"MAR. 9. To-day is bright and like spring. I saw a blue-jay. When I was coming to school I saw and heard some birds singing in a happy MAR. IO. I saw way. I think they are finding a place to make a nest. It is time to go some green grass and some birds were singing in a tree. fishing. It is a beautiful day and better than yesterday. MAR. 22. I saw a flock of geese going northeast, and I saw a robin red breast and a bee. My pansies are all coming up. The trees are getting new buds."

So they were all watching for evidences of the coming of spring. One day a boy thought he heard a robin, another was sure he saw the glint of a blue bird and the teacher recognized with pleasure the sweet, happy notes of the bluebird. They hardly knew when the snow went, but it was gone, the pussy-willows had come, they saw hints of green in the grass and trees, and the birds were coming back.

To help the children to feel the happy spirit of joy and gladness shown in all the renewed life of the world about them, now the teacher taught them this poem from Emerson :

"Let me go where'er I will

I hear a sky-born music still:
It sounds from all things old,

It sounds from all things young.

From all that's fair, from all that's foul,
Peals out a cheerful song.

It is not only in the rose,

It is not only in the bird,

Not only where the rainbow glows,
Nor in the song of woman heard,
But in the darkest, meanest things
There always, always something sings.
'Tis not in high stars alone,

Nor in the cups of budding flowers,
Nor in the red breast's mellow tone.
Nor in the bow that smiles in showers,
But in the mud and scum of things
There always, always something sings."

While the leaves were yet small and the birds could be plainly seen, they watched to get acquainted with the birds and to learn something of their lives. Before spring was over they had a large circle of bird friends some of whose songs they could associate with the singers, so that when they heard a bird song they could tell what bird was sing ing. They saw the nest-building, the dainty eggs, and later

the young birds, none of which they molested, for they had learned that birds please by their beauty and their sweet songs, and help to save the fruits, vegetables, and crops by bird chart of all the birds they knew, giving a brief descripdestroying harmful insects. For desk work they made a tion of each, so that the chart could be used for future reference in identifying the birds.

season.

The teacher made them acquainted with many of the common spring flowers by teaching them the names and how to recognize a few at a time as they came in their They made a careful study of the apple blossom and a few other fruit blossoms whose fruits they studied later in the season. From these they learned the simple parts of a flower, as petals, sepals, calyx, corolla, pistils, stamens, pollen, ovule.

They learned a little of the fertilization of plants, and as the bee is one of the great agents of fertilization, they studied bees and ants as models of industry and as master workmen among animal workers.

When the spring vegetables came in their turn, they studied some of the simple common roots and bulbs. For desk work they wrote a list of the vegetables they knew, naming some marked quality of each.

From these few simple studies of the natural objects they found about them, the children formed habits of observation. They learned better to see, to hear, and to take accurate note of things, to compare, and to trace relations. They saw that food, shelter, health, comfort must all be gained through effort. That to develop properly, every living organism must obey laws and do the work for which it was made. They found that every living object has some special work that must be done or they perish. They began to realize that the value of every one in this world is measured by what he can do.

This glimpse of the life of the world in which they live that the teacher had led the pupils to see, made them want to know more. They had discovered that the key to unlock this great storehouse of knowledge is patient, persistent study, and now they were more willing and better prepared to study with a purpose. "For thus our life finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything." (The end)

Sampler Verse

Mrs. Alice Morse Earle has recently quoted some sampler verses which many a reader may find on the ancient needlework of his own family. One very popular rhyme ran :

This is my sampler.

Here you see What care my mother Took of me.

Another one was very widespread indeed :

Mary Jackson is my name,

America my nation.
Boston is my dwelling-place,

And Christ is my salvation.

Some of these embroidered verses were "natural composures," or, as we should say to-day, original compositions. A century ago, Ruth Gray, of Salem, embroidered on her sampler :

Next unto God, dear Parents, I address
Myself to you in humble Thankfulness.

For all your Care and Charge on me bestow'd,
The means of learning unto me allowed.
Go on! I pray, and let me still Pursue
Such Golden Arts the Vulgar never knew.

