134 STATE rOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



In too many neighborhoods, I may safely say in all of them, there is too 

 little attention paid to the condition of the school-house, both inside and out- 

 side as well as to the surroundings. 



On children, the good influence of a house and yard which are neat, conven- 

 ient and in good taste, is too obvious to need any arguments. The bad influ- 

 ence of shabby and ill-designed buildings is equally apparent to every observing 

 person. 



The schools in most of our cities and villages have surpassed those 

 in the country in these respects. I have never yet seen a country school house 

 ■which was a model for convenience, comfort, and beauty. I have got to see 

 the first one with surroundings which come up to my standard of excellence. 

 This is doubtless the experience of all who will read this. In many cases, the 

 house has cost enough, but it is defective in some or in many important par- 

 ticulars. There is seldom any good taste shown in the design of the exterior. 

 The house is copied from another or is designed by an incompetent person. I 

 know this is unpleasant talk, and sounds a good deal like fault finding. 



The following is a picture of many of our country school-houses. It is par- 

 tially taken from an article of mine prepared for the Ivural Kew Yorker : 



The house is built on a piece of low land, or rough land, back from the main 

 road, perhaps in the edge of the woods, or more likely away from any trees. 

 There is a little corner of half an acre, or less, cut off from a field. The lot 

 is generally destitute of a fence, which is well enough where domestic animals 

 are not allowed to run in the road. These lots, however, are usually open to 

 the frequent visits of cattle, sheep, and perhaps swine. These animals damage 

 the appearance of the yard, except that some of them keep the grass down. 

 The land is rough and ungraded, jast as nature left it, except the removal of 

 all or a part of the trees. The stones are scattered about, if stones are com- 

 mon in the locality; stumps and logs are plentiful unless the country is old. 



Toward the rear of the lot are a couple of outbuildings much dilapidated, 

 on account of frequent beatings by sundry stones and sticks thrown by mis- 

 chievous boys. In the buildings last mentioned one or both the doors are off 

 the hinges, the foundation is defective, allowing the superstructure to tip par- 

 tially over. Several portions of the main building, especially of the front, 

 are badly damaged by hard usage. In several places scattered over the lot are 

 piles of stove-wood, and numerous sticks are strewn about in great confusion. 

 A mud-puddle is situated near the front door. An old board or two serve to 

 keep the feet partially out of the mud. If we enter the room wo shall not be 

 disappointed in finding that the inside corresponds with the outside of the 

 house. In some places the seats are too high or too low; the backs too nearly 

 perpendicular, the seats too narrow, and the desks in all respects too clumsy 

 and inconvenient. The black board is a small one in an inconvenient place. 

 It is poorly made and too high at least, for small children. There are no cur- 

 tains, or if there are, they are torn, faded and out of order. In some the 

 pupils sit facing the light. The stove is broken and dangerous, as can some- 

 times be seen by holes burned through the floor. The pipe has been apart and 

 burned holes through the ceiling. The plastering is off in several places and 

 roughly patched up in others. There is no provision for ventilation except by 

 the windows and doors. There are cracks through the floor. The foundation 

 walls are breaking down. Cold draughts of air come up through the floor by 

 which means children sit with cold feet. There are no pictures on the walls, 

 and no sign of ornament anywhere. 



In such forlorn quarters, with no sign of ornament inside or out, children 



