OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

Otago Witness, Issue 2929, 4 May 1910, Page 85

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS. (Conducted,. by Magistkr to -whom all communications must be adidroeaed.) THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF THE WITNESS ILLUSTRATIONS. More and more we are recognising the value of pictures as a means of education. Rather iate in the day, but better late than never, our. educational authorities see the necessity for subsidising school libraries —some of our schools have run libraries unaided for 20 years or more; but I hope soon to see 5000 or more slides and two or three lantern outfits at the disposal of teachers. !. But. is is the Witness illustrations to which ' I wish to make a brief allusion. A fortnight ago tho artistic tastes of readers were catered for in the two beautiful landscapes by W. Reid, who is in the first flight as an artist photographer. Then there is the picture of the founders of the North Dunedin PiSes, though I wish that under it—for the engraving has an historical value—were given the dates of formation and disbandment. The four pages devoted to the Hocken Wing, with its contents and opening ceremony, are of historical value not only to Dunedin and to Otago, but also to tho Dominion, and to future historians beyond our seas. And you may search all the atlasses in Dunedin and not' get so graphic a picture as the half-page iflustra-. tion of the South Pole and surrounding regions, with the accompanying information. And this picture suggests another —- the Ulva Island Post Office at Stewart Island, tb? most southerly office in New Zealand. One mere, New York snow, also shows to what heights the buildings are now run up; the one with the part hidden must be about 30 stories. You know what a fine building the New Zealand Express Company's new block is, yet that i 6 only about a fourth the height of some of New York's sky-scrapers. Here, then, in -one issue of the Witness you have fully five and a-half pages of pictures of geographical and historical value. I know that the Times and the Witness are now much more frequently used in our schools than formerly as educational aids, but not yet nearly to the extent that they can be. Do you notice, too, that the Witness is now from 92 to 96 pages weekly? Compare this with 25 and 50 years ago! THE OTAGO INSTITUTE. The opening meeting of the institute will take place on May 3. May I suggest. to teachers and all others interested ; in education in its many asneots that'they should give the institute their practical, support by becoming members? The meetings provide • an intercourse that should have a broadening effect, and teachers taking part in the meetings cannot help taking back to their schools healthy broadening influences. The following is the suggested programme for tho

year, but it must be remembered that the original papers and exhibits are often of much more interest than a set subject. Dr Fulton, Pitt street, is the honorary secretary: —■ May 3.—Professor Waters: Presidential address, " Mining Education in Relation to the Mining Industry." June 7.—Professor Marshall: "Geology of the Cook and Society Islands." Lanterrs illustrations. July s.—Dr Fulton: " Rio Janeiro as i \ was in 1889. Rio To-day." Lantern illustrations. August 2.—Original Papers and Exhibits. September 6. —Dr Cockayne (Christchurch) : " The Scientific Importance of our National Parks and Scenic Reserves." Lantern illustrations. October 4.—Original Papers and Exhibits. November I.—Original Papers and Exhibits. PRIZES FOR NATURE WORK. This week I have good news for my young readers. The Otago Institute, through its council, has resolved to offer three prizes of half a guinea each—one for the best naturalist's calendar, one fc>r best collection of insects, and one for boat collection of plants. Details, however, have not been arranged, so I cannot tell you any more, but the subjects chosen ought to cause good competition from school children, and the results ought to be of great educational value. THE ANGLEMETER, This is an instrument coming prominently into use at Home on account of its usefulness, simplicity, and educational worth. It is really a very much simplified sextant, with a pinhole taking the place of the telescopic eye-pieoe, and with one of the mirrors omitted. This illustration gives a fairly good idea of Dr J. ErskineMurrav's patent as manufactured by I. E. Becker and Co.,' London, B.C. It is sold at two prices: 3s rxl and 8s 6d—the one I. have costing the latter sum.

