Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-10-22
ALEyA. GAZETTE & VIRGINIA ADVERTISE!
Education Of the Hand.

People, with few unfortunate, exceptions
have each two hands We should not mention
this fact we're it not that ip the education of
youth, only one seems to be generally consider
cd Children are told to hold their knives
iu their right baud when cutting their food,
and when this necessary operation is complet-
ed lay it down and use their forks while eat
ing, still! employing the right hand. The only
further instruction they receive in regard to
the left haud, is Ia keep it clean in common
with the right hand, and not to get into the
habit of thru>ting it into the pockets. They
arc taught that when one hand is only require
ed the preference is to lie given to the right.
Thus the left hand is with the large ma j,rlty
OF the people, a comparatively. useless mem
hcr, employed only to supplement the other III
all manual operations
Without pausing to inquire into the origin
OF the senSclcsS custom, it Is sufficient Tor our
purpose to say that it has no foundation in the
anatomy of the hand, or IN any natural Pc
,.uliarity of the human mind. AS well
might we teach children to hop about on the
right foot, to keep the left foot, to keep the
left eye closed, and stop the left ear with cot
ton, as to teach them to magnify the value OF
the right hand at the expense of the left. Nor, H.
reuouncng this absurdity, would it be necessa-
ry to lay aside social conventionalltieS. The
fork may be held IN the right hand while eat
ing, and the knife may take its place in cutting
food These are small matters, observed only
for conventional rcasouS What excuse eau
there be for neglecting the early and careful ln-
Slructious of both hands!
We are not speaking OF an lmpractlcabe
thing when We say it is possible to rear chill
dren So that whatever one hand can do the
other may do equally as we'll We know this
has been ACCOMPLISHED in many notable lnStan-
ces, where the disability Of the left hand has
been ,cificd, in spite of all obstacles arising
from bad habits acquired in childhood. We
have seen surgeons transfer au instrument from
one hand to the other during an operation,
whenever convenience required it without the
least awkwardness We have seen craftsmen
using both hands in coloring drawings an I'M
mense advantage both TO rapidity OF work and
cvenness of shading We have seen workmen
chop timber fright or left handed, and one
carpenter who used to hammer or saw with
either hand with equal facility. In all these
cases the use of the left hand IN common with
the right, gave very much greater efficiency
Scientific -1n'crtcdn.
EDUCATION IN BERLIN..-Nothing more
iorcibly strikes the foreign sojourner IN Berlin
than the universal intelligence in all classes OF
that city. Your cabman speaks to you'll
YOU can but comprehend HMM perfectly cor,
rect and grammatical German; your washer
womans bill is model Of neat aud handsome
rcnmanship and correct spelling; your wife's
scamstress is abe to discuss the latest publica-
tons, the views in the political and fashionable
world, and examines the books on the table
with critically eye. To be sure,
this universal intelligence has tendency to
make the ''hewers of wood and drawers OF
water somewhat arrogant, and, by the law OF
compensation, the ca!by and the washerwoman
make up for the absence ofignorance by pert
ness and independence of manner which are to
be met with, to an equal degree, in no other
European capital Yet the fact they can all
read write aud cypher, brings the results OF
the Prussian educational system more vividy
it were the effect of it seen in the army. The
prussan State has long made equality OF 10
tcigcnce-as far as schooling can effect lt-a
compulsory matter: All children, as soou as
they get out of their frocks, must 90 to school;
and the State prescribes when that shall be
London Standard.
Nv n,,~,,n T,,rr 1'Io oyportotIon of