Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study Part 31

Another very convenient and very successful method of starting cuttings is to take a six-inch flower-pot, put two inches of fine gravel in the bottom, set a four-inch unglazed flower-pot in the centre, and fill up the s.p.a.ce around it with sand and garden-loam, mixed. Put a cork in the hole in the bottom of the small flower-pot, and then fill it with water.

Put the cuttings around in the s.p.a.ce between the two pots and set in a fairly warm room in moderate light.

POTTING OF ROOTED CUTTINGS

When the cuttings are well rooted, which requires from three to six weeks according to the variety and growth conditions furnished, they should be carefully lifted with a trowel and each set in a small pot or can. First put in the bottom a few small stones to secure drainage, and then a little good potting soil. Set the plant in place and fill in around with more soil and pack this firmly around the roots. Keep room in the top of the pot for water. When the new plant has made some growth, it may be s.h.i.+fted to a larger pot. Geraniums and coleus (foliage plants) should not be kept more than two seasons. Take cuttings off the old plants and then throw the latter away.

EVERGREENS

In December make a study of Canadian evergreens, choosing spruce, balsam, and cedar, if available, or subst.i.tute hemlock for any one of these.

Compare the general features of these trees, such as shape, direction of branches, colour, persistence of leaves through the winter.

Have the pupils notice how nature fits these trees to endure the snows and storms of winter by:

1. The tapering cone which causes the snow to slide off the tree.

2. The fine, needle-shaped leaves to which only very sticky snow will adhere.

3. The very tough, flexible, and elastic branches, which bend in the wind and under the weight of snow, but spring back to their old positions.

4. The resin in leaves, stems, and buds, which enables the trees to resist frost and rain.

Teach the pupils to distinguish these trees by their differences in colour and form and also by the differences in their leaves and cones.

CLa.s.s-ROOM LESSON

Distribute small twigs of balsam and require the pupils to observe and describe the length, shape, and colour of the leaves.

Next distribute small twigs of spruce and require the pupils to compare the spruce leaves with those of the balsam in length, shape, and colour.

Next distribute twigs of cedar and proceed similarly.

The cones may be dealt with in a similar manner. Require the pupils to make a census of the evergreens of the locality, recording the cla.s.s of evergreen, the size, and the use of each kind for shade, ornament, or for commercial purposes.

_To the teacher._--The balsam, spruce, and hemlock are difficult for the beginner to distinguish, but this may be done by noting the following points of difference in their leaves:

The leaf of the hemlock is the only one that has a distinct leaf-stalk.

Look for this tiny stalk.

The leaf of the hemlock, like that of the balsam, is flat, but the hemlock leaf is much the shorter.

The leaf of the spruce is not flat, but is three-sided or nearly so. Its colour is uniform, while the under surface of the hemlock leaf, and also of the balsam leaf, is of a decidedly lighter colour than the upper surface.

Note that the spruce _type_ is studied; no attempt is made at this stage to differentiate the several species of spruce.

COLLECTION OF WOOD SPECIMENS

During the winter months the boys may prepare specimens of wood for the school collection. These specimens should be cut when green, and dried afterwards. They should be uniform in length--not more than six inches--and should show the bark on one side. The side showing the bark should be two inches wide at most, six inches long, and running in a V-shaped, radial section toward the pith. A tangential section also shows well the rounded layers. A piece of slab as cut lengthwise off a round stick is tangential. Care should be taken not to mutilate trees in taking these specimens. Specimens of rare or foreign woods may be obtained at wood-working factories.

RELATED READING

Winter is Nature's quiescent period. Continuous active observation in the out-of-doors among the plants of the forest and garden gives place for a time to indoor work and reflection. Pupils need time for reading and reflection, and no time is so opportune as the quiet winter season.

During these months some time should be devoted to the reading of nature stories and extracts from magazines and books dealing with plant as well as with animal life.

Pupils should review their gardening experiences and discuss plans of improvement for the approaching spring and summer. Let them write letters to the Form II pupils of other schools where similar work has been carried on, and give some of their experiences in gardening and other plant studies, and also in animal studies. A certain Friday afternoon might be appointed for hearing the letters read which were received in reply. Suitable short poems that have a direct bearing upon the outdoor studies should be read from time to time. Good pictures also come in here as an aid in helping the pupils to appreciate written descriptions. The first-hand observations made by them will form a basis for the better and more appreciative interpretation of these literature selections.

For Observation Lesson on Weed Seeds, see page 171.

HOW ANIMALS PREPARE FOR WINTER

~Introduction.~--Discuss the preparations that people make for winter, such as the storing of food and the providing of warmer clothes and homes.

~Method.~--The teacher questions the pupils and encourages them to tell what they have learned through their own observation of animals. The knowledge of the pupils is supplemented by information given by the teacher, but the pupils are left to find out more facts by further observations. Thus:

Do you ever see ground-hogs out during winter?

What do they feed upon during the winter?

What is the condition of ground-hogs in late summer and in autumn?

What is the use of the great store of fat that they have in their bodies?

Examine the snow near the burrows of ground-hogs and find whether they ever come out in mid-winter.

_To the teacher._--The hibernating animals prepare a home or nest and lay up a store of food in the form of fat within their bodies. To hibernate does not mean the same as to sleep. The hibernating animals have much less active organs than the sleeping animals. The heart-beat and the respiratory movements are very slow and feeble, consequently a very little nourishment suffices to sustain life.

SUMMARY OF LESSONS

(Two lessons of twenty minutes)

1. Some animals migrate:

Examples--many birds, b.u.t.terflies, and some bats; the cariboo, and buffalo.

2. Some animals hibernate:

Examples--bear, ground-hog, racc.o.o.n, frogs, toads, snakes, and some bats.

NOTE.--Flies, mosquitoes, and some other insects crawl into crevices and remain at rest during winter, but their bodies are not stored with food.

3. Some animals build houses and store foods:

Examples--beaver, squirrel, chipmunk, honey-bee, deer-mouse.

4. Some animals build homes convenient to food: