MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
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\ BY L. WETHERELL. 
S ____ 
AT WHAT AGE SHALL CHILDREN BE 
SENT TO SCHOOL? 
Friend Wetiierell: —At •what age 
| ought children to commence going to 
| school ? This may appear to many a very 
trifling matter, yet it is of importance, for 
it frequently affects the physical and intel¬ 
lectual powers of the child so as to infiu- 
i ence him through life. Some are in favor 
i of having them commence as early as three 
or four years of age, others think that five 
or six is soon enough to confine a child’s 
I' instinctive restlessness to school discipline, 
I and many believe that seven or even eight 
is as soon as the physical powers and men¬ 
tal energies of the child can submit to 
scholastic drill without experiencing delete- 
| rious effects. 
Children who are sent to school to learn 
the rudiments of letters, (at whatever age 
l they begin) have to undergo a severe train- 
‘ ing, they can do nothing to advance their 
studies, but when the teacher is employed 
; with them, which is only a small portion of 
the time that they spend in the school 
» room, yet they are required to sit for hours 
) perfectly idle, both body and mind, which 
would impair the energies of mature age. 
But how much more rninous must be its 
effects on the youthful mind. It impairs 
their health, stupifies their minds, and too 
often creates a dislike for school and a dis- 
’ taste for learning, which cannot be re- 
; moved. 
Yet youth is the time to learn. A child 
at five will learn its letters and ahs. sooner 
) than at twelve because they are merely im- 
, prcssions to be made on the memory. But 
what must be done ? Children ought to 
commence learning soon, yet must not be 
) sent to school when young. Teach them 
at home. No child should ever be sent to 
’ school to learn its letters or its abs, provi¬ 
ding that there is one in the house who 
< knows them. 
Let the child receive its first lessons by 
’ its mother’s side, or on its father’s knee, and 
it will prevent the grevious task of sitting 
- for hours on a bench like'a stump, which 
too frequently makes it a dunce, and it will 
) also create in parents an interest in their 
> children’s progress in learning, which gen- 
I erally makes them scholars, and never fails 
1 ■ of giving the first rudiments of learning. 
| If the State has to take charge of schools, 
' and regulate them by Legislative edicts, 
make it the imperious duty of parents to in¬ 
i' struct their offspring in the first rudiments 
of letters at home. But I am not in favor 
of regulating schools nor any parental duty 
by Legislative edicts, for whenever it is 
attempted, it always weakens or destroys, 
instead of improving them. 
But let public opinion be brought to bear 
upon it, so as to stimulate parents to per- 
I form the imperious, and most sacred duty 
which they owe their children, the training 
of their physical, intellectual, and moral 
powers,—for it is not for want of time nor 
/ means that they neglect that pleasing task, 
' and most important duty. There are none 
| who do not spend more time in frivolity and 
j folly, and more money in making a vain 
display, than would be necessary to educate 
s their children. 
\ Make it more of a disgrace for a mother 
| to have a child five years old without hav- 
ing taught it its letters, than it would be to 
1 send it to church, with an every day garb 
) on, and it will do more for the advancement 
\ of learning, than State bounties or Legis- 
' lative edicts for the benefit of schools can 
> ever do. 
Stimulate parents to train their children 
in the path of duty, and love of virtue, for 
( if we ever have an industrious, moral,—and 
; intelligent community, the germ must be 
( planted in the infant mind, and the parent 
| must be the teacher. g. 
Remarks. —The inquiry of our corres- 
) pondent, is one whose answer must ever 
i depend upon circumstances. If parents 
are competent to superintend the entire ed¬ 
ucation of their children, and can give the 
requisite time and attention to the work, 
! they are the most suitable persons to do it. 
