Let's find out, grade 2; A green Christmas

I don't. Know when my two boys and girls to listen I was your science lady brings you another. Let's find out. Hello boys and girls. My. Isn't this the most exciting time of the whole year. I think so. Time to think about Christmas. Christmas a happy time of the year no matter how busy we are during all the rest of the year. At Christmas time we take a little time to sink about. Other people don't wait and we ought to think about people a lot. Other people not just ourselves and one of the nicest things about this time of year is the way we like to decorate our

houses with green plants. And there's one of those very special green plants that you like best of all I think a Christmas tree. You like to have a Christmas tree in your house don't you. I do too it makes us feel happy and makes us want other people to be happy too. Do you know why we bring a tree into our homes and cover it with shining armaments. How did that get started. Well there are many stories about the first Christmas tree that you will be able to read if you look for them in books in the library. Maybe your teacher has one but I'd like to think about it this way. A long long time ago a little baby was born in a far away country. He grew up to be a very kind man and a very dear friend of many people. He did many kind things for the people he knew and even for people he didn't

know. He was such a good and kind man that many people told others about him and many years after he lived. People in other countries still told about the wonderful things he did for everyone who needed help. Some people thought that it would be a fine way to remember this man if they gave presents to each other on his birthday. So people began to give gifts to others on the birthday of this kind man that they had heard so much about. Then someone in a snowy cold country saw it it would be nice to hang the presents on a little tree that was green even in the winter time and evergreen tree that looks happy and bright even in the cold snowy winter time that happened for the first time many many years ago. But we still like to have an evergreen tree in our houses. When we give gifts to our friends and to others who need things at Christmas.

Today we're going to think a little bit about evergreen trees trees that stay green all the year round. Some of them make fine Christmas trees and some of them do not. Not all evergreen trees are alike. There are many many kinds of evergreen trees. Shall we find out which one is the best of all to use for our Christmas tree. Right. Mr ever and Miss Green are you both ready to help us. That's good. I hope you have some twigs from several evergreen trees in your room today. It's much easier to tell which one is the best. If we can look at them and feel them. Let's take a look at all the twigs you have on the table Mr. ever will you pick up the twig that has the longest needles on it look them over.

All right. Are the needles as long as your little finger or even longer if they are. Perhaps you have the two a give a pine tree. Now there's one other way to tell. Take a good look at the needles are the needles in little bundles or are they separate the two eggs look down where the needles grow out of the twig. Are they fastened together where they grow out of the twig. When I was some pine trees needles grow in bundles of two Some have three in each bundle and some have five in each bundle. If the needles of the twig you're holding are in bundles it's the twig of a pine tree. Mr. Green helped Mr. Everett to see if you have any twigs any more to a exe of any other pine trees there on the table. Remember the needles grow in bundles. Never one needle by itself. Some of them are very long and some are not quite so long.

Now while they're looking to see if they have any more pine two eggs. Let's see if we would like a pine tree for our Christmas tree. Pine trees usually have few branches far apart on the truck. The needles are so long and the twigs are so small that the arguments will hang very easily on them. They have fall off. Would you like a pine tree for a Christmas tree or some pine tree to eggs make good get gray shoes but pine trees do not make very good Christmas trees. Do you know a pine tree when you look at its needles. Remember the needles grow in bundles. Never one needle by itself. And the needles are usually longer than your little finger. If you found a twig with needles longer than your fingers and growing in bundles then you know it is a pine. Now they will show you those of you in the room.

Those after the broadcast is over so put the pine twigs over in a little bundle all by themselves. Now we're going to look for another kind of evergreen that is sometimes used for Christmas trees or decorations in our homes. Mr every Miss Green will you see if you can find a twig where the needles are short very short some of them so short that they look almost like little scales on the twig. They're pointed. They have sharp points and they're flat. If I knew any like that each little needle is growing very close to its neighbor but all by itself. Now if you find one it's like that. It may be a juniper tree. Juniper trees are sometimes called red cedars because a bark. The wood under the bark is very red. Many juniper trees have little blue green cones that look like berries. Now why are two

helpers here looking for a juniper twig. Let's see if we would like a juniper tree for Christmas Tree. Juniper needles are very short and when they're dry they're very sharp. They hurt our fingers. The twigs of the juniper tree are very thin and limp. They're not stiff enough near the ends to hold anonyma and. And the twigs and branches bend royally down even when we put a light on them and on them. Would you like a juniper for a Christmas tree. Oh they make pretty trees to grow out in our yard and in the parks. But as a Christmas tree they're not very good. Did you find a juniper to make if you did put it in a special place so you'll know what it is and then you can show everybody after the broadcast. All right. Now let's look. Another kind Mr. Green and Mr. ever. Would

you look for a twig with a very sharp pointed needles very sharp stiff needles or they feel almost like pins. They're so sharp. All right have you found one. Put the palm of your hand against the ends of the needles are the tips of your fingers you'll feel just like a pin cushion. Now if you found one with very stiff sharp pointed needles each one growing all by itself on the twig you probably have a spruce tree to a spruce trees make pretty good Christmas trees even if they do have such sharp pointed needles. But there's one thing about them that's not so good. The needles of most spruce trees drop off early after the tree has been cut and when it's dry inside your house they fall off faster and faster.

You wouldn't want a Christmas tree like that would you. Two or three days after Christmas almost all the needles would be gone. No not all spruce trees drop their needles easily. But it's very hard to tell which one will not. So unless you want a bare tree a few days after Christmas don't buy a spruce tree. How are you going to tell it to spruce tree. Listen again very sharp pointed needles that feel like pins when you touch them and they're stiff needles right. Well I'll bet you're wondering if there is a tree that's good to use for our Christmas tree. Well there is one. There's one that's better than all the rest. If you can find it if you can pick it out and it's not too hard. Mr. evern Mr. Green this time you're going to look for a twig with

short needles that are flat and very round blunt on the ins. They're soft. You can bend them easily and when you touch them you find out that the ends are rounded. They don't have any points at all on the ends of the needles. If you have one of these two eggs on your desk you find out that this is a fur twig. The ends of the needles are not pointed at all. They're soft and they're almost flat. Now after the broadcast if you find one you can show it to the rest of the boys and girls of fir tree needles do not fall off even one day when they get dry. We'd all like a fir tree because the needles are close together. The little twigs are stiff and they hold ornaments very easily. Isn't it fun to be able to know some of the

evergreens when you see them. There are many many kinds and they're not all alike. There are many kinds of pine and many kinds of juniper and many many kinds of spruce trees and several kinds of fir trees and of course there are others too. But these four are all used for Christmas trees. Some of them are better than others. You will be able to tell our fir tree from a spruce won't you. I hope you will. Here's something that will help you remember. Listen carefully. A pine trees needles in bundles girl of two or three are five. You know they're no longer much than all the rest. But for a Christmas tree pines not the best juniper trees with their berries blue and very short. Needles are not for you. Their

twigs are tiny and not very strong. They look pretty outdoors and that's where they belong. A spruce tree is a tree that stands very straight. It looks like the very one. But wait. It's strong green needles are sharp as a pin and they fall very early when you bring them in a Christmas tree that will last all through the holiday season. As good as new is the further with its soft flat needles green that are blunt on the is a hue have just seen by a fir tree for your Christmas tree. Will you remember that when you show all the boys and girls in your room about the kinds of trees that you have there so that they will be able to pick out our fir tree from all the rest. Will you do that. All right and Merry Christmas.

Let's find out originates in the studios of playing and selling the St. Louis more of Education radio station. This is the Emmy B Radio Network. This is chaos alley which your school station the insane laws.