Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1907 — FOR THE CHILDREN [ARTICLE]

FOR THE CHILDREN

Learn to Play Proverbs. This is an interesting game and can be played by a large number at the same time. One person is sent out of the room while the others choose a proverb. This is distributed, a word being given to each person around the circle. When this is done the “guesser” is called in and asks each person separately a question. In the answer, no matter what question is asked, the one word of the proverb must be used.

There is more fun If the answers are given quickly without any accent on the special word. It often happens that the “guesser” has to try several times before succeeding. The one who by giving a bad answer gives the clew must become the “guesser” and is then obliged to go out of the room while another proverb is chosen. Here are a proverbs from which to choose: A bad workman quarrels with his tools. & A creaking door hangs long on the hinges. A drowning man will catch at a straw. After dinner sit awhile, after supper walk a mile. Catch the bear before you sell his skin. Empty vessels make the greatest sound. Charity begins at home, but it does not end there. A little leak will sink a great ship. A bird in the hand Is worth two In the bush.

Lizards Grow New Feet. The Tuatara lizard of New Zealand is said to be one of the most ancient forms of animal life now existing. It originally possessed four eyes, but now has to be contented with but two. It lays eggs, and these take no less than thirteen months to hatch, the embryos passing the winter in a state of hlbernatidto. These remarkable animals are found only in one or two places In the colony, and they are rapidly becoming scarce, as collectors from every part of the world are continually on their track. They are about eighteen Inches In length and, like many of the lizards, are said to have the characteristic of being able to replace portions of their limbs, etc., which have been destroyed. One owned by Carl Hanser of Awanul had the misfortune to lose an eye,some time ago, and now a complete new eye, as perfect as the undamaged one, has grown in the place of that destroyed.

Speed of Ships. As boys and girls know, sailors reckon their ship’s speed by “knots” of the log line, each knot representing one nautical mile. A nautical or geographical mile is one-sixtieth of a degree Of latitude or about 6,075 feet while an ordinary mile is 5,280 feet. The nautical mile, therefore, is equivalent to one ordinary mile and one-seventh, or, to be exaSt, to 1.158. To say that a ship Is sailing ten knots means that she is sailing ten nautical miles an hour. We should not say “ten knots an hour,” for the word knot means “one mile an hour.” As each nautical mile is 1.153 ordinary miles, a ship’s speed at ten knots is 11.53 ordinary miles an hour. The Colt’s Deformity. Little Roger had gone into the country for the first time, and his grahdfa ther had taken him out to see a colt. “There, Roger,” said the old gentleman, “did you ever see such a little horse as that?” Roger never had, and his eyes shone, but there was one drawback. > “What’s the matter with him, grandfather?” he said. “He hasn’t any rockers.”