USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > West Bridgewater > Town annual reports of the selectmen, overseers of the poor, town clerk, and school committee of West Bridgewater for the year ending 1870-1879 > Part 13
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The costs paid for counsel and getting testimony in pre- paring said case for trial was $203.55. As it did not
12
appear to make any difference which dollar was used, in the present state of the currency, the remainder of the sum raised to repair the Matfield Bridge has been appro- priated to cancel the above claim.
TOWN FARM OR ALMSHOUSE ACCOUNT. Inventory of Personal Property at the Farm, as Appraised February 1, 1878.
8 tons of English hay,
$184 00
2 tons of Hungarian hay,
36 00
4 tons of meadow hay,
50 00
2 oxen,
125 00
5 cows,
200 00
1 horse,
100 00
4 swine,
38 00
105 fowls,
51 00
1 ox-cart, .
45 00
1 horse-cart,
45 00
1 cart harness, .
15 00
1 express-wagon,
25 00
2 light harnesses, 25 00
1 Buffalo robe and one blanket, . 10 00 Hay-rigging, wheels, and farming tools, . 110 00
32 bushels of corn,
25 80
400 pounds of meal,
5 00
200 pounds of shorts,
2 50
3 pecks of beans,
1 95
55 bushels of potatoes,
28 25
35 bushels of turnips,
14 00
30 bushels of other roots,
7 50
1 bushel of onions, .
75
Butter and eggs, .
3 00
Amount carried forward,
. $1,147 75
13
Amount brought forward,
. $1,147 75
Flour and groceries,
10 00
Beds and bedding,
65 00
Stoves and other furniture,
80 00
Manure and ashes,
120 00
$1,422 75
Inventory of Feb. 1, 1877, .
1,699 37
Shrinkage of personal property, .
$276 62
A team-horse and two horse-carts and cart harnesses have been sold during the year, and one cow has been added to the stock; otherwise the property is about equal to the inventory of last year. Decline in value causes most of the difference.
THE ALMSHOUSE.
DR.
To paying J. C. Leighton's salary for 1 year,
$354 16
for hired labor,
65 00
for smithwork,
18 85
for doctor's bill, .
17 00
for medicines,
1 96
for snuff and tobacco,
2 95
for tools,
13 61
for repairs, .
13 40
for wares, .
9 64
for lumber, .
12 85
for use of mowing-machine, &c., .
2 50
for paper-hangings,
3 19
for use of team, .
.
·
2 50
Amount carried forward,
$517 61
14
Amount brought forward,
$517 61
To paying for use of stock, .
6 50
for fowls, .
·
2 50
for grass and garden seeds,
.
14 18
for seed potatoes,
6 14
for fertilizers,
70 50
for lime,
1 70
for salt,
4 68
for oils,
4 86
for soap,
6 08
for bedding,
13 94
for clothing,
22 40
for meat,
52 29
for fish,
18 72
for cheese,
4 21
for apples,
3 15
for beans,
3 65
for grain, flour, and crackers,
300 89
for groceries,
68 23
for sundries,
6 07
for two oxen,
125 00
for one cow,
40 00
for rye for seed,
2 00
$1,295 30
CR.
By cash for butter sold,
$175 16
for milk sold, .
23 66
for calves sold,
34 20
for fowls sold, .
85 36
for eggs sold, .
69 85
for pork sold, .
30 89
·
Amount carried forward, $419 12
15
Amount brought forward,
$419 12
By cash for lard sold, . 3 29
for hay sold, 67 74
for potatoes sold, 23 97
for turnips and other vegetables sold, 14 60
for other articles sold, 2 96
for work off the farm,
41 60
for entertainment,
2 25
for oxen sold, .
150 00
for horse, two carts and two harnesses sold, .
125 00
Bills due the almshouse for work for indi- viduals,
15 25
Bills due the almshouse for hay sold,
10 90
for other productions sold, 15 70
Credit for work on the roads, for surveyors,
38 30
for other highway work, 1 50
for going with the hearse, . 52 50
Entertaining 95 tramps, at 50 cents each, ·
47 50
$1,032 18
The number of persons supported as paupers at the almshouse during the year was two and 32, or equal to one person for 133 weeks. There has been drawn from the town treasury, for the almshouse, $736 02 If we deduct therefrom the credits to the town in the foregoing accounts, to wit :-
Bills due the house, . $41 85
Work done on the roads, 39 80
Going with the hearse, 52 50
Amount carried forward, . $134 15
16
Amount brought forward, $134 15
Entertaining tramps, . 47 50
Oxen sold from the farm, . · 150 00
$331 65
It appears to have cost the sum of . $404 37 besides the income of the farm to support two and 32 paupers at the almshouse during the year.
