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Roland G. Usher

Effects of War on America

The New York Times Current History of the European War

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16702/16702-h/16702-h.htm

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The events of the last few days of July 1914, showed the Americans the far-reaching effects of a state of war. There are now few who would say, as used to be so common, that a European war would make no difference to us. The closing of the New York Stock Exchange, the great shipments of gold and its consequent scarcity in the United States, the closing of the New England cotton mills, the cessation of export to Europe and of transatlantic communication with the Continent were instantaneous effects of a war 3,000 miles away obvious even to the apathetic and the heedless. With these we have not here to do; such are already past history. There is, however, a legitimate field for speculation as to the probable effects on the United States of the continuation of the state of war in Europe for months or years. The permanent results of a war naturally cannot be predicted in advance, but in the light of the history of the past, certain changes and developments in the United States appear so probable if the war continues as to reach almost the realm of certainty.

Roel M. Willems & Clyde Francks

Your Left-Handed Brain

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2014.00013

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Sometimes, people are amazed to hear that the brains of left-handers are different from those of right-handers. But it is clear that they should differ in some respects: left-handers use their hands (and feet) differently than right-handers do, and they do this often over the course of a lifetime. It is only natural that the parts of the brain that control movements should be different in left-handers and right-handers. Compare this to skilled musicians: they practice fine movements a lot, and this influences their brains. To study exactly how the brains of left- and right-handers differ, we need to look at brain lateralization. Brain lateralization refers to the fact that the left and right sides of the brain are not the same. The two sides differ in their anatomy, and also in what they do. By the way, lateralization is also found in the rest of the body: the two arms look slightly different, and are capable of doing different things; the heart is lateralized to one side of the body cavity, etc. Left-handers are distinct from right-handers in that they tend to have less lateralization in the brain.

Divine Apedo, Brian Wambi

Cassava and Palm

African Storybook Level 3

https://www.africanstorybook.org/#

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In a certain year, there was no rain. The crops did not grow well. All the plants dried up. People did not have any food to eat. Cassava and Palm decided to travel to another village to look for work. On their way, they met a woman. "Good afternoon," they greeted her. She responded and asked, "Where are you going?" "We are going to the next village to look for work," said Palm. "What work can you do?" the woman asked. The friends responded, "We can provide food for your family and animals." The woman asked, "What do you need to provide the food?" "Give us land, water and good care," they replied. The woman took them home with her One afternoon, Palm tree and Cassava had an argument. Cassava said he was more important than Palm. Palm said he was more important than Cassava. The woman heard them from her room. She came out and asked, "Why are you fighting?" Cassava spoke first. "I am more important than Palm tree. I provide tubers for your fufu, gari, boiled cassava and cassava dough."

simple wiki

Database

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database

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CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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A database engine can sort, change or serve the information on the database. The information itself can be stored in many different ways - before digital computers, card files, printed books and other methods were used. Now most data is kept on computer files. A database system is a computer program for managing electronic databases. A very simple example of a database system would be an electronic address book. The data in a database is organized in some way. Before there were computers, employee data was often kept in file cabinets. There was usually one card for each employee. On the card, information such as the date of birth or the name of the employee could be found. A database also has such "cards". To the user, the card will look the same as it did in old times, only this time it will be on the screen. To the computer, the information on the card can be stored in different ways. Each of these ways is known as a database model. The most commonly used database model is called relational database model; it uses relations and sets to store the data.

simple wiki

3D

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D

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3D (or 3-D) means three-dimensional, or having three dimensions. For example, a box is three-dimensional; it is solid, and not thin like a piece of paper. It has volume, a top and bottom, left and right (sides), as well as a front and back. You can turn the box around to view it from another side (called a face, surface or simply side). A dimension is measurable in inches, microns, miles, kilometers, or any other unit of length. The three dimensions are often called length (or depth), width (or breadth), and height. Some purposes use other words. 3D graphics are used to make video games or animated movies. Many calculations are needed to make pictures seem three-dimensional on a screen. Modern computers usually have a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) to handle these calculations. Binocular vision helps people to see the third dimension easily. In the Cartesian coordinate system, length, width, and height are given in letters (variables) to make them easier to write, or if a value is not known. Often X is width, Y is height, and Z is length. Other 3D coordinate systems such as spherical coordinates include both linear and angular measurements.

F. J. H. Darton

Havelok Wins Back His Kingdom

Junior Classics Vol. 4

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6323/pg6323-images.html

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Their voyage prospered, and they landed safely in Denmark, in the dominions of one Ubbe, a rich earl, who had been a friend of King Birkabeyn, Havelok's father. When Havelok heard who was lord of that part of Denmark, he was glad, and set out to go to Ubbe's castle in good hope. He dared not say yet that he was Birkabeyn's son, for if Earl Godard heard of it, he would come against him and slay him before he could win any followers. But he went to Ubbe and spoke him fair and courteously, and gave him a gold ring, and asked leave to settle in that land to be a merchant; and Ubbe, seeing how strong and comely Havelok was, gladly gave him leave, and thereafter bade him to a great feast. Havelok went to the feast, and Goldborough with him, and Grim's sons also; and Ubbe grew to love him so well that when the feast was ended, he sent him with ten knights and sixty men-at-arms to the magistrate of those parts, Bernard Brun, a man of might and substance.

Mary Macleod

How Robin Hood Went Back to the Greenwood

Junior Classics Vol. 4

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6323/pg6323-images.html

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When they drew near Nottingham, all the people stood to behold them. They saw nothing but mantles of green covering all the field; then every man began saying to another: "I dread our king is slain; if Robin Hood comes to the town, he will never leave one of us alive. "They all hastened to make their escape, both men and lads, yeomen and peasants; the ploughman left the plough in the fields, the smith left his shop, and old wives who could scarcely walk hobbled along on their staves. The king laughed loud and long to see the townsfolk scurry off in this fashion, and he commanded them to come back. He soon let them understand that he had been in the forest, and that from that day for evermore he had pardoned Robin Hood. When they found out the tall outlaw in the Lincoln green was really the king, they were overjoyed; they danced and sang, and made great feasting and revelry for gladness at his safe return.

wikipedia

Gamification

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification

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Gamification is the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts. Gamification commonly employs game design elements which are used in so called non-game contexts in attempts to improve user engagement, organizational productivity, flow, learning, employee recruitment and evaluation, ease of use and usefulness of systems, physical exercise, traffic violations, and voter apathy, among others. A review of research on gamification shows that a majority of studies on gamification find positive effects from gamification. However, individual and contextual differences exist. Gamification uses an empathy-based approach (such as design thinking) for introducing, transforming and operating a service system that allows players to enter a gameful experience to support value creation for the players and other stakeholders. Gamification designers address the user as player to indicate that the motivations and interests of the player are in the center of the gamification design.

Julia C. Teale & Akira R. O’Connor

What is Déjà vu?

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2015.00001

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Young people experience déjà vu the most. Having said this, depending on how old you are, you may still have to wait a while until you have your first déjà vu experience. A very small number of people say they had their first déjà vu experience by the age of 6. More people report their first déjà vu experiences as having happened sometime before they were 10 years old. The reason it may take a while to have your first déjà vu experience is that you need to be able to work out whether the feeling of familiarity you have really is stronger than it should be. For many younger kids, this may be a tricky thing to do. By the time you reach an age between 15 and 25, you will probably be having déjà vu experiences more often than you will ever have them after that. The number of déjà vu experiences people report steadily decreases after 25 years old. This is puzzling for researchers because we are used to thinking of memory problems increasing with age, not decreasing with age!

