c May WHOLE No. 118 CIRCULAR No. 60 BULLETIN of THE UNIVERSITY 0/ MONTANA Syllabus of Proposed Course in Botany for Secondary Schools in Montana By J. E. KIRKWOOD, Ph. D. Professor of Botany in the University of Montana MISSOULA, SEPTEMBER, 1915 Lnterccf at Missoula, Montana, as second class matter under act of Congress. August 24. 1912. Bulletin of the University of Montana Whole No. 118, Circular No. (& ~ Syllabus of Proposed Course in Botany for Secondary Schools in Montana By J. E. KIRKWOOD, Ph. D. Professor of Botany in the University of Montana Department of Botany, University of Montana Missoula, Montana, 1915 BOTANY Proposed Outline for a Standard Course of Study. The course of study outlined below is suggested for one semester's work in high schools. With increase in some or in all of its sections it may be extended to cover a year, and this by all means should be done wherever practicable. It is based largely upon the Syllabus for Secondary Schools of the New York State Education Department, and is offered in response to inquiries which have come repeatedly to the University and to members of the faculty as to the most desirable and prac- tical course of study which could be offered in secondary schools in Montana. Inquiry on the part of the faculty mem- bers interested has revealed the fact that there is at present no uniformity in the teaching of botany in the high schools of this state, and no standard course is at present recognized. The need of more or less local modification of the courses to meet what may be the peculiar needs of the community is recognized, but such is quite possible within the scope of the present out- line, and yet will leave time to acquaint the student with some of the representatives of the larger natural groups of plant life. The nature of the plant should be revealed by care- ful attention to the physiological part of the outline, and this part should be regarded as fundamental and necessary to an intelligent study of either pure or applied botany in any of its forms. Where time will permit, attention may well be given to a fuller study of the principal families and genera of the flowering plants. The outline submitted herewith is a tenta- tive one, and may be modified later in the light of criticisms. Therefore criticisms are invited, both on the content of the course and the method of treatment. In following any course of scientific study a careful note- book should be kept. In biological work a loose-leaf book, tak- ing drawing and note paper of about 8% by 10% inches, should be used. The notes should contain concise and accurate de- scriptions of the plants and their parts, and of the experi- ments. Drawings should be made with a hard pencil (5H or 6H) and should be accurate line drawings in which all details should be made as clear as possible, with little attention to shading except where it will serve to bring out the form of the object and render its interpretation more clear. Habit sketches showing general form and branching of the plant are desir- able, and more detailed drawings of critical parts on a some- what larger scale. All parts should be carefully and neatly labeled in small letters. All notes should be written in ink. The plants suggested are mostly those easily obtained. Supplies in almost any subject may be obtained from dealers, some of whom are mentioned elsewhere. So far as its limited —2— facilities will allow the Department of Botany at the Univer- sity is ready to assist teachers in obtaining material, and will undertake to identify plants for them. The order of subjects presented in this outline is thought to be the most satisfactory, as it presents first the nature of the plant as an organism, and second the general outlines of classi- fication. In the first part emphasis should be laid upon two ideas, viz : nutrition and reproduction as most fundamental and far reaching. In the second part, that of classification, the idea of relationship between groups, families, genera, and to some extent species, should be impressed. No study of evolu- tion as such should be attempted at this time, but the idea of relationship in a natural system is a stimulating one, and with- out it the work of classification is devoid of an adequate pur- pose and becomes at once dry and unprofitable. The subject of Genetics is growing in importance at the present time and the student should be led to see the essential identity of the process which on the one hand leads to kinship among plants in nature, and on the other to the origin of new races under cultivation. Any standard high school text in botany may be used in connection with this outline. The sequence of subjects as here- in proposed is a logical one, but may be modified to conform to any text. A text