the private residences and other buildings in the place. There is also a small select school. The people of Weyauwega are agitating the subject of building a large public school house with all the furnishments of the best modern houses. It is to be hoped that an edifice worthy of the village, will result from this agitation.

OSHKOSH.-This flourishing city has great want of public school accommodations. The people appear earnestly intent on having something done, and doubtless will, ere long, provide suitable school room. We were in formed that there are within the limits of the corporation, not less than seven select or private schools; these schools are chiefly made up of a small class of scholars. The demand for so many private schools indicates that the public school interest has not been sufficiently cared for by the people. The want of suitable district school houses of course increases the necessity for private schools. The Oshkosh Union School Building is a respectable structure, two stories high, and well finished. In this building, three teachers are employed, and the number of scholars in attendance is usually greater than can well be accommodated. Mr. WELCH, the principal of the school, is highly esteemed, and regarded as a capable and efficient teacher The friends of education in the city, confidently expect the building of school houses in the different wards of the city, will be undertaken soon. Oshkosh possesses the wealth and ability to place her public schools on a footing equal to any in the State.

FOND DU LAC.-The city of Fond du Lac is divided into two distinct school districts; the city has no special enactments; its schools are organzied under the general law of the State. This condition of things embarrasses the efficiency of school supervision, retards the progress of the schools, and renders their success more difficult. The same remarks will apply to the city of Beaver Dam, and we believe also to others. A city containing the population of Fond du Lac, needs a Board of Education, with proper corporate powers, to manage its school affairs, as much as it needs a Common Council with corporate authority, to look after the general interests of the city. The general law of the State is well adapted to districts of the ordinary size, but where a large population is united in a single district, additional powers are demanded for the management of the school. The want of a law granting the exercise of powers, such as are usually conferred on Boards of Eucation in cities, is felt by the school officers of Fond du Lac. The school house in district No. 1, is a building 40 by 60 feet, two stories high, and accommodates about three hundred scholars; cost of building, $3000. Mr. GIBSON, the Principal of the school, is a graduate of Yale College, and a highly successful teacher. The school house in district No. 2, is about the same size as that in district No. 1. Mr. BROWN is the principal of the school in district No. 2. Rev. Mr. EASTMAN holds the office of City Superintendent. The city of Fond du Lac, has also a High School, of which Mr. SHEPHERD is the principal. There are also in the city, some half dozen private schools, composed chiefly of small scholars. The city of Fond du

Lac is rapidly improving, and the intelligence of its population will not suffer its educational interests to be neglected.

In nearly all the cities and villages noticed in the foregoing sketch, there is a want of sufficient school accommodation. Much has been accomplished worthy of commendation; allowances must be made for the comparative newness of our western towns. It often seems almost impossible for school houses to keep pace with the rapid increase of population. It is observable, however, that in many of our new villages, church edifices increase faster than the people who occupy them. It is no uncommon thing to find four or five meeting houses in a village of one thousand inhabitants, and not one half of the seats in them occupied on the Sabbath. A village which has the ability to furnish such an extra amount of church accommodation, is inexcusable, if it does not provide at least room enough for all the scholars of suitable age within its limits, to attend a common school.

By the provisions of an Act of the Legislature of the State of Wisconsin, approved March 19, 1856, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction is authorized to subscribe for as many copies of the WISCONSIN JOUrnal of EDUCATION as there are organized school districts in the State; also one copy for each town superintendent in the State.

The copies of the JOURNAL for the school districts, are required to be sent to the district clerks. The Act makes it the duty of the district clerks to cause each volume of the JOURNAL to be bound and deposited in the district library, subject to the library regulations.

Each town Superintendent receiving a copy of the JOURNAL, should immediately inform us of the whole number of districts and parts of dis tricts in his town, the names of the district clerks, the number of the district to which each clerk belongs, and the post-office address of each clerk. It would also be well for town superintendents to see that district clerks get the JOURNALS which are sent to them from the post-office. A few town superintendents have sent us lists of the district clerks for the present year as above specified.

EVERY teacher and friend of the JOURNAL should endeavor to contribute something to its pages. We need items of school intelligence of immediate interest-living realities. Long moralizing discourses on school-boy depravity; flowery compositions on sunset splendours; moonlight beauties; dreamy sentimental poetry on absent loved ones; ramblings by the brook

side, or through grassy meadows, are subjects all well enough in their place, but not exactly suited to the columns of our JOURNAL. What we want, are actual experiences-practical suggestions; improvements in the methods of teaching and maintaining discipline; expedients and plans for increasing an interest in the school-room; suggestions in respect to the order of school exercises; improvements in the construction of school-houses, and methods of ventilation; physical training of scholars, and progress in school matters in different localities. These, and kindred topics, legitimately come within the range of the JOURNAL, and are eminently calculated to diffuse the kind of information needed. Every teacher has a wide field of observation, and cannot fail, if he makes the endeavor, to note some incident or experience which would be interesting and instructive to others. There is often more incitement to action in the right direction by the statement in a few lines of a simple matter of fact, than in a long-labored essay, however vigorously or beautifully written.

LETTERS FROM CORRESPONDENTS.

DURING the interval since the publication of the last number of the JOURNAL, a large number of letters from correspondents have accumulated on our hands. Many of these contain interesting facts of the present condition and prospects of the schools in the localities where they were written. We can only, at this time, give a few extracts from these communications, indicating the progress of educational movements in different portions of the State.

