i^-^c "P^ in Opening and General Exercises ^^ OPENING EXERCISES FOR SCHOOLS. By Thomas K. Sanders. A treasury of exercises, suggestions, stories, songs, poems; gems, references, etc. There are nearly fifty complete stories in the book and several hundred graded memory gems: enough for the entire year. Ill pages. Paper. Price, 25 cents. SELECT STORIES FOR OPENING EXERCISES IN SCHOOLS. By Geo. F. Bass. Contains over 150 of the most striking and in- teresting anecdotes and poems published, carefully grouped under the different headings, as honesty, politeness, kindness, etc. 256 pages. Cloth. Price, 50 cents. Paper, 30 cents. STORIES AND EXERCISES FOR OPENING SCHOOL: Or Les- sons on the Virtues. By Walter R. Houghton. This book is novel in its plan and arrangement and is sure to appeal to many teachers. The content is classified under five heads: Truth, Justice, Wisdom, Benevolence, and Self-Control, which in turn are divided into thirty- two chapters, each dealing with some common virtue. To every chapter there are three subdivisions, the first giving an explanation of the virtue, and the other two each being an attractive story il- lustrating the ethical principle involved. In an appendix are given 228 helpful lesson plans, with questions and answers on the p-receding stories and topics. 232 pages. Paper. Price, 30 cents. PROVERBS AND QUOTATIONS. By John Keitges. The chief aim in this collection has been to select such material as may be of ethical value. Well arranged. 105 pages. Cloth. Price, 35 cents. GEOGRAPHY GAME. By Harriet B. Rogers. Consists of 100 cards with five questions and answers on each card, thus teaching 500 im- portant facts of geography. In box, with directions. Price, 40 cents. UNITED STATES HISTORY CARDS. By Mary H. Husted. One hundred ten cards, each with from three to five salient facts in questions referring to the answer contained in the name or names at top of the card. In box, with directions. Price, 40 cents. THIRTY-EIGHT LITTLE STORIES. On twenty cards, 4^x6^ inches, in envelope. Especially suited to the lower grades. Price, per set, 10 cents. A. FLANAGAN COMPANY - CHICAGO FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS Games, Exercises, Drills, and Action Songs for all Grades BY HARRIETTE V/ILBUR * A. FLANAGAN COMPANY CHICAGO o^ V ^H^ Copyright 1914 BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY SEP 25 1914 ©CI.A380547 CONTENTS PAGE An Animal Alphabet 5 A Bird Alphabet 11 A Tree Alphabet 18 A Flower Alphabet 24 Each for S7 children The Christmas Trees 31 8 girls or 8 'boys The Christmas Trees 34 6, 10, 15 or 21 girls Christmas Bells ". 36 Any number of children The Way op the Autumn Leaves 38 Any number of children Nature and the Poets 42 September — A Month of Insects 43 October — A Month of Fruits 56 November — A Month of Vegetables 68 December — A Month of Fish 81 January — A Month of Beasts 93 February — A Month of Mollusks and Crustaceans 105 March — A Month of Trees , 116 April — A Month of Song Birds 128 May — ^A Month of Blossoms 141 June — A Month of Grasses 152 For as many children as days in the month May be arranged for any number A Patriotic Medley 165 Any number of children Pilgrim Maids 168 7 little girls Waiting to Grow 170 Any number of children Friday Afternoon Entertainments AN ANIMAL ALPHABET 1. Tiger: Tiger ! Tiger ! burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? — William Blake 2. Guinea Pig: ^'If you pick up your guinea-pig, And hold it by the tail, And shake it hard, its eyes drop out,'' Said little Tommy Vale. I love my guinea — yet, dear me, I had to test the rule ; But as the tail's too short to hold, Tom cried, ''It's April Fool!" 3. Kangaroo: Hippety-hop ! hippety-hop ! Over the hill and through the dale ! And when he's tired, he rests his legs By balancing on his tail. 5 6 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTB 4. Yak: As a friend of the children, commend me the yak, You will find it exactly the thing. It will carry and fetch, you can ride on its back, Or lead it about with a string. 5. Ant-Eater: This animal never goes hungry — not he, For his tongue, so moist and slim. Goes quietly into a big ant hill And gathers his food for him. 6. Newfoundland Dog: The large Newfoundland house-dog "Was standing by the door; He looked for his little playmates Who would return no more. — Longfellow 7. Ibex: The Ibex lives up on the mountain-tops high, And all day long he does nothing but fly From one peak to another; but to follow this I- bex, of course, little children, j^ou never will try ! 8. Opossum: When Mrs. Opossum decides to change flats, She turns herself into a moving van; Her children stand up in a row on her back And hold by the tails as tight as they can. 9. Weasel: A weasel once made shift to slink In at a corn-loft through a chink; But having amply stuffed his skin, Could not get out as he got in: Pope AN ANIMAL ALPHABET Which one belonging to the house ( 'Twas not a man, it was a mouse) Observing, cried, ''You 'scape not so, Lean as you came, sir, you must go." 10. Unicorn: There is a strange sort of a whale That is known as the unicorn, Because on one jaw he wears a great tusk All made of an ivory-like horn. 11. Deer: ''Go, my son, into the forest, Where the red deer herd together, Kill for us a famous roebuck, Kill for us a deer with antlers ! " — Hiawatha 12. QUAGGA: Of course you thought there wouldn't be A name to begin with Q. You must have forgotten the quagga queer, Once living in far-off Zulu. 13. Squirrel: IVe seen the freakish squirrels drop Down from their leafy tree, The little squirrels with the old, — Great joy it was to me ! — Mary Howitt 14. Xerus: The Xerus lives in Africa, And, though the name is new, It's cousin of the prairie-dog. And of the gopher, too. 8 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 15. Cat: Pussy-cat! Pussy-cat! Where have you been? I've been to London to visit the queen. Pussy-cat! Pussy-cat! What did you there? I caught a little mouse under her chair. 16. Porcupine: Needles and Pins! Needles and Pins! When Porcupine comes, the trouble begins. The beasts all fly When he goes by — They have no love for Needles and Pins. 17. Mouse: Patter, patter, What a clatter! Fast the scrambling footsteps fall; 'Tis some giant, Fierce, defiant, — Nay, a little mouse, that's all. — Lady Lindsay 18. Fox: The fox is not an animal So very large in size; But what he lacks in pounds and feet, Makes up in being wise. 19. Lamb: 1 Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as snow, And everywhere that Mary went The lamb was sure to go. AN ANIMAL ALPHABET 20. VoLE: The house-mouse has a relative That never goes to town; But lives contented all the year In grainfields gold and brovs^n. 21. Beaver: In the stream he saw a beaver, Saw Ahmeek, the King of Beavers, Struggling with the rushing currents, Rising, sinking in the water. 22. Hyena: —Hiawatha The spotted hyena goes prowling about To gather his food at night, And he 's always well pleased with the fare he finds, And commences to laugh outright. 23. Zebu: If you should be traveling in India, And wish to ride out for awhile, A humpbacked zebu would be hitched to its cart, And off you would go in style. 24. Jackal: The jackal is a cowardly dog And fears to hunt alone ; But by following the lion in the hunt, He never lacks for a bone. 25. Raccoon: Of all the amusing buffoons One finds in a month of moons. The oddest yet, For a queer little pet, Is one of the ring-tailed raccoons. 10 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 26. Elephant: The elephant finds it no trouble at all To go traveling here and there, For his trunk is always close at hand And so he has plenty to wear. 27. &c. (And-so-Forth) : And-so-Forth is a jungle full Of every kind of mammal ; Rhinoceros, and grizzly bear, And hare and rat and camel. Suggestions If desired, each child may carry a picture of the animal mentioned in his stanza, though it is not necessary. Xerus may be represented by the picture of a ground-squirrel ; other pictures may be copied from illustrations found in a zoology or dictionary. The teacher writes the alphabet in large capitals on the blackboard, where all may see it easily. Before each child recites, he writes after the initial letter the name of the animal he is to present. Do not have the animals come in alphabetical order. At the close of 4, the list will look like this: A H V B I P w J Q X D Kangaroo R Yak E L S Z F M Tiger &c. Guin eaPig N U A BIRD ALPHABET 1. Robin: Ring it out o'er hill and plain, Through the garden's lonely bowers, Till the green leaves dance again. Till the air is sweet with flowers! Wake the cowslips by the rill, Wake the yellow daffodil! Robin's come! — William Caldwell 2. Jay: blue jay, up in the maple tree. Shaking your throat with such bursts of glee, How did you happen to be so blue ? Did you steal a bit of the lake for your crest, And fasten blue violets into your vest? Tell me, I pray you — tell me true ! — Susan Swett 3. X-BiLL (Crossbill) : Tell me, funny little bird, Is it any trouble To eat with a peculiar bill That crosses nearly double? 4. Eagle The largest bird, the strongest bird, The fiercest bird of all. The wildest bird, the freest bird, The king among them all. 11 12 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 5. Woodpecker: The old woodpecker is hard at work. A carpenter is he, And you can hear him hammering His nest up in a tree. 6. Humming-bird: Like a flash of lightning, Like a rainbow bright, A tiny bird goes humming Through the flowers and light. 7. Thrasher: There 's a merry brown thrush sitting up in a tree ; He 's singing to me ! He 's singing to me ! And what does he say, little girl, little boy? ^'Oh! the world's running over with joy! Hush! Look! In my tree! I 'm as happy as happy can be ! " — Lucy Laecom 8. Goldfinch: Is that a bird in the maple tree? Or a flower that perches and sings? It looks like a yellow pansy bright That has grown a pair of wings. 9. Owl: So, when the night falls, and dogs do howl. Sing ho ! for the rule of the bold brown owl I We know not alway Who are kings by day. But the king of the night is the bold brown owl! — Barry Cornwall A BIED ALPHABET 13 10. Albatross: Over the sea, Over the sea! The albatross A sailor is he ! 11. Chicadee: **When I'm in good voice," said the chickadee, **I can sing way up to high C, high C ; But I've caught such a cold That for love or for gold I can only sing chick-a-dee-dee-dee.'* 12. Pewee: "Dear little friend, what is your name?" I asked a bird in the maple tree; And soon a call in answer came, "Pewee! Pewee! Pewee!" 13. Lark: I said to the sky-poised lark : "Hark! hark! Thy note is more loud and free Because there lies safe for thee A little nest on the ground. ' ' ^ A ^T T» — Dinah Mulock 14. Yellov^ Bird : A yellow bird in a maple tree Looked down on a yellow lawn. And laughed because each flower there A yellow dress had on. **You noisy bird," cried dandelion, "You saucy little fellow! I'd have you know / set the style In the wearing of bright yellow." 14 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 15. Nuthatch: Nuthatch is no singer, his feathers are plain, Yet a most useful bird is he. Head up, head down, a-bugging he goes All over and round a tree. And this talkative worker will often cry To his shy little mate who is grubbing hard by, ''Yank! yank! yank!'' 16. Bobolink: Merrily swinging on brier and weed. Near to the nest of his little dame, O'er the mountain-side or mead, Robert-of -Lincoln is telling his name : Bob-o'-link, bob-o'-link, Spink, spank, spink; Snug and safe is that nest of ours, Hidden among the summer flowers, Chee, chee, chee ! 17. Umbrella Bird : """ There is a funny bird that wears A small umbrella on his head; When caught out in a thunder-shower He needs no other watershed. 18. Indigo Bird: Oh, little bird, with coat so blue ! Can it really be that you. Long ago, when mischief brewing, Fell into a tub of bluing? 19. Swallow: Hurrah! the swallow, the swallow is come, Bringing the spring from his southern home, A BIRD ALPHABET 15 , The beautiful hours, the beautiful year ! Hurrah ! the swallow is back from his flight, With his back of jet and his breast of white, The summer's earliest harbinger! ^ ^ — Richard Hovey 20. KiLLDEER: If you should ask a certain bird To speak right up both loud and clear, And tell you what his name might be, He'd answer plain, "Kill-deer! Kill-deer!" 21. Quail: Hear the whistling call of the speckled quail, On the hill and in the dale, *'More wet! more wet! 'Twill rain to-night!" Who told me so? Why, Mister Bob White. 22. Meadow Lark : One day as I strolled down a green meadow lea. This bird I happened to note; And the mischievous fellow was laughing at me, As he gurgled and bubbled deep down in his throat : ''Ho-ho! ha-ha!" he laughed in glee; ''Ho-ho! ha-ha! he-he! I-I see your pet-ti-coat ! " 23. ViREO: Oh, little bird with softest coat. And eyes of fiery red; I wonder how such glowing coals Got into your small head? 24. Flamingo: If I were a flamingo, With nothing else to do. 16 FKIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS Except to wade, and wade, and wade — I know what I'd do. If I were a flamingo, And owned such stilts as you, I 'd wade, and wade, and wade, and wade, Across the ocean blue. 25. Dove: Two doves sat up on the old barn roof And gossiped the whole day through. Yet all they said, that I understood, Was ''Coo! coo! coo!'' 26. ZizzY-BiRD: Z is for the Zizzy-bird — Now don't expect to see one; But if you knew just what it is, You'd rather see than be one. 27. &c. (And-so-Forth) : And-so-Forth is a whole Zoo full Of every kind of true bird: Tanager and cardinal. Hawk and gull and bluebird. [The last speaker may carry a picture of e^ch bird named in his stanza.] Suggestions Each child may carry a picture of the bird mentioned in his stanza — all but number 26, who carries a blank sheet of paper. The pictures of most of these may be secured of any supply house; the picture of the umbrella bird may be copied from that in the dictionary. The teacher writes the alphabet in large capitals on the blackboard, where all may see it easily. Before each child recites he writes after the A BIRD ALPHABET 17 initial letter the name of the bird he is to present. Do not have the birds come in alphabetical order, as half the fun of the recitation is the finding of the proper place for writing the word. At the close of 4, the list will look like this: A H V B I P w C Jay Q X-Bill (Crossbill) D K Robin Y Eagle L S Z F M T &c. a N U A TEEE ALPHABET 1. Hemlock: hemlock tree! hemlock tree! How faithful are thy branches! Green not alone in summer-time, But in the winter's frost and rime! hemlock tree! hemlock tree! How faithful are thy branches! — Longfellow 2. Chestnut: There, by the blacksmith's forge, beside the street, Its blossoms white and sweet Enticed the bees, until it seemed alive And murmured like a hive. And when the winds of autumn, v/ith a shout, Tossed its great arms about, The shining chestnuts, bursting from the sheath, Dropped to the ground beneath. — Longfellow, From My Arm Chair 3. Snowball: Can it be that it is snowing On this clear and sunny day ? Are the snowflakes thickly falling In the pleasant month of May ? No, it is the snowball blossoms Falling, falling from the trees, Dancing in a whirl of rapture To the music of the breeze. 18 A TREE ALPHABET 19 4. Xmas Tree: The tree that I love the best, It buds and blossoms not with the rest; No summer sun on its fruit has smiled, But the ice and snow are around it piled. But still it will bloom and bear fruit for me, My winter bloomer ! My Christmas Tree ! 5. Orange: Sing a song of the orange tree, "With its leaves of velvet green ! With its lucious fruit of sunset hue, The fairest that ever were seen. ^ T • — J. K. HOYT 6. Lilac: I am thinking of the lilac trees That shook their purple bloom ; And, when the sash was open, Shed fragrance through the room. 7. Quince: — ^^^ Stephens Way down in the orchard stands A little quince tree, Filled with blossoms pink and white, As pretty as can be. A cousin to the apple, A cousin to the pear, But to a dish of quince preserve They neither can compare. 8. Fir: A lonely fir tree is standing On a northern, barren height, It sleeps, and the ice and snowdrift Cast around it a garment of white. — Heinbich Heine 20 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 9. Apple: Come, let us plant the apple tree. Cleave the tough greensward with the spade ; Wide let its hollow bed be made; There gently lay the roots, and there Sift the dark mould with kindly care, And press it round them tenderly — As, round the sleeping infant's feet, We softly fold the cradle-sheet, So plant we the apple-tree. — Bryant 10. Yew: On England's pleasant shores, our sires Left not their churchyards unadorned with shades Or blossoms. There the yew. Green ever amid the snows of winter, told Of immortality. — Bryant 11. Palm: The palm tree standeth so straight and so tall, The more the hail beats, and the more the rains fall. — Longfellow 12. Varnish Tree: A sumac grows far over the sea, In the land of the odd little Jap, And it's called by the name of the "varnish tree" — From the use of its milky sap. 13. Juniper: 'The juniper, or cedar tree. Has wood of deepest red; In making pencils it is used For all except the lead. A TREE ALPHABET 21 14. Elm: Then hail to the Elm ! the green-topped Elm ! And long may his branches wave, For a relic is he, the gnarled old tree, Of the times of the good and the brave. 15. Dogwood: There is a very smallish tree. With fruit so rich and dark; I w^onder if it's called dogwood Because it has a hark. 16. Maple: In sugar-camps, when south and warm The winds of March are blowing — And sweetly from its thawing veins. The maple's blood is flowing. — Whittier 17. Kentucky Coffee Tree: When the coffee crop fails to grow in Brazil There's one state that's always in luck; For they've only to harvest the beans of this tree To have coffee in old Kentuck. 18. Birch: ' ' Give me of your bark, Birch Tree, Of your yellow bark, Birch Tree! Growing by the rushing river. Tall and stately in the valley! I a light canoe will build me, That shall float upon the river. Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, Like a yellow water-lily." — Hiawatha 22 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 19. Willow: ''Come, Pussy!" is the southwind's call — ' ' Come, Pussy ! Pussy "Willow ! ' ' A fairy gift to children dear, The downy firstling of the year, — ■ ''Come, Pussy! Pussy Willow!" 20. Gum: The hollow sycamore, so white. The old gum, straight and solemn, With never the curve of a root in sight. But set in the ground like a column. — Alice Caky 21. Nutmeg: The nutmeg tree so beautiful Grows far beyond the sea. The kernel of its fruit is used To flavor food for me. 22. Zulu Cherry: I wonder if, in Zululand, The happy children cry, "Cherry ripe! cherry ripe!" Just like you and I? 23. India. Rubber Tree: Once upon a time, my dear. Your little rubber shoe Was milky sap from a rubber tree In far-away Peru. 24. Tamarack: "Give me of your roots, O Tamarack! Of your fibrous roots, Larch Tree! My canoe to bind together. A TEEE ALPHABET 23 So to bind the ends together That the water may not enter, That the river may not wet me T ' 25. Red Oak: -Hu^watha Sing for the oak tree, The monarch of the wood! Sing for the oak tree, That groweth green and good. r>/, TT m — Mary Howitt 26. Umbrella Tree: If canght out in a summer shower, How very nice 'twould be, To find a dry and sheltered bower Beneath an umbrella tree. 27. &c. (And-so-Forth) : And-so-forth is a forest green, Of every kind of tree — "Walnut, linden, beech, and ash — That I could name to thee. Suggestions The teacher writes the alphabet on the lolaekboard, in regular order, where it can be easily seen. Each child then writes the name of the tree mentioned in his stanza after the correct initial letter. The name may be written before or after reciting, as desired. Do not have the trees come in correct alphabetical order, as this finding the place to write is a part of the fun. At the close of the fourth recitation, the alphabet will look as shown here: A Hemlock V B I P W Chestnut J Q Xmas Tree D K E Y E L Snowball Z F M T &c. G N U A FLOWER ALPHABET 1. Daisy: Just listen, little blossom, Until I tell you why Such a wee and tiny flower Is named the ''Day's Eye." Because you're always shining bright, To greet us with a smile, And like the twinkling stars above, You're winking all the while. 2. Rose: White with the whiteness of the snow, Pink with the faintest sunset glow, They blossom on their sprays; They glad the borders with their bloom, And sweeten with their rich perfume The mossy garden-ways. 3. Jack-in-the-Pulpit : Jack-in-the-pulpit Is preaching to-day Under the green trees Just over the way. 4. Pansy Little pansy-flowers Nodding in the sun, How you lift your faces up. Laughing every one. 24 A FLOWER ALPHABET 25 5. Quaker Lady : The sweet Quaker Ladies stand quiet and shy- In their gowns of softest gray-blue ; And they never so much as raise an eye Though you coax them the whole day through. 6.- Buttercup: I am the Buttercup, shining like gold, With a smile for the young, and a smile for the old ; When the little ones find me they dance with delight, As they fill up their aprons with buttercups bright. **Now see who loves butter!" they shouting begin, As they hold me up under each wee dimpled chin. 7. Forget-Me-Not : When God had made the flowers. He gave each one a name. And, w^hen the others all had gone, A little blue one came, • And said in trembling whisper: "My name I have forgot." The Father named her once again: "You are Forget-me-not!" 8. Violet: Down in a green and shady bed, A modest violet grew; Its stalk was bent, it hung its head As if to hide from view. 9. Apple Blossom: Lady Apple Blossom Just arrived in town. Wears a light green bonnet And a snowy gown. 26 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS Her pretty dress is — What do you think ? \ Five white petals Just touched with pink. 10. Xyris (Yellow-Eyed Grass) : Softly sway, Softly sway, In the breezes light and gay, Yellow-eyes, Yellow-eyes, Bright as sunlight from the skies. 11. Sunflower: Once upon a time, there was a lovely little golden- haired, brown-eyed maiden named Clytie. She loved the sun so much that all day long she would stand looking up at the beautiful ball of light. At last a fairy spied Clytie, and touched her with a tiny wand. At once her two brown eyes became one large eye that covered her whole face. Her yellow hair turned to a fringe of golden petals, and her feet took root in the dark earth. There, instead of the maiden Clytie, stood a great flower! *'I name thee Sunflower," whispered the fairy. And they say that to this day, all sunflowers turn their heads to watch the sun, just as Clytie, the first sunflower, used to do. 12. Hepatica: When April wakens the blossom folk, And bluebirds are on the wing, Hepatica, muffled in downy cloak. Hastens to greet the spring. A FLOWEE ALPHABET 27 13. May Apple : "Way down in the thick wood, and close to the brook, If ever you take the trouble to look, A plant you will see that shows in the light, A single blossom of purest white; Nodding and tossing its head in pride, As if it were queen of the woodland wide. That beautiful blossom, if left quite alone, Will be a sweet berry ere summer is gone. 14. Yellow Lily : Squirrel and song-sparrow, High on their perch, Hear the gay lily-bells Ringing to church. 15. Thistle: What is the pretty purple flower^ Can anybody tell? — The strong and sturdy purple flower, That Scotland loves so well? 16. Nasturtium: Gay nasturtiums — yellow, red, — Blooming in my garden bed ; With your leaves of brightest greens, You are dressed as fine as queens. 17. Iris: Iris, or the rainbow-flower, With still another name. Flower-de-luce, or sweet Blue Flag, The blossom's still the same. 28 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 18. Columbine: I met a little lady, A stranger here, mayhap ; She wore a gown of green, She wore a scarlet cap. Graceful was her figure. Her manners very fine ; An airy, fairy blossom, Her name is Columbine. 19. Knapweed: How surprised you'll be — It will make you whistle, When you learn that Knapweed Is just one kind of thistle. 20. GOLDENROD: Tell me, sunny goldenrod. Growing everywhere, Did fairies come from fairyland To make the dress you wear? 21. Orange: Orange blooms make oranges. And oranges, you know. Are just the very nicest fruit That any tree can grow. 22. Umbrella Grass: Once a bee — a busy bee — "With a load of sweetest honey, Heard a tinkle — felt a sprinkle — (To her it wasn't funny.) A FLOWER ALPHABET 29 * * dear me ! Woe is me ! * * She did moan and cry. "My honey bags! my money bags! How can I keep them dry?" But soon this bee — a happy bee — 'Neath umbrella grasses, Is resting high — is resting dry — Until the shower passes. 23. WiNDFLOWER: Welcome, windflower, little stranger, Fear no harm, and fear no danger. We are glad to see you, dear, For you say that May is here. Now the snow is wholly gone, Now the grass is coming on — The trees are green, the sky is blue, And we are glad to welcome you. 24. Lilac : The sun shone warm, and the lilac said: *'I must hurry and get my table spread. For if I am slow, and dinner late, My friends, the bees, will have to wait." So delicate lavender glass she brought. And the daintiest dishes ever bought. Purple tinted, and all complete. And she filled each cup with honey sweet. 