tion and research on your part, and that this very system and discipline, which he is called upon to acquire, will bring about the desired result. The instruction given should be such as a child would gather at his mother's knee; that is, conversational, kind, and gentle. The teacher, indeed, should endeavor to fill the natural relation towards her pupils. It is said that some of the most noted Roman mothers (among others Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi) became governesses, that they might learn to be mothers, and well did they succeed. This, if no other thought, should inspire the teacher to excel; for it is, perhaps, cultivating herself to perform more faithfully her mission upon earth. She should study the nature and disposition of the child, that she may the more easily reach its heart, for when that has been gained, her influence is second only to that of the mother. Great is the teacher's responsibility-boundless her reward-though few there are who can fill the position with success; let such as can, glory in their ability. We do not seek the most skillful gardeners to train the almost matured tree; it is the tender sapling that receives our most careful solicitude, lest it acquire a twist in its growth which can never be removed. If there be any parallelism between children and plants, and we think there is, for in speaking of either, we can use appropriately the terms, "nursery," "to train," "to develop," "to stunt," etc., we are led by analogy to claim the most skillful teachers for the young children usually found in primary schools. And we will go still further, and give it as our opinion, founded on observation and experience, that men were never designed by nature to teach children the elements of knowledge, or to direct the earliest development of their minds and hearts. Do men claim to possess the gentle voice, the soft touch, the sensitive heart, the esprit mobile of woman? If they do, why don't they stay at home and mind the baby, or advertise to nurse the sick? Grant, then, that women alone should instruct young children-but that is not enough to admit. We contend that young girls who are in their teens are not suited for teaching in the lower primary grades of our schools. The children in those grades are fresh from home and the kindly influences of a mother's care. Is it not irrational to suppose that a young girl, just out of school herself, even though she have a cer tificate of qualification to teach, can fulfill towards these little homefledgelings, the duties of mother? Do you expect the young teacher to take charge of fifty children, to keep them quiet on the hard benches four hours a day, to excite in them curiosity for knowledge, and to develope their social and moral affections? Very few parents are capable of doing such a work as this; and if an inexperienced teacher can accomplish more in the mental or moral training of children than parents can do, she must be a rara avis. The truth of the matter is, that success in primary teaching depends mainly upon the natural gifts of the teacher: hence, a bright, joyous girl, with an affectionate heart and native tact, will sometimes succeed when an older head has failed. In almost every instance, however, where success has been achieved in this field, the teacher has united mature judgment and long experience with an amiable and cheerful disposition, a certain amount of social accomplishment-as singing and agreeable manners; while to these she has added a good stock of available knowledge, and above all, a mind fertile in expedients. [For The California Teacher.] DISTRICT SCHOOL TRUSTEES. UNDER the revised school law, trustees are elected for the term of three years. It is a matter of wonder and astonishment, that this simple provision for advancing the interests of the schools was not thought of and adopted years ago. The evils of the old system of annual elections for one year, are self-evident. It requires at least one year for any ordinary citizen to become familiar with the duties of the office; and just at the time when he knew how to do his duty, he was turned out, and another apprentice taken, to try his hand at blundering. Each new board had its pet teacher to be employed, and the old teacher was compelled to make his annual migration to another climate. One board employed a female teacher; the next, wanted a male teacher. No record being kept, each new board depended on tradition for its knowledge of the doings of the preceding one. All petty district squabbles and bickerings ended in an annual fight at the ballot box. The teacher had little inducement to do his duty faithfully, for the "new board" knew nothing of him, and cared less. If the teacher by chance offended some troublesome parent by enforcing wholesome discipline, and the "board" sustained him, the "next election" settled the fate of both. Half the school districts in the State are suffering to-day from the "parties" and animosities engendered by this system. As now constituted, the board will always have a majority of members thoroughly familiar with the routine of official duty. A good teacher will hold a permanent position, and fewer “favorites and "relations" will be quartered on the schools. A record of proceedings will be kept; a financial report will be kept; reports will be made at the proper time; trustees will become familiar with the school law; fewer blunders will be made; fewer teachers will lose their salary; good teachers will be better appreciated; poor ones will lose their occupation; and