Louisa May Alcott

Jo's Boys

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3499/3499-h/3499-h.htm

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Nan was a handsome girl, with a fresh colour, clear eye, quick smile, and the self-poised look young women with a purpose always have. She was simply and sensibly dressed, walked easily, and seemed full of vigour, with her broad shoulders well back, arms swinging freely, and the elasticity of youth and health in every motion. The few people she met turned to look at her, as if it was a pleasant sight to see a hearty, happy girl walking countryward that lovely day; and the red-faced young man steaming along behind, hat off and every tight curl wagging with impatience, evidently agreed with them. Presently a mild 'Hallo!' was borne upon the breeze, and pausing, with an effort to look surprised that was an utter failure, Nan said affably: 'Oh, is that you, Tom?' 'Looks like it. Thought you might be walking out today'; and Tom's jovial face beamed with pleasure. 'You knew it. How is your throat?' asked Nan in her professional tone, which was always a quencher to undue raptures. 'Throat? Oh, ah! yes, I remember. It is well. The effect of that prescription was wonderful. I'll never call homoeopathy a humbug again.'

Adapted by Grace E. Sellon

FRITHIOF THE BOLD

Journeys Through Bookland V3.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5902/pg5902-images.html

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These gifts of good fortune, however, failed to satisfy the new master of Framnas. So greatly did he miss the presence of Ingeborg that he could find content in no occupation and wandered about in restlessness. At length he determined to dispel his loneliness by filling his great house with guests and holding a feast that should cause him to be remembered ever afterwards for boundless hospitality. Just at this time came Helge and Halfdan with their sister Ingeborg to visit him. Then indeed did Frithiof's gloom take flight as he sat by Ingeborg's side or with her roamed the woods and fields, living over again the days of their happy comradeship and building hopes for an even happier reunion in the future. In renewing their love, they had secretly become betrothed, and thus the hours of the visit sped all too swiftly.

CHARLES KINGSLEY

THE WATER-BABIES A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25564/25564-h/25564-h.htm

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Mr. Grimes was to come up next morning to Sir John Harthover's, at the Place, for his old chimney-sweep was gone to prison, and the chimneys wanted sweeping. And so he rode away, not giving Tom time to ask what the sweep had gone to prison for, which was a matter of interest to Tom, as he had been in prison once or twice himself. Moreover, the groom looked so very neat and clean, with his drab gaiters, drab breeches, drab jacket, snow-white tie with a smart pin in it, and clean round ruddy face, that Tom was offended and disgusted at his appearance, and considered him a stuck-up fellow, who gave himself airs because he wore smart clothes, and other people paid for them; and went behind the wall to fetch the half-brick after all; but did not, remembering that he had come in the way of business, and was, as it were, under a flag of truce.

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LIGHTNING AND TELEPHONE WIRES.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 299

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8408/8408-h/8408-h.htm

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The copper even of such a conductor has been melted by the powerful current which it has carried away. In telephonic central offices, M. Bede has seen all the signals of one row of telephone wires fall at the same moment, proving that an electric discharge had fallen upon the wires, and been by them conveyed to earth. This fact shows that wires, even without points, are capable of attracting the atmospheric electricity; but it must be remembered that there are two points at every join in the wire. M. Bede insists strongly upon the uselessness of terminating lightning conductors in wells, or even larger pieces of water. The experiments of MM. Becquerel and Pouillet proved that the resistance of water to the passage of electricity is one thousand million times greater than that of iron; consequently, if the current conveyed by a wire one square mm. thick were to be carried off by water without increased resistance, a surface of contact between the wire and the water of not less than 1,000 square meters must be established.

Nathaniel Hawthorne.

LITTLE DAFFY-DOWN-DILLY.

De La Salle Fifth Reader

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10811/10811-h/10811-h.htm

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Daffy-down-dilly was so called because in his nature he resembled a flower and loved to do only what was beautiful and agreeable, and took no delight in labor of any kind. But, while Daffy-down-dilly was yet a little boy, his mother sent him away from his pleasant home, and put him under the care of a very strict schoolmaster, who went by the name of Mr. Toil. Those who knew him best, affirmed that this Mr. Toil was a very worthy character, and that he had done more good, both to children and grown people, than anybody else in the world. Nevertheless, Mr. Toil had a severe countenance; his voice, too, was harsh; and all his ways seemed very disagreeable to our friend Daffy-down-dilly. The whole day long, this terrible old schoolmaster sat at his desk, overlooking the pupils, or stalked about the room with a certain awful birch rod in his hand.

Francisco Escondido and Little Zebra Books

The Animals Dig a Well

African Storybook Level 5

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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The animals all agreed and immediately grabbed hoes, shovels and picks. They started digging a well. Hare had not come, but the other animals continued without him. They dug. And they dug. And they dug some more. And finally they hit water. When they struck water, Lion said, "Why did Hare not come to help? He will not drink from this water!" Later Hare came and saw the well. He said, "Hello?" But he heard nothing. So he went in and splashed around in the water for a while. The next day, when the animals came, they saw that their well was a big mess. The water was nothing but mud. They asked, "Who would do such a thing?" Someone said, "I bet it was Hare, because when we were digging the well he was nowhere to be found." The animals decided to leave a guard at the well. They chose Baboon to keep an eye on things. Hare came to the well that night, and said, "Hello?" And Baboon replied, "Hello!" So Hare came over to Baboon, saying "Try this!" Hare gave Baboon some honey. And Baboon let him take some water.

A gentleman, of a neutral country, just returned from a visit to Germany (quoted in New York Times)

Civil Life in Berlin

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18880/18880-h/18880-h.htm#Civil_Life_in_Berlin

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The fierce hatred of England in Germany is due in large measure to what the Germans call "the shopkeepers' warfare" of the English. They maintain that the English confiscation of German patents is a wholly unfair method of fighting, and it has caused the deepest resentment. When asked as to the future, they reply that they will do all in due time. After Belgium will come France, and then the turn of England will arrive. They are not discouraged by the failure to reach Paris, since the strategy adopted by the French would have rendered the possession of Paris of little value. It will still be taken. With regard to England not much is said of an army of invasion, but German confidence is evidently reposed in her Zeppelins, of which a large number is being constructed with all possible speed. They are to be employed against England, whose part in the war is the least honorable of all. Belgium's attitude at the outset they can understand, France's desire for la revanche is natural, but England's only motive was jealousy of Germany's industrial development and the desire to cripple her trade and commercial prosperity. Therefore, Woe to England!

Thomas Carlyle

On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1091/1091-h/1091-h.htm

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One comfort is, that Great Men, taken up in any way, are profitable company. We cannot look, however imperfectly, upon a great man, without gaining something by him. He is the living light-fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be near. The light which enlightens, which has enlightened the darkness of the world; and this not as a kindled lamp only, but rather as a natural luminary shining by the gift of Heaven; a flowing light-fountain, as I say, of native original insight, of manhood and heroic nobleness;—in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them. On any terms whatsoever, you will not grudge to wander in such neighborhood for a while. These Six classes of Heroes, chosen out of widely distant countries and epochs, and in mere external figure differing altogether, ought, if we look faithfully at them, to illustrate several things for us. Could we see them well, we should get some glimpses into the very marrow of the world's history.

Charles Foster Kent and Jeremiah Whipple Jenks

Twelve Studies on the Making of a Nation: The Beginnings of Israel's History

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On the basis of the preceding comparisons some writers attempt to trace tentatively the history of the flood tradition current among the peoples of southwestern Asia. A fragment of the Babylonian flood story, coming from at least as early as 2000 B.C., has recently been discovered. The probability is that the tradition goes back to the earliest beginnings of Babylonian history. The setting of the Biblical accounts of the flood is also the Tigris-Euphrates valley rather than Palestine. The description of the construction of the ark in Genesis 6:14-16 is not only closely parallel to that found in the Babylonian account, but the method—the smearing of the ark within and without with bitumen—is peculiar to the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Many scholars believe, therefore, that Babylonia was the original home of the Biblical flood story. Its exact origin, however, is not so certain. Many of its details were doubtless suggested by the annual floods and fogs which inundate that famous valley and recall the primeval chaos so vividly pictured in the corresponding Babylonian story of the creation. It may have been based on the remembrances of a great local inundation, possibly due to the subsidence of great areas of land.

simple wiki

Potential_energy

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_energy

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Science

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CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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A potential energy is the energy that an object has because of its position on a gradient of potential energy called a potential field, or just a potential. An actual energy (E = hf) is a nonzero-frequency angular momentum. A potential energy is the zero-frequency angular momentum stored in a potential flow of the vacuum. The potential fields are irrotationally radial ("electric") fluxes of the vacuum and divide into two classes: The gravitoelectric fields; The electric fields. The potential energy is negative. It is not a mere convention but a consequence of conservation of energy in the zero-energy universe—as an object descends into a potential field, its potential energy becomes more negative, while its actual energy becomes more positive. In accordance with the minimum total potential energy principle, the universe's matter flows towards the minimum total potential energy. This cosmic flow is time.