25. Zinnia: These are the quaint, old-fashioned posies, Round in form and bright in hue. That Grandma loves to give the children When she walks the garden through. 30 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 26. Everlasting: There is one flower I love because — Its colors never blasting — It lives forever and a day; Its name is Everlasting. 27. &c. (And-so-Forth) : And-so-forth is a mixed bouquet Of many kinds of posies : Cowslips, harebells, marigolds, Pinks, and sweetbriar roses. [This last is given by the tiniest child of all, who has a mixed bouquet. Instead of the flowers given in the couplet, he may use the names of the blossoms in the bouquet, indicating the different ones mentioned. At the close, he may .present the bouquet to a playmate, a guest, or to the teacher.] Suggestions Each child taking part has a picture of the flower about which he recites — or a real flower, if obtainable. The pictures may be secured from several supply houses, from seed catalogues, or may be sketched on paper or blackboard from illustrations found in botanical books, encyclopaedias, or the dictionary. The teacher writes the letters of the alphabet in correct order on the blackboard where all may see them easily. Then, before each child recites, he writes in the name of the flower he is to present. Do not have the flowers come in alphabetical order, as the finding the proper place for writing the word is half the fun of the Testation. Thus, at the close of 4, the alphabet will look like this : A H V B I Pansy w C Jack in the Pulpit Q X Daisy K Eose Y E L S Z F M T &c G N U THE CHRISTMAS TREES FOR EIGHT BOYS OR EIGHT GIRLS This exercise is for eight children. Each carries in either hand an evergreen branch trimmed with chains of tinsel and brightly colored papers, and on each branch are about a dozen little balls of cotton, hanging by short threads, tied firmly. The children at the seats begin to sing the little running air below to the syllable "La," clapping the time ever so softly and lightly. The eight girls run into the room from a hall, carrying a branch in each hand, on shoulders. They run about in a circle, halting in a straight line, facing front. Girls sing first verse, waving branches above heads, chil- dren listening. At each word "you," the girls nod to the different children in the room. Children sing air, clapping the time, and girls run in circle. In the middle of the air, they face about and run in opposite direction. Girls sing second verse, pulling off the cotton balls and tossing them down to the children, who may be allowed to pick them up. Girls run off, singing air to syllable "La." 31 The Christmas Trees. ^ te^ ^ ^— ^-^' Fg=:Pv izz^- 1. Oh, here we come from Saij - ta land, From 2. We bring you gifts from San - ta Claus, From m&^=^^^^ ^« s i^^ n San-ta land, from San-ta land, Oh, here we come from San - ta Claus, from San-ta Claus, We bring you gifts from 1^ ' \rr=^ ' E W i=:|=tF=t=:^=^ 1 ^—4 1— ^ San - ta land, From hap - py, hap - py San - ta San - ta Claus, From good old San - ta ^^=^^ 32 i :^ m land; With gifts Claus. Here's one — ^- S ?=^ a, ^. liiii: for you and you and for you and you and JL 3 ^^i^^ you and you and you and you, With gifts for you and you and you and you, Here's one for i7. m iUL^ ^ w=^~ fcst ^^^a^^i^j you and you and you and you and you. you and you and you and you and you. Si. ~t- 3 £^^^^3E ■I h i 33 THE CHRISTMAS TREES 3 2 1 5 4 6 (6 girls) 4 3 2 1 7 6 5 9 8 10 (10 girls) 5 4 3 2 1 9 8 7 6 12 11 10 14 13 15 (15 girls) 6 5 4 3 2 1 11 10 9 8 7 15 14 13 12 18 17 16 20 19 21 (21 girls) This exercise requires 6, 10, 15, or 21 girls, according to the number of rows desired, when arranged as in diagram. 34 THE CHRISTMAS TREES 35 Each little girl wears a sack apron of brown cambric, trimmed liberally on waist, sleeves, and neck with fringes of green tissue paper, about four inches wide. On the head she wears a high, conical hat made of stiff paper, covered with the cambric and trimmed from point to edge with the fringe. It is kept on with a band of the cambric passing under the chin, to which a bow of the green paper is fastened under each ear. The pianist plays the folloAving little waltz air, each alternating time playing it an octave higher than written. If there is no piano, the girls hum the air while exercising. m t==t pEzip: p^ d r r tj zrz n^EE^K ^^:f-^^^=f=^,t=^ ^ig 4t #. :tl*=: :4- ±=q: ^^^ :^ 5 gisfe ■^ A :te=pi: ^!g^=Eg^-EEE£E^E±^ i i feE^ EE^ 1 ^tJEJJfeFfefeErf 4=*: CHRISTMAS BELLS FOR ANY EVEN NUMBER Children carrying the large red Christmas bells stand in two lines, facing each other, and sing this round several times : One line begins at the first of the song, and when they reach (2) the second line begins at the first. If Christmas Bells. i (1) ^ ^=i R-4 =^- Hear them ring - ing, hear them ring - ing, Christ-mas -4-^ (2) II^B bells, Christ-mas bells ; Hap - py ti - dings bring-ing, g| -(2. — H -&>- $ I i:=t: Hap - py ti-dings bring-ing, Christmas bells, Christmas bells. ^^ .f2_ ■<&- desired, small bells, such as may be bought at the notion stores, may be fastened about the pupils ' wrists. After singing, they drill as follows: 1. March toward each other, ringing bells. Meet at center, about face, and walk to sides. 36 CHRISTMAS BELLS 37 2. March toward center, cross over, and advance to opposite sides. 3. About face and return to original position. 4. Advance to center, meet, and pass around each other without turning, back to back, and return to sides with backward steps. 5. Those from ends of each line walk to center, and circle about, return to places. 6. Turn to rear, march down sides and around to rear center, meet, and walk up to front in single line. 7. Backward steps to center and close into circle. 8.- All march forward four steps, then four steps to place. Kepeat. 9. All march backward four steps, then four steps to place. 10. Alternate children march forward, while remainder stand still. Return. 11. Remaining children march forward, while others stand still. Return. 12. Alternate children march forward while others march backward four steps. Return. 13. Mark time. 14. Alternate children march forward four steps while others stand still. Then as children come back others advance. Repeat. 15. Alternate children stand still, while partners at side circle about those standing. 16. Others now kneel while alternate children circle about them. 17. Circle in groups of two, hands clasped and held high. 18. March about in large circle. 19. Run about in circle, ringing bells. 20. Run here and there about room, then exit. THE WAY OF THE AUTUMN LEAVES FOR ANY NUMBER OF CHILDREN The children who are to give this song-play wear little pointed hats made of brightly colored autumn leaves, and sashes or sleeveless jackets of them. These garments may be easily made by pinning the leaves together, using the stems of grass stems for pins. Each child carries a branch of the leaves in each hand. If no autumn leaves are to be had, artificial ones may be cut from tissue paper, using reds, greens, yellows, browns, and orange colors. If teacher and pupils wish to add a little decorative effect to their autumn program, they could outline and color a blackboard stencil, put branches of autumn leaves in cor- ners and windows, and suspend chains of the paper leaves from threads stretched across the room from the picture moulding; all threads meeting at the center of the room. To make the chains, take threads two or three feet in length, string several leaves thereon, separating them by knots, placed some inches apart. Tie these chains to the cross threads. Invitations may be written on leaf-shaped pieces of drawing-paper, tinted in autumn-leaf colors. The whole number of pupils could give this song, each one wearing the leaf crown, hat, jacket, or sash he has made for busy work, and each carrying a branch. Or a select number may sing. In the former case, the children exercise in and down the aisles; in the latter, they enter from a hall or cloak-room, and stand in a line along the front. The motions are as follows: 38 THE WAY OF THE AUTUMN LEAVES 39 First Verse: ''This is the way," wave branches back and forth. ' ' Lightly, lightly dancing, ' ' skip to one side with side steps. ''This is the way," wave branches. "So lightly, lightly dancing, " skip back in opposite way toward original places. "In rain and shine" — wave branches, skipping back and forth with side steps. Second Verse: "This is the way," wave branches up and down to floor. "Softly, softly falling," all face to left, bending over and waving branches at feet. "This is the way," face audience and wave branches up and down. "So softly, softly falling," face right, bend, and wave branches. ' ' The autumn 's frost, ' ' skip up and down aisles (or across front) with side steps, waving branches over- head. Third Verse: *'This is the way," sing more softly, dropping branches to floor, holding them rather listlessly. ' ' Snugly, snugly sleeping, ' ' heads drooped to left shoulder, eyes closed, branches waved slightly, still holding them to the floor. "This is the way," heads up, branches raised slightly, then dropped languidly to floor again. "So snugly, snugly sleeping, ' ' heads drooped to right shoulder, branches waved ever so gently, with side-wise movement of the body. "Old Winter comes," gradually settle down to floor, singing last of verse more and more softly and slowly. The Way of the Autumn Leaves. m K-^-J^ ^ ii^^— ^ 1. This is the way of the autumn leaves, I/ightly, light-ly 2. This is the way of the autumn leaves, Soft - ly, soft-ly 3. This is the way of the autumn leaves, Snug-ly, snug-ly ^=iS & i :|5=i::?v=ziv=-j:j^ iE^ESif: danc - ing, This is the way of the au-tumn leaves, So fall - ing, This is the way of the au-tumn leaves. So sleep -ing, This is the way of the au-tumn leaves, So ^ t i i & -»-r ^ g light - ly, light-ly danc - ing. In soft - ly, soft - ly, fall - ing. The snug-ly, snug-ly sleep - ing. Old rain and shine we au-tumn *s frost has Win - ter brings a m ^^ i ^=t quick - ly grew, And fresh and green the sum - mer thro'. Up- turned us brown, In green and red and yel - low gown, We blan - ket white. And when we close our eyes so tight We're m ^ ^i 40 The Way of the Autumn Leaves. — Concluded. $ 2EE3 -^^^^ m on the boughs when soft winds blew, So light -ly, light-ly fly a - way and flut - ter down, So soft - ly, soft - ly tucked a - way the long, long night, So snug - ly, snug-ly _|;._f-.£^ $ £^ ^=¥-- 0— danc - ing. This is the way of the au-tumn leaves, fall - ing. This is the way of the au-tumn leaves, sleep - ing. This is the way of the au-tumn leaves, m -9-^ -€-T- * £^EE $ &=5K t^ m-^m- Light- ly, light- ly danc -ing, This is the way of the Soft - ly, soft - ly fall - ing, This is the way of the Snug - ly, snug-ly sleep -ing, This is the way of the m :£EE a E I ii: au - tumn leaves, So light - ly, light-ly danc - ing. au - tumn leaves, So soft - ly, soft - ly fall - ing. au - tumn leaves, So snug - ly, snug - ly sleep - ing. S -V- 41 ^^: j^-rn- I NATURE AND THE POETS Foreword There are two methods of using this series of quotations : 1. Each may be made an impromptu exercise for Friday afternoon. In this case, the only preparation necessary is to distribute copies of the quotations among the pupils, and then place on the blackboard the calendar figures for the month, as illustrated in each instance. A pupil then advances to the blackboard, writes in the name of the plant or of the animal given in his quotation and then reads. At the close of 4, in each case, the list will appear as in illus- tration at the beginning of each month. 2. A 'more complete way will correlate the stanzas and nature work by taking up the subject of each quotation for a few minutes' talk each day. At the close of the talk the subject of it will be added to the calendar for that month. The teacher need not prepare all this work. She can assign different topics for research on the part of the pupils, and let them prepare the talks. As Saturday and Sunday have been allowed for in the calendar each time, and a possible leap-year, on some days two different insects, or vegetables, etc., could be talked about, taking two that are nearly related, as the honey-bee and the bumble-bee, or the pumpkin and the squash. Encourage each pupil to make a notebook list of the different nature quotations found in the reading. This may lead to the pupils making some interesting statistics: Do poets use plant-names more than they do animal-names ? 42 SEPTEMBER 43 What is their favorite tree? insect? flower? How many different insects are they able to find mentioned by the poets ? How many grasses ? Reptiles ? At the end of the month's work, a review can be had by erasing all the names on the calendar, reassigning the quotations, and having them read and filled in quickly. The quotations need not come in the order given here for the month; single out and sort as desired. SEPTEMBER - -A MONTH OF : [NS] 1. Bumble-Bee 9. 17. 25. 2. Dragon-Fly 10. 18. 26 3. Hornet 11. 19. 27. 4. Ant 12. 20. 28. 5. 13. 21. 29. 6. 14. 22. 30. 7. 15. 23. 8. 16. 24. 1. Bumble-Bee : Burly, dozing humble-bee! Where thou art is clime for me; I will follow thee alone, Thou animated torrid-zone! Zigzag steerer, desert cheerer, Let me chase thy w^avering lines; Keep me nearer, me thy hearer, Singing over shrubs and vines. 44 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS Wiser far than humaD seer, Yellow-breeched philosopher, Seeing only what is fair, Sipping only what is sweet, ThoTi dost mock at fate and care, Leave the chaff and take the wheat. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Eumhle-Bee 2. Dragon-Fly: Today I saw the dragon-fly Come from the wells where he did lie. An inner impulse rent the veil Of his old husk: from head to tail Came out clear plates of sapphire mail. He dried his wings: like gauze they grew; Through crofts and pastures wet with dew A living flash of light he flew. — Alfred Tennyson, The Two Voices 3. Hornet: Health that mocks the doctor's rules. Knowledge never learned of schools. Of the black wasp 's cunning way, Mason of his walls of clay. And the architectural plans Of gray hornet artisans! — John G. Whittier, The Barefoot Boy 4. Ant: Turn on the prudent ant thy heedless eyes. Observe her labours, sluggard, and be wise. No stern command, no monitory voice Prescribes her duties or directs her choice; Yet, timely provident, she hastes away SEPTEMBER 46 To snatch the blessings of a plenteous day, When fruitful summer loads the teeming plain She crops the harvest and she stores the grain. — Ben Jonson, Go to the Ant 5. Honey-Bee: I see the despondent red man in the west, lingering about the banks of Moingo, and about Lake Pepin; He has heard the quail and beheld the honey-bee, and sadly prepares to depart. — Walt Whitman, Salut au Monde 6. House-Fly: What! here again, indomitable pest! Ten times I've closed my heavy lids in vain This early morn, to court an hour of sleep ; For thou, — tormentor! — constantly dost keep Thy whizzing tones resounding through my brain. Or lightest on my sensitive nose, and there Thou trimmest thy wings and shakest thy legs of hair. — Thomas Mackellar, To a Troublesome Fly 7. Butter-Fly : I saw two golden butterflies. That shone like sun in a thousand dyes, And the eyes on their wings that glow 'd amain Were like the eyes on the peacock's train. — James Hogg, A GreeJc Pastoral 8. Weevil: "You slay them all! and wherefore? For the gain Of a scant handful more or less of wheat, Or rye, or barley, or some other grain, Scratched up at random by industrious feet. Searching for worm or weevil after rain!" — Henry W. Longfellow, The Birds of KilUngworth 46 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS 9. Clothes Moth : I had a beautiful garment, And I laid it by with care, I folded it close with lavendar, In a napkin fine and fair. But who seeks for fadeless beauty- Must seek for the use that seals To the grace of a constant blessing The beauty that use reveals. For into the folded robe alone, The moth with its blighting steals. — Margaket E. Sangster, Moth-Eaten 10. Silkworm: When under the leaves of the Spanish broom The clear silkworms are holden. An artist each, in a tiny loom. Weaving a web all golden, — Fine, frail cells out of sunlight spun, Where they creep and sleep by the million, — — Frederic Mistral, Gathering the Cocoons 11. Cankerv^orM: From the trees spun down The canker-worms upon the passers-by. Upon each woman's bonnet, shawl, and gown, Who shook them off with just a little cry; They were the terror of each favorite walk, The endless theme of all the village talk. — Henry W. Longfellow, The Birds of KilUngworth 12. Flea: Great fleas have little fleas Upon their backs to bite 'em. SEPTEMBER 47 ^ And little fleas have lesser fleas, And so ad infinitum. — Quoted in August De Morgan 's Budget of Paradoxes 1.3. Midge : The midges dance aboon the burn; The dews begin to f a ' ; While, flitting gay, the swallows play Around the castle wa'. — Egbert Tannahill, The Midges Dance Ahoon the Burn 14. Mosquito: All the air was white with moonlight, All the water black with shadow. And around him the Suggema, The mosquitoes, sang their war-song, And the fire-flies, Wah-wah-taysee, Waved their torches to mislead him. - _ T — Henry W. Longfellgtv, Hiawatha 15. Ladybird: Ladybird! ladybird! fly away home — The glowworm is lighting her lamp. The dew's falling fast and your fine speckled wings Will flag with the close-clinging damp. ^ -, T^ — Caroline Sguthey, To the Ladyhird 16. Katydid: Thou art a female. Katydid! I know it by the trill Tha;t quivers through thy piercing notes, So petulant and shrill. I think there is a knot of you Beneath the hollow tree, — A knot of spinster Katydids, — Do Katydids drink tea? — Oliver W. Hglmes, To a Katydid 48 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 17. Death ^s Head Moth: Blind worm, and asp, and eft of cumbrous gait, And toads who love rank grasses near a grave, And the great goblin moth, who bears ■' Between his wings the ruined eyes of death. — Lord de Tablet, Circe 18. Palm-Aphis : There's the palm-aphis, minute miracle. As wondrous every whit as thou or I ; Well, and his world's the palm-frond, there he's born. Lives, breeds, and dies in that circumference. An inch of green for cradle, pasture-ground. Purlieu and grave ; — Egbert Browning, A Bean-Stripe 19. Blue-Bottle : Now the blue-bottle, reviving. Buzzes down his native pane. — C. S. Calverley, On a Distant Prospect of Making a Fortune 20. Grasshopper: The poetry of earth is never dead; When all the birds are faint with the hot sun And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead. That is the Grasshopper's, — he takes the lead In summer luxury, — he has never done With his delights ; for, when tired out with fun. He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed. — John Keats^^ The Grasshopper and CricTcet 21. Plum Curculio: That pest of gardens, the little Turk, Who signs with the crescent, his wicked work, And causes the half -grown fruit to fall. \ \ SEPTEMBEE 49 Shall be seized and swallowed, in spite of all His sly devices of cunning and fear, For the Old- World Sparrow, his foe, is here. — William Cullen Bryant, The Old-TVorld Sparrow 22. Firefly: Rain cannot quench thy lantern^'s light, Wind makes it shine more brightly bright; Oh, why not fly to heaven afar And twinkle near the moon — a star? — Li T'ai-po (lived 699-762), To a Firefly 23. Ghost Moth: The low sun stares through dust of gold, And o 'er the darkening heath and wold The large ghost-moth doth flit; — Alexander Smith, Glasgow 24. House Cricket : And you, warm little housekeeper, who class With those who think the candles come too soon, Loving the fire, and with your tricksome tune Nick the glad silent moments as they pass ! — Leigh Hunt, To the Grasshopper and Cricket 25. Stag Beetle: To summon all who meadow, hill, and dale Inhabit — bee, wasp, woodlouse, dragonfly — To band themselves against red nipper-nose Stagbeetle, — Egbert Browning, The Last Adventure of Balaustion 26. Cicada: The shrill cicada, far and near. Piped on his hi^ exultant third : Summer! Summer! He seems to say — 50 l^IDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS Summer ! He knows no other word, But trills on it the livelong day; The little hawker of the green, "Who calls his wares through all the solemn forest scene. — Mrs. J. G. Wilson, A Spring Afternoon, New Zealand 27. DORBEETLE: A shaded lamp, and a waving blind, And the beat of a clock from a distant floor ; On this scene enter, winged, horned, and spined, A longlegs, a moth, and a dumbledor ; While, mid my page there idly stands A sleepy fly, that rubs his hands. — Thomas Hardy, An August Midnight 28. Locust: And clouds of gray green grasshoppers Flew up the way she went. And beat their wdngs against their sides. And chirped their discontent. — Alice Gary, The Water-Bearer 29. Caddis Fly : Oh, stagnant ponds, where we could watch, Beneath the alder's shade. The caddis walk in shell-stuck thatch. The water-scorpion wade. — Songs of Luccia, Eemiimcences of Childhood 30. Tiger Moth : A casement . . . diamonded with panes of quaint device, Innumerable of stains and splendid dyes, As are the tiger-moth's deep-damasked wings; — John Keats, The Eve of St. Agnes SEPTEMBER 51 Suggestive Questions (Consult a good modern dictionary, text-books, etc.) 1. What is an insect? What is the spider? What is the difference between an insect and an arachnid? Name other arachnids. What are the different stages of an in- sect 's transformations ? 2. What is a bee ? Names of different kinds — humble- bee, solitary bee, honey-bee, and so on. Study the quota- tion from Emerson for descriptive phrases — ''zig-zag steerer," ''thy wavering lines," "yellow-breeched philoso- pher." Read the whole poem. Why is he a philosopher? (Because of the truth of the last four lines in this quota- tion.) Whitman's statement about the honey-bee is dupli- cated in "Hiawatha." Is it true that the honey-bee goes with the advance of civilization? 3. Difference between wasps and hornets? (A hornet is a large, strong wasp.) Different kinds of hornets — the white-faced is also the yellow- jacket. Is Whittier cor- rect in calling the wasp a mason, and the hornet an architect ? Are they useful ? 4. Read a description of the dragon-fly. Is Tennyson right in speaking of its coming from a "well"? (By this he means any form of water, probably a pond.) Does the pupa "rend the veil of its old husk" when emerging with wings? Are they useful? 5. Where did Ben Jonson get the idea for these lines on the ant ? Why is the ant the emblem of thrift ? Name some different kinds of ants. Are they useful ? 6. Were you ever kept awake by a tormenting house-fly ? Is the poet 's description a good one ? Difference between house-fly and blue-bottle. Are they useful? 7. Various kinds of butterflies — peacock, swallowtail, 52 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS cabbage, Aphrodite, monarch, phaeton, different colored admirals, tortoise-shell, Ursula, and so on. What other butterfly quotations can you find? What is. a caterpillar? Called ^'hutter-^y^' probably from the color of the yellow species. Are they useful? 8. What kind of an insect is a weevil? (Snout beetle.) Name some different kinds of weevils. Are they harmless ? 9. Difference between butterfly and moth. Different kinds of moths — hawk-moth, regal moth, codling moth, cabbage moth, clothes moth, gipsy moth, flour moth, and hundreds of others. In some cases, it is difficult to ascer- tain whether the insect is a moth or a butterfly — as the skipper. Are any species useful? What is the larval stage called? The poets have rarely named any species of butterfly, but they have frequently distinguished between different kinds of moths. 10. What is a silkworm? Does the larva form develop into a moth or a butterfly ? Different kinds of silkworms. What is the natural color of the cocoon? What is their favorite food ? In the quotation, what is meant by ' ' Spanish broom"? (Consult Webster's under ''Spanish.") 11. Difference between silkworm and cankerworm. What is another name for the cankerworm in the United States ? (Measuring worm.) What moth develops from the larval stage? (Geometrid moth.) Bring out the humor in the quotation? Why did the cankerworms thrive in Killing- worth ? 12. What is a flea? Different kinds? Are they useful? Is there any truth in this statement that *'big fleas have little fleas to bite 'em"? (Bring out the fact that para- sitic insects are often the hosts for other smaller insects.) The flea is one of the insects that furnish the poet with humor. SEPTEMBER 53 13. What is a midge ? If preferred, use this quotation : Meanwhile, there is dancing in yonder green bower A swarm of young midges. They dance high and low, 'Tis a sweet little species that lives but one hour, And the eldest was born half an hour ago. — Robert, Lord Lytton, Midges 14. What is the larval stage of mosquitoes humorously called? Why? Why will a coating of oil on the top of a rain-barrel of water kill the insect ? Have you ever heard the mosquito's ''war song"? What is their food? In England, mosquitoes are often called ''gnats." 