Milford High School - Oak Lily and Ivy Yearbook (Milford, MA)

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Feathers. S ITTING one day near the wind- do v,I noticed a small bright feath¬ er pass by, borne along in its course by the wind. I remarked, “What a pretty feather that is!” whereunon I was .asked by a young friend then in the I ' oorn, “What is a fe.ather, anyway ?” So I attempted the explanation of one, which 1 gave as follows:— A feather is made uj) of three parts, the quill, the shall, and the vane, or beaial, consisting of little barbs. The (]uill, the ] art attached to the skin, is hollow inside, very transparent, and resembles horn in its appearance. It is light, but very strong. At the end is a small opening where the nourishing vessels enter. The shaft is a continuation of the quill, and diminishes in size as you go towards the ti]). It is always slightly curved, the upper and lower parts being separated by a grove. It is covered with a thin, horny layer, and in the hollow ])art is stored a white, soft, elastic substance, which is called the j)ith. This gives strength and nourishment to the feather. The vane consists of two webs, one on each side of the shaft. Kach web is composed of barbs, fixed obliquely to the shaft, and varying in tliick- ness, length ,‘ind width. In almost every feather, near the opening in the quill, there is an addition of a downy charactei ' , very small i n the quills of the wing and tail. Young birds are covered with down before the feathers have develo|)ed, this down helping the feathers to pierce the skin. If you ever notice a peacock, you can find as many different kinds of feathers on him as on any one bird you can think of. On the head of this vain bird are .short feathers, each one having at least four colors. These foi-m a jiart of his clothing. Also on his head are three thin shafted feathers, standing upright, having at their ends eyes of a yellow- green color, which are called “head¬ dress” feathers. On his neck the feathers are of the same brirrlit kind, only longer, while under him, or on his breast, they are of a grayish color. Those on his back are quite long and .all colors of the rainbow. But the great pride of the peacock’s heart is Ids tail feathers, and these certainly are beautiful. They con¬ sist of long shafts, with the short, narrow rainbow feathers in rows on each side, while at the ends are heart shaped jiieces of four colors. The smallest heart is in the centre of the end piece, and is of two colors. That is enclosed by another larger one, until the wdiole end is one large heart. It makes a very pretty feather. There are more than fifty of these tail feathers on one bird. When spread, they take the form of a fan, and are the vain creature’s es- ])ecial delight F’eathers serve to protect birds from the extremes of heat, cold, and I ' ain, for which their arraimement is especially adapted. They also en.a- ble them to fiy, and for this jiurpose are longer and more compact than those which cover the body. Feath¬ ers gave to mail his first pen. The shaft was sharpened and considered very fine to write with. They formed a part of his first weapon, the Indi.ans using them on the ends of arrows to straighten their course. The small, short feathers that come from hens and ge« se are used for feather beds, ]iillows, and cushions. The beautiful birds that inhabit South America and Australia have come to grief through the hands of man. They have been stripjied of their lirilliant plumage tliat we might be benefited thereby. There is jirobably hardly a Lady in the country, but has been guilty, at one time or another, of wearing the feather or wing, or even the whole of a bird. The many ships that sail across the ocean bring us rich gifts in the form of feathers, or we lhiid we are rich if w ' e happen to have certain costly ones in our possession, that were obtained not only through great danger to man, but at the cost of life to the jioor, innocent bird. In such numbers have these devoted creatures been slain to gratify the vanity of woman, that it has at hast attracted the ' a. tention of lienevolent individuals, who have formed a soci¬ ety for their protection, and named it after the great natur.alist, Audu¬ bon. The efforts of this society have somew ' hat diminished the “slaughter of the innocents,” so that many of the sweet-voiced creatures, that would otherwise have been killed, still remain to gladden our hearts with their songs. E. G. w., ’90. A Typical English Home. S IIACEBHIDGE Hall gives a clear idea of an English home of half a century or so ago. In this work Washington Irving describes the daily life of one of those old fami¬ lies, now almost extinct, in which he W ' as visiting for a few ' weeks. The house, a large, stone building, is almost