suggested is Practical Botany by Bergen and Caldwell, Ginn & Co., 545 pp. illustrated, $1.30, or Botany for Schools, by Atkinson, 544 pp, illustrated, Henrv Holt & Co., $1.25. ELEMENTARY BOTANY I. PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS IN CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS It may be stated as a general truth that chemical or phys- ical action, or both, are attendant upon, if not actually the cause of, every form of activity of plant and animal life. A proper understanding of the simpler manifestations of the growth and behavior of plants is therefore possible only as some of the common actions and reactions of physical forces is comprehended. A few chemical elements enter conspicuously into the composition of living matter and reserve foods. The sources of these elements are the water, the soil and the air. The mode of their absorption, assimilation and elimination is an expression of one or another of various physical and chemical operations, some of which should be illustrated in the labora- tory by a few simple experiments. See manuals. 1. Observation of the characteristics of a few of the more com- mon chemical elements; carbon, sulphur, phosphorus, iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium. The sources of these elements as acquired by plants. 2. The composition of the air; oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, their proportions in the air and their properties. 3. Oxidation and the formation of compounds; carbon dioxide, iron oxide, etc. 4. Tests for acid, alkaline and neutral substances. Optional. 5. Tests for starch. Blue color upon application of iodine. Use pure iodine dissolved in a solution of potassium iodide. 6. Test for sugar. Fehling's Solution, a clear deep blue liquid, is variously affected upon boiling with any substance containing grape sugar or glucose, depending on the quantity of sugar present. Any change from the clear blue of the solution is usually caused by sugar. Commercial sugar is usually cane sugar or saccharose, which in a pure state would not reduce Fehling's Solution, but owing to some admix- ture of other sugars gives the characteristic reaction. Fehling's Solu- tion may be bought of dealers and comes in two parts, an alkaline tar- trate solution and a copper solution, which should be mixed in equal quantities just before using. 7. Tests for proteids: (a) Millon's Reagent, sold ready for use, turns proteids brick red upon boiling, (b) Biuret reaction; cover mate- rial with caustic potash solution and add a few drops of very weak cop- per sulphate solution. Do not heat. Violet color indicates proteids. (c) Xanthoproteic test; cover material with strong nitric acid. Apply heat carefully. A yellow color follows if proteid is present, changing to orange with the addition of a few drops of ammonia. The acid should be cooled and the ammonia added very slowly, drop by drop. These tests for proteids may very well be made upon the white of egg or crushed beans and should be performed in test tubes. 8. Tests for fats and oils, (a) Grease spot on paper, (b) Burns with smoky flame, (c) A trace in water examined under the micro- scope appears in the form of globules. 9. Mineral substances. Ash of plants. 10. Evaporation. Rate as governed by temperature and relative humidity. Attendant reduction of temperature. Optional. 11. Osmosis. Using sugar or syrup in a container of semi-per- meable membrane, in contact outwardly with water. Increase in the volume of the solution within, test for glucose in the water outside. Parchment purchased in sheets which are quite pliable when wet, or in bags or thimbles, or sausage casings, obtained from the butcher, may be used. Such membrane tied over the top of a thistle tube makes a good osmometer. Emphasize here (a) the direction in which the greater flow takes place, (b) the pressure resulting, (c) endosmosis and exosmosis. The application of these principals appears later in the study of absorption by roots and other organs, in turgidity of stems and other tissues, in exudation of water and other substances, etc., and is very important. II. THE FORM AND STRUCTURE OF SEEDS A. Dicotyledons. Seeds containing an embryo having two seed leaves or cotyledons. Any seeds of this class which are of sufficient size and simplicity of structure to be easily understood may be used. The following are recommended : beans, peas, castor oil seeds, squash. The following points should be observed : 1. External markings. Color, form, size; the hilum or scar left by breaking of the stalk of the seed; the micropyle, a single minute pore usually near the hilum; the chalaza, variously marked and situ- ated, being the point at which the nutritive materials of the growing seed are distributed to the coats and the central tissues; the raphe or vein leading to the chalaza, which is not always evident. The function of these parts should be explained. Some attention should be given to a comparison of seeds; among those of different species, showing in what such differences consist and leading to an appreciation of impor- tant distinguishing marks, a subject which may be extended indef- initely to include the sseds of crop plants and weeds; among those of the same species comparison may further be made showing the range of variation. 