OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

Otago Witness, Issue 2913, 12 January 1910, Page 89

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS

{Conducted by Magister, to whom all com munieations must be addressed.)

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

And while wishing my readers all that is good for them during the coming yearthat does not necessarily mean all they will want, —let me thank those who have sent me greetings. Mr and Mrs Palmer's postcard shows Kaikoura to be what I should think, a delightful place to spend a holiday. From "Makinihi" I have received a delightful and long letter which, however, I think I'll hold over for a week or two, but the last page I'll give now : " And now, dear ' Magister,' before I lay my pen down for the year, I would like to thank you and your able contributors for (ho plea jure I have derived from your column, likewise to extend heartfelt sympathy to that keen observer " Ornithologist " in his bereavement. Looking towards the coming year, I trust that more of the readers and critics of the column will 'play the game,' and enter the ranks of contributors to the column. —With sincerest season's greetings from your interested reader, 'Makinihi.'" " Alpha." in his notes to-day, also sends greetings to my readers and myself. More greetings I haven't space to acknowledge, so wellwishers must come in under one general reference.

ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES FOR JANUARY. (By "Alpha.")

January, for the entomologist, is practically a continuation of December. The same insects to a great extent characterise both months. Many of the bush flowers, however, so attractive to insect life, are over by January. Paraonsia albiflora and the lawyer, two of the greatest favourites, are quite past, while ihe manuka will show but a few belated blossoms. Towards the end of the month the ragwort and dian ihistle will be«rin to bloom, and there will be a constant crowd of insects in attendance —flies and bees by day and moths at night. The little copper butterfly (Chrysophanus sablustius) is rather partial to the nectar from these plants, and in a sunny opening in the bush dozens of them may sometimes be so-on together. A few of these pretty little fellows frequent my flower garden and flit about before one with a good deal of confidence. Chrysophanlis boldenaruin. a relative of sallustius, never comes near the house. He will have nothing to do with cultivation. Out on the bare .shingle, near the sea beach or by some river-bed, is his abiding place. Jn the first half of January the native veronica, will bo in bloom, and will be found to attract a number of interesting insects. The very variable Hydriomena deltoidata. is paticularly fond of this blossom," and is well worth the attention ol the Nature student. The broad band which crosses the forewings is hardly the same in any two examples. Sometimes the upper half is wanting and sometimes the lower portion is missing. In some forms the band is split up into a number of thin liri's; in others no band at all can be made out; The moth is certainly less common thair' it was some 20 years ago, though 1 think : that during the last two or three seasons it has tended to increase in numbers again. I remember once,- many years ago, rambling along for a mile or so under the shadow of a splendid limestone ridge. On the face of this rock there were thousands of deltoidatas. I had no means ot collecting or preserving specimens, so did not, waste life by capturing any, but 1 took a note of the wonderful differences in marking, and I thought how easy it would be, by nicking out a form here and there, to- make a dozen species out of one. ~ As a matter of fact, H. deltoidata has been described under at least a dozen names Another interesting moth found at the veronica bloom is the "plume moth (Platypodia falcatalis). It is not much like a moth in general appearance. ihe extreme length of its less and the narrowness of its wings, also its habit of keeping these last extended at right angles to the body, give it more the appearance of a small crane fly or daddy-longlegs The name of "plume" moths has been given to the family because the wings are split up into •ays V plumes. In the. species under notice the hind-wings are divided into three plumes and the fore-wings into two. P And now let me close by offering teachers and scholars and all readers of the Public School Column the heartiest season's greetBy the way, as I write a shmmg uckoo hX just given his whistling caII from a tree not a dozen yards from the Window where I sit. It is the first I have heard this yearCORRESPONDENCE. The only notes which I shall give this week are two. The first comes from a Ooive street correspondent, who writes : "Dear Sir,-I am a constant reader of your column in the Witness, and find it very interesting. The study of msectWei««; tainly very interesting, but at times a nuLnce, and because of the 'nuisance rart I am gding to impose.on your good nature, and ask you a question on what to mb is a very grievous matter. I have in my hou*» (brick throughout) small insects commoldy called "silver fish.'' Can you give me any information whatever as to the why- and wherefore of their presence The house'is quite new and in excellent order, so you cannot say 'old timber' in any part. Have you had any experience ot them, and if so, can you suggest any means ot netting rid of them? It is holiday time I know, but if vou have any time to spare. in this matter I shall be grateful. Perhaps some reader can tell what these " silver fish " are ; I cannot, and the gentlemen who give mc so much assistance are not available jlist now. ' To "Orchid's" letter I am appending a note on the' cuckoo taken from the Melbourne Argus. And writing of cuckoos reminds me that " Makinihi suggests that cuckoos' eggs might be taken and put under canaries, and so hatched out untiei the closest observation. Other observers might give their opinions. •' Other correspondence, if I omit jviaKinihi's" letter—and I am doing so because I want it to get more consideration than it will probably get iust now—can stand over without much detriment to make room for some notes" put' together some time ago, upon an Inspector's Reminiscences recently published at Home. ; Leith Valley, December 19. Dear " Magister,"—Although I have kept a eharp look-out for cuckoos, I have never Heard or seen one this season until to-day. Going up the bed of Nichol's Creek. I was surprised to hear the sharp staccato notes