( The best educated children that we have 
( known, are those who have been educated 
< in the family by their parents. To such 
\ parents as can and are willing to educate 
) their own children we would say, that 
l * 
they should never “ commence going to ; 
school ” out of the family, until of age. To j 
such parents as are unwilling, or unable to 
teach their children, and consequently neg¬ 
lect them, we would say that unless you 
employ a teacher in your family to instruct 
and train your little ones, you cannot 
commence sending them to a good school 
too soon after they can talk. An expe. 
rienced teacher says, “ that valuable as 
training is at any age, still you increase it 
geometrically in power, as you descend in 
age; for if training at twelve years of age 
be calculated, as one —at nine, it is as two 
—at seven, as four —at five, as eight —and 
at three years of age, as sixteen. Thus 
children, at three years of age, are sixteen 
times more easily, therefore more efficient¬ 
ly trained, than at twelve years of age.” 
We need not do more than say to 
thoughtful parents, that the proper training 
of your children is one of the greatest re¬ 
sponsibilities that rests upon you—for such 
will readily admit it, though many act, we 
regret to say, as if they did not feel it.— 
None who have the early training and in¬ 
structing of the young can be too vigilant 
in this great work. 
QUALIFICATIONS OF TEACHERS. 
Messrs. Editors: —For some time past 
I have been a reader of your paper, and 
have been much pleased and instructed by 
its varied contents. The Educational De¬ 
partment has been characterized by advice 
which should be heeded by all who take 
upon themselves the responsibilities of the 
teacher. This at least, is my judgment of 
their character. 
But my purpose is to speak of the quali¬ 
fications of teachers. In the first place, in 
order to instruct, a person must have knowl¬ 
edge to impart, and be, secondly, as the 
Scriptures advise, “ apt to teach.” The 
opinion has been advanced, that all knowl¬ 
edge obtained in the present life, is but a 
qualification for the better enjoyment of the 
life which is to come. If this be so, and it 
is ably sustained by Rev. Thomas Dick, is 
it not conclusive to a rational mind that 
those entrusted with the care of youth, 
should be able from experience to under¬ 
stand the aims and ends of life, that they 
may rightly guide and influence the tender 
minds whose mental training is in their 
hands? The impressions received in child¬ 
hood are the most powerful and permanent 
of any by which we may be influenced. 
In the language of another: “ By learn¬ 
ing a man may acquire knowledge; by 
knowledge reduced to practice, experience; 
and from knowledge and experience, wisdom 
is derived. The learning got from books 
or the study of language is of little use to 
any man unless applied to the practical 
purposes of life.” What then is to be done ? 
Should not the patrons of common schools 
see to it, that the teachers employed are 
not only well-informed, but that they are 
those who carry out practically in their 
lives the wisdom with which they would 
have the minds of their children imbued. 
Example is powerful, and the influence of 
the teacher almost unlimited in its sway for 
good or evil. The hearts of the young are 
as clay in the hands of the potter, if their 
teacher succeed in awakening and interest¬ 
ing their affections. n. r. t. 
O 
A WESTERN SCHOOL. 
Our traveling associate in one of his 
rambles fell in with a school in Whiteside 
county, Ill., which shows what can be done 
for self-improvement where there is a deter¬ 
mination to succeed. It was held at a log 
house two evenings in the week, and was 
taught by a young^ man, perhaps eighteen 
years of age, who had been abroad at 
school. The pupils were the men and 
women of the region, some of them com¬ 
ing as far as five and six miles, having fam¬ 
ilies which in some cases came along with 
them. The only exercise of the evening 
was arithmetical, and the lesson for that 
evening was in cancellation. The young 
man who led the class, thoroughly under- 
stood his business, and led off in gallant 
style—drilling the members on the black 
board with the greatest thoroughness. 
Some of the pupils stated that, having 
been born on the ground, and growing up 
while there were no schools, they felt need 
of more thorough knowledge of arithmetic 
than they were in possession of. 
One of them also stated that in his dis¬ 
trict there were but five families, yet they 
were proceeding to build a school house.— 
Tney needed it as a place of meeting to¬ 
gether for all public purposes, whether they 
could keep a school or not.— Prairie Far. 
* - 
THEORY OF WINDS. 
