The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-11-20
HOW TO STUDY BOTANY.
DR.. Clifton Ofe.s some Valuable
Suggestions.
From lie Macon (Ga.) Telegraph.

From the Macon (Gd.) Telegraph.
During the last two years have written
number of articles which have been pub
lished in the Telegraph, giving plain in
s.ructions how to commence and pursue the
study Of one of the most fascinating depart
ments Of natural history-the insect world.
The favor with which thess articles were
received, as shown By many letters from
teachers and Others, reporting most salts
factory results growing out Of the instruc-
ton OF the study Of natural objects in
schools and at home, has encouraged me to
commence still another series of articles.
giving instructions how to commence and
pursue the study Of another very interest
ing department of natural history-boteny,
or the natural history Of plants.
But little expense need be incurred in the
purchase of appliances, and no previ-
Gus sclentihc training Is necessary on the
part of pupils.
During the short days Of winter, now ap-
preaching. botany may be studied indoors.
The following list Of articles include all
that are absolutely necessary. and the
attention which the plants require can
be given by any intelligent boy or girl of 10
years Of age.
l. Purchase two or more soup plates, or
select them from those in the pantry, the
edges OF which have been Clipped so they
are no longer suitable to appear on the table.
Instead OF soup plates the shallow earthen-
ware flower pots used by the florists will
answer, or even old vegetable cans will do.
Z Go to the seed store and Cor 10 cents
the scotsman will give you a few each of a
variety of seeds. Select a dozen butter
beans, as many English garden peas,
dozen grains of Indian corn, some wheat,
oats, barley and rye Get also few bulbs,
one or two Irish potatoes and some onions
3. Get about half gallon of clean sand,
such as masons use. 1t is best to sift it aud
wash out all organic matter.
4. When the sand is dry sift into each of
the soup plates enough to fill it even VITA
the top. 1t will save labor if you also pro-
vide two or more panes of glass, large
enough to cover the soup plates, to be used
as covers, thus preventing the too rapid
operation of the wafer.
Now take one Of the soup plates filed
with sand, and make dozen holes with
your fingers or with a small stick, and, in
each, plant one of the butter beans. cover
ing it with half an inch of sand. Sprinkle
water over the plate of sand until it is COM
pletely saturated, and then place over it one
of the panes Of glass, and set it in a warm
place.
You should also provide yourself with a
small blank book aud pencil, and when you
nave planted the beans make the first record
in your book say:
Dec. PLANTED twelve butter beans in
plate No. 1.
On the next day or twenty-four hours
after the beans were planted, raise the
glass cover and take out carefully one of
the beans; examine its condition aud make
a note of it in your blank Took. It would
be this:
After tweuty-four hours in the moist
sand bean No. shows that it has absorbed
no nd nd 10 ~
swollen.
Next day at the same hour. as nearly as
may be convenient, resurrect bean No.
and make the proper entry
Bean No. 2, after forty-eight hours ex-
| posure is the moist sand, is very much en-
| larged and has commenced splitting into
two halves. By sticking pin into it 1t
appears to be also much softened.
Next day again take out bean No. 8. 1t
| will be found separated into two halves.
held together by a little band that acts like
| hinge.
On the fourth day the bean is found
pushing itself through the sand, aud the
| two halves well spread out, and, under a
| lens, tiny rootlets will be seen growing
| down from the lower part of the ligament
| or hinge that holds the two halves together.
On the fifth day the leaves of the fifth
bean are nearly above ground, the little
| hair-like roots are plainly visible, and also a
plumule or bud on the upper portion of the
| ligament.
| Next day, bean No. is entirely above
| ground. The roots now hold it firmly and
| the plumule is seen to be another pair of
leaves, rapidly unfolding, raised on a stem
| above the first pair or seed leaves.
| TIE remaining six beans may now be left
| alone for few days as they grow in the
| plate and the changes through which they
pass carefully noted.
| 1t is plainly seen now that there was
| packed away in each one of the butter
beans tiny plentlet. surrounded with
| food, in the shape Of vegetable albumen
forming the greater portion or the two
halves of the bean, and that when the little
| plantlet walked up and stretched itself out
at full length one part became a
| root and pushed itself down in the
ground to anchor the plant securely that
the other end pushed itself up into the air
aud became a stem, on which was hung
| first the two halves of the bean or the seed
leaves containing the food necessary for the
| little plant to commence its growth, and
later two new leaves formed from the first
| plumule.
| In the next article we will examine the
| other SIX beans.
simmons Liver Regulator cured me of gen.
erai debility and loss of appetite.-SIrs. Ed
L