34 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
two feet long, and not less than one foot six inches, 
or nine inches wide.” With regard to seats, an aw¬ 
ful neglect has been too generally manifest—1st, in 
not making them broad enough; 2d, in not so adapt¬ 
ing them that the feet of those sitting upon them may 
rest firmly on the floor; and 3d, in not providing backs 
to them. As to the tendency of these defects in our 
school rooms, upon the human system, we quote Dr. 
Woodward. He says: 
“ High and narrovj seats are not only extremely uncomfort¬ 
able for the young scholar, tending constantly to make him 
restless and noisy, disturbing his temper and preventing his 
attention to books, but they also have a direct tendency to 
produce deformity of the limbs. 
“ If the seat is too narrow, half the thigh only rests upon 
It: if too high, the feet cannot reach the floor; the conse¬ 
quence is that the limbs are suspended on the centre of the 
thigh. Now as the limbs of children are pliable or flexible, 
they are easily made to grow out of shape, and become crook¬ 
ed by such an awkward unnatural position. 
“ Seats without backs, have an equally unfavorable influ¬ 
ence upon the spinal column. If no rest is afforded the backs 
of children while seated, they almost necessarily assume a 
bent and crooked position; such a position often assumed, or 
long continued, lends to that deformity which has become ex¬ 
tremely common with children in modern times—and leads to 
disease of the spine in innumerable instances, especially with 
delicate female children. 
“ The seats in school rooms should be so constructed, that 
the whole thigh can rest upon them, and at the same time the 
foot stand firmly upon the floor; all seats should have backs 
high enough to reach the shoulder blades; low backs, although 
better than none, are far less easy and useful than high ones, 
and will not prevent pain and uneasiness, after sitting a con¬ 
siderable time. Young children should be permitted to change 
their position often, to stand on their feet, to march, and to 
visit the playground. One hour is as long as a child, under 
ten years of age, should be confined at once, and four hours 
as long as he should be confined to his seat in one day.” 
“ At this period of life,” says the report, “ when portions 
of the bone are but little more than cartilage, and the mus¬ 
cles will stretch like sheep’s leather, the question is, whether 
the seats shall be conformed to the children, or the children 
shall be deformed to the seats.” 
“ Young persons,” remarks Dr. Warren, “ however well 
disposed, cannot support a restriction to one place and one pos¬ 
ture. Nature resists such restrictions; and if enforced, they 
are apt to create disgust with the means and the object. Thus 
children learn to hate studies, that might be rendered agree¬ 
able, and they take an aversion to instructors, who would 
otherwise be interesting to them.” 
“ In the course of my observations,” continues Dr. Warren, 
“ I have been able to satisfy myself, that about half the young 
females brought upas they are at present, undergo some vi¬ 
sible and obvious change of structure; that a considerable 
number are the subjects of great and permanent deviations, 
and that not a few entirely lose their health from the manner in 
which they are reared. I feel warranted in the assertion, 
that, of the well-educated females, within my sphere of expe¬ 
rience, about one-half are affecledwith some degree of distortion 
of spine. The lateral distortion of the spine is almost wholly 
confined to females, and is scarcely ever found existing in the 
other sex. The posture females assume, while seated at their 
studies, are not indifferent. They should be frequently 
warned against the practice of maintaining the head and neck 
long in a stooping position, and the disposition to it should be 
lessened, by giving a proper elevation and slope to the desk, 
and the seat should have a support or back.” 
Location of school-houses. —After pointing out the 
injurious influences which result from placing the 
school-house in a bleak or marshy situation—upon a 
sandy plain, without shade—or upon the road-side, 
amidst the dust of travel, and where the children’s 
attention is constantly called off by the passers by— 
or upon a little delta of land, surrounded by roads, 
without any place of seclusion from the public gaze, 
and where the modesty of nature will be overlaid by 
habits of indecorum;—after pointing out the objec¬ 
tions to such locations, the report directs—“Build it 
where some sheltering hill or wood mitigates the in¬ 
clemency of winter; where a neighboring grove tem¬ 
pers the summer heat, furnishing cool and shady 
walks ; remove it a little from the public highway, and 
from buildings where noisy and clattering trades are 
carried on ; and, above all, reserve it from sound or 
sight of all resorts for a license for dissipation ; and 
a sensibility to beauty, a purity of mind, a sentiment 
of decency and propriety, will be developed and fos¬ 
tered, and the chance of elevated feelings and correct 
conduct in after life will be increased manifold.” 
