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 All the year round; a nature reader . 
 
 3 1924 001 125 438 
 
The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924001125438 
 
ALL THE YEAR ROUND 
 
 A NATURE READER 
 
 Part II: Winter 
 
 FRANCES L. STRONG 
 
 St. Paul Teachers' Training School 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 GERTRUDE A. STOKER 
 
 SUPERVISOR OF DRAWING, ST. PAUL 
 
 Boston, U.S.A., axd London 
 GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
 1898 
 2C, 
 
Copyright, 1896, by 
 FRANCES L. STRONG 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
NOTE TO THE TEACHER. 
 
 IT is not the purpose of the author of this series to offer, 
 or even suggest, any rules for its use. If anything is 
 established in education, it is the fact that aside from 
 certain underlying principles and general directions, each 
 teacher must be a rule unto herself. The methods which 
 the author and her colleagues have found successful might 
 be entirely out of harmony with an equally good system in 
 some other city. It is to be presumed, however, that if this 
 series of nature-stories should be so fortunate as to be 
 received with favor by the educational public, it will occa- 
 sionally find its way into the hands of some teachers who 
 are not familiar with nature- work as developed in large 
 cities and well-organized school systems. To these it may 
 be interesting and helpful to know just " how it has been 
 done " in the schools out of which these stories grew, and 
 in which they have been used. Indeed, by way of com- 
 parison and suggestion, it may also be of assistance to those 
 who have passed through the experimental stage and have 
 wrought out a system of their own. 
 
 It has been the custom in the St. Paul public schools to 
 pursue the following plan : 
 
iv Note to the Teacher. 
 
 Materials. — The teacher goes out with her pupils to 
 collect the materials referred to in the lessons, gathering 
 enough to allow each pupil one specimen. Animals and 
 plants are kept alive in the schoolroom to enable all to 
 study their growth and habits. 
 
 After the material is at hand, the development of a spe- 
 cific lesson is divided (though not formally and rigidly) into 
 five parts. 
 
 I. Morning Talk. — The work of the day is begun with a 
 morning talk based either upon one of the natural objects, 
 or upon a geographical topic, according to the season. 
 
 If an animal, a plant, or a stone be the subject of the 
 lesson, pains are taken to see that each child is provided 
 with a specimen. By skillful questioning, statements are 
 drawn from the children concerning the facts the teacher 
 wishes observed. New words are occasionally suggested and 
 written upon the blackboard, and their frequent use is re- 
 quired throughout the lesson. In studying objects, it has, 
 of course, been found advisable to consider them as belong- 
 ing to some great family, making comparisons, and finding 
 resemblances and differences. Children readily find this 
 family element in all things studied. 
 
 If a geographical topic is chosen, observations are made 
 from representations by means of pictures, sand-maps, cabinet 
 specimens, etc. For instance, in studying the life of the 
 American Indian, page 8i, preparatory to the Hiawatha lessons, 
 a sand-table showing a forest of pines, a mirror lake, a birch- 
 bark canoe, a tent of cloth or paper, and a doll dressed as an 
 Indian, furnishes the basis of an excellent lesson upon the 
 life and habits of the Red Man. 
 
Note to the Teacher. v 
 
 II. Drawing. — The observation lesson is followed by a 
 drawing lesson upon the subject studied. The child has 
 already been supplied with the plant or animal. Each child 
 draws his specimen carefully. It is by no means necessary 
 for the teacher herself to be able to draw in order to get 
 results. Each child is simply required to reproduce with 
 his pencil just what he sees, just as he sees it. Children 
 illustrate their language papers on flowers with water-colors 
 or pencil. Work in free-hand cutting can be given from all 
 objects, such as bottles, leaves, animals, etc. Scissors are 
 used for this cutting. Modeling in clay is done from any 
 object that will correlate with the other work. It has been 
 found that in connection with the myths there is a great 
 opportunity to develop imagination by allowing the child to 
 illustrate the stories. 
 
 III. Spelling. — A spelling lesson upon the new and diffi- 
 cult words will follow. 
 
 IV. Reading. — The child is now ready for the reading 
 lesson appropriate to the subject. 
 
 V. Language. — Finally, the children write descriptions of 
 the object or country studied, giving free expression to the 
 facts each has acquired. 
 
 It may be added that great interest may be excited by 
 introducing into the number-work problems concerning the 
 subject of the morning talk. 
 
 The literature, also, holds a very prominent place in this 
 nature-work. The following list suggests poems to be com- 
 mitted to memory, and stories to be read in connection with 
 this reader : 
 
vi Note to the Teacher. 
 
 EVAPORATION. 
 
 The Rainbow Longfellow 
 
 Shelley's Clouds. 
 
 A Drop of Water Hans Andersen 
 
 Swan Maidens Cooke's Myths 
 
 Snow Bound Whittier 
 
 Snow Image Hawthorne 
 
 Snow-Flakes Longfellow 
 
 The First Snow-Fail Lowell 
 
 MAN. 
 St. Nicholas, 1885, Cast Away in the Cold .... Hayes 
 Primary Education, Jan. 1895. 
 School Journal, Dec. 1894. 
 
 Seven Little Sisters Jane Andrews 
 
 The Children of the Cold Frederick Schwatka 
 
 As will be inferred from the method outlined above, the 
 purpose of this book will be entirely misconceived, if it is 
 looked upon merely as a convenient means of furnishing new 
 reading-matter for the children (although it is sincerely hoped 
 that it will do this). It is intended also to stimulate the 
 thought, enlarge the vocabulary, and open the eyes of the 
 children to the wonders of the world around them. 
 
 In the St. Paul public schools the manuscript of this 
 series has been used in the second grade. It is thought, 
 however, that it may be used in the third, and even the 
 fourth, with equally good results. 
 
 St Paul, 
 
 October 17, 1895. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 LIMESTONE SEQUENCE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. The Pond Snail 3 
 
 2. The Coral 5 
 
 3. The Coral Reefs . 7 
 
 4. What becomes of the Shells 9 
 
 5. The Fossils 11 
 
 6. Testing to find Lime 13 
 
 QUARTZ SEQUENCE. 
 
 7. Quartz . . 17 
 
 8. How THE Saxd became Sandstone ... 19 
 
 9. A Story about Glass . .... 21 
 
 10. The Travels of the King's Window Panes . . 23 
 
 OCEAN LIFE. 
 
 11. The Starfish 25 
 
 12. The Sea-Urchin 27 
 
 13. The Oyster , . 30 
 
 14. The Sponge 33 
 
 COAL. 
 
 15. The Coal Forests 35 
 
 16. Coal ?*Iining 38 
 
viii Table of Contents. 
 
 EVERGREENS (CHRISTMAS). 
 
 PAGE 
 
 17. The Evergreens 42 
 
 18. The Pines 44 
 
 19. The Discontented Pine (Poetry) ... 46 
 
 20. The Fir Tree . 5° 
 
 21. The Little Fir Trees (Poetry) . ... 56 
 
 STUDY OF MAN. 
 
 22. The Eskimo. Part I S9 
 
 23. The Eskimo. Part II. 64 
 
 24. The Seal 67 
 
 25. Hunting Seals 69 
 
 26. Hassan 71 
 
 27. The Camel 74 
 
 28. The Palms 76 
 
 29. The Palm Tree (Poetry) 79 
 
 30. Black Hawk 81 
 
 31. Hiawatha's Childhood 84 
 
 32. Hiawatha's First Deer 86 
 
 EVAPORATION. 
 
 33. Vapor 88 
 
 34. Clouds 91 
 
 35- Rain 93 
 
 36. Dew 94 
 
 37. Frost Pictures 96 
 
 38. Little Jack Frost (Poetry) 98 
 
 39. The Little White Fairies 100 
 
WINTER. 
 
■^^i 
 
 ^s 
 
 I. fr„ 
 
 ^=*> 
 
 SNAILS. 
 
WINTER. 
 
 I. THE POND SNAIL. 
 
 'T'HE pond snail makes 
 its home in ponds. 
 It has one broad foot 
 which helps it to move 
 about, or to fasten it- 
 self to different things 
 it finds in the water. 
 
 The snail has two 
 little horns or feelers 
 in front. If we watch these feelers, we shall 
 see that it keeps them moving as if it were feeling 
 its way. The eyes are at the base of the feelers, 
 and look like two black dots. The mouth is 
 between them ; but we shall find that it is below 
 the feelers. 
 
 Have you ever seen this strange creature come 
 to the surface to breathe ? It has a little opening 
 in its side, through which air passes. It is fine 
 
4 The Pond Snail. 
 
 sport to watch the snail come up to breathe. 
 Then you can see the bubbles of air. 
 
 It has a shell house which it carries with it. 
 Snails have been called very slow ; but if we had 
 to carry our houses on our backs, do you think 
 we could move quickly? 
 
 The pointed end of the shell is called the apex. 
 The opening where the snail comes out is the 
 aperture. 
 
 Look closely and see all the little lines on the 
 shell. These are the lines of growth. When the 
 snail was a baby, its house was very small. As it 
 grew, it needed a larger one. This it built little by 
 little. In the water it drank it found something 
 which helped to make the hard shell. 
 
 What do you think it was.? Did I hear some 
 one say lime.? 
 
 Yes, it is lime which helps the snail in building 
 its house. You will find some lime in the bottom 
 of your teakettle. Take a piece and feel how 
 hard it is. 
 
2. THE CORAL. 
 
 T AM a tiny baby coral. When I was 
 ^ first hatched from an egg, I was very 
 soft and shaped Uke a pear. I was 
 covered with a fringe which quivered 
 and kept me in motion. 
 
 For some time I swam around in the 
 water, hunting for a good place to fasten myself. 
 As I do not like muddy or sandy water, I have 
 come down to the bottom of the sea where the 
 water is quiet and clear. Here I have fastened 
 myself to a rock and begun to grow. Gradually, 
 at the top of my body there comes a hole which 
 is my mouth, and around it, like a fringe, appear 
 my feelers. 
 
 A sac, which is my stomach, forms in the 
 center. When I take a drink of sea- water, I 
 draw it into my stomach through my long hollow 
 feelers. The lime from the water gathers at the 
 bottom of the sea, where I am fastened to the 
 rock. The lime in the water hardens the outside 
 of me. 
 
6 The Coral. 
 
 Now nothing soft remains, but my mouth and 
 feelers at the top, and my stomach within. 
 
 I have something strange to tell you. I begin 
 to bud. In this way I spread and grow taller. 
 Little corals grow out from my sides and base. 
 
 This way of growing is called budding, because 
 it is a little like the branching of a plant; but 
 each bud is a new coral, fastened to the 
 one from which it buds, as the branches 
 of a tree to the stem. As the corals 
 grow and bud, the lower ones become 
 solid. 
 
3. THE CORAL REEFS. 
 
 [ CAME from an 
 egg. So it is not 
 only by dividing or 
 budding that I in- 
 crease, but also by the 
 hatching of eggs. I keep 
 on budding and sending forth eggs. 
 