15. The ladybird is a beetle; its name means "bird of our Lady. ' ' Valuable because they feed upon other insects that are a pest, such as plant lice, cotton-cushiony scale, and so on. This beetle is also called "ladybug"; in some parts of England it is called : '^ Bishop, Bishop Barnabee, Tell me when your wedding be! If it be to-morrow day. Take your wings and fly away.'^ — SuffolTc Bhyme What is the rest of the jingle with which Caroline Southey commences her poem? Has the insect "fine speckled wings"? 16. The katydid is a kind of American locust. It is named from the sound it makes. Do the female katydids make any sound? How is it done? Bring out the humor in the quotation. Read the poem. 17. Death's-head moth — why named? It is one of the European hawk moths. Another quotation on the insect will be found in Hood's "The Haunted House." 18. What is an aphid? Name some kinds? What are 54 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS their enemies? Is Browning right in saying that one of these insects lives and dies on the same leaf? 19. Relation of grasshopper, locust, katydid. Study the quotation line by line. 20. Read a description of the plum curculio. Is Bryant's a good one? Is the Old-World Sparrow a success as a worm-exterminator ? 21. The firefly is also called fire beetle. Read a descrip- tion of them, their manner of producing the light. What are glowworms? Lantern fly, lightning bug, wah-wah- taysee, and cucujo are other names. 22. Read a description of the ghost moth. Why so called? Also called ''swift." Where found? Are they nocturnal ? 23. What is a cricket ? Different kinds ? Called in imi- tation of its creak. Study the quotation carefully for its descriptive phrases. 24. Study picture and description of stag beetle. Why so called? In America sometimes called ''horn bug." They are very strong, and can pinch quite hard — whence Browning's "nippemose." Their food consists partly of caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects, so *'all who meadow, hill, and dale inhabit" would be glad to band themselves against red "nippernose." 25. Compare pictures of grasshopper and cicada. Cicada often called locust. Different kinds of cicadas. Where do the larvae live? Study the quotation. 26. The dumbledor is a dorbeetle, a name applied to several European inseets that fly with a buzzing noise, similar to our June bugs. Study the humor of the quo- tation, in connection with the title of the poem. Who is Thomas Hardy? 27. Read the description of Caddis fly and Caddis worm SEPTEMBER 55 in Webster's New International. Then stud}^ the poem and particularlj^ the phrase *' Shell-stuck thatch.'' What is a water-scorpion? 28. Description of tiger-moth found under heading ' ' Apatensis. ' ' How would a stained-glass window resemble a tiger moth's wings? Is the comparison good? A poet must be quick to see such likenesses between things so widely different as a moth and a window. OGTOBER — A MONTH OF FRUITS 1, Orange 9. 17. 25. 2. Apple 10. 18. 26. 3. Cherry 11. 19. 27. 4. Grape 12. 20. .28. 5. 13. 21. 29. 6. 14. 22. 30. 7. 15.. 23. 31. 8. 16. 24. 1. Orange: The short sweet purple twilight dreams, Of vanished day, of coming night; And like gold moons in the soft light Each scented, drooping orange gleams From out the glossy leaves black-green, That make through noon a cool dark screen. — William Sharp, An Orange Grove 2. Apple: What plant we in this apple-tree? Fruits that shall swell in sunny June, And redden in the August noon. And drop, when gentle airs come by, That fan the blue September sky. While children come, with cries of glee. And seek them where the fragrant grass Betrays their bed to those who pass. At the foot of the apple-tree. — William Cullen Bryant, Planting the Apple-Tree 3. Cherry: If it is a cherry year, It will be a merry year. — Old Bhyme 56 OCTOBER 57 4. Grape: Down through the golden leaves the sun was pouring his splendors, Gleaming on purple grapes, that, from branches above them suspended, Mingled their odorous breath with the balm of the pine and the fir-tree. Wild and sweet as the clusters that grev/ in the valley of Eschol. — Henry W, Longfellow, Evangeline 5. Pear: The juicy pear Lies, in soft profusion, scattered round. A various sweetness swells the gentle race, By Nature's all-refining hand prepared; Of tempered sun, and water, earth, and air, In ever-changing composition mixed. — James Thomson, The Seasons 6. Barberry: Through the green lanes of the country, Where the tangled barberry-bushes, Hang their tufts of crimson berries Over stone walls gray with mosses. — Henry W. Longfellow, Hiawatha 7. Blueberry: On the next day of his fasting By the river's brink he wandered, Through the Muskoday, the meadow; Saw the wild rice, Mahnomonee, Saw the blueberry, Meenahga. — Henry W. Longfellow, Hiawatha 58 f-riCay afternoon entertainments 8. Mulberry: And by and by, when the flowers grow few, • And the fruits are dwindling and small to view, — Out she comes in her matron grace, With the purple berries of her race ; Full of plenty from root to crown. Showering plenty her feet adown. While far overhead hang gorgeously Large, luscious berries of sanguine dye ; For the best grows highest, always highest, Upon the mulberry tree. — Dinah M. Mulock, The Mulberry Tree 9. Pineapple: The prince of fruits, which some jayama call, Anana some, the happy flavored pine. In which unite the tastes and juices all Of apple, quince, peach, grape, and nectarine, Grows to perfection here, and spreads his crest, His diadem towards the parent sun ; His diadem, in fiery blossoms drest, Stands armed with swords, from potent Nature won. — Philip Freneau, Santa Cruz 10. Nectarine: What w^ondrous life is this I lead! Ripe apples drop about my head; The luscious clusters of the vine, Upon my mouth do crush their wine, The nectarines, a curious peach, Into my hands themselves do reach. — Andrew Marvell, Thoughts in a Garden 11. Peach: The purple plum, the grape the hand may reach. Vie with the downy-skinned and blushing peach. — Nicholas Michell, Cdbul OCTOBEB 59 12. Plum: When shrinkingly the sun creeps up Through misty mornings cold, Then heavily the frosted plum Drops downward on the mold. — Dinah M. Mulock, October 13. Apricot: The apricots upon the sunny wall, Unfold their pale-pink blossoms, promise fair Of luscious fruit whose mellow autumn's growth To April's aid shall owe the harvest of the year. — AsTLEY H. Baldwin, April 14. Cranberry: Cranberries picked in the Squamscot bog. And grapes from the vines of Piscataquog; Pike and perch from the Suncook taken; Nuts from the trees of the Black Hills shaken; — John G. Whittier, The Bridal of FennacooTc 15. Cashew: The conic-formed cashew, of juicy kind. That bears at once an apple and a nut ; Whose poisonous coat, indignant to the lip. Doth in its cell a wholesome kernel shut. — Philip Freneau, Santa Cms 16. Gooseberry: Now ripe are the goosegogs, I speak as a boy, I've still a fresh feeling that Time can't destroy; I see not, I care not, for French stew or fry. But I'm fond of a true English Gooseberry-Pie. — Anon., Farewell to Gooseberry Tie 17. Watermelon: Its back wuz broad and shiny. Its stripes wuz dark and light; 60 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS My mouf wuz boun' ter water, Ter see dat hibly sight ; I stop and try to lif her — It took a lot er spunk ; So I thump her very gently, An ' she answers back ' * ker-plunk ! ' ' Water-million, water-million ! you am de choices ' prize, De best I seed dis lib-long year wid dese here longing eyes ! — Mrs. Sarah A. Peple, Ode ter de Furs' Water-Million 18. FiG: My pleasing theme continual prompts my thought : Presents the downy peach ; the shining plum. With a fine bluish mist of animals Clouded; the ruddy nectarine; and, dark Beneath his ample leaf, the luscious fig. — James Thomson, The Seasons — Autumn 19. Blackberry: and blackberries, Redden amid the tangled bramble-canes. Whose juicy stores, ungrudgingly afford A banquet for the blackbird. — Anon., September 20. Dewberry: and the briers trailed o'er many a stone Dropping dewberries, black-ripe and soft, fit to melt into Juice in your hold. — Jane Barlow, By the Bog-Hole 21. Strawberry: Hither, soon as spring is fled, You and Charles and I will walk ; OCTOBER 61 Lurking berries ripe and red, Then will hang on every stalk; Each within its leafy bower, And for that promise spare the flower ! — William Wordsworth, Foresight 22. Raspberry: Another bend, a sheltered deepening rift. And in the mountain's very heart they plunge — So dark the shade, the sun is lost to view. Great silver wattles tremble o'er the path. Entwined with clematis or begonia vines. And raspberry tendrils hung with scarlet fruit. — Mrs. Hubert Heron, From the Clyde to Braidwood (Australia) 23. Pomegranate: Red-ripe as could be, Pomegranates were chapping and splitting, In halves on the tree. — Robert Browning, The Englishman in Italy 24. Breadfruit: The bread-tree, which, without the ploughshare, yields The unreap'd harvest of unfurrow'd fields. And bakes its unadulterated loaves Without a furnace in unpurchased groves, And flings off famine from its fertile breast, A priceless market for the gathering guest ; — Lord Byron, The Island 25. Banana: Beneath a broad banana's leaf, Perched' on its fruits that crooked hang, A bird in rainbow splendor sang A low, sad song of tempered grief. — Joaquin Miller, With Walker in Nicaragua 62 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 28. Tamarind: Bear me, Pomona, to thy citron groves. To where the lemon and the piercing lime, With the deep orange glowing through the green, Their lighter glories blend. Lay me reclined Beneath the spreading tamarind, that shakes. Fanned by the breeze, its fever-cooling fruit. — James Thomson, The Seaso7is — Summer 27. Papao: The breadfruit and orange to feasting invite; The luscious banana hangs ruddy and bright; The zephyr seems loaded with balm; The lime and the shaddock are lovely to see. The sweet, golden papao hangs on the tree — In the land of the coral and palm. — J. L. Kelley, Tahati : Australia 28. Olive (or Medlar) : Plark, the quick, whistling pelt of the olives Which, thick in one's track. Tempt the stranger to pick up and bite them, Though not j^et half black! How the old twisted olive trunks shudder, The medlars let fall Their hard fruit, and the brittle great fig-trees Snap off, figs and all. For here comes the whole of the tempest. — Robert Browning, The Englishman in Italy 29. Date: And the rich date luxuriant spreads Its pendent clusters o'er your heads. — Felicia Hemans, The Caravan in the Desert OCTOBER 63 >, 30. Myrtleberry: Last eve, I rode over the mountains; Your brother, my guide, Soon left me, to feast on the myrtles That offered, each side, Their fruit balls, black, glossy, and luscious, — Or strip from the sorbs A treasure, or, rosy and wondrous, Those hairy gold orbs! — Egbert Browning, The Englishman in Italy 31. Prickly Pear : And end with the prickly-pear's red flesh. That leaves through its juice The stony black seeds on your pearl-teeth. — Egbert Browning, The Englishman in Italy Questions (See Webster's for definitions of fruit. In this case, the second one is used) 1. The citrus fruits all belong to the Kue Family: orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, shaddock, citron, citrange, kumquat, tangelo, tangerine, mandarin. Study the quo- tation. 2. Members of the apple family are: crab-apple, culti- vated apple, medlar, pear, mountain ash, shadbush, quince, hawthorn. There are different varieties of cultivated apple — Bellflower, Ribstone, Gravenstein. A poem by Phoebe Gary, ''Homesick," gives a long list of varieties. What is your favorite apple? 64 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTEETAINMENTS 3. The cherry, plum, peach, apricot, blackthorn, all belong to the almond family. There are different kinds of cherries, both wild and cultivated. What is the meaning of this rhyme? 4. To what family does the grape belong? (Vine family.) Name some different kinds, wild and cultivated. (A poem, ''Catawba Wine," by Longfellow, gives a list of several.) For ''grapes of Eshcol" see Numbers 13:23. 5. To what family does the pear belong? What is the difference between an apple and a pear? There are different varieties of pear — winter, bergamot, Catherine, russet, poppering, vergalieu, warden, and so on. Study the quotation. 6. What family is the barberry? (Barberry family.) Name some relatives? (Map apple, twin-leaf.) What color are the berries ? In what part of Hiawatha is this quotation found? 7. What family is the blueberry? (Blueberry family.) Name some other members. (Whortleberry, huckleberry, cranberry, bilberry.) In what part of Hiawatha is this quotation found? 8. Mulberry tree belongs to the mulberry family. Other members are the banyan, rubber-tree, hemp, hops, fig, breadfruit, upas. Name some kinds of mulberry trees. Other uses for the trees. When does the mulberry put forth its leaves? Its fruit? 9. The pineapple belongs to the Bromelia family, which also includes the pinguin, and the Spanish, or long-moss. How does it grow ? What gives the outside of a pineapple its peculiar markings? Is this quotation correct? Does the fruit have a crest? Is it armed with swords? Is its flavor a combination of several? What are some of its names ? OCTOBER 65 10. Distinguish between a nectarine and a peach. To what family do both belong? 11. Study the plum and the apricot. Name some dif- ferent kinds of plum — damson, greengage, bullace, beach. 12. Cranberry belongs to what family? Named Cran- berry because stem, calyx, and petals are fancied to re- semble the neck, head, and bill of a crane. Where do they grow? How gathered? 13. Study picture of cashew in Webster's New Inter- national. Other members of the cashew family are? (Sumac, mango, mastic, pistachio.) Is this quotation de- scriptive of the fruit? Which has the poisonous coat, the cashew apple or the nut? What is meant by ^'conic- formed " ? By" indignant to the lip " ? Is the nut edible ? 14. Grooseberry belongs to what family ? Other members ? Difference between gooseberry and currant? AYhat is the gooseberry called in Hiawatha? Gooseberry is probably derived from the German word, kraus, crisp. 15. Watermelon belongs to the gourd family. Other members? Why called ''watermelon"? What does it mean when a watermelon says "ker-plunk"? Who is supposed to be talking in this "ode"? 16. To what family belongs the fig? (Mulberry.) Dif- ferent kinds? (Sacred, creeping, sycamore fig, caprifig, cultivated fig. ) How does the fig grow ? Is this following quotation true? The unboastfiil fig his fruit bestows Unheralded by bloom. — Francisco Barberini, Friends Study the quotation. 17. Blackberry belongs to the rose family. So do the devrberry, raspberry, strawberrj^ Study the four quota- tions. Yfhat others can you find? 66 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 18. Pomegranate belongs in a family by itself. The name is derived from pome, apple, or fruit ; granate grains. The city of Granada, Spain, is supposed to have been named from the number of pomegranate trees planted in and about it. 19. Breadfruit belongs to what family? Read a good description of the tree in dictionary or encyclopaedia, and compare with the quotation. 20. Banana family includes the banana, plantain, bird- of -paradise flower, traveller 's-tree, — all tropical plants. There are hundreds of varieties of banana, the yellow and the red being the only two kinds exported to northern markets. Have the plants broad leaves? Do the fruits hang crooked? 21. Tamarind belongs to the Caesalpinia family, other members being honey locust, red-bud, Judas-tree, senna, divi-divi. Brazil-wood, and others. Family is named from Andrea Cesalpino, an Italian botanist. The fruit of the tamarind is a pod, which is used in making a sort of tama- rindade, and for preserves. The drink is very cooling. The reference to Pomona, in the quotation. (Pomona was the Italian goddess of the fruit of trees.) 22. Papao belongs to a family of its own. It is a trop- ical fruit, soft, yellow, pulpy, which is eaten raw, boiled as a vegetable, pickled, or preserved. If preferred, the teacher may use the quotation on the pawpaw: Far away, Where the pawpaw its mellow fruitage yields, And thick, dark clusters of the wild grape hang, The merry laugh of childhood. — ^William D. Gallagher, Miami Woods The pawpaw belongs to the Custard-apple family. Fruit has a sweetish, banana-like taste. OCTOBER 67 23. Olive family includes the ash, lilac, night jasmine, privet, and such widely different plants. The fruit is pickled when green or ripe, and eaten raw when ripe. Read a description of the tree. (If desired, the teacher may make the medlar the topic to be studied, or may study the medlar with the apple, using the part of this quotation referring to it.) 24. The date grows on a kind of palm tree. Name some different kinds of palms. (King, wine, palmyra, palmet- toes, coconut.) How do the fruits grow? "Where? Are they to be found in deserts? Date comes from dactyl, finger, the shape of the fruit; or may refer to the hand- shaped leaf. 25. Myrtle family includes the clove, allspice, eucalyptus, guava. The small berries are eaten when ripe, and are also dried for spice. (The sorh in the quotation is the fruit of the service-tree, a member of the apple family, which may also be studied.) 26. Prickly pear belongs to the cactus family, the tuna and the Indian-fig being kinds. Other members of the cactus family have edible fruits, as the saguaro. .NOVEMBER — A MONTH OF VEGETABLES 1. Onion 9. 17. 25 2. Turnip 10. 18. 26 3. Corn 11. 19. 27 4. Parsley 12. 20. 28 5. 13. 21. 29 6. 14. 22. 30 7. 15. 23. 8. 16. 24. 1. Onion: And if the boy have not a woman's gift, To rain a shower of commanded tears, An onion will do well for such a shift, Which, in a napkin being close convey 'd. Shall in despite enforce a watery eye. — Taming of the Shrew, Introduction, Scene 1 2. Turnip: Bent low, by autumn's wind and rain, through husks that, dry and sere, Unfolded from their ripened charge, shone out the yellow ear; Beneath, the turnip lay concealed, in many a verdant fold. And glistened in the slanting light, the pumpkin's sphere of gold. — John G. Whittier, The HusTcers 3. Corn: Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard! Heap high the golden corn! No richer gift has Autumn poured From out her lavish horn ! — John G. Whittier, The Corn Song 68 NOVEMBER 69 4. Parsley : Nothing stings Fried liver out of its monotony Of richness like a root of fennel chopped Fine with parsley; parsley sprigs, I said — Was there need I should say ''and fennel, too"? — EoRERT Browning, The Bwg and the Boole 5. Radish: And the garden-beds, as smooth as a counterpane is • laid, Were dotted and striped with green where the peas and radishes grew ; — Bayard Taylor, The EoUy-Tree 6. Fennel: Above the lowiy plants it towers. The fennel, with its yellow flowers, And in an earlier age than ours Was gifted with the wondrous powers — Lost vision to restore. It gave new strength, and fearless mood, And gladiators, fierce and rude, Mingled it in their daily food; And he who battled and subdued, A wreath of fennel wore. — Henry W. Longfellow, The Goblet of Life 7. White Potato: The Indian corn-ears, prodigal of yield. The golden pumpkin, nugget of the field, The merriest-eyed potatoes, nursed in gloom, Just resurrected from their cradle-tomb; The very best the farmer's land had grown. They brought to this menagerie of their own. — Will Carleton, The County Fair 70 miDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 8. Lettuce: You have but trifled with our homely salad, But dallied with a single lettuce-leaf ; Not eaten anything. — Alfred Tennyson, The Falcon 9. Mushroom: And it delighteth me To have the mushroom push his round head through The dry and brittle stubble, as I pass, His smooth and shining coat, half rose, half fawri. But just put on. — Alice Gary, A Thanksgiving 10. Pumpkin: If fresh meat be wanting, to fill up our dish. We have carrots and pumpkins and turnips and fish ! And is there a mind for a delicate dish. We repair to the clam banks, and there we catch fish ! Instead of pottage and puddings and custards and pies. Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies. We have pumpkins at morning, and pumpkins at noon. If it was not for pumpkins we should be undone. — Unknown (First Verses Written by an American Colonist) 11. Garlic: And, most, dear actors, eat no onions, nor garlic, for we are to utter sweet. breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. — Midsummer Night's Dream, Act IV, Scene 1 12. RamsON: Eat leeks in Lide, and ramsines in May, And all the year after physicians may play, — Old Bhyme NOVEMBEE 71 13. Cabbage: Our Parson Wilbur (blessings on his head!) 'Mongst other stories of ole times he hed, Talked of a feller that rehearses his spreads Beforehan' to his rows o' kebbige-heads. And, take my word for't, when all's come and past, The kebbige-heads '11 cair the day et last; Th' ain't been a meetin' sence the worl' begun But they made (raw or biled ones) ten to one. — James E. Lowell, Biglow Papers 14. Rutabaga (Swede) : Underneath their eider-robe, Russet swede and golden globe, Feathered carrot, burning deep, Steadfast went in charmed sleep. — Charles Kingsley, The Poetry of a Boot Crop 15. Parsnip: But my good mother Baystate wants no praise of mine ; She learned from her mother a precept divine. About something that butters no parsnips, — her forte In another direction lies, work is her sport. — James E. Lowell, A Falle for Critics 16. Okra (Gumbo) : In a kettle put ham and potatoes, One chicken, and that not too small; "With gumbos and good red tomatoes, And beans, and some oysters, and all. Then hurrah, boj^s! hurrah for the Union! And the banner which waves from the wall ; Likewise for the parsnip and onion, Green corn and potatoes and all! 72 FUIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS The gumbos, the greens, and the carrots, — Likewise for the monkeys and parrots, And corn and potatoes and all ! — Charles G. Leland, Green Corn and Potatoes 17. Crook-neck Squash.- Yet with dearer delight from his home in the North On the fields of his harvest the Yankee looks forth. Where crook-necks are coiling and yellow frnit shines, And the sun of September melts down on his vines. — John G. Whittier, The Pumphin 18. Carrot: I thought this Philip had been one of those Black ones of Spain; but he hath a yellow beard. Like a carrot's, as thou say'st; and English carrot's Better than Spanish licorice. — Alfred Tennyson, Queen Mary 19. Celery: Here in the garden-bed, Hoeing the celery. Wonders the Lord has made, Pass ever before me. — Katherine T. Hinksgn, The Gardener Sage 20. Cucumber: I am afoot with my vision. Weeding my onion-patch, or hoeing rows of carrots and parsnips — . . . Through patches of citrons, and cucumbers with silver- wired leaves; — Walt Whitman, Walt Whitman 21. Cauliflower: A petty gardener spreads On level beds, NOVEMBER 73 Kefuse stuff, and cauliflowers From it for the gentry grows. — GiosuL Carducci, L'Envoi 22. "Watercress: She, wretched matron, forced in age, for bread, To strip the brook with mantling cresses spread. — Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village 23. Bean: Now, now the mirth comes With the cake full of plums, "Where Bean's the king of the sport here ; Beside, we must know The Pea also Must revel as queen in the court here. — Egbert Herrick, Twelfth Night 24. Pea: Sovf peas and beans in the wane of the moon, W^ho soweth them sooner, he soweth too soon, That they with the planet may rest and rise. And flourish with bearing, most plentiful-wise. — Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Eushandry 25. Nettle: Cull it by the auld wa's, Cull it where the sun ne'er fa's, Stew it when the day daws, Cull the nettle early. — Scottish Ehyme (Directions for cutting early nettles in June for Cooking) 26. Sweet Potato: They sat on the trunk of a fallen pine. And their plate was a piece of bark, And the sweet potatoes w^ere superfine, Though bearing the ember's mark. 74 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS The British officer tried to eat, But his nerves were out of tune, And ill at ease on his novel seat, While absent both knife and spoon. Then Marion put his potato down On that homely plate of bark; He had to smile, for he could not frown While gay as a morning lark: ** 'Tis a royal feast I provide to-day; Upon roots we rebels dine, And in Freedom 's service we draw no pay — Is. that code of ethics thine ? ' ' rt« p ^ — Edward C. Jones, Marion's Dinner Lord, I confess too, when I dine. The pulse is thine. And all those other things that bee There placed by Thee; The worts, the purslain, and the messe Of water-cresse, Which of Thy kindness Thou hast sent, And my content Makes those, and my beloved beet, To be more sweet. — Egbert Herrick, A ThanTcsgiving to God for His House 28. Beet: Here, here I live with what my board Can with the smallest cost afford ; Though ne'er so mean the viands be, They well content my Prue and me ; Or pea or bean, or wort or beet, Whatever comes, content makes sweet. — Egbert Herrick, His Content in the Country NOVEMBER 75 29. Palm Cabbage: A ship whose keel is of palm beneath, Whose ribs of palm have a palm-like sheath, And a rudder of palm it steereth with. "What does the good ship bear so well? The eocoa-nnt with its stony shell, And the milky sap of its inner cell; What aiie its jars, so smooth and fine, But hollowed nuts, filled with oil and wine. And the cabbage that ripens under the Line ? — John G. Whittier, The Palm-Tree 30. Asparagus: Oh, never may memory lose sight of that year, But still hallow the time as it ought ! That season the ' ' grass ' ' w^as remarkably dear, And the peas at a guinea a quart. — Thomas Hood, Epicurean Eeminiscences of a Sentimentalist Suggestions for Study (Look up definition of vegetable in Webster ^s, as regards culinary 1. The onion belongs to the lily family. Some other members are the tulip, hyacinth, aloe, yucca, dog-tooth violet. Closely related to the onion are the ramson, the leek, the garlic, the shalot, the moly, the welsh onion. The quotation relates to actors, who are said to find still some similar aids for the ''enforcing of the watery eye.'