should take the children back to the picture frequently, to identify the objects and facts as they come up in the lesson.

The question method, of course, is the best for these lessons, as for all others; but an added interest is given to them if a recital of some interesting facts connected with the subject be introduced here and there throughout the lesson. This changes the mental attitude of the pupils, which is always a valuable factor in teaching. The lesson on the lion will illustrate this point. The description given there of the lion's roar and also of his home are illustrations of what is meant.

The answers within the brackets are what may be expected from the children. They serve, however, as suggestions for the teacher, and are meant to save her the labor of searching books of reference.

LESSON FOR THE FIFTH YEAR.
"LIONS AT HOME."

Rosa Bonheur.

The teacher should instruct the class, some days before she intends giving this lesson, to observe the cat at home: his paws; his teeth; his tongue; his habits, etc.

What animals are these? (Lions.) How many are there? Which is the mother lion? How do you know this? (The little ones are beside her.) How many little ones do you see? Who can point out the father lion? Yes, this is a family of lions at home. Is the male lion larger than the female? What other differences do you notice between the male and the female lion? (The male is more powerful looking; larger head; stronger limbs; bushy hair around his head and neck.)

How many boys and girls have observed the cat's forepaws? Well,

how many toes has he on each forefoot? (Four.) Yes, and did you notice the little sharp claw up near the bend of the foot? Now, we can see the lion's forefoot very distinctly in this picture. How many toes has he on each forefoot? (Four.) Yes, and there's a sharp claw a little higher up, near the bend of the foot, just like the cat's. Where are his other claws? (One in each toe). Yes, and he can stretch them out and draw them in just as a cat does. What does he use the claws for? (Catching his prey; tearing his food; fighting other animals). Who noticed the cat's teeth? What are the flat ones for? (Cutting his food.) And you noticed the teeth on the side were sharp and pointed. What does the cat use these side teeth for? (Tearing his food.) Well, now, the lion's teeth are just like the cat's, only larger, and he uses them in the same way. What kind of a tongue do you think the lion has? (Rough.) What for? (To lick up his food clean.)

Now, look at your picture and tell me what you notice about the lion's head. (Shaggy hair about his head and neck.) What do we call this thick, shaggy hair? (Mane.) Of what use is this to the lion? (It helps to protect him when fighting other animals; he tosses it about when he's angry, and this helps to confuse them. it protects his neck and throat from the attacks of other animals.) But the female hasn't a mane. Why hasn't she? (Because the male protects her so that she doesn't fight so much.)

Tell me if you notice anything peculiar about the tail of the lion? (Tuft of hair at the end.) Yes, and at the very end of the tail there's a little horny substance, and when the lion lashes his tail the horny substance strikes him in the side and goads him.

What effect has this? (It makes him fight more ferociously.)

Who has ever heard a lion roar? Away off in the African wildernesses, where the lions roam, the roar of the lion is wonderfully grand and striking. In some moods, he roars in deep, solemn sounds, one roar following the other quickly, and growing louder and louder for a time, and then dying away into lower and fainter sounds, just like the roll of distant thunder.

Where is the home of the lion? (Africa.) Most of the fine specimens that we see in our parks and in other collections of wild animals have been brought from Africa. Lions always select for their den some sheltered spot amongst long grass, or in the thickets and underbrush so commonly found in the African wilds. They are never far away from streams or some other body of water, because they eat so much flesh that they require a great deal of water to drink. Now perhaps you can see in the picture some of the plant growths that go to make the home of the lion. Tell me some of the things you see. (Large leaves, long, coarse grass, stumps of trees, rocks.)

How do these animals get their food? (Hunt for it.) Yes, the male lion goes out and finds it for his family. He preys on other animals, such as the deer, the buffalo, the antelope, and he is so strong that he can carry one of these animals in his mouth as easily as a cat carries a mouse. Although he is very ferocious toward other animals, yet the lion is very kind to his own and protects them with his life. Even as a dumb brute, he recognizes the principle of self-preservation, and he extends it vigorously towards his young, and the protection of his home.

