474 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



vated fruit, nuts and cakes of unleavened meal, 

 and even slices of small apples and pears, as if cut 

 for preserving, are found among the relics. There 

 are less certain traces of mats, or cordage, of hemp 

 or flax. These pre-historical men had their do- 

 mestic animals, and fed their dogs with the relics 

 of their dinner ; for almost all the bones contain- 

 ing marrow are broken, while many of them are 

 maj'ked by the teeth of dogs. 



For the Neto En^dand Partner. 

 AGKICULTTJIlEl IN" COMMON SCHOOLS. 



Mr. Editor : — Some time ago I wrote an ar- 

 ticle — one of a series of articles on the subject of 

 Agricultural Education — on this two-fold question : 

 "Ought agriculture to be taught in our common 

 schools ? In their present state and condition, 

 can it be successfully taught there, without doing 

 more harm than good ?" In the simplicity of my 

 heart, after pointing out the primary and funda- 

 mental branches which ought to be taught, and 

 thoroughly taught, there, I offered three reasons 

 which were convincing to my own understanding, 

 and which I thought would convince others, that 

 agriculture should not be introduced, and could 

 not be successfully taught in our common schools. 



Imagine my surprise on reading, in a subsequent 

 paper, the rambling remarks of your learned, but 

 anonymous correspondent, "More Anon," (whose 

 remarks have no more to do with the merits of 

 the question, than they have with the merits of 

 the Southern Confederacy,) who charges me with 

 a want of "good judgment," and with treating the 

 subject unjustly and unfairly ! I do not plead 

 guilty to this charge. Nor do I think I am so 

 "sleepy" or so ignorant on the subject as the 

 learned gentleman seems to suppose. I am toler- 

 ably well posted up on schools of every grade. 

 For over thirty years I have been voluntarily im- 

 mured within the Avails of a school-room, and con- 

 sequently ought to know what they are capable of 

 doing, and what they were intended to do. And 

 this I know, that they never were intended to 

 teach the whole circle of the arts and sciences, but 

 those fundamental branches only which are indis- 

 pensably necessary to every occupation or pursuit. 

 The branches intended to be taught were necessa- 

 rily limited, precise and definite, and not left to 

 the choice of a hundred whimsical and wayward 

 children in the school. 



I am sorry to be obliged to say, that this article 

 of "More Anon," altogether different from any of 

 his preceding articles, sounds and reads very much 

 like any one of Jeff Davis' messages to the rebel 

 Congress;, for he evidently foliovrs the example of 

 Jeff, and "walks around the truth." There is, 

 however, this difference between them. The one 

 signs his own proper name to his own production : 

 the other screens himself from responsibility by 

 t*^ uj#f shelter behind the masked battery or a fic- 

 ticious name. Which is the more honorable of 

 the two I will not undertake to decide. But this 

 I will say, that whoever attempts to review the re- 

 marks of others, especially if he be an anonymous 

 writer, should be extremely careful to treat them 

 and their remarks with due resjiect ; at least, he 

 should do justice to himself and his subject. I 

 submit, that "]More Anon" has not done this. All 

 that he says about my special pleading as "a law- 

 yer who is employed to do his utmost in making 



out a case, or one who is so thoroughly prejudiced 

 and one-sided as to be utterly blinded to the 

 truth and the reality of things," is wholly uncalled 

 for and gratuitous ; or, if it has any possible appli- 

 cation, it applies only to himself and his treatment 

 of the subject. 



What I have written on this subject has been 

 over my own proper name, and with the fullest 

 conviction that I was giving utterance to the sim- 

 ple, naked truth. I hold myself responsible for 

 all that I have said. I have not yet said all that 

 I have to say on this subject. Thus far, I have 

 endeavored to show in my simple way, in a very 

 brief article, that agriculture could not be success- 

 fully taught in our common schools without doing 

 more harm than good. To prove this, I have 

 urged the three following reasons : "First, it 

 would injure the schools by diverting the atten- 

 tion of the scholars from their other necessary 

 studies. Secondly, our teachers are not qualified 

 to teach it, and have no means of explaining it- 

 And thirdly, our scholars generally are not old 

 enough to understand it, and have no time to de- 

 vote to it, without neglecting their other studies." 



Now, if "JNIore Anon" will answer these objec- 

 tions to the satisfaction of all reading and think- 

 ing men, he will confer a great favor on the pub- 

 lic, and crown himself with distinguished honor. 

 John Goldsbury. 



Wanoick, Mass., Sept., 1862. 



AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE OF THE 

 UNITED STATES, 



The census for 1860 gives the following com- 

 parative statement of the agricultural products of 

 the United States : — 



Articles. 1849. 1859. Increase. 



Wheat, bushels 100,485,944 171,183.381 70,697,437 



Indian corn, bushels.. 592,071,104 830,451,707 238,380,603 



Cotton, bales 2,445,793 5,196,944 2,751,151 



Butter, !bs 248,675,322 460,509,354 211,834,532 



Cheese, lbs 105,535,893 105,875,135 339,242 



Animals, slaught'd.. $111,703,142 $212,871,653 $101,168,511 



Sheep, No 21,723,210 23,317,756 1,594,536 



Wool, fts 52,512,959 60,511,343 7,998 384 



Sus^ar cane, lbs 237,183,000 302,255,000 65,072,000 



Molasses, gallons 12,700,991 16.337,080 3,636,089 



Sugar, (Maple,) lbs... 34,253,436 38,863,884 4.610,448 



Tobacco, lbs 190,752,655 429,390,771 229,638,116 



Wine, gallons 221/249 1,260,008 1,238,759 



Hay.tons 13,833,645 19,129,128 5,290,483 



Orchard produce $7,723,186 $19,753,361 $12,030,175 



On an average, the increase in the aggregate 

 value of agricultural products, during the ten 

 years, is more than double the ratio of increase in 

 the population. The product of wheat, in 1859, 

 exceeded that of 1849 by over seventy million 

 bushels, which is an increase of seventy per cent. 

 The growth of population for the decade has been 

 about thirty-five percent., or one-half the increase 

 of the wheat crop. This shows that we are stead- 

 ily increasing our surplus product of breadstuffs, 

 and putting ourselves in a position for supplying 

 the deficiencies of certain of the grain-growing 

 countries of Europe. A similar increase has oc- 

 curred in the produce of butter, the yield of 

 which has enlarged to the extent of 211,8;j4,o32 

 pounds. 



To Dry Sweet Corn. — Cut the corn from the 

 cob ; place upon tins and put it in the oven ; stir to 

 keep from scorching. After it is thoroughly scald- 

 ed, set in the sun to dry. After it is perfectly 

 dried tie up in sacks and put away for winter use. 



