Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1876-08-18
SCIENCE AND HOUSEw0RK.


and sdvangrm N, of thr accs, in
cluimg s>trantmy, IN T. ~ 'gs
eenl1g b'tny. MI = p, 81.
Prob ,.,ly m ST IT them wsud d III
oocuptti q Tor wear orr N IN learn
iGg how to spell. Sa n, h weeer, Is
the teaden OF the youthful Ame.i-
can of the period. thanks to the sys-
TEN which prevails in the public
schools to-day. A girl is drilled in
physiology, natural philosophy and
astronomy, whose happiness in fu-
ture life would be much better SUBJ
served by instruction. in the science
of boiling potatoes and the art OF
mending pauts.-lVirginia Chron-
icls.
The foregoing was evidently writ
ten in haste or in that languor and
pertuuctory which is the legitimate
outgrowth of excessive editorial
labor. Its meaning Is not altogether
clear. The an.ecedent of ''such" is
what mystihes. If it refers to a
tendency which the youthful Ameri-
can acquires through the public
schools for scientific investigation,
su,ely it is no de,riment TO him and
no bad reflection upon the schools.
The object of all academic institu-
tons Is to instill proper methods of
study, to creste desire for knowl
edge and to point the path by which
it may be found. Colleges and uni
versities do scarcely more. If they
do not prepare one to labor with
pleasure in a library, their object is
lost. The sum of knowledge is not
contained within the precincts Of
university any more than 1t was
in olden times within the leaves of
the Bible, as the priests taught.
Those amateur societies for the diffu-
sion of scientific information are the
natural result of a good system of
education.
II The Chronicle would have the
youthful American forego more inn
portant studies for mere rote knowl-
edge. it is quite in the wrong. Spell
ing, as it knows, is matter net at
all governed by any rules of analogy,
is a thing of memory alone, and is
therefore in unwise calculated 10 de-
velop the mind-the sole object of
all education. Ii lit is better TO
teach girls to boil potatoes and patch
pantalouus than to instruct them in
the sciences, then We have ever
been wrong in our estimation OF the
benefits of education. We had al
ways thought that one who WAS
trained in the ahs.rusitics Of analyti- (
cal geometry and cognate studies, for
instance, was thereby better fitted t.
do farming, mining or any of the va .
rious industries that require in their
practical operation no Intimate ac-
quaintsnce with technical knowledge
We once heard discussion between
college professors on the benefits of
classical studies. One of them main /
tanned that man whose mind was
drilled in the analysis Of ancien,
languages was better prepared TO act
in an emergency than one who WAS
not thus drilled. and that, therefore,
he would know wha, u do should
his pillow break down while
ateld, ar his wagon give way while
on the road. better than man who
had experiences, and no equal men,
tai culture.
OF course The Chronicle will say
that it agrees with US here but
when it declares that girls had better
learn TO spell and do houseworK,
neelecting mental cultivation the
while-for spelling will develop no
faculty but that Of memory--it leads
the reader Ia suppose that it is ops
posed TO the education of women.
1t can easily be maintained tina, in
proportion AS mental development
assists man in his out oi door
pursuits. So does scientific studies lit
n woman for an intelligent admins.
tration of the household. Chemistry
aud cooking are as closely allied as
physiology and health, botany and
Horticulture, meterology and drying
clothes, are as intimately connected.
In short, wom~n should learn science,
and the youthful Ameri. an should
Establish amateur scientific societies,
even at the expense of his ortho-
pYanhicsl stapdinu