The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1830-05-26

A New Book. 1t is gratifying occasionally
to lay our hand upon a new school book, calcu-
lated to supply some existing deficiency, and not,
like too many at the present day, merely to d.
vide patronage with, or TO supersede, others of
the same character, and possessing equal merit
with themselves. One Of the former class has
just issued from the press of Carter, Andrews,
&, Co., at Lancaster, which is executed in their
accustomed neatness of style. 1t is "GEoG-
RAPHY of WORCESTER COUNTY, by James G.
Carter and YIN. H. Brooks, and is accompani-
ed by new map Of the County The views
of the authors, in making this publication, may
be gathered from the following extract from the
preface:
Assuming the principle that "we need to
know most of the places which are nearest to
us" and that the amount Of our knowledge of
the various parts of the earth's surface, should
be graduated, other things being equal, by their
distance from us, it is proposed that geographic
cal education be conducted with view to this
result At very tender age, therefore, as soon
as the young mind has power enough to under
stand the ideas conveyed to US by the terms hill,
valley, plain, and stream, the child should begin
the study OF geography, and begin it with his
own town. Having fully acquainted himself
with the geography of his own town, he should
proceed to the remaining towns of his own
county, and, growing less and less particular as
he advances. pass from towns TO counties, and
then IN order to states, countries. and CONT
nents. The pupil should also examine on
map the situation of every place of which he
may be learning an account, and for the sake of
still greater precision in his knowledge and for
useful mental discipline, should draw the
shape of each.
Beginning, therefore, with their own town.
children will be gratifed with learning de-
scrIption OF what it contains and will even be
led TO think what other information they can
add to the account themselves. And without
doubt they will feel strong curiosity tn know
whether the streams. hills, and fertile valleys of
their own town belong also to the towns ad-
joining, and to compare the employmcnts of the
respective inhabitants of the two places, their
public institutions, and their importance as
shown by their population. Especially will
their interest be reused (the remark springs
from long and various experienced on finding
themselves able to sketch with neatness the
shape of their own towns and other towns. to
trace out the courses of streams and roads, and
to mark the actual position of churches, fact0-
RES, hills, and ponds. The child's interest in
the study being thus auspiciously excited, will
not fail to be sustained in his progress through
the county, if he have toerably faithful and iu-
dlcious instruction. By the time he has com.
pleted this thorough survey of his own county
he will have gained an amount of information,
which is not only not now acquired by children,
but is very rarely possessed by men, respecting
what it most nearly concerns him to be familiar
with, VIZ: the portion of his own country i'm
mediately around him. He will have had his
memory exercised, MS it ought always to be, in
strict alliance with the understanding He will
have begun in due season to try his Judgment,
and to educate it to activity and accuracy by
its numerous trials, in estimating proportions
and comparing the Importance of towns He
will also have obtained unconsciously an impol
ant control over his power of attention. These !
rults of the study are predicted with confidence
because in repeated instances they have already |
'een produced.