Adelia B. Beard

“ Fortune’s Wheel is a midsummer game for little folks. Such a beautiful, long day for a holiday, and no one remembers to keep it now, although many, many years ago Midsummer Day, the longest day in the year, was looked forward to with as much pleasure as we find in the anticipation of Christmas. ”

“ Should one girl unintentionally run against another during the game, precious moments cannot be wasted in apologies, there being no time for either excuses or tears. While the sport is going on the player’s mind should be all earnestness and determination, too intent upon the game to allow thoughts for other things. Girls will soon acquire greater moral and physical courage by playing basket ball, and sufficient nerve to keep back the tears. ”

“ When a player is given the privilege of a free throw, the ball cannot be tossed to any other player; it must be thrown for the basket. Should this rule be violated, the goal will not count if made, and the referee takes the ball and tosses it up in the centre as at the beginning of the game. If by chance the free player is interfered with in any way, and she fails to make the goal, she can try again, and then, in case the ball does not land in the basket, the ball is in play and the game continues. ”

“ How would you like a merry-go-round with all the animals prancing one after another, each with a girl or a boy on its back, riding along regardless of the speed of the steed, like the real ones you have tried in the parks and at the seashore? ”

“ Success in this can only be obtained, and little awkwardnesses avoided, by practice before a large mirror, where every movement and every curve of the body may be seen.
No quick or sudden motion must mar the beautifully slow awakening; all should be as gradual as the unfolding of the petals of a rose until the climax is reached, where Galatea extends her arms to the waiting and expectant Pygmalion and the curtain is dropped. ”

“ Though they love darkness better than light these little creatures are just as harmless as the ones you have seen in the genial sunshine. Do not be startled, then, if a small dark body suddenly sails through the air near you, but watch it in its flight, see how it courses downward, always downward, on a gradual incline until, with a short upward curve, it alights on a low branch or trunk of a tree. ”

“ The Green Sponge appears quite marvellous to one who sees it for the first time. Take a large, rather coarse sponge, put it in a glass bowl, sprinkle it with sand and give it as much water as it will hold, then scatter all over it flaxseed or mustard seed, clover seed or buckwheat and place in your window. It will not be long before you have a sponge of living green, the secret of whose beauty lies in its being kept always wet. ”

“ If you can manage to paint the designs in water-colors they will look best, but even when marked with black ink the little animals are charming; no adequate idea can be gained of this fascinating Easter egg until all the different parts have been made and the egg changed from one to another of the various life-like little creatures. The egg has been so planned that the wings come down and cover the tops of the legs of both rooster and ostrich; the penguin and rabbit need no such cover, as the rabbit’s legs fit in naturally, and those of the penguin merely slide up in the egg. ”

“ There is a water garden in our neighborhood which is a source of great pleasure to its owner. Floating on the surface of the water in two great stone tanks are pond lilies of several varieties. As the great buds grow and unfold they are watched closely and with intense interest until they are suddenly found full-blown, fair and pure, a floating mass of loveliness. ”

“ Roses, geraniums, lilies, fuchsias, heliotrope, sweet violets—sheltered from too great heat by the larger plants—verbenas and mignonette may all grow in this odd companionship. Endeavor not to crowd them too closely and study the habits of each plant, that it may be kept from encroaching upon the rights of its neighbor, if aggressive, or be crowded out of existence if of a retiring and yielding nature. Give all equal care, and your love for each plant and its giver will also grow and blossom in a way most sweet and marvellous. ”

“ This is an age when girls go to college and engage in athletic sports; when they have their manual training, as boys do and are learning to use their hands, as never before, in all sorts of skilful work. The deftness of their fingers is utilized not alone in embroidery, or what was once considered girl’s work, but in the manufacture of many useful, artistic, and beautiful objects once thought beyond their reach. Our girls no longer resort to the scissors to sharpen a lead-pencil or to their brother’s chisel to pull out tacks ”

“ The referee must disqualify members when they are guilty of shouldering, tripping, striking, kicking, hacking, or of intentional or unnecessary roughness of any kind. These constitute fouls, and the referee overlooks the first offence, but not the second. When a player is disqualified she must drop from the game and a substitute take her place. A foul is a violation of the rules, whether committed unintentionally, ignorantly, or otherwise; the only guide an officer has is the cold fact that a foul has been made. ”

“ If one of the opponent forwards succeeds in capturing the ball she tries either indirectly, with the aid of others on her side, or directly, by her own exertions, to cage the ball in the basket of the opposite side.
The centre catching the ball from the referee is privileged to throw it to any player on her own side, either forwards or guards, at one end or the other of the field, her action depending upon circumstances. Sometimes it is more advantageous to toss the ball in one direction, again it is better to throw it in another. ”

