1619

REPORTS OF COUNTY PRESIDENTS.

ALLEGANY COUNTY.

Mount Savage, Allegany Co., Md.,

September 19th, 1866.
To the State Superintendent o/
Public Instruction.
Sir:

Enclosed you will find " Report Tables, " filled as nearly
as we are able to fill them. These "Tables" so nearly
cover the whole ground, that they leave little in the way of
statistics to be added.

No mere statistics however, can give anything more than
apartial view of any subject to which they relate. In this
instance they may tell us, e. g., how many children went to
School, but they do not tell us how many did not go. They
may tell us Ike work daae, but not the difficulties in the way
of doing it. Absolutely, the work done might be little.
Relatively, it might be much. Thus figures, however accu-
rate, though it is said "they cannot lie," may still fail to
tell all the truth. I therefore add a remark or two supple-
mentary.

How the difficulties to be encountered in our work ia this
County, compare with those to be encountered in other Conn-
tier, I have no means of knowing, but certainly here they
are not inconsiderable. As I have mentioned in a former
report, we are greatly in want of School houses. Any one
who knows anything of School work at all, knows how essen-
tial a proper School house is to anything like success. There
is less need therefore, that I should say much upon thig topic.
I will only express my conviction, that our work has been
very much depreciated by using such places for School houses,
as we have been compelled to use. Not much progress can.
be made in study where it takes nearly all the time to keep
warm. Nothing short of burning up some of our School
houses could possibly warm them through some portions of
our winters. It is true, fresh air is invigorating, but child-
ren must be comfortable, if they could study to advantage.
Other places again, which we are obliged to use, go to the
other extreme. From being basements or cellars, the whole
or a portion underground, it is impossible to ventilate them.
In some Schools I have been made sick in ten minutes after