(3) Find the sum of 3 qrs. 2 bus. 3 pk. 1 gal. + 5 qrs. 3 bus. 2 pk. + 16 qrs. 1 bus. 3 pk. 1 gal.+ 11 qrs. 2 bus. 2 pk.

(4) Find the difference between 6 chld. 9 sk. 1 bus. 2 pk. and 4 chld. 11 sk. 2 bus. 1 pk. 1 gal.

(5) Find the difference between 7 ld. 4 qr. 6 bus. 2 pk. and 3 ld. 4 qr. 7 bus. 1 pk.

(6) Find the difference between 14 qrs. 2 bus. 2 pk. 1 gal. and 11 Id. 3 bus. 2 pk. 1 gal.

(7) Find the sum of 17 hgd. beer 44 gal.+ 16hgd. 37 gal. + 36 hgd. 51 gal.+ 19 hgd. 48 gal. +26 hgd. 53 gal.

(8) Find the sum of 19 brl. 29 gal. + 15 brl. 32 gal. + 27 brl. 15 gal. +14 brl. 30 gal.+ 11 brl. 27 gal.

(9) Find the sum of 15 hgd. wine 62 gal. +17 hgd. 39 gal. +46 hgd, 58 gal. + 36 hgd. 62 gal. + 3 hgd. 55 gal.

(10) Find the difference between 15 hgd. wine 13 gal. and 13 hgd. 14 gal.

Close by the threshold of a door nailed fast
Three kittens sat; each kitten looked aghast;
I, passing swift and inattentive by,

At the three kittens cast a careless eye;

Little concerned to know what they did there;
Not deeming kittens worth a poet's care.

But presently a loud and furious hiss

Caused me to stop, and to exclaim, 'What's this?' When, lo! with head erect and fiery eye,

A dusky viper on the ground I spy.

Forth from his head his forked tongue he throws,

Darting it full against a kitten's nose!
Who, never having seen in field or house
The like, sat still, and silent as a mouse;
Only projecting, with attention due,

Her whiskered face, she asked him, Who are you?'
On to the hall went I, with pace not slow,
But swift as lightning, for a long Dutch hoe;
With which, well armed, I hastened to the spot
To find the viper-but I found him not;
And, turning up the leaves and shrubs around,
Found only-that he was not to be found.
But still the kittens, sitting as before,
Were watching close the bottom of the door.
'I hope,' said I, 'the villain I would kill
Has slipped between the door, and the door-sill;
And if I make despatch, and follow hard,
No doubt but I shall find him in the yard.'
(For long ere now it should have been rehearsed,
Twas in the garden that I found him first.)
Ev'n there I found him, there the full-grown cat
His head, with velvet paw, did gently pat
As curious as the kittens erst had been
To learn what this phenomenon might mean.
Filled with heroic ardour at the sight,
And fearing every moment he would bite,
And rob our household of the only cat
That was of age to combat with a rat,
With outstretched hoe I slew him at the door,
And taught him NEVER TO COME THERE NO MORE.

Cowper.

COMPOUND ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION.

(1) Find the sum of 14 yrs. 363 d. 14 h. 39 m. 43 s. + 57 d. 56 m. 12 s.+ 13 h. 14 m. 36 s. + 29 yrs. 346 d. 11 h. 6 m. 49 s.

(2) Find the sum of 17 yrs. 291 d. 23 h. 43 m. 27 s. + 284 d. 31 m. 42 s. + 22 h. 38 m. 42 s. + 561 yrs. 248 d. 19 h. 46 m. 52 s. (3) Find the difference between 17 yrs. 51 d. 19 h. 12 m. 43 s. and 10 yrs. 63 d. 22 h. 38 in. 56 s.

(4) Find the difference between 27 d. 19 s. and 133 yrs. 291 d. (5) Find the sum of 17 yrs. 26 w. 18 s. + 59 m. 36 s. + 23 yrs. 22 w. 6 d. 23 h. 9 s. + 12h. 52 m. 56 s.

(6) Find the sum of 29 yrs. 38 w. 24 s. + 36 m. 42 s. + 562 yrs. 37 w. 4 d. 15 h. 43s. + 9h. 42 m. 35 s.

(7) Find the difference between 27yrs. 14w. 3 d. 11 h. and 14 m. 198. 1 ton 13 lbs. and 7 oz. 13 dr.

