luctantly resigned its presidency to accept the chair of English Language and Literature in the Iowa State Normal School at Cedar Falls; he has therefore beenconnected with the state normal school from its origin. He was transferred in 1881 by the normal board of trustees from the chair of language and literature to that of mathematics, which position he now fills.

In connection with his Normal work, he has written and published a work entitled "A Drill Book in English Grammar." The book has reached its third edition and has been helpful to many teachers in presenting, and to many pupils in mastering the intricacies of English syntax. As an institute conductor and instructor he is well and favorably known in the state. He is always at home with a class of teachers. His didactic talks and lectures are familiar, practical and entertaining. He treats his students to no fine-spun untried theories, but to conclusions and inferences largely drawn from his own experience in the different grades of school-work, There is a quiet vein of humor in these talks which takes a decidedly sarcastic tendency when exposing the shams and follies of educational quacks and pretenders. Mr. Wright is a member of the board of managers of the Iowa Normal Nonthly Publishing Company.

OUTLINES FOR READING CIRCLE.

1.

PHYSICS.

May-Balfour Stewart. Pages 52-88.

Acoustics-(a) Definitions of Vibration-Sound. (b) Variation in number of vibrations per second causes a variation in the pitch of sound produced doubling number of vibrations per second raises the pitch one octave. (c) Description of Savart's "Toothed Wheel" Art. 47. Under favorable conditions the human ear can recognize sones produced by any number of vibrations from 16 to 60,000 or some say to 73,000 per second or 12 octaves. A greater number of vibrations than 73,000, is not recognized by the ear. (d) A vibrating body is possessed of energy. What work does it do when vibrating in air? or in water? in a vacuum? (e) Media through which sound can be transmitted-grses-liquidssolids. Which will convey it most rapidly? (f) Method by which vibration [wave motion] is propagated through water or air illustrated by exp. 35. (g) Reflection of sound-echoes-whispering galleries--instruments utilizing reflection of sound-ear trumpet stethescope-speaking trumpet.

2.

Heat and sgiht (a) These are supposed to result from exceedingly rapid vibrations of the molecules of the hot or luminous body. Even the most solid body is believed to be composed of

exceedingly small particles [molecules], nowhere touching one another, tee spaces between being occupied by an elastic called either. When these molecules are vibrating rapidly enough-each in its own sphere-the body is said to be hot. This condition is recognized by the sense of feeling or the thermometer.. If the vibration be somewhat more rapid it begins to give light also, and at the same time the heat begins to diminish. As the number of vibrations per second continues to increase the color of the light changes from red, throngh orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The thermometer shows no heat after passing the green, and the eye perceives no sensation beyond the violet, just as the ear perceives no sound when there are more vibrations than 73,000 per second.

Heat. (b). Expands most bodies. A gas will expand more than a liquid, and a liquid more than a solid, for a given increase of temperature, the rate of expansion being somewhat dependent on the temperature. Note-water at 4° cont. [364° Fah.] will expand if heated, or cooled, and it expands greatly in freezing. (c). Energyiof expansion of liquids aod solids very great. (d). Specific Heat. The same heat that raises the temperature of a given weight of water 33°, would raise same weight of mercury 100°. Making water the standard. the specific heat of mercury=%%%= 0.0333. The sp. heat varies at different temperatures. (e). Change of state through the agency of heat. A solid, heated sufficiently, changes to a liquid, and by still higher temperature is changed to vapor. Conversely by cooling, vapors reduce to liquids, and livuids to solids. Note. The exception in the text with reference to alcohol and air (see art. 57) is no longer to be made.

3

(f) Latent Heat. When a body changes its state by heating or cooling, a great amount of heat disappears in some mysterious way. This disappearing quantity is called latent heat. For example. A certain quantity of heat will just melt a given weight of ice without raising its temperature above freezing point. If the same heat had been applied to an equal weight of water it would have raised its temperature 79° C or 14 L. F. The water at freezing point then has 79° more of heat than the ice which the thermometer indicated as also at freezing point; 79° there is the "latent heat" of water. Again a certain amount of heat applied to a given weight of water will change it into steam which is no hotter than the water was. The same amount of heat would have raised 537 times as much water from freezing point to 1° celligrade. This 537° of heat is used up in changing the water to steam and without raising its temperature in the least. The latent heat of steam therefore=537° (g) Great practical advantage of this as seen in gradual melting of ice and snow, and in gradual change of water into steam. (h). Boiling point of liquids dependent on atmospheric pressure. top of high mountains water boils before it is hot enough to cook vegetables. At the bottom of deep mines it must be hotter than 100° before it will boil.

On

WORK OF THE EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE STATE ASSOCIATION FOR 1886.

Industrial Education.-Chairman, Henry Sabin, Clinton; N. W. Boyes, Dubuque ; J. S. Shoup, Danbury; R. A. Harkness, Fairfield; E. L. Parks, Indianola; W. F. Cramer, Waverly.

The Academy.-Chairman, H. K. Edson, Grinnell; J. B. Young, Davenport; M. F. Arey, Fort Dodge; W. E. Parker, Independence.

State Certificates and Diplomas.-Chairman, J. L. Pickard, Iowa City; C. P. Rogers, Marshalltown; R. G. Saunderson, Burlington; D. W. Lewis, Washington.

Study of Language in Common Schools.-Chairman, H. H. Seerley, Oskaloosa; J. C. Gilchrist, Cedar Falls; Lucy Curtis, State Center; A. W. Stuart, Ottumwa; J. F. McFarland, Mt. Pleasant.

