OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14439, 4 February 1909, Page 4

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN.

FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS. (C»nductc<l by Maoistto, to whom all c«mMunicalions must lie addressed.) [Uagister will be "tad lo reccive Nature notes, marked papers containing educational articles, diagrams, details of experiments, etc., of scholastic interest to teachers and pupils. Correspondents must use only onk fIiDK of the paper, and whether using a Mime or not, must send both xahk and ABBRRSS.J

THE EDUCATIONAL ASPECT OF IIOHMKS. Last week there appeared the first portion of a series of extracts from an article on "Entomology," taken from "School: A Monthly Journal of Educational Thought aixl Progress." The following complete t'ha scries:—

Leaving the heated atmosphere of controversy, we will taKo to the open air, and follow the child over lields and hedges in t the happy pursuit of his very own heart's desire.

The lirst thing our young entomologist docs' is to buy a btttl crlly-net ? and sally forth the lirst line opportunity brimful of expectation; (or who knows if some choice rarity may not. cross bis path this day! Such luck has befallen othets, and why not him':

At tirsl all is grist that comes to his mill, and he returns home with a box full of treasures and a body full of healthy fatigue. But his enjoyment does not end here, having worked oil' his boisterous spirits iu ihe open air, he lia.s now a patient task before him, which will train his clumsy lingers to a dexterity equal to that of the nimblest needlewoman. Patience indeed is required, and much of it; and many a disappointment will be mel with on the way, as now a slight jerk of the linger dislocates an antenna or pricks a hole iu the wing cf one of his Ix-st, specimens. Such incidents will not discourage liitn, a!> most of his earliest captures will lis of tho commoner wjrt, ot which mora can be secured lo replace the preliminary failures; and before he has bccome expert enough to discover tho haunts of rare specimens he will have gained enough experience iu manipulating the needle to enable him to tackle their ''setting" with confidence and sucooss.

Incidentally, and unwittingly, he is all the time acquiring strength of limb arid keenness of vision in these exciting hunts afield in the gioikms sunny davsf in his anxiety, ion. to gauge the weather for a prospective outing he will liccoine no mean hand at foretelling Nature's signs. Nor will he he idle if a. .spell of dull weather intervene. Then is the time lo leave l.he net behind, and set oil' in search of caterpillars; and in this pursuit his eyes will ho trained to a sharpness that .seems marvellous to the uninitiated. As is well known, caterpillars, like so many others of Nature's children, are adcpln iii the art of assimilation or protective resemblance. Tuko the common poplar hawk larva, which always lives on the under-side of leaves. a.nd varies through all shades of green in Accordance with its food, from the deep green of the largeleafed Spanish poplar to the milky-green of the so-called silver poplar; set our young entomologist by the side of a fully sense-developed adult beneath one of these poplar trees, and in five minutes if the tree he tenanted -{lie former will be leading ill tile caterpillar hunt probably by about three captures to nil, to ill's delighted pride and to the wonderment of his grownup compel i I or.

This method of obtaining specimens is generally adc.pted in tlie ease of the larger moths- hawk-moths in particular, whose rapid lliglit makes them difficult to capture on the wir.g and still more difficult to .secure in an undamaged condition.

'J lie rearing of caterpillars at. home will provide a fund of intelligent enjoyment to our young friend, and he will be found to devote the most loving and patient attention to tliei-.e little creatures. (" Loving, indeed." comes (he scornful rejoinder, "when he is mi-rely keeping them for th" slaughterhouse, like n fanner fattening his sheep!'' Well, wc can only repeal our argument.-, the boy ooi'.s not think or tiik km,unci till the time comes, and when it conies it passes a.? a sma.!l item in the process of collecting; and meanwhile for weeks together he is all the time wrapt up ill an enthusiastic interest in watching the life history of Ihe insects unfolding itself before his eyc«.) Another valuable lesson he learns in connection with this hobby is the knowledge of trees and llnwers. lie cannot, find the different caterpillars unless he kuo\v> their food-phi-nR From tins he will very likely acquire such all interest in botany that, he will make this a supplieinentary hobby to his insccl-c-ollecring; ami in after years, when his intelligence and sensibilities have developed, his love of Nature may lead him lo feel aversion for destroying the beautiful little insects he used to <ollect, and he will turn his-attention lo the study of living Nature in her own haunts, and restrict I|K, collections to those lhat do not involve Ihe taking of life.