POOR OUT OF THE ALMSHOUSE.
Paid for Michael Ryan, at Taunton Hospital, $61 65
for John Shields, at Northampton, 20 68
for conveying Fred E. Vining to Tewks- bury, .
7 20
for J. F. Curtis, at New Bedford, and removing him to the almshouse, 24 80
for Mary W. Brainard, 43 00
for aid and funeral expenses for Mrs. Polly Reed, 42 50
for aid and funeral expenses for William
J. Stanley, ·
71 98
for aid to Mrs. Hannah Lathrop, . 52 00
for aid to Mrs. Barbara O'Neil and family, 20 00
for aid to Mrs. Rhobe Jackson, at Som- erset, ·
78 00
for aid to John McGann's family, at Taunton, . 38 38
for aid to Daniel T. Eaton and family, at Taunton, · .
11 90
for aid to Caleb T. Hervey's family, at Taunton, . 2 60
for aid to Mrs. Mary White, at Boston, 2 00
Amount carried forward, $476 69
17
Amount brought forward, $476 69 . Paid for funeral expenses of John Pool, at Taunton, . 27 50
for aid to Joseph Morse and family, 33 00
for aid to Joshua Morse and family, 19 74
for aid to Galen Howard,
10 00
$566 93
Aid has been paid to poor of other towns and cities, who were living in this town at the time, as follows :---
The family of Wm. Freeman of Boston, $3 28
John D. C. Wright of Sandwich, . 30 91
S. A. Morse of Worcester, . 175 00
All of which has been refunded.
$209 19
The annual town meeting will be held on Monday, the fourth day of March next, at one o'clock, P. M.
JAMES HOWARD, HENRY W. LEACH, HENRY COPELAND, Selectmen, Assessors, and Overseers of the Poor.
WEST BRIDGEWATER, Feb, 1, 1878. 3
18
LIST OF JURORS FOR 1878.
As prepared by the Selectmen.
Cyrus Alger.
Charles Atwell.
Charles W. Bacon.
Horace Bartlett.
Henry S. Keith.
Lyman E. Copeland.
Aaron Millett.
Caleb Copeland, Jr.
Bradford Packard.
Clarkson W. Richards.
George D. Ryder.
Thomas Snell. Ebenezer Taylor.
Erland Thayer.
Joseph Vosmus.
Horace W. Howard.
Henry W. Leach.
Cyrus Leonard.
Elihu Leonard.
Davis Copeland.
Lucius Dunbar. Curtis Eddy. Edward W. Hayward.
John L. Hayward.
Benjamin Howard.
Henry H. Whitman.
19
GUIDE-BOARDS.
The Selectmen recommend that guide-boards be maintained at or near the following-named places :-
Joshua T. Ryder's.
Molbry Ripley's.
Justin W. Richards's.
James Alger's furnace.
Joseph Kingman's.
Cyrus P. Brown's.
Lewis Ryder's.
Joseph Alger's.
Pine Hill cemetery.
Barnabus Dunbar's.
Charles Howard's.
Stillman W. Hersey's.
West of almshouse.
Dwelley Fobes's.
Edmund Geary's.
Benjamin Howard's.
Pardon Copeland's.
George Wilbar's. John B. Holmes's.
North Centre school-house.
Heman Copeland's.
D. H. Baker's store.
Nahum Leonard's, 2.
Centre post-office.
Thomas Mackin's.
J. Q. Hartwell's. John Walker's, 2.
Waldo Howard's.
20
TOWN CLERK'S REPORT.
Marriages Recorded in West Bridgewater in 1877.
Aug. 1, Edward R. Leonard of Raynham and Charlotte K. Richards of West Bridgewater.
Oct. 2, Charles T. Howard of Easton and Helen I. Hartwell of West Bridgewater.
6, Thomas Mason and Miranda Lambert, both of West Bridgewater.
20, John W. Tobey of Middleborough and Mary E. Dunbar of West Bridgewater.
Nov. 10, Eugene F. Alger and Lucy P. Walker, both of West Bridgewater.
Dec. 9, James O. Alger and Carrie E. Flagg, both of West Bridgewater.
Intentions of Marriage Recorded, of which no Return has been made of the Marriage.