2. Internal structure: form, size, position, and relative devel- opment of the cotyledons; the position, quantity, texture of the endo- sperm and its relation to the embryo. These are matters which enter more or less into the classification of plants and which are significant from the standpoint of nutrition. The hypocotyl, giving rise to root system and part of the stem, is a straight or curved conical organ and deserves careful attention. The plumule, which may not be in evidence or may be conspicuous (bean), is found upon the very short stem, be- tween the cotyledons. 3. Relation of seeds to fruit; position and number of seeds, sig- nificance of shape and of the seed and position of micropyle, cha- laza, etc. 4. Relation of seeds to dispersal; appendages (cottonwood, wil- low, milkweed, fireweed, etc.), character of the testa, as hardness, smoothness, mucilaginous quality or other features associated with resistance to decay, dessication, destruction by animals, etc., the ad- vantage of small size in certain seeds, the relative numbers of seeds produced by plants of different species and the economic importance of such facts as in weeds and certain cultivated plants, etc. B. Monocotyledons. Seeds containing an embryo having one cotyledon or seed leaf. Suggested: corn, wheat, oats and other grains, seeds of yucca, lilies, onion, etc The grains are technically fruits, hut functionally seeds. Distinctions between fruits and seeds are better understood after a study of flowers and fruits. For consideration of these distinctions see IX, B. —5— 1. Form and external markings. In the corn grain the scar of the silk and that of the pedicel or stalk of the grain are readily recog- nized. In all cases the embryonal area on the upper surface is plainly evident. The resistent character of the surface layers of the grain may here be compared with those of seeds. 2. Internal structure: Endosperm and embryo, including cotyl- edon, plumule and hypocotyl, their position and differentiation. The coats of the grain; the aleurone and starchy tissue. Optional. Comparison of monocotyledonous embryos of corn and other grasses, of onion, yucca, etc., as to the position parts, relation to endo- sperm, etc. Optional. 3. Relation of grain to cob or ear; protection by husks or bracts. Comparison at different ages. Optional. C. Gymnosperms. Seeds of pine. Seeds of some species are sold on the market as nuts. 1. Form and external markings and color. The wing of the seed is conspicuous in the case of most local species of pine, though it is easily detached. The function of the wing may easily be demon- strated by tossing a few seeds in the air; the spiral movement impart- ed retards the fall and gives opportunity for the play of any lateral air currents and effects thereby a wider distribution. 2. Relation of seeds to the cone; position of the seeds and wings may be seen in the open cone. Use preferably cones of the western yellow pine. Compare with other species where possible. 3. Internal structure: endosperm, quantity and texture; embryo, including hypocotyl and cotyledons. Note position of these parts with reference to position in the cone. Relation of this position to the point of the hypocotyl. Comparison with other seeds in this respect. III. THE COMPOSITION OF SEEDS A. Starch. Use beans, corn, wheat, oats, etc. 1. Microscopic forms and structure of the granules, relative sizes, etc. Scrapings made with the point of a knife from the cotyl- eldon or the endosperm and mounted in a drop of water are satisfac- tory for study. It is profitable to call attention to the utility of this method of detecting the source of certain food and drug products, im- purities, etc. 2. Further identification of the starch itself by the iodine test. 3. Distribution of starch in the organs of the seed, and signifi- cance of the same from the standpoint of nutrition. B. Proteid. Use beans, castor beans, peas and other seeds. 1. Color reactions for proteid upon small pieces of seeds in a test tube. 2. Structure of the aleurone grain as found in the endosperm of the castor-bean. Thin sections mounted in glycerine. See descrip- tions in texts. 