THE COTTON PLANT. Sing, Oh! sing for the Cotton Plant! Bravely may it grow, Cotton white as snow. Spin the Cotton into thread; When you've worn it long and well, Will it worthless be? No, a book made from the dress Sort the rags and grind the pulp; Now it only waits for words To be printed there. May ten thousand Cotton Plants Spring up, fresh and fair, That words of wisdom and of love, O'er all the world shall bear. A RIDDLE. I want to tell you to-day about a food which you could not do without, something which you eat every day, yet I wonder if you know how it grows. This food is obtained from a plant, but not from a plant which grows in our garden, but "way down south in the land of cotton." But the food is not the stem of the plant, nor the leaf, nor the fruit, but the juice of the stem. So you see that plants have different uses. Some are grown for their fruit, some for their leaves, some to give shade, some for fragrance, and some simply for beauty. This plant grows very tall, 12 or 15 feet. The stem seems to be jointed. From these stems spring out long narrow leaves. The stem is called a cane. The cane is hard without, but inside it is soft and spongy, and full of sweet juice. Imagine a whole field of canes, and at the top of each a beautiful bouquet of flowers. But these are not walking canes, neither do they grow for beauty alone, but when they are ripe they are tied in bundles and passed through rollers that squeeze the juice out of them. Then the juice is boiled until it becomes thick. Now we have something which looks like molasses, but we do not care for the molasses, so it is put into barrels, which have holes in them for the molasses to drain off. A brown substance is left which we use for some purposes, but to make it white and pure it must be boiled again. But this food is in more things than these canes. is in all fruits. In beets especially it is very abundant. It is something which nearly all boys and girls, particularly if they have a "sweet tooth," like too well, for very often it makes them sick; but surely they would not be strong and healthy without a little of it in their food. Can you guess what it is? It From Nameless Stories, A. Flanagan, Publisher. Tell the children that much of our sugar is brought from an island called Cuba and that this is the largest sugar market in the world. Ask them to find out what else we get from this island. THE BROOKLET. Away on the mountain, tipped with snow, Leaping and splashing, all through the day Running, running, never stopping, By the brooklet's mossy brink, Only pausing to twitter and drink; Pretty birdies, large and small, Ever heard the brooklet's call. -Child Garden. THE WAR. CUBA-where is it? What is it? Its position in regard to United States and Spain? Show map; explain the use of the map and have the places located. What part of our country is nearest Cuba? Has any one ever been in Florida? What grows there? Would it take long to get to Cuba from Florida? How would you go? What things are raised on the island of Cuba? Why should Spain wish to keep Cuba? Tell about the trouble between Cuba and Spain and of the oppression of the Cubans and their struggle to be free. Recall our own War of Independence, and our desire to help the suffering people on this island. Speak of the famine, and the food which is being sent by kind hearted people to the sick and starving people there. Tell about Clara Barton's noble work and explain what it means to live a life of such self sacrifice as is hers, and of nurses such as Florence Nightingale. The Maine.-The children will have heard much of this and may be allowed to talk of the cause. Why should the people of the United States think that Spain caused this disaster? How did we find out what caused the destruction of the ship? Who helped? Talk about the work of the divers, and its dangers; how they can breathe so far under water. Our Navy. The meaning of the word? Why are so many ships necessary? Where can we get them? Of what are war ships made? How equipped? Encourage the children to bring pictures of war ships, of the leaders of Spain, Cuba and the United States, and talk of the preparations made by these men, and discipline necessary for leadership in the army and navy. What kind of men are selected as leaders? Why are so many of the men who volunteer rejected? How can a soldier gain firmness and self control? Does he do it all at once? Did these men begin to train years ago? What advantage is it to a man to be able to hold a hand or a gun steady at a time like this? Can not our calisthenic exercises help us in this? FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. I heard a little girl say only the other day, that it was all very well for boys to be brave, because they might one day be soldiers. But for girls it did not matter, since they were not premitted to fight or serve their country. I wondered when I heard this, if no one had ever told her of the grand work so many brave girls were doing to-day all over the world, in serving their country as nurses. This requires strength and courage equal to that of a soldier, and much more. It needs a noble heart and a willingness to forget self and live for others. woman. This disposition can not come all at once, after a girl is a It must begin when she is a little girl and grow more perfect every day just as she grows. It begins by trying in little ways every day to make people around her more happy. She can do this, and lighten their tasks, by doing some hard and distastful things instead of leaving them all for others. The oftener one does things the easier it is to do them, and if one does these kind things every day when in school, it is easier to do them when one is a woman. I wanted to tell this particular little girl about Florence Nightingale and show you that a girl can be a soldier, though she does not fight with a sword and gun, and march with the band. Florence Nightingale was a rich and beautiful woman who lived in England, a country across the sea. She had everything that a little girl or a woman needed to make her happy. She had nothing at all to do but wear fine clothes, ride in a carriage and attend parties and concerts and visit people who lived in fine houses. But she did not seem to care for these things, when she heard of the suffering around her. When Florence was a little girl there was one thing that every one noticed about her. It was that she seemed to be always thinking what she could do to please or help any one who needed either help or comfort. She was very fond too, of animals, and she was so gentle that even the shyest of them would come close to her and pick whatever she would throw down for them to eat. up There was, in the garden behind the house, a long walk with many trees on each side and many squirrels lived among them. When Florence came down the walk, dropping nuts as she went along, the squirrels would run down the trunks of the trees and pick them up, not seeming to be in the least afraid of her. She used to take long rides on her pony, carrying food and dainties to sick people, to whom her mother was very kind. When she grew to be a young woman she did not seem to care for fine dresses and gay times, as many rich young girls do. When she went on visits to the large cities she always visited the hospitals. She saw, while there, the need of trained nurses who could care for sick people without causing them suffering. She thought and studied a great deal about this, and by and by the time came when this unselfish girl was able to do a great thing for her country, more even than a thousand soldiers could do by just fighting. Her country needed to send ship loads of men to another |