OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2695, 8 November 1905, Page 84

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN.

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.

iCbnducted by Magisteb, to -whom all communications must be Addressed.]

COMPETITIONS,

Last week I gave Mr Campbell's speech made at Ballarat two or three weeks ago when, at a meeting, he advocated the formation of an Elocutionary Association , and to-day I give the opinions of three other gentlemen who were there also ; and note, please, how one refers to the disadvantage of reciting in an afternoon compared with the better conditions obtaining in an. evening:— Mr de Garie said: There were two classes of elocutionists. When they heard the decision of one judge applauded, and the decision of another disagreed with, they must agree that the thing was uncertain. He desired to suggest to the committee that the competitors should not have to wait until the competition arrived to know what were the principles upon which the elocutionary competitions were to be judged. They should know whether in set pieces they were to adhere to the text book or not. There had been some glaring instances in which the text had been departed from, and the only notice taken of it was when the competitor filled in the text so as to make it connected that it was called clever. Was the text book to be followed? They should all be on a fair and level footing. Mr T. L. Ryan, S.A., moved that a 'branch of the Eocutionary Association such as existed in Sydney be formed in Victoria. He thought that by such an association they would have a decided standard, certain fixed essentials. When they got a system of judging on a standard of work set out by such an association they would get better work, and far better teachers. Alt T. Carey, Ballarat, thought the question to oon*ider was how far they could help one another. He thought more prizes should be given for impromptu work. Why, he asked, were the debates and orations taken in the morning and afternoon, instead of being taken in the evening, when there would be an audience to add warmth to the remarks of orators? He would like tho competitors to remember that the audience was the best judge of the work they performed— the man who succeeded with the audience was really the man who won.

All emphasise the necessity for fixing a standard, and if that were fixed) now, not

only would the boys and girls of our public schools be taught by their teachers to attain that standard, but there would be a continuous flow of competitors from the juniors to the seniors. Further, if a society were formed in Dunedin and a standard fixed, as Duuedin has pioneered the movement in New Zealand, the standard would, no doubt, be adopted all through the colony. Next week I shall note one or two conditions which should obtain where these competitions are established with an educational aim.

It may interest readers— juniors and seniors — to know that two of the pieces in our programme last year figure in the Ballarat programme this year — "The Revenge" and " The Old Clock on the Stairs," — and it will also be interesting to know how the judge commented on them, so I append a- report of his remarks: —

" The Revenge " (Gentlemen). — The adjudicator expressed his pleasure that they had had time to hear " The Revenge " from beginning to end. Se considered it the finest ballad in the English language, and he was not alone in that criticism. Speaking in general terms, the principal want in delivery seemed to be the bodily responsiveness to the dignity of the poem. There -had not been ! the colouring that one might have expected, but in one case, the suggestion of Cassius, lean and crafty, rather than the Brutus. It was not dignified, but rather careless, free and easy. - Of course there had been some dignity, but it seemed with the most dignified reciter that he carried the dignity right through. He was nioTe dignified with the, common sailor than with the admiral. , Then there was the portrayal of death— rhe would not have any stageness about it, but he would like to see the hero through the dying admiral. A little catch in the breath was permissible in this scene. The performances weie on the whole very level. He would like to tell competitors of the value of the "liquid letters. In America at the leading schools of elocution they placed such value on these letters that students were (now?) set apart for six months merely learning the L.M.N. and studying voice-production, for it was recognised that it cultivated euphony, tone, ana quality. He had enjoyed the recital, and he had discovered many good qualities in the reciters. '"The Old Clock on the Stairs (Ladies under 21).— The judge, in announcing his awards, said his task had not been an easy one, inasmuch as several of the competitors gave really excellent readings of the poem, as far as they were allowed to proceed with the piece itself. He had been driven to make his awards almost on technical points. He might say he did not hear a sympathetic renderingof the poem. He had sat and cried over that poem, but not the suggestion of » tear came to his eyes that night. Only two competitors approached the slowness of delivery the poem required. It was a reflective piece, and one or two of the reciters told the piece too much to the audience; they stood as though they were saying a class lesson. There was a good deal of heaviness and seriousness in the voice, which was unnecessary. The first verse was taken as though a funeral was about to take place from the house described. The subject might be a very serious one, yet it migfat be made bright. Nos. 16 and 12 tied for honourablemention. No. 28 had gained third place. She gave the greatest feeling of any as far as genuine feeling was concerned. It was her emphasis, however, that threw her so far back. No. 9 was second, with 84 points. Hers was a very good all-round performance, a good all-round tone. The winner, No. 24, with 86 points, almost lost her owing to class delivery of the first verse. This reciter would have to be careful of this class delivery, which he (Mr Campbell) had noticed in two or threa of her pieces.

