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MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, 
201 
SCHOOL FUNDS. 
Very many, if not all, the Northern States, 
deem the existence of Common Schools so vi¬ 
tally important as to set apart and religiously 
preserve a permanent fund, the interest of 
which is annually appropriated to their use.— 
Our own State has a fund, invested in loans 
and stocks, of $2,425,211,97, the capital hav¬ 
ing been increased during the past year over 
$40,000. The revenue yielded by this fund 
during the last fiscal year was $145,730 ; ad¬ 
ded to which is the annual appropriation from 
the interest of the United States deposit fund 
of $165,000 ; making an aggregate of school 
revenue of $310,730. 
We pride ourselves on the amount of this 
fund, and rejoice in the material aid it affords 
us in the cause of education ; but we must 
bear in mind that New York is a gigantic 
State, whose wealth and resources are almost 
boundless ; that, notwithstanding our fund in 
the aggregate exceeds that of any other State, 
yet comparatively we are far behind some of 
our republican sisters. Taking the fund, in¬ 
clusive of the part of the United States depos¬ 
it appropriated to common school purposes in 
our State, and the principal about equals one 
dollar and fifty cents for each inhabitant. 
The Commonwealth of Connecticut, with a 
population of 371,000, has a school fund of 
$2,049,953,05, or a sum equal to $5,52 for 
each man, woman and child in the State. At 
the same rate for our great State, the school 
fund would amount, in round numbers, to the 
sum of $17,112,000 ; and the interest alone, 
at six per cent., would be over a million dol¬ 
lars. 
Much as Connecticut has been sneered at as 
the wooden nutmeg State, she presents in her 
school fund, a nut to crack, the like of which 
cannot be found in the civilized world ; and if 
other communities would imitate her exam¬ 
ple in wisdom and liberality, instead of point¬ 
ing out her faults or sneering at her eccentri¬ 
cities, there would be much more good 
performed, and much less evil said. 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
EDUCATION OF FARMERS’ SONS, 
Although much has been said in regard to 
the education of the youth of this land, but 
few articles have appeared expressly devoted to 
the improvement of farmer’s sons, so that per¬ 
haps a few remarks at this time, devoted to 
that subject, would not be inappropriate. 
The subject of Common Schools has been 
agitated in almost every Northern State; 
and some of them have reduced the system to 
a high state of perfection, so that now facili¬ 
ties are offered to almost every person to learn 
the common English branches—such as read¬ 
ing, writing, arithmetic, Ac. But the question 
is, can a farmer’s son get along with these el¬ 
ementary branches ? I know that a majority 
of the farming community possess only these 
few acquirements, and have prospered in their 
calling, so that most persons would call them 
“ well to do in the world.” With these data, 
and their own experience to guide them, they 
will not consent to educate their sons any bet¬ 
ter than they themselves were educated in the 
old log school houses, where school lasted 
three months, provided the school master pos¬ 
sessed physical strength sufficient to prevent 
being turned out by the large boys. But the 
time has come when such an education will 
not answer the farmer. Farming is now a 
profession, aud none can enter on the practice 
of this noble and honorable calling, and suc¬ 
cessfully compete for an equal share of the 
emoluments and profits, unless he be an edu¬ 
cated person, capable of understanding all of 
its scientific ramifications, and using all the 
modern improvements knowingly and to the 
best advantage. 
It was far different at the time when a great 
portion of the Northern States were settled 
from what it is now. There was plenty of 
land to be had for a mere song; and every 
person who felt inclined to farm for a living 
had nothing to deter him from commencing 
his chosen employment. Land was cheap, 
and easily obtained,—all it wanted was to be 
cleared, which was speedily done, and then he 
was prepared to live and enjoy himself upon 
his own property. But how is it now ? A 
person may be ever so desirous of becoming a 
farmer—for it is a desirable occupation—and 
yet he cannot be one unless he is worth quite 
a little fortune to begin with. Land is not to 
be obtained for a trifle, neither are good 
thrifty farmers contented to live in an old fash¬ 
ioned log house—they want good snug framed 
buildings, such as most of them already pos¬ 
sess. Thus no young man can become the 
owner of a good farm unless he is possessed of 
money, or receives his land by inheritance, be¬ 
cause no person can earn enough to pay for 
one by mere manual labor, unless he has a well 
disciplined mind to direct how to use his limi¬ 
ted means to advantage. 