On the top oi thi» picture, and vertical to the instrument, is a mirror divided perpendicularly by a white line. D and U are two objects observed. One is sighted on the white line, and then the radial arm containing the pinhole is moved along until the other object is caught on the same line, and when this is done the line on the inside of the projecting end of the awn indicates on the scale the angle ■•equired.' Though it. can be put into the coat pocket and oasts so comparatively little, it may be used to ascertain the height or distance of an inaccessible object, to construct a map or plan of a district, to take the altitude of the sun, to "contour," and to demonstrate _ in the open .air many well-known propositions in geometry.- It is especially usetul in the teaching" of practical geography, > subject which is coming to the front in the school curriculum of Great Britain. it )s recommended for this purpose in Simmons and -Richardson's "Introduction to Practical Geography," published by Mm- ! millan. ~ A pamphlet issue*! with it. says:--"The work which a schoolboy may be expected to understand and appreciate is divisible into two classes—viz:-, the practica and the theoretical. Under the tormerhead comes topogranhy—that is, the making ot maps from actual observations and measurements, and, in addition, all simpler cases of measurements of heights or distances. _ In - the latter class may be included practical outdoor verifications of well-known Euclidean theorems or problems, and of the formulae of trigonometry. Undoubtedly the practice of accurate observation and measurement, involved in the survey of a field or small district, is of gaeat educational value, if only it is possible, by having a sufficient number of instruments, to keep the entire class busy, and to enable each member to make an independent survey." And again: " The modern tendency to give a practical and concrete form to the teaching of geometry and geography has created a demand for a simple and efficient surveying instrument at a low price. All these conditions are fulfilled by the anglemeteir. That it is a practical 'nstrument is proved by the fact that the actual survey of a la.rge part of the new railway line from Krugersdorp to Ma-feking has been made by means of it. Its simplicity, cheapness, and efficiency, combined with portability (as it can be put in the pocket without any risk of damage), at once show its advantages in general use." It seems to me that if Cadets, Scouts, and other senior boys are taught the use of such an instrument a great deal of very common sense, practical geography, surveyi ing of fields, practical arithmetic, scale drawing, mapping, etc., could be taught much more easily than at present, because the boys would see the practical utility of the work done and take to it keener; , I promised details of this instrument some time ago, but pressure on space has kept them out. Perhaps I might add that the instrument and pamphlet are in a velvet-padded case, sjin square and deep, the whole weighing less than a pound. STAMPS STOLEN IN TRANSIT. A fortnight ago I referred to the fact that, occasionally, stamps have been removed from my correspondence. Judging by the accompanying, the practice must be rather prevalent. What is to be done . to 6top'it? The letter comes from a prominent gardener. I should add that three or four have spoken to me as suffering in the saiwe way. Dunedin, April 9. Dear " Magister,"—With reference to your, complaint of stamp stealing, it certainly would be very interesting to''find : but where* and by whom, the thieving is done. It is"'a very cdmino'n occurrence,' arid/it'i4. only occasionally tliat foreign stamps from out-of-the-way places are delivered with t)o package. Only this week the P.O. authorities delivered a parcel to m from Germany. Our invoice 4uwed that skmm to the value of 2s lOd had bean attached to th© label,

but the package arrive minus either or label. It had very evidently been cut off. The body of the parcel was also addressed, i»o the label was not essential to ensure delivery. If your complaint is the means of stopping this very common malpractice you will earn the thanks of the great number of enthusiastic stamp-collec-tors who have suffered by it. —With kind regards, yours sincerely,—Flower. IDENTIFYING SPECIMENS. I should like readers who are more than idly curious to cut out for reference any descriptions I may give, in order that repetition and disappointment may be avoided. I have now two or three long notes to get in, and at times I am at some trouble to get information I want, though I have 1 three or four gentlemen l who give me ungrudging assistance, even more so when the inquirers are boys and girls showing an earnestness to find out something. Seeing that my notes are often a little more extended than is generally the case in inquiry columns, correspondents must not be offended if, instead of repeating details, I give name and 6tate that the information has been recently supplied. To many, descriptions may not be inteiresting 'when published, but if kept they will generally come in some time. I do not wish to be misunderstood. If you are interested in these columns, and are not prompted by idle curiosity, • send along anything you want information upon, because Nature study is in its infancy in Now Zealand, and every now and theni something interesting is unearthed. The history, for instance, of what is popularly called insect life in our Dominion is very largely unknown. Some apparently little fact familiar to one may be important news to marry, while- on the other hand, one fairly well versed through study and books may be able to supply information common to the student, but of great value to the unversed taking an interest in Nature. Please, therefore, do not take this note as a rebuff.

Dear "Magister,"—Here are some curious things that have come under my observation during my walks abroad. Do you know that the stones of the common pressed dates ©old in lU " shops may easily be made to germiru Every hot and dry summer they com, .ip in warm, sheltered spots in niy garden. Being monocotyledons, they show at first but one shoot, like a broad leaf of cutty-grass. Their roots go down very deep, like those of most plants peculiar to arid regions. I have tried to save the young plants, but the winter frosts are too severe. The other day I saw two younig date palms peeping up through the ballast on the railway line close to Mosgiel station, having come probably frcem stones thrown out by passengers. Rambling about the Tuapeka bush, I have on two occasions found honeycombs suspended from the twigs of dead manuka bushes in bare, exposed situations. Why should wild boss pine? their food magazines' in siioh unsheltered and conspicuous localities? In both cases a few dead bees were lying about, and very little honey was. left. There had been a long

