tmttimral. 
WRITING COMPOSITIONS. 
Every teacher knows just what a look 
spreads over Ihe visages of his pupils when 
he announces the fact that essays are to he 
written. The odious “composition,” in the 
pupil's estimation, seems to he synonymous 
with torment , the weekly or fortnightly ex¬ 
ercise is a thing to be endured, but not to be 
enjoyed ; a kind of literary penance, of no 
particular use to anybody. And it is not 
much wonder that writing is 
distasteful,considering thatthe 
pupil has beeu untrained in 
writing till the age of fourteen, 
or perhaps still later. 
The true way is to begin in 
the primary school. Let the 
little ones print short sen¬ 
tences at first; then let them 
dictate to their teacher. Such 
exercises may be made very 
pleasant and profitable. If 
children arc accustomed to 
the written expression of their 
little thoughts, they slay the 
bugbear of the High School 
department, without really en¬ 
countering it. A few minutes 
spent daily in extemporaneous .//; 
composition assists in the prop¬ 
er training writers. These ex¬ 
ercises may be made extremely 
interesting. Beginning with 
some common object, call for 
words that shall describe it,; 
then make assertions respect¬ 
ing it; then modify these as¬ 
sertions. These exercises oc¬ 
cur naturally, in connection 
with grammar lessons, and fix 
parts of speech and different 
classes of sentences in the 
mind. 
Then take the object, and let 
its qualities, form and uses he 
stated conversationally; next, 
call for a written description 
of it, including anything of 
interest concerning it. Two 
or three days may often be 
6pent upon a subject. Let a 
certain number of minutes he 
assigned for writing, and at a 
given signal let the reading 
begin, each description criti¬ 
cised by the class. Let. them 
describe houses, with which 
all are familiar, so accurately 
that the houses may be rec¬ 
ognized ; or describe members 
of the school without mention¬ 
ing the name; or substances. 
Guessing these will afford con¬ 
siderable amusement. Some¬ 
times read an anecdote, and 
let them write it from memory; 
or, giving an outline, let them 
fill it out. Place a picture 
where all can see it, and ask 
them to write a story about it. 
Write four or five words upon 
the blackboard, and let the 
class combine them in one 
sentence. Jty these methods, 
and by others which a live 
teacher can readily originate, 
the class will learn the proper 
use of words and how to ar¬ 
range their thoughts. The 
proper use of capitals should 
he taught, ancl considerable 
attention paid to punctuation. 
The principal difficulty 
found in composition writing, 
is that, Jacking the before- 
mentioned early training, the 
pupil is utterly at a loss as to 
what bis subject shall he. 
Forced by school rules to pro¬ 
duce something, he essays to 
write upon education, and 
tells us that “ it’s a very good 
thing to have, because nobody 
the essays are to be ready. If a pupil is 
behindhand, or lias failed in the length of 
his essay, let him be relieved from recitations 
till bis work is done. 
A teacher needs to exercise great care in 
the correction of first attempts, lest he dis¬ 
courage the young beginner. The necessity 
of each change should be explained, ami if 
the criticisms can be made before the whole 
class, the benefit will be obvious. 
Pen Dennis. 
-- 
ABOUT THOSE ADJECTIVES. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of Oct. 22d, 
really adjectives; and even if they were 
verbs or participles, the hyphen—which Mrs. 
C. docs not fall to use—entirely destroys 
their former action. 
In further proof that the words are simply 
adjectives, I cite her to Webster and Wor¬ 
cester, who both define “almond-shaped” 
as an adjective meaning “ having the shape 
of an almond.” Surely, no action is here 
signified. The other words are not laid down, 
but they would, of course, be regarded as the 
same part of speech, as no exception can he 
taken in favor of one and against the Others. 
Instances might he given, as “ light-colored 
kids,” “ tri-colored flags,” “ box-toed boots," 
EDUCATIONAL NOTES. 
The Air in School-Rooms. 
Dr. BreitEno in Basle, Switzerland, bas 
examined the air of the school-rooms in that 
city, in order to establish how far the com¬ 
plaints were well founded, which had been 
so often expressed with regard to the injuri¬ 
ous quality of the air in school-rooms. We 
give below the results of this investigation 
for a room of 251.01 cubic meters, about. 
$,542 cubic feet capacity, and a surface of 
10.54 square meters.or about 111 square feet, 
for door and windows. During the trial it 
contaiued 04 chihlreu. 