J. T. BOTTOMLEY.

JAMES PRESCOTT JOULE.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 363

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8452/8452-h/8452-h.htm

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James Prescott Joule was born at Salford, on Christmas Eve of the year 1818. His father and his grandfather before him were brewers, and the business, in due course, descended to Mr. Joule and his elder brother, and by them was carried on with success till it was sold, in 1854. Mr. Joule's grandfather came from Elton, in Derbyshire, settled near Manchester, where he founded the business, and died at the age of fifty-four, in 1799. His father, one of a numerous family, married a daughter of John Prescott of Wigan. They had five children, of whom James Prescott Joule was the second, and of whom three were sons--Benjamin, the eldest, James, and John--and two daughters--Alice and Mary. Mr. Joule's mother died in 1836 at the age of forty-eight; and his father, who was an invalid for many years before his death, died at the age of seventy-four, in the year 1858.

James Johonnot

Ten Great Events in History

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8507/pg8507-images.html

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Patriotism, or love of country, is one of the tests of nobility of character. No great man ever lived that was not a patriot in the highest and truest sense. From the earliest times, the sentiment of patriotism has been aroused in the hearts of men by the narrative of heroic deeds inspired by love of country and love of liberty. This truth furnishes the key to the arrangement and method of the present work. The ten epochs treated are those that have been potential in shaping subsequent events; and when men have struck blows for human liberty against odds and regardless of personal consequences. The simple narrative carries its own morals, and the most profitable work for the teacher will be to merely supplement the narrative so that the picture presented shall be all the more vivid. Moral reflections are wearisome and superfluous.

O. W. Firkins

O. Henry

Modern Essays SELECTED BY CHRISTOPHER MORLEY

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38280/38280-h/38280-h.htm

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A few types among these stories may be specified. There are the Sydney Cartonisms, defined in the name; love-stories in which divided hearts, or simply divided persons, are brought together by the strategy of chance; hoax stories—deft pictures of smiling roguery; "prince and pauper" stories, in which wealth and poverty face each other, sometimes enact each other; disguise stories, in which the wrong clothes often draw the wrong bullets; complemental stories, in which Jim sacrifices his beloved watch to buy combs for Della, who, meanwhile, has sacrificed her beloved hair to buy a chain for Jim. This imperfect list is eloquent in its way; it smooths our path to the assertion that O. Henry's specialty is the enlistment of original method in the service of traditional appeals. The ends are the ends of fifty years ago; O. Henry transports us by airplane to the old homestead.

Kate Douglas Wiggin

Mother Carey's Chickens

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10540/pg10540-images.html

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The new station had just been built in Boston, and it seemed a great enterprise to Gilbert to be threading his way through the enormous spaces, getting his information by his own wits and not asking questions like a stupid schoolboy. Like all children of naval officers, the Careys had travelled ever since their birth; still, this was Gilbert's first journey alone, and nobody was ever more conscious of the situation, nor more anxious to carry it off effectively. He entered the car, opened his bag, took out his travelling cap and his copy of "Ben Hur," then threw the bag in a lordly way into the brass rack above the seat. He opened his book, but immediately became interested in a young couple just in front of him. They were carefully dressed, even to details of hats and gloves, and they had an unmistakable air of wedding journey about them that interested the curious boy.

By Agnes Carr.

MRS. NOVEMBER'S DINNER PARTY

Good Cheer Stories Every Child Should Know

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19909/19909-h/19909-h.htm#MRS_NOVEMBERS_DINNER_PARTY

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At last the great folding doors were thrown open. Summer announced that dinner was served, and a long procession of old and young being quickly formed, led by Mrs. November and her daughter Thanksgiving, whose birthday it was, they filed into the spacious dining room, where stood the long table groaning beneath its weight of good things, while four attendants ran continually in and out bringing more substantials and delicacies to grace the board and please the appetite. Winter staggered beneath great trenchers of meat and poultry, pies and puddings; Spring brought the earliest and freshest vegetables; Summer, the richest creams and ices; while Autumn served the guests with fruit, and poured the sparkling wine. All were jolly, and many a joke was cracked as the contents of each plate and dish melted away like snow before the sun; and the great fires roared in the wide chimneys as though singing a glad Thanksgiving song.

wikipedia

High-speed_camera

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_camera

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A high-speed camera is a device capable of image exposures in excess of 1/1,000 or frame rates in excess of 250 frames per second. It is used for recording fast-moving objects as a photographic image(s) onto a storage medium. After recording, the images stored on the medium can be played back in slow-motion. Early high-speed cameras used film to record the high-speed events, but today high-speed cameras are entirely electronic using either a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS active pixel sensor, recording typically over 1,000 frames per second into DRAM and playing images back slowly to study the motion for scientific study of transient phenomena. A high-speed camera can be classified as: A high-speed film camera which records to film, A high-speed video camera which records to electronic memory, A high-speed framing camera which records images on multiple image planes or multiple locations on the same image plane (generally film or a network of CCD cameras), A high-speed streak camera which records a series of line-sized images to film or electronic memory.

Jacob Abbott

Rollo in the Woods

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19195/19195-h/19195-h.htm

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Rollo thought he should like to build a wigwam very much. Jonas told him the first thing to be done was to find a good place, where the ground was level. Rollo looked at a good many places, but at last chose a smooth spot under a great oak tree, which Jonas said he was not going to cut down. It was near a beautiful turn in the brook, where the water was very deep. Jonas told him that the first thing was to make a little stake, and drive it down in the middle of his wigwam-ground. Then Rollo recollected that he had left his hatchet over on the other side of the brook, together with the parcel his mother gave him; and he was going over to get them, when Jonas told him he would trim up the bridge a little, and then he could go over more easily.

"The Engineer"?

The Efficiency of Fans

Scientific American Supplement, Nos. 360

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8559/8559-h/8559-h.htm#8

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Air, like every other gas or combination of gases, possesses weight; some persons who have been taught that the air exerts a pressure of 14.7 lb. per square inch, cannot, however, be got to realize the fact that a cubic foot of air at the same pressure and at a temperature of 62 deg. weighs the thirteenth part of a pound, or over one ounce; 13.141 cubic feet of air weigh one pound. In round numbers 30,000 cubic feet of air weigh one ton; this is a useful figure to remember, and it is easily carried in the mind. A hall 61 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 17 feet high will contain one ton of air. The work to be done by a fan consists in putting a weight--that of the air--in motion. The resistances incurred are due to the inertia of the air and various frictional influences; the nature and amount of these last vary with the construction of the fan. As the air enters at the center of the fan and escapes at the circumference, it will be seen that its motion is changed while in the fan through a right angle.

M. M. D.

Little Tweet

St. Nicholas Magazine Volume 5 No. 1

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17513/17513-h/17513-h.htm#page64

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One day there was a boy who came to visit the family who owned the birds, and very soon he went to see the big cage. He had never seen anything like it before. He had never been so close to birds that were sitting on trees or hopping about among the branches. If the birds at home were as tame as these, he could knock over lots of them, he thought. There was one that seemed tamer than any of the rest. It came up close to him and said: "Tweet! Tweet!" The boy got a little stick and pushed it through the wires at little Tweet, and struck her. Poor little Tweet was frightened and hurt. She flew up to a branch of the tree and sat there, feeling very badly. When the boy found he could not reach her any more with his stick, he went away.

