Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1881-07-14

men are cast ike luSots III tuo Ball
mould, and are to be polished by th
same fine; whereas nature is divers
and unequal in the distribution Of he
gifts, ana although education ma,
greatly modify nature, it can never q
far obliterate it's traoings as TO rails
all men TO the same level. The oil
proverb, "you cannot make a sill
purse out of pigs ear, expresses tn
same thing perhaps more forcibly
Yet this is what our systems Of edu
cation are always striving to do.
We must have then, for our farmer
special education; he cannot learn al
things, and therefore it is better fo1
him to study those things that viii
satisfy his longings for esthetic cult
ure and be useful to him in everyday
lite. 1t would be utterly useless te
seud him to college, as they are now
conducted, where the mind is cultiva.
ted at the expense Of the body, and
where years Of seclusion from the sun
shine enervates body and mind, and
only enables the diIgent student te
write bad verses in Greek and Latin
and to speak very bad French and
German, and when be leaves the col
lege he is like a plant raised nm the
shade-an hour Of sunshine would
wilt him up and he would be Of no use
IN the field. Why should a farmer
devote his precious time to learning
bow to express the same identical ides
in half a dozen different languages
when his m other tongue :abounds with
other and moro important ideas whicl
be can scarcely hope ever to have tim.
and opportunity to learn? For TIT
farmer triple education is necessar,
moral, physical, intellectual-anc
they must go hand in hand.
We do not wish farmers to sit al
home in the shade and write essays or
the art, but farmer who can 80 a6eId
seize hold of any tool and labor in the
sun without any Inconvenience. and
afterwards write his essay in polished
and refined Language. The way te
make man strong and able to labor
ito labor; 80 that whatever course
Of education is adopted for the farm
er. labor must pervade it; but labor
alone, though valuable in developing
strength, is mot sufficient Of itself, and
should be supplemented by regular
and scientific training in the gymna,
stun that would develop every mus.
Gle to the utmost limits Of perfection.
1 would have the Job so we'll done
that blow from his fist would stun
an OK, not that l wish him to give
such blows, but that the possession Of
such strength would imply degree
OF physical health that would give Its
possessor the courage, energy and self
reliance to render him indomitable,
and the hard tasks of everyday life
would be but play to him.
Education should commence with
the earliest dawn Of intelligence, and
for the first seven years all children
should be taught to reverence the
Gods, obey their parents, and speak
tho truth under all circumstances, for
these years the parents are the best
teachers, and the usefulness of their
after lives depends greatly upon the
success Of the teaching. For the next
seven years the great idea should be
inculcatsd that labor is honorable and
prof table, and that ijleness is the
parent of all vice, and vice the parent
of all misfortune. He should there
fore have some simple duties to per-
form, and these should be performed
under the supervision Of the parents
that he may get in the habit Of doing
we'll what he pretends to do. He can
attend to the chickens, pigs, or young
animals about the place, 50 that care
and labor may 60 together. These
tasks should he given him under the
idea that he is assisting bis parents,
that love for them may spur him on
to duty. This too is the time when
he must acquire the rudiments Of The
English language, and commence that
course OF mathematics which is to con.
tinue through the whole course of his
education. With all these engage.
ments he must have plenty Of time for
that rough and boisterous play in the
open air that boys are so fond Of.
wal b;o cor~t oookb ,,oo. he oo,.rc