of thoughtful, or, better still, of thoughtlesschildren. --_Philadelphia Press. _

 * * * * *

Little Mitchell

THE STORY OF A MOUNTAIN SQUIRREL

_ILLUSTRATED BY BRUCE HORSFALL_

Price $1. 25

Miss Morley's own words give the best idea of this most engaging littlebook:

 "Baby Mitchell was an August squirrel. That is, he was born in the month of August. His pretty gray mother found a nice hole, high up in the crotch of a tall chestnut tree, for her babies' nest; and I know that she lined it with soft fur plucked from her own loving little breast, --for that is the way the squirrel mothers do. 

 "This chestnut tree grew on the side of a steep mountain, --none other than Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain peak in all the eastern half of the United States. It is in North Carolina, where there are a great many beautiful mountains, but none of them more beautiful than Mount Mitchell, with the great forest trees on its slopes. "

 A. C. McCLURG & CO. , PUBLISHERS

FOOTNOTES:

[1] A great deal of confusion exists in many minds as to theorigin of pollen and ovule. There seems to be a general and almostineradicable impression that fertilization has something to do increating the ovule. This is not so. The ovule is a part of every ovaryjust as the pollen is a part of every anther. Each will be producedwhether they ever come together or not; only if they do not cometogether, both perish, while if they do, development of the ovulecontinues.