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DESIGN FOR A VILLA

Scientific American Supplement, No. 388

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15417/15417-h/15417-h.htm

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The villa of which we give a perspective drawing is intended as a country residence, being designed in a quiet and picturesque style of domestic Gothic, frequently met with in old country houses. It is proposed to face the external walls with red Suffolk bricks and Corsham Down stone dressings, the chimneys to be finished with molded bricks. The attic gables, etc., would be half-timbered in oak, and the roof covered with red Fareham tiles laid on felt. Internally, the hall and corridors are to be laid with tiles; the wood finishing on ground floor to be of walnut, and on first floor of pitch pine. The ground floor contains drawing-room, 23 ft. by 16 ft., with octagonal recess in angle (which also forms a feature in the elevation), and door leading to conservatory. The morning-room, 16 ft. by 16 ft., also leads into conservatory. Dining-room, 20 ft. by 16 ft., with serving door leading from kitchen. The hall and principal staircase are conveniently situated in the main part of the house, with doors leading to the several rooms, and entrances to garden.

CHARLES T. JEROME

THE PET FAWN

The Nursery, September 1881, Vol. XXX A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42158/42158-h/42158-h.htm#Page_275

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It was a fawn about eight months old. I am sure if you could have seen him you would never have given papa a moment's rest till you had him as your own pet; and perhaps I shall have something to say to you about that by and by. Well, this charming little pet was of a light yellowish-brown color, and over his whole body were white spots about the size of a dime. Some boys had surprised him asleep, when he was about a week old, and had carefully taken him home with them. There he had been tended and made much of by the whole family, and so he had grown to have a genuine affection for his captors. He was allowed full freedom to go about the woods as he chose, and never failed to return at night; and when called by name—for the boys had named him Dick—he would come bounding up as if he dearly loved to be petted.

President Barack Obama

President Obama’s National Address to America’s Schoolchildren

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https://www.commonlit.org/texts/president-obama-s-national-address-to-america-s-schoolchildren

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I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide. Maybe you could be a great writer — maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper — but you might not know it until you write that English paper — that English class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor — maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine — but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice — but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team. And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer?

Charles Darwin

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1227/1227-h/1227-h.htm

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When there exists an inherited or instinctive tendency to the performance of an action, or an inherited taste for certain kinds of food, some degree of habit in the individual is often or generally requisite. We find this in the paces of the horse, and to a certain extent in the pointing of dogs; although some young dogs point excellently the first time they are taken out, yet they often associate the proper inherited attitude with a wrong odor, and even with eyesight. I have heard it asserted that if a calf be allowed to suck its mother only once, it is much more difficult afterwards to rear it by hand. Caterpillars which have been fed on the leaves of one kind of tree, have been known to perish from hunger rather than to eat the leaves of another tree, although this afforded them their proper food, under a state of nature; and so it is in many other cases.

Jane Austen

Mansfield Park

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/141/141-h/141-h.htm

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Her brother was not handsome: no, when they first saw him he was absolutely plain, black and plain; but still he was the gentleman, with a pleasing address. The second meeting proved him not so very plain: he was plain, to be sure, but then he had so much countenance, and his teeth were so good, and he was so well made, that one soon forgot he was plain; and after a third interview, after dining in company with him at the Parsonage, he was no longer allowed to be called so by anybody. He was, in fact, the most agreeable young man the sisters had ever known, and they were equally delighted with him. Miss Bertram's engagement made him in equity the property of Julia, of which Julia was fully aware; and before he had been at Mansfield a week, she was quite ready to be fallen in love with.

S.A.E.

TALKING WITH THE FINGERS

The Nursery, No. 165. September, 1880, Vol. 28 A Monthly Magazine For Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14493/14493-h/14493-h.htm#TALKING_WITH_THE_FINGERS

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While I am writing this, seven little boys and nine little girls (how many does that make in all?) are busy writing on their slates. These children do not have any books to study. I tell them what I wish to teach them, and they write it down, and try to remember it. But I teach them without speaking a word. I talk to them with my fingers. You have guessed already, I dare say, that these dear little children are deaf and mute; that is, they can neither hear nor speak. They cannot go to school and live at home, and see papa and mamma night and morning, as you can; for there are no schools for them near their homes. They have to go a long way from home, and stay in school many long weeks without seeing father or mother, brother or sister. So, when vacation comes, how glad and happy they are! Some of them are even now writing on their slates, "In sixteen weeks we shall go home."

Mark Twain

HUNTING THE DECEITFUL TURKEY

The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3186/3186-h/3186-h.htm

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I was ashamed, and also lost; and it was while wandering the woods hunting for myself that I found a deserted log cabin and had one of the best meals there that in my life-days I have eaten. The weed-grown garden was full of ripe tomatoes, and I ate them ravenously, though I had never liked them before. Not more than two or three times since have I tasted anything that was so delicious as those tomatoes. I surfeited myself with them, and did not taste another one until I was in middle life. I can eat them now, but I do not like the look of them. I suppose we have all experienced a surfeit at one time or another. Once, in stress of circumstances, I ate part of a barrel of sardines, there being nothing else at hand, but since then I have always been able to get along without sardines.

Chas. T Porter

A NEW METHOD OF KEEPING MECHANICAL DRAWINGS

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 312

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17817/17817-h/17817-h.htm

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The system of keeping drawings now in use at the works of the Southwark Foundry and Machine Company, in Philadelphia, has been found so satisfactory in its operation that it seems worthy of being communicated to the profession. The method in common use, and which may be called the natural method, is to devote a separate drawer to the drawings of each machine, or of each group or class of machines. The fundamental idea of this system, and its only one, is, keeping together all drawings relating to the same subject matter. Every draughtsman is acquainted with its practical working. It is necessary to make the drawing of a machine, and of its separate parts, on sheets of different sizes. The drawer in which all these are kept must be large enough to accommodate the largest sheets. The smaller ones cannot be located in the drawer, and as these find their way to one side or to the back, and several of the smallest lie side by side in one course, any arrangement of the sheets in the drawer is out of the question.

Alma Piñeyro-Nelson; Daniela Sosa-Peredo; Emmanuel González-Ortega; Elena R. Álvarez-Buylla

There Is More to Corn than Popcorn and Corn on the Cob!

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00064

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Nowadays, many of us think about corn grains as food for chickens, pigs, and other farm animals, but corn has many other uses. In the food industry, corn starch, derived from ground corn kernels, is added into various foods such as pasta, candies, sauces, breads, soups, stews, and baby food. Some edible oils and syrups are also made from corn, such as fructose and other sweeteners, used in most sodas or even juices sold in supermarkets. Processed corn is also used in medicines, cosmetics, glues, paper, textiles, paints, and solvents. Corn residues or "scraps" have recently been used to create biodegradable materials similar to plastics. Another use for corn is to use its sugars to make biodiesel fuel for use in cars and other vehicles. So, not only can we eat corn as an additive mixed into different foods, or as a side dish like delicious corn on the cob, or grits, or as a snack in the form of nachos and popcorn: around the world, there are many dishes—and cultures—that totally revolve around corn. In such cultures, corn is a central component of their cuisines.

USHistory.org

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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King was raised in an activist family. His father was deeply influenced by Marcus Garvey's Back to Africa Movement in the 1920s. His mother was the daughter of one of Atlanta's most influential African American ministers. As a student, King excelled. He easily moved through grade levels and entered Morehouse College, his father's alma mater, at the age of fifteen. Next, he attended Crozer Theological Seminary, where he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree. While he was pursuing his doctorate at Boston University, he met and married Coretta Scott. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1955, King accepted an appointment to the Dexter Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. After his organization of the bus boycott, King formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which dedicated itself to the advancement of rights for African Americans. In April 1963, King organized a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, a city King called "the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States." Since the end of World War II, there had been 60 unsolved bombings of African American churches and homes. Boycotts, sit-ins and marches were conducted.