3. Distribution of proteids in seeds; endosperm, cotyledons, or both. Identification of the aleurone layer in endosperm of corn and wheat and its significance. Its dietary value in whole wheat flour. C. Fats. Castor beans, squash and sunflower seeds. 1. Tests for the presence of oils or fats. 2. Distribution in the seeds. 3. Association with other food materials; equivalent food value of fats and starches. D. Cellulose. Date seeds and unroasted coffee. Microscopic examina- tion of thin sections. 1. Structure of reserve cellulose in seeds. 2. Color reaction for cellulose. Iodine and sulphuric acid; blue color. 3. Associated food materials. Optional. IV. GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM THE SEED Use beans, peas, squash, castor-bean, corn, wheat, sun- flower, onion, etc., grown in sand or sawdust in boxes. A. Behavior of the embryo. 1. Breaking of the testa and appearance of the radicle (hypo- cotyl). Study with reference to uniformity of habit, special provisions for removing the seed coats, relation of the form of the seed (squash) to position in germination, etc. 2. Exposure of the cotyledons and plumule. Length of time in- volved in this process and its relation to the quantity and place of the food reserve. 3. Elongation of the parts; behavior of the cotyledons and plu- mule. How many purposes may cotyledons serve? B. Utilization of reserve food. 1. Digestion of starch. Enzymes, their nature, location and ac- tivity. 2. Conditions of digestive activity, as temperature, acidity or alkalinity, presence of water, effect of the presence of other sub- stances, etc. Optional. 3. Demonstration of starch digestion by use of iodine and Feh- ling's Solution. This should be performed upon starch paste made by stirring a little starch into boiling water. Allow to cool. Starch paste should not reduce Fehling's Solution; it should respond to the iodine test. Use solution of commercial diastase or juice extracted from sprouting wheat, and mix with the paste. This should transform the paste to sugar in less than an hour under favorable conditions. As sugar is present with the diastase the mixture would reduce Feh- ling's Solution even before digestion has begun to take place, hence this test is not applicable and the effect of the diatase or extract upon the paste is evident only in the disappearance of starch from the mix- ture, as when iodine fails to give the blue reaction. Use small parts of mixture in test tubes for each test until concluded. 4. Microscopic examination of starch of sprouting wheat; starch granules corroded in characteristic way by digestive action of the enzyme. 5. Meaning of digestion: the end reached, solubility and diffu- sibility; compare action of diastase and saliva. Bring out in this les- son the identity of digestion in animals and plants. 6. Special digestive organs: cotyledon of date, scutellum (cotyl- edon) of corn and other grasses. 7. Digestion of proteid (aleurone), Enzymes involved. Optional. 8. Digestion of fats, cellulose, etc. Enzymes involved. Op- tional. 0. Conditions of germination. For directions in the following experiments consult text- books and manuals. No complex or expensive apparatus re- quired. These are especially important as bearing upon suc- cessful operations in agriculture. 1. Experiment to show need of air (oxygen). 2. Experiment to show need of water. 3. Experiment to show proper degrees of temperature. 4. Relation of light to germination. Is light needed? 5. Gases given off in germination. 6. Pressures exerted by growing organs. 7. Persistence of life in seeds; habitual relations to winter tem- peratures; relation to prevalence of species, and to weeding and planting. D. Ecological Relations. Optional. 1. Relation to insects, birds, mammals and other forms of ani- mal life with bearing upon agriculture and forestry. 2. Relation to grazing and the life of range plants. 3. Directive influences of light and gravity in the establishment of young plants. E. Methods of seed testing. This has an obvious practical bearing upon agriculture. A suggested method is to cover seeds with water for a day, then distribute in lots of 100 on moist blotting paper in trays, each group numbered. A table with corresponding numbers is pre- pared and on this are recorded from day to day the number of seeds which have germinated. The germinated seeds are re- moved each day. From these data the rate of germination and the percentage of viable seeds can readily be computed. V. THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF ROOTS Roots of seedlings of beans, peas, corn, wheat, radish, tur- nip, clover, etc., grown in sawdust or sand, or on moist blot- ting paper under cover. A. Structure and function. 1. The form and external characters of the root; the root-cap. Branching of the root; primary and secondary roots and roots of a higher order. Arrangement of lateral roots. Direction of growth. 