179 
In order to teach the pupils the principles of arithmetic, a ma¬ 
chine is used similar to the Russian. A vegetable garden behind, 
and at the sides of the building, which was then preparing, was 
intended teaserve also as a place of recreation for the pupils. I 
could not forbear making to Mr. Weld an especial expression of 
the great pleasure which this institution and his method of in¬ 
struction gave me. 
I saw the Academy of Fine Arts last autumn, but went there 
again, as the exhibition of paintings had been opened. This col¬ 
lection, however, consisted merely of portraits, and these were 
rather indifferent. In general, the fine arts, as I believe has 
already been mentioned, do not yet flourish in the United States 
to a great degree; perhaps this is to be attributed to the taste of 
the Americans, which they inherited from their English ances¬ 
tors, and which does not appear to be very great for painting.* 
But I rather believe, and this idea president Jefferson gave me, 
that the little encouragement which the fine arts receive in this 
country is to be attributed to the equal division of property among 
the children, so that in large families an estate cannot be long 
kept together. 
I saw also, in company with Messrs. Vaux and Niederstetter, 
the mint of the United States, which is established here. In the 
year 1793, when Philadelphia was still the seat of government 
of the United States, this mint was located in a newly-built pri¬ 
vate house, and it is as yet the only one in the United States. 
The processes in this mint are very simple, and but few improve¬ 
ments are yet adapted, which so greatly distinguish the mints of 
London and Milan. They were doing but little when we came; 
we saw nothing but the stretching of the bars of silver between 
cylinders, like those in the rolling mills at Pittsburgh, and the 
stamping of the pieces, which was done by means of a contri¬ 
vance similar to that by which rivet-holes are made in the iron 
plates for steam-engine boilers. We saw, moreover, the cutting 
of half dollar pieces, which is done by means of a stamp, worked 
by two men. A third stands by to place the uncoined pieces in 
a box, which are then brought under the stamp by a particular 
^contrivance. After they are coined, they fall by means of this 
contrivance into a box which stands below. Since 1803, no larger 
silver coins are made than half dollars, as the dollars were imme¬ 
diately bought up and exported to China for trade, because the 
* [This is a very erroneous idea. The taste for painting and music has not 
been cultivated, generally, in this country, on account of the condition of pro¬ 
perty and society, which demand of Americans a primary devotion to things 
absolutely necessary and useful. As wealth becomes more accumulated, artists 
will be encouraged; and then we have no fear of their being long inferior to 
the artists of any other nation.]— Tbans. 