The density of the air, like that of other 
bodies, is increased by cold, and diminished 
by heat. In the equatorial regions, the at¬ 
mosphere is more highly heated, and con¬ 
sequently more rarified, than on other por¬ 
tions of the globe, while the colder and 
denser portions of air pressing from either 
side against it, cause it to rise and the 
colder air rushes in to fill its place. Here 
then is the origin of the currents from the 
poles to the equator, which are princi¬ 
pally near the surface of the earth; and 
from the equator to the poles, which are 
principally in the higher regions of the at¬ 
mosphere. But there is a new element to 
be taken into consideration, in estimating 
the direction of the polar currents. As the 
earth revolves upon its axis from west to 
east, and the motion on its surface is great 
at the equator, while there is no motion at 
the poles, we see that the eastward velocity 
of any place on the earth’s surface, depends 
upon its position. 
Now if a current of air start from the 
north pole to the equator, at each sucessive 
step it comes in contact with a portion of 
the earth’s surface that possesses a greater 
eastward velocity than itself, and as it re¬ 
quires some time for the earth to impress 
upon it, its own velocity, it constantly falls 
behind; that is, it assumes a direction more 
and more westerly, as it approaches the 
equator, and is changed from a north to a 
north-east wind. A current from the south 
pole will, for the same reason, be changed 
from a south to a south-east wind. But 
these two currents from the north-east and 
south-east, meeting each other within the 
tropics, unite in an easterly wind, which is 
usually termed the trade wind. The air 
within this region is in equilibrium, and it is 
called the region of calms. In the upper 
regions of the air, the currents from the 
equator to the poles, are deflected eastward, 
for the same reason that the polar currents 
are deflected westward. But these atmos¬ 
pheric currents are very far from being 
regular, owing to local causes, some of which 
we will now examine. An island situated 
in the tropics becomes much more highly 
heated during the day, than the surround¬ 
ing sea, and the air above it becoming heated 
and rarified rises, while the cooler air from 
the surrounding sea, rushes in to fill its 
place, and causes a current from the sea to 
the land. But since the land also parts 
with its heat sooner than the sea, this pro¬ 
cess will become reversed during the night. 
Here then is the origin of those aerial cur¬ 
rents known by the name of land and sea 
breezes. In the Indian Ocean, the trade 
wind instead of being an east wind, is 
changed alternately into a north and south 
wind. The cause of this will readily ap¬ 
pear from an examination of the map of the 
eastern continent. Large masses of land 
compose the greater surface north of the 
equator, while the southern portion consists 
principally of water. While the sun is 
north of the equator, the greater portions of 
Africa and Asia, are highly heated, and the 
rarified air ascending by cooler currents 
from the south; but when the southern 
portions have become heated in their turn, 
and the lands north of the equator have 
rapidly lost their heat by radiation, the pro¬ 
cess will be reversed. Here then is the 
origin of the monsoons, which blow alter¬ 
nately six months north and south. 
In the neighborhood of Cape Yerde 
Islands, is a tract usually denominated the 
rainy sea. Here vessels are sometimes be¬ 
calmed for several weeks, the air being in 
a perfect state of equilibrium. The north¬ 
ern portion of Africa is at this time highly 
heated, and hence the eastward tendency 
of the Atmosphere in the vicinity of 
the islands. But this eastward tendency 
is balanced by the trade winds. These 
calms are frequently interrupted by sudden 
and violent winds, when one of these forces 
prevails over the other. 
As our limits permit us only to glance at 
the more obvious properties of the atmos¬ 
phere, we will proceed to consider the effect 
it produces on the distribution of rains, with¬ 
out which our earth would be a desert.— 
When the moisture that passes into the air 
by evaporation becomes slightly condensed, 
a cloud is formed. When the air possesses 
as much moisture as it is capable of retain¬ 
ing, it is said to be saturated. If in this 
state it become condensed, its capacity for 
retaining moisture, w'ill become diminished? 
