1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



15 



the elements of nutrition ; how the vital chemis- 

 try of the plant changes the liquid and gaseous 

 material to solid sujistances ; how the various 

 organs select and distribute the suitable material 

 for the different parts ; how the selected atoms 

 are arranged one by one to enlarge the stem, the 

 leaf, the staminate and pistilate flowers, and the 

 seed ? The study of these wonders of nature 

 seems to me to be peculiarly ap]iropriate to the 

 farmer. He has the most favorable opportunities 

 to investigate them ; he is constantly in the great 

 school-room, and his books are ever open b;fore 

 him. He needs but to use his faculties of obser- 

 vation, with such aids as are easily accessible. 

 His thoughts can be active while at his labor, and 

 the contemplation of the various wonders l:)efore 

 him will assist him to forget the back-ache and 

 general fatigue that often trouble him. He will 

 find objects of interest in the very weeds that ho 

 is hoeing up, and sometimes be strongly tempted 

 to preserve some rare weed, that he mav study its 

 history and character. He will thus find jjlea- 

 sures mingling more and more with his fatigues, 

 and may in this manner receive compensation for 

 many of his discomforts. M. p. 



Concord, Nov., 1862. 



For the New Ensland Farmer. 

 AGRICULTUHE IN COMMON SCHOOLS. 



Mr. P^DITOR : — It is generally admitted that 

 brevit\ and perspicuity are prime qualities in Eng- 

 lish composition. I intended to convey this idea 

 in my last communication, but unfortunately I 

 made use of so bold, so startling and so unusual a 

 figure of speech, that you did not see fit to print 

 it. "More Anon" appears to be earnestly engaged 

 in reviewing and correcting the opinions of others, 

 while, at the same time, he has no clear and defi- 

 nite ideas of his own. 



But to the question at issue : It is a sufficient 

 answer to all that has been said, and to all that 

 can be said, in favor of introducing the study of 

 agriculture into our common schools, to say that 

 the thing is simply im]n-acticable. It cannot be 

 done. As our schools are at present constituted, 

 agriculture cannot be taught or learned in them ; 

 and for this ])lain reason, because they are desti- 

 tute of all the necessary means of teaching it. 

 They have not the tools, the implements, or the 

 materials to work with. They cannot teach by 

 example all the different kinds of farm work, and 

 the correct use of every kind of form tool or im- 

 plement. They can teach none of these things, 

 simply because they have not the means. This 

 would be especially the case in the winter, when 

 the frozen ground, the bleak winds, and the drift- 

 ing snows, put a full stop to out-door farm opera- 

 tions, and render all practical instruction in agri- 

 culture vain and useless. And the attempt would 

 not be much better in the summer, as the instruc- 

 tion would have to be given almost exclusively by 

 young female teachers in the open field to children 

 between the ages of three and fifteen years, a 

 large proportion of whom are females. 



Again, it is a sufficient answer to all that has 

 been said, and to all that can be said, in favor of 

 introducing the study of agriculture into our com- 

 mon schools, to say that it would be the means of 

 diverting the attention of the scholars from all 



their appropriate and necessary studies, to the 

 great injury of the schools ! For instance, while 

 the teachers were giving instruction in "whoa, 

 haw, gee buck," that is, teaching how to drive and 

 manage a team; or on the composition of ma- 

 nures; or on plowing, planting and hoeing; or on 

 the sowing of the didferent kinds of grain' ; or on 

 the curing of hay and grain ; or on the making of 

 butter and cheese ; or on the rearing, feeding and 

 fiittening of animals ; or on any other to])ic con- 

 nected with good farming, all the otlier important 

 appropriate studies of the schouls would be en- 

 tirely neglected. There would be no progress 

 made in spelling, reading, writiti.s,, grammar, geog- 

 raphy and arithmetic, while the teachers were 

 vainly attempting to give practical instruction in 

 farming without the means of doing it. 



Again, it is a sufficient answer to all that has 

 been said, and to all that can be said, in favor of 

 this question, to say that there is no more reaso.n 

 why agriculture should be taught in our common 

 schools, than there is; that all the various mechanic 

 arts should be taught there ; or that military tac- 

 tics, or law, or divinity, or medicine, should be 

 taught there. These are all useful branches of 

 knowledge, and ought to be thoroughly taught 

 and well understood, in order to bo skilfully prac- 

 ticed. But this is no reason why they should be 

 taught in our common schools which were estab- 

 lished for the ]mrpose of teaching other branches 

 of a more general and rudimental character, and 

 of universal application and necessity — of leaching 

 the young of both sexes the common branches of 

 a common school education, so as to prepare them 

 for other studies and qualify them for any business 

 or pursuit. JouN Golusbury. 



Warivick, Mass., 1SG2. 



Remarks. — Our correspondent will observe that 

 we have omitted a few expressions M'hich had no 

 bearing upon the points in issue, and which, it 

 seems to us, would tend to irritate and confuse. 



Far the Netc Enqlaud Farmer. 

 EXHIBITING HERDS OP CATTLE. 



I hope the suggestion of "Mass.," in your pa- 

 per of the 25th of October, will be fully elaborat- 

 ed, by some one ex])erienced in keeping and rear- 

 ing of cattle. I know it is easy to tlicori/^e on 

 such topics, but a few facts, well attested, are 

 worth all the speculations imaginable. The best 

 cattle show I ever attended, occurred a few years 

 since, at Hanvers Plains, E^scx county, when a 

 herd of twenty milch cows, selected from (ii'ty 

 kept on the Burley farm, in Beverly, then owi-.ed 

 by the heirs of William Burley, Esq., were exhib- 

 ited. These were a fine s])ecimen of what is con- 

 sidered the New England breed of cUtle. Tiiey 

 were all of a deep red color, of medium si<?e, of 

 an age from six to ten years, and excellent milk- 

 ers, not giving an extravagant quantity, but yield- 

 ing through the season at least two gallons ])er 

 day. An exhibition of half a dozen herds like 

 this would be worth looking at. Let the herds 

 be compared ; their manners of being fed and 

 kept, and their products; this would be a cattle 

 show, indeed ; not such as is usually seen at our 

 exhibitions. Essex. 



October 28, 18G2. 



