Exercise in Music with an A Grammar School, N. L. Glover. Foot-Prints of Vanished Races, Supt. E. A. Jones, Massillon.

Music, Buchtel College Glee Club. Ethics of Teaching, Miss Mary Evans, Painesville.

Geological History of Lake Erie, Prof. G. W. Wright, Oberlin.

The meeting will be held in the Congregational Church, and the ladies of the church will serve a lunch with coffee. A large attendance and a good time are anticipated.

-STARK COUNTY:-Dear E. M.: You write that you expect from me an account of the recent two-day institute at our good sisterly city of Massillon.

As I took not a note, I fear that not very ample justice will be done in any attempt of mine to report this gathering of the clans in unwidowed Mollie Stark.

This would be

I can begin with the barren phrase of the local reporter when he attempts to describe some meeting which he did not attend, but which he fraudulently wishes the public to believe he did attend, and say that the program as published was strictly carried out. nearly the truth. All the performers announced were there, except the writer of the paper on Memory, and I suppose he forgot. The texts given were the ones preached from, except that Mr. Jones was urged to substitute a lecture upon Alcohol for one upon Whittier.

The attendance was good, some

thing over two hundred members. Canton did her share with something to boot, for her hundred teachers furnished over ninety members.

Supt. E. A..Jones's topics were: The Air We Breathe, Some Aids in Teaching Geography, Alcohol, Footprints of Banished Races.

These were all illuminated by copious experiments and illustrations, as well as by the clear sense and good strong English of the lecturer. Judge Draper's topics were: Instruction in the Schools, Management in the Schools, The Spirit of the Teacher, Obligations and Rights of Teachers, Development and Purpose of the Public School System.

Mr. Draper said that this was the reverse order from that in which he had given them to the committee, so that he would begin at the end and advance backwards to the front, or words to that effect.

The Judge's manner was sincere and earnest, and familiar, sometimes mounting a bolder flight of eloquence, often sparkling with humor, quaint and practical. His work was well received.

There was a discussion had by J. W. Gillam and C. A. Betts of the proposition: That the qualifications of the teacher of the country schools are, and of necessity should be, broader than those of the teacher in the city schools. Neither of these young men disappointed those who expected him to make a good speech.

Mr. John M. Sarver, Principal of the Canton High School, read an essay giving the result of his observations of the most noted object in the pedagogic sky, namely: The Report of the Committee of Ten. The paper commanded attention and elicited general commendation.

Mrs. Alice Jones, of Canton, read a biographical essay, her subject, The Wife of Lafayette, interesting and "well-pronounced."

The exercises were enlivened by excellent music rendered by some of Massillon's best vocal artists, and by a drill in calisthenics under direction of Prof. W. E. Bartsch.

There was an aurora borealis of the most brilliant and variegated pattern on Friday night, not on the program but under the general oversight, I mean over the general undersight, of the executive committee.

Writing at a disadvantage, I have little doubt that I owe an apology to somebody for something that is herein said, or for something that is not herein said, and I promptly make it.

Books.

B.

Guide to the Study of Common Plants-An Introduction to Botany. By Volney M. Spalding, Professor of Botany, University of Michigan.

This is a beginners' book, consisting of a series of exercises and studies in the observation of plant life, designed to indicate in a general way the method and work for

those just beginning the study in a systematic way. The plan implies much laboratory work, with books. of reference and necessary appliances. Published by D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.

Outlines of Pedagogics.

By Prof. W. Rein, Director of the Pedagogical Seminary at the University of Jena. Published by E. L. Kellogg

& Co., New York.

This is a small book, but it contains much. It deals with theoretical rather than practical pedagogy, inquiring first into the nature and possibilities of education, its purpose and aims, then seeking the ways and means. It is somewhat metaphysical and abstruse, but the attentive and thoughtful reader will be repaid.

The Working Teachers' Library, published by the Werner Company, Chicago, consists of five volumes as follows:

I.

Page's Theory and Practice of Teaching. Edited by Supt. J. W. Greenwood.

2. The Teacher in Literature, as portrayed by Ascham, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and others.

3. Practical Lessons in Psychology, by William O. Krohn.

4. Practical Lessons in Science, by Josiah T. Scovel.

5. Manual of Useful Information, compiled by J. C. Thomas.

The five volumes are uniform in paper, type, and binding, and form a handsome and excellent little library of standard works. The

are well worth the money.

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Edited with an Introduction and Notes, by William Lyon Phelps. Published by Ginn & Co., Boston.

The Athenæum Press Series to which this volume belongs, is designed to supply a library of the best English literature, from Chaucer to the present, in a form suited to the needs of the student and the general reader as well. The introduction to this volume contains a sketch of Gray's life, a discriminating discussion of his poetic evolution, and a rather full bibliography. Copious notes on the poems are placed at the end of the volume.

German for Americans. A Practical Guide for Self-Instruction and for Colleges and Schools, containing pronunciation, grammar, classification of irregular verbs, exercises, dialogs, vocabulary, etc., etc. By Dr. Jacob Mayer. Fourth edition. Published by I. Kohler, Philadelphia. Paper, 60 cents; cloth, $1.00.

Special attention is given to those peculiarities of the German language which present the greatest difficulties to English speaking students. Interlinear translation, and pronunciation following each word, are features helpful to the learner without a teacher.

Mathematics for Common Schools, by John H. Walsh, Associate Superintendent of Public Instruction, Brooklyn, New York, is one arithmetic in three books, paged continuously from 1 to 803. The first

practice in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers, simple fractions, and the more commonly used denominations of compound numbers.

Part second is intermediate, and is designed for pupils of fifth and sixth school years. It also contains a short chapter on easy algebraic equations of one unknown quantity.

Part third is a higher arithmetic for the use of higher grammar grades, and contains a chapter on elementary algebra, and one on elementary constructive geometry, with applications.

Among the noticeable features are the omission of definitions and rules; the great number and variety of examples and problems; the use of the. equation in arithmetical solutions; and the introduction throughout the work of civil service and other examination questions for systematic drills and reviews. The work has a high degree of merit, and cannot fail to command attention. Prices, 40c., 40c., and 75c. Published by D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.

The War of Independence, by John Fiske, is No. 62 of the Riverside Literature series, published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. It is a double number, of nearly 200 pages, and contains maps, index and a biographical sketch of the author. is the story of the Revolution well told, containing the real flesh and blood of history. It is excellent for home reading and as supplementary reading for history classes in school.

It