44 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



in order to show the progress the system is 

 making, that in 1815, the number of children in 

 the State between the ages oi five and sixteen 

 years, residing in the School Districts, was 

 176,449, and the number tlien taught in said 

 Districts was 140,106 ; while iu 1843 the num- 

 ber in tlie Districts between those ages was 

 677,995, and the number taught was 657,782. — 

 The aggregate amount of the funds applicable 

 to the support of Common Schools and District 

 Libraries, for the year ending 31st of December 

 last, [i7icluding reveuue from U. S. Deposite 

 fund !) was — 



Apportioned from the State $275,000 00 



Equal amount raised by Supenasors 275,000 00 



Sums voluntaiily raised by vote of towns 18,000 00 

 Sums raisiul in cities under special laws. 200.000 00 

 Local funds 18,000 00 



Total $786,000 00 



The great beauty of this exposition is, that all 

 this is done by these Northern men cheerfully 

 and punctually, under an organization embrac- 

 ing, in the words of Mr. Randall, " tlie entire 

 ten-itoi-y of the State, and cemented togetlier by 

 the active and constant cooperation of our fel- 

 low-citizens generally, without distinction of 

 party or sect." 



Secbetary's Office, ^ 

 Depastment of Comjion Schools, > 

 Albany, June 23, 1845. ) 

 Mr. J. S. Skinner: 



Dear Sir : I have the honor to transmit here- 

 with, for your acceptance, a copy of the last 

 Annual Report from this Department, together 

 with a concise exposition and historj- of our Com- 

 mon School system, prepared by myself, and pla- 

 ced, under the directions of the Legislature, in 

 each of our School District Libraries. An exam- 

 ination of the.se documents will enable you to 

 obtain a good general idea of the ju-ominent fea- 

 tures of our system of public instniction, its ca- 

 pabilities and results. 



It has occurred to me that an organization so 

 extensive and efficient — embracing the entire 

 territory of our State, and cemented together by 

 the active and constant cooperation of our fel- 

 low-citizens generally, without distinction of 

 party or sect — might afford a most valuable me- 

 dium for the collection and diffusion of Agricul- 

 tural Science. Emanating from the Principals 

 and Professors of our State Nonnal School, this 

 indi.spensable branch of modern education 

 might, as it seems to me. find its way through 

 the teachers there annually educated and .sent 

 forth, to the several County Associations of 

 teachers, and by them be carried into each of 

 the eleven thousand School Districts of our 

 State, to fertilize, in good time, as well the soil 

 as the mind. My views upon this subject have 

 been given, somewhat at length, in two com- 

 munications addressed to a Committee of the 

 State Agricultural Society, of which Hon. .John 

 Greig was Chainnan, in reply to a Circular re- 

 ceived from the late Recording Secretary ; and 

 will be found in the volume of the Transactions 

 of the Society for the present year, recently 

 published. They have elicited con.siderablc op- 

 position from practical farmers as well as prac- 

 tical educationists, upon the gi-ound not only 

 (92 



that our elementary schools are not sufficiently 

 advanced to admit of the introduction of Agri- 

 cultural Science a.s a specific branch of study, 

 but that Agricultural Science itself is still in its 

 infancy, and therefore not entitled as yet to take 

 rank with those standard branches -which are 

 required to be taught in our in.stitutions of 

 learning. These objections, it will readily be 

 perceived, even if their validity be conceded to 

 tlie fullest extent that can be claimed for them, 

 are of a temporary character ; and in proposi- 

 tions and discussions of this nature, I think we 

 should regard the future even more than the pre- 

 sent. Through the agencies no^v developing 

 themselves in evei"y section of the State, we may 

 reasonably, in my judgment, indulge tlie hope 

 that a few years will place our Connnon Schools 

 on veiy high ground as nurseries of the mind 

 and the heart ; and will enable them to dispense 

 broad-cast over our entire population, the seeds 

 of sound knowledge and lasting improvement; 

 nor, judging of the probable future from the 

 past, need we labor under any apprehensions 

 that the progress of Agricultural Science, in all 

 its departments, will keep pace with the ad- 

 vancement of the age in other respects. With 

 every disposition, therefore, to concede to the 

 greater practical knowledge and more enlarged 

 experience of those who view this subject dif- 

 ferently, I cannot regard the suggestion that this 

 important branch of a finished education shoidd 

 be introduced into our Common Schools as either 

 vi.sionary or impracticable. My o\v'n earnest con- 

 viotion is that it should be so introduced : that eve- 

 ry teacher should be capable of teaching its ele- 

 mentary principles ; that text-books on the va- 

 rious subjects connected with these principles, 

 adapted to the comprehension of the learner, 

 should be prepared and used ; and that well- 

 written treati.ses and essays on these subjects 

 should find a prominent place in everj- District 

 Library. In this way, I am satisfied, great and 

 lasting good may be accomplished ; and I ^vould 

 respectfully invoke your earnest and efficient 

 cooperation in the extension and enfoix-ement 

 of these views, should they be so fortunate as to 

 meet with your approbation. Should a favora- 

 ble opportunity present itself, in the course of 

 your undertaking, it will afford me the utmost 

 pleasure to discuss this whole subject, in a 

 friendly and familiar spirit, w^ith those who 

 view it through a less enthusiastic certainly, and 

 perhaps a more practical, medium than myself. 

 With gi'eat respect, your obedient servant, 



SAMUEL S. RANDALL, 

 Deputy Superintendent Common ScJtools. 



Nothing is more satisfactory than the demand 

 for the means of draining land, as evinced by 

 the constant eftbrts ■which are making to provide 

 tile-machines which shall manufacture them 

 cheaply and well. We have to direct the at- 

 tention of our readers to an advertisement in 

 last ^veek's number, which states that a machine 

 capable of delivering 800 feet per hour of tiles 

 3^ inches by 3^ is on exhibition at No. 14 South- 

 street, Manchester-square, London, ^vhere any 

 one interested in draining land may attend and 

 judge of its ffiecacy. Mes.-^rs. B. Denton and 

 ChaiTiock, who are connected with it, are well 

 known by their useful writings on the subject 

 of drainage. [English paper. 



