Vol. X.

No. 3.

EUGENE FIELD.

He has laid down his pen, and has answered the call;
He has followed his Little Boy Blue;
And together they rest in the city of God,
While with tears, we, their graves bedew.

He is joyously welcomed in that holy land,

By the beautiful child-angels there;

He doth sing them his songs, while they twine him a wreath, On his brow, he, the laurel, shall wear.

Though he left us so soon, ere his work here was done,-
Though the midday of life was scarce spent;

Let us thank the dear Lord for His merciful love,
That to us, here below, he was sent.

R. B. PARK.

My head is bowed and my tears fall fast,
The moon is rising, an empty cresent;
And I sit with the ghost of a Christmas past-
For I haven't the ghost of a Christmas present.
G. E., in December Munsey.

Motor Control Again.

The article by Heinemann in your November number is interesting because of the reasoning he uses and the inferences he draws. It was especially interesting to me because the second question he discusses was mine.

The Doctor shows by a simple experiment that the muscles of the forearm control the fingers in grasping, which, excepting the thumb, is true. The short muscles which draw the thumb towards all the fingers of the hand must be included among the groups of "larger muscles" that "develop earlier." Carry the investigation a little further and it will be seen that the groups of muscles that move the fingers in grasping are also employed in writing by the finger movement, and no others. The small muscles of the hand separate and bring together the fingers, but are scarcely used at all in opening or closing the hand. Does not the reasoning the Doctor gives us prove that the finger movement is natural?

He recommends that the arm movement be employed exclusively at first, and at the blackboard. Teachers know that it is more difficult to get good blackboard work than good work on slate or paper. The reasons are apparent. The child is weak. It must not only make the writing movement, but must sustain its own weight while writing. If the exercise is continued for a considerable time the weariness caused by the strain becomes injurious. Try it yourself. The child's arm needs the support of the desk. Use has given at six years of age, more dexterity in the use of the forearm muscles than of the muscles of the arm, hence children always write at first with the finger movement. This is a very good method of writing, the best open to children, but is peculiarly liable to faults. Children usually cramp the muscles in grasping the pencil too tightly, and the effort to move across the line cramps the wrist. The twisting of the neck, rolling the eyes, and protruding the tongue are likely to accompany the earlier attempts, no matter what movement be employed. Lighter, softer pencils, larger copy, and more drill at the beginning on simple exercises will lessen these faults. After the first three years are passed, when writing becomes one of the child's means of expressing his own thoughts, he needs a more rapid

handwriting and should learn the arm and the forearm movements. He should have learned the forms of all the letters thoroughly by this time, and the aim should be dexterity in the use of the writing arm. The classification into "hand," "arm," and "combined" movements is scarcely correct, if by this the meaning is that the muscles of the hand are employed in the first and of the arm in the second, as the article implies no one can write with the hand alone. The same muscles are employed in the "arm" movement and the "combined" movement, the difference being that in the former the arm is held free from any rest, while in the latter it rests upon the desk, upon the muscles of the forearm. In the finger movement the power originates in the forearm, and is transmitted to the pen by the moving of the fingers, while in the arm movement the fingers are nearly rigid, the motion being transmitted to the pen by the muscles of the upper arm through the forearm and hand, the small muscles in each case being for adjustment

rather than motion.

The illustration citing the Ollendorf and the Mager methods of teaching a foreign language does not illustrate, because it is not a parallel case. Writing is not a matter of reasoning, nor wholly of memory, but of the use of the muscles, which, carried to perfection, becomes automatic action. In one

place the Doctor says the cooperation between the arm and the eye is the result of experience and training, and in the same column, that the connection between hand and eye is automatic. He founds these statements on the fact that a young infant can grasp with considerable strength, but cannot use his arm with any degree of precision. The premises do not warrant the conclusions. Skill in each case is the result of experience and training, and in neither is it automatic.

He inveighs against writing from copy, and says: "Those teachers who wish to try this method, [i. e., the blackboard,] must themselves be able to write an even, bold, and beautiful hand on the board; for the pupils, being born imitators, will invariably write as their teacher does." Why suppress nature? He says in one sentence, "Let her lead her pupils to remember the words which she writes on the board so that they can rewrite them from memory after they have been erased," and in the next but one, "This must be done by writing and speaking the word at the same time; thus the idea called forth by the word absorbs the attention of the child completely. In this way children can be taught to read and write script at the same time." Children are to observe the details of form while their attention is wholly absorbed with the idea. What could be more practical! He seems to have discovered that he is discussing the common method of teaching reading, as indicated in his last remark, and not writing at all.

We cannot believe that many school children suffer "all manner of sickness and deformity," but, if some do, there are many other causes to help bear the blame besides the present method of teaching penmanship.

