OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14927, 1 September 1910, Page 2

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

FOR SENIORS AND JU.XIORS. ' (Conducted by lUgistkk, to whom all communications must be, addressed.) [11 muster will be glad to .receive Kature notes, marked papers containing educational articles, diagrams, details of experiments, etc., of scholastic interest to teachers and pupils. Correspondents must use o.\"M oxe side of. the paper, and whether using-a pen imme or not, must send both • name and address.J ■ BLAKE, ADIIIRAL AND GENERAL • AT SEA; , - ' . IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. Blake and the navy had how pretty well accomplished-.three of Cromwell's 'purposes frthe suppression of piracy" in the. Narrow Seas, tho breaking of the sea power of- v tte exiled .Stuarts, and the'placing of 'England lirst anting nations livfng -uy maritinio oominerce. But more Jiact- to- bo accomplished. In 1654 the dockyards Voro alive ntting out a new but mysterious fleet. What -was its object? Against whom was it to be sent? I'ranee or Spain, or both? Now that the English navy was supreme on tlie seas, and as Firanoe and. Spain had pretty well exhausted themselves lighting each other, " boLh waited with anxiety tho fall of the thunderbolt." Franco had harboured tho exiled Stuarts, "had allowed them and their adherents to the merchants of the Channel, had interdicted the importation' of English silks and woollens, and without any.-declaration of war the private'and national - cruisci's of tlio two' States had long carried letters of marque against each- other.' 1 . Spain,-on-tho .other hand, was - thoi great. Roman Catholio Power, and as such was the,natural enemy of. Puritan England,; apart from. the. fact that when Cromwell demanded, freedom of trade with tho Spanish colonies, and freedom of conscience lor English Pro-, testants in Spanish dominions, both were refused. So against Spain," which had more oversea commerce and colonies, and because such a war would be a religious crusade also, and therefore a popular one, war .was declared. But, in addition, there' were-old scores to be. settled in the Mediterranean with 6undry people who had assisted Rupert, or taken English merchantmen, or sold English into captivity. ■ ; To accomplish this, work two expeditions left England aboiit the same time—early in 1655. Penn and Venabke sailed for the West Indies with about 40.ships, "carrying 4410 seamen, 1114 guns, and about 3000 soldiers. Blake, with.2s sail, carrying 4000 men and 900 guns, was to isolate Spain and interoept communications while Penn and Vena.bles .wolfed their will in the West. Ihe conception of the double campaign wa6 masterly," and "had it been'pursued with vigour and precision it is more, than- probable _ that England - v,-culd have founded an empire in-South America-as well as in tlie North.-" -What happened in.'the Occident does not concern us, but- we might remember that, though the expedition -was a oomparative. failure,. our possession of Jamaica dates from that timis. '