CEDARBURG.-A correspondent writes: "This flourishing village is preparing to take her position among the first in the State, in energetic endeavors to promote the cause of common school education. The inhabitants have voted to build, the presert season, an elegant two story brick school house 32 by 40 feet. The materials for the building are mostly on the ground; estimated cost, $3000. The present condition of schools in the township is not very flattering. I am informed by the town Superintendent, there is but one American teacher in the town; most of those employed are not well acquainted with the English language, and one, though paid out of the public school fund, teaches only the German language.

SAUK CITY.-J. M. W. writes: "Our healthy and flourishing village is rapidly increasing, and although our school house has been enlarged several times during past years, we shall, ere long, be under the necessity of building a new edifice better adapted to our wants. The greatest obstacle in the way of our educational prosperity, is the want of interest and effort on the part of parents.

COTTAGE GROVE.-M. S. F. makes the following enquiries and suggestions: "What shall be done to increase an interest in our schools among the masses

of the people? I have for the past year had the supervision of the schools in this town, and for the last eight years, taught school in this and the adjoining towns. There seems to be a general want of interest on the part of parents; they are generally willing to sustain a school for several months in a year, but when a teacher is once secured and placed in charge of the school, their connection with it ceases. The teacher must take the whole responsibility; perhaps during the entire term not an individual will visit the school; or if the school is visited at all, it is perhaps at the close of the term, when the advice or influence of a visitor can be of but little avail. For the purpose of inciting the people to a sense of responsibility, would it not be well to appoint or select some men, of suitable qualifications, in each county, whose duty it should be to exercise a general supervision over the schools, and visit every town and district in the county?"

EUREKA.-L. ROUNDS, town superintendent of Rushford, has sent us a highly interesting account of an examination of the Eureka Public School; but as some months have passed since the communication was written, we omit the greater part of it. Besides the primary studies, the branches taught in the Eureka school are, Geography, Grammar, Philosophy, Physiology, Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. Of the teachers in this school, Mr. R. remarks: "I consider Mr. DEAN and Miss STEELE, model teachers, capable, faithful, and systematic. They have demonstrated practically, that schools can be governed without the use of the rod; system, firmness, kindness, and happy faculty to interest, are requisite qualities of a teacher. The citizens of Eureka generally, have taken a lively interest in the selection of good teachers, visiting schools and otherwise encouraging teachers and scholars. The Waukau school (town of Rushford) is in a prosperous condition. A new, large and elegant Union School house, nearly completed, is an ornament to the village of Waukau, and reflects credit on her enterprising citizens.”

OXFORD.-A friend at Berlin writes that the people of the village of Oxford, Marquette county, have voted to borrow $3500, to erect a Union School house. The vote was carried unanimously.

MISCELLANEOUS.

A copy of an address delivered at Geneva, by Rev. MCNAMARA, before the Walworth County Teachers' Association, was received at this office several weeks ago. We some time since gave some encouragement of giving this address a place in the JOURNAL, but the commencement of the second volume having been so unexpectedly long delayed, we have concluded that its publication at this late period would not be advisable.

A WELL written article, entitled "Sunday-Schools in the Valley of the

West," has been sent to us for publication in the JOURNAL. We may hereafter give it a place in our columns.

A POST-MASTER in Walworth county requests us to send no more JOURNALS to his office, unless to actual subscribers. We beg leave to remind this worthy official that we are required to send the JOURNAL to school district clerks, and shall continue to do so, even at the risk of disregarding the request of so great a dignitary.

BELOIT COLLLGE.-The annual commencement of Beloit College will be held on Wednesday, the 8th of July inst. This anniversary completes ten years since the founding of the institution. An oration will be delivered by Prof. EMERSON.

RACINE HIGH SCHOOL.-The examinations of the Racine High School, at the close of the term ending on Friday, June 19, evinced a thoroughness of mental discipline, which was highly gratifying to the friends of education. It would exceed the proper limits of this article, to notice the examinations of the various classes in detail, although each deserves a favorable mention. We cannot however forbear to name some of the classes, which exhibited such complete mastery of the branches of study in which they were exmined, as to commend marked attention.

Miss AUGUSTA SNOW's class in Plane Geometry, deserves especial mention; also Mrs. McMYNN's class in Spherical Geometry, evinced a thorough understanding of principles and a readiness of answer seldom surpassed. The classes in Reading, Analytical Geometry, and Greek, under the charge of the Principal, (Mr. McMynn,) gave satisfactory evidences of successful progress. The Reading class, for correct and distinct enunciation, and for a happy adaptation of the voice to the sentiments read, left hardly any room for criticism; indeed it may be said, that this class, in its exercises, was successful. The examination of the class in Greek, and the class in Analytical Geometry, would have been creditable to any institution of learning.

We should fail of doing justice to the examination in this notice, were we to omit to speak of the declamations. Among the youthful orators who acquitted themselves with credit we will mention HORATIO G. BILLINGS, ROBERT A. CAMPBELL, WILLIAM H. MYRICK, and EARNEST W. SCHWEFEL. Declamation exercises in public schools, academies and colleges, are not unfrequently tame, soul-less and unsatisfactory—a mere repeating of words and sentences committed to memory, accompanied with awkward and repulsive gesticulations. A great neglect of early elocutionary training is everywhere apparent among public speakers of all professions. The young men whose names we have mentioned, have evidently acquired by study and practice, some of the true uses of action and voice on the platform; they possess the elements of oratory, and in this department, have a brilliant future before them, if they rightly apply themselves.

SPECTATOR.