Light and windows. —“ The windows should be such 
as to furnish sufficient light at all times,” and should 
be furnished with blinds and curtains for excluding 
any excess, which often proves prejudicial to the sight 
of children. The windows should be made so that 
the upper sash can be lowered, or the lower sash 
raised. 
Yards or flay grounds. —Much emphasis is laid up¬ 
on these being sufficient for the play and exercise of 
the children, and of their being kept neat and cleanly. 
“ With the number who ordinarily attend these in¬ 
stitutions, not less than a quarter of an acre, [in the 
country,] should ever be thought of as a space for 
their accommodation, and this should be enclosed 
from the public highway, so as to secure it from cat¬ 
tle, that the children may have a safe and clean place 
for exercise at recess and other times.” It should 
contain some “ornamental and fruit trees and flower 
borders, which children may be taught to cultivate 
and enjoy, and by an attention to which their ideas 
of property, and common tights and obligations, would 
become more distinct. By attention to what belong¬ 
ed to themselves, they would be kept from many of 
those wanton injuries too often done to the possessions 
of those near them.” 
The duty of instructors , among other things, is de¬ 
clared to be, to see that the school-room in all its 
parts, be kept in a clean and comfortable condition, 
as being highly conducive to the observance of this 
virtue in the children, and to their correct deportment. 
The report concludes with recommending, that eve¬ 
ry school-house have a bell, to inspire punctuality and 
order; a time-piece, where it can be seen by the scho¬ 
lars, as an encouragement andrelief, like that felt by the 
traveller in seeing mile-stones;—a well or a spring, 
from which a ready supply of water may be obtained; 
—scrapers and mats at the doors and in the halls;— 
and, where there is no cellar, a shed for wood—the 
latter being deemed indispensable. 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 
0 0 G 
[Fig. No. 4,] 
Represents the general plan of a school-house, as recommend¬ 
ed in the report. A, teacher’s desk. B, B, teacher’s plat¬ 
form, from 1 to 2 feet in height. C, step for ascending the 
platform. L, L, Cases for books, apparatus, cabinet, &c. 
H, pupils single desks, 2 feet by 18 inches. M, pupils seats, 
1 foot by 20 inches. I, Aisles, 1 foot 6 inches in width. D, 
place for stove, if one be used. E, room for recitation, for 
retiring in case of sudden indisposition, for interviews with 
parents, when necessary, &e. It may, also, be used for the 
library, &c. F, F, F, F, F, Doors into the boys’ and girls’ 
entries—from the entries into the school-room, and from the 
school-room into the recitation room. G, G, G, G, windows. 
The windows on the sides are not lettered. 
The seats for small scholars, without desks, if needed, to be 
moveable, and placed as the general arrangements of the 
school shall render convenient. 
Where there is but one teacher, the space between the desks 
and the entries to be used for recitation. Here, also, is the 
place for black boards, whether moveable or attached to the 
wall. This space should be 8, 10 or 12 feet wide, according 
to the size of the school. 
The height of the room should never be less than 10 or 12 
feet 
[Fig. No. 5,] 
Represents an end view of the pupils' desks and seats. J, 
pupils’ sggts. K, shape of the board or plank which forms 
the sideband support of the desks. 
A light greenjs perhaps the best colour for the scholars’ 
desks and seats, as it is more grateful than any other to the 
eye. For the outside of the house, white is the colour most 
universally pleasing. 
PLAN OF A VILLAGE SCHOOL-HOUSE. 
[This is the phyt submitted to the American Institute of In¬ 
struction, by their board of Censors, in 1831.] 
[Fig. No. 6,] 
“Is the ground plan of a village school-house, for both sexes, 
containing eighty separate seats and desks. Additional seats 
for small children, who may not require desks, can be intro¬ 
duced at pleasure, and the teacher can arrange them in such 
situations as may be most convenient. For this purpose, a 
sufficient number of light, moveable forms should be furnished. 