* In Shakespeare's time boys played the female parts on the stage. If desired, use instead this folk saying: 76 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS Onion's skin very thin, Mild winter's coming in; Onion's skin thick and tough, Coming winter cold and rough. 2. The turnip belongs to the cabbage family, many members being used for food. Other plants of the family are cabbage, mustard, charlock, wallflower, shepherd's purse, lady 's-smock, cress, radish, candytifft, sweet alys- sum, stock, cauliflower. What is the difference between turnip and rutabaga ? 3. Corn belongs to the grass family. What is its other name? (Maize.) Study the whole poem. 4. Parsley belongs to the celery family, which contains many useful food plants, and some poisonous ones. Mem- bers of the family are fennel, cumin, anise, coriander, angelica, carrot, parsnip, chervil, samphire, hemlock (poi- sonous), dill, sea-holly, caraway, snakeroot, — over 1600 species in all. The quotation is put into the mouth of a fussy lawyer who has more interest in what he is to have for dinner than in the murder trial. 5. In William Shenstone's ''The School-Mistress,'' will be found this humorous reference to the radish: And pungent radish, biting infant's tongue, At one time a preparation of garlic, rue, pears, radishes, nuts, and treacle w^as supposed to be an antidote for poison. 6. Fennel belongs to what family? Study the whole poem of Longfellow's. 7. White potato belongs to the nightshade family. So do the tomato, the belladonna, bittersweet (European), henbane, tobacco, egg plant, petunia, mandrake, red pepper, NOVEMBER 77 ground-cherry, jimson-weed. What part of the potato- plant is eaten? 8. Lettuce belongs to the chicory family, which con- tains the dandelion, the endive, goat's-beard, hawkweed, salsify. Lettuce comes from the Latin word lactuca, milk, on account of the juice of the stems. Study the poem of *' The Falcon." 9. The mushroom is a flowerless plant, and is classed with such simple forms as seaweed, mildew, lichen, puff- balls. There are many kinds of mushrooms, some edible and others highly poisonous. The kinds with an umbrella- like top are popularly called *' toad-stools." Some puff- balls are also eaten. If people would learn to know the different kinds of edible mushrooms, the high cost of living could be reduced greatly. Is Miss Gary 's a good description of a mushroom? 10. The pumpkin is a member of the gourd familj^; re- lated to it are the watermelon, citron melon, muskmelon, squash, bryony, cucumber, gherkin, balsam apple, and luffa. Different kinds of pumpkins are the pie-pumpkin, the vege- table marrow, the summer squash. As pumpkins require but little care, it is not strange that the early colonists could always have a supply of pumpkins, no matter how weary they grew of eating them. (If desired, study the squash and the pumpkin together, using the whole poem of Whittier's.) 11. The garlic belongs to what family? How do the onion and the garlic differ ? "Who speaks in this quotation ? 12. Ramson is more like the garlic than like the onion. Look up the definition. (If preferred, the teacher may use instead the quotation on the leek in King Henry Y, Act IV.) 13. How many kinds of cabbage ? Describe the common 78 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS cabbage. What is its value as food? To what genus does the cabbage belong? 14. The rutabaga is a kind of turnip commonly with a very large elongated yellowish root; — called also Swedish turnip and Kussian turnip. 15. To what family does the parsnip belong? When is the plant poisonous ? To what proverb does Lowell refer ? Which state is the Baystate? What is meant by "her mother"? 16. Okra belongs to the mallow family. Other members are hollyhock, cotton plant, marsh mallow, and abelmosk. What part of the okra plant is eaten? The poem is a sailor's praise of his fare. 17. How many varieties of crookneck squash ? To what species do they belong? How do the varieties differ? 18. To what family does the carrot belong ? The Eng- lish people did not wish their queen to marry a Spaniard, hence their wit behind his back when they learned that Philip had yellow hair. 19. What is celery? How grown? What are some of the wonders a wise gardener would see all about him? 20. The cucumber belongs to what family? What is a gherkin? In this poem on himself, Walt Whitman lets his mind wander where it will, and imagines himself going here and there, engaged in different occupations. In this quotation, he imagines himself a gardener. What kind of citron does he mean ? Do cucumbers have leaves that seem as though wired with silver? 21. Cauliflower belongs to what family? Cabbage was once called cole, and cale, hence cauliflower, cabbage-flower, and kohl-rahi, a certain kind of cabbage that is mainly stalk. This quotation is from an Italian poet ; he is re- NOVEMBER 79 marking that useful plants may grow from soil, ashes, and fertilizer that seems useless. 22. Watercress belongs to Avhat family? How eaten? 23. The bean family is a very large one. To it belong — the pea, clover, wistaria, gorse, broom, lupine, sweet-pea, indigo, vetch, laburnum, licorice, rosewood, peanut, coral tree, sicklewort, rose-acacia, sweet clover, and medic. There are different kinds of beans — field, lima, kidney, and string beans, with all sorts of names. When is Twelfth Night? This poem refers to the placing of a bean and a pea in the cake, and whoever got the piece containing the bean became the king of the evening's sport, while the one who got the pea became the queen. 24. To what family does the pea belong? This verse is one of the old weather-sayings about plants. Have you ever heard of others ? 25. The nettle family is not so large as some others. Members are the nettles of all kinds, the artillery plant, the richweed, the wall-pellitory, the ramie. Young nettles are used as greens in some parts of England, and this rhyme tells when to gather and cook the plants. 26. The sweet potato is a member of the Convolvulus family, with the morningglory, bindweed, jalap, cypress vine. Tell the story of ''Marion's Dinner." 27. Purslane belongs to the Portulacca family — so does the spring beauty. It is often called ''pig- weed," because swine are fond of it. Notice the quaintness of the poem. Herrick lived at the time of Shakespeare. 28. The beet belongs to the goose-foot family, with the spinach, Good-King-Henry, saltwort. The mangel-wurzel is a kind of beet. Robert Herrick seems to have been fond of "his beloved beet." He mentions it in many poems. 80 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 29. What is a palm-cabbage? In this poem, Whittier enumerates all the various uses of the palm-tree. 30. The asparagus belongs to the lily-of-the-valley family, strange as it may seem. So do the Solomon 's-seal, the Wake-Robin, and the Clintonia. About 1600, "asparagus'' became ''sparrow-grass," but since 1800 has not been used by the educated. (If preferred, use this quotation for either spinach or endive, instead of the one on the asparagus : Which much you will mend if Both spinnage and endive, And lettuce and beet, With marigold meet, — John Gay, Becipe for Stewed Veal The marigold meant here is the pot-marigold, a member of the aster family, the heads of which are used to flavor soups. ) DECEMBER - -A MC 1. Codfish 9. 17. 2. Flying-Fish 10. 18. 3. Herring 11. 19. 4. Sword-Fish 12. 20. 5. 13. 21. 6. 14. 22. 7. 15. 23. 8. 16. 24. MONTH OF FISH 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 1. Codfish: Cut off my head, and singular I am : Cut off my tail, and plural I appear; Although my middle 's left, there 's nothing there ! What is my head cut off ? A sounding sea ! Yv^hat is my tail cut off ? A rushing river ! And in their mingling depths I fearless play, Parent of sweetest sounds, yet mute forever. — Thomas B. Macaulay, Enigma on the Codfish 2. Flying-Fish : The startled flying-fish around us skim. Glossed, like the humming-bird, with rainbow-dyes; And, as they dip into the water's brim, Swift in pursuit the preying dolphin hies. — Epes Sargent, Tropical Weather 3. Herring: It was in with the sails and away to the shore, "With the rise and swing, the rise and swing, Of two stout lads at each smoking oar, After Herring, our King! Herring, our King! — A. P. Graves, Herring Is King 81 82 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 4. SWORDFISH: It is a swordfish that hath wrought us this, Nigh ruining our venture. Yea, a fish Six cubits long, that hath for nose a beak, Bony, shaped like a sword, sharp like a sword, And hard as tempered steel; strong fins and tail That in its times of anger and attack Drive it like arrow through the waves. It hates The whale, mistook us for its enemy, And dealt us deadly thrust. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of Itholtal 5. Salmon: But deep deep the stream in, I saw his sides a-gleamin', The king o ' the saumon, sae pleasantly lay he ; I tho't he was sleepin*, But on further peepin', I saw by his teeth he was lauchin' at me. — George Outram, The Saumon 6. MOSS-BONKER: I see two boats with nets, lying off the shore of Pau- manok, quite still, I see ten fishermen waiting — they discover now a thick school of mossbonkers — they drop the joined seine- ends in the water. On the sand, in heaps and winrows, well out from the water, lie the green-backed spotted mossbonkers. — Walt Whitman, Salut au Monde! 7. PiLOT-FlSH: Soon comes amidst them the great grey robber-shark, His black fin hoist, like pirate's sail; A spear-blade gleaming as it cuts the blue. DECEMBER 83 The little fishes fly, save one bold sort, Striped motley, with long snout, which is the slave And lick-plate of the shark, seeking for him Food, that the little fish may leavings eat. — Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of ItJiolal 8. TuRBOT: 'Tis true, no Turbots dignify my boards. But gudgeons, flounders, what my Thames affords. — Alexander Pope, Second Boole of Horace 9. Tunny: Mighty Neptune, may it please, Thee, the rector of the seas. That my barque may safely run Through thy wat 'ry region. And a tunny-fish shall be Offer 'd up with thanks to thee. — Robert Herrick, A S^ort Hymn to Neptune 10. Dogfish: And ocean islands so small, the dog-fish tracking A dead whale, who should find them, would swim thrice Around them and fare onward. — — Robert Browning, Paracelsus 11. Pike: Full of scorn was Hiawatha When he saw the fish rise upward, Saw the pike, the Maskenozha, Coming nearer, nearer to him, And he shouted through the water, ''Esa! esa! shame upon you! You are but the pike, Kenozha, You are not the fish I wanted, You are not the King of Fishes!" — Henry W. Longfellow, HiawatJia g4 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS 12. Carp: Our plenteous streams a various race supply, The bright-eyed perch, with fins of Tyrian dye. The silver eel, in shining volume rolled. The yellow carp, in scales bedropped with gold, Swift trouts, diversified with crimson stains. And pikes, the tyrants of the watery plains. — Alexander Pope, Windsor Forest 13. Pickerel: A pickerel lay by an old log bridge. Where the moss grew low in the midmost panel. And he cocked his eye at a passing midge. And waved his fins as he watched the channel. — Ernest McGaefey, Out-Doors 14. Shad: And the aronia by the river Lighted up the swarming shad. And the bulging nets swept shoreward With their silver-sided haul. — John G. Whittier, The Sycamores 15. Sole: Be patient with black beetles, be courteous to cats. And don't be harsh with haddocks, nor rigorous with rats; Don't speak of ''blind-man's holiday" if e'er you meet a mole. And if you have a frying pan, don't show it to a sole. — ■ J. Ashby-Sterry, a Secular Lesson 16. Grayling: I wind about, and in and out. With here a blossom sailing. And here and there a lusty trout, And here and there a grayling. — Lord Tennyson, Song of the Broolc DECEMBER ^ g5 17. Sting-Ray : The world below the brine ; Forests at the bottom of the sea, — the branches and leaves, The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the turtle, the hairy sea-leopard, and the sting-ray. — WxVLT Whitman, TJie World Below the Brine 18. Eel: The morn when first it thunders in March, The eel in the pond gives a leap, they say. — Egbert Browning, Old Pictures in Florence 19. BoNiTO: And gay bonitos in their beauty glide, With arrowy speed in close pursuit, They through the azure waters shoot ; — Robert Southey, Oliver Newman 20. Sea-Horse: Sea-minnow with this pony's crest, Just one of Amphitrite's toys. With which her sea-sprites coax to rest. The little sleepy Triton boys. — Anon., The Sea-Horse 21. MUSKELLUNGE: Then all at once a mighty fish upsprings. The rod bends double and the bright reel sings, As from the depths a giant muskellunge Vaults and vanishes with a sudden plunge. — Ernest McGaffey, Death of the Mushellunge 22. Sturgeon: With sweeping tail and quivering fin Through the wave the sturgeon flew, And, like the heaven-shot javelin. He sprung above the waters blue. 86 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS Instant as the star-fall light, He plunged him in the deep again, ^. But left an arch of silver bright, The rainbow of the moony main. — Joseph EoDMAN Deake, The Culprit Fay 23. Trout: Where the pools are bright and deep, Where the gray trout lies asleep, Up the river and o'er the lea. That's the way for Billy and me. — James Hogg, A Boy's 8on^ 24. Minnow: Pebbly beds, Where swarms of minnows show their little heads, Staying their wavy bodies 'gainst the streams. To taste the luxury of sunny beams Tempered with coolness. How they ever wrestle With their own sweet delight, and ever nestle Their silver bodies on the pebbly sand. If you but scantily hold out the hand. That very instant not one will remain ; But turn your eye, and they are there again. — John Keats, Minnows 25. Gudgeon: Hist ! That 's a pike ! Look, — nose against the river, Gaunt as a wolf, — the sly old privateer ; Enter a gudgeon. Snap — a gulp, a shiver, — Exit the gudgeon. Let us anchor here. — Austin Dobson, An Autumn Idyll 26. Goldfish: Restless forms of living light Quivering^ on your lucid wings, Cheating still the curious sight With a thousand shadowings. DECEMBER 87 Was the sun himself your sire ? Were ye born of vital fire ? Pretty creatures, we might deem Ye were happy as ye seem — As gay, as gamesome, and as blithe, As light, as loving, and as lithe. As gladly earnest in your play, As when ye gleamed in far Cathay. — Hartley Coleridge, Address to Certain Goldfishes 27. Mackerel: Or, another time, mackerel-taking, Voracious, mad for the hook, near the surface, they seem to fill the water for miles ; Or another time, fishing for rock-fish, in Chesapeake Bay — I one of the brown-faced crew ; Or another time, trailing for blue-fish off Paumanok, I stand with braced body. My left foot is on the gunwale — my right arm throws the coils of slender rope, In sight around me the quick veering and darting of fifty skiffs, my companions. — Walt Whitman, Poem of Joys 28. Haddock: Or from the haunts where the striped haddock play. By each cold northern bank and frozen bay. — John G. C. Brainard, To Connecticut Eiver 29. Yellow Perch : . Through the clear, transparent water He could see the fishes swimming Far down in the depths below him ; See the yellow perch, the Sahwa, Like the sunbeam in the water. — Henry W. LongfelloiV; Hiawatha 88 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 30. Hammer-Head Shark: As we moved on, The dwellers of tlie deep, in the mighty herds, Passed by ns, reverently they passed ns hy, Long trains of dolphins rolling through the brine, Huge whales, that drew the waters after them, A torrent-stream, and hideous hammer-sharks Chasing their pre5^ — William Cullen Bryant, Sella 31. Roach : If the sun's excessive heat Make our bodies swelter, To an osier hedge we get, For a friendly shelter ; Where, in a dike, Perch or pike, Roach or dace, "We do chase. Bleak or gudgeon, Without grudging; We are still contented. — John Chalkhill, The Angler Suggestions for Study What is a fishi YfLat is the whale? the dolphin? the pcrpoise? the lamprey? Why uot fishes? 1. The cod family includes the common cod, haddock, hake, ling, whiting, tomcod, pollack, coalfisli, burbot, cusk, and red cod. Who wrote this enigma ? Go through it care- fully. 2. The flying-fish forms a family by itself. Read a good description of their manner of flight. DECEMBER 89 3. The herring family embraces the common herring, moss-bunker (also called menhaden), sardine, shad, milk- fish, thread herring, sprat, alewive. The common herring is an important food-fish. 4. The sword-fish forms a family by itself. Read a description and look at a good picture of the peculiar fish. Has Sir Edwin Arnold described it well? Can you find anywhere that it has a particular hatred for the whale? ''The Voyage of Ithobal" is supposed to be written during the times of the ancient Egyptians, and describes a voyage taken along the coast of Africa by Ithobal and the many wonders he discovered. What is a cubit? 5. The salmon family is a large one. Members are the common salmon, dog salmon, humpbacked salmon, quinnat, whitefish, grayling, blueback, and the trouts — river, brook, rainbow, speckled, bull, charr, Dolly Varden. 6. The moss-bunker belongs to what family? Accord- ing to Whitman 's description, what does the word ' ' moss ' ' probably refer to ? What is a winrow ? 7. The pilot-fish belongs to the Cavalla family, vvhich includes the cavalla, jurel, runner, amberfish, pompano. jack. Why called ''pilot-fish"? Is it "striped motley"? Why found with the shark? In v/hat poem is this quota- tion found ? 8. The turbot is a flat-fish ; the family also includes the flounder, plaice, sole, topknot, windowpane, halibut, brill, dab. 9. Tunny belongs to the mackerel family, along with the comm^on mackerel, bonito, rabbit-fish, caro, eseolar, chub mackerel, pintado, Spanish mackerel, frigate mackerel. Tunny is also called horse mackerel. Who was Neptune ? Why offer up a tunny to Neptune? (It often weighs a 90 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS thousand pounds or more, and is one of the largest fishes.) 10. There are several families of dogfish, all being sharks. They are small. Some kinds are spiny, smooth, and spotted. 11. The pike family contains the pickerel and muskel- lunge. All are American fishes, except the pike. Read ''Hiawatha's Fishing." Which fish does he call the king? Some poets would have made the pike the king, as they call him ' ' tyrant of the watery plains, " " ruthless pike, " ' ' hard monarch," "greedy pike," "ruffian pike," "sly old pri- vateer," and such names. Does he deserve all these hard names ? 12. The carp family embraces a large number of useful kinds of fish: minnow, common carp (brought from Asia into Europe), chub, bleak, shiner, gudgeon, roach, goldfish, dace, tench, bream, rudd, graining, fallfish, barbel, redfin. The leather carp is a domesticated variety of the common carp which has no scales; the mirror carp has scales in spots. (See Webster's.) Study other fish mentioned in Pope 's poem. Where is Windsor Forest ? 13. To what family does the pickerel belong? What is the pike called in Hiawatha? The pickerel? Compare with Whittier's poem "Kenoza Lake." 14. To what family does the shad belong? Do they swarm? The aronia is the chokeberry, a near relative of the shad-bush, which is named because it blooms about the time that shad run. At what season is this ? Is the shad a useful fish ? 15. To what family belongs the sole ? Read a description of the fish. Why not show a frying-pan to a sole? How are the flat-fish flattened? 16. The grayling belongs to what family? DECEMBER 91 17. The rays belong to several families. Consult descrip- tions and pictures of devil-fish, sting-ray, eagle-ray, skate, thornback, electric ray, and so on. How are they flattened ? Why called sting-ray? How harmful? Where found? 18. How does the eel differ from other fishes ? Different kinds? Use? What is your interpretation of the folk- saying quoted by Browning? Compare with: "thunder shall not so awake the beds of eels," Pericles IV, Scene 3. 19. The bonito belongs to what family? It the descrip- tion a good one ? 20. The seahorse belongs to the pipefish family. Who was Amphitrite? (Goddess of the sea.) The Tritons 1 (Her sons.) 21. The muskellunge belongs to what family? Where found? 22. The sturgeon family includes the common Atlantic sturgeon, the sterlet, hausen, and the Great Lakes sturgeon. 23. The trout belongs to what family? 24. The minnow belongs to what family? Study the quotation carefully. 25. The gudgeon belongs to what family? Where did the gudgeon exit? Why anchor? 26. The goldfish belongs to what family ? Native of what country ? What is meant by Cathay ? t-^. 27. Other members of the mackerel family studied? What is a crowd of mackerels called? What is the rock- fish? The blue-fish? 28. The haddock belongs to what family? Study pic- ture. The black marks on the haddock are said by fishers to have been caused by Satan's fingers. He caught one of the fish, but as it slipped away Satan gave it two deep 92 PHIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS scratches. At the same time he exclaimed: ''Ha, ha! Dick!'^ whence the fish's name. 29. The perch family contains the true perches, sand darters, zingel, all of fresh water. 30. Look at picture of hammer-head shark. The quo- tation from Sella describes the girl's journey through the sea with one of the ocean-sprites. 31. To what family belongs the roach? Study other fish mentioned in the quotation. JANUARY - -A MONTH OF I 5EA^ 1. Gray Wolf 9. 17. 25. 2. Grizzly Bear 10. 18. 26 3. Zebra 11. 19. 27 4. Collie Dog 12. 20. 28. 5. 13. 21. 29 6. 14. 22. 30 7. 15. 23. 31 8. 16. 24. 1. Gray Wolf: A shadowy beast is the gaunt gray wolf, And his foot falls soft on a carpet of spines "When the night shuts quick over coverts of firs : He haunts the deeps of the northern pines. — Hamlin Garland, The Gray Wolf 2. Grizzly Bear: Coward, — of heroic size. In whose lazy muscles lies Strength we fear and yet despise; Savage, — whose relentless tusks Are content with acorn husks ; Robber, — whose exploits ne'er soared 'er the bee 's or squirrel 's hoard ; Whiskered chin, and feeble nose, Claws of steel on baby toes, — Here, in solitude and shade, Shambling, shuffling, plantigrade, Be thy courses undismayed. — Francis Bret Harte, Grizzly 93 94 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 3. Zebra: Marvellous steeds Striped as a melon is, all black and white ; Flanks, muzzles, necks, and hams, pencilled and pied, Like a silk cloth of Sais ; these they said Ran wild behind the hills, but being broke Made gentle drudges. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of ItJwbal 4. Collie Dog: His courtly ruff snow pure mid golden tan, His grandly feathered legs slenderly strong. The broad and flowing billow of his breast, His delicate ears and superfine long nose, With that last triumph, his distinguished tail. In their collective glory spoke his race. The flower of collie aristocracy. — William Watson, A Study in Contrasts 5. Sheep: Never jumps a sheep that's frightened Over any fence whatever. Over wall or fence or timber, But a second follows after, And a third upon a second. And a fourth and fifth and so on ; First a sheep and then a dozen. Till they all in quick succession. One by one have got clear over. — Anon., The Sheep 6. Giraffe: But most of all I marked That mighty wondrous brute, tall As thrice my stature, dappled like a pard, Yellow on white, with long, wide, shambling legs, JANUARY 95 Hoof tufted tail, sloped withers, stretching neck Four cubits long, having flesh-horns on head. And limpid eyes. The gentle monster grazed In tree tops, with a dainty lip and tongue Culling gold balls from the mimosa tree. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of Ithohal 7. Bat: And bats went round in fragrant skies, And wheel'd or lit the filmy shapes That haunt the dusk, with ermine capes And woolly breasts and beaded ey^s. — Alfred Tennyson, In Memoriam 8. Camel: On my camePs hump I ride, As he sways from side to side, With an awkward step of pride. And his scraggy head uplifted, and his eye so long and bland. — William W. Story, On the Desert 9. Flying Mouse: The eucalyptus blooms are sweet With honey, and the birds all day, Sip the clear juices forth : brown-grey, A bird-like thing with tiny fee"^ Cleaves to the boughs, or with small wings Amidst the leafy spaces spring And in the moonshine with shrill cries Flies bat-like where the white gums rise. — William Sharp, The Flying Mouse — New South Wales 10. Hippopotamus: The hippopotamus, amidst the flood Flexile and active as the smallest swimmer, But on the bank, ill-balanced and infirm. 