2. The root hairs. Distribution of root hairs and their micro- scopic structure. Mount slender root entire or gently split by teasing with needles. For this purpose material may be obtained readily by growing radish seedlings on blotting paper, or by starting roots from the nodes of Wandering Jew in water. 3. Demonstrate the mechanism of absorption by means of an osmometer, which may be easily made by stretching a thin piece of fresh sausage casing over the mouth of a thistle tube and tying tight- ly. Introduce through the stem of the tube a teaspoonful of granu- lated sugar and immerse the bulb in water. An inflow of water will follow. The tube standing vertically may be heightened as far as de- sired by means of glass tubing and rubber tubing connections. 4. Study of the transverse section of the root; epidermis, cor- tex and central cylinder. For this purpose thin, transverse, freehand sections of pea or bean radicle are satisfactory. Place a piece of root, from as near the point as may be convenient, between pieces of elder pith for cutting. Cut all as one piece and remove the desired sec- tions. Mount in water. B. Specialized Roots. Optional. 1. Storage roots; carrot, turnip, beet, sweet potato. Nature of the foods stored and position. Tests on gross sections by iodine and other reagents for color reactions. 2. Parasitic roots or suckers found penetrating the tissues of other plants. Two cases in this category are of wide distribution in Montana; one the small Comandra, described in all the manuals, which is parasitic by its roots upon the roots of most plants in its vi- cinity; the other a very small mistletoe which attacks the branches of various conifers and causes brooming of the branch or of the whole tree top. 3. Clinging roots arising from the stems of English Ivy. 4. Air roots of certain hot-house orchids which serve to absorb moisture from the air. C. Experimental reactions of roots. Optional. 1. Response to gravity. Roots placed in different positions; direction of growth noted. Different degrees of reaction in primary and secondary roots. 2. Response to light. Has light or darkness any influence upon the direction of the growth of the root? Arrange for unilateral illu- mination. 3. Response to moisture. Does the differential distribution of moisture influence the direction of growth or the amplification of the root system? Test by growing seedlings in a box filled with fine soil in which the distribution of moisture is properly controlled. 4. Response to air. Modify the amount or the distribution of oxygen about the roots of growing plants and observe the results. This may be accomplished by increasing the porosity of the soil, by flood- ing or by the introduction of inert gases to exclude air or by other means, and compare with plants not so treated. VI. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF STEMS A. Surface characteristics. 1. Nodes and internodes. Herbaceous or hardwood stems pre- ferred. 2. Leaf scars and dormant buds. Identification of twigs by leaf scars. Compare twigs of different hardwoods. 3. Scars of bud scales, marking limits of annual growth. Com- pare with leaf scars as to arrangement. 4. Lenticels. Conspicuous on birch, cherry, or elder. Compare as to size and direction of greater diameter. 5. Scars left by falling of branches, (cotton wood) and of flower clusters, (horsechestnut, lilac). 6. Ridges, grooves, scales, etc., results of growth. Characteristic markings in bark of trees of different species. B. Internal structure. Transverse and Longitudinal sections of corn, sunflower, squash, or other herbaceous plant. Of woody stems, apple, cot- tOnwood, maple, pine, etc. —9— 1. In herbaceous stems vascular, mechanical and fundamental tissue. Monocotyledonous stem; distinctions of rind, pith, vascular bundles. Dicotyledons; pith, vascular bundles and cortex and medul- lary rays (herbaceous); pith, rays, woody cylinder, cambium, phloem cortex, bark, (woody stems). ' 2. Parts of the vascular bundle; xylem, phloem, cambium. 3. Functions of the tissues above mentioned. 4. Manner of secondary growth. Compare gross sections of stems of different ages. Set cut stems of any leafy plant in weak solution of eosm in water. Cut sections of stem at different heights after a day or two. 5. Experiment to demonstrate path of sap. Set cut stems of any leafy plant in weak solution of eosin in water. Cut sections of stem at different heights after a day or two. C. Experimental reactions of stems. 1. Effect of continued darkness. Grow seedlings of same kinds m similar pots, exclude light from one lot for several days and com- pare as to structure, color, vigor, leaves, etc. 2. Response to light. Direction of growth demonstrated by uni- lateral illumination. 