I am glad that the Spaniards have other wars to attend to, so that they will let Cuba alone, and so that Cuba can have a government of its own and have the island of Cuba. I hope that if the Spaniards do not stop fighting Cuba that troops of the United States will go and fight the Spaniards out in a hurry. My sister takes your GREAT ROUND WORLD, and I have been reading it, and enjoy it very much. I wish that you would tell us how the flying machine is getting along. Yours truly, EDITH S. ONEONTA, N.Y., April 17th, 1897. MY DEAR EDITH: Up to the time of answering your very welcome letter we have no fresh news of the flying machine. As soon as we hear anything that we are sure is true we will tell you. EDITOR DEAR EDITOR: I wish you would get a pattern of the kite. My teacher reads your paper, and I am very interested in the newspaper. We have it in school. I was seven years old on Sunday. Please put this letter in the newspaper. It is the first one I have ever written. Yours truly, HOWELL G. BALTIMORE, MD. DEAR HOWELL: We are very proud to think that the first letter you have ever written has been to us. Please write again--often. If you will look in the last number of THE GREAT ROUND WORLD you will see an answer to Sydney G. about the kite. We told him just where to find the pattern for it. EDITOR. DEAR EDITOR: I want to ask you about the great monster, and did they take him to Washington? I am eight years old. Please put my letter in the paper. Good-by. MURRAY W.S. BALTIMORE, MD., March 23d, 1897. Mr. Merrill, the Acting Curator of the Smithsonian Institution, has been kind enough to send us the following letter about the monster that was washed ashore on the coast of Florida. Our young readers should get _The American Naturalist,_ and read the article. EDITOR. EDITOR OF THE GREAT ROUND WORLD: In reply to your letter of April 4th, I regret to say that the nature of the animal which was washed ashore on the coast of Florida is still undetermined. Some authorities are inclined to regard the remains as a portion of the head of a whale. On pages 304-307 of the April number of _The American Naturalist_ is a very full discussion of the subject by Professor A.E. Verrill, of Yale College. This may be of interest to you. Yours respectfully, GEORGE E. MERRILL, Acting Executive Curator. WASHINGTON, April 9th, 1897. * * * * * =MONOGRAMS MONOGRAMS= Who is Collecting Monograms? * * * * *