98 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS He grazed on herbage, with huge head inclmed, Or leaned to rest against some ancient tree. — James Montgomery, Pelican Island 11. American Bison: In these plains The bison feeds no more. Twice twenty leagues Beyond remotest smoke of hunter's camp, Roams the majestic brute, in herds that shake The earth with thundering steps — yet here I meet His ancient footsteps stamp 'd beside the pool. — William Cullen Bryant, The Prairies 12. Chipmunk: The chipmunk, on the shingly shag-bark's bough, Now saws, now lists with downward eye and ear, Then drops his nut, and, cheeping, with a bound Whisks to his winding fastness underground. — James R. Lowell, An Indian Summer Beverie 13. Lapland Reindeer: Their reindeer form their riches. These their tents. Their robes, their beds, and all their homely wealth Supply, their wholesome fare and cheerful cups. Obsequious at their call, the docile tribe Yield to the sled their necks, and whirl them swift 'er hill and dale, heaped into one expanse Of marbled snow, as far as eye can sweep. — James Thomson, The Seasons — Winter 14. Dormouse: The dormouse squats and eats, Choice little dainty bits. Beneath the spreading roots of a broad lime, Nibbling his fill, he stops from time to time And listens V\^here he sits. — Christine G. Eossetti, Twilight Calm JANUARY 97 15. Moose : A moose, slow-grazing went, Twisting his long, curved, flexile lip Now the striped moose-wood 's leaves to strip And now his maned neck, short and strong, Stooping between his fore-limbs long. Stretched widely out, to crop the plant, And tall, rich grass that clothed the haunt. — Alfred B. Street, The Moose 16. Beaver: Come down to the lonely river 's bank. See driven-in stake and riven plank; 'Tis a mighty work before thee stands That would do no shame to human hands. A well-built dam to stem the tide Of this northern river so strong and wide ; Look! the woven bough of many a tree, And a wall of fairest masonry. — Mary Howitt, The Beaver 17. Rabbit: I see the rabbit upward bound, "With pointed ears and instant look. Then scamper to the darkest nook. Where, with crouch 'd limb, and staring eye, He watches while I saunter by. — Alfred B. Street, The Forest Walk 18. Horse : Gamarra is a dainty steed, Strong, black, and of a noble breed. Full of fire and full of bone. With all his line of fathers known ; Fine his nose, his nostrils thin. But blown abroad by the pride within ! 98 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS His mane is like a river flowing, And his eyes like embers glowing In the darkness of the night, And his pace is swift as light. — Barry Cornwall, The Blood Horse 19. Ounce: The ounce and panther down the water's side Creep through dark greenness in the eventide, And at the fountain's brink. Casting great shades, they drink. — Egbert Buchanan, The Naiad 20. LiON: Till near at hand the lion, lord of beasts. Lays muzzle on the ground, and roars a peal Of angry thunder, rolling round the hills. Hushing the frightened wilderness. Far off, His neighbor lions catch the thunder up, And with fierce answers shake the shuddering ground. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of Ithohal 21. Gorilla: In its dense shades. Lord of the gloom, there dwells a monstrous ape, Ugly and dreadful, in his strength most fierce, But man-like, fashioned wholly as a man, A wide flat face, small ears, a hairy crown, Nostrils of a black amoor, and human ways; Short-legged with mighty loins and arms that reach To touch his shin as he doth walk erect. For walk he doth, with woodland staff in palm. Most like a savage forester; the hand Short-thumbed, but framed to skilful purposes. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of Itholal JANUARY 99 22. Jackal: The jackal troop, in gather 'd cry, Bayed from afar complainingly, "With a niix'd and mournful sound, Like crying babe and beaten hound. — Lord Byron, The Siege of Corinth 23. Mammoth: There may we tread on depths of ice, That the hairy mammoth hide : Perfect as when, in times of old, The mighty creature died. — William Howitt, Northern Seas 24. Cow: The very weeds were wilted, leaf and blade ; The Durhams stood and panted in the stream ; Deep in the pool we saw them slowly wade, Mottled with gold of many a sunny gleam. — Lloyd Mifflin, The Fields of Daivn 25. Gray Squirrel: The gray squirrel watches the dead leaves whirl. That the sun no more shall nourish. High on a branch with his tail a-curl. Like a writing-master's flourish. — Ernest McGaffey, Morning in the Hills 26. Eland: Afar in the desert I love to ride, "With the silent Bush-boy alone by my side : ^ ^ ^ By valley's remote where the oribi plays, "Where the gnu, the gazelle, and the hartebeest graze, * * * And the kudu and eland unhunted recline By the skirts of gray forest o 'erhung with wild vine ; 100 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS And the timorous quagga's shrill whistling neigh Is heard by the fountain at twilight gray. "Where the zebra wantonly tosses his mane, With wild hoof scouring the desolate plain. — Thomas Pringle, Afar in the Desert 27. Rat: Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats, Brown rats, black rats, gray rats, tawny rats, Grave old plodders, gay young friskers, Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, Cocking tails and pricking whiskers; Families by tens and dozens. Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, — Followed the piper for their lives. — Egbert Browning, The Tied Piper of Hamelin 28. Otter: And oft an otter swims the stream, A sleek swift head the waters wet — He spies the freckled trout a-gleam And bites them in the fisher 's net. — Mary Cuclaux, The Beturn to Nature 29. Wolverine: ' ' Once he leaped, and lo ! above him Bent the sky, as ice in rivers When the waters rise beneath it ; Twice he leaped, and lo ! above him Cracked the sky, as ice in rivers When the freshet is at highest ! Thrice he leaped, and lo ! above him Broke the shattered sky asunder, And he disappeared within it." — Henry W. Longfellow, Hiawatha JANUARY 101 30. Seal: The seal and the sea-lion from the gulf Came forth, and crouching with their little ones, Slept on the shelving rocks that girt the shore, Securing prompt retreat from sudden danger. — James Montgomery, The Coral Islands 31. WOODCHUCK: Now the gray marmot, with uplifted paws, No more sits listening by his den, but steals Abroad, in safety, to the clover-field, And crops its juicy blossoms. — William C. Bryant, Noon Suggestions for Study See "Webster's definition for beast. No. 2 is the one used here. 1. The wolf belongs to the dog family. Other members are the dingo, dhole, domestic dog, jackal, different kinds of wolves and foxes. Study various kinds of wolves. What is a coyote? Another name for gray wolf? What is it the emblem of ? 2. The bear family consists of several kinds — brown, black, polar, grizzly, Syrian bear, sloth bear. Study the whole poem, if possible. What is ''plantigrade"? 3. The zebra belongs to the horse family, which also includes the donkey, quagga. There are several kinds of zebra. Study the quotation and apply to the description and picture of the animal. Is it a correct one? 4. Collie is a certain breed of the domestic dog. Can you name other kinds of domestic breeds ? What is meant by his *'ruff"? ''feathered legs"? "superfine long nose"? "distinguished tail"? Is this a good description ? Use of collie? Is it an aristocratic dog? 102 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 5. The sheep belongs to the ox family. Other mem- bers are the different kinds of domestic cow, the buffaloes, the goats, and the antelopes. Is a true character of sheep depicted in this quotation? 6. The giraffe belongs to a family consisting of the giraffe and the okapi. Study descriptions of both. An- other nam^e for the giraffe ? Are the horns ' ' flesh horns ' ' ? 7. There are several families of bats, found in different parts of the world. Read a good description of the bat. Different kinds ? 8. The camel family consists of the Arabian camel, or dromedary, the Bacterian camel, the different llamas. 9. The flying mouse is not a true mouse. It is a mar- supial, like the kangaroo, the opossum, the wombat, and the bandicoot. How does it fly? (See Webster's.) 10. The hippopotamus family contains but the one large animal, though there is supposed to be two different kinds of them in Africa. Read a good description. Is the beast a good swimmer ? Why ' ' lean to rest against some ancient tree ' ' ? Sometimes called ' ' river-horse ' ' and ' ' behemoth. ' ' 11. The bisons belong to the ox family. The European bison is also called aurochs. The American bison is usually called buffalo. The water-buffalo of India, the Cape buffalo of Africa, the short-horned buffalo or zamouse, are the true buffaloes. Are there any bison now living in America? 12. The chipmunk belongs to the squirrel family. Other members are the woodchuck, or marmot, or groundhog, the different kinds of tree squirrels, the gopher, and other ground squirrels. Is the chipmunk a ground or tree dweller ? What is a shag-bark ? 13. There are several kinds of reindeer, all belonging to the deer family. Other members are the moose, the JANUAKY 103 American elk, the European elk, the red, fallow, musk, Virginia, mule, and various kinds of deer. The caribou is a kind of reindeer. Mention various uses of the Lapland reindeer. 14. The dormouse family is a small one, consisting of several kinds of small squirrel-like animals. Read a good description. Is the quotation exact? 15. The moose belongs to the deer family. Read a de- scription. Does the quotation show accurate observation! "What is the "striped moose-wood"? 16. The European and the American beavers form a family by themselves. How do they make their dams? Why ? 17. Originally the name *' rabbit" was given to a Euro- pean member of the hare family. In America it is applied to different kinds of hares — cottontail, jack rabbit, and so on. What is the hare the emblem of? 18. Different breeds of horses? Gamarra was an Arabian horse. If desired, read Shakespeare's description of a horse in ' * Venus and Adonis. ' ' 19. The ounce, lion, tiger, lynx, leopard, cougar, jaguar, and domestic cat all belong to the same family. In what w^ays are they alike? What is a panther? (See Web- ster's.) 20. The gorilla is supposed to be the animal most like man. Different kinds of apes and monkeys? 21. The jackal belongs to Vv^hat family? 22. Mammoth, mastodon, African and Indian elephants belong to the same family. Read a good description of the mammoth. 23. Different breeds of cows? 24. Study the humor of this question. If desired, one 104 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS may use instead from '' Hiawatha's Fishing" the lines regarding the red squirrel, or Adjiadumo. Other kinds of squirrels. 25. The eland is a kind of antelope, which belongs to the ox family. Other antelopes are the oribi, gnu, gazelle, hartebeest, kudu, springbok, and many other African forms. The eland is one of the largest. Study all the animals in the quotation. If possible read the whole poem, found in *' Fireside Encyclopaedia of Poetry" compiled by Choates. 26. The different kinds of rats, mice, the muskrat, the field-mice, and so on belong to the mouse family. Read the whole poem. 27. The otter belongs to the marten family. The pine marten, wolverine, weasel, fisher, and polecat belong to the same family. What is the otter's principal food? Of what use is the animal? 28. The wolverine is also called ''glutton." Eead in ''Pau-pukrkeewis" lago's account of Ojeeg, the Summer- maker. What is meant by Ojeeg? (The Fisher.) 29. Seals constitute several families. Different kinds? Manner of living ? Use to man ? What is a sea-lion ? 30. The woodchuck belongs to what family? What familiar superstition about the woodchuck? What day is named for him? FEBRUARY - 1. Land-Slug 9. 2. Pinna 10. 3. Octopus 11. 4. Pearl Oyster 12. 5. 13. 6. 14. 7. 15. 8. 16. A MONTH OF MOLLUSKS AND CRUSTACEANS 17. 25. 18. 26. 19. 27. 20. 28. 21. 29. 22. 23. 24. 1. Land-Slug : He would pore by the hour, o 'er a weed or a flower, Or the slugs, that came crawling out after a shower. — EiCHARD H. Barham, The Knight and the Lady 2. Pinna : Up springs the spirits of the waves From the sea-silk beds in their coral caves ; With snail plate armor snatch 'd in haste, They speed their way through the liquid waste. — Joseph Eodman Drake, The Culprit Fay 3. Octopus: When you secure your house-hold pet, Be very sure you do not get The octopus, or there may be Domestic infelicity. — Egbert W. Wood, Animal Analogues 4. Pearl Oyster: Thou, bright pearl, excell'st each gem In proud Nature 's diadem, — Yet a captive lov'st to dwell Hid within thy cavern shell 105 106 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS Where the sands of India lie Basking in the sunny sky. — Remi Belleau, The Pearl 5. Land Snail: The frugal snail, with forecast of repose, Carries his house with him where e 'er he goes ; Peeps out, — and if there comes a shower of rain, Retreats to his small domicile again. Touch but a tip of him, a horn, — 'tis well, — He curls up in his ow^n shadowy shell. He is his own landlord, his own tenant; stay Long as he will, he dreads no Quarter Day. Himself he boards and lodges, both invites And feasts himself; sleeps with himself o' nights. He spares the upholsterer trouble to procure Chattels ; himself is his own furniture, And his sole riches. Whereso'er he roam — Knock when you will, — he 's sure to be at home. — Charles Lamb, The Housel-eeper 6. CUTTLE-FlSH: at low tide these banks Are alive with lowly creatures of the deep. Sea-flowers, sea-worms, sea-slugs, and cuttle-fish, At flood the waves wash all. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of liliohal 7. Ship-WoPvM: For some ships, safe in port indeed, Rot and rust, Run to dust. All through v/orms i' the wood, VN^hicli crept. Gnawed our hearts out while we slept. — Robert Browning, James Lee's Wife FEBRUARY 107 8. Cowrie: A gentle creature grew Within this cell of pearly blue — How many centuries ago No seer can tell us. We only know It found life pleasant, moved, and took its ease By palmy island shores in distant Indian seas. f. . — William Canton, The Indian Cowrie 9. Abalone: As in their shells the abalones keep Morn 's rosy flush and moonlight 's pearly glow. — Bayard Taylor, The Pine Forest of Monterey 10. Music Shell: It bears Upon its shining side the mystic notes Of those entrancing airs. The genii of the deep were wont to swell, When heaven's eternal orbs their midnight music roll'd. ^ - y ^ — Thomas Moore, The Genius of Harmony white fishing-gulls Flit where the strand is purple with its tribe Of nested limpets. Mn n n — EoBERT BROWNING, Paracelsus 12. Giant Clam: There is a shell, Twin-valved, prodigious, white, with fluted lips, Russet outside, hides in the bladder-weed. Clam-like, the body of it fleshy, strong. The cup a cubit broad. This thing lurks there With open edge waiting what meat the spray Will waft it ; fed or handled, it doth close With grip of iron jaw. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of Itholal 108 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 13. Nautilus: The tender nautilus who steers his prow, The sea-born sailor of his shell canoe, The ocean Mab, the fairy of the sea, Seems far less fragile, and alas ! more free ! He, when the lightning- wing 'd tornadoes sweep The surge, is safe — his port is in the deep — And triumphs o 'er the armadas of mankind. Which shake the world, yet crumble in the wind. ■ — Lord Byron, The Island 14. Scallop: With many sundry shells, the Scallop large and fair, The Cockle small and round, the Periwinkle spare, The Mussel, which retains that dainty Orient seed, The Oyster, wherein oft the pearl is found to breed. — Michael Drayton, PolyolMon 15. Whelk : Who has not heard how Tyrian shells Enclosed the blue, that dye or dyes, Whereof one drop worked miracles. And colored like Astarte 's eyes Raw silk the merchant sells? # # # Yet there's the dye, in that rough mesh. The sea has only just o'er- whispered! Live whelks, each lip 's beard dripping fresh As if they still the water's lisp heard. — Egbert Browning, Popularity 16. MuREX: Along the quay where murex-fishers press The purple from the sea-shells. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Voyage of Ithohal FEBEUAEY 109 17. Periwinkle: In winter's cold, barefoot, I run to seek For oysters and small winkles in each creek, Whereon I feed; — William Browne, British Pastorals 18. TOOTHSHELL: In March I give you plenteous fisheries, Of lampreys and of salmon, eel and trout, Dental and dolphin, sturgeon, all the rout Of fish in all the streams that fill the seas. — FoLGORE DA SAN Geminiano, Of the Months 19. Cockle: And like a blow is the thought of the little boat, By this on its homeward way, A tiny skiff, like a cockle-shell afloat, In the tempest-threatened bay. — Celia Thaxter, All's Well 20. Clam: First catch your clams, along the ebbing edges Of saline coves you '11 find the precious wedges ; With backs up lurking in the sandy bottom, Pull in your iron rake, and lo ! you 've got 'em. Take thirty large ones, put a basin under, And deftly cleave their stony jaws asunder. — William A. Croffut, Clam Soup 21. Common Mussel: When, glittering on the shadow 'd ground. He saw a purple mussel shell ; Thither he ran, and he bent him low. He heaved at the stern and he heaved at the bow, And he push 'd her over the yielding sand. Till he came to the verge of the haunted land. 110 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS She was as lovely a pleasure-boat, As ever a fairy travell'd in, For she glow 'd with purple paint without, And shone with silvery pearl within ; — Joseph Eodman Drake, The Culprit Fay 22. Horse-Mussel : He sank to the bottom, no more he arose. The Avaters forever his body enclose ; The horse-mussel clasped on his fingers and toes, All passive he suffered the scathe. — James Hogg, Connel of Dee 23. Argonauta: I brought the baubles that he loved, the tiny gilded drum. The crimson-bannered host, that to mimic battle come, The Argonautie shells that sail in pearly fleet. And, in its pretty cage, the bright-winged paroquet. — Mrs. Lydia Sigourney, The Bereaved 24. Edible Oyster: Think you our oysters here, unworthy of your praise? Pure Wallfleet, which do still the daintiest palates please ; As excellent as those which are esteemed most. Or those the Romans prized that came from Lucrine's coast. — Michael Drayton, PolyolMon 25. Lobster: He comes to ye amidst the brine The butterfly of the sun. The man of the coat so blue and fine, With red thread his shirt is done. — Irish Eiddle, The Lohster FEBRUARY * HI 26. Crawfish: Through the clear transparent water He could see the fishes swimming Far down in the depths below him ; See the yellow perch, the Sahwa, Like a sunbeam in the water, See the Shawgashee, the craw-fish, Like a spider on the bottom, On the white and sandy bottom. — Henry W. Longfellow, Hiawatha 27. Hermit Crab: Queer little crabs are making their tracks, AYith dinners robbed from their neighbor's sacks, And stolen houses upon their backs. — F. CoAN, TJie Beach at HiJo Bay 28. Barnacle: Or bolted fragment of some ship storm-breached And shattered — all with barnacles o'ergrown, Gray-crusted thick with hollow-coned small shells, — — Alfred Domett, New Zealand Scenery 29. Shrimp: Some are rapidly borne along On the mailed shrimp or the prickly prong ; Some on blood-red leeches glide, Some on the stony star-fish ride, Some on the back of the lancing squab, Some on the sidling soldier-crab ; And some on the jellied quarl, that flings At once a thousand streamy stings ; — Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit Fay Suggestions for Study What is a mollusk ? What is a ' ' bivalve ' ' ? Give some examples ? What are the univalves called'? A crustacean is commonly covered, not with a shell but with a crusty hard skin-like covering. Examples? 112 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS The first twenty-four quotations refer to moUusks, the last five to crustaceans. i. What is a Jand-slug? How different from a snail? If desired, use this quotation : "O^er this he toils in silent corners snug; And leaves a track behind him, like a slug. * * — Oliver W. Holmes, Astraea In the first quotation, **he'' refers to the knight; in the last, to a critic. 2. Pinna is a large bivalve moUusk. It has long, silky filaments, resembling roots, which attach it to the rocks. Other moUusks have this tuft of threads for the same pur- pose as the common mussel, but in the pinna, growing in warm seas, as the Mediterranean, the threads often become two feet long and are woven into cloth, called sea-silk. In the quotation, the water-spirits arm themselves to attack the culprit fay, who has been commanded by the fairy-king to catch a drop of water from the spray a sturgeon makes when it leaps. 3. Octopus is also called ''devil-fish.'* Read a good description. Name means ' ' eight-footed. ' ' They are shell- 4. Pearl oyster is not closely related to the true, or edible oyster. River mussels, conch shells, clams, and edible oysters often contain pearls, but the best ones are obtained from the pearl oyster. They are found chiefly about Ceylon, in the Indian ocean, though the Pacific and Persian gulf produce pearl oysters. How is a pearl made? (See "Webster's.) What is nacre? What is the lining of a clam or oyster shell ? They tell us that a tiny grain of sand, Caught in the opening of a sea-shell's maw, FEBEUARY 113 May grow to be a gem without a flaw, Such as men seek for on the ocean's strand. — C. D. W., The Pearl 5. Read a good description of the snail. Is it a bivalve or a gastropod? Use? Different kinds? If preferred use: I love at eventide to walk alone, Down narrow glens, o'erhung with dewy thorn, Where from the long grass underneath, the snail, Jet black, creeps out, and sprouts his timid horn. — John Clare, Summer Moods 6. Read a description of cuttle-fish. Kind of moUusk ? (Shell-less.) Cuttle-bone and sepia ink. Relation to squid and octopus? Other sea-anjmals mentioned in the quota- tion? 7. What is a ship-worm? 8. Cowrie shell is what kind of a moUusk? Use in India? In the quotation, the cowrie shell was found in Ireland, being turned up by the plow. 9. How many parts to the shell of an abalone ? How is the animal covered by it? Where found? Use? Use of holes in shell ? 10. Read a good description of the music-shell, voluta. 11. Peculiarities of limpets? Different kinds? Where found ? Use ? How is the animal covered by its shell ? 12. Read description of the giant clam in Webster's, or an encyclopaedia. Where found? Use of shell? Differ- ence between it and the edible clams? Size? Farther on in the quotation, Sir Edwin Arnold, through Ithobal, relates the instance of a man being caught by one of these clams. 13. Nautilus is what kind of a mollusk? Difference 114 FEIDAY AFTEKNOON ENTEETAINMENTS between pearly, or chambered, and the paper? If pre- ferred, use Holmes' poem, "The Cham^bered Nautilus." 14. Scallop is a bivalve. Peculiarities ? Use ? Kinds ? 15. Whelk is a gastropod. Where found? Use? Some kinds found in the Mediterranean secrete a coloring matter that V\^as used by the Tyrians in dyeing silk. Astarte was a Grecian goddess of the sea. What is meant by the "beard" of the whelk? 16. Murex is another kind of one-valved mollusk, which was a source of dye. 17. Periwinkle is also called wrinkle. The American Tvinkle is a different mollusk. Read a description of both. 18. Toothsliell is also called dental. Read a description. Is it bivalve or univalve ? Shape of shell ? In this quota- tion, not all the animals mentioned are fish, but the author has considered any water-dwelling animal a fish. Which are fish? 19. What is a cockle-shell? 20. Different kinds of edible clamps? IIow gathered? Difference between clam and oyster? 21. Common mussel used for food? Yfhat is a mussel? Different kinds? In the quotation, the culprit fay finds an empty mussel-shell and makes a boat from it in order to sail out where the sturgeon is. 22. What is a horse-mussel? 23. Argonauta is also called the paper nautilus. Hov/ different from the chambered? Argonauta more nearly related to the octopus and squid than to the chambered nautilus. In the quotation, the sorrowing mother has gath- ered together the playthings her dead child loved. 24. Different kinds of edible oysters. Lucrine is a lake in Italy, nov/ filled with lava. FEBRUAEY 115 (The remaining five quotations deal with crustaceans.) 25. What is a lobster? Value? How gathered? If desired, use the following : Or, another time, in warm weather, out in d. boat, to lift the lobster- pots, where they are sunk with heavy stones. . . . I pull the wicker pots up slantingly — the dark-green lobsters are desperate with their claws, as I take them out — I insert wooden pegs in the joints of their pinchers. — Walt Whitman, Poem of Joys And like a lobster boiled, the morn From black to red began to turn. HUDIBRAS 26. What is a crawfish? 27. Read a good description of the hermit crab. 28. What is a barnacle ? Different kinds ? At one time it was believed that geese came from barnacles. So, rotten sides of broken ships do change To barnacles! O transformation strange, 'Twas first a green tree, then a gallant hull, Lately a mushroom, now a flying gull. — Du Bartas The reference to the mushroom in the above probably implies the goose barnacle, with its leathery stalk. 