What birds are we going to study to-day? (Swallows.) What is there about the swallow that marks him from other birds? (Forked tail.) Yes, that is the principal thing. Now, if you look at the bird standing on the wire you can see the long points of its tail standing out like the prongs of a fork. How do these points appear in the bird that is flying? (They look very sharp; they're spread wide apart.) Look again at the bird and tell me what you notice particularly about the wings? (Exceedingly long and pointed.) And when they're spread out and the bird is flying, how do they look? (Large, graceful and strong.)

Now, these wings are very wonderful things. They have carried these birds over thousands and thousands of miles. I wonder where the swallow comes from in the springtime? (From the far South, where it is very warm.) Yes, and he comes back to the same place exactly where he built his nest last year, and if the old nest is still there, he just patches it up and uses it again. I wonder if any boy can tell me how fast the swallow flies? We saw that its wings were very powerful and large. Now you can imagine that it flies very fast. How many miles an hour can it fly? How fast does an express train go? (Sixty miles an hour.) Yes, but the swallow can eas

ily beat the express. It goes as fast as ninety or a hundred miles an hour, and it can keep it up for hours and hours at a time.

What time of the year does the swallow come back? (April.) Yes, it is one of our most welcome spring birds, and it sets about building its nest right away. Look at the picture.

Where have these swallows built their nest? (Right against the wall, under the overhanging part of the roof.) This is a favorite place for the swallow's nest. You know the swallow is a very sociable little fellow, and likes to be near where people live, so very (often it builds its nest under the eaves of houses and about the chimneys; and if there are any old sheds or barns about the place, the swallows keep them lively all the summer long. How does the swallow manage to fasten the nest against the wall? It doesn't tie it nor hang it. It just makes it stick there. Now, what kind of stuff do you suppose it uses in building the nest? (Mud or clay.) Yes, it makes little pellets of mud or clay and moistens them in its mouth. This makes them stick fast. But the swallow uses other things as well. What other things in the picture do you see hanging down? (Grass, straw, etc.) It mixes the straw and grass in with the clay and this helps to keep the nest, together. What does it use inside the nest to make it nice and soft and warm for the little ones. (Soft feathers.)

Has the swallow a large head? (Rather small and round.) Now, what do you notice about the beak? (Very short, broad at the base.) This little bird has just the kind of a mouth it needs for getting its food. When its mouth opens, it is very large and it can snatch the insects easily as it flies swiftly through the air. Tell me some of the things the swallow eats. (All kinds of insects that live in the air.) Yes, and they fly close to the water to get the insects that are to be found there. I think you would be quite astonished to know how many insects one of these little birds catches in a day. It catches as many as a

thousand. Does it eat them all itself? No, it feeds some of them to the little ones in the nest.

Now, the swallow is a typical bird of the air. It is very fond of making long sweeps when it flies. It likes to make sudden plunges into the air from the tree-tops and other high points, skimming over the fields and away across the waters, close to the surface, and rising again high up to where it started from. It seldom rests on the ground and it doesn't perch very long anywhere. It is on the wing so much that its feet have become weak from not being used. But there's one thing it can do with its feet that other birds can't do. Has any little boy ever seen a swallow running up the wall to its nest? You know its toes point forward and when it swoops up to its nest it hitches its sharp claws into the rough surface of the wall and runs up deftly under the eaves to the nest.

The plumage of the swallow is very beautiful. I wonder if you can't tell me something about it by looking at the picture. Notice the bird that is flying. The back is a glossy dark blue shading into black. The wings and tail are black and glossy. Its forehead and throat are a deep chestnut brown. The breast and under

neath parts are a lighter chestnut which looks very brilliant in the sunlight.

LESSON FOR THE FOURTH YEAR,
"THE WILLOWS."
Corot.

Do all the trees in the picture look alike? No; the one in the foreground is very tall. What do you notice peculiar about the others? (Trunks are short and have a bulb-like head; shoots grow out from the top.) Yes, and these shoots, or branches, are