As war ha<l not .been declared when Blake anchored in Cadiz road, "ho was re-' oeived, not only by the Spanish authorities, but by captains and • officers of all nations at the- great ■ emporium of trade, w.ith extraordinary demonstrations ,of respect. The English .residents crowded the beach, eager to catoh a pliropse-of their renowned countryman. A , Dutch admira.l, lying there with his fleet, lowered his.flag an honour of itihe Red Cross." Portugal •had already paid. a® indemnity'of-£SO,'(WO, so ho thought that the "soino more fitting oocasion had now arrived to deal with the other three. Mediterranean powers which .had previously ' set' England- at nought. The Duke of'Tuscany's turn oairio fust, wlion Blake appealed- at Leghorn with M sail and .dconanjied £60,000. The .Duke tried to parley, "askid for time to • consult, the Pope, and offered to pay part abb'ut the rest ; but JBlake was inflexible and a•' peremptory order brought down" 35,000 ;Spanish pistoles, and:,25,000 Italian, with the information that, sonic of Rupert's piratical seizures had been disposed of in ltomun porta. Rome had anticipated trouble." The terrified' Pope gave orders for a solemn procession, • and tho Sacred Host was exposed for 40 hours to avert tho threatened calamity from the Dominions of tho Church. .' , Trains of monks paMded , ' : the' , 'streets in- (jenitehtial garb, and' new'' \vo?ks : 'were -Hastily 'raised about the' 'of'-Loretto' to ; preSe'n*e it. from pillago." I Many of the rich citizens, fled; " buiyinjr .their ' wealth in': secret plaees'pr carrying it • into -, the' -Umbriah; Appsnines." An officer'was sent, to the Pope "'to" 'demand "> ropa ration*. .Remonstrances and supplications were...idle, and as the power to e&foroe-was at hand the " Pope's fiscal was obliged to: pay down to tiho heretics 20,000 pistoles—probably the only money ever brought from Roman ooffers to enrich the public treasury of Erwland." Next oame, the Barbnry. Powers'. " War -was' their oharter, its, spoils, their revenue. The Dutch had tried more than . once to make peaoe with them, but they 'would not hear the word: pirates by birth, education, and policy, they knew.no power but, that of the eword, admitted no law but that of ineosssity." The first to bo ap- ! Broached was ' the Bey of Tunis, who laughed at tho "idea of -the: flag tliat, bad not .'.waved' in his seas within; the memiry of (the oldest. Mussulman exacting -reparation for -the dark deeds of a generation or mOro. The dtetails make a fairly long story, but suffice it to say that Blako's guns silenced tho forts, and his cannonading, and boats' crows, with boarding panties carrying torches, burnt, the proud fleet to tho water's edge. The other Beys were more dtsoreet, and come to' terms.. Result? En.g.lieh merchaait.mon-and .subjects were unmolested until Charles II showed Jiis impotence to exact retribution. It should bo remcinberod that in fighting the Bew the Commonwealth ran the risk of offending Turkey, _ their nominal suzerain, and the English merchants ■ in Smyria dreaded reprisals. But there was samethinjj so thorough in the work of the Commonwealth that all and sundry now treated the English with the greatest ro-. spect. . ; • A run up ithe Adriatic to Vcnioo was the next part of Blake's programme, and there ho was received with royal. honours. The Venetians had 1 had-.no special^quarrel with'the English, but Blako's .doeiaivo acts convinced the able and astute rulers .of. Venice that a -prompt offering of friendship to tho Western Republic'would be politic. Blake then had a look in at Malta "to 'teach the proud and unprincipled Templars soma respect for the rights and properties of heretical Englishmen.' These princely marauders believed thomselver, a serious power in the Mediterranean, and ■in some degiw they made a pretence of • bein." the guardians and the . arbiters Cif Europe. But the unceremonious measures in which Blake .had exacted reparation from the prince® of Italy, and in which he. had even laid hands on Popo Alexanders own. coffers, warned them that their cloincal, character would afford them no proteotion bom the" strong arm of English justice, and they retored to their lawful owners the spoils of their warfare against linglish h fwo CS other visits to the. Barbary cities, and the seiizng of a few .French, ships between whiles, by way. of reprisals brought his Mediterranean oruiso •to a close, and, left him free to devote himself, to the Spaniards. But an incidsmt-ought.to.be. related before' summing up ..t-no, his work in the Midland. sea, because :it - gavo Spain a foretaste of what %to expect, and shows Blako's promptness and thoroughness of aoticm. "The fleet put in at Malaga— tihis was before there was an open breach between England and Spain,—and the men were given leave' to go ashore.- ' One of the sailors was so rash, or so brutal, or so "good a Puritan, or perhaps only so careless' (says Hannah, in his'life of Blake in the English Worithies series) 'as to do something whioh the Spaniards interpreted into an insult-to a' relieious orocession, A monk of notorious piety egged the bystanders on to handle the heretic, roughly.' He complained to Blake, who asked the Viceroy to punish the monk.The Viccroy replied that the civil authorities had no power over the Church. Blake's reply -was a request that the monk should /.be handed ovor to him, the alternative being the bombardment of' the-town'; • and" tho decks were- cleared;for;-act.ion. This brought the monk alongside. '' Then,. onthe ' quarter-deck of the' George, Blake made his "great -declaration concerning the rights of a British subject.' The monk was told.that if complaint had.been made to Blake that the sailor would have been punished,' but that for the Spaniards to take the law into their own hands could not •be tolerated. Englishmen were to. be judged by Englishmen. With this warning the monk was then told that, 'as ho had made his submission, ho would not bo hanged, buE set free. When Cromwell heard this story -he was grealty delighted, and uttored his famous 6aying: 'I -will make the nam©-of Englishman to be as much dreaded as ever was the name of oivis Romanus' the first assertion of a policy, l adds Hannah; 'now somewhat fal-, len into disusi.' Referring to his Mediterranean expedition, Hannahwritef: 'This ..Cruise is one of 'the .moSf'inipsrtant in 1 the: history-of" the ■•English navy. Tho r inere fighting alone.., . . waaof att'epooh-makirig character,' for 'Blake first, taught sailors' to, despise castles on shore,' But

