670 Rural School Leaflet. 



you have actually observed. In order to be useful and successful in 

 life, one must be a good observer. We want you to see things for your- 

 selves, and to think about the things that you see. 



We receive thousands of letters from children during the year, and 

 we are very much pleased with the fact that more and more children 

 are learning to write about things that they have found out themselves. 

 Long ago we used to receive letters parts of which were copied from 

 cyclopedias and other books. We do not care about such letters. We 

 would rather have four or five lines giving the result of your own obser- 

 vation than to have four or five pages that you have learned from the 

 observation of some one else. 



Occasionally we publish letters in the Leaflet that we send to chil- 

 dren. We hope to have many in these pages during this year so that 

 our young readers may come to know the kind of letters that we care 

 for. Read the following, and see whether you can tell why it was very 

 acceptable to Uncle John : 



Addison, N. Y., R. F. D. No. 2. 



My Dear Uncle JoJiii: 



]\Iy teacher said I could write to you instead of doing English. It 

 is a very pleasant afternoon and the birds are singing gayly. 



We are going to make a great improvement on our school ground. 

 Our secretary will send you the drawing of the ground. He is my 

 brother Lester. I also thank you for writing to my school-mate and tell- 

 ing him how to plant a tree for we intend to plant some trees here. 



What kind of a fence do you think would be suitable for the ground ? 

 Two sides are fenced with an old rail fence, one side with a barb-wire 

 fence. The fence is in a very bad condition and we have a neat little 

 building and think it deserves a new fence. But we don't know whether 

 we can get one or not. 



We would like to have a garden very much but there is not room 

 enough. We have a jar of willow twigs and among them are three 

 dift'erent kinds, I think. One has a greenish yellow bark its bud cover- 

 ing has a reddish cast, one a blackish bark and the scales a black cast, 

 I should call a blackish red color and its scales are black. 



The bud on the greenish yellow twig is blossoming out. It is covered 

 with golden dust. The one that has black scales and blacki.sh bark wears 

 its fur. And the other is covered with a light green fuzz. 



Yours truly, 



Be.ssie Matterson. 