Neither will all farmers’ sons themselves be¬ 
come farmers ; and if they do not, they ine¬ 
vitably occupy the lowest position in society 
unless they are educated persons, capable of 
taking the lead in all reformatory movements. 
If they become mechanics, they must remain 
on a level with a great majority of mechanics, 
who only seek to live as they go along. Let 
our farmers then educate their sons. They 
will be more thankful for the few dollars ex¬ 
pended in an education while they are young, 
than they will for thousands when they become 
men, without an education. r. s. b. 
Girard, New York. 
TEACHING AS AN OCCUPATION. 
Occasionally one may be found who selects 
teaching as an occupation during the continu¬ 
ance of health and strength, but such cases 
form the exception, and as a general rule 
teachers have small inducements to continue 
in that line. Why is it so ? The profession 
of teacher is as necessary as that of the minis¬ 
ter, doctor or lawyer. Why is not their stand¬ 
ing equal ? The great importance of educa¬ 
tion, the respect which should be felt and ex¬ 
pressed for those engaged in the most eleva¬ 
ting duty,—second only to that of the clergy,— 
of laying the foundation for a superstructure 
of improvement carried on, if disposed, through 
life, and standing for so many hours in the 
place of the parents of the children committed 
to their instruction, with these claims to equal¬ 
ity, will any one give a good reason why the 
rank of the teacher is lower than that of other 
professions? 
Is it owing to the fact, that the instruction 
of children is supposed to require less effort of 
the faculties thau other professions, that the 
minds of schoolmasters accommodate them¬ 
selves to the calibre of their less intelligent 
pupils, and are thereby made less capable of 
decided manly action ? Who will answer this 
question?— R. I. Schoolmaster. 
The Bights of Schoolmasters and Pa¬ 
rents.— A case of considerable interest was 
tried recently before Justice Ladd, of Cam¬ 
bridge, Mass. A citizen of Newton was com¬ 
plained of for an assault upon the master of a 
school at that place. It appeared that the 
master was in the habit, as is now the general 
custom, of keeping the child of the defendant, 
with other scholars, after school hours, to learn 
her lessons, which had been imperfectly recited 
during school hours. The parent believing 
that the detention was illegal, went to the 
school house and demanded his child. This 
was after regular school hour?. The master 
said that the child should go as soon as she 
had recited her lesson. The parent attempted 
to euter the school room to take his child, but 
his entrance was resisted by the master, and 
the assault upon the master was the result.— 
The Court ruled that the keeping of a child 
until the lessons of the day had been perfect¬ 
ed, was legal; that the parent in attempting 
to enter the school room, in opposition to the 
will of the master, was in the wrong ; that a 
child placed at school by the parents is under 
the control of the master until regularly dis 
missed; and that a parent cannot withdraw 
the child from school during the day against 
the master’s will, except through the interven¬ 
tion of an officer and the school committee.— 
The defendant, was fined $30 and costs.— Rost. 
Traveller. 
University of Iowa.— The State of Iowa 
is about organizing a new University on the 
plan of the Polytechnic Schools of Europe, to 
be located in Iowa City. Josiah D. Whitney, 
Jr., of Northampton, has been appointed as a 
Professor of Mineralogy and Chemistry in this 
Institution. The distinguished learning aud 
skill ©f Mr. Whitney, as a geologist, mineral¬ 
ogist aud chemist, amply qualify him to occu¬ 
py that responsible position with honor to the 
Institution and himself, and with profit to the 
pupils in the re pective department under his 
instruction. Prof. Whitney, in connection 
with Prof. James Hall, of Albany, N. Y., is 
also engaged to make a geological sarvey of 
the State. Mr. Hall is now making the sur¬ 
veys of New York and Canada, and Mr. 
