Chapter 3

Illustrated. The Three Parts complete in One Volume, Small 4to, Half Leather, $1.12; or, separately, in Cloth, Part I., 45 cents; Part II., 48 cents; Part III., 48 cents.

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A beautiful and useful work. It presents a general survey of the kingdom of nature in a manner adapted to attract the attention of the child, and at the same time to furnish him with accurate and important scientific information. While the work is well suited as a class-book for schools, its fresh and simple style cannot fail to render it a great favorite for family reading.

The Three Parts of this book can be had in separate volumes by those who desire it. This will be advisable when the book is to be used in teaching quite young children, especially in schools.

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Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

_Sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price._

WALTZING FAIRY.

A very pretty toy, and easily made, is this Waltzing Fairy. It may be familiar to some of our readers, but will be new to a great many more.

Cut a doll out of a good-sized cork--one from a Champagne bottle is best, because broader at the base; into this base insert a number of stout bristles, as in Fig. 1. If you can not procure bristles, fine broom-corn will answer the purpose.

Dress this cork body (Fig. 2), taking care to make the dress just so long that it will not touch the ground. Place this doll on the top or sounding-board of the piano when any one is playing, and it will dance about in a very graceful manner.

If placed on a smooth tea-tray, and the tray tilted a little at one end, the doll will waltz across the tray in lady-like style.

CHARADE.

I.

A gentleman once, with his children and wife, Fled away from a town that was burning, By command of a friend, who added that life Must depend on their never back turning. The lady, alas! like her grandmother Eve, With a longing for knowledge is curst: She turns to behold--it is hard to believe-- And is pillared straightway in my _first_.

II.

An elderly female in gorgeous array Promenades in the streets of Verona; She is seeking a heart, which has wandered astray, To the serious loss of its owner. _Her_ heart is all safe; but her sense of her charms Is still great--for what woman e'er lost it?-- So my _second_ precedes her t'allay her alarms, And to speak in her stead if accosted.

III.

The battle's done; the chieftain's in his tent, And glories in the victory he has won. He dreams of plaudits by his sovereign sent-- When, lo! appears a curled perfumed one, Who claims to be the herald from the King; Who prates of war, though ne'er a squadron led; And says but for my _whole_--the villainous thing-- He too had worn a helmet on his head.

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=How Salt was formerly Made.=--The art of making salt was known in very early times to the Gauls and the Germans. The process was very simple, for they did nothing more than throw the salt-water on burning wood, where it evaporated, and left the salt adhering to the ashes or charcoal. The ancient Britons probably extracted the salt by the same method, for in the Cheshire salt-springs pieces of half-burned wood have been frequently dug up. The Romans made salt a source of revenue six hundred and forty years before the birth of Christ. Part of the pay of the Roman soldiers was made in salt, which was thus called _salarium_, whence we derive the word "salary."

THE MARINER'S PUZZLE.

A mariner at sea discovered, while in a storm, that a square hole had been made in the bow of his ship by the displacement of a piece of plank. This must be immediately closed to stop the inflow of water. The only piece of plank he had on board was in the form of two connected squares, as represented in the annexed diagram.

Either of these squares was too small to fill the space, but the two parts, reduced to one single square, would give him a plank of the size required. This he obtained by making two straight cuts with his saw through the plank.

In what direction were the cuts made?

MEADOW-QUAKERS.

In the early autumn Come the Meadow-Quakers; Not the Shakers, not the Shakers-- No, no, no. These quiet little people Stand straight as a church steeple, And no one ever saw them come Or ever saw them go.

White their hats and broad-brimmed, Lined with pale pink lining, On them dew-drops often shining-- Yes, yes, yes. No butterfly goes near them, No brown bee hums to cheer them, And what these Quaker folks are called I want you all to guess.