a better condition of things generally must prevail. The importance of the duties of trustees cannot well be over-estimated. They are the executive agents of the people, and the exponents of their wishes. They should be men fitted to mold the public sentiment of the district. All the efforts of the State, of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and of County Superintendents, may be made by them of no avail whatever. Their powers and duties are numerous and varied. They expend all the money raised by State, County, and District taxes, and rate bills, for school purposes; they employ and dismiss teachers; they provide maps, black-boards, furniture, and school apparatus; they prepare plans for school-houses; admit or expel pupils; provide books for indigent children; fix the amount of rate bills; assess and collect district taxes; fix the rate of teachers' wages; appoint the school census marshals; visit the schools and make the reports on which are based the returns of County Superintendents to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. If they choose to employ an illiterate and incompetent teacher, the public money is wasted. If they erect an ill-planned, ill-ventilated, ill-constructed school-house, it remains for many years, a monument of their incompetence. If they build none at all, the children remain in hovels " which disgrace the State." If they reduce the rate of teachers' salaries to the wages of a common laborer, there is no redress. If they take no measures for assessing a district tax, the children remain untaught, or only halftaught. If they think an old water-bucket, a battered tin dipper, and a wornout broom all the school apparatus necessary, the teacher must lose half his labor from want of the proper appliances of education. If they refuse to sustain the teacher, he must take up his bed and walk. If they make incorrect reports, they cannot be corrected elsewhere. If they make no returns, the district loses the public money, the children are defrauded of their rights, and there is no penalty attached. Is the office of school trustee, then, one of little importance? Does it not require good judgment, common sense, experience, and above all, a living faith in our American System of Public Schools? [For The California Teacher.] KINDERGARTEN SCHOOL. Whatever may be said about the merit of California educational institutions, it must be admitted that our young State lacks nothing of variety and splendor in its school nomenclature. What with her universities, colleges, collegiate and classical academies, ladies' seminaries, law and medical institutions, she plays a brilliant rôle among the galaxy of States. Among this glittering array of titles the name of public school sounds as homely in our democratic ears as does "Mr." pronounced after "His Royal Highness," or "Don Cæsar de Bazan." The contrast suggests to us the appearance of Ben Franklin at the court of Louis XVI. 7 Prejudiced as the recollection of our Alma Mater makes us feel towards the euphonious names with which many of our private schools have bedecked themselves, yet we heartily welcome the Kindergarten, outlandish though its name. This school has just been opened in this city, by Prof. Miel, late of Harvard College, Mass. As its name suggests, the school is designed specially for children from the age of three to six years, who are gently led over the threshhold of learning, by the seductive charm of flowers, music, games, pictures, and curious objects. The Kindergartens owe their origin to Pestalozzi, who inaugurated the system of Object Teaching in Prussia, as early as 1809. During the past few years, Kindergartens have been successfully established in New York and Boston. Those who feel an interest in this, to us, novel mode of primary education, would derive great profit from studying the Kindergarten Guide, by Miss Peabody and Mrs. H. Mann, and Object Lessons, by E. A. Sheldon. In this connection, we would mention Willson's Readers and Charts, Philbrick's Tablets, and Wells' Graded School. [For The California Teacher.] As we have no manual of our California flora to enable teachers to study the vegetation in their vicinity, and to introduce the study of botany in their schools, I take this opportunity to inform my fellow-teachers that I am willing to determine their collections. If they will send me numbered duplicates thereof, post-paid, I will determine the specimens as soon as possible and will send the names with their respective numbers. In this manner the expense of returning the specimens will be saved. Pro In regard to collecting, I will make some general remarks. cure as far as possible herbaceous plants, roots, root leaves, blossoms, and seeds. The plant should be spread on blotting paper (preserving as much as possible its natural shape), and then pressed. The papers containing the specimens are to be spread upon the floor at night, and during the day again pressed; thus continue until they are perfectly dry. Then add a label, stating time of collecting, the soil, etc. But as different families of plants require a different state of maturity in order to be determined, I must make a few more remarks on them individually. Of plants belonging to the leguminous family (pulse family, peas, beans, etc.), the blossom as well as the ripe pod should be procured. Umbelliferous plants (parsley family) should be collected with well-nigh matured seeds; composite plants (compositae, such as the sunflower) also with matured seeds; willows, with both kinds of |