116 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
COMMON SCHOOL LIBRARIES. 
We have received the “ Second Annual Report of H. 
S. Randall, Superintendent of Common Schools of Cort¬ 
land Co., together with a Special Report on School Li¬ 
braries; prepared by direction of the Superintendent of 
Common Schools of the State of New-York;’ 5 and have 
examined it with great interest and satisfaction. 
The first part of the Report is devoted to an exposition 
of the state of schools in Cortland county, and some sug¬ 
gestions as to the best methods of rendering our admira¬ 
ble system still more effective. Mr. R. expresses his con¬ 
viction “ that the condition of the common schools, as well 
as the standard of teacher’s qualifications, is manifestly and 
steadily improving;” and in this opinion we fully con¬ 
cur. Among the suggestions for the further improvement 
or advance of the system, is one, that the State Superinten¬ 
dent visit annually, say half of the counties in the State, 
when a convocation of the teachers of the counties, with 
drafts.from the several schools would be in attendance; 
an event which would form an incitement and reward to 
exertion in the scholar, and skill and attention on the part 
of the teacher. We have no doubt that such a course, if 
practicable, would be attended with the best results. It 
certainly deserves consideration. 
The second part of the Report, occupying about 30 pa¬ 
ges, is devoted to the subject of Common School Libra¬ 
ries, and is evidently the result of much observation and 
reflection on the workings ot this important part of our 
system. In the language of Col. R., “New-York has the 
proud honor of-being the first government in the world, 
Which has established a free library system adequate to 
the wants and exigencies of her whole population. It 
extends its benefits equally to all conditions, and in all 
local situations. It not only gives profitable employment 
to the man of leisure, but it passes the threshold of the la¬ 
borer, offering him amusement and instruction after his 
daily toil is over, without increasing his fatigues or sub¬ 
tracting from his earnings. It is an interesting reflection 
that there is no portion of our territory so wild or remote, 
Where man has penetrated, that the library has not peo¬ 
pled the wilderness around him, with the good and wise 
of this and other ages, who address to him their silent 
monitions, cultivating and strengthening within him, 
even amidst his rude pursuits, the principles of humanity 
and civilization.” The importance and certain influence 
of our School Libraries in giving tone to the moral cha¬ 
racter of our population, is strongly enforced; and as a 
necessary consequence, the great care of selection is 
Urged upon those entrusted with this duty. New-York! 
owes much, in our opinion, to the present able State Su- ’ 
perintent, for the decided and correct stand he has taken 
on this subject, for arresting the flood of trash, of “ tales 
of atrocity, seduction, or sickly sentimentality,” which 
was beginning to overflow these repositories of know¬ 
ledge, and convert what may be one of our greatest bles¬ 
sings, into a source of almost unmixed evil. 
The kind of books most suitable for school libraries, 
their size, useful as distinguished from amusing, juvenile 
books, moral tendencies, sectarian books and what is to 
be understood as such, political books, miscellaneous 
books, &c. &c., are all respectively treated, and in an 
able manner. On what is usually termed sectarian works, 
the report is peculiarly lucid and conclusive; and though 
some may possibly be found to dissent from the conclu¬ 
sions arrived at, they will without doubt, be satisfactory 
to the great mass of those interested in our school libra¬ 
ries. The same may also be said of his remarks on what 
are termed political books. 
Our acquaintance with the books most read in these li¬ 
braries, and our knowledge of the class of young persons 
most likely to be benefited by them, and form their hab¬ 
its and tastes from their perusal, induces us to concur with 
his remarks made under the head of “juvenile books,” to 
a great extent. The child between six and twelve years, 
requires a very different class of books from the youth of 
from twelve to sixteen; but too many of our school libra¬ 
ries, show no recognition of such a distinction; and 
while mental aliment in abundance is provided for the 
last class, the first seems to have been almost entirely 
overlooked. The habit of reading in most children, is 
acquired early, or not at all; the importance of books 
that will interest such, is apparent, and we are glad to 
find Col. R. recommending such books as “ Parley’s 
Magazine,” and the “ Rollo Books,” to a prominent place 
in the school library. 
We thank Col. R. for his valuable Report, and hope it 
will find a place in every school district in the State. For 
the length of this notice, we offer no apology. The ob¬ 
ject of the Cultivator is to improve the “ Mind” as well as 
the “ Soil,” and every thing that has reference to the in¬ 
struction of the young, is clearly within the scope of our 
publication, and on account of its intrinsic merits, de¬ 
serves a prominent place. 
STATE PREMIUM ON CORN. 
If the reader of the Cultivator will turn to page 53 of 
the current volume, he will see that in addition to the 
usual premium for the best corn crop, there are also three 
premiums of $25, $15 and $10, for the best conducted ex¬ 
periments in the culture of Indian corn; not less than one 
acre to be experimented upon, and the report to embrace 
every detail necessary to a full understanding of every 
part of the proceeding. 
When it is recollected that corn is one of the most im¬ 
portant crops, if not the most important one cultivated in 
the United States; that there is not one on which good 
culture and good management produces more magical ef¬ 
fects; that there is none in which the plant is more rea¬ 
dily improved in productiveness by care and skill; and 
that all must admit there is a most lamentable want of 
knowledge among farmers as to the best mode of plant¬ 
ing, manuring and cultivation, the importance of these 
premiums will be found second to none offered by the 
Society, and we hope will call into requisition the skill 
of many of our best cultivators. 
Every one who enters upon the experiment, will ot 
course choose his own method of operating, but there are 
some things requisite to the completeness of the experi¬ 
ment, and necessary to be embraced in the reports made, 
which it may be well enough to mention here. 
In the first place, the natural condition of the soil, its 
geological and mechanical composition, as far as practi¬ 
cable, the previous crops and treatment for two or three 
years, the preparation for the crop, plowings, harrow- 
ings, manurings, &c. 
In the second place, the kind of corn used for seed 
should be fully described; the quantity used per acre sta¬ 
ted; the manner of planting, whether in row r s, drills, &c.; 
j whether manured in the hill, and what manure used; 
whether top dressed, and whether the plants w'ere hilled 
or the surface left level. 
In the third place, the treatment of the crop; the num¬ 
ber of hoeings; the securing of the crop, whether by 
cutting up or by topping; the measurement of the crop, 
whether by weight or by measure, with the cob or shell¬ 
ed, and the time of doing it; in short, every thing that 
can give an accurate knowledge of the time, labor and 
expense of producing the crop, or the several parts of it. 
It seems to be particularly desirable, and we know it 
to have been the intention of the proposer of these pre¬ 
miums, that there should be as much diversity of culture 
introduced into each experiment as possible. That the 
effect of different methods and distances of planting, of 
different kinds and quantities of manures, and different 
modes of application, different modes of culture and cu¬ 
ring, and the difference of labor and expense in each case 
may be known, as compared with the product, and a 
guide to the operations of the farmer in corn culture be 
established, so far as such experiments will establish, such 
variations in each experiment would seem to be proper. 
We throw' out these suggestions at this time, in the hope 
of calling the attention of farmers to the subject, and indue 
ing if possible, many to enter the list of competitors. 
New variety of the Turnep.— Mr. Breck, editor 
of the N. E. Farmer, at a late agricultural meeting at 
the State-house, Boston, spoke of a new kind of turnep, 
called the “Early Snow-Ball,” which he says is an im¬ 
provement on the White Dutch, and is decidedly superior 
to any yet cultivated. 