29. What is a shrimp? In the quotation, the water- sprites, after leaving their beds of sea-silk, hurried to make war on the culprit fay. This is a description of their various steeds. The "sideling soldier-crab" is the fiddler crab, which study. Later it is said: "And the crab has struck with his giant claw.'' The other animals mentioned are neither moUusks nor crusta- ceans, but different kinds of lower forms of life. The "prickly prong" is the prawn; the "lancing squab" may be the lancet; the "jellied quarl" is the jelly-fish. MARCH — A MONTH OF TREES 1. White Oak 9. 17. 25. 2. Horse Chestnut 10. 18. 26. 3. Live Oak 11. 19. 27, 4. Plane-tree 12. 20. 28. 5. 13. 21. 29. 6. 14. 22. 30. 7. 15. 23. 31. 8. 16. 24. 1. White Oak: The bursting white-oak leaf, that looks in May A silver bloom, frosted the shooting tips ; — Lloyd Mifflin, The Fields of Dawn 2. Horse Chestnut : Then gray hosschesnuts leetle hands unfold Softer 'n a baby's be at three days old ; Thet's robin redbreast's almanik; he knows Thet arter this there's only blossom-snows; So, choosin' out a handy crotch an' spouse, He goes to plast'rin' his adobe house. — James R. Lowell, Biglow Papers 3. Live-Oak: I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing, All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from the branches ; "Without any companion it grew there, uttering joyous leaves of dark green. — Walt Whitman, I Saw in Louisiana a Live-OaTc Growing 116 MARCH 117 4. Plane-Tree: In the outskirts of the village, On the river 's winding shores, Stand the Occidental plane-trees, Stand the ancient sycamores. — John G. Whittier, The Sycamores 5. Sassafras: And the sweet brown buds of the sassafras Could scarcely hide the blossom. — Phoebe Caey, Sugar-Making 6. Camphor: Borneo here expands her ample breast, By Nature 's hand in woods of camphor dressed ; The precious liquid weeping from the trees Glows warm with health, the balsam of disease. — Luis de Camoens, The Indian Archipelago 7. Linden: Here a linden-tree stood, bright 'ning All adown its silver rind; For as some trees draw the lightning, So this tree, unto my mind. Drew to earth the blessed sunshine from the sky where it was shrined. — Elizabeth Barrett Browning, The Lost Bower 8. Banyan: They tell us of an Indian tree Which, howsoe 'er the sun and sky May tempt its boughs to wander free, And shoot, and blossom, wide and high, Far better loves to bend its arms Downward again to that dear earth, From which the life, that fills and warms Its grateful being, first had birth. — Thomas Moore, To My Mother 118 FSIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 9. Myrtle: Dark green and gemm'd with flowers of snow, With close nncrowded branches spread, Not proudly high, nor meanly low, A graceful myrtle reared its head. — James Montgomery, The Myrtle 10. Catalpa: See how the fair catalpa spreads Its azure flowers in masses. Bell-shaped, as if to woo the wind To ring them as it passes. — Anon., a Rome on Staten Island 11. Elm: For lo ! no sooner has the cold withdrawn. Than the bright elm is tufted on the lawn; The merry sap has run up in the bowers. And burst the windows of the buds in flowers. — Leigh Hunt, Joi/ of Spring 12. Holly: The holly ! the holly ! Oh, twine it with bay, — Come, give the holly a song; For it helps to drive stern winter away. With his garments so somber and long ; — Eliza Cook, The Holly 13. Laurustine: Fair tree of winter, fresh and flowering, When all around is dead and dry, Whose ruby buds, though storms are lowering. Spread their white blossoms to the sky. — James Montgomery, The Laurustine 14. Strawberry Tree: It was a feast Whene'er he found those globes of deep red gold MARCH 119 "Whicli in the woods the strawberry tree doth bear, Suspended in their emerald atmosphere. — Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ma^enghi 15. Magnolia: Majestic flower! How purely beautiful Thou art, as rising from thy bower of green, Those dark and glossy leaves so thick and full, Thou standest like a high-born forest queen, Among thy maidens clustering round so fair ; — — Christopher P. Cranch, Magnolia-grandiflora 16. Manchineel: the poisonous manchineel A7hich for its fragrant apple pleaseth thee, Alluring to the smell, fair to the eye, But deadliest poison in the taste is found — — Philip Freneau, Santa Cms 17. Pine: Eound about the Indian village Spread the meadows and the cornfieldSj And beyond them stood the forest, Stood the groves of singing pine-trees, Green in Summer, white in Winter, Ever sighing, ever singing. — Henry W. Longfellow, Eiawatlia 18. Eedv^'OOD: Along the northern coast, Just back from the rock-bound shore, and the caves. In the saline air from the sea, in the Mendocino country, "With the surge for bass, and accompaniment Ioav and hoarse. With crackling blows of axes, sounding musicalh^ driven by strong arms, 120 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS Riven deep by the sharp tongues of the axes, — there in the Redwood forest dense, I heard the mighty tree its death-chant changing : Farewell, my brethren. Farewell, O earth and sky — farewell, ye neighboring waters ; My time has ended, my term has come. — Walt Whitman, Song of the Bedwood Tree 19. Beech: Though bush or floweret never grow My dark unwarming shade below ; Nor summer bud perfume the dew, Of rosy blush, or yellow hue! Yet leave this barren spot to me : Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree ! — Thomas Campbell, The Beech Tree 's Petition 20. Coco Palm: The feathery heads of the coconut trees So far away up that one scarcely sees The great brown nuts, which are hanging there Growing and ripening in hot clear air. — Graham L. Campbell, In a Palm Grove 21. Almond: Sweet almond blossom, blooming ere the spring Hath well begun, — ere yet bleak winds and cold Have shivering fled, your flowers we behold. — S. Waddington, Almond Blossoms 22. Shadbush: With clusters of the purest white Cherry and shadbush charmed the sight, Like spots of snow the boughs among. — Alfred B. Street, The Canadian Spring MARCH 121 23. Hawthorn: The fair maid who, on the first of May, Goes to the fields at break of day. And waslies in dew from the hawthorn tree, Will ever after handsome be. 24. Box: -Old Saying The holly hitherto did sway; Let box now domineer. Until the dancing Easter Day Or Easter's Eve appear. rt- . — Egbert Herrick, Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve 25. Alder : ■' The alder by the river Shakes out her powdery curls, The willow buds in silver For little boys and girls. ^^ . — Celia Thaxter, Spring 26. Aspen : ^ ^ "By Kedron I stood, and the bright beaming eye I viewed of the pitying Power; Each tree bowed its head, as the Saviour passed by. But I deigned not my proud head to lower. Then sounded a sigh from the Saviour's breast, And I quaked, for that sigh through me darted ; * Quake so till I come,' said the voice of the blest. My repose then forever departed." — Bernhard S. Ingemann, The Aspen 27. Walnut: By the pale, The moss-grown pale, of yonder paddock grows The teeming walnut, and the lingering looks Of wayside urchins armed with stealthy sticks Steal to its nut-crowned branches. — Anon., September 122 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 28. Maple: Yet still on every side we trace tlie hand Of Winter in the land, Save where the maple reddens on the lawn, Flushed by the season's dawn. — Henry Timrod, Spring 29. Mimosa: With flickering streaks of snnlight beaming through The feathery leaves and pendant tassels green Of bright mimosa, whose wee furry balls Promise to greet with golden glow of joy The coming spring-tide. — Mrs. Hubert Heron, From the Clyde to Braidwood (Australia) 30. Dogwood: See how the dogwood sheds its bloom Through all the greenwood mazes, As white as the untrodden snow That hides in shady places. — Anon., A Home on Staten Island 31. CeibA: Where, wearied with long travail o'er the deep, He landed (so they tell) and said the mass. Beneath a tall and goodly Ceiba-tree. — Henry H. Brownell, TJie Tor)!!) of Columhus Suggestions for Study (What is a tree? Difference between tree and slirub? What is a bush? In this month's work, both trees and shrubs have been used.) 1. Oak, beech, and chestnut, all belong to the beech family. Different kinds of oaks — white, red, valonia, cork, swamp, scarlet. 2. The horsechestnut family includes the American MARCH 123 buckeye. The horsechestnut is not closely related to the chestnut. It was brought from Constantinople in the six- teenth century, and is now common in both new and old worlds. Called horse-chestnut because of the large size of the nut, or from the seed having been once used as food or medicine for horses. 3. Live oak has evergreen leaves. Where found? What is meant by '^ uttering joyous leaves"? 4. The plane-tree family is a very small one. The Ori- ental plane is called chinar ; the American plane is known as buttonwood, and sycamore. The European sycamore is a kind of maple ; the sycamore fig is a member of the mul- berry family. What is meant by ^ ' Occidental' ' ? 5. Sassafras belongs to the laurel family. Other mem- bers are the bay laurel, camphor, spicebush, cassia, cinna- mon, avocado. Uses of sassafras? 6. Camphor belongs to what family? Uses? 7. Linden family includes the jute trees and the Amer- ican basswoods. Color of bark of linden? In England often called lime, a name properly belonging to a tree pro- ducing the limes of commerce. Meaning of the quotation? 8. The banyan is a member of the mulberry family, and is a kind of fig. Read a good description of the tree. If preferred, use this : In the plains of Benares is there found a root that fathererth a forest, Where round the parent banian tree drop its living scions, Thirstily they strain to the earth like stalactites in a grotto, And strike broad roots and branch again, lengthening their cool arcades. — Martin Tupper, A Banian Forest A banian-tree, with countless dropping boughs, Earth-rooted. — Sir Edwin Arnold, A Night of Slaiighter 124. FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 9. The myrtle family includes the common myrtle, the clove, the allspice, eucalyptus, guava, rose-apple, and Java plum. 10. The catalpa tree is an American member of the Big- nonia family, which also contains the cross- vine, the trum- pet-flower, the tua, the calabash-tree ; catalpa is an Indian name. Different kinds? If desired use: Here broad catalpas rear their head, And pour their purple blooms profuse; — Alexander Wilson, The Eural Walk And green catalpas, white with branchy flowers. — Alexander Wilson, The Solitary Tutor 11. The elm family includes the hackberries and the American planer tree. Different kinds of elm — wych, slippery, wing, rock, English, American. 12. The holly family includes the winter-berry, or black alder, Paraguay tea, or yerba mate. If preferred, use Eobert Southey's poem, *'The Holly Tree.'* 13. The Laurustine is a kind of viburnum. Other vibur- nums are the snowball, black haw, withe rod, wayfaring tree, hobble-bush, and all belong to the honeysuckle family. The elder, the twin-flower, the European woodbine, and the buckbush also belong to the family. (The American woodbine is a relative of the grape, and belongs to the vine family. ) Laurustine is one of the earliest blooming shrubs. 14. The strawberry tree of Europe is the true arbutus, the Madrono of the western states is a close relative. Both belong to the heath family, which also includes the trailing arbutus, the heather, Rhodora, bearberry, leatherleaf, win- tergreen, rhododendron, azalea. Kind of fruit? 15. The magnolia family includes the tulip-tree, cham- MAECH 125 pac, star anise. Different kinds of magnolias are the sweet bay, umbrella tree, evergreen magnolia, and large-leaved. If preferred, use : The rich magnolia, with its foliage fair, High priestess of the flowers, whose censer fills the air. — Mrs. Sigourney, Pocohontas 16. The manchineel tree belongs to the spurge family. Other members of the family are the castor-oil plant, the manioc or cassava-plant, cascarilla-tree, chenille-plant, Para rubber tree. Read a description of the manchineel. 17. The pine family includes a large number of cone- bearing trees: fir, spruce, redwood of California, cypress, hemlock, arborvitae, cedar, and larch. Different kinds of pine — white, jack, Scotch, yellow, black, Norway, red, — seventy-five in all. In strict society Three conifers, white, pitch, and Norway pines, Five-leaved, three-leaved, and two-leaved, grew thereby. — Emerson 18. Read a description of the California redwood. What is meant by the death chant of the tree? Has anything been done to stop the destruction of these trees ? 19. The beech family includes the oak and the chestnut. Different kinds of beeches ? Study the whole poem. 20. The palm family contains over a thousand different kinds of trees. Some are the date, coco, nipa, talipot, areca, gebang, palmyra, royal, raffia, jaggery, wax. Read a de- scription of the coco-palm. How should the name be spelled? See Webster's for meaning of the name. 21. The almond family includes the peach, apricot, plum, cherry, flowering almond. Do the blossoms or the leaves 126 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS come first on these trees? If desired, use Sir Edwin Arnold's poem, "Almond Blossoms.'' 22. The shadbush belongs to the apple family. Called shad-bush because it blossoms about the time the shad commence to run in the spring. 23. The hawthorn belongs to what family? 24. The box family is a very small one. The plants are all evergreen. The common box can be kept trimmed so low that it makes ornamental garden borders. Boxes were named from the fact that they were formerly made from boxwood. "When is Candlemas ? "When did the holly sway ? How long does Herrick give for the box to be used as a decoration ? After Easter day, the poem goes on : Then youthful box, which now hath grace Your houses to renew. Grown old, surrender must his place Unto the crisped yew. 25. Alder, birchj and the hazel, all belong to the birch family. Do alders usually grow by the water. Compare with these quotations: From pool to eddy, dark and deep. Where alders moist, and willows weep. — Sir Walter Scott, Marmion Came wet-shod alder from the wave, — Alfred Tennyson, AmpMon Where dancing sunbeams on the waters played. And verdant alders formed a quiv-ring shade. — Alexander Pope, Spring By the flowing river the alder catkins swing. — Celia Thaxter, Wild Geese MAECH 127 26. Aspen, poplar, and cottonwood belong to the willow family. What kind of a stem has an aspen or poplar leaf? (Flat.) The shape of the stem, and the way the leaf is set on it, are the cause of the tremnlonsness. Study the legend. 27. The walnut family includes the hickory. Different kinds of walnuts ? What is the butternut ? 28. The maple family is a small one, including but the maples, the box-elders, and an Asiatic kind of tree. Dif- ferent kinds of maple — red, sugar, silver, Norway, swamp, rock, or curly maple. 29. The mimosa family includes the acacia and the sen- sitive plant. The leaves of many of them are very sensitive to heat, cold, wind, or the human touch. If desired, use : Weak with nice sense, the chaste mimosa stands, From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands; Oft as light clouds o'erpass the summer glade, Alarmed, she trembles at the moving shade; And feels alive through all her tender form The whispered murmurs of the gathering storm; Shuts her sweet eyelids to the approaching night, And hails with freshened charms the rising light. — Anon., The Mimosa 30. The dogwood family consists of the different kinds of dogwood and the sour gums. Study the bunch-berry. 31. The ceiba tree belongs to the silk-cotton tree family. It is called God tree and silk-cotton tree. Eead a descrip- tion of the first voyage and landing of Columbus. APRIL — A MONTH OF SONG BIRDS 1. Mocking Bird 9. 17. 25. 2. American Kobin 10. 18. 26. 3. European Eobin . 11. 19. 27. 4. Skylark 12. 20. 28. 5. 13. 21. 29. 6. 14. 22. 30. 7. 15. 23. 8. 16. 24. Mocking Bird: Here sports the Mocking-Bird with matchless strain, Returning back each warbler's notes again; Now chants a Robin, now o 'er all the throng Pours out in strains sublime the Thrush's song: Barks like a Squirrel, like the Cat-bird squalls, Now '* Whip-poor-will," and now ''Bob White" he calls. — Alexander Wilson, The Invitation American Robin: From the elm-tree's topmost bough, Hark! the robin's early song! Telling one and all that now Merry spring-time hastes along, Welcome tidings dost thou bring, Little harbinger of Spring! Robin's come! — William C. Caldwell, EoMn's Come European Robin: Art thou the bird whom Man loves best. The pious bird with the scarlet breast. Our little English Robin? 128 APEIL 129 The bird that comes about our doors, When autumn winds are sobbing ? Art thou the Peter of Norway Boors? Their Thomas in Finland, And Russia far inland? The bird, that by some name or other All men who know thee call their brother, The darling of children and men? — William Wordsworth, The Redbreast Chasing the Butterfly 4. Skylark: How the blithe lark runs up the golden stair That leans thro' cloudy gates from Heaven to Earth, And all alone in the empyreal air Fills it with jubilant sweet songs of mirth; How far he seems, how far With the light upon his wings. Is it a bird, or star, That shines and sings? -^Frederick Tennyson, The STcylarTc 5. Bluebird: Bluebird! on yon leafless tree, Dost thou carol thus to me, "Spring is coming! Spring is here!*' Say'st thou so, my birdie dear? What is that, in misty shroud. Stealing from the darken 'd cloud? Lo ! the snow-flakes' gathering mound Settles o'er the whiten 'd ground; Yet thou singest, blithe and clear, * ' Spring is coming ! Spring is here ! ' ' — Lydia Sigourney, The Early Bluelird 130 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTEETAINMENTS 6. Marsh Wren: From the reeds would spring, "Whirring, the meadow-wren, and start and stare And sputter, lighting from their bending tops As if indignant and no less amazed That I should thus, with causeless and ill-timed Approach, upon the privacy intrude And urgent duties of her precious life. — George Hill, Eamilings in Autumn 7. Catbird: Delicate and downy throat, Shaped for pure, melodious note, — Silvery wings of softest gra}^, — « Bright eyes glancing every way, — Graceful outline, — motion free, — Types of perfect harmony! Unto whom two notes are given. One of earth and one of heaven ; Were it not a shameful tale If the earth-note should prevail? — Anonymous. The CatMrd 8. Baltimore Oriole: At some glad moment was it nature's choice To dower a scrap of sunset with a voice ? Or did some orange tulip, flaked with black. In some forgotten garden, ages back. Yearning toward Heaven until its wish was heard. Desire unspeakably to be a bird? — Edgar Fawcett, To an Oriole APRIL 131 9. Bobolink: When Nature had made all her birds, With no more cares to think on, She gave a rippling laugh, and out There flew a Bobolinkon. — C. P. Cranch, The Boholinhs 10. Yellow Warbler : Yellowbird, where did you learn that song, Perched on the trellis where grape-vines clamber, In and out fluttering all day long. With your golden breast bedropping amber? — Celia Thaxter, The Yellow Warbler 11. YELL0V7 Headed Blackbird : The yellow-headed blackbird, with light yellow crown, Hangs fluttering in the air, and chatters thick Till her breath fails, when, breaking off, she drops On the next tree, and on its highest limb Or some tall flag, and gently rocking, sits, Her strain repeating. — Carlos Wilcox, Spring in New England 12. Song Thrush: ' ' Summer is coming ! Summer is coming ! I know it, I know it, I know it. Light again, leaf again, life again, love again!" Yes, my wild little poet. — Alfred Tennyson, The Throstle 13. Song Sparrow: For still ^ The February sunshine steeps your boughs And tints the buds and swells the leaves within ; While the song-sparrow, warbling from her perch, Tells you that spring is near. — William Cullen Bryant, Among the Trees 132 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 14. Cardinal: A day and then a week passed by ; The redbird hanging from the sill Sang not ; and all were wondering why It was so still — When one bright morning, loud and clear, Its whistle smote my drowsy ear, Ten times repeated, till the sound Filled every echoing niche around; And all things earliest loved by me, — The bird, the brook, the flower, the tree, — Came back again, as thus I heard The cardinal bird. — William D. Gallagher, The Cardinal Bird 15. Nonpareil:. Nor did lack Sweet music to the magic of the scene ; The little crimson-breasted Nonpareil Was there, his tiny feet scarce bending down The silken tendril that he lighted on ; — William H. Timrod, The MocTcing-Bird 16. Field Sparrow : One syllable, clear and soft, As a raindrop's silvery patter, Or a tinkling fairy-bell, heard aloft In the midst of the merry chatter Of robin and linnet and wren and jay — One syllable, oft repeated! He has but a word to say, And of that he will not be cheated. — Celia Thaxter, The Field Sparrow APRIL 133 17. English Sparrow: We hear the note of a stranger bird, That ne 'er in our land till now was heard, A winged settler has taken his place With Teutons and men of the Celtic race ; He has followed their path to our hemisphere ; The Old- World Sparrow at last is here. — William Cullen Bryant, The Old World Sparrow 18. Wood Thrush: The wood-robin sings at my door, And her song is the sweetest I hear From all the sweet birds that incessantly pour Their notes through the noon of the year. — James C. Clarke, The Wood-Bohin 19. Nightingale: I knew the sparrow could not sing, And heard the stranger long ; I could not think so plain a bird Could sing so fine a song. I found her nest of oaken leaves, And eggs of paler brown, Where none would ever look for nests Or pull the sedges down. I love the Poet of the Woods, And love to hear her sing, — That with the Cuckoo, brings the love And music of the Spring. — John Clare, To the Nightingale 20. Blue jay: bluejay up in the maple tree. Shaking your throat with such bursts of glee, How did you happen to be so blue ? 134 ' FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS Did you steal a bit of the lake for your crest And fasten blue violets into your vest % Tell me, I pray you, — tell me true ! — Susan H. Swett, The Blue Jay 21. Raven: The raven once in snowy plumes was drest, White as the whitest dove 's unsullied breast, Fair as the guardian of the Capitol, Soft as the swan; a large and lovely fowl; His tongue, his prating tongue, hath chang'd him quite, To sooty blackness from the purest white ; — Joseph Addison, Tr. of Ovid's Story of Coronis 22. White-breasted Nuthatch: Do you know the pretty nuthatch in his suit of ashen blue, With his dainty bib of white, and his hose of modest brown ? You may hear him sing sometimes, though his notes are harsh and few, But you'll know him when you see him by the black upon his crown. — Mrs. M. a. B. Kelly, The Nuthatch 23. Barn Swallow: I thought of the old barn set about With its stacks of sweet, dry hay, Of the swallows flying in and out. Through the gables, steep and gray. — Alice Gary, The Light of Days Gone By APEIL 135 24. Bank Swallow: I passed an inland-cliff precipitate: From tiny caves peeped many a soot-black poll ; In each a mother-martin elate, And of the news delivered her small soul. Fantastic chatter! hasty, glad, and gay, Whereof the meaning was not ill to tell ; *' Gossip, how wags the world with you today?'' ' ' Gossip, the world wags well, the world wags well. ' ' — Jean Ingelow, Sand Martins 25. Black-capped Titmouse : When piped a tiny voice hard by Gay and polite, a cheerful cry, Chic-chic-a-deedee ! saucy note Out of a sound heart and merry throat, As if it said, ' ' Good day, good sir ! Fine afternoon, old passenger!" — Ealph Waldo Emerson, The Titmouse 26. Sedge Warbler: Fixed in a white thorn bush, its summer guest, So low, e'en grass o'er-topped its tallest twig, A sedge-bird built its little beauty nest. Close by the meadow pool and wooden brig. — John Clare, The Sedge-Bird's Nest 27. White-throated Warbler: The happy white-throat on the swaying bough, Rocked by the impulse of the gadding wind That ushers in the showers of April, now Carols right joyously; and now reclined, Crouching, she clings close to her moving seat To keep her hold. — John Clare, The Happy Bird 136 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 28. White-eyed Vireo: Up there among the maple leaves One morning bright in May, A tiny bird I chanced to spy, And plainly heard him say : "Sweet, who-are-you ? " — Annie Wakely Johnson, To a White-Eyed Vireo 29. House Wren: There, unappalled by unmolesting friends. The russet when glides in among the vines. And adds another strand unto its nest. Then on the neighboring trellis pours its song. The poor man's cottage is its favorite haunt; And he is poor, indeed, who to his roof Can welcome not the yearly visitor To cheer his door with music. — Thomas B. Read, The New Pastoral 30. Golden Crested Kinglet: And many a merry bird is there, Unscared by lawless men ; The blue-winged jay, the woodpecker, The golden-crested wren. — Mary Howitt, Summer Woods Suggestions for Study (For this month thirty song-birds have been selected for study. To the scientist, a song-bird is one that has a certain type of voiee-box, whether it really sings or not. Thus the crow and the wax-wing are song birds, though they are never heard to sing out loud and musically. There are about thirty families of singing-birds.) 