The game should be played upon a long, narrow table, made simply of a

board five feet long and eighteen inches wide, resting upon ordinary

wooden "horses." On top of the table, and at a distance of twelve inches

from one end, should be fastened in an upright position, two stakes

twelve inches high; the space between the stakes should be eight inches,

which will make each stand four inches from the nearest edge of the

table. When finished, the table must be covered with some sort of woolen

cloth; an old shawl or a breadth of colored flannel will answer the

purpose excellently. Small holes must be cut at the right distance for

the stakes to pass through. The cloth should be allowed to fall over the

edge of the table, and must not be fastened down, as it will sometimes

be necessary to remove it in order to let it dry. It will be found more

convenient, therefore, to use two covers, if they can be provided, as

there can then always be a dry cloth ready to replace the one that has

become too damp. The bubbles are apt to stick when they come upon wet

spots, and the bowling can be carried on in a much more lively manner if

the course is kept dry. Each of the stakes forming the goal should be

wound with bright ribbons of contrasting colors, entwined from the

bottom up, and ending in a bow at the top. This bow can be secured in

place by driving a small, or brass-headed tack through the ribbon into

the top of the stake. If the rough pine legs of the table seem too

unsightly, they can easily be painted. Or a curtain may be made of

bright-colored cretonne,--any other material will do as well, provided

the colors are pleasing,--and tucked around the edge of the table, so as

to fall in folds to the floor. The illustration on this page shows the

top of the table, when ready for the game.

[Illustration]

For an impromptu affair, a table can be made by placing a leaf of a

dining-table across the backs of two chairs, and covering it with a

shawl. The stakes can be held in an upright position by sticking them in

the tubes of large spools. This sort of table the children can arrange

themselves, and it answers the purpose very nicely. The other things to

be provided for the game are a large bowl of strong soapsuds, made with

common brown soap, and as many pipes as there are players.

The prizes for the winners of the game may consist of any trinkets or

small articles that the fancy or taste of the hostess may suggest.

Bubble Bowling can be played in two ways. The first method requires an

even number of players, and these must be divided into two equal

parties. This is easily accomplished by selecting two children for

captains, and allowing each captain to choose, alternately, a recruit

for his party until the ranks are filled, or in other words, until all

the children have been chosen; then, ranked by age, or in any other

manner preferred, they form in line on either side of the table. A pipe

is given to each child by the hostess, and they stand prepared for the

contest. One of the captains first takes his place at the foot of the

table, where he must remain while he is bowling, as a bubble passing

between the stakes is not counted unless blown through the goal from the

end of the table.

The bowl of soapsuds is placed upon a small stand by the side of the

bowling-table, and the next in rank to the captain, belonging to same

party, dips his pipe into the suds and blows a bubble, not too large,

which he then tosses upon the table in front of the captain, who as

first bowler, stands ready to blow the bubble on its course down through

the goal. Three successive trials are allowed each player; the bubbles

which break before the bowler has started them, are not counted.

The names of all the players, divided as they are into two parties, are

written down on a slate or paper, and whenever a bubble is sent through

the goal, a mark is set down opposite the name of the successful bowler.

When the captain has had his three trials, the captain on the other side

becomes bowler, and the next in rank of his own party blows the bubbles

for him. When this captain retires, the member of the opposite party,

ranking next to the captain, takes the bowler's place and is assisted by

the one whose name is next on the list of his own side; after him the

player next to the captain on the other side; and so on until the last

on the list has his turn, when the captain then becomes assistant and

blows the bubbles.

The number of marks required for either side to win the game, must be

decided by the number of players; if there are twenty,--ten players on

each side,--thirty marks would be a good limit for the winning score.

When the game has been decided, a prize is given to that member of each

party who has the greatest number of marks against his or her name

showing that he or she has sent the bubble through the goal oftener than

any player on the same side. Or, if preferred, prizes maybe given to

every child belonging to the winning party.

The other way in which Bubble Bowling may be played is much simpler, and

does not require an even number of players, as no sides are formed. Each

bowler plays for himself, and is allowed five successive trials; if

three bubbles out of the five be blown through the goal, the player is

entitled to a prize. The child acting as assistant becomes the next

bowler, and so on until the last in turn becomes bowler, when the one

who began the game takes the place of assistant.

[Illustration]

THE KNICKERBOCKER BOY.

BY CAROLINE S. KING.

[Illustration]

I.

I'm a knickerbocker boy!

See my coat and breeches!

Cuffs and collar, pocket too--

Made with many stitches!

I must have a watch and chain,

A silk umbrella and a cane.--

No more kilts and skirts for me!

I'm a big boy--don't you see?

II.

Knickerbockers! Knickerbockers!

Give away my other clothes!

Give away my horse with rockers;

I want one that really goes.

Two brisk, prancing goats will do;

But I'd like a wagon too.

No more chairs hitched up for me!

I'm a big boy--don't you see?

THE BROWNIES ON ROLLER SKATES.

BY PALMER COX.

The Brownies planned at close of day

To reach a town some miles away,

Where roller skating, so 't was said,

Of all amusements kept ahead.

Said one: "When deeper shadows fall

We'll cross the river, find the hall,

And learn the nature of the sport

Of which we hear such good report."

[Illustration]

To reach the bridge that led to town,

With eager steps they hastened down;

But recent rains had caused a rise--

The stream was now a fearful size;

The bridge was nearly swept away,

Submerged in parts, and wet with spray.

But when the cunning Brownies get

Their mind on some maneuver set,

Nor wind nor flood, nor frost nor fire

Can ever make the rogues retire.

Some walked the dripping logs with ease,

While others crept on hands and knees

With movements rather safe than fast,

And inch by inch the danger passed.

Now, guided by the rumbling sound

That told where skaters circled 'round,

Through dimly lighted streets they flew,

And close about the building drew.

Without delay the active band,

By spouts and other means at hand,

Of skill and daring furnished proof

And gained possession of the roof;

Then through the skylight viewed the show

Presented by the crowds below.

[Illustration]

Said one: "While I survey that floor

I'm filled with longing more and more,

And discontent with me will bide

Till 'round the rink I smoothly glide.

At night I've ridden through the air,

Where bats abide, and owls repair,

I've rolled in surf of ocean wide,

And coasted down the mountain-side,

And now to sweep around a hall

On roller skates would crown it all."

"My plans," the leader answer made,

"Are in my mind already laid.

Within an hour the folk below

Will quit their sport and homeward go;

Then will the time be ripe, indeed,

For us to leave this roof with speed,

And prove how well our toes and heels

We may command when set on wheels."

When came the closing hour at last,

And people from the rink had passed,

The Brownies hurried down to find

The roller skates they'd left behind.

[Illustration]

Then such a scene was there as few

May ever have a chance to view.

Some hardly circled 'round the place,

Before they moved with ease and grace,

And skated freely to and fro,

Upon a single heel or toe.

Some coats were torn beyond repair,

By catches here and clutches there,

When those who felt their faith give way,

Grabbed right and left without delay;

While some who strove a friend to aid,

Upon the floor themselves were laid,

To spread confusion there awhile,

As large and larger grew the pile.

Some rose with fingers out of joint,

Or black and blue at every point;

And few but felt some portion sore,

From introductions to the floor.

But such mishaps were lost to sight,

Amid the common wild delight,--

For little fuss do Brownies make

O'er bump or bruise or even break.

And had that night been long as those

That spread a shade o'er polar snows,

The Brownies would have kept the floor,

And never thought of sash or door.

But stars at length began to wane,

And dawn came creeping through the pane;

And, much against the will of all,

The rogues were forced to leave the hall.

EASTER CAROL.

BY WM. E. ASHMALL.

I. Sing a - loud for Christ our King, Our lov - ing Sav - iour dear;

Let our hap - py voi - ces ring, To all the earth good cheer.

Al - le - lu - ia! Al - le - lu - ia! Al - le - lu - ia! A - men.

2 For He is risen up on high,

From earth and dreary grave;

Christ is risen! is our cry,

He lives again to save.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

3 Sing aloud for Christ our King,

For Christ, the Saviour, born;

This carol ever we will sing,

On this, our Easter morn.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

THE HANDIWORK OF SOME CLEVER SCHOOL-BOYS.

BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.

The Fair of the American Institute held annually in New York, is chiefly

a display from the various American trades showing improvement and

advancement; here designers and inventors also present many novelties

and useful inventions for public criticism and judgment.

One feature of the Fair of 1885 that attracted much attention and

comment, was the novel and unique display of mechanical models designed

and constructed by the boys of the third grade in Grammar-School, No.

57, one of the public schools of New York City. The work exhibited by

these boys is peculiarly interesting and suggestive, and is an

indication of what observant, thoughtful, and intelligent boys can

devise and do when their tastes and natural inclinations are developed.

The boys' models were made at home, after class-hours, and on odd

holidays during the six months previous to exhibition, and were

primarily intended to illustrate the principles of the six mechanical

powers,--the inclined plane, the lever, the wedge, the pulley, the wheel

and axle, and the screw. When the American Institute Fair opened, an

inclined railway, with its platform and cars; a miniature guillotine,

with ready knife; a dumb-waiter in full working order; a derrick

prepared to raise many weights; a pile-driver with its automatically

dropped weight, the sound of which never failed to attract

attention,--all these, with other models, occupied a space in Machinery

Hall.

During the morning hours, curtains screened the models; in the afternoon

the youthful exhibitors arrived and took special delight in showing the

working of their designs. The pleasant hours spent there, the praise of

visitors, and the recognition and commendation accorded by the press

will be long remembered by the boys. At the closing of the Fair, the

exhibit was awarded the Medal of Merit.

The illustrations on pages 548 and 550 show the models exhibited. Figure

1 represents an alcoholic furnace, illustrating the expansion of a brass

rod by heat. A cylinder of tin, fifteen inches in height and five in

diameter, is hinged to a base of wood and arranged so as to tilt to the

left. A lever fifteen inches long opens and closes a damper; this lever

(an umbrella rod) is inserted in a pivoted rod of wood two inches long,

supported in a square frame made of an inch strip of tin bent twice at

right angles and soldered to the cylinder.

A brass banner rod, seven inches long, also connects with this rod and,

passing through an inch opening, is supported in the flame of an alcohol

lamp and fastened on the opposite side by a tiny brass knob screwed on

the protruding thread of the rod. A small pulley and weight steadies the

motion of the lever.

The heat of the alcohol flame causes the brass rod to lengthen, and this

in turn moves the lever which opens the damper; and the degree of

expansion is indicated on a paper scale by a straw pointer attached to

the rod of the damper. A coating of copper bronze was given to the

cylinder. This model was made in part by Winfred C. Rhoades.

Figure 2 shows a forge made by William E. Tappae. A hand-bellows is

mounted on a wooden base about ten by twenty-four inches in size, and is

worked by a lever handle supported in a frame twenty-six inches in

height. The bellows consists of two boards connected by flexible leather

tacked to the edges. The upper board is stationary, and an inch central

opening is covered on the inside by a two-inch flap of chamois fastened

at one point, forming a valve.

As the handle is pushed up, the air rushes in, and when pulled down, the

valve closes and the compressed air is forced through the metal nozzle

to the glowing coals. The carved-wood anvil was stained black and the

other parts were painted a bright vermilion.

Figure 3 explains one way of connecting levers, and their uses as a

mechanical aid. The base is four by fifteen inches in size, and the

pillars are respectively six and ten inches in height, and are firmly

mortised and glued into the base. The upper lever is eighteen inches in

length, and connects with the ten-inch lower lever.

The lead weights, sliding on the narrow edges of the levers, balance

each other, and show how the heavy wagon of coal is balanced in the

office by the weight on the scale-beam.

A wedge made of oak ten inches in height and five inches in width is

indicated by Figure 4.

Figure 5 represents a diminutive pile-driver, twenty-eight inches in

length, showing the plan and action of a large machine.

[Illustration: SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER 14 YEARS

OF AGE.

DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.

Fig. 1. FURNACE

Fig. 2. FORGE

Fig. 3. LEVER SCALES

Fig. 4. WEDGE

Fig. 5. PILE DRIVER

Fig. 6. SCREW PRESS

Fig. 7. INCLINED RAILWAY]

The two-pound drop-hammer falls a distance of twenty-two inches in the

grooves of the vertical posts which are mortised and glued into the

base, as are also the oblique braces to which are attached the bobbin,

or axle, and crank, on which the cord is wound that raises the hammer.

This hammer is a flat piece of iron having two pieces of wood, each four

by two and one-half inches in size, cemented to it. A wire hook is

attached just above, and the extended arm of the hook as the weight

nears the top, meets a projecting pin, and slips the weight from the

cord.

Figure 6 is the model of a wood-press useful in pressing flowers for an

herbarium. The base and pressure board are each ten inches square, the

supports eight inches in height, and a wooden screw connected with the

upper board turns in the cross-piece. This and the models shown in the

drawings numbered 3, 5, and 10 were made by Harry Stoecker.

Figure 7 represents the model of an inclined railway constructed upon

the plan of the inclined railway actually in use between Hoboken and

Jersey City Heights. A board forty-five inches in length and ten inches

in width connects the terminal platforms of this model. The upper

platform rests on a support thirty-three inches in height; to this

support is attached an axle turned by a crank, on which are wound the

reversed cords which connect with the ascending and descending

platforms. These platforms are mounted on rollers and the cars while in

motion are kept in a horizontal position. This model was constructed by

Everett L. Thompson.

The same boy constructed also the model shown in Figure 8--a dumb-waiter

with original arrangement of cords and pulleys. The frame is thirty-six

inches in height, eleven inches in width, and five inches in depth.

Inside, a carrier with shelves is raised by a cord passing over four

pulleys, the action of which may be seen through glass slips fitted in

grooves. To the end of a cord is attached a weight which balances the

weight of the carrier and contents. The frame-work was stained a dark

mahogany color, oiled and varnished.

Figure 9 represents a miniature guillotine as made by David W. Benedict.

It was copied after one brought from France and exhibited at a

well-known museum in New York City.

The frame is twenty-two inches in height, and the block to which is

fastened the tin blade, falls through the grooves in the posts to the

rest upon which lies the head of the criminal. The cord raising the

block runs over the pulleys, and is wound on the cleat when not in use.

A box beneath receives the head of the imaginary victim as it falls. The

machine with the exception of the blade was painted in bright vermilion

and varnished.

Figure 10 shows a small derrick constructed after a sketch of one used

in the erection of the Madison Avenue bridge across the Harlem River. A

mast of maple twenty-seven inches in length is mortised into an oak

base, ten by twelve inches in size. A projecting arm, or jib, is

fastened to the mast by a clasp of heavy tin. A cord and pulley keep the

jib at a proper angle with the mast. The weight is hooked to a double

pulley connected with the single pulley near the end of the jib; the

cord, passing over a wheel in the mast and then passing downward, is

wound upon the axle by turning the crank; a toothed wheel and ratchet

stops the weight at the desired height. Neater pulleys than could be

purchased were made by joining two wooden buttons and placing them in a

whittled frame bound with piano-wire. The mast and jib were painted a

dark blue and the base was polished and varnished.

Figure 11 shows a model of a foundry crane, much admired for its

accuracy of design and finish. It was made by George Chase, of seasoned

maple with iron and brass connections. A swinging jib is pivoted at the

top to a brass plate screwed to the cross-piece of the frame, and turns

on a steel pin fitted to a plate on the base. A carriage travels along

the jib, being kept at the required distance by a cord passing over a

wheel at the end of the jib. A cord attached to the carriage passes over

a pulley connected with the weight, and also over the wheel of the

carriage, to the wheel directing it to the axle, which is turned by a

cog-wheel and pinion taken from an old clock.

The carrier of the elevator shown in Figure 12 is hoisted by a cord

passing over a small iron pulley fixed to the cross-beam of the grooved

posts, and thence to the spool, or axle turned by a crank.

A clock-spring attached to a square wooden rosette is shown by Figure

13.

Figure 14 represents a pump improvised by John B. Cartwright from an old

mincing-machine.

A handle turns a series of spur-wheels, which in turn give a rapid

motion to a twelve-inch walking-beam. To one end of this walking-beam is

attached a piston-rod, with a soft rubber disk working in a brass

cylinder five inches long and three and a half inches in diameter. Iron

fittings, including two brass valves, one on each side, connect with the

cylinder; an air-chamber is formed with a fitting and cap. The suction

caused by the upward motion of the piston will draw water from a pail or

cup through a rubber tube connected with the end fitting of the

right-hand valve, then through the valve to the cylinder; the downward

motion of the piston causes the water to pass through the left-hand

valve to the receiving vessel, and the air-chamber tends to make the

flow regular. Parts of the machine were painted blue and striped with

gold bronze.

[Illustration: SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER FOURTEEN

YEARS OF AGE.--DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.

Fig. 8 A DUMB WAITER

Fig. 9. GUILLOTINE

Fig. 10. A DERRICK

Fig. 11. FOUNDRY CRANE

Fig. 12. BRICK & MORTAR ELEVATOR

Fig. 13. CLOCK SPRING

Fig. 14. FORCE PUMP

Fig. 15. SIMPLE SUN MAGIC LANTERN OR HELIOSTAT.

Fig. 15.A.

Fig. 16. ARC ELECTRIC LAMP]

By the removal of one pane of glass from a window facing south, the

apparatus shown in Figure 15 may be used, like a magic lantern, to

project transparencies, in a darkened room.

A pine board, fourteen inches square and one inch in thickness, has an

opening in the middle to receive a wooden frame seven inches square,

holding a six-inch cosmorama lens, having a focus of eighteen inches. A

three-inch plano-convex lens having a focus of nine inches, mounted in a

wooden frame, slides along a slit or opening in a board hinged to the

inner side of the board which is cleated to the window.

A plate-glass mirror, eight by fifteen inches in size, is secured to a

board hinged to a wooden rod, which can be turned from the inside, and

is raised and lowered by a cord winding on a key. The mirror is lowered

and inclined until the sunlight is reflected through the lenses, and

then a circle of intense light, from ten to fifteen feet in diameter

appears on the wall or screen. Both lenses will not cost more than two

dollars, and the apparatus will most impressively illustrate experiments

in light and sound.

An easily made electric lamp is shown by Figure 16. An Argand chimney is

fastened to a wooden base, with the cement known as "Stratena," and

partly filled with water. A cork coated with paraffine is placed inside

the chimney, and a rod of carbon twelve inches long and one-sixteenth of

an inch in thickness being inserted in the cork, the upward pressure of

the water on the cork causes the end of the carbon rod to come in slight

contact with a thick rod of carbon which is fastened obliquely to a

square piece of wood, cemented near the top of the chimney. A brass chip

fastened to the wood keeps the thin rod of carbon in position, and when

two copper wires connect the carbons with six to ten jars of a

bichromate battery, a light appears where the two carbons meet. As the

thin rod wastes away, the cork rises and keeps the end of the rod

almost in contact with the other carbon point.

An ambition to creditably make a mechanical contrivance or apparatus is

noticeably characteristic of many boys. The construction of an aquarium,

a sailboat, or a telescope, or some similar object, is of absorbing

interest to such lads; and the making of the electrical apparatus of

straws, sealing-wax, etcetera, once described by Professor Tyndall, has

merely tasked the ingenuity of thinking boys to improve upon the

apparatus.

Many educators maintain that manual training of a pleasant character,

adapted to the age of the pupils, should form an essential element in

the education of boys and girls, and should be placed on a par with the

regular studies. There is no doubt that such instruction stimulates

ambition and tends to develop taste, skill, and natural invention. At

the same time an insight into mechanical occupations, with some

practical experience in the handling of tools, may assist a boy in

choosing a calling suited to his taste, and better prepare him to enter

some practical industry, if his choice should incline toward such an

occupation.

A few years ago, manual training in modeling, wood-carving, carpentry,

forge-work, and other branches, was introduced into a technical course

in the College of the City of New York, in East Twenty-third street.

To-day it is one of the most interesting features of the College work,

and is highly appreciated by the students. Private schools in this city,

as also some of the public and private schools of Boston and

Philadelphia, have introduced the workshop into their methods of

instruction, and devote a few hours in each week to practical and manual

labor.

The models illustrated in this article represent many well spent and

helpful hours of recreation, and other boys may find pleasure and profit

in making similar use of their leisure time and their powers of

handicraft.

A NEW VIEW OF THE MOON.

BY EVA LOVETT CARSON.

A little boy just two years old,

Or maybe two months older,

Came riding home across the lot,

Perched on his father's shoulder.

"Look, Oswald! Hold your head up straight!

(Do stop that dreadful drumming!)

See, just above where Mamma stands

A little moon is coming!"

The baby lifts his round blue eyes;

The moon laughs at their glancing.

To see the wonder of his gaze

'Most sets the moon a-dancing.

Frowning, he solved the problem soon;

Indignantly he spoke it:

"Papa, dat's not the big wound moon;

I fink _somebody b'oke it_!"

JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.

[Illustration]

Away--ho, away!--Let us off on a quest!

To the North--to the South--to the East--to the West!

To the West, to find where the sunsets go

When the skies are as red as roses a-blow;

To the East, to see whence the mornings come;

To the South, the Summer to track to her home;

To the North, by the gleam of the Polar Star,

And Night's aurora flaming afar,

To seek, in the keen and biting weather,

The lodestone that holds the world together.

Now and then somebody writes out the very thoughts of the birds; and

then again, others tell me very prettily just what they think ought to

be felt by the tuneful-minded little creatures. Here, for instance,

comes this scrap of verse from my friend Emily A. Braddock that I hope

not only you children, but all of my birds will hear. I don't allude so

much to the sparrows and such stay-at-homes as to my migratory, or

go-away birds. I'm sure they'd be delighted at a poet's way of putting

things. It will give them something to go for. As for myself, I've not

started yet, so we'll proceed to discuss a certain odd saying for which

it seems the world is indebted to one sort of these migratory birds:

"EVERYTHING IS LOVELY, AND THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH."

This expression, the Little School-ma'am says, is a corruption of an

old-fashioned saying that originated in the early days of this country.

As most of you know, wild geese, when they migrate in autumn, form

themselves into lines shaped like the letter V, the leader flying at the

point, the two lines following; and as they sail away, far above the

trees, and beyond all danger from guns--on those cold mornings when the

air is clear, and the sky beautifully blue--they seem full of glee, and

join in a chorus, "_Honk, honk, honk!_"

Any one who has heard those curiously sounding notes, the Little

School-ma'am says, never could mistake them for anything else. And the

folks on the earth below who heard the birds' wild call, in old times,

realized the happiness of the winged creatures in being so high and

safe. And so it became quite natural, when two persons met each other

under peculiarly favorable circumstances for this or that enterprise,

for them to say: "Everything is lovely and the goose honks high!"

GIRLS! TO THE RESCUE!

Before we leave our dear birds, moreover, I have a special message for

you this month in their behalf:

"You must not forget, friend Jack," says the Deacon, "to give the boys

and girls, especially the girls, my May-time sermon about the Audubon

Society."

Forget it? Not I, indeed! Nor would you, if you could have seen the

honest and hearty indignation of the good Deacon and the Little

School-ma'am, as he read to her a printed circular telling all about the

monstrous wrong which the Audubon Society has nobly begun to fight. You

must know, dear girls, that this "monstrous wrong" is the custom of

wearing feathers and skins of birds on your hats and dresses. As I am an

honest Jack, I don't see how girls and their mammas, who, as everybody

knows, are supposed to have hearts more tender than men or boys, could

ever have been induced to follow so abominable a fashion. "Abominable"

is rather a strong word, I suppose; but it is the very one which the

good Deacon used when he read the printed slip. And the Little

School-ma'am--bless her!--actually gave a nod of satisfaction when she

heard it. As for me, no word would be too strong to express my feelings

on the subject.

But I'll be content now with giving you what the Deacon calls "two plain

facts" about this fashion, and letting them speak for themselves. "You

must know then," says the Deacon, "that a single collector of ornamental

feathers in this country has declared that he handles every year about

_thirty thousand_ bird-skins, almost all of which are used for millinery

purposes; and that another man collected from the shooters in one small

district within four months, about _seventy thousand_ birds!

"Now, Jack," adds the Deacon, "tell your young hearers to ask themselves

and their parents, whether this slaughter shall continue? The Audubon

Society says 'no!' Its membership is free to every one who is willing to

lend a helping hand to its objects. And its objects are to prevent as

far as possible, first, the killing of any wild birds not used for food;

second, the destruction of nests or eggs of wild birds; and third, the

wearing of feathers as ornaments or trimmings for dress. And certainly

women and girls can do much, in fact everything, for this third object."

All the older readers of ST. NICHOLAS will remember the army of

bird-defenders which it established years ago. The Deacon says that

there is a call for a new army, and all that you need do to join it, my

girls, is to refuse to wear feathers on your hats or dresses. If all the

women and girls who now follow that cruel fashion would but abandon it,

the needless slaughter of the birds would soon be at an end.

ABOUT LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.

"FELIXSTOW," BRIGHTWOOD (NEAR WASHINGTON).

DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: I am a little boy just six years

old. I live in the country about six miles from Washington.

I am very much interested in reading "Little Lord

Fauntleroy," because Mrs. Burnett, the lady who wrote it,

was out at our house last spring, and told us the story, and

I want to see if she changed it before she put it in the

book. I tell you, her own little boys, Lionel and Vivian,

are nice fellows to play with! I have a nice pony named Joe,

lots of chickens, a dog, and two cats, but I like digging in

the ground most. I raised a lot of pop-corn last year.

Somebody is writing this for me, but I am telling him what

to write. My little brother Paul bothers me considerably

when I want to make things.

Good bye, dear Jack; you are a nice fellow. Your friend,

FELIX RENOUF HOLT.

"Felix is not alone," says the Little School-ma'am, "in his admiration

for Little Lord Fauntleroy. The children of the Red School House all are

charmed with his lordship, and for myself I consider him one of the very

sweetest and noblest little boys in English literature."

FISHING FOR NECKLACES.

According to my friend, Ernest Ingersoll, a large proportion of the red

coral used by jewelers in making ornaments comes from the Mediterranean

coast of Algeria, where it is gathered chiefly by an ingenious machine.

Nets, the meshes of which are loose, are hung on the bars of a cross,

and dragged at the bottom of the sea among the nooks and crevices of the

rocks. These nets, winding about the branches of the coralline growth,

break off its branches, which adhere to the meshes. When he thinks it is

laden, the fisherman draws the net to the surface and helps himself to

the coral. This is sold in various markets, and afterward worked into

ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, and other pretty articles for girls and

their mammas.

A SUGGESTION TO THE BOTTLED FISH.

READING, MASS.,

DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: I read in the February number about

the bottled fish. I think it is very queer. In "Grimm's

Fairy Tales" there is a story about a fox that crept into a

hole where there was something to eat. After he ate it he

grew so fat that he could not get out, and he stayed there

till the farmer found him and killed him. I suppose it was

the same way with the fish, only he fed on oysters, and as I

think there are no farmers at the bottom of the sea, he

stayed there till he was drawn up. If I had been that fish,

I would have starved myself till I was thin enough to get

out. I have taken St. Nicholas since I was two years old,

and my mamma says she brought me up on it, so you see I have

been well brought up.

I remain yours truly,

E. S. K. PACKARD.

THE NEWSPAPER PLANT.

You are to be told in this month's ST. NICHOLAS, I hear, about a curious

"lace-leaf," a "vegetable necktie," and a "caricature plant." If so,

this is a good time for me to show you a curiosity called the newspaper

plant, which the Little School-ma'am described the other day to the

young folk of the Red School House.

It seems that in certain far-away countries called New Mexico and

Arizona, there are great tracts of desolate desert lands, where the very

hills seem destitute of life and beauty, and where the earth is

shriveled from centuries of terrible heat. And in these desert-tracts

grow a curious, misshapen, grotesque and twisted plant that seems more

like a goblin tree than a real one.

Of all the trees in the world, you would imagine this to be the most

outcast and worthless--so meager a living does it obtain from the waste

of sand and gravel in which it grows. And yet this goblin tree is now

being sought after and utilized in one of the world's greatest

industries--an industry that affects the daily needs of civilization,

and is of especial importance to every girl and boy who reads the pages

of ST. NICHOLAS.

Those wise folk, the botanists, call our goblin tree by its odd Indian

name of the "Yucca" palm.

[Illustration: THE YUCCA PALM.]

This plant of the desert for a long time was considered valueless. But

not long ago it was discovered that the fiber of the Yucca could be made

into an excellent paper.[E] And now one of the great English dailies,

the London _Telegraph_, is printed upon paper made from this goblin

tree. Indeed, the _Telegraph_ has purchased a large plantation in

Arizona, merely for the purpose of cultivating this tree, and

manufacturing paper from it. So, you see, the Yucca is now a newspaper

plant.

ONE MORE LIVING BAROMETER.

DEAR JACK: As you have told us so much about living

barometers, I want to tell you that I have one. Mine is a

red squirrel. Just before a "cold snap" she will be surly

and sleepy. When she is angry, she will spread her lower

teeth apart. She will play like a kitten. I call her Gipsy,

and she is my chief pet.

Your constant reader,

M. M. M.

[Footnote E: For an article describing the manufacture of paper, see ST.

NICHOLAS for August, 1884, page 808.]

EDITORIAL NOTES.

In a note which accompanied the article in our present number, "When

Shakspere was a Boy," Miss Kingsley desires us to state that she owes

much valuable information about charms (mentioned on page 488), and also

about Shaksperean games and customs, to Mr. Richard Savage, of the

Shakspere Birthplace Museum, Stratford-on-Avon.

* * * * *

In his story of "The Great Snow-ball Fight," printed in our March

number, Mr. Barnard showed how some boys put out the fire in the Widow

Lawson's house, by snow-balling it. This may have appeared to some

readers almost impossible, but it was based upon an actual occurrence.

And an instance of that mode of at least preventing a fire, was recorded

in the New York papers of February 11th. It appears in an account of the

burning of the stables of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club, at Hempstead, Long

Island. "No modern appliance for extinguishing fire was at hand," says

one journal, "but there was plenty of snow, and this was banked up about

the adjoining stables, and undoubtedly saved them from being burned.

Whenever sparks from the burning building fell on the adjacent barns,

they were quickly extinguished by well-directed snow-balls thrown upon

them."

THE LETTER-BOX.

CONCORD, N. H.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Lena and I play dolls very often, but the

latest game we play is throwing cards into a hat placed on

the floor about six feet away. Lena put in thirty-two out of

fifty-two. If you have room enough to print this in your

Letter-box, I should like to read it.

Yours truly,

RUTH A. M.

That is a very nice game, Ruth, although six feet seems a long distance

for a small girl to toss the cards. We have seen grown folk try the game

at four feet, and then several of them could not put one in twenty into

the hat; so Lena's score of thirty-two out of fifty-two is a fine one.

The game can be played with any kind of cards, and with sides or by

individuals. The largest number of cards thrown into the hat, either by

one person or by a side, makes the winning score. If played by sides,

not more than twenty cards should be used, and each side should play

five rounds, thus making one hundred the highest possible score for any

player.

* * * * *

MIDDLETOWN, CONN.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am anxious to have the March number

come, so that I can see how Little Lord Fauntleroy's

grandfather treats him. That serial story I enjoy very much.

I go to a private girls' school in the morning, and study

German in the afternoon with my mother.

With much love I am your faithful reader,

HELEN W. A.

* * * * *

PROVIDENCE, R. I.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: This is the first time that I have

written to you.

I have a funny story to tell about a mouse. My canary bird

used to hang up in our nursery-window on a chain. Sometimes

in the evening or night, we would hear mice running around,

and in the morning we would find that some of the seed was

gone. Mamma thought it was a mouse, but _we_ did not think

so. Papa had been trying to catch them in a trap, but did

not catch many. We then thought that we would try another

way. So Papa took the cage down and put a pail of water on

the chain, and when the little mouse went up the chain, as

he used to do, instead of going in the cage, he went in the

pail of water and was drowned. This is a true story. I am

eleven years old. Good-bye.

am your constant reader,

B. G. H.

* * * * *

CARRINGTON, DAKOTA.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: You do not know me at all, but I know you

and love you so much! When you were brought to me this

morning I almost kissed your bright face for joy. It was

stormy this morning, and I was tired playing with kitty;

besides that I had been waiting so long to read some more

about Little Lord Fauntleroy! He is such a brave, wise

little boy! Will you ask Mrs. Burnett to please not make him

unhappy with his grandfather? Ever since we had our

Christmas entertainment, I have wanted to tell you about it,

but have been too sick to write you. We called it "An

Evening with Mother Goose and the Brownies." Yes,--we had

all the cute little boys in Carrington dressed up like

Brownies. They did mischief very nicely, all quietly in

their stocking-feet. While Mother Goose was singing her

melodies, they came and stole away her goose, and they

pelted Mother Hubbard with paper balls when she sang that

song in the ST. NICHOLAS: "I had an Educated Pug." In the

tableaux, they tripped up Jack and Jill, upset Blue-beard,

stole Jack Horner's plum, overturned the bachelor's

wheelbarrow, little wife and all, let the spider down from a

tree on little Miss Muffett, and tied Bo-peep's sheep-tails

to a tree, and woke her up with their baa's. Then we had

"The House that Jack built," just like it is in the ST.

NICHOLAS, for Nov. 1883. It was just splendid, and so funny;

but when the rat was to come out of "The House that Jack

built," the cat had put his foot on the string and it broke,

so the cat couldn't come out. Then the maiden all forlorn

picked up the rat, threw it at the cat, and everybody just

roared!

I am nine years old, and my name is,

THEODORA C.

* * * * *

NEW HARTFORD, IOWA.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I believe the little girls that take the

ST. NICHOLAS will like to hear about my numerous paper

dolls. I have a whole town of them, and they all have their

names written on their backs. I was so interested in "The

Firm of Big Brain, Little Brain & Co." After I read it, I

kept thinking what my "Big Brain" was telegraphing. Well, my

big brain telegraphs to my hand, that if it writes any more,

the letter will be too long to print. So good-bye. I am

One of your many friends,

GRACE C.

* * * * *

WOODLAND, CAL.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I think you are the nicest magazine in

the whole world. I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a

beautiful story. It seems so real. Cedric reminds me of my

little cousin Birdie (that is his pet name). One day his

aunt (who is an artist) asked him if he did not want her to

paint him. He said: "I had rather be as I are." He is nearly

four years old. I live on a vineyard of 160 acres.

Your faithful reader,

LILLIAN H.

* * * * *

FORT ASSINABOINE, MON.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I commenced taking your paper five months

ago, and I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is the best story

I ever read.

We have plenty of skating here, and fifty ponies to ride.

Another boy is writing a letter to you too. We live 200

miles from Helena and we have to go in a stage or wait till

the river opens.

We only have to go to school in the morning, and we play all

the rest of the day.

Yours truly,

S. F. P.

* * * * *

BROOKLYN, N. Y., 1886.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought that I would send you a letter

at last. I will tell you about our washwoman and me. I have

something the matter with my knee, and so I have to stay in

the house. Well, our washwoman and I were having some fun. I

was at the back parlor window, and the washwoman was down in

the back yard hanging up the clothes, and I got a snow-ball

and threw it at her, and you ought to have seen her! She

looked up and down and could not see anybody, and after a

while she saw me, and then, the way she looked! She said: "I

will give it to you!"

Yours truly,

FRANK T.

* * * * *

EVERETT, MASS.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have taken you for a year and I could

not do without you. Every month you gladden our home with

your beautiful pictures, interesting stories, and pretty

bits of poetry.

I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a splendid story. I must

not forget to mention the "Brownies." What busy little

workers they are! I have one pet, a beautiful linnet. Her

name is Daisy. She is a very sweet singer.

I remain, your constant reader,

MAY F.

* * * * *

KINGSTON, INDIANA.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I do not see many letters from Indiana in

your Letter-box. I would not do without you for ten dollars

a year.

I like your Natural History. I have several books on Natural

History.

Last year I wanted you so badly that Papa said I must earn

the money myself. I had enough, lacking fifty cents. We had

an oyster supper here, and papa gave me fifty cents to

spend; so I did without oysters and took you. I am thirteen

years old.

Yours sincerely,

ART. R.

* * * * *

MT. AUBURN, CINCINNATI, O.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I like your stories very much. I am a boy

seven years old. I do not go to school, but Mamma teaches me

with two little girls. I had a lovely Christmas. I got a

locomotive, a sword, a scarf, a marble game, a rolling-pin,

a box to keep my pens and pencils in, and some cards and

books for Christmas. I think you are the best book I ever

read. This is the first year I began to take you. I like the

"Brownies" best. Tell Mr. Palmer Cox to put "Brownies" in

every ST. NICHOLAS. Please don't forget to print my letter,

for I have written it all myself, and spelled it without any

help.

I had two kittys, and their names were Mitten and Topsy. We

gave away Mitten and kept Topsy, but after a while we lost

Topsy, and then we found another kitty, but she ran away. I

am sorry they went away, for I love kittys. Good-bye, dear

ST. NICHOLAS, I am so glad it is most time for you to come

again. Please don't forget to print my letter, for I love

you so much!

Your loving friend,

RALPH B. R.

* * * * *

LEWISBURG, W. VA.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have just finished reading the February

number, and I think that "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and

"George Washington" are splendid! I am a little girl ten

years old. Have taken you for four years.

I have ever so many uncles and aunts. One of my aunts sends

you to me.

Your loving reader,

DOTTIE M.

* * * * *

WYOMING, DEL.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I

love to read the letters others have sent you. You have been

coming to our house nearly three years, and we all look

anxiously for the 26th of the month, when you are due. You

are my own book. I pay for you with money I have earned

myself. My little sister wonders whenever she sees ST.

NICHOLAS what the Brownies are doing in it. Mamma is much

interested in "Little Lord Fauntleroy," and we like it too,

and all the rest of your stories, but especially "The Gilded

Boy of Florence," because we know the man who wrote it and

have heard him preach. He says all he wrote in that story is

true. Good-bye.

Ever your faithful reader,

C. LIZZIE B.

* * * * *

LONDON, ENGLAND.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am an American girl who left New York

four years ago, during which time I have been a constant

reader of ST. NICHOLAS. My school friends who read English

all want it also. You have been forwarded to me from London

as far as Turkey and Egypt. And so, if you can only spare a

few minutes, I would like to tell you about the pyramids and

the sphinx.

From Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo, it is a beautiful drive of

seven miles through an archway of large trees by the side of

the Nile. There are several pyramids. The chief one is said

to be 463 feet high, and one would think the top would be

very small; but you will no doubt be surprised to hear that

the Khedive gave a dinner to twenty-four guests upon the top

of a pyramid. The dinner was served in the usual manner by

Arab waiters; the gentlemen walked up, while the ladies were

carried up in chairs. The pyramids are built like

stairs,--one stone on top the other, with only an edge for a

foothold.

Many tourists try to climb the structure, which is very

fatiguing work. We gave an expert Arab fifty cents to do it

in ten minutes; he went up in six minutes and down in four

minutes. From the pyramid to the sphinx is quite a little

walk through thick sand; and the Sphinx is so big you can

hardly see it all at once. The English soldiers knocked off

some of its right hand and all its nose. It is cut from a

solid rock and looks as black as iron. The Egyptian postage

stamps have pictures of both the pyramid and the sphinx. The

temple dedicated to the sphinx lies in ruins here, but the

remains are very beautiful, being nearly all of alabaster;

and in the cellar they have just discovered an image, which

is so immense they can't get it out from the place where it

has lain so many hundred years. Some time I will write a

letter about the Holy Land, as I lived there two months. I

hope you will print my letter; it is my first attempt, and I

am fourteen years old. Your March number will find me at

Alexandria, for I take the Beyrouth steamer next week. I

hope, dear ST. NICHOLAS, your Egyptian friend has not tired

you, and I also hope this may find a place in your

Letter-box.

Your loving Egyptian friend,

MAUD STANLEY F.

* * * * *

MOHEGAN LAKE, N. Y.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I send you this letter, a true story

about a fish-hawk.

It was in the middle of April, 1883. A man who was rowing on

one of those lakes east of the Highlands, in the northern

part of Westchester County, espied a large fish-hawk sitting

on a dead limb near the water. The man, having his gun with

him, rowed over toward the hawk, and when in range fired at

him flying. The wounded bird fell, hit on the outer joint of

the left wing. With the help of his companion the man

managed to bring him home. In less than a week, the boy of

the house fed him with fish out of his own hands, and the

hawk did not attempt to claw him. One day the boy wanted to

see how many pounds of fish the hawk would eat. He caught

seven suckers weighing a pound and a half each. The hawk ate

six, one after another, and took the seventh, but refused to

eat it until half an hour afterward. What an enormous

appetite he had! Later on in the summer, the boy would take

him to the water to wash. He did it just as a canary does in

his china bath. The boy would take him and put him on the

side of the boat and row him around, and the hawk would sit

there, taking in everything, as well as the summer visitors,

who were taking him in. The hawk was so tame that his keeper

could smooth his head and chuck him under his beak and the

hawk would only flop his wings and whistle when the boy

turned, as though delighted with what the boy did. This

creature measured five feet eleven inches from tip to tip of

the wings, and came to his death in October of the same

year, by getting caught in the string by which he was

fastened, greatly to the sorrow of his keeper who cared for

him. The bird is now stuffed and in a friend's room in New

York City.

Yours truly,

S. F. K. E. G.

* * * * *

CINCINNATI, O.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought I would write to you to say

what so many of the other girls and boys who take you have

already said: "That I love every one of your stories and can

hardly wait until the 25th of the month comes, to read you."

I have taken you two years and would not be without you one

single month. I live in the dirty city of Cincinnati, but I

have a great deal of fun any way.

We have had two snowstorms this winter, but by the time the

snow has lain on the ground three or four days it is so

black that I actually believe that people who come from the

country would not know it was snow unless they were told.

I will now close, hoping to have the pleasure of seeing this

letter printed.

I remain, your constant reader,

GRACE S. C.

P. S. I forgot to say I was thirteen years old and have a

brother nine years old, who thinks the ST. NICHOLAS "a

dandy," as he expresses it.

* * * * *

MORE ABOUT CURVE-PITCHING.

LINCOLN CO., NEB.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: The two letters in the February number on

"curve-pitching," I was very glad to see. It was during my

college-days that the "curve" made its appearance, and it

was for some time a matter of much interesting discussion

among us. I was not much of a base-ball man, but I saw a

good deal of curve-pitching, and occasionally threw some

rather wild "curves" myself in an amateurish way. We budding

physicists discussed the why and wherefore of the problem,

but never arrived at any satisfactory solution. The same

explanation which is given in the second letter of your

February number suggested itself to me at the time, and I

was quite satisfied with it until I discovered that it did

not accord with the facts of the case. It is a beautiful

theory, but, like some other theories, it doesn't work.

According to the theory, as shown by your correspondent, the

ball rotating (as indicated by his diagram which he gives),

against the hands of the watch should curve to the right,

producing the _in_ curve. But the fact is, that a ball so

rotating will curve to the left--the _out_ curve. And a ball

rotating in a contrary direction, _i. e._, so that points on

its forward side are moving to the right, will curve to the

right--the _in_ curve. In both cases the axis of rotation is

vertical, so that the motions of the ball may be well

illustrated by a spinning-top, as is shown in the first

letter by A. D. S. But the case of a rifle-ball in motion

does not seem to me to be parallel with that of a base-ball

under normal conditions. A rifle-ball is given a rotation

about an axis parallel to and coincident with its line of

flight, just as an arrow rotates on its shaft. Now, none of

the curves of a base-ball are produced with the axis of

rotation in this position. In the _in_ and _out_ curves, as

already said, the axis of rotation is vertical; while the

_rise_ and _drop_ are produced by rotating the ball about a

horizontal axis perpendicular to the line of flight. In

_all_ cases the axis of rotation _must_ be at right angles

to the line of flight, and the more accurately this

condition is complied with, the more marked the effect. My

knowledge of the subject is too slight to warrant me in

asserting that the curving of the rifle-ball and that of the

base-ball do not depend on the same principle, but it does

not seem to me that the two are identical, for the above

reasons.

I have no theory to offer, but trust that among the readers

of ST. NICHOLAS some may be found who have penetrated to the

"true inwardness" of this interesting problem, and will give

us a complete and scientific explanation of it.

Yours truly,

H. H. H.

* * * * *

BEVERLY, OHIO.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read with considerable interest

the letters in ST. NICHOLAS for February concerning

curve-pitching. I am a boy who takes great interest in

base-ball, and have many times pitched curves. I have seen

persons, and see them yet, who firmly maintain that a ball

cannot be curved, even when they have ocular demonstration

of the fact. But that has nothing to do with what I have to

say. I have studied the diagram of my anonymous friend, and

am convinced that he is exactly wrong. With the following

diagrams I shall show which way a ball curves with a given

rotation, and give my theory of the curve:

[Illustration]

Suppose, as in the letter published, the ball moves one

hundred feet per second, and revolves so that the equator

moves around at the same rate. Then, in the first diagram,

the friction at B is greatest, and at D is 0. But instead of

curving as my anonymous friend demonstrates, it will curve

in exactly the _opposite_ direction; namely, in the same

direction in which it rotates.

I have appended diagram 2, simply to show the curve where

the friction is 0 at B and greatest at D. Then it will curve

as indicated.

I have a short theory, namely: In the first diagram, the

more rapid movement of B compresses the air on that side,

while at D it is in its normal state. Hence the pressure at

B more than counterbalances that at D, and, as it were,

shoves the ball in the direction of the side D, thus

producing the curve. In the 2d diagram, the letters B and D

interchange in the theory. I would like to hear more about

this subject.

Very respectfully yours,

F. C. J.

* * * * *

BIRMINGHAM, MICH.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read with great interest the

articles in the October, December, and February numbers,

about curve-pitching. I have had quite a good deal of

experience in the "one,-two,-three,-and-out" line myself,

and have also, for the last two or three years, been able to

make others have the same experience, by putting them out,

in the same way. Therefore, I venture a reply to the

explanation in the February number, backing my statement by

the experience of many eminent curve-pitchers, and also by

the story in the October number of "How Science Won the

Game."

[Illustration]

The above diagram is the same as your correspondent uses,

and he asserts that the point B is moving faster than D;

consequently, there is more friction at B, whence B is

retarded more than D, and so the ball will curve toward W in

the path of the dotted line. Now, if he will look in the

story of "How Science Won the Game," where the base-ball

editor shows the boys how to hold and how to throw the ball

to make the different curves, he will find that when he

throws the ball so that it whirls as shown in diagram, it

will curve toward P, a direction entirely opposite from the

one he designates. And any curve-pitcher will tell him the

same. When I first read his explanation, I thought it was

all right, for it looks quite reasonable, but upon second

thoughts, I saw it was wrong, and to make sure, I took a

ball and tried it. The only way I can get around his

explanation (aside from actual fact) is this: The point B,

as he clearly shows, is moving faster than D, and so the

ball, if the friction of the air is taken away, will

naturally curve toward the side D or point P. Now, the

question is, Will the friction of the air be enough greater

on the side B to overcome the difference in the motions of

the two sides? If it is, the ball must move in a straight

line, but as it curves toward the side D, we must conclude

that it is not, and that the friction of the air tends more

to hinder than to help the ball to curve. I really believe

that if it could be tried, a person could make a ball curve

in a vacuum more easily than we can make it curve in the

air. Trusting to hear more upon this subject, I remain,

sincerely yours,

"A CURVER."

* * * * *

FREMONT, NEB.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I

think perhaps you will publish this one letter. I hope you

will publish it, as I have never yet had anything of mine

published.

I like the story entitled, "How Science Won the Game."

Although I am but thirteen years old I think I can pitch a

curve. I go to the Fremont Normal School and like it very

much.

I am going to have the 1884 and 1885 ST. NICHOLAS bound next

week. I think you have a very entertaining magazine, and I

think the pictures are very nice. I have the magazine for a

Christmas present every year. I have taken ST. NICHOLAS

three years and I hope I may always take it.

Papa says he doesn't think you will publish this, but I

think you will.

Yours truly,

EDDIE H. B.

* * * * *

AYER, MASS.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: As so many of your readers have written

to you, I thought I would write too, that I might have the

pleasure of seeing my letter in print.

I have taken you a year and have fallen greatly in love with

your delightful pages.

I think "How Science Won the Game" is a lovely story; I felt

much interested in it, for last summer the girls of my age

who lived here got up a base-ball nine. In time, we played

very nicely and enjoyed the fun. The readers of the

Letter-box may think this a funny game for girls to play,

but we liked it and found it very good exercise.

I am fifteen years old; I have a little dog, his name is

Teddie; he is a very good little dog, but I pity the cat

that gets in his way.

I like to read "From Bach to Wagner," as I enjoy reading of

different composers.

Your true reader,

RUTH F.

* * * * *

We heartily thank the young friends whose names here follow, for

pleasant letters received from them: Kate Ethel C., John Myers, Sadie B.

Crane, G. M. F., Jamie H., Walter J. Cohen, Stuart L. Martin, George

Williams, Eddie L. Goodman, Violette T. Haines, Lillie M. Grubbs, Freda

Nicolai, Eva Wilkins, Miriam Ferry, Hortie O'Meara, Anna Ross, Clara

Louise Whitney, Constance and Richard Bigelow, E. R. B., J. H. B., Mary

and Gussie, Jessie Hiltner, Alberta Stout, Willis Dunning, Nellie E.

Stebbins, Marion R. Brown, A. W. Smith, Josie and May, Kate G., Hallie

H. Haines, Johnny B. S., Daisy, Gertie Beidler, Mary M. C., Charles L.

Baldwin, Kitty Clover, Alice Olney, Emil Harrington, Katie M. Cathcart,

Arthur F. B., Agnes Hanks, Elizabeth K. Stewart, Wade W. Thayer, Brooks

Upham, Rosalie, Mamie Eells, Florence Lanty, Frank Dearstyne, Vera

Wheeler, Nellie McN. Suydam, Elizabeth B. Grumball, Ida Cameron, Ethel

Marion Walker, Fawn Evans, Alfa P. Tyrrell, H. and A. V. P., G. P. S.,

Clara Moore, F. W. S., Portia, Nellie T., Eva R., Norine, Anna M.

Lister, Blanche E. Ives, Mary Hicks, "Dolly Varden," Nora T. C., Natie

P. Thompson, Daniel McPhail, Mary E. Seavey, Storrs E. E., H. C. J.,

Edith B., Kittie E. Fogarty, Frank Carman, Ruth A., C. H. M., Richard D.

Bennett, Anne Grey Millett, Addie Rockwell, Laura Smith, Paula Goetz,

Katie S. Denholm, Carl M. Ruhlen, Thomas McKeone, W. C. T., Marion

Loomis, Alice E. Bogert, Gertrude E. S., Julian Granbery, B. M. S.,

Edward P. Irwin, "The Five Friends," T. L., Kate B. Tilley, Irene S.

Duer, Violet Scath, Florence M. Wickes, E. W. B., May Delany, and Bertha

Sweet.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

SIXTY-FIRST REPORT.

AN ENGRAVED CHARTER FOR FRAMING.

Our attention has been called to the fact that heretofore we have sent

to our Chapters no charters, or certificates, suitable for framing.

To remedy this deficiency, we have engaged one of the leading firms of

New-York City to design a very beautiful A. A. Charter, to be handsomely

engraved on bond or parchment paper. The size of the charter will be

about 12 × 18 inches or larger.

At the top is drawn an open ST. NICHOLAS, showing on one page Prof.

Agassiz's portrait, and on the other, representations of the animal and

vegetable kingdoms.

Above the magazine is our badge, the Swiss Cross; and below is the

motto, _Per Naturam ad Deum_. Then follows the certificate proper,

handsomely ornamented, bearing the name of the founder of the Chapter,

the name, number, and letter of the same, and signed with the autograph

of the President of the A. A. Of course the first two hundred

impressions--or artist's proofs--are the finest. Many members are so

pleased with them that they wish to secure copies for their individual

possession.

THE CLASS IN MINERALOGY.

None of the courses of study we have ever had the pleasure of offering

to our friends, has had the magnificent success which is attending Prof.

Crosby's class in mineralogy. At this writing no less than eighty-nine

pupils are enrolled, and as Chapters usually take the course through one

representative, this number doubtless means that at the least five

hundred persons are learning how to observe and describe minerals, under

most competent instruction. To each pupil is sent a set of thirty

valuable specimens, and all exercises are corrected and returned for

revision. Geographically, the class extends from Washington Territory to

England.

REPORTS OF CHAPTERS.

We have to begin again this month, as last, by presenting the excellent

reports of dilatory Chapters. A little more promptness hereafter, good

secretaries, if you please!

37, _Kingsboro, N. Y._ By some mischance, your card notifying me that

our report is due has just come to my notice, and I hasten to write,

fearing our "candlestick may be removed." Last week three of us visited

a gold-mine and brought home specimens of rock from which gold is

obtained, averaging about twenty dollars per ton. The rock is dark,

fine-grained, and resembles lime-stone. It effervesces with acid. We

have here beautiful specimens of the Azoic rocks, and we could make up

named collections to exchange for other specimens.--W. W. Thomas, Box

711.

112, _So. Boston_. We number ten active and three honorary members.

During the year we have held twenty-two meetings, with an average

attendance of eight. In January we gave an entertainment, and realized

$10.80. In April we endeavored to establish an assembly of the Chapters

in this part of the State, but did not succeed.

During the year we have studied chemistry, zoölogy, and astronomy. At

one time we visited the Agassiz museum in a body, and learned a great

deal. Having seen now what we can do, I think we shall all study harder

during the coming year.--Geo. L. Whitehouse, 37 Gates street.

[_Don't be discouraged; we shall have a State Assembly in

Massachusetts before many years._]

134, _De Pere, Wis._ We have eighteen members. Our room is beginning to

look very nicely. We added five new cases last fall. We have 1600

geological specimens,--including 1000 fossils,--600 minerals, 50 birds,

500 plants, 400 shells, and 100 ethnological specimens.--A. S. Gilbert.

153, _Chicago_ (_E_). At the Exposition here last fall, we had two large

cases, one containing minerals, the other fossils, which compared

favorably with any in the building, and did much toward making our

society known to the throng of visitors. We have added new books to our

library at no small expense. Our "Paper" is the latest addition to our

meetings, and contains original articles, clippings, and the letters

received.--Charles T. Mixer.

164, _Jackson, Mich._ (_B_). We have eight members, and expect more

soon. We all have natural histories of our own. We meet once a week, on

Monday evening. We had a very pleasant field-meeting by Clark's Lake.

All our members are interested.--James C. Wood.

168, _Buffalo_ (_C_). During the summer there were some excursions,

which brought a number of specimens into the hands of our curator. With

the new year fresh courage has inspired most of us. Our prospects are

quite bright. We still have our standing committees in each department,

and these have a report to make nearly every week. Every two weeks we

have an essay. Our next topic is to be "Forests and their Utility."

