TO CORRESPONDENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6020, 4 March 1881, Page 4

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

K. C. M., Auckland, writes:—"Could you inform me what would prevent boys being nervous when saying their lessons at school ?"—The nervousness of boys when saying their lessons has frequently its origin in the buUying and blustering manner adopted by manv teachers. When a kind and gentle manner is adopted by the teacher, combined with firmness, rigid discipline, and an unvaryingly unruffled temper, boys soon lose all nervousness. Teachers should always have their temper under perfect control, and however much they may feel vexed by the dulness of some boys, that feeling should never be shown, nor a boy discouraged by word or act. Boys are sometimes nervous in consequence of a consciousness of their lessons being unprepared. This cause can be removed by the boys' parents drilling them at home until their lessons are thoroughly learned. Without the cooperation of the parents, a teacher's efforts will do little good unless the boy is unusually apt at learning his tasks. W.W., Dargaville, writes:—" Will vou be kind enough to answer the following questions? 1. In reading an account of the Arctic Expedition of being on the magnetic pole, does the compass stand still, or does it act there at all? 2. A man, in speaking of being discharged from a ship, says 30 days arc a calendar month. Is it so in foreign-going ships that there are only SO days in every month (calendar)?" — 1. The compass moves according to the direction of the force that acts upon it. The needle of an ordinary mariner's compass placed near the Equator acts in a horizontal direction, because of the centre of force acting upon it. The nearest magnetic polo is so distant that the vertical action of the force experienced at the pole itself is little felt, and the whole motion of the needle appears to be horizontal. As either magnetic pole (wliich is not located at the same place as the geographical pole) is approached, the needle begins to show an inclination to dip for the horizontal. This dip increases as tie magnetic pole is neared, until the needle, if it had the power of free verticle motion, would be perpendicular to the plane of the horizon. At either magnetic pole an ordinary horizontal mariner's compass would have no directive indication whatever, because the force acting upon the magnetised needle would ne equal all around, and would only draw downwards. The dip of the compass is well illustrated by the instrument known as the " dipping needle." At the magnetic pole the needle of this instrument is verticle, the end that would otherwise indicate the north in the Northern Hemisphere pointing downwards. As the magnetic pole is receded from, a directive force begins to act upon the ordinary compass, and the dipping needle recedes from the verticle. The north magnetic pole is situated about latitude 70° 5' 17" N., and longitude 90° 45' 4S" W. - 2. It is customary to regard 30 days as a month for seamen, both in coasting and foreign going vessels. -When a seaman is engaged at a certain sum per month it means a certain payment for every 30 days, odd days being generally paid at the same rate.