in small boxes or pans, partly filled with rich soil, and kept in a warm place."

3. NOTES.

1. All plants are vegetable. A part or the whole of a plant used chiefly for food is called a Vegetable. Plants that are commonly grown in gardens, and used as food, are called vegetables. Those used chiefly for flavoring are often called garden herbs.

The

2. Some garden vegetables are grown for the seed that they produce, as the pea, bean, etc. Others are grown for their leaves, as cabbage and lettuce. Some produce bulbs. onion is a good example of a bulb-producing plant. The potato plant is grown for the tubers that it produces. A tuber is a modified form of the stem of a plant, a thickened root stock. The turnip, beet, radish, parsnip, etc., are the enlarged roots of those plants. The celery plant has a fleshy leaf stock that is much relished by many people. 3. The potato supplies large quantities of starch,

and the beet is the source of much of the sugar of commerce. Starch and sugar are principal food substances required by animals and supplied by plants.

4. Potatoes, beets, onions, and other vegetables are in some localities grown in large quantities as field products.

5. Experiment. Plant some corn, wheat, bean, and pumpkin seed. Which come through the ground as a single spear or leaf?

Which show two leaves on first appearance? A third difference between the young plants? 6. Experiment. (1) Measure the distance between the leaves of a pumpkin vine; also the

difference between the blades of a stalk of wheat at different times.

Which shows a difference in the distance between the leaves? Draw conclusions as

to the in which each grows.

way

(2) Cut a section from the stem of each, and note difference between them.

7. Experiment. Note the direction in which a

bean vine twines. Try to train the vine to twine in the opposite direction.

What is

the result of your efforts? Note the direction. in which some other vines twine.

8. Experiment. Place a plant in a dark room or cellar and note change of color in the plant. Draw conclusions.

9. Experiment. Place a plant under water. Note results and draw conclusions.

LESSON IX.

GRANDFATHER'S GARDEN (Continued).

I.

"Do you know that birds can help to take care of a garden?

"Well, they can, and I will tell you how. You probably know that worms sometimes injure cabbage, tomatoes, and other garden vegetables. Last summer when I was at grandfather's, he showed me a robin's nest in a tree near the house. The mother bird had recently hatched a brood of four little robins.

Grandfather said that these young birds were valuable to him. I soon understood what he meant; for while we talked, the mother bird came flying home, and I could see that she carried something in her bill. The little birds stretched their necks and opened their mouths wide, and they all seemed to say, 'We are so glad you have brought us something to eat.'

"When the mother bird had fed them what she had brought, grandfather asked me to go with him and sit on the bench under the old sweet apple tree. From that spot we could see both the nest and the garden. Presently the mother bird flew from the

nest to the garden fence, and then with a cluck and jerk of the head she sprang to the ground and was soon among the plants.

"She hopped from plant to plant and would curiously turn her head to get a better view of the leaves as she examined them from above and below. We saw her pull something from a leaf and strike with her bill a few times against the ground. Grandfather said she was killing the worm she had found. She then flew to the nest, and again the young birds made queer sounds, stretched their necks, and held their mouths wide open.

"For a long time we sat there and watched the mother bird gather food for the brood. Grandfather said that she and her mate would work in this way for hours, and I was not surprised that he placed a high value upon these birds and their little ones."

2.

"I laughed heartily when grandfather told me that he had some pet birds out in the pasture that helped him take care of the stock. Grandmother laughed too, and said that grandfather called all the birds about the place his pets.

"But when we went to the pasture for the cows, sure enough, we saw some small blackbirds among the cattle, and they were indeed busy. Some would

fly and light on a cow's back, where they would catch the small black flies they found; others would dart from the ground and catch larger ones while on the wing.

"It was evident that grandfather was pleased with these pets,' as he called them.

(

"There were also many meadow larks in the pasture. Grandfather said that they were catching bugs and worms, and that in the course of a season they would, no doubt, destroy a great many thousand insects.

"The sun was low in the west. The swallows were flying about in search of food. Soon some bats appeared. They darted about very swiftly, and their rubberlike wings made not the least sound in the air. Grandfather said that while the birds sleep, these queer creatures catch insects that fly by night.

"As we sat on the porch that night enjoying the cool and pleasant breeze, we could plainly hear the low buzz of insect wings, and the drowsy hum of insect life, and grandfather told me of the many birds that prey upon insects and destroy them. He said that even the little bird we call the 'sap sucker' is very valuable in an orchard; and that if I should see this little bird climbing a limb and pecking upon it in various places as it hopped along, I