Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

are ready to open at the first breath of spring and before this year's leaves have waked up. The leaves are evergreen and are pushed away by the little flower buds to make room for the new three lobed leaves of mottled green and brown.

The wood anemones, with their shell-like cups of white, often tinged with pink, and so aptly called the wind-flower, nodded and swayed everywhere and were so temptingly beautiful.

We found the dicentras with their feathery, blue-green leaves so beautifully cut, and racemes blossoms.

A good clump of squirrel corn, too, was a decided "find," - this scarcity being due, no doubt, to the squirrels who are supposed to dig and eat the little yellow tubers of this plant so resembling Indian corn.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit we found in plenty. Jack is always a great favorite. We found him in green and white, very pale and delicate; we found him in deep rich, reddish-brown and green. We found him folded in his striped wrapper, we found him in all the glory of his glistening canopy; we found him fast going to decay, and we found him standing shorn of his covering like a tiny ear of green corn. Later in the fall we found him grown larger and his berries turned to a brilliant red. Puttyroot with its shriveled, plantain-like leaves interesting to us because of its prominent, white, parallel ribs, and the fact that it used to be used by our grandmothers for mending broken crockery.

was

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][graphic][merged small]

There were saucy yellow buttercups everywhere and the marshes were yellow with great patches of this flower wrongly called the cowslip.

Intermingled with the marsh-marigolds and along the low roadsides were patches of blue like bits of the sky fallen to earth. These were the tiny starry blossoms of the houstonia or bluets.

We knew the woods when the trilliums grew and tossed their pretty heads in the air. This is the wake robin of our grandmother's times and is often wrongly called the white lily.

Colun.bines among the rocks and stony places nodded and beckoned with their yellow spurs that look like little horns of plenty filled with honey for the humming birds.

Near these we found great patches of tall meadow-rue with its manytimes compound leaves and masses of tiny greenish blossoms that seemed to be all stamens. We found the leaves perfect with their eightg one leaflets.

Our delight in Solomon's seal was not wholly in its single arching stem of leaves, nor in the unbroken row of tiny greenish axillary flowers. It is the root that gives this flower its name and here we centered our interest-a thick root stalk bearing a succes.on of seals the scars of former years flower stalks from which each year a single stalk is sent up into the air and in turn becomes a scar and gives way to the bud just before it, which becomes next years growth.

[graphic]
[ocr errors]

There is a tongue in every leaf

A voice in every rill;

A voice that speaketh everywhere -
In flood and fire, through earth and air,
A tongue that is never still.

The Literature Class.

E

William Cullen bryant.

Bryant's "Rain Dream."

A Composition Lesson.

By ELLA M. POWERS.

VERY pupil in Miss Morton's room seemed to be dreaming

that warm day. They were dreaming of something beside their lessons; so Miss Morton closed her text-book and asked the children to close theirs; saying, "I think we will all have a dream." She took from her de k a copy of "Bryant's Poems" saying: "Before we have our dream, I will read you of what William Cullen Bryant dreamed. He called it "A Rain Dream." The children had never heard of this and were very much interested.

[ocr errors]

Miss Morton read the opening lines about the approach of the storm; paused, stepped to the board and wrote:

The approaching storm.

right, Thomas, there was nothing to see." Thomas was surprised. He had really answered a question; the sensation was novel and extremely agreeable, evidently, for he remarked after school that: "Miss Morton was rather pretty when she praised a fellow. Perhaps I'll answer questions oftener."

Miss Morton, having found they had a correct idea of the storm asked: "Where did the squirrel go? Where did the butterfly seek shelter?"

Then she read the remainder of the poem saying at the finish: "What kind of a rain-storm did Bryant dream about?"

"He dreamt it rained down violets and lots of spring flowers and grass and leaves!" said Mabel. "Anything else?"" enquired Miss Morton.

"A little child drinking with his hands," answered Robert. "The earth drinks water for people and plants," said Miss Morton, "and now let us all write in a line what the rain dors:

[graphic]
[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

last week.

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

Let us see how many sentences we can construct by combini g different ideas. All bent eagerly to the task.

"Now if ever so many simple words are in a sentence and all used in the same way, we place a comma after each; and let us write sentences containing commas. From the words in our circle we get the sentence: The rain is gentle, quiet, glorious and refreshing.' .'" The children wrote sentences containing adjectives and commas.

