The lesson might continue by pointing out the requirements of trees for water and light.  Find a tree on some slope where the roots are exposed and another which is being encroached upon by its neighbor, and show how in one case the roots travel in search of water and food and in the other the branches bend toward the light, growing more vigorously on that side.  Compare the trees on the open lawn with those in the grove and show how those in the open have grown with branches near the ground while those in the woodland are slender, tall and free from branches to some distance above the ground.  Point out the lenticels on the bark of birch and sweet cherry trees and explain how trees breathe.  Compare this process with that of the human body.  You may now come across an old stump and here you can point out the structure of the wood—­the sapwood, cambium and bark.  You can illustrate the annual rings and count the age of the tree.  At another point you may find a tree with a wound or bruised bark and here you can readily make a closer study of the cambium layer and its manner of growth.

The adaptation of plants to the seasonal changes opens another interesting field of study for beginners.  If the season is the fall or winter, note how the trees have prepared themselves for the winter’s cold by terminating the flow of sap, by dropping their leaves too tender to resist the winter’s cold, and by covering their buds with scales lined with down on the inside.  Observe how the insects have spun for themselves silken nests or remain preserved in the egg state over the winter.  If the season is spring or summer the opposite may be noted.  See how everything turns to life; how the buds are opening, the leaves emerging, the sap running, seeds germinating and flowers blooming.

The soil conditions on the lawn and in the grove furnish another interesting feature of comparison and study.  In the grove, you can demonstrate the decomposition of the fallen leaves, the formation of humus and its value to the tree.  The importance of the forest soil as a conservator of water and its relation to stream flow and soil erosion can be brought out at this juncture.  An eroded bank and a slope covered with trees and shrubs would provide excellent models for this study.  A consideration of the economic value of the trees would also be in place.

3.  Civic lessons reflected in trees:  The community life of trees in the
    grove, their growth, struggles for light and food and their mutual
    aid can be brought out and compared with the community life among
    people.  The trees may here be seen struggling with each other for
    light and food, forcing each other’s growth upward, some winning out
    and developing into stalwart and thrifty specimens and others
    becoming suppressed or entirely killed.  On the other hand they may
    be seen helping each other in their community growth by protecting
    each other from windfall and by contributing to the fertility of the
    forest soil in dropping their leaves and shading the ground so that
    these fallen leaves may decompose readily.