NATIONAL TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION. 
basis, the governing principle of their actions is 
wrong, therefore their efforts cannot be blessed. 
In their over-anxiety to do something great, —to 
become renowned,— they fail to make the needful 
preparation for life’s duties. Especially do they 
neglect that preparation of heart which is neces¬ 
sary to the accomplishment of any worthy pur¬ 
pose. Did they have more real benevolence — a 
greater desire to act well their part — to do right 
regardless of consequences — they would have a 
more correct view of things. They would be too 
conscientious to offer themselves as candidates for 
places of trust, which their common sense tells 
them they are not well qualified to fill. They 
would be more patient and industrious in their 
preparations for active life, and less sanguine in 
their expectations of success—therefore, less lia¬ 
ble to undertake what they cannot accomplish.— 
Those virtues which qualify us for home enjoy¬ 
ments would be more prized,—even those accom¬ 
plishments which contribute so much to the ame¬ 
nities of social life, would not be so much ne¬ 
glected. 
We would not desire to repress the natural ardor 
of youth—we would not dissuade them from wish¬ 
ing to leave their “Footprints on the sands of Time.” 
This desire is laudable, and need not be restrain¬ 
ed—it should only be properly directed. Let them 
but seek to become worthy of renown for superior 
qualifications of heart and of intellect. Let them 
seek to have a heart to prompt them to noble deeds, 
and a knowledge to rightly direct them how to ac¬ 
complish their purposes. Let them desire more 
to merit renown than to possess it. Let them 
strive rather to excel in goodness than in great¬ 
ness. Let them be content with the consciousness 
of possessing real merit, being assured that it will 
have its reward. And let that lady who has acted 
well her part wherever Providence has placed her 
—even though it be in the centre of a large family 
circle—feel that she, too, has left her “ footprints ” 
—that her influence will be felt until the end of 
time, though her name may never be blazoned 
abroad. Surely, this thought will not be unwel¬ 
come to a womanly heart. E. A. Sandford. 
Walled Lake, Mich., 1859. 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
The Second Annual Meeting of the Teachers’ 
Association will be held in Washington, D. C., on 
the Second Wednesday, the 10th of August next, 
commencing at 9 o’clock A. M. At this meeting, 
Lectures are expected from the following gentle¬ 
men, viz. -.—Introductory Address by the President 
Andrew J. Rickoff, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Lecture 
by Elbridge Smith, of New England. Lecture by 
J. N. McJilton, of Maryland. Lecture by James 
Love, of Missouri. Lecture by Mr.-, of the 
South-West. 
Several Essays and Reports are expected from 
gentlemen of different sections of the country. It 
is expected that papers embracing the several de¬ 
partments of instruction, from the Primary School 
to the College and University, will be presented. 
The order of exercises will be announced at the 
meeting. Measures have been taken to make this 
the largest, most interesting and influential Edu¬ 
cational Meeting that has ever been held in the 
country. A large number of the most distin¬ 
guished educators, representing every department 
of instruction, are expected to be present and par¬ 
ticipate in the deliberations of the meeting. 
The Local Committee at Washington, the Chair¬ 
man of which is Prof. Z. Richards, is actively 
engaged in making preparation for the meeting.— 
Gratuitous entertainment will be given to ladies, 
and a reduction of fare made to such as put up at 
the public houses. A reduction of fare has also 
been secured on the principal lines of travel. Thus 
all who are interested can attend this meeting, and 
at small expense. 
Further particulars may be had by addressing 
the President, A. J. Rickoff", Cincinnati, Ohio; 
Z. Richards, Washington, D. C. ; D. B. Hagar, 
Jamaica Plains, Mass.; C. S. Pennell, St. Louis; 
or the Secretary, J. W. Bulklev, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
The air is an elastic fluid surrounding the 
earth, and extending forty-five miles above it. It 
is the medium of light with all its phenomona of 
colors, of heat, and sound. Its principal ingredi¬ 
ents are nitrogen, oxygen, and a little carbon. 
So says philosophy, and such a definition we re¬ 
ceive with great satisfaction, under the impression 
that we have added greatly to our store of knowl¬ 
edge. But, in reality, we know as little what air 
actually is as the little Nautilus that, launching 
his boat so trustingly on the waters, commits him¬ 
self to the guidance of the winds. What is oxy¬ 
gen, what is nitrogen and carbon? 
