AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
For Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
RELIGION'S LIGHT. 
For Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
BLACKBOARDS. 
By w. r. aydblott 
In our Common Schools I have observed very 
generally that however much the deslia may 
he whittled, windows broken, chairs battered, 
&c., the blackboards aro in a remarkable state of 
preservation. There they stand against the wall, 
as black end perfect as if painted bat a week ago. 
Altogether they have a meaningless, forsiken look, 
which I can attribnte to nothing save their non¬ 
use. They ought to lie used more. For my own 
part. I never feel iha*. rny pupils are accomplishing 
anything unless one of them is at the board. If 
you have a mischievous boy in school, pat a piece 
of chalk ia bis hand and send him to the black¬ 
board. Let your ftbQdariuns go there too, they 
will delight to make the letters you are teaching 
them. Let your Geography classes draw their 
maps on the blackboard, and your spelling class¬ 
es write th"ir lessons there. Above ab, never al¬ 
low an Arithmetic or Algebra class to leave the 
reci'a’ion sea*, until one of their number has writ¬ 
ten out on the board the sola'ion to some problem, 
and explained it. It would be well if each one 
coaid do this every day, but with a large class and 
a small board it is not always possible. 
And hern al'ow me to speak of one thing, which 
though gener illy out of date, in city and village 
schools,is still considerably practiced inthe coun¬ 
try—f refer to the method of teaching Arithmetic 
or ra'bor, i f not teaching it; i. e., allowing each 
student, to s'u ly it only at such times as be pleases; 
never requiring him tu recite a lesson in it; fre¬ 
quently “working out” an example for him at his 
s at; riot qars'iouing him at all in regard to the 
principles and fundamental rules. Only use your 
recitation seats and blackboards, anl yon will 
avoid all this. 
I ni-ge, particularly on young teachers, thoBO 
about commencing their first terms, the necessity 
of this. Think of it before you open jour winter 
schools, it is a great, thing to begin Tight. One 
who has never taught or h on interested in Com¬ 
mon Sclioo's may not see the importance of it, but 
I am sure all “ old teachers” will. K. E. 
Stouts Grove, III., 1857. 
Ths stream of Time, that on its bosom bears. 
The ever-dawning, ever-dying years, 
Is bearing, with its silent, ceas“lesa waves. 
Earth's millions on.to everlasting graves; 
The sans of clay, the myriads of mankind, 
The heirs of glory, au«l of God-like mind. 
Are but the creatureB of a fleeting day; 
Beings but bom to die, and pass away, 
Frail flowers, whose lift) and beauty soon are fled, 
That bloom to deck the “ Camions of the Dead.” 
But, burning ever o’er this awful flood, 
A suu is seen by all the wise and good, 
A sun unclouded, and whose glorious ray 
Scatters the dread of ghastly death away; 
And shining o’er creation's realms abroad, 
Illumes the path that leads the soul to God. 
Linden, Ind., 1857. 
For Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
LINKS. 
Tub world, how full of beauty! can it be 
There's naught but sin and care here find a home?— 
Bright skies reflected on as ftvir a sea, 
And groves and woodlands tilled with melody. 
That 'twould have charmed e'en Orpheus to hear. 
Send all their grace to gild a mortal tomb, 
Where joy and happiness unheeded come? 
Which light illumes not, music cannot cheer? 
Ah! “ Nature's kindly voices"—oft unknown, 
With gentle power, have dried the falling tear. 
And soothed the heart—the siren Pleasure flown— 
With tho sweet songs that flow, so pure and free, 
Like grateful incense to the Deity; 
Bearing the sou), on wings of Faith, alone, 
To dwell ia peace before the Eternal Throne, 
From whose bright presence doubt and sorrow flee- 
Where gladness finds an everlasting home. 
Rose li a. 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS-MANNER OF CAPTURE 
recent writer as resembling " a mass of butcher's 
meat.” The eyes—which Captain Harm likens 
“to the garret windows of a Dutch cottage”—the 
nostrils and ears, are all placed neatly on the same 
plane, which allows the use of three senses, and of 
rix-pitation, with a very small portion of the aui 
m&l being exposed when it rises to the surface o! 
the water. The size of its body is not much inte¬ 
rior to that of the elephant; bnt its legs are much 
shorter—so low, indeed, is the animal at times in 
the body, that the belly almost touches the ground. I 
The hoofs are divliiedintofour paits, unconnected 
by membrane*. The skin, which is nearly an inch 
in thickness, is destitute of covering, excepting a 
few scattered hairsonthemuzzle,edgesof the ears 
and taiL The color ot the animal, when on land, 
is of a purple brown; but when seen at the bottom 
of a pool, it appears altogether different—viz., of 
a dark bine, or, as Dr. Bnrchell describes it, of a 
light hue of Indian ink. 
