South Dunedin, January 21, 1907.

Otago Witness, Issue 2761, 13 February 1907, Page 66

South Dunedin, January 21, 1907.

Dear " Magister," — Wou.d you please identify the accompanying plants for me? They are very common, but I am verr ignorant. I have numbered them, that 1 might recognise to which the answers belong. No. 1 I came across in multitudes near the summit of Flagstaff, and No. 3, I think, is n species of moss. Also, can you tell me if " pampas grass" is another name- for the toitoi? I notice by "Mule's" letter that he is an enthusiastic collector of Nature's creatures. May I ask ham through this column, to send his address to you, that we may know to whom to correspond, and oblige

Wanderer.

" J.s" letter is interesting. What did the vegetable caterpillar take shelter under— the dry or the green leaves, or did it again bore into the ground? What kind of leaves is it eating? Mr G. M. Thomson, F.L.S., F.G.S., sends me the following note on the nest and egg sent in by " Schoolboy," Wingatui ; and on "Wanderer's" letter. Unfortunately, either he or I overlooked the numbered specimens. Will " Wanderer" please send another set of specimens? I shall be glad if " Mule " will send his address again for it was destroyed with his note. Dunedin, 29th January, 1907. •Dear Magister,— The Toe-toe is a common Maori name for large grasses and sedges, but the only one which commonly receives the name here is Arundo conspicua. one of the largest of the native grasses. Tue pampas grass (Gynerium argenteum) is a South American species, and is quite distinct. It is also readily distinguished from any New Zealand grass by the silvery colour of _its long, densely flowered i»niole. The nest and egg sent aro those of the redpole or rose linnet, an introduced bird, which is not uncommon along the south and east coasts of this island. A friend told me some years ago that he had seen a flock of lobin redbreasts on Flagstaff Hill. He no doubt saw redpoles, which flock together in autumn and -winter, a. thing which robins never do. Besides, robins have only tnce been reported since Some two score were turned out in the Taieri some years ago.

Here are a couple of good recitations for little folk:—

Things Inside. By Aloysius Coll. My papa is a doctor man, An' that is how he knows Each little thing inside of me, An' how it runs an' goes. He tells me I have wbizzin' wheels Inside my bead that spin — I ast him oncl t' tell me how Th' buzzin' wheels got in. He put his finger in my mouth : "Why, here's a tiny door!' An' then he tweaked my nose, an' s»id : "An' here's a couple more; An' here's a little music-box — It's full of cogs an' wheels. An' every time you give a squeeze It opens up an' squeals!" One day my papa saw me bolt

A great big chunk of 'tater: "Look out!" he cried, "you'll overtax Your little elevator!" " What s that?" I ast. "Oh, that," said he, " Is jest a little dummy Tha/t carries everything you eat Clear down into your tummy!" I'm full of springs, jest like a clock, An' when I start t' play, My papa looks at me, an' sez: " You're all wound up to-day !" But onct, when I was sick, he said-: " Let's quit th' stuffy town, And move out t' th' country house — Th' boy is all run down!" Then, 'cause he couldn't wind me Up Agin, without a key, He fed me castor-oil — t' grease Th cogs an' wheels in me. I don't see how a little boy Not very high or wide Can carry 'round th' awful load Of things he's got inside! Saturday Evening Post.

The Elephant and His School. By Ellen V. Talfaot. The gTeat white elephant left the show, He said ho was too refined ; The ways of a circus did not suit

His most superior mind. "A creature as big- and wise as I

Should be teaching school," said ha; " And all the animal little folk

My scholars they shall be." So into an empty schoolhouse near

He marshaled them all one day; ('Twas in vacatian time and so

The children -were all away.) The kittens and puppies, the pigs and geese,

Were put to work with a will ; But the squirrel and fox to the platform went

Because they would not keep still. And then he began to teach his school Th© various things he knew ; "There's much not down in the books," e*id he, " That you ought to know how to do." And first he showed how to flap the ears, But their ears were far too small ; And then he showed how to wave the trunk,

But they had no trunk at all. The only thing that he taught his school That the scholars accomplished well, Was when he called in the peanut man, And tau^M them the nuts to shell.

The elephant soon dismissed his school. And packed up his trunk to go ; " For, after all, my talents," said he, "Are best displayed in a show." St. Nicholas.

* Tena koutou or tena koe — How do you do? salutation.