vol.. xviii. NO. ac. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER, 



225 



llev. Mr Rhaiii went over a field of 100 acres, the 

 whole of wliirli lias been repeatedly trenched, by 

 the present occupier we imagine, to the depth ot 

 two or three feet. 



(To be continued ) 



From the New York Observer. 



DR. HUMPHREY'S THOUGHTS ON EDUCA- 

 TION. 

 (Qualifications of Teachers. 

 (Continued. 1 

 I remark again, that a school teacher should be a 

 person of tlie most pure and elevated moral character ; 

 without a stain and above suspicion. The thought 

 of committing the children of twenty Christian fam- 

 ilies to the care of a profane man, of an intempe- 

 rate man, or of a dishonest man, is monstrous ; and 

 I am happy to know tliat the moral srnse of the 

 community revolts at it. However great the moral 

 delinquencies of some parents may be, there are 

 few, I trust, in the land, who would be willing to 

 employ a schoolmaster of bad character. I can re- 

 member the time, however, when dissipated men of 

 bright parts and superior education, were more or 

 less employed, even in New England. The teach- 

 er (more commonly a foreigner,) would go from the 

 dram-shop to the school-house, and from the school- 

 house to the dram-sliop ; and many a luckless boy 

 ■n'as paid for it with the birch and the ferule. That 

 time I hope and trust has gone by. I will not al- 

 low myself to believe that an intemperate, or an 

 otherwise decidedly immoral schoolmaster, could 

 find a place any where, upon a hundred leagues of 

 territory. 



But are not some districts even now, too careless 

 in this matter? Is tlie moral standard everywhere 

 as high as it ought to be ? Are the most ample 

 credentials always required? Are not some men 

 found in the schools, every winter, who are employ- 

 ed rather out of compassion for their families, or 

 from motives of economy, than from any great con- 

 fidence in their moral qualifications ? Every 

 school teacher ought to he a pattern of " whatsoev- 

 er things are pure, lovely, and of good report," as 

 well as able in every branch of instruction. Nor is 

 it sufficient that a master keep himself within the 

 rules ofpropriety, during the continuance of his 

 school. If he is chnrgcable with any plain viola- 

 tion of tlie decalogue, with any looseness of moral- 

 ity while he is engaged in other pursuits, he is 

 thereby disqualified for the -esponsible duties of a 

 public teacher. If it is known that he sometimes 

 uses profane language, or that he docs not strictly 

 regard the Sabbath, whether at home or abroad ; or 

 th?.t he is ever in the slightest degree disguised 

 with strong drink — any such delinquency is a dis- 

 qualification for the office of instructer. Children 

 are quite too strongly inclined, at the best, to stray 

 in forbidden paths, and they need all the force of 

 precept and example, both in the family arid in the 

 school, to keep them " in the way they should go." 

 How mischievous, then, how ruinous must be the 

 influence of a popular school-master, who carries 

 about with him the slightest blemish in his moral 

 character. I shall only add, 



In the last place, that sincere vital piety is an ex- 

 ceedingly desirable qualification in i school-teach- 

 er. Theie is nothing like the fear and love of 

 God shed abroad in the heart, to make a man faith- 

 ful in any profession, employment or undertaking, 



As Moses said, when the spirit of prophecy was giv- 

 en to the seventy elders in the wilderness, "would 

 that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that 

 the Lord would put his spirit upon them" ; so I can- 

 not help exclaiming, in this place, would that all the 

 teachers of our schools were themselves taught of 

 God, and that "the Lord would put his spirit upon 

 them." Parents need all the assistance they can 

 get, in bringing up their children in tho nurture and 

 admonition of the Lord, and there is no calculating 

 the amount of influence which a truly pious school- 

 master or mistress may exert, over the hearts and 

 consciences of fifty immortal beings, during the 

 most plastic period of their existence. A sincerely 

 religious teacher will make it a prominent object, 

 to lead his scholars in the paths of righteousness, 

 as well as to imbue tlieir minds with the rudiments 

 of useful knowledge; and it admits not of a doubt 

 that the seeds of piety sown in the humble school- 

 house, have taken root and sprung up in the hearts 

 of thousands, putting forth "first the blade, then the 

 ear, and after that the full corn in the ear." 



I am quite aware, that piety in the absence of 

 other qualificatir]ns, cannot make a good school- 

 teacher any more than it can make a good civil ru- 

 ler, a good preacher, or a good physician. And it 

 is certain, that some men of sound Christian prin- 

 ciples and high moral standing, though not members 

 of the church, are upon the whole far better teach- 

 ers than some others, whose piety is unquestioned 

 and unquestionable. I do not say, therefore, that 

 none but professors of religion should be employed. 

 The number of such who are othewise competent, 

 is very inadequate, at least in some parts of the 

 country ; and we are bound to be thankful for the 

 best talents and qualifications we can command. 

