intendent, Mr. J. H. Stevens, who is a very zealous worker for the success of his teachers. The following subjects were very ably discussed: "Square and Cube Roots," by Prof. J. H. Rutrough; "History," by Mr. C. B. Bowry; "Geography," by Prof. W. G. Welburn; "Summer Normals," by Miss Daisy Conway.

The teachers seemed very enthusiastic and the meeting was pronounced quite a success.

ELIZABETH GALLOWAY, Sec. Montgomery Co. League. Botetourt Teachers' League. The Teachers' Co-operative League met in Fincastle December 1st, 1899, and the following offi cers were elected :

H. L. Hammond, President; Vice-Presidents, S. A. Shaver, Amsterdam district; C. W. Coffman, Buchanan district; J. L. Burks, Fincastle district; Miss Mary Godwin, corporation of Fincastle; Miss Mary F. Brugh, Secretary; Miss Allie Lemon, Treasurer.

We have thirty-two members.
Respectfully,

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MARY F. BRUGH, Secretary.

One Normal School for Virginia Teachers. The communication from Mr. S. B. Ashby, in the October number of the SCHOOL JOURNAL, expresses, I believe, the views of many. It is necessary, if we would educate our teachers thoroughly, that they have better opportunities for normal training. The Summer Normals can be attended by only a few, compared with the whole number of teachers in the State. Distance, traveling expenses, etc., prevent the great majority of teachers from attending these Normals oftener than once in a great while, as a rule. Would it not be better to abolish the two Normals, as held at Pulaski and Fredericksburg, and retain only the School of Methods, as recommended by the Shenandoah League." Increase the term to ten weeks as suggested by Mr. Ashby. Then, in order to give every teacher in the State the advantages of a Normal School, let the Superintendent of Schools in each county be required to teach a six-, ten-, or thirteenweek Normal as part of his official duty. For conducting such an Institute he should, however, receive no additional salary. Let there be a definite course of study pursued in the County Normal Institutes. After a teacher completes this course and attends a term at the School of Methods, if he holds a No. 1 certificate, he should be exempt from further examinations, unless he desires a professional certificate or life diploma. We hope that the Legislature will enact some legislation for the improvement of our State Normal School system. Let this subject be agitated. J. LUTHER KIBLER.

Schoolroom.

General R. E. Lee's Birthday.

If teachers have filed their JOURNALS, they will find in the January number of 1899 very full exercises suitable for Lee's birthday. We suggest that every teacher in the State hold exercises commemorative of the day. There is no better way to inculcate virtue in children than to point them to the "lives of great men," and no life of man not divine can be more worthy of imitation than that of General R. E. Lee.

We give some selections that may be useful to teachers in carrying out a program :

"Thou wert the courtliest knight that ever bare shield . . . and thou wert the kindest man that ever strake with sword; and thou wert the goodliest person that ever came among press of knights; and thou wert the meekest man and the gentliest that ever ate in hall among ladies; and thou wert the sternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear in rest." (Quoted by the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Morning Chronicle from "The Mort d' Arthur," of Sir Thomas Mallory, in a notice of the death of General Lee.)

Posterity will rank General Lee above Wellington or Napoleon, before Saxe or Turenne; above Marlborough or Frederick, before Alexander or Cæsar. Careful of the lives of his men, fertile in resource, a profound tactician, gifted with the swift intuition which enables a commander to discern the purpose of his enemy, and the power of rapid combination which enables him to oppose to it a prompt resistance; modest, frugal, selfdenying, void of arrogance or self assertion, trusting nothing to chance; among men noble as the noblest, in the lofty dignity of the Christian gentleman; among patriots less self-seeking, and as pure as Washington; and among soldiers combining the religious simplicity of Havelock with the genius of Napoleon, the heroism of Bayard and Sidney, and the untiring, never-faltering duty of Wellington; in fact, Robert E. Lee, of Virgnia, is the greatest general of this or any other age. He has made his own name and the Confederacy he served immortal.-Montreal (Can.) Telegraph.

A country which has given birth to men like him, and those who followed him, may look the chivalry of Europe in the face without shame; for the fatherland of Sidney and of Bayard never produced a nobler soldier, gentleman and Christian, than General Robert E. Lee.-London Standard.

He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a private citizen without wrong; a

neighbor without reproach; a Christian without hypocracy, and a man without guilt. He was a Cæsar without his ambition; a Frederick without his tyranny; a Napoleon without his selfishness, and a Washington without his reward. He was obedient to authority as a servant, and loyal in authority as a true king. He was gentle as a woman in life; modest and pure as a virgin in thought; watchful as Roman vestal in duty; submissive to law as Socrates, and grand in battle as Achilles.-From Speech of Hon. B. H. Hill.