 There are many hills in the ocean, and I chose 
 one of these for my home. The eggs settle down . 
 beside me. They begin to grow and bud and 
 send forth more eggs. So, all around the foot 
 of the hill, on which we have settled, we form 
 a ring. 
 
 As each tiny coral forms new corals, it gradually 
 hardens. Thus, the tiny creatures make a solid 
 foundation for those that grow above and at the 
 side of them. 
 
 Little by little, all the cracks between our walls 
 are filled with sand and bits of shell. 
 
 The rocky walls, far down in the sea, form 
 strange and beautiful shapes. 
 
8 The Coral Reefs. 
 
 At last, the tiny corals reach the surface of 
 the water and can grow no higher. Their work 
 is done. 
 
 Then the great waves rush and beat against 
 the coral, breaking off large pieces. 
 
 These pieces become worn into sand by the 
 rolling and grinding done by the waves. The 
 broken masses and sand are thrown up on top 
 of the wall of coral. 
 
 Pieces of floating wood and sea-weed land upon 
 the wall and there decay. They are mixed with 
 the coral sand and a little soil is made. 
 
 Seeds are carried there by the birds, wind, and 
 waves, and in time grow into plants, grass, and 
 trees. 
 
 At last men come to settle and build cities 
 upon these islands made by the tiny corals. 
 
 Many ships have been wrecked on these coral 
 reefs. Before the reefs have reached the surface 
 of the water, sailors cannot see them. 
 
 The ship strikes one of these walls and a large 
 hole is made in the boat. Many lighthouses have 
 been built to warn the sailors. 
 
 Ask your teacher to show you on the map the 
 coral reefs near Florida. 
 
CAST UP BY THE SEA. 
 
4. WHAT BECOMES OF THE SHELLS. 
 
 r AM a shell. My home is in the great ocean. 
 Our family is a very large one; much larger 
 than your father's family, for I have thousands 
 of brothers and sisters. 
 
 Some of my relatives are so very small that 
 you could not see them without a microscope: 
 others are very large. 
 
 Many of the little animals living in us are 
 killed. 
 
 What do you think happens to the shell houses .'' 
 
 The great waves wash part of us up on the 
 beach, but others sink to the bottom of the 
 ocean. 
 
 The great rivers that flow into the ocean, bring 
 mud and sand with them. This mud settles to 
 the bottom with the shells. 
 
 Have you ever seen my home, the great 
 ocean .'' 
 
 Try to think how many of the lakes you have 
 seen it would take to make this great body of 
 water, and how heavy it must be. 
 
lo What becomes of the Shells. 
 
 This water presses on us, until we are packed so 
 closely that we become stone. Do you remember 
 what we drank to make our shells hard ? 
 
 Think what quantities of lime there must be in 
 this stone. Would you like to know our name ? 
 We are called Limestone. 
 
5. THE FOSSILS. 
 
 T AM the fossil of a shell. When the little 
 animal inside my shell was alive, many 
 thousands of years ago, I lived in the ocean. 
 Now I am locked up in this storehouse of 
 limestone with many of my neighbors who once 
 lived with me in the sea. 
 
 Some of them lived in shells ; others were coral ; 
 and others lived in stone lilies. 
 
 The tiny coral creatures built their beautiful 
 towers in the sea. Living among them were little 
 animals, that built up stone lilies about themselves. 
 These lilies were fastened to the bottom of the sea 
 by long waving stems. 
 
 I, too, lived among the coral. I had two shells 
 fastened together like a clam shell. 
 
 The shells were beautifully chiseled and were of 
 delicate tints of red, green, yellow, blue, and pink. 
 
12 The Fossils. 
 
 There were a great raiany other little creatures 
 living in shells. Some were large ; others very 
 tiny. Some floated about in the water; others 
 fastened themselves to rocks or to other creatures. 
 
 But we all gathered lime from the water, and 
 made our hard frames. Then, as the tiny creatures 
 died, we sank down, down to the bottom of the sea. 
 
 The earth in the water settled between us. The 
 heavy water pressed so hard that it pressed us to 
 stone. 
 
 Then, little by little, the great sea became lower 
 and at last disappeared, leaving us on the land. 
 
 Do you think there are fossils forming now in 
 the ocean .? Yes, and on the land too. 
 
 I will tell you one way in which beautiful ones 
 are formed. Streams of water flowing over lime- 
 stone dissolve some of it. 
 
 On the banks of a stream a leaf or a twig falls, 
 or some moss is fastened to a rock. 
 
 As the water slowly trickles over them, some of 
 the lime settles and gathers around them. In time, 
 they decay ; but their shape is left in the stone. 
 
 Sometimes, fossils of leaves and fishes are formed 
 in the lakes and rivers, just as they are in the 
 ocean. 
 
6. TESTING TO FIND LIME. 
 
 I\ A ISS ALLEN asked the children to bring to 
 school everything in which they thought 
 they might find lime. She told them she would 
 show them how to prove whether they were right 
 or wrong. 
 
 I wish you could have seen the many things that 
 were placed on her desk the next morning. 
 
 Some brought many different kinds of shells ; 
 others the hard pieces found in the bottom of the 
 teakettle. 
 
 Fred was anxious to try his pieces of coral, 
 petrified wood, and moss. 
 
 James brought some of his agates and a piece of 
 granite. 
 
 When Leo came to school, he passed a lot 
 where men were building two new houses. He 
 stopped, thinking he might find something there. 
 
 The men were building the cellar of one of the 
 houses of a grayish blue stone. He took a piece 
 of this. In the street, the men were mixing mortar 
 to hold these stones together. Watching them. 
 
14 Testing to find Lime. 
 
 he found that they put in large white lumps of 
 something which came packed in barrels. The 
 man gave him a large piece to take to school. 
 
 In the other house they were, plastering the 
 walls, and laying marble hearths in the fireplaces. 
 The men gave him a small piece of the marble, 
 and some plaster on a shingle. 
 
 Anna brought a dead starfish and a sea-urchin's 
 house. 
 
 Mary's father was a doctor. She had heard him 
 say that a baby had very soft bones and that an 
 old person's were hard. Mary remembered how the 
 snail's house was hardened, and she wondered if the 
 lime in the water we drink could make bones hard. 
 
 Now was Mary's chance to test a bone, so she 
 brought all of them that she could find. 
 
 Grace laid on the desk, a piece of chalk, a quartz 
 crystal, and a carnelian. 
 
 That morning Miss Allen said, " I am glad 
 you have brought so many things for us to test. 
 This bottle is filled with acid. There are so many 
 acids, I will give you the name of the one we use 
 to test our stones. 
 
 " It is called muriatic acid. That is a pretty big 
 word for children, but it is well to be able to call 
 things by their right names. 
 
Testing to find Lime. 15 
 
 " We must be very careful in using this acid. 
 It is very strong. It will eat holes in wood and 
 in our clothes, and burn our fingers. 
 
 " Tom, you may take this board and place it 
 on the desk. Now put on it all the things we 
 wish to test." 
 
 After this was done, Miss Allen poured a drop 
 of acid on each article. What a bubbling and 
 spluttering there was ! It made one think of 
 soda water. 
 
 Miss Allen said, " If it bubbles, you may know 
 there is lime there ; if not, there is none." 
 
 The shells, pieces from the teakettle, the 
 petrified wood and moss, the coral, the sea- 
 urchin's house, and the starfish were tried first. 
 All these bubbled. Some bubbled more than 
 others, showing that they contained more lime. 
 
 The marble, plaster, blue stone, and white lump 
 Leo found at the new house were tested next. 
 There was lime in all these. 
 
 Then the bones, chalk, quartz, carnelian, agate, 
 and granite had drops of the acid poured on them. 
 The bones and chalk bubbled, but the quartz, 
 carnelian, agate, and granite made no fuss at all. 
 They held no lime. 
 
 After these were tested. Miss Allen said, " I will 
 
1 6 Testing to find Lime. 
 
 keep this bottle of acid on the shelf, and if you' find 
 other things you would like to test, I shall be glad 
 to help you." 
 
 She then asked, " Do you know why it is that 
 the water in lakes, rivers, and springs is hard, 
 while rain water is soft ? " 
 
7. QUARTZ. 
 
 Ajy Y name is Quartz. I have a story to tell you 
 about my family. 
 
 A little girl found some pretty stones and took 
 them to school. I was among those stones, and 
 very glad to make the children a visit. 
 
 Suddenly I found myself on a desk with a 
 piece of glass and a knife. How sharp that knife 
 looked ! It fairly made me tremble, it was so near. 
 
 However, I need not have been afraid. Soon a 
 boy picked up the knife and went to work to cut 
 me in two. Just think, that sharp glistening blade 
 could not even scratch me ! 
 
 Then the boy picked up the piece of glass and 
 tried to scratch me with that ; but he could not 
 make the least mark on my glossy coat. 
 
 I wondered if I could make a scratch on the 
 glass, and kept saying to myself, " Don't I wish 
 I had a chance to make my mark on that shiny 
 glass ! " 
 
 I think the boy must have heard me, for he 
 tried to scratch the glass with me, and I found 
 
1 8 Quartz. 
 
 that I could make a beautiful cut in it. Then he 
 tried me on the blade of the knife, and I left a 
 scratch on that too. 
 
 There were a great many of my family visiting 
 the school that day. Some were as clear as glass ; 
 some were smoky ; some were milky. 
 
 Carnelians and agates, which are used in jewelry 
 and to make marbles, belong to my family. Have 
 you ever cracked open a carnelian and seen the 
 pretty red and white bands inside ? 
 
 A little girl had a purple stone in her ring and 
 her teacher told her it was an amethyst. This is 
 another of my sisters. 
 
 Tom broke many pieces of different kinds, and 
 found that we did not break evenly, and that the 
 faces made by the breaking were not smooth. 
 
8. HOW THE SAND BECAME SANDSTONE. 
 
 WOU all know that the Quartz family is very 
 hard, and that some of us are beautifully 
 colored. I have been thinking of a strange story 
 a friend of mine once told me. Would you like 
 to hear it ? Yes ? Well, then I will tell you 
 what happened to some of our family, years and 
 years ago. 
 
 Many pieces of the Quartz family lived on the 
 shore of the ocean. All day the great waves rolled 
 up on the shores, and tossed the pebbles up and 
 down, back and forth, knocking them against one 
 another. 
 
 Gradually stones were broken into small pieces. 
 By and by they were so small that passers-b}^ 
 said, '' How beautiful and fine the sand is here ! " 
 
 The wind, too, liked to play with the sand ; for 
 it carried it hither and thither over the beach. 
 Sometimes the sand traveled back and forth two 
 or three times in a day. 
 
 One day it said, " I wonder what kind of a 
 journey I shall make to-day." 
 
20 How the Sand Became Sandstone. 
 
 That day it met two new families on the beach, 
 the Lime family and the Iron family. 
 