James H. Shields of West Bridgewater and Hannah L. Conway of Brockton.
John Crowley of West Bridgewater and Mary Coll of Bridgewater.
Frank N. Churchill of West Bridgewater and Florence W. Harris of East Bridgewater.
Nathan F. Dunbar of Providence and Harriet L. Pack- ard of West Bridgewater.
Herbert W. Ramsdell of Brockton and Lizzie F. Wild of West Bridgewater.
1
Births Registered in West Bridgewater in 1877.
Date of Birth.
NAME OF CHILD.
Sex.
Names of Parents.
1877.
Everett A. Churchill,
Male,
.
Rodney and Hannah G. Churchill. William W. and Cynthia B. Wixon.
17,
Albert Wallace Wixon,
· William and Elizabeth Freeman.
April
1,
Honora Hayes,
Female,
John and Ellen Hayes.
3,
Cornelia Alger,
11,
Jessie Janett Lothrop,
Edgar and Nancy F. Billings.
May
10,
Julia May Billings, .
Male,
Patrick and Margaret O'Conner.
12,
Frederic O'Conner, . Hetty Ann Turner, .
Female,
William and Mary Turner.
25,
Jane Bartlett, .
.
27,
Edmund Preston Alger, Mary C. McManiman,
Female,
Horace and Abigail Bartlett. Howard and MaryE. Alger. Bernard and Bridget McManiman.
June
29,
Esther Josephine Shaw,
·
July
29,
Mary Louisa Shields,
·
Archibald and Mary M. McCord.
Sept.
2,
Catharine Kent,
66
Philip and Margaret Kent.
8,
Helen Hayes, Marshall,
Male,
William H. and Rheuama A. Marshall.
18,
Harold William Flagg,
66
Loren A. and Loraine Flagg.
Sewall Mitchell,
Henry G. and Eudora Mitchell.
Oct.
Nov. 2,
John Courtney.
66
John and Margaret Courtney.
3,
- Murphy,
Female,
- Elizabeth Murphy .*
* Parentage supposed to be misrepresented.
21
.
Male,
31,
.
Austin A. and Mary A. Shaw.
James H. and Hannah L. Shields.
Aug.
31,
Beatrice A. McCord,
.
Michael and Mary Hayes.
17,
27, 7, Albert F. Fobes,
James A. and Harriet C. Fobes.
Feb. 7,
.
March 26,
George S. Freeman, .
Edmund L. and Sarah C. Alger.
Edwin H. and Lucy A. Lothrop.
21,
Births registered in West Bridgewater in 1877-Concluded.
Date of Birth.
NAME OF CHILD.
Sex.
Names of Parents.
Nov. 6,
20, 20, 8,
Frank Hartwell Godfrey,. Joseph McDonald, James Edward McDonald, Alice Carlton Pope, . John Crowley, .
...
Male, · Male twins, Female, Male, .
Elijah A. and Delia Godfrey. Philip and Rose McDonald.
Dec.
30,
George F. and Clara B. Pope. John and Mary Crowley.
The following births were not registered when they occurred :-
1873. Feb. 3,
Lilla M. Alger, ·
.
.
Female, .
Edmund L. and Sarah C. Alger.
1874. Dec. 25,
Franklin Howard, .
·
Male, ·
Hiram and Helen Howard.
1876. March 9, Nov. 30,
Mary Ann Morse, Bertha N. Walker, .
·
.
Female,
.
.
.
Joshua and Cecil Morse. Samuel J. and Belle Walker.
22
Deaths Registered in West Bridgewater in 1877.
AGE.
Disease, or Cause of Death.
Date.
NAME OF DECEASED.
Yr.
M.
D.
1877.
Jan.
Duleina Howard, Michael Dunn, .
55
2
5
.
W. Bridgewater, . Ireland, . Great Falls, N. H., W. Bridgewater, .
Samuel and Betsey Dunbar. William and Elizabeth Dunn. Amasa and Sarah C. Howard. William and Sarah Dunbar.
Apr.
1,
Abigail P. Ames,
·
70
3
11
Inflammation of liver and stomach, .
Barnard, Vt.,
May 1,
8,
Eliza A. Tinkham, Mary W. Copeland, .
79
7
19
Paralysis, .
.
.
June 3,
William J. Stanley, .
49
1
20
Consumption, .
19,
Huldah T. Pratt, ·
47
8
13
Cancerous humor,
Aug.
3,
Sarah Jane Ripley, .