3. Response to gravity. Place stems in horizontal position and observe reaction. Eliminate influence of light. D. Specialized types of stems. 1. Food storage; potato. 2. Water storage; cactus. 3. Propagation; strawberry stolons and those of some grasses. 4. Protection; thorns of hawthorn. E. Buds. Pine, maple, lilac, poplar, alder, etc. 1. External markings; gum or varnish, arrangement of scales. 2. Internal structure; arrangement and identity of organs. 3. Distribution of buds on the branch and their relative size. Cor- relation of size and usual extent of annual growth. Correlation of po- sition and branching habit. 4. Expansion of the bud and manner and rate of unfolding of its members. VII. THE FORMS, STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF LEAVES A. The parts of leaves. Leaves from ten or a dozen different plants : pine, poplar, grass, geranium, mullein, maple, apple, fern, etc. 1. Organs of the leaf; petiole, blade, veins. 2. Description of leaves; forms, segmentation, base, apex, sur- face, position, arrangement, etc. The terminology of leaves is a large part of the descriptive literature of plants, and is important mainly in the work of classification. Optional. 3. Tissues; epidermis, stomata, mesophyll; functions of the parts. 4. Appendages; stipules, stipels, glands, etc. —10 B. Functions of leaves. This subject is important. Many experiments are described in texts and manuals and teachers are referred to these. The work under this head should cover the following topics, and may be in the nature of demonstrations if the equipment of the laboratory is inadequate for individual student effort. 1. Transpiration. (a) The discharge of water vapor from the leaves and other aerial parts, may be shown by weighing from time to time. A potted Geranium may be used here, the pot entirely covered with rubber or other means to prevent the loss of water by evaporation from the surface of the soil and pot. (b) Con- densation of vapor on the inside of a glass vessel covering fresh shoots. 2. Photosynthesis, (a) Covering and exposing alternate areas of a leaf exposed to sunlight. (Use tinfoil). Bleached by alcohol and tested by iodine, (b) Absence of starch from plants grown in dark- ness, (c) Discharge of oxygen from green organs in presence of sun- light. Collected by inverted funnel and test tube under water. And other experiments. 3. Respiration. Absorption of oxygen discharge of carbon diox- ide, (a) Use of candle flame. Leaves kept in a covered jar in the dark absorb oxygen and discharge carbon dioxide; a lighted candle lowered into the jar is quickly extinguished, (b) Absorption of car- bon dioxide by caustic potash. 4. Effect of light on position of leaves. Movements. Unilateral illumination of leafy plants. Maximum exposure of leaf surface as seen in many plants in nature. Observe from above the leaves on a branch of maple and other trees. C. Utilities of leaves. Optional. 1. Foods: cabbage, lettuce, celery, tea, sage, etc. 2. Medicines; mints, tansy, boneset, etc. 3. Fibers; sisal, yucca, henequen, etc. VIII. FLOWERS A. Structure. Genera] structure; functions of all parts. Structure of the ovule; relation to the ovary in position and numbers. Place of pollen production ; growth of the pollen lube from the stigma to the ovule; fertilization. B. Pollination. Various modes of pollen transfer; special floral struc- tures as related to insect visitation; dioecious, diclinous and dichogamous flowers. C. Flower Clusters. Types of inflorescence; simple types <>!' raceme, spike, umbel, panicle, etc. Optional. D. Classification. Study of local flowering plants; different types of flowers for comparative study as time will permit; a good deal of time may profitably be spent here. Material suggested for study may include many plants of the house and garden, as primrose, pansy, pea, cherry, apple, candytuft, wall-flower, —11— hollyhock, petunia, hyacinth, tulip, and many others. Of the wild flowers widely distributed over the state may be men- tioned the buttercup, vetch, lupine, sunflower, aster, dandelion, cinquefoil, rose, chokecherry, hawthorn, maple or box elder, onion, yellow bell, blue bell, dogtooth violet, in the plains coun- try yuccas, in the wooded parts syringa, dogwood, ninebark, snowberry, etc. For work during the winter months potted plants may be used if convenient, or quantities of flowers may be preserved in glass fruit jars or bottles by covering with a solution of 3 or 4% formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is sold at all drug stores in 40% solutions, which may be diluted with 10 or 15 volumes of water and be ready for use. Or flowers may be pressed and dried, and when soaked in water several hours before using will be almost as good as fresh. IX. FRUITS