PATIENCE IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM. 
MONTHLY VARYING LEVEL OF LAKE ONTARIO, 
INCURS, FROM A FIXED POINT ABOVE THE SURFACE DOWNWARDS, FOR FOURTEEN YEARS, 
CHARLOTTE, MOUTH OF GENESEE R.TV TT.R 
What qualification does a teacher need to 
possess more important than that of patience, 
real, genuine patience! Not a careless indiffer¬ 
ence that says, by and by all -will come right, only 
wait; not a sluggish waiting that says T can do 
nothing more, time b ill accomplish what I fail to 
perform; tint an earnest, working patience; a 
patience that will persevere. This qualification 
is not mi frequently brought to mind by the excla¬ 
mations of parents and others who visit our 
schools. “What an amount of patience one 
nced3 to possess to get along with so many differ¬ 
ent dispositions,” says one; “ l should think your 
patience would bo severely tried sometimes,’’ says 
another; “My patience would soon bo entirely 
exhausted,’’ remarks a thiriL Very few speak of 
the knowledge it requires; they do not even 
think it must roquire a vast amount of knowledge 
to be able to teach. Our attention is also directed 
to the subject of patience by those who would 
advise and suggest the best methods of teaching. 
We should employ no incentive to study which 
might seem to buy the pupil’s interest, but labor 
patiently in “striving to imbue them with the 
true spirit of a scholar.” 
We should not bo discouraged if a class fail in 
the recitation of a difficult lesson, but patiently 
explain some of the difficult points, and perhaps 
relate an anecdote and give some information 
not contained in the text-book. We should not 
severely punish a scholar who has thoughtlessly 
committed a slight offense, but with kindness and 
patience reprove him, and if he is a true scholar, 
he will be more thoughtful, more careful in the 
future. 
Patience is needed in every situation in life, 
but in the school-room it is surely indispensable; 
here the true, genuine article never “ ceases to be 
a virtue.”—A r . II. Teacher. 
Year. 
April 
July 
SCHOOL MATTERS OF NEW YORK. 
THE FARMER, 
The Annual Report of the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, H. H. Van Dyck, Esq., was 
given to the Legislature on the 27th nit. The 
length of the document precludes onr publishing 
it entire, but it contains so much of general in¬ 
terest, that we sbail, from time to time, present 
each of its prominent features as our space w ill 
permit. 
Country School Districts. —The whole number 
of School Districts in the State, exclusive of 
cities, is 11,358; being an increase of 49 during 
the past year. As far as practicable, the Depart¬ 
ment has exerted its influence to prevent the mul¬ 
tiplication of districts. In its estimation the 
number might be materially lessened with decided 
benefit to the educational interests of the State.— 
The fact that one-third of the school moneys is 
apportioned equally amongst all the districts, 
without regard to size, property, or the number of 
pupils, is a continual provocative to efforts at 
subdivision, requiring no little firmness on the 
part of Commissioners successfully to resist them. 
The average number of persons between the ages 
of 4 and 21 years in each district is 79g. The 
average number attending school in each district 
is 53. As the schools of the various villages in 
the State are included in this calculation, it be¬ 
comes obvious that the pupils iu the purely coun¬ 
try districts arc already reduced, on an average, to 
a point below the requirements of an efficient 
and healthy organization. In my estimation edu¬ 
cational progress wilt be subserved by the consol¬ 
idation, rather than the subdivision, of existing 
districts. As a matter of mere convenience, 
proximity to the school-house maybe desirable. 
But it needs no extended argument to prove, that 
a district feeble in property, deficient in scholars, 
and scanty in its receipt of public money, is not 
likely to maintain a vigorous and efficient school. 
On the contrary, a combination of these elements 
to an appropriate extent, will enable those in¬ 
terested to secure teachers of competent quali¬ 
fications; will permit the scholars to be ho classi¬ 
fied as to separate the rnoro advanced from those 
in the primary branches; and give to all that 
[Ox looking over some old manuscripts a few days ago, 
I found the following lines, I do not know who the 
author is, or that they ever were printed before I copied 
them; but it occurred to mn that they contained some 
very encouraging advice to tbcyouug men of the present 
day:] 
Op all pursuits by man Invented, 
The farmer is tho best contented; 
•His calling's good—his profits high, 
And on hio labors all roly. 