A XOTK ON OllCHir^. Mr Walls sent, in last week an orchid which Mr CI. M. Thomson. F.fj.S., identified a* IJastrodia ('unninghamii. Ai Ihe meeting of tile Otago Instilute held in (/<t"Ler, 190,. .Mr Thomson had a note Upon il, ami ihis nolo ajipear.s in the yearly vohim<> of Transactions. From it 1 extract ihe following -.—" The genus fla-strodiii b?Ion:: sto a trilw of Orehidom (f)relhus.il), which contains several leallesx species, some of •vhieh have ralh'M- lle-.'iy iliizoirifs or iub",*s, and are evidently saprophytic Ifee.liug upon dead organic matter] in growth, while Ihe species of Kasirodia itself are said lo be parasitic oil roots. ...(!. C'ui.niughainii was formerly abundant- in all hush-covered parts of Mlago, and some 2(1 years ago was still lo be i.iet. with in the Town I'ell of Dunedin. bill it has disappeared from many localities willi ihe spread of cultivation, the inroads of oat lie, anil tin* competition of cocksfoot grass and oilier aggressive intioduced species of plant.-. Il is now some years since any specimen has b?en found in the neighlxiurhood of Ihis city

Tho starchy nature of the rlii/.omo has lor.g been known, and, according to Cheese man. those thick rhizomes were formerly collected -1111! eaten by the Maoris, especially ill th" Hriwera country. ... It is desirous ilnit ike parasitic habits of theso orchid*, should be more closely investigated. i have no re;ord of tho roots on which they '.'row, tor can I find that any circftd examination of ihese have been made. . . . The casual collector has usually little time and few means to undertake such an iuve-tigation. but anyone dwelling in 11 Inish district whore these plants are common eould readily find out. Tlti* note is a prcliminarv one. as I hope to be able to look into the matter agnin." Mr Thomson adds n.< a postsi ripl. when editing hi* i;o!e for the Transactions:—"! placed a few portions of the rhizomes in damp moss in September last, rovering them with leaves and liuinus. and keeping the whole mass moist. Now (Deeenilier J'j) lh'\v are throwing up stems with scale leaves and rudimentary llowei-buds. Rut. the growth is thin and stunted. and is the protluct of conversion o( ihc material stored tip, not the assimilation of new [ood-mat-nriul. No loots are being developed, and presumably the specimens will die without coming to any full development."

Two thoughts instantly strike me: I must a'k Mr Thomson when he conies luek front Wellington whether the orchid did die. Mr Waits and oi.hors might notice where they grow icmirallv. and tw find out. bv ol sei 'itio'. (>'■ bv ex|>eriiiient U|>>n what roots it does feed.

Another time I will give a few more notes on orchids. I -diall atrain draw attention to

"Fertilisation of Orchids," b.v Charics Darwin, now published at Jia!f-a-crown net. "I'mi.ix' lent me a copy, but I must g?i one of my own. Tiitl is a failing I have: if 1 borrow n Ik ok and I am interested in it, 1 want to buy it. The hook then censes to b? a pawing acouaiutanee. and beeou.es a permanent friend.

