n of north and
south. Then the shadow at noon will lie along exactly in the middle of
it. You must get a large and stout pin, too; and drive it in firmly, a
little way, with a small hammer. It will be well, too, to drive another
smaller pin into the other end of the card, so as to keep it fixed in
its north and south position."

"How can we know when it is north and south, exactly?" said Lucy.

"You cannot do it exactly," said Rollo's mother; "but you can get it
pretty near. One way is to borrow father's little compass, and adjust it
by that. Another way is to see when it is exactly twelve o'clock by the
clock, and then the shadow of the pin will of itself be about north.

"Then you might move the north end of the card until the shadow is
brought exactly into the middle of the card, and then put the other pin
in, and fix it in that place. Then if you make a mark along where the
shadow comes, that mark will be a north and south line, and you can mark
the place where the shadow of the pin's head crosses that line, when it
crosses it every day at noon."

The children said that they believed they understood the directions, and
they determined to try the plan. They thought they would fix two cards,
one at Rollo's house, and one at Lucy's; and they immediately went off
in pursuit of blank cards and big pins.

PRUNING.

One afternoon, Rollo saw his father coming out into the garden, with a
little saw and a knife, and a small pot of paint in his hands.

"Father," said he, "are you going to prune your trees now?"

"Yes," said his father.

"Then, shall I go and get my wheelbarrow?"

"Yes," replied his father, again.

So Rollo ran off after his wheelbarrow. It had been arranged, between
him and his father that morning, that they should work in the garden an
hour or two in the afternoon, and that Rollo should pick up all the
cuttings from the trees, and wheel them away, and then, when they were
dry, make a bonfire with them.

Rollo found his wheelbarrow in its proper place, and trundled it along
into the garden.

"Father," said he, "what trees are you going to prune first?"

"O, I am going to begin at the back side of the garden, and prune them
all, advancing regularly to the front."

"What is the saw for?" said Rollo.

"To saw off the large branches, that I can't cut off easily with a
knife."

"But I should not think you would want to saw off any large branches,
for so you will lose all the apples tha