But, after all, it is useless to quarrel with this 
explanation, so long as there is no better one. 
Besides, it is an acknowldged principle in science 
that of the essence of matter we know nothing. 
If we are so restricted as to know nothing of its 
essence, we may tell of its qualities, effects, and 
uses. Here is field wide enough for our time and 
capacities. 
Air is the great temporizer of the earth. The 
warm air of the tropics comes to spread beauty 
and verdure over the frosty fields of the north, 
while the cool northern wind rushes southward. 
Constantly, warm and cold currents of air are 
rushing past each other, or meeting and mingling 
together. As we ascend, cold increases, and we 
may conclude that beyond the limits of our atmos¬ 
phere, heat is unknown. Air furnishes quite a 
proportion of the sustenance on which plants and 
animals subsist, so that, in the language of a re¬ 
cent writer, “ we live upon air.” It is so gentle 
that when at rest it will not disturb the down on 
the breast of a bird, but let it arise in its might 
and march through the earth, and nothing can 
resist it. Huge rocks are but as pebbles before 
it; tall pines and venerable oaks bow themselves, 
while the cataract lowers its voice to listen to its 
dreadful roar. Reader, you have often listened to 
the sighing of the night wind, and the answering 
whispers of the multitude of leaves. You have 
heard the caroling of birds, and the sweet, low 
strains of the Aeolian harp-like music in the dis¬ 
tance. You have heard the majestic strains of the 
organ, when the volume of sound almost lifted you 
from your feet. Perhaps from thousands of human 
voices you have heard the song go up, 
“ Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” 
Then, may be, you have listened to the roll of 
old ocean in a storm, when the frantic waves 
seemed almost ready to break from the fettering 
shore. What has been the agent in all this? 
Nothing but the vibrations of the air. Unseen, 
unfelt when at rest, let but its particles move 
among each other, and the effects are astounding. 
If, in the natural world, the most spiritual es¬ 
sences are the mightiest, may we not expect that it 
will be the same in the world of mind? Yes. The 
most hidden powers of the mind, those which 
remain the longest unrecognized are the most 
powerful. The thought, too, is exceedingly pain¬ 
ful ,/that so much mental strength is hidden and 
v!a appropriated. In a still day let' a fire be kin¬ 
dled upon a common, and from all directions the 
Z. wind will rush to meet it. So let the fires of 
=: earnest zeal be kindled in the soul, and the la- 
tent powers of that soul will make themselves 
known. 
■= Condensed air is greatly increased in power, 
iT and is capable of sustaining life much longer 
than that of the common density. Reader, is 
k_ there not a density of mind, too? Some are capa- 
r~ able of sustaining great thoughts, and endur- 
ing long continued action. With others the 
mental atmosphere is exceedingly rare. With 
jS|such, light substances in the form of diluted 
gjflthoughts are more congenial than any other.— 
K The air may be condensed by pressure, and by 
f||the disciplining pressure of close thought and 
% study, the mind may be greatly solidified. Is it 
not a duty to make it so ? Let the sensibilities, 
the reason, the will, and imagination, each be 
trained to its proper function, and balanced by 
a proper development of each, and the mind will 
take care of itself. Minerva Osborn. 
Butler, Wis., 1S59. 
PLOWING 
Written for Moore’s Rural Nevr-Yorker. 
USEFULNESS - NOTORIETY. 
Messrs. Editors: — I noticed in the Rural of 
June 11th, an article addressed to Plow Boys, by 
H. K. F., and a similar one in your issue of June 
25th by A. C. G., and as I am one of the Boys, I 
think I should be entitled to a small space in the 
columns of the Rural. 
There are many valuable suggestions in both arti¬ 
cles, but in one or two points I would beg leave to 
differ with them. H. K. F. says you should have a 
“ steady, well-trained team, ” which, of course, is 
preferable, but not always obtainable. He also 
says “ the lines should pass around the neck.” In 
this I think he is mistaken, as a person cannot con¬ 
trol or guide a team as well with the lines in that 
position, os he could with them around his body.— 
0, H. K. F., I would suggest that you hold the 
lines firmly in your teeth, as you could guide your 
team about as well, and in case they were not 
“well-trained,” but were inclined to run away, 
you could let go, and not be in danger of getting 
your neck twisted. 
