The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1861-06-27
Eseecher ON Pennsylvania.

One born to railroads and telegraphs
will never know the contrast and ever-re-
curing surprise with which old travellers
look upon modern locomotion. Once, a
journey to Pittsburg was task so serious
thatone entered upon itwith all the serious
ness Of campaign. 1t was full week S
work. Now, you leave New York at seven
in the morning, and by little past mid
night you are in Pittsburg,
The Pennsylvania Central Road is an
admirable one. L have seldom ridden as
many miles so comfortably. The scenery
is fine, and after leaving Altoona, it is
wild and Alpine. But the great feature
in Pennsylvania, next to her mountains,
are her barns What castles are on the
Rhine, and chateaux in France, are the
barns to Pennsylvania. Vast and con-
spicuous, they loom up from every quar-
ter. Nothing. gives one an idea of pros
perity in farming so much as a system of
yards, out buildings and barns As wheat
is largely raised, and the straw is cast out
after threshing, and stacked up in vast
irregular heaps, from which the cattle pull
out at will, the yards become prairies Of
with windows in profusion, and, in some
of the finest, with green blinds. Often
the windows are long, running the whole
height, and indistinguishable from church
windows. Thus one imagines himself
coming to some gigantic church, until the
near approach reveals the sheep, the pigs,
the cattle and the other properties of the
place. In ludicrous contrast stand the
farmers houses. Little, contracted, dirty
and disagreeable, they make one pity the
farmer, and envy his horses. In many
cases aClsitei0dSh Is used instead of paint
As the weather soon affects this it becomes
dingy, streaked and dirty. Yet, unmista-
kable signs of thrift surround these i'll
conditioned dwellings. Gardens are small
orchards not SO frequent or large as one
might expect. But the wheat fields and
grass roll up over the hills in a beauty
that makes one in love with farming
The introduction of machines for drilling,
reaping and threshing, have made the
labor Of man less onerous than hitherto
Now man may be farmer, and ride in
his machine, if not in his coach [ am
delighted with this wonderful State Of
Pennsylvania. Its resources are incredi-
bic. Rich and undeveloped as it is, it is
plain that scarcely a beginning is yet
made. One can hardly trust his calcula-
tions for the future, so apparently extrav-
agant do they seem. And yet, it is soberly
true that the most sanguine calculations
will be far behind the facts, when the day
shall come thai industry, capital and skill
shall have brought this State to even the
half of her treasures One such State
has the capacity of an empire. The COM
mon school system of Pennsylvania is
silently working a complete revolution in
her midst. 1t Is well organized, and every
year is becoming more efficient. There
is great earnestness and esprit du corps in
the teachers of Pennsylvania. Many old
counties, famous for stolid obstinacy, are
now, through the new generation, advan-
cling. One crop of children being educa-
ted, the fate of State is changed This
is the true American method. Go back
TO the brain. The head is the rudder of
the world. Work Alright on the brain,
and you see the results in the machine
shop, in the barn, on the farm, everywhere !.
The School House is mightier than the
State House. Give me trinity Of insti-
tutions-the Family, the School, and the
Church-and [ do not care who has all
the rest of the State. Pennsylvania has
rich soil, inexhaustible mines, sturdy pop
ulation. But her schools and churches
are worth more than anything else.