 These three families liked each other so well 
 that they decided to live together. Not long 
 after this, when they were settled for the day, a 
 rainstorm came and beat down steadily upon them. 
 
 The lime grew soft, gluing the sand into one 
 large lump, like a stone. It took many years to 
 make this stone. Don't you think sandstone is a 
 good name for a stone made of sand ? 
 
 The Iron family is of a great many colors, — red, 
 yellow, brown, and even green. They gave some 
 of their color to the sandstone, and that is the 
 reason we have red, green, and yellow sandstones 
 as well as white. 
 
9. A STORY ABOUT GLASS. 
 
 /^NCE upon a time, hundreds of years ago, a 
 ^"^^ strange-looking ship was sailing slowly on 
 the great sea. The ship was heavily laden with 
 soda, and had been out a long time. 
 
 The sailors were tired of the tossing of the great 
 sea, and longed for the quiet land. 
 
 Suddenly across the waves, a speck was seen. 
 Surely, that must be land ! 
 
 A moment later, the cry " It is land " was heard 
 from every sailor. 
 
 Soon the eager men landed and hastened to 
 collect sticks for a fire. All were anxious to cook 
 a dinner on the land. 
 
 The fire was started and the kettle brought. 
 But they could find nothing with which to prop 
 it. No stones were to be found. 
 
 What were they to do ? Give it up .'' No, a 
 thousand times no ! 
 
 " Bring some of the lumps of soda," called the 
 captain. Soon the dinner was cooking nicely ; but 
 stop, what was the trouble ? 
 
22 A Story aboiit Glass. 
 
 The fire had melted the soda and sand together, 
 and on that far away coast, the sailors had — what 
 do you suppose ? — Glass. 
 
 This was the first glass ever made. 
 
10. THE TRAVELS OF THE KING'S 
 WINDOW PANES. 
 
 /^NE of the kings of England was very rich. 
 ^■^^ In his many palaces, he had everything 
 money could buy. But his greatest treasures 
 were his glass windows, for in those days very few 
 people had such wonderful things. 
 
 In the far North, people used thin sheets of ice 
 for their windows. In some countries, people 
 stretched skins until they were so thin that the 
 light could come through. These skins they used 
 for window panes. 
 
 Where this king lived, they used neither the ice 
 nor the skins for window panes. The wind and 
 rain could blow in through the open spaces left 
 to light the house. 
 
 How many colds those people must have had ! 
 
 You will understand why this king thought so 
 much of his glass windows. He owned a great 
 many houses, living sometimes in one, and some- 
 times in another. He had only one set of windows 
 for all his houses. 
 
24 TJic Travels of the King's Window Panes. 
 
 What could he do ? When he traveled from 
 palace to palace, he had his windows packed, and 
 taken with him. 
 
11. THE STARFISH, 
 
 T^HE starfish is sometimes called a sea-star, five- 
 '^ finger, or five-fingered Jack. Its home is in 
 the great ocean. 
 
 Starfishes are of different colors ; some are 
 orange, some crimson, some purple, and some 
 brick red. There are others that are pale in tint, 
 either delicate pink or faintly purplish. How- 
 pretty these little creatures must look in the 
 water ! 
 
 The starfish has five arms ; under these arms are 
 tubes which it uses as feet. It will fasten itself 
 firmly to a rock, and will even allow its tube-like 
 feet to be torn rather than let go. 
 
 There is a curious thing about the arms. If a 
 hungry fish bites one off, or the big wa^•es knock 
 it against a stone and 
 break one, the arm will 
 grow again. 
 
 The starfish has an 
 eye at the end of each 
 arm. These eves are 
 
26 The Starfish. 
 
 not at all like yours ; they are very poor. But 
 they answer nicely for the starfish. 
 
 The mouth is on the under side of the animal, 
 in the center of the arms. The starfish is very 
 greedy, and seems to do nothing but eat. It feeds 
 on oysters, clams, and sea-snails. 
 
 It has a curious way of feeding. It catches its 
 food in its five arms and holds it firmly. Then 
 with its mouth it sucks its food from the oyster or 
 clam. 
 
 The starfish lays eggs and carries them in its 
 five arms. People who have studied this creature, 
 have taken the eggs away from it, and let them 
 float in the water to see what the starfish would do. 
 It swims after them, gathers them up, and carries 
 them off. 
 
 When a baby starfish is hatched, it has no arms, 
 but is shaped like an egg. The little egg is 
 covered with something hair-like until its arms 
 begin to grow. 
 
 Have you ever noticed the many spikes on its 
 back ? These help to protect it from its enemies. 
 
SEA LIFE. 
 
12. THE SEA-URCHIN. 
 
 A ^ THEN this strange animal is a baby, it is no 
 larger than a pea. As the baby grows, it 
 needs a larger house. It does not build a new 
 one, but it makes the old one larger. 
 
 The sea-urchin's house is not made of one 
 part or even two. It has five or six hundred 
 pieces in its shell. These pieces are beautifully 
 joined. 
 
 The shell is covered with green and purple 
 spines. These spines make the sea-urchin look 
 like a huge burr. They are ver}- useful, for they 
 protect it from its enemies. 
 
 It has many feet arranged in rows. The feet 
 are little tubes with suckers at the ends. The sea- 
 
28 The Sea-Urchin. 
 
 urchin can push these, feet out beyond the spines, 
 and uses them to catch its prey. Sometimes, when 
 the urchin moves about, it rolls like a ball. 
 
 The mouth of the sea-urchin is on the under 
 side. It has five hard, pointed teeth. They do 
 not move up and down, or from side to side. 
 They move towards each other, meeting in a 
 point. 
 
 One thing, which the sea-urchin does, will show 
 you how hard its teeth are. It hollows out a house 
 for itself in the hardest rocks, by digging it out 
 with its teeth. 
 
 It is very funny to see a family of sea-urchins in 
 holes in a rock, sometimes as many as a dozen 
 together. 
 
 It also uses its teeth in eating. It is a very 
 hungry animal, and eats all the little creatures 
 that it can catch. 
 
 When the sea-urchin is dead, its spines some- 
 times fall off. Then we can see the beautiful shell. 
 The spines are fastened to little knobs. You will 
 see little rows of dots on the shell. These dots are 
 the holes through which the sea-urchin pushed its 
 feet. We can see five larger dots that were five 
 eyes. 
 
 Many years ago, people thought that the shell 
 
The Sea-Urchin. 29 
 
 was the egg of some sea-animal, and called it a sea- 
 egg- 
 
 The sea-urchin is not unlike the starfish. If we 
 could close the starfish's five arms, it would have 
 much the shape of the sea-urchin. 
 
-3^^ 
 
 13. THE OYSTER. 
 
 W 
 
 HEN we see the oyster and its shell house, 
 it is hard to believe that it came from 
 
 an egg. 
 
 The egg is very small. After being sent into 
 the water, the wee baby in it begins to grow. It 
 has a perfect little shell when it is hatched. 
 
 The baby oyster is a lively little fellow, and for 
 two or three days after it is born, swims about like 
 a young fish. Then it settles down for life by 
 fastening itself to an old shell or rock on the sea- 
 bottom. 
 
 Many of these little oyster babies do not live to 
 be grown oysters. They are swallowed by other 
 sea animals. 
 
Tlie Oyster. 31 
 
 The oyster's shell is not pretty. You can see 
 the layers as they have been built up, and its age 
 is known by the lines of growth, and also by its 
 size. The oyster is fit for food when it is four or 
 five years old. 
 
 The shell has two covers joined by a hinge. 
 Shells that ha\e t\vo parts are called bi-valves. 
 The oyster can open and close its shell. It will 
 close it at the least noise. 
 
 The shell is fastened to the sea-bottom by one of 
 the valves, so this valve is larger than the other. 
 There is a spot on the white lining of each valve. 
 It is near the middle of the valve, and is a dark 
 purple. 
 
 The oyster has a strong muscle which is 
 fastened to the shell where you find the purple 
 spots. 
 
 It breathes with gills. Thfe mouth is at the 
 smaller end near the hinge. The gills and 
 mouth have little hairs all around them. These 
 keep moving and breathing when the shell is 
 open. They push the water into the mouth. 
 
 Sometimes oysters are found together in large 
 numbers. They cover the bottom of the sea for 
 miles and miles. These places are called oyster- 
 beds. 
 
32 The Oyster. 
 
 A bird called the oyster-catcher, the starfish, 
 and the crabs, are their enemies, and destroy great 
 numbers of the oysters. 
 
THE SPONGE DIVER. 
 
14. THE SPONGE. 
 
 " A A 7" HAT is a sponge? Can you tell me, 
 '' May?" 
 
 " No, Miss Hall," said May. " I use my sponge 
 every day, but I have never thought how it is 
 made. Let me think ! Do men make sponges 
 as they do cloth and many other things ? " 
 
 '• No; people used to think a sponge was a 
 plant, but that is not true. It is a little animal." 
 
 " An animal ! How very strange ! Where is 
 its home?" 
 
 " Its home is in the great ocean. The sponge 
 comes from an egg. When it is hatched, the 
 baby sponge sends out little hairs, which help it 
 to move about in the water. As the baby has 
 no eyes, it does not know where it is going, and 
 often gets a hard bump." 
 
 " Oh, Miss Hall, has the poor baby a head, 
 ears, legs, tail, or arms ? " 
 
 "No, May," was the answer, "it has none of 
 those ; but it has a hole called a mouth. Soon 
 it settles to the sea-bottom. W^ith its mouth it 
 
34 The Sponge. 
 
 fastens itself to something, and never moves 
 from that spot. 
 
 " The sponge has hard and soft parts. The 
 hard part is called its skeleton, and it is this 
 part of the sponge which we use. The soft 
 parts were like jelly, and have ' been taken out. 
 When the sponge was alive, all the holes were 
 filled with the jelly. 
 
 " Sponges are not all of the same form. Some 
 are cup-shaped, some pear-shaped, and some have 
 many branches. There are some as large as a 
 man's head, and others no larger than an egg. 
 
 " Men fish for the sponges, and divers go into 
 the water and tear them from the rocks. 
 
 " When they are taken out of the ocean, they 
 are thrown into large tanks of water. Then all 
 the soft parts are beaten out. The skeletons are 
 washed and dried in the sun." 
 
 " How many strange animals there are in the 
 ocean," said May, " and what a strange picture 
 the sea-bottom would make ! " 
 
15. THE COAL FORESTS. 
 
 'T'RY to imagine yourself in a forest years and 
 years ago. You will not meet any one, for 
 this was long ago when the world was young, 
 and before man came to live on this earth of 
 ours. 
 
 It is a strange forest that we are about to 
 enter. There is no winter there; the trees grow 
 all the year round. 
 
 You know how your plants at home grow and 
 bloom in the hot da}s of July. All the days are 
 warm July days in this forest. The ferns are as 
 large as our trees. 
 
