BOYS 7 DEPARTMENT. 
379 
Bogs’ Department. 
The Schoolmaster and School. —The year has 
rolled round, the season of crops and their ingather¬ 
ing has passed away, and a new scene is to be acted, 
and you, my hoys, are to be the actors. The first 
thing to be looked to and inquired about is whether 
the schoolmaster is abroad, and if so, what kind of a 
man he is ? I don’t ask as to his Christian or moral 
character; these, I take for granted, are all correct, 
for without these, n.o man is worthy of a seat in the 
gubernatorial chair; and with these, every man is not 
otherwise fitted for the office of teacher. In the first 
place, he ought to be “ apt to teach.” Something 
upon the subject of agriculture should be read every 
day, and a few minutes devoted to the compari¬ 
son of things brought into the school for that purpose, 
showing, by demonstration, why some things are bet¬ 
ter than others, as well as that “ some things can be 
done as well as others.” Nor should this be all. He 
should, at proper times and on proper occasions, lead 
the way in your sports. It cannot be supposed that 
boys who have been hard at work on a farm for eight 
months, can sit down from six to eight hours’ study 
every day, without causing a derangement in their 
physical frame. I am aware that you are up at five 
o’clock in the morning, and out at the barn, seeing to 
feeding the stock, cleaning the stables, and looking to 
everything in and about the barn, hog-pen, and hen-,, 
house, as well as the chores in and about the house, 
and all this too, over again, after school is out; but 
all this is not sufficient. 
There are various plays in which you may engage 
under the eye of a master, which will give both plea¬ 
sure to the mind and profit to the body. I need only 
name the kite and the ball, when the ground is hard 
and dry; the skates and hand-sled, when there is 
snow and ice : nor are you to take advantage of this 
apparent familiarity in your master; he needs the 
exercise and relaxation as well as yourselves, and 
ought to be entitled to your greater respect for this in¬ 
dulgence. 
And now, one word about your studies. Think 
not that your duties end when you leave the school- 
house ; but take your geography or history home 
with you, and commit your lessons for the next day 
in the evening. More may be done during four 
months’ schooling in the winter, than is frequently 
accomplished in a whole year, where nothing more 
is required of a boy than to be regular in his hours of 
attendance at school. 
A Kicking Plow. —Well, boys, I want to tell you 
a story about plowing, which I heard a couple of old 
men talking over the other day, while looking at the 
beautiful implements of husbandry in the warehouse 
of the editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Farmer A says to Farmer D, these are somewhat 
different plows from such as you and I used to plow 
with when we went to the woods and cut down a 
winding tree, and split out a mould board, and hewed 
off the splinters, and then nailed on the blade of an 
old hoe, straps of iron, sometimes an old worn-out 
horse-shoe, &c., &c., to keep it from wearing out. 
Yes, indeed, replies Farmer D, 1 well remember when 
1 was about 16 years old (he is now upwards of 70), 
my father had a kicking plow. 
Do you know what a kicking plow is, boys ? 
Well, 1 will tell you. It was so constructed, that 
when the point of the share struck a stone or rock, of 
which we have plenty in my country, it would fly up 
behind, and the handles strike you under the chin, or 
sometimes the end of the mould board would bark 
you on the shin, making you cry out ah, or oh dear! 
which he set me at work with, and left home on a 
short journey. After getting a few thjumps I began to 
philosophize, and pretty soon turned my oxen into the 
pasture, took a shovel and axe, went into the woods, 
dug up a small ash tree by the roots, to be sawed in 
two for handles, taking the next cut for the beam, and 
so on, until I had all the material for a new plow. 
By dinner time, next day, I had my plow ready for 
operation, and at it I went. It worked to a charm— 
for I had so balanced the parts that 1 had no more 
kicking. The moon shone the following evening, 
and I plowed on, fearing the consequences of not 
meeting the expectations of my father, in the quan¬ 
tity of land plowed on his return, which was on the 
third day. He came into the field immediately. 
“ Well, David,” said he, “ you are turning it up 
pretty handsomely; but what have you there, my 
son ?” I held down my head, and talked to the oxen. 
“ Never mind,” said he, “ only be careful in turning 
about, for, if the oxen once get sight of your plow, it 
is so handsome, they will clear the field, and you may 
never see more of them !” 
Necessity of Studying Chemistry. — I wish to 
explain to the boys the necessity of their studying this 
important science. Every plant that grows upon a 
farm has to be fed, as well as animals ; and they re¬ 
quire, or at least do better, upon particular kinds of 
food. When they have it, under favorable circum¬ 
stances, they attain their most perfect growth. Now, 
how are we to find out what plants live upon, and 
what is their particular food ? Some would at once 
answer, 1 would apply stable manure—that gives me 
good crops. Others would say, I would use guano, 
marl, lime, plaster, or 1 would plow under green 
crops, &c.; but all these modes have been tried un¬ 
successfully in some cases. Now, a chemist would 
at once ascertain the cause of the failure, and advise 
the best application of nourishment. He would 
analyze the soil, and would also analyze the plants 
that the farmer wished to grow. He would ascertain 
perhaps that there was everything requisite in the 
soil but lime, and that by the application of it, the 
land would at once be fitted to produce the crop re¬ 
quired ; or it might want potash, then ashes would be 
the remedy; or it might want azotised substances, 
and then he would recommend stable manure, &c. 
Many would ask, how can a chemist do this ? 1 
answer, by analysis. Well, what is analysis? 
Analysis means the separation of substances so as to 
ascertain their composition. A chemist does this, by 
employing certain chemical manipulations and tests. 
He separates every substance that soils and plants 
contain. He detects and weighs them, so that every 
particle is accounted for, and their respective value 
ascertained. When this is known, the farmer is able 
to apply the substance required, and in that way he 
not only makes the proper application, but also often¬ 
times saves himself a great expense in purchasing 
manure which his farm does not require. Thus he 
:nakes money, while his neighbor loses. 