During this exercise a little talk about spacing and capitals was introduced.

"What are some of the summer flowers the rain refreshes? What are some of the insects, birds, trees?"

"Now, I'd like each one of you to write me what you have been dreaming about; all about what you saw when the storm was approaching and about the storm."

[blocks in formation]

Inf.- The paper meets with no resistance from the air, because the coin pushes the air one side for the paper. Experiment 49.-- Place a small coin, a piece of paper, and a small feather in a glass tube three or four feet long which is fitted with a brass cap and a stop-cock, so that it may be attached to an air pump and exhausted of air. Exhaust the air from the tube, turn the stop-cock, and take it from the pump. Quickly invert the tube.

Obs. The coin, paper, and feather fall side by side.
Inf. If it were not for the resistance of the air all bodies
would fall equally fast.

[blocks in formation]

Obs. A small piece of any substance falls as fast as a larger piece.

Experiment 51.- From the window of the highest story in your building drop stones of different sizes, at the same time.

[ocr errors]

Obs. The large and small stones strike the ground together. General Inference. Like substances with similar form will fall through the air equally fast, no matter what may be the size.

Experiment 52.- Place two straight-edged strips of board, 10 feet long, as in Fig. 17, the plane should not be much inclined. Suspend a weight by a cord 40 inches long and shorten it until it vibrates once a second. Set the pendulum vibrating, then place a heavy ball at the top of the inclined plane in the space between the boards, and let it start at the beginning of a vibration of the pendulum, With pins mark the position of the ball at the end of each vibration. Repeat enough to satisfy yourself that the pins are in the right places.

Measure the space passed over by the ball during each vibrause the metric units.

tion

Obs. The ball rolled during the second vibration three times as far as in the first; and during the third second, five times as far as in the first; and during the fourth second, seven times as far as in the first second.

Thus the distance a body falls from a state of rest in successive intervals of one second each, are in the proportion of the odd integers, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, etc.

Compare the distance that the ball rolled in 2, 3 and 4 seconds respectively, with the distance that it rolled in the first second Obs. In 2 seconds the ball rolled 4 times as far as in the first; in 3 seconds, 9 times as far as in the first; and in 4 seconds, 16 times as far as in the first second.

Thus the whole distance a body falls from a state of rest at the end of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., seconds, are proportional to the squares of these numbers.

Knowing this rate of progression we may easily compute the distance a body falls through in any given second, and the distance through which it falls in any given time.

Taking no account of the resistance of the air, it has been proved that a body falls from a state of rest during the first second of its descent, 16.1 feet, or 16 feet for all practical purposes.

Hence a body falls during its third second, 16 x 5 or 80 ft., because 5 is the third odd number. In its sixth second a body would fall 16 x 11 or 176 feet, etc.

The whole distance through which a body falls is found by multiplying 16 by the square of the number of seconds in falling. Thus: If a body fall 3 seconds, the whole distance is 16 x 19 or 144 feet; if it fall 5 seconds the distance is 16 x 25 feet, etc.

These examples may be given until the pupils comprehend this subject.

Progressive American Gymnastics. III. Upper Chest Exercises.

By HOPE W. NAREY, Director Durant Gymnasium, Boston, Mass.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Right foot to the right side, swing arms shoulder high, palms down, 1. Bend arms to right angle, 2. (Fig. 47.) Stretch arms up slowly, 3 and 4. Arms down to right angle, 5 and 6. (Fig. 47.) Arms at side, shoulder high, palms up, 7. Palms down and drop to side, 8. Same with left foot, 1 to 8. Repeat, bringing hands to hips on 8.

(In the above, feet at angle of 60°, the weight equally divided, on balls of the feet. In the right angle arm movements, insist that the elbows be pressed well back, and that the pupil think himself pushing up fifty pounds. The physiological effect of this tense movement is to increase the respiratory power and has the same effect as a self-lifting movement on the bar.)

[blocks in formation]

(In this exercise be reminded again, that unless the head is erect, the chest up, and the breathing is maintained the movements will not only be useless, but absolutely harmful in that they will contract instead of expanding the chest.)

Right foot forward, arms upward bend, 1. Stretch arms upward, 2. Raise chest and bend head back, 8. (Fig. 46.) Trunk erect and arms bent upward, 4. Continue to 7. Heels together and arms at side, S. Repeat through 7, hands on hips, 8. Trunk forward bend, 1. Turn head to right, 2. Head to front, 3. Trunk erect, 4. Repeat to 8. Same, turning head to left, 1 to 8.