Whitney has been for a long time in the em¬ 
ployment of the United States, surveying the 
mining regions of Lake Superior. He will 
enter immediately upon the duties of his new 
office .—Sprin gfield Republican. 
Tiie “Ounce of Prevention.” —Two facts, 
stated by Mr. C. L. Brace at the late anni¬ 
versary of the Children’s Aid Society, claim 
universal notice at the hands of the press.— 
Fact the first :—To take a little beggar boy 
out of the streets, keep him a year at an in¬ 
dustrial school, supplying him with a diuner 
daily and clothes occasionally, and then get 
him a safe, good place in the country, costs 
about fifteen dollars. Fact the second :—To ar¬ 
rest a boy for a criminal offence, keep him in 
the Tombs, try him, confine him a year in the 
House of Refuge, and apprentice him after¬ 
ward, costs about two hundred dollars ! Is it 
not true, that an ounce of prevention is worth 
a pound of cure? Bear in mind, also, that 
confinement in the House of Refuge is a dis¬ 
grace ; the boy may do well in after life, but 
he has a secret lodged in his heart which he 
carries with him in fear to his grave.— N. II. 
Phenix. 
Educate the Whole Man. —Everybody 
should have his head, heart aud hand educa¬ 
ted. By the proper education of his hand, he 
will be enabled to supply his wants, to add to 
his comfort, and to assist those around him. 
The highest object is of great value—every¬ 
thing that hinders us is comparatively worth¬ 
less. When wisdom reigns in the head, and 
love in the heart, the man is ever ready to do 
good ; order and peace reign around him, aud 
sin aud sorrow are almost unknown. 
Profound ignorance makes a man dogmat¬ 
ic. lie w r ho knows nothing, thinks he can 
teach others what he has just now learned 
himself; while he who knows a great deal, 
can scarce imagine any one caunot be ac¬ 
quainted with what he says, and speaks for 
this reason with more diffidence. 
Ilstfitl IHb. 
GOLD COINS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
The United States Mint was estab ; ished 
and located at Philadelphia by the Act of Con¬ 
gress passed April 2d, 1792, but did not go 
into operation until the next year, when the 
Eagle and Half-Eagle wete coined. The 
Eagle, in accordance with the provisions of 
of the same act, was to weigh 270 grains, and 
“that eleven parts in twelve ■■!' the eutire 
weight of each of the said coins shall consist 
of pure gold, and the remain rg one-twelfth 
part of alloy ; and the said aiioy shall he 
composed of silver and copper, tun exceeding 
one-half silver, as shall be found convenient ” 
The legal value of the Eagle was fixed at ten 
dollars. 
Old Eagle, $10.50 
The whole number of Eagles struck previ¬ 
ous to and including 1804, was 132,592.— 
Their issue was then discontinued and no 
more were coined until 1838. 
Of the Half-Eagle, which was of the same 
degree of fineness, but only one half the weight 
of the Eagle, three styles were produced pre¬ 
vious to 1834 : 
Old tfc Eagle, $5.25 Old ^ -Eagle, $5.25 
Old Eagle, $5.25 
Old tfc Eagle, $5.25 
Quarter-Eagles were first coined in 1796, 
but their number was limited until 1834. 
Old V 4 Eagle, $2.62 
In 1834, in consequence of fhe scarcity of 
gold in comparison with silver, these coins 
became of more value, for commercial and 
manufacturing purposes, than i he legal value 
affixed to them, aod their circulation was per¬ 
ceptibly diminishing. In order to preserve 
equity in the value of the two metals, Con¬ 
gress enacted that thereafter the weight of the 
Eagle should be 258 grains, of which 232 
grains should be pure gold. This gave a? the 
standard. 8991^ thousandths. The gold coins 
minted anterior to this enactment were made 
legal tender at 94 8-10 of a cent per penny¬ 
weight, or $10.66 for an Eagle. They are 
usually passed, however, at $10.50. 
