combinations of number, and of working any arithmetical problem.

SPECIMEN LESSON.

The teacher should be furnished with several sets of small objects.

Now

Teacher. I have here five books, five pence, and five sticks; count them with me. Now I have placed them all on the floor, and I want some little child to bring me two books. That is right. Now who can bring me three books? Quite right; now put them back again. Who can bring me a penny and two books? bring three sticks and a book. Now a book, a penny, and a stick. How many are they together? Who can bring me four sticks? five books, and five pence? Who will answer me a question? I will. Well, how many brothers and sisters have you? Try to tell me their names. William, Peter, and Mary. How many together? Who can count the legs of the chair? the bars of the grate? Clap your hands once, now twice, now three times.

This subject is too simple to require farther detail; yet it must be taught progressively, otherwise the mind of the learner is apt to become confused. It will be perceived that it is entirely preliminary to arithmetic, and therefore it is best in this stage to keep to small numbers; and when arithmetic is commenced, still to carry on the previous process in conjunction with it, in order to give reality to the value of figures. It is particularly useful to give easy exercises in mental arithmetic, in which the notion of real objects is associated with number.

WEIGHT.

In commencing this subject, the teacher should first call attention to such general facts as the falling of bodies towards the earth, the tendency of water to flow downwards, the difficulty of raising any heavy object up from the ground, and to the sensation of weight in the human

frame. Cubes or spheres of equal size stone, wood, cork, or other substances, st in weight, should be examined and c children. Bodies that are lighter or he may be distinguished by actual experim ance of the air to falling bodies may be letting fall at the same instant such thin and lead, and watching their unequal The pupils should be allowed frequentl compare objects of different density and

The next step is to make the chil with the standard weights, and then to of the weights of various things, testing their guesses by weighing the objects b

When a pretty accurate knowledge of of weight is acquired, it may be extende familiar examples of greater quantities; the case of number, it is useless to att the idea too rapidly; the process must and, if hurried, would lose its reality.

The use of wooden bricks and other in the playground greatly assists in deve ception of weight.

Some idea of the nature of the m should be given in connection with this s may be easily done by means of models experiments.

The teacher should be provided with s substances for experiment. Wool, cork marble, wood, lead, or such objects as ar may be used for illustration.

Teacher-You see in my hand two bal I want some one to try for me which is the two? They are very different in we ball of cork and the other of lead. If I ball drop from my hand, can you tell me t

which it will go? It will fall down to the floor. Yes, for we never see any thing fall up to the ceiling or to one side, but always downwards, because the earth draws all the smaller things which are near it towards itself. The earth draws all you little children towards it, and when you try to climb a hill, you find that lifting your feet from the earth is hard work. Will you watch what takes place when I let the ball of lead fall from my hand? It strikes the floor, and makes a loud noise. Now see if the same takes place when I drop the ball of cork? No, it makes only a faint sound. Why is this? The lead is heavy and the cork is light. I have here two more balls, one of wood and one of stone. Who will come and try their different weights? I am now going to place the four balls in this glass of water, and you must observe what happens. Two of them sink and two swim. Why do the cork and wooden balls swim? You canno tell; well, I must explain to you that wood and cork are lighter than water, and so come to the surface; but lead and stone are heavier than water, and sink down in it. A fish swims in the water, because it is about the same weight as water; but an oyster lies at the bottom of the sea, because it has a heavy shell. If things upon the earth had no weight, men and animals would not require to be strong; but the larger an animal is, the more strength it must have, to be able to move about. Could any little child here lift me from the ground? No, you are too heavy, and we are not strong enough. Quite true, but I could lift any of you, because you are all lighter than I am, and I must have strength enough to be able to move my own weight. A horse can carry a man, because a horse is larger and heavier than a man, and has more strength. If a little child were to run a great way, would he not be tired? Yes, he would have to carry the weight of his own body all the way he went, and this would tire him. Look at the walls of the school-room. What are they made of? Are they not very heavy? Why do they not

fall? Because they are upright or v they stand if they were inclined? No, fall; for all heavy things which are no fall straight down. When we stand, stand upright, or else we should fall. V we say they lose their balance; that is, of their weight to one side than to t causes them to come to the ground. W near a wall that leaned to one side? dangerous to do so; it might fall and k

Some things are very light, compared same size. Will you tell me of all you know? Now name those that ar you try to think of things that are bou weight? I have here a penny and a is the penny worth more than the halfpe it is larger and heavier. Yes, metals weight.

When I put this iron weight into one piece of wood in the other, what happe with the iron sinks down; the other this? Because the iron is heavier. Ar larger? The wood. What should you wood? It is a lighter substance than t put a package of wool into one scale, a wood in the other. Which appears the The wood. Which is the larger? The p So we find that wool is lighter than woo to its size. All things which we see Even the air has some weight, as you future lesson. If it were not so, we should to move or to work; without weight, hammer would not strike, the water wou mill to grind the corn, or the wind move over the sea, to fetch us good things from tries. Even the rain could not fall fr make things grow, if it had not some w when we find it difficult and laborious

or carry heavy things, we should remember how useful and necessary it is for things to have weight, and how God, in his wisdom and goodness, made every thing just as heavy as it should be. He made the air light for us to breathe and to move about in, the heavy stones to build our houses, light wool and cotton to make us warm clothes, and heavy metals to make our tools. Let us always think that He has made every thing in the way it should be.

SOUND.

First lessons on this subject should not be of a musical character, but chiefly confined to the discrimination of ordinary sounds. The attention of the pupils may be directed to the varieties of the human voice in children and grown persons, in men and women, and in different individuals; also to the different modes of utterance, as speaking, calling, singing, whispering, and so on. Sounds may be produced experimentally, as by the ringing of bells, the noise made by striking various bodies and by other means; and these should be divided into sharp, grave, loud, faint, or as many varieties as can be exhibited.

The next step is to require the pupils to observe sounds for themselves. Children, when first called upon to mention the sounds they are acquainted with, will not, perhaps, be able to remember more than ten or twelve; but we have known many who, in a week or two after their attention had been directed to the subject, could enumerate upwards of one hundred. It is useful to lead them to classify their observations, as into the voices of beasts, birds, sounds produced by insects, by the footfall of men and animals, by the motion of carriages and machinery, by workmen in performing various mechanical operations, sounds produced by the motion of water, air, and by other natural causes. Sounds may also be divided into kinds, as roaring, rumbling, crashing, crackling, murmuring, rolling, tinkling,

H