George H. Ellwanger

The Pleasures of the Table

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62354/62354-h/62354-h.htm

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To what an extent strange condiments, herbs, and other seasonings were employed, as well as to what a task the human stomach was subjected, will be apparent from a recipe, given by the same authority, for a thick sauce for a boiled chicken: "Put the following ingredients into a mortar: anise-seed, dried mint, and lazer-root (similar to asafœtida); cover them with vinegar; add dates; pour in garum, oil, and a small quantity of mustard-seeds; reduce all to a proper thickness with red wine warmed; and then pour this same over your chicken, which should previously be boiled in anise-seed water." With regard to the olden wines, let us be duly grateful for the progress of viniculture, and thankful that we may read of them, rather than have to partake of them, to rue the Katzenjammer of the following morning. For if one must have a headache on rare occasions as the penalty of dining, it were assuredly less to be deplored if obtained through a grand vintage of the Marne or the Médoc than from a wine mixed with sea-water or spices, or old Falernian cloyed with honey from Mount Hymettus.

L. M. Montgomery

Rilla of Ingleside

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3796/3796-h/3796-h.htm

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Dr. Jekyll loved new milk; Mr. Hyde would not touch milk and growled over his meat. Dr. Jekyll came down the stairs so silently that no one could hear him. Mr. Hyde made his tread as heavy as a man's. Several evenings, when Susan was alone in the house, he "scared her stiff," as she declared, by doing this. He would sit in the middle of the kitchen floor, with his terrible eyes fixed unwinkingly upon hers for an hour at a time. This played havoc with her nerves, but poor Susan really held him in too much awe to try to drive him out. Once she had dared to throw a stick at him and he had promptly made a savage leap towards her. Susan rushed out of doors and never attempted to meddle with Mr. Hyde again—though she visited his misdeeds upon the innocent Dr. Jekyll, chasing him ignominiously out of her domain whenever he dared to poke his nose in and denying him certain savory tidbits for which he yearned.

John S. Tregoning

Flu, Flu Vaccines, and Why We Need to Do Better

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00007

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Did you know that, in addition to humans, flu can also infect chickens, pigs, dogs, ducks, cats, geese, camels, ferrets, horses, seals, and whales? Broadly speaking, viruses are made of two things, proteins and nucleic acids (nucleic acids are the stuff that genes are made of). The proteins make a coat around the genes and this coat protects them from the environment and helps the virus to infect cells. There are multiple types of flu virus and we categorize these types based on the two proteins that appear on the surface of the virus. These two proteins are called hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. These proteins are assigned a number based on their specific shape, giving us many combinations, for example H1N1 or H5N1. These different combinations of proteins on the surface of the flu virus have an important impact on which animal species the flu virus infects. For example, there is a chicken virus (H5N8) causing infections in bird populations in Europe in 2017, but this virus is unlikely to cause illness in people.

THOMAS FLETCHER, F.C.S.

COAL GAS AS A LABOR-SAVING AGENT IN MECHANICAL TRADES.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 430

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8484/8484-h/8484-h.htm#6

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The air in an oven or enclosed space heated by flames inside is similar in character to highly superheated steam. It contains a large proportion of moisture, and yet has the power of drying any substance which is heated to near its own temperature. A mass of cold metal placed in the oven is instantly bedewed with moisture, which dries up as the temperature of the metal rises. This is, for many purposes, an objection, and the remedy is to close the bottom of the oven and place burners underneath. If for drying purposes and a current of air is necessary, the simplest way is to place in the bottom of oven the a number of tubes hanging downward in such a position that the heat of the flame acts both on the bottom of the oven and the sides of the tubes, which, of course, must be long enough for the lower opening to be well below the level of the flame. The exit may be at any level, but for drying purposes it is better at the top, and it should be controlled by a damper to prevent cooling by excessive currents of air.

wikipedia

Landslide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landslide

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A debris slide is a type of slide characterized by the chaotic movement of rocks, soil, and debris mixed with water and/or ice. They are usually triggered by the saturation of thickly vegetated slopes which results in an incoherent mixture of broken timber, smaller vegetation and other debris. Debris avalanches differ from debris slides because their movement is much more rapid. This is usually a result of lower cohesion or higher water content and commonly steeper slopes. Steep coastal cliffs can be caused by catastrophic debris avalanches. These have been common on the submerged flanks of ocean island volcanos such as the Hawaiian Islands and the Cape Verde Islands. Another slip of this type was Storegga landslide. Debris slides generally start with big rocks that start at the top of the slide and begin to break apart as they slide towards the bottom. This is much slower than a debris avalanche. Debris avalanches are very fast and the entire mass seems to liquefy as it slides down the slope. This is caused by a combination of saturated material, and steep slopes.

Ida Fay

THREADING THE NEEDLE

The Nursery, October 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 4

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24941/24941-h/24941-h.htm#Page_97

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It was not many months before Lucy comprehended how wise her father had been in training his little girl. She was gathering violets in a field one day, when she heard a trampling sound, and, looking round, saw a fierce bull plunging and twisting himself about, and all the time drawing nearer and nearer to her. Suddenly he made a rush towards her in a straight line. Not far off was a high stone-wall. It would once have seemed to Lucy a hopeless attempt to try to get over it before the bull could reach her; but now she felt confident she could do it: and she did it bravely. Confidence in her ability to do it kept off all fear; and she did not even tremble. The bull came up, and roared lustily when he found she had escaped, and was on the other side of the wall. But Lucy turned to him, and said, "Keep your temper, old fellow! This child's father taught her how to get over a stone-wall in double-quick time. You must learn to scale a wall yourself, if you hope to catch her."

Martha Finley

Elsie's Womanhood

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14874/14874-h/14874-h.htm

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Having finished her meal, Mrs. Travilla threw a shawl about her shoulders and stepped out upon the veranda; then, tempted by the beauty of the night, walked down the avenue to meet her son or see if there were any signs of his approach. She had not gone half the distance ere the sound of horses' hoofs reached her ear—distant at first but coming rapidly nearer, till a lady and gentleman drew rein at the gate, while the servant who had been riding in the rear dismounted and threw it open. They came dashing up, but paused and drew rein again at sight of the old lady standing there under the trees. "Mother," cried her son, springing from the saddle, "you were not alarmed? anxious? surely." "No, no, Edward, but glad to see you and Elsie! my dear child, this is very kind." "Not at all, dear Mrs. Travilla; it is so lovely an evening for a ride; or walk either," she added, giving her hand to her escort and springing lightly to the ground.

Algernon Henry Blackwood

Violence

Twenty-Three Stories by Twenty and Three Authors by Dawson Scott and Rhys

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62347/62347-h/62347-h.htm

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He was tall and broad; Hancock was small; yet he was sure there would be room. He sprang upon him like a wild animal. He felt the warm, thin throat yield and bend between his great hands ... then darkness, peace and rest, a nothingness that surely was the oblivion he had so long prayed for. He had accomplished his desire. He had secreted himself forever from persecution—inside the kindliest little man he had ever met—inside Hancock.... He opened his eyes and looked about him into a room he did not know. The walls were soft and dimly coloured. It was very silent. Cushions were everywhere. Peaceful it was, and out of the world. Overhead was a skylight, and one window, opposite the door, was heavily barred. Delicious! No one could get in. He was sitting in a deep and comfortable chair. He felt rested and happy. There was a click, and he saw a tiny window in the door drop down, as though worked by a sliding panel. Then the door opened noiselessly, and in came a little man with smiling face and soft brown eyes—Dr. Hancock.

simple wiki

Nation

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation

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A nation is a group of people who share the same culture, history, language or ethnicity. It can also be described as people living in the same country and government. The word nation comes from a word meaning "birth" or "place of birth." The adjective is national . Some nations are people with a particular belief, such as the Vatican City, or ethnic group, such as Armenia. Others share an idea, such as Democracy in the United States or Communism in China. Some nations are controlled by a small minority who have all the power, such as Saudi Arabia, who hold the nation together with the use of this power. Some of these may also be combined. The highest lawful authority of most nations is a constitution, which is a document which states clearly what kinds of power the rulers have and how new laws must be made. Many others are ruled by a single person who holds an "office" (position), such as a King or Pope, or from a long legal tradition without an official Constitution, such as the United Kingdom.

simple wiki

Electromagnet

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnet

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Electromagnets can be made stronger by adding more coils to the copper wire or adding an iron core through the coils (for example a nail). The current can also be increased to make the magnetism stronger. British electrician William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet in 1825. An electromagnet is useful because it can be turned on and off easily (using an electric current), whereas a permanent magnet cannot be turned off and will continue to affect its immediate environment. Different alloys act differently. Iron stops being an electromagnet very quickly, but steel takes time to wear off. To make an electromagnet, copper wire is wound around an iron rod. The two ends of the wire are connected to the + (positive) and - (negative) side of the battery. Electromagnets are used in everyday items such as burglar alarms, electric relays and fire bells. Electric motors are basically electromagnets. Their ability to change from the state of non-magnetic to magnetic just by passing an electric current through it allows it to be used in many different items. This ability is used in relays.

