MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
BY L. WET HER ELL. 
“ARE YOU OPPOSED TO UNIVERSAL ED¬ 
UCATION ? ” 
This question very naturally suggests it¬ 
self after -what we have said in two articles, 
the first entitled “ Criminal Statistics,” and 
the second, “Crkne and its Causes.” We 
endeavored in the foregoing articles to dem¬ 
onstrate, from good patriots and Christians, 
that something more than intelligence and 
virtue, (virtue being understood as used by 
statesmen,) is necessary to save nations and 
individuals from corruption, degredation and 
final ruin. 
What necessary connection is there be¬ 
tween a knowledge of letters and crime? 
We doubt, as we stated in a former article, 
whether there be a man, woman or child 
of any age or condition in the State of New 
York, now suffering incarceration, or any 
other punishment for «rime, that did not 
know when committing the act for which 
the sentence of punishment was incun ed, 
that he or she was doing wrong and viola¬ 
ting law, known law—known by tradition or 
by direct instruction. Now in this view of 
’the # subject, the question very naturally 
suggests itself to the thoughtful and inqui- 
ring'mind.—How much knowledge of read¬ 
ing, writing and ciphering is necessary to 
deter one from doing what he knows to be 
wrong without any knowledge of the afore¬ 
mentioned acts? What power or charm 
can there be in the mere knowledge ol the 
powers and uses of letters and figures, to 
prevent crime ? Is it a fact that accords 
with every-day observation that children 
and adults that know most—such as have 
had the most finished mental cultivation,— 
behave the best, and are the most virtuous 
and pious, and benevolent persons within 
the circle of your observation, be it limited 
or extended ? How is it concerning this 
view of the subject? That the culture of 
mind gives power and skill, none can deny 
—that it confers goodness, or the desire to 
lead a Christian life, a life of obedience to 
the laws of God and man, few will affirm. 
It may inspire, and does in some cases, a 
regard for some of the customs of society 
—at least an outward observance of them 
— but it not uufrequently gives skill to 
evade detection for the violation of laws for 
which inwardly there was not the least re¬ 
gard—neither would there have been out¬ 
wardly, but for the reason that society is 
not as corrupt, as are some of the persons 
who compose it. 
If the State officers would report in con¬ 
nection with those who do not know how to 
“read or write,” the names of those who do 
not know how to work—who have never 
been taught a trade, nor how to do busi¬ 
ness of any kind which would enable them 
to provide themselves with food and cloth¬ 
ing,—we think the secret of crime would be 
found here, instead of in connection with 
the want or destitution of a knowledge of 
letters merely. If the youth of our land 
could be taught but one thing, and that 
should be a knowledge of letters ora knowl¬ 
edge of the use of tools, which do you think 
would be the better preventive of crime, 
the latter with the habits of industry and 
application begotten by the desire to better 
their condition, or a knowledge of the for¬ 
mer, which too often, alas, engenders a false 
pride and love of display for which idleness 
makes no provision—provides no means for 
procuring the objects coveted ? The answer 
is obvious to all. But fortunately no such 
necessity exists. A knowledge of both may 
be obtained—and should be secured in the 
days of youth. 
What multitudes of children of both sexes 
are growing up in school with little or no 
mental culture, and without acquiring any 
knowledge of work or business of any kind 
when out of school Their childhood days 
are spent in such a way as to fix upon them 
such inveterate habits of indolence as no 
subsequent effort of theirs can entirely 
eradicate. We do not believe that both 
mental and religious culture combined in 
due proportions, intellectually, can save a 
person from becoming vicious and corrupt, 
unless he, at the same time acquires the 
habit of industry—a love of work, begot¬ 
ten, as it were, by the knowledge of know¬ 
ing how to labor, and feeling its necessity. 
In New-England, formerly, children were i 
taught, both to read and to work—the lat- ’ 
ter employed the great mass of them, three- 
fourths of the year, as soon as they were old 
enough to work—while learning to read, 
write and cipher, occupied the remaining 
fourth of the time. Many a New-England 
farmers’ sons and daughters acquired in 
this way a good education, while multitudes 
at the present day, who have nothing to do 
but to go to school, and learn to do nothing 
—or what is worse, habits of indolence, 
which beget in their possessors scorn and 
hate for manual labor, while they are totally 
unfit for brain work. Thus do multitudes 
of the young grow up, too imbecile to think 
and too lazy to work. 
