great gainer at the end of the year. But this is not enough to derive the greatest advantage from his lecture, he must also read. And for this purpose, no one, who has a thirst for information, will find it difficult to find half an hour or an hour every day. In that short time, a great deal may be done. Half an hour a day for a year, amounts to six hours a day for more than a month. This is not a very short time to give to study; and this portion of time, frugally used, would enable a mechanic, with the aid of the lectures, to gain what he would always after consider an invaluable knowledge of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, or almost any other branch of science.

Again it is a common opinion, that the knowledge of Natural Philosophy cannot be acquired, in any considerable or useful degree, without some previous acquaintance with Mathematics. It is true that it is not easy, nor often perhaps possible, to go deeply into the theory of Natural Philosophy, without a very thorough knowledge of Mathematies. It is not our object to make deep philosophers, but intelligent and skilful mechanics; and there is a great deal, and that of the most practical kind of information, which can be acquired by a person, however advanced in life, without any preparatory knowledge of another science whatever. No mechanic, who has an opportunity and leisure to attend to Geometry, should fail to do it, for he will find it of constant use to him. But let no one be discouraged by his ignorance of this branch, and thereby be prevented from endeavoring to gain knowledge of another kind of more immediate utility.

There are then few or none, who have not enough of knowledge, of time, and of capacity, to be greatly benefited by the philosophical lectures and other means of improvement which it is the immediate object of this institution to provide and the benefit will not be confined to their character as nechanics. They will be benefited as moral agents-as members of society.

*** Let the light of science fall upon that man; open to him the fountain of knowledge. A few principles of philosophy enter his mind, and awaken the dormant power of thought. He begins to look upon his art with an altered eye. It ceases to be a dark mechanical process, which he cannot understand; he regards it as an object of inquiry, and begins to penetrate the reasons and acquire a new mastery over his own instruments. finds other and better modes of doing what he had done before blindly and without interest a thousand times. He learns to prof

He

it by the experience of others, and ventures upon untried paths. Difficulties, which before would have stopped him at the outset, receive a ready solution from some luminous principle of science. He gains new-knowledge and new skill, and can improve the quality of his manufacture, while he shortens the process and diminishes his own labor. Then labor becomes sweet to him ; it is accompanied by a consciousness of increasing power; it is leading him forward to a higher place among his fellow men. Relaxation, too, is sweet to him, as it enables him to add to his intellectual stores, and to mature, by undisturbed meditation, the plans and conceptions of the hour of labor. His home has acquired a new charm; for he is become a man of thought, and feels and enjoys the peace and seclusion of that sacred retreat; and he carries thither the honest complacency which is the companion of well earned success. There, too, bright visions of the future open upon him, and excite a kindly feeling towards those who are to share in his prosperity. Thus his mind and heart expand together. He has become an intelligent being; and while he has learned to esteem himself, he has also learned to live no longer for himself alone. Society opens like a new world to him ; he looks upon his fellow creatures with interest and sympathy, and feels that he has a place in their affections and respect.***

The advantages to the community from the general scientific education of mechanics, are no less certain and important, thair those which will ensue to the individual. Many of them are perfectly obvious. It has, for example, been ascertained by well conducted and satisfactory experiments, what proportion it is necessary to give to walls, to enable them to resist any lateral or downward pressure to which they may be exposed; what proportion the flue, fire-place, and apartment to be warmed, should have to each other, to ensure, under ordinary circumstances, the conveyance of the smoke; at what period trees should be felled, and in what way and for how long a time the wood should be seasoned, that it may suffer from decay or shrinking in the least possible degree. Make this kind of knowledge familiar to working masons, carpenters, and joiners, and you deliver us from some of the most annoying and intolerable of the lesser evils of life. As it now is, great masses of information of this practical kind, are lying buried in books, or in the memories of studious men who have no means of bringing it to its right destination.. By an absurdity of misapplication, it has been hitherto communicated to those only, who, of all men in society, have least need

and make least use of it. We would open these books to the mechanic; we would ask these learned men to pour out the treasures of their knowledge into the bosom of those who will cause its fruits to appear in every form of convenience, comfort, and elegance, with which polished art can adorn the institutions of society. Every individual will thus be directly benefited by the perfection to which the various products of the mechanic arts will be carried; while the increased activity and energy of one class will of necessity react upon every other class of the community.