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Society

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society

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Society is the term to describe human beings together (collective, the sum of their social networks and power networks). It does not refer to everything everybody thinks or does, but only to those things that everybody acts upon – or refuses to do – quite reliably. Because it must keep even the poorest and weakest members of a society willing to help even the richest and strongest, a society is very concerned with its citizenship, rights, ethics and time limits. These are basic ways to achieve fairness. If they break down badly, people will think the society is unfair and start taking things from each other, refusing to help each other, or seeing those who have more as cheats. While every society is different, the way it breaks down and fails is very often the same: fraud, theft, violence, war and sometimes even genocide if people stop identifying with the society and thus identify with what they think of as a "race" of people. A new society may be formed out of only those who still agree, or who just survive the collapse of an old failed one.

Sea Rescue and Sean Verster

What is a lifejacket?

African Storybook Level 4

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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Johnny is late to meet his friends to go fishing. When he arrives at the beach, he realises that he's forgotten to bring his lifejacket. "Don't worry," says Ben, the boat owner. "Here's a spare one I always keep on board." Because he's been fishing for years, Johnny knows the right way to put on a lifejacket. He fastens the two straps across his chest and the two straps between his legs. "Right!" he says, "it's on firmly and I'm ready to go!" On the ocean, they find a good spot to fish and put down the anchor. Out of nowhere, a huge wave suddenly rises above them. "Look! The wave's going to hit us!" shouts one of the fishermen. The boat is turned upside down and the men are flung into the water. "Eeeeeehhh!" they yell as they are plunged into the icy water. Not all of them can swim but, luckily, they are all wearing lifejackets. The men cling to the side of the upturned boat. Ben always carries a cellphone in a plastic pouch tied to his lifejacket. He calls the free emergency number 112. "Help! We're in trouble out at sea," he says to the operator.

WALDO LOCKLING

THE GOOD LITTLE PIGGIE AND HIS FRIENDS

Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25359/25359-h/25359-h.htm#Page_102

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So Piggie took the pail between his teeth, and off he went to do what his mother told him. Now, you must remember that this little piggie was such a dear, good little piggie, that he had a great many friends among the other animals. So he had not gone far when who should spy him but his friend Bossie Calf. "Hello, there!" said the calf. "Where are you off to, Piggie?" "I'm going to market to bring my mother a pail of milk for Father's supper to-night," squealed Piggie. "Are you? I believe I'll go, too. I am so fond of milk." And the calf leaped over his master's fence, and away he went scampering after Piggie. By and by, who should come along but Piggie's friend Billie Goat. "Mercy on us!" baa-ed Billie. "Where are you going in such a hurry, Bossie?" "Going with Piggie," said the calf. "Where are you going, Piggie?" "Going to market to bring my mother a pail of milk for Father's supper to-night," squealed Piggie, in a great hurry.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill’s ‘Never Give In’ Speech

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You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination, not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainly, many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination. But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period — I am addressing myself to the School — surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated. Very different is the mood today.

Mirjam S. Glessmer

When Water Swims in Water, Will it Float, or Will it Sink? Or: What Drives Currents in the Ocean?

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00085

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Even though the ocean is constantly in motion and there are lots of factors that affect how the ocean water moves, there is one natural phenomenon that has been contributing to ocean water movement for thousands of years: one large ocean current that connects all ocean basins, as well as the ocean surface and the deep ocean. This current is sometimes called the global conveyor belt, for the way it circulates water all around the globe. If water could be tracked on its journey on the global conveyor belt, following the red path as warm water nears the surface, then cools and sinks to follow the blue path until it comes back to the surface again, we would find that it takes the water around 1,000 years to complete its travel all the way around the world. An obvious first guess as to what might cause this motion in the ocean is the wind. Wind blows over the ocean's surface, causing both waves and movement of water in a downwind direction. And indeed, parts of the global conveyor belt are driven by the wind .

Andrew Lang

The Language of Beasts

The Crimson Fairy Book

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2435/2435-h/2435-h.htm#link2H_4_0007

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So the shepherd set out for home, and on his way through the wood, he heard and understood all that was said by the birds, and by every living creature. When he got back to his sheep, he found the flock grazing peacefully, and as he was very tired, he laid himself down by them to rest a little. Hardly had he done so when two ravens flew down and perched on a tree nearby, and began to talk to each other in their own language: ‘If that shepherd only knew that there is a vault full of gold and silver beneath where that lamb is lying, what would he not do?' When the shepherd heard these words, he went straight to his master and told him, and the master at once took a wagon and broke open the door of the vault, and they carried off the treasure.

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THE DWELLINGS OF THE POOR IN PARIS.

Scientific American Supplement, No. 401

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8742/8742-h/8742-h.htm

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It is not only the crowded condition of the poor quarters that is such a standing menace to the health of the city, but also the shocking state of the rooms, which the unhappy lodgers are obliged to put up with. The owners of the property are, as happens in other places besides Paris, unscrupulous and grasping to the last degree, and have not only divided and subdivided the accommodation wherever possible, but have even raised the rental in nearly all cases. Whole families are crowded into a small apartment, icy cold in winter, an oven in summer, the only air and daylight which reaches the interior coming from a window which looks on to a dirty staircase or a still fouler court reeking with sewage. There are at the present time in Paris 3,000 lodgings which have neither stove nor chimney; over 5,000 lighted only by a skylight; while in 4,282 rooms there are four children in each below 14 years of age; 7,199 with three children; and 1,049 with four beds in each. The Parisian population has augmented only 15 percent.

Cornelius Mathews

THE CELESTIAL SISTERS

The Indian Fairy Book From the Original Legends

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22248/22248-h/22248-h.htm#Page_7

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One day he had gone beyond any point which he had ever before visited. He traveled through an open wood, which enabled him to see a great distance. At length he beheld a light breaking through the foliage of the distant trees, which made him sure that he was on the borders of a prairie. It was a wide plain, covered with long blue grass, and enameled with flowers of a thousand lovely tints. After walking for some time without a path, musing upon the open country, and enjoying the fragrant breeze, he suddenly came to a ring worn among the grass and the flowers, as if it had been made by footsteps moving lightly round and round. But it was strange—so strange as to cause the White Hawk to pause and gaze long and fixedly upon the ground—there was no path which led to this flowery circle. There was not even a crushed leaf nor a broken twig, nor the least trace of a footstep, approaching or retiring, to be found. He thought he would hide himself and lie in wait to discover, if he could, what this strange circle meant.