[blocks in formation]

(The chest movements are always followed by a balance movement for physiological reasons before given. We would call the teachers' attention again to the progressiveness of these Day's Orders. Try, for example, the four balance movements already given in these articles. It will be felt at once that each is a little more difficult to sustain than the one preceding, owing, as we have stated before, to the degree of stability or unstability.)

Extend right leg straight backward, foot lifted from floor, toe pointing directly in a line backward, trunk erect, 1. Bend left knee, 2. (Fig. 48.) Straighten left knee, 3. Heels together, 4. Same with left leg, 1 to 8.

(Let the remaining movement be done with wands, though if wands are not available, the movements may be done with hands clinched. As the children take the wands from their rack, let them be placed in Carry Arms (Fig. 49) position, holding the fingers easily, much as if holding pencils-fingers five or six inches from the end of the wand. The place in the aisle being reached, children stand in position awaiting orders)

[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

the chest, 4. Repeat to 7. Drop to Fig. 51, 8. Repeat to left, I to 8.

(Let the wands be held lightly, that they may slide smoothly back and forth in the hand. There will be a tendency to reach the head forward in these shoulder blade movements; also to carry the elbow back and so direct the wand forward. Keeping all these points in mind, add a quick leg exercise springing lightly from foot to foot.)

Wand to right (Fig. 52) extend right foot to the right side, twice its length, 1. Wand to left, spring on right foot

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

Charge straight forward with right foot, right knee bent, wand shoulder high, arms extended front, palms down, 1. Place wands behind shoulders, 2. (Fig. 54.) Wand overhead, arms stretched, 3. Wand down heels together, 4, Continue to 8. Repeat beginning with left, 8 counts. Alternate, 8 counts.

With two signals, carry wands. One! Carry left hand to right shoulder. (Fig. 50.) Two! Drop left arm at side, with wand in position. (Fig. 49.) March around the room, replace wands, return to place in aisle.

VIII. Jumping.

Hop twice on right foot, holding the hollow of the left foot close to the heel of the right, 1 and 2. (Fig. 56.) Same on left foot, 3 and 4. Continue alternating, 32 counts, ending with arms at side.

(This exercise well done is excellent for poise. Do not tolerate for a second, any awkward bending of the trunk. Insist that it be firm, the head erect, and the jumping even and light.)

IX. Respiratory.

Hands on chest, palms towards chest, elbows well up, inhale, 1. Drop arms to side, exhale, 2. Continue to 8. (If done to music, of course the count must be very slow.) Rise on toes, and place hands on chest as above, 1. Heels to floor, arms dropped, 2. Continue to 8. Head backward bend, 1. Head erect, 2. (In lifting the head to erect position think the chin, depressing it and pushing it inward. There is a great difference between doing the movement in this way and in simply lifting the head.) Head backward

bend, 3. Head erect, 4. Continue to 8, watching closely

that the breath is maintained during the movements.

[blocks in formation]

Arms upward bend, right face, and step right foot to right side, 1, Place right hand on hip, and stretch left arm overhead, 2. Bend trunk to right, 3. (Fig. 55.) Trunk erect, 4. Bend trunk to right, 5. Trunk erect, 6. Arms upward bend, 7. Arms down at side, heels together, front face, 8. Repeat, left hand on hip, right arm extended, bending trunk left. On 8 heels together, front face, and hands on hips. (In extending the arm, keep head erect, not bent towards the extended arm.)

Mr. Editor:

A Boy's Physiology.

As I glanced around my desk, my eye just now fell upon a paper marked "special." It is an examination paper in physiology of a boy about fourteen years of age.

I enclose copy of three questions I asked on that examination and their answers from this boy. The examination was given after carefully covering the work.

1. What is respiration?

3. What are the lungs? Describe.

23. Why should we not breathe impure air? Answers. (Verbatim.)

1. "Respiration is sweat and oil coming from sweat glands and oil glands it consists of sweat and oil.

3. Lungs are sponge like flesh composed of little holes and there are two in number one on each side of the chest. They are spongy bundles composed of little holes and blood vessels.

23. The impurities should be taken out of the air before it is breathed."

There is some mind study for any one.

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinuar »