While not differing greatly from the Pull Away, the interest. was high, as Wretched Flea had played it.

The special work in Nature consisted of the study of the silk worm and tea. These, of course, furnished material for language, clay modeling and drawing. The real silk worms were obtained and fed osage orange leaves as well as the mulberry, as the latter were rather hard to procure. Booklets, with covers of painted matting and tied with raffia, were made and the development from worm to moth was recorded and illustrated. The story of "Si-Ling-Chi" that appeared in PRIMARY EDUCATION, May, 1911, was told and reproduced. Any reputable tea company will furnish plates and samples suitable for school work upon the study of Tea. It was at this point of the work that the teacher carried out a long cherished plan for a "Mothers' Afternoon." The mothers of the pupils were invited to visit the school for the last Friday of the month. The invitations were prettily decorated with brush work by the children. The regular work in story telling and dramatization and a short program consisting of Japanese fairy tales, the singing of Eugene Field's "Little Blue Pigeon" and other numbers Japanese in character were given. A table had been set up in one corner and was gay with pink tea roses and cherry blossoms. Pink and white baskets had been made by the children for candies, and the teacher had brought her daintiest china and silver. A copper kettle was used and the children were especially interested in the brewing of the tea after the study of the subject. Little girls in Japanese attire served the small cakes and tea.

Big People and Little Perple of Other Lands Shaw. Strange People Starr.

PRIMARY EDUCATION, September, 1911.

Foreign Stamps in Primary Work

ARTHUR IRWIN SMITH

There is something about these little bits of paper that is fascinating even to grown-ups, so we cannot wonder at boys becoming wonder at boys becoming so enthusiastic in forming collections of them. There is as much material of an

educational value in a double handful of mixed foreign stamps, costing ten cents, as in a dollars' worth of charts, stencils, and stuff of that nature.

For instance, in our primary geography we are studying Europe and just at present we are interested in Belgium. Have we any Belgian stamps in the collection before us? Certainly, here is a long pink one marked Belgique with the picture of an ugly, bearded king. That is King Leopold who died a short time ago. It is postmarked at Brussels, the capital. By looking carefully through the lot we find others postmarked Antwerp, Liege, and other principal cities. But the Belgian stamps are the ugliest and dullest of the lot. Here is an oblong five-cent stamp with the picture of the sphinx and a pyramid in the background. Who can guess where it is from? Here is one from Mauritius - who knows where that is? Then we find dozens of different ones from France, Spain, Australia, South America, and, in fact, from practically every country in the world.

But that is enough to show the possibilities in geography. Take history: much of our own is portrayed on our stamps. Almost every one of our great men is on some one of our

stamps. Washington is most frequently seen and probably Franklin next. The issue of 1902 shows the dates of the birth and death of the great men portrayed. It is the custom to use only the pictures of deceased statesmen, so it will probably be some time before we have the pictures of Roosevelt or Taft on any of our stamps.

There have been commemorative issues of stamps for all our biggest expositions and many of these show scenes of importance in our history. The Columbian issue of 1893 gives views of the landing of Columbus, his flagship and fleet, his welcome back to Spain, his presentation of the natives at court, and several other historical occurrences in his life. The Omaha issue of 1898 shows Marquette on the Mississippi River, hunting and farming scenes in the west, the Mississippi River bridge at St. Louis, and several others. The Pan

Girl

American and Louisiana Purchase stamps are of equal interest. The ten-cent stamp of the latter issue has a map of the United States, showing the Louisiana Purchase territory. As busy work for the little fellows they are hard to beat. Have them form collections of them in little blank books, pasting them in flat. Or better still, you can get gummed tissue paper hinges for ten cents a thousand and the stamps can be changed and mounted at will. Cut out all the differ ent portraits of rulers and form a picture gallery of kings. If the children get sufficiently interested in them they can be used as premiums for perfect lessons.

Now, this little article is only intended to give you the suggestion and set you thinking. You can readily tell whether anything along this line would suit your particular case and work it out in detail for yourself.

If I were a flower on a soldier's grave,
Where a soldier's flag would gently wave,
I would try to deck, with a tender grace,
The lowly mound of his resting place.
Together the flag and I would keep
A loving watch o'er his dreamless sleep;
While over us both the sunbeams would play
And the stars smile down from their shining way.
Then, when my silent mission was done,

I would drop my petals one by one,

Like soft, falling tears on the sod below,
And only the flag and I would know.

Boy

Flag

The Soldier's Flag

If I were a flag on a soldier's grave,
It would be glory enough to crave
To know that the flag he loved was there
With a bonnie flower the vigil to share.
Together the flower and I would keep
A loving watch o'er his dreamless sleep;
While over us both the sunbeams would play,
And the stars smile down from their shining way.
Then, when the flower's mission was done,
And her petals were dropping one by one,
They would seem to say to the sleeper below,
Goodbye, dear soldier, for I must go;
But I leave you a comrade faithful and true,
For the soldier's flag will stay with you."

Families

Painting by Elizabeth Gardner (Mrs. William A. Bouguereau) JENNIE ELLIS KEYSOR

The painter of our picture this month is an American woman who has made Paris her home for some time and who still lives there. Her husband was the famous and popular painter of religious subjects and everyday scenes, William Adolphe Bouguereau, who died in 1905. Elizabeth Gardner, a New Hampshire woman, was a pupil of Bouguereau and became his second wife. The bride-mother in his well-known picture, "Virgin Consolator," was his first wife and the dead child in the foreground his baby, while the whole picture expresses his grief over the loss of them both. His second wife has probably retained her former name to avoid the confusion of her work with that of her distinguished husband. From the picture which we have before us, this precaution was wise, for at every point it strongly resembles the genre work of Bouguereau: Here are the smooth-skinned, neat peasants, the very opposite of Millet's men and women of the fields; the well-nigh perfect and very attractive child, while the predilection for a woman and child subject is self-evident. All of these points are markedly characteristic of Bouguereau's work. But however allied her work is to that of her great husband, we find that she gained honors on her own account, for she has taken medals at the Paris Salon, and at the Paris Exposition in 1889. The picture reproduced this month was painted in 1888.

and the babe, supposedly asleep in the cradle, make up the focal group of the picture. Otherwise distinctly separate groups the human mother and her children and the hen and her chickens-are skilfully united by the artist, who represents the child as pointing to the chickens as he turns to address a childish question to his mother. The mother and child are so smooth in their flesh texture and so well-kept that one might almost question their being peasants at all were it not for the homely interior-the low cupboard on which is a basket, perhaps of herbs and mushrooms, the ordinary kitchen utensils near to the open fire, where undoubtedly the family cooking is done, the quaint wooden cradle where the baby is strapped in that he shall not fall out while the mother, who is cook and nurse, goes about her household tasks. That the chickens find in this living room of the family their common feeding place, gives the crowning touch to a pleasant interior in spite of the "furbished-up" appearance of the Mother and Child.

especially the

A satisfactory and entertaining thing to do in connection with this picture would be to gather with it several of William Bouguereau's genre pictures such as: "Little Mother," "Little Scholar," "Little Marauders," "The Elder Sister," and note how similar are the faces and the execution drawing, which is very correct-and the smooth, flaccid flesh. The refinement and prettiness of the faces extend even to the bare feet, which are not truly the callous feet of peasants are wont to go barefooted.

who

We all love pretty things and children show this fondness early, but while they will talk long and interestedly about these pictures, I believe that the majority of children will express a preference for the gnarled, labor-hardened peasants of Millet. At all events, the comparison or contrast is well worth trying and whatever the verdict the children give, acknowledge its points of excellence and correct errors, but leave them free in their choice, for, as I have frequently observed in these articles, "Art [speaks a [various language and she speaks to

all."

Monday

SECOND WEEK

Story for Reproduction:

THE LEAVES AND THE ROOTS

"We give cool shade to the green grass," said the fluttering leaves. "We dress the tree in fresh green. Without us it would be brown and bare.

"The tired traveler and the weary animals are grateful for our shade. Children like to play under our shade. At night the birds come to us for shelter. We hide the nests with the little birds. The light winds rustle us gently."

And the leaves felt that they were very important.

"What you say is quite true," said a voice from the ground. "But don't forget us."

"Who are you? Where do you grow?" said the leaves. "We are deep in the ground, far below you. But we feed the tree and make you grow. We are the roots. You owe all your beauty to us "We are not as beautiful as you, but we do not die. When winter comes you fall. The tree stands firm, for it is held in place by us. "If we should die, the tree would die, and you would die too."

May 1912

Friday

Write five sentences about Spring flowers and birds.

Monday

THIRD WEEK

Conversation on Spring Flowers: What flowers have you found this Spring? Where did you find pussy-willows? Where did you find hepaticas? Where can you find daisies? Where can you find buttercups? Have the cherry trees blossomed yet? What color are cherry blossoms? Have the pear trees blossomed yet? What color are the pear blossoms? What color are apple blossoms? What color are dogwood flowers? Where do we find the dogwood? What kind of a blossom has the horse-chestnut? What can you do with horse-chestnuts? Are they good to eat?

Friday

Conversation on a Picnic: What one could carry to eat; what to play; what to do after lunch; what to carry home to mother.