The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-11
CITY. CHILDREN ABROAD.
QUEER MOTIONS SUGGESTED ny
THE SIGHTS OF THE COUNTRY.
Theories or Nature OF Tenement Children at
the Seaside Homo ut Coney Isinnd-Norei
Views or Ants, bees, and Other 1nsects-
Helping Nnture-sono Surprising Ignorance.

NtcwN OF ANS beeS, ana OtucF huttctS-
Helping Nnture-Somo Surprising Ignorance.
In the country tho city boy Is fully as great a
"Rubo" rs the country boy is in the city. Every
thing being strange to him, he regards the
most harmless objects with suspicion and fear.
and Information OF the most commonplace Kind
suggests itself to him ms a probable hoax. lie
who passes fcarlessly through the pcrils OF tho
crowded city streets will shrink back in alarm
from the touch Of a green leaf, or dodge with
decidedly superfluous agility q FURNISHED but
terfly fitting past him. Tell him that potatoes
grow under ground or that bees live in hives Of
their own building. and he will probably In
innate, IL he doesn't state In unequivocal
language. his belief that you are lying to him.
On tho other hand. he will evolve beliefs of his
own. his faith in which will remain mistaken de-
spite convincing proof to the contrary.
At the Seaside Home at tho west end OF Coney
Island, where n number of children arc cared
for during vacations OF q fortnight or sometim es
a month by the Society for the Improvement OF
the Condition of the Poor, notes have been made
by those who have the childi en- In charge of
some of the queer comments by the ~city-bred
youngsters. Nearly all the children are from
the tenement districts, and have never seen
anything more countryfed than Central Park or
Jones's Wood, and the real country around tho
homo is full of wonders to them.
AZ ncver knew there was n place as big as this
with nobody living in It," said one little girl, in
dicating the stretch OF grass land beyond the
home. "Didn't nobody never live here ="
ITO n lover of nature it is a constant source OF
main. I" sars the hcnd Of the Natural History Dc.
par,,nent In her rcport. "to note the fear and
aversion with which these children of the streets
regard both plants and insects. ] was fairly be-
sicRed with Are these poisonl' VIII 1t kill mo
II eat thisf If you touch that you'll die &C."
Rcpcatod excursions abroad soon cured the
youn0sters Of these fears. which in most cases
were tho result OF tho warnings OF ignorant
narcnts IN "kecp off the grass" IN n very ok.
baustiye sense. Asa matter OF fact. the greatest
harm likely 10 befoll an inexperienced wandercr
IN this region would he nothing worse than tho
sting of n wosn or The bitc of n snider Famil.
;oritv with nature In the Tenement children
ala NOT brced contep,nt but delight and interest
which cropped ont Frequently in amusing and
sometimes cl,vorlv formed theories. A report
from an 11.re.r.old how who had heen s,udy;ng
the habits NJ ants contained this iudicious mix.
,,re NJ criticism and annrovoI NJ a colony which
Ind built its mound close to one Of the houses:
Glow foolish IN make n nest RIGHT here, mn
Got s,enned IN and broken. pu, 7 guess ther
know some things. nfter NIL. They mt their
most WHARF there's lots NJ stufF In eat. Right
hero Ia where the nicnics throw their crumbs"
l;tt,e Girl who had come tn grief with n hen
.rooested an ;mnrovement nm nature NJ her own
invention This was that tho insect sbopld sting
from IN front instead of behind.
"Then It. wouldn't have to turn around whom
~ ronted IN s,;ny vou {" sbe said
Even moro feared than tho bees vere the
big dragon fics. or DEVILS darning needles
which for all their savapeness among other in.
-. -. -
scots. for they are the hawks OF their world, are
quite harmless to humans. being able neither to
w. ~ Nv - aos.".o. - ~ :. ~.
ing inotohs "hoh captured. IL Is not only
among the ignorant children, by the way. that
.n "a, .u"t VI 10 w. sa, ~. Sa"Ir, lneple
vail,ns impression was that Tue devli earning
needle was so called because II sewed up the
ears OF bad little children. Time after time the
oIassos - oxn,or.rs HouId sca,tor vii, ahr;oLs
classes OF explorers "ouiu scatter win snrieks
having battered herself that she had eradicated
na't"s nss 49,, 80, wN~N"
the fear OF these insects from the mind OF one OF
the larger boys, was far from edited upon hear
-
faith IN inc popular notion.
"iou didn't never see %nobody's ears sewed
up'uNu sour =. =. ss ..ia ,-
but I've seen them bugs twist their tails
"Ab.b.h, Thai wasn't to sew vour ears nm
WI. n,osIt ,hon >"
That's tho way it stings you, and then you
swell nm an die"
comforting ior inc alarmed maiden! Mush-
rooms and toads,ools are also objects OF fear.
The ns,ruc,ress NJ n natural bistorv clos &c n;ctod
- 90 t" 'p'Ae
a small toadstooi 10 explain something about its
structure to the children. and heard one of them
.xc,.;m rndcr his breotn.
- -,
lou Wouldn I eaten me tonchln that thing!
"Why not. COMFY T. asked the instructress.
"'Taint lucky" was the reply. That's devils
bread"
And what is DEVILS bread y
Them things are. Al night tho little devils
come ont of the woods and set on EN-. II you
pick them things the devils II come after YOU"
Don't talk nonsense, COMFY. Who told you
such stun as that T.
BLACK Mary, that works over by the ferry,
told me. an she knows all about them things.
Her mother usctcr know a witch in Ireland"
This. then. was n second generation Irish
superstition. a remnant of bog-mysticism passed
down to those who had never seen n country
side. Others OF he superstitions are not so easy
TO trace. Why does Killing an ant cause raini
why is the down rubbed from the wing OF n
butterfly "A sign that the hand that rubbed il
will soon be burned with fret Where does the
good luck come in having a butterfly alight on
YOU or when II IL lights al your feeti And how in
the name OF the great god Pan does the dande-