It was a piece of that good luck which has fallen to, or into, my lot-in small bits to have the chance to attend the annual meeting of Kentucky school superintendents this week at Frankfort. About seventy men were present,county and town, or city, superintendents in about equal numbers; seven ladies, each a county superintendent. Is the political route to a superintendency more readily travelled by our sisters? In each of eighteen counties a woman fills this responsible office; elected thereto upon a party ticket; sometimes her defeated opponent, a

woman.

The discussions were over such subjects as the relation of the office of superintendent of public instruction to the schools, training schools, rural graded schools, the examination and certification of teachers, city school systems, our trustee system, what shall the grades teach, associations district and county, local taxation.

The speakers were plainly in earnest and in the clash of opinions there was frequent and skillful thrust and parry.

Some school legislation was formulated, and the brethren seemed confident that the legislature would lend an open ear to any rational proposition upon which themselves should agree!

They made me an honorary member and gave me the floor to

stand on. At the evening session. I talked on A State Reading Circle.

The little capital is old-fashioned to a degree. The country around. is wild and picturesque, the Kentucky river winds among hills that are mountains to the eye of one fresh from the plains of the lower Auglaize.

In the afternoon of my second day I paid a visit of respect and curiosity to the grave of Daniel Boone. His monument looks down upon the river from the top of one of those hills. About it a group of sycamore trees stand sentinel. Upon the four faces of the stone are what is left of carvings which once stood for scenes in the old fighter's life; but everything that would break has been carried off by that despicable despoiler, the relic hunter, in whose barbarous eyes there is nothing sacred.

Another of my digressions was a run down to Nashville. The road passes by some deep cuts through the immense limestone ridges which there bound the valley of the Cumberland. Returning, as ours was an inspection train, it ran up a short branch to the county seat of Todd County. One of the things to know about this county is that within its limits Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were born. At least so people say, but it is likely that an alibi can be proved as to Mr. L.

I observed several flocks of field larks as we passed through northern Tennessee.

One of the daily pleasant experiences of this little trip of only a few hundred miles south was the sight of the birds.

A cedar grove covers a hill not far from what was my pleasant headquarters. The hill is limestone and abounds in depressions, holes in short, shaped like mammoth bowls, the bottom of the bowl opening into a cavern below— in the lowest deep, a lower deep. And I thought how graphically friend Simkins would describe the gnawing out of these holes in the rock by the sharp tooth of the acidulated rain.

I was hunting, with no deadlier weapon than an opera glass. Under the trees the ground was green, between them there was a thin blanket of snow; red-birds flashed from the ground to the trees; a flock of waxwings alighted upon an oak-one could tell them by their plaintive whistle; a solitary chewink called his name from a bunch of buckberries; goldfinches in their plain winter dress scurried. about, too numerous to mention; a pair of black-capped chickadees. searched the under side of dry leaves and crevices in the bark for insects' eggs. These last named performers made me hunt up that delightful poem of Emerson's, "The Titmouse," when I got back from my walk, and read it over with the tiny actors fresh in my eye, for I like my nature and my literature at the same meal.

As if to shame my weak behavior."

Then the unfeathered poet saluted the other one, called the woods his "small Labrador," donned his colors: "Henceforth I wear no stripe but thine,"-after the melancholy Jacques's "Motley's the only wear"; and caught the full meaning of his song, since "goodwill makes intelligence." It also toughens the muscles, for was it not said of one of old time,

"And I should do it With much more ease, for my good-will is to it."

On one of the higher points of this ridge there is an extensive dormitory for those gentlemen and ladies in black the crows. I chanced to pass it, or rather their loud evening hymn called me over to it. The great flock, numbering

several hundreds, seemed to be settling down for the night but the performance was interspersed with. many uprisings and all to the tune of caw, caw, loud and strident, for the musicians were but a few rods away, and their notes did not drop, "filtered through five hundred fathoms of crisp blue air."

Though my travel was in the right direction it was not far enough to see our dear familiar summer friend, the robin.

In the cemetery grounds one day I met a stranger, not at all shy, but I couldn't learn his name; — about a robin's size; slate color, except the outer wing feathers which were black with a white line on the upper side, also a black band across and beyond the eyes. He would come. down to the ground but did not make clear his errand. His tail gave many a saucy flirt like that of the robin. He was as silent as a shadow of a bird.

