Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-11-05
CLASSICAL OR SCIENTIFIC {?

There seems to us to be no middle ground
between the old education of the early
American colleges and a fully developed
term ofelectives. The fault in the great ma
iority of our universities is that they are
trying to compromise between the two.
The old college system was good one; we
might have done worse than stand by it.
Its ideal was not knowledge but discipline
by mathematics it disciplined the reason and
by linguistic studies the judgment. 1t sent
out its graduates not knowing everything,
nor supposing that they did, but with their
powers for the acquisition of any kind OF
knowledge developed toan extent that made
a college education felt in every walk of life.
1t trained strong men.
The system has broken down in most
places under the demand that our young
men shall be taught things directly useful to
them in their practical career. For half a
century it has been assumed that certain
'useful studies," for no reason that we can
discover The theory of sound no more
helps man to earn living than does meta
physics and Greek. Hydraulics no more fits
man to serve the public in any capacity
than does rhetoric, and perhaps even less.
But science is "practicaP' and letters are not
so, in the enlightened public opinion of this
nineteenth century. So science has been
cr0Wding out letters. But the field OF
science is so great that every attempt to do
justice to it in a college course results in
overcroWding the course with multitude OF
studies. The trouble has been still worse
when the attempt has been made to keep
Greek and Latin in anything like their old
such gain from the change as has been eX-
pected. Scientific studies are disciplinary
only when conducted by the methods of
original research. Science learned from a
book or poured into the passive mind by a
lecturer has very little educational value.
The elective system is one outcome Of the
failure to cover the field of science in our
colleges. Having givenu up the proper work
of education in great measure, and underta-
ken an utterly impracticable task instead,
it is now necessary to save the lives and
health of our students by giving them their
choice of a limited field Of study instead OF
trying to carry them over it all. 1t is a
final abandonment of the old ideal of body
of knowledge common to all educated men.
1t substitutes the specialist for the scholar.
FACTS ABOUT RICE.-The finest rice is
known as Dutch rice and comes from Am
sterdam. 1t is grown in Java and milled
and polished in Amsterdam by some pecu-
liar process which American millerS are
very anxious to learn. The "Dutch rice"
has more perfect grains, better lustre, and
is less broken than rice milled in this coun-
try. Many attempts have been made to
learn the Dutch process, but they guard it
with Jealous care and allow no one in their
mills. 1t is suspected that they use oil,
as the rice when confined in bag for some
time gives the cloth soft, greasy feeling.
Recently the state department sent out
circular to consular officers requesting in
formation concerning the preparation OF
rice. The consuls had no better luck than
other people. They, recently reported that
the manufacturers declined to diVulge the
secret, saying that it was of the utmost
value for them to preserve it, and that they
would not furnish the method to their own
government. The Dutch rice is worth one
quarter of a cent more per pound than other
rice simply because Of its fine appearance,
but when cooked it is no better than other
rice.
American millers are secretive about their
own processes of milling, and decline to
allow strangers to go through their works.
The grain comes from the treshing mill as
rough rice or paddy, and requires grinding
to free it from the hulls. 1t is first screened
to get rid of the sand, and is then passed be-
across, to remove the outer husk. Thence
it goes into large wooden mortars, the IRON
shod pestles to which weigh $50 to $50
pounds each, and is pounded for two hours,
when it is ready for screening. Some
mills clean the rice by means of wire
cards, without pounding. Finally the rice
is screened into flour, broken rice, middling
rice, and prime rice The prime rice passes
into the polishing or brushing screen, which
I Il Il H.,
shretls of sheepskin, and made to revolve
within wire screen. This cleans off the
flour and give polish to the grains.
The best rice produced in this country is
grown in South Carolina. The Chinese con-
sumo a great deal of rice in this city, and