Besides this and the reading and discussion of scientific essays, we

have our weekly report on the current scientific news, and notes and

personal observations. Chapter K of this city has joined us, and Chapter

I thinks of following the example of Chapter K.--Sophie Finkenstaedt.

187, _Albany, N. Y._ (_A_). We have found time for occasional meeting

among the heavy requirements of school-life; and as for myself, I find

our own back-yard a bewildering field for exploration. We have ten

active and eleven honorary members. Our meetings are held alternate

Wednesday evenings at the houses of members, and are always well

attended and interesting. At our next meeting--our second anniversary--a

special programme is to be carried out. We are to debate the comparative

usefulness of astronomy and botany; have an extra number of _The

Naturalist_, our MS. paper; scientific essays, readings and lectures.

Albany A has never been more flourishing.--John P. Gavit.

THIRD CENTURY.

215, _Tioga Centre, N. Y._ We have been steadily progressing in our

department--botany. Last autumn we made asters a specialty, and

succeeded in collecting and analyzing fourteen species and two

varieties. We are now ready to exchange promptly.--Angie Latimer, Sec.

220, _De Pere, Wis._ (_C._) Chapter C has disbanded. Please scratch our

number out.--Jessie R. Jackson.

[_But we hope the Chapter will "jump into another bush," so

we can "scratch them in again!"_]

234, _New York_, (_G_). We have joined Chapter 87, New York (B),--F. W.

Roos, 335 W. 27th street.

238, _Winterset, Iowa_. One of our charter members is dead; one is in

Oregon; two are away at college; one is in Mississippi. In fact, there

is nothing left of our Chapter. I am sorry, for I think the Association

work is a very great benefit to the members.--Harry C. Wallace.

[_Our correspondent will remember that by our present rules

even one active member is allowed to maintain the honor, and

retain the number and name of a Chapter once properly

organized. We shall be disappointed if we do not meet him on

the 24th of next August, at Davenport, Iowa, as the

representative of a reorganized and efficient Chapter._]

246, _Bethlehem, Pa._ We are in a very flourishing condition, and now

have fifteen members. Our cabinet is crowded with specimens, all in good

condition. We occupy a pleasant room rented by the Chapter. We shall

enter the coming season with undiminished enthusiasm for the study of

Nature.

248, _Richmond, Va._ An informal meeting was held, and twenty-three of

us boys were enrolled as members of a Chapter of the A. A. We elected

our teacher, Miss Jennie Ellett, President. Committees were appointed to

draft by-laws, build cabinets, etc. Instead of forming a new society,

Mrs. Marshall has kindly consented to let us reorganize Chapter

248.--_W. T. Terry_, Sec., 109 E. Grace St.

252, _Utica, N. Y._ We have a most flourishing Chapter of forty-seven

members. In the past year our school building was enlarged, and a room

was made purposely to hold our treasures. In it is a cabinet overflowing

with minerals, shells, and plants, 3 cases full of _lepidoptera_, a

forty-dollar microscope, and a cabinet, which the boys are trying to

fill with microscopical slides of their own manufacture. We have also an

aquarium 12 x 24 inches, stocked with fish, newts, snails, turtles,

etc., also a bird's egg cabinet that will hold several hundred

specimens, and a Wardia case, 36 x 18 inches, which we are now using for

hatching chrysalids. At our last meeting a cecropia "came out,"

measuring over six and a half inches across the wings. Our Chapter is

divided into committees, each committee having a teacher for chairman.

The committees are expected to furnish each week specimens representing

their special branches. Of all the subjects before us the hardest "nut

to crack" was, "What is a sea-bean?" but owing to indomitable

perseverance, it has been most thoroughly cracked.

[_Please send us the kernel!_]

Agassiz's birthday was duly celebrated in the woods. Speeches were made,

poems recited, and the rest of the day devoted to a grand specimen-hunt.

It rained hard all day, but that could not quench the fire in this

Chapter, and we returned home loaded down with treasures. We have

shells, mica, and _lepidoptera_ for exchange. The Chapter desires to

express its deepest gratitude to the founder of the A. A. for two

delightful years.--Frances E. Newland, Sec.

[_Such a delightful report as the one which we have here

condensed, is more than enough to repay one for all the

labor connected with the A. A. The debt of gratitude is on

the other side._]

254, _Fulton, N. Y._ We have started a library, and are now studying

ornithology. Our membership is reduced to three, but all are

active.--Herbert C. Howe.

[_If three active-members understand "Reduction Ascending,"

they will soon reduce the membership to a dozen or more._]

256, _Newton, Upper Falls, Mass._ The past year has been one of

gratifying progress. We number twelve. Our meetings are very

interesting, each member giving an account of some object in his branch

of study, often illustrating it by the specimen or describing some book

he has been reading, or relating some recent personal experience. At the

first meeting of each month a paper called _Gatherings_ is read,

composed of original records of personal observations. Wishing to bring

our Chapter and its work to the knowledge of our friends, we have held a

series of socials at the home of one of our members. The first of the

evening we have devoted to talks and essays by the members of the

Chapter, and later we have played games, and amused ourselves in other

ways. We find this plan very beneficial, and have already gained three

new members and a present of books.--Mrs. J. M. H. Smith.

[_We commend this suggestive report to the earnest attention

of every Chapter._]

257, _Plantsville, Ct._ We have made large additions to our collections.

Our library also has been enlarged, and we have now nearly 100 volumes.

We decide on the subject for each coming meeting in this way. Each

member writes on a ballot the subject he would prefer. The ballots are

then shaken in a hat, and the one drawn first is our subject. Moreover,

the one whose ballot is successful must furnish a paper on that subject,

and all the others bring short items on the same subject. We closed our

last meeting by a collation, and singing by our glee club.--A. L. Ely,

Box 219.

260, _Mercer, Pa._ We have not been idle, and have quite a collection.

We think every Chapter should keep a scrap-book for entering reports and

clippings.--Mrs. H. M. Magoffin.

272, _West Town, N. Y._--Most of us are attending school away from home.

We therefore disband through the winter, and then reorganize for the

summer vacation, and work as much as we can, for we have farm work to do

besides. Still we can study as we work, and we do this. Our minerals are

all labeled and mounted. We have about 200 birds' eggs, some of them

quite rare. We pride ourselves on our insects. I think we have 300,

still am not positive. Our botanical specimens number 200. The work we

have done, though not very great, has done us a great amount of

good.--William Evans, Sec.

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.

MANCHESTER, VT.

I am extremely anxious to experiment during the coming

season with the American silk-producing worms, not for the

purpose of producing raw silk, but for other reasons of

scientific and practical interest. I wish to learn the best

books for giving a knowledge of the habits of _Attacus

Cecropia_, _Polyphemus_, and the Promethean moths. I shall

be glad of any information regarding the best places to find

their cocoons. I should like to hear of the experience of

others in finding cocoons, and raising the moths. I have M.

Trouvelot's papers on the subject, Dr. Garlick's letters on

his experiments; also Dr. Stirling's, Prof. Riley's report

on Silk Production No. 11, Packard's "Our Common Insects,"

Sir John Lubbock's "Origin and Metamorphosis of Insects." I

should like the addresses of any parties who have cocoons of

the said moths to dispose of; and finally, information

regarding the success or failure of any who may have tried

the experiment of raising the worms.

Very truly yours,

C. F. ORVIS.

[_Mr. Orvis is a member of the A. A., has been for years

engaged in an important manufacturing business, and we trust

may obtain from "those who know," all the information he

desires._]

EXCHANGES.

Two thousand square-cut post-marks, all different, in a neat book; also

1500 duplicates, for best offer in stone implements.--Laurie H. McNeill,

Ch. 902, Mobile, Ala.

Correspondence with amateur egg-collectors desired. Iowa

preferred.--Oscar Clute, Jr., Iowa City, Iowa.

American bird-skins and eggs (with data), for English. Also mounted

microscopical pathological specimens. Lists exchanged.--Wm. D. Grier, 49

Gloucester St., Boston, Mass.

NEW CHAPTERS.

_No._ _Name._ _No. of Members._ _Address._

941 Hohokus, N. J. (A) 4 Mrs. R. Van Dien, Jr.

942 Sioux Falls, Dakota (B) 10 Percy Edmison.

943 Sancelito, Cal. (A) 7 A. J. Campbell, Box 31, Marin Co.

944 Buffalo, N. Y. (L) 12 Nathan N. Block, 82 Norris Place.

945 Baltimore, Md. 4 Maurice Straus, 225 Linden Ave.

946 Seneca Falls (B) 5 Wm. Hopper.

947 San Francisco, Cal. (J) 4 Miss Alice J. Ellis, 27 So. Park.

948 Prairie Du Chien, Wis. (A) 7 Chas. Chase, Jr.

949 New York, N. Y. (Z) 4 Fred Stanton, 420 W. 61st St.

DISSOLVED.

863 Providence, R. I. (E) Frederic Gorham.

362 Newport, R. I. (B) 4 Thomas Crosby, Jr.

242 Philadelphia (I) J. F. Stevens.

REORGANIZED.