of the long-tailed cuckoo, followed by the visual full-throated call. The call was repeated by another cuckoo farther away. Then, again, several times the cry of excitement and the call were repeatd. Stalking the birds to get a, close view, and to find if possible the cause of the disturbance, I came across two shining cuckoos sitting motionless and silent on a dead tree a few yards from the resting-place of the noisy longtailed cuckoo. This is the first time I have seen the shining cuckoo in the bush, but from the breast-markings it agrees exactly with the museum specimen. They were not at all timid, and allowed me to come directly under them. Then they moved off without a sound; sol am still ignorant of the note of the shining cuckoo i was also able to get under the tree of the long-tailed, cuckoo before it also moved off. I found nothing apparently to rouse the excitement of the larger birds. The spot was cleared hillside, with a few dead trees and an occasional live tree standing. Do you think it at all likely the long-tailed cuckoos were disturbed by discovering the presence at the shining cuckoo in their sanctuary I Obchid.

From Tahbilk School it is noted that the master saw a wagta : l feeding a young pallid cuckoo, with three young wagtails close by. The question is, Were the four birds raised in one nest? If so, how dia they fit, into it, and why did not the pallid cuckoo throw the young wagtails out of H'Gst ? 'The fact of the four young birds being together suggests that they were a brood. The cuckoo does not in all cases manage to get its nest mites out. Its efforts in that way seem to be made soon after it is hatched. If the cuckoo were out first it is quite possible that when the young wagtails broke the shell it had got past the impulse to throw them cut. That, however, is only speculation.