CROAK! CROAK! CROAK! A fortnight ;!j?o these columns conkiwicil a few notes lipaii laiijiolos. and 1 promised a few more upon the fro;;: but T am afni'il ibat mv promises are more easily made than fulfilled Tin 1 tadpole In its earlier stages lias a little sucW on 'lie under surface (if ibe head 10 enable it to fasten itself to weeds, ete.. :tnd feathery. outside branchin;; jjilis wliioh. however, sratbiallv disappear, »iviii£ place lo the trill slits similar i« those in a. fish, the water bi'tusr taken in at the month and driven (til tlir>;i! K b the*' :;i|k Aii.l a prptly li',:le experiment can be made to prove thK (iet a very tine •vrintre. fill it full of ...loured wa'kT. ai.,l canfuily siiniri this near the mouth of th" tadpole You may be -ouie time h'fore yon do tin* wil.hou: dislnrbiitj the l.idiole. but il ran be <!en-\ llv-aiid-bve. a fold of .-kin tailed the operi-.ib.ini. s row« ovrr these sills, and. al the tattle time, th.' hunis develop. In the frojf iui oifloriwcnt, n ralkr dissection,

shows the lungs nicely. If it be pinned back clown on a heard and opened lip the lungo can be wen. and by inserting ;i tiilh.- into the nostril and V,lowing; through it—the tube, 1 mean—the lungs can be inflated, and they will show a beautiful network of "blood vessels. It, is very interesting lo vrr.tch a frog breathing, for its breathing apparatus ac'.s on the suctionpump principle.

The suction-pump principle of breathing risod by a frog when out of 'water is interesting to watch. Notice t.hat when the breath is being inhaled, the floor of the mouth is forced downward, iJien a

"bone process on the terminus of the nose doses back and blocks exit." and the floor of the mouth being raised, the air is forced into the lungs. Briefly, there are two operations: breath is taken into t.'m mouth cavity via the nostrils, and the, nostrils ars then closed and the air driven longwards. Then those two operations aro reversed for the exit. In water, breathing is done, through the minute pores of ihe skin. Perhaps some of my young readers do not know thai water contains air, but it docs, and by tho process of osmosis this air filters through. If a frog bo placed in a tightly-sealed jar of water it will soon die, because il. will have exhausted the water's air storage. I should add, perhap.", that in the underside of the month there is a vocal sac into which The breath is forccd from the lungs when the animal want" to croak, the passage of the air through the larynx between the lungs and the sac causing the noise. Frogs have a gocxl capacity for gas, so are envied bv M.P.'s,

Look at the eyes. What shape is tho pupil? Notice how tho eyes, if touched, sink into Ihe mouih cavity. How many lids have each eye? How many moveable? Keel the teeth in the top jaw. Any in the bottom? The tongue is a- peculiar one. Ours is fastened in the back and lies forward: the frog's is fastened iu the front of I lie mouth and lies hack, but when the frog wants to catch an insect the tongue is shot forward and the insect is caught ou its sticky surface anil transferred to the mouth. H would be rather curious lo see a family round the table, tongues hung in front, and shot out on lo the plate to transfer focd to mouth!

T have suggested that a freshly-killed frog might 1)0 fastened hack down on a piece of cork or a hoard and opened up. The heart will si ill he. healing, and if you are skilful enough to dissect it carefully you will find that white our heart has two ventricles, the frog's heart has only one; hut. it. has tivo auricles, as with us. In the live animal it is interesting vo note the number of inhalations to the minute, and to count, the times the floor of the mouth <}rops and rises. Take two or three frogs oxposo inm lo a strong «tiid notice if tlio tint of the skin gcf/liyhloi- or darker; t-hon put them in i very dark place anil see if they get any lighter. When a tadpole is changing into a freg. which pair of leg* appear finst-V Dissect tadpoles in various stages of progression and note development of legs, etc. Notice, too, how the tail is gradually absorbed into the system—rather convenient to have a tail to feed upon, isn't- is? How many toes on the front foot? On Ihe hind? Any webbed? If you have a- fairly good microscope. it is interesting to watch the circulation o( blood through the web. A fvcg can be placcd in a daii'ip hag and its leg brought, forward to eiiahlo this to Ik> done, and the animal need not he the worse for it. T don't advocate cruelty. I'erapbs next week I'll wriW a little more upon this interesting ercature, and may also give a diagram or two to hell) '' 10S0 who wish to study the frog.

