The Pascagoula democrat-star., 1885-08-14
ARP'S LETTER.
He COnsidereth the Ways OF the
Blue JAY.

Atlanta Constitution.
There is Il jay birds nest in a
tree not far from my door. 1t has
been a curious study to watch them
build and see the male bird feed his
mate while she was setting her eggs,
aud how diligently they hunted fol-
food for their Young. But the most
interesting time was when the
young birds were making their first
efforts to leave the nest and try
what riIoir. %ipgs were made for.
How often they w0hRl sit upon
the edge and survey the prospect,
and in u day or two they would
leave the nest and perch upon the
limb near by and chirp for praise
One morning | noticed a co1versa.
tion in the family. Something like
d little row or rumpuS, and all of a
sudden one of the young birds WAS
violently pushed from the l:mb and
came half flying, half falling to the
gronnd. The old birds were tired
waiting aud working, and determ.
ined to turn the little rascals out
and put them to work. One by one
they were expelled, and soon they
found out what their wings were
made for. At first they climbed
the tree again With their claws
hopping up and around it in spiral
jumps, and then flying down again
The old tomcat heard them chirpins
and was reconOitcring for his break
fast when suddenly the old birds
saw him and went tor him with Z
vengeance. WhentiIe children are
in danger the parents are bold. Al
no time would those birdS lave
dared to attack the cat. At no
other time would the cat have fled
from the birds. In few more days
the Young birds set up for them
selves aud launched out upon tue
world, and the parents were free.
How very like is nature in all her
methods of raising and caring for
the young. Instinct and reason
aud love are all at work to preserve
every species of animal life. Pa
rents and teachers watch with
pleasing interest the unfolding of
the youthful mind, and they give it
constant aid in its earliest efforts
to leave the nest and try to fly.
Every day we are amused at the
children seeking knowledge, They
ask us a thousand question. Little
by little they learn, and wonder
that they know so much. How
proud they are when first they can
spell the big hard words or tell the
multiplication table. What heroes
and heroines when they have mas
tered phthisic and tableau and
hautboy and all such, and can null
tiply and substract and divide.
Every day is some new discovery.
AS they grow older and dive deep
er into study their minds expand
and find new mysteries. Fractions
amaze them and grammar per
plexes. l never did like grammar,
and l don't know DOW when to use
would or should or will aud shall
or how to pronounce according to
modern ways. Those ways are all
right, l reckon, but am too old to
call Cicero Kickero now, or to call
calm kaum instead of cam.
1t is amusing to tIy the children
with curious sums that are just a
little beyond their capacity. "What
is a third aud a half third of ten y
takes many a figure when it should
take ouly u thought. "If a hog
aud a half cost a dollar and halt,
what will two hogs cost 70 They
can do that after some study, but
1 have seen them stagger over it
when put in another form. "If a
COW and calf costs a dollar aud a
half, what will two COWS cost p
That will strain most any boy who
never tried it. Then there is the
old problem of the fox and the
geese and the bag of corn that
everybody should know before he
PLAYS baseball. How will a man
carry them across a river one at a
time without leaving the fox to eat
the goose or the goose TO eat the
corn.
But the elephant sun is the hard
est one, aud / have known some
right smart chaps to give it mp. An
old Arab who had eighteen ele-
phants made a will giving one half
Of them to his Oldest sou, one-third
to bis second son and one-ninth 70
the youngest. One elephant died
and then the old man died. When
the boys wanted to divide accord
ino-to fhe will. they couldn't do it