 Still, other things being equal, vital piety is a crown- 

 ing excellence in the character of a teacher ; and I 

 hold it to be the bounden duty of Christian parents 

 to inquire for such teachers ; and to give them the 

 preference when they can be had. This may ap- 



his grass plats his lawns, and hia forests his groves. 

 His cattle, sheep, anil |)oultry are his subjects, and 

 ho beconaes at pleasuro, either the executioner or 

 the multiplier of such subjects. Tell us if the liing 

 u|ion his throne has more power worth possessing. 

 His happiness we know is less, as he increases 

 toils, cares, and his sorrows in proportion as the cul- 

 tivator of the soil diminishes his. 



In the spring time he sows, in the autumn ho 

 reaps. Providetice has assured him that spring 

 time shall not fail, and he has the assurance of the 

 Giver of every good and perfect gift, that as he 

 sows, so shall he reap. His grounds are watered 

 in the season of drought with the rains and dews of 

 lieaven, and in the damp season the sun shines to 

 cheer, invigorate, and give promise to his labors. 

 The severer tasks of the summer are succeeded by 

 the lighter labors of the winter. As we have said, 

 in tho words of Will Shakspeare, "he earns that 

 ; lie eats, and gets what he wears." He may say 

 truly, and with an honest pride — 



" I eat my own lamb. 

 My chickens a/id hum, 

 J shear my own fleece and I wear it." 



VVha" could a man wanfc more ? and how can a 

 farmer, capable of enjoying life, possessed of his 

 farm-house, his farm, and his necessary implements 

 of husbandry, ever sigh for a residence within the 

 enclosure of a city — choosing bricks and mortar 

 for the elbow room of aspacious farm-house, — the 

 dust of the town for a village ; the tliree-story brick 

 house for the granary or the haycock ; for the pu- 

 rest air of heaven, the atmosphere of a thousand un- 

 wholesome smoky houses, and ten thousand un- 

 wholesome breaths ? How could a farmer make 

 such a choice as this ? We would pause for a re- 

 ply, did we not know that tlie only answer which 

 could be devised, after a long study, would be the 

 unsatisfactory one that something better was anti- 

 cipated only : for it would be a miracle, almost, 

 for a man to find himself happier or in better cir- 



pear to some quite too puritanical Tor the present L„,.|.,g^j^r,(.gg after ^ change of residence from the 

 liberal and enlightened age ; but I feel confident Lo||j,j|.y jg jj^g ^jty No, no. The true elysium ; 

 that a still better age will ratify the judgment; and I t),g rg^l pa^dise on earth, is the country — the 



that no parent in the light of eternity, will ever 

 find reason to regret that he was too anxious or 

 particular, about the moral and Christian character 

 of those to whom he confided the education of his 

 children. 



THE LIFE OF THE HUSBANDMAN. 



"I am a true liiborer. I can enrn that 1 eat, get what 

 I wear, owe no man lintc, envy nn man's happiness- 

 glad iif oilier men's g"od—contpnl with my furm ; and 

 the greatest of my pridi; is to see my ewes graze and my 

 lambs suck."— Shakspeare. 



We have come to the conclusion that Nature's 

 truest nobleman is the man who earns his bread by 

 the sweat of his face, upon his own bought and paid 



green, fruitful, beautiful country. The city for the 

 task-master and his hard-working servant; but the 

 country for the man who wishes for health and 

 leisure, contentment and a long life. 



The ancient Romans venerated the plough, and 

 at the earliest, purest time of the Republic, the 

 greatest praise which could be given to an illustra- 

 tive character, was a judicious and industrious hus- 

 bandman. — Portland Adv. 



Hints. — Do not say when you put a crop on a. 

 piece of land not adapted to it, or but imperfectly 

 prepared, that circumstances rendered it necessary. 

 Napoleon believed that calcwlating forethought and 

 an energetic will, created the circumstances for 

 for plantation. An independent farmer may stand ^■'[),g ^^^^^ ^ot ^hg man for the circumstances, 'i he 



man has little pretention to the character of a far- 

 mer, whose plans for the culture of his several 

 fields are not made at least two years in advance. 

 Those men are always found to complain the 

 most of hard times and high prices, who add the 

 least to the productive resources of the country. — 

 The farmer, who by his labor creates value from 

 the earth, rarely complains, and need never, if he 

 diligently follows the plough. Let those who com- 

 plain, remember there is an infallible cure for hard 

 times— honest industry applied to the cultivation of 

 the earth. — Genesee Far. 



upon his own house-top and say to himself, as Sel- 

 kirk did — 



" I nm monarch of all 1 survey, 

 .My right there is none to dispute ; 



From the centre all round to the sea, 

 I am lord of the fowl and the brute." 



He is truly a rich monarch — with a landed title 

 more secure than that of feudal lord or baron — more 

 easily preserved and protected, not by deeds of val- 

 or, and through the shedding of blood, but by the 

 lawful labor of the hands. His house is his castle ; 

 his acres his dominions. His gardens are his parks. 