New desigus were adopted for the coius 
which still remain in use : 
^ Eagle, $5 
** Eagle, $2.50 
In 1835, it was further enacted that 
branches of the Mint should be established— 
one at New 7 Orleans for the coinage of gold 
and silver, one at Charlotte, N. C., for the 
coinage of gold only, and one at Dahlonega, 
Ga„ also for the coinage of gold only. These 
branches commenced operations in 1838.— 
The issues of the branch at New Orleans are 
designated by having on the reverse the letter 
S ; those of Charlotte, C ; and those of Dah- 
louega, D. The branches of Charlotte aud 
Dahlonega have never issued pieces of higher 
denomination than Half-Eagles. 
In January, 1837. the standard of fineuess 
was changed to 900 thousandths, or nine parts 
of pure gold and one of alley in every teu 
parts of standard metal, at which it now con¬ 
tinues. The weight of the coius was not al¬ 
tered, aud all gold coins made after July 
31, 1834, are legal tenders according to their 
nominal value. 
In 1852, a branch for the coinage of gold 
and silver was established at San Francisco, 
California. The issues from this branch bear 
the letter S on the reverse. 
Gold Dollars, weighing 25 grams, were first 
coined in 1849. Much objection was made 
to these pieces on account of their minute size, 
and in 1854 another issue was 
made, but which are not yet 
m general circulation. The 
new pieces are !arger and thin¬ 
ner than the old ones, and in 
genera! appearance resemble 
the Three Dollar pieces. 
The Double-Eagle (value $20, weight 516 
Gold Dollar 
Double Eagle, $20 
grs.j w 7 as first issued in 1850. Previous to 
Dec, 31, 1853, 7.288,768 pieces, amounting to 
$145,775,360, had been issued. 
The Three-Dollar pieces were first issued 
during the year 1854. The device adopted 
for the reverse of the coin, a wreath of corn 
and cotton, is exceedingly appropriate and 
beautiful. We are not so favorably impress¬ 
ed with that of the obverse, and hope some of 
our native artive artists will be able to sug¬ 
gest a design at once more appropriate and 
beautiful. 
THE TRANSIENTNESS 0E LIFE, 
Quintuple Eagle, $50* 
Previous to the existence of so perfect com¬ 
mercial arrangements as now exist between 
the Atlantic and Pacific States, the want of 
a circulating medium was severely felt; con¬ 
sequently, private bankers commenced the is¬ 
sue of coins bearing their own imprint.— 
These coins, although containing as much 
pure gold as those they stand for, are uot a 
legal tender, aud are usually subjected to a 
discount varying from one half to five per cent, 
from their nominal value. 
89.50 
The cuts below r represent a coinage from 
Georgia gold, which is current at the prices 
noted. But little of it is in circulation.— 
They are designated as the “ Bechtler ” coius. 
.84-75 
$2.37 
95 Cents 
We take pleasure iu this connection to ac¬ 
knowledge our indebtedness to James Ross 
Snowdon, Esq., Director of the Mint, for doc¬ 
uments containing much valuable information. 
—American Phretiological Journal. 
Use Minutes. —It is asked, how can the 
laboring man find time for self-culture ? I 
answer that an earnest purpose finds time or 
makes time. It seizes on spare moments, and 
turns fragments to golden account. A man 
who follows his calling with industry and 
spi.it, aud uses his earnings economically, will 
always have some portion of the day at com¬ 
mand. It has often been observed that those 
who have the most time at their disposal, 
profit by it the least.— Cbanning. 
Difficulties dissolve before a cheerful 
spirit, like snow-drifts before the suu. 
A human life, even when extended to its 
full period of three score years and ten, is real¬ 
ly a point of time so insignificant and tran¬ 
sient, that it ought of itself to admonish all 
men against limiting their hopes aud aspira¬ 
tions to the period of its duration. Setting 
aside the moral obligation resting upon us to 
prepare ourselves here for existence in a future 
state, the speedy approach and the eternity of 
duration of that existence would seem to be 
of themselves sufficient inducements for a spee¬ 
dy and perfect preparation. 
