The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-03-10

taken part in tbeir study. It is some
what remarkable that science which at
fords us nearly all the comforts we enjoy
in our households, that has given us our
glass, our paper, our food, our wealth and,
in fact, our civilization, should play such
small part in the instruction in our
schools. But Notwithstanding the dlsad-
vantage of such neglect, it makes a pain
for itself by it's Importance to the prog
ress of society. The remark is often
made that the child of the present age is
the same as the child of two thousand
wears apo and those who assert it mean
that the scboo1boy nowadays must be-
oin as low down in the scale of knowledge
rs as the Roman lad of the Augustan age.
There is great fallacy in such state
ment. When we meet a boy of the pres
ent time vending his way to school, with
his books strapped into bundle, if we
stop him and examine his pack, we shall
find in the most elementary treaties he
carries, scientific information that was
only knownto the most learned philoso-
piers among the Greeks or Romans.
What was then acquired as the highest
degree of knowledge, is now in every
school-book, and thus our boys begin
where Plato and Aristotle left off, and
Pliny is only quoted for the droll mistakes
he makesin his natural history. The new
rector of the University of Vienna re-
Gently called attention, in an address, to
the backwamness of the ancients in the
sciences. This backwardness he ascribes,
firstly, to an actual want of the power OF
accurate observation and, secondly, to
restless spirit of speculation. He Illus
trates his remarks by referring to the OBJ
servations of the ancients on tho stars.
The highest number recorded by them as
visible to the naked eye was 1000, where
as our school-boys can easily point out
5000; and there is the same extraordi-
nary discrepancy in the enumeration of
the nebule, and the number of stars in
the consultations.
1t is an interesting question how far
we inherit schooled eye from ancestors
trained in the observation of external OBJ
iects, and how early science may be taught
to children. A writer in Nature takes
the ground that it is proper to begin at s
or 9 years. On this point he speaks as
follows:
aAn ordinarily intelligent boy or girl of
s or years is perfectly capable of under
standing the broad differences between
the animal, vegetable, and mineral king
doms that there are more gases than one
in the world that some of them are col
orless, while others are brown or green
that some burn, and others do not; that
somc plants grow from the inside, while
others grow from the outside; that some
animals have jointed back bones, that
others have their bones outside their
bodies, while others have mono at all.
Facts such as these are perfectly compre-
hensible to children even younger than
those I have named. During the first
two years of child's school life, after he
has learned to read and write, he should
be carried through the whole range Of
physical science in systematic manner.
The fundamental truths of chemistry and
physics should be first taught him all
theoretical considerations being left aside.
AS few definitions as possible should be
given the whole task of the teacher at
the commencement being to cultivate the
child's powers of observation to the ut
most. Gradually the powers of induction
and deduction may be developed facts
and phenomena should be compared, and
conclusions drawn from them. There is
nothing q child likes so much as an inves
tigation, or finding out all about things
as he himself would phrase it. The boy
in the nursery rhyme, who cut the bel
lows open to see where the wind came
from, is type of his class"
More mistakes arc made by inventors,
mechanics, and practical men, from want
of knowledge Of the elementary princi-
piles of chemistry and physics, which ought
to have been taught them in childhood,
than from ignorance of the higher princi-
piles of science. Chemistry is really very
easy and simple study. 1t only requires
that the pupil shall have eyes and use them
and where Il boy can see and won't see,
he ought to be made to see.
1t is great mistake to try to commit
to memory the names. of everything iii
creation; the true plan is, to acquire
knowledge of the principles on which the
combinations are founded, and let details
take care of themselves and the time to
acquire this knowledge is in childhood,
when the memory is fresh and the intel
lect quick to grasp information, and the
eye readily observes what is passing in
the world around US.
Chemistry is at the foundation of our
prosperity; let us have moro of it taught
in our schools.-Scientyfc american.
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL MAXIMs.-
Cotton is King; the world seeketh for his
power; his sway is unlimited, and his
locks ara fine rold. Plant cotton ana