1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
263 
WHAT IS A “CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL”? 
HOW IT CAME TO BE. 
Who Is It Proviaed For? 
HOW IT STARTED.—Comparatively few can go to 
the high school or college. They have not the money, 
and cannot be spared from home. Yet nearly every 
boy and girl has some time that could be used for 
study without robbing sleep or injuring health. 
There are, also, those in more advanced life who are 
not satisfied with their occupations, and others who 
wish to “brush up” some things that they have for¬ 
gotten. The correspondence school is just the thing 
for these various classes, as it shows them how to 
go at this work systematically. No one claims that 
it will take the place of the high school or college. 
Its aim is to help those who are ambitious and have 
a little time to use it to advantage. This system of 
instruction uy mail has grown up within the last 10 
years. Like some other good things, it came up in 
an unexpected way. Thomas J. Foster, president of 
a company publishing a mining paper at Scranton, 
Pa., the center of a great coal region, started a de¬ 
partment of questions and answers for the benefit 
of miners who wished to know more about their busi¬ 
ness, ana thus fit themselves for mining bosses and 
superintendents. Men got points that helped them 
to better positions. The interest in the department 
increased, and in 1891 a correspond¬ 
ence course of instruction in the tech¬ 
nicalities of coal mining was prepared. 
It took. The first student is now a 
mine superintendent at Yatesville, Pa. 
The rapid progress made by students 
led to other courses being taken up, 
and the business has grown until 150,- 
000 students have been enrolled, a 
building costing $250,000 erected, and 
nearly 1,100 people are employed to 
handle the numerous details of this 
institution. Some of the subjects stud¬ 
ied are bookkeeping, stenography and 
English branches, civil, mechanical 
and steam engineering, electricity, 
mining, metal w uing, chemistry, art 
and architecture. 
HOW IT IS DONE.—The correspond¬ 
ence idea became so popular that 
other schools on similar lines have 
been established. The United Corres¬ 
pondence Schools of New York, in ad¬ 
dition to the usual studies in indus¬ 
trial science, have a course in news¬ 
paper work, conducted by men who 
nave had years of experience on the 
great New York dailies. The Sprague 
School, at Detroit, Mich., teaches law; 
the Civil Service School, at Lebanon, 
Pa., prepares for examination in the 
railway mail service, and seme of the 
agricultural colleges are doing good 
work in teaching practical agricultural 
science by mail. A brief description 
of the methods of teaching and the re¬ 
sults accomplished at the Scranton 
school will give an idea of what is 
done in the better-class correspondence 
schools throughout the country. There 
is a corps of people who do nothing 
but prepare and revise the text books. 
The sifting process is carried to a fine 
point, the idea being to make books 
telling in plain, brief words just what the student 
needs to know for the special work he is at, and 
nothing more. It is recognized that his time is valu¬ 
able, and that he must have the clear facts with all 
of the bark and shucks removed. Fifteen expert 
draftsmen are employed in making drawings for 
plates and text books. One particularly fine piece of 
work that I saw was a drawing of the working parts 
of a steam engine, arrow marks indicating the path of 
the steam, so that anyone could see just why the 
steam made the machinery go. Some engineers do 
not really understand this. 
In sending out text books and drawing papers, ar¬ 
rangements are made so that the pupil always has 
some work to do while his papers are being corrected. 
Great care is taken in making corrections, all errors 
being marked with red ink, and full explanations 
written out. Letters are written, and pupils are en¬ 
couraged to state their difficulties. All engaged in 
correcting papers are carefully selected. None but 
those with known qualifications and aptitude are em¬ 
ployed. They first serve an apprenticeship, and are 
tnen put on eligible lists and appointed to positions 
as needed. Mucn of this work is done by young wo¬ 
men. For some lines, especially correcting drawing 
papers, they are said to be superior to men, and less 
apt to overlook mistakes. One will work on a certain 
subject in mathematics or drawing. She corrects no 
other papers, and, from the experience gained be¬ 
comes just about perfect. It would seem as though 
-bis were enough, but all of the papers are again ex¬ 
amined by the heads of the departments, thus put¬ 
ting a double check on the work. There is a depart¬ 
ment to look after truants, or those who make a 
start, but for some reason or other do not hold out. 
Letters are written in an effort to learn their difficult¬ 
ies, and, where extra attention seems to be required, 
special tutors are appointed to look after them. 
A GREAT BUSINESS.—It is easy to see that the 
expense of carrying on such a business is heavy. 
Postage alone costs $60,000 per year, and a pay roll 
of over 1,000 employees, many of whom are college 
graduates commanding large salaries, is a big item. 
Considering the quality of work done, the tuition 
charges are not extravagant, and one may well be 
suspicious of any school that offers tremendous in¬ 
ducements for little or nothing. There is an advant¬ 
age in oral instruction—in meeting a teacher face to 
face. Fortunate are those who have teachers with 
the rare tact of helping the scholar to help himself, 
and getting him so interested that he studies because 
he wants to, and not because he has to. On the other 
hand a teacher may be a positive hindrance by help¬ 
ing the pupil too much. It is a fact that what a stu¬ 
dent digs out for himself sticks to him like shoemak- 
GLADIOLUS HYBRIDUS PRINCEPS. Fig. 82. 