spell of hot, dry weather, followed by a cold snap. Weasels and stoats are very plentiful in this district. One day I saw a white stoat. The white stoat is the ermins (according to the Encyclopaedia), from which comes the fur of royal and peerage robes. Have others of your readers noticed the curious fact that a rabbit pursued by a weasel in sight does not put on speed in order to ©scape, but lopes along quite leisurely, sometimes squealing, as if hypnotised and semi-paralvped by the nearness of inevitable death? One day a friend and I saw the customs of Nature transposed,—a rabbit actually chasing a weasel. . One might fancy that among wild animals a sort of Conciliation and Arbitration Act held sway, and that a. beast of prey had no right to attack graminivorous animals except at certain times and under certain circumstances. I have read in old school books of prairie dogs, owls, and rattlesnakes living together underground in apparent amity, and I myself in Australia have seen rabbits, oats, and " gohannas" (big lizards) running together into the same burrows. The. cats and the lizards both preyed on the rabbits. I think this will do now, as I don't want to monctpolise too much of your space, but if you like I may on another occasion send a few notes of possible interest to lovers of Nature.—Yours truly, T. Routes. - Highciiff, April 7. Dear '"Magister,"—l send you a lizard, perhaps you can tell me its name. . We have here four kinds of lizards—the com-, mon 'brown one, a large green one, a green one with brown spots, and the enclosed grey one. The last three are seen rarely. Allison Fairbaibn. Evansdale April 4. Dear "Magister,"—l am ; 3 ting. you a packet with two little bits of hawthorn, inside, of which you will see, each snugly lying in its home, two little grubs. The hedge from which I got these two seems to be dying in places, its death evidently being due to the 'attacks of these grubs. What are they? There are some green " walking-stick" insects about here.- Are they of the same variety as the brown ones? Last season two little wrens, or '' notails," as the boys oall them, built their nest and reared their brood under the porch of the school. Our rainfall for the month of March was only .7 of an inch and in February 1.05, so it is no wonder if our gardens are parched up. —Yours truly, Ebic Armstrong. NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE. My notes are practically non-existent this week. " Kakanui " has a real grievance, and to reduce it to a minimum I should suggest that the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society set up a sub-committee to consider the schedule for children's and schools' exhibits, - the sub-committee to consist of, say, three representing the society, three representing teachers, . find Inspector Richardson. I. think, this .cpjnmittee .would draw up a schedule and> conditions generally .'Satisfactory,.: ; and. .certainly of educational value. ».-, ■■> .:■:■ ;;■ - " Matakitaki " says an insect was sent, but it hasn't come to hand. I am glad " Student" hasn't deserted lis. Has anyone seen a white Californian thistle? Can some Maori Hill or Kaikorai School

boy get me some fossil leaves from the ILalkorai Valley district? CORRESPONDENCE. Dear "Magister," —I do not want to growl, but as the heading at the head of your notes invites one. I cannot help asking you to consider the Agricultural and Pastoral Society's schedule for the winter show so far as it deals with our schools. At the time of the summer show I drew your readers' attention to the necessity fei> altering the classes concerning echool exhibits. I really thought the committee of the society would have done so, as especi-

ally in the class far produce the requirements are not explicit enough; but I am eorry to say the classes jn the schedule of 1910 are exactly the same as 1909. The word "produce" as generally understood in the country refers rather to fodder plants and grain, and perhaps to those table vegetables that may be stored during the winter. Apparently, from the way the prizes hiva

been awarded iii the past, the ordinary perishable table vegetables are also meantj, while the fodder plants are excluded. In the awarding of prizes for school exhibits, the educative value of the cultivation of school ga.rdens should not be lost sight of. Yet competitions sbouLd be entirely fair, and for fhe purpose of rousing an enthusiasm om the part of teachers as well as. the

•taught. Even when the children's gardens are on the lands of their parents, there should be the enthusiasm of competition between one child and another, therefore I think it would bo well if the prize for produce is for home cultivation's. It should not be the selected plan* from many to make up a splendid collection, but. the best plants from one home garden in competition with another home garden. I am not writing this time as a probable competitor, as King Froat a,n>d the black diamond mo&i have done for me. Another year a spray pump may do for the moth. — I am, etc.,' Kakanui.

