MODEL FARM AND AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 181 



of the endowment of ideality, upon the intellectual and moral 

 character j and I would, if possible, surround a place of education 

 with those objects in nature best suited to elevate and enlarge 

 the mind, and stir the soul of man from its lowest depths. It is 

 at the shrine of nature, in the temple pillared by the lofty moun 

 tains, and whose glowing arches are resplendent with inextin 

 guishable fires, that the human heart is most profoundly impressed 

 with the unutterable grandeur of the great object of worship. 

 It is in fields radiant with their golden harvests, and every where 

 offering, in their rich fruits and products, an unstinted compensa 

 tion to human toil, and the most liberal provision for human 

 subsistence and comfort, and in pastures and groves animated 

 with the expressive tokens of enjoyment, and vocal with the 

 grateful hymns of ecstasy, among the animal creation, that man 

 gathers up those evidences of the faithful, unceasing, and un 

 bounded goodness of the divine Providence, which most deeply 

 touch, and often overwhelm, the heart. The Model Farm and 

 School, at Glasnevin, has connected with it fifty-two English 

 acres of land, the whole of which, with the exception of an 

 acre occupied by the farm buildings, is under cultivation, and a 

 perfect system of rotation of crops. The master of the school 

 pays for this land a rent of five pounds per acre, and taxes 

 and expenses carry the rent to eight pounds per acre. Twelve 

 poor boys, or lads, live constantly with him, for whose education 

 and board, besides their labor, he receives eight shillings sterling 

 per week. They work, as well as I could understand, about six 

 hours a day, arid devote the rest of the time to study, or learning. 

 The course of studies is not extensive, but embraces the most 

 common and useful branches of education, such as arithmetic, 

 geography, natural philosophy, and agriculture, in all its 

 scientific and practical details. They have an agricultural 

 examination, or lecture, every day. I had the gratification of 

 listening to an examination of fourteen of these young men, 

 brought out of the field from their labor ; and cheerfully admit 

 that it was eminently successful, and in the highest degree cred 

 itable both to master and pupil. Besides these young men, 

 who live on the farm, the young men in Dublin, at the normal 

 school, who are preparing themselves for teachers of the national 

 schools, are required to attend at the farm and assist in its labors 

 a portion of the time, that they may become thoroughly ao 

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