OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15302, 16 November 1911, Page 5

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS.

lOondaoted by lUoisrra, to whom all* ton* municitioni must be addressed)

riUoirria wilt t» jraer to recti™ Notuie Affoi. sacked papers containing eduutitnil utieks, diagrami, deUils of experiment!, *tc, ei eehojutto interest to. teachers and pupili. Correspondents must use only osi imx of the paper, and whether uting a pen tanu or not, must send bath huh sad ADDBKSS.]

COURTESY AND DISCOURTESY: A CONTRAST. I heard Professor Mills on Monday sight. I'believer in hearing and reading all I can_ for and against any subject 1 take an interest in, and have but little respect for anyone who refuses to hear the opposite side or speaks contempt!!, ously, of .an opponent whoso point of view ie makes no effort ,to see. It isn't of Professor Mills, however, I wish to speak, but of two little incidents connected with hib meeting. Mrs Don got upon tho platform to make an announcement, and when she turned to go off the Professor, a quaint old gentleman, with an old-timo courtesy, sprang !ip with the agility of a lad, took hold of her hand and with a winning smile conducted her to the seat be had just vacated. Tho audience applauded the spontaneous act, and justly. Now for the other side. /When the meeting had concluded, the chairman, Mr Axelseu, asked tho audience to sing a verse of " God 6ave the King." It was done rather limply, the while women pinned on their hate, arranged their furs, etc., end men put oh their coats, and many simply strolled down the,aisles. Is it too much to expect an audience to 6tand- still while a minute is taken up with, signing a .verse of the National Anthem?

Here is another incident that I saw the otner evening. One of our trams, outward bound, was full, and some ladies got in at one of the stopping-places.. A gentleman suggested to {wo i/oys that they give their seats to two of the ladies. Tho one more poorly dressed did so, but the other--a dapper littlo chap, reading a penny dreadful—ignored the suggestion. I am sure ho .must have felt transfixed •with the eyes directed towards him, uuf ha kept his seat with a courage worthy of a better cause.

By-the-byc, watch the trains going to the various termini, and see on which line of trams gentlemen and lads aro courteous enough to stand aside and let ladies enter first. I think you will find the custom more prevalent on one route than on any other.

BEEKEEPING NOTES. (By Amateur.) As the swarming season will soon bo hero 1 think that a few notes on " increase "' will ro4 be amiss. As I have tried the Alexander method with success, 1 think I cannot do bettor than give it to you in full. ' " When your colonies are nearly full enough to swarm naturally, and you wish to divide Uiera bo as to make two from one, go to the colony you wish to divide; lift it from its stand and put in its place a hive containing frames of comb or foundation, the sarce as you would put the swarm in providing it had just swarmed. Now remove the centre comb from yoiir emptv hive, and.put in its place a frame of brood, either from the hive you wish to divide or some other colony that can- spare one, and be euro you find the queen and put her on this frame of brood in the new hive; also look it over very carefully to 6ee that it contains no eggs or larvae in any queen cells. /If it does, destroy them. Now put a queen-excluding 'honey-board on top of this new hive that contains the queen and frame of brood with their empty combs, then set. your full queenless colony on top of the excluder; put in the empty comb or frame of foundation, wherever you got your frame, of brood, and close the upper hive except the entrance they have through the excluder into the hive below. Now leave them in this way about five days, then look over the combs carefully, and destroy any larva) you may find in queencells unless they are of "a good strain of bees that you care to breed from, for they frequently start the rearing of queens above the excluder very soon after their queen has been kept below by the excluder. If so, you had better separate them at once, but if they have not started any queen-cells above," then leave them together 10 or 11 days, during which time the queen will get a fine lot of brood started in the lower hive, and every egg and particle of larva; that was in the old hive on top will be matured, so it will be capped over and saved; then separate them, putting the old hive on a new stand. It will then be full of young bees mostly, and capped brood, and in about 24 hours they will accept a ripe cell, a virgin, or laying queen, as they will realise that thev arc hopelessly aueenlejs. I would advise you to give them a laying queen, as I never like to keep my full colonies* day longer without a laying queen than I can hoto. In this way you have two strong colonic."! from one, as you have not lest a'particle of brood nor checked the laying of your queen; and with m» it almost .wholly prevents warming. This is the way we have made our increase for' several years, and we like it much better than onv other way we have ever tried.' In. doing so we keep all our colonies strong 'during the whole summer, and' it is the strong colonics that count in giving 113 onr Rirplus."