entirely conce.aled from the view of one jiassing by the tall oaks and elms which surround it. An ave¬ nue, bordered on both sides by the same kinds of trees, le.ads to the front door, which is the entrance to a large, airy hall, at one end of which is a fire-place, w ' here at most times of the year, a large log can be found burning. This room is the tavorite resort of the family in the evenings, esjiecially during the win¬ ter, when each one must l»e ready with a story for the entertainment of the others. Passing through the hall the kitchen is reached, where often a number of gyj sies may be seen enjoying themselves at the ex¬ pense of the Squire’s larder. This is an illustration of the hospitality for which the English are noted. In a household of this kind the servants form an important part. Many of them have served in the family so long that tlu ' v seem almost apart of it; the housekeeper is a dignified old lady who can tell the history of every person represented in the picture gallery, w’ithout w’hich no English house is compb-te. Under her supervision everything is done quietly and (juickly. Next in impor¬ tance come the footman and butlei’, both skilled in their own duties. Horseback riding, besides being a pleasure here, is almost a necessity, as it is nearly the only mode of trav¬ eling ; and haw ' king, wi.ich is one of the favorite amusements, requires both a good horse and an experi¬ enced rider. The stable is ahvays well filleil, not only foi- the benefit of the family, but also for any guest. In a grove a short distance from the house is a rookery, and as rooks are said to add dignity to the ])lace where they build, no one is allow ' ed to harm them; in consequence of which there is hardly a tree about the grounds but has Mt least one nest in it. A half-mile walk takes one to the village, ov r which the Sipiire holds much the same power as did the lords in the feudal times over their tenants. The only excitement here is the daily arrival of tlu- stage-coach W’ith the mail,which is almost the only means of intercourse with the out¬ side world, as few travelers come to such an out-of-the-w ' ay place. H. Al. C. ’8(S. Dr. John Murray of the (Tiallen- ger expedition says the mean height of the land is 2 230 feet above the sea level and the mean depth of the ocean is 12,480 feet. Should the whole of the solid land be reduced to one level under the ocean, then the surtace of the earth would be cov¬ ered by an ocean wdth a uniform de})th of about two miles.

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Vol. IV. MILFORD, MASS., MARCH, 1888. No. 7 La Foi. Soyez comine 1 ' oiseau ,Pose pour u n instant Sur les raineaux trop frele: II sent ployer la branche, Mais il chant.e pourlanl ' Sachant qu’il a des ailes. —[Victor Hugo. Faith. Be like the bird, an instant poised On the too frail bough, so lightly. He feels it bend, but knowing well ' I ' liat he has wings, sines brightly. F. E. 11. ’88. “In March come the March winds, They blow and blow, They sweep up the brown leaves That green ones may grow.’’ Ambition in Life. W HAT is your ambition? Of course you have one, as every energ etie person should have; but what is it? Is it for wealth siin|)Iy, or is it for ptitriotisrn ? Perliaps it is philanthropy ; love for your fellow- nian ; it nitty be self-itn]»rovement, to make the best use of yotir own tal¬ ents? Grant that your ambition is for wealth, not to hoard it with a miser¬ ly (uipidity for the money, nor for reputiition, nor yet for charitable pur])oses; but to carry on a success¬ ful business, or for gratification of self, to ha e anything that heart can desire. This is better far than no ambition, for however selfish and un¬ willing to use his money for the good of others a man may be, he is, never¬ theless, of great value to his town. Think how one man, owning proper¬ ty, or carrying on an immense busi¬ ness, is obliged by his taxes to con¬ tribute to the expenses of the town. See the great multitude to whom he gives work. The railroad kings, for example: What power they have in all the questions of the day. Behold the great army of their employes and the others below these, who look up to them and depend on them for daily bread, but all, :n reality, re ly- iiifT on the one man at the head. So then, if you do seek wealth, you will, unintentionally jierhaps, be of great benefit to those about you. Another’s is a patriotic ambition, aiming at the attainment of political influence and the power to give right impulse to society. This is a noble ambition for any peison. In the troubled times of the present, has not the world need of America? And can America meet the position to which she is by nature and by right assigned, unless some one is at work to raise the moral tone of society, and to im))rove