 It is a dense forest, for every little seed falling 
 into the warm mud below sprouts, and is soon 
 a large tree. 
 
 Do you think that much sunlight could pierce 
 through the many branches? You are right; it 
 could not, and it is dark and gloomy among 
 these great trees. 
 
 Hark ! Is that the chirp of a robin ? No ! 
 Here we have trees without birds, a forest with- 
 
36 The Coal Forests. 
 
 M.; •^. '"ut a song, for there are, as yet, no birds 
 Ji* j(V / " ' !? upon the earth 
 
 ,',J^■• 
 
 f-,/ /...< . '. The only sound to break the still- 
 ness is the hoarse croaking of a 
 strange frog and the chirp of a 
 grasshopper. 
 
 Here we meet our old friends, 
 the pines and the firs; and see the well-known 
 cones waving among the branches. 
 
 We can find plenty of water plants and ferns, 
 but not one flower or bright berry. 
 
 The trees spring up quickly in the soft, warm 
 mud. The leaves come, fade, and fall just as 
 quickly. 
 
 The trees, with their roots in mud, are easily 
 blown down. They are then buried in the 
 water, and partly decay. This matter becomes 
 packed so closely that it turns into peat. 
 
 Hundreds and hundreds of years pass ; tree 
 after tree springs up, reaches its height, dies, and 
 decays in the dark below. 
 
 Let us come away from the forest now, for a 
 strange thing is about to happen. 
 
 Look ! Do you see ? A flood has covered 
 the place where we stood such a short time ago. 
 The beautiful great trees have fallen upon the 
 
COAL FOREST. 
 
The Coal Forests. 37 
 
 soft bed of mud where their parents and grand- 
 parents have lain for hundreds of years. 
 
 Now, the mud and sand are settling upon 
 them, forming shale and sandstone. These press 
 heavily upon the beautiful old trees. 
 
 After many years, the water will disappear, 
 and a new forest will spring up. It will grow, 
 and then again the same thing will happen. 
 
 The weight becomes greater and greater as 
 these layers are formed. The trees are packed 
 more and more tightly, untU they become one 
 solid mass, called coaL 
 
16. COAL MINING. 
 
 TAYERS of coal are not always straight and 
 level. They are often slanting, or hollow 
 like a basin. 
 
 Sometimes they bend, so that the coal comes 
 to the surface of the ground. Then it is easy 
 to mine the coal by digging into a kind of 
 tunnel. 
 
 Sometimes very deep holes must be dug to 
 reach the coal. These holes are called shafts. 
 Cages or huge buckets are drawn up and down 
 these shafts by means of ropes. 
 
 If you ever visit a coal mine, you will find 
 yourself in a new world. Everything is black. 
 
 As you go down with a rush away from the 
 sunlight and cool air, you wonder when the 
 journey will end. 
 
 Suppose the ropes should break ! You grasp 
 the sides of the cage tightly, and go down into 
 the darkness. 
 
 It is not a bit as if you were gliding down 
 into the depths of the earth, but as though the 
 
 earth were rising and you were standing still. 
 
 38 
 
Coal Mining. 
 
 39- 
 
 But at last the cage stops, and you are glad 
 to step out. There are many passages dug 
 down in the mine, all connecting with each other. 
 So there is a kind of town below the ground 
 with many streets. 
 
 You carry lanterns, and after a time get used 
 to the darkness. You can see men moving 
 about that look like shadows. 
 
 Sometimes the miner has to lie on his side to 
 use his pick in loosening the coal. 
 
 When the coal has been loosened, other men 
 load it in big baskets. These they push and 
 pull into more open spaces, where the ponies 
 can do the work. 
 
 Some of the ponies used in the mine never 
 feel the warm sunshine or breathe the fresh air. 
 They have stables in the mine ; and hay, corn, 
 and fresh water are sent down every day. 
 
40 
 
 Coal Mining. 
 
 Ask your teacher to tell you the differ- 
 ent ways in which fresh air is forced into 
 the mine. 
 
 Not long ago children worked in the 
 mines, but you will not find them there 
 now. The law has put a stop to that. 
 What a noise there is ! The coming 
 down and going up of the cage, the 
 shouting, the slamming of doors, the 
 trotting ponies, and the cars of coal being taken 
 to the shaft ! 
 
 We follow our guide through the dark pas- 
 sages, and at last come again under the shaft 
 
Coal Mining. 41 
 
 which leads to the world of light and life. We 
 get into the cage, and up we go. 
 
 Even on a cloudy day it seems bright in the 
 world above after the blackness in the mine. 
 
17. THE EVERGREENS. 
 
 ina_. A BOUT the time old 
 ^. -^ Jack Frost comes 
 to visit us, the trees 
 begin to get ready for winter. Most of them 
 lose all their leaves. They have work to do on 
 the ground, to cover the plants and seeds. 
 
 Some trees are green all winter. We call 
 these evergreens. Don't you think that is a 
 good name for them ? 
 
 The leaves are not like those of the oak or 
 maple. They look like needles, and so they are 
 called needles. The frost cannot hurt these 
 green leaves. 
 
 Most of the evergreen trees are shaped like 
 cones, each having one large central stem. The 
 smaller stems or branches grow in whorls around 
 the large one. 
 
 Often little scale-covered buds will be found 
 at the ends of the branches. 
 
 About the base of the smaller branches a 
 circle of scales will be found. This shows that 
 these branches have grown from the buds. 
 
TJie Evergreens. 43 
 
 The lighter color of the branches shows how 
 much they have grown this year. 
 
 The branches of the evergreen are very tough, 
 and the loads of snow do not break them. 
 
 The flower is not brightlv colored. It is a 
 cone made up of many scales, — all beautifully 
 arranged. 
 
 At the base of each scale are two little cradles 
 \\-ith a baby seed in each. Each baby seed has 
 one wing which helps it to fly to its new home. 
 Within each seed is a baby tree, with its store- 
 house of food. 
 
 In the older cones the scales spread and 
 separate. 
 
 Have you ever shaken one of the cones and 
 seen the little winged seeds fly out? 
 
 The e^■e^greens make the ^^-inter world brighter 
 and more beautiful. 
 
 The birds love the evergreens. Can you tell 
 why.? 
 
18. THE PINES. 
 
 piNES and firs are given the first place 
 among the woodland treasures. This is 
 because of their great usefulness. 
 
 They are very useful to ship -builders and 
 
 house-builders, who 
 could find nothing 
 to fill the place 
 of the lumber 
 obtained from 
 these trees. 
 The trunk of 
 some fir or pine 
 is used in every ship for a mast. When the 
 trunks are sawed into strips, we have the red, yel- 
 low, and white boards used in finishing houses. 
 
 The Scotch Pine becomes a tall tree when 
 growing in good soil, but in poor soil and in 
 very high places, it is a kind of shrub. 
 
 The needles grow in sheaths about an eighth 
 of an inch in length. In this sheath are two 
 twisted needles. One side of these needle-like 
 
The Pines. 45 
 
 leaves is grooved ; the other is curved. The 
 grooved sides face each other, so that when 
 placed together they look like one needle. 
 
 The cones are small, being an inch and a half 
 or two inches in length. 
 
 The W^hite Pine is one of the largest of the 
 forest trees, being often one hundred and thirty 
 to one hundred and fifty feet in height. Some 
 have- been cut that were over two hundred feet. 
 
 From this tree comes most of the lumber 
 used for the framework of buildings, timbers of 
 bridges, and masts of ships. 
 
 The White Pine has five long slender needles 
 in each sheath. They are longer and finer than 
 the needles of the Scotch Pine. 
 
 Each needle has three sides. One side is 
 flat; two are curved. 
 
 The Pitch Pine has dark, stiff needles, ar- 
 ranged in threes. They are not all of the same 
 length. The cones are also of different lengths. 
 
 Large quantities of the Pitch Pine are used 
 for fuel. Tar and lamp black are sometimes 
 made from it. 
 
Bureau Nature Study ^ 
 nriRNFTX University, Itka^a, N. 
 
 19. THE DISCONTENTED PINE. 
 
 /^NCE a little Pine-tree, 
 
 ^-^ In the forest ways, 
 
 Sadly sighed and murmured, 
 
 Thro' the summer days. 
 
 " I am clad in needles — 
 
 Hateful things ! " he cried, 
 
 " All the trees about me 
 
 Laugh in scornful pride. 
 
 Broad their leaves and fair to see ; 
 
 Worthless needles cover me. 
 
 " Ah, could I have chosen, 
 
 Then, instead of these. 
 
 Shining leaves should crown me. 
 
 Shaming all the trees ; 
 
 Broad as theirs and brighter. 
 
 Dazzling to behold. 
 
 All of gleaming silver — 
 
 Aye, of burnished gold. 
 
 Then the rest would weep and sigh ; 
 
 None would be so fine as I." 
 46 
 
The Discontented Pine. 47 
 
 Slept the little Pine-tree 
 
 When the night came down, 
 
 While the leaves he wished for 
 
 Budded on his crown. 
 
 All the forest wondered, 
 
 At the dawn, to see 
 
 What a golden fortune 
 
 Decked this little tree. 
 
 Then he sang and laughed aloud ; 
 
 Glad was he and very proud. 
 
 Foolish little Pine-tree ! 
 At the close of day, 
 Thro' the gloomy twilight, 
 Came a thief that way. 
 Soon the treasure vanished ; 
 Sighed the Pine, "Alas ! 
 Would that I had chosen 
 Leaves of crystal glass." 
 Long and bitterly he wept. 
 But with night again he slept. 
 
 Gladly in the dawning 
 Did he wake to find 
 That the gentle fairies 
 Had again been kind. 
 
48 The Discontented Pine. 
 
 How his blazing crystals 
 
 Lit the morning air ! 
 
 Never had the forest 
 
 Seen a sight so fair. 
 
 Then a driving storm did pass ; 
 
 All his leaves were shattered glass. 
 
 Humbly said the Pine-tree, 
 "I have learned 'tis best 
 Not to wish for fortunes 
 Fairer than the rest. 
 Glad were I, and thankful, 
 If I might be seen, 
 Like the trees about me, 
 Clad in tender green." 
 Once again he slumbered, sad; 
 Once again his wish he had. 
 
 Broad his leaves and fragrant. 
 
 Rich were they and fine. 
 
 Till a goat at noonday 
 
 Halted there to dine. 
 
 Then her kids came skipping 
 
 Round the fated tree ; 
 
 All his leaves could scarcely 
 
 Make a meal for three. 
 
The Discontented Pine. 49 
 
 Every tender bud was nipt, 
 
 Every branch and twig were stript. 
 
 Then the wretched Pine-tree 
 
 Cried in deep despair, 
 
 " Would I had my needles ; 
 
 They were green and fair. 
 
 Never would I change them," 
 
 Sighed the little tree ; 
 
 Just as nature gave them 
 
 They were best for me." 
 
 Then he slept, and waked, and found 
 
 All his needles safe and sound ! 
 