See Ruralisms, Page 568. 
er’s wax, while what he almost learns slides out of 
his mind with a slipperiness that would discount an 
eel. It is surprising to note the progress of students 
and the jumps made into better situations, all of the 
preparation being made at home during the “odd 
spells” Which so many waste. 
These schools do all they can to aid pupils in get¬ 
ting situations, out they do not guarantee them. 
That would be absurd. There is always a demand for 
people who can do any special kind of work well. 
The trouble comes with those who get so that they 
can almost do something. Scores of letters are on 
file showing how farm laborers became civil or me¬ 
chanical engineers; bricklayers, architects; office 
boys, draftsmen; farmers’ daughters, stenographers, 
etc. There is a great opportunity here for girls, not 
only in stenography and drawing, but in other 
branches that they have special aptitude or liking for. 
A correspondence school is not a brain-cramming con¬ 
cern built on the sausage-stuffer plan. It will not be 
of much account to those who expect to accomplish 
great things in a few easy lessons, with but little ef¬ 
fort on their part. Knowledge is gained by hard, 
persistent work, and no great amount can be had in 
any other way. Still more foolish is it for anyone 
to expect to succeed at a dozen different things, or 
with millstones of bad habits or a multitude of social 
engagements around his neck. Knowledge and suc¬ 
cess cannot be had at a discount, but they are worth 
all that they cost. w. w. h. 
FIGHTING THE PEACH BORER. 
CALIFORNIAN EXPERIENCE WITH A WIDESPREAD PEST. 
Difference in Locality Gives Varying Results. 
There is no subject that interests the California 
fruit grower more at this season than the above, and 
the article in The R. N.-Y. of March 24 will, I am 
sure, benefit a great many who are working in the 
dark, trying to rid their orchards of this much-dreaded 
pest. The life history of an insect is always useful 
in pointing the way for its destruction. From a care¬ 
ful reading of the article it would seem that the fight 
is only in its experimental stage, and any notes from 
experience may be of use in helping to organize a 
successful warfare. Digging out is, of course, the 
first step, except when some remedy is used that Is 
expected to kill the borer in the tree. Two years ago 
I used a wash made of lime slaked in brine and left 
somewhat thicker than ordinary whitewash. To five 
gallons of this wash was added one pint of coal tar, 
put in while the lime was slaking. Fear of hurting 
the trees with the coal tar prevented its more liberal 
use. Last year the only remedy was digging out, and 
about the usual crop of borers was killed. On exam¬ 
ination this season we found that wherever traces of 
the tar remained on the tree there were no borers, 
and the wounds caused by borers, and cutting to get 
them out, were healing nicely. 
With these facts before us we have 
this season again applied the wash 
with the amount of coal tar increased 
to two quarts in five gallons, and after 
putting on the wash have mounded all 
trees from six inches to a foot in 
height. These mounds we expect to 
hoe away in May, just before cherry 
picking begins. Our theory is that 
this wash will prevent the young 
borer from entering the tree, provided 
of course that the moths lay their eggs 
upon it, and do not seek a place high¬ 
er upon the tree trunk, and to make it 
effectual the wash must cover the 
trunk at least two feet above ground, 
and every crack and crevice in the 
bark must be filled with it. Putting 
on with brush will not do. The tool 
we use for putting on is made of bale 
rope tied to a handle, the rope or 
brush part about a foot long. This is 
dipped in a can of the wash and slap¬ 
ped against the tree with considerable 
force, so that apparently no place can 
escape being covered With the wash. 
However, we shall know more about 
its effectiveness later on. I will say 
that after the borers are dug out the 
trees are left bare and clean down to 
the roots for a day or two, then a 
man with a pot of warm coal tar and 
brush goes ahead of the “slappers” 
and paints all places that are denuded 
of bark from any cause. I have never 
seen any bad effects from such appli¬ 
cations of coal tar on fruit trees. At 
this writing (March 27), canker- 
worms are appearing in large num¬ 
bers in parts of the orchard. How the 
moths got into the trees is a question 
yet unsolved, as all trees were en¬ 
circled with wire gauze traps. We are 
spraying with Paris-green, and will 
report if any effectual work is done that way. The 
canker-worm is only known in small localities now. 
having apparently run its course in the valley gen¬ 
erally. h. G. K. 
Edenvale, Cal. 
R. N.-Y.—The Cornell experiments were of especial 
value in showing the inutility of some familiar reme¬ 
dies. We think that climate has much to do with 
the differences in experience reported by correspon¬ 
dents in widely-separated localities. It seems fairly 
decided that some washes giving satisfaction in the 
dry climate of California are less likely to do so here 
in the East, since they scale off. This is the case 
with the lime wash. It is interesting to note that 
experimenters at the two extremes of the country 
are fighting the same pest, and experiencing similar 
difficulties. 
Difference in Nails.— I send samples to show the 
relative durability of steel and iron. The large nails 
were driven into a pump top not over two or three years 
ago, and did not have time even to discolor the whole 
length, while the heads are nearly rusted off. The small 
nails were picked out of rotten shingles on one of our 
roofs, with the fingers, and had been on the roof certainly 
25 years, and I do not know how many more. They are 
about as good as when new. 
R. N.-Y.—Readers often complain about the quality of 
the modern nail. Why should it be inferior to the old- 
fashioned article? 