P* I'ttcntni 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
F.veeUior 4'on/i Hook, and Houeehold ./hi, 
Ily Mrs. Mini a TnownRiDGR. (New York: 
OnUley, Mason & Cod—The general worthless¬ 
ness of cook hooks Ims contributed greatly to 
their unpopularity. Added to their unreliuhle- 
ncss lias beeu the exceeding iniprnot inability of 
their recipes, ns well as their extravagance. 
Judging from the book before us, Mrs. Trow- 
brtdok evidently held a similar opinion, and in 
compiling her own, endeavored in make It free 
from both I hose defects, and lias 
- succeeded in making a most use¬ 
ful and pract ical compendium of 
Information. Wo say “compen¬ 
dium,” because condensat ion lias 
been studied, while lucidity bas 
been fully preserved. The vol¬ 
ume Is not large, yet contains an 
extraordinary amount and varie¬ 
ty of information that must be of 
groat value, oven to old and ex¬ 
perienced housewives. It con¬ 
tains recipes for cooking all kinds 
of meats, fowls, fish; for making 
gravies, soups, sauces, bread, 
cakes, pastry, puddings, custards, 
preserves, essences; for canning 
fruit; making butter, cheese, 
§$I soaps; tho art of dyeing: anti¬ 
dotes for poison ; cookery for the 
sick, besides a miscellaneous de¬ 
partment, of “ family physician, 
gardening, house plants, the toi¬ 
let,’* etc., etc. The hook is pre¬ 
faced with a chapter called 
“Utiles for Housekeepers,” which 
ulime is worth the price of the 
book. Wo cannot vouch for ils 
entire freedom from faults, but 
at present feel disposed to point 
out one absurdity, which strikes 
us as a possible mistake of Iho 
printer. We allude to the final 
sentence of a paragraph about 
“ Headaches," on page :133. “If 
subject to tho headache, it is ad¬ 
visable to diet"—a piece of ad- 
vieo we cannot recommend our 
readers to follow. 
Tin Proverb* of Solomon, il¬ 
lustrated by historical parallels 
from drawings by John Gil¬ 
bert, (New York: Carlton »V Lun- 
uhnn) is a very unique and beau¬ 
tiful volume. The reader will 
better understand what is meant 
by the Illustrations “by histori¬ 
cal parallels," If we give an ex¬ 
ample. For Instance, the proverb, 
“Better is a. little righteousness 
than groat revenues without 
right," is illustrated by a picture 
of Napoleon and his page. Tho 
former, after his defeat at Water¬ 
loo, continued many hours in his 
palace without refreshment. Tho 
lingo 'brought him coffee, juid 
stood patiently gazi .g at him and 
awaiting the Emperor’s notice. 
At last the ditto attendant pre¬ 
sented his tray, exclaiming, “Eat, 
sire; it will do you good.” 
The Emperor looked at him 
and asked, “ Do you not belong 
to tho Qonoesc ?" 
“No,sire. I come from Pier¬ 
re iUe." 
“ Where your parents have a 
cottage and some acres of laud ?” 
“ Yes, 3lre.“ 
“Thor© is happiness,” replied 
the Emperor. 
The Proverb, “Seest thou a 
man diligent. In business? Ho 
shall stand before kings: he shall 
not stand before mean men,” is 
illustrated by a picture of 
Franklin at the Court of Ver¬ 
sailles. 
U'llleon 1 * Intermediate Fifth 
Header, By Maroii s Willson. 
(New York: Harper & Brothers.) 
—As helps to a good style in rend¬ 
ing, and intelligent appreciation 
ol what. Is read, books oi this 
kind have a high educational 
value—are useful, not only for 
the school, but tho family. Tho 
selections are numerous, varied 
and excellent. As a Header, tho 
book is all tlmt could he desired. 
As a help in elocution, there is 
less that it Is necessary to forget, 
than in some others of the kind 
avg have seen. Tho directions 
for inflection of the voice, in all 
works on elocution wo have seen, 
are, and must be, In Iho absence 
of suitable notation, so vague 
and Inexact, that ttioy arc use¬ 
less without a teacher, and no 
two of these will read the same 
passage alike, even while follow¬ 
ing tho same directions. 
“A CHIP OB' THE OLD BLOCK,” 
can get it away from you. If 
you have money, you may lose 
it, or get it stolen,” &c,, <fec. Perhaps lie labels 
bis effort “ Value of Time," and we are treat¬ 
ed to the refreshing thought that “ time is 
passing rapidly away, and if we do not im¬ 
prove it as we should in our youth, we shall 
regret ir, in after years,” with more of the 
same nonsense drawn out to fill the required 
space. Such writing is a waste of time and 
paper. Break up this style by giving sub¬ 
jects. Set them to observing. Let them 
write of their own town, of workshops, farms, 
post-offices, stores; let the girls write about 
their household pets, and the boys of their 
colls and calves. Teach them to write of 
the things that interest them, leaving lime 
and education to take care of themselves. 