Now, I daresay that, rnauy of my young readers hiive noi a frog, for in many parts of Oki<io they arc not- found. Hore is tvhoro n system of OA'chaiigo would come in useful. ' Perhat;s some readers willing to forward a tadpole or a frog oitwo to districN where they are not found, may let me have their names, and any wauling one can Mild me their names too. In this" way, by paying postage, a distribution can take place. I ain .indebted to I)r R?nham for many hints and suggestions, and T em sure that there are many townsfolk who have no idea of the great pleasure and profit they would obtain by taking a course under his guidance' during the winter. arc three hooks which will supply gowl winter reading and study:—"The Prog: An Introduction to Anatomy, Histology, and ICinhryologT," by A. Millies Marshall: "Practical' Zoology," by the brothers Parker, one of whom the late T. .letfary Parker, preceded 11 r Petvham; and " Elomeniary Biology," by T Jeffcry Parker him;elf. These csi.ii sometime.? lie p-ckcd rp for a. few shillinps. The two last, of course, cover a ninth wider field than the first,

THE PERFECT INSECT. A fortnight or throo weeks ago 1 gave miiio notes defining insects: the following fiom Nature Notes puts shortly am] clearly a point I omitted to mention: — A comspomlent. mentions I hat Sir John Blair, of liabgallah. recently watched a moth emerging from the piip:s case, and in 10 minutes its wings grew and were perfect. The growing in ibis instanca is only ti figure of speech. All winged insects which app-?ar in this way from a cocoon have their wings perfect, but t-:o folded that they are hardly visible as wings. What the insect does is to blow out its wings with

air, through hollow pipes, which afterwords take in the juices from the body, so lhat ill a little time the wings become perfect-. Xo insect, on leaving the pupa case, ever grow*. Its size then is its size for lifeam! where the insects are smaller than usual it 's owing to the fact that a short food supply has been stored for them.

NOTES OX C'OItRR^POXDEXOE. Tn Mr Morris's letter last week, and in my note upon it. the word " individualiealion" was nwd: what Mr Morris awl I wrole was. I think, "individuation," and 1 was not quite .sure what Morris meant, hut inferred that Mr Morris'means l.he perpetuation of species, and not selfpreservation, is t.ho lirsl law of Nature. In Mr (i. M. Thomson's note on ihe orchid, sent by Mr Watts, "yourV' ws6 given for "vonrs." The apostrophe appears iii print oflener than it. is written. Tn my note to Mr Thomson, a-sking for information. I ask-ed for any reference to the orchid in Cheesemau and other authorities, and he kindly gave me two, as mentioned last, week. But. OheesenWs "Manual of New /.ealand Flora ." a>xl " Transact ions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute" are not available to manv of my readers, so, under anothe.r heading, I am

givimr a few particulars whicli, 1 think, will interest many readers of these columns.

It Rundle's loiter (Leitli street) has been posted to "Tussock." who, if hp is willing to have his anonymity penetrated will reply direct. The gist of the letter is this: Mr (or Hiss—l much prefer Christian name so as to identify pes) Rumlle has a postcard oxclia.ngo correspondent in Holland who wants New Zealand wCd flowers ojid ferns, but II r Kumlle. not lffl'ng able to go into tho biv--.li—Why?- -wauls "Tussock" to help. "Tussock" is a man who keeps himself busy, ami perhaps may not find it convenient. Possibly some other readers can oblige. I aa-mno that, my corrcs,|>m-,'l<'iit will hand over some Dutch postcards In any reader who sends in a. t-upplv of flowers. Rul.'ina's note is held over until next week.

I live received Mr Miirryatt's parcel and shall use of the ;:amplilels. The Nature study leaflets I havo mislaid, but all bent,; well, shall get at thorn in a day or two.