General Lee is a phenomenon. He is the only man whom I would be willing to follow blindfold.-Stonewall Jackson.

The very best soldier that I ever saw in the field.-Gen. Winfield Scott.

Quotations from General R. E. Lee.

"Private and public life are subject to the same rules; and truth and manliness are two qualities that will carry you through this world much better than policy, or tact, or expediency, or any other word that was ever devised to conceal or mystify a deviation from a straight line."

"The forbearing use of power does not only

form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman."

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My experience through life has convinced me that, while moderation and temperance in all things are commendable and beneficial, abstinence from spirituous liquors is the best safeguard to morals and health."

"I think it wisest not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered."

Suggestions for Teaching Geography. Begin with local and home geography, making field trips, and requiring plans of the school room, district, village and county.

Go slowly and very carefully at first.

Emphasize the importance of sketch maps; and in drawing them, direct attention to special features, proportions, comparisons, etc., taking one coast at a time, before attempting to draw the whole outline.

Use outline maps, filling them in as different features are studied, and so building up from day to day.

Do not locate on maps too many obscure places, but emphasize a few, and try to have the pupils know something about them aside from the dots and the lines on the map. One city studied carefully as a type, with its people, industries, exports, imports, buildings of note, etc., is worth more than twenty or a hundred located as black dots on a map.

Let the children take imaginary journeys, and encourage the study of different peoples. For this purpose "Seven Little Sisters," by Jane Andrews, price fifty cents, is most useful.

Have map study summaries and drills, but do not let this mechanical work be all that you teach.

and pronounce them correctly. Require children to spell geographical names

Use the pictures that are in the book in connection with the lessons, and make use as well of pictures and descriptions obtained from other

sources.

Teach children to recite topically. Let them read a paragraph in class, and make topics, from which you require them to recite the next day. Show them how to pick out the central thought, and let them have practice in expressing the facts given in the book in their own language.

Have a daily review of the previous lesson, and require written work as often as possible. Regu lar reviews at stated intervals are also important. Combine history with geography.

HOME OCCUPATIONS IN THE SCHOOLROOM.

In studying occupations in home geography it would add to the children's interest, and at the same time give them some iudustrial instruction,

Interest the children in plant and animal life, and in the soils and products of their own region,

Ask the pupils to bring in specimens of plants, animals and minerals, and encourage them to make collections.

Call every day for results of outside observation.

Study the occupations of the section in which you are teaching.

Draw and mould the coast and surface features of each country studied.

home how to do some one of the following things. Let them explain to the class, using the objects where possible:

Shoeing a horse.
Harnessing a horse.
Putting a tire on a wheel.
Sawing a board.
Driving a nail.
Setting a pane of glass.
Sharpening a knife.
Mixing whitewash.
Making bread.
Holding a needle.

Sowing corn and beans. Planting potatoes.

Many other things peculiar to his own locality will occur to every teacher.-Southern Workman.

A Friday Afternoon Exercise.

One Monday morning a teacher in one of the lower grades pinned up about the room twentyfive numbered cards, each containing a picture of some noted person, with whom the children should be familiar.

Columbus, Shakspere, Longfellow, Whittier, Cary Sisters, Robinson Crusoe, George and Martha Washington, etc., were used.

The names of the persons did not appear. Nothing was said about these pictures. If a child asked "Who is this? he was told who it was.

Friday afternoon, for a general exercise, the children were given paper and allowed to pass about the room to see the pictures and write the names of those they knew. If any child had been indifferent to the pictures, his interest was then aroused, and more attention was paid to the illustrations and pictures used from that time on. At another time the teacher selected pictures of animals and birds.-Teacher's World.

SOME OF MOTHER OCEAN'S CHILDREN,

BY BESSIE A. CODD.

THE BARNACLES OF ROCK LEDGE. HE Barnacles of Rock Ledge arrived in Pleasant bay on the occasion of Mrs. Scallop's garden party, and at the close of that day had found themselves swept by a wave against a ledge of rock, to which they immediately attached themselves.

Their parents had, long before, fastened themselves to the bottom of a large ship, so they were called "ship's barnacles," and it was from one of these great ship's barnacles that the Barnacles of Rock Ledge came as the vessel was passing our bay. These

filaments, forming a net, which, constantly moving. drew in the tiny creatures that fill the water of the ocean, and upon which these barnacles fed.

