II.

TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE YIELD PER ACRE AND THE AVERAGE PRICES OF THE PRINCIPAL CROPS FOR 1867.

OXEN AND OTHER CATTLE.

STATES.

10.5 10.2

10.3

10.1

Connecticut.

10.2

10.7

10.4

10.1

Delaware

11.6

8.3

8.

7.

Florida

9.

10.

8.5

Georgia

9.4

Illinois

10.2

9.2

Indiana

8.6

5.7

9.6

9.7

9.6

9.8

9.4

9.8

10.5

Vermont

9.

9.2

10.

9.3

10.

3.7

2.3

8.1

9.7

9.8

9.5

8.

9.8

10.

9.7

9.2

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

As this Department has been only recently established, and will hereafter be looked to by school officers, teachers, and students of educational progress, at home and abroad, for the most recent and most reliable information respecting the whole subject of Education and Schools in this country, we give the following account of its organization and its modes of operation and practical results for the first year, drawn from the following documents: (1). Official circulars of the department of Education, Numbers I to XIII. (2). Report of the Commissioner of Education, dated March 15, 1868. (3). Special Report on the condition and improvement of Public Schools in the District of Columbia, with an account of the System, Digest of the Regulations and the Subjects and Courses of Instruction of Public Schools, in the principal cities of the United States, dated July, 1868.

(4). The American Journal of Education-National Series, Vol. I, 1867–68. This quarterly publication has no official character, and although under the editorial supervision of the Commissioner, is published without any expense to the Department.

The Act creating a National Department of Education approved March 2, 1867, is as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatires of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be established, at the city of Washington, a Department of Education for the purpose of collecting such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of education in the several States and Territories, and of diffusing such information respecting the organization and management of schools and school systems, and methods of teaching, as shall aid the people of the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise promote the cause of education throughout the country.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted. That there shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Commissioner of Education, who shall be intrusted with the management of the department herein established, and who shall receive a salary of four thousand dollars per annum, and who shall have authority to appoint one chief clerk of his department, who shall receive a salary of two thousand dollars per annum, one clerk who shall receive a salary of eighteen hundred dollars per annum, and one clerk who shall receive a salary of sixteen hundred dollars per annum, which said clerks shall be subject to the appointing and removing power of the Commissioner of Education.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Education to present annually to Congress a report embodying the results of his investigations and labors, together with a statement of such facts and recommendations as will, in his judgment, subserve the purpose for which this department is established. In the first report made by the Commissioner of Education under this act there shall be presented a statement of the several grants of land made by Congress to promote education, and the manner in which these several trusts have been managed, the amount of funds arising therefrom, and the annual proceeds of the same, as far as the same can be determined.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of Public Buildings is hereby anthorized and directed to furnish proper offices for the use of the department hercin established. On the 11th of March, HENRY BARNARD* was nominated by President Johnson, and on the 16th was confirmed by the Senate, Commissioner of Education. Rooms were provided by the Commissioner of Public Buildings for the

* Dr. Barnard, at the time was President of St. John's College, at Annapolis, Maryland, but since 1837 has been connected with the administration of public schools in the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island, and in varied efforts to advance the work of educational reform and improvement in different parts of the country.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

191

Department; the three clerks provided for were appointed, and the following plan of operations was adopted by the Commissioner.

The first step taken was to make known the provisions of the Act, establishing the department, and at the same time to map out the field of inquiry into which the Commissioner was about to enter.

SCHEDULE OF INFORMATION SOUGHT.

I. GENERAL VIEW OF SYSTEMS, INSTITUTIONS, AND AGENCIES OF EDUCATION.
A. GENERAL CONDITION (of District, Village, City, County, State).

(Territorial Extent, Municipal Organization, Population, Valuation, Receipts, and Expenditures for all public purposes).

B. SYSTEM OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

C. INCORPORATED INSTITUTIONS AND OTHER SCHOOLS AND AGENCIES OF EDUCATION.

II. DETAILS OF SYSTEM AND INSTRUCTION.

ELEMENTARY OR PRIMARY EDUCATION.

(Public, Private, and Denominational; and for boys or girls).

2. ACADEMIC OR SECONDARY EDUCATION.

(Institutions mainly devoted to studies not taught in the Elementary Schools, and to preparation for College or Special Schools).

3. COLLEGIATE OR SUPERIOR EDUCATION.

(Institutions entitled by law to grant the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Science).

4. PROFESSIONAL, SPECIAL, OR CLASS EDUCATION.

(Institutions having special studies and training, such as-1, Theology. 2, Law. 3, Medicine. 4. Teaching. 5, Agriculture. 6, Architecture, (Design and Construction). 7, Technology -Polytechnic. 8, Engineering, (Civil or Mechanical). 9, War, (on land or sea). 10, Business or Trade. 11, Navigation. 12, Mining and Metallurgy. 13. Drawing and Painting. 14, Music. 15. Deaf Mutes. 16, Blind. 17, Idiotic. 18, Juvenile Offenders. 19, Orphans. 20, Girls. 21, Colored Freedmen. 22, Manual or Industrial. 23, Not specified above-such as Chemistry and its applications--Modern Languages-Natural History and Geology-Steam and its applications -Pharmacy-Veterinary Surgery, &c).

5. SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATION.

1, Sunday and Mission Schools. 2, Apprentice Schools. 3, Evening Schools. 4, Courses of Lectures. 5, Lyceums for Debates. 6, Reading Rooms-Periodicals. 7, Libraries of Reference or Circulation. 8, Gymnasiums, Boat and Ball Clubs, and other Athletic Exercises. 9, Public Gardens, Parks and Concerts. 10, Not specified above.

6. SOCIETIES, INSTITUTES, MUSEUMS, CABINETS, AND GALLERIES FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE, LITERATURE, AND THE ARTS.

7. EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER PERIODICALS.

8. SCHOOL FUNDS AND EDUCATIONAL BENEFACTIONS.

9. LEGISLATION (STATE OR MUNICIPAL) RESPECTING EDUCATION.

10. SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE.

11. PENAL AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

12. CHURCHES AND OTHER AGENCIES OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.

13. REPORTS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS ON SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.

14. MEMOIRS OF TEACHERS, AND PROMOTERS OF EDUCATION.

15. EXAMINATIONS (COMPETITIVE, OR OTHERWISE) FOR ADMISSION TO NATIONAL OR STATE SCHOOLS, OR TO PUBLIC SERVICE OF ANY KIND.

MODES OF OBTAINING INFORMATION.

The sources of information respecting Educational Institutions relied on, are: (1). The annual reports and special replies of officers charged with their administration in the several states, or personal visitation of institutions by the Commissioner, or inspectors qualified to judge and report upon subjects in regard to which information is sought.

(2). The annual meetings and published proceedings of national societies