A HANDFUL OF EARTH, 



Professor. J. B. Reynolds. 



"A handful of earth ! Dirl ! Surely we are not asked to listen to 

 a story about anything" so common as dirt ! Dirt sticks to our hands and 

 faces, 'and we are made to wash it off. It clings to our shoes. _ It gets 



onto our clothes, it blows into the 

 house, and makes the furniture dirty, 

 and people have to be continually rub- 

 bing and brushing, sweeping, and 

 dusting to get rid of it. We should 

 be very glad neyer to hear of it 



agam. 



Fig. '1. A handful of earth — in its place. 



I fancy I hear many boys and girls 

 saying this when they see the title of 

 this story of mine. But stay ! I said 

 Earth, and what you say is about Dirt. 

 Earth is very good in its place, but otit 

 of its place, it is dirt. It is out of its 

 place when it is on your hands or shoes 

 or clothes. Then it annoys you and 

 you call it bad names. There are 

 other things besides earth that some- 

 times get out of place and are called 

 bad names. I have heard it said that 

 boys and girls are all very well in 

 their place, which seems to hint that 

 they are sometimes out of their place. I have known boys, and girls 

 too, make visits to a neighboring orchard. The owner of the orchard 

 was a mean old fellow, and when he saw the children in his orchard he 

 would say, '' Plague on those youngsters : They're at it again." And 

 he would send someone, or ^o himself, to drive them out, just as you 

 would brush the dust off your hands. But the fathers and mothers of 

 those same intruders thought they were pretty good children, and were 

 proud of them. So with this handful of earth. In its place, that is, in 

 the garden or field, it is of untold value. 



Earth is so common and unlovely, while " birds and butterflies and 

 flowers " are so bright and beautiful, that all our interest is naturally 

 drawn to these. But we should know that although the soil has no life 

 or beauty in itself, yet it supports life, and enables other things to be 

 useful and beautiful. 



The Soil and the Rock. — Take from the field some fine dry earth. 

 Place a good sized pinch of it on a piece of smooth white paper, and place 

 under this a newspaper or a piece of thick cloth. Tip the whole so as to 

 give it a little slope. Then tap this paper with the finger, and you will 

 begin to see parts of the soil begin to draw away from the other parts. 

 Keep at this, and you will find some of the soil rounding up in little heaps, 

 while the rest scatters over the paper. Roll vour pencil forwards and 



[5] 