Compulsory Education.-Chairman, W. H. Wynn, Ames; J. Wernli, Le Mars; Jas. McNaughton, Council Bluffs; Wm. Brooks, Tabor.

To What Extent Shall the State Educate?-Chairman, W. F. King, Cornell; E. R. Eldridge, Columbus Junction; C. H. Gurney, Shenandoah; Ole O. Roe, Nevada; E. M. Cotton, Mason City; A. Armstrong, Sioux City.

STATE NEWS.

O. J. Laylander, superintendent of Brooklyn schools, delivered a lecture before the recent Tri-County Teacher's Convention, at Newton. Subject: "Some Obstacles in the Way of the Graded Schools." We shall publish part of the lecture in June number.

Prin. Wm. Bell, of Bedford, is re-elected to his present position. The Emerson School Board frequently grants its teachers a half day to visit other schools. On the afternoon of April 16th, Prof. Hodges, with two assistants, visited the Malvern schools. Prof. Hodges has been unanimously re-elected, but declines to make another contract in Emerson.

Lone Tree school house, Fremont County, was totally destroyed by a cyclone on the afternoon of April 15th.

Rev. J. B. Stewart, D. D., of Des Moines, will deliver the annual address to the students of Christian Association of Amity College, June 8th.

The Board of Supervisors of Hardin County, appointed Prof. J. C. Hadley for county superintendent, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of H. G. Fuller. The Professor is well educated and possesses a good moral character-two qualifications necessary for the office. The real educators of this county are confident that the so-called "industrial work," will be dealt with honestly and receive merit where it belongs, and that the education of teachers will be one of the requisites required.

Prin. J. F. McLean, now of Griswold, Cass Co. schools, formerly for six years county superintendent of Montgomery County, was on April 19, elected by a unanimous vote, to the principalship of the Villisca schools for the ensuing year.

Prof. Sawyer, of Hamburg, will spend July and September as traveling correspondent for the St. Joseph, Mo., Gazette. For five years Prof. Sawyer was upon the Gazette editorial staff and left that position when he took charge of the Hamburg schools.

The Decorah Journal reports in regard to the Winnesheik county institute, which opened April 17th, that Supt. Shea and his corps of able teachers can look upon this institute as the largest and most successful one that has ever been held in the county. This same thing has been said of each of the other two, and it is a noticeable fact in looking over and comparing the reports of the three institutes presided over by him during his administration, that each successive one outnumbers the other by fifty names, while the quality of the educational work done increases in an accelerating ratio. There is one thing in connection with this institute that has been more noticable than at any other, and consequently deserving of all honorable mention, and that is the promptness displayed in being in attendance on the opening day, and the remarkable punctuality with which they attended while the institute was in session. With but few exceptions the entire number has been in attendance from the beginning. This shows to a remarkable extent the willingness of the teachers to grapple with educational work, do all they could to make it a success and derive all the benefits that could accrue from it.

The Seniors of Cornell College and of the State University contemplate a joint pic-nic at the Palisades of the Cedar, midway between Mt. Vernon and Iowa City. Time May 15th.

Supt. Sessions, of Linn County, has purchased Yaggy's Anatomical Study for the use of the coming institute in that county.

We are glad to hear of the great prosperity of the Western Normal College, at Shenandoah, this state. Prof. Croan, the proprietor, is chuck-full of business, enthusiastic, energetic, and knows how to use printers' ink. He is one of our best customers and writites us that he is thoroughly satisfied with the investment. The faculty is one of great strength and selected from every part of the continent. See their advertisement on the last page of this

number.

Supt. J. L. Buechele, of Blackhawk county, has published an excellent course of study for the Normal Institute.

Prof. A. B. Carroll will conduct the Kossuth County Normal this

summer.

Prof. McBride, of the State University, lectured at Tipton, a short time ago, on "Life and Its Phenomena."

Supt. Fuller, of Hardin county, has resigned and has gone to Dakota. Prof. Hadley has been appointed superintendent for the unexpired term.

Ex-Supt. Todd, of Keokuk county, has gone to Dakota to enter business.

A county superintendents' and teachers' convention for the first district of Iowa will be held at Mt. Pleasant, May 18th and 19th. The following is the program: Address-"The Moral Elements in an Education," by Supt. H. J. Bell, of Albia; discussion by Supt. M. Hedge, of Oskaloosa. President's address, Mr. P. L. Kindig, Oskaloosa. Paper-" Higher Education," Miss Julia L. Scofield, Fairfield; discussion by E. H. Eastman, Mt. Pleasant. Address"Relative Value that should be given to Scholarship and Success in Teaching in Grading Certificates," Supt. R. W. Anderson, Bloomfield; discussion by Miss Belle Kilgore, Washington, and Miss Nannie Torrance, of Sigourney. Address, State Supt. J. W. Akers. Paper-" County Superintendents: their Relations and Duties to Teachers," Mrs. L. G. Murdock, of Columbus Junction; discussion by Supt. J. W. Hook, of Corydon. Address" School Literature," -Supt. E. G. Ashby, of Centerville; discussion by Supt. W. J. Medes, of Keokuk. Paper-"How to Grade the Country Schools and Normal Institutes," Supt. W. A. McIntire, Ottumwa; discussion by Supt. W. E. Burk, Burlington. Paper-"Realities of the Teachers' Profession," M. J. Pusey, of Eldon; discussion by Miss Mary E. Brown, of Keosauqua. Executive Committee.-R. S. Alspach, S. N. Hopkins.