530 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEil. 



Nov. 



also around dwarf pears, and have found it a 

 good dressing, particularly in preserving them 

 from insects. I have placed it between rows of 

 strawberries, particularly the large varieties, 

 which 1 cultivate as single plants, by cutting off 

 the runners ; it will retain heat and moisture 

 during the warm months. For all purposes of 

 mulching young trees in the fall, I have found it 

 to be a good article. J. M. I. 



Salem, 1859. 



THE STATE BEFOBM SCHOOL. 



The recent partial destruction of this institu- 

 tion by fire has naturally awakened a desire in 

 the public mind to know its history and practi- 

 cal results. That there is a widely spread im- 

 pression that it has failed of its legitimate pur- 

 pose to a greater or less extent, is most evident. 

 But while parties, hostile to the school, are loud 

 in its denunciation, the discerning and the phil- 

 anthropic demand facts and statistics, and re- 

 serve their judgment till these are furnished 

 from reliable sources. 



One inquiry of importance in deciding the gen- 

 eral question is, the cost of supporting this insti- 

 tution, compared with other institutions of a sim- 

 ilar character ; another is, wh'^t proportion of 

 the boys committed to the school are thoroughly 

 reformed, and go out into society to become use- 

 ful and honorable citizens? 



After long and careful investigation, aided by 

 the present and past officers of the school, the 

 writer is able to furnish the following answer to 

 these questions : — 



The number of boys committed to the Reform 

 School since its opening in 184cS is 2.3;}". The 

 number of inmates at the present time is 507. 

 The number known to have deceased is 42. This 

 leaves a total of 1988, whose history is the sub- 

 ject of our inquiry. Of this number, the career 

 of about 300 cannot be traced with certainly. 

 This comprises the boys who were committed on 

 short sentences ; those who were in feeble health; 

 those who have left the State ; those who were 

 committed under assumed names, ^c. 



The history and character of 1Gj3 boys who 

 have been inmates of the school have been as- 

 certained. 281 of these have turned out badly. 

 This is fourteen and one-seventh per cent, on 

 the total of 1988. 1372 of these boys are known 

 to have done well. This is 69 per cent, of all 

 who have gone forth from the institution. 



In this calculation, in all cases of doubt, the 

 doubt is reckoned against the Institution ; al- 

 though in a large number of instances, the prob- 

 ahUiiies were in favor of a thorough i-eforma- 

 tion. 



This is a better record than has ever been 

 claimed by the trustees ; and, considering the 

 disadvantages under which the Institution has 

 labored, from want of the means of a proper clas- 

 sification ; the advanced age of the majority oi 

 boys when committed ; and the great number of 

 short sentences, it is a better result, the writer 

 confidently believes, than the truest friends of 

 the school have ever dared to hope for. 



But, as will be evident to any one familiar 

 v?ith the school, this does not exhibit the actual 

 results of the training and discipline of the Insti- 

 tution. It is well known that provision is made 



in the statute for the remanding of such boys 

 committed to the school, as the Trustees find, on 

 a brief probation, to be confirmed and hopeless 

 criminals. Such are sent to their alternative 

 sentence in the House of Correction, and are not 

 thei-efore the subjects of the Reform School dis- 

 cipline. Deducting the number thus remanded, 

 126, leaves as the true result, 1372 reformed boys 

 in a total of 1862 graduates, which is seventy- 

 three and two-thirds per cent. 



In regard to the expense of the school at 

 Westborough compared with other kindred In- 

 stitutions, the following table, compiled from pub- 

 lished reports for 1858, will show the cost per 

 capita in the Institutions named : 



Maryland House of Refuge $122 



ProvidcDce Reform School 94 



Industrifil S.-hool for Girls at Lancaster 130 



Cliicago Ref rm School 100 



St. Louis House of Refuge 122 



Western House of Refuge, New York 100 



Cincinnati House of Refuge 112 



Hou'c of Refuge, Philadelphia 95 



State Reform School, Maine 114 



House of Rijfuge, New Orleans 154 



State Reform School, Connecticut 97 



House of Refuge, Randall's Island, N. Y 80 



State Reform School, Massachusetts 80 



The average age of the inmates in the schools 

 above enumerated is about 13 years. The num- 

 bers vary from 95 to 590. In the large institu- 

 tions the cost is least. $80 each, at Randall's 

 Island and Westborough, where the numbers are 

 540 and 590. In the small institutions the cost 

 is greatest. $130 at Lancaster, with 95 inmates; 

 $123 at St. Louis, with 121 inmates; $154 at 

 New Orleans, with 95 inmates; $114 at the 

 Maine Reform School, with 214 inmates. — West- 

 borouyli, Sept. 28, 1859. — Daily Advertiser. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 EAMBLES ON THE MEBKIMACK. 



Having just returned from an excursion of 

 about eighty miles, along the bank of the Merri- 

 mack, I thought I would put on r c;)rd my im- 

 pressions, before they escaped from the mind. I 

 started with a view of seeing the great show of 

 the season at Albany — but when I reflected how 

 well that would be described by their indefatiga- 

 ble Secretary, a man of all work, (as we say of a 

 horse,) I thought his description would be more 

 instructive than any observalion I could make. 

 Further, I do not entirely coincide with the for- 

 eign taint of the New York gentlemen, in their 

 notions of cattle. The magnificent Short-horns 

 — the beautiful Jerseys — the pampered Ayrshires 

 — and the fine horned I)evo;is, so fiU their eye, 

 that the neglected natives stand but a poor 

 chance. 



As I walked through our own street, this 

 morning, I saw Mr. Rogers' team of four oxen, 

 six years old, averaging in giith 7-i feet, deep red 

 color, equal in my judgment to any that can be 

 brought from England, Scotland, or Kentucky. 

 When such animals can be grown among us, 

 what occasion is there to go abroad for better ? 

 I know of none — therefore I do not feel like en- 

 couraging any such movement. 



But the Merrimack is my theme. My first in- 

 quiry was, of course, as to the corn crop of the 

 season ; this I am sorry to say is not as good as 