In marking out lands, A. C. G. says : —“Set a 
stake at one end, and make a mark with your heel 
at the other end; set the plow in the mark, place 
the lines around your waist, look between the heads 
of your horses and get something between you and 
the stake, in range with it, as a small stone or 
weed, start your team, turning the body to the 
right or left to guide them, and be sure to hit 
every object of range between you and the stake" 
In all this I agree with him exactly, except the 
range, which, instead of “ a small stone or weed,” 
between him and the stake, should be a tree, a 
building, or something else far beyond the stake, 
the farther the better, as a little variation on the 
part of the plowman will be more plainly seen 
than if the object was nearer the stake. When 
done in this way you need not fear the conse¬ 
quences, as the furrow will be straight if you keep 
your range, which is easily done, especially if you 
have a “ well-trained team.” In cases where you 
are marking towards a thick woods, or anything 
that would obstruct the view beyond, you would 
have to follow A. C. G.’s plan, but it is not as 
accurate, and would seldom be necessary. 
Aurora, N. Y,, 1859. P. V. Egbert. 
This is, emphatically, a utilitarian age. Never, 
perhaps, was there a more general desire in the 
hearts of men to perform some service which shall 
render them eminently useful. The rising genera¬ 
tion have caught the spirit — they are eager in 
their preparations for usefulness. By them the 
useful arts and sciences are being extensively 
studied, often to the entire neglect of those ac¬ 
complishments which are sometimes so much 
prized. We say extensively studied. By this we 
mean extent in breadth, not in depth of investiga¬ 
tion. Their researches often include a vast cata¬ 
logue of sciences, and they obtain a superficial 
knowledge of some of the general principles of 
these, but have no leisure to attend to the dry 
detail. “Action,” “labor,” “effort,” seem to be 
their watchwords, but the labor is not of that 
patient, persevering kind by which the minds of 
-it is rather of 
the great were formerly built up,- 
a spasmodic, nervous, restless character, more 
suited to this age of steam—this busy, bustling 
age. Their ardent spirits are impatient of the 
restraint and discipline of study. They are eager 
to try their strength on life’s great battle-field- 
anxious to become actors in life’s drama before 
the preparatory lessons are well conned. The 
stripling feels sure that the poet meant him when 
he said 
" Act, act in the living present." 
Each seems to be deeply impressed with the 
idea that he has a very important mission to per¬ 
form, while he has a very lively sense of the short¬ 
ness and uncertainty of life. He is convinced of 
the propriety of the Scripture injunction, “Let 
your light shine before men,” and he is resolved to 
kindle a blaze which shall fill the world! 
Many of our lesser institutions of learning, and 
even some of our colleges, have been compelled 
to succumb to the spirit of the times. They have 
made numerous erasures from their course of 
study, by the wise suggestion of a combined com¬ 
pany of striplings, who would not, for the world, 
spend their precious time in studying anything 
which has not evidently a direct tendency to in¬ 
crease their usefulness! The languages are being 
condemned to have a place upon the useless list, 
and the “Scientific” is rapidly taking the place of 
the “Classical” course of study. There is also a 
“Shorter Course” being introduced in some of our 
colleges. 
The spirited Sophomore or Junior may now 
often study to wonderful advantage away from 
the college which is honored with his connection 
while ’ae is engaged in some other useful pursuit, 
"such as politics, or public speakiDg. How can his 
capacious mind find sufficient exercise within the 
narrow limits of the college walls 1 If his public 
spirit will allow him to remain connected with the 
institution until the proper time arrives for him 
to take the stand on Commencement Day, he is 
prepared to make a flaming speech, convincing 
his fond mother and doting relatives that he is a 
paragon of learning, and they flatter him until he 
is fully convinced that he is one of the wonders of 
the age! 