The great and solemn change sooner or later 
must come to all men, and even at the longest 
how speedily does it come ! We look around 
us for a moment, and call to mind the number 
of our former acquaintances who have depart¬ 
ed this life, and, like exhausted travelers, have 
fallen down and perished by the way side, and 
what a lesson does it teach us ? Iu the hurry 
and bustle of active life we are too apt to over¬ 
look the rapid changes taking place around 
us. Men disappear successively and others fill 
their places, until a revolution takes place in 
the entire population. The inhabitants of a 
whole city, one after another, retire from the 
busy haunts of life, and take up their abode 
in the city of the dead. The places that knew 
them know them no more, and strange faces 
appear where they were accustomed to be 
seen, and strange feet travel in their familiar 
paths. 
If war or a pestilence remove at once thou¬ 
sands of our fellow men, we are startled by the 
sadden calamity; but if the ten thousand 
agents of the great destroyer each removes its 
victims one by one in rapid succession, we pay 
no attention to the solemn admonition. It is 
only when the reality comes home to our own 
hearthstone, and the final separation from 
some dear one wrings our own hearts, that we 
feel the lesson as we ought. When we see the 
earth closing over the mortal remains of a 
parent, a brother, or a child, then do we feel 
in its full force the vanity of human life.— 
Then do we pause upon the threshold of some 
worldly undertaking, or the pursuit of some 
ambitious project, and inquire what it is all 
worth iu the light of death and eternity ?— 
But the lesson is too soon forgotten, and we 
resume the original pursuit as eagerly as if 
the end and aim of all humanity centered in 
time. 
Men rise and flourish, and pass away. The 
light of science and the blaze of crime burn 
for a time, and then go out; a few names re¬ 
main awhile on the page of history, becoming 
dimmer and dimmer shadows as the point of 
their existence recedes into the past, until even 
these are blotted out. Of the millions of men 
who have lived within the period of a thou¬ 
sand years, how few are remembered even in 
name; and of these few, how soon will not 
even one remain. And yet, in the light of all 
these truths, we are prone to neglect the in¬ 
terests of eternity, and clmg to those of time. 
“ Where our treasures are, there will our 
hearts be also.” 
Seek Grace, not Ecstacy. —Think not 
that all is lost when the heart is not elevated 
with that sensible fervor which thou art al¬ 
ways coveting. These raptures are allowed 
thee as sweet foretastes of heavenly bliss ; but 
thou art yet too carnal to be capable of their 
constant enjoyment. Seek, then, growth in 
grace, rather than flights of ecstacy. While 
thou art iu war, expect not the rest of peace ; 
while combating expect the feelings of com¬ 
bat. Thy principal concern and business is 
to struggle against the notions of fallen na¬ 
ture, and the suggestions of fallen spirits; and 
if thou doest this, with faithful perseverance, 
thou wilt give true proof of that Christian 
fortitude which will be distinguished with the 
crown of victory. 
How to be Happier.— Said a venerable 
farmer, some eighty years of age, to a relative 
who lately visited him : “ I have lived on this 
farm for over half a century. I have no de¬ 
sire to change my residence as long as I live 
on earth. I have no desire to be any richer 
than I now am. I have worshiped the God 
of my fathers with the same people for more 
than forty years. During that period I have 
rarely been absent from the sanctuary on the 
Sabbath, and have never lost but one com- 
muniou season. I have never been confined to 
my bed by sickness a single day. The bles¬ 
sings of God have been richly spread around 
me. aud I made up my mind long ago that if 
I wished to be any happier I must have more 
religion.” 
One of Rowland Hill’s Pulpit Illustra 
tions. —In one of his sermons he was speaking 
of the value of the Gospel from its relative 
aim aud iufluence. “ It makes,” says he, “ hus¬ 
bands, better husbands, and wives, better 
wives; parents, better parents, children, bet¬ 
ter children, masters, better masters, and ser¬ 
vants, better servants; in a word, I would not 
give a farthing for that man’s religion, whose 
cat and dog were not better for it!” 
Every one could uot have uttered this, but 
I received it from no less a person than Mr. 
Wilberforee, who heard it himself, and who 
remarked that, while probablo every thing else 
he said that evening was long ago forgotten, 
no one would ever forget this. 