No indolent person can long be an inno¬ 
cent person—no matter how much knowl¬ 
edge he has;—and no industrious laborer 
skilled in some useful vocation is likely to 
be a vicious person, no matter how little he 
may know of letters. We would say, then, 
in conclusion, that we are not opposed to 
making that education universal which un¬ 
folds and trains in due proportion the physi¬ 
cal, mental, moral and spiritual capacities 
of man. Then will he honor and obey God 
and all who have the rule over him. That 
system of education, if education it can be 
called, that has to do with the intellect 
alone, makes of man a monster, who neither 
fears God, nor regards man. Such a sys¬ 
tem of education, the more universal it be¬ 
comes, the greater curse it is to mankind. 
It was recently said by a city Missionary, 
that “ Wherever you find pauperism pre¬ 
vailing, ignorance walks at its side; hand in 
hand they go together. As long as chil¬ 
dren grow up in ignorance so long will pau¬ 
perism exist. Who ever heard of it in a 
community, blessed by the general diffusion 
' of education?” This quotation is taken 
from the “ Annual Report of the Statistics 
of Poverty” in Roxbury, Mass., than which 
it is said, “ no town in the State has done 
more for Free Schools.” The means for 
“the general diffusion of education” are 
provided here in a preeminent degree, and 
nevertheless, pauperism, crime and squali- 
dity are, according to the Report, exceed¬ 
ingly prevalent. “ Pauperism and igno¬ 
rance,” it is said, “ walk hand in hand.”— 
Now the Missionary seems to us, to assume 
that ignorance , not being able to read and 
write, is the cause of pauperism and all its 
kindred vices. To us it is clear that pau¬ 
perism and all its evils are the legitimate 
fruits of idleness and indolence—conse¬ 
quently if you would remove pauperism 
you must, in the first place thoroughly train 
the young to habits of industry—then will 
they be almost sure to acquaint themselves 
with a knowledge of letters, provided this 
was not done along with the learning of a 
trade, which is generally the case. The 
habit of industry, in a Government like ours, 
is almost sure to secure a competency of 
food and raiment with all the other good 
thing of this life. 
A member of the British Parliament once 
said, in debating a question concerning the 
future welfare of the people, that he hoped 
to see the time when all should be able to 
read Bacon. Said another member, re¬ 
marking upon the same subject, the time 
must first come, when all shall be able to 
eat bacon. That is to say, the substantials 
of physical comforts must first be within 
the.reach of all, plus,leisure before all can 
be able to enjoy the reading of Lord Bacon 
and other philosophers. 
In Wilmington, Vt., the streams were overflown 
by the rain, and much damage was done to roads, 
bridges, and crops. It is stated that the selectmen 
estimate the loss in the town at $20,000. — North¬ 
ampton (Mass.) Gaz. 
We insert this item in order to call atten¬ 
tion to the incorrect use of the participle 
overflown. Overflown is the perfect par¬ 
ticiple derived from the verb overfly. That 
the streams were oveflown, is not what the 
Gazette intends to say—for nothing is said 
of birds. What he does say is incorrect in 
anothes sense—to wit, “ the streams were 
overflown by the rain ”—i. e., changing the 
construction from the passive voice, to the 
active, “ the rain overflew the streams,” that 
is, flew over the streams. Had this been 
reallv so, then the streams would not have 
flowed over or overflowed their banks.— 
The banks of the streams were overflowed 
by the rain, &c,. &c; and in the mean time 
the streams may have been overflown by 
birds. 
We hope that our readers will observe 
and remember the distinction between these 
words. 
N. Y. STATE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION. 
The sixth Annual Meeting of this Asso¬ 
ciation was held in Buffalo, on the 6th and 
7th inst. A visit to the Queen City, en¬ 
abled us to be present a part of the time. 
The attendance was good, though not what 
we expected at a State meeting. We noticed 
with pleasure the presence of many active, 
intelligent ladies, who, with commendable 
zeal, had come up to the annual council. 
President Bulkley, of Albany, occupied 
the chair. The session was opened with 
prayer by Rev. Y. R. Hotchkiss, of Buffalo, 
followed by the annual address of the Presi¬ 
dent. He gave a general review of the 
progress of a century in physical improve¬ 
ments, and educational means and facilities, 
contrasting our present institutions of learn¬ 
ing, their number and facilities, with those 
existing fifty years since. Also a brief ac¬ 
count of the rise and progress of the Asso¬ 
ciation, the first in the country. 