 Eudora S. Bumstead. — From Fairy Land of Flowers, 
 
20. THE FIR TREE. 
 
 /^UT in the forest stood a pretty little Fir 
 ^^ Tree. It had a good place, with plenty of 
 sunshine and air, and all around it grew many 
 larger trees — pines as well as firs. 
 
 But this little tree wished to become taller. 
 It did not care for the warm sun and fresh air. 
 When the children came to look for berries, they 
 would often sit down by the little Fir Tree and 
 say, " How pretty and small that one is ! " As 
 the tree wished to be taller, it made it very 
 unhappy to hear that. 
 
 The years passed, and it grew taller and taller. 
 In trees, one can always tell by the number of 
 rings they have, how many years they have been 
 growing. 
 
 " Oh, if I were only as tall a tree as the 
 others ! " sighed the little Fir, " then I would 
 spread my branches far around, and look out 
 into the wide world. 
 
 " The birds would then build their nests in 
 my boughs, and when the wind blew I could 
 nod just as grandly as the rest." 
 
The Fir Tree. 
 
 51 
 
 It took no pleasure in the 
 sunshine, in the birds, and in 
 the clouds that went sailing 
 over it morning and evening. 
 
 In the autumn, woodcutters al- 
 ways came and cut a few of the 
 largest trees. That was done th 
 year, too, and the little Fir Tree 
 trembled with fear as the 
 great trees fell crashing to the 
 ground. When their 
 branches 
 were cut 
 off, they 
 looked so long 
 and slender 
 that you would 
 hardly know 
 them. They were laid 
 upon wagons, and horses 
 dragged them away out of the 
 wood. Where were they going.? 
 What would happen to them? 
 
 In the spring, when the swallows anci 1^ 
 stork came, the Tree asked them, " Do you know 
 where the trees are taken ? Did you not meet them ? " 
 
52 The Fir Tree. 
 
 The stork said, " Yes, I think so. When I 
 flew back from my winter home, I met many new 
 ships. These ships had stately masts. They 
 smelt like fir, and I am sure those were the 
 trees." 
 
 Then the Fir Tree said, " Oh, that I were 
 only big enough to go over the sea ! " 
 
 The wind kissed the Tree and the dew shed 
 tears upon it, but it did not understand that. 
 
 When Christmas time came, very young trees 
 were cut. These trees kept their branches. They 
 were put on wagons, and horses dragged them 
 away. 
 
 " Where are they all going ? " asked the Fir 
 Tree. 
 
 " We know that ! We know that ! " chirped 
 the sparrows. " They are all dressed up with 
 beautiful things. We have looked in through the 
 windows and seen them planted in the middle 
 of a warm room, with gilt apples, playthings, 
 stars, and candles hung on their branches." 
 
 " Perhaps I may be dressed in this way some 
 day," cried the Fir Tree. " That would be 
 better than going across the sea." 
 
 " Rejoice in us," said Air and Sunshine. But 
 the Fir Tree did not rejoice at all ; it only grew 
 
READY FOR -rucr „ 
 
 "'^ THE CHILDREN 
 
The Fir Tree. 53 
 
 and grew. Winter and summer it stood there, a 
 dark green. 
 
 The people who saw it said, " That' s a hand- 
 some tree ! " Next Christmas it was cut before 
 any of the others. 
 
 It was very sad at parting from its old home. 
 It seemed to know it would never see its dear 
 old friends again. 
 
 Soon the Tree felt itself unloaded in a yard 
 with other trees, and heard a man say, " This 
 one is beautiful ; we want only this one." 
 
 Then two servants carried the Fir Tree into 
 a beautiful house. 
 
 What the sparrows had told it came true. 
 On some branches the people hung little bags 
 of candy; golden apples and nuts hung down as 
 if they grew there ; dolls swung from it, and a 
 hundred candles of all colors were fastened on 
 all its branches. " This is splendid," thought 
 the Tree. 
 
 How the Tree did enjoy it all ! But some of 
 the pretty things were taken from the Tree, and 
 given to the happy children, who danced around 
 the room. 
 
 The candles burned down to the twigs, and 
 were put out. Then the happy people went to 
 
54 The Fir Tree. 
 
 bed, leaving the poor Fir Tree quiet and alone. 
 
 In the morning the servants came and carried 
 the Tree upstairs to the garret, and put it in a 
 dark corner. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this .? What am I 
 to do here 1 " thought the Tree. 
 
 Days and nights went by, and nobody came. 
 
 " It must be winter outside," thought the Tree. 
 " The people cannot plant me now, so they leave 
 me here till spring comes. That is kind, but 
 how dark it is here, and how bare ! I wish I 
 were back in the forest with the hares." 
 
 But one morning people came into the garret. 
 They were putting away boxes, and, seeing a tree, 
 brought it out. The servant dragged it to the 
 stairs, where the daylight shone. 
 
 " Now life is beginning again ! " thought the 
 Tree. 
 
 It felt the fresh air and the first sunbeams. 
 It was close to the garden, and here everything 
 was blooming. 
 
 In the yard two merry children were playing, 
 and when they saw the Tree, one of them said, 
 " Look at that old Fir Tree ! " 
 
 The Tree looked at the blooming flowers, and 
 then looked at itself. How it wished it had 
 
The Fir Tree. 55 
 
 stayed at home in the forest with the sunbeams, 
 the air, the flowers, and the birds ! 
 
 Soon the servant came and chopped the Tree 
 into little pieces. 
 
 It made a bright blaze under the teakettle, 
 and sighed and sighed. Each sigh sounded like 
 a little shot, and at last the Tree was all burned ! 
 
 Adapted from Hans Andersen. 
 
 Bureau N attire Sfudv, 
 
 Cornell University, Iihaca, N. 
 
21. THE LITTLE FIR TREES. 
 
 T T EY ! little evergreens 
 Sturdy and strong ! 
 Summer and autumn time 
 Hasten along. 
 
 Harvest the sunbeams, then, 
 Bind them in, sheaves. 
 Range them and change them 
 To tufts of green leaves. 
 Delve in the mellow mold, 
 Far, far below, 
 And so, 
 
 Little evergreens, grow ! 
 Grow, grow ! 
 Grow, little evergreens, grow ! 
 
 Up, up so airily 
 
 To the blue sky. 
 
 Lift up your leafy tips 
 
 Stately and high ; 
 
 Clasp tight your tiny cones, 
 
 Tawny and brown ; 
 56 
 
EVERGREEN TREES. 
 
The Little Fir Trees. 57 
 
 By-and-by, buffeting 
 
 Rains will pelt down. 
 
 By-and-by bitterly 
 
 Chill winds will blow, 
 
 And so, 
 
 Little evergreens, grow! 
 
 Grow, grow ! 
 
 Grow, little evergreens, grow! 
 
 Gather all uttermost 
 
 Beauty, because — 
 
 Hark, till I tell it now — 
 
 How Santa Glaus, 
 
 Out of the northern land. 
 
 Over the seas. 
 
 Soon shall come seeking yoU; 
 
 Evergreen trees ! 
 
 Seek you with reindeer, soon, 
 
 Over the snow, 
 
 And so. 
 
 Little evergreens, grow! 
 
 Grow, grow! 
 
 Grow, little evergreens, grow! 
 
 What if the maple flare 
 Flaunting and red. 
 
5 8 The Little Fir Trees. 
 
 You shall bear waxen-white 
 
 Tapers instead. 
 
 What if now, otherwhere 
 
 Birds are beguiled, 
 
 You shall yet nestle 
 
 The little Christ-child! 
 
 Ah, the strange splendor 
 
 The fir trees shall know, 
 
 And so. 
 
 Little evergreens, grow ! 
 
 Grow, grow ! 
 
 Grow, little evergreens, grow ! 
 
 Evaleen Stein in St. Nicholas. — By permission. 
 
22. THE ESKIMO. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 T AM a little Eskimo baby, and my name is 
 Boreas. I do not wear clothes until I can 
 walk. When I am out of doors, I ride in a skin 
 cradle on my mother's back. When I am in the 
 house, I roll upon the floor on a warm fur rug, 
 and play with my puppy. 
 
 When I am a man, I shall have two suits of 
 clothes, made of fur. The inner suit will have 
 the fur next to my body, and the outer suit will 
 have the fur on the outside. My outer suit will 
 have a hood. When I put the hood on, Jack 
 
6o 
 
 The Eskimo. 
 
 Frost can see nothing but my eyes, nose, and 
 mouth. 
 
 I once heard a white man tell papa, Eskimos 
 all dressed so much alike that he could not tell 
 girls from boys, or women from men. 
 
 Do you know what kind. of a house I live m.} 
 It is not made of wood like yours, for it is so 
 cold in this country that no trees can grow 
 here. 
 
 My house is made of snow, and it looks like 
 the half of an egg-shell, only larger. We do 
 not heat it with a stove, for that would melt . the 
 snow. We warm it with lamps. These lamps 
 are made of stone, and look like clam-shells. 
 We burn oil in them, aijd use moss for wicks. 
 
 It must always be cold enough in the house 
 to freeze, or the water begins to drop from the 
 top, and then we know the house is melting. 
 
The Eskimo. 6r 
 
 One day our house was too warm, and the 
 snow began to melt. Some of it dropped down 
 papa's neck, some fell into our soup and spat- 
 tered it on mamma. One piece fell on me, and 
 I jumped. I did not like it. Papa had to mend 
 the melted places with fresh snow. 
 
 Our house has only one room and one door. 
 The doorway is low and small, so that papa and 
 mamma must creep through it on their hands 
 and knees. The door is a bia: block of ice. It is 
 used as much to keep out the dogs as the cold. 
 
 Our dogs will sleep on the hard ice and 
 snow, if they have plenty to eat. Papa never 
 feeds them oftener than ever}- other day, and 
 generally about every third day. 
 
 What do you think is the best food they can 
 have? It is tough walrus hide, about an inch 
 thick. One day the dogs were very hungry, 
 and, as many as could, put their heads in at the 
 doorway. They watched mamma to see if she 
 would give them something to eat. 
 
 Papa has man}- dogs. He has one team of 
 nineteen. Once the dogs worked seven days 
 without eating. They grew very thin, but none 
 of them died. 
 
 Do you think you could drive dogs? Papa 
 
62 
 
 The Eskimo. 
 
 says he never saw a white man who was a good 
 dog-driver. The forward dog of a team is called 
 the "leader" or "chief." The Eskimo dog-driver 
 manages the leader by speaking to him, 
 making him go to the right or 
 the left as he desires. The other 
 ^_ dogs watch the 
 leader, and do 
 as he does. 
 
 We could not live with- 
 out our dogs. They are our 
 horses and oxen for drawing loads, and 
 our hunting dogs, too. The dogs like 
 to hunt. When they are near the 
 game, papa slips their harness off. 
 Then they stand around the animal, and keep it 
 until papa can kill it. 
 