THE OXFORD READERS. Some time ago I made a general reference to several series of school readers, and said then that in type, paper, illustrations, and literary matter I thought the Oxford Readers published by Honry Frowdo and Hodder and Stoughton were unexcelled. And further acquaintance ■with the books confirm the opinion I then formed. I see that the reriea has been adopted by.the Education Department of Western Australia, and that for some of its work the VI book has been selected by ihe Victorian University. Another outstanding merit is the accompanying Tachers' Companion series, which ought fobe particularly helpful to inexperienced teachers and to these whose reading has been limited—to the latter if only for the book suggested to broaden tho work, and to develop the minds of teachers and taught. At present, I suppose, there is little chance of the books being adopted in OUgo, but that need not Btop teachers from gettin? so'.s for the school libraries, and sets with the handbooks for themselves.

In the handbooks, preceding the notes and suggestions on the several lessons, there are chapters dealing with literary ratter in a general way. For instance, in those accompanying" tho V and VI leaders we have:—l. Some Notes on Methods in tho English Lessons-fa) Our Aims, (b) Reading, (c) The Public Library; II; How to Handle a Reading Lessonla) Introductory Work, (b) The Heading Lesson Proper; 111. Language Work; IV. Grammar; V. VI. Poetry; VII. Handling a Poem—(af Introductio'n, (b) Presentation, (c) Application. These, with sub-headings and other details of an interesting chaiacter, occupy 20 pages. Tho handbook might with advantage even be bought separately, for the cost is Email—only 6d or 8d each. The same publishers are publishing the History Reader, of which books >Jy, and VI "axe out. When completed "«hw eeri-ss will consist of ten books by various writers, and judging by the three J*wed it will bo an admirable set in all Vsspects. The volumes are:'—l. " Childreni in History" (not confined to British History); 11. "Heroes in History"; 111. "Stories from English Historv"; !*• "Outlines of English History"; V. The Tudor Period"; VI. "The Stuart Period ; VIIj "The Georgian Period"; IS?-'!" 1,110 Ktign of Victoria";. IX. Tho Btorv of the Empire"; X. '.'The Reign of Edward VII"; and the prices vary from lOd to Is 6tl. But the history which will excite the curiosity of teachers still more is "A School History of England," br C. P.. F etcher and Rudyard Kipling." C. R. l'lefcher's historical work is well known *°,{T lde " ts > though not to the general public. He has a free, vigorous stvle, at times bordering on tho colloquial, iind as we all know how virile a writer Kipling g, their collaborative- effort was looked

forward to with interest. I have seen two or threo adverse criticisms, partly because breath bos been breathed, into the dry bones of history. It is not dignified enough in porta, I presume. Take this, for instance "They said, 'It is a. Whig war. a war for the interest pf the merchants, many of them Dissenters too, the brutes! It is a war for foreigners. It is all the fault of those who made that witiked Revolution of 1688, and turned out our natural King Anne, of courso, is a native, but who is to come after her!—a disgusting, fat German!' " But there Isn't much of this. I like the following better: "I think it ie to the monks that wo English owe our strong love of gardening and (lowers. And also our love of fishing; the Church said you were to eat onlv fish and eg"s in ,tho* season of Lent and on other ' fast days,' and 60 every monastery, however far from a river, had to have a fish-pond well stocked wfth fish, or else live upon salt herrings, which were difficult to- pet far inland. I always like to think of the dear old monks, in their thick black woollen frocks, with their sleeves tucked up, watching their floats in the pond. I hope they'were always strictly truthful as to the "size of the fish which they hooked and did not land," Tlio Treaty of Utrecht is likened to a notice-board:

This is a British Empire i Foreigners Please Take Notice, and Keep Om It.

Where Fletcher ends or Kipling begins, or vice versa, it is difficult to say; but, no doubt, Kipling is mainly responsidlo for turning several events into poetry which trips along vigorously and merrily, and is sure to be read by those for whom it is written—and, what is more, tho lessen remembered. In the concluding paragraph of ono of the chapters on William Uie Conqueror we are told that the beginning of the history of the English race began with the Norman Conquest, and the chapter finishes, with three verses which might well be headed " England's on the Anvil.," One verse runs % " England's on tho anvil! Heavy aro tho blows! (But tho work will bo a marvel when its done), Little bits of kingdom! cannot stand against their foes. England's being hammered, hammered, "Together," "Norman and Saxon," hammered into one. "My Father's Chair," "The Dutch in the Medway," "The Bells and the Queen, 1911," "Big Steamers," and "The Glory of the Gardens" aro capital pieces—jo are they all. Tho illustrations and maps are good—one map, in colour, with the footnote, "This is a Map of America (and the Way to China as Men believed it to be) which an old Pilot showed- to King Henry VII in the year 1500," is a most interesting ono to those who have not studied old jnaps and charts.