NATURE NOTES

This week I have several letters, and I shall be glad if other correspondents will answer queries or give supplementary information. Christmas will soon be here, and I am hoping that the battalions of boys let loose will keep their eyes and ears open and give us the benefit of their observations. In the letters anything, within square brackets ie inserted by myself: —

Sulton, October 21, 1905.

Dear Sir,— About a wesk or two ago I was sitting beside a large pond having my lunch, and noticed a small fly light on the top of the water. I watched to s&e if any fish would rise to catch it, as there were plenty of trout and other small fish in the pond; but to my surprise, after fluttering about on the top of the water for «. efw second's, the fly dived down to the bottom. I thought I nmsit have been deceived, it surely could not have been a, fly at all. In a short time I saw another. This time I watched it flying up and down for a considerable time, and then drop into the water; this one also dived to the bottom. I tried io get a good look at it after it got underneath, but it was l(x> far from ths edge and the water cbout SA dsen. I scon sa>w the flies were quite plentifu l , as I counted over a dozen in a shoit time. Sonis flew clean away fiom the water, and others would fly across the pond once or twice and then drop into the water, and each cne acted in the same way. Ihey appeared to have some difficulty in getting underneath the suitace; but once under water they could swim about with ease. I was very much surunsed. and was

very anxious to get hold of one to have a good look at it. At- last one landed on the water near the edge, and, like the other* dived down among the weeds. 1 managed to get this one out of tho water, and had a good look at it. It is about the size of a house fly but longer and thinner. I was going io send you one as a specimen, but thought 1 would first ask you if such an insect ia common I have never seen or heard of anything of the sort before. If they are unknown I think I could get one again. It was aboub tho middle of the day, in a bright sun, that

I saw them. — Yours truly, Spout. [Please send one. I shall be glad if anj; reader can supply a note on this letter.— Magister.]

Dunedin, October 26.

Dear " Magi?kr," — I saw the letter in this morning's Times from "B. W." re starling's eggs in the nest of a thrush. I have found, thrushra nests with spotted eggs in and also eggs with no spots on. These latter were of the same size, and appeared to me to ba thrushes' eggs. — Yours sincerely, R. J. C.

South Dunedin, October 21. Dear " Magisiter," — As the na>tive birds ara so much confused with the introduced ones, it would ba helpful to a great number of us if Ornithologist cr some other interested person would give us a list of the introduced species a3 far as he knows. Beginner.