and its vapor will be precipitated in the 
form of rain. This effect is produced by 
the reduction of its temperature, in conse¬ 
quence of meeting with cold currents of air, 
or with elevated land of a temperature lower 
than itself. If the temperature of the air 
be raised it will be expanded, and its ca¬ 
pacity for moisture increased, but if its tem¬ 
perature be diminished, its capacity for 
moisture is also diminished. Now if a cur¬ 
rent of air come in contact with anything 
colder than itself, so as to reduce its tem¬ 
perature, it will be contracted in volume, 
and part with its moisture. It is on the 
same principle that a sponge parts with 
whatever water it contains, when pressed 
by the hand. Whenever breezes from the 
sea, charged with moisture, encounter cold 
currents, or mountain summits covered with 
snow, a fall of rain or snow follows. If, on 
the other hand, a current of air charged 
with moisture from the sea, should pass 
over a tract that possesses a high tempera¬ 
ture, like that of the Desert of Sahara, it 
would become so expanded, and its capaci¬ 
ty for moisture so increased, that no rain 
would fall. It appears that the fall of rain 
depends not only on the nature and direc¬ 
tion of the winds, but on the physical con¬ 
dition of the country, over which they pass. 
I It will be readily understood that the winds 
I exert a powerful influence on climate. 
The cold currents of the atmosphere from 
the north, moderate the excessive heat of 
the torrid zone, while the warm currents 
from the torrid zone, mitigate the rigors of 
the frigid zone. In the temperate zones, 
the prevailing winds are from the west, and 
being occasioned by the return of the trade 
winds, they are for the most part warm.— 
Thus the winds that strike the western 
coast of Oregon are warm, and serve to 
elevate the temperature of the regions over 
which they pass, until coming in contact 
with the summits of the Rocky Mountains, 
which are covered with perpetual snow, 
they part with their heat, and become as 
chilling as the northern winds. It is ow¬ 
ing principally to this cause, that the west¬ 
ern shores of North America are so much 
warmer than the eastern in the same lati¬ 
tude. In a like manner we shall find the 
western shores of Europe warmer than the 
eastern, and though there are other causes 
that exert a powerful influence, yet the 
warm west winds from the Atlantic, and 
the still warmer winds from the south, which 
have crossed the burning desert of Sahara 
contribute in a very great degree to the 
mild climate of Western Europe, in a lati¬ 
tude in which Russia and Siberia suffers 
all the rigors of a frigid climate. 
But let us examine a little farther the ef¬ 
fect of the winds on the distribution of 
rain. As the amount of vapor that the air 
will contain depends upon its temperature 
and consequent expansion, we should ex¬ 
pect that more rain would fall in the torrid 
t^an in the temperate zones. Observation 
establishes the fact, that in the equatorial 
regions, there is the greatest amount of 
rain, and this amount diminishes gradually 
as we approach the poles. There are how¬ 
ever many exceptions to this rule, owing to 
local causes, a few of which we will notice. 
Although the air over the ocean, is sat¬ 
urated, yet less rain falls upon the sea, than 
on the land, in proportion to its surface, as 
there are no elevated lands or mountain 
ranges to condense the vapor. Upon the 
land, the aqueous vapor is principally in the 
lower strata of the air, yet it is ascertained 
that more rain falls in the elevated regions 
than on the level of the sea. This is owing 
to the fact, that in the more elevated re¬ 
gions, the saturated air is more liable to 
meet with colder currents, and highlands 
of a temperature much lower than itself.— 
Wherever the wind blows steadily from the 
land to the sea, the aqeous vapors will be 
kept from the land, which will become a 
desert In South America we have exam¬ 
ples of winds blowing steadily from sea to 
land, and from land to sea. On the eastern 
coast, the trade wind blowing steadily from 
the Atlantic carries to the continent those 
immense supplies of moisture, which be¬ 
come condensed and furnish the waters of 
the Amazon. But the same winds, having 
passed the Andes, have parted with their 
moisture, and bring no rain to fertilize the 
country between the Andes and the Pa¬ 
cific. Here stretches along the coast for > ' 
1,600 miles, a desert tract, in which rain > < 
seldom or never falls. Wherever the An- < 
des have a great elevation, their summits J j 
act as condensers, and rob the winds of their \ ; 
moisture, which then pass cold and dry to j ' 
the Pacific. The vapors arising from the ( ; 
Pacific, which with west winds would fer^ \ j 
tilize this arid region, are constantly borne ■ < 
westward by the trade winds, so that in \ 
many places on the Pacific coast, a shower : ' 
is unknown. _ | 
The same principle may be observed up- , j j 
on the western coast of Norway, where the ; i 
high table-lands, extending to the coast, \ ; 
condense the vapors as they approach the { { 
land, and cause almost a continual fall of ( . 