1. The mocking-bird, the brown thrush, and the catbird are a family by themselves, which is called the mocking- APEIL 137 bird family. If desired, use the quotation in Evangeline, Part II, beginning ''Then from a neighboring thicket." 2. The American robin is a large thrush. Other mem- bers of the thrush family are the English nightingale, the wood-robin, the hermit thrush, the European blackbird, the song-thrush, the veery, the ring ouzel, the kinglets, the European redwing, the fieldfare, the missel thrush. The American robin is one of our most popular birds. 3. The European robin belongs to the true warbler family. Other members are the blackcap, whitethroat, garden warbler, sedge warbler, hedge sparrow, bluethroat, chiffchaff, yellow wren, willow warbler, reed-warbler, European redstart, furzeling. Study "The Babes in the "Wood." 4. The lark family is not represented in America except by the shore, or horned, larks. The skylark, the crested lark, the wood lark, and the calendar lark are all European, though a few skylarks have been imported to this country. If preferred, use some other skylark poem. 5. The American bluebird is a member of the wheatear family. The stonechat and the whinchat are also members of this family. 6. The wren family consists of several different kinds — house wren, winter wren, marsh wren, California wren. All are small birds, and a distinguishing feature of their build is the angle at which the tail is held. 7. The catbird is a mocker. Why called catbird? If preferred, use Miss Thomas's "The Catbird." 8. The American orioles do not belong to the same family as the European orioles. To the American oriole family belong such birds as the bobolink, the crow black- birds, the red-winged blackbirds, the yellow-headed black- 138 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS birds, the meadow lark, and the different kinds of orioles — Baltimore, orchard, hooded. It is said that the bird is named after Lord Baltimore, because his colors were black and orange. 9. The bobolink belongs to the American oriole family. Read a good description of the bird. When called reed- bird ? When called rice-bird ? Different suits of feathers ? Eead Bryant's poem, ''Robert of Lincoln." 10. The yellow warbler is one of the American wood warblers, of which there are over one hundred different kinds. Most of them are named from their colorings, as the golden-winged warbler, the Maryland yellowthroat, the black-and-white warbler, the black-and-green warbler, red- start, and yellow-breasted chat. Does this description of Miss Thaxter's suit the bird? 11. The 3^ellow-headed blackbird belongs to the American oriole family. This is the only quotation I have found on the bird. 12. The song-thrush is a European bird. It is also called throstle and mavis. The stanza is supposed to imitate the bird's song. 13. The song-sparrow belongs to the finch family. Other members of this large family are the house-sparrow, field sparrow, cardinal, purple finch, canary, snow bunting, junco, yellow hammer, crossbill, nonpareil, linnet, chaffinch, Lapland longspur, white-crowned sparrow, golden-crowned sparrow, bullfinch, lark bunting, hawfinch, red poll, indigo- bird, goldfinch, white-throated sparrow. 14. The cardinal bird is a member of the finch family. Different kinds of cardinals ? 15. The nonpareil is a finch. Read a description of the bird. APEIL 139 16. The field sparrow is a finch. 17. The English sparrow is also called house sparrow. It was brought to this country as an insect exterminator, but has become a pest itself. So Bryant's welcome to the bird w^as untimely. As another poet says: How little, how little we knew, The pest he would prove to the town. 18. The woodthrush is also called wood-robin. It is an American kind of thrush. 19. The nightingale is a member of the thrush family. Different kinds of nightingales ? If desired, use some other of the many quotations on this bird. 20. The blue jay is a member of the crow family. The raven, magpie, rook, jackdaw, and chough also belong to the family. Different kinds of jays — Canada, European, crested blue jay, crestless blue jay. 21. Ravens belong to the crow family. 22. The nuthatch family is a small one, but few kinds — white-breasted and red-breasted being American birds. 23. The swallow family contains the barn swallow, the bank-swallow, the eaves, cliff, and chimney swallows, Eu- ropean house martin, and the purple martin. The true chimney swallow is a European bird, the American ' ' chim- ney swallow" belonging to the swift family. 24. The bank-swallow is also called, in England, sand martin. 25. The titmouse family is a small one. Different mem- bers are the black-capped titmouse, or chickadee, the blue titmouse, the great titmouse, the marsh, crested, and long: tailed. Read the w^hole of Emerson's poem, if possible. 26. The sedge warbler is a European bird, also called sedge-wren. 140 FKIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS 27. The white-throated warbler is a relative of the Euro- pean robin. 28. The vireo family is an American one. Its members are the warbling vireo, the red-eyed, the w^hite-eyed, the black-whiskered, or Whip-Tom-Kelly. The vireos are also called greenlets. Yireo is Latin for green, flourishing. 29. The house wren is an American wren, often called Jenny Wren. Her European relative is shyer than she, preferring hedges to houses for nesting purposes. 30. The golden-crested kinglet is a small thrush. The fire-crest is a near relative, found in Europe. The golden- crested kinglet is found in both America and Europe, the two birds being slightly different. MAY — A MONTH OF BLOSSOMS 1. May-apple 9. 17. 25. 2. Dandelion 10. 18. 26. 3. Snowdrop 11. 19. 27. 4. Violet 12. 20. 28. 5. 13. 21. 29. 6. 14. 22. 30. 7. 15. 23. • 31. 8. 16. 24. 1. May- Apple: And farther, where the light was dim, I saw the bloom Of May-apples, beneath the tent Of umbel leaves above them bent; — William D. Gallagher,, The Cardinal Bird 2. Dandelion: Dear common flower, that grow'st beside the way. Fringing the dusty road with harmless gold. First pledge of blithesome May, Which children pluck, and, full of pride, uphold. How like a prodigal doth nature seem, "When thou, for all thy gold, so common art ! Thou teachest me to deem More sacredly of every human heart. — James E. Lowell, To the Dandelion 3. Snowdrop: To behold the snowdrop white Start to light. And shine in Flora's desert bowers. Beneath the vernal dawn. The Morning Star of Flowers. — James Montgomery, The Snowdrop 141 142 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 4. Violet: ^Welcome, maids of honor, You do bring In the spring , And wait upon her. — Robert Heerick, To Violets 5. Daffodil: Though many a flower in the wood is waking, The daffodil is our door-yard queen ; She pushes upward the sward already, ^ To spot with sunshine the early green. — William C. Bryant, An Invitation to the Country 6. WOODVETCH: And where profuse the wood-vetch clings Round ash and elm in verdant rings. Its pale and azure-pencilled flower Should canopy Titania's bower. — Sir Walter Scott, EoTcely 7. Sweet Pea: Here are sweet peas, on tiptoe for a flight : "With wings of gentle flush o 'er delicate white. And taper fingers catching at all things To bind them all about with tiny rings. — John Keats, I Stood Tiptoe on a Little Eill 8. White Clover: The light streaked down in golden mist. Kindled the shrubs, the greensward kissed, Until the clover-blossoms white Flashed out like spangles large and bright. — Alfred B. Street, Quebec MAY 143 9. Buckwheat: And the coarser wheat that rolls in lakes of bloom, Its coral stems and milk-white flowers alive With the wide murmur of the scattered hive ; — Oliver W. Holmes, Botanic Gardens 10. Sorrel : In rustic solitude 'tis sweet The earliest flowers of Spring to greet, — The violet from its tomb, The strawberry, creeping at our feet, The sorrel's simple bloom. — James Montgomery, A Walk in Spring 11. Harebell: O fair and frail, the bluebell of old song. The harebell, nodding by the sedge's foot. Or looking forth, with gentle courage strong. In shelter of some olden ash-tree root. — Alexander H. Japp, The Harehell 12. Waterlily: Or turn the prow to some lone bay, Where thick the floating leaves are spread; How bright and queen-like the array Of lilies in their crystal bed. — Henry T. Tuckerman, LaTce Canepo 13. Bishop's Cap: Therefore, at Pentecost, which brings The Spring, clothed like a bride. When nestling buds unfold their wings, And bishop 's-caps have golden rings, Musing upon many things, I sought the woodlands wide. — Henry W. Longfellow, Voices of the Night — Prelude 144 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS 14. Sundew: '* What's this I hear About the new carnivora? Can little plants Eat bugs and ants And gnats and flies? A sort of retrograding: Surely the fare Of flowers is air, Or sunshine sweet ; They shouldn't eat Or do aught so degrading!" — Anon., The Sun-Dew 15. Common Plantain: Wheresoe'er they tread, beneath them Springs a flower unknown among us, Springs the White-man's Foot in blossom. — Henry W. Longfellow, Eiawaiha 16. Pyrola: With round leaf, green and glossy, with pure, rich, creamy bloom, The Pyrola in beauty distills its rare perfume. — Phoebe A. Holder, A Woodland Hymn 17. Spring Beauty : They pencil lightly with tender pink The pale spring-beauty, that hides her flowers In chilly hollows, where snowdrifts shrink Under April's persistent showers. — Mrs. Elizabeth Akers Allen, The Miracle WorJcers MAY 145 18. Cowslip: The timorous cowslips, one by one, Trembling chilly, a tip-toe stand, On little hillocks and knolls alone, Peer all over the nestling land. — George MacDonald, The Turn of the Year 19. Wood Anemone : Lodged in sunny clefts. Where the cold breezes come not, blooms alone The little wind-flower, whose just-opened eye Is blue as the spring heaven it gazes at — Startling the loiterer in the naked groves With unexpected beauty, for the time Of blossoms and green leaves is yet afar. — William C. Bryant, A Winter Piece 20. Fire Pink: Bending low, and rising higher, Scarlet pinks their lamps of fire. Lightly swing about; And the wind that blows them over Out of sight among the clover, Seems to blow them out! — Phoebe Gary, Gathering BlacJcberries 21. Corn Poppy: To ramble from field to field, Where the poppy is all on flame — All but the little black coal At its core, that's still the same. — Anon., Summer Idleness 146 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS 22. Sea Poppy: A poppy grows npon the shore, Bursts her twin cup in summer late ; Her leaves are glaucous green and hoar, Her petals yellow, delicate. — Egbert Bridges, The Sea Poppy 23. Celandine: Thou canst not live to see the spring unfold, Nor view the glory of a vernal day ; Thou canst not linger, blooming, to behold The crowning wealth of May. Yet thine is but the lot of such as lead Onward to glorious periods, alone. Of such as in the battle fight and bleed. And die at victory's dawn. — Sam Wood, To the First Celandine 24. Wood Sorrel: The gold-cup sorrel from his gauzy screen Shone like a fairy crown, enchased and beaded, Left on some morn, when light flash 'd in their eyes unheeded. — Joseph Eodman Drake, Bronx 25. Moccasin Flov^er: Graceful and tall, the slender, drooping stem, With two broad leaves below. Shapely the flower so lightly poised between, And warm her rosy glow. — Elaine Goodale, The Moccasin-Flower 26. Hollyhock: And rows of stately hollyhocks, Down by the garden wall. All yellow, white, and crimson, So many-hued and tall. — Mary Howitt, The Child and the Flowers MAY 147 27. English Daisy : The daisy awakes And opens her wondering eyes, yet red About the rims with a too long sleep ; Whilst, bold from his ambush, with helm on head And lance in rest, doth the bulrush leap. — Edward Egbert Bulwer-Lytton, 'Tis the White Anemone 28. Lily of the Valley : leaves of that shy plant, (Her flowers were shed) the lily of the vale, That loves the ground, and from the sun withholds Her pensive beauty, from the breeze her sweets. — William Wordsworth, The Excursion 29. Tulip: Who wants a gown Of purple fold, Embroidered down The seams with gold? See here! — a Tulip richly laced, To please a royal fairy 's taste ! — George Barley, Nephron 's Song 30. Iris: I weave the silken fringe, that, as a vest, Mantles the fleur-de-lis in glossy down, I scatter gold spots on its open breast. And lift in slender points of blue its crown; — James C. Percival, The Queen of Flowers 31. Foxglove: The foxglove shoots out of the green matted heather, Preparing her hoods of snov/; She was idle, and slept till the sunshiny weather : Oh, children take long to grow. — Jean Ingelow, Songs of Seven 148 FRIDAY AFTEENOON ENTERTAINMENTS Suggestions for Study (All the plants named here are herbs. What is an herb? How different from a tree or shrub? The rose and the strawberry both belong to the rose family; the rose is a shrub and the strawberry is an herb. What is the difference?) 1. The May-apple belongs to tlie barberry family. What is meant by umbel leaves? Children often call the plant ''umbrellas." Why? What is the fruit? 2. The dandelion belongs to the chicory family. What is the fall-dandelion ? Where was the dandelion originally found? 3. The snowdrop belongs to the amaryllis family. Other members are the golden spider lily, atamasco lily, century plant, narcissus, daifodil, polyanthus, jonquil, tuberose, guernsey lily, queen lily, star-grass. The snowdrop is known in^ England as the * ' Fair Maid of February. ' ' Flora is the goddess of flowers in ancient myths. What is meant by the "Morning Star of flowers"? 4. The violet family is a large one. Different kinds of violets are the yellow, white, sweet, and pansy. What are maids of honor? 5. If preferred, for the daffodil use Wordsworth's poem. 6. The vetches belong to the bean family. Different kinds of vetches are wood vetch, hairy vetch, meadow vetch, tare vetch. Who was Titania? 7. The sweet pea belongs to the bean family. Other members of the family — furze, rose acacia, laburnum, scarlet runner, etc. 8. Clovers belong to the bean family. Different kinds of clovers — white, red, purple, crimson, rabbit-foot, Jap- anese, alsike. MAY 149 9. Buckwheat belongs to the same family as the bear- bind, the sorrel, the dock, rhubarb, sea grape. The name really means heech-tvheat, from the shape of the seeds, which resemble beech-nuts. 10. The sorrel belongs to what family? Read a good description of the plant. Different kinds of sorrel — sheep, common, etc. 11. The harebell belongs to the bellflower family, with the Canterbury bell, the grand throatwort, and the venus's looking-glass. Bluebell is another name for the harebell 12. The waterlily family includes both white, yellow, blue, and pink flowered plants. Read a description of the Victoria regia. How do the flowers reach the surface of the water '? Where do the seeds ripen ? 13. Bishop 's-cap is another name for the miterwort. It belongs to the saxifrage family. 14. Sundew forms a family by itself. Read a description of the plant. What is a carnivora? 15. The plantain, the shoreweed, and rib-grass belong to the plantain family. Why would the plantain be called the ''whiteman's foot"? 16. The pyrola family is a small one, containing also the pipsissewa and the one-flowered wintergreen. Pyrola is often called sliinleaf. 17. The spring beauty belongs to the portulacca family. If desired, give the quotation from "Hiawatha," in the canto, ''The Whiteman's Foot," which gives the history of the Miskodded, the Indian name for this flower. 18. The true cowslip belongs to the primrose family — so do the oxlip, the auricula, the cyclamen, the pimpernel, willow-weed, star-flower. The American cowslip is a mem- ber of the primrose family, and is usually called shooting- 150 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS star. The marsh marigold, a crowfoot, is erroneously called cowslip. 19. The anemone, or windflower, is a member of the crowfoot family. So are the buttercup, lesser celandine, marsh marigold, clematis, gold-thread, globeflower, lark- spur, meadow rue, aconite, baneberry, columbine, hepatica, peony, pasque-flower, love-in-a-mist, hellebore, adonis, rue anemone. 20. The pink family contains the catchflys, campions, chickweed, stitchwort, sweet William, carnation, sandwort, corn cockle, bouncing bet, and ragged robin. 21. The poppy family contains the opium poppy, corn, sea, windrose, bleeding heart, dutchman's breeches, fumi- tory, California poppy, bloodroot, celandine or swallow- wort, corydalis, celandine poppy. 22. To what family does the sea-poppy belong? 23. To what family does the celandine belong? 24. The wood sorrel is a member of the oxalis family. 25. The moccasin flower is an orchid. Other members of the orchid family are the spotted orchid, purple orchid, arethusa, putty-root, lady's traces, vanilla, butterfly, fly, spider, frog, bee orchid, cattleya. Other name for moccasin flower is lady-slipper. 26. The hollyhock is a member of the mallow family. Rosemallow, cotton, marsh-mallow, okra also belong to the family. 27. The English daisy belongs to the aster family, w^hich contains the sunflower, goldenrod, edelweiss, camomile, tansy, yarrow, ox-eye daisy, yellow daisy, wormwood, sage- brush, dahlia, ironweed, chrysanthemum, marigold. The English daisy has red-tipped ray flowers. 28. The lily of the valley family includes the wake- I MAY 151 robin, the Solomon's seal, and asparagus. 29. Tulips belong to the lily family, with the onion, hya- cinth, star-of-Bethlehem, cro\vn-imperial. 30. The iris family includes the spring crocus, the saffron crocus, and the fleur-de-lis. 31. The foxglove belongs to the figwort family, which includes the eyebright, mullein, snapdragon, toadflax, painted cup, speedwell, Gerardia, turtle-head, beardtongue. Use of figwort in medicine, as digitalis? JUNE — A MONTH OF GRASSES 1. Wheat 9. 17. 25. 2. Timothy 10. 18. 26. 3. Corn 11. 19. 27, 4. Blue-Bent 12. 20. 28. 5. 13. 21. 29, 6. 14. 22. 30. 7. 15. 23. 8. 16. 24. 1. Wheat: "Who, mid the grasses of the field, That spring beneath our careless feet, First found the shining stems that yield The grains of life-sustaining wheat, Who first upon the furrowed land Strewed the bright grains to sprout, and grow. And ripen for the reaper's hand — We know not, and we cannot know. — William Cullen Bryant, Dance 2. Timothy: Open, unseeded fallows, rich fields of clover and timothy, Kine and horses feeding, and droves of sheep and swine. — Walt Whitman, A Carol of Harvest 3. Indian Corn: Till at length a small green feather From the earth shot slowly upward. Then another and another. And, before the Summer ended. Stood the maize in all its beauty, 152 JUNE 153 With its shining robes about it, And its long, soft, yellow tresses, And in rapture Hiawatha Cried aloud, "It is Mondamin! Yes, the friend of man, Mondamin!'* — Henry W. Longfellow, Hiawatha 4. Blue Bent: Swift he bestrode his fire-fly steed, He bared his blade of the bent-grass blue, He drove his spurs of the cockle-seed, And away like a glance of thought he flew. To skim the heavens, and follow far The fiery trail of the rocket-star. — Joseph Eodman Drake, The Culprit Fay 5. EiCE: And thou dost scatter benefits around thee : Thy silver current yields Life to the green rice-fields. That have like an enchanted girdle bound thee. — Letitia E. Landon,. The Ganges 6. Wild Rice : But when our northern summer's o'er, By Delaware's or Schuylkill's shore, The wild-rice lifts its airy head, And royal feasts for thee are spread. — Thomas Hill, The BoholijiJc 7. Tefp: I see the highlands of Abyssinia, I see the flocks of goats feeding, and see the fig-tree, tamarind, date, And see fields of teff-wheat, and see the places of verdure and gold. — Walt Whitman, Salut au Monde 154 FEIDAY AFTEBNOON ENTEETAINMENTS 8. Marsh Grass: A league and a league of marsh-grass, waist-high, broad in the blade, Green, and all of a height, and unfleeked with a light or a shade, Stretch leisurely off, in a pleasant plain. To the terminal blue of the main. — Sidney Lanier, The Marshes of Glynn 9. Sugar-Cane: But chief glory of these Indian isles Springs from the sweet, uncloying sugar-cane : Hence comes the planter's wealth, hence commerce sends Such floating piles, to traverse half the main. — Phiwp Freneau, Santor Cms 10. Darnel: If field with corn ye fail to preoccupy Darnel for wheat and thistle-beards for grain Will grow apace in combination prompt. Defraud the husbandman of his desire. — Egbert Browning, The Bing and the BooTc 11. Blue Joint: Did you ever lie low In the depth of the plain. In the lea of a swell that lifts Like a low-lying island out of the sea, "When the blue joint shakes As an army of spears, When each flashing wave breaks In turn overhead, And wails in the doors of your ears? — Hamlin Garland, In the Autumn Grass JUNE 155 12. Lemon Grass: among the palms The tinkle of the rippling water rang, And where it ran the glad earth 'broidered it With balsams and the spears of lemon-grass. — Sir Edwin Arnold, The Light of Asia 13. Lady^ Grass: I could paint the garden, with its paths Cut smooth, and running straight, — The gray sage bed, the poppies red. And the lady-grass at the gate. — Alice Gary, If and If 14. Pampas Grass: To left, to right, below the height. Below the wood, by wave and stream. Plumed pampas grasses grew to gleam And bend their lordly plumes, and run And shake as if in very fright, Before the sharp lances of the sun. — Joaquin Miller, The Sea of Fire 15. Barley: And white-bearded, bending barley-ears Nod in the soft south breeze. — AsTLEY H. Baldwin, Fruit Time 16. Eed Top: Red-top and Timothy Come here in the spring; Light spears out of emerald sheaths Everywhere they swing; Harmless little soldiers. On the fields they play, 'Nodding plumes and crossing blades All the livelong day. — Lucy Larcom, Bed-Top and Timothy 156 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS 17. Quaking Grass: A trimmlin jock i' t 'house, An' you weeant hev a mouse. — Yorlcshire Proverb 18. Porcupine Grass: Throughout that night, Cool dews came sallying on that rain-starved land, And drenched the thick rough tufts of bristly grass. Which, stemmed like quills (and thence termed porcu pine). Thrust hardily thin shoots amid the flints And sharp-edged stones. — Philip J. Holdsworth, Station-Hunting on the Warrago 19. Reed: He tore out a reed, the great god Pan, From the deep, cool bed of the river. And hacked and hewed as a great god can With his hard, bleak steel at the patient reed, Till there was not a sign of a leaf, indeed. To prove it fresh from the river. He cut it short, did the great god Pan (How tall it stood in the river!) — Elizabeth Baerett Browning, A Musical Instrument 20. Wild Oats: My western land, I love thee yet! In dreams I ride my horse again And breast the breezes blowing fleet From out the meadows cool and Avet, From fields of flowers blowing sweet. JUNE 157 And flinging perfume to the breeze, The wild oats swirl along the plain; I feel their dash against my knees, Like rapid plash of running seas. — Hamlin Garland, Prairie Memories 21. Bamboo: Where the light bamboo waves her feathery screen, — Lord Morpeth, Havana 22. Millet: And when the millet's ripe heads fall, And all the bean-field hangs in pod, My mother smiles and says that all Are gifts from God. — John G. Whittier, The Hermit of the Thehiad 23. Eye: The summer grains were harvested; the stubble-fields lay dry, Where June winds rolled, in light and shade, the pale green waves of rye, — John G. Whittier, The Huskers 24. Melic : ' ' Cusha ! Cusha ! Cusha ! ' ' calling Ere the early dews were falling, Farre away I heard her song. *' Cusha! Cusha!" all along; Where the reedy Lindis floweth, Floweth, floweth, From the meads where melick groweth Faintly came her milking-song. — Jean Ingelow, The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire (1571) 158 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS , 25. Witch-Grass : The witch-grass round the hazel spring May sharply to the night-air sing, But there no more shall withered hags Refresh at ease their broomstick nags, — John G. Whittier, Extract from "A New England Legend** 26. Salt Grass: Northward a green bluff broke the chain Of sand-hills; southward stretched a plain Of salt-grass, with a river winding down, Sail-whitened — John G. Whittier, The Tent on the Beach 27. MrrcHELL Grass: We saw the fleet wild horses pass, And the kangaroos through the Mitchell grass, — Anon., Australia 28. Broom Grass: Weird voices in the cedars moan, And prophesy of winter near. And a sad, quivering semitone Runs through the reeds and broomsedge sere; — Anon., The Close of Autumn 29. Sweet Grass: Though now the sweet-grass scents the air, And sunny nature basks in joy. It is not ever so. — W. J. Snelling, The Birth of Thunder 30. Moor Grass: The twisted hemlock, the slanted rye-grass, The juicy moor-grass, can all be found; — Duncan Macintyre, Coire Cheathaich JUNE 159 Suggestions for Study (See Webster's New International for definition of grass, number 2 being used in this instance. There are 3,500 different kinds of grasses, all belonging to the family Poaceae, or Grass family. The sedges and the rushes are each made into a family by themselves. The Grass family is one of the most useful ones known to botany, since it furnishes man many useful food grains and grazing animals with food.) 1. Wheat has been so long cultivated that Bryant's poem is wholly correct. Its origin is not known, and the plant does not occur in a wild state. It was known to the pyramid-builders, and grains are commonly found' in ancient ruins. There are many varieties of common wheat — Durum, Northern, and different winter wheats, — while the Polish and the one-grained are considered different species from the common wheat. It was not knoT\Ti to America before the advent of white settlers. It is the emblem of riches. The following folk-rhyme implies that a full moon at Christmas is unlucky for the farmer: Light Christmas, light wheat sheaf. Dark Christmas, heavy wheatsheaf. 