Cape Saunders Lighthouse, October, 1905. Dear " Magister,"— Seeing a letter from Mr Hart, principal keeper, Moeraki Lighthouse, re birds on Mokohinau, I can add a fewitems to his account, having spent four years there, leaving there in September, 1895. During the time I was there the following birds were freciuent visitors, striking the lantern, etc.:— Bank's dove [not named iii Hutton's "Animals of New Zealand"] ; petrel (some keepers calling it " blue-belly ") [Is this Hutton's blue petrel?]— this petrel had a breeding place on one of the islands; stormypetrel; ana Cook's petrel. This petrel started to strike the lantern in November, sometimes not till near the end, and continued striking till February, at times till the end of the month; as a nile they struck the lantern off and on for three months. During that time, when it happened to b« my morning watch, I very often went up on to the dome of the lantern to notice where the birds were going to. They generally went in a north-west direction in small flocks, especially Cook's petrel. On a fine clear morning one could see them coming a long distance off, and principally from the southward—probably from the Little Barrier as I was told they bred there in large numbers. I have a 1 so found them on one of the Moko"hinau islands in the month of November, as that was the month we U3ed to go lookingfor eggs. Re birds' eggs: In speaking to the Maoris about the birds laying earlier some years than others, they say it depends on the season. If it is a aamp season the birds scrape their holes out sooner and lay a fortnight or more earlier. The large sooty petrel used to lay on the north-west end of Burgess Island ; the small one on one of the small islands. There was another petrel L found on one of the islands called the sottmvmed petrel [not mentioned in Hutton]. 1U lays a good-sized white egg. We named him! from the description in Buller s book, measurements, etc. There are also a few of Gold's petrel [not in Hutton's book] to ba found on Cabbage Island among the muttonbirds I noticed the Maoris were very.muciu afraid of this bird. On no account -would! they put their hands into the hole. Tneir mode of catching them is as follows:— A piece of flax was tied on to a stick and then, shred very fine. This they thrust into the hole. When it came near the bird it struck at it, and generally managed to put its head through the strands, the Maori giving it afe the same time a shaTp twist, which snared! ! the bird, and pulled it out of the hole. The first bronzewing cuckoo that I have seen, was at Mokohinau. It came one day in the beginning of October and perched on tha telegraph wire and gave its peculiar whistle. I did not know then what bird it was. I put a charge of dust-shot in my gun and! knocked it over, and then I found its name. That was the only one I saw while there. The tui, or parson-bird, brought out young ones one year while I was there. Mr Reeves, one of the keepers, snared "one Maori fashion, ana had it in a cage for some time. I hop* if Mr Reeves sees this he will supplement v, as he collected some birds for Sir WalteU Buller while we were together on the island. Another bird that was very plentiful at times was the kingfisher. During the summer i* was forever killing locusts on the telegiapk wire-that is, the wire from the house s to the lightroom. Sparrows and starlings were SlU^VoL^rhe^ Vey'seemS ful onCatbage Island till the Maoris burn edS it off" no cloubt they weTe com P! U ° d t0 * 1B order 'to get aW. I to get them foU the late Captain Fairchfld. I had four m • box for five weeks without giving them anything; we were expecting the steamer every day. Another time I shall write a few lines on the birds of Cuvier Island.-THOS. J. CoX.

Dear " Magister,"— lt's surprising how some notes or items in the papers recall incidents in one's life, or things that hapnenpd in out younger days. The anow*

•pplies to a paragraph in the Witness of October 18, lieaded.- "^Thei'Naturalist," about fishes that are 'laceis. Up. to the time of reading the Naturalist' paragraph I was of opinion 'that tiie seal was one of the swiftest fishes (that is if it is a fish) in the sea, as the following will ,show: — Ons day in the beginning of summer in the year 1845 I and some other boys went fishing along the locks on the north side of Wick Bay, in the north of Scotland. A seal was sporting in the water close to the rocks. The seal would be about 200 yards from where we stood on the dig or head 100 ft above the level of the i ■water. Mr Bell, the watchmaker, was out j shooting, another gentleman being with him. i They were both sitting on the grass watching the seal. The gentleman made some remark . to Mr Beiy'wJio-fook.an ounce lead ball out ; of his pocket arid -slipped it into his gun, ; took careful aim at the seaL and fired. We , «rald see -the ball strike the watei within 6ft j of the seal, which dived at once, and in almost a minute (the time. appeared so short) | we saw the'- Eeal's-, head, "aiwve., "the water near* 1 the south head of the bay, and over a mil-e I away; and ev«r since that I have been under | the impression - that the seal was one of the ! swiftest fishes or' sea animals in the ocsan. [The note on ..the Victory will probably appear nest week:] • 1