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VOL, I. 



ROCHESTER, DEC. 17, 1831. 



NO. .it. 



fUilLISIHII BV l« 1'PCKBit & CO. 

 M llie Olficn of l he D:tily Advertiser. 



Term* -$S.5fl per annum, or 



$g,00ir paid in advance. 



N. GUOD9EI.L, EDITOH 



EDUCATION OF FARMERS. 

 Willi regard to education, it is as with many 

 •ther things; it has its fashion in conformity to 

 public opinion, or the prevailing excitemetv of 

 the day or age in which we live. It is with edu- 

 cation or the clothing of the mind, as with th 

 •f the body; that is not always the most useful 

 which is the most fashionable The pecuniar) 

 interests of individuals, always affects more or 

 less, the fashions of dress ; but the f ishions of ed- 

 ucation should be governed by the interests of th* 

 cation, in which the several circumstances of lo- 

 cation, commercial intercourse, internal resour- 

 ces, and employments should be taken into calcu- 

 lation. 



Another important point to be considered in the 

 education of young men is, that division of time 

 between study and labor which shall best promote 

 health, give, vigor to the body, and cause the 

 greatest development of intellect. The evils a- 

 vising from too sedentary habits in early life, 

 have within a few years past, attracted the atten- 

 tion of some of our wisest men, who have inves- 

 tigated the subj ' t. and given their views to the 

 world, both as to the manner and matter in which 

 many alterations are recomme 1 ded from the mode 

 of education which has been pursued, from th 

 irsl establishment of colleges in this country. It 

 is admitted dial the confinement that many young 

 men have submitted to, during their preparatory 

 collegiate lives, has had a tendency to destroy 

 their bodily health, and lay the foundation for 

 those diseases, to which, sooner or later they have 

 fallen victims. These convictions have led to th. 

 establishment of schools, upon the principle that 

 a proportion of' bodily exercise is absolutely ne- 

 cessary for the health, as well as the progress in 

 learning, and that by a suitable division of labor 

 and study, the health of the subject is preserved 

 unimpaired, and that 'he mind partakes of the 

 vigor of die body. 



As to the time actually necessary to be spent in 

 Study, or the perusal of authors, some disagree- 

 ment prevails; some aifirmint that three hours in 

 each day is sufficient; others requiring four, but 

 all agieethat the mind may be over burthened by 

 too much reading, and that by taxing the memory 

 too much, less advantage is derived than when a 

 greater proportion is allowed for reflection and 

 comparison. 



It is considered a defect in our present course of 

 academic education, that so much time is spent in 

 pursuit of studies, which in common life are so 

 Useless, to the exclusion of those which are so im- 

 portant in the arts and daily occupations of every 

 member of society. By the anticipated improve- 

 tnent in the course of ec, acation, the mind will be- 

 come more like the well regulated shop of an ar- 

 tist, where every tool required in his daily occupa- 

 tion, maybe found in its place, free from the con- 

 fusion which would have been, had he collect- 

 ed as many more merely for show, and for 

 Which he had no use, thereby converting his shop 



into a mere conservatory of arts, wherein is col 

 lected all the useless models of past ages, serving 

 rather as mementos of their ignorance than of on 

 improvement. 



If it should be found by experiment that schools 

 established upon the principle, of a division of 

 time between labor and study, are the most profit- 

 able, what is there to prevent the house of very 

 farmer from becoming a seminary, and the agri- 

 culturists of our country, the most learned of an; 

 class of community ? We reply, "nothing." It 

 has been said that our common farmers wert a 

 class of people that did not read much, and we 

 giant that there has been too much truth in the ol> 

 servation. It has often been said by them that 

 they have no time to read. This is not correct 

 They, above all other classes of society, have the 

 most leisure for reading and meditation ; and they, 

 above all others, should become the scientific men 

 of our- country. The common avocations of life 

 need not be at all interrupted by the appropriation 

 of sufficient time to make them well versed in ev- 

 ery thing that is useful. Let us inquire, into th< 

 business of the farmer through the year. From 

 January to April, he is engaged about his farm, 

 in threshing out and marketing his grains, in 

 feeding his stock and preparing his fire wood. 