Mechanics all by him are fed, 
Of him the merchant* seek their broad; 
Hi* bands give meat to everything, 
Up from the beggar to tho king. 
Our clothes from him must first arise 
To dock tho fop—to dress the wise— 
We then by vote may justly state 
The farmer's rank among tho great. 
All hnilt Ve Farmers, young and old, 
, Push on your plow with courage bold, 
Your wealth arises from your clod, 
5 our independence from yonr God. 
If, thou, the plow supports tho nation. 
And men of rank lu every station, 
Let kings to farmers make a how, 
And every man procure a plow. 
Cayuga Co., N. Y., 1860. w 
1. The Lake is generally higher in the warmer months and lower in the colder 
M S’iSTJ'SSilS'aS*': “ 4 nuigo being 5, inehea, 
,'t, Menu keel hrwr.it Li 1616 and 1 So 1. and mean highest in 1808 and 1809. 
4. Lako near the. hnottt voinl, or down 50 inches or more, in Jan. and Feb.. 1846: in v ov and Dec 1848- in r„„ 
teo. and March, i»&; in Oct. aud Nov., I860; in Feb,, Nov. and Doc.. 1851 ; i u Jan. and Feb 1852 ■ in’Deo ' lSAi !,’ 
Jan. and Feb,, 1855; iu Nov. and Dee.. 1856, and iu Jan. aud Feb., 185T. ’ ’’ ’ “ 
5 Lake near the. higheet, or within 4 inchest of it, in May, June, July, and August, 1858; and in Mnv and June 1859 
Will'd the avnr.lg.Md both year- wi.s high. The highest- in any year, except the last three was at 14'inclios in 1858 ’ 
6 Lakh near the mean level in IS.id, and only a little lea* than the mean in 1857, wheu the first half of tho vear 
was lou), and tbo last half high. 3 
These particulars dleproee. regularity of rise and fill, or periodic elevation and depression, and dinw that tho 
changes of level are duo to the ordinary Cause* Of supply of water, or Its diminution, over this great water-shod in 
tbo lowest part (if which lies the Chain of Great Lakes. In Ontario, the level was high in 1858 to tho close »l tho 
year, and only tho usual fill of water must have on tin nod the height fur tnnch of 1809, m the latter part of which 
the level fell oven to the mean level. In December, however, there was some rise from tho earlv fall i-m,,* 
Die. I 1 rank II. Hamilton lias delivered an 
excellent address on Hygiene, before the grad¬ 
uates of the Buffalo Medical College. We make a 
few extracts: 
“ VV itbin a few years our houses have been, rob¬ 
bed of the domestic hearth, toward which so 
many associations have always centered, and air¬ 
tight stoves have been substituted for the iron 
dogs. Not content with this, the enemies to our 
race have still moro lately taken away the stoves 
which, destitute of tho essence, served to remind 
us at least, of the ancient fire-places; and instead, 
they have built for us iron furnaces—Etnas_ 
under ground, so that now wluit of tho oxygen 
we are not able to consume, and convert into 
carbonic acid, is vitiated by impure gas escaping 
1,0,11 *ts hidden chambers, by iuvisilde particles 
ol coal dust, ami by other impurities which dog 
up tho air-cells, and close the avenues of life, or 
stick along the parched lauccs as if reluctant to 
convey their poisons to the lungs. 
“Stoves have, no doubt, abridged the smn of 
human life, but by these subterranean iron fur¬ 
naces we are truncated—cut short in the middle. 
It is an error to suppose that hot-air furnaces can 
CHICKEN COOPS, 
Ldh. Rural New-Yorker: —In a short time wn shall 
he hatching chicken*, aud I want to know how to make 
the best kind of n coop to keep thorn in when youug. 
father likes to havn the chickens iu the garden where 
they can out tho hugs, and l would like a coop that could 
stand in the walks. I lost somo last yonr by tho cats, and 
thin spring I would like to make coops that I could B hut 
up nights. Charley, 
Onondaga Co., N. Y., I860. 
Wi>: present Charley, and all other young 
poultry growers, with a very good plan for a coop, 
easily and cheaply made. 
WILD GEESE. 
