it may seem. Indeed it is not difficult at all if one
can begin with the young child, building little by little the foundation
upon which later to erect a noble superstructure.

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

But what about those children who are no longer in their infancy? How
are 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, the
first succeeding chapters will deal with it as applied to the young
child. Following this, methods for use with older children will be
discussed.

* * * * *

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

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

(2) To convey a clear idea of the true relation of seed to plant. This
can be amplified later to cover the reproductive phenomena of human
life.

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

* * * * *

Some children naturally think of the plant as alive; they endow it with
thought, feeling, and emotion; talk to it, consult it, caress it. Others
do not. In both cases it is of value to the child to know the deeper
truths concerning the life of the plant. In the one case it will steady
sentimentality and guard against later loss of interest, in the other it
will stimulate imagination and foster a high type of sentiment.

An easy and effective way to begin the study of the plant is to watch it
as it sprouts from the seed. Since a large seed, easy to see and simple
in structure, is best, an ordinary bean answers the purpose admirably,
particularly as the bean has the convenient habit of rising up above
the ground when it sprouts, the development of the embryo proceeding in
full view. Any of the common varieties will answer the purpose, though
of course the larger the