47
5
28
Dropsy,
W. Bridgewater,
6,
Jeremiah Thayer, ·
74
10
-
·
.
23,
Jason M. French, .
63
6
25
. Paralysis and cholera morbus,
Milton, . ·
.
.
Sept. 3,
Julia May Billings, . Joshua Morse, .
49
11
24 27
W. Bridgewater, Stoughton, W. Bridgewater,
·
Barzillai and Vesta Carey. .
28,
Betsey C. Copeland, .
66
10
14
Oet.
10,
Susan Pratt,
·
79
2
5
Dysentery,
.
.
.
66
5
29
Caneer, .
Augusta, Me.,
John and Bethia Hudson.
Nov. 20,
.
95
6
20
Old age,
E. Bridgewater, W. Bridgewater,
.
Dee. 16,
Jacob White Ryder, .
31
20
Consumption,
.
Edward W. and Stella Hayward.
17,
Emma W. Turner, Eliza C. Keith, .
63
1
9
Dropsy,
.
Austin and Mehitabel Keith.
.
·
31
-
-
.
.
3,
Amanda Mason,
·
49
1
-
22
Dropsy,
14,
Paul Townsend,
.
62
6
3
Caneer, .
Farmington, Me., . Middleborough,
Ireland, .
.
Anson, Me., :
Oren and Achsah Tinkham. Molbry and Data M. Ripley. Abijah and Sally Thayer.
23
Alexander and Charlotte C. French.
-
3
Cholera infantum, ·
Edgar and Nancy F. Billings. Joshua and Silence Morse.
18,
.
Jonathan and Patience Ames.
87
5
22
Internal hemorrhage, . . Heart disease, Influenza,
.
| Rieliard and Eunice Thayer. Gorden and Naney Folsom.
16, 29,
Richard Thayer, Seneca Folsom, Abigail Snell,
·
.
George D. and Mary R. Ryder.
33
2
25
29,
- Place of Birth.
Names of Parents.
Caneers, Consumption, 1
·
Mar. 8,
63
9
Paul and Fannie Townsend. Aaron and Affa G. Higgins. Uriah and Serena Sampson.
.
Paralysis,
24
There is a statute law in Massachusetts which requires all parents and householders to inform the town clerk of the town in which they live, of all births which take place in their families or houses ; and a fine of five dollars is made the penalty for every neglect of said duty ; and yet it is never done. But we frequently hear parents assert that "No one came round to take the birth and name of that child." If they would notify the Registrar when to " come round," we presume that he would not neglect his duty.
JAMES HOWARD,
Town Clerk.
25
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
The School Committee submit their Annual Report of the expenses and condition of the schools and school property of the town for the year ending March 1, 1878, as follows : -
COCHESETT SCHOOLS.
Wages of teacher (grammar)
$320 00
66 (primary),
272 00
Fuel for both schools,
36 25
Care of house and fires,
10 00
Repairs, .
18 50
$656 75
CENTRE SCHOOL.
Wages of teacher,
$399 00
Fuel,
43 50
Care of house, .
9 00
Repairs, .
52 49
$503 99
JERUSALEM SCHOOL.
Wages of teacher,
$272 00
Fuel,
24 00
Care of house, .
5 00
Repairs, .
8 90
$309 90
4
26
NORTH SCHOOL.
Wages of teacher,
$272 00
Fuel,
16 25
Care of house, .
5 00
Repairs, .
47 57
$340 82
NORTH CENTRE SCHOOL.
Wages of teacher,
$272 00
Fuel,
22 50
Care of house, .
5 00
Repairs, .
8 40
$307 90
SOUTH SCHOOLS.
Wages of teacher (intermediate),
$272 00
(primary), .
272 00
Fuel for both schools,
22 50
Care of both houses, .
10 00
Repairs, .
41 29
$617 79
EAST SCHOOL.
Wages of teacher,
$288 00
Fuel,
27 00
Care of house, .
5 00
Repairs, .
17 11
.
$337 11
Paid to the town of East Bridgewater for tuition of children in that town, · 109 68
27
Paid to the town of Easton for tuition of 3 children in that town, . ·
$10 00
for case of crayons, .
14 25
for one dozen brooms,
3 50
Total for support of schools,
$2,999 68
for repairs,
212 01
Appropriated for support of schools, .
$2,500 00
Received from state school fund,
237 83
from dividend under dog law,
224 74
Balance from 1876, .