Hippopotami are not found ia all parts of the 
river, but only in certain localities. On approach¬ 
ing their favorite haunts, the natives keep a sharp 
look-oat for the animals, whose presence is often 
known by their snorts and grants, white splashing 
and blowing in the water, or (should there be no 
interruption to the view) by the ripple on the sur¬ 
face, long before they are actually seen. 
As soon as the position of the hippopotami is 
ascertained, one or more of the most skillful and 
intrepid of the hunters stand prepared with the 
harpoons, while the rest make ready to launch the 
canoes, should the attack pro ve nnsuccessfuL The 
'i ns following description of the appearance 
aud habits of the Hippopotamus, together with 
the mode of capturlug this monster, is taken from 
Charles John Anderson's Explorations ami 
Discoveries daring a residence of several years in 
the wild* of Souhweatcrn Africa: 
The Hippopotamus is generally distributed in 
the large rivers and lakes of Africa, from the con 
fines of the Cape Colony to about the 22d or 23d 
degree of north latitude. It is found in none of 
the African rivers that fall into tbe Mediterranean* 
except the Nile, and in that part of it only which 
rnna through Upper Egypt, or in the fens and lakes 
of Ethiopia. It is, however, receding fas: before 
civilization. It iahubits both fresh and salt water 
Formerly, there Is every reason io oelieve, it ex¬ 
isted in parts of Asia; but the species is now ex¬ 
tinct on that continent. 
There are said to be two species of hippopotami 
in Africa, namely, the hippopotamus amphibius, and 
the hijrpopotamits L’.heriensis —the latter being de¬ 
scribed ns very ranch the smaller of the two; but, 
to the best ol my belief) I never fell in with it.— 
The hippopotamus is a most singular looking ani¬ 
mal, aud has not been inaptly likened to a “form 
Intermediate between an overgrown hog and a 
high fed bull without horns and with cropped 
ears.” It has an immensely large head. Ray says 
tho upper mandible is movable, as with the croco¬ 
dile. Each of its jaws are armed with two lorm- 
iaable tusks; tboBe in the lower, which are always 
the largest, attain, at times, two feet in length.— 
Tne lmrid© of tUo month has been described by a 
distinct; but abend in the stream still hides the 
ao mdslrom view. The angle being passed, sev¬ 
eral dark objects are seen floating listlessly on the 
water, looking more like the crests of sunken 
rocks than living creatures. Ever and anon, one 
or other of the shapeless masses is submerged, 
but soon again makes its appearance on the sur¬ 
face. On, on. glides tho raft with its sable crew, 
who are now worked up to the highest state of 
excitement. At last, the raft is in the midst of the 
herd, woo appear quite unconscious of danger.— 
Presently one of the animals is in immediate con¬ 
tact with the raft. Now is the critical moment. 
The foremost harpooner raises himself to his full 
height to give the greater force to the blow, and 
the next instant the fatal iron descends with un¬ 
erring accuracy in the body of the hippopotamusi 
As Boon as the hippopotamus is struck, one or 
more of the men launch a canoe from off the raft, 
and hasten to the shore with the harpoon line, and 
take a “round turn’-’ with it about a tree, or bunch 
of reeds, so that the animal may either be “brought 
up” at once, or, should there bo too great a strain 
on the line, “ played” (to liken small things to 
great) ia the same manner as the salmon by the 
fishermen. Bat if time should not admit of the 
line being passed round a tree, or the like, both 
line and “ buoy” are thrown luto the water, and the 
animal goes wheresoever he chooses. 
Stand, 0, Man! upon the hill-top—in the still¬ 
ness of the evening hour—and gaze, not with joy¬ 
ous, but with contented eyes, upon the beautiful 
world around! See, where the mis's, softand dim, 
rise over the green meadows, through which the 
rivulet steals its way. See where, broadest and 
stillest, the wave expands to the fall smile of the 
setting sun—and the willow that trembles in the 
breeze—and the oak that stands Arm in the storm, 
are reflected, peaceful both, from the clear glass 
of the tides! See where, begirt by the gold of 
the harvest, and backed by the pomp of a thou¬ 
sand groves—the roofs of the tow a, bask, noise- 
Not a sound 
It is n great thing to possess intellect; a noble 
work to strengthen it by study; to soften it by 
piety; to elevate it by a right and holy exercise of 
its wondrous powers. Intel'eot is not education; 
therefore, the learned are often foolish. It is not 
religion; thus ingenious treatises are writton'to 
prove that there is no God; but this simple blade 
of grass in our grasp, with its million spears, ob¬ 
servable only by microscopic aid, refuteB every 
word, every specious argument that the most in¬ 
tellectual skeptic ever wrote or uttered. 