Education.— Education is an art or science 
which, despite the great improvements that have 
been made in it iu modern times, is yet but in its 
infancy. Tho experience of almost every day 
teaches us how lupch the success of any one sys¬ 
tem of education depends upon the character and 
resolution of the instructor. A l)r. Arnold can 
work wonders with means that prove utterly 
inadequate with weaker spirits. We agree with 
Prof. Pillans, that in almost every case “where 
young people are taught as they ought to be, they 
are quite as happy in school as at play; seldom 
less delighted,'nay, often moro, with the well- 
directed exercises of thoir mental energies, than 
with that of their muscular powers.” It is, how¬ 
ever, bo very seldom that young people are as 
happy in school as at play, that we are forced to 
believe that they are equally seldom taught as 
they ought to bo. We bail, however, as a change 
not less admirable than noticeable, the desire, 
which is now so general among teachers, to make, 
the acquirement of knowledge itself an object of 
pleasure, and to conform their plans and modes 
of teaching to juvenile opiuion, when reason¬ 
able.— London Critic. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —Iu an article upon 
Wild Geese, published in the Rural, and signed 
“ E. W. K.,” an inquiry was Made whether any of 
your readers “have ever seen or heard of a white 
wild goose?’’ The writer stated thatBome of his 
“friends that have been in California insist upon 
it, that they have seen and killed them.” 
For the information of that writer, allow me to 
say, that among the myriads of wild geese, so 
called, that were seen in tho early stages of 
American settlements in California, (the numbers 
have now greatly diminished,) there were fre¬ 
quently, and perhaps always, found many white 
one.n. But a misapprehension has existed in the 
minds of such as have heard accounts of these 
beautiful birds, which was occasioned by an 
improper name given thorn. The vast numbers 
of thorn so often described, are not properly tho 
wild geese known to us, butother species of geese. 
The wild goose, noticed in spring and fall in 
their migratory (lights over this region, is tho 
/Inter Canadensis, a large, stately bird, of which 
the head, the largest po-l. u of the neck, the 
quills and the tail-foathers, arc bluck. I believe 
they are uniformly of that color, except that the 
females are not quite as distinctly marked as the 
males. 
Those found in California, arc generally of 
other species, the A user l/yperboreus of tho 
books— Snow douse or White Brunt. They bear 
the description given of the latter iu the Natural 
History of New York, though in that work they 
are not represented as being entirely white in 
plumage. Home of those found in California are 
doubtless of another species called Brant— Amer 
liemicla. 
Among tho thousands of these birds seen in 
California is found the real Aimer Canadensis, but 
the great mass of them are of different species 
from that, being much sandier and of a great 
variety iu size and color. I have seen them 
nearly black, which is about the color of the 
Aimer liemicla, as described by authors. Many 
of them are entirely gray, like our gray geese; 
some arc beautifully mottled, nearly black and 
white; others are pied, and some arc entirely 
while m plumage, with red bills and legs, resem¬ 
bling our domestic geese. 
None of these bears mneh resemblance to the 
proper wild goose, cither in form or color. I have 
seen millions of them feeding on the plains in 
California, and flying over the waters and fields. 
An extensive lloek feeding at a distance some¬ 
times appears much like a snow battle, there being 
among them such a large proportion of white 
ones. I cannot find any species described by 
authors, that will exactly answer for many of 
these. But they are not our wild goose. Many 
of them are as white as any domestic goose 
among us. 
While on this subject it may not be amiss to 
remark that some of the species found there 
seem to be like our domestic geese, except in size. 
All are less, while some nearly approach onrs in 
weight. Hence it is probable that the common 
goose of this country is of the same species as 
the goose described by different authors as the 
Anser Ilyperborens, Snow Goose , or White Brant. 
The difference in size may be easily accounted for 
by habits of domestication. u. g. w. 
Rochester, Jan., I860. 
_ 'I » ll0rt 1 'iecna of matched boards together, 
as indicated in the preceding cut; then board 
up the rear end tightly; nail narrow strips of 
boards or lath In front; put a floor of boards in 
the back part of the coop, large enough for the 
hen to brood her young upon, and lay a wide 
board in front to feed upon, as long as tho width 
of the coop. The coop should be at least two 
feet high, and from two to three feet deep. The 
board in front may bo turned np at night to pro¬ 
tect the young against rats, cats, &c., and should 
remain in the morning until the dew is off from 
the grass. The coop should be moved every two 
or three days to a clean place. 
tho house, warm and uniform temperature; but It 
is just this evon warmth which is one of the 
sources of mischief. The inmateB are so little 
accustomed to the cold within doors, aud become 
so morbidly sensitive, that they Hhudder at the 
idea of going out, und if they ever do venture 
into the air, tho frost enters into their open pores, 
and they hasten back to their shelter, chilled, 
exhausted, and discouraged. They are no better 
able to endure the storms of winter than a plant 
reared in a hot-house. It was the venerable 
Bede, I think, who said, ‘When men lived in 
houses of willow, they were of oak; but when 
they lived in houses of oak, they were of willow.’ 