As to the movement of the hand's being automatic and the lowest form of activity, we can only say that the Creator probably intended us to do some simple acts without reasoning or He would have developed the reasoning powers earlier.

Atchison, Kansas.

J. H. GLOTFELter.

Story-Little Red Riding-Hood. (Superintendent H. M. Culter, of Norton, has prepared a few lessons show. ing how the work outlined in the course of study for graded and district schools may be correlated. We take pleasure in giving the introduction to Red Riding-hood in this number, with the promise that the rest of it shall be given in the January issue.)

LESSON I.

Little Red Riding-hood lived with her parents on the edge of a large wood. Her father and mother were very fond of her and tried very hard to make her happy. Once her mother made her a hood and cloak of red, and from this she was called "Little Red Riding-hood" by the woodmen who were at work in the forest, for they often saw her wandering near her home in search of flowers. Her father did not often call her by this name, for the pet name he had given her was Little Red Cap. Little Red Cap was never lonely at home, for she had two pets to keep her company. Besides Tabby, her cat, she had Frisk, a large black dog, which nearly always went with her when she went about the wood.

NOTE-Do not read the story to the children. in your own language. LESSON II.

Learn it and tell it to them

Children, do you remember the story I told you yesterday? Who was the little girl we talked about? I will tell you some more about Little Red Riding-hood, or Little Red Cap, as her father called her.

This time, her grandmother, who lived by herself in a little cottage on the other side of the forest, was very sick, and Little Red Riding-hood's mother sent her to carry to her grandmother a basket with some wine and a few pats of fresh butter. Frisk had gone with Little Red Cap's papa to tend the sheep, so he was not there to go with her. But she had often gone through the wood to visit her grandmother, so her mother had no fears for her; but she said to her as she kissed her good-bye, "Do not tarry in the wood for I shall be anxious to hear from your grandmother, as I fear she may be in some need." NOTE-Teacher should connect previous lesson with to-day's lesson. LESSON III.

Red Riding-hood was very glad to go, for it was a fine morning and the wood was very beautiful. There was only a narrow path through the wood, so Little Red Riding-hood did not keep the path all the time, but ran here and there as she saw something that attracted her attention.

Now it was a squirrel leaping from limb to limb of some large tree, now a butterfly, which flitted across her path and alighted on a flower only a short distance from her. She was sure she might catch it, but just as she thought she had it in her grasp, it flitted away.

She had so often longed to have a rabbit among her pets. As a little bunny came jumping straight toward her, she fairly held her breath lest she might frighten him, for she wished him to come very near that she might catch him; but he was not to be caught, for he soon stopped short and then bounded away in another direction.

The birds seemed very happy to see her and sang to her their sweetest songs. All along the way she had picked, now and then, a beautiful flower which seemed to beckon to her, but soon her path led to where the flowers were so plentiful that she thought she would gather some to carry to her dear grandmother; so she left the path and wandered away a long distance, gathering the sweetest flowers and ferns. She began to feel tired and hungry, and as her mother had put a little lunch into the basket for her, she sat down on a fallen tree to eat it.

LESSON IV.

While she was sitting there, a wolf came out of a thicket near by and spoke to her. This was not strange, for in those days and in that wood, wolves often met people and talked to them.

The wolf said to her, "Good day, my pretty dear, where are you going this fine morning?" Red Riding-hood said, "I am going to visit my grandmother who lives in the little cottage which you see among the trees. I am carrying some wine and some butter to her in this basket."

"Are you not afraid to be all alone in this great wood?" said the wolf. "I am very sorry I cannot go with you and see that no harm comes to you, but I have an errand to do and must make haste onward."

LESSON V.

Now the wolf wished very much to make his dinner of Little Red Riding-hood, but he heard the sound of axes near by and feared he might be caught in this cruel act by the woodmen. Since he had found out where the grandmother lived, he thought he would go on to her house and eat the old grandmother instead. So he went on to the cottage and rapped gen tly at the door. The grandmother was very ill, and her voice weak, but she called out, "Who is there?" The wolf answered, "Little Red Riding-hood." "Pull the string and it will lift the latch." Now all this time a little bird perched on a bough just over the window, had been uttering one shrill note after another, trying his best to give the old grandmother warning; but she either did not hear or did not understand; so the wolf, after pausing a moment at the door, entered the room.

As I said before, the grandmother was very weak, and was lying with her face turned to the wall. Of course the wolf made his voice sound very much like Red Riding-hood's voice and said, "I have brought a basket with some things in it for you." "Set the basket on a chair and come and get upon the bed where I can see you," said the grandmother. The wolf immediately jumped upon the bed and ate up the old grandmother. Then he decided to wait for little Red Riding-hood, who he knew must be quite near by this time; so he put on the grandmother's nightcap and gown and crawled into the bed. NOTE-Does the death of the grandmother affect too severely the sympa thies of the children? If so, change the story next time.