Dear " Magister,"—How long is it since I last wrote? More than once I com© across letters written to " Magister" but never forwarded. At the beginning of the year I had my usual 10 days in the Catlins district, and was abte to give my bent full license. Several plants new to me weirefound, among which I might mention the pretty hairy fern Hymenophy}lum eubtilksimum, also Ncphrodium deoompositum and Polypodium pHinigerum. On the cliffs at the sea ccast- fine specimens of Ligusticum intermedium were seen. This is a good-looking plants belonging to the Urnbellifers, and is something like ceJery. It exudes a sticky gum. A line Oelme&ia also grows on the cliffs. This is, I believe, U Lindsayi. The leaves are quite stickv. Great quantities of Drosera binata were found in swampy ground, and on the leaves, were small insects securely gummed. I did not secure any flowering specimens. I had described to me by a resident another insect-eating plant, but although I hunted high and low I failed to discover it. I was disappointed, for the description tallied with Drosera pygmaea, which has, so far a* I know, net been found anywhere in the* South Island except Bluff Hill. As this epeciies is easily overlooked, and grows in peaty soil, there is every likelihood that it will be found i« other localities. Mr Drummond noted this in his column some time back, mentioning that it grew "in sandy places, usually near the sea, occurs the dainty little Drosera pygmaea, the smallest of the sun-dews." i wais given, by an. ardent geologist, some specimens of fossil ferns, picked up on the road, where they had been carted "rom a quarry close by, and probably 400 feet above sea level. Although one has a good time in such a 'delightful place, it is sad to ese the destruction that goes on. The bush is being destroyed simply to put money in the pockets of Dunedin speculators. Every consideration is put aside for dividends. I saw several mgeons, but, alas! I fear they are doomed. Just after admiring one I heard a shot fired, and en several occasions I found the feathers where they had been plucked. This bird is so tamo that it is easy game. There seems to be a large and small variety of bell bird; at least, I saw seme that were .much larger than the ordinary one. The note, too, seemed to me to be richer. I heard the cuckoo many times, but always in the distance, and on several occasions I eaw godwits. Of all the birds none is so beautiful as the tarn, and on Catlins Lake I admired them more than once. The number of birds in the bush did not seem to be large. By day a few fantails, tits, tuis, robins, and bell birds, and an occasional kingfisher, were seen, and the moreporks were heard at night. For the first time for years I saw and heard the parroquet. His presence made me feet quite happy. Is there a white form of the Californian thistle? Student. April 12.

58 Seafield View road, Auckland, April 4. Dear Magister,—A friend of mine, known to you by the nom-de-plum© of "Roslyn," is wishful that I should write for your columns a description of two (to me) strange little birds, which have appeared during the last month or five weeks on a roof below my window. In size and plumage they' resemble a thrush, but are speckled all over, the head, threat, breast, back, and wings being dotted with spots. Those on the lower wing-feathers, breast, and back are fawn-coloured; on the head and around the throat they appear almost white, and are much smaller. Those round the throat are clustered in a shape closely resembling an inverted arch. The foundation colour of the breast appears almost black, the wings a dark brown, and the tailfeathers lighter. The head is shaped more like that of a blackbird than a thrusn, and is slightly flat on the crown. It looks almost .grey in colour at a little distance. The beak looks black, and is longish. I have heard them singing (or, perhaps, it would be more correct to say practising, their notes), and it is difficult to determine whether the little exercises are those of ia thrush or blackbird, for I ha.ve heard what sounded like the long-sustained, sweet note of a blackbird, and then short notes following quickly on one another, which would make one think that a young thrush was trying to construct a melody. I generally throw them some crumbs about 7 o'clock in the morning, but, of course, the impudent little sparrows put in first claim, making no end of a clatter on the roof, while the strange birds sit timidlv in the spouting looking on shyly, though they pluck up sufficient courage (after the sparrows have gourmandised) to "peck a bit." " Roslyn " thought you would be able to classify " my birds," as I call them, and it would t>e interesting to know to what family they belong, though I "hae my doots" as to their pedigree being- traced in an unbroken line.—Yours truly, Omaha. I submitted "Omaha's" letter to "Ornithologist," who kindly replies as follows: Dear 'Magister,'—The birds mentioned are, I think, young starlings that are first year's birds; they are practically as big as the adult, but lighter in colour, and are more beautifully spotted, as are many of our own birds. For example, grev gannets are beautifully siootted grev-and-white birds, not the least like the adult; and young cuckoos of both species are spotted when young, becominsr barred in the adult. The description of the song is also good, and ouite near enough to identify them from. The bill of the adults is ye'low, in the voung black. They belong to the family Sturnide; .genius, ShirniM v „i„.,,.-•<._ 0 ,. star*, imported into New Zealand in, the sixties."—Magister.