Aesop

The Shepherd's Boy

Junior Classics Vol. 1

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3152/pg3152.html

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There was once a young Shepherd Boy who tended his sheep at the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was rather lonely for him all day, so he thought upon a plan by which he could get a little company and some excitement. He rushed down toward the village calling out "Wolf, 'Wolf," and the villagers came out to meet him, and some of them stopped with him for a considerable time. This pleased the boy so much that a few days afterward he tried the same trick, and again the villagers came to his help. But shortly after this a Wolf actually did come out from the forest, and began to worry the sheep, and the boy of course cried out "Wolf, Wolf," still louder than before. But this time the villagers who had been fooled twice before, thought the boy was again deceiving them, and nobody stirred to come to bis help. So the Wolf made a good meal off the boy's flock, and when the boy complained, the wise man of the village said: "A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth."

simple wiki

Greenhouse_effect

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect

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The greenhouse effect occurs when certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere (the air around the Earth) entraps infrared radiation. This makes the planet become warmer, similar to the way it makes a greenhouse become warmer. The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases; the most important greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. When there is more greenhouse gas in the air, the air holds more heat. This is why more greenhouse gases cause global warming. The greenhouse effect is natural. It is important for life on Earth. Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth's average temperature would be around -18 or -19 degrees Celsius (0 or 1 degree Fahrenheit). Earth would be locked in an ice age. Because of the greenhouse effect, the Earth's actual average temperature is 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit). The problem is that recently, the greenhouse effect has become stronger. This is because humans have been using large amounts of fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide when they are burned.

wikipedia

Research_and_development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_and_development

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Research and development (R&D), also known in Europe as research and technical (or technological) development (RTD), is a general term for activities in connection with corporate or governmental innovation. Research and development is a component of Innovation and is situated at the front end of the Innovation life cycle. Innovation builds on R&D and includes commercialization phases. The activities that are classified as R&D differ from company to company, but there are two primary models, with an R&D department being either staffed by engineers and tasked with directly developing new products, or staffed with industrial scientists and tasked with applied research in scientific or technological fields which may facilitate future product development. In either case, R&D differs from the vast majority of corporate activities in that it is not often intended to yield immediate profit, and generally carries greater risk and an uncertain return on investment.

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KITTY BELL

The Nursery, November 1877, Vol. XXII. No. 5 A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28139/28139-h/28139-h.htm#Page_134

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She carried the kitten into the kitchen, and soon got from the cook a nice pan of milk. Her little brother Harry came running in to see the new kitten eat its dinner, and with him came the old family cat, Mouser, who rubbed and purred against Alice, as if he wanted her to pet him too. The next thing was to find a name, "pretty, and not too common," Alice said. While she was trying to think of one, she went up to her own little room and searched among her ribbons for a piece to tie around the kitten's neck. She soon found one that was just the thing. In one of her drawers, she found a tiny bell that somebody had given her and thought it would be a good plan to hang that around kitty's neck by the ribbon. Kitty made no objection to being thus decorated, and a happy thought struck Alice; "Kitty Bell would be just the name for her!" and Kitty Bell it was.

Count Andrássy

Germanic Peace Terms

The European War, Vol 2, No. 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22460/22460-h/22460-h.htm

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Our war is a defensive war, which will achieve its aim when our enemies have been expelled from our territory and their ring has been broken. This aim could be best served by making peace with one or other of our enemies and winning him over to our cause. This would be of immense advantage to the future of civilization and ensure us against the horrors of a prolonged war. A separate peace would be the best chance for certain Powers to change their international policy. To my mind the issues of this war will greatly change the attitude of some hostile States toward us, and will bring about more intimate relations between them and ourselves, besides widening the foundations of the alliance between Hungary and her allies. And this is to be the rock upon which the European balance of power is to rest in the future. Our war is not a war of conquest, and the boundary changes of which some people speak are not the sine qua non of a good peace. Therefore I do not even wish to speak about certain territorial alterations, which, nevertheless, might be necessary.

simple wiki

South_Pole

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pole

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Science

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The South Pole is the most southern point on the Earth. It is in Antarctica. The geographic North and South poles are the poles the earth spins around, the ones people see on a globe where all the north/south lines meet. These poles stay in the same place and are usually the ones we mean if we just say North or South Pole. People can tell that they are at these poles by looking at the stars (at the poles, a star just circles around at the same height, never dipping to the horizon). The Sun rises once a year and gives the South Pole half a year of summer, but it is always cold. When the Sun sets half a year later it makes half a year of winter which is even colder. The South Pole is always cold because the Sun never rises high in the sky.

Mahasweta Saha

“Language of Life” of Nemo, Dory, and Their Marine Friends

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00067

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We humans today use about 1,500 different languages to communicate. But do you know that the plants and animals around us also have languages that allow them to "talk" to each other? Both land and water plants and animals have a special chemical "language" that they use to communicate. These communication chemicals are called info-chemicals (information-carrying chemicals). When a bee visits a flower, it is not just random! The flower releases info-chemicals that the bee can sense, which invite the bee to visit the flower and help the flower to pollinate. So, the next time you see a bee visiting a flower, maybe you will think about the role that info-chemicals play for the beautiful flowers around us. What about marine animals and plants, those that live in the oceans? We know that some marine animals communicate using sounds, like the dolphins producing clicking sounds or the singing of whales, but this is not the only way for marine organisms to talk to each other. Marine organisms mostly talk to each other using info-chemicals, which are known as the "language of life" in the sea.

Muntz & Schoen, in La Halle aux Cuirs.--Shoe & Leather Reporter

The Constituent Parts of Leather

Scientific American Supplement, Nos. 286

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8297/8297-h/8297-h.htm#12

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It is important to mention here the large proportion of resinous matter hemlock-tanned leather contains. This resin is a very beautiful red substance, which communicates its peculiar color to the leather. We should mention here that in these calculations we assume that the hide is in a perfectly dry state, water being a changeable element which does not allow one to arrive at a precise result. These figures show the enormous differences resulting from diverse methods of tanning. Hemlock, which threatens to flood the markets of Europe, distinguishes itself above all. The high results attributable to the large proportion of resin that the hide assimilates, explain in part the lowness of its price, which renders it so formidable a competitor. One is also surprised at the large return from sumac-tanned hides when it is remembered in how short a time the tanning was accomplished, which, in the present case, only occupied half an hour. The figures show us that the greatest return is obtained by means of those tanning substances which are richest in resin. In short, hemlock, sumac, and pine, which give the greatest return, are those containing the largest amount of resin.

Howard Roger Garis

Daddy Takes Us to the Garden

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14859/14859-h/14859-h.htmm

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Daddy Blake had to go away early the next morning, to be gone three days, so he did not have time to tell Hal and Mab why it was that seeds grew when planted in the ground. But before going to school on Monday the brother and sister saw to it that the glass covered box in which the tomato plants were soon to grow, was put in a sunny window. On the way to school they looked in the big yard of Mr. Porter who lived next door. He was raking up some dried leaves and grass and a small, red-haired boy was watching him. "Hello, little ones!" called Mr. Porter. "Have you got your garden started yet?" "Not yet," answered Hal. "But we got tomato seeds planted in the house," said Mab. "Yes, and I must do that too. We'll see who'll have the finest garden," went on Mr. Porter. "How's your poodle dog?" "Oh, we got him shut up so he can't hurt your garden," Hal said. "Don't worry about that yet," went on the neighbor. "I haven't planted any seeds yet, and shall not until it gets warmer. So you may let your dog run loose."

MR. J. EMERSON DOWSON,

WATER GAS.

Scientific American Supplement, No. 303

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8296/8296-h/8296-h.htm

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The nature of the fuel required depends on the purpose for which the gas is used. If for heating boilers, furnaces, etc, coke or any kind of coal maybe used; but for gas engines or any application of the gas requiring great cleanliness and freedom from sulphur and ammonia it is best to use anthracite, as this does not yield condensable vapors, and is very free from impurities. Good qualities of this fuel contain over 90 per cent of carbon and so little sulphur that, for some purposes, purification is not necessary. For gas engines, etc., it is, however, better to pass the gas through some hydrated oxide of iron to remove the sulphureted hydrogen. The oxide can be used over and over again after exposure to the air, and the purifying is thus effected without smell or appreciable expense. Gas made by this process and with anthracite coal has no tar and no ammonia, and the small percentage of carbon dioxide present does not sensibly affect the heating power.