A. Formation. Development of the fruit from the pistil of the flower. B. Distinctions. Distinctions between seeds and fruits; thus the loose application of the term "seed" to the fruits of corn, and other grains, sunflower, dandelion, carrot, clematis, etc., should be understood. C. Types. Examples of different kinds of fruits ; external and inter- nal structure. D. Dispersal. Adaptations for dispersal. Suggested material for the study of fruits: apple, cucumber, grape, gooseberry, cherry, plum, peanut, bean, poppy, radish, pepper, tomato, milkweed, vetch, lupine, yucca, maple or box elder, cottonwood, rose, haw- thorn, evening primrose, thistle, burdock, sunflower, dandelion, pine, fir, juniper, etc. X. ALGAE A. Structure. Vegetative structure ; forms of the cells, arrangement of cells, variation in form and size. B. Biology. Physiological activity ;" habit of growth and local dis- tribution; movements, if any; conditions of the habitat, mois- ture, light, etc. C. Reproduction. Reproduction; plants or colonies of plants of different sizes; where present the form and structure of the special organs of reproduction ; zoospores, in the forms which produce them. —12— D. Uses. Economic importance; in some forms. Suggested subjects for study are : Oscillatoria. Found in slimy, dark bluish green layer on wet soil or in quiet pools, or on the benches and pots in green houses; has musty odor. May be kept in aquaria in the school room from year to year. Very common and of some economic importance in water sup- plies. Shows peculiar movements. Optional. Nostoc. Found in small, bluish green, translucent lumps from the size of a pinhead to a hazelnut, on damp soil or objects submerged in shallow water. Bead-like arrangement of cells. Optional. Ulothrix. Short, bright green, delicate filaments clinging to stones in running water; cells short cylindrical arranged end to end. Soon after being brought into the room (in few hours) the contents of the cells may be seen to break up into zoospores which swim about, ob- servable under the microscope. Optional. Spirogyra. Forms floating masses or dark green in quiet, but not stagnant, pools, often in the quiet water along some stream. Feels slippery to the touch. Floats free and is unattached. Shows beautiful spiral bands of green in each cell under the lens. Repro- duces by forming oval spores through bridge-like connections between cells of different filaments. Not commonly found, however, in this con- dition. Vaucheria. Grows in coarse, felt-like layer on soil that is damp most of the time; common in greenhouses. Under the microscope the filaments are seen to be devoid of transverse walls, and to branch irregularly. Oogonia and antheridia are usually lateral organs on the filaments, and are the female and male organs of reproduction re- spectively. Illustrated in most texts. Most of these algae in preserved condition can be obtained from the dealers in laboratory material, or they may be collected during the growing season and preserved in formaline. Ulothrix and Spirogyra do not thrive in aquaria unless the water is kept running. XI. FUNGI A. Forms. Study of the plants in vegetative and reproductive parts; structure and form, color, etc B. Biology. Manner of growth and development ; vegetative in- crease and spore formation; nutrition of oon-green plants; di- gestion of starch and. other organic substances. The inva- sion of wood and other tissues by the hypae of fungi, and the changes winch ensure in the tissue invaded. Economic im- portance of wood-rotting fungi. Parasitism: nature of the de- pendence of the parasite and the effects of parasitism on the host. Experiments to determine favorable conditions for the growl h of fungi. C. Economics. Economic importance of the fungi; loss of structural timbers, ties, poles, etc., loss from the diseases of plants in orchard, field and forest, importance of yeast in the manufac- —13— tures, importance of bacteria in manufactures, in the economy of nature, in human health and disease. Suggested subjects for study are : Yeast. Compressed yeast; a small lump added to a flask or glass containing a weak sugar solution and the vessel set in a warm place for several hours to start growth. Microscopic examination for budding cells. Or better, a solution made as follows: Glucose 75 grams Ammonium tartrate 5 grams Potassium-di-hydrogen phosphate 1 gram Calcium chloride 5 gram Magnesium sulphate 5 gram Water 500 cc Bread Mould. Easily grown by keeping stale bread moist (under an inverted dish) and in a warm place. Use before the small globular black heads have appeared in great numbers. Furnishes good material for the study of the growth and structure of the hyphae. Mildew. Found on leaves of snowberry, clover, or lilac. Ap- pears as thin