332 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
for the cattle, equal to 6 s. 8 d. each, and probably as 
much more would not be an over estimate for the ad¬ 
ditional labor in three months. According to Mr. How- 
den’s experience, it seems that steaming renders taint¬ 
JSTov 
ed turnips somewhat palatable, while it has a contrary 
effect on tainted potatoes; the cattle preferring these 
raw. Turneps require a longer time to steam, and 
lose l-8th or l-10th more of their weight than potatoes. 
A VISIT TO THE REAL SCHULE [practical school] IN GIESSEN, 
(From the Journal of a Chemical Student—Spring of 1845.—Communicated to “The Cultivator.”) 
A few days since the annual examination of the pu¬ 
pils took place in the presence of the government com¬ 
missioners, a few patrons, and gentlemen from out of 
town. It was conducted in the school building, which 
is a plain wood and brick structure, at the bottom of a 
shallow court, looking out upon one of the most quiet 
and unfrequented streets in the city. So far as retire¬ 
ment and stillness are concerned, no situation in the 
whole town could be better. In other respects the new 
building about to be erected, will doubtless have more 
attractions—for about this are no trees, no pleasant 
grounds, no objects of art, and within, very little con¬ 
sideration of comfort is displayed in the structure and 
disposition of seats, desks, &c. 
By invitation of one of the teachers, I was present. 
I entered a room on the second floor at 9 o’clock, just 
as the whole school rose to sing. They were led, or 
accompanied rather, by their teacher on the violin, and 
sustained three parts of a pleasant morning song, with 
much sweetness and great volume of voice. Upon 
counting those who did not sing, and making such an 
estimate as I might of the whole number, the propor¬ 
tion of the former to those who sung I found to be 
about as one to six or seven. Their ages varied from 
seven to sixteen years. 
The seats were long benches, each of which, with the 
desk in front, was framed into a kind of moveable plat¬ 
form, so that the removal of a suite of desks would be 
attended with the transport of the corresponding seats. 
Arranged parallel to each other, each row of desks is 
the back of the seats in front. The floor is raised at 
the farther extreme, so that the desks and seats are 
upon an inclined plane, bringing all the pupils in full 
view of the director, as he is seated upon an elevated 
platform in one corner. 
In the corner adjacent to that occupied by the direc¬ 
tor, is a large case containing models of mathematical 
forms. Around the walls, were great numbers of pen- 
cillings, india-ink drawings, crayon portraits, paintings 
in water colors ; and, in full view of the class who 
usually occupy these seats, a series of plaster models 
of the ear, hand, foot, head, and a variety of designs 
in basso and alto relievo. From these I fancied some 
of the drawings had been made. Upon examining the 
drawings closely, I found them all bearing the stamp 
of instruction by a teacher who knew how to accom¬ 
plish a given effect of light and shade with the fewest 
strokes of the pencil. 
At the right of the director’s desk, and in full front 
of the class, was the black-board, suspended by two 
rings from the wall, immediately behind. About the 
black-board, standing or sitting, were the teachers 
whose classes might be called up for examination dur¬ 
ing the day. First of all was the director, whose po¬ 
sition is a little more than equivalent to that of a prin¬ 
cipal of a high school with us—then comes the teacher 
of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy—then of History 
—then of Moral Philosophy—then of Geometry, Trig¬ 
onometry and Geometrical Projection—of Algebra, 
of French and English—of Music, of Geography—of 
Drawing—of Book-keeping, and of Penmanship. 
At the close of the exercise in singing—with which 
the day of study and recitation is regularly introduced 
—the pupils of the lower classes withdrew, leaving 
about sixty, and the examination in Moral Philosophy 
commenced. The instructor was a man gifted in ex¬ 
citing the interest of others in what he taught. Ail 
the.pupils continuing in their seats, except when par¬ 
ticularly singled out to reply to an inquiry, he com¬ 
menced a kind of parenthetic lecture on the first prin¬ 
ciples of morality—coming always to a full pause 
where the expression embodying the thought was to be 
uttered. These pauses of $the teacher were filled up 
by the pupils; and the examination, with little inter¬ 
vals of catechetical exercises, consisted in this disser¬ 
tation, in which the teacher controlled the conjunctions 
and prepositions, while the pupils distributed the sub¬ 
stantives, adjectives and verbs. It was exciting in a 
high degree, and at the conclusion of nearly three quar¬ 
ters of an hour, was taken up by the director, who 
pursued a little more rigid method, but none the less 
to the credit of the pupils. 
This examination, at the suggestion of the director, 
gave place to that in Trigonometry. The teacher was 
probably inexperienced, and though I have no doubt 
honored the selection of the committee of examination 
as a man of acquisition, he lacked the gifts of readi¬ 
ness and grace in his instruction. He made his own 
diagrams, and performed all the solutions, instead of 
entrusting them to the pupils. The so drawn trian¬ 
gles were merely three lines intersecting each other, 
without limit of length; and the circles made each 
with two strokes of the chalk, a half circumference 
being allotted, in intention, to each stroke, were unfor¬ 
tunately no nearer circles, than the careless toss of 
two crescents would be likely to give. The characters 
he employed, purporting to be from the Greek and 
Roman alphabet, bore so little resemblance to the ori¬ 
ginals, that they were quite unintelligible. Altogether 
his class, though evidently composed of hard students, 
had to attribute their regard for mathematics to ano¬ 
ther circumstance than the charm of his mode of in¬ 
struction. The geometrical drawings made by his class 
were exhibited. They consisted of planes, and solids, 
and projections of the simpler crystalline forms, all of 
which were exceedingly well done. I subsequently saw 
a suite of drawings of the steam engine models, belong¬ 
ing to the school, made by former pupils, ^hich were 
quite faultless. The young artists are already archi¬ 
tects or painters—one of them is now painting the in¬ 
terior of a church at Mayence. 
Then came declamation in German and English. An 
extract from Childe Harold on the Rhine, was pro¬ 
nounced with unexpected excellency of emphasis and 
inflection. Then succeeded translations from German 
into English, of passages of which they were familiar, 
and of others which were new to them. They were thor¬ 
oughly instructed, as I can testify from my acquaint¬ 
ance with their teacher. 
This exercise was succeeded by a lecture from one 
of the boys some fourteen years old, upon heat, the 
thermometer, the principles of Natural Philosophy ap¬ 
plied to the explanation of the various phenomena ©f 
freezing, thawing, raining,, &c., which the teacher as- 