Science, too, will not be without its ample share in these benefits. The light that she sheds, like the twice blest influence of mercy, will be thrown back with redoubled lustre on herself. Where there has heretofore been one observer, we raise up thousands. For one unskilful experimenter, pursuing, in the intervals of some graver task, his solitary, unaided, oft interrupted researches, we crowd the workshops of a whole country with her votaries, all anxious to repay the debt of gratitude, eagerly bent on tracing nature in her changeful shapes, and with uninterrupted years, and myriads of ever varying experiments, filling up the storehouse of observation.

The principles of science have hitherto been accessible to those only who were pursuing a course of study preparatory to what are called the liberal professions. The poor and the occupied, if destined to the active pursuits of life, have been almost necessarily debarred from them. By Mechanics' Institutions they are offered to all, to the busy, the poor, and the uninformed; to those who have been taught their value by their want, and who are therefore ready to estimate and employ them.

We confess we are not unmoved spectators of this scene. We cannot look on, without a deep and joyful feeling, at the prospect which is opening before us. Thousands, at this hour,are listening to the lessons of philosophy, which come home to their business and bosoms.' The gates of the temple of science, closed as with adamant, since the beginning of time, against all but a favored few, are thrown wide open, and multitudes, from the workshops and fields, from the mine, the forest, and the ocean, from every region of labor and action, are hastening up thither to partake and rejoice in the waters of intellectual life."

State of the Schools in Windham County, Ct.

From the facts and statements communicated to the meeting, held in Brooklyn, it appears, that the public money has been unequally divided and often misapplied; the teachers in many instances are utterly incompetent, the books used are seldom the best, and often very unsuitable, and in those which are used, the want of uniformity is so great, that there are few schools in which it is possible the scholars can be properly classed. In many schools the children are not well supplied with books of any kind. The school-houses are often badly constructed and out of repair; schools stop for want of wood; the children are not constant in their attendance; and those who do attend, come dropping in at all hours of the day, thus disturbing each other and rendering attempts at system and classification impracticable. Parents often interfere improperly in the government of the schools, and in dictating the studies and modes of instruction. Children are consequently found in every school engaged in the highest branches usually taught, before they are well acquainted with the first rudiments. Teachers are engaged, and approved by the districts, before they are examined by the visiters, and the visiters seldom have sufficient independence to reject a man, however incompetent they may think him, who, by the influence of friends or the bribery of cheapness, has obtained a vote of the district in his favor. The visiters very rarely attempt the least interference with the course of study, or mode of instruction and government; and whenever they do, they almost uniformly find parents, children, and teachers in opposition to them. A feeling of apathy and indifference has long pervaded the community, with the exception of an anxious care to avoid every thing like taxes or contributions. Our schools are too cheap to be valued, and the pay of teachers often too low to command even ordinary talents. These are melancholy, painful statements, and ought to excite feelings of shame for our neglect, and of determination to permit evils, so common and disgraceful, no longer to continue. It is hoped an excitement has been produced in relation to this very important and interesting subject, which must cause an effectual and permanent reformation. Much is doing in other parts of the State. Very gratifying communications were received from school societies and gentlemen in Colchester, East Windsor, Hartford, and Farmington.-Windham Gazette.

The School Fund, in Connecticut, amounts to more than $1,700,000, and yields an annual dividend of more than $72,000.

PORTLAND : A. SHIRLEY, Printer-J. L. PARKHURST, Editor.

The Franklin Primer, or Lessons in Spelling and Reading, adapted to the understanding of children; composed and published by a Committee, appointed for the purpose by the School Convention of Franklin County, May 25, 1826. Greenfield, Mass. 18mo. pp. 36.

Since we published (p. 32) a brief notice of this Primer, extracted from the American Journal, we have obtained a copy and examined for ourselves. Our expectations, though high, have been fully met. The book is, indeed, improperly denominated a Primer, for it is not well adapted to the use of beginners in the art of reading and spelling; but for those who have made some little progress,-who have been through Mr. Worcester's Primer, or through one third part of the Pestalozzian Primer,it contains the best lessons we have ever seen. The style and sentiments are perfectly suited to the capacity of a child. Every sentence is a picture of something that is familiar to a child, and is expressed in language which a child understands. It is the style of conversation. It is simple, natural, and lively. It is well suited to banish monotony, artificial tones, and every species of dulness in reading; and to form a habit of reading with emphasis, with spirit, with propriety. Let children read only such books as this, and have parents and instructers who know how to read to a child, and how to talk with a child about what he reads,