THE OHIO EDUCATIONAL MONTHLY.

and her pupils as uniformly replied in a low monotonous tone, but perfectly distinct. The marked contrast daily exhibited could not fail to be ludicrous, and somehow her manner of speech came to be associated in my mind with the story of an old Scotch lady, which runs thus:

A lad in reading the Scriptures to his grandmother, a Covenanter abiding steadfast by the solemn league, attempted to improve his elocution by imitating the lengthened accents of the minister. Whereat his grandame, wroth at his intrenchment on reserved rights, gave him a heavy buffet over the ear, and sharply queried whether it was fitting for the likes of him to be putting on the holy whine?

So now in visiting schools, I have often occasion to call' up the old association when I hear a teacher endeavoring to articulate distinctly by splitting her throat in shrieking out her questions, and can not avoid saying to myself, "There goes the 'holy whine' again." Habit is second nature, and I doubt not that many are not aware how forced and unnatural is their manner of speaking when conducting a recitation; nor how much easier for themselves and more agreeable to their pupils would it be if they would only use the socalled conversational tone of voice.

We hope that the conventional school ma'am is passing away, and that with her will pass that stilted, strained, and strident screech that corresponds to the once familiar "holy whine" of a race of preachers, also departing.

MISCELLANY.

THE changing of type has caused a week's delay in the issuing of this number.

THE premium of Webster's New Dictionary offered for the largest list of subscribers raised in the months of November and December, 1866, is awarded to Samuel Bartley, Waverly, Pike county, Ohio, who has sent us forty-four subscribers. The second premium, Brown's Grammar of English Grammars, is awarded to I. P. Hole, Akron, Ohio, for thirty-four subscribers.

We offer the same premiums for the largest and second largest number of subscribers raised in the months of January and February.

A YEAR'S WORK.-The year just closed has been to us one of arduous labor. The closing duties of our official term crowded us until the middle of February, and demanded much of our time one month longer. Institute engagements followed immediately, filling up about one-half of the succeeding weeks with exhausting labor, the extent of which may be judged from the statement, that it involved (including a few lectures before associations and meetings) the delivery of about three hundred lectures and the traveling of over five thousand miles. of the MONTHLY, a heavy correspondence, and various other duties, public and privThe editing and publishing ate, demanded more than the remainder of our working hours. Indeed, pressing duties have waited at the portal of each hour, often enough to fill it three-fold. We refer to this subject to explain the little delay which occurred in the issuing of several numbers of the MONTHLY.

CINCINNATI NORMAL INSTITUTE.-This institute was organized at the opening of the Public schools in August, 1865, and sessions were held on twelve consecutive Saturdays. The teachers were not required to attend, and only a few, comparatively, availed themselves of its benefits. The institute was re-organized at the beginning of the present school year, and the teachers were required to attend under penalty of loss of salary for the day, in case of absence. This provision was made by the Board before the teachers were appointed for the year and in view of the large increase in the salaries paid.

The first meeting of the institute for 1866 was held on Saturday, September 8th. The entire corps of teachers was divided into four sections. The first section was composed of teachers of the intermediate schools, and of grades A and B of the distriet schools; the second was composed of teachers of grades C and D; the third, of teachers of grades E and F; the fourth, of the teachers of German, who were instructed in the German language, by the first German assistants.

In the first three sections, there were three different exercises each morning, of fifty minutes each. Classes of children were introduced, for the sake of illustration, in each of the sections, whenever found necessary.

The instructors who were appointed by the School Board, were Messrs. Stuntz, Schmitt, Hotze, Crosby, Strunk, Reynolds, Fillmore, Carnahan, DeBeck, Morgan, Raschig, Wheeler, Woollard, Sands, and Kidd—all of whom served without extra compensation except Prof. Kidd who gave instruction in elocution and vocal culture. The exercises were under the efficient direction of Sup't Harding, whose zeal and ability is a guarantee of success in whatever he undertakes. The large majority of the teachers were interested in the exercises and greatly profited thereby.

The closing session, which we had the pleasure of attending, was held in the Council Chamber on Saturday, December 15. The exercises consisted of brief addresses by the several Principals, and also by Col. Fisher, President of the School Board, A. J. Rickoff, White, and Sup't Harding. There was some difference of opinion among the Principals respecting the success of the institute, yet the assurance was given that it is no longer to be regarded as an experiment, but as a part of the school system. Its continuance can but result in great good.

AN AMERICAN SCHOOLMASTER ABROAD.-A Bostonian has suggested the idea of sending an American schoolmaster, with his school, to the Paris exhibition. The New York Independent opposes the project, on the ground that we should export the defects instead of the merits of our school system. It affirms that in methods of instruction we are still behind the most advanced nations of Europe, that "our teaching is far more a matter of rote, and less a matter of intelligence." One merit of the American system could be seen even after transportation, viz: the relation of the sexes in education. On this point the Independent admits America can instruct Eu

rope.

