190 



NEW EXGLAXD FARMER. 



JOTE 



had no district school house. There had been no 

 summer school kept by a female for several years, 

 excepting one in the centre of the town, to -which 

 my little brothers and sisters went daily, three 

 and a half miles, to learn to read and spell. In 

 the spring of this year the district ventured to 

 commence the building of a school house, and pro- 

 gressed so far as to cover it and lay a single, rough 

 floor ! A female teacher was engaged at, I believe, 

 about a dollar a week, and "board herself." Some 

 thought it too much to pay a girl for so eas)- a 

 task ! however, we children went to school and 

 abided the most terrific thunder showers, in our 

 shell of a school house without a chimney. When 

 the winter of 17S8 came about, our school house 

 was finished in a cheap way ; the floor was single, 

 which afforded a bountiful ventilation when it was 

 shrunk : the writing table was a cross-legged, 

 wide bench, for the boys one side, and the girls 

 the other : and the school commenced and ended 

 in about the same manner as their predecessors 

 had done. Be it remembered up to this time the 

 Assembh-'s Catechism was one of the most import- 

 ant school books, winter and summer, used in the 

 schools. 



From this time to the year of 1792, little pro- 

 gress or variation was made in our schools, except 

 the introduction of Perry's spelling book — an ex- 

 cellent work. In the year 1792, our countrj- be- 

 gan to feel the effects of a stable government, and 

 the French revolution ; money began to circulate 

 and people to wake up. That year new books 

 were introduced : Webster's 1st, 2d and 3d parts, 

 with several other useful books, and more com- 

 petent teachers were employed, at some better 

 pay. 



Young ladies, preparing themselves for teach- 

 ers, began to study grammar, (there were no fe- 

 male academies at that time in this region.) The 

 young lady teachers in those days had better health 

 — if less learning — than at the present time ; they 

 woiild walk a mUe, more or less, to their schools, 

 and spend six or eight hours and back again, 

 where the spinning wheel was in readiness for 

 them. I remember some of them welL They 

 were not disfigured by broken backs and broken 

 constitutions, for the want of exercise, and they 

 governed their schools accordingly ; they used a 

 sapling resembling a boy's fi.sh pole, which would 

 reach the remote scholars with a little effort, and 

 wo to the young culprit's cranium who was seen 

 to play, or guilty of idleness. This dreaded weap- 

 on was useful for other purposes than chastise- 

 ment, as, if silence or attention were required, a 

 sudden stroke upon the floor would produce the 

 immediate effect. 



As late as the year 1797 there were no acade- 

 mies in this vicinity, except the Phillips Academy, 

 at Andover, and another by the same name, at 

 Exeter, N. H. I was pupil at the Andover Acad- 

 emy in the year 1797, and what will surprise peo- 

 ple at the present time, there were but forty or 

 fifty pupils in the school, notwithstanding acade- 

 mies were so scarce ; three of them were from Vir- 

 ginia, viz., Augustine and Bushrod Washington, 

 nephewH of the General, and Francis Lightfoot 

 Lee, and the others from the towns in the vicinity. 

 What I have written in regard to our district 

 school will apply to many other schools in New 

 England at that period. Silas BBOwy. 



North WUmington, Feb., 1863. 



FENCES 



FcT the yezr England Fanner. 

 •P A-Rivr HINTS. 



-AGBICULTURE I>' SCHOOLS COMilOX 



SENSE. 



Too much lumber is used in building fences. 

 A fence two boards high, one and a half foot from 

 the ground, space between boards eight inches, 

 boards five inches in width, is a plenty for any 

 cattle that ought to be allowed to graze ; less like- 

 ly to be blown down than higher, and a more com- 

 pact fence. 



'•Agriculture in Common Schools," is the head- 

 ing of an article in a late number of your paper. 

 I have read it, and others on the same subject- 

 My opinion is, that there are branches enough 

 taught in the common schools. The best farmers 

 whom I find along the road, are the practical ones, 

 taught in the field, and make use of the common 

 sense that God has seen fit to give them, read the 

 Xew England Fannei', and raise a large porker in- 

 stead of a dog ! Botany, I consider indispensa- 

 ble to the farmer, and a stable mind, which leads 

 it not into every suggestion of those of us who 

 rather dictate than work. 



"Cornstalks for Fodder," heads an editorial. 

 If I had a cow that I wished to dry up, I would 

 give her a plenty of the best cured corustalks, and 

 I would give them to other stock which I did not 

 wish to have nutritious food. Down this way we 

 are not apt to give that attention to the feed of 

 milch cows that we ought. Ever} cow, instead of 

 decreasing her usual flow of miik, ought to in- 

 crease it on coming to the bam. Such would be 

 the case, if the feed of the cows consisted of sec- 

 ond crop, with the addition of cabbage and turnip 

 leaves. 



"Those sheep look first rate," says the stock 

 buyer to the farmer — a most unusual sapng — 

 but it would be more frequent, if we chose good 

 buUt ones, and favored them with the sight of 

 good hay, roots and grain. That bone which the 

 neighbor's cur has finished gnawing the meat 

 from, if planted with the potato, will save putting 

 in a shovelful of manure. S. P. M. 



I Cape Elizabeth, 1863. 



For the Seic England Parmer. 

 I A COKK" BAEN". 



I Mr. Editor : — In your paper of April 2oth, 

 Mr. "J. W. Nye" inquires how to build a com 

 ^ bam. I regard a good, convenient com bam of 

 great importance to a farmer, especially if it an- 

 j swers the purpose it is made for. There is some 

 , satisfaction in knowing that we have one place 

 I free from rats and mice, although many that have 

 j com bams never experience such a sensation ! 

 I Then, again, it is very agreeable to have sweet, 

 i wholesome bread. 



I In 18.59, 1 built acorn bam which has answered 

 I a very good purpose, and if any one can gather 

 ' any useful hints from a description, they are wel- 

 come. It is 16 by 20 ft., 10 ft. posts ; the corner 

 ; ones run down and rest on granite blocks. The 

 I crib, or bin, is on the south and east sides, formed 

 : by putting on slats thi-ee inches wide and one inch 

 \ apart, with another set of slats the same width 

 ' and distance apart, fastened together with cleats. 

 \ The outside slats slip Kke a shde door over the 

 open spaces, when desired. On the north side, 

 there are two bins for oats and wheat, that bold 

 nearly 100 bushels each ; these are made very 