film of grayish cast with minute black spheres sprinkled through it. A good representative of the sac fungi; show relation of the fruits to the mycelium. Optional. Rust. The several phases of diffent rusts similar in struc- ture may be found on leaves of grasses, hawthorns, service berry, rose, etc. Great importance economically. Good for study of relation of parasite and host. Optional. Mushroom, or shelf fungus, of any convenient form. Rela- tion to the material on which it grows, and its effect thereon. Optional Lichen. Combination of algae and fungi. Good material to illustrate symbiotic relations of organisms. Found on soil in woods, or on rocks or tree trunks and branches in sheltered places, where moist. Manner of reproduction. Optional. XII. MOSSES A. General appearance and parts. B. Differentiation of sexual and asexual generations. C. Biology. Habits of growth, habitat, and distribution. Suggested material: Any moss that shows clear differentiation of parts and large enough to be studied without difficulty. Mnium, Funaria, Polytrichum and Dicranum are widely dis- tributed genera. Any one of the following : Mnium recognized by its broad, membranous leaves and oblong capsule. Commonly found in moister woods. Funaria grows on the soil in well lighted places, often where fire has been, and is recognized by a small tuft of leaves at the base of the slender, twisted seta, and by its one-sided, balloon-shaped capsule. Polytrichum occurs in a variety of places, under some shade as in dry woods or on north slopes. Recognized by its narrow, pointed leaves, its dark color, and the hairy cap which covers the oblong, angu- lar capsule. Dicranum grows in woods, forming thick carpets on soil, rocks or logs. Bright green, with narrow leaves usually curved to one side, and the curved capsule with slender calyptra. —14— XIII. FERNS The same general points of structure and biology as in the mosses. Suggested material : Several potted ferns may be used; one type is sufficient for life history, with some compa- risons in the different parts with other types as far as practi- cable. Boston fern, maiden hair, polypody or Pteris, any of which may usually be obtained from a florist. Native ferns of various types may be used. Ferns may be pressed and dried, and when mounted on paper will serve for general examina- tion and drawings. Leaves beginning to fruit may be kept in formaline for detailed study of sporangia. Similarly stems and other parts may be kept for sectioning. LITERATURE The following books will be found useful as guides in lab- oratory observation and experiment, and for reading. Those marked with an asterisk are especially recommended. ON TEACHING AND METHODS * Lloyd and Bigelow, The Teaching of Biology in the Secondary School. Longmans, Green & Co., $1.50. Ganong, The Teaching Botanist, Macmillan Co., $1.25. LABORATORY MANUALS ♦Ganong, Plant Physiology, Henry Holt & Co., $2.00. Osterhout, Experiments with Plants, Macmillan Co., $1.25. Setchel, Laboratory Practice for Beginners in Botany, Macmillan Co., 90 cents. Caldwell, Plant Morphology, Henry Holt & Co., $1.00. ♦Spalding, Introduction to Botany, D. C. Heath & Co., 80 cents. BOOKS ON STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY ♦Stevens, Plant Anatomy, P. Blakiston's Son & Co., $2.00. ♦Green, Vegetable Physiology, P. Blakiston's Son & Co., $3.00. ♦Coulter, Plant Structures, U. Appleton & Co., $1.20. ♦Coulter, Plant Relations, D. Appleton & Co., $1.10. Coulter, Barnes and Cowles, Text Book of Botany, 2 vols., Amer- ican Book Co., $4.75. ♦Curtis, Nature and Development of Plants, Henry Holt & Co., $2.50. Strasburger and others, A Text Book of Botany, Macmillan Co. $5.00. ♦Gray, Lessons in Botany, American Book Co., $1.00. BOOKS ON CLASSIFICATION ♦Nelson, Spring Flora of the Intermountain States, Ginn & Co., 75 cents. ♦Nelson, New Manual of Rocky Mountain Botany, American Book Co., $2.50. ♦Clements and Clements, Rocky Mountain Flowers, Illustrated. II. W. Wilson Co., White Plains, N. Y., $3.00. —15— Underwood, Our Native Ferns, Henry Holt & Co., $1.00. Grout, Moses with a Hand Lens, A. J. Grout, Brooklyn, N. Y„ $1.75. Atkinson, Mushrooms, Edible and Poisonous, Henry Holt & Co., $3.00. Underwood, Moulds, Mildews and Mushrooms, Henry Holt & Co., $1.50. Schneider, A Guide to the Study of Lichens, Caldwell, $2.50. FIRMS DEALING IN APPARATUS, CHARTS, SUPPLIES, ETC. Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Chicago, 111. Spencer Lens Co., Buffalo, N. Y. Kny-Scheerer Co., New York City. FIRMS DEALING IN MATERIAL FOR STUDY Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Holl, Mass. St. Louis Biological Laboratory, St. Louis, Mo. Puget Sound Marine Station, University of Washington, Seattle. ■16— 3 0112 105733411 3UREAU OF PRINTING MISSOULA