the general condition of our ])olitics? Then, if you will, as¬ pire to ])olitical influence; but as you value your country, use your power aright, and let America and the world ])roflt by your good deeds. ' Fhe desire of a third is to do good to his fellow-men, to redress great ])ublic wrongs, further moral and so¬ cial reforms, and, like Garrison and Phillips, destroy vicious systems. When one has such an ambition, if he is eager and zealous, what great o-ood he can do. The world needs O more Peabodies today, to raise and sustain the weak, to cheer the dis¬ couraged, and in every way to work for the welfare of the ))eople. What a future would be ours, were there more striving to lessen the public wrongs, to reform society, and to improve the morals of the gener¬ ations which so quickly come on to the stage of life. The lemperance work needs young men and young women. Here is a fleld for you! The government needs strong-mind¬ ed men to combat the Mormon trou¬ bles. The New West Educational Commission is doing a great work in this direction, for education seems to be the only cure. You all, I doubt not, will soon have the privilege of suffrage. Will your influence always be for the right? Think not that I exclude the young ladies, for even if we are now denied the right of voting, it will not be so long. But who can estimate the influence of one strong woman, even now, on the questions of the day? What an influence Mrs. Livermore has! Although she is not ] ermitted to vote, yet, by her energy and her lectures, slie exerts a power far greater than any one man can by a single ballot. The fourth and last ambition to which I must direct your thought is self-culture. I hear one say, “I wish to im|)rove myself and rise as high as I possibly can.” This is com¬ mendable. Yes, it is a duty to culti¬ vate the talents with which we have been endued, and yet it is selfish am¬ bition, unless we improve ourselves for the purpose of assisting and en¬ couraging others, and to be more competent to devote ourselves to some good work. In this country there are so many advantages of which one can avail himself, if he has the disposition, that he who fails to do so is unworthy of himself. Therefoi-e improve all the j)Ossibili- ties within you. Leave nothing un¬ tried. E. II. “Not books, but thought started by the reading of them, makes the educated man or woman.” Thus de¬ clares a recent writer, and to this we might add : Not what we can memo¬ rize from our text-books makes us true scholars ; but the discipline and development of our mental powers by trying to grasp the real meaning the author intends to convey, edu¬ cates us.

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XjIH.’ST EXCp NQE?- The editorials in the March Haver¬ hill Life we find j)articularly good. The valedictory address to Virgil awakens a sympathetic response in us, but what “Styx” us is why the Young Idea has put that definition of a demagogue among its editorials. Is it so that the “Chestnut” ed. might copy it verbatim et literatim. How do you like the color of the paper this month ?—[Chauncy Hall Abstract. Just the color in which to hurrah over a successful exhibition. Please accept our sincere thanks— not “thumps”—for straightening out our name. I f “the comuositor does not care a fig” for calling us Oak, Lily and Fig, I v(y)ow ice do. “What’er girls do, or say, or dream,” O girls of the Stubeiiville Sem.! how did you ever dare clu-isten your new paper “ The ' Fattier” ? Is there method in your madness? Did YOU mean to forestall criticism? We like your paper, and b ' g you to .ac¬ cept our corilial c.ongratnlations on the success, in every w.ay, of your Hrst effort. Come and see us again. Pray tell us. Stylus, the number of scholars in the Brockton high school. How can you have 59 cases of tardiness in four weeks. Is there not some mistake in the report? We, with an average daily attemlance of 109.8, had only 85 for the whole year. With the same average :is ours your school ought to number m.any hun- lreds. Our list of new exchanges for this month is unusually long, l)ut every one is welcome. ' Fhey .are, as a rule, bright and reachable, .and call them¬ selves as follows: The (Tolden Eagle, The High Sch ' )o! Mirror, ' I’he Col¬ lege Whim, The Reveille, The Acad¬ emy Monthly, Our New Scheme, Southwest rn Presbyteiaan Journal, ' File Meteor, ' Fhe Institute Record, ' Fhe Bellevue College Star. The Oak, Lily and Ivy shows poor taste in mixing up so many .adver¬ tisements with the reading matter.