they must be turned inward or converged towards the object, and the nearer that object is brought to the eyes, the greater must be this convergence.

Plate 4.-Showing convergence of eyes in near vision.

When looking at a distance the visual lines E C are parallel. When an object F' is brought closer to the eyes E C, the eyes converge toward the line A A', as represented by the lines E F and E C, the inside dotted lines, E F, showing extreme convergence, and the nearer F is brought, the more the eyes turn in, and the more difficult this convergence becomes.

The eyeball is moved in different directions by muscles attached to its outside coat, and this converging power is done by the inner and lower straight muscles, especially the inner ones, which must work in accord with the accommodative muscles. The nearer the object the greater the demand on the accommodation, and on the converging power as well, for if both eyes did not converge equally, vision would be indistinct. Hence good accommodation and equally good convergence are demanded for a proper performance of the visual act, and nature has so arranged that in a healthy normal eye these two functions are equal. Any unequal demand on either disturbs this harmony and brings about difficulty in seeing well for continuous near work. Hence it is that we have this difficulty in both the nearsighted and far-sighted eyes. The near-sighted eye being elongated, the converging muscles have extra work to converge the eyes towards near objects, as it is clearly more difficult to turn an oval than a round body, if the points of leverage or attachments of the muscles are the same for each.

The far-sighted eye being flattened, or too short, the accommoda

tive muscle is over-taxed to focus the object, as the back of such an eye is inside of the natural focus.

1. Piece of orbital bone. 2. External straight muscle, with piece cut out. 3. Optic nerve. 4. Internal straight muscle. 5. Upper straight muscle. 6. Lower straight muscle. 7. Upper oblique muscle, attached to ball at 8. 9. Lower oblique muscle.

10. Sclerotic. 11. Cornea. 12. Pulley for tendon of upper oblique.

Thus, we see there is always an unnatural relation between the two functions of accommodation and convergence in both these eyes.

As this inequality between these two functions tends to bring about visual disturbance in near work, nature has provided a remedy which is naturally, in many cases, taken advantage of. One eye is gotten rid of, and the visual act is only performed by one eye.

In far sighted eyes, as the accommodation is the weaker and the convergence the stronger, the latter asserts itself by rolling one eye in and producing an internal squint, thus getting good vision with one eye at the expense of an ugly defect-" crossed eyes."

In near-sighted eyes the same thing is done, but as the accommodation is stronger and the convergence weaker, the latter goes to the wall and one eye rolls out, producing the same ugly defect in the opposite direction, but giving comfortable near-vision with the other

eye.

This is the explanation of how "crossed eyes" are produced. This getting rid of one eye is, at first, only when near eye-work gets annoying, and, therefore, the eyes are crossed sometimes and straight at other times; but, after a while, the constant repetition of it ends in a permanent defect, requiring operation. When first noticeable, the proper application of glasses will correct it without any operation.

[Concluded next month.]

Conundrum Days.

In the life of every child there comes a period which is best characterized as the conundrum day. The child becomes an animated, walking interrogation point. Questions! It is impossible to say what he won't ask. "Everything in heaven above, in the earth beneath, and the waters under the earth," becomes the subject of his investigations. "Why?" "What?" "How?" "Where?" with infinite ingenuity are woven into a living illustration of the laws of permutation and combinations. Mothers, fathers, relatives and servants are driven wild with them; it is a serious question, "What is to be done?"

There are two ways of treating the children at this trying stage of their lives. The one usually adopted is to get rid of all the questions with as little trouble as possible and give the child just as little information as is consistent with the ultimate object of stilling his never-ending torment for the moment. This plan has the sanction of general usage. People feel that the bore is more than they can endure and they act accordingly. The other plan is to do something for the child upon occasion, and when one feels like it and when in bad humor to shut him up in the same way.

Neither of these methods is good. The questioning is born of two entirely distinct wishes. One is to be amused, the other is a desire for information. Occasionally another reason may be found in pure and idle curiosity. Treating what we have just mentioned in an inverse order, we may say that the questions prompted by pure curiosity should be promptly extinguished. They are not usually justified by any desire to know, and are frequently prompted by very morbid thoughts.

