RURAL EDUCATION. 



191 



CONDUCTED BY MRS. C. P. T., RICK LAKE, C. W 



RUBAL EDUCATION. 



Mrs. Editress: — Itseeins to me that the remarks 

 f that sturily farmer, Mr. Ui'FF, are so plain ami 

 ard-icorkinn; that they may admit of some modifi- 

 ition which will reudcr them a little more fair, and 

 5ure a more salatary influence. I will ascribe to 

 im the credit of having manifested much candor iu 

 :pressinij his opinion, but I am not quite sure that 

 3 is so much opposed to fashionable bonnets, gay 

 bbons and piano rattling as one might conclude. 

 Dd I will venture to say, that one might elicit even 

 om his mouth, e.xpressions of admiration of a beau- 

 "ul piu-cushion or chair bottom, if wrought by the 

 !xterous fingers of a dairy-maid. Although it is 

 Imitted that iu the present age the method of train- 

 g adopted for daughters (and for sons too) is yet 

 eming with error, we rejoice to see that light from 

 e avenue of science, of poetry, of music, and of 

 e fine arts has at length begun to dawn, shedding 

 I ennobling and refining influence upon the farmer's 

 ns and daughters. Our talents are various, to be 

 iproved and rendered back with interest; who, then, 

 in say which is the greater sin, to improve what I 

 ,f here term the "hard-working" talents, to the 

 fglect of the finer sensibilities and of the love of 

 Ihat is decorative in nature and in art, or vice versa. 

 nail we not seek rather to improve each and all of 

 <em, until we shall have brought them to the high- 

 ;t state of perfection which our circumstances will 

 limit. To be educated for farmers' wives, the daugh- 

 Ts should be versed in chemistry, anatomy, philoso- 

 ly, and mathematics, which would greatly assist 

 ■em in the culinary department, and by enabling 

 ■em to proceed understandingly, would render the 

 ;rformance of such duties rather a pleasure than a 

 »sk. In short, a knowledge of everything denomi- 

 ited science would tend to fit them for more prac- 

 mlly scientific housekeepers ; and how infinitely 

 ould such knowledge enh.ince their influence as 

 ives and mothers. Knowledge is power. There 

 ive be«n many, very many excellent wives and 

 others to whom such knowledge was as a sealed 

 Dok; and how deeply do they now regret that such 

 jportunities as are enjoyed by their children and 

 lildrens" children could not have been theirs. An 

 jquaintance with the natural sciences tends to the 

 oltivation of a devotional spirit, by leading the 



mind from ''Nature up to Natnre's God," and noth- 

 ing, more than a knowledge of astronomy w ill enlarge 

 the apj^.rehension of the immense power of Uod, the 

 niaguiiicence of his creation, and his own transcen- 

 dent grandeur. Had the ancients paid no attention 

 to the motions of the heavenly bodies, historical 

 facts would have been given without dates, and we 

 should have had neither dials, clocks, nor watches. 

 \V\\\ any one in this age say that so much knowledge 

 would unfit them for affectionate wives, and for the 

 solemn responsibility of training and giving bent to 

 the immortal nund? I trost not — even Mr. Huff 

 himself; nor would he "care a fig" if they did walk 

 just before a fashionable bonnet with a little lace on 

 behind, provided they would diligently practice what 

 they had learned. They may work hard, practice 

 domestic economy, and all that, and yet be able to 

 tell the origin of Pegasus, how he produced the foun- 

 tain Hippocrene, and by whom the Po was styled 

 the king of rivers. They may shade their worsted to 

 a nicety, prepare a turkey for the spit, and know that 

 it was He.^iod who wrote the first poem on agricul- 

 ture. If they may calculate the number of yards 

 required to carpet a floor, may they not with as much 

 propriety calculate an eclipse? Again, if she may 

 demonstrate a problem by carving a chicken, then 

 why not, for a change, demonstrate one on the black- 

 board, according to Euclid; then darn stockings, 

 rock the baby, or do anything that occasion requires. 

 The difference is this: while the first problem would 

 furnish food for the body, the latter would only dis- 

 cipline the mind Now, a well disciplined mind and 

 good calculation are no detriment to a farmer's wife. 

 All of these objects might be accomplished by work- 

 ing hard. Would it not be a monopoly of a most 

 aggravating character to assign all farmers' daughters 

 to become farmers' wives? Why, Mr. Huff, there's 

 many a student of Esculapius and of Blackstone, 

 knights of the yard-stick, and mechanics who would 

 find fault with you for that. They all want good 

 wives, (and who blames them for it?) and if the 

 daughters of farmers are going to be hard-workers, 

 highly educated and accomplished, one might occa- 

 sionally be picked away to be the light and dignity 

 of the drawing-room. Such an one would be very 

 far from despising an educated plowman for his oc- 

 cupatioB, or a husband for his poverty in this world's 

 goods, if he were possessed of intellectual riches. 

 When daughters shall be thus educated, they will no 

 longer shrink from appearing beside a city belle be- 

 cause they cannot feign to flirt aiid say soft things 

 with a thick tongue. On the contrary, a true ap- 