These goose barnacles in their young days had been very fond of traveling, but after a while they had grown lazy, and stuck themselves, by their heads, to the rock, and as they did not then require the use of their eyes, Mother Nature closed them, and their six little legs that they no longer used to swim with, she kindly changed into the graceful filaments through which they strained the sea water, and drew in food for these stupid little barnacles. Indeed, they seemed lazy and stupid, to have given up their

Fig. 3. Ship's barnacle, or Acorn barnacle. (Balanæ.) eyes and legs, preferring to fasten on the rocks and seaweed, and lead this monotonous existence! But they lived as their parents had done before them, and in the end furnished food for the sea fowl who preyed upon them.

The first to reach Rock Ledge and attach herself there was Mrs. Ship's Barnacle, and she built for herself the largest and handsomest house on those rocks. There she lived and grew, and soon six little baby Barnacles were to be seen swimming near her door. These were her children, and she tried hard to pershade them that their only safety lay in staying at home and fastening themselves to Rock Ledge. She

Fig. 1. Baby Barnacle. Fig. 2. Goose-barnacle (Mature) (Lepas anatifera.)

little crab-like swimmers soon stuck their heads fast to the ledge, and built little white houses after the fashion of their parents.

Goose barnacles were also swept upon the rocks, and fastened there and spread out their delicate

Fig. 4. Mr. Sperm Whale. (Physeter macrocphalus.) toid them of the dangers of the strange waters through which she had passed as a thoughtless swimming creature, looking then much like themselves no doubt, for though she was blind now and had never scen her children, she remembered her young days and how she had felt when, a graceful crab-like youngster, she had appeared in Pleasant bay.

Mrs. Barnacle's children had not been carefully brought up, and would have been ignorant creatures if Mother Nature had not been kind to them, and taught them to swim, and take care of themselves.

One morning three of these thoughtless young Barnacles started out for a swim, and a3 each wave swept them further from the shore, they found it more and more difficult to keep together. They were not at all afraid. cecause they were good swimmers. having each, at this time, six strong legs and two keen eyes,

and they were determined to see as much of the world as they could before they returned home.

They had never before been so far from their mother's house, and did not dream that they would never see it again! Soon there came another great wave that swept them into the trough of the sea, and whirled one of them away from his brothers, sweeping him down against a rocky reef, where he gladly clung, having, in his fright, but one idea, to build a strong house to live in, and never again run the risk of such an unpleasant experience!

He had seen all of the world he cared for, and decided that if his having eyes and legs led him into such dangerous adventures, he would dwell contentedly in his own little house on the reef, and give up his eyes and legs like his old blind mother, and here we will leave him and follow the fortunes of his two brothers.

The big waves swept the two brothers along together for some distance. They were not as timid as the one that had been swept away from them, down upon the reef, and no Barnacle ever feared drowning, so no matter how high the wave rose, they could swim

Fig. 5. Flying Fish. (Exocetus volicans.) to the surface before the next wave swept them on. At last, after traveling for several hours. the ocean grew calmer, and one of the Barnacles, feeling that he had traveled quite far enough, suggested that they should swim over and fasten themselves to the bottom of a ship, that was rapidly approaching them.

This seemed a very easy thing to do, but it was "easier said than done," as one of our Barnacles shortly found out, for as the steamship swept along. the foaming water tossed these poor brothers asunder, drawing one under the moving vessel, where he fastened himself, and clung breathles ly, as the ship pursued her course to distant seas. Here, like his brother, he built himself a house on the bottom of this huge moving mass. He now became a ship's barnacle, giving up his eyes and legs, as his mother and brother had done before him.

The steamship had many months to travel, and Mr. Ship's Barnacle, who had changed his form and nature, grew and grew, until he was no longer the little fellow looking like a small crab, but a fat old fellow, living quietly in a large red house.

If he had now had his eyes, he might have seen many wonderful sights, but though he had started out to see the world he had lost this golden opportunity when in his fright he had fastened himself head first to the bottom of the ship, which was already deeply encrusted with barnacles and ocean vegetation.

After wandering about for many months, the vessel came to a beautiful island; here she was placed in a dry-dock, and all this mass encrusting her bottom was scraped off, and our friend Mr. Ship's Barnacle, with many others, were eagerly sought by many poor people, who cooked and ate unfortunate Mr. Ship's Barnacle, and used his strong red house( it was now nearly three inches high) for a lamp. In it they poured oil, and putting in a wick to burn, they used it to light up their home.