The afternoon session opened with a re¬ 
port by 0. Kellogg, of New York, on the 
two modes or instruction, “ Analytic and 
Synthetic,” followed by an animated dis¬ 
cussion of much interest upon the subject 
of the lecture. 
We left before the evening session com¬ 
menced, but learn from the Commercial 
Advertiser, that the Rev. G. W. IIosmer, 
of Buffalo, delivered an excellent address, 
embracing the duties and responsibilities, 
the trials, pleasures and honors of the 
teacher’s life. 
The second day was devoted to reports, 
lectures and discussions, varied with other 
matters of interest. Prominent among 
these was a lecture by N. Hedges, of New¬ 
ark, N. J., upon, “ Inciting motives to Study 
and Good Conduct;” also, one by Prof. N. 
W. Benedict, of Rochester, upon “Analyt¬ 
ical and Inductive Discipline,” which is 
spoken of as severe and sarcastic upon the 
practice of “ making learning easy,” and 
bringing books “ down to the comprehen¬ 
sion of the young,”—the lecturer consider¬ 
ing the object of education to be discipline 
of the mind, which can only be done by 
severe study and application. 
The Association made choice of the fol¬ 
lowing officers: 
President —N. P. Stanton, Jr., Buffalo. 
Vice Presidents —N. W. Benedict, Rochester; 
Daniel M. Pitcher, Tioga Co.; A. R. Wright, 
Elmira; E. S. Adams, Albany. 
Corresponding Sec’y —J. N. McElligott, New 
York. 
Recording Sec’y —H. G. Winslow, Livingston. 
Treasurer — Oliver Arey, Buffalo. 
The usual speeches were made by the 
retiring President and the President elect, 
and the Association voted to hold their 
next meeting at Elmira, N. Y., on the first 
Wednesday of August, 1852. 
The second evening was occupied by 
passing some good, sensible resolutions; the 
reading of a poem by Miss M. J. Radley, 
of Buffalo, entitled, “ A Word—its influ¬ 
ence,” which received much commendation; 
appointing delegates to the National Edu¬ 
cational Convention, to be held the 19th 
inst, at Cleveland, O.; the election of seve¬ 
ral gentlemen as honorary members, and a 
closing address by President Bulkley. 
Much good must grow out of such meet¬ 
ings, if continued with the right spirit. We 
noticed that most of the teachers present 
were connected with the higher institutions of 
learning. An Association of a similar char¬ 
acter, formed by delegates from County As¬ 
sociations of teachers in our district schools, 
would appear to us as offering a wide field 
of usefulness, and one from which a rich 
harvest might be expected. h. c. w. 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
The East: Sketches of Travel in Egypt and the 
Holy Land. By the Rev. J. A. Spencer, M. 
A., Member of the New York Historical Socie¬ 
ty, &c., &c. Elegantly Illustrated from Origi¬ 
nal Drawings. New York: G. P. Putnam. 
The author treats somewhat at length of 
Oriental Countries, life, manners, customs, 
principles, <fcc., <fcc. It is written in the 
Narrative Style and will be found a very 
entertaining volume for the young. A good 
book for the School Library. For sale by 
Dewey. 
Adventures in the Lybian Desert and the Oasis 
of Jupiter Ammon. By Bayle St. John. — 
New York: G. P. Putnam. 
The Lybian Desert, whose oasis is Jupi 
piter Ammon, once attracted hither the 
world’s conqueror to hear from a mysteri¬ 
ous oracle, is here treated of by St. John, 
who has recently traversed its surface. A 
good book for a School Library. Eor sale 
at D. M. Dewey’s. 
THE HARVEST FLY. —(Cicada Canicnlaris.) 
The Iiarvest-FJy is usually first heard 
about the 25th of July, and for this reason 
is called Dog-day Harvest-Fly. It is more 
commonly called Locust. The word cicada 
includes a group of many species of insects 
of the grasshopper-tribe, living in trees, 
and characterized by their power of produ¬ 
cing a shrill, continuous sound, by means 
of a peculiar apparatus situated beneath the 
abdomen. Canicular, is from canicnlaris, 
and relates to the dog-star, in the constel¬ 
lation Canis Mayor. The rising and set¬ 
ting of this star, sometimes called Sirius, 
with the sun gives name to the dog-days, 
which begin, according <o the almanac, on 
the 25th of July and end on the 5th of 
September. 