I am finishing this "disjointed chat" near to our own vine and fig tree. The latter stands to-night out by the wood-shed where it came up from the root last spring and bore a score or more of half-grown figs; so you see I used plain horticultural fact in locating myself.

The night of the lunar eclipse we were waiting our train at a station close to the Tennessee line. I had not learned of the expected show but was attracted by the rare beauty of the eastern sky where the full

disk was peering through the woof of a cloud as black and fleece-like as a veil of crape. Soon the veil slipped down and the naked moon showed a concave curve upon its western limb, I think there's no mistake about which limb; this is a verbal copy of my vizualization,— and lo! the eclipse. But by nine. o'clock the western limb was whole again, and the night lamp was round as any reasonable earthling could demand.

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The most brilliant spectacle of our run down through Ohio the day before Christmas was sent home in a letter I mean the syllabled material out of which the soul constructs a spectacle, for spectacles abide in the soul, whether any other place, no one knows. "Throughout Mercer County the dry grass, the faded goldenrods, asters, weeds and bushes of many kinds and even the trees were covered with ice. One picture stays with me: the sun was nearing the horizon and his almost level rays lighted up a large branching oak till every part of the glistening wonder looked as if dipped in distilled moonshine."

Two weeks later this crystalized landscape was in its natural brown and gray, a few winter birds were on the wing; and old winter, who had been bitingly awake, was sleeping in pace with a dream of spring on his face.

THE

OHIO EDUCATIONAL MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED AT

COLUMBUS, OHIO.

O. T. CORSON, EDITOR. MARGARET W. SUTHERLAND, ASSOCIATE EDITOR.

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-The question of Athletics in one form or another is of interest to teachers of all grades of school work, and it is, therefore, believed that the timely and vigorous article of President Alston Ellis, found in this issue, will be read with pleasure and profit by all. The facts stated can not be disputed, and the arguments advanced against brutal sports which can only demoralize, and in favor of some of the oldtime games which furnished recreation, amusement and exercise of a really beneficial character, can not be answered. We earnestly commend President Ellis's frank and fearless treatment of this question

to the careful consideration of both public school and college authorities.

-It is impossible to teach too much of true patriotism in our public schools. The more true love of our country, its institutions, its laws, and its flag we can instill into the minds and hearts of the children the better. To this end the proper celebration of the birthdays of great Americans who have. stood out prominently as great leaders in founding and building this great Nation, is always an aid. In this issue will be found a program of exercises for the celebration of the birthdays of Lincoin and Washington which we hopc will be helpful to our readers in schools of all grades.

The educational world has its share of so-called reformers whose anxiety to be considered the authors of something new or startling greatly exceeds their desire to do the greatest good to the greatest number of the children in the public schools, or their judgment in dealing in a rational manner with. the many hard problems that arise. in school administration.

One of the most dangerous tendencies of the present time arises from the attempts of such reformers to overload the course of study in the primary and grammar grades to such an extent that thorough work is an absolute impossibility. A glance at some of these new

courses proposed for adoption in some of the schools of the present day is enough to produce tears. of sympathy for the poor, helpless children, and contempt for school authorities who seem to be determined to do away with the high schools of the day by providing for a complete high school training before the high school is reached.

Judging from the discussion going on in recent issues of the Pittsburg papers, Supt. Luckey is kept busy trying to protect the public schools of that city from a large overdose of this character. The

following words from him have the right ring, and outline in a very pointed, humorous way his objections to the new course of study which has been recommended by the committee:

"My first objection is that the course recommended by the committee requires so much of the pupil's time in other studies that reading and language are for the most part relegated to the background; thus, the child of 6, 7 and 8 years of age is required to study migratory and non-migratory birds, hibernation, food of man, and its relation to life, prehension and digestion of food, analysis of garden soil, examination of sand, gravel, limestone, quartz and pebbles; collect eggs of frogs, study the dissemination of seeds, collect specimens of all things observed; study common insects and the covering and food of animals.

end of the eighth year and contin"If the child is still living at the

ues in school he must describe carnivorous and herbivorous animals,