The unfettered aspirant now takes his place 
among those who, by a like course of discipline, 
have prepared themselves for active life. He does 
not shrink from responsibility, but is most willing 
to use his talents in the service of the public — to 
fill an office in which he will surely have need of 
all his previously acquired knowledge, discipline, 
and mental acumen. He studies unceasingly the 
lives of the great. Not that part of their lives 
which relates to their preparation for service — he 
would consider himself dull, not to have got be¬ 
yond this—but the history of their progress after 
they have entered the field demands his attention. 
He there finds an account of many important ac¬ 
tions. He would fain act them over again. He 
learns that many who have been eminent for their 
talents and usefulness have had faults and eccen¬ 
tricities. He is willing to imitate even these, if 
so be that he may thereby become more influen¬ 
tial. All this labor, all this effort, to be useful! 
Surely he can hardly fail to soon be acknowledged 
by all the discerning as a public benefactor in 
embryo! 
The ladies are not behind the spirit of the age. 
They are becoming clamorous that their sphere of 
usefulness should be enlarged. They, too, have 
a strong desire to be public servants. They have 
become weary of the beaten track which their 
mothers have trod, and wish to branch out into a 
new field. They are not content that “ their chil¬ 
dren should rise up and call them blessed.” They 
have that greatness (?) of soul which is satisfied 
with nothing less than the praise of the whole 
community. They would have their sphere of 
action indefinitely enlarged, so that they may 
have an opportunity for the exercise of all their 
talents. Each is anxious to be a pioneer in this 
great reform. “ Let us act like men,” is their 
motto. “ Let us be warriors in the battle-field of 
life,” they say. “Let us enlist in the ranks of 
those who engage in the fiercest of the conflict. 
We would willingly ransack earth to find a new 
field of action if we might thereby but become 
more obviously useful.” 
Let us sincerely ask whether these professions to 
be so much devoted to usefulness are altogether 
truthful?—whether there is no selfish ambition, 
no restless desire for notoriety mingled therewith? 
Whether they are not really seeking the advance¬ 
ment of their own personal interests, rather than 
that of those for whom they profess to labor ? 
Whether, indeed, the great influencing motive of 
their efforts — that which impels them on with 
such railroad speed — be not an ardent love of no¬ 
toriety? We would not suspect all of being in¬ 
fluenced by this principle ; but is it not altogether 
too prevalent ? Hence the vast number of those 
who fail to accomplish anything desirable. The 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
A CHAPTER ON WORDS. 
Words are the embodiment of thought. They 
are the most general, though not the only media 
of communication between mind and mind. They 
are the pictures and reflections of ideas. The 
hidden experience of the soul, the inspiration of 
true genius, the products of profound thought, 
are all—as soon as they are given birth—crystal-, 
lized into words, and thus become the common 
property of man. From arbitrary marks, words 
become living things, all breathing with the life 
of the inner spirit, all glowing with the fires of 
intellect, all powerful with energetic forces. Plato 
and Shakspeare are by no means dead; their 
souls have transmigrated to new bodies—even 
the words which compose their works live on our 
library shelves, and we may commune with them 
at pleasure.' / 
Nearly Goe-eightbs of the words in the English 
language are of Anglo-Saxon origin; the bulk of 
the remainder is derived from the Latin and 
Greek, while nearly every written language of 
the world has its representatives in our mother 
tongue. 
Words expressing primary ideas, simple and 
natural objects, are genuine Anglo-Saxon, as 
“home,” “faith,” “shepherd,” “meadow.” The 
Greek and Latin element was gradually infused 
into the language by the need of law terms, the 
opening of scientific fields, and the advance of 
literature. 
It is proposed to trace the origin and changes 
of the signification of words that are of interest 
to the readers of the Rural. 
Agriculture is primarily from two Greek words— 
but incorporated into English through the Latin 
—which still retain their original signification, 
viz., “field” and “tilling.” Colony is from the 
same root as “ culture,” and the original word is 
often used by Virgil in the sense of “inhabiting” 
or “founding” a State. Culture has a higher sig¬ 
nification when applied to the mind. By an ap¬ 
propriate figure, we carry up the idea of tilling 
the soil to the mind, and make it the field whereon 
to plow, sow and reap. From “ager” comes 
acre, which, in all languages except English, 
means any open plowed field. Hence the beauti¬ 
ful conception of the Germans of calling the 
burial place “ God’s acre.” Its use was first pre- 
GRAND MOUND OF CHOLULA, MEXICO, 
Cholula is a decayed town in Mexico, 15 miles 
North-West of La Puebla, and inhabited by Indians. 