1,841 85
$4,804 42
Paid for support of schools,
2,999 68
Unexpended March 1, 1878,
$1,804 74
REPAIRS.
Appropriated, 1877, .
$200 00
Balance from 1876, . ·
142 58
$342 58
Paid for repairs, 1877,
212 01
Unexpended March 1, 1878,
$130 57
· The Committee recommend that $2,650 be appropriated, together with the dividend accruing under the dog law, for the support of schools during the coming year. This is a somewhat larger amount than was raised last year, but experience seems to warrant the opinion that the
28
Centre School should have an assistant teacher. The uni- form testimony of those best acquainted with the condition of the school is, that the experiment in that direction, tried last summer, accomplished excellent results. In an ungraded school as large as that at the Centre, the exer- cises must all be hurried in some degree; the teacher, however faithful, being unable to devote sufficient time to ensure thorough instruction. The desired relief might be obtained by reopening the primary school in the small school-house, or by furnishing a school-room in the base- ment of the house now used. Either of these methods would be more expensive than that recommended above, and would seem to promise less satisfactory results. The Committee are satisfied that the town should appropriate an amount sufficient for that purpose, in addition to that voted a year ago.
The school property is in good condition, some minor repairs being needed. Several of the houses should be painted inside, and the floor in the basement of the Centre school-house is much worn, and should be relaid. Two hundred dollars will probably be sufficient for all needed repairs, and the Committee agree in recommending that the town appropriate that amount for that purpose.
There were 329 children in this town between the ages of five and fifteen years on the first day of May last. Of this number, twelve attend school in East Bridgewater.
Three of the board elected last March declined serving ; viz., Messrs. F. E. Howard, Albert Copeland, and Joshua T. Ryder. Messrs. Leavitt T. Howard, James A. Fobes, and Curtis Eddy were chosen to fill the vacancies. In addition to the above named, the term of office to which Mr. Pratt was elected expires with the present school year. There are, therefore, four members to be elected at
29
the next meeting of the town, -two for a term of three years, and two for two years.
GEORGE. M. PRATT, ANDREW J. Goss, HENRY W. LEACH, LEAVITT T. HOWARD, JAMES A. FOBES, CURTIS EDDY,
School Committee.
30
REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT.
Gentlemen of the School Committee:
The first subject in order in the annual report of the condition of the schools is that of attendance. The table of statistics gives the percentage of attendance, together with the average and whole number of scholars, for the several schools during each term. The percentage for the summer term is .90; for the fall term, .88; the winter term, up to the close of the ninth week, .89; giving a total average for the year of .89 per cent.
SCHOLARSHIP AND STUDIES.
The written reviews of the summer term showed an average of 80 per cent .; for the fall term, of 82 per cent. ; and the returns for the winter term, up to the pres- ent, indicate an increase, and probably will not fall below 85 per cent. Any comparison of the percentage of tests between the different schools is valueless as a standard of scholarship, since the questions given by the teachers vary so widely in character ; and for the same reason, the total average of percentage indicates the condition of our schools more approximately than accurately. This must be neces- sarily so while the questions are given by the teachers, and not by the Committee. The tests, as a whole, have improved this year ; the questions asked being more prac- ' tical in bearing, and more in line with the proper object of school-work, - mental quickening.
At the beginning of the year, teachers were requested
31
to continue the daily exercises in mental arithmetic, orally and from the charts, and also to give their pupils as much work outside the book as practicable on every topic stud- ied. These suggestions have been faithfully carried out, and with results which, if not always directly apparent, are none the less valuable. In arithmetic, perhaps more than any other study, scholars fail to acquire working power independent of the book and the teacher. With the book before them, the rule, and a class of familiar examples, they acquit themselves creditably ; but with the majority of pupils, and more especially "first classes," knowledge begins and ends here. It is simply book- knowledge. And how to counteract this tendency to mental paralysis - for it virtually amounts to that -is a problem which comes home to every earnest teacher. Of two causes which contribute to this end, one undoubtedly is engendered through false methods of instruction ; too much indiscriminate helping by the teacher, too little guid- ing toward self-help. But this is only one cause, and I · am confident it is not the chief. Wrong teaching has less to do with the inability of scholars to use their mental faculties, than the premature study of subjects beyond their capacity. Nearly all children now in our schools are started too early in those departments of arithmetic requiring mental analysis, and dragged from one difficult point to another, till the mind lapses into a chronic state of confusion on the whole subject. That this happens to be more apparent in arithmetic than other studies, by no means indicates that it is confined to this branch. The haste to send children to school, the haste to have them "go through" books, defeats the very object of schools and books. It overloads the mind, cultivating dullness as something belonging to the school-room; and herein parents more than teachers are responsible.