And yet, intellect is so great a glory that the 
world bows before its sovereignty, and crowns it 
as the earthly good. The world dreads its 
lessly, in the calm glow of the sky. 
from those abodes floats in discord to thine ear,— 
only from the church-tower, soaring high above 
the rest, perhaps, faintly heard through the still¬ 
ness, swells the note of the holy bell. Along the 
mead, low skims the swallow — on the wave, the 
silver circlet, breaking into spray show3 the sport 
of the fire. See the earth, how serene, though all 
eloquent of activity and life! See the Heavens, 
how benign, though dark clouds by yon mountain 
biend the purple with the gold! Gaze contented, 
for Good is around thee—not joyous, for Evil is the 
shadow of Good! Let thy soul pierce through 
the veil of the senses, and thy sight plunges deep¬ 
er than the surface which gives delight to thine 
eye. Below the glass of that river the pike darks 
on his prey; the circle in eke wave, the soft splash 
among the reeds, are but signs of destroyer and 
victim. 
In the ivy round the oak by the margin, the owl 
hangers for the night, which shall give its beak 
and its talons living food for its young; and the 
spray of the willow trembles with the wing of the 
red breast, whose bright eyes sees the worm on 
the sod. Canst thou count, too, 0, Man! all the 
cares—all the sins—that those noiseless roof-tops 
conceal? With every curl cf that smoke to the 
sky, a human thought soars nearly as dark, and a 
human hope melts as briefly, Aud the bell of the 
church-tower, that to thy ear gives but music, per¬ 
haps knells for the dead. The swallow but chases 
the motb, and the cloud that deepens the glory of 
the heaven, and the sweet shadow on the earth, 
nurses but the thunder that shall rend the grove, 
and the stjrm tha 1 shall devastate the harvests.— 
Not with fear—not with doubt, recoguize, 0, mor¬ 
tal, the presence of Evil in the world. Hush thy 
heart in the humbleness of awe, that its mirror 
may reflect as serenely the shadow of the light. 
Vainly, lor its moral, dost thou gaze on the land¬ 
scape, if thy soul puls no check on the dull 
delight of the senses. Two wings only raise thee 
to the summit of Troth—where the cherub shall 
comfort thy sorrow—where the Seraph shall en¬ 
lighten thy joy. Dark as ebon spreads the one 
wing,—white as snow gleams the other—mournful 
as thy reason when it descends into the deep—ex¬ 
ulting as thy faith when it springs to the day-star. 
arro¬ 
gance, and sorrows when the lofty sonl bends to 
servile task* to flatter tbo great or tho powerful 5 
doe* It loathe it, as it should, when the greatprince 
of mind kneels ia vain homage at the feet of its 
own greatness? 
How greatly is the intellect to be reverenced 
when it» possessor, having means to acquire rich¬ 
es and honors by its glowing eloquence, skillful 
bandinage, and withering sarcasm, continues hum¬ 
ble. and walks in poverty, because his noble s nl 
will give utterance only to hi* own honest convic¬ 
tions; beoanse it will, like the king-bird, to tbe sun 
soar straight onward, even in the face of burning 
opposition. 
How little is it to be respected—nay, how ia it to 
be dreaded! when, in the bitterness of its own 
strong bigotry, in the daring of its self-landed su¬ 
premacy, it denounces all thing* that do not come 
np to tho highest notch of its own excellence, or 
lends its lofty powers to the portraiture of loath¬ 
some characters and corrupting vices, bo that the 
earth is defiled; bnt oh! how should it be loved 
when It stoops from its throne to minister to tbe 
oppressed, and lead tbe erring back to virtue; to 
plead the cftUHo of the widow aud the fatherless— 
to give joy to the broken-hearted; striving to burst 
the bonds of some mighty wrong that rules with 
deepotio power an empire world wide; and giv¬ 
ing to the right strength and dominion.—A Y. 
Organ. 
otttlrs Corner 
In a late issue of your paper you have a commu¬ 
nication from J. M. Bates, asking for information 
as to the manner of keeping swanB. I have written 
direct to Mr. Bates, informing him that in “Dixon 
& Kerr's Ornamental Poultry, Philadelphia,” he 
will find all the information he requires, as to 
feeding, &c., Ac. Though the swan wight live out 
of doors, daring severe snow storms, it is not well 
to allow it, since they cannot easily defend them¬ 
selves against weasels, polecats, Ac., on the land, 
while on the water they would prove a match for 
a dog or almost any other intruder. You say “ it 
would be best, however, to keep them confined 
until, by kind treatment, feeding, «ic.,they become 
as much domesticated as possible .” 