2. Timothy is a European grass; first brought over to New England. When Timothy Hanson carried the seed from New England to Maryland, about 1720, it became known as "timothy." It is also called herd 's-grass : and from the mows Eaked down the herd 's-grass for the cows; — John G. Whittier, Snowhound 3. Corn originally meant a kernel, or grain; in Eng- land it is still applied to w^heat, rye, barley, and oats. Indian corn is a native American grass, called by the aborigines mays, but has been cultivated since the discovery of 160 FKIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS America, both here and in Europe. Sidney Lanier, Whit- tier, Celia Thaxter, and others, have written poems on the corn, which may be used if desired. Study the story of Mondamin, as given in Bayard Taylor's poem by that name, and in ''Hiawatha's Fasting." Study also "Bless- ing the Cornfields," in Hiawatha, and the reference to the maize in Part IV of Evangeline. Different varieties of corn — popcorn, field corn, sweet corn, and even different kinds of each variety. 4. There are several kinds of stiff, wiry grasses known as hent. In the poem, the blue-bent is doubtless meant. This is a description of the culprit fay as he starts off to fulfill the elf -king's commands. Robert Herrick refers to the bent in his poem, "Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve." 5. The word rice can be traced from the French, through the Latin, Greek, and Persian to the Sanskrit, proof of its antiquity as a food. Like wheat, it has been cultivated so long that history does not tell us anything about a time when it was not raised by man. It ranks second to wheat as a cereal. There are said to be nearly two hundred varieties. Read a description of its cultivation. Where grown mostly? 6. The grass known in this country as wild rice is not a form of the cultivated rice. It is used by the Indians as food. I hear the wild-rice eater thresh The grain he has not sown. — John G. Whittier, On Beceiving an Eagle 's Quill from LaTce Superior Through the Muskoday, the meadow, Saw the wild rice, the Mahnomonee. — Hiawatha JUNE 161 "What Michigan city is probably named from the plant ? 7. Teff is an Abyssinian grain plant, the seeds of which yield a white flour of good quality. This is the only refer- ence I found to the grass. 8. The marsh-grass is a coarse grass abundant in the eastern United States. Study the quotation. 9. Sugar-cane was cultivated by the Chinese and in India in the earliest times known to history. It is not now found in a wild state. It is now grown in all warm countries — southern states, "West Indies, South America, Australia. How is the sugar obtained ? From what other plants is sugar derived? the jointed sugar-canes Pale-golden with their feathers motionless In the warm quiet. — George Eliot, The Spanish Gypsy 10. Darnel is frequently called bearded darnel on account of its awned flower-spikes. Its seeds are considered poison- ous. As the quotation implies, it is a grainfield pest, and if a piece of ground is left idle, soon takes complete possession. 11. The blue- joint is an American grass, named from the color and construction of its long stems. If desired use : O'er a low-hung ridge where the blue- joint tips Reach up till they beat at the passer's hips. — Charles E. Banks, The Spirit of Silence 12. Lemon grass is named from its odor. It is an East Indian plant, and citronella oil is made from it. 13. Lady grass is an American name for the reed canary grass, found in all temperate regions. A form of this grass is the ornamental ribbon grass. 14. Pampas grass is South American. It grows in tus- 152 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS socks, with short leaves that grow thick about the tall flowering plumes. It is cultivated as a garden ornamental, and is often used in decorations. The quotation describes a prairie fire. 15. Barley is said, by Pliny, to be the earliest grain cultivated for the food of man. It is not known where it originated, but the plant grows wild in Asia and Sicily. The old measure of length, called the barley-corn, was equal to the average length of a grain of barley, or one-third of an inch. John Barleycorn is a humorous personification of barley as the source of malt liquor. 16. Red-top is valued in the United States for pasturage, and especially for lawn mixtures. In England it is usually little valued, and is known as florin. 17. Quaking grass has slender-stalked, large, drooping spikes, which quake and rattle in the wind. In some parts of England it is called ''Trembling Jack" or ''trimmlin jock." Why the plant is obnoxious to mice is not stated. As shaking is one of the chief characteristics of ague, it was once believed that the quaking grass, when dried and kept in the house, would keep the dread disease away. 18. The Australian porcupine grass is well described in the quotation. The plants often grow in thick tussocks, from seven to ten feet high, and the leaves are so stiff and sharp as to be successful spines. 19. The reed is one of the most widely-known grasses among the poets. Where does it usually grow? Tell the Greek legend of Pan and Syrinx. What is a panpipe? Read all of Mrs. Browning's poem. The Indian counter- part of Pan was the gentle Chibiabos : From the hollow reeds he fashioned Flutes so musical and mellow, JUNE 163 That the brook, the Sebowisha, Ceased to murmur in the woodland, That the wood-birds ceased from singing. — (Hiawatha's Friends) The music of the reeds is a favorite topic with the poets. See Longfellow's "Masque of Pandora," the stanza entitled *^ Chorus of Reeds.' ^ 20. The cultivated oats were kno^vn before the Christian era. There are many wild species. What is meant by the phrase ''sowing wild oats"? Use of oats? 21. Bamboo is a woody, tree-like grass, widely distrib- uted in warm countries. The plant may be cajled the national plant of China, and the uses to which they put it are numberless — the young and tender shoots are boiled and eaten as a vegetable, preserved as sweetmeats ; houses, boats, furniture, fishing-rods, canes, flutes are made from the stems, wick from the pith. If desired, use : What time the bamboo easts a deeper shade j When birds fill up the afternoon with song, When catkins vanish, and when pearblooms fade. Then noon is weary and the day is long. — Chu Shu-Chen, Summer 22. Millet is cultivated extensively in Europe and Asia for food. Other grasses having similar uses are the pearl millet, Italian millet, the Australian millet-grass. 23. Rye is another one of the ancient cereals. It is cul- tivated in Europe, where it is the chief ingredient in the so-called *' black-bread. " If desired, use: You must remember the long rippling ridge Of rye, that cut the level land in two. And changed from blue to green, from green to blue Summer after summer? — Alice Caey, Damaris 164 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS 24. Melic is widely distributed iif temperate regions, but has little agricultural value. Tell the story of the poem. 25. "Witch grass is a common weed in cultivated gardens. Whittier has here made a play on the word, giving both it and the hazel connection with witches and hags. 26. Salt grass grows much like marsh-grass, but the latter is more rush-like in appearance. They have no particular value. 27. Mitchell grass is Australian. 28. Broom grass is also known as broom-sedge, though it does not belong to the sedge family. This is not of any particular value. Contrary to the name, brooms are not made from broom-grass, but from another grass called broom-corn. 29. The North American sweet grass is also called vanilla- grass, and is used for lawns, in making paper, and par- ticularly by the Indians in basketry. 30. Moor-grass is also called heather-grass and heath- grass. It is European, and its names indicate its habitat. The hemlock mentioned in the quotation is a member of the celery family, the rye-grass is a near-relative of the darnel. A PATRIOTIC MEDLEY FOR ANY NUMBER OF CHILDREN This medley is a simple arrangement of patriotic airs given by a class of children equipped to represent a band. The horns are large cones of wrapping paper, and each drum is a cylindrical shaped hat- box with small slits in opposite sides through which is run the strap which passes about the drummer's shoulders. The drum may be decorated with bands of colored paper, and the drumsticks are wooden knitting-needles or short lengths of broomsticks. Other children carry a small block of wood in each hand, which they beat together for bones. The triangles can be easily obtained at a blacksmith's, or horseshoes will do with ten-penny nails for tappers. Other children carry a tiny patty-pan in each hand which they tap together with a musical tinkle, as chimes. Each tambourine girl carries a pie-pan on which she taps the rhythm. Each member of the band may wear, as a uniform, a pointed hat of wrapping paper ornamented at the top with a tiny flag or tricolor pompon. To make one of these colonial hats, fold a square of paper twenty-four inches to form a square 12 in. by 12 in. Turn three of the free corners up diagonally to the folded corner, then fold the remaining corner in opposite direction to folded corner. Add the decoration and wear the hats with the points over the ears. The children sing the airs to the syllable ''La," beating time meanwhile; but whenever the cornetists play they sing the word ' ' toot ' ' through the horns, and when not playing they sing with the others. There should be more of the horns than of other instruments. One child acts as band-master and carries a baton with which he beats the time. Children sing and play as indicated in the following: I. Battee-Hymn of the Republic : Enter from the hall, in single line, the bandmaster leading. The full band plays ''Battle Hymn of the Re- public, ' ' and repeats it as often as desired, while circling about the room. At last they fall into double or triple 165 166 FRIDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENTS line along the front of the room, the horns in front iine and the leader facing the band. II. Yankee Doodle : Just the horns 'Hoof out the verse-part of this air, the full band gives the chorus. Repeat as desired. III. Dixie: While children sing this air to the syllable * ' La, ' ' the triangles beat the time for the first part. The full band then plays the chorus. Repeat as desired. IV. Red, White, and Blue : Horns and drums give the first part, then all beat time to the last part while singing words, *' Three cheers for the red, white, and blue." Repeat as desired. V. America: Tambourines and triangles give the first half; full band for last half. VI. Tenting To-night : Horns beat softly to first part of the air; full band softly for refrain. Repeat as desired. Exit, singing as in I. Pilgrim Maids. b^ r— ^ -|N 1^ [^ ^— C- --^ — 1\ — ^ — ^V-:+— f^ P^-H^ -J — J — ;_;_-_^. -*— 9 — ^-, — -^— 1 Once there was U-4-S S- a Pil - grim maid, a Pil- grim maid, a * ^8 % S [V-^ 4 g le— s s -iff ^ 1 I 1 1 1 1 Pil-grim maid. Once there was a Pil - grim maid, And S^ - — #^ ' V this is what she did: Just so, just so, V=X- i 1 •— just so, just so, This is what she did. P^^ * I 167 PILGRIM MAIDS For this action-song choose seven little girls. Each one is to bring from home three large handkerchiefs, or squares of white muslin. To dress a child in her Pilgrim garb, fold one large handkerchief diagonally across the middle, lay it about her shoulders, and pin it in front. A second one fold backward from the hem about three inches, . lay it on her head with the fold framing her face, and while she holds it in position arrange the back into a cap by turning up the hem in the back until it is short enough to lay over the curve of her neck; take the two lower corners and, bringing them together at the centre of the back, pin one over the other. Flatten out the flap into a box-plait and pin. Caps made in any other way are equally effective, so that they are quaint. The third handkerchief is to be made into an apron. If each girl can wear a big-sister's skirt reaching i;o the ankles, the costume will be complete. Have six stools or kindergarten chairs placed about the front. One little girl acts as leader. She enters first, singing the song above, and courtesying daintily to the audience on the words, ''Just so. ' ' She then stands at one side and announces : ''Working her Sampler.'* A second child enters, with a bit of coarse canvas or other material.' She walks to the little stool or chair, singing the above words of the song, with appropriate gestures, as she works. She keeps stitching through the remainder of the exercise. Leader announces: ' ' Dipping the Candles. ' " A third child enters, and sings the same song, stooping over and dipping imaginary candles into tallow very slowly. After singing, she sits upon her stool beside the girl who is sewing, and occasionally dips a candle. Leader announces: "Spinning the Yarn.'' The fourth girl enters, and, sitting on her stool, sings words while pretending to spin — turning a wheel, pulling the thread, 168 PILGRIM MAIDS 169 treadling witli one foot, and so on. All these things must be accom- plished with gestures. Leader announces: ' ' Knitting the Stockings. ' * A fifth girl enters singing, and plying her needles in a bit of knitting which she holds up to audience (which may be part of the leg of a ready-made stocking). She sits on her stool and continues knitting. Leader announces: ** Going to Church.*' The sixth girl enters, carrying her hymnal, her hands clasped demurely over her breast. Leader announces: ^'Pilgrim Maids at School." All five leave their stools, and stand in a line, reading imaginary books. Seventh girl enters, and leader, looking very severe, leads her to a stool and when she sits down puts a dunce cap (a cone of stiff paper with the word " Dunce " printed on it) upon her head. At words, ''Just so," girls shake finger at the one upon the stool, who does not sing. After singing, all but leader resume stools. Leader warns: ''Children should be seen — not heard." All the girls rise, put fingers on lips, and hum the air while passing out, shaking their heads sorrowfully, and showing they are not allowed to talk. Leader goes out first, and "Dunce" comes last. WAITING TO GROW FOR ANY NUMBER OP CHILDREN CHAEACTEES: Eobin, Eain, Wind, Sun, Flowers, Grass-Blades. COSTUMES: These need not be complicated, nor difficult, nor expensive. Eobin is a boy who wears a coat with long tails and a cap with a long beak, both made of dark-brown lining, and a waist- coat of red-brown. Sun wears a crown of gilt paper and shoulder- knots with long streamers, and a scepter all of the gilt paper, or of yellow cambric. Eain is a third boy, with a silver-covered hat, shoulder-knots, and long ends of silver, a bright red wand decorated with streamers of silver, and a small drum which he beats with his wand. . Wind wears a high-peaked hat of stiff paper, covered with irregular patches of bright colors, fringed shoulder-knots, and many streamers of vari-colored strips pinned on his sleeves and coat; he carries a big fan, and a trumpet, each decorated with long streamers in many colors. As many children as desired represent Grass-Blades, each one wearing a high-peaked hat, covered with strips of green tissue fringe, green shoulder-knots and streamers. The Flowers wear little dusting caps of the color of the blossoms represented, with little petals of green falling about the face, shoulder-knots and ends of the blossom-colors and green; thus, the Eose has a red cap with green petals and shoulder-knots and ends of red and green; Daisy wears white and green; Violet, blue and green; and so on. The Grass-Blades and the Flowers steal into the room and settle down in sleeping positions in different parts of the room, singly, and in groups, Flowers and Grass together. They sing in soft, sleepy tones "Waiting to Grow." After singing they continue their sleep. 170 I tt Waiting to Grow. 'm ^ f^— fr ^^^ 1. *| I/it - tie white Snow- drop justwak-ing up, 2. And think what hosts of queer lit - tie seeds, 3. And think of the roots all read -y to sprout, 4. *1 On - ly a month or a few weeks more, 5. *1 Noth-ing so small or hid -den so well, ^^ ^ & ^ Vi - o - let, Dai - sy and sweet But - ter-cup, 1 Flow - ers and moss - es and ferns and weeds, Are Reach-ing their slen-der brown fin - gers a - bout. Are Will they wait be - hind that door: Oh, God can - not find it and ver - y soon tell His X ^ Think of the flow'rs that un - der the leaves un - der the ice and lis - ten and watch, sun where to shine and are un - der the snow and un - der the snow, .... the leaves and the snow, .... for they are be - low, his rain where to go, To m t- m i g ^g Wait - ing to grow, Wait - ing to grow. Wait - ing to grow, Wait - ing to grow, help them to grow, _!Sl! 0» yes, yes, yes, yes, to wait - ing to grow. wait - ing to grow, wait - ing to grow. wait - ing to grow, help them 'to grow. i 171 172 FEIDAY AFTEENOON ENTEETAINMENTS Enter Wind, blowing a bugle-call on his trumpet. The Flowers and Grass -Blades stir drowsily. Some open their eyes, yawn, rub their lids, then settle back to sleep. Wind sings the first verse of the song as given for him, running here and there, fanning the Flowers and Grass; they stir, but do not awake. After singing he retires to one side, and Eain enters, beating a roll upon his drum, then waving his spear. He passes about singing his verse, the Wind in the back- ground softly tooting the air with him. The Flowers stir as before, but go on with their sleeping, as Eain retires to rear beside Wind. Sun enters very quietly. He passes about a-tiptoe, waving his scepter gently over the Flowers and Grass, as he sings. The Grasses waken slowly, and some -of the Flowers yawn and stretch, but do not open their eyes. The children should make this sleepy awakening as gen- uine as possible, rubbing their eyes, yawning and ^p on. While Sun sings, Wind toots the air softly on his trumpet, and Eain beats the time on his drum; after singing. Sun joins the other two at the back. The Wind, the Rain and the Sun. From "Pinafore." ^^^^^^ ^ Si 1. I am the Wind, and I trav-el ver - y fast, Up - 2. I am the Rain, with pat-ter and plash, And 3. I am the Sun, and my sweet and gen-tle rays Will ac- -t 1— m ^=s ^^^ ■-¥ on my trum-pet I blow a great blast; I thun-der's roar and light - ning's flash; To com - plish more than nois - y ways; My WAITING TO GROW 173 fe ifeEtEE^ g^^i^^iE fan you all gai - ly as I hur - ry past, To wak-en you drow - sy ones in I dash, Nev-er sun - beams bright like fair - y fays, Will a 4—1- warn you that your win-ter's nap is o'er at last, car - ing if my man-ner be quite rude and rash, rouse you Sleep-ing Beau-ties for the glad spring days. iS After Sun ceases singing, the Grass-Blades slowly arise, and join hands. They sing while bending to and fro. Creeping Everywhere. fa * ^. 1. By the sun - ny riv - er's side, Where the pleas-ant 2. All a - round the o - pen door, Smil - ing on the m m ^ arf !ft=fr r r T' M^ £ iz=J: • » • — )t- rich and^Mr', 1 ^^^ ""^ """*' ^^^ ^^ '^°™^' ^^«P'°g *^ " ''^^' P=f=^=l t fr 174 FEIDAY AFTERNOON ENTEETAINMENTS i ^^^^ ^ 15^ where. Creeping where the chil-dren play, In the bright and m ^ $z:)v Sn^^ # — ^ — 1«- ^^^B -^r-^—ji merry May, Here we come,here we come, Creeping ev'rywhere. ^ ^ a Grass-Blades take position in semi-circle along wall. Enters Eobin singing, the first verse being addressed to the Wind, Eain, and Sun ; the remaining two to the different Flowers as he sees them: Robin's Song,^ tei 3 '-^^=^-. 1. "Cheer-Up! Cheer-Up! Chee! Chee!" Now lis - ten all to 2. "Cheer-up! Cheer-up! Chee! Chee!" O Snow-drop, I mean 3. "Cheer-up! Cheer-up! Chee! Chee!" Old Win-ter's set you f i •^ ^^ WAITING TO GROW 175 I rtt ^3= t=t me! When I re - turn it's as sure as can thee ! . . . . And blue-eyed Vi - o - let yon - der I free But - ter - cup, Dai - sy and lit - tie Sweet- ^ i e-^ i ■^'- a tempo ■&- ^^ aft - er me. aft - er me. aft - er me. be, That blos-soms come troop - ing see, I pray you, come fol - low - ing pea. Dear flow- ers, come blos-som-ing g a ^22- While EoBiN sings, he nods his head from side to side, keeping time to the air, and walks proudly about, also keeping time with feet. The Flowers begin to nod their heads in rhythm with his song, as do the Grass-Blades. At the close of his song, all circle about him, and sing a familiar spring song. SONG BOOKS FOR TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS THE PRIMARY SONG BOOK. Words by Laura R. Smith. Music by T. B. Weaver. Contains seventy-two of the newest and best songs for primary and intermediate grades and for ungraded schools. The verses are pleasing and the music is simple and melodious. Several drills and exercises, opening and closing songs, etc., are included. 96 pages. Boards. Price, 30 cents; per dozen, $3.00. WEAVER'S SCHOOL SONGS. By T. B. Weaver. A new and choice collection of songs for opening and closing of schools, special days and general school use. Every song underwent a careful test before it was permitted to form a part of this book. The result is that every song is usable. For all grades. 64 pages. Paper. Price, 15 cents; per dozen, $1.50. A COLLECTION OF PATRIOTIC SONGS. A grand array of thirty-eight of the leading National patriotic airs and popular folk and home songs. Originally selected and arranged for use in the Chicago Public Schools. Printed from new plates on good paper and well bound. 48 large pages. Paper. Price, 10 cents; per dozen, $1.00. PRIMARY AND CALISTHENIC SONGS. With Musical Drills. By S. C. Hanson. A splendid handbook for the primary and inter- mediate teacher. It consists of 88 pages of superb motion and calis- thenic songs and 24 pages of musical drills. 112 large pages. Boards. Price, SO ceilts. MUSICAL GEMS. By Charles L. and M. W. Moore. A graded course in music for rural and village schools. It contains easy les- sons and drills; practice exercises; melodies and rote songs; the ele- ments of music explained and illustrated, with table of keys and glossary; and 65 pages of best selected songs, suitable for school exercises and public entertainments. 128 pages. Boards. Price, 30 cents; per dozen, $3.00. GEMS OF SONG. By S. C. Hanson. This book contains: A clear and concise statement of the principles of vocal music, including help- ful suggestions and devices for teaching music; a series of melodious and well-graded exercises for practice, and a large collection of the choicest songs — both new and old — for public schools. 160 large pages. Boards. Price, 35 cents; per dozen, $3.60. A. FLANAGAN COMPANY :: :: CHICAGO Popular 029 456 502 4 Entertainment Books &£A. m ALL THE HOLIDAYS. By Clara J, Denton. Contains 34 dialogues, exercises, and plays, and^ 36 recitations for all occasions and all grades. 201 pages. Price, 30 cents. BAXTER'S CHOICE DIALOGUES. Ten short, spicy dialogues for old and young. 64 pages. Price, 15 cents. CASTLE'S SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENTS. The best all-round books of recitations, dialogues, tableaux, charades and drills for all grades. Four books published, each having over 200 pages. Price, each 30 cents. DICKERMAN'S DRILLS AND MARCHES. Seventeen new drills and exercises for the lower grades. Music and many illustrations. 86 pages. Price, 30 cents. FAVORITE SONG PANTOMIMES. By Marie Irish. A collection of twenty-six of our old and favorite songs arranged with full direc- tions for pantomiming. Frontispiece illustration. 112 pages. Price, 30 cents. THE NORMAL DIALOGUE BOOK. Humorous dialogues, tab- leaux, charades, shadow scenes and pantomimes for school exhibitions. Thirty-one selections in all 181 pages. Price, 30 cents. THANKSGIVING ENTERTAINMENTS. Contains 77 recitations. 12 dialogues and exercises, 2 acrostics, 3 drills, 10 songs, 12 tableaux, and 32 quotations. For all grades. 144 pages. Price, 25 cents. CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS. Has 72 recitations, 11 dialogues and exercises, 2 acrostics, 3 drills, 8 songs, 4 tableaux, and 33 quotations. 160 pages. Price, 25 cents. THIRTY NEW CHRISTMAS DIALOGUES AND PLAYS. New, original, bright and clever Christmas dialogues and plays for children of all ages. 175 pages. Price, 30 cents. THE NEW CHRISTMAS BOOK. By Jos. C. wSindelar. This is a companion volume to "the author's Christmas Celebrations, of which over 30,000 copies have been sold within about three years. Almost wholly orig- inal, introducing many unique and novel entertainments. 160 pages. Price, 30 cents. A. FLANAGAN COMPANY CHICAGO