We must return to the third brother to learn his tragical end. Failing to fasten himself to the ship's bottom beside his brother, he was carried along by a strong ocean current that bore him further north.

He felt lonely and anxious to find a place to rest. To be sure he was seeing the world, and learning many lessons of life, for Mother Ocean was watching over him as he tried to find rest on her quiet bosom.

He saw many strange sights, for he had still his eyes, but he felt his love of adventure dying out, as day after day passed and no rocks were in sight. One evening just as the sun was setting, little Mr. Barnacle thought he saw a great rock lying in the midst of the golden water. As he swam rapidly towards it, he saw wreaths of seaweed, kelp, and grasses clinging to it and waving to and fro. He also saw barnacles growing on it that looked so much like his family in Pleasant bay that he swam quickly towards them and fastened himself beside them. You may imagine his consternation when he found the next morning that his rock, as he supposed it to be, was moving in the depths of the ocean. He could not see very well in his peculiar position, but he soon found that rock, barnacles, and seaweeds were moving through the water at a rapid rate.

Presently they all rose to the surface, and two jets of water ascended in the air and fell back like rain on the surface of the ocean. This moving island, my dear, was a great sperm-whale, who had strayed from the north, and was on his way back.

The water grew colder, day by day, and though Mr. Barnacle was busily working to get his house in order, and be prepared for whatever might happen, he did not feel comfortable when the whale would rise to the surface of the ocean, and rolling over on his other side, let the hot rays of the sun at midday pour down. upon our little friend; but alas! this was not the worst of it, for at this time, fierce seabirds would come and perch on Mr. Whale, and quarrel and fight as to which should pick off and eat the creatures attached to Mr. Whale's tough skin.

One day a flock of these birds, settling down on Mr. Whale's back, ate up poor Mr. Barnacle, and many of his neighbors. Our unfortunate friend must have remembered with bitter regret the neglected advice. of his poor blind mother!

The other three little baby Barnacles, who had remained with their mother in Pleasant bav, played about in the safe shallow water until one day they concluded to fasten themselves on Rock Ledge, and build themselves nice little white houses near their mother's. This little colony grew and grew, and they are often spoken of as the little Acorn Barnacles that grow along the shore of the bay. There you may still

find them on Rock Ledge looking white as snow in the bright sunshine.

spelling lesson to be studied; the teacher slowly pronounces five words; the class "eye" them for a moment, some with only the two outer, and others with all their eyes. "Choir," a boy slowly names the "Of what word, reads the letters, and names again must we be careful in this word?" "Of ch; it sounds like k; the word sounds as if it had w; oi sounds like i." "Flute; careful of what, in this word?" "We must remember that the word ends in e, because u has the yoo sound." "Now, eyes away, and spell both words. What about 'duet'?" "There is but one t." "Read 'trio,' and notice what?" "That the first vowel is i not y." "Ballad?" "There are two l's; if one 1, the first a would be long,-ba lad". The teacher calls a pupil forward, who names or points to the words while others spell. He, in turn, chooses another; one, perhaps, who has tripped on the name or the spelling. In this way the five words are reviewed many times. The last five are taken in a little different way; the ten are then reviewed. The board is turned, and slips of paper are passed for writing the lesson. Nearly all the papers have "100" and a "star." Why not? Only fifteen alive, attention-ful minutes, and ten trying common words have been conquered.

ARRANGEMENT.

One room was bright with a charming bouquet of little children; I often see bunches of children thrown together without regard to harmony; but this was a bouquet, and when I tell you that, you can fancy the way they were seated, showing that delicate mother touch which places each child where it will show to its and to the others' best advantage. Bits of brightness, too, were the blue ribbons floating out from the wall registers. Besides, the spectrum flung its colors around; and so did the winsome teacher fling hers.

MINING CHARACTER.

In one room a getting at character seemed to be the aim. The children were reading the story of Lincoln. A Lincoln chart, prepared by the children, gave importance and interest to facts that otherwise. might have seemed prosy; a reading or a telling of anything that the boy or the man Lincoln said or did was followed by the teacher's question: "And what does that show about his character?" The apt adjectives and verbs of the answers showed not only a study of motives and their consequent acts, but of exact expression by words. The same questioning ran through the drawing lesson, and had its place with the blackboard examples about buying and selling. The bright little teacher plainly believed that every act of a person told something aloud, and she was training her children to hear and to pass judgment upon it.

SIMPLE INTEREST.

In one primary room my presence was quite ignored by the children for fully twenty minutes. I looked