Rimu. has kindly sent me a Ixix of ra-ta bloom and snow berrict-. A townsinan, to whom [ shewed t.ho rata, went into (iver it, didu'l know* what, it was. I am stir.' thousands have never seen it. 1 think we must get- an exchange going I could hove a list of renders, who could simply certain plants awl "baast.iw," and this coukl bo published. Or a note could appoav something' like this:" 'Oamaru' wants io exchange trap-door spiders for kat'incs, send ijddre.ss to Magistki;." Or Middlemarch" can supply good wet".'. What offer in exeluuige'i" mid so on.

Dear " Magipter."—ln reply to " Norf.li Tateti." I would like to see the water cubit or water crow; he is an interesting bird. »ud I have hunted him a great deal. I

wjii io a r.est wit.li five yomig. and although ihoy hsd never boon e,ut of the nest they 1 ftll jumped into the water, so I -went in to ,1 I si>'[ Uii-m, but they di\t?d to the bcitom I | like young ducks, mid refused to be taken j out. The little ouzo! has its home on the | water, and is never seer, to light off the water. " North Taieri' says the pied and ' I the yellow wa brail breed "as our fantailp. | There are Mire? distinct species of wagtails ; j —the pied, tile grey, iu:d the yellow; the Jast " | i« the cons wagtail, and frequents eorn- ' I iields. and does not frequent tile water as a. j the ether two il.\ It also disappears in li ] autumn. " Xorth Taieri" says the blue tit— 1 i tuoi'sj and the long-tailed titmouse brsid i) j as our faniails breed. The blue titmouse ! : builds iis rest in holes in stone dykes and ~! holes in trees, while the long-tailed'titmouse ; : build* an open nest iike our faniail. Tlie ' yrcsif ti.mouse also builds an oj>en nest. p) Vim: authority has " Xord, Taiori" for sjyv nig those birds breed with one another'.' I' . the wagtails are three distinct birds, not i. , miet:o.'. The three fpccw 0 f titmouse o. are I-jo same. Xr.tnre is infc'Hbie. ruling |, | tiie nutoml «stW just as God .rules the.

human world. Thero have been ail sorts of compulsory brooding, but beyond species tliej' can't go. So Nature exists, although it is getting very thin about Xcrih Taieri. when birds can be so«n roaring Irani four to five young in a nest, all wi-th different song. I noticed a pair of piid fan-tails rear three young in a nest. When the young left Hie no?t the old. occupied it again, and laid other three eggs, and reared their young :« jsccoud time. I have only seen the missel thrush use the nest the second time. J., Binm.

Dear " Jlagistcr,"—A friend of mine informed me that flic lias been finding a large number of bees ck-acl between "the leaves of her cabbage.®. Could anyone tell mo why the liees frequent the cabbages, mkl also v.-iiaf. is ! lie- cause of their cle2i.ll there? In your columns last week you mentioned Hint the large beetle (Pric-iius rctic.ila.ris) is gelling somewhat rare about Dunedin. Well, I must confess I do not quite agree v.-itli you. In one locality, not fax from town, I began digging into a very old and 1 rotten pine, and soon managed to extract 30 or JO of the large larviu of this beetle, v.-hile in many ...other logs I have seen equally large numbers. In another place. aJso, I have often caught the beltlc itself, usually under the looso bark of j/ine and toiara. trees.

_ In reply to. my last letter you inquired if I knew all the differences between a mo 111 and a butterfly. I know at least four or five. ;.I believe there are more, but I have beeiy unable to find a complete list of them. For the bcncM of those who did not see your list the lust time it appeared in your column, perhaps you might reproduce it. or mention the date 011 which it appeared.

On two different occasions I have caught stick-insects, and Tia-ve attempted to rear them; but, unfortunately, as neither was caught 011 a, plant, I did not know what to feed litem on. Coald vou toll me what food they wou'd he likely to thrive on in captivity? I am, etc., Fuchsia,

[1 have already exceeded my space, so must lot "Fuchsia's ' queries stand over. Perhaps correspondents can write answers and relieve me a" little.—AlagistEH.]