LESSON VI.

Ere long there came a gentle rap at the door, and the wolf, remembering the grandmother's words, called out, "Who is there?" "Little Red Riding-hood," came the answer. "Pull the string and it will lift the latch." So Little Red Ridinghood entered the room and said, "Dear Grandma, I have brought you some butter and wine in the basket." The wolf said, "Set the basket on a chair and come and get upon the bed where I can see you, for I am too weak and ill to sit up to talk to you." So Little Red Riding-hood placed her basket on a chair and climbed upon the bed, but, as she did so, she was frightened by her grandmother's strange looks, which she supposed must be caused by her sickness. "Why, grandmother!" she said, "You look so strange! What a long nose you have!” "The better to smell with, my child," answered the wolf. "And, grandmother, what long ears you have!" "The better to hear with, my child," said the wolf. "And what large eyes you have!" "The better to see with," answered the wolf. "And, grandmother, what great teeth you have!" "The bet'ter to eat you up," said the wolf, in his natural voice, raising his head ready to devour her.

LESSON VII.

Just then, a woodman who had seen the wolf talking to Little Red Riding-hood in the wood, and who feared that something might befall her, had come to the hut and arrived at the door just as the wolf said this. He sprang into the room and dealt the wolf a terrible blow on the head, which killed him. He then took the little girl back to her home, and her parents were indeed grateful to the woodman for saving the life of their dear child.

See the wolf in the woods!
The little girl is in the woods.
Will the wolf eat Little Red Cap?
The wolf will not eat Little Red Cap.
The wolf will go to Red Cap's grandma's.
The wolf will eat Red Cap's grandma.
Will Red Cap see her grandma?
Grandma loves her little girl.
The wolf does not love the little girl.
Is the wolf a pet? The wolf is not a pet.
LESSON VIII.

Will Little Red Cap go home?
The man will take Little Red Cap home.
Little Red Cap will see mamma and papa.
Will she see the big dog?

She will see the big dog and the cat.

Little Red Cap is at home.

Home! Grandma's home!

Little Red Cap loves her home.

"Dear me!" said Mother Nature as she tucked the last of her seed-babies in bed, and spread over them a blanket of leaves, King Winter will soon be here, and I fear this covering is not enough to keep my babies from his icy grasp. I must get them another blanket. What shall it be? Let me see. It should be something soft and light. And for babies, of course, it must be white."

So she went to Mr. North Wind and said, "O Mr. North Wind, please bring to me

A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright,

To cover my little seed babies."

But Mr. North Wind said, "I cannot, unless Jack Frost will give me some of his silvery powder."

So Mother Nature called to Jack Frost, "O Jack Frost, please give Mr. North Wind some of your silvery powder, that he may make for me

A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright,

To cover my little seed-babies."

But Jack Frost said, "You must ask the clouds to give me some vapor, then."

So Mother Nature called to the clouds and said, "O kind Clouds, please give Jack Frost some of your vapor, that he may change it into silvery powder, and give it to Mr. North Wind, that he may make for me

A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright,

To cover my little seed-babies."

But the Clouds said, "We must wait till Old Ocean sends us more vapor." So Mother Nature said to the Ocean, "Please, Old Ocean, send more vapor to the little Clouds, that they may give some to Jack Frost, that he may change it into silvery powder and give it to Mr. North Wind, that he may make for me A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright,

To cover my little seed-babies."

But the Ocean said, "The Sun must send us some heat fairies first." So Mother Nature called to the Sun, "Dear old Father un, please send some of your heat fairies to Old Ocean, that he may send vapor to the Clouds, that they may give some to Jack Frost, that he may change it into silvery powder and give it to Mr. North Wind, that he may make for me

A blanket pure and white,

Soft as down, and sparkling bright, To cover my little seed babies."

And the Sun said, "Gladly!" and sent forth a host of ltttle heat fairies that called the vapor from the Ocean to the little Clouds, and the Clouds gave some to Jack Frost, and Jack Frost changed it into silvery powder and gave it to Mr. North Wind, and Mr. North Wind made for Mother Nature

A blanket pure and white,
Soft as down, and sparkling bright,
And covered her little seed-babies.

MARY LOOMIS GAYLORD.

More Ways Than One.

It was very early morning, and in every orchard, thicket, and

wood, the birds were singing in answering melodies.

The little brown lizard that lived under a stone in the brook

[Continued on page 45.]

All Around.

-Manual training is getting a firm hold in nearly all of the larger cities. In the Brooklyn schools, sewing is taught the girls in the second, third, fourth, and fifth grades. No attempt is made to do any ornamental work with the needle, but the girls become quite skillful and rapid in the use of the needle before reaching the sixth grade. A recent symposium on manual training in the Chicago schools shows that the teacher of the future must be familiar with its manifold phases, drawing, modelling, wood-carving and sloyd, which have become fully established as a part of the regular course in the grades, and nobody seems to question their desirability. Indeed, their elimination would at once arouse a storm of opposition.