still: 'It marked the ending of the period in.which our merchant ships were expeotfld to: protect themselves, and the beginning of -the better time in which they hare 'had the fleet always at hand to protcot 't.hem. Elizabeth had.negotiated for her merchants and had fought on occasion. James had threatened strong measures, and had sent n 'squadron to Algiers. .It had, however, done nothing Englishmen had not every reason to forget. Neither of these sovereigns—and still less Chnrlos—had been able to follow out a consistent policy designed to make ..foreigners understand, that awrong done to the nwatiest of Englishmen was an insult to. England, which would be vigorously avenged. Blake's cruise taught this lesson. He had made the round of tlie Mediterranean with aii irresistible fleet showing the flag, insisting on.a settlement of old accounts, and letting princes or pirates see the force which could and,would 9°™° * c , j-' l ® ™lp °f every aggrieved sublet of. the. riders pf .Britain and ■Ireland. In 1655 the navy came to its majority. It passscd from being "tfie protector of. the si, of-England' artd the force which could carry , out an" isolated enterprise,, into a permanent; armed cliiva ry of . the sea always at hand to protect all those who g0 upon the sea on their' •lawful occasions, and the untiring enemy WILTT 3 of . manl:in( '> the pirates who aio nostes humani generis,'" (To be concluded.) . ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES FOR . SEPTEMBER. (By Alpha.) Last month I give a brief outline of the series of changes through which insects pass as they develop from the tiny' grub or. caterpillar which emerges from- tile egg to the -perfect- beetle,-, butterfly,''-'or.-other mature form. These changes arri 'formed the_ insect s. metamorpjio^s,... $prf, , a lthfough, the. outline referred to above' is truo for the. majority of ;in§ects, ,th,ere,„ar.l\ many cases in which ii "somewhat different process takes. place,.. and tfieso I- -shall. now touch on. " '• •' • :

Insects aro .usually/ divided ;into ..nine groups, called orders. These orders take their names from somo characteristic of tho wing. thus wo have:—l,. Aptc-ra !(windless); 2, Orthoptora (straight-winged):'. 3,' Aeuroptei'a (nerve-winged); 4, Hyme'npptera. (membrane-winged); 5, Coleoptera (sheath-winged); . 6, Lepidoptera (scalewinged); 7, Diptera (double-winged); 8, Inysanoptei'a , (fringe-winged); 9, Heiffiptera (r'alf-winged). Wo shall now run' through these orders and notico the kind of. metamorphosis which each exhibits. Aptera.—Though the name Aptera signifies wingless,, there are a groat many insects winch have no wings,, but still do not belong to thiis order. There are in fact, wingless forms of almost every group, but they have no con'nectior with the true Aptera: Tho order is not an v extensive one, and comprises for the most part small and insignificant creatures which have not .received .a great; ideal'of .attention ..from .entomologists, and '.are consequently not very well understood. The house-frequent-ing silver-fish" which has been several ■times , noticed in our coluimn : belongs to the Aptera. A metamorphosis can hardly pQ said to, take place,* tho Aptera 'remaining; throughout life in much tlio spine condition as the larval form of other insects. Orthoptora.—This • order includes the grasshoppers, loousts, mantids, stick-insecta, etc. The first pair of winga are <jf a stiff parchment-like texture,- and in repose are folded over the back to protect the moro delicate hind-wings. The young resemble the . adults except in the absence of wings, which do not. become fully developod .unt.il the final change .of'skin .takes place. Thereis ho clearly-defined - stage, corresponding to that of tho-pupa or chrysalis of other orders. A large proportion of species ,is altogether'without-wings, or, possess only' useless rudiments. . .

Neuroptera.—The elegant-may-flies, lao'ewings, and dragon-flies come under this heading. They Save two pairs of beautiful gauzy wings, crossed ■ and.', recrossed i by numerous nervules or veins so as' to form a complete network. There aro groat differences in__the metamorphoses of the various families, but in tho leading groups the earlier stages aro passed in the water. They aro very different in- form from the maturo insect,., but, • like the preceding order, do.:, not pass through a distinct pupal stage. la tho may-Dies the first winged state is termed the sub-imago; it then sheds a very.delicate skin and attains tho final form. . •