Changed Winter Quarters

In one of the hollow branches of a great oak a squirrel family had established comfortable winter quarters, and their consternation when the blows began to fall upon the base of the trunk was pathetic. They raced back and forth in wild procession, jumping from tree to tree along the row and back again, as though fully conscious of what was going to happen. After the tree was felled, an investigation of the hollow revealed a prodigious and snugly-constructed accumulation of cotton string, sawdust, leaves, bits of wool, wisps of hay, probably taken from a nearby barn, and a quantity of nuts and acorns. Later in the day, after the workmen had gone and all was quiet, these stores were diligently removed to another tree-hollow, all the members of the squirrel family assisting in the removal.

I

AM thinking of an animal that has a backbone like a cat, but no fur. It has four legs like a dog, but it cannot bark, and it is a great deal bigger than either of them, or both of them together," said Miss Clare with the merry twinkle in her eye that the little folks knew meant a "funny lesson," as Tom said: They were all attention.

"I suppose if I should ask you what you would like best to eat, somebody would say 'ice cream,' and another 'chocolate cake,' or 'taffy-on-a-stick,' but if I should ask my

halter round her neck, and a watering trough close by.) "Let us ask him to tell us about her.

"I will be Mr. Brown "-putting one of the boys' caps on her head" and you may ask me anything you like." "What color is your cow, Mr. Brown?"

"She is red and white, but my neighbor has one that is black and white and another that is all red." "How big is she?"

"How large? Well, when I stand beside her (sketching) in a man's head behind the cow) you can see my head, neck and shoulders; but if one of you small boys should stand the other side of her we couldn't see you at all unless it was your feet. So, boss-so. She is very thirsty. She will drink as much as a pailful usually." "What does she eat?"

animal friend she would make such a dreadful noise that half of you would put your fingers in your ears and never wait to have me tell you that she was only saying 'gr-ass, grass.'

"I should never dare ask her to come and visit us for she is so clumsy that I don't believe we could ever get her up the stairs, and if we could, she never could sit in one of our chairs as pussy and doggy did.

"I will tell you a little more about her and perhaps you may be able to see her after all. She has a thick coat of coarse, short hair that keeps her warm except in the very coldest weather. At the end of her tail there are some long hairs, like this "—and she drew a tail.

(Miss Clare did not consider herself an artist, so in a case of this kind the animal was put upon the board the night before from a stencil drawing. The outline was followed with a lead pencil and the chalk marks erased. Standing now by the board Miss Clare could see the pencil line; the children could not. In this way she could draw the separate parts, arouse the curiosity of the little folks and keep their enthusiasm from waning.)

"She has four slender legs," continued the teacher," and four feet that have hoofs. She has two large ears that stand out from the sides of her head, a large nose, and two lovely big brown eyes. When we put in her back, her udder (sketching them very rapidly), and her horns, I am sure everybody will be ready to tell me that my friend is a ""Cow," cried a chorus of voices.

"Yes, one of our best friends; to-morrow we will find out something more about her," it having been discovered that cows were not very familiar animals.

The next day Miss Clare said, "Would you like to play 'going visiting'?" Taking a chart from the wall the children saw sketched on the board a faint suggestion of a house and near by a snug little barn.

"My friend, Mr. Brown, lives here. This cow (the one drawn the day before) belongs to him. See! he is just going to take her out for a drink of water." (Sketching a

"Grass in summer.

I keep her in that pasture behind that hill then, and my boy, Johnnie, drives her out and back morning and night. I wish Johnnie was here to see all you nice little people, but he has gone out to the farm to stay with grandmother until after Thanksgiving. Now that it is cold I keep her in the barn, and she eats hay and meal. Come and see her teeth. She has strong back teeth in both jaws, but she has no teeth in front in her upper jaw. In place of teeth she has a ridge of skin, hard as bone. See what thick lips she has! She pushes them out to take the hay and licks it in with her tongue. See how long and rough her tongue is! Feel of her nose! It is always moist.

eats.

"Oh! I must tell you a little more about the way she When she bites off the grass or hay she does not really eat it at first, but she packs it away in a bag that she has inside of her big body. Isn't that a queer way to do? When the bag is full, the grass, or whatever she has eaten, comes up into her mouth a little ball at a time and then she chews it and really eats it. We say about animals that eat in this way, they chew the cud.' Now I must take her back to the barn. Come over some morning early and I will milk her for you. Good-by." "Good-by, Mr. Brown. Thank you for showing us your cow," added Grace.