-A new rule by the board of education of the city of New York specifies that classes in German shall be formed upon the request of a certain number of patrons, and the German forces are all in excitement for fear that it means that it practically destroys free German tuition in nearly all of the schools of the city. An organized effort is being made to have the rule abrogated. French is in similar danger. It is now proposed that the principals of the four great high schools in Brooklyn shall have absolute control of the admission of pupils to their several classes, fixing requirements and giving such examinations as they may think wise. Heretofore the superintendents have made up the city board of control and this modification reveals the fact that great discord exists among our brethren in Long Island.

room.

-Now comes a new question for the consideration of school boards: "Shall the teachers in the public schools be permitted to dress in black?" The Alameda (California) school board recently passed a resolution to the effect that teachers could not dress in mourning while in the school The chairman of the committee in speaking of the action of the board, said: "It is a delicate matter to handle and may provoke adverse criticism, but I do not believe that teachers should be permitted to wear mourning robes in the school rooms. The effect on the classes is detrimental and depressing. While we all sympathize with the teacher who has lost some one near and dear to her, still she ought not to be allowed to emphasize her grief by wearing mourning in the classrooms."

-The truth is that the man or woman who gets the best happiness from life, who gives the most happiness back to his fellows, who really makes a living,-does not live to make money. Any fool can make money; most fools can squander it; many fools can hoard it. The primary object of an education should be to instruct men and women in the gentle art of spending money after they have earned it. It is not a simple matter; when one thinks of the joy one may bring to tired hearts, the comfort one may give to weary hands, the wisdom one may see in an open book, the beauty one may conjure from a printed page-each with one humble American dollar, it is small wonder that the intelligent man should ask for more light before he executes his trust and parts with that which Providence has lent him.-William Allen White, Annual Address at State University.

-If we are beginning to understand the truth, the world must be growing better. Indeed we are growing better. You who have gathered here to-day assemble in a cause as holy in your time as that which called the Knights of the Cross to Jerusalem. The simple rites with which these doors are thrown open, begin a work which should mean to the world more than does the crowning of a king.

With you, young

men and women of Kansas University, is left the answer to the question: Shall this ceremony be consecrated to God, or shall it be an empty show-on a pagan holiday? Your work

here, your lives when you shall leave these walls, shall prove the folly or the wisdom of your pilgrimage after knowledge. You should work, not because the night is coming, but because you have faith in a day that is coming. Faith-the evidence of things not seen! Faith-the substance of things hoped for! What a strange order, what a beautiful order, shall prevail in the day that shall be; when the mill of education has taken greed from the human heart; when men shall toil for the good they can do with the rewards of their labor! Then they shall master the science of getting only that they may practice the art of giving.-William Allen White at K. U.

Nature Studies for December.

This month may appropriately be giyen to taking an account of stock. Most plants and many animals have begun their winter's rest. The trees, except the evergreens, have dropped their leaves and have allowed their root-hairs to shrivel that they may enjoy their winter's rest in safety. They have given up their seeds to the care of the squirrels, the insects, the pigs, the cattle, and to the boys and girls; but their new limbs and their new coat of wood and bark they keep for next summer's use. Not including their seeds in the estimate just now, let us ask them how much growth they have made during the year 1897. The questions may be somewhat as follows: What tree has put forth the longest branches?

I.

7. Many trees show very plainly the amount of growth each year for several years. How does the amount of growth in length for 1897 compare with the amount for 1896, 1895, 1894, 1893, and as much farther back as the trees show?

8. Let the boys and girls ask their parents whether it was dry or wet those years, and compare the amount of growth during dry years with the amount during wet years.

9. Many trees show rotten bark on the southwest side of their trunks. Did the hot winds or the hot afternoon sun cook the bark?

IO. Some trees have shorter limbs on the southwest side of their tops. Did the wind or the cooked bark cause this? Questions 9 and 10 are given to provoke discussion and may not be answered by Dame Nature unless we ask her anew next summer, and perhaps for several summers.

Haphazard answers to any of these questions are of no value, nor do haphazard observations count for anything. Nature studies are found to be of most value when the student pursues them as a general plan, and carries on a campaign; or, as an Edison, searches for his facts, carefully studies them, and arranges their bearings in their proper order.

Let tables be prepared embodying the results of the observations, and let the best ones be written upon the blackboard, or published in the local paper, or both.

In the opinion of the writer, a very serious mistake is made if the oral presentation of nature study reports is allowed to occupy more than a few minutes each day. More time should be used by the pupils in weaving the data they have obtained, and their conclusions, into neatly written essays.

L. C. Wooster.