It takes some time to put a hitherto neg¬ 
lected class upon the right track ; there will 
lies failures at first. To secure promptness 
it is best to fix upon a certain time at which 
IL-.F _ ... 
last, under “ Educational," there appears a 
communication styled “ A Common Error,” 
from one Mrs. C., to which I beg to take 
exceptions, and I trust she will not deem me 
ungallant therefor, when she takes into con¬ 
sideration that, now-n-days, the “ doctrine of 
iufallibity ” does not universally obtain. 
The lady claims that a “ lemon-colored 
dress,” “almond-shaped eyes,” and other 
kindred expressions, are erroneous, for that 
they do not strictly convey one’s meaning, 
but signify, in the foregoing instances, a 
dress colored with a lemon, and eyes shaped 
by means of an almond. She evidently 
takes this ground from her belief that 
“colored,” “shaped,” etc., are verbs or par¬ 
ticiples retaining their active signification in 
the compounds, and implying some office 
performed by the substantives forming the 
first part of such compounds, while they are 
“gilt-edged hooks,” etc., ad infinitum to 
prove the fallacy of Mrs. C.’s position ; but 
it is not necessary, as they are analogous to 
tho examples cited by herself, and will occur 
to any one after a moment’s thought. 
Again, as entencc should be easy and grace¬ 
ful, and Mrs. C. herself will admit, that to 
follow the course she lays down and say— 
“the heathen Chinee have eyes of the shape 
of an almond,” is awkward and far less 
elegant than “ almond-shaped.” Finally, 
even admitting that my points herein made 
are without force, still usage would control 
in the premises whether the expression he 
wholly elegant or not; and as our best 
speakers and writers use these words as 
simply adjectives, it is very probable this 
form of expression will continue, notwith¬ 
standing tho objections in Mrs. C.’s com¬ 
munication contaiued.—n. e. m. 
Amount of 
Time. Carbonic acid. 
7.45 A. M., before the beginning of the 
teat.2.21 per cent. 
8 A. M., at the beginning.2-48 “ 
9 " at the close of the test.4.18 
9 “ after pause.1.7 ‘ 
10 “ before pause..... .8.8/ 
I© •• after pause...8.28 
11 “ ut, the close of the recitation..-S.U 
11 “ in the empty room.....7.30 “ 
1.45 P. M. before this lecture.. .5.80 “ 
;t •* at the beginning of tho recita¬ 
tion .. ...f»..V2 “ 
3 l*. M-, before pause. . . .7.11(5 “ 
3 “ after pause.6.4(5 “ 
4 " close of an exorcise in singing.9.30 " 
4 ** in the empty room. 5.72 “ 
It is to be mentioned that a pure air con¬ 
tains only 4-10,000 of carbonic acid, and 
that an amount of 1 per cent, is generally 
con sid ered i nj u rious. 
Self Importance. — O .c is never so far 
from making true progress as Wlicn lie is I 
satisfied with liis attainments. 
Pity.—W hat do we need to make us con¬ 
siderate? Much good sense, and a drop of 
pity in the heart. 
,tlore and JVew Hook* for 
Children,—Via are bo crowded 
with the contributions of this class of books 
from publishers that wc can do little more 
than give titles thereof. Wo have on our 
table, from Harry Hoyt, Boston, “Into tbo 
Highways," by Mrs. C. F,. K. Davis ; also 
“Snail-Shell Harbor," by J. H. Lanolie; also 
“Charity Hurlburt," by C. C., each of which 
books aro beautifully bound and printed, and 
handsomely Illustrated. From Carlton & Lann- 
han, New York,“The Boys and Girls Mustrated 
Bird Book,” by Julia Oilman, (oro of tho 
Rural New-Yorker’s Special Contributors)—a 
volume prepared both to entertain and instruct, 
and attractively Illustrated. 
From Thlelle* — Grape* t by Mrs. EtLOART. 
(New York: Harper & Bros.)—" Bo 6Ur© your sin 
will flnd you out” Is tho nnnnnouneod but 
demonstrated truth taught by this book. Tho 
characters aro ably drawn and the story Is deep¬ 
ly interesting. 
Capt, Coots 1 * Three Foi/age* Hound the. 
World, told by M. JONES, (New York: Lee, 
Shephard & Dillingham,) is a handsomely illus¬ 
trated volume, which will interest little folks 
who delight in stories of travel. 