 Sometimes, if they go too near a bear or a 
 musk ox, they are killed. 
 
 One night, we heard a loud noise out doors 
 on the ice. Papa jumped up and went out. He 
 fouiid a large bear breaking the ice to catch 
 fish. 
 
 Mr. Bear did not know papa was near until he 
 shot. Then the bear ran, and papa ran. Papa 
 called the dogs, too ; but the bear reached the 
 
The Eskimo. 63 
 
 ice. He went up on an iceberg, which was so 
 steep that no one could go after him. The 
 next day papa saw him up there throwing big 
 pieces of ice down on a seal. 
 
23. THE ESKIMO. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 QOME of our sleds are cut out of solid ice, 
 ^ with fish frozen in them to make them 
 strong. Others are made of the bones of wal- 
 ruses and whales, and have ice runners. 
 
 I am very happy to-day, for mamma gave me 
 some candy this morning. Shall I tell you 
 about our candy ? When papa kills a water- 
 fowl called a dovekie, mamma cuts off the red 
 feet and takes out the bones. 
 
 She then stretches and dries the skin. When 
 it is quite dry, she fills it with reindeer tallow, 
 and that is one kind of candy. The only other 
 kind is the marrow from the leg bones of the 
 reindeer. Shall I send some to you ? The 
 reindeer comes to see us only in the summer. 
 That is the only time it can find moss to eat. 
 The reindeer is almost the color of the moss it 
 eats. Papa kills as many as he thinks we shall 
 
 use. 
 
 64 
 
The Eskimo. 65 
 
 Mamma cuts up the meat, dries it, and keeps 
 it to use during the winter. She dries fish also. 
 We eat seals, walruses, and whales. 
 
 Did you ever see a seal 1 They are not like 
 fish, if they do live in the water. Fish can 
 breathe in the water, but seals cannot. Fish 
 have cold blood, but seals have warm blood. 
 Fish cannot live out of the water, but seals can 
 live in the water or out of it. Hunters kill the 
 seals for food and clothing. 
 
 In summer we eat the eggs of ducks, geese, 
 and other birds. The birds' nests are so thick 
 in places, that you cannot walk without stepping 
 on eggs. Did you ever see an eider-duck.? There 
 are many here in the summer. 
 
 It is not very warm here in the summer. One 
 day, after it had been dark day and night for 
 many weeks, I went with my mamma to the 
 top of a high hill. We saw the sun for a few 
 moments. 
 
 The next day he came again, and we saw him 
 a little longer. 
 
 Every day he came back, staying longer and 
 longer, until he moved higher in the sky, making 
 one great circle, shining all day and all night 
 for many weeks. 
 
66 The Eskhno. 
 
 Then he went away again, and it was cold 
 and dark as before ; but we like the cold as well 
 as a fish likes water, a bird the air, and flowers 
 the sunshine. We use the little God gives us, 
 and are happy. 
 
 L. Bartlett. 
 
24. THE SEAL. 
 
 T^HE seal lives in the sea. It makes its home 
 in the north, where large pieces of ice float 
 in the ocean. 
 
 There are many kinds of seals. Some are no 
 larger than dogs, and are called sea-dogs. Others 
 are about thirty feet in length, and are called 
 sea-elephants, because of their great size. 
 
 The head of the seal is shaped somewhat like 
 that of a dog ; it has whiskers like a cat, and 
 large, beautiful eyes. 
 
 Its feet are much like fins, and help it to 
 swim in the water. The skin between the toes 
 makes good paddles of all the feet. It some- 
 times crawls up on the ice and stones, but it is 
 clumsy out of the water. It makes short jerky 
 leaps, dragging along the 
 hind fins, or paddles. ^^ 
 
 In the water, the seal is tejj 
 
 very graceful, and can swim ^^^^v^*;^ 
 very fast. It uses its hind """-^ '^'' 
 
68 The Seal. 
 
 paddles for swimming. The front ones are used 
 to turn itself around. 
 
 The fur of the seal is well suited to the cold 
 water. It is very thick, and is kept oiled by a 
 fat the seal has in its skin. Next the skin is a 
 layer of fat which helps to keep the seal warm. 
 
 Its food is chiefly fish, but it finds other food 
 in the sea. 
 
 Seals are easily tamed, and may be taught to 
 do many tricks. They know their master's voice, 
 and will come at his call. 
 
 The Eskimos would starve and freeze if it 
 were not for the seal. They use its flesh for 
 meat, and from the fat get oil to burn in their 
 lamps. Their warm clothes are made of the 
 seal fur; their boats are covered with sealskin. 
 The whips which they use in driving their dogs 
 are also made of the skin. The seal's bones are 
 made into hooks. 
 
25. HUNTING SEALS. 
 
 T^HE Eskimos spend much time 
 
 in hunting seals. Sometimes r^^ ^^f>i^^ t^lc 
 
 the men go out in their boats and try to throw 
 their harpoons into the seals as they swim in 
 the water or are lying on the large blocks of 
 ice. 
 
 There is another way the Eskimos hunt seals. 
 In the far north, the ice on the ocean is very 
 thick ; but the seal comes up under the ice and 
 scratches a hole through it with its sharp claws. 
 Then it makes a little dome through the snow 
 which covers the ice. 
 
 Through this snow dome, the seal makes an 
 opening just large enough to let in some air. 
 These holes are so small that the Eskimos often 
 pass without seeing them. 
 
 Here the seal comes to breathe. It breathes 
 in short gasps, which can easily be heard. If 
 the Eskimo hears a seal blowing, he seats him- 
 self on a block of ice to _ wait for it to come 
 
 again. 
 
 69 
 
"JO Hunting Seals. 
 
 The seal may come up at another hole to 
 breathe, and then the hunter has lost him. But 
 if he hears a blowing, he places his spear in the 
 hole, and catches the seal. 
 
 Sometimes, the mother seal hunts for a breath- 
 ing hole under very deep snow. She makes a 
 much larger dome, so that the ice will form two 
 shelves two or three feet wide. 
 
 Mrs. Seal puts her babies on these shelves, 
 and brings them food. If she hears a noise, she 
 hurries away, leaving them on the ice-shelves. 
 
 She thinks they are quite safe, for they are 
 the same color as the snow. 
 
 The Eskimo, however, has learned Mrs. Seal's 
 place for her babies, and often carries the baby 
 seals home. 
 
 If they are not found by the Eskimos, these 
 babies spend their time on the shelves until they 
 are old enough to swim away 
 with their mother. When they 
 can do that, they are -able to 
 care for themselves. 
 
26. HASSAN. 
 
 TJASSAN is a little Arab boy. He lives in 
 the desert where it is very hot and sandy. 
 The Arabs do not build houses, but live in 
 tents. There are no beds or chairs ; they have 
 many soft cushions instead. 
 
 The sun is so hot on the desert, that the 
 Arabs stay in their tents and sleep in the day- 
 time. In the evening, when it is cooler, Hassan's 
 father sits in front of the tent and smokes his 
 long pipe, while the children play in the sand. 
 
 When they have their supper, Hassan's father 
 eats first ; then his mother and the children have 
 theirs ; and the servants eat what is left. That 
 would seem strange to us in this country. 
 
 The Arab's tent is pitched near a spring, 
 where the date palm grows. Sometimes the hot 
 sun dries up the spring, 
 and then the family must 
 find a new home. 
 
 The camels are brought 
 up, and the loading begins. 
 
72 Hassan. 
 
 Each camel kneels until he has his burden 
 placed on his back. Some have large bags of 
 water fastened to them ; some carry the cushions 
 and food ; some are loaded with the tents and 
 poles. Hassan and his mother and sister ride 
 on camels. Hassan's father rides a beautiful 
 horse, with slender legs. 
 
 They start very early in the morning before 
 the sun is up. 
 
 They may travel for days and days, and not 
 see a palm tree or a stream. If they did not 
 have the bags of water and the food, they would 
 die of thirst and hunger. 
 
 When a stream is near, the camel smells the 
 water, and will start off at a brisk trot to 
 reach it. 
 
 How welcome the fresh dates and water are to 
 the people 1 
 
 It does not take long to pitch the tent under 
 the palm trees in their new home. Here they 
 will stay until the water and fruit are gone ; 
 then they will move again. 
 
 Would you like to hear how the Arabs look 
 and dress ? 
 
 They are dark-skinned, with dark hair and 
 eyes. They wear loose gowns, with wide trousers 
 
h- 
 
 cc 
 
 LU 
 
 CO 
 
 UJ 
 Q 
 
 LU 
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
 X 
 
 < 
 
 cc 
 < 
 
 LU 
 X 
 
 H 
 
Hassan. 73 
 
 gathered at the ankles. They do not wear hats, 
 but each Arab has twisted around his head 
 several yards of cloth. These cloth head-dresses 
 are "called turbans. 
 
27. THE CAMEL. 
 
 "T^HERE are two kinds of 
 ■*■ camels. One has two 
 humps on its back ; the 
 other has only one. The home of the camel is 
 in Africa and Asia. 
 
 It can carry such heavy burdens over the 
 sandy country, that it has been called the "ship 
 of the desert." 
 
 The feet of the camel are large and wide. 
 On the bottom of each are pads or cushions, 
 which help the camel to tread firmly upon the 
 soft sand. These cushions are covered with a 
 hard skin, which is not hurt by the almost burn- 
 ing sand of the desert. 
 
 The camel's eyes are shielded from the glare 
 of the sun by overhanging brows and long eye- 
 lashes. In a sandstorm, the camel can close its 
 nostrils to keep out the sand. 
 
 This animal is a cud-chewer. All the animals 
 belonging to this family have four stomachs. 
 The camel uses one of these to hold water. 
 
CAMELS. 
 
The Camel. 75 
 
 When a camel cannot get water for a number 
 of days, it uses the water from this stomach. 
 But it can smell water a mile away, and when 
 men are in need of water, they let the camel go 
 in the direction it wishes. If there is water, the 
 animal will take them to it. 
 
 There is another strange thing about the 
 camel, which makes it well suited for the desert. 
 The humps on its back are fat, which is taken 
 into its body to nourish it when the camel can 
 get nothing to eat. Sometimes after a long 
 journey, there is hardly any hump left. 
 
 The camel is taught to kneel when the men 
 load it. It has a hard skin on its legs and 
 breast to protect it from the hot sand. 
 
 Sometimes the camels and men cross the 
 desert in great numbers, and the company is 
 then called a caravan. 
 
 (Read "Jack and the Ostrich," Part III, All the Year Round.) 
 
28. 
 THE PALMS. 
 
 N the hot sandy country where 
 
 Hassan lives, the Arabs obtain 
 
 most of their food from the 
 
 palm trees. These trees have 
 
 no branches. They grow 
 
 erect, with many green, feathery 
 
 leaves at the top. 
 
 The Arab could not live without 
 the date palm. It will grow in sandy 
 VI .,-. soil, and drink water that would 
 kill other trees. 
 