MAINE.-G. M. Gage, Principal of the State Normal School at Farmington, announces his intention to start a new educational journal, to be called "The Maine Normal." We second the suggestion of the Massachusetts Teacher that this title be improved by inserting a noun after the adjective "Normal." But we shall welcome the new journal whatever may be its title.

MICHIGAN.-Prof. D. P. Mayhew has been elected Principal of the State Normal School at Ypsilanti. The Teacher, edited by Wm. H. Payne, Ypsilanti, entered upon its second volume in November. It is full of good things, and is beautifully printed. The State Teachers' Association met at Kalamazoo on the 26th, 27th and 28th days of December, 1866.

INDIANA. A general educational revival is in progress in the Hoosier State. The county institutes are well attended; the School Journal is prosperous; and the State Normal School is soon to have a "local habitation." We congratulate friend Hoss on the bright prospects of his second official term as State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He richly deserves the opportunity to carry forward the good work he has so nobly begun. The State Teachers' Association met at Lafayette on December 26th, 27th, and 28th, 1866.

ILLINOIS.-Hon. Newton Bateman has been re-elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction for a term of four years. He has served two terms of two years each with eminent success, and is "master of the situation." Richard Edwards, President of the State Normal University, has resigned the editorial charge of the Teacher. It is to be edited during the year 1867 by Wm. M. Baker, of Springfield, S. H. White, Chicago, and Prof. J. V. N. Standish, Galesburg. The State Teachers' Association met at Jacksonville December 25th, 26th and 27th, 1866.

CONNECTICUT.-Hon. David N. Camp, former Superintendent of Public Instruction, has returned from Europe with his health much improved. He has been elected Principal of the preparatory and normal departments of St. John's College, Annapolis, Md. The Journal closes the year, its twenty-first, without any announcement as to the future. We hope it may continue the good fight.

PENNSYLVANIA.-Prof. J. P. Wickersham, Principal of the Millersville Normal School, has been appointed by the Governor State Superintendent of Common Schools. He entered upon the duties of the office on the first day of November. His first official act was the submission of several important questions to the consideration of the convention of County Superintendents, held on the 4th day of December. Prof. W. will make a capital officer, but, for some reason, the School Journal is not pleased with his appointment.

AMHERST COLLEGE.—This college now possesses the largest meteorite in any cabinet in America. It weighs 536 pounds and was recently found on one of the Rocky Mountains. It was secured for the college by T. Alden Smith, Esq., and shipped at St. Joseph, Mo. The Walker mathematical building is located by the trustees, and will cost about $100,000.

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN COLLEGE.-By the patriotic munificence of Christopher R. Robert, Esq., of New York, a collegiate institution for the education of Southern youth of both sexes, has been established on Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tenn. The historic site is 1,600 feet above the level of the sea. The college has opened with fifty students.

OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE. This institution has passed under the exclusive control of a self-perpetuating board of trustees, and will henceforth be free from the annoyance of conflicting individual interests. The liabilities assumed by the board is said to be less than one-fifth of the value of the property.

KENYON COLLEGE.-George Peabody has donated $25,000 for the endowment of a professorship in this institution.

MEETING CALLED.-The committee appointed by the O. S. T. Association, to call the attention of the General Assembly to the subject of county supervision, etc., are requested to meet in Columbus at the time appointed by Mr. Cowdery for the meeting of Superintendents. W. D. HENKLE, Chairman.

DRAWING FROM OBJECTS. A Manual for the Teachers and Pupils of the Common Schools. By Prof. JOHN GOODISON, Instructor in Drawing and Geography in the Michigan State Normal School. New York: 1vison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co. 1866.

We agree with the author of this work in the opinion that drawing should be taught from the objects themselves, and not from their representatives. The copying of drawings has its value, but it should never take the place of instruction in the art of drawing from nature. What is needed by the pupil is to draw the outlines of common objects with accuracy and facility. Our experience enables us to speak with some confidence on this subject. Years ago, at Cleveland, we saw the experiment of teaching children to draw from natural objects successfully tried. The pupils in the public schools of the city, of all departments, were taught outline and perspective drawing by a special teacher of the art-Mr. Jehu Brainerd. This was continued for several years with most gratifying results. Most of the pupils in the high schools could sketch common objects, buildings, and even landscapes with commendable accuracy. Several of their sketches of the school buildings of the city were engraved to adorn the annual reports of the Board of Education. The value of the skill acquired was manifest in nearly all the exercises of the school.