The harvest-fly or locust is about an inch 
and a half in length, from the front to the 
tip of the wings, which, when expanded, 
measure about three inches. It continues 
its shrill singing in trees and shrubs until 
sometime in September. The female de¬ 
posits her eggs in the branchlets of trees. 
The process of propagation is very similar 
to that of the seventeen-year locust, cicada 
Septemdecim, excepting that the former ap¬ 
pears annually instead of once in seventeen 
years, as does the latter. 
The male only is musical. This is so 
with all, or nearly so, of the species of sing¬ 
ing insects, and of singing birds. Not so 
however of the order of animals denomi- 
ted Bimana, as all will testify, who congre¬ 
gated recently in this city to hear the sing¬ 
ing of the Swedish Nightingale, and what 
was little less than her echo, Miss Anna 
Bishop. The hearing of these singers two 
or three evenings cost the people $20,000, 
—an expensive entertainment, when com 
pared with the choral songs of reptiles and 
insects, interspersed with the most delight¬ 
ful solos from birds. w. 
HOW THE EYE IS SWEPT AND WASHED. 
For us to be able to see objqpts clearly 
and distinctly, it is neceksary that the eye 
should be kept moist and clean. For this 
purpose it is furnished with a lit tie gland, 
from which flows a watery fluid, (tears,) 
which is spread over the eye by the lid, 
and is afterwards swept off by it, and runs 
through a hole in the bone to the inner 
surface of the nose, where the warm air, 
passing over it while breathing, evaporates 
it. It is remarkable that no such gland 
can be found in the eyes of fish, as the el¬ 
ement in which they live answers the same 
purpose. 
If the eye had not been furnished with 
a liquid to wash it and a lid to sweep it off, 
things would appear as they do when we 
look through a dusty glass. Along the 
edges of the eyelid there are a great 
number of little tubes or glands, from which 
flows an oily substance which spreads over 
the surface of the skin and prevents the 
edges from becoming sore or irritated, and 
it also helps to keep the tears within the 
lid. There are also six little muscles at¬ 
tached to the eye, which enable us to move 
it in every direction; and when we consider 
the different motions they are capable of 
giving to the eyes, we cannot but admire 
the goodness of Him who formed them, 
and has thus saved us the trouble of turn¬ 
ing our heads every time we wish to view 
an object 
Although the eyes of some animals are 
incapable of motion, as the fly, the beetle 
and several other insects, yet the Creator 
has shown his wisdom and goodness in fur¬ 
nishing their eyes with thousands of little 
globes, and by placing their eyes more in 
front of their heads so that these little in¬ 
sects can see all around them without turn¬ 
ing their heads. A gentleman who has ex¬ 
amined the eyes of a fly, says that the two 
eyes of a common fly are composed of 8,000 
little globes, through every one of which it 
is capable of forming an image of an object! 
Having prepared the eye of the fly for the 
purpose, he placed it before his microscope 
and looked through both, in the manner of 
a telescope, at a steeple which was 299 feet 
high and 750 feet distant; and he says he 
could plainly see, through every little hem¬ 
isphere the whole steeple inverted or turned 
j upside down. 
The Sole. —This well known and deli¬ 
cious fish is remarkable for one extraordi¬ 
nary circumstance; they have been known 
to feed on shell-fish although they are fur¬ 
nished with no apparatus whatever for re¬ 
ducing them to a state calculated for di¬ 
gestion. The stomach, however, has a dis¬ 
solvent power, which makes up for the want 
of masticating apparatus. But the most 
usual food for soles is the spawn and young 
of other fish. 
VACANT HOURS. 
BY CARRIE COLTON. 
Oh! give me back my vacant hours. 
That long since lost their golden sanda! 
Oh! give me back those precious flowers 
That withered in my careless hands! 
An hour! How brief! and yet how long! 
A season for immortal deeds! 
My vacant hours through memory throng, 
And oe’r their path repentance bleeds. 
Oh! could an angel bring to me 
My vacant hours again to live, 
My heart cries out, “ O, God to Thee, 
My every hour I humbly give!” 