Miss Clare enjoyed playing in this way herself so much that of course she made it very real to the children, and by the next day they began to bring items from home. Sam's father had been a farmer's son and he told his little lad how he drove the cows to pasture when he was a boy. In this pasture was a tinkling little brook where the cows came to drink, and tall trees that made shady places where they could lie down and rest. There were swampy places where the cowslips grew, and willow twigs from which the boys made whistles. Pete, his shepherd dog, always went with him, and would drive the cows home alone.

Paul's father was interested, too. He told his little boy about the horns. He said: " Long, long ago, when cows

were wild, they needed their horns to defend themselves from wild beasts. Now that they are tame and kept in pastures and barns they are not of so much use, and when a farmer has many cows he sometimes cuts off the horns. This is to prevent them from fighting one another, as cows often will do. The horns are not quite smooth. They have little wrinkles in them. Some farmers say they can tell how old a cow is by the number of wrinkles in her horns."

The boy whose father owned the market brought a cow's foot. This was examined carefully. They saw how the hoof was divided, and Miss Clare explained that this was called a cloven foot, and called their attention to the two small toes at the back of the foot.

William had spent the previous summer on his uncle's farm. As his mother was anxious to have him profit by this experience, she had spent much time with him in outof-door study. She came to school with him one morning to help him recall these happy days. Do you know how a cow lies down? William said that she bends her front legs under and so lowers her head and shoulders, and then she bends one hind leg and then the other under her. When she gets up she rises on her hind legs first. He said also that cows were fond of salt, and would lick a piece out of your hand. His uncle sometimes put salt on a cow's back and other cows would lick it off. Cows often lick themselves and one another with their rough tongues to clean themselves and to get rid of insects. Their tails they use as brushes and for the same purpose.

That reminded Miss Clare of the story of "The Cow Who Lost Her Tail," in Miss Poulsson's "In the Child's World," and she told it to the little folks.

They began now to make the blackboard list :

To-morrow she is going to make butter. You had better come and see how she does it."

Then Miss Clare went into the hall and came back as Mrs. Brown carrying a glass pitcher full of truly milk and a tiny tumbler that each might have a taste. Wasn't that a surprise realistic enough to make the children rub their eyes and wonder if they were dreaming?

The milk that was left was poured into a tin dish and placed on the desk to see if the cream would rise. It did, and the next morning after seeing (in imagination of course)

During these days for seat work they had been trying to draw the animal from the blackboard pictures; its different organs; the barn; the pasture; and now Miss Clare gave them some cows to cut out that she had hectographed on drawing paper. She folded the papers so that they were double when cut, and by opening them a little, they could stand up beautifully. After each child had cut one cow he could trace around that and cut as many as he liked.

They all liked to have a great many, a whole barnyard full. They were allowed to paint them with water color on both sides. They used different colors, copying from some good colored prints that were in the room. Stables were made to keep the cows in, mangers for hay, troughs for drinking water, and bags for meal.

Thus far little had been said of the usefulness of the cow, but one morning Miss Clare reminded them of Mr. Brown's promise to show them how he milked. "Shall we go to-day?" Every one was ready, and they found Mr. Brown, milk pail in hand, waiting for them.

He sat down on his three-legged stool (which they made later of cardboard and toothpicks) and showed them the whole process. They could almost hear the tinkle of the stream against the pail. "So boss, so-boss, steady there," he said to her, for she was not quite used to so many visitors. "I don't believe any of you have fingers strong enough to milk her," he explained.

"How much milk does she give, Mr. Brown?" asked Jimmie.

"This pail nearly full night and morning, but I get several quarts more in the summer when she has fresh grass to eat.

"Come into the house now and have a drink. Mrs. Mrs. Brown will strain it off into pans for the cream to rise.

Mrs. Brown skim her milk and make butter, they took the cream from theirs. Miss Clare added some more bought of the milkman and they made some "truly" butter themselves by shaking the cream in a glass jar. It was put into a little tray, patted and salted and served on crackers for a little luncheon at recess.

The dishes, pails and churns were drawn, painted, and made of clay, and some pans and pails were made of tealead one of the children brought. This was folded around the drawing models (cylinders) and bits of wire added for bails and handles.

They heard the poem of "The Cow," by Robert Louis Stevenson, and "The Story the Glass of Milk Told Me," from "In the Child's World," and learned the finger plays relating to milk and butter by Miss Poulsson. They made a list of articles of food in which mamma used milk, and were surprised at the length of it.