32
In addition to exercises in numbers, general exercises in physiology have been given twice a week in all the schools. The progress has been excellent, and in every respect better than if text-books had been used.
Drawing has been continued in a majority of the schools, and with a fair degree of success; the East School and South Intermediate ranking first. The great difficulty in the way of the successful introduction of drawing as a regular branch of school-work, lies in the reluctance of teachers to undertake to teach that for which they have had no special training; thus being unfamiliar with the subject, they are liable to exaggerate its difficulties and to depreciate its real value. The same is true of teaching music in schools like ours, limited to the individual talent of the teachers, without instructors for these special branches which larger towns afford. From observation and experience, I am constrained to believe that in ungraded schools of small towns it is unwise to insist upon the teaching of branches outside the actual school necessities, unless the teachers happen to have the desire and ability to take up these extra studies in a way that shall make them really of use. Work half done is worse than undone, for it inculcates habits of carelessness. No committee can enforce the teaching of such branches as drawing and music, in a manner beneficial to pupils, unless teachers possess such special qualifications as make it possible of achievement.
Writing has received its usual share of attention. Decided improvement is noticeable in the writing of the test exercises in many of the schools, as well as in the spelling of these exercises.
In addition to the written reviews, the first reading class of the Centre School, numbering ten pupils, have written abstracts on their reading for the term,-Ancient
33
Greek Life, and Pope's Essay on Man; the first named, being one of the " History Primers," published by Apple- ton & Co., a class of books admirably fitted to be used in schools. The abstracts showed, that with pupils suffi- ciently advanced, this kind of reading is far more advan- tageous than reading from the regular text-book compiled chiefly for rhetorical and elocutionary drill. Our first classes in reading are making no improvement for want of suitable books from which to read. But any general change in this direction must come through the Committee.
The greatest advance made in our schools, as a whole, the past year, has been the successful introduction of the Word Method in teaching the younger classes. It has long been in general use in the larger towns and cities, and by all our more practical educators is conceded to be the better way, because it is the right way. When the perceptive faculties of children begin to wake, as they do with the earliest gleam of intelligence, impressions are received as wholes, not as parts ; this is a natural law of mind. The child, at first, sees a carriage as a carriage, not as four wheels, two axles, two springs, two shafts, and a cover. And the same is true of his sight of words. The word "horse " is much more easy of grasp as a whole, than the five letters that go to make it. But after the word is known, the letters that compose it are learned with little effort. The learning of words and letters go on together in their proper order, and the spelling follows naturally and easily. The experience of our teachers verifies this, and those who took up the system with doubts are now its warmest advocates. At the beginning of the year, when I asked the teachers to try this method, I put into their hands Webb's Analytical Primer, prepared especially for this teaching, and with an introduction designed to direct teachers who had no previous knowl-
5
1
34
edge on the subject. In the fall term, wishing to test the book, as the teachers pronounced it to be better than Monroe's Primer, I put it into three classes,-in the East School, the South Primary, and the Cochesett Primary. The results justified the opinion of the teachers. The progress of these classes was marked over that of others using the Monroe Primer. The advantage which the Analytical Primer offers is wholly in its arrangement ; fewer new words come on a page, and words which are not sure to convey ideas are sparingly introduced. The book has stood the test of a fair trial, and I urge the Committee to reconsider their vote against its introduc- tion, and I append for their consideration the following statements from the three teachers who have used it for two terms in their classes.
Mrs. Harlow, of the East School, says : " A year ago I tried teaching my primer class by the Word Method. Previously to that time, I had looked upon the method with disfavor. I used Webb's Analytical Primer, and never before during my teaching did I have scholars improve so rapidly, and read so understandingly. Some persons oppose it, on the ground that children will not learn to spell as quickly as by the old system. With this method, not as much time is required in the class to teach reading, and, consequently, the teacher can give more attention to the spelling, and I have found that the chil- dren will spell many words with very little attention from the teacher. I should have far more hesitancy about giving it up than I had in adopting it. The Analytical Primer is far superior to any book I ever used for begin- ners, from the fact that it introduces but one new word at a time, and that word is used in several succeeding les- sons, so that the children become familiar with each word before a new one is taken. In other primers, three or
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