rain upon the western shores, while in the < < \ 
interior and eastern portion, the atmosphere { < 
is clear and cold. In Asia, the mountain S 
chains hold such a position as to effectually : j' 
exclude the vapors which the winds would < • 
waft from the ocean, to fertilize a large ) ; 
portion of its surface, that is now a desert. ; 
From the principles already explained, we < 
learn the cause of the constant, the peri- < i 
odical, and the variable winds, and the ef- ^ < 
feet they produce on the distribution of ( : 
rains; it remains to examine a little farther, ; ' 
the effect they produce on the temperature 1 j 
of different localities. A little observation < . 
will convince us that in the temperate zone, < { 
the western shore of every continent is j < 
warmer than the eastern. So great is this > < 
difference between the Atlantic and Pacific < J 
coasts of North America, that the same \ < 
mean temperature is experienced on the < - 
Pacific coast, as is found on the Atlantic, 13 j 
degrees farther south. If we compare the 
eastern shores of North America with the [ j 
western shores of Europe, we find a similar \ 
difference. The harbor of St. Johns, New- c \ 
foundland, has been frozen with ice, as late < 
as June, while the port of Liverpool, situ- < < 
ated two degrees farther north, is never 
known to be frozen, in the depth of winter. : ; 
Comparing again the Western and Eastern \ < 
portions of Europe, we find a corresponding ; 
difference in temperature. < \ 
In these examples the higher tempera- < \ 
ture of the western shores, is occasioned by < 
the west winds, which prevail a greater por- > 
tion of the time, and which, being a portion ' 
of the returning trade winds, are warm, and : \ 
communicate their temperature to the first \ 
lands with which they come in contact.— < 
But the same winds having crossed in their < 
course mountain chains, whose summits are i \ 
covered with perpetual snow, have parted ■ J 
with their, warmth and become as chilling j 
as the northern winds. We find the clir < ; 
mate depends not alone upon latitude, but ; 
is modified by the winds, and other causes, < 
J % # ( ( 
not connected directly with our subject. j : 
A. M. Williams. ) ] 
Fairmount, Onondaga Co., N. Y. 
A BEAUTIFUL LESSON. 
Dr. Alexander, on Christian Experi- \ < 
ence, says:— \ | 
“ I was once on a visit to a friend, who < \ 
requested me to accompany her to see a j j 
sick woman, supposed to be near her end. ) < 
The house was not a cabin, but a mere ' 
wreck of a once comfortable dwelling.— < \ 
Every appearance of comfort was absent. ) 
The partitions appeared to have been taken ) | 
down, and the whole house turned into one s < 
room. There was no glass in the windows, < \ 
but that mattered not—it was summer.— \ ■ 
Upon entering the desolate place, I saw a j . 
sick woman lying on a miserable bed, un- j j 
able to raise her head from the pillow, and ) < 
attended only by an aged mother, above 80 < 
years of age, and a little daughter about 1 \ \ 
or 8. Here, indeed, seemed to be the very ■ | 
picture of wretchedness; and I was told < 
that the brute of a husband generally came <■ \ 
home drunk, and never gave her a kind or ] < 
soothing word. j i 
Hear the conclusion. I verily thought, 
before I left the house, that this was the ; ' 
happiest woman I ever saw. Pier devout ' 
and tender eye was sweetly fixed on heaven. < 
Her countenance was serene, and illumined \ { 
with a heavenly smile.” { \ 
Little does he know of human nature, ' j 
and less of gospel charity, who expects to 
root out the prejudices either of individu- ) \ 
als or societies by unkindness, to extinguish 1 \ 
animosity by violence, or a spirit of re- J | 
venge by want of confidence. — Bishog) j j 
Watson. 
Usefulness is confined to no station, and < j 
it is astonishing how much good may be < j 
done, and what may be effected by limited j ; 
means, united with benevolence of heart j 
aud activity of mind. j 
i 
