Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CCIII · Topic 30: Evergreens
203. The Norway spruce
Goal: Your child can describe how the spruce sheds snow, can feel its four-sided needles, and can trace the spiral of scales on its cone.
You'll need
- A Norway spruce to visit, or a twig and a closed cone
- A piece of string
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
The lesson has a leading thought and seven observations: the shape, the drooping twigs, the needles, the cones with their spiral rows of scales, the seeds, the May flowers and the uses of spruce.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Begin in autumn when the cones are ripe, and come back in May when the tree blooms. Norway spruces are planted in yards, parks and windbreaks; look for long hanging cones and drooping twigs.
The leading thought
It grows naturally in high places and in northern countries where there is much snow; its drooping twigs cannot hold a great burden of snow, and thus it escapes being crushed.
Shape and snow
Do the lower branches rest upon the ground? What advantage would this be to the tree in winter?
Do the twigs stand out, or droop from the branches? Of what advantage is this in case of heavy snow?
Feel the needles
Brush your hand along a branch toward the tip. Do the leaves prick? Brush from the tip backward. Is the result the same?
Roll one needle between your finger and thumb. A spruce needle has four sides and rolls easily; a fir needle is flat and won't roll.
The cone's spiral
Note that the scales are set in a spiral around the center of the cone. Wind a string around a cone following the same row of scales.
Hang a closed cone in a dry place and note what happens.
Nature notebook
Draw a twig with its needles and a cone with one spiral row colored in. Write what happened to the hanging cone after a few days.
Answers to the book's problems
The lower branches spread on the snow and the drooping twigs let snow slide off. The needles point forward, so they don't prick when you brush toward the tip but do when you brush backward. The hanging cone dries and opens its scales, letting the winged seeds fall. The Norway spruce came from Europe.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.