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1. _Tom, the Water Baby_ (Volume II, page 215). This is one of the most charming stories in the book, especially for young children, though older ones and even people of mature years will enjoy it thoroughly.
Tom, a little chimney sweep, after perilous adventures, dies, or rather turns into a newt or eft, a water baby. His exciting life thereafter is in the waters, where he meets many of its strange denizens. The whole story is highly imaginative, humorous, and full of fine lessons, beautifully given. The more important of his adventures, from our point of view, are concerned with the following:
The Caddis Fly, pages 261-264.
The Dragon Fly, pages 264-265.
The Sand Fly, pages 267-269.
Otters, pages 270-271, 273-274.
Salmon, pages 272, 279-283.
Tides, page 287.
The Turbot, page 289.
Lobsters, pages 292-294, 300-303.
Sea Cuc.u.mbers, page 297.
Great Auk, page 339.
Mother Carey's Chickens (Stormy Petrels), page 344.
2. _Robinson Crusoe_ (Volume III, page 45). Two chapters only are given from this great story, but the first, dealing with the capture and education of Crusoe's man Friday, may be worth while to read in connection with studies of savage races. It is not altogether scientific.
3. _The Swiss Family Robinson_ (Volume III, page 99). This famous old story will be charming to children for many generations to come. It is a tale of the wonderful struggle of a family against nature. It may be a fact that it is unreasonable and impossible; that not all the seeming facts are true; that nature never plays so perfectly into the hand of man; that not all the living things mentioned are to be found in one locality. But it is clean, wholesome adventure, and the errors in it will do no harm. Many a good language lesson and many an addition to nature lessons may be drawn from it. The efforts of the family to utilize what they find, though too successful, are worthy of imitation.
Some of the more interesting things met by the family are the following:
Lobsters, page 113.
Oysters, pages 114, 117.
Agouti, page 116, with a picture on page 116.
Cocoanuts, pages 125-128.
Calabash Trees, page 123.
Monkeys and Cocoanuts, pages 125-128.
Shark, page 138.
Turtle, pages 145-149.
Penguins (picture), page 152, pages 151-153.
Ca.s.sava Bread, pages 154-157.
Caoutchouc, page 170.
Onager (Wild a.s.s), pages 171-174 (picture, page 172).
New Zealand Flax, pages 175-176.
Flamingo, page 177.
Salt Cavern, pages 180-185.
Herrings, pages 187-188.
Gypsum, page 188.
Boa Constrictor, pages 192-195.
Ostrich, pages 206-215.
Walrus, page 222.
Hyenas, pages 227-228.
Lions, pages 252-256.
4. _Brute Neighbors_ (Volume VII, page 260) is an interesting essay by Henry David Th.o.r.eau, the most delightful of American naturalist writers.
In this essay he chats familiarly about the animals that surround his cottage in the woods, and shows the closeness of his observation as well as the breadth of his general knowledge. It is a nature study in itself as a whole. Besides mention of other animals, he tells interesting anecdotes of the following:
A Wild Mouse, page 261.
The Partridge, as the ruffed grouse is called in New England, pages 262-263.
The Woodc.o.c.k, page 264.
The Fighting Ants, pages 264-268.
The Loon, pages 270-274.
5. _The Pond in Winter_ (Volume VII, page 280). This is another of Th.o.r.eau's charming essays in natural history. It contains a pretty description of the snow and ice covered pond (page 280), an account of fis.h.i.+ng through the ice (pages 282-283), and a vivid description of the pickerel (pages 283-284).
6. _Winter Animals_ (Volume VII, page 293) is a third one of Th.o.r.eau's essays. An a.n.a.lysis shows that he tells something of all the following interesting things:
I. Winter routes over lakes, pages 293-294.
II. Sounds by day and night.
a. The melodious note of a hooting owl, page 294.
b. The honking of a goose, page 294.
c. The harsh and tremulous call of a cat-owl, page 294.
d. The whooping of the ice, page 295.
e. The barking of foxes, page 295.
f. The feet of the red squirrel down the sides of the house, page 295.
g. The discordant screams of the jays, page 298.
h. The wiry note of the chickadee, page 298.
i. The whirring wings of the partridges, page 299.
j. The yelping of hounds, and the hunting horn (including fox hunting), pages 300-304.
III. The destructiveness of squirrels and wild mice, pages 296-297.
IV. The hares, pages 304-305.
7. _Trees and Ants That Help Each Other_ (Volume VII, page 306) is a selection from the writings of Thomas Belt. It is an extremely interesting account of some of the curious adaptations of plants and animals to each other, as is indicated sufficiently by the t.i.tle. An outline of the essay follows:
I. A species of acacia, pages 306-309.
1. Houses and feeds ants.
a. Houses in thorns.
b. Feeds (1) by glands and (2) by a pear-shaped appendage.
2. Ants protect trees.
3. Each seems beneficial to the other.
II. A cecropia, or trumpet tree, pages 309-311.
1. Houses and feeds ants.
a. Houses in hollow stems.
b. Feeds ants through herds of plant-lice that suck juices of plant and secrete honey.
2. Ants protect trees.
3. Apparently beneficial to all.
III. An evergreen shrub.
1. Houses and (probably) feeds ants.
a. Houses in pouches at base of leaves.
b. Probably feeds ants through the services of scale insects and plant-lice.
2. Ants protect shrubs.
3. Probably beneficial to all.
IV. Plants feeding ants, pages 311-312.
1. Orchids.
2. Pa.s.sion flowers.