AN INSPECTOR'S REMINISCENCES. An English ex-school inspector has written whit must be a most entertaining book judging by an extended notice of it seme time ago in School: A Monthly Kecord of Educational Thought. The following are extracts from the notice: — Mr Sneyd-Kinnersiey's inspectoral reminiscence's make a delightful book. Opening it at random, one is sure to come upon a. good story or some clever witticism. Genial humour ripples over every page, and even when the inspector is at his most serious he has a jest on his lips. It is easy to gue-s Mr Sneycl-Kwinersley s hobby. He is a collector, not of insects or postage-stamps, but of anecdotes. In his daily round he meets with all sorts and conditions of men, and he observes them all with keen and kindly eyes; he never misses the humorous side of a situation, and loves above all things a good story. The after-di.".ner talk at the rectory or the hall, the managerial lunch, the long drive to some remote Norfolk school with that aged chariot-er " Charlie B."—everything furnishes grist for bis mill, and nothing comes amiss to him. He knows how to tell his stories, too, and retails them with-out-a qualm even when, as now and then happens, the laugh is against himself. Here: and there we are allowed a peep at some of the tricks of the trade. H.M.I. thoroughly believes in taking the public into his confidenc3 ; it is a" practice which has stood him in good stead through his official lif-;- Those who feel the burden 01 testimonial writing will enjoy the story ot H.M:T.'s dilemma over the endorsement ot .a certain, parchment. ' "The mistress was very young and very pretty: She had light hair and, blue eyes, •and' if! follows that she was very nervous. I cannot say that her school did very well. I think it was defic : ent in arithmetic; but she. was very charming. Should the parchment be, issued? My assistant was susceptible, and soft-hearted ; he pleaded for her. . Finally I gave way, and suggesteu as the endorsement: ' Miss X. is a pretty fair teacher.' He agreed rapturously, and so it was written. But the next year my chief visited the school, and, according to custom, called for the parchment. Ana (so the assistant told me) when he reaa the entry, and caught sight of the " pretty fair" one in front of her class, it smote him suddenly, and ho retreated hastily to the infants' class-room." His class-room anecdotes are numerous and original. The following is told of a colleague : He was examining in mental arithmetic, and took pains to adapt his questions to local industries. Picking out a, big lad, he asked, " What dees your father do?" "Cotches sawmon i' th' river." " Capital. You will bg able, to do this sum : 201 b of salmon at 3d a pound—what that worth?" "Yah! Tha' woudn't he worth a dom." Another H.M.I, was credited with this elaborate interrogatory: Q: " What is that island called which from its name you would suppose contained neither women nor children?" A. " Please, sir, the Scilly Isles." " If I were asked to state its principal charm, I should say it is irresponsibility." "THE INSPECTOR REVEALED." The above is the name of a critique in the -"Schoolmaster" on the same book, and from it I take the following:— It has been our fortune during a long professional experience to have to do with many inspectors, of many and varying tyncs—old, dry, crusted ones, young a,nd infallibe ones, "cranky" ones with "ideas," generally dubbed "fads" by the sufferers, some jovial and careless, others of the "hanging judge" breed; but among them all—good, bat!, or indifferent, kindly or soured—none ever gave us pure, unalloyed delight such as we have received at the hands of this H.M.I. Blessings on Mr Kinnersley and on the saving grace of humour which has enabled him to pack this, volume with good things, fiom cover to cover. With this book open before us, the exquisite irony of a circular of the beard, which "regrets that men should be kept on to 65, when in many cases they have lost that freshness and originality which, etc., etc.," becomes all the more exquisite. And if, as he says, " hoary statesmen," for whom there is no age limit, " flourish like green bay trees, while he is become a lean and slippered pantaloon," give us the lean and slippered one; he is the man for our money! It is not 'merely his admirable sense of humour that delights us; nor the multitude of good.stories which abound in his pages, "things new and old," but all good ;• there is suoh a kindly observation of men and manners, managers end managed (often mismanaged), grown-ups and children, condition and circumstance over the changing period from 1871 to 1906. . . Children he loves and knows, and laughter ripples along over an excellent chapter ©n their ways of startling their interloctt-

tors by the most unexpected remarks. Of colleague he says : " He had been examining Standard 11, in the multiplication table, and the vilage idiot was in the class. They dealt with fair success with the simper problems, and Mr Raekem was. emboldened to eoax higher. "'How much is eleven twelves? he asked, and there was no answer. He put it in a more searching- way: ' Who knows how much is eleven twelves?' And the village idiot answered, ' Gawd,' that being the generally accepted answer to diffieut questions couched in that form." But the power of sympathetic appreciation shown by this particular H.M.I, is nowhere better seen than in the lines in which he pays a tribute to the memory of school workers of a previous generation: It was a hard life for the pioneers in the backwoods of Arcady'in the early seventies. You laboured, Mid other men have entered into your labours. 111-paid, offer ill-housed; worried by inspectors; -worried by managers and managers' wives; worried by parents and worried by children, who came to school as a personal favour, and, if affronted, stayed away for a week, you served your generation.