Waikouaiti. January 29. Dear " Magister,"—When walking along a country road last week we f-aw a very interesting thing—a banded dotterel, which, appeared to be Hying at, and picking, a sheep that was peacefully lying in a paddock. Wc' stayed to watch. The dotterel (lew round' and round in narrow circles, most disturbed, and tried in every way to annoy the sheep'. After some time the bird ran atou" the ground and appeared to fluff itself comlortably down exactly under the sheep's nose. liaoli time tile sheep moved its head the bird would fly away most distressed. Wo climbed the fence and went (0 investigate. The sheep rail, and when we got to the place we could find nothing. It was only both parent birds lying 011 tlic ground a tow steps irom nj. crying loudly and pretending so hard to have broken wings, that made us certain tho nest 'was noar. At. hust we found two liny dotterel and an egg 111 a hole an inch and a-lialf deep and llh wide. There was no attempt, at a nest of any kind, and yet. one could have trodden, 011 tne young, s.o beautifully were Uiev protected by their colouring. Wo hurried away and spent the rest of the day trying to hire a camera; wc Into thoughts of taking tho young in the nest and then 011 a dark backgiomui. Having with difficulty got n camera, we came early i:cx: day. to iintl an empty ln-st. The parents were near at hand, awl though we searched hard wc couldn't find a trace. H was nic-st, disappointing. Now the fields me lull of young dotterel and larks, and in the bush wc saw three tiny tomtits. 'i'liere arc lnnnv longtailed cuckoos in the bush, and in a'favourito place we found a bcllbird and two fledglings.

laiking about the stoat being a coward, wo thought differently a. fortnight ago. when we found a nest of young in tho woodwork of tho porch. High above the ground, over the windows, runs a narrow ledge, and we were startled one sunny day about 12 o clock to see a stoat run along the Ied"o. jump on to the files of the porch, and disappear down a small hole. Thinking tho creature was after birds—ibcy nest there— wc got a ladder and tried to push a stick down. It failed, and, getting down to try something else, we s-,iw the stoat pop out with a young one in its mouth. Our s-houts niado her drop the young and fly. We then lie.tid .he young iu the iiest making ai feeble wail, and till the tiles were pulied' off the mother stc.it hung about, running over the lawn into the hedge, and coming halfway buck again. When the tiles were off the stoat flew along the ledge and got to her young. The hose, put hiil force on her made her retreat. Then, as the man got dorai, unable to leach the licst. the stcat again tlcw along the ledge and jumped down the hole; this time she must have carried them to tho fur end of tho porch. UniorUmmer there was a hollow passage tinder the tiles t.hc length of the porch, mid atl efforts to reach the young failed. About 9 o clock at night she was seen haunting tho lanes and hedges, and finally took them all away. There was no fear iii thirt stoat, and it made us very glad to have got rid of tiieiii so ctksiiv.

I have three of four speciinents of North Island weta. for Thorpe Talbot, which are most interesting. I wit] send them when we come to town again. The boys got many tadpoles 011 three different occasions for you, but they died a few hours after being oaken from tho pond, although we put them most carefully in wtier. Your column seems to yet mote and more inlcrestHi" "Ornithologist" and "Alpha" giving such good hints and teaching such a lot.—Yours sincerely, Fan-tail,.

[Tho dotterel incident is well related, and it. is a pity ibat " Fantnil " did not gd- a snapshot. Wan M Kaniail" discrcctly distant from the .stoat in. (ho little drama enacted'? Perhaps "Fantnil" will lot me have, one of the vetas set aside for "Thorpe Talbot."—Magistki:.]