— [Stray Shot. You are very right, but did you copy this stray shot from fifty other exchanges, or is it original? Won’t you whisper to us softly how you manage to float along so buoyantly on the financial sea without any ads. at all ? They are oar indispensable life-jcreservers,—without them we sink. Our “taste” no more than yours approves of the “mixing up,” which, nevertheless, stern necessity compels. If it is rich uncles that helj) you along, can’t you spare us a few? We congratulate the Haverhill Life and Our New Scheme on their printer. We have tried him for years and have never found him wanting. O Professor, translating Virgil— “There are to me twice seven nym 2 )hs of excellent body, which I will give to you.” “M.ac—“How much is a nym))h. Professor?”—[Res Academicae. What is a “which,” Mac might have asked. Does the High School Bulletin wish to retaliate by giving us “too much of a good thing” in return for the same kindness on our part? Is that Yvhy it sends us an extra cover? Or is it intended as something under which to hide our diminished heads? Nous decouvrons. Fhe Ex.-ed. of the Sunbeam con¬ fesses herself weary of bowing in ac¬ knowledgement of complimentary puns on the name of her magazine, but what can she expect if she will l)ersist in flashing her brightness U|)on us as she does in the Jan.-F ' eb. issue. ' Fhe literary department of the March number of the Dartmouth is particularly enjoyable. The poetry is far above the average. “My Aunt’s Specs” is a bright and natui-al sketch, and we enjoyed a hearty laugh over the .absurdities of “Pas¬ sages from The Modern Gulliver.” We welcome the “College Reflec¬ tor” from the Miss. .Agricultural College. The j aper is well printed, ably edited, and the motto is a help¬ ful one; but on t.aking it up, and on putting it down, a question»comes to us not for the first time, “Why do most of our Southern exchanges use such miserably ) ooi’ paper?” There are some noticeably fine ar¬ ticles in the January number of the Riclmiond College Messengeia “Re¬ marks on P’iction” shows how a taste for sensational literature is engtm dered and fostered, and hints at some of the benefits received from reading the best authors of fiction. In “Over Education,” taken from the Johns Hopkins University is a healthy pi ' otest against educating the mental power ' s at the expetrse of the physical. The arguments ai ' e good, but we take exception to this state¬ ment: “It is safe to say that the physically active ar ' e almost always tho.se who carry off no intellectual prizes.” That tliat was the case foi’- rnerly, we grant, but such a state of affairs is no lorrger a foregone con- chtsion with us in the East. It is too generally the age of athletic sports here. How is it in the South, friend Messenger? We are glad to see the Niagai-a Index for March. January and Feb- ruai-y failed to brirrg us the custo- mar-y “bitter-s” fr-orn the College of Our Lady of Angels, and we feared we might have been “vexatioiisly crossed” off of the list of exchanges. “Bitters” are excellent as a spring tonic, and we need them. We an¬ ticipate you. If “the girls who edit the Oak, Lily and Ivy”—oh, boys! oh, whei e ai’e ye !—have “stung with their sar¬ casm” the editor-s of the Literary Morrthly, or of any other of their ex- chatrges, they can only say the woutrd has irot been given intention¬ ally. It was the sin and not the sin¬ ner at which they aimed, but to qirote fr-oirr the L. M. itself, “Wra- tiirg or printing is like shooting with a rifle; you may hit your reader’s mind or nriss it;” “ ' i ' he girls who edit” etc., atrd the boys, too, have only the friendliest feelings for all their exchamjes. O We “laiise” fruits, “cultivate” plants, “break” colts, “breed” stock, “tr-ain” pigeons; but we “educate” man. “It is cert.aiirly true that the ti-ain- irig of a manual training school lets in a flood of light upon a thousand things hut imperfectlg understood before.’’ ' ' “Prof. Pi ' oetor asserts that 100,- 000,000 people lived and died in Amer-ica before its discovery by Colunrbus.” Of coui-se the learned pi ' ofessoi- must be right, but we’ve counted twice and make it 99,999,- 999 each time. For tvveirty-two year’s, and even longer-, Mr. Bergh has devoted his eitergy aird wealth to the ameliora¬ tion of the coirditioir of the dumb cr’eation. Since that time he has seeir the rrrodest society which he founded, atrd of wifrich he was the president, becortre orre of the strong¬ est benevolerrt orgarrizations, not only iir this city, but in America, for there is now h.-irdly a state iir the Uitioir which does not corrtain a kin¬ dred organizatioir In thirty-seven states and territories laws forbidding the ill treatment of animals have beetr passed, aird itt thirty-four of them societies to carry out their pro- yisions have beeir organized. Very few metr have ever lived to see the work which they started grow to such colossal jrroportiorrs, and there is iro other I’efoi’mer irow living who has Yvitiressed the spread of his ideas over so vast a territory.—[Benjamin Northroj).