AN ANCIENT BIBLE. 
The Boston Traveller says: — “ An arti- 
ticle, relating to a copy of the Bible printed 
in the year 1599, copied into the Traveller 
from the New Haven Palladium, has bro’t 
us a visit from an antiquarian friend, who 
is always posted up in curious matters of 
that kind. He has shown us a copy of a 
still earlier edition of the Scriptures, which 
is a rare and beautiful specimen of ancient 
typography, each page being carefully and 
ornamentally ruled, by hand, with red ink. 
In respects both to printing and paper, it 
would suffer little by comparison with the 
best books of this boasted age of improve¬ 
ment. The following is an exact copy of 
the title-page of the New Testament:— 
THE 
NEWE TESTA¬ 
MENT OF OVR LORD 
JESVS CHRIST, TRANSLATED 
OVT OF GREEKK BY 
THEOD. BEZA. 
WHEREVNTO ARE A DIO YN ED 
BRIEFE SVMMARR1ES OF DOCTRINE 
vpon the Euangelist and Actes ol the Apostles, together 
with the methode of the Epistles of the 
Apostles, by the saide 
Theod. Beza: 
AND ALSO SHORT EXPOSITIONS 
ON THE PHRASES AND HARD PLA- 
ces, taken out of the large annotations of the aforesaid 
Autuour and loach Camerarions. by 
P. Loseler, Villerins. 
If English by L. Tomson. 
IMPRINTED AT LONDON 
By Christopher Barker, Printer to the Queenes 
most excellent Hlajestie. 
Anno 15^7. 
If Cum prhylegio. 
GEMS OF THOUGHT. 
Forgiveness.— My heart was heavy, for 
its trust had been abused, its kindness an¬ 
swered by foul wrong; so turning gloomily 
from my fellow men one Sabbath day, I 
strolled along the green mounds of the 
village burial place; here I was reminded 
how all human love and hate find one sad 
level, and how, sooner or later, the wronged 
and the wrong doer, each, with a mocked 
face and cold hands folded over a still heart, 
pass the green threshold of a common grave, 
whither all footsteps tend—whence none 
depart. Awed for myself and pitying my 
race, one common sorrow, like a mighty 
wave, swept all my pride away, and tremb- 
ing I forgave.— Whittier. 
None of us know what we can live past 
till we have proved it. God sends strange 
strength to carry us on from one great trial 
to the next that is reserved for us. We live 
throuhg them—and past them. So that 
to the world they seem over;so that stran¬ 
gers cheerfully observe to each other, that 
“ we seem quite ourselves.” 
The best of men appear sometimes to be 
strange compounds of contradictory quali¬ 
ties: and, were the accidental oversights 
and folly, of the wisest man—the failings 
and imperfections of a religious man—the 
hasty acts and passionate words of a meek 
man—were they to rise up in judgment 
against them—and an ill-natured judge be 
suffered to mark, in this manner, what has 
been done amiss—what character so unex¬ 
ceptionable as to be able to stand before 
him ?— Sterne. 
He who knows enough to act in all cases 
as his own true interest would dictate, is 
wdser than King Solomon, and must live on 
the whole, a more worthy life. 
THE DEATH OF FRIENDS. 
Many whom we dearly love are not with 
us now. The flowers bloom upon their 
graves. A little while ago, and they w r ere 
with us young and happy; but alas! the 
bloom faded from their cheeks—they sick¬ 
ened and died. What were our feelings 
when we looked upon their pale faces for 
the last time, and followed their beloved 
forms to the cold and silent tomb! And 
Oh! when 1 we heard the earth fall upon 
their bosoms, how did our hearts bleed!— 
And then, to return home without them, 
and from day to day behold the vacant seat, 
and with tearful eyes gaze again and again 
upon some memento of the departed one. 
Yes, this is sorrow! You, perhaps, have 
felt it in the loss of one beloved. The flow¬ 
ers of spring now bloom upon the grave of 
the dear departed. The birds sing sweetly 
there; but the quiet sleeper hears not their 
song. And can it be that the loved one is 
dead ? Farewell you may say, dear friend! 
Thou art where flowers immortal bloom.— 
Instead of the song of birds, thou art listen¬ 
ing to the song of angels. Again fare¬ 
well! Thou hast entered the paradise of 
God. 