1 should judge, (except from yonr saying to the 
contrary,) that you had kept swans, from the cau¬ 
tion you give your correspondent. Persons talk 
about “ tame swans,” “ tamo wild geese,”—as well 
right they call all animals and birds contained in 
cages, belonging to a menagerie, tame, as either a 
swan or wild gooso. Just allow the swan, or the 
wild goose a free use of wings and their stay with 
you would be very short. 
My swan and wild geese feed from my hands, 
and allow me to Btroke them down the neck and 
back, yet, if they were not all pinioned, they would 
soar off' and might not return; at least there would 
bo danger of their getting shot My youngest 
wild geese, (a year old last July,) showed as 
much anxiety to join the flocks passing over, as 
did the older ones. And these were bred from 
stock which Col. J aches brought from Canada in 
1820. What generation the youngest are, in remo¬ 
val, from the old pair, would be bard to tell. You 
might breed them for any length of time, and the 
same disposition Is inherent in them. “Dixon” 
says, “Tame swans,’ ‘Domestic swans;’ never 
were epithets more inappropriate, unless we agree 
to say tame hyena, tame wolf, tame rat, domestic 
swallow. Thej will come to their keeper's call, 
I uke food from bis bunds; they will keep at home, 
when completely prevented from ranging ont of 
bounds abroad; so far they aro tamed and domesti¬ 
cated, but no farther aud never will he.” 
My swans were procured troui those you s At: at 
Mr. Colt's, he having sent them to me when cyg¬ 
nets of about, three months,—they were pinioned 
a f ter receiving them. They were four years old iu 
July, and bred this summer for the first time.— 
from indications, 1 expected to Lave got a brood 
last year, but did not. E. Wight. 
DeOhaui, Mass., 1857. 
For Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
GRAMMATICAL ENIGMA. 
I am composed ot twenty-two letters. 
My 13, 11, is an interjection. 
My 2t), 3, 1 is a personal pronoun. 
My 19, 5 ia a preposition. 
My 2, 6, 10 is a Conjunction. 
My 8, 14, 18 is an adjective. 
My 1, 15 is a preposition. 
My 16, IS ia a verb. 
My 9,19 ia a preposition. 
My 4, IS, 6 is a personal pronoun. 
My 17,12,15 is a noun. 
My 10, 22, 21, 12 is a noun. 
My whole is what we should all do. 
Elba, Genesee Co., N. Y., 1857. 
Answer next week. 
JSNXIK. 
For Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
MISCELLANEOUS ENIGMA. 
1 am composed of 12 letters. 
My 4, 3, 9,11 is an adverb. 
My 10, 6, 3, 2, 8 is a blacksmith's tool. 
My 3, 10, 2, S is used by the ladies. 
My 7. 9, 3, 2, 8 comes in many shapes. 
My 9, 3, 2, 1 follows the above. 
My 7, 5, 3, 2, 7 is a person’s name. 
My 3. 9, 5, 8 is a kind of meat. 
My 8, 2, 3, 9 is what we now do. 
My 1, 4, 5, 11, 0 is what we should do. 
My whole is a common saying. 
Onondaga, N. Y., 1857. 
Answer next week. 
Pleasure of Reading. —Of all the amusements 
that can possibly be imagined for a workiug man, 
after daily toil, or iu tho intervals, there is noth¬ 
ing like reading a newspaper or a book. It calls 
for no bodily exertion, of which already he has 
had enough, perhaps too much. It relieves his 
home oi dullues* and sadness. Nay, it accompa¬ 
nies him to hi* next day’s work, aud gives him 
something to think of besides the mechanical 
drudgery of his every day occupation; something 
he can enjoy while absent, and look forward to 
with much plousare. If I were to pray tor a taste 
which would stand by me under every variety of 
circumstances, and be a source of happiness and 
chcerlulness to me through life, < nd a shield 
against all its ills, however things may go amiss, 
and tho world frown upon me, it would be a taste 
for reading .—Sir John f/erschelL 
DIVINE AND HUMAN CO-OPERATION 
New York Stats Normal School. —The 27th 
term commenced September 21st. A larger num¬ 
ber, than usual, of new pupils, were in attendance, 
and the examination oi the candidates shows a 
better grade of qualification thau heretofore.— 
Very many of the pupils arc prepared to enter the 
sub-senior class. The examinations have been 
conducted with much thoroughness; a few ip- 
applicants have been rejected. We trust the time 
is not distant when the demands of the schools for 
better teachers will be auswored, by the establish¬ 
ment of other normal schools, in different parts of 
the State. 