Personally, I think the book, with its unconventional style, its history poetically expressed, and tho deep lessons so plainly taught, is a capital ono to stimulate history-reading. The price is only 1b Bd, though there is an edition at 9s, making an excellent present to a boy lover of history. At least get a copy for the school library. While I am at it I might just as well draw attention to the " Oxford Elementary Three-term Arithmetics." This definite division is a good idea, and, accompanied as the scries is by a teachers' set containing answers and suggestions, even experienced teachers cannot help being benefited by their perusal. ' The work presented is very practical, and good use is made of diagrams. The arithmetics vary from 3d to sd, and the teachers' books from 6d to Bd. I can strongly recommend them.

CORRESPONDENCE AND NOTES. For the next three weeks I must confine myself rigidly to my space, so correspondents must excuse brevity in answers or delay iii publishing correspondenco. At my request Dr Fulton has kindly handed to me his notes on "Tho Nest and the Eggs of tho Utick," and I shall use these «>on, and.also another note bv him on " Rod Eggs of the Ground Lark.' 1 I am holding over meteorological notes except those contained in West Coaster's letter; the continuation of my notes on " The Bov Gardenoia"; and also a note on hbw Sird Day was celebrated in Victoria.

Mr R. V. Gordon (Roslyn) sends me a Derby paper with a marked article, " Giant Monsters," which I shall make use of. Has my correspondent noticed in the Museum pictures of ihese monsters arranged in order according t» the rocks they were found in! A pleasant and profitable half hour can be spent looking at them and following up the, soquenoe of the rocks.

In the 6ame paper there aro some interesting ' paragraphs on "The Rose in Legend," which I shall also use soon.

- K. Sim (Crookston) sends me the following:—" This little bird was picked up dead yesterday with both legs broken. As'l have never seen one like it before, I should like to know if it is a native or a stranger." " Ornithologist-" and " Old Boy " both say it is a red pole, and the former says it is a delightful, teachable little bird", learning tricks with great intelligence. It is an imported bird. Mr G. M. Thomson, M.P., F.L.S., says of it in "A New Zealand Naturalist's Calendar": "Ten redpolcs were introduced about the same time, and these birds arc common in the East Coast districts, though they are almost never seen in the neighbourhood of towns."

I wonder km "Entomologist" (South land) or any other' reader enlighten " Old Boy "! Tlie following on galls taken from the August ifsue of Countrvside Monthly kindly sent to me by a London reader of our column may interest" Old Boy ":~- But moths and other insects become few iu October—even the (lowering ivy scarcely attracta a dozen kinds—and the all-round entomologist has leisure to take interest in other things. One fruitful field is the study of galls. Not all galls are made by fnseo'.s. The largest and most showy are, indeed, generally the work of gallwasps, sawllies, or midges; but mites and minute fungi play a large part in gallmaking also. To study tho numerous galls of the oak alone is enough for a specialist's wholi energies; and our illustration shows an oak twig with three of the most familiar galls upon it. These are the ''artichoke gall" a. 1 , the end of the twig, " cherry galls" which are situated on tho backs of the leaves—unlike the fami'iar " marble galls" which crow on the twigs —and the "spangle galls,".like tiny buttons scattered on the backs of the leaves. All these and many others can bo found now and even after the leaves have fallen." I am fending the specimens of "Old Boy's" to Mr G. M. Thomson, M.P., for an opinion. From Bushey Park a fortnight ago a description of a bird was sent. From the account " Ornithologist" judged it to be a grey linnet in. its bright summer plumage, but "Old Boy" by the same description thought it a cock redpolc. Since then the bird itself—or its remains, rather—has been potted to me, and on submitting it to "Old Boy" ho has his opinion confirmed. As it will he passed on to " Ornithologist," if in a fit condition, he will probably agree with ' Old Boy," for the description sent was rather meagre.