“Wo need for our dwellings more ventilation 
and loss heat; we need more out. door exercise, 
more sunlight, more manly, uthletic, and rude 
sports; we need more amusements, more holidays, 
more frolic, and noisy, boisterous mirth. Onr 
infant's need better nourishment than colorless 
mothers can ever furnish, purer milk than distil¬ 
leries can manufacture; our children neod more 
romping and less study; our old men more quiet, 
and earlier relaxation from the labors of life. All 
men, both young and old, need less medicine and 
more good counsel. 
“Our cities need cleansing, paving und drain¬ 
ing. The Asiatic cholera, the yellow fever, tho 
plague, and many other fearful epidemics are 
called the opprobria of our art, and our fellow- 
citizens upbraid us with the feebleness and inef¬ 
ficiency of our resources in staying their fatal 
progress. When will they learn that, although 
we do uot fall to cure these maladies, the more 
precious secret of prevention is in our possession, 
and has been for these many years!” 
Educational Interests of Wisconsin. — The 
following statistics, from the Annual Report of 
the Superintendent of Instruction, will give some 
idea of the magnitude of the educational interests 
of Wisconsin, and of the extent of the supply pro¬ 
vided lor the educational wants of the State:— 
Number of School Districts iu the State, 3,538; 
average number of months schools have been 
taught, 5J. Total number of children over 1 and 
under 20 years of age, 278,871; average amount 
of wages per month paid to male teachers, $22 93; 
average per mouth paid I'emule teachers, $11 29; 
amount of money paid for teachers’ wages, $536,- 
8(10 CG; amount of money expended for other 
purposes, $147,175 54; amount of money raised 
by tax and expended on school houses, $144,- 
328 79; amount of money raised by tax and 
expended for other purposes, $80,220 50 ; total 
value of Hcboool-houscs, $1,175,191 73; highest 
value of any schoool-house, $20,000; lowest, $25. 
Number Select and Private Schools other than 
incorporated Academies, 210; average number of 
pupils attending such schools during the year, 
7,772. 
The second engraving shows a coop of our own 
construction, which we like better than anything 
we have tried. The tight apnrtmont at the end 
with a Bide door to let down every evening, keeps 
the little inmates secure from rats or cats, or any 
other enemy. A few auger holes must bo made 
for ventilation. The front is a simple frame, with 
lath attached at sufficient distances to allow tho 
chickens to pass through. The top should be 
made separate and attached to the side by leather 
hinges. Anybody with a little ingenuity, can 
make this coop. 
In 1857_ 
1858 (9 months) 
1859 .. 
The School-Master Abroad. —A petition was 
recently sent to the Common Council of Buffalo 
asking for the abolition of the Central School in 
that city. After our readers bare perused the 
prayer of the petitioners,—which we publish ver¬ 
batim, et literatim, el jmnetuatim, —they can judge 
for themselves how much importance should 
be attached to so precious a document: 
“ To the Hon. the Comon Counal of the City of 
Buffalo :— We the under signed Tax payers ol the 
City of Buffalo respectfully petition your Hon. 
Body to discontinue the central School, it should 
not be required of the tax-payers to give ihe chil¬ 
dren of tho public more than a comon education 
Which they can obtain at our comon Schools, 
more than this should be payed by the parent or 
Gardeuns.” 
KINDNI4SS 
Be kind to all. In these few words how much 
meaning there may be,—meaning of vital impor¬ 
tance to the person concerned. By being kind 
nothing can be lost, much may be gained,—even 
if nothing is gained directly to the donor of kind¬ 
ness, there is, indirectly, a never-failing supply of 
benefit accruing to him. By an act of kindness, 
not only the blessings °f the benefited, but of the 
world, and of God, alight on the head of him wiio 
does the act. Through all our lives wo nmy look 
in vain for uny other trait which gives greater 
celebrity to its possessor than kindness. Wash¬ 
ington was a great man, but was that the only 
reason why his narno is revered and blessed by 
thousands? No,— it is because ho used that great¬ 
ness for the benefit of his country and fellow- 
beings. Napoleon is recollected; but is it with 
the-same kind regard with which we remember 
Washington? No,—it is with bitter feelings and 
a load lament that the name of Bonaparte is 
recalled. And wliy? Because he had no noble¬ 
ness in lii.H soul. May each and all read and reflect 
upon the lives of tho departed great, of our own 
us well as other countries, judgimr whether tbev 
MINING IN THE UNITED STATES. 