 The trunk of the date palm 
 
 ^ is very hard to climb. The 
 
 Arab climbs it by tying a 
 
 rope round his back and 
 
 under his arms. He puts 
 
 the rope into one of the 
 
 notches left by a fallen leaf, 
 
 taking hold of the trunk with his hands 
 
 knees, raises himself 
 76 
 
 little at a time ; 
 
The Palms. "j"] 
 
 then he throws the rope into the next notch, 
 and raises himself again. He does this until he 
 reaches the top. 
 
 When the clusters of fruit are reached, they 
 are picked and thrown down. Men hold a cloth 
 by the corners under the tree, and catch the 
 dates as they fall. 
 
 Dates are pounded into hard cakes, and are 
 used for food in crossing the desert. 
 . Other palms grow in other countries. The 
 cocoanut palm is very beautiful. It sometimes 
 grows to be a hundred feet high. Do you know 
 of any building as high as that.? 
 
 The fruit of the cocoanut tree is a large 
 nut. It has a thick husk. The flower is not 
 so large as a kernel of corn, yet this large 
 cocoanut grows from it. When these huge nuts 
 are ripe, they fall to the ground. They are so 
 heavy, that people who have been struck by 
 them have been killed. 
 
 Like the date, the cocoanut palm is one of 
 the most useful of trees. The leaves, flowers, 
 fruit, shell of the fruit, and trunk of the tree 
 are used for many purposes. 
 
 There are many kinds of palm trees. Some 
 of them grow in Florida. Find that state on 
 
78 The Palms. 
 
 the map, and you will see that it is not very 
 far from your home. 
 
 Palm trees give us dates, cocoanuts, fans, oils, 
 medicine, rope, and beautiful woods. We use 
 the leaves to make hats, fish-nets, shutters, bas- 
 kets, writing-paper, bedding, roofs for houses, 
 and many other things. 
 
PALM TREES. 
 
29. THE PALM TREE. 
 
 IS it the palm, the cocoa palm, 
 
 On the Indian Sea, by the isles of balm ? 
 Or is it a ship in the breezeless calm? 
 
 A ship whose keel is of palm beneath. 
 Whose ribs of palm have a palm-bark sheath, 
 And a rudder of palm it steereth with. 
 
 Branches of palm are its spars and rails. 
 
 Fibers of palm are its woven sails. 
 
 And the rope is of palm that idly trails ! 
 
 What does the good ship bear so well ? 
 The cocoanut with its stony shell. 
 And the milky sap of its inner cell. 
 
 What are its jars, so smooth and fine, 
 But hollowed nuts, filled with oil and wine. 
 And the cabbage that ripens under the Line ? 
 
8o The Palm Tree. 
 
 Who smokes his nargileh, cool and calm? 
 
 The master, whose cunning and skill could charm 
 
 Cargo and ship from the bounteous palm. 
 
 In the cabin he sits on a palm mat soft, 
 From a beaker of palm his drink is quaffed, 
 And a palm thatch shields from the sun aloft ! 
 
 His dress is woven of palmy strands. 
 
 And he holds a palm-leaf scroll in his hands, 
 
 Traced with the Prophet's wise commands ! 
 
 The turban folded about his head 
 
 Was daintily wrought of the palm-leaf braid. 
 
 And the fan that cools him of palm was made. 
 
 To him the palm is a gift divine. 
 Wherein all uses of man combine, — 
 House, and raiment, and food, and wine ! 
 
 From Whittiers The Palm Tree. 
 
 Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Publ. 
 
B 
 
 30. BLACK HAWK. 
 
 LACK HAWK is the "^^ 
 
 name of a little In- 
 dian boy who lives in the 
 far west. Many years ago, when Columbus 
 came to America, the Indians owned all of this 
 beautiful country. But the white people have 
 driven them farther and farther west. 
 
 Black Hawk's father is an Indian chief, and a 
 brave warrior. 
 
 This little boy has long, straight black hair 
 and a dark reddish-brown skin. He does not 
 live in a house, as you and I do ; but his home 
 is made of branches of trees crossed at the top 
 to make a framework for the skins that are 
 wrapped around them. 
 
 This house or tent made of skins is called a 
 wigwam. 
 
 Black Hawk's father does not have a stove in 
 his wigwam in winter, but builds a fire of sticks 
 on the ground in the tent. An opening is left 
 at the top to let out the smoke. 
 
 8i 
 
82 
 
 Black Hawk. 
 
 Indians do not care for a better house, because 
 they move very often, and this one can be easily 
 torn down and set up again. 
 
 Black Hawk's father teaches him to hunt and 
 fish, and gives him a bow and arrows and a 
 tomahawk. The tomahawk has a wooden handle 
 and a head made of a sharpened stone. 
 
 When he is a little older, his father will teach 
 him to build a canoe. They will find all the 
 materials in the forest in which they live. 
 
 The canoes are made of birch bark. The 
 edges are all sewed together with a thread made 
 of roots. The cracks are filled with pine resin. 
 Next the bark are thin pieces of cedar. 
 
 The canoe is safe and light for the Indian, 
 who makes it fly over the water. If you or I 
 tried it, over we should go — splash ! 
 
 men do not like to work. They 
 
 spend most of their time hunting and 
 
 fishing. The women have 
 
 most of the work to do. 
 
 They plant corn, and when 
 
 it is ripe, grind it between two 
 
 stones. 
 
 "^ It was from the Indians that 
 
 white men learned to plant corn, 
 
Black Hawk. 83 
 
 and it is sometimes called Indian corn, or 
 maize. 
 
 The Indian women do some very fine work. 
 They make cushions, bags, baskets, and mocca- 
 sins, working patterns on them with colored 
 beads. 
 
 Have you ever seen how they carry their 
 babies ? The mother carries the little papoose 
 on her back, in a sort of cradle that is made 
 when the babe is born. This is not at all like 
 our baby's cradle. It is a board covered with 
 soft skins ; a skin is put over the papoose, and 
 he is strapped to the board. 
 
 When his mother goes out to work, she takes 
 the cradle off her back and hangs it upon one 
 of the lowest boughs of a tree. 
 
 Black Hawk's sister does not have much fun. 
 When very young, she is taught to hoe and 
 grind the corn. She cures the skins of the ani- 
 mals which her father and brother shoot. She 
 helps her mother do the cooking, gather fire- 
 wood, fetch water, and pick berries. 
 
31. HIAWATHA'S CHILDHOOD. 
 
 "\ A 7" HEN Hiawatha was a baby, his mother 
 died, and he lived with his grandmother, 
 Nokomis. Her wigwam stood in a thick forest, 
 on the shore of the Big-Sea- Water. 
 
 Here old Nokomis nursed little Hiawatha and 
 rocked him in his cradle, singing many strange 
 songs to him. 
 
 When Hiawatha grew older, he sat at the door 
 of the wigwam, where he heard the whispering 
 of the pine trees, heard the lapping of the water, 
 and learned a little song to sing to the fire-fly. 
 
 He saw the moon rise, and seeing the shadows 
 on it, asked Nokomis to tell him about them. 
 
 Good Nokomis said, " Once a warrior, vei"y 
 angry, seized his grandmother and threw her 
 right against the moon. It is her body you see 
 there." 
 
 He saw the rainbow, and whispered, " What is 
 that, Nokomis.?" 
 
 Nokomis answered, " 'T is the heaven of flowers 
 
 84 
 
Hiawatha s Childhood. 8$ 
 
 you see there. After all the wild flowers of the 
 earth fade, they blossom again in heaven." 
 
 Then Hiawatha learned the language of every 
 bird, learned their names and all their secrets, — 
 how they built their nests in summer, and where 
 they went in winter. 
 
 He talked to them when he met them, and 
 called them Hiawatha's chickens. 
 
 He learned the language of all the beasts, 
 learned their names and all their secrets, — how 
 the beaver built its lodges, where the squirrels 
 hid their acorns, how the reindeer ran so swiftly, 
 and why the rabbit was so timid. He talked to 
 them wherever he met them, and called them 
 Hiawatha's brothers. 
 
 Adapted from Longfellow's Hiawatha. 
 
 Permission of Hqughton, Mifflin & Co., PubL 
 
32. HIAWATHA'S FIRST DEER. 
 
 TAGOO, a friend of old Nokomis, made a bow 
 for Hiawatha. 
 
 He made the bow from a branch of ash ; the 
 cord was made of deer-skin. The arrows he 
 tipped with flint and winged with feathers. 
 
 Then he said to Hiawatha : " Go, my son, into 
 the forest, where the reindeer herd together, and 
 kill for us a deer with antlers." 
 
 Hiawatha walked very proudly into the forest 
 with his bow and arrows. 
 
 As he passed, the birds sang, " Do not shoot 
 us, Hiawatha ! " 
 
 The squirrel laughed and chattered, and said, 
 " Do not shoot me, Hiawatha ! " 
 
 But he did not seem to hear them ; he was 
 thinking only of the red deer. 
 
 Hidden in the bushes, he waited until the 
 deer came. 
 
 He waited until he saw the antlers lifted, and 
 the two shining eyes. 
 
Hiawatha' s First Deer. 87 
 
 Then as the deer came down the path, with 
 beating heart Hiawatha rose on one knee, and 
 aimed an arrow. 
 
 The arrow struck the deer, and it lay dead in 
 the forest. 
 
 Hiawatha, very happy, bore the red deer home, 
 and lagoo and Nokomis were delighted. From 
 the skin of the deer, Nokomis made a cloak for 
 Hiawatha, and of the flesh they made a feast in 
 honor of the young chief. All the village came 
 and feasted, praising Hiawatha. 
 
 Adapted from Longfellow's Hiawatha. 
 
33. VAPOR. 
 
 /^NE morning, Agnes was helping her aunt 
 ^^^ in the kitchen. The teakettle was singing 
 merrily on the stove. 
 
 " Aunt Clara," said Agnes, " see the steam 
 coming from the teakettle ! " 
 
 " That cloud you see is water-dust," said her 
 aunt. " Look near the spout ; do you see any 
 water-dust there ? " 
 
Vapor. 89 
 
 " No," said Agnes, " I do not." 
 
 '' That is vapor, and you cannot see it. You 
 would not see the water-dust above, if the air in 
 the main part of the room were not cooler than 
 that close to the spout of the teakettle. 
 
 " Hold a cold plate near the spout, and see 
 how the water gathers on it." 
 
 " The plate is so cold, it changes the vapor 
 to water," said Agnes. 
 
 " There is vapor in the air all around us, but 
 we cannot see it," said Aunt Clara. " Have you 
 ever set a dish of water out of doors, and in a 
 few hours found much of it gone ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Agnes, " and I have seen that 
 happen in a room ; but it takes longer for the 
 water to disappear, unless the dish is put on 
 a stove. Then it becomes empty in a short 
 time." 
 
 " We say the water has evaporated," said Aunt 
 Clara. " Heat helps water to evaporate. What 
 becomes of the water in the clothes we hang on 
 the line to dry.?" 
 
