NATURE STUDY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12911, 28 February 1906, Page 3

NATURE STUDY.

CO-OPERATIVE OBSERVATION. IN TTMARU SOUTH SCHOOL. A short time before the Christmas holidays, a friend offered to the headmaster of the Timaru South School a couple of modest prizes, for the best papers on the Growth of Gerse, to be written by pupils from observations made during the holidays. He stipulated that he should hini- ] self be the judge of the papers, and that he should be at liberty to- collect the information he expected to rind scattered among them, to see how much it amounted to, and if thought worthy of it, tlie collection might be published. The offer was accepted by teacher and pupils on these conditions. Eighteen papers weie submitted, and though not one of them singly coveied very much ground, among them they contained a quii-r respectable amount of infoimution about' the subject assigned. The following composite essay was forced by the donor of the prizes, by selecting sentence* and 'pin-uses irr.m th£- pupils' papers and arraagir.gr them in suitable ordei, tne pupils* own words being retained throughout, except in about halt-a-dozen cases; and there were very few errors of spei-ing or gmrnmar to be corrected. One of the most interesting points about the ecruposition is that everyone of the eighteec papers contributed something to the whcle. It might have been made longer, but as observation and cot composition was; the test of merit, shorter and more direct statements were preferred, in making the selections, to longer and less direct ones.. .

THE GROWTH OF GORSE. Growing very commonly in New Zealand is a kind of prickly shrub—hardly a s'atub though, for it is a. little bit big for that name. It was at first an English shvub, and would often be seen in small clumps beautifying the English commons, but in New Zealand it takes the place of a fence. The people of England call-the.gorse plant the- furze. Gorse is greatly used as fences throughout the colony, as it is cheap and grows to a good height—Sve or sis feet. The farmers first make a low sod wall, and then they sow gorse seed along the top of the wall. In a few years the seeds have grown as a thick fence. It is the best fence for keeping cattle in the field, from getting into other paddocks or on to the road, because if they try to get out the prickles stop them. The stem of the gorse plant is solid, and is not easily brok'gn' By' animals. We find it very hard to climb a gorse fence, for the sharp thorns may hurt us. Gorse hedges are not very good for garden fer.ces, because it is so hard to keep cutting them. Gorse burns well, when it is dry, and makes a good fire, when people are cut camiping. Gorse has a tap root searching in order to find food for small fibres. The root when young is a creamy white colour, and as it' grows older, it beecmes a brownish colour. On the roots of gorse plants you will observe little- nodules, containing very many nitrate-making bacteria. Gorse is useful in many ways, but in others it is a nuisance. It is hard work for a farmer when seeds of- gorse get blown about his tilled .land, for he has a lot of trouble getting it out again.

Gorse forms a very interesting plant to anybody who studies* it. To look at the young gorse plant you would not think that it' developed from the seed of the thorny gorse bush. We all know that gorse grows from small seeds, which are dropped from the pods of old plants. Examine the baby gorse plant and you will be surprised at the maimer in which it starts its life—not as a prickly bush, but as a kind of quiet unarmed trefoil. In its earliest stages it is nothing but a two-leaved seedling. It is almost 'impossible to recognise that the young seedlings will grow up into such hardy plants as the gorse, with those great ugly spines which are so' dreaded by cattle. At first sight you would hardly think it was a.gorse plant at : all. '-- .;■■. -- - -. •■-..• -.-■ -,---•

m ;When the seed has been in the ground a while., it begins to send a small shoot to the top of the earth, which has two leaves, in the centre of which is a small shoot which later becomes the stem. When the plant is about a week old, you may see some small leaves which are all covered with hairs. At this point in its history the young gorse plant has trefoil leaves, not unlike those of'clover. At first sight you would hardly credit that it was gorse, it being not unlike some species of broom. The little shoot between the baby leaves developes int» small leaves in sets of threes. These leaves grow, and soon small weak spines grow frcm between the sets of leaves. -As the plants grow older more leaves are seen, these being compound,' and not so tender as those of the younger plant. In a short time thes; leaves turn into sharp-pointed spikes, and these spikes grow round the stem alternated. ' The stem is fluted like fluted candles. The stalk is stringy and hairv. In its next stage the gorse plant begins to develop its prickles. "What are these prickles for?" you say- Tlkv are simplv there to defend the plant. "When these prickles are very young they are so tender that you may squeeze them in your hand, and the prickles would not p:etce your hand as the old ones would. Still'"there are a few leaves left at the ecd of the stem. As the plant grows von will notice the leaves at the bottom "still go with three 'in a buncHT but at the top the leaves are pricks with sharp yellow points. This is to--protect the plant* from browsing animals whk-h eat the clover and other grasses -with which it is surrounded. It seems strange that- the gorse plant kncws the cattle would eat it had it riot the spikes to protect them, so it knows what is good for itself and' develops them. Next the little hairy leaves disappear, leaving uotmng but the prickles. Each dav these prickles grow stronger and l>igg-:f. Tf you look at the end of a. sparse prickle you will notice that it is "vellow. and brown when it is dried up. " The thorns are very long, and the besr wav to find out- how sharp thev are is to run one into your hand. These prickles are the chief defence of the plant against all its enemies.