Gold being found, for the most part, on the sur¬ 
face, or in the alluvial sands, is extracted by the 
rudest means and the most unskillful operators, 
the process being unworthy of the name of mining. 
The few deep mints in Virginia and the Carolinas, 
where the gold-bearing rocks are wrought, scarcely 
form an exception to this remark. 
The ores of silver, and those of the less valuable 
metals, are, however, to be procured only by dee p 
mining, and the resources*of the United States 
are to be developed in this direction. The galena 
—ore of lead—of Missouri and the adjacent re¬ 
gions, has been hitherto dug from beds of clay at 
a considerable depth. There is no regular lode 
or vein, and the process of procuring it is even 
loss like mining than the washing of auriferous 
samls. The native copper of Lake Superior has 
no analogy in the previous history of mineral 
exploration.— National Intelligencer. 
Evil Effects of Excessive Study.— The 
pressure upon young men to complete their 
educational course at the earliest possible date is 
constantly on the increase, and enough, undoubt¬ 
edly, may be seen on all sides of tho injurious 
results of this premature high pressure. The 
healthy action of the understanding is being con¬ 
stantly impeded by a crowd of unconnected and 
tmprolific recollections which are forced in upon 
the unformed memory, and can neither be 
digested nor retained. Jt 33, indeed, a m°3t 
Pope and Swift. —Swift once said iu a letter to 
one of his friends, that he hated human nature, 
but all bis love was towards individuals. “For 
instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers, but I love 
Counsellor such-a-one, and Judge suoh-a-one 
But principally 1 hate and detest that animal, 
man, although 1 love Peter, Johp, Thomas, and so 
forth.” Pope, on the contrary, said his love was 
for human nature, and his hatred against particu¬ 
lar persons. Perhaps this little thing illustrates 
the characters of the two authors. 
ueui in cuen. iiencc trustees arc caretui to enu¬ 
merate eacli individual of the required class.— 
For all purposes of comparison it is sufficiently 
accurate; and if the reported attendance at all 
schools was equally correct, a reliable standard 
would be afforded by which to measure the pro¬ 
portion of those who fail to receive benefit from 
the common schools. 
Educational Matters in Georgia. —It appears 
by the last message of the Governor of Georgia, 
that in one hundred and two counties from which 
returns had been received, the whole number of 
children between the ages of eight and eighteen 
years was one hundred and seven thousand eight 
hundred and twenty-five. The average tuition iu 
the elementary branches was fifteen dollars and 
fifty cents per annum; iu the higher branches 
twenty-six dollars. The whole number of schools 
is seventeen hundred and twenty-seven. 
Nature confers genius, education furnishes, 
minds; but circumstances, divinely controlled, 
make distinguished men develop their genius, 
manifest their surprising powers, and invest their 
deeds with fame. God himself has formed earth’s 
mighty men to fulfill his own counsels, though 
they have commonly overlooked His hand and 
designs. 
The human mind has a much greater talent at 
asking questions than at answering them; and 
many minds have a greater propensity to raise 
doubts and start difficulties, than to repose in that 
measure of truth which is already ascertained and 
infallible. 
Energy of mind is necessary in order to do 
good in the world, because it is to be expected 
that wise and benevolent designs will be opposed 
with energy. The greatest and best purposes 
have been the most vigorously opposed. 
The noblest powers of nature stand in need of 
the nurturing hand of education. The unin¬ 
structed mind resembles the unpolished diamond. 
Dko 
Mean 
l 
45 
45.2 
15 
46 
35.8 
23 
6a 
41.3 
25 
41 
42.7 
19 
4a 
41.9 
26 
51 
45 0 
19 
34 
34.7 
29 
39 
27. H 
26 
60 
80.2 
26 
33 
38.6 
20 
63 
34.7 
35 
22 
30.0 
47 
To 
10.9 
17 
25 
15.7 
20 
39 
34.3 
25 