 " The heat in the air must make it evaporate," 
 said Agnes. " I have often noticed how much 
 sooner they dry when the sun shines." 
 
 " Yes," said Aunt Clara, " but clothes will dry 
 
go Vapor. 
 
 on a cold day in winter, though slowly. They 
 dry partly because the air about them is not full 
 of moisture, and cold air will hold some moisture ; 
 but warm air, of course, holds more than cold. 
 The wind, too, will help them to dry." 
 
 " I have seen the sidewalks steam after a rain," 
 said Agnes ; " why is that } " 
 
 " That is because the air is cool enough to 
 change the vapor rising from the wet walks into 
 water -dust, and it shows itself in little white 
 clouds." 
 
 " Oh, I understand ! " said Agnes. " I remem- 
 ber you cannot see the moisture in your breath 
 when the air is warm ; but as soon as you go 
 where it is cold, the vapor changes into water- 
 dust." 
 
 " Come to the kitchen some wash-day in winter," 
 said Aunt Clara, " and you will see all that I have 
 told you about vapor, — the vapor rising from the 
 hot water in the boiler ; the cold air in the room 
 changing the vapor into water -dust or clouds; 
 these clouds striking the cold windows and be- 
 coming drops of water." 
 
34. CLOUDS. 
 
 TTAVE you ever seen the fairy vessels in the 
 sky as they go sailing by.? What are these 
 ships, and how did they come there? 
 
 We know there is vapor in the air, though we 
 cannot see it. Think from how many things the 
 heat of the sun can draw vapor. 
 
 It draws it from the ocean, the lakes, the 
 rivers, the little mud puddles, the ground, and 
 the dishes of water standing around. The plants 
 give moisture to the air. People and animals 
 breathe out moisture. There are so many ways 
 in which the air obtains moisture, that we could 
 hardly name all of them. 
 
 When the air is warm, the vapor is carried 
 off into higher parts of the, air-; but when cold 
 air strikes it, it is turned into water -dust or 
 clouds. 
 
 When the vapor is changed into water -dust 
 high in the air, we call it clouds ; but when it 
 is changed close to the earth, we call it fog. 
 
92 Clouds. 
 
 There are different kinds of clouds. Some are 
 of feathery form, spread out over all the sky, or 
 arranged in narrow stripes. The rain clouds are 
 heavy, black or gray, and are best seen in a 
 storm. 
 
 We see great piles of white clouds on a sum- 
 mer day. As the sun becomes warmer, some of 
 the water-dust in these clouds changes back to 
 vapor, and they rise higher and higher. They 
 usually disappear with the sunset ; but if they 
 grow larger and darker in the evening, it means 
 rain. 
 
35. RAIN. 
 
 OEE it rain! Where does the rain come from? 
 It comes from the clouds. The sun draws 
 up the vapor from the oceans, lakes, rivers, and 
 ponds. 
 
 The cold air changes the water-dust or clouds 
 into drops of rain. When the rain cloud is near 
 the earth, the drops are much larger than when 
 the cloud is high in the air. 
 
 In summer, when we have not had rain for 
 some time, how the plants wither and droop ! 
 Some turn yellow and lose their leaves. Poor 
 things, they have nothing to drink ! 
 
 How they seem to brighten and hold up their 
 heads after a rain ! The air is different ; it has 
 been made pure by the rain. The rain has 
 cleaned the dusty streets, walks, and houses. 
 
 The rain gives water to the springs, lakes, 
 and rivers. It quenches the thirst of the plants, 
 grain, and trees. 
 
36. DEW. 
 
 CARMER DAVIS was going to the orchard 
 ■*■ very early one morning to gather apples. 
 The night before, he said to his little grandson, 
 who was visiting him, " Edward, should you like 
 to go with me in the morning ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed ! " said Edward ; " please don't 
 forget to call me." 
 
 His grandfather did not forget, but called him 
 at five o'clock. As they walked across the large 
 yard, Edward said, " Oh, grandpapa, my feet are 
 very wet ! I did not know that it rained last 
 night." 
 
 " It did not rain," said his grandfather. " It is 
 the dew which has wet your feet. See how the 
 dewdrops sparkle when the sun strikes them ! " 
 
 " They look like millions of diamonds," said 
 Edward. " The grass and flowers are covered 
 with them." 
 
 " Yes," said his grandfather, " the flowers and 
 grass enjoy drinking the fresh, cool water." 
 
Dew. 95 
 
 " But how did these drops come ? " asked 
 Edward. 
 
 " The earth gets its heat from the sun, not 
 from the air," said his grandfather. " The earth 
 and all kinds of plants give off their heat. So 
 at night, when there is no sun to give them 
 more, they grow cold. 
 
 " When the air, which is full of vapor, touches 
 the cold plants and grass, the vapor is changed 
 into little drops of water, called dew. 
 
 " How is it, Edward, that there are drops of 
 water on the outside of a pitcher of ice-water.?" 
 asked his grandfather. 
 
 " I think I see now," said Edward. " The warm 
 air in the room holds vapor ; but when it strikes 
 the outside of the cold pitcher, this vapor is 
 changed into drops of water. But do you know, 
 grandpapa, I used to think those drops came 
 through the pitcher } " 
 
 His grandfather laughed, and said, " You are 
 not the only one who has thought that." 
 
37. FROST PICTURES. 
 
 A NNA wakened one morning to find that the 
 "^ frost fairies had been at work making pict- 
 ures on the window in her room. There were 
 roads with beautiful fir trees on either side, a 
 little house, and ever so many brownies running 
 and rolling in the snow. 
 
 When she reached the sitting-room downstairs, 
 she looked at the windows there. The fairies 
 had done their work there, too. 
 
 " Oh, mamma," said Anna, " how did the fairies 
 put these pretty frost pictures on the window? 
 See, there is a hill in this one with many trees, 
 and here is another with beautiful ferns and the 
 finest lace work ! " 
 
 " We will talk about these pictures," said 
 mamma, " and then, maybe, you can be a frost 
 fairy yourself. Those pictures were made from 
 the vapor in the room." 
 
 "Where does the vapor come from, mamma.?" 
 asked Anna. 
 
 " Some comes from our breath, and some from 
 
Frost Pictuns. 97 
 
 the water we put on the stove. You cannot see 
 the vapor coming from the water; but when I 
 hold this cold plate over it, the vapor gathers 
 quickly. 
 
 " The plate chills the air which strikes it, and 
 makes the air drop some of its vapor. This 
 changed vapor sticks to the plate. The cold 
 windows act in the same way." 
 
 " Oh, I see ! " said Anna ; ■ the windows are- so 
 ver}- cold that they freeze the vapor and make 
 the lovely frost pictures." 
 
 " Step to the window, " said mamma, • and 
 breathe on the cold panes. Then tell me what 
 happens." 
 
 ]^Iamma heard her little son crying, and left 
 the room. When she came back, Anna had a 
 long stor}- to tell about the frost forest she had 
 made on the window. 
 
38. LITTLE JACK FROST. 
 
 TITTLE JACK FROST went up the hill, 
 Watching the stars and moon so still, 
 Watching the stars and moon so bright, 
 And laughing aloud with all his might. 
 Little Jack Frost ran down the hill. 
 Late in the night when the winds were still. 
 Late in the fall when the leaves came down. 
 Red and yellow and faded brown. 
 
 Little Jack Frost walked through the trees ; 
 "Ah," sighed the flowers, " Good-bye little leaves ! " 
 "Ah," sighed the grasses, "Jack Frost is nigh!" 
 Said Little Jack Frost, " Good-bye ! Good-bye ! " 
 Little Jack Frost tripped round and round, 
 Spreading white snow on the frozen ground. 
 Nipping the breezes, icing the streams. 
 Chilling the warmth of the sun's bright beams. 
 
 But when Dame Nature brought back the Spring, 
 Brought back the birds to chirp and sing. 
 Melted the snow and warmed the sky. 
 Little Jack Frost went pouting by. 
 
Little Jack Frost. 99 
 
 The flowers opened their eyes of blue, 
 Green buds peeped out and grasses grew; 
 It was so warm and scorched him so, 
 Little Jack Frost \\a5 glad to go. 
 
 Songs and Ganus for Little Chus. 
 
 Oliver Ditson, PnbL 
 
THE LITTLE WHITE FAIRIES. 
 
 ij 
 
 |NE day late in the fall, a 
 large lake lay shining in 
 the sunlight. The Sun, like a 
 fairy godmother, was touching it with her golden 
 wands, — the sunbeams. 
 
 This great fairy was calling to the many little 
 fairies in the lake to come out and enjoy them- 
 selves in the air. 
 
 At that time, there were no pretty flowers for 
 the fairies to swing upon ; the birds had flown 
 away, and the trees had lost their leaves. To 
 be sure, the oak still kept hers, but they were 
 not very pretty. The great rocks stuck up 
 through the bare earth. It would have been 
 very dreary, if it had not been for the sun- 
 beams. 
 
 The Sun was the little fairies' godmother, and 
 with her wand she tapped for them to come out. 
 
 The fairies heard the tap. As they came, each 
 one put on her light gray water-proof. Some- 
 times, as fairies do, they became invisible. At 
 
The Little White Fairies. 
 
 lOI 
 
 other times, one could see them floating in the 
 air. 
 
 By and by they grew cold, for their little 
 dresses were very thin. The cold became so 
 intense, that they could not stand it any longer. 
 One said to another, " Let us go and pay a visit 
 to our godmother ; it looks warm up there." 
 
 So up, up they went, higher and higher, until 
 they looked like a fleecy cloud. Before they 
 reached the home of their godmother, the en- 
 emies of the good fairies met them. 
 
 These enemies were the cold winds. They 
 seized the little creatures, and blew them hither 
 and thither, tearing their pretty gray water-proofs. 
 Some of the little sisters were blown away and 
 lost. 
 
 These terrible winds kept on blowing. \ \\ J 
 crrpw rnldpr and rnldpr A verv cold jsa^^^iM^iSi 
 
 It grew colder and colder. A very cold 
 blast so frightened the little fairies, that 
 they turned pale. 
 
 Look ! What has happened to i 
 them } They are all dressed ^^^ 
 in white frocks. Six little 
 pomts are on each tmv skirt. ^s&cimi 
 
 They are no longer fright- ,^4|«^;gfe'?''^ 
 ened, for they see that the 
 
102 ^ The Little White Fairies. 
 
 winds have done them no harm. They Hke 
 their new dresses. 
 
 One of them said, " Let us go to the earth, 
 and show these pretty dresses to our gray sisters 
 down there." 
 
 " Let us go quietly and surprise them," said 
 another ; " I wonder if they will know us." 
 
 So down they go, softly and slowly, and cover 
 the brown earth. 
 
 Next day, when their fairy godmother touches 
 the fairies with her golden wands, they sparkle 
 like diamonds.