NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



327 



sure to light, air and heat. This needs to he bro- 

 ken up and pulverized so that it may admit these 

 and the dews and succeeding rains. There are 

 other reasons which it is not now necessary to enu- 

 merate. The careful cultivator will not wait for 

 the appearance of weeds as the only evidence of 

 the necessity of hoeing. 



For the New England Farmer. 



A WORD TO FARMSRS ABOUT SUM- 

 MER SCHOOLS. 



No one denies the utility of education. It is 

 common to call school-houses "the glory of the 

 land." To give the children a "good schooling" 

 is the highest ambition of many parents. To ac 

 complish this desirable result, no better system of 

 education is necessary than that which prevails in 

 our own commonwealth. Yet, strange as it may 

 seem, there are many who keep their children out 

 of school during the summer, that they may work 

 on the farm ! With some families this may be the 

 result of stern necessity ; being poor, they cannot 

 affird to pay for all the work that must be per- 

 formed, and therefore, as a matter of economy, the 

 labor of their children is indispensable. It is one 

 of the misfortunes of their poverty, for which there 

 is no alternative but submission. 



With reference to such we have not a single ad- 

 monition to offer. Not one word would we write 

 to awaken in their bosoms painful feelings. They 

 are doing the best they can. 



But there is another class with whom no such 

 necessity exists. They are amply able to allow 

 their children to go to school through the whole 

 year, but they keep them home from choice — keep 

 them for pecuniary gain. Sometimes this is done 

 without much consideration on the part of the 

 parents : sometimes it is done because it is the 

 fashion ; for in some places it is just as much the 

 fashion to keep children from school in the sum- 

 mer, as it is to clothe them in garments of a certain 

 pattern. But whenever this is done, it is a great 

 injury to the child; because, during his absence, 

 in addition to forgetting a large portion of what he 

 learned, he has his habits of study broken up ; and 

 when he returns to school, it is much more diffi- 

 cult for him to apply himself to his lessons than 

 though he had not been away. In addition to 

 these disadvantages, when he returns to school, 

 and sees that the class which he left is far in ad- 

 vance of him, feelings of despondency, dissatisfac- 

 tion and shame are excited, which, on many 

 minds, produce a peculiarly discouraging effect. 



We ask now, is this procedure kind ? is it judi- 

 cious ? is It right ? Will you let the minds of your 

 children run to weeds by detaining them at home 

 to keep weeds out of your garden? Will you allow 

 their intellect to become comparatively barren, 

 that through their physical strength you may 

 make your land a little more productive ? Are fruits 

 and vegetables more valuable ' than ideas? Is a 

 strong arm better than a strong mind ? Are you 

 more anxious that your children should learn the 

 language which oxen understand, and thus be able 

 to guide them with words, than you are that they 

 ah mid become acquainted with the laws of their 

 own language and by its skilful use, convince, per- 

 suade and lead reasonable men? 



But you reply; "by keeping our children at 



home we teach them habits of industry, and is not 

 that an important branch of education? Certain- 

 ly. But when you send them to school do they 

 acquire nothing but lessons of indolence? Is there 

 no room for diligence there ? Can industry be learned 

 only at home ? Any experienced teacher will tell 

 you that children, in order to distinguish them- 

 selves as scholars, have to work. Indolent pupils 

 are generally ignorant ones. It is here as else- 

 where that "the hand of the diligent maketh 

 rich." Many a boy would rather chop faggots, or 

 dig the ground for an hour, than to spend the same 

 length of time in study. It would be easier work, 

 even though he perspired at every pore. The 

 sweat of the brow conies easier than the sweat of 

 the brain. It is a difficult task to work up the 

 mind to a state of intellectual heat or of mental 

 moisture. This is labor. Hence one of the advan- 

 tages of a well disciplined school is that the pupils 

 are there trained to industry. They are taught to 

 work. 



We say then to parents, send your children to 

 school as uninterruptedly as possible. Keep them 

 not at home during the summer term. Their 

 school days will soon be over, and then they must 

 enter with their limited degree of preparation upon 

 the responsibilities of life. The best education 

 they can obtain with the full use of all their priv- 

 ileges, they will find little enough for all the im- 

 portant duties which will devolve upon them. 



J. B. 



For the New England Farmer. 



ERRATA. 



In my last (page 220) you make me say that I 

 planted two rows with large potatoes cut into two 

 pieces, one piece to a hill, the other two to the 

 small ones from which I had picked the seed for 

 the other two rows. This was a mistake, whether 

 in me or your printer. I planted two rows to 

 whole potatoes, large enough for one to a hill, the 

 other two to the small and large ones, from which 

 I had picked the medium sized ones, (for the other 

 two rows,) cutting the large ones and putting one 

 piece to a hill. Of the small ones I put two, and 

 as I before said, the medium sized whole potatoes 

 produced one-eighth the most. Accept my thanks 

 for your remarks. 



Yours for improvement, S. Tenney. 



N. Raymond, Me., May, 1852. 



Mass. Board of Agriculture. — The Executive 

 Committee of this Board will have a session at 

 the State House, on Wednesday, the 9th of Au-. 

 gust, to appoint delegates to the National Agri- 

 cultural Convention to be holden at Washington, 

 on the 24th day of the present month. 



At this busy season it will be inconvenient for 

 the county societies to assemble and make a for- 

 mal choice of delegates, and we therefore recom- 

 mend to them to send up to the Massachusetts 

 Board the names of such persons as express a wil- 

 lingness to attend, and let them be regularly au- 

 thorized by the Executive Committee, to whom 

 was delegated all such powers. 



lEf^ Mechanics should ever remember that punc- 

 tuality is the life of trade. 