At the time of the Conquest of Mexico, by Cortez, 
it was said by the historians of the Conquest to 
contain 20,000 houses, besides an equal number in 
the suburbs, and more than 400 towers of temples 
could be seen in one view. The to wn was particularly 
noted for its great pyramid, which was erected by 
the ancient Mexicans, and according to the ancient 
historians of the Conquest, was 177 feet in height, 
measuring 1,440 feet on each side, ascended from 
its base by 120 steps. It wck reported as composed 
of earth and brick. ThI Spaniards erected a 
chapel on its summit. 
A FEW WORDS ABOUT DOGS. 
Messrs. Eds.: —In the Rural for May 9th, 1857, 
there is an article entitled “Dogs,a Dissertation,” 
which is worthy of a place in every newspaper in 
the world. The writer’s opinion of them exactly 
coincides with mine, and I, too, wish that there 
was not one in existence. They are, as he says, 
“ a serious and increasing evil.” Besides the 
many losses from sheep-killing dogs, there are 
many other evils which they are the cause of. It 
is dogs, dogs, dogs, everywhere, in city and country 
—nowhere can we flee away from them. Travel 
wherever we will, we are almost sure to be saluted 
with the “bow-wow-wow,” of one or two dogs 
about every house we pass, and are often in danger 
of being bitten by these yelping curs. A person 
might reasonably expect that they would be tired 
at night after their long labor, and wish to rest 
and allow people to sleep, but not even this can be 
said in their favor, for when night comes some 
one of the miserable pests will imagine he sees or 
hears something wrong, and will—after he is sure 
that he is in a safe place—at once start his music, 
and, other dogs hearing him, also commence, and 
in a short time there is a whole band of dog-mu¬ 
sicians playing. 
There is, doubtless, occasionally a dog that is of 
some benefit to his master, but there is a far greater 
number that are of no benefit to anyone. I do not 
write this to encourage the illtreatment of dogs— 
I like to see those who keep dogs treat them with 
kindness, but I believe it would be better if there 
was not one in existence. Perhaps some will 
think that this is of little importance to farmers, 
and altogether out of place in the Young Rural- 
ist Department, but it is of as much importance 
to them as to others. At all events, I believe the 
subject is of sufficient value to have the opinions 
of others—for myself, I am willing to do my part 
towards waging a war of extermination against 
the entire canine race. W. H. H. Pearson. 
Pitcairn, St. Law. Co., N. Y., 1859. 
Wilson, in his Hew Histoiy of the Conquest of 
Mexico, gives the above engraving of this great 
mound or pyramid, taken on the spot, and says 
that much that is said of Cholula and of its pyra¬ 
mid, is mere romance; that the town is small and 
poor, and exhibits no signs of former greatness; 
that the pyramid is a mound of earth, covered with 
grass and bushes,that there are no steps to be seen, 
and no sign of art but ths chapel on its summit. 
Mr. W. says: 
“ The striking resemblance of this to the mounds 
through the country of oui northern tribes, satis¬ 
fied us of their common oiigin, and that this, like 
the others, was but an Indian burying-place, form¬ 
ed by the deposition of eirth upon the top of a 
sharp, conical hill, as oftea as fresh bodies were 
interred, and this is probally the fact. Its greater 
size is doubtless attributable to its situation in the 
midst of a most fertile phin, [vega] where from 
generation to generation a dense population must 
have dwelt, who used this is the common recepta¬ 
cle of their dead. The appearance of that struc¬ 
ture, which Humboldt and other Europeans have 
considered a monument of antique art, is readily 
explained by opposing facts, familiar only to Ameri¬ 
cans, to the scientific specilations of foreigners!— 
But to this one there is non no question—an exca¬ 
vation having been made into the side of the 
mound, it revealed that tnth which we only sur¬ 
mised.” 
THE AMERICAN IN ROME. 