. Hymenoptera.—The bees,-'wasps, : ants, gall insects,'and 'ichneumon flies are'mem-' burs of this very extensive order."' Unless wingless, forms, they, always have- four wing's.. These .aro membraneous,- usually i,transparent,;and the. hind-pair is. always /smaller lhan'.the front... -Tho metamorphosis. as; very striking.- The mother insect.places some;food in tf cell of Wax;''cafth,'or'"other material,- and [deposita an egg or' 'eggs with it- "From the egg a legless and apparently helpless ' grub, emerges which has hardly, any. visible;.organ except a- simple sort of mouth. It rapidly, consumes the food, and by a series of skin changes attains to a larger size. Having become full-grown it ohangca to the pupal state. In this stage it is seen to. have developed legs iand wilng9. These .parts can hi observed folded close to the body, but in most part not glued to it as in the L&pidoptera, but each covered with a very delicate skin. In trc ichneumons the larva passes its: time in thte bodies of other caterand in some cases in the maturo insect • itself... Other, forms live on. the. eggs of their , fellow insects, and yet others are responsible for the various kinds of vegetable galls. Galfs aire swellings of various ehapes'found on the mots, stems, or leaves of plants." When.'cut open a tiny grub will be found inside, or perhaps a colony of such grabs. : If left in peaco to develop, by-and-byo. a minute fly would emerge from a hole gnawed through the substanc-e of the gull. Many of oui" native plants are attacked by these gall-insects, and the common bush shrubs known as Coproanas and some'of.our olimbers aro particularly subject to tbom. _ The remaining ordurs will ba' doalt with in-next month's' notes. . ' '

NOTES ON CORRESPONDENCE. I hope that my, younger readers may cutting: out 'J Alpha's"VEntomological Notes, and keeping them. From'now onwards .observe as closely as possible any larval or other oh.mges. If: "you have a microscope (a linen-tester costs- only,' Is 6d or f 2s, aiul" folds' i!|) compactly; and is a handy little-.'glass'to carry- about) examine the wings and legs—indeed, all parts of insects, and you will find the work very interesting. A very busy time is now coming on for observers. llow many of you are trying-for the-Otago -Institute prizes. Boys and gii'ls will find it very interesting to take up a dictionary and : trace out the root meanings of the words " Alpha." mentions;.and will find it interesting, to work out the roots in other combinations. For instance, aptera means without wings. Then what.- tloes. ~;Apfceryx .mean? Pteroda'cty?? mentioned in one of: our readers?. aJld so on. I must-.thank, "Student" for liis nr,tc on the nortera; his other note I am holding over, for I may i get. somo information upon it. . . _ '' !'• E. N. " (Dannovirke) wants some information - upon the 'bullfinch, and so do 1. \i no can supplv it? The following'contains the only referenc made to it in " The Animals of New Zealand-"Many other birds were introduced. It is certainly imposssibJo to defend tho intrcduotion of some theso, such as he greenfinch, which was liberated in all the provinces, the bullfinch m JNelson, the Java sparrow in Nelson' and Auckland, and "the graas-parrakeet in Can.the lliree last-named tailed to establish themselves." " P. E. X.'' goldfi "1 an ' n ' eres^'n S account of a tamed

Reference to."N. Z.'s"'letter is held oxer until.-next week. in H, l d ?i VOr 'H r ? alk ' s on crosses in thei southern .sky bccause I wanted to do a htt'e myosfngation.- The Southern, Cross L^„ ra midst, of a sense .of crosses; two the ; 'f •■ti, Al F s - constellation.', tun !i 0 - thß ort arm P°' nls to the arm P ?'" the base star-of the,long tho '■ £, 0 l l ® l ' xvith one ofhasp °f r s ' lorfc arm P°' nts to tho lal. ll ,° f - a fourHl cross: All four aro Cv 4'' "f mT° r? *f e^u ij l . r than-;tlic Southern HOOKER'S HANDBOOK OF NEW ZEALAND FLORA. ,-f T a "y a spare cooy of tliis book ference. '' 1 Want a «•

SEPTEMBER AND SPRING. C$ | StuSkV T fc ™ fc ?' that ions deadof Waned " , Th ° Stil ' MiJ T tho birds SI "E mowfflnVl ■ 't • e3 -r begl, L b u«t . inlo Jeaf, oud soit aip fan the hills,'" ..., 1 suppose you have noticed how lively birds have become. Read what Mr Thomson says in his August jjotes: "The birdsare already preparing . for the nostiiir season, and the, wanderers in quiet paths' ooming suddenly on busy blackbirds or tnrushes see > many a %lit • between rival mates. It is wonderful with what absolute abandon a couple-'of blackbirds trill fight* they attack each other with siich' fierceness and -savagej-y—with beak and wings and spurs-—ihat fchey can almost be caught by the hand, so engrossed are they m the scrimmage. I ha.vo come upon them:while so engaged and marvfilicd to, observe the stafe) of -oxhaustion xvhioh ensues Hter euoh a hght, when they eit almost on their tails, facing one another with their goklen beaks wide open as if -gasping for breath until the more vigorous, suddenly renews the. attack. Male thrushes also engage in prolonged fights, but-for a ; regular hammer' and-tongs . rough,-and-itumble - strugglo nothing can excel the" blackbirds. It beattf cock-fighting. After the battle the suo cesstul warrior forthwith pairs with the hen c-f his choice,, and .his..beaten.,rival looks. elsewhere for a - mate.' The song ;is suspended until this union .consummated." Just now thess "raScals "are busy in my garden.- I have scattered' poisoned wheat to kep them off the seed, but the. wheat is left religiously, alone. In his January 1 notes.Mr Thomson says: "'WhaJ; diggers thrushes and blackbirds are!- . -.