Occasionally the wish to be amused by making people talk has to be checked.

When a child asks a question it is always best to consider a moment why the child asks it. When little Tommy gets up from his blocks, evidently disgusted with the world, and asks "Does the moon give milk?" or "Can pigs fly, mamma?" it is well to think what makes him ask the question. Mamma unhesitatingly says, "No." He pipes up with question number two, "Why does the moon not give milk?" "Why can't pigs fly?" Tommy does not want an answer to his own question. He does not care about the pig nor the

moon.

He only knows that questions bring answers, and he wants

to be talked to. Now mamma's opportunity has come. Tommy is ready to hear; no matter what the subject may be, he is ready to lis ten. She can select her subject and he will be all attention. Science, art, morals, the duties of little boys to their parents or sisters, are subjects which will be equally satisfactory and the seed sown will fall upon good ground.

Such opportunities are golden and should be improved. It may be difficult for busy mothers to do this. But if they have their little sermons in mind ready for a time like this, it will be fairly easy, when it comes, to give the child amusement and a sermon all in one.

But the question may be one not prompted by a real desire to know. That being the case, ask in return, "What made you ask that question?" If it has been prompted by an idle state of mind, a mere desire to hear words with no desire to think, it is no time to talk to the child. The mere idle curiosity is best quenched by pressing a few questions and making thinking necessary. It is astonishing to see how quick the questioning will stop under such a course.

The questions which test our knowledge and which can not be answered in a satisfactory way because the child does not have a sufficient general knowledge of the world, of men, of science, etc., are best met by frank avowals. Mamma may tell Benson that he does not know enough for her to answer his question. When he asks what makes the engine of the steamboat go and she says the engineer, she has not answered; nor is it a solution to say steam. The question may come from a four-year-old whose observations in regard to physical science are exceedingly crude. In such a case it is far better to tell the little fellow that he don't know enough to understand a full explanation. Then the regulation answers may be added and a promise made that as soon as he can comprehend a fuller explanation it shall be made.

It is often easier to give general instruction than to answer a specific question. In fact such instruction is frequently more suitable to the capacity of the child than a direct answer to the query. Information given with instruction as an object is, in most cases, the best way of stopping the flow of conundrums. On the other hand, short answers fired at the child in monosyllables will drive both questioner and the questioned almost wild, but with this difference, it stimulates the flow of questions while the answers wither.

The

If time or circumstance prevent attention to the wants of the child, make him stop, but promise to gratify him at some future time. only condition to be imposed under such circumstances is that he

shall remember what he has asked. This plan presents many advantages which those who have once tried it will not be slow to appreciate.- Wm. E. Partridge, in "Child Culture."

IN teaching any subject, it is of the highest importance that we should constantly bear in mind what is the utility of the subject in itself and how far we may make our teaching of it instrumental in the discipline and training of the mind.

We fully recognize this fact perhaps and yet as this little clipping from some unknown paper says: "How hard a thing it is to teach as well as we know. Who has not gone to the school-room in the morning, full of enthusiasm and eager to try some beautiful theory, and left in the afternoon mortified with failure? Paul was right when. he said, 'For the good that I would do I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do.' To become a good teacher requires more than theory and enthusiasm. It takes years of patient practice. No one can become a full-fledged teacher all at once.

"A teacher is a growth, often a slow growth. Let us then try to be content with growth even if it be slow. The best plan is to strive to find the worse fault and correct that. Make one improvement at a time."— The School Teacher.

Miss G. V. R's School Discipline.

I taught school first in a small red building at a four corners; it was "the school-house in Deacon Smith's district," as the minister described it in giving out the appointments for prayer-meetings. The building lacked every element of beauty, of course-most schoolhouses do. The trustees charged me to "be careful of the property or else the boys would tear the whole consarn down." To prevent this everything was made strong, the desks and seats were of thick planks; the desks were fastened to the floor by putting a block four inches square on each side of the upright part. These blocks seriously interfered with marching and walking in the aisles; every day some pupil stumbled. But the trustees seemed to fear that even these blocks would not prevent the boys from tearing up the desks, so I stayed in the building every noon to "protect the property."