be easy, if the method is approved of, to issue fresh and well arranged Series in cheap booklets to supplement those given here. In the meantime teachers are relied upon to furnish their own Series. They should be as true to life as possible; true to Irish life; and should not offend against the probabilities, nor should they ever depart from the order of time. The system depends to some extent on the reality and truth of the language used.
It will be observed that the language of my Series has a Northern flavour. It is with the Northern variety of the spoken language alone that I am familiar, and I act in consonance with the principles here taught in using that variety. Munster or Connacht teachers need not follow the language of these Series, but, using these as models—in regard to arrangement—they ought to use their own language, such as it is commonly spoken in the neighbourhood. Many of the Series are not my own, but were taken down from the lips of good Irish speakers.
It has been said that the language should be real, true, and local. So also should be the treatment of the subject. Take, for instance, the exercise on cutting turf. Though absolutely true to life in regard to cutting turf in Donegal, it would not, probably, properly describe the work of cutting turf in various parts of Ireland. The teacher who does not make his own Series should take care that the, Series which he teaches is correct and true to life.