In 1863, we visited the Michigan State Normal School, and, being highly pleased with the results attained in drawing, we examined Prof. Goodison's methods of instruction with considerable care, and, we may add, with great satisfaction. It is enough for us to say that the work before us is almost a literal reproduction of the lessons given by the author to the classes of prospective teachers whose skill we witnessed. The lessons rise gradually from the drawing of objects so simple in form as to involve no laws of perspective, to geometrical solids, and, finally, to a complete course of perspective drawing. The course of instruction is indicated by model introductory lessons, and these are illustrated by numerous engravings. We commend this book to all teachers who would like to see drawing introduced into our schools and properly taught.

A FOURTH READER, of a Grade between the Third and Fourth Readers of the School and Family Series. By MARCIUS WILLSON. New York: Harper & Brothers.

This reader is upon the same plan and has essentially the same merits as the Intermediate Third Reader by the same author, noticed by us a few months since. The selections are choice, varied, and attractive. We are specially pleased with the large number of pieces that present in incident, anecdote, and poetic description, the interesting and useful facts of natural history. We are also pleased to notice that the text is free from all attempts at scientific technicalities and classifications. The only exception is found in the last forty-eight pages of the work which are devoted to a brief exposition of the subject of American Insects, illustrated with beautiful cuts of the natural size, and true to nature in other respects. The miscellaneous pieces are accompanied with brief explanatory and descriptive notes, and the pronunciation of the more difficult words. The introduction contains a brief and practical exposition of the principles of elocution.

We see in the successive numbers of this new Intermediate Series the practical results of the discussion which was called out by the School and Family Series. In variety of matter, in beauty of typography and illustration, and in general adaptation to school use, they possess great excellence.

THE NATIONAL FIFTH READER: Containing a Complete and Practical Treatise on Elocution; Select and Classified Exercises in Reading and Declamation, with Biographical Sketches and Copious Notes. Adapted to the Use of Students in Literature. By RICHARD GREENE PARKER and J. MADISON WATSON. Revised Edition. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co. 1866.

This work is intended to serve the two-fold purpose of a school reader for advanced classes and a practical compendium of English literature. It contains a large collection of pieces carefully selected from the productions of more than a hundred standard writers, on both sides of the Atlantic. These selections, many of which are found in no similar work, are classified with reference to the nature of their subjects, and are accompanied with classical and historical notes and biographical sketches, which furnish a large amount of useful and available information. The biographical sketches are considerably fuller and, we may add, more valuable than those usually found in school readers. The work also contains an alphabetical and chronological list of authors for the more special use of students of English literature.

The selections are preceded by two chapters on Elocution. The first treats of orthoepy under the three heads of articulation, syllabication and accent; the second of expression including emphasis, slur, inflections, modulations, monotone, personation, and pauses. Each of these several topics is presented in a simple, concise, and practical manner. The text throughout the work has received many orthoepical touches in the form of diacritical marks indicating the correct pronunciation of words. In many instances, however, these marks seem to us superfluous.

The above description will give the reader a general idea of this carefully revised work. We have only space to add that our examination of its several features has given us a very favorable impression of its merits. The selections, as a whole, are marked with a high degree of literary excellence, and are well adapted to elocutionary and reading purposes. Our first impression was that the book is a little too bulky for class use. We now see that this is due to its two-fold design and to the large and open type used-a very important item in a school reader.

NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS. Illustrated with Five Hundred Wood Engravings, chiefly of North American Animals. By SANBORN TENNEY and ABBY A. TENNEY. New York: Charles Scribner & Co. Cleveland: Ingham & Bragg. 1866.

A few months since, we had the pleasure of examining and commending Tenney's "Manual of Zoology"-an excellent treatise, but too full for our common schools. We expressed a desire to see a more elementary work by the same author, and promised it a hearty welcome. We now fulfill this promise, and are glad that we made it. Here, at last, we have a work on Natural History that can be used successfully in our schools. Its account of the animal kingdom is brief and authentic, and the text is profusely illustrated with engravings from the works of Audubon, Holbrook, Harris, Binney, Agassiz, Muller, Dana, Ehrenberg, and other eminent naturalists. Industrious, well-taught classes can easily complete the book in twelve weeks, and we do not see how they can fail to be interested in the delightful and important study. The work may be used as a key to Tenney's "Natural History Tablets," but is complete in itself.

THE PRIMARY UNION SPEAKER: Containing Original and Selected Pieces for Declamation and Recitation in Primary Schools. Вy JонH D. PHILBRICK, Superintendent of the Public Schools of Boston, and author of the "American Union Speaker." With Illustrations. Boston: Taggard & Thompson.

This is a very attractive little book, containing a choice collection of pieces suitable for children, from six to twelve years of age, to read, recite, or speak. The selections have been made with good judgment and, as the compiler tells us, "with willing