“ A Real Summer Garden —one where you plant the seeds and have the excitement of seeing them come up, then watching them grow, and finally of discovering the first buds which so soon are to blossom and reward you with their beauty and fragrance for all the care bestowed upon them. ”

“ A Law in Decoration that bands of color should be so placed as to give the idea of additional strength to the object decorated—that is, on the most exposed parts, such as the fullest swell of a curve and the base and edge. You will find that this rule is observed in most decorated pottery, and it is a good one to follow in basket-weaving; the nearer one comes to embodying it in the work, the more satisfactory are the results. ”

“ At your command they will come trooping from all parts of the tangled jungle, the elephants leading and tigers, lions, bears, wolves, kangaroos, giraffes, and others following. Ever so many insects, too-the curious peanut spider, actually as large as one of those mammoth Southern tarantulas which often travel North on bunches of bananas, and the enormous hard-shelled hornet, whose sting will not hurt half as badly as its smaller cousins who are alive and whose nests are large and round, dark gray in color and appear as if made of paper. ”

“ If you are unable to obtain one of the beautiful, fresh flowers, do the next best thing; make a lily—a stately, graceful white blossom on a long, dark-green stalk. The flower is lovely even when manufactured of tissue-paper, and can be made to look so natural that one almost expects to find the sweet, delicate perfume of the real blossom. ”

“ While in the field a girl cannot carry the ball nor hold it longer than three seconds; she must play it from the spot where she catches it, unless she happens to be running. If while running she catches the ball, she must stop as soon as possible; should she fail to do so, in the opinion of the umpire, the umpire may call a foul. When the player captures the ball she either throws it at once or stops running as soon as possible. Allowance is made in such cases, but 359the player cannot consume time by turning around without making progress in the game. ”

“ The Red Squirrel by his color, during the summer it is a red-brown with a white vest bordered on the sides with a dark line. He changes his coat twice a year, and his winter garment is duller and not nearly so red, while the vest is gray without the dark border.
When you find a squirrel’s nest in the crotch of a tree instead of in a hole you may be pretty sure it belongs to the gray squirrel, which is said to be the most easily tamed of all its family.
Do not mistake
The Chipmunk for a squirrel, although he does resemble one and his lively chatter seems to be in the same language. ”

“ The referee calls time, when necessary, by blowing a whistle, and she must always call a foul when any player addresses an officer. No player is allowed to talk to the officials, though anyone may speak to the captain and the captain can address the officers; in that way only are the players able to communicate with the officers.
The referee decides all questions not definitely falling to the umpires and linesmen, scorer and time-keeper, but is powerless to alter a decision of the umpire or linesmen regarding matters under their jurisdiction. ”

“ Dye your reeds, put all the bright colors you like into your baskets, and see if they are not much prettier and more substantial than the so-called “Indian work.” Red, blue, green, yellow, black, purple—a butterfly’s wing need not be gayer nor an old-time work-basket more useful. Large, small, medium-sized, deep or shallow—only one’s desire need determine the question.
Materials for Weaving A variety of materials are adapted to basket-weaving, but the most substantial baskets are made of reeds. When the principle is mastered you may use anything you choose which will lend itself to the work. ”

“ While strolling in the country it is pleasant to walk along laughing and singing as we go, but we must refrain if we really wish to come near any of the bright-eyed, suspicious little creatures. They can only be approached very quietly, for wild things understand an unusual noise only as a danger signal, and will start in alarm at the least sound or sudden motion, and be up and off before we are conscious of their presence. ”

“ Then it was that the family would induce her to try to make something for herself, and when once she became interested in her work, and found that by her own ingenuity she could manufacture, from odds and ends, many interesting little toys, her restlessness vanished, and she was once more cheerful, happy, and contented. ”

“ Fifth—When a ball strikes another the player may croquet or roquet the ball in any direction she wishes, and then have another play. No ball may croquet or roquet another more than once in one turn unless it passes through an arch or strikes the stake between the croquets. ”

“ If you are one of these modern girls, girls of the twentieth century, who like to use both brains and hands, a little workshop stocked with a few good tools and material for carpentry work will give you many hours of pure enjoyment. The tool-chest, denied to girls of the past generation, is yours for the asking; the manual training in the public schools has given to many of you the advantage of learning the use of saw, plane, and hammer, and your 4physical culture has produced the strength and energy for this active work. ”

“ The starfish may swim, but it greatly prefers gliding about over the slippery stones and sandy bottom, searching for the small shellfish which form its food. If you will place a starfish in a small fish globe filled with salt water, or in any clear glass vessel that is large enough, you can see its numberless feet, which are little tubes projecting from the under side of the five rays. This wonderful waving mass of tube feet is quite concealed when we look at the animal from above, and until we have discovered them its rapid movements seem very marvellous. ”