To crown all it was decided to make a cake, the children agreeing to furnish the materials.

"Choose those what don't never forget, Miss Clare," urged Sallie, "or somebody'll spoil it."

To this they all agreed and a list of the needed articles.

Every one took a hand at the mixing and beating. A kind neighbor baked it for them, and sent over a slice of cheese to eat with it. It proved a great success.

But there were other things for which they were indebted to the cow. "Where did we get the roast beef and juicy steak that we had for dinner?" questioned the teacher. "Did you remember that it was cow's flesh that you were eating? When a little boy looks at the soles of his shoes he often needs to say thank you' to the cow, for very likely it was from her skin made into leather that they were made. From her horns, knife and fork handles, combs and buttons are made; from her fat, candles sometimes, and from her hoofs we get glue. Even her hair is mixed with mortar to plaster our houses. From her bones a food for plants is made that the farmer mixes with his soil to help the grass, vegetables and flowers grow."

To the list was added:

Other Products.

As Thanksgiving drew near the story of the Pilgrims was told; the departure from England and Holland; the journey; the house building; the children and the babies. "How they must have missed the milk and cream of the old Dutch home, for no cows came in the Mayflower!" exclaimed Miss Clare. "How the mothers must have racked their brains to have made good things to eat without any milk! How glad everyone must have been when a ship did finally come that brought some animals! How they must have patted bossy's side, looked into her brown eyes and stroked her soft nose ! How good the milk must have tasted, and the fresh, sweet butter the good mothers made!"

A game that they often played was the kindergarten "Farm Yard Gate," and a favorite story was "The Cow with the Golden Horns," found in "A Pot of Gold and

A School Fair in November

A

M. H. B.

BRIGHT little country school teacher had a fair in an old red school-house, that was both original and unique. She teaches in a farming community where the county fair in the autumn is one of the days in all the year. Here the farmer takes his biggest pumpkin, his whitest potatoes and longest corn ears; here the finest cows, oxen, pigs, and fowls are exhibited, and here the women display their canned fruits, cut flowers, bed quilts, and rugs.

While the enthusiasm over the premiums was at its height, Miss Sabin announced in school one morning that the children should have a fair just before Thanksgiving. At this fair also, premiums would be given, not, however, for garden things, as that would be no novelty, but for school work, the very best that could be done.

This plan was received with great glee, and thereafter when an exercise was particularly well done, a spelling lesson beautifully written, arithmetic examples done without spot or blemish, it was sufficient reward for Miss Sabin to say, "How well that looks! We will save that for the fair."

In the meantime the mothers were being interviewed. "Mrs. Jones, would you like to offer a premium for the best writing?" Why, yes, I will give two dozen pop-corn

balls."

66

ing, pencil drawing, parquetry borders, book-cover designs, etc., the common everyday hand work of the children.

All through the weeks, the pupils, big and little, worked away, and by the closing Friday a goodly collection had been saved.

There was great fun in arranging them, as it was decided to have the exhibits in groups. Here at one side were the paintings of wild flowers; there a group of water color pumpkins. The apples formed a corner by themselves, as did the pears, beets, turnips, squashes, etc. All the clay that the school afforded had been made into animals and vegetables, and a fine showing it made too. The animal pens were unique. The very little children had cut from catalogues and advertising sheets, horses, cows, oxen, sheep, and other domestic animals, mounted them on thin cardboard and cut them out double so that they could stand up. The older children painted animals, and there was skilful modeling also.

There were charts by the wee ones too, of all sorts of farming tools, and rugs, and quilts, from parquetry and weaving mats. All the parents had become interested and were out in force on the appointed day. There was a short program consisting of some harvest and Thanksgiving songs, some recitations by the older children of "The Corn Song," "The Huskers," "The Blue Gentian," and the like, a few well written essays on the care of gardens, cows, horses, relating to soil, food, and water, and a short exercise by ten children, describing a chart of drawings.

Some little time had been spent in studying the Pilgrims, and large drawings had been made by the little folks on gray cartridge paper. This paper had been cut into large sheets of uniform size and tacked to the board while the artists were at work. Afterward they had been placed one above another, fastened with brass brads at the top and hung over an easel. Some of the drawings were in colored crayon, some in charcoal, and some cut from black paper and pasted to the sheet. Some were very good, and some