Oatnajii, February 2. Dear " llayister."—Will you k\u<llv tell me what is the scientific name of tiie while pine "borer" bettle? Wliere can I find any notice of its life-history; or do yon know it? What is the best thing to secure its eradication from the room walls of sn inhabited house? What is the cute to prevent its spreading to other walls?— Yours truly, Ih'RJIEnONIA'.

f" llyrmedonia " has given me an order which I am competent to execute, hut I'll give a note to his subject. This troublesome little customer caused a great deal of discussion in the Times in Hay—l9oG, I think. Dr Bculiam statc-d then "that the bottle is called Anobium doniesticiini. J-i, a discussion thai took place upon it the doctor is reported as having said:—"Tho female IctTo l*jres a hole in'the wood with her jaws, and lays her eggs in the hole. The grub that develops out. of the &>" is endowed with remarkable jaw power,""and a remarkable appetite for wood. The imIMrier! borer is what was ol old timo.s fc-ar-Himcly known as 'the death-watch,' and was satnically versified by Swift." Mr Ki r ; ; , the (ioveJßinent Biologist, says that white pine is not the only wood attacked, and Mr nil], the builder, lias sceif wlut-e pine nearly 50 years «!<! and s-UU unattached, and thinks flint it infests only those trees grown on marshy ground, trees grown on ridges Win" too hard. "A. M. 13.," living at the Lpi>er .Junction, says jt "is a small brown bet tie about the size of a coriander seed and the shape of a ladybird, hut only half (or even less) its size. It was only a fortnight ag«o j.hat " Fuchsia " a High Schoo. scut some io iue. for ictaiiUficalioii. "Various moa:is have boon siiyg-wled to get rid of the barer—painting with kerosene, lime water, naptha, heroine and luqxintine—tho lu«t seems lo not the best. Mr Kirk, in n le-tfor to Air James Allen, M.I suggested puiutiii',; with kerosene or corrosive snb int-alc, or any of the arsenic spi «i.Vs. If t-h© araa to be operate! upon be -Hrye, iwc a common garden knnpsack spray pump with cyclone noazle. This means -caring off paper and liliiiirr. The propor- _ oils and preparation are; dissolve 21b washing soda in 2 gallons of water, then add 21b arsenic and _boil, until thoroughly dissolved; this makes TOO ?;siUoiw of spro-ving solution -a who cade quantity, you see.' It, i s bettor to add some colouring matter to prevent its being wrongly used, for it is » deadly poison. -\lost_ think, howovei, that the cheapest wav in tho long run is to take out affected timber and burn. I have burnt a sofa a, set of bookshelves, and a bed. and I know it is now in one of the partitions, so that must go too, I suppose.—Magister.]

18 Co.legc street, Cuversham,

t, „ r . Janiiarv 31. Dear "Magister, —Thank you for inserting my letter. I am sorry my poor feat.hc-ccl friends arc unkindly spoken cf, hit ihe native birds, had they remained, might have also taken toll of the good things man provideth. It. is a great pity they have died out. As. however, sentiment may cling -to old associations, one likes "to" see tho cliarac'cristic features of a country preserved. I shall Ik delighted lo read the pamphlet you mention if you will kindlv forward it— Yours truly. S.' Stkvekson-.'

[" Our Feathered Immigi-anjs," by .Tanieg Drmnn'.ond. and " The Disappearance of New Zeaiand Birds," by Dr Fulton, hav e been posted. Please return soon.—Magister.]

Shag Point School, February 1. Dour " Magistev."—l thought j»rj;aps it wottld interest your raiders to know that tho rainfall for this region for the year ending December 111. 190t>, amounted" to 1903 points, or 19.08 inches. The months in which the least rain fell were September. October, and November. which were respectively -2S\. 87. and 63 |>ohits. Fane? only {■in for September, the first month of spring, when we ought really t-o have a 'ot nf rain] Xo wonder the grass and crops ripened prematurely. The rainfall for January was 233 points, or 2.03 inches.—Your? faithfully, Hazf.i, Bell. [A nice little note, Hazel, and I should like to get 'similar oiks from 50 schools or

more Tlic dry figures are made interesting by comparisons and inferences. P'ease don't write on both sides though.—Magisteu.]