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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



and the new entrance, and they bemoan 

 their fate in this changeable world, not 

 only upon going to bed but after they 

 get there. 



On the first evening when this new 

 ladder made these poor chickens home- 

 sick, there appeared in a daily paper pub- 

 lished in a neighboring town, a strong 

 letter from the prohibitionist party, 

 stating that they would not work for no 

 license with the committee of the 

 churches, for the reason that while they 

 desired to accomplish the same object, 

 they were opposed to the method. They 

 wanted prohibition but they wanted it 

 in their own way. The Republicans and 

 Democrats must become prohibitionists 

 or their no license aims would be pain- 

 ful and pathetic. It was a plaintive 

 letter filled with moans of disappoint- 

 ment and dissatisfaction. I do not in- 

 tend to enter into the argument, for I 

 cannot understand nor sympathize with 

 such objections, any more than I can 

 understand why my chickens could not 

 settle down contentedly, though they 

 had come up that night by a new ladder 

 through a new entrance. But the psy- 

 chology of my chickens and the psychol- 

 ogy of those prohibitionists are alike 

 unfathomable. To say the least, with- 

 out going into the subtleties of the argu- 

 ment, it must have surprised the pas- 

 tors and congregations in their union 

 fight for no license to be opposed by 

 the prohibitionists ! 



It would be too personal and too pro- 

 vocative of controversy, if I were to 

 press this parallel into the domain of 

 nature, education and religion. It is 

 perhaps enough to make the reference 

 to a nolitical situation. 



Extended work in Teachers' Insti- 

 tutes for many years, and personal 

 arguments with many educators, have 

 convinced me that my chickens have no 

 monopoly in bemoaning new and better 

 methods, even if the same results are 

 attained more easily, and a larger 

 "yard" thereby made more available. 

 I wonder if in some future life we shall 

 quarrel and complain because some 

 have come up by one ladder and some 

 by another. But it is enough to limit 

 our philosophy to the present life. 

 We even hear it said, "Oh you get 

 the people interested in nature, but 

 your methods are not the 'best' — 

 too simple and too popular". Some 



people insist that information and rea- 

 sons should be in technical and philo- 

 sophic form. And when I read a letter 

 that moans and cries and wrings its 

 hands because my methods are not the 

 same as the writer's, I go out not to 

 feed the chickens but to look at those 

 two ladders, and the more I think of 

 some things in this world and perhaps 

 of arguments pertaining to the next, the 

 more — well, but can you realize, my 

 friend, what a consolation it is to pick 

 up and pet a nice little barred Rock 

 rooster that has come down a new lad- 

 der crying because he is lonesome and 

 homesick in the same old bed that was 

 reached by a new ladder from the 

 larger yard? 



Studying The Echo. 



BY JOHN T. TIMMONS, CADIZ, OHIO. 



Our readers may spend an interest- 

 ing afternoon or, better still, a few 

 hours of the early morning in studying 

 an echo. Success will depend much 

 upon the location of the student and 

 the shape of the surrounding country. 



The best time is in the early morn- 

 ing, before a rain or an electrical 

 storm. The atmosphere is then heavy 

 and the echo seems to be louder and is 

 more easily located. 



How can we find an echo? By ex- 

 perimenting in the use of our loudest 

 and clearest voice. If we hear the 

 words repeated across the fields, or on 

 some hillside, we know that an echo 

 exists in that place. At certain times 

 an echo known to be at a given point 

 is indistinct, while at other times it is 

 plain, and the words or any other 

 sounds that we may make are almost 

 as loud as the originals. Single words 

 and short sentences should be used, 

 or the experiment will not be satisfac- 

 tory. A few clear notes on a flute or 

 on some other instrument produce 

 good results, and a few words of a 

 song are pleasing, as the tune as well 

 as the words are reproduced. 



A gunshot is likely to stir up won- 

 derful echoes, and striking two blocks 

 of wood together, or clapping the hands 

 will produce good results. 



If we are fortunate in our search for 

 a suitable locality, we may find a spot 

 at which we may hear two or more 

 echoes, each coming from a different 

 point. 