High Street School, November 9. » Dear " Jlagister,"—-I rejd your little notes on the stick insect thia morning with much interest. In connection with my school museum, I have a good photograph of a stick insect, which has pulled oil the old skin and is eating it. 1 shall be very glad to show it to "'.M. G. D.," of Mornington, if she would come to the school.—Yours sincerely,

A. C. Anderson, High Street School,

fl have a fine scries of photographs of" tho stick insect in various stages of development, and of parts enlarged by photo-micrography. If Miss Anderson call.-' at Stark and Co.'a on Saturday morning tho book will be awaiting her. —"Magistcr."]

Dear " Magister,"—l am sending you a small box containing some twigs of Olearia fostcri which have nodules of abnormal growth, which are, I think, of the nature of galls, ajid shall be glad to know if this bo so, and if the insect causing them is a recent a/rival in tho

'Dominion. At first I thought they were of fungoid origin, but on cutting ono or two of them I found a small brownish grub, apparently the larvro of somo fly. Of cotirso the origin of the trouble, may be a fungus, and the fly may utilise the growth for the purpose of rearing its family. I do not suppose there is any ideologist here who could name this fungus, if it be one, that causes the growth, but perhaps some of your entomological friends may bo ablo to determine the nature of tho grub. I have had the "free- from which tho twigs were taken for fully 35 years, and I never noticed any such growths on it before,— Yours truly, " Old Bor."

Ben-Koj, Kelso, November 11. Dear " Magister,"—Wo are sending to ymi per this post a little bird. He m a stranger to us. Could you tell us through your page anything about him. Thanking you in anticipation.—Youis very truly, v J. M'Gillvray.

[It is a rodwll. Three or four have been bent me lately. Read notes elsewhere, and those given last week and week before, and see what "Ornithologist" and "Old Boy" say.—"Magister."]

High Siroet School, November 14. Dear " Magister,"—l shall be grateful for any information concerning a beetle, tho name of which was given to mo as '' elephant beetle." Instoad of two " feelers " it has one coming straight from above tho mouth, and tho body is rather thick and heavy-looking. To mount it for a specimen for my school museum, 1 put in into methylated spirits for nearly threo hours, then fixed it to a cork, and drew out the legs, fixing them in place. It was then put away in a cupboard to dry, remaining there until lunch hour next day. To my astonishment, when next day I looked at it—it was alivo! I immediately released it from its torture, and again immersed it in spirits for two days! Beetles are very hard to kill, but this ono was harder dying than anything I have over mounted. But no mention of an " elephant beetle" occurs in any of our books on this subject. If yon can give me any information I shall feel very grateful.— I am, sincerely yours, Annie C. Anderson.

[It is one pf the rhyncophora or snout beetles, the head being prolonged into a snout or rostrum. Beetles are tenacious of life. If I remember rightly, Professor Bcnham suggested that beetles should be killed by plunging them into hot water for a second or two. The beetle named is commonly known as the elophant' beetle.—"Magister."]

Grey Valley, November 5. Dear " Mogister,"—l am sonding you along the rainfall records of Greymoulh for the months of September and October. Tho past month was not altogether a pleasant one over here. Up to tho 12th not a drop of rain fell in this part of tho district, and things were too dry, an unusual complaint for the time of year. But, how soon were we to receive too much water' The flood on tho 24th and 25th was tho biggest experienced since June, 1905. At Grevmouth during tJvreo days 6\l7in fell, while at some other places a good deal more must have fallen. Towards tho end of the previous week occurred the heaviest snowfall this year, and tho weather being very mild, it, of course, melted, and coming down did not liclp to improve matters. I was reading tho other day that an inch of rain on an acre of ground weighs 101 tons. Think of the nature of the country of the West Coast, hew mountainous and hilly it mostly .is, all the rivcru and their many tributaries being really mountain streams, and imagine what raging torrents they must become in an "oldman" flood. Have you seen the rainfall map of New Zealand as made out by the Rev. D. C Bates, " Magistcr'■'! It is a most interesting map, and how well this part of the country iooks marked black to represent over the lOOin of rain annually. Tlw» New Zealand Farmer has it printed in this month's issue, if anyone cares to look it up. I heard the'first shining cuckoo on the night of the 11th of Octo-. bcr. And several times sinc/5 I havo lizard them, but never caught a glimpse of one yet. The long-tailed cuckoos seem to have deserted us of late years, as not one has been about for a long time, Tho thnishes and blackbirds have taken to building their nests very low down, and a good few have been discovered in tussocks. We wonder if tho reason for this may not bo that they hope their nests, with the precious contents, will escape the sharp eyes of that great enemy, the shining cuckoo. Do you think this could bo tho reason, " Magister "! With best wishes from yours sincerely, "West Co»ster."