Man, says Hugh Miller, is a tellow worker with 
the Creator. He is a mighty improver of creation. 
We recognize that as improvement which adapts 
nature more thoroughly to man's own necessities 
and wants, and renders it more pleasing both to 
his sense of the aesthetic and to his more material 
senses also. He adds to the beauty of the flowers 
which he takes under h»s charge, to the delicacy 
and fertility of the fruits; the seed of the wild 
grasses becomes corn beneath his care; the green 
herbs grow great of root or bulb, or bulky and 
succulent of top and leaf; the wild produce of na¬ 
ture sports under his hand; the rose and lily 
broaden their disks and multiply their petals; the 
harsh crab swells out into a delicious, golden- 
rinded apple, streaked with crimson; the produc¬ 
tions of his kitchen garden, strangely metamor¬ 
phosed to serve the uses of his table, bear ’onus 
unknown to nature; an occult law of change and 
development inherent to these organisms, meets 
in him with the developing instinct aud ability, 
and they are regenerated under his surveillance. 
Answers to Enigmas, &c., in No. 405, 
Answer to Biographical Enigma; It is the last 
cf earth, I am content 
Answer to Miscellaneous Enigma: Old men 
for counsel, young men for war. 
How to ek Harry —Wo are iu a very beautiful 
world; there is beauty everywhere, and wa can find 
much happiness on this earth when we grow wise 
euougii to know in what pure happiness consists. 
Even small boys 01 girls can make themselves 
very happy by endeaving to reader others com¬ 
fortable and happy. 
Are there auy of your acquaintances sick, [or 
bmo, or unlntpny, take a book, a boquet of flowers, 
a basket of fruU. nr whatever may come to hand, 
go to them, speak kindly, read them a pleasant 
story, cause them to forget their discomfort, and 
voa will iu so doing, without being aware of it, 
very much augment your own enjoyment, while 
you at least cause them to forget their unhappiness^ 
The Tkaoiier'8 High Vocation.—I f that man 
deserves well of his country, who, according to an 
ingenious statesman's observation, makes three 
spires of gross grow where only two grew before, 
what praiso does he merit who multiplies intelli¬ 
gence, who expands the nlumbcring faculties of 
the human soul, who call* forth into exercise pow¬ 
ers capable of increasing the public stock of 
wealth, of virtne and happiness, and of oxalting 
the possessor to his proper station of usefulness 
and importance? If that potter who has moulded 
tho unresisting clay to furniB of beauty and ele¬ 
gance has deserved our patronage, what gloay 
shall bo bis who, faithful and diligent iu hla func- 
tioiw, has shaped the minds of men, and all to 
virtue?— l)r, Henry llunter. 
Recesses. —It is a great mistake to confine 
children to one position or one employment any 
length of time. In more advanced schools, where 
there axe various departments taught in separate 
rooms, a change of classes from one room to 
another at the end of every hour, gives, to some 
extent, tho physical relief that is needed. But in 
schools where all the pupils are congregated to-, 
gether, and all the instruction is given in one room, 
a short recess of say ten minutes at the end of 
every hour ia as essential to the intellectual pro¬ 
gress of the children, as it is to their physical 
well being. 
Tun smallest pleasure derives from rarity a rel¬ 
ish otherwise unknown. Enjoyment ia only wbat 
we feel to be such, aud tbe luxurious man feels 
no longer; satiety bus lost, him Us appetite, while 
privatiou perserves to the ^ther that lUstof earth¬ 
ly blessings — the being easily uniat happy. Oil! 
that I could persuade every one of this l that so 
the rich might not abuse their riches, and that ti e 
poor might have patience. If happiness is the 
rarest of blessings, it is because the reception of 
it is the rarest of virtues. 
The highest perfection of human reason is to 
know that there is an iufinRy of truth beyond its 
reach. 
Afflictions, when accompanied with grace, 
alter their nature, as wormwood eaten with bread, 
will loose its bitterness. 
Respect for Woman. —Nothing sets so wide a 
mark between a vulgar and a noble sonl, as the re¬ 
spect and reverential love of woman kind. A man 
who is always sneering at a woman, is generally a 
coarse profligate, or a coarse bigot 
Knowledge cannot be acquired without pains 
aud application. It is troublesome, and like deep 
digging for pure waters; but when once you come 
to the spring, they rise up aud meet you. 
As dreams ure the fancies of those that Bleep— 
so fancies are but the dreams of men awake. 