A correspondent of the Boston Courier gives 
the following 
description of Brother Jonathan at 
Rome: 
Rome he pronounces a one-horse town, slow, 
fearfully dull, and the people a set of rascally beg¬ 
gars. As for Murray, he is a humbug. What 
does he mean by going into frenzies about certain 
ruins, devoting pages to minute descriptions of 
them, when Yankee Doodle finds nothing but a 
poverty-stricken fragment of a wall, that, in his 
opinion, ought to be pulled down and carted away ? 
What splendid building lots might be made out of 
Mount Palatine, and what fools the Romans are to 
permit that rubbish, called the Palace of the 
Caesars, to occupy it. The Colissium rather stag¬ 
gers our countryman, who is willing to bet that 
Barnum could take it down, put it up in America, 
and yet make a good thing out of it. “ It would 
pay well, sir.” 
Jonathan rushes through the Vatican in half an 
hour. In one statue, in one painting, he sees all; 
galleries of art are ever the same to him. St. Pe¬ 
ter’s he regards as a great waste of time and 
money; and as for its immense height, he assures 
his valet deplace that when the Washington mon¬ 
ument is completed it will beat St. Peter’s all to 
nothing. He visits the artists’ studios, and can’t 
see what satisfaction there can be in a profession 
where so little money is to be made. He inquires 
the price of marble. Murray says that Rome can 
be done in eight days, but advises no one to make 
the attempt. For the one hundredth time Jona¬ 
than calls Murray a humbug, and declares he can 
see as much of Rome as he desires in less time 
than that. Frequently he does, rushing from one 
place to another with a perseverance and determi¬ 
nation that, when applied to business matters in 
America, leads to fortune. 
Worms in Bee-Hives. —Will some of your sub¬ 
scribers inform me, through the columns of the 
Rural, the best way of destroying worms in bee¬ 
hives, and oblige a young reader of your valuable 
paper.—J. K., Le Roy, Jan., 1859. 
Remarks. —The best way we know of is to take 
the comb from the hive, and then their track can 
be discovered, and they can be dug out with a 
pointed knife. How this thing is to be managed, 
we may describe hereafter, when we obtain the 
necessary engravings. In the meantime any of 
our experienced bee-keepers may give their views. 
tion of the meaning with its use. Arable, and the 
Latin word for “ plow,” have the same root. Har¬ 
row and rake have the same derivative origin. 
“ Cradle ” receives its name from its rocking mo¬ 
tion while in use. 
Some words are a small volume of history. In 
the early ages, before money was employed as a 
representative value, exchanges were made by 
means of cattle and flocks. Servius Tullius first 
issued coin with the image of cattle stamped upon 
it. The Latin name for cattle is “pecus,” whence 
is derived our term “ pecuniary.” 
Marion, Perry Co., Ala., 1S59. Anad. 
A Quick Quarter. —A boy worked hard all day 
for a quarter of a dollar. With the quarter he 
bought apples, and took them to town and sold 
them in the street for a dollar. With the dollar he 
bought a sheep. The sheep brought him a lamb, 
and her fleece brought him another dollar. With 
the dollar he bought him another sheep. The 
next spring he had two sheep, two lambs, and a 
yearling sheep. The three fleeces he sold for three 
dollars, and bought three more sheep. He now 
had six, with a fair prospect. He worked where 
he found opportunity, for hay, corn, and oats, and 
pasturing for his sheep. He took the choicest care 
of them and soon had a flock. Their wool enabled 
him to buy a pasture for them, and by the time he 
was twenty-one he had a fair start in life, and all 
from the quarter earned in one day. 
A Perfect Man. — The man deserving the 
name, is one whose though* and exertions are for 
others, rather than for himself; whose high pur¬ 
pose is adopted on just principles, and never 
abandoned while heaven or earth affords means of 
accomplishing it. He is ore who will neither seek 
an indirect advantage by a specious word, nor take 
an evil path to secure a real good purpose. Such 
a man were one for whom a woman’s heart should 
beat constant while he breffhes, and break when 
he dies.— Scott. 
It is easy in the world to live after the world’s 
opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; 
but the great man is he who in the midst of the 
crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the indepen¬ 
dence of solitude. 
To be cast down by undeserved censure, or 
elated by unmerited compliment, is alike proof of 
weakness. 
Nothing establishes confidence sooner than 
punctuality. 