ADVICE FOR BOY SCOUTS

Last week I promised extracts from an article that appeared a little while ago in the Scout. The article is well worth reading, and is written by Joseph Malins, J.P., Grand Chief Templar of England:— . " I may tell you Scouts that I know what hard work is. I am now 65 years of age. I usually rise between 5 and 6 a.m., and work from then till 10 or 11 p.m., except that I often sleep in trains—and on the nublic platform when waiting my turn to sneak. I ha.ve no hesitation in expressing "my belief that I could not have con-

tinuod this life of incessant activity for so many years had I not been careful in diet, practised abstinence from all intoxicants, and cultivated, under all circumstances, a power of self-control which conduces to patience and equanimity. I once saw on ai card the words, * The secret of a long life; sec other side.' and on the other side it simply said, ' Don't worry !' That is a grand motto. To middle-aged and old folk the words, ' Don't hurry,' might mean much the same. To the youth of the land' I would say, ' Don't worry.' The Scouts require sound bodies. The body is buil* up fc- food. Bread is the statf of life, butt?.* - oils the numan machine, sugar adds heafr--ahd heat is force. 1V» get the nourishment the food must be well chewed. The precious saliva which the mouth-giands supply must not be spat out—as smokers spit it out, —but be mingled with the food, to help to dissolve and digest it. Fruit and vegetables are the best physic. Regular hours to eat and mean much. It is best to drink little when eating. A' good drink between meals is best —nob gulped, but by mouthfuls. Water is God's beverage for "birds, beasts, fishes, and all mankind.- Milk is food to bo sipped, not bolted, or it becomes almost solid'. Volunteer riflemen have found weak cold tea without sugar a fine thirst-quencher; bill boys will find water sufficient. In very, hot weather drink slowly and sparingly. Beer contains alcohol—the intoxicating principle,—and this prevents it quenching thirst properly. The 30,000 teetotallers among our army in India are not only almost free from crime, but from illness also, as compared with their comrades who swallow intoxicants. Several great generals and admirals are teetotallers. Nansen and Lieutenant Shackleton served no liquor rations in their Arctic expeditions. A body must be clean to be sound'. Have a bath, or a spending, or a dry rub-down

daily. Don't stop in cold water too long. Breathe long and deeply. Be active, not violent; prompt, not precipitate, courageous, not reckless. Eat little, if at all, when weary. Sleep on the back or the right side, lying straight. Shun cigarettes and tobacco. Tobacco stunts growth, and is particularly bad for the young. It affflfets the nerves and impairs the sight. Be clean in thought and speech. Dirty speech leads to dirty acts. Out- language is rich in words. Use the simplest and' bast. The less slang the better. A noor lad can behave like a true gentleman, and can become one, not in wealth, but in true gentlemanlinesK. Don't gamble. Money properly used benefits buyer and seller. Bets ace a means of getting unearned gain by others' losings. That is selfishness. The Good Templars only require a pledge of teetotalisrn from adults, but they also have in England about 50,000 young people in over 800 juvenile or senior juvenile branches, members (including 5000 adult helpers in junior branches) are all pledged against strong drink, tobacco, gambling, arid bad words. Temperance men generally avoid gambling and bad wcrds, and most of them refrain from tobacco. Study Nature, and be natural. Don't overload with clothing—night or day. Don't make you>r inside a physic shop, or you will be always ill. Nature is a great healer. The lower animals have no physicians. If really ili they seek healing herbs. How soon their wounds heal! If you get wounded the first thing is to try to keep the wound clean. ' If a vein is cut how quickly kind Nature contracts the blood vessel, cheeks the flow, and coagulates the blood to plug the vent. If a bone is broken and set how Nature forms a band of gristle round the fracture to keep the bono in place and nourish it. If pain becomes too severe how insensibility eases the suffering!"