746 Helena, Montana (A) 8 Kurt Kleinschmidt, Box 292.

68 Grand Junction, Iowa 2 Miss Sarah I. Smith.

248 Richmond, Va. (A) 23 W. T. Terry, 109 E. Grace St.

Address all communications for this department to the President of the

A. A.,

MR. HARLAN H. BALLARD,

Principal of Lenox Academy, Lenox, Mass.

THE RIDDLE-BOX.

As THIS number of ST. NICHOLAS goes to press nearly a month earlier than

usual, the names of solvers of March puzzles can not appear until the

issue of the June number.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE APRIL NUMBER.

AN EASTER REBUS.

Bid folly fly and sin depart;

Keep inviolate your heart;

And Easter lilies, pure and fair,

Will bud and bloom forever there.

INVERTED PYRAMID. Across: 1. Depopulated. 2. Nominated. 3. Deluded. 4.

Roses. 5. Ten. 6. D.

ST. ANDREW'S CROSS OF DIAMONDS. I. 1. B. 2. Dem(and). 3. Dolor. 4.

Belgium. 5. Moist. 6. Rut. 7. M. II. 1. M. 2. Ham. 3. Huron. 4. Marston.

5. Motor. 6. Nor. 7. N. III 1. M. 2. Tim. 3. Talon. 4. Million. 5.

Moist. 6. Not. 7. N. IV. 1. M. 2. Sam. 3. Sedan. 4. Madison. 5. Mason.

6. Non. 7. N. V. 1. N. 2. Tam. 3. Titus. 4. Natural. 5. Murat. 6. Sat.

7. L.

WORD-SQUARES. I. 1. Racer. 2. Agave. 3. Canal. 4. Evade. 5. Relet. II.

1. Cabal. 2. Above. 3. Bobea. 4. Avers. 5. Least. III. 1. Rabid. 2.

Abide. 3. Bison. 4. Idols. 5. Dense.

PI.

Spring, with that nameless pathos in the air

Which dwells with all things fair;

Spring, with her golden suns and silver rain,

Is with us once again.

CENTRAL ACROSTIC. Arbor Day. Cross-words: 1. slAin. 2. stRew. 3. saBot.

4. slOop. 5. stRap. 6. seDan. 7. smArt 8. slYly.

HOUR-GLASS. Centrals, April fool. Cross-words: 1. TartArean. 2. reaPers.

3. scRew. 4. vIe. 5. L. 6. aFt. 7. foOls. 8. limOsis. 9. inteLlect.

MYTHOLOGICAL NUMERICAL ENIGMA.

I love to go in the capricious days

Of April, and hunt violets.

CONNECTED DOUBLE SQUARES. Upper left-hand square, Across: 1. Houp. 2.

Alto. 3. Ties. 4. Host. Upper right-hand square. Across: 1. Pent. 2.

Otoe. 3. Suet. 4. Tile. Lower left-hand square, Across: 1. Host. 2.

Able. 3. Sour. 4. Hern. Lower right-hand square. Across: 1. Tile. 2.

Eden. 3. Read. 4. Naps.

BAGATELLE. 1. More haste, less speed. 2. Medicines were not meant to

live on. 3. He who hides can find. 4. Pride goeth before a fall. 5. The

absent party is always faulty. 6. A crowd is not company. 7. Penny wise,

pound foolish. Key-words: haSte, meAnt, hiDes, prIde, paRty, crOwd,

peNny.

Central letters, sadiron.

MOTHER GOOSE PUZZLE.

[Illustration]

This puzzle is based upon one of the Mother Goose rhymes. The pictures

represent the last word of the six lines of the verse. What is the

verse?

NUMERICAL ENIGMA.

I am composed of seventy-six letters, and am a quotation from "Love's

Labor Lost."

My 63-21-58-31 is elevated. My 28-1-42-35 is headstrong. My

72-45-14-62-25 is on every breakfast table. My 2-19-52 is a fashionable

kind of trimming. My 74-40-55-50-22 is a glossy fabric. My 33-9-29-8 was

the nationality of Othello. My 38-68-70-17-12-76 is the name of the

67-3-49-61 of one of Shakspere's most celebrated plays. My 6-43-5-26 is

location. My 13-75-11-46 is mature. My 30-60-47-54-41 is what often

follows a chill. My 53-36-4-24 is a mixture. My 16-39-71-20-66 is used

in bread-making. My 37-73-65-7-23-27-69-18-56-51 is an allurement. My

32-57-10-15-64-44-59-34-48 is a school.

HAROLD J. HARDING.

PI.

Ta emits a gaftarrn zebree mecos toalfing yb,

Dan gribsn, uyo wkon ton hwy,

A lenegif sa hewn agree wordsc twaai

Freoeb a leapac tage

Meos dronswou gapeant; dan ouy scacer loudw tarts,

Fi form a cheeb's thear

A buel-yede Drady, pepsting froth, soldhu ays,

"Hedlob em! I ma Mya!"

CENTRAL ACROSTIC.

Each of the words described contains the same number of letters; the

central letters, transposed, will spell the name of the heroine of one

of Sir Walter Scott's novels.

1. Was conspicuous. 2. A hard covering. 3. A citadel. 4. A box for

fruit. 5. To ward off. 6. A sudden fright.

AVIS.

GREEK CROSS.

[Illustration]

UPPER SQUARE: 1. To begin. 2. A small drum. 3. Over. 4. Wanders. 5. A

lock of hair.

LEFT-HAND SQUARE: 1. A region. 2. A report. 3. Plentiful. 4. Plants of

the cabbage family. 5. A lock of hair.

CENTRAL SQUARE: 1. A lock of hair. 2. A black bird. 3. To elude. 4. A

plant which grows in wet grounds. 5. To scoff.

RIGHT-HAND SQUARE: 1. To scoff. 2. Grand. 3. Declined. 4. A mournful

poem. 5. To color anew.

LOWER SQUARE: 1. To scoff. 2. Mother of pearl. 3. Applause. 4. One of

the Muses. 5. To furnish with a new upper part.

"HOMER."

[Illustration]

A DECORATION-DAY PUZZLE.

The words forming this numerical enigma are pictured instead of

described. The answer, consisting of a hundred and one letters, is a

four-line verse by Bayard Taylor.

TRIPLE ACROSTIC.

[Illustration]

ACROSS: 1. Pertaining to a monarch. 2. Entering without right. 3.

Unmarried women. 4. Unfaithful. Primals, a vapor; centrals, a brown

coating; finals, in a smaller degree. Primals, centrals, and finals

combined, unsuspicious.

F. L. F.

INVERTED PYRAMID.

ACROSS: 1. Measurement. 2. Consumes. 3. A chemical substance. 4. A

sheltered place. 5. In pyramid. Downward: 1. In pyramid. 2. Two-thirds

of a girl's name. 3. Mankind. 4. Bad. 5. Celebrated. 6. Certain. 7.

Wrath. 8. A bone. 9. In inverted.

F. L. F.

CONNECTED SQUARES.

[Illustration]

I. UPPER SQUARE: 1. Pertaining to a certain nymph. 2. A disease peculiar

to children. 3. A dwelling-place. 4. The European blackbird. 5. A charm.

II. LEFT-HAND SQUARE: 1. Burned wood. 2. A continued endeavor to gain

possession. 3. The inner part. 4. The lesser white heron. 5. A

pugilistic encounter.

III. RIGHT-HAND SQUARE: 1. An expression of contempt. 2. A small column

without base or capital. 3. Parts of shoes. 4. To assign. 5. To

squander.

IV. LOWER SQUARE: 1. A term used in playing with balls. 2. A sacred

vestment. 3. Proper. 4. A fine yellow clay. 5. A measure.

Centrals, reading downward (eleven letters), an architect who builds

houses. Centrals, reading across, a mechanical contrivance common in

cotton-mills.

"L. LOS REGNI."

FINAL ACROSTIC.

Each of the words described contains the same number of letters. The

primals will all be of the same letter; the finals will spell a name

famous in history.

1. A small shell-fish. 2. An emblem. 3. A common plant having a scarlet

blossom. 4. To weaken. 5. A specter. 6. An afternoon nap. 7. A leap. 8.

Unassuming. 9. A violent effort. 10. Irony. 11. A channel.

"JUVENTUS."

WORD-SQUARES IN DIAMONDS.

[Illustration]

I. Diamond: 1. In soles. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Satisfies. 4. A

beverage. 5. In soles. Included word-square: 1. To touch lightly. 2.

Consumed. 3. A beverage.

II. Diamond: 1. In strife. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Much talked of in

railway offices. 4. An inclosure. 5. In strife. Included word-square: 1.

To touch lightly. 2. A verb. 3. An inclosure.

III. Diamond: 1. In youthful. 2. The cry of a certain animal. 3. A

mythical being. 4. Skill. 5. In youthful. Included word-square: 1. The

cry of a certain animal. 2. Gaseous substance. 3. Skill.

"ARTHUR PENDENNIS."

HOUR-GLASS.

The central letters, reading downward, spell the name of a very

prominent personage.

CROSS-WORDS: 1. Pleasing to the taste. 2. A substance similar to

varnish. 3. An imp. 4. The name of a character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

5. In decorations. 6. Sick. 7. Resources. 8. To call by the wrong name.

9. Gives too many doses to.

"D. I. VERSITY."

WORD-SQUARE.

The letters of each of the words described may all be found in the word

NAMER.

1. A girl's name. 2. Close at hand. 3. A cognomen. 4. Surface.

"DENZIL ELINOR."