“The whole edifice, exclusive of the portico in front,— 
which may be omitted, if a cheap, rather than a tasteful build¬ 
ing is required,—is 58 feet long, and 35 feet wide. The di¬ 
mensions of the school-room allow 21 feet of floor to each of. 
eighty scholars, the passages, teacher’s platform, &c. being 
included. It is believed that this allowance is not too liberal, 
—is not more than is required for the comfort, health and im¬ 
provement of the scholars.* 
* “It may not be amiss to state, that two of the Censors teach 
large private schools in Boston; and in their respective schools, 
they allow, for each ef their scholars, about 22 square feet of floor, 
exclusive of entries, dressing rooms, recitation rooms, &c. One 
of the school-rooms is 16 and the other 18 feet high the former 
giving about 350, and the latter about 400, cubic feet of space, to 
each scholar.” 
“ The plan here proposed maybe enlarged or diminished, 
for a greater or less number of scholars, according to the fol¬ 
lowing scale:—For ten scholars, add 4 feet to the length; for 
sixteen scholars, add 4 feet to the width; for twenty-eight 
scholars, add 4 feet to both length and width. For a less 
number of scholars, the length, or breadth, or both, may be 
diminished at the same rate. 
“ The school-room, represented in the plan annexed, is 48 
feet long, and 35 feet wide, within the walls. 
“The floor of the room should be level, and not an inclined 
plane. Nothing is gained by the common mode of finishing 
school rooms with inclined floors; and much is lost in symme¬ 
try, convenience and comfort. A faithful and active teacher 
will be about among his scholars, and not confine himself to 
a fixed seat, however favorably situated for overlooking them. 
“ Whether there be a stove in the school-room or not, there 
ought to be an open fire-place, where children may warm and 
dry their feet. The fire-place should be furnished with a hot¬ 
air chamber, to facilitate the ventilation of the room. 
“ The lids or tops of the scholars desks are usually made to 
slope too much. They should be nearly, if not quite horizon¬ 
tal,—an inch to a foot being a sufficient slope. 
“ Each scholar should have a separate seat, which should 
be confined to the floor. The seat should be about 13 inches 
square. 
“ The front rows of seats and desks, or those nearest the 
master’s platform, being designed for the smaller children, 
should be lower than those near the entries.” 
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Explanation. — P, doric portico in front of the school-house. 
d, d, d, d, d, doors. B, E, boys’ entry, 12 by 10 feet. ‘ G, E, 
girls’ entry, 12 by 10 feet. W, R, wood-room, 11 by 8 feet. 
g, fire-place, e, closet, f sink, to be concealed by a falling 
door balanced with weights. D, D, D, D, passage around 
the room, 6 feet wide. 1. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, stations marked on the 
floor, to be used by classes, when reciting to monitors. A, B, 
A, the teacher’s platform, extending across the room, 6 feet 
wide and 9 inches high. B, a part of the platform to be re¬ 
moved in the winter, if necessary, to make room for a stove. 
x, cabinet for apparatus, specimens, &c. y, book-case. H, 
master’s desk. I, assistant or monitor’s desk. F, centre 
passage; in the plan drawn 3 feet wide, but 4 feet would be 
better, b, scholars’ desks, 18 inches wide and 2 feet long.— 
c, scholars’ seats, a, passages between the seats and next 
row of desks, 13 inches wide. A desk, seat and passage oc¬ 
cupy 4 feet, viz: desk 18 inches, space between the desk and 
seat 2 inches, seat 13 inches, and passage 15 inches, w, w, ui, 
&c. windows, which should be placed high from the floor. 
Root Culture. 
II.—BEETS, 
Of whatever variety, whether for sugar or for cat¬ 
tle, require the same soil and the same culture. 
The mangold wurzel, or scarcity beet, has hitherto 
been the principal kind cultivated for farm stock, 
though the blood beet has been occasionally, and the 
sugar beet recently-r-both grown for this purpose. 
Beets, like all tap-rooted plants, require a deep soil, 
as it seldom happens that the roots enlarge much in 
the subsoil, or below where the earth is moved by the 
plough or spade. Moist loams, either of sand or clay, 
suit them best; though they grow on all soils not 
wet or very stiff, provided they are made rich and 
mellow. The mangold wurzel will do better on poor 
lands than the other sorts. 
The deeper the ground is ploughed, the more tho¬ 
roughly it is pulverized, and the more intimately the 
manure is incorporated with the earlhy matters, the 
better prospect of a crop. Pulverization is particu¬ 
larly necessary to the germination of the seed. The 