E. Louise Smythe

HOW THOR GOT THE HAMMER

A Primary Reader Old-time Stories, Fairy Tales and Myths Retold by Children

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7841/7841-h/7841-h.htm#vi

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Sif was Thor's wife. Sif had long golden hair. Thor was very proud of Sif's golden hair. Thor was always going on long journeys. One day he went off and left Sif alone. She went out on the porch and fell asleep. Loki came along. He was always playing tricks. He saw Sif lying asleep. He said, "I am going to cut off her hair." So Loki went up on the porch and cut off Sif's golden hair. When Sif woke up and saw that her hair was gone, she cried and cried. Then she ran to hide. She did not want Thor to see her. When Thor came home, he could not find Sif. "Sif! Sif!" he called, "Where are you?" But Sif did not answer. Thor looked all around the house. At last he found her crying. "Oh, Thor, look, all my hair is gone! Somebody has cut it off. It was a man. He ran away with it."

Ursula Nafula

Grandma's bananas

African Storybook Level 4

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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Grandma's garden was wonderful. It was full of sorghum, millet, and cassava. But best of all were the bananas. Although Grandma had many grandchildren, I secretly knew that I was her favorite. She invited me often to her house. She also told me little secrets. But there was one secret she did not share with me. Where she ripened bananas. One day I saw a big straw basket placed in the sun outside Grandma's house. When I asked what it was for, the only answer I got was, "It's my magic basket." Next to the basket, there were several banana leaves that Grandma turned from time to time. I was curious. "What are the leaves for, Grandma?" I asked. The only answer I got was, "They are my magic leaves." It was so interesting watching Grandma, the bananas, the banana leaves and the big straw basket. But Grandma sent me off to my mother on an errand. "Grandma, please, let me watch as you prepare." "Don't be stubborn, child, do as you are told," she insisted. I took off running. When I returned, Grandma was sitting outside but with neither the basket nor the bananas.

simple wiki

Battle_of_Saratoga

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saratoga

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History

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CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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The Battle of Saratoga is considered the turning point of the American Revolution. The battle was fought in late 1777. I. It was actually two engagements: the Battle of Freeman's Farm (September 19) and the Battle of Bemis Heights (October 7). The Americans were led by General Horatio Gates. The British were led by General John Burgoyne. On October 17 Burgoyne surrendered his army of nearly 6,000 British soldiers. The American victory helped convince France to come to the aid the Continental Army. It also helped them recognize the United States. In early 1777, General William Howe asked London to approve his plan to attack Philadelphia. This would destroy the rebel American government. In Canada, General John Burgoyne submitted a plan to move down through New York and meet General Howe at Albany. This would divide the colonies. London approved both plans. Burgoyne began moving down the Hudson River valley from Canada. He split his force into two columns. One, under Colonel Barry St. Leger moved east from Lake Ontario down the Mohawk Valley. They attacked the Americans at Fort Stanwix. The Americans sent two parties to relieve the fort.

H. G. Wells

In Labrador

The Literary World Seventh Reader by Browne, Metcalf, and Withers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19721/19721-h/19721-h.htm

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The voyage across the sea and the march inland into Labrador were uneventful. Trafford chose his winter quarters on the side of a low razor-hacked, rocky mountain ridge, about fifty feet above a little river. Not a dozen miles away from them, they reckoned, was the Height of Land, the low watershed between the waters that go to the Atlantic and those that go to Hudson's Bay. North and north-east of them the country rose to a line of low crests, with here and there a yellowing patch of last year's snow, and across the valley were slopes covered in places by woods of stunted pine. It had an empty spaciousness of effect; the one continually living thing seemed to be the river, hurrying headlong, noisily, perpetually, in an eternal flight from this high desolation. For nearly four weeks indeed they were occupied very closely in fixing their cabin and making their other preparations, and crept into their bunks at night as tired as wholesome animals who drop to sleep.

simple wiki

Ocean

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean

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Science

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CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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An ocean is a large area of salt water between continents. Oceans are very big and they join smaller seas together. Together, the oceans are like one "ocean", because all the "oceans" are joined. Oceans (or marine biomes) cover 72% of our planet. The largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean. It covers 1/3 (one third) of the Earth's surface. The smallest ocean is the Arctic Ocean. Different water movements separate the Southern Ocean from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The Southern ocean is also called the Antarctic Ocean, because it covers the area around Antarctica. Older maps may not use the names Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean. The deepest ocean is the Pacific ocean. The deepest point is the Mariana Trench, being about 11,000 metres (36,200 feet) deep. The deep ocean is characterized by cold temperatures, high pressure, and complete darkness. Some very unusual organisms live in this part of the ocean. They do not require energy from the sun to survive, because they use chemicals from deep inside the Earth.

By Alice W. Wheildon.

A NOVEL POSTMAN

Good Cheer Stories Every Child Should Know

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19909/19909-h/19909-h.htm#A_NOVEL_POSTMAN

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Freddie had been in the kitchen all the morning watching the various operations for the Thanksgiving dinner which was "to come off" the next day, when all the "sisters, cousins, and aunts" of the family were to assemble, as was their custom each year, and great was the commotion in the kitchen and much there was for Master Fred to inspect. When Ellen put her hand into the turkey to arrange him for the stuffing, great was her astonishment at finding a piece of paper. Drawing it quickly out she called, "Freddie, Freddie, see here! See what I've found in the turkey! I declare if he isn't a new kind of a postman, for sure as you're born this is a letter, come from somewhere, in the turkey. My! who ever heard of such a thing?" Freddie, standing with eyes and mouth wide open, finally said, "Why, Ellen, do you believe it is a letter?" "Why, of course it is! Don't you see it's in a envelope and all sealed and everything?"

Thomas Tapper

Franz Schubert : The Story of the Boy Who Wrote Beautiful Songs

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35070/35070-h/35070-h.htm

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Franz's father was a schoolmaster, and so was Franz himself for three years. He taught the little children of Vienna their A-B-C's, and how to do sums. Of course, he helped them to learn to read. Sometimes we find it quite hard to take one piano lesson or violin lesson a week. But from the time when Franz Schubert was a very little boy he had lessons every week for violin, voice, and piano. A little later he began to study harmony with a very famous man who knew Mozart. His name was Antonia Salieri With so many lessons and with school work just as we have it, Franz must have been a very busy boy. He was quite poor and often very hungry; but in spite of that he was always good natured and full of fun. At eleven years of age he became a singer in the chapel of the Emperor. It was here that Salieri was director.

W. O. C.

THE BALLOON

The Nursery, December 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 6

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24943/24943-h/24943-h.htm#Page_178

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A balloon was going up from Boston Common, and two children were out upon a hill in the country watching for it. "There it is!" said Willy, as he pointed to a black speck right over the State House. The speck seemed to grow larger every moment. "The balloon is coming this way," said Willy. "I can see a man in it waving a flag." By and by it seemed to be coming down on a hill close by where the children stood. They ran to meet it, shouting as they went; but it was a great deal farther off than they thought it was. A good many other people were looking at the balloon at the same time; and it came down in a pasture where some children were picking berries. When it got almost down, the man looked out and said, "Have you any blueberries for sale?" The children held out their baskets, and said, "Yes, plenty of them."—"Well, then," said the man, "I think this is a good place to stop at."

Kaka Gana Abba

The prince who had no name

African Storybook Level 4

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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Once upon a time, there lived a prince who had no name from birth. He was the only child of King Dunoma, who wanted a successor. He was born after several years of waiting. When he was born, the king was so happy that he decided to keep his son's name a secret until he grew up. Then, any girl who knew the name would become the prince's wife. When the prince was old enough to marry, the king ordered the town crier to make an announcement. "This is a contest for young women throughout the kingdom! Say the prince's name and become his wife!" announced the town crier. The girls devoted the remaining days to preparation. They plaited their hair and trimmed their nails. They decorated their hands and feet with henna and went to the tailor for new dresses. Some even visited the marabout for prayers and good luck. The impatient among them visited the diviners to tell them about their fate. On the appointed day, all roads led to the king's palace. The prince and his father, accompanied by the palace guards, arrived at the assembly ground first.