148 WINTER 



VIII 



Along toward spring you should hear him " drumming " for a 

 mate a rapid motion of his wings much like the hollow sound of a 

 distant drum. 



CHAPTER XIII 



TO THE TEACHER 



Do all that you can to teach the signs of the zodiac, the days of the 

 seasons, and all the doings of the astronomical year. All that old lore 

 of the skies is in danger of being lost. Some readers will say : " The 

 author is not consistent ! He loves the winter and here he is impa- 

 tient to be done with it ! " Some explanation on your part may be 

 necessary : that the call of the spring is the call of life, a call so loud 

 and strong that all life human and wild, animal and vegetable, 

 hears it and is impatient to obey. If possible take your scholars upon 

 a walk at this raw edge of the season when they will feel the chill but 

 also the stirring of life all about them. 



FOR THE PUPIL 



Get an almanac and study the old weather signs. 

 PAGE 130 



" When descends on the Atlantic " : from Longfellow's " Seaweed." 

 PAGE 133 



frog or hyla : The hylas belong to the family Hylidce and include 



our tree-toad, and our little tree-frog. 



"For, lo, the winter is past" : from The Song of Songs, or The 



Song of Solomon, in the Bible. 



