26 THREE KINGDOMS. 



That individuals may be admitted into the Associa- 

 tion by the President upon payment of fifty cents as an 

 entrance fee. 



ADVANTAGES. 



The advantages which may result from the formation 

 of a branch in the family or school far outweigh the labor 

 and time required. Habits of observation are formed; 

 valuable knowledge is acquired; spontaneous study is 

 secured; health-giving rambles are taken; the elements 

 of parliamentary law are learned and practiced; subjects 

 for compositions are abundantly supplied; power of 

 debate is attained; practice in letter-writing is necessi- 

 tated: valuable collections are made; useful libraries 

 are founded; pleasant acquaintances are formed; win- 

 dows are opened into distant States, through which we 

 catch glimpses of scenery new to us; we see various 

 strange forms of animal and plant life; w r e read fossil 

 records of the past; we become acquainted with the 

 modes of thought and expression which prevail outside 

 our own homes. Correspondence with chapters in dif- 

 ferent States is like the magical glass of the Arabian 

 prince. 



Sitting by our study-table, we can see in every direc- 

 tion sturdy boys and graceful girls, searching eagerly 

 for nature's hidden treasures. We see them scouring the 

 prairies of Kansas; climbing the foot-hills of the Sierras; 

 discovering beautiful caves in the Rocky Mountains; 

 analyzing* magnolia blossoms in Mississippi; killing 

 rattlesnakes on their own doorsteps in Colorado; study- 

 ing g'eology in England; gathering edelweiss from the 

 slopes of the Alps; wandering, by permit, through New 

 York's Central Park; spying out specimens from the 

 mica mines of Vermont; picking up tarantulas and scor- 