:■ flowers of the sorse come out in September. They are "of a prettv yellow colour—somewhat like a sweet peit, and about the size of a pea-flower; but of course it is not the same colour, because tha gorse flowar is yellow and tfa» peas or

sweet peas are of manv shades, none of which are yellow. The young flower ol the gcrse plant is very tender, so nature has provided it with a soft velvety kind of coat, which protects it from the frost and cold. The bud has a great thick coat to prevent insects from getting to the flower. The buds are generally to be found at the font of the prickle—at the place where the. leaf or prickle begins. When the flowers begin to form. they° are also protected all round by prickles, to guard them from browsing animals. The flower is a bright yellow, sometimes .varying in shades of colour. It is built up of live petals, the banner or standard. 1 the two wings, and the keel. If you pull down the keel suddenly you will notice a shower of pollen come flvin<* out. This pollen comes from the anthers "which grew on top of the stamens. If vou open the buds you will see the pollen" clingiinr round the stigma. The stamens form a kind of shwtli round the pistil, which grows on top of the ovary or seen b< x In this box are little while things calk;] ovules, or unfertilised seeds. Encircling the base «f the flower is the calyx or cup. This consists of a number of sepals, which i are green in colour, and are also covered with little hairs. The flower is grown in a place where it is well protected by prickles, because it has a juicy flavour which the horses and cattle love to eat. The flower is also protect*.! by small haiis which prevents insects ko:n "eating away the petals or laying eggs on them. The flower attracts the lioney-bee. which comes ; to gather honey. The"bee alights on the! keel and presses down, until, with a jerk] the keel opens and a shower of pollen is thrown over the bee, and then the bee. flies away to another flower of the same kind, and thus the flower is fertilised. After the adult plant has blossomed, the pod begins to form (if the flower has been fertilised). The petals do not fall as soon as the pollen discharges, but remain to form a covering for the pod which contains the seed. Now the floweis have done their work, leaving the seed cuse on. hi the seed case there are about ten dark ] brown seeds, a kind of little bean, and the seed case has fine white fibres on the inside of it. The seed looks very, prettv if you open the pod, and see how the inside" of it is covered with soft, down like fur. The gotse. broom and beau Ir.sve seeds alike, so that you wouldn't know which :s which, only for their sizes. This legumixous plant spreads its seeds .by bursting its pod and throwing the see.is out. Oh a bright sunshiny mosning yi-u may hear the pods springing open and spreading the seeds around. ' When the seeds are ripe the pod changes from green to black, and the seeds as well turn b!uck, aid about the first really hot dav in January it bursts. If you* happen" to be sitting near a gorse bush on a warm summers morning you may hear from time to time the bursting of pods, resembling numbers of toy pistols being discharged in the bush behind you. You may learn from this, that the gorse bush prepares in life to fight its own battles. The pod after discharging the beans drks up with the heat of the sun. ' If you distribute gcrse seed you will see that it grows very quickly. When the buds are in full bloom, what a sight! The hedge is yellow with blossoms blazing in the sunshine-. Surely itis a pleasure to go out and gaze upon such* a scene of nature and' beauty and take in the sweet perfumed air. How striking to the eye is this plant, with its sombre green thorns and bright yellow flowers. It makes a pretty sight when it is in bloom. "What a blaze of colour," we exclaim as we catch first glance of a gorse bush in full bloom, with its beautiful yellow-coloured and sweetly-scented flowers: I think you will agree with me in saying that gorse is one of Nature's beauty plants, for what is more lovely than to g*> along a country road and see the gorse hedges laden • with their golden bloom? Poets who have seen gorse in New Zealand say that the fields look like "green pictures in frames of gold,'' and in spring, the saying " Green pictures set in frames of gold."-is ,quite true-:. Is not nature good for sending us such a beautiful .and useful plant, tuaY when in flower "stands out so bright and cheery, and should we not also follow its example by being bright and cheery also? One lad brightens his paper with a little botanical anecdote. He writes :—" One summer's eve as I and my friend were walking along a road bordered on on© side by a gorse hedge, a seed flew out of a pod and fell into my pocEet."" Not taking any notice of such a little tiling, I left it in my pocket. Now it happened that while I was in for a bathe one time a boy put some ear'tli in'my pocket. After this I was not wearing the coat for some time, and what was my surprise when I nest wore the coat to find growing in mv pocket a tiny little plant. I took off the coat, but left the plant in my pocket to see what it would- develop into. In the first place it had two tiny little leaves, but gradually it grew bigger "and bigger. Soon the leaves began to get pointed, and if you put your finger on the point it pricked almost as bad as a needle. Then I understood what it was. It was gorse, so i threw it out of the window." ~