What is tlie prico we pay for having fchfis9 birds in our garden?—A-heavy'toll'on the currants, gooseberries, .'raspbrries, and, pears; labor on in the season' tha stripping of the hollies and the roxyan trees of their pretty'fruit;'.'the invasion of. the native bush by. a dense growth of elder berriesffi and total inabilit to . grow"'cherries and except. under liets. Apd in return, imfc-'^rily l :; their'- s»ng; - which : though silent nearly so; now, is . a chann for great,'part of the' year—but xvonder-: fully immunity from slugs and many an i'*3ct pest;" But if Igo on quoting all, the good bits on birds in Mr Thomson's book, I'11 : j Jia-vo room • for nothing - else." CORRESPONDENCE. Dear " Magister,"—All your readers can no doubt pick the Southern Crass without' any difficulty, but few of-them havo probably noticed that tho 6ky round the Cross is simply full of beautiful crosses. Some | of thorn are of perfectly symmetrical shape, j and if tliei stars composing them'were , of I greater magnitude they would put the ill- | shaped Southern Cross quite'in the shade, so to speak. « Although they are somewhat faint, thee© crosses are quite easily picked ivit-h the ;help. of the little diagram l am attaching.' As my oivn children'have been, very'much Interested when I have pointed them out to them, you may perhaps think it worth xvhile draxving your young readers' attention to them. ' Just now while the I moon is absent is a favourable time for viexving the constellations.—Yours,, etc,, Maori 'Hill. 0. Balk.

.August 22. Dear " Magister,"—The nertera-shown (o me turned out to be onu with a long name —"Nertera dichondraefolia." The second name is from u genus of convolvulus, " dichondra," and the full title evidently means the nertera with foliage like tii'a convolvulus dichondra, which has heart or leaves. This dichondra is' said to bo a widely-spread plant in both hemispheres.. It i 6 found hero in dry ojKn ground often . farming!rounded patches/ It is a silky creeping'plant with small flowers, greenish, about one-sixth of an inch diaThere are three nerteras about Dunodiri. One, " nertera depressa," has no hairs, and its leaves arc broadly eggshaped ; the second one, nertera diehondraefolia, is more or Jess hairy (the specimen sent was slightly so), and the leaves are almost round, egg, or heart 6hape; and the third, "neriara setulosa," is hairy, and its leaves are variable,, somotmies round, ovate, or oblong. Tho flowers of this ore studies in hairiness. The fruit is usually dry, as oppesed to the fleshy fruit of 810. other two.. The fruit of N. dichondrafoiia is doubtless edible, and probably birds eat it. Frails which'are brightly coloured are usually tempting to birds, as; for instance,. .red currants, which in my garden are taken in preference to white, though to my taste the red are more acid. N, setulosa is common in grassy ground, the. others in the bu6h—Stodext. 1 :

Mangahe, Dannevirke, August 21, Dear " Magister,"—Could you or any of your readers give me any .information about bullfinches, and whether any of tho' birds aro'to be found in' New Zealand. .Recently •I noticed one-'of your writers asking the children to take notice and s&a if they could tame any of the starving birds' xvhich they xvere asked'to feed._ A fexv yoam ago during r very severe winter of frost and snow wo had numbers of .starving goldfinches come into the kitchen and out buildings. " Usually the pcor little birds suffered at the hands of the. men and boys, but those that sought food and shelter xvere allowed to fly round unmolested. One bird however, was put in a cage and fed. The cage was opened .every day, and the bird allowed his freedom in the kitchen. After a short interval the bird would return to the cage seemingly satisfied Ono day tho cage was olorad outside and the door got> open, when out flew goldie. That the bird was fairly tame was proved by it allowing one o fthe men- to catch it. Next day the door was opened for it and off it flew? . No/ie,o[ us expected to see it again, ..yet every-'night for about a week it xvould return to its cage which xvas left open outside at nightfall. By then finer and warmer weather htul come,, i,r«l one night it failed to put in an appeal ance, and never saw it again. Wc wore Gerry but evidently Mr .Goldfinch'preferred liw green of the ttv-es to a cage when wavroor weather arrived.—Yours truly, P. E. N,