Chapter I: The First Lesson

"MAMMA, what do you think? You know the willow chair that we had in the summer-house last year? Well, we left it out there all winter, and Lily left that mat she was making for the fair—and that she looked for everywhere, after we got back to the city—in the chair!"

"Well?" said Mrs. Browne as Ella stopped to take breath.

"And will you believe it!"

"I always have believed your stories," replied Mrs. Browne, smiling.

"Thank you!" returned Ella, kissing her mother's cheek. "Well, this morning is the first time I have been down to the summer-house since we came back here, and as soon as I opened the door I saw the funniest sight! There lay the mat in the chair, and a bird's nest on the mat, with three eggs in it. It seems that we left the window open, and the birds thought it was a good place for a nest. And there sat the bird on a branch just outside, singing away as if its little body was full of happiness."

"I hope you did not touch the eggs?" said Mrs. Browne.

"Indeed I did not! I just took a peep and ran off for fear of frightening the bird."

"Have you told the boys?"

"No, not yet. They will find it out; but, mamma, do you think they will disturb the nest?" asked Ella anxiously.

"I do not think they would, but we will talk it over together before they find it out. They might rush into the summer-house and frighten the birds so as to make them desert the place."

"And can't we go to the summer-house at all!" exclaimed Bennie when they were talking it over. That summer-house was a favorite resort. It was a large, pavilion-like structure, a little distance from the house, where they took their games, books, or work; sometimes they had luncheon or tea there, a rustic table affording accommodations for the tea-tray.

"It will not be so very long that you will have to stay away," replied Mrs. Browne; "you surely would not wish to drive the birds away from their home?"

"Can't we build a rustic booth, or something, down in the woods?" asked Tom. "It would be something new, and by the time we were tired of that the young birds will have hatched and flown away."

Mamma agreed that this was a good suggestion; she had another scheme which interested the children.

"How would you like to have a botany class?" she asked. "You can build your booth just in the edge of the woods, and we will go out there every morning and study the plants which you will find handy."

All agreed that this was a fine scheme, and with a little assistance from Patrick, a very substantial booth was erected in the course of a few days; and, wild with delight, the Brownes took possession at once.

"Now for the first lesson," said Mrs. Browne, as she allowed herself to be seated in the one low rocker which the children had brought from the house, especially for her use. She had in her hand a small tin can such as baking-powder comes in, filled with earth, and two or three tiny plants were just showing themselves. First she showed the children some dry, dark-colored seeds. "These are morning-glory seeds," she said. "A few days ago, when we first talked about botany lessons, I put some like them in this can of earth, and here you see what they have already come to. I will pull up one; what do you see?"

"A root," replied Ella.

"Yes; and what else?"

"Two leaves," said Tom.

"And a stem!" was Bennie's discovery.

"Yes; and now you notice this from which the covering has not yet fallen. You see the same parts, and if you could look at one of these dry seeds through a microscope you would see coiled around inside, the same three parts; now when the seed is planted, we cannot tell how, but in some way, the moisture of the earth and the warmth cause the little plantlet which we call the embryo, to swell and grow. It soon bursts the walls of its house, and the two seed-leaves which we call cotyledons, expand. The little stem which we call the radicle, pushes up and supports them, while from the opposite end the root begins to grow. I think if you will look carefully under that beech-tree, you will find some beech-nuts which have just sprouted. I used to gather them when I was a little girl; the crisp seed-leaves are very palatable."

For a little while the children were busy looking for "beech-nut sprouts," while Mrs. Browne sat under her green canopy enjoying the clear air and the fresh wood odors.

Then the lesson was gone over again.

"What are these called?" touching the tiny seed-leaves.

"Cotyledons!" answered Ella promptly, the others coming in more slowly upon the same word.

"And this?" pointing to the slender stem bearing the cotyledons at the top.

"The radicle."

"And what do we call the whole as it lies coiled up in the nut before it is planted?"

"The embryo!"

"That will do for this morning," said Mrs. Browne.