(8)

haunt (v.), to be much about a
place

o'-men, a sign, good or evil
pro-tu'-ber-ance, a swelling

ex-traor-di-na-ry, out of the comprob-a-bil'-i-ty, likelihood

be-wil'-der, to puzzle

mourn'-ful, sad

mon way

sol-i-tude, loneliness

in'-ter-val, a space of time

re-sem'-blance, likeness

pe-cu-li-ar, not common
vis'-it-ant, one who visits
dis-tend', to stretch in breadth
moult, to change the feathers

In South America there are several sorts of Goatsuckers, whose notes are so singular, that the natives look upon them with a degree of awe and reverence, and will never kill them. They have received names from the different words they are supposed to speak, and absolutely bewilder strangers on first arriving in those parts. Thus, one of the most common will alight close to the door, and, on a person going out, will flit, and settle a few yards before him, crying out, Who are you? who are you? who are you?' Another calls out, Work away, work away, work away!' A third, in a mournful tone, says, Willy, come go; Willy, Willy, Willy, come go!' While another, which is also a very common one, is known by the name of Whip-poor-Will, from constantly repeating these words. But the most extraordinary note yet re

6

6

mains to be mentioned, that of the Campanero or Bell-bird, found in South America, and also in Africa. A traveller in the first-mentioned country speaks of it as never failing to attract the attention of a passenger, at a distance of even three miles, when it may be heard tolling, like a distant churchbell. When every other bird, during the heat of the day, has ceased to sing, and all nature is hushed in midnight silence, the Campanero alone is heard. Its toll sounds, then a pause for a minute, then another toll, then another pause, and then a toll, and again a pause. In Africa, two travelling missionaries have given nearly the same account, but at somewhat greater length. They were journeying onwards, in the solitude of the wilderness, when the note of the Campanero fell upon their ear.

"Listen," said my companion, " did you not hear a church-bell?" We paused, and it tolled again; and so strong was the resemblance, that we could. scarcely persuade ourselves that we did not hear the low and solemn sound of a distant passing bell. When all was silent, it came at intervals upon the ear, heavy and slow, like a death-toll; then all was again silent, and then again the Bell-bird's note was borne upon the wind. We never seemed to approach it, but that deep, melancholy, distant, dreamlike sound, still continued, at times, to haunt us like an omen of evil.'

How the Bell-bird utters this deep loud note is not known, though it is supposed that a fleshy protuberance on its head, which, when inflated with air, stands up like a horn, is, in some way, the cause; but the Goat-suckers in all probability are indebted to their peculiar width of mouth and throat for this power of voice; for many other birds, in uttering loud notes, are observed to puff and swell

out their throats in a very extraordinary manner. For instance, our little summer visitant and sweet songster, the Blackcap, when warbling forth his finest notes, distends his throat in a wonderful degree; and those who have chanced to see a brown owl in the act of hooting, will have noticed its throat swell up to the size of a pigeon's egg. This

strain upon the throat is sometimes carried to a pitch which endangers the bird's life. The birdfanciers in London, who are in the habit of increasing the singing powers of birds to the utmost, by training them, by high feeding, hot temperature of the rooms in which they are kept, and forced moulting, will often match one favourite goldfinch against another. They are put in small cages, with wooden backs, and placed near to, but so that they cannot see, each other; they will then raise their shrill voices and continue their vocal contest till, frequently, one drops off its perch, perfectly exhausted, and dies on the spot. This will sometimes happen, even to birds in a wild state. In the garden of a gentleman in Sussex, a thrush had for some time perched itself on a particular spray, and made itself a great favourite from its powerful and constant singing; when, one day, it was observed by the gardener to drop suddenly from the bough in the midst of its song. He immediately ran to pick it up, but found it quite dead, and upon examination, discovered that it had actually broken a blood-vessel by its exertions, and thus perished.

BP. STANLEY, Book of Birds.

COMPOUND ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION.

(1) Find the sum of 2 cwt. 3 qrs. 11 oz. + 17 tons 19 lbs. 14 dr. + 3 qrs. 10lbs. 14 oz. + 2 tons 16 cwt. 2 qrs. 13 lbs. + 12 oz. 12 dr. (2) Find the sum of 21 oz. 6 dr. 2 scr. 19 gr. + 6 dr. 12 gr. + 11 oz. 2 scr. + 4 oz. 7dr. 1 scr. 14 gr. + 2 dr. 13 gr. + 1 oz. 1 scr. 9 gr.