There were not nearly as many competitors altogether as we hoped for, and that was the unsatisfactory part, for really our belief in our girls' desire to help the poor was very deeply rooted. We also hoped that more would have been spurred on by the chance of a prize to send in some article. FOR GIRLS UNDER FOURTEEN. _Flannel Petticoat._ First prize, one guinea, divided between-- Marion Wilson Rankin, Shirgarton, North Mount Vernon, Glasgow, and Eleanor Dorothy Pimm, Linholme, 40, George Road, Edgbaston. FOR GIRLS OVER FOURTEEN. _Child's Overall._ First prize of one guinea-- Anna Mörner, Tonstorp, Sweden. The second prize of half-a-guinea is divided between-- Mabel Weller, North Shields, and Leila Mary Bowen, Ludlow. FOR GIRLS OVER EIGHTEEN. _Girl's Blouse._ First prize of one guinea-- Miss Clara L. Wiles, Cambridge. Second prize of half-a-guinea-- Miss Urqhuhart, Glasgow. So many of the blouses merited special commendation that we give a list of-- HONOURABLE MENTION. Rose Baiden, Daisy Clarke, E. Morris, Eleanor Groves, Winifred Hopton, Eva Davenport, Janet Lamb, A. M. Deacon, Ida A. Browne, Nellie Cannon, Emily White, Mabel Barr, Carrie M. Anthony, Margaret Beckett, Alice M. Hewitt, E. M. Corke, Alethea Bate. [Illustration] LESSONS FROM NATURE. BY JEAN A. OWEN, Author of "Forest, Field and Fell," etc. CHAPTER II. THE INDUSTRIOUS BEAVER. The part played by some of the different species in the animal world (_sic_), in the development of our earth and its resources, cannot be over-estimated. In some parts of America, for instance, the persistent industry of beavers in the construction of dams has rendered fertile whole tracts of prairie land that were once arid and barren. In the _Castoridae_, together with the squirrels, the beaver family constitute the group termed _Sciuromorpha_, a group distinguished by its members having a special type of lower jaw structure, and also the same type of skull structure. The powerful incisor teeth of the beaver are admirably suited to the cutting through of small tree stems, of branches and twigs, whilst its flat and scaly tail serves as a rudder to a creature that always makes its home beside or in the midst of water. The beaver is as much noted for its sagacity, and for what nowadays we call "faculty," as it is prized for its fur. One of the largest of the rodents, its body measures nearly three and a half feet in length, not taking the tail into consideration, which is eleven to twelve inches in length.