 Now these occupations may be attended to from 

 six o'clock in the morning until five at evening, 

 after which he comes within doors, and an hour 

 is spent in eating his meal, recruiting his fire, &c. 

 which brings the hour of six, from which until 

 ten o'clock, whi< h is a seasonable hour for retiring 

 at this season, leaving four hours to be lounge! 

 away in telling storii -,, cracking nuts, eating p- 

 ples, drinking cider, &c cce. Now were tin se 

 four hours applied to reading, it would be as much 

 as is supposed to be necessary to make the besi 

 progress in education. During the three first 

 months of the year, a man that retires to rest ul 

 ten o'clock, will be ready to rise at five, nless , 

 is anxious to merit the appellation of sluggard 

 His first business is lighting his fires, then feed- 

 ing Ins stock; after which he returns to the house, 

 where with most families, an hour is passed which 

 might oe well applied to reviewing Ihe studies 

 'he evening previous; making, in ail, five hours 

 which might be applied to study, without any 

 material diminution of the common lauor of the 

 farm. From the first of April untd the first u'f 

 October, we will suppose that the farmer devotes 

 time equal to two hours each day tor reading 

 which would not be a. heavy tax, for much of it 

 might be done during rainy days. From the first 

 of Jctober unid tht first of . January, there inigiii 

 be the same amount of time as in the first three 

 months, making an average of three hours foi 

 each day, during the year; amd as there worth, 

 be no need of vacations, the amount of tune spent 

 in study would be greater than required at our 

 manual labor schools, and as these art supposeu 

 to be upon the best plan, we would recommend 

 that every farmer should consider his house a 

 manual labor seminary, and himself and all his 

 children scholars; and as it is considered at those 

 schools that three hours' labor in each work daj 

 is sufficient for their support, the farmer would 

 have three fourths of his time left for sleep, and 



the common avocations of life, whereby to accu- 

 mulate property to meet the casualties thereof: and 

 as the proportion, according to the above calcula- 

 tion, is only one eight of the whole time, which 

 we would recommend to be devoted to reading, 

 we presume there are few but what idl away as 

 great a proportion during their whole lives, or e- 

 nough to place them among the literary men of 

 our country : and we know of no excuse they 

 have for not becoming learned, but downright stu- 

 pidity: One reason why farmers do not read 

 more at present is, because they have not provided 

 themselves with books, — they bi ing considered 

 is unnecessary and useless appendages to the 

 families of farmers. Was an inventory taken of 

 ill books to be found in the possession of farmers 

 throughout the state, and an apportionment made, 

 what would be the amount for each family 1 per- 

 haps something like the following: one Testa- 

 ment, one Bible, cne Psalm book, one old spel- 

 ling book, one or two old novels, and three or four 

 old almanacks. What a library from which to 

 gather materials for forming the characters of the 

 rising generation ! When these things are con- 

 sidered, the wonder is not, " why are our farmers 

 mi; but, how have they become so well 

 informed?" The answer must be, that it is the 

 effect of the free government under which we live 

 whieh gives encouragement to the most humble 

 individual, — where he that will may read, and 

 according to the improvement of his mind, so will 

 be his rank in so;, ty 



MANUFACTURE OF SILK. 

 The exertions made m America for die culture 

 of this luxurious ami agreeable article in the dres- 

 ses of our fair countrywomen, were begun as ear- 

 ly a, 1765, at Mansfield, Con. by Dr. Aspinwall • 

 from being an article of luxury, (as the present 

 improved Manufactures of cotton, wool and hair, 

 have almost superseded its use as clothing) tt has, 

 by the operations of fashion become, indispensible. 

 What lady is there, who is at all inclined to be fash- 

 ionabl -, but lays out thirty or forty dollars a year 

 for silk dresses. If American fathers and broth- 

 ers cannot repress this longing and desiring of 

 wives and sisters after these expensive webs, they 

 must go to work in raising mulberry orchards, in 

 order that our country be not drained of its mil- 

 lions to purchase silks, from Gro de Naples to 

 Gros de Indes. See what a revolution in the sin. 

 gle article of leghorns. The New England lass- 

 es undertook to rival the hat factories of . eg- 

 iiorn. What was the result 1 Three fourths of 

 the bonnets now worn in the Union, arc mad in 

 the States; and tne prices of the foreign article re- 

 duced to half its former price. So it must be rn 

 silk. It has been proved by experiments, that 

 silk worms can be easily raised in various parts of 

 America; and as the i >oor of attending their feed- 

 ing and care is don by females and children, 

 when the necessary improvement is accomplish- 

 ed in the machines for manufacturing the cocoons 

 into cloth, — there remains not a doubt, but that 

 the prices of the foreign articles of silk manufac 

 lure will be greatly reduced. 



The following extract of a letter from Mans- 

 field, Con. to the Editejr ol the American Advp- 



